What The Live-Action Aladdin Does Better Than The Original

What The Live-Action Aladdin Does Better Than The Original

When we first caught a glimpse of Disney’s double take at Aladdin, I would have thought only wishes out of a magic lamp would have lead us here. Since the movie was released, many Disney fans have expressed their love for the House of Mouse’s latest live-action remake. As someone who has grown quite weary of Mouse House's attempts to revisit its animated classics, I found it to be a nice surprise how much I enjoyed it!

There are quite a few aspects to the new Aladdin that make it a win for the studio besides all the money it’s already making. Hear me out ‘die hards’: parts of the 2019 film actually tell the story better than the classic animated movie we’ve loved and cherished over the past 27 years… even though this movie is clearly borrowing from the animated version. Time to break them down:

Jasmine Is An Empowering Princess

Disney Princesses have always served as role models for the young girls they are catered to, and Jasmine was certainly a ‘90s icon. From her fashion sense to her badass tiger pet Rajah, and her “screw the system” mentality, she was one high quality princesses at the time. When you compare her company, of course, which includes a mermaid trading in her life for a man she met yesterday and a bookworm who fell in love with her captor.

No offense cartoon Jaz, but Naomi Scott’s Jasmine left me speechless. Not only does she finally get her own song (that was kept in the movie this time), but it’s a powerful one. It’s the best part of the movie. The new Aladdin uses the original story to benefit a more modern and improved take on the character. Instead of feeling helpless about her suitors because she’s looking for true love - her central problem is that she is the perfect person to rule Agrabah. The trouble is misogyny is stopping her from achieving her dreams.

How crazy relatable is this to women!?!?! To feel society’s grasp on your place in the world and to actively push against it. I assure you, just about every woman in the world has dealt with this. 2019’s Aladdin updates Jasmine in the best way and heightens her character for the better. That by itself makes it a worthy remake. But let’s keep going!

The Music Better Reflects The Aladdin Story

Aladdin’s original soundtrack and score definitely still hold up, and the new album won’t replace Alan Menken’s first version. However, the new film does do something interesting with the music: it really goes for it when expressing the flavor of the cultures being depicted on screen. Even if it may look like a slight alteration to some, it makes a world of difference for those with personal roots in the region.

The music does go back and forth between borrowing from Indian and Arab influences, but this choice is apparently a deliberate choice to make the fictional city of Agrabah be a meeting point of Asian cultures as it’s an important trading port. Disney’s many animated classics have pulled from famous folktales from all around the world for decades. It's when they delve into the identities of the cultures that they really work the best (think Moana and Coco) and this Aladdin is no exception.

The use of traditional instruments like oud and doumbeks, such as in the scene-setting "Arabian Nights" opening, shows a attention to detail and greater celebration of culture that was original lacked. The music sequences also benefits from the live-action too! Seeing "Prince Ali" is effectively grand and watching Aladdin and Jasmine's thrilling ride on the magic carpet ride is captivating to see the actors express.

It’s Not Just The Genie Show

When we think back to the original Aladdin, it’s all about Robin Williams’ performance. That’s not to say there aren’t some other great ones to go around from the cast. But it doesn’t end up coming off as an “ensemble” musical or comedy, because Robin’s Genie is just so memorably good. This movie is an ensemble musical comedy!

There’s a balanced role for all the key characters to play, and Aladdin and Jasmine (which the story is really supposed to be about) have a story arc that’s just as interesting as Will Smith’s Genie performance is. The cast compliment one another and feed off one another in this version, and the movie is better for it. If Guy Ritchie had gone into it leaning on Will Smith to run the show, it would not have worked and it’s great that they didn’t try that approach.

This Aladdin offers some funny improv moments between the actors. These live-action remakes can feel stuffy and by the book, but the addition of this loosens up the audience. There’s also a real chemistry and energy between the cast that the original didn't have (mainly because of the animation). These elements make the new Aladdin a crowd pleaser! It stops being about the legacy of these characters and more about living in each scene with this approach.

The Message Shimmers Brighter

The original Aladdin’s message can be found in a key scene that’s stuck with me since childhood. It’s right before Aladdin is going to show Jasmine a whole new world and is struggling with how to talk to her. Genie gives him two pieces of advice “tell her the truth” and “bee yourself” (yes, as he’s disguised as a bee).

The new Aladdin really shows us this message and it has a better payoff. We get to see Aladdin and Jasmine’s chemistry as a couple more before he turns into Aladdin, so seeing how off his game he is as the Prince really hits home. The awkwardness Aladdin faces as he tries to woo her as a prince is more painfully obvious through the new scenes and has viewers rooting for them more intently. It makes many of us want to scream these mantras at the screen.

Genie is also a bit wiser this time around and Aladdin has more responsibility for his actions. In the original, he has his sights set on Jasmine and then once he gets her he has to somehow figure out how to be Sultan… that’s concerning! In the new version, he’s the reason and supporter that leads to Jasmine and her father coming to the decision that she should rule. This ending matters a lot more and makes the titular character earn his top billing!

I’m not saying one Aladdin movie is better than the other. The animated version will always have a special place in many of our hearts and is a monumental achievement for the studio. This remake did make some good choices that improved upon what we’ve seen already from the story and it was a satisfying take on a classic that has seldom been done.

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The Avengers Vs The Justice League: Which Is The Better Superhero Team?

The Avengers Vs The Justice League: Which Is The Better Superhero Team?

In Avengers: Endgame, the Avengers proved they could best the most powerful villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but could those characters take out their counterparts from The Justice League movie? At the box office, it’s not been much of a fight, Marvel and the MCU have been crushing DC and the DCEU.

Sure, Marvel got a head start on the competition when it kicked off Phase One of the MCU with Iron Man in 2008, but DC had previously been sucking wind trying to catch up, although it is finally starting to make great strides. While the MCU has had an outline and a playbook that that has been laid out and followed to a T, at times, it seems like the DCEU has been in total chaos and flying by the seat of the tights.

Still, none of this has anything to do with how powerful the characters are, and there's nothing we love more at CinemaBlend than superhero hypotheticals. So, could The Avengers beat The Justice League in a fight between superheroes? Marvel’s Avengers may do better at the box office, but DC’s Justice League would give them one heck of a fight in the ring. Who would come out on top? We state the case below.

It should be noted, that just to keep this from spiraling out into infinity, we’re going to limit the argument to only six members of The Avengers and the six members of The Justice League introduced in the DCEU so far. On the Avengers side, it will be Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Panther, Captain Marvel and The Hulk. So, that means no Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man, or any of The Guardians Of The Galaxy. On the Justice League side, it’s Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg.

The Avengers Versus The Justice League

The Avengers biggest strengths are their brains and technical skills. Tony Stark’s genius and engineer would have to be their biggest asset against any potential DCEU foes. Let’s face it, The Avengers are going to need Iron Man to come up with something big to help them stop The Justice League’s most powerful superhero, Superman. Superman is going to be the biggest problem for them and stopping him is almost impossible. Thor will also be critical here.

Superman is almost indestructible. The only chance The Avengers would have against The Justice League would be to somehow sideline him maybe using the power of Thor. Thor’s Mjolnir or Stormbreaker are the most powerful weapons in any universe and he’s going to need all of it. The Incredible Hulk’s incredible strength would also be important in isolating the biggest threats from The Justice League.

While this is going on, Batman and Captain America would probably face off in one of the most epic battles that superhero fans could ever wish for. They are pretty evenly matched too. That leaves the wild card: Wonder Woman. Could the Justice League gain the advantage over The Avengers here with Wonder Woman?

Of course, there other concerns too. Would The Hulk decimate the competition outside of Superman or could The Flash and Aquaman someone contain him? As with Superman, The Hulk is probably not going to fall in a one-on-one battle. If The Flash and Aquaman were distracted by The Hulk, where does that leave Cyborg? With a powerful superhero like Captain Marvel teamed with Black Panther, could Cyborg come out on top? He may be the biggest weakness in the Justice League in this fight. He’d be better matched with Iron Man, with his hacker skills, but he may not get the opportunity in this battle.

Most likely what would happen is that the six leaders of each team with battle it out while the three “lesser” members would be left facing each other. This makes the larger battle slightly more even, because, again, Superman really puts the Avengers at a major disadvantage. What can you do to stop him?

Iron Man, Thor, And Captain America Vs. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman

The leaders of The Avenger and The Justice League would definitely need to face off with each other. This is the only way The Avengers would have a chance.

First, The Avengers would need to have made sure that Tony Stark had invented some kind of Kryptonite-shooting weapon to fire at Superman. With Superman weakened, a charge from Thor and healthy smack of his hammer would be the Avengers best chance to flip the script on The Justice League. Maybe Thor could somehow plant an unconscious Superman on the moon or something, giving The Avengers a chance.

This is all if the much-anticipated battle between Batman and Captain America keeps those two distracted. In all of The Avengers vs. Justice League possible match-ups, this is the one people should want to see most. They are pretty evenly matched and both are incredible in hand-to-hand combat. Whoever comes out on top in this fight could also swing the battle in one direction or the other as both are crucial to the success of their respective teams.

This leaves Wonder Woman. If Iron Man and Thor were distracted with Superman, it leaves an opening for Wonder Woman to take on one or both. She is pretty evenly matched with Thor, with both of them being gods and all. Plus – who wouldn’t want to see Gal Godot fighting with Chris Hemsworth -- that’s a dreamy match up. Frankly, she might be pretty evenly matched with Iron Man too, as he was when he fought Thor in The Avengers.

It’s probably best she go for Thor though, and leave Iron Man to Superman, because that is the mismatch of the century. All due respect to Iron Man, but if Tony Stark failed to get the kryptonite shot off effectively, Superman would waste him. This pairing gives the Justice League a big advantage. But what about the undercard, could that change things?

Captain Marvel, Blank Panther And The Hulk Vs. Aquaman, The Flash And Cyborg

This is where things get even more interesting. Captain Marvel is a huge X-factor here. As powerful as she is, Aquaman, The Flash, and Cyborg would need to find a way to contain her. That may not even be possible, and if they do somehow manage to do it, how do they stop The Hulk?

Another issue is Aquaman. How does the Justice League maximize his strengths? Is there a way for him to face off with The Hulk and come out on top? That could tilt the battle significantly. He might be the only Justice League member that could handle The Hulk one on one (besides Superman of course).

The Flash is the weak point for the Justice League here, there just isn’t a good match up for him among these Avengers. Maybe he can go after Black Panther but the more natural matchup for Black Panther seems like Cyborg, given both of their technology expertise?

But then that would leave Captain Marvel versus the Flash and that feels like a huge mismatch in favor of Marvel’s Avengers. So DC’s The Justice League will need to counteract that somehow.

How The Avengers Could Beat The Justice League

In a fight between The Avengers and The Justice League, there is one clear way The Avengers could come out on top.

First, Tony Stark would need that kryptonite particle shooter. With Iron Man taking a shot at Superman, stunning and weakening him, one mighty clobber from Thor’s hammer could send him spinning into space. Knocking Superman out of the fight (and far away from Earth’s sun) is the only chance they have to get the upper hand in the battle.

From there, it would still be up to Captain America to take out Batman, and in hand-to-hand combat, both heroes are pretty evenly matched, which makes Captain America’s shield the most important weapon here. If Captain America can hold off an onslaught of projectiles that Bruce Wayne would have certainly prepared with and get in close, he should be able to deflect some those back towards Batman and hopefully knock him out.

With Superman out of the fight, Thor and The Hulk would need to team up to take on the powerful Aquaman. The only way The Avengers would be able to overcome his speed and reflexes is with an all-out frontal assault by their two strongest members. If Thor and The Hulk could bat Aquaman around and back and forth for a few minutes, he just might be down for the count.

Meanwhile, that leaves Iron Man and Black Panther to hold off the The Flash and Cyborg for the time being. This will be a tough ask from the two. Black Panther would need every bit of strength and his ancestor’s knowledge to take down Cyborg, but if Iron Man can serve as bait, Cyborg could get distracted by trying to hack Jarvis and take out Tony Stark’s technology, then Black Panther would gain the advantage in hand to hand combat.

The Flash is a big part of this. How do The Avengers slow him down? Carol Danvers of course. If anyone is prepared for the incredible speed of The Flash, it’s the fighter pilot Captain Marvel. If she can catch him, she can take him out.

That leaves Wonder Woman. Hardly a slouch, right? With the others out of the battle, The Avengers would need all hands on deck to take out the mighty Wonder Woman. Thor’s Hammer is the only weapon that I really believe could do the trick here. He would need to get in a solid shot with his powerful hammer and leave her vulnerable to attack.

In the end The Avengers would be in rough shape, but they could stand victorious over their rivals. But what about an alternate universe, one where The Justice League prevails?

How The Justice League Could Beat The Avengers

So, how do The Justice League prevail in this epic battle against The Avengers? Well, they have Superman, and that alone gives them a major advantage. Cyborg is the key though.

Superman could take mighty blows from Hulk and Thor all day if Cyborg is able hack Jarvis, preventing Iron Man from releasing a hail of kryptonite particles on Superman. If Superman is at full strength, he could easily do a rope-a-dope against Thor and The Hulk until the other Avengers were taken out. But how does that happen?

With Jarvis hacked, Iron Man would be easy to take out. Wonder Woman would be free to take on Captain Marvel in a classic head-to-head matchup of the two most powerful women in the Universe. Wonder Woman’s best chance here would be to land some heavy blows and count in The Flash to harass Carol Danvers enough to allow for Wonder Woman’s blows to take effect. Wonder Woman’s god-level strength would overcome Captain Marvel and leave her jetting the other direction.

After Iron Man and Captain Marvel were sidelined, Batman would need to win his one on one with Captain America. To do this, he would need to be stealth, something he can excel at. Batman would need to devise a plan to get around Captain America’s shield and to do that, he’ll need to use his combat knowledge. Attacking Captain America from behind would be his best chance. Once he does, he would wrap Cap up and force him to watch from the sidelines.

Once Batman has done this, he and Cyborg would need to face Black Panther together. Only their combination of brains and brawn could match the Wakandan’s brains and brawn. They might be able to get some help from Wonder Woman at this point. It would be an epic hand-to-hand fight, but three on one is probably too much, even for Black Panther.

Now the attention of the entire Justice League could turn to the two most powerful Avengers, Thor and Hulk. Superman would be able to focus all his attention on Hulk, in what would be the most epic boxing match of all time, while Wonder Woman, The Flash, Cyborg, Aquaman and Cyborg would be able to focus on Thor. Cyborg would be a little out of his element, but in a battle of seriously powerful gods, Aquaman and Wonder Woman would be key to defeating Thor.

If Wonder Woman could deflect or even – gasp – catch Thor’s Hammer, Aquaman would have free reign to come down on the mighty Thor, meaning a God from the sea could sink the hero named for a Norse god.

With Thor out, it’s going to take all six members of Justice League to take out Hulk, unless Superman alone can demoralize him until he quits, which is probably what would happen.

Is This A Battle That Could Ever Really Happen?

Well, probably not. Sure, there have been some epic crossover issues between DC and Marvel over the years, including a big one in 2002, but those came at time when both companies were struggling financially, which is definitely no longer the case and, of course, there are real-world constraints to this too. Both imprints are owned by two different enormous media companies DC is owned AT&T through Warner Brothers and Marvel is owned by Disney.

If The Predator can fight The Alien, and Jason can battle Freddy, What are the chances those two rivals would come together allow this battle to happen, to determine the supremacy of one media world over another? About as good a chance as Ant-Man would have against a giant bottle of Raid, so for now, we’ll just have to live with speculation.

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Should Triple Frontier Get A Sequel? Let's Talk This Out

Should Triple Frontier Get A Sequel? Let's Talk This Out

Warning: spoilers for Netflix's Triple Frontier are present. If you haven't seen the film yet, bookmark this page and come back once you've done so.

At the end of J.C. Chandor's Triple Frontier, the events that transpired during the film are brought to a seemingly tidy end. But during that ending, there are a couple of key pieces of information that stand out as potential threads for a sequel. While any film can leave the door open for another installment of adventure, it's not always the best course of action to follow up with another escapade.

It's a complicated matter, because while Triple Frontier doesn't seem like the type of film to get a sequel, there's enough left hanging that would make for an intriguing follow up if it was done correctly. With that in mind, it's time to start delving into whether or not this action-drama should continue, or if stolen cash is best left where it lies. Let's start things off by discussing the ending of the film.

What Happens At The End Of Triple Frontier

After the heist that Oscar Isaac's Santiago, and the rest of his Triple Frontier team have undertaken, the film puts them through the ringer. A series of troubles and tribulations pressures the team into some bad decisions involving an overloaded helicopter, a farming community in the Andes, and a trek through a treacherous mountain range that leads to the ultimate run for the coast. In the end, only one member of the team is killed – Ben Affleck's Tom.

As a result, the surviving teammates donate their shares of the remaining money that didn't get lost in the Andes to Tom's family. Feeling guilty for his death, and wanting to provide for his family, each man tears up his paperwork to deposit their shares, and allows their banker to deposit it all into the same account. After which, everyone goes their separate ways, saying a somber but heartfelt goodbye.

Just as the film is ready to let Isaac and Charlie Hunnam's William ride off into their respective sunsets, with Santiago ready to reunite with his girlfriend / intel source Yovanna in Australia, William slips him a piece of paper with important information. That info happens to be the GPS co-ordinates to a spot where the team dumped a ton of cash in order to lighten their load. As Santiago walks into the crowd on a warm, tropical day, the film fades to black.

The Case For A Sequel

The continued adventures of the Triple Frontier team have two key components on their side: the fact that Santiago was given the co-ordinates with the express purpose of possibly recovering the money, and his intended reunion with Yovanna after the heist went sideways. So, with a potential second act in the saga that J.C. Chandor co-wrote and directed, there's already enough components here to make for a basic sequel.

What makes a second excursion to the Triple Frontier even more exciting is something that Yovanna said to Santiago as they parted mid-way through the film. After stealing the money from the infamous drug dealer that they were robbing, she tells Santiago that it's not just that particular dealer's money in their hands. There are others who threw their funds in with his, and they're going to come looking for every penny missing.

Keeping all of this in mind, there's one of two ways this could go. One scenario is that the Triple Frontier survivors could recover the money for their own needs, as it's tucked away in a nice and secret spot for them to make a lovely retirement fund out of. The other, more probable scenario, would see those other drug dealers coming back to demand their money be returned; leaving the crew to figure out how to score the remaining $5 million that was donated to Tom's family. Both sound good, but are they enough to go forward? Let's look at the other side of the coin.

The Case Against A Sequel

While there's two good concepts for a Triple Frontier followup, there's still a solid case for not going ahead with any sort of return trips to the danger visited upon its protagonists. And that case comes from the fact that after all of the action that Santiago and his team had seen in Triple Frontier, it's not very likely that they would want to live through that sort of thing again. It all comes down to the approach to the original film, and how well it would mesh with any potential sequel.

Honestly, the grounded approach that J.C. Chandor and co-writer Mark Boal took in telling the story of Triple Frontier feels like it'd be at home with the ambiguity in the film's final reel. It's a movie that doesn't absolutely need to prolong itself beyond where it's already been, because the overriding lesson seems to be that if these soldiers hadn't pushed their luck as far as they had, they'd all be alive and richer than their wildest dreams.

In service of that message, another round of Triple Frontier action would seem like a slap in the face of that first round's overarching message. And as any fan of '80s action dramas will tell you, not every series has the luck that Rambo did; and even if it did, there's always the chance that things will devolve into mindless propaganda before all is said and done.

Where We Stand

Triple Frontier is a film that could very easily lend itself to a sequel, and that sequel could be really good. There's room for improvement with the foundation of the original, and the hooks are clear enough to bring the series into a reasonable future. But, even with the ideas presented, there's a risk that such a sequel would be a really bad idea. The result of this whole exercise is a pro sequel outcome, so long as those involved keep their heads on straight during development. In fact, bringing in J.C. Chandor and Mark Boal would be required at this point, as Chandor knows the characters and Boal knows how to bring the action.

But, of course, we'd like to know what you, the audience, think about this proposition. Using the poll below, and the comments section as well, let us know if you'd want another round of Triple Frontier in your Netflix queue. And, if you're looking for another movie to scratch that action itch, take a look at 2019's release schedule and see what's on the horizon!

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Julianne Moore Was Fired From Can You Ever Forgive Me And It's Still 'Painful'

Julianne Moore Was Fired From Can You Ever Forgive Me And It's Still 'Painful'

Oh, sweet rejection! We’ve all faced it at one point in our lives, and actors are certainly no stranger to it in the cutthroat business of Hollywood. Even with the status and acclaim Oscar winner Julianne Moore has achieved in her over 30 years as an actress, she is not untouchable to it either.

During a recent visit to What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Julianne Moore was asked why she left the film Can You Ever Forgive Me? which was a buzzy award season title. Here’s her blunt response:

I didn’t leave that movie, I was fired. Yeah, yeah, Nicole [Holofcener] fired me. ... I think she didn’t like what I was doing. We hadn't [started filming yet], we'd just been rehearsing and pre-production and stuff. And I think that her idea of where the character was was different than my idea of where the character was, and so she fired me. I haven't [seen the movie] yet, because it's still kind of painful. I love Melissa McCarthy, I worship her, I think she's fantastic, so I'm sure she's great.

Wow! It’s hard to wrap our heads around such a phenomenal actress being fired from a role. However, every director has a vision, and if the way Julianne Moore played the part didn’t match up with that, it certainly happens! Melissa McCarthy was later cast instead in the true story of best-selling biographer Lee Israel, who decides to forge letters from famous deceased authors and playwrights.

Julianne Moore admitted that she took the firing pretty hard, continuing with these words:

The only other time I was fired was when I was working at a yogurt stand when I was 15. So, yeah it felt bad.

The 58-year-old actress has been enjoying over 40 years without career rejection (after already nabbing a role anyway), so her pain surrounding the situation is understandable. That’s without mentioning the high praise the movie received throughout award season.

Can You Ever Forgive Me? also earned three nominations at the Oscars, including a Best Actress nod for Melissa McCarthy (in Moore’s former role), Richard E. Grant for Best Supporting Actor, and a nod for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Julianne Moore signed on to the project back in 2015 when the screenplay writer, Nicole Holofcener, was also going to direct the film as well. Soon after Moore was fired, Marielle Heller took Holofcener’s place as director and Melissa McCarthy was cast. Chris O’Dowd was also previously attached to play Richard E. Grant’s role of Jack Hook; here’s what O'Dowd told the BBC in February about it:

What a heartbreak… We were ready to go, it was myself and Julianne Moore, and we had moved to New York, and maybe two days before we started filming, there was some creative differences that I wasn't really involved in. I was surprised, that the film wasn't going ahead at the last minute.

At the end of the day, Chris O’Dowd feels like it was meant to be for Richard E. Grant, and thought he did a wonderful job, but does note “I would've preferred if it was me!” The actors above all else seemed bummed because it was a project they were excited to be a part of. McCarthy and Grant delivered some incredible performances and Moore and O’Dowd will certainly have more chances to dazzle on screen.

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Why Dumbo Should Have Been A Sequel Instead Of A Remake

Why Dumbo Should Have Been A Sequel Instead Of A Remake

The following contains SPOILERS for the new live action Dumbo.

Dumbo won the box office this past weekend, but it did so with less than impressive numbers. The movie performed similarly with critics. The film has received slightly more negative reviews than positive ones, but critics are split almost in half. Either way, most positive reviews aren't glowing and most negative ones aren't too damning. As one of those who had a slightly positive view of Dumbo, I liked so many aspects of it that I wish it was better, and I think it could have been if it had followed its true calling and just been a straight sequel rather than a remake.

If you've seen Dumbo, then you know that most of the movie is essentially a sequel already. The events that cover the story of the original animated Dumbo get dispensed with in less than 30 minutes. Considering that the original movie did it in only slightly more than double that time, it makes sense not to waste too much time with it. Once Dumbo is discovered to be a flying elephant, the animated film ends, but that's just the end of Act I for the new movie.

The stuff that's worthy of praise in Dumbo almost exclusively comes from the latter two-thirds of the movie. You get the utterly insane "Evil Walt Disney" villain played by Michael Keaton. You get Eva Green, who is awesome because she's Eva Green. You get Tim Burton's take on "Pink Elephants on Parade," which is a thing I didn't even know I cared about. You get Colin Farrell being "adorable dad," which is his perfect position in Disney movies.

The biggest problem that Dumbo has is that it has trouble letting all of these ideas breathe because it has to dedicate a significant portion of its run time to the original story of Dumbo.

This is pretty much unnecessary and could have been overcome quite easily. The fact is that while Dumbo is certainly a story we all know, unless you've seen the film recently, odds are all you really remember about it is, "There's an elephant that can fly." That's actually all you need to know. If you do remember more, you certainly don't need to see it again.

Imagine if the new Dumbo opened exactly as it did, with Colin Farrell's Holt Farrier coming back from war, only this time, instead of Danny DeVito's Max Medici putting him in charge of the elephants before Dumbo is born, Medici tells Farrier that he's really happy Farrier is back, because the circus has a new star that needs to be taken care of, and Farrier is just the man to trust with the job. Dumbo flew for the crowd for the first time last night and word has already begun to spread. That's all we really need to know. Any additional info can be conveyed through dialogue with the other circus performers.

We didn't need to see anything of the original plot in this movie. I have no particular love for the original Dumbo, but there isn't anything I think the new version did better. The "Baby Mine" sequence is an emotional moment in the animated film, but it felt like it was being included in the remake simply because it was the sort of things fan expected. It was tacked on.

Now the movie can jump straight into the new material. The 20 minutes we just saved can be used to dig a little deeper into the rest of the story. We could get to know some of these characters a little better, as that was one of the big things missing from this new version of the story. Farrier's kids are important parts of Dumbo's life, but beyond, "Milly likes science," what do we really know about them?

I had a similar problem back when I first saw Disney's Maleficent. The film surprised the hell out of me by turning the story of the mistress of all evil into a rape revenge story. Needless to say, I did not see that coming. I found both the beginning and end of the movie to be quite good, but in the middle the story of Maleficent took a back seat because we had to tell the story of Sleeping Beauty, because clearly the feeling was it needed to happen. This slowed the movie to a crawl.

The idea behind these remakes is that people love these classic Disney stories, and the live-action versions allow fans to experience them in new ways that honestly weren't possible until recently. While that may be true, what if we looked at it from another angle? Because these stories are so well loved, we don't need to see them again since we know them incredibly well. However, that doesn't mean we don't need to want to see the characters again.

Because we don't need to see these movies again, but we love the characters all the same, sequels are the way to go. Take the animated original as a given, and then come up with a live action sequel that will give us something fresh and new. It won't work with every Disney property, of course. A live-action sequel to Aladdin rather than the remake we're getting would have to include somebody trying to recreate Robin Williams version of that character, and nobody wants that. But if even just a few of these movies went the sequel route, it would at least change things up a bit and let the remakes feel a bit fresher when they did happen.

Of all the live-action fairy tale movies that Disney is releasing this year, I'm actually looking forward to Maleficent: Mistress of Evil above them all. Because the film is a sequel to a movie that never had a Disney animated sequel, the story will almost certainly be entirely original. It's not going to feel like it owes anybody anything and won't need to include scenes that fans want to see new versions of, but will instead just get to tell its own story. i can only hope it's willing to take some of the same risks the previous film did.

Dumbo would have benefited greatly by simply committing to being the sequel it largely was anyway. Trying to be both things in order to make fans happy only prevented the film from being its own thing and flying on its own.

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Rotten Tomatoes May Be Making Even More Changes To Combat Trolls

Rotten Tomatoes May Be Making Even More Changes To Combat Trolls

Rotten Tomatoes recently made changes to its users reviews after a deluge of trolls opted to give Captain Marvel some negative nods before the movie had even opened in theaters. The review aggregate service said the changes were not made to accommodate Captain Marvel specifically and will continue to be a part of Rotten Tomatoes moving forward. However, now it looks as if the site may not stop at changing the windows in which users are allowed to review.

A new report indicates that Rotten Tomatoes is looking at “additional measures” in terms of user reviews. Per THR those measures will likely include adding an additional layer of security so that users have to verify they’ve seen a movie before they can review it on Rotten Tomatoes.

This move hasn’t been made by the aggregate site yet, so it’s hard to tell exactly what that would like for regular users who leave reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s possible that if the additional layer of security is kind of a pain in the rear, it could deter both avid users and trolls.

Still, the whole Captain Marvel brouhaha led to a really low audience score for the new Marvel movie early on. At one point it was running at just 33% with over 58,000 reviews.

At the time of this writing, following Rotten Tomatoes’ user score change led by parent company Fandango, Captain Marvel is running at 62% with 64,385 reviews. If that math doesn’t totally add up, it should be noted that number only happened after Rotten Tomatoes literally went through and purged reviews that had been written and kept on the site even after the policy change last week.

Originally, users were able to reveal their excitement or lack thereof in a project ahead of its release, but a couple of weeks ago, Rotten Tomatoes said it would be changing its pre-release function and that comments would be disabled until a movie was released. For Captain Marvel this was a hassle and eventually some reviews had to be dropped from the site because people had been allowed to review prior to the rule change; presumably, this would not be an issue for future movies.

In fact, Rotten Tomatoes' decision has also had a bit of a chain effect, as YouTube also mentioned changes to its platform to combat trolls related to the same Marvel flick.

All in all, none of the trolls really had a huge effect on Captain Marvel fans. The movie nabbed an A CinemaScore and has gone on to already make $500 million worldwide, which is an incredibly quick period of time to achieve that number. That's the good news. However, what will be most interesting to see will be if Rotten Tomatoes complicates its user review process if it will have an effect on the engagement and user reviews people are willing to put on the site.

If you’ve left a review on Rotten Tomatoes before, is the process already a hassle? Would adding another step make you more or less likely to leave a user review? Let us know, and in the meantime, be sure to check out Clark Gregg calling Marvel trolls "butthurt."

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See The Best Look At Pepper Potts’ Avengers: Endgame Transformation

See The Best Look At Pepper Potts’ Avengers: Endgame Transformation

Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Endgame

It's been two weeks since Avengers: Endgame hit theaters, and the events of the massive blockbuster are still being felt by moviegoers. The Russo Brothers exceeded all expectations, and put together a narrative that was deeply connected to the first 21 movies of the shared universe. Tons of characters were serviced throughout the course of the movie, especially during the final battle against Thanos and his forces.

When all seemed bleak and Captain America was getting beat down by Thanos, the fallen characters and various other Avengers allies appeared in the rubble of the facility, and turned the tides against the Mad Titan's army. This includes Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts, who made her debut in the very first MCU movie. Pepper suited up in her own armor for the battle, taking on the comic book mantle of Rescue. And now we can see our clearest look at the armor itself, thanks to Endgame concept art. Check it out.

I mean, how cool is that? Pepper's ascension to Rescue has been a long time coming, as she's previously worn Tony's Iron Man suit, and has engaged in a few battles throughout her tenure in the MCU. And that journey really paid off in Avengers: Endgame, as Pepper's time as an official combatant was truly epic.

Pepper Potts has a supporting role in Avengers: Endgame, popping up early in the film's runtime, watching in awe as Captain Marvel arrives on Earth with Tony and Nebula in tow. Throughout the film, she mostly stays at Tony's side, helping him get healthy in the Avengers Facility and eventually becoming a mother after the time jump.

The Rescue armor was teased shortly after the blockbuster's time jump, which introduced Tony and Pepper's daughter Morgan. Upon finding his daughter in a tent outside their new home, and she wearing the Rescue helmet. Tony jokes that Pepper never wears anything he gets her, an exchange that not-so-subtly set up Pepper's eventual fate during Endgame's third act.

Pepper Potts did some great work as Rescue in the final Avengers: Endgame battle, serving as both an attacker and protector of her fellow good guys. She also participated in the epic all-female moment, which saw the MCU's femme fatales team up to battle Thanos' forces. Pepper had already killed two Iron Man villains, so watching her become a genuine hero was massively satisfying.

Related: The 25 Most Emotional Moments In Avengers: Endgame

In addition to her work as Rescue, Pepper Potts helped to move Tony Stark's narrative forward a few times throughout the course of Avengers: Endgame's runtime. For instance, she helped change Tony's mind about time travel. And most heartbreakingly, she mourned her husband in front of our eyes after he sacrificed his life to snap his fingers and destroy Thanos forever. While Gwyneth Paltrow has been part-time in the MCU in recent years, it was great to see her get so much screen time in Endgame.

Avengers: Endgame is in theaters now. Be sure to check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

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