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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

'Ducktales' Limited Edition Posters Available Today....But You Better Hurry

Whether you're a fan of the old Disney Afternoon cartoon series DuckTales, nostalgic for the recently resurrected NES video game of the same name, or (like me) an admirer of anything that evokes the comic book stylings of Carl Barks, you've got to love this limited edition poster series being released today by Mondo.

DuckTales

Magica De Spell

Magica De Spell

Junior Woodchucks

Uncle Scrooge

Uncle Scrooge
Each screen print is hand numbered and will be released in quantities of 240 or less. Prices range from $45 to $60. Mondo will announce their availability sometime today via Twitter and they're sure to go fast. I've got my eyes on the purple Magica De Spell print, so keep your hands off.  ;-)

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives at the D23 Expo

I'm finally sorting through the many pictures I took at the D23 Expo earlier this month. These are the shots I took with my good camera (Nikon D3100). I hope you've already seen the Facebook pics I posted previously. It was quite a weekend.

Below are pics from Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives, a collection of historic items from Disney's glorious attic. This year's exhibit was smaller than 2011's, but still a nice assortment of items from Mary Poppins, Oz the Great and Powerful, Once Upon a Time and Teen Beach Movie (no, really).

In the queue area was a collection of designer gowns inspired by the Disney
princesses. They were originally on display last year at Harrods in London.

A closer look at Pocahontas, Jasmine and Mulan.

Costumes from Disney Channel's Teen Beach Movie.

Costumes from ABC's Once Upon a Time.

Props from Once Upon a Time.

In the late 1950s, Disney started pre-production on The Rainbow Road to Oz. It was
meant to be a live-action movie musical based on L. Frank Baum's stories
starring the Mousketeers. The film never came to pass, but much of the concept art,
story treatments and scripts still exist.

In 1985, Disney released Return to Oz, a live-action fantasy starring Fairuza Balk
as Dorothy. These are some of the props used in the movie, including Dorothy's
ruby slippers.

The mechanical man Tik Tok from Return to Oz.

Costumes and props from Return to Oz.

Costumes from Oz the Great and Powerful.

Even the sweetest Disney character can look creepy
in the right light. China Doll model from Oz the Great and Powerful.

Disney's Mary Poppins will mark its 50th birthday next year.
 This is pre-production concept art from the film.

Mary Poppins storyboards.

World Premiere banner from Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Assorted Mary Poppins items including the original vinyl soundtrack and
subsequent gold record and Grammy.

Some nursery items from Mary Poppins including toy blocks and the
St. Paul's cathedral snow globe.

Bert and Mary's merry-go-round horses.


Practically perfect in every way.

One of my all-time favorite Disney publicity shots. (l. to r.) Richard Sherman,
Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and Robert Sherman.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Conversations From the D23 Expo in 'The Mouse Castle Lounge'



Tens of thousands of crazed Disney fans converged on the D23 Expo in Anaheim last weekend and I was one of them. And oh, the people I talked to: the voice cast of Phineas and Ferb and Gravity Falls, singer/actress Susan Egan, Disney Animation Research Library creative director Lella Smith, video game developers for both Disney Infinity and Fantasia: Music Evolved and more. It's a random and thoroughly entertaining hour-long romp through the D23 Expo. Cocktails forever!

It's been a busy week of travel for me, so I haven't been able to pour over the tons of pictures I took last weekend. Rest assured, I'll get through them and post the best ones this weekend. Also, I'm super excited about the next episode of the MCL. On Tuesday, I was able to meet the extraordinary Tyrus Wong, the 102-year old Disney legend best known to fans for his evocative artistic design of Bambi. A retrospective of his work, "Water to Paper, Paint to Sky: The Art of Tyrus Wong" opens today at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. Very soon, I'll share with you my conversation with Tyrus as well as other Disney notables like Pete Docter, Tony Anselmo and J.B. Kaufman as we celebrate the life of a master artist.

For now, however, it's all about the Expo. Crowded, crazy and oh so fun. Enjoy your visit today to The Mouse Castle Lounge.


The Mouse Castle Lounge can also be heard on iTunes and Stitcher.

Friday, August 9, 2013

The D23 Expo Starts Today and Alan Menken and Richard Sherman are in The Lounge


Day one of the D23 Expo kicks off today as tens of thousands of crazed, over-caffeinated Disney fans from 48 states and 21 countries descend upon the Anaheim Convention Center. Yes, I am one of them.

Alan Menken
There's going to be a lot to see this weekend, especially on a sold-out Saturday when Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Tony Baxter, Glen Keane and others will be named Disney Legends and where musical legends Richard Sherman and Alan Menken will put on a highly-anticipated concert.

Earlier this week, I had a chance to take part in a conference call with Sherman and Menken. You can hear the best of it in the latest episode of The Mouse Castle Lounge. It's a wonderful conversation with two extremely talented and gracious men who will perform songs from a Disney songbook that spans over 50 years.

Richard Sherman
For today, I'll be checking out the latest from Disney animation in a presentation that will include appearances by Bob Iger, John Lasseter, Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel from Frozen, and Dane Cook from Planes. I'm also going to find out what's up with the 40-foot tall Waffle-inator that's taking up space in front of the Convention Center. Evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz is up to something. I hope Phineas & Ferb and Agent P can do something about it.  Or, maybe we'll all just have some waffles.

I'll be doing updates on Facebook and Twitter all weekend, so if you're not following me already, it's high time you did. You don't want to miss out.

The D23 Expo is always crazy, crowded and exhausting, but it's also a lot of fun. I'll see you on the show floor. Enjoy!


The Mouse Castle Lounge can also be heard on iTunes and Stitcher.