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Nov 4, 2014

Maleficent Comes Out Of Hiding Today

November 4, 2014 By Christina

I’m not sure who came up with the idea of releasing new Blu-ray and DVD movies on a Tuesday, but it certainly makes your Tuesday a little brighter when a movie you like is now available to everyone. Today is one of those days: Maleficent is now available on Disney Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, Digital HD, Disney Movies Anywhere, DVD and On-Demand.

I reviewed this movie when it was released to theaters back in May, and my review of the film itself still stands. (Go read the review if you haven’t already.) The film still works amazingly well on the smaller (48″) screen. I’m always concerned about darker parts of a film being too dark on my TV, but the Blu-ray has fantastic image quality and sharpness, and the sound is equally rich and vibrant.

Maleficent also holds up well for multiple viewings. We saw it twice in the theater: once with Aaron and me, and once with the kids included as well. I wanted to make sure the film wouldn’t be too scary for them, and found it was at just about the right level of entertainment and scare.

There are some scary moments.

Mira was a little too scared during the scene with the dragon when viewed in the theater, but at home and six months later, this scene no longer bothers her. I found myself just as interested watching it again at home as I was in the theater.

The storytelling throughout the film keeps the pace moving, and each stunning scene is filled with so much detail that I continue to find new things I hadn’t noticed before.

There are some fun extras included with the Blu-ray Combo pack, too. As is now almost a routine offering, a selection of deleted scenes are included. I particularly enjoyed the deleted scene between a younger Stefan and the King, where we see Stefan’s hunger for power developing early. The scene of the three fairies asking the newly crowned King Stefan for asylum was also a fun bit of backstory that I wish would have remained in the film.

Beyond the deleted scenes, there are also a few making-of featurettes that I liked, too. In “From Fairy Tale to Feature Film,” the cast and crew discuss how the concept of the film was developed from the Disney classic, Sleeping Beauty, and the challenge of how to make the audience care about Maleficent, who is often described as one of the greatest Disney villains.

And yes, it’s in that featurette you’ll also get to see the Jolie-Pitt family on-set, with Brad convincing his daughter (dressed as toddler Aurora) to walk to the edge of the “cliff” for the scene.

I also really liked the “Maleficent Revealed” featurette, which showed several clips of scenes starting from visual concept and progressing through the development and CGI process to result in the final storybook world.

The only featurette I was a little let down by was “Classic Couture,” which displayed some of the Maleficent head wraps and accessories, but disappointed on the commentary of the development of all of these gorgeous costume pieces.

The Maleficent Disney Blu-ray Combo Pack includes the Blu-ray and DVD versions of the film, plus the code for a Digital HD download as well. I entered the code into my Disney Movies Anywhere account, so we can now watch Maleficent on computer, tablet or phone whenever we want.

This is definitely a film I’m happy to include in our collection. It’s a great twist on the classic fairy tale we all know, and the acting and design are outstanding.

Want to extend the fun with your kids? Check out the Maleficent activity pages that Disney put together by clicking on the image below!

Disclosure: I received a copy of Maleficent to facilitate this review.

Filed Under: Disney, reviews

Oct 8, 2014

Top 5 Reasons to Pick Up Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Diamond Edition

October 8, 2014 By Christina

It’s hard for me not to love Sleeping Beauty. It was the first princess movie that Cordy really liked, and Aurora was the first princess she dressed as for Halloween.

I remember seeing the movie sometime during my childhood, too, and while the details are fuzzy, I do recall the slower pace, the beauty of the animation, and the songs that often had a soothing quality to them.

The story of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty is a simple one. Unlike Cinderella, with the mice serving as almost a sub-plot of the movie, Sleeping Beauty instead chooses to intensely focus on the classic tale itself, spending more time on character nuance and the moments that drive the action of the story.

If you’ve never seen Sleeping Beauty, now is the time to do so. Disney just brought it back out of the vault to join other classic films in the Diamond Edition on Blu-ray, Digital HD, and the new Disney Movies Anywhere service. The film has been polished and remastered, and several new bonus features have been bundled with it.

So why should you check out the new Diamond Edition of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty? Here are my top five reasons:

1. The restoration of the animation results in a film you can’t take your eyes off of. This is the first time Sleeping Beauty has been released in Digital HD quality, and every square inch of the screen is filled with a tapestry of colors and patterns that delight the eye. It proves that animation can be art, and indeed, you can pause at almost any moment in the movie and the frame looks like it could be a piece of art on your wall.

It’s one of the few animated films where the background is just as interesting to look at as the characters. It reminds me of medieval tapestries and paintings, in style and in color.

I’d love to have this as a print in my living room.

2. If you think the visuals are better, wait until you hear the music. The audio track of this film has also been digitally remastered to bring out the intended clarity of the music and vocals that simply couldn’t be accomplished with recording technology from 1959.

3. You’ll be reminded why Maleficent is one of the most chilling Disney villains ever. She’s stunning, and she’s unapologetically evil. Watching the movie again, I marveled at Maleficent’s cool, confident demeanor. When she taunts the imprisoned Prince Philip, you can tell she’s enjoying his torment. Every move is calculated, and yet ever-so-graceful.

She really is the mistress of evil. With style.

Having watched the live-action movie Maleficent recently, I was reminded again that Angelina Jolie had some large horns to fill in taking on this role. The original voice of Maleficent, Eleanor Audley, has a richness in her voice that is unmatched. When Maleficent threatens, you feel it on the other side of the screen. I’ve always felt Maleficent was the character to watch in this movie. Aurora is beautiful, innocent, and a joy to listen to, but not nearly as interesting as Maleficent.

4. The deleted and extended scenes show a peek at how the story could have gone. Additional all-new bonus features include never-before-seen deleted scenes “The Fair” (with Deleted Character The Vulture,) “The Curse is Fulfilled” and “Arrival Of Maleficent.”

I really enjoyed watching “The Fair,” where Aurora switches clothing with a servant to sneak out of the castle to see what life is like outside the castle walls. (Sounds like another daring princess we know – Jasmine.) While out, she finds a small town fair and meets Maleficent in disguise as a fortune teller, as well as Prince Philip.

It’s definitely a different version of the story, but I think it could have worked out just as well as having Aurora meet Philip in the woods, and would have provided a chance for Aurora to have contact with Maleficent before her spinning wheel accident.

5. The bonus features are great for Disney geeks. Some of the new features include “Once Upon A Parade,” in which “Modern Family” star Sarah Hyland tells us the tale of Walt Disney World’s new Festival Of Fantasy Parade, “Art of Evil: Generations Of Disney Villains,” a legacy piece spotlighting Disney’s favorite villain animator and Maleficent creator Marc Davis, and “@DisneyAnimation: Artists in Motion,” in which Walt Disney Animation Visual Development artist Brittney Lee goes through the process of creating a three dimensional sculpture of Maleficent, completely out of paper.

If you’re a recent visitor to Walt Disney World, you’ll especially love the “Once Upon A Parade” short, where the creation of the Festival of Fantasy Parade is given the fairytale treatment.

Disney’s Sleeping Beauty is the sixteenth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon and was the last animated feature produced by Walt Disney to be based upon a fairy tale. It is the tenth film released as part of Disney’s Blu-ray Diamond Collection – and with the Disney Movies Anywhere program, you can use the code to take the movie with you on your mobile devices.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this movie to facilitate my review. (And will now be retiring our old DVD copy of Sleeping Beauty.) All opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Disney, reviews

Sep 3, 2014

Planning Our Dining for the WDW Princess Half Weekend

September 3, 2014 By Christina

When it comes to Disney, we’re planners. Due to how quickly runDisney events sell out, we signed up for our races within 15 minutes of registration opening, which meant we knew in mid-July that we’d be going back to Walt Disney World for the Princess Half Marathon weekend in late February. Which then started us down the path of planning our full trip: how many days would we stay, which parks would we go to on each day, and several other choices to make. Yes, I already have a spreadsheet for our trip…like I said, we’re planners.

We’ve decided on the days we’ll be there now, but we’re waiting to book our resort package until the spring package sale prices are released. This usually happens in October, so we’re going to patiently wait a bit longer to book our room, park tickets and meal plan. (But believe me, I’d rather have it all planned already.)

The schedule for the parks is published well in advance. If you’re staying at a Walt Disney World resort, it’s worth looking at the schedule to see which parks have Magic Hours that day, giving you an extra hour before the park opens to the public or an hour after the park closes to the public. I love Magic Hours – we’ve had great luck in using that time to easily get on more popular rides without the long lines.

But there was one thing I was especially looking forward to as a result of knowing our schedule this far in advance: dining reservations.

There are dozens of great restaurants at Disney World, so planning out your dining this far in advance may seem crazy. However, it’s really a good idea to get your table service dining reservations as soon as possible. For our last two trips, we made our dining reservations about 2-3 months before our trip, and while we were lucky to get reservations everywhere we wanted, the times available were lousy. Having dinner at Be Our Guest is magical, but less so when your reservation is at 9:20pm and one of your kids falls asleep at the table before she can even take three bites of food.

So this time, we started as early as possible. You can make dining reservations up to 180 days in advance for Walt Disney World. Now, what you may not realize is that you don’t need to already have your park tickets or hotel in place in order to make a dining reservation. You can have all of your dining plans in place before you have any other element of your vacation planned other than the dates you’re planning to be there.

We’re planning to have the Disney Dining Plan again this year, which is a pre-paid meal plan that covers one quick-service (walk-up) meal, one table service meal, and one snack per person each day. What I like the most about this plan is that it also covers character dining – those experiences can often be pricier than a regular meal, but there’s no up-charge if you’re using the meal plan. (The exception is Cinderella’s Royal Table, which requires two table service credits per person.)

Here’s a peek at which restaurants we’re planning to visit during our Princess Half Marathon vacation:

Sanaa – This will be our first visit to Sanaa at the Animal Kingdom Villas. I’ve heard so many good things about this restaurant that I can’t wait to check out the fusion of African and Indian flavors. And thanks to the magic of Disney, Aaron will be able to have naan again in a gluten-free version. While I’m looking forward to the food, I also can’t wait to check out the scenery: this restaurant sits on the edge of the African Sunset Savannah, offering views of animals like zebras, giraffes, gazelles and more.

T-REX – After the half marathon on Sunday, there’s a post-race celebration in Downtown Disney that evening, so we wanted to find a late lunch option nearby. We’ve been to a few of the Downtown Disney restaurants, but wanted something new that might wow the kids. T-REX looks like it will do the job. Dining surrounded by dinosaurs, including a 15 ft. T-Rex, should be a lot of fun. Cordy is already looking forward to the Chocolate Extinction dessert.

‘Ohana – This isn’t just a breakfast at the Polynesian Village resort. It’s also a character meal with Lilo, Stitch, and friends. Last year was our first ‘Ohana breakfast. Mira loves Stitch more than any other character, so after Stitch took her hand and let her lead the parade with him around the dining area, of course we knew we’d be coming back! The food is amazing, too: a platter filled with a rainbow of fruit, bacon, sausage, eggs, fried potatoes, breads…and did I mention it’s all you can eat? We’ll be enjoying breakfast here on Monday after the half marathon weekend, and I’m sure we’ll all be happy to fill up on plenty of good food while visiting with Stitch again.

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall – This is THE place to dine with the princesses at Epcot. (And the only place for this many princesses at WDW when we’ll be there – Cinderella’s Royal Table will be closed for renovations.) We’ve been to this restaurant twice for breakfast, but this time we’re going in the afternoon to check out the Norwegian lunch menu. Cordy and Mira love the Princess Storybook Dining – each of the princesses visit every table for autographs and photos. We’ve never felt rushed with any of the princesses and they do their best to create a personal experience for each kid. I also enjoy looking at the beautiful interior of this restaurant – it really feels like you’re dining in a medieval castle.

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant – Imagine having a meal in a classic car, parked at a retro style drive-in theater, while clips of 50’s sci-fi B-movies play on the screen with the stars twinkling overhead. That’s exactly what you can experience at this Hollywood Studios restaurant! This is one of Aaron’s favorites – he loves old sci-fi movies, and the way they create a nighttime, open-air atmosphere inside a building is amazing. The tables look like cars, all facing the movie screen, complete with (dimmed) headlights and tail lights. Our first visit to this restaurant was on the trip for our first anniversary in 2004. The food is great, the glowing ice cubes are fun, and it really feels like you’re in a completely different place.

That’s what we’ve got so far, and I’m very excited! It’s a good thing I’ll be running a 10K before we start all of this eating!

Filed Under: Disney, travel

Aug 8, 2014

Review: Guardians of the Galaxy – Bring the Kids?

August 8, 2014 By Christina

It’s no secret that we’ve loved just about every Marvel movie that has been released in the last several years. We’re a family of geeks, and Marvel and Disney are two of our favorite fandoms. (Along with Doctor Who, the Whedonverse and a few others, of course.)

But when Guardians of the Galaxy was announced, my first reaction was, “What’s that?” Aaron, far geekier in all things comics, had to explain the storyline to me. And I was immediately worried that Marvel was becoming too smug with their chain of film successes. A space drama with a talking raccoon who likes to shoot things and a giant walking tree as two of five main characters? Seriously? It originally sounded completely ridiculous and I wasn’t sure how they would get audiences interested in this story.

I can now look back on this and see how wrong I was.

Aaron and I attended a preview screening last Wednesday, and then we took Cordy and Mira to see it on Saturday afternoon. I was concerned if it would be appropriate for our nine and seven year olds, and even waiting for the movie to start on Saturday, I was still a little concerned how they would handle parts of it.

So, should you bring the kids? Read on for my more in-depth (and mostly spoiler-free) review.

Synopsis (from the studio)

From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team–the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits–Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon; Groot, a tree-like humanoid; the deadly and enigmatic Gamora; and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand–with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, which first appeared in comic books in Marvel Super-Heroes #18 (Jan. 1969), stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, featuring Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, with John C. Reilly, Glenn Close as Nova Prime Rael and Benicio del Toro as The Collector.

What I liked:

This movie felt like a gritty space opera, complete with a throwback soundtrack thanks to the Awesome Mix, Volume 1. It’s fast paced, fun, and full of action. No, really: LOTS of action. The humor maintains its endurance right alongside the action, too.

All five of the heroes are fully realized characters, with flaws to match their talents, and I appreciated that all five of them are not your “typical” heroes. They’re essentially a group of criminals who, when brought together and faced with impending doom, choose to work together to save the galaxy.

While they do discover new aspects to themselves during the climax of the film, this single event of heroism doesn’t transform them into model citizens, either, and that’s okay. It would make the story seem too much like a fairy-tale to think they would entirely change their personalities as a result of stopping Ronan and live happily ever after.

It’s also important to note that the heroes aren’t rewarded for their bad behavior. For example, Peter Quill (Star-Lord) acts like an entitled man-child occasionally during the movie, but this never works in his favor and he’s not rewarded for it.

“I’m Star-Lord, man.”

The CGI in this film is amazing. Two of the five main characters are computer generated images next to their more human-like allies, and yet they feel as real as everyone around them. Groot and Rocket were masterfully inserted into the film with more realism than I’ve ever witnessed in a live-action film. You could see the individual strands of Rocket’s fur, and Groot’s branches have solid weight to them in each scene.

He’s adorable…and deadly.

The performances by the actors in this film shouldn’t go unnoticed, however. They ranged from the over-the-top antics of Star-Lord, played by Chris Pratt, to Karen Gillan’s extremely subtle, yet precision-sharp development of her character, Nebula.

Best of all: Gamora does not become a love interest for Quill – and the mostly naked shot of Zoe Saldana from the rear which is so prominent in the trailers did not make it to the final cut of the movie. I was happy to see that the writers didn’t include the old cliche of having the male lead and the female lead fall for each other.

They’re teammates, that’s it. And for much of the movie she questions even that much involvement.

What I didn’t like:

While I think this is a well-made movie, it wasn’t perfect. My primary complaint is that if you haven’t read the comics, you may feel a little lost or have the urge to take notes to keep up with this new universe and everyone in it. There are new races, feuds and characters to learn quickly at the start of the film. It’s overwhelming.

Unlike Avengers, where we learned the back-story of the major characters previously in their own individual films, this film has to take on the back-story of all five main characters, the state of relations between worlds, and then deliver the current action of the story as well. Having not read the comics, I did have trouble keeping names and details straight. On the second viewing, I felt better at keeping all of the details straight, but there were still some names I couldn’t place.

And while the heroes are well-developed characters, Ronan – the primary villain in this film – was flat. We didn’t get much of his history, and we’re presented with a guy who is determined to wipe out the people of Xandar, with little explanation as to why after we’re told the two races have recently agreed to a peace treaty. And why do the Kree seem unwilling to protect the treaty they just signed and let Ronan go on a killing spree? His motivation is weak and poorly explained, likely cut for time. Hopefully we’ll see more of his development in the extras section of the DVD. (Aaron tells me he’s a deeply complex and interesting character in the comics.)

I want to know more about this guy.

Bring the kids?

If you’re a big Marvel fan, this part is probably not for you, as you probably saw it on opening weekend, and you most likely knew your own kids’ interests in the movie. But a few of you might have kids (like ours) who saw the trailers and said to you, “Awwww! A talking raccoon! I want to see this movie!” without knowing much about the actual plot, and so you may be concerned about if it’s a good fit.

There are a few aspects of Guardians of the Galaxy that might make you pause before bringing the kids. First, there is the violence aspect. There are a handful of space battles where minor characters die, several punches thrown and plenty of knock-back injuries, lots of blaster fire (although most are stun blasters, it seems), and an Infinity Stone that will rip apart any person who tries to hold it – and does. Those moments can be a little scary for some kids.

The humor and language can also border on the crude at times, too. At one point a character is called a “prick” and a few other choice curse words are used, too. While there is no actual sexual content in this film, there is a joke about how a blacklight could prove Quill’s ship to be far more dirty than they assume, but that joke should go right over the heads of most kids. Actually, most of the more questionable jokes and comments were completely missed by our two kids, and they didn’t even ask about them. If you have a kid who is more inquisitive, just be prepared for a few questions.

One additional concern to be prepared for (slight spoiler here): at the start of the movie, we see Peter Quill as a child at his dying mother’s hospital bedside. Only a few minutes later, his mother is dead, and he’s quickly torn away from his family. This might be tough for a sensitive kid to deal with – I was even teary-eyed in that moment. We (wisely) told our kids about this scene before we went to the movie, making sure it wouldn’t be a surprise to them or a scene that might make them re-think the movie.

Originally, I was more concerned that Cordy and Mira would not enjoy the film, while Aaron was convinced that they’d be fine. For Guardians of the Galaxy, Aaron was right. We chose to tell them a lot of the plot up-front and let them decide if they still wanted to see it. Cordy brought her stuffed Rocket with her to hug through the movie, just in case it got too scary.

And? They loved it. Both kids were engaged through the entire movie, and while some of the finer details of the plot were beyond their understanding, they followed the story and enjoyed the action. Cordy loved all of the humor, while Mira danced in her seat to all of the music throughout the story. They each loved Rocket more than before the movie. And they are both demanding a dancing Groot sprout toy before Christmas.

Just watching this GIF makes me happy.

Is Guardians of the Galaxy a film to see? Yes, absolutely. If you like superheroes, sci-fi, space dramas, and/or silly humor, you will enjoy this movie. Aaron has a more in-depth review of the film on his site if you want more specifics.

Is Guardians of the Galaxy a film to take the kids to? I’ll answer that with a qualified yes. Kids will like the characters and they won’t be bored with the constant action of the film. I think it’s appropriate for most elementary-age kids and older, but those who are more sensitive to violence or language might want to hold off. You know your kids best to decide where the line needs to be drawn.

I was very happy with this film, and I’m excited to see the start of another section of the Marvel cinematic universe. We know a sequel is already in the works, and the extra scene at the end of the credits provides a quick glimpse of an older Marvel character that we just might see again.

Once again, Marvel has proven they’re on the right track with their films. While DC is still wringing their hands over how they could have a hit movie with Wonder Woman as the solo (female) lead, Marvel has created box office gold with a talking CGI raccoon and a walking tree that can only say “I am Groot.”

Keep up the good work, Marvel.

Disclosure: I was provided with complimentary passes for the screening event only. Affiliate links may be used in this post.

Filed Under: Disney, geek paradise, pop culture, reviews

Jul 16, 2014

Finding My Motivation with runDisney

July 16, 2014 By Christina

My motivation for staying in shape has been lacking so far this summer. I was hoping that the longer days and relaxed schedule would result in finding more time to work out, but it hasn’t happened so far. Being sick the first part of June didn’t help, but after I’d recovered I still didn’t feel like going for a run or doing any strength training.

Stepping on the scale at the end of June was quite a shock. I’d gained five pounds since May. How had I gained five pounds since May? While I haven’t been writing down everything I’ve been eating, I had a pretty good idea of it, and it definitely wasn’t enough to cause that much weight gain.

“You’re 38 years old now, your metabolism is slowing down,” I was told by more than one person.

What?

No way I’m going to let getting older tear me down. I put a lot of work into losing a lot of weight – 80lbs from my highest weight, 60lbs lost since having kids – and I hit my first goal weight two years ago. I’m not going to see it drift completely out of reach with five pounds gained each year. I was already five pounds over my initial goal weight earlier this year, so an additional five pounds puts this officially into HELL NO territory.

But working out for me is always a challenge. Inertia is strong in me. There has to be a reward in sight or it’s too easy to let it fall to the bottom of my to-do list and never get done. What I need is solid motivation.

So yesterday, I signed up for some solid motivation and registered for the Disney Enchanted 10K.

Earlier this year at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, I participated in the runDisney fun run. It was only two miles, but I got a taste of what a runDisney event is like. And OH it was awesome!

running dressed as Anna at Disneyland for the DSMMC fun run

After I got back from Disneyland, I continued thinking about all of the runDisney events and how I’d love to sign up for one of them. Aaron had to listen to me talk about them so much that he started to get excited about the idea of running a race through the Disney parks. Suddenly he was the one saying, “Why don’t we do it?” Which then forced me to stop talking about the idea in the abstract and make a decision. And I decided it’s time to go for it.

The Disney Enchanted 10K is part of the Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend in February. Aaron signed up for the half marathon, and even the kids asked to try the kid races. While I’m up for a challenge, a half marathon is a little too optimistic for me at the moment. I’ve done a 5K several times, but I’ve never attempted a 10K. It’s twice as far as I’ve ever forced myself to run, which means it’ll be tough to step out of the zone I’ve become comfortable in and push myself to train further.

I think (hope?) I’m up for the challenge. I’m nervous I won’t be able to do it, but at the same time I’m unwilling to let getting older take control of me. I’d love to be in the best shape of my life when I reach 40 in two years, and this is a good first step toward that goal.

This might just be the biggest motivation to get fit ever for me. There’s a solid end date on this, with a well-defined bar for success. I don’t have to run for the entire 10K – walking parts of it is okay – but I have to keep up an average pace of 16 minutes per mile. If I fall behind, I’ll be out.

Spending all of the time and money to go to Walt Disney World for this race, and then not get the medal at the end, would be devastating. So I have to take this training seriously to make sure there won’t be any chance for that. I want to cross that finish line and add 10K to the list of accomplishments I never thought I could do. The location of the race, my love of Disney, and the costumed characters that will be cheering me on are all additional motivation to make sure this will be a success.

And I can make a running costume for it, too! Now I just need to decide what my costume will be!

Filed Under: Disney, healthy living, running