Movie Trailer: 'Snow White' (2025)

 

What did we do to deserve this?

The trailer for the ill-conceived live-action dump based on the classic 1937 Disney movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarves has finally been released, and boy, is it a doozy. See for yourself at the top of this post. Then read the comments. They are more entertaining than this film.

This trailer is yet another example of everything wrong with modern Western media and reboots in general that have become cliché at this point. Here, Snow White is not only race-swapped for no good reason, making her name lose its original meaning, and played by won't-shut-her-mouth Rachel Zegler, she is also changed to be a "girlboss" who leads a revolution against the Evil Queen. Because that's what Snow White was about, right? And if I had to guess, the prince will be made into a weakling and will not kiss a presumably dead Snow White at the end, because that's sexual harassment apparently. Honestly, the only character I like in this is the Evil Queen played by Gal Gadot, and while she too is a race-swapped version of her original counterpart, she plays the role well. She and Zegler should have switched places as she appears to be a more worthy candidate for "the fairest of them all," but I digress.

Then there are the CGI dwarves. They could have been played by real people with dwarfism á la The Wizard of Oz and Time Bandits, but political correctness and Peter Dinklage got in the way and prevented a whole demographic from getting an opportunity to make it big in the film industry. Everyone thinks they're creepy, but I actually don't find them weird at all in the same way that I was not at all creeped out by the characters from The Polar Express (which is now 20 years old as of this post!). My issue with them is that they're not as unique-looking nor as memorable like the originals.

In the end, only time will tell if this movie will make it big. I personally hope it doesn't since I'm tired of unfaithful reboots and cheap cash grabs and would prefer either new and exciting stories or else adaptations that respect what came before. Maybe a movie like this failing will be a wake-up call to Disney and Hollywood to stop making these types of movies for good.

Movie Trailer: 'Sonic the Hedgehog 2' (2022)

Let's flipping gooooooo! (source)

It seems Christmas has come early for Sonic fans, because the trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has finally dropped, premiering during The Game Awards 2021. The YouTube trailer can be found below:

From what I can gather from this trailer, Sonic is fighting crime in Green Hills, Montana. His guardian/adoptive father Sheriff Tom tells him that one day "there will come a moment when [his] powers will be needed." That time comes soon enough when Dr. Robotnik, played by the one and only Jim Carrey, returns to Earth and reunites with his previous righthand man. He mentions that he has found a source of ultimate power, which, for those who know at least some Sonic lore, is a Chaos Emerald. Then Miles "Tails" Prower enters through a ring portal like he did in the end of the first film and meets Sonic. The two fly on Tails's biplane and attempt to dodge Robotnik's attacks. They then enter the bar from the previous movie wearing heavy snow gear which seems like the start of a hilarious skit. The final scene worth noting is the first appearance of Knuckles the echidna who is implied to have been convinced by Robotnik that Sonic is evil and must be destroyed, as is the case with other Sonic media such as Sonic X.

Picking up from where Sonic the Hedgehog left off, which I reviewed previously, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is setting itself up to be just as good if not better than the first movie and another entry in the realm of video game adaptations that don't suck, which began in 2019 with Detective Pikachu. It premieres in theaters April 8, 2022.

2010s Retrospective: Movie Edition

 So begins the first 2010s retrospective post.

Before I begin this lookback, I will let you know that the following films are those that I have seen (though not all because that would take too long), so no, I will not be discussing Avengers: Endgame, Toy Story 4, or other such films simply because I have not seen them. Also, these movies will be listed alphabetically and by release date. So without further ado, let's begin.

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1. Alice in Wonderland (2010)

A surprise success for Disney's live-action branch, making a billion dollars worldwide, Alice in Wonderland is a sequel to the original story by Lewis Carrol and is directed by Tim Burton. Many people panned this film likely because they compared it to the animated Disney version. But when judging it on its own, it's actually pretty alright. I like the designs for the characters, and the world of Wonderland actually being called Underland is a very Tim Burton-y thing. Can't say much for the sequel released a few years later. That was a waste of time.
Official rating: PG / My rating: 10+

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2.  How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

DreamWorks Animation starts the decade off strong with How to Train Your Dragon, a film based on the book series of the same name. In a similar vein to Shrek, the film takes liberties from its original source material. The flying scenes are some of the best animated sequences ever put on screen in my opinion, and the film does not contain any pop culture references, something that is usually present in DreamWorks films. While nowhere near as grand as other DreamWorks classics like The Prince of Egypt and Shrek, it definitely soars above their other mediocre works (*cough* Boss Baby *cough*).
Official rating: PG / My rating: 7+

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3. Tangled (2010)

Disney's 50th animated film in their ever-expanding canon, Tangled is a great Disney princess film that draws inspiration from the fairy tale Rapunzel. The songs are great, the CGI is impressive, especially in regards to Rapunzel's hair, which I've heard was tough to animate, and the characters are endearing and worthy of Mickey Mouse's ears of approval. The film did so well that it even has its own TV series which is still ongoing as of this post.
Official rating: PG / My rating: 7+