I'm surprised a lot of people see this trend as new — I remember the mid-to-late 1990s when Disney first tried their hand at that sort of thing with "101 Dalmatians". (They also had a live-action "Jungle Book" movie in 1994 directed by Stephen Sommers, but that was just a loose Tarzan-esque riff on Kipling rather…

Yeah, the 2010 "Alice in Wonderland" was one of the first movies to gross over $1 billion, not adjusting for inflation. And very few people copped to liking it then.

Yep, nostalgia is key. As the Chicago Tribune review notes, the remake itself is taking audience familiarity and love of the original for granted. If it just recreates what people loved the first time with a few more bells and whistles, that will be enough for many viewers.

It was only a question of how big it would be really, not if it would be big. And the international grosses are healthy so far too ($44 million from China alone). I think that's another big reason Disney's pushing the remake button so often lately; some of these properties are still fairly fresh to foreign markets,…

Oof, I could not watch the entirety of "Victor/Victoria" simply based on that deadly opening stretch. Glad to hear it gets better at least. And boy, I can't believe Peter Sellers was considered for the role of Toddy. I love Sellers — shout out to the Criterion Collection edition of "Being There" arriving this…

I can't remember — do you have Reeve's "Monsignor" penciled in for later this year? That movie's been popping up on the Encore channels. I put it on as background noise, and that seems to be enough. One weirdly restrained drama, given what it's about (and that it's from the guy who directed "Mommie Dearest").

One critic who didn't like "The Passion of Joan of Arc" argued that this movie was influential because it shows other filmmakers what they *shouldn't* do, noting that "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (with its madly stylized sets) is a similar case. But I liked it — the ending was truly moving. (I like to work from…

I am wondering if seeing it in 3D IMAX would have made a difference for me. I saw it in 2D. A lot of shots — such as the very first with the rose — do seem to be "paddleball shots" meant to show off the novelty formats.

An aching back prevented me from doing much on Saturday, otherwise I'd have more to say here. Maybe later today?…

I didn't care much for Watson and Stevens, but yes, there were good things in it. Kevin Kline was great. His last real "scene", when Belle and Maurice have escaped the villains' clutches, was dead solid perfect. "Do you have children?"

I curbed my expectations and was still let down badly!

Other Guy, I assume you know that there is a stage version of "Hunchback of Notre Dame" that ran at Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey a while back — and there was a German-language stage adaptation before that at the turn of the millennium. In the end, one reason it didn't transfer is that its score REQUIRES a full…

"Anastasia"'s score is by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens ("Once on This Island", "Ragtime", etc.) and it's one of the stronger of the various Disney-imitation animated features of the 1990s. Not as good as "The Prince of Egypt", but good. The best numbers are the ones that handle exposition or story progression,…

About the napkin bit — at least there's a nice little background joke made of that in the 1991 film. The chair Belle is sitting in intends to tie it around her neck for her, and it looks offended that she just puts it in her lap. (It makes a gesture akin to putting its hands on its hips.)

Now if that song had been in the movie it would have been that much better! At least over the end credits!

Weirdly, the whole business of Belle's backstory is treated as a huge deal and reveal, even though it barely affects the actual plot and opens up an all new plot hole to boot, given how the film was working overtime to fill them. (Basically, she gets the means to rescue her Dad near-instantly and escape the mob…and…

The novelization explains that girls can't attend the school. At the end of it, this is one of the things Belle intends to work on now that she's pretty much queen. And she does intend to travel the world with her hubby, too.

A few miscellaneous comments for fun:

They don't make a huge deal of its influence, but on a few occasions Disney promo stuff will admit yep, they did take inspiration from that version. Disney hype is rarely willing to fess up to that sort of thing so they deserve a little credit there.

Only new songs are eligible for Oscar nominations.