Disney: that megalith of childhood hallmarks, and a brand name as prominent in North America as Coke or McDonald’s. Their success is hardly surprising, considering they hit all the right notes: adventure, love, angst, all with incredible scores, remarkable animation and really, really great hair. It’s hard not to fall in love with Walt’s world. …
Disney’s continued dip into their Disney Vault got peculiar when they announced they will be doing a live action Dumbo film. A script by Ehren Kruger, the guy who wrote Transformers? And with CGI effects to recreate a flying elephant? Adapting a 64-minute movie for toddlers from 1941 into a mega-blockbuster? Well now Disney has signed Mr. …
Everyone has heard the famous phrase “I’m going to Disneyland” uttered by sports heroes and other famous people. Kingdom Hearts, however, has you experience the full ride throughout the Disney animated universe. There are no lines, no waiting, and best of all: Running through abridged versions of childhood favorites such as Tarzan and The Little Mermaid.
A voice actor may have just pulled the rug out on Square-Enix and Disney as far as Kingdom Hearts III is concerned. Bill Farmer, who voices one of the franchises central characters, Goofy, tweeted earlier today that the game would have a 2015 release.
Into the Woods Written by James Lepine, based on a musical by Stephen Sondheim Directed by Rob Marshall USA, 2014 What is there to say about a film that is destined to succeed in spite of its weak ambitions and generic form? Rob Marshall’s newest project, Into the Woods, has been granted a Christmas Day …
While he is done with with Star Wars, that doesn’t mean we won’t be getting some work done by George Lucas in 2015. Disney and LucasFilms released the first trailer for the animated feature, Strange Magic, which was written by Lucas. The film is inspired by William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Tale and features the …
Big Hero 6 Written by Robert L. Baird, Daniel Gerson & Jordan Roberts Directed by Don Hall & Chris Williams USA, 2014 If kids needed their own version of the Guardians of the Galaxy, they now have it in Big Hero 6. Hopelessly irreverent with an emphasis on brain over brawn, this gang of self-appointed …
There are few things in pop culture that have a softer spot in ’90s kids hearts than Toy Story and its subsequent sequels. And after the reaction to the two-Oscar winning, Best Picture nominated Toy Story 3 was essentially, “Oh my God, that was a million times better than I would’ve ever expected and now …
40. Night of the Hunter (1955) Scene: The Preacher on the Horizon Video: http://youtu.be/9PyNL2ahKwc?list=PLZbXA4lyCtqolaQOAXly96de5FYQlPzqK Just like a few others in this section of the list, Charles Laughton’s brilliant Night of the Hunter isn’t really a horror film, but still sets out to keep the audience on edge. Starring a diabolical Robert Mitchum as a preacher/serial killer …
Live-action family films have fallen on hard times of late. Perhaps it’s achieving that tricky balance between zaniness and feel-good that baffles filmmakers. Or perhaps they just need the right actor to blend these two elements together… like Steve Carell! Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day simply doesn’t work without his special brand of manic optimism. He effortlessly veers between the ridiculous and the poignant, elevating Alexander into a relentless gallop that every member of the family can enjoy.
There’s a moment in Planes: Fire and Rescue where one of the sentient vehicles is prompted to “drop the needle.” The request is followed by a series of quick cuts: a small anthropomorphic forklift pulls out a record from its sleeve, slams in onto a turntable, and lowers the tonearm. Then, the unmistakable infinite-hammer-on riff to AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” appears on the soundtrack, accompanying a getting-ready-to-slay-a-fire montage sequence.
To continue in Disney’s recent trend of “brand deposits”, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Disney is currently developing a live-action version of their 1941 classic Dumbo, the Oscar winning children’s film complete with circus animals, a flying elephant with big ears, a tearjerking musical gem and all the storybook colors of the rainbow. The …
It is hardly a novel concept to bring up realism when talking about animated films. From noting the “fingerprints” on the toy-based characters of The Lego Movie (2014) to remarking upon Pixar’s advancements in replicating hair and clothing, popular criticism of computer animated movies are as apt to discuss advancements in realistic CGI as they …
The villains in children’s movies have to be less nuanced and more archetypal in their representations. Case and point: the Chernabog from Fantasia.
Michael Myers is terrifying because he’s an absolute. What exists behind the mask is confined to our imagination. As soon as Rob Zombie went behind the mask, and made Myers into a broken child, we lost a bit of the magic. The imagined terror of a crazed killer’s motivations were solidified, and suddenly he was less terrifying. Less interesting. The same is this true of Maleficent in Robert Stromberg’s directorial debut.
Maleficent Written by Linda Woolverton Directed by Robert Stromberg USA, 2014 Every year or so, apropos of very little, the Walt Disney Company will showcase a new series of ads courtesy of acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz, in which a celebrity plays one of the company’s iconic human characters, whether it’s Jessica Chastain as Princess Merida …
Bears Written by Alastair Fothergill and Adam Chapman Directed by Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey UK and USA, 2013 During its fledgling years as a film studio, the Walt Disney Company helped revolutionize the nature documentary with its True-Life Adventure series. Here, as never before, audiences could thrill to the story of seals, beavers, bears, …
Captain America: The Winter Soldier Written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo USA, 2014 There is an almost brutal efficiency present in each of the films encompassing the now-vast Marvel Cinematic Universe. Rare is the entry in this mini-canon with a striking level of personal style or brio; though …
Muppets Most Wanted Written by James Bobin and Nicholas Stoller Directed by James Bobin USA, 2014 At their best, the Muppets walk a careful balance between sincerity and self-awareness, something few cinematic comedy acts can handle. All the way back to The Muppet Movie, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, The Great Gonzo, and their …
Final Fantasy and Disney together in one universe. Logically, it sounds like a terrible idea. Yet Kingdom Hearts, an action role-playing game, has managed to harmoniously bring these two extremely different universes together, reaffirming the old saying “opposites attract.” In fact, Kingdom Hearts is six games strong, with a seventh in the works, has won several awards, and is one of the most successful video game franchises of all time.
The Black Cauldron Written by David Jonas, Vance Gerry, Ted Berman, Richard Rich, Al Wilson, Roy Morita, Peter Young, Art Stevens, Joe Hale, Rosemary Anne Sisson, Roy Edward Disney, Tony Marino, Steve Hulett, Melvin Shaw, Burny Mattinson, John Musker, Ron Clements, and Doug Lefler Directed by Ted Berman and Richard Rich USA, 1985 If there …
Bambi is perhaps the quintessential children’s film. While youth and personal growth are recurring themes in the Disney canon, no other film with that distinction is so explicitly about growing up. Discovery is the primary point explored in Bambi. The film begins with his birth, which is particularly of interest because it holds some resonance …
