'Frozen' Sing-Along Spotlights Cool Songs

If you have daughters (I have two) or noticed a particularly popular Disney princess costume this Halloween (Elsa), you probably know Frozen is one of the hottest properties for girls.

“I saw about six Elsas,” noted my 16-year-old, who “volunteered” (with a little push) to escort the younger kids around the neighborhood Oct. 31.
Even before Frozen won Oscars for Best Animated Feature and for Best Original Song for “Let It Go,” the tide of praise from the pint-sized set had been building — and they had been singing the songs. In addition to award-winning music and lyrics, what also makes Frozen’s songs so hot is that they are easy to sing. In addition to “Let It Go,” the film includes such hits as “Do You Want to Build a Snowman,” “Love Is an Open Door” and “For the First Time in Forever.”

My girls know the tunes by heart, but often stumble over the lyrics. That’s why Walt Disney Studios’ all-new, full-length Frozen Sing-Along Edition, coming Nov. 18 on DVD and Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere, will satisfy many a budding singer. They’ll be able to follow the lyrics with a bouncing snowflake to sing along with Elsa (Idina Menzel), Anna (Kristen Bell), the goofy snowman Olaf and the other characters. In addition to sing-along and original theatrical versions of the film, the release also includes an all-new extra “Breaking the Ice” and the Mickey Mouse short “Get a Horse!” The Frozen sing-along will likely light up the holidays for many families, as adults patiently, but happily, listen to their kids’ rendition of “Let It Go” for the umpteenth time.

As a parent of two girls who really like to sing, I appreciate the fact that the tunes in Frozen offer an empowering message. It’s also what attracted my daughters to the film, about two sisters who must overcome a dangerous gift and plotting prince to save their kingdom and themselves. As much as they identified with the sisters’ tendency to annoy each other, my daughters also liked the loving relationship between the siblings that drives the plot.

Predictably, my youngest said, “A lot of younger siblings can relate to it, because the older sibling is shutting you out.”

The older one saw common ground in  “the idea of everyone expecting something from you.”

Of the climax of the film, “I liked how instead of a kiss from a boy, it was a hug from a sister,” said my youngest (and sweetest) — and the older one admitted she liked the whole sisterly love thing, too.

Aah … it warms a mother’s heart.
 

Drawing the Line

Growing up in the Bancroft household, twins Tom and Tony were competitive just like any set of brothers. But instead of wanting to be the best on the football field or basketball court, they tried to top each other with their artistic prowess.

“We just both love to draw, so that’s what we were competitive with,” said Tony Bancroft. “Just as iron sharpens iron, we improved at a faster pace because of our competitiveness.”

The brothers quickly rose up the ranks to work on the animation of numerous Disney films, such as The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. They worked closely together on The Lion King, as Tony drew warthog Pumbaa and Tom drew young Simba, collaborating on the sequence leading up to the upbeat tune “Hakuna Matata.”

They got an even closer working relationship when Tony was appointed co-director of Mulan with Barry Cook, and Tom was named supervising animator for the title character’s comical dragon companion, Mushu.

“That was the great experience as twin brothers to have our characters interact with each other, but then it was a whole different thing when it was Mulan, and now he’s my boss,” said Tom Bancroft, who is three minutes older than Tony. “… I had enough on my plate with Mushu and the challenges of making him as good as I could that I didn’t question him too much. Because he was an animator too, he knew what I was up against also. In the end, it was a very favorable relationship. We would have our lunches, where we would go off and just be brothers.”

As a first-time director, Tony said overseeing a film was a welcome — and sometimes stressful — change of pace. He and colleague Cook earned an Annie, the animation world’s answer to the Oscar, for Mulan.

“As an animator, you’re very much like an actor on a live-action film,” Tony said. “You get very involved with your character. You try to understand the ins and outs of it. … But as a director, you get to see the big picture, no pun intended. You’re involved day to day with the larger elements of the overall story, character development, and you really catch every aspect of the feature.”

The Mulan experience was equally satisfying for Tom, who considers Mushu his favorite character to work on during his more than two-decades-long career. After perfecting hundred of versions of the spunky character, voiced by comedian Eddie Murphy, Tom was able to hone in on a creature that was an integral part of the film.

“Mushu is Eddie Murphy and me combined, which is an extremely odd combination. I couldn’t be more different than Eddie Murphy,” Tom said with a laugh. “… I evolved with [Mushu] as an artist and as an animator, and was able to bring so much to it. It was a great opportunity. He’s one of those characters that as an animator, you just hope you get to work on once in your career. It’s been a real blessing to do that.”

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment March 12 re-releases Mulan as a two-movie collection with Mulan II. It is available as a three-disc Blu-ray Disc/DVD combo pack ($39.99), with bonus material including deleted scenes, featurettes, music videos and a commentary. A two-DVD set is listed at $29.99.

The release marks the 15th anniversary of the 1998 film about a Chinese maiden who goes undercover in the army to save her father from death and becomes a great hero in the process.

A father of three daughters, Tony said the character of Mulan makes a great role model for girls.

“We really wanted to present a different kind of Disney heroine,” he said. “Up until that point, there was Belle and Jasmine, Cinderella and Snow White. [But they] were all dependent upon their prince charming coming to save them. ... For Mulan, she was different; she didn’t really change herself as much as she changed how society views — ancient China, in this case — a woman. It was a real privilege to be able to present this new kind of Disney heroine to the world. I think that’s what really resonated with a lot of audiences.”

Mulan was also positive for youngsters in that its theme urges viewers to be true to themselves, Tony said.

“It was very important for [Mulan] not to change or be affected by those around her, to really stand up for who she was,” he said. “What I want my kids to learn from it and other generations of kids to learn from it is they can be true to who they are — their faith, their beliefs, being true to their parents and family. That’s a big part of the Mulan story; I hope that’s the legacy of the film more than anything.”

Throughout the years, the Bancroft brothers have held on to their Christian faith, even facing criticism at times for their participation in animated films that were a perceived affront to their religious beliefs.

“For every film at Disney, it was all about trying to find the thing in the film that spoke to my faith. Sometimes there where conflicts. There were a lot of faith things in Pocahontas that I didn’t agree with,” said Tom, a father of four who animated the title character. “I don’t pray to the spirit of the trees, obviously. And I would get questioned at church even: ‘How can you work on a film that’s so different from your faith?’ To me, I wasn’t telling my faith. That’s not what the film’s about. I was accurately trying to portray part of the story [about] the Indian culture at that time.

“It would be unfair to leave some of that out, and it would be even worse to include anything of mine or somebody else’s faith when it wasn’t true,” he added. “[But] never taking my eyes off my faith or the gospel of Jesus Christ being a part of my life, and how I work with others was always, hopefully, goal No. 1 in my life.”

Although the siblings no longer draw for Disney films, they continue to animate and share their faith in the process. Tony founded Christian-based Toonacious Family Entertainment in 2002, while Tom is working on a project for the Christian Broadcasting Network that focuses on Bible stories.

“Part of the reason why I left Disney was I felt a real calling that God had given me a lot of opportunities at an early age, unexpectedly, and put me in a place where I had earned a lot of experience,” Tony said. “I felt had God had given me so many opportunities in my career that it was leading toward something, to do something a little more independent.”

Added Tom, “How we show God and Christ in our lives is more of what we say and do than what we draw, obviously. You can show Christ in your life in a creative way in what you leave out rather than what you put in. Sometimes, just making a film that doesn’t have violence and sex and things like that, and also making a family film can be an uplifting experience. … But my experience at Disney was more about what we left out that I could be proud of.”

 

Iger’s Ire Justified on Commercial-Skipping DVR

Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger is absolutely correct when he blasted Dish Network’s new Auto Hop commercial-skipping DVR. Advertising is, indeed, critical for great TV shows — or any TV shows, for that matter — to exist. And if we keep finding ways to circumvent commercials, eventually we'll come to the point where the number of eyeballs they attract is so insignificant that advertisers will say, "Why bother?"

There was a point in time when technology was not yet so advanced that everything was in balance. If you wanted to watch TV shows for free, you were at the mercy of the networks (for new shows) and the syndicators (for the old shows). If you wanted to avoid commercials and enjoy your favorite shows with no interruptions, you turned to home video. For a lower price you could rent your show; for a higher price, you could buy a copy. Either way you were no longer a slave to a schedule or a sales pitch, but either way there was a cost attached to this freedom, this perk.

Music file-sharing first brought the concept of free entertainment to the masses, and we were hooked. Morals, ethics and the belief that there is no such thing as a free lunch went out the door. We loved the music but didn't care beans about the musicians or record companies that brought us this music. In effect, we bit the hand that fed us — and we've kept biting and biting ever since. Each new technological marvel — DVRs, streaming, YouTube — brought us another hand, and another opportunity to draw blood.

I blame this something-for-nothing mentality for the slowdown in disc sales. It's not just that consumers keep getting more and more entertainment options; it's that consumers keep getting handed more and more opportunities to access entertainment for free —some of it legal, some of it not.

And while content owners used to have to contend primarily with third-world pirates, now the enemy to the chain of commerce is everywhere, including Silicon Valley.

I applaud Bob Iger's resolve, and even the specter of litigation that is being raised by other fearful content-side executives. But the whole thing is beginning to resemble a game of "Whack-a-Mole" — no sooner do you squash one threat when up pops another one.

What we really need is a collective conscience, an old-fashioned pang of guilt. I've made it a point to no longer switch radio stations during a commercial break or skip the front-loaded ads on YouTube videos.

But I fear I am something of a lone voice. All of us need to collar that destructive dog that lurks within so many of us and train it to not bite — no matter how many tasty hands come before us.

If we don't, eventually we're going to wind up with an empty hand.

One of Our Own Makes Good — Again

It’s always gratifying to see one of our own make good, establish a name for himself outside of the confines of home entertainment.

Bob Chapek has made good for the second time in less than two years, and all of us who have worked alongside him for more years than I can recall should be very, very proud.

In what observers and analysts agree is a very smart move, the former president of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has been promoted to president of Disney Consumer Products, an expanded group that includes toys, books, apparel, DVDs and Blu-ray Discs, and video games. Chapek, who since November 2009 had been Disney’s distribution chief, now oversees a mighty consumer products empire that will handle retail and licensing across all of Disney’s businesses, from film to television and interactive media.

The restructuring gives Disney more clout than ever at retail, now that everything it sells is under one corporate roof. Media analyst David Miller, managing director of Caris & Co., told the Los Angeles Times he surmises Disney’s goal is to become “a one-stop shop for the Wal-Marts and all the big-box retailers looking for a place to go with all kinds of toys and consumer products.”

That Disney entrusts such a critical mission to Chapek isn’t surprising. Chapek, who joined Disney in 1993 after working in brand management for H.J. Heinz and in advertising for J. Walter Thompson, quickly made a name for himself in home entertainment for an approach that was at once strategic and visionary. He emerged as a de facto industry spokesman as he eloquently and convincingly pushed for new packaged media innovations such as Blu-ray Disc and 3D when standard DVD sales began to flatten, and at the same time tirelessly championed digital delivery mechanisms such as Disney’s cloud-based KeyChest initiative, which lets consumers buy a movie once and access it whenever they want on computers, notebooks, tablets and other portable devices.

Accordingly, he also broadened industry trade group DEG from a DVD champion into one that promotes all facets of home entertainment, both physical and digital.

Having known Chapek for quite a number of years, I can say this: He’s a true standup guy, honest, forthright and approachable. He’s also a very, very hard worker, thanks in no small part to a solid Midwestern upbringing in Hammond, Ind. As a boy, he was an altar server who showed up at St. John the Baptist Church promptly at 6 a.m., according to a story in his hometown newspaper. His dad was an oil refinery machinist; his mom worked at an insurance agency.

Bob Chapek truly is a self-made man. He may not have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he has a way of touching things and making them turn into gold.
 

Disney Shows Some Mad Style

Anyone who has seen Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is certain to admire the intricate costumes designed by Oscar winner Colleen Atwood.

As Warner did with it’s superb ruby slippers design exhibition for the 70th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz, Disney beautifully merged the world of fashion and film to support the disc release of Alice by hosting a gala at the Fashion Insitutute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles.

On display were the elaborate costumes from the film, designed by Atwood, as well as fashion interpretations of the various characters in Alice designed by FIDM grads. Hosted by “Project Runway” alum Nick Verreos, the runway show featured fanciful new creations, from the Mad Hatter (in a gorgeous orange gown) to the Red Queen in a ruby red dress with a voluminous train sprinkled with hearts. For pictures, click here.

The grounds, too, offered a superb setting with clocks, hearts and teacups dotting the outdoor courtyard.

Singer/songwriter Kerli got the crowd in the Alice mood, performing her hits “Strange” and “Tea Party” included on the soundtrack, just before we were treated to a viewing of Atwood’s costumes and clothing inspired by other designers.

This is the second extremely polished and classy event I’ve attended at FIDM. I hope the association between home entertainment and the institute continues.

Disney’s Troubles More About Titles and the Economy Than Blu-ray or DVD

Disney CEO Bob Iger, in last week’s financial call, seemed to be dumping on discs — at least that’s the way many analysts sized it up. Wall Street analysts, always looking to promote digital delivery, took Iger’s comments as a chance to once again declare Blu-ray a dud and the age of packaged media on the wane. Los Angeles Times columnist Patrick Goldstein , “The DVD market, which has quietly supplied the biggest pure profits for Hollywood in recent years, is in the doldrums, evidencing little hope of regaining its high-roller status, with Blu-ray looking more and more like a dud while many young consumers experiment with alternative ways of watching movies.”

But their comments have to be taken with a grain of salt. Wall Street doesn’t make money on stocks and businesses that are mature (such as packaged media). Investors make money on new businesses that are in the early stage of their lifecycle, with lots of upward stock price potential — like digital delivery. That’s why they are always so eager to dance on the grave of packaged media.

CNBC’s Lee Brodie this week titled his commentary “What’s Working: Digital Delivery.” He goes on to offer Neflix as an example, which reported one-fifth of its customers were watching streaming. “The trend sent profit up a surprising 45%,” declares a breathless Brodie. While streaming is indeed a plus for Netflix subscribers, Brodie neglects to mention that Neflix also is making MORE MONEY on Blu-ray subscribers by charging them $1 more. He also neglects to mention that there are 700,000 Netflix Blu-ray subs who are paying more for the privilege. Netflix doesn’t charge ANY premium for streaming. Might one also be able to say that Blu-ray is goosing earnings?

So let’s examine what Iger said.

“We do believe that the cost of both producing, distributing and marketing the DVDs needs to be addressed,” Iger said. He added, with large DVD collections, “people potentially will be more selective about what they buy.”

He also called this “the weakest economy in our lifetime.”

Might that be the real reason people aren’t buying as much, rather than any inherent lack of disc appeal? If discs weren’t in demand, Netflix wouldn’t be making a profit because four-fifths of its customers would be gone.

Other CEOs were more kind.

Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes: “It is true home video sales were down in the quarter for us and the industry, but the A-titles and catalog have done well. The B-titles have not done well, so that will be a bit of a challenge for everyone in the industry this year.”

He’s got it partially right, though I think catalog is suffering on DVD. When he’s talking about catalog, he is probably looking at sales on Blu-ray and TV DVD.

Fox’s Peter Chernin noted, “I think it is too early to see it (the disc sales falloff) as a secular decline. … We think it is important to keep an eye on the business. [But] we are not changing our wheels.”

Disney’s business is falling off because it, like the others, has been hit by a horrible economy. Meanwhile, it also had fewer great titles compared to the year before. Wall-E, Sleeping Beauty, Tinker Bell and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian aren’t of the same caliber on disc as Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, High School Musical 2, The Jungle Book and Ratatouille. Prince Caspian was disappointing to put it lightly (in fact, Disney won’t make the next in the series). Wall-E, though critically acclaimed, doesn’t appeal to kids as much as Ratatouille does, as evidenced by watching my own kids, 10 and 6. And, though it’s great, Sleeping Beauty is no Jungle Book.

The studios have been on the high of enormous DVD sales, and they’ll have to lower their projections a bit because of an unprecedented poor economy, but I don’t think it’s a disaster by any means — nor is it really a reflection on the inherent value of packaged media. Studio and talent salaries will have to get a haircut, and there may not be as many extras on disc, but the disc will be around for some time to come.

People love movies. They love watching them at home. They love renting some (via streaming or disc rental), but they also love owning them as well.
 

Home Theater Forum Goes to Hollywood: Disney

BURBANK, Calif. — Disney Studios started off the presentation with a demo of the menu to Sleeping Beauty (as they call it, a “Living Menu”) with the day/night and weather conditions function.

Disney expressed their strong support for the BD-Live feature on Sleeping Beauty and upcoming titles such as Tinker Bell and Wall-E. During the presentation we saw one of the bonus materials for the upcoming Blu-ray Disc release of Pixar’s Wall-E. The feature titled “Axiom Arcade” uses BD-J to deliver four unique games, one resembling the classic arcade game Asteroid. 

We were also treated to a sneak peek of the “Circle-Vision” feature on the upcoming Blu-ray release of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. A selection titled “Creating the Castle Raid” gives viewers a 360-degree look behind-the-scenes. The feature is also interactive, including pop-up facts and bonus material for each (four to five) “Circle-Vision” experiences. Fifteen features will be available via BD Live, and Disney does plan to offer streaming and downloadable content via BD Live.

Overall, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment gave the Home Theater Forum group an excellent presentation and even had a Q&A session to end things.

—Justin Sluss
HighDefDiscNews.com