Is the Academy Award for Best Picture a Farce?

My spouse (not a Disney Parks fan, but an animation nerd) has a bone to pick with the Academy for last night’s Best Picture win, and the fact that Toy Story 3 didn’t win. From his blog this morning, Why The Oscars’®©™ Best Picture award is a farce:

As good as it undoubtedly is, [The King's Speech] isn’t better than TS3 and the collected body of work Pixar has turned out. TS3 like Godfather II, and yes I believe they deserve to be discussed together, was able to be as good as – if not better – than the great original movie. (TS2 was 50% of a great movie and certainly not in a league with the other two. Drop me a line and I’ll explain why.) The depth of character, the incredibly mature story it told, the writing, the storytelling, the acting were all of a quality seldom matched. And it’s nomination was nothing more than tokenism. Feh. A pox on all The Academy’s houses.

Myself, I can live with the fact that Toy Story 3 walked away with just two Oscars, for Best Song and Best Animated Feature.

But it bugs me that I can’t imagine an animated film winning Best Picture, despite the excellent work in this medium. And let’s remember that it is in fact a medium, not a genre . . . which makes it odd to set apart in the way that we do. Plus, comedies tend to be perceived as less prestigious somehow than serious dramas, or even thrillers, so if we ever do see an animated film win best picture, my money’s on something more like Metropia than Toy Story, despite the fact that the latter is a better film.

I’m not sure I’ll go as far as my spouse, in calling the awards a farce. But the deeper I get in animation fandom, the more disgruntled I am with the Academy’s apparent attitude.

Toy Story 3 for Best Picture? Early Condolence

From College Humor’s Honest Movie Titles: Oscars 2011.

Disney Acquires Togetherville: Smart, and Maybe Creepy

Disney acquired the Togetherville social networking site this week, which is probably a great move for profits, and convenient for parents of young kids. But it also raises all sorts of red flags about potential data-mining privacy violations. From my StudiosCentral Jentasmic! column this morning:

Remember that rumor some time back that characters in the park might someday remember your name and your number of previous visits, based on data stored in a specialized wrist band? Well, if this were integrated with Togetherville and Facebook, Mickey might also happen to know that you hit a new high score yesterday on Pixel Purge, and that your Dad’s sciatica has been acting up.

And of course, let’s not forget that anything ABC or ESPN knows, Disney knows. So, Mickey might want to know what you thought about the last episode of Grey’s Anatomy that you watched last night on your web browser, or the Celtics game.

I remember in the early dot com wave, you could tell who the most powerful person in the room was, because usually he (yes, usually he) would be wearing board shorts and flip flops to the executive committee meeting. Today, I’ll bet you can tell who the most powerful person in the room is by figuring out who has the least (true, personal) information available about them online.

AllEars Trading Cards Available for a Donation to Deb’s Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

AllEars is one of my absolute favorite, go-to web sites for Disney vacation planning. I’m an especially big fan of their Disney Dining section, which includes menus for the restaurants throughout Disney World and a few other Disney locations. (As the parent of a picky eater, it’s helped me plan many a trip.)

Deb Wills, the founder of AllEars, is not only an outstanding member of the Disney Digerati — she’s also a breast cancer survivor, and does a great deal of fundraising through the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.

The money I raise will be managed and disbursed by the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade to help provide access to care for those that most need it, fund educational programs, and accelerate research into new treatments and potential cures.

In 2006, 2008-2010 your amazing support enabled me to be the Number 1 Fundraiser in Washington DC. From 2001-2010 I have raised over $225,000 in the fight.

AllEars has just announced a limited-time fundraiser: Donate money to Deb’s Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, and she’ll send you AllEars trading cards, usually only available at Disney fan meets (not by mail).

Got a few bucks and want a nifty Disney souvenir? Want to feel good about helping your fellow human beings? Here’s the link to more information.

Disney Hipster Meme

Who knew there was a whole meme going on out on the interwebs about Disney hipsters? And no, I don’t mean trendy themepunks . . . I mean photoshopping and captioning Disney characters into hipster status.

I’m lucky enough to have a teenage son to clue me into these things, and he sent me these as a bit of a sampler (click on the images for larger versions):

And hey, if you’re inspired, here’s a palette of Disney hipsters, all ready for you to caption.

Rumor has it there’s a little place called MemeBase where people churn this stuff out every day. In fact, right now there’s a pretty nasty caption on a Buzz Lightyear drinking cup posted there. But you didn’t hear it from me.

My Anime Boston 2011 Panels: Hello Kitty Theme Park, Family Geekdom

Hello Kitty's boyfriend (husband?) Dear Daniel, in the Sanrio Puroland afternoon parade

Long-term readers of this blog might just remember that my favorite non-Disney theme park is Sanrio Puroland, the five-story indoor Hello Kitty theme park I visited in 2002.

Sanrio Puroland is located in Tama City, about 30 minutes outside Tokyo. You can take the subway there, if you don’t mind traveling through a good number of stations where the signs are written only in Japanese and Chinese characters. Luckily, I had a Japanese friend in Tokyo who gave me excellent directions, and my then-five-year-old son and I found our way there with little difficulty (the rest of the family decided to spend the day in Tokyo rather than visiting Hello Kitty’s homeland . . . gee, I can’t imagine why!).

This April, at Anime Boston 2011, I’ll be presenting a session titled, “Hello Kitty Holyland: A Personal Journey.” From the not-yet-published Anime Boston 2011 program guide:

Sure, you love Hello Kitty, but did you know she has her very own fivestory indoor theme park in Tama City, a quick commute from Tokyo? And have you ever considered making the ultimate Sanrio pilgrimage? Come to this panel to hear first-hand stories of my journey to this site where gaijin rarely tread with my then-five-year-old son, and watch the super-hard-to-find Sanrio animated and live action video that inspired three generations of my family to cross the Pacific.

If you’re going to be at Anime Boston, stop by to say hello! I’m also presenting as part of The Family That Geeks Together:

Ever wonder about this anime stuff your kids are into? Worried you could never understand all these crazy shows? Wish you could clue the parents into how great your favorite shows are, or why you spend all your free time editing AMVs and haunting costume shops? An actual family – two parents & a 14-year-old – talk about their shared love of anime and cosplay, offering tips on bridging the generation gap from either side. Bring your frustrations and questions, and come away with practical ideas for how to make anime cons a new family tradition.

Detailed information about both these panels, as well as my husband‘s panel on Anime and the Japanese Experience of  War, is available on our family Facebook page.

Banksy Billboard: Drunken, Lecherous Mickey and Minnie

My friend Geoff just tipped me off to this billboard, as seen on the LA Times web site. Some are speculating it’s a Banksy, in support of the Oscar nomination of Exit Through the Gift Shop.

And there are more, too:

There’s the one in Westwood that’s been dubbed “CrayolaShooter,” on the back of an Urban Outfitters in the UCLA neighborhood. Then there’s one known as “The Charlie BrownFirestarter,” spotted on Sunset Boulevard, that features theCharles M. Schulz-created character with a cigarette in his mouth and a can of gasoline in his hand. Soon after the “Firestarter” went up on the side of a fire-damaged building, someone cut it off the side of the structure.

Not surprisingly, no comment from Disney.

Autocomplete: Hannah Montana is . . .

From AutoCompleteMe.

Now, what was that I was saying just the other day about parents banning Disney Channel from the home because they think Hannah Montana and her ilk are a bad influence? ‘Nuf said.

Current Contract Offer for WDW Union Cast Members

News broke late last week that Disney had reached a tentative agreement with the unions. And at first blush, it doesn’t look so bad, right? According to WKMG:

The latest agreement gives more then 20,000 Disney workers guaranteed annual pay raises for 3 years. They’ve been offered $650 bonuses with an additional $100 to workers who make $8.50 per hour or less. Disney agreed to continue to pay more than 70 percent of the cost of comprehensive health care coverage.

But, as that same news source reports, it’s only the “majority” of the unions who are in support of the contract. And the members still need to vote to ratify it, on February 25. The Local 362 blog is running pictures and stories of members who plan to vote No.

Joseph Guiteau is voting No

I couldn’t find details of the actual contract anywhere online, so I dropped a note to Local 362 (one of the dissenting unions), and received the following information in response:

All Full-Time employees on the day of the vote receive an additional $100 if vote passes

Bonus Summary

If vote passes:

You receive $750 if you make less than $8.50 per hour (non-tipped) and were working before 10/2/10

You receive $650 if you make more than $8.51 per hour (non-tipped) and were working before 10/2/10

You receive $100 if you were hired since 10/2/10

Wage increases

Workers hired before 12/12/1998 – “Topped-out”

4/3/2011                4/1/2012                3/31/2013

2% wage increase        2.25% wage increase     2.5% wage increase

Workers hired after 12/12/1998 – “In-range”

4/3/2011                4/1/2012                3/31/2013

3% wage increase        3% wage increase        3% wage increase

Minimum wage increase of $0.25 for “in-Range”
wage scale

This reflects additional money from the Company on the Bonus amounts. The wage increases are the same as previously proposed.

Unfortunately nothing changed on the cost of health care. The increases will result in workers making less at the end of the contract. The family plan is slated to go up 96 cents per hour over the life of the contract (If you get 40 hours – which many employees don’t).

A  [sic] Attractions, Custodial or Merchandise employee working at Disney at least 13 years is slated to receive 88 cents per hour in wage increase during the contract. If they have a family and that cost increases 96 cents in the same time period, they would be making 8 cents less per hour.

Not surprisingly, a Disney spokesperson talking with WKMG sees things differently:

“The fact is that the overwhelming majority of cast members will end up with more money at the end of the contract,” said Andrea Finger, a Disney spokesperson.

I’d need a whole lot more information to crunch the numbers and figure out if she’s right (how many have 13 years seniority? how many have families?). But I do know that following a year of record stock prices and a huge raise for Iger, I’d like to see Disney Cast Members paid a little better too.

Celebrating Lisa's birthday with Cast Member Jack

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: A big part of the appeal of a Disney vacation is the outstanding Guest Services that the Cast Members bring. Almost every time I’ve traveled to a Disney Park, I’ve met at least one Cast Member who’s gone above and beyond the call of duty to fix a problem, or help me celebrate a special occasion. It’s just good business sense to pay Cast Members well enough to allow them to make a career of it, and not just make Disney a stopping-off-point on their way to better-paying jobs elsewhere.

Anita Bryant and the Orange Bird

Orange Bird Vinylmation at D Street, WDW Downtown Disney

The Orange Bird’s been popping up lately in a lot of Walt Disney World merchandise, including the cute little Vinylmation above.

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at the Orange Bird without thinking of Anita Bryant, with whom the little cute was originally associated. When I was at Walt Disney World last month, all the Orange Bird stuff was really bugging me. As a Northern California child in the 1970s, I remember boycotting orange juice to protest her stand against lesbian and gay rights. From glbtq.com:

The first glbtq boycott to receive considerable media attention took place in 1977 when Anita Bryant, a pop singer and former Miss Oklahoma then employed as a spokesperson for the Florida Citrus Commission, founded an organization called Save Our Children, which was dedicated not to the welfare of children but to the repeal of a Dade County, Florida ordinance that protected gay men and lesbians from discrimination in employment and housing.

(I love this sign I found on flickr — seems like old times!)

The boycott seems to have had some impact, freeing the Orange Bird from its homophobic associations. From WidenYourWorld:

From that point forward Bryant was irrevocably linked to the controversy and the Florida Citrus Commission opted not to continue their relationship with the singer.  The Orange Bird, having never expressed so much as one sunny thought about gay rights, emerged from this turbulence untarnished but without a vocal proponent of his stature.

I still can’t help but think of Anita Bryant when I see the Orange Bird; somehow I never heard that they’d broken up. But I must admit, he’s cute. And he did dump her, after all. So what the heck, I’ll go ahead and enjoy all that sunny Orange Bird merch that’s been showing up lately.