trailer

First Thoughts: ‘The Angry Birds Movie’ Trailer

 

Why isn’t this called Angry Birds? Why does it have to be The ANGRY BIRDS Movie? Do they think we can’t remember how played out this game is?

I think the general consensus for this film (so far) falls into two categories: false hope, and badly placed false hope. Some people will watch this trailer with wildly low expectations and walk away from it impressed that it isn’t “as bad” as they thought it would be.

Then there’s the badly placed false hope camp, which is full of people who will consider this movie a success if it manages to be better than the scores of terrible video game movies that include the likes of Super Mario Bros. and, to be more relevant, this year’s Hitman failure.

But that’s grading The Angry Birds Movie trailer (and the eventual movie itself) on a really strange curve. It’s not really a movie based on a video game, after all. In fact, it’s not really live-action. Actually, this movie is based on characters that happen to look like the ones you saw on a mobile game that was popular five years ago.

angry birds movie trailer

That said, it’s also hard to compare The Angry Birds Movie with movies like the new Peanuts coming out soon, or a hybrid of animation like Garfield and The Smurfs. Those movies were made to capitalize on your nostalgia, and I don’t think it’s accurate to consider a touch screen game you played for a few weeks in 2010 something as classic and fondly remembered as the Charlie Brown gang.

Look, I’ll give the studio some credit for taking its time with this movie. They could have easily churned out a shameless cash-grab like the Grumpy Cat disaster that Lifetime thought would be a hit. Instead, we’re seeing what already looks like a pretty gorgeous sequel to Rio with some decent animation. If only that movie didn’t already have a sequel.

Plus, I find it intentionally self-deprecating to choose “Bad” by Michael Jackson to be the song for a movie everyone is expecting to hate. That takes guts.

angry birds movie trailer

If I’m just judging this trailer by its merits, then my only real problem is how they’ve chosen to adapt these characters. True, the game doesn’t give us much to go on, but that doesn’t mean Hollywood needed to transplant these somewhat familiar birds into character roles we’ve already seen a million times before.

They’ve just made the lead, straight, white guy a red bird with legs, essentially. That’s good enough for younger kids, to be sure, but probably not a lot of the older people who also loved the game.

Eventually, we’ll see if the jokes are at least funny, but nothing from this trailer gave me a chuckle. That drawn out scene where we see the red bird slowly building his anger to tackle a sign actually alluded to some interesting character development, but I don’t think it really works as comedy.

Good comedy is when something surprises you and messes with your expectations. But in this case, anyone could guess the joke a full 20 seconds before the punchline.

angry birds movie trailer

But I don’t hate where the movie is going, at least not yet. If they can find a way to make the pigs as eccentrically evil as they were portrayed in the game and actually give us some chaos to sit through, then The Angry Birds Movie could surprise us all. Now that would be a good punchline.

Also, I can’t help but laugh at the fact that Josh Gad and Peter Dinklage are doing ANOTHER movie adaptation of a video game, but with their voices instead of Adam Sandler. What a time to be alive.

I’m Jon and thanks for reading this. You can subscribe to my posts by clicking “Follow” in the right sidebar. Or just say hey on Twitter! @JonNegroni

First Thoughts: ‘The Jungle Book’ Trailer

jungle book trailer

The Jungle Book is Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of the 1967 animated film of the same name. This, of course, is not a surprise due to the successes of Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent. And with 2015’s live-action Cinderella being such a big hit, remaking the last film Walt Disney ever produced was inevitable.

You may not remember this (I certainly didn’t), but Disney already did a live-action remake for this movie in 1994. It borrowed stories from both The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, and it was actually well-received by both audiences and critics. Yet many people still scolded the film for veering so far away from Kipling’s original stories, not that the animated film did a good job of this.

There was also an animated Jungle Book sequel made by DisneyToon (they make the majority of Disney’s direct-to-video movies) in 2003. I’ve never seen it, and I honestly don’t intend to anytime soon. For context, this is the studio that brought us Planes and Planes: Fire and Rescue.

Oh, and I guess I have to mention that the first Jungle Book movie ever came out in the 1940s, decades before Disney got to work on it. Also, an unrelated movie called Jungle Book: Origins will be coming out in 2017, and it’s being made by Andy Serkis and Warner Bros. We honestly don’t have time to get into that, but I will mention that it has a stellar cast.

jungle book trailer

Now, we have the first teaser trailer for Disney’s next retelling of The Jungle Book, and it provides a lot of information that will intrigue longtime fans of the story. Even if you’re not very interested in the Jungle Book franchise, I think you’ll still find something unique to latch onto as we learn more about this movie. It’s the first Disney remake I’ve come across that seems like it could bring something new to the original story.

Sure, Maleficent and Alice and Wonderland already tried this by extending their stories and putting more emphasis on the villains. And they’re not terrible movies or anything. My only issue with them, honestly, is that they feel like unnecessary accessories to an animated movie that’s already great.

But with The Jungle Book, we have a source material that has so much potential as a live-action movie with updated special effects. It will be a visual spectacle just to see these complex animal characters coming to life on the big screen. And since The Jungle Book hasn’t been retold thousands of times over the years (ahem, Cinderella), this new movie will hopefully feel fresh for many people who see it.

Here’s the trailer below, and I encourage you to watch it at least twice. Afterward, we’ll discuss. 

OK, so to start things off, let’s talk about the cast.

Jon Favreau, the director of Iron Man, is helming the film and will probably make a cameo at some point. Mowgli is being played by a newcomer named Neel Sethi, and like the original animated film, he’ll be raised by a family of wolves.

Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) will voice the alpha male, Akela. Lupita Nyong’o (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) will voice of the mother wolf, Raksha. And the panther, Bagheera, will be voiced by Ben Kingsley (pretty much every movie you’ve ever seen).

Bill Murray is voicing Baloo in this film (yes, that’s the song he’s whistling at the end), and Idris Elba is voicing Shere Khan. When I first heard that Scarlett Johansson would voice the seductively dangerous snake, Kaa, I was less than excited, but she kills it in this trailer as the narrator. And of course, Christopher Walken will be handling the voice of King Louie.

jungle book trailer

I was hoping that this new movie would borrow more from Kipling’s work, and I think this might be the case in some ways. Naturally, Disney is maintaining a lot of what made the original animated film so well-liked, but they seem to be adding some of the darker material that got cut from the original. Pirates of the Caribbean proved that Disney has room for darker and more epic movies, and I hope they apply that here.

So, how is this new film like the old one?

Kaa the snake will apparently be more of a villain who wants to eat Mowgli, at least at first. In the book, she actually saves Mowgli from the Bandar-log after he gets kidnapped, which could also happen here. Pretty much everything related to the Bandar-log and King Louie in this trailer looks more like the animated movie, instead of the book.

Baby Mowgli is found by Bagheera instead of the wolves, just like in the animated movie. And that last scene with Mowgli and Baloo floating down the river is clearly an homage to the 1967 film.

jungle book trailer

But something from the book that appears to be happening in this trailer is Mowgli stealing the “red flower” from the village. He runs across the bridge holding fire, as instructed by King Louie. This could mean that he’s going to fight Shere Khan with the red flower, which is straight out of Compton-er-the book. Toward the end of the trailer, you can see a glimpse of this fight.

It also looks like the film is adding something that neither the book or movie did, which is a fight between Bagheera, Shere Khan, and Baloo. I have absolutely no idea where this is going, so I’m excited to see it go down in the film. It’s the natural progression of the story when you think about it, at least before Mowgli gets his chance to face Shere Khan on his own. Or it could mean that he’s not fighting the tiger alone.

Finally, I want to point out that the look of many of these characters is coming from the book, which is a great thing. This includes Baloo, who is now a brown bear instead of the bluish grey bear from the movie. And Hathi, the old elephant, appears more like the domineering and wise character that the Kipling story portrays. He’s not supposed to be comic relief, like we see in the 1967 film, which I think they added because they already had so many know-it-all animals running around in the script.

jungle book trailer

Like I said before, the movie is so far coming off as darker and more epic than the animated film. That said, some people who’ve seen footage of the movie at D23 claim that it’s actually light-hearted, so this trailer might be a little misleading. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is up to you.

I don’t know how I feel about this film yet. On the one hand, it’s cool to see that they’re breaking away from the music numbers and treating the source material more seriously. But I’m worried this will take away what people loved about the classic film in the first place. I guess we’ll have to trust that Disney can surprise us once again with something that fits comfortably in the middle.

The Jungle Book opens in theaters, April 2016.

I’m Jon and thanks for reading this. You can subscribe to my posts by clicking “Follow” in the right sidebar. Or just say hey on Twitter! @JonNegroni

‘The Good Dinosaur’ First Trailer Has Dropped, And I Want This Movie


I’ll be posting more thoughts on the trailer over the next few hours, but here’s your chance to watch it a few times. For reference, that’s “Crystals” by Of Monsters and Men (a song we actually featured on the podcast a few months back).

Go on…‘The Good Dinosaur’ First Trailer Has Dropped, And I Want This Movie

Thoughts on the First Teaser for ‘The Good Dinosaur’

good dinosaur teaser

It’s been a busy week, so I’m just now getting a chance to share my thoughts on The Good Dinosaur teaser that came out this week. And I have a lot to say for a teaser barely a minute long.
This is a tough movie to talk about due to the unusual air of mystery around it. But we finally have something to talk about, now that the movie is just several months away. But I’m sure you’re all wondering the same thing: Does it look good?

Go on…Thoughts on the First Teaser for ‘The Good Dinosaur’

I’m Not The Target Market For ‘Supergirl,’ Which Is Why I’ll Probably Love It

CBS recently unveiled their 6-minute “First Look” trailer for “Supergirl,” which is one of their first superhero TV shows ever and a new connective tissue for the ever-expanding DC comics TV universe controlled by by the mind of Greg Berlanti. Yes, “Supergirl” exists alongside established superheroes like the Arrow and Flash, who currently fight crime on the CW (a network owned by the same company as CBS). That doesn’t mean the show will crossover much or even at all with the aforementioned supers, but it could happen at least once.

supergirl

But the real story is how “Supergirl” will make its mark when it comes to its lead character. Leading up to this trailer, many speculators like me have wondered how they’ll portray the character of Kara Zor-El, the cousin of Superman. And you know what? They’ve pretty much nailed it. Look, the issue of handling female superheroes for TV and movies is extremely volatile. Just look at the craziness that erupted with Black Widow over the last month.

There’s undoubtedly a lot of people shaking their heads at how DC/CBS is tackling Supergirl (many of them are even women), but I’m not one of them. Specifically, there are some of you out there worried about having a “girly” superhero living in a romantic comedy script. I’ve heard things like, “Well I’m a guy, so this show wasn’t made for me.”

supergirl

Right, because women everywhere who love comics aren’t used to watching shows not made for them. As a guy who’s used to seeing strong, confident heroes like Black Widow and I guess Black Canary to an extent get their time, I couldn’t be more excited about seeing a younger, less sure of herself girl grow into becoming the unstoppable hero we know she can be.

Why does Supergirl have to be GoGo Tomago? Why can’t she be a little awkward and clumsy like, say, I don’t know, Clark Kent? Yes it’s a little silly, cheesy, and corny. So was “The Flash,” and we all know how that turned out. I’m not someone who easily relates to the struggles of a girl living in the big city trying to overcome self-doubt.

But that’s probably why I’ll end up loving the show. It’s new territory in the sense that the story is being told through a genre I absolutely love with a character I wouldn’t normally find relatable.

supergirl

Of course, I haven’t seen the show itself yet, so who knows how it’ll actually turn out. I’m a little wary of Jimmy-er-James Olsen being portrayed by this cool and confident professional instead of the bumbling, shy nerd we know from the comics. I’m not crazy about Toyman and Hank Henshaw essentially being the new Harrison Wells/Caitlin Snow (really guys? Can’t we do something different for this show?)

But as for Supergirl herself, I think CBS is onto something, and it’s great news for all of us if other studios start taking notes.

Also

  • Any nitpicks I could make about the overall casting is essentially obliterated by the fact that Melissa Benoist (Whiplash) is playing the main character. They nailed it.
  • The premise of fighting alien threats a la metahumans in “Flash” is interesting enough. It’s good that Kara will have some challenging opponents along with Metallo.
  • Hopefully, this shadow Superman will reveal himself as Dean Cain in the finale (that’s a joke).
  • That costume is the 1.0 version (think “Daredevil”). Hold off all complaints until we see the official version.
  • Wow, “Gotham” is really starting to look like a missed opportunity at this point.

There’s A ‘Toy Story’ Easter Egg In The New ‘Inside Out’ Trailer

 

While I was writing a trailer breakdown for the upcoming Pixar film, Inside Out, I came upon something that may link this new world to the one we see in the Toy Story trilogy.

It’s not rock solid and could be open to interpretation. For my full argument on the matter, you should check out the breakdown I linked to above. But if you’re too curious to click away, the easter egg essentially boils down to location.

inside out easter eggSee, we know that Inside Out takes place in San Francisco. Big deal. Almost every Pixar movie takes place in California because that’s where they’re headquartered.

 

Pixar likes to use fictional locations along with real ones. For example, The Incredibles takes place first in Municiberg and then in Metroville. These are fictional cities confirmed as being located somewhere in California.

But Pixar uses real places too (they’re sort of like Marvel comics in that respect). Up, for example, opens in Oakland, and it contains many landmarks that exist in real life.

inside out easter egg

All three Toy Story movies take place in Tri-County, California. It’s also known simply as “Tri-County Area.” We see this when the gang goes to Tri-County Airport, Woody looks at a map that says Tri-County, and Sid works for Tri-County Sanitation.

This is clearly a play on “Tri-County Area,” which isn’t something specific to one place, and I think the point is that Pixar made a fictional place that sounds as generic as possible. Well, that may not be the case because part of Inside Out apparently takes place near Tri-County.

In a quick frame where Riley is playing youth hockey, you can see a banner that says “Tri-County Youth Division.” Now, you could argue they just mean the general Tri-County area, but then it’s weird how the banner next to it says that the Tri-County Youth League has won the All-State Division.

inside out easter egg

Since we know that Toy Story takes place in the Bay area, along with Inside Out because it’s in San Francisco, it’s pretty clear that the banner is a subtle nod to the first Pixar movie being in close proximity to this new one. After all, you don’t see “Tri-County” in any of the other Pixar movies.

Or Pixar just really likes the name, Tri-County. Or both.

Being the First Fan In The World To See The ‘Fantastic Four’ Teaser.

fantastic four teaser

The ‘Fantastic Four’ Teaser Just Dropped, And It’s Surprisingly Epic:

Simply put, The Fantastic Four is a superhero science fiction movie. And I think it might be the first one…

In the same way I fell in love with the lore behind Panem and Katniss Everdeen, I’m starting to really enjoy this new take on a familiar, but entirely different universe. 

Seriously, the parallels are there. A group of young adventurers with one-in-a-million powers rising above obstacles? Got it.

This is an excerpt from my teaser breakdown of The Fantastic Four, which was released alongside the teaser on Moviepilot. I was the first fan in the world to watch it, or so I was told by 20th Century Fox.

On Monday, I flew to Los Angeles to visit the 20th Century Fox lot. At my side was Aaron Kelly, the Director of Community at MP, along with Andrew Marco, Josh Weinstock, and Britt Frizzell (all MP staff and good friends of mine).

It was a fun time. I met a few of the people in charge of Fox’s marketing, including George Dewey. They invited us to a private screening room (remember, this is Monday afternoon) where we could sit down and watch the teaser a few times.

They didn’t tell me what to say, or lead me into making nice comments about the teaser. The representatives there simply wanted to gauge my reaction. I can’t blame them considering the amount of vitriol surrounding this movie’s sheer existence. They must have been quite curious.

I wrote the breakdown that evening, which was a surprisingly short process. I’m not used to being harshly edited when I write about movies, so what you’re reading above is quite close to the first draft. My breakdown was released in the morning, shortly after the trailer dropped, and to my chagrin, it was retweeted by a few of Fox’s Twitter accounts.

This was definitely a memorable experience, and it makes me excited about this new trend in fan empowerment. Movie studios can only benefit from allowing fans a chance to see how the shawarma is made.

I’ll be sharing more of this experience (and other thoughts on the teaser) on Monday’s episode of Now Conspiring. Also on the show, fellow MP writers, Maria Garcia and Adonis Gonzalez will share their own experiences this week at Sundance and the world premiere of Project Almanac. It’s going to be a great episode.

And yeah, we’ll talk about how you can get the opportunity to do cool things like this, as well.