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A Star Wars/Disney Corporate Retreat
So apparently Yahoo is doing sketch comedy nowadays? Who knew! Their SketchY group put together this awesome cartoon.
Some of the jokes are silly and easy, but then I doubt Yahoo really wants to push the envelope too much. Kudos to them for trying.
A Whole New Force
Did you hear that Disney bought Star Wars? These guys did!
Good times. Some quality song parodies in there. They probably could have gotten a lot more mileage out of his concept if they’d tried some other scenes, but otherwise, good work by Awesomeness TV.
Disney Princess Leia
Now that Disney owns Star Wars, the other Disney Princesses have taken the opportunity to welcome Leia into their flock.
Much like when Disney bought Marvel and I wanted to see the Wasp turned into a Disney Princess, I think it would be a blast to see Leia taken in that same direction! Not for anything solid, mind you, but just for fun. Draw her like the other Princesses. Put her on merchandise. Leia is heads and tails above the rest of them in terms of badassery.
The above video was made by the guys at AVByte, who have been doing a lot of good work recently.
Review: Wreck-It Ralph
I knew Wreck-It Ralph was going to be good, but I didn’t know it was going to be this good! I can’t remember a cartoon kiddie movie with this many layers, with this much devastation and with more twists and turns than your average Sugar Rush race track. There were several moments in the film where I was very surprised at the latest turn of events, but also in awe at just how well-structured those events were. Wreck-It Ralph is made with obvious forethought, setting up many plot points and story threads that pay off with delightful glee in the end.
Wreck-It Ralph is the rare kids’ movie that doesn’t hold your hand or soften its blows. And for that, I loved it!
Movie rating: 5/5: Great!
Kids are not idiots. When you’re making entertainment for kids, you don’t need to talk down to them and you don’t need to pander to them. Kids may not understand more complex concepts, but deep down, they understand and can appreciate the difference between comedy and tragedy. Wreck-It Ralph is one of those movies that expects its viewers to think, to understand a character’s complex motivations. Why does Ralph want to be a good guy? What does it mean when he hurts his friend in order to help her? These are not simple matters of good guy and bad guy. Ralph can’t just win a medal and expect everything to work out all hunky-dory. He has to earn his happy ending – and believe me, he does!
The characters are especially fantastic. John C. Reilly as Wreck-It Ralph is a great leading man, who really comes through in the end. Jack McBrayer is a little grating as Fix-It Felix Jr., but then I mostly just feel that way about Jack McBrayer. Alan Tudyk makes a surprising turn as the Candy King, who is a far more complex character than one might think. And the great, glorious Sarah Silverman is beyond adorable as Vanellope the glitch. She has all the cutes. There isn’t a bad character in the bunch.
In a match up between Pixar’s Brave from earlier this summer and Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph, it should be no surprise that the one filled to the brim with video game references is by far the best. Suck it, Pixar.
Join me after the jump for the full review. There will be full SPOILERS!
My Two Cents on the Disney/Star Wars Merger
I was literally speechless when I heard the news yesterday that Disney had bought Star Wars for $4 billion, and that they plan to launch Star Wars: Episode 7 in 2015. The very idea that there’s going to be a new Star Wars trilogy is mind-blowing to a sci-fi geek like me. Not to mention the fact that it will be at the hands of the Disney corporation, the largest and most maniacal company in the world. But now I’ve slept on this information, taken some time to think it over, and I think this is actually a really cool thing.
I’m more than a little worried for the Expanded Universe and other Star Wars tie-ins, but overall, this may be for the best.
A long time ago, in a theme park a far, far away
You can read the full press release here. And I’m sure you can find all manner of different opinions and comments all over the Internets. This is huge geek news. Star Wars is one of those rare franchises that is embraced and beloved by the entire world. It’s an institution. And frankly, it’s kind of weird to realize that it’s only ever been in the hands of George Lucas and Lucasfilm all these years. It’s also weird to think that Disney could just buy Star Wars, but it’s happened, this is all happening. This isn’t a prank or a Halloween hoax. Disney now owns Star Wars. A new sequel trilogy is happening.
Wow.
Join me for more after the jump.
Henchman-4-Hire 