Sarah Tully of The Orange County Register provides an update on Travelers World, an RV park northeast  of the Disneyland Resort that’s within the Anaheim Resort zoning, which has just closed.

Property owners had given the remaining residents six months’ notice to vacate the Disneyland-area park by the end of the year to clear the way for a proposed multiuse development, called Parc Anaheim. Lingering residents would receive three-day eviction notices.

By midday Sunday, about 25 RVs remained in the 296-space park, which also used to take tourists.

Previous reports noted a decrease in rent to help with moving expenses.  Parc Anaheim is planned to rise over the area, changing the local skyline.  You may recall that before the Disneyland Resort upgrade that began in the late 1990s, there were RV parks west of Disneyland Park, too.

I’ve been searching for a good charity that’s helping Hurricane Katrina survivors and also accepts Paypal donations. Convoy of Hope is just such an organization. It’s Four-Star rated by CharityNagivator and has a history of helping disaster survivors, including last year’s Tsunami. 

If you’re heading to a theme park this month please consider packing lunch one day and donating the amount you will save to this charity. Alternatively, skip a couple starbucks coffees this month and donate that amount. Do you buy books at the bookstore? Well visit the library instead and send that money.

Any amount helps.

[ttags:hurricane, katrina, recovery, disaster, charity, nonprofit, donate, help, aid, assistance, convoyofhope]

I’m betting that somewhere in Burbank there are a lot of crossed fingers and rabbit’s feet right now. They’ll need all the luck they can’t to break out of the Hollywood Box Office slump. The studio is trying to tap into the audiences of both Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings with the Narnia series. It’s a huge gamble, but it could have a huge payoff.

The promotion effort is starting to really ramp up now. IGN has just posted an interview with two young stars from the film, William Moseley and Anna Popplewell, who portray Peter and Susan in the film, respectively. ComingSoon has another interview with William Moseley. Nice to see the online outlets getting some good interviews. Maybe there’s hope for me.

[ttags: narnia, disney, film, movie ]

Remembrances and and tributes to the late Joe Ranft, head of story at Pixar, keep rolling in. In light of the 10th Anniversary of Toy Story, the film that drew Joe to Pixar, I wanted to shed light on a few of those posts.

Susan posts a few insights from the family’s memorial for Joe, "Director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, A Bug’s Life) talked about how
Joe always signed the drawings he gave to him with the inscription ‘Your pal Joe.’ He said that Joe stood up for you. Found what was
worthy about you. Saw the better artist in us. The better person you
could be. You aspired to his vision of you. ‘Joe was the bridge that
made us all pals.’"

Ronnie Del Carmen continues to track tributes to Joe and gives a few of her own as well including a wonderful sketch in his memory.

Lea posts a personal thanks to Joe, thanking him for his part in helping her autistic child.

Lost in a Sea, who went to school with Joe, thinks, "oe was an example cited frequently, not merely because of the odd sense
of pride and envy inherent in ‘I knew him before he was . . . ,’ but
also because he personnified the notion of following and living a
dream, and parlaying talent into that holiest of secular grails, making
a career out of something you truly enjoy. I want to believe that since
last week, all the Angels have been a little less productive. Joe has
got them cackling out loud with stories, voices, characters and
everything else in his ample talent reservoir."

Mercurie writes, "He was loved by his fellow animators at Pixar, not simply for being a
great talent, but also for being one of the kindest, gentlest men
around. I don’t think it is truly possible to measure the enormity of
his loss not only to Pixar, but to the animation community as a whole.
He will most certainly be missed."

[ttags: pixar, disney, joeranft, joe+ranft, obituary, memorial, death, emeryville, animation ]

Autopia ran, but not well. After the first day, many of the 39 cars
initially put into service – one from the original production run had
been set aside for Walt Disney – were broken. Four that had been
treated to the black-and-white paint scheme of police cruisers were
soon repainted as conventional models.

NY Times story on Disneyland’s Autopia.

I just got word from Pixar’s Press and Publicity Department with details on the upcoming Memorials for Joe Ranft and the donation fund they are establishing in his honor.

"Joe Ranft’s private Memorial Services, for close friends and family, will be held Sunday, August 21, 2005, in Mill Valley, California.

"A ‘Friends and Colleagues’ Memorial Service will be held Saturday, September 17, 2005.   Details regarding the time and location of the ‘Friends and Colleagues’ Memorial Service are available by calling
(510) 752-4455."

"In lieu of flowers, the Ranft family respectfully requests that donations be made to the ‘Joseph Henry Ranft Memorial Fund.’  Details about donations also are available by calling (510) 752-4455.”

Update: You may send donations to:

The Joseph Henry Ranft Memorial Fund
c/o Pixar Animation Studios
1200 Park Ave.
Emeryville, CA  94608

You may also send letters and condolances to the Joe Ranft Family at the same address.

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

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]