Mouse Extra

It appears as though Disney’s new film “Enchanted” is the cash generator Disney was hoping for and that many predicted it would be.  According to the Los Angeles Times, the new live action film brought in around $50 million over the holiday weekend.

The PG-rated Walt Disney Co. picture, starring Amy Adams as an animated princess whisked to modern-day, live-action Manhattan, grossed an estimated $50 million from Wednesday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, one of the biggest hauls ever for the Thanksgiving period.

The concept and trailers for this film both look fantastic and the reviews have mostly been positive.  That along with a marketing full-court press usually makes for financial success.  I plan on seeing the film this afternoon, so check back later for my review.

Let’s take a break from the theme parks in this post and have a look at an interesting rumor coming out of the movie studio.  We must thank the always great to read Disney Blog for coming out with this one…

In movie news, there is talk going around that a script is being written to remake the Walt Disney classic live action version of Jules Verne’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Seas”. The hope being that it can fill the vacancy left by Pirates in Disney’s summer blockbuster spot. There is even a possibility that a certain captain from the Pirates franchise may snare the ‘Captain Nemo’ role in the film. Sounds good to me.

Let’s put aside the idea of Johnny Depp playing a starring role, and I assume that’s who he means, and just discuss the idea of remaking the Jules Verne classic.  The 1954 Walt Disney film is one of his greatest and is largely forgotten by the younger generation of Disney lovers who focus mostly on animation.  The very thought of bringing this story to the big screen with modern special effects is enough to get me to spend the money at the box office.  It is a terrific and complex tale and can stand up on its own but, is this generation as fascinated with Jules Verne style sci-fi to make it a real blockbuster?

If this film is to work, someone with uncanny acting ability needs the role of Captain Nemo.  Though Kirk Douglas was the popular actor in the 1954 version of the film, it was James Mason’s performance as Nemo that really blows you away.  Is Depp capable of that kind of performance?  Probably, but he may also be hindered by always being viewed as Captain Jack among Disney fans.  That’s a tough thing to get around when you played such an endearing character.

Today marks an anniversary that is largely unheralded, but perhaps one of the most important milestones in the history of the Disney Company.  On this day in 1991, Disney and upstart Pixar Animation Studios announced a partnership on Pixar’s first feature.  And thus began a sometimes tumultuous, but always creatively excellent marriage.

How many people thought in 1991 that those in Pixar would eventually rise as far to the top of the ladder at Disney as they have?  John Lasseter probably never could have imaged being the head of Imagineering.  If nothing else, for the first time since Walt Disney died, we can finally say we have a filmmaker once again at the top of Disney’s creative team.

From the moment I read the storyline to Ratatouille I was intrigued.  There was something about the very quirkiness of the subject that made me think this film was either going to be a terrible flop or a crowning achievement.  How could they possibly turn a film about a rat cooking in Paris into something memorable?  Well, they did, and Brad Bird and Pixar achieved near cinematic perfection along the way.

                                   image copyright Disney Enterprises Inc. and Pixar Animation Studios

There is nothing about this film that isn’t wonderfully entertaining.  The animation brings Paris to life in a way few filmmakers have ever achieved.  The human characters are in the classic cartoon tradition of exaggerated semi-realism, but they are altogether unique to this film as well.  But the lead character, the “Little Chef” Remy and his world of rats, is what truly makes you applaud Ratatouille.  His expressive face, hilarious mannerisms, and perfectly vulnerable voice are unlike any animated character before him.  Bird has stood on the backs of the great classic Disney animators, known for bringing animals to life, and created everything  they could have hoped for.  Remy is loyal, smart, lucky, scared, talented, scorned and confused all at the same time.  This character posses levels of complexity that Pixar has never achieved before.

The world of Ratatouille is a blend of remarkable authenticity combined with the just the right touch of cartoon pizzazz.  At times it is hard to believe you are not looking at a live shot of Paris itself, while the very next scene will show a band of rats playing a song on paperclips.  One moment your skin crawls as you see a swarm of rats scurrying across the floor, and then the very next moment you find those same rodents cute and funny.  This switch from realism to fantasy is so seamlessly weaved you hardly notice it.  And it is with this cinematic flexibility achieved that made it impossible for the film to fail.  Now Bird could take us virtually anywhere. 

To be honest, I don’t know how well this film will do with young children.  However, from the feel of this film it is somewhat hard to believe that young children are the target audience anyway.  Never once did I think to myself, “well the kids will love that”.  It was always smart and never juvenile, not even in the smallest way.  No cheap flatulence jokes or goofy name calling.  If kids like this movie, its because the movie doesn’t treat them like kids.

I also don’t know how well this film will do financially, and quite frankly I don’t care.  There isn’t the slightest detail of this film that isn’t remarkable.  From the Chaplin-esque slapstick, to the Woody Allen intellectuality it made you laugh.  From the Walt Disney classic sentimentality, to the very Pixar modernism it consumed you.  Each frame is a visual achievement, each joke comically appropriate, and each plot twist engaging.  Whether the general public rewards this film with its money doesn’t matter.  But the Motion Picture Academy certain is obliged to do some rewarding.   Regardless, Ratatouille will reward each and every viewer with wonderful entertainment.

If you weren’t excited to go see Ratatouille this weekend, start reading the reviews that have been released over the last couple of days.  It may simply be a coincidence, but every one I’ve read so far is simply gushing over how great this film is.  Let’s look at a couple of big ones.

First, here’s what the Washington Post has this morning…

It harks back to Disney’s older era, when cartoons seemed part of a more elegant world with less edgy characters.

This is family-friendly filmmaking at its most appealing: fresh yet familiar, playfully mischievous but also subtly reassuring.

The Hollywood Reporter put it this way…

Yes, there’s something in the kitchen for everyone in “Ratatouille,” so the Mouse House should clear a wing in its hall of fame for Cousin Rat. “Ratatouille” might not reach the international boxoffice heights of “The Incredibles” — then again, maybe it will — but the film does rep another huge leap in CGI technique and imagination by the Pixar folks.

But it is this morning’s New York Times that really has me ready to plug down my cash…

Written and directed by Brad Bird and displaying the usual meticulousness associated with the Pixar brand, “Ratatouille” is a nearly flawless piece of popular art, as well as one of the most persuasive portraits of an artist ever committed to film. It provides the kind of deep, transporting pleasure, at once simple and sophisticated, that movies at their best have always promised.

In the reviews final paragraph, critic A.O. Scott weaves a terrific thought with an appropriate double meaning…

And what, faced with such a ratatouille, is a critic supposed to say? Sometimes the best response is the simplest. Sometimes “thank you” is enough.

I won’t tell you to go see this film, that’s up to you.  But if this film can truly be a financial success, and it already is a critical one, what will it mean for the future of the Disney Studio?  I got my money out!

Today’s article is by Brooke, contributing writer to Mouse Extra 

I don’t view myself as a totally conservative parent, occassionally I let a few bathroom jokes slip by from my 3 and 5 year olds. However, I was appalled recently at our local theater when viewing “Surf’s Up.” At one point during this flick, my knuckles turned completely white as they gripped the arm rests and I held my breath wishing the language would change. It didn’t. When Cody, the lead penguin, called out to his compadre, Chicken Joe, “Whats up, peckerhead?”, I nearly fainted. Of course, thats the precise moment my three year old daughter exclaimed “Peckerhead? Whats a peckerhead?”

Now, I’m aware this is a PG rated film, but the kids received toys in their happy meals promoting this movie. And the targeted age for a happy meal is the 3 to 6 year old crowd, right?

I would like to thank Disney for the peace of mind their staff creates when producing their movies. Parents can rest easy during any Disney flick. I can safely say even throughout the Pirates series, my children are entertained without the crude language. I now know by learning the hard way, to stick with the Disney flicks for brillant and wholesome cinema the entire family can enjoy.