Why We All Love Great Disney Sidekicks.

I saw EW post an article about some of the best sidekicks from all the great Disney Films. So while there are plenty of great main characters out there, here are my top 10 Disney sidekicks of all time.

10. LUMIERE AND COGSWORTH (BEAUTY AND THE BEAST)

Many will say that the Candelabra and Clock from this Disney classic were the stars of this film. Lumiere was the fun, outgoing, and flirty character in contrast to Cogsworth’s uptight nature. Their performance in “Be Our Guest” has to be one of the most iconic movie songs ever.

9. SEBASTIAN (THE LITTLE MERMAID)

Oh Ariel and Sebastian, one of the first love stories I can remember. Too bad most of what I remember from this film is the delightful Sebastian, the always up-beat crab with a Jamaican singing voice. No one can forget two of the greatest movie songs of all-time: “Kiss the Girl” and “under the Sea”.

8. SCRAT (ICE AGE)

A personal favorite of mine, Scrat is a little prehistoric squirrel whose constant pursuit for an acorn has become one of the funniest running movie gags in years. The ‘short films’ about Scrat always provide some great humor and some great intros for all of the films.

7. DORY (FINDING NEMO)

In this adorable film about a fish who has lost his way, Dory, the forgetful yet adorable sidekick is very very memorable. We all loved this film, yet when we look back, we mostly remember Dory. Her memory loss offers some of the best comedic moments and don’t lie to yourself, you have all imitated Dory’s Whale Voice.

 6. MATER (CARS)

I was surprised at how much I liked this film about a bunch of cars. While Lightening McQueen was the lead character, the real star of the film was the small-town tow truck named Mater. Voiced by Larry the Cable Guy, this charming, warm hearted, and slightly dumb character won us all over.

5. KRONK (THE EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE)

In this very underrated Disney film, most of the amazingly subtle and quick humor comes from David Spade and Kronk, the villianess’ henchman. “As voiced by Patrick Warburton, he's chock full of hysterical antics — making his own spy-movie theme music, playing double-dutch with a pair of five-year-olds — but his crowning moment comes when he talks to a squirrel and claims he's ''versed in all the woodland creatures.”

4. DONKEY (SHREK)

Being from one of the more modern films, Donkey is arguably the most well known Disney sidekick of all-time. Eddie Murphy’s hysterical bantor and quick wit offer some of the bets and funniest lines in these great films. 

3. IAGO (ALLADIN)

Many people feel Alladin is the one of Disney’s best. Its star and biggest character has to be  Jafar’s pet parrot. Voiced by the always funny Gilbert Gottfried, Iago had that remarkably annoying yet addicting voice. The fact that he became ‘good’ in future films makes him all the more loved.

2. MUSHU (MULAN)

Mulan is and forever will be my favorite Disney film of all time (oh other than The Lion King). Eddie Murphy does it again as the wise-cracking Mushu. He provides the serious moments yet has some of the wittiest and best humor Disney has ever seen. What is most amazing about this character is that while the film is in Ancient China, Mushu makes amazingly funny references to pop-culture.

1. TIMON AND PUMBAA (THE LION KING)

It would be hard to argue that these are not the greatest sidekicks of all-time. They are the funniest characters in a movie widely considered the best animated movie ever made. They truly steal the show and with their “Hakuna Matata”, provide the film with everything that makes it so great. Plus, points go to any character that ever farts on film. 

Why We Are All Looking For The Greatest Fantasy Season Ever.

As an avid Fantasy Football fan and player, I, like all coaches, hope and dream for that dream MVP season. We all hear myths of famous seasons and how many points were scored. Here are some of the greatest performances ever.

Honorable Mention

Randall Cunningham QB 1990 Eagles

·         3,466 passing yards 30TD/13 INT, a career-best 942 rushing yards and 5 TD’s

·         369 total points: 23.06 ppg

·         Vick before Vick and he was a better passer. Revolutionary with his feet.

Shaun Alexander RB 2005 Seattle Seahawks

·         27 rushing TDs, 1880 yards, 15 catches 78 yards 1 td

·         370.5 total points: 23.16 ppg

·         A true running running back. Barely went out for a pass but still managed a top 25 fantasy season of all time.

Dante Culpepper QB 2004 Minnesota Vikings

·         4,717 yards passing 39TD/11INT, 406 rushing yards 2 TD’s

·         385 total points: 24.06 ppg

·         Yet another person to benefit from having Moss to throw to. Add in decent mobility and you got yourself a fantasy anchor.

Best Defense Ever- 1985 Chicago Bears

·         262 Total Points

·         16.36 points per game

10. Randy Moss, WR, 2007

·         98 catches 1493 yards 23 TD’s, 93 yards per game

·         336 total points: 21 ppg

·         Moss and Brady just dominated football setting every record known to mankind

9. Dan Marino, QB 194

·         5,084 yards passing, 48 TD’s, 17 INT’s, 0 rushing yards

·         378 total points: 23.6 ppg

·         Setting records that would eventually be broken by Brady and Manning

8. OJ Simpson, RB 1975

·         1,817 rushing yards 16 TD’s, 28 rec for 426 receiving yards and 7 TD’s

·         14 games (didn’t play 16-game schedule until 1978)

·         375 total points: 26.78 ppg

·         Many consider this one of the best regular seasons ever!

7. Priest Holmes, RB 2002

·         1615 rushing yards, 70 rec for 670 yards and 24 total TD’s  (21 rushing/3 receiving)

·         Injured week 16 & 17

·         407 total points: 29.00 ppg

·         Yes, its not a typo, over 400 points in many formats.

6. Jerry Rice, WR 1987

·         65 rec for 1078 yards 22 TD’s, 51 rushing yards 1 TD

·         282.5 total points in 12 games (strike shortened season): 23.54 ppg

·         This was in 12 games, just imagine if he played the whole year.

5. Herschel Walker, RB 1985

·         2,411 Rushing Yards

·         21 TDs

·         This is running dominance.

4. Jerry Rice, WR 1995

·         1,848 yards on 122 catches with 17 TD

·         One game had 14 Rec. for 289 yards and 3 TD

·         In a PPR league, these are video game numbers

3. Tom Brady, QB, 2007

·         4,806 passing yards, 50 TD’s, 8 INT’s, 2 rushing TD’s and 98 yards

·         405 total points: 25.3 ppg

·         Perfection!

2. LT, RB 2006

·         1,815 rushing yards, 508 receiving yards, 56 rec, NFL-record 31 touchdowns (28 rushing/ 3 receiving), 2 TD passes for 19 yards

·         453 total points: 28.3 ppg

·         Setting NFL records spells Fantasy dominance.

1. Marshall Faulk, RB 2000

·         1,359 rushing yards, 81 Rec, 830 receiving yards and 26 total touchdowns (18 rushing/8 receiving)

·         414.5 total points: 29.6 ppg

·         At the time, this was greatest season ever and set the tone for what was expected in Fantasy Greatness

Why Two Of Will Ferrell’s greatest Films Are Not Comedies. (Netflix Jewels)

Will Ferrell is a comedic genius, and arguably the greatest comedic actor of our lifetime. I am one of his biggest fans and find pretty much everything he does hilarious. So when I tell you that I was shocked when two of Will Ferrell’s dramas were two of his greatest performances, you’ll understand where I am coming from. Ferrell’s Everything Must Go and Stranger Than Fiction are two excellent films which are highlighted by Ferrell’s serious and moving performances; with the latter being his best.

Everything Must Go-2010

This semi-mellow film has its comedic moments but is definitely on the more serious side. In the film, Ferrell plays Nick Halsey, a recovering alcoholic. After getting fired from his job (due to alcoholic outburst), Nick comes home to find his wife has changed the locks and left all his belongings on the front lawn. Hitting rock bottom, Nick decides to live on his front lawn, setting up a little home outside. His cop friend, Frank Garcia, instructs him to have a yard sale in order to make the lawn-living legal.  Nick enlists a young boy to help with the sale and the boy begins to become his best friend. A love-interest across the street helps Nick begin to sell his stuff and move on with his life.

Ferrell gives an awesome performance. His performances balances the seriousness of Nick’s situation with the classic humor and wittiness we love from Ferrell. As Nick completely breaks down and hits rock bottom, we feel for him and this is all due to Ferrell’s performance. Nick finds away to throw around quick and snobby remarks which makes us not feel as bad for him as we should to start. But Nick’s hard to love personality draws us in, making us love him so much more at the end.

Sex: Very little sexual content

Violence: None

Language: very little language

Drugs: A lot of drinking
Rated: R
Run time: 96 minutes
Grade: 3 Stars

Stranger Than Fiction-2006

This film was Ferrell’s first dance in drama. In the film, Ferrell plays Harold Crick, an IRS auditor who suddenly finds himself the subject of narration only he can here. As an author is writing her book, she begins to narrate his life; thus, affecting his work, love interest, and maybe even his death. Crick is a bland and mindless person who gets a kick out numbers and audits. That is until the narration begins. As he starts to hear the narration of his life, Crick begins to break out of his mold as the issue of free will is made very cloudy. As part of his life story, Crick begins to fall for one of his audit customers, Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Crick is so uptight that it almost makes you uncomfortable. Thankfully for him and for us, he begins to break out of his shell and the results are awesome. Ferrell nails the role and is perfect as the stuck up nerd, laughing at math jokes. He then beautifully graduates to a much more relatable person as he begins to really live his life. While Crick struggles with his impending death, Ferrell flourishes in the role. Ferrell is quirky and lovable in his performance. He has help from his supporting cast, including Dustin Hoffman, Maggie Gyllenhall, Queen Latifah and Emma Thompson.

Sex: Little sexual content

Violence: Little violence

Language: Very little language

Drugs: None
Rated: PG-13
Run time: 113 minutes
Grade: 3.5 Stars

Please Vote!

My best friend and one of my groomsmen, Steven Davis, just entered a video into an AMC contest. Please please please please click on the link below and vote!

http://www.talenthouse.com/creativeinvites/preview/a7ba1eb65bde94f8ddbdeace3c26777f/714

Why The Raid May Be One Of The Best Action Movies Ever.

Premise: A SWAT team becomes trapped in an apartment building run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs. Yes this is the premise of this Indonesian film. As the SWAT team gets picked off one by one, a lonely soldier decides to fight back. Basically, this movie is all about a bunch of ruthless killers hunting down a SWAT team one by one until no one is left. The acting in the film is fantastic and the dialogue serves its purpose. But what I clearly want to talk about is the amazing action. The fighting and violence in the film is awesome. Gun fights to knife fights, to hand to hand combat; this film has it all. Each major fight is built up beautifully and executed better than anything Hollywood has put out recently. What is perhaps the films greatest redeeming quality is the fact that even when the film is at its most ‘martial artsy’ points, it doesn’t feel overdone. In other words, when I watch films that focus too much on martial arts and this crazy hand to hand combat, I lose interest (see the Ong Bak series). What is awesome about this film is that the violence is original and quite brutal.

Some highlights include a 2 on 1 battle royale, a scene in which a guy willfully puts down a gun to kill someone by hand, and a bunch of machete wielding maniacs. Trust me on this one, please watch this film, it is pure awesomeness.

Sex: None

Violence: The entire film is brutal and gory

Language: Subtitles but very harsh language

Drugs: Some
Rated: R
Run time: 101 minutes
Grade: 3.5 Stars