I must applaud Disney for bringing back shorts. Last year, Disney showcased “How to Hook Up Your Home Theater,” starring Goofy for the first time since Aquamania (1961) for National Treasure: Book of Secrets. The look and feel was certainly a nod to the Golden Age of Disney. Along with many shorts, this one had a very special purpose. It tested a new style of animation that uses computer tablets instead of hand-drawings to be scanned to a computer (CAPS). Although some of the animation utilized true hand-drawings, much of it ventured into the new process, demonstrating the improvements the tablets can make.

Shorts have always been a good place to test new technologies. Plane Crazy (1928) showcased Mickey and Minnie for the first time. Steamboat Willie (1928) introduced sound in sync with an animation for the first time. Flowers and Trees (1932) demonstrated that animations could be in color. The Old Mill (1937) tested the multiplane camera. Xerography was tested in the before mentioned Aquamania.

Enough about the history of shorts and on with the significance of this short. With this YouTube generation, shorts are certainly popular again. It only makes sense as our attention spans shorten and ADD is ever on the rise. And what better “appetizer” to a movie than to see a short. Especially a Walt Disney short.

The new logo of Walt Disney Animation Studios introduced with “Meet the Robinsons” certainly pairs well with the short. It is a tribute to Disney’s humble beginnings. It let’s us remember how Micky began and what he has become since, much like Pixar’s logo that stars their first official short featuring Luxo Jr.

Then, of course, the classic short introduction we are all familiar with. The Goofy theme music, the classic image of Goofy’s face centered over a yellow background. The Walt Disney Presents Goofy with the sound company credits. Then the title of the the short, ever building up to the short itself.

Of course, Goofy has been traditionally portrayed as “the everyman” in many of his shorts, especially his sports instructionals. It was a very classic choice that this short would be about setting up a home theater for a football game. I was holding my breath the entire short, which makes me pretty lucky that it was a short! I was waiting to be disappointed. It never happened. Not to be too harsh on Disney, but I have been disappointed more times than naught of late. But for what seems forever, there was a Disney product that wowed me. They had taken something from the golden age of Disney and applied it to a much different modern world. And it worked.

Of course, there were also the subtle nods to Goofy’s past as well. There is a bookshelf that I couldn’t help notice had a picture of Walt Disney, Dippy Dawg(Goofy’s prototype), a caricature of John Lasseter (the creative genius who is bringing life back to Disney), a trophy of Goofy, and a picture of Clarabelle Cow, a hugely less successful character that was born from the Disney Studios.

News is that Disney is continuing the trend with CGI shorts from John Lassester’s lead. Pixar has made outstanding shorts that has trained and tested techniques for the movies, just as Disney had. You can find more about them at http://www.disneyanimation.com

I look forward to reviewing the amazing new shorts as they are released!

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Well, today is the Fall Equinox, which explains my excitement every time I step outside. Fall, or Autumn, is just about my favorite season. Winter takes an equal spot for me as well!

No one can deny the Halloween decorations that have already been popping up since about the 4th of July. But that really doesn’t kick the season off. The first sign for me was a noticeable drop in temperature. But really, for me there is a strange feeling in my gut that let’s me know it’s fall.

Fall is the perfect beginning for stories of magic and wonder. Much like rainstorms in movies are sometimes a metaphor for cleansing, Fall is the curtain rising to a new show. There is a building anticipation for the unknown to suddenly appear, and joyful surprises. The arrival of Fall is the rabbit hole to another world. The forests never seem as mysterious as they do in fall when there is a kaleidoscope of vivid color that captures the senses.

In Disneyland, The Haunted Mansion will begin The Haunted Mansion Holiday from September 25th until sometime after the Christmas rush. The ghoulish theme seems to really exemplify the best Autumn has to offer.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day could be the true gateway to Autumn Only three days before Autumn Equinox, it could be treated as the “kickoff” of the Autumn season, with all the appropriate Pirate gear to give the holiday the proper treatment. You could have an excuse to wear pirate attire long before Halloween actually comes around….after all, I know you just needed another excuse to dress up. (It’ll be our little secret)

I feel most inspired to write a story or read a book when the temperature drops. The smell of dead leaves create a distinct fragrance that only comes with fall. The brisk fall air makes me want to create delicious holiday goodies like hot apple cider, peanut butter cookies, pumpkin shaped frosted sugar cookies, ginger snaps and the list could go on….

Some people do not like Autumn for the same reasons that I like it. Some see the dead leaves as just that, dead. The falling leaves mean winter’s frost is just around the corner. Why is this so bad? Winter brings hot cocoa and family festivities!

To each their own, but I will always enjoy Autumn.

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Disney and Alice go way back, even before Disney was Disney.  As shocking as it may sound, Alice and Disney go back before Micky was even born.  Disney made a series of shorts which he called The Alice Comedies. They were brilliant in its time.  The concept wasn’t entirely new, but the way Disney went about it was.  It starred a live-action girl in a cartoon world.  It was produced in 1923, five years before Micky.

Of course, Alice never slipped from Disney’s mind.  In 1951, the ever-popular full-length feature cartoon hit theaters.  A brilliant film that continues to prod the imagination.  Some critical reception came from die-hard Lewis Carroll fans for steering too far from the original books, but for the most part it was a great success and continues to be successful in the subsequent DVD releases.

Soon, another Disney Alice in Wonderland will hit theaters.  This time, from the imaginative genius of Tim Burton.  I have high expectations as Tim Burton has rarely ever disappointed me.  Tim Burton is no stranger to Disney.  He began at Disney as conceptual artist for Disney’s, The Black Cauldron, although his work was never used.  Tim Burton’s, The Nightmare Before Christmas had a little help from Disney and has become a Halloween/Christmas themed layout for Disney’s The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland in  Anaheim, California.

In 2010, I will be in theaters to witness this new chapter in Disney’s fascination with Alice in Wonderland, a facination that is expected.  The story is perfect for interpretation through cinema.  As a cartoon, the imaginations of the artists could go wild with the creations of Lewis Carroll.  As a Tim Burton live-action and CGI film, the possibilities are endless, and I expect a great treatment of the original books just as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory had.  Kudos for Tim steering away from the original classic movie’s psychedelic theme and sticking to the book more closely.

March 5, 2010, I will be anxiously waiting in line for my tickets, eager to see this Tim Burton adaptation.  Then you can hear my take on the movie.

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I have looked forward to this day every year since I discovered it’s inception. But for the last two years I have somehow missed it. Last year I was away on errands during that time and was reminded by one of my friends after it was too late. My wife bought me “The Pirate Primer: Mastering the Language of Swashbucklers & Rogues, by George Choundas” so that I could master piratese.

I am ever so grateful to come across this wonderful book, “Pirattitude!: So you Wanna Be a Pirate?: Here’s How! by John “Chumbucket” Baur, Mark “Cap’n Slappy” Summers, and Dave Barry.” It is no Treasure Island, but it is a nice little gem of a book as it opened the door to a great new day of celebration. “Chumbucket” and “Cap’n Slappy” are the inventors of this wonderful holiday meant to be celebrated September 19th each and every year since it’s wonderful creation in 1995.

Of course, the holiday focuses on the fictionalized romantic image of pirates that we almost learn by instinct as children. How could pirates be anything other than fun-loving, adventure-seeking, gentle but loud party crashers? Perhaps the image of pirates in fiction is the embodiment of the complete lack of inhibitions. One could make a connection between pirates in fiction and college fraternity organization member parties if you only dress them in pirate costumes instead of togas.

Avoiding parties of that sort, I still like the complete lack of inhibitions. Maybe it stems “acting civilized,” holding back a primal nature that seldom gets loose save for an occasional Superbowl party or a promotion party.

The Pirates of the Caribbean ride was certainly one of the best live-action films that Disney had put out in quite a long time. It certainly held true to the ride that it was based on. Although the last of the series was received with a bit more criticism for a somewhat convoluted plot, the series is a huge success. Considering the history of pirate themed movies, the series will hold a standard that may never be surpassed. So what better way to celebrate the day than to watch the trilogy, perhaps while hosting a costume party? Be sure to serve your best “grog.”

For one day of the year, I will have an excuse to walk down the street with a skull-and-crossbones eyepatch and a parrot on my shoulder, shouting things like, “Avast, ye scoundrals! The day is a-dyin’ and the gold is waitin’ to be dug up, matey’s! Yo ho, and a treasureload it will be! ARR! I, for one, will be planning for next year, and this time I will not miss it. If I have to make a special calender to remind me, so be it. I will have reminders set up on my site for my readers.

Oh, and don’t forget to visit the website about International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

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Pixar vs. Walt Disney Animation Studio

If I wasn’t mistaken, Pixar was bought by Disney in January, 2006. Yet there are a few computer animated films still coming out of Disney’s Studio. I understand that perhaps too much time and money had been invested in a couple of their projects, including Bolt and Rapunzel, both computer animations, although Rapunzel will be interesting to see as it will be CGI in an oil painting style. I am pleased to say that The Princess and the Frog will be traditionally animated, but King of the Elves will be CGI. But why?

I believe that different studios have unique strengths. So far, Disney’s animation department since Lilo and Stitch has been very shaky. There has been a proven “Decline by Degrees,” to borrow the catchphrase from Kevin Yee, resident columnist of MiceAge.com. The dumping of heaps of cheap sequels may have hardened a curiously forgiving public, perhaps making people less receptive to films that Disney puts out in theaters, although it may have been Atlantis: The Lost Empire that started the downhill trend.

And then there is Pixar. They have not suffered at all. They are the new crowning jewel of The Walt Disney Company. They have proved to possess much needed quality and creativity that is lacking at the current Disney studios. I would not change Pixar for anything, and I hope that the disease eating Disney animation doesn’t contaminate Pixar. Although… What if Pixar made the next fairy tale princess themed musical? Perhaps Walt Disney Animation Studio will aspire to top Pixar’s hits with Rapunzel’s original style? Or will the style be too disturbing?

What it all comes down to is, in my opinion, there should be only one Disney computer animation studio. Walt Disney Animation Studio should stick with what they are good at, namely traditionally 2d animation (and saying traditional is stretching it as The Little Mermaid was the last “hand drawn” feature, save for the last sequence of the film that uses their new CAPS system, and even then, Xerox technology had been used since One Hundred and One Dalmations to simplify the animation process)

About princess movies. Historically, princess features have saved the Disney studios financially. Disney rode on Cinderella to survive the harsh decade the war had put on Disney. The Little Mermaid boosted Disney during the rough times they had in the 80’s, Beauty and the Beast two years later guaranteed a future for Disney.

Even though The Lion King was not a princess movie, it certainly will be hard to top in popularity. We will just have to wait and see what will become of The Princess and the Frog, which I have high expectations. The trailer is reminiscent of the core Disney movies that have made Disney great. But we will have to wait to see it, and when I do, I will have lots to say.

(As a note, this site is still under construction, so just sit tight until it is complete!)

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