Tag: disney

The Lion King (2019) Movie Review

by willyoumusicmag, posted in Movies

When the first trailer for this ‘live action’ remake of The Lion King dropped, I was extremely excited, especially so due the amazing voice cast and how much I had enjoyed Jon Favreau’s previous effort with The Jungle Book, which was a vivid re-imagination of the Disney classic that went about telling the tale in a new, creative way. This is not like the Jungle Book.

This version of the Lion King is essentially a by-the-book remake, with updated visuals and a new voice cast. The voice cast bring mixed performances, with Beyoncé and Donald Glover obviously being great, but those two are going to perform annoying well with anything they are given. John Oliver brings little to the role of Zazu and the usually eccentric and off the wall Eric Andre is underutilised.

Image result for kimba the white lion comparisonThe songs and set pieces of the 2D animated Lion King relied heavily on exaggerated, colourful scenes, with the likes of ‘I Just Can’t Wait To Be King’ and ‘Hakuna Matata’ being full of life. In this version, due to the commitment to extreme realism, these scenes seem sapped of all the life and excitement they originally had. The scene in ‘Hakuna Matata’ where Simba, Pumba and Timon where Simba ages as they walk along dancing together is now replaced with them just walking along.

The visuals are amazingly detailed, with the animals and environments all looking incredible and the this is definitely some of the most advanced, prettiest CGI ever and the animation team should be applauded but it just isn’t right for this story. The characters needed to be able to show emotions rather than just looking exactly like a real lion.

The soundtrack is way too good for the film it accompanies and is so obviously just another money-grab from Disney and it makes me angry. The original Lion King is just a rip-off of Japanese cartoon ‘Kimba the White Lion’ anyway so looks like they rarely have any original ideas anyway.

Don’t bother watching this in the cinema, just watch the original. Also, for some reason ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight’ takes place completely in daylight. Yeah.

30%

 

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Ralph Breaks The Internet Movie Review

by willyoumusicmag, posted in Uncategorized

Product placement with heart takes centre stage in this Disney sequel.

The original Wreck-It Ralph was a heartfelt tribute to the world of gaming with really vibrant worlds bursting with colour and lovable characters, both new and those well known from the past. The sequel goes digital, losing some of that character in the process but still managing to get it right most of the time.

In this movie, Ralph and Vanellope have to travel to the internet in order to get a new steering wheel for Vanellope’s game in the arcade, Sugar Rush. The new characters that the duo encounter in the world wide web are well fleshed out and very likeable, especially the sleek racer ‘Shank’ voiced by Gal Gadot, and head of BuzzzTube, ‘Yesss’ who is voiced by Taraji P Henson, who both really add to the movie and avoid stereotypes that easily could have been forced upon their characters.

There are a LOT of real life internet sites and apps in this movie. Upon first glance it may seem like pure product placement and advertising, with a barrage of well known names and apps hitting you when you are first shown the internet. However, they are all handled with humour and the use of these real sites such as eBay really do make it seem as if they are in the internet, and there are a lot of visual jokes and puns to be made too.

The much talked about section in the trailer where Vanellope encounters all of the Disney princesses does live up to the hype, and is a great moment in the movie.

Overall, Ralph Breaks The Internet is a fun, nice looking movie with lovable characters and some genuine messages about friendship even if it doesn’t have the heart or the excitement of the original.

67%

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Movie Review

by willyoumusicmag, posted in Movies

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is Disney’s latest family movie for the Christmas season.

Mackenzie Foy stars as young Clara, who is given a mysterious egg as a posthumous Christmas present by her late mother. This egg has a keyhole, but no key – the movie centers around Clara’s quest to find it. Following her mother’s clues she ends up in a mystical world made up of the titular four realms, and meets a bizzare, diverse cast of characters.

The supporting cast are solid, with Helen Mirren as Mother Ginger and Jayden Fowora-Knight as Captain Hoffman having standout performances.

Visually stunning, The Nutcracker is really pretty with beautiful, well fleshed out scenes and top quality CGI throughout; with the animal characters (the mice are especially great) all looking amazing. The plot is nothing new or anything that will stick with you for too long once the movie has ended. Two of the realms are really quickly skipped over and are barely featured at all, which is a shame as the land of sweets looked amazing.

There is a big plot twist towards the end of the movie, which does allow it to pick up in actual suspense and drama.

Overall, The Nutcracker is a fun, beautifully produced family movie that is ideal to take the kids to over the Christmas break (it’s November now so I hope it’s still showing then) – but I’m not sure it’s one they’ll want to watch again and again.

72%