Category: Disney

‘Maleficent 2’ Begins Filming In April

Maleficent 2 is in the works and production is expected to start April 16th with Angelina Jolie reprising her leading role.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales director, Joachim Rønning, is helming the film, but that’s not the only change in production staff. The follow-up script first penned by Linda Woolverton, who wrote the first film, but it was rewritten by Jez Butterworth who was brought on last summer.

Apparently until recently it wasn’t clear when Jolie would be reprising her role as the films former villain as well. The star has been debating if she would shoot the Dark Universe’s Bride of Frankenstein reboot or go with Maleficent 2 first. Well Tom Cruise’s The Mummy hasn’t received the best reception and it isn’t clear what exactly is happening with the Dark Universe currently, which makes Jolie’s decision pretty easy and frees her up to begin production in April.

The production dates coming in a report from Omega Underground, unfortunately though we still don’t have a shooting date the film has not yet been given a release date.

January 12, 2018
Original Mouseketeer Doreen Tracey Passes Away

One of the original Mouseketeers, Doreen Tracey, passed away at the age of 74. After a two-year cancer battle, she died Wednesday at Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks.

Tracey starred on Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club throughout its original run on ABC in the late 1950’s. Then also in syndication for decades, making this is a loss for so many generations.

Tracey was born in St Pancras, London, England. Her parents, Sidney Tracey and Bessie Hay, were an American vaudeville dance team that performed for Allied soldiers during World War II. Her father’s original name was Murray Katzelnick. He immigrated to the United States from Russia with his Jewish parents as an infant.[1]

When Doreen was four, her family returned to the United States, where her father first ran a nightclub, then opened a dance studio in Hollywood, California. She learned to dance and sing at an early age, courtesy of the many instructors and performers who worked out at her father’s studio. Her first professional work was an uncredited singing and dancing bit in the musical film The Farmer Takes a Wife (1953). At age twelve she auditioned for the Mickey Mouse Club and was hired.

In 1956, she was featured in the Disney western Westward Ho, the Wagons!, and in the third season of the Mickey Mouse Club, had a role in the serial Annette. She was cast as Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, in a musical number from the proposed live-action Disney film Rainbow Road to Oz on an episode of the Disneyland television show in September 1957. The movie was never made, and when the Mickey Mouse Club stopped filming in 1958, Tracey switched to singing live at concerts and teen nightclubs.

She appeared on several television shows, including the episode “April Fool” (April 1, 1959), of ABC’s The Donna Reed Show, with James Darren in a guest-starring role as well. She wound up her career as a performer touring American military bases in South Vietnam and Thailand and performing lead vocals for a rock group called Doreen and the Invaders.

She later worked for Frank Zappa as a publicist and became an amateur weightlifter. She twice posed nude for the men’s magazine Gallery in 1976, and again, in 1979. In 2001 an excerpt from her memoirs, Confessions of a Mouseketeer, was published in the NPR anthology I Thought My Father Was God. She married Robert Washburn and had a son, but the marriage ended in divorce.

Tracey is survived by her son, Bradley, and two grandchildren, Gavin and Autumn.

January 12, 2018
Minnie Mouse Getting Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame

This is long over due, but Minnie Mouse is finally getting the recognition she deserves. To celebrate the animated legend’s 90th anniversary, Disney icon Minnie Mouse will be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Pop superstar Katy Perry and Disney CEO Bob Iger are set to present the lovable character with her well-deserved star on January 22 at 11:30 a.m. PST in front of Disney’s El Capitan Theatre, marking it as the Walk of Fame’s 2,627th star.

Since her debut in Disney’s Steamboat Willie 90 years ago, Minnie Mouse has become come one of the most recognizable characters next to her main mouse Mickey! Mickey got his star on the Walk of Fame back in 1978 in celebration of his 50th anniversary.

It may have taken forty more years than Mickey, but your favorite leading ladies name is finally spelled out in gold in front of the El Capitan Theatre.

Disney Super Fan Perry tweeted her excitement about the ceremony, calling it a “childhood and grown adult dream come true.”

After 90 years of serving L👀KS & smiles as the polka dot queen, it’s time she got that recognition 👏🏻! It will be a childhood and grown adult dream come true for me that day! ❤ https://t.co/rw6aYWYfNB

— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) January 12, 2018

Minnie and Mickey aren’t the only other beloved Disney Characters with stars on the walk of fame. Minnie will join Snow White, Donald Duck, Winnie the Pooh, Tinker Bell and Kermit the Frog, all of whom already have a star.

January 12, 2018
Disney’s Streaming Service Has New Details Revealed

With Disney’s Streaming Service in the works and their integration of the recently acquired 20th century Fox assets on the horizon, big questions are left about what content the streaming service will provide. Well during Variety’s Entertainment Summit at CES 2018 on Thursday, Disney-ABC TV president Ben Sherwood was able to share some details.

The streaming service is set to launch in 2019 and with the massive amount of titles Disney has acquired in recent years, including Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and now 20th Century Fox’s catalog, it seems Disney has put itself in a prime position to rival Netflix.

Sherwood, said that his division will be the largest contributor to Disney’s subscription service and that the company overall is well poised to manage the transition to next-generation TV in his statement at the summit.

“We’re going through this unbelievable moment of transformation in how we take television and distribute it,” said Sherwood.

The exec explained that Disney-ABC TV will supply between seven and eight thousand episodes from its own library. He also confirmed they would be providing original content for the service that would include 3-4 feature-length films and 3-4 regular series and he also touted a “High School Musical” reboot, with the original producers on board.

Walt Disney Company chairman and CEO Bob Iger already confirmed a live action Star Wars Series and a TV series based on the 2001 Pixar film Monsters Inc. were in the plans for the future streaming service, at a quarterly earnings call with investors.

Sherwood, declined to comment on the pending acquisition by Disney of 20th Century Fox assets, including cable networks, in a report from Variety. Disney CEO Bob Iger has “laid out the strategic vision” for the deal, “and we’ll leave it at that”, he also told them.

We’ll have to wait and see, but we’re sure you’ll end up seeing many of the various new properties Disney has acquired airing on their new streaming service in addition to their already existing massive library.

January 10, 2018
Disney Defends Darkening ‘Aladdin’ Extras Skin So They Could ‘Blend In’

Disney has recently faced some harsh criticism over darkening the skin of some of the background extras in its upcoming Aladdin film.

Based on a tale from The Arabian Nights, the film is a live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1992 animated hit. The Guy Ritchie film stars Egypt-born Canadian actor Mena Massoud as Aladdin, alongside Will Smith as the Genie.

We just started shooting Aladdin and I wanted to intro you guys to our new family… Mena Massoud/Aladdin, Naomi Scott/Princess Jasmine, Marwan Kenzari/Jafar, and I’m over here gettin my Genie on. Here we go!

Posted by Will Smith on Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Disney said it brought in white actors to help fill the many background roles, stunt positions, dancers and “camel handlers” needed, according a report in the Sunday Times.

Even with 400 of 500 background performers currently filming on Disney’s Aladdin are reportedly of Indian, Middle Eastern, African, Mediterranean or Asian descent, it’s the remaining 100 that have the British media outlets up in arms.

Described as a stand in for one of the leads, the Times story quotes extra Kaushal Odedra as seeing as many as 20 “very fair skinned” actors lined up outside make-up tents “waiting to have their skin darkened.”

Disney later released a statement which confirmed some actors were “made up to blend in” for crowd scenes, but only in a “handful of instances”.

Disney defended their decision in a statement saying, “Great care was taken to put together one of the largest most diverse casts ever seen on screen.” The statements continues, “Diversity of our cast and background performers was a requirement and only in a handful of instances when it was a matter of specialty skills, safety and control (special effects rigs, stunt performers and handling of animals) were crew made up to blend in.”

People across social media criticized Disney for the move, with some, including actor Kal Penn, labeling the company’s actions as “brownface.”

I love @Disney so much. But when a PR person says they decided to put 100 people in Brownface in 2018 because not enough of us are qualified, that’s bs, someone just didn’t want to spend the $ to do it right. Let’s all expect more & do better this year.https://t.co/MzZJp6jvPB

— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) January 7, 2018

Controversy surrounding the live-action Aladdin comes as nothing new to Disney. The production has previously sparked criticism over the casting the role of Princess Jasmine’s with British-Indian actress Naomi Scott and later they were also chastised for the introducing a new character into the story played by a white actor.

While casting the film, the studio reportedly saw more than 2,000 actors in London, Abu Dhabi, India and Egypt. The company claimed to have trouble finding actors to fill the roles of Aladdin and Jasmine because they couldn’t easily find young actors with backgrounds in singing.

Navid Negahban the actor who plays the sultan recently dismissed outcries that the film was being ‘whitewashed’.

“It’s not whitewashing,” he told The Huffington Post. Aladdin needs variety like a garden, otherwise it’s going to be boring, he said. “You’re gonna go and see this beautiful garden with colorful flowers, and I just hope that you enjoy the journey.”

“You will definitely love the film,” he added. “It doesn’t matter how old you are, the film has something for you to take away from it.”

Aladdin is not due in theaters until May 24, 2019

January 9, 2018
‘Wheel of Fortune’ Disney Sea & Shore Week

Wouldn’t it be great if buying a Disney Cruise was as simple as Buying a vowel on Wheel of Fortune? Well now it just might be! Tune into Wheel of Fortune for Disney Sea & Shore week for your chance to win right from home.

It’s the fourth annual Disney Sea & Shore Week, and you’ll get to preview all of the amazing Disney Destinations you can find on a Disney cruise or Adventures by Disney. And you can play along, as fantastic contestants solve challenging puzzles.

And here’s the best part of all! Watching could even win you a pretty amazing Disney Cruise Line Vacation, as well – but, you’ll have to tune in to win!

Over the past few years, Pat Sajak, Vanna White and the whole “Wheel” have traveled with us on Adventures by Disney trips, to Aulani, and on our cruise Ships – and you’ll get to experience some of those adventures during the week, too.

Disney had a fantastic time taping these episodes at the “Wheel of Fortune” Sound Stage in Culver City, California. “We wanted to share a couple of pictures, including this pretty cool behind-the-scenes shot of a slightly oversized Disney Cruise Line Life Preserver”, Disney said on its Parks Blog.

There’s even more Disney excitement on “Wheel” this season – stay tuned for more info on that soon. In the meantime, check your local listings for time and channel.

January 9, 2018
Disney Patent Hints at Possible Lightsaber Experience

Disney is constantly exploring new technologies to help immerse their guests into the worlds they bring to life and a recently published patent reveals possible new plans for “Star Wars” lightsabers. If you are a Star Wars fan then this is the technology you’re looking for.

The application from Disney Enterprises hints at a possible “Star Wars” lightsaber experience. Filed in September 2017, the patent is, not so simply titled, “systems and methods for augmenting an appearance of a hilt to simulate a bladed weapon.”

Included in the document summary it describes, “an overlay image” being used to create the blade portion of the weapon which would give the appearance that the “blade of the bladed weapon is attached to the hilt.” The most likely scenario is that an overlay image would likely be seen through an augmented reality headset of some sort.

“In some implementations, the display may include one or more of a head-mounted display, an optical head-mounted display, a see-through display, an optical see-through display, a video see-through display, a visor, eyeglasses, and/or other display,” the document states.

The hilt could be configured for a vast array of experiences with this technology. The weapon could be “broadsword, an axe, or a katana,” the document states. This leaves open the option for Disney to be able to use the tech in a variety of different attractions beyond the Star Wars universe.

The new patent comes after what seems to be a related patent was published in 2016, which suggested plans for an “audience interaction projection system” with real-life lightsabers that actually allows guests operate them via a projection system.

“An entertainment environment has a user with a faux light saber that interacts with a drone flying through the air or operated with hidden rods to appear as if it is flying through the air,” according to the patent.

Disney files hundreds of patents and many never come to fruition, but it gives us a peek into what Disney’s creative team is working on to raise the bar on theme park experiences.

It’s not a far stretch to imagine Disney bringing this technology to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge if they do move forward with the technology. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will be opening at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disneyland park in 2019.

There is no official word on whether this technology will be brought to the theme parks at this time, but it’s really exciting to think about.

January 8, 2018
20 Disney Things You Can NOT Miss is 2018

It is 2018 and we are absolutely stoked about what an amazing year this is going to be for Disney Fans. Disney 2018 is going to be one to remember. From new theme park lands to new movies and more, Disney has a stellar year ahead for us. We’ve put together a list of the Top 20 things you can expect from Disney in the coming year. In absolutely no particular order we should say.

1. TOY STORY LAND
Get a sneak peek at the land coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World Resort this summer.

2. AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

If the trailer made us lose all our remaining chill, just wait until May 4 when this film comes out.

3. LIVE ACTION MULAN MOVIE
In theaters November 2 2018, a young Chinese maiden disguises herself as a warrior in order to save her father in a live-action feature film based on Disney’s ‘Mulan’.

4. PIXAR PIER

Debuting at Disney California Adventure summer 2018, Pixar Pier is going to be an incredible place. We can’t wait to ride the Incredicoaster!

5. RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET: WRECK-IT RALPH 2

6 years after the events of “Wreck-It Ralph”, Ralph and Vanellope, now friends, discover a wi-fi router in their arcade, leading them into a new adventure. Opens December 2018.

6. STAR WARS DAY AT SEA

This galactic adventure returns to Disney Cruise Lines January to April.

7. MARY POPPINS RETURNS

On December 25, our lives get a little more supercalifragilisticexpialidocious as Mary Poppins Returns to the big screen.

8. LUNAR NEW YEAR FESTIVAL
Celebrate the Year of the Dog as the Lunar New Year Festival expands to 24 days at Disney California Adventure park, January 26 to February 18.

9. SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY
On May 25, we geta chance to see Han Solo and Chewbacca’s adventures before joining the Rebellion, including their early encounters with Lando Calrissian

10. DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM CELEBRATES 2O YEARS
Walt Disney World’s theme park dedicated to celebrating life in the animal kingdom will mark a milestone 20th anniversary on Earth Day, April 22, this year.

11. EPCOT’S INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ART EXPANDSExperience the ultimate cultural celebration as food, art and entertainment perfectly merge—returning January 12 to February 19, 2018!

12. A WRINKLE IN TIME

This hits theatres March 9, and we are so ready to see the incredible cast in action, under the direction of the incomparable Ava DuVernay.

13. PIXAR FEST

Celebrate everything you love about Pixar at Disneyland Resort in spring of 2018.

14. STAR WARS: SECRETS OF THE EMPIRE

Transports guests deep into the Star Wars universe in a multisensory experience with friends and family in teams of four.

15. MARVEL’S BLACK PANTHER
This sure-to-be-epic movie makes its way into theatres on February 16.

16. FROZEN ON BROADWAY

Performances begin February 22, and the show opens on March 22.

17. THE INCREDIBLES 2
The long anticipated follow up film finally comes out June 15. We can’t wait to see this super hero family back in action.

18. AMERICAN IDOL

The television classic comes to ABC on March 11, It’s a new judging panel full of great talent, but we will always miss Simons little quips.

19. THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS

This movie looks so whimsical and magical, and we cannot wait to see it in theatres November 2!

20. EPCOT INTERNATIONAL FLOWER AND GARDEN FESTIVAL 25th ANNIVERSARYFun is blooming at an annual event bursting with brilliant gardens, fresh flavors, interactive playgrounds and rocking entertainment—February 28 through May 28, 2018!

Trying to find twenty things to put on the list was easy. Trying to decide what to leave out was the hard part. One thing is for sure, Disney has enough going on to keep us all entertained in one way or another all year-long. Bring on Disney 2018!

January 7, 2018
LEAKED: Scrapped Haunted Mansion Animated Series Trailer

Shannon Tindle, creator of Kubo and the Two Strings, released a trailer via his twitter this weekend of a Haunted Mansion Animated Series that he had developed at Disney. The trailer actually looks really intriguing, but unfortunately the teaser was as far as project made it, since Disney decided to scrap the project.

Tindle, with a deal from Disney Television Animation and a small creative team, developed the project last year. Two different pilots were written for the possible Haunted Mansion animated series. One for a limited series and one for a longer running series. For a look at what could have been, take a peek at the trailer for the series below.

In a report from Cartoon Brew, Tindle said, “My goal was to take inspiration from all the backstories created by the artists at WED (Disney’s Imagineering division) and stitch it into one, giant narrative. The story would span several years and focus on different characters, but add up to one big, interconnected story.”

Tindle’s initial tweeted contained a link to the video on Vimeo, but he later deleted it “in case Disney has issues with it being posted.” He is no longer with Disney but said of the project that he had received “nothing but support” from the team at Disney Television Animation, even though it was eventually scuttled.

Although Disney isn’t picking up the series, the reactions from Tindle’s Trailer Tweet was very well received online. Tindle’s show now has a passionate group of fans who want to see the series produced and finished for all audiences to view.

Disney could have canned the series any number of reasons, one possibly being they just recently released an animated Haunted Mansion Special of their own, which aired on Disney XD. Who knows though? Deadpool, though not owned by Disney at the time, also had a “Leaked” trailer which received such an enthusiastic response that it finally spurred its reluctant studio into making the film. Here’s to hoping!

January 3, 2018
NEW Wreck-it Ralph 2 Teaser Breaks the Internet

Disney rang in the new year by releasing a new teaser for Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 on Monday. The teaser is short, but sweeter than Sugar Rush and shows Ralph wrecking his way through 2017 and right into 2018.

This year he’s going to break it #RalphBreakstheInternet pic.twitter.com/wKNL13W26Z

— Wreck-It Ralph (@wreckitralph) January 1, 2018

The highly-anticipated animated sequel picks up six years after the original. This time around, after their old-fashioned arcade is connected to a Wi-Fi router, they find themselves on an adventure that takes them across the world wide web.

Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz, now long time friends, will return as they move on from the arcade game world to exploring the infinitely more vast universe of the internet. John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman are also back as the voices of Ralph and Vanellope.

Some footage from Wreck-It Ralph 2 first debuted last summer at Disney’s D23 Expo, but this is the first taste of a teaser that Disney has released. Fans will be anxiously awaiting a full trailer, but Disney is clearly ready to start getting fans excited about seeing Ralph start wrecking again.

Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 hits theaters on November 21, 2018.

January 2, 2018