It was a big day at the D23 Expo in Anaheim for fans of Disney movies. Key talent and filmmakers from Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures’ upcoming slate of movies were on hand at the D23 Expo, made some surprise appearances. Alas photography and video devices of any kind were banned from the presentation, so we have to really on Disney PR to provide the shots.

Mickey Mouse, Anika Noni Rose, and CEO Bob Iger get chummy.

The biggest news was that Johnny Depp will be back in a fourth edition of the popular movie based on the Disneyland pirates attraction. “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” will come out in 2011. Depp appeared on stage in full Captain Jack Sparrow regalia acting with the drunken swagger we’ve come to expect from the Pirate rogue. (Note: sadly there is no PR photo of this yet. One is promised. When I find it I’ll put it up.)

Depp is also appearing in Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Lone Ranger”. None of this was really news, the only question was when. Tim Burton also announced he is making a feature length version of his “Frankenweenie” cult short film.

Bruckheimer, Cyrus, and Cage post for the camera.

Nicolas Cage, star of upcoming film “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (July 2010) wants to do another “National Treasure” film. Someone is probably making that happen as we speak. (updated)

That’s a handsome looking family.

The Travolta family, John, wife Kelly Preston, and their daughter Ella Bleu previewed some scenes from “Old Dogs,” which also stars Robin Williams. It’s 9-year-old Ella Bleu’s debut. It will hit theaters November 25th 2009.

Miley Cyrus, star of upcoming film “The Last Song” sang her hit song “The Climb.”

Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of upcoming films “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” (May 2010) and “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (July 2010) was there to preview those two films to the audience.

It’s not a show without an appearance by the Muppets. Hey is that Mark Twain for sale?.

Also Kermit the Frog, and the game from the Muppets put in an appearance. Disney has plans for these Muppets, but I don’t think it’s a new finale for Fantasmic!

This wasn’t even all the news. Tomorrow Pixar studios and John Lasseter gets their chance.

(all photos courtesy Disney PR / Eric Charbonneau Photographer)

Remember that recent acquisition made by the Walt Disney Company, no not Spider Man, but Buzz Lightyear. Pixar has turned out pretty good for Disney and the rest of the world knows it. Now John Lasseter and the team from Emeryville has been honored at the Venice Film Festival with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

“We really set out to deeply entertain an audience, not just children but adults as well,” Lasseter told reporters Sunday.

Lasseter said he was “tremendously honored” that the festival chose to give the award to the team of five Pixar directors, including Brad Bird (Ratatouille and The Incredibles), Pete Docter (Up and Monsters Inc.), Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo and Wall-E), and Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3). Lasseter directed the first two Toy Story movies and Cars.

“Filmmaking and animation is one of the most collaborative art forms there is in the world, and it is never more collaborative than it is at Pixar,” Lasseter said.

I guess they can all retire to their vineyards now. (Please don’t do that!)

(via the Orlando Sentinel)

I had to check my calendar to make sure it wasn’t April Fools when the news of The Walt Disney Company’s latest acquisition rolled across my screen. Disney is now the proud owner of Marvel Entertainment at a cost of a cool $4 billion. That quickly adds 5000 new characters to Disney’s cast including some of the most famous and hot properties in the market today – Iron Man, Spiderman, Thor, Captain America, and the X-men.

With Stan Lee, the creator of much of Marvel’s super hero cast, working closely with Disney for about a year now. I guess he’s had plenty of time to sow Bob Iger’s ear with how valuable a product this would be for Disney. At $4 Billion it is practically a steal compared to Pixar and Pixar has turned out to be a good buy for the Mouse House. Frankly, many analysts wondered why Disney just didn’t acquire Marvel at the same time it acquired Lee’s POW entertainment. No sense making up new superheroes when those with strong existing brands are there for the taking. Plus this might put Stan Lee back in a position of power at Marvel, which is where he belongs.

News reports indicate that there are no immediate plans to have Mickey and Ms. Marvel co-habiting at any of the theme parks or other properties. But at the same time Iger admits that Disney is now in a position of power to renegotiate all the deals that its competitors, like Sony, hold in regards to Disney. There is also ‘Marvel Island’ over at Islands of Adventure Universal Orlando. Wonder when the license agreement runs out on that (Aside: Can you say fifth gate Walt Disney World fans? WDW might finally get its thrill park. Let that sink in.) It also puts Disney head to head with Warner Brothers in the comic book to movie market place.

Is this a good deal? Well time will tell. But Disney has always been about ‘Story’ and Marvel Entertainment has some great stories to tell. So, that’s a good sign if you ask me. With Spielberg’s production company, aka Dreamworks, now on board with Disney I have to think the possibilities are endless.

I’m just waiting for the first Condorman / Spiderman crossover. You?

The Disney Cruise Line has celebrated the keel laying of the Disney Dream, the first of two larger ships destined to expand the Walt Disney Company’s family cruise options to more people in more places around the world. The ceremony, including Donald Duck of course, took place at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany.

“Since our inception, families have come to know and love Disney Cruise Line, and they are looking for additional ways to enjoy all that we have to offer,” Disney Cruise Line President Karl Holz said. “Our fleet expansion will allow us to satisfy demand on both the East and West coasts of the United States while also giving us the flexibility to explore additional global destinations for our Guests.”

The keel laying ceremony is the first time the Disney Dream will begin to take shape after many years of design work. In the maritime industry, the ceremony marks a momentous occasion when the first block – or section – of the ship is lowered into the building dock and a coin is placed under the keel for good fortune. While you can’t yet see the Disney Dream on the Meyer Weft webcams, they are a fascinating window into the process.

Doing the honors of placing the coin was Captain Tom Forberg. With a distinguished maritime career aboard Disney Cruise Line, Forberg was the first crew member hired and the captain who launched the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder. Recently, Forberg was named as the future Master of the Disney Dream.

The ship will continue to take its form through a block construction process in which pre-fabricated complete hull sections are joined together in block units and are then brought together to form the ship. The Disney Dream will be made up of 80 blocks, with the first block weighing in at approximately 380 tons.

[Read more →]

Update: The baby now has a name – Obama.

You remember those two white rhinos sent to Uganda from Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Well now the first white rhino born in 27 years has come from one of those animals. Congratulations to Disney’s Animal Program and the whole team for this success.

First-time mother Nande, a 10-year-old female white rhino born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, gave birth June 24 to a healthy male calf at the Ziwa Sanctuary in Uganda after a 16-month gestation period.

“We are thrilled to contribute to the sustainment of this critical species in Uganda,” said Jackie Ogden, Ph.D., Vice President of Animal Programs and Environmental Initiatives with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “We are joining with the Government of Uganda and Rhino Fund Uganda in celebrating this milestone birth, which represents a significant accomplishment for wildlife conservation.”

Nande is one of two white rhinos transferred in 2006 as part of the first-ever reintroduction of white rhinos from the United States to Africa. She was joined by Hasani, also born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, to help re-establish a white rhino population that has been extinct in Uganda since 1982 as a casualty of civil unrest in the region. There are an estimated 11,000 white rhinos remaining worldwide, with 190 in North American zoos.

Walt Disney World’s commitment to conservation and rhinos goes beyond this first-ever rhino transfer. The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund has supported more than $250,000 in rhino protection and research projects in partnership with non-profit organizations throughout the world. For more information on the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund visit www.disney.com/conservation

Yesterday we saw mixed messages from stock analysts on the earnings potential of the Walt Disney Company of the rest of the year. One analyst is eating a bit of crow after predicting that Pixar’s UP would tank. He graciously admitted his bad in the NY Times yesterday, but stoutly refused to upgrade his prediction that Disney remains a stock you should sell and not buy.

The same day another analyst says that Disney should have better than expected earnings. (The comments at this link are worth reading too.) This is largely due to all the job cuts the company made starting to pay off in cost-savings. Of course, there’s that question of did they cut too much, especially at the parks and resorts where guest safety and guest experience is so crucial to generating repeat business.

The Walt Disney Company announces their results on July 30th… care to make any predictions?

Many voices in the theme park industry and across Disneyana are beginning to struggle with what should happen next at Walt Disney World. What should happen now that a life has been tragically and unnecessarily lost?

I’m not yet ready to make any suggestions as  own ideas are still developing, however, I think this opinion piece from Theme Park Insider editor Robert Niles is worth reading.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident, and it appears that the federal agency will have much to criticize in its report. Not only does there appear to have been operational failures by monorail personnel, leading to the accident, but also Disney’s monorail system design was fatally flawed.

The accident appears to have happened because Monorail Pink, which was to have transferred to another monorail beam, did not make the track switch, and instead proceeded backward down the Epcot line, back into the station where it collided with Monorail Purple, killing driver Austin Wuennenberg. Apparently, the monorails’ automatic collision avoidance system was switched off during the track switch.

And that is the design flaw.

Robert goes on to suggest that as a consequence the Walt Disney Company should lose control of the Reedy Creek District. I’m not sure I’d go that far right now, but I can foresee a circumstance or two where I might get behind the idea.

I’m hoping the OSHA and NTSB reports will be very insightful as to what went wrong and what might be done to prevent this from occuring again (Disney has already implemented steps that will prevent it, at least in the short term).

There are lots of questions that are unanswered as to what went wrong. And that says something in itself. But for now we wait.

Do you want to know who at the Walt Disney Company is making the decisions that entertain your kids across all the Disney Channel platforms? 47-year old Rich Ross is the man. He’s successfully transformed The Disney Channel into a tween girl magnet and is working on changing Disney XD into the same thing for tween boys. Even if you miss the Disney Channel programming of old, you have to admire his ability to attract eyeballs to the Mouse House’s TV shows.

For more on where Ross is coming from and where he’s taking Disney, read this LA Times profile.