The End Is Nigh...

One month from today "High School Musical 3" goes out into theaters...

It's the last one to star Zach and the gang so it's the end I guess, but it's not the end of the HSM franchise. Disney is already planning a part fourth... and fifth... and so on. As long as tweens keep going into theaters and filling in the seats there will always be another class to graduate.

Lucky you, lucky me...

"The Man" Continues His Relationship With "The Mouse"...

The Walt Disney Company and comic book legend Stan "The Man" Lee's POW! Entertainment have reupped their first look pact. The new two-year deal covers everything from film, television, books, games, online and mobile entertainment.

Part of the deal including Disney greenlighting "Time Jumper", a digital comicbook series that Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will produce and distribute across multiple platforms. Disney Interactive Media Group's Disney Online and Disney Publishing Worldwide are working to create content for Lee's new properties as well.

This marks the fourth project for the Mouse and Lee, the other three being "Nick Ratchet", "Blaze" and "Tigress".

The Midas Touch...

It appears the winning streak of John Lasseter and the Lamp continues...

Pixar has an unparalleled string of successes since it's first film "Toy Story" way back in 1995. Saying that makes me feel so old... sigh.

But the fact of the matter is that John Lasseter still remains on top of the mountain of success waiting for someone to unthrone him. And we know that there are many that wish to do so. Not just to stake their own claim as the new champion, but also to diminish the methodology that Pixar has used to get where it's at. Many Suits, most around Hollywood, but a few inside the Mouse as well that can't wait for a failure so they can finally say what they've always known:

"John Lasseter is human".

Well, that would come as news to those of us that believe he walks on water. Or at least that's how you're perceived if you have faith in what Lasseter and Catmull have been working at achieving for the last few years. To not recognize all the warts and all is to raise him to some higher plain that he doesn't belong. For me it's simply a matter of valuing the positive over the negative. It's a matter of priorities and I find it far too easy to be negative towards everything these days. I know that someday a movie greenlit by John and Ed will fail. It may be an all out bomb or it may just "disappoint" at the box office, but it will happen. It's the law of averages. Nothing last forever... including the Lamp's winning streak.

Now that that's out of the way, let's move on to a more interesting take on the subject of Lasseter. The intense amount of scrutiny and pressure he has been under since Pixar was adopted by Disney. No longer just someone spending the night, Pixar is now a full fledged part of the Disney family. Everyone expects everything that he touches will turn to gold. They expect it.

There is a pressure, an expectation that John can and will deliver "Pixar-Quality" animated films as well as "Pixar-Sized" profits over the next few years. Will it happen... maybe. One never knows, but the truth is the product will be better. The stories will be better. The conception from beginning to end will be better. Now, will it have "Finding Nemo" type box office? I'm not quite sure of that. It will be a better collection of films than the last few that were conceived in a committee of Suits and Creatives. Not that there won't still be tons of notes... they just will be coming from people that actually know how to tell a story, not how to read a budget sheet.

One might wonder if Bob Iger and his team may be placing their expectations way too high for John. He is after all only human, right? From what I know Bob has his head on straight and isn't looking for "Bolt" to make a billion dollars. He realizes that there are preconceptions people have and he doesn't appear to be falling under the notion that the next Walt Disney animated film will be the box office champ of the year. Most people working on the film will tell you that the Mouse will be very happy if the film does well. Not great, but well. This first film from the new regime is going to cost a pretty penny with all the start-stop, replacing of directors, in development, story changes. A lot. A WHOLE lot... more than I can tell you, but if the film stops the slide at the box office and begins to eliminate the perception of Disney films being inferior to Pixar films then "Bolt" will have done its job and it will be well worth it.

And it'll only have set the plate for "The Princess and the Frog" which is getting good vibes inside Burbank walls. And that film will establish the fact that Disney is back in animation and "Bolt" was only the beginning... this also says nothing about "Rapunzel" which has white-hot buzz about it from people I've spoken with.

So by the end of the decade Walt Disney Animation Studios could be a world, a galaxy even, away from the world that Walt Disney Feature Animation occupied only a few years earlier. That's what happens when you can create box office gold...

You create the standard.

Disney Wins Science Fair...

Walt Disney Studios has purchased the spec script "Science Fair" after a bidding war with Walden Media whom the Mouse has been producing the Narnia series with. The price Sullivan got for the script is $275,000 against $575,000.

Described as a "Night in the Museum" type story, it concerns a science fair where all the kids projects come to life and wreak havoc upon the school. Walt Disney Studios president Oren Aviv and executive vp production and development Brigham Taylor were directly involved in the acquisition.

Kids Films Versus Family Films...

You know, I've thought a great deal about this...

Believe it or not, I have. I've debated putting up a review of my Endless Summer Movie List ever since I saw "Iron Man" last week. I procrastinated about it for a while and then decided against it. After seeing "Speed Racer" over the weekend I decided I would do a review of it; especially after seeing all the negative reviews and venom spewed at the film makers and those that liked it... and then I stopped again.

Why? Was I afraid of the reaction I'd get from readers of the blog? Not hardly(to quote John Wayne), I just thought that maybe it would be better to address the movie in a broader context... one that analyzes what people expect versus what they get. I have had as much trouble with the marketing of this film as I'm sure the marketing department of Warner Bros. had. Right from the start it was a different kind of sell that had to be done to the audience. It was made by the Wachowski Brothers who are famous for their "R" rated fare. But the trailer and the very style made it look like some bizarre kids movie. And I'm sure the people at Warner wanted to get across that it was a family movie. After this weekend, I think it's clear that they failed to do that. So this post will examine the movie and what I thought about it in terms of the difference between a "kids" movie and a "family" movie. This correlates to Disney as well since its brand is that of family films.

First, let me describe my impressions of "Speed Racer" and forgive me if I blather on a bit...

Honestly, I was amazed at the world the Wachowski's have put up on the screen. Now, before you start to whine that I'm just some geek that grew up on it and I saw it through tainted eyes... no. I actually didn't grow up on it. I mean, I am a pop-culture geek and I knew about Speed Racer. Not that much, though. I knew the song vaguely and had seen clips from time to time on the TV. Never really paid much attention about it until I heard talk of Johnny Depp playing the character years ago. Then it fell off the radar again. When I heard the Wachowski Brothers had decided to direct this as their first follow-up to the Matrix Trilogy I again didn't think much about it because I was so profoundly disappointed with the two sequels to the original(particularly the last one with its "Rodney King: can't we all get along?" ending). All this changed in December when I got my first look at the trailer.

Whoa! What the heck was that? I was unsure what to think of it at first. But I kept replaying it. I hadn't been expecting that. I was interested. My curiosity was piqued. I didn't have the reaction some had. The ones that were visceral against it from the first images. I could tell what the Wachowskis were trying to do. But I was unsure if they could do it. So I just waited. Then another trailer was released and another and yet... another. I felt I had to see this film just out of sheer curiosity. I had no idea if it would be good or bad. I know some people want to lay into the Wachowski's for their writing on the Matrix, but I've read several of their other works and find them to be very, very skilled screenwriters. I read their script for "Assassins" well before it got made into that mediocre piece of crap that Sylvester Stallone stared in years ago(trust me, it's not their fault it sucked, the movie was largely different from the script they wrote). That was when they were these fresh faced hot writers. They then sold a script called "The Matrix" that a friend got hold of and I was given a copy. I got distracted and didn't get around to reading it till later. A while later another friend got an early cut of their new movie "Bound". We stayed awake late into the night watching it... and loved it. It was a very dark, film noir and we set around talking about it. I was given a copy of the script and read it. Just like their other script it was really well written and fresh and almost exactly what you saw on the screen. I then read their gorefest "Carnivore" which was sick, sick, sick. Very twisted and totally demented. But it was also well written... not my style, but good none-the-less. Just as I was about to read the script to "The Matrix" I saw the trailer. That was one amazing trailer and I really wanted to know what it was about so I started to read the script. I got two pages in and realized I wanted to see what they had come up with before I read anymore. So I waited until I saw the film. I was able to go to a screening on the Warner Bros. Lot a few weeks before it opened with my best friend. After it was over we left the theater literally high off of the experience. To us, it was amazing. I rarely have experiences like that. That week I went and read the script... as before it was really well written and I loved it, but was amazed that it got made knowing Hollywood as I do. I then got a treat from a friend when he sent me a script called "Plastic Man". I was confused. Why would he send me a script based on a third rate superhero? One that I considered a joke of a comic book. I looked down and saw who had written it: The Wachowski Brothers. I immediately opened it and started reading... it was again, great. Very, very clever and thoroughly enjoyable. Too bad it didn't get made.

So... long way about saying it; I've been familiar with the Wachowski Brother's work for a long time. I was an admire of them until the sequels and their bizarre personal lives made me loose interest in them. And then the trailer(s). A friend of mine loaned me his copies of the old Japanese cartoon when I told him I was suddenly interested in seeing what this was going to be. So I watched them. All of them. And I liked them... I didn't love them, but found them fun and interesting; particularly for the over the top violence. If you're a fan of animation like me, you'll note that cartoons in the late 60's were nothing like this and I could see how it would interest some kids. Boys in particular. So now that I had immersed myself in this world I looked forward to seeing what they had done. The trailers had grown on me. I only hoped that the movie would as well. Unlike some, I don't hope for a film to fail. Having seen how hard it is to make one, I know the work that goes into these things and don't wish anyone in this business the pain of having worked on something for years only to have people tear it apart in a matter of minutes.

So I went to see it last weekend with a large group of friends. Friends that like myself, were not fans of the show. When the lights went down and that kaleidoscope studio icon began to swirl in front of us, I smiled. It was trippy and funny and then the movie began. So what did I think?

Just like the trailer... I've never seen a movie like it. But I did like it. In fact, I loved it. And just so you know, every single person I went with loved it. And they ran the gambit from early 20's to late 30's. We all had a blast and a few have already seen it again. I'm seeing it with a friend and his son tomorrow as well... in IMAX which should be something. I've heard a lot of people trashing this film and I can tell you that it's not a dog. It's not a bad film... simply one that was hard to market and one that pushed the envelope of what audiences would expect. Did I like it better than "Iron Man"? No, I didn't. As far as personal taste go, that one is more up my alley... but speed racer was a great big bizarre experience. It's a 21st Century family film and I believe in the long run it will become a cult classic. It's a shame that it will have to find its audience on DVD and Blu-Ray though... it was made to be seen on a giant silver screen. It truly is a trip. In every positive sense of the word. And it isn't shallow. It has a story. A deeply sweet story about family and loyalty and doing what's right when everything and everyone says to do something else. Is is Shakespeare? Of course not! It's Speed Racer, after all. The script may be light, but it is perfectly designed to move the story along to each race which is what a movie called "Speed Racer" should do. If you don't want to go see this movie then don't... it's clearly not for everyone. But if you have a kid at home or a kid in your heart you should give this film a chance to win you over. Truthfully, it's worth the experience of seeing it at least once just for the groundbreaking visuals alone.

So now that I got that out of the way... I wanted to talk about family films versus kid films. Took a little longer to get here than I thought, hmmm? A lot of people were comparing this movie to another film. One description I heard was that it was "Spy Kids on crack". Well, for me that's not a plus... I didn't like "Spy Kids". Not that it's bad or whatever, but it truly was a kids movie. Some interesting visuals, but overall not my cup of tea. It's juvenile and tells you so right up front. There is some of that in SR too, but not near as much. There is more of a story there than Spy Kids. Much more for me. The depth of the relationship between the brothers and Pops(played so well by John Goodman, btw) was well above what I got out of Robert Rodriguez's movie. Not bashing it... just saying it didn't appeal to me. But after viewing "Speed Racer", perhaps they should have marketed it more as a kids movie... because I think the problem is most families didn't drag their kids to see it, because they either didn't know that it was a film kids could watch(this is the Wachowski's remember?), or the kids didn't know that it was for them. Warner's marketing gurus didn't know how to present this to kids as pure fun. But that is what it is. Fun. Much fun...

Alas, it's a missed opportunity.

Now Disney has had some experience making family films. I think they've been doing them for what, seventy years or so... I would think by now that they've perfected it. Or at least gotten it down to a pretty good science. So what in and of itself defines a kids film or a family film?

Well, a kids film tends to aim pretty low. It usually has a story that is very limited. Very. It usually has zero character development and it tends to follow a simplistic outline with predictable endings. Family movies tend to have some of these traits, but they tend to have a much more emotionally developed plot that can engage and captivate an adult audience. Of late, Pixar is one of the best practitioners of this. With films like "Monster's Inc." and "The Incredibles", the Lamp has found a way to connect to the little kids that love to watch these films and get the parents to enjoy them enough to bring the kiddies back for a second or even third helping. And Pixar also tends to do good at bringing in the college crowd, which tends to be hard to get into what would be just a "kids" film. That's the whole reason Pixar was bough by the Mouse... somewhere along the way they had lost their barrings and weren't creating family films. At least not consistently... that was the point of having to by the Lamp. John Lasseter's taste in animation and family films is on the level of someone like Stephen Spielberg... and that is a valuable commodity in Tinsel Town.

A film that is designed to appeal to a large audience tends to have to have something for everyone. A base plot with wild characters and interesting visuals to interest kids, complex characters to interest adults and a little bit of innuendo for the college crowd thrown in for those late nights when there's nothing to do at the dorm. In a nutshell that's it. A film like "Iron Man" is a mass audience film, but it's not a family film. There's a couple scenes that establish Tony Stark's playboy persona that would put this outside the realm of family entertainment. Ironically, a Suit, a Disney Suit last year coined a phrase that helps apply to these films. I guess even a Suit can contribute something every so often. He said that "Our films will have a love story in them, but it's a vertical love story, not a horizontal one". I'll let you read between the lines on that one. A film like "Indiana Jones" is a mass audience film too, but not necessarily a family film. The same thing would apply to "The Dark Knight"... films like "Narnia: Prince Caspian" and "Wall-E" on the other hand tend to fall squarely in the family film slot. And they're made by... Disney. What a shock. The Mouse has been pretty good at coming up with entertainment for the whole family lately... partly due to the people in charge and partly due to luck(never underestimate the power of luck, friends).

All in all, a family film is a film that tends to have a longer shelf life as well. You see, those kids grow up. A film that is enjoyed by them as kids can be enjoyed by them as an adult. This gives Disney and other companies a nice benefit of selling a copy to a child and then selling it to them again in a different format when they grow up. This way, our American capitalist system moves forward and our childhood classics get preserved. See? Greed can be used for good... Everybody's happy. Then there are movies like "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" which can become such a classic when it's been in the culture over decades, or another example is how a film like "Blade Runner" can go from a bomb to a classic in a generation...

Such will be the case of "Speed Racer" in my opinion. It's going to be one of those films that's a cult classic. One that they have midnight showings of where college students will rush out to see it and love it for the insane loopiness that it is. And then there are those that will discover this at home on a Blockbuster night. Perhaps one of those Blockbuster nights will be yours, perhaps one of those people could be you...

Wall-E Finds The Funk...

I love all these introductory clips that Pixar is releasing to introduce us to "Wall-E"...

There's a great one I found over at The Animation Blog with the little robot discovering a set of headphones and figuring out how to use them. Pure physical comedy. Something of which Chaplin or Keaton would be proud...

Follow the Link.

Movies For The Masses...

Not exactly up my alley, but the new trailer for "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" is up on Apple's Trailer site.

I have a feeling this movie will make a lot of dough, but none of it will come from me... I already have plenty of films to see this summer. A screening of "Speed Racer" is coming up tomorrow... I'm excited about that one and the animals aren't CG... everything else is, but not Chim Chim. Now that's the proper way to use animals in film... don't let them talk, but let 'em drive. Anyways, being as the idea for this came from the actual story of Paris Hilton losing her own chihuahua, I thought you'd like a link to see what this film was all about...

Have a looksie.

Or not...

A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy Far, Far In The Future...

You know, as we get closer to the release of the new Indiana Jones film, I'm reminded of a talk George Lucas had where he was asked about the possibility of more Star Wars films. He stated then and many times afterwards that there would be no more films in the universe of the Jedi... instead he said, the future of Star Wars was on television. We're about to bear the first fruit of this statement these fall with the Clone Wars television series. The live-action series will air a year later on a network to be chosen once Lucas has something to show executives. This way he can ask for the best deal possible for the series and his company.

So there you have it. No more Star Wars. No more movies. Right from the Master Jedi himself...

Well, let me wave my hand and tell you something that is hidden from the mind of Master Jedi Lucas. There will be more Star Wars films.

Guaranteed.

I don't care what George says, there will be more films in that universe a long, time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

It will happen. George Lucas may not be directing them. He may not be producing them, but someone will make them. Do I have some kind of ability to see into the future? A time machine, perhaps? No, but knowing human nature I can tell you something that is obvious and neglected.

George Lucas is...

Old.

Not only that, but I have news for Sci-Fi geeks everywhere. He's not immortal and he won't live forever. We know all too well that he's human("Episode I: The Phantom Menace" anyone?). Someday, maybe ten years from now, maybe twenty years from now, he's either going to do one of two things... or both. He's going to pass from this world and become a part of that "Force" that binds us or he's going to relinquish control of Lucasfilm to others. Perhaps he's sell it or hand it over to his children. More than likely they will license their characters or films. If they sell Lucasfilm there are many companies that would love to have the films and characters he owns. The two most prominent would probably be News Corp, owner of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation and the Walt Disney Company, owner of well, if you don't know that then you're reading the wrong blog.

In all likelihood one of those two will wind up with ownership or the rights/license to use such characters. And not just Star Wars characters either. Remember that Lucas owns the rights to Indiana Jones as well. Not to mention characters from several other films that didn't do as well("Willow" comes to mind). With a stable of existing properties like these and "THX-1388", "American Graffiti",ect. this company will look quite attractive to someone, everyone...



So do you think if one of these companies had control of this property that they would just leave it alone? Just keep releasing the movies and television shows in new formats like Blu-Ray? Not a chance. If Bob Iger ever had the opportunity to actually own these characters that the Mouse leases for its parks do you believe he wouldn't take the chance? And I don't think there would even be a question about continuing with more films. More Adventures. More profits. When Iger bought Pixar he had every intention of moving forward with new projects and cultivating the talent there. If Disney or Fox purchases Lucasfilm it would do the same as it has done with Pixar, only more so...

As well as that, there is the Star Wars fan community to deal with.



It wouldn't be an understatement to say that the fan base is dissatisfied with the Prequels. Specifically the first one which is one of the worst films I've seen. The second one was half good and half really bad Harlequin romance novel. The third one was the only one of the three to be worthy of the original. Even though I detest many parts of "Return of the Jedi"(Ewoks... sigh), it is vastly better than EP I and II. Many of the problems fans like myself and others have with EP III is as with the first two, the dialogue and the transition to the Dark Side happening so quickly. Not that there aren't other problems, but those are the most prevalent to my friends and me.

As a close friend once said to me in a conversation:

"Lucas screwed it up and it's going to be for future fans to have to correct it."

He didn't use screwed, btw. The language was a little more colorful, but the point is made. There are many film makers out there that would love to make a new Star Wars film. It's not going to happen right now, but somewhere in the future there will be some hot director or screenwriter that gets the jewel gig of reviving what Lucas himself almost killed. It may take twenty years like it did for the prequels to happen, but I have an idea that by then the wraith of the fans will be very vocal about what we like and what we don't like.

I'm sure there will be a different interpretation of Darth Vader's universe by then... in fact, it may not even be about him or Luke... I'd bet some movie in the form of "Knights of the Old Republic" will get made first. But new characters and old will occupy these films. And they will try and do justice for the universe Lucas created and forgot about. We may even get darker tales about this galaxy. Zack Snyder("300", "Watchmen") is on record as saying he wants to make an "R" rated Star Wars film with Jedi's going around with light sabers creating carnage across the universe... errr, that universe. And he's not the only one.

Remember for a time it was even talked about having Steven Spielberg directing one of these. As much as that idea makes me and other SW fans all numb, it ain't going to happen. I don't think that Steven would ever do it out of respect for George... others won't have that problem.

Imagine the headlines when someday in the future you see an announcement that a super hot writer has been signed to write the first of a new trilogy. And then just as the buzz starts to settle down a blockbuster making director is hired to direct it. The fans will start to get excited and nervous. Praying for the best, fearing the worst. I'd love someday to have Peter Jackson direct one, but that's probably just a pipe-dream from me.

But basically a lot of problems the prequels had will have to be fixed by the fans or film makers who happen to be fans. Problems had by most, but not all who saw the films. I'm sure there are people out there that like Jar Jar Binks... I'm sure some people like Jake Lloyd's wood performance as "Ani". Sign, that name alone was a big problem. But it will be left to future generations to fix the potholes that Lucas left in the construction of the road he built to the Star Wars universe. Somewhere along the line someone will fill in the stories and explanations and give us a better reason for what happened than the man that created it. The problems the prequels have are legion, but the focus that Lucas should have taken was(according to Blue Sky Disney and its inner circle of friends)...

All of EP I should have been broken down into the first half of the first film. If it was up to me(I know it isn't) it would have only occupied the first act and other two thirds would have been what you saw in EP II, minus all the crappy dialogue like "I'm haunted by the kiss you shouldn't have given me"... EP II should have been the Clone Wars. Simple as that. And EP III should have been a longer and darker decent into what made Anakin become Vader... he turns too quick. Also the Jedi should have appeared a little more wise. They are Jedi after all... From the prequels they come off as totally clueless to all that is happening around them.

THIS is the movie we wanted. The one we expected.

We didn't get it. We should have, but you get what you get... Time will go on and eventually we'll get another Star Wars film. Or maybe a trilogy? The mistakes of the past will give way to a clearer vision of the future. But enough talking about DCA's "Makeover", we're supposed to be talking about Star Wars here.

Not now, but someday in the future... perhaps when a little distance has given us more perspective and Lucas has handed over the reigns(voluntarily or not), we'll sudden get a surprise that they're about to make a new Star Wars film. Then you have to wonder, will it have that 20th Century Fox logo in front of it? Or maybe Cinderella's Castle? Don't think that could happen? Don't be too sure... the Clone Wars animated film that swoops into theaters this August has a Warner Bros. logo in front of it. It's a new world... Things change... Just as long as Lucasfilm doesn't hire Paul Pressler we should be in for a good future. Patience. Lucas isn't an immovable force... just a temporary delay. And speaking of force...

May the Force be with you.

Always.

Disney Films That Aren't (Part Two)...

The response to the last one of these was enough to warrant a sequel...

There are plenty of good movies out there that were made by others or even sometimes were turned down by the Mouse. I'm sure I won't get through all of them, but I figured we'd have another round of...

"This coulda' been a Disney film."

The last day of March we did "Part One" of this series so it's kind of appropriate that the last day of April we post "Part Two", don't you think? Without further ado...

Stuart Little

I know, I know... It's way too sweet, but it has an endearing quality to it and focuses on family values. The Littles are a family that plans to adopt a new family member. They wind up adopting an idealic, sweet young mouse named Stuart. A film about love and surviving the trials you face in a family disguised as a children's film. I've tended to shy away from all these CG films where they make realistic animals talk, but I must admit this one warmed me up to it. Now as for "South Of The Border"... I'll wait and see.

The Neverending Story

The story of a young man, Bastian, who retreats from the problems of our world into a book called “The Neverending Story”. The tale is an allegory involving the land of Fantasia whose existence threatened by an enigmatic force known as “The Nothing”. Great fun, beautiful scenes and a charming tale for families the world over.

Field of Dreams

This one could fall in the same line of films as "The Rookie", although it's far superior to that one. This "Capraesk" look at a small town farmer played with subtlety and charm by Kevin Costner, who hears a voice in his head that causes him to build a baseball field in the middle of his corn field is a great look at what makes a life have meaning. The heartwarming tale is filled with imagery and scenes that make you feel what is right about America and right about Disney.

Nanny McPhee

I actually was forced to watch this... and I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it's a blatant rip-off of Mary Poppins even if it comes from original source material. But never-the-less, it's a truly touching family picture that's good for families and a great film to show your daughter or niece and not have to worry about being bored. Emma Thompson wrote the script as well as starred in this story of a magical nanny and if the result was an example of her writing skills, I think she has a future in this business.

The Goonies

Essentially, "The Little Rascals" for the 80's or picture "Stand By Me" as envisioned by Steven Spielberg. A fun, flawed story about friends growing up in a small Oregon town that find lost pirate gold along with a family of bumbling crooks. I'm smiling just thinking about it. Stories like this would be great for Walt Disney Pictures to explore if they find the right material... hint, it's out there.

Mouse Hunt

Granted, this could easily be a live-action Warner Bros. cartoon as well. But this weird and stylized tale of a mouse that ruins the lives of the brothers who inherit the house it lives in is a fun, zany romp. Gore Verbinski("The Ring" and the "Pirates" trilogy) had a stylish turn in this, his second film. While not deep in terms of character it has one thing going for it that no other film has... Christopher Walken as an insane pest inspector. Totally funny. Now that's a character I want to see roaming around the parks.

Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the WereRabbit

Ok, truthfully... ANYTHING that Nick Park does should be under the Disney label. The guy's a genius(he's the claymation Brad Bird) and his greatest creation of the eccentric inventor and his introspective dog are perfect characters for the Mouse. This story of Wallace falling for a woman, while a savage beast resembling a giant rabbit roams the land has all the trademarks of W & G's earlier shorts... and it's charming.

Big Fish

I know not everyone is a Burton fan, but I think that this story, with a few minor alterations would be great for Walt Disney Pictures. Ewan McGregor as the young version of Albert Finney's character; a father that has told so many tales his son can't determine which are true and which are make-believe. Billy Crudup is the skeptical son in this compelling story of love, pain and the need for belief... no matter what its price. There's no reason we can't have a Disney film with a little melancholy in it and Burton's films are doused in it.

Back to the Future

Now, you could include all three of these films and say it was the trilogy that should have been a part of the Mouse, but even though the sequels are fun and entertaining, they just don't have the magic that the original does. This film was pure fun. Plain and simple. The story of a young, everyboy teen who works odd jobs for an odd inventor that designs a time machine in a modern day version of the Edsel? With all its plot twists and clever banter between the way things were in the 50's and how they were in the 80's is great. Now, if Zemeckis would just fall in love with live-action film making again, sigh...

The Mummy(1999)

As I happen to love serials and my favorite film is "Raiders of the Lost Ark", I think it's apparent that this movie would come along sometime in this series were it to continue. This Stephen Sommers film doesn't take itself as serious as the Indy films and it does carry a lot of cheese, but it's a refreshing action yarn that is the perfect thing I expect when I sit down in the dark with my soda, popcorn and milkduds. Too bad no Disney logo was before this one... Oh, well.

Edward Scissorhands

Another Tim Burton film. Also my favorite Tim Burton film(just ahead of "Ed Wood"). This modern day version of "Pinocchio", I don't know if you caught that, but it is... this story about a sweet, shy man with scissors for hands that falls for a beautiful teen in an "Idealic" Burtonesk suburb is his most heartfelt project. I think what "E.T." is to Spielberg, this is to Burton. A marvelous film that would/could easily fit into the Disney canon of films.

Matilda

The tale of an endearing little girl, who's to be a genius, and her inspiring teacher as she deals with horrible parents and a school principal that is her worst nightmare. Sweet, if uneven tale, based on the book by Roald Dahl and adapted to the screen under Danny DeVito's direction. A treat, although not a perfect one... but worthy of entry into the "should of been" category for Disney.

Big Trouble in Little China

John Carpenter's classic, cheesy play on B-movies is a wonderful film and a textbook example of what a "movie night" at a friends house should be. The story of an American truck driver that gets dragged into a centuries-old mystical battle in China Town after going to help a friend is both funny and action packed. Filled from the bottom to the brim, it never lets up and never lets us take it too seriously. Good stuff.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Ok, is there someone out there that doesn't think this deserves to be a "Disney" film? Heck, even when Spielberg finished his cut of the movie he had "When you wish upon a star" as temp music for it. This tale of ordinary people all across the earth and their experience with strange lights in the sky is mesmerizing, beautiful and poetic in its portrayal of an alien invasion that really isn't. If there is one person other than Lucas that is the heir to the Disney throne, it's Spielberg and it's also a reason why so many of his films would wind up on a list like this.

Labyrinth

This Jim Henson directed film about a young girl named Sarah left home alone to babysit her little brother. While trying to get him to sleep, she tells him a fantasy story that inadvertently brings a Goblin King from a far off land to steals the child and whisk him away to a castle in the middle of a vast labyrinth. She is told to rescue him before midnight or the brother will became a goblin forever... Cinderella it ain't, but an entertaining fantasy it is... most worth, I say.

Gremlins

This one has a lot of great names attached to it. Spielberg produced it. Joe Dante directed it. Chris Columbus wrote it. It was actually his first movie... well before we would know him as a director for such things as "Harry Potter" and "Mrs. Doubtfire", a time when he was known by a word I first became aware of... "wonderkund". It even has a cameo by the great animation director Chuck Jones. This film about a young man, given a present from his father of a little creature that doesn't mix well with water and the hi-jinx that follows once rules are violated is a great example of an 80's high concept movie. Spielberg at his producing best and well worth of the label of the Mouse.

Originals Return To Reimagined Remake...

News for the 70's Disney Geeks/Fans...

The original Hannah Montana, Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann from the classic "Escape to Witch Mountain" will have cameos in the new "Race to Witch Mountain" starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Carla Gugino currently lensing...

Eisenmann will play a sheriff, while Richards will portray a waitress at a roadhouse called "Ray's" in a small town named Stony Creek. They wind up helping Las Vegas cabbie(Johnson) and his two tween powered aliens to escape an evil group out to capture them and exploit their powers.

Interested in seeing what they do with this. I hope it captures the magic of the original and expands on it rather than creating something that waste such a good idea.

Developing...

Excelsior!

Stan Lee and the Mouse have three projects that have been developed from the colaboration between Disney and Lee's POW! Entertainment.

Richard LaGravenese (THE FISHER KING) will write and direct "Nick Ratchet," revolving around the adventures of a private eye.

Gary Goldman (NEXT) is writing the original script "Blaze", about which little is known.

Zoe Green("Wolverine & the X-Men" cartoon series) is working on a draft of "Tigress", is about a woman who starts to aquire animal feline instincts.

Stan and the Mouse want the properties to be potential franchises...

Time will tell.

Disney Films That Aren't (Part One)...

Sometimes when my friends and I go to the movies as the credits start to roll and we begin talking about what we liked and didn't like about a film, I also tend to have in the back of my head...

"This coulda' been a Disney film."

What do I mean by that? Well, usually it comes up when I've seen a film that reflects the kind of story one would expect from a Walt Disney Picture. A good story that is suitable for the entire family. One that can be enjoyed by parents and kids without talking down to either of them. One that stresses values and commitments. One that focuses on compelling characters that provide ideals and role models that keep an audience interested.

So, I know some of you are then asking... "What are some of these films?"

The Harry Potter series

J. K. Rowling's tale of an orphaned boy that is a potentially powerful wizard in a battle of good versus evil is a perfect example of this. I remember after seeing "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" thinking why didn't Disney buy this property? The characters and richly detailed story are perfectly in line with the kind of family fare that the Mouse should be putting out.

Anastasia

Don Bluth's film based on the real life princess from Russia is wonderful film about the Czar of Russia's daughter and features great animation with an equally devilish villain, Rasputin. This film could have easily had the Disney logo before it. The story and characters are pure Disney even if the distributor is not.

The Mask of Zorro

I loved this film. It should have been made by Disney. It had the perfect story, setting and actors to retail the adventures of the man that leaves behind the letter "Z". Truly a great time. I told my friend as we left the theater that this should have been made by Disney. It was a modern retelling of the old Zorro show. Disney had done it as a television show in the 50's and the Suits should have realized its potential now. Sadly, another studio beat them to it. The sequel, unfortunately was horrible... it's almost as if they forgot what made the first one good.

The Indian in the Cupboard

On his ninth birthday a boy receives an old cupboard from his brother and a little Indian figure made of plastic from his best friend. These two gifts turn out... a flawed, but sweet tale about magic and the meaning behind it. Worthy of having the castle in front of it.

A Little Princess

Alfonso Cuarón's enchantingly heartwarming and heartbreaking tale of a girl named Sara whose her father enlists to fight for the British in WWI, that travels to New York to attend a boarding school. Soon she battles with the headmistress, Miss Minchin, who belittles her and works at grinding down Sara's view that every girl is a princess(very Disney, btw). A wonderful film. This would have been a great film to have done for Mickey... actually, any film Alfonso Cuarón does would be great for the Mouse. His adult films as well as his family films, but this being a Disney site/post it makes sense going with the family film category.

Peter Pan

When I first heard of this film I was aghast... why/how remake a classic? Especially one that has been done many times on stage and screen. Of course, I've since then decided that it all depends on the approach you take with certain material. As the "Neverland" script I mentioned in my "Top 5 Scripts Not Made By Hollywood" post. I was amazed at how fresh and interesting the movie was even though I knew the story, P.J. Hogan and Michael Goldenberg's script takes the classic J.M. Barrie book and gives us a lively, inspired take that is very difficult to do with something so known and well loved. If Disney is going to remake "Alice in Wonderland" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" I hope they take this course... it would be a smart move.

Babe & Babe: Pig in the City

I know I said I don't care much for CG talking animal movies, but "Babe" was to me, a modern representation of "Charlotte's Web", with all the morals and lessons of that classic book... since then, Charlotte's Web has been made into a film, but I think that "Babe" is a better representation of it than the official adaption. Chris Noonan did a great job with the original and surprisingly, George Miller(Mad Max, Road Warrior) one-upped him in the sequel to make an equally interesting tale.

Home Alone & Home Alone 2

I'm a little hesitant calling these would be Disney films because they could also be Warner Bros. cartoons with the hi-jinx that take place throughout the story. Little Kevin getting left behind on Christmas to fend for himself against the looniest, dumbest crooks to ever break out of a cell block. The second film is essentially a remake of the first(like Terminator 2) with a bigger budget and new locations.

The Lord of the Rings series

I'd like to kick Michael Eisner's butt for letting this fall out of Miramax's hands, but perhaps it's for the best as it was originally going to be just two films and taking it to New Line helped flesh it out to one film per book... of all these films, this is truly the one that actually was going to be a Disney film or at least one of the film companies owned by the Mouse. This grand tale has everything one would want in a sweeping epic from Disney. Although I liked "Narnia", I didn't warm to it as much as this film series which had a much grander and layered story. While "Narnia" felt like a fairy tale one tells your kids, this one felt like a fantasy one reads by themselves.

The Iron Giant

Brad Bird's best film so far is his first. The utterly classic tale of a boy growing up with a single mother that is looking for a friend, searching for a father and finds both in the form of a giant robot from outer space. Set in the highly paranoid late 50's when the "Red Scare" was running across the nation. A pure delight. What E.T. is to Spielberg, this is to Bird. I only wish that it had been made by Mickey and the gang, it might have gotten a better marketing push and ended up being a box office success instead of just one with the critics.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

What "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" did for the current generation, this film did for the 70's generation. This wacky, sometimes dark film is filled with wonder and song set about the factory of the mysterious Willy Wonka as played by Gene Wilder. While I love Johnny Depp, this film gets the story right in more ways... while Depp's portrayal comes off as a "What would happen if Michael Jackson owned a candy factory" kinda thing. A vigorously smart tale that doesn't talk down to the audience, be they child or be they parent or anything in between...

The Secret of Nimh

Don Bluth's greatest film and finest achievement. After leading a revolt from Disney because of declining quality and lack of direction, Bluth created this tale that was to show Disney how to make a great animated film(again). The story of Mrs. Frisbie, a field mouse recently widowed and is forced to care for her 4 children by herself. Mrs. Frisbie goes on a fantastic journey to find help for her family. The animation design is pure Disney... the studio that put it out was not. For shame, Mouse... for shame.

The Princess Bride

Rob Reiner made an utterly charming film that boys, girls and adults alike can enjoy. Giants, a beautiful princess with villains and swashbuckling swordplay from a leading character modeled after Errol Flynn. Oh, and Billy Crystal funny as he can be. This should have been part of the Disney family of films.

October Sky

Another film set in the late 50's dealing with the race for space and Sputnik... my favorite film by Joe Johnston, actually one of only a couple I like by him. The other being the flawed Disney film, "The Rocketeer"(meddlesome Suit interventions and a story for another day). Based on the true story of Homer Hickam who grew up in a small coalmine town and developed a love of rockets after seeing what was happening in the larger world around him. With a small group of friends he pursues his love against a narrow minded town and critical father. Sweet, almost "Capraesk" quality to the film and that is saying a lot from me since I adore Frank Capra. File this under shoulda, coulda, woulda for the Mouse.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Ok, now if Disney can make it's own enjoyable, pedestrian rip-off of this with "National Treasure" then why the heck couldn't they of done the original? That's what I keep saying to myself. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg together are the closest thing we've really had to Walt Disney(Lasseter being the one exception). There is a reason, more than financial that Indy and Star Wars are in the parks... they belong in the Disney canon of films even if they aren't owned by Disney. Everything about "Raiders of the Lost Ark" says Disney... too bad Disney didn't say yes when it came to making this.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

A great film about a fun loving kid that rebels against the societal norms of his school and family just to have a "Day Off" from the grind. Life moves pretty fast, as Ferris says... although I don't watch or mind films like "High School Musical", it would be great to see Disney Suits trying to find modern representations of this 80's classic to entertain tweens and adults alike. I say, "Save Ferris, Save the Mouse"...

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

Steven Spielberg's love letter to growing up in a divorced family combines his love of science fiction(Amblin, CEOTK) with a tale of a family trying to cope with what life throws at you. Especially when it throws an alien from another planet at you. The story of Elliott and his family living in a suburb of a Californian town that discovers we are not alone. The boy's isolation and longing for a redemptive father figure are played out as he befriends someone like himself. Someone that feels lost and alone in a world he didn't create... even if that someone is from millions of miles away. Classic and again... pure Disney. Ironically, this one was offered to Disney and Ron Miller and his Suits turned it down. There were questions about scenes in the script Ron felt a Disney audience would be unaccepting of. He was kicking himself after opening weekend, of course...

The Secret Garden

Agnieszka Holland's film based on Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic book is an amazing, spectacular family film. Caroline Thompson's screenplay is dead-on perfect in presenting a young British girl born in India who loses her parents in a tragic earthquake. She returns to England to live at her uncle's castle. Once there, the uncle, troubled by his own loss neglects her as did her lost parents and she explores the estate, discovering a garden that has also been locked and neglected(see a motif building here?). Some of the servants boys befriend her and together they restore the garden while discovering the many secrets that the castle holds. A marvelous film to watch with kids or without. Pure Disney, though it is not...

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

I never really thought of Ian Fleming(James Bond's creator) as a children's novelist, but this film is based on a book by him. The screenplay by Roald Dahl(yes, that Roald Dahl) and director Ken Hughes captures the story of an eccentric professor that invents Steampunk type gadgetry that is always in financial trouble. He creates a revolutionary car which a foreign government wants to have and tries to acquire by any means necessary. Much fun and lampooning thus doth begin...

Star Wars Trilogy(original)

The original saga of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker is a living, breathing throwback to the days of Flash Gordon serials and is the sort of valued tale that the Mouse should have been turning out in the 70's. It's attempt was "The Black Hole" which didn't exactly meet the expectations of Suits or audiences. Star Wars is a story that was built for Walt Disney Pictures and should George Lucas or his kids ever decide to sell Lucasfilm, is the most compelling reason the Mouse should buy it. No other company, in my opinion, could handle this property better than Disney.