Frozen Fever

Given that there's still massive Frozen hype (which is admittedly getting annoying & obnoxious now thanks to Disney completely exploiting it even though I love the film), it's no surprise that they'd do something resembling a sequel while taking advantage of said hype! Once again directed by Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee along with actors Idina Menzel, Kristin Bell, Jonathan Groff & Josh Gad and composers Robert & Kristen Anderson-Lopez returning, can this live up to the Frozen phenomenon, or is it as bad as getting a fever? Let's let it go & find out!

Story: The short is pretty much all about Elsa trying to give Anna a perfect birthday as she never really had a proper one growing up while Elsa has a cold & inadvertantly causes havoc for Kristoff & Sven as snowgies form every time she sneezes & they are all after Anna's birthday cake. It's pretty simple & it did entertain me, but I had a few issues. While there are some fun & heartwarming moments here & there, it really doesn't live up to the film given that it's too simple & the set-up of Elsa having a temporary cold doesn't really make it feel like there's a massive conflict. Also, it would constantly contain gags & (admittedly funny) jokes throughout which would call back to the movie which doesn't really help with the huge hype it's gotten & it makes it feel less like it's own thing (although it does contain one surprising & funny cameo). The short is almost the whole way through shown through the song Making Today a Perfect Day, which is pretty catchy & fun, but it isn't as memorable as the songs from the movie (doesn't really help Elsa sounds drunk from the halfway point making it sound annoying). It's definitely not bad at all, but it really doesn't live up to the huge obnoxious Frozen hype.

 

Animation: The animation is of course fantastic given that it's Disney & that they mastered computer animation 5 years ago. The attention to detail is still amazing from the glitter on both girls' dresses, the steam in Oaken's cameo or the backgrounds in Arendelle & the texturing is also great on food like Anna's ice cream cake, paint Kristoff uses to make the birthday sign & of course, snow again despite it's limited appearance this time round. The character animation is also well done again & is now much more creative compared to the film thanks to the snowgies as they mostly act as a group although they move well individually regardless. I also liked seeing the colourful look as it takes place in summer & I also enjoyed seeing Elsa wearing a new dress given that we've seen her wear the same blue one almost all the time. The only issue I really have is that there's nothing new in it, in particular the location as we go to the same places we know well in Arendelle including the courtyard, clock tower & castle & it doesn't have that large scale as a result. The animation is still really really well done, but is not quite on par with the grand scale or diversity with the film.

 

Characters: In this short, Elsa could qualify as the main character as she's the one trying to make everything perfect for her sister's birthday despite her cold, but that really doesn't give her (or Idina Menzel) a lot to do other than sneeze & act delirious & she is nowhere near as developed as in the movie. Anna still has her fun & goofy personality along with worrying about Elsa & her cold, but she's still really likeable throughout along with the adorable Kristoff doing his best to avoid the snowgies getting her birthday cake. Sven the reindeer is still loyal & funny with his slapstick & Olaf is also still very funny thanks to Josh Gad's funny performance once again & there are some nice cameos from minor characters from the movie like Oaken & Marshmallow the giant snowman living in Elsa's ice palace. The snowgies, while having a cute design, also feel like a marketing ploy similar to how Olaf was & reminded me a bit too much of characters of this type like the Minions from Despicable Me or the Gremlins. Although none of the characters are that developed, it's nice to see them back in something new along with their memorable personalities.

Frozen Fever may not live up to the Frozen hype, but it's not bad at all with some funny moments, great animation & the same loveable characters. And as for my thoughts on the Frozen sequel being announced...didn't Once Upon a Time do that already? All I will say is don't come in all hyped up because it's only 7 minutes long & I don't like that this is the big attention grabber instead of the main presentation as there is absolutely no point just going to watch this & leaving before the movie starts (as I've heard stories of people walking out the moment it's ended) & I find this very unfair because Cinderella is what should be the main focus & is a great movie! Anyway, Frozen fans will definitely eat this up & as for the rest, it is entertaining, but the rest annoyed by the hype i.e disgruntled parents with kids listening to the soundtrack & watching the movie over & over for the past 2 years, you'll just have to grin & bear it before the main presentation.
Story: 6/10
Animation: 8/10
Characters: 7/10
Overall: 7/10

Cinderella (2015 film)

After my rather unpleasant experience with Maleficent last year (yeah, my thoughts compared to my review have changed & I really can't stand it thanks to how much it botched the characters & the source material), it's no surprise that I was also wary & pessimistic when I heard Cinderella would also be getting the same live action reboot treatment! But when I saw the first trailer, it surprised me because it looks like they haven't taken as much liberties in the story compared to other Disney reboots besides a few changes here & there to accommodate to contemporary audiences & the live action setting while keeping the same message & heart of the original 1950 movie. And ever since then, I was admittedly excited up to the point that I went to the Swarovski exhibit in London (you can see my blog post now) Directed by Kenneth Branagh & starring Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden & Helena Bonham Carter, can this modern retelling be faithful to the original, or is this another piece of the collection of mediocre & unecessary Disney reboots? Let's find out!

 

Story: Considering the other Disney reboots, you have no idea how worried I was about how they'd handle the source material, which in this case is the original 1950 film. However, the thing that really surprised me is that they actually respected the source material, keeping the basic elements of the plot while the changes made were to accommodate the live action setting & were only really minor. It's nice to see a proper fairytale on the big screen instead of them resorting to change things because other popular fairytale reboots are doing it & I must give credit to Kenneth Branagh with that. I also liked that they expanded the romance between Cinderella & Kit, except it reminded me a bit too much of Ever After (the historical version with Drew Barrymore) & it wasn't really as expanded as that movie, but it's better than them just meeting at the ball & him immediately deciding he wants to marry her. Another part which was interesting was seeing more of Cinderella's backstory & her mother shown in a flashback at the beginning of the film showing the main message throughout, have courage and be kind & that love conquers all. By the way, there are some very nice Easter eggs throughout from the 1950 film, and I recommend you stay durings the end credits for one in particular that will give you a very nostalgic feeling to the 1950 film. The only 'problem' I really have is that there's nothing really that makes it stand out compared to other Cinderella movies or does anything unique, but I'd rather have them stick too much to the source material like this rather instead of have them tamper with everything like what Maleficent & Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland did! Unlike those two, it definitely feels refreshing for Disney to actually show respect to the 1950 film & for the story to be kept the same along with the message & to treat it like a fairytale & is already the best Disney remake out there because of this.

Visuals: Like any Disney reboot nowadays, the visuals in this film are absolutely gorgeous! This time however, I much prefer how colourful it is compared to the dark & gritty tones of the other reboots & in Cinderella's case, it definitely works to its advantage as it helps with the fairytale setting. The costumes are absolutely stunning, especially during the ball scene as the attention to detail is incredible, including the stepsister's ballgowns, the Fairy Godmother's dress & Cinderella's gorgeous blue ballgown with the butterfly motif along with the crystal looking glass slippers. Heck, even the extra's costumes were amazing to look at & I must give credit to Sally Powell for an excellent job! The production design also helped give that fairytale/Disney feeling rather it be Cinderella's house, the palace or just the town the characters live in. The golden coach was also amazing to look at & the use of CGI is also great rather it be for the mice or the horses, but it's easily at it's best during the transformation scene when Ella's rags turn into her gorgeous blue ballgown. The only issue I really have in terms of the CGI is when they use it on the creatures turned into people, especially on the lizard as it gave him that uncanny valley creepy look along with the CGI on the outside of the palace which looked obvious, but it's not used for that long & didn't ruin anything for me! While the visuals are easily the best, it's still clear that in this movie, there was a compromise in both this & the story unlike the past Disney reboot which would solely focus on the visuals!

Characters: Ella (Cinderella is actually a cruel nickname the stepsisters gave her), played by Downton Abbey's Lily James, is essentially the same kind hearted woman we know & love, but is also more active, but not too much so she stays true to the character & James' performance helps despite not really being developed besides her relationship with her birth parents. Lady Tremaine (played by Cate Blanchett) may be totally different to her animated counterpart, but she's still a great antagonist as Blanchett gives the character a bit more subtlety in her cruelty towards Ella & has a bit more charisma compared to being strict all the time & a bit of her backstory explaining that she did genuinely love her first husband & that Cinderella's father favored his daughter over her which gave her a bit more dimensionality. Prince Kit (played by Game of Thrones' Richard Madden) is still the same handsome prince like in the animated film, and I didn't think there was much to him compared to the other characters, but he's not bad & is more active when trying to find Cinderella along with the relationship with his father. Drizella (played by James' Downton co-star Sophie McShera) & Anastasia (played by Holliday Granger) are very funny thanks to their performances along with their personalities being more dumb & eccentric. The Fairy Godmother's role is also much more active as she narrates throughout the film (thankfully, it's not like Maleficent when it was inconsistent) & has a much more witty & eccentric personality thanks to Helena Bonham Carter's perfect performance. Cinderella's parents also have their roles greatly expanded, which was also very nice to see, with her father being kind & still missing his deceased wife despite remarrying while her mother is the one to teach Cinderella about kindness & courage. The other characters like the Grand Duke, the Captain & the King don't have as much screen time & their personalities are radically different, but they're not too unrecognisable unlike what Maleficent did to it's characters & it does fit in better with the live action setting & the Captain can be funny from time to time. Oh yeah, and the mice Jaq (now a girl) & Gus appear, but they obviously don't talk yet they're still entertaining thanks to the brilliant CGI bringing them to life & for any other British fans out there like me, Rob Brydon makes a brief appearance as Phileus the painter. Thanks to some great acting thanks to the actors doing their own interpretations rather than copying their animated versions, it is nice to see the characters we know & love from the original have the same personalities & roles intact!

Cinderella is definitely the best live action remake so far & the most quinteseential telling of the tale so far with a well handled & respectful story, gorgeous visuals & great acting from everyone bringing the characters to life. This is definitely a turning point thanks to Kenneth Branagh's decisions on how to deal with treating it along with respecting the source material & I must give major kudos to him. It may not be as good as the animated version or the best adaptation of the story, but it's still a start for Disney reboots & I still really enjoyed it nonetheless! As for my thoughts on the short that was shown before the film, Frozen Fever, I'll be doing a separate review on it that'll come out soon!
Story: 8/10
Visuals: 10/10
Characters: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

Cinderella Swarovski Exhibition

As a special treat before the release of the live action Cinderella film, I went to the exhibition hosted by Swarovski in London which is showcasing the costumes & props used in it. I thought I'd go over this first for you guys since I only went to it yesterday!

The attraction is like a walk on type as everything is shown chronologically with the story & replicas of the sets used along with the real props used & costumes on mannequins, starting from Lady Tremaine's arrival with Drizella & Anastasia upstairs which featured portraits of Cinderella's parents on a dressing table.

The next part was the cellar downstairs with Cinderella's rags on display along with the mice in glass case. There wasn't a lot to it compared to the other sections, but it was pretty cool seeing the props like the kitchen utensils & the bells the stepsisters would use to call Cinderella & the lighting helped give it that dark ambiance.

My second favourite part would have to be the next bit, which was the garden featuring Ella's dress in bits after her stepmother ruins it (which is made even more sad when a guide revealed that it was her mother's wedding dress) next to the beggar woman's rags, promptly followed by the Fairy Godmother's dress gleaming on display. This also included the giant pumpkin growing inside the greenhouse next to the gorgeous coach which people could go through to the ballroom section, with illuminant lights inside of it & a photographer on standby allowing you to have photo next to it.

Of course, the biggest highlight is the ballroom filled with the magnificent costumes and it did not disappoint. With Cinderella's billowing blue ballgown & the Prince's galliant suit rotating with Lady Tremaine's, the stepsisters & dignitaries surrounding it on full display, it was truly a site to behold along with the sparkling glass slipper rotating in a glass case opposite with lights around it with guards uniforms galliantly standing beside it. The attention to detail on every single costume was incredible to see, especially on the stepsisters' dresses with every flower embroidered looking magnificent in every single stitch!

The final part was a Swarovski section with a guide going into detail about how they contributed to the film, where it was revealed 10,000 Swarovski crystals were used on Cinderella's dress alone & that one glass slipper weighed one kilogram & it took five months to only make one! They also advertised a bit of their jewellery line along with crystal figures of Cinderella & the glass slipper you could buy at the gift shop (I ended up buying a butterfly pendant). There was another bit where you could have your photo taken trying on a glass slipper which they'd digitally add on, but I decided not to do it.

But don't worry, there's still plenty out there for fans of the original 1950 film! The beginning featured a bit of history on the original film, including some concept art from the Disney archives by Mary Blair & drawings by Marc Davies where the guide also revealed that the film helped save the Disney studios as they had lost a lot of money back in World War II. It was such a delight to see including posters, figurines, an interactive book and even tie-in merchandise like toys in glass cases. Cinderella may not be my ultimate favourite Disney animated film, but it was so nice to see them pay tribute to the original classic & not completely ignore it, something which I've also heard of for the remake itself & it made me even more anticipated to see it (which I watched today & will promptly write my review on)

If anyone wants to see this exhibit, it's at Leicester Square Gardens in London (the closest stop via tube is Leicester Square & is a 5 minute walk & is right next to the Odeon) and is open until 10th April! If you want to know about ticket prices, they are all free with no charge! All you have to do is book a timeslot on Ticketmaster, but I must warn you, get them in advance cos they're selling out like hotcakes! I am so so glad that I went to this event because it is definitely something Disney fans will enjoy & for people of all ages, rather it be children for the new film or love Disney princess flicks or for those who want the nostalgia of the original 1950 film!

Big Hero 6

Directed by Chris Williams (AKA the voice of Oaken in Frozen) & Don Hall, this would be Disney's first ever adaptation of a Marvel comic (although I have never read the comics nor am I a Marvel fan) despite the fact it wouldn't be marketed as a Marvel film, wouldn't be considered part of the Marvel canon & several people who worked at Marvel were consultants on it. Oh yeah, and the reason why characters Sunfire & Silver Samurai who were in the comics aren't in this is because of their affiliation with the X Men series owned by Marvel! Featuring the voices of Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, TJ Miller, Damon Wayans Jr, Genesis Rodriguez, Jamie Chung, Maya Rudolph, Alan Tudyk (yeah, I'm guessing he's kinda like Disney's equivalent to John Ratzenberger at Pixar now) & James Cromwell, can some Disney magic bring Marvel to life in animation, or will it be mediocre & get a 6/10? Let's find out!

Story: Considering Disney had a really hard act to follow after Frozen, I have to say that this is a good follow up! And the only thing I shall compare to Frozen is the sibling relationships because I find it unfair to compare a fairy tale film to a superhero film which are completely unrelated! Anyway, the brotherly relationship between Hiro & Tadashi in the first act is really the heart & emotional centre of the film as it carries over to the relationship between Hiro & Baymax after Tadashi tragically dies (not really spoilers since he dies in the first act & was heavily implied in all of the trailers) & honestly, this is probably the best recent example of a heartwarming boy & robot relationship next to The Iron Giant (even though I think Iron Giant did it much better).  And the fact they actually go into how Tadashi's death affects Hiro & his actions throughout is very well done & a rather surprising move for Disney! Anyway, as for the main plot itself, it's more of an origin story for the main 6 characters & how they became superheroes, similar to all of the other recent Marvel films out there like Iron Man, but also more simplified for children despite the heavy theme of death & losing a sibling. Honestly, this part didn't really interest me as much along with the third act getting pretty predictable partly thanks to the characters (we'll get to that in their section). The comedy is also great mostly because of Baymax & his hilarious lines/innocence or the physical comedy making me laugh so much throughout! It is also very interesting to encourage children to get interested in science & robotics & it's interesting to see how each field the characters study in be integrated into the action scenes. If there is one thing I had an issue with, it would mostly be the third act after the reveal of the villain, which is pretty predictable despite the twists (I don't know, after the third time, it seems a huge twist of who the villain is is now becoming a Disney cliche within itself), but I will say that the reasoning behind his villainy makes him surprisingly tragic during the third act. Considering it had a VERY hard act to follow with Frozen, I must say that with the combination of Disney & Marvel & a lot of heart put in, this has managed to succeed being a great superhero film for all ages!

 

 

Animation: Considering Disney finally mastered computer animation when doing Tangled, this is yet another amazing example of it! The character designs, while still having that classic Disney style to them also have a bit of an anime style obviously to pay tribute to the fact it's based on Marvel, rather it be the clothes or the hair on Hiro (oh yeah, the supersuits for the film are also very memorable as they manage to incorporate what field of science each character studies in). The character animation is also very well done in a realistic matter, but considering they added in robotics rather it just be Baymax or Yokai's microbots, it can get very creative & very useful during the fast paced action or chase scenes. Also, the special effects are also really well done But easily the best part of the animation is the backgrounds of San Franksokyo. While having the typical Western style of San Francisco with the architecture of buildings in Tokyo, it manages to have a very distinct & creative style which genuinely surprised me! The attention to detail is absolutely perfect on the texturing, especially during the fight scenes, the microbots whenever Yokai or Hiro controls them in chase scenes, or even just the detail in the architecture in San Fransokyo like in Hiro's & Fred's houses. I don't think I have any issues whatsoever when it comes to the bright & incredible animation as the combination of the US Disney style CGI & the Japanese influence in the designs have made it a sight to behold!

 

Characters: Hiro Hamada (voiced by Ryan Potter), a 14 year old robotics genius, while at first is a bit cocky with going bot fighting, can become a very sympathetic lead after his brother's death & trying to cope with it thanks to Baymax & considering he's starting puberty. Tadashi, Hiro's older brother, is a very likeable character & a more realistic type of older brother in that he doesn't want Hiro to throw away his future given how intelligent he is in robotics, and the relationship between them in the first act just makes it that much sadder when he dies (not really spoilers since that's in the first act & Hiro's main motivation throughout the film) As for the rest of the group, they can easily be qualified by their personalities, with Gogo Tomago (voiced by Jamie Chung) being stoic & specialising in electromagentics, Wasabi (voiced by Damon Wayans Jr) being neurotic almost OCD specialising in laser science, Fred (voiced by TJ Miller) being the fanboy type who's surprisngly very interesting once you see the post credits scene (of course, with an obligatory Stan Lee cameo like in every Marvel movie) & Honey Lemon (voiced by Genesis Rodriguez), easily my favourite being very adorkable & quirky specialising in chemistry. Actually, am I the only one who was reminded of the animated series 6Teen with the characters? Not just because they look similar with Gogo to Nikki, Honey Lemon to Caitlin, Wasabi to Wyatt & perhaps the most obvious, Fred to Jude, but their personalities are also rather uncanny. Honestly, the problem I have with all of them is that because they have specific personalities & quirks, none of them are given any dimensionality & feel like cliches! And then there's the villain, Yokai & he is such a great villain with his motivation making him surprisingly tragic once you realize what his main goal actually is. But the issue I have with him is that his reveal is pretty predictable once you get down to it (I won't say who, but let's just say they went the Frozen route by using a red herring voiced by Alan Tudyk) There's also Aunt Cass, (voiced by Maya Rudolph), Hiro & Tadashi's guardian & owner of a cafe in San Fransokyo, whose also likeable & can be funny with her eccentricity. And finally, there's Baymax himself, voiced by Scott Adist, who is easily the best character in the film! With his huggable design & being a nurse-bot, he is so so funny throughout thanks to his innocence along with being Hiro's emotional crutch when trying to cope with Tadashi's death as, well, that's his main goal throughout the film! With a likeable cast of characters, this is the cherry on the top for not only a great Disney film, but also a great superhero film in general!

 

Overall, Big Hero 6 is a charming animated film & another great addition to the Disney canon with gorgeous animation, a heartwarming yet action packed story & a cast of likeable characters! As for if it's on par with Frozen, I find that a bit unfair since they're completely different films with Frozen being a fairy tale film & Big Hero 6 being a superhero film, but I think they're both amazing in their own domain for very different reasons. I'd definitely recommend this to Marvel fans despite the obvious differences with the source material, or those that like the popular recent big budget superhero films like Iron Man, Captain America, Thor & The Avengers. As for the short that preceded the film Feast...well, I'll be doing a separate review of it cos I have A LOT to say about it! Oh yeah, and if you're ever doing fist pumps with people after seeing this, you might have random spouts of saying 'Ba-la-la-la-la' afterwards! But I'm just gonna be honest, I don't think this should've won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature because while it is really good, I don't think it's Disney's best & How To Train Your Dragon 2 I felt dealt with the similar themes much better & more maturely (it doesn't really help that Dreamworks is going downhill at the moment).
Story: 8/10
Animation: 9/10
Characters: 8/10
Overall: 8/10