Considering Pixie Hollow

Of the few women in the Peter Pan story, I always liked Tinker Bell the best. Mrs. Darling had a one-dimensional role and Wendy came across as simple and boring (why would she want to be the mother, of all things, when she’s in the middle of a fairy tale world?). Tiger Lily had a lot of potential and I wouldn’t have minded if we’d followed her adventures on Never Land rather than Peter Pan’s; even as a child I thought she must have gotten up to more than Peter realized, but he, selfishly of course, only thought of her … Continue reading

Pixie Hollow: One of the Stickiest Places I’ve Ever Been

Pixie Hollow is the latest of Disney Online’s virtual worlds. Pixie Hollow is their way of making the most of the Disney Fairies brand and expanding the franchise in new and creative ways. It is also a very clever way of turning young children on to the idea of online gaming. Once the graduate from Pixie Hollow, they just might be ready for World of Warcraft. After all, World of Warcraft has elves too. But maybe it isn’t that bad. I’ve been to Pixie Hollow and I have to admit it was a very sticky place. By sticky, I mean … Continue reading

Marvel Introducing Line of Superhero Storybooks

When Disney bought Marvel nearly a year ago, many fans were torn as to whether this would herald a new era for the company or a disaster for one of the leading comic book institutions. One thing no one questioned, however, was why the Mouse House was interested in Marvel. Disney wanted a property for boys as prolific as its Princess and Pixie lines for girls, and Marvel provides that in spades. For the most part evidence of Marvel’s new ownership hasn’t been that obvious, at least to the more casual viewer. The most notable change was over the San … Continue reading

Once Upon A Time vs. Reality

Banishment to a place like this is the supposed horrible unhappy ending for the people of the Enchanted Forest The second episode of “Once Upon A Time” aired on Sunday. I don’t know if I’ll do weekly recaps or reviews, but I wanted to revisit the show on my blog because last week and this week raised interesting themes I didn’t have time to explore in my first overview. The crux of the conflict of “Once Upon A Time” revolves around the fact that the curse–which took the fairy tale inhabitants of the Enchanted Forest and trapped them in modern … Continue reading

Disney World to Build “Avatar” Park

News broke last month of a new theme park addition to Disney World. It comes in the form of a property that, upon first glance, one might almost mistake for a Disney/Pixar feature. It stars fuzzy blue cat-like people with big luminous eyes, and studies the interaction the denizens of this new world have with the humans who discover them. That previous sentence summary might almost pass as a Disney movie, but 2009’s “Avatar” was anything but. It was a darker story, one along the lines of “The Last of the Mohicans.” But it was a smash hit, so now … Continue reading

“Newsies” Show Debuts on Sunday

I can’t believe it’s actually happening. Almost a year ago I wrote about how “Newsies” was slated for Broadway, but although I read reports about it happening I didn’t quite believe they would come to fruition. But they have. “Newsies” opens on September 25 at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, only 25 miles from Manhattan. It runs through October 16, and if it’s successful, who knows, it could come back for more. In further proof of the musical’s existence the Disney Blog has a variety of videos about the show, from rehearsal clips to an interview with composer … Continue reading