People have been looking forward to this movie for some time. Everyone wanted to see it, but when accusations of the film being racist came to the fore, things got a bit heated. So, having seen the film myself is it a glorious resurrection of ‘The “Good” Disney’ or is it a pale attempt to recapture the magic of past films? Read on, loyal readers. Read on…








‘ Princess and the Frog’ is the 49th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics line, and the first of these films to be traditionally (2D) animated since 2004's Home on the Range. The film was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements (directors of The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, and Treasure Planet). The songs and score were composed by Randy Newman.

Plot: A prince named Naveen (Bruno Campos) from the land of Maldonia is transformed into a frog by the evil scheming voodoo magician Dr. Facilier (Keith David). The frog prince mistakes a girl named Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) for a princess and has her kiss him to break the spell. The kiss does not break the spell, but instead turns Tiana into a frog as well. Together, the two of them must reach the good voodoo priestess of the Bayou, Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), while befriending a trumpet-playing alligator and a hopelessly romantic firefly along the way.








It’s been a decade since Disney put out a musical (1999’s Tarzan) and eleven years since they’ve put out a ‘Broadway-style’ musical (1998’s Mulan) in which characters break into song and tell sections of the story through song and dance routines. It really put a smile on my face to see it again. After all, this is what I was calling for in a previous article .

And yet…

We’re living in a different world now. Do you know how many things have happened since 1999? The 9 11 attacks, wars throughout the world, we have a black president now (who would’ve seen THAT one coming?). Shoot, even the PS3 is around now (which was just a wild idea a decade ago).

Not to mention that we’re living in a ‘ Post-Pixar’ culture. The primary role of animation has changed in the last ten years. While films like Aladdin and The Little Mermaid were designed to be the last bastions of ‘Grand Musicals’, films like Toy Story 2 and Finding Nemo have trained audiences to expect something a bit different: a touching story… but not necessarily a *romance* story. Pixar’s storytelling is a bit more intimate, and always *much* more emotional. I’ve cried more than once watching a film by Pixar … I’ve never cried watching a Disney film (although I did come close to tears in Tarzan. I love that movie! ^_^).

Also, I’m much older now. I remember watching and loving Disney movies when I was around 15 years old. I’m 28 now. So I have the interesting experience of watching a ‘Disney Musical’ through he eyes of an adult…which is a strange thing. A lot of things have happened to me in the past decade: Had various girlfriends, fallen in love (more than once), had my heart broken, moved three times. I’ve had joyous victories and crushing defeats/disappointments. And strangely enough… watching a film like this (which seems like it was made during the 90’s and is only now being released) brought all of that back to me. So, watching two people fall in love in this ‘Disney Way’ seems less ‘innocent and exciting’ and more…”an idealized construct made for a film” (and thus less real).








*sigh*

Did I like the film? Yes. Did I *love* it? No...but I wish I did.

From what I could see there’s nothing racist about the film (although the awareness of it threading a needle to NOT be racist never left me. One can’t help but think of Coal Black to see how far we’ve come as a society.) I liked the music, but I didn’t love it (I wasn’t humming tunes to myself as I left the theatre). BTW, what happened to Disney songs being number one hits on the radio? I remember Aladdin’s ‘A Whole New World’ and Pocahontas’s “Colors of the Wind’ getting major radio play. I have heard *nothing* on the radio in regards to this film.

Disney had their work set out for them when they took up the mantle of reinvigorating the 2D animated film. Many thought it was too big a task or “too little, too late”. Also, with the first African-American princess in the lead, the scrutiny would be harsher than ever. While ‘ Princess and the Frog’ is not a fantastic film, it is a really *good* film. I think people should check it out to: 1.) Support what Disney is doing (which is the first time I’ve seen life and excitement out of the company in a while) and 2.) To show that a 2D animation film still has the draw to pull in the big bucks at the box office. It has a budget of 105 million, and it’s only made 27 million so far. If this bombs… it truly may be the last film of its kind (and that would really suck). Please go check it out if you can.

Final Verdict: B

Have YOU seen it? What did you think? Let me know!

That’s all for now, y’all. Much love!

Mike Crichlow

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So ya see, there's this game coming out pretty soon (January 5th) that you may have heard of called Bayonetta. I've seen all this promotional stuff for the game and articles all over the place. Famitsu even gave the game a *perfect* 40/40 (it's only the 12th game to receive such high praise). I saw the pics and everything, but really...I was wondering what the big deal was.

...


Then I played the game.

...wow...







Forget TLC. THIS is the definition of Crazy/Sexy/Cool. There is such insanity and craziness in this game that it seems to be in a category all it's own. It kinda reminds me of Devil May Cry, Ninja Blade and Viewtiful Joe... but with TONS more sex appeal and sass. I just love her character. I may even do some fan art! Hmmm...

The demo is available now. I've already played it through 4 times. Definitely a 'day one' purchase for me. If you have a 360 or PS3, by all means grab the free demo and let me know what you think. IT'S NUTS!!

You can see the first 10 minutes in the clip below. (Doesn't do it justice, though. It's SO pretty!!)






Have YOU played it? Do you plan to get it once it comes out? Let me know!

That's all for now. Much love, y'all. Talk to you soon!

Mike Crichlow

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Just because I felt like it. Ha! When cosplay *works* it's a beautiful thing. Enjoy!







And one more... just because it's made of EPIC WIN!







That's all for now! Much love, y'all!

Mike Crichlow

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I was playing ‘Mirror’s Edge’ recently and I suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to plan the sequel and ways that it could improve. What’s messed up is that Pandemic Studios, whose publisher is EA, recently closed up shop. EA experimented with games like Mirror’s Edge, Dead Space, Mercenaries and the upcoming ‘The Saboteur’. It didn’t work out (the games didn’t sell that well). I’m sad to hear that EA is doing so poorly and plans to go back to making primarily sequels to ‘financially viable’ properties. I for one loved Mirror’s Edge despite its flaws and was looking forward to new IPs. With the way things are going, however… a Mirror’s Edge sequel seems unlikely.

That being said, here are ways that the next Mirror’s Edge could be improved. *Crosses fingers tightly*







CONTROLS

The Control system of the first game was awkward at best. After a few hours of playing it, I *still* was uncomfortable with the controls, which tells me that the control scheme (which was not customizable) was flawed. My improved system is stated simply in the pic below.






CUT SCENES






The Cut Scenes from the first game looked like rejected Esurance commercials. I would have full animation by Studio 4C (Animatrix, Batman: Gothom Knight). Once you beat a level you could play that cut-scene whenever you wanted to, and all of them (10 in all) could be played straight through for a 45-min animated short. That would be awesome! ^_^

FRUSTRATIONS






I died in Mirror’s Edge by just slipping off the edge of roofs more times than I care to remember. That’s’ wack. What needs to happen is if you walk towards an edge, an animation takes over and you turn around and hang on the edge. (You’re supposed to be a professional free runner after all). Then you can drop (by pressing ‘B’ ) or pull yourself up (by pressing ‘A’ ). That’s all. That alone would GREATLY improve the gameplay. This would only be along the edges of buildings, not every edge in the game.

Also, in the game you had to hit the crouch button EXACTLY when you touched the ground from a high jump to roll (if not, you’d be injured). No longer. As long as you’re holding down crouch as you hit the ground, you’ll roll and be alright. Niiiiiice.

The ‘hint’ button was also virtually useless in the game. What happens with the sequel is a glowing trail of where you need to go is illuminated for about 4 seconds. That would be MUCH more helpful in tricky areas.

Also, (and this is a big one) once you beat a level you are free to run around it everywhere (including ground level) as much as you want (to find collectibles, explore, etc.). I was shocked that this bonus was not included. Seems like a no-brainer. I hated the fact that I had to GLITCH the game to run around on street level in the first game. I mean, it’s called FREE Running, but the running was very contained. Kinda defeated the purpose…



GUNPLAY






Granted, it’s a First person RUNNING game, not a First person SHOOTING game, but come on…Mirror’s Edge didn’t even have iron sights. This is inexcusable. What needs to happen is that you have a weapon, but for the purpose of MAKING you run and not turning it into Modern Warfare 2 (which is awesome by the way, grab it if you haven’t already ) is your ammo is severely limited. That makes you use the little ammo that you have very selectively/strategically and makes you solve puzzles and obstacles sans a weapon… but it’s there when you need it. Although the gunning part would be much less than a traditional FPS, it still needs to be satisfying.

A MAP






(Cue CSI: Miami) Yeeeeeeeeeeaaaaahhhh! Would’ve liked to have one of those. It would mark places of interest, Black Market shops and collectibles. ‘Nuff said.

COLLECTIBLES






In the first game there are only bags to collect… and they serve no purpose. You don’t use them, you’re not neglected for not finding them and there’s no map to help you find the bags that you’ve missed. Rubbish. So, we’ve moved on. Yes, there are still bags, but there are also Document Wallets, Mail from high officials and other trinkets that can be sold on the Black Market for money, all in the name of The Resistance. The money you make in game would be used towards bigger ammo clips (the max you could carry is 25. Yep, 25 shots. Make them count), frag grenades/smoke bombs and bonus levels/playgrounds. The location of every collectible would be on your map, but GETTING to each one would be a test of skill.


MORE FUN, GRIPPING STORY






The first game was alright, but the story was forgettable. I say we kick it up a notch. Granted the game would only be about 6 hours (like the first one) but it would be a roller coaster of a game. Imagine this: the game starts with Faith taking a 10-min shower (too long? Alright…5 mins ^_^) after which she comes out and put on a towel. Before she has a chance to do anything else, a SWAT team smashes into her hideout and she has to take off running; down the hallway, up exterior stairs, over rooftops… all wearing nothing but a towel. That would be awesome! And it’s the over-the-top fun mixed with a gripping/serious story later on that would make for a truly awesome game. I mean, you’d be laughing at how ludicrous it is, but be thoroughly engrossed as to what would happen next. THAT’S the kind of game I want to play. (BTW, she’d only wear the towel for the first mission. Simply titled “Escape”.)


Well, that’s it for me. I’ve never done this before, but as I said, I just HAD to do it. I mean, the ways that the game could be improved were so clear to me I HAD to write them down. I love the franchise, and I hope they do something cool with it.

Much love, y’all. Hope y’all are doing well. Talk to you soon!

Mike Crichlow

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... and the peasants rejoiced. Ha! Hopefully I can grab a copy from SOMEWHERE before they're all sold out. Are you gonna grab your copy today, or are you not that into it? Just wondering...







Yeah, y'all. I'm still alive. (Cue ' Portal' ending music). Just wanted to update and see how y'all are doing. Hope you're doing well!!

Much love, y'all. Talk to you soon.

Mike Crichlow

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