Alice Through the Looking Glass 2016 6 out of 10 (Disney Family Film #5) Alice in Wonderland 2010 8+ out of 10 (Disney Family Film #6)

Alice Through the Looking Glass  2016 6 out of 10

Looking at the box office results I wonder whether anyone really asked for a Sequel to Alice in Wonderland from 2010?   The first Alice was pretty much a complete story. The fact that the movie made over a Billion dollars worldwide I'm sure Disney thought there was a calling for a second trip to Wonderland.

Wonderland itself is an amazing place that is a visual delight to explore so why not return to this magical place.  Apparently in 6 years everyone forgot about Alice and Wonderland.   After 4 huge blockbuster films in a row that included The Force Awakens (over 2 Billion)  Captain America  (1.1 Billion so far) and both The Jungle Book and Zootopia surprisingly nearly a Billion as well---I'm sure when Alice staked out Memorial Weekend release date --they thought  it was a sure thing.    So where did it go wrong????

Maybe that is a question for a later date---because from even though I didn't see it as a must see sequel or even necessary for that matter the numbers from the first one would say otherwise.

James Cameron maybe you  should be worried about your Avatar sequels???

The movie itself

I had mentioned when I saw the sneak peek that this was one of the first films that the sneak peek in the parks didn't make me excited to see.  My stepdaughter wanted to go so off to the movies we went.  Something was different on this trip to Wonderland. 

Tim Burton didn't actually direct this one and maybe that had something to do with it.  It felt like Jaws 2 when compared to the original Jaws. All the same actors were back --but it just didn't click this time.  

It definitely wasn't the visuals.  Wonderland looked amazing on the big screen was again.   I think the problem was in the story.  The original Alice did a clever job of making it Alice's returning to Wonderland as a 19 year old girl.  It touched on many of the elements that made the books and the Disney animated feature so great with a Tim Burton twist.   The sequel to me was lacking in a story that made good use of Wonderland as a setting.  This time around we literally get a story about Time (played by Sasha Baron Cohen).  Alice returns to Wonderland again and gets involved in a Time Travel story searching for the Mad Hatter's family. 

It was just and odd choice and felt at times like it was more suited for a Spy Kids movies instead of Alice in Wonderland. 

The best scene of the movie was probably when Time was questioning The Hatter at the Tea Party about where Alice was.

The movie was okay --but it just wasn't magically like the first one.

Alice in Wonderland 2010   8+ out of 10

My stepdaughter wanted to watch the original Alice (from 2010) later that night, because she was too young to remember seeing it. 

In comparison to its under performing sequel this Alice was magical.   From the moment Alice runs away from her engagement party and follows the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole you are transported to the fun and amazing world of Wonderland.  Tim Burton was the perfect director to capture Wonderland on screen. The strangeness of this universe perfectly matched his visual style. Sure this Wonderland was a little different than the animated version since it ends with Alice battling the dreaded Jabberwocky. This version of Wonderland was both familiar and fresh at the same time.  

The sequel just seemed like maybe they didn't really have a good idea to make returning to Wonderland worthwhile ---but did it anyway because it seemed like a sure thing box office wise.....    Maybe Disney can learn from this before jumping into Maleficent 2 and Jungle Book 2  which both seem unnecessary.

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Cinderella 2015 6 out of 10 (Disney Family Film #4)

Cinderella  2015  6 out of 10

I finally got around to seeing the new Disney version of Cinderella.  It was a good quality remake of the animated film.  I personally think that the classic Cinderella story just isn't that interesting or exciting to me.   I can't find a flaw in the film making itself.   

The acting was solid and the visuals were stunning.   My favorite segment was the Fairy godmother transformation sequence, which I had seen previously in a sneak peek at the Disney parks.  So I guess my only issues with both this live action remake and the original animated feature are the simplicity of the story.   Everyone knows the story.   Cinderella is under the thumb of her evil step mom and her two horrible daughters.  They basically treat her like a servant.  Every women in the kingdom is invited to a big dance at the castle.  Cinderella helps her sisters get ready -but isn't allowed to go.  Then her fairy godmother helps to transform her for the dance with the help of some magic.  She shows up to the ball and falls in love -until she is forced to run away at midnight when the fairies spell is broken.   The end of the movie --is all about finding the girl that fits the glass slipper that was left behind.    

Girls love this fairy tale about a simple girl finding her prince.  It is a classic love story, but nothing exciting really happens in either the animated film or this remake.   She simply falls in love and then the prince searches for the girl that fits the shoe. 

Like I said everything about the movie itself was well done and stayed true to the classic tale.  I just don't think the story of Cinderella is too dull.    

It is definitely worth a rental as a family film if just for the transformation scene, but not one of my favorites among the recent Disney Films and if I had seen it in the theaters I wouldn't have bought it on DVD.

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Treasure of Matecumbe 1976 7 out of 10 (Disney Family Film #3) An Inspiration for The Goonies?

Treasure of Matecumbe  1976  7 out of 10

I've been wanting to see this movie for years.  Ever since I saw the poster for it while looking up Disney films over a decade ago.   I could never find it anywhere.  Not at Blockbuster (back in the days when Blockbuster was a thing) Not on Netflix, Not online.  Then yesterday while flipping through TCM on the TV to see if anything interesting was on I saw it and so I set the DVR for 11pm and recorded it for viewing this weekend.   

Expectations:  The movie poster was so cool that it captured my imagination--but the fact that the movie couldn't be found left me with very little hope of it actually being a quality movie.  I mean if it had been a good Disney flick I would have assumed it to be more readily available.  So my expectations for movie itself were rather low.  

The movie itself:  I actually enjoyed the movie more than I thought I would.  It was a typical family adventure movie that Disney made back in the 1960's and 1970's.  Similiar in tone to the Swiss Family Robinson, Apple Dumpling Gang, The Castaways and many other Disney films.  The movie was part Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn and part Treasure hunt.   The story follows a couple of boys in the post civil war era that find a treasure map in the families attic.  They decide to go after the treasure in an effort to save the family home and are pursued by some bad guys that are also after the treasure.

WAIT:   Isn't this the story of the Goonies?

The Goonies connection:

Yep Pretty much! It seems The Goonies took a lot of inspiration from this post Civil War adventure movie and just told a modern version of it with Steven Spielberg at the helm.  (The Goonies is of course a better and more exciting film --but the similarities in story are no coincidence.  Even the posters share some of the same aspects.   The connections to the Goonies made the film more enjoyable for me as I was interested to see what else in this family adventure film may have inspired one of my favorite 80's movies.  Asise from the plot itself there is a scene near the end once they find the treasure - wherre the main character (a young boy) falls through a hole into a cave with a skeleton just like Sean Astin's character in Goonies.  This scene was a clearly inspiration for that encounter with One Eyed Willie.

I would recommend this if you like the old school Disney Family adventures as it features a trip down the Mississippi full of villains, a mysterious indian tribe and an exciting Hurricane scene all with the backdrop of a treasure hunt.  Watch Treasure of Matecumbe as an appetizer and then follow it up with the classic 80's adventure Goonies  that it inspired as the main course.

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The Muppets 2012 7 out of 10 (Disney Family Film #2)

I wanted to see The Muppets in the theaters. I was glad that they had made their way back to the big screen after quite a break and the parody trailers were really well done.
(Marketing done right--unlike John Carter). I missed them in the theaters and had heard nothing only great things about the movie so when it finally came out on DVD I knew this was one that we had to get for the family. The movie was good ---but it didn't live up to all the applause that had followed its release for me. I mean the plot is basically exactly the same as The Country Bears movie with a bit of UHF thrown in as well. The Country Bears was considered a bomb (I actually thought it was okay) so I find it strange that The Muppet movie got such acclaim (since it is practically the same film). As for music.....I was expecting more as well....after all I'm a huge Flight of the Conchords fan so I was excited for the music in the movie. "Am I a Muppet or Man" was excellent but some of the other music just left me shaking my head (especially the lame rap song by the villain).

I get that for many it had an emotional connection in the nostalgia of getting the gang back together and stirring up memories of the old Muppet Show that we grew up watching on TV, but the sappy stuff only grabbed my interest to a certain degree. I felt the 2 human characters played be Jason Segal (who also co-wrote the movie) and Amy Adams were a waste. Their love story really didn't add much to the movie at all. The movie had its moments, but somehow I was hoping for a little bit more. The original Muppet movie is still by far the best of the Muppet films in my opinion.

The Muppets are the Muppets and their is a certain charm that comes with their mere presence on screen. The DVD had some good extras. The blooper reel was good. The Test footage and behind the scenes had that classic Muppet charm. I was looking forward to the 6 Sampler episodes of the actual Muppet Show (that came with the movie at Target) which the nostalgic elements of the movie made we want to see. Unfortunately that disc had no audio for some reason which disappointed me even more.

If the only thing you get out of this Muppet Movie is wanting to see the original TV show or the first Muppet Movie than it is definitely worth it and the kids will probably love it anyway.

The Muppets Most Wanted 2014 7+ out of 10 (Disney Family Film #1)

The Muppets Most Wanted 2014  7+ out of 10

The Muppets are back in action again.  I love the Muppets and will watch any new Muppet movie that comes out.  I grew up with the Muppet Show on TV,  so the nostalgia is very strong for these characters.  The original Muppet movie was a classic and I love visiting the Muppets 3-D film at Disney’s California Adventure.  So  I didn’t complain when I got the duty of taking the kids to the movies.    

The Plot

I was a little disappointed in the previous Muppet movie for basically having the same plot as The Country Bears movie and for spending too much time on the new character of Walter.  This Muppet movie gets all of the classic Muppets much more involved in a story where Domenic Badguy (played by the always entertaining Ricky Gervais)  convinces the Muppets to go on a world tour.   Kermit is kidnapped by the World’s Most Dangerous Frog  Constantine and thrown into a Serbian jail.  Contstantine replaces Kermit unconvincingly to everyone except the clueless Muppets and then proceeds to rob museums with Domenic Badguy.   It is a good plot that only suffers slightly from the fact that Kermit is separated from the main group of Muppets  for most of the film.

The Music

One great thing about this latest Muppet movie is that once again the songs are written by Brett Mackenzie of Flight of the Chonchords –so all of the songs have that fun and clever feel of a Flight of the Chonchords song.  The song  “You can you what you want “ as sung by the World’s Most Dangerous Frog Constantine was especially entertaining .  The tone of these songs is perfect for the Muppets and their style of humor.

What is missing?

 I ended up seeing the Muppets in the theaters twice, only because the kids had different events on different days so I got movie duty.  It didn’t hold up as well the second time around.  I’m not sure exactly what was missing that made me disconnect  while viewing the film a second time.  Many of their adventures seem to fall into the same  general range of being good and yet not great and I think that is where this Muppet film will fall.  Maybe it is just the nature of there being puppets in the first place that keeps them from achieving  true greatness, I’m not quite sure and I can’t quite figure it out.   Maybe they just work better in small doses or in a TV show format with short sketches instead of getting lost within a Hollywood plot that always seems to water down the Muppets from their best.

Anyway….If you like the Muppets –you will probably like this Muppet adventure as well.   It is good –just not great.

Here are my thoughts on the previous Muppet film from 2012

http://braddisneylandblog.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-muppets-2012-7-out-of-10-disney.html

Coming up soon I'll do a blog ranking all of the Muppet Movies.

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