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With Lilo and Stitch in 2025, What’s Significantly Bad Isn’t All That Extremely Good

Disney really should stop remaking fond classics, especially with Lilo and Stitch, and simply concentrate on coming up with original material.

Spoiler Alert

The live-action Lilo and Stitch movie will not please everyone, and when it’s significantly different from the original material, not everyone is going to enjoy it. When this young girl’s relationship (wonderfully played by Maia Kealoha) with Myrtle (Emery Hookano-Briel) is nonexistent, I groaned. Their conflict makes up a significant part of the series as this rival believes her family is better than most Polynesians. To be exact, this girl has a superiority complex. And as for the two aliens who would eventually become friends with the title characters, even I was wondering why change them up that much?

A lot of the humour comes from Jumba’s mad god complex and Pleakley’s belief he knows this world. Even in the alt-universe versions of the series, the new showrunners never changed their purpose; and I’ve looked at both Stitch! and Stitch and Ai (review links) to know why some characters stick around. Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnussen are decent when performing their own stuff, but when trying to live up to the past material, they really do not measure up.

Without this double act done proper, what’s presented doesn’t make too much sense. I wanted to hear the big hippo hybrid speak with a Russian accent. As for the one eyed alien, what made him a fan favourite is because of all the cross-dressing ventures. Even in human form, to see Billy confused about gender roles and still wear a dress would’ve been a hoot, but it was not done! Continue reading “With Lilo and Stitch in 2025, What’s Significantly Bad Isn’t All That Extremely Good”

Disney’s TRON is not Dead! Exciting Thoughts on Where This Franchise Will Go.

The good news is that Disney’s TRON franchise is not dead. Whether Flynn lives remains to be seen. As for where director Garth Davis will take this world, it’s definitely not going to be in our reality. This up-and-coming talent is best known for his biographical drama Lion, and the plan is no doubt to make this film roar. The working title is TRON: Ares—perhaps a nod to the God of War?—as revealed in a tweet that has since been modified.

Disney previously scrapped plans for a direct sequel to Legacy, leaving the reasons undisclosed. Many fans feared all future possibilities had been derezzed. Thankfully, that’s not the case. Shanghai Disney Resort has featured the Lightcycle Power Run roller coaster since 2016, and with its proper U.S. debut in 2021, interest in this property clearly isn’t dead—it’s just been idling in standby mode.

Variety reported yesterday that Davis will direct the new film, with Deadline first breaking the story. He’s still a newcomer to Hollywood, but his 2016 film Lion clearly caught Disney’s attention.

Continue reading “Disney’s TRON is not Dead! Exciting Thoughts on Where This Franchise Will Go.”

Daring to Defy the Odds; Dumbo, a Movie Review

Had the story diverted to finding Dumbo’s herd and capturing more, I would be hooked. Technically, this era was one of exploration and such practices were not unheard of.

Disney’s film entertainment division really need not turn all their past animated hits to live-action spectacles. That said, Dumbo is the latest and while it looks terrific in a post-World War I America setting, none of the backstories matters. Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) comes home to his two kids, Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins) who have been living at the circus. Prior to being sent off to fight for his country, the father was part of a circus act–a headliner.

Before anyone can yell, “It’s showtime!” enter the elephant’s mother and the birth of a big-eared baby pachyderm. The CGI is decent, but the emotional performance is hit and miss. Unlike Gollum, and other animated critters, who have graced cinema in the past, to convey fear and grief is only as good as understanding the creature itself.

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Debugging Lenovo + Disney’s Star Wars: Jedi Challenges

by Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Lenovo + Disney’s Star Wars: Jedi Challenges is an imperfect augmented reality game. This product can be ordered direct from the manufacturer or online. Best Buy had this product as an exclusive before the movie The Last Jedi. Fans lucky enough to get this product as a gift were no doubt excited, and hopefully, they did not have to return it as not all smartphones work. This product supplies the hardware to play and the software needs to be downloaded. This game is definitely for the lightsaber enthusiast. Trials of Combat, provides one heck of a workout for the arms and the other two (Insight and Leadership), knowing some board game battle strategy helps.

However, one huge problem exists: The tracking beacon (aka the Holocron) is supposed to indicate where the “floor” is. When I held it in my hand, the software did not recognize how close it was to my face and the hologram being projected did not scale down like it is supposed to (as seen in the series). I was often staring at the lower part of the map or my opponent’s feet.

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Zootopia Shows a Lot of ♥ for a Great Detective Story!

Disney’s busy and animated Zootopia is nicely paced to show the pair racing against time to find the missing animals.

Zootopia Movie Poster Buried in Disney’s Zootopia is plenty of charm. This world is built on trust and Charles Darwin‘s On the Origin of Species. A long, long time ago, the fauna evolved to stand on two legs and develop civilization. Through some means that we are not meant to know, they have become human. Unlike LEGO Legends of Chima, evolution came magically and the legend beasts are those who chose to remain in their primal form. This movie nicely looks at a growing problem in the metropolis: a handful of people are going missing and the reasons why are not clear. This movie is surprising by not putting in an Olivia Flaversham (The Great Mouse Detective) cameo.

Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) is an idealistic bunny who dreams of making a difference. From an early age, she wanted to be a cop. Despite a few difficulties in size and standing out in Police Academy, she manages to be top of her class. By the time she gets her first duty at Zootopia Police Department, she gets assigned meter-maid duty. Police Chief Bogo (Idris Elba), a cape buffalo, does not think she is capable for other work. When a pleading Otter comes knocking at Bogo’s door and Officer Hopps is present to represent the sympathetic arm of the force, he reluctantly allows this rookie to turn detective, or face being fired.

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The Jungle Book Teaser Trailer Gives Me the Shivers

By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

JungleBook While we are all gawking at what Walt Disney Studios has planned for us with their Star Wars movie line-up and merchandise tie-ins, Disney is reminding us why they are a movie-making media powerhouse and that it’s not just about a story in a galaxy far, far away. With the release of Disney’s The Jungle Book trailer, the story is closer than we think. In fact it is here on Earth.

Rudyard Kipling’s tales of a boy-cub who manages to survive in the darkest of jungles receives new life by leaving Disney’s hand-drawn animation roots and embracing a live action and CG mix. And if I were asked, “Does it work?” my answer is yes.

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