Inside The Mouse Castle 12-14-2015 - "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" Premieres and Dick Van Dyke Turns 90

By Tim Callaway

We can finally say it. Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens this week. Wow!

It's been a little over a year since the first teaser trailer dropped and we all went bonkers watching the Millennium Falcon go loop-de-loop into those TIE Fighters. Now, we are poised just days from the movie's wide release and the anticipation is staggering. Will J.J. Abrams deliver the film Star Wars fans have been clamoring for? Our wildest hopes and dreams say, "He better."

In today's episode of Inside The Mouse Castle, Anthony and I take our final preview look at The Force Awakens and try to get a handle on all the madness. We also discuss a few other items.

Dick Van Dyke celebrates his 90th birthday at Disneyland.

• Everyone's favorite chimney sweep, Dick Van Dyke, turned 90 on Sunday and was feted all weekend long by flash mobs in Los Angeles and park guests at Disneyland. It was quite the jolly holiday for ole' Bert.

Salvador Dali and Walt Disney.

• I finally had the pleasure to see in person Disney and Dalí: Architects of the Imagination, the special exhibition at the Walt Disney Family Museum that celebrates the unique friendship and artistic collaboration between these two men. The exhibition runs through January 3, 2016, so if you're in the San Francisco area, I highly recommend visiting.

Enjoy!

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Inside The Mouse Castle 07-20-2015 - Disneyland's Diamond Celebration, Shanghai Disney Resort and New Disney Legends

By Tim Callaway

I'm back from a fun-filled weekend in Anaheim where I not only wished Disneyland Happy Birthday on Friday, but I also attended a benefit for the Walt Disney Birthplace where the guest of honor was none other than Bert the Chimney Sweep himself, Dick Van Dyke. Dick performed with his a capella group, the Vantastix. Here's a little taste of what they did:

Disneyland was unsurprisingly crowded for Friday's official Diamond Celebration, but it was totally worth it to get my "I was there" button and join thousands of guests to sing "Feed the Birds" and "Happy Birthday" with Richard Sherman and Ashley Brown. Michael Colglazier, hosted the rededication ceremony in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. And while the Disneyland president hit all the proper notes as far as thanking guests, cast members and assorted Disney Legends, his delivery left a bit to be desired. Let's just say he's not personality plus delivering an overly-rehearsed, pre-written speech. He needed to inject a lot more excitement and spontaneity into the festivities. Thank goodness for Sherman, Brown and the welcome cast of costumed Disney characters.

Anthony and I polished our presentation skills for this week's episode of Inside The Mouse Castle. Here's what else is going on:

• Bob Iger revealed some of what guests can expect when Shanghai Disney Resort opens in China next year.

• Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland will be held on 17 different nights between September 11th and November 1st this year. Tickets to the late-night event will go on sale for annual passholders, DVC members and Disney Visa cardholders beginning July 22nd. The rest of the world can have at them on July 29th.
• Marvel's Ant-Man opened at number one at the box office over the weekend, taking in $58 million in the U.S. Neither Anthony nor I have seen it yet. We offer our deepest apologies. What did you think of it?
• Tilda Swinton has been cast as "The Ancient One" in Marvel's upcoming Doctor Strange. Apparently the white, middle-aged woman will play an elderly, Asian man.
• Annnnnd......Aladdin is the latest winner in the Disney animation-to-live-action-movie lottery. A prequel is in the works on how the genie ended up in his bottle and got that horrible crick in his neck. 

The 2015 Disney Legends.

• We approve of the newly-named Disney Legends who will be honored at this year's D23 Expo: Andreas Deja, Susan Lucci, Danny Elfman, Julie Reihm Casaletto, George Bodenheimer, Eyvind Earle, Carson Van Osten and George Lucas. They will all be officially inducted on August 14th at the D23 Expo.
• Disney and Lucasfilm are not amused that GQ appropriated (without permission) a handful of Star Wars characters to join comedian Amy Schumer in a racy photo spread. We're not sure what annoyed them more, Schumer in bed with R2D2 and C3PO or Schumer drinking with the droids and Chewbacca at a biker bar. Regardless, we think all the pics are pretty freakin' funny.

Enjoy!

BTW, this show marks the one-year anniversary of Inside The Mouse Castle. Hooray!

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Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives at the D23 Expo

I'm finally sorting through the many pictures I took at the D23 Expo earlier this month. These are the shots I took with my good camera (Nikon D3100). I hope you've already seen the Facebook pics I posted previously. It was quite a weekend.

Below are pics from Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives, a collection of historic items from Disney's glorious attic. This year's exhibit was smaller than 2011's, but still a nice assortment of items from Mary Poppins, Oz the Great and Powerful, Once Upon a Time and Teen Beach Movie (no, really).

In the queue area was a collection of designer gowns inspired by the Disney
princesses. They were originally on display last year at Harrods in London.

A closer look at Pocahontas, Jasmine and Mulan.

Costumes from Disney Channel's Teen Beach Movie.

Costumes from ABC's Once Upon a Time.

Props from Once Upon a Time.

In the late 1950s, Disney started pre-production on The Rainbow Road to Oz. It was
meant to be a live-action movie musical based on L. Frank Baum's stories
starring the Mousketeers. The film never came to pass, but much of the concept art,
story treatments and scripts still exist.

In 1985, Disney released Return to Oz, a live-action fantasy starring Fairuza Balk
as Dorothy. These are some of the props used in the movie, including Dorothy's
ruby slippers.

The mechanical man Tik Tok from Return to Oz.

Costumes and props from Return to Oz.

Costumes from Oz the Great and Powerful.

Even the sweetest Disney character can look creepy
in the right light. China Doll model from Oz the Great and Powerful.

Disney's Mary Poppins will mark its 50th birthday next year.
 This is pre-production concept art from the film.

Mary Poppins storyboards.

World Premiere banner from Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Assorted Mary Poppins items including the original vinyl soundtrack and
subsequent gold record and Grammy.

Some nursery items from Mary Poppins including toy blocks and the
St. Paul's cathedral snow globe.

Bert and Mary's merry-go-round horses.

Practically perfect in every way.

One of my all-time favorite Disney publicity shots. (l. to r.) Richard Sherman,
Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and Robert Sherman.

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Thirty Days of Disney Movies, Day Nine - Favorite Musical

My "Mary Poppins" soundtrack
on vinyl. It's almost as old as I am.

I love Mary Poppins.

Maybe it's because I still have the original vinyl soundtrack from when I was a kid. Maybe it's because only the most cynical, heartless person could not like this delightfully charming movie musical. Maybe it's because last year I got to meet songwriter Richard Sherman in person and shake his hand.

Maybe it's because I can spell "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" without having to look it up.

Released two years before his death, Mary Poppins was Walt Disney's last great movie triumph. The story of the magical British nanny's impact on the Banks family of Cherry Tree Lane won five Academy Awards and transformed Julie Andrews from a Broadway sensation to a bona fide Hollywood star.

It contains some of Disney's most iconic scenes, from dancing chimney sweeps to racing merry-go-round horses to tea parties on the ceiling. And all of it is set to a catchy--and sometimes deeply moving--song score by the Sherman Brothers that includes "Chim Chim Cheree," "Spoonful of Sugar" and "Feed the Birds."

I've fought saying it for the last few paragraphs, but Mary Poppins truly is practically perfect in every way.

This is part nine of my 30-day Disney movie challenge. Next time, we go across the ocean, literally, for Disney's best foreign film.

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