Albuquerque's Premier Source for Entertainment!
Courtesy of Disney
By Hector Valverde
Disney’s Mulan from 1998 is arguably the best of its entire animated collection. It’s a beautiful, lovingly animated story told with a powerful message, one only made better by an impeccable soundtrack ranking amongst the studio’s greats. In 2020, it was only a matter of time before the film got adapted into live action. How has it translated? Well, I just burned $30 on premium VOD to be able to tell you you definitely shouldn’t. [Read more…]
By Nichole Harwood
While many of us are currently diving into the massive archive of movies available on Disney+, one author has been spinning her own Disney-inspired tales for the last ten years. Playing on the backstories of some of Disney’s most infamous and iconic witches and hags, Serena Valentino’s Villains novels have probed animations’ darkest minds to great critical acclaim. Valentino’s latest entry, Evil Thing, tackles the cackling dalmatian hunter Cruella De Vil, with a mesmerizing breath of fresh air. [Read more…]
By Calgary Maez
One of the most beloved Pixar franchises has returned this summer to bring a new adventure for the beloved band of toys. However, the ending of Toy Story 3 raises the question: Was a sequel really necessary?
In many ways, Toy Story 4 feels like a new beginning in the franchise. In the newest installment, Bonnie, the child from the third movie, has the toys she received from Andy, but ultimately she cares the most for the toy she made in school, named Forky. Woody sets out to protect the plastic cutlery so that he can continue to serve his purpose to make Bonnie happy. And that’s really what Toy Story 4 focuses: What is one’s purpose throughout life?
Characters, new and old, come together with empowering, positive messages for children, resonating with parents who grew up watching the original Toy Story.
Pixar is one of the best innovators when it comes to animation. The fabric on the toys have immaculate attention to detail, and there are scenes that look as if they were shot with real cameras and animation added in later. We’ve come a long way with technology and Toy Story 4 is a great achievement in the animated film genre.
However, the film doesn’t really stand out much as a Toy Story film. Yes, the original characters are there and Woody is the obvious star of the film, but they ultimately get left on the back burner with their screen time extremely limited. It was disappointing to see Buzz Lightyear getting that same treatment when him and Woody were such an iconic duo. In previous films, the original toys had a larger role to play by adding more to the story.
The messages and overall plot of Toy Story 4 is great for all families to enjoy. The incredible animation is stunning to look at and the voice acting is spectacular. It would have been nice to see the original toys get more screen time, or even a scene like the first three films where they were getting played with like an over-the-top action movie. While it is a good Toy Story movie, it’s not particularly the most stand out film in the franchise as it feels a little more separated from the rest.
Poster Courtesy of movieweb.com
This may be the hardest break up yet.. Disney has decided to end it’s relationship with Netflix and start it’s own direct to consumer streaming service. Stop. Take a deep, everything will be ok. Nothing will happen over night, but expect some of your favorite Disney titles as well as Pixar titles to go missing towards the end of 2018.
[huge_it_slider id=”17″]
The upside? The new platform will be the hub for all Disney movies coming up, beginning with big names such “Toy Story 4”, “Frozen 2” and the upcoming live action “Lion King”.
What’s more? The company is also set to launch it’s own ESPN video streaming service in early 2018. The new platform from Disney will feature over 10,000 sporting events each year from MLB, MLS and NHL to both collegiate sorts and tennis Grand Slam tournaments.
How does the Disney Company, one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information, plan to do all this?
In short the answer is BAM! Well more specifically BAM Tech, for which Disney now owns a majority ownership worth $1.58 billion. The new acquisition, “represents a big strategic shift for the company..having control of a platform we’ve been very impressed with.. would give us control of our destiny,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger in an interview with CNBC’s Julia Boorstin.
Netflix stock dropped more than 5 percent after the announcement from Disney.
Disney vs. Netflix from CNBC. read the full article here
Local Disney fans may be interested in the latest Albuquerque Little Theatre production. Beloved nanny, ‘Mary Poppins’ will be making an appearance in New Mexico. A cast full of professional performers has been working to reproduce this magical tale, with elaborate musical numbers from the original movie. The first show is at 7:30 pm on May 26, and will run until June 8. Tickets are on sale now. It’s going to be “supercalifragilisticexpealidocious!”
Image by: albuquerquelittletheatre.org
