Sorry for the delay again, but you know how school can be. So my next review will be on the following Monday, October 7th. Thank you for your patience!
Month: September 2013
Pollyanna (1960)
(If this is your first time on this blog, I ask you to read my “About” page first! You can find a link to it at the top left-hand corner of this blog. Thanks!)
Hayley Mills, what can we say about her? She was an English actress, daughter of actor John Mills, and shot to fame as a child actress in many early Disney films. She acted in a total of six theatrical films for Walt Disney, many of them being hits. After her time with Disney, she would go on to acting in more mature film roles as well as starring in the Disney Channel 80’s sitcom, “Good Morning, Miss Bliss” as the titular character.
(Fun fact: The show didn’t do well and was soon canceled. The rights were bought by NBC and then remade as the hit 90’s sitcom, “Saved by the Bell”, completely without the character of Miss Bliss. Imagine how that must have made Hayley Mills feel!)
But in today’s post, we’re going to be looking at her very first film at the Disney Studios. And that film is none other than “Pollyanna” based on the classic children’s novel by Eleanor H. Porter. I’d just like to say that I’ve never read the book, so I have no idea what’s supposed to happen. Hence I won’t be comparing the film to the book. With that said, let’s dive into the review.
And remember, SPOILERS AHEAD! Continue reading “Pollyanna (1960)”
John Carter (2012)
(If this is your first time on this blog, I ask you to read my “About” page first! You can find a link to it at the top left-hand corner of this blog. Thanks!)
Andrew Stanton is best known for directing “A Bug’s Life”, “Finding Nemo”, and “WALL-E” for Pixar Animation Studios. But his most recent directorial attempt had him tackle a live action film, a live action film based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Barsoom” series of novels.
The novels were about a man named John Carter and his adventures on the planet Mars aka Barsoom. The novels were quite popular and attempts to make them into full-length films have been around since as early as the 1930’s. Actually, animator Bob Clampett, wanted to make an animated film based on these books, but failed to do so. Had he succeeded, he would have probably beat Walt Disney in creating America’s first full-length animated feature.
But, that failure wouldn’t stop other filmmakers from trying to adapt these novels to the big screen. And finally, 70+ years later, the Disney Studios became the lucky company to achieve this feat. The film, entitled “John Carter”, sadly flopped at the box office. Could the lengthy period in development hell be to blame? Or is the film really bad? Well, let’s find out for ourselves in this review. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you “John Carter”.
And remember, SPOILERS AHEAD!!! Continue reading “John Carter (2012)”
Postponed Post til 9/16
Hello readers and followers,
I’m sorry to say that I’ve been busy with schoolwork and other things this week, so I won’t be able to have the new movie review finished by Monday.
Instead, I’ll publish it next Monday, September 16th.
Again, I’m sorry for the delay!
The Happiest Millionaire (1967)
(If this is your first time on this blog, I ask you to read my “About” page first! You can find a link to it at the top left-hand corner of this blog. Thanks!)
After Disney had HUGE success with “Mary Poppins”, they naturally looked for a way to recreate that success. This is where “The Happiest Millionaire” comes in.
Based on a non-musical play which was in turn based on a true story of an eccentric millionaire in early 1910s Philadelphia, this movie musical featured much of the same crew who worked on “Mary Poppins”. And sadly, this was also the last film that Walt Disney personally worked on as he died during its production in 1966. The film would be released to theaters in 1967.
And would the film be a hit? Umm….no.
The film didn’t do well at all, not even coming close to the unprecedented success of “Mary Poppins”. One factor that may have caused its downfall was its extremely long running time. The film was actually 172 minutes long, making it the longest live-action Disney film till date. Heck, it’s STILL the longest live-action Disney film ever!
So, due to the failure of the film, it was later cut down to 164 minutes and even later cut down to 144 minutes!
But, we are lucky to be living in this era because the film in its entirety (all 172 minutes of that entirety) would be released on DVD in a special “Restored Roadshow Edition” of the movie. Yay, us!
So the question arises, was the film actually “bad” or was it because the runtime was just too darn long? Well, let’s find out together! Ladies and gentlemen, this is “The Happiest Millionaire”. Continue reading “The Happiest Millionaire (1967)”
My Live Action Disney Project 