Disney Didn’t Come to Play! – D23 Movie Announcements and Updates

D23 2024 was this past weekend, and Disney came in swinging. There were a lot of updates and announcements made, most notably on Friday evening, as several upcoming movies were either announced or an update was given in the form of a new trailer. I’ve had a chance to catch up on all the announcements and updates, and I’m here to give my thoughts on the majority that caught my eye.

Mufasa: The Lion King

An official trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King was released, giving a bigger glimpse into the movie’s actual storyline. This trailer succeeded in doing one thing for me: It provided me with the reason why I’m not excited one bit about this movie. A follow-up post is currently being written that expands on my thoughts on the current state of Mufasa: The Lion King.

Snow White

I’m so tired of live-action remakes. And yes, I understand it’s not fully live-action. It’s mostly CGI, but you get what I mean. Snow White, I don’t care to see this as I couldn’t care less for the animated movie it’s being adapted from. If a review does show up on this site for the movie, it likely won’t be as soon as it’s been released. The only thing I’m really curious about with this movie is how it will perform at the box office, as there’s already been some controversy. The dwarves are CGI and not being played by actual actors, the movie is described as “woke” due to its story direction, and people don’t care for the two lead actresses, Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, due to recent comments. So we’ll see how it turns out next year.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

I’m definitely ready for this one. I love the Fantastic Four. I watched the show from the 90s, read the original comics as a kid, and I honestly liked the first Fantastic Four film released in 2005. But that was handled by Fox, and I wasn’t a fan of how Fox handled their Marvel assets. Being rebooted in 2015 and having the latest movie be among some of the worst superhero movies released, this one has a lot riding on its shoulders. However, the MCU has an outstanding track record, and I’m incredibly excited to see how Marvel’s First Family enters the fray. Nothing can change my mind either. The MCU has done great with the X-Men so far, and I much prefer the MCU Spidey movies to the Raimi films and The Amazing Spider-Man films, so I’m almost sure this will be another hit.

Captain America: Brave New World

Another highly anticipated movie for myself. This is Anthony Mackie’s first big screen outing, and it’s a big one. The official introduction to adamantium, Giancarlo Esposito’s villain, and Red Hulk showing up have garnered a lot of interest in the movie. It’ll be the first Captain America movie without Chris Evans as Cap and without Sebastian Stan showing up as Bucky. This is definitely going to be an opening night movie, and I’ll be sure to have my review out as soon as possible once I’ve watched it.

Frozen III & IV

I wasn’t the biggest fan of Frozen when it was first released. Likely because it became Disney’s most successful animated film and kicked The Lion King out of its top spot. But I gave the movie a chance, and I did like it. I enjoyed Frozen II a bit more, but it’s been years since I’ve seen either film, so I’ll have to check them out again and write my review after a fresh viewing. From what I remember of the ending of Frozen II, I don’t see where they can go with Frozen III and even Frozen IV, but all this confirms is that Disney has found its latest cash cow in Frozen.

Zootopia 2

You all should know how excited I am for Zootopia 2. The first movie was stellar, in my eyes, a near-perfect movie. I can’t wait to revisit the world of Zootopia and catch up with Judy and Nick. Newcomers Ke Huy Quan and Ginnifer Goodwin will join the cast, and it sounds like they might be stirring up some trouble. If they can keep the same tone as the first film but not make it so predictable this time, they’ve got a sure hit on their hands with Zootopia 2. Another opening night movie added to the list.

The Incredibles 3

It took 14 years to get a sequel to the first film, and six years later, The Incredibles 3 is confirmed to be in development. No further details were given, but the logo was shown off and looks pretty nice. I’d like to see that the characters have grown some. Maybe Bob and Helen have gotten old enough for retirement, and Dash, Violet, and Jack-Jack must step up and save the day. I just don’t want to see this movie start right after The Incredibles 2.

Toy Story 5

Why is this being made? If Frozen is Disney’s cash cow then Toy Story is Disney’s cash bull because they refuse to let this series die. Toy Story 3 ended perfectly, and Toy Story 4, while unnecessary, just like Toy Story 5, wrapped up everyone’s story quite nicely again. The villains have been announced as the toys go up against electronics and a 50-toy army of malfunctioning Buzz Lightyear toys. I trust the writers and I’m sure this will be another phenomenal entry, but I hope this is it for Toy Story.

Moana 2

You all don’t know this, but I loved the first Moana. It was a great film, and Auli’I Cravalho did a magnificent job in her introductory role as Moana. The singing was everything, and the twist regarding Te Fiti was something I didn’t see coming at all. I’ve said this before at other films above, but I truly can’t wait to see the sequel in November. A review is certain, and this is another opening night movie.

Plenty of other films were announced or given updates, along with a slew of shows, but these are just the ones that caught my eye and will likely have a presence on the site – Snow White is doubtful. Disney has been going strong for years, and D23 2024 proves they have no plans to stop anytime soon. With properties under their belt, such as Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and the entire preceding history of the Disney library, there’s sure to be a lot more on the way. Let me know in the comments which movies you’re excited about and why. I’d love to hear it!

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Aladdin (2019) – One Jump Ahead Is Right!

Would you be upset if I told you I liked this one more than the original?

Seeing the previews for Aladdin had me fretful, to say the least. The original Aladdin was amazing, but I honestly can’t say that it’s one of my favorites. However, it’s a classic all the same. My faith in live-action Disney movies had me second-guessing this one though. I’ve seen about three so far – The Jungle Book (which I loved), Beauty and the Beast (fell asleep on that one), and The Lion King (you all already know how I feel about that one). I wasn’t interested at all, especially when they showed a still image of Will Smith’s version of The Genie. Then they showed a clip of the song “Friend Like Me” and that’s what got me excited. I had to check it out, so I did just that and I’m ready to give my review.

Going into this after watching The Lion King, I knew there would be differences between this version and the animated version. Here’s where things change. The differences for the live-action version of Aladdin worked for the story. There were a few things I wasn’t happy with, but that’s to be expected. Jafar doesn’t trick Aladdin by disguising himself as an old man nor does he turn into a snake at the end during the final battle, but everything else is great. I like how One Jump Ahead is included with him on the run with Jasmine. Genie having a love interest was something that I felt was a great addition to the story, though it does make you wonder a few things. Jasmine wanting to be the Sultan instead of just wanting to have certain rights was also something I can see happening in “modern” times and the result was satisfying for sure. I didn’t mind any of the additions to the film, and the things taken away, though disappointing, didn’t take away from the quality of the movie for me.

Best song of the movie, by far

You know what they did wonderfully in this film? The songs. Every song in this movie was great, and I may be in the minority, but I like some of the songs better than the animated versions. One Jump Ahead, as I mentioned before, I liked that Jasmine was along for the run and that’s how she got introduced to Aladdin. Friend Like Me, slaps to the max! My favorite song of the movie by far, and for those who haven’t seen the movie, you’ll love the reprise of it at the end. Prince Ali, another great song in the movie. It was good to see Will Smith doing his thing as the Genie and not have to get creeped out by the effects team adding breasts to Genie when he dressed as a woman as they did in the animated version. A Whole New World – it was good, but to me, it sounded like they were just lip-syncing to the original song, they didn’t sound like they did in any of the other songs, but that’s just me. Jasmine’s new song, Speechless – good, great, awesome, outstanding, and amazing! It worked perfectly for the movie. It wasn’t just in there to be in there and that’s why I enjoyed it. It progressed the story how it needed to. I guess I just feel this film’s version of the songs are so much more lively and that’s why I have such high opinions of them.

A majority of the cast did a wonderful job. Mena Massoud was outstanding as Aladdin. I saw everybody and their mama complaining about Aladdin being played by a white actor…which he’s clearly not. Naomi Scott did a wonderful job as Jasmine. She embodied the princess’s personality and attitude amazingly and I have no complaints. Plus she has some pipes on her! Will Smith was just…wow. He killed the role of the Genie in my eyes. I was skeptical as can be when they first announced it, but I’m so glad they went with that casting choice. He had some big shoes to fill, and he filled them the best way he could. I don’t feel as if I can say he’s better than Robin Williams’s Genie because they’re not the same character. While Williams’s Genie was more for comedic fulfillment, Smith’s Genie was more serious than comedic and down to Earth, and once again, it worked perfectly for the movie. Will Smith is also the main reason why I love this version of Friend Like Me so much, he destroyed that part of the film. Marwan Kenzari did the best that he could with Jafar in the film. Unfortunately, Jafar wasn’t written very well in this version, and it shows. He’s a very one-dimensional villain, and although they attempted to dive into his backstory, you never get a true sense of why he’s the way he is. Nasim Pedrad was a new character named Dalia, Genie’s love interest, and she was great! She flowed with the movie and didn’t make you wonder why they decided to add her.

Will Smith absolutely destroyed in this movie

I honestly don’t have many complaints about the film. It’s not perfect, sure, but it’s a solid film with an amazing soundtrack to boot. It does end the same way as the original, and I do wonder how they’re going to do the sequel – talks are being had about it. I mean with Genie supposedly being human now, what’s going to happen in the second movie? I guess that would be explained, but that’s something I wasn’t too happy with. It ends as if a sequel isn’t needed. If they end up doing the sequel, I pray it’s on this same level and doesn’t ruin the quality like the animated sequel did. Aside from the blandness of Jafar and the unfortunate decision not to have him turn into a giant snake during the final battle, I was quite happy.

Aladdin (2019)

Story
Characters/Cast
Soundtrack

Summary

The original Aladdin will always be considered a timeless classic, however, this new take on it has done a great job of crafting its own identity. While some of the characters could’ve been written a bit better, the strong story and phenomenal soundtrack help to bring another classic to live-action.

4

Disney, Reviews

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Zootopia – Savage The Whole Way Through

Zootopia wallpaper
I slept on this movie for like 2 years

Initially, I wasn’t interested in seeing Zootopia at all. The previews didn’t wow me or anything, and even when it was so simple to go onto Netflix and watch it, I still had no desire to. There were so many people telling me that it was so an amazing movie though. My friends, my brother, and even my mom was giving it praise. My interest level was still nonexistent. Then, one of my friends told me to check it out and give a review, so that’s what I’m doing – RoyalBeast style. I had the movie up and it was ready to go, but before I watched the movie I wanted to check out the synopsis for the film.

In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a rookie bunny cop and a cynical con artist fox must work together to uncover a conspiracy.

Disney’s Zootopia (2016)

That didn’t tell me much, but it’s Disney, so let’s go with it. So I start the movie, and I see a rabbit running through the forest, and one of the first lines that can be heard is, “Ahh! Blood! Blood! Blood! *sounds of blood gushing out of a body* And death.” You know, I thought they said that the fox was cynical, but this movie started dark real quick. Still, it’s your average Disney movie. Show the protagonist, usually at a young age, explain their backstory real quick, set up the rest of the story, and there you have it.

The main character, that rabbit that you saw running through the forest at the beginning of the movie, and the one on the big posters for Zootopia, is Officer Judy Hopps. She’s a very optimistic and charismatic rabbit who’s always wanted to be a cop since she was younger, and she gets the chance to be. However, she’s up against a lot of challenges, mostly being discriminated against and looked down upon because she’s a rabbit. The wonderful thing about her is that she believes she can make a change and that’s something that a multitude of people can empathize with. If you look at the poster again, you see a very sly-looking fox. His name is Nick Wilde. Honestly, he’s my favorite character out of the two – out of the whole movie. See, Nick is a con artist, getting by day to day with the mentality that if people are going to only see you one way, then that’s how you should act. He even has the chance to have his backstory shown, and it’s a touching one, one that a lot of people can also relate to.

I wasn’t ready for the dark turn of events that took place during this scene

The supporting characters in Zootopia are great. I legit thought Mr. Big was going to be the big polar bear that walked into the room, but no, it turns out that he was a mouse. I guess I should’ve expected that as it’s usually how it goes in these types of movies. Chief Bogo was also great, and Idris Elba was a magnificent choice for his voice actor. I have to say though, his love of Gazelle was unexpected and slightly creepy in my eyes, but that’s just me. Speaking of Gazelle, my feeble mind was thinking it was a play on Adele’s name. Then, with the help of my brother and the credits, I found out that she’s actually Shakira, so bravo to the max for that role! Mayor Lionheart was another great role, and I always love it when J.K. Simmons voice acts – he never fails! Stu and Bonnie Hopps were some very caring parents, but it hurt me when they cheered about Judy not being a cop. I mean I could feel that myself, like jeez Mom and Dad just dance all over my crushed dreams. You also have Officer Clawhauser who’s another avid Gazelle lover and he actually lets the whole world know. And you can’t forget about Finnick, Nick’s original partner in crime. Now let me go ahead and tell you all straight up, he’s obviously from Souf Zootopia, like boy, let them know! Last, but not least, we have Assistant Mayor Bellweather. I liked her character and I have to say initially I didn’t see what her role was in all of this, but it sure did come.

Right from the beginning of the film, you can tell that discrimination and racism are the two key factors when it comes to the film among others, the races being predator and prey. The main predators that can be seen in Zootopia are foxes, bears, lions, and tigers. I guess I didn’t pay attention in science either because I found out that otters are predators too. Then, you have the prey – rabbits, sheep, mice, and the other 97% of Zootopians.

So, the movie is drawing me in. It’s a crime-buddy cop-mystery movie by Disney and I’m loving it. Judy has her little Mulan phase where she sucks at what she’s doing, but then gets better to defeat the Huns – I mean to become a cop! And there are so many scenes that crack me up. Three of my favorites I’d like to share with you all (click on the links) are listed below:

The movie is just golden! You’ve also got scenes where Disney keeps it as real as can be. If the kids didn’t know about nudists before they saw Zootopia, they know what nudists are now and they know what nudists do. Disney also decides to go ahead and let the kids know how the crime mobs do business. I want to assure everyone reading this that this is not a real representation of the mob. Watch General Hospital and check out Sonny Carinthos – he’ll show you all how the mob works and it’s not like the movie. But hands down, the best scene in the movie is the DMV scene. This scene right here was perfect the whole way through. Zootopia is spot on with how slow things go at the DMV, and oh my gosh, the way that the sloths drawl on, I loved it! We even find out at the end of the movie why the sloth is named Flash. He may move slow outside of a car, but he be booking it in them streets!

As I mentioned earlier, it’s a crime-buddy-cop-mystery movie. The mystery is that predators are disappearing left and right. Of course, we know that Judy, the main character, is going to find them. In fact, she and Nick do that in the middle of the movie. So, what does that leave for the latter half of the film? Finding out why they were disappearing and why only predators. You see, the predators were going “savage” – reverting to their primitive ways and attacking anyone and anything. At first, Mayor Lionheart is thought to be behind it, but when Judy asks why only predators are being targeted, you know who the true mastermind is behind it. Just watch the relationship between Mayor Lionheart and Assistant Mayor Bellweather – it’ll give you all the insight that you need. It was a nice little twist, one that I didn’t see coming, but pieced together it made sense. It’s the day-old tale of the victim getting revenge on the bully.

Everything ends up working out in the end because, you know, Disney. Though she made him mad, Nick and Judy become best friends and partners in the police force. They both taught others that things are not always what they seem, don’t judge a book by its cover, that things can change if given the chance, and it starts with you and me. It’s just like Michael Jackson said, ” If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, then make a change.”

The amount of people that ship Nick and Judy is insane, but look at this and tell me you can’t see it

It was a really good story, though somewhat predictable for us older viewers, but a tale as old as time and a lesson that will never get old and can speak to the world that we’re living in now. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and I do hope a sequel is made, but if not there are no complaints. As long as I can go back and enjoy the movie, I’m here for that.

So, how beast is Zootopia? With a wonderful story, an amazing cast, and the lovable quality that makes Disney movies so memorable, I give it 3/3 claw marks. But that’s not how we score movies on Not A Movie Buff. Although it was enjoyed the whole way through, the predictability of the movie combined with the other three elements keeps it from being perfect.

Zootopia

Story
Cast
The Disney Effect

Summary

Disney once again creates an outstanding story that can be enjoyed by people and families of all ages. However, Disney’s predictable tendencies get in the way of the movie being executed perfectly. Regardless, this is one movie you’ll find yourself going back to again and again as it draws you in each time.

4.5

Disney, Reviews

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The Lion King (2019) – Circle of Disappointment

I’d be lion if I said this was a good movie (No regrets)

I’m sure most of you know, The Lion King was remade in “live-action” – photorealistic computer-animated for the technical ones – and came out this past weekend. I was ecstatic about it when I first heard the news, as I consider myself to be a Lion King fanatic. I’ve seen all three movies (1, 2, and 1 1/2), I’ve seen both TV shows (Timon and Pumbaa and The Lion Guard), I’ve read the books that were published after the original movie was released, I even own The Lion King in 3D book (yes, it actually exists), and I can do Mufasa’s voice! So to know that they were remaking my favorite movie of all time in live action was a dream come true. But as the movie was being developed and news was being released, I became less and less excited, I’ll elaborate on why through the review. Nevertheless, I decided to go into the movie with an open mind, it could essentially be on par with the original. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Let’s start with how beautiful the scenery is in the film. The Circle of Life scene was made almost shot-for-shot and it was breathtaking. This movie might be photorealistic computer-animated, but it doesn’t look like it – most of the time. With it being made this way presents the issue with the characters. The original movie was wonderful due to the amount of different reactions and expressions that were presented by each of the characters in the movie. Unfortunately, this freedom isn’t possible in live-action because animals don’t smile, smirk, or have looks of lust on their faces as Nala did in Can You Feel The Love Tonight? The way that the crew tries to remedy this issue is to try and do a close-up view of the character’s eyes to give the audience a sense of what the character is feeling. This doesn’t work as well as they tried to make it work, at times you’re just looking at the character’s eyes awkwardly.

I get that they’re going for a more realistic approach, but there are some things that I feel you can make happen. The reason why I said above that the Circle of Life scene was made almost shot for shot is because when Rafiki shows up and greets Mufasa, he does some weird thing where he rubs his hand on his face. There’s no reason why Mufasa and Rafiki can’t hug like they did in the original movie. Lions can hug and embrace in real life, so there’s no reason why it shouldn’t have happened in the movie. I guess that’s why they had the extended sequence where it showed a tuft of Simba’s mane being eaten by a giraffe only to be pooped out and rolled by a dung beetle, which ended up breaking apart the dung which caused the tuft of hair to fly away and land in Rafiki’s tree by a line of ants carrying leaves. One of the ants picks up the tuft, thinking it’s a kind of leaf I guess, and Rafiki picks up the tuft of hair and realizes that Simba is alive. Alright then…

I’ll never understand how he knows Simba is alive just by looking at a piece of tuft

The changes in some of the other scenes were definitely not appreciated. The scene where Mufasa’s ghost appears to Simba is a major letdown. It’s the equivalent of Fantastic Four and the Rise of the Silver Surfer’s scene that showed Galactus. When lightning strikes, you can see the outline of Mufasa’s face, but that’s it. You don’t see Mufasa’s spirit actually show up and it was incredibly disappointing, to say the least. Who’s to say that can’t happen when we have no proof of how a spirit appears unto an individual? They then go on to remove the whole sequence where Rafiki teaches him to let go of his past. That scene alone is an integral part of the original movie, it should’ve never been taken out. Some changes I can understand. I may have an issue with them, but those are understandable and you can see why as you watch the movie. Very upset with the way the hyenas were portrayed in this movie as well. I get that Disney doesn’t want them to be seen as mindless drones, but still at least come close to the film. There isn’t even a hyena like Ed in the movie, and that’s perhaps the most disappointing part.

The biggest change that I have an issue with, though, is the change to the songs. Now let’s get some things straight. Circle of Life – still slaps. I Just Can’t Wait to Be King – destroys but still pales in comparison to the original. Hakuna Matata was okay, but while Seth Rogen is an outstanding voice actor for Pumbaa, he can’t sing worth a lick and it really takes away from the song. Can You Feel The Love Tonight? No, I can’t. Why make this a duet? And what’s up with all the runs? Just sing the song. I loved the original song. I was going to dance to it at my wedding. But this one? Nope, doesn’t work for me at all. It’s not the worst song in the movie, but I was the least happy with this version because of how much I love the romantic song. Be Prepared, COMPLETE AND UTTER GARBAGE! This version is essentially cut in half from about 4 minutes to 2 minutes compared to the original. Not only that but the lyrics have been completely changed. Whereas the original had Scar singing the whole time and using his words to manipulate the hyenas into following his plans, this version has Scar talking in rhyme at the beginning then all of a sudden he starts singing and it’s basically all about how superior he is compared to Mufasa. While this change was explained, it was unneeded and absolutely the worst thing about the movie.

He may look angry, but he’s just channeling his inner Dr. Seuss

The voice work for the movie could’ve been much much better as well. I was so excited to hear that James Earl Jones was coming back to voice Mufasa, as he should. But they went the wrong way with the deliverance of his lines. The same can be said for almost all of the characters. So many of the original lines that were brought back for the movie fell flat on the deliverance, but I can’t blame the voice actors. The directors should have worked harder. There was hardly ever any emotion in the lines. I didn’t care for Chiwetel Ejiofor for Scar initially, but he had the most emotion out of any character in my opinion, although it’s mostly rage. I also didn’t care for John Oliver as Zazu – he sounded like a bumbling, nagging assistant so much of the time. Keegan Michael-Key was awesome though, a good laugh that was desperately needed throughout the film with most of his lines.

Alright, Beyhive, I know you all are going to come for me with this one, but I honestly never was happy at all with Beyoncé as Nala. Her voice never fit for me. And even when they released the first small clip of her speaking some of Nala’s lines, I was unimpressed for good reason. She had no emotion at times and it sounded as if she was just reading the lines. But as I watched the movie, I had a better opinion formed. She wasn’t amazing or anything, but she wasn’t as bad as I thought she could’ve been. She had the sass that was needed and I’m thankful for that. But some things were unnecessary. Like when she was rallying the lionesses. “Lions attack!” Girl, get on. Just attack the hyenas like y’all did in the first movie and win the day. That line was not needed at all and just extra. And stop with all the runs while you’re singing. I won’t say anything about Spirit, it fits the movie, but I haven’t listened to it completely, nor do I plan to. I don’t hate Beyoncé, but she’s not someone that I’ll fanboy over either.

The final battle was good. A little long, but it was good and ended on a solid note – with Scar getting what he deserved. Thank goodness they didn’t change that about the film. I did think that the platform that Scar and Simba were fighting on was a bit small and one of them should’ve slipped off during the duration of their scuffle, and it would’ve been nice to see Scar get flipped off Pride Rock instead of just falling off. I may be nitpicking, but I’m sorry this is my all-time favorite movie and it won’t change. The very last scene was once again almost a shot-for-shot remake of the end and I enjoyed that for sure, seeing Kiara be presented to the Pride Lands and the epic reprise of the Circle of Life.

These soulless expressions took away so much

I appreciate Disney’s effort, but I left the theater unimpressed as ever. The movie wasn’t the worst, but I didn’t enjoy it. It sucks too, I had such high hopes, but as more things were released about the film I had a feeling that it wouldn’t live up to the legacy. I am curious to know if they’re going to develop The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride in live-action or even bank off Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner’s amazing chemistry as Timon and Pumbaa and make The Lion King 1 1/2, but I’m hoping they don’t. What they should’ve remade along with this movie is this amazing variant of Circle of Life, though they most likely would’ve messed that one up as well or just had Beyoncé do a cover of it.

I’m not expecting a lot of people to agree with me, especially when it comes to “Queen Bey”, but this is my opinion, as controversial as it might be. I wanted to enjoy it, but I didn’t. The bar was just set too high and the movie didn’t reach the bar. I refuse to take my place in the Circle of Life, at least not in this version of it. Oh well, I still have the amazing original to watch and enjoy. Nothing could ever take its place. That I know for sure.

The Lion King (2019)

Translation from the source
Music
Voicework

Summary

From a business standpoint, it makes sense why they’d make a “live-action” adaptation of one of the greatest animated movies of all time. Unfortunately, the limitations are evident from the beginning and the story doesn’t translate quite as well into the real world. The only pride that should be associated with this movie is Pride Rock.

2

Disney, Reviews

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