Tuesday, September 15, 2009

New high-res pictures of Dumbo, Little Mermaid and Star Tours 2 attractions

Walt Disney World released new high-res files of the four renderings for Dumbo, The Little Mermaid - by WDI artist Chris Smith - and Star Tours 2. I've posted before the high-res new Fantasyland artwork - by WDI artist Greg Pro - but i put it again here so you'll have the four on the same post. Click on each picture to see them in big size.

Note that the high-res file of the Dumbo artwork reveals interesting points about the Circus itself. If you look well, you can see an adult elephant inside the circus tent - will it be a real one or a big AA elephant? Also, the famous "fire in the house" sequence of the movie seems to be part of the circus show.

All artwork: copyright Disney

D23 EXPO Special Report by Andy Castro : The Collectors' Forum

The D23 special reports by Andy Castrp are still going on and this time we will have a look at the Collectors' Forum area where Disney fans could find great collectibles or pre-order really fantastic one that will be released very soon.

These first pictures are showing a Sleeping Beauty Castle all made with cans collected over the four days. It will then be donated to the orange County Food bank.

Many collector's sellers had booths in this area.

Mice Chat had a fantastic booth and here are some pictures to say hello to our friends of Mice Chat - i remind you that Disney and more english forum is on Mice Chat!

It's in that same area that EFX presented its gorgeous 4 feet long Nautilus. I did a previous article about it, but for those who missed it i include it again in this article, here are the pictures and description.

2010 will be a great year for die-hard fans of the 20000 Leagues under the sea Nautilus as EFX collectibles is producing what will be the most amazing Nautilus model ever released in limited edition. More about it below, from the press release.

"At an incredible four feet long (1,20 m), the approximately 1/45th scale of the original Nautilus, the one from EFX will offer extraordinary details, including internal and external lighting and re-creations of both the lush salon and the all-important wheelhouse, providing collectors with the opportunity to peer into the inner sanctum of this enormous underwater vessel.

Inspired by the remarkable, unforgettable designs of legendary Disney designer Harper Goff, the Nautilus from EFX combines the graceful elegance of the submarine’s riveted exterior with incredibly accurate interior details never before offered in a high-end collectible of this type.

“20000 Leagues Under the Sea is truly one of the all-time classic adventure movies, and was a milestone for the Disney creative team,” said Bryan Ono, president of EFX Inc. “The Nautilus is a Disney icon, and our artisans and engineers have been working overtime to develop this extraordinary re-creation.”

Disney’s interpretation of the Nautilus has attracted an enthusiastic fan base since the original release of the Walt Disney Pictures film version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in 1954. This groundbreaking film presented the craft, described in Verne’s novel as a “masterpiece containing masterpieces,” as an exquisite piece of design, Victorian yet futuristic – and instantly recognizable. The Disney version of the Nautilus has inspired theme park attractions around the globe, and the original, restored model used in the making of the film will be seen at the D23 Expo in the “Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives” exhibition.

The Nautilus from EFX is being hand-crafted from resin with machined and die-cast metal, and injection-molded ABS details. The edition size will be limited to no more than 500 pieces, and each Nautilus replica will come with a specially designed display base, numbered plaque and Certificate of Authenticity.

More details about eFX’s current and upcoming collectibles can be found at www.efxcollectibles.com.

The details are incredible and the price of this 4 feet long Nautilus is 1600$ (1100 euros). Very probably they will offer the possibility to pay it in four times, as EFX generally do on their other collectibles products. The EFX Nautilus is supposed to be released February 2010.

But there is more from EFX as they're also planning to release other Disney collectibles like this Snow White Wicked Queen's Heart Box...

or this Princess Aurora's Tiara replica...

or these great Muppets replica including a "Kermit Reporter" and Rizzo the Rat.

I'm sure that those of you who did a stop at the EFX booth during the D23 Expo were amazed by the quality of the replicas when they saw them "in real"!

MORE D23 Expo articles coming soon on D&M!

Thanks to leave a comment or discuss this article on D&M english forum on Mice Chat

All pictures: copyright Andy Castro and Disney and more

" New Generation Festival " will be Disneyland Paris Theme in 2010

Disneyland Paris released visuals showing what will be the next resort theme in 2010. It's called "New Generation Festival" and if you're wondering what "new" generation they're talking about, the characters on the pictures - Tiana, Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Sully, Ratatouille, Lightning McQueen, etc... - should make it perfectly clear.

Also, it's interesting to note that Ratatouille have its own illustration as i remind you that the Ratatouille dark ride is supposed to be DLRP 20th anniversary attraction at WDS.

All pictures: copyright Disney

Monday, September 14, 2009

Captain EO will be back October 28th

Okay, it's not THE Captain EO you're expecting to be back as soon as possible at your favorite Tomorrowland. But the man, the singer, the genius, who played it - Michael Jackson himself - will be back on screen October 28th in the awaited "This is it" documentary.

It will show all Michael's rehearsals for what was supposed to be his grand comeback under the dome of London O2 arena. We know what happened next and how destiny - with the help of some propofol - decided that it was time for Peter Pan to leave the Earth forever.

The movie will be released world wide October 28th, for two weeks only, and here is the trailer.

Video: copyright Sony Pictures

Editor's Note: The full article about Jay Rasulo's presentation is finally on line! All the links to the others D23 Expo articles are now listed on the top of the right column. Don't miss them!
Also, the poster of the Toy Story Playland Slinky Dog's Zig-Zag Spin attraction was released today,
i added it in the article, you can see it HERE.

D23 EXPO Special Report by Andy Castro : The Future of Disney Parks and Resorts by Jay Rasulo

Here is a new article on all Jay Rasulo presentation saturday. Pictures were allowed during the keynote and Andy did his best to get pictures of everything that Jay Rasulo shown on the D23 Expo arena screen to the audience. I worked all day to enhance them and try to eliminate distortion effect. Although i can't guarantee that no distortion effect remain in the renderings below, i did my best. All my apologies to the WDI artists if it's not totally perfect. That said, let's go and have a closer look at this awaited "Future of Parks and Resorts" presentation.

Jay Rasulo confirmed that WDW Magic Kingdom will have its huge Fantasyland expansion - so big that it will double the size of the current Fantasyland! To have a better idea of how big it will be, click on the top rendering which is a high-res file.

The Little Mermaid is part of the new Fantasyland, and the biggest ride. The exterior theming will recreate Eric's castle, and have waterfalls and its own lagoon. Expect also a highly themed queue decor, before you load in the ride vehicle. The ride itself should be identical to the one currently build at DCA.

WDW guests - and specially little girls - will be able to visit their favorite Disney Princess in her castle, cottage, or chateau. Whether it will be to share a dance with Cinderella...

...or to see her being transformed right before your eyes.

.

Right next door, guests will celebrate Sleeping Beauty's birthday with the Good Fairies.

The Beauty and the Beast area will be one of the bigger one with Belle's village...

...where guests will join Belle in an enchanting story performance in the Beast's castle library.

Guests will have the choice to have dinner at the Be Our Guest restaurant in one of three enchanted rooms inside the Beast's castle...

...or at Gaston's Tavern.

The double-Dumbo ride is also confirmed and will be part of the new Fantasyland! Dumbo the Flying Elephant will be completely re-imagined. Guests will fly with Dumbo high above brand new circus grounds, twice the size of the existing attraction with a new interactive, three-ring circus tent.

The last addition will be the new Pixie Hollow area. Located behind the Little Mermaid area, guests will meet Tinker Bell and her friends.

Here is a video from Attractions Magazine of the Fantasyland announcement by Jay Rasulo.

The other big news was of course the official announcement of Star Tours 2 for 2011 at Disneyland and Disney Hollywood Studios. The ride will always use simulators but highly improved. In the ride visitors will board a Starspeeder and join a high-speed pod race through the desert canyons of Tatooine.

Storm Troopers and Darth Vader were there for what was the funniest part of Jay's keynote.

Here is a video by Attractions Magazine of this memorable announcement.

...and one of the clip itself.

Also shown during the presentation, new renderings of Cars Land scheduled to open in 2012 where guests will literally step into the town of Radiator Springs and its six acres of hand-carved rockwork. The vehicles will use a new generation of Test Track technology.

A short CGI clip of Radiator Springs Racer was also shown. Apparently it shows a scene at the end of the indoor part of the ride, before vehicles go outside for the final race. Here are some pictures by Andy and a video of the clip from Mint Crocodile.

Also, a video from TopChefRemy of the Lighting Mc Queen "Automatronic" that guests can see in the Parks and Resorts area. Actually, it seems that there is no mechanical or hydraulic elements involved in the making of this "Automatronic". The eyes are obviously a rear projection, but even the mouth is a projection effect! The effect works perfectly.

Jay talked also about Hong Kong Disneyland and specially about Toy Story Playland with new renderings, here they are.

Jay did not forgot the Disney Resorts and specially the Ko Olina on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. Here is some new artwork.

Finally, Rasulo talked about the Disney Dream, the new ship being built by Disney Cruise Line. The new ship is currently built in Germany, here are some pictures.