Tag: Disney

D23 Reveals Star Wars-Themed Land

By James Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

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Chairman and Disney CEO Bob Iger announced earlier today at the Disney Expo that Disney will be building a 14-acre space dedicated to the Star Wars licensing. The new attraction will be found at both Disney’s Orlando, Florida and Anaheim, California theme parks.

Both additions will allow fans to be immersed in a whole planet populated by droids, humanoids and aliens. Visitors will be able to see a life-sized Millennium Falcon and the Mos Eisley Cantina. Each store and restaurant in the Star Wars land

Have a look at the concept art.

Where is Tomorrow in Tomorrowland? A Movie Review

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E: I’m fairly sure I’ve heard a certain orchestral riff before in Tomorrowland’s soundtrack. It’s inspiring enough to make me want to soar to new heights, to explore the imagination, to dream of brighter tomorrows and well, quite simply, not to give up hope. Director Brad Bird has a good idea to work from, and I appreciate where he wants to go with this somewhat chaotic film, but is it enough to get that darned musical mosaic out of my head?

J: While Ed is haunted by music I am more haunted at how long it took to get this movie started. Too much time was spent on the origin of our two protagonists, Frank Walker (George Clooney) and Casey Newton (Britt Robertson). That slowed parts of the film down, when they really should have focused more on chase scenes involving the robots who were after them.

E: A lot of time is spent on Newt (that’s my nickname for her) and her obsession with finding Tomorrowland.  That place is almost like Jurassic Park in ruins when she finally makes it there and no, that’s not where the song is from. Instead of being faced with terror (well, there are those robots), they need to find answers as to why the future is doomed.

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Two Otaku’s Hopes for a Big Hero 6 Sequel

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)
and James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

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Just what can fans expect from a sequel to Big Hero 6? The standard response is only if a great story exists to warrant a continuation. That was what co-director Chris Williams told CinemaBlend a week or so ago. But with an Academy Award under their belts, rumblings from voice actor Genesis Rodriguez and very good sales since this title’s release, to not continue in this cash cow can be considered remiss.

With news that a Frozen 2 sequel is indeed in the works, to not continue forth with another animated superhero action-adventure film will have some folks petitioning for a continuation somehow. A comic book follow-up is easier to create and a television series will not necessarily be as exciting as the movie. Sometimes the seeds of how a new franchise can grow are nestled into the first film and they may get explored when expanding a world is required.

From Big Hero 6, what we do know is that:
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Are Destinys Decided After Going Into the Woods to Sing and Dance?

Unless Disney fans love musicals, their adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical Into the Woods is not worth rushing out to see.

(or just how many D words can I use
to describe this Disney Film)

Into the Woods

Unless Disney fans love musicals, their adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical Into the Woods is not worth rushing out to see. Even weeks since its premiere, it’s showing signs of not necessarily being a timeless masterpiece since its Broadway debut in 1987. Although the movie version is certainly faithful to themes the creators wanted to explore, the alterations made to make it more widely accessible as a film is only one part of the problem. Although they were consulted for approving the changes, some bits were for the best and others for the worst.

In what gets explored in the film are that of each character’s darkest desires getting revealed when they enter the woods. The further they go, the more trouble they get into. And the lengthy discourse in setting up each of them (when there are six) can be detrimental to the length of the product. As a two-hour film, the struggle is with keeping audiences entertained in its prolonged pace.

The music heavy intro does not work in its set up about a poor baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) wanting a child, a needy girl (Lilla Crawford) possibly named Red demanding attention, an adventurous boy named Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) daring enough to tempt fate after selling off his favourite cow, a tawdry lady known as Cinderella (Anna Kendrick) yearning to go to a three-day ball and a wicked witch (Meryl Streep) showing that there is more to her than meets the eye. These character’s misdeeds can lead to the death of them all.

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Disney Infinity’s 2015 Roundup

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Screen-Shot-2013-08-27-at-2Disney Infinity video game enthusiasts will be in for multiple treats next year. In an interview with Computer and Videogames, Disney Interactive’s John Vignocchi and John Blackburn teased at the inclusion of the Star Wars universe. If there’s a date to guess at, that may come to coincide with the theatrical release of Episode 7: The Force Unleashed. The new hope is that not only the classic quadruplet —Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo and Chewbacca — be featured in this toy line but also the characters from Star Wars: Rebels. Patches to the game engine will be required if the Force abilities and lightsaber actions are going to be fully realized.

The likelihood of seeing the live action film translated over to the toy franchise first is slim. To see the original cast in their youthful form is most likely not even in the books. In order to get the attention of older fans still into gaming, this company will be very remiss not to. For new legions missing the CGI from the TV series, hopefully all the figurines will have a Clone Wars style look to them.

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Looking for Meaning behind Disney’s Maleficient, A Movie Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

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The only reason to see Disney’s Maleficent is for Angelina Jolie. She has the fire to play the faerie queen in all her glory. There’s a regal quality in her performance, and a spark of remorse for what she did: to curse Sleeping Beauty. But in what transpires, the character she plays demonstrates what faerie-kind can be like when forced to deal with humanity. They are nothing like the types created by William Shakespeare, although a few of them do come close.

Maleficent’s role model may well be Morgan Le Fay from the time of King Arthur. Annoy her, and she will send the Green Giant after you! But in this film, clip her wings, and you will invoke her wrath until the end times come. Maleficent is a vision of beauty, a Queen for all Faerie-kind that lives in her realm, and her freedom and mood is tied into the wings that she wears. They can be as soft as down and as majestic as an eagle’s. Most fae-folk have wings like that of a butterfly or an insect; they symbolize more than just freedom. They reflect the essence of an individual’s soul. When they are fair, an angel’s essence can be as gentle as the wind. When they are black and folded like that of a bat, thoughts about what Dracula is comes to mind.

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