INTO THE WOODS (7 out of 10) – Directed by Rob Marshall, written by James Lapine, adapted from the musical by Stephen Sondheim; starring Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Chris Pine and Johnny Depp; rated PG (thematic elements, fantasy action and peril, and some suggestive material); running time: 124 minutes.

Disney’s film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Into the Woods” is now available to own, complete with star-studded cast and catchy songs.

“Into the Woods” follows a variety of well-known fairy tale characters as they pursue their wishes. The Baker and his Wife (James Corden and Emily Blunt) hope for a child, and in their quest they cross paths with the other characters: Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), Jack (Daniel Huttlestone), Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), and Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy).   

Meryl Streep, an unparalleled queen of cinema, performs wonderfully as The Witch. She said that when she turned 40, she received three offers to play witches within a year. She finally accepted “when this role came along because this witch is quite different. First of all, she transforms.  Her whole reason for being is to reverse a curse that has been placed on her; she sets in motion all sorts of devices and causes a dramatic upheaval in everybody’s lives.” 

Having not seen the stage version, I can’t weigh in on any changes or updates to the story or songs, but I don’t think vocal talents were overlooked simply to have major stars in the film. (Such as Russell Crowe as Javert in “Les Miserables.” He gave it his best, and you can tell, but “Stars” deserved better). However, Johnny Depp (The Big Bad Wolf) admits that he swore never to sing again after “Sweeney Todd.” And Emily Blunt said that she was almost too nervous to audition, feeling embarrassed at singing in front of people.

The film is beautiful, as well. The woods transform from scene to scene, almost becoming a character in their own right. And Cinderella’s transformation is breathtaking, with the swirling leaves surrounding her as a tiara appears on her head and a magnificent golden dress replaces her drab garments.

Speaking of garments, Collen Atwood’s costumes embrace the variety of the characters and their different stories. Johnny Depp’s wolf, with hat and sprats, would look out of place if he stood next to the princes and their royal attire, but that’s the point: they’re all from different tales. Streep describes Atwood as “a tornado.  Her work is so imaginative, free and dramatic.  At the same time, she is well known for her attention to detail and some of the work is so carefully thought out, delicate and beautifully made – it is really beautiful and fun to wear.” 

A few observations: The Witch’s “Stay With Me” song to Rapunzel reminded me of “Mother Knows Best” from “Tangled,” when Mother Gothel tries to convince Rapunzel that the world beyond the tower is dangerous, and she’s better off inside. Just struck me as very similar thematically.

Also, hearing “No One is Alone” distracted me from the movie because the very beginning reminded me too much of another song. I finally realized it was “The Candy Man” from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” Whew. Mystery solved.  

The home release contains all sorts of bonus features, including:

• Never-Before-Seen Sondheim Original Song: “She’ll Be Back”

Meryl Streep performs a compelling new song that sheds a little more light on theWitch’s relationship with Rapunzel. This never-before- seen composition was penned especially for this movie by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, and is seen here exclusively on Blu-ray and EHV.  With introduction by Director Rob Marshall.

• There’s Something About The Woods

Journey into this mysterious forest to discover how this compelling, new musical was made. Meet Director Rob Marshall and his award-winning team of artists and craftspeople, see how the woods were brought to life…and what they represent tothe story…and to all of us.

• The Cast As Good As Gold

Emily Blunt. Anna Kendrick. Chris Pine. James Corden. Johnny Depp. Meryl Streep. Meet the remarkable cast of this musical movie, and hear of their affinity for this Broadway classic.

• Deeper Into The Woods includes four segments about the development of the film: From Stage To Screen, Magic of the Woods, Designing the Woods, and The Costumes of the Woods.

• Film commentary with Director Rob Marshall and Producer John DeLuca.

• Music & Lyrics: Get direct access to the musical song segments from the film, with optional sing-along lyrics.

• 5 Golden Eggs (Easter Eggs)

“Into the Woods” is now available on DVD, Blu-Ray, and digital HD. 

The long running era of the Saturday morning cartoon has officially ended, but no one can stop you from fulfilling your true weekend calling. Cartoons and Saturday mornings were made for each other and no one can tell us otherwise. It is to that end that we maintain vigil, bringing you animated selections each Saturday morning until the internet dies, or until we run out, good thing there’s always reruns.

“Disney’s Goof Troop” Episode 1.3 “Axed by Addition” (8 out of 10) Created by Peter Montgomery; Directed by Robert Taylor; Written by Marion Wells; Starring Dana Hill, Rob Paulsen, and Jim Cummings; Originally aired September 7, 1992.

In “Disney’s Goof Troop” Goofy moves back to his home town of Spoonerville and into a house next to his old friend Pete. The series centers on Goofy’s attempts at raising his son Max as a single father and Max’s relationship with Pete’s son PJ. The series was later adapted into “A Goofy Movie” which involves the same characters but takes place a few years later.

In the episode “Axed by Addition” Pete threatens PJ with a lifetime grounding if he fails an upcoming math test. The following day PJ blanks during the test after staying up all night studying with Max. Having no memory of the test he assumes he failed and at Max’s suggestion, decides to do everything he’s ever wanted to do in the next 24 hours before his report card arrives.

He and Max make a bucket list and plan to fake sick to stay home from school to get it all done before the mail comes at 3:30. Max does PJ up to look like he has two obscure diseases in order to convince Pete to let him stay home. Pete takes the bait but Max and PJ were too convincing so Pete calls an ambulance when he sees the severity of the illness.

Max follows Pete and PJ to the hospital and sneaks in pretending to be a doctor, and sneaks PJ out wrapped in bandages. The doctors come back and find PJ’s bucket list along with the broccoli and mush they used to simulate the diseases. When the doctors try to explain what they’ve discovered Pete runs out of the hospital thinking that PJ is dying and has snuck out to go out with a bang before he dies.

Max and PJ hit the town at warp speed to check off everything on the list with only a few hours remaining. With the help of a skateboard, a wheelchair, and an unlimited supply of childhood moxie they do it all: 400 pounds of burgers, twelve slasher movies all at once, down a hill in a shopping cart, kissing Cynthia, and the three scariest rides at Terrorland.

Pete chases him through town going down the list the doctors retrieved from the hospital. If he were as smart as he wants PJ to be he might have skipped to the end and cut him off but instead wreaks havoc through the city.

Pete gets home just in time to see PJ passed out on the floor, thinking he’s dead he cradles his son in his arms and apologizes for all the mistakes he’s made raising him. Just then the doctor calls to tell Pete that PJ isn’t really sick. Just when PJ thinks his life is really over his report card comes in the mail and he discovers he earned an A in math afterall.

This cartoon served as a daily before school ritual for most of junior high and I have fond memories of it. I was glad to see that it holds up well even after more than twenty years. “Disney’s Goof Troop” earns seven stars out of ten because it’s a hell of a lot of fun, it captures the fears and excitement of being a kid, and it features the talents of some of my favorite actors.

Bippity-bop-bop-ba-doo-wop. Yeah!

Two new films opened over the weekend and one far and away destroyed the rest of the field. “Cinderella” earned almost $68 million, while the next closest film “Run All Night” earned a paltry $11 Million. Disney has been doling out live-action versions of some of it’s gems and “Cinderella” performed on par with the rest of the field. It also garnered good reviews to boot, you can read ours here. 

While Disney was winning the box office Liam Neeson was taking another bomb to the theaters. With another formulaic action flick staring Neeson, it took in less than half of last year’s “Non-Stop” and barely less than “A Walk Among the Tombstones.” It’s time for Neeson to pick another genre. 

Kingsman continued to perform well while “Focus” and “Chappie” both fell sharply. “Chappie” specifically took a very steep drop, almost 60%. 

Next week the second in the latest YA trilogy, “Insurgent” hits theaters to give “Cinderella” a run for her money. 

A quick note on budgets and dollar figures:
Films making back their budgets is a good sign, but that is just the money to film. It doesn’t include distribution and marketing. Marketing can cost as much as a film. That big Superbowl spot is spendy. So take that into account when judging a film’s success. Hitting $100 million isn’t the same as it once was.

All dollar amounts in the top 5 come from estimates based on ticket sales unless noted otherwise. Occasionally this article will be published when actual results come out, which is usually late Monday afternoon. For more about this and other ins and outs of movie tracking click here.

Cinderella (9 out of 10)  – Directed by Kenneth Branagh; Written by Chris Weitz; Based on the 1950 animated feature and fairy tale; Starring: Cate Blanchett, Lily James, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgård, Holliday Grainger, Sophie McShera, Derek Jacobi and Helena Bonham Carter; Rated PG for mild thematic elements, in wide release March 13, 2015.

Cinderella is gorgeous, fun, and magical. Other than Kingsman, it is the best film to come out so far in 2015, but, as a bonus, you can take your kids to see this. Or, more likely, they will drag you to see its. But fear not, there is a lot to love in this remake, regardless of how you feel about the original source material. 

Fans of “Game of Thrones” and “Downton Abbey” will also be pleased, as a stable of familiar faces makes up the leads in the cast, and they are all incredibly. . . *ahhem*. . . charming. On top of that, Cate Blanchett take an iconic swing at the character of the Wicked Stepmother. This is one of her best performances in a decade, perhaps since winning the Oscar for “The Aviator.” Helena Bonham Carter also makes a hugely entertaining and fun fairy godmother. These two, and “Ella” as she is called in the movie, Lily James, form a trifecta of amazing female performances. Compared to them, the male leads seem serviceable, but almost a little lackluster.

Director Kenneth Branaugh hasn’t made a film this gorgeous in years, and the sets and scenery and costumes look like they’re painted with brilliant digital technicolor. (Likely, most of them are).

But at the core of this film are the feelings generated by this very familiar story. It’s hard to make the narrative feel fresh or surprise you in any way. And yet, this does.

Everything you loved about the original? There are pieces of them in here, right down to digitally animated Jaq, Gus Gus, and Lucifer. There is one major exception: there is not really any singing. This is not a musical. However, if you stick around through the credits you get to hear Helena Bonham Carter sing “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” and Lily James try “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes.”

But layered on top of the familiar narrative are details and backstory that provide far more depth and motivation to our characters. But unlike last year’s “Maleficent” or “Into the Woods,” this is not a deconstruction or retelling from a new point of view. This is the Disney version of Cinderella, just with extra logic added to it. It makes sense why she gets the nickname Cinderella. It makes sense why the prince would invite all the women of the kingdom to a ball and why the pressure to marry. And these are real characters rather than. . .er. . .two-dimensional cartoons.

It’s easy to write this off as a cynical cash grab, but resist the urge to do so. Believe me, Disney is going to rule the box office with this film, possibly even through the summer releases of their other tentpole franchises like “Avengers 2: Age of Ultron” (coming in just 7 weeks!)

How much money? Remember that in 2010, Time Burton’s remake of “Alice in Wonderland” made over a billion dollars worldwide, and “Maleficent” made three-quarters of a billion ($758 million), making it the 4th biggest movie in the world in 2014. And that’s not counting the merchandising.

And as if the draw of Cinderella wasn’t enough on its own, the movie is also preceded by an amazing musical short, “Frozen Fever” in which Elsa tries to throw Anna the best birthday ever despite coming down with a cold, and her sneezes keep creating tiny adorable snowman minions. There’s singing, there’s dancing, there’s sisterly love, there’s Olaf and Sven and Kristof: it’s “Frozen” and it will be a delight to anyone who loved the original.

And indeed, if there’s one recent Disney movie to compare this to, it’s Frozen. It is, quite simply, that good. It appeals to that perfect age bracket Disney princesses seem to attract most, and is less dark and deconstructive than Maleficent.

And like Frozen and Maleficent, there is a strong undercurrent of Girl Power. While not as overtly feminist as those other films, it offers a different path for a strong female character to tread. No, she does not need a man to save her. But, at the same time, she’s not raging against the injustice that has befallen her. Instead, it’s a kinder, softer touch where doing good and living well is its own reward. You could decry it as a mere martyrdom, but it’s presented in a positive way as a little more zen and a little less confrontational. She’s not boy crazy, but she’s also still romantic. All in all, it’s a good balance. And she certainly does love the beautiful dresses. 

And, oh my, that dress. It is absolutely gorgeous. A little concerning are reports that Lily James had to go on a liquid diet to fit into its corset and that they have digitally altered he waist to make it impossibly small. It’s really unfortunate, because it just wasn’t necessary to make her so unnaturally thin, especially given the unconscious messages we’re sending to little girls everywhere. Buzzfeed has taken some images and made her waist more proportional, and the results are immeasurably better.

It’s really unfortunate that this has to be an issue with an otherwise impeccable film. This is doubly ironic given the lengths the film goes to in lampooning the vanity of stepsisters Anastasia and Drisilla, including a scene of painfully tying one of them into an incredibly constricting and uncomfortable corset.

The film is also effortless in its attempt to display diversity. The Captain of the Guards is black. And he simply is. No mention of it, no nothing. There are diverse members of the kingdom. And, to top it all off, in my opinion, Cinderella is not the most beautiful woman at the ball. That prize goes to Princess Chelina of Zaragosa, to whom many would like to see the prince betrothed. And as her name suggests, she is supposed to be a vaguely Latina or Spanish princess, played by Jana Perez.  

Given the inexplicable controversy that surrounds every casting announcement that Human Torch is going to be black, or there’s now a gay character in the Star Wars canon, or the lead character in the first standalone Star Wars movie is a woman, i’s good to just see diversity as it should be. There’s really no scary agenda here, people. And it’s great. We could use even more diversity. And it’s good to see Branaugh continuing his work of race-swapping characters that otherwise would just be default “white” actors and giving them to actors of color (Denzel Washington in “Much Ado About Nothing,” Idris Elba in “Thor”).

There isn’t any reason I should like this movie as much as I do. I’m not the target audience. My 9 year old daughter who came to the screening with me? Definitely is. And, if possible, I enjoyed this even more than she did.

I’m not a huge fan of the original source material. Of all the classic Disney princesses, she is the least interesting. She is the most passive. Things happen to Cinderella. She does not make things happen. And there’s the sexism. “Leave the sewing to the women. . .” Ahhh, the 50’s. When you could get away with that, or with the racist crows in “Dumbo.”

And so when you’re the dad of a 9 year old girl fed a steady diet of saccharine Disney marketing, fairy godmothers and taffeta dresses, it’s utterly refreshing to see an actualized female character out of the blandest one of all. 

What do I mean? Well…

[Minor spoilers ahead,  but. . .hey, this is Cinderella. You know what happens so I’m not really “spoiling” anything.]

Ella is a real person. She feels the loss of her parents, but chooses to believe that choosing to be brave and kind is the best path, regardless of your circumstances. Her choice to become a servant to her stepmother and stepsisters makes sense in the emotional logic of the film. And it makes their choices to be cruel and self-absorbed all the more tragic. They plant the seeds of their own destruction, while Ella’s kindness plants her destiny.

And finally, she is no flibbertigibbit. She’s not pinning all her hopes and dreams on marrying a prince: that’s her sisters’ agenda. Instead, in a charming case of mistaken identity, she first encounters the prince in the woods, and she does it at her dirtiest and most disheveled. (Seriously, when you see this scene, pay attention. Her hair is matted and unkempt. She is covered in sweat, ashes, dirt and soot.) She mistakes him for another commoner — an apprentice — and wants to attend the ball merely to see him as she is led to believe he works in the castle.

And when Ella thinks all hope is lost, she doesn’t pine for the prince, but revels in her memories. She’s going to make her life better herself, not wait around for royalty to rescue her. In this, she mirrors advice many of us may have heard as children “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.”

We had a long talk after the movie about boys and falling in love. And fairy tales and feminism. And this film, while it has its flaws, portrays a strong, noble character worthy of emulation by today’s young girls. The prince didn’t fall in love with the girl in the beautiful ball gown. He fell in love with the dirty girl in the forest who showed bravery and kindness. And she didn’t fall in love with him because he danced with her at the ball, but because of special secrets and emotional connection they share after leaving it. We can only hope that they internalize the message of being courageous and kind rather than needing to be below a size 0 to be beautiful in that dress.

Take your kids to go see this. Several times. Celebrate it and discuss it. And let’s hope Disney’s continued mining of their back animated catalog will turn out as well as this.

9 out of 10

Disney has released the second trailer for the upcoming “Tomorrowland” which releases May 22nd. 

This new trailer gives us more of a look at George Clooney’s character as well as the bad guys and the struggle of the film, instead of the general world that the first trailer gave us. 

Luke Evans is in negotiations to play Gaston in Disney’s live-action version of “Beauty and the Beast,” according to Variety.  Audiences may know Evans best as Bard the Bowman in Peter Jackson’s  “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” and he’s also appeared in “Dracula Untold” and “Fast and Furious 6.”

Based on Disney’s hit animated film of the same name, “Beauty and the Beast” has already cast its leading lady, Emma Watson as bookish Belle. No casting announcements about Beast have been made, but it will likely be an actor with a lot of facial hair. Bill Condon is directing with music by Alan Menken. Menken composed the music for the original film with the late Howard Ashman.   

Will Evans do the part of Gaston justice? Where’s the swell cleft in his chin? Will he eat five dozen eggs, so he’s roughly the size of a barge? Certainly working in his favor is Evans’ musical theater experience. He has appeared in “Miss Saigon,” “Avenue Q,” and “Rent.”

Gaston is one of Disney’s more interesting villains. He’s vain, egotistical, and chauvinistic, but amazingly his true villainy doesn’t emerge until his plans to marry Belle are thwarted.

“Beauty and the Beast” is scheduled to hit theaters in 2016, with production beginning later this year. 

One of the best parts of afternoons in the 80s and 90s was the Disney Television Animation shows. “TaleSpin,” “Chip and Dale’s Rescue Rangers,” and “DuckTales” were incredibly important components to the imagination of every kid I knew.

But there was something extra special about “DuckTales.” Sure, I loved “TaleSpin” and it’s Casablanca sort of sensibilities, even as a kid, but “DuckTales” was the best of them. With adventure, excitement, mysteries, and histories, it was like the duck-billed take on “Indiana Jones” I always wanted.

Well, I’m excited to say that Disney is reviving the show for play on Disney XD (the home of “Star Wars: Rebels”) for 2017. Why it’s so far off, I don’t know, but it’s going to be a great time regardless.

From their press announcement on the D23 website:

Whether you grew up on the Disney Afternoon, or you’re just a fan of iconic Disney animation, we think you’ll be excited to learn that an all-new DuckTales, an animated comedy series based on the Emmy® Award-winning series treasured by a generation of viewers, has been ordered for launch in 2017 on Disney XD channels around the world. Set to be produced by Disney Television Animation (DTVA), the new series will again star Disney’s enduringly popular characters: Scrooge McDuck, his grandnephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and Donald Duck. The announcement was made today by Marc Buhaj, Senior Vice President, Programming, and General Manager, Disney XD.

 

Buhaj said, “DuckTales has a special place in Disney’s TV animation history, it drew its inspiration from Disney Legend Carl Barks’ comic books and through its storytelling and artistic showmanship, set an enduring standard for animated entertainment that connects with both kids and adults. Our new series will bring that same energy and adventurous spirit to a new generation.”

 

The new series’ adventures will once again take viewers along as Scrooge McDuck, his curious and mischief-making grandnephews—Huey, Dewey, and Louie—and the optimistic-yet-temperamental Donald Duck embark on high-flying adventures worldwide. Other beloved characters slated to be in the new stories are: Duckworth, Gyro Gearloose, Launchpad McQuack, Flintheart Glomgold, Magica DeSpell & Poe, Ma Beagle and the Beagle Boys (Burger Beagle, Bouncer Beagle), Mrs. Beakley, and Webbigail Vanderquack.

If you want to watch the original show, it’s available on the WATCH Disney Channel App and website. And I would highly recommend the remastered version of the NES game, available widely to download on your console and PC. 

They’re both definitely worth your time.

McFarland, USA (5 out of 10) – Directed by Niki Caro; Written by Christopher Cleveland, Bettina Gilois and Grant Thompson; Starring Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Morgan Saylor, Martha Higareda, Michael Aguero, Sergio Avelar, Hector Duran, Rafael Martinez, Johnny Ortiz, Carlos Pratts, Ramiro Rodriguez, Danny Mora, Valente Rodriguez, Vanessa Martinez, Chris Ellis, Diana Maria Riva; Rated PG for thematic material, some violence and language;  128 minutes.

Disney, along with animated kids movies, really knows how to make inspirational sports dramas. But compared to some of their previous forays into the genre, “McFarland, USA” falls a little flat and seems more paint-by-numbers than it needed to be. In short, this is the “Hunchback of Notre Dame” of sports movies, not “The Lion King.”

By that I mean that it’s not bad, per se, but it all seems a little formulaic. And the themes it builds on, specifically around race and class, are far better explored in previous Disney sports movies like “Remember the Titans” and “Glory Road.”

The story revolves around Coach Jim White (Costner, who is actually pretty great in this), a football coach with a troubled history, who moves to McFarland, CA, a primarilly Latino city whose main employment is working in the fields in the nearby farms. And he finds that while the high school kids don’t make particularly good football players, the years of working in the fields make them born endurance runners.

Let me repeat that — years of picking in the fields has made them born endurance runners. These are high school kids. I’ll come back to this later.

And so he starts a cross-country team, despite cross-country being seen as a “private school” sport. And so we get a fairly predictable underdog-triumphs-despite-obstacles sports story with a twinge of class struggle underneath it. Seriously, the teams they competed against may as well have sported monocles and top hats and spat out their caviar and fine wine at disbelief of being beaten by these upstart Mexicans!

But despite some sense of “been there, done that,” the films offers some genuine charms and. . . and, oh, the “feels.” For instance, you are never going to go wrong trying to get me to root for the cute fat kid who has lots of heart. But, like I said, a little formulaic.

How formulaic? Well. . .

[MINOR SPOILER WARNING]

In an attempt to show you how Coach White has his priorities all mixed up, he accidentally forgets his daughter’s 15th birthday. At this point I said to myself, “If the town comes together to throw his daughter a quinceañera, I am walking out of this theater. . . “

And they totally do. And I didn’t, luckily. Because this movie is, unfortunately, better than a lot of these hackneyed, predictable plot points they decided to include here.

[END MINOR SPOILERS]

So what else is good? Both the acting and directing are really excellent. The kids who play the running team are incredibly charismatic, even if their characters are written more thinly than the cultivated image of a popular boy band (This one’s the bad boy, you’re the talent, you’re the smart one, etc.) There’s also an amazing supporting cast, including Maria Bello as Coach White’s cliche of a long-suffering wife, who does more with the role than she should’ve been able to, and Diana Maria Riva, who plays the mother of three of the boys, who manages to basically steal the movie away from everyone else.

Credit should be given to Niki Caro, the director of “McFarland, USA.” She grabs so much of the essence of what it is like to be in towns like McFarland, the beauty, the struggle, and the culture. She also manages to make a running course look ominous and dangerous, just in the shots she chooses of the mountain-weaving track.

Unfortunately, she is hampered by this cliche-laden script and story.

What this film only scrapes the surface of are the real issues facing places like McFarland. As I mentioned before, these kids have been working in the fields since childhood. And, unfortunately, by setting this movie in the late 80’s, it makes it feel like this sort of exploitation doesn’t continue today. It absolutely does.

And with no mention of the forces that feed on places like McFarland, who thrive because they can exploit a permanent underclass of Latino fieldworkers, it lets us off the hook. And so when some of the runners’ parents don’t want them to practice so they can go work in the fields, or to forget about college because their family will always work in the fields, this is presented in a way as to paint those parents as being unsupportive or getting in the way of their kids’ dreams, rather than the simple reality that this is what survival looks like for these families.

And no mention of the real issues of privilege that allow high school kids in rich schools to run for fun and sport, while these kids do it simply because that’s how they get to and from work. It’s hinted at very obliquely, but more just to lampoon upper class white kids, not make us have some thoughts about our own privilege that allows us to go see movies, blog, etc, while multi-generational families are out in the fields picking the vegetables we are going to eat for dinner.

Meanwhile, Kevin Costner gets to play White Savior for a bunch of Mexican kids. He gives them self-worth and a town something to believe in. . .because surely the culture that existed there before “Coach Blanco” showed up wasn’t giving it to them.  It was already a cliche when Michelle Pfieffer did it in “Dangerous Minds” 20 years ago, and it reached its apotheosis/self-parody when Keanu Reeves taught black kids how to play baseball in 2001’s “Hardball.”

Meanwhile, the issues of race and class that are discussed are far-better dealt with in previous Disney sports movies.

It’s unfortunate, because this story, these actors, this director, deserve better, less hackneyed material. A couple of passes at this script by someone with a decent social conscience and to get rid of all the cliches would’ve vastly improved this and made it a great film. Regardless, bravo to director Niko Caro, to Costner, the main kids, and especially Diana Maria Riva as actors, and to the city of McFarland and the real people this is based on. You all deserve a better movie than we got.

5 out of 10

Disney released last week their Diamond Edition of “101 Dalmatians” on Blu-ray. The film was released originally in 1961 and offered a series of notable first for the world of Walt Disney Animation. Firstly, this was the first to use a Xerox process for transferring the original animation drawings to cells. Second, there were black outlined 3D models created and filmed in live action, then converted to animation cells for coloring. Thirdly, this film was almost entirely storyboarded by one man: Bill Peet. 

There were other notable firsts on this film, but these seem to be the biggest.

On the off chance you haven’t seen this this film, “101 Dalmatians” follows Pongo and Perdita, a pair of dalmatians who are looking to rescue their kidnapped children from the clutches of the evil Cruella DeVille, who wants to take all of the puppies and turn them into a coat.

This film was always remarkable to me for how it seemed to be almost scratched out. The lines weren’t clean and you could see the animation, and I had no idea until I watched the behind the scenes on this Blu-ray release that the reason for it was the Xerox process. This was the first time the animators were able to take their original drawings and translate them directly to the screen instead of having them hand inked by painters in the ink and paint department. 

This created a unique look for the film and gave us some of the most beautiful animation the Walt Disney company ever produced. There is so much good business in this 

For me, this film is endlessly charming and watchable, the first of a new era of films from Disney that don’t comport to the classic princess and fantasy tropes that had made Disney’s fortune to that point. It’s a beautiful work of art that also acts as an incredibly compelling piece of entertainment.

The Blu-ray offers a number of bonus features, but the best come in the form of behind the scenes documentaries. There is nothing in the world more satisfying to me than seeing interviews with the likes of Brad Bird and Pete Doctor adding context and history to the film so that I can enjoy it on an elevated level that I hadn’t appreciated before.

The picture and sound quality on the Blu-ray is second to none and is the perfect format for moving through the film, frame by frame, to watch the gorgeous frames of animation. Anyone considering a career in animation would be a fool not to pick up Disney’s Blu-rays, especially for a film as artistically masterful as this.

“101 Dalmatians” Diamond Editions is available everywhere now.

Tomorrowland opens May 22, directed by Brad Bird and starring George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Hugh Laurie and a bunch of surprises. This. Looks. Amazing. And still, not sure exactly what this movie is about. But, in the immortal words of Liz Lemon, “I want to go to there.”

Some things I immediately noticed? They seem to be banking a lot on Brad Bird and George Clooney to bring interest to this movie. Because they spend just as much time flashing “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” on the screen as teasing a rocket launch.

This makes me just as curious as ever, and I generally like it as films trailers attempt to relay tone and visual style over plot and character substance. This reminds me very much of Josh Trank’s “Fantastic Four” reboot trailer and the “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” teaser. I like these and am just happy to get even a tiny peek at this.

I hope we get a full trailer for Tommorowland soon, possibly as soon as three weeks with “Macfarlane, USA” Disney’s sports movie about cross-country running with Kevin Costner, or perhaps with the live action “Cinderella” on March 13.