Day 1279: The BFG

I read a lot of books as a child, and I definitely remember "The BFG" being one of them, although when trying to remember anything about the story, all I could remember was that BFG stands for "Big Friendly Giant." Apparently I'm one of the only people I know that remembers "The BFG," though, which is a good part of the reason I'm sure that, while a good movie, The BFG won't be entirely successful in the box office. 

The best way i think I can describe this movie is that it reminds me of last year's Tomorrowland. For those that remember the book from their childhood, the story will light up on the screen. Even if you don't necessarily remember the entire plot, the images in the book seem like they belong in front of you, and with the humor that's written in throughout the plot, it'll make anyone laugh. However, I don't believe everyone will get this movie, the same way many set aside Tomorrowland when they may not have understood some of the smaller references that made it more impressive to those who did. 

The other problem, unfortunately, is that those who may not remember reading "The BFG" in their childhood may also lack the memory of Steven Spielberg, who used to draw many to the theaters after successful films such as Indiana Jones, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Jaws, and even the wonderful music by John Williams won't be enough to draw in crowds that will otherwise be heading out to see Finding Dory. 

Overall, I liked the film. It starts off a bit slow, but it's one of the rare chances we have to see Spielberg's more whimsical side, one that we saw years ago. It reminded me of my childhood, that's for sure, and it also really hit home in regards to dreaming and following our dreams. Plus, you can't beat the hilarious scenes that take place in the presence of the Queen of England or the touching moments between Sophie and BFG. The animation was beautiful, perfect for a film like this - life-like, but with a bit of fancifulness, and I must give credit to Ruby Barnhill, who plays Sophie. She does an astonishing job for spending most of a film without an actor directly opposite her, and it doesn't seem to phase her at all. 

I really do recommend seeing The BFG if you have a chance this holiday weekend, even if you don't remember the original book by Roald Dahl. It's a nice reprieve from our fast paced world and perfect for kids as well! 

Have a magical day! 

Day 1170: Another Trip with Indy

I wasn't alive in 1989 when the final installment of the Indiana Jones series premiered in theaters, but I'm fairly certain that everyone believed it to be just that: a final installment. There wasn't this talk of a fourth, much less a fifth, film focused on the college professor and archaeologist that seemed to be almost old enough for a museum himself, and yet, here we are in 2016, almost 30 years later, talking about another film.  

If you've been living under a rock, it was recently announced that Harrison Ford will be again returning to reprise his role as Indiana Jones in a fifth installment of the series that will premiere in 2019. Now, that's a long time to wait, but we somehow managed to wait for Star Wars, so hopefully this won't be too bad. So here's the rest of what know so far: 

Indiana Jones, it seems, won't be facing the same fate as his alter ego, Han Solo. Thankfully, death doesn't seem to be in the cards for our favorite character. Meanwhile, George Lucas, a key element in the franchise, will also be returning along with Steven Spielberg and the rest of the creative team. 

There's plenty of debate out there on whether or not it will make sense for Ford to reprise his role, but that doesn't seem to be up for debate, especially not after he did a good portion of his own stunts for The Force Awakens. Meanwhile, others wonder if this next sequel will follow a similar storyline as the fourth movie, which disappointed many fans. Personally, I'm going to go for the positive side of things here. Indiana Jones really wouldn't be the same without Harrison Ford, and while I'm sure someday they'll do extra films that feature a younger actor, today is not that day. Plus, with what they learned from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I'm sure they'll reign things back in and give us a good, old fashioned, adventure packed Indiana Jones movie. 

Have a magical day!

Day 108: Lincoln

Today I spent a good amount of time watching the new movie, Lincoln. It isn't exactly a short movie, and I have to say right away I don't recommend watching it when you're tired (I fell asleep...not because the movie was bad, but because I was stupid and was watching it while laying in bed). It is a great movie though, and it really shows a different side to one of our nation's greatest Presidents.

If you know Disney, you'd know right away that Walt's favorite president was, in fact, Lincoln. When he was young, he would go around his school dressed in a top hat and recite the Gettysburg Address for younger students each and every year, and when the World's Fair came around in 1964-65, and Illinois approached him with the idea of creating an attraction, Lincoln certainly came into play.

Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln premiered at the World's Fair, and Lincoln himself was the first fully functional audio-animatronic human figure, in which he talked and gestured to the audience. Throughout the years, different forms of the attraction have been showcased at Disneyland. While originally there were some technical difficulties, they were all eventually worked out, so Lincoln no longer fall into spasms in the middle of the show.

I have to say that the current show at Disneyland really reminded me a lot of another show that's currently open in another Disney Park. I'm not sure about you, but Two Brothers and Golden Dream seem to be from somewhere in Epcot...just saying.

Either way, I really enjoyed the show, and I loved the movie as well (or at least what I saw of it. I plan on rewatching it this weekend). Lincoln is probably my favorite president as well, and whether that's because of Disney or not, I have no idea. I've always had a strange fascination with the Civil War, so that probably plays a part too (although the reason I find interest in the Civil War is because of Disney...this all connects back somehow). I've kind of gotten my brother involved too, as last year he created a scrapbook for his Social Studies class as if it was really from the Civil War. We told a similar story to that told in both Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and The American Adventure, with two brothers, and I personally helped out by writing out his letters with a quill pen. He wrote the words on the letters, I just transcribed them.

And so, I highly suggest you see the film Lincoln, directed by Steven Spielberg, and, as always, John Williams did the music, so that's a plus as well. It's very well made and reminds us all that Lincoln was more than just a president...he was a father, a husband and most importantly, one of us.

Here's today's Disney History: 1954: Actor, comedian and musician Rick Moranis, the voice of Tuke in Disney's animated 2003 Brother Bear, is born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Disney fans will also know him as Wayne Szalinski in the comedy feature, Honey, I shrunk the Kids and the 3-D park attraction film, Honey, I Shrunk the Audience.

Have a magical day!