#american adventure rotunda

[samsdisneydiary]

Immerse Yourself in the Voices of Liberty LIVE from Epcots American Adventure 2023

Step into the magical world of Walt Disney World’s Epcot and experience the captivating harmonies of The Voices of Liberty. Since 1982, this incredible cappella group has delighted audiences with their stunning performances inside the American Adventure Rotunda. Join us as we take a front-row seat to their mesmerizing show from October 2023. Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button to stay tuned…

[travelvibes01]

Exploring Montana, A Bozeman to Glacier National Park Adventure

Montana, often referred to as "Big Sky Country," offers some of the most breathtaking landscapes and outdoor experiences in the United States. One of the most remarkable journeys you can embark on is the adventure from Bozeman to Glacier National Park. This trip covers a variety of terrains and includes stops that highlight Montana’s rich history, vibrant wildlife, and stunning natural beauty. Here's a guide to making the most of your Bozeman to Glacier National Park adventure.

Museum of the Rockies

Before hitting the road, take some time to visit the Museum of the Rockies. This renowned museum houses an impressive collection of dinosaur fossils, Native American artifacts, and exhibits on the natural history of the region. It's a great place to gain some context about the area’s geological and cultural history before heading into the wild.

Downtown Bozeman

A stroll through downtown Bozeman is also a must. The historic Main Street is lined with unique shops, art galleries, and restaurants. Enjoy a meal at one of the local eateries that offer everything from gourmet dishes to classic Montana fare. Don’t forget to grab a coffee from one of the cozy cafes before starting your journey.

Bozeman to Helena

The drive from Bozeman to Helena, the state capital, takes about two hours and is filled with scenic vistas. The route passes through expansive valleys and rolling hills, providing a glimpse of Montana's diverse landscapes.

Exploring Helena

Helena, with its rich history and beautiful architecture, is a fascinating stop. Visit the Montana State Capitol building, an impressive structure with beautiful murals and a stunning rotunda. The Montana Historical Society Museum, located nearby, offers exhibits on the state’s history and culture.

Kalispell to Glacier National Park

The final leg of your journey from Bozeman to Glacier National Park takes you through some of the most spectacular scenery in the country. The drive from Kalispell to the park’s West Entrance is about 40 minutes, and you’ll be treated to breathtaking views of mountains, forests, and rivers.

Last Chance Gulch

Take a walk down Last Chance Gulch, the historic main street named after the area’s last major gold strike. Today, it’s a bustling area with shops, restaurants, and historic buildings. It’s an excellent place to stretch your legs and enjoy a bit of local flavor.

Missoula’s Attractions

Missoula is known for its lively arts scene and outdoor activities. The city is home to the University of Montana, and its presence gives the town a vibrant, youthful energy. Visit the Missoula Art Museum for contemporary art exhibits or take a leisurely walk along the Clark Fork Riverfront Trail.

Journey to Kalispell

From Missoula, head north to Kalispell, the gateway to Glacier National Park. The drive takes about two hours and includes beautiful views of Flathead Valley and Flathead Lake, the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi.

Going-to-the-Sun Road

One of the highlights of any visit to Glacier National Park is the Going-to-the-Sun Road. This scenic drive spans 50 miles across the park, providing unparalleled views of the Rocky Mountains, alpine meadows, and glacial valleys. The road is a marvel of engineering and offers numerous pullouts where you can stop and take in the stunning scenery.

Conclusion

The journey from Bozeman to Glacier National Park is an adventure that showcases the best of Montana’s natural beauty and cultural heritage. From the vibrant city life of Bozeman to the historic streets of Helena and Missoula, and finally to the breathtaking landscapes of Glacier National Park, this trip offers something for everyone. Whether you're an outdoor enthusiast, a history buff, or simply someone looking to unwind in nature, this adventure is sure to leave you with unforgettable memories of Montana’s Big Sky Country.

[jetsetvenue123]

Planning a NYC Summer Getaway? Our Must Visit Locations

Are you planning to take some vacation days this summer and visit the city that never sleeps? New York City, with its vibrant energy and endless attractions, is the perfect summer destination. From iconic landmarks to chic rooftops, here are our favorite spots to add to your itinerary this summer

Tourist Spots

Central Park: A natural oasis amidst the city’s hustle and bustle. Enjoy boating, picnicking, or strolling through the scenic landscapes. Don’t miss the Central Park Zoo or a relaxing boat ride on the lake.

Freedom Tower: A symbol of resilience, renewal, and remembrance in New York City. Visit the observation deck for breathtaking views and the 9/11 Memorial for a poignant experience.

Empire State Building: This iconic, Art Deco style landmark was the first building in the world to have 100 floors. Take in panoramic views of beautiful NYC from the 86th floor. Time your visit around sunset for a magical view.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: One of the world’s largest and most prestigious art museums, The Met houses an extensive collection spanning 5,000 years of art from every corner of the globe. Explore the rooftop garden for stunning views and contemporary sculptures.

The Highline: An innovative urban park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets, The High Line is a unique green space offering stunning views of the city and the Hudson River. Enjoy public art installations and seasonal events along the way.

Restaurants

Fushimi: A chic atmosphere in Times Square, blending stylish decor with exceptional service for an unmatched dining experience. Savor the freshness of their locally-grown produce, delivered weekly to ensure the highest quality at every meal.

Riverpark NYC: Nestled in Manhattan’s Kips Bay, Riverpark offers stunning city and river views, modern decor, and exquisite cuisine for a chic dining experience. Their farm-to-table dishes are a must-try.

Forgione: A warm atmosphere paired with creative American dishes makes for an unforgettable nighttime dining experience in Tribeca. Don’t miss their signature dish, the chili lobster.

Rooftops

Sentry: Located high above the Flatiron District, the Sentry Rooftop is a chic getaway through the busy streets of Manhattan. The lounge offers an ideal setting to unwind with expertly mixed cocktails and delectable bites. Enjoy the sunset views over the skyline. Link

Daintree: What’s better than views and drinks? Daintree Rooftop offers some of the most incredible skyline views of New York City. Paired with delicious food and drinks, it makes for an unforgettable night. They also host themed nights and live music events. Link

Elsie: Perfect for a visit during a NYC girls trip, Elsie Rooftop offers a stylish and sophisticated ambiance, with a more feminine touch here and there. Enjoy their signature cocktails and tapas. Link

Bars/Lounges

5th & Mad: This unique, bi-level bar in Midtown is a great place to stop by for drinks and good music. The upstairs lounge is perfect for private events or a more intimate gathering. Link

Jewel Thief: A hidden gem in the stylish neighborhood of Nomad. With its opulent decor and impeccable service, Jewel Thief turns every night into a luxurious affair. The secret entrance adds to its allure.

Hotels

The Pierre Hotel: The epitome of luxury and elegance, The Pierre Hotel is the destination for you if you are looking for a stay that is worth the splurge. Enjoy afternoon tea in the Rotunda and panoramic views from their suites.

Selina Hotel: In the heart of Chelsea, the Selina Hotel blends accommodations, networking, and art all in one. Take advantage of their coworking spaces and wellness programs during your stay. Link

We know how overwhelming it can be to plan your time in New York City, so we wanted to make it a little bit easier for you. We’re confident that our top recommendations around the city won’t disappoint. Start planning your NYC adventure today and create memories that will last a lifetime.

[swirling-orbs-of-disorder]

Voices of Liberty singing The Battle Hymn of the Republic in the rotunda at the American Adventure in Epcot Center

"In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me; As he died to make us holy, let us live to make men free! Our God is marching on." ~Julia Ward Howe

($4 in 1862 ≈ $120 in 2023)

[wafflebloggies]

A Step Too Far

The moment the doors shut behind him, the Captain turned on Alan with injured outrage in every nerve, and a small cube of pineapple cheese on a cocktail stick in his hand. The latter was inconvenient for the purpose of dramatic gesturing, but he barely seemed to notice.

“‘No?’” he hissed.

“No,” said Alan, watching him. This hallway, the main entrance to the American Adventure’s rotunda, was very wide, high-ceilinged, and ornate. It was a hallway designed to be thronged with guests and swept along by dazzling VIPs on their way to make an Entrance, and its emptiness now was enough to make any lone guest feel exposed and vulnerable. The walls were glossy marble, and every sound echoed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means the opposite of ‘yes.’”

The Captain struggled momentarily with thin air, drawing a complicated pattern with the pineapple cheese cube. “Don’t get smart with me, Alan! Do you even understand what she was saying in there? The guy has eight million subscribers, and if this gets out, they’re gonna collectively- lose their minds! You think I want eight million people mad at me? That’s like- almost half a Vsauce!”

“Technically, I think they’ll be mad at us, sir. I mean, I did write the scri-”

“Oh, come on,” said the Captain, impatiently. “They don’t even know you exist. You’re under the radar- and you know what YouTubers are like- I’m the one who’s gonna end up with my eyes pecked out like Tippi Hedren if we screw this up!”

“That wasn’t Tippi Hedren,” muttered Alan. “It was the farmer guy whose eyes got-”

“Don’t change the subject! We are supposed to be on the same page.” The Captain motioned back and forth from his own chest to Alan’s with the pineapple cheese. “There is supposed to be synchronicity. This isn’t synchronicity.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Good, I’m glad you-”

“But,” said Alan. The Captain stopped moving.

“‘But?’”

“But- but neither is me doing everything you say, just because it’s you saying it.”

There was a nasty silence, filled up by the muffled rise and fall of chatter in the rotunda. Eventually, the Captain breathed, gazed up at the ceiling, and composed his face into a picture of martyrdom.

“Look,” he said. “I get it. Really, I totally get it. You’re scared ‘DF,’” and he pantomimed quote marks, or rather, one set of quote marks and one pineapple cheese, “is gonna get all upset if he finds out we left him out of this, right? That’s not a problem. Even if by some crazy, wacky, super-unlikely turn of circumstance, he did find out, we’ll just say it was my idea, okay?”

“I’m not scared of-”

“He’s just some guy, Alan. Some guy, with a nice hat, and unknowable abstract powers of reality manipulation.”

“I’m not s-”

“What’s he going to do? Dream at you?”

“I’m not scared of him,” said Alan, loudly. His voice bounced down the hallway, and he winced and waited for it to stop before he continued. “But he’s my best friend, and I’m not going to lie to him. The point is-”

“Lie?” The Captain recoiled, looking cut to the quick. “You think I’m asking you to lie about this? Don’t be stupid. It’s not lying, it’s just not… telling him everything.”

“Yes, well, that’s also known as lying, sir. By omission. Please stop pointing that at me,” Alan added, eyeing the pineapple cheese, which was hovering accusingly about an inch from his nose.

With an echoing chonk, the double-doors into the rotunda opened a crack, and the worried face of one of the ushers poked around it.

"Hey, is everything cool out h-"

Without looking, the Captain put out his free hand. The heavy maglock bar at the top of the doorframe gave a startled beep and jumped to life, and the doors shut themselves smartly in the usher's face.

“You just locked everyone in,” Alan noted.

“You’re being deliberately obtuse!”

“You locked everyone in, and you’re still pointing that at me.”

The Captain was heedless, furious, advancing on Alan as he stood still. “Why, Alan?? What can the Dreamfinder do about this? How can he possibly fix this? What can he do, that I can’t?”

“How about listen??” Alan exploded, driving the Captain back a pace with the sheer shock. In the silence, he sighed, his hands creeping back to curl around his elbows in the nice tux that made him look very un-Alan-like, and in the moment even this touch of strangeness was huge, awful. He looked monochrome and tired and as immovable as a chess piece hemmed into a corner, rooted fast. “For… for a start.”

The Captain should have left it there. If he’d been a little wiser, or a little less angry- or a little less utterly staggered, panicked and infuriated by this sudden rift between himself and his human- he might have done, but he didn’t. Instead, he pushed forwards.

“I’m giving you an order, Alan-”

-thup-

The way the little pineapple cheese cube, stick and all, flew through the air and tumbled a little way across the marble was fairly undramatic, but the stark, steadfast, hurting look Alan fixed on the Captain as he smacked it out of his hand put it straight into the running for Most Dramatic Canape Yeet Of All Time.

“Sometimes, sir,” he said, “some parts of you... I wish they’d stayed in my imagination.”

The Captain took in a sharp, winded breath, but if Alan heard it at all he didn’t wait to hear anything else. He was already walking past him, head down, like somebody pushing doggedly on against a strong wind.

“Wait- where- where d’you think you’re going?”

“Back to the party.”

“But- you hate parties!” The Captain started after him. He still sounded furious, but there was a touch of desperation there too, a note of something that might have been indignation or wounded pride but also might have been just sheer bloody panic. “Alan! Don’t you turn your back on me- Alan!”

Alan didn’t respond. Reaching the door, he fumbled in his inside pocket for his guest keycard, swiped it, and pushed through.

[npr]

The U.S. Capitol is host to a hushed stream of mourners Tuesday, paying their respects to former President George H.W. Bush, whose flag-draped casket, attended by a military honor guard, lies in the center of the building's rotunda.

The country's 41st president was eulogized Monday night by Republican Congressional leaders and Vice President Pence, who said Bush "never lost his love of adventure and he never failed to answer the call to serve his country."

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump stopped by later Monday evening to pay their tributes. Trump tweeted Tuesday that he will meet with "the wonderful Bush family" at Blair House, where they are staying, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. He also said that former first lady Laura Bush will be given a tour of the White House Christmas decorations by Melania Trump.

Trump has had a frosty relationship with the Bush family. He called his 2016 GOP primary opponent Jeb Bush "low energy," criticized the leadership of President George W. Bush, and recently mocked the elder Bush's "thousand points of light" volunteer program.

Bush will lie in state until Wednesday morning, when his casket will be transported to the Washington National Cathedral for a state funeral.

Visitors Stream Through Capitol Rotunda As George H.W. Bush Lies In State

Photos: Cameron Pollack/NPR

[fanofmickey]

Exclusive Showing by CodyWDWfan Via Flickr: Be sure to view large! HDR from 3 exposures Walt Disney World > Epcot > World Showcase > The American Adventure My Twitter: @CodyWDWfan My Disney photos on Flickriver: Recent -- Popular

[lccdctour]

Day Five

We’ve passed the halfway point of the tour and woke up ready for more DC adventures on day five. Instead of boarding our buses as usual, our entire group set off to the Metro station next door to the hotel and rode the subway train to the US Capitol building. Many in our group had never ridden on the subway before, so that made the short trip even more exciting. (It was also made easier by the fact that no one was on the Metro at 8 AM because federal offices were closed in observation of Juneteenth.)

We emerged from the Metro station and walked to the US Capitol Visitors Center on the lower level of the building, pausing along the way to gawk at the sheer size of the structure. (It’s A LOT bigger and more impressive when you see it in person.) After going through security, we entered the Visitors Center with its many statues donated by individual states. Each state can contribute two bronze or marble statues to the Capitol commemorating important people from the state who are no longer living. (Indiana’s contributions are Oliver P. Morton, governor of Indiana during the Civil War and Lew Wallace, author of Ben Hur.) While the statues all used to be housed in National Statuary Hall, the collection grew too large over the years as more states were added to the Union, so they are now placed in various locations across the Capitol complex. Two of the more interesting ones in the Visitors Center are the massive gold & bronze statue of King Kamehameha from Hawaii and the statue of a young Helen Keller discovering communication for the first time through the use of water (contributed by the state of Alabama).

After a short video on the history and importance of the US Capitol, we met our guide and donned our headsets (the guides talk into the headsets during the tour since there are so many groups touring the Capitol at the same time). Our first stop was the crypt. Despite its name, there is no one actually buried in the crypt - although the original use was to be an entrance to George Washington’s tomb. Washington, however, wanted to be buried at his Mount Vernon home. Instead, its architecture helps to support the massive dome of the Rotunda directly above it.

We then made our way up the stairs to the Rotunda of the US Capitol. We were amazed by the sheer size of the dome. (Again, seeing it on TV does not convey just how massive it really is.) 96 feet in diameter and 180 feet from the floor to the canopy, the dome was completed in 1866. Upon their deaths, many US presidents, senators, Supreme Court justices, and military generals have lain in state on the floor of the rotunda (Lincoln, Kennedy, John McCain, & Ruth Bader Ginsburg to name a few). Some influential Americans without military or political backgrounds - Rosa Parks, Billy Graham - have lain in honor beneath the Rotunda dome.

In addition to the impressive dome, the Rotunda is also home to 8 original historic paintings lining its walls, including the famous “Declaration of Independence” painted by John Trumbull which is also depicted on the back of the $2 bill.

Next, we made our way into National Statuary Hall, previously the site where the House of Representatives met until 1857 when they outgrew the space and the House moved into their present-day home. All of the states’ statues were housed there from 1857-1933 when, due to the growing size (and weight) of the collection, the statues were moved into other parts of the Capitol. Among those remaining in Statuary Hall include Thomas Edison (Ohio), Lewis Cass (Michigan), & Rosa Parks (statue commissioned by the Senate). The public tours end with Statuary Hall, so we made our way to the obligatory gift shop and then walked to see the outside of the Supreme Court and get a group picture in front of the Capitol.

Many streets are closed around the Capitol, so after a long walk back to our waiting buses, we headed to the Jefferson Memorial where LCC gave a short performance on the steps of the monument for all those visiting the memorial to the nation’s third President.

We then headed north of the city to the area near Catholic University where we had a chance to eat a leisurely lunch in chaperone groups. We then made the short trek to our next concert location, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

There may not be enough superlatives to describe seeing the Basilica for the first time. Not only is the outside impressive, but the inside of the church is indescribably beautiful. Begun in 1920 and finished in 2017, the Basilica, which is the largest church in North America and one of the top 10 largest churches in the world, boasts of 80 chapels and millions of individual glass mosaic pieces adorning every chapel and ceiling with over 15 million included on the massive center dome alone. The mosaics are unique in so far that they depict modern saints and events in church history, including Pope John Paul II and Saint Teresa of Calcutta, and represent Mary, Mother of God, as she is depicted in dozens of countries around the world. The Basilica has also hosted three popes (John Paul II, Benedict, & Francis) and has hosted the wedding of President Johnson’s daughter and the funeral of Supreme Court Justice, Anthony Scalia (although weddings and funerals in the Basilica are rare). LCC was honored to present a concert in this historic and beautiful church.

Following our concert, we headed south to Alexandria, Virginia’s Old Town where we had a chance to visit the cute (but expensive!) shops, listen to the live music, and relax along the waterfront before our group dinner at Chadwick’s Restaurant. After a delicious meal, we boarded our buses once again and headed back to the Marriott for one last night and the end of tour day five.

[officialvirago]

Details of the central atrium of the Hawaii State Capitol - the building was commissioned and dedicated by John A. Burns, second Governor of Hawaii. It opened on March 15, 1969, replacing the former statehouse, the ʻIolani Palace. The Hawaii State Capitol is an American adaptation of the Hakonya style termed "Hawaiian international architecture". It was designed by a partnership between the firms of Belt, Lemon and Lo (Architects Hawaii Ltd.), and John Carl Warnecke and Associates. “The Capitol is built with an open-air design, allowing sun, wind, and rain to enter; the central atrium opens to the sky and rainbows can sometimes be seen inside the building when it rains. When standing in the center of the structure, the chandeliers from both legislative chambers, which represent the sun and moon, can be seen through the glass walls, while the area that is normally reserved for a rotunda in most capitol buildings is left open to the sky. It is said that the sky is Hawaii's capitol dome.” - Architectuul.com These photos are from April 1, 2022 - when the ship I’m on, the RUBY PRINCESS stopped in Honolulu. Hawaii State Capitol, 415 S Beretania Street, Honolulu, Hawaii. Source: https://architectuul.com/architecture/hawaii-state-capitol #travel #wanderlust #globalgypsy #details #godisinthedetails #wandering #exploring #thedevilisinthedetails #photoart #awesome #adventurist #adventure #FotoQuartet #HawaiiStateCapitol #architecture #HNL #Honolulu #Hawaii (at Honolulu, Hawaii) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ceq4MaqOYNr/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[chaletnz]

The Trip Begins in Sofia

An afternoon flight allowed me ample time to prepare for my next European adventure. I took a leisurely breakfast with Alice at the hotel, ran all of my errands and even had time to pick up a chicken sandwich on my way to the airport. Although we waited for 30 minutes in the bus to the aircraft, all was smooth on the flight and I realised that it would only take 2 hours and not 3 because of the hour time difference. We arrived to rolling green hills, small clusters of houses and dry farmland that was probably grateful for less hot weather. The shuttle between terminals drove me around the airport right at sunset and I enjoyed some spectacular views of the air traffic control tower and large letters spelling Sofia in both English and Bulgarian. Inside Terminal 2 I changed 20 euros into local currency Bulgarian lev and then bought 2 tickets for the metro as my hostel had instructed. One for me and one for my bag! It was a much more advanced subway system than I'd anticipated - the scrolling sign inside and the announcements were in both Bulgarian and English (actually better than the Ubahn in Frankfurt which is only in German). After a journey of about 20-30 minutes I arrived at Serdika station which is right in the centre of Sofia and serves as the change station between the two metro lines, I walked upstairs to some deafening club music which was outside a bank of all places and desperately tried to navigate my way to the hostel. I walked down a dark main road and followed the directions to find my way into a little courtyard where I simply followed the sound of people speaking English and felt like I must be in the right place. I was checked in by Antonia who was super helpful and friendly despite my feeling uncomfortable with all of the socializing in large groups happening around me. I was shown to my room and then headed out for a quick Lidl trip to buy some water and a shower gel for the trip. Back in my room I planned out some activities for tomorrow and chatted to an American lady called Wendy who had also just arrived. It was actually a very comfortable bed and dorm room, unfortunately 2 of the roommates came in quite late and woke us up. And in the morning there was a mad scramble to get up and shower in the only shower between 15 people. It definitely made me think back to my leisurely mornings in the hotels! Once the scrambling was over I got ready and went to the free breakfast in the main hall, it was chaos with so many people fighting for cutlery and plates and two young Bulgarian ladies in aprons trying frantically to replenish the food. I took a waffle and grabbed the nearest free seat at a table with some hungover Germans. After my light breakfast I packed my day bag and headed off, first stop was the bank to exchange some cash. I walked down one of the central roads Alabin and found the huge court house with its two lion statues outside. A little bit further down I reached the 2 Giraffes espresso bar for my morning cappuccino. I had just enough time left to quickly find the street art I had spotted last night and then I met the walking tour guide Slavyan and the other participants at the court house. Around the corner opposite the St Nedelya church we began with a short history of Sofia - one of the oldest cities in Europe at around 6000 years old. The church was the site of a terrorist attack in 1925 that killed almost all Bulgarian political and influential leaders except for the king. A funeral was being held in the church whilst stacks of explosives lay below, by his own good fortune the king was running late and that is how he survived. Next we visited Serdica square where the St Sofia Monument stands. Slavyan told us about the "big misunderstanding" relating to this monument which was a millennium gift from the government of Sofia to its citizens. It was presented as a monument to St Sofia after whom the city was supposedly named but historians disagreed and said the city is not named after the Saint. The church was also not pleased at the depiction of a "Saint" with such an open dress. But the monument stayed put and that was that! We followed Slavyan to the Sveta Petka Orthodox Church. It was from the 14th century and nearby some ruins from the 4th century had been excavated, it seems that the Bulgarians loved to build their new buildings on top of old ones. Outside the mosque Slavyan pointed out the synagogue (the 4th largest in Europe) and told us about the Jewish population's interesting history. When Germany approached the Bulgarian border the Bulgarians were forced to ally as they did not have a strong army, however each time the trains came to take Jewish people to concentration camps the citizens worked together to save them. The king himself even stood on the train tracks and said they could only be taken over his dead body. We passed through the hot springs next and were invited to drink some water in hope to improve our cardiovascular system. Across the road we saw an old bath house that had been converted into the Sofia history museum and had beautiful gardens and a fountain laid out in front of the building. We passed by the Communist headquarters building where 700-1000 administrators would have worked but now it functions as an office for the socialist party which is the second or third political party in present day Bulgaria. Slavyan led us underground to the ancient city ruins of Serdica and showed us exactly where the east gate was located and in doing so we ended up taking a convenient underpass to cross the road and emerge outside the presidential office. Luckily we arrived just in time to see the guards marching for the changing of duty and we could all take a photo before Slavyan took a group photo of us. Next we passed through some archways to arrive in a courtyard where the St George church (also known as the rotunda church) is located. It was built in the 4th century and is one of the oldest buildings in the world at 1600 years old. In front of our next landmark; the National Art Gallery, formerly the royal palace, Slavyan directed us around to tell the story of the royal family in a bit of a performance so we understood how Bulgaria had initially "imported" its royal family but eventually ended up with a Bulgarian-born king. As we walked down the yellow brick road Slavyan told us about how the government had bought these expensive yellow bricks to look more European however once it rained for the first time and it was discovered that they were slippery and impractical, the government decided to lie and say the bricks were a gift for the royal wedding so that the citizens wouldn't know that so much money had been spent on the slippery bricks. We walked up to the Hagia Sofia which was the church responsible for the renaming of Sofia from its original name Serdica. And then we had reached our final destination, the one and only Aleksander Nevski Cathedral with its shiny golden domes. The grandest building in Sofia made with only the best materials, including a total of 22 tonnes worth of bells imported from Moscow. The largest and heaviest bell weighs 13 tonnes and it has been said that if you were to ring all of the bells together then the windows in the surrounding buildings would blow out! After the tour I went to take some photos of the cathedral and went inside to see how big it really was. Then I retraced my steps to get photos of everything we had visited on the tour. I felt hungry and luckily stumbled upon a supermarket to buy a milkshake and an oat bar for sustenance. Then I walked up to the central train station stopping only for a short break at the Lion Bridge. I bought my onward ticket to Skopje, Macedonia and luckily I checked the details in the agency because the woman had accidentally given me the morning bus rather than the afternoon one! My last big excursion for the day was a trip out to the NDK where I walked through the Bulgaria Square and into a quiet neighbourhood to find a speciality coffee shop called Dabov to enjoy a flat white. On the way back I watched the skaters for a while, especially the inline skaters as they were waxing all of the steps and getting in everyone's way. On my walk back I found a Bulgarian Apple Bandit cider in a supermarket which of course came back to the hostel with me to drink while writing my blog!

[samsdisneydiary]

Striking a Chord at EPCOT: The Early Days of the Voices of Liberty

From our Friends at D23 It always seems like a good time to revisit the history of some of the founding performers at EPCOT in Walt Disney World Resort: the Voices of Liberty. The world-renowned a cappella group has performed at the Disney park since opening day, October 1, 1982, in the elegant surrounds of the rotunda at The American Adventure attraction (and eventually, many other…

[jetsetvenue123]

Planning a NYC Summer Getaway? Our Must Visit Locations

Are you planning to take some vacation days this summer and visit the city that never sleeps? New York City, with its vibrant energy and endless attractions, is the perfect summer destination. From iconic landmarks to chic rooftops, here are our favorite spots to add to your itinerary this summer

Tourist Spots

Central Park: A natural oasis amidst the city’s hustle and bustle. Enjoy boating, picnicking, or strolling through the scenic landscapes. Don’t miss the Central Park Zoo or a relaxing boat ride on the lake.

Freedom Tower: A symbol of resilience, renewal, and remembrance in New York City. Visit the observation deck for breathtaking views and the 9/11 Memorial for a poignant experience.

Empire State Building: This iconic, Art Deco style landmark was the first building in the world to have 100 floors. Take in panoramic views of beautiful NYC from the 86th floor. Time your visit around sunset for a magical view.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: One of the world’s largest and most prestigious art museums, The Met houses an extensive collection spanning 5,000 years of art from every corner of the globe. Explore the rooftop garden for stunning views and contemporary sculptures.

The Highline: An innovative urban park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets, The High Line is a unique green space offering stunning views of the city and the Hudson River. Enjoy public art installations and seasonal events along the way.

Restaurants

Fushimi: A chic atmosphere in Times Square, blending stylish decor with exceptional service for an unmatched dining experience. Savor the freshness of their locally-grown produce, delivered weekly to ensure the highest quality at every meal.

Riverpark NYC: Nestled in Manhattan’s Kips Bay, Riverpark offers stunning city and river views, modern decor, and exquisite cuisine for a chic dining experience. Their farm-to-table dishes are a must-try.

Forgione: A warm atmosphere paired with creative American dishes makes for an unforgettable nighttime dining experience in Tribeca. Don’t miss their signature dish, the chili lobster.

Rooftops

Sentry: Located high above the Flatiron District, the Sentry Rooftop is a chic getaway through the busy streets of Manhattan. The lounge offers an ideal setting to unwind with expertly mixed cocktails and delectable bites. Enjoy the sunset views over the skyline. Link

Daintree: What’s better than views and drinks? Daintree Rooftop offers some of the most incredible skyline views of New York City. Paired with delicious food and drinks, it makes for an unforgettable night. They also host themed nights and live music events. Link

Elsie: Perfect for a visit during a NYC girls trip, Elsie Rooftop offers a stylish and sophisticated ambiance, with a more feminine touch here and there. Enjoy their signature cocktails and tapas. Link

Bars/Lounges

5th & Mad: This unique, bi-level bar in Midtown is a great place to stop by for drinks and good music. The upstairs lounge is perfect for private events or a more intimate gathering. Link

Jewel Thief: A hidden gem in the stylish neighborhood of Nomad. With its opulent decor and impeccable service, Jewel Thief turns every night into a luxurious affair. The secret entrance adds to its allure.

Hotels

The Pierre Hotel: The epitome of luxury and elegance, The Pierre Hotel is the destination for you if you are looking for a stay that is worth the splurge. Enjoy afternoon tea in the Rotunda and panoramic views from their suites.

Selina Hotel: In the heart of Chelsea, the Selina Hotel blends accommodations, networking, and art all in one. Take advantage of their coworking spaces and wellness programs during your stay. Link

We know how overwhelming it can be to plan your time in New York City, so we wanted to make it a little bit easier for you. We’re confident that our top recommendations around the city won’t disappoint. Start planning your NYC adventure today and create memories that will last a lifetime.

[upontheshelfreviews]

I expected this movie to have a few votes from those who remembered it as kids. I never expected it to win by a landslide. Lesson learned: never underestimate a nostalgic kids’ movie from the ’90s.

Once upon a time, David Kirschner, producer of An American Tail among other things, took his daughters to the New York Public Library. This visit inspired him to write a story about a fantastical adventure that would get kids excited about reading. The result was The Pagemaster, a 1994 box-office bomb that would go on to develop a cult following among children like me who grew up watching it. Animation historians tend to lump The Pagemaster in with the likes of Thumbelina or Quest For Camelot: 90s features that tried to coast off the success of Disney’s Renaissance films yet failed to match their caliber. But actually, trailers for The Pagemaster played in theaters and on home video a good four years before the movie was released…it was still in production for most of that time so the amount of influence Disney had on it is up for debate, but the point remains. I’m willing to bet what played a major part in its delay was the myriad of problems that cropped up during the filmmaking, from David Kirschner suing the Writers Guild of America for not receiving the sole story credit he felt was owed, to the plot being rewritten in the middle of the animation process, which is never a good thing. I’ve also heard stories about Macaulay Culkin being a diva on set, but knowing what we know now about his abusive father explains a lot so I’m not holding that against him.

And here’s another fun fact I dug up while doing my research: apparently Stephen King of all people wrote the treatment for The Pagemaster, which certainly explains the film’s more horrific elements. Does this means this movie is technically part of the King multiverse? I can see Richard hanging out with The Losers Club on weekends and trying to avoid killer clowns and langoliers in his spare time.

Though it was released under the 20th Century Fox banner, The Pagemaster was the first of only two animated films created by Turner Feature Animation, an off-shoot of Hanna-Barbera founded by media mogul Ted Turner. In hindsight, it’s not surprising that Turner had a hand in this children’s flick with an educational message. Let’s not forget the last animated project he invested himself in was all about teaching kids environmentalism in the cheesiest way possible.

But unlike Captain Planet, does The Pagemaster hold up after all these years? Will it get kids sucked into the magic of reading? And how long can I go without forcing in a Home Alone reference? Read on and find out.

The opening credits fade in over clouds swirling into foreshadowing images while the stirring main theme by James Horner plays. Say what you want about this movie, Horner’s score emerges smelling like a rose, easily the best thing to come from this film. Disney’s even used it for some of their trailers. Also, when you take the bulk of the cast into consideration, it’s astonishingly appropriate that the man who scored The Wrath of Kahn provided the soundtrack for this feature.

The ominous call-forward clouds are part of a nightmare that our protagonist, a typical 90s nerd named Richard Tyler (Macaulay Culkin) startles awake from. He crawls out of bed and overhears his parents (Ed Begley Jr. and Mel Harris) discussing their son’s neuroses. See, it’s not enough that Richard is a nerd; he’s also afraid of everything that casts a shadow. His room is plastered with safety precautions, he studies all manner of deathly statistics to the point where he can recite them at the drop of a hat and is considered a general buzzkill by all who know him, especially his father. This is where we come to our first bump in the road, and it’s not just that Richard acts in a way that no kid would, not even scaredy-cat kids like Chuckie Finster: it’s the moral they’re trying to set up.

The Pagemaster’s original screenplay was about a boy who didn’t like reading and learned to love it, but there were many rewrites during production that altered it so it’s about Richard learning to overcome his fears through the power of books. That makes the point rather redundant – why teach someone who’s already a bookworm to love books? I argue that it’s about snapping Richard out of his obsession over statistics and panic-inducing facts that are holding him back from living a fulfilling life, and finding courage and meaning from beloved stories instead. Not a terrible lesson, but one that could have been communicated better. In fact, such a moral would be much more suited for today; with the constant stream of news updates through the internet leading to anxiety over everything, turning away from devices for a while and finding solace through well-written fiction is a decent message. And I’m not saying that kids today shouldn’t be aware of big issues our planet faces – look at Greta Thunberg – but if you’re suffering from borderline pantophobia, then maybe seeking some escapism through print (and also finding a therapist) is a good place to start.

Mr. Tyler is building his son a treehouse in order to help him get over his fear of heights. Richard, of course, refuses to have anything to do with it and states some statistics about ladders and household accidents. He then unwittingly hits his dad in the head with a bucket which causes him to have an accident and fall out of the treehouse, thus proving his point. Honestly, I’d have more respect for Richard if he did it on purpose just to validate himself. What a grade-A troll he’d make.

Eager to get his son out of his hair, Mr. Tyler tasks him with picking up some nails from the hardware store. Richard takes his bike, both covered in so much superfluous safety gear that he looks like he’s ready to go policing in a sci-fi dystopia.

“I am THE LAW!”

And yes, you read that credit correctly. Joe Johnston, director of The Rocketeer and the first Captain America movie directed the live-action segments of The Pagemaster. From what I’ve gathered, he’s not too pleased to have his name attached to this project. I suppose he’s upset that he couldn’t have his credit changed to Alan Smithee.

On his way into town, Richard passes some kids riding their bikes off a construction ramp. They try to goad him into joining them and call him chicken when he doesn’t, just in case you didn’t catch what his character arc will be. Richard continues forward, and if you think Maurice’s trip to the fair went south in Beauty and the Beast, then you haven’t watched this movie. Lightning strikes the power lines, he’s forced through a tunnel where the lights explode in succession after him, and he gets lost in a dark, creepy park during a storm. I’m almost tempted to say the movie is trying to kill him.

Richard crashes his bike in front of the most ominous library outside of a Ghostbusters movie and seeks shelter there. The only person inside is eccentric old librarian Mr. Dewey, played by Christopher Lloyd. He constantly interrupts Richard to guess what kind of book he thinks he’s looking for all while getting very dramatic and dangerously close to the young boy. I laugh at it because of how over-the-top Lloyd’s acting is, but uncomfortably so. As a kid, I thought he was being very wise and passionate about the stories he looks after, but as an adult, it’s hard not to look at this scene and call stranger danger on it.

Mr. Dewey directs Richard to a phone where he can call his parents, gives him a library card if he feels like checking a book out, and casually points out the big green exit sign should he decide to leave. Richard wanders through the library until he comes across an awesome-looking mural in the rotunda depicting scenes from Moby Dick, Treasure Island, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde…umm, Dragonslayer, I guess, and a wizard who bears more than a passing resemblance to Mr. Dewey.

This is why we need more funding in our public libraries, folks.

Richard slips on the wet floor and knocks himself out. When he comes to, paint from the mural gushes to the floor, turns into a dragon-like blob and chases him through the library, turning anything it touches turns into a painted background. The blending of computer and traditional animation for the dragon is surprisingly excellent. It’s plain to see that a lot of work went into this one creature. When I can’t tell where the hand-drawn animation begins or ends, that’s a good sign.

Ultimately the dragon catches Richard and transforms him into an animated character – no, not a character, an illustration, says someone from the shadows. That someone is the master of the animated literary realm Richard’s been transported to, keeper of the books and guardian of the written word, The Pagemaster (also voiced by Lloyd).

Do you think he trims his beard by cutting it or by stitching it up and binding it with leather and glue?

This animated version of the library is where all the stories ever written call home (though Horner’s score is what really sells the wonder of the moment). Here, books are, quite literally, transports to another world. Open a book and characters, creatures and objects from that story emerge from them. The Pagemaster demonstrates this by summoning a fairytale giant and the Argo from Jason and the Argonauts just for show. Richard’s more interested in finding his way home and the Pagemaster tells him that he must pass three tests in order to reach the Exit. He sends him off on his quest with a word of advice: when in doubt, look to the books.

Richard is swept up on a book cart and crashes into his first comic relief sidekick for the evening, Adventure, a cantankerous sentient book who acts like a pirate and is played by Sir Patrick Stewart. Stewart is one of the finest actors of the stage and screen and a damn good human being (seriously, look up his speeches about domestic violence) but I’ve noticed that when it comes to animated films, he tends to skew towards the…not so good ones. Not only did he turn down roles in Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, but for every Prince of Egypt, there’s a Chicken Little, Gnomeo and Juliet, Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return and Emoji Movie that proudly boasts his name. It’s mind-boggling and frustrating to hear such talent reduced to voicing shit.

Not hyperbole.

The best thing I can say about Adventure is that at least Stewart sounds like he’s having fun playing him. I should know, getting paid to talk like a pirate is the best job ever.

Adventure changes his tune when he sees Richard’s library card and offers to help the boy if he checks him out from the library. He tells Richard to go up a ladder to get their bearings, but Richard refuses on account of his acrophobia and prattles off some of those annoying statistics. Adventure tries to change his mind about climbing by opening 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and unleashing the giant squid, which is like helping someone overcome their fear of flying by shooting them out of a cannon.

The squid throws Richard in the air but he’s rescued by another living book, Fantasy (Whoopi Goldberg). Fantasy subverts the warm fairy godmother stereotype she’s modeled after with her frequent bouts of sarcasm and stubbornness; whereas Stewart is playing a role, Whoopi is pretty much playing herself. Under normal circumstances, Fantasy would use her magic to poof Richard to the Exit, but since she’s outside of her section her powers are considerably weakened. Regardless, she also promises to help Richard if he takes her home with him. Fantasy and Adventure butt heads over who’s going to be second banana to our protagonist. Adventure insists he’s the only one who knows where they’re headed and gets Richard to open up The Hound of Baskervilles, with predictable results.

The Hound chases the trio until they jump through a bookcase into the horror section, full of spooky graveyards and assorted Halloween detritus. The Exit Sign appears through the fog but leads them to a massive and obviously haunted mansion that they must pass through in order to proceed. Richard rings the bell, which knocks the final member of the team, Horror (Frank Welker), into his arms. Horror’s my favorite of the bunch, at least he would be if I had to pick one. For one thing, with all the fairly big names in the cast, it’s refreshing to hear a veteran voice actor playing one of the lead roles. Horror’s the least like the genre he represents, a sweet dimwit who just wants some friends. I don’t know, maybe I just have a soft spot for lonely ugly-cute marshmallow characters.

Speaking of, the designs for the books aren’t exactly appealing with large faces plastered right on their spines and little arms and legs sticking out of their lumbering square bodies. Horror’s look, however, comes the closest to working since he’s modeled after Quasimodo and isn’t supposed to be Mr. Universe if you catch my drift. He even gets some moments of good wild animation, especially when he’s “describing” what frightens him.

But one line, one solitary bit of dialogue has always stuck with me: “Horror always has sad endings”. It’s a shockingly deep statement that sums up the tragedy of his situation, and also why I’ve never been that big on the genre. The monster’s dead, everyone’s safe, you think it’s all ok, then BOOM. It pops up again, slaughters every character you’ve grown to care for and sets up a neverending chain of watered-down sequels and reboots.

Fantasy assures Horror her world is a place of happy endings, and Richard allows him to come along for the ride. The group ventures into the mansion, which looks perfect as far as haunted houses go. It’s caught somewhere between traditional Gothic and German Expressionism with its impossibly high ceilings, winding staircases, cobwebbed cracks in the walls and looming shadows. The team then meets the mansion’s owner, Dr. Henry Jekyll, played by…Leonard Nimoy?!

Fascinating.

It goes without saying that Nimoy is magnetic as both Jekyll and his wicked counterpart. He encapsulates the madness and depravity of the latter with a cackle and a single line, and he plays the former with a warm air of wisdom and sophistication (the fact that he serves his Hyde potion in a martini glass should clue you in on that trait). It makes me wish we got to see Nimoy play Jekyll and Hyde in a more straightforward adaptation before he passed away.

Though maybe he already did…

Adventure is ready to help himself to some of Jekyll’s cocktail but Horror knocks it out of his hands and the spill burns a hole through the floor.

So the Hyde formula’s secret ingredient is xenomorph blood. Who knew?

Richard and the gang are too late to stop Jekyll from drinking his concoction and he undergoes a harrowing transformation into his evil alter-ego, Edward Hyde. And hoo boy, did this scene reopen a can of worms. Imagine you’re a five-year-old enjoying this fun little animated escapade of talking books and magic and then this gets all up in your face.

“My name…is…”

“…Mister HYYYYYYYDE!!!!!”

All this to say even after all these years, Mr. Hyde still kind of puts me on edge. I remember my dad taught me how to use the fast-forward button on the VCR just so I could rush through this part. I even wished for and made up a kind of video player where you could skip entire scenes for the sole purpose of avoiding Hyde’s reveal.

I’m still waiting on my royalties.

Hyde attacks the group but Horror accidentally saves them by dropping a chandelier on him.

Hey, wrong story!

Horror gets tangled up in the chains and is about to be pulled through the floor along with Hyde. Fantasy begs Richard to save him but he’s too scared to. He doesn’t even try to weasel out of it by saying he has bone spurs or some other lame excuse, he just stands there and shrugs as one of his friends is about to die. Our hero, ladies and gentlemen. I know Richard’s supposed to learn courage over the course of the movie but not even attempting to try is pretty low. It’s not like there’s any danger in the situation or a possibility that Hyde will pop back up again; the freak’s too busy dragging Horror down, laughing maniacally in the dark as he anticipates pulling one helpless victim to their doom along with him.

Can’t sleep, Hyde will eat me…

Anyway, Fantasy has enough and rescues Horror herself. As for Hyde, he goes down the hole never to be seen again.

Now that I’m more familiar with the stories featured in this movie more so than when it was released, seeing them come and go rather quickly without diving into their essence is disappointing…but perhaps that was intentional. Maybe by leaving these sequences fairly open-ended and giving us the most basic of recaps, the movie is encouraging kids to check out the books themselves and come to their own conclusions about how and why these are timeless, fascinating tales.

Or at the very least, they could pick up an illustrated abridged version. Try getting a six-year-old to sit through the complete Moby Dick.

You’re a prodigy, Matilda! You don’t count!

After fleeing Hyde, Richard and the gang run into some possessed books – in other words, they’re haunted by ghost stories.

They evade the spirited tomes and had things worked out differently, they would have immediately had a perilous encounter with another famous literary horror character, Frankenstein’s monster. Poor Frankie M. made it to the poster and a few promotional picture books but not the final film. It’s not clear why he was cut; maybe the director felt the sequence was running long or he got worried the kids watching this would be too scared by this point. Frankly, anything that comes after Hyde pales in comparison. You could throw the worst of Lovecraft our way and it still wouldn’t be half as terrifying as he was.

The team makes it outside, but are trapped on a high vine-covered wall. Richard is too scared to climb down until the Pagemaster possesses a gargoyle to give some on-the-nose words of encouragement.

Careful, Richard. The last time I saw a gargoyle like that, it didn’t end well for the person grabbing it.

Richard Tarzans his ways to safety, and everyone celebrates their escape. The sun rises, clearing the way to the ever-elusive Exit Sign and Adventure’s home turf, a beach stretching into the open sea. Out on the ocean, they come across the crew of the Pequod. They’re searching for the white whale Moby Dick at the behest of Captain Ahab, voiced by George Hearn.

Hmm, George Hearn playing an overly dramatic psychopath hellbent on bloody vengeance? Can’t imagine where they got that casting idea from.

Ahab spies his quarry off the port bow and the color scheme dramatically shifts into a fiery red while the mad captain’s eyes glow and he turns into a Frank Miller drawing.

Lift your spearhead high, Ahab! Hear its singing edge!

I don’t know why they went with this abrupt change in hue, but frankly my dear I don’t give a damn. It’s a visual representation of Ahab’s unhinged thirst for violence teetering on demonic possession that just looks really cool. Also, like Nimoy before him, Hearn makes the most of his screen time, giving a stirring rendition of some of Ahab’s immortal lines.

…Then Moby Dick pounces on top of him and kills him and his crew instantly.

But Moby’s not done dicking around yet and he smashes Richard’s boat too. Richard and Adventure latch on to some driftwood, but it looks like Fantasy and Horror didn’t make it and there are sharks closing in.

The good news: they’re quickly rescued.

The bad news: they’re taken prisoner aboard the Hispaniola which is under the command of Long John Silver (Jim Cummings) and his crew of cutthroat pirates.

Well, calling them cutthroat is generous. The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything are more threatening than these guys.

With catlike tread, upon our foe we steal!

Also, one of the pirates is voiced by Robert Picardo and…do you think David Kirschner just wanted to make one big Star Trek crossover movie but the execs shot it down so he turned it into this cute family flick starring cast members from almost every iteration of the franchise? Like, Picard and Guinan are banished to another dimension inspired by various Holodeck fantasies thanks to a resurrected omniscient Commander Kurge (just another one of Q’s little tests for humanity) and are tasked with protecting a young boy, the son of Henry Starling, who’s the key to defeating him as they find their way back home. They wind up in a desolate corner of the universe where they meet Spock, who’s been working on a top-secret formula that will supposedly make human urges easier to differentiate in important decision-making. But plot twist! It’s really Evil Spock the whole time, and his formula will purge all good from those who consume it! They escape, desperate to warn this dimension’s Federation of Evil Spock’s plan but run into an insane Dr. Berel and are later captured by The Doctor, who has rebelled from his programming and taken up piracy along with a renegade band of Romulans. I’m no Star Trek aficionado, but this is something I’d like to see!

Silver takes away Richard’s library card and forces him and Adventure to join his treasure hunt on (where else?) Treasure Island. But like in the story this is based on, the pirates are enraged to learn that the treasure has already been looted and they mutiny against Silver. Before things get ugly, Fantasy and Horror arrive to save their friends. It turns out they didn’t drown after all due to Horror discovering his hump is hollow and they floated to shore on it.

Then there’s a fight scene where Horror and Fantasy take out the pirates using goofy slapstick. It isn’t too bad, but it doesn’t touch Muppet Treasure Island in comedy. Richard also stands up to Silver and gets him to back off, which earns the old sea dog’s respect. This makes this sequence the most faithful of all the quick adaptations we’ve seen thus far, essentially turning Richard into a stand-in for Jim Hawkins and having him go through an abridged version of his arc. It would have resonated more, however, if we spent more time with the plot and characters of this story, so we’d really feel something when Richard asserts himself. The Pagemaster is a scant seventy-five minutes, but with all the possibilities for expanding upon these different novels in this format with the kind of story they’re trying to tell, this could be a ninety-minute film at the very least. The movie even teases this with some cleverly woven-in shoutouts to other famous works, like Edgar Allen Poe’s Raven appearing in the haunted house, or Richard staggering under an oversized copy of Atlas Shrugged. I wish we could see those tales as part of the plot proper, but they make this literature-based world feel more all-encompassing and less like they’re merely covering the basics, for which I’m grateful for.

Adventure, who got sidelined at the start of the fight and is miffed about missing the action, storms off on his own. This is where the movie sidelines the main plot for a substandard “jerk with a heart of gold learns not to be a jerk to others” subplot. Horror tries to cheer up Adventure and admits he idolizes him, but Adventure bullies and scares him away. Shortly after, Adventure finds Richard’s library card washed up on the beach and returns it, but Fantasy forces him to look for Horror and apologize before they hit the road. He finds him being tied down by the Lilliputians from Gulliver’s Travels. Now Gulliver’s Travels could technically be classified as an adventure story, but really it’s a witty satire in the guise of an adventure. I wonder what we could have gotten if the movie explored other stories that mashed up the genres featured here with ones like mystery or sci-fi or drama. I want to see how Sherlock Holmes, Tom Sawyer, Captain Nemo, and Lizzie Bennett would react to this kid from the future and his three sentient books running around their stories! Or what about ones where the elements of fantasy, horror, and adventure overlap each other? Think about it, A Christmas Carol is both horror and fantasy, The Princess Bride is fantasy and adventure, The Call of Cthulu, A Wrinkle in Time and anything by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett combine all three. I’m sorry I keep going off on these tangents, but the concepts this film presents deserve more exploration than what we’re given.

Adventure rescues Horror and the two reconcile. Fantasy’s wand lights up, indicating that they’re getting closer to her territory and the Exit. Just to be sure she’s got her magic back, she tests it out by turning Adventure into –

Your very confusing nightmares for the next month, ladies and gentlemen.

Everyone traipses through the jungle into the fantasy section, which goes a bit beyond your average picture book in terms of design. Though the movie’s backgrounds and colors are a bit murky, each world has a distinct visual style. The fantasy realm is like if Arthur Rackham tangoed with Eyvind Earle. It’s not Sleeping Beauty levels of gorgeousness, though it’s close.  But once again, the magic of this scene comes from the music. Instead of more instrumental backing, however, we get the movie’s main tune, “Whatever You Imagine”.

I unironically love this song. I’ve said before I’m a sucker for 90s pop ballads and this one is no exception. It’s all about using the power of imagination to follow your dreams and shape the world into a better place, and is complemented by the visuals: some fairies that are rotoscoped in a way that they look like living embodiments of the electricity balls you find at Spencer’s appear and dance on Richard’s palm. There’s a second decent pop song in a similar vein over the end credits, “Dream Away” sung by Lisa Stanfield and Babyface, but “Whatever You Imagine” is my favorite of the two.

Yet, nice as this part is, it’s difficult to overlook the shortcomings. You thought the horror and adventure parts of the movie were rushed? What little we see of the fantasy section is limited to a minute and a half of the song before hurtling into the climax. On top of that, the only representations of fantasy here apart from the fairies are nursery rhymes (with Mother Goose and Humpty Dumpty making five-second cameos), generic familiar fairy tales (most of which, including Rapunzel and Cinderella, also joined Frankenstein’s Monster on the cutting room floor), a faun that looks like it was kidnapped from Fantasia, and a yellow brick road as a shout-out to The Wizard of Oz. I get this was a few years before Harry Potter revolutionized the genre, but no love for Lord of the Rings? No Peter Pan? No Narnia? No Earthsea? No Discworld? Not even Dr. Seuss? And if it’s because they’re sticking with public domain works then they really dropped the ball. I’ve got five words for you: King Arthur, Lord Dunsany, ETA Hoffman, George MacDonald, and any culture’s ancient mythology.

Then again, perhaps it’s for the best that the more recognizable fantasies stay out of this feature. Look at our heroes and tell me they’d survive a minute in A Song of Ice and Fire.

Richard spies the Exit on top of a mountain, but Adventure wanders into a “cave” and accidentally awakens the final boss: a monstrous fire-breathing dragon.

“Now you shall deal with me, O Prints, and all the powers of Hell!”

Fantasy summons a magic carpet ripped from her own pages to save Richard and fly them all to the Exit. But the carpet gets singed and crashes on the mountainside, scattering our heroes and causing Fantasy to lose her wand. Richard makes it to the summit but he realizes that in his haste he’s left his book club behind. Adventure decides to face the dragon alone to give Horror and Fantasy time to escape, and this is where we get the culmination of what’s supposed to be Adventure and Fantasy’s belligerent romantic tension throughout the movie and the one truly funny line of dialogue.

Unsurprisingly, the dragon roasts Adventure but he just gets covered in ash and acts like he got bopped on the head instead of burning up like a real book would. This is the fantasy section and a kid’s cartoon on top of that, I’m not gonna argue about the logic. Richard finally finds the courage to go save his friends, but first, he takes a sword, shield, and helmet from the crumbling skeleton of a dead knight.

For his sake, he’d better wash his hands fifty times after this.

Wait, that red cross on the shield….oh my god, it’s the dragon and knight from The Faerie Queen!!

All right, let me explain what this means and why it’s a big deal. The Faerie Queen is one of the most revered examples of classic fantasy literature, a collection of six epic poems detailing the adventures of King Arthur expy Prince Arthur aiding knights representing the Twelve Private Virtues on his journey to rescue and marry the titular fairy queen Gloriana. The story of the Red Cross Knight is about Arthur helping said knight fight a dragon to save his lady love. More importantly, it’s about the knight learning to overcome his insecurities while being waylaid by outside forces symbolizing negative influences and slay the monster himself. It’s not hard to see the surface parallels in his adventure and Richard’s. So, point to the movie for subtly including a well-known tale and weaving it into the main plot. I take back what I said about it overlooking the obvious public domain fantasies.

Richard charges in ready to kick some reptilian butt. Unfortunately, he manages to do an even worse job confronting the dragon than Jon Snow and it eats him in one bite. But our hero merely gets the Jonas treatment and winds up trapped inside the dragon’s stomach, which conveniently holds a number of undigested fantasy books. I guess the dragon must be a voracious reader.

Recalling The Pagemaster’s advice, Richard searches through the books to find something that can help him escape. In a bit of on-the-fly ingenuity, he unleashes the titular plant from Jack and the Beanstalk. He rides the plant up and out of the dragon’s throat, grabs his buddies and carries them to the mountaintop where the gates of the Exit are now open. Once inside, they find a very familiar face.

“I AM THE GREAT AND POWERFUL SOUNDTRACK! PAY NO ATTENTION THAT COMPOSER BEHIND THE CURTAIN!”

No, of course not. Instead, the Pagemaster appears to greet them. It turns out he’s been guiding Richard through his perils the whole time. Richard is not unreasonably pissed that the seemingly wise and benevolent sage took the Glinda approach of leading him into danger just to teach him a lesson. The small tirade he goes on is honestly refreshing. You don’t see many heroes call out the mentor figure on their trickery.

But all implications aside, the Pagemaster brings up an important point: what would have changed for Richard if he was whisked home just like that? Without the chance to grow, he would have stayed the same cowardly, friendless boy. To back this up, the villains Richard faced appear in the cyclone and proudly remind him of his triumphs. He made the right choices in the face of evil. He looked danger in the eye and kept moving forward. He stood up to others without hesitating. Even the dragon returns to salute Richard in its own way. There’s something rather awe-inspiring about these great literary characters returning to congratulate him for facing their challenges. It might not seem like much at face value: what practical use would there be in overcoming fears of things you’d never come across in the real world like pirates or dragons?

The thing is, most literary characters aren’t just there to move the plot from Point A to Point B, but are also a conduit for symbolizing qualities both evil and benign that enhance their stories. In The Pagemaster, as well as in their own tales, Jekyll and Hyde, Ahab, and Silver represent varying levels of obsession and fear. The dragon is especially notable for the latter in this regard since it is the culmination of Richard’s fears and how he views the world as a terrifying, dangerous place beyond his control. It’s the last thing that appears in the opening credits before he wakes up from his nightmare, and is also the form the paint blob takes when chasing him. The dragon was even supposed to appear continuously throughout the film, following Richard and his friends causing trouble for them. That aspect was cut from the final feature, though it left some conspicuous plot holes, namely how Adventure apparently lost his sword somewhere offscreen then finds it in the dragon’s mouth before he wakes it. The most important thing to take away from this, however, is that Richard doesn’t slay the dragon but instead finds a way to overcome it by moving past it, showing how he’s accepted there are things he can’t always control or avoid and chooses instead to move past his fears. If I may borrow some words Neil Gaiman often attributed to G.K. Chesterton, we don’t read fairytales to learn that dragons exist, but to learn that dragons can be beaten.

Richard, having realized how much he’s grown from his adventures, is finally ready to return to the real world. The Pagemaster sends him back along with the books, who turn into ordinary volumes. Richard wakes up on the library floor with Mr. Dewey standing over him in a totally-not-awkward-at-all manner. He remembers his promise to check out the books, but Mr. Dewey takes back Horror and tells him he can only take two home.

Wait, two books?! Only two?? The last time I went to my local library, they let me check out ten! I’m sure the rules are different depending on each district, but I’d say any self-respecting library that would want to maintain a child’s interest in reading would let them borrow a minimum of three books at a time. This seems like a strange last-minute obstacle that serves no real purpose other than making Mr. Dewey look inexplicably pedantic.

Anyway, Mr. Dewey can tell Richard’s upset that he can’t keep his promise to Horror and allows him to take all the books with him just this once. Richard passes by the ramp from the start of the film and makes the jump on his own, proving that he really has changed. It would have been more cathartic if the bullies from before were there to see it, but I suppose the writers felt this had to be something Richard would do more for himself than for anyone else. And I like how once he sticks that landing and does a positive spin on his dour catchphrase, the street lamps knocked out from the storm all light up again, showing all’s right with the world. Later, Richard’s parents come home after searching for their son all night and find him asleep in the treehouse, no longer afraid of anything.

Well, he’s still scared of Old Man Marley, but he’s taking it one step at a time.

Mr. and Mrs. Tyler let him stay up there, and once they’re gone, Horror, Adventure and Fantasy come to life once again as animated shadows on the wall and revel in their happy ending.

And that was The Pagemaster. As a young kid, I adored it. Nowadays it’s a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. It’s technically not a good movie, but it’s brimming with creative ideas, a few moments of cleverness, some nice visuals, has a good voice cast, an excellent score, and it evokes plenty of nostalgia. I just can’t bring myself to hate it. I also saw a lot of my younger self in Richard, a lit nerd prone to anxiety who found comfort and friendship in the books we traversed through and fantasized about having similar adventures. That, I think, is what really drew me into The Pagemaster back in the day. Plus, as far as an animated children’s film about a geeky kid going into classic tales with a talking book goes, it could have been much, much worse.

No. Just…no.

In case you’re still wondering if I thought this film succeeded in its message, well, it did make me want to read more, but I already loved reading when I was a child so that might render the point moot. I admire the idea of not laying out everything that happens in each story so as to get kids invested, but that being said the segments could use some beefing up to maintain interest and flesh out the characters more. Frankly, I think the whole concept of The Pagemaster would work much better as an animated series than as a movie. Maybe that was what Turner Animation was going for; if the film was more successful, they could create a spinoff show where the characters explore a new story each week that ties into some kind problem Richard is facing. Think Reading Rainbow meets Tales From the Book of Virtue. Now that Disney technically owns this movie, I’d love to see them develop something like this. Their track record with animated television has been stellar since Gravity Falls. Put this project in the right hands and they’d have another hit.

You know what? Call me out on it all you want, but The Pagemaster gets a three out of five. Watch it if you’re curious or just feeling nostalgic, and be sure to pick up a good book afterward.

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this review, please consider supporting me on Patreon. Patreon supporters receive great perks such as extra votes for movie reviews, requests, early sneak-peeks and more. Special thanks to Amelia Jones, Gordhan Rajani and Sam Minden for their contributions, especially at this time.

Considering the theme of this review and the timing of its release, I’d like to leave you with a bit of a positive endorsement: If you’re like me and you’re looking for something to do while in quarantine, especially since all the libraries are closed where I am, I recommend Project Gutenberg and LibriVox. Both offer ways to enjoy beloved pieces of great literature that are largely in the public domain and discover fascinating obscure ones too, and it is completely free. No accounts to sign up for, no monthly payments, just years of classic books online only a click away. I listen to many of them while working or if I need to relax. I hope it’ll help take your mind off of any fears or stress, and I’ll see you tomorrow when movie voting recommences.

Screengrabs courtesy of animationscreencaps.com

April Review: The Pagemaster (1994) I expected this movie to have a few votes from those who remembered it as kids. I never expected it to win by a landslide.

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Free to Use and Reuse: Movie Magic

Free to Use and Reuse: Movie Magic By Neely Tucker Published February 24, 2020 at 10:29AM

The Grand Riviera’s opening week, 1925. Historic American Buildings Survey. Photo: Jack Boucher. Prints and Photographs Division.

The Grand Riviera Theatre opened on Grand River Boulevard in Detroit in 1925, an intoxicating, million-dollar movie palace designed to resemble the wealthiest of Italian Renaissance courtyards. It was gorgeous. It was crazy. You couldn’t believe it.

Three stories, 3,000 seats and an 80-foot octagonal tower above the ticket window. The theater’s namesake sign was a vertical wonder, spelling out RIVIERA, one letter below the next, in lights that shone for blocks. Just inside, the lobby was a rotunda that soared forty, fifty feet straight up, a rounded chamber of multi-paned windows, a chandelier hanging from a painted ceiling. The floor was marble. The wood was mahogany. There was a smoking room for gentlemen. Ladies could repair to a well-appointed parlor.

The Riviera’s lobby, 1970. Historic American Buildings Survey. Photo: Allen Stross. Prints and Photographs Division.

You can see the Riviera in all its long-lost splendor, and dozens of other unique movie theaters, in this month’s set of Free to Use and Reuse prints and photographs from the Library’s collections of copyright-free material. There’s the neon-lit Tower Theater, a Sacramento landmark. Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. The Ritz Theatre in Greenville, Alabama, an Art Deco building opened in 1935 and now devoted to the performing arts.

But it was ornate movie palaces that were the rage in the 1920s when the Riviera was built. It was designed by architect John Eberson, who built dozens of similar theaters in the Roaring Twenties. His signature developments were huge “atmospheric” auditoriums, designed to look like a garden or courtyard or somesuch.

Detroit’s entry would be no exception, for the city then! The energy! It was home to the booming automobile industry – Ford, Cadillac, Chrysler, Packard – and growing like mad. Maybe 265,000 people in 1900; 1.56 million people in 1930. It was the fourth largest metropolis in the nation. The Riviera, set in the 9200 block of Grand River Boulevard, one of the city’s main arteries, was more than six miles from downtown and yet the district pulsed with life.

People came in droves, walking from nearby houses, bringing the kids, the whole thing an adventure. Once inside, just past the lobby, patrons walked into the auditorium. It was a vast, open space, the floor sloping to the front. Far overhead, tiny lights twinkled, star-like, in an arched ceiling that melted into darkness. The walls were lined with statuary and bas relief sculpture. Seats were plush. Ushers wore military-style uniforms. It was so mobbed that an 1,800-seat annex was built in 1927.

The Riviera’s auditorium, above and below, 1925. Historic American Buildings Survey. Photo: Jack Boucher. Prints and Photographs Division.

But as the decades rolled past and pages dropped from the calendar, times and fortunes changed. The auto industry started to collapse in the 1950s. The city’s white population began fleeing for the suburbs in the 1960s. Detroit went from being a symbol of American muscle to a symbol of American rust and ruin.

By October of 1970, the Riviera was fading. In the photo below, the marquee is missing several letters. Three films are on offer, but two are retreads. The draw was “The Executioner,” a spy thriller starring George Peppard. Filling out the bill was “Machine Gun McCain,” with John Cassavetes and future Bond girl Britt Ekland, from 1969; and “Salt & Pepper,” a racy comedy with Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford, that was two years old.

The Riviera in 1970. Historic American Buildings Survey. Photo: Allen Stross. Prints and Photographs Division.

A few years later, the place was turned into an arena for rowdy rock concerts. The Who played there. The Kinks. Fun, sure, but the magic was gone. By the 1990s, when the city’s population had dropped below one million – roughly the size it had been in 1920 – the Riviera was an abandoned wreck in a city full of them. It was demolished in 1996.

Today, the site is a local office of the Social Security Administration, a bland, one-story brick building. An empty lot is across the street, as is a beauty supply store, an abandoned building and a liquor store. The downtown skyline now looks so far away that it seems another place entirely.

But, so many years ago, it had been a fine time, the evenings at the Riviera on the wide boulevard, the vertical sign flickering on in the falling darkness, the promise of a crowd, the buzzing conversations, the men in hats, the ladies in dresses, a night in Detroit that you’d remember for years.

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My husband and I had been planning to take the classic road trip along the Pacific Coast for a long time. We were waiting for the right time for this adventure and decided to make the most of our Thanksgiving week and venture to the West.

Regarded as not only one of the best road trips in the United States but also in the world, the coastal cruise down this major State Route is on many bucket lists. We were worried it might be too much for just 7 days to cover, but the trip went smoothly.

Below is my guide to explore the gorgeous miles of the iconic road with some essential stops along the way. 

You can start this trip at either end. We flew from Boston, and our trip begin in the ultimate “City by the Bay,” San Francisco. Next we headed south to more beaches and breathtaking views in Carmel, Monterey.

Our longest drive of about 4.5 hours, was from breathtaking Monterey to elegant Santa Barbara, and it was absolutely worth it. Then we went further south to the bustle and excitement of Los Angeles, followed by San Diego, at the southern end of the state.

    Our favorite by far were the less crowded and more scenic places like Carmel by the Sea and Santa Barbara. You can see the Spanish influence in the architecture; even their CVS Pharmacy looks like a beautiful Spanish villa from afar.

The weather is tropical and about the same all year long. North is cooler than the south, so as we drove down the coast, temperature rose drastically. Even in November, the week of Thanksgiving, it was blazing 90 degrees in LA and San Diego. I’m glad we had packed accordingly.

San Fransisco

San Francisco is a top holiday destination featuring scenic beauty and great ethnic and cultural diversity.

I went to San Fransisco, with flowers in my hair (or on my jacket), with many high expectations. It was just how I had imagined and better. Steep streets and colorful houses, among mountains and a deep blue sky. It feels much different than the East Coast.

Palace of Fine Arts Theatre

Our itinerary included the famous Cable Cars, Fisherman’s Wharf, and many other attractions. Day 1, we strolled through Golden Gate Park,  and then took a memorable ride with Cable Cars at night to avoid the crowds. On Day 2, we took a leisurely stroll along Fisherman’s Wharf, and finally the famous Lombard Street. We also saw the popular among tourists, the Painted Ladies and Mrs. Doubtfire’s house, that brought back many childhood memories.

Golden Gate

An other attraction I loved was the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre. Built for the 1915, it was one of the only constructions kept intact after the world fair. You must visit this landmark to take in the elegant rotunda, the Greek-style colonnades, and the lagoon, where you can see a clear reflection of the building. Here you can relax in the company of swans and ducks and be surrounded by stunning homes around you. It is also steps away from a beautiful beach.

My absolute favorite part of our trip to San Fransisco was hiking up the hill to get a better view of the Golden Gate. The secret is to cross the bridge and head to the Vista Point. From there you take the steps, cross under the bridge and hike up a small hill and reach the perfect height for a great view of the City by the Bay.

Carmel by the Sea & Monterey

Our drive on Highway 1 from San Fransisco to Carmel was absolutely stunning. Carmel-by-the-Sea, often simply referred to as Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, founded in 1902.

We spent our day walking around the fairytale cottages and admiring the scenic beauty of Carmel.

The white sand beaches and the cottage like homes made it look like it was out of a storybook.

Fairytale Cottages in Carmel by the Sea

Carmel Beach

I made my husband promise me to buy us a home in Carmel after we retire. It’s so beautiful and peaceful. This was by far the best part of our trip.

After spending the day at the beach, we headed towards Monterey, where we stayed the night at Portola Hotel & Spa, which I would highly recommend. In Monterey, we saw the spots where my favorite HBO show Big Little Lies was shot.

The next morning we drove past the Big Sur, for some horseback riding on the beach. This was by far the best experience. Riding a horse by the ocean, under the blue skies, was dream like.

  Santa Barbara

Nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains, Santa Barbara is a solid vacation destination with its wide beaches, renowned wineries, and some of California’s finest shopping and dining options.

Traveling by car from Carmel to Santa Barbara takes about 4.5 hours. We reached Santa Barbara at night and started off our visit by going to a great Spanish restaurant called Loquita. The next morning we toured the pleasant surroundings at Shoreline Park, and took in the waterfront at Stearns Wharf. Tall palm trees, gorgeous architecture and elegance is what Santa Barbara is all about. We enjoyed our short stay in this beautiful American Riviera.

Los Angeles

You can drive from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles in 2 hours.

This City of Angels is surrounded by mountain ranges, forests, valleys, beaches, and deserts, the metropolitan area of Los Angeles is home to over 17 million people.

  We were upgraded to a Penthouse at the Andaz Hotel in West Hollywood, where we enjoyed the view and the hustle bustle of the city. If you love shopping as much as I do, take a drive down Rodeo Drive and it’ll feel like you’re in designer heaven. With the  Holiday decor, it was the perfect place to be.

The next morning we drove around the Sunset Boulevard and towards the Hollywood sign. We also went to see the popular Walk of Fame to conclude our stay in L.A.

San Diego

Our last stop was America’s Finest City, San Diego. You can drive from Los Angeles to San Diego in 2.5 hours.

Divided into neighborhoods with distinct characters and cultural heritages, San Diego sits just north of the Mexican border and offers visitors a blend of tourist attractions, including a lively nightlife, diverse cuisine, and a thriving musical scene.

Our itinerary included Gaslamp Quarter, Balboa Park, and other attractions. Day 1, we enjoyed the sand and surf at La Jolla Cove, and soaked up the sun at 90 degrees at Balboa Park. We enjoyed delicious Persian cuisine at Bandar Restaurant in Gaslamp Quarter, and finally got a taste of local nightlife at Top of the Hyatt.

We had a great experience staying at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel. The Harbour view from our room was to die for.

Day 2 was a packed day of sightseeing: we admired nature’s creatures, like seals at the Wharf and took in the waterfront at the Seaport Village.

It was a record high of 92 degrees on our last day in California, and luckily it was also Black Friday. We spent the rest of the day, avoiding the heat, at the Fashion Valley mall. it is an upscale, beautiful open-air shopping mall in Mission Valley.

We have now checked off this road trip off our bucket list. √

Hope you found a few good trip ideas in my blog post for your next West Coast excursion.

Cheers!

              7 Days – California dreamers, endless coastline & sunshine My husband and I had been planning to take the classic road trip along the Pacific Coast for a long time.