As we're currently in the throngs of awards season, studios are combing through movie reviews to find the most beaming critiques to place in new "critics" TV spots to promote their films' Oscar clout -- look at ones for 'Gravity,' 'Dallas Buyers Club' and the like. Well, leave it to 'The Muppets Most Wanted' to come up with one that puts all the rest to shame.
December 25, 2013
Sometimes great artistry comes from coloring inside the lines.
Walt Disney Animation's newest film, 'Frozen,' does precious little to push the boundaries of narrative storytelling. Indeed, it is a quite predictable – might I even suggest formulaic - culmination of elements. While picking over the bones of a half-remembered Hans Christian Andersen story, 'The Snow Queen,' Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck's film expands certain themes, disposes of some characters and, of course, modernizes a bit for contemporary audiences. However, miraculously, this doesn't feel like a Xerox of a Xerox impersonating a classic Disney film. There's precious little winking; hardly any of the 'Shrek'-effect. 'Frozen' has enough of the goods to play it straight and succeed on its own terms. It is a major entry in family-friendly entertainment, one that ought to reverberate for years with tie-in toys and stage productions.
November 18, 2013
Disney's 'Maleficent' trailer turns the tables on the classic story of 'Sleeping Beauty' and retells it from the vantage point of the wicked witch. And who better to play the title part than Angelina Jolie herself?
The first 'Maleficent' poster is here, courtesy of Walt Disney Studios, featuring Angelina Jolie in all her glory as the famous fairy tale witch from 'Sleeping Beauty.'
October 25, 2013 So what do you get when you take a couple YouTube Channel stars and some of the greatest songs from Disney movies ever?
This awesome medley! That's what!
Alex G. and Peter Hollens cover all the best Disney tunes from Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, The Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin!
Anyone can whistle or sing their favorite Disney song, but for every 'Under the Sea' and 'A Whole New World,' there are dozens of orphaned tunes that never made it into their respective film. Too bad, since many of these unfortunate victims of time constraints or script rewrites are really catchy.
Ever since Disney announced that 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' would close down production in favor of the new series 'Star Wars Rebels,' which is set in between the original trilogies, we've been more impatient than Luke Skywalker for a look. Now it seems we may only need to wait until next week, as the first teaser of 'Star Wars Rebels' has been scheduled to air.