Disney News

Category: Disney

  • Walt Disney Imagineers Talk Immersive Storytelling at Disney Parks

    Walt Disney Imagineers Talk Immersive Storytelling at Disney Parks

    Disney Parks Imagineers are the the creative force that imagines, designs and builds all Disney theme parks, resorts, attractions and cruise ships worldwide. Recently these extraordinarily creative, intelligent and inspirational cast members sat down for a panel to discuss storytelling at Disney Parks.

    Recently, we had the pleasure of hosting 25 of the country’s top female journalists at the Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) Campus in Glendale, California. Members of the Online News Association’s Women’s Leadership Accelerator Program took time from a week-long event at the USC Annenberg School of Journalism to tour of the campus.

    The visit included a panel of some of our top creative executives, who discussed the art, passion and creativity of storytelling in a way that captures the hearts of our guests around the world. The panel was moderated by our own Disneyland PR Director Michele Himmelberg, who was also an award-winning journalist. Panelists included:

    • Charita Carter, Producer: Charita’s scenic illusion team is responsible for advancing new creative technologies to bring storytelling to the next level, including Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
    • Jeanette Lomboy, Regional Executive WDI Pacific: Jeannette has been a creative force at Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, Hawaii, and Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, among others.
    • Robin Reardon – Executive Creative Producer: Robin is one of the top creative executives working tirelessly on Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

    The Imagineers discussed their unique work at WDI and how it impacts our guests every day. Take a look at the video below for more.

  • OFFICIAL: Disney Announces Toy Story 4 Set to Hit Theaters June 21, 2019

    OFFICIAL: Disney Announces Toy Story 4 Set to Hit Theaters June 21, 2019

    Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang are coming back to a theater near you! Disney-Pixar’s “Toy Story 4” is coming to theaters June 21, 2019, according to a post on the movies Facebook page on Friday.

    Josh Cooley is now helming the film after John Lasseter stepped down from the project and Stephany Folsom has been tapped to pen the next instalment of the franchise that put Pixar on the map.

    Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger today announced that plans are underway to bring Toy Story 4 to the big screen back in 2014, but there have been some bumps along the way and the film kept getting pushed back.

    Lasseter announced the date back in July at the D23 expo, but this confirms it. 

  • Disney Cooks Up Some Magic Launching New Kitchenware Line

    Disney Cooks Up Some Magic Launching New Kitchenware Line

    Ready, set, Cook! If you’re looking to add some Disney magic to your kitchen then you’re going to want to take a look at the all-new exclusive collection of kitchenware from Disney Eats on shopDisney.com This new line is designed for cooking pros and rookies of all sizes so grab your little sous chefs, and get ready to cook up serious fun!

    The new collection includes items such as themed sandwich cutters, food storage containers, coffee mugs, and aprons complete with matching chef’s hats! Take a look below at just a few of their magical new wares.

    Disney Eats

    Mickey Mouse Apron and Oven Mitt Set for Adults – $29.95
    Be a fa-mouse chef in your own kitchen with this colorful Mickey-inspired set. With an apron and glove-shaped oven mitts, making and baking magic will be easy. Your little Mouseketeers can cook alongside you, too, with our Kids’ Set, sold separately.

    Disney Eats
    I Am Minnie Mouse Kitchen Towel Set – $19.99
    Add a little fun and magic to your kitchen collection with this charming dish towel set inspired by Minnie Mouse and the Disney Parks. Part of the ”I Am Minnie Mouse” Collection, these towels are sure to steal the show at clean-up time.

    Disney Eats
    Mickey Mouse Silicone Breakfast Mold Set – $14.95
    Start the day in the most fun way – with Mickey! This silicone breakfast mold set from Disney Eats makes it easy to create delectable shapes from eggs and pancake batter. It’s a moust-have!

    Disney Eats
    Minnie Mouse Plate and Lid – $18.95
    Whether you’re serving chips and dip or storing tomorrow’s lunch, this expandable three-part plate will surely put a smile on your face, just like Minnie on the lid. Her bright pink bow makes your favorite dishes stand out among the rest.

    Disney Eats
    Mickey Mouse Frying Spatula Set – $14.95
    You’ll be frying up fun in no time with this silicone spatula set from Disney Eats! Mickey lends his iconic outfit and fun expressions to the bold handle design.

    Disney Eats
    Mickey Mouse Measuring Cup Set – $9.95
    Mickey cooks up a fun mood for measuring with these expandable silicone cups! Mickey makes a different expression for each size, so fractions are easy to memorize.

    Disney Eats
    Aluminum Mickey Mouse Trivet – $16.95
    A friendly face will protect your table and countertops when something hot comes off the stove or out of the oven. Mickey can take the heat with our Aluminum Mickey Mouse Trivet. Plus, he looks mighty cute hanging around the kitchen.

    Whether you’re looking for an Instagram-worthy lunch to make for your family, curious about the latest food craze from Tokyo Disney, or an aspiring chef who wants to cook the perfect Ratatouille – Disney Eats gives you access to a world of culinary adventure.

  • Crown Prince Discusses Disney’s Future in Saudi Arabia With Bob Iger

    Crown Prince Discusses Disney’s Future in Saudi Arabia With Bob Iger

    A delegation of Saudi officials, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, met with Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger on Wednesday to pitch his bold new plans to build an entertainment industry largely from the ground up to about 250 representatives from major Hollywood financiers and players.

    Saudi Arabia has been undergoing a massive economic and social transformation under the ambitious Vision 2030 reform plan launched by the crown prince two years ago, according to a report from Arab News. A handful of deals have already been secured including one with AMC, the world’s largest movie theater company which as been granted the first licenses to operate movie theaters in the Middle Eastern country after the lifting of a 35-year-old ban on cinemas in the Middle Eastern country.

    At the meeting they discussed potential cooperation in the entertainment, culture and film-making arenas. The meeting highlighted the massive opportunities which exist in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where a solid infrastructure and a massive demand for Disney products and services exist.

    In addition to re-opening cinemas, the country has announced it is lifting the ban on women driving and that it has curbed the powers of its religious police. Women now can also attend sporting events, and Saudi officials are loosening dress-code restrictions for women, who have traditionally been required to cover most of their bodies and faces and be accompanied by male chaperones. The country has established the General Authority for Entertainment (GEA), a government body empowered to meet the massive demand for entertainment in the Saudi kingdom

    The Saudi kingdom, which boasts a population of 32 million and receives millions of Muslims every year for Hajj and Umra pilgrimage, is strengthening its non-religious tourism sector and has plans to issue new guidelines for visas which will open-up the country to visitors from around the world. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has just signed an agreement with Six Flags to develop and design an amusement park in Riyadh and one might wonder if Iger and the crown prince might be considering a Disney theme park for the country as well.

    Feld Entertainment and the new GEA are entering a long-term relationship to produce international events, including “Disney on Ice,” “Disney Live,” “Marvel Experience,” and “Monster Jam.” This collaboration also gives Saudis an opportunity to receive training as professional performers.

    The crown prince also met with a group of heads of US entertainment and media companies and discussed areas of cooperation and partnership in the media and entertainment sectors, and reviewed the latest technologies in this regard.

  • Disney And Pixar Join Forces On New Mobile Game Disney Heroes: Battle Mode

    Disney And Pixar Join Forces On New Mobile Game Disney Heroes: Battle Mode

    Want to create your own fab five and battle them against other Disney and Pixar characters?  Well now you can as Disney announced Monday that it has partnered up with PerBlue to create a new mobile role-playing adventure called Disney Heroes: Battle Mode.

    Disney Heroes: Battle Mode is a new, action-packed mobile role-playing game that features Disney and Pixar heroes battling together in the same universe in all new ways. Players will experience fun, unexpected 5v5 match-ups with fan-favorite characters from The Incredibles, Wreck-It Ralph, Pirates of the Caribbean and much more. Pre-registration has already started on Google Play, and the game will be available on the App Store and on Google Play later this year.

    Disney Heroes Battle Mode

    The came takes place in the digital City where a wicked virus is corrupting every pixel, turning even the heroes’ own friends and family against them! You will pull together the best teams for the job, equip powerful gear, and battle against incredible odds to save your fellow heroes.

    “Disney Heroes: Battle Mode brings together Disney and Pixar characters in an all-new, original universe,” said Lisa Anderson, vice president, Games, Disney. “PerBlue has done a great job of bringing our characters to life in authentically Disney ways, and players will be surprised and delighted as they mix and match hero team-ups.”

    Only YOU can win the day! No cape required.

    Key Features Include:

    • Deep Bench of Characters: Collect and transform 30+ Disney and Pixar heroes into battle-ready big shots, including The Incredibles, Frozone, Wreck-It Ralph, Vanellope von Schweetz, Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde and more.
    • Missions and Friend Campaigns: Team up unlikely Disney and Pixar characters to battle together in the same universe to earn exclusive bonuses.
    • A New Digital World: Lead characters through a corrupted digital world that they’re charged with saving from an evil virus.
    • Epic Abilities and Gear: Activate skills, equip gear, and level up characters to take on bigger and badder enemies.“We’re excited to be working with some of the most recognizable characters and brands in the world and to bring them together in the new universe we’ve created,” said Justin Beck, CEO, PerBlue. “Disney and Pixar have been great collaborators that have shared our vision for creating a fun, multiplayer experience that can be enjoyed by all gamers.”Disney Heroes: Battle Mode marks the first game developed between Disney and PerBlue since the deal was announced earlier this year.

    You can download and play this game for free. The game also allows you to play using virtual currency, which can be acquired as you progress through the game or by paying with real money. Purchases of virtual currency using real money are performed using a credit card, or other form of payment associated with your account.

    Pre-registration for Disney Heroes: Battle Mode begins today on Google Play. Pre-registered players will receive a free hero of their choice at game launch. Heroes to choose from include Mr. Incredible, Fix-It Felix, Jr., Nick Wilde, Jessie and Sulley with Boo.

  • Planned Parenthood Deletes Tweet Calling For Disney Princess Abortion

    Planned Parenthood Deletes Tweet Calling For Disney Princess Abortion

    A Pennsylvania branch of Planned Parenthood said a tweet declaring the need for a Disney princess who’s had an abortion was not appropriate and the organization has taken it down.

    The tweet read:

    “We need a disney princess who’s had an abortion. We need a disney princess who’s pro-choice. We need a disney princess who’s an undocumented immigrant. We need a disney princess who’s actually a union worker. We need a disney princess who’s trans.”

    Planned Parenthood Tweet

    An executive for Planned Parenthood Keystone says the group believes pop culture plays a “critical role” in educating the public and sparking “meaningful conversations about sexual and reproductive health issues and policies, including abortion.”

    However, Melissa Reed, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Keystone, says the seriousness of the point they were trying to make was not appropriate for the subject matter. Though the tweet was taken down in the end, a Planned Parenthood executives said it is still shedding light on real-world issues.

    “Today, we joined an ongoing Twitter conversation about the kinds of princesses people want to see in an attempt to make a point about the importance of telling stories that challenge stigma and championing stories that too often don’t get told.,” Reed said in a news release. “Upon reflection, we decided that the seriousness of the point we were trying to make was not appropriate for the subject matter or context, and we removed the tweet.”

  • Live-Action ‘Lady And The Tramp’ Officially In The Works

    Live-Action ‘Lady And The Tramp’ Officially In The Works

    Another one of your favorite childhood Disney animated classics is getting the Live Action treatment. The 1955 animated Disney classic “Lady and the Tramp” is set to be made into a live action/CG hybrid for Disney’s upcoming digital streaming service.

    Lego Ninjago Movie director Charlie Bean has been confirmed as closing a deal to direct a live-action/CG hybrid remake of Disney’s “Lady And The Tramp.”, according to a report by The Hollywood Reporter.

    Bean is a longtime animator who has written on Dexter’s Laboratory and Samurai Jack and directed 18 out of the 19 episodes of Disney XD’s Tron: Uprising before making his feature debut with Ninjago. Lady and the Tramp now throws the filmmaker into the live-action world while still keeping him grounded in animation.

    Lady and the Tramp, released in 1955, told the love story between a pampered Cocker Spaniel named Lady and a streetwise mongrel named Tramp. Lady finds herself out on the street after her owners have a baby and is saved from a pack by Tramp, who tries to show her how to live her life footloose and collar-free. More doggone adventures ensue. The centerpiece of the movie is the candlelit spaghetti dinner in an alley while two human cooks sing and play “Bella Notte,” considered one of the most iconic scenes in Disney and movie history.

    Andrew Bujalski wrote the script for new adaption and Brigham Taylor, who worked on the studio’s remake of The Jungle Book, is producing the project.

  • Disney Removes Weapons from New ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Movie Posters

    Disney Removes Weapons from New ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Movie Posters

    Disney has removed the weapons from the movie posters for Solo: A Star Wars Story. They released new imagines of Solo: A Star Wars Story’s cast without their iconic blasters.

    As you can see in the images, with the same ease that the Empire can erase a planet with the Death Star, Disney has eradicated all traces of blasters from all of the movie posters for the upcoming Han Solo flick with the stroke of a digital pen.

    Solo Blaster Poster

    There is not word from Disney about the alterations, but the change on the Solo posters appears to be in response to the recent gun control concerns following the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida last month as well as some plagiarism charges by a freelance artist, according to Movie Web.

    Solo Blaster Poster

    Is this a step too far? We’ll leave that for the readers to decide, but blasters have been a part of Star Wars since Episode IV and it’s not like they are going to go back and digitally remove all guns like they did with E.T. and replace them with walkie-talkies… Well… at least we hope not.

    I can’t help but think of Han Solo’s famous line here:

    “Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.”

    Disney likes to be a head of the curve on social issues, evident with the removal of the bride auction from Disney World’s Pirates of the Caribbean ride.  Their plans for the change started way ahead of the #MeToo movement, though it should be noted that the Redhead is now is packing heat herself. So pirates can’t auction brides, and they can carry guns, but space smugglers cannot carry them…  Got it!

    The new Solo posters maybe aren’t as cool to look at, but they’ll keep Lucasfilm and Disney from getting sued and they take them out of anybody accusing them of promoting gun violence. Perhaps it’s the appropriate time to be sensitive for the moment, because it’s not like they will be removing them from the movie or anything that extreme. It’s just a poster and if these were the posters they released first, no one would have even gave it a second thought.

     

     

  • Explosive New Avengers: Infinity War Trailer Just Released

    Explosive New Avengers: Infinity War Trailer Just Released

    Disney has just released the final trailer for Marvel’s “Avengers: Infinity War” and it doesn’t disappoint. The new latest installment of the franchise directed by Anthony and Joe Russo is jam-packed with heroes and action and like the first trailer, it promises death and destruction.

    The newest trailer has all the avengers in it, old and new, as they mount their epic battle against Josh Brolin’s villain Thanos.

    “The entire time I knew him, he only ever had one goal: to wipe out half the universe. If he gets all the Infinity Stones, he can do it with the snap of his fingers,” Zoe Saldana’s Gamora says. Take a look at the amazing trailer for the film below.

    Tickets for the film also went on sale today. They can be purchased from Fandango or from specific theater chains now.

    An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Infinity War” brings to the screen the ultimate, deadliest showdown of all time. The Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.

    Originally the film was slated to open in May but the date was changed a few weeks back after an epic Twitter exchange between Marvel and Robert Downey Jr. Were sure you have the date marked on your calendars.

    They also dropped a brand new movie poster to mark the occasion.


    The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, and Scarlett Johansson, along with Avengers newcomers Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman and Tessa Thompson. The Guardians of the Galaxy, lead by Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord, will also be joining the fun.

    With a screenplay by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, Avengers: Infinity War is produced by Kevin Feige, with exec producers Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Michael Grillo and Stan Lee.

    “Avengers: Infinity War” opens in theaters on April 27.

  • ‘Black Panther’ Claws It’s Way Past $1 Billion World Wide

    ‘Black Panther’ Claws It’s Way Past $1 Billion World Wide

    ‘Black Panther’ has dominated at the box office from the moment it was released. Marvel’s newest super hero flick has passed the $1 Billion mark world-wide less than a month after hitting theaters.

    The studio said Saturday that the milestone is based on Disney’s estimate of ticket sales. The announcement comes on the 26th day of release for the blockbuster. Signs of the film’s success were good from the start – Black Panther more than doubled the amount it was predicted to take in the US and Canada over its opening weekend.

    It is the fifth Marvel film to hit $1 Billion world-wide joining “The Avengers,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Iron Man 3,” and “Captain America: Civil War” and it is also the 16th Disney film to do it as well.

    “Black Panther” has grossed $521 million domestically, making it the ninth-highest release of all time. In its fourth weekend, “Black Panther” is heading for a $40 million-plus weekend, which would make it the No. 2 superhero release of all time over “The Dark Knight’s” $535 million.

    ‘Black Panther’ follows T’Challa who, after the events of “Captain America: Civil War,” returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to take his place as King. However, when an old enemy reappears on the radar, T’Challa’s mettle as King and Black Panther is tested when he is drawn into a conflict that puts the entire fate of Wakanda and the world at risk.

    The film is directed by Ryan Coogler and stars Chadwick Boseman as the titular hero, and Michael B. Jordan as lead villain.