I have always been a fan of fairy tales, from Disney’s animated classics to retellings by authors Gregory Maguire (Wicked, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister), Robin McKinley (Beauty, Spindle’s End), and Shannon Hale (The Goose Girl). Drew Barrymore’s Ever After: A Cinderella Story is one of my all-time favorite films, and who doesn’t swoon over Westley, Buttercup’s dashing true love in The Princess Bride?

Logo for ABC's Once Upon a Time, image copyright Disney

When ABC’s ambitious fairy tale series Once Upon a Time premiered in primetime last fall, I was excited to see Disney’s latest take on fairy tale characters trapped in the modern world, a concept which worked wonderfully in 2007′s Enchanted starring Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey. The pilot episode showed promise, despite some sup-par special effects and conspicuously rendered backgrounds, but as season one’s disjointed plot unfolded across two worlds (one magical, one mundane), I was often less than enchanted – and left wanting.

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When I was in high school, my favorite Disney character was Tinker Bell, and I was definitely ahead of the Tinker Bell-loving craze. Whenever I went to Disney World, Hot Topic, or to the Disney Store (at the Tanger Outlets in Foley, Alabama!), I was always on the hunt for Tinker Bell merchandise, but the feisty little fairy was hard to find.

Over the years, I managed to accumulate a modest fairy collection which included a Tinker Bell doll, several key chains, stickers, a journal, a picture frame, a puzzle, an assortment of snowglobes and figurines, and my favorite: three Tinker Bell mugs that I drink from every morning. I am no longer actively collecting, which is great for my mental health (and my bottom line), because all it takes is a three-second Google search to be completely overwhelmed by the quantity and quality (and $$$) of Disney Fairies merchandise available now.

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A year ago, the world watched as Kate Middleton and Prince William married in a stunning real-life fairy tale wedding, and six months later, Rapunzel was crowned an official Disney Princess during a coronation ceremony at Kensington Palace.

Screenshot from the animated short Tangled: Ever After, image copyright Disney

Now the world can finally see the spunky, formerly-blonde princess get her own happily ever after when she marries Flynn Rider (aka: Eugene) in a brand-new animated short.

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Last summer, the Disney Channel hosted the wildly popular kids-only dance competition, Make Your Mark: Ultimate Dance Off: Shake It Up Edition. More than 28,000 audition videos were submitted online and six talented finalists were chosen. The finalists competed in a professionally-choreographed dance event telecast live on the Disney Channel, and the winners, a team of four dancers named AKSquared, were featured as spotlight dancers on an episode of Shake It Up.

Screenshot from the Make Your Mark: Ultimate Dance Off website, image copyright Disney

Millions of Disney Channel fans tuned in for the 2011 Ultimate Dance Off and thousands more have eagerly waited for the opportunity to show off their dance moves in a new competition. GREAT NEWS! Disney has confirmed that MAKE YOUR MARK WILL RETURN IN JULY 2012 for a second edition of the competition series. Like last year’s Shake It Up Edition, the 2012 competition will feature an online audition period followed by an October telecast of the semi-finalist showdown.

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Promotional image from The Muppets, image copyright Disney

Walt Disney Pictures released ten feature films in 2011, including three foreign films and the re-release of the animated smash The Lion King (1994) in 3D. The films were a mixed bag of big budget spectacles and nostalgic charmers. Mars Needs Moms bombed, On Stranger Tides was critically panned (but grossed more than $1 billion worldwide), and The Muppets and Winnie the Pooh were two of the most acclaimed films of the year.

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