Walt Disney

Tim Allen Narrates the Humanity in ‘Chimpanzee’

PatrickMcD — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:55:24 -0400

Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – It’s Earth Day this weekend, and following on the heels of “Earth” and “African Cats,” previous releases from Walt Disney Studios and Disneynature, there is “Chimpanzee.” Tim Allen narrates the story of Oscar, Isha, Freddy and Scar, and the film is co-produced by the Jane Goodall Institute, which preserves the chimpanzee natural habitats in Africa.

This is part of the remarkable and traditional Disney True Life Adventures, and with technology getting so much better and smaller for recording the action, the audience is the fly-on-the-animal for the story of the chimpanzees in their natural home. Tim Allen narrates the film in his own inimitable style, and the result is a breezy and eye-opening nature film for kids and adults alike. Studying the faces and the habits of the animal stars, we can’t help but notice how close the species are to humanity, even in the application of emotional intuition.

Oscar is the latest child to be born into a tribe of chimpanzees in the tropical forests of the Ivory Coast and Uganda, the son of an alpha female named Isha. Oscar’s tribe is led by Freddy, and then all tend and interact in a lush area where food is generally available. Oscar is taught by his mother to fit in, but he won’t reach a maturity until about age 20.

Baby Oscar and Mother Isha in ‘Chimpanzee’
Photo credit: Martyn Colbeck for © Disney

The tribe is threatened by another group of chimpanzees, led by Scar. In the quest for food, Scar wants to raid the area and take over the whole region. In the inevitable battle there are casualties, including mother Isha. Oscar is now alone in the world, but the tribe and Freddy will come through in the end, protecting the territory and their own.

Almost as fascinating as the closeup view of nature is the realization of how rare this landscape is becoming, and how amazing the patience of the film crew is in delivering it. This film was shot over three years, and the footage was edited to a clean and concise 78 minutes. If it is possible to project a leisurely pace in this time, the crew accomplished this as well, for the day-to-day actions of the tribe – like food producing methods – are as prevalent as the confrontational action. This presents a educational balance, especially for the kids.

Although some annoying elements are present…the naming of the chimpanzees and Tim Allen’s inevitable wacky narrative…there was a respect for the nature of beasts as far as the “G” rating could deliver. Yes, this was a Disney squeaky clean film, but the emphasis is on the ongoing quest for food as one of the central themes, even up to the off-screen dismembering of a captured monkey. The law of the jungle is implied through the warring tribes, and there is a conclusion that life is a day-to-day struggle in the animal kingdom.

Oscar is a very photogenic chimpanzee, with the “awww” factor of being newly born to the wild. His relationships with the other members of his tribe become another central theme, it was interesting to see him reach out beyond his mother to learn about how to fend for himself, and his later adoption after the loss of Isha becomes that much more poignant. The filmmakers also had to let this story develop and the delivery of what happened successfully rides on the shoulders of its stars.

Leader of the Pack: Freddy in ‘Chimpanzee’
Photo credit: © Disney

The setting is spectacular as well, with rich views of the jungle habitat. There is also a feeling of synchronicity in it all, that the jungle life occurs at the same time our life happens. And in the actions of the chimpanzee tribe there is a satisfying bit of humanity, which relates back to our own relationships. There is a gathering of knowledge for the human audience, in observing the hunter-gathering of chimpanzees.

I resisted the opportunity to use the joke, we learn everything in this film from chimpan-’A’ to chimpanzee, because number one, that would be stolen from “The Simpsons,” and the film is better than such a blithe amusement. The joke is still funny though, and I can’t help it.

“Chimpanzee” opens everywhere on April 20th. Featuring the narration of Tim Allen and chimpanzees Oscar, Isha, Freddy and Scar. Co-produced by the Jane Goodell Institute and directed by Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield. Rated “G”

By PATRICK McDONALD
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Diane Lane a Champion in Literal Horse Opera ‘Secretariat’

PatrickMcD — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 03:45:15 -0400

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – In real life, we cling to the notion that the inconceivable can happen, that magical probability can penetrate the mendacity of everyday existence, but it rarely if ever happens. That is what makes the new film “Secretariat” so appealing, that 37 years ago the impossible did happen, through the heart of a horse and his believers. Diane Lane and John Malkovich lead the charge.

Secretariat is the horse that won the Triple Crown of racing (Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont Stakes) back in 1973, and did it in a fashion that has yet to be equalled. Although it seems that everyone would know this story, the power of the achievement had been lost, until this film found it again. With the feel (complete with wooden dialogue) of a 1940s studio film, Secretariat brings together the characters, settings and drama that only a true story can muster.

Diane Lane is Penny Chenery, heir to a horse breeding and training stable run by her father (Scott Glenn). When her mother dies and her father is too ill to run the business, outsider Penny is determined to learn enough to keep the operation going. After a fallout with the trainer on site, she seeks out an outsider named Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich) to take over.

Two of the stable’s pregnant mares are about to give birth. Per an old agreement with one of her father’s partners, Ogden Phipps (James Cromwell), Penny must flip a coin to determine which of the potential newborns – with the blood lineage of a former champion named Bold Ruler – will go to which owner. Even though she loses the toss, she gets the horse she wants. Rearing up straight out of the womb, the horse that would be Secretariat is immediately dubbed Big Red.

Getting the Gold: Diane Lane as Penny Chenery and John Malkovich as Lucien Laurin in ‘Secretariat’
Photo Credit: John Bramley for © Disney Enterprises

With debts on the farm looming after her father’s death, Penny puts Big Red into the lucrative racing circuit, and the newly named Secretariat begins to rack up wins in the preliminary races leading to the Triple Crown, especially after the training team becomes anchored by jockey Ron Turcotte (Otto Thorwarth). After Penny secures more funding by selling risky breeding rights, including to her coin toss buddy Phipps, the Secretariat team focuses on the Kentucky Derby and beyond.

What happens in that Triple Crown pursuit is nothing short of amazing, in an age when the three races had not been won in 25 years. In the post-Vietnam and Watergate era of 1973, it was a horse named Secretariat that became the world’s greatest living athlete.

The reason this film works, despite some clichés in the characters and the aforementioned clunky dialogue, is that the wonder of this momentary phenomenon is so richly and emotionally presented. Even though the results are known, to experience the power and passion of the build up to the last leg of that 1973 Triple Crown, makes the sheer overwhelming result of that historic Belmont Stakes that much more resonant.

The performances of the lead actors contributes crisply to the atmosphere. Diane Lane as Penny is the perfect wealthy matriarchal horse owner, all permed hair and subtle understatement. Even though she is asked to talk to the horse, almost Mr. Ed style, she pulls it off somehow. John Malkovich gets to chew some scenery as trainer Lucien, and represents all the pessimism that the sport has to offer. And Kevin Connolly (”Entourage”) adds a nice Greek chorus touch in his role as a skeptical race reporter.

The direction, by Randall Wallace, is lush in scenery and appropriately oriented towards the climatic races. The multiple points-of-view presented, especially from the position of a actually being on one of those beasts during a race, is thrilling. Also effective was showing the second race, the Preakness, primarily through its television coverage. Not only does it showcase Penny’s family participating in it at home, but highlights the fact that most of the country at the time absorbed the major sporting events that way. In an age of 24/7 sports, there was a veiled innocence to a family gathered around the tube for a horse race.

Horse of the Hour: Otto Thorwarth as Jockey Ron Turcotte rides ‘Secretariat’
Photo Credit: John Bramley for © Disney Enterprises

The race sequences, with use of slow motion, unique track angle coverage and notable sound design – the mix of thundering hoofs, crowd noise and the oxygen strain of the horse itself – creates a deeply felt environment. This film is composed to be a literal “horse opera” (the old term for cowboy movies), promoting the heroic Secretariat to Mount Olympian heights in a context of groovy 1970s threads.

There were some questionable moments, such as a side story about Penny’s daughter participating in Vietnam War protests (about three years too late), but fortunately it didn’t mar the main story. The screenplay adds flourishes within the narrative as well, that come to climax during the final race, including an effective use of a bible passage. There was religious overtones to the miracle of Secretariat, and for once it didn’t seem too much.

In one of the many platitudes expressed in the film, a characters exclaims “impossible,” while gazing upon the glory of Secretariat. This is a valentine to a certain time and place when something not possible did occur, spurred on by a red hued horse and a country that wanted to believe in him.

“Secretariat” opens on October 8th everywhere. Featuring Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Scott Glenn, James Cromwell, Fred Thompson, Kevin Connoly and Otto Thorwarth. Screenplay by Mike Rich, directed by Randall Wallace. Rated “R.”Click here for the HollywoodChicago.com interview of Diane Lane and John Malkovich of Secretariat. Click here for the HollywoodChicago.com interview of Director Randall Wallace of Secretariat.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Forged in Myth, Nicolas Cage Shines in ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’

PatrickMcD — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:56:37 -0400

Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – The fantasy action epic has joined the animated film as the go-to genre for summer films. Disney joins the fray with “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” featuring magic, special effects action and a deep mythology, spiced with Nicolas Cage doing a slightly warped version of a King Arthur-era apprentice for Merlin the Magician.

Merlin actually has three apprentices, as the film opens in the Arthurian age. Balthazar (Cage), becomes locked in a battle with Merlin against the evil Morgana (Alice Krige). Another of Merlin’s protégés, Horvath (Alfred Molina), has joined the evil side and the third apprentice, Veronica (Monica Bellucci), has allied with Balthazar and the elderly wizard. In an epic battle, Merlin is compromised, while Horvath, Morgana and Veronica become locked in a Russian nesting doll-type container.

Balthazar then becomes an immortal, roaming the world in search of a boy who is destined to be the next Merlin, in order to free his colleagues and defeat Morgana. By sheer coincidence he comes upon a boy named Dave in New York City in the year 2000. The boy has accidentally come into Balthazar’s antique shop, a front for his activities. As he looks at the nesting doll, the evil layer is suddenly released in his presence, and a battle between Horvath and Balthazar takes place in front of him. They end up locked in another container, in a spell lasting ten years.

After running from the shop, the boy is retrieved and embarrassed in front of his school group, and grows up as a tech nerd who ends up teaching at NYU. What he doesn’t know is that he is the boy that Balthazar has been searching for. Full grown Dave (Jay Baruchel) encounters Balthazar again ten years to the day of their first meeting, this time brought into the battle after the two other sorcerers have been freed.

Good vs. Evil: Nicolas Cage as Balthazar and Alfred Molina as Horvath in ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’
Photo Credit: © Walt Disney Pictures

It will now be up to Balthazar to teach his new apprentice the magical ropes, to defeat Morgana and Horvath, who has recruited a magician of his own, Drake Stone (Tony Kebbell). The final battle will take place on the streets of Manhattan.

There are two tremendous attributes in this film – the performances of Nicolas Cage and Alfred Molina, and the basis in mythology that adds a powerful incentive to the magical fireworks. Believing in the complex set-up of the typical “good vs. evil” stand off provides an urgency to the defeat of Morgana. Steeping it in the King Arthur story makes it all the more accessible and cool.

Cage has gratefully found a character for his method acting weirdness that is appropriate. His wizard apprentice combines desperation, gravitas and a sense of lifestyle/humor evolved over the thousand years he has roamed through history. His reaction to most situations is world weary, and he projects that onto his apprentice Dave. Some of the early training takes on a Chaplin-esque slapstick with Cage at the helm.

And like his villain in “Spider-Man 2,” Alfred Molina knows what to do with pure evil. He starts with a basis of no regret or humanity, and in this film adds the wacky associate Drake Stone (who in the real world has become a David Copperfield-type Vegas magician) for comic relief. Molina is the type of actor that could read the phone book on film effectively, and his casting provides the oomph that legitimizes the confrontation.

Less effective are the subplots and casting of Dave. Jay Baruchel has made a fortune (presumably) playing the nerd, but here he seems misplaced. Perhaps he is lacking a sense of innocence because of his technological background circa 2010. The subplot involving a romance with a girl (Teresa Palmer) he has known since 6th grade is disappointing, even as it is associated with the famous scene from “Fantasia,” the brooms and mops coming to life to clean his bachelor pad.

Mentoring: Nicolas Cage and Apprentice Dave (Jay Baruchel) in ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’
Photo Credit: © Walt Disney Pictures

The Summer Films of 2010 also continues its awkward pose display. Between “The Last Airbender,” “The Karate Kid” and this film there have been more strange poses to appear magical or in fight mode than a year of Hong Kong “chop-sockys.”

The fight scene runs a little long, but again because of its mythological roots it is more telling, and arguably symbolic as portrayed in New York City. Monica Bellucci makes a welcome cameo in the end as Veronica, stunningly beautiful after being locked in a doll container for a thousand years.

Disney has found the formula to both honor its Sorcerer’s Apprentice/Fantasia past and appeal to the kid-centric action lust of the current age. It helps, too, that Nic Cage is one weird dude.

“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” opens in everywhere July 14th. Featuring Nicolas Cage, Alfred Molina, Monica Bellucci, Jay Baruchel, Teresa Palmer, Toby Kebbell and Alice Krige. Screenplay by Matt Lopez, Doug Miro and Carlo Bernard, directed by Jon Turteltaub. Rated “PG”

By PATRICK McDONALD
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Go Ask ‘Alice in Wonderland’ With Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway

PatrickMcD — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:23:46 -0500

Rating: 5.0/5.0

CHICAGO – It’s like living in a dream. Director Tim Burton’s adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” uses 3-D magic for a timeless classic and creates gratitude for this current era of technology and creativity.

The Walt Disney Production features Alice (newcomer Mia Wasikowska), introduced as a special child. The daughter of a world explorer and dreamer, young Alice is afflicted with feverish visions about another realm that seems as real as the world around her. When she grows up – and after her father has died – she is set up through her station to marry the most genteel Lord in the region. Except she doesn’t love him.

Help is on the way in a form of a clock-wielding White Rabbit. The creature is oddly familiar to the grown-up Alice, and dutifully she follows him down the rabbit hole. As she plunges, those childhood visions are about to become her new reality and most adventurous challenge.

Not in Kansas Anymore: Mia Wasikowska as Alice in ‘Alice in Wonderland’
Photo credit: © Disney Enterprises, Inc.

It is Wonderland where she has landed, where her curiosity is the only way she will find her way in or out. She has a bit of a problem with size control – one cake makes her larger and one sip makes her small – and she also needs to figure out who her allies are and who wants her head.

Her colleagues in this new land turn out to be quite eccentric. The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) wears his oddness on his noggin, and his collection of fellow travelers include a March Hare, a Dormouse and a couple of rotund twins named Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Alice’s enemies are even more bizarre, the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) has a bulbous oversized skull, which may explain her penchant for demanding decapitation. Her aide and lover is the Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover), whose advice to the Queen is based only on perpetuating fear upon Wonderland.

There is hope. The White Queen (Anne Hathaway), who is in exile, is waiting for Alice to help return her to the throne. Most folks in this strange land have the impossible idea that the girl within the woman will come to the aid of their country. Even the ever-smiling Cheshire Cat.

The source story, with its myriad reprintings and reworkings in virtually all media, is familiar enough. But director Tim Burton reinvents the crucial elements in the scenic beauty of Wonderland, preserving and enhancing its glorious sense of well…wonder. And after the throw down of “Avatar” at the end of 2009, Burton expounds upon the new 3-D by using it like a painter expresses photo realism. It’s impossible – that word again – to describe and must be experienced.

The Royal Scam: Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen in ‘Alice in Wonderland’
Photo credit: © Disney Enterprises, Inc.

But all of this technological finery would be absolute rubbish without the crucial awareness of the humans that populate Wonderland. The performers use their sense of admiration to interpret the Lewis Carroll nonsensicality, and Johnny Depp has imbued the Mad Hatter with the insanity that is expected and in this case absolutely appropriate. Helena Bonham Carter, as the Red Queen, manages to be both horrifying and sympathetic as the same time, all the way up to her just desserts. And when was the last time we saw Crispin Glover in a really special role? It is in his maturity that his greatest era as an actor may just be beginning.

Just as madness and evil are characteristics that calls for scenery chewing, Burton also manages to make his “nice” roles just as weird. Mia Wasikowska as Alice defines the heroic nature plainly and succinctly, but also has the reckless confidence so we can journey along with her. And unless there is something really pure and beautiful that a fight must be waged for, there is no reason to take up arms. Anne Hathaway is that purity in the film, saturating the White Queen with such ethereal wonderfulness – her very gestures are angelic – that the taking of action to champion her way of life makes perfect sense.

Finally, the animatronic animals deserve special mention. There would be no Alice in Wonderland without the Dormouse, March Hare, Cheshire Cat, White Rabbit, Blue Caterpillar and various other mystical creatures. They all have separate and realistic personalities in the way that they’re “drawn.” Like Superman’s flight, we can believe that a girl can ride a dog.

Where would this film be without the morality of the source that author Lewis Carroll created? Screenwriter Linda Woolverton manages to capture the morality that is necessary to buy completely into Alice’s journey. How is any impossible goal in life accomplished without disbelieving the impossible barriers that are put before us?

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland reminds us that anything is attainable – and he creates a work of art that proves it. It does takes courage, sacrifice and even a little madness to fall through the rabbit hole. But oh, how essential that wonderful land can feel once we get there.

Walt Disney’s ”Alice in Wonderland” opens March 5th everywhere in Disney Digital 3-D, Real “D” 3-D and IMAX® 3-D. Check local listings for showtimes and 3-D availability. Features Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska and Helena Bonham Carter, directed by Tim Burton. Rated “PG.”

By PATRICK McDONALD
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Disney Magic is Hopping to New Orleans in ‘The Princess and the Frog’

PatrickMcD — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:19:26 -0500

Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – The feature animation film tradition, invented by and fostered by the Walt Disney Company for close to 70 years, gets another glorious rendition in their latest release, “The Princess and the Frog.”

In an unexpected twist, given the title, the story is set in the early part of the 20th Century in New Orleans. Tiana (voice of Anika Noni Rose) is a hard-working African-American woman who dreams of opening her own restaurant. She holds down several jobs in a dedication to her father, who never got to live out his similar dreams.

One of her best friends is Charlotte, the daughter of a wealthy industrialist in the Crescent City. She is anticipating the visit of Prince Naveen, playboy royalty from across the ocean. The Prince is only interested in the music and party aspect of old New Orleans, and subsequently falls under the spell of the evil Dr. Facilier. Faster that he can say voodoo, Dr. F turns the Prince into a frog.

Let loose on a costume ball thrown by Charlotte in association with Mardi Gras, the Prince frog convinces a reluctant Tiana – costumed as a princess – to kiss him and break the spell. Fortunately it’s not as simple as that, and the adventure begins.

The tried-and-true Disney formula: adventurous story, romance, wacky sidekicks and broadway style songs are all in place, but they are filtered through this valentine to the glory and promise of old New Orleans back in the pre-WW2 era. The jazz and the mystery are highlighted, through a talking alligator named Louis who just wants to blow his horn and the voodoo of the bad Dr. Facilier and the good Mama Odie. Throw in a cajun firefly named Ray and the scenario is as spicy as jambalaya.

There is an uncompromising beauty to the animation, with several sequences going off into a flight of fancy as indicated by the song or the setting. The voodoo, for example, is framed in bright and fiery colors as the magic is unveiled. The restaurant dream is drawn in art deco cool, with a waiter sequence that gives a run at “Hello Dolly” for fun and sophistication.

And of course, even as this animated film is aimed at kids, it becomes engaging for all ages, as references to “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (John Goodman as “Big Daddy”), nods to the shallowness of Royalty (Charlotte and the Prince are somewhat reckless next to Tiana) and the comic relief of the various bayou inhabitants create a atmosphere of sheer merriment for all. It is entertainment that cracks a smile.

Even though much hoopla was associated with Disney creating its first African American “princess,” Tiana is portrayed as a strong, resilient character with a overriding dream, who procures a Prince not by wishing and hoping for one (as her flighty friend Charlotte does), but standing firm to a persona that deserves respect and love. It is a theme that is a thread throughout the film, as in the quest for happily-ever-after means creating your own luck.

The villains are properly villainous, but with a twist. It is power and connection to royalty that Dr. Facilier seeks, and uses the darkness of voodoo as an offering to connect this power to the “other side,” in the fashionable connection between death and life in New Orleans. The Prince’s aide-de-camp, Lawrence, is a bumbling comic character who get seduced by the villainy and of course gets a proper comeuppance.

The ensemble voice cast is peppered with a few big names – Goodman, Oprah Winfrey as Tiana’s mother and Terrence Howard – but is mostly handled by a lesser-known ensemble who give the resonance to the scope of the story. From the streets of New Orleans to the nearby bayou country, the cast of plucky survivors teach the elite Prince a thing or two about living well.

And finally, the city of New Orleans gets it due as a cradle of intuitive culture, music magic and that strange essence that makes it one of America’s greatest cities. In the wake of the modern ills of Katrina and the exposure of the associative sins, Disney chose to celebrate the vibrancy of the necessary life force in this Southern community legend and came to the conclusion that its heart beats in all of us. We all want to be in that number, when the saints go marching in.

”The Princess and the Frog” opens everywhere December 11th. Featuring the voices of Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard and John Goodman. Rated “G”

By PATRICK McDONALD
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com