The Mouse Castle Lounge Happy Hour - Facebook Live 04-07-2016

So, apparently I'm in the minority when it comes to choosing #TeamIronMan over #TeamCap. I can't even catch a break choosing #TeamBlackWidow.

How do I know this? Because a bunch of you let me have it in the first Mouse Castle Lounge Happy Hour on Facebook Live.

It was supposed to be just a friendly get together on National Beer Day, but no.

All I can say is I better get my red carpet invite for Tuesday night's Captain America: Civil War premiere. It'll be at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood with the stars arriving about 5:30 p.m.

But, I digress.

Because, you see, we talked about a lot of other stuff during Happy Hour. Well, I talked. The rest of you typed. It worked out.

Here's what else we discussed. It was a lot of fun:

• The new Rogue One trailer.
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Blu-ray.
• Walt Disney World's "Early Morning Magic."
• Pixar's Piper.
• The Haunted Mansion "Ghost Post."
• D23's Destination D.

Please take a look and don't forget to like The Mouse Castle on Facebook. You don't ever want to miss happy hour. 

Cheers!

The Mouse Castle Lounge Happy (Half) Hour
Posted by The Mouse Castle - Disney Podcasts on Thursday, April 7, 2016

By Tim Callaway

Inside The Mouse Castle 08-19-2015 - Disney's D23 Expo 2015

By Tim Callaway

Meet the Parents: Mike and Darla Reynolds with Anthony

I doubt there's a better way to recap last weekend's D23 Expo then doing it with friends over cocktails at the Anabella Hotel.

Bonus points for having Anthony's parents join us.

Even more points for being able to face off about Disney Infinity in-person with Anthony's dad. 

It was a good night. 

Exhausted, exhilarated and just a bit tipsy, Team Mouse Castle does its best to analyze the highs and lows of Disney's mega fan event. So, pull up a chair, pour a drink and join us, won't you?

"Star Wars Land" concept art.

• Plans for "Star Wars Land" (or whatever they decide to call it) at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios were the biggest news to come out of Expo. We were all thrilled to see the first concept images, but couldn't D23 have saved them for the Parks and Resorts presentation Saturday afternoon instead of springing them at the Walt Disney Studios show earlier that morning? 

Avatar Flight of Passage

• Pandora: The World of Avatar will probably look fantastic when it opens at Disney's Animal Kingdom, but does anybody really care?

Finding Dory

• Animation: Based on what we've seen so far, our thumbs are way up for John Musker and Ron Clements' Moana and Pixar's once-troubled The Good Dinosaur. We liked our first look at Finding Dory, but the jury is still out on the Jack and the Beanstalk epic Gigantic, the Day of the Dead tale Coco and, yes, Toy Story 4 (although the Woody's-search-for-Bo-Peep story line has us intrigued). Try as we might, though, we still can't muster any excitement for Disney's March 2016 release Zootopia. 

Rogue One

• Rogue One will be the first Star Wars film that won't be part of a trilogy. The standalone flick will tell the story of how the Rebels stole the plans to the Death Star prior to Episode IV. It will star Felicity Jones, Forest Whitaker and Alan Tudyk. Principal shooting has begun under the direction of Gareth Edwards. The film will open in the U.S. on December 16, 2016.
• Colin Trevorrow will direct Star Wars: Episode IX. Not a bad gig after helming Jurassic World.
• It was my pleasure to regale Mike with the latest on Disney Infinity 3.0, which hits stores in the U.S. on August 30th. Who wants some sneak peeks?

• There was also an exciting announcement about the upcoming Kingdom Hearts III:

These are just some of the highlights in today's episode of Inside The Mouse Castle. We also talk about Shanghai Disneyland, lines, the Walt Disney Archives exhibit, lines, the Disney Dream Store, lines and camping overnight (which also involves lines). 

Enjoy!

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Inside The Mouse Castle 04-22-2015 - 'Star Wars' Celebration, Obi-Wan Kenobi in 'Beauty and the Beast' and More Disney Lawsuits

By Tim Callaway

Men at work.

A week later, Anthony and I are still talking about last weekend's Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim. And if you haven't heard enough about it on our previous Mouse Castle Lounge shows, we'll give you another taste today as Anthony shares his thoughts on the event. We also touch on the teaser for the Star Wars offshoot Rogue One, how you can get your own BB-8 ball droid, and the effect The Force Awakens trailer had on the stock market. 

And since we know you all don't live by Star Wars alone, we offer you these tasty tidbits in the latest edition of Inside The Mouse Castle:

• We will never get tired of saying how excited we are about the cast of Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast. Ewan McGregor (Lumiere) and Stanley Tucci (Cadenza, a new character that's a piano) are the latest actors to sign on. 2017 can't get here fast enough.

Concept of the Millennium Falcon play area aboard the Disney Dream.

• The Disney Dream will make kid-friendly enhancements during its October dry dock. Our favorite is a Star Wars-themed Millennium Falcon play area. <sigh> Why does it just have to be for kids?
• News of what we can expect in Disney Infinity 3.0 has leaked out. It looks like Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Mulan, Olaf, Sam Flynn, Quorra and the cast of emotions from Inside Out will be part of the next iteration of the popular game. No official word yet on when they'll be released.

Coming to Disney Infinity 3.0?

• Disney is fighting a lawsuit filed by filmmaker Kelly Wilson over similarities between her short film The Snowman and Disney's first teaser trailer for Frozen. Wilson is claiming copyright infringement. Her film was screened at the 2011 San Francisco International Film Festival, an event that was also attended by Disney/Pixar employees. The Frozen teaser was not released until 2013. A judge has twice denied Disney's attempt to dismiss the lawsuit. What do you think? Take a look at both films:

You can view The Snowman HERE. We think Disney may want to settle this one out of court.

• In a more entertaining lawsuit, a West Virginia woman is suing Disney for implanting her with a chip. You just can't make this stuff up.

Enjoy!

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Inside The Mouse Castle 03-13-2015 - 'Cinderella' Review, 'Star Wars: Rogue One' and 'Frozen 2'

By Tim Callaway

Lily James is courageous and kind;
Cate Blanchett is evil in Cinderella.

Anthony and I just couldn't contain ourselves. There was so much new Disney news to talk about, we couldn't wait until Monday. We had to do a show. Now.

Welcome to this special episode of Inside The Mouse Castle. It's the Cinderella/Disney Shareholders Meeting Edition.

I saw Cinderella last night. Going in, I wondered why it was necessary to once again make an updated live-action version of a Disney animated classic that got it right the first time. My disdain for Maleficent and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland certainly hadn't warmed me up to the idea of this fairy tale retread.

But, guess what? Cinderella is a delight from start to finish. It takes a straightforward, confident approach to the oft-told tale and peppers it with spirited performances and sumptuous visuals and costume design. It goes light on the revisionism that has damaged Disney's recent remakes, but makes the characters relatable to contemporary audiences. Cinderella (Lily James) still lives out the ultimate wish-fulfillment fantasy, but she's no passive waif waiting for her prince to come. She has the strength and spirit to defend herself, especially against her wicked stepmother Lady Tremaine (a deliciously evil Cate Blanchett).

Listen to my full review of Cinderella in today's episode and ruminate on these other hot topics Anthony and I toss about. Apparently Bob Iger created a bit of a stir at yesterday's Disney shareholders meeting in San Francisco.

• There are three, count 'em, three new Star Wars movies on the docket. The Force Awakens you've probably heard about. Likewise Episode VIII, being directed by Rian Johnson (Looper), but we've got a release date for it now: May 26, 2017, exactly 40 years and one day after the original Star Wars debuted. New to the mix is Rogue One, a standalone SW film starring Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) and directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla). It begins shooting in London this summer and is scheduled for release on December 16, 2016.

Frozen Fever

• There will be a Frozen 2, which comes as a surprise to no one. No other details yet, not even a release date, but Frozen directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee are apparently hard at work on the project. By the way, Frozen Fever, the short film that opens for Cinderella, is a perfectly awful cartoon experience, but I digress.
• In answer to an innocent question from a child at the shareholders meeting, Bob Iger let slip that Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World will soon undergo a name change. And he won't tell us what it is. Tease.

Enjoy!

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