Tag Archives: Disney Review

Sea Scouts Review

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It’s time for one of the classic Disney shorts. It’s been a while since I’ve seen an animated short from any company so it’s fun to go back and review one. This short is only around 7 minutes so it takes the term quite literally. It’s about Donald and his nephews enjoying a nice boat ride around the world. Donald is at the helm so he’s too busy to be steering. Unfortunately, the voyage isn’t all smooth sailing as a shark decides to attack. Donald’s a pretty tough character, but can he really hope to win this round?

It’s a fun enough short. The whole special is essentially a chase scene with the Shark trying to chomp up the heroes once and for all. I’m glad that Donald realized that his hat’s safety was his top priority since you really can’t afford to lose that. The nephews actually didn’t get to do much and you may even wonder why they are here. The special wouldn’t have changed much if they had not been present. The animation is pretty fluid throughout and it certainly has a very retro feel. You’ll find yourself feeling bad for the Shark since he really had the edge as only reality warping could stop him during this battle. If Donald didn’t defy gravity so much he would have met with an untimely demise.

Overall there’s not a whole lot you can talk about for a 7 minute segment so that’s about it. If you like the classic Disney style then you’ll enjoy this special. Donald is really able to hold his own special more than most of the other Disney characters. Only Mickey Mouse can really hold his own or good ole Uncle Scrooge. Otherwise, Donald has just got the title of best main character hands down. With the element of danger that the Shark brought in as well, it’s safe to say that this is one of the more exciting Disney shorts.

Overall 7/10

Pete’s Dragon Review

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It’s time for a film that really fell under the radar. It’s the kind of film that you knew was coming out soon, but would still end up missing it. I always forget that this film existed because nothing about it really stands out. It’s an okay film, but there are definitely some issues with it. They mainly all come back to the main character, which is expected. We have another kid lead and I just don’t think that he can hold his own film very well. The cast isn’t very good as a whole anyway though so I suppose that Pete doesn’t stand out in that regard.

Pete was raised in the forest after his parents were taken out during a car crash. He was raised by a dragon, but luckily still remembered enough of his humanity to still be able to speak in English. This setup worked for a while, but one day a park ranger noticed the kid and quickly brought him to the hospital. She sort of adopted him and naturally didn’t believe in the dragon. Pete wants to head back to the forest, but he’ll need to hurry since Elliot is really weak and the villagers want to nab him for bragging rights. It’s a race against time and Pete isn’t the fastest kid on the block.

Pete is actually worse than the kid from Jungle Book. Pete’s very annoying and takes way too long to make a move. He helps out Elliot, but after waiting for many hours and letting the dragon get stressed out. It’s also annoying that he is so young because it means that every conversation with him is a little grating. If he was older, then the dialogue would have been a lot more engaging. I think I’m just about done with jungle kid character types. They’ve been done to death already.

Elliot is a decent dragon, but he’s really weak as I mentioned before. He has some mild fire breath, which is used in one scene. Unfortunately, he doesn’t use it quite enough and Pete is always there to yell at Elliot to stop. Pete was a little unreasonable, but at least he helped to save the hunters. If Elliot had not been captured, that would have helped his case a great deal. Grace was one of the main supporting characters and I guess she was okay. At least she believed in the grand father’s tales in the end. I guess her character was just a little on the empty side though. She was supportive and around to help Pete, but you never got much of a read on her. The film just didn’t have much time to develop her personality. Likewise, Jack is played off as a villain for a little while before the roles completely switch and we find out that he is the hero. It’s just hard to see that though since he doesn’t seem to be a great boss and even when he helps out at the end, it’s rather half hearted.

Gavin is the main villain of the film. At first he was easily the best character in the film, but he went downhill fast. He got a little too obsessive with capturing the dragon and also became very unreasonable at the same time. Even once he was put in his place and saved during the bridge showdown, he still wanted to hunt the dragon. This is my main issue with the ending. Elliot is essentially forced to move away and fly with the dragons instead of living with Pete and the others. The reasoning for this is that the humans are just too tough and cannot be reasoned with. It’s essentially a defeat and that’s not a great ending. It could have been a lot worse though. At first, the film hints that Elliot will have to move far away and they’ll never see him again. Instead, he just moved up to the top mountain so they can still visit him from time to time. It’s an improvement, but certainly not the optimal ending if you ask me.

Natalie was a nice enough character. She helped Pete realize that humans aren’t all bad. It was tough for them to become friends though since the humans kept doing mean things to Elliot and then not caring enough to offer up a pretense. Natalie would have to try and defend them, but it wouldn’t work too well. She helped Pete save him in the end though so that was a good move. It’s just too bad that the rest of the village was so unrelenting, it made the whole place seem pretty mean spirited.

Well, that’s the cast in a nutshell. Certainly not the strongest bunch that I’ve ever seen. Aside from the lackluster cast, the film itself just wasn’t very good. Some of the scenes don’t even make that much sense as the kid lived in the forest for many years, but none of the rangers ever saw him. The dragon makes a lot of noise, but they evidently never noticed him either or the cave where the characters would hide. Grace even said multiple times that she knows the forest like the back of her hand and has been everywhere. Pete calmly takes them to the base and while it is a quick walk, Grace somehow never noticed it. It just doesn’t make any sense.

Beyond that, the writing is only okay. The film tries too hard to be cute and happy, but doesn’t offer up any real depth. The film doesn’t really drag on, but it’s just not all that fun either. Between the somber ending and the scenes of the humans picking on Elliot, it’s just not much of a feel good film. You’re better off checking out just about any of the other big animated movies like Finding Dory or Zootopia. It’s not a bad film, but Pete’s Dragon also doesn’t do many positive things either.

Overall, Pete’s Dragon is fairly bland. It follows a very obvious plot and ends without any sudden twists or turns. You can correctly guess everything that is about to happen. This may not bother you and it can still be an enjoyable experience, but it could have just been so much better. This trend of having main characters who are still kids is something that has definitely got to go. If there aren’t any other options available, check this film out. Otherwise, just go re watch Frozen. That film has emotional characters and a solid soundtrack so you will certainly not get bored. Now, if we get a sequel that takes place 10 years later and involves evil dragons showing up to claim revenge, I can get behind that. A little action would have gone a long way for this film.

Overall 5/10

Polar Trappers Review

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It’s time for the final Disney special that I’ve seen so far. This one features the long awaited team up between Donald and Goofy. I can’t say that I’m a big fan of Goofy. His character gimmick of not being too smart has been done more successfully by other characters like Knuckles from Sonic Boom. That being said, he was a little better here than I had expected. Goofy tries to capture some fish alive so he can take them back somewhere while Donald wants to eat Penguins for Brunch. Think of it like Batman V Superman with the moral dilemmas of this. Goofy gets a pretty neat song about how he catches them and keeps them alive. It was pretty hype and you feel bad for Goofy since he had better motives than Donald here, but still gets soundly defeated by nature in the end.

As for Donald, he’s essentially the antagonist here. He’s always trying to stir up some trouble and make life a little dicey for the Penguins. Luckily, they were onto him and his plans were spoiled yet again. He should have just kept on eating the beans right? I do like beans quite a bit, but they are one of the few foods that I actually would get bored with so I can totally sympathize with Donald’s reluctance to eat them. I can’t sympathize with his plan to eat a Penguin though. As with the other two specials, the animation is nice and smooth here. It’s a neat coincidence that all three specials took place with a lot of ice and snow. I suppose if it works, it works right?

Overall, It was neat to see the two heroes team up. “Hero” is a bit of an ambitious term for these two characters though. It was good to see the Penguins put them in their place as they reminded the main characters of who was really in charge here. It’s not quite as good as Corn Chips, but I’d say that it beat Rescue Dog. Once again, the short is only a few minutes so you’ll be able to blast through it in no time. I can definitely see the appeal of a good short as well, it is easy to just plug it in and watch without making a long time commitment. It’s a good style for telling stories as long as there is no really big plot.

Overall 6/10

Corn Chips Review

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It’s time for the next Disney short. This one focused on good ole Donald Duck. He was too lazy to shovel the snow out of his front yard so he tricked Chip n Dale into doing it. They weren’t too thrilled about this and decided to steal his Popcorn. It quickly becomes a battle of wits and brawn as the two groups fight to take control of the popcorn. The loser will be left hungry and in the cold so the stakes are certainly very real. This special is a lot more entertaining than the Rescue Dog one because Donald is a more interesting main character. He’s someone you can easily root for even if his actions are morally dubious. Tricking Chip n Dale is not something that you can do lightly after all, but Donald is nothing if not charismatic.

Chip n Dale aren’t quite as likable and are more annoying than anything else. They didn’t start this whole charade so you can’t give them 100% of the blame, but it would certainly help a lot if they could talk a little more. The little animal mascots can be fun, but they needed more personality if you ask me. The snow in the background is always fun to have and Donald’s home looks like a pretty cozy place to be. The animation is smooth like you would expect and as the special is only about 5-8 minutes long, it ends in a flash. That means the pacing has to be very quick the whole time. We get some brief fight scenes between the three characters. In the end, one team does win so luckily there are no cop outs.

Overall, Corn Chips is an improvement over Rescue Dog. I was waiting for a special with Donald in the lead and I ended up getting it just how I would have wanted. The only way to make this better would be to have Donald and Mickey team up. I’m sure we’ll get that soon. I don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t like this special as it is so short and I recommend it if you want a glimpse into Disney’s past. This should bring back memories for the older readers on the blog.

Overall 7/10

Cinderella (2015) Review

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Cinderella is a classic film and I actually got a chance to review the original about half a year ago. It’s a pleasant film and you can see why people are so fond of it even if it’s not my cup of tea. That being said, the remake leaves a little to be desired. It tries too hard to be emotional and some characters like Cinderella’s father look pretty bad. I’d also argue that Cinderella herself isn’t a great character here.

I’m sure that you are all aware of the story. Cinderella’s mother died when the girl was still young and then her father decided to marry someone else and then leave home for a few months. He died while overseas and Cinderella went from being a girl of high standing to a slave. She finds magical strength through her fairy god mother and marries the prince so she can regain her social power. The plot limits the film’s potential, but if handled right it could still be good.

First off, I did not like Cinderella’s father at all. He certainly doesn’t come off as being very smart or wise and he is played the entire time. He marries a widow who has two rather mean spirited kids and then leaves Ella to fare for herself. I’ll just stick to calling her Cinderella since it held up I suppose. You just have to wonder how the father did not notice how sinister his new family members were and he was very oblivious. I also felt that he moved on too quickly even considering that there was a time skip. He was a very unlikable character.

Naturally, he was not as bad as the step sisters. They’re bullies who pick on Cinderella the whole time and since the main character doesn’t know how to fight or engage in verbal fisticuffs, she’s easy prey for them. Cinderella’s step mother is also fairly mean to her as she just wants to be rich and doesn’t like Cinderella from the start. Dealing with the three bullies turns out to be too much for the delicate main character.

Even Cinderella ended up being an unlikable character in the end. I like main characters to be nice. It’s a good trait and one that you don’t see as much as I would like. The problem is that Cinderella is a push over and there’s a very fine line there. Keep in mind that the place was still hers, but the step mother asks her to move to the attic and Cinderella allows this. The step mother gives her slave chores to do and slowly takes away all of Cinderella’s possessions. “Did she just walk up slowly and wreck Cinderella’s dress?” Props if you got the meme reference, but Cinderella basically allows herself to be a verbal punching bag for the new recruits.

One scene where you will also be frustrated with the main character is when she allows the cat to almost destroy one of her little mouse friends because the step mother stared her down. Cinderella seriously has no backbone in this film and allowing one of her friends to see his life flash before his eyes was the last straw. You’ll have a tough time finding a weaker willed main character no matter what film you decide to watch. Naturally, the romance was also nothing special and Cinderella was basically just escaping her situation. Falling in love with someone after meeting them for like 4-5 minutes is certainly iffy by any stretch of the imagination.

The prince was decent and I’ll give him kudos for not hunting the animal that he nearly destroyed. Hunting is wrong and now he has learned his lesson for good! His plot had some drama as his father died and there was a traitor in his army, but I actually preferred this plot to the main one. The royal characters were all fairly interesting and it’s always nice to see their social power. The bullies wouldn’t be able to stop these guys so the Prince was able to have his justice at last.

I think you can probably tell that this film is getting under a 5. For the most part, it’s a fairly charming film, but it starts to fall to pieces once the father dies as the bullying starts and drags on for quite a while. Another negative is actually the costume designs. I haven’t actually had to launch a complaint against a live action film for this in quite a while (Since the Charlie’s Angel days) but there is a lot of cleavage and it’s very overdone. The film was simply trying to copy the style from back in the day, but it’s still excessive and just not done in a classy way. The film could have easily used the same style of clothes without making it a different size. It’s a rare negative for live action films, but that just makes this error all the worse. I actually thought this since the trailer for the film first came out and I was sad to see that the film hadn’t changed.

Cinderella’s fairy god mother also didn’t look too good in this film either. For whatever reason (For comedy) she did not know what she was doing and came off as more of a novice than she should have. The original Fairy God Mother is fun because she’s a pro and with enough prep time, she can take down any foe. This one nearly destroyed herself by making a pumpkin too large and her scenes actually managed to drag on quite a bit. This is why changing things from the source material backfires so often. It’s simply not done most of the time and the film needs to recognize and accept this before moving on.

Due to the film taking place back in the olden days, there isn’t a whole lot of colorful scenery to look at. That’s too bad and while it’s not terrible, you could easily pass this film off as a 2005 film rather than 2015 and that’s always a bad thing in my book. Seriously, a 2015 film should look modern and this film already feels dated in some areas.

Overall, Cinderella’s plot simply isn’t for me so a future film will need to really change things up in order to win for me. For starters, Cinderella should be a nice lead, but she shouldn’t just let herself get bullied the whole time. Honestly, writing out the step sisters and all of their cringe worthy dialogue would be a nice step up for the film. They simply aren’t needed and just keeping the step mom around would keep the plot virtually the same. That, or just having one step sister. The film does try to have its comedy moments at times, but they’re pretty uninspired. This film may try to take you for a ride, but sometimes the best thing to do is to simply step off. If you’re looking for a good romance drama, I recommend watching Yugioh Bonds Beyond Time and just remember that a drama without romance can still be a very good film!

Overall 4/10

Dumbo Review

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Dumbo is one of the oldest Disney films, but that didn’t stop it from being a box office hit. It’s easy to see why you could like Dumbo as it’s a simple, but direct film. It cuts to the chase right away since it’s so short and the characters can be fun. It’s definitely not amazing, but I was glad to see Dumbo’s mother take out the human with the whip. Those guys definitely needed to be taught their place!

The plot of the movie is that an Elephant is born with very large ears. The others decide that this deformity means that he should turn in his elephant card and they basically decide to give him the silent treatment. Dumbo’s mom tries to help, but she is put into solitary. Dumbo’s pretty sad at this turn of events, but luckily he meets up with Timothy Q. Timothy has never liked bullies so he puts the other elephants in their place and tries to cheer Dumbo up. He shows the elephant the meaning of friendship and compassion in the face of adversity. He may be small, but he has a big heart!

Timothy really steals the show as he’s easily the best character in the film. His scenes are always a lot of fun like when he intimidated the elephants. He gets Dumbo to get out of his shell and is directly responsible for the film having any kind of happy ending. Without him, the film wouldn’t have been nearly as good. Dumbo’s a decent character, but not really my kind of main character. He’s a little too quiet and gets pushed around by everyone else all the time. A little more spark and intensity from Dumbo would have definitely been appreciated. The ability to fly with his ears is quite awesome though and he should be proud of them. The other Elephants are just jealous and now the world will be as well since he has become such a sensation!

I also liked the birds who flew around as they were the only ones to get the edge on Timothy at one point. While they were a little hostile at first, they ended up being good allies in the end. They showed up after a very intense scene as Timothy and Dumbo found out why you should never drink any kind of alcoholic beverage. They had a very intense acid dream where Elephants merged and the pink lights tried to blind you. I thought that was very intense and while the scene did last a while, it wasn’t painfully long like something out of 2001 the Space Odyssey. The scene was fun and handled with a good amount of tact.

That also brings me into one of the main positives for the film, which is that the animation holds up incredibly well considering how old this film is. This was in the 40’s, but you could easily mistake it for an 80’s-90’s film. It’s sad that we have animation that is nearly 100 years old, yet can beat out some of the modern cartoons like Uncle Grandpa or even Teen Titans Go in terms of pure animation. Dumbo just feels more solid and certainly more vibrant. The colors really leap out at you.

As this is an old film, the writing is also quite good as well. The characters all sound fairly real. Naturally the bullies aren’t likable, but at least their insults are fairly dignified and you can tell that they have a lot of experience with the insults. They are ultimately defeated and humiliated on stage so they should have probably realized that they were doomed to fall.

My only real problem with the film is that things can get a little too sad for Dumbo. At one point, he is reduced to being a clown and jumping into a pie. The fall was quite large and he actually got slightly injured, which was a big no no for me. Luckily, Dumbo tipped the scales at the end, but some more domination from the young lead would have been a lot of fun as well. Of course, the film was quite short so it didn’t have that much time for Dumbo to really show off his moves, but if he was older, he could have handled the situation a little better.

Overall, Dumbo’s a good film. It’s very short so there’s not a whole lot more to say about it. It’s very peaceful and you’ll enjoy watching it as a calming experience. Once again, I’ve got to say that the animation is very impressive and that factor alone makes it completely worth seeing. You’ll quickly forget that this film came out wayyyyy back in the 1940’s. The intro was also neat as he probably helped to invent the old tale of how babies were actually dropped at your door step by a large bird. Even Yoshi’s Island had fun with that in one of the games as we learned Mario’s true origin. Dumbo never got as popular as the other Disney films, but it can hold its own. I’d recommend checking this film out so you can be ready to the remake. I just hope that the new Dumbo film ends up being good as a film about any animal can always be verrrrry dangerous!

Overall 6/10

Bridge To Terabithia Review

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Bridge To Terabithia is a Disney film that came out a while ago and yet it is probably still one of the more well known films based off of a book from the company. Disney needs to adapt more of them to give us a break from the usual Hunger Games titles. That being said, the ending of this film does severely hurt it, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It should be noted that I attempt not to mention the actual ending directly, but it will become pretty obvious as I talk about it. So for spoiler purposes, I recommend not checking out this film until you see the movie..and I don’t really recommend checking the movie out because of the ending so it’s one of those cycles…

The main character of the film is named Jesse and his life isn’t very fun at the moment. The kids at school bully him and his parents seem very distant or downright inhospitable at times. The only character who actually likes him is his little sister and he’s not typically around for her. Jesse is the kind of kid who gets bullied a lot because he typically just takes it. Unfortunately, dishing it back out could also get him expelled. Things look up when a girl moves into town. It should be noted that Jesse’s hobby is running and he was the fastest kid in the class. Not anymore! The girl easily crushes him in the race and tries to be friends.

Jesse naturally feels salty (“Salty” meaning that a person is upset, irritated, or sulky because they have just been humiliated in a sport or battle) about this and doesn’t want to be friends with her for a while. Eventually he cracks. It’s not hard to choose to be friends with the nicest character in the film after all. Her name is Leslie and she suggests that they hang out at a club house so that they can get away from the outside world. She loves to imagine things and gets Jesse to play with her. It’s rough going at first since Jesse forgot to stretch his imagination before he left home, but he gets the hang of it. What can go wrong now?

That’s the plot in a nutshell. The film tries to make Jesse’s life before Leslie arrives as dark as possible. He likes drawing and running, but those two hobbies can’t last for very long in a day so he’s typically bored. His older sisters are typically pretty mean to him while his younger one has higher values than the others. His dad is willing to destroy animal creatures so that he can make some money and he’s a very unreasonable character. The mom simply isn’t around very often.

The contrast is very clear once Leslie is introduced to the mix. Her family is pretty awesome and reminds me of mine. They all hang out together, paint, have snacks, and it’s all merry. The folks even allow Leslie to keep the dog that Jesse gave her even though they had no warning beforehand. That’s pretty understanding right? It really makes you feel bad about Jesse. It should be noted that the bullies also attempt to take on Leslie, but they grow bored a lot quicker so she gets to be left alone a lot after the initial encounters.

The film was going well…until the final event. That was pretty disappointing and a really bad way to end the film. It happens suddenly so at least you can’t say that you were really expecting it unless you followed the foreshadowing scenes. (Diving paper, tide rising abnormally high, rope seeming to be withered…etc) Needless to say, the twist may have been unexpected, but that doesn’t make it good. I would have much preferred a fake out, like the characters were simply tricking Jesse. It would have been a little out of character, but I could have handled that.

I give the film kudos for actually mentioning God and Heaven. The heroes have a discussion about it where the sister tells Leslie that you will go to hell if you don’t believe in God. Leslie denies this and she’s pretty young so it can probably be odd to hear back then, but the sister actually made valid points here. Does this mean that Leslie would hypothetically go to hell if everything ended that instant? You could say so, but I am inclined to say that it’s no guarantee.

Think about a situation where a baby or a toddler dies. They hadn’t truly made a decision to follow God or not since they were so young. God is omnipotent so he knows what they would have decided and I believe that this is how the system works. (Or the tip of the iceberg at least) So, there’s always a chance that Leslie would have accepted Christ into her life a little later on once she had really begun to think about it. Our minds aren’t really developed until we’re in our later teens or early adulthood. I doubt that many of us look at things the same way that we did when we were kids right?

It is still a pretty sad topic to think about though. After all, there are many “good” or nice people who will go to hell regardless of how moral they were during their lives. That’s because morality will never be enough to get you to Heaven. The only way there is through Jesus Christ. If you don’t accept him into your heart, no amount of good works will save you from going to hell. That’s why it’s always so important to preach the gospel and get people to really think about it so that they can hopefully see the truth. There’s no guarantee that Leslie would have eventually become a Christian, but at least Jesse’s household is a Christian one. Since she had started going to church with him on Sundays, there’s always the chance that she would have started to believe. Sometimes, all it takes is one really good sermon to make everything click. Also, since this is a film, I can just choose to believe that she would have accepted the Lord into her heart so the ending is a lot happier than it was.

Now, how old do you have to be to die and just go to hell if you didn’t accept Christ? That’s hard to answer and I’m sure that it varies from person to person. It’s generally accepted that babies and toddlers wouldn’t be sent to hell as they couldn’t comprehend the notion of Christianity at the time and I personally expect that the same would be true for all minors. After that, it’s anyone’s guess. Only God knows such things after all.

Back to the film. I still wasn’t crazy about the ending. Even with the happy ending that I thought up, it’s still really sad for everyone in the present. The film tries to end on a bright note by having Jesse continue his sister, but it just feels hollow. You won’t be able to feel good about that part because you’re still reeling from the ending. Bridge To Terabithia certainly did a good job of making sure that the ending is sad…but maybe it was too good. Sad scenes aren’t bad in question, but the sadder the scene, the more likely that I’m not going to like it. After all, we’re watching this for escapism right? Let’s keep the nitty gritty out of this.

I’ve been trying to think of what the “best” sad scene was. Something sad, yet not overdone too much so you can still enjoy the rest of what you were watching. I’m coming up with a blank here. Krillin’s death in DBZ comes to the mind as that is definitely near the top. Hinata’s fate against Pain, Nami’s loss to Arlong. There are many scenes that come to mind. The main similarity between them all is that the main hero gets into a rage after the scenes happen, which is impossible to do with a live action film. I feel like the rage helps to offset the sadness because then you really get angry at the villain alongside the hero and root for him to drastically win. That’s my view on the matter anyway.

As this film deals with the imagination a lot, the film decides to have fun with that. Mythical creatures attack at several points and imagination begins to meld with reality. This leads to some odd scenes where trees come alive and gremlins attack, but it’s all fake so you essentially take it with a grain of salt. The dog was really cool in these action scenes though and always got the better of the villains. He was and is a true hero.

Overall, Bridge To Terabithia is a fun film until the ending. Jesse saved an animal from crushing the film even more through animal violence and Leslie was a really good character. It’s safe to say that I wasn’t a fan of Jesse from start to finish. (He didn’t help his sister when a bully showed up and he constantly forgot how to imagine and made things tough for Leslie) Of course, Leslie being such a perfect (The film really tries to make her perfect and essentially succeeds since she has no negative qualities) character makes the ending even dicier. The supporting characters didn’t add much to the film and I’m sure that we’re all tired of watching bullies, but I suppose that they help for character development and all. It’s an entertaining film, but I’m afraid that the ending throws all of that out the window. So, I can’t recommend the film and you should watch Yugioh 3D Bonds Beyond Time instead. That film has some tragic moments like a city getting burnt and someone losing his dragon, but it never goes too far. It’s juuuuust right.

Overall 3/10

Cinderella Review

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Whoops, were you expecting the 2015 version!? Well, it’s always good to look back to the originals first as it will be easier to compare it to the newer version while it is fresh in your mind. This very well could be the most popular Disney Princess although most of the classics would like to contend with that. (Snow White!) This title was better than Aladdin, but not quite as good as Sleeping Beauty so it’s in the middle when compared to those two. It’s certainly nostalgic when watching this title though.

Cinderella’s father died (not mysteriously in this version) so the step mom took over the family fortune and squandered it on her two daughters. She never liked Cinderella and forced her to become a slave. One day, a large party is to be held in the castle and Cinderella wants to go. The Step Mom stops that from happening and quickly scampers off. Cinderella’s fairy god mother gives Cinderella a quick wardrobe change and a mode of transportation as well. The catch is that she must be back from the party by 12! Cinderella rushed off, knowing that missing the deadline is the last thing she would do!

All right, the story is certainly classic so you are likely familiar with the plot. Cinderella is a pretty nice main character. She goes through some difficult times and always gets through them cheerfully. It is a bit much to see her just agree with everything that the step relatives are doing though. It’s not like they could do much in a fight. The worst scene for her is probably when the villains lock the door. Breaking it down shouldn’t be too difficult for her. Ah well, for the most part she takes it all in stride. I do think it would be great if she was a little more defiant, but that isn’t for everyone.

Naturally, the whole love at first sight thing will still make you wince, but at this point it is just part of the legend. The Prince seems like a good guy so at least she’ll have a good future. It would have been nice for her to have had a reason to like him though. Maybe saving her from a dragon or if they had engaged in a good game of Chess. That could have made the bond a little more real. As it stands, the King was a little more charismatic here. He’s not actually a nice guy as he just wants Cinderella to be married to the Prince so that he can have grandchildren, but at least he’s serious about his goals. His minion doesn’t seem to value his life quite as much as he takes many risks with the King. There are several times where you may begin to think that it will be the end for the attendant!

The step sisters are both pretty annoying and are made to be unlikable characters from the start. There are no redeemable qualities for them or for the step mom. Every film needs an antagonist I suppose, but I much prefer some of the other villains like the witch in Snow White or Maleficent. These villains can’t fight and they can only use their social standing to battle. That’s probably why I couldn’t really take them seriously here.

Naturally, the animation looks good. For its time, the animation is pretty great. It’s a 50’s show, but it looks just as good as a 2015 cartoon like Teen Titans Go, which is very embarrassing for the latter. It was certainly a tough and tedious task making each frame hand by hand back in the day. It’s one that would be very tough for the average animator to do today, but it was worth it since Cinderella holds up to this day. Considering that Cinderella didn’t need fancy computers, that gives it an edge over the 2015 cartoon.

The soundtrack is not quite as good as some of the other classics though. I think the singers just weren’t as charismatic although it could also be the songs. They’re not bad of course and they did get quite popular so it will all depend on your style. We also didn’t really have a chance to get any danger or battle themes here since there wasn’t any action. We’ll have to leave that to Aladdin and Sleeping Beauty this time.

One thing that I definitely don’t miss from the old days of Disney are the unique voices. The mice speak in such a high pitched voice that it is very difficult to hear what they are saying. This isn’t a good thing as you will just start to tune out what they are talking about and imagine that they are simply squeaking. It will save you a lot of time and effort in the long run. There were a lot of animals who appeared, but one of them was the villain, which isn’t quite as fun as when they’re all nice. The heroes have to fight the cat at times and it results in animal fights that are not a blast to watch. It’s all in slapstick Tom and Jerry style so it’s not actually violent or anything, but you can still feel bad for the cat at times. He’s made to be unlikable of course, but he’s still a cat.

Cinderella is a very short film so it will be over before you know it. It’s one of Disney’s sadder films though as things don’t go Cinderella’s way until we near the very end of the film. It’s why I’m a little wary of the modern film as I hope they don’t drag on the Cinderella being a slave part for too long. That’s certainly the worst part of the film, but it naturally picks up from there. Cinderella could have avoided the last bit of trouble if she had handled the glass shoe situation with more tact, but it all ended up working out thanks to the mice.

I think the main thing that hurts Cinderella here aside from the animals plot and the being a slave plot is probably the lack of action. It’s not quite as exciting as the other Disney classics. There’s rarely any danger to be found here as Cinderella’s life is unpleasant, but not dangerous in the least. I can’t think of any scene where you are fearing for her health. Naturally, you can surpass this with great writing, but it’s still hard to get around. A quick scuffle or a random band of thieves for the prince to fight would have been pretty neat.

Fans who have seen this many times may wonder why Cinderella’s shoes stayed though. Was it a gift, Did the prince grabbing it cause the shoes to stay, was it a plot hole, or was it just one of those things that we try to forget? It’s pretty interesting and my favorite option to pick is still the plot hole although it is certainly debatable. After all, what’s a good film without a plot hole right? It’s also Cinderella’s fault for forgetting about the time. That was something that she should never have forgotten considering how dire the circumstances were at the time.

Overall, Cinderella’s a decent film. I think it’s not quite exciting enough to be called a downright good film though. There’s nothing exceptional about it. The writing, soundtrack, and characters are all there, but they don’t really stand out. The animation does stand out for its time though so that’s a plus. The most enjoying part of the plot is actually the banter between the king and his adviser. They could have likely held their own film and it would have been interesting to see how it would have been. Their brief fight atop the bouncing mattress was pretty fun and it shows that the film could have handled a sword fight. Will this film beat the 2015 version? I’d assume so as this is the kind of story that typically doesn’t translate well into Live Action due to a number of reasons. Live Action is simply limited when it comes to stories that take place in this old era because the actual film tends to look dated at times. Still, maybe it will surprise my like Maleficent. I recommend checking this out if you are going to watch the new version of if you like the Disney classics. Otherwise, I have to recommend going with the modern Disney thriller, Frozen, this time. That one defeats this film in just about every category.

Overall 5/10

Big Hero 6 Review

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Disney is back with another Marvel film! The Big Hero 6 cast is pretty obscure compared to most other teams, but that’s okay since it means that the film can have a little fun with this adaption right? The fact that it’s animated and in theaters was pretty cool. It may not be quite as comic book aimed as it would have otherwise been, but since the odds of the team getting a film at all are slim, we’re more than content to have this version. It’s a fun film to check out and while it’s not quite the next Frozen, you’ll be glad that you saw it.

The plot involves an unmotivated genius named Hiro. He had fun engaging in bot fights for a while. Things changed when his brother was destroyed in a large explosion. Hiro inherited a bot named Baymax from him and then he finds out that someone has stolen Hiro’s old nanobot invention. He likely wouldn’t care about this too much, but the person who stole them was responsible for the brother’s death. Hiro isn’t going to stand for this and he decides to take this guy out…permanently. Together with some friends, the heroes set off for their ultimate battle!

Hero 6’s animation is pretty solid. The film really goes all out when you see the city for the first time. I don’t think it does quite as good a job on the character models, which look a little stiff, but it’s also just that I don’t quite care for the style all that much. The action scenes are definitely fun to watch and having nanomites as a weapon can really work well. It’s like using sand or another similar element so you can do just about anything with it. You are only limited by your imagination after all. I can’t say that there’s much of a soundtrack to be found though, but typically a film can only have one or the other anyway so it’s not a huge loss.

Hiro is a decent main character although I wouldn’t call him great by any means. He can be a little bland, but it’s nice to have a genius lead the charge so that’s a good thing. He tries to cross the line towards the beginning, but he is shown the error of his ways and things are looking up for him now. With Baymax at his side, he doesn’t need to fear anything. His other allies weren’t quite as impressive.

Before I get into them, let’s talk about Baymax. He’s the big mascot of the film and the guy that you are supposed to find really likable. I’m afraid that it didn’t work this time and it’s because Baymax just isn’t that smart. He can’t really take a hint and when it’s time for a fight, he looked terrible the first time. Even without combat knowledge downloaded, you’d think that he would do better. He almost caused Hiro to die in round 1 because he could barely even move. He does better in future rounds, but he’s just not my kind of character. Being naive is one thing, but lacking common sense is another. I really wish his design had been a little more similar to the comics, now that was an epic design! The Marshmallow look could grow on me someday though…maybe.

My least favorite member is Wasabi. He’s really used for all of the classic (overused) jokes and they get old very quickly. He screams in a really high pitched manner and he’s constantly reminding everyone why their current situation is scary. It’s sad since he has energy blades and he should use them properly. Next up, I didn’t care for Honey Lemon. Her “powers” are pretty terrible here as she is basically given gum to make the enemy get stuck. I’m guessing that Hiro was rushing a bit there. She didn’t add anything to the story and you could easily forget that she was even around as the climax approached.

Not all of the members were bad though. I liked Fred as he took this a little more seriously than the others as he tried to figure out who the culprit was. His Godzilla suit was also pretty epic and he put up a better fight than most of the other members. GoGo also did a good job here as she speedblitzed the villain at one point and really did most of the work in the first battle. Her high speed rollerskates make her a formidable threat and it’s something that can actually be taken seriously in a fight. Together, all of these members make up the Big Hero 6 so villains better beware. I like to think that the team will get more likable in future films, but the odds of this one getting a sequel isn’t terribly high.

The main villain is pretty intense. Once they say who he really is…he’s not quite as hardcore. Still, this villain is a threat when it comes down to a fight and he certainly holds nothing back. Whether his opponent is a kid or an adult, he plays for keeps. It’s all because of the nanites of course, but every villain needs a gimmick. I also liked the costume that he used since it evoked a sense of fear.

At most, I would just say that the beginning of the film is a little slow. Things don’t really start top pick up until the heroes meet the villain for the first time. Of course, that’s coming from me as an action fan. If I didn’t know that fight scenes were going to show up later, this may have been something that I would have not even noticed. The writing is solid here and that’s part of what makes the film fun. This kind of film really depends on how good the writing is since it could be a little tricky otherwise.

Also, is it just me or would anyone else have liked to have seen more of the Botfighting aspect of the film? That had a lot of potential and it would have been like watching Mega Man or LBX. I really hope that returns in a possible sequel, but with the fights being a little more equal and high tier. It’s no fair if Hiro’s genius just lets him win every time you know? As I mentioned, this one loses to Frozen, but beyond that, it could very well be the best Disney animated film. I can’t think of any that beat this one at the moment, which is actually pretty incredible. Good for Hero 6!

Overall, Big Hero 6 was a fun film to watch and I would totally be open to a sequel. The characters need a little more development, but that’s what sequels are for right? The action scenes were exciting and the animation certainly showed a lot of promise. I’m not sure where they’ll go from here as the world is fairly realistic so far, but I’m sure that they can think of something. I definitely recommend this for any film watcher who wants to watch something quick and fun. The film will be done before you know it and it won’t have dragged on at all. There aren’t many concrete negatives to worry about either so you can just watch the title without a worry. It certainly lived up to my expectations and beat most of the other modern animation films. On a side note, this film reminded me why owning a cafe would be pretty epic. I would definitely be snacking on the leftovers each night since there would be so many to choose from. Man, that would be the life….

Overall 7/10

Sleeping Beauty Review

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It’s time for another one of Disney’s big classic films. Sleeping Beauty may not have the same legacy that other titles like Cinerella and Snow White have achieved, but it’s still fairly big so it’s about time that I reviewed it. It’s a decent film considering its style, but it didn’t do any wonders for me. It’s a pleasant film to watch, but you start to wonder how a Shonen version of this film would play out.

The film starts out with a happy celebration as the King and Queen realize that Aurora is going to rule over the Kingdom. They invite three little fairies to come and present Aurora with magical gifts. One of them gives her beauty and another one gives her the ability to sing. The third one is about to give out another great gift when Maleficent breaks in and curses Aurora. The girl shall die when she pricks her finger on a spindle. This seems to be inevitable, but the fairies wish to stop this. Will they be able to alter destiny or has the evils sorceress really won!?

The film isn’t very long so by the time the sequence is done, you can divide the rest of the film into two parts. Pre Aurora slumber and Post Aurora slumber. The fairies have a decent plan when they decide to hide Aurora in the forest, but you also don’t see it working for very long since it’s hard to hide one’s magical presence. Aurora grows up oblivious to her fate and she has to spend her days in solitude with the fairies. Things get complicated when a prince steps into the picture.

This film has a rather classic romance, which works better than the kind that we get nowadays. The Prince isn’t rude or trying to rush the romance and the heroine helps to take things slowly, but it’s still rather unnecessary. The story of Sleeping Beauty would be much more exciting and breath taking if they had decided to just be friends and then they have to team up to beat the curse. Does that not sound exciting!? Still, the romance wasn’t very bad and it’s not played up as much as you may think considering that this is one of the classic Disney princess stories. The film’s length helps to an extent as well.

Aurora is a decent protagonist, but I can’t say that she was an exceptional one. She’s fairly polite and she listens to the fairy’s advice not to just go off with a strange man, but she does listen to the tug of romance enough to tell the Prince where she lives. Also, she does start to grumble about being treated as a child since she can’t meet anyone, but she should just be happy that she has such a comfortable life. I didn’t really think that there was anything to be upset about. Her strength of will was a little weak since she couldn’t snap the mind control, but I suppose that the rest of the characters wouldn’t have fared much better.

The Prince (He does have a real name by the way) is basically your average prince. He doesn’t have any real character development to speak of. He’s a hero who likes the main heroine and decides that he won’t go through the pre arranged marriage since it’s not true love. He’s a fearless leader who is also a good fighter and he basically has no negatives. He’s no match for the goblins though so you may start to doubt the hype during some of the scenes, but he always means well. The only thing that you can really use against him is that he seems to be a very shallow individual as far as looks are concerned since he falls for Aurora instantly. Some could argue that it was the singing voice, but it’s debatable. Either way, I think the whole love at first sight thing was used way too much in the old films.

The animation is pretty classic and it holds up well. It’s a little too dated to look very flashy and intense like you might see in modern anime films, but I’ll easily take it over some of the animated films that we’ve been getting recently. (The CG-I film about the Boxcar Trolls comes to mind) If there are any animation errors, I didn’t notice any and that’s the important part. We also had more action than the typical, retro Disney film so that helped the animation to show its mettle.

The soundtrack is more on the unremarkable side. There aren’t any memorable tunes as it’s all classical piano and violin music. So, the danger theme is fairly predictable as well as the violin strums when the villain appears and so on. Back then, it felt like a lot of the films had the same soundtrack and that very well may have been the case. Music simply wasn’t as unique back then.

Maleficent is the main villain and I’m sure that we are all aware of the new film that she has gotten. Her minions are pretty bad, which is sad for her, but she makes for a pretty good villain. She can actually fight, which is a plus and she is feared across the kingdom. Her true form is fairly powerful and I’m a sucker for a good energy blast. She is probably the best Disney villain from the old days and it’s not a stretch to say that she is better than Aurora and the Prince. Best character? I would say so!

The three fairies weren’t my favorite characters since they talk a great game, but they can never back it up. Fauna and Flora are particularly annoying at times as they are completely terrified of Malificent and they try to do things the hard way. Working without using their powers is simply not the best way to go. I thought that Merryweather was easily the best member of the trio. She actually fought back against Maleficent’s forces and she was the first one to decide that using their wands would be the right move. She also lets her feelings run wild a little more than the others so you’ll see her back up as she talks about how she’ll beat up Maleficent. (It reminds me of my dog as he strikes fear into burglars from afar!) Merryweather is also the only character who stands up to Flora as she decides that blue is the right color and she sticks to that theory throughout the whole film. It was good to see her secure many of the wins.

The two Kings are mostly pretty sad since they did the whole “arranged marriage” decision. It’s never in a person’s best interest to be a part of such an old fashioned tradition and the Kings should know better. I do think that the fat King was better than the skinny King because he could actually fight. He really intimidated the other King and he wasn’t about to back down. The fish battle is something that you’re not going to forget anytime soon.

Overall, Sleeping Beauty is a decent film, but it’s not really my style. It’s sort of like Frozen, but without the action and less developed characters. The film is barely over an hour, which certainly contributes to this problem. A little more action may have helped to raise this film to a six, but I didn’t feel like it earned that last point. It was close to be sure, but it just needed another good character or fight to help it rise up. There aren’t a whole lot of negatives and the brief romance is really the only thing that would drag it down….or is there another negative? There actually is when you consider the fate of the evil bird. It wasn’t a very nice thing for Merryweather to have done and I thought that they could only use magic that helps people? I guess that was just more fake hype because an energy blast doesn’t fall into that category. The film didn’t really need that bit of animal violence although I was okay with the final battle because they didn’t go the generic “Off with its head” route that most films decide to do nowadays. A center stab is perfectly legitimate and it’s easier to watch. If you want to see a classic romance story with a nice princess and a dashing prince, then this is definitely your scene. If you want something like that, but with a little action..check out Frozen! (Although I’m sure that you already let it go after watching it a few times by this point)

Overall 5/10