If you’ve never watched at TED.com video, you’re really missing out on one of the best avenues to keep ahead of the curve when it comes to technology, science, and entertainment. TED invited part of Pixar’s story focused ‘Brain Trust’, animator, writer, and director Andrew… Read More »John Carter Director Andrew Stanton on Story at TED
Long one of the favorite attractions in Orlando, the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, languished at the woefully under attended Islands of Adventure (IOA) theme park. However, thanks to some deft wand work from Harry Potter, IOA is seeing huge crowds and money for attraction upgrades seems to be flowing.
Spider-Man has just returned from a short down period where they installed a number of upgrades. But the biggest, and most spectacular, is the new High Definition 3D Projection and accompanying new animation. The attraction relies giant screens and a mix of real world sets to make the each guest feel like they’re in the movie with the web-slinger as he saves you from an assortment of baddies.
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
The attraction still suffers from its abrupt start and sometimes out of sync special effects, but all in all it remains one of Orlando’s best and, with these revisions, might again vie for best attraction overall (it’s close cousin Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is tough competition).
Of course, there remains the oddity that Disney now owns the Marvel brand, and yet Universal Orlando has the rights to 12 or so of the main Marvel characters in Orlando. It seems obvious Univeral has no intention of letting Disney get back these rights anytime soon. But I have to wonder if Disney’s lawyers aren’t working ferociously somewhere to route around that.
A very short ceremony was held to mark the attractions return to operations.
As they reanimated the attraction film, the creative team added hundreds of new details and effects. Guests will see moss swaying in the wind, rats scurrying through the streets and hear electricity arching so close it will raise the hair on the back of their necks. And for the first time ever, Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee will make a cameo appearance inside the attraction. Lee was meticulously animated in 3-D and placed in more than one scene inside the new animation.
Read More »Universal Orlando Makes Big Improvements on Upgraded Spider-Man Attraction
Disney’s John Carter epic adventure film based on the stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs and directed by Pixar director Andrew Stanton has officially opened today. I posted my review of John Carter the other day, but to sum up, Andrew Stanton has done a marvelous… Read More »John Carter in Theaters Today
As you read this I’m probably at Islands of Adventure in Universal Orlando Resort getting to experience the rejuvenated hi-def version of The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. But one man, a man very close to Spider-Man, has already seen the work done on the attraction… Read More »Stan Lee talks The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
Jill Ohanneson, costume designer for ABC’s hit show Revenge, takes us with her for a day as she goes clothes shopping for the show! I love that sort of inside baseball about how our entertainment is made. I hope ABC and Disney continue to make… Read More »ABC’s Revenge – Behind the Look
In this episode of our favorite found-footage program, the characters stand around and watch some found footage of their own! It’s flashbacks within flashbacks within a concept that’s coming apart at the seams.
Before the recap, let’s cut to the chase. There were two major revelations in this episode: first, Dr. Cole and Tess lost their first child, Alice. In the face of that loss, they began making Undiscovered Country, mostly just to keep their minds off their loss. To me, this speaks volumes about their characters.
The second major revelation also changes the way we look at one of the main characters: Lena set off the beacon that led the team into the jungle. She wanted Tess and Lincoln to take up the search again, to provide the resources necessary to find her own father. I’m beginning to wonder if she and Jonas deserve each other.
Read More »The River: Season 1, Episode 6 – Doctor Emmet Cole
The latest True-Life Adventure film from the DisneyNature label is “Chimpanzee”. It will open in theaters on April 20 and Disney has committed to make a donation to the Jane Goodall Institute for every ticket sold during the films opening week. Chimpanzee introduces Oscar, a… Read More »See Chimpanzee, Save Chimpanzees – DisneyNature to Donate for Every Ticket Bought
The Muppets is heading to DVD in just a few days domestically, plus it’s still in theaters around the word. You know that that means… more Muppets Spoof Trailers from Disney. This time they’re skewering “The Hunger Games” The Muppets is available for pre-order now… Read More »Hungry for More Muppets – Get Ready for the Muppets Hunger Games Spoof