Tag Archives: Disney

Mulan: Another live-action Disney Remake!

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To no one’s surprise, it’s been confirmed that Disney has another live-action remake of an animated film in the works. Following on the heels of last week’s announcement that Jon Favreau is “reimagining” The Lion King, news arrived today that Disney is also planning to bring us a live-action version of 1998’s Mulan. That’s right, the film that Vice Presidential nominee (debating tonight) and Donald Trump’s running mate Mike Pence once used to argue against women in the military (all while claiming that sexual assault is just a natural side effect) will be back in theaters once again, giving the “mischievous liberals” at Disney the chance once again to “cause a quiet change in the next generation’s attitude about women in combat.” This post isn’t really about Pence, but I couldn’t let such a perfectly timed opportunity to bring that article up once more pass me by. But here’s one more quote, just to make sure this is stuck in your mind during tonight’s debate: “Despite her delicate features and voice, Disney expects us to believe that Mulan’s ingenuity and courage were enough to carry her to military success on an equal basis with her cloddish cohorts.”

I’ve already spelled out my opinions on the new trend of Disney remakes in my post about The Lion King, so I won’t repeat myself except to say that unlike many Disney fans I’m generally in favor of the remakes, even if I have issues with some of the specifics. But I am considerably more excited about the prospect of a Mulan remake than I am about The Lion King. Continue reading →

Teaser Trailer: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

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The first teaser trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales dropped last night to a mixed variety of opinions. It’s easy to see why there have been some difficulties drumming up enthusiasm for this latest (final?) entry in the series. By the time it is released in May, it will have been almost fourteen years since The Curse of the Black Pearl took audiences by storm and earned Johnny Depp an Oscar nomination, and six years since Jack Sparrow’s last outing in On Stranger Tides. Dead Men Tell No Tales has had a troubled production, between rewrites, a ballooning budget (after the box office failure of The Lone Ranger, no less), and a plethora of issues involving Depp including illegally importing his dogs into Australia during filming, an off-set injury which required surgery and a delay in filming, and now his public split from wife Amber Heard along with allegations of domestic abuse. It’s easy to see how people might be a little tired of Pirates of the Caribbean, despite the seeming popularity of the series and its characters. It is possible to love something while simultaneously not wanting it to continue, and that’s an opinion I’ve seen repeatedly online the past few years.

But before I go any farther, take a look at the new teaser and then read on for my thoughts below:

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Tonight’s Movie: Wreck-It Ralph

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Tonight’s Movie: The Lion King

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Jon Favreau is remaking The Lion King

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I’m back! That’s right, after taking an unintentional hiatus for the last couple of months, I’ve returned! Hello? Anybody there? I’m sorry for the absence. It had become increasingly difficult for me to find the time and the energy to work on the blog, but hopefully I’m back for good. I’ve got some plans to make it easier for me to just sit down and write, even if it might change the tone/style of things here a little bit. I’ve been meaning to get back to writing for a while now, and thankfully today we got some big Disney news that inspired me to return to the keyboard. But rest assured (or be afraid) that I’m not done with thelovepirate.net, nor have I run out of things to say. I hope to tackle my backlog of missed reviews, as well as get into a habit of updating more frequently by perhaps posting shorter articles. I might even make some videos, who knows? But for now let’s tackle the news at hand.

So, to no one’s surprise, Disney has announced another remake of an animated classic. This time, Jon Favreau is following up his The Jungle Book success by “reimagining” The Lion King. Now, unlike many other hardcore Disney fans, I’ve largely been a supporter of their recent trend of live-action remakes of their animated catalogue. I’ve enjoyed all of them (Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, Cinderella, The Jungle Book, and Pete’s Dragon), though some more than others, and as a whole I see both the artistic and commercial appeal of this sort of filmmaking. I think many Disney animated films are ripe for remakes, either because the original is dated or because a filmmaker has a new or creative interpretation of the original. I may strongly disagree that animation is “just for kids” or that it is somehow a lesser form of storytelling, but there’s no denying that these remakes have reached a new and vastly different audience. And, in the end, Disney has a right to do whatever they want with their films. These new movies aren’t destroying the classics (or our childhoods), and they may in the end inspire new fans to watch the old masterpieces. I do understand the frustration and even the hatred some fans may have towards particular remakes, and the feeling that this is a frustrating trend, but I do think some of the backlash has been a little overblown.

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Tonight’s Movie: Mary Poppins

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Review: Pete’s Dragon

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I’ve been a hardcore Disney fan for a long time, but that doesn’t mean I automatically love everything the Mouse has produced. Specifically, I’ve never been a fan of the original Pete’s Dragon, the 1977 live-action/animation hybrid. While I appreciated the design and animation of Elliott, the film’s titular dragon, I found the whole affair too silly for my tastes topped off with forgettable songs. So of Disney’s recent spate of modern, live-action remakes (Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, Cinderella, and The Jungle Book so far, with Beauty and the Beast due next year), I was by far most enthusiastic about Pete’s Dragon, which I felt was most in need of an update. I’ve generally enjoyed all of the films in Disney’s latest trend so I’ve come to have high expectations, and Pete’s Dragon didn’t disappoint. But what I wasn’t prepared for was its beautiful simplicity, the stillness and subtlety with which it tells its story, or just what a breath of fresh air it is.

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Tonight’s Movie: Pete’s Dragon

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Tonight’s Movie: The Princess Diaries

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