Cast: Ming-Na, Lea Salonga, B.D. Wong, Donnie Osmond, Eddie Murphy
For complete cast list, see IMDb's Mulan page.
A strong female lead from Disney? No way! But, that's who Mulan is. She's beautiful and strong. Mulan goes off to fight in a war so that her father doesn't have to, since she's his only child. She saves her father's life and many others. Now, that's honor!
I love that Disney had a female lead who doesn't sit around looking for her prince and (more than that) doesn't even end up with a prince at the end. She may end up starting to date Shan-Yu, but they're not married by the end of the movie, which is such a nice change.
If you have daughters, I think this is a must-own movie. Mulan is a wonderful roll model. The voice actors are great and so are the songs! It's a cute movie with a great female lead. Way to go, Disney!
Grade: B+
Labels: 1998, adventure, animated, comedy, Disney, drama, family, Lea Salonga, movie, musical
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Robin Williams, Scott Weinger, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Frank Welker, Brad Kane, Lea Salonga, Gilbert Gottfried
For complete info, see IMDb's Aladdin page.
Robin Williams is so hilarious and Disney really let him go crazy in Aladdin, which is part of what makes it so special. The story is nothing new, though they added some good things to it. The animation is very well done, the voice actors are great (and Gilbert Gottfried's Iago is fortunately not in it TOO much), the music (composed by Alan Menken) is wonderful! I highly recommend this Disney movie. It's great fun for the entire family. There are so many jokes the kids won't get right away, but there is plenty for them to enjoy, too!
Like most Disney movies, there's a good message hidden in the movie about being true to yourself, which I think is important and it's good that they slide it in there without beating you over the head with it. You'll enjoy the humor, the music, and the animation.
Grade: A-
Labels: 1992, animated, Disney, family, Lea Salonga, movie, musical, Robin Williams
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:20 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Lea Salonga (Kim), Sean McDermott (Chris), Hinton Battle (John), Liz Callaway (Ellen), and an amazing Broadway cast
I'm very happy that Lea Salonga was still in the cast when I got to NYC to see Miss Saigon. I've listened to her on the recording so much and really can't picture anyone else as Kim. The whole cast of Miss Saigon is wonderful - just as great now as it is on the recording!
The music and lyrics of Miss Saigon are very powerful and moving - especially in Bui Doi. They really take you back to that time period and make you think of how difficult life must have been in Saigon. Claude-Michel Schonberg did another amazing job with this show & Herbert Kretzmer did a great job with the lyrics.
Many people (including our theatre professor at Penn State) have brought up the weaknesses Miss Saigon and the fact that it appeals to the masses by relying on spectacle. While I agree that the helicopter is a bit over the top, as are some of the other scenes, I think it fits well with the time period and makes the situation seem more urgent. I think they did a good job. I see nothing wrong with appealing to the masses as long as you have good music as a base.
Grade: B+
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:00 PM show | 0 screams