A Bunch More Lego & Disney

Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney.  And perhaps, it's because I've been playing Lego Dimensions or the fact that I got a Lego Mystery Machine for Christmas but I've been itching to do another Lego & Disney article.  Now, the last time I did this, I got a bit topical but not today as I just want to have fun and look at the various Disney themed Lego sets that are out.  Now, where to start? How about with the youngest demographic as I take a look at the Disney Duplo sets that are out.



Duplo


Mickey Mouse

 





Now, I've mentioned in previous Lego & Disney articles that Lego has done other Mickey Mouse sets and they are usually aimed at the little ones and when we last talked about a Mickey Mouse Duplo set in 2013, I'll admit that I was less than pleased with the results.

 Now as for the pieces themselves,  they are kinda lame.  Look,  I know this set is meant for a younger crowd but here is something I take issue with.














Look maybe it is just me but I don't like the character bricks.  And as I said I understand that this set is intended for a younger age.  The age listing on the site was 1 1/2 - 5 years old and I get that a little bit but it almost feels cheap and as though, they didn't want to take the time to figure out make the molds for the characters. 

And I stand by my opinion that character bricks are lame, so it is nice to see figures for Mickey and Minnie return.  Though, you can most certainly tell that they are aimed at the younger crowd because of the cutesy nature here and something interesting to note is that, it says that these are based on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and yet in the set, Mickey's Birthday Parade, Mickey is wearing his suit that you see him at the parks.  Though, that seems to be more of a Disney Parks set and who knows, maybe one day that mirco scale Disneyland set on Lego Ideas will be approved to be a real set. So yeah, overall, these are nice sets.  I'm sure little ones'll love them.




Sofia The First

 





And sticking with Disney Junior shows, we have two sets based on Sofia The First and yeah, I know these sets are clearly not aimed at me but I think these figures are kinds ugly in bulky, they look and characters such as Clover and Minimus look flat.  I gotta say that these sets look really bland.  That's the only word that I can use to describe these sets. Moving on.



Disney Princess


Strap in folks, this is gonna be a long one.  There are a lot of Disney Princess sets to cover and the last time, I talked about them, they were all Duplo sets. That's not the case anymore as Disney Princess has become it's own line for Lego that 's like in between Duplo and older sets.  Where to start? Where to start? How about with Ariel? Sounds good to me.



Ariel's Undersea Palace

I'll be honest and say that I like this set and I think it'd make a cute gift for a young girl that loves The Little Mermaid. Now, some AFOL's (Adult Fans of Lego) have come out and said that they aren't fans of the minidolls as it were.  That's what the characters in this and the Lego Friends line are referred to as they aren't your typical minifigures but I think that they look fine.  And this set does really seem to have a lot going on and it is nice to see Lego tapping into a market that they had been accused of ignoring for so long with these types of toys but if anything, can we agree that characters like Wyldstyle from The Lego Movie showed that Lego is a gender neutral toy.   Sorry, getting off -topic but yeah, I think this is a pretty cute set and I think Lego Flounder and Sebastian are adorable.



Jasmine's Exotic Palace

Well, this wasn't exactly what I meant, when I said  Aladdin would work as a Lego set.

This is one that I had in my mind for the longest time. Just like Tarzan, I honestly think that Aladdin would lends itself well to Lego especially if they make a game with all the humor but for now, let's just focus on what could work. Some of the big set pieces from the film that I'd love to see. I think that the big ones I'd like to see would have to be the Cave of Wonders and the Sultan's Palace. Heck, I'd even like to see the Sultan's Palace after Jafar had taken it over. One of the big reasons that Sultan's Palace would work is that Lego has released a Taj Mahal and that is a bit similar to Sultan's Palace in design and it honestly wouldn't surprise me if Disney based that palace off the Taj Mahal.

And well, Aladdin isn't even a part of this set but it is nice to see Carpet get some love and this looks like it could be a fun set for kids to play out adventures in Agrabah.    There really isn't much more to it than that. It looks fun for the right demo and that's about it.






Cinderella's Romantic Castle

I really like the castle and the dollhouse nature of it, is adorable.  I will give credit to all of the sets in the Disney Princess line in that I love the bright and vibrant colors that  draw your attention to them. There's not too much more that I can add. Moving on.


Palace Pets

I'm not going to spend too much time on the Palace Pets as I said my peace on them, when they were first introduced and I can understand why Lego would want to get in on the Palace Pets theme as it's proven to be popular and they are brand new for 2016.  Now speaking of popular, that brings me to the next three sets in this line.  And that's no blizzard, that's Anna's sister.



Frozen



Elsa's Sparkling Ice Castle

This set wasn't announced until after Frozen had come out and from what I understand, it sold out pretty fast.  Not too surprising and I do think that it's cute but every single time, I see a commercial for this set, I am baffled by the conclusion of ice cream and why is Kristoff's sleigh there without Kristoff?  But other than that, it's a pretty nice set and I've seen in some posts from some Lego Conventions that AFOL's have used this and other translucent blue Lego bricks to make more film appropriate ice castles.



Anna and Kristoff's Sleigh Adventure

 




















Oh, there's Kristoff.  And I gotta say that this set looks awesome. I love Wandering Oaken's but the greatest part of this set has to be Kristoff's Sleigh.  That looks like quite an awesome build.

There is so much detail put into that sleigh, that I can't help but admire it.  This easily the best part of this set.  It's so cool looking.



Arendelle Castle Celebration

I think that this is the newest Frozen set to come out and looking at the minidolls and the inclusion of the Snowgies,  you can see that this set is based on Frozen Fever.

And while it's been a while since I've watched Frozen Fever, I warmed up to it during my second viewing and hey, while I ma not have been the biggest fan, the first time around, I do like see a Lego take on Arendelle Castle and with a brick separator, I imagine that it's a bit costly. I've seen one review of it from my favorite YouTube Lego reviewer, Jangbricks and Jang seemed to really like it. 



I do think that it's a cool looking set and I know a little girl that'd probably love it.  In the end, it's cute.  Okay, let's move onto to our last set.



Ideas


Wall-E

Lego Ideas, formerly Cusoo is a site, where Lego fans can submit ideas that after getting a certain amount of votes, Lego can look for approval and this is how we've gotten such sets as the Back to The Future DeLorean, the Ecto-1,  Birds, and oddly, The Big Bang Theory.  Yeah, that last one makes no sense. And this model of Wall-E wasn't just submitted by a fan,  it was submitted by Wall-E's directing animator,  Angus MacLane.  Now back in 2008,  images of MacLane's Wall-E surfaced online as seen here on Brothers Brick along with an interview with MacLane.     It took until last year for MacLane's Wall-E to get the approval that's needed for Lego to consider for an actual set but I gotta say that Lego Wall-E is just as adorable  as film Wall-E and I think he may be going on my wishlist but I want the Ecto-1 more.   Though, I love the thought of having a Lego Wall-E.   Hes' just adorable.




There you have it,  my look at more Lego and Disney articles.   I've noticed that Lego seems to be more interested the princess lines as of late.  Nothing wrong with that and looking over all of them, I am truly impressed with what Lego has been doing over the years and it's nice to see two this that I love so much come together in such as fashion.  Peace!

Wildcats Wednesdays: An Introduction

Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney.  January 20th will mark the ten year anniversary of  High School Musical and well I know public opinion of these films at the time was that they aren't very good films but I loved the first HSM film, when it aired ten years ago. So much that I got it on DVD and I own both of the sequels.  I've decided to review all 3 films and if you are expecting a bash fest, look elsewhere. As that is not my intent with these series of reviews.   I enjoyed these movies, when they first came out and I intend to review them by visiting them from the eyes of an adult, who loved these films when he was younger and I'm curious to see if I still enjoy them to this day.  Now some stipulations, I will only be reviewing the 3 movies in that main trilogy. I have no intent of looking at the horridly stupid Sharpay spin-off.

Though depending on my mood, I may look at the concert that was done.  

It is no surprise that Disney would cash in on HSM with a concert. High School Musical was the biggest cash cow that Disney Channel had. There were stage productions of the first film that schools could perform.  As there was also an ice show.

The second movie also got a stage adaption for school productions.  And as I've mentioned before, there was the one season reality show, where the prize was to win a walk-on part in the final film.

And for a while there at Hollywood Studios, there was a show that would be put on that featured songs and routines from the trilogy.

Besides this, you had all of the usual merchandise such as dolls, costumes, and books. Two of which I did read.  And the success of the HSM franchise led many Disney Channel fans to claim that that every movie series that came after it to be Disney's next attempt at High School Musical. Whether it be, Camp Rock, Teen Beach Movie or Descendants.  (Which btw is the worst of this example in my opinion).   And I do understand some of the detractors because Disney Channel and Disney in general were really heavy on promoting this film as observed up top and well I do get that a lot of older people were turned off by this or they just saw the movie and hated it.  That wasn't the case for me, I knew from the moment that I saw the first trailer, I had to check this film out.

Which was in heavy rotation leading up to the premiere of the film.  I missed the original airing of it the night that aired but thankfully, it was shown right again after the first airing.  Something Disney Channel stopped doing with their Original Movies but when your Original Movies include Descendants, that is perhaps for the best. I apologize for the cheap shots at Descendants but it goes back to what I said in my review of that film about comparing that film and High School Musical.

If I may speak as someone that is a fan of those films, each of those films had something that I felt was lacking from this film. Passion for the subject material. Say what you will about High School Musical and the juggernaut that it became but I felt the love from the cast and crew that went into those movies.

So yeah, I know that my opinion is not a popular one to have and that's why I avoided these reviewing these films, when I first started but as I've been at this for a while, I've stopped caring about what people think and instead enjoy what I enjoy and that's why I'm doing these series of reviews. Next time, we will kick off the reviews as I take a look at the first movie in the series and see how High School Musical became the juggernaut that it was. Peace!

A Look at Disney Vs. The Forces of Evil: Storm The Castle

Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney Vs. The Forces of Evil. And today, we reach the final review in this event as we storm the castle.



Episode Title


Storm The Castle.




The title says everything that you need to know about it.  Star storms the Toffee's castle. Formerly Ludo's.



The Plot


The episode opens with the two on an adventure to get a sandwich that is a sleeping monster's hands. Star is able to successfully get the sandwich out of the monster's hands but the sandwich is destroyed and Star is annoyed at Marco for damaging the sandwich and Marco is annoyed at Star for her relentless behavior as it almost got theme killed.  Later that night, Star wakes up to try and find Marco ti apologize but she's find that he's missing.  Instead of Marco, she finds Ludo's fly monster in his room, who gives her a message to bring her wand to Ludo's castle.   Then we get a funny moment, where Mr. and Mrs. Diaz call the police and the policeman doesn't believe Star and just think that she likes magic.

 




Despite their insistence. Star decides to go alone to Ludo's castle as she feels that this is her fault. Meanwhile, we come across one of Ludo's monsters, Buff Frog.  Who was fried in Mewindepenence Day after  being set up by Toffee.  Ludo (who had been kicked out of his castle after a mutiny in the last episode before the finale) comes across Buff Frog with a bag of tadpoles to bribe Buff Frog for his help.  Star comes by and knocks them out before being told they had nothing to do with Marco's kidnapping.  It was all Toffee.  Star says that she has no idea, who this is but heads to the castle anyways.  There we see that Toffee has been keeping Marco trapped in a translucent box.  This is interesting because Toffee isn't cruel to Marco but he does stop every attempt of Marco's to escape.

Star makes it to the castle and despite advice from her adversary, she just fights off the monsters and lets out a huge blast to destroy the box, that Marco was trapped in. But this does nothing as Toffee is able to just trap Marco in another box.  And this box is twice as strong and cannot be destroyed by Star's magic. Left without options,  Star complies to Toffee's demands.  And gives him the wand but Toffee doesn't want the wand, he wants Star to destroy the wand.  Star agrees  to do this  and per the agreement, Toffee frees Marco and opens the box that Marco was trapped in but Star quickly gets in as the castle is obliterated.  The two sadly look down at the wand as it has been cracked in two and this seems to be setting up big things for season 2.   Back at Star's home,  she apologizes to her parents and here we learn that the wand can be fixed but only if none of the pieces have been left behind.  And the last shot, we get is of the broken shard from the wand.

This episode was intense and really set up everything for the second thing, wonderfully and I can't wait to see where season 2 takes the things that were set up here.





Main Characters



Star Butterfly voiced by Eden Sher

This episode showed how much of a badass, Star can be as she went into action and we got to see her in full on heroine mode and how she made the noble gesture of destroying her wand to save her friend was a great touch.  This episode really went to great lengths to show what Star would do for her loved ones.



Marco voiced by Adam McArthur

This episode like Kim Possible subverted the Damsel in Distress trope by having Marco be the one that was kidnapped and Star had to be the one to save him but the difference between Marco and Ron Stoppable is that Marco is no fool and while he was in a hopeless situation,  he did put up a decent fight against Toffee.   But in the end, it was null.




Villains

Buff Frog voiced  by  Fred Tatascorie

We've seen in previous episodes that there was more to Buff Frog, than just being a lackey for Ludo.  And here, we see that he can be a very loyal ally.  And while he was down in the dumps after being fired, we learn that he is smarter than Ludo ever gave him credit for.



Ludo voiced by Alan Tudyk

It's interesting to contrast Ludo and Toffee as he is such a comic relief villain.  Compared to Toffee, he is such a fool and that is how the show presents him.




Toffee voiced by Michael C. Hall

Toffee's first appearances were all leading up to this moment and man, did they deliver as we finally saw what Toffee had been after since the third episode.  Toffee proved to be one of the effective villains on a Disney show and perhaps one of the creepiest. Everything about his calm demeanor and how he rarely loses his cool was unsettling. Even moreso in the one moment, where he did become unhinged as that was unexpected from him but that is what made it so effective.




My Final Thoughts


This was a great way to close out the first season as it had been building up to this moment.   And everything in this finale truly delivered.  I cannot recommend this show enough. If you haven't checked it out, do yourself a favor and watch the first season as you will not be disappointed. Peace! 

A Look at Disney Vs. The Forces of Evil: Top 6 Star Vs. The Forces of Evil Episodes

Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney Vs. The Forces of  Evil and today, we enter the home stretch as we countdown my top 6 favorite episodes of the first season. With that out of the way, let's begin.



6.  Mewberty

In this episode, we Star go through the Mewni version of puberty  as little hearts start sprouting all over Star's body and she turns into this rather peculiar looking butterfly creature and that in this state, Star could possibly destroy the whole school as this is where the episode is set.   We also see in this state that Star tends to go a bit boy crazy and the big thing that sells this episode is how funny it is and how it presents this transition in a very really unique way that might seem uncomfortable but that was the point.


5.   Cheer Up Star

Ah, seems Star and I have the same reaction to clowns.  This episode is really sweet, Star develops a crush on a boy at school and gives him the number of the Diaz house to call but it doesn't seem like he's going to call anytime soon and Marco sees this and decides to cheer up his best friend by bringing in monsters for Star to fight but he accidentally summons Ludo's army.  I like this episode because it shows how much of a good person, Marco is. And what he's willing to do to make Star feel better is just really sweet.



4. Blood Moon Ball

In this episode, we meet Star's ex-boyfriend, Tom (voiced by Rider Strong of Boy Meets World fame), who is from the Underworld and wants to take Star to said event, which is  their version of the prom but Marco is suspicious of Tom's intentions. And while he has a right to be suspicious, Star has more of a right to be angry at Marco for not trusting her to take care of herself. The whole message of this episode was that Star can take care of herself and she is more mature than people give her credit for. Sure, she has her quirks but she is a strong young lady and I love how this episode handles that.




3. St. Olga's Reform School For Wayward Princesses

I won't say much here as my review said everything that I wanted to but I'll repeat that this episode is one of the most powerful pieces of TV that I've seen in quite some time. The message of being yourself is always a message that I always appreciate and the way, it was handled was wonderfully done.



2. Storm The Castle

Again, I won't say much as I'll be reviewing this episode tomorrow.  This show really knew how to deliver with it's first season's finale.  Everything about this episode was intense and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to seat, what was going to happen next and it really laid the groundwork for season 2.  Which I really want.  C'mon season 2.




1.  The Banagic Incident

Bar none, this is my favorite episode.  I couldn't stop laughing throughout this episode. This episode is one laugh after the other as Star is let out on the town for her own for the first time. And with her limited understanding of earth culture makes everything so funny such as how probably my favorite moment in the episode, when she enters the restaurant that is pirate themed and she thinks that it's been taken over by pirates. This episode, where words cannot do it justice.  You need to watch it to see how gloriously funny, it can be.   This episode more than any other highlights the humor in the series and why I love it so much.



Join me tomorrow as we close out this event as I look at the season 1 finale as I look at Storm The Castle.  Peace!