Alice in Wonderland Movie Review

Where can you start with a film like Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. I guess the best and most appropriate place to begin is to say that I definitely don't see this as being a movie for everyone. I think that Tim Burton's style of making films just doesn't sit well with everyone. But if you are one of those Burton fans then listen up! Alice in Wonderland has got to be some of Burton's best work yet. This film is odd yet playfully delightful every step of the way. If you take into account that this is more a continuation of the two original books I think it holds up very well. With nothing to directly compare it to it holds on it's own perfectly.
There are three things I'd like to cover in this review. The first of which is the story. I thought that the story was very well rounded and a lot of fun. They tied the original stories into this new adaptation very well. It seemed like every time I was finding a bit of a hole in the story it was quickly cleared up.
The second thing is the characters. All of the characters that we are used to seeing or reading about from Alice in Wonderland whether it be Alice herself, the red or white queens, the Mad Hatter, March Hair, Door Mouse, or the white rabbit, every character is represented. The casting for these roles was definitely well suited to each character. Not once did it seem like any of the characters were out of place or saying something that put them outside that character.
Finally, and this is the best part of this movie, the animation and visual effects. The visual effects and animation in this movie I believe is reason enough to go out and see it. This was a feast for the eyes as each scene gave way to a new part of Burton's carefully constructed Wonderland. Lighting and color palettes set each scene for the correct mood and ambiance. The special effects in the battle scenes were some of my favorite parts.
To conclude, I think that this movie is definitely worth going out to the theater to see. Just for the visual effects alone. My girlfriend and I saw it in 2D instead of 3D because we noticed that the digital 3D seems to blur out the background as it is designed to focus in on the characters. The 2D version I believe is better suited for this movie because the backgrounds of this movie are so extravagant. Again, if you are not a fan of Tim Burton's film thus far, this is not the movie for you. It is full of little oddities that only Burton could think up. But for all you die hard Burton fans, like me, you will absolutely love this movie. Well done Disney and Tim Burton.

Large photo leaked of tabletop model for Fantasyland’s makeover (found at AttractionsMagazine.com)

Click on the photo to see the full size version.

This photo of a large model of the expanded part of Fantasyland has been appearing around the Internet this past week. It’s a bit different from the originally released blueprints of the redone Fantasyland at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. The Pixie Hollow area has been moved back a bit and the Dumbo ride has been moved to just before the current Barnstormer ride. The blueprint also shows a pooh meet and greet area, which isn’t clearly marked in the model.

Neither the blueprint or this photo of the model were officially released by Disney, so there’s no way to tell which is the newer design, but logic says it’s the model. The model also fits along with the officially released concept art, which can be seen in the video below.

Disney's Tangled from Disney Animation Tweet

"Hey everyone, I'm Roy Conli, producer of Disney's next animated film. I have some exciting news to share, and it was important to me that YOU guys – the Disney fans – hear it first. I want to tell you about Walt Disney Animation Studio's 2010 release, Tangled. It’s a really fresh,
smart take on the Rapunzel story.

In our film, the infamous bandit Flynn Rider meets his match in the girl with the 70 feet of magical golden hair. We're having a lot of fun pairing Flynn, who's seen it all, with Rapunzel, who's been locked away in a tower for 18 years.

I’m so proud of the crew working on this film – they’re doing a fantastic job creating an awesome story with great characters and a stunning world – and it's all going to look amazing in 3D. All of us
here at the studio are incredibly excited for you to see Tangled when it comes out in theaters this November."

Living with the Land

Living with the Land (originally Listen to the Land) is a ride located within The Land pavilion which is part of Epcot theme park in Walt Disney World Resort at Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It is a boat ride, which is part dark ride and part greenhouse tour. The focus of the ride is on agriculture, especially new technology to make agriculture more efficient and environmentally friendly.

Living with the Land is a slow-moving boat ride. The dark-ride portion of the attraction opens with a scene of a deciduous forest in the middle of a thunderstorm, illustrating how the forces that shape the land can appear destructive to us. The boat then sails through artificial biomes representing a tropical rainforest, a desert and the American prairie. Some of the audio-animatronic figures in this section were originally created for the never-built Magic Kingdom attraction, Western River Expedition. The biomes feature sound and lighting effects, in addition to heat, wind and mist, to simulate real conditions. The boats float through a small theater that illustrates the relationship between humans and the environment, and the ways that we have been modifying the land to better serve our purposes.

The second part of the attraction takes place in The Land's "Living Laboratory," which showcases ideas about the future of agriculture. All of the plants in this section are grown through various methods of hydroponics. Plants are grown in sand, perlite, coconut coir and rockwool.

There are five distinct areas of the "living laboratory," which are:

* Tropics Greenhouse - This greenhouse features crops from the tropical areas of the world, including both familiar and exotic foods. Plants on display include banana, cacao, jackfruit, peach palm, dragonfruit, vanilla, cleome, pineapple, java apple and papaya.

* Aquacell - This section focuses on aquaculture, or "fish farming." It includes several high-density tanks and a few low-density display tanks and tubes. Animals on display include Tilapia, Sturgeon, Bass, American Alligator, and shrimp. Some of the fish harvested from the Aquacell are served in the Coral Reef Restaurant in The Seas with Nemo and Friends pavilion.

* Temperate Greenhouse (formerly the Desert Greenhouse) - A greenhouse featuring crops from temperate climates. Currently, the Temperate house showcases large-sized crops, such as Prizewinner and Atlantic Giant pumpkins, winter melon, pomelo, and "Nine-pound Lemon." Other crops include sunflower, beets, turnip, cotton, millet and cassabanana.

* String Greenhouse (formerly the Production Greenhouse) - This greenhouse focuses on innovative high-density techniques, such as Nutrient Film Technique. It also shows off "vertical growing techniques," in which plants are grown on specialized trellises which cause the herbaceous plants to approximate the shape and structure of trees. One of the most famous examples of these trees is The Land's "tomato tree," which produced over 32,000 tomatoes in a 16-month period. It was recognized by Guiness World Records as both the largest and most productive tomato plant in the world. Other crops include eggplant, peppers, winged bean, lettuce and snake gourd. Furthermore, cucumbers and pumpkins are grown in the shape of Mickey Mouse through the use of special molds. Much of the produce grown in the String Greenhouse is used in The Garden Grill and Sunshine Seasons, both restaurants in The Land pavilion. In total, over 30 tons of produce are harvested from The Land each year.

* Creative Greenhouse - The final greenhouse in the attraction shows some unusual ideas about the future of agriculture. Most of the plants in Creative House are grown via Aeroponics, in which a fine mist of water and nutrients is sprayed directly onto the roots of the plants. The roots dangle freely in the air, and are not hindered by any growing medium. Some of the plants' roots in Creative House are enclosed within rotating columns and A-frame structures, while others are completely exposed to the open air, at least temporarily, so the entire plant may be viewed by the Guests on the boat ride. Creative House also features a small exhibit of NASA hydroponic growing units, which were developed for use on extended-length space journeys. Crops on display include tomato, squash, lettuce, basil, rosemary, cabbage, super-dwarf wheat, swiss chard, marigold and snapdragon.

Additionally, the Living Laboratory contains:

* Biotechnology Lab - Attached to the Creative Greenhouse, the Biotechnology Lab is a sterile research environment. Several USDA scientists are on-site at The Land, performing research on crop improvement. The Land also produces a product called "Mickey's Mini Gardens" in the Biotechnology Lab, which are available for purchase in several locations in Epcot.

* Integrated Pest Management Lab - An Entomology laboratory that raises beneficial insects for use in The Land and all over Walt Disney World property. It is not visible on the Living with the Land boat ride, but is visited during the Behind the Seeds backstage tour. Insects raised here include tiny, stingless parasitoid wasps and ladybugs.

The ride concludes with a lighted collage of people and produce from all over the world, along with a projection of Earth as seen from space.

Listen to the Land

Living with the Land is an updated version of a previous attraction, Listen to the Land. Very little was changed between the two versions of the attraction. The opening scene, the "Symphony of the Seed," which provided a stylized look at the growth of a plant, was replaced by the opening storm scene. Also, the Biotechnology lab was relocated from the exit tunnel to the Creative Greenhouse. The Integrated Pest Management Lab is now housed in the space formerly occupied by the Biotechnology Lab.

Also, the theme song "Listen to the Land" is no longer used in the attraction, though instrumental version can still be heard in The Land's exterior background music loop as well the music loop played inside the Garden Grill.

The Princess and the Frog Review

Hey there everyone. I just saw Princess and the Frog yesterday finally and wanted to share my thoughts on it. In a word, AMAZING! This is a beautiful return to hand drawn animation. I must admit I was a little hesitant to go see this in the theater. Mainly because of wonderful Disney gems like "Home on the Range". I think I've seen about half of that movie, that's all I could put myself through. Anyways, Princess and the Frog had a wonderful story, pretty characteristic of Disney animation. Directed by Roger Clements and John Musker of small films like "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin". They did a great job on this film. Very nice cast of characters in this movie too. Not to mention the stellar job with the hand drawn animation. Great use of color throughout the movie. They used the color throughout the movie to set the tone of the scene and really to convey specific emotions. Very, very well done in my opinion. If there is anyone out there that is still on the fence about seeing this movie, I for one can very highly recommend it. If it didn't cost almost ten dollars to go to the movies, I would be there today seeing it again. I just hope that this is enough to show the world that there is still a place for this wonderful art form we have in Disney hand drawn animation. Kudos Disney.

Tweet Tweet

So I did something today that I never thought that I would do. I joined twitter.com. I am still dishippy on twitter as well. The main reasoning behind my joining twitter was mainly so I can keep up to date on all my Disney news and friends. I will also be tweeting when I update both my blog and my flickr page. Head to twitter.com/dishippy to follow my tweets and I will talk to all later. Direct link to my page is in the side bar.