Peter Pan “The Elegant Captain Hook” (1953)

maxresdefault

At its core, “The Elegant Captain Hook” is nothing more than an elaborate sales pitch designed to get the Lost Boys (and the Darling children) to join Captain Hook’s crew. I imagine Hook views this as one last opportunity to stick it to his longtime nemesis Peter Pan before he’s blown to pieces by a bomb left in his hideout. After all, what could be more satisfying than having Peter Pan’s followers become pirates? Also, given the cyclical nature of events on Neverland (“All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again”), I can’t help but wonder how many times the Lost Boys have been made this offer in the past. Who knows, maybe there were a few times where the boys did join Captain Hook’s crew, for a while anyway. But I digress…

(the song is delivered while the children are tied to the mast)

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, Yo Ho, Yo Ho, Yo Ho
So, try the life of a thief
Just sample the life of a crook
There isn’t a boy
Who won’t enjoy
A-workin’ for Captain Hook
The World’s Most Famous Crook

In typical oblivious fashion, Mr. Smee tries to interject about how the crocodile is still after Captain Hook (“Crook, Crook, Crickety-Crockity-Crickety-Crook The Croc is after Captain-) but the pirate knocks him silly with his hook before he can finish the line.

maxresdefault (1)

As a special offer for today
I’ll tell you what I’ll do.
All those who sign without delay…
Will get a free tattoo.
Why, it’s like money in the bank!
C’mon, join up, and I’ll be frank:
Unless you do, you’ll walk the plank!
The choice is up to you!

The choice is up to you!
Yo Ho, Yo Ho, Yo Ho, Yo Ho, Yo Ho
You’ll love the life of a thief
You’ll relish the life of a crook
There’s barrels of fun enough for ev’ryone!
And you’ll get treasures by the ton
So come and sign the book
Join up with Captain Hook!

It’s no wonder the boys are so eager to join: Hook has just threatened to make them walk the plank if they don’t (so it’s really not a choice at all). Fortunately, Wendy is there to bring the boys to their senses before any of them can sign up.

“The Elegant Captain Hook” is a rousing song (though rather short) and one that I’ve always liked. I do wonder from time to time why the song is called “The Elegant Captain Hook” as the phrase never turns up in the song!

What do you think of “The Elegant Captain Hook”? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and have a great day!

See also:

Peter Pan “You Can Fly!” (1953)

Peter Pan “Following the Leader” (1953)

Peter Pan “What Made the Red Man red?” (1953)

My Thoughts on: Peter Pan (1953)

Disney/Dreamworks/Pixar/etc. Soundtracks A-Z

Become a Patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook 🙂

Reviewing Looney Tunes: Hair-Raising Hare (1946)

1 Reply

Hair-Raising Hare.jpg

Released: May 25th, 1946

Directed by: Chuck Jones (credited as Charles M. Jones)

Hair-Raising Hare is the debut of one of my favorite Looney Tunes characters: the huge, red, furry, sneaker-wearing monster. He’s been known by several names over the decades: “Monster,” “Rudolph,” and “Gossamer” though in this first appearance he doesn’t appear to have a given name. For some reason, the sight of this huge monster has always elicited a fit of giggles from me (I think it has something to do with the sneakers, they look so incongruous).

The plot is simple: Bugs is lured to a mad scientist’s castle (how do these mad scientists always have castles?) to be dinner for the aforementioned monster. When Bugs gets wise to this plan, he makes a break for it and the chase is on (interestingly, the scientist is not seen again for the rest of the short). The rest of the cartoon follows Bugs as he outwits and evades the monster, before finally subduing the monster by breaking the fourth wall (making the monster aware of the audience watching him).

This cartoon has one of Bugs Bunny’s best known gags: at one point he stalls the monster by pretending to be a stylist who declares the monster needs a manicure. Suddenly Bugs whips out a table, chairs and begins to file the monsters nails, all while holding a conversation that you might hear in a nail salon. This is Bugs in pure mischief mode; once he gets over his initial fright, the monster doesn’t stand a chance.

I feel like Gossamer (the furry monster) doesn’t get enough attention compared to better known characters so I like to bring attention to him when I can. Let me know what you think about Hair-Raising Hare in the comments below and have a great day!

See also:

Reviewing Looney Tunes

Become a Patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook 🙂

My Thoughts on: Peter Pan (1953)

5 Replies

Prior to getting a copy of Peter Pan for Christmas this year, it had been a number of years since I’d seen the film, so it was nice to sit down and revisit one of my favorite Disney films. Very loosely based on J.M. Barrie’s novel, Peter Pan follows the Darling children: Wendy (Kathryn Beaumont), John (Paul Collins), and Michael (Tommy Luske) as they fly off to Neverland with Peter Pan (Bobby Driscoll) and Tinkerbell for a series of adventures.

Upon arriving at Neverland Peter has to deal with his long-time nemesis Captain Hook (Hans Conried), who is bound and determined to get revenge on Peter for cutting off his hand some years ago and feeding it to the Crocodile, who has been following him ever since in anticipation of getting the rest of him someday. The scenes with the Crocodile are probably my favorite apart from the flying sequences. You’re never quite sure when or where the Crocodile is going to show up, and Hook’s reactions are priceless each time he hears the “tick tock” of the clock inside the Crocodile’s belly.

Speaking of Captain Hook, he’s one of my favorite Disney villains. Hook was created at a time when Disney took a more comedic approach to their villains, so despite his many, MANY threats (including shooting a pirate in the middle of his cadenza), you never really get the impression that Hook is a major threat, because Peter will always find a way to get the upper hand. Also, I have to add that Mr. Smee is also one of my favorite characters: he’s so nice and polite that one wonders how he ended up on a pirate ship. Throughout the story, Smee tries again and again to get Hook to give up his pursuit of Peter Pan and go back to sea, and finally at the end he gives up and heads off in his own boat.

Peterpan-disneyscreencaps-3374

The film does contain a number of what are now considered troubling sequences with Indians (the film employs practically every stereotype associated with Native Americans). As a child these scenes didn’t bother me because I didn’t know any better, and even now I don’t let it bother me too much only because I remind myself that the film was made in 1953 when things were very different culturally. Years afterward the animators admitted that if they could do it all over again they would animate the tribe differently.

large

I feel very badly for Wendy throughout this film: she’s so eager to head off to Neverland but her adventure is hardly what she expects. First of all, she gets shot down (literally) by the Lost Boys; then the mermaids (whom she expressly wanted to see) try to drown her while Peter laughs; and worst of all, Peter ditches Wendy to celebrate with Tiger Lily. It’s no wonder Wendy decides to head for home not long afterward. I do like the reveal at the end that George Darling (the father) vaguely remembers going on his own adventure with Peter Pan and the flying pirate ship. It’s a twist that breaks the trope of parents reassuring the child that whatever happened was “just a dream.” Because in this case both parents take notice of the flying ship, which means Wendy was telling the truth!

One last thought: I love the scene at the end when Tinkerbell covers the pirate ship with pixie dust and it flies into the sky.

What do you think about Disney’s Peter Pan? Was it a favorite when you were growing up? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and have a great day!

See also:

Animated Film Reviews

Become a patron of the blog at: patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook

My Thoughts on: A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

2 Replies

I’ve known about A Fistful of Dollars for years from its reputation as a shameless rip-off of Kurosawa’s film Yojimbo (1961). I thought I’d seen at least part of it before, but it turns out I was remembering The Good, The Bad and the Ugly instead. So as it turns out, this was my first viewing of the film.

If you’ve ever seen Yojimbo, the similarities between that film and A Fistful of Dollars become obvious almost immediately. A lone gunslinger rides into a rural town that is being dominated by two rival gangs. The Man with No Name (Clint Eastwood) decides to eliminate both groups by playing them off against one another. Except for minor plot differences, this is the exact story presented in Yojimbo. One difference I couldn’t help but notice is that in A Fistful of Dollars, the gunslinger initially allies with the Rojo brothers (analogous to Ushitora and his brothers); in Yojimbo, Sanjuro initially joins Sebei’s side (analogous to the Baxter family).

Now excluding the fact that this film is a rip-off, A Fistful of Dollars is a really good film. It wasn’t the first spaghetti western ever made, but it was the first to become really big, which is why director Sergio Leone is often credited as the founder of the genre. Eastwood’s performance as the Man with No Name is really something to see: he doesn’t say much but his expressions say plenty. I’m still not quite sure if he enjoys what he’s doing or if he just sees it as something that needs to be done.

mgm-FISTFULOFDOLLARS-Full-Image_GalleryBackground-en-US-1484002533042._RI_SX940_.jpg

Ennio Morricone’s score for the film provides a perfect complement to the action though, in atypical fashion, a large portion of the score was actually written before most of the film was created. I like how whenever the gunslinger does something like sits in a chair or shifts his cigar in his mouth, the music plays a little trill that comments on it.

If you’ve never seen a spaghetti western before, A Fistful of Dollars is a good place to start. One word of warning though: the film is obviously dubbed (it was filmed silent and the voices looped in after the fact) so yes you’re going to see mouths that don’t match up to the words. In fact the actors in this film spoke a plethora of languages: there were Germans, Austrians, Italians, Spaniards and Americans of course. And most if not all spoke their lines in their own languages (I can only imagine what filming a scene was like).

Let me know what you think about A Fistful of Dollars in the comments below and have a great day!

See also:

Film/TV Reviews

Become a Patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook 🙂

My Thoughts on: Westworld Season 1 (2016)

See also:

TV Reviews

Become a Patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook 🙂

My Thoughts on: The Favourite (2018)

2 Replies

Having not seen any of Yorgos Lanthimos’ work before now, I went into The Favourite excited, but not sure what to expect. The film caught my attention because it’s set during the reign of Queen Anne of Great Britain (1665-1714), a royal that you don’t usually see depicted in film. The film is based on the true story of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) and the struggle between two of her court favorites: Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough (Rachel Weisz) and Abigail Masham (Emma Stone), her cousin. The film traces Abigail’s rise at court alongside Sarah’s simultaneous fall along with the various intrigues going on at the British court in the early 18th century.

The film is undeniably beautiful, both visually and musically (the soundtrack features a number of classical compositions that would have been appropriate for the time period). I love the dresses that Sarah and Abigail wear. I also like the attire Sarah wears whenever she goes shooting or riding (the tricorn hat and the grey coat). Most of the costumes are black, white or shades of grey, and I like that generally muted color palette.

One thing that surprised me is how sexual the film was. I knew there was going to be some romantic intrigue from the previews, but I had no idea (or I wasn’t paying enough attention) that there would be so much between Sarah and the Queen (and later Abigail and the Queen!) Watching Sarah and Abigail each manipulate Anne in their own way leads you to feel nothing but sympathy for the unhappy monarch. Having lost 17 children, all Anne wants is to be loved but she certainly doesn’t get any from Sarah, who at times is downright abusive in her behavior. I’m not sure if we’re supposed to feel any sympathy for Sarah or not (I certainly didn’t).

Overall I enjoyed The Favourite very much, but I have some trouble with the ending. Given the story up to that point, the last scene felt like a strange way to end the film and I wasn’t quite sure what message I was supposed to receive from it (though I suspect a rewatch would help to enlighten me). That still didn’t stop me from enjoying the film and I highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it yet. Colman, Stone and Weisz fully deserve all of the nominations they’ve received thus far.

What did you think of The Favourite? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and have a great day!

See also:

Film/TV Reviews

Become a Patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook 🙂

Reviewing Looney Tunes: Bugs’ Bonnets (1956)

See also:

Reviewing Looney Tunes

Become a Patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook 🙂

Reviewing Looney Tunes: Bully for Bugs (1953)

3 Replies

Released August 8th, 1953

Directed by: Chuck Jones

Half of the reason I love Bully for Bugs so much is the crazy story behind how it got made in the first place. According to the late, great Chuck Jones, the idea came to him when producer Eddie Selzer, out of the blue, came to his work area and proclaimed “cartoons about bullfighting are NOT funny, so don’t make any!” Upon Selzer leaving to go back to his office, a bewildered Jones turned to his fellow animator and wondered aloud “WOULD a bullfighting cartoon be funny?” The funny thing is, according to Jones, since Selzer proved to be wrong on just about anything involving cartoons, they figured a bullfighting cartoon would actually be hilarious. So, to get some research done (as nobody in the department had ever seen a bullfight in person), Jones flew down to Mexico City to watch a bullfight for himself.

Bully for Bugs (27).jpg

Up until the fight started, Jones had the idea that the matador would be the villain of the story, while the bull would be the sympathetic character. This notion flew straight out the window when Jones saw a massive bull come charging into the arena to face off against this itty bitty matador who was maybe 100 lbs soaking wet. From that moment, Jones knew exactly how the story needed to play out. (The story comes from Jones’ autobiography Chuck Amuck and commentary for Bully for Bugs found in the Looney Tunes Golden Collection).

This cartoon is another example of Bugs taking a wrong turn at Albuquerque and winding up in the middle of a bullfighting ring instead of the Coachella Valley Carrot Festival. In the ring, a hapless matador is being chased around by a huge bull (much to the displeasure of the crowd. And speaking of the crowd, that’s a real bullfighting crowd you’re hearing in the cartoon, they recorded some audio in Barcelona, Spain and looped it into the final product). Being oblivious to the fact that he’s way off target, Bugs ends up on the wrong side of the bull, who promptly knocks him clean out of the arena (inspiring Bugs to proclaim “Of course you realize THIS means war!”) The enraged rabbit returns as a matador to give the bull his comeuppance as only Bugs can deliver it. For a while it’s an even back and forth between the two (and one of Bugs’ tricks actually backfires on him in spectacular fashion). Finally, just when Bugs seems cornered, he gets the upper hand and eliminates the bull once and for all by building an elaborate trap that sets the bull up to encounter some TNT.

Bully for Bugs is another classic Chuck Jones cartoon that never gets old no matter how many times you watch it. Let me know what you think about this cartoon in the comments below and have a great day!

See also:

Reviewing Looney Tunes

Become a Patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook 🙂

My Thoughts on: Robin Hood (2018)

1 Reply

Okay, right from the beginning I should clarify that I haven’t actually seen Robin Hood (and I probably won’t until it hits Redbox) but given what I know about this film, I HAVE to talk about it. I first heard about this film months ago when I heard that there was a really bad trailer circulating on the Internet. When I first saw it for myself, I was half convinced it had to be a joke; there’s no way they could have made a Robin Hood film THIS bad…right? Well, actually yes they did and the more previews I saw the worse it got.

The Middle Ages looked NOTHING like this

First let’s talk about the setting. As most people know, Robin Hood is traditionally set in or around the reign of King Richard the Lionheart (so between 1189 and 1200 CE give or take a few years), which places the story firmly in the Middle Ages. Knowing that, take a look at those previews again and tell me with a straight face that this film even loosely resembles that time period. Nottingham bears no resemblance to a medieval city, in fact in the previews it looks more like something from a post-apocalyptic future (or a generic fantasy film). I’m not saying a Robin Hood film has to be 100% period-authentic, but they’re not even trying with these locations OR the costumes. The machine-stitching is painfully obvious and nothing remotely resembles the era they should be in. I groaned aloud when I saw the footage from a party that Robin attended in his public persona as a nobleman. The costumes the ladies are wearing are totally inappropriate for the era (no woman would be caught dead in anything so revealing). I referenced the location looking post-apocalyptic before, I find myself wondering if they meant to make this a futuristic post-apocalypse retelling of the story and just forgot to tell the audience?

As cool as it looks, Molotov cocktails were NOT a thing in the Middle Ages

Second, we need to talk about those arrows. It goes without saying that arrows do NOT work like that! They’re not that powerful (not at that size anyway) and you can’t fire them THAT quickly (I don’t care if it is a Robin Hood movie, no one is THAT good). This was another thing that really bothered me about the film, and that’s the pacing, it’s much too fast. A Robin Hood story can be many things, but a fast-paced action thriller is not typically one of them.

Third, where is Prince John in all of this? One of the key components of the Robin Hood legend has always involved the outlaw fighting against the tyranny of Prince John until King Richard can return. The only reason Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves got away with excluding the character is because they had Alan Rickman playing the Sheriff of Nottingham. I’m not saying Ben Mendelsohn isn’t a good actor, it’s just I’ve seen him play this kind of role several times before and no offense but it’s starting to wear thin.

f90208d6-2c02-414e-bfe3-58d2fd883402

Lastly, I have to comment on something I heard from reviews of the film. I read that Robin is sent to the Crusades via a “draft notice” pinned to his front gate. Are you KIDDING me?? This is not how the Crusades worked! There was no draft for noblemen in the Middle Ages, either you went on Crusade or you didn’t! It’s like they did no research whatsoever for this film and didn’t think anyone would notice (spoiler alert: we’ve definitely noticed). All reports indicate that Robin Hood is going to be the biggest box office bomb of the year and I’m not surprised in the slightest. I knew this film would bomb the moment I saw the first teaser. Hopefully I’ll get my own turn to eviscerate the film once I can rent it from Redbox sooner rather than later (and as it’s bombing badly that shouldn’t be a long wait). For now, those are my thoughts on Robin Hood but I’m very curious to know what you think about it. Have you gone to see it? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and have a great day!

See also:

Film Reviews

Become a Patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook 🙂

My Thoughts On: Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995)

7 Replies

I was over the moon to receive Batman: The Complete Animated Series as an early birthday present. I’ve wanted to add the series to my collection for years as it holds a very special place in my childhood (it’s one of the first cartoons I can remember watching on television). Batman: The Animated Series is rightly held to be one of the greatest animated series ever made. It is sometimes referred to as cartoon noir as it borrows many conventions from film noir (for example most of the cars and buildings evoke the 1940s). The series is also responsible for jump starting the DC Animated Universe (which included Superman: The Animated Series; Justice League; Batman Beyond and Justice League Unlimited to name a few).

batman-the-animated-series

The show also featured an all star voice cast, including Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker himself) as the voice of the Joker. Even though I’ve seen video of Mark doing the Joker voice, it’s still hard for me to imagine that voice and Luke’s voice coming out of the same person (but then again that just shows how talented he really is as a voice actor). The series is also responsible for introducing Harley Quinn (voiced by the brilliant Arleen Sorkin) to the Batman canon. The besotted Harley was created exclusively for the show before eventually being written into the comic canon (one of the first times that’s ever happened for any character). There are also origins given for many of Batman’s most infamous enemies, including Two-Face (“Two Face” parts I and II), Clayface (“Feat of Clay” parts I and II) and Mr. Freeze (“Heart of Ice” which is widely considered to be the best episode of the series).

Harley and Ivy.jpg

I’ve been asked before which episode is my favorite and the honest truth is I can’t pick just one, because they’re all so good. However, I can pick a few to highlight:

“Heart of Ice” rewrites the origins of Mr. Freeze and turns him into what is probably the most sympathetic villain in the series.
“Harley and Ivy”: Having been kicked out of Joker’s gang, Harley Quinn goes into business for herself, eventually joining forces with Poison Ivy and the duo prove to be very skilled in the world of crime (to the growing consternation of the Joker).
“Lock-Up”: Lyle Bolton, head of security at Arkham Asylum, is dismissed from his job after it comes out that he’s brutalizing the prisoners. This is one episode where you feel complete sympathy for the villains as they literally quake in terror at Bolton’s mere presence (especially Jonathan Crane, aka The Scarecrow, who practically begs Batman not to take him back).

I’m excited to continue watching this amazing series and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it (or perhaps hasn’t watched in a long time). Over 25 years after its debut, Batman: The Animated Series continues to impress.

See also:

Animated Film Reviews

Become a Patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook 🙂