Rumors are circulating today, based on a report from Deadline, that Chris Pratt is being eyed for the role of Indiana Jones in an upcoming yet undetermined Indy flick. I don’t think there is any surprise in news of continuing the franchise. The series still has a loving fan base and with the excitement looming around “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” it only makes sense that Disney would look to the next most well known and revered Lucas title for its next move.

From a logistical standpoint it would also make sense to consider Pratt for the role, in addition to the obvious similarities between his performance of Starlord and the Indy character, Pratt already has contracts with Marvel so he’s already part of the Disney family.

That said, this rumor has no credibility at all.

My other real concern is of Pratt oversaturation. He’s funny, he’s charming, he can command the screen, I don’t begrudge him his success at all. In fact based his public persona, I quite like the guy, but I worry that we’re in store for too much of a good thing. Odds are his involvement in the Marvel universe is set to increase and he’ll be helming “Jurassic World” later this year, I worry that involving him in another big franchise will seem like too much right away. 

It’s also worth noting that the same story was circulating months ago, with Chris Pratt, and even before then but with Bradley Cooper in the role. Whether that lends credibility to the claim or this recent rumor is just a rehashing of old news, I can’t say. Only time will tell.

Maybe I’m wrong, maybe he’ll get the part and he’ll be incredible and we’ll build monuments to remember him for time and all eternity. But most importantly while it’s not impossible, or even improbable, there is no reliable source on the data. Deadline reports it as “a dishy informed rumor” and that’s all it is, if it’s even that.

Other whisperings with at least as much credibility suggest that Harrison Ford has a lock on future “Indiana Jones” movies as a stipulation of his involvement with “Episode VII.” Which would mean that Pratt couldn’t possibly be cast as the character unless it was a flashback along the lines of River Phoenix in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” In addition, industry insiders like Drew McWeeny at HitFlix gives it absolutely no stock.

This one feels pretty firmly untrue, it just feels way too much like fanboy casting to me, but hey, if it happens it will probably be awesome.

It’s official! Emma Watson, best known as Hermione Granger from the “Harry Potter” films, will be Belle in Disney’s live action “Beauty and the Beast.”

Watson posted the following on her Facebook page: “I’m finally able to tell you… that I will be playing Belle in Disney’s new live-action Beauty and the Beast! It was such a big part of my growing up, it almost feels surreal that I’ll get to dance to ‘Be Our Guest’ and sing ‘Something There’. My six year old self is on the ceiling – heart bursting. Time to start some singing lessons. I can’t wait for you to see it. Emma xx”

I’m not going to lie. I’m a little nervous now that this seems to really be happening. “Beauty and the Beast” is my favorite Disney film. Of all time. Though admittedly a lot of that stems from bookish Belle and that incredible library that the Beast gives her. Just imagine a live action scene with the camera panning up to capture the books from floor to ceiling . . . my bibliophilic heart is fluttering at the thought.

And then there’s the music. The film will be directed by Bill Condon (“Dreamgirls,” “Twilight: Breaking Dawn Parts 1 and 2”) who has said “that the film will indeed be a musical featuring the 1991 animated film’s original Alan Menken and Howard Ashman songs, as well as new music from composer Menken.” This is good news. 

There’s also a lot more casting to be announced and questions to be answered. Who will play Beast? Gaston? Will the Enchanted Objects be computer generated? Hopefully some of these will be answered soon. 

Production is slated to begin later this year, though no release date has been set. 

Google may have a corner on the market of awesome, yet slightly terrifying, robots after having bought out Boston Dynamics, and it’s clear that they have little to no concern about our being scared stiff of their creations. Disney on the other hand seems bent on giving us a world of friendly and adorable robots to keep us off our guard.

“Wall-E” can now be seen as a long running propaganda campaign to make us comfortable with a world of cute little machines that we’ll never suspect. Enter Beachbot, a robotic turtle that’s as cute as it is impressive.

Using a laser scanner and a series of rake-like appendages coming out of its robo-posterior, Beachbot marks a canvas in beach sand and creates art by determining a trajectory and dropping parts of its rake to make lines in the sand.

At current Beachbot is limited to a canvas of ten meters by ten meters but according to Paul Beardsley, head of Disney Research Zurich, the team responsible for Beachbot, “The dream is to create huge amazing drawings like the Nazca Lines.”

The short term plan is to release Beachbot at public beaches to make temporary art installations for passersby. This marks a change in the intent of robotics in that Beachbot serves no real utility other than to create art and be just the cutest thing on gears.

That is until it reveals its true slow moving purpose… 

The latest trailer for Disney’s “Inside Out” is here for your viewing pleasure. It’s not super long and really only shows us one scene of the movie but it’s enough to make the voices in my head get excited. Enjoy!

“Inside Out” hits theaters June 19th 2015.

Maleficent (7 out of 10) Directed by Robert Stromberg; starring Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley; rated PG; running time: 97 minutes.

Disney’s live-action revisionist fairy tale “Maleficent” is now available to own on DVD and Blu-ray, and the popular villainess becomes the heroine in this adaptation of “Sleeping Beauty.”

Angelina Jolie and her extraordinary cheekbones carry this film almost singlehandedly. The three good fairies are bland characters and really could have been left out of the movie altogether. Dakota Fanning shines as Aurora, but there isn’t much for her to do other than smile and be sweet and then sleep. It truly is Maleficent’s story, and the other characters exist solely to explain what turned her from a gentle fairy into a bitter enemy, so reviled she doesn’t even earn an invitation to Aurora’s christening.

And while the movie is pretty to look at, the story leaves something to be desired. Maleficent’s transformation into a Disney baddie is believable, and we feel her pain when she becomes a victim of greed. But everything from that point on feels rushed, with so much time devoted to backstory in a film that isn’t even two hours long. 

Jolie is larger than life in this role and really does make everyone else look like set dressing. Even her costumes demand attention, from the elaborate wings to the horns on her head and the fire in her eyes. 

Despite its flaws, “Maleficent” is a stunning film. The visual effects are amazing, and I think fans familiar with its animated counterpart will see a lot of similarities in how certain scenes were shot. It also takes a darker and more cynical look at the story, with Maleficent’s battle with the kingdom and the existence of a True Love’s kiss. 

The bonus features on the disc include:

·       From Fairy Tale to Feature Film – Reimagining Maleficent for a new generation

·       Building An Epic Battle –Creating the clash between Maleficent and King Henry’s Forces

·       Classic Couture – Examine Maleficent’s spellbinding head wraps and jewelry.

·       Maleficent Revealed – Explore the layers of extraordinary special effects.

·       Aurora: Becoming A Beauty – Elle Fanning reveals her lifelong love of Disney’s original animated classic.

·       Deleted Scenes:

o   “Stefan In King’s Chamber”

o   “Pixie Idiots”

o   “Diaval asks about the Curse”

o   “Pixies Seek Asylum”

o   “Suitor”

An excerpt from the bonus feature Becoming a Beauty:

Disney’s upcoming “Big Hero 6” is one of our most anticipated films of the season, and if early buzz is any indication, it’s going to live up to those expectations.

We’ve been given a good number of advance screening passes for Wednesday, November 5 at 7 PM at Jordan Commons in Sandy, Utah, and we want you to come see it with us! Each person can download up to four (4) passes, so they can take the entire family, but they are only available on a first come, first serve basis, so I would recommend reserving them as soon as possible.

The theater is also likely overbooked, so you’ll want to show up early to redeem your passes for actual tickets. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the theater directly, and they will fill you in on their redemption rules.

Click here to grab your tickets!

Can’t wait to see you all there!

Brad Bird is a great storyteller. I want to say he is a great filmmaker, but he made “Mission Impossible 4” which is not something I can get past easily, and I don’t think is a good example of how well he can handle a live action film. You can look at “John Carter” and make a pretty good case that the problems Andrew Stanton had with that movie are almost all due to working in a new medium where you just can’t go back and reanimate a whole scene to smooth over problem areas, but are pretty much stuck with what you shot on location. 

I don’t expect “Tomorrowland” to be as far off target as that was, but there is a huge massive process difference in how you create a fully animated feature (especially in the Pixar world) and how you make a live action movie (regardless of how much CG effects you use).

Having said all of that, this movie looks super intriguing and as more story info has been leaking out, it has become even more interesting. And this trailer sets a really nice mood, while also opening up the premise a bit.

“Tomorrowland” hits theaters May 22, 2015 and stars George Clooney, Britt Robertson, and Hugh Laurie. Directed by Brad Bird.

Disney is once again releasing “Sleeping Beauty” on Blu-ray today and it’s something you’re not going to want to miss. As the 16th animated feature film to come from Walt Disney, this masterpiece shows every frame a work of art befitting the quality afforded by Blu-rays. Though it wasn’t well-received when it was released (and caused Disney to go on a hiatus from Princess films and fairy tales until after the death of Walt), it’s now taken a place as one of the best films in the Disney library.

Aside from the gorgeous artistry in every shot, the film creates an elegantly simple story based on the old fairy tales by Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm and does it with gusto. The music is classic by now and the voice work is haunting. 

But can there be anything greater than the fight with Malificent in her dragon form? I would daresay that it’s one of the finest animated sequences ever drawn.

This is something you’re going to want in your collection, even if you’re not the biggest Disney fan. You just need to be a fan of cinema in general.

You can get the Blu-ray now on Amazon.

Yesterday, Disney and Lucasfilm announced that ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ would be renewed for a second season. The news comes as no surprise. For one, the show is just that good. For two, it’s something we were told back in San Diego for Comic-Con that work was happening for a second season. But it’s still great to see a confirmation.

Here’s their official release:

One day ahead of a highly-anticipated television premiere, Disney Channels Worldwide President and Chief Creative Officer Gary Marsh announced plans to produce a second season of the animated series “Star Wars Rebels” from Lucasfilm.

 

Marsh said, “The global expectations for this series could not have been any higher. And I am proud to say that the team at Lucasfilm has delivered something that has surpassed even that incredibly high bar – artistically and thematically.”

 

“Star Wars Rebels” has received acclaim from critics and fans alike since its advance debut screening at San Diego Comic-Con in July, followed by special previews this week on WATCH Disney XD and other digital platforms. “Star Wars Rebels” will be introduced via a television movie, “Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion,” premiering FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3 (9:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney Channel in the U.S. and MONDAY, OCTOBER 6 (8:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney XD in the U.S.  It ushers in the series beginning MONDAY, OCTOBER 13 (9:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney XD in the U.S.  The series will air in 34 languages across 163 countries in over 400 million households.

 

“We all love making ‘Rebels,’ so we couldn’t be happier that it’s moving into a second season,” says Lucasfilm VP of Creative Development, Kiri Hart.  “Our fantastic creative team is dreaming up new stories for the crew of the Ghost that will expand their experience of the galaxy and deepen their heroes’ journeys. The fan response to the show has been amazing, humbling and inspiring. We’re looking forward to the adventure ahead.”

 

The creative team behind the second season of “Star Wars Rebels” includes Executive Producers Simon Kinberg and Dave Filoni, and Co-Executive Producer and Supervising Writer Henry Gilroy.

 

“Star Wars Rebels” continues the epic story-telling tradition that has captivated generations of “Star Wars” fans since 1977.  Its story is set in the era between the film’s prequel trilogy and original trilogy and is in a unique position to bridge the two both aesthetically and generationally.  Honoring the past while moving boldly into the future, it features fantastic icons from “Star Wars” while introducing a new generation to the far corners of the galaxy, one full of exotic new creatures and characters.

Notably absent from the release is Greg Weisman, who was a prominent figure in season one. We began reporting in July about his absence for the press, and Freddie Prinze, Jr. who plays Kanan on the show dropped the fact that he was not working on future episodes. But now it’s official, he’s just not there. Where is he? We can only hope it’s something awesome.

Don’t forget, “Star Wars: Rebels” airs tonight on the Disney Channel.

For the last week I’ve been tearing through “Disney Infinity 2.0” with all the spare time I can muster. Admittedly, it hasn’t been much, I’ve only been able to play entirely through the Spider-Man playset, most of the way through the Avengers playset, and only some of the way through the Guardians of the Galaxy playset.

Thanks to the playsets and the Kyln Toybox and the tower defense game, both included in the starter set, I’ve been able to spend a lot of quality time with each of the Marvel characters and I have to say I’m incredibly pleased, but lets take this part by part.

Improvements to 1.0

This game is a much smoother experience than the Wii U and has a lot more playability to it. The problem I found in 1.0 was that, since I wasn’t the biggest fan of the unwieldy Toy Box mode, I got bored pretty quickly with the game. My kids took over from there, using it as a replacement for Minecraft when they’d been grounded from the computer.

The other most obvious thing is that you have, for the first time ever, Marvel characters able to interact with Disney characters. And since there’s no Fantastic Four team at launch, it’s easy to drop in the Incredibles in their stead. The toy box is also a lot easier to handle, things have been streamlined and it’s much, much easier to create experiences and games rather than just create environments for characters to slap each other in.

The biggest advancement between the games, however, might be the skill tree and level-up options for each of the characters, new and old. The ability to advance and get better is incredibly alluring in a game with super-heroes, and it’s definitely the right move.

Technical Stuff

This game is much more expansive and looks much better than the previous game. The New York city of the Avengers and Spider-Man (which are just out of reach of each other) feels like the Spider-Man web-slingers of old, you even start to get a feel for the city and where things are. My only complaint is that they’re slightly different cities. Spider-Man characters zone out if you get near Stark Tower and head to that part of town.

The capacity of the game is greatly improved. Toy Boxes don’t fill up as easy and you can have three times as many of them.

My biggest complaint was the speed of the game when I wasn’t hooked up to the Internet. I couldn’t imagine a situation where this game needed to have an active Internet connection. My Internet was down the day I received the game and the game stopped three times and slowed significantly on loading when it kept asking me where my Internet was. I don’t mind that it wants to check the Internet for updates or anything, but the fact that it wanted Internet at every load screen was reasonably obnoxious. As soon as the Internet was fixed, though, those issues disappeared.

The Figures

I’m assuming everyone is familiar enough with this game to know that you need to purchase what is essentially an action figure of each character you plan to play in the game. With all 15 of the Marvel launch figures, I was able to gaze upon each of them for long whiles and I have to say they’re the sort of thing I’d love to have adorning my shelves whether or not they were a component to a game. That the game play comes extra is truly a bonus. 

And let me say this: for characters you couldn’t imagine yourself wanting to buy separately, don’t skimp on them. The characters that I felt I was least likely to play have turned out to be my favorite. Take Iron Fist, for example. I was expecting him to be a pretty boring character in a world where I could web sling around with Spider-Man or Venom, or shoot guns with Nick Fury, but no. Of all the time I spent playing the game, he was easily my favorite.

Don’t get me started on Rocket Raccoon and Groot, though. The figures are fantastic and their gameplay follows suit. That I can have Groot carry Rocket around, shooting all the while is nothing short of brilliant.

Each of these figures is a work of art on its own.

Gameplay

More than anything the game is fun. It felt very much like a cartoony version of the “Spider-Man 2” games from the mid 2000s, but that’s not a bad thing. The city feels open, the missions are a lot of fun, the stories work perfectly in the animated Disney style they’ve chosen, and I haven’t encountered any awkward control issues, at least not on the control pad for the Wii U.

It was a move of brilliance that they packaged the game the way they did. As soon as they opened the box, my daughter wanted to play the Guardians of the Galaxy set. Two missions in, she got a little discouraged. “I want to break out of the prison, dad. That’s what I want to do.”

Well, lo and behold, the Kyln toy box that came with the starter set allows her to do just that. She ditched the playset proper and did all of the toy box missions set in the Kyln.

Aside from the game itself, I think I had the most fun playing the tower defense game set on Asgard that comes in the box. You get to play with any combination of characters, from 1.0 or 2.0 and defend Odin’s relics. It’s challenging, fun, and adds lots of replayability to the entire investment.

Overall

Overall, there’s nothing bad I’d really say about this game. It’s perfect for casual gamers like me. The more hardcore among us might be looking for a different experience, but this is perfect for me to play with my kids on the weekends or unwind with a beer after work. Who wouldn’t want to pound some frost giants into submission with Mjolnir?

Now all they have left to add is Star Wars characters and the Muppets and we’ll be set for life.

As far as 2.0 itself is concerned, though, my advice is for you to pick it up now. It hits stores today, or you can get it on Amazon with free shipping.