2013 Upcoming Films Review by Briana Alessio

This year is an exciting one for films!  Disney has a lot in store with films being released from March through December.  We have both animation and live action specialties so let’s take a look at what is to come.

Oz the Great and Powerful (March 8, 2013)

Similar to what we have seen in the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz, we go from Kansas to the brilliant world of Oz.  However, instead of focusing on Dorothy, this film concentrates on the life of Oz played by James Franco.  The three witches are Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams).  This film will be a mystery on who is good and who is evil, as well as figuring out whether Oz is as great a wizard as he leads others to believe.  Sam Raimi directs with a score by Danny Elfman.

I’ve spoken to many people who have mixed opinions on this concept.  Most are lovers of The Wizard of Oz, so they believe that the storyline should be left alone.  They feel a Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland vibe going on during the previews.  However, I feel that Raimi could do a wonderful job with this if he played his cards right.

The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex (March 15, 2013)

Airing on the Disney Channel, this film comes from the Wizards of Waverly Place TV show on the same channel.  Most of the original cast will be in the film including Selena Gomez who plays Alex.  This will focus on a trip to Italy where the family will meet long lost relatives.  We see a battle between a good Alex and a bad Alex created from a spell.

Honestly, I do not watch Wizards of Waverly Place so the excitement level is not high for this one.  I’m sure it will be a fun, campy film though.

Iron Man 3 (May 3, 2013)

All hail the return of Tony Stark!  Marvel will bring us yet another action packed superhero film…no complaints here.  The richly talented actor Ben Kingsley will give us the portrayal of the villain named The Mandarin.  Paul Bettany returns as the voice of Jarvis, as well as Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper.  We will also see Don Cheadle as James Rhodes/War Machine.  Shane Black will direct this one. 

Words cannot describe how unbelievably excited I am for this one.  After being rather disappointed with the second one, I’m hoping this one will blow it right out of the water.  The cast is incredible; hoping the film is as well.

Monsters University (June 21, 2013)

A prequel to Monsters, Inc., this will concentrate on the lives of Mike and Sulley attending the University of Fear in order to become full-fledged monsters.  We will see Randall as well as the Abominable Snowman in this.  Billy Crystal, John Goodman, and Steve Buscemi return for their original voice roles.  We will also hear Helen Mirren, David Spade, and Michael McKean among others providing characters’ voices.  Dan Scanlon will direct.

Being a big fan of Monsters, Inc. and knowing how many people adore it, I have a good feeling about this.  After getting past the fact that Boo will most likely not appear in the film, I have accepted that this will be a solid production.  Most definitely looking forward to it, as the original gave us a beautifully animated creation.

The Blue Umbrella (June 21, 2013)

This short will likely appear prior to Monsters University.  It will focus on the beauty of inanimate objects – umbrellas.  Two fall in love and a story will unravel.  We do not have much information on this at the moment but it is almost better to not know and just let it be a surprise.  This looks like it will be quite an outstanding piece and might even give some competition for Paperman.

I always look forward to the shorts preceding a Disney/Pixar film.  They are continually amazing and give us a peek into the animators’ minds each year.

The Lone Ranger (July 3, 2013)

Armie Hammer will star as John Reid/The Lone Ranger and Johnny Depp will star as Tonto in this recreation of the classic 1949-1957 television show.  Helena Bonham Carter will play Red and the fabulous Tom Wilkinson will give us Latham Cole.  Directed by Gore Verbinski, this focuses on the life of Reid and how he became a fictional but historical role model for many.

This looks to be an exciting film and I am definitely looking forward to seeing it.  The excitement level for me probably places this film in third place for me, with Iron Man 3 being in first.  Also, with Johnny Depp, you really cannot go wrong.

Teen Beach Movie(July 2013)

Similar to The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex, this film will be a Disney Channel movie.  This is about a young surfer girl whose parents send her to boarding school.  From here, she somehow finds herself in a 1960s beach musical where people will suddenly break into song. 

For some reason, I’m imagining a mix of Pleasantville and Beach Blanket Bingo. Hopefully I will be wrong but I can see it having the same charm factor as Prom.  That is, if you are like me and actually thought a charm factor existed within Prom. 

Planes (August 9, 2013)

This film will concentrate on a plane named Dusty whose wish is to compete in an aerial race.  His friends will assist in helping him overcome his fear of heights.  This is said to be a spinoff of Cars; however, Pixar will not be involved in this production.  Despite this fact, John Lasseter will oversee the making of the film.

I’m not sure how well this will do in theatres knowing that this is a spinoff of Cars.  Hopefully having planes in place will be endearing as well.  The concept sounds cute.

Thor: The Dark World (November 8, 2013)

Marvel is preparing to give us another superhero film, this one focusing on the mythical god Thor.  Thankfully, the majority of the cast is returning except for Once Upon a Time’s Josh Dallas as Fandral.  Zachary Levi will step in to take his place.  Alan Taylor will direct; this appears to be his first involvement with Disney and Marvel.  Christopher Eccleston will play the villain Malekith as a battle wages between Thor and the Dark Elves. 

This film rates in second place for me.  I’m a Marvel loving gal so I have high hopes for their 2013 films. 

Frozen (November 27, 2013)

Kristen Bell and Josh Gad will voice Anna and Olaf in this animated film about a mountain climber on the quest to find the Snow Queen.  Hans Christian Andersen wrote the original tale appropriately titled The Snow Queen.  This looks to be a mythical story, one which looks to contain unsurprisingly beautiful animation. 

I have not heard a great deal about this film but it appears to be interesting.  To me, the pictures I have seen resemble a mix of Mulanand The Secret World of Arrietty. 

Saving Mr. Banks (December 20, 2013)

Tom Hanks will portray Walt Disney in this film about PL Travers (played by Emma Thompson), the author of Mary Poppins.  This takes place before the film was actually released to the public.  We are told that part of this was filmed in Disneyland, which should be neat to see.  We will see a tremendous cast including the likes of Paul Giamatti, Rachel Griffiths, Bradley Whitford, Colin Farrell, and Jason Schwartman among others.

This looks like it will be an interesting one to see.  I am looking forward to seeing Hanks portray our Uncle Walt, as well as seeing Thompson portray Travers.  Some of us may be briefly familiar with their real life business relationship which was definitely not an easy one.

I am extremely excited about the upcoming year of films.  Each one looks solid in its own way.  Despite looking forward to the Marvel centered films most of all, each look like masterpieces which are sure to make 2013 quite a special year.

It’s like no place I’ve ever seen.

The Three Musketeers Review by Briana Alessio

This brief, animated re-telling of the three famous heroes stars Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy.  Believe it or not, this is from 2004 which is frightening since this feels like it just came out two years ago.

 

Unlike the typical tale (or tail, in this instance) of the film, their version is a tad different.  I will summarize their adventure.  Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are janitors who are looking to be heroes…Musketeers, to be specific.  It is refreshing to see a classic villain by the name of Pete as their enemy.  He stars as Peg-Leg Pete who believes none of them will ever make it to the big leagues.  He is so passionate against their success that he has terms for each of them – he deems Mickey as “just too small”, Donald as a “coward”, and Goofy as a “doofus.”  As a matter of fact, there is a funny scene where to demonstrate his point, Pete puts his ear up to Goofy’s head to see if it’s working, and a busy signal sounds with the familiar “number you are trying to reach” message.  That will bring a laugh for adults. 

Pete has a mission to kidnap Princess Minnie although his true goal is to do the exact opposite.  His league of dummies called The Beagle Boys have misunderstood Pete’s order to keep her safe and instead attempt to drop a safe on the unsuspecting Minnie.  Thankfully, their plan does not work out.  So Pete plans to take his revenge during The Pirates of Penzance when he will display his mighty strength.  Princess Minnie informs Pete that she would like bodyguards, so he hires Mickey, Donald, and Goofy for her protection. 

A bit of chaos takes place once the gang is attacked by the Beagle Boys.  Minnie and Goofy are kidnapped, so the wannabe Musketeers know they must rescue them.  After a fun tower scene, the Beagle Boys get knocked off and the ladies are saved.  Mickey and Minnie obviously fall in love.  Pete soon acknowledges the fact that these three friends are stronger than they appear and that “small”, “coward”, and “doofus” do not apply at all.  After more chaos including a fabulous appearance from Clarabelle, the film ends with a bang on a stage during The Pirates of Penzance.  Of course, the film ends on a positive note.

Mickey and Minnie are voiced by the incredible Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor.  Allwine voiced Mickey from 1973 to 2009.  Taylor has voiced Minnie since 1987; she has also given us Strawberry Shortcake and currently provides voice work on the Disney show Jake and the Never Land Pirates.  Allwine and Taylor were married, which makes the whole concept absolutely magical.  Tony Anselmo gives us Donald Duck and has been since 1986, while Bill Farmer has voiced Goofy since 1987.  Jim Cummings voices Pete, and has provided us with a countless number of character voices through the years.  Tress MacNeille plays Daisy and April Winchell voices Clarabelle.

The Three Musketeers is directed by Donovan Cook.  Cook has directed a few other titles including two episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Evan Spiliotopoulos and David M. Evans wrote for the film.  And of course, some credit must go to the man himself, Alexandre Dumas.

FIVE FACTS:

1.)  Pete uses his peg leg for the first time since the 1930s.

2.)  The original idea for the film came about in the 1940s but Disney realized there needed to be four heroes, not three.  They realized in 2004 that they could make a film which could parallel the story to tell an interesting tale in homage of the original.  Successfully done.

3.)  This is the first feature length film with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy together.

4.)  Goofy is the only main character to not appear in his traditional outfit.

5.)  Hidden Mickey: a flashing emergency light.

I do not have a favorite scene during this film but the entire ending scene on stage during The Pirates of Penzance is quite comical.  There is also a nod to The Mickey Mouse Club where Pete announces at one point, “Hey there, hi there, ho there, you’re as welcome as can be.”  There is also an “I just can’t wait to be king” thrown in there.  Also, I noticed how much of this film brings back memories from House of Mouse (from 2001 and 2002), the fantastic Disney Channel television series. 

The Three Musketeers is a fun film.  It’s a great one to check out at some point with the family when you have spare time.  It is no Beauty and the Beastor Aladdin, but it is worth watching.  Definitely not a top notch Disney flick, but certainly a fun one.

My Rating:  3.5/5

By the power invested in my fist, I clobber you.

Fantasia 2000 Review by Briana Alessio

This renewal of animation from 1999 brings us a whole new set of scenes set to some of the most beautiful and famous pieces of music in the world.  It is different in that this brings a more modernized look while still maintaining the classic, original appeal.

The film opens with the orchestra setting up while we see flashes of 1940’s Fantasia in the background.  It is quite a beautiful sequence of past scenes.  Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 begins as we see paper butterflies and an incredibly drawn scene of vivid colors and a number of butterflies minimizing as fast as they were maximizing.  This comes to an end as rays from the sun descend and the butterflies ascend to the sky toward Heaven, bringing home the powerful finish to the musical piece. 

Steve Martin appears onstage and briefly discusses the original Fantasia.  He then introduces Itzhak Perlman who introduces the film’s conductor, Maestro James Levine accompanied by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  Pines of Rome by Ottorino Respighi begins as whales swim to the light hearted, lovely melody.  Seagulls fly above as icebergs dangerously stand below.  There is a moment where the main whale of the scene stares through what appears to be a transparent iceberg to gaze at a sea creature about five times its size.  The following moment is a bit shocking as the whales begin to fly in the air.  As we know, whales do not fly.  Abnormal animation sequences are not uncommon for Fantasiaand the like, yet it is still surprising to see.

George Gershwin’s stunning Rhapsody in Blue begins its telling, beautiful tale as we see a glimpse into everyday life of New York City.  The scene accurately and humorously describes the A-type personality of city dwellers as hordes of people rush onto a train and depart to quickly run to their apartments.  However, this quickly turns into quite a moving story as we briefly see into the lives of three individuals.  A little girl tries her hand at ballet and various other sporting activities and fails at everything she tries; a construction work is bored at his job; and a man seems to be frustrated at the amount of time his wife spends on their dog.  They all gaze longingly out of their windows at Rockefeller Center, imagining themselves ice skating with everything feeling right in the surrounding world.  Without revealing precisely what happens, we see some brightness shine on their lives.

Bette Midler tells us a bit about the animation sequences which did not get put through to the final draft of Fantasia.  She then presents Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 Allegro, Opus 102 to begin the Steadfast Toy Soldierscene.  This brilliantly beautiful segment shows the life of a soldier and ballet dancer who quickly and desperately fall in love.  A big headed jack in the box stands in their way as he continually attempts to kill the soldier.  There is even a highly dangerous moment where the soldier gets knocked out of the building and goes on a mini river adventure with evil rats waiting on a snack.  In an amazing twist of fate, he is returned to his original place of residence where he has a final battle with the jack in the box and is finally able to live happily ever after with his love.

Next we see James Earl Jones introduce The Carnival of the Animalsby Camille Saint-Saens.  This is a very short piece but shows us a comical look into the life of your average flamingo who plays yo-yo.  Because, as we all know, flamingos play with yo-yos on a daily basis.  In this piece, the troublemaker flamingo is hot pink while the others are their natural shade of tropical pink.  This is what sets them apart on the wild “goose chase” (so to speak) theming.  Penn and Teller then present The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Paul Dukas, the most famous piece from the original Fantasia film starring the one and only Mickey Mouse.  At the end of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice in Fantasia, Mickey Mouse greets Leopold Stokowski.  This time, after doing just that, he informs Maestro James Levine that Donald Duck is missing. 

This brings us to Levine introducing the next piece featuring Donald Duck (he eventually shows up – this seems to be a common trend with him i.e. Philharmagic).  The wonderful song we associate with graduation ceremonies called Pomp & Circumstance (Marches 1, 2, 3, and 4) by Sir Edward Elgar provides the music for this Biblical centered scene.  We see Noah instruct Donald to round up the animals.  The familiar march plays as we see the animals proudly walk up the ramp and into the ark.  The flood comes pretty quickly and Daisy, Donald’s flame, is led to assume he did not make it onto the ark.  They think the other is dead as we witness a painful few minutes of heartache and close calls of possibly seeing each other.  As they exit the ark, they find each other and a rainbow shines overhead, which represents God’s promise to never flood the earth again which is surrounded by the powerful impact of the musical composition.

Angela Landsbury introduces the final segment of the film, Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite (1919 version).  She states that Walt Disney called the art of animation a “voyage of discovery into the realms of color, sound, and motion.”  This is probably the most interesting scene of the film, presenting a wintery background for what is to come.  A moose breathes icy air forming a mythical creature to appear.  She is a beautiful goddess of sorts who almost looks like an anime drawing.  She encounters a twisted rock which destroys everything in its path, wreaking havoc on the surrounding area.  She disappears and the moose brings her back.  She seems to be quite injured but is able to fly again thanks to her fallen tears which bring new life to flowers (this is very Tangled-esque) and therefore gives her renewed energy.  She outstretches across the land and brings brighter color and well-being to the flowers which is reminiscent of the original Fantasia film, where a similar creature floats in the sky to change the color of the sky as the sun sets.  The closing credits appear on-screen as we see the orchestra departing and moments from the film play in the background.

The live action sequences are hosted/presented by the aforementioned individuals.  Fantasia 2000 is directed by eight incredibly talented individuals.  Gaetan and Paul Brizzi direct the Firebird Suite.  James Algar directed The Sorcerer’s Apprentice segment.  Hendel Butoy directs Pines of Romeand Piano Concerto No. 2 while Francis Glebas brings us Pomp and Circumstance.  Eric Goldberg gave us Rhapsody in Blue and The Carnival of the Animals while Pixote Hunt took care of Symphony No 5.  Finally, Don Hahn directed the host sequences in-between the animated segments.

FIVE FACTS:

1.)  This was released just after midnight on Dec. 31^st 1999, causing it to be the first film to be released in the new millennium.

2.)  George Gershwin is featured in the Rhapsody in Blue segment.  He is seen playing a piano in his apartment window above where the little girl known as Rachel is seen during her piano lesson.

3.)  The Steadfast Tin Soldier scene was slated to appear in the original Fantasiabut no one came to a decision as to what music should be used for it.

4.)  One of the animals marching into the ark is a frilled lizard which was featured in The Rescuers Down Under.

5.)  The Firebird Suite contains an eruption of volcanos which is made to emulate the eruption of Mount Saint Helens in 1980. 

My favorite scene in this film is the entire Pomp and Circumstance segment.  I’ve always been a huge fan of the graduation march.  It is one of those compositions which never fails to bring tears to my eyes.  Francis Glebas did an incredible job directing this piece, beautifully matching the characters’ actions to each rise and fall of the melody.

Fantasia 2000is somewhat similar to and somewhat different from Fantasia.  The newer film brings more of an edge and delves a little deeper into darker tones of animation.  It is extremely fun and will definitely be enjoyed by individuals of all ages.  This comes highly recommended by many people, including myself.

My Rating:  4.5/5

Oh, and camera back on me. Camera back on me. Ca... Am I done? 

Fantasia Review by Briana Alessio

This classic from 1940 focuses on a set of symphonies where scenes are the background.  This is unlike the normal theme of a film where a scene is set to music.  As we know, music is the driving force of a film.  Fantasia magnifies the meaning of this by dedicating the entire basis around the power of an orchestra.

I don’t know about the rest of you but there is nothing that gets my heart racing like an orchestra tuning up before a concert.  The adrenaline rush that comes right before the instruments all begin to sound one by one is one of the best feelings in the world, especially if you are a music fanatic such as myself.

Throughout the film, a gentleman by the name of Deems Taylor narrates between scenes to present said scenes to the audience.  This brings the film to a very personal level and brings breaking the fourth wall to a comfortable level.  After all, this is not a typical movie.  This is rather a piece of brilliant art.  The conductor for all pieces is Leopold Stokowski leading the Philadelphia Orchestra.

The first segment of Fantasia is the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 written by Johann Sebastian Bach.  We see silhouettes of the orchestra during the composition.  The medley of colors goes hand in hand with the intensity and mystery of certain notes.  For instance, the louder and more dramatic parts reflect the colors red and deep orange, while the lighter and brighter instrumentals reflect paler tones such as light blue.  The scene ends with Stokowski silhouetted against a sunset. 
The second segment brings us Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71A highlighting fairies and their daily lifestyle.  They spend their days covering nature in pixie dust.  The famous dancing mushrooms make an appearance during this portion as well.  Little flowers come alive and turn into petal ladies with dresses, and fish transform into silhouetted mermaids which makes for a neat transition.  Even more flowers appear and turn into dancing men and women wearing some form of elaborate headgear.  They just as quickly go back to their flower form after the dance.  We see more fairies reveal themselves, taking the shape of dragonflies and giving additional color to beautiful nature, while afterwards ice skating in tune to the melody.  The scene ends with dancing snowflakes parading across the screen.

For the third segment, Taylor introduces us to The Sorcerer’s Apprentice written by Paul Dukas.  This is the most famous of the scenes in Fantasia.  Mickey Mouse is portraying the sorcerer’s apprentice, who is watching his master perform sorcery before deciding to head to bed.  He leaves his magical hat on a table.  Mickey decides to put it on, bringing a broom to life to do his work for him.  He appears to fall asleep in a chair, dreaming of conducting a magnificent water orchestra, which may seem familiar to you if you have taken a trip on the Great Movie Ride in Disney’s Hollywood Studios (MGM for those of us who will forever call it that such as yours truly).  In the attraction you see Mickey in this very scene as you go through a windy portion…in fact it is so windy that my hair is known to look worse after this than after a trip on Space Mountain.  But back to business.  He awakens to find that the brooms have gone out of control and the building is basically flooded.  Mickey’s master wakes up and casts the water away as Mickey shamefully hands the hat back to him.  The scene ends with the sorcerer smacking Mickey on the bottom to shoo him out of the room.

The fourth segment gives us Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.  This is supposed to take place at the beginning of time, starting with bursting volcanoes and twirling lava.  We soon see the entrance of dinosaurs and sea creatures.  Once the tyrannosaurus rex enters, things get dangerous.  The music intensifies to build up to the fight scene between Mister T-Rex and the stegosaurus.  This looks very similar to a scene in Ellen’s Energy Adventure (Universe of Energy) in Walt Disney World’s Epcot park.  An earthquake comes about and destroys the dinosaurs afterward.  I have to be honest…this scene is not my favorite.  As much as I love dinosaurs, I’m a bit bored with this portion. 

We have a “fifteen minute” intermission followed by a brief demonstration of various instruments being highlighted by onscreen changing shapes and colors.   This is the least elaborate scene of the film but it feels as though it is a breather of sorts in-between the dramatic elements.

Symphony No. 6 (“Pastoral”), Op. 68 by Ludwig van Beethoven accompanies us for the fifth segment of the film.  We are surrounded by an ethereal and mystical theme for this.  We begin by seeing colorful baby unicorns.  This part is a major cuteness overload, just to warn my fellow unicorn lovers.  We even see a delightful baby Pegasus.  Half human/half horse creatures emerge and the cherubs have a plan for uniting the males and females.  The scene goes a tad awry as a drunken man with purple grape-influenced headgear comes along and they celebrate him until a thunderstorm arrives to ruin the party.  The rulers of thunder and lightning are quite evil hoping to destroy anything and everything in their path.  The scene closes with a beautiful rainbow shining down on the land, followed by a sunset and a lady covering the earth in blue for night time.  This scene is a celebration of weather and changes in nature.

The sixth segment plays Amilcare Ponchielli’s Dance of the Hoursfrom the opera “La Gioconda.”  We are surrounded by ballet dancing hippos, sneaky alligators, and curious elephants.  The main couple in this scene are Hyacinth Hippo (complete with tutu) and Ben Ali Gator.  This will make you smile if you are fond of Walt Disney World’s wonderful nighttime electrical parade in the Magic Kingdom called Spectromagic, which has been replaced by the reincarnated Main Street Electrical Parade.

The seventh and final segment stars good versus evil.  It begins with Modest Mussorgsky’s A Night on Bald Mountain.  We see the villain Chernabog awakening the dead to dance and celebrate evil.  This has been known to horrify children (and let’s face it, adults) of various ages.  It is highly disturbing which still makes me flinch at parts.  It brings to mind scenes from Spectromagic and the nighttime show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios known as Fantasmic!  The tone changes quickly with the sound of church bells as Franz Schubert’s Ave Maria, Op. 52 No. 6 begins to play.  We see silhouettes of individuals singing, holding lanterns as they walk on to celebrate peace and joy.  The sun’s rays close Fantasia.

The live action portion of the cast is rather small since the only actual humans we see are Deems Taylor, Leopold Stokowsky, and the Philadelphia Orchestra.  However, this seemed appropriate since the film is not focused on acting or a storyline.  It rather focuses on the brilliance of animation and how music drives a scene so powerfully.  Fantasia is directed and written and directed by a ton of individuals according to the scene you are speaking of.  I would strongly suggest listening to the podcast episode to hear more as well as heading over to IMDb for a complete list.

FIVE FACTS:

1.)  This was the first American film to use stereophonic sound; it was also the first film to be recorded in a form called Fantasound.

2.)  In 2008, this was marked as #5 on the American Film Institute’s list of the ten greatest films in the genre of animation.

3.)  This is the first major Hollywood film to be released with no written credits appearing onscreen despite the title and intermission title card.

4.)  The character actress Ruby Dandridge performed as the live-action reference model for Hyacinth Hippo during the Dance of the Hours sequence.

5.)  This is the longest Disney animated feature, running at 124 minutes.

For this film, it is difficult to choose a favorite scene especially since this is broken down into extremely different segments.  However, I love the Sorcerer’s Apprentice scene as well the emergence of the rainbow during the Symphony No. 6 scene.  The way the unicorns and cherubs bounce along the rainbow and use it as a slide is precious and a beautiful way to utilize the animation.

Fantasia is in a category of its own.  It is not a favorite film of many but it is certainly a respected one.  Being it does not have a particular plot or storyline, it is nontraditional and I admire that.  The imagination put into this is absolutely phenomenal.  We see creatures and characters in ways we could never picture on our own.  In my opinion, children may enjoy this for the cute characters but will not fully appreciate it for what it is until they reach young adulthood.  There must be somewhat of an appreciation for the arts in order to enjoy what is placed before you with Fantasia.  I absolutely recommend this and am consistently honored to witness its beauty each time.

My Rating:  4.5/5

Mr. Stokowski!  Mr. Stokowski!

WALL-E Review by Briana Alessio

This heartwarming, lovable film from 2008 stars a garbage compactor named Wall-E who lives on a destroyed planet called Earth.  We realize he is a living product of the megastore BnL (Buy N Large).  His days are spent cleaning up portions of the area he lives in.  He is always finding objects which are interesting to him including a woman’s bra which he proceeds to place over his eyes.  He even finds a ping pong ball/racket amongst the trash.  As he begins to play with this, he accidentally and repeatedly hits himself in the eye with the ball.  

After his compacting, he retreats to his “house” with his cockroach companion to watch scenes from Hello Dolly, wishing for a love to call his own.  You feel pain in your own heart watching his sad eyes gaze upon the lovers in the musical.  At one point, he looks down at his little robotic hands (if you will) and links his fingers together.  He has recorded the song on a tape he keeps near his chest, which seems symbolic of what his heart tells him.  He rolls outside and looks up at the sky while playing the song from Hello Dolly.

One day while cleaning up Earth, he sees a moving red dot and decides to follow it.  We soon after see many red dots which appear to be a UFO of sorts in the sky.  It drops off a shiny white robot and leaves the area.  He almost immediately falls in love with this unknown robot, despite knowing nothing about it, and also despite the fact that it keeps shooting in Wall-E’s direction.  They eventually meet and after a couple of repeated attempts, he builds up the nerve to begin talking.  She introduces herself as EVE although he pronounces it as Eva, which she seems to love.

During an escape mission from a cloud of dangerous dust and who knows what else, Wall-E brings EVE to his place.  This is a fantastic scene as he shows her everything he has collected over the years.  He enthusiastically brings his items over to her, and she quickly figures out what each item is for.  She solves a Rubik’s cube and turns on a light bulb.  An absolutely hysterical scene gives us Wall-E handing EVE a cassette, which she pulls the string almost completely out of.  Wall-E puts his arms over his head in distress and screams, as he grabs the tape from her and puts it back together. 

We soon find out that her “directive” is to find a species from planet Earth and return it to her residence.  Wall-E had found a beautiful green plant in a boot which he had decided to keep.  As soon as she saw this, her senses kicked in and a laser popped out, grabbing the plant as her eyes and soul disappeared.  This film manages to make the following scene both heart wrenching and humorous as we see Wall-E trying to encourage her to come back to life while protecting her.

From here, we see many antics taking place as Wall-E hops aboard a space ship to find out where EVE is from and to save her.  Without giving much more of the film away, the plant is the saving grace.  As long as they have the plant in the capsule, they will know that life can exist on Earth.  Every scene which follows is a captivating and wonderful one, as you quickly find yourself emotionally attached to each of the characters…except maybe AUTO, an evil computer who tries to take over the Captain’s duties to prevent the inhabitants from returning to Earth. 

The voice cast is brilliant.  Wall-E and M-O are voiced by Ben Burtt who has directed a few documentaries and worked in the sound department for many films including this year’s Lincoln and five of the six Star Wars films (Star Wars connection right there for ya, people).  The lovely but temperamental EVE is voiced by Elissa Knight who also gave us Tia in the 2006 hit Cars.  The determined captain is played by Jeff Garlin who has appeared in many television shows and films including this year’s ParaNorman and voicing Buttercup in 2010’s Toy Story 3.  John Ratzenberger makes his annual appearance in the Disney/Pixar film as the appropriately named human John.  The lady who John meets and is immediately attracted to is Mary, voiced by Kathy Najimy (remember Hocus Pocus?).  Fred Willard portrays the CEO of BnL known as Shelby Forthright and Sigourney Weaver voices the ship’s computer. 

Wall-E is directed by Andrew Stanton.  Stanton has directed for Finding Nemo and John Carter among others, and is currently in the middle of filming for Finding Nemo 2.  The film was written by Stanton, Pete Docter, and Jim Reardon.  Docter has directed for Up and Monsters Inc.  Reardon wrote for this year’s hit Wreck-It Ralph.  The soundtrack is absolutely beautiful infusing a couple of delightful songs from Hello Dolly which are “Put On Your Sunday Clothes” and “It Only Takes A Moment.”  We also hear the beautiful rendition of “La Vie En Rose” by Louis Armstrong.  The BnL song is even a ton of fun, but my favorite off the soundtrack plays during the credits which is “Down To Earth” by Peter Gabriel. 

FIVE FACTS:

1.)  Ben Burtt voiced most of the robots in the film.  Therefore, when Andrew Stanton met with Ben Burtt originally, he told him “I need you to be 80% of my cast!” 

2.)  This was the first Disney/Pixar film to be nominated for six Academy Awards.  The only other animated film to earn that many nods would be Disney’s 1991 classic Beauty and the Beast.

3.)  The working title for Wall-E was Trash Planet.

4.)  AUTO’s secret directive is A113, which is an inside joke of the animation department.  We see this code during every Disney/Pixar film, as well as a large number of Disney films.

5.)  Wall-E’s eyes were inspired by a pair of binoculars given to Andrew Stanton while he was watching an Athletics vs. Red Sox game.  He missed the entire first inning due to being distracted by these binoculars.

So I understand the message they are trying to get across to people in this film.  However, there is one issue which I have.  Did you notice that all of the people are overweight and panic if they fall out of their portable chairs?  I guess they couldn’t have made all of the inhabitants skinny but I don’t think the message of obesity had to come across the screen as strongly and as often as it did.  However, I was willing to overlook this flaw due to my love of every other aspect of the film.

My favorite scene is hard to choose because they are all so endearing.  My choice would likely be when EVE and Wall-E are “dancing” out in space while John and Mary excitedly watch.  I also love that Wall-E introduces himself to everyone, even when he is in pain.  It is rare that my favorite character of a film is the main star, but that is absolutely the case in this one.  Wall-E tugs at my heartstrings and melts my soul.  He is one of my favorite Disney characters in general right up there with Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Maximus from Tangled.

Wall-E is beautiful and sheer enjoyment.  Kids will enjoy the characters and adults will enjoy the storyline and depth of the characters’ feelings.  Personally, this is one of my favorite Disney/Pixar collaborations.  This is sheer gold and I hope they continue to release films of brilliance and genius such as this one.

My Rating:  5/5

Eeeeeee…va?

Full Court Miracle Review by Briana Alessio

This 2003 Disney Channel Original Movie is a holiday film based on the true story of college basketball star Lamont Carr.  However, this is not to celebrate Christmas as most Disney “holiday” movies are categorized under.  This celebrates Hanukkah, a Jewish holiday which does not seem to receive adequate attention around this time of year.  Full Court Miracle brings us the story of an average family whose son in yeshiva (an Orthodox Jewish seminary – thank you Google, because I had no idea) strives to be a basketball player. 

Basically, the main character Alex Schlotsky plays for a beyond lousy basketball team who wants to improve its potential.  He sees a man practicing on a court and begins speaking to him.  This man does not want anything to do with the kid.  Alex returns home and finds out he is Lamont Carr, a former college basketball player.  After continual persevering and begging, Carr finally gives in and agrees to coach them for a while (for $20 per session).  The first coaching session is quite hysterical, involving his demand that the kids run back and forth from one side of the court to the other.

The relationship slowly builds throughout the film between Carr and the kids.  As we see these acquaintances turn into friendships, we discover more about Carr’s background.  Not only has he been living out of a van, but there is also a scene where he longingly gazes at a picture of who appears to be his wife and child.  We realize they are out of his reach, as there is a particular sadness and hurt in his eyes.  From here, Alex and Carr not only assist each other professionally, but they also help each other develop their personalities to realize what their hearts truly need.

The cast is not well known but the film is well cast.  Alex is played by a kid of the same first name, Alex Linz.  Linz seems to have been strictly a child actor, since he has not appeared in anything since 2007.  We did see him perform in Home Alone 3 (as, once again, a kid named Alex) and One Fine Day among others.  Richard T. Jones, who gives us Lamont Carr, has appeared in a few episodes of the revamped Hawaii Five-0 among various television shows.  He has also been in quite a few films including the fantastic 2011 science fiction film Super 8.  Linda Kash who plays Alex’s mother Cynthia has played the Unsinkable Molly Brown in the 2012 miniseries Titanic.  In addition, she has appeared in many television shows including Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Cybill.  Jason Blicker, who plays Marshall Schlotsky, has also starred in films such as The Day After Tomorrow and Superstar.

Stuart Gillard directs the film.  Gillard has directed many pieces including a 1987 episode of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color called The Return of the Shaggy Dog.  He also gave us 1997’s RocketMan and mostly TV movies including Avalon High and a handful of episodes of the remake of 90210.

This film is not entirely serious but has many comedic moments as well.  For instance, Alex’s family invites Carr to the house for dinner.  I believe they serve him Gefilte fish which he is cautious to try at first, then realizes it is delicious.  Watching Alex force the yamaka (also seen spelled as yarmulka or yarmulke) onto Carr’s head is also worthy of a chuckle.  Alex’s father brings a few laughs to the film with his dry humor.  When Alex was searching for a new home for Carr, he questioned his father as to whether his condo had new tenants yet.  Mr. Schlotsky replies with, “The last serious offer I got, I was riding my pet dinosaur.”  This looks like a simple line yet it is delivered with near perfection and simplicity.

FIVE FACTS:

1.)  Sean Marquette who plays Big Ben Swartz has voiced Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the Ultimate Spider-Man video game released in 2005, as well as the character Pence in the video game Kingdom Hearts II, also released in 2005.

2.)  The character Alex Schlotsky is based on Lamont Carr's former player Alex Barbag.

3.)  When the team members are comparing PSAT scores, they list numbers in the thousands (1540, 1600, etc.), however PSAT scores range from 60-240. The SAT is measured in the thousands.

4.)  The movie is supposed to take place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  However, during the playground/basketball scenes during the team’s practice, the CN Tower and Sky Dome are both seen.  They are located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

5.)  Although we are led to believe this film takes place around Hanukkah (late November-late December), leaves are shown on trees and shrubs are in full foliage.  In Philadelphia, where as we said the film is supposed to take place, the leaves have disappeared from the trees by late October. 

My favorite part of the film occurs during a scene where Mrs. Klein walks into Rabbi Lewis’ office and begins to rearrange items on his desk.  He nonchalantly says to her, “Please don’t straighten my desk.”  She proceeds to walk out, and Rabbi Lewis looks toward Heaven with a helpless look on his face with both arms out to the side in frustration.  This scene was built to create a comedic feel and that it certainly did.  While on the topic, my absolute favorite character was Rabbi Lewis.  His comedic timing was spot on, and his compassion for Alex and the team was refreshing.

Full Court Miracle brings many smiles, many heartfelt moments, and possibly a couple of tears.  After all, this is a Disney production.  I enjoyed this film immensely and would definitely watch it in the years to come.  That being said, I also wish to express a personal belief that there are fewer Hanukkah based films than there should be.  Not just talking Disney here but in general.  There are an absolute TON of Christmas films (not saying I have a problem with this being I’m a Christian/Gentile), BUT there are a large number of faiths out there besides Christianity.  Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc should be represented more in films.  Maybe Disney can start the trend!  To summarize, this film is well worth seeing to bring a light of joy to your heart.  Be sure to see it.

Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends!

My Rating:  4/5

Don’t do that.  Don’t put yourselves in a box – ever.

Mr. Holland's Opus Review by Briana Alessio

In order to accurately state my true feelings on the film, there are many spoilers in this blog post.  I normally try to refrain from mentioning too many when I blog, but in order to get my point across about certain topics, main plot points must be revealed.

This is a heartwarming drama from 1995 starring Richard Dreyfuss as a music teacher who aspires to be something more.  This is the story of a man who has a loving, supportive wife but he wants to change the lives of those he teaches.  At first, we are presented with a class of students who find it basically meaningless to memorize definitions from a textbook.  Mr. Holland soon realizes that he must take charge and teach in a manner which will interest THEM as well as himself.

From the beginning, we see Holland’s thoughts play out (no pun intended) and as he is seated at the piano, he jumps up to conduct the background music.  At this point, we see the meaning of music in this film and in this character’s life.  Music is not just a thing which exists in life; it drives HIS life which empowers him to feel greater than himself. 

I had seen this film previously but I had forgotten that it takes place at an earlier time period.  The first few minutes will lead you to believe it’s 1995, when it was filmed, but as we pan to a scene of Holland pulling into the school with “1-2-3” by Len Barry playing in the background, we can figure out that this takes place in the 1960s.  If the song did not give it away, then the skirts on the young ladies and dress shirts on young men would have been enough.

The cast is multi-talented.  Glenn Holland is played by none other than Richard Dreyfuss (and honestly, I do not know who else could have pulled off this role as remarkably and gracefully as Dreyfuss) who is well-known for starring in a large number of films including Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  Iris Holland, Glenn’s wife, is played by Glenne Headley.  She has appeared in many television shows and films including the popular USA Network shows Monk (which unfortunately no longer airs) and Psych.  Jay Thomas plays witty coach Bill Meister.  He has also been in many television shows and films, including a portrayal of the Easter bunny in The Santa Clause 2 and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.  Olympia Dukakis plays the warm hearted Principal Jacobs.  Dukakis has appeared in a multitude of films and is a spectacular actress; she starred in one of my most favorite films of all time, 1987’s Moonstruck.  Alicia Witt plays the outcast turned mayor Gertrude Lang.  Witt played Zoey Woodbine in the TV series Cybill  and Cheryl in a few episodes of Friday Night Lights among many other shows and films.  We also see a great performance by William H. Macy, as well as by future stars Terrence Howard and Jean Louisa Kelly.

Mr. Holland’s Opus is directed by Stephen Herek.  Herek directed the live action version of 101 Dalmatians, as well as The Three Musketeers (see my last blog post), The Mighty Ducks, and Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Deadamong many others.  He is currently in production of three other films as well.  The mix of songs in this film is brilliantly put together and much enjoyed.  From the London Metropolitan Orchestra’s “An American Symphony (Mr. Holland’s Opus)” to Mr. Holland’s emotional dedication to his son through “Cole’s Song”, every melody brings a piece of warmth to the screen.

There are many dark elements to this film.  We see some emotional, controversial conversations and desperate lack of communication between Mr. Holland and his deaf son.  We also see the possibility of a friendship turning into infidelity, although that topic is so lightly touched upon that it is not worth dwelling on.  Moments like these do not mean that this film is entirely of a serious tone.  There is a moment after one of Mr. Holland’s unsuccessful days of teaching where he feels hopeless and his wife says to him “I made us $32 today.”  He responds with “Big deal, I made 32 kids sleep with their eyes open.”  For me, this was a laugh out loud scene.  Another occurs during Mr. Holland’s summer job as a driving instructor, as he finds out his wife has had their baby.  He is roaring through the city’s streets with two driving students in the car as one yells, “This is a one-way street, Mr. Holland!”  They are scenes which my explanation of does not do justice for.

There are powerful scenes throughout the duration of the film, two of which I will mention.  Mr. Holland believes he cannot communicate with his deaf son and he basically refuses to learn for a long while.  It is not until an altercation exists between the two which causes him to readjust his thoughts.  One day when his father gets home from work, Cole asks him why he is upset.  Mr. Holland shows him through his broken sign language that John Lennon has passed away, followed by informing him he would not understand.  Cole flies off the handle, deservedly so, and scolds him through sign language that he does understand but that his own father will not take the time to understand HIM.  This is a very gripping scene.  Also, there is a point made in the film when a certain statement is made twice under very different circumstances.  The line “your best is not good enough” is expressed both to Glenn from his wife Iris, and to the school board from Glenn pertaining to the removal of music education.

FIVE FACTS:

1.)  The composer Michael Kamen was so inspired during the making of this film that he started a non-profit organization which would provide musical instruments to underprivileged students. 

2.)  Every person in the film who portrayed a deaf individual was deaf in real life.

3.)  The song young Gertrude Lang learns on the clarinet is "Stranger on the Shore" by Acker Bilk.

4.)  In the film, we see Mr. Holland’s appreciation of John Lennon.  During his opus at the end, we hear the very last note is the same piano chord as one which is struck in The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life.”

5.)  An actress by the name of Katee Sackhoff appeared as a child extra in the film.  She claims to have hated it but starred alongside Richard Drefuss playing his daughter in The Education of Max Bickford.

My favorite part of this film occurs in the classroom as Mr. Holland is sitting alone with Gertrude Lang.  She is clearly upset at her lack of courage and determination.  He asks her what her favorite feature is about her appearance and she responds by saying her hair, as her father says it reminds him of the sunset.  Mr. Holland responds with “play the sunset.”  She closes her eyes and comes out with a flowing, steady melody.  This is not only a beautiful scene, but a huge turning point for her.  Gertrude is my second favorite character in this.  My first is Cole, the Hollands’ son.  He is misunderstood but has such a wonderful soul.  His character throughout the film is proof that those who are deaf can not only feel the music but they can appreciate music just as much as those who have the blessed ability to hear.

Music inspires many of us and has helped us through many situations in life, whether it be classical, rock, rap, pop, etc.  Perhaps this is why Mr. Holland’s Opus touches my heart in a particular way.  It not only expresses how powerful music is to many people, but it also tells an entertaining story of how a man’s life completely changed due to how HE changed the lives of others.  This is a wonderful story, and a film which I would absolutely recommend to everyone.

My Rating:  4.5/5

We are the melodies and the notes of your opus. We are the music of your life.