Inside The Mouse Castle 10-07-2014 - 'Alexander' Premiere, FastPass Plus and Bailing Out Disneyland Paris

(l. to r.) Ed Oxenbould, Kerris Dorsey, Dylan Minnette,
Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner and Miguel Arteta.

Disney's latest family comedy is the lengthily-titled Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Based on the children's book by Judith Viorst, it's the story of an otherwise normal, well-adjusted family that has, well, a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Comedic complications ensue.

The movie had its world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood Monday night leading up to its opening in U.S. theaters this Friday. In the latest episode of Inside The Mouse Castle, we'll be on the red carpet hearing from cast members including Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner.

Anthony and I will also be taking on these excellent, wonderful, awesome, very good topics:

• The Avengers 3 rumor train keeps barreling forward--and that was even before Robert Downey, Jr. confirmed to Ellen DeGeneres that he's coming back for Iron Man 4 (we knew it all along; we were just waiting for an official word). 

• Toy Story Mania at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World is going all FastPass + this week to test guest traffic and ride capacity. Fanboys are in an uproar, but we're not quite sure why. We're hearing that Disney is installing a third TSM track next year--a FastPass+ only track--and needs to do a little R&D in the field. 
• The new Memento Mori shop at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom is open for business with all manner of Haunted Mansion merch. Can't get there in person? The HM page at DisneyStore.com will have you dying to join them.

• If owning a Mansion memento isn't enough, how about having a party with the grim grinning ghosts, then spending the night in a spooky Cinderella Castle? Walt Disney World is having a photo contest and is giving away just that. All you have to do is show your haunted Disney side here. Contest ends on November 4, 2014.
• Disney is pumping over a billion dollars into Disneyland Paris to help refinance the struggling resort. This is the second time in three years Disney has upped the cash flow. Is this a sign that Disney will increase their 40% stake in the French property and buy it outright or are they just applying a Band-Aid to buy time?
• Does your child need a Frozen makeover? Anna & Elsa's Boutique at Disneyland's Downtown Disney is now open for business. Future proceeds will probably bail out Disneyland Paris.
• If you're a fan of Disney video games, twenty retro console games have launched on Steam that you can download to your PC for 10% off through Sunday. I'm kind of partial to LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean, Alice in Wonderland, Toy Story 3, and--if you can get past the wonky game play and just enjoy the amazing graphics--Epic Mickey: The Power of 2.

Gravity Falls: Little Gift Shop of Horrors

• Gravity Falls is my favorite show on any of the Disney channels right now and their newest Little Gift Shop of Horrors episode may be the best one of the series. It pays clever tribute to special effects master Ray Harryhausen and even has Neil deGrasse Tyson voicing Mabel Pines' suddenly erudite pig, Waddles. If you've never seen the show, it's a great introduction to the strange goings-on in the mysterious Oregon town.

Enjoy!

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Inside The Mouse Castle 09-30-2014 - 'Avengers 3,' Gay Days Anaheim and Hating Steve Carell

Avengers assemble! Then reassemble.
Then assemble some more.

Avengers: Age of Ultron doesn't hit theaters until next May and already we're obsessing about the film (or films) that will follow it. Rumors are circulating that Avengers 3 will actually consist of two movies--which makes absolutely no sense. Wouldn't another film automatically become Avengers 4? I was pretty good at math in school.

Anthony and I take off our shoes and socks to count upcoming Avengers sequels and ruminate on these other bits of news in the latest edition of Inside The Mouse Castle:

• Guardians of the Galaxy continuing to climb up the box office charts is hardly news anymore, but darned if it's not still doing it. It's now the third biggest Marvel movie ever in the U.S., taking in $319.2 million domestically since its August release and trailing only Iron Man 3 and The Avengers.
• In legal wrangling dating back to 2009, Marvel has finally reached an agreement with the estate of the late writer/artist Jack Kirby. Kirby was the co-creator of classic superheroes including Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Iron Man and the X-Men. He is considered one of the all-time greats in his field and worked alongside fellow comic book legends Stan Lee and Joe Simon, among many others. Kirby's family had filed suit against Marvel and other media companies including Disney in an attempt to acquire copyrights and back profits for characters and stories created by Kirby. A brief statement released by Marvel and Kirby's estate on Friday said, "Marvel and the family of Jack Kirby have amicably resolved their legal disputes, and are looking forward to advancing their shared goal of honoring Mr. Kirby's significant role in Marvel's history."
• On the Star Wars front, actor Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), who will be in Episode VII, laments like so many of us the changes George Lucas made to the original trilogy. Meanwhile, director David Fincher (Gone Girl), once considered to direct Episode VII, reveals his take on the trilogy.

'Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day' Movie Clips

Alexander Cooper (Ed Oxenbould) is 11 years old and having, well, a horrible, no good, very bad day that begins with gum stuck in his hair and goes downhill from there. And just when he thinks no one in his practically perfect family can relate to his suffering, everyone of them starts having a horrible, no good, very bad day of their own. How they cope and pull together as a family is the premise of Disney's new comedy Alexander and the Terrrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

The film also stars Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner, Dylan Minnette and Kerris Dorsey as Alexander's family. It's directed by Miguel Arteta and is based on the award-winning children's book by Judith Viorst.

In the clips below, we get the perspective of Alexander's brother Anthony (Minnette), who starts his day out #blessed before his life suddenly goes south.

Alexander and the Terrrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day opens in U.S. theaters on October 10.

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