Disney aquires Lucasfilm

Brian

It’s official. George Lucas will no longer be the creative force behind  the Star Wars franchise.

In a shocking development today, Disney aquired  Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion. All of those funds, which include stocks and cash, will go directly  to Lucas himself, since he is the sole owner of the independent company that  never went public. In exchange, Disney now has complete ownership of the  Star Wars franchise.

What does this mean for fans? It means that we might  get a decent Star Wars
film! No longer is the franchise beholden to Lucas’ wooden dialogue and bad creative decisions that he had complete control  over. In a statement today Lucas said, “For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next. … It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I’m confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come.”

While I am  appreciative of the Star Wars films he’s created, I am extremely excited  about the opportunity that another director and writer could have when  bringing their vision of his world to the screen. Stay tuned! This is only the start of could be many Star Wars films to come. I say that because I’m positive Disney didn’t buy it in order to shelve it away!

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

During World War II, eccentric, self-styled witch Eglantine Price (Angela Lansbury) aims to use her newfound powers to ward off a Nazi incursion of England. But she’s saddled with a trio of refugee siblings from London who need her protection, too. To win them over, she pulls off an assortment of tricks and takes them on a fantastical adventure to the Isle of Naboombu. This live-action Disney classic won an Oscar for its visual effects.

Matt
Rating: 5 out of 10

When I was kid, I adored this movie. All the witchcraft, traveling around on a flying bed, talking animals, spells, fighting Nazis. It’s the kind of imagination Disney could never use today in fear of being chased down by far right-wing religious wackos claiming the film was satanic.

This film would also never fly with this generation’s children. It’s seldom I walk into a grocery store and see children with their eyes in other places than their parent’s ipod or hand-held video game. This film was ambitious, with a running time of 2 hours 19 minutes, and full of big musical numbers — dancing and singing galore. I couldn’t see children sitting through this movie because it drags a bit, which pulled the rating down.

In truth, I struggled a bit to watch this, too. Seeing this for the first time as an adult made me notice how slow the first reel is. It took a long time to get to the best parts of this film. It made me wonder, am I a hypocrite for being this curmudgeonly? Perhaps. But I did manage to sit through this without looking at an iphone.