It doesn't take much to make me happy

As if to make up for last Thursday, when my Wii Netflix account couldn't stream anything (first problem I've ever had with the service), they've added six amazingly good Travel Channel documentaries about the Disney parks.

These nearly-hour-long shows basically serve as sunny PR pieces without a single critical comment, but they're genuinely informative and beautifully filmed. Overall, they're among the most polished and entertaining overviews of the Disney parks I've ever seen, and often contain rare footage, interesting angles, and amazing behind-the-scenes shots: The Disneyland episode includes a fantastic segment on the Indiana Jones computerized ride vehicles, giving viewers a great, close look at them in action on the tracks.

I hope Netflix keeps adding Travel Channel shows to instant streaming; In fact, I wish they'd make "Travel" a separate category. In the meantime, this is a great addition for a rainy afternoon's commercial-free theme park viewing marathon .

Dragon's Boneknapper Bonus

Just finished watching How To Train Your Dragon on DVD (someday, Blu-Ray….someday…). I hoped it would be as good as I remembered. I was not disappointed.

The film rocks on home video. Its astounding fantasy world—with all its beautiful color, detail and texture—roars to life even on my humble DVD player and ancient television. And the story, of course, is just as sharp, funny and near-perfect as always.

The Double-DVD set and Blu-Ray contain a terrific animated bonus short: The Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon.
Taking place after the feature’s events, it opens with a nighttime emergency, mirroring the original’s opening dragon attack, but now with the dragons in use as the tribe’s fire department/rescue squad. The film then focuses on a journey to confront a legendary beast which may or may not be a figment of Gobber’s imagination.Surprisingly (and awesomely), this story involves several tall-tale sequences narrated by Gobber which take place entirely in wonderful, classic-style 2-D animation!
If you've ever wondered what the feature’s Viking world would look like hand-drawn, the answer is: Terrific! These bits are beautifully designed and great fun. Overall, the 14-minute film is an entertaining, light, funny little bonus tale--Exactly as intended.
What a great day for home video! If you haven't yet discovered the Island of Berk, and found why it's joining Hogwarts, Oz and Middle Earth on the list of all-time best fantasy locales, pick up this gem; You're in for a great ride.

SANTA CAR!

I love Pixar's Cars. Speaking as someone who grew up loving animation and Hot Wheels, the film made me smile from beginning to end. Can't wait for Cars 2 and the 2012 Cars Land at Disney California Adventure.

Last year, a spin-off book called Mater Saves Christmas appeared in stores. I was never able to get a look at a copy; They seemed to sell out everywhere. It did make me wonder about the Cars world, though: How do these guys celebrate Christmas? There are no humans or animals in that universe; Everyone's a vehicle. Ya don't wanna carry that line of thought too far regarding the religious side of the holiday...

But, this year, we finally get a look at a die-cast toy of SANTA CAR!

This is just awesome. Holy cow, it's perfect! Seriously, if you're gonna portray Santa as a car, I defy anyone to come up with a more charming design.

Once again, Pixar makes the world a happier, more whimsical place.

How To Train Your Dragon lands soon!

Once upon a time, a clumsy young Viking caught a dragon….

2010’s best movie hits store shelves in a couple of weeks. I’m buying the Blu-Ray/DVD pack, and I don’t even own a Blu-ray player, yet.

I can’t say enough good things about this movie. It’s a grand-slam home run—a work of wonder that succeeds on all levels and can be enjoyed by all ages. It plunges you into an astonishing world you’ve never seen before, pulls the heartstrings, barrel-rolls like a great rollercoaster and brings to life a cast of amazing, likable, thoroughly believable characters. You don’t want it to end. It’s funny, exhilarating, heartbreaking and very, very satisfying.

Last March, it flew in under the radar and took critics and audiences by surprise. It opened to rave reviews and merely “okay” first-weekend business. But it bowled over everyone who saw it, generated incredible word of mouth, stayed in the top 3 for weeks, and eventually became one of the year’s top moneymakers and Dreamworks’ most successful film.


It's become my all-time favorite movie, for many reasons:

It's an incredible animated film…
It's one of the best fantasy films ever made…
It's got a smart screenplay, sharp direction, great acting, breathtaking design and an amazing music score…

And...for crying out loud, it's got dragons and Vikings! Two great subjects together like peanut butter and chocolate!


I never thought about it like that before, but, yes: This is the movie equivalent of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Perfection.


I can’t wait to revisit the world of Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stoic the Vast, Gobber and the other inhabitants of The Isle of Berk. And I envy folks who get to discover it for the first time. Watch this one together with your kids. And fasten your seatbelts.

Rock Band Adds Awesome R.E.M. Songs and Instantly Becomes Coolest Game Ever

At Astonished Walrus, we love Rock Band, Rock Band 2, Lego Rock Band, The Beatles Rock Band...and the upcoming Rock Band 3 (which will actually teach real guitar chords this time around!)

A focus on customization and variety sets Rock Band apart from other games involving make-believe guitars: Via the character/band creator and massive online music store, players can skew the game toward classic rock, punk, metal, country, folk, pop...the possibilities expand with each week's song additions.

The last couple of months have seen great chunks of awesome music arriving for the game, such as (nearly) every hit Creedence Clearwater Revival ever recorded. With the announcement of Tuesday's R.E.M. offering--which includes "Driver 8," "Stand," "Radio Free Europe," "Superman," "It's the End of the World as We Know It"...

Well, it just re-confirms that the folks at Harmonix (who created Guitar Hero, then improved the concept with Rock Band) genuinely love their work. And that's what elevates their games to insane levels of quality and satisfaction.

There needs to be a Rock Band Disney Edition...