Riley McDaniel grew up in Corpus Christi, TX in a low-socioeconomic household and one of the favorite family activites was to watch The Wonderful World of Disney (along with it's other reincarnations) on Sunday nights. Although the family couldn't afford to take a trip to Disney World made it his dream to one day see that magical world. This dream served as one of the many aspirations to do well in school and attend college. Today, Riley has a masters degree in Library Science and serves as a librarian at Red Oak High School in Red Oak Texas where he continues to give Disney as a source of inspiration to students. His family, a lovely wife, eleven year old son and seven year old daughter, lovingly refer to themselves as Disney Geeks. They can regularly be found hosting Disney parties whether it's for simply the premier of the Phineas and Ferb movie or a child's birthday party. As members of the Disney Vacation club (Wilderness Lodge home resort) the family can be found at Disney World once a year and Riley gives mini-seminars on planning the perfect Disney vacation.
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, let’s talk about the 3-D. If any of you are techno junkies, such as I, then you know 3-D can vary from theater to theater given the equipment, so please consider this when I give my thoughts on this 3-D release. I did not notice anything spectacular about the 3-D effects, in other words, no “wow” moments. However, what I did notice was an enhanced field of depth throughout the entire movie giving the ocean environment a distinctive, realistic feel. Look at it this way, most of the film felt as if you were in the ocean with Dori or Fabio, err, I mean Nemo. This definitely made the 3-D edition worth viewing, but if you are one of those wishing to see spears headed right at you then you may be underwhelmed – no need to hold your breath!
Nemo, his friends, and family have brought in about $30 million in re-release; this is surprising given Finding Nemo has had a DVD release and is about to swim out into Blue-Ray. Star Wars nuts, again, like this contributor, find ourselves in a theater seeing our movies once again (ok, multiple times, and perhaps in costume) so this is not a new phenomenon among moviegoers. The easiest answer to accept is of course Disney magic (although some would argue Disney marketing — please ignore them). How often can a whole family go see the same movie without any worry about content, and everyone enjoys the movie? So, sometimes it doesn’t matter if you have the movie at home; you just need an excuse, such as 3-D, to go see a great movie again at your local mega-plex.
With Finding Nemo, in particular, we have a movie that appeals to the whole family. This Disney great speaks to parents who might remember the difficulty of letting their children grow up, older children who feel they are ready to spread their wings, and littler ones who can’t wait to venture past the front yard. Yes, it is simply Disney Magic.
Until next time, keep swimming.