Toon Talk: Princess Diaries 2 Review - Aug 12, 2004

Toon Talk: Princess Diaries 2 Review
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Director Gary Marshall returns, showing surprising adroitness in his handling of the story, as opposed to his more often “shoot for the obvious�? approach (see Raising Helen … or, better yet, don’t). The film’s resolution may be clear from early on, but the joy is in the getting there, and there are quite a few surprises along the way (Julie Andrews sings! An unexpected wedding!) to keep the joy and the romance flowing.

Only one other thing could make this “happily ever after�? even happier: an invitation to The Princess Diaries 3: Royal Wedding.

Toon Talk Rating: A-

The Toon Talk Top 10 - Long Live the Queens:

Enough with the princesses, let’s not forget their mature counterparts when it comes to regal recognition:

  1. The Wicked Queen (voice of Lucille La Verne) in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).
  2. The Queen of Hearts (Verna Felton) in Alice in Wonderland (1951).
  3. The Queen of Mousedom (Eve Brenner) in The Great Mouse Detective (1986).
  4. Queen Isabel (Sigourney Weaver) in 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992).
  5. Sarabi, the Lion Queen (Madge Sinclair) in The Lion King (1994).
  6. Hera, Queen of the Gods (Samantha Eggar) in Hercules (1997).
  7. Queen Constantina (Whoopi Goldberg) in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997).
  8. The Ant Queen (Phyllis Diller) in A Bug’s Life (1998).
  9. Kidagakash (“Kida�?), Queen of Atlantis (Cree Summer) in Atlantis: Milo’s Return (2003).
  10. Queen Victoria (Kathy Bates) in Around the World in 80 Days (2004).

Coming Soon in Toon Talk:

  • A classic threesome is reunited for the video premiere of Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers, an all-new animated feature coming to DVD August 17th.
  • Completing the Lion King trilogy on Special Edition DVD is The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride, available August 31st.
  • The wait’s over, ’cause the cows come home on September 14th with the DVD debut of Home on the Range.

And Coming Soon from Buena Vista Home Video:

August 24th

  • Anne Hathaway shines in the delightful romantic fantasy Ella Enchanted.
  • Martial arts meet soccer in Shaolin Soccer.
  • Ben Savage and William Daniels star in the first season set of Boy Meets World.

September 7th

  • Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen star in the Davy Crockett - 50th Anniversary Double Feature, including the feature versions of Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier and Davy Crockett and the River Pirates.
  • More Disney Princess fun with three new DVD titles to add to your little princess’s video library: Disney Princess Sing Along Songs, Disney Princess Stories: A Gift from the Heart and Disney’s Princess Party.
  • More classics and other favorites from the vaults, including Robert Stevenson’s The Island at the Top of the World (starring David Hartman and Mako), Ken Annakin’s The Third Man on the Mountain (Michael Rennie, James MacArthur, Janet Munro and Herbert Lom), Norman Foster’s adaptation of Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates, One Little Indian (James Garner, Vera Miles and Pat Hingle), The Last Flight of Noah’s Ark (Elliott Gould, Genevieve Bujold, Ricky Schroder and Vincent Gardenia), Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale (starring Adam Beach, Mandy Patinkin and Pocahontas herself Irene Bedard), S.E. Hinton’s Tex (Matt Dillon, Jennifer Tilly, Ben Johnson and Emilio Estevez), Carroll Ballard’s Never Cry Wolf (Charles Martin Smith and Brian Dennehy) and Tiger Town (Roy Scheider and Justin Henry).
  • Just in time for early Christmas shopping, two yuletide favorites: The Christmas Star (starring Edward Asner) and One Magic Christmas (Harry Dean Stanton and Mary Steenburgen).
  • The exciting third season of ABC’s Alias, starring Jennifer Garner and Victor Garber.
  • And finally, two recent theatrical releases making their DVD debuts: Kevin Smith’s Jersey Girl starring Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler and Jennifer Lopez; and the Coen Brothers’ remake of The Ladykillers, starring Tom Hanks, Marlon Wayans and J.K. Simmons.

Discuss It

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-- Kirby C. Holt
-- Logo by William C Searcy, Magic Bear Graphics

Kirby is a lifelong Disney fan and film buff. He is also an avid list maker and chronic ellipsis user ...

Took Talk: Disney Film & Video Reviews by Kirby C. Holt is posted whenever there's something new to review.

The opinions expressed by our Kirby C. Holt, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future plans of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.

-- Posted August 12, 2004

 

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