11 After 911...

Never underestimate the ability of the enemy to underestimate America...




Time passes before reflection can really begin to settle in...

Today is the eleventh anniversary of the attacks on 911. Hard to believe it has been over a decade since that horrid day. 2,974 people died in the attack on the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Flight 93, which crashed in a field near the small town of Shanksville in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It was the largest loss of life in an attack on our homeland in the history of America.

God bless the souls of those that were murdered that day and the families that they unwillingly left behind. I can't say the same for the terrorist that carried it out. No one can imagine what it was like to be on those planes, or be the relative of someone that lost their life that day. I can feel a bit of their sense of loss since my parents were in an airport waiting to board a flight exactly when it all happened. My family was coming out to California for a special occasion, but all flights were cancelled and they took their bags; avoiding all the chaos at the airport, and went home to watch all the horror unfold on television.

Luckily for me, my parents weren't on one of those planes. Although I imagined in the days and nights that followed what I would have done if they had been. I feel for all those that lost loved ones and can't fathom the hole it must have left in their hearts.

I can remember how I felt when it all came down, how it felt like time had stopped when those planes struck the Twin Towers. No one knew what was happening or what would happen next.

No one still does, but memories fade. Perhaps that's how humanity deals with the pain and the sorrow of loss... but it also leaves one with a false sense that everything is just fine and everything is back to normal.

Nothing is normal anymore... hopefully with places like Disneyland, DisneySEA and great Disney animated films we can escape a little of the sadness and heartache, but we should never forget what happen on that dark day in September.

Never...

Hallowed Ground...

Boo, I mean, boo...




In a few weeks the holidays will begin at the Disneyland Resort...

Soon you'll be able to walk into the "Nightmare Before Christmas" seasonal overlay of the Haunted Mansion and take part in all of the HalloweenTime parties, or just walk through all the heavily layered lands of this holiday. But then there is the excitement of seeing what will happen across the Esplanade. Remember how Buena Vista Street was themed to an old fashioned celebration of the Fourth of July? It was minimal, but showed how you can take this great new entrance and turn it into something even more special. But now, the next major holiday is right around the corner and you have to wonder what is up the sleeves of Disneyland's entertainment department?

From what I hear, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised and happy. But this is the first season for the newly rebranded park, and the thought is that it will be adding layers upon layers as the years go by. So we will find areas throughout the park decked out in orange and black and other activities to go with Halloween, but it will also be a minimalistic celebration of this spooky time. This won't be as dramatic as the Christmas layover which will go all out, but unless the plans change, the areas around Disney's second gate will still be filled with enough ghosts and ghouls to delight the child in all of us. And each year, more and more theming will be added.

Now that's scary...

Five Comics Marvel Should Make Into Films...

Mighty collection of characters...












A while ago we focus on what lesser known comics DC should be made, now we go the Marvel Way...

If you remember reading Blue Sky's post "Five Comics DC Should Make Into Films," you'll remember I said that we'd do a Marvel post on the subject also. Well, this is that post. Marvel has thousands of characters that can be used/exploited in many forms of media/television/film/Internet/merchandise. But deep within the catalog of characters like Deedpool, or Iron Fist, or The Vision, there are many more unknown gems that could be turned into desirable properties. These are some of the characters/groups that Blue Sky Disney thinks would make great and entertaining films and other media. Some are less known, while others you might never have heard of, but should have been.



Excelsior...
#5: The Howling Commandos - Tell me there are fans out there that watched "Captain America: The First Avenger" that didn't want to see more of the Howling Commandos? Wouldn't it be amazing to watch a true World War II action epic with them fighting Nazis/Hydra? Sign me up for that. Imagine a story with the likes of Dum Dum Dugan and his crew doing their best for the Allied Cause, with Howard Stark arriving at a pivotal point to hand them some amazing piece of technology to help them out of a bind. I'm there.


#4: Invaders - Ok, you can probably see that I have a thing for World War II stuff, so all of what I said about the Howling Commandos will apply here as well. I know that Captain America wouldn't show up, but having Namor, the original Human Torch and several other characters going up against the bad guy super-villians of the Third Reich. Nothing like magical powers on display between the forces of Allied good and Axis evil.


#3: Monster Hunters - Think of this as a collection of heroes going against the monsters that haunt the world. A film version of "Supernatural" set in the late 40's/early 50's sort of. Meeting at the Explorers Club in New York, a rag tag collection of occult and mystical powered explorers that search the night for what scares us, and rid it from us. If not a film, this would make an excellent television series on ABC. Hello Suits?


#2: Dominic Fortune - Set in the Thirties, this follows an old fashioned and flamboyant adventure seeker/mercenary. From his home base in Los Angeles, Fortune would fight for justice in the Depressionary Era against such known Marvel foes as Baron Zemo and Baron Von Strucker. His adventures took him around the world, from the mines in Africa where he fought Nazis stealing Vibranium, to the Los Angeles Underworld where he broke up a Japanese spy ring. Oh, and did I mention he's pretty good with the ladies? Think of him as an American James Bond set in the Golden Era of Hollywood. Lights, camera, action!


#1: Master of Kung Fu - This is one of my all-time favorite Marvel comics. Shang Chi, the son of the evil Dr. Fu Manchu, walks the earth. Trained by his father, he was sent out into the world to assassinate one of his father's enemies. It was in that world that he realized who his father was and what he intended. Chi became a secret agent and set about to work against his father's plan for world domination. Imagine a Marvel film that is an all out Kung Fu film, with fight action directed by someone like Yuen Wo Ping! This would be seven kinds of awesome.

Honorary mention:



Agents of Atlas - Actually a team of heroes created from various characters that used to belong to Atlas Comics before Marvel purchased them, this odd group of people could create a very interesting adventure film. What would it be like to have a giant talking gorilla walking around with huge guns blazing a path to victory? The team was formed in the late 50's/early 60's by a secret division of the FBI to rescue President Eisenhower from the villainous Yellow Claw. Imagine if Marvel films had a film that was James Bond/The Man from U.N.C.L.E. with super-powered elements set in the Sixties.



Alpha Flight - Imagine dealing with the Canadian military organization that created Wolverine? Think about a story examining his story from the standpoint of people who were involved in it? After all, he was Weapon X, but there were other experiments (like Weapon Alpha, that became Guardian). It's Canada's own super hero team and their battles against bad guys. Essentially, it's a "what if" story that asks what if the X-Men were a group that operated from the government instead of Professor X's leadership. Could be an interesting take and Marvel's chance to make another mutant story since they don't have access to the ones at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.


Legion of Monsters - Think of this as the "Monster Squad," except this time they're the good guys. A group of Marvel's monsters that work together: Morbius, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night, even Ghost Rider (whom I wouldn't use for this) and FrankenCastle (think of it as The Punisher meets the Frankenstein Monster). What if "The X-Files" were told from these characters point of view? That would be the basis for this kind of film. Imagine a groovy tale of horror investigation that was investigated by the monsters themselves? A Marvel horror/adventure film would be an interesting tale.

And these are just five. Ok, eight if you count the honorable mentions, but you get the point. There are characters within the pages of these books that can be mined for decades. All they need to do is read through them. But knowing development executives, that's might be a hard thing for them to do. Luckily, Alan Horn is known to actually read scripts and have great taste, so Walt Disney Studios could have some very good properties over the next few years. Some from comics and many others from other sources, like magazine articles, books and even original screenplays. But with Horn, Lasseter, Feige, and a film partner named Spielberg, we can expect a good slate of projects through the middle of the decade.

And a few of them will be wearing capes...

Twilighting...

Tweens and twilight is trouble...



Walt Disney Pictures is moving forward with their entry into the young adult fiction arena...

Young Adult (YA) is what "Twilight" is. Now, I hate anything to do with that horribly written, badly acted, shoddily produced series, but I understand the Mouse's desire to capture the young, primarily female audience that rushes into theaters to see it. I just want whatever they make to be good.

A while ago Disney Studios purchased the film rights to a book called "Matched." This book is the first in a trilogy (read: franchise) that includes book two: "Crossed," and book three: "Reached."

They hired the screenwriters Michelle and Kieran Mulroney (Sherlock Holmes:A Game of Shadows) to pen the adaptation. That's not a bad move. And today, HeatVision announced that they've hired David Slade to direct it. Ok, he's made good films like "Hard Candy," but he's also made a horrible Twilight sequel. So, I guess that his experience with that series is why they want him. I pray that he has a better script this time, and a better actress. But I will hold out hope that this turns into a great film.

I can only hope my expectations of Alan Horn's leadership of Warner will be matched at the Mouse...

Beginning Endings...

Could it all have started with a rabbit...





Eighty-five years ago today, Walt Disney's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit makes his cartoon debut...

"Trolley Troubles" would be the first of over twenty shorts featuring the iconic first animated creation of Disney (The Alice Comedies don't count since she's not animated). Walt would eventually lose the rights to this character, forcing him to create another character from scratch on a long train ride back to California that turned out to be a mouse...

A very, very famous mouse.

It's all hard to believe that a strange deal involving Al Michaels would lead to him coming home, but it almost reads like an improbable fairy tale. Then again, fairy tales are pretty synonymous with Disney, so let's honor Oswald. He truly is a lucky rabbit.

Wouldn't it be nice to see him in something today? Like a new short or a new special? He's been waiting a long time to be animated again. And he's still very popular, if you've tried to get some of those very elusive/exclusive rabbit ears you have experience with his celebrity. But imagine him up on the silver screen again as you sip your soda and eat that popcorn.

Imagine that...

Building A Mystery Vs. Building An Adventure...

Dream a little dream...





Lucky number eleven...

That's how many years ago it opened. The most beautiful, and amazingly conceived Disney theme park to be created swung wide its gates on this day. Eleven years ago Disney fans across the world had their eyes rewarded with a glittering jewel of unprecedented, glorious imagination. It's the most stunning theme park you will ever lay eyes on. It's an incredible accomplishment of creativity over commerce and an unquestionable success.

Tokyo DisneySEA.

Two theme parks opened in 2001. One in the spring, the other in the fall. One in the original park, the other in the first country to have an expansion of a Disney park. On February 8, 2001, the Disneyland Resort opened up its second gate: Disney's California Adventure. It was born of no original thought and no clear direction. It had no purposeful meaning; it was simply a bunch of attractions in search of a theme. THAT was it's problem and the Suits in Anaheim and Burbank were the problem, not the Imagineers in Glendale. On September 4, 2002, the Tokyo Disney Resort opened up its second gate: Tokyo DisneySEA. It was born of an old, unused idea, but a very unique one. It had a purpose, a meaning and a direction. It was a theme park that was born full grown. Simply put, it was the best thought up park since the original.

Since then it has expanded and gotten bigger, gotten better (for the most part), and well rounded. This park is great for chiropractors because you'll spend so much of your time looking up and walking around in wonder that you'll get neck pains. I always wished that it had been built here, but since it was built in Japan I don't want a clone of that one. There are too many things that are cloned. Each park, Disney or not, should be unique. And while I wish that when I walk across the Esplanade at Disneyland, I could look up and see the entrance to DisneySEA, I won't, can't and now really don't want to see it there.

We here in California have our own park, and DCA has finally found it's own identity. It took a decade, but it finally found a place it belongs. So while I love DisneySEA, I only want original parks, no clones please. Disney parks aren't McDonalds and don't/shouldn't be. So the next park that the Mouse creates will hopefully be an original, not a clone. No matter where the next park is, be it in Hawaii, India, or South America (hmmm), there is no limit of ideas left in the minds of WDI, and shouldn't be. We deserve that and so do Imagineers. They deserve to work on projects that hold their heart and appeal to their creativity. We will all be the better for it.

But if you ever get the chance to travel to Japan and go to Tokyo, please buy a ticket to this park and see what a dream is capable of being.

Dreams should all look this wonderful...

Warner Riddles In The Dark...

One more ring to rule them all...










You've all seen the news about the expansion of "The Hobbit" from two to three films...

And now they've got names and dates, so we know what they'll be called and when exactly they'll come out. So when it's all said and done there will be six films, two trilogies, or a hexalogy if you count them all as one.

So the Middle-Earth series list would be:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Hobbit: There And Back Again
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

After summer 2014 the series will be done, and the next question would be is this the end? Would Warner Bros. be satisfied with ending it there? No more films or anything else? Not hardly, in the words of John Wayne. In this world where international markets rule the box office and branding matters, this series is a known property and it doesn't take as much to sell it to audiences.

So what would be next? The most obvious choice would be "The Silmarillion." Now, I know that a fan asked Peter Jackson at this year's Comic-Con about that. He mentioned that Warner doesn't own the rights to that book and the Tolkien Estate isn't very happy with his adaptations of the late authors works (I really can't understand why this is). But obstacles can be overcome. Hopefully Warner can get the Estate to license the rights to the books, because the films actually help sales of the books and seeing the film. An agreement would be mutually beneficial for both parties.

But even if it happens, it doesn't mean the book would be an easy film. It is a large tome of epic tales telling the history of Middle-Earth in a sort of lyrical tale that's not set up in the same manner as the LOTR or the Hobbit. But it leaves room for more interpretation and layering of characters. But it would be an epic film if made. Most likely it wouldn't be contained in one film, so there is the possibility of another trilogy, or perhaps, a miniseries on cable? Or even an ongoing series? Something like HBO,A&E or even Netflix could be a venue to transmit/broadcast this new property.

And then there are the other products like video games, books, shirts, toys, etc. that would/could be exploited. If they can't get the rights, or even if they do get it and want to continue other avenues, then they can go other routes. After all, there have been several games that take place in the world of Tolkien that don't involve the characters from the film. Could they not produce a film series, or television series, or even an Internet series that is completely unrelated to events of the book? Something along the lines of "Tales of Middle-Earth" or "War of the Ring" type of thing? The possibilities are endless really. And do you really think that Warner's Suits would want to close the tap on this revenue stream? Think again.

There and back again, and again, and again...