Day 1466: A Completely Uninteresting Day

What happens when you're a blog writer but you have an absolutely, completely uninteresting day and end it with writer's block? The picture above isn't even from today, that's how uninteresting today was. After all, the most interesting things that happened to me today were a four hour study session of Beethoven's first symphony, my boyfriend bringing me a Christmas sweater that his Great Grandma previously owned, and going to Olive Garden at 9:30 at night for breadsticks, mozzarella sticks, and stuffed mushrooms. Other than that, I did lay by my fireplace and watch Parks & Recreation for a while because I was cold, but is that really any better? 

As my roommate just said though, "we're on break," and she's entirely right. As much as I spend a bunch of my time on breaks working on catching up on blog posts and videos and in general, sleep, that doesn't make for a very interesting day. At least, nothing compared to what I'll be up to next week when I'm actually in Florida for another nine days at Disney. 

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that these completely uninteresting days, even when they have very little Disney in them, are necessary for us to really appreciate the truly magical ones. It's sort of like movies - not every single movie is going to hit it out of the park. Disney alone proves that with new films eleven out of the twelve months in 2016. Some of them, such as Finding Dory, Star Wars: Rogue One, and Captain America: Civil War did really well, ending out as the top three grossing films of 2016 in general. But others, such as Queen of Katwe, Alice Through the Looking Glass, and The BFG didn't fare as well, and while each may have been a good concept or film, there was something about them that was, at some point, uninteresting. 

Which is one of the characteristics I pay special attention to when I'm in the theaters seeing each film on opening weekend. When I'm viewing the film, I'm conscious of the moments where I lose my interest, and then at the end of the viewing I sort of count up how many times that happened. From there, I'm able to take that number into account as I determine how much I truly enjoyed the movie. A lull or two is good, great actually, because it allows us as viewers to process everything that's happened thus far in the film, but too many lulls just puts us to sleep, and, well, you get the idea. 

So maybe today, January 5, was a particularly uninteresting day in the Disney department, but I was still able to find enjoyment in the things I did, and that's just as important...especially when you live in Wisconsin and it's -23 degrees outside and you just feel really far away from Disney World. 

Have a magical day!

Day 1265: Finding Dory

I don't know how old I was when I saw Finding Nemo for the first time, but in the years since then, I do know that it's made an impact on my life. From the Disney Parks, where Nemo and Friends took over the Living Seas and brought a lost attraction back to life and swam their way on stage in their own musical, to several of my best friends loving the film, to watching it on every single band trip I've ever been on, Nemo is one of those films that seems to be universally loved. That's why, as usual, I headed to theaters as soon as possible to see the sequel, Finding Dory, and this time I made sure to bring my extended family with me.

I don't know entirely what to say about this film aside from the fact that I think we all really enjoyed it (and loved it, if we're being honest here). I heard before seeing it that some were comparing it to Toy Story 3, and saying that it's the best Pixar sequel since then, and I completely agree. For those of us that experienced Finding Nemo when we were young, and then crowded the movie theaters to see Finding Dory, it was extremely fulfilling.

And on top of it all, this film had a great message, as many of the Pixar films do, which left us really wondering what Dory would do. It shed a light on some of the disabilities we may not be able to see, and how they can make a person just as valuable in their own unique way. Finding Dory included a variety of characters, from a Beluga Whale with broken sonar, to Dory with her memory loss, Nemo with his lucky fin, a blind whale, and even a bird named Becky that quickly became one of my favorite characters. It showed us that everyone is worthwhile, no matter what we struggle with, and that if we celebrate our differences, strengths, and yes, even our weaknesses, we really can swim across an entire ocean to find those we love.

If you haven't seen Finding Dory yet, I encourage you to do so! I must say that it's one of the funniest films I've seen in a while, as it had me laughing pretty much the entire time through some really cleverly created jokes and funny moments that could have only been created by Pixar, and I'm excited to see it again at some point in the future!

Have a magical day!

Day 1201: The Jungle Book

It's time for another round of "A Disney movie I was skeptical about but actually really enjoyed!"

The Jungle Book was sort of an after thought for me, but following my jazz concert, my parents and I headed to the theater to see the newest Disney film, and you know, it wasn't half bad. While it definitely had its moments, the animation is some of the most beautiful I've seen in a long while, and the acting was superb too. And actually, I think I like this live action version better than the animated version...which feels sort of wrong to say.

Still though, I think my biggest problem with this film is that when the music was there, it almost felt out of place. While the animated version definitely has some muscial-esque qualities to it, this live action version wasn't a musical. It was an action packed movie that just happened to have a couple of random songs thrown in the middle, which made them feel forced. However, the songs were beautifully done and updated for today, so something must be said about that also.

Really though I think the element I loved most in this was the character development. Every character seems to have a role here, whether it be Baloo or Kaa or a random member of the wolf-pack, which I also adored. It brought a depth to the story that's not there in the animated version. Oh, and they also updated and got rid of that absolutely awful ending.

I'm not entirely sure what sort of rating I'd give this one, maybe a 6 or 7 out of ten. It definitely wasn't a movie I would become obsessed with, much like I expect Captain America and Finding Dory will, and I'm not even sure I'd go to see it again in the near future, although I'm sure I'll end up buying it on Blu-Ray when we get there this fall. Still, it's worth a watch!

Have a magical day!

Day 1044: Finding Dory

That's right, the moment we've all been waiting for is finally here: the trailer for Finding Dory!

Oh come on, you can't tell me that you haven't been anticipating this movie at least a little bit. We all want to know why we have to find Dory, and where she went! Plus, more Ellen and more Nemo? Sounds like the greatest thing ever.

It seems like we're not necessarily looking for Dory, but that Dory is looking for something else. Regardless, with this bunch of fish it's sure to be an interesting adventure! 

So...can we go see the movie now? 

Have a magical day! 

(Note: This blog post was written on December 30).