Disney Streaming Service Shows?

So as you might know Disney are going to be launching a major new online streaming service later this year. It was recently announced that they will be creating original series and original movies for this new platform. I thought I would share some of my predictions, speculation and wishes for what new content I would like to see.

Zootropolis – The Series

Zootropolis was a fantastic film. It really deserves a sequel but Disney don't seem to be developing one at the moment so a series could be a good alternative. Given Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde are cops there’s pretty obvious potential to develop a crime/mystery series set in Zootropolis. A series could also be a good format to further explore the racial subtext of the film. Why do I want to see this series on the streaming service? Because it could be a really good binge watch series as you try to figure out the mystery at the same pace Judy and Nick are figuring it out.

Disney Princesses United

If you’re a Disnerd you probably know that in Wreck It Ralph 2 the Disney Princesses (from Ariel to Moana) are going to be appearing. Given all the excitement from the announcement that the princesses were going to be meeting each over for the first time (in forever!) I wonder if  Disney will want to build on that hype. One way to possibly do so would be through a series that featured the Disney Princesses united.

Princess and the Frog

Do I even need to say that I love Princess and the Frog anymore? Because I really love it! I have talked before on this blog about how Princess and the Frog deserves more and in that post I mentioned that a TV series could be interesting. The Disney streaming service could be an ideal platform for a series of adventures about Tiana dealing with running her restaurant. A series could also show more of Tiana’s close friendship with Lottie.

Disney Villains

On the complete flip side of the Disney Princesses we have the Disney Villains. The Disney Villains are an enduringly popular group of characters and yet Disney have not really done much with them in the past few years. A series could be a fan pleasing new outlet for characters like Maleficent, Cruella and Ursula.

Star Wars Live Action Series

There’s been reports that there will be a new Star Wars live action series on the Disney streaming service. I think this is a good idea and will probably be a big draw for many geeks to subscribe to the service. Personally I would like to see a series set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens that explored what was happening in the time between the trilogies. I’d also like to see this Star Wars series use completely new characters and not have any appearances from existing characters in order to really expand the galaxy far far away.

So that’s just a few speculative ideas, I will be interested to find out what Disney actually decide to put on their streaming service when it launches.

My Haul – Heroes and My Favourite Villain in Toronto

At the weekend I went to Toronto. If you know me than you know that I cannot go to a big city without buying something so here’s a haul post detailing what I bought.

Last time I went to Toronto I bought Itty Bitty’s from the Hallmark in the Eaton Centre. I did the same this time. Maleficent is my favourite Disney villain, I just had to get her Itty Bitty given how fabulous she looks.

I didn’t like the Rey Itty Bitty that was released for The Force Awakens, however now the collection for this years The Last Jedi has been released and I think that the new Rey looks a lot better than the previous one. There wasn’t much question about adding the second best Star Wars character to my collection (we all know Leia is the best).

In my last haul post I mentioned that Tsum Tsum lip balms are now a thing. In Toronto I was able to track down Maleficent’s!

In my post about my day in Toronto I mentioned that I visited a comic café. From there I bought Volume 3 of the ongoing DC Rebirth Flash series. So far this series has been really good so I’m glad to add the latest instalment to my collection, especially as it was from somewhere so cool!

Every year Disney Store releases a collection of Disney Princess Christmas Ornaments and every year I buy one princess. I limit myself to only one of the princess decorations because otherwise I’d end up with hundreds of Disney Christmas decorations. I was really torn about who I wanted to buy this year but when I noticed that Belle and Tiana had already sold out I decided to take the plunge and buy Rapunzel. I really like how detailed she is and I love how they made her usual dress look a little more winter ready. Now in years to come when I get out my Disney Princess Christmas Ornament Collection I will look at Rapunzel and think of how I bought her in Toronto during my year abroad.

That’s what I bought this time during my visit to Toronto.

My Haul – Of Course I Bought More Superhero Stuff

I think it’s time for another haul of stuff that I’ve bought since being in Canada. As you probably guessed from the title I’ve bought even more superhero stuff since last time. I also have decided to continue the new formatting that I introduced in my last haul post.

Value Village Thrift Shop

I’ve been to a proper North American thrift shop! It’s a lot like what you’d expect them to be like. They’re absolutely enormous. From my experience I’d say that the biggest difference between a Canadian thrift shop and a UK charity shop is just the sheer volume of stuff. If you know me you will know I often have good luck in charity shops (like my 1997 Hercules doll for £1 or my Princess Jasmine plushie for 50p!) and my luck at finding stuff has followed me across the Atlantic.

I found a Supergirl mini doll. The DC Superhero Girls mini dolls were originally Happy Meal toys but we never got them in the UK and the postage made them too expensive on eBay so I was glad to find Supergirl over here.

Dollar Tree

This is a different dollar store to Dollarama which I went to in my last haul post. Dollar Tree is a lot more like the UK’s Poundland.

In Dollar Tree they had a whole selection of Disney mini figures. There were so many, however I wasn’t too impressed with how some of them were painted but of course I had to get my favourite villain Maleficent.

The Comic Store

I really love the comic store here. I know I mentioned this last time but it’s so true. It’s just such a cool comic store and they have a great selection of stuff.

They had a special offer on this time, back issues were only $1 each! That is really good value. I managed to stay (relatively) restrained and only buy 6 comics. Knowing me it’s no surprise that the Flash and Wonder Woman are both there! I also picked up my newer favourite Green Lantern. As they had quite a few issues of Grayson I decided to buy some, that’s Dick Grayson (the original Robin) once he leaves Batman I’ve wanted to try some of his comics but I’ve been unsure where to start but a dollar per issue seems like a good way to get started!

I have very little control with soft toys, though it took me about a week to cave in and buy Wonder Woman bunny! She’s very cuddly and as you can see from the pictures she’s the same size as the Flash bear I bought last time.

And that’s my haul for this time, of course I bought more superhero stuff. I’m interested to find out what I will buy next time I go shopping…

Disney Live-Action Remakes – My Thoughts

The Disney Movie of the Month this month is Maleficent, the 2014 live-action remake of the 1959 animated Sleeping Beauty. Disney has recently had quite a thing for live action remakes of their beloved animated movies recently. The highly anticipated Beauty and the Beast is going to be released shortly, and they’re not stopping anytime soon.

I previously talked about what I’d like to see in a live-action Aladdin but this time - because Maleficent is the Disney Movie of the Month – I am just offering a few more general thoughts about live-action remakes of Disney movies. I am not completely opposed to Disney remaking their archive but I feel it needs to be done well when they do…

The aesthetic is important.

·         This is something both Maleficent and Cinderella got spot on. In Maleficent the aesthetic is a cool dark gothic style which really serves the movie well. On the other hand the live-action Cinderella was a gorgeous looking movie, the dress was stunning and the locations were beautiful. I hope subsequent live-action Disney remakes can also have strong aesthetics which really fit the movie.

If it’s going to be different then really go for it.

·         This is Maleficent’s style, it took a princess romance story and made it a villain origin story that turned the villain into an extremely sympathetic character. As I mentioned in my initial post about Maleficent, I think the movie could have been even stronger if it had pushed the differences even further (for example they should have completely left out Prince Phillip). I’d love to see a live-action remake of The Little Mermaid done in the style of Maleficent that focused on Ursula.

If the basic story is the same then fix the problems of the original in the new version.

·         This one is one of the biggest strengths of the live-action Cinderella. I really hate the 1950 animated version of Cinderella. It’s boring, it’s sexist and Cinderella is completely useless. But the live-action remake fixed that! Suddenly Cinderella and the Prince had personalities! They actually interacted before falling in love! There was a more substantial plot! I’d love to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarves undergo a similar process.

Give the live-action movies a legacy.

·         I would like to see a lasting legacy for the live-action remakes. At the moment it sort of just feels like a quick brand recognition cash grab that is then quickly forgotten by Disney, but I’d like to see them start to create a legacy for their live-action remakes if they’re going to keep doing them. For example why not merchandise the live-action version of Cinderella alongside her animated counterpart? This idea of giving the live-action remakes a legacy leads onto my next point…

A Disney Shared Cinematic Universe!

·         I don’t know if this would ever happen but wouldn’t it be fun to see characters meeting up and teaming up!

And finally, do a live-action Princess and the Frog.

·          I love Princess and the Frog, Tiana is the best Disney Princess. This movie deserves more love and attention from Disney. I just really want it to happen!

So that’s a few thoughts on Disney’s live-action remakes. I’m interested to see what they have in store for subsequent live-action remakes.

Maleficent – Disney Movie of the Month

It’s March, that means it’s time for a new Disney Movie of the Month. In January I looked at Aladdin – an Animated Classic – and in February I looked at A Bugs Life – a Pixar movie. So for the third Disney Movie of the Month it seemed like it was time to look at a live action movie and I chose 2014’s Maleficent.

Maleficent was released back in 2014 and is the live action reimagining of the 1959 animated Sleeping Beauty. Angelina Jolie plays the titular character who is given a more sympathetic backstory in this darker take on the original film. Maleficent is one of my favourite villains – more on that in a follow up post later this month. I originally saw Maleficent in the cinema about a week after it was released and yet I haven’t watched it since then. Until today.

I’d forgotten just how strong Angelina Jolie’s performance as Maleficent is. She clearly relished playing the moments when the story requires her to be a slightly camp arch villain, but she’s also faultless when required to convey some very strong emotion material. I was very pleased to rediscover just how wonderful Angelina Jolie’s performance was.

Maleficent is not a regular adaption of Sleeping Beauty, it is very much its own thing. It has moments for Disney fans to spot that reference the original – such as the forest of thorns, the speech when Maleficent curses Aurora and the dragon. But it also rejects a lot of the tropes of the Disney Princess format and I stronger because of that. However at times it also has a loyalty to the source material that can get in the way of the films full potential. For example Maleficent gives us an infuriating take on the three good fairies who are absolutely useless. As well as trying to shoehorn Prince Phillip into the story for literally no other reason than he’s supposed to be there. The movie could have been much stronger if Phillip and the three good fairies were just completely cut out of it.

I can’t really write about Maleficent without mentioning that there’s definitely some similarities with Wicked. Both movies take a green skinned villain from a popular fairy-tale and retell her story to make her a more sympathetic and feminist character. However they are both very different stories. I think Wicked may have partially been an inspiration for Maleficent, but I don’t think that Maleficent is a rip off of Wicked.

Part of the appeal of these live action remakes for me is seeing the way that Disney brings the animated original to life. I like that despite many changes elsewhere the design team chose to keep Maleficent’s look more or less the same. In the case of the original Sleeping Beauty the movie has a strong medieval aesthetic, when adapting it for live action the production team chose a cool dark gothic style that I think really suits the movie.

Another more technical thing that I love about this movie is the structure of the story. The pivotal moment in the story of Sleeping Beauty is when the dark fairy (Maleficent herself) curses the infant princess. The entire story hinges on that moment. So when it came to telling the story of Sleeping Beauty from the villain’s perspective Disney decided to restructure the narrative so that act one is building up to why  Maleficent places the curse on Aurora and how she becomes the ‘Mistress of All Evil!’ And then act two of the movie deals with redeeming her, as Maleficent faces the consequences of her actions. This structure would actually work well if Disney ever wanted to do a stage adaptation of Maleficent!

In conclusion, Maleficent is definitely worth watching. It’s not an adaptation of the 1959 Sleeping Beauty, it is an interesting alternate take on a well-known story that shifts the focus onto the villain and makes her a tragic hero.