My Neighbor Totoro and Howl's Moving Castle

My Neighbor Totoro and Howl's Moving Castle have just been released on Blu-ray.

Both films are fast-favorites at the Imaginerding household. Hands down, My Neighbor Totoro is one of our favorite films of all time and it's one we watch over and over. I was excited for the Blu-ray release of both films for the hi-definition transfer. What I wasn't prepared for was how good My Neighbor Totoro sounded. It was like watching a new film.

This is one of our favorite scenes:



Howl's Moving Castle is pretty spectacular, too!



Have you seen these two films? Are you going to add these Blu-ray to your collection?

Disney Infinity Pirates of the Caribbean Play Set

My youngest is a huge fan of the Skylanders series, mainly for the collectible nature of the figures. Disney Infinity follows a similar path but it looks like there is a larger and more involved gaming feature. Disney has just released images and figures for the Pirates of the Caribbean Play Set.

Is this something you're going to pick up?

Within the Pirates of the Caribbean play set, gamers can take on the role of Captain Jack Sparrow, Captain Barbossa and Davy Jones as they set sail to new lands in search of adventure and gold.  Key highlights include:

·         Combat and Customization: Players will be able to explore new lands while battling via water and land to become the king of the sea. Additionally, players can customize their ship, by choosing everything from the overall décor of the vessel to the cannons on board.  

·         Play Set: The Pirates of the Caribbean play set adds its own specialized game play mechanics and pieces to the Disney Infinity world such as unique weaponry that when activated in Toy Box mode allows players to create all-new combat challenges, build and customize worlds and much more.

·         Toy Box mode: The pirate trio of Captain Jack Sparrow, Captain Barbossa  and Davy Jones are able to interact with all of the previously revealed Disney Infinity characters from The Incredibles, Monsters University and Cars to create new and exciting adventures on the high seas and beyond.

About Disney Infinity

Disney Infinity is an all-new video game initiative starring the beloved characters from Walt Disney and Pixar Studios’ most popular franchises. Players can place real-world toy versions of their favorite Disney characters onto a device called the Infinity Base and transport them into the virtual game worlds of Monsters University, the Incredibles, Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean, as well as into a giant Toy Box.

For additional information on the Disney Infinity Toy Box mode, visit https://infinity.disney.com/toy-box, join the Disney Infinity Facebook Community (Facebook.com/disneyinfinity), and follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/disneyinfinity) and Instagram (instagram.com/disneyinfinity).

Theme Park Books Update

It's been a while since I've posted some of the new books that we've added to my collection. I ran across a lot over the past few weeks that looked into theme parks.

• Hatch: Brainstorming Secrets of a Theme Park Designer by C. McNair Wilson (former Disney Imagineer)

• The Immersive Worlds Handbook: Designing Theme Parks and Consumer Spaces by Scott A Lukas

• Theme Parkby Scott A Lukas

• The Theming of Americaby Mark Gottdiener

• Theme Park Design: Behind The Scenes With An Engineerby Steve Alcorn  (check out my review, here.)

• Walt's Revolution!: By the Numbersby Harrison "Buzz" Price

Have you read any of these books?

Kingdom Keepers Interview

Last year, Jeff and I interviewed Ridley Pearson, author of the Kingdom Keepers series, for Communicore Weekly. With the release of Kingdom Keepers 6 Dark Passage, I thought it would be fun to revisit this great interview.

Lincoln on Blu-ray Giveaway!

We've got two copies of Lincoln on Blu-ray to give away! Look for a review on Mice Chat and Communicore Weekly soon.

Check out the Rafflecopter giveaway below for the details on how to win one of the copies.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stoopid Buddy Stoodios—creative minds behind Robot Chicken TV Series—to visit The Walt Disney Family Museum in April!

The Walt Disney Family Museum always offers some amazing programs. I love it when they bring in non-Disney related groups to create programming and other events. Still, I wish they had an East Coast department for those of us that are much closer to Walt Disney World than Disneyland.

Stoopid Buddy Stoodios—creative minds behind Robot Chicken TV Series—to visit The Walt Disney Family Museum in April!

San Francisco, CA (April 1, 2013)—Celebrate the closing of exhibition Between Frames: The Magic Behind Stop Motion Animation with a lineup of events featuring the creators of Robot Chicken and the founders of Stoopid Buddy Stoodios! Join the team comprised of Seth Green (creator), Matthew Senreich (creator), John Harvatine IV (owner), Eric Towner (owner), and Alex Kamer (animation supervisor) for an after hours party, programs, and a workshop, exclusive to The Walt Disney Family Museum the last weekend of April.

AFTER HOURS PARTYAnimate Your Night: The Island of Misfit Toys
Friday, April 26 | 7–10pm | Museum-wide
Party with us after hours for a night full of misfit adventure! Join the creators of Robot Chicken and the founders of Stoopid Buddy Stoodios as they present behind the scenes footage and episode clips, followed by a Q&A. Enjoy eats from Adam’s Grub Truck and Me So Hungry, then have a hair-raising sip of our signature cocktail: The Evil Doctor.

PANEL DISCUSSIONThe Making of Robot Chicken
Saturday, April 27 | 2pm | The Theater
Join the crew from Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, the masterminds behind the stop motion TV show Robot Chicken, for a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this modern cult favorite.

WORKSHOPLearn from the Masters: Animation Mischief with Stoopid Buddy Stoodios
Saturday, April 27 | 10am–1pm | Art Studio
Explore the magic of stop motion animation with the Emmy and Annie Award-winning animators of Robot Chicken. This class will be led by Robot Chickenanimation supervisor, Alex Kamer.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Between Frames: The Magic Behind Stop Motion Animation

Now through April 28, 2013 | Theater Gallery

Free for members or with Museum admission

Between Frames explores the evolution of stop motion animation in the United States in special effects, television, and film. The exhibition highlights behind-the-scenes photographs, rare armatures and puppets, and original storyboards from cult favorite films and television including King Kong, Gumby, Star Wars,Jurassic Park, Robot Chicken, and Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and showcases stop motion innovators like Ray Harryhausen, Phil Tippett, Will Vinton, Tim Burton, Henry Selick, and more.

# # #

ABOUT THE MUSEUM

The Walt Disney Family Museum presents the fascinating story and achievements of Walt Disney, the man who raised animation to an art, transformed the film industry, tirelessly pursued innovation, and created a global and distinctively American legacy. Opened in October 2009, the 40,000 square foot facility features the newest technology and historic materials and artifacts to bring Disney’s achievements to life, with interactive galleries that include early drawings and animation, movies, music, listening stations, a spectacular model of Disneyland and much more.

Hours:             10am to 6pm, Wednesdays through Monday; closed on Tuesdays and the following public holidays: New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Tickets:           $20 adults, $15 seniors and students, and $12 children ages 6 to 17.

Admission is free for members.

Where:            The Presidio of San Francisco, 104 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94129

                       

Contact:          415.345.6800 / www.waltdisney.org             

www.facebook.com/thewaltdisneyfamilymuseum

                        www.twitter.com/WDFMuseum

Fairy Godmother Travel Giveaway!

You can enter our RaffleCopter giveaway from Fairy Godmother Travel for a chance to win this 8" Admiral Duck Statuette.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Photos

I was doing some research and ran into some great images from the 1994 Disney News in an article about the Twilight Zone Tower or Terror.

A rather candid shot of the doomed family.

The couple!

The hotel sign under construction.

So, just a few great images from the article. Didn't you love seeing the closeup of the couple and the shot of the family in the elevator?

Vintage Reproduction Walt Disney World Map

I've blogged about this amazing map many times at Imaginerding and at Mice Chat. Jeff and I reviewed a reproduction of this map on Communicore Weekly and on our Disney Review column.

The reproduction map is gorgeous and huge!

We worked with the company doing the reproduction map to offer Communicore Weekly listeners (and viewers) a discount on all three sizes of the map.

Visit this page for the Communicore Weekly 10% Discount!

Wreck-It-Ralph Blu-ray

Wreck-It Ralph is coming to Blu-ray on March 5, 2013! Disney has shared a clip from one of the bonus features about creating the 8-bit digital world.

Disneyland Trip Report Walt Disney World Books

My latest column at Mice Chat is a list of Walt Disney World history books. 65 titles are on the list with several added from this year.

• Walt Disney World History Books

Communicore Weekly

The latest episode of Communicore Weekly (the Greatest Online Show™) features a Disneyland trip report from Jeff and a Disneyland Five Legged Goat.

I review Disney Dream Weavers by Chuck Schmidt.

Peter Pan Blu-ray Release

Peter Pan is going to be released on Blu-ray on Tuesday, February 5. Jeff and I have our review copies and will be doing a full review at Mice Chat and on Communicore Weekly (the Greatest Online Show™).

Disney has shared some media to whet our appetites.