Soul follows Joe Gardener (Jaime Foxx), a band teacher, who is finally getting the big gig he has been waiting for. But later that day, Joe gets into an accident and dies. His soul travels to the Great Beyond, but he escapes to the Great Before as he is not ready to die. He teams up with another soul, named 22 (Tina Fey), in order to try to get back to his life on Earth.
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Mulan is the latest Disney live-action remake that is not playing in theaters in the U.S. right now. The film is based on the Ballad of Hua Mulan where a young girl joins the Imperial Chinese army disguised as a man in order to protect her aging father and ends up saving China.
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2020 is year and with it comes another promising year of films. I’m particularly excited since there are a great number of women-led films both in front of and behind the camera in 2020. Since it’s early in the year, none of the smaller, independent films are really known until the Sundance Film Festival later this month, so this list will mainly be bigger films. I will also do a Top 10 of 2019 list, but that won’t be up until I have seen 1917, which is a major awards contender this year.
So here is what I’m most looking forward to at the moment for the upcoming year with some honorable mentions that go out to Godzilla vs. Kong, Eternals, and Bob’s Burgers who didn’t quite make the list.
The Lion King is a CGI animated version of the 1994 original Disney film. The star studded cast includes Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé as Nala, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, Billy Eichner as Timon, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, and James Earl Jones returning as Mufasa. Everyone already knows the plot for the most part, it’s Hamlet with lions.
Toy Story 4 revolves around the toy’s lives with their new kid, Bonnie. When she goes to her kindergarten orientation, Bonnie makes a new toy called Forky (Tony Hale) who goes through a sort of existential crisis. When Forky makes his escape, Woody (Tom Hanks) runs after him and unexpectedly reunites with Bo Peep (Annie Potts), leading him to question what his role is now in Bonnie’s life.
Aladdin is the remake of the 1992 animated version that revolves around a thief and street rat named Aladdin (Mena Massoud) that finds a magic lamp that has a Genie (Will Smith) for the power-hungry, Jafar (Marwan Kenzari). Aladdin uses the lamp which grants him three wishes and he uses one of his wishes to become a Prince and win over the Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott). However, he struggles with whether or not to tell the truth, and Jafar uses this to his advantage to try and become Sultan.
Dumbo revolves around a circus family that find themselves demoted to be the elephant keepers. When baby Jumbo is born with huge ears, the world mocks him and calls him Dumbo until the kids discover that Dumbo can use his ears to fly.
Dumbo is another Disney live action film, but it isn’t necessarily a remake. The film diverges from the original film pretty early on in the film though it does keep some of the same elements.
Mary Poppins Returns revolves around the Banks family with Jane and Michael Banks all grown up. Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw) is struggling to support his family so Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) comes back to look after Michael’s children after they have recently lost their mother. She helps them become imaginative and childlike again with the help of lamp lighter Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda).
I can say that I definitely missed Mary Poppins without knowing it with the 50 plus years she has been off screen. And since I haven’t seen the original Mary Poppins since I was a child, this film made me want to go back and watch it again. Mary Poppins Returns manages to recapture the magic and wonder of the first film.
Ralph Breaks the Internet is the sequel to Wreck It Ralph and surrounds Ralph and Venellope as the travel to and try to navigate the internet to find a piece for Venellope’s game so that her game isn’t scrapped.
Ralph Breaks the Internet is a worthy sequel that really puts Ralph and Venellope’s friendship at the forefront. It may not be as good as its predecessor, but it was still really enjoyable, especially to those who are internet savvy.
Christopher Robin revolves around a grown up Christopher Robin who has now forgotten his precious friends of Winnie the Pooh and the gang as an adult. Robin’s work has consumed his everyday life, straining the relationship he has with both his wife and daughter. Put once Pooh comes to find Christopher Robin, he remembers how to be a kid again.
As a kid I absolutely adored Winnie the Pooh, so I was excited to see everyone again. Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, and the rest all managed to put a smile on my face in the film. The film is sweet, however, it ends up being generic, which is kind of a let down for me as a big fan of Winnie the Pooh and friends.
