Aladdin (2019)

I'm actually really on board with the recent trend of remaking classic Disney animated films in live-action, but Aladdin is not very good. The story is kind of flimsy. There is new music made for this adaptation that does not gel with the original. Alan Menken from the original, and Pasek and Paul of La La Land fame, wrote cringy pop music. Some of the songs are actually not even long enough to qualify as songs, merely two or three sung lines. It is the exact criticism that people who don't like musicals have: the switch from singing to speaking is too abrupt. The acting is good but the singing is not quite hefty enough from the leads. It is nice to hear Will Smith singing again. He is actually quite good, even though I was skeptical of him at first. He adds some much needed humor and levity. The production, set, CGI and costumes are beautiful, but I'm not sure about the accuracy of the costumes. They seem too colorful and revealing for Arabian dress. Jasmine is modernized, given a voice and more agency. That was a nice touch, but the accompanying song is not good.

Dumbo (2019)

Tim Burton's singular vision is stunning. Disney has totally nailed the animation turned live-action visuals. The CGI is so good. They had some practice animating elephants in The Jungle Book, and live action Dumbo is adorable. His eyes are real. There is so much emotion in those eyes. And many shots are in the reflection of those eyes taking on Dumbo's perspective. The first scene in which Dumbo takes flight is breathtaking. And to think Dumbo doesn't fly in the original until the end. This new version adds an element of humanity. The kids are great. Danny Devito is a natural ringmaster. The movie plays a little like a superhero movie: Dumbo's origin story, if you will. The super power is obviously flight. Dumbo is given motivation to use his powers, and ultimately uses them to save the day. Maybe that's why it got mixed reviews... because it is a little formulaic in that superhero template that critics have tired of. But certainly didn't expect that from Dumbo. And I like Arcade Fire.

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

I don't often give hearts to a movie I rate 4 stars, but this movie tugged all the right strings for me, even if it didn't quite hit all the right notes. The movie is packaged in such a whimsically charming way that gives me joy. The visuals are exciting (the animation and live action mix is even more seamless with 2018 visual effects), the pace is leisurely, and the plot is perfectly sentimental. I do believe in the power of nostalgia and the enduring magic of Mary Poppins. Derivative isn't an accurate description when the movie is done well to nostalgic effect. After fifty years, I don't think anyone was really asking for a sequel, but I'm so glad it's here.

The biggest fault of the movie (and it's a big one) is the music. It is...just fine. In most situations, it would be sufficient. But this is Mary Poppins. The music from the original is iconic. The new music simply is not that catchy. Musicals have to have memorable music, moreover Disney musicals have to have singable music.

But I can overlook that because the rest of the movie is so much fun. Emily Blunt is amazing, really making the quintessentially British nanny her own. She is the epitome of elegance. Special call-outs for Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ben Whishaw too. Meryl Streep makes a cameo appearance that does not really advance the plot. And I didn't even see her in the end in the balloon scene. They probably should have cut out that scene.One last note on Rob Marshall. He can't resist the Chicago-esque scene when Lin and Emily dance and sing on stage about book covers. Mary Poppins even wears a Catherine Zeta Jones-esque hairpiece. Don't get me wrong, it's a great scene but the wig looks so out of place for her that you can't help thinking it.

Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)

Wreck-It-Ralph was a great movie that didn't really need a sequel but I'm quite satisfied with this. The underlying plot is deeper than a little kid could comprehend. The movie ruminates on finding meaning in life. Ralph is content doing the same thing everyday. But Vanellope is looking for something more. More familiar to children will be the internet. Kids who have grown up with the internet have an inherent understanding of what it is that the rest of us had to learn on our own. Disney visualizes cyberspace with much humor and cleverness that people of all ages can appreciate. It's hard to overlook the nonstop product placements that we are bombarded with. I'll make a small distinction between the Internet product placements and the Disney "synergies" that are written into the plot, like the Disney princesses. But it's so obvious and shameless. Despite this, the movie is fun. And the voice cast is fabulous, especially Sarah Silverman.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)

Disney's latest attempt at a live-action re-imagining of a beloved tale is almost incoherent. It's ostensibly the Nutcracker, but it tries to emanate the Chronicles of Narnia, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, and Wizard of Oz, making it wholly unoriginal. Some of the characters have the same names as the ones from the ballet but the story is totally different and that's a bad thing. Nothing is really quite explained enough to satisfaction. And there are a handful of plot points that frustratingly don't go anywhere. I love Keira Knightley and I've never heard her voice sound so unnatural. Also beware the mice; there are A LOT of mice in this movie.

But let's try to focus on the good. The cinematography and art direction are beautiful. Linus Sandgren's visuals are stunning as usual. The music of the Nutcracker is iconic. The score by James Newton Howard does not merely copy Tchaikovsky's composition. It does includes short snippets here and there. But Howard's excellent soundtrack has noticeable variations on the themes from the Nutcracker. There is one scene of the movie that rises above the rest: it's obviously the ballet scene featuring none other than Misty Copeland. In a movie full of CGI, the most magical scene is the one featuring practical sets on a ballet stage. I actually wouldn't have minded if more of the story was told through dance. That wouldn't have been inappropriate for the Nutcracker. They couldn't done a Chicago-esque kind of thing. The ballet is preceded by maestro Gustavo Dudamel taking his place in front of the orchestra in silhouette a la Fantasia. That's Disney invoking itself; I don't know if anyone else would be so bold but Disney.

Christopher Robin (2018)

It has always been my philosophy that it is sometimes best to do nothing. It's overall a sweet movie with a powerful underestimated message. The great philosopher Winnie the Pooh has some words of wisdom for us all. And he delivers them to us effortlessly and unknowingly, making it all the more delightful and unexpected. Just let the levity yet simultaneous depth of his words sink in and you too can find value in this children's movie. The movie masterfully mixes melancholy and humor.

The opening montage is very well done. Christopher Robin grows up before our eyes, with a series of brief scenes from his life punctuated by hand-drawn stills echoing the books.  The references to the original stories sprinkled throughout the movie are charming.

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

It's fine. I liked it just fine. It's breezy fun but the plot is sort of thin. Paul Rudd's character is under house arrest due to external conflicts from Avengers: Civil War. The mid-credits scene alludes to the Avengers too. But the central conflict within the film has three sides, Ant-Man vs the ghost vs a common black market dealer. The dealer's presence in the film is seemingly insignificant in the grand scheme of thing. The ghost is a sympathetic villain. But by the time we get to the resolution of the plot, we see that the antagonism between them was moot. Paul Rudd is fun though.

Coco (2017)

Coco is the latest Pixar film, its first non-sequel since Inside Out. Pixar is excellent as usual when running with original ideas. This one has gotten comparisons with The Book of Life (similar theme of Day of the Dead) and Spirited Away (similar plot points). I haven't seen The Book of Life, but Coco is something special. First of all, it's beautiful. The world of the dead is stunningly complex and vibrant and colorful. The animation is just amazing to look at. The first scene with the paper cuts is brilliant. It's beautiful on another level too. Pixar is historically white on the diversity front. They've only featured two three characters of color before: Frozone in The Incredibles, Russell in Up, and Mindy Kaling's Disgust in Inside Out. All of the characters in Coco are Mexican, and the Mexican traditions and culture are conveyed with the utmost respect--they clearly did their research.  The characters' commitment to keeping these traditions and preserving their heritage is beautiful.  Why is this necessary? Because minorities contend with more than just feelings, and family, and parenthood, and obesity...heritage is crucial to our lives and it's important that kids be able to see themselves on screen in our popular culture.

We know Pixar is full of masterful storytellers, but the little things are really clever too.  The interpretation of the process of how the dead return to the world of the living is really brilliantly imaginative, and in line with tradition. Names are really important.The movie is named for the great grandmother Coco. Ask why that is. Ask why the Xoloitzcuintli is named Dante. Yeah, like Dante's Divine Comedy in which Dante tours the afterlife.

My biggest gripe is the Disney-fication of Pixar. There was no Pixar short preceding the film. Instead, we got a 20 minute Frozen "short" that was completely unnecessary. It was very clearly made for TV. And it had no business preceding this Pixar work of art. 

Moana (2016)

In Lin-Manuel Miranda's first post-Hamilton project, he pens some catchy songs that, for me, are the stars of the show. They are unmistakably his, with the unique cadence and clever wordy melodies. Even the Rock can sing, who knew? The animation is beautiful, including a very impressively realistic ocean. Just look at how far animation has come since Finding Nemo. Maui's body tattoos provided comedy but were themselves beautiful. They probably could've sustained their own short film. And let's not forget how important that the protagonist is a woman of color. She takes her destiny in her own hands and becomes a hero. She has real problems that do not revolve around a love interest. She is her own character, fully developed, likable and complex. She's not your typical Disney princess and here's to more characters like Moana.

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

I think Disney actually did an enchanting job with this remake of the (Oscar Best Picture-nominated) original. The acting and casting is spot on. Specifically, Emma Watson is simply divine. She's beautiful and charming and who knew she could sing? Her voice actually sounds very pure. She is helped greatly by the new orchestrations, modernizing the familiar tunes. Emma Thompson is fine as Mrs. Potts but I don't think her rendition of the title song can match the iconic Angela Lansbury. There are some new songs in addition to the old classics. And they're all quite good. There is a noticeable amount of diversity among the villagers and even some interracial couples, though in provincial France they were surely all white. Disney of course had the controversy with Josh Gad's flamboyantly gay Le Fou, but it was actually surprisingly tame. They're making a big deal out of nothing. And Josh Gad is perfect for Le Fou. Besides, shouldn't Le Fou be gay? It's really just reading a little deeper into his character. The one casting I wasn't crazy about was Dan Stevens for beast. I have to admit, I did not recognize him or his name, but it's Matthew from Downton Abbey! His face is only in a small portion of the film, but the big reveal at the end was shocking. He looked to pretty with his golden locks to be taken seriously. It was like a joke ripped from the cover of a romance novel. If Disney was really trying to push boundaries, the prince would've been black.

Visually, the castle and costumes are quite stunning. The Be Our Guest sequence is just like the original. I, personally, had a problem seeing the detail though. I don't know if it was the movie or me, but every time the camera moved, everything looked blurry. I couldn't make out any of the lines. It felt like watching a 3D movie without the glasses on sometimes. Maybe it was filmed in 3D? There are definitely 3D versions being shown, but we had a 2D screening in a large cinema in Dublin.

The BFG (2016)

I don't really remember the book very well, but I do recall that it was one of my favorites growing up because of its imaginative story. Roald Dahl was always very creative. On the whole though, I was kind of unimpressed by the film. It was alright, but I didn't think it was anything special. Didn't excite me. Children's movies nowadays are not so simple. Even family films have depth, and the BFG was sort of shallow.

Mark Rylance plays the BFG and the motion capture technology is quite incredible. Fresh off his Oscar-winning collaboration with Spielberg in Bridge of Spies, he continues to do fine work. It's a good thing that we can capture his expressions and likeness because he's a theater actor and he expresses a lot more than he did as the low-key spy.

The Jungle Book (2016)

I feel like this film is the next era in computer graphics. Disney did it in 1946 bringing the animated characters in Song of the South to the live-action world. Here, they place Mowgli in a computer-generated jungle full of computer-generated animals and wonders. Nothing else in this movie is real, but you wouldn't be able to tell. In that respect, The Jungle Book is very impressive.

Favreau creates his own enthralling world such that he doesn't need to hearken back to the original. It is all his own, though he sometimes tries to remind us. This Jungle Book is a lot scarier and less fun than the one I remember. And Mowgli is a lot more annoying than I remember, too. I kind of couldn't get over it. The iconic Bare Necessities sequence was strange to put it plainly with Bill Murray as Baloo. Actually, his portrayal of Baloo and his relationship with Mowgli reminded me of St. Vincent. Don't think that was intentional, but Murray sort of plays it the same way.

Zootopia (2016)

On the surface, it is an animated buddy cop comedy (helmed by a strong, dominant female lead), but there is so much more to it. Zootopia is a brilliant allegory that is funny, relevant, and witty. Predators and prey live together in harmony, or so they believe. But stereotyping and discrimination run abound. It is not a perfect analogy to the real world. Nor can it be expected to capture all of the complexities and intricacies of our society. But Disney creates its own world with its own imperfections, a utopia that cannot reach the high bar it sets for itself. It is very thoughtful and thought provoking. It preaches a message of tolerance that falls upon American ears that need to hear it. But the message is never too blatant--it is balanced well with genuinely funny jokes (including references to The Godfather and Breaking Bad) and modern animation. 

Inside Out (2015)

Much like emotions themselves, this movie is quite complex. Perhaps a little too complex for children, but if you think the target audience is children, then you don't know Pixar, which has consistently made high quality animated films that resonate best with adults who might accompany children to the theater.  Pixar adds to its canon of masterpieces, and perhaps outdoes itself once and for all with this brilliant return to form after a year off.  As always, Pixar finds the right balance between comedy, drama and pure emotion, never failing to illicit a tearful response or two or .several from the audience.

The premise is so novel and creative and clever. It is pure genius.  It is at once a story about growing up, about memories and dreams, and about learning to grapple with our feelings, our emotions and personalities.  And it does so literally from the inside out, telling stories from inside Riley's mind.  It is a story that only the world of animation could bring to life.  It is very beautifully animated.  It uses imagination to envision what imagination looks like.  It envisions an expansive library of memories sitting in storage.

The characters are extreme caricatures, all cast perfectly.  Amy Poehler plays Joy, a hyped up version of Leslie Knope.  Likewise, Lewis Black plays Anger, an extreme version of his own persona.  But it is the character of Sadness voiced by Phyllis Smith that shares the spotlight with Joy, or stands in the shadow of Joy's aura.  I really appreciated Pete Docter's attention to sadness, an emotion for which the child-minded Joy sees no use; but our emotions are complex and sadness is not an inherently bad thing, and the real heart of the film is this interplay between these two characters learning what it means to be sad and learning to embrace it.

I also think that it is great that the main character is a little girl (a la Brave).  Perhaps girls are a little more in touch with their emotions at a young age. But in any case, it is important for girls to see themselves portrayed on screen, and in Pixar's fifteen productions, this is only the second to feature a female protagonist.  And she plays hockey!  Take that, gender stereotypes.

PS. Did you catch the reference to Chinatown? "Forget it, Jake. It's Cloudtown"
PPS. Did you see the film poster at Dream Productions referencing Vertigo?

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

The Avengers seems to get more and more confusing with each film in the series. This is mostly because they keep adding more characters. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The movies are trying to get closer to the source material comic books, which are quite convoluted. There are so many characters in the Marvel universe, and by that standard, the movies actually only feature a small fraction of them. And Gwyneth Paltrow and Natalie Portman weren't even in this one.

The Avengers has always been about action first and comedy second.  Compare that to last year's Guardians of the Galaxy which is just one long joke.  The Avengers does have its comedic moments. The best is Hawkeye acknowledging his uselessness.  That is a brilliant moment of self awareness, and the joke is ongoing.

The central plot of Age of Ultron revolves around artificial intelligence.  Artificial intelligence is interesting because it isn't just a technology/engineering feat, but there are philosophical and ethical issues that are addressed as well.  Avengers doesn't dive very deep into these debates, but it is an interesting plot point that provides for a formidable foe for the Avengers.

Big Hero 6 (2014)

Believe it or not, this is the first superhero film in the Disney canon. They've done the princess movie to death, but this is the first foray into animated superheroes.  After acquiring Marvel, this is a fitting film for Disney to produce as its main character is a child, and like all Disney films the parents are dead, and the film has a message. Baymax is Disney's answer to minions, a lovable, huggable white Michelin man sort of character; in other words a marketing, merchandising magnet.  The icing on the cake is John Lasseter's magic touch of comedy and emotion.

How to get children interested in science and robotics--more specifically how to get girls interested in STEM?  I understand that the story is based on established material, but I think the protagonist Hiro should have been a girl rather than a boy. At least two of the members of the superhero team are female.  This movie proves to children that science is cool and the limits of technology are endless.  It is important to inspire a new generation of innovators and inventors.


    

Into the Woods (2014)

I thoroughly enjoyed Disney's adaptation of this Sondheim classic. The music and lyrics are so complex, and hauntingly beautiful.  My favorite is when the characters sing different lyrics and melodies simultaneously, the counterpoint that Sondheim is so good at.  His characters think out loud in natural rhythmic speech.  The opening sequence (Prologue) introducing all of the characters is masterful with each character passing on the infectious theme to the next.  An extravagant production design realistically recreates a dark and creepy wood.  Along with Colleen Atwood's Oscar-nominated costume design, the audience is transported to a fantasy world.

Meryl Streep finally broke her own rule of never playing a witch to join Into the Woods.  She has a much better platform to show off her singing chops than with ABBA's Mamma Mia.  Streep actually has a very good voice; case in point "Children Will Listen." Emily Blunt also has an excellent singing voice as the Baker's Wife.  They are emotional, comedic, and most of all musical.

The story has depth, an existentialist message that might go over the head of a Disney-aged audience, but the original musical is not intended for children.  There are themes of morality and parental relationships.  The story is cleverly told through a clever combination of classic fairy tales reimagined.  This is what makes a good musical: a clever idea, good music, good acting and a thought-provoking story.

Fantasia (1940) & Fantasia 2000 (1999)

Walt Disney's experimental classic still plays well 75 years after its premiere and is better than Roy Disney's follow up in 2000.  It is a novel idea to compile a series of unrelated short films into one much-needed introduction to classical music, excellent for young children and adults alike.  The only things connecting short films are the orchestra and the animation. Fantasia 2000 tried to update the look with computer animation,  such as the strange looking whales in Respighi's Pines of Rome.  But not veering too far from the original,  2000 brings back Dukas's Sorcerer's Apprentice,  perhaps the most iconic sequence from the original and perhaps from the entire Disney canon.   The movie reinforces the idea that good storytelling does not require words or even actors.   It displays the power of music to convey a story and showcases some of the greatest pieces humanity has produced. My personal favorites are Stravinsky's Firebird and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, both from the 2000 version.  I greatly appreciate the look of hand drawn animation.  Both show complete storytelling, even with complex intertwining stories in a Depression era New York, really embodying Gershwin.  There are some weaker shorts, in which the animation is made up mostly of dancing lines and shapes, which compared to the other shorts comes off as a little lazy. 

Maleficent (2014)

This movie is part origin story, part retelling of Sleeping Beauty, part altering the original story.  The movie attempts to Wicked-fy Maleficent, remaking the traditional villain into a morally ambiguous character.  However, whereas Wicked does not mess with the original source material, Maleficent takes lots of liberties in modifying the plot line of the classic Disney movie.

The movie has a really great look with a nice combination of CGI and practical effects.  This takes place in a dark, angular, and thorny fairy tale world.  Angelina Jolie is transformed into the iconic dark fairy with the aid of some intense makeup and a stylish pair of horns.  She has the presence of an ominous giant, filling the room or the forest.  She is so entertaining to watch because at times she can scare you and yet there are other times in which she shows vulnerability, a side of Maleficent we are not used to seeing.  Lastly, Lana del Rey's haunting rendition of Once Upon a Dream sends chills down the spine--a perfect arrangement for a powerful singer.