Monthly Archives: December 2012
Modern Mouse Radio #9: Disney 2012 Year In Review
Dec 31
As we roll over into a new year, Keith and Josh take a look at some of the best that Disney had to offer in film, television, and at the theme parks. See what they said was the best of the year and leave a comment as to what you thought was the biggest news or best part of Disney in 2012
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Happy Holidays from Modern Mouse Radio!
Dec 21
Due to the busy schedule I have over the next week or two, there won’t be anymore articles posted from myself nor will I be posting any videos from Keith until the 1st of the year. The radio show will still continue, but that will be it as we are spending time with our families for the holidays.
I’d like to extend a very warm thank you to everyone who has been a part of this site. There have been several changes, including a name change and the addition of the radio show, in the past year. With that said, it is all because of you that we are able to continue, change, and grow. We reached 10,000 individual views of the site and over 1,000 downloads of our radio show in the only the past few months.
We look forward to continuing the site and hoping that it continues to entertain you no matter what kind of Disney fan you are. The great thing here is that we have a little something for everyone. So help us out as well by please spreading the word, retweeting, sharing, or reposting. Thank you all so much again and have a safe and very merry holiday time.
Josh Taylor
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World That Never Was: Roger Rabbit’s Hollywood
Dec 19
The 1990s. It’s Infamous as being Michael Eisner’s Disney Decade. A time when animation made a triumphant return to the Disney Studios and Disney Parks expanded in the grandest of ways. There are several pieces to the puzzle and many speculate what could have brought upon this big boom and a vast interest by the general public in the Disney product. Some may say it dates back to Mickey’s Christmas Carol, while others will point out the success of The Little Mermaid. I like to point out a spot somewhere in between. It’s in a film called Who Framed Roger Rabbit. A film noir style showing of both live action and animation. Through the glory of god, or Steven Spielberg, all of the classic cartoon studios were tied to the project. This has been the only time we’ve ever seen Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, and Droopy Dog in the same film and it will most likely be the only time. That being said, the success and critical acclaim for Roger Rabbit led Disney towards several ideas and uses for the character including his own land at Walt Disney World.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit was released in 1988, one year before Disney was to open it’s newest theme park venture, the Disney-MGM Studios. After the opening of the park, plans were put into place to develop and open a new land which would most famously be on Sunset Boulevard, possibly in the space where the current Rock and Roller Coaster sits. The land was to be known as Roger Rabbit’s Hollywood (or possibly Maroon Studios) and it would be a recreation of the studio lot from the film. Several cartoon gags would be added including holes in buildings shaped like Roger or cases of TNT stacked against the walls. This was also a time period in which Mickey’s Toontown was being developed for Disneyland so many similar ideas would crossover to this section of Disney-MGM Studios.
Currently, you may notice the red car trolley line going down Sunset and stemming off of Hollywood Boulevard, the main thorough street for the park. The cables in fact were meant to be used as an actual trolley line that would take passengers from Hollywood Boulevard down towards the Tower of Terror and Roger Rabbit’s Hollywood. The trolley would have fit in perfect with the storyline from the film and an extension of that would have also been the Terminal Bar. The spot in which Eddie likes to grab a drink after jumping off the trolley.
The land would also have included several attractions. The E-Ticket attraction for this forgotten land would have been Toontown Trolley, a simulator ride taking guests on a wild journey through Toontown. Two other dark ride style attractions would be built. A copy of what is now known as Roger Rabbit’s CarToon Spin over at Disneyland and an original dark ride called Baby Herman’s Runaway Baby Buggy in which guests would hop into oversized buggys and travel through the hospital just as in the Roger short “Tummy Trouble”.
Unfortunately lovers of Roger Rabbit never saw any of this get past the drawing board. Amblin Entertainment, Spielberg’s company that co-financed the production of the film, and Disney couldn’t come to terms on ownership of the character or rights to using the character. After a period of time, Disney found itself knees deep in success with other films and productions so they moved on from the Roger project.
Terms were met for the character to appear in an attraction, not a land, at Disneyland. Roger Rabbit’s CarToon Spin was added to Disneyland’s new Mickey’s Toontown in the early 1990s and it stands as the only attraction featuring Roger Rabbit to date at any Disney park. Today, we can find ourselves travelling under the trolley line toward the Rock and Roller Coaster where the former land would have been. We missed out on what could have been a great simulator attraction and some wonderful and classic dark rides, but we gained the only roller coaster to go upside down at Walt Disney World, however it is unfortunate that the Roger Rabbit character has really lost his appeal when he could have been a much bigger star than he ever became if Disney would have acquired ownership or the rights to the character. Unfortulately for us, we will never know how big his star could have been.
A billboard at Disney’s Hollywood Studios saw Roger Rabbit make an appearance in a fake ad for Maroon Studios and at the Hollywood and Vine restaurant you can see his silhouette on the wall, but that is all that can be see of Roger at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Josh Taylor
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Modern Mouse Radio #8: Top 10 Disney Animated Features
Dec 16
This week, Keith and Josh discuss their picks for Top 10 Disney animated features. This is not a favorites compilation nor do any of the films listed go in any order. If you agree disagree with our top 10, leave a comment, add your own pics, and let us know your thoughts. Films discussed include:
-Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
-Little Mermaid
-Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
-Beauty and the Beast
-Fantasia
-Lilo and Stich
-Pinnochio
-The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
-Sleeping Beauty
-Tangled
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Once Upon A Time-“Queen of Hearts”
Dec 15
The girls finally reunite with their family and Regina does the right thing. A crazy episode for mid-season, leaving us hanging for a few weeks before the show returns in the new years. Here are the thoughts from Keith Lapinig and the rest of his family.
Top 5: Disney Christmas Specials
Dec 14
Christmas is continuing to creep up on us. We are heading head first into a television world full of Christmas episodes, specials, and movies adapted for television. So here are my top five Disney related specials, adapted films, and Christmas episodes to look out for.
#5-Prep and Landing: Naughty vs. Nice. This special, a continuation from the previous, and slightly better, Prep and Landing, is a CGI animated special with a great premise. Since we already know the characters from the previous special, we introduce a mission for the elves to save a girl who is planning to ruin Christmas after one of her toys is destroyed by her little brother. The elves save the day by mishap and they are appointed Elves of the Year. It’s a cute well written story sure to bring about other sequels. Not as good as the original Prep and Landing, but the special is well animated and holds it’s own as a seperate story.
#4-Phineas and Ferb Chistmas Vacation. Any regular viewer of Phineas and Ferb can tell you that the show by itself is one of the strong points (maybe the only strong point) currently on the Disney Channel lineup. The show’s animation is classic with a twist of that Seth McFarlane Family Guy type of style. The humor is a mix of pop culture refrences, slapstick silliness, and clever situations. So needless to say, a Christmas episode would ride on the line as well. The special is cute and a different spin on the average “summer vacation” episodes. I hope this episode lasts even if the series fades away. This is a great mix of everything you want in a great Christmas special. Humor, heart warming fun.
#3-Prep and Landing. The original idea of the reignited Disney Short Film division brought on a great Christmas special for both children and adults. We follow two elves who are part of Santa’s prep and landing division, getting homes ready for Santa’s sleigh to land. Wayne has been working for Santa for over 200 years and is bitter about not getting a promotion. Lanny is the new guy at the office and the two are teamed up together. The idea is truly an original and the CGI animation looks great. It’s a cute story, but what really seperates this special from others is it’s vast knowledge of it’s own realm. Animators had a heyday popping in references to other Christmas specials, songs, and the culture around the holiday. You can get a peek at a Christmas tree like Charlie Brown’s or you can see Mickey’s Christmas Carol playing on the television Wayne and Lanny are prepping. These in-jokes will surely get adults to chuckle and children will laugh at the more outlandish and obvious jokes. This newer special is sure to become an annual favorite.
#2-The Muppet’s Christmas Carol. Is there anything bad to say about The Muppets? It’s hard to say no to our felt skinned friends created by Jim Henson. Remaking A Christmas Carol with these characters is truly remarkable. It’s simply fun to see which Muppet plays which character. Statler playing Jacob Marley, Fozzy as Fozziwig, and Kermit as Bob Cratchit all works out extremely well. Not to mention you have the great Micheal Caine playing Scrooge. A wonderful actor in a great role. What’s not to love about that? Toss in a mix of other muppets just playing their usual crazy selves and you get this movie turned tv special which is sure to delight the whole family.
#1-Mickey’s Christmas Carol. For similar reasons to The Muppets, Mickeys’ version of the classic Dicken’s novel is a wonderful watch. All of the characters were perfectly casted into their roles and several former characters from other films were brought back for this special. When will we ever see Scrooge McDuck and Mr. Toad interact beyond this? The answer is never. The film was nominated for an Academy award for best animated short film and rightfully so. It’s charm has lasted for almost 30 years. It can also be linked partially to the uplifting of the Disney company from it’s slump into the Disney Rennaisance. It’s success also marked the first time Mickey Mouse had made an appearance since the 1950s.
I suggest you check out at least one of these choices to ring in your holiday cheer. Sit down by yourself or with the whole family. These specials are easy to find on television, DVD combos, Hulu, or YouTube so you have no excuse to not find these specials. Merry Christmas to all of you and I’ll catch you on twitter!
Josh Taylor
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Let’s Rock in Tomorrowland
Dec 12
Music can be heard practically everywhere at Disneyland. For me, it is part of the reason that it is special. Music relative to each of the lands helps create an atmosphere you can’t get at your local amusement park. I find certain areas of the park overly musical. New Orleans Square is filled with jazz and dixieland while Main Street USA has a barber shop quartet and a marching band, however there is one venue that host bands with a bit more depth, history, and a sense of rock and roll.
The Tomorrowland Terrace is a staple to the Disneyland park and was so popular that Disney Imagineers updated the Terrace to look somewhat like it did when it originally opened after having changed so much over the years. So lets jump back to when it opened. Tomorrowland was redesigned and reopened in 1967 and along with the new look came the Tomorrowland Terrace, a spot to grab a quick lunch with a very elaborate planter filled with flowers. This elaborate planter wasn’t only a great “weenie” (or eye catcher) but also doubled as a stage for live acts. The planter, set up on a pedestal, rose up from the ground and revealed itself to be a wonderful canopy for the stage below it. The interesting and unique design not only brought guests over because of it’s impressive stage, but also because this was the one spot at Disneyland where you could hear rock and roll music, whether it was a cover band or an original band.
Let’s not forget that this was also a great spot to grab a bite to eat during the day. Sponsored by Coca Cola, the Tomorrowland Terrace had a great amount of outdoor seating around the Terrace stage where guests could, and still can, enjoy an ensemble of burgers, sandwiches, and salads, not too mention a great cup full of Coca Cola. The terrace stage served as a way to bring guests to the restaurant and that is still true to the this day. By nightfall, the Tomorrowland Terrace seating would be pulled away and the restaurant would close, but the stage would still be open for dancing however, which led to many guests returning who had a chance to see the bands earlier during lunch or dinner.
The Terrace remained the same for quite a few years until 1998 when Tomorrowland was again redesigned to represent a different future. This future was that of Jules Verne. With the new changes in atmosphere, came some structural changes to the Tomorrowland Terrace. Gone was the white building and the large planters with flowers. The overlay was a scheme of darker colors along with gold and copper tones, and the new top to the stage was a futuristic looking sculpture. The stage still remained however and the bands still came to play. By the 1990s, rock and roll had also changed and the Terrace wasn’t playing those Beach Boy classics anymore. Newer up and coming bands were taking the stage and the cover bands were playing hits from the 1980s and 1990s. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to hear a Prince song or a Foo Fighters song coming from the stage, keeping the restaurant and atmosphere feeling fresh and new.
By the early 2000s, more changes came to the Terrace, but this time, in a big way. The Tomorrowland Terrace ceased to be and the building and stage were renamed Club Buzz to go along with the new Buzz Lightyear attraction. The new top to the stage was a simple logo design made up of blue and purple. (Stragely no green or white despite the Buzz Lightyear theme.)
During the 50th anniversary of Disneyland in 2005, much of the Tomorrowland reverted back to it’s original white color scheme which caused the “new” Club Buzz to stand out as somewhat of an eye sore. With so much nostalgia happening at the park, Disney imagineers decided to bring back an old classic. The club buzz sign was taken down and once again the Tomorrowland Terrace lived. Imagineers brought back the white scheme for the building and created a planter top to the stage reminiscent of the original 1967 look, giving the newer Tomorrowland, and the Tomorrowland Terrace, a retro futuristic look, similar to that of the Jetsons. The current stage at the Terrace now doubles as a venue for live music and a spot for the Jedi Training Academy Show.
This special place has hosted a number of bands over the years with the best known being Suburban Legends, No Doubt, and The Police. Will it continue to bring us great music, from Disneyland to the pop charts? Only time will tell. In the meantime, we still have a great place to grab a bacon cheeseburger and watch some live rock and roll music at Disneyland. Long live the Tomorrowland Terrace!
Josh Taylor
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Disneyland Holiday 2011 w/Keith Lapinig
Dec 8
Since Once Upon A Time Is Heading into a break we are now looking onward….TOWARDS CHRISTMAS!!! What better way to celebrate than in the Disney parks. Well, unfortunately neither Keith or Josh will be in the parks this year, but do check out Keith’s report from last year.
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Top 5: Ways To Use A Robotic Dragon
Dec 7
The highlight of the New Fantasyland media conference this past Wednesday, December 5th, 2012, had to have been up in the sky. Disney debuted a technological marvel in a firework shooting, wing flapping, self flying dragon. My first thought after seeing it was, “What are they going to do with this?” There are many possibilites. Disney has announced that this was a one time ordeal, but I’d like to think otherwise, so here are my top 5 things Disney could do with the dragon.
#5-Avatarland. This engineering behind this is a massive step forward for what could be a potential attraction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in it’s rumored Avatar themed land. This, out of all the possibilities, is the most rumored and most likely. Could we be riding upon one of these dragon creatures? Maybe, but more than likely it would be part of some kind of show. People either love or hate the idea of Avatar coming to the Animal Kingdom, especially when it means it is taking the place of Beastly Kingdomme, which was the original concept for the land it is going to take over. Hint: (This will transition to another idea later.)
#4-United Kingdom Pavillion. Thinking a bit outside of the box, I realize that Disney could use this Dragon at any of it’s parks. One of those parks is Epcot. No, this isn’t a large Figment dragon, but rather it would be its “cousin” living over in the United Kingdom, a country known for it’s folklore of dragons. Setting up some sort of petting zoo area, similar to Jurassic Park over at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Being able to get up close with this mythical beast would be amazing. It could also double as a specatacle during Illuminations, flying over the World Showcase lagoon. Kid’s would have a blast with this, in a part of the park that is regularly seen as not for children.
#3-Promotional Advertising. By promotional advertising, I mean taking this dragon outside of the Disney parks and using it at popular events. Think of this dragon flying over the Super Bowl during the half time show. This could promote the New Fantasyland and Walt Disney World altogther as a place full of magic. What about seeing the dragon in next year’s Thanksgiving Day parade? It’s shear amazement is enough to draw people to spend money on vacations. The dragon, isn’t attached to anything currently and this could be an easy possibility as it can be shipped and flown wherever it needs to.
#2-Fireworks at Magic Kingdom. Another large rumor would be for the dragon to find it’s way into a new nightime fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom. This might be farfetched as it could endanger the robotic dragon and the onlookers of the show. Shooting fireworks into the sky where a flying dragon is could potentially catch it on fire and destroy the dragon. I’m saying that as a worst case scenario, but it could also be the opener or grand finale to the fireworks show, leaving it by itself before or after all of the regular fireworks have been set off. This could be great, however there would need to be a bigger back story here as well as some serious tweeking for it to work. I understand that this technology is pushing boundaries and along with that are several probablilites. The amount of flight, weather conditions, etc… could take the dragon out of commision at any time. This would mean Disney would have to master the mechanics of the dragon, being able to replace parts or build more than one dragon for the show so that it can fly every night. This would be a harder sell for Imagineers, but possible.
#1-Beastly Kingdomme. I’m not saying this as fact, but could there be a possible swerve by the Disney company to return to the original beloved Beastly Kingdomme idea? Disney’s Animal Kingdomme could benefit from an area, keeping the park open later, giving off the impression of NOT being a half day park. The dragon is a step closer to what was supposed to be in the previous land. I would love to see some of the original ideas from over a decade ago return to the forefront. It could potentially give Universal and the Wizarding World a run for it’s money, considering that is currently Walt Disney World’s biggest competition.
What would you like to see happen with the dragon that was seen flying over the Magic Kingdom? Are any of these ideas something you would consider? Let me know your thoughts and continue the conversation! I believe amazing things are on the horizon and I would love to hear about anyone’s thoughts on this new technology.
Josh Taylor
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Once Upon A Time-“Into the Deep”
Dec 2
So many connections are being made from the Storybrooke to the Fairy Tale world. With next week’s winter finale sure to shock us, what are you thoughts on this past week’s Once Upon A Time? Here are Keith Lapinig’s thoughts as well as the rest of his family as they watch the show and give their thoughts.
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