When Roy Disney found out how successful "Three Little Pigs" was, he warned his brother the execs wanted "more pigs!" To which Walt cleverly replied, "You can't beat pigs with pigs." And by golly, the man stuck to his guns! Disney never produced a sequel of an animated feature.

Well, that is of course until he died and it was time to do a jig on his grave!

After a string of "meh" features, Disney hit the jack pot again, with Michael Eisner at the helm, producing the smash hits The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King. This time, that fuddy duddy Walt wasnt around to stop anyone from cashing in.

So, the first direct to video sequel was created in 1994, Aladdin's The Return of Jafar. In 1995, Pocahontas was released - the film that started the quick decline of the Eisner Era. Coincidence? Maybe there was less attention fon the features because Disney was too busy cranking out sequel after sequel.  In fact, they pooped out a sequel for EVERY SINGLE classic Disney feature. Sure to make Walt proud! The formula was almost always the same. Each was animated by a studio whose skill set depended on quickly turning around the Disney animated tv shows, not features. Alas, thats what you got - features made with all the focus and passion of a Darkwing Duck episode.

After another string of extra-"meh" features, Eisner got his butt kicked out of Disney and we all sat and waited. Then, glory be to Walt, we were given Mr. John Lasseter. Cue church choir!

John was very outspoken about how sequels watered down of features. He echoed Walt's ideals, with a slew of amazing Pixar features and shorts under his belt. Immediately the sequels stopped! Word was given, that no more direct to video sequels would be produced. This guy, is my frickin' savior! Things are looking up!

Soon after, an amendment was added to his original statement.

Great sequels make the original even better. Sequels that rehash the same thing make the original less good in my mind. And to me, the value of building a franchise that will last forever for a company lies in that everything you do with those characters be better than the last.

And then this happened:

Toy Story 3
Cars 2
Monsters University (Monsters Inc 2)
Finding Nemo 2

Not so bad, you say. You loved Toy Story 3! At least they are all features. Time is being spent on them! Thought is being put into each one!

...

May I humbly present to you direct-to-DVD Cars spinoff - PLANES!

So, who's next at bat?

Okay okay, there were exceptions…Catcher in the Rye of course, anything written by Bret Easton Ellis (especially my favorite book, The Rules of Attraction), and I can get down with most non-fiction. Uh, I read all the Scott Pilgrims too, does that count?

Given my undying love for reading, you can imagine my utter joy when 4 years ago, while working as a web designer for Scholastic, I was asked to read a new book about to be published: The Hunger Games.

Oh and, I had better read it fast. But even with my torturous past with books – I actually did read it fast. I did because I could not put it down.

Technically, a young adult fiction novel – its anything but. In fact, I’m surprised the movie wasn’t rated R. It is a quite shocking violent read, especially when you realize – these are kids killing kids. What fun! Sprinkle some star-crossed love in for balance – and BAM, you’ve got yourself a certified hit.

Since the day I heard my beloved books were to be made into a film trilogy, I have been waiting ever so patiently! Last night at midnight, with 10 other theaters full of fans – I finally saw it!

Let’s start with a quick recap. As a penance and remembrance for their past revolts, each district in the city of Panem must send 2 tributes, 1 girl and 1 boy – aged 12-18, to compete in the annual Hunger Games. There will only be one victor.

In case that wasn’t clear enough for you – 24 kids are going to murder each other in a blood bath! While the adults watch the whole massacre on TV – laughing and making bets! Oh, what a grand ol’ time will be had by all!

Well, that is – when they can actually see what the hell is going on. I loved the film, but it suffers from a sever case of shaky camera syndrome. It was rare that we had a chance to focus on anything for longer than 3 seconds, which would have been nice considering all the unspoken emotions that must be understood to understand and fully enjoy this film. Sure, you could argue the style is chaotic, confusing and speedy for a very good reason – and it worked – but I’ll take a little less vomit-coaster with the sequel, please. Luckily, it wasn’t a deal breaker and film version of The Hunger Games was still perfection.

I could not have been happier with the casting. Everyone was a solid choice and lived up to what I pictured in my head while reading. Jennifer Lawrence as the lead, Katniss, was absolutely spectacular. If you read the books, you know they are written through Katniss’ point of view. And…that girl has a lot of views, ok? Problem is, she keeps them mostly to herself. Jennifer flawlessly expressed all those inner thoughts that we read – all through her eyes and facial expressions. That is what makes a great actress.

My other favorite character was Effie. I knew Elizabeth Banks would nail this quirky uptight role and boy, did she ever. Her costume and makeup, along with everyone else representing the Capitol, was so colorful and vivid – a sharp contrast to the dull shades in the poorer districts. I loved it.

Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, on the other hand – uh, no. I am not sure where that casting choice came from. I agree with most fans of the book, it should have gone to Cillian Murphy. Especially after seeing his mushy character in Inception, I was sure he would be perfect. Lenny just looks weathered, unapproachable and old. Not anything like the young vibrant friendly Cinna. Kravitz calls this “subdued.” I call this “cannot act but knows the right people.” I can only hope this lone error in casting will make more sense as the trilogy moves along.

I realize there just wasn’t enough “movie” to fit everything in, but I wish more time could have been spent on Katniss’ inner turmoil in, well, acting like a “girl.” That was such a huge part of the books, as well as in her preparation for the Hunger Games and how she handled things once the games began. She was very much a tomboy, not necessarily by choice – but by design. She had to take on the role of giver and provider for her sister, since her father died and her mother mentally checked out. She hunted with her best guy friend Gale to feed her family, and she didn’t have time to worry about those vain sort of things. When they gussy her up in the Capitol and push her to play up her relationship with fellow district tribute Peeta, its a BIG DEAL. In the movie, its a semi-big deal. They gave a few hints here and there, but I didn’t feel it successfully drove the point home. Maybe in the films its not as important, maybe its an aside? Time will only tell.

In general though, I was so happy with the film. It brought to life everything I saw in my head when I read the books – if my head could produce film, that’s what it would have spit out.

Well, minus Lenny Kravitz.

That’s right, Gowalla will be discontinuing their items!

All that hunting this weekend gone to waste! On my trip, my phone died at preciously 4pm everyday. Not because I was checking Facebook or Twitter, but because I was checking in at every attraction and park on Gowalla! Just hoping to nab that item I didn’t have. Alas, it was all in vain.

I’ve tried FourSquare, as well as some lesser known check-in apps, but all they did was bore me. I never became a mayor. I never found the discounts. My friends didn’t seem to care where I was, those jerks.

But on Gowalla, I didn’t mind that my friends weren’t playing along. I didn’t mind that I didn’t get discounts. I got these funny, cute, and sometimes beautiful stamps, pins and most of all – items! Gowallaby Balloon Animal? Uh, yes please!

Sure, this weekend I got a little more items then I needed, perhaps you could say I went collecting crazy. Next stop: TLC’s Hoarding: Gowalla Items.

Maybe instead of removing items, Gowalla just needs to provide more of an array.

The Husband says: “It was kinda dumb anyway.”

I’m sure that’s what most people think. As it is, Gowalla wasnt leading the market in check-ins by any standard. But it was after my Disney geek heart! Not just cause they had gorgeous Disney pins and items. It just felt like a fun game, a friendly game – not a challenge of who can trump who.

Oh well. I have other things to concern myself with, like why last night’s pad thai was more like pad mish mosh. Que sera, sera!