Movie Review: Hercules

                Disney is known for making fantastical children’s movies that are beloved by all. It continues this trend with its movie “Hercules”. Based on Greek mythology, “Hercules” is about the son of the God Zeus and his wife the Goddess Hera. Along with the appearance of other Greek gods, this movie is great for both children and any fan of Greek mythology. Hades, the Lord of the underworld, is planning to take over Olympus but needs to get rid of Hercules in order to do it. After turning him mortal, he sends him to Earth where he grows up and wants to become a hero. By teaming up with a satyr named Phil he begins his hero training and launches into an adventure to become a God and rejoin his family.

            The animation for this movie looks much different than the previous Disney films that have been released. With the film having Greek origins, the animators studied Grecian art to help inspire their characters designs and the design of the world it takes place in. It is very easy to see where this story takes place just through the designs.

            As with most Disney movies, “Hercules” has many musical numbers. The music, for the most part, is very upbeat and you’ll find it hard to resist the urge to sing along. Background music is very effective in the film and really helps give this movie that extra something. The music really helps to set the tone of certain scenes and is never distracting. Character’s singing voices match very well to their just spoken voices. Tate Donovan, voice of Hercules, does a marvelous job at his first time working as a voice over. His naivety and nervousness helped bring the character of Hercules, who is also quite naïve himself, to life. Hades, the villain, was played by James Wood who literally made the character his. He frequently adlibbed lines and made Hades a villain whom you hate but can’t help but love as well.  

            “Hercules” is one of Disney’s best films to date. It has beautiful animation, great voice acting and a wonderful story filled with adventure. This movie can be enjoyed by anyone of any age. While it’s aimed at children, there are plenty of jokes thrown in it that the adults will understand and surely chuckle at. This film is definitely worth seeing.

News Article

 On Thursday, a mother, her daughter and their four dogs had to escape from their beloved home when it caught fire that afternoon. Leaving behind their five cats, they got out safely, but they have been left homeless due to all the damage that the fire has caused their home.

            The fire started in the basement and quickly spread throughout the rest of the house. After the woman got everyone she could out of the house, she locked the dogs in her car and immediately called 911. Eight fire trucks, two ambulances and one police cars showed up in response.  A large crowd of people and neighbors soon came to see the fire and watch it from afar and offer the family comfort. Everyone was completely silent as they watched the firefighters do everything they could to put out the bright flames.

            “It was horrifying to see”, said Mike Thomas. “Me and my wife were just driving by and all of sudden we came upon a crowd of people watching this house being engulfed by flames. We couldn’t help but stop and just watch. We felt terrible for the family.”

            Firefighters showed up and went fast to work to put out the fire. It took them all of twenty minutes to rescue the remaining pets inside and extinguish the fire. The basement suffered from massive damage from both the fire and the water from the hoses. The rest of the house however had heavy damage from all the smoke.

            “I’m just so glad no one got hurt. Despite all the damage, that’s at least something to be thankful for. They are all so lucky to have gotten out in time.” said Denise Thomas. Both her and her husband have offered any help that they can give to the family.

            Animal control was called to take care of the nine pets and make sure they were all ok. The mother and daughter were devastated to see their home destroyed. It is unknown where they will be staying for the time being. Family, friends and neighbors are offering their support to the poor family.

Short Article

                When you go to Disney World, have you ever wondered how Mickey Mouse or any of the other characters would just pop up out of nowhere and seem to magically appear in their meeting spot? Well, that’s definitely how Walt Disney himself wanted it to seem to his guests. Walt wanted it to seem like when you entered Disney World that you really entered a new world. Before it was even built, Walt was walking in his first park Disneyland, and one day saw a “Frontierland cowboy walking through Tomorrowland” (Shaw). It was then that he decided that could never happen again. He then went on to design Disney World so that it would never happen.

           Everything about Disney world is designed so that you won’t notice all the things they don’t want you to. There are underground tunnels beneath the parks where all the workers can get to where they need to be and not be seen by the guests. This way, you will never see a worker in the wrong park. Even though the tunnels are beneath Disney World, they aren’t actually underground. The tunnels were actually built on ground level and the park was built over them, making Disney World itself being the second floor of the park ("themouseconnection.net"). There are many entrances to the tunnels but “the main tunnel entrance is behind Fantasyland, specifically under Pinnochio’s Village Haus” ("themouseconnection.net"). Many other entrances are spread across the parks and are used by all the employees. Mostly, they are used by the characters and their attendants. They use the tunnels so they can get to their meeting spots without being seen. Also, so the characters can switch for their breaks and no one would notice that a new Mickey or Minnie had come.

            It’s possible to have a special tour of these tunnels. The tour is called “Keys to the Kingdom” and can only be done by people sixteen or older ("themouseconnection.net"). The reason for this is because the magic of Disney World would be ruined for children if they were to see that there was more than one Mickey.

            Walt Disney worked very hard on his design of Disney World so it would seem like a place of magic. He made sure that no one would see a worker not in their designated area and that what is supposed to be in its place is. Every specific park is its own park and you won’t see anything out of place. Walt truly made a place where it seems like everything works like magic.

Shaw, T.R.. "Under the Magic Kingdom." hiddenmickeys.org. USA and Worldwide. Web. 4 Nov 2012. <http://www.hiddenmickeys.org/WDW/MagicKingdom/Secrets/General/Underground.html>.

. "Fun Facts: Magic Kingdom's Tunnel System ." themouseconnection.net. N.p.. Web. 4 Nov 2012. <http://www.themouseconnection.net/2010/07/fun-facts-magic-kingdoms-tunnel-system.html>.