Planes...Planes...and MORE PLANES!!

Look, up in the sky...it's a bird...it's a plane...it's a...no, it IS a PLANE! Dusty Crophopper to be exact! 

Well, let me tell you, WAY back in 2011 when we went to the Disney D23 Expo, we saw some (very) preliminary footage of an upcoming Disney/Pixar movie that was part of the Cars world, called Planes. At that time, what we saw was pretty much the storyboard ideas, but we were pretty excited about it. To think: expanding on the universe created by Pixar in Cars! Awesome! Then, the movie came out...and yep...it was AWESOME! There was that newness of a...well, new world, yet, the familiarity of a world that we all know and loved. The best of both worlds here! 

Dusty Crophopper

So, without (of course) spoiling too much, Planes is the story of a little crop dusting plane by the name of Dusty Crophopper (perfectly voiced by Dane Cook), who just knows, deep down in his cockpit that he was meant for something more. He has this dream of being a famous and winning racer...only problem is, well, he's afraid of heights! Making the tough decision to set aside his life of crop-dusting, Dusty asks Propwash Junctions legendary citizen Skipper (a Navy Corsair Skipper World War II veteran - voiced by veteran actor Stacy Keach) to train him on how to fly....FAST!

Skipper

Supporting Dusty in his flighty goal are his good friend Dottie the mechanic (a very familiar forklift vehicle - voiced by Teri Hatcher) and his fuel tanker best bud Chug (voiced by Brad Garrett).

Chug and Dottie

Against all odds, Dusty finds himself qualified for the big annual air-race, Wings Around The World - and pitted against some of the worlds very best (and some very underhanded) race planes ever seen. Dusty makes some new friends during the first leg of the race, like  a Mexican plane called El Chupacabra (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui), Rochelle (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) the French-Canadian beauty who El Chupacabra instantly falls for, the Indian beauty Ishani (voiced by Priyanka Chopra) who DUSTY instantly falls for, and Bulldog, the British champion (voiced by John Cleese) who at first, is dead set against a 'common plane' like Dusty joining the elite racers.

Ishani, Dusty's Love Interest 

 Of course, not everyone admires Dusty for his heart and skill - three time champion Ripslinger (voiced by Roger Craig Smith) refuses to allow a nobody-hick-farm plane like Dusty win...and will do anything, ANYTHING to make sure of it! With the help of his dim-witted henchplanes Ned and Zed (voiced by Gabriel Inglesias), Ripslinger does his very best (or is that worst) to steer Dusty off course. 

Dusty Meets Ripslinger, his nemesis 

Of course, there is a lot more to the story than that, but I'm not going to do ALL the work for you! You need to watch Planes for yourself to find out! 

As is the case with all Disney animated movies, Planes does have a point. Dusty is a plane who has a gift - he can fly fast and has heart - and, he is an underdog in every sense of the word. He has a dream, and wants nothing more than to achieve that dream, even when everyone around him tries to talk him out of it, and, even his own fear of heights is seemingly a hurdle that is insurmountable.  But, he stays true to himself and pushes through. Although it may be hard to see in an animated movie, this is a message that everyone needs to hear, from the smallest child to the most 'mature' adult. Don't. Give. Up. In the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, it's all too easy to forget about our dreams, and blame them drifting away on our fears, or perceived obstacles. But, as Disney usually does very well, that message is here. Dusty is faced with some pretty insane obstacles, including himself, but he does not give up. He perseveres no matter the cost. Yes, I know...'it's only a cartoon'. Well, not really. It's a message. And a fun one at that! 

Dusty and his new Friends

There are a lot of good laughs in Planes as well. Some geared toward the little ones, and some geared toward the adults. The great thing about it is that the kids gags aren't too silly and the adult gags are somewhat subtle. So, the adults won't mind the kid stuff and the kids won't even recognize the adult stuff! Win/Win for everyone! The animation has grown leaps and bounds since Cars. Planes showcases some of the most impressive animation I've ever seen, and like Monsters University, at times takes you out of the fact that it IS animation. I found myself a few times thinking how beautiful these locations were...then I realized they were animation! 

Now, at the time of this writing, the sequel to Disney's Planes has already been announced. Planes: Fire and Rescue which features a quirky crew of elite firefighting aircraft devoted to protecting historic Piston Peak National Park from a raging wildfire. When world famous air racer Dusty learns that his engine is damaged and he may never race again, he must shift gears and is launched into the world of wildfire air attack. Dusty joins forces with veteran fire and rescue helicopter Blade Ranger and his courageous air attack team, including spirited super scooper Lil Dipper, heavy-lift helicopter Windlifter, ex-military transport Cabbie and a lively bunch of brave all-terrain vehicles known as The Smokejumpers. Together, the fearless team battles a massive wildfire, and Dusty learns what it takes to become a true hero. Planes: Fire and Rescue is set to open in theaters July 18, 2014. 

Disney's Planes is now available on Blu-Ray, DVD and Select Digital Retailers. 
     Bonus Features Include: 
      *Exclusive Franz's Song - Produced exclusively for Blu-ray  
         and HD Digital, this never-before-seen completely 
         finished animated song features the German mini-car, 
        Franz Fliegenhosen, who encourages Dusty on his flight
      *Klay's Flight Plan - Follow director Klay Hall's journey  
        during the making of Planes and discover why his family 
        connection to aviation made Planes his perfect project. 
      *Deleted Scenes
      *Meet The Racers

Disney's Planes is approximately 91 minutes long and is rated PG in the U.S., and G in Canada. 

All in all, Disney's Planes is a wonderful addition to the world Pixar created in the Cars movies, and a must have for Disney fans of all ages. On my scale of 1 - 5 Corn Dogs, (5 being GREAT), I would give Disney's Planes a solid 4.5! - Al

Wings Of Life

When Walt Disney was very young, he and his family lived on a farm in Marceline, Missouri. In many interviews, Walt mentioned that living on that farm was perhaps some of the greatest times in his life. He "met" nature there, got to really experience the awesome beauty that "wild life" has to offer. And years later, that passion could be seen in the many films Disney made, especially the True-Life Adventure Series, where Walt featured, in true Disney fashion, nature at it's best in his oft awarded documentary shorts. 

Acrobatic Warrior

That awesome tradition is still alive today in the newest entry to the Disney nature line-up: Disneynature Wings Of Life.  This beautifully photographed film is told from a unique perspective, from that of the majestic flower. Not just one flower but ALL the flowers of the world. 

The incomparable Meryl Streep narrates this look inside the world most of us take for granted, as she "speaks" as all the flowers of the world. Wings Of Life tells the story about the pollinators of the world: humming birds, bees, butterflies and even bats, and the incredibly vital role they all play in life on the planet Earth. And since this IS a Disney film, it is presented as an adventure full of intrigue, drama and mesmerizing beauty! A true life and death struggle for survival, which in a way it is. For without the magic flowers bring to the world, the planet on which we live would be a much more hostile and boring looking place.

Pollinators To The Rescue - Majestic Monarch Butterfly

Disneynature Wings Of Life is without doubt a beautifully visual movie. The film follows the various creatures that aid the flowers in spreading their pollen throughout the world of nature, bees (of both honey and bumble variety!), the beautifully majestic butterfly, humming birds (who, despite their petite size and beautifully ornate feathers CAN be quite the warrior), and even bats. The intricate partnership these creatures have created with flowers has become an integral part of life as we know it. By creating a system in which plants create the pollen and these cooperative creatures carry the needed mixture to other plants to complete the pollination process, they have helped all species of the Earth survive.  In fact, a third of the world's food supply depends on these incredible (and unfortunately increasingly threatened) creatures. 

Disneynature Wings Of Life is absolutely a film that is a must see. As with all of Disney's Nature series, Wings Of Life presents us with a seriously important subject, but in a way that we can all relate to. It gets its message of conservation across without being preachy, and by the end of the film, you find yourself WANTING to find ways to help the flowers and little critters that help us live! In fact, we've decided to build a wild flower garden in our back yard, to try to bring at least a little nature back to our lives! Wings Of Nature is the perfect film to start that conversation with your kids about how the world works, and what WE MUST do to help keep it working. In fact, Disneynature Wings Of Life would be a terrific film to show in school science and nature classes. This is certainly one film we are happy to have received to review. A beautifully written, directed, filmed and presented movie. With shots you'd swear are CGI (computer generated image), Wings Of Life uses riveting high-speed, time-lapse and macro filmmaking to showcase in spectacular detail these unsung heroes of our planet. 

Disneynature was launched in April, 2008. It's mission is to bring the world's top nature filmmakers together to share a wide variety of wildlife stories on the big screen in order to engage, inspire and educate audiences everywhere. Walt Disney was a pioneer in wildlife filmmaking, producing 13 True-Life Adventure motion pictures between 1948 and 1960, which earned eight Academy Awards. To learn more about this wonderful venture, and the other movies in the Disneynature series, visit Disneynature online.

Disneynature Wings Of Life is available now on the following:
 * Blu-Ray Combo Pack (Blu-Ray + DVD + Digital and On Demand copy) SRP $34.99. Running time approximately 80 minutes

Happiest Blog On Earth...Tinker Bell & the Secret Of The Wings

Well, Joyce and I had an awesome time on our recent Disneyland Resort vacation! Met up with a few of our good friends, Mr. Daps, Julie and her husband Jason (our favorite Cast Member), and our great friend and Podcast Sponsor Randy Crane. We also (finally) got to visit Cars Land and Buena Vista Street! Two AWESOME new additions to the Disneyland Resort, over in California Adventure. We made many great new memories this trip, but I think that the one memory that will stand above just about everything is something we were blessed to be part of on our last day at the Resort. An event that both Mr. Daps (from Daps Magic) and Lisa Robertson (from Babes In Disneyland blog) asked us to cover for their respective sites: the media event covering the release of Disney's newest Tinker Bell movie - Secret Of The Wings. This was our very first media event, and hopefully, just the start of a wonderful media relationship with the Disney Company and Disneyland. I'd like to share with you our write-up and coverage of this awesome event:


Tinker Bell’s Winter Wonderland Comes to Downtown Disney
By Al Kessel - Tales From The Mouse House Disneyland Podcast

On October 23, 2012, DisneyToon Studios released the fourth installment of their popular straight to DVD animated film series based on the Disney Fairies franchise, starring the mischievous, and lovable, Tinker Bell. This time, Tink ventures into the forbidden world and discovers a Frost Fairy named Periwinkle, who shares some remarkably familiar traits with our Tinker-Talented Fairy. Disney’s Secret Of The Wings introduces fans of this beloved series to their newest Fairy - Periwinkle (voiced by Lucy Hale), who has a talent for creating frost and winter wonderlands whenever and wherever she desires. 

To celebrate the release of this newest film, Downtown Disney has created a brand new guest experience - Ice Skating in Tinker Bells Winter Woods, the Winter Wonderland that Tinker Bell experiences in her new film. 

The ceremony opened with Tinker Bell and Periwinkle performing a brief dance on the small stage set up in the middle of the Ice Rink. As they exited the Rink, Disneyland Resort Ambassador Rene Torrico welcomed guests to Downtown Disney and revealed the premise of Tinker Bells’ latest adventure. Torrico then introduced Vice President of Resorts Daniel Delcourt and Downtown Disney’s General Manager Janet Knox to dedicate the new Ice Rink. Delcourt welcomed guests and thanked Downtown Disney Cast Members for all their hard work in bringing this wonderful new opportunity to Disney Resort guests, followed by Knox’s dedication of the Ice Rink for family and friends to enjoy a piece of Tinker Bells’ Winter Wonderland. Secret Of The Wings director Peggy Holmes, and producer Michael Wigert then described the new film and how Tink learns to ice skate, and with the opening of the new Ice Rink, Resort guests can now experience that same feeling. 

Finally,  Rene Torrico returned to the stage to thank guests for joining them for the event and as he spreads a little Fairy Dust, like magic Tinker Bell and her Pixie Sister Periwinkle return to the stage for a dramatic Fairy dance to officially unveil this newest Resort experience. 

 A first for Southern California’s Downtown Disney District, the Ice Rink is made from real ice, not synthetic ice, which, according to Janet Knox, Downtown Disney’s General Manager, was an important detail to offer guests. Knox stated that there are many who visit Downtown Disney who may never have had the experience of skating on “real ice”.  This attention to detail brings an air of nostalgia to those guests who may have grown up with experiences such as this, allowing them to share with their children the family fun and adventure they had growing up. 

The Rink took about two weeks to assemble and is kept at a chilling six degrees by a massive “Chiller Machine” discreetly hidden behind the rental shacks. Knox also stated that Disney has wanted to offer a family activity to guests such as the Ice Rink for years, but never really had the perfect story to share. However, with the introduction of the new Tinker Bell story, they now had the perfect story to tell. Knox hinted that it may very well be the vision of VP of Resorts Delcourt to eventually expand the Ice Rink to a more elaborate Holiday Village should the Ice Rink prove successful.

The Ice Rink will operate through the beginning of January, 2013, and for the Holidays, Downtown Disney will open several shopping and food chalets for Resort guests to linger through while enjoying the atmosphere of the Ice Rink. 

Each skating session lasts 60 minutes and will cost $15.00 for adults and $12.00 for children ages 2 to 12. The Ice Rink will also offer rental skates for $3.00 and for the younger skaters, Disney offers double-bladed skates. Hours of operation are Sunday through Thursday 11:00 AM to 9:30 PM, Friday and Saturday 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM. The Ice Rink does require all skaters to wear an approved helmet for safety reasons. Every 30 minutes the Ice Rink will offer their “WOW” moment, in the form of a whimsically choreographed light display set to the Secret Of The Wings song The Great Divide, by the McClain Sisters. 


After the event, Director Peggy Holmes and Producer Michael Wigert stated that being part of the Disney Fairies franchise is both an honor and terrific opportunity allow fans to learn more about Tinker Bell and her Fairy friends. Wigert also hinted that we have not seen the last of the world of Pixie Hollow.






To view a short video we produced on the event, just click play below!