Disney Studios- 2016 Year in Review

The film slate has gotten progressively better under the leadership of Alan Horn (remember the disastrous 2011 film slate) and Disney should be proud of the year they had, but there is still significant room for improvement. The film slate was fairly predictable with few surprises or risks taken...they're playing it safe, which is fine to a point, but is not a optimal long term strategy. The film slate was as follows

The Finest Hours- I admit I never saw this one, no interest. Chris Pine on a boat... It did not get stellar reviews, did not make much money, however it was a January release so what should we really expect. I commend Disney for pushing these smaller movies, echoing back to Eisner's single and doubles strategy should be a part of each year's film slate. This one just looked terrible.

Zootopia- This is a solid film, worthy of praise, but it is not fun. Nobody will be taking home a Judy Hopps doll. I applaud the fact that Disney strayed away from the Musical genre for this one, instead choosing film noir. The potential franchising opportunities of pitch of this film were outstanding; can you imagine a film city full of animals as a more perfect place than Animal Kingdom? Alas, the slow and serious tone make it less of a kid's film than previously expected. Grade- B

The Jungle Book- Fun, technological, and forgettable. The best part of this film was the casting and the graphics. This is a GREAT way to really jump start the "Disney live action remake genre" (After Cinderella). Grade- A-

Captain America: Civil War- A surprise announcement for Phase 3, this film skewered the comic book storyline, but still managed to pit the heroes against each other. Action, plot, and acting were all excellent. Grade- A

Alice Through the Looking Glass- Did you see this one? Most people didn't, it wasn't in theaters very long. Entirely forgettable and nonsensical (Not in the good Lewis Carroll way). This seems like a bloated waste of money that SHOULD have been made, but needed better execution. The first Alice in Wonderland was too heavy, this one was heavy and boring. Grade- F

Finding Dory- A sequel to Finding Nemo...a beloved Pixar classic. The stakes were high. How do you follow near perfection? That is a tough task. Did Pixar meet the same mark, alas no, but Finding Dory is enjoyable and has some very heartwarming moments. Ed Oneil's octopus is a welcome addition and fun character to prod the storyline along. Grade B

The BFG- Read the book as a kid, thought it was ok, however no real interest in seeing this today, so I admit I never did. Reviews were mixed, Spielberg directing...eh i'll move on.

Pete's Dragon- This is the epitome of an unnecessary remake with no purpose that nobody was clamoring for. See, in 2010, Disney made a sequel to Tron...at least it advanced the storyline. Here this is an alternative remake...reviews were fairly positive, but still...I didn't see it. No interest.

Doctor Strange- Moving the MCU along now we get a magical hero, pretty excited about this one. Casting was good with Cumberbatch, The main plot line was constrained because they had to incorporate the time gem into it. Side characters were totally useless. Grade- B

Moana- Haven't seen it yet, but it looks underwhelming, Dwayne Johnson appears to be annoying, Disney marketing did not push it that much so that makes me think they had low confidence in it.

Rogue One- Haven't seen it yet, but I hear it's pretty good. Time will tell how these anthology films will fare. Will they be able to stand on their own after 2019's Episode 9?

Overall, grade- B