Mousey Movie - The Nightmare Before Christmas

The Between Tween and I were in the van and were heading towards the closest D23 preview screening of Frankenweenie.  We had about an hour to cover the many miles between us and the theater.  Then we hit the traffic and had a heart to heart.  Did we really want to see Frankenweenie if it was going to be this much work?  The Between Tween said no, because the Tween did not want to see a movie about a “dead dog” and our recent viewing of The Nightmare Before Christmas had freaked the Tween out. 

In 1993 Tim Burton brought us the animated The Nightmare Before Christmas and we were excited.  Burton with Batman had received my personal thumbs up and I love holiday movies.  This film brought us two holidays in one film!  The story outlined the story of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, as he becomes bored with his holiday and discovers Christmas.  He attempts to take the role of Santa Claus, which creates a scary version of Christmas.  Truly one can say “Christmas is Ruined!” as Jack in his good natured attempts makes Christmas too much like Halloween.  The young Between Family, before kids, ran out on the first day it was available on VHS and bought it.  We put it in the VCR (yes kids VCR), hit play and found ourselves disappointed.  We spent the next 6 months trying to loan our copy out and never see it again.  It never worked, it kept coming back.  Really, the image that stuck in both of our heads was Santa Claus being tortured and we were done.  We just could not pass off this Mousey Movie:   

·         Master Burton:  Tim Burton has a very Mousey background.  He was educated at California Institute of Arts (CalArts), a school championed by Walt Disney.  Burton studied character animation and his CalArts classmates included John Lasseter, Brad Bird and John Musker.  I am pretty sure that my college classmates cannot compete in the box office blockbuster game.  Burton’s college short films helped him get the attention of Walt Disney Animation, who brought him on as an apprentice.  Burton worked as a storyboard and concept artist for The Fox and the Hound and The Black Cauldron.  But Burton’s personality was not a good fit for the somewhat stuffy animation studio and he was fired after completing a short film called “Frankenweenie.”  He was accused of misspending funds on a production that would not be family appropriate due to its dark nature.  Of course, as things tend to work out now, Disney is releasing the short that was used to explain Burton’s termination as a fully produced feature. 

Paul Reubens saw “Frankenweenie” which lead him to ask Burton to direct the theatrical debut of his iconic character Pee Wee Herman in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.  This debut lead to a number of big screen successes including Beetlejuice, Batman, and Edward Scissorhands.  The Nightmare Before Christmas was Burton’s return to Disney, now as a master director.  In 2010, Burton would have another Disney hit with his live action version of Alice in Wonderland.  For a man fired from Disney his contributions to the Disney film library have greatly increased the profits of his original employer.    

·         Dead Man’s Party:  Frequent Burton collaborator Danny Elfman provided the soundtrack for The Nightmare Before Christmas.  But he also shows his singing ability, before composing classic movie and television scores he was the lead man of the New Wave band Oingo Boingo offering songs like “Dead Man’s Party.”  With a background with songs about death, well he was a natural fit to not only score Skellington but provide him his singing voice.  He also voices the character Barrel.  Elfman has numerous Disney musical credits both with Burton and with other directors including one of my favorite films, Meet the Robinsons.      

·         First Timer:  Speaking of Barrel, he is part of a trio of troublemakers named Lock, Stock and Barrel.  Paul Reubens, who gave Burton that first big break, voices Lock.  Reubens’ credits in Disney related television and film projects is thin.  Only recently has he voiced the character Pavel on Disney XD’s Tron: Uprising.  But the educated Disney fan knows that Reubens voiced Captain Rex for over 20 years on Star Tours in both the Disneyland Park and Disney Hollywood Studios.  Every flight was Rex’s first until the 2011 ride upgrade Star Tours The Adventures Continue.  Of course, Disney loves tributes and those looking for Captain Rex may find him hiding in the current queue.     

·         Scary Sights:  If there is any scary attraction that Disney fans love it has to be The Haunted Mansion.  As much as I do not enjoy this movie, I do have to admit that the visual gags would have made Marc Davis proud.  These include sconces that look like snakes, faces hidden in cellos, shrunken heads a Christmas gifts, and eyes humorously removed from heads.  Yes, the witches and goblins may not fit into the graveyard, but the ghosts and mummies of this film would find a happy home with Grim Grinning Ghosts. 

 

·         Cup of Joe:  The late Joe Ranft served as The Nightmare Before Christmas’ Storyboard Supervisor.  Most viewers of Ranft’s movies are probably not aware of his work.  In the last few years Ranft’s career has been highlighted in Two Guys Named Joe: Master Animation Storytellers Joe Grant and Joe Ranft.  Additionally he was honored in the documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty which chronicles the resurgence of Disney animation in the 1980s.  Ranft was an artist with deep Disney roots, having been mentored by Eric Larson, one of Walt’s Nine Old Men.  Disney films that Ranft contributed to the story of in various roles include Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Oliver & Company, The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Lion King.  Ranft would join his friend John Lasseter at Pixar as a key story man who added his voice including Heimlich in A Bug’s Life, Wheezy in Toy Story 2, and Red in Cars.  In 2005, Ranft was killed in a car accident in which he was a passenger. 

·         Merchandise Madness:  A lot of our visits to the park have been late August.  Which is of course the time that Jack Skellington takes over every in park merchandise outlet.  You just got off Haunted Mansion, would you like some Jack merchandise?  You are wandering The Emporium, how about a Jack tee?  You have arrived at our Star Tours destination, Jack hat?  Wait that does not seem right?  Exiting it’s a small world, Jack plush anyone?  Okay maybe this has gotten too far!   Since this merchandise is all over the Disney parks the Between Tween began asking questions about who is this Jack guy was.  Do not worry Betweenlanders, just visit your nearest Disney Store for all your Nightmare merchandise beginning every June!  I guess I can complain, but we seem to be buying this merchandise otherwise it would not be rolled out every year.          

The Between Tween began to ask questions, uncomfortable questions about that skeleton guy that Disney puts everywhere.  So we sat the Tween down, gave the talk and turned on a borrowed copy of the movie.  The Tween shared the same opinion as the Between Parents, and the Between Family will not be watching this Mousey Movie again for a good long time despite its Mouseyness.  We just have to prepare ourselves for when the Between Kid is ready for the talk. 

Mousey Movie Preview - The Lone Ranger Teaser Trailer

For a good chunk of my childhood there were 4 television stations in my house; ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS all coming literary over the airways.  Without cable TV, which I thought one had to be rich to have, viewing options were limited on weekend days where weather might keep a kid inside.  With my limited options, I did watch a lot of black and white westerns (often on a black and white TV).  This made me very familiar with the Lone Ranger, played by Clayton Moore, and his companion Tonto, portrayed by Jay Silverheels.  I was one of the few who were excited in 1981 for The Legend of the Lone Ranger because I was finally going to see these characters in color!  I can remember watching The Legend of the Long Ranger at least three times as a kid, which was remarkable since we did not have cable in the house or this newfangled device called a VCR.

So when I heard Disney was going to take a crack at bringing the Lone Ranger to the big screen I had mixed thoughts.  On the positive side, it was bringing back feelings of nostalgia for me.  On the other hand I was a superhero and not a western guy.  Honestly, I cannot remember the last western I have paid money to see the theater.  I think I may have been a teenager.   

Disney has launched a teaser trailer to begin the excitement for the 2013 release of The Lone Ranger.

What did you think?

At the moment I am still mixed.  There was a time when pirate movies did not get me interested, and this team changed my mind.  I do feel like this is the sort of movie that Walt Disney would have enjoyed solely because how much a train is highlighted.  It has a feel of The Great Locomotive Chase because of the train’s prominence.  If anything the train is the star of the trailer.  I will admit when I saw a shot of Helena Bonham Carter I asked myself if Tim Burton produced this movie!

At the moment I am optimistic but not fully on board the train!        

Between Books - Walt Disney's Epcot Center

Richard R. Beard in Walt Disney’s Epcot Center: Creating the New World of Tomorrow provides an overview of a new Disney theme park that most of his original readers would not be familiar with in Epcot Center at the Walt Disney World Resort.  Written in 1982, the same year Epcot opened, Beard presents his readers with what can be found at Disney’s newest park including future developments.  He walks his readers through Future World and World Showcase including giving in-depth descriptions of rides like Horizons.  Along with Beard’s descriptions every page is illustrated with pictures and concept art showing off the recent addition to Walt Disney World.

I really enjoyed this book.  It is fairly typical guidebook/souvenir text.  But for someone who never rode Horizons it is a treat to read through an early ride through of the attraction.  I also always enjoy Imagineering concept art and knowing I can reach for it on my bookshelf anytime.  Additionally, Beard gives a glimpse of what is to come at Epcot Center, including those attractions and pavilions that were never to be.  Beard provides an detailed overview of the Africa pavilion, a pavilion that would never come to be due to economic and political reasons.  Beard’s text makes it clear that plans for this pavilion were very far down the development pipeline with the author Alex Haley of Roots assisting Imagineering.  Another attraction described but never to be was the Meet the World show for the Japan pavilion, never developed in the United States out of fear of upsetting U.S. World War II veterans though it was opened in Tokyo Disneyland.

Richly illustrated Richard R. Beard’s Walt Disney’s Epcot Center: Creating the New World of Tomorrow is a treat for Disney park fans.  The use of period photographs and concept art is a highlight.  The photographs really show the attention to detail Imagineering gives, with one photograph of a pig being painted for The World of Motion including spots that would not be seen by guests.  The text is easy to read and its under 130 pages are filled with illustrations making it a super quick read.

A co-worker and casual Disney fan saw me reading Walt Disney’s Epcot Center and a quick skim led him to say he needed to purchase a copy because it reminded him of childhood memories with his family and a beloved extinct attraction in Horizons.  The reaction served as proof to me that this book is one that will bring smiles to both serious and casual Disney fans.                  

Mousey Movies - The Sorcerer's Apprentice

A budget of $150,000,000 combined with a box office of $215,283,742 will get you a label of box office flop!  No, I’m not talking about John Carter.  That sad marketing tale has a budget of $250,000.000 for a box office of $282.778.100.  So clearly the first film should have been a hit as it outperformed my favorite flop.  Yet, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was labeled one of the biggest flops of 2010.  Admittedly it does appear that Disney live action films have been lacking on return of investment when you begin to break down the numbers and do not see double or triple returns.  And one begins to wonder how Oz: The Great and Powerful and The Lone Ranger will shake out financially. 

Nicolas Cage plays Balthazar Blake, a wizard apprentice to Merlin.  He faces off against fellow apprentice Maxim Horvath over hundreds of years in a struggle of good and evil.  If Horvath wins the evil of Morgana le Fay will spread across the earth destroying life as we know it as she resurrects every dead evil wizard that had ever lived.  The only power that can stop the forces of evil is the next Grand Merlinean.  The unlikely candidate for Merlin’s power is physics student Dave, an very unlikely hero.  The likable Dave, played by Jay Buruchel, attempts to date a past school mate Becky, played by Teresa Palmer who also appears in Disney’s Bedtime Stories, as he balance college and magical studies.  But this is just a side note in a movie built to be a Mousey Movie:    

·        To Infinity and Beyond:  When we meet Dave for the first time we initially see what must be a favorite toy, his Buzz Lightyear.

·         Mr. Narrator Man:  There is a lot of back story to fill in.  So of course they use a narrator to catch the audience up on hundreds of years of mostly off screen action.  That voice sounds so familiar, and it should to Disney fans as its Blackbeard himself, Ian McShane.  Disney fans can visit this dread pirate within the current version of Pirates of the Caribbean in Anaheim and Orlando and revisit his tale in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

·         Multi Bear: Alfred Molina, I must give you mad respect.  I have been aware of Molina, especially as a villain in his long career.  His portrayal of Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2 was disturbing to me.  I still will not let me kids watch that installment of the webslinger because I am convinced the scene where Doc Ock awakens in the hospital will give them nightmares.  It kind of gives me nightmares and action movies do not generally impact me that way.  But I failed to understand was how long and rich his film career has been including Raiders of the Lost Ark and playing the husband in Not Without My Daughter, just two iconic movies on his resume.  Disney fans may recognize Molina as villain/con man/reputable businessman Sheik Amar in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.  But honestly what really got me nerded out was that recently he voiced the Multi Bear in Gravity Falls.  Seriously if you have not caught Gravity Falls yet, do yourself and favor and enjoy the awesomeness.  In Molina’s episode the main character Dipper can become a man the typical way, by killing the arch enemy of the Minotaurs (yeah Minotaurs) the likeable Multi Bear.    

 

·         National Treasure:  So let me throw another set of numbers at you.  With a budget of $100,000,000 and a box office of $347,512,318 you have a hit!  And you get to make more movies!  And when your sequel has a reasonable raise in its budget to $130,000,000 and you make 457,364.600 you get to make another movie.  In this case the other movie was The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.  The first two films were National Treasure and National Treasure: Book of Secrets.  These films brought huge windfalls for Disney with a team of producer Jerry Bruckheimer (of Pirates fame), director Jon Turtletaub, and lead actor Nicolas Cage.  Clearly with the gang back together this team had a long leash and a bigger budget for their record of success.  I honestly enjoyed The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, but maybe the number crunchers would have preferred National Treasure 3.

·         Mops:  Any Disney fan who hears Sorcerer’s Apprentice instantly thinks Fantasia and the original “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” sequence featuring Mickey Mouse and the Wizard Yensid.  The imagery that sticks with most of us is the uncontrollable mops cleaning as Apprentice Mickey attempts to use magic to cut corners with a nearly tragic result.  Fortunately for Disney fans, Dave attempts the same shortcut with similar results.  

·         Master Magician: After the credits there is a brief scene in which someone picks up Horvath’s hat.  Another distinctive hat is also visible, a tall blue wizard hat covered with stars that resembles the one worn by Mickey Mouse in the “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” and the main icon and wienie of Disney Hollywood Studios. 

Maybe I have a thing for box office flops?  I honestly really enjoyed The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and I think I can pin it on two reasons.  First, stuff blows up.  I like stuff blowing up in escapist adventures and Cage in my book has done a nice job giving us enjoyable movies where explosions happen at just the right time.  Second, this movie was filled with references like the mop sequence to please the Disney fan.  If you asked if I recommended this film, I would admit it has gotten a rewatch with me.  So, give it a try it may make you feel magical.      

Between Books - Walt's Revolution!: By the Numbers

“Never tell me the odds!”  - Han Solo

I would like to add the median, mode and range.  Numbers typically do not translate to story for me.  And I prefer to go on feelings in many of my decisions.  So in fantasy baseball I am more than willing to ignore a numerical trend if I have a feeling or belief that the player has tools that are not being demonstrated but will in the future.  In short, I am allergic to numbers. 

At the same time when I discovered that the late Harrison “Buzz” Price had written a memoir about his experiences with Disney and other entertainment companies, I began to covet it.  I needed it, wanted it, and had to have it.  So as soon as it arrived in the mail, I tore it open and began what turned out to be a slow stroll through Price’s life work.  He told me about the odds, and how he determined them; which made me slow down my typical reading pace.

Harrison “Buzz” Price recounts his life and vocational career in Walt’s Revolution: by the Numbers.  Price theorizes that Walt Disney began a revolution in the entertainment industry and the perception of what amusement attractions were with his Disneyland Park in 1955.  He discusses the initial impact of Disney’s original park and attempts to copy Disney’s success in world’s fairs, regional theme and amusement parks, museums, indoor attractions and within the gambling industry.  To start his story of Disney’s impact, Price states with his own story from his education to first working with Walt Disney when the firm he was working for, Stanford Research Institute, was asked by Disney to determine the best location for his new theme park.  Price led this effort and made the recommendation of the Anaheim location where it was built.  Disney called on Price again while leading his own company Economics Research Associates to research sites for an East Coast site which would eventually become the Walt Disney World Resort.  Truly it is Price that helped establish the location of the beloved theme parks today.  Along with his work with Disney, Price also discusses his decades of research within the entertainment industry which saw him partnering with almost every major amusement and theme park company as Price and his associates were considered the foremost consulting firm for completing economic and impact studies.  Along with the story of the studies he completed he also discusses the formulas and statistical tools he used to complete his typically highly accurate predictions.

I have a history background, not a statistical background.  And Walt’s Revolution is full of numbers!  Still I was able to find sections that delighted me.  I really enjoyed his discussion of working with Walt Disney.  His firsthand accounts give you a glimpse into the working relationship of a key consultant with Walt Disney.  As Price recounts stories of becoming the impromptu bartender in the Disney plane on a cross country trip, one feels as if you are a fly on the wall in the talks that made Walt Disney World happen.  And he does an excellent job of explaining how to work with Walt Disney; a philosophy of responding “Yes, if” and not “No, because” when needing to respond negatively.  In fact at my workplace many of us have discussed the “Yes, if” philosophy and are attempting to incorporate it into our vocational lives.

But for me and I believe many readers this book will also be a slow walk through Price’s life.  He discusses in depth a number of statistics, economic principles, and mathematical tools.  Economists and statisticians may find this discussion second nature, but others (like me) likely will read it as a foreign language.  Price is a man who literary developed his own statistical formulas, which he explains in depth in providing background.  But for someone who thinks words and not numbers these can be hard to push through.  Additionally at times the narrative becomes a list, projects that Price supervised with some background on them.  And for me lists can become uninteresting to read as they tend to come off the page with little life.

Harrison “Buzz” Price’s Walt’s Revolution: By the Numbers is a mixed bag for me.  I loved the firsthand accounts of a Disney legend, especially his stories of working with Walt and Roy O. Disney.  On the other hand the use of lists and numbers made the read difficult for me.  In short, he told me the odds!  This book will fit best in the Between Books library of completists, researchers and statisticians.  But the casual reader should likely consider borrowing a copy first if they want to dive into this book, especially if the price tag is above $25.   

Mousey Movies - Newsies

Everywhere I look as a Disney fan I see Newsies!  D23 wants me to know about Newsies, the Tonys are raving about Newsies, and clearly some of the bigger Disney watchdogs on Twitter love Newsies.  Now part of this is the success of the recent Broadway musical production of this story.  And this revival is leading to new or refreshed interest in Newsies.  And since I had never seen it, some of you gasped I’m sure, I manned up and took on this two hour musical adventure.  There is something about that sentence that does not seem right!

Set during the Newsboys Strike of 1899, Christian Bale plays Jack Kelly, a newsboy leader who organizes New York’s newspaper sales force into a unionized group in a struggle against newspaper tycoons led by Joseph Pulitzer played by Robert Duvall.  Now I have to admit, I am a huge fan of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight so I was prepared to enjoy Bale’s performance.  But allow me to digress.  I really enjoyed Pierce Bronson as James Bond in films such as Goldeneye.  He really became one of my favorite Bonds with a prefect look and disposition.  I mean I even was willing to overlook the stealth car that he was saddled with in Die Another Day.  But then the Between Wife had me watch Mamma Mia! and James Bond sang!  It was not great (let’s not go all negative here) and I was sad.  I really wish that Bronson had learned from Bale in Newsies.   Because Bale’s singing and dancing is not great.  I have heard several times that Bale does not like to discuss Newsies, and if I had to guess it’s because for an actor who prides himself on his high level performances this effort probably did not meet the standards his holds himself to, especially since many of the boys on screen around him truly were skilled singers and dancers.

So how did it fair overall in the Between House?  Well, the female members of the family are very familiar with and enjoy Annie, and so I attempted to sell Newsies as boy Annie.  I mean both have a Roosevelt in them how could I be wrong.  In their opinion I was wrong!  The Between Wife reached for her book and the oldest Between Kid watched but stated, “This is sad!”  Me, well I am no musical theater expert.  For me Beauty and the Beast is what musical theater should be (and I mean the animated version) and I did not believe that it reached that level. And it’s no cult favorite for me (I will duck your tomatoes)!  Hey, I thought it was better than Cats, but I really don’t get Cats!  I just see singing cats, I at least see and understand the plot of Newsies.   

As I have said in the past, not every movie is a Mousey Movie, I really wanted to make Batman Begins Mousey but I just couldn’t stretch it past Bale.  And I won’t write up every movie because I don’t want to be overly negative.  I for example do not enjoy singing Gnomes.  But I have to admit that though it is not a re-watch favorite for me, Newsies is Mousey:

·         Go Wildcats!:  I’m going to say it.  Kenny Ortega is a future Disney Legend.  He has earned that honor and I refuse to deny it.  Ortega directed and choreographed Newsies as his initial Disney offering.  After a later turn directing Hocus Pocus, he complexly revolutionized, in my opinion, the cable made for television movie with The Disney Channel’s High School Musical and High School Musical 2 (for heaven’s sake I watched the second live as it premiered with High School Musical plates and cups.  The older Between Kid loved the first two, but by the time Ortega added High School Musical 3: Senior Year interest in this franchise began to wane in the Between Home.  Ortega’s other Disney credits include The Cheetah Girls 2, Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both World Concert and concerts such as High School Musical: The Concert.  Ortega has to be applauded as he shared his love of musical theater and dance with kids since 1992 starting with Newsies.           

·         Part of Your World:  Ortega should be a legend but composer Alan Menken already is!  You cannot argue his honor as his collaboration with lyrist Howard Ashman ushered in a new golden age of Disney animation with The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.  The list of Menken’s Disney projects is incredible including Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Home on the Range, The Shaggy Dog, Enchanted and Tangled!  As much as the lyrics did not speak to the Between Family, I did catch myself and a Between Kid humming the tunes Menken wrote.    

·         911:  When I was little my dad liked to nap.  This was a dangerous choice, as I loved the show Emergency!  So to young Between Disney a sleeping adult equaled a perfect candidate for me to try out CPR as seen on tv.  Let’s be honest, we are lucky nobody got broken ribs!  Kevin Tighe played paramedic Roy DeSoto, one of my heroes who cruised around saving the innocent on a weekly basis, and teaching me how to save my sleeping father.  Tighe plays Newsies’ villain Warden Snyder.  Tighe has had a steady acting career including appearing in a TV-remake of Escape to Witch Mountain and appearing on ABC’s Lost as Anthony Cooper the father of John Locke.  For my personal safety, the Between Kids are not allowed to watch Emergency! at this time.      

·         Street Rats:  Kelly refers to the newsboys as street rats several times throughout the movie making any Disney fan scream Aladdin in their head!  Like in the animated classic, street rat is used to show the low societal view that the public had for the these young men hustling for a living on the sidewalks of New York. 

·         Paper, Paper: Walt Disney was born two years after the actual Newsboy Strike, so we cannot claim that he remembered this event especially as he lived in the Midwest.  Disney did not ever work as a newsboy, but newspapers did help support the Disney family.  As youngsters both Walt and Roy O. Disney served as news butchers, selling newspapers and other concessions on trains, much like newsboys.  And when the Disney family moved to Kansas City, Walt and Roy O. both delivered newspapers for their father Elias Disney.  The Disney boys could have related to Jack Kelly, supporting yourself with the local press.  Though they never unionized formally against their father.      

I have to admit it, Newsies is not for me, but it is Mousey.  For heaven’s sake I did not even address Ann Margret of The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and I love me some Tim Allen as mythical figures.  But as Mousey as it is, I probably will not be watching this again for quite some time.