Captain America, The Winter Soldier Short Review - Plus : Final Trailer of X-Men, Days of Future Past

Just saw Captain America, The Winter Soldier, today and the movie is truly fantastic. The quality of the script is amazing for a super-hero movie and if we except the opening "hostages rescue" sequence which is not specially interesting, all the rest is perfect, really.
All the actors are excellent and the good news is that the great Robert Redford don't have a small role but is present all along the movie. So, if you've not seen it yet i strongly recommend it to you!


And the next super-hero movie to come that should be excellent should be X-Men, Days of Future Past ( to be released May 23 ) by what i can judge from the new awesome final trailer!




Picture and video: copyright Fox

Leading Ladies and Femmes Fatales : The Art of Marc Davis, a New Exhibit at The Walt Disney Family Museum Starting April 30

The Walt Disney Family Museum announced a great Marc Davis Exhibit!
On view from April 30 to November 3, Leading Ladies and Femmes Fatales: The Art of Marc Davis spotlights some 70 original pencil animation drawings, conceptual artwork, paintings, cels, and photographs from animator and Imagineer Marc Davis.

Co-curated by the museum’s director of collections and exhibitions, Michael Labrie, and animator Andreas Deja, the exhibition features pieces from Davis’ personal collection, Walt Disney Imagineering, and the Walt Disney Family Foundation’s collection. Leading Ladies and Femmes Fatales highlights Davis’ female characters in film—such as Peter Pan’s Tinker Bell, Sleeping Beauty’s title heroine Aurora and its villain Maleficent, and One Hundred and One Dalmatian’s Cruella de Vil—as well as in live entertainment and fine art.

Picture: copyright Disney

Official : WDS Ratatouille Ride Will open on July 10 ! Plus: Awesome WDI Video Showing Ride Inside Decor !

It's official, the highly awaited WDS Ratatouille ride will open on July 10. The "Chez Remy" restaurant, close to the attraction, will also open on July 10. No news for now if soft-openings will happen before July 10 ( probably ) but i will let you know.

But there is more as DLP released this great Video showing for the first time the inside of the ride with stunning views of the gigantic decors that await WDS guests. I remind you that riders are supposed to be reduced at the size of a rat, and move in a kitchen, so this explain why everything has to be huge from oranges to cheese or hams, etc... The attraction will have a trackless ride system and in addition to these huge decors each scene will have 3D immersive 3D projections ( like in the Spiderman or Transformers ride ). The ride will include too cold / heat / scents effects depending of the scenes.

On most of the shots of the video you'll see Imagineers, painters, sculptors... giving the final touch on each set and i did HD screen captures of the most interesting shots for you. Click on each to see them in big size!




Let's start with shots showing painters working on what seems to be Paris rooftops. Note: In the background of the second picture below you can see the loading / unloading platform as the start of the ride happen on Paris rooftops.

The video then shows decors of giant food which most probably are part of the scene inside the restaurant storeroom... 

Others sequences shows the arrival of giant kitchen props...

And this next picture shows what is most probably a giant wheel of the on wheels table for a scene of the ride supposed to happen under it.

A last picture with this shot of the moment they have fixed the Gusteau's sign.

If there is a logic somewhere these shots of the awesome decors of the ride should help those of you who still had some doubts to be sure that the Ratatouille ride is going to be a real E-Ticket attraction which for sure will become an instant classic!

Pictures and video: copyright Disney, Max Fan

Port Aventura " Angkor, Adventure in the Lost Kingdom " Now Open !

Although you still have to wait a few months before Disneyland Paris WDS Ratatouille ride will open , Spain Port Aventura already opened its new attraction: Angkor, Adventure in the Lost Kingdom and i have videos for you of the full ride as well as opening celebrations.

Although the Angkor decor looks good to me i have to say that i'm a bit disappointed by the theming. The big mistake for me is the lack of vegetation theming. And it's strange that they did this mistake because they have the room to add exotic vegetation, even if it would have been simply bamboos and it was not that difficult or expensive to do. Instead we have a slow interactive raft ride which is as far as the Jungle Cruise as it can be and much more a "splash battle" between riders and guests outside.

Located in the "Asia" part of Port Aventura i don't like also the fact that it's so close to the roller coasters that the feeling to be immersed in a  far away world is impossible, so there is a real problem of visual intrusion, here. But young guests, teens, and anyone who like to get wet will have fun with this ride who should be popular with Port Aventura guests. Below,  the videos and let me know what you think in the comments!

A short video of the ride filmed probably ( because of the water splash ) with a Go Pro camera.




A longer video showing the making-of, the opening celebration and on-ride video with famous VIPs.




Some official artwork and making-of pictures. As you can see from the videos the ride don't really have the kind of Jungle Cruise lush vegetation that you can see on the renderings below!

Pictures: copyright Port Aventura

Opening Date of WDS Ratatouille Ride To Be Announced Tomorrow April 15 ?

From what i've been told we should know officially tomorrow April 15 the opening date of the highly awaited WDS Ratatouille ride. I have a little idea of it but i've promised to keep it secret until tomorrow ( and also i could be wrong ). Also, i remind you that a press event is rumored for June 21 ( also to be confirmed ).
Stay tuned on Disney and more for more news tomorrow!

Picture: copyright Disney

An Ideal Vision Of DLP Walt Disney Studios Future Expansion

With the Ratatouille sub-area nearing completion, Sam Wilson, on his Ideal Buildout blog, decided to take another look at what the future could be for DLP WDS with a new "ideal" expansion plan of the park. This time, he decided to incorporate more of what is currently standing and keep it based on The Movies, specifically five distinct film-making entities and a sixth area showcasing Hollywood’s Golden Age of the 1940s. His vision of DLP 2nd Gate is populated by outside entities the Walt Disney Company has since acquired or become associated with: Pixar, Lucasfilm, Studio Ghibli.

Sure, it's Sam vision of how the Walt Disney Studios could become in the future so an "ideal" vision which very probably will never happen but check the explanations of Sam on his Ideal Buildout blog HERE as Sam has some pretty good ideas!

Picture: copyright Sam Wilson

Download NOW "Monument Valley", Most Beautiful Game Ever For iPhone - iPad ( and Coming Soon For Android )

I'd like to start the week by something unusual as it is all about a stunningly beautiful iPhone / iPad game that i highly recommend you to download on the Appstore. It's a wonder of intelligence, refinement and poetic beauty, and all this in a world that remind M C Escher "impossible architecture" artwork.

It's called "Monument Valley" ( no relation with Utah National park ),  and comments are "over the top" with 5 stars by almost everyone, which the game truly deserves. It's a "puzzle game" so if you like action or "shoot at will" games it's not for you, but if you like or need something done with beauty and sensitivity you'll love it. And there is even a charming and mysterious story all along that you will understand the meaning at the end. Price on the Appstore is $3.99 ( or 3.59€ ) and there is so far 10 levels only ( just learned on their blog that more levels will be added soon ) but don't be stopped by that as it is truly a beautiful game, trust me. HERE is the U.S iTunes link.

Below, more infos about the game, the game trailer and a "behind the scenes" videos with the game creators from USTWO as well as screen captures and sketches. Although the pics look great you won't understand the magical beauty of the game until you play it!

Here is the press release who tell you more about Monument Valley:

Monument Valley is a surreal exploration through fantastical architecture and impossible geometry. Guide the silent Princess Ida through mysterious monuments, uncovering hidden paths, taking advantage of optical illusions and outsmarting the enigmatic Crow People.

Inspired by the art of M.C. Escher, Japanese prints and minimalist 3D design, each level is a unique, hand-crafted combination of puzzle, graphic design and architecture. Like listening to an album or walking through a museum for the first time, Monument Valley is about discovery, perception and meaningful beauty.

Monument Valley introduces new game mechanics subtly, allowing players intuitively to discover their abilities and the rules of the world. Balancing difficulty and delight, the developers want as many players as possible to complete the game and see Ida's quest through to the end.

Players interact directly with the architecture of Monument Valley, twisting and dragging to reshape the world to help Ida to explore. As you manipulate the environment the audio reacts to provide a atmospheric and beautiful soundscape.

Every screen of Monument Valley has been carefully considered as graphic design, so that each one could be printed and framed. Players can enter 'Camera Mode' to zoom in and compose their own take on the artwork, which they can then save or share with friends.

Neil McFarland, director of games at ustwogames says, “We’ve focused our attention on the design of game alongside a lot of user testing, and we really hope Monument Valley is what people are looking for right now - a premium game of the highest artistic quality offering players a satisfying journey from start to end."

Monument Valley is available for $3.99/£2.49 from the App Store on iPhone, iPad or iPod touch or at; (iPad 2 / iPhone 4 minimum requirement). An Android version will follow soon after (price TBC).

Pictures and video: copyright USTWO