Ellen DeGeneres will reprise her role as Dory, the blue fish introduced in 2003’s Finding Nemo, and co-director Andrew Stanton will return to helm Finding Dory as well. We hope you’ve been practicing your Whale. source
Update: For all of those concerned about a possible April Fools’ prank, it’s worth noting that this story wasn’t posted until after the start of normal business hours on April 2. Oh, and Ellen confirmed the news on her show. — Scott @ SFB
The greatest Disney-based video game ever is coming back. Excuse me while I make two Ducktales-related posts in a row.
This GIF explains pretty well what Netflix did to Starz today, by usurping Disney’s exclusive contract and making it their own. As you might remember, a year ago, Starz dropped their deal with Netflix, which cost them this content. While it’s not everything in the Starz bag (and the deal doesn’t take effect until 2016), it was one of the biggest pieces and a huge blow to the network.
You know what the real problem is? There is nothing interesting about this video game at all. The gameplay is nonexistent, and instead of having a controller to play it. You have to sit in a theater and watch a really long cutscene. This game lacks any gameplay whatsoever.The best user review of “Wreck-It Ralph” on Metacritic.
(Update: Ernie found the Good, so I guess I can officially throw my support behind this acquisition. I’m sure the execs at Disney and Lucasfilm have been losing sleep while waiting for me to do so. — Scott @ SFB)
Custom controllers: Using a single wire placed in the soil of a potted plant — doesn’t matter whether it’s live or artificial — Disney Research has created the Botanicus Interacticus system. Through the wire, the Botanicus software can detect where/how someone is touching the plant, strokes across the plants body, or even a person’s proximity to the plant in question. The new tech is currently being displayed at the SIGGRAPH 2012 computer graphics convention in Los Angeles. Excuse us while we try to get over how weird this video is. (ht to The Verge) source
» Think this has anything to do with rumors that Johansson will be starring in a Black Widow spin-off and/or S.H.I.E.L.D. movie? Or the massive payday that Robert Downey Jr. saw as a result of the first ‘Avengers’ flick? Then again, maybe Disney and Marvel realize that — after you release the third-highest grossing film of all time — you’re going to have to pay your all-star cast a bit more money to get them all back for the sequel.
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A first for Disney: Classic Disney characters performed on North Korean stages for the first time ever this weekend. The country’s new leader, Kim Jong Un, has a “grandiose plan to bring about a dramatic turn in the field of literature and arts this year,” according to the KCNA. The performance featured performers dancing around while dressed as Minnie Mouse, Tigger and other characters as footage from Disney movies were projected onto the backdrop.
Before the Mickey Mouse Club discovered the now-ubiquitous actor/hunk/superhero, Ryan Gosling was a gawky Canadian kid with a horrible bowl cut who just happened to have some nasty dance moves. Here he is in 1991, melting hearts with this angelic cover of “When a Man Loves a Woman” and breaking it down to C+C Music Factory’s “Everybody Dance Now” with his sister, Mandi.
At one point he pushes his sister out of the way to upstage her. Top that.
Poll: Majority oppose New York City soda ban
It appears a majority of Americans aren’t too sweet on New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed soda ban.
Key line: “About seven in 10, or 71 percent, say they don’t believe that limiting soda cup sizes will actually have an impact on obesity rates.” For comparison’s sake, would like to see a formal poll on the Disney thing. This non-scientific poll is mostly in favor of Disney’s ad policy changes.
I’m moving back to New York in a few days. Unlike past...
OMG. I got so...
In this week’s Newsweek, a little...
Tumblr this morning. [h/t anne]
#@#$%!.tumblr.com
Here’s a hidden feature that shipped in...
Watch: PCB gets a visual shout out on GMA’s Yahoo/Tumblr...
Still watch Saturday morning cartoons? Or, perhaps, The Disney Channel? In case you do, you may soon stop seeing ads for sugary cereals, candy or other unhealthy products. The company is enacting a new policy called the ”Mickey Check” that will only allow for nutritionally-approved products to be sold on their shows, Web sites, or other branded products. On top of this, the company will cut back on sodium in the kids meals served in its theme parks and increase its efforts to promote exercise and healthy eating. Only downside: Due to currently-existing contracts, the ads won’t change over fully until 2015. Hey, Michael Bloomberg: this is how you do it.
“Dog with a Blog” du bang du bang diggy diggy diggy with the barky said up jump the boogie. (ht Laughing Squid)
Were you born after 1977? If so, here’s your opportunity to sort-of experience a Disneyland attraction that’s been closed down for 35 years. A model railroad enthusiast known only as STNautilus created a to-scale replica of the Mine Train Thru Nature’s Wonderland attraction, including models of the old ride’s famous landscapes and figures. For comparison, check out this restored home-video of the ride when it was still operational from Vimeo user Jeff Altman. source
It’s an unfortunate part of what one does today in order to do business and maintain the integrity of the institutional name, the brand name, the organization, the students, whatever it is that one has built the equity in that what we have to do in this digital age.Barbara Brooks, from The Strategy Group • Commenting on why universities and other not-pornographic groups are buying their .xxx URLs before someone else does. With the recent addition of the .xxx web address to the market, universities (among others) have began buying them for themselves so that the address don’t fall into the wrong hands. ICM Registry CEO Stuart Lawley says that this will “clearly signpost adult entertainment on the Net. For those people who want to find adult content, they can easily find it.” source (via • follow)
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