Could "Persepolis" Be "Ratatouille"'s Serious Competition?

Could a little known foreign French black-and-white film be Ratatouille's serious competition during the film award season leading up to the Academy Awards? It might seem like it. The LA Critics are split, giving the best animation award to both film. In fact, Ratatouille lost out to Persepolis as the best animation film at the NY Film Critics Circle awards.

Let the games begin!

:)

Zz.

Disney Electrician's Holiday Lighting Safety Advice

Just because you see Disney using a gazillion lights all over the theme parks doesn't mean that you can do the same. All of these are done with safety in mind. So read this simple advice from a Disney electrician responsible for the holiday lighting at WDW.

Zz.

Handgun Found On Woman Trying To Enter Disney

Humm.. those security bag checks do actually catch something. A woman about to enter a WDW theme park (they didn't say which one) was found to have a loaded semi-automatic weapon.

Richardson was trying to enter Walt Disney World with her family. She told security that she traveled with the handgun and forgot it was inside her purse. Along with the loaded 32 caliber semi-automatic handgun, security also found a pair of scissors and a locked blade knife in the purse.

I guess that could happen, but still, trying using that excuse at the airport.

Zz.

Johnny Depp Wants In On High School Musical 3?

Whoa! It's not as if he needs the money or the work, especially after getting rave reviews in his latest turn Sweeney Todd. But Johnny Depp said he'd do High School Musical 3 if asked.

Still, you just don't know if he is just being facetious.

Zz.

SunCal Just Won't Go Away And Die

The stupid housing controversy in Anaheim isn't dead, I'm sorry to say.

Attorneys for SunCal asked for a rehearing based on the developer's assertion that Anaheim broke state and federal laws by "denying affordable housing to low, very-low and moderate-income families and individuals."

"The City Council has effectively discriminated against such persons by limiting their housing options in the city," Robert H. Freilich, SunCal's attorney, wrote to City Atty. Jack White. "Moreover, the discriminatory impact of the City Council's decision will affect racial minorities within the city disproportionately."

How does not allowing housing in the resort district equivalent to denying affordable housing in the whole city of Anaheim? And since when has SunCal become such a champion of affordable housing? If they truly have the compassion for such a thing, why were they planning on building only a SMALL fraction of their housing project for such affordable housing?

Would you buy something, much less, a home, from a company like this?

Zz.

Free Pirates Jibbitz Charms With Pirate-Themed Crocs

Crocs is running a promotion in conjunction with the DVD release of Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End. If you buy a Pirates of the Carribean-themed crocs, you get free Pirates of the Caribbean Jibbitz charms to attach to your new crocs.

Is this enough to push you over the edge and get a croc? :)

Zz.

Disney Makes Changes to Epcot's Spaceship Earth Attraction

Spaceship Earth is rumored to be reopening some time next week. Well it's about freaking time too!

Its theme has shifted from communication through the ages to one of inspiration and innovation. The most recent script, read by Jeremy Irons, has been scrapped -- the new narrator is Oscar winner Judi Dench, whose words guide riders through the generations.

It won't be till late February next year before we get to go back to WDW, but this is certainly at the top of the list of things we will be doing.

Zz.

How Bob Iger Works

How does Disney CEO Bob Iger work? Here's how, and let's see how many of these I also practice.

1. Get up before dawn.
Check! I get up around 4:30 to 5:00 am almost every day, even on weekends and on vacation. So that much we share in common. I'm a morning person.

2. Be punctual.
Check! I hate being late, or anyone else being late. I tend to get to a place way early sometime just so I don't be late.

3. Lose your driver.
Check! I drive myself to work everyday, not that I have the option of having someone else drive me to work. :0

4. Write notes.
Er... OK, check! I write thank you notes and well-done notes to people that I know whenever appropriate.

5. Put history to work.
OK, this part lost me. I don't have a Disney history to work on. :)

A fascinating take on the man who has turned the Walt Disney Company around.

Zz.

Disney wins injunction against Hong Kong travel company D Land

Would you confuse a company named "D Land" with "Disneyland"? Me neither. When I originally read this news report, I thought maybe Disney was being paranoid. But upon further reading, it appears that there's more to it than that.

However, an action brought jointly by Walt Disney Co, Disney Enterprises and Walt Disney Asia-Pacific successfully argued that the Chinese name for D Land Travel was 'virtually identical' to that of the US company and should be changed.

Ah, so that's it.

It gets complicated as one tries to go into different cultural and language market.

Zz.

For 'Poppins,' Disney Has Done Its Chicago "Homework"

I mentioned earlier about the musical stage version of Mary Poppins on Broadway recouping money for its investors. An additional piece of information out of that news piece was the announcement that Chicago will be the first city for the touring version of Mary Poppins. It seems that there's a bit of history with regards to Disney's touring company and Chicago.

As long-time observers of the downtown theater scene here know, Disney made a 1999 deal that kept the tour of "The Lion King" out of Chicago for years. At the request of Toronto presenters, Disney agreed to give the Canadian city the territory that included Chicago. Since "The Lion King" was by far the hottest show of that era, the agreement infuriated the local theater-going public. In this newspaper, then-theater critic Richard Christiansen called the deal "a great big bonehead miscalculation."

"Lion King" didn't finally arrive here for three more years. That's not a miscalculation anybody—least of all Schumacher’s savvy Disney—would make anymore.

I certainly hope not. It was quite strange, really, with that "Lion King" debacle, because the city has proven with the long-running Beauty and the Best at the Chicago theater that it can give Disney a big hit. So it wasn't as if the city is an unchartered water. So I guess that was the part that was the "... great big bonehead miscalculation". :)

Zz.

Ratatouille Wins First Award

... and the Awards seasons are off and running!

The National Board of Review awarded Ratatouille as the best animation film of the year.

Zz.

`Mary Poppins' Recoups Its Investment

Not a major surprise considering it is doing quite well on Broadway, not counting the loss days due to the strike. Mary Poppins has now recoup its considerable investment.

The New York production, now in its second year on Broadway, has recouped its investment, both producers announced Wednesday, and plans are under way to unleash the show globally with a North American tour, a British tour, an Australian production and licensing agreements in foreign countries.

What is exciting for me here in Chicago is this news:

The North American tour will originate at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, premiering there on March 25, 2009.

This was the same theater that "The Producers" had its sold-out tryout with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. We sent it off to Broadway knowing fully well that it would be a monster hit. :)

So I can't wait for Mary Poppins to get here.

Zz.

Disney Buys iParenting

I normally don't report on Disney buying different websites, but this one is in the Chicagoland area.

Disney has just bought iParenting.com website, a site full of resources for expecting parents and especially moms. This website is located in Evanston, IL, just north of Chicago.

"Their target is parents, and very often that means moms," said Emily Smith, vice president of Disney's Family Web sites. "They have this nice sweet spot with pregnancy issues, newborn and early childhood care."

I'm guessing it will be integrated within the Disney.com family and interface.

Zz.

Tweety, Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, and Daisy Summoned to Court

It is just way too hysterical.

An Italian court has summoned Mickey, Donald, and Daisy, and a few Warner Brothers cartoon characters, to appear in court in a counterfeiting case.

In what lawyers believe was a clerical error worthy of a Looney Tunes cartoon, a court in Naples sent a summons to the characters ordering them to appear Friday in a trial in the southern Italian city, officials said.

The court summons cites Titti, Paperino, Paperina, Topolino — the Italian names for the characters — as damaged parties in the criminal trial of a Chinese man accused of counterfeiting products of Disney and Warner Bros.

It's so precious! :)

Zz.

POTC - At World's End on DVD Today

Don't forget, Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End, is released on DVD today. It's a no-brainer that it'll shoot up the DVD sales chart.

Zz.

Shanghai Awaiting Approval on Disneyland

Rumors are running rampant again that a deal is pending for Disney to build a new theme park in Shanghai.

"Once we have central government approval and a concrete plan and Shanghai Disneyland can begin construction right away," the magazine quoted local economic committee official Qian Weizhong as saying.

But the state-run newspaper China Business Post said that the site for the theme park might be switched from Chuansha to Chongming, an island in the Yangtze river to the north of the city that is being developed as an ecotourism district.

The park would be built after 2010, when the city is due to host the World Expo, it said.

Say it isn't so!

Am I the only one who thinks that this isn't a good idea? Disney is still having issues with Hong Kong Disneyland. What makes them think they know what to do in Shanghai?

Zz.

Ratatouille Leads The Pack in Annie Award Nominations

This is no big surprise, is it?

Ratatouille leads the pack with 13 nominations for the Annie Awards given by the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA-Hollywood).

This promises to be the first of many nominations and, hopefully, awards for this movie with the upcoming awards season approaching. We are still rooting for it to get the nomination for the Best Picture Oscar.

Zz.

Where In Walt Disney World?

Alright. The last one went well, so here's another one. Again, this shouldn't be too difficult.

Where in Walt Disney World was this taken?



Zz.

Enchanted Continues to Lead US Box Office

All the movies from last week had a big drop this week in attendance (wonder what the snow storm in the midwest will do to movie attendance), but Enchanted still easily lead the box office take this week with $17 million. I think the movie will hold up rather well through the holidays, it is just the type of movie that people go to during such time. I know of many people who want to go see the movie, but haven't done it yet.

So it will certainly glide over the $100 million mark, but how far above that is unknown.

Zz.

Enchanted As A Broadway Musical?

This just came to me out of nowhere. But think about it! The movie would be perfect as a Broadway musical. In fact, it is almost made for it.

Of course, I'm not sure how one would want to depict the first 10 minutes of it that was presented as a 2D animation in the movie. Just doing it live as usual on stage somehow would be a bit of a disappointment. Maybe Julie Taymore might have a creative idea on how to do this.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought of it.

Zz.