Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, composers of so many memorable songs in Disney theme parks and motion pictures have now their own window on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland. As we know the tradition of honoring individuals with a personalized decorative window was started on Main Street, U.S.A. by Walt Disney and has continued at Disney parks worldwide. A Disneyland window is considered the ultimate honor anyone can receive from “The Happiest Place on Earth.”
Considering that the Shermans’ composed more than 150 Disney songs including such familiar Disneyland compositions like “The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room”, “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” and “It’s a Small World” - one of the most translated and performed songs on Earth - the least we can say is that they fully deserved their Main Street window! Among the Sherman brothers’ honors are three Grammy Awards, 24 gold and platinum albums and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They have also been named Disney Legends in 1990.
The Main Street window ceremony was held mid-morning last thursday and Disneyland Resort President George Kalogridis, Thomas Schumacher, Marty Sklar and Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts did each a great tribute to the Sherman Brothers. Robert Sherman who now resides in England was unable to attend the ceremony in person but his brother Richard was there with his family.
The ceremony was not only moving but also funny as you will see in this great video filmed by the always excellent Inside the Magic. I remind you that Inside the Magic have each week great videos and podcasts and suggest you to have a look on their site regularly HERE.
The video show the whole ceremony and i recommand you to watch it entirely to don't miss the fun parts. Enjoy!
The first five minutes of Princess and the Frog were released on Youtube today. Apparently it was not released by Disney as the Youtube video was removed, but i found the same one on Daily Motion Actually only the half of these five minutes are totally finished, the other half is an interesting "work in progress". Have a look, enjoy and let us know what you think about it!
Disney released a new Princess and the Frog trailer, and 75% of it are new shots of the movie! It looks more exciting than ever, and i have a strong good feeling on the musical part, i.e the songs written by Randy Newman.
Also, this new trailer introduce many new characters - humans or animals - and i did some gret screen shots for you that you will see below, after the trailer itself.
But there is more: A special release of the movie will happen from Nov 25 to Dec 13 in N.Y and L.A. All you need to know about these special events after the screen captures.
The trailer looks great, doesn't it? Here are the screen captures, click on each to see them in big size.
And now, all about the N.Y and L.A "exclusive engagements" with the official press release. For reservations for the L.A and N.Y special release please go HERE.
BURBANK, Calif. & NEW YORK — In celebration of Disney’s newest animated musical “The Princess and The Frog,” Walt Disney Studios is opening its Burbank gates to the public for a once-in-a-lifetime advance special engagement, welcoming Disney fans to experience its newest animated musical comedy Nov. 25-Dec. 13, 2009. The advance special engagement will also be featured in Clearview’s historic Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City. Following the film, fans on both coasts will also be treated to The Ultimate Disney Experience, an exciting extravaganza that will feature—for the first time ever—all nine of the Disney princesses (including the film’s Princess Tiana, Disney’s newest princess), as well as exciting Bayou games, movie archives, how-to presentations from Disney animators, Studio tours (for L.A. guests) and more. Tickets went on sale at midnight last night.
“We’re welcoming families to our Studio to see where Walt Disney made real movie magic,” said Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. “Our Studio is not open to the public, so it’s an unprecedented opportunity for Disney fans to experience a movie right here on the Disney lot where we’ve filmed Disney classics like ‘Mary Poppins,’ ‘Princess Diaries,’ ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and many more. In fact, Walt built the original theater on the Studio lot back in 1940; it opened just in time for special audiences to view his ‘Fantasia.’ With a newly renovated, state-of-the-art theater, the Studio will open its gates once again, inviting audiences to not only see our newest animated musical, but to take part in a one-of-a-kind experience after the movie. We’re bringing the same exciting experience to New York City at the historic Ziegfeld Theatre and Roseland Ballroom.”
Themed to the film’s setting, New Orleans, The Ultimate Disney Experience will feature something for the whole family.
* PRINCESS POWER – All nine of the Disney princesses will come together for the first time ever, welcoming Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Pocahontas, Jasmine, Mulan and of course, Disney’s newest princess, Tiana.
* FUN ‘N GAMES — The Experience will feature opportunities to swing on ropes, climb trees, play games and race through the Bayou Adventure, plus a New Orleans’s Bead Toss, Naveen’s Leap Frog, video games and more.
* HOLLYWOOD HEIRLOOMS — Disney movie archives will be on display for the first time ever, including props and costumes from a variety of films like “Mary Poppins,” the “Pirates of the Caribbean” trilogy and more.
* MOVIE MAGIC – Guests can learn movie magic from real Disney animators who will be on hand teaching guests how to draw a character from the film.
* PICTURE THIS – Guests can put themselves in the movie at Kodak photo locations. Kodak photographers will capture guests’ images and place them in a scene from the movie.
* INSIDER’S GLIMPSE — Burbank guests will also have the rare opportunity to tour the Studio lot.
Several shows will be presented daily on both coasts from Nov. 25-Dec. 13; show times are 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., with a 9:30 p.m. show available select dates. Tickets go on sale at midnight Sept. 8, featuring three options for Disney fans wishing to experience “The Princess and The Frog” and The Ultimate Disney Experience in New York or Los Angeles. Group general admission tickets (for groups of 20 or more) are $20 each, general admission tickets are $30 each, and royal seating (a reserved seat, “The Princess and The Frog” Mardi Gras beads and an exclusive limited-edition collectible lithograph from “The Princess and The Frog”) is $50 per ticket. Guests can call 1-800-DISNEY6 or log onto www.princessandfrogtickets.com for more information and to purchase tickets.
It's a special "John Lasseter videos" today and yesterday, the Disney Living channel on Youtube released this first video of John talking about the upcoming "ultimate" Toy Story toys. This new toys will be great and i can't wait to see tne next videos with John probably introducing each of them. Have a look to this first video, next one should be post next week.
The Q&A short videos series is going on on the Pixar channel, and John Lasseter is answering to interesting questions as you will see in the videos below.
In this first video John Lasseter answers to the question "When will we see a female lead?" in an animated picture, and John reveal that there is one coming soon in an upcoming Pixar movie!
Somebody else asked John an interesting question: "What Does A113 Mean?". Have a look at the video to get the answer to this apparently strange question!
The next question to John Lasseter is just as strange and it's "Do You Like Monkeys?". As you will see John is not alone this time to answer the question!
It's a major event, in terms of Disney history: the documentary "Walt and El Grupo" presented by the Walt Disney Family Foundation will be released by Walt Disney Pictures on September 11.
Why? Because the amazing footage of Walt and El Grupo "chronicles the amazing ten-week trip that Walt Disney and his hand-picked group of artists and filmmaking talent (later known as “El Grupo”) took to South America in 1941 at the behest of the U.S. Government as part of the Good Neighbor Policy. During this time, the Roosevelt administration had growing concerns about Nazi and Fascist influence in Latin America, and the rest of the world was slipping further into war."
"In stark contrast to these trying times, Disney and his colorful group of artists found themselves on a lively trip full of hope and discovery as they explored various South American cities, spending the majority of their time in the countries of Argentina, Brazil and Chile. The group was saddled with an unusual assignment – while gathering story material, immersing themselves in the culture, befriending local artists, meeting political leaders and attending countless functions, their journey was also a de facto diplomatic mission, and as a result, the studio produced the classic films “Saludos Amigos” and “The Three Caballeros.”
"Shot on film in five countries, Walt and El Grupo is a tale that still resonates on both sides of the equator. The film time travels in Walt Disney’s footsteps through the use of personal letters and stunning artwork from the trip, remembrances by descendants and survivors, and extraordinary never-before-seen footage."
"Walt and El Grupo brings together an intertwined story of art and politics, the poignancy of a bygone age, and a legendary artist during one of his most trying times."
Disney and more readers may remember the fantastic "Walt Disney and Animation Artists in South America" pictorial article some months ago. These LIFE magazine pictures were shot during the same trip. In "Walt Disney and El Grupo movie, you'll see them "live" whether it is Mary Blair making portraits of Chili villagers...
Or Walt Disney filmed practicing lasso, footage that will be used for the making of the Goofy sequence.
Another sequence shows Walt Disney (on the right) with the animators in Argentina Pampa.
The movie will be released in NY Quad theater, LA Westwood Landmark Regent theatre and at Anaheim AMC Downtown Disney on Sept 11 (which proves that something good can happen on that date!). The movie will then be released in Seattle at SIFF Cinema on Sept 25, in San Francisco at AMC Loews Metreon, and in Orlando, Boston, Chicago and Washington DC later... probably for a limited time, so if you live in these areas, this is a not-to-be-missed Disney event! In the meantime, here is the official trailer!
On this new Disney and more section you will find the "Movies and Animation" articles. Enjoy this new section, all in dark blue and gold colours. Gold like all the Academy Awards that Walt Disney Animation Studios won in more than 70 years!
