March Review: Fantasia (1940)

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And now we come to the final piece of Walt Disney’s original animation trifecta, Fantasia, and it’s one I’m both anticipating and dreading. Fantasia isn’t just one of the crowning jewels in Disney’s canon, a landmark in motion picture animation, and second only to Snow White in terms of influential music and storytelling in the whole medium, it’s one of my top three favorite movies of all time. Discussing it without sounding like an old history professor, a pretentious internet snob, or a hyper Disney fangirl is one hell of a daunting task.

“Did someone say hyper Disney fangirl?! I LOVE Disney!!”

“I thought you only liked Frozen.”

“Well, DUH, Frozen is my favorite, which makes it, like, the best Disney movie ever! But Disney’s awesome! There’s a bunch of other movies I like that are almost as good!”

“And Fantasia’s one of them?”

“Yeah!!…Which one is that again?”

“The one with Sorcerer Mickey?”

“Ohhhh, you’re talking about the fireworks show where he fights the dragon!”

“No, that’s Fantasmic. I’m referring to Fantasia. Came out the same year as Pinocchio? All done in hand-drawn animation…has the big devil guy at the end?”

“THAT’S where he’s from?! Geez, that’s some old movie. Why haven’t I heard about ’til now?”

“Probably because you spend twelve hours a day searching for more Frozen GIFs to reblog on your Tumblr.”

“Ooh, that reminds me! I need to go post my next batch of theories about the upcoming sequel! Toodles!!”

“Thanks. Another second with her and I would’ve bust a gasket.”

“Don’t mention it.”

EMERGENCY: Notre Dame is Burning

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If you’ve seen the news or been on social media for the past few hours, then you already know France is in the midst of a cultural inferno. The iconic cathedral Notre Dame de Paris is burning, and we’re losing her and countless priceless works of art stored inside it as I write this. Having never gotten to experience the beauty and awe of this magnificent centuries-old monument beyond film, it breaks my heart.

We may not be able to put out the fires ourselves, but there is something we can do to salvage what we have.

For every $5 you contribute to the Friends of Note Dame de Paris restoration fund, I’m giving you an extra vote for the next movie review voting round in May (So $10 gives you two votes, $15 three, etc.) Anyone who gives $50 or more will get a written view of a film of their choice from the Shelf.

Also, considering what day this is, I should add that any gift you decide to give is tax deductible in the US.

If you decide to make a pledge, make sure you forward me a receipt as proof of your kind donation via upontheshelfshow@gmail.com. Please consider donating so future generations will be able to admire Notre Dame as it should be (and so Quasimodo won’t be homeless).

Merci.

(NOTE: You might have to reload the link to the fund a couple of times to get it to work.)

Now THAT’S What I Call Ridiculous Game of Thrones Final Season Predictions!

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Arya, Braavos, Brienne, Cersei, Clegane Bowl, Daenerys, Davos Seaworth, dragons, drogon, Euron, Euron Greyjoy, fan theories, final episode, final season, finale predictions, game of thrones, game of thrones finale prediction, game of thrones prediction, game of thrones predictions, George RR Martin, got prediction, got predictions, Iron Throne, Jaime, Jon Snow, Jorah Mormont, King, kingslayer, Lannister, lightbringer, Ned Stark, new episodes, Night King, predictions, Queen, qyburne, rheagal, Samwell Tarly, Sansa, season 8, series predictions, show predictions, Stark, Targaryen, The Hound, The Mountain, Theon Greyjoy, theories, theory, three eyed raven, Tyrion, Valyrian steel, Varys, viserion, Westeros, White Walkers, wights, Yara Greyjoy

Tonight’s the night, folks. After a grueling two year wait, the battle for Westeros begins…

Though frankly my hype for it has been somewhat tempered due to the Season 2 finale of Tangled which aired this morning.

Disney, if you cancel the series on THAT cliffhanger thanks to your incomprehensible scheduling decisions, you can kiss my subscription to Disney+ goodbye.

But anyway, the internet has been brimming with theories about who will live, die, and win the Iron Throne as far back as the first season. Some have been spot on, some are laughably outlandish, and others…exist, I guess. So I invite you all to read my own crazy theories as to what will occur in Game of Thrones’ final season, and then come back when each episode wraps up and laugh at how totally off the mark I was.

Oh yes, and if you dare to tread further, I should warn you there will be massive spoilers for the entire series up to this point.

MovieBabble: Dumbo (2019) Review

Well, Disney’s put out another live-action remake and it’s time I shared my thoughts on it. Click HERE to read my review for Dumbo, directed by Tim Burton.

(Spoiler Alert: It’s not as good as the original.)

May Movie Review Voting Is Back!

Well, getting back to posting reviews when I say so sure was a nice dream, wasn’t it?

I understand if you’re tired of my excuses. But on this occasion, I truly did have something that took greater precedence over getting the review out before the month was up:

While I was in Argentina, an opportunity to came up to showcase my book – the one I’ve been working on for the past year. So I’ve been spending the past three weeks polishing it as much as I could and writing up a submission treatment (summary, audience focus, printing specifications, promotion plans, etc.) God be willing something good comes from of this, so please keep me in your thoughts.

Anyway, since I promised I’d open voting back up in April, here’s the list of movies you can vote for: