With the premiere episode only a few weeks away, we've begun prepping up for Disney/Lucasfilm's epic new Star Wars adventure, Star Wars Rebels. Set five years before the events of Episode VI: A New Hope, Rebels follows young Jedi rebels as they escape and cheat the Empire as they continue to be hunted down because of their Jedi past. The series is bound to be just as incredible as Star Wars The Clone Wars was before it, so we couldn't be any more thrilled.
In order to prepare for the explosive new series, be sure to whip out your light-sabers and enter our latest giveaway contest. This month we're giving away a copy of DK Publishing's Star Wars Rebels: The Visual Guide. Be sure to enter so you can brush up on your Star Wars knowledge and stay up-to date with every passing episode.
To enter, just be sure to enter by following one of the easy tasks below. You can enter by simply following us on Twitter and/or liking us on Facebook, and tweeting and posting about the contest. The more times you tweet/post, the more entries you get to increases your winning chances. Be sure to enter through the Rafflecopter link below. Hurry! Contest closes Sunday September 21st.
RULES AND CONDITIONS:
No purchase necessary to enter. Shipping address must be within the United States and Canada. Contest is open to fans of all ages.
Exactly one week ago we shared the fantastic and creative works of Kenny Durkin, and if you missed it, be sure to check it out now. Becuase there was just too much awesomeness to fit into one article, we decided to split the spotlight on Kenny's fabulous work and showcase it in a special two-part series. Without any further introduction, here is even more of Kenny's wonderful work featuring Muppets, Winnie the Pooh/Star Wars and Disney-owned ABC's LOST!
The Muppets' Latest Addition
Winnie the Hutt
Gonzilla
Daniel Faraday- ABC'S Lost sketch
Ben Linus- ABC'S Lost sketch
The Ribbit- The Hobbit Parody
Muppets- World of Friendship
Thanks once again to the wonderfully talented Kenny Durkin for sharing his artwork with us!
Today we're really excited to showcase some of the best artwork of our pal Kenny Durkin!
Kenny is a long-time Muppet and Disney fan, and a really talented artist. There's no doubt that you have probably come across Kenny's work while online. His artwork parodies such as The Wocka-Wocka-ing Dead, Muppets Inc and Winnie The Hutt were shared over thousands of times across social media! You'll see some of these art pieces below.
When we were speaking to Kenny about this article, he told us just to pick the artwork which we thought was the best. So we picked all of them.
Because there was just too much awesomeness to fit into one article, he decided to split it up into two Fan Art spotlights. Be on the lookout next week for part two!
Muppet Threadless Entry: "Right Where We Belong"
Mowgli and Shere-Kahn parodying He-Man and Battlecat
The Wocka Wocka-ing Dead
Muppets Inc.
Star Wars Artwork
Animal
Fozzie and Sam Eagle parodying Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Prawn Solo
That's all for now! Be on the lookout for more of Kenny's awesome work next week!
Lots of major breaking news this week, and here we are trying to keep track of just some of the major news unveiled by Disney this week around the globe with breaking news from many films and theme parks across the Disney company.
Earlier today Disney/Lucasfilm unveiled more details on the cast of Star Wars Episode VII. Today actresses Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave) and Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones) are joining the cast of actors starring in the latest installment of the Star Wars saga. Previously announced were original actors, Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker, along with new-comers Andy Serkins, Oscar Isaac, Domhall Gleeson and Max von Sydow.
The announcement was made on the official Star Wars website earlier today. As we speculated earlier, it as rumored that Nyong'o will be playing the character of Asaaj Ventress from The Clone Wars series. This has yet to be confirmed if there is any truth to it.
James Cameron gave a few more details on the upcoming Avatar expansion in Disney's Animal Kingdom. The land is supposedly be called Pandora: The Land of Avatar and will feature brand-new lifelike Audio-Animatronic and gave some other details on the expansion: (Source: Slashfilm.com)
It’s going to have floating mountains. It’s pretty cool. I’ve seen the model and the design work the Imagineering people have done is spectacular. They’ve got a quarter inch to the foot scale model of the whole park and I’ve looked at all the sight lines…it’s not a park, it’s a land within the park but a land is not just a ride. There will be several rides and a number of other attractions. It’s really just a place you’re gonna wanna go and hang out. It’s gonna be gorgeous. Of course it’s gonna be gorgeous at night and they’re using every new trick, every new bit of technology that they’ve created. The animatronics for the Na’vi characters are gonna be fantastic. For example, their early animatronics would use 12 axis of motion and I think the most they’ve ever done was 32 axis recently. I think they’re up to 64 just in the face of the Na’vi characters. So it’s gonna be remarkable. They really see it as a major, major attraction.
Disney still has yet to officially announce this, but this is the current name according to Avatar director James Cameron. Pandora: The Land of Avatar is scheduled for a 2017 opening.
In order to make way for Avatar, Animal Kingdom closed up Camp Minnie-Mickey in Animal Kingdom, which included the popular Festival of the Lion King stage show. Don't worry: The show was only moved temporarily and just opened up for it's first showing at the New Harambe theater in the Africa section of Animal Kingdom. Showtimes are daily and vary depending on time of visit, but it's back and has shows almost daily as it did before the Avatar expansion began construction. The show has remained unchanged.
Maleficent opened in theaters this week in North America at #1 with $70 million total in weekend estimates. The opening amount is similar to 2013's Oz the Great and Powerful which also recieved $79 million it's opening weekend, but far from 2010's Alice in Wonderland which opened to a mighty $116 million. In case you missed it, read our review of the film.
DisneyToon's Planes: Fire and Rescue soars into theaters July 18th nationwide. Walt Disney Films Quebec (a division of Walt Disney Films Canada) announced that Canadian Olympic participants Chloe, Justine, and Maxime Dufour-Lapointe will be lending their voices to three different characters in the French Canadian version of the film. With a stunning performance at the 2013 World Championships, Chloe currently holds the title of world champion FIS moguls. Justine, the Olympic champion, has meanwhile won the bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships FIS moguls. Maxime debuted in the World Cup in 2007 and is a regular competitor u on the circuit since 2008. She also finished 4th in moguls in 2014 making themselves a house-hold name throughout all of Canada during the entire Sochi Winter Games.
In French, the film is titled The Aircraft: The Fire From The Sky.
A few weeks ago Disney Interactive unveiled details about the mega-Marvel addition to Disney Infinity. This week, they unveiled that Merida from Pixar's Brave and Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty) will be joining the cast of characters available to play in the game. Video was released by Disney Interactive earlier this week.
In Theme Park news, Universal Orlando continued to unveil details on the Diagon Alley expansion of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter with an all new video, sharing some insight on the creation of the attractions included in the expansion:
Seaworld responded to the controversial documentary Blackfish once again this week, with "69 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Believe Blackfish". You can read the entire list here.
Did you enter our giveaway for a free copy of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Around the Clubhouse World yet? There's only one more day to enter, so be sure to enter right here before time runs out! Good luck!
That's it for your news this week! Have a magical week!
Mitchell Stein- Earlier this morning Lucasfilm revealed a new program with a special video message from director JJ Abrams from the set of Star Wars Episode VII currently filming in Abu Dubhai revealing details about an incredible new program coming from Disney/Lucasfilm and UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund). For the first time ever, Star Wars fans like you have the unbeliavable opportunity to attend and star in Episode VII which will be filmed mostly in London in Pinewood Studios. To enter all you have to do is make your donations of at least $10 on the Star Wars page on Omaze.com. Not only will you have the opportunity to attend the filming of Star Wars VII, you'll also receive rewards depending on the amount pledged. See the full list at the bottom of the page on the Omaze page right here.
"The Star Wars fans are some of the most passionate and committed folks around the globe,” says director J.J. Abrams. “We’re thrilled to offer a chance to come behind the scenes as our VIP guests and be in Star Wars: Episode VII. We’re even more excited that by participating in this campaign, Star Wars fans will be helping children around the world through our collaboration with UNICEF Innovation Labs and projects."
Abrams made the announcement in a video which was posted online earlier this morning with a few additional details, and a sneak peek at the set in Abu Dahbi.
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Rewards are separate from sweepstakes prizes. Rewards are limited in quantity. Odds of winning depend on number of entries. For free entry: (i) send post card to Sponsor at PO Box 3190, 1217 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, California 90408 by applicable mail date; or (ii) visit www.Omaze.com/StarWars. Entrants may receive additional entries via Facebook. Maximum number of entries: 10,000 per Entrant. Travel and accommodations are at Sponsor’s discretion and subject to availability and change. Winner and Guest may be required to pass a background screening or security check, to receive the prize and/or reward. Visa conditions may apply. All taxes are Winner’s responsibility. Not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook®. Residents of certain territories may be required to successfully complete a trivia question to qualify. For full entry requirements, details, limitations and restrictions see Official rules at www.Omaze.com/StarWars. Sole Sponsor: Omaze, Inc., PO Box 3190, 1217 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90408.
Lots of major news these past couple of weeks, it's almost impossible to keep track of it all!
Starting off the news this week was just announced by Disney On Ice earlier this morning. A brand-new show starring the cast of Frozen will go on tour starting in Orlando this summer and then moving to many other cities. You can check Disney On Ice's website for the full schedule and when it will be coming to your area.
Frozen is also coming to Disneyland California as announced by Disney Parks some days ago on their blog. A brand-new Frozen float will appear in the pre-parade before performances of Mickey's Soundsational Parade this June.
Television shows Once Upon A Time and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D both aired their season finales this week and have both been picked up for another season on ABC (with the exception of Once Upon a Time in Wonderlandwhich was cancelled earlier this year). Also picked up for next year is Marvel's Agent Carter which will follow Agents Peggy Carter of SHIELD following the events of Captain America: The First Avenger. The series will air during the time when Agents of SHIELD is on hiatus between episodes. Read our in-depth review of the Agents of SHIELD finale!
ONCE UPON A TIME SPOILER:
Queen Elsa from Frozen makes a brief appearance at the end of the season three finale, teasing at what's to come next season. The story is currently unknown as what's yet to come, as OUAT tends to return to the origins of the fairy-tales as they deem necessary (rather than going according to the Disney versions) but either way, Disney is promoting this from the 2013 Frozen film, so we should expect big things to come to Storybrooke next season.
Just yesterday, Disney and Marvel released another trailer for their upcoming film Guardians of the Galaxy. Guardians stars actors Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Zoe Salanda, Bradley Cooper, John C. Reily along with others. The trailer was released yesterday on the Guardians Facebook page:
Star Wars Episode VII has officially begun filming! JJ Abrams' company Bad Robot posted this picture on Twitter with the simple hashtag #dayone. The film is expected to hit theaters December 2015.
Disney's latest sports drama Million Dollar Arm hit theaters this weekend to unfortuantley poor box-office results up against Godzilla which opened this weekend as well. Million Dollar Arm made approx. $10 million at the box office this weekend according to Box Office Mojo. The budget was only $25 million, so it shouldn't take too long to get to that amount. Read our review of the film right here.
Many new details on the Harry Potter expansion at Universal Orlando has been announced this week, with incredible details and photos from the new Escape from Gringotts attraction and the entire Diagon Alley expansion. Read all the details right here.
And for the final bit of news this week, Disney Parks revealed more info about the Rock Your Disney Side event, which is a 24 hour event in both Walt Disney World and Disneyland California. You can find the full schedules on Disney Parks Blog website.
Mitchell Stein- Happy "Revenge of the 5th" to all of our Jedis and Sith masters and Padawans out there throughout the galaxy. Yesterday was the legendary "May the 4th Be With You" Star Wars holiday, where thousands of Star Wars fans join together to celebrate the legendary saga once every year.
We at the Mickey Mindset think that celebration of Star Wars should never end, and all of the major fans continue to celebrate Star Wars throughout the next day of "Revenge of the 5th" (except if you can't stand the prequels. Revenge of the 5th doesn't usually get the biggest turnout.)
In celebrating Star Wars, we decided to take an in-depth look at the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII set to hit theaters December 2015. Lots of rumors are surrounding this new film, with J.J. Abrams at the helm to direct, and recently they unveiled the entire cast of the film, which includes some of the cast from the original trilogy. In all, not that much is currently known, but there's lots of speculation as to what's going on in this film, so we're going to take a look at what we know so far, and what is currently "confirmed" and what is not.
WHAT WE KNOW:
The film is set to be released December 2015. The cameras already stared rolling for this one, and apparently, the crew is filming in locations like Abu Dahbi and Alberquque, New Mexico (these are just the biggest rumors on the web right now. Disney obviously hasn't confirmed yet where the movie is being filmed). Lots of photos have been posted online, which we won't share here due to spoilers.
J.J. Abrams has been attached to the film as a director. This move follows Abrams off some of his other recent movies, Star Trek and Star Trek: Into Darkness, Super 8, LOST, making him a leader in science-fiction films. He is also co-writing the film and he is reportedly a major long-time Star Wars fan.
The movie is taking place thirty years after Return of the Jedi. Confirmed members of the cast include Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) Harrison Ford (Han Solo) Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker (C-3PO and R2-D2) and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca the Wookie). Nothing else is currently known about the storyline.
The screenplay is written by the same people as the original trilogy. Michael Arndt, who wrote the screenplay to The Empire Strikes Back is returning to co-write this film along with Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas is acting as a "creative consultant". Speculations are that Episode VII will follow in the steps of the original trilogy which comes as a relief to most fans.
The score will be written by John Williams who wrote the incredible score to all six of the Star Wars films. Williams confirmed his return to the franchise last July.
More films are on the way. Episodes VIII and IX are already in pre-production! 2015's films will obviously lead into the other films and Disney is also producing stand alone spin-off films to be released between each of the new SW saga films, and eventually we'll get to the point of roman numerals that we won't even remember how many films they represent.
RUMORS:
The full title to the movie will be Star Wars Episode VII: The Order of the Jedi. This is of course just an unconfirmed rumor at this point, and we should probably expect to hear more about the film possibly by San Diego Comic-Con, where most studios reveal new details about their upcoming films.
Lupita Nyong'o has been cast to play Asaaj Ventress from the Clone Wars series.
The plot will focus around Han Solo and Princess Leia's children. This story seems to be the most popular speculation, as the story takes place thirty years after the events of Return of the Jedi, but has been unconfirmed by Disney.
The main villian will not be a Sith lord.
According to this Independant article, these speculations were posted on Twitter a few weeks ago. The account was quickly deleted shortly afterwards, which adds to the speculation that these rumors were possibly true.
That's all we know right now. Personally, I prefer they keep everything top secret and under-wraps, which builds up the whole anticipation for this film very well, that's why I love the way J.J. Abrams runs things. Time to set the countdown clocks for December 2015!
Ryan Dosier - As I'm sure all of you know, today is the most holiest of the high holy holidays: Star Wars Day. The day once a year that we get to sit down and give thanks for the bounties of a galaxy far, far away. Today I thought I would sit down and finally put into words why I love the Star Wars universe--because I really do. One of my earliest movie memories is of watching Return of the Jedi on VHS when I was 5 or 6, so Star Wars has been with me for the long haul.
1. Yoda
Yoda is by far my favorite character from the Star Wars world. He shows that size truly matters not when he displays his immense power and abilities. Plus, he's performed by Frank Oz, which is awesome. I obviously prefer puppet Yoda from the original trilogy, because Frank Oz's performance is so nuanced and marvelous. However, CGI Yoda is also very well done. Getting to see him wield a lightsaber and duel Count Dooku or Palpatine is one of the few good parts of the prequels.
2. John Williams' Score
What would Star Wars be without John Williams' enigmatic score? His music defines the series as much as any other element. Can you imagine the Dark Side without the "Imperial March"? I can't even picture the opening credit scroll without the main theme attached to it. Leave it to John Williams to pen what is perhaps the greatest film score of all time.
3. The Jedi Order
One of the great parts about the prequel trilogy is getting to see more Jedi and learn more about the mysterious order. It was such a thrill to see so many Jedi fighting and showing their power. In the absolutely fantastic Clone Wars animated series we get to know even more Jedi knights and masters, which is something the movies never showed enough of.
4. R2-D2 and C-3PO These are the Droids I'm looking for. I love the fact that these two are the characters with a real through-line in all six films. How fantastic is Anthony Daniels as C-3PO? He has come back to play C-3PO in every iteration of the character. In cartoon series, countless video games, and everything in between. Also, R2-D2 saved all of the main characters from kicking the bucket at least once every movie. He's arguably the most important character in the series.
5. The Sith
While the Jedi are great, the Sith are awesome. Despite how some of them were treated in the prequels, The Clone Wars animated series really lets them shine. Darth Maul returns and becomes amazingly cool, Count Dooku actually gets to fight with the speed Christopher Lee can't. The mythology behind these evil beings is really intriguing and one of the other great aspects of the prequels. A hero is only as good as the villain, and the Sith make a truly dynamic and incredible group of formidable foes for the Jedi.
In honor of May the 4th (Be With You) Disney/Lucasfilm has released the first sixty second trailer for Disney XD's upcoming Star Wars Rebels. Rebels continues between Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV: A New Hope as the Sith hunt down the final surviving Jedi. This also follows off of the last Star Wars television series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars which aired on Cartoon Network before being bought by Disney in 2012.
Check out the trailer for the new series here, and get your DVRs ready for this fall!
The cast has been revealed! Disney and Lucasfilm have officially unveiled the cast line-up for Star Wars VII set to hit theaters next December. The announcement brings back original cast members Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Kenny Baker, Anthony Daniels and Peter Mayhew. Newcomers to the scene include actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow and Andy Serkis (who you may be familiar as Gollum from the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit films. We speculate that Serkis’ character will follow something along that line.)
A group photo of the cast has been released as seen above.
Disney Interactive made a giant announcement this week around Disney Infinity, and at an event in Los Angeles Wednesday morning April 30th, they revealed that Marvel’s Avengers are coming to Disney Infinity, joining a large cast of already existing characters, but until yesterday, Marvel characters were absent from the game. You can now play as any of the Avengers, consisting of Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow, Iron Man, Hawkeye and Thor. You can play with many different devices and locations by purchasing additional power discs, one including Agent Phil Coulson’s “Lola” vehicle from Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. What more could you possibly ask for?
With the opening of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train just weeks away, Disney Parks continues to tease at the the upcoming ride, and released yet another video of almost the entire ride-through of the attraction. The construction walls recently came down around the ride, and the carts going around the track can be seen quite frequently on regular days in Magic Kingdom, so expect a release date to be announced soon. We’re suspecting of possibly an end of May opening.
Just a few weeks ago, we announced a brand new upcoming home video film starring Mickey and the rest of the gang from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. The film, Around the Clubhouse World, takes the gang on a journey across the globe, learning about different cultures in various different countries. Below is a clip that became available this week. The film is available on DVD May 20th, 2014.
Going viral in Disney circles this week is this hilarious fan-made video made by two fans of the film Frozen and filmed in Disneyland. The video features a couple singing to the hit Frozen song, “Love is an Open Door”, and it shines among many of the other Frozen parodies found on the internet.
Love is an Open Door Fan:
A week ago we reviewed Disneynature’s latest film, Bears, a truly wonderful film. Disneynature promised to donate part of the movie’s financial success with the National Park Foundation for every ticket sold on opening weekend. We’re super excited to hear that many people saw the film and Disney delivered the donations to the NPF, and announced that it will be expanding it’s commitment to conservation and would be donating an additional amount than the one previously promised. If you missed seeing the film opening weekend, Disney will also give a portion to the NPF if you purchase any of the following:
Young fans unlocked an exclusive bear costume on Disney Club Penguin to support the National Park Foundation: www.ClubPenguin.com.
The Disney Music Group is contributing a portion of each iTunes download of Olivia Holt’s Friends for Change anthem “Carry On”: iTunes.com/CarryOn.
The Disney Store committed a portion of “Bears” plush purchases to the National Park Foundation:www.disneystore.com.
At Disney Parks, a special Duffy the Disney Bear benefited the National Park Foundation in April.
Disney Cruise Line made a contribution in celebration of the movie, which also premiered on the high seas.
Regal Entertainment Group introduced a gift card program in conjunction with “Bears” that resulted in a contribution to the National Park Foundation: www.regmovies.com.
New York jewelry designer Alex Woo designed eco-friendly pendants inspired by the film, available in Sterling Silver & 14kt Gold—a portion of each sale benefits the National Park Foundation: www.alexwoo.com.
More details have been unveiled about the It's a Small World film which is being developed at Disney. Director John Turtletaub (National Treasure, The Sorcerer's Apprentice) has been signed on to direct the film. No release date has yet been announced.
Muppets Most Wanted, Disney's latest fantastic Muppet adventure hits Blu-Ray and DVD August 5th 2014! No bonus features have been revealed yet, but the film will be available this summer to own. Muppets Most Wanted takes the Muppet gang on an adventure throughout Europe, only to get caught up with Constantine, the World's Most Dangerous Frog and get tangled up in a jewel hesit caper. The film is still playing in theaters worldwide. Read our review of the film here on The Mickey Mindset as well as our review on our other site, The Muppet Mindset.
And in very sad news this week, legendary actor Bob Hoskins has passed away at the age of 71 on Tuesday. Hoskins was well known in the Disney circles as Eddie Valiant in Disney/Touchstone's Who Framed Roger Rabbit. We pay tribute to Hoskins for his brilliant acting in this video below, showcasing his wonderful acting talents, and what process he went through to film the Roger Rabbit movie.
We don't generally schedule two Weekly News Updates in one week, but lots of brand-new exciting news announced this week, it would not be appropriate to address these super exciting announcements.
First off, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that sequels are in the works for Cars and The Incredibles at today's Disney Shareholders Meeting. No other info was included, but he did confirm that director Brad Bird is back at the helm for the second installment, and we can only speculate that the second film may pick up exactly where the first one left off. No release dates were released, but the earliest possibilities for these films would probably be 2017.
Also announced was a basic time-line for Disney's next Star Wars film set to be released in 2015. Iger explained that the new film will take place 30 years after the Return of the Jedi film and would include familiar faces as well as new characters. We're bummed out this probably means no Yoda, but still, we're get excited.
Disneyland Shanghai is set to open next year and a feature announced today was a "Pirates of the Caribbean" themed land named Treasure Cove along with the Pirates attraction, named "Battle of the Sunken Treasure" based off of all the films. The fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie is also set to release 2015.
Concept art
The next legendary D23 Expo, was officially announced! The dates for the bi-annual event will be from August 14th-16th 2015. Advance tickets will go on sale on August 14th 2014 (a whole year in advance) and will be available for purchase on D23Expo.com.
Marvel is airing an exciting special tonight, named Assembling a Universe, which will offer lots of behind the scenes looks at Marvel films and sneak peeks at upcoming movies including Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, and even The Avengers: Days of Ultron. Be sure to watch it. It's at 8/7c on ABC, which is normally the time-slot for Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopened this week at Disneyland California after some renovation. We haven't had a chance to head down there ourselves to check it out, but Inside the Magic has, and they have a great new review on the latest update.
Disney's Maleficent, an upcoming movie telling the story of the famous Disney villain released another trailer today. For the past few days, the Twitter account (@Maleficent) urged everyone to follow before it was too late. The Twitter account went private two days ago, and only previous followers can now see the tweets. The account was releasing new photos and videos to it's followers and they were the first to see Maleficent's "wings".
The crew of Frozen went to visit the truly brilliant Hotel De Glace (Ice Hotel) in Quebec City, Canada. The Hotel had a special Frozen section built in celebration of the movie, and you can see video right here:
Speaking of Frozen, you can now purchase the film on Blu-Ray Combo Pack along with Saving Mr. Banks, The Jungle Book 2, Doc McStuffins: DocMobile, and the Muppets Most Wanted soundtrack. Your wallets are about to get lighter.
And what is in quite shocking news this week, a fish tank suddenly busted open in Downtown Disney's T- Rex Restaurant in Walt Disney World. The pipe had a rather large amount of water pouring out into the restaurant, and officials are still trying to figure out what caused the crack in the tank. You can watch an Instagram video of the leak here. Things did not go swimmingly (I'm sorry, I couldn't resist that pun).
The Pirate Fairy an all new adventure from Disney's Fairies franchise features actor Tom Hiddleston, and a clip of Hiddleston voicing Hook was released a few days ago. See it below!
Guests staying at Disney Aulani Resort in Hawaii were treated to a special screening of the movie with an appearance by Mae Whitman and producer Jenni Magee Cook! The Pirate Fairy will be available on April 1st 2014.
With Muppets Most Wanted coming out THIS Friday, we've got all the latest Muppet news covered in today's Muppet News Update on our sister site, The Muppet Mindset. Keep checking back for the latest news!
Mitchell Stein-Big news these past couple of weeks! First off, taking place just yesterday, popular pop culture rendition group The Piano Guys released their latest video, which is a brand-new beautiful instrumental rendition of Frozen's "Let it Go", which is also nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song. If you haven't seen it yet, watch it right here:
Also new in Frozen news, it was officially confirmed that Idina Menzel would in fact be performing "Let It Go" live at the Academy Awards on March 2nd. The Oscars will be hosted by comedian Ellen DeGeneres, who has quite a few Disney connections in her career. Make sure to watch and to cheer Disney on during Hollywood's biggest night.
Also, reportedly a new TV spot for Muppets Most Wanted will air during the Oscars. Be on the lookout for other movie TV spots, and possibly a Muppet cameo (hey, it's possible!).
In Star Wars news, it was announced that the sixth and final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars has been produced, and it's heading to Netflix on March 7th 2014 in both Canada and the U.S.
The Clone Wars has been running on Cartoon Network since 2008 and then Disney XD before being cancelled without a season finale. The ending will now be finally available to fans, as they get ready for the next new Star Wars TV series, Star Wars Rebels.
As you probably read elsewhere online, there is a brand-new (Disney-Pixar's) Ratatouille themed section coming to Disneyland Paris summer 2014, which is only a few months away. They teased the internet with this video, as well as a piece of conecpt art as to what the finished project will look like. The attraction seems to be currently going under the name of Ratatouille: The Ride, which seems kinda bland if you ask me. I hope they have another name for the attraction in the park, but either way, the ride looks like it'll be a lot of fun. Now all I have to do is catch a plane to Paris this summer....
This isn't an official Disney released video, but AVbyte released this fun video, showing Disney princesses taking things into their own hands and being tired of being "damsels in distress".
When Queen Elsa is tired of hearing how all the princesses are waiting for a prince to come and help them, she convinces them that they can handle things on their own and they sing "I Don't Need A Man" with music and lyrics by Anontius Nazareth.
Watch it here, and then make sure to watch some of their other pop-culture videos, such as "Doctor Who: The Musical" and "Harry Potter: The Musical".
Besides Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Marvel has a brand-new film being released this summer, named Guardians of the Galaxy. Marketing for the movie has been rather quiet, but now with the release only a few months away, Disney/Marvel aired the first official trailer during Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC on Tuesday night. The movie is released in North America this August.
As well as the trailer, they released the new poster for the movie, which reveals the movie's tag line "You're Welcome" which is quite an amusing one in my opinion. This movie looks like it'll be playing more for the comedy with a large dash of action. The trailer is interesting, but the movie is sure to be promising.
Just in time for Valentine's Day, Blank: A Vinylmation Love Story was released online for free and is available for free on the Google Play store. It's free to make an account, so make sure you sign up and download this truly amazing feature.
The Academy Award nominated film, The Wind Rises, from Disney and Studio Ghibli opens nationwide tomorrow! The film marks the last directing job of award-winning director Hayayo Miyazaki. It gaining tremendous reviews and from what we hear, it's pretty good. I suggest checking this one out as well.
In sad news this week, John Henson, late son of Muppets' creator Jim Henson has passed away. Read our tribute to John here and then take a look at how some Muppet magic happens every day with Chase Beecher's new article, Our Friend Kermit.
For the last bit of news this week, Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade which has been performing for the past 13 years in Animal Kingdom will close to make way for 2017's Avatar-themed area. The last parade show will be in June, Inside the Magic reports. No new parade has been announced yet, but we bid a farewell to Mickey's Jungle Parade as that area gets lots of construction walls placed around it in the coming months.
That's all for this week's news! Have a magical week!
With the premiere episode only a few weeks away, we've begun prepping up for Disney/Lucasfilm's epic new Star Wars adventure, Star Wars Rebels. Set five years before the events of Episode VI: A New Hope, Rebels follows young Jedi rebels as they escape and cheat the Empire as they continue to be hunted down because of their Jedi past. The series is bound to be just as incredible as Star Wars The Clone Wars was before it, so we couldn't be any more thrilled.
