GUEST STRIP – BRANDON J. CARR
December 14th, 2009 |- Comics »
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- Guest Strip
(16 votes, average: 7.56 out of 10)
When I started this who guest strip bru-ha-ha, Brandon J. Carr (formerly of The Kenmore and Weird Adventures of Unemployment) told me that inspiration had struck and he had an idea for a three-comic arc that parodied Avatar. He asked if that was okay. How could I say no? I have a diapers to change! A baby to burp! I haven’t slept in…! -SNNNNRRRZZKKKK! – Huh? What?! I’m awake!!
Yeah, man. Three comics. Sounds great.
So, anyway, buckle up, guys. Brandon is bringing the funny three times this week and it’s going to be infused with Avatar-goodness. Big thanks to Brandon for majorly stepping up to the plate. I don’t know about you, but I’m really excited to see what he comes up with!
I’ll probably talk more about Avatar later in the week. But for right now… HOLY LEGS!
Despite having a baby a little more than a week and a half ago, Cami and I actually were able to see a movie on Saturday. My in-laws watched Pearl for the afternoon as we took Henry see The Princess and The Frog.
We’ve been on quite the roll lately since we took Henry to his first movie – The Polar Express – about a month ago. At this point, we might end up seeing Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel!
I’m just kidding. That will NEVER happen. We’re trying to cultivate a child with taste, people!
We probably started talking up The Princess and The Frog to Henry about two months ago. Cami had it in her mind that this should be Henry’s first movie because A.) It’s Disney and B.) It was their return to hand-drawn animation for the first time since… man, I can’t remember their last hand-drawn movie? Was it Home on the Range?
Anyway, it was hard to argue with her.
Our only problem is that we thought the movie was coming out much sooner than it actually was. When we realized it was coming out the weekend after the date we scheduled for Cami’s C-section, we improvised and went with The Polar Express, instead.
Things worked out fine on that front. Henry enjoyed The Polar Express a great deal and we felt like super parents. But as the release date for The Princess and The Frog drew closer, Henry would see commercials for it on TV and say “We’re going to go see that!”
How could we NOT take him now?
Long story short, Pearl arrived a week early, Cami was feeling better and we had willing baby sitters. So we decided to take Henry to the movie.
Of course, 30 minutes before we were about to load up the car and take him to the theater, Henry asked his grandma “Is it going to be dark in the theater?” To which she naturally replied, “Yes” and, at this point, Henry decided he didn’t want to see the movie anymore. After weeks of anticipation and him talking about the movie, we basically had to cajole him into seeing the film before we tossed him in his car seat and say “YOU’RE GOING!”
Things were fine once we got to the theater. Even though he got a little bit antsy near the end of the movie, he actually does a pretty good job sitting still and paying attention for a certain length of time. The fact that the theater was dark didn’t even enter his mind once we were seated.
As for the movie itself, the whole family loved it. Cami loved the songs penned by Randy Newman and gave high praise to Tiana – Disney’s first African American Princess. “She has the best singing voice of any of the princesses,” she said. “And she’s the best-looking!”
Well, okay. It’s a cartoon, dear. But I see what you’re saying.
Henry and I both loved Ray the lightning bug. Based off the trailers, I thought Ray looked like a crude stereotype of a redneck, or something. But the character is much, much more.
I also really enjoyed the villain, Dr. Facilier – who I thought had the most style and the best musical number in the movie. I’m sorry – but Disney villains are infinitely more interesting to me than the protagonists.
I don’t know if anyone here is on the fence about The Princess and The Frog or not, but I strongly encourage you to check it out. After years of making cookie-cutter animated films that felt like they were designed to sell toys first and tell a story second, Disney is in grand form with this one. To me, the whole film just felt right. It didn’t hit one sour note.
Maybe I’m in a haze just because I’m glad to see Disney do what it does best with the hand-drawn stuff. Maybe I’m overlooking something. But if I am, I kind of don’t care. Bottom line, they could have hit us with another Atlantis: The Lost Empire or Treasure Planet. But, instead, they did the right thing and gave us a movie with both heart and soul.
Did anyone else see The Princess and The Frog this weekend? If so, what did you think? Who was your favorite character? What was your favorite song? Are any of you thinking about passing on this film? If so, why?
Leave your comments below!
Wh- Where am I? What's going on?
You've been in an accident.
HOLY LEGYS!
Yeah, those are pretty much useless. But we have a way you can walk again.
Like... cyborg robot legs.
No, no... Nothing so fancy. We're going to put your consciousness into a fake body long enough for you to help us deal with a race of blue-skinned indigenous creatures. With infiltration.
It'll be FUN!
I saw The Princess and the Frog on opening day and it was definitely Disney at top form and their best film since Lilo & Stitch. It seemed that following that flick, their films became decidedly mediocore. But The Princess and the Frog was all kinds of excellent. Great songs, beautiful animation, terrific voice-cast and touching love story.
Not that I’m telling you how to be a parent, but definitely show Henry the other Disney classics, too (Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Fantasia, Pinocchio, The Jungle Book, The Little Mermaid, Lady and the Tramp, The Lion King being some of their best). I was raised on those movies and they were a major component of being me the serious film fan I am today.
We own a few of the Disney classics – Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast – but not as many as I would like.
Aladdin is probably at the top of my list for ownership. I’d love to show that one to Henry.
Glad to hear good things about Princess and the Frog. I’ve been looking forward to it.
But you say Atlantis is bad? For shame! Yeah, it was different than previous Disney films, its story was strong and the art was gorgeous. That movie gets a bum rap.
Chris, other than Michael J. Fox voicing the lead, I remember nothing about that film. It is grossly forgettable.
I don’t think it gets a bum rap at all. That movie comes from a time where Disney was directly targeting young boys with more action-oriented fare and they sold their souls to do it.
In terms of theme and message, this is the most mature Disney movie yet – you can wish on a star but you need to work for your dreams. Also, the animation was beautiful, they did stuff in the musical numbers I’ve never seen before!
Considering what they did with Tarzan and The Lion King, that’s saying something. Haven’t seen the new one yet, will probably wait until the Xmas week, but The Lion King is still my single favorite Disney movie ever (with Return of Jafar second, mostly due to plot timing issues).
Tom, Atlantis was a GORGEOUS movie…come on, Mike Mignola was one of the artistic developers! That’s it…the next two comics are about Tom watching and loving Atlantis.
b
Okay, so that’s two votes for Atlantis.
Maybe I need to go back and watch it as a graphic designer / illustrator instead of… y’know… a guy looking for a storyline and plot! ;D
Atlantis WAS gorgeous, but the story was WEEEEAAAAK.
woah woah woah. you’re knocking Treasure Planet? no no no no sir! that movie is one of the poorest marketed most beautiful Disney films ever. it tanked in the theaters, but it is a very beautiful film with amazing animation and quite a journey through space. was it classic Disney? no, and that is one of the reasons I like it all the more. Also, it has great music by I believe Howard, and brought to us by the man who brought us Aladdin, Hercules, and The Black Cauldron.
also, go rewatch Atlantis. 😉
Glad to read the everyone is enjoying Princess & the Frog. I was on the fence about the film until I visited Disney World in November. Their promotions of it were really nice; at Magic Kingdom with a parade that led into a show on the Riverboat, at Disney Studios with an in depth look at the characters, & at all the parks with a free child’s pass with every park ticket.
I’m on the fence about the “Princess & the Frog” but maybe I’ll have to convince the hubby to go. I think you should get “Aladdin”, “The Lion King” & “The Jungle Book” as those seem to be ones that little boys like. They’re not so princess focused like many of the other classics. My friend’s son and my little cousins loved those films I mentioned so I bet Henry would like them too. I’m really a big fan of all 3 but my family all had a good time showing “The Jungle Book” to my grandparents. My grandpa laughed & giggled so much we’d have to back it up now & then cause he missed stuff giggling.
BTW I’ve been meaning to congratulate you on the new addition to your family. Welcome to the world baby Pearl! What a wonderful gift for you family for Christmas! 🙂
Ha ha ha, Brandon is hilarious! Love seeing him doing comics again.
I caught Princess and the Frog last Thursday, really enjoyed it. If Disney is going back to making movies like that I fully support the decision. It was cool to look at, had a bunch of cool characters (Dr. Facilier is easily one of my favorite Disney villains. And you’re right, he had the best song), good humor, and generally a lot of soul. Thumbs up from me.
And I feel I need to defend Treasure Planet, as I think that’s a really good movie that doesn’t get near the love it deserve (and yeah, Atlantis is pretty decent as well. Home on the Range on the other hand…).
Now, onto Avatar week.
I have to agree with Gordon on Atlantis, yes the visuals were awesome, but the story was extremely weak. The big “plot twist” was a cliche one at best, and not up to Disney standards. It really seemed like a League of Extraordinary Gentleman crossed with Treasure Planet deal. Although the dieselpunk-ness of the movie was probably one of the best aspects of the film, then again, I am a total Dieselpunker at heart.
With regards to Princess and the Frog, I’m seeing it either this weekend along with Avatar, or seeing it next weekend alongside Sherlock Holmes, as i don’t get to go to the movies often enough, and with all the great movies coming out, I have to decide on two I really need to see. Or maybe, i’ll do what this comics title states, and see all three in one day 😀
Jungle Book & Robin Hood