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Because it’s the first month of the year I thought I’d take a look at some of Disney’s upcoming movies for 2011. I’m going to skip over highly anticipated films like the fourth “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Cars 2,” because I’ve posted about them before, and more general knowledge is known about them.
Instead, I want to feature lower-key Disney movies, ones that are perhaps more bubbly fare than blockbuster bait, but should be enjoyable nonetheless. At the moment Disney’s got three such movies announced: “Prom,” “Mars Needs Moms,” and “Winnie the Pooh.”
The first, “Prom,” is a blend of teen comedy and fake documentary. Though for the latter, definitely think more a fictionalized version of MTV’s many high school documentary shows than “Waiting for Guffman”-style mockumentaries.
The story focuses on a handful of high school seniors on the cusp of the year’s biggest social event. It’s almost John Hughesian: the nerdy kid desperate to win the teen queen as a date, who herself seems more intrigued by a soulful artsy possibly bad boy. A host of other characters rounds out the mix.
“Prom” should excite any teenager fervently waiting for their own special dance. I admit the near reverence characters in the trailer place on the prom, as if it will culminate and illuminate the whole of their lives up until that point, raises my eyebrow. But then of the three movies I’m looking at today it seems the most audience-specific, and I’m not a part of the intended demographic. “Prom” releases on April 29, just in time for the titular season.
“Mars Needs Moms” follows in the footsteps of “Escape to Witch Mountain,” “Lilo & Stitch,” and “Incredibles” director Brad Bird’s non-Disney “The Iron Giant”: earthlings and aliens meet and befriend each other. Except this film’s got a twist: most of the Martians are, at least at first, the villains.
This CGI-movie follows Milo, a nine-year-old who begrudges his mom’s interference in his life. He quickly misses her, however, when she’s kidnapped by a group of Martians experiencing a maternal shortage.
Milo tags along for the ride, which soon turns into a standard science fiction adventure frolic with a warm gooey center. “Mars Needs Moms” opens March 11.
Now for the movie I feel the most conflicted about, “Winnie the Pooh.” I can’t help it, I’m protective of my beloved properties, and I haven’t been happy with Disney’s recent treatment of the silly old bear.
Immediately the trailer worries me with its soundtrack of moody pop piano music overlying pretentious text musing about the return of lost childhood fantasies (or something like that, it was hard to tell). Sure, I’m mad because Disney recently ruined the Pooh of my childhood (even if the Pooh I’m most familiar with is also a Disney property), but a true Pooh film should just be itself without the philosophizing.
However, the film’s creators have nothing to do with the construction of the trailer, and the displayed movie content placates me. Christopher Robin is back where he should be, and they’ve made an effort I very much appreciate, even if I wouldn’t require it, in finding a voice actor who can replicate the classic sound of Pooh’s voice.
In fact, Disney really appears to be making an effort to return to form here, as the new “Winnie the Pooh” supposedly brings to the screen five previously unadapted stories from A.A. Milne’s books. If this is the movie I’m most conflicted about it’s because it’s the story about which I care the most. “Winnie the Pooh” comes out on July 15, and I’m full of cautious optimism for its release.
Related Articles:
Disney Launches New Digital Books Website
Hawaiian Location for Fourth “Pirates” Film
Underappreciated Disney Films: Lilo & Stitch
*(This image by ckramer is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
