Disney Characters as Chinese Zodiac Revelaed for “Garden of the Twelve Friends” Area at Shanghai Disneyland

WDWNT on February 26, 2015

Just in time for the Chinese New Year, Shanghai Disney Resort today unveiled more details of its Garden of the Twelve Friends, a whimsical area of the theme park that recasts twelve beloved Disney and Disney•Pixar characters as members of the Chinese zodiac.

Logo_SHDR_2014

“Introducing the twelve Disney zodiac characters to our guests is one way of conveying the best wishes of Shanghai Disney Resort during this traditional festival of family reunion in China,” said Philippe Gas, Shanghai Disney Resort General Manager.

Continuing the tradition of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide, Shanghai Disney Resort will welcome guests to immersive, magical, multi-day experiences. Garden of the Twelve Friends blends Disney’s signature storytelling with traditional Chinese elements and pays homage to the central role of the Chinese zodiac in daily life in China. The garden will offer resort-goers with fantastic photo opportunities and the chance to create everlasting memories with their families, friends, and favorite zodiac characters who represent their own Chinese zodiac sign of the year.

Shanghai Disney Resort selected 12 Disney characters to accurately symbolize each element of the Chinese zodiac, while retaining their own distinctive traits. For example, Shanghai Disney Resort settled upon Remy as the Year of Rat. From the Disney-Pixar film Ratatouille, Remy is the rat-turned-chef, who embodies cleverness, determination and a remarkable sense of smell — the true spirit of the zodiac sign with a fresh twist.

In honor of 2015, the Year of the Sheep, Shanghai Disney Resort is excited to present this year’s zodiac character: the “Jolly Holiday” lambs from Disney’s Mary Poppins. These lambs represent the elegance, charm, and gentleness of the Sheep, as well as the ancient Chinese saying, “San Yang Kai Tai,” or, “Three Sheep Bring Good Luck.”

In the Garden of the Twelve Friends, the garden wall is decorated with flowering vines and colorful mosaic vignettes where every character of the Chinese zodiac is rendered in Disney style. The beautiful glass mosaics are created in close collaboration with local Chinese artists and craftsmen. The serene interior, designed to resemble a classic Chinese garden complete with lush cherry blossoms, represents the perfect place for families and guests to gather and relax together.
The Twelve Disney Characters of the Chinese Zodiac include:

1. The Rat: Rémy. In Disney•Pixar’s Ratatouille, Rémy is a rat with big dreams – he longs to be a chef! With cleverness, determination… and a remarkable sense of smell… he turns the culinary world of Paris upside down.

Remy

2. The Ox: Babe The Blue Ox. Loyalty is important to Babe. This colossal hero of Disney’s Academy Award nominated short film Paul Bunyan devotes his life to helping his friend – a giant lumberjack – tame the wilderness.

Babe

3. The Tiger: Tigger. Winnie the Pooh’s friend Tigger is confident and cheerful. As he exuberantly bounces about on his springy tail, it’s easy to see that he is proud to be the only “tigger” in the Hundred Acre Wood.

Tigger

4. The Rabbit: Thumper. Sometimes the first friend is the best friend, especially when he is a rabbit! In Disney’s film Bambi, Thumper befriends a newborn fawn, and stands by him as he grows to be a prince of the forest.

Thumper

5. The Dragon: Mushu. The fast-talking little dragon named Mushu may be small in size, but he is big in spirit. His enthusiasm and bravery make him the perfect guardian for Disney’s Mulan on her quest for family honor.

Mushu

6. The Snake: Kaa. The wily python from Disney’s The Jungle Book, can be charming like other snakes. And he hates to fail, although his hilarious attempts to hypnotize other jungle creatures never work.

Kaa

7. The Horse: Maximus. This determined, quick-witted guard horse from Disney’s Tangled will not give up until justice is done! Which is why he helps reformed thief Flynn Rider free Princess Rapunzel from her tower.

Maximus

8. The Sheep: Jolly Holiday Lambs. The lambs featured in the “Jolly Holiday” song of Disney’s Mary Poppins represent the qualities that make those born in the Year of the Sheep so special – elegance, charm, serenity, and gentleness.

Jolly Holiday Lambs

9. The Monkey: Abu. The hero of Disney’s Aladdin is lucky to have a loyal friend like Abu. Sure his “Monkey Business” gets him into plenty of trouble, but his agility and cleverness are handy in dangerous situations.

Abu

10. The Rooster: Allan-A-Dale. This charming and melodic rooster narrates Disney’s Robin Hood. But Allan-A-Dale is also Robin’s trusted ally, joining him and his “merry men” in fighting injustice and helping the poor.

Allan-A-Dale

11. The Dog: Pluto. Like all dogs, Pluto is honest, faithful and friendly. His cheerful demeanor makes him a perfect companion for the optimistic Mickey Mouse, and he has become one of Disney’s biggest stars.

Pluto

12. The Pig: Hamm. In the Disney•Pixar Toy Story films, Hamm plays a wisecracking plastic piggy bank, but he’s a loyal and trustworthy companion to the end. He’ll keep your extra coins safe too!

Hamm

We here at WDWNT.com wish you a healthy and prosperous year of the “Jolly Holiday” Lambs!

Chinese Zodiac Vinylmation Explained

WDWNT on March 31, 2012

Update: 01/13/12 We learned today this set will release in the states on Friday, January 20th at the D-Streets. This give hope the Japan Zodiac series with Disney characters maybe as well.


Update: Pictures of the actual figures were put out on display on Sunday at The Florida Project

Release Date: January 2012
Artist: Unknown
Location: Hong Kong Disney Exclusive
Assumed to be open window

Dragon
1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012
Snake
1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013
Horse
1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002
Ram
1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003
Monkey
1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004
Rooster
1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005
Dog
1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006
Pig
1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007
Rat
1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008
Ox
1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009
Tiger
1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010
Rabbit
1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011

Release Weekend News

WDWNT on February 9, 2012

A few interesting notes about the latest slue of Vinylmation releases. First off, D-Tour. One of the original six designs that we saw Disney release photos of was NOT available for purchase at D-Street this weekend.

Flowers & Vines has not yet, to our knowledge seen the store shelves. In it’s place was a design Disney hadn’t told us about.

Headphones Mickey, a figure we reported for sale on eBay a few days ago, is fully stocked at D-Street. Here’s a peek at the shelf as it looked last night.

I saw a lot of interest in these new designs. We also learned via Disney Artist Eric Caszatt’s Twitter that: “Artists at DDG created flat 2D art that Maria Clapsis translated to the Vinylmation Mickey platform.” I was wondering about that as the first thing I did when I ripped open my first D-Tour was check the bottom of the feet… no credit given.

Next up, when Disney released the turn around pictures for the Theme Park Favorites, there were two we had not seen on the series poster.

They are variant designs of the yellow “Classic Fan” figure from the poster. A look in the D-Street display case…

…and the shelves…

…show no sign of the Red and Blue versions. Might these be more variant Cast Traders? In retrospect, this is a great series to have such traders. As this is series geared toward the guests of the parks that are not necessarily into Vinylmation yet and Disney would like to hook them on the idea of trading. A concept that hooked a lot of us into this hobby in the first place. Your thoughts?

Also available this weekend for the first time state side, the Chinese Zodiac series.

No oddities here. And the final release was this 9″ Valentine’s Day piece from Holiday 3.

Also of note around Downtown Disney…

The shelves where stocked with plenty of Astrology, 2012s, Flags and Nerds Rock! (minus Daisy) but notably missing from D-Street were the WDW 40th figures and Sea Creatures. Granted, there are a ton of new releases, so they probably had to move them around property to make space.

We also saw signs that Urban 6 is on sale for Buy One, Get One 50% off. Did you pick up any new Vinylmation this busy weekend?

Today In Review

WDWNT on January 18, 2012

Wow, a ton of announcements today.
Disney put a January 20th release date on this 9″ Holiday 3 Valentine’s Day figure we saw on a poster at D-Street.

Details
January 20th will be a popular day at D-Steet. D-Tour will also hit the shelves.
How about Theme Park Favorites? A set of open window figures will also be out… you guessed it, January 20th.

Details
This crazy little hamster appeared on Vinylmation’s Facebook page. It’s Rhino from Bolt! And yes, that’s his own plastic ball. I saw a great comment speculating is is an Animation 2 LE. How cool would that be?
Oh ya, and this little set came across from China. It’s the Chinese Zodiac set. This drops in the states on… January 20th!

Details
We also had a special treat… Vinylmation projects from the 7th and 8th grade art classes of the Millennium Middle School.

Chinese Zodiacs Released in Hong Kong

WDWNT on November 27, 2011

Exclusive to Hong Kong Disneyland, a set of 12 open window 3″ Chinese Zodiac figures were released on November 21. They cost 120 Hong Kong Dollars per figure witch works out to about $15.40 USD. A little steeper than we have seen for a non-LE or a 3″ not packaged with a Junior.

We had the chance to see these in person at The Florida Project. It is a very colorful design collectively throughout the set. And as you can tell, the are a bit abstract for the animals they represent. Will you be importing these from Hong Kong? For more pictures and info on this set, check out Chinese Zodiac Explained.