ALADDIN (2019) – My rating: 9/10

Aladdin is a musical fantasy directed by Guy Ritchie, who co-wrote the screenplay with John August. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, it is a live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1992 animated film of the same name, which is based on the eponymous Middle-Eastern folktale from One Thousand and One Nights. I decided to see Aladdin at the last minute and I’m glad I did because it is the best version of Aladdin I’ve seen.

Aladdin opens with a husband (Will Smith), his wife Dalia (Nasim Pedrad) and their two children, Omar (Jordan A. Nash) and Lian (Taliyah Blair), sailing the world. As Omar and Lian watch a much bigger and more lavish ship pass by, they become excited. The husband hears the children comment on how much better the passing ship is, so he decides to tell them the story of Aladdin, the Princess and the lamp, emphasizing bigger isn’t always better.

Aladdin (Mena Massoud), a kind-hearted young “street urchant”, living in the desert kingdom of Agrabah, along with his pet monkey Abu, rescues and befriends a woman that happens to be Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott). She snuck out of the palace because she grew tired of her sheltered and boring life. She hides her true identity, allowing Aladdin to believe that she is Princess Jasmine’s handmaiden, Dalia (Nasim Pedrad). Suddenly, Jasmine has to rush home, telling Aladdin that Prince Anders (Billy Magnussen) has come to court the Princess and since she is the handmaiden, she has to be by the Princess’ side. She then asks Aladdin to give back her bracelet (which was formerly her mother’s) he used as collateral to rescue the Princess earlier.  However, Abu stole the bracelet back from Aladdin, therefore Aladdin is unable to give it back to her at present. Jasmine angrily tells him that he is just a common thief and she was naïve to think he was her friend.

Meanwhile, the nefarious and deceptive sorcerer and Grand Vizier, Jafar (Marwan Kenzari), grows tired of being “second best” to the Sultan (who is Jasmine’s father). He and his parrot Iago (Alan Tudyk) finds his only recourse to become “1st” is to retrieve the magic lamp hidden within the Cave of Wonders. Legend has it that only one person is worthy to enter: “the diamond in the rough”, whom Jafar later identifies as Aladdin. That night, Aladdin returns Jasmine’s bracelet but while trying to return home, Jafar orders the palace guards, who are headed up by Hakim (Numan Acar) who is loyal to the Sultan of Agrabah (Navid Negahban), to capture him. Jafar reveals to Aladdin that the woman he thought was the handmaiden is really the princess and says he can make him rich enough to impress her by making him a prince, but only if he retrieves the lamp from inside the cave. Aladdin agrees and enters the cave with Abu.  While in the cave, Aladdin rescues a magic carpet and obtains the lamp. Defying Aladdin’s instruction to touch nothing but the lamp, Abu grabs a ruby, which causes the cave to collapse.  Aladdin, Abu, and the magic carpet quickly escapes the cave, giving the lamp to Jafar, who throws them back into the cave, but not before Abu steals the lamp back. Now trapped in the collapsed cave, Aladdin rubs the lamp and meets the Genie (Will Smith), an incredibly powerful, comedically eccentric and kindly djinn, who resides inside the lamp. The Genie explains he has the power to grant three wishes with the exception of murder, romance, resurrection of the dead, and wishing for more wishes, but only to the current owner of the lamp. Aladdin tricks the Genie into freeing them from the cave without using a wish and then uses his first wish to become a prince to impress Jasmine, and promises to use his third wish to free the Genie from servitude. Back in Agrabah, Aladdin, as “Prince Ali of Ababwa”, arrives in a large spectacle, complete with elephants, but Jasmine is unimpressed.

From the first appearance of the Genie, the entire movie changed.  Will Smith really placed a whole new aura on “Aladdin”.  The film became humorous, mystifying and in Disney style, glamorous with dancing, flamboyant costumes and brilliant scenery.  The story picked up and actually gave the audience something to look forward to while making one happy they came to see Aladdin.  Don’t get me wrong, watching Aladdin run through the streets of Agrabah while jumping from building to building was quite a sight.  His clever lines and quick actions were spectacular.  The special effects were brilliant, from the magic carpet to the many mystical appearances of the genie.  Jafar’s staff changed to an evil and powerful snake that glowed red. Will sang and rapped and even danced a little.  I have never enjoyed Aladdin as much as I did this version.  There’s something for everyone embedded in this movie and I’m sure young and old will enjoy it.  Aladdin grossed $275 million worldwide. The film received mixed reviews from critics; some praised the performances of Massoud, Smith, and Scott, costumes, and musical numbers, while others criticized the direction, pacing, and CGI effects. The film did receive a positive response from audiences polled by CinemaScore and PostTrak.  If you know the story you’ll love this iteration, if you don’t know the story, you’ll still love this iteration.  Check It Out!

 

RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET (2018) – My rating: 7.5/10

Ralph Breaks the Internet (originally titled as Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2) is a 3D computer-animated comedy produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to the 2012 film, Wreck-It Ralph, making it Disney’s 57th feature-length animated film. It is directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston (who wrote the screenplay with Pamela Ribon), and executive-produced by John Lasseter, Chris Williams, and Jennifer Lee. As far as children’s animated films go, this one was quite busy, loud and fun.  I do know Ralph Breaks the Internet has received mostly positive reviews from critics, who called it a “worthy successor” and praised the animation, humor, characters, and plot, as well as the vocal performances. I’m not a big fan but I do agree the film teaches (in it’s own way) a few lessons about how the hi-tech world operates.

Six years after the first movie, Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz have been best friends. They’ve been hanging out every night after work in Litwak’s Family Fun Center and Arcade. While Ralph (John C. Reilly) is content with his current life, Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) admits to being bored with her game’s predictability and wishes for something new. One day, Ralph attempts to fulfill her desires by creating a secret bonus track during a race. Vanellope overrides player control to test it out, but the resulting conflict between her and the player ends with the cabinet’s steering wheel being broken, thus, no functionality within Sugar Rush. Since the company that made Sugar Rush is defunct, one of the kids finds a replacement for Mr. Litwak (Ed O’Neill) on eBay. The only problem is Mr. Litwak deems it too expensive and has no choice but to unplug Sugar Rush from the arcade, leaving the game’s characters homeless and Sugar Rush unavailable.
Later that night, after talking with Fix-It Felix Jr., (Jack McBrayer) Ralph decides to enter the internet via Litwak’s recently installed Wi-Fi router to obtain a replacement wheel on eBay. Ralph brings Vanellope with him, and although they place a winning bid of $27,001 to obtain the wheel, they cannot pay and are obligated to finalize the purchase within 24 hours.

****  SPOILERS  ****

The two turn to J.P Spamley (Bill Hader) to quickly make money, receiving a lucrative job of stealing a valuable car belonging to Shank (Gal Gadot) from the MMORPG Slaughter Race. Ralph and Vanellope steal the car, but are forced to return it. Shank compliments Vanellope’s driving skills and points the duo towards Yesss (Taraji P. Henson) at BuzzzTube, where Ralph decides to make a series of viral videos playing off popular trends to get the money.  As Ralph’s videos become a viral sensation, an excited Vanellope joins Yesss’s staff in spamming users with pop-up ads. Ralph convinces Yesss to send Vanellope to a Disney fansite, where she meets and befriends the Disney Princesses, who encourage her to address her sense of unfulfillment.  Vanellope reaches a musical epiphany when Ralph calls her upon earning enough money to purchase the wheel. When Vanellope does not show up at eBay, Ralph’s second call causes him to overhear her confessing to Shank that she wants to stay in Slaughter Race because its unpredictability and challenges make her feel more alive than she did in Sugar Rush. Horrified at the thought of Vanellope leaving him, Ralph turns to Spamley for a way to make Slaughter Race unsatisfying for her by slowing down everything in the game.

There’s not much to say about Ralph Breaks the Internet because it sort of speaks for itself.  It’s a children’s film that is pretty well put together and even sends a good message.  The adventure is long but fun for children.  There are quite a few known celebrity voices that make up the movie i.e., Jane Lynch as Calhoun, Alfred Molina as Double Dan’s conjoined brother Little Dan, Taraji P. Henson as Yesss, an algorithm that determines the trending videos on BuzzzTube, and Alan Tudyk as KnowsMore. just to name a few.  If you need to take your child(ren) to see a good animated movie, I recommend Ralph Breaks the Internet — Check It Out!

[Ralph breaks the Internet is Oscar nominated for Best Animated Feature Film]

 

ZOOTOPIA (2016) – My rating: 8/10

I’m beginning to like cartoons more and more.  Zootopia is a great animated story that sends a great message to all ages.  It has a large diverse cast that ventures into a few hairy situations from time to time.  In the world of Zootopia, mammals, predators as well as prey peacefully coexist.  An Optimistic European rabbit from rural Bunnyburrow, Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) realizes her dream of becoming a police officer in urban Zootopia.  You might notice these mammals have been anthropomorphized so they are representing the same issues of discrimination as though they were human.  So, despite being the police academy valedictorian, Judy is relegated to parking duty by Chief Bogo (Idris Elba), an African buffalo, who doubts her potential because she is a rabbit. On her first day, she is hustled by Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) and Finnick (Tom Lister Jr.), a con artist duo of foxes.

Day two on the job, Judy abandons her parking duty to arrest a thief named Duke Weaselton (Alan Tudyk) who stole plant bulbs. As Chief Bogo begins to reprimand Judy, an otter named Mrs. Otterton (Octavia Spencer) enters his office pleading for someone to find her husband Emmitt, one of fourteen predators who have gone missing. When Judy volunteers and Assistant Mayor Dawn Bellwether (Jenny Slate) praises the assignment, Bogo reluctantly gives her 48 hours to find Otterton on the condition that she resigns if she fails.

After determining Nick was the last one to see Otterton, Judy blackmails him into assisting her by covertly recording his confession to tax evasion. They track Otterton to a limousine owned by crime boss, Mr. Big (Maurice LaMarche) who reveals that Otterton, his florist, went “savage” – reverted to a feral state – and attacked his chauffeur, Manchas (Jesse Corti). At his home, Manchas mentions that Otterton had been yelling about “night howlers.” Moments later, Manchas himself turns savage and chases the pair. Judy saves Nick by trapping Manchas and calls the Zootopia Police Department (ZPD) for help. When Bogo and other police arrive, Manchas has vanished. Bogo demands Judy’s resignation, but Nick reminds Bogo she still has 10 hours to solve the case. As they leave, Nick shares his childhood story with Judy that he was bullied as a child for being a fox. Deciding there was no use in fighting prejudiced ideas about fox behavior, he became a con artist.

From this point, the story gets better as the search intensifies.  More characters enter the picture and more lessons are learned.  This clever tale is truly worth every child’s attention.  Of course I have to stop here so I don’t spoil the rest of the story in case you intend to see it.  Zootopia is on DVD/Blu-Ray and is definitely a worthy piece of animation with a profound message — check it out!

[ZOOTOPIA WON the 89th ANNUAL OSCAR AWARD for Best Animated Film]

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ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY (2016) – My rating: 8.5/10

Before the last Star Wars adventure, which was about finding Luke Skywalker, (who is also the last Jedi) for his help in saving his sister and the republic from being destroyed by a new device, there was a story waiting to be told.  A new Death Star, a space station-based superweapon capable of destroying an entire planet  was being developed by a research scientist, Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) who is now hiding on the planet Lah’mu with his wife Lyra Erso (Valene Kane) and daughter Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones).  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story goes back before The Force Awakens and tells us how it all came to be. Brilliantly acted, the story is excellent and to the point. The Force lives on.

In Rogue One, Imperial weapons developer, Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) arrives on planet Lah’mu to take Galen back with him to complete the unfinished Death Star. Galen refuses and his wife, Lyra is killed  during the confrontation, but their daughter Jyn escapes and is taken to safety by Rebel extremist, Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker). Saw is a veteran of the Clone Wars and a friend of the Erso family who mentors Jyn in her later childhood years.

As usual, I don’t want to ruin an excellent story, so I will stop here but tell you a little about some of the new and different characters and about some of the old characters.  While Rogue One mainly focuses on Jyn, it has produced  characters such as:  A Zatoichi-esque blind warrior and friend  who is obsessed with the Force and believed to be one of the Guardians of the Whills, Chirrut Îmwe, (Donnie Yen).  His character brings much excitement and amazement to the story.  Jiang Wen (Baze Malbus), a Rebel warrior, mercenary and best friend of Chirrut Îmwe. I totally loved Wen and all that he brought to the story.   Bodhi Rook I (Riz Ahmed), a former Imperial cargo pilot who defects to the Rebels under the influence of Galen.  A significant character who keeps us in loads of suspense.  Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), a Rebel Alliance Captain and Intelligence officer. A lovable, handsome, complicated character who is a little too soft spoken for the role.  K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), a Rebel-owned Imperial enforcer droid who was reprogrammed by Cassian Andor. K-2S0 is a delight and brings much to the screen.  James Earl Jones reprises his role, lending his voice as Darth Vader and Jimmy Smits, Genevieve O’Reilly, and Anthony Daniels reprise their roles from previous films as Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and C-3PO, respectively.

[NOTE]:  At the time of this post, Carrie Fisher has passed.  She will be missed — RIP Princess Leia Organa!!

 

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