The Ultimate Walt Disney Company Performances Bracket -- Round One, Day Thirty-Two

Felt wrong not to swing.

Friends, we’ve finally reached it: the last day of the first round of the Ultimate Walt Disney Company Performances bracket. We started with 256 seeds, and after today’s set of four matchups, we’ll have just 128 seeds left.

Four of the actors below want to get your vote and move on. Four of them are going to be sent home packing.

You ready? Let’s go!

(6) Haley Joel Osment, The Sixth Sense vs. (59) Christopher Walken, The Country Bears: Two of the stars of the Country Bears movie are going head to head here! You remember that Haley Joel Osment provides the voice of Beary Bearington in The Country Bears, right? Oh, sure you do. (I wish I didn’t.) But of course, you’re meant to vote on Osment’s career-defining work as Cole Sear in The Sixth Sense, and…I mean, we all know he’s winning over Walken, right? Shouldn’t be a tough vote for you all.

(27) Verna Felton, Alice in Wonderland vs. (38) Tom Cruise, The Color of Money: Photo above be damned. I’m voting for Verna Felton, one of the vocal stalwarts of the Disney animated canon. Tom Cruise has delivered many excellent performances in his career, and The Color of Money is a very good film, but Felton’s ferocious work as the Queen of Hearts is enough for me to vault her over a man who I hear is going clear. Or is clear? I don’t recall. Anyway, vote for Verna Felton.

(11) Edward Norton, 25th Hour vs. (54) Ethan Hawke, Dead Poets Society: In some perverse way, this is a Glass Onion face-off. (If you know, you know.) But I have no doubt in my mind that Edward Norton deserves to move on, as this is the best performance of his career. (I know, some folks adore Fight Club, and he’s doing fine work there, but no, it’s this one.) Ethan Hawke is a great actor in his own right, but his youthful performance in Dead Poets Society does not measure up for me. How about you?

(22) Joaquin Phoenix, Signs vs. (43) Ben Stiller, The Royal Tenenbaums: Here it is, gang. The last matchup of the first round. On the whole, I would say that I think Joaquin Phoenix is a better actor than Ben Stiller, but that’s not what you’re voting on. You’re voting on these specific performances, and only one of them features the shaky line delivery of “I’ve had a rough year, Dad.” Stiller for the win.