In a wonderful bit of irony, two items ran simultaneously in today's edition of Lew Irwin's Studio Briefing, an invaluable resource for movie news. It seems that Disney is making a stand against smoking in their movies. While the Looney Tunes have always had a bit of a tobacco fetish, the only smoking in Disney films that we can remember are courtesy the villainous Cruella DeVil and possibly the forest in Bambi, which was smoking for a different reason but still claimed a life. So while it's a symbolic gesture, it's an important one, as we all know how influential movies can be (including influencing young smokers), and most of us have been touched at one time or another by the ill effects of cigarettes.
Two items down, however, comes this gem: A winery has obtained a license to sell Ratatouille brand wine. That's right, the Pixar/Disney G-rated film is now being marketed in alcohol form... the other most lethal drug in America.
I'm guessing that this is merely a reflection of our times; even I am a regular drinker and adamant non-smoker. In the nascent days of the movies, pretty much everyone smoked: on-screen, off-screen, and even in the audience during the movie itself. It probably won't be long, though, before this kind of wine-licensing deal (and even on-screen drinking as depicted in Ratatouille) becomes unthinkable. In the meantime, it's 5pm here in Philadelphia... time to meet my friends for happy hour.
101 Dalmatians image © Disney / The Internet Movie Posters Awards
More on the deal from Bloomberg.com
© TLA Entertainment Group
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