Above The Title...

We've talked about animation quite a lot here. About the actual character animation and even the importance of animated backgrounds...


But what about the importance of the Marquee? Or as some would call it...

"The Title Card"

This little piece of art sets the tone for the short you're about to see. In about two seconds an artist has to convey what is going to happen in the short you're about to watch.


So take a look at these and see if you feel that they're successful at it...













































Nice...

Whatayathink?

Developing...

I've been getting a good amount of e-mails today asking about an article over at Ain't It Cool News about upcoming Disney films and franchises...

The post doesn't mention much but states the obvious. I will tell you what I know in relation to what the person said and what I can reveal. I have some sources in Burbank and not all of them are loosed lips but they tend to drop hints from time to time. Some of the Bothans there are in the know and all of what I know, which can't be revealed.

The source says that...

TRON the sequel/reboot will be in 3D.

This is a very good possibility since many projects at the Mouse will be 3-D by 2010, but first they have to come up with an acceptable and budgetable(read: not too expensive) script. That hasn't happened yet. Well see if by late summer something will be ready for approval.

There will be a CARS 2.

Ok, again this is highly possible but is not guaranteed. There are story people inside Pixar working on this as we speak. But no film will come out if a proper script doesn't come to the attention of John Lasseter. He loves these characters and wants them to be shepherded properly. Another thing is the dates seem about right... figure if one comes out it will be around 2012, which is coincidentally when the new Cars Land area opens up in DCA. This will make a great promotion for the park, but remember that at Pixar the first rule of film: STORY IS GOD. No story... no film. Time will tell. At least we'll have a new Cars short to tide us over until the movie... oops. Scratch that. Repeat after me: "You didn't hear about a Cars short, did you?".

National Treasure 3 is planned.

Actually, from what the Bothans tell me a National Treasure 4 is being planned... maybe even a fifth. The Suits inside Team Disney in Burbank couldn't be happier with the way this one is progressing. Nick Cage enjoys doing it and if they find a good idea to work with this series could go on for a while.

Pirates 4 is planned.

Well, yes. But as for the scope and scale of the story? We'll have to see. The writers are a little preoccupied right now with a period piece know as a " Western ". Some of you may have heard of it? I've heard that they have several ideas for the series, but that it will only involve Jack Sparrow and perhaps Barbosa. Will and Elizabeth will not return. As for the Fountain of Youth plot element? Not known, really. The ideas for the film are in an embryonic state and don't expect anything concrete to be penned down until the beginning of next year at the earliest.

Oh and don't ask about the "Jungle Cruise" film right now. I'm still trying to persuade my friends at TDB to get me a copy of the script and, sigh... I better shut up right here.

The article's header mentions 2011 as an important year for Disney. Now where have I heard that before? Lots more will be coming to Blue Sky Disney in the near future regarding this very transformative year for the Mouse... Stay tuned.

Well, that's all I know/or can say about these projects...

Hope that clears up the fog just a bit for you...

Batting 500...

It's hard to believe it, but this is the 500th post I've made to this little blog since November 2006 when I started it on a whim. Some have been better than others but I've enjoyed posting everyone of them... warts and all.

I want to thank everyone that comes hear to hear my opinions and the rumors and news we post... I never thought I'd get many people who would want to look at my rantings so I'm a little overwhelmed.

We've hopefully got some surprises and big(for me, at least) announcements in the coming months. 2008 is shaping up to be quite a year.

Adam Sandler Is A Gumball... I mean Goofball...

Some of the first pics of Adam Sandler in Walt Disney Pictures "Bedtime Stories" are up on the web over at JFX...

Take a looksie.

Hat Tip to Ain't It Cool News.

Final Wall-E One Sheet...

The final one sheet poster for Wall-E is out...

Endearing little bugger isn't he?

Hat Tip to Ain't It Cool News.

Legend Larson Leaves...

On this day...

Twenty-two years ago, Eric Larson retires from the Walt Disney Company. One of Walt's original "Nine Old Men"... he leaves the studio after creating an amazing amount of beautiful work. His last work was as an advisor on "The Great Mouse Detective", which set about the beginning of the second Golden Age of Disney animation. It's fitting that this was his swan song; breathing new life into something he helped create. Still, the halls of the Animation Building are a little more lonely after this day...

Pixar's Nine Lives...

We all know Pixar has an impressive batting average...

The Naysayers were out predicting doom and gloom for the Lamp with the release of "Ratatouille" last summer. Funny, I don't hear them predicting the same with this summer's "Wall-E" release. Perhaps they got burned when the box office results came in and this time they're holding their "see, I told ya Disney paid too much" until they finally have a bona fied dud on their hands. Until then they'll bide the time hiding under rocks looking for the slightest sign that Pixar isn't perfect.

Sigh...

Of course they're only human, but so far Lasseter and his motley crew of directors, animators and story people have been found to have a uncanny ability to connect with humanity. They seem to have taken the torch passed by Walt himself and the Disney animators of the late 80's/early 90's and ran with it. The irony of this situation is that now they're trying to pass the torch back... a little, by infusing the Mouse with a little light from the Lamp. We'll find our first taste of that during Thanksgiving this fall when "Bolt" comes out. Until then we'll have to wait and watch what becomes of Andrew Stanton's final animated film for this decade. All the buzz I've heard about this film is to be expected...

Really, really good. Great even by most who've seen pieces of Pixar's ninth film.

I've talked to several people that have seen footage and even large chunks of it and they can't seem to pile on enough praise. There doesn't seem to be any fear of doom and box office disaster like last year. It looks like Pixar will go forward ending another year with another hit. Well find out soon enough but as of now it the Lamp's nine lives seem not only safe, but successful. Very, very successful...

I guess the negative Nabobs will have to wait and hope "Up" goes down next year. Don't hold your breath on that one.

The Three Mickeys...

"I'm Mickey Mouse. You know? I hope you've heard of me... I hope?" - Mickey Mouse in The Pointer(1939)

Most people probably know who the mouse is. He's been in the public eye sometime now, but most people don't know much more than that. For instance, most don't know the voice.

The voice?

Or voices I guess would be better to say. The men who lent their voice to the little mouse that built a company. Oh, I'm sure some of you... quite a lot of you would be able to figure out the first one that did the voices. It's been drummed in our heads in all the company's media chronologies of Mickey.

That first falsetto voice was of course, Walt Disney. But who was the second? A few Disney Geek/Fans would get that, but how about the third? Not many I'd bet...

When Walt began doing the Mickey Mouse cartoons they were silent. It was the third cartoon he created "Steamboat Willie" that brought about sound in a cartoon, but it wasn't until "The Karnival Kid" that Mickey finally had a voice. Walt provided it since he was so intimately involved in those early works and it was one less person he'd have to pay. Not to mention that the personality of the Mouse would evolve into a variation on the man himself. Walt did the character's voice all the way up into the mid 40's. By 1946 Walt's growing empire was taking up a great deal of his time and he didn't have enough to continue doing those famous vocals.

Enter James "Jimmy" MacDonald. A drummer and sound effects artist that worked for Disney. He got called in to talk to Walt one day and was asked if he knew how to do Mickey's voice. He did it for Walt and well... Disney had a new live-action/animated film coming out the next year called "Fun & Fancy Free". It was Mickey Mouse's second feature(the first being "Fantasia") and had a segment in it called "Mickey & the Beanstalk". This was to be Jim MacDonald's debut as Mickey Mouse and no one noticed. A year later, in 1948, the first Mickey cartoon short featuring MacDonald "Mickey's Down Under" comes out. He continued to do the voice until he retired from doing the voice in 1977...

That's when Wayne Allwine, ironically another sound effects editor and a foley artist for Disney takes over for Jim as the voice of Mickey on "The New Mickey Mouse Club". Wayne then makes his first appearance as Mickey in the 1983 featurette "Mickey's Christmas Carol"(which was the last time Clarence Nash voiced Donald, btw). He's done the role for everything from video games to television shows ever since. Another strange twist is that Allwine is married to Russi Taylor, who happens to be the voice of Minnie Mouse.

And a fourth voice? Well, Wayne has done Mickey longer than Walt or Jimmy and he's still going strong so there are no plans to replace him anytime soon(Hopefully if Eric Goldberg's new short gets greenlit we'll see Wayne do the voice for Mickey in his first teaming with Donald and Goofy in decades). But eventually there will be a fourth voice... probably someone in the sound department on the Lot. That'd be a nice way to continue the tradition of the three Mickeys...

Indy & Co...

A new poster for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is out for all to see...

It appears to be a "fake" teaser one, not an official on and certainly not the films final poster that should be coming to theaters in a month or so.

Man with the Hat, May 22... Man with the Hat, May 22... Man with the Hat, May 22... Man with the Hat, May 22... Man with the Hat, May 22... Man with the Hat, May 22... Man with the Hat, May 22... Man with the Hat, May 22... Man with the Hat, May 22...

I'm counting the days. No, no. I'm counting the minutes. No, no. I'm counting the seconds. No, no... well, you get the idea.

Of Pencil, Pen & Paper...

The reasons hand drawn animation will never go away...

Glen Keane


Andreas Deja



Mark Henn


Eric Goldberg

David Pruiksma

Duncan Marjoribanks and James Baxter

Dawson and Olivia from "The Great Mouse Detective", Artist: unknown

Academy Awards All Around...

It was a very good night for the Mouse...

The Walt Disney Company's Miramax Film division's "No Country for Old Men" took home the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor. Can't really disagree with them... I loved the film. It and "American Gangster" are tied as my favorite of the year. Joel and Ethan Coen are very talented writers and directors. Javier Bardem was amazing as a ruthless killer that felt no empathy and spread death in his wake.

Pixar keeps racking up awards as well with "Ratatouille" taking home the Oscar for Best Animated Film... I was a little surprised at this since there had been a build up about "Persepolis" over the past few months as being the David which would defeat the Remy-Goliath. Once the awards season happened and Brad Bird's film kept winning awards that began to dissipate until it culminated last night. Bird gave an exceptional acceptance speech for an exceptional film.

Congratulations go out to all Mickey's employees and everyone else that took home Oscar gold...

Mr. Reality Distortion Field Blows Out Candles...

I figured as long as we were celebrating birthdays we might as well congratulate Disney's largest shareholder on turning 53.

Happy Birthday Steve Jobs! Looking forward to all those top secret items the Apple CEO discussed at the last Disney Board Meeting...

Nuff said.

Snow White And The Seven Oscars...

On this day...

Seventy years ago, Walt Disney received a special Academy Award in innovation for the creation of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". Many more awards obviously followed...

I Think, Therefore Iger...

We've talked a lot about the "Extreme Makeover" that is coming to DCA... today in Variety there is an article entitled "Extreme Makeover: Mouse Edition" by Peter Bart that is about the Walt Disney Company and how it's run so differently today under Bob Iger than it was just a couple years ago under Michael Eisner.

Interesting read. Give it a looksie...

Rumanimations...

Walt Disney Pictures fiftieth animated feature is very close to getting approved and moving forward into story...

Animated fans will be glad to know that it's hand drawn. So unless the schedule gets changed and it's bumped or delayed we'll likely see Walt Disney Animation Studios big release after "Rapuzel" be a return to 2-D.

This won't a return to drawn animation exslusively, though. We know Lasseter is letting the directors determine the medium of their films so there are a couple CG ones in the pipeline, but it's good to know there is still room for pencils at the Hat Building! In 2011 animated fans will get to see another Disney masterpiece from what my Bothans are saying.

2011? There's that year again. It keeps popping up. I'm starting to wonder...

Happy Birthday, Mr. President...

I know those words draw to mind an image of Marilyn Monroe singing to a slightly blushing JFK, but this post is to celebrate George Washington's birthday. Walt Disney understood the importance of knowing our heritage and it's why he had such an enthusiasm for American history. It's also why he was able to educate people about things like "Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln" and didn't turn it into a list of dates and numbers boring everyone.

The first president of our nation was born on February 22, 1732 in Virginia and grew up to lead our nation through it's own birth and help establish many of the precedence that we still use today(an example is when each president says: "So help me god" while being sworn in). He was a tall man for his time(over 6 feet) and a towering presence over the men he led. It's impossible to picture the country we now live in even being here were it not for the great sacrifices he made for America during the Revolutionary War, his Presidency and even afterward. Washington was out surveying his property one morning near the beginning of winter when it started to snow, which then turned to sleeting rain. He wasn't prepared for it and continued about his journey around his farm. When he returned later that evening to Mount Vernon he didn't bother to change his wet clothes and unfortunately became very sick with a bad cold. It developed into a severe pneumonia. The medical doctors of the day were not so blessed as the ones we now have(leeches were used to try to heal him) and he passed away on December 14, 1799.

We are all better today because of him...

Reel Change...

In this time of everyone talking about change...

The Mouse has released scheduling changes due to the writer's strike. Here's a partial list of the films and dates that have been changed.

"Confessions of a Shopaholic"

PJ Hogan's take on Sophie Kinsella's novel has moved from its October 9th 2008 date to Valentine's Day 2009. How romantic...


"G-Force"

The CGI family film that Jerry Bruckheimer is producing about some commando rodents has got a launch date of July 24th, 2009.


"The Hannah Montana Movie"

The pop-cultural phenomenon that is Miley Cyrus comes to the big screen on May 1st, 2009 as counter programing against the testosterone drenched superhero film "Wolverine".


"Old Dogs"

No, this isn't Quentin Tarantino's take on the South Korean classic "Old Boy"... this is a film that continues the lovefest between the Mouse and John Travolta. Robin Williams and Seth Green co=star with him in the comedy which is slated for an April 10th 2009 opening.


"Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time"

The film based on the best selling video game has moved up from its July 10th, 2009 date to June 19th 2009 where it will hope many a video gamer will begin lining up.


"The Proposal"

The chick film/romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds will now get a date(pun intended) on September 25th, 2009.


"Race to Witch Mountain"

The remake/sequel? starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will make it's debut/return? on March 13th 2009. Are you reading my mind?


"The Surrogates"

The Bruce Willis vehicle about a world where people only have contact with others through avatars will shine on silver screens on November 20th, 2009.


"Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland"

From the warped mind of Tim Burton comes his take on the classic Lewis Carroll stories of a little girl that takes a drink of some drugged tea and pops into a psychedelic world that only a hippie could appreciate. The acid trip begins on March 19th, 2010.

Image Is Everything And Nothing...

Word On The Street...

I know there's a great deal of buzz(pun NOT intended) about the article in the Wall Street Journal that supposedly revealed the plot of Toy Story 3. Well, they didn't really disclose much more than what was already known...

From what my sources tell me, the WSJ is close but they've got the chronology a little mixed up. All I can say...

Get Ready To Find More Treasure...

It appears that those of us that love the duck won't have to wait too long for a completion of our collection. Today Walt Disney Home Entertainment announce wave eight of "Walt Disney Treasures".

The next volume will be in stores all across America for the holiday season. What can we expect?

Walt Disney Treasures: Wave 8

• "The Chronological Donald, Volume 4": The last of the lovable duck with the bad temper is back for his final collection of animated shorts. The two-disc set will cover Donald's shorts released between 1951 and 1961. Another great note is all these shorts will shown in their original widescreen aspect ratio for the first time. Cool beans! I'm there... I'm there.

• "Destino": This was the famous 1946 collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dalí that was never completed. Roy Disney discovered this unfinished work while researching for another Fantasia sequel. He took up the task of completing this work that had been lost in time for most Disney fans. He completed it in 2003 and was nominated for an Academy Award.

• "Dr. Syn, Alias The Scarecrow Of Romney Marsh": This is one I'm just giddy about. I was a huge fan of this story as a kid... having seen this on the Wonderful World of Disney over a series of Sundays and having actually read the novel adaption of it. It features Patrick McGoohan(The Prisoner, Secret Agent Man) as a sort of British Zorro-type character that fights the corrupt government in gloomy, old England. The DVD will feature all three episodes show on WWOD and the theatrical film version that was released across the pond.

On November 11, 2008 head out to get your copy at a store near you...

Born Full Grown...

I got a great deal of e-mail regarding the "Under The Influence" post last week...

Many people had a lot of questions about the comparisons between Tokyo DisneySEA and DCA and the other parks. Most were wondering why this park was so well done and why it happened there instead of here in the good ole' USA. I've went through this in various posts in the past that readers can look up regarding the building of TDS and the Oriental Land Company. So I thought I'd try another way of looking at it.

Layering on the Narrative.

That's what I like to call it. This is a term I've used in reference to the difference between a Disney park and another amusement park. It's that difference in quality. Now the problem with TDA and DCA or the much less themed WDS in Paris is that each of those parks were designed to start out with a limited amount of theming and grow from there. The Mouse didn't much expect the unison of cries about the quality when it created DCA. WDSP is a story well get to another time more than likely. In Tokyo, the main reason it doesn't have the problems of its American sister parks is that it was born fully grown, while DCA was born prematurely.

Let me unpack that statement for you...

A great amount of thought and planning went into Tokyo DisneySEA. That's not to say that other Disney parks haven't had a good deal of planning, but an enormous amount of detail was put into this park. It also helped that they had already drawn up plans a few years earlier for the Port Disney project. This project already had a lot going for it so the details added only made the park more profound. The narrative of each ride is usually in correspondence with the theme of that land and there is usually a back story. There is some backstory to DCA. Certain areas have a backstory while others were an afterthought. Marty Sklar is known to have not ridden a good amount of rides at California Adventure simply because there was no story to them, no reason for them simply being there. Marty is an old Imagineer from way back and he understands what makes a Disney park a "Disney" park. The reasoning behind much of what was found in the areas of DCA leaves you wondering what was the intent of the Imagineers.

That's not the case in TDS.

Don't believe me? Well, when the park was getting ready to open the media got copies of Disney's Press Kits for the park. Inside you had descriptions of the lands and what their backstory was. This is an example of the kind of planning that went in explaining where you were at and why you were there.

We'll focus on my favorite port in Tokyo DisneySEA... "Mysterious Island."

Here is Disney's official Press Kit for part of that land:

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea -

"The lime is the 1870s. On an uncharted island somewhere in the South Pacific, a giant volcano rises up from the ocean depths. This is Mysterious Island, the secret base of operations for the enigmatic genius, Captain Nemo. It is here that he is engaged in experiments and research intent upon unlocking the secrets of the oceans and uncovering the hidden forces of nature deep beneath the earth's surface.

Inside the Caldera, a crater formed at the base of the volcano, a large body of water provides secret access to the ocean beyond. Suspended above the water is a small submersible vessel, the Neptune, This is Captain Nemo's personal submarine boat, capable of taking him to underwater locales not accessible by his larger submarine, the Nautilus.

In an unprecedented decision, Captain Nemo has invited the world's scientific community to come to Mysterious Island and share in his discoveries of the countless marvels and mysteries of the ocean's depths. He has announced that his special guests will be permitted to board one of his fleet of submersibles, similar to the Neptune, and join his crew as observers to assist in his research and to share the ocean's majesty.

To board their vessel, guests descend a spiral ramp and enter a volcanic rock cavern that leads first to Captain Nemo's Private Study and Control Station. Discovering that Captain Nemo is working in another part of the facility, they are able to walk through these private quarters and observe Nemo's various notes, maps and research materials related to his studies of the sea and his efforts to develop the ocean floor for fanning. It is here too that they are introduced to the Aquaphone. Nemo's amazing wireless communications invention, which allows him to monitor activities throughout Mysterious Island and to broadcast information to his fleet of research vessels under the sea.

Moving along, they enter the Dive Hatch Area where they observe that Nemo and his crew are able to don diving suits and enter the ocean directly through a special pressure hatch. It is clear from the missing dive suits in the storage area, and from the seawater and kelp around the hatch, that divers must have recently used the hatch and that their dive is still in progress.

Soon the guests enter the Submarine Docking Port, a rock cavern that has been reinforced by large metal riveted plates. The submersibles are suspended from an overhead conveyor system for loading. They arc attached by large metal hooks that release the vessels into the water. Guests board the six-person submersibles and the conveyor moves them to the ocean's edge to be dropped into the water and begin their dive.

Upon release, Captain Nemo can be heard over the Aquaphone in the vessel. He broadcasts along the way and provides information to the intrepid voyagers about the sites they see. In their first view after diving to the ocean floor, they observe the beauty of the ocean reef around the perimeter of Mysterious Island. Then they enter one of the many undersea fields where Nemo is harvesting the limitless bounty of the ocean and continuing to develop and refine his Aquafarming operations.

Nemo reminds his guests that the ocean is a vast and wondrous place, but that it is not a domain that can be controlled by man-that man is merely a visitor in the sea. As evidence, guests next encounter a graveyard of lost ships. As they float through the Ship Graveyard, in and out of the wrecks of sunken ships from every era, they observe that all the power and riches the people who piloted these vessels might have possessed or sought, were only destined to become so much junk at the bottom of the sea-a playground for the denizens of the deep.

But there is little time to reflect on the irony of man's quest for fame and fortune. An unexpected encounter with a sea creature of mammoth proportions leads guests on a life-or-death ' adventure beyond imagination. Sinking to a depth far deeper than ever thought possible, the guests; soon discover secrets of the deep that even Nemo himself never dared imagine possible."


Not detailed enough for you? How about the Press Kit the Mouse had for the other ride in "Mysterious Island"? My favorite one...

Journey to the Center of the Earth -

"On an uncharted island somewhere in the South Pacific. Mysterious Island rises up from the ocean depths. In the shadow of a giant volcano, the enigmatic genius. Captain Nemo has established this desolate site as his secret base of operations. It is here that he is engaged in experiments and research intent upon unlocking the secrets of the oceans and uncovering the hidden forces of nature deep beneath the earth's surface.

On an ashen slope inside the caldera. a crater formed at the base of the volcano, a large drilling machine hangs suspended from a huge crane. The hole it has created marks the place where Captain Nemo first discovered natural volcanic tunnels running through the caldera rock. Below the drilling machine is a giant screen to protect those below from falling debris and volcanic ash. Flanking either side of the screen are other corridors that Nemo's crew has drilled into the rock. These corridors lead to another natural cavern inside and the entrance to Journey to the Center of the Earth.

In an unprecedented decision. Captain Nemo has invited the world's scientific community to come to Mysterious Island and share in the discoveries he has made deep beneath the earthy surface. He has announced that his special guests will be permitted to board one of his fleet of smaller subterranean drilling vehicles, personally designed by Nemo himself specifically for scientific subterranean sightseeing excursions.

To reach their vehicle, guests must first trek through the Magma Sanctum (Lava Sanctuary). En route, they will hear Captain Nemo's voice welcoming them to witness the marvels that he has discovered.

As they make their way through the Lava Sanctum, they will pass Nemo's Study, where they will observe that the Captain has continued his study of the caverns he has discovered. It appears that he has recently been engaged in a study of maps he has made and is drafting new ones.

A little farther inside, they arrive at a cast iron structure with walls of glass. This is the Bio-Lab. Here, on worktables and shelves are various reference materials and unique samples Nemo and his crew have brought up from the center of the earth. They include beautiful colored crystals, gigantic mushrooms, bioluminescent life forms and petrified egg fragments that appear to be prehistoric.

As the guests move along, they pass a Specimen Case where more strange insects from the center of the earth are preserved and studied using gloved portals built into the side of the case. Nearby is the Workstation where experiments mechanical in nature are being conducted.

To board their vehicle, guests must now descend a half mile below the surface of the earth in a special elevator known as a Terravator. After a quick and exhilarating ride, guest arrive at another massive cavern dug by Nemo's drilling machine. This is the Base Station where they will board their subterranean vehicle. Large pistons shore up the rock walls and ceiling of this cavern and a giant bellows pumps in fresh air from the surface. Huge dynamos generate the electricity that lights the chamber.

As they make their way to the loading area, they pass the Communication Center, which is the terminus for a system of speaking lubes used by Nemo and his crew to communicate throughout this underground network of caves and drilling sites. On a large map overhead. signal lights indicate the condition of seismic activity. Since the station is unmanned at the moment, there is no notice taken by Nemo's crew of warnings over the speaking lubes to the dispatcher of increased volcanic activity and requests to suspend further departures of vehicles into the caves.

With guests aboard, the vehicles pull out of the station and the excursion is underway. The plan calls lor the vehicles to pass the areas where the samples from the Bio-Lab and Specimen Case were originally found. These places are all well known and well-explored by Nemo and his crew.

Starting at a leisurely pace, the vehicle enters the beautiful Crystal Cavern, a subterranean cave of colorful crystalline structures, the place is alive with sparkling color reflected and refracted onto the cave walls. Along its route, the vehicle passes through a Giant Mushroom Forest, a strange forest filled with huge. luminous mushrooms and populated by odd colorful creatures, never before seen on the earth. It all seems very wondrous and somehow quite safe until the vehicle travels ever deeper into the center of the earth and comes upon a vast Subterranean Sea. This cavern is vast and dark—so vast that it has developed its own atmosphere. Unfortunately, the atmosphere is alive with a loud and violent storm.

It is at this point that the excursion goes terribly off course and the journey becomes much more treacherous. Guests now must face unforeseen peril and danger before they are finally blasted out the side of the volcano in a thrilling and surprising high-speed conclusion."


You can tell they thought this one through, huh?

What about some of the other rides? Do they have a backstory? Yeah... well, if we go over to "Port Discovery" we can go take a ride on one of their attractions.


Stormrider -

"Located on a shore not yet known, in a time yet to be, Port Discovery is a vision of a unique tomorrow: a time when science and nature are in balance. It is the home of the Center for Weather Control where scientists from around the globe are gathered to probe the intricate workings of the earth's weather. They are engaged in intensive research and experimentation with one coal in mind:

to control severe weather systems such as tornadoes, hurricanes and typhoons. To that end, they have designed and built a new type of flying weather laboratory known as StormRider. Aboard these airborne weather research stations, scientists arc able to locale, analyze and combat the planet's most devastating storms. To celebrate the success of StormRider and the arrival of a bold new scientific era, the Center is hosting a festival and open house. As part of the festivities, guests are invited to join a mission aboard StormRider for the flight of a lifetime.

Once inside the Center for Weather Control, guests learn that a major storm has developed and is rapidly approaching Port Discovery. They must quickly prepare to join the next flight, whose mission is to neutralize the storm before it makes landfall. To prepare for their flight, guests are introduced to the Storm Diffusion Device, or ''Fuse." One of the most important inventions from the Center, the Fuse will be launched from StormRider into the eye of the storm and detonated to negate the destructive force of the winds—effectively to diffuse the storm.

Entering the hangar that houses the StormRider vehicles, guests board one of the two flying labs docked there. When the protective windshield cover is opened, guests can see that their vehicle is now hovering outside the hangar, awaiting clearance to take off. As they wait, guests are treated to a spectacular view of the waters of Port Discovery and the ocean beyond. They can see that the other vehicle is hovering ahead. Clearance is given and the flight is underway. The sensation of take-off is exciting, accentuated by the view out the windshield as a floating city quickly disappears beneath the vehicle.

Nearing the huge, dark storm, it is clear to see that this is not just any average weather disturbance—this is the storm of the century, the greatest challenge for the StormRider pilots, and possibly, the most deadly. Suddenly a lightning strike renders the other StormRider incapable of completing the mission and it must return to base. Although the StormRider with the guests aboard is ordered to return as well. the pilot, feeling that he is within striking distance of the storm, ignores the order and continues on. But when the Fuse doesn't operate as expected, the real thrill of StormRider begins with a while-knuckle race against time to make it back safely to Port Discovery."


WDI took every care to make sure you knew that there was a purpose for what you were experiencing. The layering of the narrative was thick and dripping with a story.

Now, lastly lets look at my favorite character in my second favorite ride at Disneyland. The clone at TDS is essentially the same ride, but it has a whole land built around it instead of being tucked away in the side of Adventureland.


Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull -

"The time is the 1930s. The place is Lost River Delta, a tattered outpost of civilization on the ragged edge of the ever-encroaching Central American rainforest and jungle. Famed [archaeologist] Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr. has discovered a long lost pyramid hidden in the dense vegetation. The ancient limestone edifice is called Temple of the Crystal Skull, in homage to the supernatural and vengeful Crystal Skull said to be the guardian of the temple's secrets. One secret Indy has determined by deciphering the temple's hieroglyphics is that this pyramid is alleged to be the location of the fabled Fountain of Youth. He has further discovered that to prevent interlopers from coming in and bathing in the rejuvenating waters, the temple is booby-trapped with untold peril at every turn. Indy has reported that the temple is littered with the skeletal remains of those who have disregarded these safeguards and has advised that no one should attempt to enter. This has done little to discourage the curious and those in search of eternal youth. Even Indy's Central American assistant, Paco, seeing a business opportunity, is disregarding Indy's warning and has established "Paco's Temple Tours," promising to take guests deep into the pyramid by way of a fleet of jungle transport vehicles.

Upon entering the Temple of the Crystal Skull, intrepid guests will walk through an active [archaeological] dig in a cavernous chamber. Traversing hastily erected scaffolding, they walk up and around the perimeter of the room passing by ancient idols, skeletal remains, and frescoes depicting the legendary Fountain of Youth, which appear to contain warnings about the presence of the supernatural Crystal Skull.

After reaching the top and stepping through a wall that has been broken open, the guests queue through a series of rooms used by Indy and his [archaeological] team. Along the way they will see maps, artifacts, newspaper clippings and even a short film by Paco, all of which should advance their knowledge and pique their interest in the secrets of the temple, its contents and its guardian, the Crystal Skull.

As guests board their well-worn jungle transports, Paco is heard over the radio assuring them that if they are careful not to disturb the Crystal Skull, no harm will befall them. The vehicle takes off, lurching and rocking on the uneven road, into the dark depths of the pyramid. The vehicle enters the Chamber of Purity, a grotto-like room of pools where apparently ancients in search of the Fountain of Youth would cleanse and purify themselves before attempting to go further into the temple. But the skeletons scattered about the chamber are evidence that few made it any farther. The vehicle does not stop, but races forward.

Cresting an embankment, the guests come face to face with the fabled Crystal Skull. If the vehicle can move slowly and stealthily, it can go past the Crystal Skull undetected and the secrets of the temple will be within reach. But a surprise backfire from the ill-maintained vehicle breaks the reverential silence, alerting and angering the Crystal Skull and unleashing its supernatural powers.

The vehicle speeds up and turns into a previously unknown chamber. Now it's a race against the encompassing wrath of the Crystal Skull and the many booby traps and unknown dangers that await, in an attempt to escape from the pyramid. Throughout their escape attempt, guests will encounter everything from mummies and bugs to fire and poison darts. But the most dangerous peril still awaits... Even with the help of Indiana Jones himself, can the guests tempt fate and survive? The answer can only be found inside Temple of the Crystal Skull."


See what I'm talking about here? This park wasn't a baby when it was born... it came out fully developed and fully grown. It didn't need be improved and after seven years it's not going through a "Extreme Makeover" like DCA or like WDSP will likely have happen in a few years. It's already grown and ready to go to college. There will be room for growth... there will be additions, but there won't be the need to fix what should have been done right in the beginning. While the other three newest parks will have makeovers and big additions over the next half decade, TDS will simply rippen. Like fine wine... thankfully, most, but not all of these problems were caused by bad decisions made by Suits that are no longer with the company. Here's to the next park that WDI builds being planned with more care and money so that we don't wind up having to fix these problems after getting a black eye in the press.

Perhaps the Mouse's next gates in California and Florida will wind up being born full grown as well so they won't have to grow up in a hurry later...

Musical Notes On Bolt...

It's been confirmed that John Powell has been hired as the composer on Walt Disney Pictures "Bolt". He's a great composer... it'll be interesting to see how his collaboration with Chris Williams and Lasseter will turn out in the final product.

Hat Tip to LR.

Happy President's Day...

Well, I guess "Happy" isn't exactly the right word...

I never liked it when they combined the celebration of Lincoln's birthday and Washington's birthday into the generic "President's Day". I really don't think it does those two men the justice they deserve. Abraham Lincoln being the "Preserver of the Union" and George Washington being the "Father of our Nation" seems to demand more respect than having a generic holiday that honors all our presidents... I don't feel all of them need such praise, I mean after all, do we need to praise Warren G. Harding? I mean the man was not built to be president... but I digress. Let's just say I think Ab and George hold a special place in America's heritage.


But I guess if Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom can pay tribute to them in the "Hall of Presidents", we here at Blue Sky Disney can as well..

Bird On A Wire...

"He'd say, 'If movies didn't exist, what would you do?' And I'd say, 'I'd have to invent them.' " - Brad Bird to his junior high guidance counselor

There's a great interview with Brad Bird over at the LA Times Online today. The Oscar winning writer and director talks about film and how it is dealing with live-action versus animation. It's a interesting dissection of how Bird came on board Pixar's "Ratatouille" and turned it around to become the best reviewed film of 2007. Oh, and it made a bunch of money too...

Give it a looksie.

War Is Over II...

It appears that as well as the writer's strike, another war has ended...

Blu-Ray versus HD DVD appears to have ended with Blu-Ray finally knocking out its rival.

The harsh blow came a couple months ago when Warner announced that they were going to support Blu-Ray exclusively and dropping support for HD DVD. This would mean that 5 out of 7 of the major studios were supporting Blu-Ray along with almost every independent production house. From then on the writing was on the wall. A short while ago Netflix announce they were going with Blu-Ray and Best Buy then announced that it was going to give primary space to that format over HD DVD. Then it was announced just the other day that Walmart was going with Blu-Ray...

Toshiba will be making an announcement next week it appears. Looks like the Mouse made the right decision with the next generation format this time. If you haven't bought a Blu-Ray player you might want to get one... or better yet, wait till Thanksgiving if you can. That's when you'll get the best deal on the future.



Now it appears that Sony's only opponent will be digital downloading of content(Apple's iTunes being the primary example), but that won't be fully operational for about a year or two. But for now at least the Next Def War is OVER. HD DVD is dead...

Long live HD DVD.

Hat Tip to Ain't It Cool News.

Opus Disney...

The breadth of entertainment that Walt Disney created in his lifetime is both deep and immense. The sheer volume of what he produced in his lifetime dwarfs most film makers of the time and simply shows how much he accomplished during his brief tenure on the planet. Not everything he did was a classic and not all of it will be remembered in posterity, he was human after all...

But his achievements in entertainment on the big and small screen speak for themselves:

It's Tough to Be a Bird (1969) (producer)
Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968) (producer)
Disneyland (producer) (18 episodes, 1954-1968) (executive producer) (1956-66)
Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar (1967) (producer)
The Jungle Book (1967/I) (producer)
Scrooge McDuck and Money (1967) (producer)
Monkeys, Go Home! (1967) (producer)
The Fighting Prince of Donegal (1966) (producer)
Follow Me, Boys! (1966) (producer)
Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. (1966) (producer)
The Ugly Dachshund (1966) (producer)
Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966) (producer)
That Darn Cat! (1965) (producer)
Goofy's Freeway Troubles (1965) (producer)
The Monkey's Uncle (1965) (executive producer)
Freewayphobia #1 (1965) (producer)
Those Calloways (1965) (producer)
Emil and the Detectives (1964) (producer)
Mary Poppins (1964) (producer)
The Moon-Spinners (1964) (producer)
The Three Lives of Thomasina (1964) (producer)
The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964) (producer)
The Sword in the Stone (1963) (producer)
The Incredible Journey (1963) (producer)
Summer Magic (1963) (producer)
Savage Sam (1963) (producer)
Yellowstone Cubs (1963) (producer)
Miracle of the White Stallions (1963) (producer)
Son of Flubber (1963) (producer)
A Symposium on Popular Songs (1962) (producer)
The Legend of Lobo (1962) (producer)
Almost Angels (1962) (producer)
Big Red (1962) (producer)
Bon Voyage! (1962) (producer)
Moon Pilot (1962) (producer)
Aquamania (1961) (producer)
Babes in Toyland (1961) (producer)
Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog (1961) (executive producer)
Nikki, Wild Dog of the North (1961) (producer)
The Litterbug (1961) (producer)
Donald and the Wheel (1961) (producer)
The AbsentMinded Professor (1961) (producer)
The Saga of Windwagon Smith (1961) (producer)
One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) (producer)
Swiss Family Robinson (1960) (producer)
Ten Who Dared (1960) (producer)
Pollyanna (1960) (producer)
Kidnapped (1960) (producer)
Goliath II (1960) (producer)
Donald Duck and his Companions (1960) (producer)
Third Man on the Mountain (1959) (producer)
Noah's Ark (1959) (producer)
How to Have an Accident at Work (1959) (producer)
Donald in Mathmagic Land (1959) (producer)
Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959) (producer)
Disneyland '59 (1959) (TV) (producer: Disneyland)
The Shaggy Dog (1959) (executive producer)
Sleeping Beauty (1959) (producer)
Grand Canyon (1958) (producer)
The Sign of Zorro (1958) (executive producer)
Paul Bunyan (1958) (producer)
The Light in the Forest (1958) (producer)
"Walt Disney Presents: Annette" (1958) TV series (producer)
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1958) (producer)
Old Yeller (1957) (executive producer)
"Zorro" 1 episode - Presenting Señor Zorro (1957) (producer)
The Truth About Mother Goose (1957) (producer)
The Story of Anyburg U.S.A. (1957) (producer)
Johnny Tremain (1957) (producer)
Samoa (1956) (producer)
Disneyland, U.S.A. (1956) (producer)
Westward Ho the Wagons! (1956) (producer)
A Cowboy Needs a Horse (1956) (producer)
I'm No Fool as a Pedestrian (1956) (producer)
In the Bag (1956) (producer)
Jack and Old Mac (1956) (producer)
How to Have an Accident in the Home (1956) (producer)
The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) (executive producer)
Hooked Bear (1956) (producer)
Chips Ahoy (1956) (producer)
You and Your Ears (1956) (producer)
I'm No Fool Having Fun (1956) (producer)
"Corky and White Shadow" (1956) TV series (producer)
I'm No Fool in Water (1956) (producer)
Men Against the Arctic (1955) (producer)
Up a Tree (1955) (producer)
Beezy Bear (1955) (producer)
Bearly Asleep (1955) (producer)
Dateline: Disneyland (1955) (TV) (executive producer)
Lady and the Tramp (1955) (producer)
Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955) (producer)
Contrast in Rhythm (1955) (producer)
Lake Titicaca (1955) (producer)
Switzerland (1955) (producer)
No Hunting (1955) (producer)
You and Your Senses of Smell and Taste (1955) (producer)
You and Your Food (1955) (producer)
I'm No Fool with a Bicycle (1955) (producer)
You and Your Five Senses (1955) (producer)
You and Your Sense of Touch (1955) (producer)
I'm No Fool with Fire (1955) (producer)
You the Human Animal (1955) (producer)
Siam (1954) (producer)
20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) (producer)
The Flying Squirrel (1954) (producer)
Social Lion (1954) (producer)
Once Upon a Wintertime (1954) (producer)
Grin and Bear It (1954) (producer)
Little Toot (1954) (producer)
Dragon Around (1954) (producer)
Casey Bats Again (1954) (producer)
Pigs Is Pigs (1954) (producer)
Two for the Record (1954) (producer)
The Lone Chipmunks (1954) (producer)
Stormy, the Thoroughbred (1954) (executive producer)
Donald's Diary (1954) (producer)
Spare the Rod (1954) (producer)
Johnny Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet (1954) (producer)
Canvas Back Duck (1953) (producer)
How to Sleep (1953) (producer)
Working for Peanuts (1953) (producer)
Ben and Me (1953) (producer)
Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom (1953) (producer)
Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue (1953) (executive producer)
Rugged Bear (1953) (producer)
Football Now and Then (1953) (producer)
The New Neighbor (1953) (producer)
The Sword and the Rose (1953) (producer)
How to Dance (1953) (producer)
Father's Week-end (1953) (producer)
Don's Fountain of Youth (1953) (producer)
Melody (1953) (producer)
For Whom the Bulls Toil (1953) (producer)
The Simple Things (1953) (producer)
Father's Day Off (1953) (producer)
The Alaskan Eskimo (1953) (producer)
Peter Pan (1953) (producer)
How to Be a Detective (1952) (producer)
Pluto's Christmas Tree (1952) (producer)
Two Weeks Vacation (1952) (producer)
Trick or Treat (1952) (producer)
Pluto's Party (1952) (producer)
The Little House (1952) (producer)
Uncle Donald's Ants (1952) (producer)
Teachers Are People (1952) (producer)
The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952) (executive producer)
Susie the Little Blue Coupe (1952) (producer)
Two Gun Goofy (1952) (producer)
Let's Stick Together (1952) (producer)
Man's Best Friend (1952) (producer)
Hello Aloha (1952) (producer)
Lambert the Sheepish Lion (1952) (producer)
Donald Applecore (1952) (producer)
Father's Lion (1952) (producer)
Bee on Guard (1951) (producer)
No Smoking (1951) (producer)
Out of Scale (1951) (producer)
Fathers Are People (1951) (producer)
Cold Turkey (1951) (producer)
Get Rich Quick (1951) (producer)
R'coon Dawg (1951) (producer)
How to Catch a Cold (1951) (producer)
Alice in Wonderland (1951) (producer)
Lucky Number (1951) (producer)
Tomorrow We Diet! (1951) (producer)
Plutopia (1951) (producer)
Cold War (1951) (producer)
Home Made Home (1951) (producer)
Corn Chips (1951) (producer)
Two Chips and a Miss (1951) (producer)
Dude Duck (1951) (producer)
Cold Storage (1951) (producer)
Chicken in the Rough (1951) (producer)
Lion Down (1951) (producer)
Operation Wonderland (1951) (executive producer)
Out on a Limb (1950) (producer)
Morris the Midget Moose (1950) (producer)
Hold That Pose (1950) (producer)
Bee at the Beach (1950) (producer)
Camp Dog (1950) (producer)
Hook, Lion and Sinker (1950) (producer)
Food for Feudin' (1950) (producer)
Pests of the West (1950) (producer)
Treasure Island (1950) (executive producer)
Motor Mania (1950) (producer)
Puss Cafe (1950) (producer)
Test Pilot Donald (1950) (producer)
Primitive Pluto (1950) (producer)
Trailer Horn (1950) (producer)
Wonder Dog (1950) (producer)
Crazy Over Daisy (1950) (producer)
The Brave Engineer (1950) (producer)
Cinderella (1950) (producer)
Pluto and the Gopher (1950) (producer)
Lion Around (1950) (producer)
Pluto's Heart Throb (1950) (producer)
Toy Tinkers (1949) (producer)
Slide Donald Slide (1949) (producer)
Sheep Dog (1949) (producer)
The Greener Yard (1949) (producer)
The Wind in the Willows (1949) (producer)
Goofy Gymnastics (1949) (producer)
All in a Nutshell (1949) (producer)
Tennis Racquet (1949) (producer)
Honey Harvester (1949) (producer)
Bubble Bee (1949) (producer)
Winter Storage (1949) (producer)
Pluto's Sweater (1949) (producer)
Sea Salts (1949) (producer)
Pluto's Surprise Package (1949) (producer)
Donald's Happy Birthday (1949) (producer)
Pueblo Pluto (1949) (producer)
Tea for Two Hundred (1948) (producer)
Mickey and the Seal (1948) (producer)
So Dear to My Heart (1948) (producer)
Three for Breakfast (1948) (producer)
Soup's On (1948) (producer)
Pluto's Fledgling (1948) (producer)
Inferior Decorator (1948) (producer)
Cat Nap Pluto (1948) (producer)
The Trial of Donald Duck (1948) (producer)
Pluto's Purchase (1948) (producer)
Melody Time (1948) (producer)
Bumble Boogie (1948) (producer)
Trees (1948) (producer)
Johnny Appleseed (1948) (producer)
Donald's Dream Voice (1948) (producer)
Bone Bandit (1948) (producer)
Daddy Duck (1948) (producer)
Blame It on the Samba (1948) (producer)
Mickey Down Under (1948) (producer)
Drip Dippy Donald (1948) (producer)
The Big Wash (1948) (producer)
They're Off (1948) (producer)
Pecos Bill (1948) (producer)
Pluto's Blue Note (1947) (producer)
Chip an' Dale (1947) (producer)
Mail Dog (1947) (producer)
Foul Hunting (1947) (producer)
Mickey's Delayed Date (1947) (producer)
Bongo (1947) (producer)
Mickey and the Beanstalk (1947) (producer)
Fun & Fancy Free (1947) (producer)
Wide Open Spaces (1947) (producer)
Bootle Beetle (1947) (producer)
Crazy with the Heat (1947) (producer)
Donald's Dilemma (1947) (producer)
Clown of the Jungle (1947) (producer)
Figaro and Frankie (1947) (producer)
Sleepy Time Donald (1947) (producer)
Straight Shooters (1947) (producer)
Rescue Dog (1947) (producer)
Pluto's Housewarming (1947) (producer)
Double Dribble (1946) (producer)
Song of the South (1946) (producer)
Frank Duck Brings 'em Back Alive (1946) (producer)
Bath Day (1946) (producer)
Lighthouse Keeping (1946) (producer)
Dumb Bell of the Yukon (1946) (producer)
Willie the Operatic Whale (1946) (producer)
Casey at the Bat (1946) (producer)
The Martins and the Coys (1946) (producer)
Peter and the Wolf (1946) (producer)
Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet (1946) (producer)
Wet Paint (1946) (producer)
The Purloined Pup (1946) (producer)
Donald's Double Trouble (1946) (producer)
Squatter's Rights (1946) (producer)
In Dutch (1946) (producer)
Make Mine Music (1946) (producer)
Pluto's Kid Brother (1946) (producer)
A Knight for a Day (1946) (producer)
Blue Bayou (1946) (producer)
After You've Gone (1946) (producer)
All the Cats Join In (1946) (producer)
Old Sequoia (1945) (producer)
Canine Patrol (1945) (producer)
Cured Duck (1945) (producer)
Hockey Homicide (1945) (producer)
No Sail (1945) (producer)
The Legend of Coyote Rock (1945) (producer)
Duck Pimples (1945) (producer)
Canine Casanova (1945) (producer)
Californy er Bust (1945) (producer)
Donald's Crime (1945) (producer)
African Diary (1945) (producer)
The Eyes Have It (1945) (producer)
Dog Watch (1945) (producer)
The Clock Watcher (1945) (producer)
Tiger Trouble (1945) (producer)
The Cold-Blooded Penguin (1945) (producer)
The Flying Gauchito (1945) (producer)
The Three Caballeros (1944) (producer)
Donald's Off Day (1944) (producer)
First Aiders (1944) (producer)
How to Play Football (1944) (producer)
The Plastics Inventor (1944) (producer)
Springtime for Pluto (1944) (producer)
Commando Duck (1944) (producer)
Contrary Condor (1944) (producer)
Donald Duck and the Gorilla (1944) (producer)
How to Play Golf (1944) (producer)
Trombone Trouble (1944) (producer)
How to Be a Sailor (1944) (producer)
The Pelican and the Snipe (1944) (producer)
Chicken Little (1943) (producer)
Home Defense (1943) (producer)
The Old Army Game (1943) (producer)
Figaro and Cleo (1943) (producer)
Reason and Emotion (1943) (producer)
Victory Vehicles (1943) (producer)
Victory Through Air Power (1943) (producer)
Fall Out-Fall in (1943) (producer)
Private Pluto (1943) (producer)
The Flying Jalopy (1943) (producer)
Pluto and the Armadillo (1943) (producer)
Donald's Tire Trouble (1943) (producer)
Education for Death (1943) (producer)
The Spirit of '43 (1943) (producer)
El Gaucho Goofy (1943) (producer)
Pedro (1943) (producer)
British Torpedo Plane Tactics (1943) (producer)
Bellboy Donald (1942) (producer)
How to Fish (1942) (producer)
Pluto at the Zoo (1942) (producer)
Sky Trooper (1942) (producer)
How to Swim (1942) (producer)
The Olympic Champ (1942) (producer)
The Vanishing Private (1942) (producer)
How to Play Baseball (1942) (producer)
T-Bone for Two (1942) (producer)
Bambi (1942) (producer)
Out of the Frying Pan Into the Firing Line (1942) (producer)
Donald's Gold Mine (1942) (producer)
Food Will Win the War (1942) (producer)
The Sleepwalker (1942) (producer)
Donald's Garden (1942) (producer)
The Army Mascot (1942) (producer)
Donald Gets Drafted (1942) (producer)
Donald's Snow Fight (1942) (producer)
Symphony Hour (1942) (producer)
Pluto Junior (1942) (producer)
Mickey's Birthday Party (1942) (producer)
The New Spirit (1942) (producer)
The Village Smithy (1942) (producer)
All Together (1942) (producer)
Donald's Decision (1942) (producer)
Der Fuehrer's Face (1942) (producer)
Aquarela do Brasil (1942) (producer)
The Art of Self Defense (1941) (producer)
7 Wise Dwarfs (1941) (producer)
Chef Donald (1941) (producer)
The Thrifty Pig (1941) (producer)
The Art of Skiing (1941) (producer)
Donald's Camera (1941) (producer)
Dumbo (1941) (producer)
Lend a Paw (1941) (producer)
Old MacDonald Duck (1941) (producer)
Orphans' Benefit (1941) (producer)
Truant Officer Donald (1941) (producer)
Early to Bed (1941) (producer)
The Nifty Nineties (1941) (producer)
Canine Caddy (1941) (producer)
A Good Time for a Dime (1941) (producer)
Baggage Buster (1941) (producer)
A Gentleman's Gentleman (1941) (producer)
Golden Eggs (1941) (producer)
The Little Whirlwind (1941) (producer)
Pluto's Playmate (1941) (producer)
Timber (1941) (producer)
Pantry Pirate (1940) (producer)
Fire Chief (1940) (producer)
Goofy's Glider (1940) (producer)
Fantasia (1940) (producer)
Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip (1940) (producer)
Window Cleaners (1940) (producer)
Pluto's Dream House (1940) (producer)
Donald's Vacation (1940) (producer)
Put-Put Troubles (1940) (producer)
Bone Trouble (1940) (producer)
Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940) (producer)
Billposters (1940) (producer)
Tugboat Mickey (1940) (producer)
Donald's Dog Laundry (1940) (producer)
The Riveter (1940) (producer)
Pinocchio (1940) (producer)
Officer Duck (1939) (producer)
The Autograph Hound (1939) (producer)
Donald's Penguin (1939) (producer)
The Pointer (1939) (producer)
Sea Scouts (1939) (producer)
Beach Picnic (1939) (producer)
Donald's Cousin Gus (1939) (producer)
The Hockey Champ (1939) (producer)
Ugly Duckling (1939) (producer)
Goofy and Wilbur (1939) (producer)
The Practical Pig (1939) (producer)
Society Dog Show (1939) (producer)
Donald's Lucky Day (1939) (producer)
The Standard Parade (1939) (producer)
Mother Goose Goes Hollywood (1938) (producer)
Merbabies (1938) (producer)
Ferdinand the Bull (1938) (producer)
Donald's Golf Game (1938) (producer)
Farmyard Symphony (1938) (producer)
Brave Little Tailor (1938) (producer)
Mickey's Parrot (1938) (producer)
The Whalers (1938) (producer)
The Fox Hunt (1938) (producer)
Good Scouts (1938) (producer)
Polar Trappers (1938) (producer)
Wynken, Blynken & Nod (1938) (producer)
Mickey's Trailer (1938) (producer)
Donald's Nephews (1938) (producer)
Moth and the Flame (1938) (producer)
Donald's Better Self (1938) (producer)
Boat Builders (1938) (producer)
Self Control (1938) (producer)
Lonesome Ghosts (1937) (producer)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) (producer)
Donald's Ostrich (1937) (producer)
Pluto's Quin-puplets (1937) (producer)
The Old Mill (1937) (producer)
Clock Cleaners (1937) (producer)
Hawaiian Holiday (1937) (producer)
Modern Inventions (1937) (producer)
Little Hiawatha (1937) (producer)
Mickey's Amateurs (1937) (producer)
Woodland Café (1937) (producer)
Moose Hunters (1937) (producer)
Magician Mickey (1937) (producer)
Don Donald (1937) (producer)
The Worm Turns (1937) (producer)
More Kittens (1936) (producer)
Mother Pluto (1936) (producer)
The Country Cousin (1936) (producer)
Mickey's Elephant (1936) (producer)
Three Blind Mouseketeers (1936) (producer)
Donald and Pluto (1936) (producer)
Toby Tortoise Returns (1936) (producer)
Mickey's Circus (1936) (producer)
Alpine Climbers (1936) (producer)
Mickey's Rival (1936) (producer)
Moving Day (1936) (producer)
Thru the Mirror (1936) (producer)
Three Little Wolves (1936) (producer)
Elmer Elephant (1936) (producer)
Mickey's Grand Opera (1936) (producer)
Orphans' Picnic (1936) (producer)
Mickey's Polo Team (1936) (producer)
Broken Toys (1935) (producer)
Cock o' the Walk (1935) (producer)
Three Orphan Kittens (1935) (producer)
Music Land (1935) (producer)
On Ice (1935) (producer)
Pluto's Judgement Day (1935) (producer)
Mickey's Fire Brigade (1935) (producer)
Mickey's Garden (1935) (producer)
Who Killed Cock Robin? (1935) (producer)
The Cookie Carnival (1935) (producer)
Water Babies (1935) (producer)
The Robber Kitten (1935) (producer)
Mickey's Kangaroo (1935) (producer)
The Golden Touch (1935) (producer)
Mickey's Service Station (1935) (producer)
The Band Concert (1935) (producer)
Mickey's Man Friday (1935) (producer)
The Tortoise and the Hare (1935) (producer)
Two-Gun Mickey (1934) (producer)
The Dognapper (1934) (producer)
The Goddess of Spring (1934) (producer)
Mickey Plays Papa (1934) (producer)
Peculiar Penguins (1934) (producer)
Orphan's Benefit (1934) (producer)
The Flying Mouse (1934) (producer)
Mickey's Steamroller (1934) (producer)
The Wise Little Hen (1934) (producer)
Gulliver Mickey (1934) (producer)
The Big Bad Wolf (1934) (producer)
Funny Little Bunnies (1934) (producer)
Playful Pluto (1934) (producer)
Camping Out (1934) (producer)
The Grasshopper and the Ants (1934) (producer)
The China Shop (1934) (producer)
Shanghaied (1934) (producer)
The Night Before Christmas (1933) (producer)
Giantland (1933) (producer)
The Pet Store (1933) (producer)
The Steeplechase (1933) (producer)
The Pied Piper (1933) (producer)
Puppy Love (1933) (producer)
Lullaby Land (1933) (producer)
Old King Cole (1933) (producer)
Mickey's Gala Premier (1933) (producer)
Mickey's Mechanical Man (1933) (producer)
The Mail Pilot (1933) (producer)
Three Little Pigs (1933) (producer)
Father Noah's Ark (1933) (producer)
Ye Olden Days (1933) (producer)
Mickey's Mellerdrammer (1933) (producer)
Birds in the Spring (1933) (producer)
Mickey's Pal Pluto (1933) (producer)
The Mad Doctor (1933) (producer)
Building a Building (1933) (producer)
Mickey's Good Deed (1932) (producer)
Santa's Workshop (1932) (producer)
Babes in the Woods (1932) (producer)
Parade of the Award Nominees (1932) (producer)
The Klondike Kid (1932) (producer)
The Wayward Canary (1932) (producer)
Touchdown Mickey (1932) (producer)
Bugs in Love (1932) (producer)
The Whoopee Party (1932) (producer)
King Neptune (1932) (producer)
Trader Mickey (1932) (producer)
Mickey's Nightmare (1932) (producer)
Just Dogs (1932) (producer)
Flowers and Trees (1932) (producer)
Mickey in Arabia (1932) (producer)
Musical Farmer (1932) (producer)
The Bears and Bees (1932) (producer)
Mickey's Revue (1932) (producer)
Barnyard Olympics (1932) (producer)
The Mad Dog (1932) (producer)
The Grocery Boy (1932) (producer)
Oh, Teacher (1932) (producer)
The Duck Hunt (1932) (producer)
The Bird Store (1932) (producer)
The Ugly Duckling (1931) (producer)
Mickey's Orphans (1931) (producer)
Mickey Cuts Up (1931) (producer)
The Beach Party (1931) (producer)
The Fox Hunt (1931) (producer)
The Barnyard Broadcast (1931) (producer)
The Spider and the Fly (1931) (producer)
The Clock Store (1931) (producer)
Fishin' Around (1931) (producer)
Egyptian Melodies (1931) (producer)
Blue Rhythm (1931) (producer)
The Cat's Out (1931) (producer)
Mickey Steps Out (1931) (producer)
The Busy Beavers (1931) (producer)
The Delivery Boy (1931) (producer)
The China Plate (1931) (producer)
The Moose Hunt (1931) (producer)
Mother Goose Melodies (1931) (producer)
The Castaway (1931) (producer)
Traffic Troubles (1931) (producer)
Birds of a Feather (1931) (producer)
The Birthday Party (1931) (producer)
Playful Pan (1930) (producer)
Pioneer Days (1930) (producer)
Winter (1930) (producer)
The Picnic (1930) (producer)
The Gorilla Mystery (1930) (producer)
The Chain Gang (1930) (producer)
Monkey Melodies (1930) (producer)
Night (1930) (producer)
The Shindig (1930) (producer)
Midnight in a Toy Shop (1930) (producer)
The Fire Fighters (1930) (producer)
Arctic Antics (1930) (producer)
Frolicking Fish (1930) (producer)
The Cactus Kid (1930) (producer)
Just Mickey (1930) (producer)
Cannibal Capers (1930) (producer)
The Barnyard Concert (1930) (producer)
Autumn (1930) (producer)
Summer (1930) (producer)
The Merry Dwarfs (1929) (producer)
Hell's Bells (1929) (producer)
Jungle Rhythm (1929) (producer)
Springtime (1929) (producer)
Terrible toreador, El (1929) (producer)
The Skeleton Dance (1929) (producer)
Wild Waves (1929) (producer)
Haunted House (1929) (producer)
The Jazz Fool (1929) (producer)
Mickey's Follies (1929) (producer)
Mickey's Choo-Choo (1929) (producer)
The Karnival Kid (1929) (producer)
The Plowboy (1929) (producer)
The Barnyard Battle (1929) (producer)
When the Cat's Away (1929) (producer)
The Opry House (1929/I) (producer)
The Barn Dance (1929) (producer)
The Gallopin' Gaucho (1928) (producer)
Steamboat Willie (1928) (producer)
Plane Crazy (1928) (producer)
Alice in the Big League (1927) (producer)
Alice the Beach Nut (1927) (producer)
Alice's Medicine Show (1927) (producer)
Alice in the Klondike (1927) (producer)
Alice's Channel Swim (1927) (producer)
Alice's Picnic (1927) (producer)
Alice's Knaughty Knight (1927) (producer)
Alice's Three Bad Eggs (1927) (producer)
Alice's Circus Daze (1927) (producer)
Alice's Auto Race (1927) (producer)
Alice in the Alps (1927) (producer)
Alice the Collegiate (1927) (producer)
Alice at the Rodeo (1927) (producer)
Alice at the Carnival (1927) (producer)
Alice Foils the Pirates (1927) (producer)
Alice the Golf Bug (1927) (producer)
Alice the Lumberjack (1926) (producer)
Alice's Brown Derby (1926) (producer)
Alice's Spanish Guitar (1926) (producer)
Alice Helps the Romance (1926) (producer)
Alice Cuts the Ice (1926) (producer)
Alice the Fire Fighter (1926) (producer)
Alice in Slumberland (1926) (producer)
Alice's Monkey Business (1926) (producer)
Alice Charms the Fish (1926) (producer)
Alice's Orphan (1926) (producer)
Alice's Little Parade (1926) (producer)
Alice's Balloon Race (1926) (producer)
Clara Cleans Her Teeth (1926) (producer)
Alice on the Farm (1926) (producer)
Alice Rattled by Rats (1925) (producer)
Alice Plays Cupid (1925) (producer)
Alice Chops the Suey (1925) (producer)
Alice's Tin Pony (1925) (producer)
Alice Picks the Champ (1925) (producer)
Alice Wins the Derby (1925) (producer)
Alice Is Stage Struck (1925) (producer)
Alice Loses Out (1925) (producer)
Alice Solves the Puzzle (1925) (producer)
Alice Gets Stung (1925) (producer)
Alice the Toreador (1925) (producer)
Alice Cans the Cannibals (1925) (producer)
Alice the Piper (1924) (producer)
Alice and the Three Bears (1924) (producer)
Alice Hunting in Africa (1924) (producer)
Alice and the Dog Catcher (1924) (producer)
Alice's Fishy Story (1924) (producer)
Alice's Spooky Adventure (1924) (producer)
Alice's Day at the Sea (1924) (producer)
Martha (1923) (producer)
Alice's Wonderland (1923) (producer)
Cinderella (1922) (producer)
Tommy Tucker's Tooth (1922) (producer)
Puss in Boots (1922) (producer)
Goldie Locks and the Three Bears (1922) (producer)
Jack and the Beanstalk (1922) (producer)
The Four Musicians of Bremen (1922) (producer)
Little Red Riding Hood (1922) (producer)

If Adventure Has A Name, We're About To Find Out...

The day Indiana Jones fans have waited for over 19 years to see happened today...

We got our first look at the trailer for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" this morning on Good Morning America. The beautiful Quicktime version is now up on Yahoo! Movies and will be in theaters tonight. It's reportedly going to be playing in front of "The Spiderwick Chronicles" this weekend.

I don't know about you, but being that "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is my favorite film I'm getting in line right now. If you go to see a movie tonight you may just run into me. I'm the guy carrying the bullwhip.

Enjoy...

Glass Slipper Lost Long Ago...

On this day...

Fifty-eight years ago, Walt Disney's "Cinderella" comes to theaters everywhere. It is Walt's twelfth animated feature and another layer of what we now know to be called Disney Magic. This film among others is prominently setting an image in the world's consciousness of the tie between Disney animation and classic fantasy literature.

20,000 Leagues Under The Influence...

When you think of some of the marvelous creations that Disney has come up with in its theme parks and on silver screens over the decades there seems to be common thread among many of them that most people don't think about...


Verne. Wells. Burroughs.

As in, Jules Verne, H. G. Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughs have played a great part in many past, present and yes, future creations at the Mouse. In film or parks these classic adventure/sci-fi novelist have added more to the creation of Disney myth than most anyone but Walt Disney himself.

Go all the way back to Walt's early forays into live-action. While he was building his personal pet project, Disneyland he was also filming a large, action adventure based on one of Jules Verne's classic "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea." A project which, if it had failed would have spelled out disaster for Disneyland btw.

The wonderful designs that were used in that film were a throwback to the Victorian Era but through a forward looking perspective. What Walt's designer of that film, Harper Goff actually wound up creating is what's called in modern times "Steampunk"(check out the WED Enterprises Blog for an interesting article on the subject). The worlds that these authors created have inspired many of the things we take for grated when we ride an attraction, go to a movie theater or watch an old film on DVD.



So I got to thinking about all the things in Disney's world that are affected by these men...

Of the three, Verne plays the most prominence and Burroughs the least... but that sense of Victorian wonder created in their writing has been translated into so many things by Disney that it might as well be called Disney.



Let's start with some of the films...

"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"

An adventure for a mythical monster that has been attacking naval ships in the blue Pacific. French Prof. Pierre M. Aronnax, and his assistant, Conseil travel on an expedition in search of the creature. On board an American warship they encounter a rebellious sailor named Ned Land and a friendship between Conseil and Land begins. Once the monster destroys their ship the three become castaways floating in watery graveyard where they stumble into the mysterious world of Captain Nemo, the captain of the Nautilus, a submersible ship that is a forerunner to what we know as submarines today. The Nautilus actually monster that has been destroying the ships in the Pacific. Their journey leads them across the globe as Nemo shows his visitors a world beneath the waves that mankind has only dreamed of. The travels lead them to Vucania, the secret island atoll that Nemo calls his port.

"In Search of the Castaways"

A tale of a brother and sister, whose father is the long-lost Captain Grant, beg Lord Glenarvan to begin a search for their lost father. Initially wary of the journey, Lord Glenarvan's son John and a geologist who discovered a note from Captain Grant in the belly of a shark convince him to search for the missing captain. They set sail aboard Glenarvan's yacht the Persevero II on a journey of danger and intrigue... essentially a children's tale, but a far better one than "Island at the Top of the World".

"The Island at the Top of the World"

The story of a Professor who travels with uptight, Sir Ross and French balloonist Captain Brieux in a Victorian airship, "the Hyperion"(named after the street on which Disney's first studio in Los Angeles resided) on an arctic expedition to find Ross' lost son, Donald. They discover a lost world above the Arctic circle where a volcanic oasis holds the remnants of ancient Vikings living there for over a millennium. Sounds cool, huh? It's not. The effects are bad and the script is worse... but the idea and feeling are pure Disney-Verne. I've always hated it when a studio remakes a classic, but a film like this has a great idea that was poorly executed... remake this with some talented writers, directors and special effects artists.

"Tarzan"

Based on the classic story by Edgar Rice Burroughs, this tale of an English baby boy adopted by a group of apes has been adapted many times. It was thought when Disney did its version that there was nothing it could add. Not true. In typical Disney fashion they've created a wonderful story with great animation that works for the most part. The villain seems to be a little weak and the story in the last act seems rushed but overall a great film about the Lord of the Jungle.

"Atlantis: The Lost Empire"

The ambitious and beautifully drawn, but flawed 40th animated feature from Walt Disney Pictures was an entertaining story set a little after the turn of the century(1914) in an America emerging from the birth of the Industrial Revolution. Milo Thatch, a cartographer works in the basement of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. and dreams of finding the mythical city of Atlantis. One day he gets a cryptic invitation to visit a mysterious old Robber Barron geezer who tells him he's decided to fund an expedition in search of just that very lost city. The film has a lot going for it... and truly wants to be another "Raiders of the Lost Ark..." but it ultimately falls short. Milo and a group of mercenaries plunge beneath the ocean in a gigantic Versian submarine known as the Ulysses. One look at this craft and you know that it had to be inspired by Harper Goff's designs of the Nautilus. But an example of one of the mistakes the filmmakers made(mainly due to major Suit interference) was to destroy this beautiful creation in less that seven or eight minutes. Huh? Can you imagine if the Nautilus was destroyed in the first five minutes of "Leagues?" What they didn't realize is that the Ulysses should have been a character unto itself. Not an afterthought. Also the "New Age" aspects of the story are not nearly as interesting as the crew that is pursuing it. My opinion would have been to find an Atlantis that was truly lost. Lost and dead. The focus should have been on the characters on this expedition and when they found Atlantis it should have been an archeological dig. It would then be possible to have them find out how and why the Atlantians died... instead of the living hippie survivors that we found. I found them the least interesting part of the film. The film is still a fun ride, but it leaves you feeling the loss of what might have been...

"Treasure Planet"

A Vernsian twists on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic "Treasure Island" novel. Great animation. A Plody story that doesn't quite come off as believable and the main character seems to be too old of a representation of the character from the book. The ships and designs are right out of something H.G. Wells or Jules Vern would have dreamed up though...

Now what about the parks...

The Disney theme parks have also carried the theme of these writers into the physical world as well with the Magic Kingdom's original submarine ride which had guest riding replicas of Nemo's Nautilus. Before it was filled in, the lagoon at Walt Disney World was a wonderful way for families to experience the thrill of actually being part of that classic film.



A much larger tribute to Verne and Wells is Euro Disneyland's Tomorrowland... or "Discoveryland" as the land in Paris is called.



Paris' version is basically Tomorrowland seen through Jules Verne's eyes according to Disney. When Michael Eisner began planning the park that we know today as Disneyland Paris, he gave Tony Baxter and a band of Imagineers the chance to build a land that he wanted to create originally for Disneyland in Anaheim. A land called Discovery Bay, which Baxter wanted to build as a new land at the Mother Park in the late 70's. It didn't happen and when Disney planned on building a European Gate for the Disney Empire, WDI's new park gave this plan new life.



It's Space Mountain is designed as if it was built in a Victorian time and evokes impressions of Georges Méliès' early silent film "A Trip to the Moon". Originally Paris' Space Mountain began life as an even larger creation than a period clone of its sisters across the world. Known as Discovery Mountain, it was an amazing textbook example of a Disney attraction themed to Versian/Wellsian worlds. "Les Mysteres Du Nautilus" or as it's known in English: "The Mystery of the Nautilus" featuring Nemo's sub floating in the Discoveryland Lagoon is themed heavily to in the vision of Jules Verne. The Orbitron(The original Disneyland has an Orbitron as well that was part of the abortive, Tomorrowland 98 project, which we'll cover in a future post) which inhabits Discoveryland is a ride that appears to have been designed by H.G. Wells creator of the Time Machine, himself. Then there was Videopolis, an attraction at Euro Disneyland featuring the Verne inspired Hyperion airship from The Island at the Top of the World.



A proposed new land for Disneyland in the late 70's. Discovery Bay was a Victorian place, a village or small town that was supposed to have cropped up in the north west around the turn of the nineteenth century. Imagine if Captain Nemo had escaped the disaster at the end of Leagues and had came across a mining town nestled in a bay in northern California in the middle of the Gold Rush. He and other reclusive inventors would have used the place as a base for experimenting and developing their ideas for a brighter future. The kind of place that Verne or Wells would have inhabited. An area where airships could be flown in seclusion(much like the Videopolis in Paris) or one could have dinner inside a luxury restaurant aboard the Nautilus(again, part of the original proposal for Discoveryland in Paris). Or you could have a Journey to the Center of the Earth ride... sounds familiar, don't it? Many of the concepts of "Discovery Bay" have made it into parks in Paris, Orlando or Anaheim.



But Tokyo has got the most detailed representation of what Imagineers were dreaming of...



Essentially the world of Jules Verne in Tokyo DisneySEA. It could be named "Verneland" and it would be quite accurate. Imagine that you are in the island base of Captain Nemo from the film, but you are there before the island atoll is destroyed by the outside world. You've been invited as a special guest of the Captain. Able to go on an undersea journey in his personal sub or use one of the devices he's built that will burrow into the ground toward the center of the earth. There are several places you can eat including a restaurant Built into the side of Mount Prometheus. The area is very dangerous because of all the volcanic activity and there are geysers all about the caldera shooting up around you. Pretty neat, huh? My favorite land in the park.







The park's Port Discovery is like an aquatic Tomorrowland with these strong influences as well and is built around the classical representation that Vern or Wells would have put into their manuscripts and stories. It is filled with a Victorian Industrial fantasy theme that evokes a challenging time when explorers thought that anything was possible and anyplace was reachable... much like the attitude of Disney himself.

The worlds that these Imagineers and filmmakers have created for Disney are a magical experience for almost everyone... and we will no doublably have more in the future. Several projects that WDI has designed have yet to be built and nothing is left around for long. Sooner or later a model or blueprint will be pulled out for some new land or new Disney park... that's simply the nature of this narrative. And as for films, in a three or four years we'll have "The Princess of Mars" based on the series of books by Edgar Rice Burroughs that Andrew Stanton is directing. More will follow. After all, these themes are created about the past but they're built for the future...

The future is what this is all about.

Clones Are Coming In August...

It appears that George Lucas has decided to go with the broadcaster of the original "Clone Wars" series as it was announced that the Cartoon Network will air the new series this fall and it will then be rerun on TNT. Before the show debuts on cable it'll have a theatrical release in North American theaters on Friday, August 15th. The Internation release dates are being finalized as we speak.

It looks as though Warner has beat out Fox and the Mouse for the bragging rights to the series. That's fine... there is still a live-action series that should be coming out about a year after the animated series. This will be a chance for Iger to show those "post" WGA Strike negotiating skills and convince Lucas that Disney would be the perfect home for the show. There just might be a hole in the ABC fall schedule for 2009.

Now, about that theme park tie-in...

Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln...

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

- Abraham Lincoln

On this day...

In a small cabin on the outskirts of Hodgenville in the woods of Kentucky was born on this day in 1809 perhaps the greatest president this nation has ever had. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States of America and "Preserver of the Union" was the steward for this nation in its most trying time...

It is no wonder that Lincoln was a hero to Walt Disney. When the Maestro created the exhibit for the World's Fair he wanted to show the world just why he felt Mr. Lincoln was such a defining force in the building of America.

He died at the age of 56 just days after winning a war that was anything but civil. He was watching a production of "Our American Cousin" at the Ford Theater when John Wilkes Booth entered the Lincoln's balcony from behind and pointed a pistol at the back of the president's head. Booth thought he was killing a tyrant. He thought he would be famous. Unknowingly, he killed a giant and was forever after remembered infamously.

When Walt was born, Lincoln would have been dead less than forty years so the war to keep the nation together would have been more fresh in the minds of people growing up in Missouri or Illinois or any other state for that manner. Walt loved President Lincoln so much that he even dressed up as him once as a young boy. The world would know Walt Disney as the an unbridled champion of American ideals but without Abraham Lincoln the Walt we know today would probably not be the same person...

That is the cause and affect of great men...

Sometimes men of purpose are born great, other are made great from their actions and the events that surround them.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln.

Blue Sky Alert-America (Anaheim): Buy And Enlarge...

"Nothing endures but change." - Heraclitus of Ephesus


Time passes so quickly, doesn't it? In the blink of an eye a month will just fly by... It seems like only yesterday it was a new year and we were ringing in 2008 and now it's already the middle of February. Wow.

Things are really moving in the Resort right now as people that have tried to reach Sceamin' have noticed when they go into the pier and stop in front of the wall wondering: "How am I supposed to get to the roller coaster?". WDI and TeamDisney Anaheim are wondering that as well, which is why plans seem to be somewhat mercurial right now. The Disneyland Resort will be a literal beehive of activity for the next few years as DCA becomes Wall Land because of the continual construction and Disneyland's desire to keep thing fresh for the coming 55th anniversary. My focus on this Blue Sky Alert will be the Resort in general and DCA specifically. I'll try and have another Alert up focusing on the Mother Park sometime near the end of the month, time permitting.

Sometime before the end of spring the company should come out and finally reveal the "Extreme Makeover" plans for the Disneyland Hotel. Expect some artwork and a presentation along the lines of what we saw for the Grand Californian expansion a while back. Work should commence on one of the towers by the middle of summer should the current schedule be kept. That means the first tower will probably be finished near the holiday season or a little after it. Come this time next year one of the towers should give us an idea of what to expect since all three are supposed have a uniform theme when they are done in time for DCA's Tenth Anniversary.

Speaking of the Grand Californian, those 250 rooms should be done in time for the new water show that premieres in spring of 2010. Although the new expansion has only 50 DVC units, it won't be long before more are coming... by the end of this decade there will be a great deal more in the planning.

There are still plans for more hotels and hotel rooms over the next few years. The planning for a proposed new hotel in the Simba lot continues as well as plans for another hotel. I badly worded a sentence in one of my previous updates that made people believe that I meant the latest proposed hotel would go where the toll booths are. That's the problem with writing these articles late at night... sometimes your fingers get ahead of your brain. What I was referring to was the loading area, not the toll booth area. This is where another hotel is being designed for. One that will open up and be an entryway into the Esplanade kind of like the way the Disneyland Hotel greets people entering the park in Paris or the way the new Disneyland Hotel will greet guest in Tokyo. The stylings of the preliminary designs look like it's going to be a traditional period themed hotel that guests will move through and around to enter the Disneyland Resort. It will mark a dramatic and inviting visual for those traveling down Harbor Boulevard toward Ball Street. Should these plans be approved, the hotel would likely be finished around the time work begins on the Second Phase of DCA.

It's hoped that by the time DCA begins it's second decade that formal plans will have been approved about what to do with the Paradise Pier Hotel. There are several embryonic plans that Imagineers have, but none will seriously be looked at until after the parks Tenth Anniversary. There are two branches of though about this inside WDI. One group inside Glendale want to take the hotel and give it a retheming as the DL Hotel will soon be getting... while others would like to just gut the hotel and start anew. This project won't be moving very fast over the next few years as the Suits and TDA focus on turning DCA from a disappointment into a park worthy of the Disney name.

As for the expansion of Downtown Disney, well work has been proceeding slowly on that as well, but my Bothans would only confirm that the current scheduling looks to be sometime around late 2009/early 2010 before we start to see any major progress in that direction.

California Dreaming...



Now that construction is speeding up in the park, WDI and the operations side of DCA can start to see the headaches that this is costing. Some dates have been pushed back and some have been shifted to later periods, but no one out there should start to think that this is going to be like the Disney Decade where so much is talked about and so little is actually built. It takes time to clean up after Paul Pressler's mess and we are now reaping what he sewed.


The construction of Toy Story "Midway" Mania is continuing along with tests going on and cast members beginning trained for its opening. The main structure itself is almost done. There are several buildings being constructed along the water's edge which will be semi-permanent structures for ODV carts and shaded roof structures that will replace the metal umbrellas that have dotted areas along the pier. The structures will have similar roofs to the ride with the stylized red shingles and metal railing along the top that is made up of silhouettes of Disney characters(Donald, anyone?). The powers that be have decided to forgo the wooden boardwalk that everyone was expecting and instead go with a patterned concrete design. Hopefully Imagineers will not hold back on the replacement of the gold sunbeam railings which are supposed to have a form similar to Victorian arches that will evoke the turn-of-the-century period. The rest of the games and shops should go behind walls in March if they continue ahead with the latest schedule. Everything between the Maliboomer to the Carousel should be done between May and June for soft opening, followed by a big summer bash.

After the fall and before the holiday season the other areas around the pier will start to slowly go behind walls. The construction will continue on until early 2010 with the debut of the Disney's World of Color night time water show. The entire Paradise Pier area should be done with the exception of the Little Mermaid ride which will open the following year along with the remade front entrance.

Speaking of the Mermaid ride, many of you have heard that the attraction will be taking over the bathrooms behind it. That's true. The bathrooms will be placed across the way, but what isn't known is what the stylings of the new bathrooms will be... the area where the old restrooms were and the new bathrooms will go will not be San Francisco anymore. That's right, with the exception of the Palace structure there will not be anymore San Francisco architecture.

How can that be?

DCA 3.0...



Now, these proposals are what the Imagineers are slowly discussing, but everything is blue sky phase and nothing will get approved until around the time Cars Land is completed. The Suits up in Burbank want to make sure that the First Phase has achieved its goal before approving the rest of that 1.1 billion dollar investment. If figures of over 8 million start going through those turnstiles then we can expect that final figure to be a couple hundred million dollars more. That article in the New York Times the other day mentioned the 1.1 billion dollars for the first five years, but that is simply not true. It's Disney's PR Machine trying to give the impression that it is spending over a billion because it's a nice number. The true figure is just under 800 million and no amount of whining to the New York Times will change the reality of what's being spent. That being said... it's still a lot of money and more has been committed should the remade park spark the public's interest.

Now back to that missing San Francisco section... one of the proposals for the Second Phase is to take the Pacific Wharf area and turn it into the San Francisco area of the park. It's one of several proposals that are being pitched for the Wharf area in the Second Phase.

Then the Golden State will get the retheming of the Extreme Sports look and have it replaced with the period "Yosemite" turn-of-the-century national park look that we've all been hearing about. The animatronic creatures native to California will dot the GRR attraction along with a much more elaborately themed Theodore Roosevelt style park area. The Redwood Creek Challenge Trail will be replaced with a new E-Ticket. The proposals are between a natural adventure type attraction and a vintage locomotive type attraction. Neither are themed to Disney cartoons for those of you that are ranting about the "cartooning" of the park.

The Hollywood Backlot area will be themed more toward the 30's Hollywood that they abandoned in the early design phase of the park. There is a proposal to take all the area around the TOT attraction that is used for the road access to the Timon parking lot and transform it into the Golden Era of Hollywood with several ventures and areas that evoke the time when Walt Disney started to make motion pictures and buckle the system. Just as the new front entrance will give visitors a look at what Los Angeles was like when Walt came here in the late 20's, the Hollywood section will continue on that by focusing on the glory of Hollywood in the 30's. The area around the Hyperion Theater will finally become the grand entrance that it was deprived of under Pressler. At least one E-Ticket will be going into the Hollywood section but right now the Bothans don't have credible evidence as to what direction narratively it will go.

The entrance to the area right past the HBL will lead to the jewel of D(C)A... Carsland. The land which will take up 20 percent of the park will have 3 attractions upon opening four years from now... Radiator Springs Racers, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree and Luigi's Roaming Tires. But the new land was designed to hold at least two more attractions. By the Second Phase we should see at least one more D-Ticket or a plussed C-Ticket at the least. The Paradise Pier area will get another E-Ticket during the Second Phase, most likely one of several that have been pitched for the helix next to the entrance of Screamin' or it will have an entrance there with an attraction behind the stage. Should enough money be available expect Goofy's Sky School to be taken down and a true E-Ticket put in its place. And the proposals so far include one attraction that is an original thrill ride and another that is based on a classic character.

By the time the First Phase is over Disney's California(or whatever it's called) Adventure will be a park worthy of being called a Disney park... come the end of the Second Phase the park will be worthy of being next to Disneyland.

We'll try and have another Blue Sky Alert on the Disneyland Park soon and hopefully a BSA on WDW sometime in March. Lips are tight inside the Glendale Kingdom and I'm sorry for the delay in updates...

Patience.

Mars Investigations Hired By The Mouse...

The lovely and talented Kristen Bell, whom played in one of the few TV shows of the last few years that I consider great, "Veronica Mars" and then went on to become a villain in the hit television show "Heroes" has been cast in "When in Rome" for Walt Disney Studios. Mark Steven Johnson(Daredevil) will direct the romantic comedy written by David Diamond and David Weissman, the tale of a lonely New York curator looking for that elusive thing we like to call love. She steals magical coins from a famous Roman fountain and is pursued by some men that aren't exactly what she expected Cupid to send her way. Filming should begin by the end of April.

In Memorium: John Alvin...

Those of you that have read many of my post will remember me discussing movie Posters as art. Well, one of the great movie poster artist passed on this week...

John Alvin.

He has done many famous posters for Disney films and even more famous posters for films that have nothing to do with the Mouse(like one of my all time favorites: Blade Runner). He leaves behind him a large body of work any artist would be proud to have...

My condolences go out to his family and friends...

Hat Tip to Ain't It Cool News.

Come One, Come All...

There's a nice article at the New York TImes about the Walt Disney Company's attempt to buttress DCA with the Extreme Makeover that is currently underway.

It's an interesting read... check it out.

Movement In The Middle Kingdom...

Things may finally be looking up for Hong Kong Disneyland...

This from the Xinhua News Agency today:

"Hong Kong Disneyland recorded double-digit growth in attendance in the fiscal quarter ending late December, contributing part of the Walt Disney Company's quarterly earnings, the theme park's executive vice president and managing director said Thursday.

Inaugurating a traditional Chinese dragon dance featuring Disney classic Mickey Mouse in celebration of the beginning of the Lunar New Year, Bill Ernest said visitor flow had been steady throughout the quarter with prolonged festival celebrations such as Halloween and Christmas.

Ernest declined to disclose expected attendance to Hong Kong Disneyland but said he expected more visitors in the coming several days as it was only the first day of the Chinese New Year."

And it appears that this may be a good sign:

"There were relatively long queues on Thursday at Hong Kong Disneyland, the smallest one of the world's several Disneyland theme parks."

And you were wondering about the future expansion:

"Officials at the Hong Kong Disneyland had said that it was not putting attendance figures above everything else and that the theme park was expecting help from further expansions to attract visitors."

While it had trouble attracting locals from mainland China, it appears the new steps taken are starting to pay off:

"Many visitors from China's mainland said they liked the style of the Hong Kong Disneyland that mixed eastern and western cultures."

So when summer arrives and "It's A Small World" debuts we can hopefully see the corner being turned for the Mouse's youngest park.

War Is Over...

Well, the votes will soon be cast, but it's becoming more and more apparent that the Writers Guilds of America, East and West have a deal.

The writer's strike is over.

Should the members ratify it, keyboards could be tapping as early as Monday morning.

Now all the studios can get back to making entertainment. The Mouse can start production on the traffic jam of projects it's been holding off filming for Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures and the ABC Network. The studios will also get back to purchasing more of those spec scripts that will now start to appear in blurbs on the pages of Variety and the Hollywood Reporter. You know... the scripts the writers weren't supposed to be writing during the strike?

All in all, it's good that this will soon be over. Now if we can avoid SAG going out on strike, all things should get back to normal.

At least as normal as life can be in Hollywood...

Behold, The Power Of Wall-E...

The new trailer for "Wall-E" is out and boy does it just make you want to see this movie even more. Start lining up now, friends. I have a feeling this Pixar film is going to have long, long lines.

I'm sure you want to have the chance to see Andrew Stanton's last animated film for a while. His next picture won't be out for three or four years and it'll be the live-action "Princess of Mars"... so it could be closer to a decade before he does another animated film.

Enjoy...


Hat Tip to Ain't It Cool News and Upcoming Pixar.

NPR Gives Us The Bird...

An NPR Radio station in Santa Monica has a nice little interview with that cinematic genuis, himself: Brad Bird.

Give it a listen.

Hat Tip to Reggie.

The Oracle?

The writers strike is over...

Or is it?

Michael Eisner, you might know him? Well, he was on CNBC Thursday and stated: "It's over. They made the deal, they shook hands on the deal. It's going on Saturday to the writers in general".

Is it true? Could be... the writers are meeting at the Shrine Auditorium on Saturday evening... it smells like they have a deal. Hopefully Eisner hasn't jumped the gun. If it is over that's good news for all the networks, particularly the Mouse's ABC Network which has a backlog of work waiting to go...

Building A Better Mousetrap...

Forbes Online has an article interviewing Iger about his franchise strategy for the Walt Disney Company and it also reveals a few jewels I'm surprised he let out of the bag:

The franchise that Iger thinks has the most potential: "Cars". He also states: "a relatively good bet that ultimately they'll be a sequel". Talking about the " Cars" mechandise that the company is selling: "We've clearly struck a nerve".

He goes on to talk about several other franchises, but doesn't mention any other upcoming animated movies. A nice read. Give it a looksie.

Premiering Liar...

One this day...

Sixty-eight years ago, Walt Disney Productions premieres "Pinocchio" in New York City. The movie is regarded by many as a perfect animated film and watching it again makes that a very difficult statement to argue with.

Wall-E's New World...

If you haven't been over to Disney's official website for Wall-E, I'd suggest you go have a look. It's quite a bit more interactive now and has the little robot running around trying to show you his world.

Fun stuff.

A Rose By Any Other Name...

On this day...

Twenty-two years ago, the company known as Walt Disney Productions changes its name to The Walt Disney Company. It seemed like a natural progression for a company that started making animated shorts and today is the second largest entertainment company in the world.

On that note: Just wait until Time-Warner sells off it's AOL branch and watch the Mouse get bumped up to the number one position.

RKO's Off To Neverland...

On this day...

Fifty-five years ago, Walt Disney Productions released its 14th animated feature, "Peter Pan". The film will become the definitive version most children envision when thinking of the little androgynous boy that doesn't want to grow up. Of note, this will be the last Disney film that RKO distributes. Walt had been wanting to establish a distribution company for years and Buena Vista Distribution Company(owned by Walt Disney Productions) will distribute all films under the Disney moniker from then on...

After The Disney Afternoon...

It's been a long time since I remember happily getting home each day and flipping on the tube to watch the "Disney Afternoon"... but the Disney Channel premiered one of its new series the other day and the results are pretty good.

Variety's got an article stating that Disney's "Phineas and Ferb" became cable's most-watched animated series premiere among Tweens and the Mouse Channel's second-most-watched animated series premiere(4 million viewers). Not bad... not my cup of tea, but it appears the guys in charge over there have definitely tapped into a vein when it comes to today's youth. That just makes me feel soooo much older.

Thanks a lot.

In Bob We Trust...

Well, it appears the Mouse has beat the Street...

Wall Street that is. Reuters is reporting that the Walt Disney Company's profits outpaced what the analyst had predicted. Despite a downturn in the economy the Suits at the Mouse claimed to be optimistic.

The skinny:

Walt Disney Company shares rose 5.5 percent in after-hours trading based on the results. The stock's rise offset a 2.7 percent drop in regular trading.

The writers strike didn't appear to hurt the bottom-line of the Mouse.

Disney saw the benefits from a weak dollar, which has most Americans vacationing at home in Walt Disney World and Disneyland and more international tourist came to the American parks to take advantage of their currency's buying power.

A strong ad market increased sales far ahead of last year's levels despite lower TV ratings.

Net profit dropped to $1.25 billion from $1.7 billion in comparison to the same quarter last year(which is misleading because more revenue was generated last year by the sale of Disney's interests in Us Weekly and E! Entertainment).

Revenue rose 9 percent to $10.5 billion.

The Street was expecting a return of 52 cents a share but the company had earnings of 63 cents per share.

The consumer products division had a 29 percent revenue growth in the quarter.

Disney's movie studios, with releases like "Ratatouille","National Treasure: Book of Secrets" and "Enchanted" in this quarter, saw flat revenue and a 15 percent drop in operating income(again, misleading because of the comparisons to last years DVD sales of "Cars," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and "Little Mermaid").

Media networks operating profit rose 908 million or 28 percent, with ESPN, DVD sales of "High School Musical 2" and higher prime-time ad rates for the ABC network..

Profit at Disney's theme parks and resorts rose 25 percent to $505 million. The theme parks had a record holiday attendance and consumer spending at Walt Disney World in Florida was far higher than expected.

Disneyland Paris had high attendance.

Hong Kong Disneyland had improved attendance over last year.

International bookings are slightly ahead of this same time last year.

As a result of the strong earnings and cash flow, the Mouse plans more share buybacks and has already repurchased $1.5 billion of Disney stock this year.

Now after that, who wants to say Bob Iger isn't practically perfect?

(Just so there is no confusion... that last comment was a joke.)

Children's First Look At Pooh...

I know that sounds really strange, doesn't it?

On this day...

Forty-two years ago, "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree" is released with one of Walt Disney Productions' live-action features. Walt wanted to sell the public and children specifically, on Pooh over the long run. So he broke the story into parts... This was the first one. The second, "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day" wouldn't be completed until after his death(my favorite, btw). The third, "Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too" would come a few years later. Since then, young and the young at heart have grown up around this classic creation.

TTFN

Hell Freezes Over...

The Hannah Money... errr, I mean the "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert" film was number one at the box office last week. Surprising the Mouse even. They expected it to do good, it did fantastic, earning $31.1 million in three days. What makes it even more incredible is that it was shown only at 683 specially-equipped Digital 3-D theaters and moviegoers plopped down an average $15 per ticket.

It broke a few records too:

The highest box-office total for Super Bowl weekend.

The highest-grossing opening for a Digital 3-D movie.

The highest per-screen average ever—$42,000 per screen trouncing Spider-Man 3's record of $35,000 last year.

Originally limited to a one-week engagement, the film has now been extended indefinitely... well, duh!

I admit to not understanding this phenomenon, but it's something that is simply unavoidable in the Disney universe.... let's just hope this girl keeps her head and doesn't loose it like Britney Spears, another former Disney employee.

Let Me Look Into My Crystal Skull...

Well, it appears that some of the first images of the Crystal Skull from "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" have leaked out. This is a shot of one of the merchandizing items you'll be able to buy as a tie-in to the film.

Rather alien looking don't you think? It appears the new segment of the Indy films will be influenced by 50's Sci-Fi movies instead of the original trilogy's homage to 30's Serials...

I wonder if they'll try to tie this into the ride at Tokyo DisneySEA the way Disney tied the Pirates films to the original attraction at Disneyland? Could some retheming be on the way?

Hat Tip to Ain't It Cool News.

WED Weds Walt Disney Productions...

On this day...

Forty-two years ago, Walt Disney's WED Enterprises, becomes a part of Walt Disney Productions. Walt himself founded and owned WED since forming it in 1952 to start creating plans for his new theme park. In the mid 80's, Michael Eisner will have WED's name changed to Walt Disney Imagineering. Incidentally, the moniker WED were the initials of Walt's name if you didn't know...

Bob Iger: The Peacemaker...

The New York Times is reporting that the WGA's writer's strike may be ending soon...

Which is good news out here in Southern California. Informal sessions have apparently produced a great deal of progress and the main people working to get the deal done from the production side is Robert A. Iger of the Walt Disney Company, Peter Chernin of News Corporation(FOX) and Leslie Moonves, chief executive of CBS. I guess this means Iger wants to earn that new contract he just signed with the Mouse.

This could mean the Oscars would go on without a messy picket line, sparring the ceremony the horrible situation of the Golden Globes.

Could we see new the end of reality shows soon? One can only hope...

Bob Iger has a lot of things in the pipeline at Walt Disney Studios as well that really need to get going if they're going to be able to have them ready for late a 2009 or early 2010 slate.

Is Bob Iger really King Solomon? Hehe...

The Second Voice Is Silenced...

On this day...

Seventeen years ago James Macdonald, the man who took over for Walt Disney doing the voice of Mickey Mouse passes away in Glendale, California. He was 84 and had been a sound effects artist at the Walt Disney Studios for more than fifty years. He became the voice of Mickey when Walt decided he no longer had the time to do it with all the animation features and live-action projects he was producing. Oh, and in the back of his mind he was working on that little idea for a park...

Macdonald took over and never missed a beat. Until his heart did. He will be missed.

What Does An Animator Sound Like?

No, that's not the beginning of a joke...

If you're a fan of animation and love animators like myself, then perhaps you should check out the Animation Podcast blog. They have many, many interviews with animators from throughout Disney's history. From Glen Keane to Burny Mattinson to Milt Kahl, you'll find something there for any animation fan. I tend to listen to these interviews while typing or doing other work and it's a joy to hear the wisdom of some of these great talents.

Give it a looksie...

Funny Fools...

I thought you might get a kick out of the Motley Fool's crystal ball for the Walt Disney Company in 2010...

Funny, funny stuff.