Search Results for: blog d23 an insiders disney

Disney’s New Destination D

Remember when I talked about Disney’s new fan club D23, and couldn’t decide whether or not to join? The price of membership was a little high, and I was mostly interested in the earlier and cheaper ticket benefits D23 members get for the D23 Disney convention. A Disney convention sounds like a playground to me. Only tickets for the convention are open to the public, not just fan club members, hence my indecision. Well, it looks like it’ll be another year before I need to make up my mind. Disney execs have decided not to hold the D23 convention again … Continue reading →

Bizarre Disney Merchandise

How’s this for bizarre Disney merchandise: scratch and sniff Mickey Mouse Popcorn Ears. That’s right, you read it. I’d repeat it if I were speaking aloud so you could hear it again, but in this instance, you can just head back to the previous sentence and reread. If only I had a picture I could show you here. Instead, I’ll have to describe it: picture the typical Mouseketeer hat, the simple black felt cap with two round black ears on either side. Instead of the felt cap being black, it displays, the whole way around its base, an image of … Continue reading →

Disneyland to Geek Out?

When I mentioned last year’s Disney fan convention, D23, I said it was like Disney’s answer to Comic-Con. I realized that some of you might not know what Comic-Con is. Comic-Con started in the 70s as a relatively small convention specifically for fans of comic books (hence the title). As the years went by other media appealing to the comic crowd, like science fiction and fantasy television and movies, were added. Forty years later, with geek properties firmly ensconced in the mainstream thanks to the popularity of fantasy and comic book movies like “Lord of the Rings” and “X-Men,” Comic-Con … Continue reading →

Inside the Disney Limbo

After previewing “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” last week, I began wondering about the status of many other upcoming Disney films. While researching the movies Disney’s got on its production line, I discovered many promising titles (and some not so promising) that are currently in a state of limbo. A number of interesting projects are in various stages of halted production over at Disney right now. For today’s blog I thought I’d highlight some of these projects. “Enchanted 2” – All right, I’m cheating some here. The House of Mouse just announced that they plan to make a … Continue reading →

Marvel Introducing Line of Superhero Storybooks

When Disney bought Marvel nearly a year ago, many fans were torn as to whether this would herald a new era for the company or a disaster for one of the leading comic book institutions. One thing no one questioned, however, was why the Mouse House was interested in Marvel. Disney wanted a property for boys as prolific as its Princess and Pixie lines for girls, and Marvel provides that in spades. For the most part evidence of Marvel’s new ownership hasn’t been that obvious, at least to the more casual viewer. The most notable change was over the San … Continue reading →

Turner Classic Movies Film Festival

Fans of Disney and classic films alike should consider attending this year’s Turner Classic Movies Classic Film Festival. Stitch Kingdom reports that for 2011 TCM joined up with D23, the official Disney fan group, to dedicate a portion of the festival to the works of Walt Disney. The Disney films and shorts presented all fit into this year’s theme of Music and the Movies. Thus the only feature length Disney movie shown at the festival will be a recently restored copy of 1940’s “Fantasia.” The four-day event will also include a screening of select Silly Symphonies shorts introduced/curated by film … Continue reading →

The Muppets Make Two Online Cooking Series

You know how excited I’ve been that Disney bought The Muppets. I know some were worried that The Muppets might change, becoming too cutesy, when under Disney’s control, but everything I’ve seen since the purchase leads me to believe that the essential spirit of The Muppets is still intact. More importantly, in the years leading up to the buyout we saw little from The Muppets. What we did, like their last feature film “Muppets from Space,” wasn’t encouraging. As soon as I heard that Disney now had ownership of my beloved puppet troupe, I knew at the very least we’d … Continue reading →

The Great Muppet Comeback

The Muppets are making a comeback. Disney’s successfully integrated them into the parks, but now, backed by their new owner, they’re soon to make a hopefully triumphant return to the big screen. I mentioned their upcoming film in my Muppet article back in January, but now New York Magazine has some details about the film. Tentatively titled “The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever,” (I’m sensing tongue-in-cheek humor with the title) the script sounds like a return to the classic Muppet movie formula. It tells the story of lifelong friends Gary and Walter (the latter of whom happens to be a Muppet) … Continue reading →

Will High School Musical Continue?

Parents, you might need to console your tweens and teens: it’s a bittersweet day for fans of Disney’s mammoth “High School Musical” franchise. After two Disney Channel movies, one silver screen flick, and countless albums, merchandise, theater and international spin-offs, the era of the Wildcats as we know it is over. But the story isn’t entirely finished, thus the silver lining to the cloud. Ashley Tisdale, who played the drama queen antagonist of the series, signed on to star in the spin-off tv movie “Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure.” The movie starts filming this summer for a 2011 release on the Disney … Continue reading →

“Alice” in Turmoil

Today Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” adaptation hits the screen, but not all the buzz surrounding the film is positive. Disney executives recently stirred up controversy over the film when they announced that they’ll release it on DVD only 12 weeks after its debut in theaters. The short, unprecedented gap between the cinema and home release of “Alice in Wonderland” begs the question whether many fans will bother to see the movie in theaters. Why fight crowds and pay exorbitant ticket prices when one can buy or rent the film after a small wait? That’s exactly what has many theater … Continue reading →