Tag: Disney

Baring Down on Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book & Fond Recollections of a Tale Spin

THE JUNGLE BOOK

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Disney‘s live-action update to The Jungle Book shares a few visual and narrative similarities with its 1967 counterpart. While it’s a fun nod, I thought the nostalgia was unneeded. In what I enjoyed was a look at a darker, if not more violent, road to adulthood for a child found in the woods. A few scenes will most likely frighten toddlers but for youths, they may handle the bloodshed better. In the animal kingdom, these beasts have to scrounge for their meals and in this version, part of the tale is about the survival of the fittest.

Part of why I love this world is because of Tale Spin . This Disney Afternoon cartoon used characters from this work, introduced new ones (Don Carnage is a hoot) and placed the irrepressible Baloo the Bear (voiced by Phil Harris in the ’67 film, Ed Gilbert in the ‘toon and Bill Murray in this live-action film) in the lead role. Murray nails the adorability factor easily. While there’s no denying Gilbert was following in Harris’ footsteps for tonality and characterization, the generational factor is key to defining which version is going to be the most loved.

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Indiana Jones Returning for a Fifth Film Says Disney

“Indiana Jones is one of the greatest heroes in cinematic history, and we can’t wait to bring him back to the screen in 2019,” said Disney Chairman Alan Horn.

IndianaJonescloseup1Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg will be returning together to the big screen on July 19, 2019, in an as-yet-untitled fifth Indiana Jones film reported The Walt Disney Company. The latest installment in the franchise will see Harrison Ford step into his role as the adventurous archaeology professor Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones, 11 years after 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Spielberg who is returning as director first worked together with Ford in 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. The original film saw Indiana chase after Nazis in order to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant. The film introduced the characters of trusted ally Sallah (John Rhys-Davies), museum curator Dr. Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott), and love interest Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen). Elliott passed away in 1992. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull saw the introduction of the son of Indiana Jones, Mutt Williams played by Shia LaBeouf (Fury, Transformers). It is not known at this time if Davies, Allen and LaBeouf will reprise their roles in this latest outing.

Franchise veterans Kathleen Kennedy (Jurassic Park, Star Wars Episode VII – The Force Awakens) and Frank Marshall (Back To the Future, The Bourne Identity) will produce.

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Disney Kingdom Imprints Upon Marvel Their Haunted Mansion!

The first issue of Haunted Mansion is quick to read and it does not offer any new lore that is not already known. The introduction by writer Joshua Williamson is one huge setup for the encounters Danny eventually has to face, namely in meeting the Pirate Captain and taking him down.

Haunted Mansion Comic Book CoverLong time fans of Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction will no doubt recall the lame attempt at creating a movie universe to encompass all that is scary about the building. The representation was basically mixing up the Southern American Gothic tradition with the comedic cheekiness that only Eddie Murphy can play up. The scares were minimal, and it was more stylized in the vein of being hilarious instead of haunting. Had that film been more in the style of Tales from the Crypt, then some viewers might have appreciated the movie more.

Slave Labour Graphics Comic’s take of the mansion’s mysterious past (printed 2005-7) is a wonderful treatment. It had a great sense of novelty and esoteric design in the many stories told within its many pages about how each supernatural denizen came to reside here. Sadly this company could not afford the licensing rights to continue past seven issues.

Disney’s interest to reignite this property is different. Instead of stylized one-off tales, the first issue sets up a story arc where young Danny will have to become a hero. Sadly, this series will run for five issues, which is even shorter than the previous incarnation!

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The Vintage Tempest’s Top Animated Picks of 2016

There’s plenty of animated films to look at in the new year. Some are more interesting than others and herein, I make my Top Animated Picks of 2016 to look forward to.

Top Animated Picks of 2016
By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

There’s plenty of animated films to look at in the new year. Some are more interesting than others and herein, I make my Top Animated Picks of 2016 to look forward to. Instead of glancing at the films coming out of North America, I’m looking world-wide and the movies I see offered get diverse.

But before I get to the list, the following are my honourable mentions: Just because Finding Dory is PIXAR and I loved Finding Nemo, that does not mean this movie will be excellent. Thirteen years have passed (an unlucky number for the superstitious) since Nemo went home. In another film, I’m thinking the cat featured in Secret Life of Pets is the next Garfield. For the story featured in Henchman, I’m figuring this film can easily fit in the world of Mastermind although this movie is developed over at BRON Studios.

Animal Crackers Movie Poster

Animal Crackers (TBD)

Not to be confused with the Marx Brothers film of the same name, this animated fare looks at a life of the Huntington family who finds a magical box of said crackers who can change the eater into the animal they have pulled out from the box. This film has promise when there is an all-star cast assembled to provide the voices.

What’s especially lovable is the fact that it’s tough not to love a cartoon that Patrick Warburton is featured in; ever since Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, he does a great job at voicing one of my favourite characters from Toy Story. Not to be forgotten, the other stars include: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Ian McKellen, Danny DeVito, Sylvester Stallone, Wallace Shawn and Raven-Symoné.

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Remembering 2015’s Best Animated Works

The best animated works came from Netflix’s streaming service. And DreamWorks offered a lot which Loved.

Disney Pixar Inside Out Movie Poster
PIXAR’s film is a strong contender come Oscar season!

2015 was very good for many fans of the animation genre. The best animated works came from Netflix‘s streaming service. And DreamWorks offered a lot which Loved. Turbo FAST’s serialized offering was okay, but in what I loved was All Hail King Julian! Other programs like Dragons: Race to the Edge, Dawn of the Croods and Adventures of Puss in Boots shows that at least the studio is dedicated.

But what does that mean for other studios? Curiously, DreamWorks has not continued 2014’s Penguins of Madagascar movie. Has Nickelodeon said no to the studio making more or has Tom McGrath, the voice of Skipper, decided to move on? Currently, he’s working on Boss Baby, slated for release in 2017.

Disney/Pixar was busy with two releases, Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur, and while I favour the prehistoric adventure more than a look at what goes on inside a little girl’s head, I do see the former being a contender come Oscar season. I do have to wonder how long Minion-mania will last. It arrived in full force because of the movie and it showed no signs of slowing down over the holidays with merchandise being deeply discounted and the film put onto home video super early!

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Thoughts on Finding Dory, First Movie Trailer Release

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

finding-dory-social-570x297

Just who is Dory remembering? Viewers will pick up on the fact that this regal blue tang fish is remembering her mother in her sleep in PIXAR / Disney‘s first trailer in the sequel, Finding Dory, due in theatres June 17, 2016.

This teaser shows that the story picks up months after the events in the first film, Finding Nemo, and as life in the Great Barrier Reef settles down. More adventures are to come when Dory starts to recall parts of her youth when she’s awake. She will no doubt set off (on her own) to discover where her family went.

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