Big Hero 6

We have now come to the finale of this year’s “Disney Month,” where I will take a look at the studio’s latest installment, “Big Hero 6,” which came out last month. My brother and I went and saw this in the theaters, and it didn't disappoint. It was No. 1 in theaters I believe on its opening weekend, and many of you have probably already seen it. If not, you must see it if it’s still playing in theaters near you because you do not want to miss out on this action-packed adventure that is meant for both children and adults.

Angie Campbell said in her review, “"Big Hero 6" is based on an obscure Marvel comic book of which I personally had no previous knowledge, so I can't compare the two.” I have to agree with her because I have never read a comic book either…except for maybe like two comics. Taking place in the fictional city of San Fransokyo, which does look like a combination of Tokyo and San Francisco, the story is about a teenage troublemaker Hiro Hamada, a 14-year-old genius who graduated high school early, voiced by Ryan Potter. His older brother Tadashi, voiced by Daniel Henney, advises Hiro to attend college at the same University Tadashi attends, a “nerd school” where these ingenious minds make new technology to improve humanity.

Tadashi’s project is Baymax, an inflatable robot who is also a doctor that loves asking, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your pain?” voiced by Scott Adsit. After meeting Baymax’s and Tadashi’s classmates (T.J. Miller, Jamie Chung, comedian Damon Waynes Jr, and Génesis Rodríguez), Hiro decides that he wants to invent his own creation in order to get admission into this college, but after sharing it at the college’s convention, Tadashi dies in the college fire, leaving Hiro grief-stricken and secluded. Baymax senses Hiro’s pain, both physical and emotional, and comes to his aid, wanting to help heal this young kid, even as Hiro changes himself, the robot and the four classmates become six superheroes, just what the title reveals.

“Big Hero 6” is clearly meant for boys just like “Frozen” was meant for little girls, a huge hit that will have a line of merchandise, and it succeeds very well as one of the best kids’ superhero flicks. Action-packed with lots of legitimate laughs, “Big Hero 6” also gives some deep philosophical questions and issues. It’s main themes deals with grief and loss, and how children learn to cope in the middle of their emotions. Best part of it all, of course, is Baymax. He looks like he’s related to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man but he’s big, huggable and downright funny, but also tough when he needs to be. He’s a true friend and a great role model for kids, especially compared to some of the superheroes that appeared in theaters recently. Baymax’s main mission is to heal, not harm.

Campbell said in her review, “What surprised me most about "Big Hero 6" was the audience in the theater with me. It was mostly male between the ages of 15 and 25, with a few families thrown into the mix. Best I could tell, no one left the theater unhappy.”

Doesn’t matter because should parents know before taking their kids to see this film?

The biggest problem parents might have with this movie (spoilers) is that Hiro has to go through losing a loved one, not once but twice, and each loss feels so weighted, it will pull on your heartstrings with anyone who at least feels. There are also scenes early on of misbehavior with gambling, sneaking out, throwing a cat up the stairs and even being locked up in prison. Not to mention when Hiro practices revenge, he risks his own life and the lives of his friends. In the end, he learns a valuable lesson about letting go of these hurtful emotions, thanks to Baymax.

Campbell ended her review by saying, “Overall, the PG-rated "Big Hero 6" won't cause much concern for parents and offers a clean, fun and emotional outing to the theater that every member of the family will likely enjoy. It's easily one of the best-for-all-ages movies I've seen in a long time.”

I would have to agree with her completely because this is Disney’s first take on a superhero movie, and for their first attempt, they succeeded. This is easily one of my favorite superhero movies, and one of my favorite Disney movies. I like the path that Disney has been taking recently with their movies. The princesses in their movies are not the typical damsel in distresses like before, but are now hardworking women that also know how to defend themselves. Also, they are making some sci-fi, action-packed, adventurous movies that are meant for the whole family to see. Let’s see how they will do in the future with their next films that will be made.

Well, thank you for joining in on my first year of “Disney Month.” Have a nice New Year’s Eve, and I’ll see you all next year for more exciting reviews. Take care.

Frozen

Alright everyone, the wait is finally over. It’s time to look at “Frozen,” released in 2013, the Disney movie that people are still talking about and making cover songs to their music to this day. Unless you forget among all the noise made by Marvel Studios and “Star Wars” rumors, Disney still does big business in princesses, and they’re aiming to prove it with this great movie for the holidays. This is apparently very loosely adapted from Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale, "The Snow Queen," it’s the story of a vaguely Nordic kingdom and the two sisters, Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell), are in charge of ruling it while they’re parents (Jennifer Lee and a great voice actor Maurice LaMarche who has done voice work for “Futurama,” The Brain in “Pinky and the Brain” and “Animaniacs,” two of my favorite cartoons, and Egon Spengler from the Ghostbusters cartoons) leave and apparently die. The spunky heroine and isolated castle hearken back to Disney's recent hit “Tangled.” The sisterly conflict feels like “The Little Mermaid.” The knowing fairy tales riffs are just like “Enchanted.” This is exact Disney hit-making at its best, but with enough charm to get away with it.

Way before Elsa’s powers of making ice and snow from her fingertips goes out of control, the animation is guided by directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee is spectacular – Elsa and Anna’s parents die in a single shot of a devastating storm out at sea, and the stony cliffs surrounding the village of Arrendel are dramatic even before covered in ice. Elsa reveals in her powers as a child, but after a close call with Anna and a poorly shot bolt of ice, she’s clear to hide her powers and withdraw from their close sisterly bond. The passing of the king and queen means Elsa must rule, but the stress of her coronation (and Anna’s love-rush decision to get married to a prince she just met, which will have a scene later that resembles the one in "Enchanted") makes her lose control. Elsa runs up into the mountains, leaving ice castles and blizzards in her path and restraining the power ballad Let it Go. Katey Rich said in her review, “Especially as sung by Menzel it's a shameless riff on Wicked's "Defying Gravity"; that hasn't kept it from sticking in my head for weeks now, and good luck shaking it out of yours.”

Anna’s heroic journey is, which is a relief for this film, not about a boy or even about herself – she travels to the mountains to convince Elsa to come back, and partners up with rugged ice salesman Kristof, voiced by Jonathan Groff, to get there. Kristof and Anna are going to fall in love with one another eventually, of course, and she’ll get rid of her prince fiancé Hans, voiced by Santino Fontana, but the focus stays firmly on Anna and Elsa, as Lee’s screenplay repeatedly challenges fairy tale tropes to make them about sisterly, not romantic, love. The music of the story and the songs can feel little factory-made – funny sidekicks in the shape of mountain trolls show up at the exact right time for a laugh, and the old man villains are made directly from Gaston’s mob in “Beauty and the Beast.” However, “Frozen” has all the right modern touches too, without falling into obvious territory.

It also pulls off a great luck in Olaf, the snowman you saw in every poster and voiced by Josh Gad from “Book of Mormon.” Rich stated, “The goofy sidekick is usually an exasperating pander to younger kids who might get restless after too much story, and even in the brilliant Mormon Gad tended to overplay his schlubby goofball hand.” However, Olaf is consistently, actually hilarious, and even has the film’s best song with In Summer, dreaming of how great a snowman’s life will be in summer (Anna and Kristof don’t have the strength to tell him the truth). Even Olaf’s origin story helps emphasize the sister’s relationship – “Frozen’s” story may sometimes feel machine-made perfect, but there’s happiness in watching a movie this big stay so determinedly on point.

Entering her serious area after making her name on television, Kristen Bell is a honorably spunky and funny heroine, while Menzel’s skillfully shoulders the film’s heaviest drama (and by far the best princess dresses, to be seen on Halloween’s shelves everywhere every year). Both girls are heroines are on the level as Belle, Jasmine or Ariel, and do them one better by choosing family over the usual romance – a nice contrast to say, Bella from “Twilight.” Big animated movies are under ridiculous pressure to teach kids the “right” lessons, but “Frozen” uses that pressure lightly, putting the deserved focus on its beautiful animation, its crazily catchy songs and its well-earned emotional strengths. Especially as Disney attempts to restore older princesses like Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella for live-action dramas, it’s nice to see the studio go back to what they’ve always done well and prove they still can do this.

I will have to admit that when this movie was released, I didn’t notice the countless covers made online on Let it Go. It was only after I saw Nostalgia Critic’s “Let it Go Videos” that I noticed it, but you will hum or sing that song after you watch this movie. But that’s not a bad thing since this movie will leave you with a good feeling after you have seen it. I haven’t seen a movie like this get talked about so much since maybe one of the Disney movies in the 90s. I will say it’s nice to see a Disney movie get talked about, which will be talked about forever. The soundtrack is right up there with some of Disney’s best, and this movie is one of my favorite Disney films, hands down, as is "The Princess and the Frog," “Tangled” and “Wreck-It Ralph.” See "Frozen" if you haven’t because you are missing out.

My brother, sister and mother went and saw this movie without me. They asked what time my class was, and when I told them, they knew they wouldn't be able to drop me off at my college before my class started. So I had to wait until the DVD was released. I had told them that I had the movie on hold at the library, so I felt sad that they went and saw it without me. However, after seeing it when I got it from the library, I didn't feel left out anymore.

Wow, I actually feel great after reviewing this film. Wouldn’t you if you were reviewing this great film? This is not a surprise at all. What will I be reviewing tomorrow for the finale of “Disney Month?” Well, you will have to see for yourself. You might be able to guess, you might not, but all will be revealed tomorrow.

Wreck-It Ralph

Disney has been really riding great these last few years, haven’t they? To prove this, let’s take a look at “Wreck-It Ralph,” released in 2012. The film begins with a creative brainstorm: The movie takes place mostly inside the worlds of a handful of arcade-style video games, giving an excuse for the backgrounds, ground rules and characters to constantly reinvent themselves. The title is inspired by the protagonist, one of those clumsy, misunderstood giants who only wants to be loved.

For Wreck-It Ralph, this will never happen in the game he’s in, the Fix-It Felix Jr. video game, which is like the Donkey Kong arcade game. Shown in animation only a generation ahead from Pac-Man, Ralph is a strong villain who only has one function, using his fists and feet to smash holes in a high-rise apartment building. Then there’s Fix-It Felix Jr., a handyman with unlimited skills, to fix everything. Being the renowned hero of the Nicelanders, the residents of the building, Felix is regularly invited to their high-class parties, while Ralph is spending every night in the town junk yard.

Ralph’s depression is invaluably expressed by the voice over of the beloved John C. Reilly, who can sound bothered by his very nature. Felix, voiced by Jack McBrayer from “30 Rock,” is happy, excited and helpful, even if trapped in the identity of the Good Man, like Mario.

After years of being the villain, Ralph wants to escape, and that’s the excuse for the movie to break free from the resemblance of its game. Ralph goes through power cables and a surge protector to a place called Grand Game Central, where characters can visit. Warning: Even though the rules let them to die carelessly and frequently inside their designated video games, if they die outside, that’s it.

Ralph hears a game called “Hero’s Duty” (a mix between Call of Duty and Halo), where soldiers are led by a sergeant, voiced by Sue Sylvester from “Glee,” Jane Lynch, to shoot down the Cybugs that are the plague of all games. He wins a big gold medal and hopes it will make him look good to the Nicelanders. Ralph’s next game he goes into is a small racing game named Sugar Rush Land (looking very much like “Mario Kart”), that looks like it’s painted entirely in the colors of the cheap bright candies sold on Valentine’s Day (think about the pink and yellow hearts that say “I Love You”).

The main person here is Vanellope von Schweetz, voiced by a comedian I really hate, Sarah Silverman, who is a glitch and isn’t too skilled at handling game’s race cars, but she wants to be a racer. She’s stopped by the stuck-up, snobby King Candy, voiced by Alan Tudyk. Then there’s a final battle which has groups of Cybugs.

More than in a good majority of animated films, the art design and color palette of “Wreck-It Ralph” has unlimited sets, costumes and rules, giving the movie determined originality and different behavior in every different gaming world. Wreck-It Ralph, who looks not a million miles different from Shrek, makes a lovable guide through this arcade universe.

Roger Ebert said in his review, “I have a complaint, and it's my usual one: The whole movie comes down to an interminable high-velocity race and chase scene, perhaps timed to match the moment when the kids in the audience have consumed so much pop and candy they're having their own sugar rush. That can get old real fast for the adults, and heaven help those parents whose children insist on viewing the DVD over and over and over and over again. I suppose that goes with the territory.”

My only complaint with this movie is why Sarah Silverman? Couldn’t you have gone with someone better than her? She’s the only distraction for me in this movie because I’m not a fan of her at all. I find her too immature and not even anywhere close to being funny. Actually, I think she’s really annoying, and I’ve seen her a few times in interviews, and she really has gotten under my skin. I just can’t stand her. 

Aside from that, this is actually great for a Disney movie. For anyone who knows, there has never been any good video game adaptation at all. None of the video game adaptations that have been released have been any good and have sucked badly, but this movie is actually really good and great for the whole family to watch. If you haven’t seen it, then you should. You will love it, I promise you.

Well, I think people can guess what I will review tomorrow for “Disney Month.” What will it be? I will not even give a clue to what it is. Just wait until tomorrow so I can keep all of you in suspense.

Winnie the Pooh

Well everyone, I think I’m going to look at another Winnie the Pooh movie, “Winnie the Pooh,” released in 2011. This is a sweet and innocuous children’s movie based on the long-term tale of the events in Hundred Acre Wood, if you remember when I did the first Pooh movie. Even though it’s obvious the targeted audience is for Elementary school students and below, it might be loved by adults who grew up reading the A.A. Milne books and the drawings by E.H. Shepard that are so closely recognized with it. This is that rare book that can hardly be thought of aside from the illustrations.

In a time of the high 3D animation and special effects, the way the film looks is gentle and pleasing. Roger Ebert even admitted, “It was hand-animated, I'm told, and the backgrounds use a subtle and reassuring watercolor style. It's a nightmare-proof experience for even the youngest viewers.”

You probably already know the story. Pooh Bear wants honey, and a handful of adventures are the product of that. A critical subplot has Eeyore the Donkey, voiced by Bud Luckey, who lost his tail. One of the clues can be found in the pin that is stuck where his tail was. Do you think it was pinned on all the time? Because of his loss, Eeyore is sadder and lethargic than he normally is, and definitely in an adult movie, we would speculate clinical depression.

This version, directed by Stephen J. Anderson and Don Hall, has a particularly stylistic touch: The movie combines the letters and page design of the book (or an admiration of it) with the animation, so the words do appear on the screen and seem to be as real as the characters, sometimes even appearing in the pile at the bottom of the screen.

Here’s what Ebert said about the songs: “There are some jolly songs, performed fetchingly by Zooey Deschanel, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, one of them involving a not really very scary monster named Backson, who I confess I do not remember from the books, although I have forgotten a great deal since I was 6. (I do, come to think of it, remember Milne's poetry volume Now We Are Six.)”

There is one surprise with the voice cast, Craig Ferguson is Owl. Also, Jim Cummings is voicing Pooh and Tigger (who I think is related to Tony the Tiger). John Cleese is narrating. The voice talents otherwise seem to have been picked for their voices and not their popularity. Don’t worry, there’s no Angelina Jolie, Jack Black, or Johnny Depp. (When you see an animated movie that says Johnny Depp is one of the voices, what does that say to people?)

The film runs by really quick at 69 minutes. It is led by an animated short about Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, who we find out was misplaced from her beloved lake by evil men building a golf course. Never has Nessie been so gentle. The whole movie could make a nice introduction to moviegoing for small children.

I took my nephews and niece to see this movie when it came out, and we all really liked it. I highly suggest everyone go out and see this movie on DVD because it’s a great family film. If you liked any of the Pooh movies, that you will love this one, I promise you. Watch out for more excitement in “Disney Month” tomorrow.

Tangled

It’s now time to look at Disney’s take on the Rapunzel story, “Tangled,” released in 2010. For this to be Disney’s 50^th animated film, the Disney animators have taken a lot of risks and tried everything to be everyone’s favorite animated company. There have been some obstacles down the road, but at the end of the tunnel they are successful.

Whether you like inspiring adventure or sentimental romance, traditional fairy tales or stories of modern families, musicals, or comedies, even blondes or brunettes, “Tangled” has something for you. Using so many animation standards has its risks, but once “Tangled” settles in and accepts the important appeal of its better nature the rewards are evident.

Since this is directed by Nathan Greno and “Bolt” co-director Bryon Howard, one of those rewards is a beautiful computer-animated visual that includes rich landscapes and characters that look fuller and more lifelike than before in the past.

Kenneth Turan stated in his review, “"Tangled" can be forgiven if it takes some time to find its footing. It is after all a story of a lost princess that does a lot to appeal to boys, a retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale that (in this country at least) decided it was wiser to avoid the name itself, and a movie with five Alan Menken songs that doesn't call itself a musical.”

The first shakiness is improved by the annoying and overly convincing nature of co-protagonist Flynn Rider, voiced by Zachary Levi, a Satan-may-care bandit who is introduced saying more smart remarks than a regular at a Comedy Club. Like someone in a “Shrek” sequel, Flynn calls Rapunzel “blondie” and says “I don’t do back story” when asked about his past.

This comment aside, it is Flynn who tells us on Rapunzel’s history. She was the daughter of a king and queen (really!), she was stolen as an infant and raised by a tricky woman named Mother Gothel, voiced by theater actress Donna Murphy, who keeps her oblivious about her biological parents and locks her up in a tower because contact with Rapunzel’s magical hair keeps rejuvenating Mother Gothel.

Turan commented, “As envisioned by Disney hair technicians Xinmin Zhao and Kelly Ward (who devoted 10 years of her life and a PhD thesis to pondering how to computer animate hair), that mane is quite the force of nature, 70 feet long and capable of many things, including tying people up and batting them down.”

Rapunzel, voiced by Delaney Rose Stein as a little child, it should be underlined, is hardly clear by her hair. As voiced as an adult by former idol for teenagers Mandy Moore, this is a very modern young woman, going to become 18 and, with only a chameleon named Pascal as her friend, is really anxious to get out of the tower and see the outside world.

What Rapunzel is really eager to see in front of her are a group of floating lanterns lighting up the sky that she’s only seen from a far away distance. It’s the one gift she wants for her 18^th birthday, but for Mother Gothel anything that makes Rapunzel leave the tower is a non-starter.

A guilt-tripping, overprotective, extremely scheming parent who looks like a spawn of Satan, Mother Gothel is given lines like, “skip the drama, stay with momma.” Though she only says this to sugarcoat her cruelty, Mother Gothel demands in a fragile moment, “You’re not leaving this tower, ever.”

However, she’s got nothing to worry about. As Flynn comes riding in on the scene, and circumstances convinces him to agree to take Rapunzel to see the lights. Despite that both are clearly meant for one another, the movie has a good notion not to force that on them, or us.

Once Rapunzel gets out of the tower, Flynn Rider thankfully calms down and the movie, written by Dan Fogelman with song lyrics by Glenn Slater, gets both hilarious and more adventurous by taking on more of Rapunzel’s sunny side of her.

This young animated girl orders a bossy, overzealous army horse named Maximus (the movie’s comic relief) and charms a gang of bloodthirsty gangsters (comedian Brad Garrett (who you might remember from the hilarious sitcom, "Everybody Loves Raymond"), Ron Perlman, Richard Kiel, Paul F. Tompkins, and the beloved Jeffrey Tambor) by asking them about their dreams: A murderous Viking named Hook Hand (Garrett) is, as he admits, a wanna-be pianist who would rather be thought “deadly for my killer show-tune medley.”

Turan goes on in his review to say, “Busy as it is, "Tangled" also finds time to include enough action and adventure sequences, including wild chases, hairbreadth escapes and an enormous flood, to allow even the fussiest small boys to feel it's worth their time.”

It takes a bit of work, but when “Tangled’s” main lovability inserts itself and the film challenges to wear its heart on its sleeve in a climactic scene featuring 46,000 paper lanterns; it’s been worth the wait. Mother Gothel may have a point when she claims that “the world is dark and selfish and cruel,” but that’s why we’re grateful for films like this one.

In the end, I personally say that I loved this film a lot. Sure it may have songs that do appear more pop-like for today’s audience, but it’s relatively lovable for little kids. This is a great step for Disney to be taking, and I’m glad that Disney has really turned the tables and made these kinds of films for kids to love again. Well, look out tomorrow to see what else was thrown at us for “Disney Month.”

The Princess and the Frog

Well, it’s time for a great Disney flick today because we are going to look at “The Princess and the Frog,” released in 2009. This is how Roger Ebert described the opening segment of the movie: “The opening scenes of Disney's "The Princess and the Frog" are like a cool shower after a long and sweaty day.” What he means to say is this is how traditional animation looked like. This is back when there was no 3D, no glasses, no extra charge on your ticket, and no hysterical emotions of mindless action. Goodness gracious, this film has a story, characters, a plot, it’s set in a certain time and place, and it uses amazing hand-drawn animation that moves at a human pace, instead of racing with odd efficiency. Ebert went on to say, “I'm just gonna stand here and let it pour over me.”

This movie is quite an entertainment and doesn’t quite live up to the opening parts. Ebert described, “But it's a demonstration that the Walt Disney Studio still shelters animators who know how to make a movie like that, in an age when too many animated films are like fast food after memories of mom's pot roast. My guess is that afterward the poor kids won't feel quite so battered by input overload.” The film moves on the screen and doesn’t jump into the audience and forces them to like it.

The story is set mostly in an African-American community in New Orleans, America’s most strong city, before and after World War I. We meet a little girl named Tiana (Elizabeth Dampier), who is appreciated by her mother Eudora (Host who now has her own TV Channel, Oprah Winfrey) and father James (Terrence Howard). Her mother is a seamstress while her dad is a hard-working restaurant owner who makes some great gumbo. He gets enlisted in the Army and never returns home. Now that Tiana is an adult, now voiced by Anika Noni Rose, her life is a struggle, but she keeps holding on to her dream of opening a restaurant and serving her dad’s gumbo (with just a touch more red sauce).

Here’s what Ebert said about the music: “This is all shown in flowing, atmospheric animation and acted with fetching voices, but the songs by Randy Newman are -- I dunno, do you think he's getting sort of Randy Newmaned out? And the absence of a couple of terrific musical numbers is noticeable, I think, although younger viewers will probably be drawn into the story.”

You know this story. A princess kisses a frog, and it turns into Prince Charming. How about this for a twist: she turns into a frog after kissing it? (Spoilers: that’s what happens.) Tiana and the Prince Naveen of Malvonia, voiced by Bruno Campos, are now frogs, although, obviously, they keep all of their moral values and do not act the way frogs do other than croaking and eating flies.

They’re under a spell that has been casted by a voodoo villain named Dr. Facilier, voiced by Goliath from the Disney cartoon “Gargoyles,” Keith David. Life in the swamp is the house of two friends, Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley), an alligator who plays jazz saxophone, and Ray (Jim Cummings), a firefly who is just like Jiminy Cricket. They look for the occult Mama Odie, voiced by Jenifer Lewis, who might have the ability to counteract Facilier, and whether Tiana and Prince Naveen are turned back into humans and be able to have a happy life eating gumbo, I will let you find out for yourselves.

Ebert noted, “It is notable that this is Disney's first animated feature since "Song of the South" (1946) to feature African-American characters, and if the studio really never is going to release that film on DVD, which seems more innocent by the day, perhaps they could have lifted "Zip-a-dee Doo-Dah" from it and plugged that song in here. Though the principal characters are all black (other than the rich man Big Daddy, voiced by John Goodman, and the Prince, who is of undetermined ethnicity), race is not an issue because Disney adroitly sidesteps all the realities of being a poor girl in New Orleans in the early 1920s. Just as well, I suppose.”

“The Princess and the Frog” brings back those memories of Disney’s Golden Age it doesn’t quite live up to, as I’ve already mentioned, but it’s spritely and high-spirited, and will let kids enjoy it without visually attacking them.

Personally, I think this movie is great for the whole family to watch, especially with the nice twist it has on the classic children's fairy tale. Stay tuned tomorrow for another great movie for "Disney Month."

Bolt

Merry Christmas everybody! Let’s celebrate with another Disney movie about a dog, “Bolt,” released in 2008. You know what I have noticed? This is the third Disney movie I have reviewed that is about a dog. Holy cow, it looks like Disney seems to be canine lovers. I’m not complaining because I like dogs myself. Anyway, enough of that, let’s start the review.

This Disney-Pixar dog comedy is a case of a dog, but that’s nothing to bark about.

The “tail” is Pixar, the animation unknown with the Midas touch that once entirely belonged to the “dog” Disney, Pixar’s corporate boss.

Peter Howell said in his review, “Indeed, no finer compliment can be paid to Bolt than to say it looks and sounds more like an unheralded Pixar film than just another widget from the Disney factory.”

A large amount of it has to do with executive producer John Lasseter, a Pixar co-founder now with the job of animating both companies. This is his first Disney movie from the ground up, and his paw prints is all over the place.

Howell mentioned, “Mainly they're seen in regard to the story, which in Pixar fashion is brainier than it needs to be for a movie aimed at tots, pre-teens and their indulgent parents. Subplots about personal identity ("What do dogs do?") and reality vs. fantasy make this movie seem at times like a Philosophy 101 course at a very furry university.”

The offside vocal options are another factor. There are expected celebrity jobs given with John Travolta (another actor who I think is just there for girls to go crazy for) as the protagonist dog Bolt, the youthful white canine with super-sized visions, pop singer who got started on TV with “Hannah Montana,” Miley Cyrus (another singer I hate) as Penny, the dog’s master, and Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Calico, a scary villain.

Other voices hit at you straight out from left field. Susie Essman, who plays the vulgar Susie Greene in the sitcom “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” may not have been Disney’s first choice to play a cat in a children’s animated movie. However, she’s great as Mittens, the snarky stray who teaches Bolt how to be a dog. Wait, a dog and a cat are in this movie? “Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!”

Then there’s Mark Dalton, who is this movie’s greatest strength. As Rhino, a hamster who is also a huge fan of Bolt’s show and has his own personal issues, Walton gives the most Pixar-like performance of all. Howell says, “Not bad for an old Disney hand whose main gig until now has been as animator and writer (although he did voice Goosey Loosey for Chicken Little).” Walton keeps the Pixar tradition of letting technical guys join the fun, as the company did for sound effects expert Ben Burtt for “WALL-E.”

Other Disney regulars also change roles. Animators Bryon Howard and Chris Williams, whose past works include “Chicken Little” and “Mulan,” are in the director’s chair for the first time. Williams also shares a co-writer job, with Dan Fogelman (who co-penned Pixar’s “Cars”).

Now the story you could describe is “The Truman Show” meeting “The Incredible Journey,” while the 60s-style images are similar like what we saw in “The Incredibles.”

Howell said in his review, “Bolt is the star of a weekly TV adventure series, sort of like an amped-up version of The Littlest Hobo, in which he rescues mistress Penny from all manner of dire circumstances.”

Everyone who is working on the show knows that it’s a show, except for simple-minded Bolt, who is too gullible even to realize that the lightning bolt marking (hello Harry Potter) was just sprayed on.

He’s in for a dire shock when a confusion leaves him alone and sad in New York City, while Penny returns to Hollywood.

Bolt is determined to return home, along with Mittens and Rhino, but he’s going to have to look at his options before he realizes his true strengths.

“If the dog believes, the audience believes,” says the “Bolt” TV sitcom director, voiced by Dean Emeritus of Pace University and host of “Inside the Actors Studio,” James Lipton.

Belief may be in question for a lot of the movie – only for the naïve dog – but fortunately, enjoyment will be there.

So I will admit that I personally liked this movie, although at first I thought I wasn’t going to, but it’s a good movie for the whole family to watch. It’s like a kid’s version of “The Truman Show,” but only different in certain ways.

Well, Merry Christmas once again you guys. Hopefully everyone is having fun spreading the holiday joy around. Open up your presents, fill your stockings, sit by the fire with some hot chocolate, and watch some Christmas specials while listening to the great Christmas songs. Stay tuned tomorrow for more “Disney Month.”

Enchanted

Now we are really getting good for today’s review of “Disney Month,” because we are going to look at a film that is both animated and live-action, “Enchanted,” released in 2007. Roger Ebert admitted in his review, “It's no surprise to me that Amy Adams is enchanting. She won my heart in "Junebug" (2005), where she told her clueless husband: "God loves you just the way you are, but he loves you too much to let you stay that way."”

You might have seen “Junebug,” but I haven’t, but still you will not be surprised by how fresh and winning Amy Adams is in “Enchanted,” where her role completely depends on natural lovability.

In fact, she’s so lovable she starts out this film as an animated princess in a Disney-style world. The birds, flowers, chipmunks and cockroaches actually love her and do her bidding. Listen, if you could utilize the roaches of the world, you’d have quite a work force.

Ebert said, “The princess is named Giselle, she has a beautiful singing voice, and although she resists singing "Someday My Prince Will Come," I think she's always humming it to herself.”

Like all Disney princesses, one day a prince will come for her. In here, it’s Prince Edward (James Marsden), and it is love at first sight, and there are wedding bells in the air before the evil Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) puts the obstacle on romance by exiling Giselle to someplace as far as possible from this Disney kingdom. She ends up in Times Square. It is obviously very far that the movie changes from animation to live-action, and stays there. However, the animated opening does a good job at setting up the story, so we understand the basic rules of what will obviously be a live-action story playing by the animation rules. Ebert admits, “What results is a heart-winning musical comedy that skips lightly and sprightly from the lily pads of hope to the manhole covers of actuality, if you see what I mean. I'm not sure I do.”

Prince Edward follows her to New York, along with his manservant Nathanial, played by Timothy Spall, and her chipmunk. Now don’t rush ahead and think Giselle and Edward find love in Gotham, because there is trouble of Robert, played by Patrick Dempsey, a handsome single dad Giselle encounters. He’s raising his daughter named Morgan, played by Rachel Covey, and Morgan obviously likes Giselle immediately, when she ends up living with them as a homeless lady from a fairy tale place.

Who doesn’t like Giselle is Nancy, played by Idina Menzel, who already is Robert’s girlfriend. She’s nice enough, but can she take a stand for herself against a Disney princess? Not in a PG-rated movie. So the romance and the adventure continue on in ways that looks familiar enough in an animated comedy, but seem courageous in the real world. We first get the reality animation based on reality (Beowulf) and now reality in animation.

The movie has a sound background in Disney animation, beginning with director Kevin Lima (“Tarzan,” “A Goofy Movie”) and the music is done by Alan Menken and the lyricist is Stephen Schwartz, who did the songs for the soundtracks for “Pocahontas” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” More important, it has that Disney effort to allow fantasy into life, so New York seems to be having a new playbook.

For instance, we do know that Manhattan is covered in bugs. Millions of them, in a city where the garbage is left overnight on the sidewalk must seem like an endless buffet. Ebert said, “But when Giselle recruits roaches to help her clean Robert's bathtub -- well, I was going to say, you, you'll never think of roaches the same way again, but actually, you will. I am reminded of "Joe's Apartment" (1996), which used 5,000 real roaches, and of which I wrote: "That depresses me, but not as much as the news that none of them were harmed during the production."”

As the roach part is over, and the plotting begins, much helped by Sarandon’s evil queen, who fears the presence of her son Edward marrying the pitiful Giselle. Ebert thinks, “I am not sure Robert and Morgan fully understand from whence Giselle comes, but they respond to the magic in her, and so do we.”

Overall, this is a great movie for little girls to see. I personally like that one part where Giselle tells Robert about Edward and he shockingly asks, “You were going to marry someone you had just met that day!?” It’s funny that they would put that in a Disney movie, since they have always done that, but no one in the movie was ever shocked about it as those who see Disney movies and think that same thing, because you can’t rush in love that quickly. Still, see the movie because it’s really good and you’ll feel nice after the movie is over. Just a heads up: you will see similarities in this movie to "Snow White," "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty."

Look out tomorrow to see what the next review will be in “Disney Month.”

Meet the Robinsons

For a long time, Pixar and Disney were just two companies with distribution deals. When it was announced that Pixar was unloading the Disney burden, the Mouse House developed an inside division to do their own CGI movies.

Disney’s debut film was “Chicken Little,” a fun and entertaining movie. Probably the best thing about “Chicken Little” was that it cut from something completely different than the Pixar movies. I know that it did have cute and cuddly anthropomorphic animals, but it was something completely different than their usual work. This help set apart it’s style.

According to Kevin Carr, “The next non-Pixar CGI release from Disney was “The Wild,” a completely unoriginal and thoroughly annoying fare.” After Disney ended up buying Pixar, the animators inside gave the fans “Meet the Robinsons,” released in 2007. Like “Chicken Little,” this was a lot of fantasy for children, with a good amount of science fiction.

The story is about an orphan inventor kid named Lewis, voiced by Jordan Fry, who is really close to making a real mind projector. However, the evil Bowler Hat Guy, voiced by Steve Anderson, goes back in time to steal Lewis’s invention and make everything think it was his own. Lewis teams up with Wilbur Robinson, a kid from the future who is trying to make the events right, voiced by Wesley Singerman.

When Lewis time travels to the future with Wilbur, he finds an amazing and odd family (Laurie Metcalf, Steve Anderson, Ethan Sandler, Kelly Hoover, Don Hall, Adam West and Nicole Sullivan) that he wishes was his own. As we see more of Lewis’s future history revealed and the story behind the Bowler Hat Guy, the pieces to the puzzle come together that shows Lewis must struggle to save the future.

You might be wondering if “Meet the Robinsons” is as good as any of the Pixar films. Actually, it doesn’t come anywhere close, but it’s still decent. In Carr’s opinion, “It’s about as entertaining as the lower end Pixar films like “Cars,” but it’s a long way from “The Incredibles.”” He may be right, although I never compared this movie to any of the Pixar movies, but it’s still a good family movie that everyone should sit down and watch.

Carr joked that, ““Meet the Robinson” tasted like chicken – “Chicken Little,” that is.” The movie had the same visionary style and chaotic storytelling. The animation is just perfect, blending 2D methods with modern computer character design. Like “The Incredibles,” it gave a cool vision of the future, not in the way that what it would be like but what would people thought it would look like in the 1950s.

The story works for the entire family. It’s not terribly distinctive or erratic. Actually, it’s pretty easy to see where all the plot twists are going to fall in the first half hour or so. Plus, in the middle, when they introduce the Robinson family, it slows down a lot and lowers itself to cheap jokes. Carr admits, “But still, I had fun, as did my five-year-old son whom I took along for the ride.”

In the end, I actually thought this was a good movie and was actually much better than “Chicken Little.” Then again, I saw this one first before I saw “Chicken Little,” so I guess that’s probably the reason why. You could actually compare this movie to “Back to the Future” in the sense of time travelling to fix the events of the future to make sure everything is set right. However, like everyone says, our future is unwritten and we can make of it whatever we’d like it to, as long as we are happy with the way our lives have gone thus far. In the end, I definitely say sit down with the whole family and check this movie out, you will absolutely love it.

Watch out tomorrow for more entries of “Disney Month.”

Chicken Little

Alright everyone, now we’re going to look at Disney’s take on a classic children’s tale, “Chicken Little,” released in 2005. The basic story is Chicken Little, voiced by Zach Braff, has become a subject of jokes for the animal citizens of Oaky Oak after making a commotion with his bizarre claim that the sky is falling. However, this tiny chicken’s bantam’s fear eventually proves to be true.

The initial thought that whether Disney would be able to succeed commercially in changing to computer animation without Pixar being dominated with enormous relief, with “Chicken Little” easily grossing way past $100 million in America. The question regarding having succeeded artistically doesn’t have a really definite answer.

According to Empire’s review, “Disney has, of course, already dabbled in CGI with 2000’s Dinosaur, which was every bit as visually awesome and ploddingly brainless as its subjects.” However, “Chicken Little” represents the first time it challenges the same type of style as its on-off standoff. It’s not even close to having any of the imagination or brilliance that even Pixar’s early work, but then again, it’s not really trying to.

Nowhere in this spirited little movie will you find a shot designed to amaze you at the things they can do with computer animation these days. You could hate it for lack of ambition, for not trying to fight Pixar on their level. However, your children, who are the targeted audience for this type of movie, won’t be thinking about that, so it’s better to enjoy it for that Saturday-morning entertainment that it succeeds on.

The story’s main weakness is improved by the huge amount of off-the-wall twists it does to fit into its small running time (if you haven’t seen the spoiler-filled trailer, at one point you’ll be scratching your head wondering what is happening – quite a success for a Disney kids’ movie), finishing in a well-done action sequence. The solid dialogue is prepared by terrific background visual jokes and the assembled voice cast is nice.

Braff, Joan Cusack and Steve Zahn are all great for voiceover roles and also having Catherine O’Hara, Fred Willard and Patrick Warburton to the minor roles speaks of the basic value. They may not have the best script to work off of, but they do just fine with what they are given.

Empire also mentioned, “Pixar has set the standard for cartoons that offer as much, or more, to adults as children, and anything that doesn’t swell with wry wit seems to be now rejected as a failure. Judged by those criteria, Chicken Little disappoints. Judged as the children’s film it is, it punches winningly above its bantam-weight.”

In the end, beyond a juvenile, twist part of generic-playing, there’s more here for Elementary School kids, but it’s still charming, funny and energetic enough to have you enjoy the film. Give it a chance is what I say. I know this film wasn’t very well received when it came out, but I still think you should give it a chance.

Look out tomorrow for more “Disney Month.”

Home on the Range

“Home on the Range,” Disney’s 2004 animated movie, has the warm friendliness of a 1940s singing cowboy movie, and the plot possibly was borrowed from Hopalong Cassidy or Roy Rogers, despite the small detail that they aren’t cows. Roger Ebert commented, “The new songs by Alan Mencken ("The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast") are in the tradition of Western swing; I can easily imagine Gene Autry performing any of them, including the yodeling number, and wasn't too surprised to find out that the Sons of the Pioneers starred in a 1946 movie with the same name.”

The pace is up to date, however. Gene Autry and Roy Rogers always had time to sit next to a fire and sing a song, but “Home on the Range” jumps with the energy of a cartoon short special. The movie was said to be Disney’s final one in the traditional 2D animated style. The films that came after this will be the 3D look of “Finding Nemo.” This might be a loss or not depends on what the audiences relate to animation. There is an audience for those painful Saturday morning cartoon adventures, which are so cheap on animation they look more like 1.5D.

The story is set in the Patch of Heaven ranch, which is threatened with foreclosure because of the damages of the dirty cattle rustler Alameda Slim, voiced by Randy Quaid. Pearl, the owner, voiced by Carole Cook, could raise money if she sold her cows – but they’ve become a family and are so apparently they’ll be homeless really soon. Then a brilliant idea strikes the cows: Why don’t they find Slim, collect the $750 reward, pay off the bank, and save the ranch?

Each of the cows has distinctive qualities to give to this effect. Mrs. Calloway, voiced by Judi Dench, is the voice of carefulness. Grace, voiced by poker player Jennifer Tilly, is the New Age cow, who makes comments like, “This is an organic problem and needs a holistic solution.” Their method is a newcomer to the farm, Maggie, voiced by comedian Rosanne Barr (who also had her own sitcom “Roseanne”), who quickly becomes aggressive, in-your-face leader. Rounding out the team is Buck, voiced by Cuba Gooding, Jr., the stallion, who is a master of martial arts.

The voices are all quick to recognize, especially Barr’s. The idea of using the voices of familiar stars instead of nameless dubbing voice artists has added an interesting dimension to recent animated movies. For instance, listen to Randy Quaid as Slim. It’s common in Disney animation to fill the edges of the screen with the hyperactive small supporting characters, and we get Lucky Jack the jackrabbit (Charles Haid) and Audrey the chicken (Estelle Harris), who is a chicken. There are also three busy little pigs, and Steve Buscemi almost seems to be playing himself as a critter named Wesley.

Buck, by the way, has imaginations of magnificence. He thinks maybe he can capture Slim and collect the reward, especially after he becomes the horse of the famous bounty hunter Rico, voiced by Charles Dennis, who leads a dangerous competition with the cows.

Ebert said, “The plot makes pit stops at all the obligatory Western sights: saloons, mine shafts, main streets, deserts with Monument Valley landscapes, and trains. All of these locations become the backdrops of chases, in a movie that seldom stands still.”

The songs are sung by k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, Tim McGraw and the Bleu Sisters. None of them are likely to be asked by fans at future concerts. They sound standard and don’t have the passion of Mencken’s earlier work.

A movie like this is nice for kids: bright, fast-paced, with broad, outrageous characters. However, “Home on the Range” doesn’t have the crossover quality of the great Disney films like “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King.” Also it doesn’t have the freshness and originality of a more traditional movie like “Lilo & Stitch.” Ebert speculated, “Its real future, I suspect, lies in home video.” It’s only 76 minutes long, but even though kids might like it, their parents will be constantly looking at their watches.

If you get the chance to pass this one up, do so. I don’t recommend this one at all, but if your kids want to see it, then you can let them see it because it’s good for him. Adults will not have a not good time watching this. I know I didn’t like this one at all. Well, now that I got this film out of the way (thankfully), stay tuned tomorrow for more “Disney Month.”

Brother Bear

Disney’s 2003 film, “Brother Bear,” is more spiritual and New Age than your typical animated film about animals, but it does have a couple of talking moose and a bear cub. It’s determined in its creativity, including images from prehistoric cave paintings and playing with the screen width. Roger Ebert commented, “But it doesn't have the zowie factor of "The Lion King" or "Finding Nemo," and is sweet rather than exciting.” Children and their parents can possibly relate to this on completely different levels, the adults on the transfer of souls from man to animal, while the kids will get into the adventure parts.

The story begins in a Native American colony in the Pacific Northwest, thousands of years ago. We see three brothers: the eldest is the brave Sitka (D.B. Sweeney), the middle child is the strong-willed Denahi (Jason Raize) and the youngest is the troublesome Kenai (Joaquin Phoenix). Each of them wears a totem around their necks, with an animal spirit they are identified with. Sitka has the eagle, Denahi a wolf, and Kenai is a bear, and considers himself short-changed, especially when he’s told that the bear represents love, which he thinks is way far down, so to speak, on the totem pole.

Kenai doesn’t like bears, and picks a fight with one that tries to steal the fish he caught. He carelessly chases the bear, and when Sitka tries to protect him, he gets killed and transfigures into an eagle. Kenai is advised by the tribe’s wise woman Tanana, voiced by Joan Copeland, to accept what has occurred as what the universe wanted, but Kenai has his mind set on killing the bear. He succeeds, but the universe proves it has a sense of justice, or perhaps humor, by transfiguring Kenai into a bear – so that Denahi thinks it was Bear Kenai who killed his Brother Kenai. Ebert commented, “Denahi continues the family tradition of vengeance by tracking down Bear Kenai, in an irony that is positively Shakespearean, and no wonder, since I learn that this story was originally inspired by "King Lear," although the notion of three siblings seems to be all that survived.”

The opening segments are in a straight screen ratio of 1:85 to 1, but after Kenai becomes a bear, the colors deepen and the screen widens to 2:35 to 1, so you’d better hope your projectionist is with you. Given Kenai’s hatred towards bears, he is extremely furious to be a bear, but soon he gets bear lessons from Koda, voiced by Jeremy Suarez, a cub who teaches him everything. Kenai finds out from the spirit of Tanana that he must find Eagle Sitka on a mountain where light touches the Earth, and Koda leads him to the location – maybe because he really knows where the mountain is, possibly for reasons of his own.

Ebert said in his review, “Their trek there involves many adventures, including a scary encounter with flowing lava from a volcano. Two Canadian moose named Rutt and Tuke turn up and have conversations that sound amazingly like the McKenzie Brothers from SCTV, maybe because they are voiced by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas. The outcome of the story, which I would not dream of revealing, has Kenai making a career choice that is far from practical but certainly shows he has learned to see things from a bear's point of view.”

The movie, which is by the same Orlando animation studio that gave Disney’s “Mulan” and “Lilo & Stitch,” is very good looking, and sometimes wants burst through the boundaries of predictable animation to give a more visionary picture of its time and place. A scene involving cave drawings comes spectacularly to life. There’s also a curious early part when the animators duplicate the effects of sunlight refracting through a lens, even though animation doesn’t use lens and doesn’t refract light. Variety said this would be the last 2D animated movie from Disney in the near future. Now, they would switch to 3D style which originally started with Pixar. Both versions have their strengths. One is not better than the other, simply different.

I would definitely recommend this film and say give it a watch. If you have small kids, they will definitely fall in love with this movie. There’s a lot of family themes in this movie that I think will be really good for the whole family to sit down and watch together. Watch out for more “Disney Month” tomorrow.

Treasure Planet

Walt Disney’s 2002 flick, “Treasure Planet,” has passion and humor and some loveable supporting characters, but was this futuristic look on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel really needed? Eighteenth century galleons and pirate ships go sailing through the stars, and this doesn’t seem to look right. The film wants to be a pirate flick with“Star Wars” attire, but the pants are too short and the elbows stick out. For those of you who grew up watching the Disney’s 1950 “Treasure Island,” or remembers the 1934 Victor Fleming flick, this one looks like a cheat.

This is what Roger Ebert said in his review:

I am not concerned about technical matters. I do not question why space ships of the future would look like sailing ships of the past. I can believe they could be powered by both rockets and solar winds. It does not bother me that deep space turns out to be breathable. I do not wonder why swashbuckling is still in style, in an era of ray guns and laser beams. I accept all of that. It's just that I wonder why I have to. Why not make an animated version of the classic Treasure Island ? Why not challenge the kids with a version of an actual book written by a great writer, instead of catering to them with what looks like the prototype for a video game? These are, I suppose, the objections of a hidebound reactionary. I believe that one should review the movie that has been made, not the movie one wishes had been made, and here I violate my own rule. But there was something in me that ... resisted ... this movie. I hope it did not blind me to its undeniable charms.

To start off, there is a likeable protagonist named Jim Hawkins, who’s voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and the singing is provided by Goo Goo Dolls member John Rzeznik. Jim is a nice enough youth (Austin Majors at age 5) when we first see him read to sleep by his mother (Laurie Metcalf) in the typical standard-issue Disney fatherless home. As a teen, he is a troublemaker, and it is only the possession of a holographic treasure map and the adventure in this movie that makes him into a fine young man.

Wishing he’ll sail away to a planet where “the treasures of a thousand worlds” have been deposited, Jim joins in as a cabin boy under the command of Captain Amelia (Emma Thompson), and soon becomes friends with the cook, John Silver (Brian Murray), a cyborg whose right arm has a handful of attachments and gadgets. Also on deck is the affluent Dr. Doppler, voiced by Dr. Niles Crane from “Frasier,” David Hyde Pierce, who is financing the ship. (His canine appearance and Amelia’s catlike nature makes us think, when a love story starts, whether their relationship will be long lasting) Ebert said, “I will not be spoiling much, I assume, to suggest that John Silver is more than a cook, and less than a friend.” He has rebellion as a plan. The troubles on the ship are backdropped by troubles in space, where a black hole is clear in view, and there is a “space storm” as dangerous as that you would see in the Caribbean.

It is mandatory in every Disney animated movies that there must be some kind of cute miniature sidekick, and the playful little being this time is Morph, a blue blob that can shape-shift into anything, is cuddly and energetic, and takes sides. Another supporting character is B.E.N., voiced by Martin Short, a cybernetic navigator who evidently has some memory boards ruined, and has a handful of one-liners. Ebert admits, “He would be obnoxious unless you liked creatures like him, which I do.”

Disney tests with its animation techniques in the movie. The foreground characters are two-dimensional in the classic animated way, but the backgrounds are 3-D and computer-generated (“painted,” the Web site tells us, but with a computer stylus rather than a brush). Ebert said, “Some may find a clash between the two styles, but the backgrounds function as, well, backgrounds, and I accepted them without question.”

Ebert went on to say, “I'm aware that many, maybe most, of the audience members for this film will never have heard of Robert Louis Stevenson.” They may find out in the opening scene that he once wrote a book titled Treasure Island, but when this book is opened by Jim’s mother, it doesn’t have the old-fashioned words, only pop-up moving images. For these people, the loss of the story’s literary birth may be pointless. They might think about what old sailing ships are doing in a futuristic time society, but then there’s a lot think about in every animated feature, isn’t there, since none of them are believable. Ebert ended his review by saying, “My guess is that most audiences will enjoy this film more than I did. I remain stubbornly convinced that pirate ships and ocean storms and real whales (as opposed to space whales) are exciting enough. Even more exciting, because they're less gimmicky. But there I go again.”

I will say that this movie is nice, but I wasn’t really excited when I saw it. I still think that if you have little kids, they’ll enjoy it. However, this is another novel adaptation that I have never read, so I can’t compare this to the book. Go ahead and see it, but I’m leaving it up to you if you want to check it out. I won’t force you, but if you see it great. If not, then it’s not a total loss. Look out tomorrow for more excitement in “Disney Month.”