Over the Moon!

Veteran Disney Glen Keane animator directs this brand new film, Over the Moon, and I can't wait to see it. His work on classics such as Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin show he knows how to tell a story and tell it well. Certainly the opening of the new E Ticket Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast at Tokyo Disneyland is further proof of the impact this enduring classic has made. Glen has his own fascinating story to tell about the impact of Beast on his life. Go here to read more.

A Brand New Beast

Disney animator Glen Keane will be directing Netflix's upcoming Over the Moon, a tale about a young girl who builds a rockets and takes off on an exciting adventure. He's certainly no stranger to creating memorable characters! Glen was the backbone to many Disney projects (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Tangled). 

For me, the ultimate Keane project was Beast, from the classic Beauty and the Beast, my favorite Disney animated film (which also holds up stunningly well next to the live action release). Not only does the animated film have a huge following, but the whole experience of animating / transforming Beast was a powerful one! This was apparently just as true for his animator.

Glen says,

"This is the moment- this is what I was born for...As I started animating it, for me it's really an expression of my spiritual life. There's a verse in the Bible that says 'If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away and all things have become new...'Because it is really about an inner spiritual transformation that's taking place with the Beast. I saw it as a parable of my life."

Boy, I'm with you, Glen. Perhaps that's why this film strikes such a deep note in me and millions of others! There's a longing in us to be more than what we've been, perhaps to be the best version of ourselves, the version that God created- free from the eternal stain of sin and with new hope for life eternal. This is what Jesus Christ does! 

When our hearts are opened by God to hear His Message of hope, forgiveness, and a fresh life, our heart leaps! When we choose to believe that Jesus died for our sin, paying full price for it, and then was raised from the dead to prove He is God in the flesh- wow! Just wow! New life is birthed in us. The failures and brokenness from the past are now just a part of our eternal journey as we increasingly become who God designed us to be. Make the leap into the Arms of Love- and Beast's transformation will be your own parable as well. 

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

A Sad Goodbye to Animator Glen Keane

A very sad goodbye to Disney animator Glen Keane. In his letter to the Walt Disney Company, Glen was his usual, gracious, self. It is a very low point for traditional animation, as Glen was the backbone to many Disney projects (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Tangled). For me, the ultimate Keane project was Beast, from the classic Beauty and the Beast. Apparently, the experience deeply impacted him as well.

On animating the Beast for the film Beauty and the Beast, Disney animator Glen Keane says,

"This is the moment- this is what I was born for...

As I started animating it, for me it's really an expression of my spiritual life.
There's a verse in the Bible that says 'If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away and all things have become new...'
Because it is really about an inner spiritual transformation that's taking place with the Beast. I saw it as a parable of my life."

Goodbye, Glen. You will be greatly missed. If you want to see Glen's great artwork in various forms, here's the place to go:The Art of Glen Keane .

Dreamworks, Disney, and Glen Keane

Could the wonderful Disney animator, Glen Keane, really be leaving Disney for Dreamworks? Blue Sky Disney thinks it is a possibility. Glen seems to be a good man as well as um, a "beast" of an animator. In fact, on animating the Beast for the film Beauty and the Beast, Disney animator Glen Keane says,

"This is the moment- this is what I was born for...
As I started animating it, for me it's really an expression of my spiritual life. There's a verse in the Bible that says 'If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away and all things have become new...'

Because it is really about an inner spiritual transformation that's taking place with the Beast. I saw it as a parable of my life."

If you want to see Glen's great artwork in various forms, here's the place to go:The Art of Glen Keane . In the meantime, may God be with him wherever he goes!

Rapunzel's Fine Form: Tangled Shines Brightly

Finally had the chance to see Tangled Saturday night. The quick and dirty answer to the question is "Yes!", this new Disney animated film is clearly worth your time. While Princess and the Frog was a much heralded return to traditional animation, and hopefully the start of the third generation of animation excellence, it was sadly not as well received as it should have been. Tangled shouldn't have this problem.

The Rapunzel fable was ripe for a great story by Disney. Any long time viewer of animated films would wonder how Disney could pull off yet another princess story and not repeat themselves. Surprisingly, there's only the slightest feel of deja vu at the very end of the film. Absolutely everything else feels brand new and original.

The beautiful girl with the golden magical locks is only half the story, as her dashing counterpart Flynn Rider provides the male friendly action, giving the plot its excitement. Disney marketing may have changed the title to appeal to more male viewers, but in reality, it is a more accurate representation of screen time and story told. In fact, to its ultimate benefit, Tangled is filled with more action and better pacing than any Disney princess movie in recent memory. The previews would make you think the film is striving for a Shrek like ambiance, but this is actually a very traditional feeling film with one exception. Just a hint to those of you with small children: make sure you are there for the very beginning of the film. Flynn narrates the story and does it so quickly and covers so much turf, that the littler ones would need much explanation to understand the film. The same can be said for the ending wrap up to the story.

With their namesakes at Disneyland. 

With any great film, where story is king, it takes terrifically engaging characters to pull it off. This time, it only takes three. Secondary characters are wisely few and are unimportant to the story. 

In the princess role, Mandy Moore is the perfect fit for the movie, her Rapunzel is at once youthful and charming. Beneath the obvious differences in storyline, parts of our heroine's personality remind me of a younger Belle of Beauty and the Beast, maybe even a bit of Ariel from The Little Mermaid. There's more depth to her love interest Flynn Rider than you'd first expect. His story unfolds at just the right time and pace. Zachary Levi gives him the perfect balance of brashness and vulnerability. And he has a very good singing voice! I'd say he's a terrific match to Mandy Moore's actually. Their on screen chemistry is great, better than many modern day Rom-Coms.

A rival to Ursula.

The Disney Villainess, a staple of the genre, Mother Gothel is so well written, and she is so well played by Donna Murphy, that you almost expect her to redeem herself by the end of the film. Almost. This is Disney after all, and it would be a truly unexpected twist- and maybe a first- should an evil character repent and change their ways. (We should all repent and change our ways. We do really need Jesus more than we know. May we all see Him as He is- the Light of the World who died for our sins so we could have eternal life. He said this about himself: "“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”- John 8:12. See more of his words in John 14:6 in the Bible: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.")

Due to the smart dialogue between she and Rapunzel, highlighted by the "I love you more/most" exchange - and a less than stellar song for her to sing as her centerpiece- Mother Gothel initially is less apparent the villain when compared to those before her. Even less obvious than Cinderella's stepmother Lady Tramaine or Beast's brute Gaston. When the exchange gets heated between she and Rapunzel, like almost any mother daughter relationship, it seems as if the two actually do love each other. This brings the film a true to life complexity that is rather bold, more akin to a Pixar animated film. There's a good moral to the story that shows people are not always what they first seem to be and may even be evil to their core.

The animation of the film completes the film's package without overpowering it. Sleeping Beauty provided the most gorgeous background to any Disney animated film, but the characters seemed lost in that world. Here, the scenery is no less stunning, perhaps better and certainly more realistic, but the characters belong here and are not overpowered by the grandeur. (Watch the backgrounds in the movie closely. I think this is what Walt Disney World's new Fantasyland Forest should look like!) The landscapes are varied and traditionally rich looking. Such an accomplishment that I almost forgot this film was computer generated!

The character animation is very good, although at times Rapunzel's doe eyed look was a little too doe eyed. Computer generated humans are the shortfall of this tool and generally don't seem as warm to me as those drawn by hand. The work of Glen Keane is to be commended here as I could almost imagine he would press the animators for a more real look than those found in Toy Story, Up, or others. The film is all the better for his work.

Look closely.

It isn't the movie but the highlight of the new attraction

at Tokyo Disneysea.

Superbly executed chase scenes aside, when great characters meet stunning landscape meets great song, the result is Tangled's lantern scene. It is one of the finest moments in any Disney film in any era. Period. For this reason alone, go see the movie. There will be no in home screen large enough to capture its beauty. I won't ramble on here, although I could. It is that stunning.

Lastly, for a musical, I expected Mandy's singing to be wonderful, and it is- but the material she has to work with seems a bit subpar.  Her subtle and beautiful duet with Zachary Levi, "I See the Light", sung during the above mentioned scene, will stick in your head for years. Other than this song, the music itself may be the very reason I cannot give Tangled the A+ I'd like to. Alan Menken is a very gifted man. The songs here are good, but this is far from his best work. I've long thought Menken's strongest work ended with Howard Ashman's death, and sadly, this seems to prove me right.

If it is in fact true this is Disney's last animated fairy tale, which I think to say is a fairy tale itself, Tangled is the way to go out with style. The film is warm, funny, and unique. You won't leave the theater humming the songs, but you will leave thinking "Disney still has it!", and you'd be right.

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

Glen Keane and the Beast (and Beauty) Within

On animating the Beast for the film Beauty and the Beast, Disney animator Glen Keane says,
"This is the moment- this is what I was born for...

As I started animating it, for me it's really an expression of my spiritual life.

There's a verse in the Bible that says 'If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away and all things have become new...'
Because it is really about an inner spiritual transformation that's taking place with the Beast. I saw it as a parable of my life."

If you want to see Glen's great artwork in various forms, here's the place to go:The Art of Glen Keane .

Notable and Quotable: Glen Keane

On animating the Beast for the film Beauty and the Beast, Disney animator Glen Keane says,

"This is the moment- this is what I was born for...
As I started animating it, for me it's really an expression of my spiritual life.

There's a verse in the Bible that says 'If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away and all things have become new...'

Because it is really about an inner spiritual transformation that's taking place with the Beast. I saw it as a parable of my life."

If you want to see Glen's great artwork in various forms, here's the place to go:The Art of Glen Keane .