Archive for May, 2009

No other words are needed except for this…Awesome!

I can’t wait for this!

Come on…how cool does that look?

We’ve all been on the ride, seen the movies, and wished we could be there with Captain Jack Sparrow and the rest of his crew.

Short of actually setting sail and becoming a pirate yourself, there is an easier way to become a Pirate in the world of Disney’s popular franchise: Video games. When the first Pirates movie came out, a game came out for the original Xbox loosely set in the same world, and had you square off against other pirates of lore and eventually the crew of The Black Pearl.

However, the game itself was rather forgettable, and wasn’t the experience we all hoped for. Disney Interactive Studios and Propaganda Games are hoping to correct that mistake with Pirates Of The Caribbean: Armada Of The Damned.

Though details are few at the moment, a bit is known about the game. Much like the original, it will be a RPG of sorts, but completely revamped. Players will assume the role of a young man, setting out to make a new for himself on the Seven Seas. It WILL take place in the same world as the Pirates films, however it will be set BEFORE the events of the movies. Players can explore the open world, choosing to pick their own battles, explore mysterious islands, and pretty much do anything else a pirate would do!

IGN.com has a great little interview with Alex Peters, director of the game. Again, he’s tight lipped on the exact details, but it’s just enough to get me excited! Click here to read it!

No release date is set yet, but based on what we know so far, it won’t be an easy wait! I can’t wait to play it!

Not exactly the cheery, pick-me-up story you’d expect from a Disney site…alas, it’s important to report this.

I just found out that, over the weekend, Wayne Allwine, the current voice of Mickey Mouse, passed away. Wayne has been the voice of Mickey for over 30 years, and is the third man to ever do so. In fact, as of 2008, he has been the voice of everyone’s favorite Mouse longer than anyone else! Wayne was was named a Disney Legend in 2008 along with his wife Russi Taylor (who happens to be the voice of Minnie Mouse!).

He will be missed. Our thoughts go out to his family.

We all know how incredibly popular the Pirates franchise turned out to be. All three films made Disney a lot of money, and were all extremely entertaining (well…maybe not so much the last one…).

And we all know that if something works, people are bound to do it again!

About a year or so ago, we heard rumblings of two new films based on the Disney Parks. The Jungle Cruise is slated to get the big screen treatment at some point, but not much has been heard about it in awhile (however, a script IS in the works).

We also heard about a movie based, not on a specific attraction, but an the concept of Tomorrowland. This past weekend, during a press junket for the movie The Hangover, we learned a bit more about it from the screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who just finished a draft of the script.

Below is an edited transcript about the film from Scifiwire.com:

What are you guys working on writing?

Moore: We’re working on a sort of sci-fi action comedy for Disney with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, which is called Tomorrowland. Disney had a ton of success with Pirates of the Caribbean, so this is their Pirates of the Caribbean in space.

Lucas: There are meetings every now and again where you can see the gears turning. It’s like, “Well, if we had a mountain in this movie, it would be really easy to call this [Space Mountain].” Tomorrowland is actually a pretty cool title, even though that section of the [Disneyland/Disney World] park is not maybe [as futuristic anymore]. It’s like, “Look at this refrigerator!”

So do you update it or go for the kitsch?

Lucas: We’re not laughing at the idea. We’re not laughing at Tomorrowland or the idea of what people in the ’60s thought the future would be. Our goal, whether we’re successful or not, is the vision of the future is actually the best future. It’s not post-apocalyptic or dark and gritty. It’s like everything you wish you could have, every gadget and device and car, that’s what it’s like in the future. So the future is actually really great.

What year is it set?

Moore: It’s a little bit of a moving target, but it’s about 350 years in the future.

Lucas: It’s hard, because when you go back and watch good sci-fi, it’s like the year 2010, and we’re in 2010, and Kevin Costner’s not walking a mule around. You have to put it far enough that people in the theater aren’t openly laughing at the concept, but it can’t be so far. Things are changing so quickly that in 300 years things will probably be pretty unrecognizable.

Is this a fast-track project?

Moore: No. It all depends. We’re going to be turning in a draft maybe in three weeks, but don’t write that down, because then we’ll get calls from the executives. It all depends on how the draft is received.

What’s Johnson’s character?

Moore: In Tomorrowland his character’s name is Rip, and he plays a present-day test pilot who tests a plane and gets shot into the future. So he’s a sort of a fish out of water in the future, and he is sort of figuring out how everything works. Along the way, the people in the future don’t know who he is, and they actually think he’s bad guy bent on destroying the future.

Was he always involved when you started writing?

Lucas: We actually came on with him.

Moore: When we first started loosely talking to Disney about the idea, he was not involved, but they said, “Hey, we want to do a sci-fi with him, and you guys are pitching a sci-fi.” They put us together, so when we actually sold the pitch to them, he was attached, so it was always designed for him.

Lucas: He’s also quite literally the easiest guy to work with, the nicest guy. I think he’s been doing it so long, he’s great, so we’re lucky to have him on board.

I’m curious to see how this one will turn out. Even though the film is called Tomorrowland and based on the area of the same name, what version of tomorrow will we be seeing? Disney has changed Tomorrowland a few times over the years, and I’m interested in seeing how this film turns out.

Last week, a trailer debuted on the ‘net for Disney’s return to hand drawn, 2D animation, “The Princess and the Frog,” and earlier today, a poster premiered as well.

Check out the poster (and click it for a larger version)!

Disney says:

Walt Disney Animation Studios presents the musical THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, an animated comedy set in the great city of New Orleans. From the creators of “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin” comes a modern twist on a classic tale, featuring a beautiful girl named Tiana (ANIKA NONI ROSE), a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again, and a fateful kiss that leads them both on a hilarious adventure through the mystical bayous of Louisiana. THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG marks the return to hand-drawn animation from the revered team of John Musker and Ron Clements, with music by Oscar®-winning composer Randy Newman.

Click here to check out the trailer on Apple’s website.

Honestly, I can’t wait to see this film. It looks like a return to form for Disney’s animated movies, and it looks like it could be a real winner.

The film opens on December 11th, 2009.

It was reported last week that a super secret “Star Wars” film was in the midst of shooting, and it’s now somewhat apparent that it’s for the long awaited update to Star Tours.

It’s rumored that this update will incorporate 3D into its presentation, and be a vastly overhauled update to the original attraction. The story is said to center around the Star Tours vehicle being pursued by the notrious bounty hunter Boba Fett.

I’m extremely excited by this. Unlike most people, I’m not a huge Star Wars fan (which is surprisingly, since I’m a filmmaker). However, I do have a lot of respect (mostly) for the Empire (no pun intended) that Lucas has created. I am, however, a huge fan of motion simulator rides, and of Star Tours.

I recently went on Star Tours back in March, and it’s becoming more apparent how outdated the ride has become compared to some of Disney’s newer attractions. An update film with new technology will be a welcome addition to the aging ride!

More on the story as it develops!

In honor of today’s big 20th anniversary of Disney’s Hollywood Studios (formerly known as Disney-MGM Studios), I thought a “big” post was in order…and big is the operative word!
 
Though it’s now much harder to see due to newer construction, Disney’s Hollywood Studios was once home to the world’s largest hidden Mickey! In fact, it was so large that you could only see it from the air!
 
As you can see from the photo below, the Imagineer’s cleverly hid this enormous Mickey image into the layout of the park’s center square.

 
Mickey’s head is formed by the circular square area. The right ear is made up of the lake that contains Min and Bill’s Dockside Diner. The other ear is made up of a portion of the roof of the Brown Derby and continues around. His nose is made up of the off center large round planter. His eyes are made of two darker concrete areas surrounded by hedges forming the eyebrows.
 
When the park first opened in 1989 as Disney-MGM Studios, it did not include a recreation of the famous Sunset Blvd. When that addition was added on a few years later, along with a few other ones that followed (namely, the giant Sorcerer Mickey hat!), the hidden Mickey is a littler harder to see. However, if you look carefully, you are still able to make out the image!