Category: Disney News

Shakira’s soaring new single “Try Everything” is featured in the upcoming Disney movie Zootopia, in which she voices a midriff-baring gazelle with blond hair curling out from between her horns.

“Try Everything” is now available on Apple Music and iTunes.

The animated movie, a kid-friendly thriller set in “the urban jungle” of a city of animals, debuts in theaters March 4.

Listen to Shakira sing “Try Everything”:

NEW YORK (AP) — Walt Disney Parks and Resorts are recalling Darth Vader and Disneyland 60th anniversary infant onesies because the snaps can detach and pose a choking hazard.

No injuries have been reported. The recall involves about 10,000 onesies.

Consumers were advised to stop using the items and contact Walt Disney Parks and Resorts for instructions on returning them for a full refund.

The Darth Vader onesies were sold in five sizes including 3M, 6M, 12M, 18M and 24M. The artwork on the front of the bodysuit shows an infant Darth Vader holding a light saber with the text: “If you only knew the power of THE DARK SIDE.”

The Disneyland 60th onesies were sold in four sizes including 6M, 12M, 18M and 24M. The artwork on the front of the bodysuit includes Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck and Pluto in front of the Disneyland Castle. The text on the front of the garment reads “60th Disneyland Resort, Diamond Celebration.”

The onesies were sold at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida; Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California; and the Treasure Ketch Shop on the Disney Wonder and Mickey’s Mainsail located on the Disney Magic, Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy cruise ships from February 2015 through November 2015 for about $20.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts can be contacted at 844-722-1444 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or online at www.disneyparks.com through the “Recall Notice” portal.

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Walt Disney built an empire on the shoulders of Mickey Mouse, but only after he lost his earlier creation, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

Could Oswald have conquered the world under different circumstances? Get a sense of his charms in this exclusive clip from The Hungry Hobos,a 1928 short that was believed lost for decades until a copy was discovered in 2011 in a private vault in England. Following extensive digital restoration, it’s now available to see once again as part of the Walt Disney Signature Collection Snow White release (already out on Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere, with a digital code to unlock the short in the Blu-ray combo pack out Feb. 2).

The newly restored short follows Oswald and hooligan companion Putrid Pete in a freight car filled with animals. They’re looking for ways to cook a meal with what few tools are immediately available when a policeman chases them off the train, forcing the duo to think on their feet.

Audiences embraced the funny bunny in animated shorts produced by Disney starting in 1927. But when the fledgling animator split from his deal with Universal the following year, he had to leave his “star” behind — and as a result, soon created the lovable rodent that would turn into his cash cow.

While Oswald clearly shares some of Mickey’s DNA — including in his visual design — the two characters are not clones. The long-eared critter is much more flawed than Disney’s famous mouse, and he’s not quite as lucky as his name would lead us to believe. “Oswald is more of a loser than Mickey,” says Disney’s resident Oswald historian David Gerstein. “He’s jinxed and he’s not quite as selfless as Mickey.”

Since the Oswald short resurfaced five years ago, at least two more lost cartoons from Disney’s series have popped up, including one short titled Sleigh Bells and another called Empty Socks.

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The Walt Disney Co. has begun using a new system of handling foreclosures on its time-share contracts that is faster and more efficient, but could make it tougher for outsiders to bid on the memberships at auction.

Nonjudicial foreclosures, also called trustee foreclosures, circumvent a lengthy court-system process. Time-share memberships still go to public auction. But trustees designated by lienholders can act as auctioneers. So some of Disney’s auctions are taking place at a law firm representing the company, rather than online through Orange County’s clerk of court.

Disney said it began using the system for convenience.

“This would seem to be a quicker and cheaper way,” said attorney Justin Moorefield, who helps people undergoing foreclosure obtain surplus funds from sales and whose wife used to bid on foreclosed Disney Vacation Club memberships. Still, he said, bypassing the court system could give Disney more control over the process by making it difficult for competitors to submit bids.

Hundreds of Disney Vacation Club deeds go to foreclosure auctions each year through the clerk’s office.

Disney, which provides financing for its time-share loans, typically wins back foreclosed properties for nominal bids. Still, it has faced competition from people who win deeds and then flip them, rent out the points or use the memberships themselves. Some bidders said they’ve seen more competition for the properties recently.

With Disney’s new system, “it would certainly be more difficult to bid on those properties, especially looking at the people involved in it right now who are mostly out of state or in South Florida,” Moorefield said.

Orange County’s clerk of court is still holding auctions for Disney properties on which proceedings started in the first half of last year.

Disney wouldn’t say whether it will eventually phase out public auctions of its properties or how often it plans to use nonjudicial foreclosures.

“I don’t really understand why they wouldn’t do all their foreclosures this way, unless the owner objected to it,” Moorefield said.

The Florida Legislature in 2010 passed a law allowing nonjudicial foreclosures for time shares. Florida joined about 30 other states that allow the process, according to time-share trade group American Resort Development Association. At the time, the court system was backlogged with all types of foreclosures, said Chris Stewart, director of state government affairs for ARDA.

Going to the new system, Stewart said, meant “you went from a period of time when it was taking a year or more to foreclose … to 90 days in a typical case.”

Stewart said the purpose of the legislation wasn’t to make it more difficult to bid on properties. He noted that the Orange County clerk of court wasn’t even offering auctions online when the bill passed. The clerk’s office started Web-based auctions in 2011, the following year.

The legislation built in protections for consumers, Stewart said. Time-share owners facing foreclosure can opt out and go through the court system if they choose. Also, associations or companies choosing to reclaim properties through nonjudicial foreclosures waive their rights to seek money from delinquent owners.

Disney said it has sold dozens of contracts since mid-November but has filed only one foreclosure through the court system. It added that it has had third-party bidders in its nonjudicial auctions and that some of them have won deeds.

“Non judicial foreclosures actually do possess attributes favorable to both sides of the fence, developer and consumer,” said Greg Crist, chief executive officer of the National Timeshare Owners Association, in an email.

Despite the inconvenience to out-of-town bidders, There could be some positives to the new system, said Wil Lovato, who tracks legal proceedings for the website DVCNews.com.

“Like any type of law change, there’s people who will be winners and people who will be losers,” he said.

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Marge Champion was one of the most accomplished female dancers of the 20th century. But even if you are too young to remember her performances in Showboat or Everything I Have is Yours or her dozens of TV appearances, you inevitably have seen her work: she was the model for Walt Disney’s Snow White.

Champion, née Belcher, was 14 years old when she auditioned for Disney animators so they could capture the character’s elegance and graceful motion. Her father was revered Hollywood dance choreographer Ernest Belcher, who’d worked with Charlie Chaplin, Max Sennett, and Cecil B. DeMille. He taught his daughter not only how to dance, but how to be lady — the latter may have won her the job. “My father was British and he had trained me to curtsy and do things that were like Snow White would be doing,” says Champion, now 96. “At the dinner table, I had to say, ‘I’ve had an elegance sufficiency, could I be excused, please?’ and I would pick up my skirt and curtsy. And because that, I not only was trained as a dancer but I had a lot of those easy things to do that Snow White had to do.”

Back in 1933, Max Fleischer had released a Snow White cartoon short starring Betty Boop, with her big round eyes and very skinny body. Disney wanted his Snow White to be different for his 1937 movie, the company’s first major animated feature. There was a lot of trial and error, though. For example, when Champion first arrived to work with the Disney animators, they had her wear a football helmet, to better illustrate the larger head that animated characters required. “I tell you, I nearly fainted,” she says. “It was very hot underneath there and not at all what I expected. It was very limited what I could do with that big hat.”

They quickly ironed out the bugs and Champion remembers the sessions fondly. “There was no choreography: I was making it up as we went along and showing them how to dance,” she says. “They were looking for the feelings that Snow White had when she was dancing with the dwarves. [Laughs] I was told to call them the dwarfs. Anyway, we called them the little men. They really used the motion that I invented when I was dancing with them.”

Champion danced with the other actors, she danced with the animators. Sometimes, she even danced to help the artists with the other characters. “I even danced as Dopey,” she says. “They put a big coat on me and did all sorts of funny things, just like Dopey.”

Champion wasn’t paid a huge sum — about $10 per day, enough for her to purchase a new Ford — and certainly not as much as Adriana Caselotti, who provided Snow’s voice. But when the movie finally opened in theaters in 1937, Champion was essentially hidden by Walt Disney, who wasn’t sure how the public would react. “Mr. Disney felt that people might not [understand], he didn’t want them to know anything about me,” says Champion. “I think it was maybe six or eight years before I was in one of the books about Walt Disney, and he found out that people didn’t care out one way or the other. And I still get fan mail from Russia and Germany and all kinds of places.”

Champion went on to have a prolific Hollywood career, pairing with her second husband, dancer Gower Champion. “Gower and I went to MGM and we did Showboat and all those films, right at the end of the time when they were making musical films,” she says. “Then we were in New York for Bye Bye Birdie and Hello Dolly. I’m in my 96th year, and I must say that I’ve had a real interesting life.”

In 2013, she spoke to the Norman Rockwell Museum for a special exhibit on Snow White:

 

Disney’s classic fairy tale, the one that set the template for all those that followed, is the first release of Walt Disney’s new Signature Collection, packed with bonus features, including “In Walt’s Words:Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” which you can see above. The new edition brings Snow White to Digital HD for the first time ever and Disney Movies Anywhere (DMA) on Jan. 19 and on Blu-ray Combo Pack on Feb. 2.

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For anyone who grew up with Walt Disney’s Little Mermaid, Princess Ariel may seem as much of a cultural reference as the famous Venus being born in Botticelli’s masterpiece Renaissance painting.

Those people will probably enjoy the makeovers from the DesignCrowd’s community pages, where cartoon characters have replaced the original subjects in classic works of art.

Whether you’re a Beauty and the Beast fan who loves the Mona Lisa or you preferred The Pink Panther as a child and enjoy expressionist works such as Edvard Munch’s renowned Scream painting, there’s a Photoshopped and digitally enhanced classic for every artistic taste.

Highlights from DesignCrowd include the Looney Tunes and the Simpsons dining at Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, Snow White posing in Eugene de Blas’s Flirtation and Dumbo moonlighting as Ganesha in all his gold and finery.But these re-imagined paintings aren’t the only blurrings of the classical and the digital.

As well as Kim Kardashian posing as the Mona Lisa and Kanye West replacing a classic portrait of Henry VIII, we’ve recently seen Star Wars characters invading famous works, famous Disney characters such as Princess Elsa and Anna from Frozen re-drawn as humans and even paintings updated with famous magazine covers on the subjects’ heads.

And while it might be hard to imagine that celebrity photographs and cartoons might draw their inspiration from some of our most historically famous pieces of art, some of the similarities and references are uncanny.

If you thought the world had reached peak Photoshop when artists started turning Disney princesses into everything from pin-up girls to hot dogs, then you might think you’ve seen enough re-imaginings for one lifetime.

But these endearing projects that feature everyone from Tweety Pie to The Pink Panther as well as the Disney girls and are definitely the sort of thing you could hang on your wall.

Who said ancient paintings and modern cartoons have nothing in common?

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I love Disney theme parks! While they may claim to be the happiest place on earth, I also put them in the category of one of the most amazing companies on earth. I’ve visited Disney theme parks more than 75 times. I’ve attended classes at Disney Institute and gone to numerous seminars put on by the Disney experts. In one word, which happens to be one of my favorite words, Disney is… AMAZING!

Disney gets the guest experience. Disney is, as mentioned above, the self-proclaimed happiest place on earth. They are also one of the most expensive places on earth, at least for vacations. They are so good at what they do that hard working people from all over the world will save their money, sometimes for several years, so that they can take their families on the trip of a lifetime. And then these families come back. Some of them again and again. How does Disney do it? The answer is rather simple: they focus on their guest. They give their “customers” a guest experience that connects emotionally and delivers value, typically far more value than the price paid. To take creative license from MasterCard’s excellent commercials, a Disney vacation experience is … priceless.

Just last year was Disney’s 60^th anniversary. Amazing how Mickey hasn’t aged a bit, and Snow White looks better than ever. During the time of Disney’s celebration, I read many articles that included Walt Disney DIS -6.45% quotations and business philosophies. I actually wrote a short article with a few famous (and not so famous) quotes from Walt Disney himself and some of his characters. Since that time I’ve found a few more that inspired me. So, here are some of my favorites, with some customer service and business lessons tied into them.

1. If you can dream it you can do it. –Walt Disney – This is a perfect one to start with. One of the most famous Disney quotes, and great advice for anyone getting into business – and anyone who is trying to solve a customer’s problem. Making customers happy sometimes requires creativity.

2. The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all. –The Emperor (Mulan) – Sometimes a customer has a complaint. Handled well, that Moment of Misery™becomes a Moment of Magic®. And, if really handled properly, the customer may even have more confidence about you because of the way you handled the situation than they might have if the problem hadn’t happened at all.

3. Venture outside your comfort zone. The rewards are worth it. –Rapunzel (Tangled) – The best companies empower their employees to make their own customer-focused decisions. Unfortunately, some companies are still reluctant to do so, primarily because they are worried employees may make the wrong decisions. I challenge those companies to venture outside their comfort zones and give their employees the power – the power to improve the customer experience. It all starts with training your employees to make good decisions, and if they make a bad judgement call, use it as a training opportunity. With the right training and management, you’ll be surprised at how quickly you’ll create an empowered workforce – which a reward worth the effort.

4. Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it. –Rafiki (The Lion King) – This is a perfect follow-up quote to the last one. No doubt our employees will make mistakes. Even the painful ones are learning opportunities in disguise. It is important to embrace the past to help you and your employees grow in the future.

5. If you focus on what you left behind, you will never be able to see what lies ahead. Now go up and look around! – Gusteau (Ratatouille) – Funny how some of these great quotes belong together. What many people hang onto is “how we’ve always done it”, or worse, a policy manual. Sometimes you have to look beyond how things have always been done. Look for creative solutions to solve unique (and sometimes not so unique) customer requests or problems.

6. A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference. –Eeyore (Winnie the Pooh) – Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Show sympathy, empathy and consideration. It will help strengthen and build a strong relationship with your customer.

7. The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem. –Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean) – Attitude is everything. At work, and in life, we’re faced with problems every day. And, it’s the same for our customers. An angry customer can be turned into a loyal evangelist when the right attitude about their problems is displayed.

8. Just because it’s what’s done, doesn’t mean it’s what should be done. –Cinderella (Cinderella) – This may be one of the earliest quotes about innovative thinking, and it came from Cinderella! The way things have always been done may not always be the best way. Once again I’m using that word, “empowerment.” Empower your employees to come up with creative solutions to problems. You’ll be amazed at the results.

9. In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and—snap!—the job’s a game! –Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins) – This is so true. This reminds me of another popular saying that goes something like this: “Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” It’s been attributed to numerous people, so I can’t tell you who specifically said it (Confucius, Marc Anthony, and others), but the essence is that if you enjoy what you do, it’s not dreaded, boring, a burden or unexciting. It’s something you are enthusiastic about. It’s something you will most likely excel in. It’s something you will be proud of.

10. Always let your conscience be your guide. –The Blue Fairy, although many think it was Jiminy Cricket (Pinocchio) – Okay, this really isn’t about customer service, but it is one of my favorite Disney quotes, and so we’ll end with this one. It’s a rule to live by, and the message is simple: Do the right thing.

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Brian Bedford died at 80 in Santa Barbara, Calif., after a two-year battle with cancer.

The British theatre actor died Wednesday and was most famous for voicing the character of Robin Hood in the 1973 animated movie.

The hit film’s music was nominated for an Oscar and featured a stellar cast, including Peter Ustinov as Prince John.

Bedford was born in Yorkshire, England, and left school at 15 to join an amateur theater group, reported Mirror Online.

He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London from 1952 until 1954, where his classmates included Peter O’Toole and Albert Finney.

Bedford made his Broadway debut in 1959 in a production of Peter Shaffer’s “Five Finger Exercise.”

He won a Tony Award in 1971 for his performance in Moliere’s “The School for Wives.”

Bedford earned his seventh Tony nomination in 2011 for his drag performance as Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

But he was forced to withdraw from productions of “The Merchant of Venice” and “The Last Confession” in recent years because of illness.

Bedford is survived by his husband, Tim MacDonald, an actor.

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Sir Elton John might be the Lion King, but Opetaia Foa’i is the pride of the Pacific.

The Samoan-born New Zealand-raised musician has spent the last three years composing music for the next Disney animated movie Moana, which is set for release in November this year.

The big budget Disney production will tell the story of a young woman who uses her navigational talents to set sail for a fabled island. Joining her on the adventure is her hero, the legendary demi-god Maui.

Moana features the voice of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson” as Maui, while the title character will be voiced by newcomer Auli’i Cravalho.

Foa’i is part of a music team which includes Mark Mancina, who is writing the official score, and lyricist Lin Manuel Miranda, whose musical Hamilton is currently taking Broadway by storm.

Foa’i said his main aim was to do a good job of telling the stories of the Pacific.

“Moana is going to be released in pretty much every country in the world and translated into their languages, so if I can do a good job then other cultures will have a better appreciation and understanding of Pacific culture and music.

At the time Foa’i signed up to the project in December 2013, the studio hadn’t yet approached Johnson.

“When they were talking about who might be best suited to the role, Dwayne’s name came up. They looked at me and said, because his mum is from Samoa, if we can’t get him is there anything you can do? And I said, ‘yeah, I will personally go and see his mum’.” He was so keen though, I didn’t need to do that.”

“Disney is very excited because it is something quite different to what they are used to,” Foa’i says. “The music is going to be very Pacific but it will be very relatable just like the music that was written for The Lion King and Frozen.

“I made the mistake, when I first went to Disney of saying to my music team, ‘it’s only an animation”. Then they had to remind me that Frozen was their fourth highest grossing movie of all time [it’s now the highest grossing animated movie of all time] and The Lion King is one of the biggest selling soundtracks of all time.”

Foia’i said he had until May to complete all of the music.

That means possibly another 10 songs on top of the 12 songs he has already submitted.

“Sometimes when we get together we’ll take an idea from one song and work it into another. They are very happy with what i have written but I’m learning that as the script is improved and they pick up on things about the culture that I am aware of, they work that into the storyline and that might mean changing the feel of a song.”

Foa’i came to Disney’s attention when they bought up the whole back catalogue of Te Vaka, the group he leads.

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