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Monsters University Shows Pixar Still Has The Magic

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Prior to Monsters University most audiences will be lucky enough to see the newest short from Pixar – The Blue Umbrella. It’s the least Pixar short of the series in terms of its photo-realistic design, but also somehow completely Pixar too. I don’t want to give anything away, but there is a definite connection between the world of the Umbrellas and Monstropolis.

It’s been 12 years since Monsters, Inc first made audiences fall in love with a short one-eyed monster and his giant fluffy blue friend. The kids that saw that film in theaters then have since grown up and are ready to introduce another generation of kids to the world of Monstropolis. But rather than making a sequel, Pixar decided to set the next film in the past.

“One of the challenges with a prequel is that by definition, everyone knows how the story ends. So it can be difficult to uncover the drama because we already know everything’s going to work out. It’s hard to define those stakes. You have to learn something new about the characters—which we ultimately do in ‘MU.’,” said director Dan Scanlon.Read More »Monsters University Shows Pixar Still Has The Magic

Helena Bonham Carter Joins Cast of Disney’s Cinderella

Does this look like the face of a fairy godmother to you? It will be soon. Helena Bonham Carter joined the cast of Disney’s upcoming live action version of Cinderella as the fairy godmother. Carter last worked with Disney as the Red Queen in Tim… Read More »Helena Bonham Carter Joins Cast of Disney’s Cinderella

Penguin One joins fleet of SeaWorld themed Southwest Airline Planes

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For 25 years Shamu One has flown through the sky bringing joy to airplane passengers everywhere knowing their journey to SeaWorld begins at their home airport. It’s a relatively small thing, but it brings a lot of joy.

Today Southwest Airlines and SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment celebrated 25 years of partnership with the unveiling of the airline’s newest specialty aircraft, Penguin One —- a Boeing 737-700 co-branded with images of one of SeaWorld’s iconic animals — penguins.

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Meet Silver, The Lone Ranger’s Horse in Latest Behind The Scenes Video

It sure looks like they’re having a lot of fun on the set of The Lone Ranger. The latest behind the scenes video focuses on Silver, the mythic horse for the story’s hero. Turns out they used four different horses on set, each suited to… Read More »Meet Silver, The Lone Ranger’s Horse in Latest Behind The Scenes Video

Cast of Frozen Expands, New Images Released

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Walt Disney Animation Studios has added a talented trio of actors to the voice cast of “Frozen.” They also released a new ice-logo with a teaser one-sheet poster and a couple fresh images from the film.

  • Josh Gad (“The Internship,” “Love & Other Drugs,” Broadway’s “The Book of Mormon”) provides the voice of Olaf the snowman.
  • Santino Fontana (Broadway’s “Cinderella,” “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “Billy Elliot”) lends his vocal talents as Hans.
  • Alan Tudyk (“42,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” ABC’s “Suburgatory”) joins the film as the voice of the Duke of Weselton.

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Disney’s Golden Oak Movie Ranch Expansion Moves Forward

Disney’s ambitious expansion plan for their Golden Oak movie ranch in Placerita Canyon was approved unanimously on Wednesday by the Los Angeles Regional Planning Commission. The Golden Oak Ranch has long been the Walt Disney Studios goto location for small town and old west sets… Read More »Disney’s Golden Oak Movie Ranch Expansion Moves Forward

New Book Highlights Florida’s Theme Parks

For most of its history, the state of Florida has been known for its natural beauty, citrus farms, cattle ranching, and as a place to escape the harsh winters of the north. Over the 50 years, Florida has also become established as the world leader… Read More »New Book Highlights Florida’s Theme Parks

Enchanted Tiki Room Turns 50 This Sunday

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It’s hard to believe but Sunday, June 23, will mark the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland. Crowds were wowed by the world’s first Audio-Animatronics show in a place where the birds sing words and flowers croon.

Inspiration for the Tiki Room came from Walt Disney’s earliest days of animated filmmaking, as he looked for a way to animate in three dimensions. He was fascinated by an antique, miniature mechanical songbird that he had purchased in New Orleans and thought if someone could animate this figure a century before, it should be possible to do it using modern technology.

The resulting Audio-Animatronics technology developed for the Enchanted Tiki Room would eventually lead to such iconic Disney theme park attractions as “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,” “it’s a small world,” Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion and others.

“The Enchanted Tiki Room continues to delight thousands of guests every day, some 50 years after Walt originally introduced us to Jose, Michael, Pierre & Fritz,” said Jon Storbeck, vice president of Disneyland Park. You might enjoy reading about the experiences of one of the attractions original VIP Hostess or The Disney Blog columnist Linda’s experience shadowing Walt Disney on the press preview.Read More »Enchanted Tiki Room Turns 50 This Sunday