Upcoming Disney Releases

The following is the scheduled DVD release dates of the next few Disney movies:

March 2009: Pinocchio

March 2009: Bolt

March 2009: Lilo and Stitch

May 2009: A Bug's Life

June 2009: Black Cauldron

October 2009: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

March 2010: Fantasia

March 2010: Fantasia 2000

October 2010: Beauty and the Beast

Rapunzel, Rapunzel Let Down Your Hair

It's official. Disney's continuing with the fairy tale. After releasing "The Princess and the Frog" this December, a film adapted from the fairy tale, "The Frog Prince," Disney will continue with an animated verison of the Grimm's fairy tale, "Rapunzel." Although presented in CGI animation, Rapunzel will attempt to resemble hand-drawn animation. How they do that, I don't know - why not hand-draw it so it actually looks like it's hand-drawn.



Originally, "Rapunzel" was to be directed by Glen Keane, an acclaimed animator responsible for much of the animation sequences in "Aladdin," "Little Mermaid," and "Tarzan." However, in October 2008, Keane announced he was stepping down and the directors of "Bolt" would be taking over (hopefully not taking over his vision of having the film not look like computer animation). Voices include Broadway talent Kristin Chenoweth as Rapunzel, Dan Fogler as Prince Bastion and David Schwimmer (from Friends) as Father Sam/Mr. Sunton. The film is expecting a Christmas 2010 release date.

Disney Pixar's "Up" in Theatres May, 2009

Disney Pixar will release their next feature "Up" on May 29, 2009, and will be shown in Digital Disney 3D in select theatres. "Up" is the story of Carl Fredricksen, a 78-year-old man who wants to fulfill his promise to his late wife Ellie, who always dreamed of exploring the mountains but died too soon. When Carl is threatened to be moved into an assisted living home by developers, he ties a huge amount of balloons to his house to make the house fly. However, an eight-year-old Wilderness Explorer boy named Russell happens to be on Carl's porch. The two end up on a thrilling as they encounter a number of unexpected characters on their adventure.

Voices include Edward Asner as Carl, Jordan Nagai as Russell, Christopher Plumer as Charles Muntz, an adventurer, and the ever-present Pixar voice of John Ratzenberger. The film is directed by Pete Docter, the director of "Monsters, Inc."

Disney's First Black Princess Hits Theaters Christmas 2009

Another Disney princess will soon join the ranks of the eight others (Snow White, Aurora, Ariel, Cinderella, Belle, Jasmine, Pochahontas and Mulan (which I really don't get - how is Mulan a princess?). Returning to hand-drawn animation, the 49th Disney animated feature will be "The Princess and the Frog." Set in New Orleans, "The Princess and the Frog" (first titled "The Frog Princess") is an adapted version of the classic fairy tale, "The Frog Prince." The heroine, Princess Tiana, will be Disney's first Black leading-lady.

The story is about how a prince from a far-away land is transformed into a frog by a voodoo magician. The frog prince asks Tiana to break the spell by kissing him, but the kiss turns Tiana into a frog as well. The two of them try to reach the good voodoo priestess in the Cajun Bayou, befriending other characters along the way.

This film will use cel animation and is a throw back to past animated features (using hand-drawn animation and following a fairy tale). Voices include Anika Noni Rose as Tiana, along with Oprah Winfrey and John Goodman, among others. The score will be composed by Randy Newman, and the film will be directed by "Aladdin" and "Little Mermaid" directors Ron Clements and John Musker.

The film is scheduled to be released December 25, 2009.

Some controversy surrounded the film in its pre-production. The main character was originally going to be named Maddy, but comments flew about underscored racism in the name, so the name was changed to Tiana.

To see a trailer for the film, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBR0XVMPUUs&feature=related

Pinocchio to be Released March 10, 2009

Tis the season for Disney releases. As tradition for the past several years, Disney releases a major title in March and October of every year and several other 'smaller' releases throughout the year. On March 10, 2009, "Pinocchio: 70th Anniversary Edition" will hit shelves. Disney's second animated feature, "Pinocchio" is the story of a wooden puppet on his journey to become "a real boy." Featuring the famous Jiminy Cricket as he sings "When You Wish Upon a Star," this DVD/Blu-Ray release will surely have many special features, probably including a Behind-the-Scenes look at the making of this film, always my favorite part of the bonus material. It's been a long time since I've seen "Pinocchio," but I remember it has some crazy things happening in it - I hate that part where the boys turn into donkeys. And the whale. And the creepy Stromboli fellow. But I do love the Blue Fairy!

Disney Animated Feature List and Releases

The following is a list of all Disney's animated features. The preceding dates are the year each date was originally released in theaters. The date following the movie title is the year the movie was released as a special edition DVD. While some movies have been released on DVD, especially in the late '90s or early 2000, I am not counting the movie as 'released' unless it's been as a special edition. The final date is the date the movie went 'back in the vault,' if it has.

Walt Disney Animated Films
1937 –Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Platinum Edition - 2001; vault - 2002; re-release October 2009)
1940 –Pinocchio (70th Anniversary Edition - March 2009)
1940 –Fantasia (Platinum Edition - March 2010)
1941 –Dumbo
1942 –Bambi (Special Edition - 2005; vault 2007)
1943 –Saludos Amigos
1945 –The Three Caballeros
1946 –Make Mine Music
1947 –Fun and Fancy Free
1948 –Melody Time
1949 –The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
1950 –Cinderella (Special Edition - 2005; vault 2008)
1951 –Alice in Wonderland (Masterpiece Edition - 2004)
1953 –Peter Pan (Platinum Edition - 2007; vault 2009)
1955 –Lady and the Tramp (50th Anniversary Edition - 2006; vault 2007)
1959 –Sleeping Beauty (50th Anniversary Edition - 2008)
1961 –101 Dalmatians (Platinum Edition - 2008; vault 2010)
1963 –The Sword and the Stone (45th Anniversary Edition - 2008)
1967 –The Jungle Book (40th Anniversary Edition - 2007; vault 2010)
1970 –The Aristocats (Special Edition - 2008)
1973 –Robin Hood (Most Wanted Edition - 2006)
1977 –The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
1977 –The Rescuers
1981 –The Fox and the Hound (25th Anniversary Edition - 2006)
1985 –The Black Cauldron (expected release June 2009)
1986 –The Great Mouse Detective
1988 –Oliver & Company (20th Anniversary Edition - 2009)
1989 –The Little Mermaid (Special Edition - 2006; vault 2009)
1990 –The Rescuers Down Under
1991 –Beauty and the Beast (Platinum Edition - 2002; vault 2003; expected re-release October 2010)
1992 –Aladdin (Special Edition - 2004; vault 2008)
1994 –The Lion King (Special Edition - 2003; vault 2005)
1995 –Pocahontas (10th Anniversary Edition - 2005)
1996 –The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1997 –Hercules
1998 –Mulan (Special Edition - 2004)
1999 –Tarzan (Special Edition - 2005)
2000 –Fantasia 2000 (expected release March 2010)
2000 –Dinosaur
2001 –The Emperor’s New Groove
2001 –Atlantis: The Lost Empire
2002 –Lilo and Stitch (expected release March 2009)
2002 –Treasure Planet
2003 –Brother Bear
2004 –Home on the Range
2005 –Chicken Little
2007 –Meet the Robinsons
2008 –BOLT

This information is from http://www.disneyanimation.com/aboutus/history.html.

Mary Poppins celebrates 45th anniversary

Disney released the 45th anniversary edition of its 1964 film, Mary Poppins on Jan. 27, 2009. Following a 40th anniversary special edition back in 2004, this restored and remastered version features more behind-the-scenes bonus features and scenes from the Broadway musical version of Mary Poppins. It's kind of odd that Disney would release the same film so close together, but with the popularity of Blu Ray format and the popularity of the Broadway musical, I guess it makes sense. Similarly, there has been rumor of re-releasing both Beauty and the Beast and Snow White, both released for special edition back in 2002 and 2001, respectively. Hopefully, though, Disney continues to release editions of animated features yet to be released on special edition, or I may never complete my collection.