Late on the Scene: Frozen is a bit frosty....

Hello there, after a long hiatus I have decided to return to the blogosphere. Sorry, but I was in school and I recently had my first child so, I have been a bit busy.

So let me just start with the obvious, I was not a big fan of the film. I thought it was good but it borrowed too much from other films, the songs were not as catchy as their originals, and the ending was Frozen.
If you are still here let me explain. I will admit I went in there with every intention to hate this movie. Every trailer I saw billed the movie as "Kristen Bell is an awkward princess in a frozen kingdom just looking for love, oh yeah, and the evil Snow Queen who froze the kingdom is her sister.... (shot of Ana saying "Awkward!"). Oh and here is our Jar Jar of the movie, Olaf, I'm sure you will hate every second he is on screen." Now if you haven't gotten outraged, let me say, I actually was surprised that I liked the movie. It wasn't Tangled or Wreck-It Ralph but it was still a good movie. To me it was on par of Pocahontas, it was good but it wasn't amazing.

Some of my favorite scenes were with Kristoff and Sven. I loved these two. Kristoff reminded me of myself with his almost split personality with Sven, always talking for him and conversing with him. I do the same with my dog, Mutteray Jack.

Olaf, was surprisingly hilarious. Though almost everyone of his scenes were in the trailer, I enjoyed his screen time. He was a good comedic relief. He was surely one of every kid's favorite characters.
Now the songs were good but oddly familiar. Oddly familiar because they were almost exactly the songs from Tangled. I liked "For the First Time in Forever" but it sounds like "Waiting for My Real Life to Begin." If you don't believe me, then go buy the Frozen soundtrack (if you haven't already) and do what I did and listen to both of these songs back to back. You'll hear it, I guarantee it.
Now I am not too worried about spoilers since the movie has been out for over a month but SPOILER ALERT!

Most of the movie was actually pretty well developed. The characters were great. Ana was very likable and Kristoff was a great kind of anti-prince. Elsa was pretty good but she had some issues. I felt she came off a little selfish but I understood that she was raised to be ashamed of her powers but "Let It Go"  was a teenage angst/rebellion song. Now that was all understandable but the ending was rushed and bad.

Now I knew going into this movie that the end was going to be about the sisters breaking the curse but the execution was terrible. They defied all convention and went against the "True Love's Kiss" but I felt it was underwhelming. The film builds up to the "True Love's Kiss" and then the swerve left to reveal it's the sacrificial act of Ana that breaks her own deathlike fate. WHY!!!??? It did not hit like the kiss would. It also seemed weird that Ana kind of saved herself. It seemed a bit ridiculous. Like I said, underwhelming.
Now that I'm off my soapbox, overall it was an enjoyable enough film with some catchy (yet familiar) tunes. I am sure every kid and, the kid inside you, will be singing along ("Do you want to build a snowman...."). Also if you haven't already, get the children's book of it, great artwork!

Trip Planning for the Expectant Mother

I recently went to Disneyland with my 6 month pregnant wife and she brought up a very good point, what can she ride and what can she do at the park? I also learned very quickly that the dynamic of visiting the parks with a pregnant woman is very drastically different. I will be providing you with the lessons I learned so you won't have to repeat my mistakes and be prepared. 

Lesson 1: Be Patient. The greatest lesson I learned was to be patient as an expectant mother has very different needs and wants. Like for one thing, she will not want to walk anywhere, she won't want to wait in line for anything, she won't want to ride certain rides for no particular reason! Just take a deep breathe and remember, this will all end soon. 

Lesson 2: Take It Slow. A pregnant woman does not have close to the same energy level as before so you can't run through commando style. You will have to take it slow and maybe even get a wheelchair for her. She probably wont enjoy being suggested the use of a wheelchair as she is pregnant not handicap but don't push it. Just make it a light suggestion and she will more than likely come around once she becomes tired. Once you get her in the chair, if you can, things will probably run smoother as she won't be on her feet anymore. Just make sure to bring your gloves, I have the calluses to prove it!

Lesson 3: Attractions are Difficult to Decide. When it comes to attractions, it becomes hard to decide what to ride as there are less rides to go on for an expectant mother. Thankfully, this is not Six Flags, so there are a great amount you can go on. Fairly warned ye be, it is up to you to decide what an expectant mother can go on. Though they post on the safety signage that expectant mother shouldn't ride, it's up to your discretion (I found this out by asking the guest relations). I will say obviously you can't ride Indy, Space Mountain, Big Thunder, Splash Mountain, Matterhorn, Roger Rabbit, Tower of Terror, Goofy's Sky School, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, Luigi's Flying Tires, California Screamin', and Mickey's Fun Wheel but there are a few that surprised me. First of all, Toy Story Midway Mania is a no go. We rode on it but didn't consider that the ride vehicle whips you around corners and the lap bar will press against her stomach. Then you'll spend the rest of the ride holding the lap bar up so she is not in pain. A surprising ride was Radiator Springs Racers, it was smooth enough that my wife had no qualms with riding, especially since she could tuck the seat belt under the baby. 

Lesson 4: Be Ready For Stops. It seems obvious but I cannot fully articulate how important this is. It also goes back to the first lesson, to be patient. The bathroom breaks are understandably often, but the snack breaks are almost just as frequent. That baby will be calling for some nutrition constantly and the smells of the food carts will get that little one going, and soon you will have spent 100 bucks on snacks at the end of the day. 

Lesson 5: Mark Bathrooms and Refill Often. Definitely grab a park map and make a note of the bathroom facilities. This will come in handy as I mentioned before, the bathroom stops will be frequent. Also, expectant mothers need water like a fish, so make sure to carry a water bottle and refill it at every bathroom stop. Of course if you don't care for the water in the fountains, you can always stop at a cart at get a snack and a water. 

I hope those of you out there will find this helpful and not too rambling. Hope you have a good time at the parks!

Hater Turnaround: the Lone Ranger Review

Let me start off by letting you know that I was not thrilled about Lone Ranger when originally announced. To me, I just got a bad feeling it was going to be an annoying Johnny Depp filled adventure where he would play the Native American version of Jack Sparrow (that's Captain Jack Sparrow!). I walked into this movie expecting to hate it, so you can trust me when I say, this is the best movie of the summer!

I will be making this article a little more than just a review. I will start with just my review and then move into a light history and my opinion of why this movie was always seemingly destined to be a box office disaster. 

I've read the reviews and I've heard the complaints and seriously, these are the groaning of people who were destined to hate it. As I stated before, I wanted to hate this film myself. Even with my prejudice I was unable to hate this film. It was great in just about every facet. The story was well written and thought through, the acting was on point, there was not an excessive amount of CGI so it had a very good look to the film, and it even made me remember why I couldn't wait to see Pirates of the Caribbean the first time, Johnny Depp is amazing. This film also lived on its own, it didn't make nostalgic references or jokes you would only understand if you were a lifelong fan. Now I know people argued that this was not the Lone Ranger you remember from your childhood, but considering that there hasn't been any Lone Ranger anything for about thirty years, it's easy to point out that the film was not made for the generation who grew up with LR. The action sequences were very well choreographed. At no time did I feel these scenes went on for too long or were too violent, considering how many people complained about the level of violence. Iron Man 3 was exceedingly more violent. This movie also never took itself too seriously. Yes I enjoy the DK trilogy but its refreshing for an action adventure film to not think of itself as this serious piece of dramatic art. One of the greatest issues with Man of Steel was how serious it took itself, this making the ridiculousness of it seem way more ridiculous (and that's considering I'm a nerd). One of my favorite jokes was the meaning of Kemosabe. 

The villain was also a little obvious but he was a well rounded and thought of villain (unlike Aldrich Killien in IM3). The plot was also not so convoluted that you weren't entirely sure what the point was (same movie IM3). One of the best things was that for movie that had an over 2 hour runtime, it didn't feel that long. 

Now granted, there were a couple issues with the movie. My main issue was the old Tonto telling the story of the Lone Ranger to a child. This felt a little useless considering this was meant to be the beginning of a franchise. Another great issue was the music at the finale. I felt it was played a little sarcastically and came off that way, not to mention it was incredibly loud. Let me caveat that with the fact that I loved the music. The last issue I had was how Rebecca, the love interest, was constantly in peril, way more than even LR and Tonto. Also the love story was kind of creepy. 

Now since I'm writing this a week after the film was released, I know that this film has turned out to be a bomb. This was a very unfortunate result as I enjoyed it so thoroughly. I can however see some issues and think that in my previous hater look at it was right. 

First of all, you enter this movie with a black eye for Johnny Depp anyway because though each Pirates film does really great business, people have a predetermined hate for him. I know many people who hate Depp's wild and eccentric characters (aside from Jack Sparrow). Perhaps people are just a little burnt out of his antics, I know I was. I'm just saying Johnny go ahead and play a regular guy who is not covered in eyeliner and with a dead bird on his head. 

A second concern, was the budget. This movie had a huge budget. I feel this was very John Carter esque in the sense that the inflated budget made the movie go in with this return target already of over half a billion dollars. And I know that a lot of this has to deal with Verbinski's ridiculous train being built, which doesn't even make sense because the Constitution wasn't even seen that often. And when you did see it, it was in the background or they showed only one side. It's probably why Disney parked it in DCA to use it since they paid an arm and a leg for it. 

Another great issue was the marketing. They basically marketed the movie as Captain Jack Sparrow in the desert with a cowboy... Oh and that's a dead bird in his head. I understand that they felt a necessity to link the film to the creative team and star of POTC but they basically tripped themselves because now there was this audience of people who thought, I'm not gonna pay money for that! This is an instance of Iger's synergy getting the better of him. Oh and not to mention the rumor that if it did well they would retheme Big Thunder Railroad to Lone Ranger. Now yiu had a new group of Disney purists whi were crying foul and were now awaiting the demise of this film and any park tie in ideas there might be. It was very reminiscent of Tony Baxter implying that a new land where Big Thunder Ranch sits would become Oz of Oz: the Great and the Powerful did well (also why is Big Thunder the area they want to destroy?). Talk about outraging your fans, and this was only a rumor!

Well I hope you enjoy my rant and review of Lone Ranger and sorry for the long absence, I will be trying to update at least every other week

D23 for FREE! But WHY?

D23 announced today that they will begin a new version of D23 on June 17, to include a new free membership. What are the perks of paying for D23 is you can have it for free? Oh that's right, they also announced that the magazine will now be only for Gold Members. 

Me and D23 Head, Steven Clark

OK, then why would you take the free membership? Well, the only real perk is apparently the ability to get tickets for the D23 Expo. I had always heard that both of the Expos have been super crowded and that there were such long lines for every event and that they couldn't even allow every person in line into the events, so why on Earth are they trying to get more people at the Expo? It just doesn't make sense to me. D23 Head did mention that they may offer some of the popular Fanniversary events to the free members.

Some new things coming that sound very interesting are the Attraction Rewind where they will be delving into  extinct or, to use their terms, "retired" attractions. Ask a Disney Legend, which is promised to be like the Ask Dave column but featuring Disney Legends. Here's hoping that MiceAge allows Bob Gurr to write for this. Weird Disney to "look at weird promotions, weird events, weird characters, weird audio and more." Question, will they mention the weird Mowgli walk around character that was at Disney's Animal Kingdom this past week? I am also so excited for the Walt Files. As D23 describes it, "Walk in Walt's footsteps through rare stories, audio, video, and images."

However, they did announce some of the member only features that will be coming to the D23 site. I am excited that they will be bringing the Disney A to Z encyclopedia to the site. This is the encyclopedia with over 7,000 entries and was compiled by Disney Legend Dave Smith. And he will be updating it monthly. You can't get any better than that.

Dave Smith giving a presentation at the Walt Disney Archives

Some honorable mentions for members only is the Quotable Walt Disney book online for you, the usual discounts and their downloads page will be members only. No more free rides on wallpapers, sorry. 

So now the countdown begins for June 17th for the new site to come. Oh did you hear the rumor that Lone Ranger will be premiering at Disney California Adventure? Crazy right?

The Wonderful Miscasting of Oz!

I know it's about a week late but I attest that I in fact saw Oz on opening day. Now I know the verdict has been given already that Oz: the Great and Powerful is already doing well and making the cash Disney wanted and may have perhaps become the Oz movie Walt Disney always wanted.

Overall, I thought this movie was good but was missing what it needed to be Great. The overall story revolves around Oz, no Dorothy, and his journey for greatness. I loved the opening in sepia tone as a call back to the Wizard of Oz. Here you get a sense of Oz as a man who was selfish and a liar but always hoping for greatness. He goes on a journey to Oz to fulfill his wish of greatness and to fool the people into believing he is the great Wizard of Oz, named after their land, come to fulfill the prophecy and kill the Wicked Witch. Now cue obligatory long sequence of the introduction of the land of Oz.

We meet Mila Kunis and she shows us that her range is quite low and later in a "plot twist" she is revealed to be the Wicked Witch of the West. Now I felt this was one of the most obvious plot turns considering that there is no merchandise of Mila Kunis is non green form. It kind of makes you think REALLY when it happens, partially because the performance is so god awful but also because it wasn't much of a plot twist.

Next we meet Finley (the great Zach Braff) and we come to find that Oz and Finley's "bromance" is what will carry this whole film. Finley and the China Girl (Joey King) along with Oz are the best characters in this whole film. It's hard to think how bad this would have been without them. Finley was amazing as the comedic relief. China Girl as a character was great because it brought out the heart and was kind of like a Jiminy Cricket to Oz.

After Finley's introduction and a reference to the Cowardly Lion, we meet Rachel Weisz as the Wicked Witch of the East and we find that she is the only Witch that is well casted and well performed. She gives Oz the task of killing her sister Glinda the good witch (Michelle Williams). Personally, I thought "How am I supposed to believe Michelle Williams as the Good Witch when anyone who saw Blue Valentine knows she's the Wicked Witch." Not to mention, I thought her performance was lacking.
Now the movie goes into a kind of formulaic "Oh I can't do this" and a "Yes you can because I believe in you" segment and then Oz decides to take on the Wicked Witches. Now I thought that Oz's plan to take on the Witches was pretty fantastic but then the ending kind of ruins it with Oz hooking up with the Good Witch. I was sitting there like "why did I need that to bring a happy ending to this movie?" I guess someone thought the China Girl accepting Oz, Finley, Knuck, and Glinda as her new family wasn't good enough to end the movie on.

Overall though, it was a good enough film, it just lacks that great quality but Sam Raimi is known for that (Spiderman 1 and 3). It's definitely worth seeing over the junk that is out right now (The Call, Burt Wonderstone, Movie 43).

Late on the Scene: Star Wars Episode VII: Super 8

Hey there, sorry, it's been about two weeks since I have blogged a thing. On January 25, 2013, Walt Disney Studios announced that they had selected a director for Star Wars: Episode VII. In a great surprise, it turned out to be one of the first directors who counted himself out of the race, J.J. Abrams. Now how this will effect the look and feel of Star Wars is yet to be seen but I had some thoughts on the issue.
I was first of all surprised that they would have selected the guy who is doing the Star Trek films to do Star Wars too. I know a lot of people gripe that what the prequel trilogy of Star Wars needed was George Lucas to step back because he was way too concerned with effects than story but are we really going to let someone control all Sci Fi? J.J. Abrams already has the Star Trek franchise, so are we going to see a crossover of themes and look?

And don't get me started with the look. I really hope Abrams doesn't bring his camera flare to Star Wars. It will be a huge detractor. I feel his directorial style is just too artsy for Star Wars. Star Wars is filmed more cinematic look (the original trilogy anyway).

I do have some positives though. I love that Abrams is more about practicals than special effects. I also love his films' storytelling. It will be nice to have an interwoven Star Wars universe again, where the writing will be written out in advance, rather than mangled together. I hope that they are planning to write it in a somewhat Lost sense, where you there are hints of things to come all through the first couple films.

Well, no matter what I think or anyone thinks, this is happening. I must say, if I see a Darth Locke in Star Wars: Episode VII, I'd be content!

Wreck-It Ralph! release is not as soon as you'd like....

Here is some news that came out recently about the release of Wreck-It Ralph. Disney is trying out a new way to release movies. They announced that Wreck-It Ralph will be released on February 12th for digital download and on March 5th for Blu-Ray and DVD.
I think this is pretty much useless. I can see the thought though, as I have already paid to see the film 3 times in theaters and I'm turning blue holding my breath for the release, but hey, I can wait for the Blu-Ray release. Not to mention, that releasing it as a digital download will just make it easier for piraters. And also, where are my lithographs for the pre-order? I was looking very much forward to some Wreck-It Ralph lithographs just to have my hopes crushed. I feel this is a very miss on Disney. I suppose that they decided to release Wreck-It Ralph this way so that they could try it out with something people actually want. I mean, they could of tried it on Frankenweenie but it wouldn't have been much of a test as only 8 people saw the movie (2 of them are myself and my wife). I just wish they would release Wreck-It Ralph on February 12th on Blu-Ray and that the lithographs were there, but I concede, I can wait for March (since it'll be a nice birthday gift!).

Oscar nomination

A little late but I just wanted to say congratulations to Disney on their Oscar nominations!

Lincoln snagged the most for nominations with 12 for Best Picture, Best Director (Steven Spielberg), Best Adapted Screenplay (Tony Kushner), Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis), Best Supporting Actor (Tommy Lee Jones), Best Supporting Actress (Sally Field), Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski), Costume Design (Joanna Johnston), Film Editing (Michael Kahn), Original Score (John Williams), Production Design (Rick Carter, Jim Erickson), and Sound Mixing (Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom, Ronald Judkins).

Also a return to form for Disney with 3 out of the 5 nominations for Best Animated picture with Brave (Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman), Frankenweenie (Tim Burton), and Wreck-It Ralph (Rich Moore). I hate to say it but though I enjoy Pixar movies, Brave is not that impressive. Now Frankenweenie is actually a well written and well directed feature for Tim Burton but I have to say, I want Wreck-It Ralph to take it. I loved that movie just that much (I saw it 3 times, and once was the free D23 screening!).

And the amazing short Paperman (John Kahrs) is nominated for Best Animated Short. I loved this short and I am very glad to see it nominated. I don't think I've ever had a short (and at that, with no talking) touch my heart like Paperman did. I'm just thankful that the waste of my time "La Luna" wasn't nominated.

Avengers even got an Oscar nomination for best Visual Effects (Janeck Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams, Dan Sudick). And even a nomination for the bust Mirror Mirror for Costume Design (Eiko Ishioka).

Tonight we'll find out who comes out with wins!

LOTR is coming to Universal

So today the rumor going around is that Universal Studios just got the Lord of the Rings for their parks. I know a lot of people (nerds like me mostly) are excited but I think a lot of people are blowing it out of proportion. Don't get me wrong, I love LOTR (yes I carried the One Ring around my neck in school) but I don't think this is as big of an announcement as people think.
I keep thinking back to the years between LOTR:ROTK and the Hobbit and I remember how no one cared about Tolkien's Middle Earth except for the fan base that was there before the films.
I think the excessive price tag I'm sure Universal paid (especially since we all know that Disney wanted these rights too) isn't worth it. It's just that I don't think it has that strong of an audience (like Avatar!). (Also why is Hobbit 3 movies? I'm sure that when Peter Jackson said he wanted to split it into 3 movies, New Line just saw dollar signs in their eyes and said, "Yeah and make it 3 hours long while you're at it!")
I also do not understand why people are saying "Disney needs to catch up!" that makes no sense, these are the same people who complain about Disney buying other companies' intellectual property instead of creating their own. You can't have it both ways, it's one or the other. I am glad Disney passed on the property because quite honestly, they have better things to do with their time and money (Cars Land baby!).
Sorry if I was a bit pessimistic on this post.

Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives: Part 1

Recently I headed to Simi Valley for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library but not just to experience the life and presidency of Ronald Reagan but for their newest exhibit, Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives. This exhibit features truly treasures from the archives and was amazing to see. I enjoyed the way Disney laid out the exhibit into three sections, the first was the life of Walt Disney, the second was treasures from the Disney Parks and Disney films, the third was Disney and the Presidents.

As a Disney nerd I was mostly interested in the first section. I loved seeing these hidden treasures of the man himself, Walt Disney. There were so many awesome things to check out, some telegrams from Walt and Roy, the screenplay for Steamboat Willie, the Automa bird that inspired Audio-Animatronics (AA), the script from the opening day of Disneyland, the Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White books, and of course, Walt Disney's formal office. There were some other great pieces from Walt's lifetime like the 20-foot model Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the Mary Poppins costume and even an autographed Mary Poppins book by the author P.L. Travers with an inscription for Walt Disney! There were so many things to choose from, I felt like a kid in a candy store.

There were so many amazing treasures but I think my favorite was a telegram from Walt to Roy. This, I believe, is one of the most important pieces of Disney history, this is the telegram Walt sent Roy when they had lost their hit character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. It is simple to cover up to Roy the terrible news walt had just been given, it reads: "Leaving tonite stopping over KC arrive home Sunday morning seven thirty don't worry everything ok will give details when arrive." Personally, I rarely trust everything is alright when someone says "don't worry" and "will give details" together. Another great piece was the script from Walt Disney's introduction of Disneyland. It is very interesting to see Walt Disney's handwritten notes and how he changed the lines of the script to seem more natural.

These are just some of the amazing things to see at the Walt Disney Archives exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. This is the first part of my experience at the Walt Disney Archives exhibit and will post the  other two parts soon. Hope you enjoy and make sure to head out and see the exhibit yourself before April 2013 when the exhibit closes!

A Couple visits Disneyland EVERYDAY of 2012!

I just wanted to share a pretty awesome story I read on the Disney Parks Blog site yesterday as I was prepping for my own New Year's celebration. I found this story incredible, yesterday a couple by the names of Jeff Reitz and Tonya Mickesh, visited Disneyland every single day of 2012!

How incredible it must of been to be them and visit the Disneyland Resort every day of 2012! Now I found this an even greater feat as 2012 was a leap year so that meant that they visited Disneyland 366 times last year. Now I may  have been at Disneyland for "One More Disney Day" (and stood in the freezing cold for 8 hours to receive a pair of the "One More Disney Day" Ear hats) and been there for the reopening of Disney California Adventure (200 minutes to get onto Radiator Springs Racers) but this is something that I have only dreamt of. Imagine all the amazing memories to have been made during this year. And to top off the end of the year, yesterday when they entered Disneyland for the 366th time in a row, they found Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, waiting for them and presenting them with Honorary Citizenship of Disneyland and a stay in the Disneyland Dream Suite! How amazing must that have been? Here's one jealous Disney fan but I have to envy their passion!