Tales From The Mouse House...Episode 67

Dapper Days 2013

Welcome to episode 67! As we said at the beginning of the year...we’re offering up some out of the normal episodes in 2013 and THIS episode is ONE OF THOSE! On this PACKED FULL episode (yeah, it’s LONG), we share two awesome interviews and a terrific review from our GREAT Disney friend Mr. Daps! First up, our recent chat with Michele Morabito about her experiences at the Dapper Days event at Disneyland. This is one cool "unofficial but recognized" Day to behold. Imagine visiting Disneyland when Walt himself walked the Resort. Everyone dressed up in their "Sunday Best". Well, THAT'S what Dapper Days is like! Guests wearing awesome period outfits, from the 1940's and 50's. Michele describes her visit and her lucky breakfast at Club 33!

Michele at Dapper Days...Inside Club 33!

Then, our great friend Mr. Daps is joined by Murray The Bell Hop and Roger Rabbit to discuss their coverage of the all new Fantasy Faire in Fantasy Land (Disneyland). Talk about adding a bit of fairytale magic to your Disneyland Resort vacation...recently Disney did JUST that! And Daps Magic was there for the scoop, and shares with us!

All New Fantasy Faire at Disneyland

Then, if all THAT weren’t enough, Joyce turns the microphone on me and author David Smith and we discuss Dave’s awesome new book, In The Shadow of the Matterhorn: Intimate Stories about Life, Love and Laughter at Disneyland - his behind the scenes look at Disneyland from a cast members perspective! Then, we launch an awesome new contest that can put YOU in the Shadow Of The Matterhorn!

All New Audiobook Narrated By Al Kessel!

Hey, if YOU'RE in need of a great travel agent, why not give our sponsor, Randy Crane from Mouse Ear Vacations a holler! I bet he can make YOUR vacation a MAGICAL one! Visit Randy at www.randyc-mouseearvacations.com 

As always, If you’d like to send in comments for the show, you can send us an email to talespodcast@cox.net, leave us voicemail on the Hotline at 304-TALES23, leave us feedback in iTunes or leave comments for us on our Twitter account @talespodcast. Heck, you can even find us on FaceBook, just search for Tales From The House House - Disneyland podcast! If you'd like to listen to the show, you can find it on iTunes, on our podcast site at talescast.com, the direct episode link: Episode 67, or on Stitcher Radio now! Just visit www.stitcher.com and search for Tales From The Mouse House - Disneyland Podcast!

AND, we're listed on Stitcher Radio now! Just visit www.stitcher.com and search for Tales From The Mouse House - Disneyland Podcast!

Thanks for making us part of your Disney experience and remember…
"Make It A Mickey Day!" ~~ Al & Joyce

Travel Back In Time...To 2012!

Remember WAY Back in 2012?

Well, if you know me, you know I LOVE gadgets! All kinds - computers, phones, iPads, and...APPS! I love those cool little applications that can just make your life so much fun, and of course, can make you look up at the clock and say "HOLY...what the? What happened to the time?" Yep, I get hooked on apps. 

Last year, I found this app called "Video Time Machine" distributed by Original Victories. This is one cool application, truly. It gives you access to over 10,000 videos, from 1860 to 2012, all organized into categories like MOVIES, MUSIC, TV, ADS, etc. Simply select a year, then a category (or "all") and you'll find all kinds of fun and interesting videos. And yes, I did say 1860...as in the YEAR 1860! They actually have film clips/shorts from WAY back when!! Once you find a video you really like, you can share it to Twitter or FaceBook. Pretty cool.

So, in honor of the Earth not being wiped out and all (you know, the whole Mayan thing), Original Victories and Shout! Factory has created a brand new app - 2012 Time Machine. Very similar to the original Time Machine, the 2012 Time Machine focuses on all the awesome events from the past year, including a few brand new categories like Style, Tabloid, and my all time favorite - Viral Videos! 

First off, the interface is really smooth. With very easy to understand controls, you can't get lost. As before, simply select a category (I recommend starting with Viral Videos!), then either use the left/right arrow buttons to advance to the next video, or go back to the previous video. If you're feeling especially lucky, roll the dice for random videos. Also as before, if you find that cute dog viral video you love, you can share it with your friends via Twitter or FaceBook. The videos really do play very smoothly. I received the app to review today and played with it for about an hour and a half, and watched, well, WAY too many videos and only experienced one that seemed to glitch a little bit, but nothing tragic. 

Space Jump

I personally love these Video Time Machine apps. For me, they're a great way to remember our history. For example, I went to high school in the 80's (the 1980's thank you very much!) and the original Video Time Machine has a great many videos from that era that I completely forgot about, but really get a kick out of seeing again. The 2012 Time Machine will be that same source of nostalgia for many people in the years to come I'm sure, and for now, it's fun to look back and realize just how many awesome (and NOT so awesome) things happened in 2012. It's pretty cool to relive some of these highlights, or even catch a few that you completely missed!

What? We Elected A New President? 

Currently these apps are only available in the Apple App Store, and you can purchase the original Video Time Machine for $2.99, and the brand new 2012 Time Machine for only $.99, which is a great deal. It's certainly a fun and nostalgic way to spend many, many, many, many hours! I give this app 4 out of 5 App Nods! 

If you interested in learning more about the 2012 Time Machine, click the image below, or watch the totally cool trailer video below (destined to be on the 2012 Time Machine app I'm sure!). Have fun!  --Al 

2012 Time Machine

The Odd Life Of Timothy Green...

Disney's The Odd Life Of Timothy Green

The Odd Life Of Timothy Green has landed!

In 2010, Joyce and I attended the Disney D23 Expo at Disneyland. Probably the most popular panel was one that highlighted the many films Disney, Disney/Pixar and Marvel would be releasing in the months and years to come. One of these films was a live action family film by Disney starring Jennifer Gardner, Joel Edgerton and CJ Adams, called The Odd Life Of Timothy Green. We weren't shown many clips, but what we did see interested us a great deal, and at the time, we were very excited to see this film. As life would have it, when the movie was released in theaters, we didn't make it. 

But on December 4, 2012, Disney released The Odd Life Of Timothy Green on Blu-Ray and DVD, and we finally got a chance to see it. And we were not let down in the least. 

Of course by now, you all know that we're not about spoilers here. We firmly believe that YOU should be able to experience movies on your own, and really just want to give you OUR take on it. So, with that in mind....

The Odd Life Of Timothy Green is really a story about what happens when life throws you a huge curve ball and sends you down a vastly different path than the one you imagined yourself taking. How would you react? That's the question facing Jim and Cindy Green, a very happily married couple who want nothing more than to have a family to share their incredible love with. Unfortunately, after many unsuccessful months of trying, they're given the terrible news that they will never have children. So they decide to take all the traits they envisioned for their child and bury them (literally), their way of dealing with their grief, and moving on. Then, one "stormy" night, something incredibly amazing happens: Timothy shows up on their doorstep. And the adventure begins!

Cindy, Timothy and Jim Green

The Odd Life Of Timothy Green is a film that really touches the heart, on many levels. At it's core it's a family film, and by that I mean it's something that speaks to all of us. On some level we can all identify with the Greens, if not their exact situation, with something we each call our own. There of course is a definite message in this movie, as  you would expect from a Disney production. When things look darkest, that's when we should be at our best. Life deals many cards to us during our time on this planet. Sometimes we're dealt all aces, but most of the time, the hand we're dealt, well, stinks. But it's HOW we deal with that twist of fate that speaks volumes about us. That's what the Greens discover, with the help of Timothy. 

Calling any film "heartwarming", or "uplifting" is really kind of cliche but in all honesty, The Odd Life Of Timothy Green IS all of those touching cliches! I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, more in fact than I thought I would. Oh, I knew I would like it, from the clips we saw, and how Jennifer Gardner spoke about it at the Expo. But I didn't expect to have this film leave me with the feeling that I COULD in fact watch it over and over. It's certainly a must have in the Disney library for sure. 

"Low Ridin'" with Cindy, Timothy and Jim Green

With an incredible cast that includes Jennifer Gardner ("13 Going On 30", "Arthur"), Joel Edgerton ("Warrior", "The Thing"), Dianne Wiest ("I Am Sam", "Parenthood"), CJ Adams ("Dan In Real Life"), and an all-star supporting cast, and directed by Peter Hedges, the man who brought us "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" and "Dan In Real Life", Timothy Green is a beautifully acted and visually wonderful film. 

Joyce said that for her, this is a very heartwarming and family friendly movie, done in true Disney fashion. Although many of the situations in this film may be a bit beyond younger children, they'll still enjoy the magical characteristics of Timothy! With themes like love, heartache, bullying and enduring, there's something everyone can relate to in Timothy Green. A well acted and well written movie, although a bit unrealistic in some areas and very different than any Disney movie she's seen, Joyce said there are a lot of valuable take-aways. 

Now, although I like this movie a great deal, I must admit that I AM glad we never got around to seeing it in the theater. It's not really a "pay full price, plus $20 for popcorn" kind of film. It is a bit slow in some places, and I found myself thinking a few cuts here and there wouldn't have been bad. But it is certainly something I will watch over and over, snuggled up on the sofa with my best friend (and wife!) Joyce. In fact, we watched it over the Thanksgiving holiday and have decided to make it our annual Turkey Day Movie Tradition. On my as yet to be named rating scale of 1-5, I'm giving The Odd Life Of Timothy Green a 4, because it made me tear up! ~~ Al 



The Odd Life Of Timothy Green is now available on Blu-Ray Combo Pack, DVD, HD Digital. Visit our Amazon Affiliate Store for your copy today! Tales From The Mouse House Amazon Store

DVD Extras -1