Upcoming Disney Shows to see in the UK

Upcoming Disney Shows to see in the UK

In the UK there are no Disney theme parks, so to get your Disney fix, the next best thing is to go and see a theatre show. In this blog I will be telling you about all the available and upcoming shows to see in the UK.

Frozen

Disney’s FROZEN is continuing to show at Drury Lane in London. The general buzz at the moment is that this is one of the best shows to see in London at the moment and it’s just been announced that the show will continue to stay open until March 2023.

The show features brand new music, from the married duo Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson Lopez, that didn’t appear in the film.

The show lasts for 2hours and 30 minutes and has one interval.

Mary Poppins

The Mary Poppins theatre shows at the Prince Edward Theatre in London and will continue to do so until mid December 2022. This was the theatre that showed Aladdin, but is no longer in production.

I have seen the Mary Poppins show, in fact it was the last day out that I had before Coronavirus caused the UK to go into lockdown and I have posted a full review of this show on my blog, but what I will say is that this show is not my favourite. However I do think it’s worth seeing at least once.

The show lasts for 2 hours and 50 minutes and has one interval.

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast the theatre show was released in 2021 and was only going to be released for a short amount of time and only at select locations, however due to the success of the show, the run was extended.  There is still a chance to see the show but you have to be quick as it’s only showing at three more locations:

• Between Friday 24th June and Saturday 17th September 2022 the show will be performed in London at the London Palladium.  
• Between Thursday 29th September and Saturday 12th November 2022 the show will be performed in Bristol at the Bristol Hippodrome.
• Between Thursday 24th November and Sunday 8th January 2023 the show will be performed in Dublin at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre.   

I have seen the show and I really enjoyed it, it’s super fun and the perfect kind of escapism.

The Lion King

The Lion King is continuing to play at the Lyceum Theatre in London, which is where the show has been performed for the last 17 years, making it one of the longest running theatre shows in London.

Bookings can be made for the show until February 12th 2023.

If you can’t make it to London then the show is actually going on tour. You can catch a show at the following locations:

• Between 8th July and 27th August 2022 the show will be performed in Cardiff at the Wales Millennium Centre.
• Between 8th September and 15th October 2022 the show will be performed in Southampton at the Mayflower Theatre.
• Between 27th October and 19th February 2023 the show will be performed in Manchester at the Palace Theatre.

Newsies

Newsies is a new theatre show coming to the UK in November 2022, it will be playing at the Troubadour Theatre in Wembley Park in London. The show will be available between Wednesdays and Sundays, however Christmas may cause changes to the schedule.

The show focuses on a group of teenagers who sell newspapers and hope for a better life than the ones they currently live on the streets.

Star Wars Return of the Jedi

This isn’t a theatre show, this is the film being shown with a live orchestra.

The show will be performed daily at the Royal Albert Hall in London between 23rd September and the 25th September 2022.

Hocus Pocus

This isn’t a theatre show, this is the film being shown with a live orchestra.

The performance will be shown at the following locations:

• On Sunday 23rd October 2022 the show will be played in Glasgow at the Royal Concert Hall.
• On Monday 24th October 2022 the show will be played in Manchester at the Bridgewater Hall
• On Tuesday 25th October 2022 the show will be played in Birmingham at the Symphony Hall
• On Wednesday 26th October 2022 the show will be played in London at the Eventim Apollo.
• On Friday 28th October 2022 the show will be played in Nottingham at the Royal Concert Hall.

Muppets Christmas Carol

This isn’t a theatre show, this is a concert. So the film is shown on the big screen and the music from the film is played by a live orchestra.

It will be shown in several different locations:

• On Sunday 27th November 2022 the show will be played in Liverpool at the Liverpool Empire.
• On Monday 28th November 2022 the show will be played in Glasgow at the SEC Armadillo.
• On Tuesday 29th November 2022 the show will be played in Edinburgh at Usher Hall.
• On Sunday 4th December 2022 the show will be played in London at the Eventim Apollo.  
• On Monday 5th December 2022 the show will be played in Sheffield at City Hall.
• On Monday 12th December 2022 the show will be playing in York at the York Barbican.
• On Tuesday 13th December 2022 the show will be played in Nottingham at the Royal Concert Hall.
• On Wednesday 14th December 2022 the show will be played in Birmingham at the Symphony Hall.
• On Wednesday 21st December 2022 the show will be played in Manchester at the Bridgewater Hall.
• On Thursday 22nd December 2022 the show will be played in Bath at the Bath Forum.

Guardians of the Galaxy The Live Immersive Experience

Throughout the whole of September and October 2022 you can experience a live show unlike no other at Wembley in London.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

This isn’t a theatre show, this is the film being shown with a live orchestra.

It will be shown on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th December at the Ovo Arena in Wembley, London. It is showing at 6pm on both nights.  

Disney on Ice Dream Big

As you can guess from the title, this is not a theatre show, it’s an ice skating show and it will be shown at the following locations:

• Between Wednesday 2nd November and Sunday 6th November the show will be played in Manchester at the AO Arena.
• Between Thursday 10th November and Sunday 13th November the show will be played in Aberdeen at the P&J Live.
• Between Wednesday 30th November and Sunday 4th December the show will be played in Birmingham at the Resorts World Arena.
• Between Wednesday 7th December and Sunday 11th December the show will be played in Newcastle at the Utilita Arena.
• Between Thursday 15th December and Sunday 18th December the show will be played in Sheffield at the Utilita Arena.
• Between Thursday 22nd December and Friday 31st December the show will be played in London at The O2.

That covers all the theatre shows and concerts that Disney are releasing in the UK this year. It’s all very exciting. Let me know what you’re most excited for in the comments bellow. I am most excited about Muppets Christmas Carol and Newsies.  

Sustainable Disney Gift Ideas

Sustainable Disney Gift Ideas

Disney Theatre Tickets

There are so many Disney theatre shows to go and see at the moment. “Frozen” the musical, “The Lion King”, “Mary Poppins”, “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” and “Beauty and the Beast” are all available to go and see in 2022. If you don’t like the sound of theatre tickets you could go and see “Disney on Ice”.

Reusable Disney Make-Up Removal Pads

I bought some last year from the independent seller: “The Fun Impossible”, and I’ve reused them many times before. They would be a great gift that’s not too expensive either, the ones that I bought were only £6 and they have Disney princesses on them. There are plenty of available designs on Etsy.

Vintage Disney Clothing

Did you know that there is roughly 100 billion items of clothing that are made every year, when there’s only 7 billion people on the planet. Buying second hand clothing is something that needs to become to norm and what better time than at Christmas. Websites like Vinted and Depop are perfect for finding vintage clothing, but I also recommend “Beyond Retro” which is online, but you can visit in person shopping in Brighton, Bristol and a few in London. There’s also “Handsome Freaks” in Margate and I’m sure there are several other places all over the UK. If you know a great place to get vintage Disney clothing please leave the info in a comment down bellow.

Disney VHS Notebooks

Notebooks are such versatile gifts and to make the gift a little more sustainable, you can get one that’s recycled out of old Disney books, Disney DVD’s and videos.

Just find out what their favourite film is and I’m positive you’ll be able to find a notebook with their favourite film/character on it. “Retro from Scratch” is an online store that makes them, but you can also go onto ETSY and find many sellers that make recycled Disney notebooks.

Similarly you can also purchase repurposed Disney DVD and video’s into clocks.

Disney Plus

You could gift a year’s subscription to Disney Plus. This is rather expensive at £80 but just think how many Disney movie nights you could have together, how many times the recipient could watch their favourite movies again and again. There are lots of films and shows coming to Disney Plus in 2022 like “Pinocchio”, “Peter Pan and Wendy”, “Mandalorian” S3, “Hocus Pocus 2”, “Disenchanted” (Enchanted sequel) and so much more.

Disney Bath Bombs

“Bath Enchanted” creates Disney inspired bath bombs which are all vegan, cruelty free and come in eco-friendly and biodegradable packaging.  I’ve tried these bath bombs and I absolutely love them, they add magic to bath time and are great for a Disney inspired pamper evening. They’re also really affordable. The average bath bomb cost £3.50. One is great as a stocking filler, or you could purchase several and make a hamper.

Disney Pouches

From many online shops, you can purchase Disney pouches. I bought metal straw holder pouch which is Pixar themed and the I bought a reusable knife fork and spoon set pouch which have Disney Princesses on it. These are so handy to have because I can just throw them in my bag whenever I go anywhere and it means I don’t have to use plastic straws or throw away cutlery. There are also reusable sandwich pouches you can get off of Etsy. It’s a fun way to add Disney into your day to day objects.  

There is a lot of Disney merchandise out there at the moment and it would be great if we all took a second and thought, is this really the right gift? Is this person going to love and treasure this for the years to come, or are they going to discard it after wearing/using it once?

Gift giving is such a beautiful thing to do, but we all need to do it with the consideration of the effects that it will have.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my list of possible gift ideas that are that little bit more environmentally conscious and sustainable. If you have any ideas, please leave them linked bellow and come back next week for another Disney blog.

Disney’s Theatre Shows to See in the UK

Disney’s Theatre Shows

Frozen

Disney’s FROZEN is arriving at Drury Lane in London from Friday 27th August. The opening was delayed because of the ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic.

There will be brand new music from the married due Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson Lopez that didn’t appear in the film.

Frozen opened on Broadway, in America back in 2018, so it’s a tried and tested show that has had rave reviews  

The show lasts for 2hours and 30 minutes and has one interval.

Mary Poppins

The Mary Poppins theatre show will be returning to the Prince Edward Theatre from Friday 7th August 202. This was the theatre that showed Aladdin, but that is no longer in production.

I have seen the Mary Poppins show, in fact it was the last day out that I had before Coronavirus caused the UK to go into lockdown.

The show lasts for 2 hours and 50 minutes and has one interval.

I have posted a full review of this show on my blog.

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast will be performing in several different locations:

• Between Wednesday 25th August and Saturday 18th September 2021 the show will be performed in Bristol at the Bristol Hippodrome.
• Between Thursday 23rd September and Saturday 16th October 2021 the show will be performed in Liverpool at the Liverpool Empire.
• Between Thursday 21st October and Saturday 27th November 2021 the show will be performed in Edinburgh at the Edinburgh Playhouse.
• Between Thursday 9th December 2021 and Saturday 15th January 2022 the show will be performed in Cardiff at the Wales Millennium Centre.
• In November 2022 the show is hoping to go to Dublin to play at Bord Gais Energy Theatre.

Beauty and the Beast the Theatre show first debuted on Broadway 26 years ago, however this show is reported to be reimagined to incorporate the latest theatrical developments.

The Lion King

On Thursday 29th July The Lion King returns to the Lyceum Theatre in London, which is where the show has been performed for the last 17 years, making it one of the longest running theatre shows in London.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Beginning on Saturday 14th August Bedknobs and Broomsticks in coming to the UK and will be travelling all over. There are too many places for me to mention everywhere they’re performing but they’re playing in Newcastle, Milton Keynes, Sheffield, Birmingham, Southampton, Bristol, Leicester, Dublin, Canterbury, Manchester, Aberdeen, Leeds, Cardiff, Liverpool and more.

Muppets Christmas Carol

This isn’t a theatre show, this is a concert. So the film is shown on the big screen and the music from the film is played by a live orchestra.

It will be shown in several different locations:

• On Sunday 28th November 2021 the show will be played in Liverpool at the Liverpool Empire.
• On Monday 29th November 2021 the show will be played in Manchester at Bridgewater Hall.
• On Tuesday 30th November 2021 the show will be played in Birmingham at the Symphony Hall
• On Wednesday 1st December 2021 the show will be played in Glasgow at the SEC Armadillo.
• On Thursday 2nd December 2021 the show will be played in Edinburgh at Usher Hall.
• On Tuesday 14th December 2021 the show will be played in Nottingham at the Royal Concert Hall.

That covers all the theatre shows and concerts that Disney are releasing in the UK this year. It’s all very exciting. Let me know what you’re most excited for in the comments bellow, personally I couldn’t pick one but it’s between Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, Muppets Christmas Carol and Beauty and the Beast.

Disney Trinket Dish D.I.Y

Disney Trinket Dish D.I.Y

You Will Need 

Air drying clay 

Rolling pin 

A cupcake tin 

Acrylic paints 

Paint brushes 

Varnish

Method 

1. Cut out a section of clay that you want to work with in order to create your dish baring in mind how thick you want your dish to be. 

2. Work your clay. It will be very stiff but if you dampen it with some water it will become more malleable. Once it’s a bit softer role it out flat, trying to make a circular shape, roughly the size of a scotch pancake. 

3. Place your clay on an upturned cupcake tin in order for the dish to take shape. 

4. You have two options at this point. You can either have a perfect circular dish or you can have a wavy edged dish which is more splayed out. 

4a. If you want the former, when you put the clay onto the tin you’re going to need to cut out a triangle shaped gap in the side of the dish. You can close the gap by working the clay and wetting it with water, it acts like a glue. 

4b. If you want the latter you just need to tease the edges into the wave pattern. 

5. Leave it to dry for as long as it says on the packet you got the clay from. Keep an eye on it though and if you see any cracks just dab it with some water and rework it. 

6. When you think it’s dry, slowly and carefully extract your dish from the tray and then it’s yours to paint. As you can see I choose to paint Simba from “The Lion King” silhouetted against a sunset. My second dish is inspired by “The Emperor’s New Groove”. The potion is the potion that turned Kuzco into a lama.

Let me know in the comments below if you decide to make a Disney dish and let me know what design you go for.

Why I Didn’t like The Lion King Remake!

Why I Didn’t Like The Lion King Remake!

I am so disappointed! I’m not going to pretend like I enjoyed this film because I didn’t, it just made me angry! The film was practically a shot for shot copy with only a couple of new scenes. This film was so similar to the original, they used about 95% of the same dialogue, the same camera shots, the same scenes and the same character development.

There are so many new things I wanted to see in this film. I wanted a flashback scene of Mufasa and Scar as cubs growing up, I wanted to see how Scar got his scar and what he was named before Scar. I wanted to see how Scar met and became allies with the Hyenas. They could have gone down the route of showing how Mufasa and Sarabi met. They could have shown how Pumbaa and Timon became friends. Were any of these questions answered? Nope!

In all of the previous Disney remakes something new is explored. In Cinderella we meet Cinderella’s mother and we learn why her step-mother is so evil. In Beauty and the Beast we find out how Belle’s mother dies, we learn a bit more about the Enchantress, and we get the new song Evermore. In Dumbo there are loads of new characters introduced and whole new plot points were explored. These tweaks make the live action remakes worthwhile to see.

The only new thing we saw was a baby Pumbaa, which yes was cute, possibly cuter than baby Moana and baby Dory but that was not enough!! I cannot critique the films story because it’s exactly the same as the original film which we already know is practically perfect. So this begs the question: Why remake an already perfect film? The answer is, you shouldn’t!

So this blog post isn’t a complete grumble fest I would like to praise Disney for the one thing they got right and that was the animation. It looked real about 98% of the time, the animals didn’t looked normal talking and singing and they it was all very believable.

I preferred the voice work of the original cast, Rowan Atkinson as Zazu was perfect, he had the perfect sounding stiff upper lip for the character. Granted, I did like the woodpecker joke in the remake but that’s it. Beyonce as Nala was a little pointless, she’s one of the most amazing singers alive today and she didn’t get to showcase practice any of her talent. Jeremy Irons was a much more malicious sounding Scar and did an amazing job and his line “You have no idea” in response to Simba telling him how crazy he is, is an appropriate phrase for Jeremy Irons because he made it famous in “Reversal of Fortune” so I don’t understand why they kept it for Chiwetel Ejiofor to say.

The songs weren’t bad, but I did prefer the originals. The updated “Hakuna Matata” was enjoyable, but again I prefer the original. “Be Prepared” was awful though, it was less like a song and more like an angry speech.

So it’s time to ask, was this remake worth it? I think you can guess that my answer is no. I don’t mean to be so negative, I love Disney, but I have to call them out when I feel like they’ve made a mistake and making this film how they did was a mistake! I just think they could have done so many more many things with the film. Let me know in the comments below what you thought! m

The Making of The Lion King

The Making of The Lion King

Directed by: Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff  

Cast:

Young Simba was voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas and adult Simba was voiced by Matthew Broderick. One of the reasons why Matthew decided to take on the role of Simba was because he thought that this film was the Disney version of the film “Kimba the White Lion”, but it wasn’t meant to be, even though there are repeated allegations that Disney plagiarised The Lion King. Disney have adamantly said that all similarities between the two are coincidental.  

Young Nala was voiced by Niketa Calame-Harris and adult Nala was voiced by Moira Kelly.

Mufasa was voiced by James Earl Jones who may be more well known as the voice of Darth Vader.

Zazu was voiced by Rowan Atkinson, more well known for playing Mr. Bean.

Scar was voiced by Jeremy Irons. He gave such an impressive voice performance when recording the lines for Scar that they took some of his mannerisms and included them into Scar.

If you’re ever watching The Lion King, notice how Scar always keeps his claws out, like he’s ready to attack at  a moment’s notice. Also notice that Scar has green eyes. That was the colour Disney was assigning to villains. Think back to many of the other Disney villains and you’ll realise that green smoke or green effects were used in scenes when there villainy was heightened.

Ed, one of the hyenas, was voiced by Jim Cummings. Jim is more well known for playing Winnie the Pooh and Baloo from The Jungle Book.

Shenzi, another hyena, was voiced by Whoopi Goldberg.

Banzai, the third important hyena, was voiced by Cheech Marin.

Rafiki was voiced by Robert Guillaume. Robert was the only actor to give his character an African accent, even though like his co-stars, he is American.

Timon was voiced by Nathan Lane.

In the scene when they’re coming up with a plan on how to distract the hyena’s Timon says “What do you want me to do, dress in drag and do the hula?” This line was improvised by Nathan.

Pumba was voiced by Ernie Sabella who is reportedly the first Disney character to ever pass wind during a Disney film. This sound was made my Pumba blowing a raspberry on his hand.

Nathan and Ernie auditioned together for the hyenas but because they were so funny they were chosen instead for Timon and Pumba, now one of the most iconic duos of all time.

Sarafina, Nala’s Mother, was voiced by Zoe Leader.

Sarabi, Simba’s mum, was voiced by Madge Sinclair. This would end up being Madge’s final film as she sadly lost a 13 year battle with leukaemia.

One thing that the voice actors didn’t do was record the lion roars, this was all down to Frank Welker. Frank is an incredibly talented animal voice actor, he has previously voiced Abu and Rajah in Aladdin, Lucifer in Cinderella, Philippe in Beauty and the Beast and many more. Frank was able to give each lion a specific roar to each character which made them a more rounded character.

To achieve the roars Frank roared into a metal bucket for the sound to bounce of the sides and seem louder and more powerful.

Development

The idea of The Lion King came from a conversation between Jeffrey Katzenberg, Roy Disney and Peter Schneider as they were on a plane to promote Oliver and Company. There initial thought was that they wanted to set a story in Africa. This automatically drew them to making an animal film and what better animal to focus on than a lion. They also knew they wanted a coming of age film. The film was originally going to be called “King of the Jungle”, until they realised that Lions don’t live in the jungle. George Scribner signed onto be one of the directors at the beginning of the film, this was when the film was described as being an animated National Geographic, but then it was decided for the film to be a musical and that was when he left the project. The Lion King was only ever given B team animators because A team animator were working on Pocahontas. They viewed Pocahontas as a more significant and important film because of its historical values. Turned out The Lion King was the going to be the more successful of the two.  

Did you know that Scar and Mufasa weren’t originally going to be brothers. Originally Scar was going to be the leader of a pack of baboons but the baboons were turned into Hyenas after they realised Hyenas were the natural foes of Lions. There were several alternative story lines they considered and within these stories there were several other characters created, for example Nala was going to have a little brother called Mheetu and a father in the film who would be in charge of another pride. Joka was going to be a rock Python, in support of Scar and there would be another meerkat, Timon’s relative Tesma.

In order to prepare for this film the animators took a trip to Africa to research the landscape and the wildlife. They did also bring Lions and cubs into the studio to study but the research trip paid off because in the background on several shots you get important landmarks like Kilimanjaro Mountain and the setting of the film was based on Hell’s Gate National Park in Kenya. It wasn’t just scenery they researched it was also language and one of the languages they speak in Africa is Swahili. Several words in Swahili were borrowed for the names of some of the characters. For example Simba means Lion, Nala means gift Sarabi means mirage, Rafiki means friend and Pumba means foolish.

The hardest scene in the film to animate was the wildebeest stampede, in fact it took 3 years to finish. The team at Disney ended up making a brand new CGI programme that would allow hundreds of animals to run in the same direction but not collide with one another or run through each other. They animated one stampeding wildebeest and basically hit copy and paste to make hundreds more. Then when animating the scene they made them all crazy colours so they could identify them all individually. It took a long time to get right but it was a crucial scene.

When Nala returned to the pride, she was going to be banned by Scar, especially as they were going to have a subplot of Nala rebuffing Scar’s advances, but they scrapped this idea as they didn’t want to involve sexual harassment into the film.

A lot of people have noticed the links between The Lion King and Hamlet but this film’s story is also very similar to Egyptian mythology. Here’s the basic story and you can decide if it sounds familiar. Set and Usir are brothers, Set is jealous of Usir being King so he kills him by trapping him in a box and sending him down the Nile. Set is the uncle of Horus, Horus makes it his mission in life to avenge his Dad by becoming King. Horus tricks Set’s army to murder one another and then set his sights for Set who he forced away into hiding for the rest of his life.

Music

Jim Cummings, the voice of Ed, had to fill in for Jeremy Irons when he couldn’t finish singing his villain song “Be Prepared”. The line “You won’t get a sniff without me” was too much for Jeremy to handle. During the song Scar is stood up high on a podium while the Hyenas are marching in synchronicity down bellow, this is meant to echo Hitler and his Nazi’s. Quite chilling symmetry if you ask me.  

One song that was removed from the film was song sung by Mufasa and it was to be called “To Be King” but it didn’t suit James Earl Jones’s voice so it was removed. Another song that was tweaked was Hakuna Matata. Initially recorded by Jimmy Cliff and Lebo-M, the song had a reggae sound to it, you can hear this version on You Tube. To give Timon and Pumba a song to sing “Warthog Rhapsody” was created but obviously not included in the film as they ended up being the ones to sing “Hakuna Matata” but you can hear “Warthog Rhapsody” on You Tube as well.  

Hans Zimmer made the score for the film. He took the job very seriously, spending 2 years finding the right sounds to put together. He also involved a lot of music from Africa to give it a more cultural feel. Hans involved Lebo-M in the process and we have a lot to thank Lebo-M for as he’s the talent behind the opening of Circle of Life. The song changed the whole opening of the film, originally the film was going to open with a narrative introducing us to all the characters, this was scrapped when it was revealed how amazing Circle of Life was.

Elton John, a very successful and well known musician was asked to do the songs and lyrics for the film with Tim Rice, another successful musician.

Shortly before the film was released in theatres Elton went to go and watch the film and he commented how the love song, “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”, has been excluded from the film. Elton thought that this wasn’t right and persuaded Jeffrey Katzenberg, the then chairman of Disney animation to include it in the film. This ended up being the right decision as the song won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. This is especially impressive when you consider the fact that comic duo Timon and Pumba opened the song.

Awards

Although not an award, The Lion King can hold the title as the best-selling him video of all time, selling 55million copies worldwide. The  Broadway version of The Lion King became the highest grossing box office title in 2014, surpassing Les Mis, Phantom of the Opera, Wicked and so many more. The Lion King on Broadway has also earned an impressive 6 Tony awards, including an award for Best Musical.

The Lion King was also the highest grossing animated movie of all time, but was beaten by Toy Story 3 and Frozen.

One award The Lion King did receive was a Golden Globe for best motion picture.

Easter Eggs

At the end of the film, after Simba is victorious and he is walking to greet his fellow lions, he moves past Zazu who can be seen saying “Your majesty” but it has been muted as the filmmakers believed this distracted from Simba’s moment.

Another time Zazu is muted is by Scar when he is trapped in the cage and this is because he is singing “It’s a Small World” which is the song from the ride “It’s a Small World” at several Disney parks across the globe.

Jock from Lady and the Tramp shows up, silhouetted and surrounded by the hyenas when Simba returns and tries to overthrow Scar.

One Easter egg they removed from the films could be seen when Simba lies down exhaustedly on a rock and lots of dust flies out from underneath him. Disney has said that the dust spells out “SFX” which is a nod to the special effects department, other people think it spells out a rude word.

Come back on Monday 22nd July for a blog reviewing the live action The Lion King.

What Disney films to Watch in 2019

What Disney films to Watch in 2019

 

In 2019 there is a crazy amount 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.

This blog will not include any marvel or Star Wars movies.

 

Dumbo

Dumbo is a live action retelling of the original film and will be released in the UK on the 29th March. It is being 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).

A full trailer is available to watch on You Tube.

Aladdin

The live action Aladdin film is due to be released on 24th May 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.

A teaser trailer is available to watch on You Tube, I’m sure it won’t be long until a full length trailer will be released.

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 teaser trailer is available to watch which introduces the a new character called Forky. The only possible plot line that has been rumoured is focusing on Woody and Buzz searching for Little Bo Peep.

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.

The Lion King

The Lion King is going to be a CG-animated version which based of the trailer that has been released will follow the exact same story line as the original film, although I have heard that the story will focus more of giving Scar a back-story.

The film will be released 19th July in the UK.

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

On 22nd November Frozen 2 is coming. 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, along with Sterling K. Brown (This is Us) and Evan Rachel Wood to voice new roles.

 

Artemis Fowl

On August 9th Artemis Fowl will be coming to the cinema, one of the only live action film that I know will be coming out from Disney.

It is going to be directed by Kenneth Branagh, the same person who directed Cinderella.

Artemis Fowl is a series of books that came out many years ago and were very popular, but I’ve not heard much about them until now so I am a little surprised that Disney have chosen to resurface these books.

A short trailer is available to watch on You Tube and it looks intriguing but at the same time like every other fantasy, adventure, technology film.

Noelle

Noelle is another live action film that’s coming out sometime in November. It will be a festive film featuring Anna Kendrick as Nicole Claus, Santa’s daughter. No plot or information about the film has been released other than visuals of Anna in an elf outfit.

That covers all the Disney films that will be coming out in 2019. Which film are you most excited for? Let me know in the comments below.

The Lion King Trailer Review

The Lion King Trailer Review

 

Coming out next year, on July 19th, in the UK and the US is the photo realistic, CGI Disney film, The Lion King. The first sneak peak trailer was recently released for this film and I have few things I’d like to say about it!

 

The sun rises over the African plains, the gazelles look up, elephants walk across an expansive land with a gigantic ice topped mountain in the background and birds fly across a large body of water. These are the opening scenes we see in the trailer and they look as though they have been extracted from the original films trailer, just with photo realistic CGI rather than cartoon drawings.

 

Then we hear Mufasa, voiced by James Earl Jones, the voice of the original Mufasa brought back because he was so iconic, voicing the line “Everything the light touches, is our kingdom”. This is a line spoken in the original film, so if you didn’t pick up on the fact that the trailer so far, which is only about 21 seconds in by this point, has been copied from the original trailer, hopefully you will from this line.

 

Then we’ve got some shots of the animals all lined up, making lots of noise and seeming excited, expectant even, like they’re waiting for the arrival of Simba.

The next shot we get is of Simba, or more accurately, his front right paw as it steps into the much larger footprint of Mufasa’s, foreshadowing how Simba must live up to his father, the King. As we see this very symbolic moment, which has been copied from the original film, we again hear Mufasa speak, this time saying “But a King’s time as ruler rises and falls like the sun”. This also foreshadows how Mufasa’s time will soon be coming to an end. Mufasa continues to speak, saying “One day, the sun will set on my time here, and will rise with you as the new King.” While we hear this, the most important line of dialogue in the trailer, we see a clip of the scene that will bring ruin to the king, and will evoke very sad memories in all the people who ever saw the original film and loved it. The herd of Buffalo, stampeding.

When all hope is lost, what does Disney do? It plays the iconic, possibly the most iconic piece of film music, The Circle of Life and reveals the first glimpse of Pride Rock, followed very quickly by Rafiki and young, possibly hours old Simba who turns his head towards the light. Rafiki then breaks apart the roots to release the red powdery substance that he pushes across Simba’s forehead, before lifting him up high into the sky to be seen by all the cheering animals waiting below.

 

Next the title card of “THE LION KING” followed by the names of the actors who will be lending their voices to the film. Donald Glover will voice Simba, Seth Rogan will voice Pumbaa, Chiwetel Ejiofor will voice Scar, Billy Eichner will voice Timon, John Oliver will voice Zazu, Keegan-Michael Key will voice Kamari, Beyonce Knowles-Carter will voice Nala and James Earl Jones will voice Mufasa.

 

Names of those not mentioned in the trailer are John Kani who will voice Rafiki, Alfre Woodard who will voice Sarabi, JD McCrary who will voice young Simba. Shahadi Wright Joseph will voice Young Nala, Florence Kasumba who will voice Shenzi and Eric Andre who will voice Azizi.

The final scene in the trailer is of a dark and cloudy sky, a lion, I’m guessing Simba, roaring powerfully at the sky and Mufasa saying “Remember”.

 

The trailer was epic, it did what it was meant to do, and that is to intrigue the audience who don’t already know the story of The Lion King. For those who do know the story, it means watching the trailer you have the feelings of nostalgia and you can breathe a sigh of relief that they haven’t tainted your beloved film by getting rid of your favourite characters or bringing in new ones.

 

The film will be directed by Jon Favreau, the same person who directed the photo realistic CGI/live action The Jungle Book, along with Iron Man and many other films.

The score for the film is by Hans Zimmer with songs by Tim Rice and Elton John. All three worked on the music of the original film so we know we’re in good hands.

 

Overall, I am excited to go and see this film but I hope that in some way they made it different from the original. The original is a good film, that has been proved and I don’t want a CGI photo realistic copy. I want something newer, refreshing and relevant to today. Asking for something specific, I would be very happy to see a back story for Scar, like what came first, the scar or the name? What makes him hate Mufasa so much? I think there’s a lot they could do to make this a better film than the first, we will just have to wait until July 19th 2019!

Top 10 Saddest Moments in Disney and Pixar Films

Top 10 Saddest Moments in Disney and Pixar Films

 

In this blog I will be counting down my opinion of the 10 saddest Disney and Pixar moments.

 

No. 10 Toy Story 2

Jessie being rejected by Emily: The number 10 saddest moment for me goes to Jessie being forgotten by Emily, her owner, in Toy Story 2, and then being abandoned in a box. This moment in the film is stunning with the beautifully song “When Somebody Loved Me” and montage of time passing. It’s just heartbreaking to watch a toy, an innocent cowgirl become unloved after she had been through so much with Emily.

I think the reason why this moment resonates with me is because it reminds me of all my teddies, dollies and beanie babies that have been shoved into boxes and it makes me feel so bad for them. Excuse me while I go and give them all a cuddle.

 

No. 9 The Lion King

Mufasa dying: Spoiler! Sorry! I know that this moment would normally be people’s number 1 but by the time I had seen The Lion King, age 17, I know, I was a sheltered child, the fact that Mufasa dies, that Simba blames himself and Scar is actually to blame was spoiled for me back when I was 6. So when it came to watching the moment for the first time, I wasn’t that saddened. I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s an emotional scene, when poor Simba pushes his way under Mufasa’s paw for a cuddle, it’s sad, but there have been more emotional scenes than that.

 

No. 8 Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast, live action, turning into inanimate objects: I’m not 100% sure this should be on the list because it’s not animated, but I’m in charge so I guess I’m adding it.

When I went to see this film at the cinema, I was heartbroken, on the edge of my seat, ready to storm out at the prospect that they may not become human again. The whole scene from the beast getting injured to Lumière, being all on his own and having to transform makes my choked up inside and my heart ache. It’s the “Amore, no, don’t leave me” and Mrs. Potts frantically trying to find her son before she transforms and Chip nearly smashing to pieces that gets me. For what felt like a thousand years (yes I’m being dramatic) I was waiting, no, hoping that the curse would reverse itself and I am so thankful that it did.

 

No.7 Finding Nemo

Barracuda attack: So 9 year old Siobhan (that’s me) gets invited to a cinema party, the film was Finding Nemo, the new Pixar film, I was expecting great things, especially after Toy Story and A Bugs Life. Little did I know that within the first 10 minutes of the film I would be silently sobbing my eyes out. The cause? The film that started out with so much hope, love and family values, crushes my hopes when Marlin loses his entire family, except from one small clown fish, because of a Barracuda attack. The whole scene makes your heart sink, get it, sink, water?

 

No. 6 Wall-E

Wall-E: I have watched Wall-E several times now, and each time it’s a painful process, not because it’s a bad film, but because I love Wall-E so much and it always breaks my heart to see how much he goes through. I’m sure there are some of you out there who are saying that he’s just a robot, but he has feelings. He’s the last working robot and his only friend is a cockroach. You can see he craves human contact and then the first and only robot that comes to earth after who knows how long he has been alone, rejects him. He then spends the entire movie trying to do the right thing in his own little quirky way and then risks his own life to save her. Then right at the end of the film Wall-E forgets Eve and I honestly thought he would never remember her, so I was so glad when I saw that little spark of light, it’s like letting out a breath I’ve been holding since pressing play on the DVD menu.

 

No.5 Princess and the Frog

Ray: Princess and the Frog the film is a little gem, there is nothing I don’t like about this film, except that Ray died, and by the hand of Dr. Facilier. If it had been an accident I wouldn’t be so sad, but no, he got hit and stepped on, and he didn’t deserve it. Killing him was unnecessary. You want to know the sad thing, for the rest of the movie, until it was 100% confirmed that he had passed on, I hoped that maybe some Disney magic had happened and he would just have a poorly wing, but no, he was dead. I get that he got to be with his dear Evangeline, but no, it wasn’t his time yet. He had so much more to give.

 

No. 4 Up

Up time lapse: You head into the cinema, you sit down into cinema with your giant bowl of popcorn and your over priced drink, you’ve finally gotten over the trauma of Finding Nemo and you think your about the watch a fun film about a man who floats his house away on adventure, instead, within 10 minutes into the film you’re rocking yourself backwards and forwards, and your using the hem of your dress as a tissue because you’ve just watched Carl loose the love of his life and never get to fulfil his dream of going to South America. It’s just so sad and it doesn’t matter how many times you watch the scene, it gets you every time.

 

No. 3 Inside Out

Bing Bong sacrifices himself: “Take her to the moon for me” such a great line, but also the line that leaves me bawling my eyes out, and with tears, not candy. Bing Bong loves Riley so much and he knows he can’t go on much longer so he lets Joy go alone. I think it gets to me so much because I know that there were all those imaginary friends out there that like Bing Bong have been forgotten and although they’re not real, they helped shaped those people…and I’m gonna stop myself before I get too mushy.

 

No.2 Dumbo

Baby mine: Just thinking about this scene from Dumbo makes my eyes prickle. The moment in the film is sad for so many reasons, it shows just how badly humans can treat animals, I mean separating mothers from their babies, who thought that was a good idea… no one in their right mind, that’s who.

The song doesn’t help either, the lyrics “You are so precious to me”, “Dry your eyes” and “Don’t you cry”, it’s like the song is taking to me. That and the visual of having the two of them cuddling with their trunks, I mean come on, it’s just so beautifully sad.

 

Before we get to No. 1 here are some honourable mentions:

11) The opening of Tarzan. Disney really loves death, it’s true, why oh why did that poor innocent baby have to lose both of his parents, and by being eaten by Sabor, a tiger, who also kills Kala’s child. They only reason this didn’t make the top 10 is because it’s equally shocking as it is sad.

12) Loosing Tadashi, and Baymax and then Tadashi again. Hiro’s already lost his parents, then he loses his brother, he gets him back in the form of Baymax and then he loses Baymax. It’s like you have to mourn Tadashi twice.

13) Bambi’s mum dying. It’s just not fair, Bambi did not deserve that, I, the viewer did not deserve to go through that. He was innocent and young and now he has to grow up without his mum. Excuses me while I grab my box of tissues.

 

 

No.1 Toy Story 3

The toys nearly getting burnt alive: Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 2 are practically perfect films, I’ve watched them countless times and love the characters, I’ve grown up with them and every year at Christmas they’ve wound up on the big screen. When it was announced that a third film was being released, I knew that it either had to be big or it had to go home. So there I was, at the cinema ready to watch the film and it was going well until the toys meet the big fiery pit of death and they hold hands and it looks like there’s no escape and I am a nervous wreck. I actually thought they were going to kill off the toys and that would be the end of the film, thankfully I was wrong, but I have to admit, it was a tense few minutes.

 

So there we have it, my top 10, plus a few extra, of the saddest Disney and Pixar moments. Was your saddest moment included? Did you agree with my list? Let me know in the comments bellow.