Search Results for: blog hints of more disney on broadway

Disney Patents Virtual Cake Toppers

As Disney has been experimenting more and more with augmented reality, I’ve tried to imagine scenarios in which the company could put it to use. My focus has always been on the Disney Parks, on how it could allow guests to further interact with exhibits. Apparently, Walt Disney Co. itself has been focusing more on how they can augment our food. Technology website Gizmag details a recently filed patent by the Disney Company, one that covers the use of augmented reality for cakes. That’s right, cakes. Gizmag says that most of what’s on the patent is still theoretical, but it … Continue reading →

Tom Hanks to Play Walt Disney in “Poppins” Movie

Earlier in the year the internet was abuzz about a fake movie poster created by French graphic artist Pascal Witaszek. It featured actor (and former Mouseketeer) Ryan Gosling with dark hair and a mustache reclining in a train car. He held a pencil poised above a drawing pad. Outside the window a cloud formed the shape of a Mickey Mouse head with ears. The poster was for a Walt Disney biopic entitled “Walt,” starring Ryan Gosling and directed by Ron Howard. It was entirely fake, but plausible enough that it really got people thinking. What would a Walt Disney biopic … Continue reading →

“Newsies” to Carry the Banner to Broadway

At the end of March “Newsies” will come to Broadway to run for 101 performances through June. “Wait,” you might say, “wasn’t ‘Newsies’ already on Broadway?” Nope, when the musical ran in fall 2011 it actually played off-Broadway at a theater in New Jersey. Thanks to its popularity, both with critics and the general public (i.e., in ticket sales), it now gets to play on the Great White Way at the Nederlander Theatre from March 29 to June 15. Previews begin on March 15. “Broadway revival” is a popular term, though it usually refers to once-famous New York shows that … Continue reading →

Disneyland’s World of Color

Tonight Disneyland premieres a beautiful new exhibit called the World of Color. Playing exclusively in the evening, World of Color is a high-tech water and light show celebrating the magic of Disney. Powered jets shoot water up to 200 feet above spectators’ heads, and rotate to let the water dance amidst colorful beams of light. Within the water and light play scenes and clips from famous Disney films, all set to music. The type of music isn’t specified, but a New York Times profile on Bob Iger mentioned he tweaked it to sound more contemporary. Frankly I’d be surprised if … Continue reading →

Disney Sing It: Family Hits

My husband and I are video game addicts. Console or computer, it doesn’t matter; we own a bunch of games and have played even more that we’ve borrowed from friends or swapped for others at GameSpot. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone here that my favorite game of all time is Kingdom Hearts. The super-popular Japanese franchise blends the action-RPG style of the Legend of Zelda games with an original and epic story line, one that includes character cameos from Final Fantasy (one of the most popular series of video games). But most importantly, the story revolves around … Continue reading →

Hints of More Disney on Broadway

Music makes Disney great. Who could imagine wishing for a star, longing for a prince to come, or wanting to be a part of a new world without the uplifting swell of the famous scores accompanying those stories? As I’ve implied before, part of Disney’s magic comes from its music, and when that music isn’t strong the movie’s better off not trying to be a musical. It’s no surprise that, given the high quality of most of Disney’s musical movies, many of them have migrated to Broadway. While “The Lion King” continues its reign as Disney’s most popular musical theater … Continue reading →

Disney Innovation in Times Square

Times Square is one of New York City’s most famous destinations, both for the sights and for the shopping. In many cases, the two come together in one iconic attraction. Think of the FAO Schwartz life-sized keyboard-dancing scene in the movie “Big,” or giant playful displays of candy at the M&M’s store and you’ll see what I mean. When I was little, the store that felt the most like a delightful attraction was, of course, the Disney Store. As I’ve mentioned before, I could go there and pretend I was amongst my favorite Disney characters for awhile. In fall 2010 … Continue reading →

“Toy Story 3” Both A Relief and A Letdown

In my very first blog for families.com I bemoaned Pixar’s current penchant for making sequels, a trend I blamed on Walt Disney Corp. CEO Bob Iger. I’ve expanded, or at least reiterated, my opinions on the matter since then. Some might say, however, that I should stop criticizing the making of all of Pixar’s recent sequels if I never bother to see them, something I just haven’t felt motivated to do. Nearly a year after it came out on in theaters, I finally decided to see “Toy Story 3.” Before I get into how I felt about the movie, however, … Continue reading →

“Newsies” Set for the Stage

One of my recurring columns highlighted “Newsies” as a woefully underappreciated Disney film. Some critics thought the songs were flat but I vehemently disagree; Alan Menken composed the score and I knew some people who hated the film but conceded the quality of the soundtrack. Now “Newsies” might finally get a real shot at the popularity it deserves. Sure, it enjoys a strange sort of cult status amongst girls who discovered it when they were 14 or so (like me), but I think a stage version of the musical gives it a chance at some critical acclaim. According to Moviefone’s … Continue reading →

Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along

Last February I spent a weekend visiting my sister-in-law baking cookies and watching Disney movies; our husbands both weren’t included (though hers was in the house, but he mostly hid from us). We first made plans for our Disney weekend discussing “Beauty and the Beast.” We both love the movie so much we always sing along with the songs, and usually follow along with the dialog as well. We talked about how we can never watch the movie with anyone else, because others usually find our tendency to recite the whole film annoying. So we figured we’d match each other … Continue reading →