Family Fun Saturday - Puss In Boots (1988)

The Cannon Group, 1988

Starring Christopher Walken, Jason Connery, Carmela Marner, and Yossi Graber

Directed by Eugene Marner

Music by Michael Abbott; Lyrics by Anne Pearson Crosswell

This would be the second-to-last of the Canon Movie Tales, a series of nine family musicals based after beloved fairy tales made between 1986 and 1989. It's one of the only ones to boast a genuine star in Walken. How does this tale of a cat who can turn into a man - and manages to convince all the world that his country owner is a nobleman - look today? Let's begin with the death of the miller and the distribution of his worldly goods to his sons and find out...

The Story: The miller bequeaths his mill to his eldest son and his mule to his second, but Corin the youngest (Connery) only gets his cat, Puss (Walken). Puss convinces him to buy a pair of boots, which allow him to appear as a human. He catches wild game and gives them to the King (Graber) and his daughter Vera (Marner), claiming they were sent by his master the Marquis of Carabas. He convinces Corin to take a bath in a nearby pond, then claims to the King as he passes by that he's drowning. They "rescue" Corin and take him to the castle. He and Vera fall in love at first sight, despite the attempts of Puss and Vera's Aunt Clara (Elki Jacobs) to teach them "proper" manners. 

Puss boasts to the servants that his master is rich beyond belief and has a castle with 1,000 rooms. The king wants to see this castle...but first, Puss has to drive out the Ogre (Amnon Meskin) who lives there and is terrorizing the countryside.

The Song and Dance: One of my favorites of the Cannon Movie Tales I've seen. Walken has an absolutely marvelous time as Puss, whether he's teaching Connery the ins and outs of being a gentleman, showing off his dancing moves for the servants, or outwitting the Ogre. Connery makes a charmingly bewildered miller's son, too, who never quite knows what to make of Puss or his good fortune. Marner is an adorable princess...who, unlike most versions of this story, has enough sense to figure out what's going on with the so-called "Marquis" and decide that she doesn't care what his title is. Meskin is a delightfully scary ogre, too. I especially like the costumes here, with their lovely contrast between the darker colors and simple designs of the peasants and the pastels and frills of the high court.

Favorite Number: Puss explains to Corin why his new footwear makes him "A Happy Cat." He sings his master to sleep, even as he makes his plans, in "I'll Watch Over You - A Cat's Lullaby." Vera and Corin admit it's a strange kind of "Love at First Sight" at the ball. The rollicking country dance routine at the ball is a lot of fun...and Puss showing off his moves for the servants in the kitchen is even more so.  

What I Don't Like: This may be the only Cannon Movie Tale I where I wish they had padded out the story. They never do say why Puss can change into a human only when he wears boots. There's also the usual B-movie cheapness of the production and the tinny music, both of which are a problem, especially during the scenes at court. 

The Big Finale: Charming and adorable, this is one of the best of the Cannon Movie Tales and is very much recommended for lovers of fairy tales, fantasy, or Walken.

Home Media: Thankfully, it's also one of the easier Cannon Movie Tales to find. It's available on DVD and streaming, including currently for free on Tubi. 

DVD

Tubi

The Great Gabbo

Sono Art-World Wide Pictures, 1929

Starring Erich Von Stronheim, Betty Compson, Donald Douglas, and Marjorie Kane

Directed by James Cruze

Music and Lyrics by various 

Cruze was a major director in the 1920's, helming silent epics like Old Ironsides and The Covered Wagon. By the time sound was on its way in, he'd left Paramount and joined Sono Art with the desire to make independent films that could be as big as those from the major studios. Von Stronheim was going through a tough time himself, having been fired as a director from the Gloria Swanson drama Queen Kelly. Cruze thought his Teutonic rigidity perfect for the ventriloquist who can only share his gentler emotions through his dummy. It's a great idea for a thoughtful musical drama, but...well, let's go to a small-time vaudeville theater and see how far a great idea can go astray...

The Story: Gabbo (Von Stronheim) is a great ventriloquist, but his assistant Mary (Compson) is fed up with his egotism and his berating her. He's kinder to her through his beloved Otto than he is as himself. She finally leaves, with Gabbo reminding himself through Otto of all the terrible things he did to her. 

Two years later, his act is now world-renown. He's popular for his talent, but most people think he's a ridiculous eccentric. He takes Otto with him wherever he goes, even out to eat. He eventually encounters Mary again at a nightclub while the two are dining out. She has a new partner, Frank (Douglas), whom she's in love with. Gabbo still has feelings about her and is delighted when they appear in a show together. He claims to still love her, but learns how much his outbursts years earlier upset her when he learns which side of him she really cares about.

The Song and Dance: This wound up being a bit of a surprise. Compson and Von Stronheim are excellent as the talented but egotistical ventriloquist driven mad by his love for her and the lady who wishes he'd admit his feelings through something that isn't made of wood. The first 20 minutes in particular before they end up in the theater are genuinely dark and thoughtful, especially for the early talkie era. Kane gets to toss in a few zingers of her own as one of the dancers who keeps ending up in the room next to Gabbo and ends up hearing the brunt of his weirdness. 

Favorite Number: Otto has two cute solos, "I'm Laughing" early-on when Gabbo's demonstrating what his wooden friend can do, and the stranger "Icky" at the nightclub. The numbers get bigger - and wilder - once we move to the theater. "I'm In Love With You" is probably the best of them, with attractive costumes and Compson getting to do some prancing with chorus boys before the larger chorus takes over. "The Web of Love" is goofy to the extreme, with chorus girls in fly costumes falling all over a giant web in the background while spider Douglas and fly Compson dance and argue over Gabbo. The whole thing is far more silly than dramatic, although the dance itself isn't bad when you can get over the obvious doubles used. 

Trivia: The musical numbers were originally in Multicolor (a cheaper alternative to Technicolor), but current copies are only in black-and-white.

There was originally another big musical number, "The Ga-Ga Bird," but it was cut after the initial showing and has since been lost. Bits of it survive in Gabbo's insanity montage towards the end of the film. 

What I Don't Like: If "Ga-Ga Bird" was as weird as some of the other numbers, I'm almost glad it doesn't survive. This movie didn't need to be a huge musical, and likely is only because huge musicals were the trend in 1929 sound films. "Web of Love" and Otto's songs are the only ones that move the plot along. The others are just there to show off the color or dancers. In fact, they get in the way of the far more interesting drama going on with Gabbo, Mary, and his attempt to bring her back. Otto can occasionally be a lot more creepy than cute, too, especially when he and Gabbo are together in the dressing room. 

The Big Finale: Truly unique early musical with fine performances and some insane numbers. Worth checking out if you have any interest in Von Stronheim or the era, or you've seen later movies about ventriloquists like Magic. 

Home Media: It's in the public domain, so there's a lot of inferior copies out there. The Kino Lorber DVD that pairs it with the silent Von Stronheim-directed Blind Husbands is the one you'll want to look out for. 

DVD - Blind Husbands/The Great Gabbo

Amazon Prime

Broadway Babies

Warner Bros/First National, 1929

Starring Alice White, Charles Delaney, Fred Kohler, and Marion Byron

Directed by Mervyn LeRoy

Music and Lyrics by various

This was rising flapper ingénue Alice White's first sound film with dialogue, and it would be her biggest hit. Musicals and gangster and crime films were among the genres most enhanced by the arrival of sound pictures. The rhythms of tap dancers, wise guys, machine guns, and showdowns in the streets needed the sound to really enhance them. Warner Bros, who would later become known for their gangster films, put this one out after they bought White's home studio First National outright in 1929. How does this tale of a chorus girl who is courted by a gangster look today? Let's begin at a theatrical boarding house where our trio of "Broadway musketeers" are sleeping in and find out...

The Story: Florine Chanler (Byron), Delight "Dee" Foster (White), and Navarre King (Sally Eilers) are the "Broadway Musketeers," three chorus girls who don't need a sugar daddy to make their way in the world. Delight, however, has a fiancée, Billy Buvanny (Delaney), the stage manager of their current show. Delight attracts the attention of bootlegger and gambler Perc Gessant (Kohler), who offers her and her buddies a job at his high-class nightclub. Delight thinks Billy is fooling around with spoiled star Blossom Royal (Jocelyn Lee) and takes Perc up on the offer. 

Perc is so crazy about Delight, he proposes to her. She, however, is still in love with Billy, but doesn't know how to turn Perc down. Even as they prepare for their wedding, he's fleecing a local gang who tried to use Delight to take him down. Delight has to figure out what she really wants...before the gang does it for her...

The Song and Dance: This nightclub melodrama gives us a hint of the gritty Warners Pre-Code gangster films to come. Kohler comes off best as the French Canadian crime boss who has enough charm to attract Delight and can still be menacing enough to take on the New York mobs. In fact, the gangster side of things is actually pretty interesting, frankly more than the musical doings. You genuinely want to see if the Big Apple card sharks can take this guy for a ride...and how Perc will get them back. The fact that Perc is such a decent guy makes it easier to understand why Delight can't decide between him and Billy, and why her girlfriends and landlady actually prefer Perc.

Favorite Number: "Jig Jig Jigaloo" is about as typical of a late 20's chorus routine as you can get, with White and the girls in scanty "native" costumes and neck-breaking feathered headdresses waving around stereotypical African masks and doing high kicks. The song is terrible, but the routine is definitely something else. "Wishing and Waiting for Love" is the opposite, a decent ballad set to a dull and clumsy girls and singer routine at the nightclub. "Broadway Baby Dolls" in the finale is somewhere in between - not quite so wild as "Jigaloo," but at least a little more interesting than "Wishing." 

Trivia: A silent version came out a month after the sound movie, but it's now lost. 

What I Don't Like: White does do a little better here than in Show Girl In Hollywood (and she certainly seems a little smarter), but she can still be too pouty and a bit bratty at times. Delaney's acting is even worse; frankly, he can be such a jerk, you understand why Delight would go for Perc. Byron and Eilers are supposed to be her best buddies for life, but they don't really have much to do besides squeal over her love life. Tom Dugan as Billy's best buddy Scotty overdoes his constant stuttering, to the point where it gets annoying after a while.

The Big Finale: The unique gangster story makes this a little better than Show Girl In Hollywood, but I still mainly recommend it for fans of White or the early talkie era. 

Home Media: DVD only from the Warner Archives.

DVD

Animation Celebration Saturday - Happy Feet 2

Warner Bros, 2011

Voices of Ava Acres, Elijah Wood, Hank Azaria, and Robin Williams

Directed by George Miller

Music and Lyrics by various

Talk of a sequel began almost as soon as the first film was one of the biggest successes of 2006. It wasn't quite as easy as it seemed to get everything back together. Two cast members passed away before recording began; others declined a second round. The motion capture that looked so incredible just a few years before had also come under fire with a series of flops, including one that year. How does the tale of Mumble (Wood) and his son Erik (Acres) look after all that trouble? Let's return to Antarctica for a major penguin dance routine and find out...

The Story: Erik isn't a dancer like his father or most of the other penguins. He's at a loss to figure out what he can do until he sees Sven (Azaria), a puffin passing himself off as a penguin, fly. Sven and Lovelace (Williams) fled humans who saved them from an oil spill, ending up back in Antarctica. Erik thinks that flying is the answer when the Emperor penguins are trapped after the ice around them shifts. Mumble knows penguins can't fly and tries to dance...but when he hurts himself, it'll take him, Erik, a herd of elephant seals, and two little krill to prove that even the smallest step can make the biggest difference.

The Animation: Once again, this is where the film excels. Antarctica is rendered beautifully, especially the greenish ice that breaks off where the penguins are trapped. The motion capture is a bit better done. They really did amazing things with the crowds of animals here, getting them all dancing in unison (even the krill). Even the humans in their brief appearances seem slightly less creepy. 

The Song and Dance: Along with the animation, the best thing about this is the decent cast. Pink replaces the late Brittany Murphy well enough (especially in her numbers), while Azaria attempts a Norwegian accent as the con artist puffin who convinced the penguins he's a demigod. Brad Pitt and Matt Damon have more fun as Will and Bill the Krill, the latter of whom is determined to move up the food chain. Acres is an adorable little Erik, and Richard Carter lends gravitas to the role of Bryan the Beach Master elephant seal. And at the very least, the attempts to toss in an environmental message are a lot more subtle this time. 

Favorite Number: The penguins really get into their opening medley, as we see how they've changed since the previous movie and are introduced to Erik and his lack of dancing ability. "The Mighty Sven" is Azaria and Williams' retelling of how they escaped the humans. Pink's ballad "Bridge of Light" encourages the other penguins to hold on when they're all frightened of being trapped forever. Queen's "Under Pressure" and "Rhythm Nation" by Janet Jackson provide the backdrop for the big finale, in which all of the animals in the Antarctic - even the tiniest krill - help shift the ice and free the penguins.

What I Don't Like: When the story isn't retreading the first movie, it's a crashing bore. I don't care if the krill wants to move up in the food chain or the Adelie penguins are still chasing mates. It lacks the charm and near-documentary feel of the first one. Mumble's problems with his son and the penguins getting stuck in the grotto lacks the suspense and drama of Mumble being cast out and their food supply running low. 

The Big Finale: Ok time-waster if you have kids who loved the first one or really love the cast; not necessary for anyone else. 

Home Media: Easily found on all formats, including bundled with the original film in two collections.

DVD

DVD - Happy Feet 1 & 2 Collection

DVD - Happy Feet/Happy Feet 2/March of the Penguins

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Cult Flops - Lost Horizon (1973)

Columbia, 1973

Starring Peter Finch, Bobby Van, George Kennedy, and Sally Kellerman

Directed by Charles Jarrott

Music by Burt Bacharach; Lyrics by Hal David

Inspired by the massive success of The Sound of Music, producers increasingly hedged their bets on epic musicals often made on location with popular stars and directors of the time. They debuted as "roadshow" attractions, complete with intermissions, programs, and stage shows, moving from city to city on a limited-release basis before going out to the general public. Lost Horizon was the last musical to receive a roadshow release. Producer Ross Hunter and songwriters Bacharach and David had high hopes for it...but well...why don't we begin during a revolution in Asia and see where the problems lay...

The Story: Richard (Finch) and George (Michael York) Conway manage to get a small group of people out of the country before the revolution gets worse. Their plane is hijacked shortly after they leave and crashes in the Himalayas. They're rescued by Chang (Sir John Gielgud) and his people, who lead them to a lamastary in the mystical land of Shangri-La. Surrounded on all sides by mountains, Shangri-La is an isolated paradise. People live for centuries and enjoy abundant health, it's always sunny, and greed is unknown. 

Everyone loves it there but George, who is suspicious of Chang's motives and desperately wants to leave with his brother. He convinces the lovely dancer Maria (Olivia Hussey) that the outside world is worth seeing. His brother isn't sure, especially after he falls for the teacher Catherine (Liv Ullman) and the High Lama (Charles Boyer) wants him to be his successor. George, however, discovers Chang's true motives...but even after he leaves and discovers the truth about Shangri-La, Richard can never forget it. 

The Song and Dance: At least the production is beautiful. The color blazes in every shade of the rainbow once they get to Shangri-La, and the costumes and sets add a note of vague Tibetan that the casting unfortunately lacks. Finch and Kennedy are at least trying a little, and Van looks like he enjoys his numbers with the kids. 

Favorite Number: Maria performs the willowy welcome "Share the Joy" on the night of the refugees' arrival with two other dancers. Catherine and Harry have fun teaching the kids that "The World Is a Circle" as they frolic with them on wooden playground equipment. Sally and Maria discuss why one wants to stay so badly and the other truly wants to leave in "The Things I Will Not Miss." Van also teaches the kids to "Question Me an Answer" a bit later, ending with him tapping into the creek. 

Trivia: This isn't the first time Lost Horizon became a flop musical. The stage version Shangri-La also went over badly in 1956, barely running 20 performances despite a cast that included Dennis King and Jack Cassidy. Its Hallmark Hall of Fame TV adaptation in 1960 doesn't seem to have been well-regarded either. 

Three numbers, "If I Could Go Back," "Where Knowledge Ends (Faith Begins)," and "I Come to You," as well as a reprise of "Living Together, Growing Together," were cut after the initial roadshow engagement. Though they were restored in 2011, most copies of the movie seen online are of the shorter regular release version. 

"Living Together, Growing Together" was the final top 5 song for the The 5th Dimension. 

Bert Bacharach and Hal David had so many problems working together during this film, they ended their profitable partnership. 

What I Don't Like: Let's start with the dated story. Frank Capra couldn't make it work in 1937, and it comes off even worse here. On one hand, Shangri-La is so beautiful and seemingly serene, I can kind of understand why some folks wanted to stay...but like the similar Brigadoon, the idea of a utopia that no one can leave and nothing changes comes off as being pretty creepy. Some people may find it uncomfortably close to being more like a cult than a utopia. 

The casting is a major problem, too. The only person with even the slightest musical talent is Bobby Van, and his character is annoying, obnoxious, and completely unnecessary. Everyone else looks bored when they aren't trying to sing and dance. York has nothing to do besides complain, and Ullman is totally out of place as the sweet teacher. There's also the racial casting - obviously, Gielgud, Massey, and Boyer are hardly Tibetan.

Hermes Pan may have done choreography for movies since the 1930's, but he's at sea with a Tibetan-set epic. His "Living Together, Growing Together" fertility ritual dance looks utterly ridiculous, with its dancers whirling about in bright red loincloths. The song is too slow and laid-back to suggest a passionate ritual and doesn't really fit with the routine. There's also the fact that Finch, Hussey, and Ullman were dubbed, and badly, with their lips frequently out of synch with the voices.

The Big Finale: Despite its failure, it's recently picked up a small fandom of folks who enjoy the inherent camp value and some of the songs. Really, it's more dull and weird than it is campy or fun. Only come here if you're a huge fan of Bacharach and David, the cast, or cult films. 

Home Media: This movie was such a tremendous failure, it never came out on video and wasn't released on DVD until 2011 and Blu-Ray until 2012. With both of those discs out of print and expensive online, your best bet if you absolutely must see this is streaming. It can actually be found for free on a few sites right now, including Tubi and Pluto TV. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Tubi

Musical Documentaries - No Maps On My Taps

Direct Cinema Limited, 1978

Starring Chuck Green, Howard Sims, Bunny Briggs, and Lionel Hampton

Directed by George T. Nierenberg

Music and Lyrics by various

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day yesterday, I thought I'd try something a little different. By the late 70's, tap dancing was considered to be all but dead outside of a few older dancers who continued to carry on the tradition. Three of these men came together at the Harlem club Smalls Paradise for one last dance-off in 1978. This is their story, and the story of tap as it developed from it's emergence on the streets in the 30's to the heyday of dancers like Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and John W. "Bubbles" Sublett. How does their story look now? Let's start backstage at Smalls and find out...

The Story: We follow the story of tap dancing in America via footage of black dancers going as far back as a 1933 short, Slow Poke, that featured Briggs. The three men show off what they can still do in and around their native Harlem. The film concludes with the trio competing in a dance-off in front of a packed crowd.

The Song and Dance: Short but fascinating if you love dance, tap, or know anything about the careers of these men or Robinson and Sublett. The men considered this to be an elegy, a look at a lost art form and a time gone by. Ironically, it ended up contributing to a revival of tap dancing in the 80's as the trio traveled with the documentary and danced wherever it was shown. And no wonder. This is genuine history, both in the vintage footage from the 30's and the concert shots of the equally delightful moves the men could do in the late 70's. 

The Song and Dance: The movie's worth seeing just for the sequences on stage, especially in the beginning, when we're introduced to each man and what they can do, and that dance-off in the finale as they give their all for the crowd. We also get that brief sequence of Briggs doing a nice number from the rare all-black short Slow Poke and Bubbles and his partner Buck performing "You've Got Something There" from the 1937 Warner Bros musical Varsity Show. We also get to see the famous staircase dance from The Little Colonel with Robinson and Shirley Temple. 

What I Don't Like: Boy, do I wish this movie was longer. I'd love to learn more about these gentlemen and other black tap pioneers. It's just too short to do it's subject matter real justice and should probably be used as a jumping-off point if you're really interested in dance.

The Big Finale: I'm so glad I ran into this on TCM. I'll be honest, while I heard of John W. Bubbles and Bill Robinson, I never heard of the three gentlemen in question. I'm glad I got to know them and their craft. Definitely worth a watch if you have any interest in the history of tap or black dancers. 

Home Media: The DVD can be found from Milestone Films, the company that restored it in 2017, but it's expensive. You may be better off looking for it online or occasionally catching it on TCM. 

DVD - Milestone Films

Watch TCM

Musical Documentaries - That's Entertainment III

MGM, 1994

Hosted by Gene Kelly, Lena Horne, Esther Williams, Mickey Rooney, and others

Directed by Bud Friedgen and Michael J. Sheridan

Music and Lyrics by various

It took the financially-strapped MGM almost 20 years to bring another MGM documentary with the That's Entertainment moniker to the big screen. In the interim, Turner Entertainment released many of the most popular MGM movies on home video, and cable channels specializing in older films like American Movie Classics showed even more. These movies were no longer as difficult to find as they'd been in 1974, nor were they really out of the public eye. Did we still need these movies by the mid-90's, or should the curtain come down on this franchise? Let's return to MGM Studios with Gene Kelly, and find out...

The Story: Once again, some of the most popular stars of MGM during the Golden Age of Hollywood talk about their vehicles and the dazzling array of films MGM made during its heyday, including many numbers dropped from those films. Your hosts here are:

Gene Kelly discusses the early two-strip Technicolor films of the late 20's and how they fell out of fashion, the sex-charged musicals of the pre-Code early 30's, and the black-and-white operettas and backstage films that replaced them. 

Esther Williams discusses her water-bound swimming extravaganzas of the 40's and 50's. 

June Allyson discusses the dance-heavy musicals of the late 40's and early 50's, along with how an actor got into working at MGM during the Golden Age. 

Cyd Charisse discusses the career of Gene Kelly, including two of his ballets from An American In Paris and Words and Music.

Debbie Reynolds discusses how she joined MGM, how the studio "glamorized" its actresses, and how voice dubbing works. 

Lena Horne discusses her (frequently rough) treatment as a black performer at MGM, how she lost the role of Julie in the 1951 Show Boat to Ava Gardner, and several other actors who lost roles at the studio.

Mickey Rooney discusses the career of his beloved best pal Judy Garland.

Ann Miller discusses the career of Fred Astaire.

Howard Keel discusses how the rise of television and technology like stereophonic sound and widescreen processes and new types of music like rock and roll impacted the MGM musical in the late 50's. 

Gene Kelly finishes the film with a montage of the studio's most famous musical moments over "That's Entertainment!" from The Band Wagon. 

The Song and Dance: The idea of showcasing numbers cut from films wasn't nearly as common in 1994 before the internet and streaming sites allowed many of these lost numbers to be more widely viewed. In fact, those "lost" numbers are among my favorite moments in the movie. The hosts' dialogue feels a little looser and less gushy. The fact that they allowed Lena Horne to touch on how badly she was treated at the studio showed how much time had changed...and how audiences were now a little more familiar with what really went on behind the scenes at the studios during the so-called Golden Age. 

Favorite Number: We see "Fascinating Rhythm" from Lady Be Good again, this time with alternate shots revealing how MGM put together this amazing Eleanor Powell routine. "Solid Potato Salad" showcases the creepily limber Ross Sisters doing crab imitations in the semi-revue Broadway Rhythm. Reynolds shows off the more glamorous version of "A Lady Loves" from I Love Melvin...and Donald O'Connor's view of things with her as a more down-home farmer's wife that was dropped from the movie. Fred Astaire dances with himself in split-screen in two takes on "I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man" from The Belle of New York...and we see just how perfectly rehearsed he was when the two numbers are exactly the same despite the different costumes. 

"Two-Faced Woman" gives us two routines using the same recording. I have to agree with Reynolds that they probably should have left Cyd Charisse's chorus routine in The Band Wagon; it's certainly aged better than Joan Crawford's tropical blackface routine from Torch Song. Horne has a ton of fun in the bubble bath singing one of her signature numbers, "Ain't It the Truth," from Cabin In the Sky. Judy Garland does far better dancing with a passel of kids and clowning to "Doin' What Comes Naturally" than with the exhausting "I'm an Indian Too" from Annie Get Your Gun.

What I Don't Like: Time and technology keeps catching up with these movies. Most of the cut numbers (and many more) can be found on DVD and Blu-Ray with the films they came from or on YouTube or other sharing sites. Once again, only MGM musicals are discussed. While 20th Century Fox has done at least one documentary of it's own, I really do wish many of the other older studios would dive into their vaults and showcase their older material. 

The Big Finale: I found this movie on video in the late 90's and have owned it in one form or another ever since. The slightly more honest tone and rare numbers makes this my favorite of the three Entertainment movies...but they're all recommended if you love classic musical film like I do. 

Home Media: Slightly easier to find on solo DVD than the other two, but you're still better off looking for the Blu-Ray collection or watching it online. 

DVD

Blu-Ray - That's Entertainment: The Complete Collection

Amazon Prime

Musical Documentaries - That's Entertainment, Part 2

MGM, 1976

Starring Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly

Directed by Gene Kelly

Music and Lyrics by various

That's Entertainment! was such a smash, MGM began a follow-up almost immediately. Unlike the first film, it only featured two hosts...but considering they were Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, two of the best-known and most beloved dancers in the history of film, they were all it needed. Archivists once again dove into the MGM vaults, not only for musical sequences, but for scenes from dramas and comedies featuring popular stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood. How does this mix look today? Let's begin with Astaire and Kelly, as they introduce a sequence from The Band Wagon, and find out...

The Story: Two of the most famous dancers in films introduce a series of sequences from MGM films of the late 1920's through the early 60's. Among the subjects they discuss are black-and-white musicals, comedy teams and their work at the studio, musicals set in Paris, how musicals have depicted songwriting over the years, Frank Sinatra's career at MGM, and Kathrine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy's work as a team. 

The Song and Dance: And for all the comic and non-musical sequences, "song and dance" are the operative words here. This is the second and last time Astaire and Kelly would dance together. Kelly was 64 when he made this film and Astaire turned 77 shortly after filming, but you'd never know it from watching them dance together. They were good friends in real-life and are obviously enjoying the opportunity to work together. Kelly was right that their dances literally keep the film moving, more than a host standing in front of a set could. 

Of the non-musical segments, my favorite by far was almost the entire stateroom sequence from Night at the Opera. You can never go wrong with The Marx Brothers. The Hepburn-Tracy montage, showing off their equally fascinating appearances in comedies and dramas, is also well-done. 

Favorite Number: We kick things off with the title number from The Band Wagon, joining sequences from other films that illustrate the lyrics as Astaire, Oscar Levant, Jack Buchanon, and Nanette Fabray clown and show off their own world of entertainment. Greta Garbo gets a rare chance to wriggle to the instrumental dance number "Chica Choca" in her last film Two-Faced Woman. Judy Garland introduces one of her signature songs, "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart," in the 1938 comedy Listen, Darling. Jimmy Durante gives us his own signature song "Inka Dinka Doo" in the 1944 film Two Girls and a Sailor. 

Trivia: This was the last time Fred Astaire danced on-screen, though he continued appearing in films through 1981. Gene Kelly's last time dancing on-screen would be in the 1980 cult flop Xanadu. 

Hanna-Barbara did the brief animated sequence. Saul Bass designed the imaginative opening credits that homages the various styles of credits in MGM movies of the 30's through the 50's. 

What I Don't Like: Astaire and Kelly's narration is a little better than the gushing hosts in the first movie, but it's still a little stiff. Not to mention, this admittedly misses the nostalgia factor of seeing all those major stars together in one film. The giant rainbow-colored blocks behind the men for most of their sequences look more like a kid dropped their blocks than the sets for a major documentary...especially compared to Gene's elegant segment in the real Paris. As much as I love Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Jean Harlow, and others, I really wish they'd focused entirely on musicals again. The comedy and drama sequences feel more than a little out of place. 

And once again, there's the fact that you can find almost all of these films on DVD, Blu-Ray, or streaming now, some of them quite easily.

The Big Finale: If you love the two hosts, the first film, or are looking for more background music at home or work, this one is definitely worth checking out. 

Home Media: Same deal here - the individual DVD is out of print, but the Blu-Ray set for the full series is available, and it's on streaming. 

DVD

Blu-Ray - That's Entertainment!: The Complete Collection

Amazon Prime

Musical Documentaries - That's Entertainment!

MGM, 1974

Hosted by Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, and many more

Directed by Jack Haley Jr.

Music and Lyrics by various

The tagline for this one in 1974 ran "Boy, do we need it now!" And we still need it now, more than ever. Yes, I know most of these movies are on DVD and video or turn up frequently on TCM, but there's just something satisfying about seeing them all here, with the stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood who actually appeared in them talking about their work. By 1974, MGM was on the way to demolishing its famous backlot. Jack Haley Jr. wanted it to go out in a blaze of glory...and he more than succeeded. Let's start on the lot with Sinatra and go way back to the beginning...of sound in movies and film musicals...and see just how much fun these numbers are after all these years...

The Story: The stars of the MGM musicals of the 1930's, 40's, and 50's talk about the history of musical film, the rise of MGM, and how MGM became synonymous with sumptuous, crowd-pleasing musicals until the studios began to disintegrate in the late 50's. Your hosts for this evening:

Frank Sinatra discusses the early talkie musicals, Eleanor Powell's vehicles, and the black-and-white musicals of the 30's and 40's.

Elizabeth Taylor discusses the musicals of the later 40's and early 50's and her involvement with them.

Peter Lawford discusses how the MGM studio system worked, how he occasionally ended up in musicals despite not really being a great singer or dancer, and the "teen musicals" featuring young talent in the late 40's and early 50's. 

James Stewart returns us to the early talkie era to discuss performers who, like Lawford, were thrown awkwardly into musicals, from Robert Montgomery to Clark Gable to his own (better than he'd admit) performance of "Easy to Love" in Born to Dance.

Mickey Rooney discusses his close friendship with Judy Garland, their famous series of "barnyard musicals," and the director who worked on them - Busby Berkeley.

Gene Kelly discusses Fred Astaire's career, including their first of two times dancing together in Ziegfeld Follies. 

Donald O'Connor discusses Esther Williams and her swimming extravaganzas of the later 40's and 50's.

Debbie Reynolds discusses how she got started at MGM and the 1951 MGM version of Show Boat.

Fred Astaire discusses the career of his good friend Gene Kelly.

Liza Minelli discusses her mother Judy Garland's career at MGM.

Bing Crosby discusses his two MGM musicals and touches on the MGM films of the mid and late 50's, including Gigi, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Hit the Deck. 

Frank Sinatra returns to end with one of the crowning jewels of MGM musicals, "The American In Paris Ballet" from the Oscar-winning 1951 film of that title. 

The Song and Dance: You want big stars? You get them here. If nothing else, this is invaluable as a record of many of these stars late in their careers, and Minnelli early in hers. In fact, at this writing, Minnelli is the only host still alive today. It's even more valuable as a record of the crumbling MGM studio, right before it was demolished to build housing units (which are still there to this day). 

Most of all...if ever a movie could be described as "feel-good," the That's Entertainment documentaries fit the bill. Despite the tinge of melancholy with the fading backlot sets, you really do get a sense of how much fun - and hard work -went into these movies, and how beloved they were for audiences of the day and (most of) the people who made them.

Favorite Number: Clark Gable gets an "A" for effort for his goofy girls-and-hoofing routine to "Puttin' On the Ritz" from the otherwise non-musical drama Idiot's Delight. Even Jimmy Stewart called the number "delightfully corny." Cary Grant does so well with his "Did I Remember?" with Jean Harlow in the drama Suzy I wish he appeared in more flat-out musicals. Garland gets a rare chance to join up with teen soprano Deanna Durbin (who later joined Universal) in "Americana" from the short Every Sunday. A montage of colorful water ballets from Esther Williams movies may show the numbers to better advantage than her generally dull vehicles do. 

What I Don't Like: This is wonderful if you love MGM musicals like I do, but first of all, this being produced by MGM means you don't get the whole story. Other studios made musicals during the Golden Age of Hollywood, too. You miss hearing about Shirley Temple and the Fox Blondes, what happened to Deanna Durbin when she was picked up by Universal, Crosby's formative years at Paramount, and Rita Hayworth and the Columbia musicals of the 40's and 50's. Second, the hosts can frequently come off as too gushy, and other than Lawford's admittance to not being a willing participant in most of his musicals, don't really get into the darker side of the Studio System. (We'll hear more about that when Lena Horne hosts in That's Entertainment III.) 

Third, there are times, like when Minnelli discusses her generation "just beginning," when the movie doesn't really date very well. There's also the fact that almost all of these films can be found in full on DVD, Blu-Ray, streaming, and cable. You no longer need to tune into a documentary to catch the best of classic musical film. 

The Big Finale: Great background music if you love musicals like me, remember when this was huge in 1974, or are a big fan of the MGM musicals of the 30's, 40's, and 50's.

Home Media: Blu-Ray and streaming seems to be your best bet for the That's Entertainment films at the moment. The solo DVDs and original That's Entertainment DVD collection are out of print and expensive, but the Blu-Ray collection from the Warner Archives was re-released last August, and all three movies and That's Dancing can be found on streaming as well.

DVD

Blu-Ray - That's Entertainment: The Complete Collection

Amazon Prime

Animation Celebration Saturday - Happy Feet

Warner Bros, 2006

Voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, and Hugh Jackman

Directed by George Miller

Music and Lyrics by various

With cold weather hitting much of the US at this time of year, I thought it was the appropriate time to cover another snow-themed animated film. Happy Feet was a surprise hit in 2006. Director and screenwriter George Miller was inspired by documentaries and documentary filmmakers who had shot footage in Antarctica to make a movie set there. Considering what the last animated musical about penguins in Antarctica I reviewed was like, how does this one fare? Let's follow a feather to the Antarctic shores, where emperor penguins are beginning their mating season, and find out...

The Story: Memphis (Jackman) and Norma Jean (Nicole Kidman) mate because their "heartsongs" - the songs penguins sing to attract the opposite sex - match. They have an egg, but Memphis drops it while marching with the other father penguins to protect it from the harsh winter. Their baby, Mumble, can't sing, but he can do an amazing tap dance. He's always had a crush on Gloria (Murphy), who has the best voice in the rookery. One day while dancing on his own, he encounters a group of skua (predatory sea birds). In between attempts to eat him, the largest claims he gained his yellow-tagged foot after being abducted by aliens.

As he grows up, Mumble keeps trying to attract Gloria, even though he can't sing. He flees a leopard seal and discovers a group of Adelie penguins who love his dance moves. They try to help him sing for Gloria, but the fact that the song is in Spanish and sounds nothing like Mumble gives him away. His dance moves win Gloria over anyway, until Noah (Hugo Weaving) and the other elders of the tribe claim his dances are scaring away the fish and banish him. Mumble will go a long way to get his love back, literally around the world as he and the Adelie "amigos" discover how their "guru" rockhopper penguin Lovelace (Williams) got a set of plastic six-pack rings stuck around his neck, and he finds out what really happened to the fish that supports their ecosystem.

The Animation: Motion capture technology comes to the fore here, both as a guide for the dance moves and to animate the few humans towards the end of the film. It looks better on the utterly perfect dance moves. Those penguins can really move, even made to look as realistic as a penguin can get away with and still be cute to humans. The snowy white of the Antarctic is rendered so well you get cold just watching the penguin fathers protect their eggs in that snowstorm!

The Song and Dance: This one gets some bolstering from the cutting-edge animation and well-chosen cast. Wood does well emphasizing Mumble's sweet and curious sides, while Williams is very "on" as the laid-back Lovelace, who thinks the six-pack he got caught in grants him special powers. Listen for the late Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin in one of his last films as the voice of Trev the Elephant Seal. The dance numbers are a blast to watch, and you'll probably learn more than you ever wanted to know about how three different penguin species live and attract a mate.

Favorite Number: Jackman does his best Elvis for the opening, matching his aching "Heartbreak Hotel" to Kidman's playful version of the Prince dance jam "Kiss." Little Mumble gets a darn good dance routine going to "The Joker" by the Steve Miller Band and "Everything I Own" by David Gates. Murphy's "Somebody to Love" when she's trying to choose between suitors isn't bad, either. She finally matches Mumble's awesome moves with the disco classic "Boogie Wonderland." K.D Lang sneaks a lovely version of the Beatles' "Golden Slumbers/The End" in, appropriately towards the end of the film when Mumble returns to the rookery. 

Trivia: Originally, Steve Irwin also voiced an albatross who encounters a blue whale, but that scene was cut from the final film. (It is included on the DVD and Blu-Rays.) 

What I Don't Like: For all the fancy animation and up-to-date cast, the story isn't anything you haven't seen before. It plays as a CGI Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer that suddenly veers into Ferngully: The Last Rainforest territory for the last half-hour. To give it credit, it does come off as less preachy than Ferngully, but it's still pretty obvious that the environmental slant was a last-minute addition. The motion capture works great on the penguins and their slick moves...but not-so-well on the humans, who look creepy and even a little too real.

The Big Finale: This charming jukebox musical is worth checking out for families with kids who love animals or big dance routines.

Home Media: Out of print on solo disc, but it can be found bundled with its sequel and is available for streaming from Amazon Prime and HBO Max.

DVD

DVD - Happy Feet 1 & 2 Collection

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Cult Flops - The Glass Slipper

MGM, 1955

Starring Leslie Caron, Michael Wilding, Estelle Winwood, and Elsa Lanchester

Directed by Charles Walters

Music by Bronislau Kaper; Lyrics by Helen Deustch

After their success with Lili, MGM tried again two years later with another ballet-influenced vehicle for Leslie Caron. This time, they went with one of the most famous fairy tales in the world. Helen Deustch, who wrote Lili, adapted a 1944 stage version of Cinderella, The Glass Slipper, into a whimsical semi-musical with two major dance sequences. How does this version of one of the most beloved fairy tales in the world look now? Let's begin in a picturesque European dutchy, where everyone is very happy to be preparing for a local festival...everyone but one little servant girl...

The Story: Ella (Caron) is not popular among the locals, who see her covered in cinders and make fun of her. For her part, she throws every insult back at them. She knows she'll live in a palace someday, like a fortune teller once told her mother. She's basically a servant to the Widow Sonder (Lanchester) and her pretty but icy daughters Birdena (Amanda Blake) and Serafina (Lisa Daniels), who respect her even less than the townspeople do. Her only friend is Mrs. Toquet (Winwood), an eccentric woman whom many people in town think is a witch.

One day, when visiting the lovely little pond on the palace grounds, she encounters a handsome man (Wilding) and his friend Kovin (Keenan Wynn). Angry with them taking over her favorite spot, she pushes the fellow in the pond. He's really Prince Charles, newly returned from school, but he tells her he's the cook's son. Enchanted with her spunk and beauty, he gives her an invitation to a ball at the palace. Ella is sure her stepmother won't let her go, but Mrs. Toquet knows how to get her there...

The Song and Dance: Caron is once again enchanting in a very different role. Ella's no put-upon little doll. She's a wild, willful creature, too strong-willed for the narrow-minded townspeople. I've never seen Cinderella played like this, not even in Disney's versions, and it's refreshing. Prince Charles is equally interesting, playful, funny, and intelligent enough to see that under her disdainful nature, Ella only wants to be loved. Stage actress Winwood had a lot of fun as the eccentric old woman who is the first person to ever give Ella a kind word. The gorgeous costumes and scenery go a long way to bringing fairy-tale Europe of the 18th century to life, especially the amazing ball gowns.

Favorite Number: The only song is Wilding's performance of"Take My Love" on the spinet after he's fallen for Ella at the pond, but there are two extended ballet sequences. The first is Ella's dream of what it would be like to be married to the cook's son. She and Wilding twirl and leap with maids in frilly petticoats and striped stockings and white-coated chefs around a white kitchen with massive blue stoves and copper pots, ending on a gigantic wedding cake.

The second is a lot darker. After Ella hears Prince Charles is to wed an Egyptian princess, she imagines him on the arm of a gold-clad Neferetti-esque beauty (Lilane Montevecchi) before he sees her laying on a coffin and kisses her. They flee together into the woods, only to be separated by guards in blue who return him to the princess.

What I Don't Like: First and foremost, the two ballets are so delightful, I really wish they'd gone full-on musical. Songs for the king and his court, the widow and her daughters, and maybe a patter number for Winwood might have been fun. Second, I can kind of understand why it didn't go over nearly as well as Lili did. It lacks that film's whimsy and graceful simplicity. 

The Big Finale: If you or your kids are fans of ballet or Cinderella tales, you might want to visit with Ella and give this dance-heavy retelling a shot.

Home Media: Easily found on streaming and DVD, the latter from the Warner Archives.

DVD

Amazon Prime

The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm

MGM/Cinerama, 1962

Starring Laurence Harvey, Karlheinz Bohm, Claire Bloom, and Walter Sleazak

Directed by Henry Levin and George Pal

Music by Bob Merrill; Lyrics by Bob Merrill and Charles Beaumont

George Pal is best-known today as a pioneering director and special effects wizard. He started out with stop-motion shorts in the 1940's, but by the 50's, had moved on to feature-length films in the 1958 fairy tale fantasy Tom Thumb. Around the same time, widescreen processes were also gaining favor on the big screen. Cinerama was literally the biggest of all - a camera that could produce three strips of film that would show as a curved 146 degree screen when projected. Until 1962, all Cinerama movies were travelogues, showing off various parts of the world. Wonderful World would be their first shot at a narrative film. How does this epic fantasy look on a regular home television set today? Let's begin with the brothers in Germany as Wilhelm (Harvey) gathers stories and find out...

The Story: Wilhelm and Jacob (Bohm) are supposed to be working on the family history of a local duke (Oskar Homolka), but Wilhelm would rather collect or buy fairy tales from locals. His brother is exasperated by what he sees as childish behavior. Jacob's written many scholarly tombs, one of which was admired by lovely Greta Heinrich (Barbara Eden). While Jacob courts her, Wilhelm tells "The Dancing Princess" to his eager children and his wife Dorthea (Claire Bloom).  He relates "The Cobbler and the Elves" to a group of children and customers in the shop owned by his friend Stossel (Sleazak). "The Singing Bone" comes from an old lady (Martita Hunt) rumored to be a witch, but who is really a storyteller popular with children.

He stays so long with the lady, he rushes to catch the boat that'll take him and his brother home after doing more research for the Duke's history. In his haste, he drops the manuscript for their book in the river. Not only is the Duke livid and threatens to throw them out, but Wilhelm becomes gravely ill after sitting in the rain for hours. It'll take a dream of the characters he's collected...characters who'll never be known beyond their original storytellers if he doesn't send them into the world...to revive him and make him realize just how important those "foolish stories" are.

The Animation: It's mainly found in "The Singing Bone" segment. There's some really nifty stop-motion animation done on the jeweled dragon, allowing Buddy Hackett to ride him, slam his tail, and even roll under him at one point. The 2D-animated fire the creature puffs does look a bit jarring, though. 

The Song and Dance: This is less a musical and more of a fairy-tale epic with a few song and ballet sequences. Harvey is appropriately energetic and dreamy as the kinder Grimm brother who is more interested in local culture than dry history, Bloom is patient and sweet as his sensible wife, and Homolka makes an excellent fussy Duke who cares more about his own family's stories than anyone else's. (Interesting too that this one goes the same route as the TV musical Once Upon a Brother's Grimm from a decade later in making Wilhelm the dreamer who believes in fairy tales and Jacob the skeptic.)

Of course, where this one stands out are the fairy tales themselves. They're all beautifully filmed, with lavish sets and costumes - the latter won an Oscar in 1963. "Dancing Princess" and "Singing Bone" make the most use of the curved Cinerama screen, giving us a wild, whirling dance among gypsies and escape in a carriage and Buddy Hackett's goofy fight with the stop-motion dragon from all angles possible.

Favorite Number: The woodsman (Russ Tambyn) finds the Princess (Yvette Mimieux) dancing wildly among  a gypsy clan in the woods. He shows off his own acrobatic routine while masked, then does a more passionate pas de deux with her. "Christmas Land" is the lovely carol heard throughout the "Cobbler and the Elves" segment, sung by the orphans whom the cobbler helps. Squire Hackett performs about a "Dee-Are-A-Ge-O-En" while leading his cowardly knight master (Terry-Thomas) to its cave.

Trivia: This and How the West Was Won would be the only narrative films made in true three-camera Cinerama. All other narrative Cinerama movies were shot in other formats, then projected onto a curved screen. 

What I Don't Like: As a huge fan of fairy tales, I can say that, not only is the brother's story about as much of a fantasy as their own tales, but those stories don't have much in common with their originals. The most-changed is "The Dancing Princess." In the original, there were twelve princesses who wore out their shoes at an underground ball. I can understand cutting it down to to one princess, but why have her dance at a gypsy camp? A swirling waltz would be just as easy to film in Cinerama. "The Singing Bone" originally had brothers competing to kill a less-colorful boar; the younger didn't come back to life in the end, and the elder was drowned for his lies. Far less is changed for "Cobbler and the Elves," which eliminates the Cobbler's wife, his discovery of the elves, and the end where he makes them shoes. 

The Cinerama photography itself is also a problem. What looks great on a wide, curved screen in a dome theater is more likely to look dark, cramped, or just give you motion sickness on a home screen. In fact, viewer discretion is advised if you're prone to motion sickness for the "Dancing Princess" and "Singing Bone" segments that really make use of the full 146-degree screen. No matter how well they restore these films, the fact of the matter is, they were never intended for home viewing. They were intended to get audiences into theaters.

The Big Finale: If you love fairy tales like I do or the epics of the 50's and 60's (and can handle the swirling camera), this is worth checking out at least once.

Home Media: This was the last Cinerama movie to be restored. They had a hard time finding decent elements for years, and the were expensive to restore. The fully-restored print is set to be released on DVD by the Warner Archives later this year. For now, this one is TCM and VHS only. (And the VHS is cuts the prologue with the brothers and the overture, entre'acte, and intermission.)

Watch TCM 

Animation Celebration Saturday - Frozen II

Disney, 2019

Voices of Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, and Jonathan Graff

Music by Robert Lopez; Lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez

Directed by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck

Our first review of 2021 returns us to the world of Arendelle from the smash 2013 hit Frozen. Aware of their track record with animated sequels, Disney spent years developing the script, songs, and animation. Was all that work worth it, or is this one trip "Into the Unknown" not worth taking? To find out, we begin at Arendele in the past, as Elsa (Menzel) and Anna's (Bell) father King Agnarr (Alfred Molina) tells them a story of the Enchanted Forest and the people who live there...

The Story: When Agnarr was a boy (Jackson Stein), his father King Runeard (Jeremy Sisto) made a treaty with the Northuldra tribe by building a dam in their area. The autumn celebration ended in fighting, enraging the Elemental Spirits of the Forest. A great mist flew up, obscuring the trees and the armies. Runeard is killed in the fighting, but Agnarr is rescued.

Three years after the first film, Elsa is looking forward to celebrating autumn with her sister Anna and her new friends when she hears a voice calling her. Following it awakens the Elemental Spirits, who unleash gale-force winds and cold on Arendelle. After they evacuate the citizens, the trolls tell Elsa that she must go into the Enchanted Forest to discover the truth about the past.

With the help of Anna, Olaf the snowman (Gad), Kristoff the ice harvester (Groff), and his reindeer Svenn, Elsa ventures into the woods to discover that there's often more to the story than we know, and that living a life based on fear often ends up doing more harm than good.

The Animation: Wow. All that work Disney did really shows onscreen. There's some truly incredible sequences in this. I especially love Elsa's attempts to cross the ocean and make it to that island. They rendered the ice so well, you really do feel the cold. The fall colors are lovely, the movement of the characters exquisite. 

The Song and Dance: I didn't expect Disney to go this dark. This rumination on the past, where we come from, and how it effects us in the present is almost as touching as the first movie, and a lot more complicated. There's no easy answers here, and no flat-out villains as in the first film, either. Everyone puts in excellent performances, from Bell and Menzel as the sisters who think they're better off doing things themselves to Gad as the snowman who wonders what it's like to grow. I also like that the parents are used a bit more - we barely see them outside of the opening minutes in the first film. 

Favorite Number: The movie opens with "All Is Found," a sweet lullaby that Queen Iduna (Evan Rachel Wood) sings to her daughters to explain about the sacred place where the spirits converge. Menzel and Norwegian singer Aurora perform the driving "Into the Unknown" as Elsa tries to resist the voices calling her to the forest. Gad's "When I am Older" shows how Olaf hopes he'll learn more about life when he finally grows into...well, whatever a snowman grows into. Frightened at first, Anna finally reveals how she intends to do "The Next Right Thing" and save Arendelle from destruction...even if she has to flood their home to do it. 

What I Don't Like: Maybe they went a little too dark. This misses the sweet simplicity that made the first film such an overwhelming hit...and the fact that the sisters were learning to trust one another and work together. While the music is good, I don't think it's quite as memorable as the songs in the first film, either. It's also a bit more violent, with those battles and the rock creatures and spirits. 

The Big Finale: I didn't love this one quite as much as the first movie, but I still enjoyed it a lot. I'm not the only one, either. This surpassed the first film to become the biggest hit animated movie of all time. If you or your older elementary school or tween daughter loved the first movie, you'll want to take a chance and leap "Into the Unknown" with Elsa, Anna, and their new friends. It may be one of the few times I'm glad Disney dove back into one of their signature franchises. 

Home Media: As one of the biggest hits of 2019 and the most popular animated film of all time, this is easy to find in pretty much any format of your choosing.

DVD

Blu-Ray

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