In November of 2023, I went yet again to MouseCon. I dressed up this time, again as Mickey Mouse, as I did in 2019. Among the guests I saw this time were John C. Morris (again!), Amy O'Neil (who played Amy Szalinski in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids) and one particularly great surprise, Tony Anselmo, the voice of Donald Duck! Unfortunately, I could not get pictures of them.
And of course, I got pics of cosplayers like usual, although they were fewer in number this time:
I will be going to D23 like usual this August, and of course, MouseCon in November next.
Sorry for starting on such a dramatic title, but it's just that Once Upon a Studio, one of the greatest things Disney has done in recent years, was denied an Oscar nomination. It seemed like such a shoo-in, considering what it is and what it was celebrating (the 100th anniversary of The Walt Disney Company). Everyone seemed to think it was going to happen. Presented below is the full and complete video:
Basically put, it's a love letter to Disney animation fans and quite an emotional E-ticket from start to finish (speaking of, incidentally, the film is also playing at Disneyland, if I recall).
I myself have felt that given the enormous crowd of Disney characters, heroes and villains alike (albeit only from Disney proper; no Pixar characters), I initially was reminded of the closing scene of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which, of course, features a whole crowd of Toons, Disney and non-Disney alike, all gathered together to learn that Marvin Acme had bequeathed Toontown to these lovable characters, who then all sing "Smile, Darn Ya, Smile":
For sheer raw emotion, however, I was not sure if the comparison with Roger Rabbit was entirely accurate. Another, equally apt comparison would have to be the finale of The Muppet Movie:
As in that movie, Once Upon a Studio ends with the camera pulling away from the enormous crowd of classic Disney characters from the last 95+ years, as they all sing "When You Wish Upon a Star", with little bits of the crowd joining in little by little, until finally the entire crowd is singing.
I also have made comparisons with the closing scene of the Disney anthology series episode "This Is Your Life, Donald Duck", which ends with a huge crowd of Disney characters, parading onto the stage to pay tribute to Donald:
Another comparison I made was with this one old ad for Eastern Airlines, one of the earliest sponsors for Walt Disney World. In 1973, Disney produced an ad that featured a crowd of Disney characters, including those from the latest movie at the time, Robin Hood, accompanying a nondescript family to the new vacation destination via Eastern:
Getting back to Once Upon a Studio, it was originally supposed to be released in theaters alongside Wish in November of 2023. However, they changed their minds and instead aired it on TV in October, with it being available on Disney Plus a few days later. Indeed, when I went to see Wish, although it did pay homage to Disney's past history in the closing credits, and indeed all throughout the film, it played alone, without this short. The one country that did show these two together in theaters was Japan, on December 23. It has also been confirmed that Once Upon a Studio will be released as a bonus on the Blu-Ray release of Wish in March.
Anyway, the short film struck such a chord with everyone who saw it that it seemed like a natural for the Academy Awards nomination for Best Short Film. Indeed, the film was first screened in June at the Annecy Film Festival. This would have been a breath of fresh air for Disney, considering its less-than-stellar performance over the last year. Even Wish ended up underwhelming with a lot of people, which is not good for it to be a celebration of the company's 100th anniversary. Even I admit it's not that great of a movie, even though I wouldn't dismiss as the total washout that many critics wrote it off as.
However, it seems the idea that Once Upon a Studio would receive a nomination was not much more than online chatter, particularly since it wasn't even really shown in theaters, only on TV and streaming. In hindsight, they seemed to have dropped the ball by not showing in theaters as planned (save for in all of one country). That, combined with Disney's currently dismal performance, probably contributed to the Academy's decision to not include this film in their shortlist.
That said, I have to wonder, does that make it any less of a great film? Probably not, but it does give me pause. I was shocked at first, but from reading about it, it makes more sense. But it still seems to have diminished its greatness. I don't know.
It has been confirmed a few days ago that, presumably in honor of Mickey and Minnie's 95th(!) birthday, Disney Plus will be streaming several new classic shorts over the course of four months, 28 in all.
Included will be several black-and-white Mickey cartoons, the premiere Silly Symphonies cartoon The Skeleton Dance, and even a few Oswald cartoons. Below is the full schedule:
However, I would have added a few more shorts to the mix, for a total of 40 new ones, with each of the blocks of shorts totaling eight per (save for September, which has a full 8 shorts already), plus a brand-new block in November. The following are my proposed new additions
July 7:
-Billposters (1940)
-The Eyes Have It (1945)
August 11:
-No Sail (1945)
-Two Weeks Vacation (1952)
October 6:
-Pluto's Kid Brother (1946)
November 3:
-Plane Crazy (1928)
-The Karnival Kid (1929)
-Music Land (1935)
-Donald and Pluto (1936)
-Don Donald (1937)
-Donald's Double Trouble (1946)
-Pluto's Blue Note (1947)
-Donald's Diary (1954)
And in addition, I'm still hoping for the eight cartoons that are (or at least were) streaming on Disney Plus in Japan (maybe that could be a December thing):
Anyway, I'm really quite excited that they are finally putting out more old shorts on Disney Plus! I had read somewhere that they weren't doing any more, so this is a pleasant surprise.
In November of 2022, I went again to the convention, but I did not stay for a very long time. I did not dress up either, instead wearing a custom-made Mickey Mouse button shirt. But as always, there were booths, galleries, other cosplayers, and guest celebrities. There were several returning guests, including John C. Morris (the voice of Andy in the Toy Story series) and Mary Gibbs (the voice of Boo in Monsters, Inc.). Alanna Ubach (the voice of Imelda in Coco) was supposed to be there, but couldn't make due to prior commitments. Other celebrities who did make it included Heather Matarazzo (Anne Hathaway's best friend Lily in The Princess Diaries) and, most significantly, Donnie Dugan and Peter Behn, the voices of Bambi and Thumper, which I thought rather appropriate given that Bambi was having its 80th anniversary that year!
Here are just a few of the cosplayers that I saw that day:
That's Dodger up there, from Oliver and Company, just so you know.
And here also is an appearance by Dugan and Behn:
I will try to make it to next year's event. Maybe I will dress up again, maybe not.
Here now is the third and final installment in the list of Disney villains in their appearance in the game Disney Villainous. As always, in most cases, the descriptions are derivative of an old Laughing Place article on the Disney Villains and their comparisons to the Seven Deadly Sins of old. However, instead of two expansion packs, I've decided to do three (each containing three villains, for a total of nine altogether here), since there's currently an odd number of packs out there as of late. After the first two expansion packs, the third is called "Perfectly Wretched", the fourth is called "Despicable Plots", and the fifth is called "Bigger and Badder".
---
FILM: "101 Dalmatians" (1961)
VOICE ACTOR: Betty Lou Gerson
ANIMATOR: Marc Davis
GAME ARTIST: N/A
Proof positive that wicked drama queens are never out of fashion, the shock-haired, chain-smoking, fur-loving fashion diva Cruella de Vil continues to delight and outrage, even though her shenanigans are none too politically correct; she just wants to steal a bunch of cute doggies in the name of a fashion statement after all. Miss de Vil is the height of self-centered elaboration, but we love her for it just the same.
ALLIES: Horace and Jasper Badun
QUOTE: "I'll get even. Just wait. You'll be sorry."
FILM: "Tangled" (2010)
VOICE ACTOR: Donna Murphy
ANIMATOR: Nik Ranieri
GAME ARTIST: N/A
No weapons needed, as Mother Gothel weaves her web of wicked words. Fearful of losing her youth and beauty, she's managed to preserve it for centuries, but now needs the magical powers imbued in Rapunzel’s hair to retain it. Posing as Rapunzel's mother, Gothel "protects" her from the outside world to keep her "safe" and, more importantly, herself young. But when Rapunzel goes missing, Gothel is forced into quite the race against time to find her and the source of her youth.
ALLIES: The Stabbington Brothers, royal guards and riders
QUOTE: "You want me to be the bad guy? Fine. Now I'm the bad guy."
FILM: "Steamboat Willie" and others
VOICE ACTOR: Billy Bletcher, Will Ryan and Jim Cummings, among others
ANIMATOR: Norm Ferguson, Eric Goldberg and others
GAME ARTIST: Erik Hoepfner
Pete (AKA Peg-Leg Pete (AKA Black Pete)) has the distinction of not only being the "oldest" villain on this list (in fact, he even predates Mickey Mouse by about three years), but also the most diverse: beginning with Julius in the Alice Comedies and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Pete is the constant archenemy of not only Mickey (beginning with "Steamboat Willie", where, as the steamboat captain, he basically makes the mouse do all the work), but all of his friends: Minnie, Donald and all the rest.
ALLIES: Bandits, his parrot, a cricket, etc.
QUOTE: "I'm gonna knock you right into next week!"
FILM: "Beauty and the Beast" (1991)
VOICE ACTOR: Richard White
ANIMATOR: Andreas Deja
GAME ARTIST: Johnny Morrow
He's the golden boy in his provincial town, the kind of guy the girls all go gaga for, and, oh, yes, he eats five dozen eggs every morning, so he's roughly the size of a barge. Why, then, can Gaston not land the beautiful Belle for his bride? Maybe it's all that reading that she does. No matter: with an ego as big as his brawny physique, Gaston is confident that he'll win her over - if it's the last thing he ever does.
ALLIES: LeFou, Monsieur D'Arque, all the villagers
QUOTE: "And don't I deserve the best?"
FILM: "The Black Cauldron" (1985)
VOICE ACTOR: John Hurt
ANIMATOR: Phil Nibbelink
GAME ARTIST: A.J. Nazzaro
With a skull-like mask for a face, topped with two mangled horns, cloven feet, and a spiked tail, it's not hard to liken the Horned King to the image of the devil himself. Throw in a hacking cough, and he's even more akin to a certain Lord of the Sith we're all familiar with. His goal is fairly simple: find the Black Cauldron, with which to raise an army of the undead and overrun all of Prydain.
ALLIES: Creeper, brutish henchmen, Gwythaints
QUOTE: "Arise, my messengers of death! Our time has arrived!"
FILM: "Cinderella" (1950)
VOICE ACTOR: Eleanor Audley
ANIMATOR: Frank Thomas
GAME ARTIST: Marisa Oh
Lady Tremaine, the mother of all stepmothers, coddles and spoils her two homely daughters Anastasia and Drizella (not to mention that brat of a cat Lucifer) at the expense of stepdaughter Cinderella, who she has browbeaten into submission as their scullery maid. Jealous of her stepdaughter, she is bent on climbing the social ladder by marrying one of her daughters into royalty. What more proof could there be of her inherent wickedness?
ALLIES: Anastasia, Drizella, Lucifer
QUOTE: "Above all, self-control."
FILM: "Toy Story 3"
VOICE ACTOR: Ned Beatty
ANIMATOR: Bobby Podesta
GAME ARTIST: N/A
Don't let his fluffy, cute, strawberry-scented appearance fool you. All those years of Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear feeling unloved by his owner have taken their toll on his sanity. Now at Sunnyside Daycare, he rules its toys with an iron paw. But he never counted on some new toys somehow ending up at the daycare.
ALLIES: The toys at Sunnyside
QUOTE: "You're a piece of plastic. You were meant to be thrown away."
FILM: "The Sword In the Stone" (1963)
VOICE ACTOR: Martha Wentworth
ANIMATOR: Milt Kahl
GAME ARTIST: N/A
This wacky witch claims to be the most powerful magic-maker in the land, and all she has to do to prove herself is beat that goody-two-shoes wizard, Merlin. A wizard's duel is proposed, with Mim providing the rules (all the better to break them). Alas, the tricky sorcerer outwits Mim by inflicting upon her his own brand of germ warfare.
ALLIES: None
QUOTE: "Want to fight? Want to have a wizard's duel?!"
FILM: "The Incredibles" (2004)
VOICE ACTOR: Jason Lee
ANIMATOR: N/A
GAME ARTIST: N/A
Annie Wilkes ain't got nothin' on this "number one fan". It all started years ago when Buddy Pine saw his career as Mr. Incredible's would-be sidekick Incredi-Boy cut tragically short after Mr. Incredible himself soundly rejected him. In response, Buddy's hero worship turned into hatred, fueling his warped genius into adulthood. His path littered with the bodies of real supers, Mr. Incredible and his family are the next to go on his hitlist.
ALLIES: Mirage, Omnidroid
QUOTE: "You can't count on anyone, especially your heroes."
And that concludes the multi-part look at the Disney villains as seen in the strategy game Disney Villainous. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did creating this list. Happy Halloween!
Welcome
to another installment in the list of Disney villains in their appearance in
the game Disney Villainous. Once again, the descriptions are derivative of the
Laughing Place article on the villains and their comparisons to the Seven
Deadly Sins. Having covered the base game, "The Worst Takes It All" (the post for which you can look at here),
we now move on to the first two expansion packs, each containing three
villains. The first is "Wicked To The Core" and the second is "Evil Comes Prepared". ---
FILM: "The Princess and the Frog" (2009)
VOICE ACTOR: Keith David
ANIMATOR: Bruce W. Smith
GAME ARTIST: N/A
Witch
doctor by trade, this shadow man is so mad at the rich and prosperous that he decides
to teach them a lesson by making off with the fortune of the uber-wealthy
"Big Daddy" La Bouff, using La Bouff's daughter's intended, a visiting
prince, as a pawn. But when the now-amphibious prince escapes (meeting with the
equally amphibious Tiana in the process), Facilier sics his "friends on
the other side" on him, upping the ante by providing his friends the souls
of everyone in New Orleans as a bargaining chip.
ALLIES: His "friends on the other side", Lawrence
QUOTE: "I got friends on the other side."
FILM: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937)
VOICE ACTOR: Lucille LaVerne
ANIMATOR: Art Babbitt (Queen)/Norm Ferguson (Witch)
GAME ARTIST: Lucas Torquato
Although
she doesn't officially have a name per se, if she did, it would appropriately
complete the phrase, "Vanity, thy name is...". Obsessed with her own
beauty (and threatened by Snow White's), the Queen destroys it with a dark
spell that transforms her into a haggard crone with a special gift for the fair
maiden, in the form of a luscious red apple (with which to poison her).
ALLIES: Magic Mirror, Huntsman
QUOTE: "I'll be fairest in the land!
FILM: "Hercules" (1997)
VOICE ACTOR: James Woods
ANIMATOR: Nik Ranieri
GAME ARTIST: Jason Kang
This big blue hothead has it in for his brother Zeus and plots to take over Mount Olympus with a little help from his friends. This leads to a clash of the Titans, but as the Fates predicted, if that wonder boy Hercules were to crash the party, it will be all for nothing. And when that happens, Hades takes his wrath out on Herc's Achilles' heel, Megara, the hero's ladylove and Hades' former femme fatale.
ALLIES: Pain, Panic, the Titans, Cyclops, Nessus
QUOTE: "Everybody's got a weakness."
FILM: "The Great Mouse Detective" (1986)
VOICE ACTOR: Vincent Price
ANIMATOR: Glen Keane
GAME ARTIST: N/A
When you're the self-proclaimed world's greatest rat criminal mind, you should expect the world's greatest (mouse) detective to stand against you. Professor Ratigan and Basil of Baker Street have squared off many times before, but when the arch-villain plots to go after the Queen of (mouse) England, all bets are off.
ALLIES: Fidget, Felicia, a group of thugs
QUOTE: "Oh, this is wicked. So delightfully wicked!"
FILM: "The Lion King" (1994)
VOICE ACTOR: Jeremy Irons
ANIMATOR: Andreas Deja
GAME ARTIST: N/A
Never mind "that little hairball", Simba; it is Scar who just can't wait to be king. When all is said and done, he has thrown in his lot with the scavenging hyenas, murdered his brother, exiled Simba for dead, and driven the Pride Lands into ruin under his cruel reign. But when Simba returns from the "dead", Scar has some 'splainin' to do.
ALLIES: The hyenas
QUOTE: "Long live the king."
FILM: "The Emperor's New Groove" (2000)
VOICE ACTOR: Eartha Kitt
ANIMATOR: Dale Baer
GAME ARTIST: Lucas Torquato
Sacked from her cushy position as Emperor Kuzco's adviser, Yzma vows revenge by poisoning him and usurping his rule. Alas, the plan backfires due to a potion mix-up that turns the spoiled Emperor into a llama, who (thanks to her muscle-headed henchman) escapes. Now, in order to remain Empress, Yzma must take matters into her own bony hands.
ALLIES: Kronk, imperial guards
QUOTE: "Our moment of triumph approaches!"
That concludes the first set of expansion pack villains. Stay tuned, as there's more to come!
In
honor of that, I would like to share with you the first in a series of posts
honoring the Disney Villains as seen in that great strategy game, Disney Villainous!
The descriptions are reused from an earlier article I did on the Seven Deadly Sins (which in turn was derivative of an older article at LaughingPlace.com). I will also be taking some description based on the games themselves (or
at least the Wiki site for it).
To
start things off, here is the batch of villains from the initial starter pack,
known as "The Worst Takes It All".
---
FILM: "Peter Pan" (1953)
VOICE ACTOR: Hans Conried
ANIMATOR: Frank Thomas
GAME ARTIST: Lucas Torquato
Humiliated by that blasted Peter Pan time and again, Hook writes with unbridled fury at the mere mention of his name. And can anyone blame him? After all, it was Pan who had lopped off one of Hook's hands and fed it to that accursed crocodile, who so enjoyed that little appetizer that he's been on the prowl for a second helping. Hook wants nothing more than to settle the score with that pixie-dusted little punk (preferably on his home turf of the Jolly Roger) once and for all.
ALLIES: Mr. Smee and the rest of his pirate crew
QUOTE: "Double the powder and shorten the fuse!"
FILM: "Aladdin" (1992)
VOICE ACTOR: Jonathan Freeman
ANIMATOR: Andreas Deja
GAME ARTIST: Fabio Perez
Being the Grand Vizier isn't good enough for Jafar anymore; now he wants to rule Agrabah himself. He knows that the only thing needed to achieve such a lofty goal is a magic lamp, wherein is contained a genie who can do Jafar's bidding. The tricky part is finding this lamp. Enlisting the aid of a raggedy street rat to do his dirty work, how was Jafar to know that this same street rat would be his undoing? Or maybe it's his own lust for power?
ALLIES: Iago, Gazeem and the palace guards
QUOTE: "Finally, you will bow to me!"
FILM: "Sleeping Beauty" (1959)
VOICE ACTOR: Eleanor Audley
ANIMATOR: Marc Davis
GAME ARTIST: N/A
Just think: if she had only been invited to the ceremony, this would never have happened. But the devilishly delightful Maleficent is not about to let them get away with this royal snub without due recourse, in the form of a cursed spinning wheel. And if all else fails, she can always turn into an ominous fire-breathing dragon.
ALLIES: Diablo (her raven) and a mess of hideous goons
QUOTE: "Now go with a curse and serve me well!"
FILM: "Robin Hood" (1973)
VOICE ACTOR: Peter Ustinov
ANIMATOR: Ollie Johnston
GAME ARTIST: Jesse Suursoo
When the king's away, the prince will play - and the poor people of Nottingham will be forced to pay. "P.J." wallows in gold-encrusted wealth and power while his minions tax the poor out of house and home. Now their only hope is that meddlesome Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest
ALLIES: Sir Hiss, the Sheriff of Nottingham, Trigger, Nutsy, rhino guards and wolf archers
QUOTE: "This crown gives me a feeling of power!"
FILM: "Alice In Wonderland" (1951)
VOICE ACTOR: Verna Felton
ANIMATOR: Frank Thomas
GAME ARTIST: N/A
This loudmouthed tyrant is practically bursting with rage, and heaven help the poor soul that crosses her. It's ironic that she would be called the Queen of Hearts, as she doesn't seem to actually have a heart. Witness the crazed revelry in her eyes as she whacks at the poor hedgehog during that ridiculous game of croquet or has some unfortunate beheaded for the minuscule offense.
ALLIES: The King of Hearts and an army of card guards
QUOTE: "If I lose my temper, you lose your head."
FILM: "The Little Mermaid" (1989)
VOICE ACTOR: Pat Carroll
ANIMATOR: Ruben Aquino
GAME ARTIST: N/A
They weren't kidding when they called her, well, a witch. Ursula has it bad when it comes to revenge against King Triton, and she'll go to any depth (ocean or otherwise) to get it. She finds her chance in the form of the merking's headstrong, land-loving daughter, Ariel. With just a little bit of magic, and a binding contract, the little mermaid's dreams will come true - and so will Ursula's.
ALLIES: Flotsam and Jetsam
QUOTE: "The sea and all its spoils bow to my power!"
That concludes the initial set of villains from the game Disney Villainous for Halloween. But there have been many expansion packs made to the game after that, and they will be given their own posts at a later time. You also may have noticed that I tried to include the artists who drew the villains in the game, as taken from the Wiki site on this game. Unfortunately, not all of them are available, but if I find them, I will update the posts.
For the first two expansion packs, "Wicked To The Core" and "Evil Comes Prepared", go here.
