My Favorite Non-Disney Movies

When you think of non-Disney movies, you'd think of Dreamworks or Hanna-Barbera. However, here are my favorites

The Secret of NIMH (1982):  Mousey Mrs. Brisby needs to move her home before a farm tractor destroy's it and her sick son inside. With the help of Jeremy the crow, she seeks out the rats of NIMH, an advanced breed of intelligent rodents.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005): With only days to go before the annual Giant Vegetable Competition, Wallace & Gromit, running a "humane" pest control business, have to deal with a home filled with captive rabbits - and a huge, mysterious "beast" that has begun attacking the town's sacred vegetable gardens at night.

Happy Feet (2006): A penguin named Mumble needs his own special song to attract a soul mate. However, he is the worst singer in the world... but he can tap-dance something fierce!

The Simpsons Movie (2007): After Homer accidentally pollutes the town's water supply, Springfield is encased in a gigantic dome by the EPA and the Simpsons family are declared fugitives.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010): Soren, a young barn owl, is kidnapped by owls of St. Aggie's, ostensibly an orphanage, where owlets are brainwashed into becoming soldiers.

Once Upon a Forest (1993): In the idyllic forest world of Dapplewood, three young critters go on a journey for an herbal antedote for the poisonous chemicals which are hurting the forest inhabitants.


An American Tail (1986): Young Russian immigrant Fievel Mousekowitz is separated from his family en route to America. Wandering around New York, Fievel meets an assortment of ethnic characters, including the villianous Warren T. Rat.


The Land Before Time (1988): A baby brontosaurus named Littlefoot, separated from his family after his mother dies, must find his way back to the Great Valley or become extinct.

Charlotte's Web (1973): Wilbur the pig gains confidence from the words in Charlotte's spider web. With the help of Templeton the rat, Wilbur protect's Charlotte's offspring.
That's all I have to say. I'll be returning to Santa Cruz on Labor Day Weekend.
UPDATE: I WENT TO GILROY GARDENS THAT DAY! SORRY FOR THE DELAYS!

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk July

I won't be doing much 'til February, so I don't have a lot to say today.

We did 4 rides at the boardwalk yesterday. Our first ride was the Cave Train Adventure.

We next did Ghost Blasters and the Sky Glider. We left after the Haunted Castle. Here's a wrap-up photo with Laffing Sal.

Alameda County Fair

My doctor says it's okay to return to theme parks. Unfortunately, I don't have much to say because I could only ride the ferris wheel and the haunted house.

There was also a display for the Pirates of Emerson haunted house. Oh, and there were fireworks, too.

We might return to Santa Cruz soon. Just wanted to let you know. That's about it for now!

May Update

My surgery is scheduled for Monday, so I'll put pictures from the last few months at theme parks.

Fright Walk, Santa Cruz

Taxi Jam, Great America

Drop Tower, Great America

As you enter Quicksilver Express's queue, be sure to look behind and above you. These animatronic raccoons are also visible from the Sky Trail Monorail (Which wasn't running when we went). 

Quicksilver Express, Gilroy Gardens

Musical Market Show, Gilroy Gardens's own version of Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room or Country Bear Jamboree.

Ghost Blasters, Santa Cruz

Cave Train, Santa Cruz

Wish me luck during my surgery! I'll see ya real soon!

Batman Film Series-Part 3

UPDATE- My surgery has been postponed indefinitely due to a nurse's strike at my hospital.
Here's the last part of this Batman flashback. But first, here are the plots of the first 4 movies:
Batman- The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being the clownishly homicidal Joker.
Batman Returns-When a corrupt businessman and the grotesque Penguin plot to take control of Gotham City, only Batman can stop them, while the Catwoman has her own agenda.
Batman Forever-Batman must battle Two-Face and The Riddler with help of an amourous psychologist and a young circus acrobat who becomes his sidekick, Robin.
Batman & Robin-Batman & Robin try to keep their relationship together even as they must stop Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy from freezing Gotham City.
Although Batman & Robin surpassed its budget at the box office worldwide, Joel Schumacher felt it wasn't enough to continue, so plans for a fith film, Batman Triumphant were cancelled. The main villain was meant to be Steve Buscemi, Ewan McGregor, or Geff Goldblum as The Scarecrow. Jack Nicholson as The Joker would return in Batman's mind as a result of the Scarecrow's Fear toxins. Finally, Madonna would be The Joker's daughter, Harley Quinn, trying to avenge Batman for her father's death.

 Anyway, the torch was passed to the current Batman director, Christopher Nolan. To be Honest, I don't care about his films, but the way the villains are played DEFINITELY make them films to watch again and again. 

  

Movie Plots

Batman Begins-Bruce Wayne has watched his home, Gotham City, turn into a crime infested abyss throughout his entire life, so he decides to become the hero Gotham needs- Batman.

The Dark Knight-Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent are forced to deal with the chaos unleashed by an anarchist mastermind known only as the Joker, as he drives each of them to their limits.

Nolan's next film, The Dark Knight Rises, will be released on July 20, 2012. It will feature Anne Hathaway as Catwoman and Tom Hardy as Bane. I was at first concerned about Bane because a friend of mine, Chuck, claimed he was the cheesiest movie villain ever after his performance by Jeep Swenson in Batman & Robin. However after hearing Aaron Eckhart's portrayal of Two-Face was better than Tommy Lee Jones's, I have higher hopes for Bane, though I enjoy the villains in EVERY Batman film, no matter how cheesy their dialogue sounds. I'm definitely making plans to see this. 

Batman Film Series-Part 2

The first 2 were made by Tim Burton. I loved Danny Elfman's Music. Oh, and the villains were played to perfection.
  
Batman Returns received complaints about attracting kids to theaters and eventually terrifying them! It was blamed on Batman toys served in McDonald's Happy Meals. 2 things were done in response:
1. McDonald's withdrew its toys.
2. Warner Bros. kicked out Burton and replaced him with Joel Schumacher.
  
Joel Schumacher did major changes to the world of Gotham such as putting in more slapstick comedy and color. There are 2 things he did that I didn't like.
1. He made the films sexy, which is why they were PG-13- rated despite being made for kids
2. More conversation scenes than action scenes.
Other than that, they were fine. In fact, my father saw Batman & Robin in theaters and loved it!

To wrap this up soon, I'll talk about Nolan's films.

Batman Film Series- Part 1

An Update- My surgery is now scheduled for tuesday, May 3rd. Also, I've decided to do an entry that's NOT ABOUT THEME PARKS. So here goes.

My favorite superhero is Batman.



I loved him as a kid, but I lost interest in him until i played....


That's when I got a renewed interest in him. My favorite villains were the featured ones in the game:
The Riddler,

The Penguin,

And The Joker.

I decided to watch the movies based on Batman. The first 4 will be reviewed next.