My apologies for JHM getting a late start today. But Nancy and I really do have a very good excuse for not posting ‘til just now. You see, we were invited down NYC yesterday for Disney’s holiday showcase. Which means that we spent 5 hours going from room-to-room-to-room, seeing virtually everything that the Mouse plans on bringing to the marketplace August through December.
Looking at future Disney product while looking down on Central Park. Photo by Nancy Stadler
Mind you, it’s going to take a few days to sort through everything that we saw & heard yesterday. At last count, I came away from yesterday’s event with 35 different Disney-related stories. With perhaps the biggest piece of news being that John Lasseter is now officially theco-director of “Cars 2.”
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I know, I know. This has been whispered about for months now. But at the holiday showcase yesterday, the Disney reps were quite up front about the fact that the chief creative officer of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios is now working side-by-side with Brad Lewis, the producer of “Ratatouille.” More importantly, that the Company anticipates that this June 2011 release willbe a worthy follow-up to that 2006 Pixar Animation Studios release.
And speaking of Pixar … For all you guys out there who have fond memories of that Millennium Falcon Spaceship that Kenner produced back in 1979, have I got a toy for you? This is the Hamm Ship playset …
Photo by Nancy Stadler
… Which is a toy version of the sinister-looking spaceship that the Evil Doctor Porkchop uses to menace Woody, Buzz and Jessie during the opening sequence of “Toy Story 3.”
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Yesterday, we were told that Lasseter himself had a hand in the design of this particular toy. Which is why the Hamm Ship is outfitted with cool extra features like laser sounds and a light-up snout.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Best of all, the Hamm Ship playset opens up / unfolds to reveal holding cells for Woody & the gang. Not to mention a boarding ramp (which allows Evil Doctor Porkchop to make a dramatic entrance).
Photo by Nancy Stadler
This is not to be confused with the cool new “Toy Story 3” toys that are already on sale at your local Disney Store (which include a full-sized ceramic Hamm piggy bank).
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Or – for that matter – the “TS3” items which will roll into stores this Fall just as the DVD & Blu-ray version of this Pixar Animation Studios release hits store shelves. I mean, check out this Disney Store exclusive. Which will bundle Woody & Buzz in what the Disney Store repjokingly called “ … their award show duds” with a Blu-ray of the film.
Photo by Nancy Stadler
Now please keep in mind that the dolls pictured above are limited edition. If I remember correctly, only 2000 sets are being made. So if you’d like to own a chromed-up Buzz and/or a Woody who seems to be channeling his inner Johnny Cash / Clint Black, it might be smart to pre-order this particular combo.
Trust me, folks. This is just the tip of the tip of the iceberg of what we got to see yesterday. Nancy and I also got to watch demos of Disney’s “TRON: Evolution” game (which bridges the worlds of the 1982 film and “TRON: Legacy”) …
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… and Epic Mickey.
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And did I mention that we got to see the first minute of that bonus chapter of the “Lost” saga? Which reveals what life on the island was like after Hurley & Ben took over?
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All will be revealed shortly. I promise. So please hang in there, okay?
Your thoughts?