Reviewing Every Theatrical Live-Action Disney Film Ever Made…Or At Least Attempting To
In sad news, actor David Warner, has recently passed away at the age of 80. Mr. Warner (1941-2022) was known for appearing in a number of films over the years including The Omen, Time After Time, A Christmas Carol, Titanic, and the Star Trek series.
In terms of live-action Disney, he appeared in Tron as well as Mary Poppins Returns.
He shall be missed!
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When I had first heard that they were making a sequel to Mary Poppins, I was quite opposed to it! Mary Poppins is my absolute favorite live-action Disney film and a cinema classic at that! It didn’t need a sequel!
But I mellowed toward the idea for one particular reason: this sequel was coming out during the current era we are in of Disney making live-action remakes of their animated films. As I’ve made very clearly multiple times in the past, I’m against those remakes, in principle, as I feel they disparage the medium of animation. So because this would be a live-action sequel to a live-action film rather than a live-action remake of an animated film, I opened my heart a bit to its existence.
The film would be directed by Rob Marshall who previously directed Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Into the Woods for Disney. While I wasn’t in love with either film, I had hope that maybe he could do something satisfactory with this remake. Did it turn out practically perfect in every way? Here’s my review of Mary Poppins Returns!
And remember, SPOILERS AHEAD!
I shall be taking a break on this blog for the rest of the year and will resume posting my reviews in January 2018. Until then, I decided to do something similar to what I do on my other blog, The Animation Commendation, wherein I give you a guys a look at the live-action Disney films set to be theatrically released next year!
But, keep in mind that these are only the live-action films that I will review for this blog, hence there will be no Star Wars or Marvel Studios-related films on this list. Also keep in mind that these dates are liable to change at any time! Enjoy!
Continue reading “Upcoming Live-Action Disney Films in 2018”
(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!)
This was the 2013 film that I was most anticipating to see! It seemed to be a film that would delight the heart of every Disney fanatic, the heart of every film historian, as well as the heart of every person who loved Mary Poppins. It would be the first theatrical film to feature an actor portraying Mr. Walt Disney himself. It was a film that would either become an instant classic or an instant flop!
Without further ado, let’s take a look at Saving Mr. Banks!
And remember, SPOILERS AHEAD!
(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!)
Self-driving cars have always been a fascination with us, for some reason. And now in this day and age, it’s become a reality.
Even Walt Disney got us into the self-driving car rage with a series of films based on a Volkswagen Beetle named Herbie. This franchise consisted of four theatrically released films and one theatrically released reboot was a great success! Today, we are reviewing the first film in the series, “The Love Bug”.
And remember, SPOILERS AHEAD! Continue reading “The Love Bug (1968)”
(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)”
(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!)
I can easily say that my most awaited film for this year is “Saving Mr. Banks”. Releasing in December, the film is about the story of how the Disney film, “Mary Poppins” was made. Well, it’s more about how Walt Disney took years to convince the author, P.L. Travers, to sell him the rights to her book. And as the stories have said, P.L. Travers wasn’t the biggest fan of what Walt did with her story!
In other words, “Saving Mr. Banks” is about Disney history which is like the Disney fanatic’s dream come true! Firstly, we get to see Walt Disney as a character in a film!
And secondly, this movie looks like it’ll let us venture into P.L. Travers’ past and see what exactly was her inspiration in writing the book. Maybe this can help us understand why Ms. Travers felt so disgusted by Walt Disney’s film.
So while we wait for that film to come out, why not take a look at the film, “Mary Poppins” itself? So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, here’s everybody’s cherished “Mary Poppins”!
And remember, SPOILERS AHEAD!!! Continue reading “Mary Poppins (1964)”
My Live Action Disney Project 