Mulan for $29.99

by Nathaniel R

The Mouse House is tired of waiting for movie theaters to open. They've announced that Mulan will be going direct to Disney+ for Labor Day Weekend. It will also be in movie theaters that weekend in some regions. The catch is that it won't be free on the streaming service that you already pay for. It will cost $29.99 to watch (for an undisclosed length of time). This is bad news for those of us who love to go to movies and watch epic things on big screens in dark cavernous rooms with strangers and hate the motion smoothing on modern televisions. It's good news for parents (at least at this shut-in moment in history) who would likely spend more than $30 to take their kids out to this movie in a normal year. 

Given that Mulan cost hundreds of millions to make and Disney's "event" movies normally make $1 billion plus at the theatrical box office globally they'll need a lot of $29.99 purchases to reach that number. What do you make of this news? End times (as some exhibitors think) or just a minor shifting of the sands?

Remembering Howard Ashman

by Cláudio Alves

On the morning of February 19th, 1992, the nominations for the 64th Academy Awards were announced. As always, the last category to be revealed was that of Best Picture and, just as Best Director lineup had done, it brought with it a historical event. Disney's Beauty and the Beast became the first animated feature to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, a momentous achievement that was applauded by the audience of journalists. It was the only Best Picture nominee to receive such jubilant cheer and it's easy to see why. While some had predicted the cartoon's glorious haul of nominations, the long-lasting prejudices of AMPAS against animation made its success seem impossible. Thankfully, even the Academy can get over itself from time to time, and honor truly deserving cinema. Beauty and the Beast is certainly deserving, being a masterpiece of American animation, as well as one of Disney's crown jewels.

Unfortunately, not everyone involved with its triumph was able to bask in the glory of the Oscar nominations. One of the men most responsible for the wonder of Beauty and the Beast was long gone by the time of the announcement…

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'Wish We Had Written That' - A Best Original Song Game

Today we turn the blog over to Tom Mizer, one half of the songwriting team Mizer & Moore...

Curtis Moore & Tom Mizer photographed by Xanthe Elbrick

by Tom Mizer

The Contestants: Tom and Curtis have been songwriting partners since meeting at Northwestern University. This may or may not have been before computers were required at college. 

The Oscar Winning Song Game: Without looking in advance, the contestants will receive a range of Oscar Winning Best Songs. They will each have 30 seconds to peruse the list. When time is up, they will text the other the song “they wish they had written.” After years of working together, will their choices match? If not, they will have a short period to discuss and convince the other of the wisdom of their selection, hopefully arriving at an agreement. This may end their partnership.

Ladies and gentlemen, the transcript begins:

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Facing mortality with "Toy Story 3"

by Cláudio Alves

Have you ever thought to yourself "my time has come to an end, I'm going to die"? I have, in at least three instances.

The first was in 2011, in Tokyo when the Tōhoku earthquake happened, making me stare in horror as skyscrapers swiveled around me, looking like they could fall at any moment. The second time was considerably less spectacular, caused by gallbladder stones and some incredible bouts of bad luck. From the most searing pain I've ever felt to internal bleeding after surgery, it all seemed like it was going to end. Thankfully, it didn't. The third moment where I contemplated my death in a very immediate way is, weirdly enough, the one that still scares me the most. It was late at night, I was eating something and a piece of food got stuck in my throat. I couldn't breathe, I was alone and started to lose consciousness from lack of oxygen, gasping for air while the world around me was going dark. I lived, but I'll always remember the feeling of thinking I was going to die, the fear, and the resigned acceptance of it.

Anyway, let's talk about Toy Story 3 on its 10th anniversary…

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The Best Day on the Set of "Saving Mr Banks"

Costume Designer Daniel Orlandi is guest-blogging all day!

by Daniel Orlandi

I had been preparing for the high-pressure two days of shooting at DisneyLand for several months. There were about 800 extras including 250 kids that had to be costumed and the research had been surprising. People used to actually dress up for a day in the park back in 1962. We had everyone in colorful 1960s California finery. When dressing extras I like to give everyone a character — so no souvenirs or T shirts!  We found a website where people posted their old personal photos of Disneyland. That was invaluable.

We also had to dress the park employees. Recreating Disney’s 1960s walk-around characters proved even more challenging...

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