DINOSAUR (Dir: Ralph Zondag & Eric Leighton, 2000).

DINOSAUR (Dir: Ralph Zondag & Eric Leighton, 2000).

Travel back 65 million years in Walt Disney Pictures' visually stunning Dinosaur.

Iguanodon Aladar, separated from his mother while still an egg, is adopted by a family of lemurs and raised in the lush tropical surrounds of Lemur Island. When a devastating meteor shower hits, the ensuing deadly dust cloud forces the family to leave their now barren home. Joining a herd of dinos heading for the Nesting Ground, Aladar clashes with group leader Kron whilst catching the eye of his sister Neera. A dino romance ensues, but drought, rockslides and a pair of hungry Carnotaurus threatens the perilous mission at every turn.

With its real life filmed backdrops and detailed CGI dinosaurs, the movie looks beautiful. Yet, this groundbreaking approach to filming is undermined by a pretty pedestrian screenplay which is marred by some unfortunate glib, facile dialogue.

It is perhaps best not to dwell on the story and screenplay elements of Dinosaur, after all its writers didn't. Anyone above the age of 7 is clearly here for the spectacular visuals. This was the first time Disney had utilised CGI on such an elaborate scale in one of its own non-Pixar movies. While computer graphics have undoubtedly been refined in the two decades since its release, the visuals are still mightily impressive. Its most spectacular set-pieces include the meteor storm, the Carnotaurus attack and an opening, following the journey of Aladar's egg from nest to Lemur island, which the studio used as the film's trailer, such was their belief in the strength of the animation.

Dinosaur was a hit with cinema audiences, but not on the scale the studio had hoped. A better script would have undoubtedly elevated it above the status of matinee popcorn fodder; its visuals belonging to an epic on a much grander scale than dialogue and plot suggest. None the less, Dinosaur is a highly entertaining movie, both for dino obsessed kids and grown-ups who are willing to overlook its shortcomings to enjoy the awesome visuals.

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7 FACES OF DR LAO (Dir: George Pal, 1964).

George Pal first came to prominence in the 1930s with his series of animated Puppetoons shorts. Switching to live action, first as producer and then director he was responsible for a series of special effects heavy sci-fi and fantasy films, including The War of the Worlds (Byron Haskin, 1953) and The Time Machine (Pal, 1960) which are now rightly deemed classics of their genres. His 5th and final feature as directed was 1964’s 7 Faces of Dr Lao, based upon Charles G Finney’s 1935 novel The Circus of Dr Lao.

Tony Randall stars as the titular Lao, an aged (7322 years!) Chinese gent and owner of a fantastical, magical travelling circus. When the circus stops at the dusty Arizona town of Abalone the townsfolk are taught some valuable life lessons from the highly unconventional exhibits include the mythical soothsayer Apollonius, Merlin the Magician, Pan the God of Love and the fabled Gorgon Medusa. All of whom are portrayed by Randall in a truly mesmerising performance. Aided by some outstanding make-up from William Tuttle who rightly won the Academy Award for his efforts.

Some would rightly question the casting of white American Tony Randall as the Chinese Lao. Yet while the performance does exhibit elements of racial stereotyping it is not malicious. Right or wrong, such casting was perfectly acceptable in the era the movie was made and it would be unfair to castigate it for being out of step with more enlightened viewpoints more than 50 years after release.

7 Faces of Dr Lao is an unusual movie; mixing elements of the western genre with gently moralistic Bradbury-esq fantasy, it is probably fair to say it is a little bit of an acquired taste. If you are a fan of Pal then this movie needs no recommendation. For others, a philosophical fantasy aimed at family audiences might be a hard sell. However, it’s status as one of Pal’s lesser known features is entirely unwarranted. The excellent performances, top quality make-up and effects and feverish, almost surrealist atmosphere of the movie make for a heady mix. In my opinion 7 Faces of Dr Lao is one of the finest fantasies ever committed to celluloid.

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Movie number 58: The Long Arm aka The Third Key (Charles Frend, 1956).

The final movie shot at Ealing Studios before production shifted to the MGM British Studios. The Long Arm, retitled The Third Key in the US, stars Jack Hawkins as phlegmatic detective superintendent Tom Halliday, busy pursuing a safecracker while neglecting his family.

Charles Frend directs in a somewhat low-key documentary style which recalls earlier Ealing police drama The Blue Lamp (Basil Dearden, 1950). The attempted realistic portrayal of unglamorous, often mundane police work results in a movie which is less a thriller and more a police procedural drama.

Hawkins is as dependable as ever in the lead and the film benefits from its use of real life locations, in particular an exciting climax at the Royal Festival Hall.

While not quite as satisfying a movie as the classic The Blue Lamp, The Long Arm is still a neat little drama; notable for both its place in British film history and its considerable entertainment value.

Movie number 61: The Feminine Touch aka The Gentle Touch (Pat Jackson, 1956). A late period Ealing drama, variously retitled The Gentle Touch and A Lamp is Heavy in international markets; The Feminine Touch follows a group of student nurses as they embark on careers with the greatest of British post-war institutions, the NHS.

Unusually for an Ealing Studios production, the main protagonists are female. The narrative focuses largely on nurses Susan Richards (Belinda Lee) and Pat Martin (Delphi Lawrence) through initial training, exams and their inevitable romantic liaisons with doctors.

Told in the pseudo-documentary style often favoured by Ealing, the sense of realism is all slightly undone by the impossibly glamorous nurses who look every inch 1950s starlets and not hardworking medics.

Occasionally the movie threatens to deliver a worthwhile statement on gender inequality, such as addressing the injustice of female nurses having to quit their job when married. However, this important issue is undermined by the pat suggestion that by supporting their doctor husbands they will still be performing a valuable service to the medical profession!

While the idea of movie projecting a positive image of women in the workplace is to be applauded, its ultimate message seems to reinforce the notion that it is a man’s world and a woman’s place within it is to make her hubby happy. Such was the word in 1956. Indeed, even in a film about women top billing is given to man, co-star George Baker.

The Feminine Touch was to be director Pat Jackson’s only film for Ealing. This is probably no loss to Ealing. Where their earlier movies were often seen as promoting socialism and progressiveness, The Feminine Touch seems to be content with looking backwards rather than forwards. As entertainment it is pleasant enough, albeit slightly dull and hopelessly dated. As a tribute to NHS nurses it fails miserably a group of women who deserved so much more recognition than a middling, routine drama.

TOY STORY 4 (Dir: Josh Cooley, 2019).

Since the first movie was released in 1995, the Toy Story franchise has proven to be one of the most robust, not to mention most lucrative, Hollywood franchises of all time. The original film, a Pixar Animation Studios production released through Walt Disney Pictures, was a massive critical and commercial success, spawning a further two equally successful sequels. After the fairly definitive conclusion of Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010), the prospect of a fourth entry seemed to many unnecessary, albeit not entirely unwelcome.

Toy Story 4 reunites Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the gang and introduces new character Forky. Forky, made by the toys' new owner Bonnie from a plastic spork, pipe-cleaners and other discarded items, is determined to throw himself into the trash where he believes he belongs. Determined not to let this happen, Woody places himself in charge of the spork, a decision which results in the pair becoming separated from Bonnie and their pals. As lost toys they encounter the sinister doll Gabby Gabby and her ventriloquist dummy cohorts and Woody is reunited with old flame Bo Peep.

Happily Toy Story 4 is a sequel which lives up to its mighty predecessors. Director Josh Cooley and screenwriters Stephany Folsom and Andrew Stanton have created a movie that is by turns witty, exciting and ultimately moving. Its message is certainly as poignant as others in the franchise and comes with a climax that that seems pretty darn final.

It goes without saying that the computer generated animation in Disney/Pixar's Toy Story 4 is beautiful. Once again, the vocal performances, notably Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz, Annie Potts as Bo and Tony Hale as Forky, are exemplary.

This latest episode of the Toy Story saga thankfully does nothing to tarnish what is arguably the most consistent franchise of them all, while its finale suggests that this really will be the last we see of the gang. If this is the case then more's the pity, although Toy Story 4 definitely provides them with a high on which to go out on.

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ALADDIN (Dir: Guy Ritchie, 2019).

Disney raids its back catalogue once again for their latest remake of an animated classic. Released in 1992, Aladdin (Ron Clements and John Musker) is one of the Disney Studios most critically acclaimed and commercially successful movies. With an excellent musical score, groundbreaking animation and a magnificent performance by Robin Williams as The Genie, it is also a difficult act to follow, not least for Will Smith stepping into the winklepickers of Williams.

This version of the Arabian Nights story of the boy who finds a magic lamp and the genie within who will grant him three wishes sticks close to Disney’s previous telling, although adding a further 40 minutes to its runtime. Surprisingly these extra minutes do not feel superfluous. Jasmine and Jafar both gain a little deeper character development and the Genie gets a love interest. Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice’s song score remains mostly intact with the addition of a new number, ‘Speechless’, co-written by Menken with songwriting duo Pasek and Paul.

Brit Guy Richie seemed an unlikely choice of director but acquits himself admirably with his first family friendly musical fantasy. As do the cast; Mena Massoud as Aladdin and Naomi Scott as Jasmine make attractive leads and Smith is reassuringly great as Genie. Thankfully, Disney cast actors who can also sing and the soundtrack is mercifully free of the auto-tuning that has plagued previous features.

What Aladdin lacks in originality it makes up for in spectacle. This is a very good looking movie with lavish song and dance numbers, exciting action sequences and top line special effects. Does it supplant the beloved animated version? Of course not. But it does hold up as a visually stunning, tuneful, wholly entertaining 130 minutes. While perhaps not as essential as its animated predecessor it is still a lot of fun and well worth a watch.

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