Disney

Kingdom Hearts III – The End of an Era

/ Michael Beckwith / 1 Comment

Kingdom Hearts III Box Art

There was a time when Kingdom Hearts III was a punchline. Nothing more than vaporware; something that only existed as fan-fictions and fake box arts. It was synonymous with hell freezing over. And right now, the Devil himself is neck deep in snow. Even after it was announced back in 2013, it still didn’t feel real. But as the years went on, as we slowly saw more trailers and heard new details, myself and many others realised that this was, in fact, happening.

And now it’s out. You can go and buy Kingdom Hearts III and actually play it. But now that it exists, we must ask that dreaded question – was it worth the wait? This is a title that fans have been waiting for since 2005 when Kingdom Hearts II released, and acts as the finale to a story-line that’s been ongoing since the first game came out in 2002. Fans’ expectations have been ridiculously high so does it meet them? Is it the conclusion longtime fans deserved or is about as fun as going to an overcrowded Disneyland in the rain? Continue reading →

Legend of the Three Caballeros – A Poor Man’s DuckTales or An Awesome Alternative?

/ Michael Beckwith / 2 Comments

Legend_of_the_Three_Caballeros_Poster

Anyone remember Disney’s The Three Caballeros? Released in 1944, it was an anthology of shorts that were linked by an overarching plot involving Donald Duck receiving birthday presents from his Latin-American friends, José Carioca and Panchito Pistoles. I’ve never watched it myself and, from what I understand, it’s not exactly up there in terms of recognisability; it’s biggest contribution simply being the introductions of those aforementioned two characters.

Why am I bringing this up? Because last year, somebody within the company decided they wanted a new animated series based on this movie that would be all about the titular characters travelling the world and encountering various mythological figures and monsters while trying to stop an evil sorcerer from coming back to life… and then make it only available in the Philippines. Yeah, I’m still confused about that last bit. It’s almost as weird as me waiting over half a year to actually write about it when it’s no longer relevant or topical (things kept getting in the way, leave me alone). Continue reading →

Ten Scariest Monsters in Gravity Falls

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Gravity Falls

Gravity_Falls_Vol_1_Digital_Download

Here’s something that I’ve been meaning to write for a very long time. And with it being the week of Halloween, now is the perfect time to remind you all that Gravity Falls was a damn scary cartoon when it wanted to be. While the show saw twins Dipper and Mabel regularly dealing with all manner of paranormal phenomena during their summer vacation, they were usually just kind of weird and occasionally more humorous than threatening, like the surprisingly sophisticated Multi-Bear or the living videogame character Rumble McSkirmish.

But every once in a while, viewers would be subjected to something surprisingly and effectively creepy and/or terrifying. I’m still baffled that Disney allowed creator Alex Hirsch and the rest of the staff to include some of these monsters.

I’ve already praised the show in my review of it but let’s go deeper into the strange woods of this quiet Oregon town and get a good look at what I consider to be the scariest beings in Gravity Falls. Continue reading →

Five Things I Didn’t Like About Star Wars: The Last Jedi

/ Michael Beckwith / 3 Comments

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the following:

Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Star Wars: The Last Jedi

star-wars-the-last-jedi

Two weeks ago, I wrote a list of things I liked about Star Wars: The Last Jedi, so it only makes sense to put on my contrarian hat and list off the things I didn’t like about it. While I think claiming The Last Jedi is a complete betrayal of the series is a gross exaggeration, there are some legitimate criticisms about it that hold it back – they just tend to get drowned out by incredibly sexist comments and stupid-ass petitions demanding it be stricken from canon (yes, that one is true).

Anyway, let’s skip the long-winded intros and warp drive straight to the list that shows that this film’s far from being a subversive masterpiece. Continue reading →

Five Things I Liked About Star Wars: The Last Jedi

/ Michael Beckwith / 2 Comments

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the following:

Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Star Wars: The Last Jedi

star-wars-the-last-jedi

Star Wars is no stranger to controversy but as someone who’s only a very casual fan of the series, I’ve never witnessed anything like it until the release of The Last Jedi. Opinions seem to be split right down the middle – either you love it for what it brought to the table and the risks it took or you hate it for those very same reasons.

Where do I stand in all this? Well, overall I liked it. It’s not without its problems but I enjoyed it for what it was (especially the second half of it). So, with the film due out on DVD and Blu-ray soon, I’ve decided to briefly revisit this film and jot down the things I personally liked about it and show how it’s not the irredeemable garbage fire some people make it out to be. Continue reading →

Ten Worlds I Want in Kingdom Hearts Part 2

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the following:

The Kingdom Hearts series
Moana
Zootropolis

About a couple of years ago, I wrote a list of worlds I would like to see appear in the Kingdom Hearts series. Since that list, both Tangled and Big Hero 6 based worlds have been confirmed for Kingdom Hearts III, which clearly means Square Enix and Disney read my stuff and value my opinion. Or it’s just a coincidence.

Regardless, with a new trailer and a new world to be shown this weekend at the D23 Expo, I’ve decided to return to this topic with another ten Disney properties that I’d love to see adapted in a future title. Continue reading →

Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage- – The Final Chapter Prologue

/ Michael Beckwith / 1 Comment

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

300px-Kingdom_Hearts_Birth_by_Sleep_0.2_A_fragmentary_passage_Logo

A few weeks ago, I ranked the Kingdom Hearts series to see which games I considered the best. However, I omitted a couple of entries; one of them being Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage- (dear RPG makers, stop making your titles so damn long). The reason for its omission was because it ultimately wasn’t a full game and was only included on the 2.8 collection as a teaser of sorts for Kingdom Hearts III.

It very nearly was included, though; it actually would’ve been third in the rankings. That’s pretty high up for what’s really just a glorified tech demo, and that’s because, despite its short length, it’s pretty damn good. So, I figured I’d give it it’s own review to make up for it being left out. Continue reading →

Random Rankings – The Kingdom Hearts Series

/ Michael Beckwith / 1 Comment

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the Kingdom Hearts series

Kingdom_Hearts_Characters

If you really think about it, Kingdom Hearts is one of the weirdest success stories ever. I mean, it’s a Disney/Final Fantasy crossover. This is the kind of thing you’d see in fan-fictions from the mid-2000s; not a professionally made videogame series. Yet, somehow, it worked and has a large following of dedicated fans the world over – me being one of them.

While it’s certainly had its ups and downs, I still wholeheartedly love this series, despite my personal gripes with it, and am more than excited for when Kingdom Hearts III inevitably drops (whenever that is). In the meantime, I’ve decided to go through the entire series thus far to see how each entry stacks up against each other. Which games do I adore with all my heart and which ones do I wish I could cast into the darkness? Let’s find out together, shall we? Continue reading →

Tangled: Before Ever After – A Shining Success or A Complete Mess?

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Tangled

Tangled-Before-Ever-After-Logo

When Disney announced they would be making a TV series based off of Tangled, I was admittedly skeptical but still curious. Everything seemed perfectly wrapped up by the end of the movie; there was even a short all about Rapunzel and Flynn’s (sorry, Eugene’s) wedding. It didn’t really seem like there was anything left to do with the story or characters; the cynic in me wanted to assume that this was just Disney trying to make some easy money.

But, let’s not forget, Disney have done the same thing before in the past. Fellow 90s kids no doubt remember catching at least one episode of the likes of Hercules, Aladdin or The Little Mermaid, and all of them are considered to be of decent quality. So, out of fairness, I decided to give the pilot movie, Tangled: Before Ever After, a shot and see if it does a good job setting up the show. Is it as glorious as gold or is it as messy as Rapunzel’s bed head? Well, read on and find out. Continue reading →

A Whole New World: A Twisted Tale – A Dark, Edgy Fan-Fic That’s Good?

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

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If you were told that Disney’s Aladdin was getting a “dark, mature” remake, you’d probably burn me alive for even mentioning it, followed by looking for more details online just so you can become even more incomprehensibly angry over the fact that it exists. And rightly so. These “mature” remakes usually come out as cynical messes that have clearly been created by people with no understanding of the original source material and just wanted to make some easy cash.

Which is why, for now, I want you to refrain from tracking me down with pitchforks and torches when I say that this particular “dark, mature” remake is actually quite good. How good? Well, I read all 380 pages of it in a single night so that’s got to say something, right? Continue reading →