Lemonade Mouth: Bitter With the Sweet

Lemonade Mouth sounded right up my alley: Rebellious teenagers starting a garage band, finding their own voice. But given the track record of the Disney Channel Movie series, I had to keep my expectations low. My review of Lemonade Mouth is in my Jentasmic! column on Studios Central. A brief highlight:

Perhaps in part due to these moderate expectations, and my legendary avoidance of any spoilers, Lemonade Mouth did not disappoint. (So hey, if you’re going to watch the movie, go do so now before reading the rest of this article. I can wait here, no problem.) The story is engaging, the acting is above-par for Disney Channel standards, and the anthem of “Be heard, be strong, be proud” is a healthy message for the tweens who will find the movie most appealing. I can only hope that the Disney Channel Rocks show at the Studios will soon include a few numbers from Lemonade Mouth.

And in related news: Chris Colfer has sold a pilot screenplay to the Disney Channel. I love Colfer on glee, and hope that he can bring some of that same style and sensibility to his future projects as well.

DIY Totoro Highlights at Anime Boston’s Artists Alley

There’s never a shortage of Totoro crafts at Anime Boston! This years DIY Miyazaki highlights are featured below: A hand-painted (and home-sewn) kimono by Hanabi Kimono, and plushies by Sam and Rae Crafts.

Handpainted on gingham nursery cloth. Note the soot sprites on the belt!

Wonderful flair on the left hip.

Totoro is my spouse's spiritual guide

All of them eminently huggable.

Those Darn Cats Book Club: Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

This week on Those Darn Cats (the podcast I co-host with BFF Lisa):

We’re very excited to present the first ever Those Darn Cats book club meeting! And in fact, we do believe we’re the first Disney podcast to publish a book club episode, and we expect to see others jump on the bandwagon soon.

Our first book club session is a discussion of Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow, which you can download in many formats here, plus audio book here. This book is distributed under a Creative Commons license, and all the versions linked to from this page are free.

Download the episode here, or subscribe via iTunes or RSS

Turns out we were wrong, though . . . some lawyer from New Jersey published a book club episode yesterday. But hey, we’re still proud to be on the leading edge of the trend.

Creepy Mad Hatter Picture in 1961 Disneyland Fashion Photo

It’s not just me, right? There’s just something kinda creepy about this picture, featured in Kevin Kidney’s blog post on a 1961 Midwest Magazine fashion spread. Maybe it’s the fact that his hands are so much smaller than they should be, compared to his head. Maybe it’s the fact that he doesn’t really have much of a torso. But mostly, it’s the pinned pupils, they make him look evil.

Hat tip to my dear spouse for sending me the link! Somehow I’ve been falling behind in my RSS feeds. Can’t imagine how that could happen.

Why I Want to Be a Disney Princess

Thank you, GraphJam, for telling the truth:

And I must say . . . the housework is a bigger priority to me than the hair (and I’m glad to say I’ve already got the Prince Charming angle covered). I’m reasonably sure that the guys in my household would also like to be a Disney Princess, for the same reason.

Unintentionally Hilarious Bootleg Toy Story Action Figures

From Cracked.com:

For some inexplicable reason, Woody screams “FIRE! FIRE! DROP THE GUN!” complete with machine gun sound effects while his chest lights up like Iron Man. Either he has serious PTSD or a rampaging crystal meth addiction. If this is an indication of the quality of the rest of the bootleg Toy Story line, we might have to take the packaging’s advice and “collections them all”.

(And as I write this, I notice that while I’ve mentioned Buzz often enough to justify a WordPress category, poor Woody only gets a tag. I guess once again it’s all about the space toys. Sorry, cowboy.)

Captain EO is the Answer. What Was the Question?

"Hello, good times"

Some mornings, Captain EO is the only reasonable answer. And at times like this, I thank my lucky stars for sites like E82 which keep me well-stocked with nostalgic Epcot tunes. (Why yes indeed, I did need to hear Angelica Huston hiss “Infidels!!!” on my way to work this morning. Not sure if I could have survived the commute without it, at least on an emotional level.)

Hat tip to The Adventures of a Lost Boy, whose author clued me in on E82.

Disney’s Anime Connection: Hayao Miyazaki

Kiki's Delivery Service cosplayer at Anime Boston 2009

Why yes, the advent of anime con season has got me a little more anime-obsessed than usual! So it’s not surprising that this week’s Jentasmic! at StudiosCentral encourages Disney fans to explore the works of Hayao Miyazaki. Disney has released several Miyazaki films, including production of the English dub tracks, providing a real service to those of us who frequently introduce others (especially families) to anime.

Disney France Streaming Winnie the Pooh Soundtrack

My good friend Trace of the Disney Dudes sent me a link this morning to the Disney France web site, where they’re currently streaming the full soundtrack to the new Winnie the Pooh album. (When you follow that link, you might need to tell it that yes you really want Disney.fr, then you might need to click on the graphic with Winnie the Pooh, and the text “EXCLUSIVITÉ Ecoutez les chansons du film jusqu’au 11 avril.”

And for those of you who speak even less French than myself. . . that text just told you that they’re streaming the full album live only until April 11.

I have to admit, the film will need to get amazing reviews in order to get me into the theatres. This cranky old lady can’t quite accept a Winnie the Pooh movie without Sterling Holloway. And yes, I’ve tried.

Nothing’s terribly wrong with the soundtrack, but nothing’s terribly right either. If my kid was young enough to be clamoring for it in the car, I could probably tolerate it now and then. But for me? I’ll just keep hoping that Lemonade Mouth brings my next guilty pleasure Disney soundtrack album. (And yes, Lisa, I’m still Notoriously Spoiler Free®.

The Family That Geeks Together, Keeps Together

Anime Boston 2007, with Dan Hess and my son

Wondering what I’m up to when I’m not geeking out about Disney? Well, I just might be geeking out about anime, or nerdcore, or even sneaking in a little tabletop gaming. And now that convention season is upon us, I’m writing a whole lotta powerpoint slides.

If you’re interested in any of these aspects of geek culture, swing by my family’s Facebook page: The Family That Geeks Together. We’ll be presenting our signature panel at Anime Boston 2011 this year, as well as a couple others; information is on our Facebook events page, plus one more panel I’m on at Anime Boston this year.

If you’re at Anime Boston, ConnectiCon, or PortCon this year, come say hello! I’m always easy to spot at these cons: Just look for the middle-aged lady with the short bleached blonde hair. There’s rarely more than one.