Tag Archive for 'The Princess and the Frog'

The New Moon Juggernaut Keeps Rolling

Published by Andy on November 30, 2009 in News. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

twilight_saga_new_moon_ver2Love it or hate it, you can’t deny the New Moon train is rolling at full steam the last two weeks and, by all accounts, shouldn’t slip from the top spot until possibly December 11, when Disney’s The Princess and The Frog opens wide. For now, The Twilight Saga: New Moon has earned at hearty $230,947,696 domestically, making it the sixth highest grossing movie of 2009.

Back to The Princess and The Frog – if early reviews are any indication, then Disney’s first classically animated film (2D) since 2004’s Home on the Range is assuredly going to boot Twilight down to number two. As it stands today, The Princess and The Frog is at 82 percent on RottenTomatoes.com.

Still, it’s hard to see what else, before Avatar (December 18), Sherlock Holmes (December 25) and Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakuel (December 25) could possibly boot Edward and Bella from the top five money-earners at the box office. That would make a bounteous six week run for the second film in the Twilight Saga and, I predict, place the film behind Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as the second highest grossing movie of 2009.

The Holiday Nine

Published by Andy on November 18, 2009 in Coming Soon and Lists. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

danandandyholidaynine

The Holidays are here, meaning studios will trot out their best in an effort to garner Oscar attention as close to Oscar time as possible. It also means we’ll be treated to some “family friendly” pap, total misses and the stuff that’s somewhere in between. Here’s our first-impression on the upcoming season’s Must-See, Maybe’s and Must-Misses, all spiffed up and scrubbed by way of our Holiday Nine.

Must – See

Avatar (December 18) -Dan

If you’ve been following AATM or have been to the movies lately, you’ve probably–finally–heard of the otherworldly Dances With Wolves meets robots, monsters and aliens sci-fi fantasy Avatar. Promised to be the cinematic game-changer of the new century, Avatar is James Cameron’s return to the ridiculously budgeted (rumored to cost over $500 million), geeky fun he kicked to the curb after Titanic when he decided to go swimming for a decade. Initially, public perception for Avatar was non-existent outside the geek community, but thanks to some expositionary trailers and a promise of a 3D-immersive world experience, Avatar has morphed into the go-to movie of the season. Cameron’s yet to direct a film most people haven’t enjoyed from start to finish and with Avatar’s promise of xeno-zoology and their perforation exchange with space marines thrown in for good measure,  Avatar gets a full pass on cinematic event spectacle alone.

The Road (November 25) – Andy

The Road is a magnificent novel about a father and son traveling through a ruined and savage post-apocalyptic United States. Written by Cormac McCarthy, the book is one of my all-time favorites and it whipped me through a myriad of emotions – hope, sadness, fear, anger and happiness. It’s more a story of love and hope than it is an end-of-the-world tale. If director John Hillcoat (The Proposition) and writer Joe Penhall can successfully translate McCarthy’s haunting prose to the big screen, then the movie should be equally emotional. It stars Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises), Charlize Theron (In the Valley of Elah), Robert Duvall (We Own the Night), Guy Pearce (The Hurt Locker) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (X-Men Origins: Wolverine).


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(Real) Disney Animation is Back

Published by Dan on May 11, 2009 in Clips and News. 8 Comments Tags: , , .

A few years back, 2D Disney animation (ie- “cartoon animation”) was suffering diminishing returns, while newfangled “computer” animation was creating a magical land called Jackpot City. Disney nixed their film animation division after Home on the Range and shoveled time and effort into their CG division, churning out unforgettable classics like Meet the Robinsons, Chicken Little and The Wild.

Luckily, Pixar big man and animation lover John Lasseter (Toy Story, Cars) was put in charge of Disney animation when Pixar and Disney joined forces a couple years back. Lasseter of course realized 2D simply needed charm and story to work– both of which had been lacking and diluted in the end run, and quickly reinstated Disney’s 2D legacy. The first film project out of the 2D rebirth, the bayou-centered The Princess and the Frog (naturally– Princesses is big business, dontcha know),  has just received its first trailer.

I don’t know about you, but I’m giving three hips and a hooray for the return of traditional 2D film animation– not because Princess looks particularly good, but because this art form never ever deserved the near death it received.