Newsies: Big Broadway Success

It may be one of my Most Underappreciated Disney Films, but it’s no flop on the stage: The Hollywood Reporter reveals that the Broadway version of “Newsies” has already recouped its expenses.  For a Broadway show that’s fast; in fact, “Newsies” sets a record for Disney Theatrical Productions as the show that’s made back the money spent to make it in the quickest amount of time. “Newsies” cost Disney Theatrical Productions $5 million.  It made that back in nine months after opening (on Broadway; its pre-Broadway run in New Jersey isn’t being counted here).  That’s even faster than Disney Broadway … 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

Disney on Ice 2012-2013 Season

A new year means a new group of Disney on Ice shows debuting for the public. All right, I know we’re over halfway through the year, but so many interesting things have been happening with Disney so far in 2012 that this got pushed back to the list. Plus, it’s unlikely that, given how new most of these shows are, they’re going anywhere for a while. Speaking of shows that aren’t going anywhere: Disney on Ice: 100 Years of Magic is still going strong. It started in 1999 to commemorate the Disney legacy, and although it’s sometimes toured under a … Continue reading

Music and Movement: Entertainment at the Animal Kingdom

My earliest Disney memory that doesn’t have to do with the movies is of the Disney World Christmas Day Parade. That’s what I knew about Disney parks before I processed the whole theme park thing: I thought of parades featuring Disney characters. Of course now that I know more about Disney World I realize that my early assumptions about what the park meant weren’t so far off base; there are daily parades with various characters all over Disney World, and they’re not limited to the Magic Kingdom. The Animal Kingdom has in fact two of its own parades: Mickey’s Jammin’ … Continue reading

Glen Keane Leaving Disney Animation

Glen Keane announced over the weekend that he’s leaving Disney Animation. Most of us probably don’t know who Glen Keane is, even if we’ve seen his name dozens of times while idly watching the ending credits of many Disney movies. I only know him because my work on this blog has motivated me to watch and pay more attention to behind the scenes Disney films and featurettes. Keane has been an animator at Disney for around forty years. He arrived in the 1970s, in time to be mentored by Eric Larson, Frank Thomas, and Ollie Johnston—members of the old guard … Continue reading

The Best of YouTube: Disney Edition

How about a little silliness for a Friday? In the tradition of my recurring Pets blog posts on the best of animals on the internet, today I’ve done a round-up of the best Disney-related videos on YouTube. I’m not talking clips from films or music videos made with Disney soundtracks, but the best moments from the parks, song covers, and more. I’ll start off with the first series of videos that inspired this post. Actor Darren Criss has become famous for his role as Blaine on the television show “Glee,” but his internet popularity started before that. On the ‘net … Continue reading