****may conatain a tiny spoiler****
Believe it or not, SouthSide's a Muppet and Muppet show fan. She vividly remembers sitting in front to the television to watch the weekly CBS primetime program with her family. Her favorite Muppet Show moments would be when Vincent Price, Alice Cooper and The Star Wars cast (Mark Hamill, C3PO, R2D2 and Chewbaca) were special guest stars. And of course, who cannot forget the infamous Mah Na Mah Na song. Sing with SouthSide now "...mah na mah na..." However, she's not a HUGE fan of the Muppet characters like the two main characters of this new movie.
The Muppets take place sort of a direct sequel years later after The Muppets Take Manhattan movie in which the characters have moved on and drifted apart (Fozzie does a lounge act in Reno, NV and Animal is taking anger management classes, for example) ...going their own separate ways. The basic theme of this movie in the beginning - the world has moved on and have forgotten about them but they're not definitely forgotten especially not with their two BIGGEST fans - Walter (a muppet) and human brother Gary (Jason Segel of CBS' How I Met Your Mother, a television program that prides itself with nostalgia) of Smalltown, USA. Like SouthSide, they grew up watching the Muppets and Muppet Show and now as adults, they're taking a trip to Hollywood to tour the famous Muppet studio and theatre. Coming along with them is Gary's girlfriend of 10 years (now, you know there's a major snag in the relationiship if you still dating a guy for 10 years with no intention of marriage ...yet), Mary (Amy Adams) who's "excited" that brother Walter is tagging along on their anniversary trip. Yet like in any Muppet movie, there's a bad guy and/or a problem which involves the Muppet characters raising money to save their theatre from destruction. In this latest Disney-produced version movie, the baddie is a rich oil tycoon (a BP reference?) named Tex Richman (wonderfully played by Chris Cooper) who will own not only the studio but also the Muppet name if the loveable characters don't raise the necessary 10 million (yes, this time it's in the millions, folks) dollars by midnight (always by midnight with the Muppets) according to the ironclad contract Kermit signed long ago. So with the help of Walter and Gary, Kermit gets the old gang back together for one last show however not everyone (Miss Piggy) isn't on board at first. But, hey, this is the Muppet movie - everyone re-unites to help save their name and studio.
SouthSide liked the fact Disney cracked opened the vaults and re-united ALL of the muppets from The Muppet Show (including Beauregard the janitor, Sweetums - still working at the same used car dealership from the original Muppet Movie, Uncle Deadly - used when Vincent Price made his appearance on the show and more) for the making of this movie. Who knows when we'll ever see them on the big screen and on television agaion? Also like any Muppet-involved movie there's a long list of A-list celebrities with cameo or speaking appearances like Alan Arkin (the tour guide), Emily Blunt (as Miss Piggy's executive assistant), Mickey Rooney (as a Smalltown, USA resident) and some corny Muppet songs to fill the movie's run time such as Life Is Happy and Me Party of One songs. However also included within this soundtrack was few 80s hits like Jefferson Airplane's We Built This City and Gary Neuman's Car ...even AC/DC gets inside a muppet movie during a montage sequence. Yet, her favorite song from this movie would have to be Tex Richman's hilarious hiphop/rap ditty about himself ...she would like to dedicate it to her BP (executive) fiance. Plus there were other references from other Muppet movies of the past (i.e. Rainbow Connection and Together Again ...and other non-song references) intricately placed throughout the movie. And stick around during the credits for the Mah Na Mah Na song too.
What this reviewer liked about this new muppet movie was they aged the mupper characters a little (i.e. check out the graying on Fozzie's eyebrows) and it was nice to know that happy wedding endings don't last forever especially bewteen a frog and a pig. And this time, the Muppets don't technically win - they actually can lose graciously to the big evil oilman Richman even though the ending does suggest they've won. What she didn't likw about this movie - Disney re-manufactured the same muppet movie formula i.e. defeat the bad guy by putting on a show to raise the money necessary to save the theatre to play it safe with audiences. If the muppets can grow old, so can the tiresome formula. For the next movie - get more creative, writers, especially for this new millennial generation.
Overall, it's worth the price of the movie ticket to see all of the Muppets together again.
Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide
Showing posts with label Disney movie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disney movie. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Friday, November 19, 2010
19 Nov 10 - Tangled
*SouthSide usually doesn't cover movies however she (along with the test audience - Vyolet and Sunday) attended the Tangled movie premiere this week.*
Disney has done it ...again and this time, it's in 3D!
It's latest addition to the princess lineup - Rapunzel - clearly shows how un-imaginative this archaic animation/movie company has recently become and it has its new movie sucked into the 3D fad too instead of the traditional use of 2D.
Tangled is a loosely-based story of Grimm Brothers' fairy tale, Rapunzel. And SouthSide literally means "loosely based" ...watered down to the point that Disney only kept the bare basics to this story (the girl with long hair, tower and a witch, affectionately named Mother Gothel) before adding filler which was never part of the original fairy tale. SouthSide won't reveal much about the plot - let's just say Rapunzel uses her lovely locks for more than pulling a full grown witch up the tower however she doesn't remember reading about Rapunzel's hair having healing powers (reference to Disney's Atlantis movie) or an outlaw named Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi) ...or a kingdom that lights lanterns every year on the missing princess' birthday. Somehow the legendary Grimm Brothers missed that part in their fairy tale version.
Now toss in a horse named Maximus (a Russell Crowe Gladiator reference?) that "acts" like a trained dog (Hunchback of Notre Dame reference) during the film and a chameleon named Pascal with a Robert DeNiro "I'm watching you" complex. SouthSide found the animals (as well as the gang of ruffian bandits) far more interesting in Tangled than the main characters, Rapunzel (Mandy Moore), Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) and Flynn (Levi). There's plenty of Disney action, adventure in which binds Rapunzel and Flynn together, romance (of course - think Little Mermaid during the boat scene when Moore and Levi sing the duet I See The Light) and lame Disney humor (most of the funny moments are shown in the Tangled commercials). Sadly none of the humor didn't attract a single guffaw from SouthSide's eight year old daughter - take it as a bad sign when a movie doesn't generate any excitement from a tween girl who's loves dressing up as a princess.
Usually Disney movies are filled with ear-popping, memorable songs such as Can You Feel The Love Tonight (Lion King), Pink Elephants (Dumbo) or A Girl Worth Fighting For (Mulan). However Tangled fails miserably in the song category. The songs are mostly big production, Broadway sounding pieces like Mother Gothel's Mamma Knows Best - SouthSide liked the Shadow Man's song Friends On The Other Side (from The Princess and The Frog) better. It was darker, creepier and scarier unlike Mother Gothel's in which this reviewer had to stop herself from laughing out of her seat from lack of scariness (even in 3D it wasn't scary). Yet Tangled does have one memorable (but not Oscar worthy) song - I Got A Dream that had the feel and fun of Gaston from Beauty and The Beast. Alan Menken is at the helm for Tangled's original score and songs (with Glenn Slater on lyrics) but this reviewer noticed the recycled themes from his past films and lack of creativity on lyrics.
Yes, Tangled will generate the usual Disney money numbers amongst families during this upcoming holiday season however it's not truly a Disney hit or best. It won't ever rank up there with Beatty and The Beast, Cinderella or its first cinematic classic Snow White.
Tangled is simply too tangled up to believe its own hype for this reviewer to like ...even in 3D.
Save your money...
Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide
Disney has done it ...again and this time, it's in 3D!
It's latest addition to the princess lineup - Rapunzel - clearly shows how un-imaginative this archaic animation/movie company has recently become and it has its new movie sucked into the 3D fad too instead of the traditional use of 2D.
Tangled is a loosely-based story of Grimm Brothers' fairy tale, Rapunzel. And SouthSide literally means "loosely based" ...watered down to the point that Disney only kept the bare basics to this story (the girl with long hair, tower and a witch, affectionately named Mother Gothel) before adding filler which was never part of the original fairy tale. SouthSide won't reveal much about the plot - let's just say Rapunzel uses her lovely locks for more than pulling a full grown witch up the tower however she doesn't remember reading about Rapunzel's hair having healing powers (reference to Disney's Atlantis movie) or an outlaw named Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi) ...or a kingdom that lights lanterns every year on the missing princess' birthday. Somehow the legendary Grimm Brothers missed that part in their fairy tale version.
Now toss in a horse named Maximus (a Russell Crowe Gladiator reference?) that "acts" like a trained dog (Hunchback of Notre Dame reference) during the film and a chameleon named Pascal with a Robert DeNiro "I'm watching you" complex. SouthSide found the animals (as well as the gang of ruffian bandits) far more interesting in Tangled than the main characters, Rapunzel (Mandy Moore), Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) and Flynn (Levi). There's plenty of Disney action, adventure in which binds Rapunzel and Flynn together, romance (of course - think Little Mermaid during the boat scene when Moore and Levi sing the duet I See The Light) and lame Disney humor (most of the funny moments are shown in the Tangled commercials). Sadly none of the humor didn't attract a single guffaw from SouthSide's eight year old daughter - take it as a bad sign when a movie doesn't generate any excitement from a tween girl who's loves dressing up as a princess.
Usually Disney movies are filled with ear-popping, memorable songs such as Can You Feel The Love Tonight (Lion King), Pink Elephants (Dumbo) or A Girl Worth Fighting For (Mulan). However Tangled fails miserably in the song category. The songs are mostly big production, Broadway sounding pieces like Mother Gothel's Mamma Knows Best - SouthSide liked the Shadow Man's song Friends On The Other Side (from The Princess and The Frog) better. It was darker, creepier and scarier unlike Mother Gothel's in which this reviewer had to stop herself from laughing out of her seat from lack of scariness (even in 3D it wasn't scary). Yet Tangled does have one memorable (but not Oscar worthy) song - I Got A Dream that had the feel and fun of Gaston from Beauty and The Beast. Alan Menken is at the helm for Tangled's original score and songs (with Glenn Slater on lyrics) but this reviewer noticed the recycled themes from his past films and lack of creativity on lyrics.
Yes, Tangled will generate the usual Disney money numbers amongst families during this upcoming holiday season however it's not truly a Disney hit or best. It won't ever rank up there with Beatty and The Beast, Cinderella or its first cinematic classic Snow White.
Tangled is simply too tangled up to believe its own hype for this reviewer to like ...even in 3D.
Save your money...
Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide
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