Skip to content

Walt Disney Studios

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at the Magic Kingdom

ABC Developing Show Based on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Roller Coaster

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at the Magic Kingdom

Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion are two attractions that have already been made into movies and there are other ideas in various stages of conception for the Walt Disney Studios including a movie based on the Magic Kingdom park concept itself. We can now add a TV show to that list as ABC has ordered a script for a show based on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster attraction.

Set in a mining town in the American southwest, the backstory for the ride involves gold mining and a curse by Native Americans that brings disaster on those who try to remove it from the ground, usually in the form of an earthquake. Guests on the roller coaster just barely escape. Whether that idea makes it into the script remains to be scene.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland was also the scene of one of the park’s biggest tragedies with an accident that resulted in the death of a guest and the serious injury of others.

The adventure based drama could air as soon as next fall if the pilot gets made and if it gets picked up.

Below the jump, my onride POV video of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster:
Read More »ABC Developing Show Based on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Roller Coaster

Disney Movie Marketing Encounters Another Obstacle

After the movie marketing debacle that was Disney’s John Carter (of Mars) heads rolled around the Walt Disney Studios. Exits included people from the marketing department, including its chief MT Carney, all the way up to studio head Rich Ross. But apparently that wasn’t all… Read More »Disney Movie Marketing Encounters Another Obstacle

Snow White to Celebrate 75th Anniversary with Special Screening in NYC

Snow White

Walt Disney’s original animated masterpiece, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” is still the best Disney animated film in my opinion. No other film set new artistic standards and created an industry like Walt’s first animated feature. This year marks Snow’s 75th anniversary and the film will be celebrated with a state-of-the-art digital presentation at the New York Film Festival on Saturday, Sept. 29 at the prestigious Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. The film will be introduced by acclaimed animator/director/historian Eric Goldberg, who served as supervisor of the Genie character in “Aladdin,” co-directed of “Pocahontas” and counts “Fantasia 2000” among his credits. Festival attendees will also get a sneak peek at Walt Disney Animation Studios’ newest animated short “Paperman,” an innovative new animated film that combines the best of both the CG and hand-drawn worlds. “Paperman,” directed by John Kahrs and produced by Kristina Reed (and utilizing Goldberg’s animation talents), will open in theaters in November with the hilarious arcade-game-hopping adventure “Wreck-It Ralph.”

“It’s an honor to be introducing ‘Snow White’ at this year’s New York Film Festival, marking the film’s 75th anniversary,” said Goldberg. “Walt used to refer to ‘Snow White’ as ‘the one that started it all,’ and he was right. The storytelling, the emotions, the cinematics and the comedy are all so true and so powerful, it’s astonishing to think this assured piece of filmmaking was the studio’s first feature effort. Anyone who is working or has worked in the animation medium owes ‘Snow White’ a huge debt, as it never ceases to inspire us. Walt and his team created something that is timeless: it isn’t a question of whether ‘Snow White’ is lacking in surround sound, computer graphics or stereoscopic 3D, it’s whether today’s films can measure up to ‘Snow White.'”

Read More »Snow White to Celebrate 75th Anniversary with Special Screening in NYC

New Frankenweenie Trailer from Tim Burton

From the creatively warped mind of Tim Burton (“Alice in Wonderland,” The Nightmare Before Christmas”) comes the feature-length “Frankenweenie,” a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his… Read More »New Frankenweenie Trailer from Tim Burton

First Photo of Angelina Jolie as Maleficent as Production Begins on Film

Disney released the following photo of Angelina Jolie as the evil fairy Maleficent in “Maleficent” – the untold story of Disney’s most beloved villain. The Walt Disney Studios also announced today that production began Wednesday, June 13th. Directed by two-time Oscar-winning production designer Robert Stromberg… Read More »First Photo of Angelina Jolie as Maleficent as Production Begins on Film

The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow – now confirmed!

When is an attraction announcement not really an announcement? When it’s published accidentally, that’s when. It’s no secret that the Prince Caspian exhibit has been moved out of its Sound Stage in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. There has even been some speculation about what would be going into that space on various fan sites.

Usually those exhibits are ‘sponsored’ by some marketing budget or another from the Walt Disney Studios. Typically the goal is to sell DVDs or build audience affiliation for a sequel. So it was assumed that the next exhibit would be for a movie that had seen some success (which means it has a decent marketing budget) and is likely to have a sequel.

If the first movie that comes to your mind in The Muppets, then let’s say Great Minds Think Alike. Other likely candidates include John Carter or TRON: Legacy. However neither of those have had sequels greenlit. So Muppets it is. It even already has a tie-in with DHS.

Read More »The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow – now confirmed!