Tag: Disney Princesses

Guest Post, Movies

‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ is All About Family and Growing Up

Guest N.O.C.

By Esther Kim

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil reunites Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) and Aurora (Elle Fanning) as they face their biggest challenge: growing up.

Sure, there are the fey people wanting to come from behind the shadows and a potential battle between them and humans, especially with an evil queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer) pulling the strings from behind the throne. But the main story is really the relationship between Maleficent and Aurora.

“I feel the huge part of the success from the first film is that it had a strong emotional core,” said director Joachim Rønning during the global press conference in Beverly Hills. “I think that was the most important to me to continue telling that story. The story about Maleficent and Aurora. That’s what I can relate with as a parent, myself.”

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Animation, Movies

How to Create a ‘Frozen’ World: Inside the Production Design for ‘Frozen II’

Mike Manalo

To countdown to the release of Frozen II, we are providing all of you with an inside look at the making of the movie, as well as interviews with the filmmakers and artists who worked incredibly hard to bring Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Sven, and, of course, Olaf to life. Last week we brought you a look at the evolution of the sequel’s story. This week we’re excited to reveal another new sneak peek at the magic to come!

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Animation, Movies

Breaking the Ice: Evolving the Story of ‘Frozen II’

Mike Manalo

To countdown to the release of Frozen II, we are providing all of you with an inside look at the making of the movie, as well as interviews with the filmmakers and artists who worked incredibly hard to bring Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Sven, and, of course, Olaf to life. Last week we brought you just a sampling of what’s to come with a first look and panel discussion with directors Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck, and producer Peter Del Vecho. This week we’re excited to reveal another new sneak peek at the magic to come!

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Animation, Interview, Movies

Into The Unkown: A First-Look at ‘Frozen II’

Mike Manalo

For the first time in forever (or at least 6 years), audiences will be returning to the kingdom of Arendelle, when Frozen II finally hits theaters everywhere this November. The Nerds of Color was recently invited to Walt Disney Animation Studios to take part in a special day (no, not Coronation Day) of festivities and panels to get a glimpse behind the icy scenes, and see what it took to bring this highly anticipated movie to life. And so, to countdown to this Fall’s biggest movie event, every month until November we’ll be presenting special inside looks at the movie, as well as interviews with the filmmakers and artists who worked incredibly hard to reunite us with Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Sven, and, of course, Olaf.

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Animation, Movies2 Comments

‘Mulan’ is Still the Wokest Disney Princess Movie Your Kid Hasn’t Seen 600 Times Yet

Dominic Mah

Originally posted on Melancholyball.

The “Disney Princess” mythos is a genre as restrictive as it is globally-superpowered, but in terms of the Official Princess Movie with the most patriarchy-subverting politics, I think it’s no contest: Mulan is by far the most progressive-minded cel-animated Disney Princess film, while also performing its essential sedative-hypnotic function on your child’s developing emotional vocabulary. (Pocahontas has an argument too, but for my taste, the underlying colonization-conquest story is so far outside of Classic Disney’s natural lane, you kinda wonder what they’re even trying to say, and also the songs in Pocahontas are not my jam.)

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Animation, Interview, Movies1 Comment

Of Cyberspace and The Sea: A Magical Afternoon at Walt Disney Animation Studios

Mike Manalo

When I was 10, I wanted to be a Disney Animator. It happened around the time my single-parent mother, who was always working to make end’s meet for us, managed to scrounge up enough money to take us kids to Walt Disney World in the mid-90s. One of the parks we ended up visiting, the old MGM Studios Park, had this attraction called “The Magic of Disney Animation.” Sure that park also featured attractions for Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and not to mention the first-of-its-kind “Tower of Terror.” But for me, The Magic of Disney Animation was everything that made the park so special.

For 15-20 minutes, I got to see how true art was made. I learned about how the hundreds of talented artists came together and brought to life the iconic “Be Our Guest” sequence from Beauty and the Beast, and how those same people were working hard at that second to bring together future classics, Mulan and Lilo and Stitch. I went into that building a complacent boy who only watched movies, and exited a person inspired by a dream and a drive to make it come true.

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Animation, Movies

Details on the Home Media Release of ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’

Keith Chow

This February, Disney’s hit animated film Ralph Breaks the Internet will makes its way to digital libraries and home theaters. The digital release will be available February 12, and the blu-rays will be in stores two weeks later on February 26. And stay tuned to @TheNerdsofColor on twitter — because we might be giving away some cool swag from the movie soon!

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Animation, Movies1 Comment

Seven Things We Learned from the ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ Press Conference

Laura Sirikul

By Laura Sirikul and Esther Kim Ralph Breaks the Internet breaks into theaters this week and reintroduces us to the beloved characters we fell in love with from 2012’s Wreck-It Ralph and them entering the world of THE INTERNET. We … Continue reading Seven Things We Learned from the ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ Press Conference

Animation, Movies

The Process in Making ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’

Laura Sirikul

It has been six years since we’ve seen Ralph and Vanellope on the big screen in 2012’s Wreck It Ralph. Now, to fit with the changing times, Ralph and Vanellope are going on the World Wide Web with Ralph Breaks the Internet. The Nerds of Color were invited behind the scenes of Ralph Breaks the Internet with the directors and creative team behind the animation.

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Animation, Movies1 Comment

Behind the Scenes of ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’

Laura Sirikul

From the same creatives and cast that brought you 2012’s  Wreck-It-Ralph, the anticipated sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet opens in theaters this November. Everyone is back for the adventure, but this time, Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) have connected to the world wide web.

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Guest Post, Movies9 Comments

An Open Letter to the Creators of Disney’s Live Action Mulan

Guest N.O.C.

by ConcernedForMulan | Originally posted at Angry Asian Man

[Ed. note: In the 24 hours since this open letter was posted on AAM, Disney has released a statement that their live action adaptation of Mulan will not feature a white love interest. We are still posting the original letter because we can confirm that the spec script discussed below does indeed exist and is still indicative of how Hollywood views Asians.]

A white merchant’s business brings him to the heart of a legendary Asian conflict — he unwittingly helps save the day while winning the heart of the Asian female. Am I describing the plotline of the Netflix series Marco Polo? No. I’m describing the spec script that Disney bought for its live-action feature film, The Legend of Mulan, which is projected for release in 2018.

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Animation, Movies3 Comments

Color Commentary: Disney’s Frozen

Dennis R. Upkins

In honor of the nationwide “snow day,” Color Commentary is back and this time it is taking on Disney’s Frozen. But don’t let the weather or the movie title fool you. No chill will be found in this post.

Color Commentary is done in complete satire, intended for mature audiences, and meant for entertainment purposes. In other words, if you take any of this seriously, you are a fracking idiot.

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Animation, Movies6 Comments

Get Your First Look at Disney’s Moana

Keith Chow

Even though the movie is more than a year away, we cannot contain our excitement for Moana, the newest addition to Disney’s iconic princesses. Set for a Thanksgiving 2016 release, the movie will star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the demigod Maui and 14-year old newcomer Auli’i Cravalho has been tapped to play the titular Princess Moana. That’s right, a Disney Princess movie about Hawaii starring actual Pacific Islander actors in the roles of Pacific Islander characters. And Emma Stone is nowhere to be found!

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Toys14 Comments

Nothing’s Wrong with Pink and Purple Bricks: A Defense of LEGO Friends

Keith Chow

A few months back, an imgur post about a girl who turned her LEGO Friends juice bar Christmas present into a giant mecha went viral. And the internet cheered. Stupid gendered-girl LEGOs get turned into awesome robot, was the typical response I saw tossed around.

And while the robot was indeed awesome, I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy about all of the ridicule that was being hurled at the original LEGO set. You see, my own daughter also received a similar playset for Christmas. Should she be ashamed that she wanted (and actually liked) to build the “boring” girly thing instead of the “awesome” robot thing?

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Animation, Television, Toys8 Comments

Will Disney’s Latina Princess Get the Same Treatment as Other Princesses of Color?

Constance Gibbs

Originally posted at Childish Things

Disney’s next Disney Film Canon Princess isn’t set to arrive until 2019 Edit: 2016! [Sorry!], and she’s a princess of color — Moana, a Pacific Islander. In the meantime, they are introducing a new Latina princess to its cartoon universe. Elena of Avalor will be introduced on the already popular Disney cartoon Sofia the First, before receiving her full spin-off.

It is about time that Disney spread its diversity notches to the Latina community. While it reeks of tokenism, it is still an excellent opportunity for young Latina girls to have someone to look up to other than the aged up Dora the Explorer. I’m actually surprised Disney didn’t jump on a Latina character soon, considering Dora has been so popular for so long. I hope this princess does well and that the Disney TV Cartoon princesses can join their film counterparts in inspiring young girls of color to follow their dreams and work hard and all those other themes. It’s so frustrating that each group must wait their turn basically before they can have some representation on television in a big way like this.

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Movies, Star Wars, Television7 Comments

The Disney Triple Crown: Why Ming-Na Needs to Be in Star Wars

Keith Chow

UPDATE: November 4, 2019

Vanity Fair has an exclusive first look at Ming-Na in The Mandalorian! She has the Disney Triple Crown, y’all!!

Earlier this week, Lucasfilm announced the addition of two more actors to the cast of Star Wars Episode VII. We do not yet know who the two relatively unknown actors — Pip Anderson, who’s British, and Crystal Clarke, who’s African American — will play in the movie, but I’m guessing their roles must be substantial enough to warrant a press release about their casting. If their characters are indeed prominent, Clarke will join John Boyega and Lupita Nyong’o in making this “the blackest Star Wars ever.”

Still, every time breaking Star Wars casting news comes across my feed, there’s always one name that I hope to see in the headlines: Ming-Na Wen.

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Movies, Star Wars2 Comments

Star Wars the Musical Parody Short Debuts

Nels

In late 2013, I heard that director Jeffrey Gee Chin (Lil Tokyo Reporter) and composer George Shaw (TableTop, Keye Luke, Hang Loose) were making a Star Wars musical fan film set in style to Disney musicals.

After many months of production, the short film Star Wars the Musical (Disney Parody) has now been released on YouTube and is sure to garner many views. In fact, our very own Junko was a production assistant for the film too!

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Fantasy, Movies, Reviews3 Comments

Maleficent is Seldom What it Seems

Michel Buster

Beware ye who may read this, for there be slight spoilers ahead.

In an embarrassment of riches as far as summer movies go, there was one that I had no intention of missing in the theatres. Maleficent was that movie.

As you would expect, this is a retelling of a story that you only think you know. Like the mega-popular Broadway musical Wicked did for The Wizard of Oz, Maleficent retells the tale of Sleeping Beauty from another point of view. Oh, and what a tale it tells! But that is also where I had the most problem with the movie.

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Animation, Movies, School of Hard NOCs

My Daughter’s Preschool Class Sang “Let It Go”

Jason Sperber

I’m sure that by now you’ve seen the video in which young Jathan Muhar answers the perennial graduation-time question of “What do you want to be when you grow up?” with an answer to warm any NOC’s heart. He wanted to be Batman. [Ed. note: I guess kindergarteners are a superstitious, cowardly lot. Also, somebody should warn the kid’s parents to never walk down any dark alleys at night. Just sayin’.]

In one short day, it’s been everywhere from Break.com to Gawker to The Huffington Post to the Facebook page of the Ellen DeGeneres Show. But I saw it before it went viral — I saw it live because my 5-year-old daughter was a classmate of his, graduating with him this past Wednesday.

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Animation, DC Comics, Movies2 Comments

This Frozen/Watchmen Mashup Wins the Internet

Keith Chow

As you know, we love the movie Frozen here at The Nerds of Color. Now that it has been released on blu-ray and DVD, fans can rewatch Elsa’s triumphant “Let it Go” sequence over and over again. Though if they had an internet connection, chances are they’ve been doing that already since it’s been on YouTube since December.

As great as the song — as performed by the Wicked-ly talented, one and only Adele Dazeem Idina Menzel — is, you haven’t experienced it until you see it set to the exploits of a naked blue superhuman:

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Animation, Movies, Music, Nerdcore7 Comments

Adam WarRock Wants to Build a Snowman

Keith Chow

I guess it’s Frozen week on the Nerds of Color! Earlier in the week, I mentioned a twitter convo about the movie that I had with Adam WarRock. I (half-) jokingly tweeted that I wanted him to do a song over a “Let it Go” instrumental.

Well, he took it to another level and actually wrote a whole song and released it free for the whole interwebz to enjoy. Though he ultimately didn’t use the Idina Menzel showstopper, the beat from the B.o.B. track” John Doe” is still pretty evocative of the Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez music from the movie.

Here, I’ll let Adam explain why he decided to do the track — plus a link to download — after the jump:

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Animation, Movies9 Comments

A Happy Snowman: In Defense of Frozen’s Olaf

Keith Chow

If you had insomnia last night, I hope you were on twitter. Around 1am, our favorite internet rapper Adam WarRock took to the web and sent out an epic string of tweets about the animated film Frozen.

Needless to say, Adam — like most of the world — is a big fan. In fact, I tweeted that someone needed to get him a “Let it Go” instrumental right away because I want a WarRock song about Elsa and her ice powers. One thing he’s not a fan of, however, is the snowman sidekick Olaf. And this is where the two of us part ways in our Frozen fandom.

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