DISNEY SING ALONG SONGS: LET'S GO TO DISNEYLAND PARIS

A few years ago I took a nostalgia look back at the first live action "Disney Sing Along Songs" video "Disneyland Fun" which actually does hold up despite being an advertisement piece for "Disneyland". Well it turns out that the video was so good, that a remake of the video was made called...


Before I start reviewing the video, there's one thing that I must talk about concerning this review. Even though the film was originally made in France for a French audience, I'm going to mostly review the English dub version since they're really both the same just with different languages, as well as considering the fact that the French version doesn't have subtitles. On top of it, the English dubbing isn't really that distracting in terms of dubbing the characters voices since the film’s dubbing is mostly given to the voices of the costume characters that have not yet moved their lips like they do in today's standards, and while I can't tell if the characters are voiced by the same voice actors that voiced the characters in the original, I will say they really do sound alike, whether its the original voice actors or not. So really you can almost say that the dubbing in the film doesn't at all feel like a French film that was dubbed in English. With that out of the way, ON WITH THE REVIEW!

This video was made around the time when "Disneyland Paris” was new and (Like I said before) instead of being a sequel like the rest of the "Disney Sing Along Song" videos that would have Mickey and Friends in them, this one is a remake of the original classic with mostly the same songs, same style, and same pacing that would be made for the younger French speaking audience, and later on be dubbed for English speaking audiences. The only major differences between the original and the remake are the video takes place at "Disneyland Paris" and that there are two new songs that replace two of the songs from the original video due to the differences between parks. Being a remake of the first live action "Disney Sing Along Song" video that many Disney fanatics have grew up with when we were kids, is the remake better or worse than the original classic video? Well let’s have a look as I compare both videos.

Before I start comparing the songs and talk about the two different songs, I just want to talk about a few of the things that I noticed throughout the video. The first major thing I noticed is the characters actually talk more than they did in the original video. Throughout the song sequences instead of them being silent, they'll say something or make a noise, and while it does make the characters seem more real than they were in the original video, to be completely honest it actually gets a little too distracting and even annoying at times. In the original video, despite that the characters don't talk as much as they do in this video, the original video knew when the characters should speak, sing, and be silent. Even in the later live action videos that followed after the original video there would still be that balance. Here, the characters speak so often that you can hardly enjoy the song or even want to bother sing along. It's like having a bunch of people talk loudly as you're trying to watch a movie or listen to music; it just gets very annoying and distracting. And while the film does have newly recorded dialogue and songs, a good half of the dialogue and songs is taken from the original video, and I don't mean that they re-recorded the same dialogue and songs; they literally copied and pasted a good chunk of the sound-footage from the original video onto this video! The video does have a good half of newly recorded dialogue and songs (Even some of the original songs have been re-recorded), but the stuff that they recycled from the first film is just lazy and feels just as distracting as the characters hardly ever shutting up. Yeah, I know the original video used stock footage from a previous "Disneyland" video, but that worked because you could only see the video if you got it at the "Disneyland" park (Well, before you can see it or buy it on the Internet). Even seeing the original Sing Along video after seeing the original video that it took the footage from, they pretty much used the stock-footage in only one or two sequences, and even during those sequences there was still a lot of new footage to show along with having newly recorded versions of classic Disney songs.

Aside from the elements that I found to be annoying, that doesn't mean I think the video is bad, because it isn't! When I watched the first song of the video "Whistle While You Work/Step In Time", the video captures the park just as wonderfully as the original video did, and as I watched the "Step In Time" portion of these two songs being put together, I was really happy to see the Disney characters from the Disney movies that came after the original video’s release to be walking around in the park, which really does make this remake feel like an upgrade. "The Walking Right Down The Middle Of Main Street U.S.A." sequence (Yeah I know what you're thinking, “Disneyland Paris” has a "Main Street U.S.A."? Just remember that there's a World Showcase of different countries in "Epcot") is just as good as the number in the original despite that the dubbing cuts the song way too short, and I like that we see people dancing on the street with the characters as well as Mickey Mouse taking part in the dancing, while in the original it was just the Disney characters dancing as Mickey just plays the piano. In the "Following The Leader" sequence of the video, instead of it being Donald Duck as the leader, its Peter Pan, which does seem more fitting since Peter Pan is from the movie where the song originated from. Instead of going through parts of "Adventureland" and riding "The Jungle Cruise" like in the original video; we actually follow Peter as they go to Agrabah where they meet the Genie; encounter King Louie and his monkey friends; climb "The Swiss Family Robinson Tree-house"; sneak aboard Captain Hook's ship to prank him; and wave hello to Ariel, which is actually cooler than the sequence in the original even though I still really enjoy it (Especially “The Jungle Cruise” portion of it)! The two song sequences for "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" and "It's A Small World" in the video is really not that different from their originals except that we see the rides that "Disneyland Paris" has instead of "Disneyland". The only major difference in any of these songs is in the "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" sequence, the rap portion of the song is edited out, which I'll admit did feel out of place in the original version of the song, despite that I honestly don't mind it and do enjoy it, even if it is cheesy and out of place (Almost like how I have a guilty pleasure for the Ninja rap in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret Of The Ooze”) . Just for the record, I was actually happy that the video included the "Disneyland Paris" version of "Pirates Of The Caribbean" when in the original video it didn't at all show a glimpse of one of "Disneyland's" most popular attractions! The remake for the song "Rumbly In My Tummy" is just as cute as the original version, but I actually did think it was cuter that the kids give Pooh his Honey in this version, instead of Pooh just getting his Honey in the next scene.

The video's remake of my favorite sequence in the original video which is "Grim Grinning Ghost" that in this one takes place at "Disneyland Paris' The Phantom Manor", as much as I like that Jafar is in the Disney villain line-up in the number, and that the number actually includes two actors playing the Phantom and the Bride from the ride along with seeing some footage from the ride itself, this sequence is sadly more comical and funny than it is scary and fun. I say this because instead of Donald just dancing in his ghost costume, he scares away the villains. I will admit it does make more sense for Donald's presence here than in the original (I mean what’s he doing hanging out with the Disney villains in a ghost costume), but come on, Donald scaring some of Disney's coldest and most sinister villains including Maleficent the mistress of all evil, you must be joking! Actually I was really disappointed with how this version treats Maleficent. Remember in the original video how she dominated this number with her presence? Well here, she gets scared away by Donald and the goofy Big Bad Wolf, and her design doesn't look as classy and evil as she did in the original, it looks like a cheap party store costume. I have to admit out of all the remade song sequences in this video, the one that blew me away the most is "The Character Parade"! As much as I love the original version of that sequence, this sequence blows it out of the water! I mean we have Roger Rabbit and Eddie in a giant Benny The Cab car; floats of "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty And The Beast" that look really creative while also being gigantic looking; and we see the Prince from "Sleeping Beauty" fight-off Maleficent in her Dragon form! WOW, just WOW! Even the parades at "Disney World" aren't as epic as this!

The two songs that are omitted from the video are "The Great Outdoors" and "Making Memories". The new songs that we get in this video to fill in for the songs that were omitted are "How Do You Do Lets Shake Hands/A Very Merry Unbirthday" and "Pecos Bill". Both songs and the sequences themselves are actually really good replacements. For the "How Do You Do Lets Shake Hands/A Very Merry Unbirthday" sequence, the kids go with Alice into the "Curious Labyrinth" which is a maze like playground with characters from the film "Alice In Wonderland" that actually is a cute sequence. For the "Pecos Bill" sequence, instead of the character Pecos Bill himself appearing, it’s instead Goofy acting comically heroic in "Frontierland", which is a sequence that's fun for kids as well as the song itself being catchy. As for the video's remake of the final song "When You Wish Upon A Star", at first I was happy and enchanted by it, considering that everybody in the scene is silent as they interact with each other in slow-motion just like in the original video. However, that all gets ruined when Mickey and Minnie start talking as he uses his powers to start the Firework show and after the show, we hear a cartoony sound effect of them kissing, and they talk as they walk away while holding hands. I can't tell you how disappointed I am with the choice to make them talk during this magical moment. What made the original version of the sequence so effective is that Mickey and Minnie don't talk at all, it was all based on the movement of the characters as the music and the choir along with the firework effects create a very magical and enchanting atmosphere, which was what made the ending so wonderfully touching and why I still choke up when I watch that ending. Just hearing them talk, laugh, and use a cartoony sound-effect during a very a beautiful and whimsical moment just assassinates the atmosphere for this wonderful conclusion!

Moving onto my final thoughts on the remake, I'm in all honestly actually really impressed with it. The way the video is shot and edited makes the Park look just as great as the classic "Disneyland" Park; the two new songs are fun and entertaining; the characters are just as lovable as they were in the original video; and there are even a few song sequences that are surprisingly better than the sequences in the original. The only major problems that I have with this English dub cut are half of the original songs and dialogue being lazily recycled sound footage from the original video; and the fact that the Disney characters hardly stop talking during the song, which are both really distracting elements that take away a real good amount of the joy and atmosphere that you're supposed to get when watching this video. The crazy thing about the stuff that bother me about this video is in the original French cut not only are the songs rerecorded in French, but the characters don't talk as much as they do in the English dubbing. Despite those elements weighing a good chunk of the English dub version down you can still tell that Disney for the most part isn't half-assing this video to just be a marketing tool for the people in France to go to the park; they actually do want to make a remake for the people of France to enjoy, and for the most part it pays off.

Even though I just gave my final thoughts on the video I'm sure some of you are wondering which video do I think is better? Well it really depends on which version. Comparing it to the English dub, for the things I faulted it for, the original is better. Comparing it to its original French cut on the other hand is indeed a different story. Putting away the fact that I can't speak French, the French version does make for a worthy comparison for which one is better between the two. The song sequences that I did found to be better than the original video are "Following The Leader": "Rumbly In My Tummy" (Mainly because of the different ending); and "The Character Parade". All the other sequences are really good as well, but the truth is no matter how much the French version updates itself from the original version, I still find myself thinking that the original video is still the best one. I guess my nostalgia may play a big role with this decision, but even when taking that away I still can't help but find the original video better. While the two new songs are good, I still to this day find myself humming the two songs that were omitted from the remake. The songs for the "Curious Labyrinth" sequence are good songs, but I find myself remembering the area that the characters play in, more than I remember the actual song; and the fact that a choir sings for these characters, which is clearly a song that they should be singing is pretty disappointing, especially when considering that the "Country Bears" in the original got to sing a song that's clearly theirs, being the reason why the song and the sequence is so much fun and memorable.  The "Pecos Bill" sequence is fun, but I feel like that the song "Making Memories" is catchier, as well as really capturing the feel as we look back at the past. While there are some sequences that are better than the sequences in the original, well aside from the fact that I still find the original sequences still enjoyable despite how much better they are in the remake, all musical sequences that are remakes to the original musical sequences sadly suffer from the same problem, despite that in the French version the recordings are sung by a French choir with new scenes, the background music from the original video still remains the same, which makes it sound like professional French karaoke, instead of making the music sound different as well; and for me that's what makes the original video stronger in comparison is that it did create these new renditions of classic Disney songs where a great chunk of it will be recycled in both cuts of the French version. I do think the original video is better, but I still think the remake is just as great as the original, especially the French cut since the only real major issue it really has is recycling the same exact background music from the original tape, where the English dub suffers from more than one big issue, which for me those issues are worse when compared to the original French cut.

RATING FOR THE FRENCH CUT 5/5

RATING FOR THE ENGLISH DUB 4/5

PSYCHO SHARK (JAWS IN JAPAN)

While I'm still busy preparing a special series of reviews for October, since it is still the summer and I promised to review at least one Shark movie  or “JAWS” knock-off during the summer, I've decided to choose a Shark film that was made in Japan about a giant monstrous Shark called...



(Yeah, doesn't that poster look like a rip-off of the poster for the ultimate "JAWS" rip-off "Great White")

OR ALSO KNOWN AS...




Man does this film look like a really bad rip-off of "JAWS", especially when considering the fact that one of the film’s two titles carries the title "JAWS" in big red letters, which will make people think that this film is a sequel to "JAWS"! Surprisingly however, remember in my review "Jurassic Shark" how the poster and title looked like it was going to rip-off "JAWS" and "Jurassic Park", but instead did the complete opposite of what the film was supposed to do as it was advertised; this film does the same exact thing. Before I start talking about the plot, I just want to let you know that there WILL be SPOILERS because after the stuff that I’ve seen from watching this movie, I simply can't be brief about it and not give away the ending! So with that out of the way, ON WITH THE REVIEW!

I'll just tell you now, if you're expecting the Shark in this movie to be the star, forget about it, because it’s not the star of this film at all! This film instead plays out more like a mix between the "Found Footage" genre and the film "Psycho", with only a tiny bit of "JAWS". The film's about these two young college girls on vacation that stay at a hotel on the beach with just them and the guy who runs the place, and are given a video camera from the guy who runs the hotel. As they have their vacation fun, one of the girls finds a tape for a camera that was left behind by one of the guests, and out of curiosity she plays the tape and discovers that the previous guests have been killed by the owner, and that the owner plans to kill her and her friend next. How does a giant Shark fit into this murder mystery film, it just shows up at the end and seems to be working with the killer! This film is full of questions that you are just as eager as our lead is to find the answers too, even if you do feel like the reasons are going to be stupid and poorly written. The two big questions that I wonder about as much as the characters do is how come our lead can only see the violent footage on the tape and yet no one else can; and if the killer loves to murder woman himself while filming them, than what's with his connection with the giant Shark that appears at the end? The answer to these questions and many other questions that you may have about the film is never at all explained, nor does the film do a good job at leaving these questions for the viewer’s interpretation because of how poorly written and made it is!

 

When it comes to characters in this film, they're no different from the typical bland characters in shark movies with actors that can't act for crap; and the dialogue that these characters are given is dull and cheap. Even the film's killer is really boring and not at all interesting or even memorable for that matter. In fact, he's so forgettable that you see very little of him in the movie, as well as barely getting a feel for his relationship with the girl that he plans to kill. He feels like an important character that's just downplayed in the film as an after thought, especially when considering the fact that he is the main villain instead of the giant Shark! The build-up to the giant Shark that appears at the end is lacking. There's no tension, no suspense, no thrills, no any of that good stuff! The closest things that we get that build-up to the shark is the "JAWS" style POV shot of the Shark underwater; a girl that looks like she's getting killed by the Shark; the killer getting a mini Shark statue; and a scene where we see a terrible CGI Shark fin as its about to kill a girl on a raft that's shot in a very familiar way of how the boy on the raft got killed in "JAWS", which then in a very annoying and yet predictable twist like in "JAWS: The Revenge" that whole sequence was just a pointless nightmare! That's the only build-up we get, and none of it is cool and exciting, nor does it prepare you for the fact that the Shark itself is a larger than life piece of CGI crap that's as awful as the CGI in the other Shark films that I've reviewed! The horrible part is (as if the Shark itself doesn't look horrible enough) we only in the very least get a minute and a half of this giant Shark as it eats our leads by jumping out of the water towards the characters in slow-motion to only immediately cut to a shot of blood splattering on a camera, which is disappointing that we don't see this computerized Shark devour these bland girls. The crazy part is not only the killer along with his friend somehow manage to not get crushed by the Shark that leaps on to dry land, but we don't even see the shark after the attack and I'm willing to bet that the amount of blood that splattered all over the camera mostly came from the shark that hurt itself while landing on to land off-screen as it ate those chicks!

 

Looking at how the film itself is made, you can tell that it was made on a really tiny budget which makes the film look just as cheaply made as "Jurassic Shark" even though I think "Jurassic Shark" looks way worse than this film! There are plenty of shots and things in the film that are stupid and make no sense, nor are they laughably bad for that matter, they're all boring and annoying. One of the scenes that don't make sense in terms of building-up to the Shark is the scene when a girl is taking a shower and fears that someone is in the bathroom that's going to kill her ("Psycho" anyone). The weird thing about this scene is I didn't know what it was trying to make you think was coming after her. Was it the hotel owner, because if that's the case you're revealing him as the killer way too early in the film; was the friend about to pull a prank on her, which would lead to a false jump scare; or was it somehow going to be the Shark that we've never seen yet, and yet can somehow walk on land like a human (Considering how crazy and over the top that Shark films are, wouldn’t you be thinking the same thing if the film decided to go that route). Well it turns out that the scene was building up to NOTHING which is both stupid and pointless! Another example of the film making no sense is since the film is pretty much being a "Found Footage" film, it likes to go back and fourth between present day to our character watching the found footage of the people who were at the hotel before they checked in. As simple as the concept sounds, the way that film does the "Found Footage" aspect is an unorganized mess! The majority of scenes in this movie that involve the found footage usually involves our main character watching the footage, but then in other scenes the film just randomly cuts to a character taking a shower or lying in bed to then showing the found footage, to later on cutting back to what are main characters were just doing a few minutes ago before the scene cuts to the found footage, making it obvious that they didn't watch the video at all while the found footage scenes were being shown to us! The film also randomly uses static effects for the present day scenes despite that no one in the film is actually filming our characters as the effect is happening. I mean what's up with these choices; it's just annoyingly random and makes no sense! The only thing that kind of makes sense with the films decisions regarding the "Found Footage" aspect of the film are when the scenes cut back and fourth to the found footage that we saw earlier, to a similar situation that's going on in the present, but even that's annoying and not at all scary or done well for that matter! To make things even worse about the film, this film has a really perverted fetish with getting close-up shots of women's bras and using Low-Angle shots to shoot at their crotches as the girls fool around. Being the male that I am, while it does at times look hot to look at, it doesn’t at all feel necessary and it does get old, boring, and repetitive real fast!

Need I go on with how bad this film is? The acting is bad and boring; the CGI effects, as well as the film itself looks very cheap; the fact that we don't see a Shark until the end of the film and only for a very short time is major false advertisement for what we were expecting this film to be; its fetish over making the girls look hot in their swim suits, is annoyingly pointless and sleazy; and it's attempts at making a "Found Footage" movie with a serial killer that runs a hotel along with a giant Shark is such a thoughtless mess that it makes little to no sense at all! This film is a complete waste of time and is so stupid and poorly made that when the film ends you’ll be sitting there thinking for a moment wondering what the hell did you just watch!

RATING 0/5