Tag: Disney

REVIEW: ‘Coco’ Works Thanks To Heartfelt Story About Family, Memorable Music

When it comes to musicals, Pixar has usually left the genre to its counterpart Disney Animation Studios. With its latest endeavor, though, Pixar has taken a page out of the Mouse House’s playbook, creating a musical experience with “Coco.”

Keep in mind, “Coco” isn’t a traditional animated musical. However, it’s a movie very much about music and includes numerous songs.

The movie’s protagonist is Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez), a boy who dreams of becoming a singer and guitarist like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt). His family, though, is completely against music and musicians of any sort, finding it to be a curse on their family that began generations ago.

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REVIEW: ‘Cars 3’ Ends The Series On A High Note, But Continues To Fall Behind The Rest Of Pixar

The “Cars” universe has always confused the hell out of me and the latest entry is no exception. Like, why do the cars have doors and handles if there are no people? Why are there faster, more advanced cars? Are they built by other cars or is it cars evolving?

Those questions certainly came up with me from start to finish here, but the real important question is ‘was the movie any good?’

Well, not really, it more falls into the category of being just OK.

The movie once again follows the franchise’s protagonist Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson). A car who’s won multiple racing championships, McQueen is still competing and remains confident in doing so. However, as he enters his latest race, he finds himself falling behind the younger cars that appear to be far more advanced.

As a result, McQueen is always playing catch-up and this ultimately leads to an accident where he gets severely injured. What follows is McQueen’s quest for redemption and to regain his status as one of the best racers in the world. To do so, McQueen eventually finds help in professional trainer Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo).

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REVIEW: New ‘Beauty And The Beast’ Will Make You Want To Watch The Original

The 1991 animated feature “Beauty and the Beast” was honored with an Academy Awards Best Picture nomination. Disney’s live action version released this weekend, though, will likely not get the same.

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REVIEW: ‘The Jungle Book’ Hits Its Stride With Lead Voice Talents And Effects

The 2016 “Jungle Book” film certainly adds some new bits here and there, but those who have seen the Disney animated movie should find themselves in familiar territory.

As the classic tale goes, “Jungle Book” tells the story of Mowgli (played by Neel Sethi), a young boy living in a vast wooded area who’s been raised by a pack of wolves and a panther named Bagheera (Ben Kingsley).

While Mowgli’s life for much of the film’s introduction is peaceful, his world shakes up when a human-hating tiger, Shere Khan (Idris Elba), threatens him. While trying to escape, Mowgli comes across multiple other animals in the jungle including a bear named Baloo (Bill Murray) and the two form a friendship.

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Inside Out review

Directors:
Pete Doctor
Ronaldo Del Carmen
Cast:
Amy Poehler
Phyllis Smith
Bill Hader
Lewis Black
Mindy Kaling
Kaitlyn Dias
Rated: PG

After a bit of a bumpy path, Pixar seems to have gotten its grove back. Following the below average “Cars 2” and the disappointing “Brave,” the animation studio has come back with the enjoyable “Monsters University” and this year’s solid picture “Inside Out.”

The latest film from Pixar centers on the emotional figures that exist within every person, Joy (Poehler), Sadness (Smith), Fear (Hader), Anger (Black) and Disgust (Kaling). The movie follows the emotions mainly in the mind of Riley (Dias), a young girl whose family is moving from Minnesota to California.

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Tomorrowland review

Director:
Brad Bird
Cast:
George Clooney
Britt Robertson
Raffey Cassidy
Hugh Laurie
Rated: PG

Britt Robertson stars as Casey in “Tomorrowland,” the latest live action flick from Disney. Casey is a smart teenager who spends her nights trying to preserve a shuttle launch pad from being demolished. While her actions do eventually get her in trouble with the law, they also catch the attention of someone who invites her to Tomorrowland.

The invitation is given by Athena (Cassidy), an android in the form of a girl who is seeking dreamers to help save the future by way of Tomorrowland, a place full of the best and brightest that mankind has offered. To help get there, the two end up recruiting the help of Frank (Clooney), a former resident of Tomorrowland who was exiled.

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REVIEW: ‘Cinderella’

Director:
Kenneth Branagh
Cast:
Cate Blanchett
Lily James
Richard Madden
Helena Bonham Carter
Rated: PG

If you’ve seen the original animated “Cinderella,” or any of the other adaptions of the fairy tale, this will be very familiar territory. This live action version starts off with Cinderella(James) as a young girl and the movie introduces the audience to both her mother and father.

The film goes into the upbringing of Cinderella and shows how her mother died, how her father found a new wife and how life was like after her father passed away. From there, it works like the other adaptions, Stepmother (Blanchett) comes into the picture, forces Cinderella to do work, a ball comes up and the two stepsisters are brats.

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Planes: Fire and Rescue review

Director:
Roberts Gannaway
Cast:
Dane Cook
Ed Harris
Julie Bowen
Curtis Armstrong
Rated: PG

World Champion plane racer Dusty Crophopper (Cook) is living the perfect life.

He’s winning every match up and has everything he could want. Problems come around, though, when a key engine failure results in Dusty not being able to race anymore. Making matters worse, he soon learns that his hometown needs another firefighter to help protect the city. Dusty decides to become a firefighting plane and goes to train at a forest park under the tutelage of legendary helicopter Blade Ranger (Harris).

The movie “Cars” followed a young hot shot who had a lot of talent but had to learn some life lessons and new tricks from an old mentor if he wanted to be great. The first “Planes” followed a young hot shot who had a lot of talent but had to learn some life lessons and new tricks from an old mentor if he wanted to be great.

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Maleficent review

Director:
Robert Stromberg
Cast:
Angelina Jolie
Elle Fanning
Sharlto Copley
Rated: PG

Angelina Jolie stars as the title character “Maleficent,” which explores the background and supposed true story of one of Disney’s most famous villains.

The film explores a romance that she had with a man who would eventually betray her, how she became a cold hearted being, and her involvement in the spell put on sleeping beauty, AKA Aurora, played in this film by Elle Fanning.

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Frozen review

Director:
Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Cast:
Kristen Bell
Idina Menzel
Jonathan Groff
Josh Gad
Santino Fontana
Rated: PG
Trailer

Disney’s has made another classic in “Frozen.”

The movie is built on two intertwined character arcs, with the story following the sisters Anna (Bell) and Elsa (Menzel). The plot begins by showing that Elsa has the power to create and manipulate ice. Because of the lack of control over her abilities, her parents decide it’s best for her to hide them from the world, including her sister. After the death of their parents, the movie moves forward to the day of Elsa’s coronation as queen.

Everything seems alright at the coronation for a while, that is until Anna, being the more free spirit that she is, makes a bold announcement that doesn’t sit too well with Elsa. The whole ordeal causes Elsa to reveal her power and flee the kingdom. In the process of running away she freezes the entire land in the middle of summer. To end the cold spell, Anna decides to confront her sister and get her to end the winter that now exists. Along the way she is joined by an ice seller named Kristoff (Groff) and his reindeer as well as a living snowman named Olaf (Gad).

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