Movies & Books

Toy Story 3 – Start a New Family Tradition

25 November 2010 by Suzannah Otis 3 Comments

I’m sure by now any Disney fan reading this has already purchased Toy Story 3 on Blu-ray + DVD…however on the off chance you have not, or perhaps you are new to the wonders of Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures, I am here to persuade you to run out and pick it up right now. I’ll be honest, when I was given Toy Story 3 to review, I avoided it – not because I didn’t want to talk about it – but the opposite, I knew I’d want to talk too much about it. I’ve already discussed some of the cool bonus features and fun facts about the animated short Day & Night on the DVD and Blu-Ray. Now I’ll share why this film should be in your collection.

When I first saw Toy Story 3 in theatres, I was prepared for an emotional roller coaster. Truth is, I was a wreck at the closing scene. Yes, the first installment of the Toy Story trilogy came out before I was even married, much less had children, yet I still associate the movies with my two oldest children and watching them grow up. This mixes with memories of moving to Orlando with my family and becoming cast members. At the time, the Toy Story parade was the one that filled Hollywood Boulevard each day at the then Disney-MGM Studios (now of course Disney’s Hollywood Studios). As a result, each time I hear Randy Newman’s “Strange Things” I’m reminded of that fun and exciting time in our life. It wasn’t just Andy that grew up, it was me too. I married my high school sweetheart, we had 2 beautiful children and my mom went from being my mom to being my children’s grandmother too, my dad passed away, my husband and I had another beautiful child. So there was a lot of emotion wrapped up in this little film from Pixar, which had absolutely nothing to do with me, yet so very much to do with me.

Tangled Movie Review

22 November 2010 by Suzannah Otis 41 Comments

I mentioned previously that I was honored to attend the Walt Disney World Holiday Showcase as a representative of the Walt Disney World Moms Panel. Part of that weekend included a screening of Disney’s Tangled before its November 24th nationwide release. I know I’ve shared some funny clips that Disney passed along showcasing the film, but honestly, they do not begin to do justice to the actual film itself. I realize they are trying to get audiences super excited about what many people view as “just another animated film” but I truly feel that when families of all ages and sizes see the movie, word of mouth will be all that’s needed to make Tangled a success.

We knew going in that Tangled was the classic tale of Rapunzel, but with a twist. What we didn’t know was the unique backstory that Tangled provides, which actually works. It’s sort of like Sleeping Beauty meets Cinderella meets Little Mermaid. Rapunzel’s parents have lost her, however unlike Sleeping Beauty, she is stolen by the evil “Mother” Gothel who kidnaps Rapunzel for her own selfish gains. Rapunzel is somewhat happily living in her impenetrable tower up until her 18th birthday, where her birthday wish is to see the “stars” or lanterns that float in the sky each year on her birthday. What she doesn’t realize is that the lanterns are set into the sky by her real parents as they continue the vigil to seek out their missing daughter, and the townspeople who also hope for the princess’ return.

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Disney’s Song of the South to Be Released on DVD?!

20 November 2010 by Suzannah Otis 14 Comments

Some readers may know that Song of the South has always been one of my favorite Disney films. Originally released in 1946, I remember seeing it at some point in my childhood and hearing about it often, as it was one of my Dad’s favorites as well. The lessons illustrated by Brer Rabbit and his pals are similar to what he grew up hearing . As a child, I never took on or felt any racist effects from the film, as many critics have stated could be an adverse effect of re-releasing the controversial movie. To a child, Uncle Remus is just a story teller. The tar baby is just that, a baby made out of tar. I realize I am speaking from a white girl raised in a white world perspective but I stand by the fact that most negative views of the film are based on adult connotations of innocent subject matter. Is Gone With the Wind banned due to its portrayal of African-Americans during civil war time? Critics fear the master-slave relationship is a little too optimistic in Song of the South but again, this is a children’s film and the purpose is to share the lessons taught by Uncle Remus, not make a social commentary. Further, I have always maintained the personal opinion that animated films like Peter Pan with its “What Made the Red Man Red” or The Aristocats portrayal of a Siamese cat brimming with Asian stereotypes are actually much worse as far as blatant racism go. Of course these are just my opinions, I am no film critic or historian.

Disney has seen the value of the content within the film, crafting its Splash Mountain storyline and characters around the Song of the South anthropomorphic animals we’ve come to know and love: Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear and Brer Fox among them. However Disney has shied away from making concrete plans to release the film simply because it is so controversial. Most likely any attempt to release it would meet with discord no matter how it was approached. So what’s the answer? Perhaps a prologue explaining that as with any history, time casts the proper light on lessons to learn and not repeat. I can’t in good conscience support a cut or censored version, so hopefully a way can be found to properly bring this film to a new generation, with the caveat that times change and hopefully so do people.

That said, I was just sent a link to an interview by Boston area movie reviewer and pod caster Steve Head. Steve recently interviewed Dave Bossert, the artistic supervisor for Disney’s restoration team as he was covering the D23 event – Fantasia: A 70th Anniversary Celebration at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. Dave Bossert gave an encouraging quote regarding the potential for Song of the South’s re-release: “I can say there’s been a lot of internal discussion about [Song of the South]. And at some point we’re going to do something about it. I don’t know when, but we will. We know we want people to see Song of the South because we realize it’s a big piece of company history, and we want to do it the right way.”

Certainly that gives fans of preserving Disney classics some hope, yes? To read the rest of Steve’s wonderful article, head over to The Post-Movie Podcast. Many thanks to Steve for sending this link over and helping to build the excitement for the possible future of Disney’s past. It’s important to note that this is not a definite “yes” as far as a release and certainly no date has been mentioned, however as Steve comments in his article, the optimism comes from the fact that this quote is coming from the supervisor of the restoration team at Disney Animation, which is who should be making the decisions about the release and support of Song of the South.

First Look: Disney PROM Trailer

18 November 2010 by Suzannah Otis 1 Comment

Remember your prom? Check out this new film from Disney and see how the more times change, the more they stay the same –

At “Prom,” every couple has a story and no two are exactly alike. Several intersecting stories unfold at one high school as the big dance approaches; “Prom” portrays the precarious passage from high school to independence as some relationships unravel and others ignite.

For Nova Prescott (Aimee Teegarden), it’s a battle of wills as she finds herself drawn to the guy (Thomas McDonell) who gets in the way of her perfect prom. Fellow seniors Mei (Yin Chang) and Tyler (De’Vaughn Nixon) harbor secrets, while others face all the insecurity and anticipation that surrounds one of high school’s most seminal events.

There are hundreds of nights in high school, but there’s only one “Prom.” Featuring an emerging ensemble cast and a powerful soundtrack, “Prom” hits theaters April 29, 2011.

The Magic Of Disneyland and Walt Disney World by Valerie Childs 1979

11 March 2010 by Suzannah Otis 13 Comments

I can’t remember when I was given The Magic of Disneyland and Walt Disney World by Valerie Childs, but it must’ve been a year or so after it was published in 1979. I know we’d already taken our trip to Walt Disney World when I was around 6, but it was before we’d stayed at the Lake Buena Vista Vacation Villas. A friend of the family gave me this book, and it was pretty much my bible for the next few years. {I’d later graduate to reading the Birnbaum guides and my WDW Pictorial Souvenir books which I’d get every trip – I’ll scan some of those in soon.}

When I held the book in my hands, my first thought was how lucky Valerie Childs must be, and how much I wanted to be her when I grew up. This hardcover book was over-sized like a coffee table book and the full-color pictures were just beautiful. Our friend had also somehow gotten a few Mickey Mouse balloons {not inflated} and stuck them in the middle of the book, where there was a double-paged picture of the very same balloons. It was like a magical surprise every time I turned to that page.

The Magic of Disneland and Walt Disney World cover — I would stare at this cover wanting to BE that lady.

The Magic of Disneyland and Walt Disney World back cover — And I would stare at this back cover for ages looking at all the individual people.

I loved this book because it focused on Disneyland as well as Walt Disney World. I would take note of the differences between the two places; from the font of Land vs. World {not that I knew what a font was back then} to the rides locations of the rides. I’d never been to Disneyland {still haven’t, must remedy this!} so seeing pictures of the pirate ship or Storybook Land or the Matterhorn were like seeing snapshots of a foreign country I wanted to explore. Seeing the attractions and places I’d been to in Walt Disney World was like seeing pictures of “home”.

Now, looking at the book for the first time in quite a while and 31 years after it was published, it’s like a magical time capsule full of history. I would love to get all of the pages scanned in, but I’d have to find some industrial sized-scanner to get them all in. In the meantime, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite pages with you and we could stroll down memory lane together. For those that did not visit the parks during this time, it’ll be fun to see how things started out.

The Magic of Disneyland and Walt Disney World — The original Main Street Electrical Parade

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. I looked for the book online and it does appear to be on ebay. It really is one of my treasured collectibles both for the pictures it contains and the memories it brought me as a child. Do you have a favorite book in your Disney collection?

Ponyo, Another Masterpiece from Studio Ghibli & Hiyao Miyazaki

15 August 2009 by Suzannah Otis 6 Comments

Ponyo, which means something soft and jiggly, is the latest work of art released by Studio Ghiblil, directed again by Mr. Miyazaki. Sosuke, the little boy in the movie, gives Ponyo her name when he finds her as a goldfish stuck in a glass jar in the ocean. He decides to keep her and care for her, and she decides she’d really like to become a human girl rather than stay a fish. We had been watching the promos and news about Ponyo for years now as it was worked on and released in Japan, anxiously awaiting its arrival here in the States. After just seeing it now on opening night, I can say without hesitation that it was worth the wait. My daughter’s review: “I loved it! Best movie ever!!” It passed my son’s stringent standards for entertainment as well. The animation was a bit different from previous Studio Ghibli films; much more of a watercolor film – fitting with the water theme. Mr. Miyazaki has always been a steward of nature and environmental themes – before they were trendy – and Ponyo was no exception. When you see the power of the ocean overtaking the human world, that is when you become amazed with the mastery of animation being presented. Breathtaking.

Something I was much more aware of in this film was the Japanese cultural differences. I’m not sure if it was because of the amount of mainstream/Disney Channel promotion done or if I’ve just become so conditioned by what’s “P.C.” and what’s outside the “norm”. For example, the mother in the film (voiced wonderfully by Tina Fey) is portrayed as a pretty crazy driver – speeding, careening around sharp curves and risking her and her son’s lives by trying to outrun a huge ocean swell. At another point, she leaves her son alone in the house while she goes to look after the seniors where she works, because of the flooding and power outages everywhere. In a different scene, Ponyo and the boy Sosuke come across a young family with a baby. Ponyo offers the baby soup, but the mother takes it and drinks it. Ponyo says it’s for the baby, and the mother explains that the baby only drinks milk, but if she drinks the soup the she will make milk for the baby and he can get it that way. Pro-breastfeeding in an animated film?! That is unheard of in Hollywood. I was left thinking in all these instances, “this would never appear in a U.S. animated film.” And isn’t that sad?

That’s one of the reasons Studio Ghibli’s films have been such a welcome part of our home library. They prove by their very nature and success that there does not need to be a princess or damsel in distress, a villain or evil queen, and a clear-cut happy ending for it to be a wonderful family film, full of life lessons. Another breath of fresh air is how well-mannered, polite and respectful the children always are in these films. Of course this is a product of the Japanese culture too, but definitely something I wish would rub off on Hollywood’s productions. It seems to be not only common-place, but expected for kids movies today to contain a never-ending stream of “shut-up’s” “you idiot!’s” and other much worse slang forms of disrespect, where the parents are all ‘stupid’ and the it’s the kids goal to show them that. It’s easy to love a Studio Ghibli film, as a parent. Hayao Miyazaki has ensured that these details and storylines will stay in his films as they are released in America, after being disappointed by the severe cuts made to the American release of Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind. When Merchant Ivory wanted to make those same cuts to Princess Mononoke to “appeal to American audiences” Studio Ghibli sent over a katana sword with the simple words: “No Cuts”. The “no cuts” policy stands today.

I will admit I was kind of late to the Studio Ghibli party. A friend had talked about Totoro in the mid-1990’s (even though it was released in 1988) but I’d never gotten around to actually seeing the film or any of the others from Mr. Miyazaki. We eventually saw Kiki’s Delivery Service, but still didn’t make the connection to look into more of Mr. Miyazaki’s films. Finally, when Spirited Away arrived in theatres in the U.S. my husband and I went to see it. We were both amazed. We didn’t bring our children, who were 2 and 3 at the time, because we just didn’t know what to expect or if they would be frightened by anything. I was just so in awe of the detailed animation and the story itself just drew you in like nothing I’d ever seen. We were officially hooked.

We then looked into collecting and viewing more of Mr. Miyazaki’s works. At that time, there really wasn’t too much available on dvd, since Spirited Away had not yet won the 2003 Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature, and another 35 awards and 19 nominations, which would bring Studio Ghibli and Mr. Miyazaki’s work a little more into the spotlight. What we did find was a Japanese dvd collection from China on ebay containing all the Studio Ghibli productions to date, with English and Chinese subtitles. That is how we introduced our children to the wonders of My Neighbor Totoro.

They were right at the perfect age for that movie; aimed at smaller children with its sweet tale of two sisters moving out to the country with their father, while their mother is sick in a hospital. While out exploring the sisters meet Totoro, the king of the forest according to their father and adventures soon commence with Totoro, smaller totoros and the Cat Bus. It is a heartwarming story that wavers on the edge of that ‘it was only a dream! it wasn’t a dream!’ world that can only exist in the mind of a child. Watching the Japanese version let my children hear the correct pronunciation of Totoro-more like Tote-duh-doe vs. Toe-tor-oh, Satsuki, the older sister’s name as Saht-ski rather than converting it to Sat-SU-kee in the English version, as well as learn the Japanese word for acorn – donguri, which they still use today when we come across acorns. You don’t know how adorable a little 3 and 4 year old are dancing around saying Toteduhdo and donguri as they play Totoro throughout the house.

As we ventured further into Studio Ghibli collection we were able to discuss Japanese culture a bit as well as animation styles, something my husband has always been very passionate about. When he was a cast member at the former Disney MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios) he would take his breaks on the steps of the animation building with his sketch pad in hand, working on his designs. An animator from Special Effects befriended him and told him he had promise, giving him some sample ‘tween’ work to practice with and encouraging him to submit his portfolio for the next hiring of 24 Disney Special Effects Animators. He did, but the number of open positions was then dropped to 10. His portfolio was one of 12 submitted to California but he did not make that final cut. All for the best since he later went into computer networking and programming and went on to author 7 technical books. Anyway, our son, idolizing his father, was very interested in everything his father had to say and the movies served as wonderful bonding time for all of us.

We moved through Castle in the Sky which is one of my favorites animation-wise, and eventually to Princess Mononoke as they got a bit older, which had darker themes and a bit more gore. When Howl’s Moving Castle came out, they were already true fans. Personally, Howl ties with Spirited Away as my favorites, though I still have a major soft spot for Totoro as well. It’s really hard to pick just one favorite because the stories and scenes are just so beautiful.

In any event, Ponyo did not disappoint, and I think for the most part it will appeal to children of all ages and it was a beautiful piece of animation. Of course now that John Lasseter and Disney are involved in the Studio Ghibli releases in America , they have acquired some big name voice actors for the American dub, which in turn means big promotion on The Disney Channel and other outlets across the country. This will no doubt be the most commercial success for Studio Ghibli in the U.S. thus far – thanks to Noah Cyrus and Frankie Jonas. I hope that level of star power creates a whole new generation that discovers the previous amazing works of Hayao Miyazaki, and even inspires some future animators out there, not afraid to break the mold of traditional American animation.