Disney's Lost Film

Disney's Lost Film

I suppose I have to eat some crow right about now. Well, not a huge bite, but a slice none the less. Over the weekend I was sure that The Frog Princess would only push the typical Disney Princess standard and brand some more. It would live up to the idea that there's the fairy tale dream of every five year old girl that Prince Charming would come along and everything will be perfect.

Well, the movie came out and it was almost a return to classic Disney 2d animation except for one thing.. they modernized the concept of the "fairy tale". Disney has taken a lot of shit for promoting the "Princess" concept, which basically teaches little girls to be very materialistic and expect things to be handed to them or to have all of life's problems solved when a rich guy on a horse rides up and proposes marriage. The Princess & The Frog is almost a direct challenge to that entire concept - an antidote. Here's why:

Tiana is a hardworking, self-made woman who works 3 jobs to raise money to start up her own restaurant. Throughout the course of the film, she reluctantly falls in love with Prince Naveen, who starts out as a lovable philandering playboy whose sole interest is having a good time and playing music, but he slowly falls in love with her and starts to understand her work ethic, and thus wants to marry her specifically so he can help her open her restaurant, realize her dreams, all that.



Pointedly, Naveen is completely broke. There's no trace of "she's a princess, I'm a prince, let's get married so I can do everything for you" - it's presented as an equal partnership. Hell, the two get married at the end of the film and there's a big fairytale wedding, but then it cuts to Tiana using her savings to finally buy a place, which she fixes up together with Naveen, who performs at the restaurant. It is absolutely a progressive message about healthy, equal relationships.

There is no bullshit about waiting around for a rich guy to solve your problems for you. In fact, the film actively works against that concept and tears it down. There's a great scene that directly satirizes the old "blank-faced mute prince shows up and immediately dances with the princess and happily ever after" trope.



Thematically the film rejects the notion of marrying into money and being swept away by a rich guy on a white horse; instead, ambition supported by hard work is presented as the chief virtue. A very progressive, equal and supportive relationship between two people in love is presented as the fairytale dream come true. Which was, uh, fuckin' fantastic to see in a Disney movie, gotta say.

While you think it's taken a long time for a Black Disney Princess to come around, let alone one that is actually able to bootstrap her way to the top, there's a lot more to think about in terms of Disney films that should have been.. that are simply "What Could Have Been", I present to you, Fraidy Cat:



Basically, a Hitchcockian thriller with that Disney comedy twist, starring a cat. From the guys who brought you such classics as Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, The Great Mouse Detective, and Hercules. Oh, and Treasure Planet too, but that got Eisnered. The simple story of a housecat thrown into a wild adventure, all because he was accused of a crime he didn't commit.



Of course, there's a reason you haven't seen this movie. We have the executives at Disney Feature Animation to thank for that. They couldn't find enough commercial value in the movie, no Happy Meal toys, no DTV sequels, no large action figure line, so they told the head of DFA to can it. And he did. Asshole.

There is, of course, the chance that John Lasseter, who in my opinion is a trillion times better than Stainton (former head of DFA) and Eisner, could breath some life back into this quirky looking picture, but I wouldn't hold your breath. I had really been looking forward to it as I love all things Hitchcockian and I think Musker/Clements would have done a great job on this.



2002-2005 was really an awful time for Disney Feature Animation, with films being axed, East and West coast departments being shut down, people leaving the Disney studios, and the Disney Co. stockholders trying to oust Eisner. It was very depressing. That's what made Princess seem like such a calculated stylistic regression to me. Disney seemed to have concluded that their latest animations failed for being too un-conventional. So even though Lilo and Stitch was a financial success, it's also a very personal film and not part of the Disney "brand" that was established with the Little Mermaid and the subsequent 9-'s hits who had a very specific formula in terms of aesthetic and narrative/thematic content.

The whole existence of a "Disney Princesses" brand tells you everything you really need to know. Lilo doesn't fit into the homogeneous mass of roughly interchangeable story lines about pretty teen outsiders seeking 'freedom' by changing their identites, with the help of some jive-talking animal sidekicks.

But then again, Walt Disney got a bucket load of change last week, not only with this new movie but with the news that Walt Disney's grandson was arrested.

Patrick Disney Miller, grandson of the late Walt Disney, has been arrested on suspicion of illegal gun possession, authorities said Thursday.

Miller, 42, was taken into custody about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday at his home in Woodland Hills, said Officer Rosario Herrera of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations unit.

Miller was booked for "possession of a firearm by a felon" and selling ammunition, Herrera said. Information on Miller's felony background was not immediately known.

Times must be time when Walt's grandson is hard up for cash that he's selling ammunition. So hey, it looks like Disney has some change going on.

Disney Goes Back To Basics

Disney Goes Back To Basics

Today in a theater near you, Disney returns to the stuff that made them famous.. 2D animation. While we've all enjoyed the 3D and CGI fest that they have been doing, it's nice to get back to the classic 2D fun that made Disney great. Yes, the Disney Princess magic is back!

The movie takes place in Louisiana. It is consistent with all the folklore of that state. So in saying that it's pretty clear to see why the bad guy is literally a voodoo doctor. I'm sure religious groups will give Disney a lot of shit for this in itself. When will Disney make a villain that is a rich white developer set on demolishing the local teen center to make room for a gentrified strip mall.



They've been making these Disney Princess movies for almost 100 years now and there's one about Chinese, Indians and even the fish people but it took until 2010 to include blacks.. and she turns into a frog at the end of act 1. Way to go, Disney! Yup, she'll spend a good amount of time during the film as a frog, not as a black princess. What will the ACLU say about that?

Oh, it's nothing new. Disney is a vile parasitic corporation of racist, fascists, misogynists and animal abusers which has never contributed anything of any value to the world and never will.... But god damn will I be going to see this sucker!



I think people are complaining because instead of taking this opportunity to provide a positive role model for kids (black or otherwise), disney is instead choosing to play into a number of stereotypes. and in fact transform the princess so she doesn't even get to be a person for most of the movie, hardly someone a child can identify with.

Maybe I'll continue to boycott Mulan, a children's movie, because it does not address the crushing poverty experience by most rural Chinese during the Northern Wei Dynasty. But perhaps the idea that the classical Disney Princess is completely dependent on her Prince gives the wrong ideas to children.. Let's take a look at the following ad.. Oddly enough, this message is not in your average Disney Princess themed movie.



I know a couple who won't let their five year old daughter watch Disney Princess movies because none of them have mothers or something. It's true though, they generally are motherless and depend too much on daddy to do things before the Prince picks up the tab and runs with it.

Here's hoping that Tiana can actually take care of herself and be her own person without the need of the Disney Prince by her side to define her. I mean, that's the bigger concern in this film. Let's just get past that whole racism stuff. This film probably wont be as racist as Peter Pan. Then again, nothing can really be as racist as Peter Pan.



Yeah, it's bad enough that they made Splash Mountain without even acknowledging what movie all the characters are from. Hell, there's parts of Song of the South that nobody sees because they've been locked in a vault for decades. It's only if you're outside of North America can you see the full version.

This isn't a critical take on Walt Disney's lack of Black heroes. I mean, there isn't very many Spanish/Latin heroes or Disney Princesses or anything. At least Disney has never released anything like this...



But like I said, we should just move on from the whole racism stuff. Let's get to the real meat and potatoes.. the return to awesome movie posters. Call me a sucker for either red heads or mermaids, but the one that was released for the little mermaid really was something that I considered art when I was much younger.

It didn't have much in terms of big name stars listed on it. It didn't have the critical praise for it or the situation where they have large floating heads of the characters plastered on it. It was simple. It was beautiful.



That in itself is a poster worthy of framing and hanging. It's very simple in its beauty and if you saw it outside of a movie theater, you would know everything you need to know about the film and want to see it. It's a nice take on the whole movie art.

So when I see a poster like this for it, I can't help but think it looks pretty cool.. Yeah, I realize that I held back from saying "Awesome". But hey, I'm trying to be a man here... A man talking about Disney films. So with that said, the following poster for this new Disney film is pretty damn appealing.



Since this story is set in a sort of modern time.. at least modern enough that you can actually study and view the areas within a few generations of when it is suppose to take place, I wonder how much that effected the production of this. Hell, for things like little mermaid they only had swimmers to work with.



Having been to New Orleans a couple of times. Both pre and post Katrina, and considering I really haven't been to the locations or areas that the other Disney films have taken place in, I suppose that adds a new element to it. It's actually real, or real enough in that regard. So it being on American soil is something interesting that I hope will come in handy from the artist and creators of this. It's always a problem if you don't get input of the source or, in some cases, the original artist you end up things like this...

Can't blame them for how screwed up it was. I mean, I also really hate it when the person I'm kissing's face falls off and turns into moths. It's almost as horrifying as if you were to see the Disney Princesses as zombies.. Oh wait, that's been done already... I can' say that the Disney Princess brand isn't being a bit progressive.. especially if we've gotten to the point of them being able to not only fend for themselves.. but now they fiend for themselves...

Green Lantern: First Flight

Green Lantern: First Flight

On Tuesday we see the release of Green Lantern: First Flight. Much like the previous Wonder Woman and New Frontier made for home video movies were, this is DC's latest attempt to capture their comic characters in animated form and frankly, I'm all for it.

But since I'm a crazy Green Lantern fan, I went ahead and saw this before it was released. Don't ask how... ok, it's pretty obvious. I mean, I was at comic con, right? So how was it, you ask? The film doesn't take any time setting up Hal's origin story. Within the first three minutes you see him get Abin Sur's ring and get suited up. While not up there with Batman and Superman in terms of how known his origin actually is, the basics are out there and understood. I would have liked some background for all those new folks walking into the Green Lantern universe.



But it just tossed you into this world of the Oans. Speaking of which, what was up with the names? They're suppose to be nameless except Ganthet who took a name and they all got pissed. I mean, what's up with the lack of comic accurately! Either way, it's a sort of blend of the modern green lantern/Sinestro Corps accessible to those who don't pick up comics monthly and aren't in the know on the history of the green lantern mythos.

To put it simply, the film is the cartoon version of Training Day. You get the good cop/bad cop out of Hal and Sinestro to degrees that you're surprised they didn't just rip off the script completely. Sinestro, which I never understood why anyone assumed he would be anything but evil with a name like Sinestro, who crosses the lines to get what he wants. At one point he's making an alien overdose on some space drug to get the answers out of her. Ah, classic stuff. You might as well have him light up a joint with his ring just to stamp it home that he's using his powers for evil.



But this isn't by accident. It bears repeating that Green Lantern: First Flight is described by the director, who also did Wonder Woman, that it's partially inspired by Training Day. I bet I could write something for the script of this if they just had told me in enough time.

_{Today's a training day, Private Jordan. Show you around, give you a taste of the business. I got 38 planets under my watch, 63 in my shared territory, another 250 I can be called to. I supervise five corps members. That's five different personalities. Five sets of problems. You can be number six if you act now. But I ain't holding no hands, okay? I ain't baby sitting. You got today and today only to show me who and what you're made of. You don't like power rings, get the fuck out of my Corps. Go back to your nice pussy Air Force job chasing Russians or something, you hear me?}

I was sort of have expecting Sinestro to say "Gorilla Grodd ain't got SHIT on me!"



And I suppose if you're not a nerd you wont get that reference as well. Oh well. Live and learn. The one thing I really didn't enjoy as much is that they didn't do much for Hal other than toss on a ring for him and made him some rookie, which I guess he was. But it would have been nice to see why he is so fit to wear the ring. Show off his father dying in a plane crash. Show some of the love interest with Carroll to set up for Star Sapphaire if they ever do a sequel.

I can't say I liked it as much as the Wonder Woman animated film. It had better voice actors and the story was a little better fleshed out to the comic world. This one is still a good and enjoyable film. But maybe my bar is set a little higher given that I really am a huge Green Lantern fan. Hell, if I ever do get married, I'll probably make it so that my wedding band is a green lantern ring. Now that's something that takes plenty of willpower.

Worth a purchase. Especially on Blue Ray, which seems to make any animated film look amazing and far more crisp. Now let's see if they do the live action film in a similar fashion.

UP, im YOURS

UP,im YOURS

It's a wonder that Pixar keeps cranking out such great movies. Though, I have to admit that this is my new favorite Pixar movie. I feel like I say that with each new movie, but it's true with this one. Holy hell, that was a fun adventure and it ripped at your heart.

One thing that really surprised me was how well the back-story for the old man was written and told, albeit i think this is one of those kids films where I might feel uncomfortable taking young children. The first ten minutes of this film are touching beyond all belief. If you're not crying by the end of the montage, you're not human and should just unplug your robot heart.



The story is about Ellie and Carl, two fun loving adventures who meet at a young age and just grow old together. I really can't do justice in words in how wonderful and how sad the opening made me feel. I'll let you go see the film and feel the same. Suffice to say, in his later years after losing his partner in life, he decides to go on the adventure that the two of them never had the chance to go on and away he goes lifting his home up with balloons.

The people at Pixar just know how to make a movie that people will care about. You care about the characters, you care about the surroundings, and you notice the changes that the characters go through the movie. That's another awesome thing that Pixar does, they create some of the most believable character arcs. In every single Pixar movie, the main character is changed in some way, and, again, in every single Pixar movie, there's no suspension of disbelief needed in regards to those changes. They know how to tell a complete story.



Something thing about Pixar is that they like to toss in stories. Toy Story had this message that on how to share and how things change around you and you need to adapt. Considering Woody had to adapt to the change that Andy was growing out of Cowboys and into Space Cadets. Bugs Life, another favorite of mine was all about socializing with others you normally wouldn't have in order to save the day.

Cars was about red-necked tow trucks or something. I don't remember. Wall-E was all about going green and so on and so on. The point is that they tell a story that not only kids can enjoy but that parents love to enjoy with their kids. That's the smartest thing possible and it leads to not pandering to children for a quick buck but giving some lessons in an entertaining manner.



Visually the movie was beautiful, really they have genuine artists at Pixar. From the style behind every object and character, to looking at how rooms were decorated or colored and then all the nature entire landscape scenes, everything was superb and it made it feel as though I was watching something more then a movie. It's kind of hard to describe other then visually poetic. I also loved watching the little facial expression nuances in each of the character.

As for the 3d, loved it. It was interesting watching the trailers shown in 3d before the movie started. Most were obnoxious, over the top, or disorienting from all the motion (other then the toystory3 teaser). I was kind of worried until the movie started. How they used it to gave fullness and life to objects rather then novelty purposes and I think was near perfect. I wouldn't want them to change a thing.



Dug was so cute. I want that dog. I think I would actually buy a Dug toy if it talked. Well, what am I talking about. This is Disney after all, of course they made the toy.

And for those of you looking for easter eggs, try to see where you can find the Pizza Planet Truck. It is a Pixar movie, after all. There's a constant law in Pixar films to have cameos and have a character voiced by John Ratzenberger.

In the end, and I mean that literally, Carl sees the final message which is particularly powerful because they didn't really need the grand adventure to South America anyway. Ellie was content with the adventure of their marriage alone. It's striking since it basically tells the audience to enjoy the adventure of their lives now and not to dwell on the regret of what they could not accomplish in life.

If I can only convey my opinion ofthis film in one image, it's this

WB Gives Me A Gift

WB Gives Me A Gift

I worked at a lot of different studios in my time in the industry but I never worked at Warner Brothers. So it's a bit of a wonder why they decided to give me a birthday gift. An animation mural



First a little back story. The old WB animation mural was around for a long time and then it was taken down.

Here’s a sure sign of the apocalypse — or at least the end of a local cartoon landmark. Warner Bros. has quietly removed its huge Looney Tunes/Hanna-Barbera/Warner Animation mural (above) during Christmas week. Bugs Bunny and company have adorned the Burbank studio at Olive and Pass Avenues for over 15 years.

I was driving past the studio yesterday when I noticed (and snapped the photo below) the mural was gone. To give them benefit of the doubt, perhaps they are going to replace it with an even better graphic of Bugs Bunny and crew. I hope so… but who wants to bet that Harry Potter or the live action Dark Knight will soon be guiding us toward the Cahuenga Pass.

This drove many people bonkers because it was a nice view when you were going from Burbank to Hollywood. A nice beacon of a childhood.. or more of just my inner child enjoying the action of animated characters. Either way, it was really cool.... and it was removed.


Ah.. memories.

For some time now it has been bare of anything interesting. Causing time to go just that much more slower when stuck in traffic here. That is till my birthday, of course..

Warner Brothers to Unveil new Animation Billboard.

Warner Bros. Animation is hosting a celebration of nearly 80 years of classic animation with the public unveiling of the new Warner Bros. Animation billboard (the first such update in 15 years), featuring beloved characters from Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera and DC Comics.

The evening festival event will feature entertainment, prizes and fun, for families and fans, including a performance by the Beat Freaks, the all-girl dance crew from the 2009 edition of AMERICA'S BEST DANCE CREW.

Come dressed as your favorite DC Comic super hero (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, etc.) or other Looney Tunes or Hanna-Barbera character. There will be prize giveaways, including tickets to the Warner Bros. Studios VIP Tour, as well as DVDs, toys and more. Meet Bruce Timm, James Tucker and Glen Murakami, the creative team who bring your favorite super heroes to life. Learn from our team of animators how to draw your favorite characters. Refreshments will be provided.

Visitor check-in is located at Warner Bros. Gate 3 (Parking Structure), across from the Gate 2 entrance to the studio lot. Everyone attending the show must have a valid photo ID available for security purposes.

Again, this takes place on the 7th. It being the glorious day of my birth just leads me to wonder on how long they were planning to give me this wonderful gift. Now everyone driving from Burbank to Hollywood will see and enjoy my new birthday gift. I don't mind sharing with everyone, though I guess it would have been nicer to get an actual gift for myself. But enjoy folks, I laid down a birthday wish for this and you're all going to enjoy the fruits of my date of birth.


Someone took an eraser to this master piece!

The only question is what if it's not cool? I mean, what happens if they don't use the coolest shots of Brave and the Bold on there? Will they use a Bruce Timm/Paul Dini Batman on there? What about the Animaniacs? Will they finally take my advice and turn the water tower during the Holidays to include those monkey children on there? Only time will tell.

I applaud you, WB. But don't expect me to come in a super hero costume. It's my birthday, if I'm going to wear any suit, it'll be my Birthday one. Well, for that matter don't expect me to come in at all. But I'll still accept the gift.

Here's a little sneak peak at what is going to be one hell of a kick-ass mural (all for me!)


HALL OF MOTHERFUCK'N JUSTICE, BABY! W00000000000HOOOOOO! Getting my nerd on. WOOP!

Sweet Coraline

Sweet Coraline


Ohhh, sweet Caroline, good times never seem so good

I should set the record straight, I've liked Nightmare Before Christmas long before it was cool to like it. Not trying to sound like... ok, no - I am trying to sound like an elitist. back when it was released it wasn't released under the Disney banner. It was too "adult themed" for kids in Disney's taste. The same company that allows their duck to walk around without pants was a bit uppity so they released it under the Touchstone company logo. This also happened with Who Framed Roger Rabbit because it had a curvy redhead in it.

For years after the release you would see no mention of NBC from Disney. They didn't acknowledge it. It wasn't as bad as Song of the South, but it was still pretty much something they didn't want to claim. Like the retarded cousin you don't claim during the family outing. You wouldn't see any sort of merchandise for it. Over in Japan though, Jun planning had the licensing for the movie and marketed the shit out of it. I would have to import all my nightmare before Christmas crap from Japan.


The sort of shit you wont normally find at Hot Topic

Around 2000-2001, Disney got on the ball and started mass marketing anything they could with Jack Skellington's face on it. Hot Topics around the states were filled with crap of it. It would have been a good thing if it wasn't all shit and didn't saturate the market so that every kid, not even old enough to remember the release was wearing the pumpkin king's skull on their chest. It looked tacky.

So consider my surprise when I heard that Henry Selick was going to adapt a Neil Gaiman book to film. While I love Neil Gaiman and his leather Jacket wearing coolness in his finely crafted words and stories, color me not surprised when this book becomes the next big merchandising machine for the Hot Topic crowd. You might as well get Jhonnen Vasquez working with Tim Burton to bring about something that will get everyone eating up anything and everything they'd toss money at for.


Stop Motion is a lot of work

I was still excited to see the movie. Don't get me wrong, I loved the book and the idea of one of my favorite stop motion animators working on it was great all around. So what could I complain about? If I stopped liking anything that was embraced by the emo/goth/whatever is considered the "outside" of the time, I wouldn't have anything to like.

Here's a little video of the hard work put into this

Pretty impressive... and just flat out pretty all around.

Stop motion in general peaked my interest when I was very young. I did a couple of pieces with an old 8mm camera. I'm sure they're buried somewhere. So I understand the hard work it takes to get something like this to actually look not only good, but to run smoothly.


Big sets for little pieces

While I normally scoff at 3D gimmicks, I had heard that this one didn't pander with cheap 3D gimmicks like throwing things at the 4th wall for the sake of getting a cheap 3D popup scare. It's subtle. If anything, you're just seeing the difference in the depht of field between characters and objects. Some things pop out more than others and the only really obnoxious 3D 4th wall break effect seemed to be a flying triangle and a couple of vampire dogs going your way. I'd say it's well worth the extra amount they charge for a 3D viewing.

If you're still interested in seeing it in 3D, Arclight is still showing Coraline in 3D while other theaters moved on to the Jonas Brothers shit film. So don't believe the hype of those ads about it being your last weekend to watch it. I suppose it's only true if you live in some bumfuck backwoods town. In which case, you might as well move to somewhere better.


Why hey, it's a book.

Back to the film, while it did deviate a good amount from the book, I did realize that the changes made to the movie work in the context of the movie format. You can't have Coraline talking to a cat. You need to add another kid her age for exposition. Good job on that. So while the book was short and sweet, the movie was also well crafted and just as fun.

The film sort of reminded me of Jan Svankmajer's work. Particularly his ALICE film. Except far less creepy. What with the sawdust coming out of the creatures. It was practically taken straight out of ALICE for that matter. Again, that movie was really creepy. Really really creepy.


A girl with many faces

Most of all I really did like the character design. Coraline's facial expressions were amazing for being individually created. A single line of speech took many face changes to come across as actual dialogue. Her mouth always seemed to be slight off to the left side of her face. It really did add to the character. I don't care what goth kids are going to grab on to this, Coraline looked adorable.

My issue is how can you have a movie this innovative, this creatively designed and ripe with potential for a video game and yet you only have a video game out for Wii, DS and PS2... PS2? Seriously? Who the fuck even has a PS2 anymore? You can't come up with a PS3 game? You know, take advantage of this new generation of graphics and memory capcaity and create a game that is worthy to the film it is based on?



You have things like jumping mice circuses and this whole garden that's amazingly detailed and you can't bump it up a notch when making a game? It did take three years to make this film, don't you think that's enough time to market and program a game that's to the same caliber?

How about a little big planet style of lay out? Speaking of which.. was that sackboy in the trailers for Tim Burton's 9? But enough about Burton, lets not mix him up in here before everyone confuses this as a work of his as they did when they marketed James and the Giant Peach.



There was no Denny Elfman score. There wasn't the Burton swirllie designs. It was entirely Gaiman's and Henry's designs. So I'm really greatful for that. While I love Tim Burton, I think the Corpse bride had its issues and I'm glad that it didn't crawl into this, as much as others believe that all things attached to NBC are all Burton.

The movie had an amazing score. I loved the music in every aspect. It's unique and odd, but it fit the tone of the movie, and it really fit with Gaiman's usual style as well. They Might Be Giant's wrote The Other Father's song. That's simply awesome in every aspect possible. It doesn't hurt to hear They Might Be Giants on the soundtrack.

There it is... Though just cause I posted it doesn't mean you don't have to see the movie anymore. GO! WATCH IT!

This movie also had a lot of fan service for those who followed it through the making. As Laika Entertainment sent many bloggers little goodies treats in mystery boxes. It was a very interesting to see who was getting what. All of them had a little piece of the film and were hand crafted in very limited number sets. Some got animation doll parts, others got pieces from the set. In total there was 50 or so boxes shipped out and not all of them have been reported on. So who knows what's out there left to be uncovered.



As for the Jerk wad aspect. It's just a code. You have to go to the official site. Go into Coraline's bedroom and click her nightstand drawer. Enter the password and you can be signed up for a drawing to win Coraline Nike shoes. Not much, but it's something. The director also wanted it to be Coraline's nickname for wybie.

Go see it before you don't have a chance to experience this on the big screen.