Mouse Extra

Putting out Princess merchandise is like printing money for Disney. You can go to any Disney Store and at least a third of it is filled with princess items from clothes, shoes, dolls, toys, sleepwear, make-up kits, purses, candy, CDs, key chains, books of all kinds to, of course, DVDs. At the parks, whole stores are dedicated to these gals. Stage productions and ice spectacles have been created to feed this frenzy. Disney has now started a Pirate & Princess ticket event at the Magic Kingdom. An odd combo for sure, but a hit nonetheless.

I will focus specifically on the DVDs Disney has put out to take advantage of the interest seemingly every young girl in the US of A has in them. More specifically, I will discuss the Princess Stories and Princess Sing-A-Longs which my daughter absolutely loves. For older girls, Disney has recently released Princess Party DVDs which are more interactive with games, recipes and the like. Those are a little advanced for my toddler but I’m sure I’ll get there someday as she gobbles up anything with Cinderella, Jasmine, Belle, Aurora, or Ariel on it.

The sing alongs are fun for the little ones in particular. They take a portion of the movies and plunk it down like a music video with the words scrolling on the bottom. Volume One contains many of the classics like “Whole New World”, “Beauty and the Beast”, and “Once Upon a Dream.” Volume Two has less of the classics and more second-string songs like “Something There” or songs from direct-to-dvd sequels such as Cinderella 2. Volume 3 really delves into obscurity. Presumably a Volume 4 would be scraping the bottom of the barrel. Still kids love them and there are some fun bonus features like karaoke and dance-alongs.

The Stories line of DVDs is less compelling. These invariably include three or four stories, two of which always seem to be from the Disney Channel series-Little Mermaid and Aladdin. Unfortunately, the animation on those shows was less than spectacular as were the basic plots. There are also stories based on older personalities like Cinderella and Snow White. However, these are simple narration over slow moving frames much like someone reading a picture book. It seems to me that Disney could have put in a little effort and created short cartoons instead of cheaping out on us. Some of them are interactive to a small degree and kids, anyway, seem to like them, which is I suppose the point.

Today’s merchandise review is by Mike, contributing writer to Mouse Extra

I just want to apologize for the delay in updating the site.  We had some technical problems at the end of last week, and then I was out of town over the weekend.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by, and keep a weather eye for lots of new stuff in the next couple of days.  We start with a book review from contributing writer Mike.  He takes a look at on of the Imagineering Field Guides.

Disney has begun publishing a series of “Field Guides” dedicated at least to this point on their Florida theme parks. I will discuss the first, the Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. The subtitle is “An Imagineer’s-eye view.” The authors are listed simply as the Imagineers.

The book begins with an interesting review of what Imagineering is, entitled “Imagineering 101.” This chapter of the book gives a relatively short synopsis on the history of Imagineering from its foundations in 1952. It also breaks down the various aspects from concept/design to engineering, props, graphics, construction, media design and other disciplines. There is also two pages of definitions for Imagineering terms of art.

We then get to an overview of the Magic Kingdom itself. The park’s history is detailed with early conceptual designs and photographs of Walt working on his secret project. The book goes into some detail about how Walt wanted to avoid creating a Disneyland East and his instructions to the Imagineers on that problem. It also demonstrates how Imagineers want you to experience the park itself. It shows you how they design the way you fist glimpse the castle and how you only really view what’s inside after you walk under the train station.

The book is then broken down into the various Lands at the Magic Kingdom. This is where we get to the meat of the book, and its where it really shines. Disney fans will love the inside dirt on how attractions and buildings are designed and themed. Each section is chock full of facts, figures, pictures, and perhaps of most interest, conceptual art. For example, under the Liberty Square section, we learn about the origins of the colonial section of the park and the styles behind the architecture. The Hall of Presidents is discussed in detail as we are told the story behind the sculpting of the figures and the use of massive illustrations during the show. There is also a “Quick Facts” section.

The idea behind the book is simple. Like nature field guides, the book is small for easy transport. You can easily take this book to the Kingdom and spot the Imagineering points of interest as you walk around. You can note, for instance, the jousting lances holding up the medieval tent of It’s a Small World. Or you can note how as you travel “west” across Frontierland, the architecture itself becomes more “westerly” from old St. Louis to gold-rush California.

I do love this book. The concept art is a big highlight for me. Real Disney fans will get a huge kick out of the historical information and the details of the Imagineering process behind some of the most (and least) popular attractions. I hope these keep coming. They have already done an Epcot book (perhaps I will review that at some point) and this June will see a Disney’s Animal Kingdom volume. I hope someday to see Imagineering guides to Disneyland and the Resorts, as well.

Yesterday saw the release of Peter Pan onto a 2-disc “Platinum Edition” DVD.  For those wondering if it is worth buying a film you may already have on an old VHS tape, it is.  This DVD is terrific.

The film is restored wonderfully.  It looks great and it sounds great.  But you probably already know about the film, so there’s no need to go into that.  What makes this set worth owning is the extra disc that is loaded with better-than-expected bonus features. 

There is a 15 minute making-of documentary entitled “You Can Fly”.  This has appeal for any Disney fan.  It traces a history of Walt’s interest in the Peter Pan story all the way to his childhood, when he saw it on stage.  You learn that Walt and his animators actually began working on the film in the late 1930’s, going through a creatively exhaustive process of developing the story they wanted to tell.  Through it all you see some rare shots of the original storyboard drawings, and interview footage with the people involved in bringing it to life, like Margaret Kerry (model for Tinker Bell), Marc Davis (who animated Tink), and Frank Thomas (the animator for Captain Hook).  Their stories, combined with interviews from people like Leonard Maltin, leave you wishing it was longer.

But the real gem is a piece called “In Walt’s Words; Why I Made Peter Pan”.  It is a dramatic reading of an article he wrote for a magazine after the film’s release.  Walt admits that Peter Pan was his second favorite fairytale character growing up, next to Snow White.  He tells of how he saw it at a traveling stage show as a kid, and then talks about his attempt to play Peter as a boy in a school play.  The punch line comes when Walt explains how they tied him to a rope and hoisted him up over the stage to make him fly, only to have the rope break and Walt come crashing into the audience.  He also walks us through the entire process of making the film, and explains how the animated medium offered the filmmakers the ability to tell the story in ways that live action never could.

For Tinker Bell fans there is a segment called “Tinker Bell; A Fairy’s Tale”, which is a whimsical look at the life and times of the famous pixie.  It talks about Tink’s development through books, stage and screen and includes more footage of Marc Davis and Margaret Kerry.  This short documentary also discusses the lasting effect that Davis’ Tink has had on the Disney Company, and even shows how she inspired other great Disney characters like the Little Mermaid’s Aerial. 

The last bonus feature I’d like to point out is a piece called “The Peter Pan That Almost Was”.  This takes us through all the different story ideas the creators had during the long process of conceptualizing the film.  There are different endings, scenes that never made it, and how each character evolved into what they became on screen.  It’s all told with rare, and some never-before-seen, storyboard drawings.  It’s a fascinating peak into the creative process during Disney’s golden age.

There are other features as well, games, music, etc.  They all combine to make a truly terrific DVD that any Disney addict will be glued to.  Peter Pan is not my favorite film, so I was a bit skeptical to say the least, but this set delivers.

I often hear people asking about what books they can read to learn more about Walt Disney World, Imagineering, the company and Walt himself.  I have a decent sized collection of books about the Mouse, so I thought it would be helpful to people looking to learn more if I review some of the older books that are still in print.  I hope you find these useful…

How close was Walt Disney World from being located in St. Louis?  Did Walt Disney ever really intend to build an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow with permanent residents?  Have you ever wondered how the Mouse seemingly took over central Florida?  These are just the very beginning of all the fascinating questions that are answered in Richard E. Fogelsong’s book “Married to the Mouse; Walt Disney World and Orlando”.

From the outset, the book is a Disney World addicts dream.  It offers amazing detail on how Disney was able to acquire all their land, set up shop, and become a world onto itself.  You go inside both the Disney offices and those of the local politicians and businessman who help facilitate the partnership.  But like all good books, things don’t stay rosy for too long, and in the volume it turns quickly to a story of backroom wrangling, secret plans, and all out publicity war.  Although Fogelsong tends to write occasionally in a clinical manner, the plot seems to always thicken.

“Married to the Mouse” chronicles the major bumps in the road that seems to have brought Disney and Orlando from happy newlyweds to a divorced couple sorting out a mess.  It covers the development and operations of the mysterious Reedy Creek Improvement District, the name casual Disney World guests may recognize from the firehouse they pass within the “Disney bubble”.  The amount of leverage and benefits Disney received from the deal to build in Central Florida is sometimes mind-blowing, and the author opens our eyes to things we might never have noticed.  But this about more than just the marriage, it’s about the relationship as well.

As Michael Eisner took over, things changed.  Tax battles, road improvement debates, and everything in between separated these once happy partners, as Disney seemed more openly interested in growing the bubble, rather then being a partner in developing the future of the area.  With the introduction of Celebration, Disney’s planned community, and Downtown Disney, the Mouse opened a competition war with the town that gave them so much.

Fogelsong uses the idea of marriage to layout this story in a concise way, though sometimes with a slight “text book” feel.  But he never lets the nuts and bolts get in the way of the story.  “Married to the Mouse” is required reading for every Disney World fan who is interested in learning how the Mouse became so big.

One of the first things I do when I decide to book a Disney World vacation is to purchase some guidebooks. I don’t need them by any means. I’ve been to Walt Disney World enough times that I devise my own touring plans without the help of professionals. For some reason, I love to read the various guides to get me “psyched” for my trip (not that I need a lot of help in that regard). To me, the best books are the Unofficial Guide and the Passporter. I would like to address the latter here. Read the rest of this entry »

Late last year, Disney Theme Park Merchandise released a DVD called The Treasures of the Disney Cruise Line.  Being a lover of both the Wonder and Magic, this was a pleasant surprise to see it on the shelves at Walt Disney World and one I was excited to watch.  I don’t get on the ships as often as I would like, and often get nostalgic when I see photos of what are certainly the nicest cruise ships I’ve seen.  After viewing the DVD, however, I think I my money would have been better served being flushed down the toilet. (…okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration.) Read the rest of this entry »