While I enjoyed John Esposito's "The Fearsome Foursome", the first volume of Disney Press's Tales from the Haunted Mansion, I must say that my daughteWhile I enjoyed John Esposito's "The Fearsome Foursome", the first volume of Disney Press's Tales from the Haunted Mansion, I must say that my daughter (10, going on 11 in a month) is closer to the reading demographic than I am, and she didn't finish because parts of it were "too scary" for her.
Every kid is different when it comes to what scares them. Basically, I found this series to be about as scary as some of R.L. Stine's Goosebumps books. There are a few jump scares, but the gore is kept to a minimum.
The book is basically four short stories told by The Librarian (a Crypt-Keeper wannabe) about the four protagonists: a group of middle-schoolers who try to out-scare each other with horror stories.
Fans of Goosebumps and Tales From the Crypt will enjoy these middle-reader stories.
(Unless they are a little more sensitive, like my daughter, and find it "too scary"...)...more
Happy Halloween, everybody! I know, I'm a month and a half early, but whatever. If the big box stores can have their Halloween displays out in early AHappy Halloween, everybody! I know, I'm a month and a half early, but whatever. If the big box stores can have their Halloween displays out in early August, I can start my Halloween reading now.
Let's start with a fun one. So, my daughter loves the Disney XD cartoon series "Big City Greens", which I have grown to love as well. Imagine "Family Guy" only not as raunchy and actually funny. (No offense to Seth McFarlane, but "Family Guy" sucks.) It's basically about a country family, the Greens, who move to the Big City. That's it: end of plot. They have a rickety shack home and a small farm right in the middle of the city.
"Blood Moon", based on one of the episodes, is a Halloween special. Bill Green, the dad, is looking forward to taking his kids, Cricket and Tilly, trick-or-treating. Unfortunately, this year, they feel that they are old enough to go out by themselves. Before they embark, though, the farm animals have broken loose from the barn and, due to an unusual "blood moon", have turned into animal-zombies, bent on eating as much Halloween candy as possible. The Greens (along with some innocent bystanders) are now trapped in the house, trying to beat back the zombified farm animals in an homage to "Night of the Living Dead".
Everything ends well, though, so don't worry. This book would be a good introduction to kids (and parents) who haven't seen the show yet....more
Disney’s purple flying dragon named Figment has, I am fairly certain, never appeared in a single Disney film. His domain is solely the Journey Into ImDisney’s purple flying dragon named Figment has, I am fairly certain, never appeared in a single Disney film. His domain is solely the Journey Into Imagination ride at Epcot Center in Disney World.
Created in 1983, Figment was immensely popular with guests, which is why it was odd that, in 1999, the ride was “re-conceived” in a completely different form, and Figment was reduced to only a few brief cameos. Riders—especially those who recalled the original—-hated the new concept, and the ride was closed after only two years. It re-opened a year later with Figment as the main character once again. Some riders were appeased, but many still recalled the original concept which introduced a character called the Dreamfinder, who “created” Figment using the powers of imagination.
I never experienced the original ride. My only knowledge of Figment is in the current iteration.
Thankfully, Marvel Comics’ Disney Kingdoms line published a miniseries entitled “Figment”, which features the story of Figment’s origin story.
Written by Jim Zub and drawn by Filipe Andrade, “Figment” tells the story of Blarion Mercurial, a young scientist working at the Academy Scientifica-Lucidus in London, England in 1910. He has invented a machine, called the Integrated Mesmonic Convertor, that can harness the power of the mind and, specifically, the imagination.
The first thing that Mercurial creates is Figment, an adorable purple talking dragon. His second experiment, however, sucks him and Figment into a wormhole to another dimension, one that seems to have been created entirely by his imagination. Now, he must find a way back to London. Unfortunately, he is thwarted by dark forces such as Doubt and Insecurity and Lack of Confidence, created by a lifetime of people telling him that his mind was in the clouds, that he daydreamed too much, that his fantastical ideas were ridiculous, that he was a failure.
Thankfully, he has Figment.
This series is, like its titular character, adorable. It’s a wonderful tale of the importance of imagination, creativity, and critical thinking. It’s a perfect story to encourage those kids who are always asking questions and always coming up with ideas that, sadly, the vast majority of the world will always try to discourage or destroy. ...more
The Haunted Mansion at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is one of my favorite rides in the whole park. It’s a perfect blend of scares and silliness, whichThe Haunted Mansion at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is one of my favorite rides in the whole park. It’s a perfect blend of scares and silliness, which is why my 7-year-old daughter can handle it, along with her mother, who normally detests anything remotely scary.
Joshua Williamson’s graphic novel “The Haunted Mansion”, part of the Marvel Disney Kingdoms series, captures the same formula of equal parts scary and silly in a story that brings the ghostly hauntings and laughs to life in comic book form, along with artist Jorge Coelho’s wonderful drawings.
The story follows a young boy named Danny, who wishes that he could be brave like his grandfather, who is constantly going on trips to climb mountains or go on jungle cruises. They have always talked about going into the old haunted mansion down the street. But when Danny’s grandfather dies, Danny isn’t sure if he can ever learn to be brave.
Then, one night, an eerie phantom face appears in his bathroom mirror, telling him that the spirit of his grandfather needs him to come to the old haunted mansion. So, despite his fears, Danny braves the trek to the old house and enters its creaking doors…
What follows is a familiar series of haunts and horrors (to anyone who has been on the ride, of course): the hitchhiking ghosts, the singing busts, Madame Leota, the ballroom of dancing ghosts, the creepy dude with the hatbox, and, of course, the Bride in the attic. There’s even a few new ghosts and ghouls.
Like the ride, the age-appropriateness of the graphic novel depends on how well your little reader handles run-of-the-mill ghosts, goblins, skeletons, and things that go bump in the night. These may be Disney-fied scares, but they may still be terrifying to really young kids....more
I’m not sure how I feel about reading and reviewing a graphic novel written as a marketing ploy for a Disney attraction, but let’s be honest: that is I’m not sure how I feel about reading and reviewing a graphic novel written as a marketing ploy for a Disney attraction, but let’s be honest: that is exactly what “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” is.
I’m not anti-Disney, mind you. On the contrary, I love Disney and have had no qualms about giving them the hundreds of thousands of dollars of my hard-earned money over the years.
I’m also not naive enough to know that Disney is a corporation and one that will do anything to make me dig deeper into my pockets for even more money.
When Disney bought the Star Wars franchise and Marvel, I pretty much accepted the fact that a majority of my income would be going to them. What can I say? I’m a sucker.
Still: “Galaxy’s Edge” is basically a travel brochure. It’s a comic book tie-in to a ten-minute ride. It’s propaganda.
That said, writer Ethan Sacks and artist Will Sliney have created some really fun propaganda.
Read this for what it is: a comic book for die-hard Star Wars fans. It is full of fun little cameos of characters from the original films (Han and Chewie), TV shows (Hondo Ohnaka from “Clone Wars” and “Rebels”), new films (Chirrut Imwe from “Rogue One”), and other comic books (Doctor Aphra). There’s also many little Easter eggs scattered throughout, some of which I probably missed.
I’m not going to give a plot synopsis because what’s the point? You’re going to read it anyway and like it.
So, yeah, I guess I’m okay with reading and reviewing a graphic novel written to be a marketing ploy for a Disney attraction. ...more
After perusing some of the reviews of Carl Hiaasen’s “Team Rodent” here on Goodreads, I have to say: some people need to learn how to take a joke.
Not After perusing some of the reviews of Carl Hiaasen’s “Team Rodent” here on Goodreads, I have to say: some people need to learn how to take a joke.
Not that Hiaasen was, in any way, joking when he wrote the book. No, it’s quite clear he meant every word.
My gripe is with those who don’t seem to understand exactly what Hiaasen was doing, which is what Hiaasen does in all of his books. Namely, he’s being a smart-ass. Emphasis on the “smart”. And, frankly, if you haven’t figured out Hiaasen by now, you should really just stop reading his books entirely.
“Team Rodent” is Hiaasen’s caustic-but-humorous, tongue-in-cheek castigation of the Walt Disney Corporation.
Take note that it’s the corporation that he is attacking here, not the Imagineers, or the park employees, or the people who make those wonderful movies that we (at least those of us with kids) have had to watch 4,372 times.
Also take note that this book was written in 1998. A lot has changed within Disney Corp. since then, most importantly the changing of the guard from Michael Eisner to Bob Iger as CEO. (Iger recently handed off the reins to Bob Chapek.)
Indeed, Hiaasen spends a lot of the book ripping on and viciously dissecting Eisner, and to anybody familiar with Disney-as-a-business, this vicious dissection is perfectly welcome and appreciated, as Eisner nearly sunk Disney.
That Eisner made some serious mistakes and bad decisions in his latter years as CEO is old history. He’s the guy that nearly ruined the marriage between Disney and Pixar. He’s the guy who dumped billions into an American history-themed amusement park that went nowhere. He’s also the guy responsible for the pile of shit film “Man of the House”. (Okay, to be fair, I doubt he had any input—-creative or otherwise—-in the movie, but it happened under his watch, so shame on him.)
But even given how dated this book is, it’s still a fair assessment of a super-powerful mega corporation that is bent on world domination. Disney is an Empire. Period. And Corporate Empires should be mocked, castigated, criticized, and heavily monitored constantly.
Even ones responsible for wonderful films like “Frozen 2” and TV shows like “The Mandalorian”.
So, don’t be so religiously zealous and pro-Disney that one fails to see what Hiaasen is brilliantly trying to do in this book. Take a chill pill, for God’s sake. Or watch “The Mandalorian”. Seriously, Baby Yoda is adorable and will make you forget all your problems…...more
While you can’t, rightfully, attribute any company’s success to the work of one person, the right type of person---a leader, versus just a manager or While you can’t, rightfully, attribute any company’s success to the work of one person, the right type of person---a leader, versus just a manager or a chief executive---at the head of a company can make a huge difference.
The history of the 20th century is the history of business ascendant and the history of powerful businessmen and women: Coco Chanel, Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Martha Stewart, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey. These are just a few names at the top of a long list of people who have made an impact in the world---for good or ill---through business.
There’s one name that, I’m sure, almost everyone will agree has made a positive impact in the lives of people throughout the world, and, regardless how one feels about business and the corporate world, it is highly unlikely that one has not been entertained or found pleasure in something that was created by this person.
I’m talking, of course, about Walt Disney, who went from creating a short black-and-white cartoon in 1928 that starred, for the first time, a mouse named Mickey to building a legacy that has become his posthumous empire of entertainment.
The Disney brand has become the brand of high-quality entertainment that all members of the family can enjoy, and it has branched out into not just amusement parks but resort hotels and cruise lines. And, like the classic “Steamboat Willie” cartoon, Disney is still making great, memorable films, only now the Disney umbrella has grown to include the story-making juggernauts of Marvel and Lucasfilm. It is, literally, unstoppable.
The success of Disney can’t, of course, be credited to one person. It’s a team effort, and Disney has an amazing team of talent in its animation departments, park and resort managers, and Imagineers, the men and women who churn out idea after wonderful idea.
But the history of Disney, as a corporation, is a history of the importance of finding the right person to steer the ship. Without a captain---a good captain, especially---no ship can maneuver well in any waters.
In 2005, Robert Iger was named the CEO of Disney during a turbulent time for the company. Michael Eisner, the previous CEO, who inherited the position in 1984 during another rough time, had turned the company around and had successfully more than doubled Disney’s global footprint, but it was, unfortunately, during the last ten years of his tenure that Eisner’s reputation became tarnished by some very public mistakes, failures, and decisions that the Board of Directors deemed ultimately disastrous for the company. They had lost faith in Eisner, and, as former Board member Roy E. Disney once said, “Eisner had lost his focus”.
Iger, who had worked closely with Eisner as the company’s President and COO, was seen as a natural successor to Eisner. He immediately went to work repairing some of the damage, including rebuilding the failing Animation Studios (the last ten years had seen a string of box-office failures for a studio that once made three films---”The Little Mermaid”, “Beauty and the Beast”, and “The Lion King” back to back---that had won multiple Academy Awards and broke box-office records at the time for animated films) and acquiring Pixar, a move that Eisner fought for years and nearly destroyed a very lucrative relationship with Steve Jobs. (According to Iger, years later, Eisner told him that he had been so wrong about Pixar.)
Iger also went on to make a historic deal with China with the opening of Shanghai Disney, a multi-billion dollar project that could have been a multi-billion dollar disaster. It wasn’t.
He also oversaw the acquisition of Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm, both of which have flourished under the Disney umbrella without destroying their integrity or their originality.
“The Ride of a Lifetime” is Iger’s memoir/blueprint for being a successful business leader, and he comes across as being a somewhat humble, intelligent, and likable businessman. Those are three words, by the way, that I would almost never have attached to anyone in business, as anyone who knows me knows that I detest the business world. I despise corporate mentality and what I call the “MBA”-ification of the world, so it is definitely a big deal that I actually read, and enjoyed, Iger’s book.
Iger proves that one can actually have a soul and a penchant for empathy and compassion in business. One doesn’t need to be the soul-sucking, avaricious, greed-monster that I so often (and, admittedly, probably unfairly) imagine most CEOs to be.
Disney’s success isn’t solely attributable to Iger, but they probably couldn’t have picked a better person to steer their ship....more
My wife and I love kitsch, especially anything Polynesian. We actually have a Tiki lounge in our house: a remodeled enclosed front porch that is meantMy wife and I love kitsch, especially anything Polynesian. We actually have a Tiki lounge in our house: a remodeled enclosed front porch that is meant to seat, at most, probably six people, but has, on multiple occasions, seated roughly 15-20. Safety hazard? Probably. Fun? Definitely.
Every year we throw a Luau in the winter, where we drink plenty of rum drinks, wear Hawaiian shirts, eat lots of tropical foods, and listen to ukulele music. And, of course, everybody gets leied. It’s a nice reminder (especially for those of us living in Northern Ohio) that the snow and cold can’t last forever.
Strangely, I have never been to Hawaii. Not for lack of desire; I just have never had the opportunity. My wife has been there several times. Someday soon, hopefully, we will be able to take my daughter. In the meantime, we have our tiki lounge.
Thankfully, I have been to Disney World several times. Based on a much larger attraction at the Disneyland park in California, the Enchanted Tiki Room in the Magic Kingdom is everything one could ask for in a Polynesian-themed-animatronic-singing-birds amusement park attraction. I mean, who wouldn’t love 150 talking and singing parrots, flowers, and Tiki totems?
Okay, so maybe it’s not for everyone, but it makes me happy.
Now, Marvel Comics, in their Disney Kingdoms line, has published an “Enchanted Tiki Room” series that brings to life the attraction in a silly five-book series targeted at young adult readers (although my wife and I---two forty-somethings---enjoyed it immensely). Written by Jon Adams and illustrated by Horacio Domingues, the book is basically played for laughs. (It’s based on a 40-minute song-and-dance amusement park attraction, so don’t expect it to be Proust.)
I read it aloud to my four-year-old daughter one night, and while she giggled at some of the jokes and the talking parrots and flowers, she got a bit bored about three-quarters of the way through. There was absolutely nothing offensive about it, though.
The storyline is ridiculous, and it is basically “Fantasy Island” if Mr. Roarke and Tattoo were replaced by a band of four talking parrots, each with a ridiculous foreign accent: Jose is the Spanish one, Fritz is the German one, Pierre is the French one, and Michael is the Irish one.
The adorable Orange Bird makes a cameo, too.
Seriously, this comic series may be silly as hell, but it’s harmless good fun, and it makes me want to drink a mai tai with a tiny paper umbrella in it. Not many books, if any, can do the same....more
However one feels about him, Walt Disney was undoubtedly a creative genius who left behind an enormous legacy. His “empire” is now a global one, encomHowever one feels about him, Walt Disney was undoubtedly a creative genius who left behind an enormous legacy. His “empire” is now a global one, encompassing resort hotels, amusement parks, and the entertainment industry. One of the most dynamic factors that makes the Disney brand unique is its focus on storytelling. It’s not an accident that, in a film industry inundated with sequels and remakes, Disney still puts out films that are original and innovative. The importance of a good story still means something to the people at Disney.
It’s no surprise that Disney now owns Marvel and Lucasfilm, two franchises that, besides being ridiculously popular, earned their success through wonderful storytelling. Yes, it’s a style of storytelling that appeals to a certain demographic, but it’s also a demographic that continues to grow and multiply.
The marriage of Marvel and Disney, especially, has seen an amazing resurgence of the comic book industry. Not that it was ever at risk of dying out, although Disney certainly provided a good shot in the arm for a company that had fallen on hard times. Marvel Studios was, with Ang Lee’s “Hulk” and Sam Raimi’s “Spiderman 3”, gaining a reputation for producing turkeys. Then, along came “Iron Man”. Fifteen movies later, Marvel is now the biggest money-making studio in Hollywood.
Now, the talents at Marvel Comics have taken on something that Walt himself would be quite happy about: creating comic book storylines based on some of the most popular rides and shows in the Disney parks.
Anyone who has ever been to Disney World or Disneyland knows that every ride and attraction already has a story attached to them. Disney insisted on them. Movies like “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Haunted Mansion” simply fleshed-out existing storylines that the ride’s creators incorporated into the rides themselves.
One of the most popular rides, featured at five of the Disney parks throughout the world, is the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller-coaster ride. I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never been on it, although not for lack of trying. In the four times I’ve been to Disney World in Orlando, FL, I have never made it on, for a multitude of reasons.
Thankfully, author Dennis Hopeless and artists Tigh Walker and Felix Ruiz have written and illustrated a beautiful five-comic series about the ride, in the Marvel “Disney Kingdoms” line.
Featuring an adorable and feisty heroine, the series is a western set in a gold-mining town that has grown wealthy due to a mother-lode of gold discovered beneath Big Thunder Mountain. Unfortunately, the town is plagued by bandits, a selfish mine supervisor, and the mountain itself, which most townspeople---including the miners---believe harbors a supernatural entity that does not want the miners to dig any deeper.
As someone who had grown somewhat jaded about comic books, I was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining and fun this series was. It was a decent, well-written western with plenty of action, humor, and supernatural suspense. Indeed, it is just begging to be made into a future Disney film.
It may be a while before I get back to Disney World, and it may be longer before I get to try riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but in the meantime I have the comic book to satisfy my Disney thrill-seeking....more
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