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Disney’s New Film, Christopher Robin, Has No Magic.

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6 years ago

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Most children’s stories, fantasies at least, need magic to work. That is, there’s usually some means by which the everyday, the known, is mixed with or confronted by the magical. It can be a rabbit hole, a wardrobe, fairy dust, or a spoken spell. And to become a classic, to be read or seen by generation after generation, it needs deep magic; it needs to speak in a way that doesn’t talk down to the child and at the same time resurrects the child in the adult. That’s deep magic.

Disney’s new film, Christopher Robin, has no magic. In fact, it sucks the magic from one of the most magical stories there is.

On second thought, it has one morsel of magic; it has what remains of the innocent wisdom and sad goodness of Pooh. Pooh and his red balloon. But in this soulless and painfully irritating film, the silly bear is all but smothered, shouted silent by one dimensional characterization, predictable and shallow plotting, emotional turns that barely pivot, and …god save us from another one … a car chase. And his red balloon, if not burst, slowly deflates until it’s just an empty reminder of when the stories set in a Hundred Acre Wood could transport and lift us.

What makes this mess even more discouraging is that the film is directed by Marc Forster, whose ability to evoke wonder in Finding Neverland was so pitch perfect.  But then that film was about a child-man, J.M. Barrie, who could weave spells like a wizard. And it was an adult film. It was a film that was sure of what it was and the story it was telling.

Christopher Robin, on the other hand, seems lost, much more so than it’s single-trait, uninteresting adult hero, played limply by Ewan McGregor. Even when seen as a boy, in the rushed and superficial prologue, Christopher Robin was unengaging. This is not the boy from the books, nor even the child from the Disney animated films.

We see him on the verge of leaving for boarding school, leaving behind the sweetness and innocence of his childhood world and his delightful menagerie of friends, and he seems emotionally distant. Ironically it’s a perfect match for the adult he becomes. This emotional disengagement is consistent in Christopher’s wife and daughter, not as the result of bad acting, but because of poor writing. They did all they could with the characters but there was so little there for them that they’re left stranded and adrift.

Sadly, the animation is great! A shame it’s wasted on this movie. Once again, we have a Hollywood film that believes that technical wizardry will substitute for good storytelling. It never has and never will. And where there is no Uncanny Valley between the animated characters and the live action folk, there is an emotional Grand Canyon between the characters and the audience.

Except for poor Pooh. Your heart breaks for such a beautiful and rich character in such an unattractive and poor film.

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Paramount+ Reveals Official Main Title Sequence for the Upcoming Series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

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10 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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During the TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES panel earlier today at San Diego Comic Con, Paramount+ revealed the official main title sequence for the series. The sequence is composed by EMMY® nominee, Matt Mahaffey, known for his work on Sanjay and Craig, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie and much more. 

From the studios of the Mutant Mayhem film, the all-new Paramount+ original series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES explores the adventures of everyone’s favorite pizza-loving heroes as they emerge from the sewers onto the streets of NYC. Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey are faced with new threats and team up with old allies to survive both teenage life and villains lurking in the shadows of the Big Apple. The series is produced by Nickelodeon Animation and Point Grey Pictures.

TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is executive produced by Chris Yost (The Mandalorian, Thor: Ragnarok) and Alan Wan (Blue Eye Samurai, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2012 Series]). Production is overseen for Nickelodeon by Claudia Spinelli, Senior Vice President, TV Series Animation, Nickelodeon, and Nikki Price, Director of Development and Executive in Charge of Production.

In addition to the upcoming new series, stream all things Turtles on Paramount+.

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Comic-Con 2024: Those About to Die Activation

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13 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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DISNEY+ CASTS DANIEL DIEMER AS FAN-FAVORITE ‘TYSON’IN SEASON TWO OF “PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS”

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13 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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 in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, Rick Riordan and Disney+ revealed that Daniel Diemer (“Under the Bridge”) will star as fan-favorite cyclops “Tyson” in the epic adventure series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” Diemer joins Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase) and Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood) as a series regular. The Disney+ Original series from Disney Branded Television and 20th Television will start filming its second season next week in Vancouver.

Season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is based on the second installment of Disney Hyperion’s best-selling book series titled “The Sea of Monsters” by award-winning author Rick Riordan. In the new season, Percy Jackson returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing, and camp is under siege from the forces of Kronos. Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.

Diemer stars as Tyson – a young Cyclops who grew up all alone on the streets, and finds it difficult to survive in the human world.  Shy and awkward, with a heart almost as big as he is, Tyson soon discovers that Poseidon is his father, which means Percy Jackson is his half-brother… and that Tyson may have finally found a home. 

Diemer recently starred in the Hulu limited series “Under the Bridge” based off the critically acclaimed book of the same name and a tragic true story of a missing teen girl in Vancouver in 1997. He will next star in the indie “Thug” opposite Liam Neeson and Ron Perlman for director Hans Petter Moland. Daniel was recently seen as the lead in the indie “Supercell” opposite Alec Baldwin and Skeet Ulrich and the lead in the film “Little Brother” opposite Phil Ettinger and JK Simmons. Daniel can also be seen in the Netflix series “The Midnight Club” and recently starred as the male lead in the breakout hit Netflix feature “The Half Of It” from producer Anthony Bregman and director Alice Wu. He is a graduate of Victoria Academy of Dramatic Arts in Vancouver.

Created by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg, season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is executive produced by Steinberg and Dan Shotz alongside Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Craig Silverstein, The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Bert Salke, The Gotham Group’s Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg, James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Albert Kim, Jason Ensler and Sarah Watson.

The first season of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is available on Disney+

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