Ever felt like your brain needed a jump-start? That’s me this week trying to come along with a topic. But never fear! The well is not dry just yet. Balky, yes, but not out of ideas…So, bouncing along, here we go.
Let me start off with this little gem. Gee, you’d almost think this was someone we all know, wouldn’t you?
As much as anyone, I would likely buy the Pal Mickey on a future visit, (Michele and I try not to buy more plush, but it doesn’t work. Yes, I do have one of the smaller Nemo’s.) But I would rather have a Pal Stitch or Pal Eeyore. “Thanks for noticing me…” Some wag (name protected to save the guilty) on the JHM message boards suggested a Pal Jim, but I warned them that he would probably never finish a story.
So, tomorrow is the big day in Anaheim. Wonder if the usual suspects got their media passes to go in and see all the fuss and muck? Guess we’ll know as soon as they get access to their ISP’s and start raking…
While I can appreciate some of the sentiments about closing the Park on a Saturday (why didn’t someone think of doing it on Friday instead?) night in the middle of the summer, I imagine folks (guests and CM’s alike) will roll with it. If I was in the middle of that once in a lifetime vacation and I didn’t know this was happening, I could become peeved about it. But I imagine Disney will offer all kinds of goodies to make up for it. Remember the old saying? “It’s far easier to ask forgiveness than to ask for permission.”
And any AP holder who tries to complain about the closure at City Hall should just have their pass revoked by Disney. Says right on the back of it, “This NONTRANSFERABLE Passport is the property of Disneyland Resort. It provides the individual whose name and picture appear herein with pre-specified, revocable privileges, which may be changed or canceled at any time without notice.” Some things just don’t get noticed, I guess…
Casting about for other things worthy of comment, I was somewhat surprised to see all the Disney characters that made the AFI’s Heroes and Villians list recently:
#10 Villian — The Queen from “Snow White”
#20 Villian — Man from “Bambi”
#39 Villian — Cruella De Ville from “101 Dalmatians”#33 Hero — Tarzan from “Tarzan” various
Other Nominees included — (from animated and other Disney films)
Heroes:
Davy Crockett — from “Davy Crockett and the River Pirates”
Buzz Lightyear — “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2”
Peter Pan — “Peter Pan”
Mary Poppins — “Mary Poppins”
Robin Hood — “Robin Hood”
Shrek — “Shrek”
Sinbad — “Sinbad”
*** Tracy — “*** Tracy”Villians:
Judge Claude Frollo — “Hunchback of Norte Dame”
The Headless Horseman — “Ichabod Crane”
Captain Hook — “Peter Pan”
Maleficent — “Sleeping Beauty”
Long John Silver — “Treasure Island”
“Stromboli” — “Pinocchio”
“Ursula” — “The Little Mermaid”
And how is it that Gregory Peck never made it as a voice in a Disney animated film? Come on Burbank, there are more great voices out and about waiting to be used besides Wayne, David, Jim and Frank. Time for a rest for that quartet. Don’t you think?
And while I’m on a roll, call me one of the few people who had hoped for more than we got from “Finding Nemo.” As I posted to the JHM message board on June 2:
“Well, I saw it Saturday night in a theater that was “sold out” according to the marquee display at the box office. Funny thing, though… There were plenty of empty seats. Wonder who was padding the take?
As for the picture:
Yes, it looked nice. The audience, as a whole, liked it. However, I had issues with it.
Characters were good, as far as they went, which IMHO, was not far enough. Case in point, the sharks. Why waste such good potential characters (upon who so much was played up in marketing) to such a brief bit? I really felt they should have done better using them more than they did.
Story had more holes in it than the net full of fish at the end of the film. Sorry, just how I saw it.
Not so much a story as a series of connected scenes. I guess I wasn’t expecting an underwater version of an old Hope and Crosby “Road” picture (really B-movies with A stars – “Road to Utopia” anyone?), which was what we got.
At least we didn’t see every voice under contract at Disney as a fish ala Dreamworks and “Antz”. Could easily have happened. All the fish in the sea, etc. But can’t we look a bit further for voice talent than the pool? I like John Ratzenberger as much as anyone, but he’s become the Pixar equivalent of David Ogden Stiers and Disney. “Gentlemen…”
Was somewhat surprised by the “Bambi” moment so early. Considering that “Monsters” was so purposely brightened in tone, story and coloring to not seem so threatening to children, this was different — not the usual good times Pixar fluff to open.
Seagulls get my vote for best of the bunch. I will never look at one the same way.
Hope you all sat through the credits, there was a good laugh you shouldn’t have missed.
We were treated to many trailer before the feature including “Brother Bear” (Looks like a poor cousin to Dreamworks “Spirit” that will probably drive another nail into the coffin of 2D at Disney) and “The Incredibles” (one gag used too many times and November 2004? One long wait!).
And, no, I was not wearing the cranky pants either when I saw it or when I wrote this…
I guess I just expected better.”
While lurking about eBay, I amused to see the Reyn-Spooner shirts made for the Nemo cast and crew at Pixar for sale from Disney Auctions. Note that the same shirt is now for sale directly from Reyn-Spoonerbut backordered until sometime in July — for only $77.50 for adults up to XXL and for children for only $47.50. Amusingly, you won’t find shirts from this company for sale at Disneyland, as they used to be in the Adventureland Bazaar. Too bad as the company does nice work and has a good selection of Disney shirts in it’s catalog.
Which leads to another opportunity. Seems that we have a fair amount of traffic (yes, we do our own bit of user tracking – very simple) from folks who come and read the message boards but do not post. Trust me, we don’t bite, much. Come on in, the water’s fine. See something you don’t agree with? Post a reply! Same goes if you see something you do agree with! Post your reply! We (the lurkers and smurkers of the JHM message boards) would love to have you join in the fun.
I also noted that after the stories about Pal Mickey, the series of stories on other Disney fan pages goes on about the subject. One of the new folks on the message board had some interesting technical details about the processes involved. I won’t repeat it here, but if you’re into the geekier side of the story, check out the topic about the Pal Mickey story on the boards with all the info. If Disney really chooses to go the full route, that AP or Park Hopper Pass in your wallet could tell TDA a whole bunch of things you didn’t think about.
My column a while back on wine chatted a bit about Riesling, specifically mentioning Schloss Johanisberg in Germany’s Rheingau. The San Francisco Chronicle had a great article recently on the increasing popularity of this particular wine. Worth a read if wine is your thing…
Don’t know if you’ve seen this, but Rhino Records has released some great stuff. In particular, “That’s All Folks – Cartoon Songs From Merrie Melodies & Looney Tunes” has more great tracks from some of my favorite short subjects. Warner Brothers released two other discs, “The Carl Stalling Project” – Vol. 1 and 2, that offered a good start to sharing these gems with us. In the usual corporate foolishness, the other volumes promised have yet to see the store shelves, and Rhino fills the bill big time. Classics like the complete soundtracks for “What’s Opera, Doc?” and one of my all time favorites, “Three Little Bops” make this two disc set a must have. And the square dance called by Bugs Bunny from “Hillbilly Hare” got a friend to do a classic spit take when I mentioned the phrase “fursuit square dance”! It may seem pricey for a CD set at $31.98, but Amazon has the first two volumes at $29.98 on special. If you love the music from these as much as I do, you should have all four discs! Buy now!
The Kid Rhino label also has some newer bits including the Animaniacs as well as Powerpuff Girls discs. Rhino also has DVDs including MST3K!
In other theme park areas, the Las Vegas Hilton has Star Trek: The Experience, and it’s going through some changes. A second attraction featuring the Voyager bridge and an encounter with the Borg is under construction. No changes to the retail end of things with Deep Space Nine’s Promenade planned from what my sources tell me…
Remember the Red Car’s from “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”? Well, they’re making a comeback down in San Pedro. Soon to see service are an original Pacific Electric wooden interurban car and two recreations. The wooden car, PE 1058, appeared in several scenes in the film. Here’s info on the car and it’s conversion to rubber tires for operation after the end of the PE.
How about some info from the web pages on the new operation? “The new Port of Los Angeles Waterfront Red Car Line is a 1.5 mile vintage trolley line connecting San Pedro’s cruise ship terminal with other attractions along the waterfront. The $7 million dollar project is being financed and constructed by the Port of Los Angeles, the independent City agency which manages the bustling port facility, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The line will use a former Pacific Electric right-of-way, now used only for freight operation, rebuilt to accommodate trolley operations with traditional 600-volt DC overhead trolley wire. The stations will feature ADA-compliant high-level platforms that will make boarding and alighting easier for everyone and the new cars will easily accommodate wheelchairs.” No side trips to Toon Town… Should be up and running sometime this summer, so if you’re in the area, something new to look for.
Who says you can’t get anything worthwhile for free? If like many Disney fans I know, you have a thing for monorails, why not join the Monorail Society? Just over 3000 members share this interest. With monorails becoming transportation all over the world (with Las Vegas as our most notable system in the U.S.), there is a lot of information being shared here.
So, finally, if you’re waiting for “Pirates” to come to your local theaters, like a lot a lot of folks I know, grab a rum drink or three, say “Aarrrgh”, sing a chorus of your favorite pirate lyrics and settle in for the wait…
Next week? Strap on your parachutes, cause Roger’s gonna tell you about flying in a big World War II airplane!
And if you’ve enjoyed another fine mess above, why not click on the link for Roger’s Amazon Honor System Pay Box and share a buck or two? It’s appreciated greatly if you do!