Pete Docter, director/co-writer of Disney Pixar’s “Inside Out,” says the film presented unique challenges, but the artisans’ demands were often surprisingly similar to live-action work. He spoke with Variety about some of his key team.
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The Making of ‘Captain EO’
By the mid-1980s, the Walt Disney Co. was at a crossroads. While the entertainment conglomerate was still beloved for its classic films and theme parks, it had struggled in recent decades to retain its relevance in the post-Star Wars blockbuster era.
“The Comedy Warehouse Holiday Special” returns to Disney’s Hollywood Studios
“The Comedy Warehouse Holiday Special” returns to Disney’s Hollywood Studios this holiday season for their fifth year sharing yuletide cheer.
The family-friendly improvisational comedy show returns to the Premiere Theater, where seasoned performers take suggestions from the audience to invent festive poems, scenarios, songs and stories. Each show is different, with a new audience and new scenarios to bring laughter to guests of all ages.
“The Comedy Warehouse Holiday Special” performs six shows daily beginning Dec. 19, 2015 through Jan. 1, 2016. The show is included in park admission.
The Disney Synergy Machine What Businesses Can Learn
It appears that the stars are aligning and twinkling once again for Disney. The Star Wars franchise Disney acquired from Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4 Billion is expected to pay big dividends…
Curver Introduces Star Wars Licensed Home Storage Products to Coincide With Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
Curver, a member of the Keter Group, continues its longstanding relationship with Disney with the release of 13 new Star Warsthemed home and personal storage items. The collection includes lunch boxes, bins and home storage items for multiple uses.
Curver is launching an eye-catching range of Star Wars products that are designed for Star Wars fans of all ages. The multi coloured Classic range features a variety of characters including Chewbacca and Luke Skywalker, whilst the Limited edition range includes an iconic design of black and white images of Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper. Bringing fantasy and colourful variety to day-to-day home items, the collection mixes usability and functionality with the iconic, visual extravagance of Star Wars characters.
The Star Wars line reflects Curver’s ongoing journey as an innovator through their creative use of contemporary culture as a key source of inspiration for everyday products.
The products are now available in major retail stores in France and Benelux, and will be launched throughout Europe including UK,Germany, Norway and Sweden.
Twice the Color!
This year, Holidays at the Disneyland Resort will offer a double-bill of “World of Color” shows on Paradise Bay in Disney California Adventure Park. The traditional holiday “World of Color – Winter Dreams” will return, featuring Olaf the snowman from the Walt Disney Pictures animated hit “Frozen” and a variety of wintry scenes with Disney characters.
Also on the holiday schedule is the Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration spectacular “World of Color – Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney,” a fun and exciting tribute to the vision and creativity of Walt Disney, hosted on the giant screen by Mickey Mouse and award-winning actor Neil Patrick Harris.
“World of Color – Winter Dreams” is the first show of the evening, followed by “World of Color – Celebrate!” Guests will need a FastPass to see the shows, and may check the park entertainment schedule for show times, usually 7 and 8:15 p.m. nightly, or 9 and 10:15 p.m., depending on Disney California Adventure park hours.
“World of Color – Winter Dreams”
- The popular holiday version of “World of Color” features more than a dozen songs and unfolds in seven sequences, each one a dreamlike adventure:
- Wonder – Season’s Greetings: Guests join Anna and Elsa from “Frozen” as the sisters play in a magical world created by Elsa’s powers of snow and ice.
- Snow – A Winter Wonderland: Olaf takes guests on a breathtaking winter sleigh ride, encountering Bambi, Thumper, Beauty and the Beast and other classic Disney characters.
- Enchantment – The Toy Story Nutcracker: This familiar ballet is danced in some delightful, offbeat renditions by favorite “Toy Story” characters.
- Glow – A Season of Light: Holidays from around the world are celebrated with a magical pop-up holiday card, touching moments with Disney characters, and a sky filled with luminaria from “Tangled.”
- Spirit – Olaf’s Sing-Along: Snowman Olaf invites everyone to join in singing holiday classics, from “Jingle Bells” to “The Dreidel Song” and “Feliz Navidad.”
- Olaf’s Wish – In Summer: Olaf has always loved the idea of a warm summer. He innocently imagines himself enjoying the sunshine “In Summer,” before melting into another favorite “Frozen” musical moment, “Let It Go.”
- Finale – Merry & Bright Holiday Lights: Olaf welcomes a surprising Santa as 700 newly installed lights blaze to life for a colorful finale around the lagoon.
“World of Color – Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney”
- “World of Color – Celebrate!” unfolds in five exciting sequences:
- Opening: The “World of Color” overture and the magic of Tinker Bell’s pixie dust introduce our hosts, Neil Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse.
- It Was All Started By A Mouse: From black-and-white cartoons to Technicolor stardom, “World of Color – Celebrate!” honors Mickey Mouse.
- The Golden Age of Animation: A dazzling exploration of Disney animated features stirs hearts with a kaleidoscope of happy memories.
- The Dream of Disneyland: A celebration of Disneyland, the “Happiest Place on Earth,” from Walt’s opening day dedication to creating smiles around the world.
- Finale: Infinity & Beyond – A Celebration for Years to Come: The finale warmly wishes everyone to stay “Forever Young,” holding on to their dreams.
- Emmy- and Tony- award-winner Neil Patrick Harris is a longtime Disney fan whose numerous acting credits include starring roles on Broadway, television and films.
- More than five minutes of new animation were created by Walt Disney Feature Animation to allow Mickey Mouse to step into the imaginative new journey of “World of Color – Celebrate!” Pixar animators also created new animated footage, allowing Mater, from the film “Cars,” to kick up his wheels with the baby tractors.
Enduring Popularity and Theatrical Technology
- The nighttime spectacular “World of Color” debuted in 2010. Since then, more than 10 million guests have experienced the show at Disney California Adventure, in more than 2,800 performances.
- Nearly 1,200 dancing fountains are the talented stars of “World of Color,” generating excitement through synchronized, computerized movements. From geysers and dancers to water whips and flower spouts, the fountains are all just beneath the surface of the bay, anticipating their big moments and leaping at any chance to perform.
- The show’s theatrical technology features a 380-foot wide water screen used for digital projection. The water screen takes on live characteristics, changing shapes, creating special effects, and interacting with other media in the show: color, fire, lasers and fog.
- The “World of Color” screen uses more than 30 million pixels. By comparison, a high definition television image uses 2 million pixels.
‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Movie Plot, Cast Info, Rumors and News for 2017 Release
Marvel superhero Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth, will be returning to the big screen for his third movie titled Thor: Ragnarok, set to be released Nov. 3, 2017, according to Cinema Blend.
Disney’s ‘Lion King’ Revival Series ‘The Lion Guard’ to Premiere in January
Following huge ratings for its precursor TV movie, Disney’s “The Lion Guard” series will premiere Friday, Jan. 15 at 9:30 a.m., the kids’ cabler announced on Wednesday.
Walt Disney Co Prepares to Open Its 1,000 Acre Piece of Heaven
The second largest segment at Disney parks and resorts, is expecting strong tailwinds from its massive new project.
The Walt Disney Family Museum Presents Mel Shaw: An Animator on Horseback
The Walt Disney Family Museum is pleased to present Mel Shaw: An Animator on Horseback. Open from January 13 to September 12, 2016, this exhibition is the first-ever retrospective of the life and work of Disney Legend Mel Shaw (1914–2012)—an artist and storyteller whose skills were in demand by the icons of Hollywood, from Orson Welles to Walt Disney. Shaw’s own life story as an artist, creative entrepreneur, and master horseman is as romantic and adventuresome as the animated stories he helped bring to life. The exhibition is guest-curated by Academy Award®-nominated producer Don Hahn (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Maleficent).
This retrospective features more than 120 works, including caricature sketches, storyboards, and conceptual artwork from some of the most influential films of the twentieth century, stretching from Fantasia (1940) to The Lion King (1994). The exhibition also includes sculptures, oil paintings, ceramics, iconic toys, and artifacts documenting Shaw’s redesign of the character we now all recognize as Howdy Doody. Many of the objects in this exhibition will be on view for the first time.
