Welcome Moana to your Disney family this holiday season!

I loved the feeling I had when I left the theater after seeing Moana!

The Jungle Book - An Honest Review by a Child of the 90's

VHS Cover of The Jungle Book
Photo Credit: serialkillercalendar.com

It's been a week since The Jungle Book has been out in theaters and I've purposely kept to myself about what I thought of the new version of the film. Being a child of the 90's, The Jungle Book was re-released to theaters in 1990 and subsequently released to VHS home video in 1991. This was one of the films I watched over and over again as a kid. I also remember the live action film from 1994. It stood alone as a film that told the story of Mowgli as an adult. If you want to learn more about that film,  read here.

The reason for my long winded history lesson? Well, I was not excited about this latest adaptation of The Jungle Book. In fact, I swore I would not bother seeing it. So many times a remake of a favorite childhood franchise of mine has disappointed. I know a lot of you feel the same way. 

The Live Action Jungle Book expands on the story from the 1967 animated feature, It cleverly includes many more details from Rudyard Kipling's literary masterpiece (yes, I've actually read it). From the beginning of the film, my attention was drawn to the small nods to the original animated feature.  The familiar melodies in the background, the striking similarity between Ben Kingsley's voice and the Bagheera I remembered (voiced by Sebastian Cabot) are awesome.  I even appreciated the way Bill Murray toned down his normal comedic tone to depict the beloved Baloo.  

SPOILER: The true jewel for me was the inclusion of the famous book sequences that each of Disney's original animated features included. That made my heart sing!

Photo Credit: unrealitytv.co.uk/

The one critique I have of the film was the need to have King Louie sing his famous song "I Wanna Be Like You". Unlike Baloo's "The Bare Necessities" performance, King Louie's song felt forced. Instead, the credit sequence scenes would have been good enough (reason enough to sit and watch the credits, friends).

The lessons of respect for culture and in turn acceptance of new ideas found in the film are something special to be shared with our own future man cubs.

Watch the trailer below:

Have you seen the film yet? What did you think of this new retelling?

Comment below!

Zootopia Review

We think Zootopia was awesome and will surely scoop up next year's Academy Award for BEST animated film.  Don't believe us?
Here's a movie loving kid's perspective:

Guest post from our friend KidCongeniality! (Go check out their Facebook page for more fun!)

Disney Movie Poster (Credit: Disney)

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The Descendants Merchandise Is Here!

Dolls by Hasbro $19.99, available in August

Get the popcorn ready!  

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The theatrical release of Inside Out introduces us to Lava.

Disney Pixar's Inside Out Film Review

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If there is something we love more than anything, it's when Disney Pictures or Pixar Animation create a smash hit that we all fall in love with. Take a gander at what some of our lovely ladies had to say about Pixar Animation's Inside Out.

Disney's Cinderella - A Dream Come True Review

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Maleficent Review

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I didn’t think Idina Menzel’s performance of "Let It Go" could be topped, but...

101 Dalmatians

After it’s success with Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, Disney decided to dazzle audiences with the retelling of the 1961 Animated Feature Film, 101 Dalmatians. The films mirror each other almost seamlessly, except with a few changes. None of the animals spoke like they had in the animated feature, leveling the roles of the humans from secondary characters to leading roles.

Roger (played by Jeff Daniels) is an American Computer Game Designer who falls in love, by chance, with Anita (played by Joely Richardson) when their dogs create mischief during an afternoon walk. Anita works for the Risque Fashionista, Cruella De Vil (played by Glenn Close) as a fashion designer. The mayhem begins when Anita playfully adds Dalmatian spots to a design for Cruella’s next collection. Little did Anita know she had just begun to turn the gears of a mad woman. 

With a full cast of some of Hollywood’s brightest including Joan Plowright, Hugh Laurie, and Mark Williams, this film still carries the charm of the 1961 film and then some. Who couldn't fall in love with 99 little pups?! 

The film's popularity struck audiences by storm. There were multiple toy sets, clothes, computer/video games (the same one seen in the film), and even an animated television series chronicling the adventures of the puppies when the family moves out to the country side. I still remember the Dalmatian craze that hit the pet world once this film came out. It was almost like the Clownfish and Blue Tang craze when Finding Nemo came out in the early 2000's. Disney thought it could strike thunder twice with 102 Dalmatians, but it still wasn’t as popular as the first.

Take a look at the trailer for 101 Dalmatians.