Mousey Movie Preview - Cinderella Teaser Trailer

Live action princess are hot right now.

Once Upon a Time uses them weekly.

Maleficent is coming complete with star power very soon (though personally I am more excited about Murdock in the production).

And somehow Disney's March 2015 release of live action Cinderella was under my radar until a teaser trailer dropped last week.  Here is that trailer:

Well that was that.  I have no idea what to think other than there is a glass slipper and I wondered if the sound was up on my speakers!

So hopefully this we be like Frozen where the first trailer underwhelmed me and the movie overwhelmed me.

Between Books - Life in the Mouse House: Memoir of a Disney Story Artist

I think for most Disney fans, or at least for me, we often idealize working for Disney and Walt Disney himself.  However, as I have told colleagues in the past every work environment has problems and irritations.  Homer Brightman's memoir delves into the workplace at the Disney Studios during his 15 years of service and shows it was not all laughs producing animated shorts and features.

Homer Brightman's Life in the Mouse House details his 15 years of working at Disney as a storyboard artist developing gags and stories for Disney productions.  The book outlines how he came to get his position at Disney in 1935, his try out in animation and his eventual move into storyboarding.  He discusses the office politics of working at Disney, including the rivalries and poor corporate treatment.  Brightman includes his views of the 1941 strike and the outcomes of this labor dispute.  Walt Disney features heavily in Brightman's story as he includes his first story meeting with Disney and numerous interactions over his 15 years at the studio.  The story ends abruptly, with Disney breaking up Brightman's partnership with another story man working on Cinderella and Brightman's obvious frustration with the move.  Editor Dider Ghez then follows the memoir with a chapter on Brightman's post Disney years and a filmography and comicography both written by Alberto Becattini.

Life in the Mouse House is a short book, around 100 pages, that is a brisk and interesting to read.  The Brightman memoir was uncovered by Ghez and he was correct in thinking he had found an unpublished memoir of interest.  For the hardcore Disney fan, Brightman gives a different perspective than those who have penned books giving only praise to Disney, corporate and man.  The Disney Studios are a place that come off as a workplace filled with all the bumps that most of us many expect in our own workplaces.  One does not get the sense that Brightman hated working at Disney, he did stay for 15 years and wrote Disney comics and books as a freelance writer.  But the reader will feel that Brightman is being realistic with a tinge of cynicism.  It is a good reality check, Disney was just a workplace not an utopia during his 15 years.

I do think that the Walt Disney depicted in the book contains plenty of truth.  He is not the Uncle Walt from television.  Brightman does respect his story ability, and felt as if Disney respected him.  But Brightman does detail his failings as a manager who failed to credit staff, withheld praise, and instituted penny pinching policies, and could be both gracious and cruel depending on one's relationship.  I think other books have detailed this Walt, and nothing is a new revelation.  But it is interesting reading this depiction from a man who worked with Disney directly.  The depiction shows a man, not a legend, and it is reassuring to me that Uncle Walt with his warts was like me just a man.  It does need to be noted though that this is Brightman's perspective so he did not always have the full story.  So his resentment about a lack of a bonus for Snow White lacks the insight at the time that Disney was reinvesting into his studio instead of pocketing profits for himself.  So one does have to remember this contains the only story as Brightman saw it. 

My one complaint is code words.  Brightman wrote this book with codes for real names, expect for Disney.  Brightman's family requested the memoir be published with the codes as he wrote them.  Ghez to assist readers has created a key based on context clues and external sources.  And during the first 20 pages I found myself constantly referencing the key and slowing my reading pace.  I can understand the family's desires, but I really wish the Ghez would have been able to publish the book with the real names so I would not feel the need to uncover who each individual was.

I had not planned to discuss price.  But then then got a shocker as I prepared this review.  The Kindle version is only $3.99.  I have paid attention to the prices of Kindle books trying to find discounted and free copies for Between Books.  So I can tell you that there are plenty of $3.99 Disney themed Kindle books that are not very good!  At $3.99 this is a steal.  This is especially true as the Disney history fan would find interest in this offering, but so would the general history reader who is interested in early animation or labor relations.  I did read this text as a physical book, which I enjoyed and expect will be dogeared after future projects. 

Sometimes Disney is just a job.  Homer Brightman worked at Disney for 15 years and clearly enjoyed much of that time.  But he also saw much that upset and frustrated him.  Life in the House of Mouse collects these feelings and makes it clear that life for some is not always better on the other side.



Review Copy Provide by Theme Park Press

Between Books - Disney Dossiers

Jafar was based on another Disney animated villain.

Huey, Dewey and Louie are related to a prominent duck who is not Donald or Scrooge.

Lucifer the Cat in Cinderella had a real life model linked to a Disney legend.

These facts and more can all be found in Jeff Kurtti’s Disney Dossiers: Files of Character From the Walt Disney Studios.  Each page is designed to look like an open file folder containing personal records, pictures and random notes that would be useful to a Walt Disney animator or story man.  The characters covered are not exhaustive but detail the background on all major characters from Mickey Mouse to the animated features of 2006.  Some files include two page narratives discussing the character while others may only have two sentences.  Other pieces of information found in the descriptions include filmography, relationships, works well with lists, does not work well lists and summaries of key supporting characters or foils.  Some characters share pages, while other major characters like Mickey Mouse receive a multipage spread.

This is a fun book but not an exhaustive one.  The details provided on characters vary and some credit lists are selected only.  But the character selection is well done, with even The Reluctant Dragon being covered.  The facts that Kurtti provides do provide some ah ha moments for even the more knowledgeable reader.  The real fun of the volume is the pictures which include concept art showing us versions of the familiar characters that did not make the screen.  And it is fun to pretend that one is flipping through the confidential files of Walt Disney Animation.

Jeff Kurtti’s Disney Dossiers: Files of Character From the Walt Disney Studios provides a fun reading experience, and one that can be revisited to provide light entertainment.  It may not be deep enough for hardcore Disney researchers, but it would provide enjoyment to children wanting to know more about characters or casual readers.  And for both children and adults the images will likely be pleasing.  It is a nice addition to a Between Books library, but not as essential as some of Kurtti’s other works.               

Dreaming Disney – Once Upon a Time

Have you been watching ABC’s Once Upon a Time?  The Between Family has been since it premiered this fall.  What got our attention was familiar Disney characters in a new light.  And the concept of these fairy tale characters in our world has been an interest to me since I first picked up the comic book series Fables.  In fact, what I really wanted was a live action adaption of Fables and I still secretly (okay very openly) want it.

In Once Upon a Time the Evil Queen curses the kingdom on the day of Snow White’s and Prince Charming’s wedding.  She tells them they will be sent “someplace horrible.”  It is discovered that only their unborn child Emma will be able to break the curse the Queen has placed on them.  The curse strikes on the day of Emma’s birth and she is safely placed within a wardrobe built by Geppetto as the Queen’s curse strikes.  28 years later in our world, a young lady named Emma meets her son Henry who she gave up for adoption 10 years ago.  Henry insists that she is the key to breaking the curse on his hometown of Storybrooke, Maine.  Storybrooke is a town that Henry insists is filled with people who are unknowingly fairy tale characters.  And Henry believes his adopted mother is in fact the Evil Queen.  Henry convinces Emma to stay, to Henry’s mother’s disdain.  Viewers are told the story through action in Storybrooke and flashback to the fairy tale world.  We follow along with Emma as she wonders if Henry is telling the truth or is trying to escape reality.

Anyone familiar with Disney princesses will feel comfortable with this ABC, making it Disney, weekly live action tale.  Snow White and Prince Charming are major characters, with the curse being directed at them and their daughter being the key to destroying the curse.  Additionally, the Evil Queen is the major, though maybe not only, bad guy.  To be honest, we all know that Snow White and Prince Charming should live happily ever after.  The fact that in Storybrooke they are separated creates a tension in their story that does not exist in the classic film.  The Evil Queen is as bad as any Disney fan could hope her to be.  The Huntsman also makes an appearance, telling his back story in one of my favorite episodes to date.  And I have not even mentioned the Magic Mirror.  The producers and writers are clearly relying on Disney tradition in their story from dwarfs named Grumpy to keepsake boxes that take us back to the Walt Disney’s first animated feature.  

Snow White’s tale is not the only tale making up the foundation of the series.  Pinocchio is heavily represented.  Jiminy Cricket is Henry’s therapist Archie Hopper.  Hopper’s best friend is Gepetto.  And I have to say that the Jiminy Cricket flashbacks are highly satisfying and enjoyable.  Archie has a pet Dalmatian named Pongo for fans of The Hundred and One Dalmatians.  The Pongo reference is clearly a tribute to Disney animated features as he is not a traditional fairy tale character.  The Blue Fairy is also seen in fairy tale flashbacks.      

Other Disney characters weave themselves throughout the show.  Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty appears in a flashback and is key to the curse.   Cinderella’s story has been explored in an episode.  Episodes in 2012 promise Belle and the Beast and Aladdin focused stories.  Yes, this is a series that will make Disney fans very happy.

Not all of the foundational tales of this series comes from Disney.  There are non-Disneyfied fairy tales characters like Rumplestiltskin who have major roles.  And it is fun, like with Fables, to see them on our world also.    

Between Disney you find what you can to connect to your Disney experiences.  For the Between Family, Once Upon a Time is a tool that we have added to our arsenal.  Everyone in this family enjoys spending time together as we watch familiar stories emerge in new and interesting ways.  For me the Huntsman centered episode sealed the deal, we are hooked.  And I look forward to seeing if the curse will be lifted and if so how the story will be continued.     

     

Dreaming Disney – Fables

Despite the fact I really like childish things, I am an adult.  No really, don’t let the Mickey Mouse watch, the Toy Story t-shirt and the Disneyland hat fool you!  And I really do like gritty stories, where a character might actually die or make choices that do not match my own.  Some of my favorite worlds are grey, like the Christopher Nolan Batman universe.  And let’s be our typical honest and admit that Disney’s worlds are often black and white not Grey.  The good guy is good, the bad guy is bad, and everyone gets happily ever after as long as they do not fall off a cliff.  But sometimes I am not in the mood for that formula.

A little while ago two friends introduced me to a comic book called Fables.  I thought it would be lame.  These friends and I often do not have similar tastes, they are not Disney guys.  But what they sold me on was that one of the main characters was Snow White, a Snow White living in our world.  Gentlemen you have my attention, but I should warn you it won’t last for long!  Instead of being turned off I fell in love with a fantastically crafted story that is filled with familiar characters that I know and love. 

The basic story is that a group of fairy tale characters, or Fables, have fled their homelands in the face of an adversary who conquered their homes.  The Fables live in two places in our world.  First, the human looking Fables live in a small and secretive New York neighborhood.  The non-human looking Fables live at The Farm, a secluded and magically protected area used for hiding three little pigs, dragons and other Fables that cannot fit into our world.  The comic book follows the Fables as they struggle to overthrow the unknown adversary and regain access to their homelands. 

Any Disney fan is going to love this story because the characters are so familiar, but with a twist.  As we enter the story, Snow White is the deputy mayor of Fabletown and is the power behind the throne of Mayor King Cole.  She is a major character in this world as we follow her romance with the Big Bad Wolf, she is divorced from Prince Charming who has also been wed to Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.  Yes, divorced from Prince Charming something we would never find in a Disney tale.  Charming himself is a con man and rascal who treats women badly but shows his heroic stripes during the war for the homelands.  Cinderella and Mowgli serve as spies for Sheriff Bigby Wolf, serving as his eyes around the globe to ensure good Fable behavior.  We find Pinocchio as a frustrated boy locked in eternal youth with adult sized desires.  And both Belle and the Beast rise in importance to key roles within the Fable government.

I really do love this title, and it’s because I am a Disney fanboy.  First, I get to see beloved characters in a different light.  I have to admit I love the concept of Cinderella as a super spy as highlighted in Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love.  Second, I get to learn more about these characters.  I had no idea that in traditional tales Snow White had a sister named Rose Red.  Anytime a character is introduced for the first time I generally scurry off to Google so I can learn the references that author Bill Willingham is using.  Finally, its characters I am familiar with but in adult story lines.  War is a major theme, and the harshness of war is evident throughout the series.  Characters do die, and when they do it is often forever.  Ever after in Fables is not always happy.  And some of the characters such as Jack Horner, highlighted in his own Jack of Fables title, are crass and often unlikeable. 

Even if you are not a comic book fan, I recommend checking out Fables.  Much like Once Upon a Time it offers a new take on our beloved characters.  And the writing for this series if fantastic, and that’s coming from a doubter.  Trust me, once you are introduced to the Big Bad Wolf you’ll have a hard time putting this title down.