When the first Star Wars film launched in 1977, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) revolutionized cinema with groundbreaking practical effects that made audiences believe in a galaxy far, far away. Nearly five decades later, the franchise continues to push visual boundaries, but the journey from handcrafted miniatures to cutting-edge digital technology—and back to a sophisticated … Continue reading Practical Effects vs. CGI: How Star Wars Evolved from Miniatures to The Volume
CGI
Evolution of Animation
We've come a long way from Steamboat Willie and Snow White. Hand-drawn animation used to be the only game in town, requiring vast armies of ink-stained artists hunched over drafting tables to bring characters to life one painstaking frame at a time. Disney made it into an artform, but it was a grueling process. These … Continue reading Evolution of Animation
A Dater’s Guide to Disney Princesses: Anna
Oh, Anna... Sweet, naive Anna. Throughout the first act of Frozen, you feel pretty bad for her. Well, you feel bad for Elsa, as well, but we covered her last week. As a young child, Anna is very close with her sister, Elsa. She gets injured in an accident involving Elsa's icy powers, which causes … Continue reading A Dater’s Guide to Disney Princesses: Anna
A Dater’s Guide to Disney Princesses: Elsa
I know. Elsa is not a princess. Once we hit the second act of Frozen, Elsa makes it through the coronation ceremony and becomes a queen. She's only a princess for the first 15 minutes of the movie. She is not included on Disney's official list of princesses, nor is her sister, Anna. As a … Continue reading A Dater’s Guide to Disney Princesses: Elsa
A Dater’s Guide to Disney Princesses: Merida
Merida is the only character to come from a Pixar film to be named an official Disney Princess. Though she is not the only Pixar princess. Remember A Bug's Life? That film featured Princess Atta and her younger sister, Dot, who I suppose would also be a princess. I did not include them on my … Continue reading A Dater’s Guide to Disney Princesses: Merida
A Dater’s Guide to Disney Princesses: Rapunzel
Poor girl... She lived a sheltered life until she was 18. She was locked away in a tower for "her own good." The woman that raised her kept her away from the world because it wouldn't be safe for her if people knew about the magical properties that her hair possessed. The truth of the … Continue reading A Dater’s Guide to Disney Princesses: Rapunzel
The Confusing Middle 