The Emperor’s New Groove
Kuzco: How did you get back here before us?!
Yzma: Ah … How did we, Kronk?
Kronk: Well, ya got me. By all accounts, it doesn’t make sense.
Quote of the Day
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Tag Archives: Disney
Trailer Tuesday: Muppets Most Wanted
Welcome to “Trailer Tuesday” where I talk about trailers for upcoming movies.
I think even Disney was surprised by the success of 2011’s The Muppets. It revitalized the brand in a way that was unexpected considering the straight-to-DVD languishing that the Muppets had been suffering in recent years. Having a big name writer in Jason Segel and cult favorite Bret McKenzie to write the songs helped, but more than that I think people were eager for a real return of the Muppets they knew. The story had a clever setup, using new character Walter as a way to remind people what they loved about the Muppets, and it was full of stars either in cameos or full roles. (It’s the best film Jack Black has been in in a long time.) But beyond that, The Muppets captured the essence of the Muppets, that crazy, surrealist energy that only a band of misfits could have. It’s too early to tell whether the sequel, Muppets Most Wanted, can recapture that magic, but take a look at the first teaser trailer:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcw2Aje5KU0
I could listen to Animal yelling out “Sequel” and other random words all day long. Continue reading
What is Tomorrowland?
At the end of my D23 movie news roundup from yesterday I mentioned Tomorrowland. I didn’t want to go into the film there because I feel like it needs a bit more explanation, especially considering how little we still know of the film. You have to go back to last year for the earliest reports of the film. Brad Bird, who wrote and directed The Incredibles and Ratatouille for Disney/Pixar was announced as the director for a new film for Disney, bumping his rumored project with Pixar about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. People immediately began speculating that Bird was returning to Disney for a sequel to The Incredibles (something, incidentally, that needs to happen).
That wasn’t the case, however, as the title for his new film was revealed to be 1952. Continue reading
D23 Movie News Roundup
This year’s D23, a conference every two years exclusively for members of the D23 fan club, was full of news about upcoming projects, but unfortunately it wasn’t the news that people were expecting to hear. There was no Star Wars casting announcement, no surprises from Marvel or Pixar, no Pirates of the Caribbean sequel. What there was, however, was lots of smaller casting announcements, plus an in-depth look at some films which we previously only knew the title of. I’m a D23 member, but I wasn’t at the conference this year, but read on for the highlights of what was announced and shown, along with some of my opinions. Continue reading
The Lone Ranger, Critics and the Box Office
I really hadn’t planned on writing any more about The Lone Ranger, but a series of news articles and quotes that have been floating around this week, along with countless commentary, have me feeling like I should weigh in. First, Disney has projected that it will lose $160-190 million on The Lone Ranger. At the same time, or possibly in response to this, several people behind the film have piped up to blame the critics for the box office failure of their film. Continue reading
Poster: Saving Mr. Banks
I love movie posters, I even have a frame in my office at home that I use to rotate posters that catch my eye (it currently is displaying one from Skyfall). Today, the Disney Parks Blog exclusively debuted the new poster for Saving Mr. Banks. I looked at the trailer just last week, but check out the poster: Continue reading
Trailer Tuesday: Saving Mr. Banks
Welcome to “Trailer Tuesday” where I talk about trailers for upcoming movies, since I’ve always found them to be endlessly fascinating.
It’s been torture, having to wait until today to share this trailer with you. I’ll save my thoughts for after, so go ahead and watch:
My obsession with all things Disney should be well know by this point to anyone who regularly reads this blog. Continue reading
Friday Favorites: Favorite Moment – Tangled
Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.
I’ve mentioned previously my love for Tangled. It has many things at appeal to me, specifically. It’s hilarious, has great music, a strong female protagonist (in my opinion… I know there’s some disagreement about that) and is gorgeously animated. The highlight of the film, musically, artistically and from the standpoint of character, comes as Rapunzel finally gets to see the “floating lights” that she has dreamed about her entire life. But for me there’s one particular moment that I can relate to above all things. Take a look, and read on for my favorite moment:
Review/Analysis: The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is most likely not what you expect, though it probably has at least one or two moments (or silver bullets) aimed at you. It’s not a devoted adaptation of the beloved TV show from the 50’s or the radio show from the 30’s. It’s not a “Disneyfied” (hate that word, it’s so condescending) version of a Western, aimed at kids. It’s not Pirates of the Caribbean on horseback, though your ability to enjoy The Lone Ranger might be related to your ability to enjoy that saga of movies. It’s not even a live-action adaptation of Rango. So what is it?
The Lone Ranger is a rip-roaring, funny, violent, subversive, political, Western action extravaganza. Continue reading
Review: The Blue Umbrella
By this point it’s well known that all new Pixar films are accompanied in the theater by a Pixar short. Over the years, these shorts, ten of which have been nominated for Oscars, have become as much a part of the Pixar experience as the feature films. This year, Pixar attached a short entitled The Blue Umbrella to its release of Monsters University.
In some ways it’s difficult to review a film that only lasts six minutes. Continue reading
