Jentasmic! on Lucasfilm Acquisition: Do’s and Don’ts for Disney

At Star Wars Weekends 2008

When news broke earlier this week about Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm, all my geeky internet feeds simultaneously exploded with joy and surprise. And I don’t just mean the Disney geeks. The anime geeks, the gaming geeks, the sci-fi geeks . . . everybody was freaking out. And almost everybody seemed overjoyed.

But I’m feeling a good bit more cautious about this acquisition. Sure, it could mean good things; I’ve enjoyed the results of Disney’s collaboration with Lucasfilm over the years. I’m a big fan of Star Tours 2.0, and had a great time at Star Wars Weekends. But I also fear there are many ways this could go wrong. From my Jentasmic! column today at StudiosCentral:

DO learn from your experience in the Pixar merger. The response to Brave from both critics and fans, plus the increasing reliance on sequels, has me a little worried that Pixar may be losing its identity as some of its key players have taken on significant roles in other areas of the Walt Disney Company. And I’m sure there’s plenty to be learned from the Marvel experience as well. Don’t be afraid to look squarely at your mistakes and learn from them. It’s equally important to look carefully at what you’ve done right, so you can do it again.

Head on over to StudiosCentral to read the rest. I promise you there’s a non-gratuitous mention of the Star Wars Holiday Special, which isn’t usually all that easy to pull off.

Star Tours: In Praise of Avoiding Spoilers

With an old buddy, at Connection 2009

[Spoiler alert! Spoiler alert!]

I waited . . . and waited. . . and waited. I guess you could say I’m dual-diagnosed, because I’m both a Disney fan, and a Star Wars fan. And still, I managed to avoid almost all spoilers about the recently-updated Star Tours attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Was it worth it? From this week’s Jentasmic! column:

I’ve got an analytical mind, and I find it hard to shut off. But that first time through, I was completely swept away. Darth Vader was there, and we were in his grip. My friend Eliyanna was a rebel spy! C3P0 and R2D2 managed to get us free, and before I knew it we were dodging AT-ATs on Hoth. Then a message from Admiral Ackbar (it’s a trap!!!), and now off to Naboo! I was having so much fun even Jar Jar didn’t get to me. I do believe Matt will vouch for me when I tell you that after the ride was over, I was so happy I could have cried.

Head on over to StudiosCentral to read the rest . . .

Thurl Ravenscroft as Darth Vader: Donnie and Marie Star Wars Sketch

Not all of us can be lucky enough to attend Star Wars Weekend. But all of us can come together to view the Star Wars sketch from the Donnie and Marie show, thanks to the glory of YouTube.

There was a time when it didn’t seem all that odd to see Paul Lynde, Thurl Ravenscroft, Donnie Osmand, and R2-D2 share a stage. But that time was 1978, and time hasn’t been kind to the video archives.

I wonder if Ravenscroft was there in person, or recorded the sound clips alone, in advance. I’m guessing both he and Anthony Daniels phoned it in.

You don’t want to miss the Stormtroopers entrance at about 6:15, or the lady Stormtroopers who accompany them (apparently they tweaked at least one chromosome to clone this new model). Get ready, ’cause here we come!

A note to our younger viewers: There’s at least one joke that won’t make sense unless you’ve heard of Sanford and Son.

And yes, I’m reasonably sure I saw this in prime time. The fact that it didn’t really make an impression at the time should tell you something about that particular age in television. If you wonder what the really weird stuff was like, try Pink Lady and Jeff.

Hat tip: BoingBoing.

Studios Central Meets at WDW Star Wars Weekends 2011

Minnie Mouse at Star Wars Weekend 2008

Over on Studios Central, Matt says:

Okay, we don’t know the official Star Wars Weekend dates officially quite yet, but I’m willing to bet Glenn’s salary that SWW will begin on the weekend of May 20-22, 2011 and so Studios Central will be holding some meets for those of you in attendance!

Being a Studios Central columnist myself, I’m sure that Glenn’s salary is substantial! So Matt must be pretty darn sure. And the meets that he’s got planned sound quite appealing to me, especially the lunch. You never know what’s gonna happen at a Studios Central lunch.

Star Wars LOLs

After all that pondering about stock prices and Cast Members on food stamps, I need something to make me smile. And y’know, memories of Star Wars Weekends always make me smile!

These Star Wars amusements were in my RSS reader today:

Hat tip: BoingBoing

 

 

And a moment of win:

A while ago friends of my parents visited with their two sons Johannes and Lukas. Turned out that their mom, who totally dislikes science fiction and stuff like that, calls them Han and Luke. The look on her face, when she asked what was so funny about those nicknames totally MMD

 

 

May the Fourth Be With You!

Happy Star Wars Day everybody! May the fourth be with you! Let’s see, how shall we celebrate?

Well, we could begin by watching the Star Wars Holiday Special on Google Video, and be grateful that the interwebs mean we no longer have to scour fan conventions looking for an old VHS dub. Or, if we’ve seen it before and need a little extra boost, we could watch it again with a rifftrax. Or if we’re in a hurry, we could just reminisce over Princess Leia’s timeless song.

If we had planned ahead, we could have worn this Admiral Ackbar shirt from woot.com. “It’s a trap!”

We could book a trip to Star Wars Celebration V, conveniently located in Orlando, not far from that little magical place some of us like to visit from time to time. Or, if want a little tighter pairing between our Disney and Star Wars needs, it’s not too late to plan for Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which begin May 21. StudiosCentral has all the info you need, including a planning chat this coming weekend.

While we’re at StudiosCentral, we could refresh our memories about the timeline for Star Tours 2, since no doubt we’re obsessive enough fans that this isn’t news.

And finally, especially if we’re feeling down and out, we could enjoy Crackerjack Junction’s rendition of the Ewok celebration song. (Hat tip: BoingBoing) And no, I haven’t a clue where the translation comes from, but let’s just go with it shall we?

Asian Star Wars Disco Sea Chicken Commercial

I don’t know how to process this. (Hat tip: Pink Tentacle.)

Star Wars Burlesque

So wrong I just had to link to it. Check out more at Daily Obsessional.

Animals with Lightsabers

What could be better than Animals with Lightsabers? Not much, really.

Hat tip: BoingBoing.

Star Tours II Video Preview

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.