Annie Leibovitz - Ariel
Disney’s just released a new image for the “Disney Dream Portrait Series”, and this time it features Julianne Moore as Ariel and World Champion Swimmer Michael Phelps as… some other merman.
I absolutely love it, but obviously (as always) there are problems. I love the poses, but I really think the photomanipulation blending needs some work. No, don’t airbrush erase it and hope it melts in!
Full Press Release behind the cut:
Read the rest of the snark » »
Prince Caspian Trailer!
Linkspam time!
Yes, sorry darlings. I’m not dead, and I’M GONNA REVIEW SOMETHING SOON, DAMMIT.
Disney (Animation Studios) and Pixar have announced their upcoming movie slate for 2008-2012, the list which as follows, is:
- WALL-E. DWEE.
- Bolt. Christ, another dog movie again?
- Tinkerbell (Straight to DVD). WHATTT?! WHAAAAAT?! DIDN’T BOB IGER SHUT THIS DOWN? (Oh wait, he didn’t. Le sigh.)
- Up. Spacetiemz 4 old man dreamz come tru. You just know this is going to be heartwrenching story. I’m taking my hanky.
- Toy Story in 3D. Not interested. 3D makes me all crosseyed and dizzy.
- The Princess and the Frog. I seriously cannot contain my joy at 2D making a comeback.
- Tinkerbell: North of Neverland (Straight to DVD). Okay.
- Toy Story 2 in 3D. Still not interested. Speaking of which, I need to go dig out my TS2 DVD.
- Toy Story 3. I’m… really okay on this. I didn’t like 2 very much, I adored 1, so… we’ll see.
- Rapunzel. YEAH! YEAH YEAH YEAH GLEN KEANE ILU!
- Tinkerbell: A Midsummer Storm (Straight to DVD). … Okay.
- Newt (Pixar). It’s the same guy who directed ‘Lifted’, if you remember that hilarious short. I’m definitely looking forward to this.
- The Bear and the Bow (Pixar). It’s Pocahontas meets Brother Bear, from the synopsis of it.
- Tinkerbell: A Winter Story (Straight to DVD) (Disney). Okay, I give up. !$*&#!@$*(!#^$!*(#$^!@(*#&!*(#&!@(*#
- Cars 2 (Pixar). The synopsis didn’t give too much away, but since it’s directed by Brad Lewis, I have good faith in it. It does puzzle me that they would choose Cars of all the movies to get a sequel - in comparison to the other Pixar films, this one didn’t do as spectacularly at the box office, neither did it fare as well with the critics.
- King of the Elves (Disney). Snow White in guy form. Sounds like it.
New Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian posters and promo images. Yum, although he looks like he’s 15.
New promo images for Cars 2, Toy Story 3, Bolt and a bunch of others.
Next Prince of Persia rumour: Jake Gyllenhaal. Still DO NOT WANT.
High School Musical 4 in the works already, even before HSM 3 has begun shooting. President Rich Ross already stated the whole cast isn’t coming back in HSM4, so I think they’re going to dub it ‘the next generation’ as their subtitle or something. Too much of a good thing isn’t good, Disney! Remember the boybands mantra - when one guy leaves, everything goes to pot!
Disney Trip Planning
I am a fan of Disney, that much is clear, but for as long as I can remember, I have also been a fan of the Disney theme parks. I think I could spend all of my time planning a new Disney trip. My fiance and I have begun our planning for our honeymoon, for which we are going to Walt Disney World, and as a result, I’ve uncovered a wealth of trip-planning sites, full of tips, tricks and recommendations for anyone planning to take a Disney vacation.
The first site I would tell anyone to stop at would be MouseSavers. Any of the currently available discounts will be listed at MouseSavers as well as recommendations and tips for the planning and execution of the trip. The site is a veritable treasure chest of information for trips to Disney theme parks, Disney cruises and other Disney-related discounts and tips.
Small World Vacations comes highly recommended by the folks at MouseSavers, and while that is a good start, I think they are able to sell themselves quite well for all your vacation planning needs. They are authorized Disney vacation planners, yet they do not charge additional fees for helping you out with your planning. The people at Small World will monitor your vacation plans and should a discount come available which your trip qualifies for, they will do everything they can to apply that discount for you, thereby saving you money. They also arrange for Grand Gathering events, will make reservations for you at any of the park restaurants of your choosing and are generally your do-it-all people for the vacation. It takes the work away from you and makes your planning stress-free. Did I mention that they charge no additional fees for their work? The only money they make from helping you with your trip is the commission that Disney gives them. I definitely plan to go with them once we nail down exactly when we’re taking our trip.
Another good resource that I’ve found is AllEarsNet. The site is incredible and comprehensive. It has information about every Disney park as well as information about the restaurants, resorts and other important information to know when planning a Disney vacation. Johnathan and I were able to use this site to figure out which Disney resort hotel would be the best for us on our honeymoon. It also includes information about Disney cruises for the sea-bound Disney vacationer.
Other than that, for those planning a Disney vacation, I would recommend keeping an eye open for any discounts that you might be able to get through AAA or other discount-friendly program and make sure that you’re aware of any discounts that Disney is offering for specific time periods or events.
Myself, I’m looking forward to ten days at Port Orleans French Quarter during next year’s International Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. If it weren’t for these sites, I’d probably still be trying to figure out which resort hotel that I wanted to stay at! Disney vacations can be expensive but if you’re not doing all you can to save yourself money, you’re letting yourself get ripped off. Be an educated vacationer and make sure you know what’s what about your vacation plans.
Prince of Persia - My thoughts, let me show you it.
As with any gossip column, this piece of news hardly has any weight to it. Zac Efron and Orlando Bloom are battling it out for the lead role in the Prince of Persia movie. There are other rumours that a real Persian prince is wedging himself in there, but I won’t get into that.
Prince of Persia is an action-adventure video game series, beginning in 1989, and became hugely popular when Sands of Time was released in 2003. This resulted in a trilogy following along this particular storyline, with Warrior Within and The Two Thrones released in 2004 and 2005 respectively. The plot went along the lines of an hourglass that could control time, and the prince - through circumstances out of his control - managed to control this power, therefore controlling time. The story follows the prince’s journey to 1. stop the bad guy from taking control over the sands of time, 2. stop his own death, 3. … stop the bad guy from taking control over the sands of time.
The lead character, only known as ‘the prince’, was an extremely wonderful character to play as. He was funny (very much unlike the usual steroid-infused protagonists on games nowadays), witty, realistic and sympathetic. Throughout the game, you’d be able to hear his inner monologue, and it was just hilarious to listen to (except in Warrior Within, where apparently the production designers decided that he didn’t have big enough balls). I loved the character of the prince, and yes, I’m a huge fan of the Prince of Persia series.
Disney has purchased the rights to PoP, and… well, I feel rather conflicted about this. Any gaming fan knows that the majority of movies based on games have been utter disasters (see Hitman, Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within), and the probability that PoP’s going to fall into ‘a big waste of money’ is going to be very high. The addition of either Efron or Bloom as the title role just summed my feelings up into a massive DO NOT WANT.
Here we have typecasting working against Efron. Zac’s been cast in overtly bubbly, my-butt-vomits-sunshine type of movies. Sticking him into a movie where he’s supposed to fight bigass sand monsters (and presumably his father) is not going to go well. Frankly, he looks like his ass could get pummeled in about 5 minutes. Maybe his LAZEREYES will smite his enemies to death, I don’t know.
Orlando Bloom seems to be the more obvious choice, with him having a great load of fighting experience, but I have to remind you that almost all of his successful films cast him as a supporting actor. The movie where he was lead actor generated only a lukewarm response and was a box office failure. I’ve always been of the opinion that Orlando’s not a very good actor either (he can’t work a closeup, have you noticed? Watch Pirates of the Caribbean again) but his prettyboy status and physique will certainly draw the girls to the movie.
I’m not expecting much for Prince of Persia, even if it is a Jerry Bruckheimer/Disney production. I guess I’ll just stick to replaying the game and listening to the awesome voice that is Yuri Lowenthal.
The Pixar Story: To Infinity and Beyond
The adventure started when Johnathan and I were at the Cleveland International Film Festival. Last Thursday, we saw a movie around mid afternoon and out of sheer curiosity, checked the movie listings for the rest of the festival (which runs through today). Imagine our surprise when we saw a movie called The Pixar Story listed among more obscure international titles! Unfortunately, by the time we noticed it and went online to check for ticket availability, we found that it was on standby, which meant lining up an hour or more before the movie was scheduled to start, then waiting around to find out if we would be able to be seated after all the current ticket and pass holders had been seated. Thankfully, we got tickets five and six, so we were able to get in, though it meant sitting in the very front row. John Lasseter was pretty much right in our faces!
The film chronicles Pixar’s history starting with John Lasseter’s college days and early career at Walt Disney Animation. It goes through the early days of their inclusion in LucasFilm, branching into the very early days of Pixar as its own studio with Steve Jobs as the primary investor. It follows Pixar’s meager beginnings while they struggled just to pay the bills, through its contractual friendship with Disney and repeated movie successes. It continues on to tell the story of the poor politics of Walt Disney Studios and how greatly it had the potential to affect Pixar’s future as well as how it affected the morale around the somewhat untraditional smaller studio. The film wraps up with information about the new merger between Disney and Pixar and the shakeup that merger meant for Disney as well as the possibilities that it allows for Pixar in the future.
Overall, it was an excellent documentary - well-paced, including enough information to enlighten anyone but not so much as to bore the less enthusiastic fans. It included interviews with various people who worked for or with Pixar over the years, including John Lasseter, Ed Catmull, Steve Jobs, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, Brad Bird, Lee Unkrich and Joe Ranft. It also includes interviews with greats such as Roy E. Disney, Michael Eisner, Robert Iger, Ollie Johnson, George Lucas, Frank Thomas, Glen Keane and Diane Disney Miller.
After the documentary, however, we found that we were in for an unexpected (for us, at least) treat. After the credits finished and the lights came up, we were introduced to none other than Lee Unkrich. He obliged those who were able to get in to see the documentary with a fairly lengthy Q&A session. (For those who are obliging me with blank stares, Lee Unkrich has been with Pixar for over fifteen years and is the director for the the coming Toy Story sequel, Toy Story 3.) He answered questions from everything to what Steve Jobs is like (he had only good things to say about the contribution of the well-known Apple company founder) to what the future of 2D animation is at Walt Disney Studios.
Some facts that came out of the Q&A:
- John Lasseter has plans to revive the 2D animation studios at Disney, giving a new place to the art form on which the Walt Disney Studios were built.
- There will be no more Direct-to-Video sequels as was announced last year, but John Lasseter has something up his sleeve that will go directly to DVD. However, according to Lee Unkrich, this project is something “original.” He did not share any additional information about this project, just that it would not follow the way of the Direct-to-Video Sequels which, in his words, lacked in integrity.
- Brad Bird is moving on to live action films, as he has interest in making many different types of movies.
- And in truly unannounced news, Lee Unkrich revealed that for the first time in Pixar history, a woman is scheduled to direct a full-length Pixar film. The feature has not been announced to even be in production yet, so many thanks to Lee Unrkrich for the scoop!
The Pixar story was educational and interesting, but more than that, there is nothing that can beat the energy of a room full of people who love Pixar. Johnathan and I came away feeling positive about the futures of both Disney and Pixar, especially with John Lasseter at the helm of Disney Imagineering and as Chief Creative Officer for Disney Animation. The future at Disney once again looks bright, and with Pixar now at a release schedule of one movie a year, the future of Pixar looks set to prosper as well.
Disney Linkspam!
Y YES I LIVE! Sorry for the lack of updates - Banana 1 had finals this week (I wrote an 15 page paper on the Holocaust in an hour and a half, so BEAT THAT, BITCHES) - so to compensate, here’s a massive amount of linkspam.
Disney and More is holding a contest, and the prize is a rare Disneyland Paris “from sketch to reality” book! All you have to do is answer 12 questions related to Disneyland Paris. Deadline’s April 12th, 2008.
The Disney Blog is also holding a contest, and they’re giving away copies of the Platinum Edition of 101 Dalmatians! Just fill out their contest entry form, and the deadline is tonight, 12th March.
Disney Interactive Studios has released Disney Friends for the Nintendo DS to North America. It’s a simulation game that allows children to interact with characters in “The Lion King”, “Finding Nemo”, “Winnie the Pooh” and “Lilo and Stitch”. Apparently you’re supposed to make “long lasting friendships” with these characters by doing nice things such as questing and buying these characters things to keep them happy. DISNEY’S TURNING INTO SANTA. IT’S NOT REAL, CHILDREN!
My Friends Tigger and Pooh as well as the 2 Disc Platinum Edition of 101 Dalmatians (if you didn’t know already). For the latter, one special feature of note is the mangling rendition of “Cruella De Vil” by Disney Channel star Selena Gomez, and the usual “making of” blah blah.
Walt Disney looks for a collaboration to produce “cartoons to Asian tastes”. Dude, I’m Asian, and I can tell you the people who obsessively fangirl anime are decidedly NOT Asian.
Ratatouille (the game) becomes a “Platinum Family Hits” edition. I still don’t get why they want to make these things so special. It’s been barely a year; you don’t have to relegate it to “A CLASSIC GAME EVERYONE NEEDS TO PLAY” status yet!
The newest addition to the Baby Einstein DVD collection is Baby’s First Sounds: Discovery for Little Ears. Apparently you’re supposed to replay the DVD over and over again to your child and “expose [them] to the first sounds of language they will encounter in their daily lives.” Oh gee, I guess instead of just talking as you normally would, you should buy a DVD to teach your baby how!
Okay, that was shorter than I expected.
Soosi Teh Liddle Bloo Coupehy
According to Pixar, Cars was inspired by the style of the old 1952 animated short, Susie The Little Blue Coupe. It’s directed by Clyde Geronimi, who also directed Cinderella, Peter Pan and supervised Sleeping Beauty. Sterling Holloway, AKA Kaa in the Jungle Book, served as narrator for this film.
The short is available in a number of places, should you wish to see it on a TV screen - it’s an Easter Egg on The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad DVD, Herbie - The Love Bug Special Edition DVD, and Walt Disney’s It’s a Small World of Fun Vol.2, which also features a bunch of other shorts.
Alternatively, you can just watch it here. (Quickly, before Disney takes it down!)
Disney’s House of the Future
The Monsanto House of the Future was an attraction unveiled in Disneyland in 1957. It was meant to be a representation of what a home in 1986 would look, feel and act like. The home, built almost entirely of synthetic materials, included such features as an ultrasonic dishwasher, sinks which adjust based on the height of the user, hands-free telephones, a wall-sized television, electric razors and toothbrushes, and intercoms with mini-TV screens. The house, which had plastic walls and seating, was comprised of four wings which included a kitchen, living room, two child rooms (boy and girl) with adjoining shared bathroom, dining room, family room, and master bedroom with attached bathroom. The attraction was open for ten years, closing in 1967 when the house was sawed apart and removed. Later, the area became known as “Alpine Gardens” and a souvenir stand found its home where the futuristic attraction used to live.
What is old has now become new again, however, as Disney has announced that there will be an all-new House of the Future built at Disneyland. It is expected to open in May of this year in the Innoventions pavillion. The new 5,000 square foot attraction will not be a projection of the future as its predecessor was, however. The Innoventions Dream Home will feature up-and-coming technology which we can expect to be incorporated into some homes sometime in the not-so-distant future to help simplify hectic lifestyles. The home will feature lighting and thermostats which adjust automatically when people enter a room; closets that will be able to help coordinate outfits for colors that suit the individual and keep track of which clothes are in the laundry or at the cleaners; and countertops which will be able to identify the groceries set upon them and suggest recipes based on the selection. It will feature software and hardware which aims to make life simpler for the inhabitants so that their focus can be elsewhere.
Unlike the original House of the Future, the Innoventions Dream Home will meet with the fictional family who live in the home. The Elias family (a family name given as homage to the original dreamer, Walter Elias Disney) spend time in their home, sharing the latest in mobile phones, computers, music and gaming with guests as they prepare for a trip to China. This is similar to the Carousel of Progress (which once inhabited the building in which Innoventions currently resides), wherein guests travel through time with a family, learning of the changes in life since the early 20th century. The Innoventions Dream Home takes a very different angle on this however: the Elias family will be real people, portrayed by Disneyland cast members who will interact directly with the guests who visit the home.
The new House of the Future may not be as futuristic and innovative as the original version was, but it seems poised to make a longer stay, as it could be renovated as time goes by to include new technological advances. As previously mentioned, the attraction is poised to open in May of 2008, though no official release date has yet been specified. I personally look forward to seeing these technological advances in action.
Further reading:
- Yesterland: House of the Future
- Disney Going Back to ‘House of the Future’
- Disney’s ‘House of the Future’ Will Have New Edition
Hitler and Snow White
Never did I think I would utter those two in a single sentence and make it grounded in logic. This isn’t news that Disneyfied usually reports (it’s often media-related stuff that we can review in the future), but my fascination with WWII and Disney made this too hard not to pass up.
A museum director recently discovered 4 Disney paintings drawn by Hitler himself hidden in the back of a Hitler watercolour painting. The Norwegian museum director bought that watercolour painting at a German auction for about US$300. The 4 paintings consist of Doc, Bashful, Dopey and Pinocchio. Analysts of the paintings seem to confirm that Hitler was the artist, or at the very least, the paintings originated around 1940.
I’m sure you’re dying to see ‘em.
