Of course the announcement of Toy Story 4's eminent release came during an earnings call by Bob Iger. Because, as we all now know, Pixar is nothing more these day's than Disney's ATM.
We all knew it was going to happen, even though Toy Story 3 ended on such a perfect note. Those Toy Story Toons kept the characters alive, and now that the new and old toys all have a young owner for a new generation to grow up with, who's to say this won't be a sort of franchise reboot, introducing the children of the first generation to the amazing (yet to be determined) series.
John Lasster will direct, which is a good thing? I don't know, he's not the John Lasster that made the first Toy Story. He's now the John Lasster that made Cars 2 and forced Luigi's Flying tires on unsuspecting victims in Anaheim, and he's not getting any younger or more creative (and I guess "Frozen" and "Wreck It Ralph" and stuff).
Admittedly, the Toy Story franchise is the only Pixar franchise that has worked. Monsters and Cars both were eh features with an eh-ier sequel in MU's case, and a terrible film that made "Planes 2" look like Citizen Kane in "Cars 2's" case.
As someone who answers "Toy Story" to the question "What is one of your favorite movies?" this announcement is bittersweet. I'm a big fan of not fixing broken things, and this seems like breaking further something that is showing a lot of cracks (Pixar, especially compared to Disney Animation's renaissance, led by none other than John Lasster.)
What do you think? Are you happy MSM is back? What's your favorite type of holiday coffee product? Let me know in the comments and on Twitter!
Did the blog give it away? Or the closet full of t-shirts? Well, the monkey's out of the bottle now.
In my obsession with Disney, I've tried to make it the centerpiece of my life. I worked at Walt Disney World for seven months, I created this blog, and I'm trying to get them to let me make magic full time. If it doesn't happen now, it will.
Going along with that theme, this semester, just about every big project I've had has been about Disney. This has been a running theme of my college career, having started this very blog in my online media class.
My course load has consisted of a media production class, a graphic design class, a class on the future of journalism, a class on business journalism, a photojournalism class, a one-credit class on the FOX company (so not Disney! Oh, but wait) and an advanced online media class.
For almost every one of those classes, I've managed to apply my Disney love for a grade. I have not yet incorporated it into my business journalism class, but there's still an essay to make it happen. I'm a little annoyed with myself that I didn't buy Disney stock for the faux-stock market assignment we had (I already own it in real life, so it didn't seem fitting.)
My Cars Land Magazine Layout
I've managed to make the first two big assignments for my graphic design class Disney centric. The first, a magazine layout, was done on the opening of Cars Land. The second, an info graphic, was done on the prices and popularity of Disney. I don't know what my grade is on the ladder, but I only got four points off out of 200 for the former. Ka-Chow!
My Disney info graphic.
With my online media class, I'm creating an entire website devoted to explaining just what is
it that attracts Disney to what many see as the child's entertainment company that is Disney.
For my media production class, I did a fake podcast on the Disney parks. That didn't go so well. But I got my Disney in! For my photojournalism class, I turned in a picture I took on my recent trip to Disneyland of the new Carthay Circle Theatre.
The Carthay Circle Theatre
With my future of journalism class, I'm turning in this blog, and a composite video I made for the two components of the final. Most of my grade for the class will be decided on things having to do with Mickey Mouse.
Then there's my class on FOX. How'd I do it? Well, I haven't yet. But I am going to write a (fantastic) paper comparing Walt Disney to Rupert Murdoch. My conclusion, I can tell you, is that they're two very different people.
Oh, and this is my senior year, and every credit counts towards graduation. So, you could say with my college career, "It all ended with a mouse."
It's been two years, but I'm happy to say, I've finally been back to the one, the only, the original: Disneyland.
It's been more than a year since I've been to any Disney park, which is far too long, but two years without visiting Walt's original, that's just painful. Especially since so much has happened to the resort in the past two years. Finally, my family and I got around to getting a trip to Anaheim.
Flo's V8 Cafe with its stunning neon. (Preston Carter Melbourne-Weaver)
Obviously, the most exciting part of the re-theming of Disney California Adventure is Cars Land, and you've probably read enough to fill a novel about it. There's not much new insight that I can provide. It's everything everyone has said about it. Stunning, breathtaking, immersive, capturing the Disney magic that the park so terribly lacked since its opening in 2002.
It's also packed beyond belief. The best day to go, I would have to say, would be the day they had the press preview. I'm envious of those who got to go and just take in the new land, soak it up without the 30 minute wait for a Fast Pass, or the elbowing and shoving it takes to go up and down the strip. Overall, I didn't wait more than 30 minutes in any line while there, but that took a lot of strategy.
Luigi's flying tires didn't quite soar for me, but I enjoyed the attraction for what it was. It makes for a nice C-ticket attraction. The queue was far more exciting, with its classic Disney details displayed throughout Luigi's tire shop.
Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, despite being themed around my least favorite Disney character of all time (and by the way, he's nowhere to be seen on the attraction, only heard. What the heck?), were a pleasant surprise for an attraction that looked to be pretty basic. The whipping and constant change of direction made for a thrill.
The food was great. And by food, I mean everything served in a pretzel cone. I had the Chili Cone Queso, the Chicken Verde and the breakfast bacon, cheese and egg cone. The best I'd have to say was the Verde. Quite a surprise for me, as I was betting on the Chili, and had to sample my girlfriend's Chicken Verde. The Apple freeze was delicious, though too sweet for some members of my family, and the pomegranate lemonade was sweet and had just the right amount of tart.
The merchandise was appealing, using the art deco colors and style in a callback to the original screen printed posters of Disneyland. I didn't purchase any though, as I'm not a fan of the vinyl printing they used. It's cheap, uncomfortable and gets killed in the washing machine.
As in the film, Radiator Springs really shows its feathers at night. When the neon's flipped on, it's like the already beautiful land masterfully applies makeup and turns into a real stunner. I had a great time challenging myself with my newly acquired photo-knowledge by taking pictures of the fantastic neon signs and the deftly lit rock formations, and found myself overloaded with things to look at.
It's surely a place so fantastic, one visit will not be enough. I'm starting to understand why Lightening McQueen decided to stay.
Disney California Adventure has FINALLY found its audience with the opening of Cars Land. Imagineers have given the park that magical Disney touch that it had been missing since Michael Eisner built it on the cheap back in 2001.
It's been open for around 20 days now, and I don't think a negative word has been written about it. People love it, and honestly, it's killing me that I haven't been yet, so all you boastful visitors, I've probably blocked you on Facebook at this point as a measure of self preservation. Yeah, I'm a little jealous.
I haven't been to the California parks since 2010, before I did the College Program in lovely Florida. Visiting DCA at that point, the re-imagining of Paradise Pier had been completed and World of Color was up and running. They'd already rid of the Eisner-ick that made the park so, well, boring.
Not so with Condor Flats and the Grizzly River Recreation Area, Those areas remain almost completely in tact, as they were from the dreadful Day One.
I've always thought that ripping out Grizzly River Run would do wonders for the park. A river rapid ride is so not Disney. Every Six Flags park has one. It's not unique, fun, or worth the five acres it takes up in the middle of the park.
It was, when the park opened, the icon of Disney California Adventure, the weenie, as Walt would have called it. But, much like the Fantasia hat over at DCA's sister park, Hollywood Studios (which covers up Grauman's, the original, and still superior, weenie), there is something that could be a much better icon. In DCA's case, it's the new Carthay Circle Theater, which stands higher than Sleeping Beauty's Castle across the concourse. With the need for something to print on merchandise to distinguish the park filled, there's no need for the uncreative, unimaginative mountain.
As techskip points out on MicheChat.com's web forum, Condor Flats is a land designed to represent the desert portions of California. And so is Cars Land. And Cars Land does it better, so why two lands representing basically the same California climate? Surely the imagineers have noticed the redundancy, and are planing on doing something about it.
The west side of the park can't be ignored now that the east side has gotten the brunt of the updates. The newly named "Hollywood Land" where "Who Want To Be A Millionaire" and the "Monsters Inc." dark ride (which should also be replaced by something that, at the very least, begs for multiple rides) is currently, also needs some attention.
But, when you look at the money Disney has been spending (A billion in California, a billion in Florida, a couple billion on cruise ships, a billion probably on Avatar land [Still have saying that]) you come to the conlcusion that they've spend a lot lately. They've come to that conclusion, too, and aren't going to make it a trend.
From the Orlando Sentinel: "We should be coming down substantially — substantially — in domestic spending," Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo said during a recent presentation to stock analysts.
So, while all this would be fantastic, reports have come out that Disney may be putting some money into Disneyland's Tomorrowland. This news, with the news of the reduction in capital spending, all means that Disney California Adventure will probably look pretty similar to how it does today 10 years from now.
Or maybe, just maybe, Disney will realize what Walt always knew: being cheap puts you on the level of everybody else, and reinvesting money back into the parks, well, that gets you Cars Land.
