Happy 100th Post: Top 10: Walt Disney World Attractions

 

Celebrating 100 Posts

Top Ten List #3 (Items 21- 30)

Top Ten Walt Disney World Attractions

View from Hollywood Blvd.	10. Tower of Terror – Free fall for 13 stories, Twilight Zone overlay, creepy trackless elevator cars. This ride has it all for a thrill seeker.
Inside the cue	9. Dinosaur! – Disney’s Animal Kingdom doesn’t have much going for it, but one reason to visit is Dinosaur!. It has great animatronics a wonderful story and pretty good scares.
Exterior to "The Land" which houses "Soarin'"	8. Soarin’ – This would have been higher on the list had Disney Imagineers actually changed the movie, it just doesn’t make sense for an Orlando attraction to be “Soaring over California.”
Exterior to "Universe of Energy"	7. Universe of Energy – Ellen’s making a second appearance in this series. I think Ellen’s humor is timeless and despite the ride needing major updates on the feasibility on alternate fuel sources, it remains one of my “Must Dos.”
Eric in cue at "Haunted Mansion"	6. Haunted Mansion – When I first rode this (when I was 13), I couldn’t believe the omni-movers. This technology was so foreign to me. Add into that the wonderful story and great sight gags (despite watching a “how’d they do that” on the dancing ghosts I’m still not 100% clear on the workings of it).
Not my photo	5. Carousel of Progress – This is another ride in need of an update. (Either scrap it all and start it from the 1980’s or revert back to Walt’s original and have it as an homage to times gone by – possibly move it to Main Street then). It’s slow but the tells an interesting story and the animatronics were amazing for the time!
View of "TTA" and "Space Mountain" from "Astro Orbiters."	4. TTA/Wedway People Mover – The best attraction in Magic Kingdom because: bird’s-eye-view of Tomorrowland; inside view of Space Mountain; scale model of EPCOT City; and once again great ride vehicle technology.
Inside pre-show area.	3. Voyage of the Little Mermaid – The props have seen better days, as have the technology used to make this show in the early 90’s, but nothing is better than a 20 minute show with the musical highlights of my favorite Disney movie and all under some funky black lights!
Pre-show screen.	2. Finding Nemo: The Musical – Once again, Animal Kingdom leaves me wanting never to return, but this musical is great. It quickly retells the story of the movie, but with new songs and great puppets.
Eric and I in front of "Spaceship Earth."	1. Spaceship Earth – This is omni-mover technology at its best. The tales of communication from cave drawings to the Internet! How amazing! Throw in Dame Judy Dench and we have a winner!

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Happy 100th Post: Top 10: Gay Character in Television

List Number 2: The Top Ten Gay Characters in Television (or widely thought to be gay)

 10. Will Truman from Will & Grace – One of the first gay men I saw on television, holding a steady job and has a “normal” life that mimics other sit-coms.

9. Willow Rosenberg from Buffy The Vampire Slayer – Last I had left Willow she was still wearing Sears’ overalls, when I returned she was a full blown lesbian! I miss Oz, but am totally happy with Tara and evil Willow!




8. Andew Va De Kamp from Desperate Housewives - When Andrew came out, it was as revenge against his mom, but he quickly became a staple in my gay character love. He’s now relegated to one off, bit scenes but I still get excited to see him on the screen.



7. Ellen Morgan from Ellen - She came out and it seemed so natural to me. I was too young at the time to truly understand it, but I loved Ellen before and even more after.



6. Stewie Griffin from Family Guy - I’m not sure if he’s completely out , but he continues to play with audiences and making side comments (usually breaking the fourth wall) about his infatuation with men.



 5. Brian Kinney from Queer As Folk - He exudes sexiness. He lingers in awesomeness. He is exponentially hot. However, his bitchiness wasn’t always welcome. His cold heart kept him away from mine.



4. Kurt Hummel from Glee - He’s so adorable. I love that he loves musical theatre. I wasn’t as flamboyant as him in high school, but he reminds me so much of myself.



3. Tenoh Haruka and Kaioh Michiru from Sailor Moon - I don’t think these two ever appeared without each other for more than a few moments. They rocked my world and when they died instead of fighting death, they reached for each other and talked about how much they love each other.

 


2. Michael Novotny from Queer as Folk - Adorable to Brian’s hot. Ying to Brian’s Yang. Michael kept me coming back to QuaF, he is relationship minded, trying to fit in while being completely different. I saw a lot of myself in him (other than being short and cute).


 

1. Scotty Wendell-Walker from Brothers and Sisters - I love how he started as a one off character, and just continued to make appearances. I love how he hasn’t allowed himself to be wrapped up in the Walker world, while still being just off to the sidelines if we need him. I love his face and body. Period.

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Happy 100th Post: Top 10: Power Rangers

In order to celebrate my 100^th blog post, and in honor of the time honored traditions of New Year Top 10 Lists, my next ten posts will be Top Ten Lists

Top Ten Mighty Morphing Power Rangers

10. Trini – Lack of characterization and centralized plot AND the fact that Yellow was a man in the Japanese version, leaves Trini with a lot to be desired. I wasn’t upset when she left the show.

9. Aisha – Replacement for Trini, Aisha might have had more character, but still so far removed from the central plot, that the only reason she remained interesting was because of her friendship with Kimberly.

8. Zack – Here’s where the list is kind of ‘eh. I have no opinion either way with Zach. However, I’m always excited when I see Walter Jones in anything.

7. Rocky – Middle of the list again. I was happy when he was demoted to Blue Zeo Ranger (although I was sad when Billy was no longer the Blue Ranger).

6. Adam – To quote Adam himself “I’m a Frog.” Actually he’s quite an attractive man and one of my crushes as a child.

5. Kat – Kat to over for Kimberly as the Pink Ranger, and really got my blood boiling because she was so good at being bad (under Rita’s control) and was Australian!

4. Jason – swoon. His macho muscles and monosyllabic retorts have made him what I think when I hear someone say “masculine.” When he returned in Zeo Rangers as the Gold Ranger I probably creamed myself.

3. Kimberly – God, I wanted to be Kim. She was a gymnast (my secret desire). And she dated Tommy. She was one of the first original characters to stop being a caricature.

2. Tommy – His hair, his earring, swoon. Everything I found attractive in a male as a child (before I knew men where attractive).

1. Billy – I felt the most like Billy; a nerd and outcast who was more interested in books and learning than most anything else.

I loved the Power Rangers.

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Walt Disney Animation Studios Part 37: Tarzan

Series Intro: This is Part 37 of a multi-part retrospective of Walt Disney Animation Studios' endeavors.

Official Title: Tarzan
Release: June 18, 1999
Running Time: 88 minutes
Estimated Cost: $150 million (over twice the cost of Mulan)
Estimated Revenue: $448.19 million
Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Plot Summary:
In the middle of a tempest, a young white couple’s boat catches fire off the coast of Africa. They safely make it to land with their infant and successfully make a life here for themselves (a tree house and everything).

Elsewhere in the jungle a female gorilla, Kala, is mourning the lost of her child when she hears a baby’s cry. She finds the babe in the tree house alone, his parents apparently killed off screen by a leopard. Kala and the leopard fight with Kala winning and rescuing the babe. Despite Kerchak’s (the tribe’s alpha leader) warning, Kala insists on raising the babe, giving him the name Tarzan.

As Tarzan is growing up, he and his friends Turk – a gorilla – and Tantor – an elephant, have several misadventures while Tarzan both tries to fit in and figure out why he is so different.

As Tarzan is entering adulthood, a short babbling scientist, Professor Porter; his daughter, Jane; and their gun toting, jungle guide, Clayton, invade the jungle. Tarzan saves Jane from an angry pack of baboons. Enthralled by each other, Tarzan and Jane spend all of her remaining time together, teaching each other. When the boat comes, Jane, her father and Clayton are upset that they still haven’t seen the gorillas. Clayton tricks Tarzan into revealing this secrete location.

Upset by Jane leaving, Tarzan is despondent about either leaving the jungle with Jane or her leaving forever. Kala, shows Tarzan his first home and he decides that since he is human, he should go with Jane.

Clayton attacks and captures Jane, her dad and Tarzan and revisits the gorillas, this time with cages. Terk and Tantor rescue Tarzan, who goes back to save the gorillas. Clayton and Tarzan fight, and despite Tarzan’s warning, Clayton gets hanged. Kerchak, wounded in the fight, finally accepts Tarzan as a son and the leader of the tribe.

Jane decides to remain in the jungle with Tarzan and the gorillas. Her father has a last minute change of heart, and remains with them too.

Songs:

Two Worlds
You'll Be in My Heart
Son of Man
Trashin' the Camp
Strangers Like Me

This was NOT a musical. Only one song was partly song by the characters, while another was musically improvise by them.

The sound track was amazing! Phil Collins’ music was emotional and powerful and led to a deeper connection to the characters. I loved how each song had several reprise, which is a very Broadway thing to do.

Plot Rating: 5 stars out of 5

I had only seen this movie twice (once in theatres and once on VHS). I hadn’t liked it as a child.

But now, I love it. I can’t believe how wonderful this story was. It was so heart wrenching and endearing. I truly felt connected with all of the characters, and believed their reactions to their situations.

Animation Rating: 2 out of 5

I couldn’t believe how horrible the CGI was in this film. Right from the get go, Tarzan’s parents were just hand-drawn blips in a CG ocean. Many times throughout the first half of the movie I felt that the characters were just lost in the CG backgrounds.

Now, I don’t think the CG were all bad. I felt that the detail and artistry in the backgrounds were impressive, but too distracting. Their majesty rivals that of Sleeping Beauty, but where Beauty was all hand-drawn and the characters matched their background, Tarzan stood out as something that just didn’t belong.

The Test of Time:

A short stint on Broadway. An attraction at Disneyland in California. A sequel. A midquel.

Pretty nice, but Tarzan’s timeliness has fallen the same way that many “hero” movies go, he’s not a princess so the marketing department doesn’t bring him back.
Through the Modern Lens

This movie seemed to be an accurate portrayal of the white explorers in Victorian Africa; some there for academic pursuits, others for monetary gain. But I just can’t help but wonder why there were no native Africans anywhere to be found in this movie.

Next Up:
Fantasia 2000

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Walt Disney Animation Studios Part 36: Mulan

Series Intro: This is Part 36 of a multi-part retrospective of Walt Disney Animation Studios' endeavors.

Official Title: Mulan
Release: June 19, 1998
Running Time: 90 minutes
Estimated Cost: $70 million
Estimated Revenue: $304.32 million
Overall Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Plot Summary:
Mulan, a young maiden, is set to meet the town matchmaker, so she can continue to honor her family by bearing sons. However, Mulan is not ready for the tests and tries to cheat her way through, as she does early with her chores. She bombs at the matchmaker, but a bigger upset is about to occur, when the Emperor announces that every family must send one male to the arm. Mulan’s father – the only Fa male – is old and has already been injured in a war. Mulan, in drag, steals her father’s armor and goes as his son “Ping.”

The family ancestors – ghosts – meet and decide to send a guardian to help her. The dragon (nee lizard) – Mushu – sent to wake up the guardian, accidentally destroys it instead and decides to go and protect Mulan in its place. He is accompanied by Mulan’s lucky Cricket.

Mulan and company meet up the army, she immediately falls for her commanding officer – Li Shang - after she is almost discovered. Shang tells Ping to go home because he will never become a man (in the masculine, hyper-competitive, testosterone driven kind of way). Ping proves him wrong (as do the other recruits).

Shang’s army comes head to head with the Huns on a snow topped mountain, all was almost lost until Ping takes the last cannon and instead of aiming it at Shan Yu, as ordered, he aims it at the peak of the mountain. This caused an avalanche that almost takes the life of Ping, Mushu, the Cricket, Mulan’s horse and Shang, but thanks to the efforts of the rest of the recruits, they are all saved, injured but safe.

Ping’s injuries are bad and the doctor finds out his secret identify as Mulan. Shang is supposed to kill her for the trick, but because Ping saved him, he saves Mulan and leaves her on the mountain top with her horse (Mushu and the Cricket remain hidden with Mulan).

Mulan discovers that the Huns are still alive and she returns to the city where Shang is being honored by the Emperor. Everyone ignores Mulan, until the Huns arrive. Then they begin listening to her ideas and she is celebrated by the Emperor for defeating (and assumed killing) Shan Yu.

Mulan returns home with her honor restored. Mushu’s honor is also restored by the ancestors. Shang arrives at Mulan’s to return her father’s helmet and he stays for dinner.

Songs:

Honor to Us All
Reflection
I'll Make a Man Out of You
A Girl Worth Fighting For

And a closing credit song: True to Your Heart (which I don’t count because it isn’t sung by any characters!)

Limited offering here for it being a cartoon musical, have we begun to see the end of the Renaissance approaching? The end of the grand musical?

Plot Rating: 4 stars out of 5

I loved this movie so much as a child, I thought it was great to see a “Princes” in a comedic role and truly fighting (both against the fact that she is a woman and against the Huns). Girl Power!

Animation Rating: 2 out of 5

I believe we’ve lost some of the greatness in animation that we saw just a mere decade ago with Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. There was a bit of over reliance on CG effects that really took me out of the world of the movie.

The Test of Time:

Mulan? Who?

Although sometimes grouped (inaccurately) with the Disney Princesses, Mulan hasn’t had the staying power of some of the other lead characters from the Renaissance.

Mushu has a bit part in a WDW attraction that reveals the inner workings of animation, at Disney’s [MGM] Hollywood Studios. Mulan was produced in Orlando so it would only make sense that a Mulan character would host this attraction.

Through the Modern Lens

Another non-white heroine!

I’ll admit I don’t know too much about Chinese culture, but I had a feeling that a lot was inaccurately portrayed, until further research showed that China actually allowed the movie to play! Could WDAS have stuck close enough to Chinese traditions that the people of China weren’t insulted?

I love how Mulan stands up for herself and takes action into her own hands. I also appreciate the fact that although she finds Shang attractive, she doesn’t do stupid things for love, but the her country!

Next Up:
Tarzan

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