By Kevin Wong on Mar 05, 2019 10:30 pm
No one wished upon a star for these Disney sequels.
There's a dark period in Disney animated history, near the end of Michael Eisner's tenure as Chairman and CEO and after the company had run out of animated classics to release on VHS, that the studio began to cannibalize itself by making direct-to-video sequels to its films. The first movie to take this approach was The Return of Jafar, a sequel to Aladdin. And it was financially successful enough that Disney did the same to their other contemporary movies. We got The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, starring Simba's daughter Kiara. We got The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, starring Ariel's daughter Melody. And eventually, Disney started going even back further into the archives. They made Cinderella II: Dreams Come True. They made Bambi II, and they were even in the process of making a Pinocchio II before upper management put a stop to it. John Lasseter (formerly of Pixar) became the chief creative officer of Disney Animation in 2006, and he saw the sequels as detrimental to the company's brand. And Steve Jobs, who founded Pixar and at one point was Disney's biggest shareholder, said in a 2003 conference call, "We feel sick about Disney doing sequels. If you look at the quality of their sequels...it's pretty embarrassing." Today, we're looking at these oddities in Disney's animated canon. To clarify: Movies like The Little Mermaid II and Mulan II are not that weird; it makes perfect sense that Disney would attempt them. The movies on this list are more in the "WTF" category; they're bizarre for even existing in the first place. Here are the 7 weirdest Disney animated sequels. And if you liked this gallery, check out the weirdest live-action Disney movies too.
1. The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (2002)
At the end of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Esmeralda falls in love with Phoebus, and although Quasimodo doesn't get his dream girl, he does get the love and acceptance of Paris. It was a bittersweet ending that made sense, while keeping with the overall dark tone of the film. But for some people at Disney, maybe it was too much of a downer. For Hunchback of Notre Dame II, the animators decided to give Quasimodo a girlfriend: Madellaine (Jennifer Love Hewitt), the daughter of a circus troupe owner. She's initially put off by Quasi's appearance, but she comes to learn about his inner beauty. Along the way, we learn about a convoluted plot to steal Notre Dame's most prized bell, and we watch more cartoony gargoyle antics than you can shake a stick at.
2. Pocahontas II: Journey To A New World (1998)
This felt like compounding controversy with more of it. When Pocahontas was released in 1995, Disney caught a lot of flack for creating fictionalized versions of real historical figures, and for making Pocahontas an adult woman rather than a young girl. It was one thing to revise fairytales, myths, and fables. It was quite another to change relatively recent history and sell it to young, impressionable kids. Pocahontas II compounded the historical inaccuracies of the original by having Pocahontas go to England to broker peace (she was actually kidnapped and held for random by the English), scandalize the royal court, and be rescued from captivity by John Smith. The only thing the movie got right is that she and John Rolfe ended up together, although they conveniently left out the part where she died on the voyage back to Virginia.
3. The Lion King 1 ½ (2004)
This movie, which is set during the events of the first Lion King film, stars Timon and Pumbaa, who we learn were present at nearly every single major event of the first movie. It would be one thing if this were a fanciful take on Mystery Science Theatre, with Timon and Pumbaa providing commentary from a distance. But the comedic pair get actively involved in many of the first film's major events. Remember when all the animals bowed to Simba at the end of The Circle of Life? It turns out that Pumbaa farted, some of the animals fainted, and the other animals followed their lead. Somehow, that doesn't seem quite as majestic.
4. Cinderella III: A Twist In Time (2007)
The third Cinderella movie is bonkers; rather than being some standard sequel about Cinderella's married life or wedding planning, the filmmakers took a risk. They had Lady Tremaine use the Fairy Godmother's wand to go back in time and change the glass slipper to fit her daughter, Anastasia. She also uses the wand to brainwash the prince into going along with the marriage, and later transfigures Anastasia to look like Cinderella. Again, it's up to the talking mice in clothes to save the day. Who knew that Cinderella could have such a sci-fi twist?
5. Belle's Magical World (1998)
Originally, this was supposed to be an animated TV spin-off of Beauty and the Beast. But when those plans fell through, the animators cobbled together the footage into a single sequel and released it as Belle's Magical World. It has four unrelated plotlines, which probably would have composed four individual episodes. The first one is about an enchanted dictionary. The second is a love story starring Lumiere and his feather duster girlfriend. The third is about throwing a party for Mrs. Potts. And the fourth is about a bird with an injured wing, and how the Beast apparently hates birds. It's disposable entertainment, but the most jarring parts are the ones that involve the Beast, who acts like a spoiled, selfish jerk, only to learn the same lesson at the end of his conflicts. Timewise, Belle's Magical World takes place between Christmas and the famous ballroom scene in the original movie, when the Beast was already well on his way to becoming a good person. This feels like a major step backward.
6. The Fox and the Hound II (2006)
The original Fox and the Hound movie, a sad, dark tale about two friends who can't be friends anymore, was a rare highlight in early to mid '80s Disney animation. The film sequel is about when Copper--the fox--becomes enamored with a country band made of up dogs called the Singin' Strays. Tod becomes jealous and feels like his friend is abandoning him. Not surprisingly, Kurt Russell (Copper) and Mickey Rooney (Todd) chose not to reprise their roles.
7. Mulan II (2004)
The original Mulan was based on a Chinese legend that dates back to the sixth century, about a woman who disguised herself as a man to take her father's place in the Chinese army. The 1998 Disney adaptation took the basics of that myth and expanded on them, resulting in one of the prettiest Disney features to date. In Mulan II, every quality takes two steps backwards. Every character has bizarre, hammy facial expressions. The musical numbers are plain bad. And the plot, about Mulan and Shang transporting three princesses to marry three princes (to forge a kingdom alliance and defeat the Huns), seems a lot less consequential than the original's high stakes. But the worst, most left-field aspect of Mulan II is how it changes Mushu's character. No longer needed as a family guardian of Mulan, he decides that the best way to get his job back is to break up Mulan and Shang. Really? It's just so mean-spirited and so anti-Disney to have a beloved sidekick make such a dramatic turn. That we're still supposed to find Mushu somewhat funny and likable despite this makes it even more repellent.
By Mat Elfring on Mar 05, 2019 09:58 pm
Game Of Thrones Is Coming
The first real trailer for the final season of Game of Thrones is finally here. It may be a total bummer knowing that this is the last time we'll see this cast of characters embarking on their journey toward the Iron Throne--or continuing to rule over it like jerks--but Season 8 promises to be nothing short of epic. Coming in at a little more than two minutes, the trailer is jam-packed with characters we've come to know and love in vastly different situations than we're accustomed to seeing them in. From what's left of the Stark family fighting for their lives to Cersei Lannister relaxing, drinking while pregnant, and plotting, we have a decent idea of what's going down in the final season. So we went through the trailer, frame by frame to breakdown what we think is going to happen in Season 8 of Game of Thrones. However, we won't know for sure until the series returns to HBO on Sunday, April 14.
Arya Is In Trouble
The trailer opens with Arya Stark, beaten and exhausted in what looks to be Winterfell. Her face is bloodied, and she is running for her life. She says, "I know death. He's got many faces."
Hiding In Winterfell
During Arya's couple lines of dialogue, we cut to the crypts of Winterfell, and very briefly, we see people huddled in there, looking up, including Varys. It seems as though there is a battle happening in the city. We're assuming that the White Walkers have reached the city during their battle with Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen's armies.
The Key To Winning
"I look forward to seeing this one, " Arya says as she holds up a Dragonglass dagger. As we learned in previous seasons, Dragonglass is one of two things--the other being Valyrian steel--that can kill the Night King and White Walkers, which is why Jon Snow went to Dragonstone to form an alliance with Daenerys--there's a lot of Dragonglass there. However, seeing Arya running through Winterfell in the previous shots, leads us to believe the war between the living and dead does not go very well, and the humans are losing.
Send In The Navy
House Greyjoy's fleet is setting sail. Euron Greyjoy is currently in command, and at the end of Season 7, Euron headed to Essos to bring the might of Golden Company to Westeros to assure Cersei stays on the Iron Throne.
Who Is This?
The one thing the Game of Thrones fans at GameSpot can't stop asking is, "Who is this guy?" We debated that it could be Jaime Lannister, but you can briefly see a right hand in the shot, so it's not him. We also debated it was Jorah Mormont, but that didn't click either.
Photo Enhance
We also spent way too much time trying to research this character's sword, which we couldn't find anywhere. So who is this person? Is this Euron in fancy armor (probably not)? More than likely, this is a character from the Golden Company headed back across the Narrow Sea, someone we haven't met yet. He's got a pretty rad sword though.
More Flaming Swords, Please
"Everything you did put you where you are now. Where you belong," Bran Stark says as we see Bronn, Tormund, and Beric--with his awesome flaming sword--exit a building. There is then a quick shot of Bran talking to Samwell. It's a nice, quick shot to remind people these characters are still alive and kicking. Also, there is a sweet flaming sword.
Cersei Is Probably Still A Monster
Back at King's Landing, Cersei is still awful. Sure, she's not doing anything horrific here, but she's probably thinking about it. The Mountain is still guarding her, even though he took a quick break recently to kill the Bud Knight. Next to her is the Hand of the Queen, Qyburn.
An Incestual Power Couple
Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow--the lovers who are also aunt and nephew--ride off to war with Daenerys' personal army, the Unsullied. There are two major battles that will happen during this final season: the battle against the White Walkers in the north and the battle for the throne at King's Landing.
There Be Dragons
We briefly see Sansa Stark at Winterfell, as Daenerys' two dragons, Drogon and Rhaegal, fly overhead. If you remember from Season 7, the third dragon, Viserion, died and was resurrected by the Night King, and he used it to destroy the Wall.
The Battle
From what we can make out, a man is engaged in battle. Then, very quickly, there is a shot of Jaime screaming, who parted ways with Cersei at the end of Season 7. We're led to believe that this is at King's Landing. It's not.
Jaime Joins The Fight
However, after you watch the entire trailer, it seems more than likely this battle is happening at Winterfell because of what Jaime says, "I promised to fight for the living. I intend to keep that promise." Jaime has headed to Winterfell to fight the White Walkers.
Are They Going To Ride Dragons Together?
It's the moment you've been waiting for. Jon and Daenerys are going to ride dragons together. We're not sure exactly where in the Season 8 timeline this could take place, but it may be for the battle at King's Landing, for the Iron Throne.
The Final Battle
There are a few shots of the army, which includes the Unsullied, Jorah, Brienne, and Podrick. They're ready for battle, standing outside of Winterfell.
Undead Horsie
The final shot of this trailer is two horse legs entering the shot. The camera focuses on them to reveal rotted away flesh and bones. This is the Night King's horse, and boy oh boy, I cannot be more excited to see how this battle turns out. We'll get to see all the intense action for ourselves when Game of Thrones returns to HBO on April 14.
By Phil Hornshaw on Mar 05, 2019 05:34 am
Apex Legends is a deceptive game. On the one hand, it's very similar to other battle royale titles on the market, and so a lot of the strategies that work in games such as Fortnite or PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds work in Apex, as well. On the other hand, it adds a lot to the formula, like player characters with unique abilities, a ping-based communications system that changes how teams interact compared to other games, and a whole lot more. You'll want to spend some time learning how each of the characters in Apex Legends work and how to combine them into effective teams, which guns will serve you best in which situations, and what the game won't tell you. But there are even more tips that can help you win--things that are either a little more high-level, or that aren't especially obvious. We've gathered a handful of useful tips together that should help you elevate your game to something a little closer to the pros. These are things that might help you stay alive, win fights, and get out of bad situations--and those are all things that will help you win.
Do The Wave When Gliding
On most jumps at the start of Apex Legends matches, you can reach almost any location on the map if you know what you're doing. The trick is to use "wave gliding," a technique where you alternate between diving to pick up speed and leveling out to turn that speed into distance. Keeping your speed above 135 will help you make those 1000-meter-plus jumps, and give you the distance to avoid other squads if you're hoping to have time to loot up before getting into a fight.
If You're On The Run, Heal When Sliding
One big trouble with healing is that it kills your ability to move around. While using a shield cell or a medkit, your movement speed is reduced to almost zero, so you often need to take cover in order to heal up. If you're on the run from the closing Ring or from another squad, that can make things very difficult and leave you vulnerable while you cross open ground. Next time you find a long hill, hit the crouch button to start sliding and then start healing. You'll keep moving at sliding speed, while healing the whole time--perfect for getting out of harm's way while still bringing your health back up. It's an especially useful trick while you're under fire or currently burning from the Ring, and especially great when you find big hills that take several seconds to traverse. Just note that you only move in one direction when sliding, which means you're a pretty easy target for sharpshooters.
Block Doors
Controlling the movements of other players can be extremely helpful for winning fights. You can lock enemies into rooms with Caustic's noxious gas or grenades, or slow down reinforcements from backing up their teammates while you finish them off. You can block doors yourself by hitting the button to keep them closed, or use Caustic's gas traps and Lifeline's DOC drone to close them as well. You can even block a door when you're crawling around in the downed state, or with a death box--and anytime you can separate a team so they can't work together, you should.
Break Doors, Too
Other teams will also attempt to use doors against you, to mitigate incoming fire or to separate you from other teammates. Just because someone closes you into a room doesn't mean you're stuck there, though. You can kick doors open with a melee attack--which can stun people on the other side--or blow them open with explosives. And if someone tries to block a door to keep you locked in, hit it twice and you'll break it down altogether. Don't be afraid to break down doors, especially in an emergency.
Check For Ambushes And Traps Whenever You're Indoors
One of the little tricks that's spread among the Apex Legends community is the creation of ambushes in indoor locations, particularly the Bunker and other areas with small interior rooms. You might have encountered these ambushes, or their aftermath--players will sometimes dump a bunch of loot in a room and wait for someone to come check on it, and while they're picking stuff up, the ambushers will blast away at them or lock them in the room with grenades and Caustic's gas. The trick to these ambushes is that you can climb up and hide on ledges above some of the doors inside Bunker, putting you out of sight when people enter the rooms. There's an easy way to deal with those ambushes, though: Always check over the tops of interior doors as you investigate inside rooms. There are lots of places you can climb up to in Apex Legends that aren't immediately obvious, so avoid getting tunnel vision as you loot, and make sure you check above you and in corners for places where people might be hiding.
Vary Your Team's Weapons
In other battle royale games, you almost always want something long-range in order to take down enemies from afar before they see you. Apex Legends has a longer time-to-kill than many of those games, though, making sniping less viable. We've found that keeping your team outfitted with a variety of guns for different engagement distances can make you effective in more situations. More than that, having teammates use various guns lets them fill different roles on your squad. One sniper might not be able to drop a bunch of people before they can get to cover, but they can suppress enemies, knock out shields, or get clean-up kills from afar while teammates close distance. A shotgun or an SMG can knock out enemies who've taken damage from mid-range guns, and machine guns can put a lot of fire on a specific area. If you can bring lots of different guns to a fight, you can widen your options--but make sure you communicate about what you plan to do and what each member of your squad's role will be, so everyone knows what's expected of them and how to best use their weapons to the team's advantage.
Whenever Possible, Kill Downed Enemies Immediately
It can feel like, once an enemy is down, you no longer need to worry about them. That's true in high-combat situations where the most pressing thing is fighting whoever is still shooting at you. But if you have any chance at all to take out a downed enemy, you should do it as quickly as you can--preferably at a distance (grenades are handy for this). Downed enemies can be revived relatively quickly by their teammates, especially Lifeline, which can cost you a numerical advantage in a tough fight. More than that, though, a downed enemy is still able to provide tons of intel to their buddies. In addition to continuing to talk to their teammates, they can still ping you. If you ever see a downed enemy facing you, that's probably what they're doing--and that information can help their teammates get the drop on you. Take that information out of the equation as quickly as you can; if you can't, get away from downed enemies so they can't report your whereabouts.
When Dropping From Big Heights, Hit Melee Just Before Landing
There's no fall damage in Apex Legends, but there are disadvantages to big falls. When you hit the ground from a great height, like jumping off a supply ship or over a cliff, hitting the ground will cause a brief animation to play that stuns you for a second. For that brief time, you're unable to move, ready weapons, or fight. In a heated situation, that lost second can be deadly, but you can avoid the stunned state when you hit the ground with a well-timed melee. Hit the melee button just before you land to start the animation, which circumvents the landing animation and gets you around the stun. The trick is to time it so you're not trading one animation for another.
Use Incendiary Grenades To Bolster Smoke And Gas
The disorienting nature of Caustic's gas traps and grenades makes them highly effective for messing with, damaging, and finishing off enemies. You can make gas even deadlier with incendiary grenades. The grenades' damage stacks with that of the gas, and they spread fire horizontally to create barriers. You can use them to make damaging walls at the edges of gas clouds, keeping players stuck in gas clouds or taking more damage. The same is true of Bangalore's smoke, which is great for hiding grenades.
Don't Be Afraid To Use Balloons All The Time
Redeployment balloons are great for covering a lot of distance quickly, and you shouldn't be afraid to use them. Yes, they expose you somewhat--as you dive, you'll trail colored smoke which makes you pretty visible to nearby players--but they let you cover so much ground so fast that the exposure is worth it. What's more, you can use balloons to quickly ambush other squads, avoid opening yourself up to sniper fire, and to flee the closing ring. As long as you're careful, balloons can be a huge advantage, and they're often safer than running over open ground. If you're taking fire on the balloon zipline, try spinning--that'll rotate you around the balloon's rope and make you a bit tougher to hit.
Switch Guns Rather Than Reload
Most guns in Apex Legends feel like they take a fairly long amount of time to reload--which is why you should avoid stopping to refill them whenever you can. Switching weapons is a lot quicker than pausing to put in another magazine, and the trick to winning a fight is usually outlasting the other person, which means hitting the other person as much as possible, as quickly as possible. You might try even keeping two of the same gun, if there's one you're particularly comfortable with, when you're about to get into a fight. That way you can just switch to the same weapon immediately to keep up the fire.
By Meg Downey on Mar 05, 2019 03:10 am
Marvel and DC's greatest ladies, both on and off the page.
There's no objective way to rank superheroes, we know that, but that won't stop us from trying. Using our complicated algorithm (i.e. Meg's completely, unapologetically biased opinions) we've curated a list of our favorite superheroic ladies from Marvel and DC to help fuel the hype train all the way to your local movie theater for Captain Marvel on March 8. And while we're at it, check our some of our other Captain Marvel coverage as you get ready for release day, where we speculate on whether or not Carol can time travel, just who the hell Talos even is, or what's going on with her comics right now. Or, if you're the sort of person who wants to cut right to the chase, you can swing by our Avengers: Endgame hub to get all the latest on that particular front--don't worry, we're anxious about it too. No one will judge you. Of course, we know that there are more incredible female superheroes than could ever fit on one list, so we're bound to have missed a couple. Don't see one of your favorite female heroes on the list? Let us know who you think should have made the cut in the comments below!
15. Emma Frost
She may be a divisive figure for X-Men fans, but that doesn't change the fact that Emma Frost is an icon. From her over-the-top fashion to her insanely powerful mutations, Emma is a staple of X-Men comics on par with someone like Wolverine, though she's been in less than half as many live action movies to date. Love her or hate her, Emma is here to stay.
14. Black Canary
Despite her tricky, retcon-ridden history, Dinah Lance is one of DC's major powerhouse heroes. Over the years, creators have found ways to adapt her bizarre, overlapping Gold, Silver and Bronze age stories into fresh, unique takes that allow her to work across multiple mediums simultaneously, from CW TV shows to young adult graphic novels to ongoing comics and beyond. She's been a florist, a vigilante, a rock star, and a team leader but no matter what her current role may be, Black Canary is always one of the coolest ladies around.
13. Jessica Cruz
She may be a very recent addition to the DC pantheon, but Jessica Cruz, the first female Green Lantern from Earth, has rapidly earned her place among the greats. An anxiety ridden agoraphobic who overcame her fear to master her Green Lantern power ring, Jessica's story is a new and fresh twist on a tale that's been told countless times--and her buddy cop dynamic with fellow GL newbie Simon Baz is an absolute delight.
12. Batwoman
Whether you just met her care of the CW's Elseworlds crossover event or you've been a fan for years, it's not hard to see that Kate Kane is easily one of the coolest bats in Gotham. It takes a lot of guts to go running around outside of the main Bat Family entourage, but playing by her own rules has always been Kate's MO--and she usually finds that the risk is well worth the reward.
11. Captain Marvel
You'd be hard pressed to find a more popular female superhero than Carol Danvers right now--and not just because she's got a highly anticipated movie just around the corner. Captain Marvel has been an icon in the Marvel universe since long before she entered the MCU thanks to her cult classic comics by legendary writer Kelly Sue DeConnick that drove home her heroic motto: higher, further, faster, more.
10. The Wasp
A few woman have held the Wasp mantle across comics and film: Jan and Hope Van Dyne as well as Nadia Pym, and all of them are amazing in their own right. Between Jan's time split between being a founding Avenger and a successful fashion mogul, Hope's ability to constantly reign in Scott Lang, and Nadia's position as an ex-Red Room operative and member of the Champions, they've got this superhero thing covered from just about every angle.
9. Selina Kyle
She may not be a hero in the traditional sense but Selina Kyle doesn't need a stellar track record with the law in Gotham City to be one of the most iconic ladies in comics history. One of the small handful of characters who have been in the world of Batman since his very first solo issue back in 1940, Selina's history as Catwoman has shaped the DC universe we know and love today.
8. Spider-Gwen
On paper, the idea of Spider-Gwen sounds kind of ridiculous: an alternate reality Gwen Stacy who didn't die but became Spider-Woman, who plays in a band and occasionally hops around dimensions--but when have superhero comics ever been anything but ridiculous? Gwen was amazing when she debuted in her new mantle, but since her starring role in Into The Spider-Verse, she's just gotten better.
7. Shuri
In terms of break out stars from the MCU, it's hard to get more iconic than Shuri--but even outside of her stellar live action debut, Shuri has been an incredible hero in her own right. She's even taken over as the Black Panther and Queen of Wakanda in T'Challa's stead.
6. Batgirl
There have been lot of different Batgirls over the years, but the two we're going to highlight in our list this time around are Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown--don't worry, Barbara Gordon will get her time to shine here in just a second. Cass and Steph may no longer hold this particular mantle--they're currently Orphan and Spoiler, respectively--but that doesn't mean they've had any less of an impact on the DCU. They represent some of the absolute best Gotham City has to offer.
5. Storm
The X-Men have plenty of iconic ladies in their ranks but arguably the most iconic of them all is Ororo Munroe, omega level mutant, once and future queen, occasional goddess--you name it. Storm is one of the most instantly recognizable mutants in the Marvel universe for good reason, and definitely one of the most fashionable. Her mohawk days are still a thing of legend.
4. Oracle
We told you Barbara Gordon would get her time to shine. She may not be Oracle anymore, the same way Steph and Cass aren't technically Batgirl, but in her long and impressive career, Babs' time as Oracle is one of her best known and impactful eras. Not only did it wrest a fantastic mantle out of the jaws of a less-than-great turn of events, it established Babs as the very core of the DCU for over a decade.
3. Wonder Woman
Of course Diana is on this list--how could we skip her? From her status as a comic book legend, one of the first female heroes to ever exist, and founding member of the Justice League--not to mention her live action history as the first lady to helm her own feature film in the post-MCU boom, Wonder Woman is easily one of the most widely recognized superheroes--female or otherwise--on the planet.
2. Black Widow
Like Catwoman, Natasha Romanoff may not always have the most stellar track record when it comes to pure black-and-white superheroics, but that's more than okay, all things considered. As the first female hero to be featured in the MCU, and one of the most iconic members of the Avengers--both on and off the big screen--Nat's popularity and notoriety are well earned among comics fans. Also, who doesn't love a good modern twist on a Cold War-era spy character? She's the best parts of the superhero genre and a James Bond movie combined.
1. Kamala Khan
She may not be the oldest or the most prolific hero on this list but Kamala Khan has more than earned the top spot on our list. Not only has she managed to bring in countless numbers of new fans to the Marvel universe with her approachable, easily accessible comics, she's managed to completely revolutionize what it means to be Ms. Marvel. Carol Danvers may have been the original, but Kamala Khan is the heart and soul of the name now, with her bright, hilarious personality and unrelenting passion for her fellow heroes.
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