Saturday, June 30, 2012

Geek-End Update and WEDWay NOW!


Matt and Nate invited me to be their first guest on the reboot of WEDWay Now, the companion show to their impressive WEDWay Radio. Head on over to listen to us talk news and hear my answers to their Final Four questions.

Check it out and let us know what you think!

Disney Links From the Past Week:
Don't forget to check out my list of upcoming Disney books coming out over the rest of 2012 at my weekly ImagiNERDing column at Mice Chat:

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Jeff Kurtti, Disney Books and Communicore Weekly!


Jeff Kurtti's latest column in the Disney Insider is up! Learn more about some of Walt Disney's favorite foods.


My latest Mice Chat column is a look at all off the upcoming books for the rest of the year. And there are a lot! Check it out:

New Communicore Weekly featuring the Casey Junior Splash and Soak, One Day at Disney book review, Review of Brave and a Casey Junior Five Legged Goat.





Special thanks to Cory Disbrow from Mice Chat and the Disney Photography Blog for all of the amazing Casey Junior photos.



Monday, June 25, 2012

DVD Review: Phineas and Ferb the Perry Files


To say that we are huge Phineas and Ferb fans at the Imaginerding household is an understatement.

Phineas and Ferb is our go to Saturday morning, Sunday evening, anytime during the week that it comes on show. We listen to the soundtrack in the car and we quote the show all of the time. I try to explain to people that it is one of the smartest, funniest and most musically endearing shows on television.

So, when The Perry Files made it to our house, we were excited to watch the seven episodes.
While Phineas and Ferb do it all to make every day the best day ever, evil lurks just around the corner! But there is hope for the unsuspecting citizens of Danville. Now, for the very first time, crack open the top- secret archives of O.W.C.A. (Organization Without a Cool Acronym) to expose... THE PERRY FILES!
  • No More Bunny Business/Spa Day
  • Split Personality/Brain Drain
  • Candace Disconnected/Magic Carpet Ride
  • Ask a Foolish Question/Misperceived Monotreme
  • Mommy Can You Hear Me?/Road Trip
  • Perry The Actorpus/Bullseye!
  • Escape from Phineas Tower/The Remains of the Platypus
This is a great collection dedicated to Perry the Platypus but it is lacking on the extras side. There are two features and they are both less than a few minutes each.

The Bonus Features:
Nerves of Teal Do you have nerves of teal? Then OWCA (Organization Without a Cool Acronym) wants you! See if you have what it takes to become like Agent P in this spy recruiting video.
Platybus Tour Take a look inside the Platybus, the traveling Phineas and Ferb exhibit that toured North America.
There is also the Perry Activity Kit.

 The pack contains a small puzzle and a magnet with different Perry expressions that you can choose.

A simple search and find with clues. 

A strange postcard mailer and a sticker set!

If you are a fan of the Platypus, then you will enjoy this series. We keep up with older episodes on Netflix but having a disc with some great episodes is good for a trip or when the Internet is down. There is a digital copy included that you can transfer to your laptop or iPad.

Hey. Where's Perry?



Thursday, June 21, 2012

In the Hot Seat Interview Yehaa Bob Jackson from Port Orleans

We've added our latest Communicore Weekly In the Hot Seat Interview on the Mice Tube channel.


Jeff and I interview the hysterical and energetic Yehaa Bob Jackson. Yehaa Bob is very familiar to guests staying at Port Orleans. He performs at the River Roost Lounge every Wednesday through Saturday.

Let me tell you, Yehaa Bob had us both cracking up during most of the interview!

You can friend Bob on Facebook and visit his website: http://yehaabob.com/



Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Communicore Weekly: Brave, 20000 Leagues and Kevin Yee

The latest Communicore Weekly is ready!

This week, Jeff and I look at the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction at the Magic Kingdom.

I review Mouse Trap: Memoir of a Disneyland Cast Member by Kevin Yee.

We bring my eight year-old son to help us review Brave the Video Game for the Xbox 360.

Jeff rounds up the show with a condiment-inspired Five Legged Goat!

Make sure to like Communicore Weekly on Facebook.







Monday, June 18, 2012

Mice Chat Article on the Epcot Gallery


I've posted Part Three of my look back at the EPCOT Center 25th Anniversary Gallery and Museum over at Mice Chat.

The exhibit was intended to celebrate Epcot's 25 year history and existed, sadly, in an overlooked room in Innoventions.

I do hope that Disney will take heed and offer more opportunities for fans and enthusiasts to enjoy the history of the much loved parks.

If you want more Epcot history, check out my review of the seminal book on Epcot!


Thursday, June 14, 2012

Disney's Hollywood Studios on Communicore Weekly


New Communicore Weekly in honor of Studios Central's International Studios Awareness Week!





Featuring:
  •  IT'S TIME FOR DISNEY HISTORY! - Jeff and George journey into the 5th dimension to learn about the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror! 
  • GEORGE'S BOOK OF THE WEEK! - George looks The Imagineering Field Guide to Disney's Hollywood Studios.
  • WINDOW OF THE WEEK! - Think hidden window tributes are only on Main Street? Think again! Jeff finds a private investigator! 
  • FIVE LEGGED GOAT! - We take a pit stop at Peeveys for this week's Five Legged Goat! 
Go to www.micechat.com/store for tickets to our EPCOT 30th Anniversary Event!

Watch, rate, comment, and enjoy!
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!: http://www.facebook.com/communicoreweekly
TAKE US ON THE GO WITH ITUNES!: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/communicore-weekly/id496333443

Follow us on the Twitter:
Music by Steve Williard and Andrew Taylor from Amplify This Music

FIND MORE DISNEY THEME PARK FUN: http://micechat.com


Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Jeff Kurtti's Wonderful World of Walt

Hi! My name's Jeff.
Jeff Kurtti, Disney writer extraordinaire, has started a weekly column called the Wonderful World of Walt at Disney.com. His first column looks at Newsies and how it shares a lot of similarities with Walt Disney's early life.


This promises to be a spectacular column and I can't wait to see what else Kurtti has up his sleeve!

Jeff has been an Imagineer, consultant to the Walt Disney Family Museum, DVD content producer, author and all around great guy. Books by Jeff Kurtti:
He has written more books than the ones I have reviewed. Check out the Jeff Kurtti Author Page for more of his titles.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Imagineering Field Guide to Disney's Hollywood Studios by Alex Wright

The Imagineering Field Guides have been around since 2005 with the publication of the Magic Kingdom guide. It was quickly followed by Epcot, the Animal Kingdom and Disneyland editions. The Hollywood Studios edition was not released until 2010, after the park was renamed.


This is a book that I wish I had written.

In case the previous sentence didn't qualify it for you well enough: this is a book that I recommend for every Disney theme park fan.

A basic review would say that the Imagineering Field Guide to Disney's Hollywood Studios is like having an Imagineer walk with you through the park. It is, but it is more than that, as well. Alex has created a guidebook that looks at the park in such detail and with such insight that you will walk away with a much greater appreciation for the park.


The first section is a brief overview of what Imagineering does and what a majority of the jobs are. There is a great glossary that defines the terms used in the book and jargon used by WDI. One of the unique and fascinating sections is on the actual history and development of the Disney Studios in Los Angeles and Burbank, California. Alex offers a succinct yet thorough history that is a great introduction/brush-up.


The rest of the book looks at each land in fantastic detail. Alex shares concept artwork alongside photographs taken inside the parks. By far, the amount of concept art that is in this book is pretty staggering. You get a great look at how the park developed and how the original ideas evolved into what we see today. From a historical perspective, there is a fascinating addition: Alex adds the names of the artists that created the concept art. Typically Disney doesn't promote these artists until many years later.


With a book about a theme park that is dedicated to the Hollywood that never was and always will be, you expect a lot of references to Hollywood. The Imagineering Field Guide looks at the major buildings and their original inspirations in the Hollywood/Los Angeles area. Reading about the historical perspective and liberties that the Imagineers took adds the the magic and charm of the Studios.


Alex looks at a lot of the theming and details that you might miss on a regular visit to the park. Finishes, colors, plants and even dust all play a role in the presentation of the Studios. In each section, Alex adds Quick Takes that are the finer points about the attractions and shows: how many castmembers  and Audio-Animatronics are involved; what some of the signs mean; which movies the various props are from; and many more!


What you're not going to find in the Imagineering Filed Guide to Disney's Hollywood Studios is how to tour the parks. This book is about sharing how the Studios were created and what all of the amazing details are. This book is for the people who are yearning to know more about the park, whether you have only visited a few times or you are the webmaster of a Studios site.


Like the other books that have been released in the Imagineering Filed Guide series, I highly recommend this book. When I first read it, I was dumbfounded by how much I learned from the book. What really surprised me was the amount of concept art that was presented.

I would love for Disney Publishing to contract with Alex to produce a large format book that covered the same basic idea as the Imagineering Field Guides; this artwork is too spectacular to see in such a small scale.




Thursday, June 7, 2012

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Art of Brave, Dole Whip, Citrus Swirl, Main Street USA


My latest ImagiNERDing article is up at Mice Chat. I start a series looking back at the EPCOT Center 25th Anniversary Gallery
New Communicore Weekly!




This week on Communicore Weekly...



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Tuesday, June 5, 2012

La Luna by Enrico Casarosa, a Book Review


  • La Luna by Enrico Casarosa. 2012
As part of their internal training program, Pixar lets their upcoming writers and directors create an animated short that is shown in front of the feature. It is close to a proving ground, but the Pixar Brain Trust is still heavily involved.

The short that is being packaged with Brave is called La Luna and has been released as a picture book.


In La Luna, we meet a young boy who, for the first time, is going with his father and grandfather on their night job. The father and grandfather argue about the best way to do the job and...well, no spoilers, right?


The book was written by Enrico Casarosa, who was also the director of the short film. Enrico was a storyboard artist for UP, Ratatouille and Ice Age before being given the opportunity to direct this short film.


It is a very cute storybook and it looks like Pixar has created another charming and beautiful short. This is also a wonderful bedtime story.

I received a review copy of this title from Disney Publishing Worldwide.



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Friday, June 1, 2012

Ridley Pearson Interview on Communicore Weekly




We had the opportunity to interview Ridley Pearson, author of the Kingdom Keepers series and co-author of the Starcatchers books. You will not believe some of the places Ridley was able to visit in order to do research for the books!

This is only PART of the interview. To hear the entire thing, download the podcast on iTunes at:

Be sure to check out Ridley on the web at http://www.ridleypearson.com/

Watch, rate, comment, and enjoy!



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Music by Steve Williard and Andrew Taylor from Amplify This Music
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