This week, we hit 1,500 likes on The Mouse Castle Facebook page. To celebrate this momentous occasion, I'm cleaning out the gift closet and giving away a bunch of Disney stuff. You could win one of these very cool prizes:
Water to Paper, Paint to Sky: The Art of Tyrus Wong by Michael Labrie, companion book to the current exhibit at the Walt Disney Family Museum plus two tickets to the museum.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Art and Creation of Walt Disney's Classic Animated Film by J. B. Kaufman, signed by Lella Smith, creative director with the Walt Disney Animation Research Library and curator of the former WDFM exhibit.
The Fairest One of All: The Making of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by J. B. Kaufman.
The Sword in the Stone 50th Anniversary Blu-ray Combo Pack.
Robin Hood 40th Anniversary Blu-ray Combo Pack.
Disneynature's Chimpanzee Blu-ray/DVD.
Oz the Great and Powerful DVD.
Disneynature's Crimson Wing DVD.
To be entered in the drawing, all you have to do is LIKE our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/themousecastle and JOIN our event at www.facebook.com/events/180775945440694/. You must be a U.S. resident to enter. Only one entry per person, please. Winners will be announced on our Facebook page after the entry deadline. Thanks for supporting The Mouse Castle and The Mouse Castle Lounge. Good luck!
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.
It's always nice to have guests who can do the heavy lifting for you in a podcast. Today's episode of The Mouse Castle Lounge includes plenty of guest talk and celebrity soundbites. It certainly made my job easier to shut up and let them have their say. I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy them too.
First, we'll hear from the cast of Oz the Great and Powerful, which debuted on home video this month. This is a movie that surprised me when it hit theaters in March. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I was fearful it would be just another soulless, mindless exercise in CG effects (kind of like Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, to which it had been compared). Guided by the steady and creative hand of director Sam Raimi, however, Oz turned out to be a highly entertaining fantasy-adventure that more than holds its own next to 1939's Wizard of Oz, not to mention the original Oz books by L. Frank Baum. In the Lounge, Raimi talks about the efforts that not only went into making the film, but also went into putting together the bonus features that are included on the Blu-ray disc. Stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams and Zach Braff give their behind-the-scenes input as well.
Next, we'll be on the blue carpet for the premiere of Monsters University in Hollywood. The prequel to Monsters Inc. opened this weekend to favorable reviews and big box office returns ($82 million). Billy Crystal (back as the voice of Mike Wazowski), John Lasseter and director Dan Scanlon chime in with what makes the Monsters franchise and its characters so special.
Finally, I'll have part three of my very special conversation with Sarah Ashman Gillespie as we wrap up our discussion of her late brother, Howard Ashman. Howard had a legendary career with Disney, co-writing the songs for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. In 1991, he died far too young at the age of 40 from complications associated with AIDS. Sarah speaks candidly about her brother's illness and the support he received from his family, friends and colleagues at a time when very little was known about the disease and society's attitude towards it was oftentimes less than sympathetic.
Famous and fascinating people doing most of the talking. That's my kind of show. Please enjoy today's edition of The Mouse Castle Lounge.
The Mouse Castle Lounge can also be heard on iTunes and Stitcher.
