Greatest Disney Movie Bracket Round 1 Part 3

Well, I definitely underestimated Meet the Robinsons and the two Rescuers movies.  They were neck and neck in the voting for most of the round until Alice in Wonderland, Sword in the Stone, and Wreck-it-Ralph pulled away at the end.  I wasn't sure any of those movies would be able to keep things close, but it's nice to see there are fans out there.  It would be nice if more than 11 people voted, though, so please share with your friends!!!!  The other films in this region advanced quite easily, as I thought they would.

Here's a look at the bracket.


Now we move into the Beauty and the Beast region of the bracket.  There are some intriguing first round matchups here.  Aristocats versus Bolt should be very interesting.  I wasn't a huge fan of either, but it will be interesting to see how an obscure old school film fares against an obscure new school film.  Other matchups that I think will be close are The Emperor's New Groove vs Dinosaur and Hercules vs Treasure Planet.  I don't think any of those movies were overwhelmingly popular, with Hercules being the closest thing to a hit.  I'm curious to see how people vote in those matchups.  Personally, I think Dinosaur and Treasure Planet were underrated.  Finally, my personal favorite Disney movie is in this region, Robin Hood.  I don't see how Chicken Little stands a chance, but I know there is a small cult following for that film, so I'm a little worried.  But ultimately, I think Robin Hood will advance.

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Greatest Disney Movie Round 1 Part 2

After the first series of voting in the Lion King region, there were no major upsets.  All the higher seeds advanced and it wasn't even close.  In fact, the closest match up was a 7-2 victory for The Fox and the Hound.  No real surprises and not much to analyze.

Here's the latest look at the bracket.


Now it's time to move on to the Aladdin region.  I think all the higher seeds will prevail here as well, but maybe one of the Rescuers movies or Atlantis could surprise.  Hopefully more than nine people vote this time around, though.  So please share with friends and spread the word.

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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.