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Now it's time to say good-bye: Remembering Annette Funicello (1942 - 2013)

Howard Green — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:05:00 GMT

Annette Funicello, long-time Disney and Beach Party star, passed away on Monday April 8 at Mercy Southwest Hospital in Bakersfield, CA, at the age of 70. She died peacefully from complications due to Multiple Sclerosis, a disease she battled for over 25 years. Beloved by television viewers in the 50s for her stint on Disney's original The Mickey Mouse Club, and by film buffs for her numerous roles in a series of popular teen-oriented movies in the 60s, Funicello became a pop culture icon.

Commenting on her passing, Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, said, "Annette was and always will be a cherished member of the Disney family, synonymous with the word Mousketeer, and a true Disney Legend. She will forever hold a place in our hearts as one of Walt Disney's brightest stars, delighting an entire generation of baby boomers with her jubilant personality and endless talent. Annette was well known for being as beautiful inside as she was on the outside, and she faced her physical challenges with dignity, bravery and grace. All of us at Disney join with family, friends, and fans around the world in celebrating her extraordinary life."

Diane Disney Miller, daughter of Walt Disney, added, "Everyone who knew Annette loved and respected her. She was one of the loveliest people I've ever known, and wasalways so kind to everyone. She was also the consummate professional,and had such great loyalty to my father. Annette will always be very special to me and Ron." Diane's husband, Ron Miller, who helmed the Disney company in the 1980s and worked with Annette when he was a young assistant on The Mickey Mouse Club, recalled, "She was always in good spirits and ready to help out if she needed to step in when something unexpected happened."

Oscar®-winning composer and Disney Legend Richard Sherman, who, with his late brother Robert, wrote many of Annette's biggest song hits, said, "Annette's sweet, unassuming spirit, her love of people, and her capacity to exude kindness and good feelings to everyone she met was part of her beautiful charisma. Because the songs we wrote for her brought us to the attention of Walt, Bob and I always referred to Annette as our 'lucky star.' My wife, Elizabeth, joins me in sending a heartfelt aloha with much love to our 'Pineapple Princess.'"

Fellow Mouseketeer and long-time friend Sharon Baird observed, "Throughout all the years we were friends she never changed from that sweet person who cared so much about others. She always had time for everyone; family, friends and fans alike. It's no wonder she was America's sweetheart."

Born October 22, 1942, in Utica, New York, Funicello and her family moved to Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley when she was four years old. She was discovered by Walt Disney at age 13 while dancing the lead in Swan Lake at the Starlight Bowl in Burbank and he invited her to audition for his new children's TV series called The Mickey Mouse Club and was hired on the spot to become a Mouseketeer. The show debuted on October 3, 1955 and Annette soon became the most popular member of the group. The series ran for three original seasons and in reruns through the 1990s.

After leaving the Mickey Mouse Club, Funicello was the only Mouseketeer to remain under contract to Disney and appeared on the TV shows Zorro (1957), The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca (1958), and starred in the Disney feature films The Shaggy Dog (1959), Babes in Toyland (1961), The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964), and The Monkey's Uncle (1965).

In the early 1960s, Annette starred in a series of beach party movies with teen idol Frankie Avalon, including Beach Party (1963), Muscle Beach Party (1964), Bikini Beach (1964), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965). During this time, she recorded a series of hit top-40 pop singles, including "Tall Paul," "First Name Initial," "How Will I Know My Love," and "Pineapple Princess." Her string of successful record albums included such favorites as "Hawaiiannette" (1960), "Italiannette" (1960), and "Dance Annette" (1961).

In 1987, Funicello again teamed up with Frankie Avalon to co-produce and star in Paramount's Back to the Beach as parents of a pair of troublesome teenagers. In 1989 and 1990, Avalon and Funicello staged a nostalgic concert tour, performing the beach party music and pop hit singles they made famous in the 1960s.

In 1987, Funicello was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), a degenerative neurological disease and in 1992 went public with her illness. Later that year, she established The Annette Funicello Research Fund for Neurological Diseases. It is dedicated to funding research into the cause, treatment and cure of multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases and continues to be an active charity.

Annette and Brer Bear showcase one of the Annette
Funicello Teddy Bear Company bears at a Disneyland
event back in the 1990s. Copyright Disney Enterprises
Inc. All rights reserved

Despite battling MS, in the 1990's Annette launched The Annette Funicello Teddy Bear Company, marketing a line of collectible bears on QVC, and developed her own perfume line, Cello, by Annette. In 1992, on her 50th birthday, she was named a Disney Legend. However, as she became more debilitated by MS, Annette retreated from public appearances in the late 1990s and has been cared for since that time by her second husband, rancher Glen Holt, who she married in 1986. She was previously married to Jack Gilardi from 1965 until their divorce in 1981. She has three children from her first marriage; Gina, Jack Jr. and Jason, and three young grandchildren.

Summing up the life of the iconic star, Diane Disney Miller quoted a verse from Byron's "She Walks in Beauty," that she felt "seemed to have been written for Annette:

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies,
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which Heaven to gaudy Day denies.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Annette's memory made be made to The Annette Funicello Research Fund at annetteconnection.com.

The staff of JHM wishes to extend its condolences to the family of Annette Funicello & her extended circle of friends during their time of sorrow.

Disneyland Paris makes its nighttime spectacular even more magical by adding "Brave" & "Lion King" -themed scenes to Disney Dreams!

Andrea Monti — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 23:40:00 GMT

One really has to tip their colorful, blinking mouse ears to the Disneyland Paris Creative Entertainment team. Between those two new scenes that were just added to the Disney Dreams! nighttime spectacular and that "Glow with the Show" technology which made its international debut this past weekend, DLP is now a brightly shining star in the theme park heavens.

Which -- as you may recall -- wasn't always the case. Back in April of 1992 when this $4 billion project first opened to the public, what was then known as Euro Disney faced an awful lot of challenges. Chief among these being that Europe was right in the middle of a recession when this theme park & resort welcomed its first Guests.

So admittedly it did take the eventually-renamed Disneyland Paris a few years to find its financial footing. Not to mention overcoming some early negative reviews. But starting in 1998 - 2002, things began to turn around as that theme park slowly started eeking out a profit. And what with the opening of the commercial city of Val d'Europe (Think Celebration, Florida but with a solid business park as well as an aesthetically French design sensibility) and the March 2002 of Walt Disney Studios Park, things definitely appeared headed in the right direction.

Mind you, it definitely took some guts to open a second theme park onsite in those terrible-for-tourism post 9/11 days. Not to mention that -- on opening day -- (in spite of some genuinely terrific shows like CineMagique and Animagique) WDSP with its modest assortment of attractions obviously paled in comparison to the far more elaborate & ambitious DLP. Which was located right next door.

But for the folks who actually ran the Disneyland Paris Resort, they didn't obsess on any of this project's perceived deficiencies. They just focused on continually making improvements. Doing things like retheming Discoveryland's main thrill ride as Space Mountain: Mission 2 or adding Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast to DLP's assortment of attractions. Doing whatever they could to give Guests yet another reason to return to this Resort's two theme parks and re-experience the magic.

One of the real highlights of this "plussing" effort was Disneyland Paris' "Once Upon a Dream" parade, which premiered at that theme park in March of 2007 as part of the DLP Resort's 15th anniversary celebration. Directed by Katy Harris, "Once Upon a Dream" was the first DLP parade to be designed & built entirely in France. Thanks to its catchy theme song ("Just Like We Dreamed It") as well as its fun choreography, "Once Upon a Dream" quickly became a fan favorite at that theme park.

Now one thing that the DLP Resort seemed to be missing was a nighttime spectacular point-of-view. Something along the lines of Fantasmic!, Illuminations: Reflections of Earth or Remember Dreams Come True that would then give Guests an additional reason to linger at Disneyland Paris and/or the Walt Disney Studios Park after the sun set.

But all that changed when Steve Davison crossed the Atlantic. As anyone who's seen "Believe" at Disneyland Park, "Wishes" at WDW's Magic Kingdom, "World of Color" at Disney California Adventure or "Fantasmic!" at Tokyo DisneySea will tell you, Steve has a real knack when it comes to serving up a truly spectacular nighttime spectacular. Which is just what Davison was looking to produce for Disneyland Paris' 20th anniversary.

As you may recall from my earlier JHM article, Steve put together a pretty stellar team for his Disney Dream! project. Right off the bat, he recruited Katy to be his show director in Paris. Making Ms. Harris his eyes, ears and feet on the ground at the Disneyland Paris theme park. Davison also asked Sayre Wiseman to serve as this nighttime spectacular's producer and tapped Ben Spalding to handle the show quality side of this production. To round out this team, Steve asked Chuck Davis to be Disney Dream!'s technical manager, Sandra Halloran to serve as stage manager, Claude Lifante as laser designer and Brian Larsh to be the show programmer.

Right from the get-go when Disney Dreams! debuted at Disneyland Paris back on April 1, 2012, this new nighttime spectacular has been a hit with the theme park-going public. Achieving a 95% Guest satisfaction rate, or so says DLP's survey time.

But given that Phillipe Gas, Disneyland Paris President, said on the night that Disney Dreams! opened that he hoped this nighttime spectacular would continue to change & grow ... Well, that's just Steve, Katy & Co. has tried to do with this DLP show.

Disney Dreams! first evolution came this past Saturday night when members of the press, fan site webmasters and VIPs were invited out to Marne la Vallee (i.e, the town where Disneyland Paris actually located. Much the same way that Anaheim serves as the home of the Disneyland Resort) to experience the two new scenes that had just been folded into this nighttime spectacular.

To give you a little background on how these two new sequences were created: The soundtrack for these Disney Dreams! segments were recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London (Yep. Right where the Beatles recorded many of their albums & singles between 1962 and 1970). And as to when these two scenes were then inserted into DLP's nighttime spectacular, Steve, Katy and their team perfected the programming of these new additions during two long, cold winter nights in early March.

It's worth noting here that it did took a lot of doing to bring the Disney Dreams! creative team back together to ride herd on the finaling of these two new scenes. Especially given that Ms. Harris had been stateside to help "plus" the "Celebrate the Magic" castle projection show for WDW's Magic Kingdom while Mr. Davison was knee-deep in getting Tokyo Disneyland's new "Happiness is Here" parade ready for its April 15th debut (where it will then help kick-off TDL's 30th anniversary celebration). But since Disneyland Paris had just decided to extend its 20th anniversary celebration by another six months, it was crucial that the Resort bring something new to the party. Which is the Disney Dreams! team returned to Marne La Vallee in the middle of the night to make sure that these two new sequences for this theme park's nighttime spectacular were programmed just right.

"So what are these new scenes actually look like?," you ask. Drawing their inspiration from Disney's "The The Lion King" and Pixar's "Brave," these two new segments in Disney Dreams! replace the show's "Mary Poppins" Step In Time & "Jungle Book" number. Though (in an artful bit of recycling), Steve, Katy & Co. took the beautiful waterfall effect from the "Jungle Book" and then turned that show element into a fun background for this nighttime spectacular's new "Hakuna Matata" number.

As you might expect, Disney Dreams! new "Lion King" segment was loaded with colorful projections that were powered by this film's Academy Award-winning score & songs. But if you were to ask me which of the two new additions to this nighttime spectacular was the most visually impressive, I'd have to say that it was the "Brave" sequence.

This new Pixar portion of the show starts off with Merida appearing as the wonderful song "Touch the Sky" plays in the background. Then as our favorite Scottish Princess shoots her arrows, water jets follow the path of those arrows. Via projections, Merida's father then appears with the three clans and they all performs a water & laser dance to Celtic pipe music. (Having seen a similar sort of scene presented as part of DCA's "World of Color," I can definitively say that the Disney Dreams! version comes out on top thanks to the clever use of those lasers).

But what really helped to make last Saturday night's premiere performance of this newly enhanced version of Disney Dreams! memorable was the DLP debut of "Glow with the Show." This technology was developed by Chuck Davis's team for Steve Davison's "World of Color" show and made its theme park premiere at Disney California Adventure Park back in June of 2012. And it's no small point of pride for the Disneyland Paris Creative Entertainment team that it was DLP -- rather than the Tokyo Disney Resort -- which was chosen for the international debut of this amazing technology.

Mind you, there are a few key differences between the "Glow with the Show" ears that are available for purchase at DCA and the ones that are now on sale at Disneyland Paris. Chief among these being that the DLP versions are being called "Disney Light'Ears," a name that sounds good in both French & English. The Parisian version will be powered by two AA batteries, rather than the 3 AAAs that are used to light up their Californian cousins. Best of all, the "Disney Light'Ears" has a much easier-to-find-and-then-operate on and off switch. Which is really going to help extend the lives of those AA batteries.

Now just so you know: While those media reps & VIPs were fitted with "Glow with the Show" technology this past Saturday night for the newly enhanced Disney Dreams!, "Disney Light'Ears" won't actually be debuting at DLP 'til July.

But even without that "Glow with the Show" technology, Disney Dreams! remains a genuinely impressive show. With its 15 flamethrowers, each on a retractable motorized arm. Not to mention this nighttime spectacular's 16 HiDef video projectors and 2 lasers. Each of them precisely focused on this theme park's central structure within 1MM, which is what makes possible to pull off all of those blow-your-mind scenes in Disney Dreams! (EX: Like that moment in the show where the Genie seemingly makes Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant completely disappear. Only to then have DLP's castle magically reappear seconds later). And it's all capped off by that mechanical "Second Star to the Right" loaded with LED which rises out of the castle's tower at a crucial moment in this show.

And speaking of the key elements from Peter Pan 's mythology that drive Disney Dreams! : The use of Peter's shadow to drive the story of this nighttime spectacular is yet another piece of artful recycling. To explain: What Steve Davison had originally wanted to do with DCA's "World of Color" was have the sequences in that water-and-light show linked by a brand-new comical character called Little Squirt. Who was supposed to be this mischievous little fountain that would periodically pop up in the show and wordlessly either comment on the action and/or help to move the story along.

Anyway, as Disney California Adventure's nighttime waterfront show was fine-tuned during its late-night rehearsal obvious, it became more & more obvious that Little Squirt wasn't really an essential storytelling element for "World of Color." But even so, Steve still loved the idea of using an essentially silent character who -- just through his or her pantomime skills -- could suddenly come in and then comment on a show's action. Which is why -- when the Disneyland Paris Creative Entertainment team decided to use Peter Pan as the central character for DLP's castle projection show -- Davison decided to resurrect the Little Squirt concept. Only this time around, it would be Peter's shadow that linked this show's various story elements and/or mischievously commented on Disney Dreams!'s action.

So the morale of today's story is: Recycling isn't just good for the environment. By borrowing bits & pieces (not to mention key creative concepts) from earlier theme park shows like "The Memories, The Magic and You!" at WDW's Magic Kingdom and DCA's "World of Color," Disneyland Paris wound up with a spectacular new piece of nighttime entertainment. Which -- thanks to DLP's commitment to keeping Disney Dreams! fresh -- continues to delight & amazing theme park goers with brand-new scenes projected right onto Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant.

So the next time you're at the Disneyland Paris Resort, be sure and check out Disney Dreams! But don't be concerned if you're still a year or more away from making a return trip to DLP. Based on what I heard just this past weekend, this nighttime spectacular is expected to be presented nightly at this theme park at least through 2017. It might even wind extending through 2019.

Which -- to my way of thinking, anyway -- is a Disney Dreams! come true.

Remembering Legendary Disney film editor Norman "Stormy" Palmer (1918 - 2013)

Howard Green — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 04:20:00 GMT

Veteran Disney film editor Norman "Stormy" Palmer passed away this past Saturday, March 23rd at his home in Northridge, California from age-related natural causes. He was 94 years old.

Palmer worked at the Walt Disney Studios for 45 years, and became closely associated with the acclaimed series of "True-Life Adventure " films. Among the popular titles in that series that he edited were "The Living Desert," "The African Lion ," "Beaver Valley ," "White Wilderness ," and "Nature's Half Acre." He also served as editor on such classic Disney live-action films as "Ten Who Dared ," "The Incredible Journey ," and "The Gnome-Mobile," and has more than 20 editing credits on the Disney television anthology series. Palmer served as a mentor to the late Roy E. Disney, who began his career in the Studio's Editorial department and went on to help guide the Company as Vice Chairman and Head of Animation for two decades.

In an undated photo, Roy E. Disney reviews some footage with Norman "Stormy" Palmer.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

"Stormy was one of the key players in creating the classic Disney True-Life Adventures series, and he was a true pioneer in the field of nature documentaries," says Dave Bossert, Producer and Creative Director at Walt Disney Animation Studios, and the producer (along with Roy E. Disney) of the True Life Adventures DVD collection. "He took tens of thousands of feet of raw footage and was able to craft it into some of the most riveting, beautiful, and entertaining nature films ever created. That series of Oscar-winning films set the gold standard for years and helped to inspire the many generations of nature filmmakers that followed."

Palmer was born on October 7, 1918, in Santa Ana, California. A fourth-generation Californian, he graduated from Hollywood High School in 1937, and headed north to Oregon to become a ranch hand and learn how to ride horses. The following year, in 1938, he got a call from the Disney Studios, where he had earlier applied, and soon found himself with an entry-level job as a staff projectionist. After six months, Palmer moved into the Editorial department, where he assisted on such animated classics as "Pinocchio" and "Fantasia."

During World War II, Palmer worked with director John Ford in the field photo branch of the U.S. Navy, and edited films for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington D.C. He also served an overseas stint as an aerial photographer on numerous surveillance missions.

In 1946, Palmer returned to Disney's Editorial department, where he met and fell in love with Barbara Major from the Ink and Paint Department. They were married on December 4, 1947, and remained devoted to one another through 52 years of marriage. Barbara passed away in 2005.

In 1953, Palmer received his first feature film credit on the Academy Award-winning True-Life Adventure classic, "The Living Desert." He had previously worked on "Beaver Valley," "Nature's Half Acre," and "Water Birds." He went on to edit many other films in that acclaimed series including "The African Lion," and "White Wilderness." He also edited "Grand Canyon," the 1959 Academy Award winner for Best Live-Action Short. The innovative CinemaScope film was a pictorial interpretation of Ferde Grofé's famed "Grand Canyon Suite." For the 1952 Oscar-winning True-Life featurette, "Water Birds," Palmer used Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody to great effect in capturing the mood and adding entertainment value to the film.

Disney's bold entry into television provided more great opportunities for Palmer to explore his talents as an editor. He worked on more than 20 episodes for the long-running anthology show ("Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" and other titles), from the mid 1950s to the early 1980s. His television credits as an editor include "Atta Girl, Kelly! ," "The Best Doggoned Dog in the World," and "One Day at Teton Marsh."

As a feature film editor, Palmer made his mark on such popular Disney fare as "Ten Who Dared," "The Legend of Lobo ," "The Incredible Journey," "The Gnome-Mobile," and "The Shaggy D.A. " among others. Palmer retired from the Walt Disney Studios in 1983, and devoted his leisure time to sailing, golfing and woodworking.

He is survived by two daughters -- Christine Thomson of Salem, Massachusetts, and Lindsey Palmer of Santa Ynez, California -- and two grandchildren, Amanda and Colin Sebern. A third daughter, Laurie Palmer, passed away in 2012. Funeral services and cremation will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in the name of Stormy Palmer to Southern California Hospice Foundation (Simi Valley Branch) at www.socalhospicefoundation.com

When it comes to a "Roger Rabbit" sequel, Robert Zemeckis has been sending some very mixed signals

Paul Perrello — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 02:19:00 GMT

On the heels of last week's release of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" on Blu-ray, the internet has been buzzing like Marvin Acme's hand buzzer with rumors that Robert Zemeckis may be making plans to return to Toontown. To be specific, that this Academy Award-winning director is finally getting serious about shooting that often-talked-about and long-delayed "Roger Rabbit" sequel.

Most of this talk about a return to Toontown can be traced back January 17th of this year when Robert's latest live-action feature (i.e. "Flight " starring Denzel Washington) had its UK premiere at the Empire Leicester Square theatre in London. And as Zemeckis' producing partners Jack Rapke & Steve Starkey were quizzed on the red carpet about a possible "Roger Rabbit" sequel, Jack & Steve revealed that this long-delayed project was in fact finally moving forward.

(L to R) Steven Starkey and Jack Rapke at the UK
premiere of "Flight." Photo by Stuart Wilson.
Photo courtesy of ImageNet.
All rights reserved

To be specific, Starkey said this sequel " ... is going to get made. Trust me. Yeah, we have a great script and we're just trying to pull it together and see if we can pull it off. But we're ready to go. If somebody says 'go,' we're there."

Mind you, where this story gets confusing is that -- at this same event on the exact red carpet -- when Zemeckis was asked if "Roger Rabbit 2" was finally in the works, he replied "No, there won't be a sequel."

Robert Zemeckis (L) chats with Josh Horowitz of MTV News. Copyright
Viacom International Inc. All rights reserved

Well, which is it then? About a month later, during an interview with MTV, Zemeckis did admit that "there is a ('Roger Rabbit' sequel) script and it's good." But beyond that, the director of "Flight" wasn't willing to offer up any details as to why this eagerly awaited project was still in suspended animation. That said, in this exact same MTV interview, Robert speculated that "... if I were to do the sequel, it would be done just like the first one. It would look the same, except, we would obviously present it in 3D in its release. But I would do all the animation hand-drawn." Zemeckis also confirmed that -- should production of a "Roger Rabbit" sequel actually go forward -- this film, like the 1988 original, would be a period piece set in Hollywood in the 1940's.

So what should we make of Robert's kind of contradictory take on this project? Perhaps Kathleen Turner knows her former director better than his producing partners do. In an interview, Turner (who provided Jessica Rabbit with her sexy, smoky voice) said that she'd welcome the opportunity to revisit this animated character but then added "Yeah, I don't know if that's really going to happen."

"I don't think Bob Zemeckis is going to do it because he said it was one of the hardest jobs he ever took on." Turner continued. During the production of the original "Roger Rabbit" more than 25 years ago now, Zemeckis was faced with the daily challenge of "creating the technology of integrating animation and live photography."

Turner said that she is not sure the director is still to the task of handling that amount of " ... meticulous and endless work." That said, Kathleen also said that she would welcome the chance to work again with the man who directed her in 1984's "Romancing the Stone." And given how projects that were long thought to be dead have this nasty habit of rising from the grave in Hollywood, Turner would be happy to voice Jessica Rabbit once more. But only if it's Zemeckis calling the shots on "Roger Rabbit 2."

Michael Douglas, Robert Zemeckis and Kathleen Turner on the set of "Romancing
the Stone." Copyright 20th Century Fox. All rights reserved

"If it was Bob, I would say yes (to this project,)" Kathleen insisted.

So what is in fact going on with this rumored "Roger Rabbit" sequel? Perhaps it's Rich Moore, the director of "Wreck-It Ralph ," who can go down the rabbit hole and finally get definitive answer to this question.

John C Reilly and Rich Moore talk up "Wreck-It Ralph" at the 2012 edition of Comic Con
International. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

After all, Moore will be introducing that "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" 25th anniversary screening which the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be presenting at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills on Thursday, April 4th at 7:30 p.m. And once the screening of this digital restored version of that Oscar winner is over, Rich will be joined onstage by Robert as well as several members of the "Roger Rabbit" cast & crew. Among them actress Joanna Cassidy, voice actor Charles Fleischer, supervising animator Andreas Deja, screenwriter Peter S. Seaman as well as associate producers Don Hahn and Steve Starkey.

So perhaps during this post-screening discussion, Moore can get Zemeckis to go on the record about whether that long-awaited "Roger Rabbit" sequel is indeed finally in the works. Of course, there's always the possibility that Robert could turn this question around on Rich. And then Zemeckis could ask Moore if the rumors coming out of Walt Disney Animation Studios are true and that "Wreck-It Ralph 2" is already in development.

Either way, I'm sure that "Roger Rabbit" & "Wreck-It Ralph" fans will be waiting with baited breath 'til the end of this screening to find which animation-related question get answered during that night's post-screening discussion.

Feld Entertainment signs a Marvel-ous deal for a new super heroes arena tour

Paul Perrello — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 03:33:00 GMT

Stepping off the silver screen and out of the pages of comic books, look for Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Avengers and X-Men to swing into an arena in your hometown. The iconic Marvel super heroes are being tapped to star in an unprecedented new show that brings the characters to life and puts the audience right in the middle of all the spectacular action.

Feld Entertainment has signed a groundbreaking agreement with Marvel Entertainment which allows the companies to produce shows featuring the super heroes as they unite together in one place to defend the Earth against threats from the most fearsome villains in the Marvel Universe.

Under a multi-year deal, Feld will produce live Marvel touring events with state-of-the-art special effects, aerial displays, martial arts, fireworks and of course the iconic super heroes to transport audiences into the world of Marvel comics.

Marvel Studios' Vice President of Business Development Sean Haran says he is excited about the venture because "Feld Entertainment has the experience and expertise to showcase the characters like no other company and bring them to audiences everywhere." And everywhere is no exaggeration. The plan is for the new Marvel character-based production to launch in July 2014 on an 85-city North American tour before taking to the road for an international trek.

The launch of the arena tour in 2014 will coincide with highly anticipated movie sequels from Marvel. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is due to arrive on April 4th, 2014 and "Guardians of the Galaxy" will hit screens on August 1st, 2014.

Expanding its footprint in the world of arena venues, the production is the logical extension for Feld Entertainment which has a 33-year-long partnership with the Walt Disney Company, Marvel's parent. The Marvel Universe will compliment Feld's other arena productions including its Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, Disney on Ice, Disney Live!, Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam and Monster Energy Supercross.

Feld Entertainment Chairman and CEO Kenneth Feld says the partnership "demonstrates Marvel's confidence in Feld Entertainment to present their most admired characters" in a whole new way. Marvel's Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada says the new live action production will allow the iconic super heroes to pop off the movie screen and pages of comic books into a live arena tour.

Hal Sparks is the leader of Disney XD's "Lab Rats" pack

Paul Perrello — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 02:58:00 GMT

Back for a second season on Disney XD is "Lab Rats," the live-action, sci-fi comedy adventure series starring actor / comedian / musician Hal Sparks as Donald Davenport, the billionaire-scientist inventor who created three bionic superhuman kids. Excited to be back for a new season, Sparks calls the part, tongue-in-cheek, "the role I was born to play."

"Labs Rats" was ranked as Disney XD's number one series following its 2012 premiere. It also has the distinction of being the most watched show on the network in January and is the second most watched show overall in total viewers 2-11 and kids 6-14.

The hit show was created by Chris Peterson and Bryan Moore who worked together previously on "That 70's Show." Sparks says given the success of "Lab Rats" in its first season, Disney has told the creators and cast to "go for it" and be more like "That '70s Show " and "Family Guy." He adds that to Disney's credit the writers have been encouraged to "go for the jokes and make them smart for the grown-ups" who watch the show along with their children.

(L to R) Hal Sparks, Tyrel Jackson Williams, Kelli Berglund, Spencer Boldman and Bill
Unger, Photo by Bruce Birmelin. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Sparks, who has enjoyed a career in television, movies, stand-up comedy and music, is encouraged by Disney's commitment to the show. He says from his experience, "Disney has been very focused. They get behind an idea and stick with it all the way through."

And for an industry that often times consumes young talent and spits them out as an after-thought, Sparks says Disney "sees these kids as really talented. They almost find shows for the kids they like and work with them." He says it has been his observation that the young stars make guest appearances on other shows before "they graduate to having their own show." He believes the studio invests in the young talent adding that "they kinda grow these Disney qualified-larvae into big stars."

(L to R) Spencer Boldman, Kelli Berglund, Tyrel Jackson Willams, Bill Unger & Hal Sparks
Photo by Bob D'Amico. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

As for some of the child stars who have tarnished their own image over the years with unruly behavior, Sparks chalks it up to the intense scrutiny that they are under. He believes the reality of the situation is about the same as any other group of teenagers growing up, maintaining that the difference is that child and teenager actors "are under a microscope all the time."

He uses Lindsay Lohan as example of a young actress whose one-time brilliant career was sidetracked by bad choices and surrounding herself with bad people. Sparks says if Lohan had not been singled out at an early age for her "party-type behavior," her lifestyle would not have spiraled downward into what he calls, "the extremity that it became."

For Sparks he credits the success of his career on the fact that he "doesn't smoke, drink or do drugs," adding that he never has and never will. At the age of 18 and after graduating high school, Sparks moved from the comfort of his home in Winnetka, Illinois to Los Angeles where he managed to build a career for himself without any safety net or support group. He hopes that his positive experiences in show business will serve as a role model for the young actors he is working with on "Lab Rats."

The fourth episode of the second season of "Lab Rats" airs tonight on Disney XD at 9 / 8 p.m. Central. In this episode, fail a mission. Bree is exposed to a dangerous toxic chemical and winds up being quarantined. Adam and Chase must go on a mission to find the antidote.

"Small World: A Fantasia" brings some Disney magic to a tragic Connecticut town

Kelly Monaghan — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 03:29:00 GMT

Newtown, Connecticut, was the scene of one of the most hideous mass slaughters in American history. Driving into this quaint New England town, it is impossible to miss the sad reminders of that horror, cutout angels along the roadside and tributes of sympathy from around the world in the town hall.

But through January 27, 2012, that same town hall is being treated to a gentle reminder that the world can be a better place and that, yes, it is possible to have magical days.

"Small World: A Fantasia" by Frederick Stroppel is receiving its world premiere in Newtown courtesy of Stray Kats Theatre Company, which mounts its productions in an upstairs meeting room at Edmond Town Hall, with minimal sets and all-professional casts.

In "Small World," Stroppel imagines a series of meetings between Walt Disney and Igor Stravinsky that begin when "Fantasia" is still in production and end in the afterlife. There Walt and Iggy (as Walt calls him in the play) can at last put their on-again, off-again battles to rest and contemplate their legacies.

Stravinsky and Walt did meet. Once. And it didn't go well. Invited to see a screening of "Fantasia," Stravinsky was outraged by what the studio had done to his Sacre de Printemps. In "Hello, Goodbye, Hello ," Craig Brown quotes Stravinsky: "I remember someone offering me a score, and when I said I had my own, that someone saying, "But it is all changed." It was indeed. The instrumentation had been improved by such stunts as having the horns play their glissandi an octave higher in the Danse de la terre. The order of pieces had been shuffled, too, and the most difficult of them eliminated, though this did not save the musical performance, which was execrable." The two also differed on what Walt had promised for the rights. Walt said $5,000. Iggy remembered $10,000.

Out of this fascinating scrap of history, Stroppel has spun a highly enjoyable and very funny . . . well, fantasia is a good word for it. You don't have to know very much about Disney history to find this play enjoyable. I did a quick survey at intermission and found I was the only one who could be described as a "Disney buff." But people were clearly enjoying the show, and for anyone steeped in Disney lore the piece is filled with gems.

I especially like the bit when the volcanically outraged Stravinsky threatens legal action and Walt replies with a smile, "Oh, I wouldn't tangle with my lawyers."

At the heart of the dispute is their competing visions of art. Stravinsky the tortured artiste struggling for some sort of ultimate truth, the audience be damned, and Walt, the showman, creating new forms of both art and entertainment in which the reaction of the crowd and the box office receipts are the only true arbiters of success.

Walt is riding high in the first scene, but when next the two antagonists meet their roles seem to have changed. Walt is down in the dumps following the poor showing of "Fantasia" and Stravinsky, resplendent in tennis togs, has gone Hollywood ("Call me Iggy!"). He's drunk the show biz Kool Aid to the extent that he's pitching Walt on using another of his scores. Walt instantly sees the ploy for what it is: Another player trying to cut a deal to fund his lifestyle.

(L to R) Robert Resnikoff as Igor Stravinksy and
Scott Bryce as Walt Disney

"You could go to infinity!" says Stravinsky, urging Walt to be bold in his choice of projects.

"And beyond," agrees Walt, who never loses faith in his own creative visions even when he has to cut corners.

"We're creating a whole new aesthetic in 'Dumbo,'" he tells Iggy. "Cutting out all the extraneous stuff, just focusing on the characters and the action."

"Because it's cheap," Stravinsky notes acidly.

Finally, in the afterlife (is it heaven or is it hell?), the two men have a chance to consider the lives they've lived. The newly arrived Stravinsky is horrified to realize that he can no longer compose new music. Walt who's been there a while is more sanguine. "It's nice here," he says, "there's no pain," suggesting that the ability to be a creator, an artist, is as much a curse as a gift.

But if Stravinsky can no longer write new scores, he and Walt have no trouble remembering one song from their days on the temporal plane. Their duet of "When You Wish Upon A Star" may very well bring a tear to your eye.

(L to R) Robert Resnikoff and Scott Bryce in Walt's office in "Small World: A Fantasia"

Stroppel does an excellent job of capturing what made (and continues to make) Walt Disney such a linchpin of American culture - his cockeyed and endless optimism and a steely resolve wrapped up in an aw-shucks demeanor. And behind the laughs, the play has a fair bit to say about art, its commodification, and the role of popular culture.

Scott ("As The World Turns") Bryce must share equal credit in the success of the Disney character. He doesn't look particularly like Walt but he brings a lightness of touch to the performance that creates an utterly believable and ultimately irresistible Walt. Robert Resnikoff, a well-known Connecticut Shakepearean actor, navigates Stravinsky's journey from irate artist to Hollywood player and back again, with aplomb.

If you are within driving distance of Newtown, do put this show on your calendar.

"Small World: A Fantasia" is performed Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm, through January 27 at the Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street (Rte 25) in Newtown Connecticut. Tickets are $31 and refreshments, including wine, are available before the show and at intermission. The phone is (203) 514-2221.

Tickets can be purchased online, via PayPal, at www.straykatstheatrecompany.org

"Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow" adds interactive, immersive pirate fun to Disney's Hollywood Studios

Paul Perrello — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 02:33:00 GMT

Shiver me timbers! The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow has set sail at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

Batten down the hatches as the eight-minute immersive experience is a must-see for swashbuckler fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, whether it is the attraction in Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom or the four movies starring Johnny Depp as Captain Jack. However parents of very young lads and lassies might want to reconsider plans to walk the plank on the pirate adventure because of its intense visuals and loud sounds. During my recent visit with the old salt, there were at least three parents who had to leave the show with their young buccaneers after the sights and noises proved a bit too much for the youngsters.

Yo ho, yo ho, it's a pirate's life for guests as they cue up outside the attraction which has dropped anchor at Soundstage 4, right next door to "One Man's Dream." Sandwiched between the Walt Disney tribute and the wildly popular Toy Story Midway Mania, the Pirates experience is likely to get a lot of foot traffic as guests cavort between the Toy Story fast-pass area and the front of the park.

Ahoy me hearties. Once the doors swing open to the attraction, aspiring pirates are escorted into a pre-show area where they are given instructions and tested to see if they have what it takes to join Sparrow's jolly crew. You then move into an eerie cavern complete with a larger than life talking skull and cross bones and pirates booty which you are repeatedly reminded not to touch. Your skeleton guide enlists the pirates-in-waiting to become members of Sparrow's crew. You are asked to stomp your feet to ward off a larger-than-life squid and growl to drown out the haunting singing of the mermaids.

Run a shot across the bow as Captain Jack drops in to launch the opening salvo of cannonball fire aimed at the enemy which is sailing dangerous close by on a projected rear wall. As the bombardment continues guests feel the rush of cannonballs through the air, knocking Sparrow off-balance a few times. But just like in the movies, Sparrow is agile, witty, funny, sharp and cunning in engaging his recruits to help battle the unfriendly pirates.

State-of-the-art technology transforms the captain's treasure cove into an epic ship-to-ship battle.Blending live action, lights, sound effects, music, pirates, dancing skeletons, cannonball s, mermaids, and the Black Pearl , the attraction puts you right in the middle of the action and will delight fans of Sparrow and the Pirates of the Caribbean empire.

Before sending forth his pirates into the perilous wave of mouse-ear wearing and stroller pushing guests outside the attraction, Captain Jack advises that if they enjoyed themselves they can return in eight minutes for an encore performance.

Though Epic Mickey 2 gets all of the Disney-related details right, it's still somewhat frustrating for gamers

Noe Valladolid — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 03:26:00 GMT

Epic Mickey 2 the Power of Two (EM2) is out now on multiple consoles including the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii and Wii U. The game deserves special consideration for readers of JHM because it is layered with several generations worth of material from the Disney Archives, theme parks and film library. The world of Epic Mickey, or "Wasteland" is so saturated with history that it could catch trivia specialists flat-footed. Warren Spector, lifelong Disney fan and creator of the game had said at the San Diego Comic Con that he wanted to create a world with substance. He did not want to have gamers dig underneath the surface and discover that the Wasteland was like other games. His studio Junction Point succeeded in doing just that. In some areas of the game when Mickey Mouse dissolves the walls and floors of the world players can actually see the blueprints. The grey paper of the imagination with penciled out blue lines created by the great architect Yen Sid himself. The feeling that players come away with is more than a wash of nostalgia, it is almost indescribable. Players may recognize a piece of art hanging on a wall or a radio standing in the corner of Mickey Mouse's home exactly as it appeared from the 1936 film Thru the Mirror. Players are not only visiting the home from the film, they are now interacting with it. They are walking around in his kitchen, jumping on his furniture if they choose to. Players then begin to peel away at the walls and floors only to find there is another world beyond, waiting to be explored. The game is filled with these "a-ha!" moments In addition to capturing the details and minutiae from the Disney legacy the game gives audiences a fresh perspective on the iconic Mickey Mouse without betraying the character. The amount of work that went into the game is staggering. Disney is trying to make Mickey and his friends relevant again in the new media and are sparing no expense in making that happen.

I've spent the past two weeks with fellow gamer Alice Hill going over the game on multiple consoles. The game has average difficulty for seasoned players but is moderately difficult for younger gamers. The main portion of the game is long but can still be beaten over the course of a weekend by experienced players. In order to get the full experience however a player has to explore every inch of the Wasteland, collect hidden items and accept side-mission that enhance the story and extend the gameplay to dozens of hours. The best way that Alice and I could review this game was by playing it on the different platforms in single and multiplayer modes and trying different options and paths. If you are interested in purchasing the game and do not want to read the spoilers then here is a one sentence review… Epic Mickey 2 is a good game but its faults prevent it from reaching true greatness. For those that want to know how we came to that conclusion please keep reading.

The camera was a major sticking point in the original game, the new camera system is much more user friendly, it follows the action better and can be moved with more precision. The camera and control really shine on the PS3 and Xbox 360 using the regular controllers. It was still a chore to use motion-based controllers in the game, and doubly so when in 2-player mode. The limited screen space and drawbacks of the motion controller were apparent when playing on the Wii and PS Move. We constantly had to keep realigning the camera to line up our targets, not to mention it was harder to perform double team moves on the Wii than the other consoles. Alice and I would not recommend getting the sequel on a different console if available. Those that do have the Wii can at least play using the cool new light-up peripherals, a paint brush and remote control available for Mickey and Oswald respectively. Visually the game was stunning. The lighting, animation, and effects featured in the new game were better than the original. Characters cast shadows, light bounced off of objects and refracted or reflected realistically. Junction Point made good use of the new physics engine as well. Items had weight, paint and thinner flowed convincingly and objects dropped as they would in the real world. These things were put to use on the new levels created for the game. Environments that collapsed remained that way for the rest of the game. Players were warned early on that all decisions they made would have consequences and could ultimately effect the outcome of the game. The level design was as good as the original game, albeit some of the best "Lands" or attractions like Lonesome Manor were featured only in the original title. The scale of the levels was much larger in this game, but like the first game they maintained an incredible amount of planning and detail. Exploration was rewarded with items that could be used in game, pins to collect or even costumes for Mickey and Oswald to wear. There were many details pulled from the parks, movies and even television shows which would appeal to even the most jaded Disney fan. Where else could a fan visit the Rainbow Caverns, fight a robot modeled after V.I.N.CENT from the Black Hole and wear a Tron costume?

Players could travel from land to land using film projectors. The side-scrolling levels used the setting of a classic Disney film and allowed both Oswald and Mickey to explore, interact and even combine resources to get through the stage. The projectors were featured in the original game as well and contained some of the most memorable experiences. Some of the sequences in EM2 include the Old Mill, Night on Bald Mountain, the Skeleton Dance, Music Land and Building a Building. A second side-scrolling component has also been added. Mickey and Oswald can now navigate the Dahl Engineering Corridors or D.E.C., a series of underground tunnels that connect the remote areas of the Wasteland. The tunnels were named after Gremlins creator Roald Dahl but based on the Utilidoors from Walt Disney World. Each D.E.C. is made up of junk from the Wasteland, of course junk to the residents are actual antiques and merchandise from company history. Look carefully for a tape, doll or record that you might have in your collection!

This game also features actual voices for the main and supporting characters instead of the text boxes and generic grumbles used in the original. Veterans Bill Farmer (Goofy), Tony Anselmo (Donald Duck), Tress MacNeille (Daisy) and Jim Cummings (Pete) are joined by Bret Iwan the new voice of Mickey, Dave Wittenberg as the Mad Doctor, Frank Welker as Oswald and Cary Elwes as Gus the Gremlin. The supporting cast made up of Gremlins and forgotten monochromatic characters also have their own unique voices. Most blended well with the main characters. The opponents consisted of Blotlings, Beetleworx and Blotworx. Those original creations were made of animated ink blots, machines or a combination of the two. They did not have any voices per-say, mostly grunts or screams. Three additional classic animated characters appear in game if a player searches high and low for them. The Three Little Pigs are trapped in Wasteland and have Mickey try to help them. Fifer and Fiddler Pig sing with the exact high pitched voice and even rhyme and meter from the old cartoons. Practical Pig maintains his raspy voice and serious demeanor as well. Whomever voiced the characters was spot-on. Not all of the voice acting was great however. Some of the residents of Mean Street seemed out of place. Listen for the surfer and overdone Caribbean accents. The stand-out character and voice for EM2 goes to Ian the ghost. His gruff but friendly "Hey Boss!" was a welcome addition to the cast. He was in the first game and originally appeared in the Lonesome Ghosts short. Ian challenges the player to mend the relationships between the citizens of the Wasteland, the Blotlings and Mickey. His was the best developed new personality in the game. A close second would be the robot A.B.E. He is a curator to the diorama museum and can best be summed up as Jimmy Stewart-meets-Tom Morrow. The addition of color characters in the Three Pigs contrasted the black and white citizens of the Wasteland and animatronic representations of Daisy, Donald and Goofy. The addition of cartoon stars other than Mickey is creating precedence for combining the toon and park worlds, these things may be expand upon in the next Epic Mickey title. Hopefully Ian and A.B.E. will be featured more prominently if that happens.

The greatness that Junction Point was going after began to break down when we stopped watching, stopped looking at the details and started playing. Epic Mickey was promoted as the first gaming musical. The plot was all told through song so technically Disney was right. However the Mad Doctor had all of the singing parts with one line reserved for Oswald. The gravely voice did nothing to make the character sympathetic or pull on any nostalgia strings. Imagine seeing the Little Mermaid but only Scuttle the seagull could sing the parts. It was an odd decision considering that the Mad Doctor was used only once by Disney and was allowed to fall into public domain. None of the songs were truly memorable which was odd considering that the music was written by James Dooley. The television and movie composer wrote an amazing score for the first game, X-Play deemed it the best Soundtrack in 2010. Disney never released a physical album of the first game but did make the music available via iTunes. Many players reported crying when they heard the original end credits. The original soundtrack worked on may levels whereas the new soundtrack felt lacking. It was not all bad though. The audio cues in the game were put to good use. When a player was thinning or painting the Wasteland the music on the level signaled whether a good or bad decision was being made. If players listened carefully to the choices being presented by the other characters in the game they could be prompted to make the right choice. Each level could be passed in multiple ways, some of the cues are obvious while others are well hidden. While playing in two-player mode several set pieces, particularly boss battles, were not triggered properly if at all. Gus the Gremlin would chime in and give us a hint over and over but nothing we tried would trigger the set piece. In other cases either Mickey would get stuck in an object or Oswald would fall through the floor and be unable to rejoin Mickey. This frustrated us to no end. For the minor glitches we would quit the game and then restart it. For the larger issues we had to turn off the system and go back later in the day. When we returned to the game the set piece would load properly and we could finish the stage. In several instances we ended up doing the "wrong" thing to finish the stage because the correct option did not load or would not respond to our attempts.

With two players working independently the majority of the game was very easy. Fighting or befriending enemies was much easier this time around as was compared to the solo battles in the original game. When the set pieces did not load, or when only Player 1 (Mickey Mouse) could trigger an event then it made the game far more difficult. The majority of the game moved quickly for two players, if they were not performing any side missions. The gameplay was smooth and intuitive, as good as most action platformers. The majority of battles were well balanced if not easy as well. Very often however the gameplay would change suddenly into a slow, grating experience. The battles would become extremely difficult and feel very redundant. It would feel like an insult to the players when their progress was suddenly halted. For example Gus the Gremlin would drop the same hint over and over if a puzzle wasn't solved within a set amount of time. He would not offer alternative strategies. When fighting a boss encounter Gus would offer a clue to defeating it. Even if the player used the proper strategy Gus would continue dropping the same hint again and again. This was particularly annoying when a set piece or boss encounter did not load. There was nothing we as players could do about it unless we turned off the console or deliberately made the wrong choices. In at least one case just wandering around the level, not interacting with characters or the environment triggered a bad outcome. Alice said that it felt like we broke the game, which was alarming since we had only been playing it for a couple of days. Disney boasted that during the development they had near 600 employees working around the world in different countries. The sun never set on the production of EM2. Spreading the talent and workload over several timezones meant that something was destined to fall through the cracks. Perhaps the QA testers focused the majority of their efforts on the 1-player experience and did not go over the 2-player mode with a fine tooth comb. Or perhaps Junction Point did not consider what elements would have to be changed if gamers wanted to experience 2-player mode the entire way through. Even in the single player attempts that we tried it seemed that the computer-controlled Oswald slowed down the experience and in certain portions made the game more frustrating than it should have been. The encounters and choices we made permanently affected the outcome of the game, as promised by Warren Spector earlier this year.The good or bad sequences would play during the credits. The endings varied depending on the choices made in game. Even though Alice and I had gone out of our way to try to make nothing but good choices we had amassed a melancholy string at the end of our first play through.

In the past two weeks Alice and I have found ourselves more frustrated than pleased with the game. We enjoyed the world that Junction Point created, the details that they filled the game with, the pins, costumes, wonderful personalities and experiences. However there is a difference between looking at the game and playing it. Pulling the experience out of EM2 was a chore. The story felt lacking and disconnected. The fear of Oswald being forgotten again was not fleshed out, why Prescott the Gremlin felt unappreciated and how the Mad Doctor set him up and then brainwashed him was a bit deus ex machina. Despite everything added to the game, including the voices, we did not feel as connected to the story as we did with the original game. Other comparative "epic" experiences like God of War, Shadow of the Colossus and Zelda did not feel broken. The player felt rewarded for exploring those games. They did not have set pieces that failed to load or a hint system that kept interrupting the player or insulting their intelligence. Gamers did not feel like they were being punished for missing an item or making a bad decision. In EM2 we were frustrated with some puzzles, boss encounters and even backtracking. For example, the studio broke Mean Street, the Wasteland version of Main Street in two, which meant we had to spend more time traveling through the lands for simple tasks. We wanted to enjoy the game, we really did but several times we were so put off by the game that we swore we would never play it again. We calmed down after a day and tried but the experience felt redundant rather than rewarding. We wanted to say that the game was better than the original but we didn't know if that was a completely true statement. Epic Mickey 2 is not for everyone and that is partially why we say it was good but not great. Those that are willing to slow down their gaming experience, carefully consider the needs of Wasteland residents and revisit locations to search for hidden items will be rewarded. Those that just want to play through a game and feel good about it in the end may need to look elsewhere.

D23 Fanniversary rolls into the City of Brotherly Love

Paul Perrello — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 03:15:00 GMT

For a few hours, Philadelphia was "the happiest place on earth" for more than 200 fans of the Walt Disney Company. It was standing room only at the Rainey Auditorium at Penn Museum in University City as Disney's official fan club D23 rolled out its Fanniversary celebration welcome mat for Disney fans in the City of Brotherly Love.

Upon arriving at the museum on South Street, guests were checked in by cast members of the Disney Store in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and they were presented with an official D23 Fanniversary pennant and a Disney Fanniversary button featuring Chip and Dale. And just like waiting to get onto Splash Mountain or Test Track, fans cued up in line prior to entering the theater.

The auditorium was packed for the two-hour presentation hosted in part by original Disney Geek Jeffrey Epstein and fellow cast member Justin who worked at one time at Walt Disney World in Florida. While Jeffrey and Justin were nicely attired in their official D23 polo-shirts and name badges, fans were decked out in everything Disney, from Mickey Mouse t-shirts to Disney Cruise Line hoodies complimented by Minnie Mouse necklaces and Avengers watches.

Being a lifelong Philadelphian, I had never visited the Penn Museum but Rainey Auditorium in the basement of the museum provided the intimate setting for the action-packed, fun-filled trip down memory lane complete with video and audio clips that took guests back to the origins of such Disney characters like Oswald the Lucky Rabbit as well as Goofy, Daisy Duck and Huey, Dewey and Louie, all of whom are celebrating significant anniversaries in 2012.

Guests were asked numerous times prior to show time to turn off cell phones and cautioned that no photography or video recording of any kind would be allowed during the presentation. Also fellow Disney Geeks were asked not to blog about the show while it was in progress. At one point a cell phone rang in the middle of the show and in his best Maleficent impression, Jeffrey shot a stare at the audience which not only sent a message to the cell phone culprit but to the rest of the fans that cell phones are a distraction not only to the performers on stage but as well to the people gathered in the auditorium.

Philly Phanatics turned Disney fans for this one-night engagement gave a rousing warm welcome to Jeffrey and Justin and the audience was equally receptive to the presentation prompting Jeffrey at one point in the show to say that perhaps D23 should come back and visit the Northeast section of the country again real soon. While D23 has staged other events in New York City, the Fanniversary was the first celebration in Philadelphia since Disney took their fan presentations on the road.

Jeffrey is a natural on stage, comfortable and able to execute his hosting abilities without a hitch. Even when dealing with a difficult water bottle which kept falling off a table onto the floor next to him, Jeffrey was able to ad lib his way out of the situation. When his co-host lost his spot in the script, Jeffrey stepped in and ribbed Justin about "perhaps having one too many Philly cheese steaks."

While the fan celebration was action-packed in taking the audience through key anniversaries of the Walt Disney Company, more attention could have been paid to a movie that has a strong Philadelphia connection.

"The Happiest Millionaire," released in 1967 was given a brief mention in the segment of the presentation marking 45-year anniversaries. Besides being the last film that Walt Disney was involved in prior to his death in 1966, "Millionaire" starring Fred MacMurray was based on the true story of Philadelphia millionaire Anthony J. Drexel. The screenplay was by A.J. Carothers based on the play from the book "My Philadelphia Father" by socialite Cordelia Drexel Biddle. While showing production photos and posters of the film on screen, one of the graphics showed a cover of Biddle's book. Perhaps a bit more attention to on-screen content coinciding with the script would have made the presentation feel a bit more tailored to the Philadelphia audience especially in marking "The Happiest Millionaire" milestone. Fanniversary organizers could have also tipped their mouse ears to "The Happiest Millionaire" by staging the event at the Mandell Theater on the campus of Drexel University founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel.

A true testimonial to any good show is always leaving the audience wanting more. D23 Fanniversary did not disappoint as guests leaving the packed house talked excitedly about the program and offered up their personal reflections of their own favorite theme park attractions, movies and television shows from the Walt Disney Company as well as expressing their desire to attend the next fan event. Jeffrey and Justin mingled with fans leaving the auditorium and even posed for a few photos.

D23 Fanniversary events are also scheduled for Seattle, Atlanta and Dallas.

With a bit of creative liberty from "the happiest cruise to ever set sail," it was a good show after all.

Master Moves Mickey is Disney's latest dancing-mouse-toy to bust a move

Paul Perrello — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 03:07:00 GMT

First there was Dance Star Mickey.

Donny Osmond introduces Dance Star Mickey to the world
back in February 2010 at the American International
Toy Fair. Photo by Nancy Stadler

Then came Rock Star Mickey .

Gustaf Farwell plays along with Rock Star Mickey as this new interactive plaything
makes his debut at the 2011 International Toy Fair. Photo by Monika Graff / UPI

Now there is Master Moves Mickey , the latest version of the popular mouse that is one part original Disney plush, one part music and one part dancer. In his latest incarnation, Mickey takes his music and moves to a whole new level.

David Arquette challenges Master Moves Mickey to a dance-off at the Disney Channel
Showcase, which was held this February in New York as part of the 2012 edition of
the International Toy Fair. Photo by Nancy Stadler

Master Moves Mickey, affectionately known by his friends as M3, features 15 ultra-cool break dancing moves including the Windmill, the "Mouska" Mix, the Spin Cycle, the Insane Handstand and the Ham Sandwich. Each Mickey move is accompanied by original tracks and funky beats that will likely get children of all ages movin' and groovin'.

While no pixie dust is required, a simple push of Mickey's nose finds the "leader of the club" springing into action for a fun, collaborative dance session complete with eight different songs ranging in style from rap, hip-hop and pop.

A trio of Master Move Mickeys takes to Times Square to show a street dance crew how
it's done. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Fisher Price, a subsidiary of Mattel, and Disney are dancing M3 into retailers like Target, Toys"R"Us and Walmart this month and he is also available online at Amazon.com. And if the popularity of the previous Dance Star and Rock Star Mickey is any indication, M3 is likely to be a big seller during the upcoming holiday season.

Additional information about this new interactive toy can be found at www.mastermovesmickey.com.

It's Christmas in late July as DreamWorks Animation acquires Classic Media's assortment of characters

Paul Perrello — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 13:19:00 GMT

You may have already heard that -- this November -- DreamWorks Animation is releasing "Rise of the Guardians," an action-adventure film which stars Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Jack Frost, the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman. Which would be quite enough Claus for your typical entertainment company.

But those folks at DWA, they're really serious about getting into the Santa business. Which is why -- just last week -- DreamWorks Animation announced that it would be acquiring Classic Media, the company that owns the Golden Books library as well as legendary characters like Casper the Friendly Ghost, George of the Jungle, Lassie, the Lone Ranger, Rocky and Bullwinkle as well as holiday classics such as "Frosty the Snowman," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town."

If the deal is approved on all sides, Shrek, Fiona and Donkey could be sharing their DreamWorks holiday table with iconic characters such as Archie, Gumby, and Fat Albert -- to name just a few of the properties included in the purchase.

Like the candy-cane on the Christmas tree, DreamWorks Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Katzenberg is welcoming the new stable of characters to his company. In a statement released by Katzenberg, the CEO touted Classic Media's large and diverse collection of characters as being "extremely complementary to DreamWorks Animation's franchise business," with plans to leverage it across the company's film, television, home entertainment, consumer products, digital, theme park and live entertainment channels.

Classic Media's properties also include other well established figures like Underdog, Dick Tracy, Veggie Tales, Where's Waldo? and Godzilla. Classic Media's library focuses on family characters and brands and features a vast collection of filmed entertainment with over 450 titles and more than 6,100 episodes of animated and live-action programming. The company also owns one of the world's largest comic book archives and media rights to the titles in the Golden Books library.

Under the deal, DreamWorks will be able to tap into some of the more recognizable animated characters thanks in part to Classic Media's joint venture with Jay Ward Productions. Under a previously negotiated deal, Classic manages the rights to the entire Jay Ward catalog. Which includes Rocky and Bullwinkle, Fractured Fairy Tales and Mr. Peabody & Sherman.

If a "Mr. Peabody and Sherman" animated film is on your holiday wish list you will have to wait a bit. Fans of the bespectacled brainy canine and his trusty "boy" side-kick will see the duo return to the big screen in a 3D feature film on December 25, 2013 under a previous arrangement with DreamWorks Animation.

But just like the Grinch who stole Christmas, both sides can walk away from the deal if all the T's aren't crossed and the I's dotted by October 20. The deal is reportedly worth $155 million.

All-Star cast lends its voice to Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph"

Paul Perrello — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 02:28:00 GMT

Walt Disney Pictures has assembled another star-studded voice cast for its arcade-game-hopping adventure, "Wreck-It Ralph." John C. Reilly has the title role, "30 Rock" actor Jack McBrayer provides the voice for Fix-It Felix, Jr., while "Glee" actress Jane Lynch is cast as Sergeant Calhoun and Sarah Silverman gives voice to the character of Vanellope von Schweetz.

Other stars lending their vocal talents to the Disney Animation Studios project are "Modern Family" actor Ed O'Neill as Mr. Litwak, comedian Adam Carolla as Wynchel and Horatio Sanz from "Saturday Night Live" as Duncan.

Opening in theaters on November 2, 2012, the movie is directed by Emmy-winning director Rich Moore. The story surrounds Ralph who has been overshadowed by Fix-It Felix as the good guy star of their video game who always gets to save the day. Tired of playing the second-fiddle bad guy role, Ralph takes video bits into his own massive hands and sets off on a journey across arcade screens through multiple generations of video games to prove he has what it takes to be a hero.

"Wreck-It Ralph" has all the trappings of being 2012's version of Disney's 1988 hit film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," which featured a who's-who in classic animation from the House of the Mouse, Warner Brothers, Fleischer Studios, King Features Syndicate, Turner Entertainment, Universal Pictures and Walter Lantz Productions. "Wreck-It" is expected to clump a number of licensed video game characters onto the screen together. For instance, one scene from the movie's first theatrical-release trailer shows Ralph attending a support group for the arcade's various villain characters, including Clyde the orange ghost from Pac-Man, Doctor Eggman from Sonic the Hedgehog and Bowser from Super Mario Brothers.

"Wreck-It Ralph" will be Walt Disney Animation Studios' 52nd production.

DreamWorks Animation to transform unfinished Meadlowlands mall into an indoor theme park

Paul Perrello — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 14:02:00 GMT

Don't be surprised to see a green ogre, flying dragons, fighting pandas and talking penguins in the Garden State. New Jersey could soon become the home of DreamWorks Animation first theme park. The animation studio built by former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, Academy Award winning director Steven Spielberg and music mogul David Geffen has entered into an agreement with the developer behind Mall of America to construct a unique indoor theme park in North Jersey.

The American Dream at Meadowlands project will bring to life DreamWorks beloved animated characters like Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, Puss in Boots and the Madagascar Penguins in a retail and entertainment destination. The venture with multinational development and finance corporation Triple Five calls for nearly 1.7 million square feet of retail space, an indoor ski hill, indoor sky diving, bowling, an aquarium, a live theater and an 14.7-acre amusement park.

The indoor project will house the first North American theme park devoted exclusively to DreamWorks Animation characters from the company's blockbuster animated movies including "Shrek," "How to Train Your Dragon," "Kung Fu Panda," and "Madagascar."

Katzenberg, chief executive of DreamWorks Animation confirmed the project and said he looked forward to incorporating the company's "characters, storytelling and technology into a unique and innovative family entertainment experience."

The venture is not only good news for DreamWorks, which had earlier plans for theme parks in China, Abu Dhabi and Dubai fall through the cracks, but the blueprint breathes new life into a vacant and unfinished development in North Jersey.

While the Meadowlands project has stalled on several attempts over the past few years, DreamWorks and Triple Five's collaboration may be the stroke of genius at the end of an animator's pencil. Katzenberg's company has had a string of hit animated movies while Triple Five has been the developer behind the successful Mall of America.

The project could open for its first guests in 2014.

Gawrsh: Celebrating 80 Goofy Years

Paul Perrello — Wed, 30 May 2012 01:56:00 GMT

The "top dog" in the Wonderful World of Disney is celebrating his 80th birthday. One of Walt Disney's classic "Fab Five" animated characters, Goofy first stumbled onto the silver screen on May 25th, 1932 in a cartoon called "Mickey's Revue." Originally named Dippy Dawg, the droopy-eared, buck- tooth, bespectacled, hat wearing dog, Goofy has appeared in more than 100 animated flicks and dozens of television productions including the current "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" on Disney Channel.

Disney animator Art Babbitt said " ... think of Goof as a composite of an everlasting optimist, a gullible Good Samaritan ... No matter what happens, he accepts it finally as being for the best, or at least amusing." While Goofy debuted in 1932, his first film credit as Goofy was in his seventh film in 1934 in the "Orphan's Benefit" animated short.

In his long animated career, Goofy has played polo, football and baseball. He has been a ghost hunter, a boat builder and a clock cleaner. He has provided audiences with hours of laughter with his "How To" animated series where he has instructed fans on "How to Be a Sailor," "How to Play Golf," and more recently "How to Hook Up Your Home Theater."

Goofy is also a father to Max resulting in the father and son duo landing their own TV series "Goof Troop" in the 1990's. The television show catapulted Goofy and Max onto the big screen in their own animated films "A Goofy Movie" in 1995 and "An Extremely Goofy Movie" in 2000.

During his eight-decades in show business, a number of actors have lent their voice talents to Goofy. The character was originally voiced by one-time circus clown and animation story man Vance Pinto Colvig. Since 1986 Bill Farmer has been credited as the official voice of Goofy. A comedian and impressionist, who worked on radio and television, Farmer auditioned for the role not knowing if he would provide the voice once, twice or a thousand times. He has since made a career out of speaking for Goofy more than three thousand times over the past 25-plus years. His vocal talent as Goofy earned Farmer the special honor of being named a Disney Legend in 2009.

As Walt Disney observed, Goofy "has always been a modest, unassuming fellow, one who's never let fame go to his head." As fans wish Goofy a special Happy Birthday, he is likely to respond to all of the attention with a deep rose-colored blush and his signature saying, "Gawrsh." Happy Birthday, Goofy!

Is Disney now ready to really step up its game when it comes to videogames?

Noe Valladolid — Tue, 15 May 2012 01:21:00 GMT

With "Marvel's The Avengers" having sold a billion dollars worth of tickets worldwide after just 19 days in theaters, the ripple effect that this Joss Whedon film is causing will be felt for years yet to come. Children will grow up dreaming of robot suits and flying aircraft carriers, some will undoubtedly be the next generation of visual effects artists, engineers and programmers. Toys, cartoons and action figures will all get a boost this summer and holiday season. Parents and kids alike will enjoy dressing as their favorite Avenger come Halloween and let's not even talk about how good Christmas is going to be for kids! Disney and Marvel shareholders will possibly the happiest from the performance of the Avengers. Despite the fantastic licensing deals that Marvel and Disney have hammered out there has been one market that both studios have traditionally failed critically at. Neither studio seems capable of releasing a great high profile tie-in videogame for any of their franchises.

Game players often hold their noses when they learn that a new Disney or Marvel movie is being ported over to the gaming consoles and PC. They may be huge fans of the films or the comics they are based on but when it comes to videogames they can smell a sorry rush to market from a mile away. The licensed titles fail to live up to the expectations, especially since they have the Disney and Marvel name attached to them. These games often seem to be the result of marketing data, poor investment and lackluster planning. The Disney / Pixar / Marvel (let's call the collective DPM) games often make a predictable return from the market but are never blockbusters like the Triple-A titles from other publishers. The biggest obstacle for developers working with the Disney or Marvel license seems to be in trying to make a gaming experience run parallel with a story from a film.

The aggregate scoring site Metacritic shows that trend is nothing new for the licensed DPM games. Metacritic has a scale from 1 to 100 for professional critics and a scale from 1 to 10 from consumers. The higher the score the better the reception and the more money the title traditionally makes. Among editors and players the "average" gaming experience is not set at a score of 50. That would actually be considered a very poor title. The average experience would rate between 65 and 70, then move to above average, good and great territory respectively. The consoles that the games are released on can influence the ratings. Some games have console exclusive content while others drop in quality from platform to platform. Let's take a look at the recent crop of games from the DPM collective and see if we can spot a trend, we'll begin with Pixar.

The Incredibles was published in 2004 for the PC, Microsoft Xbox, Sony Playstation 2 and Nintendo Gamecube. A year later a sequel was released called the Rise of the Underminer. The two games averaged 65 on the Metacritic scale, barely average and nothing that gamers would be interested in. The original game tried to follow the narrative and pacing from the film while the sequel had a little more leeway in terms of gameplay and plot. The same thing could be said of the 2009 game based on the film Up. The game rated at 65 on Metacritic whereas the movie was rated at 88. In 2010 Toy Story 3 was released on multiple consoles and PC's as well but had a much better average than previous Pixar games. Metacritic rated it at around 76 out of 100. The game did not try to turn the narrative of the film into a series of episodic level designs but instead introduced the more popular "sandbox" style of game play. Audiences chose how they wanted to play and with which characters from the franchise they wanted to play with. Objectives could be selected by players in no particular order. This freedom from the plot and pre-determined game paths made the Toy Story 3 series appeal to a broader game playing audience.

Disney had a track record that was more questionable among gamers. Most of the videogames released by the studio had been lackluster in years past. Recently their in-house developers Disney Interactive / Buena Vista Games and Junction Point have been trying to reverse the trend. The Princess and the Frog was a collection of party-style mini games designed for multiple players. It was exclusive to the Nintendo Wii and the handheld Nintendo DS. The 2009 title did not make many waves among players but the average of 70 out of 100 was decent showing for Disney. The following title was not as well received. Tangled released in 2010 also had a collection of mini games but the Nintendo console exclusive averaged around 63 on Metacritic. The following title would earn Disney some redemption but it was not the blockbuster that audiences had hoped for. Epic Mickey, also released in 2010 was a Wii exclusive title. The game was designed to be a re-introduction of sorts for Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Rabbit to audiences. The level of detail that went into the game was amazing as producer Warren Spector was a certifiable Disney fanatic. However audiences felt the control and game play were lacking and that disappointment was reflected in the review scores. Metacritic held the game to 73 out of 100. It appeared that even the biggest name was not enough to move copies of any game One of the most popular Disney games was not based on a cartoon or film and did not feature any mascot characters. The 2005 PC title Toontown Online allowed players to assume the roles of cartoon characters fighting against evil robots known as Cogs. Certainly there is a larger theme with cartoon characters fighting against corporate monsters trying to take over Toon Town, but I digress. The multiplayer title was rated as 81 on Metacritic. To prove the staying power there are still players enjoying this title seven years later on Disney's Go site.

Of the DPM collective Marvel has the poorest track record. Most games based on comic books are poorly done and none seem to be worse than those based on Marvel titles. There are a few exceptions, the Ultimate Alliance and Spider-Man games have been better than average but the rest of the universe is sorely lacking. Consider the games based on the core members of the Avengers. The game based on the Incredible Hulk reboot featuring Ed Norton was released on the "next-gen" consoles, the Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2008. The game did feature graphics that were better than any previous Marvel game. The title received a dismal 55 from Metacritic. That same year the Iron Man game based on the Robert Downey Jr. version of the character was released for the same consoles. It was rated in the low 40's. Iron Man 2 was released in 2010 and did not average any higher scores. Marvel was making a name for itself on the big screen but couldn't manage to draw out the same response for the licensed videogames. It did not matter if the games featured the likeness or voices of the stars from the movies. The great visuals and star power did nothing to compensate for poor game design and terrible controls. The lowest rated of the recent Marvel games was Thor: God of Thunder. Released in 2011 for the consoles it managed to score in the high 30's. Marvel rebounded when they released Captain America later that year. The super soldier game scored a 60, breaking the trend from the developers at Sega which had been holding onto the Marvel license for years.

Audiences had long lamented the lack of quality games featuring popular comic book characters. The studios only seemed interested in the heroes when there was a movie tie-in. The games based on movies based on comic books were nearly all pitiful experiences. Audiences began demanding better experiences and every so often the license holder would step up and deliver a worthy game. The budgets and development cycle would go up for the better comic book to game experiences. The studios would sometimes consult actual comic book writers and artists during the production of the titles and avoid any movie tie-ins altogether. When studios were free to develop a game that played to the strengths of the characters without being rushed to have a game ready in time for a film debut then the experience was nothing short of amazing. For example, the previous Incredible Hulk game, Ultimate Destruction was one of the best comic book games ever produced. Rated at 83 on Metacritic the title was released for the Playstation 2, Gamecube and Xbox. It did not feature the likenesses of any actors nor did it rely on any big name voice talent. Instead the game focused on the character and a variation of his his comic book struggles. Players could leap great distances, throw tanks and pull aircraft out of the sky, these were things that no other game character offered. Audiences loved the title but were put off by the follow-up. The Ed Norton version had better graphics but worse control and game play. A different development team had taken over and the production cycle had been shortened to meet the release of the movie. Players passed on the title and Marvel and Sega did not see the profits they had anticipated.

Marvel was not the only studio struggling to bring comic book properties to the gamers. Warner Bros. had released some of the worst comic book character games of all time. Superman 64 for the Nintendo 64 was constantly brought up by gaming media as one of the worst, if not the worst game ever made. The Christopher Nolan reboot of the Batman franchise was good for the studio but the game tied into the movie was average at best. Batman Begins, released 2005 for the PS2, Xbox and GameCube averaged 65 on Metacritic. The locations featured in the game were careful reproductions of the world presented in the film yet the experience was lacking. A few years later WB struck gold with Batman Arkham Asylum. The game was released in 2009 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. It was a critical and commercial success, earning a 92 rating. The Batman presented had nothing to do with the recent films or even current comic book stories but like the Hulk in Ultimate Destruction, the developers managed to create an original game experience based on the unique abilities of the character. The game proved so successful that WB pushed the developer Rocksteady to begin work on a sequel while they were hammering out licenses for toys and products with Arkham version of the character. The sequel debuted in 2011, it expanded on the game elements and introduced a more expansive "sandbox" environment for players to enjoy. Released for the same consoles Batman Arkham City was rated even higher, earning a 95 on Metacritic. Many critics and players considered it the game of the year for 2011. As of Feb 2012 there have been 6 million units of Batman Arkham City shipped, the majority of those sold. Assuming that people paid the MSRP of $49.99 per copy then WB was looking at almost $300 million in sales. These figures would not include the sales data for the downloadable content (DLC) packs which offered new characters and costumes for a small fee. The $3M number also does not include resell or rental estimates.

Warner Bros. discovered that the videogame could be an important part of the revenue stream if it were approached properly. The lesson here was fairly straightforward. WB did not t did not try to adapt a film into a gaming experience. They also did not treat the fans of their comic book characters like simpletons. Players expected a certain level of control, design and polish with their gaming experience anything less would be ignored. Batman in a party game would have never broken the $100M barrier, no matter how the marketing data might lead an executive to believe. Great experiences require time, money, resources and the right approach. There is no shortcut to making a tripe-A title and reaping the rewards. WB did not limit the game to one console either. They got Rocksteady to provide exclusive content for both the PS3 and Xbox 360 and in many instances convinced gamers that it was worth it to buy the same game twice. To put things in perspective the Avengers broke box office records to the tune of $200M in the USA by getting a large amount of viewers to pay roughly $10 a ticket. Batman Arkham City sold 2 Million units when it debuted, which doesn't sound impressive but at $50-a-game that's $100M almost overnight and over a quarter billion dollars to-date.

Perhaps the success of Arkham City has given Disney reason to rethink their videogame strategy? Disney, Pixar and Marvel have a catalog of characters that could eclipse any other studio, including Warner Bros. What they seem to lack is the a better understanding of the gaming consumer. According to the Entertainment Software Association the average age of the game player and consumer is closer to 40 than 14! The people buying the games are doing so more for themselves that for their children. The younger generation is interested in different pursuits such as social media more than gaming. It would be wise for Disney to stop trying to push every film release with a simplistic party game targeted for children and instead focus the efforts on the actual gaming community. Instead of farming out licenses to the highest-bidding developers the studio should reinvest in Disney Interactive, Junction Point (which has suffered from layoffs) and Buena Vista Games. It takes top-level talent to make top-level games, it also takes time, money and resources. The same rules that govern great animated features apply to the game industry, who knew? The focus from the parent company should not be in trying to get a game to the market in time for a movie premier, instead it should be how the characters could work apart from the film. For example if the story and characters in Brave aren't quite a fit for a videogame then Disney and Pixar should reconsider spending the time, money and resources to develop it. What does Merida, the star of Brave, offer gamers that they haven't seen before? The Incredible Hulk could throw tanks and pull jet fighters out of the sky, Batman could fight, use stealth and gadgets to take out hordes of criminals. These things were unique to gaming and when approached properly in terms of control, level design and graphics both characters made for fantastic playing experiences (and very profitable titles). The linear gameplay of Brave and proposed bow and arrow combat seems limited, especially when compared to the more robust God of War and Assassin's Creed titles on the horizon.

Perhaps Bob Iger, Warren Spector and the other the decision makers have already come to that realization. Wreck-It Ralph, the next Disney CGI feature is based entirely around gaming. According to early reports the project is a love letter of sorts to the entire gaming genre. It will even feature cameos from some of the biggest heroes and villains from the industry, not unlike a Who Framed Roger Rabbit for the gaming generation. On the virtual front Disney is breaking from tradition. The sequel to Epic Mickey is not going to be exclusive to the Nintendo platforms. The Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 will also get simultaneous releases this holiday season, thus ensuring that more gamers get a chance to experience the title this time around. Even the games on Disney's websites have become more polished as of late, as the Drive: Motor City could attest to. Hopefully Pixar and Marvel might rethink their gaming strategy as well, there is no reason why those studios could not be sitting on the next Arkham-sized blockbuster.

SeaWorld Orlando really comes out of its shell with TurtleTrek

Leslie Navarro — Wed, 02 May 2012 01:30:00 GMT

Can it really be three years since Manta -- Central Florida's first-ever flying coaster -- initially came on the scene at SeaWorld Orlando?

Yep. To be exact, this Bolliger & Mabillard-designed roller coaster officially opened to the public on May 22, 2009. And ever since then, millions of thrill seekers have made special trips to this zoological theme park just so they could then experience what it was like to dive, twist and corkscrew through the air while riding aboard a giant steel manta ray.

But Orlando being Orlando, there are always new rides, shows and attractions coming along. And what with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opening at Universal's Islands of Adventure back in June of 2010 and "Star Tours: The Adventures Continue" coming online at Disney's Hollywood Studios in May of 2011 ... Well, it was obvious that SeaWorld Orlando was going to have to come up with something really special if it was going to stay competitive with Disney & Universal during the Summer of 2012.

And given that Disney & Universal are both world renown for their films and movie studios, the folks at SeaWorld Orlando decided that the very best way to top the competition was to create a brand-new cinematic experience unlike any that had ever been seen inside of a theme park before.

So the folks at SeaWorld turned to Falcon's Treehouse, that Orlando-based theme entertainment company which had created Thea Award-winning attractions like the Curse of DarKastle ride at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and the Dragon's Treasure multi-sensory film (which has been wowing crowds at Macua's City of Dreams Casino since September of 2009).

In fact, it was Dragon's Treasure (which is presented inside of a 80 foot-tall & 120 foot-wide hemi-ellipsoidal theater) that kind of provided the jumping-off point for SeaWorld Orlando's next show. When the creative team from SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment saw how Falcon's Treehouse had used 15 different projectors to create a virtually seamless cinematic experience inside of this dome-shaped theater, they then wondered: Would it be possible to present a 3D movie inside of this same sort of space?

So the folks at Falcon's Treehouse and SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment put their heads together as they attempted to come up with an appropriate storyline for this brand-new 3D movie experience. Which -- like so many of the other rides, shows and attraction found in this zoological theme park -- had to skillfully mix education and entertainment in a way that would then appeal to tourists. Who typically don't like to be preached to while they're on vacation (Witness what happened back in February when Epcot was forced to suddenly close its new Habit Heroes interactive attraction. All because the media insinuated that this Blue Cross Blue Shield-sponsored show was somehow demeaning to the obese).

SeaWorld Orlando employees return a loggerhead
turtle to the waters just off Cocoa Beach after that
theme park's veterinarians had nursed back
to health. Copyright SeaWorld Parks &
Entertainment. All rights reserved

The theme that Falcon's Treehouse and SeaWorld's creative team eventually settled on was "Everyday Heroes." As in: Everyone everywhere can pitch in and protect our oceans & the environment. All it takes is people being proactive locally, taking a few small steps every day.

And the film that they used to then sell this concept to the public was TurtleTrek, the world's first 3D 360 experience which just opened at SeaWorld Orlando theme park this past Friday. Presented inside of a 38 foot-tall domed theatre, this 6 minute-long CG film really has to been to be believed. It takes you through 22 years of the life of Maya, a sea turtle. As she journeys from being a hatchling who has to dig her way of a sandy nest and then doing battle with a hungry crab & tern before Maya finally reaches the sea.

And then -- thanks to the 34 projectors that are working together to throw a super-clear, seamless image up on the walls of that dome (not to mention the 22 audio channels which help to give new SeaWorld Orlando show a 3D audioscape) -- you really feel like you are traveling underwater along with Maya as she journeys through the world's oceans.

Mind you, there are a few scary moments in TurtleTrek (especially when Maya is briefly menaced by a Great White Shark while she is hiding inside of the hull of a rusted-out old wreck on the bottom of the sea. Not to mention when this sea turtle narrowly avoids getting caught in a drag net that some fishermen are using). But for the most part, this new addition to SeaWorld Orlando's line-up of rides, shows and attractions is downright lyrical. Beautiful even.

Which is why -- once you seen TurtleTrek and then continue on with your Central Florida vacation -- you may eventually find yourself thinking: "Gee, that new 3D 360 film at SeaWorld Orlando was really great. I wish that I could go back to that theme park now and experience it one more time."

Well, if you had purchased a Length-of-Stay ticket, then that really wouldn't be a problem. You'd have had upwards to 14 days to not only make multiple visits to SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica, its companion waterpark, but you could have also journeyed over to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Where you could then experience the newish (opened in May of 2011) Cheetah Hunt thrill-ride as well as seeing that coaster's namesakes up-close by wandering through that theme park's Cheetah Run habitat.

Joseph "Reverend Run" Simmons and his daughter Miley visit Busch
Gardens Tampa Bay Cheetah Run habitat area as the Cheetah Hunt
coaster looms in the background. Copyright SeaWorld Parks &
Entertainment. All rights reserved

So if you think that you might be interested in having multiple face-to-snout encounters with cheetahs over in Tampa and/or wish to repeatedly experience the 3D 360 wonders found in SeaWorld Orlando's newest attraction, TurtleTrek, the next time you're vacationing in Florida ... Well, I think I know a few folks who can help you out with those Length-of-Stay tickets.

Magic Castle Online allows Tokyo Disney fans to virtually visit a Disney-themed town

Noe Valladolid — Tue, 01 May 2012 02:50:00 GMT

Japan is filled with with millions of Disney enthusiasts and they have been a buzz these past few months. Both the Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea Parks have changed the themes to their shows and parades for the seasons, some of the floats are returning favorites. The parks are exploring a unique mix of Japanese and Western-themed holidays. For example last year the park combined the Christian Easter celebration with the Asian Lunar New Year, which happened to fall on the year of the rabbit. The largest parade float featured Oswald swimming through a sea of brightly colored eggs. All of the rabbits from the Disney films and animated shorts were in costume. Including the White Rabbit from "Alice in Wonderland," Thumper from "Bambi" and even Max Hare from "The Tortoise and the Hare." The "Disney's Easter Wonderland" parade proved to be so popular that it was brought back for a second year. The Japanese are largely secular but have been incorporating more and more Western holidays over the past 25 years.

There is a place online where Japanese Disney fans can bring the theme park experience home and enjoy even more holidays and celebrations as well. Previously I had mentioned the Disney online game presence at the US Disney.com site. Did you know that overseas the Disney site has some unique games as well? The largest community oriented game is called Magic Castle Online. Players create accounts, name a boy or girl avatar and can explore a virtual Magic Kingdom. The Magic Castle is not a 1-to-1 copy of Tokyo Disneyland but instead a Disney-themed town complete with shops, restaurants and theaters. Like other online games players can unlock costumes and dress up their characters. Unlike those other games however, the iconic mouse ears and Donald Duck sailor uniforms are available for use. Not only that but shops in and around the castle feature costumes of other classic characters that players could earn to completely change their appearance. Players can collect and share costumes, prizes and mini-games unlocked through exploration.

The Magic Castle is a persistent world, that is players can log in at any hour of the day and the community will be active. The world itself changes to reflect the seasons and even special events from the Tokyo Disney parks. Since spring introduced Easter Eggs to the Japanese those decorations are currently scattered throughout the Magic Castle. Players can walk between areas or take trains, monorails, boats or even submarines to different parts of the world. There is no word if this game will be localized to the USA but based on the popularity of the social networking games hosted on Facebook it would be a shame if a version of the Magic Castle didn't appear in the West.

Le Rêve - The Dream begins its seventh year of performances at the Wynn Las Vegas next month

Leslie Navarro — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:30:00 GMT

This Saturday, it's Lucky No. 7 for the Wynn. Seven years ago on April 28, 2005, this $2.7 billion dollar mega-resort opened at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sands Avenue. And the town has never really been the same.

Of course, there are some old timers who still miss the Desert Inn, that hotel & casino which previously occupied this spot along the Strip. But when you consider the state-of-the-art facility Steve Wynn built in its place (not to mention all of the accolades that this 215-acre complex has received over the past seven years. To date, the Wynn Las Vegas has been awarded the AAA five diamond, the Forbes five-star and the Mobil five-star. Which is why this 2,716-room resort is considered to be one of the finest hotels in the world) ... It's clear that the Desert Inn (which -- FYI -- was just the 5th resort to open along the Las Vegas Strip when Wilbur Clark initially built the place way back in April of 1950) was replaced by something infinitely better.

The original entrance to Wilbur Clark's Desert Inn circa 1950

Mind you, not all aspects of the Desert Inn have disappeared. The 165-acre, 18-hole golf course (which -- back when this $1 million venue was first being built in 1951 -- was called "Wilbur's Folly," because it was thought that no one would ever want to play golf in the Nevada heat) served as the jumping-off point / inspiration for the 7,042-yard, par 70 course that Tom Fazio and Mr. Wynn built in its place.

(L to R) Ed Sullivan, Red Skeleton and Wilbur Clark out on the
links at the Desert Inn's golf course back in 1959

And given all of the famous stars who performed at the Desert Inn's crystal showroom (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Wayne Newton, Jerry Lewis, Tony Bennett and Don Rickles ... to name just a few) over the 50+ years that this hotel & casino was in operation ... Well, Steve Wynn knew that -- in order to top all of the historic entertainers who'd previously performed at this spot along the Strip -- the Wynn Las Vegas would have to feature one hell of a show. Which is where Le Rêve - The Dream comes in.

Now Le Rêve - The Dream has often been compared to a Cirque du Soleil show. Which is understandable, given that this elaborate production was put together by Franco Dragone, the director of such well-received Cirque shows as O, La Nouba, Mystère and Quidam.

But what makes Le Rêve -The Dream different from all of the other Cirque-like shows that you'll find being presented in Las Vegas right now is that it's presented in a one million-gallon tank of water. Which is why 87 members of this cast has to be scuba-certified before they're then allowed to perform in this show.

More to the point, what makes this entertainment spectacular especially memorable for anyone visiting the Wynn Las Vegas is that there are only 12 rows of seats in this aquatic theater-in-the-round. Which means that there isn't a seat in Le Rêve - The Dream that's more than 40 feet away from the action.

The end result is that you're so close to all of the aerial acrobatics, the high diving and feats of strength that Dragone dreamed up for the Wynn Las Vegas' signature show that you yourself can't help but get caught up in Le Rêve - The Dream.

This is why -- for nearly seven years now -- guests have been making return trips to the Wynn. Just so they can once again marvel at this show's beautiful costumes and/or be dazzled by its stunning choreography.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy of ABC's "Dancing with the
Stars" (R) choreographed three of the numbers in
Le Rêve - The Dream.

If you'd like to experience Le Rêve - The Dream for yourself the next time you're in Las Vegas, please keep in mind this show (which is 75 minutes long and presented without an intermission) is performed twice nightly Friday through Tuesday at 7 & 9:30 p.m. There are no performances on Wednesdays & Thursdays.

Better yet, the nice folks at BestofVegas have a limited time offer that you may want to consider taking advantage. Which will then allow you to save $20 on Premium Seating for Le Rêve - The Dream performances beginning on June 29th and then lasting through August 31, 2012.

So even though it's the Wynn that'll be celebrating its 7th anniversary this Saturday, why not give yourself a present by taking advantage of BestOfVegas's great Le Rêve - The Dream ticket offer. You won't be sorry.

Disney's "Motorcity" -inspired game, "Drive," sets online gamers hearts racing

Noe Valladolid — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:47:00 GMT

Visitors to the Disney websites have probably noticed that the "Games" button is listed prominently next to "Stars and Characters." No longer considered a passing trend online gaming is a billion dollar industry that has caught the eye of Disney. The company has done well targeting younger gamers and families through the Club Penguin online community but has found it a little harder to find a game that caters to the larger gaming public. Previous efforts to tie in characters and games online have fallen a little flat among visitors. The Tron Legacy Lightcycle game was good visually if a little limited in the control arena. Fans of the arcade original could always try the Classic Tron game online as well. The introduction of Marvel characters has helped slightly (see Spider-Man in the Iron Spider for proof). However Disney's finally hit their stride with a new game titled Drive. The game is actually available for both online and mobile (iPad / iPhone) devices.

Drive is based on the new Disney XD series titled Motorcity. The series follows the adventures of a motor gang named the Burners fighting against an evil industrialist named Abraham Kane. Lead by Mike Chillton and his friends, Julie, Dutch, Texas and Chuck the Burners drive all over a futuristic version of Detroit in high-powered hot rods. The character and vehicle designs are reminiscent of Genndy "Samurai Jack" Tartakovsky with a sprinkling of Duncan Roleau, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly and Steven T. Seagle's "Ben 10" series. I would even venture to say that I see some influences from Jaimie Hewlett (Tank Girl / Gorillaz) as well. The animation featured in Motorcity is a mix of 2D and 3D. The game has some 2D cut scenes but the gameplay is entirely 3D based. The world of Motorcity appears part futuristic and part modern urban, with beams of light outlining the edges of the buildings and graffiti filling in the cracks. Players might be surprised as to how great the game looks and plays for a browser title.

Players are introduced into the world of Motorcity when starting the game. In particular they meet Mike and his car, a highly stylized muscle-car-meets-import monstrosity appropriately titled "the Mutt." The Mutt is reminiscent of the Barracuda / Challenger clone featured in Ben 10, aka Kevin's car. There is even a cartoonish Ed "Big Daddy" Roth-styled dog driving a hot rod painted on the car door. The show and game are clearly made for and by gearheads. Boys who might be fans of the Hot Wheels Battle Force 5 series will be paying particular attention to this title. Battle Force 5 ran on Cartoon Network and featured a bunch of high tech cars and multi-ethnic teens. That series had a moderately successful toy and videogame line.

Motorcity was undoubtedly Disney's answer to the Hot Wheels show but not a direct copy. Car-based cartoon shows were nothing new to television but seem to skip a generation. Speed Racer captured the imagination of boys in Japan and North America in the late 1960's. The Mach 5 was a dream machine for many young men but there really wasn't another show featuring a high tech car in the spotlight until the 80's. Car-based animated shows really took off in 1984 when the Transformers hit the airwaves. The heroic robots were known as Autobots and transformed into all sorts of vehicles. Since then there were many variations on the theme. Turbo Teen (1984), Pole Position (1984), M.A.S.K (1985), Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines (1985), Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors (1989) were some of the shows that had toy tie-ins as well as decently written episodes. Some of the Jayce shows were written by award winning author J. Michael Straczynski.

The first episodes of Motorcity have yet to hit the airwaves so audiences playing the game have a preview to the world. Hopefully the other vehicles featured in Motorcity are as mind numbingly awesome as the Mutt. I can almost see the toys on the shelves right next to the Pixar Cars, both sets putting the squeeze on Mattel. I'm not too proud to admit that I might be picking some Motorcity cars myself when and if they do come out. Of course some adults are too proud to admit that this show seems genuinely interesting. Those viewers might want to check out the Japanese animé titled Redline which shows that cars and stylized animation can be cutting edge and entertaining. But again I digress ...

The game itself is an interesting combination of driving and shooting. The play mechanics featured in Motorcity Drive have a classic arcade feel. Night Stocker and Night Striker introduced the mechanics of driving and shooting to arcade goers over 25 years ago. In Drive gamers can use the mouse to steer and shoot at robot targets using the keyboard. The setup is a little harder on mobile devices but the experience is the same. Players do not have to worry about running off the track as they are automatically guided around and over the futuristic world. Players do have to actively steer out of the way of giant electronic pylons and laser blasts from flying robots. The shooting mechanic is fairly straightforward, simply move the crosshairs over an opponent and shoot. Players can earn upgrades to their weapons and switch between different types of lasers. The gameplay is reminiscent of the classic on-rails shooter Panzer Dragoon by Sega.

Gamers don't have unlimited energy. If the Mutt takes too much damage then it's game over. To help players out the car has a couple of limited use weapons that can clear all opponents off the screen. Saving this weapon until it is absolutely necessary can make all the difference between reaching the next level and having to start all over. Drive is possibly the best free game on the Disney site and far superior to Cars 2 World Rally. Players can post high scores on the online leaderboard and even unlock Achievements for each level similar to an Xbox 360 title. Hopefully we'll be seeing more online games from Disney that has this level of polish and presentation, at the very least expect to see this game available for download on Xbox Live or Playstation's Network with some more cars and features to round out the experience if Disney Interactive does not develop a fully-realized console experience.