Inside The Mouse Castle 10-19-2015 - 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens,' Spider-Man at Disneyland and Indiana Jones

By Tim Callaway

John Boyega (center) and Oscar Isaac (right) in
Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

So, yeah, the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer. Heard anything about it? 

When Anthony and I recorded this week's show, we'd heard a little bit about the trailer, but it hadn't been released yet. Never ones to be deterred by a lack of information, we pressed forward with the show anyway, talking about a trailer we hadn't seen yet and analyzing the new Force Awakens movie poster we did see.

You can see both of them here, right now.

The Force is strong with us in this week's Inside The Mouse Castle. Here's what else is going on:

• Disney Infinity will have a Star Wars: The Force Awakens play set that will launch on December 18 to coincide with the film's release. You know I couldn't resist sneaking that one in.
• Benicio del Toro (Guardians of the Galaxy) is expected to play the villain in Star Wars VIII: Insert Subtitle Here. We think it's a rule now that if you do a Marvel Cinematic Universe film, you have to do a Star Wars film. 
• Spider-Man will start making appearances at Super Hero HQ, inside the old Innoventions building at Disneyland, beginning November 16. This makes my spider sense tingle.
• Was Steven Spielberg serious when he said he'd make a fifth Indiana Jones movie with Harrison Ford? We don't think so, but it's fun to think about.

Is the green guy headed to Planet Hulk?

• Mark Ruffalo will play Bruce Banner/Hulk in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok. The rumor is the movie will bring in elements from Marvel Comics' Planet Hulk story line.
• In an online Q&A, James Gunn shared a few details about Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2. He confirmed Nebula (Karen Gillan) will play an expanded role in the movie. Meanwhile, Groot will remain Baby Groot, much to the chagrin of Drax (Dave Bautista). Gunn is also hopeful Stan Lee will be back for another cameo appearance.

Fantasia.

• Walt Disney's Fantasia will be back on the big screen for a limited engagement in November to mark the film's 75th anniversary. Anthony and I would like Miley Cyrus and Nicolas Cage to see it with us. We'll explains. For details, visit www.Fantasia75.com. 
• Bob Iger has been inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame. Apparently, Disney-themed toys have really caught on.
• It was inevitable. There will be a Descendants 2 on the Disney Channel. To quote Darth Vader: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

Enjoy!

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Inside The Mouse Castle 06-08-2015 - Silly Symphonies and Broadway at the D23 Expo, 'Walt Disney' on PBS

By Tim Callaway

Disney's first color cartoon, the Silly Symphony Flowers and Trees.

After a week off, Anthony and I are back Inside The Mouse Castle. This week, we start off with a couple of musical extravaganzas at the upcoming D23 Expo in Anaheim. Disney in Concert: A Silly Symphony Celebration will screen some of Walt Disney's great musical cartoons of the 1920s and '30s accompanied by a 32-piece orchestra. The massive fan gathering will also welcome Disney on Broadway's The Originals, celebrating Disney's great theatrical shows and starring Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins), James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin) and Josh Strickland (Tarzan).

Anthony and I also imagine a world where Nicolas Cage is in every Disney animation-to-live-action movie adaptation, but I digress.

• Disney will produce a live action film based on the "Night on Bald Mountain" sequence from Fantasia. Nicolas Cage as Chernabog, am I right?
• Disney has wiped Tron 3 off the grid. There will be no follow-up film to Tron: Legacy and that makes the users sad.
• Would you be willing to pay more to go to Disneyland during peak summer and holiday seasons? How about paying less to go in the off-season? A recent survey of Annual Passholders had social media buzzing about (gasp!) another ticket price increase.

Marvel's Ant-Man.

• DCA guests can catch a preview of Marvel's Ant-Man, starring Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas, beginning June 19th in the...wait for it...Bug's Life Theater. Didn't see that coming, did you?
• A recent New York Times article has people questioning hiring practices at Walt Disney World. Two hundred fifty tech workers were laid off last October, but not before many of them trained their replacements: Indian immigrants working in the U.S. on temporary visas.
• Another WDW labor issue: can cast members in character costumes at the parks share their exploits on social media? Disney says no because it ruins the magic. We agree.
• Walt Disney Company CFO Jay Rasulo announced his resignation effective at the end of this month. He was passed over for the COO's position earlier this year in favor of Tom Staggs, who is now the heir apparent to replace Bob Iger when he retires. Publicly, Rasulo's departure from Disney will be amicable. We suspect he won't be unemployed long. "Almost" good enough to run the Walt Disney Company isn't a bad thing to have on your resume.
• We're very excited about the upcoming documentary, Walt Disney, scheduled to run on PBS September 14-15 as part of their American Experience series.
• Tangled, a new animated series based on the movie, is coming to the Disney Channel in 2017. I've already started obsessing on Rapunzel's hair length. It appears long in concept art for the series, but since it takes place after the movie, shouldn't it be short? Yes, I know hair grows. Don't start with me.
• The Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection will be out on Digital HD August 11th followed by a Blu-ray release on August 18th. The best of the bunch in this 12-film set are Paperman, Get a Horse!, Lorenzo and The Little Matchgirl. Get it.
  

• Disney's new line of high-tech, interactive toys looks intriguing. Playmation uses wearable tech, motion sensors and assorted action figures to create a toys-to-life experience that kids (and imaginative adults) can enjoy indoors or out. Go on adventures with the Avengers or (beginning next year) use the power of the Force in the Star Wars edition. They're even working on a Frozen version (of course they are).

Enjoy!

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'Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved' is a Magical, Musical Adventure

You have to admire a video game that has the courage to place "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" and "Night on Bald Mountain" side by side with "Seven Nation Army" and "Royals." Disney Interactive and Harmonix have done exactly that with Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved, but the game is so much more than an eclectic, interactive mix of songs. It's an imaginative and beautifully rendered exploration of music that rewards curiosity and creativity as much as competent game play, 

The Shoal: Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved's underwater realm.

You are the apprentice to the great sorcerer Yen Sid tasked with rescuing a series of magical realms where Music is under attack by Noise. With each musical mission you complete, you unlock additional songs and remixes and reveal more of the lush landscapes and mythical creatures inside each realm. Along the way, you also assist a former apprentice of Yen Sid, the headstrong teen Scout, who had the talent but not the discipline to complete her education with the sorcerer,

Scoring points in the Capsule.

Harmonix is the company behind the popular video game Rock Band and they also had a hand in the early development of the ubiquitous Guitar Hero. Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved owes much to both of these games, but to its credit never feels old. You "perform" songs controller-free, scoring points and activating remixes through a series of hand and arm gestures that suggest a conductor leading an orchestra or, if you're so inclined, Mickey Mouse controlling the heavens as the Sorcerer's Apprentice. The better your moves sync to the on-screen cues, the better you score and the more songs, instruments and mixes you unlock.

Yen Sid introduces you to the magical Muse.

There are over 30 songs to choose from by a wide range of artists including Bruno Mars, Queen, Fun, Kimbra and the Police. Of course, there are also the classical pieces that make the game such a well-rounded experience. At its heart it celebrates all music and reminds you not only where music came from, but what's possible today with sound fundamentals and a solid dose of creativity. That's heady stuff for a game that could have just been a greatest hits collection. Instead Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved reveals behind the fun a higher goal of enlightening and exciting the music fan in all of us.

You can, of course, bypass the objectives and story line by choosing "Party Mode" in the Options menu, which automatically unlocks all the songs and mixes. I preferred taking the longer path and playing my way through the entire adventure. Aside from being more personally engaged, I thought it was a great way to broaden my granddaughter's musical knowledge. 

You know, like introducing her to Mussorgsky:

I highly recommend the two-player mode.

Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved is available today on Xbox One and Kinect for Xbox 360.

Kley-Mation: The Walt Disney Family Museum to Exhibit Early Animation Influence

Jugend Titelblatt by Heinrich Kley

"Without the wonderful drawings of Heinrich Kley, I could not conduct my art school classes for my animators." --Walt Disney

Maniacal demons, dancing elephants, skating alligators.

Scenes from Disney's Fantasia? Close, but not quite.

They're all from the creative and prolific imagination of artist Heinrich Kley, a German painter and magazine illustrator whose work in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was among the many notable influences for Walt Disney's young team of animators in the 1930s. Following a trip to Europe in 1935, Walt famously returned to his studio with 350 assorted books and artworks he collected on his travels, many of which were Kley's. Disney would use the material to educate and inspire his staff for decades.

In turns dark, satirical and whimsical, Kley's art depicts fantastical scenes of heavy industry and anthropomorphic animals, of nubile women and tortured high society types. His pen and ink drawings, in particular, are dense and full of movement with a vivid animated quality. Watch the Dance of the Hours or Night on Bald Mountain sequences from Fantasia and you'll see Kley's unmistakable style at play. You'll also find it in other Disney animated films including Pinocchio, Dumbo and The Jungle Book.

Dance of the Hours (l.) and Night on Bald Mountain from Fantasia

Walt was an avid collector of Kley's work and, next month, the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco will display 29 drawings from the collection alongside more than 25 pieces of concept art, sketches and maquettes from Disney animated films. It will be the first time Disney's Kley collection has been shown in the United States. I've already marked my calendar.

Chernobog concept art, Fantasia

The Kley exhibit will be on display from May 11 to September 17, 2012. For more information visit the Walt Disney Family Museum at www.waltdisney.org. 

###

Want to dig even deeper into the art that inspired the Walt Disney Studios? One of my favorite coffee table books is Once Upon a Time Walt Disney, a magnificent collection of Disney animation, concept drawings and the (mostly) European art that inspired it. The book contains plenty of Kley's work, as well as that of Beatrix Potter, Salvador Dali and many other accomplished names. You'll also find a wealth of material from well-known Disney artists including Mary Blair, Kay Nielsen, Claude Coats and Eyvind Earle.

Once Upon a Time Walt Disney is derived from the art exhibit of the same name that appeared in the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais in Paris and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 2006 and 2007. It's available on Amazon.

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Thirty Days of Disney Movies, Day Seven - Favorite Animated Feature

"The Nutcracker Suite's"
dancing mushrooms

Even with a brief but memorable appearance by Mickey Mouse, Fantasia is the most un-Disney of Disney films. There are no fairy princesses, no singing animals, no catchy popular tunes. What there is,  is music. Classical music. And lots of it.

Even more so, however, there is art. Abstract, challenging, beautiful art. It commands your attention and presents itself in ways you'd never expect. Thus, Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker Suite" is no longer a child's Christmas Eve fantasy. It's a nature ballet. Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours" may still mark the passage of morning into night, but it does so by casting a delightfully absurd ballet with ostriches, elephants, hippos and alligators.

"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" stays mostly true to the original story of a would-be magician who gets reckless with his master's tools, but I doubt composer Paul Dukas ever pictured a cartoon mouse as the lead character.

Fantasia spans so many musical and animation styles, you sometimes get the feeling Walt and his animators just threw every idea against the wall to see what would stick--and not every musical segment did. Both the "Rite of Spring," with its epic dinosaur battle, and "The Pastoral Symphony," with its pastiche of Greco-Roman mythology, lack the energy and verve of Fantasia's other musical pieces. Fortunately, though, they span the middle portion of the film, thus saving the best for last: the sublime juxtaposition of "the profane and the sacred," "Night on Bald Mountain" and "Ave Maria."

Was there ever an animated character more evil than the horned god Chernobog?

Fantasia was a movie ahead of its time, both technically and thematically. It was Walt Disney's most ambitious feature length film, establishing animation as a true art form (just in case there was any doubt after Snow White and Pinocchio). Despite being a box office disappointment (it would take multiple re-releases over decades before it turned a profit), Fantasia set the gold standard for all other animated films that followed in terms of passion, creativity and inventiveness.

This is part seven of my 30-day Disney movie challenge. Coming up tomorrow, intrigue, suspense, a legendary villain...and Kanine Krunchies. My favorite Disney thriller.

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