This is the moment we all have been waiting for. That little fish that taught us all to “just keep swimming” is back. On April 2nd it was announced that Disney’s Pixar will be releasing the sequel to Finding Nemo. The sequel will be titled Finding Dory. The movie, which will be directed by original Nemo co-director Andrew Stanton, is set for release on November 25, 2015 in the U.S. I cant wait that long!
I love Disneyland. My love for Disney reaches far beyond the park. I love anything that is connected to the name Disney. One can’t help but think happy thoughts when you hear the name Walt Disney. When there is anything Disney related I really try to check it out. Recently we decided to take a trek out to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, CA. The Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives exhibit were there for a limited time and I had to see it before it was gone.
I am a member of the Star Wars generation: saw the original movie at age 5 at the drive-in, collected the toys, played as Luke on the playground, doubted Vader was Luke’s father, and passed on my appreciation to my little brother. The summer before my senior year of high school my brother and I watched the original trilogy once a week. By the end of the summer we were saying the lines before the characters, and turning our bunk beds into X-wing fighters (If I were feeling nice I let him play Wedge and I took Luke). Now, my son has his own set of the movies, has dressed as a Star Wars character for Halloween multiple times, and we constantly have our own fanboy moments. I tell you this because like most of my Disney stories the importance of the role of Star Wars in my life comes back to family. When we went as a family to Disney World the first time, I had the pleasure of bringing my brother on his first trip to see The Parks, and, you got it, it was a Star Wars Weekend and the three McDaniel boys could hardly get on Star Tours fast enough. How amazing now that two of my passions come full circle together.
So I got your attention? Maybe, with better truth in advertising, the marquee would proclaim: “Tom Hanks as Walt Disney.” Yes, Tom Hanks landed the role of our favorite American icon in a movie concerning his chase to land the rights to Mary Poppins from a very distrusting author, P.L. Travers, portrayed by Emma Thompson. Reportedly, this is the first on-screen portrayal of Walt Disney.
By now, anyone who reads this site is sure to know the story of Nemo and his father’s adventures while searching for him. If not, should you really be on a site called The Disney Driven Life? Nevertheless, two items of discussion we can cover in this review: 1) A review of the 3-D release; 2)Why do we keep going to the theater for a movie already on DVD and about to have a release on blue-ray? (Duh, we love DISNEY movies!)
First things first I would like to thank everyone who responded to my last blog post for CONVINCING me to see John Carter. I have been flying all over the country for business and finally had a minute to see this epic film this week. This was definitely something that needed to been seen on the big screen … the BIG BIG IMAX screen and in 3D. I do still have a bone of contention for how expensive these movies are at the box office. I mean I paid $16.50 to get into a random Wednesday night showing which seems a bit steep for a movie that will be no more than 25 dollars on Blu-Ray 3D in likely less than 6 months…but I digress.
This week in Disney entertainment – John Carter
Photo Credit: Disney Studios
OK this is a little late because I was convinced I was going to see John Carter by now. In fact I had planned to see it opening night, then the next night then even tonight (Tuesday) and I just cannot get around to it. Anyone want to fly up to Knoxville and check this sucker out? Anyway by now we know that it might not have been the best opening Disney had hoped for. I personally was shocked to see the Lorax beat John Carter. I know Disney spent at least 6 million dollars on Super Bowl ads alone. Word of mouth seemed much better (especially among Disney fans) than much of the critical reviewers thought. Even some critics who are generally harsh gave decent reviews including none other than Rolling Stone’s own Peter Travers (who hates plenty of mainstream fare). So what’s going on? Who has seen John Carter and what do you think?
Photo Credit: www.wired.com
Should those who are powerful come to the aid of those who are vulnerable even if that aid is unwanted? What if that aid produces more harm than good? Those are some of the questions Mary Norton asked in her 1952 novel, The Borrowers, on which Disney’s newest release, The Secret World of Arrietty, is based. Arrietty opened in North America on February 17, 2012 to largely favorable reviews.
Just another rainy Sunday afternoon in Knox-vegas, TN so I’m unspooling yee olde faithful DVR and I got to thinking.
I’m not sure I’m proud of it but I classify myself as an “above average” consumer of media. Maybe it has something to do with what I do for a living (TV producer). I can rationalize that it’s “research” (insert laugh track). Either way, the fact of the matter is – I watch a lot of TV, go to plenty of movies, play my fair share of games and, much like you friendly reader, am always trolling this ever-crazy Internet machine.
There is a common thread amongst the people I’ve interviewed who are pursuing Disney; they tend to be involved with other Disney pursuits as well. Such is the case for Todd Perlmutter, co-host of the Disney Film Project Podcast along with wife, and Briana and Ryan who both are contributing bloggers here at the DDL. Each week they take a different Disney movie, watch it, and record a show about it, and tell secrets and background about it as well.
“It’s a lot of fun to do and very important to give back to the Disney community” says Todd. “I’m also a blogger and occasional developer for TouringPlans.com. Writing is something I really love to do, and writing about Disney makes it that much better. I also help keep the plumbing going at The Disney Driven Life as their resident tech guy. My official title there is Chief Technical Officer, but I’m a lot friendlier than that makes me sound.”
It’s that time again! With a year behind us in 2011, it’s time to look forward to see what Disney has planned for 2012. If you listen to the Disney Film Project Podcast, you know which one I’m looking forward to the most, but here’s the slate of films Disney will treat us to in 2012.
January 13 – Beauty and the Beast in 3D – Not much to say about this, except that it is probably the best hand drawn animated film ever, and it did get nominated for Best Picture. The addition of 3D did wonders for the box office of The Lion King, and I’d expect the same here. This will be a must see for me, if only to see it on the big screen again.
With a passion for Disney, what pursuits does Craig Duncan squeeze in between a full time job and family? How about working on ‘They Disney Brit’, the UKs largest and longest running Disney podcast, the ‘Destination Disney’ radio show and the ‘Eye on Orlando’ radio show both of which are aired live on Florida radio shows. Then there is ‘Mousemeets’ which is UKs Disney annual fan convention and ‘Mousemag’ a free bi-monthly magazine all about Disney written by the Disney Community for the Community. “We have also done something different with our associated web sites. We have made DisneyBrit.com one of the best sources for Disney related news anywhere in the world. EyeonOrlando.com is a pure Orlando holiday portal.”
Years ago, when I was in college, I liked nothing better than gathering my friends up on a weekday evening and heading off to the movies. We didn’t have much money, because we were college students, but there was one theater that featured a discount night on Tuesdays. It was with this group of people, one of whom I married and three others who were in my wedding, that I first saw The Santa Clause. And it’s probably because of them that I still love the movie to this day.
Words with Walt or Of Mouse and Man is a theatrical presentation written by Chris Lucas. “I play Walt Disney circa 1965 as he gets ready for the press conference announcing the ‘Florida Project.’ He re-caps his life story in an entertaining and moving way. Chris researched to find stories that most people have never heard about Walt or were not well aware of. “My goal is to have today’s generation realize that Walt Disney was a human being and not just a corporate icon. The show can be as short as 30 minutes, or as long as 2 hours, it varies by the group I’m speaking to. It’s currently on hiatus as I work on my father’s movie, but I will probably resume performances in Spring 2012.”
I love the Muppets. No, I mean, I really love the Muppets. I have seen the original Muppet Movie more times than I care to count. The Muppet Christmas Carol is probably my favorite holiday film. My children constantly demand to watch all three seasons of the Muppet Show on DVD, despite Sandy Duncan hosting. So when I say I was greatly anticipating Jason Segel’s take on The Muppets, that is possibly the biggest understatement I could make.
When my son had a particularly hard time with his homework last weekend, I offered him a chance to celebrate when he was finished. Whatever we could do at home to make a big deal out of finishing this task, I’d do it. He chose watching a movie. I knew I loved the kid. It was the movie he chose that surprised me – Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
Growing up, this was one of my favorite Disney films. The escapism of this film is undeniable, especially for kids. If you’re not familiar with the movie, it’s basically the story of three orphans during World War II who are sent off the country to avoid the bombing in London. What they encounter there is a witch in training, played by Angela Lansbury, who gives them a spell to keep them quiet about her witchy ways. The spell is an enchanted bedknob, which gives their bed the ability to travel wherever they want. You can see how this appeals to a kid.
There’s just something about The Lion King, isn’t there? Disney’s re-release of the film has broken through everyone’s wildest expectations, adding to the already massive box office totals that it earned in its initial release. The Bluray is selling like crazy, and as we approach 20 years since The Lion King came out, it’s characters are still all around us, in the parks and elsewhere.
Why does The Lion King last? What is its appeal? I think it has to do with the characters and their struggles. The film does an unbelievable job of setting up the world of Pride Rock, especially in the epic opening sequence. As a viewer, you feel the depth of this world and the emotion of Mufasa as he unveils his new son to his loyal subjects. Then, we are immediately introduced to Scar, his jealous brother. The dynamic between these two is so well done that we instantly know the story.
In all my time watching Disney films, I had never seen So Dear To My Heart before. For that and other reasons I sat down to watch it with great interest. After all, here was a film that was produced in 1948, the very early days of live action at the Disney studio. It had some animated pieces as well as live action, but for such an early film in the Disney live action canon, I had heard very little about it.
That’s a real shame, because So Dear To My Heart is not only an important film in Disney history, it’s a great one as well. This is a movie that tugs at your heartstrings; it makes you cry, laugh and smile – sometimes all in the same sequence. Sure, it’s not original or very inventive, but watching this movie will show you where all the fun Disney sentimentality of future films came from.
In 1986, Disney was still very much a company in turmoil. Their last animated feature, The Black Cauldron, had been very expensive and had not returned that expense at the box office. New management had taken over, led by Michael Eisner and Frank Wells, and they were not entirely sure that feature animation was part of Disney’s future. It was into this environment that The Great Mouse Detective entered.
Directed by a combination of Burny Mattinson, John Musker and Ron Clements, The Great Mouse Detective adapts the Basil of Baker Street books by Eve Titus. Taking off the concept of Sherlock Holmes and applying it to the “underworld” of mice and rats, the story is a fast paced adventure through the streets of London, as Basil, his companion Dawson and a little girl named Olivia search for the girl’s missing father.
In 1941, the Walt Disney Studios were not the juggernaut they are today. With a series of troubles hitting the studio – including the box office failure of Fantasia, an animator’s strike and the European box office drying up because of World War II – Walt and his crew needed to figure out a new way of making films. They had to make things cheaper and more profitable.
It was from those circumstances that Dumbo sprang to life. If Snow White and Pinocchio were high art films, with incredible realism and lifelike characters, then Dumbo was a cartoon in the best possible way. Using watercolor backgrounds, caricatured animals and a sweet, simple story, Dumbo managed to build an emotional roller coaster like no Disney film to that point had.