Tagged: Disney

Pixar’s Up for New York Comic Con

Pixar’s Up for New York Comic Con

  • News
  • February 3, 2009

New York Comic Con and Disney*Pixar have just announced that the first 50 minutes of the forthcoming movie Up will screen for the first time at New York Comic Con.

Up is the story of Carl Fredricksen, a man who spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest. But at age 78, life seems to have passed Carl by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life.

The screening will be introduced by director Pete Docter and begin at 6:30 PM on Saturday, February 7 in the IGN Theater inside NYCC. Methinks you should get on line Friday.

Review: ‘Oliver and Company’ 20th Anniversary Edition

Review: ‘Oliver and Company’ 20th Anniversary Edition

Disney’s fortunes with their animated fare had fallen fairly far by the 1980s.  The sheer expense of hand animation made the films difficult to mount and then changing audience tastes always seem to stay a step or two ahead of Disney.  In the past, Disney films were the tastemakers, introducing pop songs and icons but those days more or less ended in 1968 with the [[[Jungle Book]]].

The arrival of [[[Oliver and Company]]] in 1988 signaled a step in the right direction.  The studio experimented tepidly with computer animation using the technology for backgrounds on [[[The Great Mouse Detective]]] just prior to this film.  Now, they used it for more backgrounds and actual character animation, allowing them to focus more on story, song, and characterization.

In keeping with Walt Disney’s habit, the film is based on a public domain tale, Charles Dickens’ [[[Oliver Twist]]], but totally reconfigured in contemporary terms.  The notion of an orphaned cat taken in by a pack of dogs has potential but the characters are all surface and charming, rather than edgy or anything other than charming. The lack of shading to any of the characters is disappointing, something that doomed the film. Notice you don’t see a lot of Oliver costumes at Disneyland.

Oliver is one of the first in the Disney canon to go out of its way to go for celebrity voices and Bette Midler, Cheech Marin, and Billy Joel head the cast.  All do admirable jobs but the material is limited. The mix of songwriters adds some nice variety and you see some early work from Alan Mencken, a foreshadowing of better times ahead.

In fact, this is the film that essentially transitioned Disney from being an also ran to being king once more since this taught them everything they needed to know to begin a new era of supremacy with the following year’s [[[Little Mermaid]]].

The 20th anniversary disc, released Tuesday, offers very little in the way of anything new from the previous editions. The picture looks fine, the sound is fine.

Extras are taken from the previous disc and include a five minute, particularly uninformative making of featurette (which could have been cleaned up for this edition). Then there’s The History of Animals in Disney Films, which is a great topic but given short shrift in just two minutes.

There are the trailers and some sketchbook material which is nice to look at.

The Oscar-winning “[[[Lend a Paw]]]” and “[[[Puss Café]]]”, two classic Disney shorts with Pluto and Mickey, make return appearances.

New to the disc are a few activities and a game, Oliver’s Big City Challenge.

Over all, the film is pleasant enough and a good addition for families but it pales in comparison with the features that followed.

ComicMix Quick Picks – January 30, 2009

ComicMix Quick Picks – January 30, 2009

Anything else? Consider this an open thread.

Amy Goldschlager is an editor for FindingDulcinea.com.

Review: ‘Mary Poppins’ 45th Anniversary Edition

Review: ‘Mary Poppins’ 45th Anniversary Edition

As new anniversary editions or Blu-ray releases of classic films continue to arrive, the question has to be asked each time: is it worth the upgrade?

In most cases, as with Paramount Home Video’s centennial series, the answer is always yes because the restoration work done to the film plus the extras make for a fine package.  I wish the same could be said for one of my all time favorite films, [[[Mary Poppins]]].

The 45th anniversary set comes out on Tuesday and is a two-disc celebration of Disney’s great musical. The 139 minute feature film continues to delight and enchant and is a must have for any serious movie collector or parent. But, coming five years after the last anniversary collection the answer has to be, if you have the 40th, you don’t need the 45th.

The film itself is technically the same.  Pristine in look, the film is at the original 1.66:1 aspect ratio and the color remains terrific. The audio remains available in Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1 surround sound and still sounds swell

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The Fan’s Guide to the Oscars

The Fan’s Guide to the Oscars

  • News
  • January 24, 2009

The 2009 Oscar nominations are in, and they include a gratifying number of comic book adaptations and other geekly delights. First and most obvious is The Dark Knight. In addition to Heath Ledger’s highly anticipated posthumous Best Supporting Actor nod for his reinvention of the Joker, The Dark Knight has also gathered a slew of technical nominations: Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing and Sound Editing, Best Film Editing, and Best Visual Effects.

But the Batman isn’t the only comic hero to get Oscar’s nod. Iron Man was nominated for Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects (though sadly, Robert Downey Jr. received no recognition for his splendid portrayal of the eponymous douchebag hero. His nomination for Tropic Thunder is a small consolation, as comedies and comic roles get snubbed by the Academy almost as much as fantasy and science fiction.) Wanted, based on Mark Millar and J.G. Jones’ comic miniseries, was nominated for Best Sound Mixing. And Hellboy II: The Golden Army got a nod for Best Makeup. No nominations at all for The Incredible Hulk – thought I wouldn’t want to be the one breaking the news to Ed Norton.

You may notice a pattern here: except for Ledger’s Best Supporting Actor nomination, all the comic book movie nominations are for technical awards: music, sound, visual effects, makeup. And even those seem a bit skimpy – where is The Golden Army’s costume or visual effects nomination? Makeup alone does not begin to cover Guillermo del Toro’s stunning visual feast. It’s sad that in a year delivering so many knockout performances and stories from the comic book world, the Academy continues to marginalize them in favor of heavy real-world dramas.

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ComicMix QuickPicks – January 10, 2009

ComicMix QuickPicks – January 10, 2009

Today’s installment of comic-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest…

* New Pooh to view: Here’s a reason to celebrate: "In August, Dutton will publish Return to the Hundred Acre Wood, the first authorized sequel to the Winnie-the-Pooh books in years. The author is David Benedictus, who finally prevailed upon A.A. Milne’s estate to let him write a book. ‘We thought David had a wonderful feel for the material,” a Pooh trustee tells The Wall Street Journal. “No doubt some will say it’s not as good as the original, but it’s very good, and we’re pleased with it.’ " Call it a hunch, but I’ll bet that book isn’t cut in the publishing downturn. (Via The Daily Beast.)

* Space And Time magazine has updated their website.

* If Norse legends are good enough for Neil Gaiman, they’re good enough for J.R.R. Tolkien. HarperCollins has bought the rights to an unpublished work written before The Hobbit, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, edited and introduced by Tolkien’s son Christopher. The work, written when Tolkien was professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University during the ’20s and ’30s, makes available for the first time the author’s extensive retelling in English narrative verse of the epic Norse tales of Sigurd the Völsung and the Fall of the Niflungs. The book is expected for May 2010.

* Barnes & Noble’s holiday sales dropped, though not as badly as expected.

* J. Steven York on the coming publishing apocalypse and electronic saviors.

* Disneyland Shanghai? "Walt Disney Co said today it’s going to submit a joint application report with the Shanghai government to China’s central government to build a new theme park. The company was responding to a Wall Street Journal report saying the joint venture is for a $3.59 billion Shanghai Disneyland to open in 2014 with Disney taking a 43% stake while a holding company owned by the local government keeping 57%."

Anything else? Consider this an open thread.

Disney shanghais McG for ‘20,000 Leagues Under The Sea’

Disney shanghais McG for ‘20,000 Leagues Under The Sea’

  • News
  • January 8, 2009

Because Disney has done so well with sea pictures lately, they’ve just signed a deal with McG (real name Joseph McGinty Nichol, currently at work on Terminator: Salvation) to direct its family picture 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo, according to  Variety. Based on the Jules Verne novel, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Disney’s first adaptation of the book came out in 1954 with Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Peter Lorre, Paul Lukas and that big old visual effects Oscar winning giant squid. It was the studio’s first live-action movie.

But the big question I have is this: since they gutted the original 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride at Walt Disney World to make room for a Finding Nemo ride, what’s going to be the next creative demolition at the park? Frontierland better watch its back…

National Film Registry Recognizes SF, Fantasy

National Film Registry Recognizes SF, Fantasy

  • News
  • January 1, 2009

Every year, the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry names 25 films for historic preservation.  This year’s list was announced yesterday and we applaud the inclusion of several genre offerings including The Invisible Man and the first Terminator film.  The Perils of Pauline, the first movie serial, makes the list and is seminal for the way it influenced moviemakers and storytellers, notably comic book writers, ever since.

Here’s a look at this year’s list:

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
John Huston’s brilliant crime drama contains the recipe for a meticulously planned robbery, but the cast of criminal characters features one too many bad apples. Sam Jaffe, as the twisted mastermind, uses cash from corrupt attorney Emmerich (Louis Calhern) to assemble a group of skilled thugs to pull off a jewel heist. All goes as planned — until an alert night watchman and a corrupt cop enter the picture. Marilyn Monroe has a memorable bit part as Emmerich’s "niece."

Deliverance (1972)
Four Atlanta professionals (Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronnie Cox and Jon Voight) head for a weekend canoe trip — and instead meet up with two of the more memorable villains in film history (Billy McKinney and Herbert Coward) in this gripping Appalachian "Heart of Darkness." With dazzling visual flair, director John Boorman and cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond infuse James Dickey’s novel with scenes of genuine terror and frantic struggles for survival battling river rapids — and in the process create a work rich with fascinating ambiguities about "civilized" values, urban-versus-backwoods culture, nature, and man’s supposed taming of the environment.

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‘The Spirit’ Tanks at Box Office

‘The Spirit’ Tanks at Box Office

  • News
  • December 28, 2008

The Spirit earned a mere $6.5 million during the three day holiday weekend, good for just ninth place on the top ten.  Based on numbers from Box Office Mojo, the Lionsgate film earned an average of $2595 per screen compared with the number one film’s $10.632.

Marley & Me, like The Spirit, earned lackluster reviews but given an adorable dog and Jennifer Aniston, the movie was essentially critic proof and just the kind of warm, cuddly feel-good film audiences have been craving since the economic downturn began this fall.  The movie exceed expectations by about $10 million and took in $37 million. It also broke the previous Christmas Day record, talking in $14.7 million.

In comparison, Frank Miller’s interpretation of Will Eisner’s classic character met with horrified reviews from those familiar with the source material and poor reviews from everyone else.  Even factoring in Christmas Day, the film earned a mere $10,352,000 and is considered the second straight misfire for Lionsgate, which also flopped with Punisher War Zone at the beginning of the month. It already left theaters by Christmas Eve and was not tracked in the top 50 films.  Since its opening, the $35 million production earned only $8,050,977   domestically.

Adam Sandler’s comedy Bedtime Stories took second place, earning $28.1 million while Aniston’s ex, Brad Pitt, saw his Curious Case of Benjamin Button grab the third slot with an opening weekend gross of $27 million, exceeding expectations. The latter film is already appearing on 10 Best lists and has earned multiple awards nominations.

Fourth place went to Valkyrie which, despite mixed reviews, also exceeded expectations with $21.5 million in ticket sales. Yes Man fell from first place to fifth in just one week, taking in an addition $16.5 million and a 10 day gross of $49.6 million.

Will Smith’s charm may prove more of a draw than expected as his Seven Pounds saw it drop a mere 9.8% and it took in another $13.4 million, raising its two week total to $39 million. The Tale of Despereaux also saw a slight dip from its opening weekend, a mere 7.3% slide and earned an addition $9.368,000. Keanu Reeve’s The Day the Earth Stood Still, dropped 20% and took in just $7.9 million, good for $63,615,000 after three weeks.

Twilight is slowing down gently but with $167 million, it has more than earned a tidy profit for Summit Entertainment.

Disney’s rollout of sleeper hit Slumdog Millionaire continues to grow and has earned $19,661,000 as it widens its reach while continuing to hit top 10 lists.

A lot of the other serious fare continues to perform in limited release and will more than likely dominate the charts in January as the platform release patterns grow.

Bruce Boxleitner Returns to ‘Tron 2.0’

Bruce Boxleitner Returns to ‘Tron 2.0’

  • News
  • December 27, 2008

Bruce Boxleitner will return to the computerized world of Tron, reprising his role of Alan Bradley in Tron 2.0, according to Coming Soon. He’ll be reunited with Jeff Bridges in the sequel to the 1982 Disney picture.  The film also will star Olivia Wilde and Beau Garrett in the film due in 2011

Plot details remain murky but it is known that Kevin Flynn and Alan Bradley will return to the world to fight the Master Control Program. In the original, Boxleitner was the title character, a colorful adventure hero.

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