Disney

What’s new at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California (and what’s coming soon!)

Are you heading to the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California anytime soon? We just returned from a visit to the iconic park, and are happy to report a number of new experiences to enjoy across both the OG Disneyland Park, and the accompanying second gate, California Adventure. There’s even a brand new Pixar-themed hotel! Here’s…

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Film Review: Wish doesn’t quite conjure the usual Disney magic

There’s been a lot of chatter around Wish and the fact that its release celebrates Disney’s centennial, where the major theme across a heft of the studio’s films – that of wishes being granted – would be tied together.  It’s a sweet notion, without question, but it would appear that the creatives behind the film…

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Game Review: Gargoyles Remastered serves up stellar visuals but falters with shallow gameplay

I grew up in the late 90s watching most of these animated Disney shows, but Gargoyles seemingly evaded me. Be it the limited exposure here in Australia, or my own ignorance, I never really had much of a connection to it. While I’ve certainly watched a few episodes of the series since then, my knowledge…

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Film Review: Haunted Mansion is disappointingly (un)dead on arrival

Unlike Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise, The Haunted Mansion is one such Disney theme park ride that actually has a decent jumping point for a filmic incarnation.  But unlike the Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise films we saw defy the odds and turn the most basic of premises into larger-than-life adventure…

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Game Review: Disney Illusion Island lacks challenge, but looks gorgeous

I’m a huge fan of Mickey Mouse and in turn many of Disney’s attempts at giving Mickey his own gaming franchise. While there are admittedly dozens, with each varying in quality, there’s no denying some of them absolutely rule; Castle of Illusion and Mickey’s Wild Adventure, we’re looking at you. The art style and cooperative…

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Film Review: Elemental blends its societal commentary with the charm of a romantic comedy

Conjuring a metropolis that separates the elements – fire, water, earth and air – as if they were diverse ethnicities, Elemental, in the guise of a romantic comedy, operates as a metaphor for the opposing views of race and class.  For a Pixar movie it all may seem a little heavy-handed, but Peter Sohn‘s delightful…

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Film Review: Halle Bailey rules the uneven ocean of The Little Mermaid

Whilst, for the most part, there’s a certain unnecessary mentality that comes along with Disney and their incessant need to live-action-update their animated back catalogue, some of these efforts have given way to adaptations that are inherently interesting (Jon Favreau’s 2016 take on The Jungle Book), undeniably charming (Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella from 2015) or have…

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Interview: Jim Cummings on voicing your favourite characters, from Pooh and Tigger to Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Aladdin

“Tell the kid he’s got it,” said the legendary Mel Blanc with a smile, after listening to a young man’s first demo tape of cartoon character voices. The year was 1984, “the kid,” was Jim Cummings. Since then, the kid has gone on to give life and voice to some of America’s most beloved animal…

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Film Review: Boston Strangler is a fascinating, yet familiar, true crime drama anchored by Keira Knightley

There’s a formula adhered to and a lack of mould breaking throughout Matt Ruskin‘s Boston Strangler, but that doesn’t mean it still isn’t an effective take on an establish genre, with his script executing compelling narrative arcs and supplying the always-watchable Keira Knightley a role with sense and purpose. She stars as Loretta McLaughlin, a…

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Interview: Paul Rudd, Jonathan Majors and director Peyton Reed on the red carpet for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Celebrating its 15th year, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has (Hulk) smashed its way to over $26 billion dollars at the global box office, introducing an array of colourful characters along the way and changing the blueprint of what it is to be a cinematic event. Kicking off Phase Five in the biggest way possible is…

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First Impressions: National Treasure: Edge of History needs to uncover more excitement in order to match the spirit of its filmic predecessors

Though it’s created by Cormac and Marianne Wibberley, the screenwriters of the two National Treasure movies, and has links through the casting of guest-spotted performers Harvey Keitel and Justin Bartha, National Treasure: Edge of History has very little of the ultimate charm and adventurous spirit of its predecessors. The films – 2004’s original and its…

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Mickey’s Toontown gets a re-opening date as Disney celebrates “100 Years of Wonder” in California

When Mickey’s Toontown opened in 1993 at Disneyland in California, it was the first major expansion to the park since Bear Country (now called Critter Country with Splash Mountain as its centrepiece) in 1972. The inspired design of the land, and the rides that would make their way into the space, brought in elements from…

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Film Review: Disenchanted sadly lacks the magic of its predecessor

With Hocus Pocus 2 proving a sizeable success, The Princess Diaries 3 now officially in the works, and both Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan discussing their interest in a Freaky Friday sequel, the House of Mouse is more than proving itself in the business of revisiting original titles for the sake of nostalgia, fan…

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Film Review: Rosaline is a charming reimagining of the world’s greatest love story

Before Romeo & Juliet, there was Romeo & Rosaline. Adopting a personality that takes inspiration from the likes of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo & Juliet, 10 Things I Hate About You, and A Knight’s Tale, Rosaline is a charming romantic comedy that manages to present its meta commentary on the pros and cons of Shakespeare’s work…

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Film Review: Hocus Pocus 2 is campy, nonsensical, and bathed in a self-aware musicality

Like so many of the House of Mouse’s IPs, Hocus Pocus has been conjured once more.  Disney weren’t entirely sure they had a success on their hands some 30 years ago with the release of the original film – what with the studio releasing a Halloween-themed family film in July, for starters – and were…

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Disney Cruise Line to (finally) sail in Australia and New Zealand for a limited season in late 2023

Families and Disney fans have a reason to celebrate today, because after two and a half decades of operation, the Disney Cruise Line is finally set to arrive in Australia and New Zealand in late 2023. The only bad news? It’s for a limited time only. In operation since 1998, the Disney Cruise Line has…

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Unwrapping all the major announcements from the Disney and Marvel Games Showcase 2022

D23 has rolled around for 2022, highlighting some of Disney’s biggest upcoming projects, from Pixar films to Marvel epics and everything in between. This time however, we got a look at the first ever Disney and Marvel Games Showcase, giving gamers, Marvel fans and Disney lovers alike a glimpse at the future of their interactive…

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Film Review: Thor: Love and Thunder is a more humorous addition to the MCU

Once Taika Waititi reinvented the Marvel wheel with 2017’s wild Thor: Ragnarok, it made sense that the studio big-wigs would bestow further free licensing in the character’s shift towards a more humorous mentality. And whilst that’s all well and good – we certainly don’t want the character regressing in any manner – Thor: Love and…

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Thor Love and Thunder

Gallery: Chris Hemsworth and Taika Waititi in Sydney for the Premiere of Thor: Love and Thunder

Chris Hemsworth, Elsa Pataky and Director Taika Waititi walk the red carpet for the Sydney premiere of Thor: Love and Thunder. Joining them at the premiere were local celebrities and VIPs. Our photographer Nathan Atkins was there to bring us all the action.

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Film Review: Lightyear is a humorous, action-driven adventure that’s low on stakes, but high on entertainment

When Lightyear was first announced it understandably caused confusion as to how it aligned itself with the Toy Story films its character originated from.  Was it a spin-off, something that existed separately from the franchise? Or, did it perhaps focus on a real-life astronaut, suggesting that the Toy Story universe was set in a period…

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Film Review: Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers is far more creative and hilarious than it has any right to be

The notion of Disney and The Lonely Island collaborating is one that I imagine many failed to place on their 2022 movie bingo card.  The comedy team – they of “I’m on a Boat” and “I Just Had Sex” fame – have rightfully added a little of their grown-up twist to the reimagining (of sorts)…

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Disney+ set to release nine original Australian series and films

The Walt Disney Company in Australia & New Zealand has today announced its first wave of local content commissions and acquisitions for Disney+ with nine Australian originals launching in 2022/23. Announced at an event held at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the slate of local and sure to be loved content includes three Scripted drama…

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Lightyear‘s origins are out-of-this-world in brand new trailer

To get to infinity and beyond, we need to explore the before.  The upcoming animated sci-fi adventure Lightyear, from Disney and Pixar, is the definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the hero who inspired Toy Story‘s fearless space warrior. Lightyear follows the legendary Space Ranger (voiced by Chris Evans) after he’s marooned on a hostile…

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Square Enix announces Kingdom Hearts IV

Kingdom Hearts IV has been announced by Square Enix at the Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary Event overnight, along with a second game, titled Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link, a smaller title coming to iOS and Android platforms. The 7-minute trailer below features clips of both new games, preceded by footage of Kingdom Hearts Dark Road’s final story…

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First Impressions: Moon Knight is a stranger effort from the Marvel brand bolstered by Oscar Isaac’s dual performance

So often favouring spectacle over character development, the comic book action movie has gradually skewered its initial action-centric mentality towards a dramatic outreach (however melodramatic) that speaks to the quality talent the films so often manage to lure.  And for Marvel, not only are their films consistently cast, but their Disney+ series’ have more than…

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Film Review: Turning Red is a fantastical family film that speaks to the tribulations of growing up

If it wasn’t for the fact that she turns into a giant red panda, the life of Turning Red‘s protagonist Meilin Lee (voiced by Rosalie Chiang) would be considered normal.  She gets good grades at secondary school, has a trio of respectable besties, helps her mother, Ming (Sandra Oh), in running the family temple –…

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The nightmare begins in latest Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness trailer

A new dimension of Strange is upon us. With Spider-Man: No Way Home STILL going strong at the global box office, the Marvel hype for the anticipated Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is at an all-time high, with Sam Raimi‘s sequel seemingly looking to pick up where Benedict Cumberbatch‘s Strange left off. A…

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Series Review: Pam & Tommy is an engaging, humorous, though surprisingly emotional insight into the infamous sex tape

Over the last year there’s been a heavy re-examination regarding the critical response the media placed upon women in the public eye.  Recent documentaries about Britney Spears and Janet Jackson have truly bought the discussion into a manner that extends beyond their fandom, and something like Pam & Tommy, as exaggerated at times it is,…

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Film Review: Encanto is a visually colourful and energetically paced animated musical about accepting yourself, flaws and all.

An ordinary teenager trying to fit into an extraordinary world is not exactly the road less travelled in film, and certainly not in the realms of the animated genre, but it’s where Disney have opted to explore (again) in Encanto. Now, as much as the general plot line of Jared Bush‘s and Byron Howard‘s outing…

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First Impressions: Marvel’s Hawkeye sets itself up as a passing of the torch to Hailee Steinfeld’s enthusiastic hero-in-the-making

As easy as it is to wax lyrical on the fact that we have yet another Marvel property release in 2021, not to mention the fact that it’s basing itself around a character that never appeared like enough of a stable figure to centre around, the resulting Hawkeye is all the more alarming and engaging…

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