Archive | September, 2009

Recent Highlights from Those Darn Cats Podcast

27 Sep

Happy days!

In the interest of shameless self-promotion, here are a few highlights from recent episodes of the Those Darn Cats Podcast, which I co-host and co-produce with my BFF Lisa:

Now, don’t be fooled by the fact that my 13-year-old son sometimes joins us on the podcast….it is often not family friendly, and I don’t advise listening to it with kids around.  Especially that one with the Scurvy Monkeys.

You can find us on iTunes or Podcast Alley, or subscribe via RSS feed.

Gay Days Enchanted Tiki Room Meet Oct 3, 2009

27 Sep

How much do I wish that I could be there at Gay Days Anaheim on October 3, performing specially choreographed moves with festive friends at the Tiki Room?

Hat tip to my good friend Trace of the Disney Dudes for sending the link!

Gay Days Anaheim Oct 2-4, 2009

23 Sep

I love the fact that I found this video on a right-wing conservative blog warning me, “THIS VIDEO CONTAINS DISTURBING IMAGES.” The only thing I find particularly disturbing is that I can’t be there!

Oh, and yeah, there’s a little moment with Pluto that made me giggle in this context. But then again, I’m just like that.

Papercraft WALL-E Dances When You Get Mail

22 Sep

Could this be much cuter? A papercraft WALL-E who busts a move to let you know when you get mail!

Details are here. A tip o’ the hat to my friend Rich for tweeting about it today.

wii’ve Got Toy Story Mania!

18 Sep

Well, whaddya know? I managed to write a Jentasmic column this week for StudiosCentral that is, in fact, directly related to the Studios! Yay me!

And what’s on my mind this week? Well, since I’ve spent a good amount of time on the wii this week, I figured I’d share with y’all my thoughts about the new wii game, Toy Story Mania. The bottom line?

If you’re a Disney freak and enjoy the Toy Story Mania Parks attractions, I’d definitely recommend spending the 50 bucks and considering it a way to relive the magic. If you’re a gamer, this might be a fun party game if you don’t take it too seriously, and just groove on the silly graphics and objectives. But don’t go thinking this is gonna replace Call of Duty anytime soon.

A Voice of Sanity on Disney/Marvel

16 Sep

My friend Geoff Carter of Your Souvenir Guide has written a fabulously sane and reasonable piece on Disney’s purchase of Marvel, and all it doesn’t and won’t mean.

To my mind, the purchase of Marvel is one of the few missteps the Mouse has made under Bob Iger’s reign. Disney isn’t getting a hell of a lot for its money. The theme park rights to the characters will continue to be held by Universal. And the movie properties that Disney could use to keep Bruckheimer on the lot — “Spider-Man,” “X-Men,” “Fantastic Four,” “Hulk,” “Iron Man” — will remain the properties of Sony, Fox and Paramount for the forseeable future. (According to Variety, Fox’s deal allows them to keep the film rights to “Fantastic,” “X-Men,” “Daredevil” and “Silver Surfer” in perpetuity, just as long as they keep making the films. For Disney’s purposes, that means forever.)

Better yet, Geoff offers 10 ways in which the Mouse could’ve strengthened their appeal to the geeky boy market without forking over quite so much cash. My personal favorite?

4. Own your steampunk heritage. “20,000 Leagues!” “Island at the Top of the World!” “Atlantis!” Fast-track these reboots and remakes while the goth kids are still wearing top hats and rust-colored leggings.

Entrance to Videopolis, Discoveryland, Disneyland Park, Paris

Entrance to Videopolis, Discoveryland, Disneyland Park, Paris

The Nautilus walkthrough at Disneyland Paris is a steampunk dream, as is much of Discoveryland. Couldn’t we have a little updated movie magic on this please?

Disney also could make better use of its distribution rights to the Miyazaki films, if they want to increase their geek cred (though perhaps not so much specifically for the boy market). I’m disappointed to see that My Neighbor Totoro is back in the vault; when Fox Searchlight was distributing this fine film, they gave us a lousy pan-and-scan but at least kept it on the shelves. Now we must wait at least seven years to be able to buy copies to give to friends? And yes, we carefully guard our treasured family copy.

And yes, the Marvel fan community will likely grumble and quake for a while over this, but I’m going with the wisdom of Batman in the final scene of this video, from ItsJustSomeRandomGuy on YouTube:

Max Pepeschi: Icons Gone Awry

16 Sep

Max Papeschi‘s work is disturbing and amusing, and some of it is even less for the squeamish than what you see above. Via Daily Obsessional, from which I essentially stole this headline.

Donald Duck Impersonator Arrested for Child Endangerment

14 Sep

Now, how did I miss this story? I guess I was lazing around in France when it hit the wires, but as I catch up on my blogreading it’s been brought to my attention by the Free Range Kids blog, an excellent resource for those who feel the current parenting climate is just a tad paranoid.

From the Rome Sentinel:

The case was dismissed on a motion by the public defender that the crime didn’t fit the charge, that there was no danger in Tuzzolino’s antics, prosecutors stated. At about 5:30 p.m. April 28, deputies said Tuzzolino approached a 9-year-old girl at Wal-Mart on Rome-Taberg Road and began speaking like Disney cartoon character Donald Duck.

Deputies said the girl started crying, and her mother called 9-1-1 to report the strange behavior. Tuzzolino left the store, and was arrested later for endangering.

Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast, Disneyland Paris

14 Sep

Buzz Lightyear

Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast in Disneyland Paris’ Discoveryland doesn’t vary much from its stateside counterparts: You spin the car around, you shoot at the Zs, you complain that your gun isn’t working right, you mug for the camera in the final room. But hey, in Paris it’s partially in French, plus the guns come out of their holsters (as do those in Anaheim, but not Lake Buena Vista).

I lost track of how many times we visited this attraction during our four days at Disneyland Paris last month. But I can tell you that the Fast Pass machines there are more prone to delays than any other Fast Pass machines I’ve ever seen. It seemed that every single time we approached for Fast Passes, several of the machines were out of paper.

But no matter….it was fun to hear Buzz speaking French, fun to play shooting gallery, fun even to sit around taking pictures on my last time through the attraction since my gun, yes, was not working properly.

My BFF has pointed out that at some point on the park map, our hero is referred to as Buzz L’Eclair. This seems to translate literally to “Buzz Flash” or “Buzz Lightning,” which feels like an odd translation but must work quite smoothly for dubbing, given the similarity of the words.

Little Green Man

A speaker is housed in this walkie-talkie, giving some of the familiar spiel as you're on your way through the queue

A speaker is housed in this walkie-talkie, giving some of the familiar spiel as you're on your way through the queue

Astro Laser Mode D'Emploi

The Etch-a-sketch replacing the Viewmaster here was a nice touch. Mission diagrams were drawn throughout Buzz' comments, which were of course bilingual.

The Etch-a-sketch replacing the Viewmaster here was a nice touch. Mission diagrams were drawn throughout Buzz' comments, which were of course bilingual.

The ride remains the same....all your old friends are here.

The ride remains the same....all your old friends are here.

There are also a few extra touches of awesomeness, as it's the newest installation of this attraction. having opened in 2006.

There are also a few extra touches of awesomeness, as it's the newest installation of this attraction. having opened in 2006.

Yup, I was looking everywhere for the lanyard tags like they sell at the US parks. But no dice.

Yup, I was looking everywhere for the lanyard tags like they sell at the US parks. But no dice.

Ride photo

And hey, while we’re talking about Toy Story attractions and such….yup, I’ve already pre-ordered my copy of the Toy Story Mania game for Wii, which comes out tomorrow! In fact, I ordered mine at the local Game Stop, to get the bonus Toy Story Mania wiimote face plates (unlike the link above, that goes to my Amazon Affiliates store, the virtual equivalent of buying me a Dole Whip to thank me for the blog). My one question, as I anxiously await playing it tomorrow: Will the game feature special cut scenes between plays where you head back out to the line, check to see what the Fast Pass return time is like, and chat amongst yourselves for 90 minutes before you get to play again?

Star Tours II Video Preview

12 Sep

I guess the rumors had to be true sooner or later, right? It’s just been announced that Star Tours 2 in 3D will debut at Disneyland in 2011. I haven’t heard word yet about when it hits Walt Disney World (or the other Parks worldwide for that matter), but I’ll bet by the time you’re reading this there’s word on the interwebs somewhere.

According to this audio clip, Star Tours will close down in October 2010. (And yeah, when the guy on the clip says the 508 is on stage, I do believe he means the 501st, whom I love more than a little.)

I’m gonna miss Rex!

Update: The Disney Blog says Walt Disney World will also receive the update in 2011.

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