In 1986, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs purchased the computer graphics division of George Lucas’s Lucasfilm, Ltd. for $10 million and established the group as an independent company named “Pixar”. And now, 26 Oscars, 11 feature films, and more than 20 animated shorts later, Pixar Animation Studios is celebrating its 25th anniversary with the release of the company’s third sequel, Cars 2, which premieres in theaters on Friday, June 24th, 2011.
Screenshot from the official Cars 2 website, image copyright Disney
The original Cars was released in 2006, coinciding with Pixar’s 20th anniversary and grossed more than $244 million domestically for a worldwide total of almost $462 million. Cars is widely considered by critics to be the weakest of Pixar’s feature films with a 74% Fresh rating on Rottentomatoes.com, as compared with Monsters, Inc.‘s 95%, Wall-E‘s 96%, Up‘s 98%, and Toy Story 3‘s 99%. 74% Fresh is hardly shameful, and it’s a target that parent company Disney regularly misses (52% for Alice in Wonderland (2010), 35% for Mars Needs Moms), even with mega-hits like the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (33% for On Stranger Tides).
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Do Mondays get you feeling down? Could you use a dose of Disney but can’t afford to swing by Disney World on your commute home every night? What if Disney was in your very own backyard? Would you have time to enjoy it then?
Screenshot of one of the yard transformations in My Yard Goes Disney, image copyright Disney
HGTV’s new reality series, “My Yard Goes Disney”, is an extreme makeover series that surprises homeowners by transforming their backyards into Disney-inspired masterpieces. The series debuted on June 6th, and recent episodes have seen backyards transformed into a pirate adventure and an Animal Kingdom-inspired safari, while other backyards were given a Mickey-shaped pool and a hand-powered train to Grandma’s.
Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=1235
From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Tangled, there has been a long history of Disney characters who were motherless, fatherless, or orphaned, and characters who suffered the wrath of evil stepmothers and manipulative caretakers in place of parents who loved them. But today is Father’s Day (not Take Your Evil Stepmother to Work Day), and there are several wonderful Disney Dads who deserve to be recognized for their dedication to their families and the sacrifices that they have made for their children.
Simba's father Mufasa is one of several great Disney Dads, image copyright Disney
And so, I present you with ten of the best Disney Dads from some of Disney’s greatest classic and animated films. Are there any other Disney Dads you would add to the list?
Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=1329
The Lion King, Disney’s most successful traditionally animated film, winner of two Academy Awards, and currently ranked 33rd in the All Time Worldwide Box Office, will finally make it to Blu-ray in 2011. The Lion King was previously released from the Disney Vault as a Platinum Special Edition VHS and DVD in 2003, before being locked away again in January, 2005. And now, Disney has announced that after almost six years in Moratorium, The Lion King will roar out of the Vault once again in Fall 2011.
8-Disc and 4-Disc Blu-ray/DVD packaging for The Lion King
Even bigger news: On September 16th, 17 years after its original 1994 release, The Lion King will return to theaters nationwide in Disney Digital 3D. The two-week limited engagement is the first time The Lion King has appeared in theaters since the 2002 IMAX release which featured a brand-new musical sequence, “Morning Report”. The film’s return to the big screen will allow a whole new generation of children to fall in love with the Hamlet-inspired tale of the lion cub who is destined to be king.
Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=1220
I am currently in the process of planning my first-year anniversary cruise with my husband, so I know first-hand how difficult it can be to figure out all of the details: which cruise line, which itinerary, what to do at the ports of call, etc., even though cruises are often stereotyped as easy/stress-free vacations. Fortunately, there are hundreds of websites dedicated to helping vacationers plan their cruises, and one of the most comprehensive is Cruisecritic.com, a one-stop destination for cruise deals, reviews, message boards, image galleries, and more.
Screenshot of the Disney Dream Cruise Ship, image from disneycruise.disney.go.com
In April of this year, Disney announced new itineraries for its Disney Magic and Disney Wonder cruise ships which have new 2012 itineraries sailing out of New York, Galveston, and Seattle. Disney Magic and Disney Wonder are getting new ports of embarkation to make way for Disney’s brand new ships debuting in 2011 and 2012: Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy.
Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=1278
