Tokyo Disney Sea Wallpapers HD application, now available for your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch !

Since i've done the Disneyland Paris "From sketch to Reality" book i don't count all the people who asked me to do the same kind of book about Tokyo Disney Sea. I would love to do it and may be it will happen someday, but for now i've designed this great application which is a tribute to TDS which is largely considered as "the most beautiful theme park in the world".

The application works great on all iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, it includes hundreds of gorgeous high-res pictures of TDS and and is available now on the iTunes Appstore for the very low price of $1.99 or 1.59€, which should be an affordable price for everyone.

The app is called in the Appstore "TDS Wallpapers HD" and the app features include:
1. NEW user interface. Categorized Wallpapers. Ability to sort the wallpapers by land.
2. Optimized wallpapers for each iOS devices. Fast wallpaper download.
3. HD Pictures designed to take full advantage of the new iPhone 4 and iPod Touch retina screen! Looks gorgeous on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch screens!
4. Ability to save each picture to enjoy them offline
5. Save your favorite pictures in the favorite section
6. Caption for each picture and Wikipedia link for each land or attraction for full infos about each site
7. Ability to zoom in each picture. Simple swipe to advance / revisit the pictures
8. Share with your friends on Facebook!



You will find in the app fantastic pictures of each land and here are some examples: First, on the menu page - picture above - you'll have the choice between ten buttons designed as scrolls and depending of your choice you'll access to "all pictures" or pictures of each land. If you choose this last option then the first land will be Mediterranean Harbor with either pictures of the Renaissance Fortress and Galleon...



...or the great Venitian area, and many more...



The app includes day and night pictures and the night pictures are awesome! Here is two night shots of Mysterious Island, one with Mysterious Island volcano in the background...



...and the other one, a close shot of the Nautilus.



Approximately half of the photos were shot by me when i was invited at the press event, one week before the park opened, which means that the park was absolutely brand new, and the other half by a good friend of mine who is a brilliant photographer and a big TDS fan, too. Next examples pics are about the Arabian Coast with great view of the land...



...or closer shot on the Arabian decor. I remind you that these are just examples and that there is many pics for each land.



Considering that it is a wallpaper app we did the best possible picture choice so whatever the picture you'll choose to put on your device front page they will look great. Next land is Lost River Delta and you'll find many outside pictures of the land but also great pics of the unique Indiana Jones ride queue decor.



Some examples of the pictures you'll find in the Port Discovery section with this large view of the land...



...or the TDS elevated tramway arriving at Port Discovery station.



The Cape Cod part of the park is also present in the app with day or night pictures like the one below.



No need to say that American Waterfront and its gorgeous decor have dozens of pictures in the app whether it is the S.S Columbia...



...the amazing architecture of TDS Tower of Terror...



...or the great American Waterfront elevated tramway.



In addition to the day pictures the section also include fantastic pics of the land at night like this one...



...or this one of the S.S Columbia.



Depending of your computer screen the pictures above will look probably good but i can assure you that it's nothing in comparison of how they look on an iPhone or an iPad screen thanks to the screen devices technology. And for each picture you'll find a Wikipedia link for more details on each land or attractions, not to mention the other features listed above.

TDS Wallpapers HD is also a GREAT app for those of you who are planning to visit the park and there is links to the TDS site for your reservations, if needed.

TDS Wallpapers HD is now available on the iTunes Appstore for $1.99 or 1.59€ and you will find it HERE. One last important thing: after you've downloaded the app thanks to leave a comment on iTunes, as we know good comments are always needed and welcome. Thanks by advance, and enjoy the app!

Pictures: copyright Park Lane Editions

"Cars 2" safety video reminds drivers to not drive distracted

The Department of Transportation, Disney, and Pixar have teamed up to help fight distracted driving with a new “Cars 2” video.

The 30-second video with a special editing is called "Only the bad guys drive distracted" and with the help of the Cars characters it advises viewers that "No calling, no texting, nothing that can take away your focus while you're driving". This special ad will be available in more than a dozen countries with various translations, and you can discover it right now below.




Picture and video: copyright Disney - Pixar

First Concept-Arts of Andrew Stanton's John Carter of Mars

Disney released a teaser poster as well as two concept-arts of the awaited John Carter of Mars, directed by Andrew Stanton, the great Pixar director of Wall-E. There is not a lot to say of the teaser poster above but the concept-arts are more interesting.

The first one below shows a city on Mars...



..and this next one shows an airship on Mars known as Barsoom. There is more to learn about the movie, and from Andrew Stanton himself in a good interview that you can read HERE.



The movie is supposed to be released on March 9, 2012 so we will certainly know more in the coming months even if Disney has chosen to don't show even a few minutes of it at San Diego upcoming Comicon.

Pictures: copyright Disney

Ever seen a Jungle Cruise Elephant Flying ?

Once every 7-10 years, the Disneyland Jungle Cruise elephants are given a "check-up" which takes about 7 weeks. When her refurbishment is complete, they will return to the Jungle Cruise and will once again be what the skippers call, "the largest and most feared animal in our jungle - the mother-in-law!".

But to achieve this elephant check-up they need to remove them from the now "real" jungle of the Jungle Cruise, and there is no other way to do it than with a helicopter! So, have a look to the short video below and you'll be able to say that you've seen a Jungle Cruise elephant flying...




Picture and video: copyright Disney

Already tired of 3D movies ? Don't worry, 4D Theatres are opening soon worldwide !

Disney is probably "happy happy" today as Pirates of Caribbean 4 is Disney's highest grossing ever at the international box office with $695.9 million. Not bad for a movie which is far to be perfect...may be this surprising success happened because the all world love Johnny Depp, or may be because everyone needed a new shoot of good ol' pirates stories, or may be it was the 3D effects (what 3D effects?)...who knows?

But for the movie industry it seems that it's time to jump to the next level of in-theatre effects. If you're already tired of all these 3D movies i'm sorry to say that the next generation of special effects for movie theatres is arriving anytime soon. Say hello to 4D movie theatres for "normal" movies as the first one in America will open in Los Angeles late August. Actually, these 4D theatres already exist in South Korea and a new one will open in Bangkok in two weeks from now with Transformers 3.

And that's the essential point: these 4D theatres will be equipped with the same kind of effects you usually find in theme parks but instead to have movies specially designed for them the in-theatre effects will work with regular movies, mainly blockbusters i presume. The 4D theatre opening July 1st at Bangkok Siam Paragon Cineplex (where you'll find some of the best movie theatres i've ever seen in my life) will add to a normal screening experience moving seats, smells of explosives, sprinkling water, laser lights and wind. Think about the same 4D experience than the one you had at "Honey i schrunk the Audience", without the moving floor, and that's how these new 4D theatre effects should be.

Below is an article posted in the Thai newspaper The Nation which will tell you more about all this and about the company CJ 4DPlex and it's state-of-the-art 4D technology. Because it's one thing to design a 20 minutes movie for & theme park attraction - as the whole movie is designed from the start with the in-theatre effects in mind - and it's something else to have 4D effects with a normal movie which has not been filmed with these in-theatre effects in mind. Which means that CJ 4DPlex probably invented a technology which locates in a normal movie different type of moments (for instance explosions, rain sequences, etc...) to be able to launch each in-theatre effect simultaneously with what is happening on the screen. CJ 4DPlex used its technology in Korea last year with James Cameron's Avatar and it was a full five-senses experience with more than 30 effects during the 3D film's 162 minute run. Okay, all this looks pretty cool, but i only hope that if there is a 10 minutes scene under the rain we will not have 10 minutes of in-theatre rain effect!

Anyway, i will probably test the new Bangkok theatre with the Transformers 3 when it will open early July and you will have my personal review about these new 4D theatres. In the meantime, have a read at the Nation article below.

Major Cineplex taking viewers into the fourth dimension.

Major Cineplex Group has entered into a 50/50 joint venture with South Korea's CJ 4DPlex, an independent subsidiary of CJ Group and the global initiator of four-dimensional cinema technology.


Vicha Poolvoraluck, chairman of Major Cineplex Group, said the company is converting one of its theatres at Paragon Cineplex, located on the fifth floor of Siam Paragon shopping complex, into Thailand's first 4D theatre, named 4DX, using CJ 4DPlex's state-of-the-art technology.

Andy Park, CEO of CJ 4DPlex, said 4DX represents the world's first type of cinema where commercial films are converged with sophisticated motion and environmental effects. Compared to ordinary 2D and 3D theatres, 4DX enables the audience to feel the on-screen action and "ultimately provides the most immersive movie-watching experience", he said.

In South Korea, 4DX performances exceed by at least 1.5 times the occupancy rates for films shown in regular cinemas.

CJ 4DPlex will also open its first programming lab for 4D cinemas in Los Angeles at the end of August. Many Hollywood studios have shown great interest in experiencing 4DX once this lab is established, Park said.

"With the opening of the 4DX programming lab, we believe this will be the start to further developing our business into the homeland of movies, the United States," he added.

With 13 4D screens in South Korea during the second year of operations, CJ 4DPlex has expanded its 4D cinemas via overseas joint ventures in China and Mexico. The company will also open another five 4DX theatres in South Korea by the end of this year.

Vicha said the Thai operation represented the third overseas JV for the Korean company. "We are always looking for something new and innovation for our customers," he added.

The company last month started a US$1.5-million (Bt45.7 million) reconstruction at Paragon Cineplex, converting one of the cinemas into a 4DX theatre.

The 180-seat auditorium will be officially opened on June 29, with the first blockbuster featuring in 4D being "Transformers: Dark of the Moon". Tickets will cost between Bt350 and Bt400.

"We are looking for a proactive expansion of 4DX theatres in strategic locations in Bangkok such as Pinklao, Rangsit and Bang Na, as well as in some major provinces such as Chiang Mai," Vicha said.

Major Cineplex also plans to increase the number of its digital theatres from 36 to about 100 by the end of the year. The overall number of theatres in the group will rise from 370 currently to about 385 in the same period, including at new locations such as Phitsanulok and Chon Buri.

"We also expect to have 200 digital theatres by 2012," said the company's chairman. Major Cineplex expects to operate 500 cinemas in total by the end of 2014, of which almost 80 per cent will be digital.

"We plan to invest between Bt600 million and Bt700 million next year to open another 40 theatre screens in five or six new locations," said Vicha.

Theodore TY Kim, CJ 4DPlex's vice president and chief operating officer, said the partnership with Major Cineplex is also in line with his company's strategy to expand its 4D theatres in potential markets around the world, including in the US, Latin America, China, Russia, Europe, Japan and Southeast Asia.

"We plan to open about 600 4D theatres in 12 major markets within the next three years. We are in discussion with more than 10 exhibitors about joint-venture possibilities to open 4D cinemas in their markets," he said.

Kim added that the global demand for 4D cinemas is currently expected to reach about 1,200, with the company planning to achieve such a total within the next seven to eight years. In South Korea alone, the demand for 4D theatres is expected to reach about 25.

"We are very happy to have Major Cineplex as our partner. Thailand is a very important market for us. We strongly believe 4DX will be a great success with the best innovator in the region," said Kim.

In South Korea, 4DX theatres have enjoyed 56-per-cent occupancy on average, which is much higher than two-dimensional cinemas, which have an occupancy rate of just 25 per cent.

"We expect the 4DX theatres to have a payback period of less than three years on average," he said.

CJ Group also owns CJ CGV, the largest multiplex cinema operator in South Korea. CJ CGV operates about 1,000 screens with a 54-per-cent share of the country's overall cinema market.

Nation article: copyright The Nation

" Super 8 " Review

I saw today J.J Abrams' new movie "Super 8". The movie is produced by Steven Spielberg and as we will see there are good reasons for that. In the middle of the 1970's a group of young teenagers, movie fans, are filming a short horror movie - at a time of the now extinct Super 8 cameras. They will be the witness of a major train accident while they're filming a sequence, and apparently it was not an ordinary train. The train was one of the U.S Air Force and "something" was moved in the middle of the night from a top secret army facility to another one.

I won't tell you more to don't spoil the storyline but to like the movie - and i liked it a lot - you must know that the whole movie is a tribute to the 1970's Spielberg's movies. The story, the photography of the movie and even the theme are all very "Spielbergian" and we understand instantly why Spielberg agreed to be the producer of Super 8. In fact, the whole movie could have been filmed by Steven, and if you want to enjoy it you really must remember this "tribute to the 70's".

For people of my generation it's very enjoyable as it is a kind of teleportation back in time but for young people who are born in early 1990's and who don't have necessarily the 1970's movie culture i'm curious to see if they will be sensitive to the stylization of "Super 8". You'll let me know if you liked it or not in the comments. And one last thing: all the effects are of course perfect, with a special mention to the train accident which is incredible!

Edited: Did you know that Leonard Nimoy appears in the movie? How about that another one of J.J Abrams’s Star Trek stars plays “the monster”? Did you spot the references in Super 8 to Lost, Alias and The Twilight Zone? Slash Film compiled 16 hidden easter eggs which can be found in the movie and you can read this HERE.

Below, the final trailer and a short video interview of Steven Spielberg.







Picture and trailer: copyright Paramount - Amblin Entertainment

First Trailer of Disney's " Planes " Animated Movie

A first trailer of the coming amimated movie "Planes" appeared on Youtube yesterday and then was removed by Disney and it looks not that bad. just like i Cars, the planes have eyes, mouth and talks and it will be interesting to see the quality of the animation when it will be released by Disney in 2013, directly on DVD.

Planes takes off with an international cast of the fastest air racers around, in a comedy packed with action and adventure starring Dusty, a small town dreamer who longs to enter the most epic around-the-world air race... despite his fear of heights. With the help and support of a fleet of new and hilarious characters, Dusty wings his way into the biggest challenge of his life.



The trailer shows him on an aircraft carrier



...surrounded by jet fighters.



John Frost on the Disney Blog noticed how the trailer looks like Top Gun and he's right. Although Top Gun is not my favorite movie - it's the least i can say - i'm curious to see more of this "Planes" movie. But for now, have a look at the trailer, not available any more on Youtube as i've said, but i find it on another site for you.



Pictures and video: copyright Disney - Pixar