Saturday November 17, 2007

Military resort at Disney World provides fairy tale vacation
New Epcot Park Hours Effective 11/23
Lowell honored at Disney parade
'Disney Princess' Leads Pack of Games for Girls
Amy Adams: Happily ever after
How to Hook Up Your Animated Short at Disney
Disney Set To Film ‘Hannah Montana: The Movie

They're a double-barreled military couple from Texas, so the trip this month with John's three adolescent children is crammed between matching his and her deployments. John, 45, retired from the National Guard in June and is stationed in Iraq as an Army contractor. Rita, 47, a sergeant in the National Guard, is heading to Afghanistan with the 436th Chemical Company out of Laredo.

They bought a special war zone R&R discount package from the Shades of Green military resort at Disney World. It was the easiest, most affordable way to pack in some family fun when moments together were their scarcest resource.

Shades of Green is one of four resorts operated by the Department of Defense to provide discounted vacations to active or retired military personnel. The others are in Honolulu, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, and Seoul, South Korea. More than 350,000 guests stayed at the resorts last year.

"A lot of people don't understand the sacrifices that our military make every day," says Shades of Green general manager Jim McCrindle. "Not only the ones in the war zone, but for the family left behind." The military resorts are a way to say thank you, he says.

For years, John had promised to take his kids to Disney World. "There's so many sacrifices ... so much time you lose when you're in the military," he says. "Something always came up."

Now Shanna, 16, Kasey, 15, and Nathan, 12, are nearly grown. They live with their mother – John's ex-wife – in Haltom City. John gets to see them once a month when he's home in Leesburg, Texas, a Piney Woods town about 120 miles east of Dallas. And the kids are feeling John's absence more than ever because of all his time in Iraq. "I needed to do something for them," John says.

But John and Rita have less than two weeks together this month before each heads back to the front lines. It's hardly enough time to squeeze in the family rendezvous with Mickey in Florida, an early Thanksgiving with relatives, final paperwork on their home under construction, a teeth cleaning and their wedding.

John and Rita met at Fort Hood while training to deploy to Iraq. Both were separated from their spouses, with those second marriages in ashes. They found they had much in common: the military life, small towns, East Texas and Friday night football.

"We had the same language, the same ideals, the same path," John says. They were stationed at different bases during that first tour in Iraq. Every few months, John rolled through on a convoy. During daily e-mails and phone calls, they fell more deeply in love.

"Everyone kept telling us that when we came home from Iraq we should take it slow, live separately, date, start over," Rita says.

"It's a different environment from Iraq. Things that worked there won't necessarily work in the civilian world. We didn't listen."

They bought seven acres and a Harley. But the goodbyes didn't end. Rita deployed on Operation Jump Start to help with security on the U.S. border with Mexico, and John returned to Iraq as a contractor.

They have been apart for two of their three years as a couple. "When you find the right one, distance doesn't matter, I guess," Rita says.

Shortly after John returned to Iraq as a contractor, he called and asked if she was ready to set the date.

Their mission at Disney World is to spend quality time with each other and the children, entertain three adolescents with varying interests and avoid a family meltdown. Not all of their objectives will be reached.

But a few things they learned in the military help: Remain flexible. Use time efficiently. And stay calm under fire.

John flew 16 hours straight during the journey from his logistics base in central Iraq to Rita's side. He sleeps through most of their first day together and keeps waking at odd hours at Shades of Green.

Rita's National Guard unit at the Wylie armory wasn't scheduled to return to Iraq until next fall. She volunteered to deploy earlier with another unit so that she could return to Texas about the same time as John.

When they left for Disney, her orders were in limbo, and she wasn't sure if she'd be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan. They had moved up the wedding date, guessing at her departure date. But even that wasn't enough.

Shortly after they arrive in Florida, Rita is ordered to report for predeployment training. "Wednesday? That's today!" she says. She makes a frantic call, and the commanders give her a few more days.

The kids are thrilled to see their dad, especially at Disney World. "I can't believe we're finally here!" Shanna says.

Nathan is injured the first day at the theme parks. Disney medics arrive when he cracks his head trying to jump feet first over a rope. Kasey, the elder son, yawns through the Animal Kingdom. He prefers skateboarding and video games.

But the only times John stops laughing are when Nathan bites his big sister, or when Shanna and Kasey have a long conversation consisting entirely of the words "shut up."

John doesn't even mind getting shot at first thing in the morning on the Star Wars ride. His laugh attacks might be stress relief coming off the war zone. Or maybe the pure bliss of a man surrounded by those he loves most.

At the Indiana Jones mock movie shoot, John guffaws until his face reddens when the audience extras appear wearing towels as makeshift Middle Eastern headdresses. "Like Iraqi civilians on the battlefield!" he says, reminding Rita of their stateside combat training.

Then a jeep hits a hidden explosive on stage, flipping into the air in a ball of fire. Rita turns away with a tense smile. "A little too close to home," she says. She rubs John's back, comforting herself.

John and Rita had talked about Cabo San Lucas, but there is no time for a honeymoon. This trip is for the kids.

Rita's two daughters are grown. One serves in the U.S. Air Force in Germany; the other recently had her first baby. Rita thought Disney World would be a good place to be welcomed into John's family.

"I'm going to be their new stepmom," she says. "I wanted to do something special for them that they would remember." She wanted everything to be perfect at home for John's return. She mended the fence, got a French manicure, trimmed the cedars and booked their Disney trip.

Rita can drive a dump truck and fire an assault rifle, but when John comes home, it takes time to sort out their roles. "He doesn't want to step over what I've been doing," she says. "But I have a hard time stepping back into what I call the wife mode."

John has to remind himself what it's like to be in the military and have little say over when you stay or go. He is upset that she has to leave a few days before he returns to Iraq.

"It's not like I can say, 'Sorry, I'm not coming.' You want to see me in handcuffs?" Rita asks.

Their disagreement quickly fizzles. "I just love this woman," John says, pulling her close.

During the Great Movie Ride, Clint Eastwood winks and Dorothy urges the couple to follow the yellow brick road to their heart's desire. Later they walk hand in hand under a blue autumn sky, a moment ahead of the kids.

"Our dreams were to own land, to own a house," says Rita. "I never had my own home. He's made all of those come true."

On the second day, Shanna swoons when Belle and the Beast fall in love, and Kasey and Nathan find the stunt-car show exhilarating.

Rita's ankle, the one she hurt in a road march, is swollen after miles of trudging through the parks. And John, the combat veteran, hasn't conquered his fear of roller coasters.

He is herded into the line for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, where he assures himself that he won't have to ride the phantom elevator.

Shanna has a flashback to another day, another theme park, another chili-dog lunch, and the disastrous outcome: her father sprawled on the ground incapacitated by nausea.

Then John spots a girl just clearing the 40-inch mark at the front of the line. He defies his high blood pressure and the posted warnings of death and braces himself as the phantom elevator climbs 13 stories.

After the plummet and shrieking stop, Shanna asks, "Daddy, are you OK? Daddy?" John leans forward from the other end of the row, smiling.

Shanna rolls her eyes at her father's war stories, though it's clear she adores him. She plans to join the Air Force after high school, but she worries about her dad in Iraq. "I talk to him every day," she says. "We miss him."

With so little time together, the pressure to see everything and love everyone enough is intense.

John and Rita plan to duck away from the resort for a sunset dinner at Cocoa Beach. "Dad, I do not want to go!" Shanna cries, stamping a pink flip-flop.

They leave her to sulk at the hotel room with Kasey. When they return, she is still tearful and furious. "I want it to be just you and me, Dad!" Shanna says.

Rita is unfazed. She's on her third set of children, her own from her first marriage plus stepchildren from her second. But John is hurt. Later that weekend, Shanna doesn't attend their wedding.

"They're having a hard time with me going back to Iraq," John explains. He can understand. He doesn't want to go back, either, but he feels it's the best thing for their family.

When he returns home, he hopes that the boys will live with him full time and that Shanna will have a change of heart. "I hope she realizes I'm doing this for her."

Just one more year overseas, and he will be able to pay off most of the mortgage and take Shanna somewhere special after she graduates. One more year, and maybe his deployments will end.

John's buzz cut is graying. Rita wants to spoil her first grandbaby.

"We're ready to settle down and live a normal life," says Rita, who took John's last name after the wedding. "We want to come home to each other every day."

Next year, we'll have a big old Christmas at our house, John assures them. "If we make it home in time. If we make it home."

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New Epcot Park Hours Effective 11/23

Disney News - On Friday, November 23, World Showcase hours will change to 11:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. with IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth beginning at 9:30 p.m.

Also beginning on Friday, November 23, Future World Attractions (including Mission: SPACE, Soarin', Seas with Nemo and Friends, and Test Track) will remain open until 9:30 p.m. These changes will be reflected in the Times Guides.

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Lowell honored at Disney parade

MLB.com - Free-agent third baseman Mike Lowell was able to take a little break from the stress of contract negotiations by serving as the honorary grand marshal in Friday's Disney Dreams Come True parade at the Magic Kingdom in Florida.

Lowell was the World Series Most Valuable Player as the Red Sox swept the Rockies in four games.

All of Red Sox Nation has been hoping the Red Sox can retain Lowell, who was a force in the regular season and the postseason in 2007.

The Red Sox have made at least one three-year offer to Lowell, if not more. Lowell reportedly has been seeking a four-year deal on the open market.

The Yankees are said to have interest in Lowell as a first baseman, but it's unclear if the former Gold Glove-winning third baseman would have interest in moving across the diamond.

Though the Red Sox -- as is always their policy in contract talks -- have stayed quiet on the status of the negotiations with Lowell, they remain hopeful they can bring the right-handed hitter back.

"I'm not going to comment on it," said Red Sox president/CEO Larry Lucchino. "I think that any public comment can only be detrimental to a process that has been going along respectfully and positively. I'm not going to say anything, except to say we want him back. We very much want Mike Lowell to know, and want the fans to know, that we're endeavoring to sign him because we want him back. We'd like to see him at third base on Opening Day next year receiving his World Series ring."

Lowell spent the day at Disney with his wife and two kids, and according to a press release provided by Disney, he visited attractions such as Teacups and Dumbo.

The 33-year-old Lowell hit .400 (6-for-15) with a home run and four RBIs during the World Series. During the regular season, he hit .324 with 21 homers and 120 RBIs.

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FOX News - The conventional wisdom on gender differences and play is that girls like to create things, boys like to destroy them.

A girl can enjoy building a house out of Legos, while half the fun for a boy is demolishing the thing.

Most video games are about destruction; guys love "Halo 3" because it's fun to blow stuff up.

But the Entertainment Software Association says 38 percent of video-game players are female, and most of the industry doesn't know — or care — what they want.

"The Sims" is often cited as a game girls like, because it involves nurturing your character rather than giving her a machine gun.

Lately, I've noticed a lot of women picking up the mayhem-free "Guitar Hero." And a few companies are hoping to expand the audience for video games by getting to young girls early.

—"Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey" (Disney, for the Wii, $39.99; PlayStation 2, $29.99): For this foray into girl games, Disney has trotted out its biggest female stars: Snow White, Cinderella, Jasmine ("Aladdin") and Ariel ("The Little Mermaid").

But the real "princess" is the player, thanks to an easy-to-use character generator that lets anyone turn herself into a Disneyesque heroine.

Something has gone wrong in each of the familiar stars' worlds: Ariel's people can't sing any more, for example, while color has been drained from Snow White's kingdom.

The heroine can restore the missing elements by waving her magic wand — which has the side benefit of turning monsters into butterflies.

The result is a low-key, nonviolent adventure with the look of classic Disney animation.

The ideal version is the one for the Wii, which lets you twirl the controller as if it was a magic wand. Both versions offer cooperative play, so a younger girl can get help from a parent (or vice versa).

Three stars out of four.

— "Imagine Babyz" (Ubisoft, for the Nintendo DS, $29.99): "Babyz" is one of Ubisoft's "Imagine" series of girl-oriented games, which also includes "Fashion Designer," "Animal Doctor" and "Master Chef."

I picked out "Babyz" because I hoped it would be something truly weird: a baby-raising sim, like a "Nintendogs" with diapers.

Alas, "Babyz" doesn't give you the full spectrum of child-rearing chaos. Your character is just a baby-sitter, so you only have to keep the brats out of trouble for short periods.

You may need to feed them, entertain them or change their diapers, all tasks that are presented as relatively easy minigames.

And the reward? You get money to buy things to decorate your house.

Actually, any girl playing "Babyz" will come away with a good idea of just how annoying the creatures can be. It may be the best advertisement for abstinence ever seen in a video game.

Two stars.

— "Hannah Montana Music Jam" (Disney, for the DS, $29.99): You could dedicate a landfill to all the awful games that have been developed from Disney Channel series, from "Lizzie McGuire" to "That's So Raven" to "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody."

"Hannah Montana Music Jam" breaks that streak with a decent music-making tool.

"Music Jam" does a nifty job of simulating a guitar on the DS: You select a chord with the directional pad and strum the strings with the stylus.

You can create lead, rhythm and bass guitar tracks, add a drumbeat, then edit them all together and save the result.

There are also some "Guitar Hero"-ish minigames, but you have to play through a drab adventure to find them.

The story has pop star Hannah polishing her skills in order to fend off a new rival, Savannah Star.

Meanwhile, Hannah's normal-gal alter ego, Miley, is running around doing favors for her friends.

The tedious quests usually involve simply taking an object from one character to another — which is no fun at all when you just want to play guitar.

Two stars.

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Amy Adams: Happily ever after

Telegraph - The groomed actress perched elegantly on the teal velvet sofa in a Claridge’s hotel suite is saying, ‘I’m so goofy. I really am a goofy person.’ Looking at Amy Adams, 33, who is dressed in a smart – stern even – purple crepe shift dress and high black stilettos, this is hard to believe at first. For a goof, Adams is on her best behavior today, composed as she discusses her new film, Disney’s Christmas season spectacular Enchanted.

Her responsible bearing is hardly surprising: Enchanted is Adams’s biggest film to date, in which she plays the central character, Giselle, a wide-eyed princess-to-be who tumbles down a well that takes her from her happily-ever-after animated world into live-action modern-day Manhattan. Hollywood commentators are already suggesting that, in an industry sorely lacking bankable female leads, Adams, who last year earned her first Oscar nomination (for Junebug), ‘may be the answer to a few prayers’.

The film is a brilliantly absurd and affectionate distillate of every fairy tale Disney has told, featuring talking animals, a square-jawed handsome prince (James Marsden), a wicked queen (Susan Sarandon) and her devoted henchman (Timothy Spall), and, less conventionally, a single-dad divorce lawyer (Patrick Dempsey).

Adams plays Giselle with winning enthusiasm and guileless charm. The kind of girl who breaks into a song about the nature of true love in the middle of Central Park, and tells a toothless tramp, ‘You have a lovely smile’, Giselle could so easily be irritating (especially to anyone over the age of 10 in the audience), a cutesy caricature in too much sparkly tulle. But in Adams’s hands she is disarming, her journey from a 2D animated character in the film’s first minutes to one who feels three-dimensional emotions – anger, attraction – is genuinely engaging.

‘Oh, I’m glad I’m not annoying,’ Adams says. ‘I annoy myself sometimes in real life. I can be a bit chipper, a bit perky. And when I think what I was like in my early twenties! “Hihowyoudoin’…” This burst of conversation would come at you.’

‘She’s filled with joy – I didn’t have to do any work to direct her,’ Enchanted’s director Kevin Lima has commented of his leading lady, who also performs the effervescent Menken and Schwartz songs throughout the film. ‘I just love playing characters who are unabashedly, persistently cheerful,’ Adams says, sounding a little Giselle herself. ‘It’s so much fun.’

Adams’s growing reputation is built on her skill at playing endearing innocents. Her best supporting actress nomination was for her funny and tender portrayal of Ashley, a heavily pregnant young woman living with her monosyllabic husband and parents-in-law, in the independent film Junebug.

The subtle family drama set in smalltown North Carolina is a long way from Disney fare, but Ashley negotiates life with a relentlessly openhearted optimism, similar to Giselle’s, responding to her husband Johnny’s anger by saying, ‘God loves you just the way you are, but too much to let you stay that way.’ Adams points out, ‘It’s easy to call them naive. I think of them as people of conviction. Ashley knows more than she lets on. Her behavior is a choice.’

Though Adams’s Oscar nomination prompted numerous profile articles introducing this ‘overnight sensation’, she had been making her living in Hollywood since the late 1990s, steadily clocking up guest parts in television series including Smallville and The West Wing, as well as starring as Leonardo DiCaprio’s green young love interest in Steven Spielberg’s 2002 film Catch Me if You Can, an experience ‘that to this day has given me a ton of confidence’.

‘Things have happened at the right time,’ she says. ‘I’m glad I didn’t become crazy-successful on moving to LA. Your twenties are brutal, a hard time. I would have been too self-conscious.’ Without seeming disingenuous, Adams says that she was even glad not to have won the Oscar for Junebug. ‘I wasn’t prepared for the kind of attention that would have brought. And I’m terrified of public speaking.’ She recalls she spent the ceremony excited to be ‘there as a witness, as I thought Rachel Weisz was going to win [she did]. Then at some point during Dolly Parton’s song I turned to my boyfriend [the artist and actor Darren Le Gallo] and said, “What if I win?” I think I’m the only person in Oscar history that looks relieved at the announcement of somebody else’s name.’

Amy Adams grew up in Castle Rock, Colorado, the middle child of seven: two sisters, four brothers. ‘It was like Lord of the Flies,’ she says. ‘We were all close in age, all very high energy.’ Her father, an ex-serviceman, was a singer performing in nightclubs, restaurants and officers’ clubs. ‘He did covers of doo-wop songs from the 1950s, some 1960s music. He played the guitar and had a keyboard that he played with his feet. He’d wear sparkly socks and I thought he was the coolest guy ever.’

Her parents were Mormons, and they brought their children up within the faith until Amy was 12, when they split up and left the church. ‘I can’t speak for everybody,’ she says of her religious upbringing, ‘but I know it instilled in me a value system I still hold true. The basic “Do unto others…” – that was what was hammered into me. And love.’

The young Adams was a promising athlete, an area in which her parents encouraged her so she could win a college scholarship. ‘There was not enough money to put all the kids through school,’ she says. ‘They were a little disappointed when I stopped doing athletics to dance.’ Her ambition was to be a ballerina.

Throughout her high-school years, ‘which didn’t hold a lot for me socially or academically’, she would try to scrape a C average that would permit her to continue training as an apprentice at the David Taylor Dance Company. At 18, however, Adams came to the realization that ‘I am never going to be that good, no matter how hard I work. I got into musical theatre, which was much better suited to my personality. It was like, “OK, this fits.” ’

The next seven years she spent dancing in dinner-theatre productions in Atlanta (where her mother was based by that time), Colorado and then Minnesota, in shows such as A Chorus Line and Anything Goes. She was off work, nursing a pulled muscle, when local auditions were held for the film Drop Dead Gorgeous, a satire on beauty pageants set in Minnesota co-starring Kirsten Dunst and Ellen Barkin. Adams, playing a libidinous cheerleader, ended up earning her own share of laughs.

‘I thought, “My body is just wrecked from dancing all these years. Maybe I’ll just go to LA, focus on acting and see what happens.” ’

She describes her first year there as ‘my dark year. Just bleak. I was so sad and lonely.’ Having gone from her own family straight into the ‘familial environment’ of theatre, a move in her mid-twenties to a city where she knew no one was a shock. ‘I tried going out to clubs and that didn’t suit me at all. Because I’d missed college, I wasn’t properly socialized. I was always surprised when people turned out to be nasty. It was, like, “What? You mean you kissed me and you don’t want me to be your girlfriend?” ’

Adams credits her experience working on Junebug with far more than boosting her stock in Hollywood (she also won the Sundance Festival Special Jury Prize, a Screen Actors Guild nomination and numerous critics awards for the role); she has described that time as ‘the summer I grew into myself’. (She even ended up adopting Ashley’s red hair color after the film, despite being a natural blonde.)

Adams turned 30 that year; her two sisters were pregnant, while Adams was wearing her nine-months-gone prosthetic belly. She brought a lot of what she calls her ‘real life lived’ to her startling performance. ‘One of the joys of playing Ashley was that she had faith,’ she says. ‘People’s relationship with God can be very complicated. There was a moment when that was taken away from her,’ she says of one traumatic scene, clearly moved. ‘It still kills me when I think about it.’

She went to the Junebug shoot a week early to spend time with the director Phil Morrison, who made the film in Winston-Salem, the town in North Carolina where he grew up. ‘We went to this church there I really love, called Green Street Methodist, every Sunday,’ he recalls. It was from the minister there that Morrison and Adams picked up Ashley’s memorable ‘God loves you…’ line. He says he was immediately impressed by how ‘intensely serious’ she was, how she committed to the character of Ashley as she was written in the screenplay, rather than seeing her as unrealistic. ‘I just wanted to hug her.’

Kevin Lima was similarly set on Adams once he had seen her in action: ‘Amy was absolutely my only choice. The day she came in I had a fever and was as sick as a dog, but during her audition she made me completely forget I was sick,’ he has related. Girlishly pretty, her neat little upturned nose lending a touch of mischief (physically she has something of the Bewitched star Elizabeth Montgomery about her), it is certain that thousands of little girls are about to fall for Adams-as-Giselle. (‘I have a three-year-old niece,’ she says, ‘but I think four is the age you can take them to the movies. When the DVD comes out it’ll be nice…’)

To create the animated Giselle in the first segment of the film, Adams’s looks and mannerisms were analyzed closely by the small team of artists. ‘They were able to capture some of my quirks, which is a little embarrassing but also sweet,’ she says. ‘When I smile big, my smile gets very square, so when Giselle smiles, it’s this big toothy grin with these black spaces each side.’

Adams has been fully occupied since making Enchanted; she filmed the 1930s-set Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day in London in June, playing a rather less innocent young actress whose morally dubious private life is kept under wraps by a governess, played by Frances McDormand. ‘To me the most validating thing is getting to work with these people, getting to spar with them,’ Adams says.

She took the rest of the summer off and she and Le Gallo spent three weeks touring Italy, taking in Venice, Florence, Vicenza (Adams was born while her father was stationed there) and Ravello: ‘Terribly romantic. It’s the first vacation I’ve taken in my life that didn’t revolve round a wedding, or a public holiday. With a big family you are always travelling to see them. So that was a milestone for me – just to go somewhere.’

You sense that Adams is well equipped to cope with the inflated fame that Enchanted will bring. Her friend, the actress Emily Blunt, whose career is on a similarly stratospheric trajectory, says, ‘She gets how precarious it is, and how scary and exposing it can be. She taught me one of my favorite expressions, which is, “This business makes you feel like you’re walking around with your ass hanging out.” It is the most perfect way to describe it.’

The pair had worked on Charlie Wilson’s War, the forthcoming Mike Nichols film in which Adams plays aide to Tom Hanks’s Congressman Charlie Wilson, but had little shared time on set. They bonded back in February in the isolation of Albuquerque, New Mexico, while filming Sunshine Cleaning, a dark comedy about two sisters (Adams playing the uptight Rose, and Blunt the eccentric pothead Norah) who work as cleaners mopping up after crime scenes. Blunt speaks warmly of their friendship, forged in an industry where actresses are usually so ‘watchful’ of one another.

‘We made the best of Albuquerque, where everything seems to be the color of taupe,’ Blunt recalls. ‘We lived next door to each other and were joined at the hip. We’d have drinks and cook for each other. I’d do it again for another few months. I don’t get tired of being around Amy, ever.’ Acting with Adams was also ‘really fun. Amy is the most unselfconscious actress I’ve come across in a while. She’s not afraid to make a fool out of herself,’ Blunt says. ‘She is spookily talented.’

Adams’s professed goofiness is almost undetectable during the interview until she begins talking about Blunt, whereupon it bubbles up dramatically. It is suddenly apparent that she really is her sparkly-sock-wearing father’s daughter, as she pours out a super-animated monologue: ‘She’s a great gal, she’s amazing, I can’t say enough, she’s the next whatever-she-wants-to-be. And so composed… Ah, enough about Emily! She’s fantastic, she’s gorgeous! And she’s younger than me, the hag!’

She reckons her tendency for goofiness began as a child. ‘I was quite shy. People thought I was very stuck up, which made me feel so misunderstood. I thought, “OK, if I’m silly, people will like me and think I’m approachable. I don’t have to be this timid blonde in the corner with shivering blue eyes."’

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How to Hook Up Your Animated Short at Disney

Animation World Network - When John Lasseter and Ed Catmull instituted the new shorts program at Walt Disney Animation Studios, they not only wanted it to emulate Pixar's successful program, but also to reinvigorate the Disney legacy characters in 2D.

"The shorts program to me at both studios is very, very important," emphasizes Lasseter, chief creative officer of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. "One: to develop talent. It's not just directors, but directing animators, technical directors and all these things. So it gives young people the chance to be a supervisor in a small setting and to try people out at different things. This is where talent development is really great. And it's great creatively to have these shorts because sometimes there are little ideas that aren't meant to be for features, but you just want to see them. And, at Disney, we have the added heritage of all these fantastic characters. It's so much fun to go back and try things with them."

Hence, launching with How to Hook Up Your Home Theater, starring Goofy in a very contemporary situation: buying a big-screen, HD TV, and then trying to set it up himself -- with all of the wiring and remotes -- in time for the big football game.

Written and helmed by longtime story partners Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers (Walt Disney Animation Studio's first female director), How to Hook Up Your Home Theater wonderfully captures the spirit of the How to Goofy shorts from the '40s and '50s directed by Jack Kinney and animated by John Sibley -- but obviously with a contemporary spin.

"They were looking for story people to pitch ideas and also ways of bringing back classic characters," Deters recalls. "I had just purchased a new big-screen TV for the Super Bowl and Goofy was a natural. You look at those cartoons and think, 'I may be a dumb guy, but at least I'm not as dumb as him.' I pitched the idea to Stevie, and we brainstormed and developed a structure. John immediately recognized the great marriage of Disney and something you could relate to today. Great animation, as they know how to do here. One thing we discovered quickly was [that they had just come out] with The Complete Goofy on DVD, so that was a godsend. You recognized that everyone had a warm, fuzzy nostalgia for what they remember and that the Goofy shorts were really all over the map. So what we did was pick our favorites and acknowledge a little bit from different eras."

Wermers adds that they put it up on reels for a couple of months and boarded it, and they were off and running. "It's so broad that you can go to town and not feel restricted. Goofy is so pliable."

Lasseter agrees: "Getting back into hand-drawn animation with Goofy -- that was really a key thing: trying things out with the process and thinking about how we did it. There's a lot of development. I'm very proud of what Kevin and Stevie have done with How to Hook Up Your Home Theater because he's exactly in the style of the How to shorts, but it's subject matter that's totally relevant for today's audience, and that juxtaposition is so entertaining."

It begins with the pitch, of course. But unlike the old Gong Show days at Disney, Lasseter and Catmull prefer the more artist-friendly approach they've perfected at Pixar, in which you pitch a portfolio of three ideas, meeting initially with the Disney story trust, which consists of top directors and story artists. You have several minutes for the presentation, which usually contains visuals. And the story trust provides notes and constructively discusses them with you, and you can come back and pitch a second and third time. "The way this system works is that the directors have to be [true] to their vision but be able to sort through a lot of notes," explains Chuck Williams, director of the shorts program. "It's very frank and constructive. And what's cool is that, if I'm pitching later, I can come watch how you pitch and see how they work with you."

On How to Hook Up Your Home Theater, the directors collaborated with some of Disney's best 2D animators during their downtime, including Eric Goldberg, Mark Henn, Andreas Deja and Dale Baer. "I was intimate with Goofy, drawing him a lot, but I never actually animated him before," Goldberg admits. "Kevin and Stevie had an obvious preference for the Kinney Goofy and we all gravitated toward animator John Sibley, who had very smoothly drawn Goofys. In other words, he took the streamlining thing and made it fun and elastic, so if Goofy smiled, you could really see the splay on the jowels, and every time he grabbed something, his fingers would splay out -- the art of Goofyness, so to speak. He probably did the craziest animation too in those How to cartoons. And that's certainly who I tried to emulate. That said, when you're trying to emulate the guy who does it the most exuberantly and the most loosely, that's a tall order. You have to cut loose a little bit and not be tight. One of the fun scenes I did was Goofy tangled around the speakers. If you look at it frame-by-frame, you see I'm trying to do a zillion kinds of leg actions as an homage to the Sibley style of animation. There's a lot of overlapping. It's not just a question of Goofy going from A to Z; it's how he does it. It's daunting, but fun."

Goldberg's main contribution was animating an early football fantasy, and he was allowed to implement a crucial suggestion: "When Goofy first fantasized that he was on the football field, they had him scared -- seeing the oncoming players and going, 'Wow!' But I said, no, this is his fantasy and he'd be smiling all the way through it."

Goldberg, who is currently animating a character for The Princess and the Frog 2D feature, is also boarding his own short involving Mickey, Donald & Goofy. "It's in the vein of Boat Builders. The format allows each of the characters to have their own personality set pieces. That's what makes them, them, and so fun to watch. It's as if you could transplant a great comedian from the past, in their prime, and bring them into the present. That's the great thing about animation. With Goofy, he's always in the round. As much as you can distort him, he's always volumetric -- he will always turn around in space. And then there are the little things: Goofy's eyes can be very bland if you don't put them slightly together. And also the pupils have to be very long. Otherwise, they look like they're unfocused."

For Henn, returning Goofy to his roots consisted of animating most of the football sequences, along with some other early odds and ends. He had the added benefit of utilizing the original football stadium background from How to Play Football and the same exterior house from Motor Mania. "In designing the football players, we went for more of a contemporary look to their uniforms, while keeping it simple. There's sophistication to animating Goofy, even though he's zany. He has structure and you want to give weight, which is what makes it all so believable. As I've said about Mickey Mouse, it's easy to draw badly.

"By the same token, those characters are fairly forgiving when you're drawing. You can have some wild and crazy poses and expressions, but there's a realm that still says this is Goofy." Henn also got to inject some amusing inside jokes during the pile-up at the end, including a character from Hockey Homicide, Goofy and the horse from How to Ride a Horse and the little chalk stick figure from How to Play Golf.

There was an epiphany of sorts for Deja, who had actually given up on the legacy characters. "Believe it or not, there was a time when I thought that maybe you could no longer draw these characters in a modern environment in an appealing toy-world kind of way. And I was proven wrong with the right idea and the right story.

"I think the one discovery for me was how to get that looseness in Goofy's clothes because he's not wearing all that much -- basically pants and a T-shirt. But even that you can play with in terms of wrinkles and secondary action in the way that he moves. And, somehow, even though that sounds like a technical thing, it adds to the personality and a comic quality to the way he moves like an acrobat. I kept one thing in mind. I got to meet Art Babbitt way back a few times and he gave Goofy the personality in the beginning. He defined Goofy as somebody who thinks about something long and hard and then does it wrong. The first scene I got was Goofy trying to open up the cable box. Like so many people, I've been there: that and DVD boxes. I get so frustrated that I hurt myself. That whole business of him trying to pull it apart, hammering on it and the thing is unchanged. And then he relaxes for a second and this drop of sweat comes down... it's so classic -- just the whole agony of it."

As with the Pixar program, there's also a certain element of technical experimentation with the new Disney shorts. On How to Hook Up Your Home Theater, it was going 50% paperless with Toon Boom's Harmony software (including cleanup and ink-and-paint) using Wacom's Cintiq tablets.

"The whole idea of going primarily paperless with the Harmony/Cintiq package was not only to make the short efficiently, but also to set the table for the 2D features coming down the road [starting with The Princess and the Frog]," explains Deters. "What they wanted to do from a leadership standpoint is examine how we did things in the past and figure out what we could do better.

"Dale Baer, who worked on Winnie the Pooh and Robin Hood, embraced the paperless experiment. Andreas, Eric and Mark worked on paper. It's about finding what works best for individuals, what works best for the pipeline and as an ongoing process that will continue to evolve on some of the other features we're working on as well."

For Baer, who had no problem learning Maya a few years back, he was just as eager to be a guinea pig on the Goofy short. "Frankly, I like drawing on the Cintiq. I like the size and it's comfortable to hold and it's got the best eraser in the world. Your work comes out cleaner. You can shoot an instant test automatically without having to take out all the drawings. When Toon Boom brought Harmony to the studio, it was intriguing but it was missing facets that animators were accustomed to. Toon Boom made the necessary modifications for more high-end productions. They have so many tools now that I don't even touch 75%. They developed the texture brush, which acts more like a pencil. That was revolutionary. It's great for pencil tests. They have a bottom light where you can see where your characters bend and where they're going, so you can actually check out your arcs. And you can put the background level down. You don't have level problems with your drawings. No paper flicker, so you have cleaner pencil tests. You can control the thickness of lines. There's lots of latitude."

Thus far, How to Hook Up Your Home Theater has played at the Ottawa Animation Festival and the Chicago Children's Festival, qualifying for Oscar consideration. Although there was speculation that it was going to screen theatrically with Enchanted (which opens Nov. 21), Lasseter confirmed that theatrical plans have not yet been finalized.

Meanwhile, Deters and Wermers are halfway through their second short, The Ballad of Nessie, a sweet origin story about a female Loch Ness monster. Nessie, also in 2D, is a continuation of a student project Wermers began at CalArts. Baer, Deja and Henn have been recruited once again. Nessie, according to Wermers, "is very different from crazy Goofy, with much more subtle acting." Inspired by Mary Blair, it has the painterly look and feel of a lovely children's book. After that, Deters and Wermers would like to do another Goofy short.

However, next up for Disney is Glago's Guest, a 3D, stereoscopic short by Chris Williams. It's about a Russian soldier guarding a Siberian outpost who has a strange encounter with an extraterrestrial. The director of the shorts program describes it as "serious, suspenseful and arty," with new texture development as its technical innovation. "On Glago, they are really pushing 3D animation," adds Chuck Williams. "There's human animation and a step toward what they're doing on Rapunzel, but also the hair and cloth were a challenge beyond what has ever been done before at Disney. Shapes are stylized and pushed, and the proportions are exaggerated, but the environments and detail are photoreal."

In fact, Lasseter was so impressed with Glago that he assigned Williams to take over the 3D-animated Bolt feature (formerly Chris Sanders' American Dog). Glago's Guest is scheduled to debut at the Annecy Animated Film Festival next year and play theatrically with Bolt (Nov. 26, 2008).

"It's also nice to stay in touch because all around the world there's this wonderful community of animators that get together at animation festivals," Lasseter suggests. "It's great to send a film to these festivals... Pixar's been doing it for a long time; I used to do it with my films. I have lifelong friends from these festivals. And it's very artistic -- these festivals are about the art of animation, not just the commerce. I love both studios being a part of that."

And to further nurture talent, the shorts program has been extended into the "Shorts Club," in which anyone in animation can pitch a short and make it on their own if they can get volunteers to help out. There are five projects currently in production, including a spin-off of Meet the Robinsons.

"It's a wonderful opportunity to utilize studio talent and equipment in their spare time, downtime or on weekends," Williams offers. "Currently there are a trainer, a layout artist and an animator making shorts. The ability to lead and inspire is a big plus. These are people that are learning on their own."

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Friday November 16, 2007

National Thanksgiving Turkeys say "I'm Going To Disney World!"
Disney Disputes Pirate Ride Ash Scattering
Disney Live! Mickey's Magic Show makes its way to Singapore
Duck Down Does Disney Hoops Tracks
Hannah Montana fans jam on Nintendo DS
Director Tim Burton teams with Disney for 3D films
B'way talks to resume as Disney helps
Disney Snow Sports
More Hannah Montana tickets going on sale
Shanda Launches Beta Testing for Disney Magicboard Online
Michael Flatley to Perform on `Dancing'

National Thanksgiving Turkeys say "I'm Going To Disney World!"

In a photograph taken Friday, Nov, 16, 2007 at Ten Star Ranch in Dubois, Indiana, Pilgrim Mickey Mouse unveils the two turkeys that will receive presidential pardons from President George W. Bush at The White House on Tuesday, Nov. 20 in the 60th annual National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation. Following their presidential pardons, the two turkeys will join Super Bowl stars and other celebrities by "Going to Disney World" for a celebratory parade in their honor on Nov. 22. The pair will be flown first-class to Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. to star in the Thanksgiving Day parade on Nov. 22 in the Magic Kingdom park. On Nov. 16, Mickey Mouse joined National Turkey Federation chairman Ted Seger in the ceremony to introduce the 2007 National Thanksgiving Turkey and its alternate. Both of the tom turkeys were raised at Ten Star Ranch. They are 21-weeks old and weigh approximately 45 pounds each. U.S. President Harry S. Truman was the first Commander-in-Chief to be presented with a Thanksgiving turkey (in 1947) by the National Turkey Federation. This year’s presentation marks the 60th anniversary of a tradition that has continued through 10 successive presidential administrations.

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Disney Disputes Pirate Ride Ash Scattering

ABC News - A woman caught on a Disneyland camera sprinkling a powdery substance a week ago from the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction was enough to close the popular pirate ride for 45 minutes.

The woman, interviewed and released by Disneyland employees, claimed that she was dumping baby powder from her ride car, but a blogger who writes exclusively about Disney reported that the instance actually may have been the latest example of a guest scattering the remains of a loved one from a park attraction.

"The craze seems to have gotten its start at the Haunted Mansion," blogger Al Lutz wrote, "with the earliest incident taking place in the late 1990s. Ever since, the practice has become more popular by the year."

Lutz, in fact, claimed the practice of scattering ashes has become so common that the ride attendants have been briefed on how to handle such incidents and custodial crews are using specially equipped vacuums to collect the ashes. He cited an instance last month in which a staff member at the Haunted Mansion found several piles of ashes alongside the ride track that were ultimately identified as human remains.

But Sgt. Rick Martinez, a spokesman for the Anaheim police department, told ABC News that while a police officer who works inside the park was notified about the possibility of human remains scattered inside the 15-minute flume-style pirate ride last Friday, there was no confirmation that the ashes actually were those of a deceased person.

"As soon as the woman gets off the ride, she says it was baby powder," Martinez said. "And that lady's in the wind."

Park security and ride staff could not recover any of the powder, which quickly dissipated in the ride's water.

"Bottom line, we did not respond," Martinez said. "We were there, but there was really nothing to go on. We did not take a report."

Martinez acknowledged urban legends about the crematory droppings, but said that in his 35 years on the force, no one's ever been caught for dumping a loved one's ashes on the grounds of the Disneyland amusement park.

Still, Lutz, the Disney blogger, speculated that other attractions are not immune.

"It's a Small World is another long, 15-minute ride that doesn't have a single security camera anywhere," Lutz wrote. "All sorts of illicit things happen inside Small World at the end of the night, and leaving grandma's remains in there to listen to that catchy song for all eternity is definitely a possibility."

Rob Doughty, a Disneyland spokesman, reiterated that there's no evidence the woman was actually dumping human remains and shot down Lutz's assertion that this is part of a growing trend.

"The problem I have with blogs is they don't necessarily have to have validated information," Doughty told ABC News. ABC News is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.

Like Martinez, Doughty admitted that there are myths about illegal Disneyland cremation ceremonies, but said the park has never had a confirmed case where human ashes were found. In fact, he said, his department receives, on average, two requests a year from guests eager to spread a loved one's ashes on the grounds of the park.

"Clearly this is a special place," Doughty said. "There's a great deal of emotional connection to Disneyland."

Guests responded with mixed opinions on the possibility of human remains being left by loved ones around the iconic amusement park.

"I've just heard people joke about it, how much they love Disneyland and that they'd like to be buried there, have their ashes scattered there. I've even said it," Penny Atwood, a Disneyland visitor, told ABC News' Los Angeles affiliate KABC.

Creative cremation methods have become a popular business as the number of deceased Americans who choose to have their remains incinerated as an alternative to traditional burials skyrockets. In 1975, according to the Cremation Association of North America, just under 124,000 -- or about 6 percent -- of dead Americans were cremated. That number grew to 32 percent in 2005, with nearly 785,000 cremations, and is expected to surpass 50 percent by 2025.

And no longer are people always content with keeping ashes packed in an urn on the mantel or even sprinkling them out at sea.

Celestis, a Texas-based company, offers to launch ashes into space.

"Leaving Earth to touch the cosmos is an experience few have ever known, but many have often dreamed of," the company says on its Web site. "Space Services makes it possible to honor the dream and memory of your departed loved one by launching a symbolic portion of cremated remains into Earth orbit, onto the lunar surface or into deep space."

Another novel cremation opportunity is offered by Eternal Reefs Inc., a Georgia company that will mix human remains into a concrete-type substance used to create artificial reefs.

In August 2006, three people were kicked out of Angel Stadium, very close to Disneyland, after trying to scatter a loved one's remains on the pitcher's mound.

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Disney Live! Mickey's Magic Show makes its way to Singapore

Channel News Asia - Disney Live! Mickey's Magic Show will promise to take the audience to a world of fantasy, adventures and brilliant illusions featuring Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy as well as Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and many others.

The audience will be in for a special treat as it would be the first time that Disney themes will be combined with illusionary magic.

Illusionists Brad Ross and Alex Gonzalez said amid the bounteous surprises the show promises to offer the audience; it would also showcase some of the brilliant set pieces and songs, with all of the Disney characters coming together in this enthralling show with world class magicians. Ross believes this would be a great opportunity for families to come together and be part of the show. A couple of children will also get lucky as they will be picked from the crowd to join in the magic with the Disney characters on stage.

The show presents a succession of some of the most fascinating magical effects, such as Minnie and Princess Jasmine floating in the air, Fairy Godmother transforming Cinderella from rags to riches and many more.

Disney Live! Is one of the unique of its kind, because it gives the kids an opportunity to imagine, wonder and to believe that kind of world, where everything and anything is possible at any given point of time.

It was a mere card game trick that Gonzalez’s father showed him and ever since then he was hooked onto magic while Ross started venturing into the world of magic when he was at the tender age of five. Both admitted that going on world tours isn’t exactly that glamorous as what many might perceive it to be. Besides, touring frequently will require the performers to be energized most of the time and Ross reveals that his secret to staying active despite his hectic schedule is eating Trix cereals!

So do they get bored repeating the same acts in every country? According to Ross, while the acts may be repetitive, it is the audience that changes in every single show which is like a breath of fresh air for them.

With the school holiday season around the corner, it would be a great time to catch "Disney Live! Mickey's Magic Show" with your family, which starts on the November 16 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, and will continue every night till the November 25th.

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Duck Down Does Disney Hoops Tracks

NobodySmiling - According to sources close to the label, Brooklyn based outfit Duck Down Records this year provides the soundscape for ESPN’s 2007-08 Men’s College Basketball coverage. Label staple Buckshot (Black Moon), Heltah Skeltah (Sean Price and Rock), Smif N Wessun, and Tek, of Smif N Wessun recorded with four different producers to create the score.

"Getcha Team," by Heltah Skeltah, Buckshot and producer KB, is an exclusive ESPN track not featured on Heltah Skelth’s forthcoming LP, ‘D.I.R.T.,’ due in retail summer 2008.

ESPN networks (ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN U) is owned by storied American entertainment colossus Disney and air men’s collegiate hoops every day of the week from November 2007 until March 2008. Compensatory details concerning the venture are not available at press time. Here are the four songs commissioned by the network thus far:

Buckshot "All Business" produced by Tai Dealz

Tek, of Smif N Wessun "Get in the Game" produced by KB

Heltah Skeltah feat Buckshot "Getcha Team" produced by Optiks

Smif N Wessun "Push It" produced by Sic Beats

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Hannah Montana fans jam on Nintendo DS

Indianapolis Star - If your Hannah Montana fan is licking her wounds from not scoring seats at the sold-out concert series, a new video game may be just the salve she needs.

"Hannah Montana: Music Jam," a game created exclusively for the Nintendo DS, lets you play as Hannah in an adventure where she learns to play musical instruments. The game also is a rock band simulation where you and your friends can jam together and create your own music video.

The game offers two modes of play: Adventure and Creative Play. In both, you practice music and create your own music videos.

The adventure takes place in the world of Disney's "Hannah Montana" television series. You become Miley Stewart, the high school girl who is the secret identity behind the rock star Hannah Montana. Only Miley's family and close friends know about her double life.

The story line revolves around Miley trying to balance fame and friends. As Hannah, her fame is being challenged by Savannah Star, an up and coming rock star who can play her own instruments. The two are going head-to-head in the upcoming Music Jam competition. To keep up with Savannah, Hannah decides to learn to play all the instruments she will use in the rock videos she must submit for the competition. Learning to play lead, rhythm and bass guitars, as well as the drums, become minigames within the story. Likewise, you will put together music videos using the backdrops, lights, dance moves, clothing and songs that you earn during the adventure.

While talking to others and completing a series of routine fetch-it tasks move along the story line, the adventure is inventive because of the minigames embedded in the story. The three learn-to-play guitar minigames combine the popular "Dance Dance Revolution" (DDR) genre with the rhythm mechanics of games like "Elite Beat Agents" to produce unique play. For example, to play the rhythm guitar, the dual screens show the fret board of the guitar body. An image of the DS control pad floats down the screens toward the body of the guitar and when it passes across two arrows, you must strum the strings of the guitar with your stylus. One of the four sides of the control pad will be highlighted, and as you strum, you must also push the corresponding side on the DS control pad.

In addition to the music games, there are seven other games, most of which use the stylus or your voice. You control Hannah as she ice skates by tracing shapes on the screen, and you play a "Pong"-type game by singing into the DS microphone to control the moving paddle on the bottom of the screen. You also have plenty of opportunities to dress Hannah in crowd-pleasing outfits.

In the Creative Play mode, you can compose songs by laying down four musical tracks for rhythm, lead and bass guitars and drums. The software combines your tracks to produce a song. Innovative programming provides guitar chords that sound good together, so the composing is simple enough for even novice musicians. In addition to composing, the game also gives you a music video studio in which to create your own videos using either your own music or the music of Hannah Montana.

Even better is the ability to jam with others who own the game. Up to four friends can play together, each using a DS as an instrument, and the jam session can be saved as a song. That song can be used to create a music video featuring backgrounds found in the adventure game. If you have a Nintendo Wi-Fi connection, you will be able to upload your video to the Internet and explore the videos others have created.

For Hannah Montana fans, this software is a must. And it will be interesting to budding musicians as well.

Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Best for ages: 8 to 12

From Disney Interactive, www.HannahMontanaVideoGames.com, $30, Nintendo DS.

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Director Tim Burton teams with Disney for 3D films

Monsters and Critics - Tim Burton has teamed with Disney to handle directing duties for two new 3-D films – Alice in Wonderland and Frankenweenie.

Variety reports Burton (who is currently putting the finishing touches on Sweeny Todd for Paramount and Dream Works) and Disney will first get to work on Alice in Wonderland which will be a combination of performance-capture imagery and live-action footage.  It is set to begin production early next year and be wrapped by May.

Alice in Wonderland’s script is being penned by Linda Woolverton based on the Lewis Carroll story.

When he finishes up his trip to Wonderland, Burton will turn his attention to Frankenweenie - which he will also produce. The film is based on Burton’s 1984 short film about a pet dog brought back to life by his owner. Frankenweenie will be filmed in stop-motion animation and released in digital 3-D.

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B'way talks to resume as Disney helps

Hollywood Reporter - Negotiators for the stagehands union and the League of American Theatres and Producers will resume contract talks this weekend and, according to several theater sources, Disney has helped nudge the two sides together.

Disney Theatricals is not part of the league and has a separate contract with the union, Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. As a result, its production of "Mary Poppins" at the New Amsterdam Theatre continues to run.

However, Disney's two other Broadway shows have been temporarily shut down: "The Lion King" and "The Little Mermaid" (which was in previews when the strike began Nov. 10). Each show runs at a theater owned by the Nederlander Organization (the Minskoff and Lunt-Fontanne, respectively), which locked out Local One when stagehands walked off the job. Like Disney, the Nederlanders are not members of the league.

"(Disney officials) have a lot at stake," said a source who is not involved in the negotiations. "The theatrical division is such that like any show, with any producer, their income is very dependent on ticket sales week-to-week."

In other words, a long-running show such as "The Lion King" needs the walk-up tourist trade much more than a show with a large advance sale, such as "Young Frankenstein," which had sold more than $30 million worth of tickets before opening, according to several published reports. ("Young Frankenstein" is unaffected by the strike, because it is playing at the Hilton Theatre, a non-league venue.)

"Lion King" could be in danger of closing without the large crowds normally associated with the holiday tourist season. Further, Disney is counting on "The Little Mermaid," scheduled to open Dec. 6, to be its next Broadway hit. It is playing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, where "Beauty and the Beast" ran for more than half of its 5,461 performances.

A spokesman for Disney Theatricals did not return a call seeking comment.

Earlier in the day, officials for the league and Local One announced they would resume negotiations this weekend "at an undisclosed place and time." The contract between the union and the league expired July 31. Talks broke down Nov. 8, and the stagehands went on strike two days later.

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The 54-city "Best of Both Worlds" concert tour with Miley Cyrus, who stars as Hannah Montana on the popular Disney Channel series of the same name, comes to Knoxville on Nov. 24 at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tickets sold out in about 30 minutes after going on sale in August, and ticket brokers have been charging hundreds and even thousands of dollars for seats on the secondary ticket market.

The concert's promoter, AEG Live, issued a release today saying the production for the tour has been finalized and a limited number of tickets will be on sale Saturday morning. Concert promoters often release tickets to popular shows in seating areas that were originally closed off for sale.

The tickets will be available only online or by phone, and there's a four-ticket limit per person. They can be purchased beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday at KnoxvilleTickets.com or by calling 865-656-4444.

Tickets for the original concert were $26, $41 and $56. A representative of Tickets Unlimited did not know what seats were being released, but he said tickets would not cost more than the original prices.

Tickets must be picked up on the night of the show at the arena's box office will call. Buyers must have the credit card used to purchase the tickets and photo identification. Will call opens at 10 a.m., and the concert starts at 4 p.m.

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Pearl Research believes by using Disney characters DMO will appeal to an even younger audience compared to most other existing casual games. If successfully launched, the game will broaden Shanda’s player base and diversify its game portfolio. In Pearl Research's Phoenix Generation reports, which are lifestyle reports tracking Chinese youth across first- and second- tier cities, casual games were cited as a top preference by many in the panel. However, the skateboarding concept could present a challenge as the sport's popularity is limited compared to the US. More information can be found on www.pearlresearch.com

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Flatley, 49, is the former star of the Irish dance spectacle "Riverdance." He has gone on to create his own shows, "Lord of the Dance," "Feet of Flames" and "Celtic Tiger."

The champion Irish step dancer-choreographer will perform with members of his dance team on Tuesday's show, Scott Gorenstein, a representative for Flatley, said Thursday.

ABC is a division of The Walt Disney Co.

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Thursday November 15, 2007

Disney takes issue with writers' payout claims

Reuters - It was Disney's day in the picketing spotlight Wednesday, but the studio suggested that much of the hubbub was pretty Mickey Mouse.

Each day the east coast branch of the Writers Guild of America, which is in its second week of a strike, has been targeting a site tied to one of the top media conglomerates. A day of leafleting at the World of Disney store in Manhattan prompted a corporate rebuttal to some guild claims.

Their impasse between writers and studios has centered largely on demands for expanded compensation for content reused over the Internet and other new-media platforms. The writers are paid for permanent downloads but not in other areas, such as ad-supported content streamed for free.

Union leaflets distributed at the Disney site stated that the company has projected $1.5 billion in digital revenue, and suggest that the writers' share of that is zero. Disney immediately rejected those claims.

"The WGA leadership is deliberately distorting the facts," the company said in a statement attributed to Disney's ABC Studios. "As the WGA knows full well, more than half of Disney's digital revenues are from sales of travel packages and the vast majority of the rest is from online advertising on sites like Disney.com and ESPN.com and through online merchandise sales.

"The WGA also knows its members have been paid residuals on entertainment content downloaded via iTunes," the company said. "Deliberately misleading the public is not the best way to resolve this issue and get Hollywood back to work."

The guild, which also continued picketing activities around Los Angeles on Wednesday, said its negotiating demands have been reasonable.

"We're only asking for our share," the WGAE said in its leaflets. "In fact, we're barely asking for anything: 2.5% of whatever money the studios make off our work on the Internet or digitally -- the delivery system of the future. But the studios are refusing to discuss a fair deal, so we've been forward to take our case to you."

Meanwhile, a highlight of the WGA West's picketing activities Wednesday included an afternoon concert at the NBC picket line in Burbank by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall.

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"Enchanted" opens Nov. 21, the day before Thanksgiving, and stars Amy Adams as the Princess Giselle, James Marsden as her Prince Edward, Susan Sarandon as Evil Queen Narissa and Patrick Dempsey as Giselle's savior after Narissa pushes her into a pit that exits through a manhole in the middle of Times Square.

May's aim was to have Giselle's costumes support her transformation from a cartoon cutout into a woman grounded in reality.

"I was brought in early in the process, when the animators were still developing the characters, so we worked side-by-side. I wanted to make sure I was actually designing the costume because I knew later I would have to produce them, and sometimes animators don't understand gravity.

"Director Kevin Lima wanted to make sure (Adams) looked like an animated character, so I followed the proportions of an animated character. She is really like a little doll and to achieve that with Amy, we had to make the waist look tiny, so the sleeves had to be extremely pouffy and the skirt as big as we could."

May constructed a metal hoop to hold up 20 layers of petticoats and ruffles, "so when she crawls out of the manhole, that dress explodes in layers in contrast with her flat two-dimensional world."

The dress comprised 200 yards of fabric and weighed 40 pounds. Eleven were made to be accommodate rain, mud and all other evils that would befall Giselle in New York.

Queen Narissa's costume also posed the challenge of being rendered in 2-D, 3-D and in her transformation into a CGI dragon. "I had to deal with three mediums, while making sure everything would seem the same in terms of color, shape and texture," May said.

This meant placing Sarandon in a leather corset with a scaly, silver-leaf finish "to look like beetle skin."

"The corset and skirt shape already looked reptilian, the details of her cape looked like wings, and there were details like horse-hair cuffs, long nails and 6-inch shoes.

"It's still Disney, but it could be high fashion, like something John Galliano or Thierry Mugler might design, so when Narissa walks down the streets of Manhattan, she could be ... strutting, looking hot, looking cool."

By the end of the film, one might expect even more grandeur from Giselle, but the frills disappear with her transformation into a contemporary New Yorker.

May, too, is back in the real world of picking up a few outfits at Macy's while working on wardrobe for "They Came From Upstairs," about kids battling aliens.

"I get to have fun working with teenage fashion again, like I did with 'Clueless,' " she said, though having brought life to the princess fantasy, her dream now would be to work on the set of a futuristic fantasy. "Barbarella" comes to mind. "Oh my god, that would be so great!"

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Man Hangs on to 12-Foot `Hannah Montana' Statue for 6 Days to Win Concert Tickets

AP - Some people will do anything to make a kid happy.

Jody Powell, 35, hung on to a 12-foot statue of "Hannah Montana" for the better part of six days to win tickets to a sold-out concert by Miley Cyrus, star of the Disney Channel TV show. The concert will be held next week in Tampa.

"I'm ecstatic. It's like a dream come true," said Powell, holding four tickets to the show and a photo of his fiancee with her 7-year-old daughter, also named Hannah.

Twenty contestants started Nov. 8, placing a hand on the 400-pound statue in the parking lot of radio station WFLZ-FM, the contest's sponsor. They were allowed 12-minute breaks every three hours and got catered meals, but weren't allowed books, cell phones or iPods.

Powell was declared the winner Wednesday afternoon when the other remaining contestant, Lara Padgett, became distracted and let go.

"That sun really got to me today," said Padgett, who later was checked out at a hospital because she wasn't feeling well. "I took my hand off the fur-lined boot."

But the two had already made a deal. Powell gets the tickets, and Padgett will use the two backstage passes that are part of the prize package. They'll split a $5,000 cash prize.

The Disney Channel is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

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Designed to immerse the students in creative and non-conventional career opportunities, the first-ever career enrichment program of its kind will take place in the world’s most creative classroom – Walt Disney World Resort – Jan. 17-20, 2008, during The Year of a Million Dreams.

The Steve Harvey Morning Show conducted the Dreamer’s Contest to identify the participants in Disney’s Dreamers Academy. This program was created for high school students who show promise – but may need a little motivation. However, all of the selected students share a trait: the power to DREAM. Parents, teachers, school administrators, church groups and even the students themselves nominated more than 3,000 aspiring dreamers from across the nation for the program.

The participants were selected by a distinguished panel of judges including: Harvey; Dr. Emma Epps, president of the National Alliance of Black School Educators; Jennifer Bohn, international baccalaureate coordinator at Evans High School in Orlando, FL.; Gary Cain, president of Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida; Ernie Suggs, vice president of the National Association of Black Journalists; CNN anchor Tony Harris; Terrence J., host of BET 106 & Park; Rushion McDonald, executive producer of the Steve Harvey Morning Show; Xiomara Wiley, vice president of Disneyland marketing and vice president of Walt Disney World Multicultural Marketing; and Eugene Campbell, director of Community Relations, Walt Disney World Resort.

During Disney’s Dreamers Academy, young dreamers will have unprecedented access to the magic behind Walt Disney World Resort. Students will participate in interactive workshops focusing on a variety of subjects including Walt Disney World Imagineering techniques, entertainment, the business of sports, culinary arts, and more. Disney cast members, executives and celebrities like actress Monique Coleman will share their blueprints for success. And the lucky participants will explore Disney’s theme parks before a graduation ceremony where a special guest will deliver a motivational address.

“When you talk about the Disney World organization it has as many jobs as a single corporation can have and I’m excited to see these kids have an opportunity to experience everything that Disney has to offer them,” said Steve Harvey. “We’ll show these kids that there are many ways to follow your dreams.”

“This is a special program that we have created as part of the Year of a Million Dreams celebration at Disney Parks,” said Disney’s Wiley. “We want to educate and open doors for our young dreamers by helping them to realize the power within and inspiring them to discover their dreams and follow them wherever they lead.”

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Disney to act against Hamas

Jewish Telegraphic Agency - The Walt Disney Company plans to take action against Hamas for its hate-mongering Mickey Mouse look-alike.

Israel's Foreign Ministry has received an assurance from Diane Disney Miller, the daughter of Walt Disney, that the corporation will take unspecified "steps" against the radical Palestinian Islamist group, Yediot Achronot reported Thursday.

The move follows Hamas' use of a Mickey Mouse look-alike named Farfur to incite against Israel and the West in a children's television show broadcast out of the Gaza Strip.

When the show triggered international outcry earlier this year, Miller described it as "evil," but her late father's company withheld comment.

It was not immediately clear what legal clout Disney might have against Hamas, which already is isolated internationally.

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The agreement includes the critically acclaimed clay animation comedy "The PJs," 2006 drama "Day Break" starring Taye Diggs and 1990s comedy "Where I Live." (The 43-episode "PJs," a former Fox and WB series, debuts on the network this month--with TV One holding the rights to two never-before-seen episodes.)

Films from Walt Disney Studios include "Glory Road," the true story of the groundbreaking run of little-known Texas Western to the 1966 NCAA national championship with an African-American starting five; "Crimson Tide," starring Denzel Washington; and comedies "Sister Act 2" with Whoopi Goldberg and "Bringing Down the House" with Queen Latifah.

TV One, which targets a slightly older audience than competitor BET, has seen distribution soar to 42 million homes as it nears its fourth anniversary. Radio One and Comcast are the principal owners.

"We know that TV One viewers appreciate great comedy and well-crafted drama," said TV One Executive Vice President of Programming and Production Rose Catherine Pinkney. "We are delighted to cement this deal with Disney to help ensure we continue to have a strong lineup of acquired scripted programming to complement our original programming as we work toward making TV One the premiere viewing destination for African-American adults."

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Disney Plays Down Digital Revenues

paidContent - On a day of the striking writers leafleting at the World of Disney (NYSE: DIS) store in Manhattan, Disney has struck back on some claims. Union leaflets stated that the company has projected $1.5 billion in digital revenue, and suggest that the writers' share of that is zero. Disney immediately rejected those claims, reports Reuters. It said: "The WGA leadership is deliberately distorting the facts...more than half of Disney's digital revenues are from sales of travel packages and the vast majority of the rest is from online advertising on sites like Disney.com and ESPN.com and through online merchandise sales. The WGA also knows its members have been paid residuals on entertainment content downloaded via iTunes...Deliberately misleading the public is not the best way to resolve this issue and get Hollywood back to work."

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Walt Disney in Derby takeover talks

Telegraph - New Derby chairman Adam Pearson has spent the past week in America, according to the report in the Daily Mail, negotiating a deal for a consortium of financial institutions headed by the Shamrock hedge fund with a view to taking a controlling shareholding in Pride Park.

Billionaire Roy Disney heads Shamrock Holdings and is regarded as the protector of the Disney empire, while Roy E Disney is the third largest shareholder in Disney and uses Shamrock as his personal investment vehicle.

If the deal goes through, Derby would become the fourth Premier League club to acquire US owners, following in the footsteps of Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa.

A potential takeover could go a long way to preserving their status in the Premier League.

The club are bottom in their first season back in the top-flight but manager Billy Davies has targeted the players he hopes will assist their battle against the drop.

Portsmouth striker David Nugent heads Davies' list and knows the England international well having managed him during his time at Preston.

Nugent is one of six new faces who could arrive at the club in the January transfer window as Davies steps up his bid to bolster his squad.

"Six players are needed and my instruction to my staff is very clear - we have to go out there and find these six players," Davies said.

"We don't want players who are content to visit the Premier League for a few months. We want players who want to come in and be a part of it for a long time.

"We have to find players with the necessary quality, confidence, desire and belief to compete at this level."

Davies, therefore, will be more keen than ever for a potential takeover of the club to go through to allow him the necessary funds to purchase the individuals who will make a difference.

He said: "New signings will require money because the top players do not come cheap and do not come and play for nothing.

"It will take a bit of cash to go and find these players and bring them here, but I am very confident we can do that. To survive at this level we need to spend."

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Disney in Role of Hero

New York Post - Broadway's striking stagehands agreed to head back to the bargaining table yesterday after getting the squeeze from one of their biggest employers - Disney.

The entertainment giant is dispatching its top labor lawyers to the table for the talks, which are scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. The meeting will be the first between the union and theater producers since the work stoppage went into affect over the weekend.

Disney has two big-time holiday money-makers that have been halted by the strike - "The Lion King" and "The Little Mermaid." It's also concerned that the strike might spread to out-of-town shows, which would be devastating, sources said.

The stagehands consider Disney a good employer and believe it would be a neutral mediator in their battle, the sources said.

"We trust and respect Disney," a union source said.

Meanwhile, the producers also welcome Disney's involvement and think the company to bridge the wide gap between them and the stagehands.

The producers have great admiration for Disney because it has helped revitalize Times Square with its hit shows, which have also toured around the country.

Adding to the pressure from the entertainment conglomerate on both sides to get to the table were other theatrical unions, mainly the actors and musicians, sources said.

Mayor Bloomberg called the weekend meeting - which is drawing back union honcho Tom Short from the TV writers' strike on the West Coast - "a very important step forward."

"I spoke with both sides again today and reiterated that we will provide any help we can to help resolve these disagreements and let the shows go on," he said.

Officials with the actors and musicians unions had urged Local 1 to open up talks out of fears that the strike was going to last too long - and hurt their members, who are also not working.

On Tuesday, Local 1 president James Claffey Jr. went to a powwow with the actors union to explain his position.

He defended their decision not to meet with The League of American Theaters and Producers because he said he didn't feel they were listening to their demands, a source said.

But that didn't sit will with many of the actors, who want a bargaining session, the source said.

Even though the opposing sides haven't officially convened since the strike, sources said there has been some very low-level back channel conversations going on.

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Disney characters to speak Telugu

Business Standard - Walt Disney to introduce a two-hour Telugu band on its flagship Disney channel.

Disney characters will now speak Telugu. Walt Disney Television International, that operates three children’s channels in India, is introducing a two-hour Telugu band on its flagship Disney Channel. The channel is currently available in English and Hindi languages.

Walt Disney’s senior vice-president and managing director, Antoine Villeneuve, said that Disney’s decision to launch the channel in Telugu was based on the success of Jetix in the south.

Jetix, the kids’ channel targeted at boys in the age group of 6 to 11, is the number one children’s channel in the region and is available in both Tamil and Telugu.

To drive up Disney’s viewership, Villeneuve is focusing on content. For a start, December will see the channel premiere High School Musical 2 on Disney. The film is a sequel to High School Musical which turned out to be a super hit children’s film in the US last year.

High School Musical 2 was premiered in America in August and has been viewed by 60 million people. To promote the film in India, Disney has released its music album and will now air a promotional music video shot in India.

The channel has already sourced a children’s serial in Hindi. Called Shararat, the serial was first aired on Star Plus. “The biggest challenge is to make Disney Channel move up in terms of accessibility, reach and connection,” said Villeneuve.

He said that while Jetix was leading in the south, Hungama, acquired from UTV last year, was the leader in the Hindi speaking markets. The effort will now be to make Disney more exciting by revamping its packaging as well. “Hungama gives that additional surface to our Indian operations,” said Villeneuve.

Though he refused to divulge figures, Villeneuve said that advertising on children’s channels was growing at 35 per cent a year. The top Jetix executive in France, Villeneuve was appointed MD of Walt Disney in India in June this year.

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Wednesday November 14, 2007

A suspicious powder that may or may not have been cremated remains was spotted in the water in the popular attraction, forcing the ride to close briefly Friday afternoon. Security officials were unable to determine what the substance was or find the female visitor who was seen sprinkling the powder.

"A witness described the substance as baby powder that quickly dissipated. We reopened the attraction after determining that there was no danger to our guests," said Rob Doughty, a Disneyland spokesman, in a prepared statement.

While Disney officials deny this is a recurring problem, a Disney watchdog blog said that this isn't the only incident of visitors possibly scattering the ashes of loved ones in the rides, specifically dark attractions.

Cast members get reports up to once a month when witnesses or security cameras catch riders tossing suspicious powders. The Haunted Mansion was the most common choice. Lately, the Pirates ride – where the motto is "Dead Men Tell No Tales" – has become another popular spot.

Sgt. Rick Martinez, spokesman of the Anaheim Police Department, said after Disney security responded to the report Friday, a police officer was called. But the officer was unable to follow up without a good description of the culprit. Plus, there wasn't enough of the powder to collect for analysis.

Martinez said he knows of no other similar incidents.

Other guests have asked Disney for permission to scatter ashes in the park, but those requests are denied, Doughty said. It is illegal to spread remains without permission of the property owner.

"People are going to do that to grant a dying one's wish," Martinez said. "We understand. But it is illegal."

Near Disneyland, three people were detained then kicked out of Angel Stadium after scattering human ashes on the field before a baseball game in August 2006. After an investigation, no charges were filed.

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Disney offers rare peek at ad campaign

Florida Today - Walt Disney World President Meg Crofton told conventioneers at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions convention in Orlando that getting her employees on board at the theme parks was critical to launching the “Year of a Million Dreams” campaign.

“We reinforced that the cast members are the heart and soul of our Year of a Million Dreams campaign,” Crofton said this morning.

The campaign — which includes randomly awarded prizes, large and small, to patrons of Disney theme parks — was launched in October 2006, and has been extended through 2008.

“By placing more focus on ‘magical moments,’ we hoped more guests would get caught up in the excitement of making their dreams come true, and we encouraged cast members to come up with their own magical moments,” Crofton said.

“We found that cast members easily grasped the concept, for the same reason the guests did: Disney parks are special places where dreams come true,” Crofton said.

To motivate employees, Crofton said, “Disney initiated a major campaign behind the scenes called Magic Backstage, in which it filled hallways with posters and ads showing cast members making dreams come true. It also used special giveaways to keep cast members engaged during the celebrations.

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Put on your dancing shoes: Osborne Family lights back at Disney-MGM

Theme Park Rangers - They've flipped the switch on the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights again at Disney-MGM Studios. They're set to music again, just like last year. Monday's debut was packed with onlookers, and I reaffirmed what I already knew: For every last element of the Walt Disney World resort, there's a fanatic out there with encyclopedic knowledge.

I was standing next to a man who pointed out that the MERRY CHRISTMAS lights across the street are different than before. A technician nearby confirmed this and other facts. Sure enough, last year's letters were wider and less decorative.

This is a Disney photo from a previous year. Note the words stretch from side to side. This year's are more condensed.

The technician also said that the loop time for the musical selections is tighter when there are more people on the street. Disney has found that people won't leave until they think they've heard and seen all the songs. (I'm a fan of the "Feliz Navidad" one.)

More commonly known: the techs hide a light version of a purple cat -- kinda Halloweeny, actually -- every year. It's a secret. But if you see it, let's share.

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'Hannah Montana' Tickets Fuel Lawsuit

AP - Thousands of "Hannah Montana" fans who couldn't get concert tickets could potentially join a lawsuit against the teen performer's fan club over memberships they claim were supposed to give them priority for seats.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a New Jersey woman and anyone else who joined the Miley Cyrus Fan Club based on its promise that joining would make it easier to get concert tickets from the teen star's Web site.

Cyrus, 14, is the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus and star of the Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana" TV show.

Her sold-out "Best of Both Worlds Tour" is the hottest concert ticket of the year, with shows selling out in as little as four minutes and scalpers getting four or five times face value.

The class-action lawsuit names Interactive Media Marketing Inc. and Smiley Miley Inc. as defendants and seeks triple damages for all members of the lawsuit and attorneys' fees. The plantiff doesn't yet know the size of the class, but based on the popularity of the Web site, it could number tens of thousands of people, according to the lawsuit.

"They deceptively lured thousands of individuals into purchasing memberships into the Miley Cyrus Fan Club," plaintiffs' attorney Rob Peirce said. His Pittsburgh firm and a Memphis firm filed the suit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Nashville.

The fan club costs $29.95 a year to join, according to the lawsuit, which alleges that the defendants should have known that the site's membership vastly exceeded the number of tickets.

Neither of the listed agents for the two companies based in Nashville could be immediately reached for comment Tuesday. Message left for Smiley Miley Inc. were not immediately returned.

Cyrus' publicist, Meghan Prophet, said in a statement that fan club members had an opportunity to buy pre-sale tickets, and more than 70,000 club members obtained them as a result of their membership.

"The Mileyworld Web site expressly states that Mileyworld does not guarantee every member a concert ticket," Prophet said. "Mileyworld members had far greater access to concert tickets than the general public and other fan clubs, and the claim that the vast majority of Mileyworld members were unable to obtain concert tickets is simply false."

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Kerry Inman, a New Jersey woman who claims that she tried to log into the site to buy tickets to Cyrus' Atlantic City, N.J., performance at the moment the tickets went on sale and was unsuccessful.

The Web site does not guarantee ticket availability, but represents that members who log on shortly after tickets become available will have a good opportunity to get them, according to the lawsuit.

On TV, Cyrus plays high school student Miley Stewart, who lives a secret double life as a famous pop star, Hannah Montana. Her show reaches 5 million viewers a week.

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To promote his Hong Kong theme park in its competition with the local Disneyland, he has posed as Santa Claus, a jellyfish, a spook from the Chinese underworld, the father of a Chinese bride, and a Brazilian dancer with fishnet stockings and a fruit basket on her head - all in aid of besting The Mouse.

Mr. Zeman's Ocean Park has the unenviable task of competing with the No. 1 brand in the world of theme parks, Walt Disney Co. Hong Kong Disneyland was expected to obliterate the pokey, 30-year-old Ocean Park when it opened in September, 2005. Instead, his aquatic-themed attraction is posting record profit and attendance figures, while Disneyland's are faltering.

How did he do it? Sit down with him and he'll tell you the whole story, barely drawing breath for an hour.

When Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa approached Mr. Zeman about becoming chairman of the park, which is owned by the Hong Kong government, "I said 'C.H., I love you, but you're crazy. I know nothing about theme parks.' To be honest, I didn't even know what a dolphin looked like."

But Mr. Tung was persistent. Mr. Zeman, a Canadian who started his business life delivering the now defunct Montreal Star, had shown his flair for promotion and entertainment when he spruced up the down-at-heels Lan Kwai Fung neighbourhood in central Hong Kong.

Quietly buying up property - "nobody knew what I was doing" - he transformed a collection of noodle shops and warehouses into a hip nightclub and restaurant district.

After the sixth call from Mr. Tung, Mr. Zeman relented and agreed to attempt for Ocean Park what he did for Lan Kwai Fung: Give it a new lease on life.

That was no small challenge. The park was battered by the Asian financial crisis of 1997 and the SARS outbreak of 2003.

After the Hong Kong government did a deal with Disney to open Asia's second Disneyland (after Japan's), Ocean Park's future looked grim. A government commission recommended moving it from its hillside perch and selling the land to developers. Mr. Zeman told his government friends, "If you move it you're nuts. It's spectacular."

But a nice view obviously was not enough. Concluding "you can't out-Disney Disney," he decided to brand the park as an "edutainment" centre, combining fun for the family with educational exhibits.

After seeing people staring at the jellyfish in the aquarium ("Chinese love jellyfish"), he created a whole new exhibit, the Sea Jelly Spectacular, and dressed up in a jellyfish suit to unveil it. He also leaned on the Chinese government to give the park two new pandas to complement the two it already had, and made plans to acquire belugas, orcas and other marine wonders. "Disney has the fake mouse," he says, "but our animals are real."

Zeman being Zeman, this was no museum of natural history. He also added a dash of pizzazz, promoting special programs for Halloween, Christmas and Chinese New Year.

Mr. Zeman is constantly in the local media pushing his park. He browbeat the Hong Kong government into building a subway line to Ocean Park and he has persuaded bankers and officials to back his $700-million plan to expand it.

All the showmanship and lobbying seems to be working. Attendance jumped 13 per cent last year, hitting nearly five million. Disney doesn't release such figures, but a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last spring said the company might have to refinance its debt because of poor business.

"It's become a matter of pride for Hong Kong people," says Mr. Zeman. "Ocean Park, a homegrown business, is beating Disney."

Mr. Zeman grew up in modest circumstances, the son of a salesman who died when he was only nine. Striking out on his own, he started a paper route when he was 10 and worked as a restaurant busboy on weekends to boot. By the time he turned 16, he had enough money to buy himself his own car. "It was a nicer car than most of the teachers'."

At 17, he got a job in the shipping room of a local lingerie company, then talked himself into a salesman's job by fibbing about his age. At 20, he started his own business importing women's fashion sweaters from Hong Kong.

Travelling to the Asian city, he was bowled over by "the excitement, the action, the internationalism of it." He liked the laissez-faire business climate, too. With its 15-per-cent tax rate and its can-do spirit, Hong Kong seemed a world away from the Canada of high tax rates and strict union rules that he knew.

He gave up on Canada - "I said to myself: 'How do you get rich in this country?' " - and stayed in Hong Kong instead. He has never looked back.

He built a thriving business supplying clothing to North America and was soon expanding to other Asian locales. By the time he cashed out in 2000, the business was worth $282-million.

Today he is a local celebrity, serving as a government adviser on numerous projects, giving speeches, jetting around the region, and telling the Allan Zeman story to anyone who walks in the door.

"I've become a hero to the local community," he says, without blushing. "I've been accepted as a local boy. Almost everything that happens here, I'm behind the scenes. I love Hong Kong. Hong Kong is my home."

Maybe that's Ocean Park's advantage. Mickey is still a foreigner to Hong Kong. Allan Zeman, a resident for 37 years, has become a local. He gets what Hong Kong wants. And Hong Kong wants jellyfish.

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AT&T, Disney Buy Stake In Video Fingerprint Company

AHN - AT&T  Wednesday joined Disney in investing $10 million in Vobile, a company offering a video fingerprinting service that could reduce Internet piracy of movies and television episodes.

Vobile's VideoDNA technology is seen as AT and T's entry into the lucrative area of securing video that is rapidly being placed online - both officially and unauthorized.

The Vobile technology could take a year to roll-out across AT and T's broadband network, as well as the telecom's Internet TV service, U-Verse, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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Beginning in January, Disney will take delivery of 10 zero-gas, zero-emission Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles and use them to shuttle Disney employees, celebrity talent and others within Disney-owned facilities in Southern California. The partnership opens the door to possible future activities between Chevrolet and Disney. In addition, the relationship will help build awareness of the sustainability of environmentally friendly technologies.

"This partnership joins two of the most forward-looking companies in America, and we're glad that Disney, an organization well-known for envisioning a cleaner, advanced and more modern future, could join us on this important project," said Chevrolet general manager Ed Peper. "Our engineers will learn a great deal from the feedback they receive from Disney employees and other test drivers as we transform Chevrolet into a brand that offers fuel solutions ranging from gas-friendly to gas-free."

"We are excited to be working with Chevrolet in this important and historic effort to introduce zero-emission vehicles," said Lawrence Aldridge, senior vice president, Corporate Alliances, The Walt Disney Company. "For the last 25 years, General Motors has been an important corporate alliance partner of The Walt Disney Company, and this is a natural extension for us given Disney's own emphasis on cutting-edge technology and environmental conservation."

Enabled by GM's fourth-generation hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system, the Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicle is a fully functional crossover vehicle. During the 30-month Project Driveway test, hundreds of consumers in suburban Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C. will drive these vehicles for three months and report their experiences to Chevrolet. The drivers have free use of the vehicles, including the hydrogen fuel it needs to make electricity onboard as well as insurance, in exchange for providing their feedback.

Aside from its dramatically different propulsion system, the Equinox Fuel Cell looks and drives much like a production Chevy Equinox crossover. The fuel cell system fits within the space of the conventional engine compartment. The nickel-metal hydride battery pack, which stores energy from the regenerative braking system to increase operating efficiency and boost acceleration when needed, sits under the floor in the middle of the vehicle. Three compressed hydrogen storage tanks, made of carbon fiber for strength and pressurized to 10,000 pounds per square inch (psi), are located under the rear seats and cargo area. They contain roughly nine pounds (4.2 kg) of hydrogen.

Outside, the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell fascia sports Chevy's horizontally split grille, along with extra cooling air inlets in the lower front corners. At the rear, the new fascia under the bumper has four thin vertical slits in place of the exhaust pipe; they release the clean water vapor emissions. This patented design lets onlookers know that this is no ordinary internal combustion engine vehicle.

The Equinox Fuel Cell vehicle boasts a long list of standard safety features including driver and passenger frontal air bags and roof rail side-impact air bags; anti-lock braking system (ABS); and OnStar.

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Lawsuit alleges Disney's Segway ban violates disabilities laws

Los Angeles Times - Walt Disney Co., the world's largest theme-park operator, was sued by three people who alleged the company's ban on personal two-wheel transporters at its facilities violated federal disabilities laws.

Mahala Ault, an Illinois woman with multiple sclerosis, can't use her Segway Personal Transporter on a family vacation next month because Disney prohibits the device at its four theme parks in Florida, according to a complaint filed Friday in federal court in Orlando, Fla. Disney's policy violates the Americans With Disabilities Act, Ault and two other people allege.

"A disabled individual's only option would be to rent a motorized scooter or a wheelchair," lawyers for Ault said in the suit.

Disney provides Segways for employees who aren't disabled, Ault and two other disabled people said in the complaint.

The Segway, a two-wheeled, self-balancing transportation device, allows riders to remain upright and steer with body movements. The device, which debuted in 2002, is used by as many as 7,000 people in the U.S. with mobility-related disabilities, according to the complaint.

Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Polak declined to comment on specific allegations in the complaint.

"Our primary concern is the safety of guests and cast members," Polak said. "We've been an industry leader in creating accessible experiences for guests with disabilities. The Walt Disney World is open to everyone every day."

Stacie Rhea, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as Lou Gehrig's disease, wasn't allowed to use her Segway at Disney World in September. As a result, she was able to see only a small portion of the parks, according to the complaint.

Dan Wallace, whose left foot was amputated in 1999, was also told he would have to rent a wheelchair or scooter for a future family trip, according to the suit.

The $35-a-day rental fees for scooters increase vacation costs by more than 50% compared with someone without mobility problems, the plaintiffs said in the complaint. Scooters and wheelchairs also don't provide the same access to all resorts and are more dangerous for disabled people, the people claimed.

Ault, Rhea and Wallace are seeking to represent other disabled people planning vacations to Disney theme parks. They're asking a judge to order Disney to modify its policies and award unspecified damages.

The Segway ban violates federal law because it "has the effect of denying full access and enjoyment of the parks to those disabled individuals who rely on the Segway for their mobility," the lawyers said in the suit.

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Star of ABC's 'Grey's Anatomy' Ties Knot

AP - "Grey's Anatomy" star Ellen Pompeo promised she wouldn't have a big wedding. She kept her promise.

Pompeo, who plays Dr. Meredith Grey on ABC's hit show, tied the knot with record producer Chris Ivery last Friday in a ceremonial office at City Hall, with Mayor Michael Bloomberg as a witness.

Pompeo, 38, and Ivery became engaged last November, after dating for three years. In an interview last August, she said the couple didn't plan a big ceremony because "we want one thing to ourselves."

Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Patti Harris were the two witnesses, and an official from the city clerk's office performed the ceremony, Bloomberg spokesman Stu Loeser said.

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

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Disney aims for Japanese success, where US and UK have failed

Ovum - Japanese operator Softbank and Walt Disney have announced that they will collaborate on a mobile phone service that capitalises on Disney's strong position in the mobile content market. An application to the NRA, the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), was submitted on November 12 and the service plans to launch in Spring 2008 under the brand name 'Disney Mobile'.

Comment: After the high profile closures of two MVNO businesses in the US and the failure to launch in the UK, Walt Disney has not given up on the MVNO business model and has selected Japan for its next venture.

At first glance Japan looks perfect for a Disney launch as there are almost 100 million subscribers and it is famous for high mobile data usage. Also, the Japanese love of characters and animation is not limited to children. Disney first entered Japan in 1959 and has diversified into film, TV, theme parks and resorts, and consumer products. It has also positioned itself as one of Japan's leading content providers with over 3.5 million subscribers.

The deal also provides insight into Softbank's strategy, as Japan's third mobile operator with 16.7% subscriber market share. Having entered the market by acquiring the struggling Vodafone KK, it is exploiting the opportunity created by the introduction of mobile number portability in October 2006 and has ignited a price war. Softbank has reported the highest net additions in the market for six consecutive months since May 2007. Its bigger competitors have responded with their own discounted plans. Softbank has now decided to compete through wholesale channels, unsurprising as prior to buying Vodafone KK it was looking for an MVNO deal itself.

Historically, the MVNO model has not been successful in Japan. The main barrier to MVNO development has been the MNOs' unwillingness to shake up the stable mobile market.

In 2002 the MIC provided guidelines that outlined the MVNO market entry procedure. In February 2007, it further clarified the relationship between MNOs and MVNOs to promote competition. The revised guidelines specified the interconnection contract between MNOs and MVNOs (under which MNOs agree to the MVNO's request to open its mobile network except in four specific cases), in addition to the existing commercial wholesale contract. The increasing regulatory pressure together with Softbank's decision to open up its network could now result in competition at the wholesale level.

Although the two parties' rationale is understandable, it does not necessarily guarantee their success. Disney Mobile's business model in the US (branded services targeting a niche family segment and kids tracking services) lacks differentiation in Japan. All the Japanese mobile operators have provided similar services with dedicated handsets, but all have resulted in modest uptake. It will be interesting to see what innovation Disney can bring to the market.

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Walt Disney leads Dow industrials decliners, erasing earlier gains

CNNMoney - Shares of Walt Disney (NYSE:DCQ) Co. erased earlier gains to trade lower Wednesday, enough to make the entertainment company the leading percentage decliner among components of the Dow industrials.

The stock was down 2.9% at $32.04, but had been up as much as 0.4% at its intraday high of $33.14. The stock has lost 9.7% over the last month, and has declined 5.2% since the end of 2007.

In comparison, the Dow is up 30 points at 13,337 with 19 of 30 components contributing to gains. The blue chip barometer has lost 5.4% over the past month but has gained 7% year to date.

Among other Dow decliners, Caterpillar is down 1.4% at $70.11, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is 1.1% lower at $34.06 and American International Group (NYSE:AIG) slipped 1% to $58.57.

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Luella Bartley & Vivienne Westwood Create Disney Princess Fashion

FemaleFirst - Luella Bartley and Vivienne Westwood are among a list of top designers who will create a new collection of dresses inspired by Disney Princesses.

They will be joined by Scott Henshall, Paul Costello, Antoni & Alison and Michael Hertz for Aquascutum as well as designers from France, Spain and the Netherlands to design the dresses as part of Diseyland Resort Paris' 15th Anniversary celebrations.

The high-fashion party dresses will be specially created for classic Disney Princesses such as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Tinkerbell and Minnie Mouse.

The designers have penned initial sketches for their chosen characters and are now working hard to make their final one-off fantasy creations which will be showcased at Disneyland Resort Paris in November.

The designs will be auctioned off at Christie's in Paris during an exclusive VIP event before Christmas with proceeds going to UNICEF.

Scott Henshall, who was inspired by the Wicked Queen from Snow White commented, "Walt Disney is a hugely iconic figure that I’ve been bought up with so I felt honoured to be asked to be part of this project. Since I’ve been known to have a bit of a wicked side I thought it only fitting to design for the evil queen from Snow White."

Vivienne Westwood, when asked what had inspired her to design for the classic Disney Princess, Snow White, said, "Because there's a Snow White in every girl."

Other international fashion designers taking part are Azzedine Alaïa and Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada, from Spain, and Nathalie Garçon, Impasse de la Défense, Baccarat and Chantal Thomass, from France, just to mention a few.

Jeff Archambault, head of Community Relations for Disneyland Resort Paris said of the project: "This exciting project illustrates the historic partnership that has brought Disney and UNICEF together over time in supporting children’s causes. By donating their time, talent and savoir-faire to create original fashion pieces, the designers are demonstrating that when beauty and generosity go hand in hand, the results are nothing short of magical."

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Disney, local’s team up for Family Volunteer Day

The Bristol Press - A celebration of Family Volunteer Day, a national program sponsored by the Walt Disney Co., is scheduled for Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bristol Boys & Girls Club on Laurel Street.

Team ESPN, The Bristol Boys & Girls Club and Family Center of Bristol, and the United Way of West Central Connecticut will partner together on this day which is designed to encourage families to volunteer together to help make a difference in their community.

A variety of projects for all ages are planned, including the painting of an ESPN mural on the outside of the Boys & Girls Club building, creating holiday placemats for patients at Bristol Hospital as well as local shelters, and assisting a local artist in creating a youth art showcase for the Boys & Girls Club lobby.

This annual day of service is held the Saturday before Thanksgiving each year. Families can spend as much or as little time that they have available to help. The day will include activities including Radio Disney.

Refreshments will be served.

Families will receive a coupon for admission to the Imagine Nation Museum. To register please call (860) 583-4734

The Bristol Boys & Girls Club and Family Center of Bristol a member of the United Way of West Central Connecticut is one of Connecticut's largest youth development organizations.

Team ESPN encompasses ESPN's multi-faceted corporate outreach initiatives, including volunteerism, corporate giving and cause marketing, while utilizing its diverse media assets. ESPN is a division of Walt Disney Co.

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Tuesday November 13, 2007

Slowing Economy Posing Test for Disney

New York Times - Since becoming chief executive of the Walt Disney Company two years ago, Robert A. Iger has dazzled Wall Street by delivering soaring profits and moving aggressively to fix trouble spots.

But now, for the first time under Mr. Iger’s watch, Disney is sailing into some choppy waters. Two of the company’s four growth engines — theme parks and consumer products — turn on the health of the economy, which indicators suggest is slowing. Striking television and movie writers threaten advertising income at ABC, which Disney owns.

Hollywood’s union problems also afflict Disney’s film studio, which faces life without a new installment of its money machine, “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and could be dealing with delays on big-screen franchise films like “High School Musical 3.”

How Mr. Iger navigates these and other challenges will either solidify or puncture his emerging reputation as a blockbuster chief executive, analysts say. “Bob has done a spectacular job so far, but this is a test,” said Jessica Reif Cohen, the chief media analyst at Merrill Lynch. “The easy growth is over.”

Disney’s recent success poses a conundrum. When a company delivers five consecutive years of double-digit growth in operating income, as Disney has done, anything less looks disappointing to Wall Street. Mr. Iger became chief executive in October 2005 after a period in which the Magic Kingdom was rocked by a shareholder revolt — which toppled his predecessor, Michael D. Eisner — and trouble in its core animation business.

Despite the turmoil in the boardroom, Disney continued to perform, with most of its leading business units recently delivering record results. But a $35.5 billion company like Disney can grow only so fast — especially with Mr. Iger preaching discipline when it comes to acquisitions.

“How much growth is there left in Disney? It’s uncertain,” said Michael Nathanson, a media analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company.

Disney disagrees.

“Our strong portfolio of franchises has delivered recent growth, and we expect will deliver growth for the years to come,” Mr. Iger said.

He added that Disney’s ability to score hits across its various business units “allows us to reduce risk and to manage through economic cycles with a higher degree of certainty than our peers.” As a policy, Disney does not offer earnings guidance.

Investors appear to be taking a wait-and-see approach.

Disney’s stock, after soaring over 20 percent in early 2006 because of Mr. Iger’s deal-making and corporate reshaping, has stalled of late. Shares of Disney, battered by overall market weakness in addition to concerns about 2008, fell 72 cents, to $32.02 on Monday, about flat from a year earlier.

In comparison, the Dow Jones industrial average — and Disney is one of the 30 Dow stocks — has risen about 7 percent in the last year.

“One thing that I would like the market to appreciate more is the difference between Disney and other media companies,” Thomas O. Staggs, the company’s chief financial officer, said in a telephone interview. “We don’t just say that as a sound bite. Our brands and our ability to leverage them really set us apart.”

In the company’s quarterly conference call with analysts last week, Mr. Iger underlined the array of growth initiatives that Disney has in place. Indeed, the company is spending heavily — capital expenditures will increase by up to $350 million in 2008 — to position itself to deliver the kind of profit and revenue upticks that keep Wall Street happy.

Among Disney’s building projects is a $1 billion overhaul of its long-struggling California Adventure theme park in Southern California. (“Let’s face it, we had a problem,” Mr. Iger said.) Disney is also building two new cruise ships and a luxury resort in Hawaii. On the digital front, the company expects to plow about $175 million into video game development in 2008.

As for the writers’ strike, Mr. Iger said worries were premature.

“We actually think the network is well prepared,” he said, noting that “Lost” (which has a stockpile of original episodes, thanks to its being kept off the air this fall) and an array of reality shows, including one from Oprah Winfrey called “The Big Give,” are sitting on ABC’s bench.

Mr. Staggs said the strike would not affect the film studio until 2009, if at all. Because movie scripts are finished well in advance — and because studios have been stockpiling scripts — a walkout would have to last more than four months to start cutting into movie production.

Analysts have mixed opinions on the impact of the economy on Disney, particularly the parks and resorts unit, which delivers more than 20 percent of the company’s annual operating profit.

In the worst case — a recession — Mr. Nathanson estimates that operating profit at Disney’s theme parks in the United States could decline as much as 30 percent. On the opposite end, Anthony Noto, an analyst at Goldman Sachs, wrote in a research note last week, “We continue to believe theme parks may be a source of growth upside.”

Why the split? The fortunes of Disneyland and Disney World have traditionally been tied to consumer confidence and other economic factors, like gas prices and fluctuations in the value of the dollar. Some investors continue to hold that view.

But in recent decades, as both parks have expanded in an effort to persuade vacationers to stay longer, a new school of thought says that the business might not be as tightly linked to the economy as it once was. Disney is rolling out new attractions at both destinations in the coming months and stepping up efforts to get foreign visitors to take advantage of favorable exchange rates.

Moreover, modern consumers love their credit cards.

“People tend not to let anything get in the way of their Disney vacations,” Mr. Staggs said. “Our occupancies are higher at the hotels and spending is higher. Thus far, the business remains really solid.”

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Cinderella's new clothes, including a glass slipper designed by Baccarat, go under the hammer at an auction of the 25 costumes organised by Christie's and Disneyland Paris on November 19, with the proceeds going to the United Nations Children's Fund.

Among the designers involved are Azzedine Alaia, Corine Cobson, Chantal Thomass, Eymeric Frangois, Nathalie Gargon and Franck Sorbier for France; Britain's Vivienne Westwood and Paul Costelloe; as well as Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, Hannibal Laguna and Lorenzo Caprile of Spain.

The costumes will be on display at the auction house from November 16 to 19.

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Disney Cars ride: thrills, sticker shock

Los Angeles Times - The most anticipated ride in Disney’s $1.1-billion California Adventure makeover — Radiator Springs Racers — also carries the biggest price tag.

Based on the animated “Cars” movie, the indoor-outdoor attraction combines a leisurely dark ride prelude with a dueling side-by-side race car finale akin to Epcot’s Test Track in Orlando, Fla.

The $200-million E-ticket promises to bring to bear virtually all of the classic Disney ride components: theme, technology, animatronics, special effects, interactivity, story line and thrills. The ride starts with a race briefing from the movie’s star, Lightning McQueen, and concludes at the Wheel Well Motel scene from the movie.

According to artist storyboards, the ride includes:
* Switchbacks
* Tunnels
* Bridges
* Waterfalls
* Buttes
* Banked turns

See more concept sketches after the jump.

Beginning construction in late 2009, the Racers thrill ride will serve as the anchor attraction for the new 12-acre Cars Land being carved out of the existing Timon parking lot. The summer 2012 opening is timed to a “Cars 2” sequel.

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800 defrauded in Disney ticket scam

The Japan Times - About 800 people were allegedly defrauded of some ¥100 million in a scheme uncovered last month in Chiba Prefecture involving the resale of tickets to Tokyo Disney Resort, police said Tuesday.

The victims were told they would earn profits through the resale of tickets to the amusement park complex, the Chiba Prefectural Police said, adding no actual tickets were involved in the scam.

The fraud came to light in a predawn emergency call Oct. 27 in which a man told police he was in trouble with more than a dozen visitors who claimed to have been victimized by his wife.

Police on Oct. 30 arrested his 29-year-old wife, Naomi Furuyama, on fraud charges.

Furuyama, a former saleswoman for an insurance company sponsoring Tokyo Disneyland, solicited relatives and acquaintances since around spring 2006 to give her ¥2,400 each and told them she would pay them ¥5,000 back after reselling Tokyo Disney Resort tickets.

She initially fulfilled her repayment promises but had begun to pocket all the money, police said.

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Last Super Soap thoughts at Disney-MGM

Theme Park Rangers - Some final tidbits from the Super Soap Weekend extravaganza at Disney-MGM Studios.

As promised, here's the answer to which soap star snapped a bit at Saturday night's Soap Jam when a fan commented he seemed to have been drinking. It provides a valuable lesson to attendees: Remember, the actors are STANDING RIGHT THERE. They are not in your TV. They can hear you, so some common courtesy would be nice. Of course, Super Soap Weekend is not known for courtesy.

Anyhoo, it was John-Paul Lavoisier from "One Life to Live" who encountered the rude fan. But J-P (who I have never seen anything less than gracious and full of fun around fans) didn't let her off the hook.

"He looks like he's had a couple," the fan said.

J-P looked her straight in the eye, and said firmly "I haven't had a couple of anything, I'm exhausted." He also shared how he had been up before dawn to catch his flight from New York to Orlando. And, it should be mentioned, he had stopped for more photos with fans on his way back from a bathroom break. Now that's dedication. Five minutes later, he was onstage, introducing his colleague Kathy Brier. He must run on Energizer batteries!

Other moments:

Fun with Cameron Mathison (Ryan on "All My Children"): He's known for taking off his shirt at the slightest provocation, and he didn't let fans down. While signing autographs, a lone voice in the throng called out "Hey Cameron, why is your shirt still on?" He grinned. The crowd roared, and then roared again, and then the clamor grew deafening. Within a minute, he had unbuttoned. I escaped before the ladies stormed his autograph station.

Fun with Jacob Young (JR on "All My Children"): It's always shocking to first-time attendees how much shorter actors and actresses are in real life than they appear on TV. Jacob is not the tallest guy in the world, and it was fun to hear a fan yell, "Stand up, Jacob, so we can see you!" Um, sorry ma'am, he was standing.

Fun with Jacob Young Part 2: One fan, desperate for him to look her way so she could snap a photo, tried a new approach: "Hey, Jacob," she yelled, "you owe me child support!" Not only did he look, the fan was treated to a full-fledged guffaw. "Now that's one I have never heard before," he said with a good-natured laugh.

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Enchanted Disney Spoofs Past Princesses, Familiar Restaurants, Cleaning Cockroaches

MTV - Six years after "Shrek" put a modern spin on the classic fairy tale with some not-so-veiled references to Disney animation, the Mouse House has once again found itself in the crosshairs. This time it's the target of "Enchanted," a movie that isn't afraid to have fun with some of old Walt's more famous characters.

The difference this time? "Enchanted" was made by Disney.

"At the beginning, I wasn't sure they knew they were poking fun at themselves, but I think they actually did. You have to hand it to Disney for making fun of some of their iconic moments," "Enchanted" actress Susan Sarandon told MTV News. "They are scattered throughout."
 
Instead of a spoof, we should call it a "playful homage," director Kevin Lima insisted — a delicate tonal-tightrope walk between making fun and honoring. Indeed, the story of "Enchanted" itself is anything but ironic, a perfectly straightforward fairy tale that just happens to take place in the real world and not some animated kingdom.

"Basically, it's Disney kind of deconstructing and reconstructing in the same piece," composer Alan Menken said. "In one sense, the cynics are brought into this and go, 'OK, I get the joke,' and on the other hand it's got a heart to it. My hope is that it will really enlist the audience in knowing that they're involved in something both smart and moving."

So just how many references are there?

"The movie is so filled with them. I could hand you a four-page document of references to Disney movies. It goes pretty deep," Lima enthused. "On the surface there are things like the poison apple, the old hag, the dragon — everyone gets that sort of stuff. On a much deeper level, there's a real geek game you can play with this movie in finding the references."

We asked the cast and crew for some of their favorites:

Who's The Fairest Of Them All?: Giselle is the undisputed star of the show, but she's not the only Disney princess in "Enchanted," though it might be tough to spot the other two unless you know what they look like — what they really look like. "I put Jodi Benson, who's the voice of Ariel from 'The Little Mermaid,' in the movie. She gets to play an on-camera role for a change," Lima revealed. Star Amy Adams said she "loved how they used the past voices of Disney princesses in the film, like Jodi Benson — she's the receptionist at Robert's office."

Then there's a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo from another princess: "There's the moment when Paige O'Hara [voice of Belle from 'Beauty and the Beast'] shows up on the TV screen in the soap opera," Menken told MTV News. "And the soap-opera music is 'Beauty and the Beast' rearranged." Look for O'Hara when Robert (James Marsden) is in a motel room watching TV.

What's In A Name?: Some of Lima's favorite references are throwaways in the background, tiny nods to past Disney films. "Like the law firm is called Churchill, Harline and Smith," he said. "And those are the three songwriters from 'Snow White'!"

At one point, Giselle visits a familiar Italian restaurant for dinner. But if you don't recognize the joint, don't worry. Last time you were there you only got a view from the alley. "One of the restaurants is Bella Notte, which is from 'Lady and the Tramp,' " Lima said. "That's how deep it goes. That's how geeky it is."

The Hills Are Alive: One of the movie's most subtle visual nods is to a shot that is itself an homage. While singing "That's How You Know" in Central Park, Adams runs up a small, grassy hill, her arms stretched out behind her, as the camera tilts and zooms. If you recognize the shot, that's because it's an exact re-creation of a similar shot in "Beauty and the Beast," which is itself a re-creation from "The Sound of Music." But that isn't Julie Andrews' only connection to the movie. "[She's] also the narrator!" Adams exclaimed.

Whistle While You Work: One of the longest, most spot-on spoofs in "Enchanted" comes the morning after Giselle meets her love interest, Robert. Rising from his couch, she notices how filthy his apartment is. So she does what any princess would do: She organizes a cleanup. "When Amy sings to clean up the apartment, instead of deer and rabbits and chipmunks coming to help clean, it's rats and pigeons and cockroaches," Marsden said, a sly grin on his face. "That seems to me a classic Disney idea — that the princess, to clean up, would summon the forest animals. [Except] in this forest, it's the scummy animals."

"We have the cockroaches going, 'La-la-la,' " Menken chuckled — and keep in mind this this is a guy who won an Oscar by writing a song for a teapot.

Speaking of animal help, there's also an animated cameo from one of Disney's biggest stars. We'd tell you where to look, but we wouldn't want to spoil all the fun.

"I think we're talking about putting together a DVD game that you can play with the movie," Lima revealed. "[We] show you a scene and you have to pick out the reference."

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Reggie Williams to step down as Disney's vice president for sports attractions

Orlando Sentinel - Reggie Williams will step down from his role as Disney's vice president for sports attractions later this month to focus on rehabilitating his legs, which sustained innumerable injuries during his 14-year career in the NFL.

Williams has been the only chief executive in the 10-year history of Disney's Wide World of Sports complex, which hosts hundreds of youth sporting events each year, as well as Atlanta Braves spring training and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' preseason camp.

Williams, 53, had knee-replacement surgery two years ago on both of his legs. His right leg, in particular, continues to give him problems, despite a grueling rehabilitation regimen.

"The wear and tear on my body has finally caught up with me," Williams said Tuesday. "It's been over two years since I've had my intial bilateral surgeries, and I'm still on antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. I have to give my body my full attention after decades of not prioritizing for it.

"I've got to listen to my own body and listen to my own advice when I tell other people to take care of their bodies and stay healthy."

Williams' last day at Disney will be Nov. 21.

A graduate of Dartmouth College, Williams went on to play for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1976 through 1989. On Dec. 4, he will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, along with such luminaries as Penn State Coach Joe Paterno, former Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie and former Notre Dame defensive lineman Chris Zorich.

That induction, he said, helps make all the wear and tear on his body worth it.

"Going into the College Football Hall of Fame is so validating as far as what college is supposed to mean: building character in one's life," Williams said. "Disney's Wide World of Sports stands as a strong testament to the strength of youth sports in this country. And I'm going to get healthy. That's why I've got to put undivided attention on my body. And the rest of the story will have a happy ending."

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It was there in the late 19th century that famed illustrator-cartoonist-animator Winsor McCay went to school as a boy. It was there that one of America's pioneers of animation first began to draw. And it is there that Spring Lake city officials hope to create a memorial or statue commemorating Spring Lake's most famous, albeit forgotten, citizen.

"We can truly say he was the first artist who started a type of animation that Disney would do later -- personality animation where they want you to believe the characters they have created are real," said Oscar-winning animator John Canemaker, author of "Winsor McCay: His Life and Art." "Disney did not try that until 20 years after Winsor McCay."

McCay eventually migrated to New York City to pen highly acclaimed cartoons for such newspapers as the New York Herald and The American.

His comics included Little Sammy Sneeze, Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend and Little Nemo in Slumberland. All were intricately drawn with startling detail and daring use of black ink and color.

He later designed cartoons with characters that had true personalities, like "Gertie the Dinosaur," which recently was ranked by 1,000 professional animators as the sixth greatest cartoon. Other animated shorts by McCay include "How a Mosquito Operates" and the chillingly detailed "The Sinking of the Lusitania."

Famed animators Walt Disney and Walter Lantz have credited McCay with influencing their careers. McCay's legacy is so highly regarded that the ASIFA (Association Internationale du Film D'Animation) -- Hollywood: The International Animated Film Society named its top Annie Award for lifetime achievement after Winsor McCay.

But in Spring Lake, there is nothing to recognize McCay -- no plaque, no statue, no historic marker.

Now, 73 years after his death, there is an effort to change that.

Spurred by area illustrators Kevin Collier and Aaron Zenz, the Spring Lake District Library is spearheading a movement to create some sort of tribute to McCay, perhaps at the former Union School site.

A committee organized through the library and chaired by Mark Miller has met several times. McCay's legacy has been shared with Spring Lake township and village officials who support some sort of tribute. A McCay memorial will be discussed Friday at 4 p.m. at the district library. The public is invited.

Zenz, a local illustrator of children's books who first became acquainted with McCay's works several years ago, said the lack of a tribute to McCay in Spring Lake would be akin to Dayton, Ohio ignoring the Wright brothers.

"This is not like having some aviator from Spring Lake. This is like having someone who invented manned flight," Zenz said. "Winsor McCay isn't just some animator. He's the guy who invented animation as we know it.

"Toy Story, Disney, The Cartoon Network, all of that goes back to Winsor McCay. He's beyond some animator; he founded all animation."

Collier, a children's book artist who works at The Grand Haven Tribune, said he first learned of McCay's Spring Lake roots when he was asked to make a presentation on animation in the 1980s.

"What struck me is there was nothing in this town to commemorate him," Collier recalled. "It was pretty clear to me there was nothing. The district library had one book on him. For the most part, Spring Lake had no idea the guy existed."

Collier said he periodically tried to drum up interest in McCay but with little results until he made a presentation on McCay at the library earlier this year.

Library Director Claire Sheridan and Chris Davis, library network administrator, were impressed by what they heard and conducted some research.

"Frankly, I had not heard of him," Davis said. "When I did a bit of digging, I was shocked."

Davis learned that McCay was the first cartoonist to have his work displayed at the Louvre Museum in Paris and that he was a renowned vaudeville entertainer during his time.

"One of the things that really surprised us about him is he is so preeminent in his field that you can go to practically any illustrator any place in the world, and ask 'Who is Winsor McCay?' and he will be able to tell you," he said. "But you walk down the street in Spring Lake and nobody will be able to tell you."

Collier said he believes Spring Lake Village has missed a wonderful opportunity for decades by not honoring its most famous citizen.

"Winsor McCay is the most significant thing local officials can pull out of a a hat to put Spring Lake on the map," he said. "The reason I'm so passionate about this is not just to get Winsor McCay famous, it's the missed opportunity to put Spring Lake on the map. Nothing would be more locally significant than calling Spring Lake the birthplace of animation."

It might be a bit of a stretch to call Spring Lake the birthplace of animation, Canemaker said, because there were other animators before him. But it would be appropriate to call Spring Lake the birthplace of American character animation, he said.

"Early animation focused on the joy of movement; to bring something to life," Canemaker said from his home in New York City. "The unique thing about Winsor McCay was he was the first to inject particular mannerisms and personalities into the character," Canemaker said from his home in New York City. "He made his characters truly alive."

"We can truly say he was the first artist who started a type of animation that Disney would do later -- personality animation where they want you to believe the characters they have created are real. Disney did not try that until 20 years after Winsor McCay."
Canemaker said McCay's early cartoons were beautifully executed and have fluid motion because McCay insisted on doing at least one drawing per frame.

Although there is no question that McCay spent his formative years in Spring Lake, there is a debate whether he was born in Spring Lake or in Canada in 1869 while his mother was on a trip. Canemaker said McCay as an adult would write that he was born in Spring Lake on Sept. 26, 1871.

While attending Union School, McCay impressed locals by drawing a detailed sketch on the blackboard of the sinking of the S.S. Alpena. The drawing was so good, it was photographed and copies were sold.

McCay's first animated film in 1909, Little Nemo, required 4,000 drawings. How a Mosquito Operates required 6,000 drawings.

Gertie the Dinosaur, released in 1914, is perhaps his most famous animation. The cartoon was shown on stage by McCay, who would bark out scripted orders to make Gertie perform like a circus elephant.

"Gertie was the ultimate example of character development," Canemaker said. "She had a petulant personality, just like a little girl. She would disobey her master. She would snap at him and she would cry when he admonished her."

McCay's creativity waned as he jumped from the Herald to the Hearst's The American in 1911, where he was restricted to drawing editorial cartoons.

"I'm glad people are trying to push this forward," said Canemaker. "Winsor McCay was a great pioneer of character or personality animation.

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ESPN Edges Disney Channel In Primetime

Multichannel News - Ben Roethlisberger topped Miley Cyrus enabling ESPN to edge sister service Disney Channel for Nielsen honors in primetime last week.

ESPN, which claimed the highest-rated show with the Nov. 5 Monday Night Football matchup in which Big Ben’s Pittsburgh Steelers routed the Baltimore Ravens, 38-7, averaged a 2.3 household rating for the period Nov. 5-11, according to a Disney ABC Cable Networks analysis of Nielsen Media Research. The Steelers-Ravens game tackled a 7.6 rating, 7.32 million households and 9.89 million total viewers.

Disney Channel finished second for the span, notching a 2.2 mark, as average bolstered by Cyrus’ Hannah Montana on Nov. 10, which produced a 3.7 rating that was tied for third for the week. The network also benefited that night from Wizards of Waverly Place, which conjured a 3.2 mark, good for the week’s eighth spot, and a Nov. 11 airing of theatrical The Santa Clause, which was fifth with a 3.6.

USA Network ranked third with a 2.0 mark, buoyed by two hours of WWE Raw franchise on Nov. 5, with the 10-11 p.m. show the week’s second-ranked show with a 3.8 mark and the earlier hour tied with Hannah Montana’s 3.7 in third.

Sister services TBS and TNT were fourth and fifth with a 1.6 and a 1.5 average, respectively. Fox News Channel, at a 1.3, and Nick at Nite, with a 1.2, were next for the week, according to the Disney ABC analysis.

There was a logjam at the bottom of the top 10 as MTV, Lifetime Television, Cartoon Network, Spike TV, Court TV and Hallmark all earned a 1.0 average for the week.

Gauged on total-day basis, Nickelodeon was in its usual perch with a 1.8 average, trailed by Disney’s 1.4 and the trio of Nick at Nite, USA and ESPN, all with a 1.1 mark.

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The US entertainment giant has begun a High Court case in the former British colony and is seeking an injunction to stop D Land Travel using the name, the South China Morning Post reported.

D Land Travel, which began operations in 2001, is contesting the action, saying it operates in a separate market from Disney, which opened its newest theme park on Hong Kong's Lantau Island in 2005.

Disney has told the court that the Chinese name for D Land Travel is 'virtually identical' to that of the US company, the newspaper said. The hearing began Monday and is expected to last 20 days.

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ABC Edged CBS for Ratings Win Last Week

AP - Even with the TV writers walkout, a full slate of new shows last week left viewers -- and ratings -- initially untouched by the strike during prime time.

Six of the week's 10 most-watched shows were scripted dramas tapping fresh episodes still in the pipeline. The top show was, not surprisingly, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," while another CBS Thursday drama, "Without a Trace," ranked second. Jointly they scored with a much-promoted two-hour crossover.

ABC had the third-ranked show, Monday's edition of the "Dancing with the Stars" competition. That network also landed four more shows in the Top 10, helping it to squeak into first place for the week overall, barely edging out CBS.

Meanwhile, NBC had another dreary week. Falling behind third-place Fox, it had little to smile about other than its Sunday football telecast, which ranked eighth.

For the week in prime time, ABC took first place with an average 11.93 million viewers (7.8 household rating, 13 share), narrowly beating CBS' 11.89 million viewers (7.6 rating, 12 share), according to Nielsen Media Research.

Fox had 8.84 million viewers (5.3 rating, 8 share), trailed by NBC with 8.20 million viewers (5.2 rating, 8 share), the CW with 2.91 million viewers (1.9 rating, 3 share), My Network TV with 960,000 viewers (0.7 rating, 1 share) and ION Television with 570,000 viewers (0.4 rating, 1 share).

Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision averaged 4.10 million viewers (2.1 rating, 3 share), followed by Telemundo with 1.03 million viewers (0.6 rating, 1 share), TeleFutura with 670,000 viewers (0.3 rating, 1 share) and Azteca with 140,000 viewers (0.1 rating, 0 share).

In the flip-flopping evening news race, NBC regained the lead with 9.23 million viewers (6.2 household rating, 12 share) for its "Nightly News," followed closely by ABC's "World News" with 9.18 million viewers (6.3 rating, 12 share). "CBS Evening News" averaged 6.79 million viewers (4.8 rating, 9 share).

A ratings point represents 1,130,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 112.8 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

For the week of Nov. 5-11, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 2.19 million; "Without a Trace," CBS, 21.69 million; "Dancing with the Stars" (Monday), ABC, 20.47 million; "Grey's Anatomy," ABC, 19.50 million; "Desperate Housewives," ABC, 18.63 million; "House," Fox, 18.17 million; "NCIS," CBS, 18.15 million; NFL Football: Indianapolis Colts at San Diego Chargers, NBC, 17.33 million; "Dancing with the Stars" (Tuesday), ABC, 17.06 million; "CMA Awards," ABC, 15.95 million.

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. CBS is a division of CBS Corp. Fox is a unit of News Corp. NBC is owned by General Electric Co. Telemundo is owned by General Electric. TeleFutura is a division of Univision. ION Television is owned by ION Media Networks.

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Monday November 12, 2007

Bathed in more than 200,000 tiny white lights, the castle glows and glistens as "Cinderella's Holiday Wish" delights Magic Kingdom guests nightly, starting Nov. 12.

"We are thrilled to be adding this brilliant new castle spectacle to the holiday festivities at Walt Disney World this season and for seasons to come," said Francois Leroux, vice president of Walt Disney World Entertainment. "This glistening holiday enchantment creates perfect fairytale magic for this festive time of year."

"For a park aglow in holiday magic, this becomes the new and eye-filling superstar," added Disney Entertainment show producer Rob Hamberg who supervised the weeks-long rigging of the turrets and towers for the light show. "Nothing will rival 'Cinderella's Holiday Wish' for sheer visual spectacle."

And what a spectacle.

As if suddenly dusted in a million ice crystals, Cinderella Castle shines like the galaxies, adding to the wintertime wonderment of the holidays at Florida's Vacation Kingdom.

Fun Facts

To transform Cinderella's fairytale castle into a magical ice palace it took...

Five weeks and 65 elves

Two cranes

15 miles of cables, cut and dyed castle colors, supporting...

32,000 square feet of fishing nets, supporting...

200,000 energy-efficient LEDs, interspersed with...

500 strobes

One Fairy Godmother working some very special magic...

"Show Before the Glow" Stars Disney Characters

To mirthful holiday music, Mickey, Minnie and the gang appear onstage, admiring the festive lights illuminating Main Street, U.S.A. But what to do about the darkened, unadorned castle?

As they bandy about ideas, the Fairy Godmother suddenly appears. It is Cinderella who should rightfully decide, she insists.

Enter the princess herself, with her Prince Charming. All agree with Cinderella that her castle should sparkle the way her beloved glass slippers do -- like shimmering ice and snow.

With a wave of Fairy Godmother's wand -- and guests joining in to make the wish come true -- Cinderella Castle magically morphs into a glorious wintry confection, twinkling in the sky. "The castle suddenly shines like a glistening blanket of ice," explained Disney show writer/director Alan Bruun. "Guests won't believe their eyes at the spectacle as Cinderella's holiday wish comes true."

Show times will be nightly at 5:45 p.m. Cinderella Castle aglow will also play a supporting role in other Magic Kingdom entertainment such as live stage shows, the nighttime fireworks extravaganza "Holiday Wishes," and the after-hours Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, a specially-ticketed event featuring the new "Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade."

Like a global necklace, dazzling castle lighting spectacles also adorn Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland and Disneyland Resort. Disneyland Paris, now marking its 15th anniversary, started the castle lighting tradition in 2005 when Leroux conceived the concept.

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High School Musical Cast Tapes Disney Parade

The Gossip Girls - The stars of High School Musical spent their weekend working on the filming of Disney’s Christmas Day Parade.

Cast member present included Vanessa Hudgens, Corbin Bleu, Ashley Tisdale, Monique Coleman, Ryne Sanborne, Kaycee Stroh, and Olesya Rulin.

The group reportedly sang “What time is it? Christmas Time!”, although sources on the scene tell that there was a bit of lip-syncing going on.

Meanwhile, Zac Efron, Lucas Grabeel and Chris Warren Jr. were missing in action, with no particular reason given at the time.

The parade, which has become an annual affair, will be shown on ABC, Christmas Day. Check your local listing for time and channel.

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Iger is quoted in today's New York Post telling investors that he intends to use a multi-platform approach, similar to Disney's recent music strategy, to push the company's game sales.

"We intend to use it to do exactly what we did in the music business to our video games business, but on a much larger scale," he said.

Tie-ins with popular movie and TV series, such as High School Musical, have seen Disney's music division produce USD 100 million in income. Disney has just launched a High School Musical game.

"We are a publishing company on the outside of the video games business," admitted Iger. "But where they [other companies] may not have a cable channel, or a movie company, or even a record business, or a radio business or online - we have all of those. We intend to use them fully."

Iger said the company's intention was to focus on games it develops itself. It has increased spending on game development from USD 100 million in 2006 to a projected USD 175 million in 2008.

In July of this year, Disney announced that it had acquired the UK's Climax Racing Studio, and Warren Spector's Junction Point Studios.

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ESPN to beef up reporting unit with Balco writer

MarketWatch - ESPN recently hired Rick Reilly, long-time columnist for Sports Illustrated, to do commentaries for ESPN the Magazine, ESPN.com and the ESPN television networks.

"Mark is leaving the Chronicle to take a position with ESPN," Chronicle representative Henry Ford said.

A spokesman for ESPN, which is part of Walt Disney Co. said the network has "nothing to announce at this time."

Fainaru-Wada and fellow reporter Lance Williams were the Chronicle duo behind the March 2004 bombshell exposé that San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees and other players obtained steroids from the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or Balco, a nutritional supplement lab linked to other elite athletes.

The Balco story has mushroomed in the intervening years, garnering much acclaim for the Chronicle even as the paper followed Bonds's controversial pursuit of Hank Aaron's career home-run record, which he broke this past summer.

Its impact has been particularly profound in Major League Baseball, where allegations of steroid use have led the sport to launch a full-scale investigation led by former Sen. George Mitchell.

"The Balco story is one of the biggest stories of the last century in sports," said Dean Bonham, chief executive of the Bonham Group, a Denver-based sports and marketing firm. "And when you have a reporter of Wada's caliber that can break a story, stay with a story like that -- and, in my view, deliver that story in a balanced way -- that's a huge plus for your organization."

Neal Pilson, a sports consultant and former president of CBS Sports, said much is at stake in recruiting from the print world.

"Reporters who simply grow up as television reporters don't have the same investigative and reportorial skills that people from newspapers and magazines have," he said. "I think they're reaching out to people that have these skills, and can make television people out of them."

ESPN recently launched a newsmagazine, "E-60," that offers a serious, investigative take on the world of athletics. For several years it has aired the "Behind the Lines" program, which also offers an in-depth look at important figures and topics in sports.

"ESPN wants to be known as the main source for sports news and information for the young American male," Pilson said. "That has been their mantra, and [the latest hirings] are consistent with their strategy to be seen as authoritative."

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Tickets on sale Tuesday for Disney show in January

ReporterHerald - "Playhouse Disney Live!" brings Disney’s favorite characters to the Budweiser Events Center at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 10.

Stars from "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," "Little Einsteins," "Handy Manny" and "My Friends Tigger and Poo" will appear on the stage for the first time in Loveland in a family entertainment event, according to a description of the show.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Tuesday at $18, $26, and $34. Tickets may be purchased at www.ComcastTIX.com, 1-877-544-TIXX, the Budweiser Events Center Box Office, Fort Fun in Fort Collins, the Colorado Eagles Office in Windsor, Woody’s Newsstand & Café in Greeley and the Taco Johns Center in Cheyenne.

A select number of VIP seats are available for each performance. Prices do not include additional facility fees.

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Much like the movie Shrek, Meet the Robinsons is full of pop culture and movie references. Everything from Pulp Fiction and the Rat Pack with the frogs, to War of the Worlds, Matrix and 2001 A Space Odyssey with Doris the bowler hat and that’s only to name a few of the many little fun homage’s the movie offers. Meet The Robinsons is a movie that sets up little hidden storylines that slowly delights with the reveals by the end of the film.

Meet The Robinsons is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray and is the perfect film for anyone who is a fan of Walt Disney or animated films. Along with the film, the DVD provides us a few bonus features as well.

The audio commentary by Director Stephen Anderson and his alter ego, the menacing Bowler Hat Guy, is fun and informative. I always prefer commentary by the creative force then say the actors. Actors are often very boring when it comes to commentary and lack the insight and the stories that the writers and (in this case) the director can provide.

The documentary Inventing The Robinsons, is great in giving us the whole process that is involved in making an animated feature. Whether it’s the story, the music or even finding the right voice, it’s all here in this well produced documentary.

The other bonus features include early drafts of deleted scenes, a documentary on the real modern day inventors, music videos and a game for the younger viewer.

Meet The Robinsons is Disney’s 46th animated feature. Now with Pixar a part of the Disney family, one can only imagine what is coming down the pipe line by these animated visionaries. One thing for sure, we are in for more animated bliss that will entertain for decades to come and will "Keep Moving Forward."

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10 reasons why 'Hannah Montana' star Miley Cyrus is a hit with kids

Dallas Morning News -There's no way Mr. "Achy Breaky Heart" could have predicted this.

If not for Billy Ray Cyrus, the world would be deprived of the shrieking, jumping-up-and-down phenomenon caused by Hannah Montana, a.k.a. Miley Cyrus (a.k.a. Mr. Cyrus' 14-year-old spawn).

The singer-dancer-actress' Disney Channel series, Hannah Montana, is the No. 1 show for kids and tweens on basic cable; her latest CD, released in July, immediately became the top-selling album in the country; and her 54-city concert tour, which stops at the Fort Worth Convention Center on Wednesday, has sold out within minutes in every town. (Not even the much-anticipated reunion tour of rock royalty Van Halen can say that.)

So it's official: We're in the grips of Hannahmania.

So what is going on here? Why, pray tell, have little girls (and by extension their parents) gone nuts over a rhyming-named character with a raspy voice? Here are 10 reasons, thanks to statistical data, professional insight and, most importantly, the wise words of second-grade girls.

1. "She sings really good" was the first answer from most of the second-graders as they ate their sandwiches at Bluebonnet Elementary in Fort Worth. They also like her "sparkly" clothes, her funny TV show and the fact that she has her priorities in order. (OK, they didn't put it like that.) Her TV brother wants to be popular, "but she really doesn't care about that," says student Skyla Fisher. "If she gets a chance to, she'll probably go for it, but usually she doesn't care." As her pal Maddy Waite put it, "She's a nice girl." Which brings us to the next reason.

2. To parents, she's as pure as the Disney-manufactured snow. This explains why Mom and Dad aren't opposed to treating their kids to her concert, even if it means taking out a bank loan. (A recent check on stubhub.com showed 67 tickets available for the Fort Worth show, ranging from $145 to $1,600 each.) Hey, in a world full of fallen pop sweethearts (oh, Britney!) and other assorted tawdriness, we're apparently willing to pay for a night of good, clean fun.

3. That "superhero in disguise" thing gets them every time. Just as no one ever clued into the fact that Clark Kent was the Man of Steel, Miley-Hannah also has her friends on the show fooled. How can this be? Second-grader Bailey Strother has a logical answer: "Because she has a ton of makeup on and has a wig on." Ah, yes. Just like Clark's clever glasses.

4. She has much support. When the kids talk about the show, they immediately mention the other cast members as well. They like her friend Lilly, they like her brother Jackson, they like her dad (who makes up songs like "The Potty Training Song," which features the line, "I like to sing, I like to dance, but I can't do it with poopy in my pants"). They also know that the actor is Miley's real-life dad, which adds an extra layer of fun. (In comparison, did we ever know any Brady Bunch back story? No. Probably for the best.)

5. Her songs speak to girls. The ever-empowering lyrics include "Life's what you make it," "Don't let anyone tell you that you're not strong enough" and the oft-sung, "Nobody's perfect, I gotta work it, again and again till I get it right." Young Sarah Jenkins in the lunchroom can relate: "In first grade I got my folder signed, and I cried a little. I was walking past the first-grade teacher's desk, and she said, 'Sarah, nobody's perfect. Everybody has to get their folder signed sometime.' " Rock on, little Sarah. Rock on.

6. She offers two singers for the price of one. The tunes she belts out as dark-haired Miley Cyrus have a bit more of an edge than Hannah's ditties. Oh, who are we kidding; they're about as edgy as a bouncy ball. But they do center more around dating, boys and finding a party (where there will be sodas, no doubt) than raising self-esteem.

7. Her show strikes the perfect chord between corny and cool. "I like the one where they're being superspies to get the CDs back from Jake Ryan," Skyla says between bites. Speaking of Jake: "Miley and him are girlfriend and boyfriend, so Miley has to tell him she's Hannah Montana," Bailey says. "Then they break up. But he still knows." And really, how long can he keep that kind of secret?

8. She doesn't ignore us old folks. Brooke Shields – or "Who?" to your kids – played the ghost of Hannah's deceased mom in one episode. And this week's guest star is Heather Locklear, who plays her dad's potential love interest. As for the concert, just admit it: You're excited! You know you'll be dancing in the aisles to your favorite songs. It's OK, though. Nobody's perfect.

9. Resistance to Hannah exposure is futile. She has three of the top 10 tunes on Radio Disney; her show is on "like 15 times a day," the girls report; her songs are programmed to wake them up on their alarm clocks. And kids today, being savvy little beings, know they can absorb everything they want to about their hero. (A bit of trivia, offered by Sarah: Why is her name Miley? Because she smiled a lot when she was a baby. "Smiley" was eventually shortened to Miley, but "Miles" and even "Mile" are also accepted.)

10. She's the product of marketing geniuses. Hey, the countless product tie-ins aren't lost on these girls. Asked what she'd say if she could meet Miley, young Skyla has a quick answer: "I'd tell her to make a movie." {star}{star}{star}{star}{star}{star}{star} {star}{star}{star}{star}{star}{star}{star} {star}{star}{star}{star}{star}{star}{star} {star}{star}{star}{star}

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Disney Channel On Demand offer will feature a range of popular programs including Hannah Montana, Quelli dell’intervallo, Kim Possible and American Dragon, and Disney Channel Original Movies including High School Musical 2 in its Dance Along version. There will also be a number of pre-school series including My Friends Tigger and Pooh, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Handy Manny.

Fastweb has carried Disney Channel since 2004 and already offers a selection of Disney movies, Disney’s Magic English and ESPN Classic.

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Sunday November 11, 2007

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In January, Southern California's signature theme park will be closing its most famous ride – the one where visitors pile into flat-bottomed boats and go on a shiny plastic water tour of Planet Earth to the strains of that supremely irritating song. The ride has to undergo some renovation.

The reason? Disneyland's visitors have been getting not smaller but bigger, wider and fatter, and the boats on the "It's a Small World" ride have developed an annoying habit of running aground under all the extra weight.

The company itself denies that obesity has anything to do with it: it says the renovation is necessary because a series of fiberglass patches on the bottom of the waterway have created obstacles that need to be cleared.

But visitors, former employees and self-appointed Disney watchers all attest to the frequent occasions on which the boats on "It's a Small World" back up because a vessel carrying more pounds per square inch than anyone could have reasonably envisaged back in 1964 has ground to a halt.

"The Cast Members [Disney employees] operating the ride try their very best to eyeball the girth and size of the riders coming down the line and purposely leave a row or two empty on many boats," an assiduous Disney watcher called Al Lutz reported on his website this week. "Even those discreet tactics don't always work with today's riders."

And so Disney will be digging a deeper fiberglass channel and replacing the old fleet of boats with new, more buoyant upgrades. The two biggest trouble spots, according to those in the know, come at the exhibition of Mounties, representing Canada, and along the S-curve representing Scandinavia. Because much of the ride is indoors and invisible to its operators, it can take up to 10 minutes to realize that a boat is stuck, at which point the backup resembles gridlock on one of the many crowded freeways leading to the theme park's front gates in Anaheim, about 45 minutes' drive south of Los Angeles.

Mr Lutz reports that overweight visitors are a problem at other rides too, among them the Pirates of the Caribbean, Pinocchio and Alice in Wonderland.

Disney is not completely without responsibility for the obesity trend in America. For a decade, it had a joint marketing agreement with McDonald's. At Disneyland and other theme parks, there is a plentiful supply of giant sodas, churros and ice cream.

Sometimes, fat customers escorted off the "Small World" ride get quite nasty with the Cast Members about the problems of the ride. The staff's reaction? To offer them a free food ticket by way of apology.

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AP -  More visitors at The Walt Disney Co.'s theme parks and growth at its ESPN cable channel helped the company's fourth-quarter profit climb 12 percent.

The results, reported after the markets closed on Thursday, narrowly beat Wall Street expectations.

But Disney shares fell almost 3 percent Friday.

Attendance at Disney's domestic theme parks grew 5 percent in the quarter, mostly at the Walt Disney World complex in Florida. Guest spending grew 2 percent, said Thomas Staggs, Disney's chief financial officer.

"Thus far, our businesses remain strong, and we have not seen indications of a downturn in the economy," Staggs said after the results were released Thursday.

Profits at Disney's consumer products division increased 10 percent on strong sales of merchandise related to the Pixar movie "Cars" and other items.

The only lagger in the quarter was Disney's film studio, which saw a 21 percent decrease in operating profit and a 24 percent drop in revenue.

The studio suffered from unfavorable comparisons with last year's fourth quarter, which included revenue from "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

Disney reported net income of $877 million, or 44 cents per share, for the quarter ended Sept. 29, compared with $782 million, or 36 cents per share, for the year-ago period.

Earnings benefited from a 2 cents per share gain related to prior-year income tax matters. Without the one-time item, earnings for the quarter were 42 cents per share.

Revenue grew to $8.93 billion from $8.65 billion in the same period last year.

Analysts at Thomson Financial had anticipated earnings of 41 cents per share on revenue of $8.98 billion.

Disney shares fell 89 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $32.74 Friday.

The company, which owns the ABC network, said it has contingency plans in place in the event of a prolonged strike by the Writers Guild of America.

The plans include cutting costs and increasing movies, holiday programming and reality shows, said Robert Iger, Disney's president and chief executive officer.

"We would hope that we'll be able to find a way to settle this difference and settle the strike before there's damage done to the business or, by the way, to the community that we operate in," Iger told analysts in a conference call.

"There is a trickle-down effect that this has on more than just people directly associated with producing these shows. Southern California is going to feel it first and hard, and I think that's just a shame," he said.

The media conglomerate said it would increase its capital spending as it ramps up its video game unit.

Looking ahead to 2008, Staggs said bookings at Disney's domestic theme parks were in the "mid-single digits" ahead of last year.

Advertising pricing at ABC was running double digits ahead of the prices secured before the season launched. The demand for advertising on Disney's cable networks also looked strong, Staggs said.

For the full fiscal year, Disney reported net income of $4.69 billion, or $2.25 per share, compared with $3.37 billion, or $1.64 per share, for fiscal 2006.

Revenue increased to $35.51 billion from $33.75 billion.

Analysts had been looking for annual net income of $1.92 per share on revenue of $35.63 billion.

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