Mike Bastoli considers himself a lifelong Disney fan and total nerd. He first joined The Disney Blog as a guest writer in 2009. From 2007 to 2011, he covered Pixar Animation Studios on his website The Pixar Blog, which quickly became one of the most popular on the Web dedicated to news about the studio. (The New York Times named it the “definitive unofficial chronicler of the animation powerhouse".) In 2011, Mike renamed his site Big Screen Animation and expanded his coverage to capture the broader world of animated feature films. He retired Big Screen Animation in 2014 to focus on his brick-and-mortar family business and other pursuits. Mike resides near Toronto with his wife, Janice.
Variety reports that Disney Theatrical has begun work on a live Broadway musical starring The Muppets. A 15-minute “elaborate presentation” already took place May 31 in near-secrecy at the New Amsterdam Theater—a “test of concept”, according to division president Thomas Schumacher. “The brief showcase… incorporated… Read More »Disney is Working on a Muppets Musical
Editors Note: Mike has asked for permission to share this here. I’m allowing it because everyone needs to make up their own mind about SeaWorld’s role in animal care and conservation and more data is almost always better than less data. The movie ‘Blackfish’ is… Read More »Trailer Debut for SeaWorld Exposé ‘Blackfish’
The Walt Disney Studios is in for a huge box office weekend with Marvel’s Iron Man 3 opening in upwards of 4000 theatres across the United States and Canada tonight and tomorrow. The film has already brought in $242.1 million internationally. It opened last weekend in… Read More »Will Iron Man 3 Beat Avengers Opening Weekend?
The Walt Disney Company has once again made Fortune magazine’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies, coming in at No. 9 out of 50 and No. 1 in entertainment for the umpteenth year. (Apple again ranked first overall.) This is Disney’s first entry into the… Read More »Disney No. 9 on Fortune’s List of Earth’s Most Admired Companies
It must be so much fun to work on a Muppets movie. Just watch this behind the scenes video of Ricky Gervais and Pepe the King Prawn on the set of The Muppets… Again! Disney’s sequel to 2011’s The Muppets is currently shooting in London and… Read More »Gervais and Pepe Converse on Set of Muppets Sequel
An interesting side effect of The Walt Disney Company’s $4.05 billion buyout of George Lucas’ Lucasfilm empire, announced on Tuesday, is that the deal brings Disney closer to Rovio Entertainment, creators of the massively popular Angry Birds franchise. In one of its last moves as an independent company,… Read More »With Lucasfilm Acquisition, Disney Moves Closer to Angry Birds Creators [Update]
The Walt Disney Studios has announced production on Bears, the latest documentary from Disneynature, slated for release in Spring 2014 (likely around Earth Day). Bears will follow the “day-to-day lives” of the brown ursines who call ‘Alaska’s coastal mountains and shores home’. The film is currently shooting… Read More »Disneynature ‘Bears’ in Production for 2014
For decades it’s been accepted wisdom that North America can only support two Disney theme park resorts—Disneyland and Walt Disney World— one on each side of the continent.
I say it’s time for Disney to build a third, and there’s only one place to do it: Toronto.
Considering my whereabouts, it’s an audaciously self-serving suggestion. But there are some solid reasons for Disney to choose Toronto, besides making me one very happy guy.
To give everyone a geography primer, the actual city of Toronto is surrounded by several large municipalities, each with hundreds of thousands of residents. All told, well over eight million Canadians live within a driving distance of a couple of hours or so.
A little research into population data reveals that, counting only the major metro hubs, about 108 million Americans live within nine hours of Toronto—35 per cent of the U.S. population. That number is expected to grow to 141 million by 2050.
When I started writing this article, the U.S. Northeast was going to be my pick. Disney could easily build the park in New Jersey or Upstate New York and have it be quite successful. But Toronto’s location outside of the U.S. is actually a big, counterintuitive plus.