Jim On Film
Page 4 of 4
Lindsay Lohan had big shoes to fill in the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap, and while she is no Hayley Mills, she played the role of twins who meet for the first time at a summer camp with spunk and charm. She deservedly won many positive notices for her dual role, but instead of latching onto her after the success of the film, Disney has only used her in the television movie Life Size.
Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans appeared together as the young lovers (animal lovers that is) in 2000’s 102 Dalmatians. Where parts of the film fail, Gruffudd and Evans always shine brightly on the screen. Gruffudd was perfect as the scruffy operator of a pet shelter, and Alice Evans is adorable as a Dalmatian mommy. Together, they share a special chemistry that makes one wish to see more of them in the future, either together or apart.
Anna Hathaway from The Princess Diaries
(c) Disney
One of the many great Disney films of recent years is The Princess Diaries, and the entire youthful cast, including Anne Hathaway, Heather Matarazzo, Mandy Moore, and Robert Schwartzman could and should become Disney stars. Anne Hathaway delivers a nearly perfect performance as clumsy Princess Mia. Heather Matarazzo is adorable as the very funny and charming best friend Lilli. While Mandy Moore’s role doesn’t allow her to break the cheerleader stereotype, she avoids being like all other movie cheerleaders--her character isn’t always good at being wicked, she’s not a twenty-four-year old playing a high school student, and there are elements of reality to the character behind the stereotype. Her achievement in the non-Disney A Walk to Remember coupled with her squeaky clean image would make her an ideal Disney star with echoes of Annette. Robert Schwartzman, as love interest Michael, is, like Hathaway, real and perfectly characterized. We can only hope that Disney will utilize these talents in more films than just sequels.
As Disney’s live-action output has improved greatly since the late nineties, it is probably unlikely that we’ll ever get the new guard of Disney stars to add to our old favorites. This is really too bad for the many talented people who had their moment in the light in a Disney film and were not seen again.
As Disney has reached back into its arsenal of films for painful remakes (That Darn Cat, Flubber), hit-or-miss remakes of other studios’ works (hit: George of the Jungle, drunk-playing-darts-sized miss: Inspector Gadget), and now, theme-park inspired flicks (Country Bears, The Haunted Mansion),, hopefully they will reach back to see concepts that worked, such as a studio of talented stars with instant-name recognition.
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-- Jim Miles
Jim On Film is published every other Thursday.
The opinions expressed by our guest columnists, 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 of Disneyland and the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
-- Posted April 4, 2002
Copyright Jim Miles. Licensed to LaughingPlace.com.