Greatest Disney Animated Movie Ever!

With March on the horizon, that can only mean one thing.  Brackets!!!  And as has become a tradition with this blog, I create a specialized tournament which allows my loyal readers to vote for the winners.  This year's bracket is the Greatest Disney Animated Movie Ever!

For this bracket I aim to find out what Disney Animated movie people think is the greatest of all time.  I only looked at classic animated films, so no Pixar films in this bracket.  I debated including those films, but ultimately I decided that I wanted to just give the classics their time in the spotlight.  However, you will notice that there are not 64 films to include in the bracket.  Disney has only produced 54 films under the classic animation banner.  I decided to add A Goofy Movie and Duck Tale: The Movie to bring the total to 56 and enable the top two seeds in each bracket to have a first round bye.  Why did I choose those two movies to add?  Because it's my bracket and I can.

I'm sure you're all wondering how I decided to seed this bracket.  Well, I used a highly scientific algorithm.  Not really, but I did try to analyze all the data I could.  I looked at adjusted box office gross, although I wasn't able to get data for all the films.  I also looked at awards, both nominated and won.  I compared IMDB ratings, Facebook likes, and Google search results, though the latter numbers were a little misleading.  But I tried to look at as much as I could to try to be as objective as possible.  In the end, I had to make some personal judgement calls.  If you don't like the bracket, well, make your own then!  But take a look and feel free to curse me out.




The site I used this year only let me put overall seeds in the bracket, so if you want regional seeds, divide the overall seed by four.  If there is a remainder, round up.

Before we get to the voting, it's time for predictions.  My personal Final Four would Robin Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Little Mermaid.  That obviously won't happen since three of those are in the same region.  But at least now you know I won't cheat.  My prediction is that we could have an all 90s Final Four with Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Little Mermaid.  And, yes, I know Little Mermaid was released in 1989, but it's close enough.  I do think Frozen will get a lot of love, but ultimately fall.  And I think Peter Pan and Jungle Book could be sleepers.

But let's start the voting!  We are starting in the Lion King region.  Please vote and share!

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Valentine's Day Challenge

With Valentine's Day approaching, I notice that people tend to fall into one of two camps: those in a relationship who want to let everyone know they are in a relationship and those who are single and want to remind everyone that they are single.  Obviously, this doesn't apply to everyone, but it's a good majority.  Now, the relationship people like people to know just how happy they are and how wonderful their life is because they are in a wonderful relationship.  They tell the single people not to worry, that one day they will find love too.  This only seems to draw the ire of the single people, who like to remind everyone how much they hate this holiday and how lousy it is to be single.  But my question is, when did this holiday become solely about being in a relationship creating these two warring factions?  Isn't this holiday supposed to be about love?  And doesn't love come in many different forms?

This inspired me to research some of the history behind Valentine's Day.  I found a very interesting article regarding the subject on History.com, which I will try to summarize concisely.  There are multiple versions surrounding the story of St. Valentine, none of which can really be confirmed, but they all surround the idea that he was a heroic, romantic figure.  Valentine's Day itself actually started as a pagan holiday called Lupercalia, which was a fertility festival.  It involved slapping women with goat hides to make them fertile, and then the women would put their name in an urn for men to draw out and be matched with.  Ancient Rome was weird.

Eventually that festival was outlawed, and Pope Gelasius, at the end of the 5th century, declared Valentine's Day to take place on February 14.  In the Middle Ages, they day was also associated with the beginning of the birds mating season which furthered the connection to romance and love.  Written greetings didn't appear until after 1400, and the first mass-produced valentines didn't appear until the 1840s in America.  But it was common for friends and lovers to exchange tokens of affection.  Friends is the word that stands out to me there.  But if you would like to read the whole article, here is the link.
http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day

So even though the holiday has evolved into a romantic occasion for people to celebrate their romantic relationships, the origins are rooted in love.  And like I mentioned earlier, love comes in many forms.  So here's my challenge to all of you.  Whether you are in a relationship or not, use this holiday to show ALL the people you love that you care.  Let friends, family, lovers, whoever know that you love them.  Let's not focus on celebrating relationships, but instead focus on celebrating love.  The world could use a little more love, so let's all do our part.

Also, check out the following video for a useless Valentines Day fact!

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Review

Let me start this post with a spoiler alert for both the 2013 film version of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and the short story it was based on.  If you haven't seen the movie yet, I can understand that.  But if you haven't read the story, shame on you and shame on your teachers.  It is one of my favorite stories of all time, and I loved being able to teach it to my students when I was teaching.

I was really excited to see the Ben Stiller movie version because I love the story so much.  However, I never got around to seeing it in theaters.  I finally caught it on Cinemax this weekend.  For the most part I enjoyed it, but I feel like it deviated majorly from the story.  I realize that the story is not the easiest to transfer to film, but in the story, Walter Mitty daydreams to escape from the monotony of his his life.  Little things he sees triggers wild dreams in which he puts himself in heroic, daring situations.  He is a man who wishes his life had turned out differently.

In the movie, Ben Stiller plays a single guy who daydreams a lot.  He is a guy that people make fun of, who is afraid to talk to women, and who is clearly dissatisfied with his life.  His daydreams make him seem brave and heroic.  Well, at least most of them do.  He imagines saving a dog from a burning building and as a romantic Spanish hiker.  Those fit with short story.  But then he also imagines himself getting in a fight and as a weird Benjamin Button like guy.  Those two daydreams seemed really odd and not much like the type of dreams the character from the story has.  Also, in the story he is married, but he does pine after a girl in the movie.

Then, all of a sudden, he starts doing things that seem out of character.  He starts talking to the girl, he impulsively flies to Greenland, and is apparently an amazing skateboarder.  You keep thinking that some of these things are more daydreams, but it turns out that they're not.  It all seems very out of character, and was fueled by the desire to find a missing photograph.  Now I understand that in a movie the characters need to have some sort of growth and there needs to be a story arc, but this happens so suddenly and drastically that it doesn't seem real.  He hikes through the Himalayas with no prior training for crying out loud!  And the daydreams stopped.

Now don't get me wrong, as a fellow daydreamer, and someone who has always related to Walter Mitty, I appreciate the movie showing a character who breaks through the daydreams and gains confidence to do the things he always dreamed about.  But it just seemed really sudden.  At the end I liked the message of the movie, and I was entertained for the most part, but the charm of the original story seemed to be missing.  Also, I had a feeling all along that the missing photograph was in the wallet that was given to him, so I was frustrated the entire time that he didn't look in there.  But I guess there wouldn't be a movie if he didn't have a missing photograph to try to go after.  All in all, I recommend the movie if you are a fan of the story, and if you're not a fan of the story you should definitely read it because it is one of the best short stories ever written.

My Love for the Jurassic Park Franchise

When I was a kid I had a love for all things dinosaur.  I had countless dinosaur books, watched any show containing dinosaurs (Denver the Last Dinosaur was my favorite), and loved going to museums to see fossils.  As an adult, pretty much nothing has changed.  I still love anything and everything dinosaur-related.  And that is why I am super excited for Jurassic World to come to theaters next year.

When the first Jurassic Park movie came out in 1993 I was 11.  I knew it wasn't a friendly dinosaur movie like many of the cartoons and TV shows I was used to, but it still had dinosaurs so I was sold.  Unfortunately, my parents didn't want me to see it because of the violence.  That didn't stop me, though.  I snuck into the theater to see it.  I actually had to sneak in twice because the first time I tried to sneak into a sold out show and they were checking ticket stubs inside.  But when I finally saw it, I was in love.  The first time the dinosaurs appear on screen is awe inspiring and magical.  This was the first time anybody had seen such realistic looking dinosaurs on screen.  Not to mention the suspense created in the T-Rex and kitchen scenes.  I was instantly hooked for life.

The Lost World was released four years later, and I didn't have to sneak into this one.  I went opening weekend, eager to see the continuation of the Jurassic Park saga.  While not nearly as good as the original it was still an entertaining film, and the dinosaurs still look amazing.  If not for the scenes in San Diego at the end, it would be even better.

In the summer of 2000 I decided to pursue a part time job at Universal Studios.  When I was hired they asked me what ride I wanted to work at.  I immediately said Jurassic Park.  It was like a dream come true.  I could ride the ride whenever I wanted, I got to dress like Dr. Grant, and I got to talk about dinosaurs all day long.  Most people just wanted to know where the T-Rex was.  But I did pretend that I had a pet dinosaur named Charlie who lived in the bushes by the unload station.  If anybody asked to stay on to ride again I told them they could if they got Charlie to come out.  It did get a little annoying having to hear the narration on the video monitors in the line queue all day long, but hearing the theme music never got old.  It is one of the best themes in movie history, and I never tire of hearing it.  Also, for the rest of my life I can tell people I worked at Jurassic Park.

While working at Universal the first instances of promotion for Jurassic Park III started showing up.  There were teaser posters plastered throughout the park.  Again, I was really excited for another Jurassic Park movie!  And while walking the backlot one day I swear I walked by a soundstage where they were filming the movie.  I wasn't able to confirm it, but I believe it to this day.  The following summer I was first in line again to see the movie.  In fact, a couple months before the movie, my friend and I paid for another movie just so we could see the trailer for Jurassic Park III.  Remember, this was before you could find everything on the Internet.  But while the movie itself wasn't nearly as good as the first two, I wasn't disappointed.  This one had pterodactyls!  And it was still exciting and fun.

I know the science isn't right with these movies, but that doesn't bother me.  They're still about dinosaurs.  They still make me feel like a little kid again when I was reading my books and looking at fossils in museums.  I still watch them whenever they are on TV and still tense up at the exciting parts even though I know what is going to happen.

So when it was announced that a fourth movie was actually going to happen I was excited.  I want to see what happens as Ingen keeps trying to open the park.  I know something will go terribly wrong, but since it involves dinosaurs, I'm all for it.  Whether they make or movie about it or not, I will still dream about it, so this just makes it easier for me.  When the trailer was released earlier this week, I was more excited for that than the Star Wars trailer.  While Star Wars will always be my favorite, there is so much mythology and nostalgia surrounding that franchise that part of me is afraid they will screw it up.  I was content knowing there would never be another Star Wars movie, but I always wished for more Jurassic Park movies.  They can't screw those up.  They are what they are, and what they are is awesome!  And now I get another one and it looks amazing!  I can't wait for June!

Sweet November!

Every year on November 1 my best friend and I text each other, "Sweet November!"  It is the most inside of all inside jokes I have with anybody.  What does it mean?  Nothing.  Why do we do it?  Because it's Sweet November!  How did it start?  Well, it started because of a bad Keanu Reeves movie named, you guessed it, Sweet November.  We liked the title so much that it instantly turned into a joke.  And 13 years later, the joke is still going.  And it still makes me laugh.  I've tried to explain it to other people, but they just don't get it.  Frankly, neither do I sometimes, and that's why I love it.  It's quirky things like this which pretty much define our friendship, and I felt like it was something fun to share today.  Feel free to share any fun inside jokes you have with your friends as well.

Stranded on a Deserted Island: 5 Albums to Take

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what five albums would you want with you to listen to?  I started thinking about this topic a while back, and I still don't know if I'm satisfied with my answers.  But I'm rolling with it anyway.  I'm not sure what got me thinking about this, but I did.  And as I was thinking about it, I decided to put some restrictions on the answers to really make it difficult and make you think.  So the major restriction is that you cannot select compilation albums.  This means no greatest hits collections, no best of genre albums, no Now! discs.  And why only five, you may ask?  Because if I said ten, that would make it easier.  Five really makes you think about what you would want to listen to.

While I was thinking about my five albums, I tried to pick a variety of genres.  I like everything from hip hop to doo wop to R&B to Motown to grunge.  How would I ever pick albums to represent everything I liked?  The answer is I can't.  So I tried to pick albums that I knew I would enjoy the entirety of, while also picking a variety of genres.  In fact, as I'm writing this, I'm still second guessing my picks.  I suppose I should just get it in writing before I take another two months to ponder my answer.  So, here they are, my five albums.

Outkast - Aquemini

This was probably the easiest choice on my list.  Those of you who know me know I'm a huge Outkast fan, so the question really was not if I would choose an Outkast album, but which Outkast album would I choose.  The more I've listened to Outkast recently, the more I realize that Aquemini is their best album.  Although, you really can't go wrong with any Outkast album, but I'm choosing this one because I think it is the most solid top to bottom.

Prince - Purple Rain

Any album with Purple Rain, the song, should get consideration for inclusion.  It's almost heavenly.  The rest of the album is pretty darn good too.  Prince is an amazing musician and this is one of his best albums.  Plus it's a good combination of R&B, funk, and pop.  A nice blend while being stuck on an island.

MC Hammer - Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em

Yea, I went there.  I grew up wearing this tape out.  That's right, I had this album on cassette tape.  And I knew every word to every song.  I probably still do.  Plus, I can get some exercise while dancing along to songs on this album.  It's that good.

Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

I almost didn't include this album, but I didn't think it would be appropriate to be stuck on a deserted island and not have any Beach Boys music to listen to.  While I would prefer to have an album with Surfer Girl or Good Vibrations on it, this is their best top to bottom.  Plus it's a nice change of pace from what I have so far.

The fifth album is where it got really tricky.  Did I look for a good doo wop album?  Should I choose a Motown album?  Would another hip hop album be overkill?  So many questions.  But let's break it down.  When looking for a doo wop or Motown album I realized that those groups put out so many albums that most of them contained songs I was unfamiliar with and only one or two hits.  This is where the no compilation rule makes things tough.  So I'm back to picking albums that I enjoy from the first track to the last track.  I considered quite a few different albums, such as Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle, Warren G's Regulate, Boyz II Men's II, No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom, and a number of Mariah Carey albums.  As I'm typing this, I'm still having trouble deciding.  But this is what I ultimately settled on.

TLC - CrazySexyCool

Why did I decide on TLC?  Well, I thought it represented a good blend of upbeat and slow songs, plus it's just a really good album.  I thought Snoop or Warren G would have been hip hop overkill, and didn't think I would consistently want to listen to No Doubt, even though the album is good.  So it boiled down to Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, or TLC.  Boyz II Men was a little too slow overall and Mariah is, well, Mariah, and I couldn't decide on one of her albums.  So I looked closer at TLC and decided this would be an excellent choice.

So that's my list.  I welcome any comments you may have and invite you to try to come up with your own list.

Life Lessons From Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium

I was flipping through the channels tonight and stumbled across Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium.  I absolutely love this movie!  It is full of wonderful, positive messages.  Now, I know what you're thinking, that I only like this movie because Natalie Portman is in it.  But that just adds to my love!  Every time I watch this movie I feel good and I feel inspired.  But that feeling rarely lasts, so I'm hoping that maybe if I write about the lessons learned from the movie, I will actually listen.

"Your life is an occasion.  Rise to it."
There is perhaps no greater message in this movie than this.  If we all just listened to this and rose to the occasion imagine how wonderful the world would be.  Imagine how great we would feel!  I keep waiting for my moment to come, but perhaps my moment is here and I just need to rise to the occasion and grab it.  I need to stop making excuses and just go for it.  And I'm sure many of you could use the same advice.

"37 seconds well used is a lifetime."
Why waste any time we have on this planet?  Use every last second to the best of our ability.  I know that's easier said than done, but even time spent deep in thought is time well spent.  Think about that.


Don't be a "just guy"
You know the type of person I'm talking about.  The one who thinks those are 'just' clouds, or that is 'just' a room full of chairs.  They can't see past what something actually is to see what could be there.  I actually think I do a pretty good job of avoiding this, but I feel like too many people around me try to turn me into a 'just guy'.  Try to imagine how much more fun the world could be if you looked past what 'just' is.  I don't have a clip for this, but here is the dialogue.

Molly Mahoney: i knew it. As soon as I saw that suit.

Henry Weston: Knew what?

Molly Mahoney: You're a 'just' guy.

Henry Weston: What's a 'just' guy?

Molly Mahoney: A guy just like you. Same hair, same suit, same shoes, walks around, no matter what, you think it's all just a store, it's just a bench, it's just a tree. It's just what it is, nothing more!

Henry Weston: Alright but, but this

[looks over his shoulder]

Henry Weston: is just a store.

Molly Mahoney: I'm sure to you... it is.

"You have to give people a chance"

This is one that I really have to work on.  Much like Eric in the movie I assume people think I'm weird and don't want to play with me.  I have a hard time making friends.  Perhaps I should take the advice from the movie and give people a chance.  It starts by saying hi.  Again, I couldn't find a clip, or a good transcript of the dialogue, but here's what I found.

Sweetheart, did you spend
the whole day at the store?

I did lots of stuff.

Like what?
  
I built a sculpture,
I got 20,000 paddles
on a paddleball...
and I figured out
how to win at solitaire
every time without cheating.
  
Eric, those are all things
you do by yourself.
  
There were...
people... around.
  
We agreed you could come
back from camp early
if you made an effort
to make some friends.
  
It's not my fault
people don't like me.
  
People love you- once they
get the chance to know you.
  
No, they don't.
They think I'm weird.
  
Because you build sculptures
by yourself.
  
Because nobody wants
to play with me.
  
Have you asked anyone
to play with you?
  
Not really.
  
Well, Eric, you have
to give people a chance.
  
I know what'll happen.
  
You don't, sweetheart.
Trust me, people are
always full of surprises.
Just...
just pick someone.
Anyone. Pick someone
you don't know,
and try to make friends with them.
See what happens.
  
I don't even know how to start.
  
Easy.
Start by saying hi.

"I'm Stuck"

This is totally how I feel right now.  I'm stuck.  But maybe I need to stop thinking about being stuck, and start thinking about how I can stun the world!

Molly Mahoney: I'm stuck!

Mr. Edward Magorium: Oh, to my floor?

Molly Mahoney: No, sir.

Mr. Edward Magorium: Then what?

Molly Mahoney: Like a person. You remember when I was a little girl and I could play Rahmaninov's Second Piano Concerto and everyone was talking about my potential?

Mr. Edward Magorium: Mhm.

Molly Mahoney: Well, I am 23 now and everyone's still talking about my potential but if you ask em to play the song I know best... I'll still play Rachmaninov's Second.

Mr. Edward Magorium: May I suggest you stun the world with Molly Mahoney's First?

"What Mahoney needed was the opportunity to prove to herself that she was something more than she believed."

I think this is true of most of us, myself especially.  I need to believe in myself more, and seek out the opportunities to show myself that I am more than I believe myself to be.  Who knows, maybe I can do something magical.

Now I have it in writing, so any time I forget about these things, feel free to remind me to go back and reread this post.  And hopefully this post can inspire you as well.