And the Best Picture Oscar Goes to...Disney!

Walt Disney was the recipient of 22 Oscars throughout his career, more than any other person who has worked in the entertainment industry. Since his passing in 1966, The Walt Disney Company has continued to receive Oscars for Animated Features and Live-Action Features, though throughout their 102-year-history, they have never won an Oscar for Best Picture, though there have been four films that were nominated. In tribute to the fact that the 97th Oscar Nominations are being announced this Friday, January 17th, 2025, I thought we could acknowledge those four films:

Mary Poppins, released on August 27th, 1964, was the first and only Disney film produced during Walt Disney’s life to receive a Best Picture Oscar Nomination. The film garnered 13 Oscar Nominations, and though it lost Best Picture to My Fair Lady (1964), it won five total, including Best Original Score, Best Original Song “Chim-Chim Cher-ee,” and Julie Andrews as Best Actress for her performance as the magical nanny. This win made Andrews the second actress to receive an Oscar for a Performance in a Disney film. The first was Hayley Mills who won the Juvenile Oscar for her performance in Pollyanna (1960). The Juvenile Oscar went out of existence at the Oscars three years later when Patty Duke was nominated for, and won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for The Miracle Worker (1962), proving that child actors could compete against adults in the major categories.

Beauty and the Beast, released on November 22nd, 1991, made history for the Walt Disney Company when it became the very first animated feature ever to receive an Oscar Nomination for Best Picture. While it lost the award to The Silence of the Lambs (1991), it received six Oscar Nominations total, and coincidentally just like “Poppins,” it also won the Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song “Beauty and the Beast.” (The movie also got nominations for Best Sound and the songs “Belle” and “Be Our Guest.”) “Beauty and the Beast” being nominated for Best Picture was also special for the Disney Company because Walt Disney had attempted to adapt the story for the screen twice in the ‘30s and the ‘50s, but sadly, neither of his attempts ever came to fruition. “Beauty and the Beast,” did win the Golden Globe for Best Picture Musical or Comedy and later became the very first Disney film to be adapted for the Broadway Stage when it premiered at New York City’s Palace Theatre on April, 18th, 1994.

Up, released on May 29th, 2009, became the very first Pixar Animated Feature to be nominated for Best Picture. It lost that year to the The Hurt Locker (2009), which also won Best Director for Kathryn Bigelow, making Bigelow the first woman every to win an Oscar for Best Director. Despite this, “Up” did receive the Oscars for Best Original Score, which was written by Michael Giacchino and Best Animated Feature for it’s co-screenwriter/co-director, Pete Docter. Docter later won the Best Animated Feature Oscars for writing/directing Inside Out (2015) and Soul (2020), and was also nominated for Monsters, Inc. (2001). Giacchino previously received a Best Original Score Nomination for Ratatouille (2007).

Toy Story 3, released on June 18th, 2010, is the fourth Disney film to be nominated for Best Picture, but once again it was not to be. It lost Best Picture to The King’s Speech (2010). Just like “Up” though, it won the Best Animated Feature Oscar as well as Best Original Song “We Belong Together,” written by Randy Newman. Toy Story 4 (2019), released nine years later, also received the Best Animated Feature Oscar. Fun Fact: All four “Toy Story” films have featured music by Randy Newman, who wrote songs that have been nominated for Best Original Song: “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from Toy Story (1995), “When She Loved Me,” from Toy Story 2 (1999), “We Belong Together,” from “3” and “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” from “4.” 

While it is unfortunate that Disney has never won a Best Picture Oscar, I’m sure we can all agree that these four films won awards in other well-deserved categories. Whether or not there will be a Best Picture Win for Disney remains to be seen. 

 

Review: "Mufasa: The Lion King"

On June 15th, 1994, Walt Disney Productions released “The Lion King.” The film was a critical and commercial success, winning two Oscars: Best Original Score and Best Original Song “Can You Feel The Love Tonight.” It grossed 1 billion dollars at the box office, more than any of the previous animated films Disney released throughout the 90’s: The Little Mermaid (1989), The Rescuers Down Under (1990), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992). Since then, Disney has expanded the “King-averse,” creating two direct-to-video sequels: The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride (1998) and The Lion King 1 1/2 (2004), two original themed-television series: Timon & Pumbaa (1995-1999) and The Lion Guard (2015-2019), and a motion-capture/CGI remake of the original in 2019. The Broadway musical adaptation of “Lion King,” opened in 1997, winning six Tonys, including Best Musical, and is still playing today, totaling 10,653 performances. In honor of the original film’s 30th release, Disney released a prequel film: Mufasa: The Lion King, on December 20th, 2024. Here’s my review:

As a cub, Mufasa was separated from his parents when he accidentally got swept away in a lake near his homeland of Pride Rock. He is rescued by another cub named Taka, and is adopted by Taka’s parents, who are in a tribe of Lions outside of Pride Rock. Becoming adoptive brothers/best friends, Mufasa and Taka mature into adulthood, and one day their tribe becomes threatened by yet another tribe of Lions. While both brothers wish to protect their own tribe, their parents advise them to leave and seek their own futures—learn to protect themselves in the process.

James Earl Jones, who originated the role of Mufasa and reprised it in the 2019 remake, passed away on September 9th, 2024. This film is a love letter to him, as it opens with a recording of him saying one of his lines from the original film. The voice-over role of Mufasa is one of top three most iconic roles of Jones’s career, the other two being the voice of “Darth Vader” in Star Wars (1977-present) and of Mr. Mertle in The Sandlot (1993). (Jones’s last film appearance was reprising the role of King Jaffe Joffer in Coming 2 America (2021), the sequel to Coming to America (1988)). While Jones’s voice can never truthfully be replaced, the beauty and the endearment of the character of Mufasa lives on through the voice-over performance of the incredible Aaron Pierre.

In addition to being a touching tribute to Jones, the film also deepens our appreciation for the character of Mufasa because his journey leads him to discover the value of selflessness on the way to becoming a good leader, or in his case, a king. He learns that when you are unrelentingly kind and always value the well-being of others above your own, you are guaranteed to be loved. 

In addition to Pierre, the film also features the voices of John Kani as Rafiki, Beyonce Knowles-Carter as Nala, Donald Glover as Simba, Billy Eichner as Timon, and Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, all of whom voiced their same respective characters in the 2019 remake. Additional voices include Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka, Mads Mikkelsen as a new villain, Kiros, and Anika Noni Rose and Keith David as Mufasa’s parents, Afia and Masego. (Both Rose and David previously voiced Tiana and Dr. Facilier in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog (2009)). This new file is directed by Barry Jenkins, who won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Moonlight (2019), and features a script by Jeff Nathanson who wrote the script for the “Lion King” remake, as well as Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) and this year’s Young Woman and the Sea. (Nathanson also wrote Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can (2002) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) as well as Rush Hour 2 and 3 (2001, 2007)). The film also includes new original songs by Moana (2016) and Encanto (2021) composer/lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda.

“Mufasa: The Lion King,” continues the trend from Disney of character development/origin stories, a trend they started with Maleficent (2014), and continued with the sequel Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019), and Cruella (2021), though “Mufasa” is different in the sense that it’s a hero origin story whereas the other three were villain origins. If you weren’t fans of the other three, you will be able to rest at ease when you go to see “Mufasa” because it something for everyone to enjoy: breathtaking scenery, beautiful animation, decent storytelling, tip-top voice cast, and of course, feel-good music. 

   

Jim Varney: Even Another Unsung Disney Legend

When Pixar first began assembling the voice cast for Toy Story (1995) in the early 1990s, they cast Tom Hanks as Woody and Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear. After the leads were cast, the studio knew they needed other actors who had exceptional comedy skills to voice all of the supporting characters. Cleverly, they cast John Ratzenberger as Hamm, the late-great Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head, and Wallace Shawn as Rex. Let’s not forget they cast another late-great, Jim Varney as Slinky Dog. His story is short, but fascinating:

Jim Varney was born in Lexington Kentucky on June 15th, 1949. As a young boy, he began imitating cartoon voices. When his mother discovered his talent, she enrolled him in children’s theatre. While attending Lafayette High School, he entered drama competitions where he won state titles. This indicated that he had officially found his calling. 

Jim Varney first found work as a performer when he was cast as a regular on the show Johnny Cash and Friends (1976). He also found roles on Operation Petticoat (1977-1978) and Pink Lady (1980). When neither of these shows were big hits, Varney decided to team up with friend/advertising executive John Cherry III to develop the character of Ernest P Worrell, a buffoonish, but tender-hearted character who began his career in commercials. The very first “Ernest” commercial was filmed in 1980, advertising the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders who, at the time, were making an appearance near Beech Bend Park which is near Bowling Green, Kentucky. This appearance led to more commercials for Chex Cereal, Coca-Cola, and Taco John’s.

These appearances were so successful, that Varney and Cherry were later hired by the CBS Network to make the series Hey Vern, It’s Ernest (1988). “Vern” was Ernest’s unseen neighbor, who unfortunately doesn’t think particularly highly of him, and always slams his front door in his face, which was a situation originally started on all the Ernest commercials. While Ernest never managed to talk to Vern, whenever he would underscore the value of a product on his commercials, he would say the trademark catchphrase “KnowwhutImean?”

The series was canceled after just 13 episodes. Despite that misfortune, Cherry and Varney both brought Ernest to the big screen multiple times, beginning with Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam in 1985, and Ernest Goes to Camp in 1987, which would be Varney’s very first appearance for Disney, as the film was produced by Touchstone Pictures and released under Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, two subsidiary production companies owned by Disney. The next three “Ernest” films Ernest Saves Christmas (1988), Ernest Goest to Jail (1990), and Ernest Scared Stupid (1991) were all produced by Touchstone and released under Buena Vista. They were all decent money-makers, but critical flops.

Regardless, Pixar knew that Varney had a funny voice and would be a perfect fit for the character of Slinky Dog in “Toy Story,” which was a blockbuster smash hit when it was released on November 22nd, 1995. When he voiced Slinky for the first time, he recorded the catchphrase “Golly bob howdy,” which was a reference to Ernest. Prior to “Toy Story,” Varney also starred in the feature film adaptation of The Beverly Hillbillies (1993) based on the ‘60s sit-com the same name, which coincidentally was one of Varney’s favorite shows a child. Varney portrayed Jed Clampett, the role originated by Buddy Ebsen in the show.

Jim Varney also made an appearance on Disney’s Hercules (1998-1999) television show and reprised the character of Slinky Dog in Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 2 in 1999. He died of lung cancer on February 10th, 2000 at the age of 50. He had made two films that were released posthumously, Miramax’s drama-comedy Daddy and Them (2001) and Disney’s animated action-adventure Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), in which he voiced the goofy, Jedediah Allardyce “Cookie” Farnsworth. Both movies were dedicated in his memory and “Atlantis,” was also released to theaters on June 15th, 2001, which would have been Varney’s 52nd birthday.

Jim Varney’s career is forever synonymous with the characters of Ernest P. Worrell and Slinky Dog in “Toy Story 1 and 2.” After his passing, Pixar cast Blake Clark as Slinky Dog, who ironically was a close friend of Varney’s. Clark gave a eulogy at his funeral in which he described Varney as “a good man and one of his best friends.” (Since then, Clark has voiced Slinky in Toy Story 3 (2010), Toy Story 4 (2019) and in all the short films produced in-between.) Fans of Jim Varney wish they could have had more than him.

Review: "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F"

“Trust me,” are the last two words spoken by Eddie Murphy at the end of the first Beverly Hills Cop. Released on December 5th, 1984, it ended with his trademark mischievous grin, as his buddies Sgt. John Taggart and Detective Billy Rosewood are tailing him to the Beverly Hills city limits. The first film of this series was a critical and commercial success, and two sequels followed, Beverly Hills Cop II in 1987 and Beverly Hills Cop III in 1994. 40 on, Netflix has released the fourth installment, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, on July, 3rd, 2024. Here are my thoughts:

Axel Foley has been summoned to return to Beverly Hills when the life of his estranged daughter, Jane Saunders has been threatened due to her work as a lawyer. In doing so, he reunites with old pals Chief John Taggart and Billy Rosewood, and together they discover the mystery behind Jane’s predicament—and it’s bigger than they could have imagined. As Axel struggles to uncover everything, he makes new friends and enemies along the way.

Eddie Murphy continues to make audiences laugh after a nearly 50-year-career in show business. He has created many indelible characters, from Axel Foley in the Beverly Hills Cop Franchise (1984-2024), to voicing Mushu in Disney’s original Mulan (1998) and Donkey in Dreamworks’ Shrek Franchise (2001-2010), to all the members of the Klump family in his remake of The Nutty Professor (1996) and it’s sequel, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000). He’s also been very good in roles that aren’t so funny, having gotten an Oscar Nomination for his Supporting Performance as James (Jimmy) “Thunder” Early in Dreamgirls (2006). There’s no denying that Axel Foley is one of Murphy’s most endearing characters. Outwardly he appears as a rude, roguish rebel of a police officer who lives in his own world most of the time. But he’s lovable—we can tell on the inside he’s a bighearted man who cares deeply for the well-being of his friends. This sequel movie underscores that description, though slightly differently. It’s the first time we see Axel Foley as a parent.

In addition to the return of Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, “Axel F,” also sees the return of John Ashton and Judge Reinhold as Axel’s pals Chief John Taggart and Billy Rosewood, as well as Paul Reiser as Deputy Chief Jeffrey Friedman and Bronson Pinchot as “Serge,” both of whom also provided laughs in the previous films. Jerry Bruckheimer, who co-produced the first two “Beverly Hills Cop,” films (though not the third) with Don Simpson, returns as producer. The film is directed by Mark Molloy who makes his feature film debut. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Kevin Bacon star as new characters Detective Bobby Abbott and Captain Cade Grant. The film’s music was composed by Lorne Balfe, who also composed the music for this year’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) as well as Top Gun: Maverick (2022) and last year’s Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 (2023). (Clearly he’s good at composing music for reboot films!)

Eddie Murphy made it abundantly clear in an interview in The New York Times Magazine that he dislikes being challenged career-wise, but simply prefers to do things he knows would work. The interviewer asked him why, to which he replied “Because first and foremost I’m trying to be funny for my audience. You want to do stuff that you know is going to be funny for them.” “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” is a funny film for all fans of the series to appreciate, and they can also appreciate Eddie Murphy personally. And…the fifth “Beverly Hills Cop,” film is also in development!

Review: "Disney/Pixar's Inside Out 2"

On June 15th, 2015, Pixar Animation Studios released their 15th animated feature released under the Walt Disney Pictures label, Inside Out. It was a blockbuster smash, grossing $858.8 million dollars at the box office, earning positive reviews from critics and audiences alike—receiving two Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Animated Feature (winning the latter!). Nine years later, Pixar has released a highly anticipated sequel to the film, Inside Out 2 (2024). Here is my review: 

Riley Andersen recently turned 13 years old. Each of the emotions in her brain: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger, continue to run the brain’s control center. As Riley continues with teenage development, she learns that her two new best friends, Bree and Grace, are preparing to move away from San Francisco and that their Summer Hockey Camp trip will be the last time they get to hang together. As a result: new emotions enter the brain’s control center: Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, Embarrassment, and Nostalgia. 

The first “Inside Out,” was special in the way that it portrayed competing and layered emotions: from leaving the familiar to the nervousness and excitement of a new place. “Inside Out 2,” is different from its predecessor because it’s about young kids maturing into teenagers. As that happens, they can become so overwhelmed by anxiety and insecurity, or just envy of those around them. As they start to loose their “sense of self,” they find that the friends/family who care about them help them get their true identity.

“Inside Out 2,” reunites the first film’s all-star voice cast of Amy Poehler as Joy, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Lewis Black as Anger, and Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan as Riley’s Parents, Jill and Bill Andersen. Lisa Lapira and Tony Hale voice Disgust and Fear, respectively, replacing the first film’s Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader; and Kensington Tallman replaces Kaitlyn Dias as the voice of Riley Andersen. Maya Hawke voices Anxiety, Ayo Edebiri plays Envy, Adèle Exarchopoulos portrays Ennui, Paul Walter Hauser does the voice of Embarrassment, and June Squibb plays Nostalgia. The film is directed by Kelsey Mann, who makes his feature film directorial debut at Pixar, and it is executive produced by the first film’s co-writer/co-director Pete Docter. Docter is also Pixar’s current head of Animation and was the writer/director of Monsters, Inc. (2001), Up (2009), and Soul (2020) (the latter two of which also won Best Animated Feature Oscars). The film is co-written by Mann, Dave Holstein, and Meg LeFauve who co-wrote the first film with Docter.

“Inside Out 2” cleverly reunites the iconic characters from the first film and tells another humorous and uplifting story that all fans can enjoy. It has currently grossed $1.015 billion dollars, and been critically and publicly well-reviewed. Whether or not it will be accoladed or even receive a third installment remains to be seen. Overall, Pixar has undoubtedly hit another home run with “Inside Out 2.”

It's a Small World With a Big Story

1964 is typically remembered by Disney fans as the year of Mary Poppins (released in August of that year). It was also the year of many other movies: The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, The Moon-Spinners, The Sword in the Stone, The Three Lives of Thomasina, to name a few. 1964 was also the debut of a beloved Disney Park attraction. It’s a Small World premiered at the 1964 New York World’s Fair on April 22nd, 1964, then opened next month at the Park. To celebrate its 60th anniversary, let’s examine the production that went into the making of this beloved attraction.

Beginning with its artists: Mary Blair created the ride’s overall design and color styling. Blair had previously been an art director on Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953). Walt Disney was very fortunate to have Mary Blair’s talents in both his movie studio and his theme park designing as she was one of the very few women working in the animation industry. The characters in each scene were sketched by Disney “Nine Old Men” member, Marc Davis, and built by WED (Walter Elias Disney) Enterprises Designer, Rolly Crump, who also designed toys and additional figures in each scene. Davis’s wife, Alice, supplied the costumes for each character.

When Walt Disney first began developing the idea for “Small World,” the working title for the attraction was “Children of the World,” and his original plan was to have each of the characters sing their country’s national anthems simultaneously. When Walt discovered that resulted in a cacophony, he summoned his composer/lyricist team Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman and told them “I need one song that can easily be translated into many languages and be played as a round.” They immediately got to work, balancing writing this song with the songs they were writing for “Poppins,” (including “Chim-Chim Cher-ee,” which won the Best Original Song Oscar). As soon as they had written the song “It’s A Small World,” Walt changed the name of the attraction.

The boats in the ride were built by an amusement park design and manufacturing company called Arrow Development, which was founded in 1945 and went defunct in 1981. Besides “Small World,” Arrow Development built Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, King Arthur Carousel, Snow White’s Scary Adventures, and a wide variety of other beloved Disney Park attractions. It is unfortunate that they are no longer in business, but their talents certainly did add to the magic of Disneyland.

“Small World,” opened at the ’64 World’s Fair alongside three other Disney-produced attractions: Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln, The Magic Skyway, and The Carousel of Progress. All four transitioned to Disneyland, though only the primary two are still in operation at Disneyland today. 

Review: "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire"

“When there’s something strange in you’re neighborhood, who ya gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS! When there’s something weird and it don’t look good, who ya gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS!” 

For the past four decades, movie buffs have been spellbound by the “Ghostbusters” franchise, beginning with the release of the first Ghostbusters (1984), which will turn 40 on June 8th of this year, and featuring an Oscar-nominated with the aforementioned lyrics by Ray Parker, Jr. Since the release of “Ghostbusters 1,” additions to the franchise have included animated television series: The Real Ghostbusters (1986-1991) and Extreme Ghostbusters (1997) a female reboot Ghostbusters (2016) and three sequels to the original film Ghostbusters II (1989), Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) released on March 22nd, 2024. Here are my thoughts:

Callie Spengler has relocated from Summerville, Oklahoma with her children, Trevor and Phoebe, and boyfriend, Gary Grooberson, to the beloved “Ghostbusters” firehouse in New York City. There they learn more secrets of Callie’s deceased father, Egon Spengler, including how and he his teammates: Raymond Stantz, Peter Venkman, and Winston Zeddermore started their old business and how they’ve managed to keep it going today. As they work together to trap new ghosts, they ultimately get in trouble with the law, headed by the mayor of New York City, who happens to be a former “Ghostbusters” enemy, Walter Peck. 

Ivan Reitman, who directed “Ghostbusters 1 and 2,” and co-produced “Afterlife,” directed by his son, Jason Reitman, passed away in 2022. “Frozen Empire,” was made as a tribute to the senior Reitman. Ivan was an actor’s director, besides directing the first two “Ghostbusters,” he directed cast members in other projects including: Stripes (1981) which starred Bill Murray and Harold Ramis (“Egon Spengler” and co-writer of first two “Ghostbusters”), Meatballs (1979) which also starred Murray, and Dave (1993) which starred Sigourney Weaver. (“Meatballs,” can be credited for igniting Ivan’ Reitman’s career as a director as well as Murray’s career as a leading man in movies.) 

Futhermore, Reitman directed Twins (1988), Kindergarten Cop (1990), and Junior (1994), each of which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Six Days, Seven Nights (1998) starring Harrison Ford and Anne Heche. The very last film he directed was Draft Day (2014), which starred Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner. He was given posthumous credit for co-producing 

“Frozen Empire” does an exceptional job of continuing to include “Easter Eggs” to the original “Ghostbusters.” While it doesn’t outdo the emotion of “Afterlife,” which was made as a tribute to Ramis, who passed away in 2016, it’s still a very fitting tribute film, continuing the best of the franchise’s legacy.

“Frozen Empire’s” all-star cast reunites Carrie Coon as Callie Spengler, McKenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard as Trevor and Phoebe, Paul Rudd as Gary Grooberson, and once again we see Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts as Pete Venkman, Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddermore, and Janine Melnitz. The film also brings back original “Ghostbusters” cast member William Atherton as Mayor Walter Peck. The film was co-produced by Ivan and Jason Reitman and Jason Blumenfeld, was co-written by Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan and directed by Kenan, who is no stranger to apparitions, having received an Oscar nod for directing the motion-capture animated film, Monster House (2006). The film features a Score by Oscar-Winning Composer Dario Marianelli that continues to pay homage to Elmer Bernstein’s score from the original. The film includes a cameo by John Rothman who played the Library Administrator who summoned the Ghostbusters to catch their first ghost at the very beginning of the original.

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” will likely be entertaining for all fans of the franchise. It’s thanks to the reunion of the original cast, plus Jason Reitman’s skills as a producer/director that “Frozen Empire,” and “Afterlife,” continue the groundbreaking legacy of the original.