Category Archives: Disney

Dreams Do Come True in McFarland, USA!

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Dreams Do Come True in McFarland, USA!

By Erin

It’s not very often a movie comes out that is as inspiring, touching, real, filled with as much heart and is as heartwarming as this one is. Be prepared to go on a very real and heartfelt adventure with this special group of boys in the most inspiring sports drama about a Mexican-American cross-country team from rural California.

Based on a true story, Kevin Costner stars as the team’s coach, Coach White, who’s determination to guide a bunch of farm workers’ kids into a team full of champions with big dreams and goals is evident from the start. Coach White isn’t perfect by any means but his heart is in the right place and he is passionately devoted to his runners. A couple of weeks ago I had the great privilege to attend a press junket with some of the film’s creators and actors to gain a little bit more insight into the film, its history, background and setting dreams and goals.

McFARLAND

First off, there is a LOT of running in this movie. So, what kind of training did they have to go through to become cross country runners for the film? Carlos Pratts gave us a great description of what that was like.

Carlos Pratts:  I would say in the mornings, we went to Santa Clarita and I would run five or six miles with these guys, and I cried more than I cried when I saw Bambi. Then we would go to the studio and rehearse the film, and then after that I would make the fun drive in the Hyundai Elantra, which I’m very thankful for because my car was in a bad place; thank you, Disney and I would make the fun drive to Redondo Beach. In Redondo Beach, I would then go through a lot of pain from the great people at Brick Fitness – thank you, Brian Gwen –he would help with the strength, and then the nutrition and all that. So for about three months, I couldn’t have a carb and I didn’t wear a shirt in my apartment. So… I’m kidding about that part.

World Premiere Of "McFarland, USA" At The El Capitan Theatre The World Premier of McFarland, USA

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Disney’s Big Hero 6 is Here!

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Disney’s Big Hero 6 is Here!

By Mindy Marzec

What do you get when you combine classic Disney animation with the action-adventure of live action Marvel super hero movies? The result is the stunning “Big Hero 6,” the  54th animated feature from Walt Disney Animation Studios.

BH6_Logo

“Big Hero 6” is set in the futuristic fantasy world of San Fransokyo, where young robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada (voiced by Ryan Potter) befriends a large inflatable robot, Baymax (voiced by Scott Adsit). Baymax was programmed to be helpful and compassionate, but when evil befalls the city, Hiro must help Baymax become an all-powerful fighting machine. They team up with Hiro’s friends GoGo Tomago (voiced by Jamie Chung), Wasabi (voiced by Damon Wayans Jr.), Honey Lemon (voiced by Genesis Rodriguez), and Fred (voiced by T.J. Miller) and become the high-tech super hero team Big Hero 6.

BIG HERO 6

The movie is based on the Marvel comic of the same name, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Marvel gave Disney their blessing to use the name and create their own story and universe, which is exactly what Disney did. “Big Hero 6” is certainly packed with action, but it also has that Disney heart and soul we come to expect. And I don’t want to give away spoilers, but yes, this one is a tear jerker so pack some tissues (think “Dumbo” and “Bambi” level heart-string-pulling). While we’ve come to expect tragedy in Disney movies, this one is a little different. The audience goes on an emotional journey with Hiro as we watch him deal with grief and then process those feelings and emotions throughout the film. It’s quite touching and groundbreaking for an animated movie. As the kids would say, it gave me “all the feels.” 

BIG HERO 6 Hugs

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Don’t be late for Disney’s Feast!

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Don’t be late for Disney’s Feast!

By Mindy Marzec

Big Hero 6If you’re planning on seeing  Disney’s “Big Hero 6” in theaters this weekend, make sure you’re not running late! You won’t want to miss the adorable short film that runs before the main feature, called “Feast!” It’s only a few minutes long, but it tells a pretty emotional and savory story, through the eyes of its main star, a Boston Terrier pup named Winston.

Last month I had a chance to talk with producer Kristina Reed during a press roundtable about making “Feast.” Kristina told us, “The idea (for ‘Feast’) came from something that Patrick (Osborne, the director) had been doing, which was using a one-second-a-day app and filming his dinners, and you watch the film now and it’s just plates of food. He sat down and watched all of these meals in one sitting, it was about six minutes, and he realized he could see what was happening in his life through these meals. He could see when he was in a production crunch; he could see when his fiancé moved in with him, he could see how his feelings were changing, how his life was changing, just by looking at his food. And he started to wonder if it was possible to tell a broader story, one that the audience could figure out. And that was the genesis of ‘Feast.’”

FEAST

“One of the things (Patrick) did to make it broader, was he realized dogs are creatures of pattern, so if something changes for them, they notice. So he realized that would help the audience see the changes more quickly in the story beat, so that was how he realized he needed to tell the story with a dog. Then it became an issue of finding the right dog. The first thing we did was look through all the Disney films and say, well, we want a new dog, we want a fresh dog, we want to pick a breed that’s never been done before, which is … Disney has had quite a lot of dogs. We wanted a small dog, because we wanted to show the meals are moving from the floor, to the couch, and to the table. Then when the girlfriend comes it’s back down to the floor. So you sort of see this promotion and demotion happening. And then because Patrick knew he wanted a flat rendering style, when the dog turns you wouldn’t necessarily be aware of that unless the dog had some kind of markings on their face. So that led us to Boston (Terriers) because they have that really distinctive pattern.”

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