Tag Archives: disney movies

Mickey Mouse is Back: New Shorts to Air on TV

Mickey Mouse is back.  Whether this is the reinvention that Disney execs promised years ago remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Disney’s most famous character is going to be a star yet again.  Mickey’s returning to his roots, in a series of animated shorts to debut on the Disney Channel and Disney Online this June.  Entertainment Weekly has the details. Disney Television Animation has been hard at work creating 19 new shorts starring the famous mouse, his girlfriend Minnie, and surely many of his other most popular cohorts, all to reintroduce Mickey to fans young and old.  … Continue reading →

“Planes” Flying to Theaters in August

We can’t escape “Cars.”  The film, my least favorite of Pixar’s (well, technically “Cars 2” would win that dubious honor), continues to be so popular, mostly through merchandising, that Disney keeps putting it front and center.  The latest way in which the company is doing so is with a new movie, due out this August. The new film isn’t really a sequel or prequel to “Cars.”  It’s more of a related film in the same general universe.  The primary difference in “Planes” is evident in the title.  “Planes” will be about the world that goes on above that of the … Continue reading →

Underappreciated Disney Films: The Rescuers Down Under

“The Rescuers Down Under” doesn’t stand out as much as other films in my underappreciated series.  When looking at the full catalog of Disney feature-length animated films, I can understand why RDU and its predecessor don’t get as much attention.  I could have chosen either of them for this column, but given that “The Rescuers” was popular enough when it came out to warrant one of Disney’s only three theater-released sequels, I picked the latter film.  RDU is also hurt by the fact that its release came between that of Disney powerhouses “The Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast.” … Continue reading →

Latest Disney Movie News

There’s a lot going on in the world of Disney movies right now.  The Disney Blog has the scoop on all the details.  First I’ll start with the news on one of my most anticipated upcoming Disney films: “The Muppets” sequel.  That’s right: 2011’s Muppet movie was successful enough that the famous puppet troop is headed out for another cinematic adventure. Just like the 2011 Muppet movie drew inspiration from the 1979 original, its sequel shares elements with the original’s sequel.  The Muppets are headed back to London, where they went in 1981’s “Great Muppet Caper.”  In “The Muppets…Again,” the … Continue reading →

101 Dalmatians Book and Movie: Always Charming

The 1956 book “The Hundred and One Dalmatians” by Dodie Smith is a very English, very droll story of married Dalmatians Pongo and Missis, and their also-married pets, Mr. & Mrs. Dearly.  You read that right: Missis.  Perhaps the biggest surprise (to me) reading the novel on which the Disney film was based, was to discover that Pongo’s wife was not called Perdita, but Missis.  Even stranger is when a dog named Perdita appears.  She’s a liver (brown)-spotted Dalmatian that serves as a wet nurse for Missis, who cannot handle the milk load required by 15 puppies. Perdita’s own pups … Continue reading →

Disney Movies Now Available on Netflix Streaming

Having a hard time finding some of Disney’s older films to watch?  Don’t like the crowds at theaters, but don’t want to have to pay to buy a new Disney DVD when it’s released?  Then you should love the news that broke last week: according to the LA Times, Disney and Netflix just reached a deal that will give the online rental and streaming site exclusive rights to Disney films.  The deal takes effect in 2016, at which point Netflix will be able to stream any new films under the Walt Disney Corp. umbrella –which includes Marvel and Star Wars … Continue reading →

Tinker Bell Has a New Voice! Again!

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I’m not sure whether to be worried or exhilarated by the thinking and rethinking that Tinker Bell the Movie has received. The project has been tooled, retooled and then retooled again. It started with the poor quality of the original animation. The project was scrapped and restarted. Then John Lasseter came aboard during the Disney Pixar merger. Lasseter is a huge fan of Tinker Bell and he ordered another overhaul of the project. Now, there’s another change. Tinker Bell Has a New Voice Brittany Murphy was originally given the part of the voice of Tinker Bell. It would have been … Continue reading →

5 Terrible Disney Movies

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I’ve talked about the great animated Disney films and the great non-animated Disney films. That list wouldn’t complete if I didn’t discuss some of the great stinkers presented by Disney over the years. While there are several out there, I’ve narrowed this list down to the 5 worst offenders. If you haven’t seen them, count yourself lucky. The Haunted Mansion The success of Pirates of the Caribbean notwithstanding, making a movie that is simply based on the premise of an attraction in the parks is not a safe bet. The movie was a success commercially, but the plot was flimsy, … Continue reading →

Disney Princess Enchanted Tales – Follow Your Dreams (2007)

From the first commercial ad on television, my daughter was hooked. She’s a huge Disney princess fan and she loves their animated featurettes with the different princesses. What makes this new DVD different from previous installments is that these are themed tales designed to help empower children (girls specifically) and they do so through the art of storytelling. In Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams we join Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Jasmine (Aladdin) through two different tales. The theme is perseverance. Despite being direct-to-DVD, the tales actually have nuances and the animation is extremely well done. Keys to the … Continue reading →

Dancing With Disney Stars

Grab your dancing shoes. Disney is giving you and your kids the chance to get your groove on with the crew from “High School Musical 2.” It’s been a solid week since the Disney Channel’s made-for-TV movie exploded onto the small screen and sent millions of Zac Efron fans into overdrive. In previous blogs I told you about Disney’s attempts to speed up production on the big screen version of “High School Musical 3” in an effort to ride the wave of popularity generated by the phenomenal success of “High School Musical 2.” Can you blame them? Last week “High … Continue reading →