Reviewed by Jason Gregg

Let the discussions begin. Should Disney tamper with their own works of art to deliver them to a newer and younger audience?  Does the older audience really want to see these stories again in 3D?  Does Disney even need to take their timeless masterpieces and convert them to 3D? Does a Camaro need a rear spoiler?  Did Coke need to tamper with their formulas?  Does my ice cream sundae need a cherry on top? When will this madness stop?  

Disney will be releasing their classic 1994 animated tale “The Lion King” in a few weeks on Blu-Ray. In order to kick off the event, the team at Disney also decided that it is a good idea to release the full length feature in theatres in Digital Disney 3D animation.  

Was it a good idea?

The story did not change, thankfully ... If you are new to the story of "The Lion King" it is a tale of a cub, Simba (voiced by Jonathan Taylor Thomas) and his journey into royalty from birth on to adulthood.  

With one of the most moving openings in the animation world, we see several species of wild animals on the African savannah congregate to see the presentation of Simba by his parents and the baboon Rafiki (voiced by Robert Guillaume).  Without a word we see the animals pay their respects to Simba and his family as Rafiki hoists the newborn Simba into the air.  Then, boom, the title screen.  It’s powerful and direct.

We follow the journey of Simba as he learns his surroundings as an adolescent.  We see him find his limit of power through tales from his father, Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones).  We learn how there is a circle of life on the African plains and how each animal needs one another to continue this circle.  

Not all the animals agree with their king, though.  One of which is Scar (voiced by Jeremy Irons), Mufasa’s brother. Scar has other palns to take over the throne, the throne in which Simba is next in line to inherit.  In classic Shakespearean manner, Scar devises a plan to eliminate his proud, noble brother and to take the throne for his own self-centered gains.

Scar joins forces with the lowest creature of the animal kingdom, the hyenas. He devises a plan with these creatures to cause a stampede to wipe out his family members. His plan goes accordingly and Simba takes off out of fear thinking that it was his fault that his father was trampled in the stampede.

Simba runs off and befriends a warthog, Pumbaa (vocied by Ernie Sabella) and a meerkat, Timon (voiced by Nathan Lane).  Simba becomes a hippie for quite some time, shrugging off his carnivorous behaviors and eating grubs.  He must have been in his new environment for quite some time because he matures from using the voice of Jonathan Taylor Thomas to Matthew Broderick.  He eventually runs into his old lioness friend, Nala, and is convinced to come back to the pride and take back his throne from Scar in a finale that is as strong as the opening scene.

Should you see this movie? Yes, of course, if you haven’t already. There are some timeless songs here for the entire family (do I even need to mention "Hakuna Matata"?) along with humor provided by Whoppi Goldberg and Cheech Marin as two of the hyenas.    

Should you see this movie in 3D? Maybe.  If you are a die hard fan and want to see some of the action scenes jump off the screen (in particular the stampede and the final fight scenes).  The 3D was so subtle that I almost forgot it was there.  It makes me question if it was worth going through all of the trouble to put it into 3D in the first place.

Short films juxtapose earliest efforts with latest visions

KANSAS CITY, MO – The journey from fledgling filmmaker to accomplished auteur can take many years.

But it will take only a couple of hours to enjoy the First & Last Film Festival, featuring the very first and latest short films by selected local filmmakers at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Screenland Crown Center, 2450 Grand Blvd.

The inaugural one-night festival is presented by the Independent Filmmakers Coalition of Kansas City in cooperation with CinemaKC, a not-for-profit organization connecting groups devoted to film in Missouri and Kansas.

“The last few years have seen an explosion of high-quality independent short films and features from the Kansas City area,” said festival creator Timothy Harvey of the IFCKC. “But every filmmaker started somewhere, warts and all.

“The festival is an opportunity to show where we began and how far we’ve come,” Harvey said. “While it’s primarily a showcase, there is also a competition angle to it, with the audience picking the best of the first films, the best of the most recent films and the filmmaker who has come the farthest in storytelling and filmmaking.”

Tickets to the First & Last Film Festival are $8 ($5 for IFCKC members). A free mixer begins at 6:30 p.m. in the theater’s lobby.

Following the screening, filmmakers will answer questions about their work and what they’ve learned in their careers.

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CinemaKC’s Strategic Partners include ArtsKC, Film Commission of Greater Kansas City, Blackberry Castle Productions, Film Society of Greater Kansas City, Independent Filmmaker’s Coalition, Kansas City Film Critics Circle, Kansas City FilmFest, Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee, Kansas City Fringe Festival, Kansas City Screenwriters, Kansas City Urban Film Festival, Kansas City Women in Film and TV, Kansas Film Commission, Kansas International Film Festival, Missouri Film Commission, Missouri Motion Media Association, Reel Spirit, Tallgrass Film Festival, Thank You Walt Disney, UMKC Film Department, University of Kansas Film and Media Studies, Variety the Children's Charity of Greater Kansas City and Women of the Motion Picture Industry.

CinemaKC’s Business Alliance includes Allied Integrated Marketing, Allied Theatre Craft, American Heartland Theatre, Bazillion Animation, BicMedia, Haywood Marketing Communications, Kansas City Area Development Council, KC Stage Magazine, KC Studio, Prizm Productions, Screenland Armour, Screenland Crossroads, Screenland Crown Center, StagePort KC, Substream Music & Sound Design and T2.

Kansas International Film Festival Marches On With More Films
Handful of Films Will Be Shown Throughout the Year

In 10 years, the Kansas International Film Festival has grown to include films submitted from at least 20 to 30 international countries, plus many documentarians and narrative filmmakers from the United States. Co-founders Ben Meade and Ben and Brian Mossman work diligently to schedule 40 to 50 films during the week-long festival. The festival runs Sept. 30 – Oct. 6 at the Glenwood Arts Theatre.

“We have a really good problem that after 11 years, we have reached the pinnacle and have too many good films. We don’t have time to play them all, especially the longer narratives,” Meade says. “We are going to take the films we can’t show and offer special screening with something like 'The Films That Should Have Played at KIFF.' We only have so many days to show so many great films. With the monthly screenings, we will keep KIFF part of the conversation all year long.”

Brian Mossman agrees that the festival has so many quality narratives and documentaries that scheduling became problematic. He says both screening boards raved over many films. “We had to pull out 10 to 15 films because there simply was not enough time slots. We are hoping to work them in and give these independent films a special screening.”

Mossman watched the narrative films this year. He called out a few films: I Want to be a Soldier, Beautiful Darling, and Vincent Wants to Sea. “The audience we have built up has a higher education and higher income. We don’t normally play the traditional megaplex movies so they expect the thought provoking films. Two others jump at me, We Need to Talk about Kevin and Take Shelter. Like a good restaurant, our menu is movies. We are opening doors that you never knew existed, just like trying a new dish.”

Initially Kansas City’s film enthusiasts supported the Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee (now the Kansas City FilmFest). “Some of us realized that the Kansas side of the metropolitan area was not being served by the festival. When the Mossmans opened their theater, they knew they wanted to cater to a sophisticated clientele,” Meade says.  “Ben and Brian met me at Le Peep for breakfast. By the fourth year, we were attracting major talent and sponsors. We were showing impactful films and we still follow this,” Meade says.

KIFF attracts local, regional, and national work, recognizing visiting filmmakers and screen personalities, increasing public awareness of independent and classic cinema as a cultural, economic, and educational asset. The festival ends with the the presentation of the Jury Awards for the best Social Justice Documentary and the Best Feature Narrative Film. Audience members also get to vote on their favorite Narrative and Documentary Films.

Meade, who owns Cowtown Media Group, produces, writes and directs his own works. He has made nine feature films and 27 shorts. He also teaches at Avila University.  He spent part of the summer at a film festival in Mexico, promoting Que Viva! San Miquel de Allende. “It’s an experimental film shot on Super 8 and very abstract.” His film, Woke Up This Morning in the Arkansas Delta, looks at the “humor, hardship, music and art that lies along the Mississippi River, largely ignored by the American people.” The latest film holds great sentiment to him as one of his stars, Arkansas Farm Bureau leader Stanley Reed, died in July. “It was somewhat a disaster that the movie did not play last year, but it will play sometime as a film that should be included in the festival to give room to others,” he says.

Meade says film festivals like KIFF owe Robert Redford thanks for showing films that aren't part of the mainstream theater as the Sundance Film Festival. There's the Independent Film Channel. “They give us the time of day. They know how we spend our time and energy.”

Some of the films that Meade is excited to bring include a Hungarian film called Another Planet that looks at child labor and trafficking and A. Hitler. The film was 15 years ago, but director Barry J. Hershey didn’t have creative control, but he got it back, Meade says. The fictional film is a psychological look at Hitler.

“I always believe that the best stories are real. Human beings are truth trackers. If film festivals are done right, they bring people together of all races, creeds, socio-economic levels …  we are not going to lose our film community and our momentum. We will take the paradigm shift that asks us to structure how we show films and rock and roll as usual. This is in our blood.”

Short films juxtapose earliest efforts with latest visions

KANSAS CITY, MO – The journey from fledgling filmmaker to accomplished auteur can take many years.

But it will take only a couple of hours to enjoy the First & Last Film Festival, featuring the very first and latest short films by selected local filmmakers at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Screenland Crown Center, 2450 Grand Blvd.

The inaugural one-night festival is presented by the Independent Filmmakers Coalition of Kansas City in cooperation with CinemaKC, a not-for-profit organization connecting groups devoted to film in Missouri and Kansas.

“The last few years have seen an explosion of high-quality independent short films and features from the Kansas City area,” said festival creator Timothy Harvey of the IFCKC. “But every filmmaker started somewhere, warts and all.

“The festival is an opportunity to show where we began and how far we’ve come,” Harvey said. “While it’s primarily a showcase, there is also a competition angle to it, with the audience picking the best of the first films, the best of the most recent films and the filmmaker who has come the farthest in storytelling and filmmaking.”

Tickets to the First & Last Film Festival are $8 ($5 for IFCKC members). A free mixer begins at 6:30 p.m. in the theater’s lobby.

Following the screening, filmmakers will answer questions about their work and what they’ve learned in their careers.

###

CinemaKC’s Strategic Partners include ArtsKC, Film Commission of Greater Kansas City, Blackberry Castle Productions, Film Society of Greater Kansas City, Independent Filmmaker’s Coalition, Kansas City Film Critics Circle, Kansas City FilmFest, Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee, Kansas City Fringe Festival, Kansas City Screenwriters, Kansas City Urban Film Festival, Kansas City Women in Film and TV, Kansas Film Commission, Kansas International Film Festival, Missouri Film Commission, Missouri Motion Media Association, Reel Spirit, Tallgrass Film Festival, Thank You Walt Disney, UMKC Film Department, University of Kansas Film and Media Studies, Variety the Children's Charity of Greater Kansas City and Women of the Motion Picture Industry.

CinemaKC’s Business Alliance includes Allied Integrated Marketing, Allied Theatre Craft, American Heartland Theatre, Bazillion Animation, BicMedia, Haywood Marketing Communications, Kansas City Area Development Council, KC Stage Magazine, KC Studio, Prizm Productions, Screenland Armour, Screenland Crossroads, Screenland Crown Center, StagePort KC, Substream Music & Sound Design and T2.

Artist Talk: Petah Coyne

Friday, Sept. 23, 6:30–7:30 p.m. | Meeting Room

On the opening night of The Big Reveal, hear artist Petah Coyne talk about her work, including the Museum’s massive new acquisition.

Artist Talk: Susanne Kühn

Saturday, Sept. 24, 1–2 p.m. | Meeting Room

Hear German-born artist Susanne Kühn talk about her paintings, including the Museum’s new acquisition Regina arbeitet (2009).

ArtReach Workshop: I Collect

Saturday, Oct. 1, times vary

Children with and without developmental disabilities will explore the exhibition and discuss what it means to collect, and curate a mini exhibition from their own permanent collections. ArtReach is collaboration between the Museum and the Center for Child Health and Development at the University of Kansas Medical Center. For a full ArtReach schedule, visit www.kemperart.org. Registration is required. Call 816-457-6137 or email education@kemperart.org.

Tour and Workshop: Memories in the Making

Wednesdays, Oc. 12, 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | Meeting Room

In collaboration with Heart of America Alzheimer’s Association, the Museum invites individuals with memory loss for a conversation and creative workshop related to works on view. October’s workshop focuses on Acquisitions in Context: June Ahrens, and December’s on The Big Reveal. Prior art experience is not necessary. Registration is required. Contact 816-457-6134 or reservations@kemperart.org.

Scavenger Saturdays for Families

Saturdays, Oct. 15, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Special clues and questions will help children and adults discover works in The Big Reveal during this self-guided art adventure. Upon completion, kids receive a take-home art activity. Explore works of art every third Saturday of the month with Scavenger Saturdays.

Lecture: Stages of Memory in Berlin and New York After 9/11

Sunday, Oct. 23, 1:30 p.m. | Truman Forum at the Kansas City Public Library, Plaza Branch (4801 Main Street)

Authority on memorial architecture and former juror for the World Trade Center Memorial Site competition and Germany's national Holocaust Memorial, Dr. James E. Young offers a meditation on architecture’s capacity for reflecting evolving narratives and mediating public spaces and personal memories. Young is Professor of English and Judaic Studies and Director of the Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. The program is co-sponsored by the Kemper Museum, Kansas City Public Library, and Midwest Center for Holocaust Education. Tickets are free, but reservations are required through www.kclibrary.org or 816-701-3407.

Lavater’s Animals: Performance by Teri Frame with The Wires

Friday, Oct. 28, 5 p.m. Cash Bar, 6 p.m. Performance | Museum Atrium

Masking her face with raw clay, artist Teri Frame sculpts and re-sculpts her features to slip into a primal space and blur the distinctions between humans, birds, and beasts. The Wires’ Sascha Groschang, cello, and Laurel Morgan, violin, respond with a musical counterpart to Frame’s metamorphosis. Seating is first come, first served.

Christian Youth Theater’s mission is to develop character in children and adults through training the arts and by producing wholesome family entertainment, all of which reflect Judeo-Christian values. The group is marking 12 years in Kansas City and the expansion to a fourth location in Shawnee, Kan., says PR and Marketing Director Amy Cox.

One of the first shows of the fall season will by the South/Overland Park presentation of Aida: School Edition. “This is our first time performing Aida and this will be a great opportunity for our older students to perform their best.  With all of our productions, there are many opportunities for our directors to not only teach theater skills but to discuss life lessons with our cast members.  Themes of this show will be loyalty and character development under uneasy circumstances,” she says.

The musical looks at the timeless and tragic tale of love between an Egyptian soldier and an enslaved Nubian princess. The score is more pop driven with choral arrangements and ballads. “Young people will love this show because it is a more modern musical, performed on Broadway beginning in 2000.  It is a love story with great music by Elton John and Tim Rice and folds history with life lessons, great music, beautiful costuming and a twisting plot.”

The show runs the last full week in October at the Bell Cultural Events Center, MidAmerica Nazarene University, Olathe.

To coincide with the Kansas City Ballet’s production of Tom Sawyer-A Ballet in Three Acts, the Kansas City Public Library is hosting the Big Read and encouraging Kansas Citians to delve into the world of Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer. To further celebrate the ballet, several events will take place through the months of September and October.

• Sept. 13, 6 p.m., Central Library, 14 W. 10th St., Book Discussion Group. Kaite Stover will lead the discussion about Tom and his exploits.

• Sept. 17, 2 p.m., Trails West Branch, 11401 E. 23rd St.?Book Discussion Group. Nancy Oelke leads the discussion on Tom Sawyer.

• Sept. 18, 2 p.m., Central Library, 14 W. 10th St., Thomas Hart Benton on Tom Sawyer: Re-envisioning Twain in the 20^th Century.?Art historian and exhibit curator Joan Stack discusses how Thomas Hart Benton responded to the challenge of illustrating this classic Twain novel.

• Sept. 20, 6:30 p.m.?Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St., Where the Twain Meet: The Enduring Cross-Generational Appeal of Tom Sawyer.?Twain scholar Robert Hirst, editor of the bestselling Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1, provides a critical perspective on the novel.

• Sept. 21, noon, Central Library, 14 W. 10th St., Book Discussion Group. Kaite Stover leads the discussion.

• Sept. 24, 11 a.m., Central Library, 14 W. 10th St., Book Discussion Group. Kaite Stover leads the discussion.

• Sept. 27, 6 p.m., Waldo Branch, 201 E. 75th St.?Book Discussion Group. Alicia Ahlvers leads the discussion.

• Oct. 4, 6:30 p.m., Central Library, 14 W. 10th St., Mark Twain and the Philippines: How One Major Writer Viewed America’s Entry into Global Imperialism. Susan Harris, the Hall Distinguished Professor of American Literature at the University of Kansas, examines the rarely seen political side of Twain, who was actively interested in world events – and deeply patriotic.

Now-Oct. 30, Exhibit, Mark Twain and Tom Benton: Pictures, Prose and Song. Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.?The Kansas City Public Library unites Missouri’s most renowned author and its most prominent artist with this exhibit.

Back On Cyprus Avenue

w/ Wylliams Henry Contemporary Dance & Bill Shapiro

Saturday October 22, 2011 8PM

The Folly Theater is proud to announce the return of WHCDC w/ Bill Shapiro. We will present an exciting evening of music and dance featuring new choreography to the music of Jerry Lee Lewis, Van Morrison, The Staple Singers, Paul Simon, The Temptations, The "Boss" and many others. If you are a Cyprus Avenue fan, a dance lover, or just have a passion for America's great popular music, you won't want to miss this! Tickets range from $25-$55 and are on sale now! Following the performance, please join us for a VIP champagne reception in our shareholders room. The cost is an additional $25 and tickets are very limited. Mingle with the dancers and Bill Shapiro while enjoying light appetizers and a glass of bubbly! Proceeds will benefit The Folly Theater.

Call our box office at 816-474-4444 M-F 10-5 to order today!

FERRARI CAR DISPLAY IN WESTPORT MARKS EXCLUSIVE KC

A critically-acclaimed new film, SENNA, about legendary world champion racer driver John Senna will open exclusively at the Tivoli Cinemas in Westport on Friday, September 16.  That same evening, over twenty five Ferraris owned by the members of the Kansas City Chapter of Ferrari Club of America will be on display in front of the Tivoli on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Ferrari display will be free and open to the public from 5:00pm - 10:00pm this evening only.

ABOUT THE FILM:  SENNA explores the life and work of the triple world champion, his physical and spiritual achievements on the track, his quest for perfection and the mythical status he has since attained.  Far more than a film for Formula One racing fans, SENNA unfolds a remarkable story in a remarkable manner, eschewing many standard documentary techniques in favor of a more cinematic approach that makes full use of astounding footage, much of which is drawn from Formula One archives and previously unseen.  Already revered by critics and audiences across the globe, the film won the prestigious World Cinema Audience documentary award at 2011 Sundance Film Festival.   Spanning his years as a Formula One racing driver from 1984 to his untimely death a decade later, the film has been made with the full cooperation of:  1) the family of Ayrton Senna, who have given permission for this to be the first documentary feature film about his life; 2) Formula One Management, who have provided footage not previously seen theatrically; 3) and the Ayrton Senna Institute, the charitable foundation established after his death which provides educational opportunities to millions of deprived Brazilian children.

ABOUT THE OPENING NIGHT EVENT:    Car fans of all ages will pulse with excitement when a special display of vintage and contemporary Ferraris comes to Westport.  Members of the Kansas City Chapter of Ferrari Club of America will display their cars in front of the Tivoli.  The Kansas City Chapter has over 50 members many of whom will be in attendance at the opening night screenings for this opening night only event.  As this will be the exclusive area run of SENNA, racing enthusiasts as well as independent film fans from across the region are already creating quite a buzz in anticipation of its Kansas City premiere.  

Tickets for SENNA are on sale now and are available online at www.TivoliKC.com and in person at the Tivoli Box Office. Early ticket purchase is strongly recommended.  

KEY LINKS
SENNA at imdb  -->  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1424432/
SENNA on Facebook --> http://www.facebook.com/sennamovie
SENNA Trailer on YouTube  -->  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFzx2PnBhYc
Kansas City Ferrari Club -->  http://www.fcakc.com/