VIDEO: Disney Launches “Takeoff Tuesdays” Series of Weekly Exclusive Planes Shorts

WDWNT on July 17, 2013

Beginning Tuesday, July 9th, 2013, Disney launched a weekly series of exclusive digital shorts inspired by the upcoming animated feature Planes.

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Before landing in 3D in theaters on August 9, 2013, you can head to disney.com to view updated weekly racer profiles such as  Dusty, El Chupacabra and more.

In the first video released earlier this week, El Chupacabra, or “El Chu”, a racing legend in Mexico known for his racing passion and flair for the dramatic, is profiled:


Be sure to check back each Tuesday at disney.com for a new high-flying digital short profile!

VIDEO: Upcoming “Saving Mr. Banks” Gets Behind the Disney Magic

WDWNT on July 17, 2013

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The Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, CA was the setting for the premiere of the movie “Mary Poppins” in 1964, as seen in this exclusive image. Though almost 50 years ago, the magic of Mary Poppins still lives in me today, as it’s one of my most beloved films. I’m sure many of you feel the same way, and this December, we’ll get to experience the behind-the-scenes magic that Walt needed to be able to create this timeless movie!

In 1934, P.L. (Pamela Lyndon) Travers released her first in a series of books about Mary Poppins … magical nanny stories that Walt Disney would read to his children … and they begged him to make a movie about the books they loved so much. Little did Walt know it would not be very easy to make their dreams come true. In the upcoming new film, “Saving Mr. Banks”, Walt (Tom Hanks) takes Travers (Emma Thompson) to Disneyland, the Happiest Place on Earth, hoping the magic will sweep her away.

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In an interview with Time Magazine, Emma Thompson talks about the challenge of playing the role of the famous author:

“She was a woman of quite eye-watering complexity and contradiction. Often I play people who are controlled by some very clear guiding moral principles. Like Margaret Schlegel [in Howards End], guided by the early principles of feminism and equal rights, and Elinor Dashwood [in Sense and Sensibility], guided by the principles of decency and honor. There are very clear moral prisms these women pour life through, and I understand that very well. And [Travers] was not like that at all. She was far more chaotic and confused and morally various.”

 

 

So what is “Saving Mr. Banks” really about? I dare you to say you did not have goose bumps after watching this!


The film is due to be released into theatres on December 20, 2013, with an early release in select theatres on December 13th, according to the IndieWire Network.  Directed by John Lee Hancock (of “The Blind Side” fame), filming is taking place at the Disneyland Resort, on the studio lot in Burbank, CA, and various other locations in and around Los Angeles. Additional cast members include: Ruth Wilson, Colin Farrell, Rachel Griffiths, Paul Giamatti, Bradley Whitford, B.J. Novak, Kathy Baker, Jason Schwartzman, and featuring newcomer Annie Buckley as the young Travers.

Do you think this movie will measure up? I feel quite certain that it will be practically perfect in every way!

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Images and video courtesy of the Walt Disney Company.

VIDEO: “Takeoff Tuesdays” Launches Another Exclusive Planes Digital Short

WDWNT on July 17, 2013

Today, Tuesday, July 16, 2013, Disney released another digital short as part of its “Takeoff Tuesdays” series to promote the August 9 3D release of Planes.

This week’s offering gives us a profile of Ishani, a female, rear-propeller racer in a world a male plane racers.

This reigning Pan-Asian champion from India boasts more than a billion loyal fans. Ishani is exotic and mysterious, but always has her eyes on the prize.

Next week’s featured character: Ripslinger.

New Free Book Gives Behind-The-Scenes Look At The Making Of “Mary Poppins”

WDWNT on March 18, 2013

Walt Disney Studios announced the release of Saving Mr. Banks: The Official Multi-touch Book, based on Disney’s upcoming film Saving Mr. Banks, in theaters December 20. The book tells the previously untold story of how Walt Disney worked his magic on Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers to obtain the right to her book.

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The Saving Mr. Banks multi-touch book is available for free, only on iBooks at www.iTunes.com/SavingMrBanks

The book includes a forward by Richard Sherman, Academy Award-winning composer; previously unseen correspondence between Walt Disney and P.L. Travers; rare scripts and storyboards from the Disney archives; an interactive timeline of historic Walt Disney Studios milestones; facts and profiles on the key characters in Saving Mr. Banks; and original recordings of the Sherman Brothers performing their hit songs from Mary Poppins.

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The interactive book was created by Apple’s digital book creation app, iBooks Author.

Using Apple’s iBooks Author, the UK digital agency, Brandwidth was able to include video, audio and multi-touch interaction to create a robust storytelling experience. Readers can watch interviews featuring the cast and filmmakers, browse extensive photo galleries and explore the original storyboards and concept art—all in full retina detail. ‘Mary Popovers’ deliver fascinating facts throughout the book.

Be sure to get your free copy today!

“Saving Mr. Banks” – A Quick Review

WDWNT on March 18, 2013

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Sorry to disappoint the many Walt fanboys waiting with bated breath, but Saving Mr. Banks is hardly the Walt Disney-focused or Disneyland-heavy movie that so many people were hoping for. Instead, it is a well told, brilliantly acted character piece that just happens to feature Tom Hanks in the role of Walt as a supporting character. Liberties are taken with the story and Disney history. While this review will try to avoid specifics, historical dramas have built in spoilers. The boat sank, the Nazis lost, and Mary Poppins got produced.

The movie alternates between P.L. Travers’ youth in turn-of-the-century Australia and 1960s London and Los Angeles. The flashback format works well in keeping suspense for a story where we know the ultimate outcome. The 1900s thread of the story follows the young Travers (Annie Rose Buckley) and her family as they move to a frontier town, where her father (Colin Farrell) is starting a new job at a bank. The flashbacks are from the young Travers’ perspective, and they focus on her relationship with her father. As we’re introduced to them, their relationship is strong and warm, and we are left wondering how this tight-knit family become the Bankses in Mary Poppins.

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As we switch back to the present, the adult Travers (Emma Thompson) is on her way to L.A. to meet with Walt to discuss signing over the film rights to her books. When we’re introduced to the adult Travers, she is so adamant that the deal will never happen that she’s cancelled her cab to the airport. Convinced she needs the money, though, Travers makes the almost farcical journey. Portrayed as an uptight English stereotype, Travers struggles with the cultural differences of the less formal Hollywood, Walt Disney in particular. The film mines the joke of how the two characters address each other, but never takes it too far.

In L.A., Travers meets a cast of characters including her driver (Paul Giamati), the songwriting Sherman brothers (B.J. Novak and Jason Schwartzman) and Don DaGradi (Bradley Whitford), the screenwriter. Along with Hanks, these excellent performances help tell the story of the collaborative development of the script and songs. However, all of this is just a vehicle to help us discover that the real purpose and inspiration behind the original books was simply a coping mechanism for Travers, which we see play out in the Australian timeline.

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This dual story is played out in two conflicts: Walt versus Travers and Travers versus herself. Of course, with good storytelling the solutions to these disparate conflicts are actually intertwined, as Walt’s attempts to understand Travers’ protectionist attitude cause the author to examine it herself. The much-anticipated Disneyland scene is part of this. Walt tries to coax Travers into a childhood-like state, which is something she appears to have long buried.

In truth, the best interactions are really between Travers and her driver. This relationship feels the most real and organically developed and will hopefully earn both actors nominations this coming awards season.

Saving Mr. Banks should not be taken as a history text. Despite the fact that history rarely wraps up in the neat little packages films leave behind, the film took other liberties with the timeline as well. References are made to projects and attractions not even conceived at the time. I encourage sticklers to let this go and enjoy the drama unfolding before them. Despite these minor inaccuracies, the movie looks beautiful as a double period piece. The drabness of the outback and the comparative garishness of the 1960s are both evident in the respective scenes. In the film, Disneyland looks as close as the existing version could to what the park looked like in that time period.

Saving Mr. Banks’ strongest asset by far is its acting. The characters all feel human and natural. The story is known and altered for the sake of storytelling, but the movie manages to entertain and enthrall for the entire runtime. It is not necessarily the story of Walt, but it is enough to grab those fans hoping for a closer look at the man behind the magic. I don’t think I can say a higher praise than to call it a docudrama worthy of its subject matter.

BREAKING: The Walt Disney Company Acquires Lucasfilm

WDWNT on May 31, 2012

I am in shock as I write this, but Disney is going to acquire Lucasfilm, Star Wars and all…

Burbank, CA and San Francisco, CA, October 30, 2012 – Continuing its strategy of delivering exceptional creative content to audiences around the world, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. in a stock and cash transaction. Lucasfilm is 100% owned by Lucasfilm Chairman and Founder, George Lucas.

Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney stock on October 26, 2012, the transaction value is $4.05 billion, with Disney paying approximately half of the consideration in cash and issuing approximately 40 million shares at closing. The final consideration will be subject to customary post-closing balance sheet adjustments.

“Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas,” said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. “This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney’s unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value.”

“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” said George Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm. “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I’m confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney’s reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products.”

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Lucasfilm, a leader in entertainment, innovation and technology, including its massively popular and “evergreen” Star Warsfranchise and its operating businesses in live action film production, consumer products, animation, visual effects, and audio post production. Disney will also acquire the substantial portfolio of cutting-edge entertainment technologies that have kept audiences enthralled for many years. Lucasfilm, headquartered in San Francisco, operates under the names Lucasfilm Ltd., LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, and Skywalker Sound, and the present intent is for Lucasfilm employees to remain in their current locations.

Kathleen Kennedy, current Co-Chairman of Lucasfilm, will become President of Lucasfilm, reporting to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn. Additionally she will serve as the brand manager for Star Wars, working directly with Disney’s global lines of business to build, further integrate, and maximize the value of this global franchise. Ms. Kennedy will serve as executive producer on new Star Wars feature films, with George Lucas serving as creative consultant. Star Wars Episode 7 is targeted for release in 2015, with more feature films expected to continue the Star Wars saga and grow the franchise well into the future.

The acquisition combines two highly compatible family entertainment brands, and strengthens the long-standing beneficial relationship between them that already includes successful integration of Star Wars content into Disney theme parks in Anaheim, Orlando, Paris and Tokyo.

Driven by a tremendously talented creative team, Lucasfilm’s legendary Star Warsfranchise has flourished for more than 35 years, and offers a virtually limitless universe of characters and stories to drive continued feature film releases and franchise growth over the long term. Star Wars resonates with consumers around the world and creates extensive opportunities for Disney to deliver the content across its diverse portfolio of businesses including movies, television, consumer products, games and theme parks. Star Wars feature films have earned a total of $4.4 billion in global box to date, and continued global demand has made Star Wars one of the world’s top product brands, and Lucasfilm a leading product licensor in the United States in 2011. The franchise provides a sustainable source of high quality, branded content with global appeal and is well suited for new business models including digital platforms, putting the acquisition in strong alignment with Disney’s strategic priorities for continued long-term growth.

The Lucasfilm acquisition follows Disney’s very successful acquisitions of Pixar and Marvel, which demonstrated the company’s unique ability to fully develop and expand the financial potential of high quality creative content with compelling characters and storytelling through the application of innovative technology and multiplatform distribution on a truly global basis to create maximum value. Adding Lucasfilm to Disney’s portfolio of world class brands significantly enhances the company’s ability to serve consumers with a broad variety of the world’s highest-quality content and to create additional long-term value for our shareholders.

The Boards of Directors of Disney and Lucasfilm have approved the transaction, which is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, certain non-United States merger control regulations, and other customary closing conditions. The agreement has been approved by the sole shareholder of Lucasfilm.

DisneyNature’s African Cats Preview & Contest

WDWNT on April 17, 2011

DisneyNature’s 3rd film, African Cats, is poised to ponce into theaters on Earth Day 2011 (April 22nd for those unaware). To get you ready for the film, we have assembled a video offering a 10 minute glimpse into the film a little early. While we are not allowed to post a review of the film until Monday, this should give you a pretty good idea what to expect:

For more information on the film, you can always visit Disney.com/AfricanCats.

I’m also proud to announce that Disney has been nice enough to provide us with a pair of African Cats books to give away to one lucky reader. If you would like a chance to win the books, just send us an email at wdwnewstoday@gmail.com with your name, email, and home address by April 17th at Midnight ET with the answer to the following question:

Which of True-Life Adventures film shares it’s name with a former land at a Disney theme park?

The winner will be chosen out of all the emails submitted with the correct answer to the above question. The contest is open only to U.S. citizens, my apologies to our international readers. Again, the winner will receive both Sita the Cheetah & A Lion’s Pride books based on DisneyNature’s African cats film.

The Disney Animation Legacy Gets “Tangled” for Number 50

WDWNT on November 25, 2010

While it doesn’t have much to do with the Disney Parks, we have always featured Disney film releases here on the site since we launched in 2007. We continue that tradition with the 50th Animated feature film, “Tangled”:

Here’s a sneak peek at the new film:

We usually try to keep opinions out of these reports, but I saw “Tangled” earlier today and wanted to leave a review and a bit of a disclaimer. First off, GO SEE IT! It is an incredible movie and a true Disney film. I had a warm fuzzy feeling walking out of the theater knowing this was the 50th film in the animated canon. It lived up to the tradition and might be the closest thing to the great films of the last golden age such as “The Little Mermaid” or “Beauty and the Beast”.  I fully expect Rapunzel to become the favorite princess of many young girls and I even have a few new favorite Disney characters after seeing this one.

I know many fans were worried by the marketing campaign which reminded many of commercials for Shrek or some other Dreamworks animated films. Based on early projections right now, advertising like this might have been a good idea:

The movie was projected to make only $35-40 million over the 5-day holiday weekend, but early reports are claiming the film will make 1.5 to 2 times more over the first 5 days in theaters. If Disney needs to make shoddy ads that play to corny humor to get people to see great films like this, than I’m all for it. I’d hate to see another “Princess and the Frog” debacle, where a great animated film is lost because of lackluster trailers and horrible release dates.

For those deliberating between 2-D and 3-D shows, go for the 3-D if you can. For the first time, I felt like an animated film was made for Digital 3-D. There are actually a few sequences that rival moments from long-standing Disney 3-D attractions.

In summary, go see “Tangled”, it’s your duty as a Disney fan… and you’ll probably have a “hair-raising” good time. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Disney Tangled is now in theaters nationwide, in both Disney Digital 3-D and traditional 2-D.

A Reason To Watch High School Musical 3

WDWNT on June 22, 2009

Those of you who follow this site regularly know I have little love for the High School Musical film series, but it looks like Starz has given me a reason to perhaps watch High School Musical 3:

For more details on the contest and Starz, visit this link