Disney's Zootopia opened last weekend with record-breaking box office numbers for a March release. Naturally, Anthony and I didn't bother to see it. No worries, we'll both rectify that this week. A 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes certainly got our attention.
Disneyland's announced April 2 closure of Super Hero HQ caught us all by surprise. What will be next for the Star Wars Launch Bay's attic? A preview center for Star Wars Land maybe? And what will happen when Captain America and Spider-Man are sent packing to DCA? Will the Mad T Party be replaced by a Mad A (for Avengers) Party? It's time to get some rumors started.
Keep those calendars marked. The Jungle Book begins sneak peek screenings at DCA and Disney's Hollywood Studios on March 18. Frozen--Live at the Hyperion opens at DCA May 27 and Rivers of Light, the new nighttime water show at Disney's Animal Kingdom, debuts April 22.
It was no coincidence the Walt Disney Company had its annual shareholders meeting in Chicago last week. It was a fitting reminder that the Windy City was where Walt was born. To mark the occasion, Bob Iger announced that the Company would donate $250,000 towards the restoration of the Walt Disney Birthplace.
Disney Cruise Line will add two new ships in 2021 and 2023.
Disney Cruise Line will launch two new cruise ships in 2021 and 2023, bringing their fleet total to six. The as-yet-unnamed ships will have 1,250 staterooms each and will be larger than DCL's current biggest ships, the Disney Dream and the Disney Fantasy.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens comes out on Digital HD on April 1 and Blu-ray on April 5. Want a little variety with your trip to a galaxy far, far away? Retailers Target, Walmart, Best Buy and the Disney Store are all offering unique packaging and/or bonus materials.
Big Hero 6 is moving to the small screen. An animated series based on the hit film will debut on Disney XD in 2017.
A live-action movie version of The Nutcracker Suite? Disney is working on it and Lasse Hallstrom (The Hundred-Foot Journey, Chocolat) is slated to direct.
Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens in High School Musical 3: Senior Year.
George Lucas at the world premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Happy New Year!
Anthony and I are back from our holiday hiatus and we're really concerned about George Lucas' happiness; as in his less than enthusiastic comments about Star Wars: The Force Awakens and, oh yeah, likening the Walt Disney Company to "white slavers."
Bad form, George.
To his credit, the Jedi master did retract the "white slaver" comment, calling it "very inappropriate." He then went on to praise Disney for their 40 year-long working relationship.
Still, do you get the feeling George is just a little bitter over selling Lucasfilm to Disney despite pocketing $4 billion in the deal?
We're concerned, George. We want to help. Let's talk about it in this week's episode of Inside The Mouse Castle.
And while we're at it, let's talk about a few other things too.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is barreling through box office record after box office record. It's at $1.5 billion worldwide and climbing steadily. Will it break Avatar's all-time record? We think so.
Bob Iger has confirmed what we pretty much already knew. There will be a fifth Indiana Jones movie. What? You thought they were going to keep Indy locked up like the Ark of the Covenant? We hear top men are already working on the project. Top. Men.
Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn saw an early cut of Captain America: Civil War and thinks it's one of the all-time best Marvel movies. Like you needed another reason to see the flick when it opens May 6.
Mabel and Dipper from Gravity Falls.
Gravity Falls will air its final episode on February 15. We are sad.
Disney park guests will be able to see previews of Zootopia at Disney California Adventure and Disney's Hollywood Studios beginning January 21. You can also find Zootopia porn pretty much anywhere on the Internet if you just Google it. This has Anthony and I concerned...and awkwardly giggling.
Harrison Ford told Jimmy Kimmel last week that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is "really, really good." He praised his young costars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac and added, "J.J. (Abrams) has made an incredible movie. You will not be disappointed at all. I promise you,"
On this week's ITMC, Anthony and I failed to mention that Ford was also wearing a hot dog costume at the time of the interview (it was Kimmel's Halloween show). I'm not sure why this is relevant, but it must have something to do with why we haven't seen Luke Skywalker in the movie poster or trailer. But, I digress.
Harrison Ford likes The Force Awakens. That's all that matters.
And on a side note, we're pretty sure the first trailer for Captain America: Civil War will screen in theaters prior to Star Wars. Like you needed another reason to hit the cinema on December 18.
Here's what else we're Forcing you to listen to today Inside The Mouse Castle:
Asian actress Pom Klementieff is rumored to have joined the cast of James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. At the time we recorded the show, we weren't sure what her role would be. Now we believe she'll play Mantis, who's kind of a badass telepathic martial artist in Marvel canon. If true, Mantis will be quite the match-up next to Gamora and her messed-up sister Nebula.
Idris Elba will voice Chief Bogo in Zootopia.
Disney announced the principal voice cast for Zootopia. We already knew about Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin as the leads Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps. Now we know that Idris Elba, J.K. Simmons, Bonnie Hunt, Octavia Spencer, Alan Tudyk and Tommy Chong are also lending their talents to the Byron Howard/Rich Moore-directed film. And yet, despite that deep roster, we're still not excited about Zootopia, which opens on March 4, 2016.
We're also not too excited about Alice Through the Looking Glass, the follow-up to Tim Burton's bloated, joyless--but immensely profitable--Alice in Wonderland. Brief video teases for the upcoming film, which opens next Memorial Day weekend, have been popping up online. Meh. The one glimmer of hope that might make us care about the film is that it's being directed by James Bobin of The Muppets and Flight of the Conchords fame.
Is Hocus Pocus 2 finally going to be a thing? Maybe. Maybe not. Producer David Kirschner has hinted that the long-rumored sequel to the 1993 comedy could eventually land on the Disney Channel. No word if Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy would be back as the Sanderson sisters, but all three have teased in the past that they'd be interested.
The Good Dinosaur in Disney Infinity.
Disney Infinity is giving fans of Pixar's The Good Dinosaur a peek at some of the film's characters three week's before the movie opens. The caveboy Spot made his debut this week as a playable character in the video game. His dinosaur buddy Arlo and their three T-rex cohorts are also available as ride-able Power Disc characters.
It's a good month to be a Disney collector with deep pockets. Auction house Bonhams and Van Eaton Galleries are both conducting auctions of rare (and yes, pretty expensive) Disney memorabilia. Don't worry, there's stuff you might be able to afford too. I'll have more about these two exciting events in this Friday's episode of The Mouse Castle Lounge.
So, on Halloween, this happened at the Hollywood Bowl:
If you're Scarlett Johansson, you can visit Walt Disney World and ride the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror with your husband just like any normal person. You can also have your souvenir photo conveniently deleted much to the chagrin of your surprised ride buddies. Good thing there are persistent resort guests and TMZ to bring the pic to the light of day. It's actually a really cute photo.
Inside Out had its Hollywood premiere last week, gearing up for its U.S. wide release this Friday. On this week's episode of Inside The Mouse Castle, we hear from the film's director, Pete Docter, and the some of the voice cast including Amy Poehler, Bill Hader and Lewis Black.
I expect Pixar's journey into the mind of an 11-year old girl to be a sure-fire hit while Anthony thinks the film, as good as the early reviews are, is going to under-perform at the box office. It won't do as bad as Tomorrowland, though, not by a long shot. The Brad Bird film starring George Clooney is having a dismal run in theaters and could put Disney in the red $140 million or more.
And, Disney or not, no movie conversation this week is complete with mentioning Jurassic World, so we'll touch on that too, plus these other mind-bending topics:
In the story that won't die, is Asa Butterfield really out of the running to be the next Spider-Man? Are Tom Holland, Charlie Plummer and Matthew Lintz the new favorites? Who knows? Because apparently Marvel and Sony can't agree on anything concerning the franchise.
We now know the voice cast for Pixar's The Good Dinosaur. After a series of production delays, including a director change and a reworking of the story, the film will open in the U.S. on November 25th.
Frozen Ever After is coming to Epcot's Norway pavilion next year, taking over the space once occupied by Maelstrom. Guests will be able to experience a "Winter in Summer Celebration" courtesy of Queen Elsa in the kingdom of Arendelle. That includes a trip to Elsa's ice palace (see above).
Two new restaurants are coming to the Disney Springs (aka the revamped Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World): The Edison and STK Orlando. It's the latest in a long list of new shopping and dining establishments added to the area. Is it starting to be too much of a good thing? Disney Springs is a far cry from the quaint Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village us old-timers remember from the 1970s and 80s.
Star Wars will be in Hall H of this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Marvel will not. Next.
Goodbye, Phineas and Ferb. We'll miss you. Well, we'll be missing new episodes. I'm sure you'll be rerunning on Disney Channel and Disney XD for a long time to come.
J.K. Simmon is joining the voice cast of Gravity Falls. We hope he doesn't throw a chair at Grunkle Stan.
Zootopia is a "modern, civilized world" mostly because humans do not exist. They never have. And so, animals go about their daily lives, upright and fully-clothed. But not everything is perfect. Mortal enemies like, say a conniving fox named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) and a police officer bunny named Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) find themselves at odds with one other. Learn more in the new teaser trailer for Disney's comedy-adventure Zootopia below.
Zootopia, from Walt Disney Animation Studios, is directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore and co-directed by Jared Bush. It will open in U.S. theaters on March 4, 2016.
George Clooney, his wife Amal and his niece Mia join
Bob Iger and his wife aboard the Monorail.
Last weekend was crazy busy at the Disneyland Resort. Brad Bird's new movie Tomorrowland had its world premiere at Downtown Disney followed by an after-party at the real Tomorrowland. On hand were the film's stars George Clooney, Britt Robertson and Raffey Cassidy, along with a host of other celebrities.
But wait, the weekend also saw the running of the Tinker Bell Half Marathon as well as the return (finally) of the Hatbox Ghost to the Haunted Mansion. Anthony and I talk about all that (okay, we skipped the Tinker Bell Half Marathon, sorry) plus these other fascinating stories in this week's Inside The Mouse Castle.
Now that Brad Bird has just about put Tomorrowland in his past, what's next? We know (and Bird has officially confirmed) that The Incredibles 2 will be his next film project, but could he also be lining up a deal to helm a Star Wars movie?
The Avengers 2.5, or as it's also known, Captain America: Civil War, has begun shooting in Atlanta.
Avengers director Joss Whedon closed his Twitter account. Was it because he's too busy, or was the Twitterverse just being too mean to him?
Disney's live action Cinderella has passed $500 million in worldwide box office, making it the third highest grossing film of the year so far. Avengers: Age of Ultron (surprise!) leads the pack at close to $1 billion.
Jason Bateman will voice the cunning fox, Nick Wilde, in Zootopia.
Disney Animation announced Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin will voice the lead characters in Zootopia. Bateman will be a "scamming fox" named Nick Wilde while Goodwin will voice "optimistic bunny" Judy Hopps. The film will open in the U.S. on March 4, 2016.
The big presentations at the D23 Expo will get a bigger venue this year. Traditional popular draws like the Disney Legends Award Ceremony and the Walt Disney Studios and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts presentations will move from the 5,000-seat arena at the Anaheim Convention Center to a new "Hall D23" that can handle 7,500 people. The D23 Expo will be held August 14-16.
Disney California Adventure's nighttime dance party, the Mad T Party, returns on May 22nd. Break out your Bedazzler, though, because now it's going to be the Diamond Mad T Party.
Tim O'Day and Tony Baxter celebrate
20 years of Indy at Disneyland.
Last week was about as busy as you could imagine if you're a Disney fan--and that's a good thing. New movie trailers, some juicy movie rumors, new cast announcements for Beauty and the Beast, the imminent closing of Innoventions and the 20th anniversary of the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland.
Oh yeah, and Han Solo crash landed the Millennium Falcon on Tatooine. Or something like that.
Here's what Anthony and I wax eloquently about on this episode of Inside The Mouse Castle:
Anthony dropped in on a 20th anniversary celebration for Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. This exclusive Annual Passholder event saw Disney maven Tim O'Day swap stories with Imagineer and Indy designer Tony Baxter. A pleasant time was had by all.
Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn let slip on social media that Marvel will not be in attendance at this year's Comic-Con in San Diego. Okay by us. We're hyped to get our share of the Cinematic Universe at the D23 Expo in August. We're also wondering if Lucasfilm will go the same route with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Between the Expo and next month's Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, does Lucasfilm even need Comic-Con?
Movie fans held their breath, then let out a collective sigh of relief when Harrison Ford crash landed his single-engine plane on a Southern California golf course Thursday and escaped without significant injuries. We wish the 72 year-old actor a speedy recovery.
A rumor has surfaced about the content of the next Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer. We're intrigued, but it seems a bit too detailed for a trailer that's still more than a month away from its expected debut at Star Wars Celebration. And let's face it, speculating that Luke, Leia, Han, C3PO and R2-D2 will finally make an appearance is not really a stretch.
Meanwhile, this real, live trailer has pinned our nerd meter at eleven:
This one ain't bad either:
And have you seen the new movie poster for Tomorrowland? Dude, Space Mountain is in it. Wait, what?
Luke Evans (Gaston) and Dan Stevens (Beast) are joining the cast of Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast. Anthony and I aren't impressed, but apparently if you're female and have a pulse, this is a big deal.
Pixar's Toy Story 4 will not be a continuation of the existing Toy Story trilogy--which is a relief. What it will be is a self-contained romantic comedy directed by John Lasseter. Assuming Woody (Tom Hanks) is at the center of the love story, Anthony has a brilliant idea of who should play the sheriff's new girlfriend. In fact, it's such a great idea, Anthony has been losing sleep over it. And it's no small coincidence he was in Seattle two weeks ago.
Dear Internet: It's not CG. Even Lily James says it's a corset--and a damn uncomfortable one. Please move on.
By the way, Cinderella opens in U.S. theaters on Friday.
We really like this first glimpse at Zootopia. The Disney animated film opens next year (description courtesy Walt Disney Animation Studios).
The modern mammal metropolis of Zootopia is a city like no other. Comprised of habitat neighborhoods like ritzy Sahara Square and frigid Tundratown, it’s a melting pot where animals from every environment live together—a place where no matter what you are, from the biggest elephant to the smallest shrew, you can be anything. But when optimistic Officer Judy Hopps arrives, she discovers that being the first bunny on a police force of big, tough animals isn’t so easy. Determined to prove herself, she jumps at the opportunity to crack a case, even if it means partnering with a fast-talking, scam-artist fox, Nick Wilde, to solve the mystery. Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Zootopia,” a comedy-adventure directed by Byron Howard (“Tangled,” “Bolt”) and Rich Moore (“Wreck-It Ralph,” “The Simpsons”) and co-directed by Jared Bush (“Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero”), opens in theaters on March 4, 2016.
Zootopia.
Innoventions is closing up at Disneyland on March 31st to make way for...we're not sure yet, but we have plenty of ideas. And no, that doesn't mean Mickey's Toontown is closing too. How do these rumors get started?
D23 has announced two fan contests for the upcoming D23 Expo. Are you artistic? Show them your best Sleeping Beauty Castle and you could win $2,300. Is cosplay more your thing? Mousequerade could send you to Disney's Aulani Resort.
