The stages at Chicago Shakespeare Theater are accustomed to classic tales of daring sword fights, magic spells, and a prince in disguise—just the kinds of stories that Belle loves to read. Although Navy Pier is far from Belle’s French provincial town, CST’s production of the Disney favorite Beauty and the Beast roars to life nonetheless. […]
Tag: Disney
Strange World
Everyone is delightfully lost in a softly Lovecraftian Osmosis Jones labyrinth with climate change overtones and lovely faceless critters everywhere, trying to pantomime meaning to these stumbling humans.
Disenchanted
It’s worth catching up with Giselle and crew one last time, even if the madness of the Big Apple is swapped for the bake sales of suburbia.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
She-Hulk is the kind of smart, funny production that proves that like Ms. Marvel, Thor: Ragnarok, or Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel is at its best when it combines self-conscious humor with great storytelling.
Sea legs
Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, “The Little Mermaid,” is a load of hooey. Consider: The titular mermaid throws herself on a dagger in the end, because she can’t bear to go on after some dude she first encountered days earlier marries someone else. Also, she gives up her voice in exchange for legs so she […]
“I’ve always considered myself an outsider“
On Thursday morning, Bobcat Goldthwait is driving to the Music Box Theatre for a test screening of his latest documentary. It’s a short drive for the comedian/writer/director who just recently moved to DuPage County and gave himself the nickname the “Daniel Craig of DuPage.” “I had to get out of [DuPage],” Goldthwait jokes. “The autograph […]
Raya and the Last Dragon’s representation dilemma
Even with Asian-American talent on and off the screen, the film reflects back a myth of monolith.
Drury Lane’s Beauty and the Beast revival is showing its age
An attempt both to transcend repetition and please audiences results in a show that won’t fully satisfy anyone.
Quentin Tarantino is still out of ideas
It’s more of the same hatred for human progress in The Hateful Eight.
Inside Out has a small but significant Chicago connection
The ideas behind Disney-Pixar’s new film about emotion have local roots.
Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella is an unexpected lesson in economic history
The latest Disney spectacle considers the myth of the bourgeoisie.
This year’s Oscar-nominated animated shorts are consistently, modestly enjoyable
An 80-minute compilation of Oscar nominees and honorable mentions opens this weekend at the Landmark Century.
Galavant is just what the singing, dancing doctor ordered
A little frivolity never killed anyone.
How Hollywood drains the subversion out of Into the Woods
Disney’s adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s stage musical extinguishes much of the show’s power.