My Top Ten Animated Horses

The majority are from Disney, it can't be helped as they have the majority of horses. I'm not counting unicorns (even though I love The Last Unicorn), Pegasus (sorry Disney's Hercules), ponies (sorry My Little Pony) or robotic horses (yes they exist).

10. Spirit/Swiftwind
She-Ra's horse was suppose to be female but they cast the male voice that did Battlecat in He-Man and he became male. Spirit became the Allicorn Swiftwind.


9. Angus
Disney/Pixar's Brave had Merida and her horse loyal steed Angus. He is a Clydesdale.

8. Bullseye

He doesn't speak, doesn't do much or contribute to the plot but he is a sweetheart and loyal. He debuted in Toy Story 2 and continued on to Toy Story 3 and the shorts and TV specials. He is the only toy horse on the list.

7. Headless Horseman's horse

In The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Sleepy Hollow was adapted and the Headless Horseman had his equally scary black horse with the red eyes. The horse's name was Daredevil in some stories.

6. Samson

Prince Philip's horse in Sleeping Beauty (the 50's) was considered his personality by the animators. The Disney animators before the 80's hated animating the Princes. They thought them boring and stiff but the animators enjoyed animating Samson as an extension of Philip. He is the only grey horse on the list.

5. Phillipe
Belle's dad's horse in Beauty and the Beast (1991). He was smart but a coward, he abandoned his owner to go get Belle. But when Belle stayed at the Beast's castle, he did too. He is the second brown horse on this list.

4. Skydancer

Starlite was cool but Skydancer was the bad boy horse in Rainbow Brite, belonging to Stormy. Stormy was in charge of lightning, storms and winter. Skydancer jumped on clouds and sneeze out icicles. Onyx the robotic horse was cool too but I didn't want this post to be all about Rainbow Brite. He is the only purple horse on the list.

3. Kahn

The loyal horse of Mulan (1998), he always stood by her and protected her but did not help Mushu nor the lucky cricket.  He is the third black horse on the list.

2. Maximus

The horse of the guards of a kingdom in Disney's Tangled (2010), he was relentless to find Finn. Maximus didn't speak but conveyed a lot in his face and actions. He was a bit anthropomorphic as he did things horse aren't even capable of doing. He is one of three computer animated horses on this list.

1. Starlite

Number one has to be the most magnificent horse in the whole universe, Starlite (Starlight) of Rainbow Brite. Rainbow Brite was a 1983 franchise from Hallmark Cards that included TV specials, a movie ("Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer"), toys, cards and other merchandise. He 'flew' by running on a Rainbow. What made him so magnificent other than he can speak. He entered a large castle on his own to retrieve a stolen belt and save Rainbow Brite. Also, he always managed to outsmart Murky Dismal, which wasn't a big feat unto itself but still.  Plus he is the third white horse in this list.

Pixar's Pairing of Sitcom stars and Movie stars

Most Pixar movies follow this pattern. Most Pixar movies in the beginning were buddy pictures, some that were not follow this pattern I am about to talk about. This pattern is having at least the lead characters were one star that usually did sitcoms before the film and one star usually known for movies, even if they did a sitcom in the past (like Tom Hanks in Bosom Buddies). The film star could have also be a comedian and the sitcom star could had previously be a stand-up comedian as well.

1. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen

Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3

Tim Allen has a sitcom now ("Last Man Standing") but before Toy Story, he was famous for the sitcom ("Home Improvement" now reruns on Hallmark channel). After Toy Story, he did films (The Santa Clause, Zoom, etc.). Tom Hank was best known for Philadelphia and Big. Tim Allen started out as a stand-up comedian.

 

2. Dave Foley and Kevin Spacey

A Bug's Life

Dave Foley was known for the sitcom "News Radio" on NBC that also starred Phil Hartman and Andy Dick. Kevin Spacey was known for the movies The Usual Suspects and A Time to Kill, he also did TV shows like L.A. Law. Even though they were not buddies in the picture, they serve this example. Julia Louis-Dreyfus was also in the film and best known for the sitcom "Seinfeld."

 3. John Goodman and Billy Crystal

Monsters Inc, Monsters University

Billy Crystal, a stand-up comedian was best known for City Slickers and Princess Bride at the time. John Goodman was mostly known for the sitcom "Roseanne" at the time, even though he did The Big Lebowski before Monster Inc but it was a cult hit. He has done more films since then.

4. Ellen DeGeneres and Al Brooks

Finding Nemo, Finding Dory

Ellen DeGerneres, a stand-up comedian best known for the sitcom "Ellen" at the time and Al Brooks, best known for comedy films such as Modern Romance (1981), Lost in America (1985) and Defending Your Life (1991). Ellen now has her talk show.

5. Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter

The Incredibles

Craig T. Nelson was best known at the time for the ABC sitcom "Coach." He did do The Poltergiest before that. Holly Hunter, soley known for her movies such as The Piano, Broadcast News and The Firm. After the film, she later did the TNT drama "Saving Grace." They played a married couple, it wasn't a buddy comedy but a family action film.

6. Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy

Cars and Cars 2

Owen Wilson is best known for Starsky and Hutch, Wedding Crashers, Meet the Parents and The Royal Tenenbaums. Larry the Cable Guy, a stand-up comedian did the comedy show "Blue Collar TV" on the WB.

7. Patton Oswalt and Ian Holm

Ratatouille 

Even though Ian Holm wasn't part of the buddy pair of Remy and Liguini (who was played by production artist Lou Romano), they kind of serve this purpose. Ian Holm (Lord of the Rings, King Lear and The Fifth Element) played Skinner. Peter O'Toole (Lawrence of Arabia) played Anton Ego and is a film star.  Janeane Garofalo is also a stand-up comedian but not a sitcom star. Brad Garrett is best known for the sitcom "Everybody loves Raymond." Patoon Oswalt, the star as Remy is a stand-up comedian and was in the sitcom "King of Queens."

8. Ed Asner and Christopher Plummer

Up

Ed Asner is best known for the sitcom "The Marry Tyler Moore Show" and Christopher Plummer for films The Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther, The Man Who Would Be King and the 1969 classic Lock Up Your Daughters.

Wall-E and Brave did not follow this pattern. Wall-E did have film stars and some comedians but the main characters barely spoke. Brave had relatively unknowns in the United States.

Bo Beep in Toy Story 3

Bo Peep does not appear in Toy Story 3. It is implied that sometime between the events of Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3, Bo was sold in a yard sale with her sheep. The only toy to mention her was Rex when the remaining toys remember their friends who are no longer with them. When Rex says her name, it is apparent that Woody is still saddened and hurt over her loss due to their romantic relationship. However, she appears only as a background toy in archive footage at the beginning of the film during a home video montage of Andy as a child.
Bo Peep's shrinking role in the series after the first film is explained in The Art of Toy Story 3. Bo Peep was among the main cast of the first film as a voice of female reason, and was not Andy's toy, but a porcelain lamp. Due to being unable to find a believable spot in the story, Bo Peep only appears in the beginning and end of Toy Story 2. Bo Peep was ultimately written out of the story due to the fact Molly and Andy wouldn't want her anymore, and emblematic of the losses the toys have had over time. She also was written out due to the belief that Andy wouldn't have anything to say about her when he gives the other toys to Bonnie at the third film's end. Although she is not in the third movie, she appears in the Toy Story 3 videogame in toy box mode.

It had also been hard to find a place for Bo Peep in Toy Story 2, which is why she appears only at the beginning and end of the film. The filmmakers felt audiences wouldn't accept a porcelain lamp going off into the city and having an adventure. They even joked that she might roll herself in bubble wrap and FedEx herself to Al's apartment.

http://www.quora.com/Why-was-Bo-Peep-written-out-of-Toy-Story-3
http://www.pixarplanet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=179629&sid=989beebca1bb2f4960773f97751b6059

Related: http://spanengrish.blogspot.com/2010/05/not-only-did-bo-beep-lost-her-sheep-but.html

Toy Story 3 Blu-Ray Review

The movie is great and the DVD is great too, with lots of information, ideas and explanations. The Blu-Ray/DVD combo comes with FOUR discs. One disc is the digital copy, one is the regular DVD (no director's commentary on that), the Blu-Ray is just the movie (with three small cute videos), and the extras on the second disc. The Extras Disc is the one that has two Director's Commentary and lots and lots of extras, jam pack. If you are not familiar with the past two Toy Story re-issues, that has this cute 3 to 5 minute stories (Studio Stories) with drawings that are more or less true story. Two of the feautrettes in the DVD disc and Blu-Ray disc are repeated in the Extras disc. The Directors' Commentary has Lee Unkrich and Darla K. Anderson. The director Lee Unkrich expresses that he wished he had more hours to express more stuff. Darla is the producer, she mostly tells of inside info of little small things in the movie people should keep their eyes out.

In the commentary, Lee does confirm the cameo of Sid, the trash guy--who is wearing the same skull shirt. The Extras are split up by 'Family Fun' and stuff for extreme fans and other stuff. But check it out! Check them out because there ARE THESE AWESOME commercial videos. These are faux commercials for Lotso the bear, made by Pixar and they are to look like real 80's commercials. I do not know how they did it. They look like those commercials recorded off the VHS on YouTube. In the Behind-The -Scenes of the Lotso commercials, they don't reveal much on the technological aspect, but really just some stuff on the shooting with kids, with a small glimpse at use of a portable green screen. Actually the DVD extras has a lot about Lotso, on how they made toy bears to help animate the character for the animators.

Related: http://spanengrish.blogspot.com/2010/07/toy-story-trilogy-review.html

Toy Story Trilogy Review

Toy Story

In 1995, the first computer-animated movie was released. I can see this movie over and over again, it is the most original movie to be related to Disney. Pixar, by no question, are better storytellers than the current Disney brood. We all know the story behind the scenes, of Black Friday where they had a badass Woody and the movie almost got canceled (partly because Katenzberg asked for 'more edge') and how it began with the short film "Tin Toy" and it was going to be a TV movie but then get upgraded to movie by Disney. Woody originally was a ventriloquist dummy and Buzz was to be red and more theatrical. In the final project, Woody indeed had some edge. The Plot: Woody is Andy's favorite toy and Buzz Lightyear becomes the new favorite toy. Andy is jealous of Buzz, who isn't aware he is a toy and thinks he is an actual hero. Andy gets Buzz knocked out the window, Andy has no choice to take Woody out with him and Buzz follows them. They end up getting lost and kidnapped by Sid, who threatens to blow them up.

At the point where Buzz is accidentally dropped out of the window, the movie felt a bit alienating but the movie did get pretty good with the emotional stuff where the toys end up in Sid's House. One of my favorite writers Joss Whedon helped with the structure of the movie, the only thing he can remember writing was "Wind the Frog." So they added the frog toy. One idea Joss had was to have Barbie, but Mattel didn't allow it. I liked their reason, that little girls have a vision for how Barbie should be and didn't want to give one solid vision. Joss wanted Barbie to be tough and hero and be like Sarah Connor. The humans do get kind of creepy looking and seeing it 15 years later, the movie does look old, the computer graphics are great but they do look outdated. But I still like the design and style. I saw the movie in the theaters, had the tape and recently got the DVD.

Toy Story 2
Released in 1999, I was already 17 and didn't see the movie in theaters. I did rent the movie and having no expectations, I was pleasantly surprised. I thought having Jesse was a bit too tacked on, like adding a female character that looks like the male protagonist but it was a clever story. Woody was from his own franchise, like the Buzz franchise, three toys from the franchise had different stories. Jesse had abandonment issues, Stinky Pete was a jerk--haven't be rejected and never been bought and the horse Bullseye, who is like a dog--loyal and caring. We also got the villain Al (Wayne Knight). Another stroke of genius was to have Kelsey Grammer as the voice of Stinky Pete. Andy had grown up a bit and Woody was convinced to be a collectible because he knew Andy would soon abandon him like Jesse was. I liked how Jesse had some edge, she wasn't easily pushed over. Buzz leads a group of our favorite characters: Potato Head, Hamm and Rex and have a heck of an adventure to get Woody.

I did like how they got to all be outside and far from their house for once, the movie was a bit like the first one where Woody saved Buzz and now Buzz saved Woody, but I think it was different conceptually and structurally. It does make me wonder if the creators had in purpose that the villains of the first two movies: Sid and Al, both male, abuse or do things to toys in different ways. Sid was creative with his toys, he abused some (blowing up a Commander Carl) and mutated some (the Spider Baby). Al was a collector, he left his toys on shelves to collect dust. The only character flaws they had was Sid didn't respect his toys and Al was just greedy (money). The other villain Stinky Pete was conniving, smart and vengeful. One flaw in the movie is how Buzz quickly scoffed at Woody wanting to be a collectible so quickly, it would have helpef to have more context or lines about it.

Toy Story 3
11 years after the sequel and 15 years after the first one, we all know the story how Disney threatened to make their own 3rd movie without Pixar. Pixar blew them out of the water with their concept. A fully realized concept that fits right in with the other two movies with plenty of references to the movies. The beginning dream sequence is a more bloated and elaborate opening where Andy played with his toys in the first movie, with the additions of Buzz, Jesse, Bullseye, Mrs. Potato Head, and three Aliens. Andy has grown up and is plenty cute, he is off to college and hasn't played with his toys for years. He has only kept 11 toys: Woody, Buzz, Jesse, Bullseye, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Rex, Hamm, and the three aliens (for some reason). I am sure lots of people have seen the movie, and you haven't, you should see because it's great, so I'm going spoil anyway.

Andy is told to put garbage in black garbage bags and stuff to go to college in college box. He puts Woody in his college box and the others in a garbage bag, planning to put it in the attic. He goes to help his little sister and leaves the bag. The attic ladder is closed by accident. The toys are insulted and disappointed they are in the garbage and have no idea he meant to put them in the attic. Mom finds the bag and puts it on the curb. Sid makes a cameo as a garbageman. The toys escape the garbage and go in a box that will go to Sunnyside daycare, Woody tries to deter them but ends up going with them. The daycare seems like paradise, Woody escapes but ends up being taken by a cute little creative girl by the name of Bonnie. The toys soon find out that the daycare is no heaven, they are trashed and abused by pre-school babies and it was all engineered by the Care Bear-like Lotso, who was originally supposed to be in the Tin Toy TV Movie. Lotso has an interesting backstory and is much like Stinky Pete as they are evil toys. Ken doll is a interesting character, as he initially is Lotso's soldier but slowly becomes one of the good guys.

Barbie, even though being Andy's sister Molly's old toy, does stick with the other toys and come through for them. Ken's initial outfit is based on Safari Ken, the producers had found him in Keeping Ken but have not credited the webmaster for it. The webmaster was hoping for tickets to the premiere but who knows if it happened. The movie gets pretty dark and I like it, it is deliciously dark. There is a creepy symbol monkey, which I covered before that I was scared of. The eyes are the freakiest part. Anyway, my 23-year-old nephew told me the movie would make me cry as he did. I started crying at the part where after the toys escape the daycare, end up in a garbage dump and are about to be incinerated in big fire. They all have been through so much and I see these toys, that we have grown to love for 15 years, as a set, inseparable. Lots of people identify with Andy and toys because when the first movie came out, those kids that saw it, are now college age, much like the real life voice actor, John Morris, was 8 when the first movie was recorded and is now 25, he has provided the voice for all 3 movies. The ending is very touching as Andy says goodbye to his toys and there is a happy ending, albeit bittersweet.

Pixar cancels one of its upcoming films

Plot:
What happens when the last remaining male and female blue-footed newts on the planet are forced together by science to save the species, and they can’t stand each other? That’s the problem facing Newt and Brooke, heroes of “newt,” the Pixar film by seven-time Academy Award(R) winner for sound Gary Rydstrom, and director of Pixar’s Oscar-nominated short, “Lifted.” Newt and Brooke embark on a perilous, unpredictable adventure and discover that finding a mate never goes as planned, even when you only have one choice. Love, it turns out, is not a science.

Newt was supposed to be relased in summer of 2011 by Disney/Pixar and then moved to 2012 but now is canceled. Newt was originally slated to hit theaters next summer, but was moved back to 2012 to make room for Cars 2. However, with both Brave (formerly The Bear and the Bow) and Monsters, Inc. 2 set for 2012, Newt mysteriously disappeared from the schedule. Rumors are that the reason it was canceled is because of two films that have similar plots of dying species, one about macaws by Fox and one of wolves that will be released by Lionsgate.

Sources:
Collider
Pixar Blog

Not only did Bo Beep lost her sheep but we lost Bo Beep all together!

Someone missing in the Toy Story 3 trailer? Bo Beep! Bo Peep and her sheep are adornments of Molly's bedside lamp. She was Woody's love interest in both first movies. It seems she will only appear in a video of the past, briefly in the home videos Mrs. Davis makes of Andy. Later on, Woody comments that she and toys like her were either given away or sold in garage sales. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I just hope they use this opportunity to have Woody be sad over the loss of her. It makes sense since she really wasn't Andy's toy, but Molly's. And it was something of when Molly was a baby, she no longer is a baby.

How is Toy Story 3 not rated yet?

Toy Story 3 is not rated yet, how could it not be rated? It has been in the works for years and the past two movies were rated G. Lazy by MPAA or Disney?

Tinkerbell Movies

I know those Tinker Bell fans and parents to little girls already seen these films, but for others that haven't, I thought I'd write a report on the two films, as they both have aired on the Disney Channel. The two TinkerBell films: Tinker Bell and Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure are not bad at all. While they had production problems, fixed by John Lasseter of Pixar--Brittany Murphy was the original voice but with stopping production on one story [which was going to be a trilogy with the male fairies living separate]. I like the final product, it has good storytelling. It has nice and simple arcs. The big plot is that Ms. Bell accepting who she is and her life talents.

When her fairy friends were introduced--and that they each have an element [water, flowers, etc.], I thought they were lame and just cookie-cutter. But the movie introduces them well. The fiaries are in charge of the four seasons and male and female fairies co-exist, just like any other tribe. They are equal in fact. There are 'Season' ministers, two of which are male--Fall and Spring. Tinker Bell's 'love interest' or just friend, Terrence is a fairy dust keeper played by Jesse McCartney. They ration out the fairy dust. Tinker Bell can get carried away, she often learns her lesson after stating it to someone else and realizes her downfall. I hate when young heronies break down and cry at any sight of trouble, she does, but briefly. She is a strong character, she makes mistakes and is not 'perfect' or like Snow White, she's much like a 90's disney cartoon heronie, like Gadget of "Chip & dale's Rescue Rangers" or Goslyn of "Darkwing duck."

Yes, there is the token 'bad girl' or girl with attitude, Vidia [played by the talented voice actress Pamela Adlon], who gets more attention in the third movie Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue. Tinker's friends are rounded out by That's So Raven's Raven-Symone as the yellow light-powered African-American fairy Iridessa, Ugly Betty's America Ferrera and later Angela Bartys as the orange animal-caring Latina fairy Fawn, Pushing daisies' Kristin Chenoweth as Rosetta, the gardening fairy Rosetta and Lucy Liu as Silvermist, the Asian water fairy. Lucy Liu and Kristin Chenoweth are older than the other fairy friend voice actresses Raven, America, and Mae Whitman [who is a great choice as Tinker Bell, she was in short-lived series ABC family "State of Grace."] but they mix well. Her friends don't seem forced to mix but they slowly meld well. But they don't get much characterization in either movie.

Terrence does get characterization in the second movie. The animation is dazzling and they are both beautiful movies. They don't sing in the movie, but the songs are nice, not distracting, they have an Irish jig inspiration.

Source:
The tragey of TinkerBell Part 1
The tragedy of TinkerBell Part 2

Ratatouille DVD Review

Everybody might have already heard the plot to Pixar's Ratatouille, about a rat Remy that was enticed to become a chef in Paris. It all starts with Chef Gusteau who writes a book called "Anyone can cook," which is a philosophy in its own. Gusteau died and follows Remy as a figment of his imagination. No one expected it to be a hit. Pixar admitted people would be squeamish about seeing rats in the big screen but they were adamant by having them walk and scurry and act like rats. I thought I would have no problem with it at all but I have to admit I had to get used to it. Entertainment Weekly passed off the movie Ratatouille in lacking in celebrity voices. They said Patton Oswalt is no hero next to Owen Wilson's Lighting McQueen from Cars. But what decides who is not a star? Patton does a great job and Remy is an awesome character. Curious and set to his principals. The movie is filled with innuendo, guns, sex, drunk people, a chef that clams to have killed a man with a finger and venom. This is a G-rated flick and there is the line 'caught fooling around with his daughter' and Remy's human friend almost gets maced in the face.

In the first Toy Story, Pixar's humans looked robotic and weird. But, once they got that their humans have to look cartoonish, now Pixar has their own class of look for humans. It started with The Incredibles and now with this movie, humans blend in easily. Remy and his friend Linguine do go through the cliche of going up and down in stardom (claiming credit and so on), but it is forgivable. Some say the plot and writing is said and done, but the dialouge is great and awesome lines. The greatest character is Collete, that has to survive in a man-driven chef world and is hard-as-nails. Like a date movie cliche, she then falls in love with the Linguine but still remains a tough cookie. Some people said the movie could have more of her but I think it's just perfect, sometimes you got to have people wanting more.

One can pass over the movie was being cutesy and wacky but that is not the case. Pixar has a way to make movies feel real adult. For example, The Incredibles could just be another superhero dribble but it was cemented in family politics and raw emotion. Also Finding Nemo can also be taken as a morose An American Tail. Now, Ratatouille may not have star kid power like Nemo, where any kid goes "Nemo!" when they see a fish or even The Little Mermaid's Flounder, but it has its charm. The movie is delicious and have great message... move on, change and go forward. Also that people can do whatever they set their sights on. The review at the end by Ego (Peter O' Toole) is great. Of course, like any Disney movie, it comes with a happy ending, this one comes with a delightful ending.

What is not fair is this:
ONLY THE BLU-RAY and LIMITED COLLECTOR'S EDITION HAS AUDIO COMMENTARY! The regular one does not have the director's commentary with brad Bird and David L. Like cinemablend.com says, "Brad Bird is a wealth of information for people that want to be inspired by how movies are made, animated or not. What kind of shots does he look for? What makes a good script? What makes a good scene? A good character? A realistic character? An audio commentary could have made this disc go from beefaroni to alfredo."