Disney MagicBands

I had no idea that Disney MagicBands even existed! On the website, Disney describes the wristband as "an all-in-one device that effortlessly connects you to all the vacation choices you made with My Disney Experience."

After some further research about this gadget I discovered that these MagicBands can be used to plan basically every little detail of your trip to a Disney theme park including airport to hotel transportation, where you want to dine, what food you want to pre-order, and which theme park you want to visit on which particular day. Moreover, you can use it to unlock the door of the Disney Resort hotel room (because who needs room keys, right?).

A part of me thinks this is a little ridiculous, but Disney is probably making a lot of profit off it and the wristband looks pretty cool/futuristic.

Bengal Tiger at Disney World

A woman tried to take a pet baby Bengal tiger into the Disney World theme park in Florida. She was walking it on a lead and when she was told that the baby tiger would not be allowed in the park, she became extremely angry and argued with the staff. The female guest, who is visiting from Dubai did not understand why she shouldn't be allowed to bring her pet. After a long discussion with the staff, the woman agreed to let the animal caretakers from the Central Florida Zoo to care for it.

Update: according to Central Florida Zoo, it is actually a baby Bengal cat not a tiger

Reading Response to Blackness, Bayous and Gumbo: Encoding and Decoding Race in a Colorblind World

In this article, Sarah Turner discusses the racial aspect in The Princess and the Frog and the concept of color-blindness. She brought up a good point about Tiana being a princess who happens to be black, but isn't representative of an actual African American. I think one of the major reasons behind Disney's decision to hold back on a true representation of an African American princess is because of the risk of stereotyping. This would result in harsh criticism against the film and it would be deemed 'racist'.

Turner also claims that The Princess and the Frog differs from other Disney princess films because it does not contain references to Tiana's physical attributes. Typically, Disney princesses are beautiful, caucasian, slim and donning beautiful gowns. Tiana strays from this mold by being a working princess. However, I think this makes Tiana a good role model for girls and one of the few princesses that does not rely on her looks and a man to help her achieve a happily ever after.

Disney avoids the potential for backlash by portraying Tiana as a frog for the majority of the film. Honestly, I think whatever Disney does, they will be subject to criticism. Especially since The Princess and the Frog features the first black princess, it was the victim of scrutiny and it would have been impossible to create a movie that satisfies every viewer. Personally, I think Disney was wise in making Tiana a hard-working, motivated, and passionate individual. Comparing her to princesses like Cinderella and Snow White, whose roles in the movie were just performing house chores, Tiana is an inspiration. Imagine if Cinderella or Snow White had been black. Unfortunately, Disney just can't win...

$115 steak at Disney World?!??!

This spring, sometime around April 13th, a restaurant called The Boathouse will be opening in Disney World's Disney Springs dining scene. This new restaurant will serve a 32 oz Tomahawk Long Bone Rib Chop for two which will cost... $115.

This is what the pricey dish looks like:

To be honest it does not look like it's worth $115, but hey that's just me. Seems like Disney is making a push for the upscale and trying to appeal to the more wealthy population. I'm curious to see how many people actually order this steak!

1 Woman, 15 Disney Characters

A YouTube vlogger named Promise Phan is a make-up guru. She posts tutorials on how to transform into characters from movies, pop culture, and video games!

Here are her transformations for 15 different Disney characters:

Mother Gothel from Tangled

Alice in Wonderland

Rapunzel with Pascal

Esmeralda from the Hunchback of Notre Dame

Anna from Frozen

Queen Elsa from Frozen (look at that icy stare)

Mulan

Snow White (a classic)

Li Shang from Mulan (she really looks like him!)

Jasmine from Aladdin (stunning...)

Pocahontas (this one is my absolute favorite)

Angelina Jolie in Disney's Maleficient

Tinkerbell from Peter Pan

Carl and Ellie from Up (audience: awwwwwwww)

Merida from Brave (that hair though...)

Final Four! Disney Movie Bracket for March Madness

Earlier this week, I had posted the Ultimate Disney Movie Bracket created by ForTheWin. I had put up my own bracket predictions (refer to Monday's post) and now the Final Four has been released! Votes are all in and here are the movies going to the Final Four:
Beauty & The Beast
Toy Story
Peter Pan
Lion King

I only managed to get 2 out of 4 correct and the two movies I picked for the championship were both not part of the Final Four, but I'm excited to see which movie will come out on top.

Princess and the Frog

This was my first time watching the Princess and the Frog. I was excited to see how Disney would introduce its first African American princess character into its movies. Personally, I really enjoyed the film and did not think that it was racist but I could see some aspects that would allow room for criticism regard race portrayals in this Disney movie.

For example, Tiana's mother is a seamstress for a rich, white family and when Tiana grows up, she works as a waitress in a small diner. She's defined as the "working" princess instead of the stereotypical "wish-upon-a-star + find prince charming + live happily after" princesses that Disney has produced in the past. While these arguments are valid, the setting and time period of this movie has to be taken into account.

Racism and discrimination was still very much present in New Orleans during the 1920s. Would it have been appropriate for Disney to ignore the fundamental experiences of African Americans during that time period? It would not have been historically accurate to have Tiana take the place of her very white, very blonde, and very rich best friend, Charlotte. Moreover, some express concerns about the only black princess being the "working" princess, but what if Cinderella had been black? The situation of being treated like a servant by her step-mother and step-sisters would have been extremely controversial and caused outrage from its viewers. Or even Snow White for that matter - a black female who enters a house full of caucasian male and essentially perform house chores in order to earn their friendship?

I think Disney was smart in not making Tiana a princess that mindlessly searches for love. She has character, drive, and is likable. Tiana does not rely on her prince charming to make her dreams come true. Personally, I think she is the best role model out of all the Disney princesses and the criticism of race portrayal was inevitable just because of the fact that she was the first African American in the Disney princess line.

Incredible Drawings of Disney Characters

Jirka Vaatainen recreated Disney's classic characters into these beautiful drawings. Vaatainen is incredibly talented! 

Anna and Elsa from Frozen look like real people in these drawings... 

Here are a few of his creations:

Please check out his website for more: http://cargocollective.com/jirka/REAL-LIFE-DISNEY-GIRLS

March Madness for... Disney?

For The Win released a Disney Movie Bracket! Here are my picks

Princess Region:

Little Mermaid

Frozen

Cinderella 

Mulan

Pixar Region:

Incredibles

Up

Ratatouille

Finding Nemo

Classics Region:

Bambi

Peter Pan

101 Dalmatians

Pinocchio

Modern Classics Region:

Lion King

Hercules

Pooh

Aladdin

Final Four:
1. Mulan
2. Up
3. Peter Pan
4. Lion King

Championship:
1. Mulan
2. Up

WINNER:
UP!!!!

Disney Home Decor!

Found a list of the cutest Disney decorations thanks to Buzzfeed!

No lie. I read this in Mushu's voice.

This is such an adorable pillow with a cute message

Wouldn't it be great to eat Mickey for breakfast??

Just look at this beautiful staircase! Seriously in love with the quotes and the fonts.

I would want it to be like this...

But let's be real, it's going to be more like this

Reading Response to "Fat and the Land: Size Stereotyping in Pixar's Up"

The title of Kate Flynn's article intrigued me and I was looking forward to reading about how Up portrays size stereotypes. She starts with an analysis of Carl's size and how his behavior is associated with his bodily weight. I thought her point that shape is the essence of a character's personality and traits was valid. Ellie's long, narrow body indicates that she is active and dynamic. In contrast, Carl's round physical shape is representative of his clumsy movements. Flynn further expands on this point by pointing out that Russell is "ill suited to the outdoors because of his size." Thus, the characterization in American cinemas corresponds to the size stereotypes.

However, Flynn loses the audience by introducing irrelevant points and making bold, but ridiculous statements. A prime example of a "wtf" moment was when she stated "the lines of the waterfall are suggestive of female genitalia, consistent with the idea that the land is a woman to be tamed" while discussing the significance of land in Pixar's Up. To be honest, I have no idea what prompted this comparison of female genitalia to the waterfall... Flynn does not elaborate nor explain further and merely leaves the reader in a what-did-I-just-read state of confusion.

Another preposterous claim Flynn makes is the following statement:
"When Russell feeds Kevin luxury foods, Pixar invites us to conflate several stereotypical assumptions: fat people eat too many unhealthy foods; feeding is nurturing, and nurturing is inappropriate for boys; fat makes gender ambiguous."
How exactly does being fat relate to gender ambiguity and why is nurturing inappropriate for boys? Again, Flynn puts forth an absurd argument and fails to provide any explanation for the reader.

While the start of her piece felt promising, Flynn gradually began to lose ethos and by the end of the article, I was uncertain what her original thesis was. But to be fair, it was an entertaining read due to just the sheer absurdity of some of her claims.

Up

I remember back when Pixar’s Up was first released - everyone was talking about how great of a movie it was. My mom and my younger sister went to watch it and of course, they came back from the movies raving about how it was the best animation movie they'd seen. 

I surprisingly knew very little about the storyline. Of course I knew about the iconic house with thousands of balloons coming out of its roof, the grumpy looking grandpa, and the cute Asian American kid. This was my first time watching Up and I had high hopes. Well, it did not disappoint because from the get-go, Up had me hooked.

I fell in love with how Carl and Ellie fell in love. Watching them grow from adventurous kids to adults that From The silent montage of Carl and Ellie’s relationship did not even last 10 minutes, yet it put me through an emotional roller coaster of happiness, sorrow, and even managed to get me teary-eyed. From the moment they first meet to her death, Carl and Ellie’s love story is realistic and touching, something that I’ve found most Disney princess films lacking. This 5 minute scene manages to do a better job than most of the Hollywood romantic movies out there. In fact, this snippet alone probably deserves an Oscar.

One aspect of the film that I was impressed with was the complex character development. The metamorphosis of Carl was one of the outstanding aspects of Up. I could see how Ellie’s death affected him and it was heartwarming to see him slowly open up to Russell and Kevin, eventually risking his own life to save others. I was able to connect with Carl and understand that he's misunderstood and that he's not just a cantankerous old man. I witnessed him suffer a great loss and I felt like I was embarking on his journey to healing.

On the surface, Up appears to be a fun adventure tale about two unlikely heroes, but upon reflection it is a very touching and intimate story. It is a rare kind of movie that speaks to all audiences - young, and old. I'm definitely adding Up to my list of favorite movies :)

The "Best Uncle of the Year" Award goes to...

Aren't these two adorable?

Jesse Nagy is an actor (IMDb-ed him and he's going to be starring in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, which will be released in 2016) and he went to see Cinderella with his Neice, Izzy, earlier this week. Now, this wasn't your average trip to the movies... because they were both dressed up as princesses!

According to ABC News, Izzy was embarrassed to leave the house wearing her princess costume as part of the princess day that Nagy and she were having. So to give the 4-year-old courage, the uncle decided to also dress up. Um, where do I find someone like Jesse Nagy??

Here's a direct quote from him: "If it's going to make her happy, I'll do it, I don't care."
~~ SWOON ~~

Disney logo through the years

I normally do not post videos, but I stumbled upon a YouTube clip of the Walt Disney picture's intros. Personally, I think it's pretty cool how these films had its own custom intro with a different Disney logo every time. But clearly someone had a lot of free time on their hands...

Enjoy :)

Periodic Table of Disney

The real Periodic Table of Elements you learn in chemistry class is boring. So why not learn elements through this awesome Periodic Table of Disney? The symbols are the same as the real deal, but the names have been Disney-fied.

You're welcome, chem majors ;)

Disney Store at Times Square

Over spring break, I stayed with a friend in New York! Of course, I had to visit Times Square and act touristy. While I was walking, I saw a HUGE Disney sign and - I should've guessed - there was a Disney store. It boasts the widest selection of Disney merchandise.

Here's a picture of the Disney store at Times Square I took:

There was an advertisement for the upcoming Disney movie, Cinderella, on the billboard screen right above the store. I think this is a great promotional technique!


Also,  I made it onto the Times Square billboard screen! #imfamous

Frozen Sequel... Melted?

Buzzfeed released an article with 27 possible titles for Disney's Frozen sequel and it does not disappoint!

Some of my favorites are:

I tried to come up with one of my own... "Frozen 2: Girl Worth Melting For"

Lol I think I've written too many essays on Mulan in this class. 

Anyway, check out the article for more hilarious titles.

Beauty and the Beast Casting (UPDATES!!)

GET EXCITED, EVERYBODY!! Guess who's been casted to play Mrs. Potts??!!?!?!
EMMA THOMPSON! I honestly think she is one of the greatest actresses. I loved her in Nanny McPhee and she's perfect for this role! Obviously, a lot of CG work has to be done to make her look like a tea pot el-oh-el

Belle's father, Maurice, will be played by Kevin Kline. I thought his face looked familiar and I did a google/IMDB search and found out he was Dreyfus in The Pink Panther!

Hopefully this movie won't be a flop with big names in Hollywood. Remember the movie Valentine's Day - the one with the all-star ensemble cast? Yeah, it was a terrible movie. I saw that Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Taylor Swift, Bradley Cooper, Ashton Kutcher, Anne Hathaway, Queen Latifah, Jamie Foxx, etc. were all starring in it so I thought it was going to be great. Nope. Not at all. 

Please please please don't let Beauty and the Beast turn out to be the next Valentine's Day!!

The true power of Disney

I just read a New York Times article about parents who connected to their autistic child, Owen through Disney's films. As Owen repeatedly watched Disney movies over and over again, he helped build it into a language and a tool kit by collecting sounds and speech from them. Through observing the exaggerated expressions on characters' faces, he was able to "learn" the language and pick up visual cues as to what the words meant.

Owen is now 20 and has created a Disney Club, of which he is the president. He started this group after arriving in college and the club has helped him make friends as well as develop independence. This article has made me think about how universal Disney is, from acting as a source of entertainment or a form of language. And possibly through different disciplines and interests, we can find ways to connect with children who are autistic.

Read the full article here (it's lengthy, but worth the time!): http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/reaching-my-autistic-son-through-disney.html?_r=0

Beauty and the Beast (casting)

After seeing the cast for Beauty and the Beast, I have high hopes and expectations about this film.

I think Emma Watson is THE PERFECT Belle. She is beautiful, classy, and intelligent #womancrusheveryday

Dan Stevens will be playing the role of the beast (fun fact: he's also British, like Emma Watson).

It has just been revealed that Luke Evans (I remember him from The Hobbit) is going to play Gaston!

So so so soooooo excited for this movie to be produced. I know Disney won't let me down :)

Reading Response to Gael Sweeney's "Timon and Pumbaa's Alternative Lifestyle Dilemma"

When I made my way past the introductory paragraphs and finally got to the thesis of the essay, I almost laughed out loud. Sweeney argues that Timon and Pumbaa are "obviously a same-sex couple" (131). Apparently two best male friends who live together and take in an orphaned child are homosexuals...

I was honestly quite enraged at the sweeping generalizations and stereotypes Sweeney put forth as evidence to support her claim. She contends that Timon and Pumbaa are shunned from society because of their sexual orientation and their alternative lifestyle is a way for Disney to subtly depict gay-identified characters because the family-friendly Disney image will not allow it to openly portray homosexuality. Sweeney's far-fetched claim is offensive because it assumes that anyone who is not accepted in society is automatically gay.

Furthermore, she attributes Timon and Pumbaa's cross-dressing as substantial evidence that they are homosexuals. While dressing in drag may be an indicator of sexual preference, in this case it was to create a diversion and lure the hyenas away. In Mulan, a similar tactic was used where the male warriors disguised themselves as females in order to distract the men. One instance of cross-dressing is not sufficient evidence to prove that Timon and Pumbaa are homosexual characters.

Overall, I was disappointed by Gael Sweeney's piece because I felt that she used impertinent events in the film as evidence to assert her point. I was not once convinced by her arguments and this piece was my least favorite to read thus far.

If one had to put a price on Disney...

This weekend was the 'Story of Disneyland' auction at Van Eaton Galleries in Sherman Oaks. Approximately 1,000 pieces of Disney-related memorabilia were sold, totaling $1.7million overall.
Here are some of the items that were auctioned off:

This is an original figure from the 1967 Pirates of the Caribbean ride was sold for $129,000.

Shelby Pickett, a 23-year old, bought the 1955 opening-day guidebook signed by Walt Disney himself for a very affordable price of $13,275. What a bargain, Shelby!

The extremely practical 1970 audio animatronic tiki bird from the Enchanted Tiki Room was auctioned off for $154,000.

Timon and Pumbaa predict the future??

If you're a human being on this planet with access to the internet or the TV, you'd have seen this dress all over social media and the news (yes, it made the news on television).

There is heated debate about whether the dress is black&blue or white&gold. For me, I first saw the dress as white and gold but the day after it turned blue and black!!

Anyway, turns out Timon and Pumbaa predicted this phenomenon would happen... and were already debating it in the movie.