The Selling Of Frankenweenie

Frankenweenie Plush Merchandis
A Disney Parks Blog Photo

Disney is making a big park push to promote Tim Burton's Frankenweenie film scheduled for release on October 5. An exhibition of Tim Burton's Frankenweenie art will be displayed at Disney California Adventure beginning this month along with movie previews shown in the Muppet's 3D Theater in the evenings. And of course, Frankenweenie merchandise is hitting the store shelves. Am I the only one who finds this to be a little too weird and unsettling to actually be enjoyable? I've seen a couple of previews for the movie including what is being shown in theaters in 3D and I have to admit there is a bit of sad sweetness to what I saw on the screen but overall - unsettling seems to be the word, at least for me.

My Disneyland Bucket List - Item #6

I don't know what happened to it. Many years ago, I had a Disney silhouette cut-out made by one of the very nice artists that work in Disneyland's Silhouette Studio. I never had the silhouette framed or otherwise prominently displayed but over the years I'd see it in assorted boxes or in a closet somewhere around one of the several residences I have lived in. Haven't seen it in years though so I'm sure it is permanently lost.

Every once in awhile, as Mrs. DisneylandTraveler made our walks down Main St., I'd take a quick peek into the Silhouette Studio to watch the ladies proudly show their craft work. But I never stopped to have a silhouette actually done. Why not? It's a lovely souvenir and quite inexpensive by Disneyland standards. Why haven't Mrs. DLT and I had a silhouette done of us - together? The only thing I can think off is that we always seem to be in a hurry to run off and do something else.

Well it's time to stop - stop and have a silhouette done. I'm adding this to my Disneyland bucket list. It's official. And when we come home, it will go on a wall.

The Orange County Register did a nice little video of the Silhouetted Studio and a couple of the cast members who work there. Yep, it's on the bucket list.

In The Battle Of Superhero Movies - The Avengers Still Wins

My personal summer superhero trilogy is now complete. I wasn't going to do it but in the interest of an excuse to get out of the house for a family outing, Mrs. DisneylandTraveler, the Boy, and me headed off to the multiplex to see The Dark Knight Rises. It was 107 degrees here at home yesterday, let's use someone else's air-conditioning for awhile (and with a running time of close to 3 hours, a very long while).

The Dark Knight Rises caps off the Warner Bros. and DC Comics latest Batman trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan. The quick review - The Dark Knight Rises is long, plodding, dark, and violent. Not that it isn't interesting or have it's moments but in the end, there is something unappealing about its bleakness. Glad I saw it. I will probably rent it when it comes to home video, but after that, I will quickly put it to rest and forget about it. No plans to go out and buy the movie when it becomes available which is always the truest measure of how much I like a movie.

So over the summer, we have seen Disney / Marvel's The Avengers, Sony / Marvel's The Amazing Spiderman, and now Warner Bros. / DC Comics The Dark Knight Rises. Guess what? The Avengers wins - easily. Am I prejudiced because The Avengers is a Disney produced movie and this is a Disney blog? Nope - The Avengers is flat out better than the other two and by a pretty large margin.

The Amazing Spiderman was somewhat surprisingly entertaining but brought nothing new to the party from the original 2002 Spiderman movie. It was basically the same movie - entertaining but pretty much forgettable. On the other hand, The Avengers advanced and grandly topped off the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Phase One series of films that began with the original Iron Man (and continued with The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America - The First Avenger). 

The Avengers delivered the goods - highly entertaining, sharply written and directed by Joss Whedon, and had nice performances from a cast of fine actors. Most of all, The Avengers was a fun movie, something that could not be said about the other two films.

Mrs. DLT is already chomping at the bit for when The Avengers hits the home video market (Sept 25, I believe is the day). The only question is whether to buy the blu-ray Avengers package or shell out the 140 bucks (an Amazon pre-order price now - about $220 closer to the release date) 10 disc set that contains the other four prequel movies and tons of special features loaded into its special briefcase packaging. Tempting.

Dumbest Looking Disney Hat - EVER

Disney has made their share of stupid looking hats over the years. Sometimes it's been intentional. And of course, these "unique" hats come with an exorbitant price tag. But this one takes the cake. We may have a new leader in the clubhouse for probably the dumbest looking hat I've ever seen. Anyone care to wear a whitewall tire as a hat? When he was much younger, if the Boy would have asked me to buy him at tire hat, I would have had to tell Mrs. DisneylandTraveler to take him to the doctor to see if there was something wrong with him. Maybe he hit his head on something. It could be just me. If a hat like this is your fashion statement, good luck to you.

Then again, I had a Davy Crockett "coonskin" hat when I was a kid. Wearing a dead rat on your head would look pretty silly in 2012.

The only reason, THE ONLY REASON, I would think about getting a hat like this is that many are questioning how long Luigi's Flying Tires will be around as a ride. It may have some collector's value at some point in the future. These things could have a future on EBay.

Just A Cuddly Bear Searching for Love

Duffy the Bear -  Duffy is the Tokyo Disney mega hit character that Disney here in the states has been trying to ram down our throats for a year of so now. Maybe its time to give it up. Notice something missing in the picture above? Cute bear - no people, no line of eager fans for the photo op with good ol' Duffy.  Across the way, the Mickey photo booth has kids of all ages lined up 20 deep.

Mrs. DisneyTraveler and I walked into adjacent merchandise store and there they were, a wall full of naked Duffy's and countless outfits available for additional cost to dress him in. My wife was tempted because he is kind of cute and then the math started.  We wouldn't be able to walk out of there for less than a $50 Duffy. Nope - can't do it. And there's the rub.  There is the cock and bull story that Disney gives that Duffy is Mickey & Minnie's personal stuffed teddy bear and you can have one for your very own. But when it comes down to it, the purpose of Duffy is to sell Duffy's and little else. He is kind of cute. Maybe there will be a 75% off clearance sale some day.