Mike Bastoli considers himself a lifelong Disney fan and total nerd. He first joined The Disney Blog as a guest writer in 2009. From 2007 to 2011, he covered Pixar Animation Studios on his website The Pixar Blog, which quickly became one of the most popular on the Web dedicated to news about the studio. (The New York Times named it the “definitive unofficial chronicler of the animation powerhouse".) In 2011, Mike renamed his site Big Screen Animation and expanded his coverage to capture the broader world of animated feature films. He retired Big Screen Animation in 2014 to focus on his brick-and-mortar family business and other pursuits. Mike resides near Toronto with his wife, Janice.
Disneynature’s best documentary yet, Chimpanzee, arrives on Blu-ray and DVD one week from today, on August 21. As much as I appreciated it on the big screen, the Blu-ray has only added to the experience. Not only is the HD presentation of the film as flawless… Read More »Disneynature Chimpanzee Blu-ray Review
The Walt Disney Studios released this incredible first still of Daniel Day-Lewis in character as president Abraham Lincoln, from Steven Spielberg’s upcoming biopic Lincoln. Like Spielberg’s War Horse, Lincoln is a DreamWorks Studios production and will be distributed in North America by Disney through the Touchtone… Read More »First Look at Daniel Day-Lewis in ‘Lincoln’
Disney Mobile and Disney Consumer Products announced earlier today a major new line of merchandise based on Where’s My Water?, Disney’s hit game for iOS and other mobile platforms. Available now at the Disney Store (in store and online) are plush toys of the game’s… Read More »“Where’s My Water” Toys and More Announced
Say what you will: For years, I have consistently ranked 1991’s Father of the Bride and its sequel, 1995’s Father of the Bride-Part II, as two of my favorite films of all time. These movies are singularly responsible for making me a fan of Steve… Read More »Disappointing Blu-ray Treatment for ‘Father of the Bride’
Over the past few years, the Toronto International Film Festival, which now hosts programming year-round, has been host to some memorable Disney film experiences; i.e. the world premieres of Waking Sleeping Beauty and Pixar’s Hawaiian Vacation. The trend continued this past Friday as a sold out house enjoyed… Read More »‘Chimpanzee’: Resist the Urge to Hug the Screen
“I, Albert Narracott, do solemnly swear that we shall be together again.” War Horse easily ranks as one of my most anticipated films this year. Since reading the book by Michael Morpurgo back in February, I looked forward to seeing Steven Spielberg’s big screen treatment… Read More »Review: War Horse is Traditional, Sentimental
The Muppets is currently the best reviewed wide-release film of 2011 and with good reason: it’s a comic and musical tour de force. (John and I will agree to disagree.) At 98% “Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes with 132 reviews counted, three unfavourable—“Rotten”—reviews are all stand between it and a perfect… Read More »‘Muppets’ Deserves Best Picture Nomination
At one point in the writing process, I considered putting this review to song—that’s how much I enjoyed The Muppets, opening in theatres Wednesday. It’s the best comedy of the year. Jason Segal and co. have done for the Muppets what J.J. Abrams did for Star… Read More »The Muppets is One of Year’s Best