More Enchantment...

It appears that Walt Disney Pictures is moving forward with a sequel to "Enchantment" finally...

There was talk before it even came out about moving quickly to have a sequel ready to go. But despite the fact that the film was a hit, it turned out to not be the blockbuster that Disney was hoping for(Budget: $85 mil, Domestic: $127.8 mil, International: $212.7 mil). So they shifted into slow... then neutral.

Finally, it looks like things are starting to move forward. Jessie Nelson has been hired to write the script and Anne Fletcher has signed on to direct. The original producers Barry Josephson and Barry Sonnenfeld are again on board, but original screenwriter Bill Kelly and original director Kevin Lima sadly won't. It appears that there are looking for a late 2011 release date, but being as there isn't a script yet, that plan is tentative. The cast are expected to return as their contracts include sequels.

Developing...

Hat Tip to /Film.

Make Tonight, An Enchanted Evening...

Today " Enchanted " is released on DVD...

Go out and get a copy of this wonderful film. Sweet, endearing and charming to the last... and that's just describing Amy Adams herself. Seriously, it's a fantastic movie. You won't waste your time or your money.

Make it a "movie-in" night...

Blue Sky Disney Review: Enchanted

Wow...

Does Disney have a hit on its hands or what?

Walt Disney Pictures' "Enchanted" isn't what I was expecting. I was thinking I'd see a smart-elect parody that makes fun of the classic Disney Princess films with a nod and a wink. It's not a satire so much as it's really a twist on the old formulaic Disney/Happily Ever-after tales.

The script by Bill Kelly(Blast from the Past, Premonition) is really clever. It gives respect to all those films we love(Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, etc.) while striking out new territory that plants it in the 21st Century for sure. I think Kevin Lima(Tarzan, 102 Dalmatians) was perfect to direct this film. He has the right sensibility to take a movie that moves from animation to live-action following a Disney frame of mind. Amy Adams is the new Julie Andrews... really. This is her "Mary Poppins". She leaps off the silver screen and practically says: "I'm a star, world! Look at me!". Patrick Dempsey is great as the real world Prince Charming, grounded in reality as a divorce attorney that doesn't believe in fairy tales, yet winds up falling in love with a literal one. James Marsden has never been cast in a role that was so perfectly fit for his otherworldly good looks. He's perfect as a perfect prince that really doesn't turn out to be what you expect him to be. Or what others expect him to be. In fact, all the cast are great... even the underused Susan Sarandon as the evil Queen.

I won't go into spoilers, it would be like turning to the last page of a children's storybook to find out what happens. But C'mon. Let's face it... we all know what happens in tales like these.

This is a perfect date movie. This is text book example of a film to take your little girl to. Fathers all over the world will be sitting down with their daughters watching this on DVD for years to come. It's a film like they used to make before Hollywood tried to create movies for nitch markets. It's a film that appeals to all segments of an audience while not talking down to any of them. Disney's been having a banner couple years at the Box Office of late, and it's going to continue with this one. I hope that the Suits at TeamDisney don't make unnecessary sequels to this just for the all mighty dollar. Not that I'm against one for this film. If they find a great idea or come up with a great screenplay, then by all means make it... but don't tarnish this diamond ring by having a Cracker Jack ring follow it. Let it stay out there and become the classic Disney tale it was meant to be and don't make a "cheapquel" to it. John Lasseter has already put an end to those over at DisneyToons, I hope Iger doesn't let them start up a new batch over at Walt Disney Pictures.

Now I'll get off my soap box and finish by saying don't wait for the DVD for this one. You really should find a couple hours on this holiday weekend to see "Enchanted"... it's truly a movie to be thankful for.

Enchanting Reviews...

The guys over at Aint It Cool News have posted a wave of reviews of Walt Disney Pictures "Enchanted". From Harry himself, Massawyrm to several others that attended the Austin screening. Almost all of the reviews are not just positive, but extremely positive. There's only one that puts a downer on it. Check them out for yourselves. Click over to have a looksie...

Also of note, the Mouse has changed its plan to attach the new Goofy short to "Enchanted"... instead it will be premiering in front of "National Treasure 2". So Nick Cage gets the honor of appearing after Goofy...

The Beginning Of The Third Golden Age...

We've talked about Disney animation from over the generations. From the First Golden Age which began with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" to the Second Golden Age which began with "The Little Mermaid", although if you follow Blue Sky Disney regularly know that I think it started with "The Great Mouse Detective", low box office or not.

Well, ever since the Walt Disney Company bough Pixar Animation Studios, people and by that I mean mostly we Disney Geeks have been asking...

When will the Third Golden Age begin?

Some people believe that it began with the purchase of Pixar and the ascending of John Lasseter to Lord of creativity over all Disney animation and Imagineering...

Many believe that next year when Walt Disney Animation Studios opens up "Bolt", the first animated film to have the full influence of Uncle John, that that will be the beginning...

Others feel that when hand drawn animation makes a return with"The Princess and the Frog" premiere in 2009 that will mark the beginning of the Third Golden Age...

I believe that the beginning of the Third Golden Age could come much sooner...

And it may not even be all animated. Walt Disney Pictures "Enchanted" is a live-action film with only 15 minutes of animation. But the story is pure Disney and it more than "The Princess and the Frog" marks the return of 2D animation. Now, sadly the animation is not by WDAS... James Baxter Animation, headed ironically by James Baxter is doing the animation. Now James used to work for Disney so that counts for something. You may remember he animated a character known as Belle from a little known film called "Beauty and the Beast" or another animated femme fatal named Jessica Rabbit? If that's not enough then let your fears subside with the knowledge that the animated sequences were overseen by Disney Legend Andreas Deja himself to make sure it was up to Disney quality.

The success of this film will hopefully shove a dagger into the back of the statement that "2D is Dead"... from what I've heard and seen it looks rather promising. The problem with animation at the Mouse has ironically never been animation.

It's been story.

When you rule by committee and have a large bureaucracy overseeing a story it will come off confusing, complicated and sometime dull. Welcome to the world of Disney animation of the last few years. Not that there haven't been a few gems, but the Suits attempts to stake out ground in the Creatives camp so as to lay claim to a films success was the real reason these films were box office disappointments. Not that people were enamored with Pixar and it's lovely computer animation. Pixar dazzled with amazing visuals, but what people kept coming back for was there attention to story.

It appears that "Enchanted" may have captured that long lost art of... story. And if it becomes a blockbuster then we can all know where the Third Golden Age began.

What an enchanting thought...

Enchanted International...

I've always liked many international movie posters better than the domestic versions. I even have a French version of the movie "Gladiator" framed and in my house... very artsy and much better than the version theaters had displayed in America. Here's one of the foreign posters for Walt Disney Pictures "Enchanted". Very "Snow Whitish", don't you think? I like the dark tone of the poster.

Enchantingly Cool?

The folks over at Aint It Cool News have posted a review of one of the first test screenings of Disney's "Enchanted". It's an interesting opinion without any real spoilers... Go over and have a looksie...

Walt Disney Studios Fall Game Plan...

Walt Disney Studios officially announced their fall line of films this week.

The slate includes three prominent movies featuring stars such as Steve Carell, Nicholas Cage, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey.

THE GAME PLAN

September 28, 2007

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Roselyn Sanchez, Kyra Sedgwick, Morris Chestnut, Madison Pettis, Gordon Clapp

This film directed by Andy Fickman and written by Nichole Millard & Kathryn Price tells the story of superstar pro quarterback Joe Kingman, whose Boston-based team is heading for the championship. Kingman is the ultimate bachelor, totally self-center superstar: he’s rich, famous and the life of the party. But this dream is suddenly sacked for a loss when he discovers the 7-year-old daughter he never knew he had – the product of a last fling before parting years ago with his young wife. Now, during the most important time in his career, he has to figure out how to juggle his parties, practices and dates with the newfound ballet classes, bedtime stories and dolls that come with his daughter. Equally perplexed is his hard-edged mega-agent, Stella, herself without a parental bone in her body. Filled with the hilarious misadventures that come with being a new father, Kingman discovers there’s more to life than money, endorsements and thousands of adoring fans: the love and care of one very special small fan is the only thing that matters.


DAN IN REAL LIFE

October 2007

Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook, Dianne Wiest, John Mahoney, Emily Blunt

This film directed by Peter Hedges and written by Pierce Gardner and Peter Hedges features comic sensations Steve Carell and Dane Cook along with Academy Award® winner Juliette Binoche star in this hilarious and touching comedy that centers around what happens when romance and family collide. Love strikes in the worst-possible circumstances for widower, single dad and popular family advice columnist Dan Burns when he falls for a beautiful stranger in a bookshop – only to discover she’s the very same woman his charismatic brother is about to introduce as his incredible new girlfriend at their parents’ annual get-together. As the weekend gets under way, Dan and Marie scramble to hide their mutual attraction to each other, resulting in a series of hilariously awkward situations. Yet, even under those circumstances, they can’t help falling in love. Dan realizes that no matter how many good suggestions he might have for other people... when it comes to romance and family, the hardest advice for a man to follow is his own.


ENCHANTED

November 21, 2007

This film directed by Kevin Lima(Tarzan) from a script by Bill Kelly is a twist on the classic Disney animated film where fairy tales meets with up with modern, live-action romantic comedy. The story follows the beautiful princess Giselle as she is banished by an evil queen from her magical, musical animated land and finds herself in the gritty reality of the streets of modern-day Manhattan. Shocked by this strange new environment that doesn’t operate on a “happily ever after” basis, Giselle is now adrift in a chaotic world badly in need of enchantment. But when Giselle begins to fall in love with a charmingly flawed divorce lawyer who has come to her aid, even though she is already promised to a perfect fairy tale prince back home... she has to wonder if a storybook view of romance survive in the real world?

The film will feature original songs from the reunited team of acclaimed composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz (“Pocahontas,” “Hunchback of Notre Dame”).


NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS

December 21, 2007

Nicolas Cage, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, Ed Harris, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Bruce Greenwood and Helen Mirren

This sequel to the surprise hit original film is directed by the original helmer Jon Turteltaub with a screenplany by the Wibberleys & Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio... heard of those last two guys? In this second tale we find treasure hunter Ben Gates once again sets out on an exhilarating, action-packed new global quest to unearth hidden history and treasures.

When a missing page from the diary of John Wilkes Booth surfaces, Ben’s great-great grandfather is suddenly implicated as a key conspirator in Abraham Lincoln’s death. Determined to prove his ancestor’s innocence, Ben follows an international chain of clues that takes him on a chase from Paris to London and ultimately back to America. This journey leads Ben and his crew not only to surprising revelations – but to the trail of the world’s most treasured secrets.

That should pretty much push us through till the holidays. Of course what isn't mentioned here is which film will get the new Disney animated short to go with it. Can you guess which one will be showing Goofy's rise back to stardom?