Disneyland Opens in China

For those of you who don't know the Walt Disney Company opened Shanghai Disneyland very early last Thursday morning (ET). Now you might be wondering why I am covering this on my movie blog- the answer is simple; China is a  important business region for movies, for example, the Chinese box office numbers for “Frozen” are astronomically higher then those numbers in the U.S. For a company like Disney to put a theme park in China is historic and if Shanghai Disneyland proves to be a success we will probably see other film companies  follow suit. Here is a little fun fact  for you, there is now 6 Disney parks across the world.

Goodnight,and Bee Happy!™ 

Mr. Bee 

 

copyright 2016 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding.

“One Hour in Wonderland”

Welcome to the final installment of Mr. Bee's origin month. Now, we have arrived at the moment that we have been leading up to for the last month; my finished review of One Hour in Wonderland (with some minor alterations). So, let's waste no time...let's begin.

Background:

First off, this is a TV special. A Christmas one, nonetheless (reviewing a Christmas Special in the middle of June? What a great idea). Now, this special premiered on Christmas Day, 1950 on NBC at around 4:00 pm (nowadays, a special like this would be in prime-time..but who knows? Maybe 4 pm was prime-time back then). Now, I don't know much like who came up with the idea, but I do know that this was the first time that anything Disney was seen on TV. Basically, if it was not for this special, we might not have the Disney Channel today (but I'm getting ahead of myself). The sponsor was Coca-Cola.

Plot:

Now the plot of this special (if it can be considered one) Edgar Bergen (who was a very famous puppeteer and ventriloquist) with his dummies, Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd have been invited to a Christmas party at the Walt Disney Studios. The magic mirror started showing them Disney cartoons and movies.

Opinion:

Let's get this out of the way; this is a one-hour commercial for Coca Cola and Disney's Alice in Wonderland. Now, I need to give you some more background on this, in the 1950's sponsors for TV shows were the producers that were the driving force to get shows made. The only problem with that, for example, is this special are that during the show the characters all just took a break and started drinking Coca Cola. The announcer came on saying that you should go out and buy Coca Cola immediately and it was all part of the show. Despite all that, it was actually a pretty entertaining special. Edgar Bergen and his dummies gave me a few good chuckles. Of course, the Disney cartoons and scenes from movies were classic Disney, so they were pretty good. Now this one is going to be very hard to rate. It is really good as a time capsule – taking you back to the early 1950's. If you grew up during that time period, you will get a heavy dose of nostalgia here. For anyone else, it is really fun just to look back on it. For my rating, I would have to give it 3 stars. Thanks for joining me for Mr. Bee's origin month. Have a wonderful summer (Don't worry, I will still be posting a couple of blogs here-and-there.) And remember, during this summer it is always good to cool off with an ice cold Coca Cola (although not as refreshing as filling my wallet). Goodnight, and Bee Happy!™

By: Mr. Bee    

 

copyright 2016 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding.

Full Disclosure    I am not sponsored  by  The Coca-Cola Company  Not now or ever.

images courtesy of The Walt Disney Company and Mango Bollywood respectively.

Life Itself

*Sorry about how the font is a little different than normal due to technical difficulties

Welcome back to Mr. Bee's origin month.  Now, we are almost done with the month, if you can believe it!  Now, this film I am going to review is Life Itself.  Now you might have heard that this is a very well-received documentary from the critics.  It's about the life of of one of the most famous critics of all-time, Roger Ebert.  And, like many other critics, he inspired me.  So, let's get on with it.  

Plot:

Since this is a documentary, it is basically the life of legendary film critic Roger Ebert.  Now, it also takes place during the final months of Roger's struggle with cancer.  And, that’s about it for the plot.  

Background:

I don’t know much of the background.  I, unfortunately, failed to do my homework on this (along with the other homework assignments I have).  

Opinion:

This documentary is really fascinating.  Now, first off, I have not reviewed a documentary before.  There are several reasons why (which I would prefer not to get into).  And it is fascinating during the final part of Roger Ebert’s life, and it can make you tear up.  Now, let’s get into the bad stuff.  First off, I had trouble knowing what time period they were talking about, so I occasionally had trouble following the plot (but that is a nit-pick).  Now, another problem I had with it is that it never mentioned Richard Roeper.  Who, as you know, was ultimately the replacement of Gene Siskel.  So, overall, I recommend this movie.  It does exactly what a documentary is supposed to do; it is good, it is fascinating, it is entertaining (as all movies need to be regardless of genre), and I know more about the subject being depicted.  I am going to go ahead and give it 4 ½ stars.  

And, the answer to my quiz is Lilo and Stitch and Treasure Planet respectively.  Goodnight, and bee Happy!™

By: Mr Bee 

 

copyright 2016 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding. 

 images courtesy of AT&T Inc. and ProZ.com

Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie

Welcome back to Mr. Bee's origin month (does that title sound better? Please comment and let me know.). Now the second movie that I'm going to review for this special month is Veggie Tales Jonah. Now you may be wondering why I am reviewing this. Well, the answer is very simple: this is the first movie that I ever saw in theaters. I was three years old at the time, and we were celebrating my older brother's birthday (who is also my wonderful webmaster). But, I remember vividly the opening credits coming up on the big screen. I actually fell asleep during the movie (give me a break, I was three). But, I have seen the whole movie several times since.

Now first off, this is an evangelical movie and that is not necessarily a bad thing. I am a Christian so I naturally support what they are trying to do. Shall we begin?

Background

For those of you who don't know that Veggie Tales are a series of videos made for children in order to teach Christian values (hence their tag-line “Sunday morning values, Saturday morning fun”). The series started in the early 90's and they apparently always wanted to make a movie, but were not able to do it until 2002 partly because they could not find a studio to distribute it. If your wondering, they also released a movie in 2008.

Plot

Of course you have the story of Jonah and you also have a story of a bunch of kids on a way to a concert when their car breaks down. They try to find help at a seafood restaurant and end up connecting with a bunch of pirates who tell them the story of Jonah.

Opinion

Now let's start with the good stuff:

They don't change much of the story of Jonah and some of the humor can get a good chuckle, but some of the jokes are juvenile. The songs are really good Christian songs (except for one song which is basically an elementary school campfire song). The best song in the movie is “It Cannot Be” which really gets inside Jonah's head. The characters are well realized.

Now for the bad stuff: The animation looks like direct-to-video. The movie can get preachy, now granted it is a movie made to teach but I would prefer it not to hit me in the head with a hammer. And compassion and mercy are said way too many times and begins to sound a bit redundant (you could give me a penny for every time they said those two words and I would be as rich as Donald Trump by the end of the movie).

Overall, I find that Jonah is a decent kids' movie (definitely not meant for non-christian families). As for me, I grew up with the Veggie Tales. So, every time I watch it I find some enjoyment out of it. If you did not grow up on the Veggie Tales, then you might not find out many good things about it, but your kids will probably still enjoy it. So, overall, I would give Jonah the Veggie Tales movie a modest recommendation of 3 stars.

Well, thanks for sticking around until the end. Please check out my review for Mary Poppins if you haven't already (or, if you have, it wouldn't hurt to check it out again).

And, the answer to my quiz, Robert Stephenson.

And this week's quiz is: Which two animated Disney movies were released in the same year as Jonah? Here is a hint; none of them are Pixar. Comment below or e-mail me at thatbradley@gmail.com

Goodnight and Bee Happy!™

By Mr Bee   

copyright 2016 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding. 

images courtesy of  Comcast Corporation/ Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. and Mango Bollywood respectively.

“Mary Poppins”

   

“One hour in wonderland. I know this is a tv show and not a movie, but I think we can review both. ok This stars Edger Bergan and Charlie McCarthy.”

Mr. Bee in Spring of 2011

Now, here's a little background; five years ago I watched a couple of movie reviews online by James Rolfe (aka “The
Angry Video Game Nerd”). He was reviewing movies. Particularly I was watching his 2008 reviews of the live-action Batman movies. I thought that was really cool, so I attempted to do it. The quote at the top is my first attempt to do so. In honor of that, I am doing an entire month dedicated to...well....me. It is going to conclude with my finished review of One Hour in Wonderland (which was the first thing I attempted to review and never finished). So, please sit back and relax and enjoy “The Month that Created Mr. Bee” (the title is a work in progress).

The first movie that I'm starting with is Mary Poppins. If you've read my “Top 10 Disney Movies”, Mary Poppins is the greatest movie ever made (in my opinion, period). Since that is my opinion, this might not be an honest review. If you're looking for an objective review, you're probably going to have to check out another site. Okay, let's get right to it.

Background:

Now, I don't feel the need to talk about too much of the “behind the scenes” drama because it was covered extensively in the 2013 movie “Saving Mr. Banks”. There are also several documentaries about it which you can easily find (which are a primary source). So, long story short, the author of the book P.L. Travers was adamant on not letting the movie be made.

Plot:

Do I really need to tell you the plot of the movie? But, heh, I guess I will be nice. It's about Mr. Banks, played by David Tomlinson, who has two kids, Michael and Jane. He's a rich upper-class businessman that believes that children are to be seen and not heard. And then Mary Poppins comes to save the family.

Opinion:

Now as I mentioned in the beginning, this is the best movie ever made. Julie Andrews is great. Dick VanDyke is superb. And David Tomlinson has perhaps the best performance in the movie. The special effects are very good for 1964. And they hold up to this very day. The music is fantastically written by the Sherman Brothers.

However, there are a couple flaws with the movie. The jolly holiday sequence, for example, could have been a little bit shorter. Granted, the way it is isn't bad though. And, there is a scene in which Mr. Banks and his kids are at the bank and they try to take the money from Michael to put his account. Michael refuses, and apparently, the entire town hears this commotion and comes running to get their money out. There is one moment that begs the question; How did the whole town hear about it within a minute? (spoiler alert) That big commotion at the bank which caused Mr. Banks losing his job. There are other ways to make Mr. Banks lose his job. Making his son cause him to lose his job makes the emotion in this movie even stronger than if it wasn't his son's fault. But ifthey could have done it without the whole town hearing about it within a matter of minutes and rushing the bank, it would have been better. But, for what it is, I'm content with what we have. Mary Poppins is still the best movie ever made. So, no surprise here, I am proud to give Mary Poppins the highest rating I can give, 5 golden stars! What more can I say? Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way. If you're wondering what I think of the Broadway musical version and “Saving Mr. Banks”, the musical version I saw an amateur production and my opinion of it was meh (but it had nothing to do with the actors). As for “Saving Mr. Banks”, it's a really good movie and I recommend it.

And now, the return of the quiz at the end of every blog! This week's quiz is: who directed Mary Poppins?

  By Mr Bee

 

copyright 2016 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding.

 images courtesy The Walt Disney Company Harmony Healthcare International

  

Hotel Transylvania Beats Inside Out at Kids' Choice is it Rigged?

This review should have been out a month ago but I've been busy. Enjoy

                                               Mr Bee

Hello everyone. I am writing this on behalf of film and animation fans everywhere. I think the Kids' Choice Awards are rigged. But, before we get into my argument, I'd like to share with you a better winner...Which is from my end of the year poll which is The Quiet Man. Now that we have that out of the way...I'm sure that you are all familiar with The Kids' Choice Awards. It is the messiest awards show (quite literally). Also, the voting process is also a bit of a mess and the reason that I'm here to talk with you today.

Let's get into the subject of Favorite Animated Movie. Now, the nominees were Alvin and the Chipmunks, Home, Minions, Peanuts, Hotel Transylvania 2, and Inside Out. Now, who would you have given the award to? Most likely, you would say “Inside Out”. A couple of you may have said “Minions” or “Peanuts”. But, none of those won. You know who won? HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2! When I heard the winner, I was ready to turn off the tv in anger. But, I stayed and watched the rest of the show. Luckily, minus that win, it was a decent show. Now, let's compare the two movies though:

Inside Out is a brilliant story, good writing, and heart-warming characters. What does Hotel Transylvania have? An over-used story, mostly unfunny writing, annoying characters, and bad voice acting from Adam Sandler and company.

I bet you know who I voted for (and it was NOT Hotel Transylvania). And here's another thing. Put my opinion aside for a moment. If you have been reading my blog, you will know how many awards it has received. It has won an Oscar, a Golden Globe, A Critic's Choice Award, and it SWEPT the Annies. It was nominated for favorite movie at the People's Choice Awards. The people agree that Inside Out is one of the best movies of 2015, and at the Kids' Choice, it was BEAT out by Hotel Transylvania; put simply, a movie that currently on Rotten Tomatoes has an 89% audience rating versus Hotel Transylvania that only has a 65% audience rating. And on Cinemascores, Inside Out has an A while Hotel Transylvania an A-. By now, you too are probably thinking that the results are rigged as well.

I have a more compelling argument. Adam Sandler has won 6 Kids' Choice Awards! And, I think that, by now, most people think that he is unfunny. He has won awards for movies that everybody everywhere has said are NOT good. He got a Best Actor Award for a movie, Grown Ups 2, that earned a 7% on Rotten Tomatoes in 2014 (We should start calling these awards “The Sandler Choice Awards”)!

Now, they created this category in 2006. Coincidentally, do you know what Pixar movies released during that time. They have put out, as follows: “Cars”, “Ratatouille”, “Wall-e”, “Up”, “Toy Story 3”, “Cars 2”, “Brave”, and “Monsters' U”. Do you know how many awards Pixar has won? Only 2! For “Ratalouille” and “Up”. Now, you could make the argument that “Cars 2” nor “Monsters' U” weren't that good. You could also make the very slim argument that the first “Cars” and “Brave” didn't deserve to win. But, you CAN NOT say to me that the rest of them were undeserving. And, the funny thing is, that do you know who won most of the awards over Pixar? Dreamworks. Do you know who used to own Dreamworks? Viacom. And, do you know who owns Nickelodeon? Viacom as well. One thing to keep in mind; do you know what series continually wins the Best Animated Series Award? None other than “Spongebob Square Pants”. And, of course, Nickelodeon airs Spongebob.

Now, you're probably wondering how the nominations are decided. They are voted on by a bunch of Nickelodeon executives who are deciding the nominations. They are deciding on what is popular and which of their series they need to give a boost to. The whole system is more corrupt than the Golden Globes. Now, you might be thinking, “Oh, Mr. Bee, these awards don't matter.” They DO matter. It is giving the whole industry a rough idea of what movies the kids want to see. So, think of the message that it's sending to the animation industry. It is telling them that the kids don't want to see brilliant movies with great characters like “Inside Out”. They want to see more movies with annoying characters who are unfunny...and, worst of all, saying animation has nothing more for kids than “Hotel Transylvania 2”. Goodnight, and Bee Happy!™

By angry Mr Bee  

copyright 2016 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding.

"The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water"

Well, welcome to my one year and seven month anniversary. Once again, I am going to commemorate this big milestone by watching (yet) another Land Before Time movie (Why do I keep doing this to myself?). Shall we begin?

Background

Now, like with most Land Before Time movies (with the exception of the first one), I can not find ANY behind the scenes facts with this. One thing I did find, however, this is the last Land Before Time movie to use James Horner's original score (it is ashamed because it is one of the only things connecting the sequels to the original).

Plot:

This movie is about rain causing a big flood in the Great Valley. And then Littlefoot meets up with a dolphin named Moe. Then, and earthquake hits the Great Valley which cuts off the kids from the adults. This means that it's up to the the heroes to get back to where they came from. So Littlefoot, Sarah, Petri, Ducky, and Spike must get Moe back were he came from and to get back to the adults.

Opinion:

This movie is REALLY bad. It's FAR worse than the forth movie. Let's start with the good stuff. The character animation is passable. The original score is good. And the song at the end credits sung by Donnie Osmond is pretty good (the song by Donnie Osmond is also is sung during the movie by the main characters with less-favorable results. Now, let's begin with the bad stuff. I said that the character animation is passable. But, what is NOT good is the CGI in the movie. That is absolutely horrendous. The songs are really bad. They even re-used a song from the fifth movie while just re-writing a couple of words. It was originally a bad song and the recycled version fared no better. The characters are NOT memorable. The directing is AWEFUL. There are a couple of scientific inaccuracies in this movie. For example, the land just cracked open during the earthquake. There is far more bad stuff, but it would take me two hours to get through it all. Overall, this movie EASILY earns the coveted “Golden Garbage Can Award”. This is the third such award for this series...with five more to go (to date)! Goodnight, and Bee Happy!™

By Mr Bee 

copyright 2016 Mr. Bee Studio International All rights belong to Mr. Bee and webmaster Wesley M. and if anybody breaks this copyright they will have to spend ten years as my personal slave, and thanks for your understanding.