Dreaming Disney – Fables

Despite the fact I really like childish things, I am an adult.  No really, don’t let the Mickey Mouse watch, the Toy Story t-shirt and the Disneyland hat fool you!  And I really do like gritty stories, where a character might actually die or make choices that do not match my own.  Some of my favorite worlds are grey, like the Christopher Nolan Batman universe.  And let’s be our typical honest and admit that Disney’s worlds are often black and white not Grey.  The good guy is good, the bad guy is bad, and everyone gets happily ever after as long as they do not fall off a cliff.  But sometimes I am not in the mood for that formula.

A little while ago two friends introduced me to a comic book called Fables.  I thought it would be lame.  These friends and I often do not have similar tastes, they are not Disney guys.  But what they sold me on was that one of the main characters was Snow White, a Snow White living in our world.  Gentlemen you have my attention, but I should warn you it won’t last for long!  Instead of being turned off I fell in love with a fantastically crafted story that is filled with familiar characters that I know and love. 

The basic story is that a group of fairy tale characters, or Fables, have fled their homelands in the face of an adversary who conquered their homes.  The Fables live in two places in our world.  First, the human looking Fables live in a small and secretive New York neighborhood.  The non-human looking Fables live at The Farm, a secluded and magically protected area used for hiding three little pigs, dragons and other Fables that cannot fit into our world.  The comic book follows the Fables as they struggle to overthrow the unknown adversary and regain access to their homelands. 

Any Disney fan is going to love this story because the characters are so familiar, but with a twist.  As we enter the story, Snow White is the deputy mayor of Fabletown and is the power behind the throne of Mayor King Cole.  She is a major character in this world as we follow her romance with the Big Bad Wolf, she is divorced from Prince Charming who has also been wed to Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.  Yes, divorced from Prince Charming something we would never find in a Disney tale.  Charming himself is a con man and rascal who treats women badly but shows his heroic stripes during the war for the homelands.  Cinderella and Mowgli serve as spies for Sheriff Bigby Wolf, serving as his eyes around the globe to ensure good Fable behavior.  We find Pinocchio as a frustrated boy locked in eternal youth with adult sized desires.  And both Belle and the Beast rise in importance to key roles within the Fable government.

I really do love this title, and it’s because I am a Disney fanboy.  First, I get to see beloved characters in a different light.  I have to admit I love the concept of Cinderella as a super spy as highlighted in Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love.  Second, I get to learn more about these characters.  I had no idea that in traditional tales Snow White had a sister named Rose Red.  Anytime a character is introduced for the first time I generally scurry off to Google so I can learn the references that author Bill Willingham is using.  Finally, its characters I am familiar with but in adult story lines.  War is a major theme, and the harshness of war is evident throughout the series.  Characters do die, and when they do it is often forever.  Ever after in Fables is not always happy.  And some of the characters such as Jack Horner, highlighted in his own Jack of Fables title, are crass and often unlikeable. 

Even if you are not a comic book fan, I recommend checking out Fables.  Much like Once Upon a Time it offers a new take on our beloved characters.  And the writing for this series if fantastic, and that’s coming from a doubter.  Trust me, once you are introduced to the Big Bad Wolf you’ll have a hard time putting this title down. 

Between Books – Mouse Tales

Mouse Tales: A Behind -The-Ears Look at Disneyland by David Koenig provides readers a glimpse behind the magic of the Disneyland Resort.  Koenig uses non-Disney sources including former cast interviews (often anonymous), news articles, police blotters, and legal proceedings to provide an overview of Disneyland topics that would never be included in official Disney presentations.  These topics include cast member experiences, poorly behaving guests, crime and crime prevention, lawsuits against Disney and deaths within the park.  Koenig digs in-depth within these topics and provides context to issues such as why you should not stand up on rides, what happens when a guest or cast member is hurt or dies or property and why Disney has been so successful in fighting lawsuits. 

I really enjoy this book.  And I cannot recommend it enough.  When I read it the first time several years ago it made me want to dig deeper into information about the Disney parks including information that Disney may not wish to promote.  Koenig’s writing is highly entertaining and he helps bring to life information that could only be found in largely dry non-Disney documents and sources.  It is a book you just will not want to put down.  Reading this book sealed the deal for me; I don’t want to work Big Thunder Mountain.  No I want to be a tour guide on the Jungle Cruise.  They just have more fun!  Or at least they used to.  I read this book before I had visited Disneyland for the first time, and because of Koenig’s descriptions of deaths that have occurred involving the Matterhorn and the Mark Twain, I probably approached those rides with a very different view than the average tourist.  Let us just say my kids have been reminded not to stand or else when riding the very safe and fun Matterhorn.  And while I am not a lawyer, Koenig helped me to appreciate how Disneyland has been a target for lawsuits, since surely Disney will settle before trial due to their deep pockets.   And he explains how Disney has successfully fought past frivolous lawsuits while resolving many incidents at which they were at fault outside of the courts. 

Mouse Tales for me is a must have in your Disney library.  It’s fun, informative and highly readable.  Koenig’s book is one that will make you want to know more about Disney parks and will likely lead to your Disney library multiplying even if you live Between Disney.    

 

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Dreaming Disney Special - Man or Muppet Music Video

The official video for "Man or Muppet."

Enjoy!

Mousey Movies - Chicken Little

Have you written off Disney’s 2005 Chicken Little?  I had, I found it okay, saw it in the theater and had bought it on DVD years later at a really discounted price.  It was crazy prized, I mean I would pay that just for the Disney Movie Reward points pricing.  Yet it simply was not a film I got excited about though I do love Scrubs’ Zach Braff.  Recently my kids pulled it out and I found myself shocked by all the Disney connections especially amongst the voice talent.

·     From the very opening Chicken Little pays tribute to other Disney movies as the narrator struggles with how to properly open his tale.  In that search that audience gets sound and visual lifts directly out of Lion King.  And he asks if he should use a book to open his story, instantly taking us to princesses and in my mind Sleeping Beauty.

·     Additional video is lifted from Raiders of the Lost Ark and shown at the Oakey Oaks movie theater in full live action glory.  The scene depicts Indiana Jones fleeing from a giant bolder and helps connect Disneyland fans to Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye.

·     Talk about a Disney flashback in this voice cast.  Joan Cusack plays Ugly Duckling, Abigail Ducktail Mallard.  I cannot but think of Jessie from the Toy Story franchise every time I heard her provide a line.  Wallace Shawn voices Principal Fetchit, who is slightly less grumpy than his Gilbert Huph from The Incredibles.  Don Knotts voices Mayor Turkey Lurkey.  Amongst his long and distinguished career, I remember his turn in Disney’s live action The Apple Dumpling Gang fondly from my childhood.  But my favorite two voices give me instant smiles.  Patrick Warburton voices an alien cop.  As someone who loves Soarin’ and Soarin’ Over California, among his other contributions, his voice instantly made me check to see if I had stowed my ear hat.  And Batman’s Adam West as the Hollywood version of Chicken Little was a complete surprise and brilliant.  I loved him in Meet the Robinsons but did not realize that he had done other voices for Disney.  Yeah, this voice cast is super Mousey. 

·     Story elements have a very Disney feel to it.  In fact one of the key themes is does Chicken Little’s father trust him, in fact at one point  he yells at him, “You can’t do this!”  Instantly my mind replaced the image of a father chicken with a father clown fish and I wandered mentally to Finding Nemo.  In fact, Chicken Little like Nemo and many Disney princesses comes from a one parent home.

I am still not in love with Chicken Little.  But I am coming to enjoy it more.  In fact I just have to say can you never go wrong with more Patrick Warburton and Steve Zahn.  As Zahn’s Runt of the Little states, “Just leave me some ammo, a little water, some chips if you have them.”  With those ingredients and a Mousey Movie, you have a night of family fun out here Between Disney.        

Between Book - The Imagineering Field Guide to Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World

The Imagineering Field Guide to Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World continues the visual tour of the Walt Disney World parks by the Imagineers.  Alex Wright the author of The Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World also writes this guide.  Wright reintroduces, or introduces if your first read in the series, the concepts and tools of Imagineering.  From the Oasis to the Theater in the Wild, Wright walks his readers through the park.  He provides details to his readers about why and how the Imagineers crafted the stories of Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  The highlight of the text is pictures, pictures, pictures with visuals ranging from the attraction photos and concept art.  Like others in the series, the book is setup like a guide book, being small and compact and something one can throw into a backpack or small bag on a trip to the Animal Kingdom. 

This was the second Imagineering Guide that I read.  To be honest it was a really odd choice for me as Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the park that I have spent the least amount of time in when visiting Florida.  Like The Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World the images throughout this book are top notch.  And the Guide helped me to see behind the heat in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, which I have convinced myself is 27 degrees hotter than any other Walt Disney World park on a given day, and to see the masterpiece the Imagineers have created.  If one slows down, opens their eye, looks, listens and smells a guest really is transported out of Florida and to Africa or Asia.  The amount of theming in this park is incredible and simply cannot be ignored, despite all of our sarcastic jokes.  We may complain about DinoLand U.S.A, but if one understands the story of this area we can clearly see the Imagineers vision of this area and the jokes behind it.  In the end, this park is a work of art, and it took the images and details found in this book for me to truly understand what it is.  It makes me want to toss this guide in my backpack and walk a little slower when I next visit this park.   

For more from the Imagineering Guide series see “Between Books – The Imagineering Field Guide to Disneyland” and “Between Books – The Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.”

Mousey Movies - The Muppets

I’m one of those adults like actor writer Jason Segel who grew up with the Muppets.  One of the earliest reports I remember writing for school was an Elementary music report on a musical.  I chose 1979’s The Muppet Movie and with the help of notes on an eight-track cassette, yeah eight-track, I presented my teacher with what I thought musical theater was.  But I also admit, over the years the Muppet movies have fallen flat for me.  Perhaps it was Muppets’ Wizard of Oz, which my kids love, which lead to me personally writing off the Muppets as must see media.  But after seeing The Muppets, all I can say is thank you Jason Segel for helping Disney bring back this franchise to the big screen.  Seriously 13 family members representing 3 generations left the theater all singing “Mahna Mahna” together.  

I think sometimes we forget, even with Muppet*Vision 3D, that the Muppets are owned by Disney:  And like any good Mousey movie, one which pretty much every department of the company promoted, Michael Eisner would be proud of the synergy found in The Muppets:

·     Amy Adams: Amy Adams takes her second spin as the female lead in a Disney movie.  For me her first turn, Giselle in Enchanted, firmly and personally placed her in the princess pantheon forever.  For me her song, “That's How You Know” from Enchanted will always serve as the best example of what a Disney princess would be like in our world that I have ever seen.  It just screams Mouseyness to have a Disney princess in the female lead.

·     Neil Patrick Harris: NPH, is there anything you can’t do?  The Disney California Adventure California Screamin’ barker and Disney fan boy delivers one of the best lines of the movie.  No spoilers here!

·     Alan Arkin: Mr. Arkin playing a tour guide is not only a distinguished actor, but for fans of Disney’s Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, Arkin is also Father-in-Law Christmas. 

·     The Stars of the Small Screen: Whoopi Goldberg (ABC daytime), Selena Gomez (Disney Channel), and Rico Rodriquez (ABC primetime) make a cameo together ensuring that Disney’s ABC properties are sufficiently represented (or marketed) in this hit film.

·     Zach Galifiankis: Well clearly I’m making leaps now arguing that Zach Galifiankis makes The Muppets mousey!  Nope, he stars as the human lead in Disney’s 2009 G-Force.  It may sound corny, but it’s actually a pretty fun movie.  His Hobo Joe in The Muppets seems to fit his other big screen somewhat silly roles more than his very understated Ben from G-Force.  But then you probably need to be understated if you lead a special forces team of rodents!

·     Product Placement:  Let’s face it, films advertise products.  And you can spot advertisements for other Disney productions throughout the movie. Conveniently the two most obvious were released on Blu-ray and DVD when The Muppets was released.  So go get your copy of Winnie the Pooh.  And you can’t escape Mater and Cars 2, with its poster coming into screen over and over and over again.  Finally, I found myself considering an iPad2 after seeing the prominent billboard in the background. Was this a tribute, favor, or paid advertisement by Apple, whose found the later Steve Jobs was Disney’s largest shareholder during production of this movie. 

The Muppets are back.  Kermit, Missy Piggy and the whole game are relevant again.  And I’m hoping this just means more Muppet goodness in the future.  And they want us to know, the Muppets live at the House of Mouse.    

For more Muppet Mouseyness see "Mousey Movies - The Muppets Addendum."  

Dreaming Disney - D23 Between Disney

D23 is the official fan club for the Walt Disney Corporation.  Founded in 2009, the fan club offers two levels of membership.  The more expensive gold level membership provides members in 2011 a membership card and certificate, an exclusive Mickey watch, access to D23 events and merchandise, a quarterly magazine which Disney touts as a collectible and special promotional offers and discounts.  The less expensive Silver membership does not include the Disney twenty-three magazine. 

My history with D23 goes back to 2009.  On its launch date I debated if financially it was a good choice for me to be a member.  And on that first day I decided that it was not a good use of money for me.  The deciding factor at the time was that it was an expensive magazine subscription since the likelihood of me every attending a D23 event or using the other privileges was non-existent.  I felt pretty good about the decision, especially as podcasts I listened to discussed what Disney did wrong in launching a fan club, including price, and generally criticized this Disney mistake.  But as the Disney twenty-three magazine hit the mailboxes of podcasters that were members my opinion began to change.  The magazine actually sounded like it would be entertaining.  And I got my hands on a sample and decided that I would become a member, especially since it became a birthday gift.  I have never regretted being a member.  In fact my regrets are that I am only a charter member and not a first day member. 

Over these few years of being a D23 member I have been satisfied.  I live Between Disney which means that none of the D23 events largely placed in Orlando, Anaheim and major cities like New York are accessible to me.  And a lot of the associated discounts largely impact those living in or near those cities.  So, those are not items that draw me to D23.  Though I have loved getting reports from blogs, podcasts  and Twitter about events like the Expo and Destination D.  But in the end I decided that for me D23 is a high end magazine subscription and anything else is bonus.  And I really do enjoy seeing that magazine sitting on my step and I have read every article and every page of every issue to date.  So when analyzing my membership this way I have been satisfied with what I have gotten.  The magazine generally has a mix of coming soon (please spend money in the future) articles and historical articles and overall I won’t complain about the content.

Now there have been bonuses.  Every year I have received membership and renewal gifts.  These include a lithograph that someday when I get motivated I fully intend to frame and hang up I promise maybe but at least it’s still safe in its mailing tube!   I received a calendar of attractions that were never developed, and I really enjoyed the concept art though I never used the calendar.   Does anyone really hang up a calendar anymore?  And this year I got a D23 branded journal, it was simple enough that I have decided to use it to help keep track of my trips and Disney memories.  I admit it; I forget things and want to have my family’s reactions to rides recorded as early as possible.  Additionally I have gotten a watch that I occasionally wear and pins that I never wear.  Finally with every Disney twenty-three I have received items like patches, mouse pads, car air fresheners and more all Disney themed.  These gifts are not available to readers who buy the magazine separately at locations like Barnes and Noble.  So overall, the bonuses have been nice, but most are on my save for good pile in my office since they have not caught my interests. 

D23 does produce the weekly “Disney Geek” online video series which highlights future events and movies.  And the series is fun and though an attempt to separate me from my money entertaining.  Additionally on a less frequent basis D23 posts the “Armchair Archivists” series which highlights items with the Disney Archives from props to photos and pictures.  This series brings some really interesting pieces to Disney fans, like Walt Disney’s last recorded promotional video for the company.  But one does not need to be a D23 member to access these online videos.   

So, there I was, perfectly happy and content with my D23 membership.  Especially since Disneystore.com has exclusive D23 items which allowed me to get an autographed copy of one of Jason Surrell’s books.  My expectations were lowly set and D23 was exceeding them in actually sending me a magazine every four months without hassle.  But this year my D23 membership really paid off by allowing me to go to the 2011 Expo.  So my membership also meant discounted tickets for the entire family and the ability to enter early.  Which for my family meant we got a head start to wait in line to meet Phineas and Ferb and the “Voices of Phineas and Ferb”.  And my 24 seconds of interaction with Dee Bradley Baker are honestly epic and priceless.  And when I became a member I would have never anticipated that I would ever actually go to a D23 event and have my family interact with Talking Mickey.

So in the end, for those of us Between Disney, D23 can still be a good investment.  But you can’t expect D23 to bring the awesomeness to you, unless you feel a magazine is awesomeness.  But us still far from the gates can use D23 to keep us in the know and make us feel connected even when we are miles and months away.  Does a D23 membership help you feel closer to Disney while living Between Disney?