Alive in Her Thoughts and Dreams

~Once Upon A Dream~
Twisted Tales
Book 2
By Liz Braswell
Amazon ~ Powell's

It should be simple—a dragon defeated, a slumbering maiden, a prince poised to wake her. But when said prince falls asleep as soon as his lips meet the princess's, it is clear that this fairy tale is far from over.

With a desperate fairy's last curse infiltrating her mind, Princess Aurora will have to navigate a dangerous and magical landscape deep in the depths of her dreams. Soon she stumbles upon Phillip, a charming prince eager to join her quest. But with Maleficent's agents following her every move, Aurora struggles to discover who her true allies are, and moreover, who she truly is. Time is running out. Will the sleeping beauty be able to wake herself up?

Though these books are part of a series, they don't actually share any continuity from one to the next, so there's no risk of spoiling one with another. Likewise, there's really no need to read them in any particular order—I'm simply choosing to do so for simplicity's sake. So coming to the tale of Sleeping Beauty, which features one of my least favorite heroines but one of my most favorite villains, I had mixed feelings. Would the heroine be elevated by having more time and depth added? Would the villain be re-imagined with a(nother) sympathetic backstory? Would this story reside in my dreams, or haunt my nightmares?

We’ll Be the Villains of This Story

~City of Villains~
Book 1
By Estelle Laure
Amazon ~ Powell's

Mary Elizabeth Heart is a high school senior by day, but by night she’s an intern at the Monarch City police department. She watches with envy from behind a desk as detectives come and go, trying to contain the city’s growing crime rate. For years, tension has simmered between the city’s wealthy elite, and their plans to gentrify the decaying neighborhood called the Scar—once upon a time the epicenter of all things magic.

When the daughter of one of the city’s most powerful businessmen goes missing, Mary Elizabeth is thrilled when the Chief actually puts her on the case. But what begins as one missing person’s report soon multiplies, leading her down the rabbit hole of a city in turmoil. There she finds a girl with horns, a boyfriend with secrets, and what seems to be a sea monster lurking in a poison lake. As the mystery circles closer to home, Mary finds herself caught in the fight between those who once had magic, and those who will do anything to bring it back.

This was the one that reignited my interested to return to Disney books, essentially spawning this whole "Disember" idea. I remember seeing adds for City of Villains on Facebook early last year and being intrigued by the dark vibe. I mean, after reading a summary like that, and seeing some of the best villains on the cover, how could I pass this up? So I recommended it to my library, and lo and behold, it finally became available this December! Of course, the best laid plans went awry when I got a nasty cold (thankfully tested negative for the -19) smack dab in the middle of the month, forcing me to push back my reading and reviews a bit. Still, I hoped the magic and mystery of this city would end my year on a high note.

We All Live Happily Ever After in My New World, Agrabah Ascendant

~A Whole New World~
Twisted Tales
Book 1
By Liz Braswell
Amazon ~ Powell's

When Jafar steals the Genie’s lamp, he uses his first two wishes to become sultan and the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Agrabah lives in fear, waiting for his third and final wish. To stop the power-mad ruler, Aladdin and the deposed Princess Jasmine must unite the people of Agrabah in rebellion. But soon their fight for freedom threatens to tear the kingdom apart in a costly civil war.

What happens next? A Street Rat becomes a leader. A princess becomes a revolutionary. And readers will never look at the story of Aladdin in the same way again.

Partly inspired by a certain internet movie reviewer, and partly because I am a bit of a fangirl, I decided I wanted to dedicate the month of December to all that is Disney! This series of reviews will focus on Disney-inspired media, obviously, and will hopefully expand over the years. This year I wanted to get the ball rolling on their Twisted Tales series, books that promise to reimagine the Disney stories we know and love as new, darker takes. Will they be successful, or will the originals' magic still hold?

This Insider Feels Only Hope

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Disney After Dark, Disney At Dawn, Disney In Shadow, Power Play, Shell Game and Dark Passage, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~The Insider~
Kingdom Keepers
Book 7
By Ridley Pearson
Amazon ~ Powell's

Deep within the catacombs beneath an Aztec temple, a Disney witch doctor is summoning powers that should be left alone. As terrifying wraiths and demons attack the Archives on the Walt Disney Studios lot, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake, Finn, Willa, Philby, Maybeck, and Charlene are summoned to Disneyland fresh from high school graduation. They must stop an enemy that hasn't been clearly identified.

In this, the final installment in the epic Kingdom Keepers series, betrayal and ambition push the boundaries of loyalty. Chasing scattered clues in pursuit of a long-lost icon--whose magic offers a fighting chance against an evil that Walt Disney himself created--the Keepers find their hearts and minds tested in the park where it all began. Bonds that once threatened to fray are renewed under the pressure for survival. As the five are pushed to their limits--and then beyond--feelings intensify behind self-imposed walls of well-kept secrets.

With its dazzling action sequences and moments of touching intimacy, Kingdom Keepers VII: The Insider will leave readers breathless, cheering, and biting their nails. It's a winner-take-all battle for magical good--but then why is Disneyland burning out of control?

Not only was this the longest of the series, it also dragged way, way, WAY too long. The Insider included everything, plus the kitchen sink, yet still managed not to expand on anything other books set up. It took me three borrows from the library to get through this, and even then I almost ran out of time on the 3rd try.

You Will Never Reach That Passage

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Disney After Dark, Disney At Dawn, Disney In Shadow, Power Play, and Shell Game, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Dark Passage~
Kingdom Keepers
Book 6
By Ridley Pearson
Amazon ~ Powell's

The five Kingdom Keepers and their core friends have uncovered a startling truth: Maleficent and the Overtakers (Disney villains) are plotting a catastrophic event that could have repercussions far beyond the world of Disney.

Aboard the Disney Cruise Line’s inaugural passage through the new Panama Canal, the Keepers and their holograms uncover a puzzle hidden within the pages of a stolen journal. The point of that puzzle will reveal itself in the caves of Aruba, the zip lines of Costa Rica, and the jungles of Mexico. A destructive force, dormant for decades, is about to be unleashed. The five Kingdom Keepers are to be its first victims.

I'm so glad I'm almost done with this series. This book took me forever to actually get to reading - I made just about any excuse not to have to read it.

The Game is Never Over

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Disney After Dark, Disney At Dawn, Disney In Shadow, and Power Play, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Shell Game~
Kingdom Keepers
Book 5
By Ridley Pearson
Amazon ~ Powell's

As the Disney Fantasy joins the cruise fleet, a special treat is in store for guests aboard its inaugural sail from Cape Canaveral to Los Angeles: the Disney Host Interactive teenage guides will be part of the Fantasy crew.

Finn, Maybeck, Charlene, Willa, and Philby are to attend the cruise as celebrity guests, and to perform a ribbon cutting for the DHI server to go live. The Fantasy is now the most advanced cruise ship in the world.

But all is not right belowdecks. Strange things are happening. Unexplained phenomena. Only the Kingdom Keepers know the truth behind their invitation: nearly every Disney villain is represented onboard the new ship: whether on its decks or in its theaters. It's believed the Overtakers have infiltrated the cast and are "stowaways." Worse: it is believed they have stolen an important journal that once belonged to Walt Disney himself--Finn has been having dreams about this--and that some kind of mission is planned.

The ship sets sail filled with enthusiastic guests and crew, and the battle is on in new and exotic arenas: the beaches of Castaway Cay, the caves of Aruba, the locks of the Panama Canal, Costa Rica's rain forest zip line . . . But the end game is far more complicated and intense than anything the Kingdom Keepers had planned on. If the Overtakers get their way, a power will be unleashed that no one will have the ability to vanquish: Chernabog, dormant for years, is about to have his full powers restored. . . .

First things first, this series has no concept of continuity, as further evidenced in Book 5. And I don't even mean stuff that's changed from previous books, I mean stuff that happens all within this book.

Cut Off The Power

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Disney After Dark, Disney At Dawn, and Disney In Shadow, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Power Play~
Kingdom Keepers
Book 4
By Ridley Pearson
Amazon ~ Powell's

For the five teens who modeled as Disney Hologram Imaging hosts, life is beginning to settle down when an intriguing video arrives to Philby's computer at school. It's a call for action: the Overtakers, a group of Disney villains, seem to be plotting to attempt a rescue of two of their leaders, both of whom the Disney Imagineers have hidden away somewhere following a violent encounter in Epcot. A staged attack by new Overtakers at Downtown Disney, startles the group. One of their own, Charlene, is acting strange of late. Has she tired of her role as a Kingdom Keeper or is there something more sinister at play? When caught sneaking into Epcot as her DHI, acting strictly against the group's rules, Finn and Philby take action. Has the 'impossible' occurred? Have the Overtakers created their own holograms? Have they found a way to 'jump' from the Virtual Maintenance Network onto the Internet, and if so, what does that mean for the safety of the parks, and the spread and reach of the Overtakers? Are they recruiting an army from outside the parks? A dark cloud in the Kingdom Keeper era is unfolding, and with dissention in their own ranks, it's unclear if there's any chance of escape.

Don't know if it's because of the break between the first three and this one, or if the writing has actually improved, but I liked this book a lot more than the others. That said, I still have a bit of nit-picking to bring up.

There Was No Way Out for the Keepers

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Disney After Dark, and Disney At Dawn, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Disney In Shadow~
Kingdom Keepers
Book 3
By Ridley Pearson
Amazon ~ Powell's

With the adventures set forth in the first books now behind them, Kingdom Keepers 3: Disney In Shadow follows the five teens, Finn, Philby, Willa, Charlene, and Maybeck as they search to find Wayne, their mentor and head Imagineer who has mysteriously gone missing. Concerned Wayne has been abducted by the Overtakers-Disney villains, who along with other Disney characters, take over the parks when the turnstiles stop spinning, and want desperately to steer the parks to a far darker place-the five kids pick up a major clue from a close friend, Jess, whose dreams (nightmares, really) often accurately predict the future.

The very few clues from Jess's dream lead the kids into Disney's Hollywood Studios and Epcot--through imaginary worlds that become real, by imaginary kids who are real. Each clue seems tied to the last, and with the stakes growing ever higher, what starts out as a puzzle ends up as a fight for their lives. Through a transparent paper box, a quest for a sword, rides on Soarin' and Maelstrom, life-and-death encounters with giant snakes, and a devious Maleficent, the Kingdom Keepers not only begin to decipher deeper meanings to the clues, but discover new truths about themselves and their ever-growing friendships.

I have do doubt whatsoever that this series was started before a plan was fully mapped out. And I'm not saying that's automatically a bad thing, but if you're gonna change something between book 1 and books 2, 3+, you'd better have a good explanation for how/why it changed.

No Attempt to Stop the Kingdom Keepers

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous book, Disney After Dark or don't mind knowing major spoilers for it.
SPOILER ALERT

~Disney at Dawn~
Kingdom Keepers
Book 2
By Ridley Pearson
Amazon ~ Powell's

It's supposed to be a happy day at the Magic Kingdom—the return of the teenaged holographic hosts. But things go very wrong when a sudden lightning storm disrupts the celebration, and Amanda's mysterious sister, Jez, disappears. The only clue is the sighting of a wild monkey in the Magic Kingdom during the storm. The mystery deepens as Finn is contacted by Wayne, an old man he hasn't heard from in months. Wayne tells Finn that there's trouble at the Animal Kingdom: the evil Overtakers have gained control of one of the computer servers that will be used to operate Daylight Holographic Imaging there. That means that if any of the holographic hosts fall asleep, they will go into comas—permanently.

Definitely much better than the first. There was more characterization in the first 2 chapters of this than there was the entire first book.

The Park After Dark

~Disney After Dark~
Kingdom Keepers
Book 1
By Ridley Pearson
Amazon ~ Powell's

In this fantastical thriller, five young teens tapped as models for theme park "guides" find themselves pitted against Disney villains and witches that threaten both the future of Walt Disney World and the stability of the world outside its walls.

Using a cutting-edge technology called DHI—which stands for both Disney Host Interactive and Daylight Hologram Imaging—Finn Whitman, an Orlando teen, and four other kids are transformed into hologram projections that guide guests through the park.

The new technology turns out, however, to have unexpected effects that are both thrilling and scary. Soon Finn finds himself transported in his DHI form into the Magic Kingdom at night. Is it real? Is he dreaming?

Finn's confusion only increases when he encounters Wayne, an elderly Imagineer who tells him that the park is in grave danger. Led by the scheming witch Maleficent, a mysterious group of characters called the Overtakers is plotting to destroy Disney's beloved realm, and maybe more.

This gripping high-tech tale will thrill every kid who has ever dreamed of sneaking into Walt Disney World after hours, and wondered what happens at night, when the park is closed.

The idea behind this book turned out to be better than its execution. I've been curious about this series ever since it came out. Sure, it's a cash grab, but if it's enjoyable and imaginative, who cares? Unfortunately, at least as far as Book 1 is concerned, there was way too much imagination and not enough explanation. What I mean is that it's one thing to build a world of magic and science and wonder, but it's another to immerse your reader in it.

Film Star Focus: Wreck-It Ralph

Or, why I think Disney's Wreck-It Ralph deserved its Oscar nomination. Let it be known that I have not yet seen the other nominees (including the winner, Pixar's Brave), but I still think what this film was able to accomplish was more than deserving of its nomination, if not the win. Wreck-It Ralph might seem like a blatant cash-in, or a movie that would only appeal to the gaming demographic (and even then, only the younger one), but I'm here to put that theory to rest. The setting and slew of cameos might draw in the gaming community, but the characters and their journeys are what will bring people back for their 2nd, 3rd, and 50th viewings.

And so this brings me to the first of my latest line of features, the Film Star Focus. I may not be well versed in cinematography or film history/techniques, but I can at the very least spot a great character story when I see one. Thus, in this series I will be trying my best to flesh out the great (and not so great) characters and their journeys in their respective films.

Also, before we get too far along, since I'm aiming to tackle the full character arc, the following 'review' will involve spoilers. I will try my best to be tactful, especially for movies which I'm advocating to be seen, but I will touch on character-specific endings here. Plot may get spoiled here and there, but character finales are very much on the table. So with out further ado...

~Wreck-It Ralph~
Walt Disney Animation Studios
2012
On Video March 5th, 2013
Amazon ~ Powell's

For decades, Ralph has played the bad guy in his popular video game. In a bold move, he embarks on an action-packed adventure and sets out to prove to everyone that he is a true hero with a big heart.

As he explores exciting new worlds, he teams up with some unlikely new friends including feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz. Then, when an evil enemy threatens their world, Ralph realizes he holds the fate of the entire arcade in his massive hands.

Our "Hero"

In the beginning, Ralph was a simple forest dweller, maybe a backwoods kind of guy, dressed in overalls and living in a tree stump. One day a bulldozer came along and moved his stump (and him) over to a dump in order to build a tall apartment building called Niceland. Ralph, suffering from a very short temper, climbed the building and started wrecking it.

Is it just me, or does this sound like the opening to a Bugs Bunny cartoon gone wrong?

The Nicelanders obviously don't want to be put out of their homes, so they call their building supervisor/carpenter/contractor (who happens to have a magical fixing hammer) by the name of Felix Jr. to fix the building. Once all the damage has been repaired, and Ralph (now deemed Wreck-It Ralph) has been chased to the roof, the Nicelanders award Felix a gold medal and then toss Ralph off the building with only a mud pile to break his fall.

Thus the stage is set for the world Ralph lives in. Felix is the good guy who gets medals, pies, and the gratitude and adoration of all the Nicelanders. Ralph is the bad guy who gets relocated to the dump, wrecks a building, and gets thrown off a building.

Of course, that's only part of Ralph's story.