While you’d think being crowned a literal Disney Princess would be all sparkly and magical, when Halle Bailey was cast in the live-action The Little Mermaid back in 2019, she was met with a lot of negativity from the public. It all ended up OK. Bailey’s performance was praised by critics, and her Ariel doll becoming a bestseller proved her version had been embraced. But what did Halle Bailey’s big sister Chloe think about the public backlash?

Chloe Bailey is a couple of years older than Halle, and the big sister energy is palpable when she was recently asked to comment on whether it was “tough” to see the racist reactions to her sibling's live-action role. Here's what she had to say:

The opposing commentary to Halle Bailey’s role in The Little Mermaid happened directly after her name was revealed as the lead of the Disney flick – before the actress had a chance to even play Ariel or give anyone anything of substance to judge. It felt like a clear attack on the decision to cast a Black actress rather than someone who looked exactly like the animated character.

Prior to The Little Mermaid casting, Chloe and Halle came up together as the duo Chloe x Halle. When Halle was cast as Ariel, it felt like a coming-of-age moment for the sisters as they went on their own journeys as singers and actors. That being said, it sounds like they’ve emotionally stuck together through it all, and Chloe really lived Halle’s The Little Mermaid experience with her.

In Chloe’s new interview with Variety, the singer and actress also spoke to the relationship she and Halle have after coming up in the public eye together. In her words:

Chloe and Halle Bailey have also had support from Beyoncé since the pop legend signed them to her record label back in 2015. Chloe said that one piece of advice Bey gave them was the “no scroll rule: don’t read the comments, don’t read what people are saying and don’t even let it fill your head up.” Surely, that must have come in handy for Halle, particularly following her The Little Mermaid casting.

Following Halle's going viral for her high-profile Disney role, both sisters have remained busy balancing their acting and singing careers. Halle was just in an empowering rom-com with Regé-Jean Page, You, Me & Tuscany, and Chloe is in one of this week’s latest straight-to-streaming 2026 movie releases, Strung, which is a horror movie now streaming for those with a Peacock subscription.

In the interview, Chloe also said that her and Halle’s time apart from their duo act has allowed them to strengthen “two halves of the heart” and they’ll “be even better” once they inevitably reunite as Chloe x Halle. It’s clear Chloe is the best big sister to Halle, and her comments underline how her support has played a role in her sister's career.

Walt Disney Animation Studios just dropped a first look at Hexed (check out the trailer in the video above), and it’s instantly one of the upcoming Disney movies I’m very excited for. We’ve definitely seen our share of stories about young witches coming into their power like this, but if I were a kid right now, Hexed would become my whole personality. I’m talking about owning a backpack, Halloween costume, notebook… the works. With that being said, there is something about the movie I’m just not buying.

The trailer instantly brands its main character Billie as an outcast who doesn’t fit in at school. As she walks through the halls of what looks to be a prep school of some sort, people call her a “freak” and make fun of her appearance as the voiceover has her saying this:

And, look, I know teenagers can suck sometimes, but I’m looking at her character design, and she looks too genuinely cool to have a storyline where no one likes her, in my opinion. I know I’m not so out of touch that punk rock isn’t still punk rock. Billie is the kind of character I would have not only idolized as a kid, but while she’s clearly different from her classmates, I think she’s a bit too polished to be the school freak.

On the other hand, I get why this is her characterization. The movie tells us right off the bat that Billie will discover she’s got magical powers and learn how to hone them in order to be “something more” than she ever thought she could be. I totally get why that would be the way into this story, but the whole time I watched this, I was thinking about how much I want her outfit and hair color, and I know I’m not alone.

Now, on the other hand, this is just a first look. We don’t fully know the context of Billie’s character setup, and why everyone thinks she’s such a “freak” might stem from a past of magical accidents at school or some other incident. Then again, I kind of wish Disney went for a character that’s not classically likable from an aesthetic standpoint if they wanted to explore this storyline. They could have leaned into that a bit more rather than making her look absolutely on trend.

And now with Hexed officially Disney’s fall release on the 2026 movie schedule, I can’t help but think about how Disney’s latest era has been less about movies about princesses and more focused on young women with magical powers, just in different contexts. In Frozen, Elsa has ice powers that she cannot control, and she learns to embrace them by accepting herself. Then there’s Moana, who is chosen by the ocean to complete an important quest and must rise to the occasion. In Encanto, Mirabel is the only member of her family not to have magical gifts, and the movie follows her as she discovers that her empathy is her greatest power. So, I'm looking forward to seeing how Hexed explores this.

Despite my nitpick, I think Hexed is going to be a ton of fun, and I’m hyped for another Walt Disney Animation original after their last release, Zootopia 2, and the next two Disney movies, Toy Story 5 and a live-action Moana. The movie is officially hitting theaters on November 25.

While I’d expect actors who worked with Walt Disney like Dick Van Dyke, Julie Andrews, Kurt Russell and Dean Jones to have great stories with the iconic businessman and film producer, I just learned that Kevin Costner had the chance to meet him, too. It’s a wild story that’s crazier because it happened before the Oscar winner had any Hollywood experience or credits to his name.

Back when Kevin Costner was 5 years old, it was the early days of big theme parks. The actor was born just a few months before the opening day of Disneyland, which was on July 17, 1955. According to the actor, he and his mother got to go to Disneyland around 1960 thanks to a man who knocked on their door and gave them tickets because he couldn’t go anymore with his wife. Here’s what happened once they were at the Happiest Place on Earth:

Kevin Costner is talking about riding the Disneyland Railroad, which was one of the opening day attractions that are still there. At the time, it was called the Grand Canyon Diorama and was much smaller than the attraction is now. As he recalled during an interview with JT Foxx, he loved the ride so much that he kept asking to go on it over and over. Along the way, he jetted past some yellow tape and ran right into someone. As he continued:

Can you even imagine? Nowadays, the closest you can get to meeting Walt Disney is through an animatronic attraction called Walt Disney: A Magical Life, but back in 1960 when Costner went, the man himself was strolling around the park, and it seemed quite normal to catch a glimpse of him. While we’d certainly believe Kevin Costner could have met Walt Disney in general because he’s such a famous actor now, this story is all the more awesome because it happened to him long before he made a name for himself.

Kevin Costner was telling the incredible story to point out how Disneyland wasn’t always a surefire success, despite Walt Disney being thought of as a visionary today. When he reflects on his brief literal run-in with Walt Disney, he realizes that it was at a time when Disney was "unbelievably doubted”. He thinks that Walt was perhaps using Costner’s genuine enthusiasm for the ride to underline, perhaps to the lawyers and accountants he was with, that Disneyland had a bright future. And obviously, he was on to something.

These days it feels like you can’t go anywhere without seeing Walt Disney’s name. There are always more upcoming Disney movies on the way, and more attractions coming to Walt Disney World and the other Disney Parks around the globe. I love that this legends meeting legends moment happened, because Costner's own Hollywood fame happened 20 years after the death of Walt Disney.

Star Wars Day may have already passed, but The Force is still strong with the fandom as they prepare for the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu on the 2026 movie calendar. Pedro Pascal reprises his role as Din Djarin, as he and Grogu take their adventures to the big screen. First reactions to the upcoming Star Wars movie are hitting social media, and while there is plenty of positive feedback, I’m actually shocked at some of the criticism it’s getting.

The movie — written and directed by Jon Favreau — is set after the fall of the Galactic Empire, where Djarin and his apprentice are tasked with rescuing Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White) in exchange for information on a target. CinemaBlend’s Corey Chichizola caught an early screening, writing on X that the new flick is a “blast.”

He was far from the only moviegoer to comment on that adorable little scene-stealer. Critic Courtney Howard echoed those thoughts as she expressed surprise at how much fun she had. Her post reads:

Simon Thompson is also “pleasantly and genuinely shocked” by how good the Star Wars movie is, writing:

Erik Davis says the franchise doesn’t worry too much about “canon homework” in this one, cutting loose for an enjoyable, pulpy flick made for a Saturday matinee. The critic says:

Other critics remained complimentary while still getting real about some of their hangups with the sci-fi film, including Perri Nemiroff, who says she wasn’t sold on Jeremy Allen White’s Rotta the Hutt:

Wendy Lee Szany also fell prey to the charms of Grogu, but not so much that she could overlook issues of pacing and runtime. In the critic’s words:

Then, there are the critics who were not at all hyped about The Mandalorian and Grogu, with Jonathan Sim calling it “one of the weakest Star Wars movies.” He continues:

Germain Lussier of Gizmodo agrees it just felt like a longer version of what we’ve gotten from the series (available to stream with a Disney+ subscription), and not in a good way. His post reads:

Bill Bria of SlashFilm goes so far as to say he despised the Pedro Pascal-led movie, calling it “terminally dull.” The critic’s first reaction reads:

It does seem like The Mandalorian and Grogu has some redeeming qualities, with Grogu being a consistent bright spot amongst early audiences. Only time will tell if this will be a franchise win or a failure for Disney at the box office. The Mandalorian and Grogu hits theaters on Friday, May 22.

Somehow it’s already been a decade since the original Moana movie came out, and Disney fans can now look forward to the story being retold as a live-action film on the 2026 movie schedule. This week, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and the new Moana actress, Catherine Laga'aia, presented the film at Las Vegas’s CinemaCon, and the Maui actor brought up a golden point about the demigod and “real masculinity”.

The original Moana is already a special movie to a lot of people, so what will the new movie bring to audiences who’ve likely already seen the original many times? One thing that Dwayne Johnson said during the Walt Disney Studios panel (via Variety) definitely sticks out. In his words:

There’s always a lot of upcoming The Rock movies on the way for the superstar, so naturally, I’ve been wondering why the actor/producer would feel so passionately about remaking a movie that is already considered one of Walt Disney Animation’s best. It sounds like he’s very interested in spreading the message of the film further, and underlining one point about masculinity Maui stands for.

When we meet Maui in Moana, he thinks he’s the greatest hero, but he ultimately steps aside and needs Moana to save the day rather than earning all the glory. As he mentioned at CinemaCon, “all men” should give women the chance to feel the way that Moana does in her tale, and perhaps that’s one big reason the movie bears repeating in live action. Maui is definitely a rare character in media, and he’s got a great point here. The Rock also said this:

Along with Moana getting The Rock to play Maui again, it's also helping show his vulnerability and break stereotypes about big, strong men having to be tough all the time. The new movie will give more of a microphone to the Polynesian people and their culture, as a wide audience will get to see Polynesian actors front a major studio film – and that definitely doesn’t happen every day! You can check out the trailer for Moana:

I like that Dwayne Johnson has talked about being “protective” over Moana before, whilst doing the remake. I also appreciate that the director said “the opportunity to have flesh and blood” tell Moana’s hero’s journey made the movie worth his time. You can see the live-action Moana in theaters on July 10.

These days a live-action remake is always on the upcoming Disney movies release calendar, and for a good reason – these movies have big hits with the House of Mouse. Following Moana being next in line, Walt Disney Studios is getting ready to take us to the kingdom of Corona with a live-action Tangled. As someone who considers Tangled to be one of Walt Disney Animation’s best movies of the 21st century, I’m half excited and half worried, especially regarding one thing that I don’t think they’ll adapt quite the same in the new medium. Let’s talk about it:

How Is The Live-Action Tangled Going To Handle Its Animal Sidekicks?

We first heard about it being in the works in 2024 when The Greatest Showman director signed on, but in the past month, the movie has really gotten off the ground with news that Flynn Rider and Rapunzel have been cast. Now that we have real-life faces to the characters, I’m definitely interested to see Milo Manheim recreate Flynn’s smoulder and Teagan Croft embody Rapunzel. But then I realized something: how are they going to adapt Maximus and Pascal?

I’ve seen Tangled countless times, and whenever I watch it, I think about how Flynn’s horse and Rapunzel’s chameleon are a secret weapon of the film. They may not talk, but they have so many fun comedic beats throughout the movie that really breaks up the more dramatic elements of the film and gives it that extra Disney charm. Maximus and Pascal have a whole unspoken dynamic that occurs throughout the animated film that I’m not sure will play as well in the remake without it cutting to comical closeups of a horse and a chameleon throughout.

If Things Go How I Expect Them To, The Live-Action Movie Just Won't Be The Same

I’ve seen all the Disney remakes over the years, and while we don’t know yet how they will be adapted, I have an educated guess. I think they will be in the film, but as realistic creatures without as big of personalities as the animated version.

Regarding Pascal, I imagine it will have to be in the vein of the live-action Cinderella, where he’s a CGI-animated (but quite lifelike) chameleon. Maximus will have to be a real horse – Manheim has already talked about taking horse-riding lessons. While I can imagine they’ll be able to replicate some of the bits between Flynn and his stead, it's going to hit different for sure.

Remember when Mulan completely took out Mushu, and everyone freaked out and basically disowned it? What’s hard is I understand the struggle here. As a fan, I want to see Maximus and Pascal because I love all of Tangled, and I see that from a filmmaker’s perspective they can’t and won’t redo every element of the animated version. That leaves both sides in an awkward place.

This issue brings me back to the problem I have again and again with Disney live-action remakes. Try as you might to recapture the magic of an animated classic, but they are different mediums, and you lose a bit of what makes these movies special when you try to adapt them this way. Anyways, we don’t know when the live-action Tangled is coming out yet, but we expect production to start sometime this year.

As somebody who not only enjoys visiting Disneyland, but also has studied it in depth, it’s rare for me to come across information I didn’t know or something I haven't seen about the iconic theme park. This is part of what makes Disneyland Handcrafted the new documentary film from Leslie Iwerks (available with a Disney+ subscription or free on YouTube) so special. It’s full of film footage of the actual construction of Disneyland, much of which has never been released before.

However, the construction footage isn’t the only thing to look at during Disneyland Handcrafted. There are also numerous scenes of Walt Disney himself hosting the television series Disneyland, which was created specifically to promote, and pay for, the theme park of the same name. While I had seen some of that before, I hadn’t seen it all, in part because it’s not available on Disney+.

Disney+ Needs To Pull More Classic Television Out Of The Vault

Most people’s first look at Disneyland came on television on the series hosted by Walt Disney. The show would air a variety of different programming, with episodes based on themes of the four main lands of Disneyland: Fantasyland, Frontierland, Adventureland and Tomorrowland. The series would continue after Disneyland opened in 1955 and eventually be replaced by a variety of anthology series. The Wonderful World of Disney, which still airs from time to time on ABC, is the spiritual, if not the direct successor to Disneyland.

There have been over 2,000 episodes of the various Disney anthology series, and while several of the TV movies that premiered as part of the show are currently on Disney+, as with so many streaming platforms, older material just isn't there. While some of Disney's early efforts on television can be found on Disney+, and a few episodes of Disneyland are available, most are not.

I have watched “The Pre-Opening Report From Disneyland,” which is one of the few Disneyland episodes available on the platform, because I am just that sort of nerd. I would watch all the other early episodes if I could. Unfortunately, they’re only available in clips as we got in Disneyland Handcrafted.

Disney+ Needs More Walt Disney

The lack of classic Disney television on Disney+ is strange because the show is the primary place to see Walt Disney himself during his time leading the company that bears his name. For a company that so clearly reveres the man, that has statues of him and even audio-animatronics of Walt in its theme parks, you’d think it'd want to spotlight Uncle Walt more.

This company has 100 years of content to choose from, yet there is far too little of it available on Disney+. I'm glad movies like Disneyland Handcrafted can show us things we've never seen before. Now I need Disney+ to show us things that haven't been seen in decades.

When Walt Disney first conceived of Disneyland, pretty much everybody thought he was crazy. The idea of an amusement venture that would be bigger, better, and cleaner than the traveling carnival or the local carousel was something nobody had ever tried before. A great deal has been said, written, and filmed about just how Disneyland came to be, but the new documentary film from Leslie Iwerks, Disneyland Handcrafted, available on Disney+, delves into the story in a way that’s literally never been seen before.

Disneyland Handcrafted isn’t about how Walt Disney came up with his idea or the way he had to go into debt up to his eyeballs to pay for it all. It’s focused on a specific period: the 10 months that transpired between Disneyland breaking ground in Anaheim, CA, and opening day in July 1955, and specifically on the physical construction of the park. The story is told almost exclusively through video that was shot while construction was happening but that has been buried in the Walt Disney Archives for 70 years – much of which hasn’t been seen since then, if ever.

Walt Disney once said, “Disneyland is the star, everything else is in the supporting role.” Disneyland Handcrafted takes that ethos to heart in its production. The seven-decade-old footage is all the new film ever shows us. There is no narrator, there are no visual cutaways to modern or even archival interviews.

The only audio we get is the occasional voiceover from the different people involved in Disneyland’s development. Walt himself is there, of course, though not as much as you might expect. You’re more likely to hear from Art Director Dick Irvine or Admiral Joe Fowler. The voices help focus whatever you’re seeing on screen, but they never take control of the narrative. That's the video’s job.

Disneyland Handcrafted lets Disneyland be the star.

The real focus of Disneyland Handcrafted is the work. It’s the discussion and the display of the artisans, the fabricators, the landscape architect, and the landscapers. What you see in the new documentary are all the steps that come between the idea and the idea being realized. Disneyland may have happened because of Walt Disney, but he didn’t build it with his bare hands. Here, you get to see a lot of the work being done. It’s not glamorous, but it’s no less important.

Disneyland Handcrafted is the fourth time director Leslie Iwerks has focused her attention on Disney. Her first film, The Hand Behind the Mouse, told the story of her own grandfather, Ub Iwerks, co-creator of Mickey Mouse. Since then, she’s given us The Pixar Story and, most recently, The Imagineering Story, the definitive look at the creative talents that make Disney parks happen.

In that way, Handcrafted works as almost a companion piece to her other Disney+ project, showing the “boots on the ground” that set the stage for the popular attractions. The attractions themselves aren’t even a major focus here, beyond the physical construction of tracks and the painting of ride vehicles.

Director Leslie Iwerks again shows that there is nobody better at Disney history.

Iwerks has Disney in her blood, and maybe that’s why she has shown herself so capable at telling the story of Disney. Each of her documentary projects is unique in its own way, but each also celebrates a new piece of this massive, century-old organization – with Disneyland Handcrafted being the latest to do so.

Disneyland is a place capable of transporting us to new places, or those that never existed, and making us feel like we’re part of a story. Disneyland Handcrafted certainly does that, taking us back to a point in the past and making us feel like we’re there, watching history be built right in front of us. Serious Disney fans will love to get this new perspective on such a well-known place. Everybody else will still appreciate watching the incredible undertaking that was Disneyland come together.

It’s been rumored for some time that Kathleen Kennedy was on the verge of leaving as the President of Lucasfilm, and this week that rumor became a reality when Kennedy's retirement was officially announced. Despite the occasional controversy, it’s hard to say she doesn’t leave her post a resounding success, with movies that have grossed over $5 billion at the global box office, plus launching the franchise’s first live-action television shows.

It’s a job so impressive that, apparently, the feeling was that no single person could take it over. Instead of a single new President, the decision was made to promote co-presidents, with Dave Filoni also continuing as the company’s Chief Creative Officer, and Lynwen Brennan handling the business side of things as Co-President. It’s a model that has worked well so far for DC Films, and it’s one I hope the Disney committee currently undertaking a search for a new CEO takes note of.

Lucasfilm Went With Two New Leaders, And So Should Disney

Bob Iger is set to step down as CEO of The Walt Disney Company (again) at the end of 2026. We’ve been promised his replacement will be named early this year, which is to say, literally any time now. While the studio has reportedly been looking both inside and outside of the company for a replacement, two names have risen to the top. Disney Experiences chief Josh D’Amaro and Disney Studios co-head Dana Walden.

By all reports, it is a two-person race between these two. Walden has the creative relationships in Hollywood, an area that Disney’s last attempt at a new CEO, Bob Chapek, was found lacking. D’Amaro runs the side of the business that, between theme parks and consumer products, basically prints money. Each candidate has strengths, and each has weaknesses.

So, here’s a (not entirely) radical idea: as the meme says, why not both? There’s nothing saying Disney can’t have co-CEOs. While it’s uncommon, some companies have done it. Barring that, elevating one of the pair to CEO and the other to another executive title, like President, would put the two working together, each playing to their strengths, putting Disney on the best path forward.

It would work, and the reason I know it would work at Disney is that it’s happened before.

Disney’s Most Successful Times Came When Two People Were In Charge

While Disney has never had two CEOs before, it has had two people at the top of the company, and that was the case at the very beginning. Before it was The Walt Disney Company, the company was founded as the Disney Bros. Studio, and there were two Disneys, Walt and his brother Roy.

Walt was the creative genius who spearheaded crazy ideas like the first cel animated feature film and even crazier ideas like Disneyland. Roy figured out how in the world to pay for them all. There’s no argument that the style worked. Disney became a force in the entertainment industry.

It happened again in the mid-1980s when Disney brought in its first, and thus far only, CEO from outside the company, Michael Eisner. At the same time, it hired Frank Wells as President. The duo was often compared to Walt and Roy, with Eisner the creative mind and Wells the more business-focused executive.

Wells tragically passed away in 1994 at age 62, and he was never adequately replaced. One has to wonder if some of the decisions that Disney made in the late ’90s and early 2000s that didn’t work out would have happened quite the same way if there had been somebody working alongside Eisner.

D'Amaro and Walden are both great talents, and the company needs to keep them both. It's not uncommon for anybody passed over in a CEO hunt to go looking for greener pastures. Disney needs to prevent that here. Promoting both of them is how to make sure you don't lose one of them.

Either Josh D’Amaro or Dana Walden would likely make for great CEOs, but neither one of them is going to be great at everything. Together, however, they may be able to truly do it all. If one studio inside Disney realizes that two heads are better than one, then surely the company founded by two brothers will realize that too, right?

The Tangled live-action movie took a huge climb up Rapunzel’s tower on Wednesday when it was announced that Walt Disney Studios has found its lead actors. Titans’ Raven actress Teagan Croft has been cast as the Disney Princess, while Zombies’ Milo Manheim will play Flynn Rider. Just a day after that news came out, the word is that the House of Mouse has already found its Mother Gothel, and I’m so happy it could go to a fancast favorite.

Kathryn Hahn of Agatha All Along and The Studio is reportedly in talks to play Tangled’s villain, per Deadline. If you’ve been following along on the internet about fan’s biggest wishes for the remake, Hahn’s name has been mentioned since the movie was announced.

I really hope Hahn and Disney do reach a deal and this becomes official, because Hahn has everything needed to make an awesome live-action Mother Gothel: the comedy chops, the pipes, and we know she can play a great villain packed with nuance. The movie is being helmed by The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey from a script by Do Revenge's Jennifer Kaytin Robinson.

Kathryn Hahn, of course, has played Agatha Harkness in the MCU for the past five years, most recently in the Disney+ series, Agatha All Along. The parallels between Agatha and Mother Gothel are definitely there, but it'd be great casting nonetheless.

Hahn's name is in the ring following Scarlett Johansson reportedly being circled for the role prior. Back in October, Johansson was apparently being considered for Mother Gothel, and she even reacted to it by sharing that the role would "excite" her because it would give her the chance to work with Michael Gracey. She ended up ultimately passing on the role due to taking a part in The Batman II and the new Exorcist movie.

Disney announced Tangled's leads after a reportedly particularly competitive audition process where The White Lotus's Sarah Catherine Hook, Zombies' Freya Skye and Invasion's Olivia-Mai Barrett were in the running for Rapunzel. CinemaBlend also talked to Mckenna Grace and Mason Thames about their names being popular among online fancasting back in October, but we're not sure if they ever tested.

This new Tangled movie follows a host of live-action Disney remakes over the years, with the last two being 2025's Snow White and Lilo & Stitch. While Snow White was a box office bomb and it was actually reported shortly that it's failure had cancelled Tangled's development, then Lilo & Stitch came along early in the summer. The movie made $1.038 billion at the worldwide box office, becoming the No. 4 highest-grossing movie of last year.

There's no release date yet for Tangled, but we expect more news about the production to keep coming in following the official casting of Rapunzel and Flynn having happened this week.

One of the biggest topics of discussion in the media in 2025 has been AI. Large Language models that collect massive amounts of data in order to do what they do, and large amounts of that data belong to copyright holders. Companies have filed lawsuits over the use of that content, and while no legal decisions have yet been made, Disney has gone in the other direction with industry leader OpenAI and apparently decided, if you can’t beat them, at least make sure they pay you.

Disney Has Made A Major Investment In OpenAI

This morning, The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI announced a landmark deal that sees more than 200 Disney characters added to Sora, OpenAI’s short-form video production product, and sees Disney take an equity stake in OpenAI that is worth an incredible $1 billion. That's a lot of money; though considering what OpenAI is supposedly worth, it's a realtively small stake.

Disney is now an OpenAI customer, which will use the platform to build new tools and allow Disney Cast members access to ChatGPT. Some of the videos created for Sora will also end up being listed on Disney+ for others to view, and OpenAI will be used to “power” new experiences for those with a Disney+ subscription.

It’s not open season on Disney content in OpenAI. Only a number of characters will be made available, and it’s specified in the announcement that likeness and voice rights are not part of this deal. This means that while you might be able to make a video of yourself driving Lightning McQueen, you seemingly won’t be able to make him sound like Owen Wilson.

In addition, “robust controls” will reportedly be in place to prevent the use of Disney characters to create illegal or harmful content and to respect the rights of content owners. It says all the right things, but I’m still not sold on this whole thing.

As A Disney Fan, I’m Worried

On the surface, an idea like this might not appear so bad. It’s giving fans access to popular characters to make fun videos. Walt Disney was a committed futurist who, I'm sure, would have been at least interested in what AI could do. What could be bad about all that? Well, a lot, honestly.

First off, I have some real questions about exactly how this will work. The statement claims that voice and likeness rights are not part of this deal, and to be sure, the majority of the characters listed for use are animated creations or people who wear masks or helmets. However, some characters specifically listed for use include Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Loki. So people will be able to use these characters, but in a way where they don’t actually look or sound like the characters we know? How is that going to work?

In the one case where an AI voice of a Disney character was used legally, James Earl Jones' Darth Vader appeared in Fortnite, the results were not great. Marvel star Scarlett Johansson is in a battle with OpenAI, specifically over the alleged use of her voice. This is a known issue already.

Beyond that, there’s the simple issue that while the day may come that I trust these AI systems to limit the use of copyrighted material to specifically prescribed uses, I don’t believe that day is currently here. I've seen the videos people have made of "Walt Disney" complaining about the prices at Magic Kingdom. using a model that looks less like the real man than the Walt audio-animatronic at Disneyland. This will get misused, and the result will be things Disney likely doesn’t want to see its characters doing.

Beyond the mechanics, however, there is he simple issue that up until now, when I see Mickey Mouse, I know it’s something special. When he appears in a cartoon or in a theme park, it's because the company named for the man who co-created Mickey Mouse himself decided he should be there.

These characters are just going to become less special if they can be used by anybody to do anything. Disney fought for decades to keep Mickey Mouse under copyright as long as possible to prevent this sort of thing from happening. When that finally changed, we got shitty horror movies made by people with little interest in putting in the effort to actually create something worthy. Now Disney is telling people they can have Mickey Mouse do even more, while putting in no effort at all.

In less than a week, Dick Van Dyke will reach an incredible milestone when the accomplished actor turns 100 years old. The man has certainly seen a lot in his century of life, most of that spent entertaining people. He’s also known some great people, like the iconic Walt Disney.

Dick Van Dyke’s Memories Of Walt Disney Are Heart-Warming

Walt Disney’s own birthday recently passed, his 124th, earlier this month. Yet despite the decades of age difference, Dick Van Dyke tells People that the two men instantly got along when they met during the production of Mary Poppins, due to their love of entertaining children. Van Dyke said…

It’s truly beautiful to hear Dick Van Dyke say such wonderful things about Walt Disney. At the same time, the particular way he phrases his comments has reminded me of something that I’d considered before, which is more than a little heartbreaking.

Dick Van Dyke Isn’t The Last Person Alive To Know Walt Disney, At Least Not Yet

Technically speaking, Dick Van Dyke isn’t the last person alive who knew Walt Disney. Off the top of my head, I instantly think of Bob Gurr, the Walt Disney Imagineer who designed Autopia and the Monorail for Disneyland. He is 94 years old, and he knew Walt personally as well. There are likely some others as well.

That said, the number of people who knew Walt Disney personally who are still with us is certainly a small club, and it’s getting smaller all the time. In just the last few years, we’ve lost the likes of songwriter Richard Sherman and former head of Disney Parks Dick Nunis.

The fact that we lost Walt Disney at 66, a comparatively young age, is already tragic enough. Who knows how he could have changed the world had he lived even just another decade? He may have created a city that changed the world, but the fact that we will soon be without people who knew him will make the man that much more distant. Nobody will be left who can tell stories like the one Dick Van Dyke is telling here.

This isn’t so much about knowing “what would Walt Do?” so much as it’s about losing what connection we have to a great man who had an incredible influence on the culture. Perhaps it is a good thing that Disneyland now has a Walt Disney animatronic, and one is coming to Walt Disney World as well. They were made when people who knew Walt were still with us, and they’ll help remind us who he was.

One of the best things about having a Disney+ subscription is being able to go back and watch over 100 years of entertainment produced by the company founded by Walt Disney and his brother Roy. Classic animated shorts starring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Mickey Mouse are there. Disney’s original animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, can be experienced by new generations at any time. You can also go back and watch some of Disney’s earliest forays into television.

71 years ago this past week, the first episode of the Disneyland TV series debuted on ABC. It was called “The Disneyland Story” and was, for most of America, their first exposure to the theme park idea Walt wanted to create. However, the Disneyland TV series didn’t just share a name with what would become an iconic theme park. It was a key step in making the park happen.

Walt Disney Embraced Television While Other Studios Shunned It

In the post-World War II era, the United States saw massive growth in domestic television use. TV sets were becoming widely embraced by the populace, which was good news for the industries buying commercial time on the networks, but it was less good news for the primary entertainment industry of the day: movies.

Most movie studios shunned television, believing it was a threat to films. Why would customers pay for a movie when they could watch TV for free? Instead of embracing television, studios invested in new wide-screen formats, Technicolor, and even the first foray into 3D films to offer things TV could not. Walt Disney, however, was one of the few studio heads who saw television as an opportunity.

ABC Helped Fund Disneyland In Exchange For The New Show

Specifically, he saw television as a marketing opportunity. It could be used not to supplant upcoming movies, but to promote them. In addition, a Disney television series would help Walt get the word out about his theme park project, which, to him, was more important at the time than any film. It could also provide the thing he really needed to make Disneyland a success: money.

Walt approached NBC and CBS with an offer: a weekly Disney television series. Considering how popular the Disney name was at the time, both networks were very interested. However, Walt wanted more than just money to make the show. He was looking for investment in Disneyland, as the construction was going to take every penny he had, and more than a few pennies he didn’t actually have.

Considering that the “theme park” was an untested idea and one that a lot of people simply didn’t understand, there wasn’t a lot of interest in investing in his wild idea. Both networks turned him down.

This led Walt to go to ABC. It was a young network compared to the other two, and a Disney show had the potential to turn its fortunes around. If that meant throwing extra money at the crazy theme park idea to close the deal, so be it. Forty years before Disney would buy ABC, the two made their first deal, and it was a big one.

Disneyland Was As Much A Commercial For The Park As It Was A TV Show

Disneyland’s first episode introduced guests to the general concept of the Anaheim-based theme park. People learned how it would be divided into lands, including Fantasyland, Frontierland, Adventureland, and Tomorrowland.

Disneyland, the show, would be divided up the same way. Each episode would be based in one of the lands, and have content that was associated with it. Fantasyland episodes would offer guests animated shorts or even edited versions of previously released animated Disney movies. Frontierland episodes would include a new series about Davy Crockett that would, among other things, provide one of the biggest musical hits in Disney history with the famous “Ballad of Davy Crockett.” Adventureland episodes would offer viewers Disney’s Oscar-winning True Life Adventure documentary series. Tomorrowland episodes included original documentaries on America’s endeavors in space exploration.

But in between all of it, the show was ultimately an advertisement for the park. Walt Disney acted as host for the series and would take time in between segments to give viewers little updates on how things were coming along. Sometimes, entire episodes would be dedicated to Disneyland's progress.

It’s hard to understate the importance of Disneyland, the TV show, to the success of Disneyland itself. It's unlikely that the park would have opened on time or at the scale that Walt wanted without the ABC investment.

It also got the word out and showed viewers so much of what the park had to offer. Millions of people wanted to visit Disneyland simply because of what they saw on TV. In 1955, when Disneyland opened, the TV special Dateline: Disneyland became one of the most-watched episodes of television ever at the time. Walt's crazy theme park idea that so many did not have faith in became a hit overnight.

The Disneyland TV Series Has Survived To This Day

Disneyland is actually one of the longest-running television series of all time, even though you may not have heard of it. In 1958, the show was renamed Walt Disney Presents. In 1961, the show would jump networks to NBC and become Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, and begin to be broadcast in color. The name would be used for a Disney California Adventure attraction decades later. Ironically, part of the reason for the network change is that Walt was unhappy that ABC was refusing to sell its stake in Disneyland back to him (though ultimately it would).

The show would continue to change names a few more times, becoming The Wonderful World of Disney in 1991. Disney's CEO at the time, Michael Eisner, took over as host, the only person to have that role other than Walt. This is the name the show still uses today when airing on ABC, though it’s no longer in regular broadcast rotation and generally appears as a television special.

While several of the original movies made for The Wonderful World of Disney can be found on Disney+, a depressingly small number of the original episodes can be found there. Still, some can including “The Pre-Opening Report From Disneyland,” which aired just prior to the Happiest Place on Earth opening to the public.

If you’ve got a Disney+ subscription, seek out the episodes of the show that are available. It’s an interesting historical snapshot, and maybe if enough people watch it will convince Disney to put more episodes of the historically important show on the service for all to enjoy.

The Zootopia 2 release date is less than two months away, and there’s a lot to be excited about with one of the big upcoming 2025 movies left on the release calendar. CinemaBlend had the chance to visit Walt Disney Animation in Burbank, California last month. We learned a lot about what to expect from the return of Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps, and the beloved characters we met during their first adventure. As someone who particularly fell for Flash the sloth, officially known as Flash Slothmore, I’ve got some exclusive answers on what to expect from him.

Zootopia 2 Filmmakers Confirmed Flash The Sloth Is One Of Many Returning Zootopia Characters

It’s hard to forget the scene in Zootopia when Nick and Judy visit the DMV. In a hilarious bit that was even involved in the marketing of the 2016 movie, the pair’s high-speed pursuit to figure out the details of a case moves to a hilarious halt when the DMV is run by sloths. Nick tells a joke to Flash and he slowly reacts to it before telling his coworker at a literal sloth pace, and it’s still just as funny nearly a decade later.

When I attended an early press day for Zootopia 2 on behalf of CinemaBlend, I had to highlight how the filmmakers, Byron Howard and Jared Bush, addressed Sloth. In their presentation, the co-directors confirmed Flash will be back for the sequel, along with a ton of characters from the original movie, like Dawn Bellweather, Leodore Lionheart, Gazelle, Mr. Big, Fru Fru and more. But as you may have noticed from the new Zootopia 2 trailer, Flash is not one of the characters Disney is teasing in the marketing.

Flash The Sloth Is In Zootopia 2. What I Know About His Return

Zootopia 2 picks up just a week after the events of the first movie at a time where Nick and Judy are still figuring out how to be an effective team. They find themselves engrossed in a new mystery that will answer why reptiles haven’t been living in Zootopia. When I asked the filmmakers, here’s how Howard teased Flash’s return:

This totally makes sense! Based on Howard’s response, it sounds like Flash will pop out in a place where Nick and Judy will need to be uncomfortable, and perhaps slow them down again. I’m actually quite happy to be caught off guard by his return after he already had a popular scene when the first movie came out. As Bush (who is also Walt Disney Animation’s CCO) added:

After going to Walt Disney Animation and seeing 20 minutes from the movie, I can definitely tease there’s a lot of sharp comedy and fun to be had regarding the world of Zootopia. I cannot wait to return to this world when the movie comes out on November 26, and what Flash Slothmore is up to, of course!

2025 is the 70th anniversary of the Disneyland Resort. In July of 1955, Walt Disney’s dream opened to the public, and the world of entertainment was changed forever. Several of the attractions that you’ll find at Disneyland today were there on opening day, so they are also celebrating their 70th anniversary. However, one location key to Disneyand’s success, the Disneyland Hotel, is only now celebrating its birthday, as of this October.

On October 5, 1955, the Disneyland Hotel opened for business. For decades, it was the only official hotel associated with Disneyland. Over the last 70 years, the resort has gone through a lot of changes, including being purchased by The Walt Disney Company, because originally, it wasn't even owned or run by the company.

Walt Disney Wanted A Hotel For Disneyland, But Couldn’t Afford It

Disneyland wasn’t just a first-of-its-kind theme park. Everything about it, from its design to the way it was promoted, had never been seen before. In an era when most movie studios were shunning television for cutting into their profits, Walt Disney embraced its potential as the perfect way to promote his new idea to the world. Disneyland, the ABC TV series (a handful of episodes of which are available with a Disney+ subscription), was equal parts entertaining television show and commercial for the upcoming park. With people all over the country looking forward to the opening, those people would need a place to stay when they came.

While the area surrounding Disneyland is full of dozens of hotels today, it was the middle of nowhere when the place was under construction. The interstate needed to get people there was still being built. Walt knew that his new park would need a hotel for guests. The problem was that Walt was basically out of money, because Disneyland would cost $17 million to build.

Walt tried to get major hotel companies, like Hilton and Sheraton, interested in building a hotel, but considering how remote Anaheim was at the time, they declined. Eventually, Walt went to his friend Jack Wrather, who, together with his business partner Maria Helen Alvarez, agreed to finance the construction of the Disneyland Hotel.

Interestingly, the deal between Warther-Alvarez and Disney gave the organization the rights to the name Disneyland Hotel, not simply adjacent to the theme park, but everywhere. We could have seen a chain of Disneyland Hotels all over the country, though that never came to pass.

A late start and various production delays resulted in the facility not opening until October 1955, nearly three months after the park. Even then, it only opened at a fraction of its planned capacity.

The Disneyland Hotel And The Monorail

Eventually, the hotel would open, and it would almost immediately begin to expand. Of course, so would the suburban sprawl that now covers the city of Anaheim. Many different hotel options would become available very quickly, but there was still only one Disneyland Hotel.

In addition to a variety of amenities, one thing that set the it apart from its competitors came in 1961, when the route of the Disneyland Monorail was altered to include a stop at the Disneyland Hotel. Now, guests at the hotel could ride the Monorail directly into Tomorrowland.

It’s this classic connection between the hotel and the park that likely meant that few people in the general public were aware that Disney didn’t own the Disneyland Hotel. Walt would reportedly make multiple overtures about buying it from Wrather, who would take full ownership of the hotel from his partner in 1958, but the Disneyland Hotel was incredibly profitable, so Wrather never had much interest in selling.

Michael Eisner Buys The Disneyland Hotel For Disney

Wrather died in 1984, less than two months after Michael Eisner became the CEO of The Walt Disney Company. Hotels on Disney properties would become a major part of Eisner’s theme park legacy. Nearly two dozen hotels opened at Walt Disney World during Eisner’s tenure, but the CEO also wanted the original: the Disneyland Hotel.

Eisner would reach out to Wrather’s widow, actress Bonita Granville, in an attempt to purchase the hotel. Unfortunately, she also refused to sell it. Four years later, Granville herself would pass away. This gave Eisner and Disney an opportunity. Rather than attempting to acquire the rights to the Disneyland Hotel alone, the decision was made to do things in a perhaps more expensive but much simpler manner. Disney purchased the entire Wrather Corporation.

This gave Disney ownership of much more than simply the hotel. They also purchased the Queen Mary and Spruce Goose as part of the deal, which would result in the consideration of building a Port Disney theme park in Long Beach. However, Disney now finally owned the Disneyland Hotel, which meant they could knock it down.

The Disneyland Resort Transforms The Disneyland Hotel

Disney’s lack of ownership of the Disneyland Hotel was a significant roadblock to the major expansion of Disneyland that Eisner wanted. In 1999, a significant portion of it was demolished as part of the larger resort project that saw the construction of Disney California Adventure as well as the Downtown Disney shopping and dining complex.

Three major hotel towers that were built in the 1960s and 70s became the core of the Disneyland Hotel, and a fourth tower, specifically for the Disney Vacation Club, was opened in 2023. None of the original buildings that were built in 1955 remain standing today.

Two more hotels would eventually become part of the Disneyland Resort. The Grand Californian Resort & Spa would be built attached to the Disney California Adventure park. Disney would also purchase the nearby Pan Pacific Hotel Anaheim in 1995. It would become the Disneyland Pacific Hotel, then the Paradise Pier Hotel, before it was transformed into the Pixar Place Hotel in 2024.

I’ve been lucky enough to stay in all three Disneyland hotels, and while each has its benefits and charms, there is something truly special about the original Disneyland Hotel. It’s been there since, almost, the beginning. It’s changed a lot in 70 years, and will change more in the years to come, but there’s still only one Disneyland Hotel.

When Walt Disney built Disneyland, it was in the middle of an orange grove, in a place where freeways hadn’t even been constructed yet. Of course, after Disneyland opened and became a massive hit, and not “Walt’s Folly” as had been suggested previously, businesses sprang up around the park quickly, and now Anaheim is as packed and busy as any part of Southern California. It means that one of the most frustrating parts of going to Disneyland becomes simply getting to Disneyland.

However, a new project that’s being considered in the city of Anaheim may change all that. It’s being reported by Anaheim Investigator that the city is currently considering a proposal that would build an aerial gondola system, something similar to Walt Disney World’s own Skyliner, that would connect the Anaheim Resort area, where the Disneyland Resort is located, with the Westside of Los Angeles.

More Transportation Options To Disneyland Are Needed

The gondola system is being considered now due to the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The hope is to use public transportation in order to move attendees throughout the various venues, but the current infrastructure is unlikely to be able to support that.

However, the Olympics need can be Disneyland’s gain. The Anaheim Resort Transit (ART) system currently sends buses throughout the Anaheim Resort area to pick up guests at local hotels and take them to Disneyland. But using an always-moving gondola is going to be much preferable to waiting for a bus. In my experience, the ART buses are almost as bad as Disney World’s own bus system, which never seems to be going where you want when you need it.

The gondola system currently proposed would have a stop near Disneyland Resort as well as the Anaheim Convention Center. There would also be stops near the Honda Center and Angels Stadium. If the Honda Center continues to be a venue used for D23: The Ultimate Fan Event, as it was for the first time last year, that would add a method of getting from one place to another for the thousands of people making the trip.

The more options for getting to Disneyland, the better. As much as I love staying at one of Disneyland Resort’s three amazing hotels, there’s no denying they are expensive. I usually stay off property, which means needing to either take an ART bus or walk, and I don’t love either option. The gondola system would also potentially open up the number of hotels available for a Disneyland stay, as you could stay further away if it were on the gondola route.

Walt Disney Would Love To See This

Of course, it has to be said that there would be no need to build an aerial gondola system if people had listened to Walt Disney a few decades ago and built a different elevated public transportation system. An elevated train that ran on a single track, a…Monorail, if you will.

The Disneyland Monorail, which originally transported guests between Disneyland Park and the Disneyland Hotel, was meant to be a proof of concept for a larger system that could potentially cover all of Southern California. Traffic was a particular frustration for Walt; he felt that cities should be built with people in mind, not cars. It was a key element in the design of his own planned community, EPCOT.

In the end, Walt wouldn’t get the buy-in he needed from city leaders to make it happen, and the Disneyland Monorail would remain an attraction rather than an actual mode of transportation. While this system isn’t the Monorail, I still have to believe that Walt Disney would love to see it. Anything that makes it easier for people to move around without cars is a benefit.

There are apparently multiple transportation options being considered, but it certainly appears that something new is on the horizon, and it’s likely that any major transportation system in Anaheim will include Disneyland. This, combined with Disneyland’s own major expansion plan, only makes the future brighter for the happiest place on earth.

A brand new attraction at Disneyland is always news, but usually, to be an attention grabber, it has to be some sort of massive, E-ticket experience, a new roller coaster, or an incredible dark ride. Disneyland is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, so you might expect the park to have planned something like that, but instead, the newest addition is something much smaller, and yet so important.

Walt Disney: A Magical Life, which opens to the public on July 17, the 70th anniversary of Disneyland’s opening day, will debut a short film about the life of Disneyland’s creator, but more importantly, it will debut an audio animatronic figure of Walt Disney himself.

Walt Disney Has Come Home To Disneyland

Disneyland is the only Disney Park where Walt Disney actually stood inside. As such, it’s fitting that a show like Walt Disney: A Magical Life debuts there, though after seeing the full show, I won’t be shocked if it makes its way to other parks around the world.

The full presentation begins with a short film, a new version of One Man’s Dream, which can be seen at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The new film is narrated by Disney CEO Bob Iger. His voice, along with Walt’s own words, takes us through the man’s life, from his birth in 1901 through the early development of Walt Disney World.

After that, however, the curtains open fully and the screen rises. We enter a version of Walt Disney’s office, and there is the man himself, leaning up against his desk. He speaks to us in his own words. The monologue comes from multiple interviews and TV appearances Walt made over his lifetime, but it’s been cleaned up so that it sounds like it’s all coming from the same man at the same time.

Walt Disney Is A Huge Leap Forward In Audio-Animatronics

In recent years, we have seen some incredible steps forward in audio-animatronics, but we haven’t seen anything like Walt Disney. With the exception of the most recent President of the United States, most of the new audio-animatronics we’ve seen in attractions are based on animated characters or other fictional creations. There’s a lot of leeway when it comes to transforming them into real things. For Walt Disney, there was little to no margin for error.

At one point, Walt, who begins the performance leaning against his desk, shifts to a standing position. At the end of the show, he leans back against the desk. These are movements we simply don’t see from this sort of figure.

But it’s the way he moves that is what’s truly impressive. Anybody who has seen footage of Walt Disney from the old Disneyland TV series will recognize the way he moves his hands and the glint in his eye. These things have been recreated so well that the whole thing feels right.

Walt Disney Imagineering worked with the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco to get as many details about Walt right. The rings on his fingers are replicas of the ones he really wore. The hands wearing those rings come from a bronze cast of Walt’s real hands. Even the suit fabric is the real thing.

It’s Not A Perfect Walt Replica, But That Might Be A Good Thing

As much as the Walt Disney animatronic gets right, is everything perfect? No, not really. At least from my perspective, the face mold, while close enough to clearly be Walt, still doesn’t quite look right. Still, I’m not entirely convinced this wasn’t by design.

My biggest concern walking into Walt Disney: A Magical Life was that the audio-animatronic would throw us into the depths of the uncanny valley. I was afraid that Walt might look so real that it might become disconcerting, the same way that “realistic" computer animation can be simultaneously impressive and mildly terrifying.

The fact that Walt Disney doesn’t look exactly like Walt might actually be a good thing. Perhaps if he looked more like the version we know, he would be too real, and the audio animatronic character would be more creepy than comforting.

I watched the A Magical Life presentation twice, and while the first time I really noticed the way the face doesn’t quite look right, the second time it bothered me significantly less. There was no way this show was going to be perfect, and if the face mold is the most significant sacrifice, the show is in good shape.

As somebody who is a big fan of Walt Disney. I had high expectations for the show, but a perfect life like Walt wasn't part of that. The animatronic simply needed to portray his essence, and in that, it was successful.

Walt Disney Is The Perfect Addition To Disneyland

Despite the fact that the audio-animatronic Walt Disney might not be perfect, Walt Disney: A Magical Life is still an incredible addition to Disneyland Park. As you enter Main Street U.S.A., guests will now find themselves as close to Walt Disney as they’ll ever be able to get. On one side of the square is the firehouse, where Walt Disney would sleep when he spent the night inside the park. On the other side is the Opera House, where Walt Disney: A Magical Life will be running for guests.

If the timing is right, I can’t imagine a better way to start a day at Disneyland than seeing Walt Disney himself. That said, the show will be using a virtual queue when it debuts.

Walt now shares a stage with Abraham Lincoln. Over 60 years ago, Walt led a project to create an audio animatronic of the 16th President because Walt himself was a great admirer of Lincoln, and he wanted future generations to know him, to understand that Lincoln was real, and to understand his importance.

Walt Disney may not have had a major impact on global politics, but he had an absolutely titanic impact on global culture. I would argue Walt Disney is as important a person as Abraham Lincoln. The hope is that Walt Disney: A Magical Life will do for modern audiences what the Disneyland show did for people decades ago, show us that Walt Disney was a real man.

Usually when people get especially excited about a new attraction at Walt Disney World or Disneyland, it’s some massive E-ticket experience, a huge roller coaster like Tron: Lightcycle Run or an incredible dark ride like Rise of the Resistance. However, the most interesting, exciting, and potentially terrifying new attraction from Disney in 2025 isn’t anything quite so big; it’s a simple animatronic of a man. And that man is Walt Disney himself.

Walt Disney: A Magical Life is set to debut at Disneyland in just over a week, on the 70th anniversary of Disneyland's opening day. The attraction has set off no small amount of controversy as many, including some of Walt Disney’s own family, aren’t so sure about making him an attraction in the park that bears his name. While I’m certainly waiting to see how the attraction turns out (nobody has seen it yet), I’m excited for the potential. And now I’m excited by the attraction poster, which looks beautiful, and I think I’ll need to buy it.

The video posted to Instagram shows Disney artist Jeremy Fulton go through his process for designing the attraction poster for Walt Disney: A Magical Life. Disneyland attraction posters, even for new rides and shows, still use classic design that makes them look like they could have been created decades ago; it gives them a timeless quality that makes them almost always look special.

I especially love the easter eggs that are shown off in the poster. The hidden Mickey and the classic Opera House house header are cool, but I especially love that the hands with the pointing fingers are actually designed based on Walt’s actual hands, which is the sort of attention to detail that nobody would ever notice.

I love attraction posters, and I’ve had to stop myself from spending all my money and wallpapering my office with them over the years. I want them all, and yet, because I so frequently can’t decide which is my favorite, I’ve never actually bought one. This one may change that.

I think Walt Disney: A Magical Life could turn out to be something truly special, not to mention technologically groundbreaking. If it really works, if the audio animatronic is life-like enough, without entering the uncanny valley, if Walt’s words are chosen well, without being cheesy, Walt could have the same impact today that Disney’s own Abraham Lincoln audio animatronic had decades ago.

Disneyland is currently celebrating its 70th anniversary. It's already an incredible event even without the addition of Walt Disney himself. How he will look, and what he will say is an intriguing question, one I can't way to be able to answer myself. One thing we do know is that the poster looks awesome.

There’s nothing quite like a Disneyland Resort birthday party. I once interviewed Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt on my birthday at Disneyland, and it’s hard to top that, but lots of people know Disneyland and anniversaries go together. Disneyland’s own birthday is always a big deal, and 2025, the 70th anniversary of the Disneyland Resort, is certainly no exception.

I’ve been looking forward to the 70th Anniversary of Disneyland Resort for quite some time. The event was set to see the return of many popular attractions from the last decade of entertainment, but there were also some new additions. Going into the preview Disneyland 70, I felt quite sure which part of the show I would love the most, but things didn’t go quite the way I thought they would.

Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary Is The Greatest Hits Of Modern Disneyland

Anniversaries are all about celebrating milestones and, in doing so, looking back at how far you’ve come. Disneyland is doing that in a big way, as most of the special entertainment on tap for the celebration consists of some of the most popular shows from previous years.

Disneyland debuted Wonderous Journeys for the Disney 100 celebration. Fans instantly embraced the fireworks spectacular. Last year’s Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration brought a daytime parade to Disney California Adventure for the first time in many years. It only had a brief run as part of last year’s Pixar Fest, but now it’s back and will run throughout the 70th celebration.

But there’s one returning show that I was especially looking forward to as part of the 70th anniversary celebration, that I expected to be the highlight of any night.

The Paint The Night Parade Is An All-Time Disneyland Classic

10 years ago, when Disneyland Resort celebrated its 60th anniversary, it debuted a new parade and completely blew me away. Paint The Night was one of the most incredible things I’d ever seen. The lights and foats, set to an arrangement of Owl City’s “When Can I See You Again” from Wreck-It Ralph, fit perfectly. It lit up the night and connected to me in a way that only the best theme park experiences have.

It’s been nearly a decade since we last saw the parade at Disneyland Resort. I had been advocating for the return of Paint the Night to the parks, and so I was thrilled when Disneyland announced that Paint the Night would be part of the 70th anniversary celebration.

And to be sure, its return was everything I hoped it would be. From the moment the lights at Disneyland dimmed and the first notes of that electronic music began to play, I was the man I was 10 years ago, standing in the same park seeing that same parade, and just being wowed by what I saw.

As a pure magical spectacle, it’s still pretty hard to top Paint the Night. However, while there may not be anything bigger at Disneyland’s 70th, there may be something even more beautiful.

Disneyland’s Tapestry Of Happiness Is Beautiful in Its Simplicity

I came to Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary Preview Event with all my focus on Paint the Night. It was what I was most excited to see. It’s what I was here for. It was everything I hoped for, but what came before it is what surprised me.

Tapestry of Happiness is a simple show projected onto the facade of It’s A Small World. It’s only a few minutes long, much shorter than any parade or fireworks show, but it packs the entire 70 year history of Disneyland in those few minutes, and so as a fan who not only loves everything Disneyland is, but everything it used to be, the show was everything I could have wanted.

Nearly every Disneyland attraction in history is featured. Not just the ones that currently exist, but even closed rides and shows get moments to shine. The Sherman Brothers' “It’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow," the theme song of the iconic Carousel of Progress, can be heard. The Peoplemover has been missing from Disneyland's Tomorrowland for decades, but it’s here.

The entire thing is done in an art style that harkens back to the incomparable Mary Blair. The veteran of both Walt Disney Animation Studios and Walt Disney Imagineering designed the look of It’s A Small World. Seeing essentially all of Disneyland through a similar artistic lens is a thing of true beauty. Yeah, I might have cried a little.

And of course, Walt’s voice can also be heard here. It wouldn’t be a proper celebration in the one park Walt actually stood inside without him. Of course, in a couple of months, Walt will take the stage himself in the form of an audio-animatronic show. It will be one of the biggest swings we’ve ever seen at Disney Parks.

The show isn’t pure nostalgia, however, it also includes “Celebrate Happy,” the official theme song of the Disneyland 70th Anniversary. The song is performed by the Jonas Brothers, and be forewarned, the song is an earworm of the highest order. It will get stuck in your head. I heard at least one person humming it in a bathroom.

Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary Is The Perfect Blend Of Old And New

Paint the Night was still incredible. Maybe it was more incredible because I was already somewhat emotional thanks to Tapestry of Happiness. The two shows happened with almost no break between them. Paint the Night felt like a finale to the Tapestry of Happiness, which was maybe exactly the point.

Alongside the new Tapestry of Happiness at Disneyland is the new World of Color: Happiness at Disney California Adventure. Along with the return of Paint the Night, we get the return of the fan favorite, Wonderous Journeys nighttime spectacular.

And that’s Disneyland, summarized. A combination of the new and the old. The pleasant nostalgia blended with the excitement that comes with experiencing something for the first time. If the point of an anniversary is to celebrate not only all that came before, but also where things are going, I can’t think of a better way for Disneyland to celebrate than this.

Disneyland may be the Happiest Place on Earth, but that doesn’t make the iconic theme park entirely free from controversy. The biggest new addition coming to Disneyland later this year is one that not everybody is happy about: Walt Disney is getting the audio-animatronic treatment.

From the time it was first announced at D23 last year, the decision to make Walt Disney an attraction in his own park via the use of audio animatronics has been a contentious one. Members of Walt’s own family are against. However, speaking with Todd Martens of the Los Angeles Times, Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald says now is the time for it. He lays out two reasons, one being that 2025 is a major anniversary for Disneyland. He said…

The Disneyland Opera House has been home to Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln since 1965, following its debut at the New York World's Fair. The full-scale audio animatronic of Abraham Lincoln was created under the supervision of Walt Disney himself. Now, the iconic building will see a new show, Walt Disney: A Magical Life, which will combine a video presentation on the life of Walt with the animatronic character.

Of course, the timing is only half the issue. The bigger question is whether Walt Disney should be presented as a theme park attraction at all. Fitzgerald thinks it’s important that Walt Disney be presented at Disneyland, the only Disney Park he ever saw, as a real person because he was a real person, and there are new generations of people who never saw the real man. Fitzgerald continued…

I came to a similar conclusion about the Walt Disney audio-animatronic after visiting the Walt Disney Family Museum earlier this year. With the name Disney now being synonymous with a massive entertainment company, it can be easy to forget that it was all started by a man, or rather two, named Disney. Walt Disney created an audio animatronic Abraham Lincoln as a way to help future generations connect with the 16th President. The same can be done for Walt Disney.

As of yet, nobody outside of Walt Disney Imagineering has seen the audio-animatronic. Walt Disney: A Magical Life is set to debut at Disneyland on July 17, the 70th anniversary of the opening day at Disneyland. There’s little argument it will be an interesting day, and hopefully, it will be a magical one.

When Disneyland was first built, Walt Disney said it would always be in a state of becoming; that the park would continue to change, evolve and grow over time. That has certainly been the case for Disneyland, as well as every Disney Park that has been created since. Numerous popular attractions have been rethemed, if not entirely replaced, over the last few decades, but now Walt Disney World is getting ready for arguably its most significant change since it opened. A massive redesign of one of Magic Kingdom’s original lands, Frontierland, is coming.

The decision to transform a major part of Frontierland, specifically the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island, and replace them with new attractions dedicated to Pixar’s Cars has been met with the most significant negative outcry since… the last time a major part of Magic Kingdom was replaced. While I certainly understand the fans who are upset, I’m also quite excited by the potential and what it means for the future.

Losing The Rivers Of America Is Sad, But It’s Not The End Of Magic Kingdom

This week, Walt Disney World received approval on permits filed with the South Florida Water Management District that will allow the resort to move forward on its already announced plans to drain the Rivers of America as part of the update that will include both new Cars attractions in what is now Frontierland, as well as a new Villains Land.

While this approval was inevitable, many fans have taken it as if it were the last nail in the coffin of Magic Kingdom. Many seemed to hope Disney would change their minds about the update, as if all the second-guessing hadn’t already been done before the project was officially announced.

To be sure, this change to Frontierland is massive in scope and scale. The land is going to be virtually unrecognizable when the work is done, nd that’s not entirely a good thing. I’ll miss the Rivers of America too. Not having the only significant body of water in Magic Kingdom anymore is going to mark a real change to the entire vibe of the park.

However, the idea that Magic Kingdom will be so irrevocably changed by the loss of Tom Sawyer Island that it will no longer be worth visiting, as some seem to feel, is some serious hyperbole. Frontierland will change, and maybe Frontierland will cease to exist, but that’s not the end of the world. It’s not the end of anything. It’s the start of something new, and that’s exciting.

Is Nothing Sacred? No, And That’s OK.

For as many ways as Magic Kingdom, and all Disney Parks, have changed since the day they opened, there’s a lot that’s been there from the beginning. Numerous Disney World attractions from opening day are still running more than 50 years later, but there isn’t a statute of limitations on these things. Everything has the potential to be replaced.

We all have those attractions that we can't imagine ever being gone, but this change should be enough to shift the thinking of everybody. I once spoke with Imagineering VP Jeanette Lomboy and asked her if there was anything at Disney Parks too classic to change. She admitted that while there were things she couldn't imagine replacing, she was open to the possibility that down the road it might be worth doing. She said...

Nostalgia has always been a major element of Disney Parks. Main Street U.S.A. and Frontierland have both been nostalgic for different eras in American history since they opened, and now the lands themselves are nostalgic for the guests that have visited them year after year. They are for me too. I have a hard time imagining a version of Magic Kingdom without the Frontierland I know. I have no idea if I’ll like it, and that makes me nervous, but it also has me excited.

The Future Is Exciting And Unknown, And Walt Disney Understood That

Walt Disney has achieved a nearly deified status among fans and even among employees of The Walt Disney Company. For decades after Walt passed away, the company tried to run itself with a “What Would Walt Do?” mentality. It met with mixed results, in part because what Walt Disney would probably do in most situations was something he had never done before.

Losing attractions that Walt Disney helped develop is a little sad. As a fan of Walt, I get that. But Walt Disney was also a committed futurist who was always looking at whatever the next great thing would be. Maybe Walt himself wouldn’t want to see the Rivers of America replaced, but I do believe that if he had an opportunity today, there would be parts of Walt Disney World he helped create that he wouldn’t mind tearing down to put up something new he thought was exciting.

It’s ok to be bummed out if a thing that you loved at Disneyland or Disney World is getting replaced. It’s ok if you think that the thing that replaced it is lesser than the thing that was there. I’m far from certain that I’ll like what we get when this massive transformation of Frontierland is done.

However, I choose to be excited. I choose to look forward to what is to come rather than what is lost. A radical transformation of Frontierland is the only way to make Frontierland radically new. The potential for just how great this could all be is incredible.

Frontierland will change. These new Cars attractions will be built, and then generations of first-time visitors will experience Magic Kingdom never really knowing what was once there, only enjoying what they have. The day will come when a lot of people will be nostalgic for rides that don’t even exist yet. Then the day will come when those rides get replaced by something new. It's a continuous cycle.

2025 marks the 70th anniversary of Disneyland, and the resort previously announced some joyful plans to mark the occasion, including returning fan-favorite parades and fireworks to coincide with the official celebration starting in May. But the party is only just getting started, and even more is being planned for Disneyland's actual birthday.

This morning, Disneyland Resort revealed a lot of new plans geared for the anniversary of Disneyland's opening day, July 17, 2025. They include a celebration of The Sherman Brothers, the most significant change to It’s a Small World in years, and the opening of a brand new attraction that we thought was going to open much earlier.

It’s A Small World’s Iconic Song Is Getting A New Verse At Disneyland

“It’s a Small World” is either a song you love or a song you love to hate, but either way it’s one of the best-known pieces of music in the world and one of the best songs at Disneyland. Several years ago, Richard Sherman, half of the songwriting duo of the Sherman Brothers who created numerous iconic Disney songs for movies and the parks, wrote a new final verse for It’s a Small World.

Following the passing of Richard Sherman some months back, the new verse was officially unveiled by Disney to the general public. And now Disneyland has confirmed that, starting on July 17, the final verse will be heard on the ride itself.

The lyrical addition will also be a key topic for a new film tribute to The Sherman Brothers that will also debut on July 17. Found inside Main Street Cinema, guests will be able to enjoy The Last Verse which debuted during a special on the anniversary of Mary Poppins last year.

As a huge Sherman Brothers fan, I’m excited to see the talented siglings honored in such a way. Seeing the film inside Main Street Cinema seems like the place where a tribute to the Shermans belongs. And riding It’s a Small World again with the complete song will feel like riding it for the first time.

It's possible that not everybody will like seeing the classic ride changed at all. This is the biggest new addition to the ride since Disney and Pixar characters were added, which itself is a decision that some people love, and others really don't.

But the biggest thing coming to Disneyland on July 17 was originally meant to debut a bit sooner.

Walt Disney: A Magical Life Will Now Open On Disneyland’s Birthday

In addition to these updates, the Disneyland Opera House lobby, the long-time home of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, will transform into a Walt Disney Museum displaying numerous artifacts and accolades from Walt’s life. They will include pieces from the Walt Disney Studio, Walt Disney Imagineering as well as the Walt Disney Family Museum.

Because of these new additions, the decision has been made to push back the debut of Walt Disney: A Magical Life, a new show (temporarily) replacing Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln with a somewhat controversial Walt Disney audio-animatronic. It will now open on July 17 alongside the new displays.

As much as I’m excited and and apprehensive about the Walt Disney audio-animatronic and want to see it soon, it certainly makes sense to hold off and open all of these new additions together, on the anniversary of the day that Walt Disney said, “To all who come to this happy place, welcome.”

2025 is a big year for Disneyland Resort. It’s the 70th anniversary of Disneyland Park, and while there isn’t a major E-ticket attraction opening this year, Disneyland's 70th anniversary is offering some incredible entertainment, as well as what might be one of the most groundbreaking creations in the history of Walt Disney Imagineering: an audio-animatronic of the man himself, Walt Disney.

Walt Disney: A Magical Life, a new attraction at Disneyland, is set to open at the park's Opera House on May 16, 2025, the first day of Disneyland Resort’s 70th anniversary. The show will, at least for now, replace Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, a show starring an audio-animatronic of the 16th President overseen by Walt himself. Not everybody is in love with this new idea, but I think it’s the right choice for a reason that I'm sure Walt himself would understand.

Disneyland Is Getting A Walt Disney Animatronic, And Not Everybody Is Happy About It

The announcement of Walt Disney: A Magical Life was made at D23 in August 2024. I was sitting two seats away from Roy P. Disney, the great-grandnephew of Walt, who was on hand when the show was revealed. The show will feature an audio-animatronic of Walt Disney speaking to an audience. For fans of Walt, this potentially sounds like an incredible experience.

However, not every member of the Disney family is quite so happy to celebrate the development. Joanna Miller, Walt’s own granddaughter, said the decision to create an animatronic of Walt showed a “lack of respect” for the man who made Disneyland.

She’s not the only one who feels that way. A lot of fans think that making Walt Disney an attraction inside his own theme park is a step too far. Some feel that it is disrespectful, and more than a little bit creepy, to create a robotic version of a real man who means so much to so many. Maybe making Walt an attraction in his own theme park is in bad taste.

This argument is at least understandable. However, after visiting The Walt Disney Family Museum (whose board, made up of many Disney family members, supports the attraction) earlier this month, I have come to the opposite conclusion, just as Walt himself once did.

Walt Created Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln As A Way To Connect Guests With The Real Man

When Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln debuted at the 1964-65 World’s Fair, it was a revelation. A full-size human audio-animatronic. Lincoln could stand up from a sitting position and speak. It was so real to the assembled audience that many reportedly believed it was simply an actor in costume. But it was a completely mechanical man, only voiced and programmed by real people.

Walt Disney had a particular love for Abraham Lincoln, and it was important to him that other people understand Lincoln in the way that he did. Over the holiday, I made my first (but not my last) trip to the The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, one of the best places to celebrate the life of Walt Disney, and when walking through the section about the New York World’s Fair, I noticed a quote from Walt which read…

When I read those words, I began to look very differently at the idea of a Walt Disney audio-animatronic. Walt saw his technology not as something that disrespected Lincoln, whom he adored, but as something that could bring greater respect and understanding to a man who deserved it.

Walt’s suggestion, that maybe people didn’t have the proper context for Lincoln and didn’t really understand him, or understand that he was even real, could also be said of Walt Disney himself. To many people, he’s just a name, a stylized signature used as a brand.

At the very beginning of the Walt Disney Family Museum, there’s a Peanuts cartoon from 1963, three years before Walt passed away, that sees Sally watching TV before asking Charlie Brown “Do you think there really is a person named Walt Disney?”

Most of what any of us have seen of the man comes from the old TV show he once hosted. If somebody said that Walt Disney was a character played by an actor on TV, it wouldn’t be hard for somebody without all the information to believe that.

Walt Disney Is An Important Historical Figure, Just Like Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln had been dead for nearly 100 years when his audio-animatronic version debuted at the World’s Fair. Walt Disney will have been dead for less than 70 years when Walt Disney: A Magical Life debuts at Disneyland in May. Still, most of the people who knew Walt Disney well are also gone. Two major names, former Disney Parks chairman Dick Nunis and songwriter Richard Sherman, have both passed away in just the last few months. Soon all the people who could teach us about Walt Disney will be gone, just as he is.

Walt Disney: A Magical Life has the potential, if done right, to preserve the legacy of Walt Disney in a way that few other methods possibly could. It would make it “real” in a way that only audio-animatronics can.

And if the technology is acceptable for Abraham Lincoln, surely it’s worthy of Walt Disney. Walt didn’t win a war, but he changed the world nonetheless. These are two great men; two of the greatest to ever exist in their particular fields. If immortalizing one in this way is ok, it has to be ok for the other.

And it’s not like Walt Disney Imagineering doesn’t understand the tightrope they’re walking. There’s another quote at the Walt Disney Family Museum, right next to the one from Walt mentioned earlier. It’s from Imagineer Harriet Burns, and it specifically mentions the complex issues that come with this sort of an attraction, because they were the same considerations that were made when Disney made Lincoln. Burns said…

Disneyland has to get it right, that goes without saying. But the Imagineers got it right with Lincoln, and so I have to believe doing it again with Walt is possible.

Disney has made a few statements about just what we’ll get and what we won’t when Walt Disney: A Magical Life debuts in May. Most importantly, the company has said that the voice of Walt will not use AI to create statements he never made. Whatever Walt says will come from the man’s actual statements throughout his life. This is vital.

Secondly, we’ve been told that the Walt animatronic will be a state-of-the-art creation, using technology we haven’t seen before. While this has the potential to drop animatronic Walt right in the middle of the uncanny valley, it’s the least that can be done to try and make the experience as real as possible.

It's been suggested that Walt Disney himself would never have wanted to be an attraction in his own park. His alleged statements to that effect are questionable at best, but I can certainly imagine he would have felt that way. Walt never saw himself on par with his idols like Lincoln, Henry Ford or Thomas Edison. His attempt to build Epcot was in part an attempt to do something to truly make the world a better place, as he believed they did.

I would argue Walt Disney had already done as much to change the world as his heroes. Like Lincoln, Walt is just as much a legend as a man. Perhaps this new attraction can use the legend, to help us all know the man just a little bit better.

I can’t promise that Walt Disney: A Magical Life will be perfect or even good. I do, however, believe that the show can be great and that it’s a perfectly acceptable way to honor Walt Disney.

It’s been 30 years since a generation of children were traumatized by watching the mighty king Mufasa falling to his death at the hands of his brother. Simba and the rest of us may have been robbed of the precious wisdom the king had to share, but with Mufasa: The Lion King’s release, the story of Mufasa and Taka will come to life on the 2024 movie calendar. The musical is one of the several upcoming family friendly films, and after catching early screenings, critics are hitting social media with their first reactions.

Mufasa: The Lion King is a prequel, since it tells the origin story of Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) and Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), the lion who will come to be known as Scar. It also serves as a sequel to the 2019 remake, with Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, John Kani, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reprising their roles. Beyoncé’s daughter Blue Ivy Carter makes her feature film debut as Simba and Nala’s daughter Kiara, and with Barry Jenkins directing and songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, anticipation is high for this one. According to Jazz Tangcay of Variety, it doesn’t disappoint, either, as the critic writes on X (Twitter):

It’s not surprising but definitely comforting to hear good things about Lin-Manuel Miranda’s soundtrack, especially following another Disney movie’s release. Moana 2 has been a huge hit at the box office, but many feel not having Miranda hurt the sequel.

Film critic Dempsey Pillot echoes that sentiment, saying that the sequel/prequel is visually stunning and will definitely keep audiences entertained. Pillot says:

Dana Abercrombie of the Koalition loves the way Mufasa: The Lion King adds more depth to the characters who we’ve been familiar with for decades. She was left without words but was still able to write:

Critic Joaquín Teodoro enjoys how the upcoming live-action Disney remake not only brings us a new story from the familiar universe, but it takes the opportunity to correct things from the 2019 offering. Teodoro says:

The news outlet Atom was over the moon (or maybe over Pride Rock?) after catching an early screening, lauding the cinematography and visual effects in a thread on X. Congratulations are given to the “magical wizards” who make up Mufasa: The Lion King’s crew. In their words:

The feedback doesn’t get much more enthusiastic than that, though there’s not much word about whether or not it will help us millennials get past our decades-old trauma. Thankfully we don’t have to wait too long to grab a Pride Rock popcorn bucket and catch a screening for ourselves. Mufasa: The Lion King hits the big screen on Friday, December 20.

As we look to 2025 movies, we’re finally starting to get to know the live-action Lilo & Stitch thanks to a recent teaser of Experiment 626 that had us geeking out. In the same week, the live-action Lilo actress has also gone viral for being part of the Moana 2 festivities. Considering CinemaBlend met the seven-year-old in Hawaii just prior, we have to agree about the first fan reactions.

The Live-Action Lilo & Stitch Actress Went Viral At The Moana 2 Premiere

Ahead of Lilo & Stitch being one of the latest upcoming live-action Disney remakes to be on the way, its star, Maia Kealoha, was in Oahu, Hawaii to celebrate the release of Moana 2 at its world premiere. When she spoke to Entertainment Weekly, she went viral for her cuteness. Check it:

How adorable is it that she is paying tribute to her Disney character with that gorgeous dress? Anyway, following the TikTok going live, it has earned over two million views and tons of comments sharing all the love for the young actress. Check out what some fans had to say:

• “I love her. She’s the perfect Lilo! Aloha Maia!” -YellowHouse
• "She is a perfect lilo omg" -Lindsey Mae
• "she really sounds like her 🥺" -hotgirlsage
• "She’s already embodying Lilo🥰 " -Jessi.
• "I gotta hand it to you Disney.. I was worried because lilo is my favorite Disney character. You guys nailed it. She’s perfect 🥹" -Kirsten

Maia Kealoha is clearly winning over Disney fans of the 2002 movie now that the internet has made its acquaintance with her. The original movie is one of the best Walt Disney Animation Studios features ever, and with every rewatch of Lilo & Stitch, we love the movie more.

CinemaBlend Ran Into Maia Kealoha In Hawaii, And I Agree With These First Impressions

Seeing a viral video is one thing, but when CinemaBlend was in Oahu for the Moana 2 press junket, the studio set us up with a sweet meet and greet with the young actress over Dole Whips. So, I spent about 30 minutes with the live-action Lilo actress, and I can concur over the adorableness. I could feel the star power oozing out of Maia Kealoha as she conversed with myself and the other attendees at the meet and greet.

While I somewhat imagined she might be older than the actual Lilo, when I met her, it really did feel like I was meeting the live-action version of the character. Kealoha is a native Hawaiian from the Big Island and clearly enthusiastic and wide-eyed (yet very poised) about being the latest Disney movie lead.

I’ve shared my concerns about the new Lilo & Stitch before, but now I’m more excited to see Maia Kealoha embody Lilo. The movie hits theaters on May 23, 2025.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but the time between Halloween and Thanksgiving creates a weird limbo for me. While countless people around me embrace the emphasis on pumpkin, or go overboard on their horror decorations for the celebration of all things ghoulish, my mind immediately wanders to Christmas. That’s my jam. I’d decorate the house for Christmas on September 1, then leave the decorations up until March, if it didn’t make my kids look at me funny. Certain movies and TV shows help to boost that holiday spirit inside of me, so I tee them up whenever the chilly season starts to roll around. And top the top of that list, I’m about to add Taika Waititi’s brand new short film The Boy and the Octopus, a gem of a reel with the perfect musical accompaniment.

The Walt Disney Company debut the short The Boy and the Octopus on Tuesday, Nov. 12. I’ll share it below. It features no dialogue as it catches up with a young man vacationing on a seaside holiday who encounters a curious mollusk, who attaches itself to the boy’s head. As the boy returns home, his passion for all things Disney – from Buzz Lightyear to Mickey Mouse – feeds the wonder of the accompanying octopus. And then, once Christmas arrives, the two cook up a whimsical idea that involves Santa, and the beginning of a global adventure.

Here, see for yourself. This is Walt Disney’s charming, beautiful new The Boy and the Octopus, directed by Taika Waititi:

Taika Waititi has a long history with the Walt Disney Studios. The New Zealand filmmaker helmed hit entries in Marvel Studios’ Thor franchise, breathing new life into the series with Thor: Ragnarok, still considered by fans to be one of the best Marvel movies in the MCU. Waititi has played a role in the Star Wars universe over the years as well, even flirting with the idea of helming a Star Wars movie some day. And he broke into the realm of family friendly sports films when he delivered the winning Next Goal Wins with Michael Fassbender… even though he admits he knows a lot more about rugby than he does about soccer.

The bottom line is that Taika Waititi has heart, and he injects it into his projects, as is evidenced by The Boy and the Octopus. Opening up about the collaboration, Waititi said:

The technology used to create the octopus is something to behold. Tim Pennoyer, Director of Brand Marketing at Disney, spoke about the VFX effort that went into animating the octopus, saying:

It’s well worth the time. This short reminds me very much of another sequence that puts me in the holiday mood every single year, and that’s Jack Skellington visiting Christmas Town in the magnificent The Nightmare Before Christmas. Now, when I sit down to watch that scene each year, I’ll add The Boy and the Octopus right behind it. Bring on the Christmas cheer! I’m officially in the mood.

For many of us, the sound of Disney songs brings in an instant air of nostalgia for our childhoods. And when you look back at the best Disney animated movies (along with some live-action and Pixar) from the House of Mouse’s one-hundred-year history, there are a ton of genuinely hilarious song lyrics. Check out which funny bars from Disney movies we chuckle to whilst singing along.

“Try the grey stuff, it's delicious. Don't believe me? Ask the dishes.“

One of the most charismatic Disney characters has to be Beauty and the Beast’s Lumiere, and he definitely shines the brightest (pun intended) during his solo song “Be Our Guest.” Lyricist Howard Ashman was clearly having a blast imagining what a talking candlestick would say. The lyric that gets us every time is when he asks Belle to try the “grey stuff” before pointing to the dishes as references. It’s so clever and fun.

"I'm in the mood to help you, dude."

Aladdin is one of Robin Williams' best movies, especially for what the actor brought to the character of Genie. In his show-stopping song, “Friend Like Me,” it’s a blast to see Williams’ ancient character blend together elements from Middle Eastern culture of the time with more modern phrases. A funny instance of that is when he literally calls Aladdin “dude.”

"Go ahead, get trampled by a rhino..."

In Disney’s Rapunzel adaptation, her captor is super evil, but one cannot help but love how hilarious Mother Gothel is, either. In her song “Mother Knows Best,” where she reiterates to Rapunzel why she should not leave her tower, it’s rather comical for the audience to hear the random ways she incites fear into the lost princess – especially with this rhino line.

"And, it hurt that my friends never stood downwind!"

Disney songs love wordplay, and “Hakuna Matata” has a hilarious one from Pumbaa. During the song, Pumbaa’s backstory is basically that he is super gassy and felt super embarrassed about it. However, with the phrase of the song, he’s able to embrace himself, smells and all. With that, this line uses “downwind” to have two meanings.

"Don’t know if I’m elated or gassy, but I’m somewhere in that zone.”

When it comes to all the Disney Princess movies, Frozen is definitely high on the list, and much of that has to do with how grounded and real Anna and Elsa feel. While other princesses are so dainty and graceful, Anna sings basically everything that comes into her brain, and in this line in “First Time In Forever,” she’s able to convey her stress about the Coronation in a relatable way.

"There's children throwing snowballs, instead of throwing heads. They're busy building toys, and absolutely no one's dead.”

In The Nightmare Before Christmas, Tim Burton’s concept allows Jack Skellington to experience Christmas for the first time after living his life as the King of Halloween Town. While the lyrics are absolutely true to Jack’s experience when he is singing them in “What’s This?” it is very funny to hear a character announce that no one’s dead or being thrown – and it’s a revelation to him.

"So, you wanna be a hero, kid? Well, whoop-de-do."

Danny DeVito is so great as an old satyr named Philoctetes in Hercules, that it’s no wonder Disney fans really want to see him in the live-action Disney remake! One rather comical moment of his comes from his song “One Last Hope” when he injects some sarcasm into the opening line. It’s a solid way for Phil to comment about his past experiences training heroes, and it's fun to recite with him.

"Cleaning crud up in the kitchen as we sing along!"

Enchanted was an excellent addition to Disney movies because of how candidly it satirized the studio’s clichés over the years. This is especially put on display when Giselle sings “Happy Working Song” by going into detail about all the tidying up she is doing in her new live-action setting. It’s not quite as magical as in her animated land, that’s for sure!

"Don't underestimate the importance of body language, ha!"

During The Little Mermaid’s “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” the deliciously evil villain of Ursula successfully convinces young and naive Ariel to give the sea witch her voice in exchange for a spell that will give her legs. One funny line, especially for the delivery, is when Ursula suggests she uses “body language” while dancing rather playfully.

"I'd rather be called deadly for my killer show-tune medley. Thank you!"

After Rapunzel leaves her tower for the first time in Tangled, it’s fun to see her end up at a pub called “The Snuggly Duckling” full of ruffians. Her presence inspires the criminals to break into song for “I Have A Dream” to share their innermost desires. One great line is when one shady character shares that he’s secretly a pianist who wishes he was recognized for his talents. It’s sweet, too.

“We finish each other's…" "Sandwiches.”

During the first act of Frozen, Anna falls quickly for Prince Hans and they sing a duet called “Love Is An Open Door.” In one moment of the song, Hans says it’s crazy that they “finish each other’s” before Anna interrupts with “sandwiches.” Usually, that line would be “sentences,” but Anna’s quirky way changes things – made even better by him following up that with “that’s what I was going to say!"

“Winter's a good time to stay in and cuddle, but put me in summer and I'll be a... happy snowman”

Frozen was very clever to invent a snowman character who dreams of the summertime and actually devotes an entire song to his dreams around being in the season. It’s kind of a fun dark song because Olaf would technically melt if he was around in those weather conditions. This is played to directly when he says a line that rhymes with “puddle” and looks at one before going into a completely different direction lyrically.

"It just occurred to me that I'm illiterate and I've never actually had to spell it out loud before…”

While the live-action Beauty and the Beast is rather similar to the original animated version overall, Josh Gad’s LeFou brought some additional comedy to the song “Gaston.” He points out he’s illiterate while attempting to spell out Gaston’s name during the tune and it deserves the extra chuckle not found in the '90s original.

"These guys don't appreciate I'm broke."

In Aladdin, “One Jump Ahead” helps introduce Aladdin as a young man on the streets of Agrabah who steals in order to survive. The action-packed song is full of visual gags, but one line delivery that’s funny and relatable to some of us is how he casually says the law enforcement after him just doesn’t appreciate that he’s “broke.” What a mindset!

"Oh I wouldn't climb this tree, if a Pooh flew like a bee. But I wouldn't be a bear then, so I guess I wouldn't care then."

Winnie The Pooh is such a funny guy as is, so it’s no surprise he has his own song to match that energy. In the Sherman Brothers song “Rumbly In My Tummy,” Pooh laments on being all sorts of hungry which he hopes to grab from a honey tree. In a sweet line, Pooh thinks about if he was a bee he could fly up the tree he’s climbing, but then he would no longer be a bear, wouldn’t he?

“Hey! What has two thumbs and pulled up the sky when you were waddling yay high? This guy!”

Maui is a charismatic demigod who tells his story to Moana in “You’re Welcome.” One particularly funny line that Lin-Manuel Miranda cooked up for the lyrics was this one above that has Dwayne Johnson basically rapping in the best way.

"You say put them on your head. Ay, mi amor! Ay, mi amor!”

In Coco, Miguel sings the very catchy tune “Un Poco Loco” while trying to win a contest to go to Ernesto de la Cruz’s concert. Unlike many Disney songs, this one translates to “a little crazy” and is rather random to the narrative itself. The song speaks to how love can make one crazy, by basically saying one’s love tells him the sky is red and he should put his shoes on his head.

"You telling this story, or am I?"

Encanto’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” became the biggest hit of the 2021 movie, even though Lin-Manuel Miranda called the big hit the “least likely candidate for breakout success possible.” The whole song is a fun time, but especially when Mirábel’s uncle and aunt are trying to tell her Bruno’s backstory and fight over who is telling the story!

"'Cause when you're older, absolutely everything makes sense!"

After Olaf went viral for being the sweetest talking snowman in Arendelle, he gets another solo in Frozen 2. In the song “When I Am Older,” Olaf talks about his excitement for understanding more things when he grows up more and experiences life further. However, with lines such as this one, adults will especially chuckle because being older doesn’t necessarily amount to things in the world finally making any “sense.”

“What do they got, a lot of sand? We got a hot crustacean band.”

Sebastian the Crab is such a lively character in The Little Mermaid, even if it takes him some time to come around to Ariel’s dreams of being human. This is most apparent in his song “Under The Sea” when Sebastian brings together tons of talented sea creatures to show her that there’s a lot to love as one of them. Sure, it doesn’t work on Ariel, but they make a good case for it.

“Honey, you mean Hunk-ules!”

The Muses in Hercules help tell the story of the Greek hero with a lot of soul and sass. In “The Gospel Truth,” the muses kind of break the fourth wall to showcase how they find the hero attractive by calling him “Hunk-ules” rather than “Hercules,” and it’s an unforgettable part of the song.

"There's only she who is beautiful as me. So, I'm making plans to woo and marry Belle."

At the beginning of Beauty and the Beast, the setting and its characters are established with the ensemble song “Belle.” During the song, Gaston is introduced in a straightforward way by sharing his goals with these lines. There’s also something quite hilarious about Gaston referring to himself as “beautiful.”

“You’re not a voice, you’re just a ringing in my ear. And, if I heard you, which I don’t.”

At the beginning of Frozen 2, Elsa starts to hear a voice calling to her. While she’s singing about it in “Into The Unknown,” the songwriters found a witty way to communicate how she’s denying the voice calling to her with this line, which is also just well executed lyrically.

"It's genetics! Yeah, I got these genes from outer space. Peep the name, I'm magnificent!"

When Chris Pine was cast as Disney’s latest villain in Wish, he was “geeking out” about the process of getting to sing songs in an animated movie from the House of Mouse. In his big villain song, “This Is The Thanks I Get?!” Pine’s character of King Magnifico shows off his charm and sense of humor by commenting on his good looks.

I’m just a punky little eyeball, and a funky optic nerve.”

Not every Pixar movie has original songs, but Monsters Inc. does in the form of a duet between John Goodman’s Sully and Billy Crystal’s Mike Waskowski. The song “If I Didn’t Have You” is funny from beginning to end as the friends quip with each other about their friendship, but this line from Mike is especially a great line.

”I love to laugh, it’s getting worse every year.”

Laughing isn’t a “condition” typically, but in the case of 1964’s Mary Poppins, it is for Ed Wynn’s Uncle Albert, who starts floating in the air when he starts laughing uncontrollably. In the song “I Love To Laugh,” it’s simply comical to see this concept come to life as Albert sings (through his laughter) how it’s getting “worse every year.”

“This child is getting wildly out of wing.”

In The Lion King’s “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King,” Simba shares his excitement about being the ruler of Pride Rock someday. However, his majordomo, Zazu, is not impressed with the song. In a great pun moment from the ‘90s hit, he says Simba is getting wildly “out of wing” rather than “out of hand” – because he’s a bird.

”I’m the king of the swingers. Oh, the jungle VIP.”

In 1967’s The Jungle Book, “I Wan'na Be Like You” an orangutan named King Louie attempts to entice Mowgli to teach him about the ways of being human with him. The character voiced by jazz and swing singer Louis Prima makes a great joke about playing a monkey and the genre of the song by calling himself the “king of the swingers.”

"His assets frozen, the venue chosen is the ends of the earth, whoopee! So long, ex-Prince Ali!"

Aladdin’s Jafar is a rather comical villain, even though he’s terrifying as well. In the reprise for “Prince Ali,” which comes at a time when his evil plans are coming together, he uses his cleverness to roast Aladdin as he grabs the Genie lamp for himself and asks to become a sorcerer himself.

“Now when you pick a pawpaw, or a prickly pear…”

This is one of those lyrics that is just funny to say and leaves the tongue tingly. In The Bare Necessities, Baloo the Bear teaches Mowgli his motto for life, which includes how he picks his fruit in a long line full of alliteration.

"Are ya achin' (yup, yup, yup), for some bacon? (Yup, yup, yup.)"

Near the end of The Lion King, Timon and Pumbaa assist Simba in foiling Scar by the art of distraction. They do so by crafting up a hilarious Luau song where they use Pumbaa as bait. It will never not be a funny sequence in The Lion King.

"Who can make up these endless refrains like Gaston?"

Beauty and the Beast’s “Gaston” sequence is loads of fun as LeFou sings about his muscled-up mate in a pub full of people who worship him. One funny bit is when LeFou kind of comments on how they are singing a lot about Gaston by saying he makes up “endless refrains."

At D23, a lot of brand new attractions were announced for Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World. Parks like Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios are set to get entirely new lands dedicated to popular franchises, but somewhat surprisingly, the park that started it all -- Disneyland -- didn’t have a lot announced for it. However, one new attraction is coming to the park next year. I find it to be the most exciting announcement, as well as potentially the most terrifying new addition, because it means Walt Disney is coming back to Disneyland.

New animatronic showWalt Disney: A Magical Life is set to debut in 2025 at the Disneyland Opera House, the building that currently houses The Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln show that has been performing there since the 1960s. Lincoln isn’t being replaced, but he’ll need to share time with Walt himself, and this idea could be something truly special, or an absolute train wreck.

A Walt Disney Animatronic Is A Huge Swing For Disney Experiences

Bringing Walt Disney into an attraction inside the park he built is huge. For many Walt Disney is more myth than man, but the man has only been gone for about 60 years. A lot of people are still alive who very clearly remember watching Walt Disney speak to them every week on television.

The decision to make a Walt Disney audio-animatronic is something the company has reportedly wanted to do for some time. However, technology and some corners of the Disney family stood in the way. While some of Walt’s relatives are in favor of this new attraction, not everybody is, with Walt’s granddaughter reportedly very against it.

The other thing that has changed in a big way over the years is technology. We have seen the newest audio-animatronics from Walt Disney Imagineering bring animated characters to life in incredible ways, but the bar is much higher for trying to make a real person look real as an animated figure.

WDI is promising the new Walt figure will be the most advanced character ever created that “incorporate features and innovations that have never been achieved before” according to Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald at D23.

We've already seen some pretty impressive animatronic innovations recently that could come into play here. Animatronics are now capable of fully independent movement. Could Walt walk? The concept art above shows Walt leaning against his desk. Could we see Walt move from a standing to a leaning position?

We would expect nothing less than the best from WDI, we would need nothing less from WDI, but the possibility it could all go horribly wrong still worries me.

A Walt Disney Figure Could Enter The Uncanny Valley Of Audio-Animatronics

My issue isn’t that Walt Disney Imagineering isn’t capable of creating a life-like Walt Disney; I fear they absolutely can. I'm familiar with the concept of the uncanny valley, which sometimes crops up in motion capture animation where things can look so real that they actually feel wrong. They’re too real, and not real enough at the same time, leading to an automatic negative reaction from the viewer.

Such a state is certainly possible with an audio-animatronic figure. And this is where the complexities of Walt Disney as an animated figure come in. On the one hand, something that looked too robotic wouldn’t feel right to represent him. Walt Disney deserves something more. At the same time, something too real is going to have its own problems because we know it’s not really him.

Walt Disney is An Icon, A Myth, And A Man

Some park fans have suggested that making an audio-animatronic Walt is inappropriate. The feeling is that making him an attraction in his own park is disrespectful to his memory. While I understand this perspective, I don't necessarily agree. If it’s acceptable to make America’s greatest President an animatronic, if it’s acceptable to make the current President of the United States an animated figure, as happens at Disney World’s Hall of Presidents, then Walt Disney isn’t off limits.

I would argue Walt was as great a man, who made an incomparable contribution to American life, as other real-life people who have been represented this way. I even advocated for a Walt Disney animatronic a few years back, but in that scenario, he would have been one animatronic among many that guests would only see briefly. To make an entire show focused on Walt, the bar for success has to be set much higher.

To be sure, the version of Walt Disney we’re going to get as part of Walt Disney: A Magical Life isn’t going to be the “real” man anyway. It will almost certainly be a version of “Uncle Walt,” the character that Walt Disney played whenever he appeared on television as part of the Disneyland TV series. We know that the words coming out of the animatronic’s mouth will be Walt’s actual recorded words, which indicates much of that will likely come from his scripted public appearances.

Walt was a man and so any attraction focused around him does need to honor and respect the man that he was. That means that any attraction about Walt has to tread carefully. The fact that Disney has said that only Walt’s actual words will be used is a good start. Making Walt say things he never said would be a bridge too far.

The attraction also shouldn’t mythologize Walt too much. He was a man and while his public persona certainly highlighted elements of the man he was, even Walt knew that the version people saw on TV wasn’t the real him. Will there be an ashtray on Walt’s desk in the new attraction? Will the Walt Disney animatronic smoke?

Making A Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic Work Means Getting Everything Perfect

There are a lot of decisions to be made when making a Walt animatronic. The technology has to be convincing enough that guests can suspend disbelief, but not so real-looking that it freaks people out. The story being told by Walt has to balance who the man was and the version of them that the public knows. It has to honor Walt Disney, not make guests feel like he’s just another theme park attraction.

That's a lot to get right, and a lot of puzzle pieces that need to fit together perfectly. If any of these variables are off by too much, the entire thing potentially falls apart.

I’m excited to see Walt Disney “return” to Disneyland next year when Walt Disney: A Magical Life debuts at the park. If the show hits the bullseye in every way, it could be a truly wonderful show to behold, something that those of us who appreciate what he created can truly connect with.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the biggest movie franchise of all time, and with the massive Disney company behind it, it feels like there’s nothing it can’t do. It’s easy to forget, however, that the MCU started before Disney bought Marvel. In the early days, some things were considered that involved Disney, but couldn’t be done.

I was at the recent D23 event in Anaheim, California, and was lucky enough to attend a panel discussion on the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair. It’s an iconic event in Disney history as the company that would become Walt Disney Imagineering developed four attractions at the event that would become part of Disneyland in various ways. The fair is also connected to Marvel, as Iron Man 2 used the fair’s location for a major scene, but also considered another iconic spot: Disneyland itself.

Kevin Feige And Jon Favreau Considered Using Disneyland For Iron Man 2’s Finale

Midway through the D23 panel moderated by the great Leonard Maltin, Marvel Studios president, and noted Disneyland nerd, Kevin Feige, and director of the first two Iron Man movies, Jon Favreau, joined the conversation. Feige then revealed that when the production of Iron Man 2 was considering major spots for the film’s finale battle, Flushing Meadows, NY was decided on only after they concluded that Disney would never consider a request to use its flagship theme park…

Even if Disney had owned Marvel, it feels like Disneyland appearing in Iron Man 2 would have been a long shot. Disneyland has only allowed filming inside its park a few times over its nearly 70-year history. Most of those have been for its own movies, and none of them have resulted in the park being blown up, which seems likely to have been the case here. As awesome as a superhero battle at the top of the Matterhorn would look, one has to imagine the Matterhorn itself would come out of that looking a little worse for wear.

Instead, Iron Man 2’s Stark Expo takes place at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the site of the 1964-65 World’s Fair. Jon Favreau had grown up across the street from the park, though he was born the year after the fair concluded.

Other Iron Man 2 Scenes Are Inspired By Walt Disney And It’s A Small World 

While Disneyland did not appear in Iron Man 2, the man who built it was, in a manner of speaking. Jon Favreau talked about the old films of Howard Stark, (played by John Slattery) that Tony watches in the movie, and how those were filmed in a way to intentionally reference Walt Disney’s on-screen persona. Favreau said…

The movie would also include an original song, written by the late Richard Sherman, half of the songwriting Sherman Brothers duo. They wrote multiple great and optimistic songs for the 1964 World’s Fair, including “It’s A Small World” and “It’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" for the iconic Carousel of Progress.

A major Marvel movie finale at Disneyland would have been incredible to see, and maybe now that Disney does own Marvel, such a thing can happen one day. Still, Iron Man 2 brings in plenty of references to classic Disney, showing how important the studio was to Marvel, even before they became joined.

Iron Man may not have come to Disneyland, but Disneyland will come to Iron Man. At the same D23 event, it was revealed that Robert Downey Jr. will reprise his role as Tony Stark for an upcoming Disneyland Resort attraction, Stark's Flight Lab, which is set to be added to the existing Avengers Campus area at Disney California Adventure Park.

One of the most contentious topics in entertainment today is “AI.” Machine learning has been touted by its supporters for its ability to “create” art with simple inputs. Writers went on strike last year in part to fight for protections against AI taking over. There is fear that if the technology is relied upon too much, it could take work away from the creative people who have been telling our stories for generations. Disney CEO Bob Iger feels that the use of AI in making movies is all but inevitable, and thinks Walt Disney himself would have supported it.

Bob Iger is an investor and board member of Canva, the online design platform. And during the recent Canva Create event (via Variety), Iger touted the benefits of new technology, pointing out that Walt Disney himself was always a strong supporter of new technologies and what could be done with them in the hands of creative people. Iger explained…

As far as it goes, Bob Iger isn’t wrong about Walt Disney. Disney was a futurist and big proponent of technology and how it could be used to improve filmmaking, as well as how it could be used to simply make life better. It was this desire to use technology to improve life that led Disney to design Epcot, his plan for a “city of the future.”

There's every reason to believe Walt Disney would be looking at how machine learning could be used in filmmaking if he were with us today. Disney created the multi-planer camera, a new way of filming animation that had never been done before. Walt pushed for the development of audio-animatronics, which made characters from animated films come to life in theme parks in new ways. Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress is an attraction all about how technology improves the world, something he truly believed. 

Of course, the issue at hand for most of those critical of “AI” isn’t how storytellers can use it, but the idea that it could replace many storytellers entirely. During the writer's strike, Iger was specifically called out by those who believed AI could take away their careers. To that, Iger says that people shouldn’t be focused on the way AI is disrupting the industry, but rather they should accept the technology, and focus on how it can be used to make stories better. He continued…

We’ve already seen ways that technology has changed storytelling, even just within Disney. Computer animation has all but completely replaced the hand-drawn animation of Walt’s day. For what it’s worth, Bob Iger’s comments seem to indicate that he sees AI as a tool to be used by creative people, not replace them. Certainly, time will tell. 

An ever-present subsection of theme park fandom revolves around the excitement over ideas for rides, attractions, and lands that never happened. Understandably, a recent Disney-fueled auction featuring tons of concept art from the 1950s and ‘60s seemed like a slice of heaven, as it featured quite a few original drawings for the never-realized Anything Can Happen Land. And I would have lost my mind over one or two of these attractions as a kid.

Heritage Auctions recently made a wealth of top-notch items available for its “Art of Disneyland - Featuring the Marc and Alice Davis Archive” auction, and it’s no surprise that many of the singular and rarely seen offerings secured top-dollar bids. (If only the money brought in could be used to fund the construction of some of these ideas, or at least an official Disneyland LEGO set or two.) In particular, I’m absolutely loving a sealife-related design that would have used Pinocchio and/or Peter Pan creatures in a fun way.

For those unaware, Anything Can Happen Land was inspired by a weekly segment on The Mickey Mouse Club TV series, and was conceived as a pretty straightforward way to honor Mickey, Donald, Goofy and other beloved characters from the theatrical shorts. (Not entirely unlike Walt Disney’s O.G. plans for Mickey Mouse Land.) With younger visitors in mind, the area would have featured walk-through locations such as the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Pluto’s Doghouse, Steamboat Willie, and much more.

But the attractions that I’d have been most interested in, both as a kid and as a current non-kid, would have been the untitled spaces featuring giant enter-able versions of Peter Pan’s toothy croc and Pinocchio’s monstrous whale for a trip down to some mini-aquariums. Here’s how the official auction’s description put it:

While I can also see how this concept might have created a couple of nightmarish tantrums from literal-minded toddlers believing they're in danger, it still sounds like the grooviest way possible to get park-goers to appreciate water-dwelling creatures throughout the world. Aquariums are already fun, and I'm a sucker for walkways that are completely surrounded by water, so to have that experience while inside a famed Disney character would have been aces.

That goes double if the attraction designers would have filled the underground areas with references to the films, and you know they would have, since Disney goes harder than anyone on theming. I can easily imagine there being some kind of reunion moment between Pinocchio and Geppetto within Monstro's belly, as well as some key Captain Hook and Smee iconography inside Tick-Tock. (And if it were built now, there would definitely be a TikTok area.)

According to the Heritage Auctions description, the plans for one or both of the marine life attractions were scrapped whenever plans for Anything Can Happen Land were shelved. But unlike a lot of other timely ideas that were left by the wayside over the years, I kinda think this notion would still work quite well if it was implemented today, though presumably with Avatar or Moana theming to keep things more current. Both franchises have new projects coming, too...

The unused concepts from Disneyland and Walt Disney World alone could comprise an entirely separate mega-resort, and I never tire of learning about the wild proposals being thrown around in those first few decades, from the Mary Poppins Epcot attraction or those ski resort plans. I can only hope that someone in the future creates these designs for VR, so that I can enjoy them as much as I want without ever dealing with the Orlando sun.

Sure, 2026 feels too far into the future right now, but it’s not that far from not considering Walt Disney Studios just dated two major movies during its calendar year. The House of Mouse just announced the official release dates for a ton of upcoming Disney movies, and two highly-anticipated franchises will officially be on the big screen in 2026: Toy Story and The Mandalorian. 

The Mandalorian and Grogu, which will bring the hit Star Wars TV show to theaters for the first time, will come out on May 22, 2026. Just one month later, on June 19, 2026, Toy Story 5 will be released as well. It’s going to be a great summer to be a Disney fan! 

In terms of 2026’s The Mandalorian and Grogu, we know the Star Wars movie will be helmed by Jon Favreau (who previously made Iron Man and Disney’s live-action versions of The Lion King and The Jungle Book). We don’t know who will be part of the cast, but we can certainly count on Grogu’s big-screen debut, and we’d be very surprised if Pedro Pascal isn’t part of it. 

Toy Story 5 was announced in early 2023 by Disney CEO Bob Iger, along with news that Frozen 3 and another Zootopia movie is in the works. Considering the fourth Toy Story movie was thought to be the conclusion to the franchise (after Toy Story 3 was also given the same treatment), there’s been backlash concerning Toy Story 5. Pixar boss Pete Doctor responded to this, sharing he thinks the upcoming movie will “be surprising” to viewers with “cool stuff” that hasn’t been seen before.

As far as Disney releases go in 2026, the update also noted that the live-action Moana movie, which was previously expected to come out on June 27, 2025, will now be released on July 10, 2026! That being said, Moana fans will soon have a chance to catch back up with the fantastical world set in the Polynesian waters with Moana 2, which is among 2024 movies. 

Another notable element of Disney’s 2026 slate is the fact that Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is currently set to come out on May 1, 2026, just weeks before The Mandalorian and Grogu. As a whole, Walt Disney Studios has dated a total of 15 movies for 2026, including five “Untitled Disney” movies, three “Untitled Marvel” movies, one “Untitled Pixar” movie for March, one “Untitled Disney Animation” movie for November and one “Untitled Star Wars” movie for December. 

It’s still rather early to get into the weeds of 2026, and these days Disney has been known to shift release dates multiple times, but for now, you can officially expect to see both Toy Story 5 and The Mandalorian and Grogu in the same summer.

There may be no address on the face of the Earth with more geniuses in it than 1401 Flower St. in Glendale, California, the home of Walt Disney Imagineering. The people who bring to life all of the incredible attractions at the Disney Parks that we love are clearly brilliant. There's always something new at Disney World to blow us away.  but Imagineer Lanny Smoot is in a class by himself. Last week he became the first Imagineer since the organization’s founding to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. However, he is actually the second person at the Walt Disney Company to receive this honor, something he admits he was, very briefly, disappointed about... until he learned who beat him in.

I had the chance to speak with Lanny Smoot recently about his induction into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame and the different things he has invented for Disney Parks over the years. He revealed that it was only after he was made aware of his own induction that he was told that somebody else at Disney had received the honor first. This made Smoot a little disappointed. He told me…

Lanny Smoot is probably used to blazing trails and being the first to do a lot of things. He’s an African-American man in a field where most of the people he works with don’t look like him. He has 106 patents to his name (with likely more on the way). He’s a professional inventor, which is, in itself, a job title that few people in the world probably have.

However, Smoot’s “disappointment” quickly turned to a very different emotion when he was told who he was following into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Here’s a hint, his name is on the building where Lanny Smoot works. The Imagineer continued… 

In 2000, Walt Disney himself was posthumously inducted into the Hall for his work creating the Multiplane Camera, the camera created to give Disney’s animation a feeling of depth that the medium had never seen before. Smoot is still the first Imagineer to receive the honor, which, considering the creativity and quite literal inventiveness that Imagineering has shown us over the years, is still an incredible accomplishment. 

Lanny Smoot's accomplishments over the years include creating the extendable lightsaber that was used at Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. He's also improved some of the best Disneyland attractions, such as making the head of Madame Leota at the Haunted Mansion float inside her crystal ball. 

Lanny Smoot is one of a kind, even if he's not the first member of The Walt Disney Company inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame. If you’re going to be the second person to do literally anything, you’re in pretty good shape if the first was Walt Disney.  

For a century now, The Walt Disney Company has been the home of family-friendly entertainment, and those 100 years have provided some iconic films. However, the people behind that century-worth of film and television are not all angels. Walt Disney himself, for example, played down the fact that he was a smoker, hiding the fact from the public. But Walt's personal vices were nothing compared to what his employees got up to during Walt’s Field Day, which turned into Walt’s Nightmare.

The event in Palm Springs that was supposed to be celebrating the completion of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs became an event where animators relieved a lot of stress, and they did so in a way that was very much not the “Disney way” – as it involved rivers of booze, minor destruction of property, and not a little bit of sex.

Walt’s Field Day Was The Wrap Party For Snow White 

When Walt Disney announced that his company was going to produce its first feature-length animated film, many did not believe such a thing was possible. It was referred to as "Walt’s Folly," and there’s no argument that Snow White nearly destroyed the studio. But in the end, the movie would not simply be successful, but the most successful film ever made up to that point. And it's still one of Disney's best-animated movies. 

This was great news for The Walt Disney Company to be sure, but it was also seen as great news for the animators inside that company. The Disney Studio had set up a bonus program that paid successful animators extra cash when their work was deemed especially good, and many of them were expecting significant paydays from Snow White (the studio certainly had the profit to spread around).

Making Snow White had been an exhausting process. Animators worked five-and-a-half-day weeks normally, which turned into six and seven-day weeks as the movie’s release date was approaching. Nobody had ever made a movie like this, so nobody was ready for the work they had to endure. The bonuses were expected to help compensate for all the extra work.

Six months after the film’s release, animators were excited by the announcement of Walt’s Field Day. The event, set to take place at the Lake Norconian resort in Palm Springs on June 4, 1938, would be a day of fun and games, followed by an evening of dinner and dancing. It seemed like it would be the perfect time to announce the bonus plans.

Walt’s Field Day Went (Mostly) Fine, Until Walt Gave His Speech

Walt’s Field Day wasn’t exactly the party a lot of Walt’s employees were expecting. The animators were mostly single guys in their 20s, and the Ink and Paint department, made up entirely of women, were equally young and single. Nobody was specifically looking for a field day – a term that then brought to mind (and still does) the idea of children competing in athletic contests.

Still, the Field Day portion of the day reportedly went fine. Disney employees played golf, competed in swimming and diving competitions, enjoyed some horseback riding, and otherwise kept themselves entertained. After lunch, however, things started to get a bit wild.

Alcohol consumption started with lunch and apparently continued from then on. Several people ended up in the pool with their clothes on, either having fallen in, jumped in, or in the case of at least one ink and paint girl, being thrown in by an animator. 

One employee, according to Disney History Institute, rode his rented horse into the hotel lobby.  And it wasn't just the men who were maybe getting out of hand. Ruthie Thompson, an ink and paint girl who would go on to have an almost 40-year career at The Walt Disney Company said later,

Instead of the Field Day, the focus of most was on the evening festivities. This was not only because of the dinner (and drinking) and dancing (and drinking) that was planned, but also because the staff was expecting to hear something about the aforementioned Snow White bonuses. The movie had been out for six months, and everybody in the world knew just what a massive hit Snow White had become, so expectations were high. Bonuses from shorts had been equal to several weeks' pay in some cases. 

Walt Disney had actually missed most of his own Field Day. He was given an honorary degree by the University of Southern California earlier that afternoon, but he arrived in the evening and joined his staff for dinner. The booze flowed freely, and Disney certainly had his share. Near the end of the official festivities, after awards for the various contests of the day were given out, the company founder spoke to the assembled crowd. He thanked them for their hard work and prepared them for the future, as Pinocchio and Bambi were both in various stages of production. Nothing about bonuses was said.

Expectations had been high, so the lack of any comment about the bonuses apparently rippled through the assembled crowd. Many began to wonder if the party itself was supposed to be the bonus, and nothing else would be forthcoming. If that was the case, history suggests that many decided they were going to get their money’s worth out of it.

Walt’s Field Day Went Crazy

The pool continued to be used by the Walt Disney Studios staff, but instead of jumping in with clothes on, clothing of any kind reportedly became optional. Fred Moore, the animator who had handled the redesign of Mickey Mouse from the original Walt and Ub Iwerks creation, apparently got so drunk he fell out of a second-story window, or possibly off a fire escape. Either way, his fall was broken by a small tree or shrub, and he apparently walked away from it.

While there was a long-standing Disney policy against “dipping your pen in the company ink,” a.k.a. animators fraternizing with the ink and paint girls, it was something that was already common (several marriages would come of the relationships; Walt’s own wife had previously been his secretary). It apparently became quite a problem that night, as animator Bill Justice recalled to Cartoon Research,

Per Disney History Institute, animator Ken Anderson said that some of the married couples even swapped wives, which upset the family man, and likely would have upset Walt Disney as well if word ever got back to him. It's far from clear just how much Disney actually knew, though it seems he knew enough.

Walt Disney Is Said To Have Never Spoken About The Party Again

While Walt Disney certainly had some fun of his own at his Field Day, he apparently didn’t care for the way his employees went overboard. While many of the staff remained at the Narconian for most of Sunday, Walt and Lillian Disney left early Sunday morning, and the party became something he never brought up again.

Bonuses were eventually be paid to the animators, though they were not nearly what many had been expecting. Instead, according to NPR, the bulk of the profits from Snow White would go back into the company and into building the new Walt Disney Studios campus in Burbank, CA, which is where the company calls home today. 

From there the Disney Studio would grow at a breakneck pace. Many of the animators who had been there from early on saw the company go through a significant change, one where Walt was less personal and less available. Three years later, many in the Walt Disney Studio would go on strike. The party at the Narconian was, in many ways, the end of an era. 

Behind the Attraction is a Disney Plus series that, as the name says, takes viewers behind specific attractions found in Disney Parks, but some of the episodes stretch the definition of what counts as an “attraction.” While the first season gave us the history of the Haunted Mansion and the new season gives us the story of the creation of Pirates of the Caribbean, Season 1 also included an episode on the Disneyland Hotel, and the brand-new Season 2, arriving on November 1, includes an episode about food in Disney Parks. Season 2 also includes an episode about an entire theme park: Epcot.

Rather than focusing on a single attraction found at Epcot, the episode of Behind the Attraction covers the entire park from its earliest concepts through the modern day. I had a chance to speak with series director Brian Volk-Weis and asked him about why Epcot got its own episode, and he said that it all came down to one guy named Disney... not Walt, but Roy. The director said:

The legacy of Roy O. Disney isn't nearly as well known as Walt's. The older brother who believed in the vision was the money man who managed the finances, often telling his brother that what Walt wanted couldn't be done before figuring out how to pay for Walt's dreams.

Walt Disney’s dream for Epcot was that it would be an actual city; a place where people would live and work, but with access to cutting-edge advancements in technology. As Brian Volk-Weiss says, Roy was very much against the undertaking, as it would be too difficult and too expensive.

That city would ultimately never happen (there’s certainly a question of whether Epcot would have ever worked in the first place), but the ideas behind it would live on in Disney World’s second theme park, Epcot Center.

When Walt Disney passed away in 1966, he had just finished filming a short movie about The Florida Project, primarily focused on what Epcot was going to be. Roy was planning to retire from The Walt Disney Company when his brother died, and so instead he stayed on with the specific intention of making sure Walt DIsney World happened.

Eventually, the idea of Epcot the city would be repurposed as Epcot the theme park, with concepts like a permanent World's Fair recreated in World Showcase and the focus on technology brought to life in Future World. Epcot certainly has a story unlike any other theme park, making it worthy of its own episode of Behind the Attraction. 

Roy would die shortly after Magic Kingdom opened, so he wouldn’t live to see what Epcot became either, but it’s certainly true that had Roy not done what he did, there would be no Epcot of any kind.  It didn't become what Walt wanted, but it became something. Epcot has seen a lot of recent changes, some of which aren't even part of the Behind the Attraction episode, but the core of Epcot remains, all thanks to the Disney brothers.

The Walt Disney Company celebrated its 100th anniversary this week, and it did so in style with the release of Once Upon A Studio both on TV and on Disney+. The animated short brings together so many characters from the last 100 years that it’s almost impossible to count them all. Some of them take center stage, while others appear in a “blink and you’ll miss it” fashion, but either way, you’ll need to watch the short more than once to catch everything.

But there’s so much more going on in Once Upon A Studio. From obscure animated characters to the human beings who helped bring them all to life, here are 10 of our favorite moments from the new Disney short that made us smile.

Burny Mattinson 

The closing credits of Once Upon A Studio dedicate the film to Burny Mattinson. Mattinson worked for The Walt Disney Company for 70 years, longer than any person before him. Unfortunately, Mattinson passed away earlier this year. He directed Mickey’s Christmas Carol and The Great Mouse Detective, among other great achievements in his career.

But before he said goodbye, he had one other job: appearing as himself at the beginning of Once Upon a Studio. He’s the man who wonders “If these walls could talk,” just what would they say? It made sense to include the longest-serving employee in such a historic film, but it's unfortunate that he is no longer here to see the film’s release.

Alan Tudyk 

Alan Tudyk is something of a perpetual easter egg in Walt Disney Animation Studios films. Tudyk has voiced many Disney characters in recent years. While he’s performed the likes of Wrck-It Ralph’s villain King Candy and Zootopia Duke Weaselton, he’s just as likely to appear as the voice of a chicken or some other animal.

It’s only fitting that Alan Tudyk appears in Once Upon a Studio, but he doesn’t voice any of the characters that he has brought to life in any Disney films. Instead, he takes on the voice of the Mad Hatter. While most of the Disney characters who speak in the film are either given new lines voiced by their original artist, or dialogue from the original films is recycled, Tudyk takes over the character from Ed Wynne who, originally performed the Hatter in 1951’s Alice in Wonderland, and he does a fantastic job. 

Ub Iwerks

Without question, the most touching moment in Once Upon a Studio is when Mickey Mouse takes a moment to thank Walt Disney. It’s a beautiful sequence. Of course, Mickey actually has a second father, and while he doesn’t get quite the same treatment, he’s also not forgotten.

Some of the coolest stuff to look at during the film is the collection of pictures hanging on the wall of the Roy E. Disney Building. Some of the Disney greats can be spotted if you look closely and know your Disney history. One portrait that features prominently is that of Ub Iwerks, the animator who, along with Walt, designed the original look of Mickey Mouse. He can be seen near the elevator as Donald and the company are waiting for Flash.

Robin Williams' Other Character 

A lot has already been said about the fact that Robin Williams’ Genie makes an appearance in Once Upon a Studio using unused audio that Williams recorded for the original Aladdin. However, Genie isn’t the only Robin Williams character who appears in the short film.

In the same scene, just before the Genie appears, an unnamed Lost Boy appears behind Olaf. This is actually Robin Williams himself, transformed into an animated character as part of a short film called Back To Neverland that ran as part of the Magic of Disney Animation Attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Feed The Birds 

When Mickey has his heart-to-heart with Walt Disney, the emotion comes from the music as much as the moment. The song being played in the background is the classic “Feed the Birds” from Mary Poppins. It’s a beautiful song, but it’s especially poignant in this moment.

“Feed the Birds” is known to be Walt's favorite song ever written by the Sherman Brothers, the songwriting duo behind too many Disney classics to mention. Walt would occasionally walk into their office and simply say "Play it," and the boys would play the song for him. What’s more, this particular rendition of “Feed the Birds” is performed by Richard Sherman himself on the piano that still sits in Walt Disney’s office at the studio.

“After You” 

When the animated crowd gets together outside the building, there are so many Disney characters to see you’ll need to go frame-by-frame to recognize them all, but one classic character makes himself known when the iconic Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, whose rights were lost to Disney for decades, walks into the frame.

Mickey, ever the polite host, says “After you,” which is the perfect thing for him to say because literally all of this came after Oswald. With the possible exception of Pete the Cat, a version of whom appeared in the early Alice Comedies, Oswald is the oldest character in the history of Disney animation seen in the film.

 Flowers & Trees And The Skeleton Dance 

As the camera pans back to reveal the entire assembled crowd, we see all 100 years of Disney animation in front of us. Many of these characters we’ve seen elsewhere in the film, if only briefly, but there are a couple of newcomers who deserve special recognition.

On the left-hand side, you’ll see three skeletons standing together. These are the starting players from The Skeleton Dance, the first of the Silly Symphonies cartoons. Standing in the back, because they’re so tall, are a pair of trees from another Silly Symphonies cartoon, Flowers & Trees, which is notable because this was the first animated short ever to win an Academy Award. 

Summing up 100 years of Disney animation in nine minutes seems like an impossible task, but Once Upon a Studio did it probably about as well as it could have been done. From the well-known to the obscure, the film is packed full of almost everything you could have wanted if you’re a Disney fan, and more than a few things we never would have expected.  

October 16th, 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of The Walt Disney Company. The last century has been an incredibly successful one when it comes to the entertainment that the studio has produced. Today, it’s near impossible to imagine a world where the name Disney doesn’t conjure up images of happiness, but it almost wasn’t so, as the movie that ultimately transformed Walt Disney Productions from a cartoon studio into a movie studio could have just as easily destroyed it.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is one of the most well-known movies ever made. At the time, it was the most successful movie ever released at the box office, and when that box office is adjusted for inflation, it's still near the top. But it was also a massive gamble; one that many people thought Walt Disney was going to lose.  

Snow White Exists Thanks To The Three Little Pigs 

For as long as animation was a medium consumed by the masses, it existed in the form of shorts. Hand drawing every frame of even a nine-minute cartoon took weeks of work and thousands of dollars to produce. The idea of making anything longer than the traditional shorts that accompanied live-action features would be a herculean task considering just how many drawings would be required. It would also be an incredibly expensive undertaking, as making simple shorts wasn't cheap, and even the successful Disney Studio would likely have trouble financing it.

But then in 1933, Walt Disney Pictures released The Three Little Pigs. The success of this cartoon cannot be understated. The Depression-era audience embraced the pigs' battle with the Big Bad Wolf in a way that no cartoon had been welcomed since Mickey Mouse. “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf” became the first Disney radio hit. The animated short remained in theaters for months in an era where these things were usually measured in weeks, if not days. The studio had come a long way in the years since Disney lost the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

One of the reasons The Three Little Pigs was so successful, in the eyes of critics, was the way Disney’s studio had found a way to truly animate personality. While the three pigs looked essentially identical, they moved and emoted differently. Disney's animators had created cartoon characters that could do things on the screen no others previously could. This helped convince Walt that a feature-length animated film was possible, and that audiences would be able to relate and empathize with animated characters over a longer story because his artists were capable of making them feel truly real. 

Walt Disney Productions Borrowed Heavily To Finish Snow White 

The other thing The Three Little Pigs did, which Walt Disney Pictures needed to produce a feature-length film, was bring in lots of money. The financial success of Pigs provided the capital that would be necessary to start production on the feature. Nobody knew what a feature-length cartoon would even cost or how it would scale up from the cost of a short, but it was clear it would be expensive. Estimates were the feature could cost as much as $250,000. Those estimates were incredibly low.

In 1934, Walt Disney decided that Snow White, a story he had seen in a movie theater as a child in Marceline, Missouri, would be the subject of his film. He brought together his story group to hammer out a plot, and that October, Walt brought all the animators onto a soundstage and he performed the movie for them himself, going through all the story beats. Work on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs had begun.

Many critics thought Walt was crazy. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was called “Disney’s Folly” in the press. It was believed that the brilliant Walt Disney who had accomplished so much had finally taken a step too far. In the end, the film would end up costing about $1.5 million, multiple times more than estimated, and a massive sum for 1937. 

While The Three Little Pigs gave Disney a good start on his animated feature, the studio would need a lot more money to complete the film. Both Walt and his brother Roy mortgaged their houses, and over the course of the next three years, the studio would take out multiple loans with Bank of America in order to be able to pay for everything.

As the loans increased, the bank became increasingly concerned it was giving Walt Disney Productions too much money. Eventually, when Disney asked for yet another loan, Bank of America insisted that it actually see what it was they were paying for. 

Joseph Rosenberg, a Bank of America vice president, visited the Disney studio and sat in a dark screening room with Walt to be shown pieces of the unfinished movie. As the story goes, Rosenblum was almost entirely silent during the showing, and Walt began to panic. A lot of the film wasn't done, and pencil sketches represented much of the product. Walt tried to cover and make excuses. In the end, Rosenblum walked out to his car with Walt and before driving away said, "That thing is going to make a hatful of money." The loan was approved.

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs Created The Walt Disney Company We Know Today 

Of course, we know now there was no folly in Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The movie would be heralded by critics when it premiered in December 1937, and would become an instant success when it debuted to the general public a couple of months later. Snow White would make more money than any movie ever had, allowing Disney to pay back all the loans it had taken out and pay off its mortgages.

Walt Disney would then take a lot of the remaining profit, and just as Three Little Pigs helped pay for Snow White, Snow White would now pay for a brand-new studio. The current Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California was built with the proceeds from Snow White.

While it’s hard to imagine a world without Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, it’s not too hard to imagine what would have happened if the movie had flopped, or worse, if Disney had been unable to complete the film due to the money running out. Walt Disney Productions could have completely folded. Even if the company had found a way to survive, future animated feature films certainly would not have come from Disney, and other studios could have been scared away from the idea as well. Animation as an art form would have been set back decades. 

Walt Disney liked to say that it was “all started by a mouse,” and while that’s certainly true, what that mouse started in 1928 could have ended less than a decade later. Instead, Snow White became the first of dozens of animated feature films from Disney and inspired generations of animators who would go on to make those movies and so many more.  

Today, Snow White is still a key part of Disney's history and future. The original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is getting a 4K release on Disney+ to celebrate Disney's 100th anniversary, and the live-action Snow White movie is one of the most hotly anticipated upcoming Disney movies. Even more than 80 years later, Disney owes Snow White a lot, in fact, it owes that movie everything.

When Walt Disney opened Disneyland in 1955, it was unlike anything the world had ever seen before. Walt himself was clearly happy with what he’d made because almost as soon as it was done, his attention turned to even more resort-style projects. What would become Walt Disney World is, of course, the most well-known, but that wasn’t the only idea Walt had following Disneyland. At the same time he was scouting land in Florida, he also had his eye on a ski resort project in California. Disney’s Mineral Ski Resort would have been a truly unique experience, though it was one we never saw.

There are as many Disney theme park ideas that never happened as there are Disney theme parks that exist today, but Mineral King, if it had become a reality, would be truly unique among them. This is the story of what Mineral King was going to be and why it never happened.

Mineral King: Disneyland In The Snow 

In 1960, five years after Disneyland had been proven a success, Walt Disney was asked to run the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympic Games at Squaw Valley, California. This resulted in Walt spending a lot of time around winter sports. He’d been at least a somewhat regular snow skier since the 1930s, so he enjoyed the sport already, and it seems that as he began to work on the Olympics, the idea of a permanent Disney ski resort began to percolate in his mind.

Eventually the idea became an active project, and Disney went looking for a place to build his ski resort.  He found Mineral King, a part of the Sequoia National Forest a few hours north of Los Angeles, and about equally south of San Francisco. In 1965, the U.S. Forest Service invited proposals for a ski resort complex in the area. In December 1965, a month after the press conference where it was confirmed that Disney had been buying swampland in Florida to construct his “East Coast Disneyland,” the U.S. Forest Service awarded Disney the right to develop the land.

Significant development would certainly be needed. There weren’t even paved roads going all the way to where Disney envisioned his Alpine Village Ski Resort would be built. There was also the question of what to do with the resort during the months of the year when there was no snow, as the cost of building the resort would necessitate it being open year-round.

Skiing would be a major winter attraction, of course, with over a dozen ski lifts initially planned, but an ice rink was also part of the development, as well as tobogganing and dogsled rides. In the summer, guests could visit to take part in swimming, horseback riding, tennis and hiking. 

Multiple hotels and restaurants were planned, and inside one of them would be the most “Disneyland” touch of all. Walt had the idea for an animatronic band made up of bears that would perform while people ate. The idea would become the Country Bear Jamboree, which would eventually become an opening day attraction at Magic Kingdom and be built at Disneyland as well.    

The Battle Over Disney's Ski Resort Plan

When Walt announced his Florida Project, he was welcomed to the Sunshine State with open arms. Florida went as far as to create a special district to oversee Walt Disney World so the resort would have greater control over itself.

This was the case for Mineral King as well, at least at the state level. Governors Pat Brown, and later Ronald Reagan, both supported the plan strongly for the tourism dollars and jobs that it would create. Brown helped earmark money to help pay for some of the construction, including the building and widening of roads.

However, environmental groups, most notably the Sierra Club, felt differently. They objected to the idea of a Disney resort in the middle of Sequoia National Forrest. They argued that the development that would need to be done, including the building of miles of new road for cars, would destroy the natural beauty of the area.

Walt Disney argued that the natural beauty of the area was exactly what he wanted people to experience, and so he had no interest in destroying it. Walt was inspired by the town of Zermatt in Switzerland, which he had visited during the production of the film Third Man on the Mountain, which was an area free of combustion engines. Walt envisioned a similar design for Mineral King where guests would park their cars several miles away and be transported to the resort area by some form of railway.

In September 1966, there was a press conference to officially announce the Mineral King project, similar to the one that had happened in Florida a year earlier for Disney World. It was reported at the time that Walt Disney did not look well. Two months later, Walt died. 

The Death Of Walt Disney, And Lawsuits, End The Mineral King Project

The death of Walt Disney obviously had major ramifications for the company, but chief among them was that all attention turned to Disney World. Walt’s brother Roy O. Disney had been planning to retire when Walt died. Instead, he became CEO, with the singular goal of seeing the Florida project completed.

Work did continue on the Mineral King project as well, but as Disney World's construction began to see its costs go up, the plans for Mineral King began to shrink. Most of the new developments regarding the project took place in courtrooms. The Sierra Club filed a lawsuit against the project. In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the suit, but the Sierra Club then followed up with an amended suit. By this time, both Roy and Walt had passed away, and there just wasn't the interest within the company to continue the fight.

In November 1978, Mineral King officially became part of Sequoia National Park, ensuring the land’s protection from future development. By then, Disney had long moved on from Mineral King, so it was never going to happen anyway. Maybe it should not have happened, as the argument against it isn't without merit, but it's impossible not to wonder just what sort of a place it could have been.

These days every major studio has its own streaming service. There are also services dedicated to different genres of film or indie films, or just about any other specialty you could probably go looking for. However, since most of these services cost money one has to make decisions about which ones they want and which ones they want to let go.

Price is certainly a determining factor for a lot of people. This makes the new Disney Plus offer of $1.99 a month for three months, likely very attractive to a lot of people. But for me, Disney Plus is a great value at just about any price. It is by far my favorite of the various streaming services. It’s the one that I always look at first when trying to decide what I want to watch. Here’s why I won't be getting rid of my Disney Plus subscription anytime soon.

It’s Got The Best Menu System 

First off, let’s talk about the nuts and bolts of a streaming service, the user interface. Every streaming service has thousands of available titles and being able to find what you're looking for, or even just be aware of what a given streaming service has available, has always been a challenge, but Disney Plus makes it about as easy as it can be.

Whereas a streamer like Netflix has to divide up content by genre, like “science fiction movies” or “Western TV shows” Disney first starts out with its five brand pillars, Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, and Nat Geo. Whether you’re searching for something specific or just looking around this helps you focus your search so much better than more general topics that could lead you anywhere.

Even when I know what it is I want to watch, when using a TV remote, it’s usually faster to select the Marvel tab and then scroll through to find the MCU movie I want than it would be to enter a few letters in the search menu. And if you do go to the search menu, the first thing you’ll see is a bunch of different Collections, which divide up the titles into pretty specific groups, like a single Marvel character or all content related to Disney Princesses, which also makes navigating to what you need easy. 

A Wide Variety Of Disney Plus Originals 

One of the big ways that any streaming service attempts to woo subscribers is through original content, the stuff that can’t be found anywhere else. And Disney Plus has two of the biggest reasons to subscribe by virtue of the fact that it makes original series for both Marvel and Star Wars and to be sure, I love most of those shows, like the creative and unique WandaVision to the brand-new Ahsoka, as much as anybody, but there’s a lot more to enjoy.

As a lover of Disney’s theme parks, I have rewatched The Imagineering Story and episodes of Behind the Attraction multiple times. American Born Chinese was something very different for me that I may not have given a chance if it had appeared on a different streaming service. The documentary Howard, about the life of Howard Ashman, is something every Disney fan should watch. 

Lots Of Classic Content, Not Just The New Stuff 

Brand new original series are great, but The Walt Disney Company is 100 years old as of 2023, and that means they’ve been making cartoons, movies, and television for a really long time. I have been the first to argue in the past that I wish Disney Plus had even more of its classic content on the service, but the fact is it still has a lot more than a lot of other streaming platforms that seem to forget movies were made before 1975.

On September 5 Disney Plus added Trolly Troubles, a remastered version of the first official Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon, 96 years after its original release, making it the oldest piece of Disney content on Disney Plus. Steamboat Willie, the first Mickey Mouse cartoon, has been there since day one of course. Alongside them, you can watch old episodes of the original Mickey Mouse Club and a few episodes of the Disneyland series and its follow-up, Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, featuring appearances by Walt himself.   

While we all have a tendency to focus our attention on modern movies and TV, the older stuff has a charm all of its own. And looking back at some of Disney's old stuff gives you a fresh appreciation for the new. It allows you to really follow the history of Disney as a studio. It's as much an education in filmmaking as any of the equally impressive documentaries on Disney Plus. 

Disney Plus Is The Best Comfort Viewing 

Between the old and the new, there is plenty of stuff on Disney Plus you probably haven’t seen, but let’s face it, what makes Disney Plus special is having access to all the stuff you haven’t just seen, but you know by heart. If you’re old enough to read this, chances are there is at least one Disney movie that you’ve grown up with or one of three Star Wars trilogies that particularly resonates with you. And it’s all there for you to watch, whenever you like.

Sometimes you don’t want to watch something new. Sometimes you want to curl up on the couch with some popcorn and watch that movie you’ve seen 100 times already. Maybe that movie is The Princess Bride, The Princess Diaries, or The Princess and the Frog, but either way, Disney Plus is where you go to find it. It has everything we all grew up with, a lot of which our kids will now grow up with and it will become comfort viewing for them as well.

Disney Plus doesn’t have “everything.” Even under the Disney banner, there’s a lot that will hopefully still be added one day, but the existing library has some of the absolute best TV and movies, from the major franchises that everybody is talking about, to the smaller, forgotten projects, and everything in between. 

2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, the company that would eventually become the Walt Disney Company that we know today.  The cartoon studio first made its name with a series of shorts called the Alice Comedies, which combined live-action and animation. In 1927 though, the Disney Bros. Studio scored its first big break with a series of cartoons featuring a character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

However, for nearly 80 years, this early work done by Walt Disney and his animators wasn’t actually owned by Disney, be it the man or the company. It wouldn’t be until 2006 that Oswald actually became Disney's property, so where did this character that predates Mickey Mouse come from, and why did it take so long for him to become a true Disney character?

The Creation Of Oswald The Lucky Rabbit

In 1927, the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio had a deal with Winkler Pictures to distribute its animated cartoons. The company's primary output up to that point had been the Alice Comedies, shorts that used a live-action little girl (Alice) in a series of animated adventures. The shorts were well received, but not particularly profitable for Disney or Winkler.

The Disneys had been looking for something new, and that came in the form of an offer from their distributor. Charles Mintz, who ran the day-to-day operations of Winkler Productions on behalf of his wife, who founded the company, signed a deal with Universal to produce a new series of animated shorts. The plan was to create a new mascot character in the style of Felix the Cat, whose popularity had started to decline. The character, including his name, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, had already been determined by Universal, the studio just needed somebody to design the look and create the stories. Mintz turned to Disney Brothers, and Oswald would be designed by Walt and his lead animator, Ub Iwerks.

The first Oswald cartoon, Poor Papa, was not well received at Universal. It was deemed so bad that the studio declined to distribute it.  The character underwent a bit of reinvention and redesign, and the second short, Trolly Troubles, was a hit. From there, the Oswald shorts became popular and the Disney Brothers Studio, which had been struggling previously, started to find its footing financially.

How The Loss Of Oswald Led To The Birth Of Mickey Mouse 

Charles Mintz and Walt Disney had often clashed, even back in the Alice Comedies days. Mintz often felt the cartoons Disney produced weren’t as good as they could be, and he felt the studio took too long to finish the projects. He never had a problem telling Walt that, but Walt always felt his studio was underpaid for the work that they did. 

By 1928, the fight between the two came to a head. Winkler and Universal had renewed their deal to continue producing Oswald cartoons, but Mintz decided that he didn’t need Walt’s company; or more specifically, he didn’t need Walt to do it. 

George Winkler, Mintz’s brother-in-law, was the frequent go-between for the New York-based Winkler Productions and Disney’s Los Angeles studio. During these LA meetings, Winkler made offers to Disney’s animators to come and work directly for them. The majority of them would make the deal, so when it came time to renegotiate the deal with the Disney Brothers Studio, Mintz instead ended the deal and continued to make Oswald cartoons with his own people. 

The story of what happened next has been told a number of different ways, even by Walt Disney himself. The most famous version is that while on the train back to California from New York, Walt tried to come up with a new character to replace Oswald, one that he would own himself, and thus could not be taken away. He made the first sketches of Mickey Mouse on the back of an envelope, and Walt and Ub Iwerks worked together on Mickey's final design. 

How Bob Iger And Sunday Night Football Brought Oswald Back To Disney 

However, in 2005, Bob Iger became CEO of The Walt Disney Company, and Oswald’s name was brought back from obscurity. Video game designer Sean Vanaman says he was part of a team that developed the initial concepts for the game that became 2010’s Epic Mickey, which was part of a Bob Iger initiative to reinvent Mickey Mouse. The game pitch included the idea that Oswald the Lucky Rabbit would be the game’s villain; he was depicted a character jealous of Mickey due to being replaced by him. The idea was pitched to Iger, who reportedly liked it. The only problem was that Disney didn’t own Oswald.

However, an opportunity presented itself to Iger in the form of sportscaster Al Michaels. Michaels had been the play-by-play announcer on Monday Night Football since 1986, and since 2002, he had done so alongside iconic sportscaster John Madden as the color commentator. When it was announced that the Monday Night game would move from ABC to ESPN starting with the 2006 season, it was also announced Madden would leave to work for NBC on that channel's Sunday Night game.

Michaels wanted to go with Madden to Universal-owned NBC, but he was still under contract to Disney-owned ABC. This opened a door of which Iger took advantage. He worked out a deal in which NBC would buy out the remainder of Michaels’ ABC contract. In addition, NBC gave ESPN some additional broadcasting rights on sporting events, but the biggest “get” of all, was that Disney took back the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit as a character, as well as the rights to all the Oswald cartoons that had been produced under Walt Disney.

Today, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is still something of an obscure character, but he is around. Disney produced a new Oswald the Lucky Rabbit short in 2022, and the character was the centerpiece of the 2023 Chinese New Year celebration at Disney California Adventure since it’s the Year of the Rabbit. An Oswald-focused Disney+ series that was planned was eventually canceled, but we're sure to see the character again.

In the end, the point of bringing Oswald home to Disney was more symbolic than anything else. Oswald is never going to make the Walt Disney Company a lot of money, but as a creation of Walt, he belongs at Disney, and thanks to one famous sportscaster, he’s home. 

The Disney live-action remake of Snow White has been steeped in criticism for a little while now. Rachel Zegler, who is playing the titular character in the new movie, was met with criticism over honest comments she made about the princess’ story, and there’s been backlash over how the seven dwarfs will be portrayed in the film. Now, the son of 1937’s Snow White’s co-director David Hand has spoken out about the 2024 remake, and he didn’t hold back. 

David Hand, whose father of the same name worked with Walt Disney and was a co-director for the original Snow White, called out the remake. He told The Telegraph that both men would be “turning in their grave,” and he claimed that the current bosses are going to “destroy” the 1937 film. Not holding back his critical opinion, he said:

Some of the changes in the film appear to pertain to how Snow White and the prince's relationship is portrayed as well as the casting of the seven dwarfs. A leaked set photo seemed to reveal taht just one of the seven actors playing the characters has dwarfism. Both of those aspects have been criticized over the last few months. 

Rachel Zegler has faced criticism for comments she made at D23 about this new version of Snow White. She explained in the interview that “it’s no longer 1937,” and said her princess is “not going to be saved by the prince.” The West Side Story star also explained that in the film, which is on the 2024 movie schedule, her character is “dreaming of becoming the leader she knows she can be.” People did not agree with that take, and called her out. However, many have also come to the young actress’ defense, comparing her to Robert Pattison and Harrison Ford, who both have led franchises they’ve shared honest critiques about.

In addition to the star's comments, the decision to reportedly not have seven actors with dwarfism play the titular dwarf characters has been met with criticism. Jackass star Wee Man called out Disney for not casting accordingly for the movie, and Peter Dinklage has shared blunt thoughts about the decision to make the film in the first place.

Going back to these latest comments from the son of the original filmmaker, Hand explained that he thinks many young people have never seen the original film, and “don’t know what they’re talking about.” He also called these criticisms of the 1937 flick “pathetic.”  He then defended the OG flick, saying it was made “with good taste.” Continuing to explain why he does not approve of this new version of Snow White, he said:

Overall, it's clear that people have strong thoughts on Snow White and are weighing in on it from a lot of different angles. Clearly, David Hand is opposed to the remake, based on his sentiments. However, it's worth noting that, other than the few details Disney has released about the movie and Rachel Zegler’s comments about how it’s been updated, we really don’t know much about it; we haven’t even seen a trailer. 

We can only wait and see how the discussion will continue to play out as the release date draws closer. Snow White is slated to hit theaters March 22, 2024. While we wait for the Disney film to premiere, you can check out the 2023 movie schedule to see what's currently playing or arriving in the near future.

20 years ago when Disney made its first attempts to turn popular theme park attractions into hit movies, it was little surprise that the two movies out of the gate were based on Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion. They are two of the most popular attractions ever created, and they exist in one form or another in nearly every Disney parks resort around the world. While Pirates was a massive hit, The Haunted Mansion was not.

Now Disney is taking another shot at adapting the Haunted Mansion attraction for the big screen, and with the movie’s release, it’s a fitting time to take a look back at the inspiration for both films, Disneyland's Haunted Mansion. It was the first, it is the most well-known, and despite the rude’s enduring popularity today, it was one of the most difficult attractions in Disney history to actually open.

Walt Wanted A Haunted Mansion Attraction In Disneyland From The Beginning 

The Haunted Mansion opened at Disneyland in August of 1969, more than 14 years after Disneyland first opened to the public. And yet, the idea for a haunted house attraction had been on the drawing board for Disneyland since literally the beginning. In fact, that Haunted Mansion precedes Disneyland, as the original concept designs of what was then called Mickey Mouse Park, when the plan was to locate the park across from the Disney studios in Burbank, included a decrepit old house.

However, Walt’s ultimate desire for his theme park to be unlike the amusement parks of the day, which he saw as dirty, defeated the haunted house idea, as he decided he didn’t want a run-down old house in his clean, state-of-the-art park. The house wouldn’t be built in Disneyland’s original phase, but the idea would never be too far from Walt’s mind.

The Haunted Mansion Façade At Disneyland Sat Finished, And Empty, For Years 

Eventually, Walt decided to move forward with his Haunted Mansion idea. When the park planned its first expansion, New Orleans Square, construction began in 1961 and the facade of a Southern plantation house mansion was built and completed in 1963. But when New Orleans Square opened in 1966, it did so with Pirates of the Caribbean as the only attraction. The Haunted Mansion was left behind locked gates because there was nothing inside it.

A big part of the reason for the delay was the 1964-65 World's Fair. WED Enterprises, the company that became Imagineering, had been hired to create four different attractions for the fair, and that took all of the Imagineering talents away from the Mansion. When the Imagineers could finally focus on the attraction again, what it would be had significantly changed. 

The original plan was that the Haunted Mansion was going to be a walk-through attraction, with tour guides taking guests regularly through the house, and each room would provide different ghostly interactions or otherworldly effects. Stories and characters were created with this in mind. Walt reportedly visited the Winchester Mystery House in Northern California and was inspired by it, which is probably where the idea of a guided tour came from.

In the end, it was decided that a walking tour would severely limit the attractions’ capacity, which led to the decision to use the new Omnimover systems, developed for the World's Fair, to take ghosts through the attraction after a short, self-guided, walking tour.

Imagineers Fought Over Whether The Haunted Mansion Should Be Scary Or Funny 

It may seem obvious that if you’re working on making a haunted house-style attraction, you should make something scary, but that wasn’t entirely obvious inside WED Enterprises. Two different designers, Claude Coats and Marc Davis, were put in charge of the project, and each had a different idea for what the mansion should be. Coates argued for something far more spooky, while Davis, who was known for his sense of humor, (he's the guy largely responsible for transforming the Jungle Cruise into its modern pun-tastic form) wanted something a lot more fun.

Disneyland had always been conceived as a place where families could have fun together, and there was a fear that if the Haunted Mansion was too scary, it would drive away potential guests who were either too young to handle it or just didn’t care to be scared.

For his part, Walt Disney wasn’t a lot of help. He would seem to go back and forth himself, at different times supporting the scarier ideas, The late Rolly Crump's early Museum of the Weird idea, which Walt said scared the hell out of him, almost became a separate attached attraction, and then it was later decided that there should be more gags. Things became even more complicated in 1966 when Walt passed away, without any final decision being made on which direction to take.

In the end, as any who have experienced the Haunted Mansion can attest, the final result falls somewhere in between. The attraction opens with several chilling elements, including what has to be the scariest thing at Disneyland: the sight of a corpse who has hung himself and still hangs from the rafters above. It ends with ghosts throwing a party and literally singing and dancing. The disparate tones shouldn’t work, but somehow they do. 

One Major Haunted Mansion Effect Didn’t Work For 45 Years 

Even if you’re not that familiar with the Haunted Mansion as an attraction if you’ve seen the Haunted Mansion movie trailer, then you’ve seen a character called the Hatbox Ghost. He has the ability to transport his head between his neck and a hatbox he’s carrying, and he’s an original part of the attraction... sort of.

The Hatbox Ghost effect was in use when the Haunted Mansion first opened in 1969, but it didn’t actually work very well. In the end, the decision was made to pull the effect shortly after opening. The Hatbox Ghost was gone for more than four decades, but in the early 2010s, the effect was revisited, and with the advancements in technology, a way was found to make it work. The Hatbox Ghost returned to Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion in 2015, and it has been announced that Ghost will make his appearance at Disney World’s Haunted Mansion for the first time ever sometime in 2023. 

The Haunted Mansion movie, which opens on July 28, will certainly contain lots of visual references to the popular Disneyland attraction. So many parts of it have become absolutely iconic. Considering everything the ride went through simply to exist, it’s a testament to the hard work of everybody involved, who was somehow able to put together not simply a fun ride but one of the best rides at Disneyland. 

Indiana Jones first graced the big screen over 40 years ago, and in just four movies Harrison Ford has created one of the most iconic big screen characters of all time. It’s been 15 years since the famed archaeologist wielded his whip, but adventure-cravers won’t have to wait too much longer to see him again. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny — the fifth and final installment of the series — is on its way soon, and it just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Those who were in attendance are hitting social media with their first reactions.

From what we know about Indiana Jones 5, audiences will be transported back to 1969 amid the U.S. space race with Russia. Indy learns that the moon landing program is being run by “former” Nazis, spurring him into action. In addition to Harrison Ford, John Rhys-Davies reprises his role as Sallah, while Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge has joined the Dial of Destiny cast as Indiana Jones’ goddaughter, along with Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Kretschmann, Antonio Banderas and more. Let’s see what Cannes festivalgoers are saying about the upcoming movie:

James Mottram of Games Radar rates the movie 4 stars out of 5, saying there’s a nostalgic feel to the film, as it takes audiences on a rollicking, globe-trotting ride to bring the series to a satisfying end. The review continues:  

Clayton Davis of Variety tweets that Dial of Destiny redeems the franchise, after the previous installment, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was harshly received by critics.  

Donald Clarke of the Irish Times rates the movie 3 out of 5 stars, saying “nobody with a brain in their heads” will compare this Indiana Jones movie favorably to the first three, but director James Mangold keeps his foot on the gas until a “gleefully” absurd ending. If it were less ridiculous, it would be less fun, the critic says: 

The Atom is calling the movie an “instant classic” on Twitter and a career best for Harrison Ford. The site encourages movie lovers to book their tickets for this “historic” film: 

And according to IndieWire’s David Ehrlich, it looks like one big question will be addressed in the fifth and final movie: 

Twitter user "Kenny @Disney+" says that he isn’t able to say a lot, but the important thing is that he thinks fans of the Indiana Jones franchise are going to love Dial of Destiny. He tweets: 

Stephanie Bunbury of Deadline says the movie is fun, it’s wacky, and it works. Throw reality out, because the only real thing that matters is that the Nazis are the bad guys. The critic continues: 

Where will The Dial of Destiny fall in the rankings of Indiana Jones movies? If you need a refresher or want to watch the Indiana Jones movies for the first time, all four will be available for Disney+ subscription holders to stream ahead of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny hitting theaters on Friday, June 30. In the meantime, check out what else is hitting the big screen soon with our 2023 Movie Calendar. 

Few individuals conjure up quite as much in the imagination as Walt Disney. While many of us have grown up as Disney fans in the decades since Walt Disney died, we still know that name and understand what it means. And now those that have never been able to truly see Walt Disney will have that chance, because Walt is now a hologram that’s part of the new Disney 100 exhibition opening in Philadelphia this week.

An exhibition of 100 years of Disney, as seen through props, costumes, and other parts of the famed Disney Archive, is starting a five year run at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia this week. But the most magical item might be a hologram of Walt Disney himself. GMA provided a small preview of the exhibition, including a few words from the Walt hologram, which you can see in the image above. It’s a pretty remarkable looking thing, even if it’s so real it’s entering the uncanny valley a little bit. 

Walt Disney was a committed futurist who was always interested in the possibilities of technology, so he’d honestly probably love the idea of seeing himself as a hologram. In some ways it makes him an animated character like so many others he helped bring to life.

2023 marks the 100th anniversary of The Walt Disney Company and the Mouse House is pulling out all the stops  and celebrating the anniversary in a few different ways. Disneyland Resort is one place to experience the 100 Years of Wonder, and that even includes a small gallery showing off some concept art and even long lost Disneyland props. There’s also a second traveling exhibition, an immersive experience focused on Walt Disney Animation Studios.

If nothing else the existence of the Walt hologram shows how committed the Disney company is to its founder. There were rumors not that long ago that Walt Disney World might change its name and begin to distance itself from Walt the man. Whether in response to those rumors, or simply as a matter of course, we've seen Walt take center stage once again as part of the 100th anniversary. His name is attached to a lot of new merchandise, and Walt is a key part of the new World of Color show at Disney California Adventure.

This exhibition will include elements from all corners of the Disney empire and is sure to be a must see for any serious fan, whether you’re a fan of the movies, the animation, the theme parks, or some combination of all of it. Many of the actual costumes and props from decades of Disney films will be on display. There will also be a recreation of Main Street U.S.A., allowing guests to get a little taste of the parks from miles away.

The exhibition is set to g to London and Munich as well, and will hit numerous other cities around the world in the next five years. That means a lot of people will be able to stand in a room with Walt Disney, certainly something most never thought possible.

These days it feels like Disney Parks are just one endless celebration after another. From Epcot’s year long International festivals to Disney California Adventure’s Lunar New Year and Food & Wine Festival, there’s always something new happening to get people to visit the parks. Disney World is getting ready to wrap up its 50th anniversary celebration in the same year that the Walt Disney Company celebrates its 100th anniversary. 

The 100 Years of Wonder celebration, while company-wide, is primarily focused on Disneyland. And while it technically hasn’t started yet, even having only previewed it, there is one significant difference: Walt Disney is front and center.

Disney World’s 50th Was Lots Of Disney, Not Much Walt

When the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World began at the end of 2021, there was an expectation, since it was an anniversary, that there would be a lot of nostalgia for the park itself. Disney World had gone through many changes in 50 years, and people have fond memories of the parks of yesteryear. 

But that didn’t really happen. While there was a lot in the decorations and new nighttime spectaculars to remind people of Disney history in film, especially animation, there was very little about the history of the resort Walt built, and also almost no mention of Walt Disney himself. There were even rumors that Walt Disney World might change its name. That such ideas could even be believed showed that fans didn't feel the company respected the man.

The fan out cry was significant enough that we eventually saw a running change made to Disney Enchantment, the Magic Kingdom fireworks show. A new segment was added, celebrating Walt and Roy O. Disney, the brothers who made Disney World happen.

Disneyland’s 100 Years Of Wonder Merch Celebrates Walt Disney

Whether you’re talking about celebrating Disney World or the Disney Company, it all comes back to Walt Disney eventually. And a look at some of the brand new merchandise being released on Friday when the 100 Years of Wonder celebration officially begins, shows that this party is not forgetting Walt.

A new coffee mug is adorned with a copy of Walt Disney’s first business card as a professional animator, complete with a simple drawing of Walt and work that was drawn by Walt himself. A couple of journals that are available are a throwback to the Disneyland of an earlier era, but Walt’s name is right there alongside the name of the park he founded.

A hat that lists the original lands of Disneyland also calls it Walt Disney's Disneyland, just as the voice over did for the original Disneyland TV show that was created to market, and help fund, the construction of the park itself. An especially cool item, a pair of ears, include inside them the Walt Disney Studio’s flowchart, which shows how the movie studio, the theme park, and the merchandising side of the company all support and feed each other, just as they do today.

World Of Color - One Begins And Ends With Walt

But it isn't just adding Walt to a few merchandise items that makes the 100 Years of Wonder feel different. Walt also makes a noticeable appearance in the newest version of Disney California Adventure's World of Color nighttime spectacular. In fact, one bookends the show with Walt Disney. He is the first and the last voice that you hear during the show.

Walt Disney used to say that it was "all started by a mouse" but we know that's not actually true. It was started by a man, a man named Walt Disney. And while that man wasn't perfect, he deserves the credit for the work that he did, and it seems clear that nobody will be leaving the 100 Years of Wonder at Disneyland without knowing that much.

Walt Disney always said, that “it was all started by a mouse” and while there’s certainly a lot of truth to that, Walt Disney himself, along with Ub Iwerks, was one of Mickey’s creators, essentially a father figure for the iconic character. This past weekend, during the fall Dapper Day event at Disneyland, Mickey was “reunited” with Walt once again, and the result is something truly special.

This past Sunday was Dapper Day at Disneyland Resort, an unofficial event where guests to the park dress up in various forms of formal attire and hit the parks in style. Many use the opportunity to cosplay or Disneybound, but Bill Burns and his wife Jane took things to another level by dressing as Walt and Lillian Disney. Then, when Mickey Mouse saw them in the park, something truly special happened Check out the video below. 

Even without the “When You Wish Upon A Star” music that was added in this video that captured the exchange, this is quite heartwarming. The two shake hands and Mickey, somehow even though the mask never changes, looks absolutely awestruck, like he was surprised by an old friend that he hadn’t seen in ages. Then he gives Burns, or Walt, a hug, and puts his head on the man's shoulder. It's a reaction that was clearly unexpected.

Usually, it's the guests that want to give the Disney Parks' characters a hug, but it seems Mickey just couldn’t help himself. One has to wonder what the Cast Member inside this costume was thinking and feeling. It’s possible they were just playing along, but we know that working at Disney Parks means a lot of many of the people who show up every day. This might have been a genuine emotional reaction by the person playing Mickey, who was feeling something like what so many people are feeling watching this. 

Fans who have found these images on social media are getting about as emotional over them as Mickey seemingly did here. It’s just really quite sweet. Just the idea of Mickey being able to see Walt again will get any Disney fan emotional, and the fact that this happened on Main Street U.S.A. at Disneyland, the one Disney park that Walt actually stepped foot in, just makes it that much more perfect.

It’s perfectly common to see guests show up at Disneyland Resort on Dapper Day dressed as a formal version of their favorite Disney character. True costuming is generally frowned upon inside the parks, but of course, there’s nothing wrong with simply wearing a suit to Disneyland, and if you happen to have the right sort of haircut and mustache that suggests you look like Walt Disney, so be it. Burns shared images of the interaction to his own Instagram account as well. 

Disneyland has always been a place steeped in nostalgia. That’s exactly what Walt Disney wanted and so it’s little surprise that Walt himself, via cosplay, is now part of that tradition.  

Anybody who is a fan of John Stamos knows that the actor is a big fan of all things Disney. He’s a frequent visitor to the parks, does a lot of work on various Disney shows, and also owns an elephant from the Dumbo attraction, because who wouldn’t if they had the chance? The star of Disney+’s Big Shot is such a big Disney fan that he says Walt would be his ultimate dinner companion, and he sort of did have dinner with him once, but didn’t know it.

John Stamos told Yahoo in a recent interview that his dream dinner guest would be Walt Disney, but then revealed the time he came close to that dream, by having dinner with Tom Hanks. Apparently, Stamos and Hanks had dinner together a few years ago, while Hanks was in the middle of production on Saving Mr. Banks, where he played Walt. Hanks didn’t say a word about what he was working on, though Stamos admitted he probably should have figured it out due to the mustache. Stamos explained…

The 2013 movie Saving Mr. Banks saw Tom Hanks play Walt Disney himself in a dramatized story of the creation of the iconic film Mary Poppins. It’s also one of the few films to actually shoot inside Disneyland. Hanks is great in the role, and does a great job pulling off the look as Walt, so much so that it is a little surprising that Stamos didn’t make the connection. That pencil mustache of Walt’s is fairly iconic.

The morning after the pair had dinner was apparently when the actual filming at Disneyland took place. In the film, Walt tries to use the park to win over P.L. Travers, played by Emma Thompson, which doesn’t really work. Stamos says he gave Hanks a hard time for not telling him that he was playing Walt when they had met the night before.

Honestly, if I had the chance to eat dinner with Walt Disney or Tom Hanks, I’d have to think about it. Both would almost certainly make for great companions with lots of interesting things to talk about over the course of the meal. Although having dinner with another big Disney fan like John Stamos would probably also be a lot of fun. We can discuss the campaign to get Disney World to name a drink after him.

Somebody may be following in Tom Hanks footsteps, as we know Disney is working on a movie about the creation of Disneyland, which means somebody will be playing Walt Disney on screen once again. Once that happens, maybe John Stamos can have both him and Tom Hanks over for dinner to talk about playing Walt Disney. It's about as close as he'll get. 

Of the upcoming Disney movies, two of the most anticipated and talked about are the live-action remakes of The Little Mermaid and Snow White. In both movies, Disney has cast women of color in the title roles. Halle Bailey, a Black actress and singer, will play Ariel, and Rachel Zegler, a Latina actress known for her role in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, will play Snow White. Many have criticized this casting because they are women of color playing parts that were originally portrayed as white women. Now, Abigail Disney, Walt Disney’s granddaughter, is getting candid about how she feels about the casting. 

Disney made it clear she supports the casting and also thinks her relatives would have “embraced the push for diversity” at the studio. She explained her feelings about the casting and people’s reactions to Yahoo!, saying: 

Walt Disney Studios and it’s counterparts, including Pixar and Marvel, have clearly made an effort to create content that is made by and stars people of color. This year Pixar released Turning Red, which stars a predominantly Asian cast and Marvel released Ms. Marvel, which centers around a Pakistani-American family and incorporates Islam into the story, and these are just two examples of how Disney has diversified its content across different studios. With the live-action remakes, people are fed up because the characters were originally white in the animated feature. Abigail Disney called these people out again in a tweet, writing: 

Many other celebrities have spoken out in support of The Little Mermaid’s choice to cast Bailey. The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah responded by calling those who don’t support the casting “internet racists.” While fellow mermaid and Splash star Daryl Hannah defended Bailey’s casting on Twitter. Fellow Disney princess Rachel Zegler also tweeted her support for Bailey. Zegler was responding to a tweet that supported her casting as Snow White but did not approve of Bailey’s casting. The actress stated if the user couldn't support Bailey he didn't support any of the actresses.

Zegler has also spoken about her own casting as Snow White. She explained what it was like being a Latina actress taking on the role, saying while the character is not normally Latina, but is an "iconic" character in Spanish-speaking countries. The actress also has spoken about how important it is to see Latin representation in musicals, and said West Side Story, which she starred in along with an ensemble of Latin actors, was a “step in the right direction.” 

While both women have received criticism over their casting, it’s clear they are also making a positive impact because little girls get to see themselves represented in a way they haven’t before.

Three are now a dozen Disney theme parks around the world, but there was only one that Walt Disney himself ever stood inside. Walt Disney spent so much time at Disneyland both before and after it opened that he had an apartment built for himself on the grounds. Few get to actually visit the apartment, but anybody can see where it was, day or night, because a lamp is always left burning in the window, but as of this week, it's now a different lamp.

Most of the people that walk past the Disneyland Firehouse certainly won't notice, but the serious fans, that know the significance of the lamp, and why it is always burning, noticed that the lamp was recently replaced. The image above is one I took at the beginning of September. Below you can see the lamp that's there now.

While the lamp has been replaced a few times in the last 67 years, the lamp being in that window in the first place is a significant piece of Disneyland history. When Walt was alive, the lamp being lit signified to the Cast Members that the boss was on site. There's even an old Disneyland ghost story associated with the lamp, that after Walt's death somebody was cleaning the apartment and turned the lamp off, only to see it back on after getting down to street level. The story goes that the lamp kept turning itself back on no matter what happened. Today, the lamp is left burning continuously, as a way of recognizing Walt's presence in the park at all times, in a symbolic way. 

There were plans to build a new apartment for Walt in New Orleans Square, because he decided the firehouse space was too small. Unfortunately, Walt passed away before he could ever use it. The space was eventually converted into what is now the 21 Royal restaurant. an exclusive dining establishment. There were also plans to build Walt an apartment inside Cinderella's Castle at the Magic Kingdom, but he died before that construction even began. 

While the previous lamp was not anything directly tied to Walt Disney, the new lamp is a significant change in design from the old one. However, it looks like part of  the reason for the change might actually be historical accuracy. At least one old picture of the apartment when Walt was in it, posted by Walt Disney Animation Studios' Bruce Wright, shows a lamp somewhat similar to the one that is there now, in a window.

Having said that, the lamp will probably be something that requires getting used to for some fans. What the lamp in the window looks like is less important than the fact that there is a lamp in the window at all, but certainly the fans who pay that much attention are going to be quite used to the old lamp. In the end, however, new fans will learn about what the lamp means, and they'll fall in love with this one. And eventually they can get made when it gets replaced again. 

For the last 10 months Walt Disney World has been celebrating its 50th anniversary, but it’s difficult to say how many people visiting the parks right now even know that. Recent guest surveys have asked guests if they knew the 50th anniversary of Disney World was happening, indicating the resort is at least aware that the birthday party might be a bit lack luster. However, it appears that Disney World is taking the criticism to heart as it may be adding a new segment to the Magic Kingdom nighttime spectacular that will celebrate the history of Disney World.

Enchantment is the brand new fireworks show at Magic Kingdom that debuted as part of the 50th anniversary celebration, and while many love the show, (though it’s no Happily Ever After) there’s nothing about it that specifically celebrates the history of Walt Disney World. However, last night there was some after hours fireworks testing going on, captured by One Little Spark JL which clearly shows Walt Disney himself as part of the Cinderella Castle projection mapping. Along with other new segments it appears that about two minutes is being added to Enchantment specifically to focus on Disney World history. 

Disney World is, by its very nature, designed to invoke nostalgia in guests and so many fans found it strange, and frustrating, that a lot of Disney World’s 50th anniversary was just new versions of popular IP, and not more of a focus on the parks themselves. They’re all very different places than they were decades ago and many fans loved Epcot back when it was still Epcot Center or parts of Magic Kingdom that are now long gone.

Nothing about this test has been officially announced so while it appears we could be seeing a running change to Enchanment, we’re not sure exactly when we’ll see it. It could happen as early as tonight, or if more testing is needed it could still be weeks away. We coulld also end up seeing this new element as part of an entirely new show.

We rarely see a running change like this made to a nighttime spectacular. We’re more than halfway through the 18-month long 50th anniversary celebration, so even if there was agreement inside Disney World that Enchantment was missing something, that wouldn’t mean for sure that we’d see it. It would certainly appear that this issue was important enough, and potentially easy enough to fix, that Disney World is making this change.

Seen in a positive light, this looks to be a case of Disney World hearing a complaint, taking it to heart, and actually doing something about it. For some it may be too little too late, many who have been to Walt Disney World in the last 10 months probably aren’t looking to return in the next eight.

Still, to see this update happen is better than not. And it would also seem to contradict recent rumors that Walt Disney World was looking to distance itself from Walt Disney, which may even be another reason this update is being made.