Solar Power at Disneyland

This may be one of the coolest stories I've read in a while (which may or may not be because I've been avoiding online news outlets). Still -- Disney just finished installing a solar power system on top of Radiator Springs Racers in the California Adventure park in Disneyland. According to the Disney Parks Blog,

...[the solar power system] uses the power of the sun to generate electricity for Disney California Adventure park — an amount equivalent to the energy used to power 100 Anaheim homes each year.

The system features more than 1,400 high-efficiency solar panels, and is the first of its kind at the Disneyland Resort to help power an attraction. The solar panels are part of an ongoing commitment to develop and implement environmentally responsible practices at the Disneyland Resort.

Way to go, Disney! I can only imagine how much "everything" goes in to running those parks -- if there's a way to go green even a little bit, then it's a step in the right direction.

Check out a video of the installation below:

New Moana Doll At Target

Was at Target the other day (although, to be honest, when am I not?), and I took a stroll down the toy aisle just for kicks.

And guess what? The new Moana merchandise is out! (Yes, even before the film is released.) So if you know someone who's going to want Moana merchandise, get it now before the actual release of the film. 

Not the point. The point is that the Moana doll, much like her character looks so much different than a "traditional" kid's doll. 

Here she is next to Barbie:

Look at the differences in height (Barbie is considerably taller), face shape, neck length, bust and leg size. Sure, Moana's eyes are unrealistically large, but hey. That's animation these days. Overall, she's more built more "realistically" and her legs don't look as if you could snap them like matchsticks.

For comparison, here she is next to Pocahontas (who is actually the only other Disney princess whose legs you can see in the box):

To be fair, Pocahontas has some fairly well-defined legs (for a doll), but she does run around the woods barefoot a lot so....

Is this progress for Disney & Hasbro? Have we finally moved past the princesses whose waists were as thin as their necks? 

Good-bye, Main Street Electrical Parade

Tonight is the end of an era: it's the last night of the Main Street Electrical Parade in the Magic Kingdom. I remember watching some version of the night-time parade when I was little (it used to be SpectroMagic and then they brought back the Electrical Parade) and it was always my favorite--partly because of nostalgia, partly because it means fireworks are coming. :) 

PC: Me @ May 2014

I mean, look at the beautiful scene: parade + castle.

In honor of it's last night, here are a few photos from my first trip to Disney World with my husband in 2011. *sniff*
(They're not the best photos...the 2011 iPhone was so inferior to the current model. :P )

One of my goals is to be the Fairy Godmother at Disney when I retire. And one of the reasons for that goal was that I wanted to be in the parade, on the back of this pumpkin coach. #adulting

We Need To Talk About That Black-ish Trip To Disney World

So...in the grand tradition of ABC sitcoms, the Johnsons from ABC's Black-ish went to Disney World in last week's season premiere. (I grew up on the TGIF tradition and always loved the episodes of Family Matters, Full House and Boy Meets World where they went to Disney World.)

Now, I love the show. I love Disney. I even love the way the season premiere started:

"I love feeling special. Getting the first-class treatment. It says "American as Apple Pie and Baseball." [...] But look -- it's not just me. Everybody loves special treatment. It's the thing that says: 'you're different, you're the best, you deserve shrimp.' So that's why when it came time to plan a family vacation, I knew I wanted to ball out."
"Disney World, huh? Nice."
"Not just Disney World--Disney World VIP."

This is the hallmark of Disney customer service -- make sure everyone has a magical vacation.

Now, of course, how magical that vacation is depends (a lot, actually) on how much money you spend. The more you spend, the "more magical" (re: better) your vacation. You get seated faster for dining reservations, you get more frequent bus service, you have better concierge service at your hotel.

It's also the pinnacle of middle-class vacation destinations -- hence the importance of the Johnsons going there and "buying" Cody the tour guide.

The main plot of the episode is how Dre hires a Disney VIP Tour Guide to give the kids the VIP treatment (behind the scenes tours + Fastpass+++ for all the rides) and how that isn't necessary to enjoy Disney as a family -- but what bugged me was the subplot with Bow and Dre's parents. Since Bow is pregnant, she can't ride any of the rides (been there!), so she goes off with Ruby and Pops, who've gone to EPCOT (presumably to drink, since Magic Kingdom is (largely) a dry park).

This is where I started to get irked -- because it's almost as if the producers were like, "Yeah...let's forget that a lot of our viewing audience may have actually been to Disney World. Who needs to worry about continuity?"

Because here's the thing: Bow goes to join Ruby and Pops at EPCOT -- only when she joins up with them, they're sitting at a bar in Animal Kingdom -- specifically, the Dawa bar in Harambe village near Tusker House restaurant. Is it bad that I know this? That I am THAT familiar with park geography? (I'm going to say 'no.') You can tell it's Dawa bar from the distinctive bar design (see a pic here from the Disney Food Blog):

They're supposed to be in EPCOT. (Never mind that Dre and the kids were riding Splash Mountain one minute, then they're in line for Test Track, then they're back in MK for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. NO.)

[Read more below -- pic-heavy post.]

You Can Be Feminine AND Feminist

I'm in the middle of Googling Mulan images for a post about the up-coming live-action adaptation, and I came across this image:

PC: Rebloggy

YAAAAAS.

This. All this.

One of the major criticisms thrown at Disney is that there are a lot of pretty, delicate, feminine heroines. This is true. Nobody is denying this.

But the implication -- or, sometimes, the overt, explicit, statement -- is that this BAD. That being feminine is somehow bad. Or weak. Or "less."

And I do see some of the counter-arguments: that Disney princesses are always feminine and that can lead to the assumption that only feminine girls can be princesses/heroines. That strong females are often the villains and that can imply that strong, powerful women are threatening and evil.

But the thing is...I'm not sure where "feminine" and "weak" became synonymous. Cinderella was basically living in a household where everyone hated her and heaped at least emotional abuse on her, and girl still got up every morning with a smile and a song. That is not weakness.

You can be kind and "girly" and wear pink poofy dresses (or more form-fitting blue dresses with a thigh-high slit) and like glitter and make-up and romantic-comedies and it doesn't make you weak. You can do/like all of those things and still be strong.

Walt Disney Confessions -- Villains

This morning in class, we had some fantastic discussions about gender transgression & deviance in Disney villains -- my morning classes are slaying these discussions. (My afternoon class is too -- we're just talking about different things.) The discussions didn't go exactly as I'd planned -- but I'm okay with that. (Or, more accurately, I've learned to be okay with that. Six years ago, New-Teacher-Me would have panicked about deviating my lesson plan.) But I've found that when we do deviate, it's usually for good reasons -- that we're talking about things that we have strong opinions about and the conversation goes in odd, unpredictable turns and that's a good thing.

Today? We talked about Ruby Rose and gender fluidity and HB2*.

All of this is to say that, after class, during my lunch break, I was trolling around on Walt Disney Confessions, easily the quickest way for me to fall down an Internet Black Hole/Timesuck.

It started with this one -- because, honestly, "OMG DISNEY VILLAINS ARE SO COOL" was basically the inspiration for the villains theme this Fall. Also--yes. They do get the best songs. I rock out to "Be Prepared" and "Poor Unfortunate Souls" every semester on the First Day because who isn't empowered by a good, evil-villain laugh?

Which led me to this one on Hans:

Because "Disney (Princess) Villain = Ugly" is basically the theme for this "unit." 

And, I love that this person offers up "proof" that children/people look for reflections of themselves in Disney and #thisiswhyweneeddiversity. 

Which led me, finally, to this one (among others; so. many. others):

SO MUCH TO UNPACK HERE.

First of all--I'm glad I don't know (at least, I don't think I know) any of the Disney fans who say that if you like Hans it means you support manipulative sociopaths. That's quite a leap in logic, IMHO. (That'd be like saying, "You like Dolores Umbridge as a Harry Potter villain? Clearly, you support the corporal punishment of schoolchildren." No. Just no. You can like a character as a villain and NOT support the (fictional) actions they take.)

Second--Interesting that Maleficent is everyone's favorite -- or, that people are okay if Maleficent is your favorite. What? You don't condemn people for unfair and trivial persecution of innocent children? 

Maleficent isn't my favorite villain -- but it's interesting to think about why she is to a lot of people. I may have mentioned this when the live-action film came out (and my subsequent disappointment with it) but in the 1959 animated Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent is just. so. evil. Like, unequivocally. 

Didn't get invited to a royal christening? No problem -- be fake okay with it and then BAM. Condemn the child to death.

Upset that your minions are, well, minions and didn't know that babies grow up? No problem -- take matters into your own hands and solve your own problems.

Catch Prince Philip instead of Aurora? No problem -- chain him up and (magically?) keep him alive for the next 100 years until he's too old for Aurora to ever love him. (That's cold.)

Facing imminent defeat at the hands of Philip and the Good Fairies? No problem -- TURN INTO A DRAGON.

Unapologetically bad-ass. 

*I didn't write this Huffpost article (clearly) but it does articulate my equally clearly bias on the subject. I don't support HB2 but that's not the goal of this blog. 

Emma Watson as Belle -- New Images Leaked Online?

Okay. By now, you know how much I'm looking forward to Disney's live-action version of Beauty and the Beast starring Hermione Granger Emma Watson as Belle.

This weekend, new images from the film were allegedly leaked online -- specifically, images of Emma Watson as Belle which aside from that one shot in the trailer, have been unsurprisingly scarce.

[I say "allegedly" because I'm not entirely sure that they aren't Photoshopped/fan-creations. My first few hits on Google (e.g. ComicBookMovie and Harpers Bazaar led me to broken links....maybe because they're not as legit as fans want them to be?

This is the "still" that makes me the happiest -- if I had to guess, I'd say it's from the opening sequence where Belle is wandering through the town and ends up in the bookstore, only to pick out about "far-off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise!" I suppose it could be the Beast's library (although she wears the green dress for that scene in the animated movie), but it's almost identical to the town bookstore (the ladder helps).

Emma Watson is so perfect to make "The beauty and The beast" 😍😍 pic.twitter.com/wIYwV05KKv

— Lorena Alves (@lorena_alves04_) September 30, 2016

This one...I am less excited about. Not sure why. It looks very stiff and posed, and an odd image to "leak." The one above could almost be a trailer shot or movie still, but this one...looks like it should be a promotional image. This is the one that concerns me about doctored photos -- we've been fooled before!

Emma Watson’s Belle Dances With Beast in New Beauty and the Beast Images pic.twitter.com/xlgqtnm0Od

— Great-Stuff (@Splurgehub) September 30, 2016

At the very least -- her hair is styled consistently in both photos (center part), so that's something.  

Disney Princesses As....Hogwarts Students

This week in "Disney Princesses As...": they're Hogwarts students! Or, at the very least, they've been sorted into Hogwarts Houses.

While this warms my nerdy heart, it isn't exactly something new....Disney Princess Reimaginer Extraordinaire Isaiah Stevens has done it, and so has a Deviant Artist named Annabella (hers might be my favorite).

My point is: it's been done before, so why do it again unless you disagree with the Sorting Results? And there are definitely some different results here.

Some of them make total sense (a.k.a. I totally agree with them). Like, for instance:

PC: Disney via HelloGiggles

This makes total sense: Snow White and Cinderella with their unrelenting optimism and kindness? Total Hufflepuff. And they are clearly unafraid of toil (as all good Hufflepuffs are) because they not only clean for the baddies in their lives, but they do it with a smile and a song.

Also making total sense?

PC: Disney via HelloGiggles

Yah. Mulan and Merida are both clearly Gryffindors. I mean...the name of Merida's movie is Brave, so I totally get that one.

Also one I like, but hadn't really thought of before:

PC: Disney via HelloGiggles

Ariel is totally the Luna Lovegood of Disney Princesses. And, she's my favorite princess, so it makes sense I'd love that she's sorted into my house.

Speaking of my favorites....

PC: Disney via HelloGiggles

I'm sorry. Elsa is NOT a Slytherin. No. Just no. She is 100% a Ravenclaw. I'm not sure how being "grounded in reality" disqualifies you from being a Ravenclaw -- not all Ravenclaws are like Luna. (Cho Chang was a Ravenclaw, after all. Not that that really helps my case.) The thing that bugs me here is that Elsa is NOT ambitious -- a very Slytherin quality, and not necessarily in a negative way. But "an ambitious leader" wouldn't retreat from a position to power to a place of solitude as Elsa does: a Slytherin would not go build and rule an ice power in isolation. A Slytherin would most definitely stay and rule, regardless of how people thought of him/her. 

Hans, for example, is absolutely a Slytherin -- but he's not a princess. Which I think is the flaw here: Disney princesses are all inherently good; not too many of them are going to belong in Slytherin, even if you read the Slytherin qualities positively. There's going to be a lot of Hufflepuff (First Wave) and a lot of Gryffindor. 

But, if you just look at the princesses, somebody's got to be in Slytherin. Which is why this happens:

PC: Disney via HelloGiggles

Again, I say: NO. JUST NO. I get the ambition part -- which is why I see Slytherin, but Tiana ultimately gives up her dream of a restaurant when Facilier offers it to her: she chooses love/Naveen over the restaurant, which again, I'm not sure a Slytherin would do. (Hence why she's a Disney princess.) But more than that -- Tiana's defined by her work ethic -- she is as unafraid of toil as Snow White and Cinderella are, probably even more so. (I've argued that Tiana is basically an updated version of Cinderella; very similar rags-to-riches story, just with more modern complexity.) The Sorting Hat tells us that "Those patient Hufflepuffs are true / And unafraid of toil." Yeah. Tiana saved for her restaurant penny by penny for years: that is textbook Hufflepuff, right there.

I know I take this all way too seriously, but Disney and Harry Potter are two of my favorite things so I love when they collide. 

Dear God: Disney Is Making A Live-Action Lion King

I suppose we only have ourselves to blame for this one: according to Variety, this summer's live-action (re: CGI) adaptation of The Jungle Book earned over $900 million worldwide (the third Disney film to do so this year; I imagine that Moana will be the fourth in November).

So I guess Disney likes Jon Favreau because...

Excited for my next project 🦁👑

— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) September 28, 2016 

That's right. Not only is Disney making a live-action (re: CGI because there's not even a single human in this story) The Lion King -- but they've put it on the fast-track. Whatever that means.

I kinda get The Jungle Book adaptation...it was the 1960s and isn't as popular but remaking the Renaissance Disney classics? WHY?!

Disney, I love you. I really, truly, honestly do. But at some point, the remakes have to stop. NOTHING will ever touch Elton John's version of "The Circle of Life" so...just stop.

From Engagement Session To Empowered Princess Photoshoot

This has got to be one of my favorite Disney-related stories EVER.

Cliff Notes Version: After ending her engagement with her fiancé, Brooke Lowry decided not to cancel her engagement photoshoot at Disneyland, and chose to do a solo shoot instead.

Brooke Lowry, you are my hero. I have a feeling we'd be pretty good friends. 

[No, really: if you want to talk to someone about getting a Master's Degree in Children's Literature, I am happy to talk with you about it! I highly recommend it. Oxford is my favorite place in the world, but London is a super close second.]

Longer details: According to HuffPost, "Lowry, a former Disney Television Animation employee says she has loved watching Disney redefine what it means to be a “Disney Princess” while staying true to the classics. “These remarkable female characters are put in extreme circumstances, but still display qualities that we all have- strength, beauty, compassion, and courage.” This was the perfect opportunity to practice what she preaches even when it wasn’t easy."

PC: DPark Photography via HuffPost

What I love the most about this story is the positive interpretation that Lowry has on the Disney Princesses. I know she worked for Disney, but that's not always a guarantee of a positive experience. According to Buzzfeed:

“These women are kind even when others are not,” she said. “They are loyal and compassionate, inclusive and accepting, elegant and discerning, dreamers and doers. They look for the best in others, they bring honor to their families, and they work hard and stay true to themselves.”

Another quality she said she admired was the ability to be “positive amongst tragedy.” She decided to emulate these qualities and view the shoot as a new beginning.

“So, instead of being the cutesy couple out for a Disneyland date, it became the ‘I am a Princess, long may I reign’ shoot,” she said. “Having Disneyland itself as the backdrop was symbolic, too — a place for me to begin a new dream and imagine a new narrative for myself.”

Thi is exactly the kind of narrative I wish circulated more about the Disney Princesses. Too often the focus is that they promote unhealthy images and unrealistic expectations -- and that is certainly true, to an extent -- but there's so much more to those stories. Who are we to judge and specify what someone takes away from a film? This is also a big part of the "Dream Big, Princess" campaign, 

PC: DPark Photography via Buzzfeed

And, if you need even more of a reason to love/be jealous of this, here's what Lowry told HuffPost of her experience at Disneyland during the shoot:

“I was feeling vulnerable and self conscious of course that morning, but everyone was so, so kind. My hair and makeup artist Tatiana gifted me her services, a precious Disney employee named Pearl “Jay” Wang heard me talking to the photographer and escorted me on a private tour of the Royal Hall, the princesses inside treated me so gently, I got into the park for free, I had a few guests ask me which princess I was, which made my day, and my photographer Drexelle Parkwas absolutely amazing in every way and made me feel like royalty. It honestly couldn’t have been a more beautiful experience, and I was filled with the peace and comfort that only comes from above. I’m so glad I decided to go through with the photos, and more importantly I’m so grateful for the smallest acts of daily kindness that make all the difference in a broken world."

Never underestimate the power of Disney Customer Service -- they have the capability to go above and beyond for you, and when they do, it can make any experience magical.

PC: DPark Photography via HuffPost

The only thing that irks me about this story is the fact that "photo shoots at Disney" are an absolutely legitimate thing. As in, you can hire a professional photographer and have a photo shoot at Disneyland. Which...cool. But you can't do this at Magic Kingdom in Disney World.

Disney: please explain WHY to me. Why is Disneyland okay, but Magic Kingdom is not?!

Angela Lansbury Wows With Surprise Performance of "Beauty and the Beast"

I first came across this story on The Mary Sue, and their commentary pretty much sums it up:

"I don’t know if you’re aware but Star Trek isn’t the only pop culture phenomenon celebrating a major milestone. This year marks the 25thanniversary of the Disney animated classic, Beauty and the Beast, which means it’s time to freak out because that was a while ago and you’re super old now. Kidding."

Either way, Angela Lansbury is 90 years old. That's a healthy dose of perspective, right there. I hope I can still walk as well as she does at 90, let alone sing that well. (I can't even sing that well now.)

Moana Halloween Costume Controversy: Cultural Appropriation or Cosplay?

Yesterday, I read an article on io9 about a new Disney Halloween costume from the upcoming Moana:

PC @ io9

Basically, kids can dress-up like The Rock's character, Maui, from the film:

PC @ DisneyStore Online

The costume allows the wearer to don the "signature tattoos" as well as the rope necklace and the island-style skirt.

The controversy, however, comes from the fact that the "skin" of the costume is brown, leading many (but not all!) online to descry the costume as "cultural appropriation" and allowing children to blatantly practice brownface. The Buzzfeed article, "People Are Angry About This Disney Costume," captures some of the Twitter reactions.)

Before I go any further, let me make this clear:

I do not condone brownface or blackface or cultural appropriation. 

We good? 

Okay.

What I'm interested in is the line between cultural appropriation and, say, something like cosplay. or even the fact that we live in a melting pot of cultures and the blurring of cultural lines is going to happen. And, as Jenni Avins put it in a piece for The Atlantic, "No matter how much I love cable-knit sweaters and Gruyere cheese, I don’t want to live in a world where the only cultural inspiration I’m entitled to comes from my roots in Ireland, Switzerland, and Eastern Europe." 

I'd like to think that I'm not the only one to struggle with this question--and I'd also like to think that my struggle, at the very least, means that I'm not blind to the issue and am aware that it exists. 

But when something like this Moana costume incident happens, I don't quite know what to think. My knee-jerk reaction is to say, "It's just a kid's costume," but I realize that that knee-jerk reaction is part of the problem.

Also part of the problem: the fact that the film hasn't been released yet, and therefore, I don't know how Moana portrays Polynesian culture. 

The way I understand it, from Nadra Kareem Nittle's helpful article, "cultural appropriation" happens when there's the "unauthorized use of another culture's dance, dress, music, language, folklore, cuisine, traditional medicine, religious symbols, etc." -- and usually involves a dominant culture exploiting a minority culture. Nittle identifies cultural appropriation as problematic because it (1) "robs minority groups of the credit they deserve" (due to association with the majority group) and (2) reinforces stereotypes about the minority groups. Nittle also points out that cultural appropriation is particularly egregious around Halloween, when people don stereotyped costumes without knowing the "roots of such dress and the challenges those who originated it have faced in Western society."

The last part is particularly troubling about the Maui costume. 

A quick Google search reveals more information on what the Buzzfeed article touches on at the end: that while Disney is being praised for it's diversity with Moana as well as for it's progressive portrayal of a female action hero (no love story!), people still believe that Disney is being offensive and racist by reinforcing stereotypes of obese Samoans. (See also: this article from The Washington Post.)

My first thought was that his size was to help portray him as a demi-god -- as larger than life. That being said, I fully realize that I'm saying this from a position of relative privilege as a white woman and not as a member of the culture being stereotyped. If the people from the Polynesian/Pacific Islander culture think it's offensive, end-stop. 

So obviously the accusations of Disney using another culture's dress/folklore with authorization have some merit but again, the issue of the Halloween costumes makes me think -- especially the issue of kids' costumes. 

I'm not sure what the right answer is -- or if there even is a right answer. But here are some of the things marinating in my mind:

• If the costume is offensive, is there an alternative? 
• What if Disney didn't have a Maui costume? Would they get accusations of being racist for not offering a Halloween costume for a minority character while you can buy costumes for Snow White and Cinderella? 
• The brown skin sleeves of the costume are a vehicle for the tattoos -- is the answer to offer the costume in different sleeve colors (e.g. a Maui with white sleeves, black sleeves, etc.)?
• Would a "white Maui" costume then be subject to accusations of white-washing? 
• Could they have made the costume sleeves "sheer" so that a child's natural skin color showed?
• I have to believe that if a child wants to dress up as Maui or Moana for Halloween, it's because they like the character right and want to emulate him/her? And not because they want to appropriate a culture? But is that how cultural appropriation starts? 
• When we see little girls dressed as their favorite princess at Disney World, do we call it cultural appropriation? 
• What if my daughter wants to dress up as Jasmine or Tiana because they're her favorite princess? What do I do then? (I'm assuming we can't have a super detailed conversation about cultural appropriation at three years old, although I have no doubt I will be more "academic" about the Disney films than most parents....)
• How is cultural appropriation different from cosplay (which is defined as "the art or practice of wearing costumes to portray characters from fiction, especially from manga, animation, and science fiction")?
• Does the "fiction" qualification excuse cultural appropriation? Surely not. After all, fiction and culture are intimately connected so...if an American cosplays as a character from Japanese anime, is it cultural appropriation? 

I would honestly love some insight on this topic: what if my daughter, exposed as she will be to the full canon of Disney movies, wants to wear a Tiana dress when we go to Disney World? Or a Jasmine outfit? (Assuming, of course, that my daughter is one who likes princesses and wearing dresses...I didn't when I was 4.) What's the right way to handle that situation?

Disney = Universal

This afternoon, my mom sent me this via text:

Okay. It's a Frozen merchandise display. No big deal, right?

Well, maybe.

Except for the fun fact that this photo was taken at a store in SWITZERLAND. 

(Going to Switzerland has always been on my dad's bucket list, so, since it's his 60th this year, my parents are on a 2-week vacation (excluding travel days) there. And, after seeing their photos, I really want to go now.) 

BUT. The point is--Disney. Is. Everywhere. 

Now, I have no idea how well this merchandise is selling -- that is, I have no idea if the Swiss really do love Frozen or if Disney just has a phenomenal international team. It might be both. 

New Outfits For Aladdin & Jasmine (But Mostly For Jasmine)

Oh, Internet Rage Machine -- I can always count on you to get overly emotional about something relatively trivial.

Today's Rage Fest is brought to you by changes to Jasmine and Aladdin's outfits at EPCOT (but mainly Jasmine's outfit).

Princess Jasmine side by side look. Old look on the left, new on the right! #disneyland #disneyprincess #aladdin pic.twitter.com/RfXq3nHaab

— DisneyCharacterGuide (@wdwmickeyhunter) September 4, 2016

On the left-hand side, you have the "old" outfit -- the one that looks like the one the animated cartoon Jasmine wears in the movie. On the right-hand side, you have Jasmine's "new winter outfit" -- although perhaps it ought to be called "Jasmine's new modest outfit to keep men people from being pervy and gross."

And people hate it (click the pic to enlarge):

(PC: via Facebook)

Let's break this down.

To start with, the Disney Princesses (and most characters at the parks) undergo a wardrobe change for Fall and Winter. While I refuse to believe that the dresses they wear during the spring and summer are lightweight, breathable, and cool -- or that Orlando gets cool enough during the winter/spring months to warrant a fake-fur-lined cloak -- sure. Princesses dress with the seasons. It usually loves longer sleeves (if the gowns were short-sleeved, arm sleeves are added), gloves, capes, and some sort of (fake) fur decoration -- to indicate the chilly weather, I suppose. (For some additional photos, visit this blog post.)

PC: Unknown. Found via Pinterest.

What's especially interesting is that Jasmine already had a winter costume -- a fairly amorphous (and comparatively bland) cape-coat:

PC: Kenny The Pirate

Don't get me wrong: it's a beautiful costume, but compared to some of the elaborate gowns the other princesses wear, it's kinda shapeless.

Maybe that's because, sometimes, being a Disney Princess isn't all happy thoughts and pixie dust. There have been a lot of rumors/former employee stories about creepy dads hitting on the princesses, scantily-clad or not. (Which...eww.)

So, FWIW, I love Jasmine's new outfit -- I think it's gorgeous and feminine and sure, it doesn't like the "old" one. But why should it? And, if it means even one less creepy comment, then of course it's worth it.

New Sneak Peek of Beauty and the Beast!

This video started circulating on social media yesterday -- basically, a teaser trailer for a "Sneak Peek" at the live action Beauty and the Beast that's on the special 25th Anniversary Platinum Edition. (Which is the fancy Disney marketing way of getting/trying to get you to buy a DVD you probably already own.)

The clip is, obviously, a teaser for the full video, but you still get a glimpse of Emma Waston as Belle at a table read -- and also Dan Stevens' Beast (complete with grumbly, growly voice!). The scene is, I think, Belle and Beast in the library, poring over a book -- and seems to come from the Broadway musical rather than the film. (In the musical, during "Something There," Belle finds the book and tries to get Beast to read it, at which point he confesses that he can't read, and they begin to bond/fall in love over the book/reading lessons.)

All that to say: if they're deviating, however slightly, from the animated film, I hope that they correct some of the not-so-great aspects of the film. Like, I hope the Beast is maybe emo and not bordering-on-abusive angry. *fingerscrossed*

Also--Disney, I see how you're purposefully withholding images of Emma Watson as Belle since you know that's what we want.

I hope there's a trailer with Moana. Like, a real, full-length trailer.

#falliscoming

The world of Game of Thrones may be harping on about how "winter is coming," but me? I'm excited for Fall.

Beyond excited.

It is, without a doubt, my favorite season: I was born in the Fall (#scorpio) as were my mom and brother; I got married in the Fall; there's Halloween and Thanksgiving, and the return of so many of my favorite things: cooler weather, coats, boots, chunky sweaters, scarves, apples, pumpkins, crisp leaves, a general feeling of "coziness" and I'll even lump football in there as well, because I absolutely love falling asleep on the couch on a Sunday afternoon while my husband watches football.

So when one of my friends sent me this, I laughed out loud and loved it:

Especially since I got my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season this morning. Not entirely sure why I was able to get it on August 31st -- as September 1st definitely would have made more sense -- but maybe my fairy godmother sprinkled a little extra pixie dust over my day. 

It's baaaaack! #psl #pumpkinseason #starbucks #daymade #pumpkinmakeseverythingbetter #basicwhitegirl #dontcare #falliscoming

A photo posted by serrendipity (@serrendipity) on Aug 31, 2016 at 4:52am PDT

Happy First Day of Classes!

In honor of The First Day of Fall Classes At Duke, a story of an epic school ID photo:

this is the start of a good senior year pic.twitter.com/ZKa5uR1kJJ

— juicy june♡ (@junekyraaa) August 24, 2016

This girl is my hero -- and she'll bring honor to us all. :)

Read the full story here at Buzzfeed.

New Beauty and the Beast Photos

Some new photos from Beauty and the Beast have been released (leaked?) online -- and they are fantastic.

In case you were wondering how characters like Lumiere and Cogsworth would make the leap from animated to live-action, well, here's how:

Photo via io9

And this is more of a behind-the-scenes photo, but you can (1) get a sense for how close the live-action adaptation will be to the animated original; (2) see the back of Luke Evans' Gaston and (3) just make out Josh Gad's LeFou in the background:

Photo via io9

And finally, a very behind-the-scenes image of Dan Stevens as the Beast (most likely post-breaking-of-the curse):

Photo via Deadline

Is it March yet? 

Lin-Manuel Miranda + Disney's The Little Mermaid

Yes, you read that right. Current It-Boy Lin-Manuel Miranda is teaming up with Disney on a live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid.

BRB. I need to go die of fangirl-excitement.

via EW

According to Deadline, Miranda will (1) co-produce the film (he's not writing the story but will "supervise" it) and (2) will write songs with Alan Menken.

The article mentions that it's an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" but...I'm pretty sure it's just going to be a remake of the 1989 Disney film (a.k.a. my first Disney love and obsession) as Andersen is a bit too dark for Disney. (Also, Chloe Grace Moretz is starring in that film -- and she's been adamant about it is darker and it's not the Disney version.)

All that being said...I have no idea what a "live-action" adaptation of a story about mermaids and evil sea witches and set largely underwater even looks like. I mean...I would imagine it's something akin to a "live-action adaptation" of The Jungle Book where by "live-action" they mean "largely CGI." Although, Annie Leibowitz made a bunch of Olympic swimmers look like convincing merpeople, so it could happen. (Still one of my favorites things EVER.)

I'll end with this final thought: I have complete trust in LMM. I know he's not writing the story (yet), but if anyone can pull off a live-action adaptation and make it new and fresh, it's him. After all, if you'd told me that Broadway's hottest ticket right now would be to a rap-musical based on the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, I would have laughed and epically eye-rolled.

Disney + Michael Phelps, Part II

I absolutely love it when two of my favorite things -- swimming/the Olympics & Disney -- collide. It's even better when it's Michael Phelps and the Little Mermaid. 

Congratulations to Michael Phelps, the Greatest of All Time. (And, with 5 Olympics, 28 medals, and 23 golds...that appellation is definitely appropriate.)

PC Chip & Co via Facebook

Disney + Michael Phelps

I love, love, love when two of my favorite things collide. In this case, it's Disney & Michael Phelps/swimming.

I was a swimmer in high school, and my year-round team swam at some of the same regional meets as Phelps, so I was exposed to his greatness fairly early on (way before the rest of the world). There are some people that you watch once and just know that they're on a completely different level.

So I always root for Phelps -- always -- and was irrationally heartbroken when he lost the 200 Fly to Chad Le Clos in 2012. And I was irrationally elated at the "drama" that unfolded surrounding the Olympic rematch.

By now, #thePhelpsFace is an Internet meme sensation -- and we all know the results of the final -- but this is probably my favorite take on it:

#PhelpsFace in prisma looks like a Disney villain. pic.twitter.com/lrr3SkcSTw

— Jon Perri (@WoodenFunk) August 9, 2016

LOVE IT.

Moana News! Voice Actors & Character Details

Some interesting news about the upcoming Moana film!

First--there's some news on characters other than Moana and Maui. 

Perhaps most importantly we know that Moana has both parents alive (hopefully for the whole film):

(c) Disney via The Nerdist

Her father, Chief Tui, is voiced by Temuera Morrison (notably, a New Zealand actor of Maori descent) and is described as a "gregarious and well-respected"  leader who wants his daughter to follow in his footsteps. 

Her mother, Sina, is voiced by Nicole Scherzinger (Hawaiian) and is described as "sharp and strong-willed" and having her daughter's back. 

Moana's paternal grandmother is also present in the film:

(c) Disney via The Nerdist

Gramma Tala is voiced by Rachel House (also a New Zealand actor of Maori descent) and is described as Moana's "confidante and best friend" and as "dance[ing] to the beat of her own drum."

A couple of interesting things to note:

• Gramma Tala is Chief Tui's mother. This isn't necessarily a strictly patriarchal tribe (Chief Tui wants Moana to rule after him, after all), so it would be interesting to see if Gramma Tala ruled before Chief Tui--which would be kick-ass indeed.
• I think it's important to note that, in what is definitely a strategic "we-don't-want-to-be-accused-of-whitewashing" move, all of the actors have Pacific Islander heritage (be it Hawaii or New Zealand) which should (1) mitigate white-washing criticism and (2) bolster claims of diversity. 
• As I mentioned above, hopefully all of Moana's family remains alive -- I think it's pretty rare in Disney princess (or, human) films for a parent to die onscreen: obviously, Mufasa dies in The Lion King (a move which is mirrored in Pixar's The Good Dinosaur) and Bambi's mother (thankfully not on-screen, although during the movie) but in the fairy-tale films, one or both parent(s) are absent from the beginning.
  (The only quasi-exceptions to this, that I can think of, are Cinderella's father who is briefly depicted and then mentioned as passing in the voice-over and Tiana's father who is, again, depicted on-screen and then it's implied (not directly stated) that he died during WWI).
  Regardless, the family unit seems to be doing much better in this Third Wave of Disney Princess films, and being a Disney Princess Parent doesn't automatically seem to be a death sentence.
• The family unit of daughter-mother-father-grandmother, while relatively rare in Disney Princess films, isn't unprecedented: the same structure was apparent in Mulan, although we don't seem to be dealing with the same issues of gender privilege in this movie. (In Mulan, males/sons are seen as "more" as females/daughters -- although, whether that's the actual message or the false premise of the film is up for debate.)
• Likewise, the character descriptions seem to indicate that Moana's parents will be actual, round characters rather than stock fairy-tale characters: more like Merida's mother and father than even Rapunzel's parents (who are actually flatter characters than Sleeping Beauty's King Stefan and his Queen). Chief Tui will also, hopefully, be a King/Father who doesn't fall victim to the pitfalls of the Second Wave Disney Princess fathers -- either strict and overbearing (like King Triton) or weak and ineffectual (like the Sultan). 

Finally, Alan Tudyk will voice HeiHei who is literally the village idiot who stows away on Moana's boat.

(c) Disney via The Nerdist

What's interesting though is that The Nerdist calls Tudyk "Disney's lucky charm" -- a fact which my husband and I gleefully pointed out, kind of made him the "John Ratzenberger of Walt Disney Animation Studios."

Apparently, we were not alone in this realization:

Alan Tudyk is becoming the John Ratzenberger of the Disney Animation side. pic.twitter.com/VMTJLadfN5

— Disney Film Facts (@disneyfilmfacts) February 27, 2016

Either way--we didn't need the Internet to tell us that he was a good-luck-charm: Alan Tudyk has so much nerd-street-cred already (he's Wash on Firefly!) and I've been rooting extra-hard for him ever since I him at the Central Park Zoo with his (I assume) parents.

I'm really looking forward to this movie now -- so many good movies coming out in November!

Disney Artwork -- Isaiah Stevens, Part II

The next installment of "Disney Princesses As..." is brought to you once more by Isaiah Stevens (who brought us "Disney Princesses as Mothers"). This time, Stevens has imagined the disney royals as characters from the film, The Notebook. (I went through a Nicholas Sparks phase in college; most of his books were set in North Carolina and I liked that familiarity. But then they got a little...predictable and I stopped reading.) While I prefer A Walk To Remember (I do adore Mandy Moore), I know The Notebook has a cult following.

You can heck out the full set of works on Cosmopolitan's site or follow him on Instagram, but here are a few of my favorites!

Ariel and Eric in the iconic scene -- this might be my favorite.

Kristoff, Hans, and Anna -- although Anna looks really...mean here.

Jasmine and Aladdin:

R. I. P. Tower of Terror -- You Can't Compete With The Power of Cross-Promotion

One of my favorite memories of our honeymoon at Disneyland was when my husband and I rode the Tower of Terror. It's my favorite ride in all of Orlando (I think it's my husband's second favorite? "Escape From Gringotts" at Diagon Alley in Universal might be his new top pick...) and there was no way we weren't going to ride it.

Like many rides in Disneyland, Tower of Terror is just different enough to keep you on your toes. The first time we rode it, we didn't know that of course -- we assumed the ride itself would be just the same. NOPE.

We were sitting in the front row, just hanging out, when the doors open.
In Orlando, you move forward -- to the front of the ride and it's all dark with sparkly stars. THEN the drops start.
In Anaheim...everyone behind and around us was fidgeting and giggling and we were all, "Um, guys? Chill. We've still got a few seconds here."
And then we dropped.
And we screamed.
And then we laughed because OF COURSE they knew better than we did, but it was almost better that way because it was a new ride experience for us and that was awesome.

Great anecdote, Lisa -- but what does this trip down memory lane have to do with anything? 

ComicCon was this weekend -- a BFD in the world of pop-culture for all the trailers that drop, panels that are convened, and exclusive information that's released. Much of the Disney related news (a new Doctor Strange trailer, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Once Upon A Time's foray in Agrabah) isn't really relevant to my thoughts here (maybe the OUaT news). What is of interest, though, is this news about Disneyland Park:

via D23

The iconic Hollywood Tower Hotel -- a.k.a. the Tower of Terror ride -- isn't going to be the Hollywood Tower Hotel anymore.

Nope. Instead, it's going to be "Guardians of the Glaxy Mission: Breakout!" or some such nonsense.

Look. I get it. Guardians of the Galaxy was a huge success for Disney -- given the fact that it starred a talking raccoon and a tree -- proving that films outside of The Avengers franchise were worth the investment. I also get that they're looking at this as part of a new expansion to California Adventure, like Marvel-land or whatever. Which...cool. Awesome. You want to expand, Disney Imagineers? I believe you're up to the challenge. (My map-obsessed-husband says you have the space to expand, so I'll believe him.)

But, to me, that is simply not enough to warrant taking a successful attraction and imposing a new narrative on an existing ride track (I assume) just to benefit from some cross-promotion (Guardians 2 will hit theaters in May of 2017, after all) and merchandizing (but will you be able to buy any Gamora merchandise?)
Maybe if the ride/attraction was struggling, it'd be a different story.
Maybe if it was a temporary overlay, like the Star Wars' themed HyperSpace Mountain at Disneyland, it'd be a different story.

As one of my friends pointed out on Facebook:

"What bothers me is that they are stripping away what makes going to the parks a unique and different experience than the movies. As a kid I wanted to go to Disney because it was something I couldn't get from the movies or tv network. They had rides and attractions that you could only get there. Tower of Terror was one of those rides I remember opening and being excited because I had to go there to experience it. I find some of the new rides like The Little Mermaid, Nemo, and probably Frozen annoying because it's just the movie. I've seen your films, give me something different."

Eloquently, and succinctly put. It's exactly what bothered me about replacing Maelstrom with the Frozen ride -- especially since the ride itself doesn't wow me. It's not the movie, but it's nothing overwhelmingly unique and special either. Like my friend, I'm disappointed with Nemo whenever I ride it (that's it? really? the line to the ride is more engaging) and I think I only enjoy the Little Mermaid ride so much because I love the music and the movie. While it's true that some of the "classic," older rides at the Disney Parks are basically "just the movie," there's still something unique about them -- or maybe that's the nostalgia talking. Take "Peter Pan's Flight" for instance: that basically just recaps the highlights of the film...but you're on board a "flying" boat. 

But when a ride outlives its attraction-potential, it simply gets rebooted. (Why are we all about the reboots these days?!) "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" became "Winnie The Pooh." "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea" became "Finding Nemo" at Disneyland and New Fantasyland in the Magic Kindgom. Maelstrom became the Frozen ride. I can't attest to the first two--but Maelstrom was still popular (or, at least, popular enough for EPCOT; not nearly as popular as Frozen is, that's for sure). And so was Tower of Terror. 

We're already planning our next (tentative) trip to Disneyland -- it might be before, but we definitely want to go for the 75th Anniversary: our daughter will be 14 then and it hurts my heart to think that we'll ride this Guardians ride and explain that, once upon a time, it was the Tower of Terror ride which she knows and (hopefully!) loves in Orlando. 

Please don't take away my Tower of Terror in MGM, Disney. I'm not sure even my loyalty will stretch that far.