Sunday, October 18th, 2009 | Posted in Disney, TV and Movies | No Comments »
Ack! I haven’t posted anything in over a month! Seriously lacking here. We did get back from vacation recently, so that post will be coming as soon as I get through the pictures. But in the meantime, I decided I needed to get something posted. I’ve been going through DVDs recently and I watched what has to be one of my favorite Disney cartoon movies - The Emperor’s New Groove. I can watch that one over and over. The animation is nothing special, but it’s has to be one of the funniest Disney movies.
It didn’t start out that way. It was supposed to be a big time musical/drama/comedy typical Disney production. They even had Sting write six different songs for the production. All of it was scrapped when things weren’t going they way they wanted with test audiences. With a brief extension of time they completely re-worked the plot so we have what we have today. Knowing all of that, it makes it even more amazing that I consider it to be so funny. The voice acting is perfect for the comedy and it is very well written.
So with that, I leave you with the following fine snippets from the movie:
“Why do we even have that lever?”
“I’ll turn him into a flea, a harmless, little flea, and then I’ll put that flea in a box, and then I’ll put that box inside of another box, and then I’ll mail that box to myself, and when it arrives… I’ll smash it with a hammer!”
“Um, what’s with the chimp and the bug? Can we get back to *me*?”
“What are the odds of that trap door leading me out here?”
“Don’t listen to that guy. He’s trying to lead you down the path of righteousness. I’m gonna lead you down the path that rocks!.”
“Oh, look. A golden-throated small-winged warbler. Just one more for exotic bird bingo. I am loving this.”
“Squeak, squeakin’, squeak, squeakity.”
“Don’t tell me. We’re about to go over a huge waterfall… Sharp rocks at the bottom? Bring it on.”
“I’m telling you, we did not order a trampoline!”
“I’m sorry, but you’ve thrown off the Emperor’s groove.”
Monday, August 31st, 2009 | Posted in Disney, TV and Movies | No Comments »
Arrived at work this morning and started checking the news and what do I find? Big news… Disney is buying Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. That’s right… BILLION. I have to admit, I have mixed feelings about this one. For being a Disney shareholder, I think it is an excellent move. Marvel has a lot of characters and properties. All of them vastly different from Disney properties and so I think the merging is definitely complimentary.
But as a fan of Marvel, not sure what I would think. But I do think Disney is a different beast than it was 10 years ago. Their acquisition of Pixar has left me impressed. Pixar continues to do things the way they have always done, but at the same time, they have been able to influence a lot of things at Disney. Hopefully that will be the same for Marvel.
So I look forward to walking down Main Street USA and being greeted by Spider-man, Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk and all them fine characters. Should be a grand day! (A day that is a long ways off because of Universal’s claim, but still… sometime in the future.)
Thursday, June 19th, 2008 | Posted in Disney, Family Life, Travel | No Comments »
We just got back from our vacation to Southern California. This time we drove, and to make it more interesting, we took two extra teenagers. That’s right, me, Elena, the two girls, and four teenage boys. We had the room in the timeshare so we figured it would be good for the boys so they wouldn’t be bored doing “little kid stuff”.
It was a tight fit into the car with all eight of us and all our gear. The car was very heavy and Tim’s friend is six foot six, he had to scrunch up in ball in the back. But we made it without any real problems, and the car did great.
We of course did Disneyland, but we also went to SeaWorld and Universal Studios this time around. Haven’t been to either of those places for quite a while. Then we spent a day at the beach. Elena and I agreed that it was a little too much for a week. Next time we need more “down” days, more beach and swim time.
And the best part was on the way back. We stopped over in St. George so we didn’t have drive the whole way in one day. We stayed at a nice hotel there, and the four boys got stuck in the elevator. They were trapped in there for about 30 minutes. Great vacation memory and I got it all on video tape!
We had a great time, and as usual it was too short and went by too fast. I’ve been back to work this week and I’m already starting to count down the days to the next one.
All the photos have been posted up on Flickr.
Sunday, July 1st, 2007 | Posted in Disney, TV and Movies | No Comments »
We went and saw Ratatouille yesterday with the family. So let’s get this out of the way first, before the movie review. Elena thinks Linguini, one of the main characters from the movie, looks like me when I was… well, younger. Here’s the comparison, make your own decision. Which one is a cartoon character and which one is yours truly?
The movie was great. I think all of us liked it. I would give it 3 1/2 stars out of four. It goes to show that the people at Pixar are great storytellers. The story is what makes the film, and I loved the ending. I thought the last 15 minutes were great. It was a good story, and the kids still found it to be funny.
Oh, and the animation is amazing. A lot of times the scenes in the kitchen were hard to tell that they were animated. In fact, if it wasn’t for all of the cartoon looking people in the kitchen you might have thought it was an actual photograph. The shots of Paris were amazing too. It looked just like Elena and I remember it, but it was slightly cleaner 
Overall recommendation, everyone should go see it.
Saturday, June 16th, 2007 | Posted in Books, Disney | No Comments »
I finished reading Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler a few weeks ago. It was a really good book. As anyone who knows me and my family, we love all things Disney. So when this book was published I thought I would give it a try. At over 800 pages (over 200 of which are bibliography information) I wasn’t sure I’d get through it. But it kept me intrigued. It was written really well with a good narrative.
The book delves into Walt Disney’s upbringing, and all of the milestones along his life path until his death. It was interesting to read about how he was continually trying to out do himself. Nothing was ever “done”, he was always trying to “plus” things. And for that reason, Disneyland was his greatest accomplishment, his greatest triumph. It was something that he could continually update.
His plans for Walt Disney World were also very interesting to read. I believe that if Disney hadn’t have died when he did, Walt Disney World would be something much different than what it is today - and I’m not sure if that would be good or bad.
So, if you’re a Disney fan at all, you should read this book. And if you’re only a devout fan, it is still very interesting and a good read.
Sunday, April 1st, 2007 | Posted in Disney | No Comments »
The problem with going to Disneyland or Walt Disney World is that it never fails that after you’ve returned there will be something new that arrives that makes you wish you could go back. I received an email a couple of days ago regarding the new Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor that will be opening at the Magic Kingdom. It sounds interesting and you can see that the Imagineers are trying to incorporate all sorts of new technology and trying to bring new interactions to attractions.
The interesting thing that I read is that you can interact with the attraction while you are in the queue via text messages from your cell phone.
… while in the queue area before the show, for standard text message rates, Guests can use their cell phones to send a text message to Mike, Roz, and the crew. Minutes later, the funniest jokes are told by performing monster characters onstage.
I have to admit, that’s pretty cool. I assume that there is some kind of identifying number or something that you have to send with your message. Otherwise I could send a message right now from home! But it goes to show that the interaction level, and the incorporation of new technology is starting to move into new territories. It opens up a whole new realm of possibilities.
Only problem is that it makes me want to go that much more often. (But then I guess that’s what they want to happen, right?)
Friday, December 22nd, 2006 | Posted in Disney, Family Life | No Comments »
Just posted a number of photos from our trip to Florida on Flickr. We spent eight days in the sun and just got back. It was a great time. My parents and Elena’s parents were down there as well. Elena’s parents were even selected to be the Grand Marshals in the Magic Kingdom parade in Walt Disney World. It was very fitting…
We had a good time, and it was good to have all of us there. It was 82 degrees when we left on Monday, and now were back to the 28 degree weather in Utah. It’s cold!
Wednesday, December 13th, 2006 | Posted in Disney, Funny | 1 Comment »
I received my weekly email from Disney and this week it was in regards to the suite that they have added to Cinderella Castle for the current promotion for their Year of a Million Dreams. It was interesting to read, and would be great to win. But the part that confused me the most is what is at the bottom of the page. There are all sorts of rules about the contest, the usual small print. And it also mentions stuff about being able to mail in your entry, yada yada yada. But then there is this:
For residents of Canada, a mathematical skill-testing question must be correctly answered to win any prize.
Huh? What’s with the Canadians? Is it just Disney that feels they need to test the mental capacity of the Canadians, or is this some sort of government rule? And if it is, why? Makes no sense to me… but it does make me laugh.
Tuesday, September 26th, 2006 | Posted in Disney, TV and Movies | No Comments »
“Twas a long time ago, longer now than it seems in a place perhaps you’ve seen in your dreams. For the story you’re about to be told began with the holiday worlds of auld. Now you’ve probably wondered where holidays come from. If you haven’t I’d say it’s time you begun…”
On October 20th, Disney is re-releasing Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3-D. I have to admit, the re-releasing of movies is sometimes not such a good idea, but in this case I am really excited to see it. I think the stop-motion animation is the perfect medium for a 3-D “re-imagining”. Nightmare is one of the kids (and mine) favorite movies. Even Emma, who is only two, loves to watch it and sing along with the songs. And while I did like Corpse Bride, it just wasn’t the same. The music is much better in Nightmare, and that’s what gives it that extra something that makes it so I can watch it over and over.
Now I can only hope that it is showing in a theater somewhere in Salt Lake (I’m sure it will…)
Today
