Disney News

Category: Disney

  • Disney Movie Release Schedule Shake Up: Mary Poppins Returns, Maleficent 2 and More

    Disney Movie Release Schedule Shake Up: Mary Poppins Returns, Maleficent 2 and More

    Disney announced on Tuesday some major changes to its upcoming schedule of films. The changes include a release date for “Maleficent 2,” “as wall as new release dates for “Mary Poppins Returns,” the next “Indiana Jones” movie, a yet-to-be-announced Marvel movie and more.

    First, if you’re a Mary Poppins fan, then Christmas is coming early for you. Disney is moving up its anticipated musical “Mary Poppins Returns” by one week from Christmas Day to December 19.

    “Maleficent 2” finally has a released date and is scheduled to hit theaters on May 9, 2020. The long-awaited sequel for Angelina Jolie’s live-action “Maleficent” now takes the slot of a previously unspecified live-action title. That’s nearly six years after the $742 million domestic debut of “Maleficent.”

    “Indiana Jones 5” has been moved from July 10, 2020 to July 9, 2021. That means the fifth Harrison Ford adventure will open 13 years after Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and 19 years after Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Ford will be just shy of 79-years old when the film opens in theaters.

    A previously “untitled Disney movie” with a release date of October 4, 2019 has been revealed to be the “Jungle Cruise” movie starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, which is based on the Disney theme park ride. That film is now setting sail one week later on October 11, 2019.

    Disney has multiple untitled slots on the schedule and a few of them have been changed too. An untitled Marvel movie has been moved up a bit from July 30, 2021 to February 12, 2021, while an untitled live-action movie originally set for July 9, 2021 will take that July 30 slot. Also, two untitled live-action movies slated for November 8, 2019 and February 21, 2021 have been removed from Disney’s schedule entirely.

    A finally, a long over due title change for Wreck-It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet. Now the film is simply known as Ralph Breaks the Internet and is still dated for the Thanksgiving stretch on November 21.

    Disney’s movie release schedule is always dynamic and more changes could come at anytime. Stay tuned as we bring you all the latest updates.

  • New Dooney & Bourke Winnie The Pooh Collection Coming in July

    New Dooney & Bourke Winnie The Pooh Collection Coming in July

    Dooney and Bourke and Disney are known for their magical colabs, but this one just might be the cutest set of silhouettes in the Hundred Acres Woods. Dooney & Bourke is releasing a brand new Winnie the Pooh collection this summer and its super cute!

    If you’ve had a rumbly in your tumbly for a new Dooney then you’re in luck, even though they are being released on Friday the 13th. The collection comes in a tote with braided handles, a crossbody with a zipper pocket, and a clutch wallet with a wristlet strap.

    These hand bags have a tigger-iffic print that features Pooh and all of his friends on a beautiful white leather background. These prints are perfect for the parks or anywhere around town.

    With Disney’s live-action Christopher Robin being released this summer it’s the perfect time to pick one of these up. You’re husband may say it’s just a purse, but just tell him, in the words of Pooh, “sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”

    You’ll be able to find the Winnie the Pooh collection from Dooney & Bourke on shopDisney.com on July 13.

    UPDATE: The collection made was available in the parks on time, but it took a few days to finally hit shopDisney. You can now find them on the site, but they were a quick sell out. Of course you can always find one on EBay ranging from $200 to $500 depending on which one you’re looking for.

  • Amy Adams Confirms ‘Enchanted’ Sequel Is Still In The Works

    Amy Adams Confirms ‘Enchanted’ Sequel Is Still In The Works

    Fans of Disney’s 2007 hit “Enchanted” starring Amy Adams as Giselle, the singing animated Disney princess who crosses over into the real world, just got some exciting news. During an appearance recently on The Talk, Adams gave an update on the status on Enchanted 2 confirming the long-in-the-works sequel is still in the works.

    “I am absolutely up for that,” Adams said when asked by co-host Sara Gilbert about reprising her role in a sequel. “We’re working on it — so hopefully.”

    While Adams was on The Talk panel promoting her HBO series Sharp Objects, she discussed “Enchanted” and where they are at with the sequel entitled “Disenchanted”. Take a look at the exchange below:

    Enchanted 2 has been in the works since 2014, but there has been no recent movement on the project at Disney; however, the sequel is still currently in development. Anne Fletcher was was originally set to helm a script written by J. David Stem and David N. Weiss.

    Now Adam Shankman is attached to direct and while Adams is ready to return to reprise her role, it’s still not clear if co-stars Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Idina Menzel, Rachel Covey, and Susan Sarandon are also on board.

    Back in 2007 Enchanted brought in $340 million worldwide for Disney and $127 million domestically.

  • Felicity Star Keri Russell In Talks To Join Cast of ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’

    Felicity Star Keri Russell In Talks To Join Cast of ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’

    Actress Keri Russell may be headed to a galaxy far far away as she is reportedly in talks to join Disney and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Episode IX.

    The actress, who is well-known for playing the title role in Felicity, just wrapped the six seasons of The Americans and has reportedly been cast for an action-oriented role in J.J. Abrams’s Star Wars Episode IX, according to Variety.

    Abrams and Lucasfilm execs met with several actresses for the role in the past two months and settled on Russell right before the Fourth of July holiday. Abrams will likely cast two more actors by the time the film begins production at the end of the month.

    Star Wars: Episode IX is set to start production this summer ahead of its December 2019 release. The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams is returning to the director’s chair and is already turning to familiar faces to fill new roles in the film.

    Abrams and Russell have a long history of working together. They first teamed on The WB drama series Felicity way back in 1998, and then reunited for Mission: Impossible III, which served as Abrams’ feature directorial debut. When Abrams was prepping what would become Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Russell made it clear that she’d do anything to be a part of his take on the Star Wars universe and now it looks like she may get her chance.

    Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Kelly Marie Tran are all expected to reprise their roles as the heroes of the Resistance, facing down the First Order now under the command of Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren. But a full cast list has not yet been confirmed.

  • New ‘Christopher Robin’ Teaser Released By Disney Today

    New ‘Christopher Robin’ Teaser Released By Disney Today

    With only one month until Disney’s live action Winnie the Pooh adventure, Christopher Robin, hits theaters, Disney dropped the newest trailer for the film online today.

    In the heartwarming live action adventure Disney’s “Christopher Robin,” the young boy who embarked on countless adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood with his band of spirited and lovable stuffed animals, has grown up and lost his way. Now it is up to his childhood friends to venture into our world and help Christopher Robin — played by Ewan McGregor — remember the loving and playful boy who is still inside.

    This means that Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, and many other characters from the animated franchise will be making their way to our world in the film. Take a look at the amazing new trailer below!

    Instead of bringing the cartoon versions into the real world, these characters will be walking, talking stuffed animals when they appear to Christopher.

    Disney’s “Christopher Robin” is directed by Marc Forster from a screenplay by Alex Ross Perry and Allison Schroeder and a story by Perry based on characters created by A.A. Milne. The film stars Ewan McGregor as Christopher Robin; Hayley Atwell as his wife Evelyn; Bronte Carmichael as his daughter Madeline; and Mark Gatiss as Keith Winslow, Robin’s boss. The film also features the voices of: Jim Cummings as Winnie the Pooh; Chris O’Dowd as Tigger; Brad Garrett as Eeyore; Toby Jones as Owl; Nick Mohammed as Piglet; Peter Capaldi as Rabbit; and Sophie Okonedo as Kanga.

    Winnie the Pooh is coming back to the big screen this summer and the film is set to hit theaters on August 3.

  • Disney Imagineers Unveil Robot Capable of Aerial Stunts

    Disney Imagineers Unveil Robot Capable of Aerial Stunts

    Disney Imagineers introduced the world to the concept of audio animatronics more than fifty years ago and they are constantly looking for new ways to make them more realistic. Recently Disney Research has made major step forward in that goal unveiling robots that perform aerial maneuvers with precision.

    Disney wants to create autonomous characters for its theme parks that appear more flexible and interactive and less robotic. “Stuntronics figures” as they are being called, stem from a research experiment named “Stickman.” Stickman was a robot who was able to perform acrobatic flips, and was essentially just an articulated pole.

    The Imagineers’ goal was to create a robot with an acrobat’s timing and reflexes and it seems they have done just that as you can see in the video below.

    The result is a humanoid like 90-pound robot with enough onboard sensors to make decisions in real-time. The robot uses an IMU and a laser range-finder to estimate its state mid-flight and actuates to change its motion both on and off the pendulum.

    According to Disney Research, “Human performers have developed impressive acrobatic techniques over thousands of years of practicing the gymnastic arts. At the same time, robots have started to become more mobile and autonomous and can begin to imitate these stunts in dramatic and informative ways. We present a simple two degree of freedom robot that uses a gravity-driven pendulum launch and produces a variety of somersaulting stunts.”

    The possibility of this amazing feat of engineering being integrated in to Disney Park attractions has many waiting in anticipation to see how they might be used. The robots could be used in attractions and shows at Disney Parks, standing in for more delicate animatronics, which could not withstand being flung through the sky.

  • Disney and Pixar Sued For Plagiarizing Inside Out… Again

    Disney and Pixar Sued For Plagiarizing Inside Out… Again

    Disney and Pixar are being sued for allegedly plagiarizing the idea for 2015’s hit “Inside Out”.

    A lawsuit filed in a California federal court, by Damon Pourshian, states that Pixar’s film infringes on a script the Canadian man wrote in 1999 also titled Inside Out, which eventually got turned into a short film a year later in 2000.

    Pourshian claims the film has more in common than just the name and his work has many similarities to Inside Out, as his script and short movie tell the story of a young boy named Lewis reacting to everyday life “through anthropomorphized representations of his bodily organs,” which are seen inside Lewis’ body.

    The short film also shows these organs reacting to the real world and features a personification of Lewis’ brain which operates a command center. The short movie includes Brain, Heart, Colon, Stomach, and Bladder as the main organ characters, and they communicate and argue with each other.

    In Pixar’s Inside Out, the main character is a girl named Riley and the core characters are her emotions: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust.

    The 20-page lawsuit details more than two-dozen substantial similarities in content, theme and characters between the two films, many illustrated with comparative images. The complaint notes that, “The obvious and striking similarities between Mr. Pourshian’s and Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out extend from overarching themes to specific details, and they are far too numerous to be attributable to chance.”

    The suit goes on to say Pourshian created the script and film at Sheridan College, which “has sent large numbers of its graduates to work at Disney and Pixar and is considered a ‘feeder’ school for Disney and Pixar.”

    Pourshian’s classmates also reportedly noticed the similarities between the two projects upon viewing Pixar’s Inside Out. Purshian is seeking unspecified damages and for his name to be added to the Inside Out credits.

    This isn’t the first time Disney and Pixar have been sued for Inside Out, A 2017 copyright infringement lawsuit brought against Inside Out last year by child development expert Denise Daniels was dismissed last month by U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez. In her suit, Daniels claimed the film bore a striking resemblance to a TV project, The Moodsters, she’d developed and pitched numerous times to Disney executives between 2006 and 2009.

    Also back in June, author Carla Jo Masterson filed suit in a Nevada federal court, claiming the film was based on her book, What’s On The Other Side Of The Rainbow? (The Secret Of The Golden Mirror), as well as her screenplay, “The Secret of the Golden Mirror.”

    Both works “are original, creative, and artistic stories about how children identify, understand the reasons for, and manage the effects of their emotions,” the suit reads.

    “The specific original, artistic, and creative expression and device used by Carla J. Masterson in ‘What’s On the Other Side of the Rainbow?’ and ‘The Secret of the Golden Mirror’ is to depict the childhood emotions of Joy, Fear, Sad, Anger, Laughter, Friendship, Love, and Shy as characters that appear throughout the book in consistent and continuing configurations and colors.”

    While there maybe some similarities with the concepts of these projects that still doesn’t mean that Disney plagiarized anything as there are clear differences as well. The courts will decide in the end, but if anyone has a real claim, just think “Herman’s Head”.

    The director of Inside Out, Pete Docter, has recently been named Pixar’s new chief creative officer.

  • Disney Wins U.S. Approval for Fox Deal, Putting Comcast On The Ropes

    Disney Wins U.S. Approval for Fox Deal, Putting Comcast On The Ropes

    It’s not a knockout yet, but Disney has dealt a big blow to Comcast for a potential rival bid in the Fox deal. Walt Disney Co. has just won U.S. antitrust approval for its $71 billion purchase of 21st Century Fox Inc.’s entertainment assets.

    In order to secure Justice Department approval of its acquisition of major 21st Century Fox assets, Disney has agreed to sell off Fox’s 22 regional sports networks.

    The Justice Department on Wednesday filed a complaint in federal court seeking to block Disney from acquiring the regional sports networks arguing that Disney’s ownership of the national sports powerhouse ESPN created anti-competitive conflicts, but announced a settlement agreement with Disney that calls for the divestitures.

    “American consumers have benefitted from head-to-head competition between Disney and Fox’s cable sports programming that ultimately has prevented cable television subscription prices from rising even higher,” said Delrahim, assistant attorney general and head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Today’s settlement will ensure that sports programming competition is preserved in the local markets where Disney and Fox compete for cable and satellite distribution.”

    The DOJ’s sign off on Disney’s $71.3 billion transaction on Wednesday is a big hurdle for rival Comcast in the battle to acquire the major portion of Rupert Murdoch’s TV and film empire.

    Fox last week accepted a sweetened bid from Disney, after the two media juggernauts had been going head to head with a $65 billion offer coming from Comcast about two weeks ago, nearly six months after Disney initially bid $52.4 billion for Fox in December. The $38-a-share price is about $10 a share higher than what Disney offered in December — and $3 above Comcast’s bid.

    The fight is definitely not over. Comcast is expected to respond with yet another offer, amid reports it is reaching out to potential acquisition partners if the bidding should climb as high as $90 billion. Analysts have speculated the Fox assets could fetch as much as $42-$43 a share.

    The bidding war was expected as the two media giants battle over Fox’s movie production business as well as FX, NatGeo, Fox’s 30 percent stake in Hulu and its international assets, including Star India and its 39 percent stake in European pay TV giant Sky. 21st Century Fox is the next big prize as the media industry consolidates to survive against competitors like Netflix.

  • Disney Made A ‘Three Caballeros’ TV Series, But It’s Not Available in the US

    Disney Made A ‘Three Caballeros’ TV Series, But It’s Not Available in the US

    So the good news is that Disney has produced a new animated series inspired by “The Three Caballeros” starring Donald Duck. The bad news is that it’s not available in the United States.

    The new animated series entitled “Legend of the Three Caballeros” reunites Donald with Panchito Pistoles and José Carioca, his co-stars from the 1944 animated film.

    The new show has thirteen episodes, but it is currently available only on the Disneylife app. The app is a streaming on demand service that Disney is trying out in the Philippines. Clips of the show have made their way online and it looks amazing.  Take a look at the shows intro below.

    The production wasn’t exactly a secret, but Disney has yet to officially announced the show, and buzz on the internet has brought it to people’s attention.

    Matt Chapman, who worked on the show took to Twitter clarify that it was developed through Disney Interactive, not Disney Television Animation, which handles most of the studio’s animated series.

    “The Three Caballeros” premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944 and was produced as part of the studio’s good will message for South America. It was released in the United States on February 3, 1945 and was the seventh Disney animated feature film. The film plots an adventure through parts of Latin America, combining live-action and animation.

    While it’s still unclear if “Legend of The Three Caballeros” will be released in the US, the chances seem pretty high. Next year will be the 75th anniversary of The Three Caballeros and with Disney’s streaming service debuting in 2019 as well, the show may already have a perfect home.

  • Walt Disney’s Rare Personal Items Going Up For Auction

    Walt Disney’s Rare Personal Items Going Up For Auction

    If you’re a big fan of Walt Disney and history then you’ll be excited to find out that you can bring home a little magic with you when Van Eaton Galleries auctions off some of Walt Disney’s Personal items next month.

    The auction includes some of the most closely related artifacts to the life of Walt Disney that have ever been offered for public sale. Collectors will be able to bid on one of Walt Disney’s business cards, a 1953 construction plot plan that Walt Disney drew on to show the boundary for Disneyland, an extremely rare Walt Disney signed “Laugh-O-Gram” stock certificate from Walt’s early animation studio and even a piece of Railroad Track from Walt Disney’s own backyard railroad.

    Other rare highlights include a complete set of exceptional personal photographs of Walt Disney and the Rancheros Visitadores social club. The photo archives depict Walt Disney riding on horseback and camping during one of the Rancheros Visitadores’ yearly excursions through the Santa Ynez Valley. This set includes several never-before-published photos of Walt Disney who took part in the excursions in the late 1930s and into the 1940s.

    “The ‘A Brief History of the Walt Disney Studios’ auction doesn’t just tell the story of the Studio, but it tells the story of Walt and his team of talented artists and individuals who helped build the company,” says Mike Van Eaton, Co-Owner of Van Eaton Galleries. “We consider this one of the rarest opportunities we have had to show the world a side of Walt Disney that few have ever seen, through personal photographs and personally-signed or hand-drawn items. Many of these items have never come to auction before and are among the only such examples of these items that we have ever seen. To say we are excited about this auction is an understatement. Anyone who recognizes the incredible value of such items from Walt’s personal life will understand how significant this auction is.”

    Nearly 600 items will be offered in the “A Brief History of the Walt Disney Studios” auction that range from furniture from the 1940’s Walt Disney Studio in Burbank, original Disneyland props, animation art from Disney cartoons and films from the 1920s through the 1980s, and much more.

    The “A Brief History of the Walt Disney Studios” auction will take place on July 7, 2018 at Van Eaton Galleries located at 13613 Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks, California. Starting bids will range from $50 all the way to $100,000.