Disney's Wreck-It Ralph Trailer

I can't say I look forward to the release of too many animated feature films. Maybe I did when Toy Story 3 came out. I certainly look forward to the next release of the Despicable Me Minion's movie but that still is over a year away I think. But I do look forward to the release of Disney's Wreck-It Ralph set to come out November 2 if I'm not mistaken. Ever since I saw the trailer below with the previews shown before The Avengers, a mental note has been made to see Wreck-It Ralph in the theaters, in 3D, and maybe even IMAX if that is available. This looks like a lot of fun as Disney Animation takes a big step to make a movie Pixar probably should have made instead of their last two. Ralph has all the makings of being a major hit for Disney.

Why I'm Not A Fan Of The Lion King - Sorry

As mentioned in my What's New In Disney News - Vol 2 post a couple of weeks ago, Disney's animated classic The Lion King is having something of a rebirth.  Now remastered in 3D, Disney re-released the 17 year old film in theaters for what was supposed to be a two week limited engagement before the new 3D version hits retail stores with all the special packaging sometime here in October.  Well that limited engagement has been 3 weeks now as The Lion King remains on top, or close to the top of the weekly box office reports.  My post a few weeks back ended with "Three cheers for The Lion King" as I can only tip my hat to the magic of Disney taking down all comers with a 17 year old movie.

But....

I am not a big fan of The Lion King.  You can admire its brilliant animation qualities, its triumphant story line, its wonderful musical score, and I certainly do but for me, The Lion King possesses one key element that I find horribly unsettling and is present in many Disney animated features going back to the time of Walt Disney. And that is the need to tragically, and often quite sadly, kill off a featured character.  Does death belong in an animated movie that is primarily targeted for children?  I come up on the 'No' side of that argument and I find the Mufasa death scene absolutely heartbreaking in a movie I really want to enjoy.  The Circle of Life doesn't always trump death.

And for the life of me, I cannot explain why Disney imagineers would want to include the Mufasa death scene in World of Color.  It almost seems like an over the top grab at an audience's emotional heart strings rather than letting a story naturally play out.  For me, this almost cheap grasping at sentimintality keeps the show from being all it could be.  Three cheers for The Lion King but in the theaters or buying the new version in the store, I'll pass.

The Main St. Cinema

Do any regular Disneyland park visitors actually go into the Main St. Cinema? I'm thinking not many. Vintage black and white Disney cartoons playing on six 'screens' simultaneously, it's not the most exciting to in the park to check out. Kids will wonder where's the color. Most will think "these are old".  I've seen people walk in and about 5 seconds later, walk out. Too bad. This is history. This is where it all began. Now I don't go into the Main St. Cinema on every one of my trips but every couple of years or so, I'll go in and spend a few minutes with a Mickey that most people don't remember. Attractions like this is what makes Disneyland special, remembering its history and reflecting on the past.