(Disney Animated Movie Review #13 ) Finding Dory 2016 9 out of 10

Finding Dory 2016  9 out of 10

It took 13 years for a sequel for Finding Nemo to get made.    Finding Dory hit the box office waters at just the right time.  In about a month at the US box office it has already made over 445  Million dollars at the box office and is already the number 1 Animated Movie of All time at the Domestic box office.   It is the biggest US release of the year passing Captain America: Civil War.   The sequel's story is derivative of the original film in that it involves a search for family.  This time around however Dory the blue fish with short term memory loss actually starts to remember her family which kick starts an adventure to find them.   It is covering familiar ground –but the addition of new characters and a new setting keeps things fresh.  

The Setting

The setting of the original was the Great Barrier Reef.   This time around we get to visit the Californian coastline (I know these little fish taking the EAC with the Sea Turtles all the way across the ocean is ridiculous just go with it) and the Monterey Marine Park.   The setting is terrific.  The Marine Park gives the film a bunch of great environments to play around in.  The scene where the Ocean Seas exhibit is revealed is a stunning piece of animation.  The film looks gorgeous.

The Story

Dory with the help of an Octopus named Hank tries to remember where exactly she is from in search of her parents.    Meanwhile Marlin and Nemo are trying to find her after she is taken to the aquarium by some humans.   The story –just like in Finding Nemo is about family and the willingness to do anything for family.   Dory faces challenges in order to find her long lost folks.  Marlin and Nemo risk their lives to make sure Dory is okay –because they consider her family.  Finding Dory is an action packed fun adventure that has funny moments and sentimental moments that the entire family will enjoy.  

The Characters

The returning characters are great of course.  I was a big fan of the original film Finding Nemo.  It is one of my favorite Pixar films.  The chemistry between Albert Brooks as Marlin and Ellen as Dory was excellent in the original film.   This movie is all about Dory and her character is once again great.  Baby Dory has to be one of the cutest characters ever.    Crush one of my favorite characters had a small scene –but was excellent again as well (check out Turtle Talk with Crush at the Disney parks for more of Crush).    The introduction of Hank the Octopus (voiced by Ed O’Neill) was also terrific.  Some other new characters that add a new flare to the adventure include a couple of Seal Lions and a Whale Shark and Beluga Whale. 

The Visuals

The visuals were absolutely incredible.  Pixar somehow always finds a new way to step up its game and again they absolutely knocked it out of the park again.  

In Summary:   If you liked Finding Nemo then you will like Finding Dory.   It is more of the same and it has been long enough, just that like the Force Awakens where although it touched on similar themes.

It is a great family film.

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(Disney Animated Movie Review #13) The Good Dinosaur 2015 6 out of 10

The Good Dinosaur  2015  6 out of 10

It had to happened eventually.  Brave was my least favorite Pixar film before this movie came out.   Pixar has made it's first movie that wasn't a huge box office dominating success.   The Good Dinosaur limped into movie theaters in November and made the least amount of money of any previous Pixar film.  I questioned if this could be Pixar's first flop when I saw the sneak peek at DCA before the film came out.  The blog on that sneak peek is here...The sneak peek was good --but not amazing like most of the other sneak peeks.  In fact most of the other sneak peeks sent me to the theaters to see the movies ---The Good Dinosaur I waited for on DVD.

http://braddisneylandblog.blogspot.com/search?q=Good+dinosaur

The Good Dinosaur wasn't bad..... in fact the visuals were amazing. The movie featured stunning vistas showing the beautiful world that waslike something straight out of the Disney Nature film "Bears".  The movie just seemed to be missing something.  

I liked the characters.....

I liked the story of Arlo the Dinosaur and the friendship he forms with the little dog like human Spot.  

The action sequences were good especially some of the storm footage that sweeps Arlo away from his family.  

Everything about the film was good......but not great.  

Pixar films are generally Great and The Good Dinosaur just Good. Despite its top notch visuals the story just wasn't a high concept idea like Inside Out or Toy Story.  It seemed like the kind of story you would expect from one of the other animation studios.  

I also found myself comparing it to Disney's own Dinosaur from 2000 which also featured a Dinosaur separated from his family that makes a long journey.   Dinosaur was 15 years ago and also had photo realistic backgrounds and I personally thought Dinosaur was a much better film and I kind of want to revisit it now as a comparison.

I can't really put my finger on The Good Dinosaur's failing. I know that the film had many production issues and was reworked several times.  I guess they just couldn't get the tone of the film right. Maybe the failing was that the concept for the film just wasn't that strong to begin with.   My verdict:  It is worth a rental---but this one isn't a keeper.

Here is the Good Dinosaur Trailer

Here is the Dinosaur Trailer.

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(Disney Animated Movie Review #12 ) Zootopia 2016 9 out of 10

The whole family headed out to Downtown Disney the other day to watch Zootopia and everyone left the film in a great mood.  

Just like Pixar’s Inside Out last year this film has a great message.   The main theme of the film is a very uplifting one.  The main theme is that anyone can be anything.  That even if people try and put you down or hold you back –if you work hard enough you can achieve anything.   The main character Judy Hopps is the perfect example of this.  She is a little female rabbit that grew up out in the countryside of Bunny Burrows.  She is determined to be the first Bunny cop.  She keeps being told that this is a goal that she will never reach, but she shows through hard work and determination that she can achieve her goals.    The film also has the strong theme of not judging a book by the cover.  
These great messages carry the movie plot forward and make for an entertaining and great film and although this is the heart of the film- There is something else which I believe is making the film so popular with audiences.

And that is World Building:

I mentioned this key ingredient before I even saw the film after the sneak peek at the Disney Parks.

Here is the blog about the sneak peek.
http://braddisneylandblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/zootopia-sneek-peek-in-disneys.html

World building is a key ingredient in why Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings are so popular.  It was probably a big factor in Monsters Inc. as well.   Zootopia does an amazing job of World Building in setting up the world that the animals of Zootopia live in.  There are different climate regions such as TundraTown and Sahara Square.   These areas of Zootopia make for an interesting world that leaves you wanting to see more of it.  You get a really good look at Zootopia as Judy Hopps arrives to the main police station via Monorail early in the film.   The monorail ride takes the viewer through several sections of the world they have created and the imagination just runs wild .   Like in Harry Potter where every kid wants to go to school at Hogwart’s,  I think every kid would like to visit or live in Zootopia.  My teenage step son left the movie asking when they would come out with a sequel.    
The movie ends in a perfect place for there to be sequels in which we could explore more of this interesting world they created.

To sum it up:

The animation was excellent.  The characters were interesting. 
The casting of Jason Bateman as the Nick Wilde the Fox sidekick to Ginnifer Goodwin's  Judy Hopps was perfect. 
The plot was good, even though I figured out the twist fairly early on (I think because I've seen so many Scooby Doo episodes).   
The World of Zootopia was amazing just like like Inside Out and definitely has the potential for sequels or cartoon shorts.
Disney has another hit on its hands.

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(Disney Animated Movie Review #11 ) Pixar's Inside Out 2015 9+ out of 10

Inside Out 2015  9+ out of 10

Pixar strikes again:  Inside Out takes a high concept idea taken to the next level.  As I mentioned in a previous blog about it's box office success, Inside Out takes concepts covered in an old Disney World War 2 cartoon,  an old Epcot attraction called Cranium Command and the TV show Herman's Head  and creates an incredible new universe.    What Tron did for the computer Inside Out does with the human brain.

The Story

The story follows a young girl named Riley whose life has been completely happy until her family moves from their home in Minnesota to San Francisco.   We get to follow how this dramatic life change effects Riley from the point of life of her emotions.   Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness are the emotions that control Riley's mind in what is called Headquarters.  These anamorphic creatures help to guide Riley through life and the film focuses on how they deal with this new drastic change.   Things get a little out of control as the emotions take on this new challenge,  which is where all the fun begins.   This simple sounding story is taken to creative and imaginative places.  There is definitely world building going on in this universe and I could see additional stories being told in this world --whether that be animated shorts of sequels.  I love where they took this concept.

The Cast

The casting of the emotions was great:   Amy Poehler plays the main character of Joy (who has basically been in charge until the life change happens) and totally nails the role.  Phyllis Smith  (Phyllis from the Office) personifies sadness and Lewis Black is an absolute blast as Anger. I would love to see an animated short based on Anger being in control the whole time.  He is a tour de force and the fact that the movie touches on the emotions in other people's head leaves so many possibilities open.   An argument between Lewis Black and Gilbert Gottfried (as someone else's Anger)  --would be epic. 

Emotional Ride

This movie succeeds in not just showing you the emotions that Riley goes through --but actually takes you on an emotional ride along with some of those emotions.  The movie makes you laugh and makes you emotional as well. The journey that Joy and Sadness go on together drags you along with them.  The movie may connect with you on levels an average animated film does not.  In the same way the Toy Story pulled on your emotions when Jessie's owner that once loved her leaves her behind in a box the character of Bing Bong may make you miss your childhood.   The movie deals with the loss of innocence in a similar way and may effect the emotions of both child and adult alike.  The movie just hits all the right notes and ends with a hiliarious montage of the emotions in the heads of many other people.  It left the kids cracking up with laughter , which was a great way for a movie that can actually make you think sending you out of the theater.

I would definitely recommend Inside Out to anyone.  Especially after seeing the trailer for some upcoming animated movies that will soon hit the theaters.  I'd rather watch  take a deep and thoughtful movie like Inside Out over babbling  fart joke Minions anyday.

Dream Productions a great concept.

I just had to mention Dream Productions because I love that concept and about 7 years ago had a concept myself (which I'm sure hundreds of creative  people have considered before me) about an entire movie based on your dream world.   I had about 5 very different concepts for movies based on dreams and the dream world --but one centered on your dreams being run by a Hollywood movie company putting them on for you each night.   This movie is the first movie that really touched on that.  I can see an entire movie based on this concept.  Pixar is the perfect place for this idea and this movie touches the surface of what could be an entire movie --where Dream Central (in my concept) gets a budget for your dream and the whole movie deals with the chaos of trying to put on that production as writers keep changing the script as the dream goes on.  I loved how they dipped into this concept and I would love to see a movie about this like what I had imagined previously.   Do or do Not Pixar  "Dream Productions" would make a great movie.

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Disney Animated Movie Review: #10 2014 Planes 7 out 10

Planes 2: Fire and Rescue  2014  7  out of 10

Dusty Crophopper finds out that he has a bad gear box that can't be replaced and has to give up his life as a Racer in this sequel to Planes.  After and accident that puts his towns airport in jeopardy unless they can find another Fire Fighter Dusty volunteers to get certified and help out.  When he goes for Firefight training he gets involved in an adventure in fighting fires with some other Planes.

Animation:

The animation is surprisingly stunning.    The visuals of this Disney Toon Studios movie was top notch and probably one of the better parts of the film.   Some the firefighting scenes are beautiful and I would recommend this film for a family movie night for the animation sequences alone.

The Story:

The Story was very average and underwhelming and probably one the weaker aspects of the film.  Unlike a Pixar movie this  spin off from Cars just seems ordinary.  It isn't a story that there was a huge demand or interest in,  which is probably why it didn't do huge numbers at the box office.   I can't imagine people watching Planes --which was extremely derivative of Cars in both story and subject matter and saying  "I hope they do a sequel where he fights fires instead of racing".   There is nothing wrong with the story...it is well paced -- it just isn't must see subject matter.

The Humor:

It had its moment and some decent jokes ---it just again wasn't on the level of Pixar's films.   I liked the voice talent used for the film like the always great Patrick Warburton.   I believe the voice talent added to the average story and made the film better. Wes Studi as the Apache Helicopter was also great.

The Music:

The Music that was used in the film was great and added a lot to the story telling again making an underwhelming story more enjoyable. Escpecially the music used during the first big fire that they try and put out.

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(Disney Animated Movie Review #9 ) Big Hero 6 2014 8+ out of 10 ---Disney Sneak Peek and Meet and Greet

Sneak Peeks:

Disney has done it yet again in this comic book adaptation of a lesser known Marvel comic.  Big Hero 6 was another example of a Disney movie that I was only mildly excited about until I saw the 4-D sneak peek at the Disney parks.  I've now seen 4-D sneak peeks of Tron Legacy,  Frankenweenie,  Maleficent, Guardians of the Galaxy and now Big Hero 6 in the parks.  Each sneak peek has lead to me seeing the film from that sneak peek in the theaters --even if before the sneak peek I wasn't necessarily dying to see the films at the multiplex.   This new promotional use of Disney's 4-D theaters has been a fun and exciting way of adding something new to the parks while promoting the companies new and upcoming movies as.  I wasn't even going to see Guardians of the Galaxy in the theaters-until the sneak peek blew me away and that film became my favorite film of the year so far.  Now I look forward to going to the parks just to see this sneaks.......Especially with possibly Avengers and Star Wars sneak on the horizon.

Big Hero 6  2014  8+ out of 10

The movie was a fun action packed adventure.  The story follows Hiro - a kid who is a computer genius that is wasting his time doing back street robot battles for money.  His brother inspires him to use his abilities toward science by building something in order to get into the high tech school his brother attends.  Hiro builds some tech that is a little too good and too advanced.  This leads to the films villain blowing up the tech expo and secretly stealing this idea.

  It also leads to his brother loses his life trying to save his professor.   Emotional stuff--since as is common in way too many Disney films the kid is left without parents and now even without his old mentor brother.  This similar Disney theme is also the case for Ezra in the new Star Wars Rebels series --where he has lost his parents as well.  

This tragic event leaves Hiro (the films hero) sad and depressed with no purpose --until he bangs his toe in his room which awakens Baymax , the most loveable Balloon Robot -Caretaker of all-time.  Baymax is the heart of this Disney movie --figuratively and literally.  The robot was built by Hiro's brother as the perfect medical assistant.  Baymax comes along at the perfect moment --right when Hiro needs a friend the most and his mission is to help.  Baymax adds many laughs and the emotional center to the film that leads Hiro on an adventure where he encounters the villain that has turned his science experiment into something used to get revenge.   Hiro enlists his brothers friends from the Science school to help battle this villain by using their science abilities.  The film was an exciting and emotional journey for Hiro --that was packed with great visuals.   A  true surprise that I really enjoyed.

Time to meet Baymax Character Meet and Greets:

The other day after having seen the movie I was able to run on back over to Disneyland where Hiro and Baymax are now doing Meet and Greets in the park.  The meet and greets started around 10:30 when I was over on the other side of the parks checking out some of Disney's Christmas decorations.   By the time I got over there the line was already huge.   The meet and greet was set up to look like Hiro's garage and the people couldn't wait to get in there and hug this big balloon robot.  Baymax is a hit and character looks amazing.  He waddles around just like in the films and his eyes blink exactly like the character in the movie as well.  I think Baymax may be around for awhile and would be a perfect fit for Innventions once his meet and greet ends.

(Disney Animated Movie Review #7 ) The Pirate Fairy 2014 7+ out of 10

The Pirate Fairy  2014 7+ out of 10

When they first announced that Disney was going to be doing a series of Fairy movies starring Tinkerbell that would be direct to DVD I wasn’t expecting much at all.  It has actually turned out to be a quality series of cute children’s movies.  With each film they have expanded the world of fairies and built a cool and interesting mythology.  The best film in the series was last years  Secret of the Wings   which was a really strong entry.  (My thoughts on that movie are below.

 http://bradgeekness.blogspot.com/2012/11/secret-of-wings-2012-9-out-of-10.html

So when my step daughter walked into the room several months ago to declare we need to see that when the ad for the Pirate Fairy played on the Disney channel……I actually agreed with her.   This Fairy movie was finally going to get into some Peter Pan territory with the introduction of a young Captain Hook (The first true villain in this series of movies).    

 The Pirate Fairy had a good story in which an inquisitive fairy (similar to Tink) experiments with Fairy dust (despite being warned not to).   Things go wrong and she basically becomes a renegade fairy and leaves the Fairy community.  She ends up teaming up with a group of Pirates and steals the magically blue dust that helps provide the fairies with the dust  that helps them fly.  Tinkerbell and her friends set up to rescue the blue dust which leads to a fun adventure and a battle with a young Captain Hook and the introduction of the Croc that will eventually take his hand.   For Peter Pan fans this film was a treat since it provided some back story to some of the characters from Pan.   If you have little girls they will absolutely love this series ….and the adults may find them very watchable as well..

Disney Animated Movie Review: #6 Tangled 2010 9 out of 10

Tangled  2010  9 out of 10

The movie was magical. I didn't catch it in the theaters , but I have now seen it several times at home and each time I like it a little bit more. (Oh and by the way kids don't think the character's name is Rapunzel they want to go and meet Tangled so I will refer to her as "Tangled" for the rest of this review). The film is beautifully animated. The first glimpse of Tangled's tower is inspiring.  I've always looked on animated movies as a work of art greater than some of the world's most famous painting. The film paints a colorful picture. The characters are great. Flynn Rider is dashing (I joked with my wife one night asking if I was dashing, her response "Your no Flynn Rider"). The horse is awesome and has a wonderful action scene with Flynn that made me think of a great scene from Emperor's New Groove. 

The movie has a little bit of everything. Humor is the "I have a dream" song. Action in Tangled and Flynn's daring escape from those trying to capture Flynn via a Star Wars Luke and Leia escape using Tangled's hair. And romance in a truly beautiful scene right up their with "Kiss the Girl" from Little Mermaid where they set afire the lanterns setting them aloft into the air to light up the sky in a magical dance. I think with time this film will go down as a Disney classic. The music was good but not great like the early 1990's Disney films.

Disney Animated Movie Review: #5 Planes 7 out 10

Planes  2013  7 out of 10

Planes never really takes flight.   The  movie from above the world of Cars has the right look,  but not necessarily the right stuff.  It fails at being in the same league as either of the Pixar Cars movies and despite its look feels more like a direct to DVD film.  Like the main character Dusty Crophopper  the whole movie flies low to the ground and never really soars.  It was just too derivative of the Cars movies with an older plane as Dusty's mentor that was just too familiar of Doc Hudson (Paul Newman) in Cars.  There are some good action scenes in the movie and it was enjoyable, it just felt like it covered too much of the same ground  (or air in this case) that the Cars films had already covered.  

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Disney Animated Movie Review: #4 Frozen 9 out 10 and Olaf's Frozen Ice Rink

Frozen  2013   9 out of 10

We headed out over the Thanksgiving Holiday to check out the latest Disney animated adventure Frozen at Downtown Disney.  Frozen was very much in the same style and feel as Tangled in both its tone and look.  The story features a pair of sisters that are part of a royal family in the kingdom of Arendell.   Anna and Elsa were really close when they were young children until Elsa's magical powers that she couldn't control almost lead to Anna's life being in danger.    Years pass and it comes time for Elsa to be of age to become Queen which is where the story really starts.   Elsa's powers come to light and she flees her home leaving behind icy devastation.   The movie then focusing on Anna trying to find her sister and restore their home from its icy prison.   The movie features quick a few musical numbers that I could already imagine on stage.  The movie could easily be converted into a stage show.  It also has a few fun unexpected twists (and one at the end that I saw coming a mile away--but still loved).   It also has a couple of characters that you and your kids can fall in love with.....Olaf the silly comic relief Snowman and Sven the cute Reindeer.  Frozen is a great film, visually beautiful 
--the ice castle especially.   It is also and action packed and funny film.

Also at Downtown Disney why not continue the winter wonderland adventure with some Ice Skating at Olaf's  Frozen Ice Rink




If you have annual passes you can meet the princesses and catch the entertaining  animatronic  Olaf that interacts with guests waiting in line.

Until the next Disney Animated Feature......me and Olaf will just be hanging out.

Disney Animated Movie Review: #3 Monsters University 9 out 10

Monsters University  2013    9 out of 10

The Monsters are back and they are scaring up some big numbers at the box office.  In a world where sequels happen whether there is a demand or story for them based solely or how much money the original makes sometimes it is worth it.   Monsters INC was a complete story when it came out with a good conclusion that didn't necessarily lend itself to a sequel,  but the world of the Monsters lived in was so interesting that it was definitely worth revisiting at some point.    Pixar waited over a decade before they did revisit this world again and they found the right story to tell to bring us back into the world of Monsters.   Monsters University is a prequel that tells us how Mike and Sully became friends while going to scare school.   This college setting made for a colorful monster filled universe beyond what we saw in the original.   Borrowing from the Revenge of the Nerds plot it shows us how Mike and Sully eventually became friends after originally being  each others nemesis in school.   After their competitive nature leads them both to be kicked out of he scaring program,  they must band together with a bunch of misfit monsters to try and win the Scare Games in order to get back into the scare program.   This leads to a bunch of fun and silly scenes and a movie screen filled with a plethora of  cool and interesting monsters.   The monsters world is fun and vibrant and the film was a blast.   It didn't have the same emotional punch as Monsters Inc.  in that Sully's care for the little human child was missing, but it was a great story nonetheless.

Here is the trailer for Monsters  University