James' Movie Blog

  Over 100 years, the Walt Disney company has entertained audiences for generations. More specifically, through their animated features. Founded by Walt himself, along with his brother Roy, the company has secured its place with everyone by bringing timeless stories that audiences can and will enjoy. One of their most recent attempts, is an animated feature called “Wish”, celebrating a centennial of hard work, and some magic along the way. And the result is that this new feature is quite good. Not perfect, but it is still keeping the fairy tale formula well and alive. There are some flaws that are present, but that doesn't hinder the overall experience. “Wish” is a celebration of all things Disney with a modern twist on a classic formula. The story is set on the Mediterranean Sea with the kingdom of Rosas residing over the land. This particular kingdom is important as its king, King Magnifico (Chris Pine) is also a sorcerer who grants wishes to the public. On one particular day, K...

  In the 1960s, the Walt Disney company was trying to experiment with a lot of things. One of these projects was cutting down on their animation, and thanks to the xerography process, it made their 1961 feature “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” easier to animate. And while the animation is good for that film, it's not what people remember. What people do remember about that film is the villain: Cruella de Vil. And Disney took notice. The company managed to take the central image of that character, and make it one of the key selling points of the movie. And, naturally, Disney experimented by turning the character into live action. In 1996, they tried with somewhat disastrous results, but now, we have a full-blown movie dedicated to the character. So, how does “Cruella” stand out? It's good. Not great, but good enough to watch on the big screen. True, there are some moments that don't add up, but as a whole, the movie is quite good. “Cruella” is an interesting character study,...

  Trying to make an animated film contain the subject of war, is very difficult. This is why war films are made in live action; they can be believable. Everything is recreated so that way, the people who survived can have some sort of memory of what happened. Plus, it gives out a good deal of entertainment value for everyone to enjoy. However, going back to animation, making a war film using the medium, can usually lead to some sort of misdirection. Just look at 2005's “Valiant”, an interesting movie, which is hindered greatly by a wide variety of factors. One of which is the presentation. It just doesn't bring out the entertainment value a lot of war films handle. While the film has good intentions, the end product is not pleasing to the eyes. And in the case of the acting, the ears as well. “Valiant” doesn't evoke or inspire, and instead, does not bring out the message of war to the fullest potential. The story is set in 1944 in England during the height of World War II....

 Childhood will ultimately lead towards adulthood. There, as an adult, we discover the world in a different light, and meaning. However, there are times in our adulthood that we yearn for going back to our childhood, but unfortunately, we cannot. Luckily, there is the medium of film to occupy us with that theme of wanting and trying to go back to the past. And, a more recent example of this theme is 2018's “Christopher Robin” from Disney; a surprise hit that connects adulthood with that of childhood. While the film does suffer from a rather weak story, the rest of the production is quite the visual treat. Everything about this film just screams eye candy to both the young and the old. “Christopher Robin” may feel formulaic when it comes to its story, but is a good effort at bringing forth nostalgia the adults in the audience. The plot has Christopher Robin, who imagined all of The Hundred Acre Wood and Winnie the Pooh, leaving his friends behind, and growing up into becoming a har...

  When the Disney company reinvented themselves in the 90s, people were very surprised with the output of creativity that they delivered. Most of their films were vaunted, and highly praised among both critics and audiences. And among these films, was the 1992 effort “Aladdin” based off the story of 'Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp' from the 1001 Arabian Nights. When it first came out to the general public, it quickly became iconic due to its inclusion of a very popular actor, Robin Williams, and led to many more animated films to have either a famous comedian attached to an animated project, or, have celebrities in animated films. As for the film itself, it is quite an impressive feat. From the thrilling action, to the memorable songs and characters, it seems that the movie has something for everyone. “Aladdin” is just one of those movies where Disney did everything right.   The story takes place in the fictional kingdom of Agrabah, located in the middle of the desert. Here,...

It's no wonder that Disney is one of the pioneers of animation. They practically invented the art of animation. From their cartoons with easy to recognize characters, to reinventing the fairy tale as we know it, we owe a lot to the Disney Company for transforming many childhoods with great entertainment. And that tradition continued into the 1990s when things really shook up. A new set of management, and animators with a clear vision on how to present a story, Disney eventually found a way to entertain the masses with its creativity. And in 1991, they achieved that form of greatness with their interpretation of the classic fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast”. Hailed by many as one of their finest achievements, the film is truly one of their best. From the simplistic story, to the memorable characters and songs, this film has earned quite a lot of accolades since its release. Including a Best Picture nomination, the first time an animated movie would do so. The movie is easily one...

Disney has created a whole slew of characters that a lot people recognize. From Mickey Mouse to Goofy, these and many more have become iconic in the realm of entertainment for many people. But one such character wasn't created by Disney, and that was Winnie the Pooh, originally created by author A. A. Milne. The company created several shorts with the character in question, before settling on a feature film. And that was 1977's “The Many Adventurist of Winnie the Pooh”. While it is obvious that it's just a bunch of shorts to make up a feature length production, the stories themselves are quite memorable, to say the least, With clever scenarios and a huge supply of imagination, “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” is a fun and simple feature that is sure to entertain most everybody. The main story has three individual shorts compiled together to create one big feature. The first involves Winnie the Pooh (Sterling Holloway), or Pooh for short, trying to get some ...

Walt Disney thrived on bringing memorable stories that would, in turn, become easily recognizable among the public. By turning interesting ideas and concepts into a profit, Walt and his team of animators delivered some of the greatest animated movies ever made. And 1941's “Dumbo” is a prime example of not only delivering , solid animation, but great storytelling in the process. When watching the movie, one gets a sense of wonder at what creativity went into making this film a reality. Even after 80 years, this movie still holds up very well. Anything can happen, and that's the charm of this movie: it is not bound by studio executives, but rather creative control to let go and do whatever they want. “Dumbo” is a fantastic treat for anyone that can enjoy the modesty of why Walt Disney and his team made such a creative feature. The story has a mother elephant receiving newborn son unto the world, as she and several other animals are working for the circus. Unfortunately, ...

In the 1990s, the Walt Disney Company was at the peak of success. They had just previously released several animated features that turned a huge profit (save for 1990's “The Rescuers Down Under”), and they were on the top of the world. And in 1992, they released “Aladdin”, which not only became a huge hit both critically and financially, but has gained respect in popular culture. So, what does Disney do to the beloved classic? Why, remake it, of course! And the result is... bad. This version of “Aladdin” just doesn't hold a candle to the original back from '92. Yes, the movie looks pretty, but everything else, is just bad, including its cast. This remake of “Aladdin” just doesn't have the magic to stay afloat. The story follows a young street urchin named Aladdin (Mena Massoud), living in the kingdom of Agrabah. He meets a young woman who turns out to be the princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott). Wanting to fall in love with her, Aladdin must do everything in his powe...

Walt Disney strived to create some of the best content when concerning animation. He stunned audience's ears with 1928's “Steamboat Willie” becoming the first ever cartoon with synchronized sound. He defied the movie industry with the first ever feature length animated movie: “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in 1937. And in 1940, Disney did it again with two features: “Pinocchio” and “Fantasia”. And while “Pinocchio” may have been given appeal to families, “Fantasia” appeals to everyone. While it may not have been a huge success during Walt's time, in more recent years, the movie has gained quite a bit of attention, mostly in part due to the artistry that went into making the film a reality. Since its inception, “Fantasia” has been regarded as Walt Disney's masterpiece; a very notable fact. In fact, out of all of the animated films that the Disney company has released, “Fantasia” is my personal favorite for reasons I will explain below. “Fantasia” is a masterpi...

Who doesn't enjoy a good fantasy? Entering the realm of myths and legends is always a fascination of sorts, and it always intrigues the imagination. And Hollywood has plenty of features that put forth the fantasy into a reality. But with 1967's “The Gnome-Mobile” from Disney (yes, that's the title; it's based off a book of the same name, the fantasy is there, just not executed properly. While the film has a good and interesting setup, the rest of the film falters heavily. “The Gnome-Mobile” is a fantasy that could have had some magical improvements. The story involves an old millionaire (Walter Brennan) who is the head of a major lumber company. After picking up his grandchildren from the airport (Matthew Garber and Karen Dotrice respectively), they head in an old car to the California Redwood National Park. Here, the family meets up with some gnomes The gnomes tell them that they are the last of their kind, and the family agrees to help them look for more gno...