Pictures and comments by Brad Chowen from the parks.
Cartoon Reviews, Attraction and Restaurant Reviews from Disneyland, Disneyworld and just generally everything Disney
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Showing posts with label Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Show all posts
There was definitely something missing when Star Wars Launch Bay opened.
A glaring error that has now been been corrected.
BB-8
BB-8 is now on display next to Rey's Speeder in Star Wars Launch Bay. I'm glad to see this addition to the exhibit, since BB-8 is a beloved character from the film that has now grossed over 2 Billion dollars worldwide. Heck the BB-8 sipper cups are selling so fast that the fact that BB-8 wasn't in the exhibit when it opened was a huge oversight.
I hope that additions will regularly be made to Star Wars Launch Bay. It could become a permanent Star Wars exhibit with different items from the franchise being displayed. New and old props from the Lucasfilm archives could come and go making this exhibit a destination for all Star Wars fans.
By the time of this blog has posted The Force Awakens has
passed Avatar as the new US Box Office Champion of All-Time.Avatar made 760 Million in Domestic Box Office
(I still can’t understand how that movie did so well)As I wrote this blog on Tuesday 5th The Force Awakens had already grossed about
750 Million in the U.S. and was still averaging about 8 Million a day on
Monday.
We just recorded our Podcastabout the film.Take a listen
And I’ve listened to at least a half a dozen podcasts on
the subject myself. I find it
interesting listening to some people that have seen the film 5 times and yet
say it is a 8 out of 10….(Then why did you see it 5 times).Any movie that I’m willing to see at least 3
times in the theater is a 10 out of 10 for me.It can have flaws and things that you pick at –but if it compelled you
to see it multiple times –how can it be anything less than a 10
The Cast:The
Cast was excellent:Especially Harrison
Ford returning as Han Solo.He stepped
right back into the role and I didn’t doubt for a second that Han would be any
different. I absolutely loved every scene he was in……(okay
except for one scene –that really hurt).John Boyega was excellent,Oscar
Issacs –needs a bigger role in the next episode….and Daisy Ridley was out of
this world good as Rey.
The visuals and John Williams soundtrack draw you back
into the look and feel of the original
trilogy –which has obviously struck a cord with all of the fans.The movie wisely makes use of familiar Star
Wars Themes and gives them a new twist and setting.
Anyone that was
questioning Disney’s purchase of Star Wars and looking on it with concern
should now feel great about the future of the franchise.Star Wars is no longer just a franchise –it is
basically its own genre now.I can’t
wait until the film comes on DVD.I can’t
wait until the themed land goes in at Disneyland (watch out Potter).And Rogue One is less than a year away. To listen to our All our previous Podcasts go here http://www.superfantasticterrific.com/
"Who are you?" Asks the trailer......Well we really don't ever find out the answer to that question. We find out who the villain is and it is devastating.
I put off writing my thoughts on the Force Awakens until I saw it a second time. I guess I needed it to sink in a little bit. I'm sure there are already a million reviews about the movie so maybe I'll take a slightly different approach and maybe just ask questions. The movie brought up as many questions as it answered. So below are 6 questions I was asking myself and didn't post about before the movie came out and whether the movie answered them or not.
What I thought about the movie: I loved the movie.....I'm a huge Star Wars fan and I've read a ton of Star Wars books and I listen to Star Wars Podcasts and have even discussed it on my own Movie Podcast . The movie captured the spirit of the originals and brought a new generation of Star Wars characters to the forefront. Harrison Ford was awesome!!! The new cast was great.....I can't wait for the next film.
I'll discuss the film itself in more detail when we do our next Podcast.
1. Where is Luke? and has he turned to the Darkside?
What I thought before the film came out:
I really don’t think they will go the direction of Dark Empire comics and have Luke go to the darkside.Luke will probably show up towards the end of the film which means it will probably be a couple of years before we really get to see Luke in action again. Answers we got from the Movie:
Well I was definitely right about Luke. Now we know why he wasn't in the trailer and the posters... After all he was only in the film for the last minute and didn't even speak a line. I think it was a great ending and only makes us want to know more about what Luke has been up to and what we will see from him in Episode 8.
2. What are Rey and Finn’s last names?
What I thought before the film came out: Skywalker or Solo –the jury is still out.I’m sure Rey is related to one of our former heroes. The trailer where she talks about waiting for her family and the narration about the same eyes in different people makes you wonder. Answers we got from the Movie: Okay ---so we didn't find out the answer to either question. Finn may not be related to anyone and Rey doesn't seem to be a Solo. The movie makes you think that she may be Luke's child. Again the movie created more questions than it answered. My guess is that she is Luke's daughter and that maybe the mom dropped her off on Jakku to hide her when Kylo Ren had turned on Luke and the Jedi. I think the mom planned on coming back for her, but never made it back. Rey's visions when she touched Luke's Lightsaber show a memory of her being left on Jakku--but she also had visions of Kylo killing Jedi. Hopefully we will find out in a year and a half from now.
3. Is Snoke actually Plagueis?
What I thought before the film came out: This is highly unlikely –but Abrams did bring back Khan in Star Trek reboot….and the fact that they haven’t shown us what the character looks like makes the rumors persist.
Is the expanded universe really dead or is that just a setup like Khan? Before the movie went into production on the movie Disney and Lucasfilm announced that the expanded universe was pretty much dead.But aside from new post Return of the Jedi comics Rebels has basically just re -enforced older stories from the EU.When the EU was reset I thought that it made since for them to reset things post Return of the Jedi –but there really was no reason to retell things prior to that.They continue to bring elements of the Pre Jedi era into canon—which can be confusing for die hard fans.This makes me wonder if the movie is actually going to be giving us something more from the EU then we have been lead to believe.I hope that someday they bring Thrawn back into the new canon.
Answers we got from the Movie: Again we really didn't get an answer to this.... The book adaptation of the movie does say that Snoke has been around for a long time which only fuels the Plagueis fires....Of course they seem to be borrowing elements from the EU and changing them so he could be a Plagueis like character, but not Plagueis himself.
4. Rey and Kylo could actually be a version of Jacen and Jaina?
What I thought before the film came out: This goes back into dragging ideas back in from the EU.Rey and Kylo could just be new versions of the the Solo Twins from the EU. Answers we got from the Movie: They basically used the spirit of the EU without having the same characters. Rey is very much like Jaina Solo (Although she may be a Skywalker) and Kylo is like Jacen (except his name is Ben Solo). So we basically got very similar characters to Jacen and Jaina Solo in new characters.
5.Let the Wookie Live?Was the death of Chewie in the expanded universe one of the biggest reasons it was abandoned?
What I thought before the film came out: One of the main reasons I think they rebooted the beside being able to tell stories without being tied to details the general public don't know about was to reverse the loss of Chewie.They killed Chewie off in the books during the 19 book series about the Vong.Once they decided to do new movies and bring Han Solo back –not having Chewie would have been a crime. Answers we got from the Movie: So they let the Wookie Live!!! and they Killed Han Solo. I recall the reason that they killed Chewie in the books. I agreed that after so many books --when all the main characters always survived it took away the danger in the books. I hated that they had killed Chewie, but I understood it. The same goes for Han's death in the movie. It had an impact that will totally effect many of the characters and makes things interesting --because no one is safe. Like on the Walking Dead --the fact that they are willing to kill off main characters makes the show more interesting. Han will be missed. At least I still have all of Han's EU stories --still in my head...
6. When will the first Rogue One Trailer hit?
What I thought before the film came out: The first trailer for The Force Awakens broke on Thanksgiving over a year before the movie.In my opinion we won’t see a Rouge One Trailer until sometime after the Force Awakens comes out…Maybe not until Captain America hits theaters……Just to not create confusion for non diehard fans.
Answers we got from the Movie: I think I was right on this one.....We probably won't see a Rogue One Trailer until the Star Wars movie has run it's Trench Run assault on Box Office Records. The movie has already passed a billion dollars Worldwide in slightly over a week at the Box Office. It's daily numbers are insane and I'm sure we will not see a trailer for Rogue One until it's theater run is over.
3 Interesting Dates onClosed Attraction schedule that could have a Star Wars Connection.
I still have Star Wars on the brain after the big D23 announcement. I went online
today because I was thinking about how non specific they were regarding the dates for
Star Wars related happenings at the park . I thought I’d check and see if the
Blue Sky Cellar was listed anywhere –since it has been closed for quite
awhile.Not only did I see a listing
for it –but several other Ride Closure updates caught my attention. Here is a link to one of the sites that shows the ride closures and openings. http://touringplans.com/disneyland-resort/closures
1.Innoventions has been closed since before
March of this year and at D23 we found out why……Star Wars Launching Bay and
Mavel Superhero HQ is going in.Innoventions is currently listed as Reopening on 10/01/2015…….So we may
be getting the Star Wars Launching Bay in slightly over a month. This is truly exciting.
2.Blue Sky Cellar is scheduled to reopen on
10/03/2015…….This means that we could start to see some
peeks up close and in personal of what is coming with Star Wars Land like we did before Carsland went in at DCA.
3.The last listed attraction closure and reopening
is the Tomorrowland Theater: It shows as being closed from 06/8/2015
(last is when Tomorrowland sneak peek ended) It is listed as reopening on 12/02/2012.If you do the math –that is about 16days
before The Force Awakens opens in theaters. I know I said that it probably wouldn't happen---since Avengers didn't get a sneak peek and Star Wars is a even bigger movie and probably doesn't need the extra advertising.....but if it doesn't I'll be there all day watching it.
Disney's new Cinderella movie will be out in the theaters soon and currently Disneyland is running a sneak peek of the movie in one of their 4D theaters. I hope to drop by the park this weekend to check it out. What movie will be next to get the sneak peek treatment?
Over the past couple of years the Disneyland Resort has featured sneak peeks of Tron Legacy (which was amazing), Frankenweenie, Oz the Great and Powerful, Maleficent, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Big Hero 6. I absolutely love the idea of having sneak peeks in the park. It makes good use of the 4-D theaters as they rotate the upcoming films while still having the regular 4-D movies in between. I wasn't even sure if I would see Guardians and Big Hero 6 in the theaters until I saw the 4-D sneak peeks for those films. So when they announced that Cinderella was also getting a sneak peek it got me thinking......Will they do the same for the Avengers and Star Wars???
My mouth began to water at the thought of a Star Wars sneak peek. I could literally spend half a day going back again and again to see this in between trips on Star Tours. The Guardians sneak peek blew me away and turned a movie I had a mild interest in seeing into a must see. Could The Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star War: The Force Awakens get the same treatment?
I guess we will find out soon enough since The Avengers will be hitting movie theaters this May. I really hope that we do get a sneak peek for these films---but I also think that despite Disney's recent track record of doing this---that it may not happen.
Disney already knows that The Avengers sequel pretty much will market itself after the first one made around a billion dollars worldwide. And Star Wars......Well with Star Wars -they pretty much don't even need to advertise. Every little detail about the film sends the internet into a frenzy. An 88 second trailer that barely showed a thing sent the internet spinning out of control with excitement. Disney may want to not release sneak peeks of these 2 films --based solely on the reason that they don't have to. They don't need to drum up fan interest like they did with the basically unknown Guardians or Big Hero 6. With the Avengers and Star Wars being such already established franchises --they may find it unecessary.
I for one hope that we do get sneak peeks of these 2 films. If we do I will be at the parks front and center watching them and getting more excited for 2 films that are already must sees.
I'll be posting about the Cinderella sneak peek this Sunday To Follow my new Disney Facebook page linked to this blog go here
