I’ve heard nothing but great things about the upcoming film ‘The Greatest Game Ever Played.’ LaughingPlace.com has a guide to the movie and a link to free tickets for special preview screenings tonight and over the next couple weeks.

The movie tells the story of an amateur player from a working class family, Francis Ouimet who shocked the golf world when at the 1913 U.S. Open when he defeated the defending British champion Harry Vardon.

[ttags: disney, film, movie, golf, ouimet, free, tickets ]

Hong Kong Disneyland officially opens September 12th. But via the magic of the internet here’s a quick pointer to some great merchandise from the park. LaughingPlace.com has managed to secure availability of some souveniers and pins that are exclusive to the new theme park. I’m thinking of getting this Stitch Mug myself.

Update: I forgot to mention that this merchandise is only available for a limited time through The Laughing Place Store.

[ttags: disney, disneyana, shopping, laugingplace, hongkongdisneyland, hong+kong+disneyland, disneyland, hkdl ]

Adventureland is the biggest land at Hong Kong Disneyland. It sort of sucks up what would be both Adventureland and Frontierland in any other Magic Kingdom style Disney theme park. LaughingPlace.com has 16 pages of amazing photos from the Hong Kong Park.

That completes all the lands of the new park. You can see all the pictorials here.

Tributes, remembrances, and eulogies for the late great Joe Ranft are pouring in. I’ll try and link to as many as I can here:

Pixar Animation Blog: "Joe Ranft is remembered as a jovial, encouraging mentor who made
working at Pixar a joy. He will be missed incredibly but his characters
and work will serve as a wonderful legacy."
Cartoon Brew: "Joe was the finest of the new generation of animation story tellers. I
was lucky enough to work with Joe at both Disney and Pixar, and he
always amazed me with his ability to tell a story. What a terrible loss
for all of us who love animation." – Floyd Norman
LaughingPlace.com: Rhett Wickham has a moving essay, "Not since the late Bill Peet has any one story artist made such consistent, significant contributions to animated film, and his presence leaves an immeasurable void in the industry, particularly at Pixar, where he enjoyed the undying respect, admiration and love of his peers.
Enrico’s PhotoJournal: "We are all hit hard by this sudden news and we’re all beyond sadness here
          at the studio. Joe’s contribution to Animation has been immense and far reaching. He taught and mentored a whole generation of creators,  I can’t even begin to describe how dearly he will be missed."
Tara’s livejournal: "I’d never seen an entire company come screeching to a halt the way it did today. It was sobering, though also sort of beautiful. I’m sure Joe would have been pleased to know how loved he was. He probably would have said something funny in his "Heimlich" voice.
Tirade: "Joe is the very best story man ever and the best human being I’ve known
in animation. He is mentor, friend and inspiration to all of us who do
this job."
James Baker: "Whereas many people that I have worked for elsewhere lead by making you feel that you are inadequate and have a long way to go, Joe had a way of making you feel smart and capable, and as a consequence his crew wanted very much to rise to the level of his confidence in them."

Maverix Studios: "He was the great story guru and heart of Pixar Animation Studios . It is truly impossible to summarize the influence Joe has had on all of us in the animation and film industry. Our hearts go out to all of his family and friends….we’ll miss you Joe."
Animated News: "In a statement released Wednesday, Pixar said ‘Joe was an important and beloved member of the Pixar family, and his loss is of great sorrow to all of us and to the animation industry as a whole’."
Hollywood Reporter: "Born in Southern California in 1960, Ranft was a classmate of director John Lasseter’s at the California Institute of the Arts in the 1970s. After two years at CalArts, he joined Disney in 1980. He joined Pixar in 1992."
Jim Hill Media:"here was a guy who was still operating at the top of his game. Who was rabidly pursued by virtually every major animation studio in the business. Not just because Joe was a top storyman. The type of guy who could wade into a truly troubled picture and quickly help to turn it around. But because Mr. Ranft was sweet & funny & kind & great to hang around with"

[ttags: pixar, disney, animation, joeranft, ranft, death, obituary, tribute, emeryville ]

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Hong Kong Disneyland (new website!) is nearing completion. Training for employees is well underway (500 have already worked at Walt Disney World and will pass that experience along), most of the tiny details that make Disney theme parks so special have been installed, and I must say the park looks great. LaughingPlace.com’s "Tales from the Laughing Place" magazine editors, Lee and Lindsay, have been granted phenomenal access to the park for the 4th issue of the magazine:

Issue 4 is dedicated to the creation of Hong Kong Disneyland. Launching in September the issue will comprise extensive interviews with the creative imagineers behind the latest Magic Kingdom including supervising imagineer Tom Morris and John Verity who has been responsible for the construction of this newest resort. A land-by-land series will take readers through the inspiration behind Hong Kong Disneyland and provide insights to the challenges encountered in Penny’s Bay and the process of building a theme park Disney-style. In addition Tales subscribers will be able to read about the development of merchandise and food & beverage offerings for this new resort.

If you’re any kind of Disney fan you should be subscribing to this magazine and ordering all the back issues too (issue 3 was just released, so there aren’t that many). I promise you it will make you forget about the now defunct Disney Magazine.

As part of their access, Lee and Lindsay have been sending back photo essays of the park to the website. The first was of the train station and esplanade that leads up to the park, the second now reveals what Main Street looks like. Lot’s of great details, an incredible restaurant interior, and our first look at a completed Sleeping Beauty Castle (the first one built as a clone of Disneyland U.S.A.’s castle).

Certainly makes me want to book a trip.

[ttags:disney, disneyland, hongkong, hongkongdisneyland, hkdl, laughingplace, mainstreet]

LaughingPlace.com has just posted some amazing pictures of the new train station outside Hong Kong Disneyland, the esplanade leading up to the entrance, and some eerily familiar photos of the train station that graces the main entrance to the park.

Hmmm. Is that Lee and Lindsay taking the photos. Why do you think they’re at Hong Kong Disneyland a month before it officially opens?

The LaughingPlace Store has just added two new fan created DVDs to their stock. Not sure how long one of them will be available however.

The first is the excellent Adventure Through Inner Space Virtual Ride-Through DVD, a CGI Recreation of the original attraction. I give this DVD high marks and it’s a must have in the library of any fan of old-skool Disneyland or Imagineering. Like all good DVDs it comes with special features including a Commentary and Blooper real.

The second fan-created DVD is the new Disneyland – 50 Years of Magic DVD. It features:

a) Block Party Bash (from DCA) shot from the Monsters Inc float stop.
b) Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams (from Disneyland)
c) Remember… Dreams Come True (from the hub)
d) Remember… Dreams Come True (from Main St.)
e) Remember… Dreams come True (Both shows edited together)
f) Various shots of the other 50th offerings (i.e. gold ride vehicles and some of the "Happiest Faces" Mosaics)
g) Very cool memorabilia from Disneyland’s first 50 years
exhibit at the Lincoln Theater

I haven’t seen the DVD so I can’t say anything about the quality, but the LaughingPlace Store wouldn’t be selling it if they thought it was crap. These are the kinds of videos that fans want but Disney seldom provides.

Of cource, Disney may not look too fondly on their trademark and copyrights being used in this manner. So buy now before it gets pulled.

[ ttags: disney, disneyland, dvd, atis, imagineer, imagineering, laughingplace, disneyblog, disneyana, fanart, fandom, parade, show, vacation ]

Part of what makes LaughingPlace.com such an amazing internet community is the talent of its membership. Combine that with a bunch of disney oriented fun loving folk and you have a formula for some unique meets. Take the recent opportunity readers of the website had to go inside Disneyland’s famous and exclusive dining establishment – Club 33.

To make the day even more memorable Margaret Kerry, the figure model for Tinker Bell, was in attendance. She was gracious enough to give a little speach and pose to have her photo taken with all. As thanks two attendees took photos of the event and scrapbooked them as a gift for Kerry.

In addition to the marvelous photos of Kerry in the scrapbook there are plenty of photos taken in and around Club 33. A real spotlight on the club if you’ve never been there.

[ttags: disney, disneyland, club33, scrapbook, scrapping, scrapbooking, tinkerbell, ]