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Olaf’s Frozen Adventure Featurette

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Olaf’s Frozen Adventure Featurette

By Erin

* I attended the Olaf’s Frozen Adventure Featurette Press Day for this post*

You are in for a special treat this holiday season when you go to theaters to see Coco! Before the feature film, we head back to Arendelle, unwrapping “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure,” an all-new 21-minute featurette. With four new original songs, the featurette welcomes back to the big screen the characters that audiences fell in love with in 2013’s Oscar®- winning feature “Frozen.” The original cast and characters are back, including Olaf (voice of Josh Gad), who is on a mission to harness the best holiday traditions for Anna (voice of Kristen Bell), Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel) and Kristoff (voice of Jonathan Groff). Directed by Emmy®-winning filmmakers Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton (“Prep & Landing”), produced by Oscar® winner Roy Conli (“Big Hero 6”), with original songs by Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson (“Between the Lines”), “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” will be in theaters for a limited time beginning November 22.

“The cool thing about the ‘Frozen’ universe is that it’s all about family,” says producer Roy Conli. “We all rallied around the themes of family and holiday traditions—and the fact that our families are made up of more than just our relatives. The idea of welcoming our friends and loved ones into our inner circles really resonated with all of us.” Directed by Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters, the team behind the Emmy®-winning television special “Prep & Landing,” the featurette kicks off about six months after the feature concludes. “Olaf is still brand new to the world,” says Wermers-Skelton. “And Anna and Elsa only recently reunited after being separated for most of their lives. We wondered how they might approach their first holiday together.”

We all have our own family traditions during the holidays, so the theme is really relatable, but Anna and Elsa have never had the chance to create any traditions of their own. This casts a shadow on what they thought would be a huge holiday celebration. Olaf teams up with Sven on a merry mission to comb the kingdom to bring home the best traditions to save this first Christmas for his friends. Traditions are personal though, what one family treasures might seem completely bizarre to another. Olaf being Olaf though just grabs everything he can find. He’ll do anything for his friends to give them all the traditions that he can. It is a very heart-felt story that you won’t want to miss! Perfect to get you in the holiday spirit and ready to see Coco!

A few weeks ago I attended the press day with screening and reception at the Walt Disney Animation Studios for Olaf’s Frozen Adventure where we were able to interview Josh Gad, Directors Stevie Wermers-Skelton & Kevin Deters, and Producer Roy Conli. It was a very heart-warming interview and would have melted your heart.

OLAF’S FROZEN ADVENTURE – Producer Roy Conli, actor Josh Gad and directors Stevie Wermers-Skelton & Kevin Deters answers questions after a screening of “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” at the newly remodeled Walt Disney Studios Animation building on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 in Burbank, CA. Photo by Marc Flores. ©2017 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

Kate Anderson and Elyssa Samsel surprised us all with a special musical performance of one of the new songs, “That’s right.” It was a very magical moment to hear them sing it live for us.

So much magic in one room that we were all trying to capture. Can you spot me? lol I am the one in the gray Mickey Mouse shirt in the bottom left.

OLAF’S FROZEN ADVENTURE – Songwriters Elyssa Samsel & Kate Anderson perform for pess and their guests at the press day for “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” at the newly remodeled Walt Disney Studios Animation building on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 in Burbank, CA. Photo by Marc Flores. ©2017 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

There were also tons of magical Frozen treats on hand such as these Olaf Rice Krispies treats!

OLAF’S FROZEN ADVENTURE – Press and their guests take part in activites at the press day for “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” at the newly remodeled Walt Disney Studios Animation building on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 in Burbank, CA. Photo by Marc Flores. ©2017 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

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Thor: Ragnarok Review

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Thor: Ragnarok

By Devon

Vivid. Dazzling. Flashy. Intense. All words that come to mind when I watch the new Thor: Ragnarok, coming to theaters today, November 3rd.

Marvel Studios’ THOR: RAGNAROK..Thor (Chris Hemsworth)..Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2017

This third Thor film begins with a battle going on between Thor and Surtur, a fire demon. Thor learns that his father, Odin, is no longer on Asgard, and that the realm itself will soon fall to Ragnarok if Surtur places his crown on the Eternal Flame. Ultimately, Thor defeats Surtur and makes his way to Asgard, believing Ragnarok has been prevented. However, coming to Asgard, he finds his brother, Loki, posing as Odin; they travel together to Earth where they find Stephen Strange. Stephen leads them to a dying Odin, who explains that his firstborn daughter, Hela, will be released upon his passing.

Marvel Studios’ THOR: RAGNAROK..L to R: Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston)..Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2017

The movie advances from there, introducing several new and lovable characters along the way. From the very beginning of the movie, I knew this was going to have a very different feel from the others in the Thor storyline. If you read my post about the press junket I attended where I was able to interview members of the cast from this movie, you’ll remember me saying that Taika Waititi worked with the entire cast wanting to give this movie “a new sensibility.”

There’s definitely a lot more humor in this movie than in the others; in a good way, of course. Chris Hemsworth portrays a much more witty Thor than we’ve seen before, and it definitely sets a good balance between the comedic side and the dark and dramatic side. I never would’ve pinned Chris Hemsworth as the next to come out as a comedic outbreak, but he sure proved that he was. His wit and charisma that plays along with most characters he comes into contact with throughout the movie put such a different spin on the entire Thor series of the MCU, but I think it was a necessary twist given how dark the previous Thor was. But of course, that all gets balanced out as well, with the introduction of Hela, Cate Blanchett’s character. Hela is Odin’s firstborn daughter, the goddess of death. She is dark and mysterious, and has Thor and Loki confused as to her existence and where she even came from, as all history of her in Asgard has been hidden away since her imprisonment. Adorning head-to-toe black and a headdress that reminds the crowd of horns, she manifests weapons and was able to destroy Thor’s beloved hammer within minutes of being introduced to her. She’s such a powerful villain that leaves all of the heroes wondering how to defeat her, and Cate Blanchett really pushes that narrative with such an impressive and dominant portrayal, she definitely steals the show when she’s on screen.

Marvel Studios’ THOR: RAGNAROK..Hela (Cate Blanchett) ..Ph: Teaser Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2017

One of the new characters we met was Valkyrie, played by Tessa Thompson, a mercenary who we find capturing Thor and taking him to serve the Grandmaster, played by Jeff Goldblum, who is the ruler of this planet named Sakaar. Tessa Thompson did a wonderful job portraying Valkyrie, who once defended Asgard against Hela long ago, and now works for the Grandmaster. Valkyrie is a very strong character, both physically and mentally, as she easily holds her own against the likes of both Thor and Loki. Not only in character though, Tessa’s portrayal is so strong that she doesn’t just fall to a side character, she’s so well integrated that it actually leaves you wanting more from her. If the idea of a stand-alone Valkyrie movie were to come to fruition, I think it would do some wonderful justice in building up such a powerful female hero.

Marvel Studios’ THOR: RAGNAROK..Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson)..Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2017

Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster is the twisted, eccentric ruler of Sakaar. The Grandmaster was such an amusing character to watch, being both somewhat sarcastic but also somewhat sadistic, in a way where he pins warriors together to fight tooth and nail in his Contest of Champions. Watching Jeff portray the Grandmaster, you can definitely tell he took the idea and ran with it. I definitely think his talent as a jazz musician added to the character improvisation as well, with the way the Grandmaster talks and sways when he walks.

Marvel Studios Thor: Ragnarok..L to R: Topaz (Rachel House), Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson)..Photo: Jasin Boland..©Marvel Studios 2017

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Meeting the Cast of Thor: Ragnarok

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Meeting the Cast of Thor: Ragnarok

By Devon Biroczky

The newest addition into the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Thor: Ragnarok, the next story in which our beloved God of Thunder is trying to save Asgard from complete and utter chaos. I had the pleasure of sitting down and interviewing the cast from this flashy movie and talking with them all about how it came to be.

·         Chris Hemsworth (“Thor”)

·         Mark Ruffalo (“Bruce Banner / The Hulk”)

·         Cate Blanchett (“Hela”)

·         Tom Hiddleston (“Loki”)

·         Jeff Goldblum (“Grandmaster”)

·         Tessa Thompson (“Valkyrie”)

·         Karl Urban (“Skurge”)

·         Rachel House (“Topaz”)

·         Director Taika Waititi (also “Korg”)

·         Producer Kevin Feige

Immediately into the press junket, it already started lightheartedly as the host was introducing everybody, and saved Chris Hemsworth for last, joking about how he skipped over him as we watched Chris try to squeeze himself in between everybody and the tables to get to his seat in the middle.

When you go see this movie, which opens in theaters everywhere November 3rd, you will notice what exactly I meant when I said this movie was flashy. I will be going over that more on Friday in my review, but for right now, just trust me when I tell you how lively it really is. Everybody in the cast had wonderful things to say about Taika Waititi’s style of directing and how he was able to take their shared vision and transfer it the way he did. Chris Hemsworth said it best when he was explaining it, “it all came from his crazy, wonderful brain, and his inspiration, and him pushing us every day on set, and constantly encouraging us to improvise, and explore, and take risks.”

Kevin Fiege also agreed when it came to everybody wanting to reinvent the series, taking everything that they knew about Thor and wanting to give it a new sensibility. You’ll notice that in this movie, there is more humor than in the Thor movies prior, and Kevin credits Taika again with giving the actors the confidence to be able to explore that side of them.

Especially looking at The Hulk and the role he plays in this movie. We see him much more in this movie and it inspired somebody to ask Mark Ruffalo on his thoughts about doing a stand-alone Hulk movie. Mark explained to us that he and Kevin had a discussion “well over a year ago” where Kevin had asked him what he would want to do if he had a stand-alone movie. They went back and forth and created these ideas, which they ended up implementing into Thor: Ragnarok and will be in the next two Avengers movies. Kevin goes on to explain that they’re all very excited about the upcoming character arc for The Hulk in these next three movies, so they’re going to take it one step at a time.

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