Green Phoenix - The Lion King (1994) Review

In 1988, during a promotional tour for Oliver and Company in Europe, a meeting was held between Jeffrey Katzenberg, Roy E. Disney, and Peter Schneider to discuss future projects for The Walt Disney Studios.

Among the projects discussed was a desire by the three to create an animated film set in Africa. The project was handed over to the vice-president of creative affiars, Charlie Fink, who developed the project further. Katzenberg would later add his elements, creating a coming of age story and some elements that he would later credit to his own life.

In 1991, the film, tentatively called King of the Jungle, was put into production, though many animators and directors wanted to work on Pocahontas (which was considered the more prestigious and likely to be successful of the two) instead, with The Lion King representing the lesser of the two projects.

In spite of that; by 1994, King of the Jungle, now renamed The Lion King was released to critical and financial acclaim and has since gone down in history as among Disney's greatest animated films. With a "live-action" adaptation of the film expected for later this year, I felt it only fair to take a look at this legendary picture to see if it still holds up.

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Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot: Episode 02 - Nucleon, The Magic Globe

After a humiliating defeat at the hands of Johnny Sokko and his flying robot, the Gargoyle Gang will stop at nothing to get that machine back in their possession. Unable to fight the robot directly, they stoop to a new low by planning to terrorize a town and ambush Johnny during the chaos. Will Gargoyle be able to get away with such a devious plot? Click 'Read More' to find out!

Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger en Film - Summary/Review

It's movie time! This 29 minute film was one half of a double feature along with Kamen Rider Build: Be The One. Continuity wise, this film takes place before episode 26. Also, historically, these half hour films from double features have not been great stand alone films. Will this movie continue that bad tradition? Click "read more" and let's find out.

Headliner: NoviNews Review (PC)

       

 The news isn't always printed in black and white, Headliner. Hit "Read more" for my full review.

Attack of the Random Singles! - OWC #4

In this edition of Obsessions With Cardboard, there's no mystery, no suspense, no education value. Nope.  For you see, in this edition of OWC, I'm just showing off single cards that I have bought off the internet with my pocket money.  What kind of cards did I frivolously spend my money on? Click on "Read More" to find out. C'MON! DO IT! DO IT NOW!

Red Prime Shard: Surge Soda pop (Amazon) - Review

Anyone remember when the Coca-Cola drink: Surge was available in the 90s and for a while in the early 2000s?  It had a very 90s logo that came off as graffiti and hand painted, and it was delicious.  It was one of my favorite drinks in the 90s.  The commercials were weird with single can or bottle of Surge being set up as a prize, someone yells “SURGE” and then we see people race and compete for the drink, and it was advertised as a fully loaded citrus soda with carbos with the tagline being “Feed The Rush” and using signs of extreme sports to really make it an EXTREME drink for a 90s audience.  Honestly, I think a whole fridge or cooler of Surge would make more sense for these if we were to “Feed The Rush.”  About a year later, the logo changed to a more digital one that would clearly be made in a computer and for the most part, I think that one would work for a more mainstream audience, but there was a special charm about the original, and it seems Coca-Cola thought so as well since they used the old logo for the revival.  The drink was made as a competitor to Pepsi’s Mountain Dew and originally created with the codename MDK (Mountain Dew Killer), and for a while, it had a following, but then was eventually discontinued in 2003.  So with the revival version released, I wanted to try it again, but didn’t get the chance until recently.

Green Phoenix - Disney's Dark Age

Imperial March playing in the background

Between their ownership of Pixar Animation, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the entirety of Star Wars, the Walt Disney Company has become a nigh unstoppable juggernaut of the entertainment industry. Disney has become successful off of decades of successful branding and marketing their most popular entertainment properties until they have become staples of our childhoods.

And when one takes a look at the greater portion of these properties, a pattern emerges. The majority of them belong to a specific period of incredibly high-performing and critically lauded animated films released between 1989 and 1999, more popularly known as in cinematic history circles as the "Disney Renaissance".

But what about the period before the Renaissance? What was the state of Disney animation in the decades following the death of their founder, when the Nine Old Men began to pass and new talents rose and fell to eventually define my generation's childhood?

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