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September 2011

A few thoughts on Avatar, will Pandora fit in at Disney’s Animal Kingdom


The Na’vi Hometree on Pandora reminds me of Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s Tree of Life. Of course, we can’t forget that Avatar is a sci-fi film too.

I’ve had a day to think about the announcement of Disney licensing James Cameron’s Avatar properties for it’s theme parks. We’re still very early in the process, but even in just the last 24 hours many interviews with key players have been published. That gives us a slightly better idea, but it’s still pretty much conjecture. Never the less, I have put down a few thoughts on the news, realizing that all this could change as more details of the partnership are revealed.

Disney did a good job keeping the Avatar partnership secret, I’d only heard a few rumors about the idea prior to the announcement but the exact names of Avatar or Cameron never explicitly surfaced, so I didn’t feel comfortable reporting it. However, many Disney fans now feel like they’ve been blindsided and they’re not happy.

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DWTS Elimination: Goodbye Ron Artest…Um, I Mean Metta World Peace

Ed: Please welcome back Sarah J Carter with the second half of our DWTS recap. The season’s first elimination from “Dancing With the Stars” was announced in last night’s results show. The hour began with the professionals performing a fabulous dance number choreographed by professional… Read More »DWTS Elimination: Goodbye Ron Artest…Um, I Mean Metta World Peace

EPCOT Food and Wine Festival How-to Videos

Disney has released a whole series of videos highlighting recipes from this year’s EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival. Here are a few of my favorites, I can’t wait to get home and try them.

[youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5Ub5h8365Y width=520 height=294 rel=0]

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Hello Charlie – Charlie’s Angels returning to TV on ABC this week

Editor: Please welcome guest author Marshal Knight who will be joining The Disney Blog as the reviewer for Charlie’s Angels. We wish him luck! “Hello Charlie”, the infamous line from the hit 70’s and 80’s TV Show Charlie’s Angels has become a household phrase, and… Read More »Hello Charlie – Charlie’s Angels returning to TV on ABC this week

Disneyland honors 2011 Little League World Champs

Disneyland loves to honor all levels of athletes, but it’s not every day when the World Champs come from just down the street. All the bases were covered when this Saturday, Sept. 17, Disneyland Resort celebrated the Ocean View Little League world champions. “We’re honored… Read More »Disneyland honors 2011 Little League World Champs

“Avatar Land” gets early mixed reviews

Earlier today, Disney held an Imagineering press conference with James Cameron to announce that an area based on the world of “Avatar” would be added to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Fans around the world were quick to evaluate this addition. People took to message boards, social… Read More »“Avatar Land” gets early mixed reviews

Dancing With the Stars, Season Premiere Recap

Editor: Pleases welcome guest author Sarah Johnson Carter as one half of this season’s DWTS review team. Last night, “Dancing With the Stars” kicked off its thirteenth season in a larger, grander ballroom with returning hosts Tom Bergeron, and the newly wed Brooke Burke Charvet.… Read More »Dancing With the Stars, Season Premiere Recap

Castle – Season 4, Episode 1: Rise

Editor: Please welcome new guest author Jenny who will be recapping Castle episodes this season. I’m sure you’ll agree, there’s no mystery, Jenny’s a great addition to the team.

Finally! It’s finally here! The Castle Season 4 premiere. We left off last season with Captain Montgomery’s final stand, Detective Beckett (Stana Katic) getting shot, and Castle (Nathan Fillion) confessing his love.

In a most satisfying fashion, we come back after months of waiting to find that only minutes have passed in the Castleverse. With so many shows that like to fast-forward through what are admittedly the most problematic bits of plot arcs and sometimes showing what happened through flashbacks (Desperate Housewives, Dexter, Rizzoli & Isles, to name a few), it was really refreshing to rejoin the show right where we left off. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like the former technique distances the audience from the show and the characters because they didn’t get to go through the traumatic period with them. Not Castle. The audience gets to be part of the precinct family in the hospital, waiting to hear Kate Beckett’s fate.


Stana Katic on twitter: http://twitter.com/stana_katic

Maybe showrunner Andrew Marlowe and the rest of the crew on Castle just understand this show’s audience’s need to feel involved. Twice in just this episode they have characters playing the part of the audience by proxy: the first time is Alexis yelling at Josh and angrily trying to shove him after he accuses Castle, her Dad, of being responsible for Beckett’s shooting, the second time is when Ryan and Esposito refuse to let Beckett escape into the break room for coffee after she tells them she hasn’t spoken to Castle in months. They ask question after question on the tips of the audience’s brains while watching. Even though the audience doesn’t get to directly participate, there’s a real sense of satisfaction about having these questions and then characters on the show asking and getting answers.

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