Leonard Maltin Quotes & Sayings

I can't think of another actor who acquired stardom so quickly, who held it for such a short time, and then kept it for such a long time. James Dean became a star in one calendar year, and then he left us. But he's still being talked about, he's still being revered, he's still being iconized forty years later. I don't think there's another example like it in the entire history of movies. — Leonard Maltin

It says something about the curious nature of film, that someone can be so alive on screen, when we're all too aware that they've passed. it underscores how we're mortal, and films are immortal (commenting on the death of Heath Ledger) — Leonard Maltin

Television is what made It's a Wonderful Life the classic it is today. — Leonard Maltin

Dumbo ... makes me cry. Every single time and in the exact same spot. I just have a special affection for Dumbo. — Leonard Maltin

Everyone is looking for the sure thing. They are looking to hedge their bet. They think the way to do that is to go with a proven quantity, a remake of something you have already seen. That is their mindset. — Leonard Maltin

I teach at USC. I have a big class of 360 kids, only about a fifth of whom are film majors. I don't just show the Hollywood blockbusters. I show independent films, foreign films, documentaries. — Leonard Maltin

The last person to stand still and repeat himself was Walt Disney. He refused to repeat himself. So to think that he'd be making the same kind of film in the year 2001 that he made in 1941 is absurd. — Leonard Maltin

Beauty and the Beast became the first animated feature ever nominated for best picture. — Leonard Maltin

Not so much a film as a visual essay, exquisitely directed and photographed (by Sacha Vierny) ... Difficult to watch but well worthwhile for those willing to be challenged. — Leonard Maltin

I'm a lifelong Disney nut. — Leonard Maltin

Shailene Woodley is reason enough to see 'The Fault in Our Stars.' — Leonard Maltin

The subtle performances of the leads, the remarkable Irrfan Khan and the engaging Nimrat Kaur, make 'The Lunchbox' a pleasure to watch. — Leonard Maltin

Two remarkable men
one young, one old
fuel each other's spirits in the beautiful documentary Keep On Keepin' On. — Leonard Maltin

I think the people who are making Christmas-themed movies today feel that people are more cynical about Christmas. There's more of an edge. — Leonard Maltin

If you're willing to go along for this farcical ride, you'll find 'Dead Snow 2' to be one terrific zombie movie. — Leonard Maltin

Documentarian Laura Poitras has crafted a first-rate Hitchcockian-type thriller telling the story of Edward Snowden. — Leonard Maltin

Polar Express is not an attempt to do animation. It is a technology-based film. — Leonard Maltin

Joe Berlinger's documentary 'Whitey' is so hard-hitting and compelling, you can't take your eyes off the screen. — Leonard Maltin

You want to make an impression. Being clever helps. — Leonard Maltin

Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse ... by Floyd Gottfredson will be warmly received by comics aficionados but should also intrigue Disney animation buffs who aren't necessarily plugged into comic strip history ... I have a feeling that this book, crafted with such obvious care, will earn Gottfredson a new legion of admirers. — Leonard Maltin

I had the great good fortune to interview Peggy Lee. Her memories of working with Walt Disney and his team were warm and upbeat. — Leonard Maltin

Los Angeles has the greatest concentration of surviving movie palaces in the United States, yet most residents have never been inside one of them. — Leonard Maltin

If I were less than honest as a critic, I think people would spot that right away, and it would destroy my credibility. — Leonard Maltin

While it was occasionally done here or there, nobody else had a figurehead like Walt doing it. Jack Warner wasn't on TV. Walt was the boss, but he had a real public profile and he used it to his advantage. And he became a household face. — Leonard Maltin

I think people in Hollywood are afraid of sentiment because they think audiences will reject it. — Leonard Maltin

With massive doses of eye-popping special effects I applaud the visual achievements in 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.' — Leonard Maltin

When it comes to the selections, I heard several observers claim that the Academy was embracing "nostalgia" by honoring The Artist and Hugo. Give me a break! Hugo represents cutting-edge storytelling by a world-class director - in 3-D, no less. The Artist dares to revisit a form of cinema that was abandoned in the late 1920s. The Academy members admired these films for making the past seem immediate and relevant. That has nothing to do with nostalgia; it has everything to do with great moviemaking, which is what the Academy Awards are all about. — Leonard Maltin

A Christmas Carol is such a fool-proof story you can't louse it up. — Leonard Maltin

Shakespeare wrote great plays that we're still watching all these years later. Charlie Chaplin made great comedies and they are still as funny today as they ever were. — Leonard Maltin

NBC anchor Brian Williams is a standup comic in disguise. — Leonard Maltin

Hitchcock's murder set-pieces are so potent, they can galvanize (and frighten) even a viewer who's seen them before! — Leonard Maltin

Hollywood executives believe that money is both the be-all and end-all to the moviemaking process. — Leonard Maltin

Timing in life is everything. — Leonard Maltin

When Tim Allen made The Santa Clause, I thought that was a delightful film. It took a modern sensibility but layered onto it a kind of sentiment. — Leonard Maltin

Movie theaters still exist in spite of all of the alternatives that are available, video and video-on-demand and DVD and streaming video and all of these things. — Leonard Maltin