Persia
Caution there be spoilers ahead…
All in all, for a movie based on an admittedly kick-ass video game, it wasn’t half bad. I could go on to say the same about a movie based off of a theme park ride (I’m looking at you Pirates…).
It had all the things needed for a Disney action-adventure movie: romance, swords, betrayal, orphans finding their destiny, witty dialogue, and half-naked men.
Although it was very reminiscent of Aladdin, it was also very watchable.
SPOILER ALERT:
An orphan (naturally), known as Dastan, is the hero in this film. As a young boy he is spotted by King Sharaman committing a noble deed, saving another orphan’s life (even more naturally). Dastan is henceforth taken from his home in the Persian slums and brought up in the palace to be raised as a prince.
We fast forward about ten years and see Prince Dastan as a man. In the present-day, he is sent to the city of Alamut on a false mission. Believing he is a hero, Dastan is sent to meet with his “father”, the king, to discuss his impending future. Dastan delivers a gift to his father, a holy robe, which unbeknowst to him has been poisoned by his scheming uncle Nizam (Do I have to say naturally again?).
Now, Dastan, accused of murdering the king, must flea the city taking the princess, Tamina, along for the ride.
He discovers along this journey that the dagger he had stolen from one of Tamina’s guards, is, in fact, a magical dagger: It has the power to turn back time (please hold the Cher references…).
Now that Dastan has discovered the magical dagger, it is up to him to protect its secret power, clear his name, and assist the princess in the returning the dagger to its rightful place (naturally to the nth degree).
As per the usual epic quest flick, along the way the young couple are assisted by thieves with a heart of gold, fall madly in love with each other, and defeat the bad guys in the ever-classic man-versus-overwhelming-evil sort of way.
In spite of, or perhaps because of the cookie-cutter plot, I enjoyed it quite a bit – and although, there are a few things I’d changed about the ending, I’d say it is definitely worth watching.
Even if it’s not your proverbial cup of tea, there is a Tron: Legacy trailer at the beginning which might make it worth sitting through for those not into this sort of thing. Also, the sand… it gets everywhere.
Captain EO
It’s been nearly sixteen years since the short film by Francis Ford Coppola that had captivated Disney audiences from around the globe.
Now Disney has announced that Captain EO is scheduled to make its return to our beloved parks this summer.
With the return of EO, a new audience can delight in the 3D adventure starring the late, great, Michael Jackson along side a group of crazy characters such as his beloved alien sidekick, Fuzzball.
Captain EO, played by Michael Jackson, is sent on a mission through space to give a special gift to the Supreme Leader of a strange planet. (Original, I know…) During his journey, he is captured and sentenced to life in a dungeon. These high-stake exploits include songs like We Are Here To Change The World, and Another Part of Me. Basically, it’s another feel good story where, as per the norm, good defeats evil, doing so through the power of song and dance (as all battles must be fought).
I sincerely hope that this new generation, who has somehow not experienced the glory that is EO, will come to enjoy and love Captain EO as so many others have in the past.
Magic in the Magical Kingdom
This story takes place in June 2005. Actually, I lied, this story starts a few months earlier in Katie’s basement…
For the past two years during Spring Break, while our fellow classmates were off in Panama City or Cancun, my friends and I went to Orlando. We had just come from a trip to the Magic Kingdom (as well as Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Sea World) and were excited that are dear friend Katie was going to WDW for her spring break with her family.
When she returned home we rushed over to her house to hear the detailed report of the trip. She had taken a ton of pictures, shopped like a true Disney addict, and was excited to share her experience with us.
Naturally, I was on the edge of my chair waiting in anticipation to hear what she had to say. When she finished telling her tale of adventures in the Magical Kingdom, I began firing all sorts of questions at her.
“Did you like Splash Mountain?” I asked.
“We didn’t go on it.” She replied.
“What about Peter Pan?”
“We didn’t ride it.”
“Didn’t ride that either.”
I was astonished, “What did you do?” I asked curiously.
“We shopped and watched the parades.”
All my friend Will and I could do was stare at each other in stunned silence. My love for Disney stems from the rides and all Katie and her family seemed to go on was “it’s a Small World”.
It was in that moment that Will and I decided Katie would return to WDW, only this time to do it right. We spent a couple of months planning, even created a website with our budgets, choice Disney lodgings, and what we’d initially like to do once we got there.
That’s where the planning started and this story begins…
I won’t talk about waking up early in the morning, spending way longer in Wal-Mart for supplies then we intended, or spending hours making mixed CDs and playlists on our iPods. Of course the car ride is part of the whole building suspense thing, which can make the beginning of any trip either great or horrible.
Naturally we played Disney music and argued about what to listen to next. We had a nice picnic at the Florida welcome center – and grabbed as many Disney brochures as we could. We were in Florida now, so the excitement could only build from there. After what seemed like ages, we in Orlando! Unfortunately for us, our online driving directions had taken us to an unfamiliar part of the city and it took us a good while until we got our bearings straight.
With a little help from a toll booth attendee, we were on our way and nothing could stop us.
Finally, there it was… Pop Century Resort – the newest of all the Disney resorts. Now we could say we had finally arrived! After settling in and geeking out in the resort’s souvenir shop, we boarded the bus that would take us to Downtown Disney.
I’d like to think that Downtown Disney is really a prelude to it all: It’s the best place to start your Disney trip and the best place to end your trip. After some walking around – exploring all the wonderful shops (my favorite being the World of Disney – Will and Katie’s was the Virgin Record Store – now extinct), and having dinner at McDonald’s, we returned to Pop Century.
Naturally I was torn between being exhausted from the eight hour drive and being exhilarated that we were at Disney. Sleep won over in the end.
I have to say that I think the first day at Disney is always the best. I can never sleep when I’m on vacation – it’s the little kid in me, too much excitement to let me rest. After getting ready, I sat on the floor and thumbed through my ‘Hidden Mickeys’ guide book making a list on a piece of paper of all the Mickeys I wanted to look for. After that I took a walk around the resort – seeing it for the first time in daylight. It was a nicely themed resort and the only negative I have to comment on is the dirty diaper smell that seemed to linger in certain areas.
My friends were up and ready once I returned from my short exploration. Katie and I grabbed our Mickey Mouse headbands (a headband with two springy, glittery mouse antennas on them), packed our cameras, money and sunscreen and we were officially ready to begin the day.
Anyone who’s ever been to WDW before knows that the bus to the Magic Kingdom has the longest line out of all the parks. Patiently, we waited in line (luckily the resort had speakers outside with music that kept us entertained) until finally it was our turn to board the bus. Crammed in the back beside a dozen families with their folded strollers, we watched as we passed familiar scenery. Just when we thought we could no longer stand the suspense, we had arrived!
Of course unloading took a while since everyone was eager to enter the park. Once we were safely unloaded we stood amongst the line of people with our tickets (ie: room keys) in hand. After passing through security we paused to take in the magnificent train station. Passing under the station were posters for some of the best attractions – just a hint of things to come.
Finally we had entered Main Street, U.S.A. I remember just standing back, taking it all in and thinking “I’m finally home”. As we walked down Main Street, arm in arm toward Cinderella Castle we couldn’t help grinning. We paused right in front of the castle just before entering Fantasyland. Will and I turned to Katie and I knew what was she must have been thinking, “there’s the magic that had been missing the first time.”
More to come…
Disneys Addicts – Part One
Allow me to introduce a new series for the blog called Disney Addicts ™. Disney Addicts ™ is going to focus on the personal fandom of the individual as well as its relation to the Disney franchise as a whole.
In the inaugural edition of the Disney Addicts, I am interviewing a fellow Disney peer, whom, for the sake of this blog, we will call Neen. I decided to interview Neen because she has an insanely large Tinkerbell collection.
Di: So, a little birdie tells me that you’ve got a thing for Tinkerbell. Care to elaborate?
Neen: Yes, I do. I love Tinkerbell – she’s my absolute favorite out of all the Disney Characters and has been since the very first time I saw Peter Pan.
Di: What has been your experience with Disney as a whole?
Neen: It’s been a very good experience, from growing up with the animated films to visiting the theme parks. I have only positive things to say about Disney.
Di: As a self-described fan of the Tink, what is your favorite Tinkerbell moment?
Neen: I love her. Some of my favorite moments are of when she is jealous of Wendy, pulling her hair, calling her a big, ugly girl and convincing the Lost Boys to shoot her with their bows and arrows.
Di: For those that are unfamiliar with Tinkerbell, can you explain why she’s so awesome?
Neen: She is just plain awesome and very feisty. That’s what I love about her – plus she can make people fly with just a sprinkle of pixie dust.
Di: You have the biggest collection of Tinkerbell items I’ve seen, how’d you get started collecting?
Neen: I started about five years ago with a Tinkerbell figurine and it just grew from there.
Di: If you had the opportunity to spend a day in Neverland (and I’m not talking about the MJ one…), what would you do?
Neen: I’d would definitely spend the day flying around with Tinkerbell and of course, spending time with Peter and the Lost Boys.
Di: If they were to make a live-action with Tinkerbell, which actress do you think would portray her the best?
Neen: Emma Watson would do a good portrayal of Tinkerbell.
Di: Thank you for your participation!
Disneyland People Mover
Let’s start with my Disney media file obsession. I can honestly say that I have over 300 audio and video files (from the rides alone) in my filthy, little hands.
All that is to say… I have an audio file from the (now extinct) Disneyland People Mover. There are many parts of this attraction that are worthy of discussion. For now, let’s talk about “Tron”. You, as the rider, have just taken a tour through The Tomorrowland Space Port, flown over The Star Traders Store and have now journeyed through Space Mountain. There you are deciding whether to go watch Captain E.O., or take “A Mission to Mars” when suddenly you’ve “invaded the electronic realm of the master computer program” and as a result are promptly sent into “the game grid of Tron”. Fortunately for you, you beat the game grid and ultimately escape.
Unfortunately, the ride closed in 1995; however, waaay on the other side of the country at Walt Disney World, one can still experience the same joys with The Tomorrowland Transit Authority, minus the Tron SuperSpeed Tunnel, natch.
Today, WDW park enthusiasts can see ‘Tron: Legacy’ advertisements on the EPCOT Monorails. The Tron: Legacy film is due to premiere in mid-December. Will it live up to its predecessor? Based on the latest trailers… probably. We’ll just have to wait and see.
xoxo,
Di
Obligatory Howdy
To my fellow enthusiasts of all things Disney and theme park related, I salute you. You can find the whole spiel about who, what, and why here. I look forward to getting the ball rolling soon.
Hidden Mickeys,
Di
