Tag Archives: Disney

Photo taken from StarWars.com

Can Fan Service Really Work? A Reflection on The Mandalorian Season 2

A little over a year ago a small green creature took the entire world by storm as millions of memes flooded our social media feeds. His name was Baby Yoda.

Or at least that’s what we called him, those at Lucasfilm and others working on The Mandalorian called him “The Child.” He was this mysterious green creature who is clearly of the same species as Jedi Master Yoda, one of the most recognizable characters in all of Star Wars. And in a day, “The Child” somehow became just as popular.

Season 1 of The Mandalorian followed a mysterious bounty hunter who obeyed a specific set of rules while trying to keep a valuable child out the hands of many greedy and nefarious foes. Throughout the first season he becomes attached to the child, learning that there more in life than making a quick paycheck, and quite possibly, that there’s more to being a Mandalorian than he originally thought. The end of the season tasks the Mandalorian, whose name is revealed to be Din Djarin, to return this child to a group of enemy sorcerers known as “The Jedi.”

There was also one other reveal at the end of the season, a fan favorite lightsaber pulled straight from The Clone Wars. This saber is called the dark saber.

In eight short episodes The Mandalorian was able to reveal quite a few surprises that kept the fans wanting more and felt true to the story they were trying to tell. And now that the second season has concluded. The question is, did the latest season do likewise?

I believe the answer is yes. Somehow, season two managed to have triple the amount of surprises without changing the core of its story. As a Star Wars fan, and as a writer, I would like to take a look at why this approach seemed to work.

MAJOR SPOILERS INBOUND!

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Hamilton Review

Once again, the musical ‘Hamilton’ is sweeping across pop culture throughout our nation. The hit musical, which first was seen exclusively on Broadway, can now be seen from the comforts of your home through the magic of Disney+. (By the way, what I say ‘our nation’ I am speaking of my own, that is the USA, if you are outside of the States, and I know some of you are, hello! I am glad you’re here! Is Hamilton as big as a hit outside of the States?)

While Hamilton, due to some of its themes and language, may not be the most family friendly musical to watch in Disney’s streaming service, it is nevertheless a beautiful and powerful story of ambition, tragedy, as well as forgiveness. My intention is to briefly point out a few of the themes I noticed in the musical that I think make it one of a kind.

Since the musical has already been streaming for over a week, there will be a few spoilers in this post, so if you still haven’t seen it yet I recommend watching it first before reading. If you have already seen it, and don’t care for hearing major spoilers, by all means, continue reading below.

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PIXAR’S “ONWARD” – A Spoiler Free Movie Review

Pixar’s latest movie “Onward” has found a new home on Disney+ after its short run in theaters. Onward’s exit to the smaller screen is not because it is a lackluster movie, but rather due to the current and unfortunate state of our world. While I would have loved to see this movie in theaters, I am extremely thankful that Disney released it on Disney+ early. For anyone itching to see something new during this time of Social Distancing, I think Onward will satisfy.

What follows is my short, mostly SPOILER FREE review! I will include a section at the end with spoilers, but, don’t worry, I’ll giving you plenty of room to get out of here before hand! Have you seen Pixar’s Onward? If so, what are you thoughts? Feel free to share it in the comments below!

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CLONE WARS BREAKDOWN! – A Three Part Series Where I Freak Out Over A Kids’ TV Show.

You might have heard: Star Wars The Clone Wars is back!

Thats right! The greatest animated show ever, has returned to TV (err, Disney+).

Words cannot express how important this series is to me. When I was nearing the end of elementry school, I heard of this new series called “The Clone Wars.” I wasn’t a Star Wars fan at that time but I loved cartoons. Never did I know that this little show would help transform my love for both Star Wars as well as storytelling.

This short blog post is a prelude to a three part series I plan on writing. Part one is already written and should be released later this week. I am very excited that the Clone Wars is back, and have been thoughly enjoying the final season. I hope to share a bit of that enjoyment with you! But perhaps I should explain why I, and so many other Star Wars fans, love The Clone Wars.

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Five Observations from Frozen 2

Recently I watched Frozen 2 with a large group of friends (which was amazing) and I really wanted to write a post about it. Instead of doing a full review, this time I figured I’d save myself (and in turn, you) some time and write five short observations that I had while watching the movie. I’ve never exactly done this before, so I guess you could say I’m taking a step “into the unknown.”

Be Warned! Heavy Spoilers Below!

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