Here's a little article someone shared with me regarding the history and evolution of Blindboxed Toys. Really interesting, especially since all the Disney kids have been jumping on board the vinyl toy train recently.
"Blindsided"
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The Last Olympian
Here is the cover art to the final book in the New York Times Bestselling series "Percy Jackson & The Olympians". This series is pretty rad, its basically greek gods meet modern day America, but nothing like Neil Gaiman's "American Gods".
This hits shelves on May 5, but if you are too lazy to pick the book up just wait until Feb. 2, 2010... thats when the first book "The Lightning Thief" hits theaters as a film. The movie will star Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman, and Sean Bean as Gods.
Good news? Yes, can't wait. Now, all I need is for them to do a sequel to the "Eragon" movie and I'll be stoked.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
VINYL NATION
OK I've finally got some time to sit and blog about my latest toy obsession. Disney's Vinylmation. These are 3" and 9" Vinyl Mickey's that are each designed by an artist to fit the sub-genres of each release. A few months ago the first batch of these came out, Disney Vinylmation Parks Series 1. 18 designs that reflected the spirit of the Theme Parks were chosen (12 Small, 6 Large)
Exhibit A)
So here is the first set of 12 3" figures, 11 of these are known and there is 1 rare chase figure. These figures are blindboxed so you don't know what you get til you've opened it.
Here is a better look at the 11; Mickey in the Electrical Parade, Fireworks Mickey, Mickey as Monorail Red, Mickey as Poison Apple from Snow White, The Yeti from The Matterhorn, Kermit the Mouse,Figment the Dragon from WDW, Some funky stars like the Disneyland hotel, Mickey as SMRT-1 the robot from Epcot, Teacups Mickey, and Haunted Mansion Wallpaper Mickey.
and here's a better look at the Chase Red Mickey balloon.
The 9" figures are...
Small World, Animal Kingdom Safari, Disney Cruisline, Waterparks (Innertube), The Infamous E ticket Coupon, and Haunted Mansion (this one came with a special black 3" which gives you a cool sense of scale between the 3 and 9 inch figures)
Then came the Urban Series made up of 11 3" figures, 1 chase 3" figure, and 4 9" figures
Exhibit B)
These are the 11 blindboxed figures. The chase figure in this collection is an all gold figure designed by Randy Noble. It's probably my favorite of the set.
Then there are the 4 9" ones...
This time around there is Robot, Mummy, Dragon, and Mortimer
All the figures in this collection are just fun designs the artists threw onto some Mickeys, they don't necessarily have any connection to Disney. Of course there are some exceptions, of the smaller figures "OOPSIE" is an upside down Mickey Mouse, and "PIRATES" has a pattern and logos based on the Pirates of the Caribbean films. In the larger ones, the Mummy allegedly has some relationship to Tim Burton's the Nightmare Before Christmas, and Mortimer was Mickey's original name and is also the name of Mickey's Nemesis.
A cast exclusive Mickey was released last week (yes, i did get it ;p) It's just Mickey wearing a cast member name badge. And Park Series 2 will be releasing in MAY. There is so much info regarding these awesome toys that I can't really throw it all in a blog. But a great place to check out if you are interested in these is VinylNation. They just listed some news on an upcoming Muppet line which would be absolutely sick. I dig em. Go browse around.
Exhibit A)
So here is the first set of 12 3" figures, 11 of these are known and there is 1 rare chase figure. These figures are blindboxed so you don't know what you get til you've opened it.
Here is a better look at the 11; Mickey in the Electrical Parade, Fireworks Mickey, Mickey as Monorail Red, Mickey as Poison Apple from Snow White, The Yeti from The Matterhorn, Kermit the Mouse,Figment the Dragon from WDW, Some funky stars like the Disneyland hotel, Mickey as SMRT-1 the robot from Epcot, Teacups Mickey, and Haunted Mansion Wallpaper Mickey.
and here's a better look at the Chase Red Mickey balloon.The 9" figures are...
Small World, Animal Kingdom Safari, Disney Cruisline, Waterparks (Innertube), The Infamous E ticket Coupon, and Haunted Mansion (this one came with a special black 3" which gives you a cool sense of scale between the 3 and 9 inch figures)
Then came the Urban Series made up of 11 3" figures, 1 chase 3" figure, and 4 9" figures
Exhibit B)
These are the 11 blindboxed figures. The chase figure in this collection is an all gold figure designed by Randy Noble. It's probably my favorite of the set.
Then there are the 4 9" ones...
This time around there is Robot, Mummy, Dragon, and Mortimer
All the figures in this collection are just fun designs the artists threw onto some Mickeys, they don't necessarily have any connection to Disney. Of course there are some exceptions, of the smaller figures "OOPSIE" is an upside down Mickey Mouse, and "PIRATES" has a pattern and logos based on the Pirates of the Caribbean films. In the larger ones, the Mummy allegedly has some relationship to Tim Burton's the Nightmare Before Christmas, and Mortimer was Mickey's original name and is also the name of Mickey's Nemesis.
A cast exclusive Mickey was released last week (yes, i did get it ;p) It's just Mickey wearing a cast member name badge. And Park Series 2 will be releasing in MAY. There is so much info regarding these awesome toys that I can't really throw it all in a blog. But a great place to check out if you are interested in these is VinylNation. They just listed some news on an upcoming Muppet line which would be absolutely sick. I dig em. Go browse around.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Joy for your Eyes and Ears
here's some music videos I came across that i'm feeling
It's clever cuz he never takes off his sunglasses ;p
Ezra Furman and the Harpoons - Take off Your Sunglasses
Saw this band live and can only really appreciate them in the way you appreciate the millioniares, but I give mad props for the use of a TRON theme and that Donny looks like Vanilla Ice/ Marky Mark
Hyper Crush - RoboTech
New super cheesy video from my guilty pleasure. Seriously, I love these chicks, they are so cheesy. Forget Pussycat Dolls, I love the Saturdays. Whatever, they're adorable, the song is cute.
The Saturdays - I Just Can't Get Enough (Cover)
This is a band I could listen to for hours, The guy is my friend Briana's cousin and I'm so stoked to FINALLY see them getting a video made with a decent budget. THIS WILL BE YOUR NEW FAVORITE BAND.
Jupiter Rising - Falling Away
And I gotta finish this off with the new video from my little brothers, whom I am SO proud of. This is is just awesome.
Anarbor - The Brightest Green
It's clever cuz he never takes off his sunglasses ;p
Ezra Furman and the Harpoons - Take off Your Sunglasses
Saw this band live and can only really appreciate them in the way you appreciate the millioniares, but I give mad props for the use of a TRON theme and that Donny looks like Vanilla Ice/ Marky Mark
Hyper Crush - RoboTech
New super cheesy video from my guilty pleasure. Seriously, I love these chicks, they are so cheesy. Forget Pussycat Dolls, I love the Saturdays. Whatever, they're adorable, the song is cute.
The Saturdays - I Just Can't Get Enough (Cover)
This is a band I could listen to for hours, The guy is my friend Briana's cousin and I'm so stoked to FINALLY see them getting a video made with a decent budget. THIS WILL BE YOUR NEW FAVORITE BAND.
Jupiter Rising - Falling Away
And I gotta finish this off with the new video from my little brothers, whom I am SO proud of. This is is just awesome.
Anarbor - The Brightest Green
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Thanks for nothing D23
What a waste of a great viral marketing campaign. D23 opened its site yesterday, and disappointing doesn't even completely cover the feeling. All D23 turned out to be is a club for Disney die-hards. You pay $75 a year and you get some Disney trinkets, a quarterly magazine, and a bi-weekly email newsletter. WEAK!
This campaign appealed to people all over the web, but even someone like me who practically lived at Disneyland and loves the legacy isn't gonna pay that much money to read emails. This is for HARDCORE Disney lovers with way too much spare change. What a let down.
D is of course for Disney and the 23 stands for 1923 when Walt moved out to CA and started the studio that would become Disney studio. Many Disney fans think of the year 1955 in reference to Disney since that is the year Disneyland opened, but recently the number 23 has been used more and more often. In Downtown Disney in CA there is a store filled with Disney couture and hard to find clothing and accessories, this store "VAULT 23" is probably the most obvious reference to 1923 in the parks.
The only somewhat interesting news here is that this coming September from the 10th to the 13th the Anaheim convention center will host the D23 Expo. A keynote address will be given by Disney CEO Robert Iger and other Disney company guys including John Lassiter (Pixar and Disney animation). There will be other fun programming that will span the entire Disney gamut including ABC and ESPN. Classic films will be shown: Sleeping Beauty, Darby O'Gill and the Little People and The Shaggy Dog, with panels to discuss the legacy of each one. It's still developing but this could be really cool, and it doesn't look like it is limited to just members. The Anaheim area has played host to many unofficial Disney conventions (we went to one when we we're kids where my little sister met the woman who did the live action reference footage for Tinkerbell, i think she still has an autograph somewhere) so It is actually really smart that Disney host a larger, better one and reap all the financial gains.
In actuality, there is no reason for Disney to have already had this club up and running. I know plenty of lunatics are eager to throw them their hard earned dollars. It's just the way it was launched, the marketing was just too much build for something like this.
SO, the worst part is that now Disney can't even do another viral campaign without everyone online saying its just another tease. They gave up their street cred. Its a shame.
In other news, I watched Pinocchio on Blu-ray. It was super bombastic amazingness. When I opened it, it had a flyer for the NEW CLUB D23 inside... lame.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Let Me Holler at Ya Right Quick...
Just wanna throw up a quick bloggy blog.
Reminders: Disney's "Pinocchio" is being released tomorrow as a Platinum edition DVD and Blu-ray. The movie looks great, they've cleaned up every frame of the film and all the audio. Online reviews have compared it to the Sleeping Beauty Blu-ray, which I am telling you now is spectacular. Disney seems to really be taking care of their catalog, if you love Classic Disney films, you have to finally throw out that old VHS collection and switch over to Blu-ray. I will definitely be up early tomorrow to go get this.
In more Disney news, that "Are You 23?" Campaign is supposed to be explained tomorrow. Anyone who's curious can see what its all about here.
And finally I just want to throw up a short review of this movie Scarlett and I watched last night called "Azur and Asmar: The Princes' Quest" or as we dubbed it "Azur and Asmar go to White Castle". This is a French animated film that was showcased at Cannes in 2006. The film is about 2 'brothers', one french the other arab. The brothers learn as children the fairy tale of the Djinn Fairy, and that whomever rescues her will marry her. The brothers are separated as kids, as adults they both seek to find her. Their paths are reunited and they must get beyond their past separation to find the fairy. The box of this movie showed some really beautiful 2d artwork, but when we watched it the movie was a combination of 2d backgrounds with 3d animated characters. This would have been really interesting if the characters didnt look like they were Sims: the movie. It really seemed like the movie was cut scenes from a long lost PS2 game. Everything in the film was detailed EXCEPT for the characters. The opening scene features a woman breastfeeding the 2 babies; with a zoomed in, poorly rendered titty, it sets a weak tone for the rest of the film. It is not until about the last 30 minutes that the costumes become more detailed and we see beautiful mythical creatures. By then the characters are riding lions and giant birds... so to actually make it that far, you're probably going to have to be high. Basically, if you love animation and good storytelling, just save yourself the hassle and watch "Pinocchio" or "Cats Don't Dance". This movie sets animators back like 10 years and is hugely unsatisfying. K? Just say No! The cover art WILL decieve you! JUST SAY NO!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
San Francisco Wondercon 09 Review
Went to Frisco for Wondercon last weekend. First of all, this could be by far the most boring city Ive ever visited. Secondly, this con SUCKS. I will stick to San Diego only from now on!
To get to it, here are a few of the highlights...
"Sit Down, Shut Up" a new animated comedy coming to FOX from the producers of "Arrested Development" starring the voices of Will Arnett (Arrested Dev.), Henry Winkler (Happy Days), Kenan Thompson (SNL), and Tom Kenny (Spongebob). As well as Jason Bateman and Cheri Oteri.
The Show is based on a live comedy show from Australia about the lives/ shennanigans of teachers.
Mitch Hurwitz (Producer) and the cast were on hand to talk about the show and show some clips. It seems funny, but I don't know if the animation can compete with the Simpsons. It uses some unique live action backgrounds, so we'll see when it hits tvs April 19th
Heres a cool video that basically sums it up:
Autographs were a big draw for a lot of people at this convention. Normally actors will sign your dinky 8x10 or action figure for around $20. This year I saw what could quite possibly be the most blatant abuse of celebrity in human history. Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker was on hand to sell you his John Hancock for $100 ($90 for the second). Of course you have to buy an 8x10 from him for $20 as well. And don't even think of asking for a photo... there were costumed Storm Troopers standing guard ready to knock you out with the force if you even thought about it. But hey, I wouldn't have wanted my picture taken either if I now looked like this...
"Star Trek" Panel... obviously amazing. Featured Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Zoe Saldana (Uhura), and director JJ Abrams. I missed the footage, but I caught the whole discussion. Not much new info given, just some cool posters. What was great was that JJ Abrams mentioned that the script for "Cloverfield 2" is done and is fantastic, they just want to make sure that it can be done well before production begins. So sick, that is a movie I cannot wait for!
"Super Capers" is a movie that will experience a limited release Mar 20th. If it does well it will receive a broader release. The movie stars Justin Whalin (Dungeons and Dragons, Susie Q) and Adam West (Batman!) and is a comedy that draws on old fashioned Super Hero stories. It looks pretty funny. The cast was there all weekend signing endless autographs for anyone who approached their booth. Except for Adam West who was there for an hour each day and signed 8x10s for $50 (yes, the second highest price behind Mark Hamill.) Sunday they did a panel and showed some scenes. Here's a trailer:
"Alien Trespass" is another movie that pulls from old genres, but this time its 60s paranoia sci-fi. This movie stars Eric McCormack (Will & Grace), Robert Patrick (Terminator 2, X-files), and Dan Lauria (the dad for The Wonder Years)
This movie looks so cool to me; its from the creator of the X-files, its got a great cast, its got a theme that I love. I cant wait to see it. The cast was on hand to do a panel where they discussed and showed clips, then a few lucky people (myself included) got to do an autograph signing. Everyone was really nice and I kind of regret running off (I didnt want to miss all of the Star Trek Panel). Here's the trailer:
"Pandorum" is a creepy looking movie staring Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma, X3) and some other really nice people I am too lazy to google. I only caught the end of the panel so all I really know about the movie is what is in the trailer. Its from the team behind the first 3 "Resident Evil" movies. Its dubbed a Horror movie, which I generally hate, but I dig the RE movies and this one looks a bit similar to "Sunshine" or "Doom" which are movies I actually enjoy even tho they scare the crap out of me. So Ill probably see this. I had tickets to the signing the cast did (since Im such a nerd for Ben Foster) and got to meet them. Everyone was REALLY nice and charming. Here's the trailer, its spooky, but still looks awesome.
"Terminator Salvation"... this was by far the best panel of the convention. McG, the director, made it really interactive. He brought fans onstage to accompany the stars that were up there; Anton Yelchin (Star Trek, Charlie Bartlett), Moon Bloodgood (Pathfinder), Common (Smokin Aces), and Bryce Dallas Howard (Lady in the Water). He also showed unfinished footage and asked for audience opinions. He showed the trailer (which premiered this past Friday before Watchmen) not once, but twice. It was really cool. He did a similar panel last year at Comic-con and I had the pleasure of meeting him and the cast there. He is truly passionate about what he's doing with this franchise and I can't wait for this movie to come out. Here is the trailer he showed:
Some other awesome stuff going on was a Pixar "UP" panel, that debuted beautiful footage from this upcoming film. I had already seen the first 15 minutes at Comic-Con but this panel showed several scenes from further on in the movie. I dont want to give away anything about this movie, so just know that it is gonna be fantastic! Its directed by Pete Doctor the director of "Monsters Inc." Cant Wait!
"Adventureland" is a comedy directed by Greg Mottola, the director of "Superbad", Miramax had a very cool booth setup to be reminiscent of the movie. Girls wearing shirts that read "Games" across the front allowed visitors to compete against them in Skeeball. If you won you could get either a "Games" shirt or a "Rides" shirt. Which are the uniforms of the Adventureland employees. Those waiting in line to play could watch the trailer or clips on a TV that might have been older than me. Martin Starr (Freaks and Geeks, Knocked Up) was on hand to sign autographs as well. Disney's "Princess and the Frog" had a short panel that showed clips. and of course "Watchmen" mania was in full effect. 250 guests were allowed to view the movie for free across the street at the local IMAX 6 days before it came out.
Toyzilla.
Normally I dont have time to score toys (which I am obsessed with) but since there was not a lot happening I had more than enough time to go bonkers. Heres some useless crap I brought home...
Vinylmation Kermit, Vinylmations are these blind boxed Vinyl toys sold at Disney Theme Parks. They normally sell in the parks for $9.95 but since you cant pick the one you get a lot of people have been buying them opened up online. They've sold out within a few days everytime a new shipment arrives in the park. So far only the "PARK" Series 1 has been released. They feature 11 uniquely designed 3-inch tall Mickey's and one chase figure that no one knows about until someone finds it and puts it up online. Ive been trying to score one of these for a long time but they are so hard to get a hold of. Luckily I found a dude selling them opened so I got the Kermit (perfect to sit between my Kermit toys and my Mickey toys haha) and Alicia got the Yeti from Matterhorn. "URBAN" Series 1 of these toys comes out late March followed by "PARK" Series 2 in May. I'll surely be blogging about these more in the future.
Huckleberry Toys McDonaldland Grimace, I'll be honest... I just want to cuddle with this toy. He's adorable. It's part of this line of McDonaldland toys that include Ronald, Hamburglar, Captain Crook, and Mayor McCheese. Ive seen them before, but couldnt commit until now. He's cuddly!
Mighty Muggs Teebo, If you read this blog, then you know I am obsessed with Mighty Muggs... but I don't really have space in my house for them, so Ive been waiting for a Wicket the Ewok to be released. Obviously Teebo is not Wicket, but I could not resist. Teebo was a Target Exclusive, and the word on the street is that hes pretty tough to find. I couldnt find him so I made especially sure to look for him at the con. The same guy who had my Kermit Vinylmation actually had a few of these and I had to take him. Wicket is scheduled to come out in April, so anyone wondering what gift to get me for my birthday in April should think about this.
The best toy I got came from the guys who do "Mr Toast", its a stuffed animal "Shaky Bacon". Its basically just a toy bacon. Hes adorable, Ive named him Kevin. There isnt really a lot more to it than that. Hes awesome and cute, and I love my bacon. I love my Kevin Bacon.
So basically that is what I found really exciting about this particular convention. Enough that I could squeeze into a decent blog. Like I said, I doubt Ill be going to this convention again, but I did get to see some pretty cool work in process and snag some toys. So it's all good.
Ok Im off to bed to cuddle with Kevin Bacon. Night!
To get to it, here are a few of the highlights...
"Sit Down, Shut Up" a new animated comedy coming to FOX from the producers of "Arrested Development" starring the voices of Will Arnett (Arrested Dev.), Henry Winkler (Happy Days), Kenan Thompson (SNL), and Tom Kenny (Spongebob). As well as Jason Bateman and Cheri Oteri.The Show is based on a live comedy show from Australia about the lives/ shennanigans of teachers.
Mitch Hurwitz (Producer) and the cast were on hand to talk about the show and show some clips. It seems funny, but I don't know if the animation can compete with the Simpsons. It uses some unique live action backgrounds, so we'll see when it hits tvs April 19th
Heres a cool video that basically sums it up:
Autographs were a big draw for a lot of people at this convention. Normally actors will sign your dinky 8x10 or action figure for around $20. This year I saw what could quite possibly be the most blatant abuse of celebrity in human history. Mark Hamill aka Luke Skywalker was on hand to sell you his John Hancock for $100 ($90 for the second). Of course you have to buy an 8x10 from him for $20 as well. And don't even think of asking for a photo... there were costumed Storm Troopers standing guard ready to knock you out with the force if you even thought about it. But hey, I wouldn't have wanted my picture taken either if I now looked like this...
"Star Trek" Panel... obviously amazing. Featured Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Zoe Saldana (Uhura), and director JJ Abrams. I missed the footage, but I caught the whole discussion. Not much new info given, just some cool posters. What was great was that JJ Abrams mentioned that the script for "Cloverfield 2" is done and is fantastic, they just want to make sure that it can be done well before production begins. So sick, that is a movie I cannot wait for!
"Super Capers" is a movie that will experience a limited release Mar 20th. If it does well it will receive a broader release. The movie stars Justin Whalin (Dungeons and Dragons, Susie Q) and Adam West (Batman!) and is a comedy that draws on old fashioned Super Hero stories. It looks pretty funny. The cast was there all weekend signing endless autographs for anyone who approached their booth. Except for Adam West who was there for an hour each day and signed 8x10s for $50 (yes, the second highest price behind Mark Hamill.) Sunday they did a panel and showed some scenes. Here's a trailer:
"Alien Trespass" is another movie that pulls from old genres, but this time its 60s paranoia sci-fi. This movie stars Eric McCormack (Will & Grace), Robert Patrick (Terminator 2, X-files), and Dan Lauria (the dad for The Wonder Years)This movie looks so cool to me; its from the creator of the X-files, its got a great cast, its got a theme that I love. I cant wait to see it. The cast was on hand to do a panel where they discussed and showed clips, then a few lucky people (myself included) got to do an autograph signing. Everyone was really nice and I kind of regret running off (I didnt want to miss all of the Star Trek Panel). Here's the trailer:
"Pandorum" is a creepy looking movie staring Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma, X3) and some other really nice people I am too lazy to google. I only caught the end of the panel so all I really know about the movie is what is in the trailer. Its from the team behind the first 3 "Resident Evil" movies. Its dubbed a Horror movie, which I generally hate, but I dig the RE movies and this one looks a bit similar to "Sunshine" or "Doom" which are movies I actually enjoy even tho they scare the crap out of me. So Ill probably see this. I had tickets to the signing the cast did (since Im such a nerd for Ben Foster) and got to meet them. Everyone was REALLY nice and charming. Here's the trailer, its spooky, but still looks awesome.
"Terminator Salvation"... this was by far the best panel of the convention. McG, the director, made it really interactive. He brought fans onstage to accompany the stars that were up there; Anton Yelchin (Star Trek, Charlie Bartlett), Moon Bloodgood (Pathfinder), Common (Smokin Aces), and Bryce Dallas Howard (Lady in the Water). He also showed unfinished footage and asked for audience opinions. He showed the trailer (which premiered this past Friday before Watchmen) not once, but twice. It was really cool. He did a similar panel last year at Comic-con and I had the pleasure of meeting him and the cast there. He is truly passionate about what he's doing with this franchise and I can't wait for this movie to come out. Here is the trailer he showed: Some other awesome stuff going on was a Pixar "UP" panel, that debuted beautiful footage from this upcoming film. I had already seen the first 15 minutes at Comic-Con but this panel showed several scenes from further on in the movie. I dont want to give away anything about this movie, so just know that it is gonna be fantastic! Its directed by Pete Doctor the director of "Monsters Inc." Cant Wait!
"Adventureland" is a comedy directed by Greg Mottola, the director of "Superbad", Miramax had a very cool booth setup to be reminiscent of the movie. Girls wearing shirts that read "Games" across the front allowed visitors to compete against them in Skeeball. If you won you could get either a "Games" shirt or a "Rides" shirt. Which are the uniforms of the Adventureland employees. Those waiting in line to play could watch the trailer or clips on a TV that might have been older than me. Martin Starr (Freaks and Geeks, Knocked Up) was on hand to sign autographs as well. Disney's "Princess and the Frog" had a short panel that showed clips. and of course "Watchmen" mania was in full effect. 250 guests were allowed to view the movie for free across the street at the local IMAX 6 days before it came out.
Toyzilla.
Normally I dont have time to score toys (which I am obsessed with) but since there was not a lot happening I had more than enough time to go bonkers. Heres some useless crap I brought home...
Vinylmation Kermit, Vinylmations are these blind boxed Vinyl toys sold at Disney Theme Parks. They normally sell in the parks for $9.95 but since you cant pick the one you get a lot of people have been buying them opened up online. They've sold out within a few days everytime a new shipment arrives in the park. So far only the "PARK" Series 1 has been released. They feature 11 uniquely designed 3-inch tall Mickey's and one chase figure that no one knows about until someone finds it and puts it up online. Ive been trying to score one of these for a long time but they are so hard to get a hold of. Luckily I found a dude selling them opened so I got the Kermit (perfect to sit between my Kermit toys and my Mickey toys haha) and Alicia got the Yeti from Matterhorn. "URBAN" Series 1 of these toys comes out late March followed by "PARK" Series 2 in May. I'll surely be blogging about these more in the future.
Huckleberry Toys McDonaldland Grimace, I'll be honest... I just want to cuddle with this toy. He's adorable. It's part of this line of McDonaldland toys that include Ronald, Hamburglar, Captain Crook, and Mayor McCheese. Ive seen them before, but couldnt commit until now. He's cuddly!
Mighty Muggs Teebo, If you read this blog, then you know I am obsessed with Mighty Muggs... but I don't really have space in my house for them, so Ive been waiting for a Wicket the Ewok to be released. Obviously Teebo is not Wicket, but I could not resist. Teebo was a Target Exclusive, and the word on the street is that hes pretty tough to find. I couldnt find him so I made especially sure to look for him at the con. The same guy who had my Kermit Vinylmation actually had a few of these and I had to take him. Wicket is scheduled to come out in April, so anyone wondering what gift to get me for my birthday in April should think about this.
The best toy I got came from the guys who do "Mr Toast", its a stuffed animal "Shaky Bacon". Its basically just a toy bacon. Hes adorable, Ive named him Kevin. There isnt really a lot more to it than that. Hes awesome and cute, and I love my bacon. I love my Kevin Bacon.So basically that is what I found really exciting about this particular convention. Enough that I could squeeze into a decent blog. Like I said, I doubt Ill be going to this convention again, but I did get to see some pretty cool work in process and snag some toys. So it's all good.
Ok Im off to bed to cuddle with Kevin Bacon. Night!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Miss March
Looks like the movie from "The Whitest Kids U'Know" is FINALLY coming out. Alicia and I saw an advanced screening of this last year when they were calling it "Playboys" (click for my review). It looks like they went back and got it a new title "Miss March", got permission to use Playboy logos and also re shot some scenes with Hugh Hefner. That was the one big complaint with the flick, that they had a fake Hef who wasnt very good at the impersonation. Everything else looks to have remained the same, which is great cause this movie was really funny. Here's the trailer. I'll be checking it out again. If you like movies like "Harold & Kumar" or "Sex Drive" you'll be into this.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Disney Gets Cryptic
"Are You 23?"That is the creepy message Disney is asking you at a strange teaser site that has been set up here.
The site says we won't get more details until March 10, 09 (which is the day of the Annual Disney Shareholders meeting) so whatever is coming, it is sure to be a big surprise. I have a pretty good feeling this is gonna be a movie because I found the link to it in my Disney Movie Rewards Newsletter and because apparently a movie style poster was spotted at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank.
Interesting Online Thought & Theories...
- The Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923.
- Pixar is 23 years old this year.
- There is a loose consortium of hackers that call themselves “Twentythree”.
- People born in 1986 would be 23.
- March 10, 1986 Halley’s Comet was returning from it’s trip around the sun. Maybe it left some space dust on the Earth and now the government is looking for all the children born during that time (are you 23 years old?) because they are exhibiting super powers!!!!
- Disney is coming out with 23 new family style adventure vacation itineraries in 2009
- VMK (Virtual Magic Kingdom game) opened March 23 closed May 23. Bringing it back?
- a Disney fan berated Iger over the fact that the company only caters to the casual Disney park fans and has abandoned the more dedicated intense long-term Disney fans. If the rumors hold true, people will apparently be asked to pay about $100 a year to become part of a new club which will offer a bunch of new exclusive merchandise opportunities as well as setting up 1 or 2 fan events at the parks each year, with the first to take place in Anaheim. As for the origin of the number 23 it was pointed out that WED officially became Walt Disney Imagineering in 1986 and the shareholders changed name of Walt Disney Productions to The Walt Disney Company in 1986 as well, making each name 23 years old. As for the March 10th date, some wonder if the details about the new club may be revealed along with the rerelease of Pinocchio on Blu-Ray on March 10th.
- 2 + 3= 5?? Aren’t there 4 Walt Disney Themeparks now. Maybe that 5th park rumor might be answered.
- Song of the south was last released to home video in 1986, 23 years ago (A title that Disney Executives say will probably never be released due to the racism in the picture)
- 2010- the 23rd anniversary of Star Tours' opening, this may be the official announcement of the NEW Star Wars ride
- Dave Smith, chief archivist of all things Disney, said the Archive staff had something to do with it - but he wasn't telling
- 23 vaulted classics may be released on blu-ray (I think this is the most likely to occur since Disney has already announced they have HUGE plans for bluray and already announced a string of titles to be released)
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Could We Lose LOST?
So I've been reading some REALLY disappointing news recently regarding the future of ABC's LOST. The show, which is scheduled to reach it's finale in 2010 may not make it that far if ratings continue in their slump. Despite the fact that this season has so far by far been the best season yet, ratings have continued to drag downward. To put it in perspective Season 1's finale ranked in with 20.7 million viewers, Season 4 premiered with 16 million viewers but by the finale had dropped to 11 million. Season 5 premiered with those same 11 million viewers and by now at the 5th episode there are about 9 million viewers. This doesn't sit well with ABC. Everyone knows that LOST is one of the best shows on TV, it is one of the most legally and illegally downloaded shows of all time. The show could lose some of their huge budget, which could damage the quality of the show. Worse yet, the show could be canceled.
So what can you do to keep the show going til the end? For one, if you have a Nielsen Ratings box on your TV (and there aren't really that many out there) make sure you at least leave your TV on ABC during LOSTs timeslot. Now, for the rest of us, if you are gonna watch it on TV, record it on your DVR... Nielsen gets ratings from DVR's. Want to watch it online? Watch it on ABC.com, and don't do other stuff during the commercials, when a commercial ends make sure you quickly click continue so that advertisers feel like the show is actively providing them with worthwhile ad exposure. It's free and convenient, plus commercials are still shorter than TV. Finally, the most effective thing to do is buy LOST episodes on iTunes, iTunes is one of the best ways to rate the success of shows. Basically, if they don't know you are watching, they assume you aren't. So, whether you're a diehard or casual fan of the show it is important we all find out what happens in the end. And if you haven't been watching the season you should probably hit up ABC.com and catch up because it truly is the best season yet. Alright, thats my rant, watch the show. Do IT!
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