In a sign that nature is healing, Disney is once again blitzing the world with Marvel content. Disney released the trailers (and dates!) for its Marvel shows that have been coming and coming and may, in 2021, actually arrive. I will focus our attention particularly on the Loki series, it being an incontrovertible truth of…
Tag: disney
Frozen II: They Tried
Given Frozen‘s smashing success, and Disney’s philosophy regarding capitalization of past successes, Frozen II was almost a mathematical inevitability. Now the deed’s done and the movie’s out. The good news is, they tried. Frozen II strikes out into new territory. It expands its world with history and with mythology, though with the inadvertent effect of…
The Key to Power
In my last time around, I argued that Mary Poppins Returns is not a retread of the original film but a second, rhyming verse. Today I will concede that it is still not as good as the first. Mary Poppins Returns never quite achieves the wit or the heart of its classic forerunner. The pathos…
Mary Poppins, Second Verse
When Disney released Mary Poppins Returns – a sequel 55 years coming – I had such faith that I waited to see the film until it had been released on DVD. If I had realized how closely and consciously the sequel paralleled the original, my faith would have been even less. It is, then, with…
Favor the Franchise
If you pay attention to Hollywood today, you have probably noticed that western civilization is in the latter stages of spiritual and intellectual degeneration. You will also have noticed, by the by, that most of Hollywood’s output these days consists of (a) franchise movies, (b) movies based on pre-existing cultural artifacts, such as books, comics,…
Once Upon A(nother) Time
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away … fairy tales happen. It’s the best place for it, too; anything can happen there. The classic fairy tale opening, like the classic fairy tale ending (happily ever after), is more than form. It is substance, part of what a fairy tale is meant to…
Review: Beauty and the Beast (the Other One)
(Yes, I know: I’m six months late to this party. But that is how long it took them to put the movie on Netflix.) In 1991, Disney released a magnificent version of the classic fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast”. Then they released another version. Disney’s decision to remake Beauty and the Beast as a…
Promises, Promises
Let’s talk about promises. To narrow the field, let’s talk about the promises the producers of culture make to us regarding their shows and movies and books. Now, I don’t mean advertising slogans (BEST OF THE YEAR), which are not promises so much as exercises in hope and hype. I mean the implicit promises of…
Movie Review: Pete’s Dragon (2016)
Despite the old and no doubt wise saying, Disney canon clearly holds that being raised by wolves is not injurious to childhood development. This is one of the lessons of The Jungle Book, another being that if a ferocious man-hating tiger gets your calling card, you cannot lose if you arm yourself with a blazing…
Movie Review: Treasure Planet
If there is one thing we can all dream about, it’s finding buried treasure. We could all use the money, of course, and this way it comes with mystery and romance and adventure. What more could we ask for? Pirates. That would add danger, ratchet the adventure up to a new level, and give us…