I’m so happy that I sat down to watch this true underdog story. I’ll speak of the child actors by saying that this is an adorable cast that performs sensationally. On set and in the story, they’re put through the ringer and come up with a winner.
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“The Last Black Man in San Francisco” is a small independent movie about the power of a house when you consider it home. But the house in question is a quaint little place in a very old section of San Francisco. Read more
ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK TO FEATURE CLASSIC SCORE AND ORIGINAL SONGS BY COMPOSER ALAN
MENKEN, LYRICISTS HOWARD ASHMAN AND TIM RICE, PLUS A NEW SONG
WRITTEN BY MENKEN, BENJ PASEK AND JUSTIN PAUL
WILL SMITH AND DJ KHALED TO PERFORM NEW UPDATED RENDITION OF
OSCAR-NOMINATED SONG “FRIEND LIKE ME”
DIGITAL ALBUM SET FOR RELEASE MAY 21
PHYSICAL ALBUM TO BE RELEASED MAY 24
BURBANK, CA – May 9, 2019 – Multi-platinum and global award-winning superstar singer/songwriter ZAYN and emerging sensation singer/songwriter Zhavia Ward are set to perform the Oscar and GRAMMY-winning duet “A Whole New World.” The song will be featured in the film’s end credits and on the Walt Disney Records soundtrack, and is available today as a single and music video, which can be seen here. The new updated rendition of the classic song is produced by Saltwives aka Alex Oriet and David Phelan (ZAYN and Charli XCX) and the music video was directed by Philip Andelman (Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran).
“The selection of artists, producer and tonal direction was critical for the success of updating a classic song like this,” said Mitchell Leib, president of Music & Soundtracks for the Walt Disney Studios. “ZAYN’s vocals are like no other and his artistic imprint immediately brought a contemporary and diverse presence. Additionally, ZAYN could have chosen any artist in the world to collaborate with on the duet, but he personally selected Zhavia for her unique perspective, powerful vocal abilities and to platform a talented new artist, ensuring that the audience could discover this song, again, for the first time.”
The timeless ballad, featuring Alan Menken’s beautiful melody and Howard Ashman’s unforgettable lyrics, received an Academy Award®, Golden Globe® Award and GRAMMY Award, among other accolades, upon its release in 1992.
The “Aladdin” original motion picture soundtrack features an unforgettable score from eight-time Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast,” “The Little Mermaid”), along with new recordings of the original songs written by Menken and two-time Academy Award winner Howard Ashman (“Little Shop of Horrors”), three-time Oscar winner Tim Rice (“The Lion King”) and one song written by Menken and Oscar and Tony Award®-winning songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (“La La Land,” “Dear Evan Hansen”). From Walt Disney Records, the digital soundtrack is set for release on May 21 at 9:00pm PT and will be followed by the physical album on May 24.
A thrilling and vibrant live-action adaptation of Disney’s animated classic, “Aladdin” is the exciting tale of the charming street rat Aladdin, the courageous and self-determined Princess Jasmine and the Genie who may be the key to their future. “Aladdin” opens in U.S. theaters nationwide May 24, 2019.
Oscar-nominated actor and multi-platinum recording artist Will Smith and GRAMMY-nominated superstar songwriter, producer and multi-platinum selling artist DJ Khaled are set to perform a re-invented version of the classic Oscar-nominated song “Friend Like Me.” The song will be featured in the film’s end credit, on the Walt Disney Records soundtrack, and released as a single. The new updated rendition of the song is produced by DJ Khaled.
The new original song featured in the film and included on the soundtrack is “Speechless,” performed by Jasmine (Naomi Scott). The song is Jasmine’s big breakout song in the film about finding her voice, and was written by Alan Menken and songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
The Aladdin soundtrack includes “Arabian Nights,” “One Jump Ahead,” “One Jump Ahead (Reprise),” “Speechless” (Part 1), “Friend Like Me,” “Prince Ali,” “A Whole New World,” “One Jump Ahead” (Reprise 2), “Speechless” (Part 2), “A Whole New World” (End Title), “Friend Like Me” (End Title), and “Speechless” (Full), plus 25 score cues composed by Alan Menken.
The Aladdin original motion picture soundtrack physical album is now available for pre-order, pre-add on Apple Music, and pre-save on Spotify. “A Whole New World” is available at streaming and download services. For more information on Walt Disney Records releases, follow us at Facebook.com/Disney, Instagram/disneymusic, Twitter.com/disneymusic and our Disney Hits Playlist at http://disneymusic.co/DisneyHits.
BURBANK, CA – April 29, 2019 – Warner Bros. Pictures has announced the release date for the third “Fantastic Beasts” film—inviting audiences to return to the cinematic Wizarding World on November 12, 2021. The release date marks the opening of the next installment of one of the Studio’s key properties. The announcement was made today by Ron Sanders, President, Worldwide Theatrical Distribution and Home Entertainment.
Sanders said, “J.K. Rowling created an awe-inspiring universe that has captivated people of all ages, taking us on an extraordinary magical journey. Warner Bros. is so proud to be the cinematic home of the Wizarding World and is excited about the future of the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise. We look forward to bringing the third chapter of the five-film series to audiences around the globe in November 2021.”
Production on the new film is expected to begin in Spring 2020.
“We are incredibly excited about and have confidence in the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ series,” Toby Emmerich, Chairman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group, stated. “We all believe this release date will give the filmmakers time and space to allow their artistry to truly flourish and deliver the best possible film to our fans.”
‘Dumbo’ is the latest live-action remake of the Disney films. This 1941 animated classic gets a new look and feel by the genius mind of Tim Burton. ‘Dumbo’ wasn’t known as one of Disney’s most influential films, therefore, anything Tim Burton could add to the story would improve it significantly, and he does just that. Included in this retelling is the magic that makes you feel as if you’re watching an old-style Tim Burton movie. Maybe because he realized how important a story about elephants would be. With the circus industry taking a big hit because of animal abuse, especially toward the elephant, he had to send a strong statement that he wasn’t condoning harming animals. He does this several ways. He gives you characters that both charm and please you. With his ‘bad’ characters, he gives you cruelty but only in the realm of suggestions. There’s no genuine love for the circus whatsoever. This is clear from the beginning to the end. Especially the end, which you’ll appreciate dearly. The animals are all CGI and he makes a point to let you know his story is a love letter to animals if nothing else… especially to the beloved pachyderm.
With every Tim Burton film comes a land of wonder and excitement to explore but what also appears is a note of hard reality and a ruthless villain to wake you from any trance-like state you could be in from his breathtaking visuals. ‘Dumbo’ has similar elements with an actual ‘Dreamland’ to try and seduce you. This is where it seems its most Burton like. The film is seen mostly through the lens of the children which is good and bad as it doesn’t dig very deeply into the adult characters. To extend the length of the film, the original was only one hour and four minutes, Burton spun a yarn around a veteran and his children. Their mother has passed on, he was gone, and they were being raised on the road. They need to bond once again and become a family.
In the beginning, we meet Holt Farrier (Farrell) who was once a circus star and is now a war hero. After returning from war minus a limb, the owner of the circus he worked for, Max Medici (DeVito), rehires him to take care of the elephants. Holt’s two children are more than happy to help when the female elephant gives birth to a bright, blue-eyed bundle of… big ears?!? Max bought the mama knowing that a baby would bring people to see him but when he sees what he calls a freak, he wants ‘it’ and the mother gone… and his money back! Already struggling to make ends meet, he can’t afford more loss! As he stomps around, visibly angry, the mama gets very upset and goes ‘mad.’ He sells her, keeping her and her darling baby apart. The children see Dumbo breathe in a feather and sneeze wildly. When this happens, he flaps his ears and… and he flies! Good enough! When word of this gets out, an enthusiastic businessman named Vandevere (Keaton) talks Max into going into a partnership in his park called Dreamland; where they make the impossible, possible. He explains that the future of business isn’t to have you packing up and traveling for the audience. If the audience wants to see what you’ve got to offer, they’ll have to come to you. Keaton and DeVito. Batman and the Penguin. Together again. This will not get by the fans of the Burton directed, ‘Batman Returns.’ Nor will the appearance of Dreamland compared to that of Disneyland where they’re already selling Dumbo toys in the remarkably similar theme park.
Vandevere’s aerial artist, Colette Marchant (Green) sees that she and the little flying elephant can soar through the tent together and swoon the audiences below. Max closes his circus and joins Vandevere’s Dreamland, managing to keep his entire troupe together in the process. While traveling through Dreamland, you’ll see a somewhat spooky message about the 20th Century and about automation ‘helping’ humans. Watching the scene, I couldn’t help but think how spot on he is. It has helped. But are we the better for it? Is Max better for getting into business with a snake? Time will tell.
If you’re wondering why you should see this version of ‘Dumbo,’ Tim Burton is reason enough to attend, but he also brought along the magnificent Danny Elfman to score the film. Elfman’s arrangement for the ‘Pink Elephants on Parade’ is simply sublime. It’s quite distinctive from the original and the visuals are more low-key which I think may have been done so you could simply sit back and experience what Elfman offers your ears. The film is touching, it’s sweet and magical. This is imaginative but now that they’ve opened it up, I’d like to see Disney attack the subject of what elephants are facing today with one of their Disney Nature films. The truth of it needs to be treated with utmost urgency.
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