Wreck-It Ralph! release is not as soon as you'd like....

Here is some news that came out recently about the release of Wreck-It Ralph. Disney is trying out a new way to release movies. They announced that Wreck-It Ralph will be released on February 12th for digital download and on March 5th for Blu-Ray and DVD.
I think this is pretty much useless. I can see the thought though, as I have already paid to see the film 3 times in theaters and I'm turning blue holding my breath for the release, but hey, I can wait for the Blu-Ray release. Not to mention, that releasing it as a digital download will just make it easier for piraters. And also, where are my lithographs for the pre-order? I was looking very much forward to some Wreck-It Ralph lithographs just to have my hopes crushed. I feel this is a very miss on Disney. I suppose that they decided to release Wreck-It Ralph this way so that they could try it out with something people actually want. I mean, they could of tried it on Frankenweenie but it wouldn't have been much of a test as only 8 people saw the movie (2 of them are myself and my wife). I just wish they would release Wreck-It Ralph on February 12th on Blu-Ray and that the lithographs were there, but I concede, I can wait for March (since it'll be a nice birthday gift!).

Oscar nomination

A little late but I just wanted to say congratulations to Disney on their Oscar nominations!

Lincoln snagged the most for nominations with 12 for Best Picture, Best Director (Steven Spielberg), Best Adapted Screenplay (Tony Kushner), Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis), Best Supporting Actor (Tommy Lee Jones), Best Supporting Actress (Sally Field), Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski), Costume Design (Joanna Johnston), Film Editing (Michael Kahn), Original Score (John Williams), Production Design (Rick Carter, Jim Erickson), and Sound Mixing (Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom, Ronald Judkins).

Also a return to form for Disney with 3 out of the 5 nominations for Best Animated picture with Brave (Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman), Frankenweenie (Tim Burton), and Wreck-It Ralph (Rich Moore). I hate to say it but though I enjoy Pixar movies, Brave is not that impressive. Now Frankenweenie is actually a well written and well directed feature for Tim Burton but I have to say, I want Wreck-It Ralph to take it. I loved that movie just that much (I saw it 3 times, and once was the free D23 screening!).

And the amazing short Paperman (John Kahrs) is nominated for Best Animated Short. I loved this short and I am very glad to see it nominated. I don't think I've ever had a short (and at that, with no talking) touch my heart like Paperman did. I'm just thankful that the waste of my time "La Luna" wasn't nominated.

Avengers even got an Oscar nomination for best Visual Effects (Janeck Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams, Dan Sudick). And even a nomination for the bust Mirror Mirror for Costume Design (Eiko Ishioka).

Tonight we'll find out who comes out with wins!

LOTR is coming to Universal

So today the rumor going around is that Universal Studios just got the Lord of the Rings for their parks. I know a lot of people (nerds like me mostly) are excited but I think a lot of people are blowing it out of proportion. Don't get me wrong, I love LOTR (yes I carried the One Ring around my neck in school) but I don't think this is as big of an announcement as people think.
I keep thinking back to the years between LOTR:ROTK and the Hobbit and I remember how no one cared about Tolkien's Middle Earth except for the fan base that was there before the films.
I think the excessive price tag I'm sure Universal paid (especially since we all know that Disney wanted these rights too) isn't worth it. It's just that I don't think it has that strong of an audience (like Avatar!). (Also why is Hobbit 3 movies? I'm sure that when Peter Jackson said he wanted to split it into 3 movies, New Line just saw dollar signs in their eyes and said, "Yeah and make it 3 hours long while you're at it!")
I also do not understand why people are saying "Disney needs to catch up!" that makes no sense, these are the same people who complain about Disney buying other companies' intellectual property instead of creating their own. You can't have it both ways, it's one or the other. I am glad Disney passed on the property because quite honestly, they have better things to do with their time and money (Cars Land baby!).
Sorry if I was a bit pessimistic on this post.

Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives: Part 1

Recently I headed to Simi Valley for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library but not just to experience the life and presidency of Ronald Reagan but for their newest exhibit, Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives. This exhibit features truly treasures from the archives and was amazing to see. I enjoyed the way Disney laid out the exhibit into three sections, the first was the life of Walt Disney, the second was treasures from the Disney Parks and Disney films, the third was Disney and the Presidents.

As a Disney nerd I was mostly interested in the first section. I loved seeing these hidden treasures of the man himself, Walt Disney. There were so many awesome things to check out, some telegrams from Walt and Roy, the screenplay for Steamboat Willie, the Automa bird that inspired Audio-Animatronics (AA), the script from the opening day of Disneyland, the Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White books, and of course, Walt Disney's formal office. There were some other great pieces from Walt's lifetime like the 20-foot model Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the Mary Poppins costume and even an autographed Mary Poppins book by the author P.L. Travers with an inscription for Walt Disney! There were so many things to choose from, I felt like a kid in a candy store.

There were so many amazing treasures but I think my favorite was a telegram from Walt to Roy. This, I believe, is one of the most important pieces of Disney history, this is the telegram Walt sent Roy when they had lost their hit character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. It is simple to cover up to Roy the terrible news walt had just been given, it reads: "Leaving tonite stopping over KC arrive home Sunday morning seven thirty don't worry everything ok will give details when arrive." Personally, I rarely trust everything is alright when someone says "don't worry" and "will give details" together. Another great piece was the script from Walt Disney's introduction of Disneyland. It is very interesting to see Walt Disney's handwritten notes and how he changed the lines of the script to seem more natural.

These are just some of the amazing things to see at the Walt Disney Archives exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. This is the first part of my experience at the Walt Disney Archives exhibit and will post the  other two parts soon. Hope you enjoy and make sure to head out and see the exhibit yourself before April 2013 when the exhibit closes!

A Couple visits Disneyland EVERYDAY of 2012!

I just wanted to share a pretty awesome story I read on the Disney Parks Blog site yesterday as I was prepping for my own New Year's celebration. I found this story incredible, yesterday a couple by the names of Jeff Reitz and Tonya Mickesh, visited Disneyland every single day of 2012!

How incredible it must of been to be them and visit the Disneyland Resort every day of 2012! Now I found this an even greater feat as 2012 was a leap year so that meant that they visited Disneyland 366 times last year. Now I may  have been at Disneyland for "One More Disney Day" (and stood in the freezing cold for 8 hours to receive a pair of the "One More Disney Day" Ear hats) and been there for the reopening of Disney California Adventure (200 minutes to get onto Radiator Springs Racers) but this is something that I have only dreamt of. Imagine all the amazing memories to have been made during this year. And to top off the end of the year, yesterday when they entered Disneyland for the 366th time in a row, they found Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, waiting for them and presenting them with Honorary Citizenship of Disneyland and a stay in the Disneyland Dream Suite! How amazing must that have been? Here's one jealous Disney fan but I have to envy their passion!