Marvel Universe Live! , an Epic Show With Cutting-Edge Special Effects Coming to U.S Arenas This Summer

"Marvel Universe Live!" is a new Live "arena" show, produced by Feld Entertainment and coming to 85 U.S cities, starting in Tampa this summer. The show will take the live entertainment experience to a whole new level,  a mind-blowing show unlike anything you’ve seen before: "You'll be able to watch your favorite Marvel Super Heroes including Spider-Man, The Avengers - Iron Man, Hulk, and more, and threatening villains come to life in an action-packed arena extravaganza, coming to cities around North America. You’ll definitely feel the energy with cutting-edge special effects, pyrotechnics, aerial stunts, martial arts, motorcycles and more that will bring the movies special effects to a live entertainment arena. It’s being hailed as the most technically advanced live show ever. Join Marvel fans of all ages for this once-in-a-lifetime, monumental performance. The fate of the universe depends on it!"

Well, well, all this sounds good... Today the show storyline was revealed and it will include 25 Marvel characters: 

"The story is framed around the battle over the Cosmic Cube, the source of ultimate power and one of the most feared and coveted treasures in the Marvel Universe, that has been shattered into pieces by the Mighty Thor in order to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. With the pieces scattered across the globe, Thor’s villainous brother Loki devises a scheme to clone its powers, inciting a threat that could not only decimate Earth but also obliterate the Universe. To defeat Loki, Marvel’s biggest Super Heroes must band together, including The Avengers - Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk and Thor along with Spider-Man and Wolverine, must trek across the globe to retrieve the Cosmic Cube fragments and unite them. As the Super Heroes track the Cube, they will encounter some of their biggest adversaries including Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Red Skull, Madame Hydra, Aldrich Killian, Electro and more, in the quest for the very same fragments. These foes have no problem teaming up if it gets them closer to their ultimate goal of world domination".

“Marvel Universe LIVE! will be the most remarkable live event that the world has ever seen with an absolutely epic story line and jaw dropping technological advances. Fans will feel like they’ve stepped into a Marvel blockbuster film come to life with nonstop movie style action and stunts,” said Feld Entertainment Executive Vice President and Marvel Universe LIVE! Producer Juliette Feld. “We are working hand in hand with Marvel to give fans a revolutionary live show experience that introduces an original story that is faithful to the Marvel canon and utterly captivating from beginning to end!”

Not convinced yet? Have a look at the video below, and to learn where and when the show will come at an arena near you jump to the Marvel Universe Live website HERE

Pictures and video: copyright Feld Entertainment - Marvel

Amazing Peter Pan 10 Min Short Movie !

I've got a special treat for you today - like every day i should say!  - with ten minutes of a Peter Pan short movie! Called "Peter" this one is inspired by a famous french graphic novel from artist Régis Loisel and it's a darker vision of the Peter Pan story.

Here is more about the story line from Director Nicolas Duval:

"This short film presents the first striking stages of Regis Loisel’ s work ‘Peter Pan’ where he puts forward his dark vision of the world in the way of a fairy tale for adults. The film displays Peter as a child, years before Sir James Matthew Barrie’s one. We all know that Peter Pan is an eternal child who hates adults and whose sworn enemy is captain Crochet. But how did he come to this ? London in 1887 hunger coldness and poverty provide the setting.

Brought up by a tyrannical and alcoholic mother Peter finds his salute only in the dreams and tales which free his imagination. One night, after a violent quarrel with his mother he takes refuge on the docks. There a small and attractive fairy who needs help will take him to the imaginary country.

Thus begins the fabulous story of Peter a child from the poor area of White-Chapel who will later become Peter Pan. He will have to face the awful captain Hook in an everlasting fight for the treasure and survival of the island."

Personally, i think that, visually speaking, they did a real good job. Also, the short is in french language with english subtitles. I'm not totally convinced by others points like the dialogs and think they should have filmed it in english with english actors, but that's just my opinion, so i let you be the judge! 

PETER PAN from nikloz001 on Vimeo.

Picture and video: copyright Nicolas Duval

"Festival of Fantasy" Parade Floats Arriving at WDW Magic Kingdom !

The new WDW Magic Kingdom "Festival of Fantasy" parade floats, including the 53 foot long Maleficent Dragon,  arrived secretly at night and Disney Parks has a video of it, have a look!




Picture and video: copyright Disney

Port Aventura Announces Angkor : Lost Kingdom Adventure , Interactive Raft Ride Opening April 11 !

The longest ride in Europe, looking like an interactive Jungle Cruise with tigers, snakes, lost temples, and opening in less than three months from now? That's the great news of the day, coming from the excellent Port Aventura theme park in Spain and D&M has all details and artworks about this new ride called "Angkor : Lost Kingdom Adventure"!

Angkor : Lost Kingdom Adventure will be of course inspired by the famous ancient city of Angkor Wat, built between the ninth and fifteenth centuries and located in the jungles of Cambodia, near Siem Reap. I, personally, had the luck to have been many times at the real Angkor Wat, a real not-to-missed- wonder if you travel in South-East Asia. The jungle is so stick with the temples - see my own pictures below of the real Angkor site - that Angkor is one of the few places in the world where i thought that even with a $500M budget WDI Imagineers would never been able to reproduce it! 

Angkor Wat is also one of the largest religious structure in the world is considered and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1992. 

Back to this new Port Aventura attraction now, and the ride will focus on enjoyment for the whole family and all ages, ideal for those who want to have a fun time and soaking. MACK is the ride manufacturer and the attraction will be an "interactive boat ride" also known as "Splash Battle" in which visitors will embark on a raft equipped with water guns to shoot several interactive targets during the ride such as snakes emerging from the water, tigers, monkeys, stone elephants, and more. Guests will also be able during the ride to shoot at other boats and park visitors who will watch from outside the attraction.

 "Angkor : Lost Kingdom Adventure" occupy an area of 10,500 square meters, enough to create its own mini-land within the China land itself. The attraction will be more than 300 meters long and the ride will last 10 minutes which will make it the longest ride (in time) in Europe, with a maximum capacity of 726 people per hour spread over a total of 14 boats up to 8 people per boat. The estimated cost of the attraction is 10 million euros.

Now, even with a 300 meters length, if the ride last 10 minutes it obviously will not be a fast raft ride and, considering that riders apparently might not be sit according to the attraction poster on the top,  "Angkor: Lost Kingdom Adventure" seems to be a slow interactive raft family ride, which sounds fine to me. 

And the good news is that "Angkor: Lost Kingdom Adventure" is scheduled to open with the start of the season on April 11, in two and a half months, just one day before DLP 22nd Anniversary! Port Aventura strategy is to open a new ride each year, a very good strategy indeed! - and a new one will come next year, in 2015, for Port Aventura 20th Anniversary!

Edited: One last interesting point as i've just been told that the renderings above were done for the most by illustrator/ concept artist Claudio Mazzoli, a former Disney/Landmark artist.

Below, three new promotional visuals for the ride.

They also released a short teaser - not showing a lot - that is embedded below.




Pictures: copyright Port Aventura 

Terry Gilliam is Back at Last With a New Movie "The Zero Theorem" !

The great Terry Gilliam is back with a new movie! "The Zero Theorem" is the title of the new movie of the visionary director of Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and more, and will be released later this year. A first trailer is just released and, boy, it looks pure Terry Gilliam style as we loved it in the 80's - 90's. Glad to see that Terry is back after all the difficulties he had the last 15 years to make movies. 

Christoph Waltz, the Academy Award winner actor who was fantastic in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Bastards" and "Django Unchained" as well as in Roman Polanski "Carnage" has the main role and here is the synopsis of "The Zero Theorem" :

An eccentric and reclusive computer genius plagued with existential angst works on a mysterious project aimed at discovering the purpose of existence – or the lack thereof -once and for all. However, it is only once he experiences the power of love and desire that he is able to understand his very reason for being.

New Fantastic Maleficent Trailer " Dream "

Disney put on line this morning a new fantastic trailer called " Dream" for Maleficent, and here it is! 




Picture and video: copyright DIsney

How to Get FREE Admission Tickets For Shanghaî Disneyland !

Shanghaî Disneyland is not open yet and won't be before the end of 2015 but, hey, there is already a way to get free tickets when it will be open!

Here is how it works, and why: Shanghaî based China Eastern Airlines signed two days ago an agreement with Disney Destinations to help promote Disney theme parks around the world, especially of course Shanghaî Disney Resort. The "memorandum of understanding", as they call it, include brand promotions, product marketing and promotion of Disney Resorts in the U.S, France, Hong Kong and Shanghaî,

Also, the airline will offer upgraded and tailored services to visitors of the Disney Resorts.
China Eastern Airlines will also launched a Disney section on its website where passengers can check information about Disney resorts around the world and passengers also will be able to book flight tickets and other services for visiting the Disney resorts. In two words, China Eastern Airlines signed a partnership deal with Disney.

Now, and here is the interesting news: China Eastern Airlines will offer free admission tickets to Shanghaî Disneyland to passengers who will travel to Shanghaî on China Eastern Airlines, once the park will be open!

Although you can't get the free tickets right now ( and you wouldn't know what to do with them anyway as the park is not open yet )  the offer sounds great to me as the airline also have very good prices for round trip tickets.

Here are some China Eastern Airlines prices for round trip ( RT ) tickets:

Los Angeles - Shanghaî RT: from $728
Paris - Shanghaî RT: from 609€
London - Shanghaî RT: from 479£
Sydney - Shanghaî RT : from 821 AU$
Singapore - Shanghaî RT: from 442 S$

That sounds really good deals to me, folks, specially considering that Shanghaî is far from America or Europe and you would expect an expensive round trip ticket. To give you an example, 609€ for a Paris - Shanghaî RT is what probably cost now ONE night at the Disneyland Paris hotel - located at the entrance of the park - or two nights at the others DLP hotels around the lake. So, if you can go to Shanghaî to visit a brand new Magic Kingdom AND have free entrance tickets for Shanghaî Disneyland at the same time, that sounds like a pretty good deal, isn't it?

So, see you all in 2015 in Shanghaî and in the meantime make sure to bookmark China Eastern Airlines site HERE.

Update: The special page dedicated to Disney theme parks is now online on China Eastern Airlines website! No mention for now of Shanghai Disneyland which is normal as the park won't open before end 2015 but the link is this ONE so keep this one too in your bookmarks. As i can't read Chinese i can't tell you if they mention SDL or not on the page but if a good soul reading Chinese can tell us it will be appreciated. Below, the screen capture of the page.

Picture: copyright Disney