UPDATED: ‘Oz the Great and Powerful’ Lands on Blu-ray June 11; Costume Design Art (Hi-Res)
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According to a listing on DisneyStore.com, Disney’s Oz the Great and Powerful will be available to own on 3D Blu-ray beginning June 11, 2013. Although the listing itself is for the 2D edition, Amazon.com is accepting pre-orders for the 3D Blu-ray/digital copy edition
Disney’s fantastic adventure Oz The Great and Powerful is the story of Oscar Diggs, a small-time circus magician of dubious ethics. When Diggs is hurled away to the vibrant land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot — until he meets three witches (Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, and Michelle Williams), who aren’t convinced he’s the great wizard everyone’s expecting.
Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it’s too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity, and even some wizardry, Oscar transforms himself into a great wizard and a better man as well.
Bonus features are set to include:
- Second Screen: The Magic Of Oz The Great And Powerful — An immersive Second Screen experience that details all things Oz. From an interactive map full of secrets and surprises, to an inside look at the spectacular world of Oz. All fans need to do is download the special “The Magic of Oz The Great and Powerful: Second Screen” App (which is free and currently available for immediate download at the iTunes Store for iPads) which provides fans with infinite opportunities to remain connected to their favorite film, its cast of characters and to dive deeper into the magical world of Oz. This App provides exclusive access to invigorating and exclusive content including:
- The Enchanting Characters and Creatures of Oz – From Munchkins and Tinkers to good witches, bad witches, and flying baboons, this piece follows each character and creature of the Land of Oz from inspiration to final outcome.
The Sounds of Magical Oz – What adds fragility to the sounds of China Girl’s footsteps; ferocity to the tornado; or weight to the flutter of Finley’s flapping wings?
Sleight of Hand: Zach Braff Puppet Theater – Actor, and voice of Finley, Zach Braff introduces viewers to the Finley mockup.
Mariah Carey Music Video
- The Enchanting Characters and Creatures of Oz – From Munchkins and Tinkers to good witches, bad witches, and flying baboons, this piece follows each character and creature of the Land of Oz from inspiration to final outcome.
- My Journey in Oz by James Franco — A personal story produced and directed by James Franco.
- China Girl and the Suspension of Disbelief — This feature uncloaks the several forms of movie magic employed to bring China Girl to life, from the initial artwork and character design, to the on-set puppeteering during filmmaking, and finally, through each stage of the visual-effects process; and includes an interview with Joey King, the voice of China Girl.
- Before Your Very Eyes: From Kansas to Oz — Production designer Robert Stromberg takes viewers through the set design of the Land of Oz, from sketching his original ideas on a napkin, through to the final set pieces and the accompanying visual effects.
- Mila’s Metamorphosis — Lead makeup artist Howard Berger expands on one of the oldest, most tried-and-true forms of movie magic: makeup design and effects.
- Mr. Elfman’s Musical Concoctions — An interview with composer Danny Elfman unveils his inspiration in scoring Oz The Great And Powerful.
- Bloopers
- Walt Disney and the Road to Oz — It is well known that Walt Disney had a fascination with the Land of Oz since he was a child. See how that fascination grew into inspiration as he began planning for his own adaptation of the stories in the classic Baum books.
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has also provided us with these fascinating looks at costume design from the film. Click on any of the thumbnails to see a larger version of the image:
Categories: DVD/Blu-Ray, Movies Tags: Cinema, Films, James Franco, Joey King, Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis, Movie News, Movies, Oz, Oz the Great and Powerful, Rachel Weisz, Wizard of Oz, Zach Braff
‘Downton Abbey”s Lily James Cast as Disney’s ‘Cinderella’
Walt Disney Studios today announced that actress Lily James of ‘Downton Abbey’ has been cast as Cinderella in Disney’s upcoming live-action interpretation of the beloved classic tale. The film is being directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh and stars Cate Blanchett as the iconic evil stepmother.
Additional announcements regarding Cinderella are expected in the coming weeks.
Categories: Movies Tags: Cate Blanchett, Cinderella, Cinema, Downton Abbey, Films, Lily James, Movies
‘Monsters University’ Fun Facts, New Hi-Res Stills, Concept Art
Walt Disney Studios and Pixar Animation Studios have provided us some official ‘fun facts’ for its upcoming animated release, Monsters University. In addition, we have also received several new hi-res stills and recently released concept art for the Monsters Inc. prequel, which we have added to our galleries below.
Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn’t always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn’t stand each other. Monsters University unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends.
MONSTERS UNIVERSITY FUN FACTS
- Dean Hardscrabble’s character was modeled after a type of centipede called Scolopendra Gigantea, also known as the Amazonian giant centipede.
- The design of Archie the Scare Pig was inspired by director Dan Scanlon’s dog Carol, a Japanese Chin.
- Don Carlton’s business card lists his address as 1200 Dark Ave. Pixar’s Emeryville address is 1200 Park Ave.
- There were 100,856 storyboards delivered for Monsters University — the highest number on any Pixar film.
- Monsters University’s library is called Bohol Hall, named after Pixar artist Nelson Bohol who designed it.
- Monsters University was founded in 1313.
- There are six different schools of study at Monsters University: School of Scaring, School of Engineering, School of Liberal Arts & Monstrosities, School of Science, School of Business and School of Aquatics.
- The address of the Oozma Kappa fraternity house is the same address as the house where director Dan Scanlon grew up.
Walt Disney Studios and Pixar Animation Studios have provided us with this hi-res version of a recently released image featuring Mike Wazowski as he embarks on his educational career at Monsters University, which debuts in theaters on June 21, 2013.
The image has also been added to our gallery of stills from the film below. As a reminder, click on any of the thumbnails to see a larger version of the image and click on the resize arrow to view the image at its original resolution.
Concept art gallery:
Screaming with laughter and oozing with heart, Disney/Pixar’s Monsters University features the voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina, Charlie Day, Joel Murray, Dave Foley, Sean P. Hayes, Julia Sweeney and Peter Sohn. With music from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and award-winning composer Randy Newman, the film opens in U.S. theaters on June 21, 2013, and will be shown in 3D in select theaters.
Categories: Movies, Pixar Tags: Animation, Cinema, Films, Monsters Inc, Monsters University, Movie News, Movies, MU, Pixar
WATCH: ‘Monsters University’ New Trailer; New Viral Site Launches
Walt Disney Studios and Pixar Animation Studios have just released the newest trailer for Monsters University, which you can find embedded below.
Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn’t always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn’t stand each other. Monsters University unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends.
Screaming with laughter and fun, Monsters University stars the vocal talents of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Dave Foley, Julia Sweeney, Joel Murray and Peter Sohn and is directed by Dan Scanlon and produced by Kori Rae. The film opens in U.S. theaters on June 21, 2013, and will be shown in Disney Digital 3D™ in select theaters.
In addition, potential scarers can now test their Monsters University knowledge by taking the new Monsters Aptitude Test (MAT) online at http://monstersumat.com
Categories: Movies, Pixar Tags: Animation, Cinema, Films, MI, Monsters Inc, Monsters University, Movie News, Movies, MU, Pixar
WATCH: ‘Thor: The Dark World’ Trailer
The first official trailer for Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World has been released and is embedded below for viewing.
Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s Thor and Marvel’s The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano and Jaimie Alexander with Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Thor: The Dark World is directed by Alan Taylor, produced by Kevin Feige, from a story by Don Payne (credit not final) and screenplay by Christopher Yost and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (credit not final) and is based on Marvel’s classic Super Hero Thor, who first appeared in the comic book Journey into Mystery“ #83 in August, 1962.
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Categories: Marvel, Movies Tags: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Eccleston, Cinema, Films, hris Hemsworth, Idris Elba, Kat Dennings, Marvel, Movie News, Movies, Natalie Portman, Ray Stevenson, Rene Russo, Stellan Skarsgård, Tadanobu Asano and Jaimie Alexander, Thor, Thor 2, Tom Hiddleston, Zachary Levi
‘Oliver and Company’ 25th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray in August
Ahead of any official announcement, a Disney website has begun listing the 25th anniversary edition of Oliver and Company as getting a Blu-ray release date of August 6, 2013.
Celebrate the 25th anniversary of a Disney classic with the stunning Blu-ray debut of Oliver And Company, featuring perfect picture and sound. Relive this charming animated adventure, packed with excitement, fun and unforgettable songs by Billy Joel, Bette Midler and Huey Lewis.
In the heart of New York City, Oliver, a mischievous orphaned kitten, is befriended by Dodger, a carefree pooch and his ragtag family of misfit mutts. Life gets even better for Oliver when he is adopted by a lonely little girl named Jenny. But when tough guy Sykes and his Doberman sidekicks try to keep Jenny and Oliver apart, the spirited kitten and his newfound friends discover the meaning of courage and find a home where they truly belong.
Bonus features set to be included with the release are as follows:
- Two Bonus Shorts: ‘Lend A Paw’ – Academy Award® Winning Animated Short – Best Short Subject (Cartoon), 1941; ‘Puss Cafe’ Animated Short
- Disney Sing-Along Mode
- Disney’s Animated Animals
- The Making Of Oliver and Company
Amazon.com
As usual, we will provide more information as it becomes available to us.
Categories: DVD/Blu-Ray, Movies Tags: Animation, Blu-ray, Oliver and Company
‘Monstrous Summer’ Event at Walt Disney World Details
In addition to some of the upcoming additions to the Disney Cruise Line Disney Magic that we reported earlier today, we have some details on Walt Disney World’s ‘Monstrous Summer’ that are expected to be confirmed/announced later this week during a press event.
To confirm reports from other sources, on May 24, 2013, the Magic Kingdom will play host to a 24 hour party, which will feature appearances by Mike Wazowski and James P. ‘Sulley’ Sullivan as their Monsters University meet and greet persona, as pictured here.
The Magic Kingdom will also be ‘updating’ its Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor attraction so that jokes and the material presented will honor the performers’ alma mater.
Also being updated is the duo’s permanent meet and greet location at Disney’s Hollywood Studios which will be transformed from the current Monsters Inc. work environment to the MU student union.
And perhaps quite unsurprisingly, a monorail wrap which is Disney is already promoting as the ‘Monsterail’ will make its resort debut in support of Disney/Pixar’s Monsters University, in theaters June 21, 2013.
UPDATE #1: 04/24/13 – The official Disney Parks blog has confirmed the ‘monsterail’ monorail wrap and has provided the concept art in which the students of Monsters University appear to be riding the monorail:
‘Finding Dory’ Lights Twittersphere on Fire, Setting Record for Pixar
It took virtually no time at all from the nanosecond that Disney/Pixar’s hotly anticipated sequel Finding Dory was announced to the point it began trending worldwide on Twitter. Hours later, Finding Dory was holding strong on the list, as it was hours and hours later. In fact, it remained on the worldwide trend list for a whopping 15 hours non-stop before it began teetering on and off the list for a few additional hours, for a grand total of 17 hours and 15 minutes. This information comes via twend.it, a searchable index of Twitter trends since May 2010. It also reveals some additional surprises that just might shock you.
The first surprise might be that Finding Dory brought along a friend for the swim. Although it lasted only about 30 minutes — believe it or not — yesterday was the first day that Pixar trended worldwide. That got us thinking: how do Pixar’s other projects fare against its other films? Below are the trending times for each of Pixar’s film, first the longest contiguous time period followed by the total times in parentheses, number of times followed by total time in minutes:
- Toy Story – 30 minutes (5 times, 90 minutes total — mostly due to Toy Story 3)
- A Bug’s Life – never
- Toy Story 2 – 30 minutes (5 times, 90 minutes total)
- Monsters, Inc. – 90 minutes (2 times, 120 minutes total)
- The Incredibles – 60 minutes (7 times, 325 minutes total)
- Cars – never
- Ratatouille – 15 minutes
- Wall-E – 345 minutes (8 times, 585 minutes total)
- Up – never
- Toy Story 3 – 75 minutes (8 times, 255 minutes total)
- Cars 2 – never
- Brave – 15 minutes (11 times, 165 minutes total — fluctuating on/off list entire period of time)
- Monsters University – 180 minutes (10 times, 450 minutes — most of it fluctuating on day of announcement)
As you can see, none of the individual totals of each of the films above come remotely close to the one day showing (so far) of Finding Dory‘s reception worldwide. Seagull-eyed readers may note that there is one film left off the list, however, and that’s Dory‘s predecessor, Finding Nemo. The 2003 film, which pre-dates the trend database by 7 years, has in fact managed to show up on the worldwide Twitter trend list — several times:
- Finding Nemo – 705 minutes (36 times total, 4350 minutes total — often fluctuating on and off the list)
A few things that should be noted. Firstly, this is far from scientific. However, while total times may not be all-inclusive and precisely correct, the trends are certainly accurate. Where possible, multiple search times were used to yield the most accurate result (e.g., WallE, Wall-E and Wall*E were all used as terms).
It’s also worth noting that this report is based only on titles trending worldwide. By default, Twitter shows users ‘trends’ based on who they are following and who follows them, and not by geographical region which must be set in preferences.
Categories: Movies, Pixar Tags: Animation, Ellen DeGeneres, Films, Finding Dory, Finding Nemo, Movies, Pixar, Twitter
WATCH: ‘Planes’ Sneak Peek
Walt Disney Studios has posted a sneak peek teaser at Planes from DisneyToon Studios that was previously running at AMC Theatres.
Inspired by the world of Cars from Pixar Animation Studios, Disney’s Planes is an action-packed 3D animated comedy adventure featuring Dusty (voice of Dane Cook), a plane with dreams of competing as a high-flying air racer. But Dusty’s not exactly built for racing — and he happens to be afraid of heights. So he turns to a seasoned naval aviator who helps Dusty qualify to take on the defending champ of the race circuit. Dusty’s courage is put to the ultimate test as he aims to reach heights he never dreamed possible, giving a spellbound world the inspiration to soar.
Categories: Movies Tags: Animation, Anthony Edwards, Brad Garrett, Dane Cook, DisneyToon Studios, Films, John Cleese, Movies, Planes, Teri Hatcher, Val Kilmer
‘Finding Dory’ Sea-quel to Debut November 25, 2015
When Dory said ‘just keep swimming’ in 2003’s Oscar®-winning film Finding Nemo, she could not have imagined what was in store for her (not that she could remember). Ellen DeGeneres, voice of the friendly-but-forgetful blue tang fish, revealed details today about Disney/Pixar’s Finding Dory — an all-new big-screen adventure diving into theaters on Nov. 25, 2015.
‘I have waited for this day for a long, long, long, long, long, long time,’ said DeGeneres. ‘I’m not mad it took this long. I know the people at Pixar were busy creating Toy Story 16. But the time they took was worth it. The script is fantastic. And it has everything I loved about the first one: It’s got a lot of heart, it’s really funny, and the best part is — it’s got a lot more Dory.’
Director and Pixar veteran Andrew Stanton takes audiences back to the extraordinary underwater world created in the original film. ‘There is no Dory without Ellen,’ said Stanton. ‘She won the hearts of moviegoers all over the world—not to mention our team here at Pixar. One thing we couldn’t stop thinking about was why she was all alone in the ocean on the day she met Marlin. In Finding Dory, she will be reunited with her loved ones, learning a few things about the meaning of family along the way.’
According to Stanton, Finding Dory takes place about a year after the first film, and features returning favorites Marlin, Nemo and the Tank Gang, among others. Set in part along the California coastline, the story also welcomes a host of new characters, including a few who will prove to be a very important part of Dory’s life.
Ellen Degeneres joked about visiting Australia and revealed Finding Dory earlier today on her show:
Finding Nemo won the 2003 Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature; the film was nominated for three additional Oscars® (Best Writing, Original Screenplay; Best Music, Original Score; Best Sound Editing). It was also nominated for a Golden Globe® Award for Best Motion Picture–Comedy or Musical. In 2008, the American Film Institute named Finding Nemo among the top 10 greatest animated films ever made. At the time of its release, Finding Nemo was the highest grossing G-rated movie of all time. It’s currently the fourth highest grossing animated film worldwide. The film has more than 16 million Likes on Facebook, and Dory — with more than 24 million — is the most Liked individual character from a Disney or Disney/Pixar film.
Categories: Movies, Pixar Tags: Ellen DeGeneres, Films, Finding Dory, Finding Nemo, Movies, Pixar
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