If there is a soulless opposite to the joyous creativity of Pixar’s early master works, it is- actually, it is probably still Cars, a seemingly cynical exercise in marketing toy cars to children. A close second, however, is likely to … Continue reading REVIEW: Lightyear (2022)
The original Hocus Pocus was a modest 1993 hit for Disney, one that demonstrated much stronger legs on cable television than in theatres. Its Halloween setting, combined with a canny blend of family comedy and child-appropriate horror, made it something of an … Continue reading REVIEW: Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)
Popular children’s cartoon Chip & Dale: Rescue Rangers was a successful re-imagining of two legacy characters from Disney animation. A new feature film of the same name, which premiered recently on Disney+, re-imagines those characters once again. Despite some clever jokes and … Continue reading REVIEW: Chip & Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022)
In 1990 Disney released their 29th full-length animated feature: the sequel The Rescuers Down Under. On its theatrical release, the film was accompanied by the 25-minute featurette The Prince and the Pauper, directed by George Scribner. It is an odd little piece … Continue reading REVIEW: The Prince and the Pauper (1990)
Pixar’s 25th animated feature Turning Red hits Disney+ this Friday. One would think its owner Disney, never afraid to celebrate an anniversary, would be making something more out of that. Then again, Pixar seems relegated to a strange place of … Continue reading REVIEW: Turning Red (2022)
If there is a spine to the history of American animation, against which all of the varying short and feature works can gather in some semblance of order, it is clearly the Walt Disney Animation Studios. Since Snow White and … Continue reading REVIEW: Encanto (2021)
Please note that some quotes included in this essay contain outdated and potentially offensive language. They have been included to reflect the language and culture of the time. There is no argument that, in 1937, the film producer Walt Disney … Continue reading “You can’t run away from trouble” | Song of the South (1946)
In 1994, in an attempt to better profit from its intellectual property, Walt Disney Pictures released a direct-to-video sequel to their hit 1992 animation Aladdin. The Return of Jafar was a low-budget production but also a runaway hit, grossing US$300 million from … Continue reading REVIEW: Return to Neverland (2002)
From the 1950s through to the late 1970s, Walt Disney Pictures worked a hugely successful formula for generating a regular stream of family-oriented adventure and fantasy movies. Rather than follow the director-centric model of other American studios, it continued to … Continue reading REVIEW: The Island at the Top of the World (1974)
Nothing burns through ideas faster than a film industry: in a constant battle to find pre-existing intellectual property to adapt for cinema, Disney once hit upon the idea of turning their Disneyland rides into blockbuster movies. It was, all in … Continue reading REVIEW: Jungle Cruise (2021)
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