Disney Pixar's Cars 3: Movie Review by Jonathan K

I would like to say a few words about Disney Pixar’s Cars 3.

Pixar knows how to make the feels. They draw you in with a simple story about relatable characters who you grow to care about in a short amount of time.

There I was in the theatre today, caring about an annoying yellow car, caring about her hopes and failures, hoping for her dreams and disappointments.

There I was in the theatre feeling all sorts of things about aging, relevance, belonging, priorities and friendship, while listening to a captivating score by Randy Newman. (At several times, his score reminded me of all the good parts of the Toy Story soundtracks.)

Yes, the animation is gorgeous because they pile tens of millions of dollars into it. Yes, in the back of my minds, I know Disney just wants to make me feel good so they can make more money from me (and like they need any more!).  But this is such high quality storytelling, it almost makes me forgive them for their blatant lack of respect for their fans in many a dodgy direct-to-DVD sequel and slap-dash licensed merchandise (and for ditching the Chronicles of Narnia franchise, but that’s another blog…).

This film is the best of the Cars trilogy. After the Best Picture Oscar-nominated Toy Story 3 and now this wonderful Cars 3, I am in high hopes for any future movie Pixar makes as a third instalment in a series. As a cute child said to me when I worked in a school, “I’ve seen Finding Dory, and Finding Nemo, but I haven’t seen Finding Marlin!”

If you’re reading this, John Lasseter, I will definitely pay to see Finding Marlin, should you ever discover the future classic story that you will tell about Marlin and his family.

I am aware this is a glowing review. But I could not find fault with Cars 3.

And don’t even get me started on the accompanying short, “Lou”, which I enjoyed the most out of any Pixar short since Partysaurus Rex and Day & Night. I hope you enjoy it like I do. Seriously good. Just see it.

Henry - A Narnia Story

Fiction relating to The Chronicles of Narnia. Written by a lifelong Narnian.

Maria looked up at the large house. She thought that it looked very interesting. Her mum hurried her in, as the tour was already inside.

Maria lagged behind at the end of the tour. There were about 15 other people, all trying to seem interested in a painting of a horse. When they went upstairs, Maria saw a sign pointing to the library. She liked books, so she went in.



It was a large room with books on shelves lining the room. She went over to a shelf and noticed a book that interested her. It was blue with no title, and rather thick. It was stuck in the shelf, so Maria pulled harder.

Maria landed on the floor with a loud noise. She looked towards the doorway. Had anyone heard? But then the bookcase started to move out from the wall. Startled, Maria jumped up. When the case stopped, Maria stepped through the gap.

Inside the doorway was a room with a four-poster bed in it. “Oh no,” thought Maria. “I've stumbled into the Professor's bedroom!” But she then saw that there was a thick layer of dust on the floor, with no footprints in it.

She turned around to leave, but on the way she saw a plaque on the bookshelf. It read:

TO FIND OUT ABOUT A WONDERFUL CREATURE CALLED HENRY, 

LOOK UNDER THE PILLOW.

Maria was curious about this creature, whatever it was. So she carefully walked over to the bed and looked under the pillow. Under it was a plain notebook with the simple title “Henry”.

In it was a story about a dog with arthritis. He had belonged to the Professor when he was a boy. He chased cats that were trying to eat birds, but he in turn did not hurt the birds. Henry was in great pain at nights because of his arthritis.

Maria started crying in the middle of reading the story because it was so sad. But at the end, she felt heartbroken.

Henry died by falling down a sewer. He was chasing a big cat who was about to kill 5 sparrows. The boy was not watching Henry because he was thinking about his mother who was extremely sick.

Maria put the book back and walked out of the room. She was able to push back the bookcase and leave the room for the next lucky visitor to Henry's memorial.

VertiGo - A Wall-Climbing Robot Including Ground-Wall Transition

Who knew that Disney did all this cool technological research? (See Video Below):

I can see it now, coming to theatres:

Big Hero 7: Baymax and VertiGo Team Up!



AntMan Vs Vertigo

VertiGo Go Gadget!


And will VertiGo be a new toy for photography at an angle, like a Selfie Stick??





And I've been watching Arrow Series One. Is the name a D.C. reference? If it is, it's unintentional!

Disney and Faith: The Hunchback of Notre Dame

There is a scene in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) set inside the titular French cathedral, in which the gypsy woman Esmerelda (voiced by Heidi Mollenhauer) sings:

“I don't know if You would listen

To a gypsie's prayer....

God help the outcasts

Hungry from birth

Show them the mercy

They don't find on earth

God help my people

We look to You still

God help the outcasts

Or nobody will.”

These are very Christian words, from the Hollywood studio which at the time was being boycotted by some large Christian groups in America, including the Southern Baptist Association, for the supposedly negative values the company espoused. Was this song part of a plan to bring back large sub-demographics of the American nation back to Disney movies?

Whatever the motive behind these lyrics in Hunchback, on the surface they seem quite authentically Christian.

Photo Credit: Pinterest.com

The pious parishioners pray in the same scene:

“I ask for wealth

I ask for fame

I ask for glory to shine on my name

I ask for love I can possess

I ask for God and His angels to bless me”

The writers of this song paint an accurate picture of wrong motives in prayer and worship. These characters are self-interested, and greedy for wealth and fame. What a truth that we still need to experience now, 20 years after the movie was released. There is a reason that Christians have had the label of “hypocrite” - some of us have been hypocrites! But every time a follower of Christ is genuinely kind, helpful and loving, this can change someone's perception of Christians – and Christ.

Pixar Theory - Is Riley's Mom in Monsters University?

This would be my first addition to the growing Pixar Theory. You can check out Jon Negroni's original Pixar Theory here.

I was watching Monsters University for the first time yesterday and I noticed this character in one of the final scenes (spoiler alert!):

And I recognised this woman – it's Riley's mom from Inside Out!

Picture Source: DailyMail.co.uk

Really? You might say.

Let's see how this appearance in Monsters University fits into what we know about Riley's mom in Inside Out.

We know that Riley's family lived in Minnesota before they moved to San Fransisco during the plot of Inside Out.

We know there are some woods in Minnesota.

"We need assistance on the north side,” Riley's mom is heard as saying during this action scene during the climax of Monsters University. It turns out that there is a place in the States which includes part of Minnesota, called the Laurentian Mixed Forest Province, also known as the North Woods.

Da Da Dum!!!!

This is a little clue.

It would seem that the door Sulley and Mike have gone through leads to an orphanage in the Minnesotan woods some time before Riley's family moved to San Fransisco. This makes sense because Riley's mom looks a little younger in this scene than in Inside Out.

What do you think? Is Riley's mom really this cop in Monsters University? She could have worked there sometime before the events of Inside Out. I would love to read your comments below.

Picture Source: TheDisneyBlog.com

Is It True That Disney Never Makes Original Films?

I recently heard a comment that made sense, at first. The comment was along the lines of, “Walt Disney never made an original story.” I thought, “Yes, that’s right, he made movies from existing stories such as the fairy tales of Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, and from books like Pinocchio and The Jungle Book.” Fast forward to our lifetime, and the films were very similar to this – think the tales of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and ancient legends of Hercules and Mulan.




On the surface, this comment sounded true. But I now realize, it wasn’t!

The same person said once that Walt Disney’s films were controversial at the time of release, because he had made his own unique version of the traditional stories. Prior to his films, there were multiple versions that circulated around. Snow White might have had a different ending, or Cinderella might have had an extra subplot or an additional detail. People were quite comfortable with these varying versions of the tales.

And here came along Walt Disney saying, “Here’s my version, and that’s what the story is now!”

So now I see, this person who said both these things contradicted himself somewhat.

My argument is that, in creating unique, standout stories - loosely based on existing stories, Walt Disney was indeed being original and creative. Aren’t all artists inspired by something in the first place?


I will leave you with this quote:

Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.

~C. S. Lewis