Peter Pan
3-Disc Blu-ray/DVD/Digital l 2-Disc Blu-ray/DVD
Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske
Starring Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conried
Paul Collins, Tommy Luske
Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Release Date: February 5, 2013

The boy who never grew up flies onto Blu-ray. Here’s my review of the Peter Pan Diamond Edition on Blu-ray.

Six decades ago Walt Disney released this classic feature, which has stood the test of time – Tick Tock the crocodile would agree with that statement – and represents one of the most enduring Disney animated films. Consider that presently Tinker Bell leads a whole series of direct-to-video films and that Jake and The Neverland Pirates is one of Disney Junior channel’s greatest hits.

But let’s get back to the basics. I had not seen Peter Pan in its entirety in at least a decade and I almost forgot how touching and engaging this movie felt. “The Second Star to the Right” opens the film and sounds as magical as ever. That chorus sounds so glorious, even if it is feels as dated as some of the character designs. Though Peter Pan‘s opening, set in the early 20th century, remains limited to that time period in setting, dialogue and other features, the humor carries through well. I laughed over nurse maid Nana the Newfoundland’s antics in making a mess in the children’s nursery. Disney’s genius in emoting feelings and humor out of characters like canines truly spans back to its earliest days with Goofy and Pluto, and has continued ever since.

The Princess and The Frog
Three Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo
Directed by Ron Clements, John Musker
Starring Bruno Campos, Jennifer Cody, Keith David, Jenifer Lewis, Jim Cummings
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Release Date: March 16, 2010

With 3D animated films suffocating the market these days, it truly is a breath of fresh air to watch The Princess and The Frog. Walt Disney Studio’s eagerly awaited return to traditional animation is an impressive 2D animated feature for the studio that mastered the art form so many decades ago.

Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin), The Princess and the Frog moves the classic fairy tale setting to a stylish version of 1920s New Orleans (finally an American fairy tale!). Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose), the first African-American Disney heroine, is not a princess, but a young woman who hopes to fulfill her father’s dream of opening a restaurant to serve food that will bring together people from all walks of life. Tiana may wish upon a star, but she believes that hard work is the way to fulfill your aspirations. Her dedication clashes with the visiting prince Naveen (Bruno Campos). A voodoo spell cast by Dr. Facilier (Keith David) (in a showstopping number by composer Randy Newman) initiates the events that will bring the mismatched hero and heroine together. Tiana finds comfort and support in three supporting characters — Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley), a jazz-playing alligator; Ray (Jim Cummings), a Cajun firefly; and the 197-year-old voodoo priestess Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis). Spurred on by a little bit of courage and a great big dream, these new friends come to realize what’s truly important in life…love, family, and friendship.

As always, we like to have the results of the big awards ceremonies here for all to see, and tonight was the biggest of them all: the 82nd annual Academy Awards.

This, the king of all awards shows, has faced much criticism the last few years, and their nominations this year did not help bring validity to their cause. Many of the films and actors were very deserving of their nominations, but many others were passed over in lieu of some big box office successes of questionable overall quality. And though they made a valiant effort to increase the excitement of the show with 10 Best Picture nominations, the end result was frustrating to we the film lovers of the world?

In the end, some fantastic films and performances were justly awarded, and as always, there were a few that rubbed the wrong way. Continue on over to the other side to see all of the final results!

For we the movie fanatics of the world, the Academy Awards are just as exciting as the Super Bowl. Many of us throw or attend Oscar parties, and even go so far as to print out that ballot and lock our picks into place.

Over the past few years, this and a lot of other awards shows have kind of lost their flare. It has become apparent that deciding nominees and voting for winners is not about who is the best and who is most deserving, but about what has the best side-story and what the popular names and titles are. This massive flaw is hard to swallow, and the appeal of the whole event is bordering on non-existent.

To help bring more appeal to the game, the folks behind the Academy Awards chose to make a few changes in the format of the show. The biggest of these alterations was of course changing the amount of Best Picture nominees from 5 to a whopping 10, which meant that all of the deserving but not-so-traditional contenders (The Dark Knight) could get their chance to be underdog heroes.

Continue reading on for more and to check out the full list of this year’s nominees!

Walt Disney Studios have released the first five minutes of their upcoming return to hand-drawn animation: The Princess and the Frog. The studio just recently released a brand new trailer for the movie, so they’re obviously planning to come at us hard and heavy with their marketing campaign.

The first five minutes is a good way to get a feel for the movie and if it’s able to win you over right away. Although many great movies take a while to get going, you can usually tell right off the bat if the table being set is your kind of meal or not. The Princess and the Frog starts off with our main character as a young girl, and sets up her eventual confrontation with a frog seeking her kiss to return him to his princely status. While watching, you can definitely feel the Disney in it, and it looks like it could be a really beautiful movie. You can even hear that old school tone in the dialogue that their actors delivered, which will go a long way in this return to traditional form.

Click on over for a plot synopsis and to watch The Princess and the Frog‘s opening moments!