Thinking about movies, part 1: Disney/Pixar's Monsters University

I've been mum for a bit, mainly because I wanted to give myself enough time to think about certain Disney films - ones that have been recently been released, some waiting to be released, and others that recently got canned. In this first installment, I take a look at Monsters University, which has seen some healthy Box Office numbers. That should definitely be the tipping point for a Monsters expansion in Hollywoodland at Disney California Adventure. I really hope that Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor doesn't make it's way to Disneyland's Tomorrowland, though...

There are spoilers in this article about the film. If you haven't watched it, then - well, you're missing out! And if you don't want anything spoiled, turn back now.

Before I get into this, I just wanted to say something about the Frozen trailer that was shown before the film. Yes, I was bummed that we didn't get to see Elsa or Anna (and it's admittedly frustrating that both France and Japan got more meaty trailers than we did), but perhaps Disney knows what it's doing here. They're trying to connect with an audience they fear of alienating - mainly little boys and adults that think they're too good for classic Disney stories with princesses I guess. The trailer got everyone of all ages laughing at all the appropriate moments, and we had a pretty packed theater. So perhaps marketing made the better choice here for the American audiences going to see Monsters University. On the opposite side of the spectrum, everyone was dead silent while the trailer for Planes played, and all other trailers were sparse in response to complete silence.

This...

...is more entertaining than this.

But anyhow, it's time to look at Monsters University. Critics seemed to tear this film a new one, so I was slightly anxious. But I liked the advertising, and Monsters Inc. is a fantastic film that still gets me to tear up, so there was no way I was going to miss it.

Perhaps it's because I'm a young adult, but I greatly enjoyed it. The film advertised a fun college flick with characters that we already love plus some new ones, and that's what we got - for the most part. I think I know why some people aren't as thrilled about this flick as I am. In the original film, the audience was mostly rooting for Sulley, who was completely gooey-eyed over this adorable little girl while Mike was constantly freaking out. In this film, however, the audience is rooting for Mike, a bright-eyed kid with big dreams and drive while Sulley is mostly behaving like a jerk. That last part probably left a sour taste in some critics' mouths.

However, this film takes place during the characters' college years. Meaning - immature kids coming into adulthood. How many stupid things did you do in college? How many kids like Sulley did you run into? I felt like it was an honest representation of reality. Yes, Sulley was being a spoiled brat that seemed to think way too highly of himself, but the truth is (and it is shown in the film) is that people that behave that way in reality feel very small on the inside. And I think that showing that Sulley used to be a very different guy makes it that much sweeter that little Boo got Sulley so wrapped around her little finger.

I read from one critic that this film had no heart - I completely disagree. Again, maybe it's my age talking, but Mike's entire journey in that film felt very much like the one I've been through. Having all the drive and passion from an early age but still having someone tell you that you'll never be good enough for that profession or that thing - I think many of us can relate to that. Mike has to come to terms with the fact that he will never achieve his dreams that have essentially driven his whole life - how many of us have been there? What dreams have we held onto that we've had to part with? How many do we still hold on to? This film wasn't so much about Mike and Sulley hating each other before they became best friends - it was more about Mike's personal inner journey, that painful moment in adulthood when you realize that it's just not going to happen for you, and it's time to get real. That was what drove the story and made things really interesting. We all knew that Mike wouldn't become a top scarer, but we weren't sure how he would come to that realization or how he would handle it. This isn't something you generally see in movies, and I applaud Pixar for being so bold and not per-say doing the typical "feel-good" thing. It was much more real.

This scene was absolutely beautiful, and for so many reasons.

While we had to experience that extreme emotional turmoil with Mike, and his dreams had to be altered, there was still a happy ending, and both characters admittedly needed each other to make one whole of a super-monster. I think the film has a very nice message at the end - that it truly doesn't matter what anyone else thinks your potential is. People may reject you and there will be times where you may feel like a failure, but working hard, staying passionate about what you do and being open to tweaking your future plans can still lead you to a very happy and fulfilling life. As part of a generation that is in the middle of The Great Recession (and I don't care who tells you otherwise, I'm a regular working-class girl with a college degree and I'm in the thick of reality) that kind of message is really important to hear right now.

Also, this little guy seems to be a popular search on Google, and the boyfriend sends him to me every now and again to cheer me up:

Baby Mike!!! This image with John Krasinski was the best way to start this film.

For my next installment, I'll be talking about The Lone Ranger, and then after that, a few more details about Frozen! Don't forget to subscribe so that you won't miss them!

A New Redhead for Us to Love - Merida!

This Friday, the general public officially gets to experience Merida’s world when they see Brave, the new film from Disney, and the Pixar division’s first princess film.

This is all pretty ironic, considering that in November of 2010, Disney’s Ed Catmull had stated that Disney was not planning on doing any more fairy tales for a while. Disney expected Tangled to not do so well at the box office…of course, they were proven wrong. So now we are getting Brave, and Disney has put the story of the Snow Queen back on the table.

Granted, Brave got the renamed title treatment that Tangled did. Originally, the film was called The Bear and the Bow…not necessarily princess-like, but the title was not as quirky or solid. Tangled was renamed because Disney feared that calling the film by its title character (who is, in fact, a girl and a princess) would have scared boys away. Who knows if it was the name change or the simple fact that Flynn was actually made into a solid character? In any case, the film did well and the boys at the office were reminded why Disney became a household name in the first place.

So the girls are back. And with every successive film starring a princess, Disney seems to get better and better with portraying a strong and independent female that little girls can idolize and women can relate with.

I have felt some trepidation regarding this film, I must admit. I love Pixar’s films; the stories are solid and heartwarming, harkens back to classic Disney films, and the animation impresses me with every viewing. However, this is the first time they will be featuring a female lead as the main protagonist, and the first time that they are dealing with a fairy tale. The original director for this film, Brenda Chapman, was to be Pixar’s first female director, but due to creative disagreements, was fired from the film. While it is not unusual for these things to happen while working on an animated film, it comes as a nasty sting here, especially towards women, who are still not getting an ample amount of creative expression in the entertainment industry. As a woman, it gets frustrating to hear about people fearing to alienate the male populous regarding entertainment when females have felt that alienation for most of history itself.

So I can’t help but wonder what specifically happened here. Was her presence actually hurting the film, or was it something that was just harder for the male-dominated studio to relate to and understand? Is it not crucial that a female perspective is expressed in Brave, considering that for the first time Disney is showing the complicated relationship between a daughter and a mother who is not a villain?

I can’t help but think of the film Incredibles. It is a fairly entertaining and solid film, but the one aspect of the movie that I have always felt wasn’t quite right was the mother/daughter relationship. This is not something that can be simply explained to men, and is not something that they can generally understand. And when working in a creative environment, it can be difficult for some men to relinquish some control and listen to a female perspective, even if it would make the final product stronger. The glass ceiling is still very present, and I’m hoping that in the case of Brave, it will not hurt the film.

I have mostly positive thoughts for this film, though. It is fun to see a princess that is not really interested in sitting pretty, but rather being active and adventurous, one who takes charge in controlling her own destiny. That is the stuff that solid films are made of. The fact that Merida is an archer is just, well – cool! I was happy to see at Disneyland when the merchandise for Brave had just been released that of all of their items, they were mostly sold out on the archery sets (and I’m not going to lie, I kinda want to get one for myself - FYI, the online Disney Store is already sold out of them!). And from what I have seen in the previews, the dynamics between Merida and Queen Elinor feel more natural and honest.

Some have complained that while Disney is trying to push the fact that Merida does not want to get married (and really, who could blame her from the selection she’s offered?), the film is still centering its plot on marrying Merida off, and if they really wanted to be progressive, that issue would not have been included in the film. However, I disagree with this sentiment – sure, it would be nice to see a female protagonist just doing her own thing without the focus being on making her an accessory to someone else, but we are dealing with a fairy tale that takes place in an age where this is simply what happened to young women everywhere, princesses especially. Marriages were used to bond other families, tribes and kingdoms together. Women were expected to carry on their bloodlines and have as many children as they could because the life expectancy of children making it past adolescence was perhaps 1 or 2 in 5, and just living in general your life expectancy was to make it to 30. Heirs needed to be produced to ensure that the family name and bloodline could carry on. Yes, it is a fairy tale, but it is set in a certain time period to make the story more believable to general audiences. And let’s be honest – we still have parents arranging marriages in this day and age all over the world, or in more modernized places, mothers pushing their daughters to get married because they want grandchildren.

I am also very, very happy that Kelly Macdonald voiced Merida. Reese Witherspoon was originally supposed to voice the character, and while I love her, she is not Scottish. A Scottish accent is not easy to fake, so it is better to hear some authenticity.

While Brave appears to be expressing a similar style to Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon (a fantastic film, but from a different studio), the sweeping images of the Scottish highlands in the trailers remind us that we will be seeing a film from the animation geniuses at Pixar. While the merchandise and final trailer have mostly given away the film’s plot, I am excited to see this movie and welcome a new redhead into my heart, one who hates having her wild mane brushed, acknowledges corsets for what they are, and is incredibly brave. That’s the kind of girl modern females are aching to see.

So, are you planning on seeing the film this weekend? Are you one of the lucky few that have gotten to see it in previews? Or is Merida scaring some of you boys away? J

D23 Expo - 2011

Boy, what a weekend. What a mess. What cool merchandise! What more I wished I could have seen…

Disney may not want to hear all of my thoughts, opinions and suggestions directly from their little survey that practically everyone wanted to fill out to give them a piece of their mind, but I’m going to say it anyway. Who knows…perhaps those in charge might actually read something here.

I went to the first D23 Expo back in 2009. It had a lot of great panels, a decent amount of vendors, and was a dream to attend for a hardcore Disney geek like myself on that Saturday with all of the big parks announcements (granted, I knew about most of them already from a recent leak at the time) and things to look at. It wasn't too crowded, which was great for me, though that was probably not so great for Disney's numbers.

So Disney did what really anyone else would have done in their situation. “Okay. We had a decent amount of people come, but maybe we should scale things back a bit. Let’s wait 2 years to gather up some more hype, have fewer panels and make the spaces for them smaller.”

Little did they know what was coming their way…

Ticket sales really should have been an indicator, but Disney wanted to sell tickets on-site during the Expo. One has to wonder how many tickets were sold pre-sale versus the day-of. In any case, while the first Expo was thrown together and advertised only a few months ahead of time in 2009, 2011 had fans waiting for 2 whole years with word-of-mouth, a few advertisements and great expectations. I have no idea how many people came to D23 this year, but I have to tell you that it felt like 2009 had only 15-20% of what I saw for this second run. As a result, the Expo could not meet the desires and expectations of its customers.

The chaos began even before anyone was allowed to enter the building. Because Disney scaled back its offerings, they decided to hire less people; so, when the masses descended upon Anaheim to start lining up, whether they were members of D23 and could enter the Convention Center an hour early or were part of the general public, no one could find an informed employee to tell them where they were supposed to go. On Friday, there were supposed to be separate lines depending on your ticket type, but you could not find a sign or employee to point you to where you needed to queue up. On Saturday, everyone was thrown into one line, which made many people even more angry and confused, especially since the main event of that day started at 10:30 a.m. and there was just no way for a non-D23 member to go see it. (Please note that I did not go on Sunday.)

Most of the people working the event were very nice and I do not blame them for what happened. No one saw what was coming that weekend. However, Disney always loves to use the line “subject to change without notice” – so I have to wonder why someone did not take the initiative to stall certain panels and events to open up the seating to more guests. The Anaheim Convention Center is huge, the largest on the West Coast, with the Anaheim Arena (a.k.a. the largest space where the biggest events take place) holding 10,000 seats! Al Lutz reported that Disney was to push the stage forward and have 4,000 seats instead, but when I was at the event I was told that the arena could hold only 1,000 people. Why didn’t anyone try to fix this when they realized how little space there was for the amount of people that were at the Expo?

One of the worst offenders was the main event that was in the morning on Saturday. The day was sold out, and the event that everyone wanted to see was running from 10:30 to…1 p.m.? Are you kidding me? It was the Walt Disney Studios event, which had enough things going for it that the event could have easily been broken up into 6 different panels. Perhaps then fans of Marvel would not have to sit through information about the new Muppets film, and vice-versa.

I did not try to go to the Dick Van Dyke event on Friday night, but I heard from other people (while waiting in line for 3 hours for the Pixar: 25 Years panel) that the line for that event was cut off around 3 hours before it was supposed to start. Disney didn’t even place the event in the Anaheim Arena, but shoved them in a small hall. Really, really bad decision, since 1) The Arena was available, and 2) It was a musical performance with fricken’ Dick Van Dyke.

Anyhow, now that the damage has been done and the event is over, I have a few pieces of tips and advice for Disney when they try to plan the next D23 Expo.

1) All tickets should be pre-sale and cut off before the Expo starts so that expected guests count can be tallied. That way, the amount of staff, panels and seats can be planned appropriately to accommodate the amount of people that come. 

  2) Break it up. The Studio presentation had way too much going on. Instead of shoving everything together, have a devoted Wreck-it Ralph panel, a panel on the Making of the Muppets, etc. And there are so many other things the fans are interested in (especially the very large group that usually populates the Disneyland Resort.) How about a panel focusing on the developments in Audio-Animatronics over the years? The Re-Awakening of the Sleeping Beauty Walkthrough? How Do You Create a Gourmet Menu on the Disney Cruise Line? Walt Disney’s Love of Trains? Seriously, I could do this all day…

  3) If there isn’t enough time for more questions, let the people who have been standing in line for the microphone for half an hour ahead of time, not just announce “We have time for one more question.”

    4) If it is going to be a madhouse for lines, give us some quality Disney entertainment. When I waited for the big Pixar: 25 Years panel, the room we waited in played the same 15-minute music loop over and over and over again. I love “Under the Sea” and everything, but it was starting to make us all go a little crazy. There is so much room – why can’t there be some classic Disney cartoons being played in the waiting rooms? Maybe Disney could even throw in a few commercials for their latest and greatest offerings? If you are waiting for a Pixar panel, why not play a few Pixar shorts? Maybe all of Toy Story? If it is the lines outside, why not bring out the Muppet Mobile, PUSH, Lucky the Dinosaur, WALL-E or R2-D2 to interact with the crowd? I can almost guarantee that impatient guests will instantly be forgiving.

  5) If there isn’t enough room for guests to make it into a major event/panel, then why not stream it live on some TV screens in the standby area? It would take a bit of the sting out, for sure.

  6) Just because a visitor to the Expo isn’t a D23 member doesn’t make them a 3^rd-class citizen (without any sort of 2^nd-class to be found). Don’t schedule a major presentation at 10:30 a.m. if most non-D23 members who have waited in line for several hours to get into the Convention Center won’t make it inside until at least 11-11:30 a.m. If you must schedule a presentation or panel that early, why not let everyone line up outside for it? That would make it fair for everyone.

  7) Don’t be so stingy on the freebies! Half of the fun of conventions is getting the free swag! I noticed that some departments were far more giving than others, so maybe this issue is a bit more complicated, but it would be good of the people overseeing this thing to impress this upon the different booths that set up camp.

  8) Include Pretty Little Liars – probably ABC Family’s strongest property right now – next time! This show is extremely successful and I’m pretty sure a handful of the stars would have loved to come to the Expo, as some of them hit the Black Carpet for the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides premiere.

  9) Remember that most of the people coming to this Expo are adults that love Disney history – so, don’t skimp on Disney history.

10) Remember that a high percentage of the people that come to the Expo probably visit Disneyland on a regular basis – so, have plenty of panels related to the parks and allow guests to talk to their favorite Imagineers!

With all of that negativity out of way, here is what D23 did right (in no particular order):

1)     The Pixar Panels. The people working at Pixar are a fun, creative, and hard-working team that are fascinating to listen to. None of them seemed to have an issue with public speaking or talking about their labors of love (from what I saw). I know that this year was special since Pixar is celebrating 25 years, but I sincerely hope that they have a strong presence at the next D23 Expo as well.

2)     The beginnings of peace for the popular critics online that Disney has not been too fond of in the past. Jim Hill from JimHillMedia.com actually introduced a panel! Anyone that I mentioned this to (and who knew of Jim) was shocked by this, as Jim likes to share information that Disney often does not make public (or hasn’t yet) and used to give guided tours of the parks until Disney asked him to stop and leave. Hmm…perhaps Al Lutz or Kevin Yee will be next?

3)    Cool merchandise. I could go on and on about this, but the best example from all of this was Mickeys of Glendale, the store with Walt Disney Imagineering merchandise.

4)    The Great Destini! This was a nifty little guy that I would like to coin as an AAA (Autonomous-Audio-Animatronic). That’s right, guys – this robot can think, talk and interact completely for himself, without any aid of a human being! He was able to do this with special facial-recognition programming that the brilliant minds at WDI came up with – and if you will remember, at the first D23 Expo they had an AA using this technology but he was unable to operate on his own. Anyhow, the Great Destini tells fortunes and prints out a big sticker with your face on it. He gave me a love fortune, so he put big hearts on my eyes. The wait was really long to see him, but it was completely worth it.

5)    The Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Pavillion in general. While I felt it was overall a lot less stuff to look at as compared to the first Expo, I was pleasantly surprised to see the test-vehicle for the future Seven Dwarves Mine Coaster (with concept art and video).

6)     I’m not terribly interested in the teenie-bopper stuff, but it was good that it had a presence for some variety, especially the Perry the Platypus Bus.

7)    Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives.

8)    Showing The Lion King 3D.

9)    Having people like Don Hahn talk about the creative process and do meet and greets.

10) Having people like the creators of The Little Mermaid just walking the floor and being so nice to fans who want to say hello.

With all of that, I will leave you with a few pictures and videos that I took. See you next time!