Captain Jack is Back

It has been four years since we last saw Captain Jack Sparrow sailing off to the Fountain of Youth in his dinghy. And now, he's back.

I'm so excited. I've always enjoyed Pirates of the Caribbean. And I'm looking forward to seeing the movie this weekend.

Will you be seeing it?

New Paradise Pier Posters

Hey y'all,

It's been a while since a Disney related post. But I thought this was cool...

For a while, I've been saying that Disney needs to make some DCA posters. Instead, we got some new Disneyland posters, which while really cool and appreciated, is not what I really wanted to see.

But now, Disney has released these posters. Which are really sweet!

The posters don't stop here. There are also World of Color, Tower of Terror, and other posters in the works. Where will these reside? Hopefully, across Paradise Pier. As for now, they'll be in the new Blue Sky Cellar Exhibit that opens on Firday.

The new Exhibit will feature new stuff about The Little Mermaid, some more of Carsland, and some info about the new Disney Junior show that is replacing Playhouse Disney. There are even going to be some sneak peeks about Phase II in Hollywoodland.

I'll cover the new Blue Sky Cellar when it opens. Until then, I guess we'll continue watching what's happening right now instead of what is to come.

2010: The Year in Review

I hope you all enjoyed a great holiday, but now it's time to look to the future. It seems that at this time of the year, everyone is doing the same thing. We spend time remembering the past year, and when it is over, we find ourselves looking forward to a new year and a new start.

It has no doubt been a busy year.

Over the next week, I'd like to spend time remembering 2010. On Monday, we'll look at the year on General Hospital. On Tuesday, we'll look at the year at Disneyland. On Wednesday, I'll name my 10 Most Fascinating People of The Year (take that, Barbra Walters!), and on Thursday I'll name my Favorite things of 2010 (take that, Oprah!).

Enjoy the snow (if you have any) and enjoy your gifts. We're in for a treat this week!

You Better Watch "Entertainment Tonight" Tonight

Why?

Study the picture above. Yep, that's Captain Jack Sparrow and Penelope Cruz, from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. They will be on ET tonight for a special Pirates of the Caribbean event that you don't want to miss.

Earlier today, Disneyland hosted a Pirates fan event called "Pirates Fans First!". Fans were able to watch the trailer for the new film (in 3D, I might add) and enjoy a very cool party complete with gifts and pirate costumes. I could not go, which was really upsetting. However, I know people who did. And they are really looking forward to this film after seeing the trailer.

The rest of the country has the chance to catch it during Entertainment Tonight this evening. It's something you won't want to miss!

Jack Sparrow and his crew sail back into theaters on May 20, 2011.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Disney

109 years ago, a child was born. This child would go on to change the entire entertainment industry, and the world forever.

His innovations include:
-Television
-Movies
-Cartoons
-Theme Parks
-Technology
...And so much more.

Thank you, Mr. Disney for all you have done.

Toy Story 3: Still the Best

With only a few weeks left in the year, there is only one film I am interested in seeing. That film is Tron: Legacy.

But even if Tron is awesome, which looks like it will, it will not come close to THE BEST film of the year.

Toy Story 3.

Now, Toy Story 3 is not my favorite Pixar film. That would be Toy Story 2. But it is Number 3, right after the Incredibles. Who knows? It may even be better than the Incredibles, but I need to watch TS3 more to find out.

Toy Story 3 is a touching story that affect me because I too am heading off to college. I know what Andy is going through. And I have a favorite stuffed toy, named Dinosaur. And I will NEVER get rid of him after seeing Toy Story 3.

I cried after I saw Toy Story 3. All I have to say, is thank God for the clips during the credits, which made the movie much happier. Even though the ending is happy, in a way. But it's still sad.

Toy Story 3 is the Best Picture of 2010. Let's hope the Academy agrees.

55 Years Ago...

In 1955, Walt Disney opened his pride and joy, Disneyland. His greatest gamble and most celebrated project was believed by many to be a failure. But those beliefs were wrong.

Today, Disneyland is the emblem of all theme parks around the world. And Walt should rest in peace knowing that Disneyland is still, and will always be, a joy and inspiration to all the world.

Happy 55th Anniversary, Disneyland!

Congrats to "UP"!

We all knew it was going to win...

Up was a fantastic movie. Not only was it nominated for Best Animated film, but was also nominated for Best Film. Now that's an achievement!

Up also took home the award for Best Score. While Michael Giaccino is no doubt a brilliant composer (and one of my favorites!) I felt that Hans Zimmer should have won for Sherlock Holmes. That score was so impressive, I downloaded the entire score after the movie.

So congrats to everyone at Pixar and Disney for making this great movie! Hopefully, the Academy will be more freindly to animated films in the future. As long as the story is good, right?

Plus, Up was much better than Avatar...

Click here for a list of all the winners. For even more Oscar coverage, click here.

The Princess and the Frog

This was the best movie of 2009. Here's why.

I was looking forward to Disney's return to hand-drawn animation badly. It's sad that that medium is hardly used, save for cartoons. But if you watch the movie, you'll be lost in the rich backdrops. The backrounds are simply stunning. Whether you're in the bayou at night, or the river at sunset, or New Orleans in mid-day, the animation is absolutely riviting. The places come alive.

Tiana is not a princess who believes in truelove. In fact, she's not even looking for love at all. She is a hard worker, who works to have her dreams come true. This is one of the most important themes of the movie. No longer are we just sitting around and hoping for dreams to come true. We must work hard, and that hard work will pay off.

Tiana wants to open up a restaurant to honor her father, who passed away sometime between the flashback opening scene and the rest of the movie. She works hard to get the money. Then she meets the Prince Naveen who was turned into a frog by the evil shadowman, Dr. Facilier, and kisses him to turn him back. It backfires. She turns into a frog, and then races with Naveen to turn back into human form and also open up the restaurant.

Dr. Facilier has become one of my favorite vilians. He is positively evil, and his work with dark magic and vodoo provides a neat supernatural aspect to the film. He is an absoloutely dilicious villan.

Finally, we have the whole race thing. Prior to it's release, there was some criticism for it's deal on race. But, if you watch the movie, race has nothing to do with it. What's nice is that they don't overstate "Tiana is black". There are refrences to her race, like being denied a loan for her restaurant do to her not having enough money and her "backround", as well as living in a round-down community away from white society. But this was not a major aspect of the movie. Very minute, acutally.

I really enjoyed Princess and the Frog. I hope to see it make some more money, and I hope that Disney will continue to churn out more hand-drawn animated movies. Even if you have seen it already, go see it again. It's even better and more touching the second time around!

Disney Animation Pannel at Comic-Con 2009

Here is the Disney Animation Pannel at Comic-Con. They talked about Toy Story 3, Princess and the Frog and the new Anime-type film Ponyo. Please note that many of the video presentations featured 3D images, so recording of this was not allowed. Plus, the videographer said they were not allowed to tape during the presentations. Anyway, here it is!




Here are a few interviews about Toy Story 3.
Comic-Con Interview: Lee Unkrich, Director of Toy Story 3 From /Film I'm a weirdo

Comic-Con Interview: Lee Unkrich, Director of Toy Story 3 | /Film

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Comic-Con Interview: John Lasseter on Toy Story 3 From /Film
Comic-Con Interview: John Lasseter | /Film

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Here is the actual panel at Comic Con. Now, the panel was there to discuss Disney Animation. Enjoy!

Disney 3D Panel at Comic-Con 2009

Well, we all know that the highly anticipated movie, or should I say "Sequel", Alice In Wonderland, comes out in March 2010. So, here's Disney's 3D Panel at Comic-Con discussing the new movie.

Comic Con Pannels are coming!!

Weeks ago, I reported that I would post videos and info from all the Comic-Con 2009 pannels that I found interesting, a
With the hopes that you, too would find it interesting.

So here's a list of things I will include in this weeks updates.

Disney Animation Studios Pannel
Disney 3D Pannel
Alice In Wonderland Pannel
Fringe Pannel
FlashForward Pannel
V Pannel
Lost Pannel

After all the videos, photos, and info from the pannels are posted, regularly schedeuled posts will still not return until September. After that, to close the summer with a bang, I will do a series of posts involving videos and pictures detailing the history and construction of Disneyland, from the 40's to the present and beyond. These series of posts will be called "Disneyland: One Man's Dream". Please note I'm not intentionally copying anything that may have been done before, either by Disney or the Fan community.