Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable enters the 2010

Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable enters the 2010 Best Theme Park Attraction tournament as the 16th seed in the Best Movie or Animated Show bracket.

Image courtesy Disney

Playing in Epcot's Land pavilion at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Circle of Life opened in the Harvest Theater on January 21, 1995, as the Walt Disney Co. looked to capitalize on the recent overwhelming success of its animated movie musical, The Lion King. The film replaced Symbiosis, a film about human damage to the environment that provided some footage that was recycled in Circle of Life.

Recycling - how environmentally friendly! ;-)

Circle of Life follows The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa, as the two dam local rivers to create a lake for their planned Hakuna Matata Lakeside Village. Simba points out that their actions are robbing other animals downstream of the water they need to survive. Then he really rubs it in by telling Timon and Pumbaa that they're acting like a bunch of human beings.

Timon and Pumbaa learn the lesson and remove the dam, restoring the environment for all the downstream animals. And the audience learns a lesson.

You know who also learned a lesson from Circle of Life? The writers of "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," who used the same device (a dam in Africa threatening downstream life) as a major plot point in that Dreamworks animated film.

As a 16-seed, Circle of Life faces the toughest road to the title in this bracket. We will find out how this film performs when voting begins in March.

Don't Miss: Polar Bear Club at Gaylor Palms ICE attraction

WHAT: A truly chilling thought: Running through the ICE! attraction at Gaylord Palms resort in a swimsuit. Warming to that idea earns membership into the Orlando Polar Bear Club. Remember, it's a bitter 9 degrees in there, so folks won't be dillydallying. Club members will be allowed to come back later that morning to enjoy the ice sculptures while fully clothed. There's also an "after-glow" reception and a commemorative certificate in the offing.

WHAT ELSE: There's lots of fine print and rules (Do wear shoes, don't wear a thong, etc.), so check out the Gaylord Palms Web site or the Orlando Polar Bears Facebook page.

WHEN: 8:30 a.m., Saturday (Participants should arrive between 7:45 a.m. and 8:20 a.m.)

WHERE: 6000 W. Osceola Parkway, Kissimmee.

COST: $21.99. ($7 goes to Special Olympics Florida.)

CALL: 407-586-4423.

Dance movie review - "Swing Kids"

Produced in 1993, "Swing Kids" is set in pre-World War II Germany and stars Christian Bale and Kenneth Branagh. During the years just before the war started, American Swing music and the people who listened and danced to it, were forced to go underground with their love for Swing dancing. Swing clubs were situated in unlikely spots, and when Nazis would come near the establishment, all the musicians and dancers would quickly switch to traditional German dances such as the Polka.

The movie features one particular group of young men who love Swing dancing, and their inevitable confrontation with the Nazi movement. One of the young men is captured during a botched robbery attempt for a radio and is sent to the Nazi training camp. His friend joins shortly afterwards so that he is not alone in training. The fight to remain friends for this entire group of men proves challenging as they are one-by-one acclimated to Nazi thought processes. Additionally, the struggle to continue to enjoy American Swing music and Swing dancing, while also being constantly brainwashed by the Nazi training system, leaves the audience wondering if Swing dancing is able to transcend military propaganda that is directly against American ways.

This movie has some of the best Lindy-hop Swing scenes ever made and the soundtrack is equally full of really great Swing music. For those who love Swing dancing, "Swing Kids" would make a great gift idea.