Mousey Movies - The Rocketeer

I saw The Rocketeer when it originally was released in the theater and years before I became Between Disney.  I have remembered this superhero movie, starring Billy Campbell about a pilot who uncovers an experimental jet pack in 1938 which leads to a conflict with Nazis and mobsters, as a typical superhero action movie.  And it was something that I never watched again since 1991.  I did not hate it, I did not love it.  Today The Rocketeer is considered by many as a cult classic.  A recent viewing of this film has confirmed my personal opinion that it is a fun movie but not ground breaking.  What I did not remember was how Mousey of a movie that it is:

·        Joe Johnston:  The Rocketeer was Johnston’s second directorial assignment, with his debut being a Mousey Movie in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, which has left its own mark on Disney parks.  Johnston originally started in movies as a designer for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and art director for Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, films which provide the story background for Star Tours: The Adventure Continues.  In 2011, Johnston returned to the House of Mouse directing blockbuster Captain America: The First Avenger.      

·        Terry O’Quinn:  O’Quinn plays Howard Hughes, the real life billionaire and aviator.  In The Rocketeer, Hughes is the inventor of the X-3 jet pack in the film.  Both the actor and the role are Mousey.  O’Quinn would later go onto star in ABC’s Lost as John Locke beginning in 2004.  But Hughes also has a hidden Disney history.  He designed the Hughes H-4 Hercules or the “Spruce Goose”, a plane made out of wood.  As noted in Jack Lindquist’s In Service to the Mouse, Disney purchased the Spruce Goose in 1988 as an attraction for a proposed Port Disney park in Long Beach.  When plans for this new park were halted, Disney liquidated its ownership of the aircraft.     

·        Timothy Dalton:  Dalton plays actor Neville Sinclair, a man with a secret interest in the jet pack and an eye for Cliff Secord’s (Campbell) lady.  When I saw this the first time, the Dalton casting had my attention with my third favorite James Bond at that time (Connery, Moore, Dalton and then Lazenby) as a bad guy.  In 2010, Dalton would yet again portray an actor for Disney as Mr. Pricklepants in Toy Story 3.  Personally though Sinclair did his own stunts, Mr. Prickelpants appears to be both a better student and artist. 

·         Millie:  To many actress Margo Martindale may be best known as the family friend of serial killer Dexter Morgan.  But to me she will forever be Grandma Ruby in Hannah Montana: The Movie!  In The Rocketeer, she plays Millie who runs the Bull Dog Café frequented by the Secord and his fellow airfield co-workers. 

·         Disney’s Hollywood Studios:  There are several references to The Rocketeer in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  The most prominent is Peevy’s Polar Pipeline named after Secord’s friend and mechanic A. “Peevy” Peabody played by Alan Arkin.  Decorations for this snack stand include a replica Rocketeer jet pack. 

I love superheros and superhero movies.  And The Rocketeer is worth the watch, especially if you are a Disney fan as this film is rich with Mouseyness and could help deepen a visit to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.      

Walt's Windows - Ward and Groucho

The Internet is not all jumping cats!  Sometimes you can find some awesome stuff out there on the web, finds that help you connect to your Disney experience.

Ward Kimball was one of Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men, animator, director, artist, and Imagineer.  Kimball loved trains, a hobby that he shared with his employer.

Ward Kimball

On March 18, 1954, over a year before Disneyland would open, Kimball appeared on Groucho Marx’s trivia game show “You Bet Your Life.”  One can find Kimball’s complete appearance on YouTube, so much better than a tap dancing feline. 

The video gives us a fantastic look into one of the men who helped Walt Disney’s dreams become reality.

This video made me laugh, as it clearly shows that Kimball was a funny man.  As Kimball discusses his trains his love for them is clear and I doubt Marx met many men with three full trains in his backyard.  In 2005 Kimball’s love of trains was honored when Disneyland Engine #5 was named Ward Kimball.

My favorite moment of course is when he was asked a trivia question about a Walt Disney production.  The designer of Jiminy Cricket’s heart must have jumped when he heard his creation’s name.  Another favorite is his response on why he moved away from Minnesota, those living Between Disney completely agree!

Mousey Movies Preview - John Carter

I have been really critical of Disney and science fiction offerings in the past.  So I have been watching reports and rumors for John Carter with both hope and fear.  I have said several times that Andrew Stanton’s involvement convinced me that the film would be solid.  And I read the original John Carter book Princess of Mars and loved it.  I could see how it would be the great foundation of a movie.  But reports that are predicting that John Carter will be a flop have worried me.  And I have had my own fears because the initial trailers did not do justice to the movie I hoped for.  I was finally able to form my own opinion of John Carter at the D23 nationwide previews held before the movie release.

The bare basics of the story are that John Carter is a Civil War veteran and cavalry officer attempting to find his fortune and maybe himself in the western frontier.  In the search for his cave of gold he is transported to Mars, or Barsoom.  On Barsoom he finds himself meeting new peoples and cultures such as the Tharks, a green Martian race, and getting caught up in a struggle for control of Barsoom.  Once it is discovered that Carter has super strength and jumping ability due to his Earthly birth, he is urged to enter this struggle by Princess Dejah Thoris, who of course serves as a love interest.  Here are my initial thoughts on John Carter:

·        Beauty:  This film is wonderfully framed with vast and intriguing landscapes.  Mars may not be red, but it is a desert world with sweeping views and interesting geological features.  Let’s be honest this is kind of a weird place to start, but those of us raised on Star Wars learned to look to the background because it sets the mood of the movie.  I honestly believed that the story was occurring in an interesting and alien world, not on a Utah set.  Because of these great shots I would skip the 3D personally. I find 3D to be distracting at time, maybe the technology is just not there yet.  And it gave depth to the scenery, but I also felt like the glasses, weird flickers, and the dimness that comes with the glasses at times kept me from fully entering the frame.        

·        Story Changes:  The source material Edgar Rice Borroughs' Princess of Mars is a century old and never envisioned as a movie.  And having read the book and seeing the trailer I could not always determine how they paralleled.  For example I knew that the Therns a villain group from the second John Carter book The Gods of Mars were added to the movie.  So I was a little confused if the movie adapted one or two books.  First, I now understand why the Therns were added, as the seemed to lack connective material and seemed like thinly connected adventures to me.  The Therns now provide the story a consistent villain.  Second, I still found the movie to honor the original Princess of Mars very well.  Scenes are repurposed.  So Dejah, John and the Thark Sola still take a river voyage but now it is for a different purpose.  And key elements are retained though abbreviated for the delivery of a movie.  So the movie still explains the relationship between Sola and Thark Jeddak, chief, Tars Tarkas, but it is explained in seconds not a chapter. 

·        Tars Tarkas:  If John Carter had one character that I would have critical expectations of it is Thark Jeddak Tars Tarkas.  Tars Tarkas needed to be big, green, fierce, compassionate, loyal and loving all at the same time.  Visually, I was impressed with the green Martian.  Story wise, Tars Tarkas delivered for me. And actor William Defoe delivers in voicing the Jeddak, giving him wisdom, maybe Martian Yoda, mixed with experience.  If I was going to be lost with a character it was Tarkas and I was pleased.  

Tars Tarkas Meets John Carter

·        Is Something Weird Here:  Many of the scenes in this movie include live action and computer generated animated characters in the same frame.  Most of the time this works very successfully.  There is only one scene I can remember where I felt like I could tell that there was a mix of real and animated actors.  But for me most scenes are like the scenes with John, Dejah and Sola canoeing down the river, nothing strange here.  Humans interact with green Martians all the time!  It all seems to blend. 

·        Woola: Woola is a hairless Martian dog, one who loves John Carter.  Now in line I had a conversation with another dad a few years older than me.  The discussion started with Star Wars, led to Jar Jar Binks and climaxed with his hatred of Ewoks.  Now I live on the other side of the Ewok Line as described on How I Met Your Mother.  I’m very okay with Ewoks.  The key is the Ewoks were written to satisfy my young self, where older viewers just found them campy.  Woola is the Ewoks of John Carter.  Older viewers are going to question Woola’s extraordinary abilities, but the Between Kid with me loved it.  Woola is going to make the kids happy.  Now if the movie wasn’t rated PG-13!



The Ewok Line

·        Of Mars?:  When I originally read Princess of Mars, John Carter did not always resonate with me.  Sometimes he seemed unfamiliar.  He was a veteran of the civil war, he had extraordinary abilities on Mars, and sometimes he did not seem nice.  He did not connect with me in the same way as a character like farm boy Luke Skywalker.  Originally the title of this film was John Carter of Mars.  There has been a lot of debate about why they shortened the title artistically and marketing wise.  Now I understand more, John Carter really is John Carter of Earth for most of this film.  They have added to the story to ground him on earth, give him a back story that I can better relate to and in many ways I am more sympathetic to the character in the movie than in the book.  In short, John Carter the man is better fleshed out in the movie and I understand him better now thanks to a few screenwriting additions.

·        Sequel: I want a sequel.  I have seen interviews with Stanton where he points out the movie can stand alone, though he would like a trilogy to be completed.  Yes John Carter could stand alone.  But they have left it open for a second offering.  And knowing the content of the Gods of Mars which they would work from for a sequel they have done an excellent job preparing us for a follow-up.  I’m crossing my fingers this is not a Disney financial write off and hoping for a box office that forces Disney to make a sequel.     

I have not been a fan of Disney sci-fi.  Everyone debates how to fix Tomorrowland.  Tron is a cult classic.  And that is not even addressing animated films like Mars Needs Moms and the critical reaction.  But I won’t complain about John Carter.  Instead I am excited for more adventures on Barsoom.  And I hope enough of us vote by visiting the theater to give Stanton the green light to jump into the next production.      

Dreaming Disney - D23 John Carter Preview

During my first two years of being a D23 member I was not able to participate in many of the events that D23 sponsored.  In my third year of membership I have been able to attend two!  Recently, I was able to attend the D23 John Carter nationwide previews.  I was pretty excited about the opportunity to both participate in a D23 event without needing an airline ticket and of course being able to see John Carter for free before it was released. 

I found the event relatively easy to register for.  I had pulled up the designated page about five minutes before registration opened.  I made sure to refresh often.  At the announced time the page was updated with a code, a code which I then used on a third party site, www.seeitfirst.net.  I did have to register and setup an account on the website after I provided the screening code D23 provided.  I was very quickly sent an email with my ticket enclosed and directions for the night of the screening.

On the screening night I arrived about an hour and ten minutes early and found that the line had already started.  The oldest Between Kid and I found ourselves about 40 to 50 behind the front of the line.  About 20 minutes later they announced that no cell phones would be allowed and that we could check them or take them to our car.  I have to admit, even at the D23 Expo I never had to check my phone though I knew it had occurred for some of the sessions.  They gave us the chance to take our phones and lock them in our cars if we wanted and fans watched each other’s place in line as shifts of fans went out to their cars.  I did see that checked phones were held in numbered paper bags, for which I assume audience members were given matching tickets. 

As I talked to others in the line it became clear that not everyone there were D23 members.  Many, no most, had glossy ticket looking pamphlets with the Disney logo on them.  I never found out the source of these tickets, I guess I got distracted.  I had a printout!  So I asked the gentlemen standing beside him if he was there with D23.  No, he told me he was there with an invite from Disney Visa.  Later, a staff member went through the line asking for D23 and Visa members.  We were then pulled out of line and taken to the front!  So we jumped from around 50^th to 5^th.  The Between Kid was very impressed by this and kept making comments that we were VIPs.  So despite the fact that a third party not Disney was clearly running the event, our D23 membership made us still feel special.  This new line placement meant we saw John Carter from the middle of row, that wasn’t too high, wasn’t too low and was just right! 

Another advantage of being placed with D23 and Visa members were everyone standing around me were Disney fans.  We spent the time awaiting the movie sharing stories of parks, rides and other favorite movies.  And of course our kids kept coming up in conversation. 

In the end, this event did not have the bells and whistles that you often hear D23 events described with on podcasts.  But it was free.  And my membership did give me something I really wanted to do, was probably going to do anyway.  Did I mention it was free?  And we did hear staff explain to the others in line that Disney was doing something special for us, though I am not sure they knew what D23 was. I really appreciate that Disney was attempting to reach out to us D23 members Between Disney even in a small way.    

Walt's Window's Special - Stanton on Story

Andrew Stanton Presents at TED

How does one create story?  Director and screenwriter Andrew Stanton of Pixar fame and the soon to be released John Carter recently discussed this issue at TED.  TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) offers global conferences for thought leaders where "ideas worth sharing" are discussed. 

Warning, there is a usage of profanity in the video. 

 

I found this to provide great insight into how stories are created.  And I also enjoyed the window Stanton provides into the early days of Pixar.  This is the first time I have heard a Pixar leader discuss their rules including no songs, and how they were pressured to break those rules, or maybe guidelines. 

Dreaming Disney - The Josh and Croz Show

They like superheroes, I like superheroes!

They like Batman, I like Batman!

They like Taco Bell, I love Taco Bell!

They like Star Wars, I like Star Wars!

They buy comic books, I borrow some from the library!

They get paid by Disney, I like Disney! 

So, let’s make it clear.  This really is not a Disney podcast The Josh and Croz Show is a pop culture podcast.  Now, Disney does come up as the company creates pop culture consumables.  And the hosts get their regular paychecks from the Mouse.  But just because they work at Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) does not mean you are going to hear the inside track on future projects.  In fact, you probably won’t.  It’s not like I send them the secrets of my job!  Okay, their jobs are probably a lot more interesting than mine!  Though they have discussed how they got hired by WDI. 

I said the show is about pop culture.  Well, mostly.  Sometimes it is honestly not clear what the show is about.  Once they shared an episode that was an hour of giggling early in the morning after working all night on a project, a project they were not at liberty to discuss.  And, as awkward as it sounds it was comedy gold!  In fact one of my least favorite episodes was when tried to be really really focused on an aspect of the Disney community.  I could have gotten the same content from WDW Today, WEDWay Radio, or other podcasts.  The show succeeds when they do what they do best, let us eavesdrop on conversations with each other and friends with no boundaries.  So if a Disney movie or trip to Disneyland comes up, let it.  But if Disney never comes up, the show is just as good.    

So why do I listen to Josh and Croz?  First, because it’s fascinating to hear creative people talk about pop culture.  And there is a mix of Disney items in there to keep me going.  Second, they are my barometer of what geeks, like me, should be looking forward to.  Third, I don’t read a lot of current comic books, so they help me keep track of the state of printed heroes.  Fourth, I love hearing their opinions of movies.  Finally, these guys are just funny.  These guys can take a Fast Food Adventure, a story typically involving national chain fast food joint and the funny stuff they saw, and make you roll over in laughter. 

This is the one Disney related podcast I listen to that I have been able to get friends to listen to because of their pop culture discussions. 

I don’t listen because of how regular the show drops.  There are long gaps between shows and I just let iTunes manage the download for me.  And I don’t listen because they are highly prepared with a clear show plan.  Because that clearly does not usually exist! 

So like Moustaliga, its personalities that keep me coming back. 

When I met one of my best friends for the first time we only talked about Lost, maybe I should watch it someday, and superheroes.  Sadly, we should have probably started talking about Star Wars so I could understand how lost he was.  It was a conversation that Josh and Croz could have easily have joined in.  Thanks for letting us Between Disney laugh with you! 

Avengers Assemble!

Mousey Movies - Atlantis: The Lost Empire

I have been working on cleaning up some of my Disney film history gaps.  For some reason 2000 and 2001 must have been a busy time for me because it seems I was not going to Disney movies during those years including 2001’s Atlantis: The Lost Empire starring Michael J. Fox as Milo Thatch.  Thatch leads an expedition in 1914 to uncover the lost city of Atlantis.  As we would hope from a typical Disney movie, he finds the city and perhaps the heart of Princess Kida.  Now with Fox and Leonard Nimoy providing voices I was very willing to say that it was a nerdy movie or a geeky movie but I really fought calling this a Mousey Movie.  In the end, I lost:

·     Jim Varney: Varney voices “Cookie” the expedition’s chef.  Cookie in good western tradition swears to beans but not vegetables.  Varney earned his Disney star voicing Slinky Dog in Toy Story and Toy Story 2, a character you cannot help but love.  Varney passed away before the movie was completed and he never saw Atlantis: The Lost Empire, which is dedicated to him.        

·     Don Hahn: Don Hahn alert, Don Hahn alert.  Hahn, the producer for Beauty and the Beast, was very busy producing Disney films during this timeframe including Atlantis: The Lost Empire and The Emperor’s New Groove.           

·     Joss Whedon:  I about fell out of my chair when I saw Whedon’s writing credit for this film.  Whedon got first crack at the script, but left to work on the story for Toy Story.  Whedon known for television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly returns to the House of Mouse this summer as screenwriter and director of The Avengers. 

·     David Ogden Stiers: Stiers’ voice can be briefly heard as Fenton Q. Harcourt, Thatch’s employer at the Smithsonian Institution.  Harcourt is not amused with Thatch’s dream of finding the lost city!  Stiers has numerous Disney credits to his name including Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast.  But he can also be found as Governor Ratcliffe (fitting name) in Pocahontas, and Dr. Jumba Jookiba in Lilo and Stitch.

·     Jules Verne Style Subs: The animators were charged in this movie to develop submarines, earth movers, hot air balloons, and gliders that would fit in 1914.  The submarine that carries Thatch’s expedition, the Ulysses, may not be the Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea but they could definitely be cousins.    

·     Greed is the Root of All Evil: Like two other Disney movies from this time frame, greed destroys the natural and more innocent ways of the world.  It feels as if Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Pochanotus, and Tarzan all came from the same playbook. 

·     Corey Burton: You probably won’t hear it in the voice, but Burton plays Mole.  Mole is the team’s mineralogist and loves dirt, really loves dirt.  I cannot hear anything in the voice that gives away the actor.  Burton is a voice acting legend with numerous credits ranging from imitating the late Paul Frees, the original Haunted Mansion ghost host, for Disney parks attractions to the current Captain Hook voice in shows like Jake and the Neverland Pirates.     

The Between Family enjoyed this feature much more than another from the early 2000s, The Emperor’s New Groove.  The movie offers action, cool looking sets, a Disney princess and a somewhat predictable story that fits within the expectations of a Disney film.  On a cold day in Betweenland, Atlantis: The Lost Empire is worth a watch.