Saturday, May 17, 2008

Harrison Ford, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Shia LaBeouf LIVE from Cannes Film Festival !

Harrison Ford, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Shia LaBeouf - the Mount Rushmore of action movie - as ABC's Good Morning America host Diane Sawyer called them are LIVE from Cannes Film festival on the video below, and may i remind you that the big world premiere of the Indy 4 will be tomorrow in Cannes at 8 pm GMT !



Disney and more french readers who don't understand well english will be happy to see this other interview of Steven and Harrison in Canal + Grand Journal show, just click HERE

Video : copyright ABC

A special Wall-E pictorial article



As it is often the case on Disney and more, here is a pictorial article for the week-end, and this one is all about Wall-E.

Enjoy the pictures below, and don't miss the movie shot at the end, but warning!, it's a spoiler!











Okay, here is the spoiler shot, it's a scene from the movie shown for the first time, so look at your own risk!



All photos: copyright Disney-Pixar

Friday, May 16, 2008

Universal Orlando The Simpsons Ride Grand Opening Videos !

The Simpsons Ride officially opens at Universal Studios Florida yesterday, and here are the videos of it, shoot from two different angles. Here they are:







I remind you that you can watch the full ride movie in one of Disney and more previous topic HERE.
But before; have a look at this last video to see more about the new Simpsons area.


Wednesday, May 14, 2008

On the set of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the crystal skull, and news about "Indiana Jones and the summer of hidden mysteries" at Disneyland



Soooo, the highly awaited Indiana Jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull is released in less than a week, and to keep you waiting here are High-Res wallpaper pictures shoot on the set, with Steven Spielberg, Georges Lucas, Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, etc...






Harrison Ford was also on Jay Leno's Tonight Show some days ago, and here is the two-part video of this fun and odd interview.






Let's end with the infos released about the upcoming "Indiana Jones and the summer of hidden mysteries" at Disneyland, Anaheim. Here it is:

"Indiana Jones™ and the Secret of the Stone Tiger"
Young Guests become archeologists as they solve clues, complete tasks and decipher codes, Indy style which leads to a hidden treasure. A friendly and helpful female archeologist, who may not be as innocent as she seems, will host the experience. However, if her intentions are found to be villainous, Indy will surely be on the scene to aid the youngsters.

Indiana Jones™ Adventure Map
Guests will be able to pick up a special map near the entrance to Aladdin's Oasis, leading them to a series of clues that, when deciphered, reveal a secret message. This message can be used online to obtain an exclusive download of desktop wallpaper, screen saver or other collateral. The map also has a section that highlights activities in the queue of Indiana Jones™ Adventure and the Jungle Cruise.

Adventure Photo Location
Guests can step into an action-packed sequence inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark. They can also pick up their Indiana Jones™ Adventure Maps at this location.

Indiana Jones™ Adventure Queue
Using their Indiana Jones™ Adventure Maps as a guide, Guests will discover an exciting array of secrets hidden away in the queue of the attraction.

Jungle Cruise
The Jungle Cruise Skipper spiel has been enhanced to reflect the idea that Indy has been traveling through the jungle on his latest expedition – and we will signs of his exploits. Moreover, Guests with a keen eye can look for hidden icons from the first three films, which are described in their Adventure Maps.

Indiana Jones™ in Adventureland!
Indiana Jones™ and a male enemy agent run into each other in the street and pursue one another through Adventureland – pushing through the crowd, popping up here, there and everywhere! Seems one of them has a map to the Temple of the Forbidden Eye that the other wants. This results in a series of fun-filled, dramatic staged "moments" that include fights on balconies, pursuits and daring escapes!

Lucky Disney fans living in L.A !

Photos: copyright Indiana Jones.com

First video of WDI Wall-E life-size robot !

The first video of the awaited WDI Wall-E robot was released on the web today, and yes, this is the one you will see at DCA and DHS later this summer!

This Wall-E real life robot looks really great, so enjoy the video!


Wall-E Spotted in LA! from Jeremy Canceko on Vimeo.

Video from from Jeremy Canceko on Vimeo.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

The secret letters of DLP's Phantom Manor



What you'll see today are rare documents from Phantom Manor ...although anyone who do the ride pass each time at two feet from them! These letters are part of the theming, anyone can see them but nobody can read them because of the moving doom buggy!

Here is the whole story: When we prepared the Disneyland Paris, from Sketch to reality book back in 2000, we needed photos of Phantom Manor scenes. Disneyland paris photo library had thousands of photos, but not of every scene. So, as i am also a professionnal photographer, after the park was closed and with a DLP escort, i spent some nights shooting pictures not only inside Phantom manor, but also in Pirates of Caribbean, It's a small world, Peter Pan's Flight, etc..

And for Phantom manor i had the pleasure to walk around inside the manor, taking pictures of all the needed scenes. At one point i arrived near the "Bride in front of the mirror" scene. Right in front of it, on the other side of the doom buggy track, there is some furniture, and upon it, those letters. Simply by curiosity i shoot a picture of them....and forget all about it, until recently when i found back the slides.

And what is written on them is amazing! It took time for me to decipher the writing as the photo is not perfectly sharp, but you'll find the text below.

First these letters are written in FRENCH! I must remind you, that, although the park is in France, Phantom Manor is located in Frontierland which is supposed to be the old AMERICAN west, and so the letters should be written in english! Does this mean that we have here the first theming mistake in Frontierland? On a certain point, yes, but this does't matter really, what is interesting is why these letters are written in french, and most of all, what is the text talking about?



Here is what is written, first in french, and then in english with a translartion i did for you of two only letters where the whole text is visible. Hope that my translation is not too bad...

First letter, supposedly written by the son of Phantom Manor's owner, Mr Ravenswood:

Mon Père,

Je suis lasse de notre conflit.
Ce constat me mène à me rabaisser sans pudeur devant vous tellement il est difficile, je l’avoue, de vivre sans ( sous ) votre grande richesse.
Père, je vous prie d’accepter mes excuses les plus hypocrites que j’ai jamais pu faire.

Votre cher fils.

English translation:

Dear Father,

I am tired of our conflict.

This report leads me to decrease me immodestly in front of you, as it is so difficult to live under your great wealth.
Father, please accept the most hypocritical apologies i ever did.

Your dear son.

Second letter, supposedly written by Melanie Ravenswood lover - the one who will be - in Phantom Manor's mythology - killed by Mr Ravenswood:

Dear Mélanie,

Il est temps maintenant d’annoncer à votre père votre amour pour moi. Je ne supporte plus de voir votre beauté...(déchiffrage du texte impossible)...qui lorgnent sans cesse sur votre douce et volumineuse poitrine. Il est donc temps de vous offrir à moi.

Je baise...(déchiffrage du texte impossible)

English translation:

Dear mélanie,

It is now time to announce to your father your love for me. I can't stand any more to watch your beauty...(impossible to decipher the text)..who peer endlessly at your sweet and voluminous chest. It is now time to offer you to me.

I kiss...(impossible to decipher the end of the text)

Now, what do we have here? A letter - even a "hot" letter - from Melanie's lover who will be killed soon after this writing ( obviously it was not a good idea to suggest to Melanie to announce her love for him to her father, Mr Ravenswood ! ), and, two a letter written by Mr Ravenswood's son - so, Melanie's brother - with a "perfume" of coming suicide...

There is just one little problem: in Phantom Manor's story line, Mr Ravenswood don't have any "son", and Melanie don't have any brother!! Was it a real mistake or a private joke done by WDI props people?

So, what happen? Why are these letters written in french and not in english, and have a text who take some "liberty" with the attraction's story line?

Well, i asked a friend imagineer involved in the creation of Frontierland about this. After he thanks me for "sharing this interesting and seemingly provocative discovery from (my) archives" (!) he gave me the answer to this riddle...

During the final days of dressing the sets, not only for the Manor but overall Frontierland, the lead team of WDI Glendale prop people were assisted by French set and props dressing associates. This accounts for some of the "love letters" being written en français.

As to the questionable content, "your dear son", etc.., It seems that i figured it out perfectly. Because it was so far from the guests vision, it would only be discovered upon closer scrutiny - like me with my camera. So, it was the perfect kind of private, inside joke that someone working on the project could do. Some WDI designers always include hidden "Mickeys" in their work, but here we have a jokester who takes this practice to a completely different and cleverly humorous level. Hidden in plain sight!

So, next time you will ride Phantom Manor, instead to look at the bride and the mirror, have a look on the other side of the track. Because your doom buggy will be moving, you'll still won't be able to read those letters, but you won't mind, as now you are in the secret of what is written on them...

New video of Disney's Hollywood Studios Toy Story Mania

A new Toy Story Mania video appeared on youtube, and it shows a bit more scenes than the previous one. Here it is below.

Also, on Laughingplace.com you can see the best video so far of the amazing Mr Potato Head Audio-animatronic, and it worth the look!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Rare early rendering of DLP Frontierland's Thunder Mesa town



Here is above a rare rendering of DLP's Frontierland and what is great with it is that the three Frontierland attractions are shown on the same image.

I think the artist is WDI artist Frank Armitage and it was done as an early atmospheric piece, while imagineers were still in the concept planning phase at WDI in Glendale. In other words, Frank took some of the elements imagineers knew they wanted - Phantom Manor, Riverboat Landing, Molly Brown, Big Thunder, the Silver Spur Steakhouse Restaurant, etc - and composed a street and river scene of what Thunder Mesa would have looked like as an old wild west town, filled with activity. Although it is an early concept, it's amazing to see that everything that will be built at the end is already there!

Frank Armitage is the same artist who painted the huge painting hanging in the lobby of the Disneyland Hotel with all the people in Victorian costumes.

Artwork: copyright Disney Enterprises Inc.
Editor's note: TRIPLE Wall-E topic below, after the magic video. First, a collection of great "wallpaper" pictures for your desktop. Then, always below - scroll down! - all about the new "Build-a-Bot" feature on the Wall-E web site - it's fun and cool! And right under, the first pictures of the coming Wall-E Thinkway toys!
Also, don't miss the fantastic Wikipedia list of never built Disney attractions, the longest topic ever published on D&M !

AND, if you want the latest news about DCA's future, don't miss the new update of blue sky disney!

Let's begin the week with an Austin Powers magic act

A good magic act never hurt to begin the week, and here is a new one from french magician Dani Lary, inspired by Austin Powers.

Enjoy it!

Sunday, May 11, 2008

A special Wall-E HD wallpaper pictures !



Gorgeous new high-res pictures of Wall-E were released, and each of them will do stunning wallpaper pictures for your desktop. Click on each to get them in big size and to see the incredible work of Pixar artists.

In addition to these new HD photos, i added the first one previously posted on D&M some days ago, so you'll have now all of them on the same post.













All photos: copyright Disney-Pixar

The "Build-a-Bot" feature on the Wall-E web site is cool !



The "Build-a-Bot" feature on the Wall-E web site is now active, and it allows you to build your own robot and once it's done, to play little games with it!



The reason why it's cool is not only because it is interactive, but also because of the animation, sounds, etc...
At the beginning, you must choose your robot's body, and you have of course the choice between different kind of bodies...



Next is the "mobility" choice - what kind of "feet" or "wheels" for "your" robot...



And then you choose the different sounds for your robot...



Once all of this is done, your robot is complete...



And now you can begin to play to little games with it...in this one you must bump the barrels coming, out of the way...



The Build-a-bot feature include others "ready made" robots and you can choose the one you want to play games directly - without having to build your own robot...



With this one - a kind of vacuum cleaner robot - you must "suck" the green puddles and avoid the red ones...



This "Build-a-Bot" is a cool way to wait the release of the movie next month, and if you want to play, just click HERE

All photos: copyright Disney-Pixar

First pictures of Wall-E Thinkway toys



The First pictures of Wall-E Thinkway toys appears on the web, and they look pretty cool. Among them, above, these remote controlled Wall-E and Eve...

These "talking" Wall-E and Eve...



This "dance and shake" Wall-E...



And this "search and protect" Eve.



There are more toys, of course, and you can see all of them HERE

I remind you that you can see videos of the Ultimate Wall-E robot HERE and HERE

Photos: copyright Thinkway