Watching Thomas Kail’s Moana, I felt a sense of finitude, which is something I don’t really feel while watching movies. But there was something about this dreadful shot-for-shot retread of Ron Clements and John Musker’s 2016 animated masterpiece that felt oddly melancholic. What was it, you ask? I finally realized that the era when Disney lazily releases live-action rehashes of animated
Read MoreI know, another Toy Story sequel? Are they ever going to stop making these? This is a valid question, given how many agree that Toy Story 3 ended the franchise perfectly and offered thoughtful conclusions for the toys many of us grew up repeatedly watching on VHS until the tape wore out. Toy Story 4, while enjoyable, existed only to print money, and many
Read MoreStar Wars has returned to the big screen after seven years. With the release of the controversial The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, which finished the then Skywalker Saga, Lucasfilm took a back seat on the movies as they focused on the then new Disney+. By far its biggest success was The Mandalorian series, which spanned three seasons and some spin-offs,
Read MoreFor a long time, I’ve asked myself the following question: Have I aged out of Pixar, or has Pixar lost its magic? With Daniel Chong’s Hoppers, we finally have an answer to this question. It was the latter. In a post-Incredibles 2 era, only Turning Red felt like the masterpieces the animation studio consistently released and pushed the medium forward in
Read MoreTron: Ares inspires perplexing feelings. Everything about the movie should work, and sometimes it really tries to dazzle the viewer. Yet, the entire experience feels like a Walmart putting out Christmas items and music in October. The music is undeniable, and the visuals are pretty, but the Wally World employees make some clear, baffling decisions. The new sequel aims to push
Read MoreDisney Parks are some of the happiest places on Earth. This is for many different reasons, but one of the big ones is the food! Now you can have some of that happiness from the comfort of your own home with The Official Disney Parks Desserts Cookbook: Remembering 101 Sweet Delicious Disney Recipes from Pam Brandon and the Disney Chefs. Brandon
Read MoreIt’s been over 20 years since the original Freaky Friday was released in theaters. A lot has changed since then. For one, Jamie Lee Curtis has maybe gotten even more famous due to her return to the Halloween franchise and her Oscar-winning role in Everything Everywhere All At Once, while Lindsay Lohan has remained largely out of the public spotlight. Now, in an era where legacy sequels are all
Read MoreMarvel’s first family makes their highly anticipated return to the silver screen in The Fantastic Four: First Steps this weekend! It’s been nearly a decade since this superhero team’s last cinematic appearance, a second attempt from 20th Century Fox to produce a franchise, which was both a critical and box office disappointment. With three past attempts to bring the Fantastic Four
Read MoreAfter visiting Galaxy’s Edge over the summer and absolutely loving it, I was more than ready to visit Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure the next day. While I’m not a Star Wars fan, I am a Marvel fan. I had heard the theme park land was pretty disappointing, so I kept my expectations low. I loved Galaxy’s Edge despite its
Read MoreThis past summer, I had the pleasure of visiting Disneyland for the first time ever. I went to Walt Disney World in Orlando as a child but after falling in love with Universal Studios Hollywood after moving to Southern California last year, I was super excited to experience a Disney theme park as an adult. Although most of Disneyland fell pretty
Read MoreLike many of you, I was ready to deride Barry Jenkins for “selling out” after accepting the gig of helming the prequel to one of the most soulless and unimaginative remakes ever made in Mufasa: The Lion King. Walking into the theatre to witness this would-be catastrophe in IMAX 3D, I couldn’t wrap my head around why Jenkins wanted to subject
Read MoreWhen the first Inside Out was released in 2015, it felt like animation had been changed for the better. The film follows 11-year-old Riley’s personified emotions as they attempt to help her navigate a significant move that fundamentally changes her life. The depth of the characters and the exploration of depression hit me and so many others like a sucker punch
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