Film Review: SAVING MR. BANKS

We went to see SAVING MR. BANKS, starring Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, over the holiday break.  I expected to like it, and I did.  It was a very good story, nicely told with the use of flashbacks to give us insight into the character of P. L. Travers, the author of MARY POPPINS.  I didn't go to the film believing that it was a documentary, but I have to admit that I wasn't terribly aware of what was fact and what was fiction as I watched.

Did that affect my enjoyment of the film?  Not one bit.  I thought most everything about it was good.  I don't expect academy award nominations for the actors, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of them get them.  The performances were good and believable, especially Thompson and Paul Giametti as the apparently fictional limo driver who chauffeurs Mrs. Travers around Los Angeles.   Hanks was good as Walt Disney himself, but trying to play a character who so many, including me, have seen either in video footage or on TV back in the old days has to be difficult.  I never quite got over the feeling that I was watching Hanks play Disney instead of watching Walt Disney himself, if that makes sense.

I highly recommend it to anyone, not just Disney buffs and Disney fans.  It's a very good film that deserves accolades.

It's come to my attention that there is raging debate on Facebook and in the blogosphere over the inaccuracies and liberties taken within the story and the visual presentation.  Most of the critics seem to like the film on the surface but are disturbed that people will see it and think it an accurate historical depiction of the events surrounding the making of MARY POPPINS.

I can see that many of the specifics are not accurate, and also I can see from checking the three biographies of Mr. Disney that I own that there is disagreement on the facts surrounding the relationship between Disney and Travers.  I noted that Jeff Kurtti, a noted Disney historian, presented a letter that Travers wrote to Disney thanking him for the film and praising it.  But I have read in too many places that Travers didn't like certain parts of the films, including the songs, and that her criticism often was held back until she was talking to someone who revealed that they didn't like Walt Disney.  I don't know.

I think that in general, the film gives an accurate representation of the general mood surrounding the relationships between Disney and Travers and the production team of MARY POPPINS, but uses a lot of artistic license to make it a good story.  Much like Walt didn't want to make Rudyard Kipling's JUNGLE BOOK, but Walt Disney's JUNGLE BOOK, Disney wanted first and foremost to make a film that would work well on the big screen and not necessarily be faithful to every little detail.  And they succeeded in doing that.

That's my take.  I'll probably buy it on DVD.  I already bought a biography of P.L. Travers and I'll probably make it a point to watch THE BOYS when I get a chance because of this movie and the discussions that I've read.

*****

Please take a look at my book DOING DISNEY, available for Amazon Kindle at $2.99.  Thanks!

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DOING DISNEY is live at Amazon!

I'm very happy to announce that my e-book, DOING DISNEY!  HOW TO SPEND A WEEK AT DISNEY'S FLORIDA RESORT, is live on Amazon in the Kindle Store.

It is approximately 101 pages and is priced at $2.99.

Here's my description of it:

DOING DISNEY is a guidebook written for people who visit Florida's theme parks in the same manner as the author - a week or so at a time every couple of years. It's a book of ideas and comments about what the author has found to be worth experiencing (both attractions and dining). It is NOT a comprehensive guidebook full of every fact and figure about the resort. Part travelogue, part diary, part instructional, it tries to be informative and entertaining while providing a look into what works for a family traveling to visit Walt Disney World.

BUY IT HERE!

Or download the sample first, to read the introduction and perhaps get a feel for how it's written.

Thanks in advance!!!

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Cover Art for DOING DISNEY!

Here's the cover of my ebook DOING DISNEY!  HOW TO SPEND A WEEK AT DISNEY"S FLORIDA RESORT.

I love it!  Book will be available for purchase very soon.  Going over last copyedits.

Stay tuned for release info!  Thank you for reading, and thanks for checking out the book!

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Cover Art for DOING DISNEY finalized!

I don't really have anything to say here other than that my talented friend Rich Siegle has completed the cover art for DOING DISNEY:  HOW TO SPEND A WEEK IN DISNEY'S FLORIDA RESORT.  I'll post the final art shortly here for all to see.

I am in the process of making my final pass, copyediting and adding a few bits here and there.  I expect to have it published by the end of November, 2013.  It will be available as a Kindle e-book through Amazon, and I am looking at potentially doing a paper version of both that book and my (currently available) short story collection, 14 DARK WINDOWS.  I may also publish both of them through the Nook store at Barnes and Noble.  But that is a project for later...

I noticed that The View on the Disney-owned ABC channel was filmed at Disneyland, and they did a focus on Carsland.  It does look really cool.  They had an interview with John Lasseter, they talked with Tim Allen (voice of Buzz Lightyear), and had a performance by Disney star Demi Lovato.

Any other Disney news?  Just a reminder that Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry has the special exhibit, "The Treasures of Walt Disney" with lots of cool stuff from the vault.  The exhibit is sponsored by D23.  If you want to check it out, go here.

*****
If you get a chance, please take a look at my latest offering, 14 Dark Windows, on Amazon for Kindle.  It's a collection of short stories, some horror, some milder with supernatural or horrific elements, some just nice stories, available in ebook form for $2.99!  Thank you!

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Book Review: HOLLOW WORLD (from Bamboo Forest Publishing)

Thriller fiction set in Walt Disney World!  Yeah!  And it's from Bamboo Forest Publishing, who brought us Leonard Kinsey's OUR KINGDOM OF DUST and THE DARK SIDE OF DISNEY along with books by Dreamfinder (Ron Schneider) and Rolly Crump!

So I picked this up and read it (along with the three short prequel stories that are published separately, and at a cost of $0.00 (!) under the title HOLLOW WORLD:  ORIGINS) and it grabbed me.  It starts off in Detroit where Detective Charlie Walker is wrapping things up in preparation for a vacation to Walt Disney World with his beautiful wife Meghan and his two precocious daughters, and everything is going smoothly.  But when visiting Epcot Center, Charlie finds his wife talking to a cast member and she seems upset.  But she brushes it off and convinces him to return to the Magic Kingdom, and then to ride the PeopleMover instead of finding a good spot to watch the fireworks.  When the ride breaks down in the darkest area of the track, Charlie finds his wife and daughters have vanished from their ride vehicle!  In their place is a manila envelope with instructions on what he is to do if he ever wants to see them again.

What follows is an exciting story where the cool rational detective is tested by an unknown (to him) adversary and ultimately meets up with a CIA team who is intent upon capturing the bad guy.  It's a story which features great characters, from Charlie and his wife and family, to the five people on
X-Ray Team to the bad guy and his minions.  Fast paced and packed with action, it was a "can't-put-down" book for me.

I think that Nick Pobursky has created an original character in Detective Charlie Walker, one who is more cerebral than most fictional sleuths but capable and believable as an action hero as well.  I can definitely see Walker as the protagonist in many future thrillers.

This is a Disney themed blog, and that's part of why I am posting a review here:  the Disney resort, theme parks and hotels especially, have become sort of an extra character in this story; even though it's a tale that could have been set elsewhere, the Disney setting added a richness to the story that I don't think would have come through in another location.  There are lots of details here about a Disney vacation as many of us experience it.  The story, like Kinsey's OUR KINGDOM OF DUST, is not for kids.  It's a gritty, violent tale that fits with its thriller book brethren, and if you're not a fan of that genre of fiction, it might not be the best choice for you.

You can get this book here at Amazon:  HOLLOW WORLD

                                                                HOLLOW WORLD: ORIGINS (three free short stories)

*****
If you get a chance, please take a look at my latest offering, 14 Dark Windows, on Amazon for Kindle.  It's a collection of short stories, some horror, some milder with supernatural or horrific elements, some just nice stories, available in ebook form for $2.99!  Thank you!


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Movie Review: ENDER'S GAME

I hadn't read ENDER'S GAME in a LOOOONG time.  It wasn't new when I first read the book, but it wasn't terribly old - there were no sequels at that time.  Later came SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD, XENOCIDE, and CHILDREN OF THE MIND, and there were the spin-offs and now there are prequels as well.  Back when I was a conference coordinator/moderator at the Book and Candle Pub on the old Delphi Internet Services, we had Mr. Card as a guest - he still was small enough that he did things like that - but most of our conversations concerned other works of his, like his Alvin Maker series and his Homecoming series.  He was an interesting and insightful guest and I enjoyed interacting with him at the time.  But even back then, 20+ years ago, he was talking about the movie version of ENDER'S GAME.

It was neat to see that my boys, aged 13 and 11, liked the book as much as I did (though I was older when I read it).  And finally there IS a movie!  Cool, huh?  We were finally gonna get to see the "Buggers" and watch Ender go through Battle School.

Overall, it was a very well done movie, in my view.  The story came through loud and clear, not subordinated to the special effects scenes.  I felt there was some depth to this story, with exploration of issues like child abuse in a subtle manner.  The special effects were not crazy good nor were they crazy over-the-top.  They served the story without becoming intrusive.

I love science fiction, and I'd probably go see this one again.  Or get it on DVD or Blu-ray.  For what it's worth, I give it a thumbs up.  Probably grade it out to about a B+ or even an A-.  It was worth the long wait for it to finally appear on the big screen.  I hope it's a big success.

*****
If you get a chance, please take a look at my latest offering, 14 Dark Windows, on Amazon for Kindle.  It's a collection of short stories, some horror, some milder with supernatural or horrific elements, some just nice stories, available in ebook form for $2.99!  Thank you!

*******

Epcot - The world's best indoor theme park!

As any longtime reader of this blog will know, I'm interested in theme park development in general, and have done some studying of the processes that the Disney Company has gone through to develop their parks in the United States (and a little bit in Europe as well), because they are the gold standard, after all.  Way back when, I did a handful of blog posts about what I saw as the "basics" to developing a theme park resort in the northern Midwest, specifically in the Chicagoland area.  And one of my conclusions was that the park would probably have to be completely indoors.

It was suggested that there are examples of indoor theme parks, including the Mall of America in Minnesota (I've never been to it).  And later, Dreamworks announced that they were going to develop an all-indoor theme park in New Jersey, close to New York City.  But I was thinking about it, and I see Epcot as the first, and best, indoor theme park in the world.

Most theme parks in the northern United States are seasonally open.  They run on weekends in the spring and fall, and run at full schedule, every day, over the summer, when kids are out of school.  Weather is obviously the big reason for this, but I would also guess that the lack of more to do around them is part of it.  They do not depend on "tourists" from other states to come visit them; it's more school kids from the area, and so they are busy when kids aren't in school.

But if an attraction was developed that was completely enclosed (like the Mall of America, for example), does it become a tourist destination?  Especially in an area like Chicago, where there are so many other things to recommend travel to it?  (This goes for the New Jersey project of Dreamworks, assuming that this is still on the table at all, being in pretty close proximity to NYC.)

Anyway, getting back to Epcot:  Every attraction there, with the partial exception of Test Track, is indoors.  You only have to go outside to walk between the various pavilions and to reach the World Showcase.  Now I would agree that it would lose something if those pavilions were themselves enclosed.  Part of their attraction is the fact that they showcase the architecture of the countries they represent, and have sort of a "city" feel - like, if you're going to Paris, or Munich, or Naples, perhaps, and wandering around an actual European (or Mexican, or Canadian or North African) city!

Consider if the walkways were enclosed between the pavilions.  You'd have a place that could easily be visited in the middle of winter, without concerns about how much snow was coming down or how many layers of clothing you needed to wear.  You could set Epcot in its current form in the northern U.S., and you'd have a functional theme park.  Enclose the walkways (arcades, like in Disneyland Paris?) and you have an all-weather park! 

I suppose, thinking about it, that most of the parks have a large element of indoor attractions (all the dark rides, the motion simulators, indoor coasters like Rock'n'Roller Coaster and Space Mountain, and most of the shows are enclosed) but Epcot has the general lack of ties to Disney content to be anyone's park, not only Disney.   That, coupled with the fact that you could enjoy almost everything about it even if it was snowing like crazy outdoors, make it a prototypical indoor theme park!

*****

If you get a chance, please take a look at my latest offering, 14 Dark Windows, on Amazon for Kindle.  It's a collection of short stories, some horror, some milder with supernatural or horrific elements, some just nice stories, available in ebook form for $2.99!  Thank you!

*****