... FOR "EDDIE MURPHY-ITIS" (OR, "ANOTHER SAD CASE OF A FALLEN HOLLYWOOD ICON") - UPDATED!

I apologize for interrupting myself, but I was just in the middle of a future Franchise Face-Off starring the once-great Eddie Murphy, when suddenly the thought occurred to me: "Gee, whatever happened to that guy?"

It's a common question these days, unfortunately. Like Tom Cruise, Murphy used to be a pretty big deal. Exploding out of Saturday Night Live, a product of the stand-up comedy circuit of the early 80s, Eddie's hair-trigger comic timing and foul-mouthed, larger-than-life persona had him pegged for everlasting superstardom, and for a while, he rode that train rather well.

... FOR "WALT DISNEY'S ANIMATED FIFTY (PART 20 - 'THE ARISTOCATS' EDITION)"

My continuing foray into Disney's fifty official Animated Classics. As always, don't hesitate to share your thoughts/memories/complaints in the comments section below. Links to previous entries have also been included below.

Title: The AristoCats (1970; based on a story by Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe)

The Plot: A butler kidnaps his mistress's prized family of cats and abandons them in the Parisian countryside, after he hears she intends to leave her vast fortune to them.

The Songs: "The AristoCats," "Scales And Arpeggios," "Thomas O'Malley Cat," "Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat," "She Never Felt Alone"

... FOR "WALT DISNEY'S ANIMATED FIFTY (PART 19 - 'THE JUNGLE BOOK' EDITION)"

My continuing foray into Disney's fifty official Animated Classics. As always, don't hesitate to share your thoughts/memories/complaints in the comments section below. Links to previous entries have also been included below.

Title: The Jungle Book (1967; based on the book by Rudyard Kipling)

The Plot: An orphaned boy, raised by wolves in the jungles of India, is returned to civilization by a kindly black panther and sloth bear.

The Songs: "Colonel Hathi's March," "The Bare Necessities," "I Wan'na Be Like You," "Trust In Me," "That's What Friends Are For," "My Own Home"

... FOR "WALT DISNEY'S ANIMATED FIFTY (PART 18 - 'THE SWORD IN THE STONE' EDITION)"

My continuing foray into Disney's fifty official Animated Classics. As always, don't hesitate to share your thoughts/memories/complaints in the comments section below. Links to previous entries have also been included below.

Title: The Sword In The Stone (1963; based on the novel by T. H. White)

The Plot: In the midst of the Dark Ages, Merlin the Magician tutors a 12-year-old orphan named Arthur, who is prophesized to become the future king of England.

The Songs: "The Legend Of The Sword In The Stone," "Higitus Figitus," "That's What Makes The World Go Round," "A Most Befuddling Thing," "Mad Madame Mim"

... FOR "80'S REMAKE-A-PALOOZA!"

I'm late to the party again, I know, but they announced this last Tuesday (August 9th) and it's been festering ever since: "Lionsgate announces Dirty Dancing remake directed by original choreographer Kenny Ortega." That's right. Dirty Dancing. Patrick Swayze. Jennifer Gray. "(I've Had) The Time of My Life." "Nobody puts Baby in a corner." All that.

To which I say: Whaddup, Hollywood? Why this sudden interest in retrofitting 80's pop culture mainstays for our current attention-deficit millennium? First, there were reboots of Friday The 13th, The Karate Kid, and A Nightmare On Elm Street, and a sequel to Tron. Now we've got trailers for a Footloose remake and a prequel to John Carpenter's The Thing (itself a remake) circling the web. We've got upcoming big-screen recyclings of Conan The Barbarian, Fright Night, and Red Dawn, plus in-the- works retoolings of WarGames, Child's Play, and Sam Raimi's Evil Dead (produced, not coincidentally, by Raimi himself). And that's just as of this writing. Who knows what titles will be announced tomorrow, or next week? It's 80's remake fever!

... FOR "WALT DISNEY'S ANIMATED FIFTY (PART 17 - 'ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS' EDITION)"

My continuing foray into Disney's fifty official Animated Classics. As always, don't hesitate to share your thoughts/memories/complaints in the comments section below. Links to previous entries have also been included below.

Title: One Hundred And One Dalmatians (1961; based on the book The Hundred And One Dalmations by Dodie Smith)
The Plot: A wicked London heiress kidnaps a litter of dalmatian puppies for nefarious purposes, and the puppies' parents launch a rescue attempt to find them.

The Songs: "Cruella De Vil," "Kanine Krunchies Jingle," "Dalmatian Plantation"

... FOR "WALT DISNEY'S ANIMATED FIFTY (PART 16 - 'SLEEPING BEAUTY' EDITION)"

My continuing foray into Disney's fifty official Animated Classics. As always, don't hesitate to share your thoughts/memories/complaints in the comments section below. Links to previous entries have also been included below.

Title: Sleeping Beauty (1959; based on the fairy tale "La Belle au bois dormant" by Charles Perrault, and the ballet by Pyotr Tchaikovsky)

The Plot: Three fairies take a newborn princess into hiding, to prevent an evil curse that promises she will prick her finger on her sixteenth birthday and die.

The Songs: "Hail The Princess Aurora," "One Gift," "I Wonder," "Once Upon A Dream," "The Skumps Song," "Sleeping Beauty," "Sing A Smiling Song"

... FOR "BEHIND-THE-SCENES DISNEYLAND MAGIC"

As Walt Disney took a break from producing animated films during the 1950s (there's a four-year gap between the release of Lady And The Tramp and Sleeping Beauty), we now shift our attention to Disney's budding obsession during that time: the creation and cultivation of Disneyland. Built in Anaheim, California, and opened to the public in July of 1955, Walt's "Happiest Place On Earth" has since become the official vacation destination for families the world over.

You know the place. You've soaked in the sights and sounds of Main Street USA, passed through Sleeping Beauty's Castle, made the treacherous climb up the Matterhorn, and taken the plunge off Splash Mountain – whether in reality or in your own mind, dreaming one day of making the journey there. But honestly, how much do you really know about Disneyland? You've got your favorite attractions, sure, and I bet you avoid the teacups like the plague, but what about the history, the thought process behind the park itself?

… FOR "WALT DISNEY'S ANIMATED FIFTY (PART 15 - 'LADY AND THE TRAMP' EDITION)"

My continuing foray into Disney's fifty official Animated Classics. As always, don't hesitate to share your thoughts/memories/complaints in the comments section below. Links to previous entries have also been included below.

Title: Lady And The Tramp (1955; based on the book by Ward Greene)

The Plot: A sheltered cocker spaniel fears she's about to be replaced by her masters' newborn baby, and winds up out on the streets, where she learns the ways of the world from a stray silver mutt.

The Songs: "Bella Notte (This Is The Night)," "Peace On Earth (Silent Night)," "What Is A Baby?," "La La Lu," "The Siamese Cat Song," "He's A Tramp"