Disney's New Short Film 'Blank: A Vinylmation Love Story'

Happy early Valentine's day to all!! I have a great treat I'd like to share for all of you Vinylmation collectors out there (and even those who are NOT Vinylmation collectors)!! Disney has made this short film (running about 40min), based on the popular Vinylmation collectables. This story is about two unpainted Vinylmations, Blank & Bow, who fall in love. However, they're immediately separated from one another and Blank travels all over to search for his beloved bow. This short is stop motion animation and, like most of Disney's and Disney Pixar's shorts, has no narration or any dialogue, and that's what makes this particular short much stronger. According to Disney Insider, Executive Producer Margaret Gilmore explains this beautiful masterpiece exquisitely on Disney Insider: 

"At its core, Blank: A Vinylmation Love Story is a story about individuality, self expression, and making a difference in the world. And in this world, where most of us are bombarded everyday with tweets and texts and newsfeeds and e-mails and people talking at us with words, words, and more words, I am inviting you for the next forty minutes to experience a story with no words. We hope that Blank: A Vinylmation Love story will bypass everyone's busy brains and go right to your heart."

I absolutely adored this short it was so adorable to the point where I giggled and laughed, gasped, and even went "Awww!" The story was well thought out and I felt the emotions between all of the characters, especially Blank and Bow, without any dialogue. It truly warmed my heart and made me smile, I hope it does the same for you. Whether you're celebrating valentine's day with someone special or by yourself, this will definitely brighten your day!

The trailer for the short is down below for you to watch just so you can get a feel of what it's going to be like. If you'd like to watch the full length short, then you'll be able to watch it free on Google Play.

'Chip 'N' Dale Rescue Rangers' Live-Action/CG Movie

I'm sure those of you who are 90's babies, remember Disney's older cartoons they use to show on television such as Darkwing Duck, TaleSpin, DuckTales, etc. I watched all of those, but I was truly a big fan of Chip N' Dale Rescue Rangers (1989). I was always getting ready to watch that show, and mainly catch the opening just to sing-a-long with the theme song. "Ch-ch-ch-chip N' Dale! Rescue Rangers!" (Catchy, right?!) Well, according to Screen Rant, Disney is going to revive this lovable cartoon into a combination of live-action and CG (A.K.A. Live Action/CG hybrid) film. For example: Alvin and The Chipmunks (2007) and The Smurfs (2011).  

Note: CG (Computer Generated)

Also, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Robert Rugan, an award winning commercial's director, gave the pitch to Disney and has been approved to write the future of our beloved cartoon. 

I'm somewhat curious to see the film's final result, but then again, I haven't really been a fan of the live action/CG hybrid movies. Sure, I was ecstatic when I saw the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie, but would I watch it again? No, not really. The only movie that I actually enjoyed a combination of cartoon characters and live-action is Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Although, that's more of live-action/animation hybrid; not CG.) I love Chip N' Dale Rescue Rangers, but I hope they don't crush that love.  However, I agree with Screen Rant about how this upcoming film could be the start of creating a full-on live-action version of Gargoyles (Crosses fingers)! Now THAT is something that I'd have my heart set and stoned on! 

"Once Upon A Dream" by Lana Del Rey

Hello, Disney fans, Lana Del Rey Fans, Sleeping Beauty fans, Angelina Jolie fans, and Maleficent fans! This morning I found out that artist, Lana Del Rey, sung the famous song from Disney's Sleeping Beauty called "Once Upon A Dream". If you haven't listened to it yet, you can find it in the newest and official trailer for Disney's Maleficent down below OR if you're restraining yourself to watch anymore trailers for the movie then just CLICK HERE to listen.

I love Lana Del Rey's songs and her beautiful voice. The decision of having her sing "Once Upon A Dream" was a splendid one. The tone of the song combined with her voice makes it beautiful and yet haunting which goes superbly well with the trailer for Maleficent. You get both of a mystic and eerie feeling of the song and every time I listen to the enchantment during the trailer, my heart races and the way Angelina Jolie smiles so viscously, gives me the chills! I was going to stay away from watching more trailers for this movie, but when I heard about Lana Del Rey, I just had to watch this! It doesn't give away anything, though it shows more of the action that pulls you in wanting more. Your welcome!

If you're like me and fell in love with this version of "Once Upon A Dream" and want to download it now, you can get it for free at Google Play.

'Frozen's' Extra Reprise Song made by Fans.

****WARNING! FROZEN SPOILERS BELOW!****

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So, today, I was browsing the internet, searching all-things-Frozen. And I came upon  Musical Catbug (tumblr) and the user, phananigans, suggested that a reprise for the song "Do You Wanna Build A Snowman" was truly needed, and so he wrote the lyrics:

"Yes I wanna build a snowman…

I’m sorry that it took so long…

I didn’t know I needed you…I really do…

and now you’re gone…

please…just ask me once more…

just one more time…I promise I’ll open the door

…yes I wanna build a snowman…”

I became fascinated with the lyrics and so started searching to see if anyone picked this up and actually did a recording for this reprise that phanigans had written. Too bad, I can't sing, or else I would have sung it. Anyways, I came upon tumblr user, scarlet-glow, and she did a recording for it. You can find it on her tumblr or on YouTube:

Wow...breathtaking, isn't it? The song fit so perfectly with the scene! I saw this film twice and I'm crying again! 

All I have to say is bravo to both phananigans and scarlet-glow! Phananigans did a great job writing the lyrics and scarlet-glow sung it amazingly! Great work, Frozen fans! Someone call Disney ASAP and add this to the movie when it comes out on DVD!! I can wait a little longer for the DVD release if that's what it takes to add this song on there! I'm all ready singing this reprise in my head! 

Disney's Polynesian Princess

Hello, ladies and gentleman! I would like to proudly inform you that Disney is making another princess movie! Woo! She's a Polynesian Princess, by the name of Moana Waialiki. According to IMDb and The Huffington Post, she is a Polynesian sea-voyager, navigator, and of course, a chief's daughter. She will go a mysterious and adventurous journey to help her family and will encounter demi-gods and spirits from actual historical mythologies. It will take place 2000 years ago in South Pacific. Also, like most Disney films, this will be a musical, and Mark Mancina will be the composer along with Dave Metzger who will collaborate and develope the film's score.  

(Concept Art from Disney's Moana)

Moana will be directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, who've worked on other Disney films such The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, & The Princess and the Frog. Also, this movie will be a computer-animated film, according to Huffington Post, who also stated that they considered taking the hand drawn art/digital technique that was applied to the short Paperman. However, Musker and Clements said that there were still too many complications to the techinque (like adding color) and it was still too early to apply it. Aw, too bad. I actually think the technique would look great for the film's landscaping/setting. But, I'm sure, the two will do just fine without it.

My knowledge on Polynesian culture is quite low. The only thing I know about Polynesian culture is the dancing. Two years ago, I took Polynesian dancing and Oh, my word, it was lots of fun! I love the movements of the hips, yet the secret to moving the hips is actually in the knees. I love the music and the instruments used and I'm excited to see how Disney will pull this off!

The release is set for 2018, so we'll have to wait a while.

Saving Mr. Banks (Review)

Quick Synopsis from IMDb: While meeting with filmmaker, Walt Disney, Author P.L. Travers reflects on her difficult childhood past during production for the adaption of her novel, Mary Poppins. Walt Disney had asked for the rights of Mary Poppins for 20 years, to keep the promise he made to his daughters, which was to make her book come alive.

Directed By: John Lee Hancock

I went to the movies by myself to watch this film, and let me tell you, the audience was a lot older, somewhere between 50 and 70 years old; maybe older. But it was a lovely site, because I'm pretty sure most of them were kids when Mary Poppins was first released and they enjoyed it. 

I love watching behind the scenes for movies and enjoy watching the process of them and exploring where a story comes from, so I was extremely excited to watch this film. The story behind Mary Poppins was definitely something I wouldn't have gathered at all but it was quite an exceptional story about a girl (P.L. Travers) and her father. I was very surprised by the content of this film but it did a great job of making me sob near the end because it reminded me of someone that I had lost. I understood P.L. Travers behavior and why she was scared to sign the rights over to Disney because her story of Mary Poppins wasn't just a creation, but it was her childhood memories and she feared that Disney would destroy the image of her father, who is, Mr. Banks in the story and Disney's adaption. 

Emma Thompson portrays P.L. Travers, the woman who started it all. The character, Travers, is a woman who is quite stubborn and afraid to put her story of Mary Poppins in the hands of Walt Disney, because she fears that he may ruin the story, especially one character in particular: Mr. Banks. There are moments in the movie where they give flashbacks as she stares out of a window, thinking of her past back when she was a little girl (the young version of Travers was portrayed by Annie Rose Buckley). I definitely could tell that Travers once lived life in a fantasy, but due to parts of her past, reality hit her hard which was the cause for her stiff personality. P.L. Travers certainly gave Disney and the others a hard time while in the process of creating this film, and at the end of the movie, they actually let the actual recording from the rehearsals play during the credits. 

Tom Hanks as Walt Disney was outstanding and he captured his personality very well; especially with the way he talked. I was quite mesmerized in his performance as Walt because as much as a Disney fan I am, I wish I had the chance to meet the real Walt Disney. I definitely learned some other facts about Walt Disney that I didn't know about such as: His bad smoking habit and he didn't like anyone to see him smoking, along with his upbringing as a child in what seemed to be in an abusive home. Although, it was his dream and imagination that kept him going to escape that reality. 

Who is 'Mr. Banks'?

For all you Disney fans out there, please forgive me, it's been a while since I've watched Mary Poppins and before I watched the movie I had to remind myself who Mr. Banks was. For those of you who forgot as well, Mr. Banks was Jane and Michael's father in Disney's Mary Poppins (as well as the book). As the story is unfolding in the movie, we learn that P.L. Travers wrote Mr. Banks as a portrayal of her own father. In Saving Mr. Banks, he is portrayed by actor Colin Farrell and he does a marvelous job with the role and despite him being an alcoholic, making bad choices for his family, which caused negative looks in other people's eyes, he did not fail to show love for his daughters and spreading imagination into their eyes, as though giving a veil to the reality that they lived in. Every moment shared between father and daughter in this movie is both captivating and heartbreaking. 

I also would love to add that the minor actors in this film is what brought its high spirits to this movie: Paul Giamatti as Ralph, the chauffeur, B.J. Novak & Jason Schwartzman as the Sherman Brothers, and Bradley Whitford as DonDaGradi.  

Overall, I felt the truth in this movie and the realistic performances from everyone. I feel like it's definitely Oscar worthy. There was so much emotion in this film that I felt like it grabbed my heart and wouldn't let go, which made me cry. No, no, I'm not talking just miniature tears, but an actual sob, only because this film made me think of my grandfather. The lovable personality of P.L. Traverse's father made me think of that same lovable personality my grandfather had before he passed. Saving Mr. Banks definitely shows that there is a child within all of us whether our past was good or bad. This movie is quite long, but it's definitely worth an adventure worth soaring on letting your emotions fly onto the east wind. 

I would like to warn you that, this movie is PG-13 because of the content such as alcoholism, suicide, and hardships of a past childhood, so this would NOT be a great movie to take your young ones to see. 

My Rating: 4.5/5

'Frozen' Movie Review

When Frozen was just bouncing around as word of mouth, I was curious. When the teaser trailer was released, I had my doubts and seemed like it could be a flop. When the official trailer came out, I started to have some hopes for it but was still a bit on edge about this movie; I didn't really have high expectations for this movie. But, of course, being the Disney fan I am, I had to go see it and, boy, was I glad I went! 

The beginning of the movie was absolutely adorable and showed the chemistry between the Anna and Elsa right away, however, due to Elsa's snow powers, the two became distant. Eventually, something pushed Elsa to the edge and her powers got out of control and she runs away. Though, Anna, goes on a journey to try to convince her sister to come back and to unfreeze their kingdom. 

The Characters:

The characters in this film were well developed and definitely had great chemistry with one another. I admire Disney for putting Anna and Elsa in the spotlight, leaving the males in this movie as secondary characters. I know many people have complained about Anna looking like Rapunzel from Tangled, but watching the movie, they definitely have their differences in both appearance and personality. Sure, they have the same shaped head, round eyes, but if you watch the film, it's not a big deal at all.

Anna is the protagonist, and even though Elsa is the one responsible for covering Arundel in winter and Anna's loneliness, she isn't exactly the antagonist. 

As for the males, Kristoff and Hans, there was no resemblance of Flynn Ryder anywhere; even in personality. I'm relieved that they made Kristoff not have so much of a "Prince Charming" look, if you catch my drift. He was more bigger, had a thicker body, bigger nose, and hey! He wasn't a prince! Olaff, the talking snowman, was hilarious!! Actor, Josh Gad, did a splendid job playing the voice of this lovable snowman. When he appeared in the trailers, I thought of him as possibly being annoying, but, I was truly wrong! I loved his character and his love for summer and likes giving warm hugs! He was an enjoyable side kick and does a great job as a comedic relief for the young ones who may feel the story may be too much. 

The Music

The musical numbers in this film were outstanding and with the voice of the wonderful Idina Menzel, I felt like I was watching a live play on broadway. Idina Menzel, who plays the voice of Elsa, played Elphaba  from Broadway's Wicked. She also played in Rent, Disney's Enchanted and in Glee as Shelby Corcoran. 

My favorite songs are "Let It Go" and "For the First Time in Forever (Reprise)" duet by Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell. I love the overlapping of the two singing! It gives me the chills (Ha! See what I did there)? The songs overall, were catchy, filled with incredible emotion, and were even comedic. Most of all, they are memorable. 

Also, the score was composed by Christophe Beck who composed movies for Percy Jackson: & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Disney's Paperman, and more! 

The Story

This movie was based off of the Snow Queen, for those of you who don't know. The Snow Queen was written by Hans Christian Anderson and if you want to read the story, you can find it online. Disney's version was different, of course, but it was told in it's own style, yet, it still kept some of the features from the original story.

The story does a great job focusing on the importance of siblings/sisters. I don't have a sister so I can't really relate to the movie so much, however, I do have a brother. Though, but I think it's a great plot about sisters; about always being there for one another no matter what. I think this story can be an empowerment for women and young girls of any age. 

CGI, Art, & Design

The landscape design for the movie was stunning! The design for kingdom, Arundel, in the summer, the snow, the CGI with Elsa and her snow powers were breathtaking. I hear it's even more lovely in 3D! The design of the characters costumes were gorgeous and if I ever want to dress up as a Disney character, I'd probably dress up as Elsa in her beautifully shimmering dress she changes into while singing "Let It Go".  

The design of Anna and Elsa were greatly detailed; I mainly speak of their freckles. I absolutely love freckles and I have freckles, and so, seeing these two girls with freckles, it made me giggle. 

Overall

I've been reading reviews online and people have been saying that Disney's Frozen is the BEST since The Lion King. Keep in mind, people are saying NOT saying "better than". They are saying "best since". There's a difference. After watching this movie, I can agree! I enjoyed this movie much more than Tangled and The Princess and the Frog. Don't get me wrong, those movies are good, but Frozen was GREAT; it was great enough to put it on my top 5 favorite Disney movies. 

I've learned a lot from Frozen, such as love doesn't just suddenly appear, "True Love" has other meanings, and more (I don't want to give away too much). This was definitely different for Disney because it's not your typical princess movie, which is what I love about this film. Elsa and Anna focus on family rather than romance and are indeed Disney heroines! I got a lot more of emotion watching this film and Disney has outdone themselves and has thawed my frozen heart by proving that they've still got the magic. Bravo! 

I give Disney's Frozen a 5/5!! 

What did you think of the film? Did you love it? Hate  it? Thought it was just OK?

I'm curious to hear your review! Leave a comment below!