Archive for October, 2009

Epcot Puts the Mouse Ear in Mouse Gear; Offers Embroidery as of November 1

It’s such an innocent question for the average Walt Disney World vacation planner: Where can I get my Mickey Mouse ears embroidered? But historically, the answer has pointed out an obvious flaw in a nearly-essential element of every Disney fan’s vacation: to date, only the Magic Kingdom (The Chapeau, Sir Mickey’s, County Bounty), Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Head to Toe) and Downtown Disney Marketplace (Days of Christmas, Wonderful World of Memories) have offered the option.

Beginning November 1, Mouse Gear — the largest gift shop in Epoct — will begin offering embroidery for ears. Providing the same option as in the Magic Kingdom, the option to embroider ears will be $3 for simple stitching and $7 for premium stitching and guests will have the choice of either white, black, pink or gold thread. Days of Christmas at Downtown Disney Marketplace and Head to Toe at Disney’s Hollywood Studios offer a much more extravagant option (at a higher cost) which includes many more thread colors to choose from as well as many different fonts/typefaces for the lettering.

As always, guests can bring their mouse ears purchased anywhere on property to any of the embroidery locations and purchase the embroidery. Proof of purchase of the ears may be required.

MTV: Zemeckis Confirms ‘Roger Rabbit’ Sequel in the Works

During an interview with A Christmas Carol director Robert Zemeckis, Zemeckis revealed that he has commissioned the original scribes of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Jeffrey Price and Peter Seaman, to pen a sequel.

Not much else is revealed beyond that, but MTV promises to uncensor themselves in the near future with more details.

Read the article and watch the video interview here.

Miramax Films to Lose President, New York Roots

It’s now being widely reported that troubled Miramax Films is following suit with Walt Disney Studios in that its President, Daniel Battsek, is set to resign in January. While it’s officially a ‘mutual’ move, some sources claim Battsek is being forced out due to bad performance by the label. This — of course — follows hotly on the heels of Dick Cook leaving the Walt Disney Studios just over a month ago.

In addition, Miramax, whose maximum number of films per year has already been significantly reduced by its parent company, is also being expected to relocate from its home in New York City to Los Angeles.

Take a Peek Inside the Disney Twenty-Three Magazine, Winter Edition!

The holidays are a very special time of year and the winter edition of Disney twenty-three provides an inside look at two upcoming holiday releases from the Walt Disney Studios; The Princess and the Frog and Disney’s A Christmas Carol. “The Princess and the Frog” is Disney’s stunning return to 2D animation starring Princess Tiana who graces the cover of the issue.    Filmmakers Robert Zemeckis and Jack Rapke and actor Bob Hoskins, aka Mr. Fezziwig himself, take Disney twenty-three inside the high-tech world of Disney’s A Christmas Carol.

Additional features include:

Dream Boat – The Disney Cruise Line expands its fleet as Disney Dream is set to sail in early 2011.  Disney twenty-three takes a colorful tour aboard this luxurious liner.

Zorro Rides Again – The Masked Avenger carves out his place in American TV history.

Prepping a Christmas Classic – Walt Disney Animation Studios teams up with ABC to reveal the never-before-told tale of an elite group of elves who make Santa’s job possible.  It all happens in Prep & Landing, that rare holiday special that’s destined to become a small-screen classic.

Two Decades of Love at First Sight – In honor of The Little Mermaid’s 20^th anniversary, Disney twenty-three turns to the film’s directors and composer to explain how this magical work of art became part of our world.

Exploring New Lands – From the Old West to a toy-lover’s paradise to a mythical jungle, Imagineer Joe Lanzisero unveils secrets of the Hong Kong Disneyland expansion.

D Society – Relive the magic and fun of the first-ever D23 Expo!

You can read these stories and much more in the winter issue of Disney twenty-three, available to D23 members and at Barnes & Noble booksellers, all domestic Disney Stores, Disneyshopping.com and at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

Disney to Build New Production Facility at Golden Oak Ranch

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – The Walt Disney Co. plans to build a 12-stage production facility at its Golden Oak Ranch in the Santa Clarita Valley, northwest of Los Angeles, primarily to serve the production needs of ABC Studios.

Disney and ABC Studios have filed applications with Los Angeles County for Disney/ABC Studios at the Ranch, a high-tech soundstage and production facility. The facility, which would include six pairs of soundstages, would take up 56 acres in the western tip of the 890-acre Gold Oak Ranch.

Disney has only two soundstage facilities, one on the Disney lot, which has virtually no usable outdoor space, and one at its Prospect Studios.

As a result, ABC Studios’ 14 locally produced series are spread over nine facilities.

When the Ranch facility is built, it could accommodate about four established and as many as six freshman shows, said ABC Studios executive director production Richard Ballering.

The “synergy of indoor and outdoor production” was the main draw at Golden Ranch, which would still have 195 acres for outdoor filming and movie ranch space after construction is completed, Ballering said.

He declined comment on the size of the company’s investment in the ranch. According to figures released by ABC Studios, the project is expected to generate 3,152 new jobs and $522 million in economic activity during construction and 2,854 full and part-time jobs and $533 million in annual economic activity.

There is no official launch date for the facility, but Disney is looking as a possible 2013 construction start date.

The Walt Disney Co. purchased the Gold Oak Ranch in 1959 to use for outdoor filming. It originally was used primarily for Westerns, gradually expanding to a wide range of feature, TV and commercial productions.

Some of the films and series shot on the premises include “Old Yeller,” “Pearl Harbor,” “Independence Day” and the two “Pirates of the Caribbean” sequels as well as “Lassie,” “Bonanza,” “The X-Files,” “CSI” and “Entourage.”

(Written by Nellie Andreeva, Editing by SheriLinden at Reuters)

Disney Channel Reels in Animated ‘Fish;’ First Animated Series in Three Years

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Disney Channel has green-lighted “Fish Hooks,” its first animated series in three years.

The cable channel has ordered 21 episodes of the high school comedy, which mixes 2D digital animation and photo collage.

“Fish” revolves around party guy Milo (voiced by Kyle Massey); his neurotic brother, Oscar (Justin Roiland); and an overly dramatic goldfish, Bea (Chelsea Staub). They attend Freshwater High, a school submerged in a giant fish tank in the center of a local pet store. The series chronicles their daily lives as they deal with friendships, dating and sports as well as such atypical teen issues as giant lobster attacks and school field trips to the hamster cages.

“Fish,” produced by Disney TV Animation for Disney Channels Worldwide, is slated to premiere in fall 2010. It will mark the channel’s first animated series debut since the 2007 premiere of “Phineas and Ferb.”

It was created and is co-executive produced by children’s book illustrator Noah Z. Jones, and developed for television by Alex Hirsch (“The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack”) and Bill Reiss (“Chowder”).

(Written By Nellie Andreeva, Editing by SheriLinden at Reuters)

New Still from Disneynature’s OCEANS: Swimming with the Great White

Below is our entire gallery of stills from the film.

[View with PicLens]

New Clip from ‘Old Dogs’ Proves You Can Give an Old Dog a New Trip

In this clip from Old Dogs, the setup ends up showing Robin Williams’ character suffering from side effects from pills that belong to his friend (John Travolta) using a combination of FX and physical comedy.

Although some of it has already appeared in the trailer, it was also part of an extended clip shown during the Walt Disney Studios presentation at the D23 Expo. There, the clip featured not only more of Robin Williams’ performance, but the disturbing (and very funny) effects that John Travolta’s character endures while at a funeral (it’s better than it sounds). The entire clip was actually hilarious and completely turned me around on this film. So sit back, relax and enjoy!

New Featurette for ‘A Christmas Carol’ Takes You on a 3D Virtual Thrill Ride

This new featurette for Disney’s A Christmas Carol features the usual suspects as they talk about how 3D makes this already unique spin on the holiday classic even more special.

Photo: Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt Shows Epic Support for Mickey

At the Epic Mickey official announcement by Disney Interactive Studios and Junction Point Studio’s Warren Spector held yesterday evening in London, the news of Pete’s inclusion wasn’t the only cat raising some eyebrows. In attendance of the event were many celebrities including Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt who appeared to have almost as much fun learning about the game as she surely will playing it.

Photo courtesy of Disney Interactive Studios.