XXVIII | TRAILER TUESDAY | XXVIII

We got ourselves a mighty slew of Fantasy Adventure titles, so I hope you're ready for some magic, wonderment, and the unthinkable! These are family friendly titles sans one, The Huntsman, which looks to be aimed more at adults/young adults, but not children. Otherwise the rest are fair game!

The Jungle Book - Big Game Trailer (4/15/2016):

This is the first time watching the Big Game trailer (whatever that is exactly), and only the second time seeing any trailer for The Jungle Book. I'm sure there are more, they seem to put out three nowadays, but this one seems to do a great job at laying out what's to be expected.

I know I've seen the Disney animation, but a lot of the story escapes me. As I view the trailer I remember all of the characters, especially Kaa, King Louie and Baloo (which then reminds me of TaleSpin, a cartoon I'd watch pretty religiously). I recall thinking to myself "Why did this need to happen" when I heard about the adaptation, even knowing Jon Favreau was helming the project (someone I've been a fan of since Swingers).

After seeing the trailers, however, I feel a bit more confident about the movie. The special effects look amazing, and while I'm still a little iffy about how some of the voice over of the animals seems disjointed from their facial expressions, I think it's something potentially misrepresented. Towards the end of the trailer it looks pretty much spot on.

There's a great cast involved with this movie (sadly, one of which has since passed) and I've enjoyed Favreau's directing, so there's a good chance I may see this on the big screen. It won't be the end of the world if I miss it, though. I've missed those I've been more excited about.

The Huntsman: Winter's War - Trailer 3 (4/22/2016):

Okay, so I've never actually seen Snow White and the Huntsman, despite wanting to. A more adultish Snow White seems appealing. Then the original trailer released for this movie and I thought it looked kind of silly. I'm not sure, but I think this trailer may swing me back to wanting to see the series again. I've heard some pretty mediocre reviews of the original, but it was obviously popular enough to warrant a second. So I might have to check it out!

Naturally, some of the actions looks pretty over the top, but that's fairly par for the course. And the special effects look great. There seems to be a lot of chemistry among the actors, and I've no doubt Blunt and Theron will play great off one another.

One odd thing, and maybe this is just me, but the first voice over talking about "If it's the Snow White tale you're looking for, discover the story that came before" blah blah blah... What? And then the voice over for the mirror entity. Something just seems off about it. Just two things that rubbed me the wrong way with the trailer, but possibly very minor in the overall movie. Hopefully.

I won't be seeing this until watching Snow White and the Huntsman, even though I'm not certain exactly how they connect. These events occur after the original and is a straightup sequel? That voice over mentioned above made me think this may be a prequel? No clue, but if I miss it in the theaters then Redbox/Netflix will do just fine.

Alice Through the Looking Glass (5/27/2016):

I remember seeing Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland in theaters. It was one of the first movie I saw in 3D! Newer movie anyway, where you didn't wear those chintzy paper glasses from when I was a child. I had to work when everyone I knew went to see Avatar. Anyhow, I thought it was a decent movie. I'm always down with seeing Burton's movies. I also recall, however, that seeing it 3D probably wasn't that necessary. Sure, there were some beautiful shots, but it looks like this sequel will have more.

I can't help but like the song choice for the trailer as we are lead back into Wonderland and are reunited with many of the original characters. Then the introduction of Time. I have to be honest, I knew little to nothing about the source material. I just tried looking up some info, and it seems the original movie contained many elements from both of Lewis Carroll's books. This movie may be completely unrelated aside from the characters involved?

It looks to be interesting, and again, I like the Time character. The visuals look good and I'm never opposed to hearing the late Alan Rickman's soothing voice. While I generally like Depp, I haven't seen many of his latest movies. This one is a toss up. I may await reviews before stepping through the Looking Glass with Alice.

The BFG (7/1/2016):

This movie just kind of snuck up on me. Even after the trailer I have no real idea what the plot is about. What I do know is that it has some amazing special effects and that I am intrigued and roped in! Especially at the end of the trailer where you seem to find out that the giant isn't so giant when compared to his brethren.

From the original teaser I suspected BFG stood for Big Friendly Giant (this is Disney after all...) and turns out I was right. I'm really interested in learning more about this movie, so I'll be keeping an eye out!

The Legend of Tarzan (7/1/2016):

And then there was Tarzan. I'm fairly indifferent about this movie, despite really enjoying the animated feature. That may be where part of the issue originates from, though. I've only seen the Disney version of this tale. There are many books (maybe even comics?) and a lot of them are fairly dark. I think that opening scene in the trailer where Tarzan's father is slain by apes kind of threw me.

That being said, however, I'm not directly opposed to a more adult version based closer to the source material. Just how close this adaptation will be to the series is beyond me, but trying to go middle of the road may not work, alienating both old school fans and those only familiar with the animation.

Giving credit where credit is due, it looks visually stunning. Except for those stampedes, I just don't know. Stampeding through buildings and such? Maybe I'm mistaken what I'm seeing. Otherwise, the acting looks great. I love Cristoph Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson! I notice Margot Robbie (Suicide Squad, Focus, The Wolf of Wall Street) is in yet another summer blockbuster. She's everywhere lately.

Here's to hoping it ends up being a decent movie. I'll wait for reviews on this one too!

Pete's Dragon - Teaser Trailer (8/12/2016):

I realize I should probably know the classic live action/animation, but I really don't. There's a good chance I've even seen it multiple times. From what I've read, this seems to be fairly detached from the original. Updated, if you will. It's obviously not a cartoon mixed with live action, though CGI isn't much different, is it? Again, just updated. But then again there was Roger Rabbit and Cool World, which came out long after the original. I'm getting off topic, though...

Given this is only a teaser trailer, they do a good job with revealing some of the story, and only giving you hints of the dragon, until the very end. I'd like to see how well the special effects are blended, because for some reason the dragon seemed almost... cartoony to me. Otherwise, Redford is a solid actor. There are others I'm familiar with, but other than Bryce Dallas Howard, I'm pretty "meh" about them.

Speaking of Bryce Dallas Howard, I'm excited to see her in this role. I've heard she runs away from the dragon while wearing heels! We'll have to wait and see. Looking forward to the full trailer release!

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (9/30/2016):

Speaking of Tim Burton... It seems he didn't direct the Alice in Wonderland sequel, but instead moved on to another project. This one seems to be right up his alley, not that Wonderland wasn't, just that Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children looks to be potentially darker. Although, I have read many complaints about how it doesn't look dark enough, especially with someone like Tim Burton directing. I guess the source material, a young adult novel and/or series, was horror based. I'm unfamiliar with the book, but some people are pretty worked up over it. This trailer was a bit too "colorful" for them.

Given I have no attachment to the source material I don't have those predisposed expectations. I think the movie looks good. My issue is that many of these young adult adaptations seem to look very familiar. For a long time everything looked like a copy of Twilight, Harry Potter, and now The Hunger Games. The look, the feel, the story. Granted I do get an X-Men vibe too, so I'm sure it's just my inability to avoid comparing to sources I'm already accustomed to.

I think Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will be fairly successful. It's hard to say just how dark the film's undertones will be, because that aspect isn't shown until the end of the trailer (was that Samuel L. Jackson as the villain maybe?). And that creature looked pretty creepy. Like Slender Man creepy! If these elements are more prominent in the movie, it may not sit well with younger kids, but we'll see.

I personally like the "colorful" trailer, especially if it's juxtaposed with a darker tone. As I mentioned earlier, I like Tim Burton movies and am willing to give it a chance, but I'm not very familiar with any of the actors aside from Eva Green and SLJ. I may skip seeing it in theaters, however, unless others have a strong urge to see it.

Do any of these movies interest you? If so, which and why? Are you familiar with the source material for any of these movies?