Today was a cluster of many obsessions combined into one
day: my love of Disney (having never lived more than 20 miles away from the
great and powerful Mouse House), my love of movies, and more specifically, my
love of Star Wars. Unfortunately, while
my attendance of the “Let the Adventures Begin: Live Action at The Walt Disney
Studios” at D23 seriously lacked the excitement of receiving news-worthy Star
Wars tidbits, it truly was an adventure that begs to be shared with those who
were not present. But before I begin,
let me just add that Disney does know how to put on a show. I’ve been to many panels at Comic-Con,
Wonder-Con, E3, etc., but none have compared to the showmanship, density of
entertainment, and mounting surprises to appease even the most demanding fan
(again, excluding Star Wars).
The 10:30am presentation began with a “sizzle reel” of film
clips that were on the slate for the next 2-hours, including some quick clips
of what would not be included (ie. Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur and Frozen). Animation projects assigned, if one were
paying close attention, one would begin to become extremely excited, as did
I. Then Walt Disney Studios Chairman, Alan
Horn, came on stage and moderated the rest of the event—who was surprisingly
very funny. He spoke a little about the
influence “Bambi” had when he proposed to his wife, and then about Disney
acquiring the company’s Pixar in 2006, Marvel in 2009, and Lucasfilm in 2012
(now owning half the world). Then, Alan
dropped the one and only bombshell of the panel by teasing about Star Wars then
stating that there would be no information about the upcoming “Star Wars” films
and subsequent “Star Wars” projects, further stating “dark forces are watching”. This was, of course, met with boo’s and
jeers, but the audience soon forgot about their discontent once he introduced
Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios President and Producer, who introduced “phase 2” of
Marvel’s slate:
Thor: The Dark World (November 8, 2013)
-
- Extended look which began with a battle sequence
in the forest when a beam of light suddenly strikes the ground followed by Thor’s
hammer flying out and doing damage. The
hammer flies back into the light and is captured by Thor.
-
- Then they show a different cut of the theatrical
trailer which shows Loki getting the better of Thor at the end (I won’t reveal what
he does because it’s a spoiler)
-
- Then a second extended look at Jane Foster’s
(Natalie Portman) first day in Asgard (Thor’s world) as she’s being medically
examined.
-
- Kevin introduced Tom Hiddleston, Natalie
Portman, and Anthony Hopkins to the stage for a quick interview.
Personally, I was not a fan of the first Thor movie, and
while I believe people who did like the first will love what’s in store, I
remain skeptical.
Then came:
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (April 4, 2014)
-
- Extended first look with Captain America
fighting about 15 military men in an enclosed elevator.
-
- Followed by what will most likely be the official
trailer once released
-
- Then Kevin introduced Sebastian Stan (Winter
Soldier), Anthony Mackie (Falcon), and Chris Evans (Captain America)
-
- Then a second (very rough) extended clip where
Captain America skulks around a cargo ship.
Now, the first Captain America movie I did really like (see
my post
here) and I am extremely excited for the next installment, which by the
way, has a completely different feel than the first since they have moved out
of the 1940’s and to modern day.
Guardians of the Galaxy (August 1, 2014)
-
- First look 2 minute trailer
Being that they are only 4-weeks into principal photography,
there was not much to show, but for what they did present to the audience, you
could tell the special effects department worked HARD to impress, and their
hard work paid off. We are introduced to all five Guardians - a pathetic bunch
The Avengers: Age
of Ultron (May 1, 2015)
-
- Teaser trailer
And it teased perfectly; showing nothing from the film (I don’t
think they’ve started filming yet), just an extremely close-up of Iron Man’s
helmet while you hear each of the Avengers speak a line.
Then, Alan Horn came back to the stage to introduce:
Disneynature’s Bears (Earth Day 2014)
- First look trailer
Being a huge lover of animal’s, I thought the trailer looked
incredible. Alan also announced that
Disney has partnered with the National Park Foundation to give a percentage of proceeds
from the first week of ticket sales to the NPF.
Alan then introduced Sean Bailey, Disney Live Action
Production President who, in turn, introduced one of the biggest shocks of the
event from:
Muppets Most Wanted (March 21, 2014)
The reason I say “biggest shocks” is because they showed an
entire musical number, and then also:
-
- Full trailer
-
- Ty Burrell driving out in his Interpol car for a
quick interview then driving off stage in the pea-sized electric auto
(hysterical!)
-
- Miss Piggy video promoting “P23” with Kermit and
Tina Fey
-
- The aforementioned musical number sung by evil
Kermit look-alike and Ricky Gervais (yes, he can sing!) that would probably be
called either “Number 1, Number 2” or “Dance, Monkey, Dance”) – this was even
more hysterical!
This was truly a highlight for me and reminded of “The Great
Muppet Caper” which, at least for now, is my all-time favorite Muppet
movie.
And I love the Muppets as you can
be reminded
here.
Into the Woods (Christmas Day 2014)
They only presented the logo which, as you can tell, looks fairly similar to the
design used for Broadway. The only other thing they did was name
the cast who were already previously announced (ie Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp,
etc.) I was kind of disappointed they
didn’t show more as “Into the Woods” is in my top 3 favorite musicals of
all-time. C’est la vie!
Cinderella (March 13, 2015)
-
- Introduction by director Kenneth Branaugh who
narrated concept art and cast members.
Clips also included a portion of Lily James’ screen test and the
announcement of Cate Blanchett portraying the Stepmother and Helena Bohnam
Carter playing The Fairy Godmother
This was very smart, and though I would have seen the more
regardless, now I am exceptionally excited to see this film. The concept art was amazing, and well, I’m a
sucker for Cate Blanchett.
Next was what I had hoped for most (well, except for Star
Wars – Yes! I’m still beating that dead horse)
Maleficent (July 2, 2014)
-
- Sean introduced Angelina Jolie to the stage who
spoke about Maleficent being one of her favorite characters since childhood,
how her brother heard about the project and urged her to put her name in for
it, then how Disney contacted her before she could contact them.
- - A full clip from the film – Maleficent casting the
spell on infant Aurora
-
- Then what looked to be the official first
trailer once released
All I can say is… I have a new obsession. Angelina Jolie was flawless—beyond exceptional
in the clip they showed. She was uncanny
in both mannerisms and voice. I cannot
boast enough about this film. WOW!!!
Sean did describe that this film will be about how Maleficent came to be
and how she had been deceived.
Tomorrowland (December 12, 2014)
-
- Director Brad Bird and Producer Damon Lindleoff
were introduced by Sean
-
- They showed a brief documentary about the
archives at Walt Disney Studios (nicknamed the “morgue”) where they discovered
a box labeled “1952”. Brad and Damon
brought the box with them on stage and explained what they found
The main item they presented was a large disc (like a vinyl
record or laserdisc) that was wildly scratched.
Brad and Damon stated that they were able to recover some of what was on
the disc, which was a short animated film approved by Walt Disney. They showed the film. It was especially grim for Disney, showing
progression which led to the atomic bomb dropping and a mushroom cloud. It also didn’t help that the narrator sounded
like Vincent Price. However, what the
film was leading to was world after the dropping of the bomb… and the “tomorrowland”
that would come after. This was the
inspiration behind the creation of the film that will be released next
December. Both men further explained
that the film would be a mystery/adventure.
And lastly:
Saving Mr. Banks (December 20, 2013)
-
- First Extended clip of P.L. Travers (Emma
Thompson), writer of Mary Poppins, first meeting with Walt Disney
-
- Second Extended clip of P.L. Travers being escorted
by Disney (Tom Hanks) through Disneyland
-
- Then Jason Schwartzman and BJ Novak were
introduced to the stage (portraying the Sherman brothers)
-
- Third Extended clip of P.L. Travers at the
writing table with the rest of the creative staff as they conduct a reading of
the script and hear a song
Then, in true Disney fashion, Jason and BJ leave then roll
out with a piano and begin singing “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” WITH RICHARD
SHERMAN! (Unfortunately, the only living
Sherman brother). They were accompanied
by Disney dancers with prop kites, as well as kites flying high in the
arena. And once the song ended, confetti
cannons blasted their shreds of paper into the air.
The whole of my day at D23 was magical, but the highlight
was definitely the first event of the day for me. Sure, I’m bitterly disappointed about not
receiving new news about “Star Wars Episode VII”, but how can one stay
disappointed after the Muppet clip, Maleficent overload, and live musical number
from one of the legends of music that is a part of one’s childhood? D23 did have its problems, but ultimately, I
have never walked out of a convention panel feeling so fulfilled.
