We’re sad to report architect Michael Graves has passed away at age 80. He had been paralyzed from the chest down as a result of a spinal cord infection since 2003. We are reporting on it because Graves lent his whimsical style to several Disney… Read More »Disney Architect and Designer Michael Graves Passes at 80
The Avengers team has been in the news a lot lately because the new Avengers sequel, Age of Ultron, is coming to theatres on May 1, 2015. Despite the amazing movies, and immense talent these heroes bring they bring even more amazingness off screen. Yesterday… Read More »Robert Downey Jr Gifts Boy a Prosthetic Iron Man Arm
“Frozen Fever” is an 8-minute long animated short that opens for Disney’s Cinderella in theaters this weekend. I’ll warn you now that I am not the biggest fan of the animated feature Frozen. I didn’t like the story, but I do like the characters. So… Read More »“Frozen Fever” – Animated Short Review
My friend’s son is famous. Yesterday, during the stockholder meeting for The Walt Disney Company, her six year old son told her he wanted to asks a question. He waited in queue and when he got to the front he asked a simple direct question,… Read More »Disney’s Hollywood Studios to be receive new name, eventually.
Walt Disney’s original animated classic “Cinderella” was visually stunning and masterfully animated. Based on a fairy tale from Charles Perrault, and with beautiful songs and orchestration, it won over theater audiences and helped cement the Disney Studios as the leader in feature animation.
So when news came out that Disney was remaking the movie with a live action cast, the question was why? When I heard that Kenneth Branagh would be directing, I felt a bit better. But it was costume designer Sandy Powell’s costumes that really sealed the deal for me. Even if Cinderella was a 2 hour parade of Powell’s gorgeous costumes, I would have left satisfied.
The good news, is that the rest of the movie works too. It is a refreshing take on the fairy tale that we all know and love with lessons we can all take to heart. Branagh revisited the original Perrault fairy tale and incorporated some more modern motivations to make the film more relevant for today’s audiences. The story actually works better once Cinderella (Lily James) has a little agency.
That agency is delivered to Ella by her parents. First by her mom (played suitably by Hayley Atwell) who tells her to “have courage and be kind,” and by her father who teachs her the strength to endure. She’ll need both of these in spades once her parents die (at least both mom and dad die in this one instead of just mom). Actually dying parents is a fairly strong theme in this movie, something to be aware of if your kids have recently lost any one close to them.
I just got out of seeing Cinderella in IMAX, and boy do I have some thoughts. Time for another “Thoughts During Movies” segment. For those unaware, I tend to have a lot of random tidbits I think about during Disney films, and instead of a regular review, I give you my stream of consciousness to show you how the movie was for me. If that didn’t make any sense…just read below and you’ll get the gist.
Today we have our first glimpse as to the future of the Star Wars Galaxy. Disney CEO Bob Iger announced this morning at a shareholders meeting plans for the next two Star Wars films. First up is the first non-episodic installment, Rogue One. When Disney… Read More »Star Wars VIII & Stand Alone Films Make News
At today’s investor meeting, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that the Walt Disney Animation Studio is officially working on a sequel to Disney’s most successful animated feature of all time Frozen. The original directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee are back on board for the… Read More »Frozen 2 Officially In Production at Walt Disney Animation Studios