Frozen II Trailer Review

Frozen II Trailer Review

 

On Wednesday 13th February the Frozen 2 trailer was unexpectedly released and it looks awesome.

It is trending on You Tube and in under 22 hours, it has over 11million views.

 

The trailer starts with a wide shot of Elsa, standing on a pebbly beach at night. There’s no music, you can only hear the pounding of the waves. There’s mist, lighting flashes in the background and Elsa is stood looking determined towards the sea. Her hair is in the famous Elsa plait shortly before she brushes it out to put in a ponytail. It’s a very symbolic moment, like she’s letting go of the old Elsa and transforming yet again. This reminds me of Violet Beauregard from A Series of Unfortunate Events, who always ties up her hair when she’s in serious thought and about to set a plan into action.

Elsa uses her ice powers to run across the surface of the water before becoming overthrown by a wave. Elsa is out of the water, looking damp and getting ready to run back in. This time she dives through a wave and lands on a rock in the sea, she pushes forward, using her ice powers to try and save her but the waves are too strong . Elsa fall down and is plunged into the water seconds before a wave crashes over head.

 

So far we know she’s trying to get out to sea, but we don’t know why. We also don’t know why she’s by herself.

 

Subsequently, a shot of Anna at Arendelle castle, running to the edge of the balcony looking out where she can see that the air is filled by all of these diamonds that are lit up in the same colour and style as Elsa’s ice powers. What are these Diamonds? We don’t know this either, but they are worrying Anna. Possibly they are a message from Elsa to help Anna find her sister, like guiding lights.

Next we see a herd of reindeers being led by Kristoff riding Sven on a heavily leaved path, surrounded by towering trees. The scene is very warming, with colours of pink and purple. This is a stark contrast to the very blue and cold scenes we’ve seen with the sisters in them so far.

 

The music is rising, getting louder as each scene unfolds. The next sight is of Anna, the camera is looking down on her, she’s alone, looks cold and seems to be in some sort of dark cave. Paused on the image, I think she looks most like her mother here. Quickly the scene changes to Anna, again on her own, for a second time in a very dark atmosphere but being a bit more proactive, she is climbing up on to the top of a rocky ledge. Anna gives herself a run up before leaping across the end of the ledge, trying to reach another rocky ledge where there is an entrance to a cave.

Both sisters are both running towards something scary and life threatening in the trailer, an interesting parallel.

 

It’s important to point out that as soon as Anna is in mid jump, the music changes. The same song is playing that played in the first film and that’s “Vuelie” but in this trailer it sounds a bit different, it sounds like it is being sung by a teenage girl, it’s beautiful and powerful and gives the feeling of familiarity but changing.

 

Then we cut to a scene of Elsa and Olaf surrounded by pink mist like flames that are in the shape of a love heart. Elsa is using her ice powers to fight off the flames but it looks like the flames are winning.

Then we cut to a scene of a girl who may or may not be Anna. In the scene where Anna is jumping she looks like she is wearing a similar outfit to this girl so I’m going to assume it’s her. It’s important to note that the location of this scene is similar to where Kristoff was riding Sven earlier in the trailer. In the scene a powerful and purposeful invisible force streaks past the girl/Anna and lifts who I’m assuming is Kristoff into the air. Whoever it is, I’m interested to learn why they were on the ground, covered by leaves.

 

The trailer then cuts to a shot of Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and Sven, standing at the top of a hill looking out onto a forest of fall coloured leaves surrounded by ice capped mountains in the distance. Both Kristoff and Sven are looking at something in the sky, Elsa is looking worried and Anna is looking concerned for Elsa. In the wide shot of them, you can see that Olaf is stood next to Elsa.

 

A single maple leaf floats through the O of Frozen, before several smaller maple leaves float across the film title: Frozen II.

 

The last scene of the trailer shows Elsa, Kristoff and Anna walking away from the camera when Anna notices someone or something behind them. She draws Kristoff’s sword and runs towards camera to attack them.

 

The film will be released in November of this year and this is now the film I am most excited to see. Before this trailer it was Toy Story 4 followed by Aladdin, but this trailer makes it look like Anna and Elsa will be going on one of the most epic adventures we have ever seen in a Disney film. This trailer has just blown all my expectations out the park. It looks action packed and the attention to detail seems stunning. It’s hard to make predictions based on what we’ve seen but it looks like there’s a new character, possibly a new villain with magical powers, maybe they’re going to have control over wind and fire. Who knows? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

(I do not own the photos in this blog, but all thoughts and opinion’s are my own)

Disney Easter Eggs

Disney and Pixar Easter Eggs

 

In this blog I am going to introduce you to some of the major Disney Easter eggs you can find in the films and some of the fan theories that they have sparked.

 

Rapunzel, Anna and Elsa

Possibly the most well known Easter egg is during Frozen. When Anna opens up the gates to the guests for the coronation, Anna walks past none other than Rapunzel and Eugene A.K.A Flynn Rider. Among other things, this cameo has prompted viewers to believe that Anna and Elsa are actually Rapunzel’s cousins. The theory goes that it is Anna and Elsa’s Father, Agnarr and Rapunzel’s Mother, Arianna who are brother and sister because they look very similar. If this theory were true, and I believe it is, Anna could have been named after her aunt Arianna.

Within the theory it is believed that Agnarr and Iduna, Elsa and Anna’s Mum and Dad are on the way to Rapunzel’s wedding. This aspect of the theory has actually been confirmed by Jennifer Lee, one of the film’s writers.

I have seen a few people discuss this theory and none of them have spoken about what I have found.

Iduna, Elsa and Anna’s Mother’s name means “youthful”, “eternal youth” and “rejuvenation”. What does this remind you of? Yep, you guessed it, Rapunzel. I think it was Iduna herself, her Mother, Father, Grandmother or Grandfather who created the flower and it was Iduna who gave Rapunzel’s parents the tip to find the flower to help Rapunzel’s Mother and baby survive her illness.

 

Tarzan, Anna and Elsa

You are lead to believe that Agnarr and Iduna die in a shipwreck, but some theorists can’t help noticing the similarities between Agnarr and Iduna and Tarzan’s parents. Instead of ending their lives in the shipwreck it is believed that they make it to land, with their newborn son, build a tree house and are then eaten by a tiger. This theory is less likely to be true, the stories don’t match up completely, for one they are years apart and Tarzan’s parents ship burns in a fire, Elsa and Anna’s parents ship is overcome by the waves, but still it is nice to think that they could be related, I mean they do look very similar.

Jane and Belle

Mrs. Potts and Chip make a cameo in Tarzan which has lead people to believe that either Jane is related to Belle or that she at least is friendly enough with her to allow her to be given crockery from the Beasts castle.

The only evidence that they might be related, is the fact that they have very similar dress sense, both are attracted to seemingly uncontrollable men that they have to domesticate. They both have eccentric fathers and they both like exploring and learning more about the world around them. I don’t think it would be crazy to suggest that both Jane and Belle’s Fathers are brother.

The Rescuers an X Rated Movie?

These Easter eggs are harmless and mostly created by audiences reading into minute details of the film, and there is nothing wrong with this, however not all Easter eggs are so welcome, in fact some have been removed. For example in the film The Rescuers, during the scene where Bianca and Bernard are flying through the city in a sardine can, in one of the houses you could see an image of a real life topless woman stretching. This Easter egg wasn’t found until 20 years after the original release and caused over 3 million of the films to be recalled. No one knows who put this picture into the film, but Disney has assured the public that it wasn’t one of their animators.

 

Easter Eggs

Some Easter Eggs don’t lead to any major theories, they are just a nice thing to spot in the movie so here are some you can try and look for:

• Scar in the form of a throw rug can be seen in Hercules.
• Both Lady and the Tramp can be seen in 101 Dalmatians.
• There is a Mulan poster and a Dumbo toy in Lilo and Stitch.
• The King and Grand Duke from Cinderella can be seen in The Little Mermaid along with Mickey, Donald and Goofy.
• Jack Skellington’s shadow, King Triton as a Mardi Gras float, and the magic lamp and flying carpet from Aladdin can be seen in Princess and the Frog.
• A Stitch teddy is in Treasure Planet.
• Belle is walking through the streets in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
• Pinocchio the puppet is in Tangled.
• There is a wanted photo of Hans in Big Hero 6 and his statue is also blown up in the film.

 

This is just a small selection of Easter eggs that can be seen in Disney films If you want to find out more I would recommend the YouTube channel Super Carlin Brothers.

Please do let me know in the comments what your most favourite Easter egg is and I will be back next Monday for a Review of the film Goodbye Christopher Robin.

2019 – The Year of Disney and Pixar Films

What to Watch in 2019

 

In 2019 there are a lot of Disney and Pixar films coming out that you may not be aware of and there is definitely some stuff to get excited about. So in this blog I am going to be showing you the Disney and Pixar releases coming out in 2019, however please be aware that I will not be including any marvel or Star Wars movies.

 

Another thing to be aware of is I am not an expert on these films, I have no inside person giving me these details, this is just what I have found out from watching interviews and looking online, furthermore, these films go through a lot of changes and won’t be coming out for another year so what I tell you know might be true, but in 6 months it might not be. I hope what I am telling you will be accurate but I will admit that there are some details that may be wrong and I apologise for that now.

 

The last thing to know about is there will be little to no spoilers. Where possible I will be talking about the plot of the film, but obviously I’m not going to be giving too much of the film away.

 

Dumbo

Dumbo is a live action, possibly sequel, possible retelling, possible update of the original that is due to be released in the UK and the USA on 29th March and most surprisingly to me, it will be directed by Tim Burton who in the past has worked on Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride, Beetlejuice, the live action Alice in Wonderland and many more. Personally I always think that his work is memorable and individualistic, but he’s not my favourite director and I am surprised that he has taken on Dumbo.

This film is not going to be a talking animal film, although it will still centre around Dumbo, they seem to be going in a different direction with this film. For example the film will focus on a new character Holt Farrier, who will be played by Colin Farrell (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) he returns from war a changed man, no longer able to be a circus star he is instructed by the circus owner Max Medici, played by Danny Devito (Matilda), to look after Dumbo, a baby elephant with gigantic ears. It his children who discover that Dumbo can fly. It’s now time for Dumbo to be made a star with the help of Collette Marchant, played by Eva Green (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children) who is an aerial artist and entrepreneur V.A Vandemere, played by Michael Keaton (Birdman).

 

Aladdin

The live action Aladdin film is due to be released on 24th May in the USA, it hasn’t yet been confirmed when it will be released in the UK.

The cast has been confirmed, with the most notable name being Will Smith being the Genie. This is a decision that I am very excited about, Will Smith always takes on very emotive and powerful roles and I think the Genie would really suit him well as a character.

Jasmine is going to be played by Naomi Scott, who most recently was the pink power ranger in the power ranger movie, Mena Massoud will play Aladdin, Marwan Kenzari (Ben-Hur and What Happened to Monday) will play Jafar and Navid Negahban will play the Sultan.

It looks as though we don’t have a synopsis yet but I can guess that it will be follow a similar plot to the original film.

 

Toy Story 4

Toy Story 4, the first animated film of the year and the only fouthquel in the Pixar universe is coming to cinemas in 2019 on 21st June to UK and USA.

The only plot line that they have revealed is that it will focus on Woody and Buzz searching for Bo Peep who was one of the toys that was given away. Just from this detail I believe it could be one of the more romantic films.

Just encase you weren’t aware, Don Rickles who voiced Mr. Potato Head passed away last year (2017) and hadn’t recorded his lines so it is yet unknown what they will do with his character.

It looks like a lot of the original cast have signed up for the film including Tom Hanks who voices Woody, Tim Allen who voices Buzz Lightyear and Joan Cusack who voices Jessie and many others.

I know a lot of people have uncertain feelings about this film because they feel as though the trilogy wrapped up so nicely with Andy going to college, but personally I feel as though Pixar wouldn’t be going ahead with this fourth film if they didn’t feel like it had some promise.

The Lion King

The Lion King is going to be a CG-animated version which will follow a similar story line to the 1994 The Lion King. You can’t say it’s a live action because, well it’s not, it’s animated, it’s just animated more realistically and less cartoonish than the original. Either way I am intrigued as to how they will pull it off. As it is directed by Jon Favreau, the same person who directed the 2016 The Jungle Book, I believe The Lion King will be styled very similarly. That is to say, a lot more graphic and less aimed at for children.

To me, The Lion King is special and I love the original and I think it’s practically perfect and so I don’t how they can make it better. I am aware that technology has advanced to make things look more seamless and more realistic, but personally I don’t need that. I am still going to go and watch the film when it comes out in cinemas on the 19th July in the UK.

One thing that I thought that they were trying to do was have more voice actors from Africa, however a quick web search shows that only actor born and raised in Africa is John Kani who voices Rafiki. An internet search tells me that everyone else is was born and raised in England or America, with the exception of Florence Kasumba who is a German Ugandan actress and she will play Shenzi.

The most recognisable people who have joined the cast are Beyonce (the singer) who will voice Nala, Seth Rogen (Pineapple Express) who will voice Pumbaa, James Earl Jones (Darth Vader) who is revising his role as Mufasa, Donald Glover (The Martian) as Simba and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) as Scar.

Frozen 2

Not much is known about this film accept the fact that Kristen Bell who voices Anna, Idina Menzel who voices Elsa and Josh Gad who voices Olaf have signed onto the film which will be released on 27th November in the USA.

 

2019+

Upon researching what films will be coming in 2019 I also saw some films that haven’t yet got a planned date and there are minimal to no real details about these films, most are just rumors.

 

The Jungle Book 2

This film will be a live action sequel to the live action remake of the animated version of The Jungle Book.

The film will be directed by Jon Favreau, who directed the first live action and is directing the live action Lion King. Apparently he will start production straight after the Lion King, after the screen writing has begun, however the idea for a sequel started back in April 2016 so they have been thinking about it for a while.

No cast has yet been confirmed, however Neel Sethi has expressed an interest in appearing in it. Although this will all depend on what the story is going to be about and what age they want Mowgli to be.

 

Maleficent 2

The script of this film has already been started by Linda Woolverton and Angelina Jolie, who appeared as Maleficent in the original, is on board to appear, the production will begin in early 2018.

 

Enchanted 2

I should really call this Disenchanted because this is the proposed title for the upcoming sequel which has signed on Amy Adams to return as Giselle. In this film we will find her questioning her happiness which will apparently cause all sorts of problems for people living in the real world and the world of Andalasia.

 

Other films that are rumoured to be coming are a live action The Little Mermaid starring Lindsey Lohan, a live action Mulan staring Liu Yifei, a Chinese actor and to be directed by Niki Caro. A live action Sword in the Stone. The origin story of Cruella De Ville staring Emma Stone. A Pinocchio live action. A Tinkerbell film starring Reese Witherspoon and a Prince film, either the prince from Snow White or Cinderella.

 

Taking into account the fact that there will also be a lot of original content being made as well Disney isn’t running out of ideas of films anytime soon and there is not one thing I’m not looking forward to. I’m especially intrigued by a Prince story as we don’t have enough leading princes.

 

Please let me know what you’re most excited about in the comments bellow and come back next Monday for a blog all about the animated Aladdin.