No Service

Hello  &  welcome back to A Look at Disney.   As I mentioned earlier this year,  Disney is in the process of releasing new Mickey Mouse shorts, this year.  And I intend to review all of them as they debut on Disney.com.   No Service is the second of these Mickey shorts and actually,  I'd say just calling it a Mickey short is not far.  As in this short, Mickey and Donald are both in being lead characters. Here is a link to the video on Disney's website. With that out of the way, let's begin.  Now I should clarify that these shorts are made by Disney's television department but they are still very good and it almost feels as though they are attempting to hearken back to Mickey's heyday.

The Plot

The plot is admittedly rather simple but he way it is executed is so funny and over the top.   We open the short on Mickey and Donald walking on  a  boardwalk as they are about to meet up with the girls.  They come across this little place called the Snack Shack run by Goofy and decide to pick up some to surprise the girls with a picnic and this is where the title of the short comes into play.

What do I mean?  Well, this is where the title of the short comes into play as you see Goofy, refuses to serve them because of the No Shirt, No Shoes, No Pants rule.  

The boys don't take this lying down.  They at first get into a little scrape over who should go in and get the food and we see one of those classic cartoon fights, where everything is clouded to hide the fighting but you see the punches.  That was funny.   With their clothes landing on each other.   And then   they decide to draw straws or pluck feathers from Donald to see who'll go in and get the food,   and of course, Donald uses this to his advantage and cheats as he puts out a rather large feather and goes in to get the food.  Thus leaving Mickey naked.    And later on Mickey hears the girls coming and we see his various attempts to hide.        Which is rather humorous and it was a little odd to see a fully naked Mickey as that is a different direction to take the character then he has been used in recent years.   And the short comes to it's climax, when Donald tries to pay with a credit card and pulls out Mickey's Driver License. Oops!    And then we see Goofy kick Donald out and all of the clothes that Donald was wearing fall of him and Mickey does this really cool jump in the air that succeeds him in getting dressed and grabbing the food.  And he ends up taking the girls on the picnic while Daisy is left mortified by the sight of her boyfriend in his birthday suit.   All in all,  this was a rather funny short and I enjoyed it but I will say that I thought the short before this, Croissant De Triomphhe was funnier and had more action.  That short didn't leave you time to breathe with how exciting, it was.  That's not to say, this one was bad but the first one was in my opinion, the stronger of the two.  This short seemed to rely on a lot of sight gags.  And that seems to be something, I've  noticed in both of the shorts but they do make sense in the context of the story or they just clever.  Such as one where Mickey's ear detached  from his head and rolled down this post almost like a roller coaster while trying to stay out of Minnie and Daisy's sight.    Once again, all in all I enjoyed my time with this short and look forward to the next Mickey short.

Characters

Now  I don't feel the need to break this down any further then I already have. With that out of the way, let's begin.  Now,  I won't be going over Minnie and Daisy as they are barely in this short.

Mickey Mouse voiced by Chris Diamantopoulos 

I really enjoyed Mickey in this short as we got to see his playful,  and mischievous side and not to mention, his temper.   Which is pictured above because you see while in the Snack Shack, Donald was cracking jokes about Mickey being naked such as "those are some hot buns".  Well,  Mickey got a little more then agitated at the jabs from his fine feathered friend.  And settled on payback by dressing up like that and going around quacking.  It was humorous to be sure.  Something,  I find odd and  can't seem to find any information online as to why is that Mickey's regular voice actor, Bret Iwan is not providing the voice for Mickey in these shorts.  He's not retired from the role as he still voices Mickey elsewhere such as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Part of me imagines with the voice work, he has to do,  Disney wants him to focus on other more important projects that involve Mickey. So instead, we have our fifth Mickey VA,  Chris Diamantopoulos.   And in that regard, I was little taken aback, mostly because  A.  I'm still not all that familiar with Iwan's Mickey work outside of Epic Mickey 2 and I really thought it was Bret Iwan.  Now as for our new Mickey voice actor,  I like him.  He seems comfortable in the role and his Mickey voice isn't bad.  It's not the best as it does seem to borrow for Walt's version of the voice a little bit but that's not a bad thing. Maybe I just have high standards, when we've had great VA's like Walt Disney and Wayne Allwine voicing one of the most iconic Disney characters.   I'd say I'm not trying to compare Chris Diamantopoulos  to Mr. Disney or Mr. Allwine but it's hard not to, when you are dealing with a character of Mickey's status.  Still,  our new voice actor was great in the role.  Still, it's a little peculiar that Bret Iwan didn't voice Mickey, yet every regular voice actor was in this short voicing their characters.  Hmm, who knows?

Donald Duck voiced by  Tony Anselmo

Donald was well, Donald.   There's really not much to say about Donald here.  He was the playful jokester that loves messing with his friends.  The interesting thing is, we didn't see Donald's temper in this short.  No, he really didn't get angry.  Oh sure, he retaliated when Mickey made fun of him but to be fair, he started that.     So, this short proves that there is more to Donald then just his trademark temper.

Goofy voiced by Bill Farmer

Goofy was the only one that felt slightly out of character in this short.  Goofy, who is usually well meaning but a goof, came across as a bit of a jerk.  Albeit,  I understand where he was coming from as he was running a restaurant and wanted the patrons to follow the rules. Of course that is how subverted at the end, when it's revealed that Goofy isn't wearing any pants. Uh, why?   I get what you were going for here with that joke but Goofy has always been fully clothed.   And in my opinion, he was the wrong character to use for this role.   This role should've either been filled by Pete (wearing pants) or Mortimer Mouse (again, wearing pants).   Actually,  the more I think about it, this role would've been prefect for Pete.  I can totally picture him saying all the things about No Service and hear it delivered wonderfully in Jim Cumming's   loud and gruff Pete voice.   Talk about a missed opportunity, guys.  This should've been Pete because he would've not only been more believable in this role but you could do so much more, comedy wise.  Sure, it's only three and a half minutes and the stuff with Mickey and Donald was funny but Pete is the perfect foil for Mickey and there is a reason, why he was always cast in the management positions.  Because it adds another layer of humor to the situation.



My Final Thoughts

This short wasn't that bad. Other then the missed opportunity with not having Pete in this short, I really enjoyed it.  It  was very funny and highly entertaining.  The new voice actor for Mickey is decent and it's nice to see the gang go back to their old short film roots.    This short while not as good as the previous entry, I reviewed as highly entertaining.  I say give it a watch.

Music Fridays # 97: Bottom of The Barrel

Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney.   Let's get this over with.    This is your guys' choice as I gave you an option weeks back to choose the next theme for Music Fridays, which was pushed back,  And what did you choose,  Bottom of The Barrel.  In other words,   Disney songs I can't stand and would rather be forced to watch The Incredibles on continuous loop then listen to these songs.  Here's the way, this is going to work,  we are going  to start with songs that are on the lower side of bad to songs, just make me question their existence.   Now do keep in mind that just because I don't like these songs, does not mean someone else may.  Except for the last one,  if you like that one. Leave Now!   

It's A Small World

Hey, The Shermans are not immune from writing bad songs and this is a bad song.   Let me explain, why I do not like this song.  It's repetitive nature is rather annoying.    You hear this song and it gets stuck in your head for the rest of the day,  "It'll never leave!"   Do I hate this song? Yeah,  I do and is it cliche to hate on this song? Yeah, it is but every ounce of hate gets is deserved because this is NOT a good song.  I get the message of that we have more common then we think but the thing that kills this song is again, the repetitive nature and the sound is just ugh.  This is a case where I appreciate the ride but cannot stand the song.

Lester's Possum Park

  

I did mention in my favorite films video that this one would be appearing on the list.   Even as a kid, when I saw this in A Goofy Movie, I didn't like it.   My reaction to this number was "What was that?"   Come to find out, years later that it was a parody of The Country Bear Jamboree. Well, it's not a very good one.  I get the attempt at parody and I applaud Disney for being able to make fun of themselves but it doesn't work, when the number is  STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, this film had a great soundtrack save for this disaster.    Let me put this way,  a good parody could've been done here but this sure as heck wasn't 

Tip and Dash





 Okay, first off, who came up with these two losers? And secondly, why did they get their own song?   Well, at least I get to listen to Tara  Strong sing.  Y'know to make this better, I'll imagine some of  her other characters.

That's a little better   Anyways back to this song, I get what they were going for but NO, these cells of animation are not worthy of a song.    These two things are just annoying and this sounds less like a song for a film and more like something you'd hear on a badly produced kid's show.   Because as many kid's shows such as Spongebob, Phineas & Ferb,   and MLP have proven,  TV shows can have good original songs. And this wouldn't be a memorable TV song.

We Belong Together 

You all know my feelings on TS3 by now,  I don't like it.  I think it's overrated and nothing will change that and no, I will never review it.  Anyways,  making another appearance on Music Fridays is easily the worst Toy Story song.   We Belong Together, what is it that I don't like about this song.  The sound is dis genuine and artificial.  All this song is You've Got A Friend In Me Pt. 2.  There is no need for this song to exist.   We already had a much better song from this franchise dealing with friendship being the superior You've Got A Friend In Me.   Seriously, all that Randy Newman was doing here was recreating You've Got A Friend In Me and that is why it sounds so fake.    There is no real emotion in this song.  Anyways, let's move on as I think my flame wall is starting to combust.

I Want It All

Okay okay, I know I'm going to get for some flack for this.  I like the High School Musical trilogy. They are kinda my guilty pleasure but I wouldn't even say that as I genuinely enjoy them. Having said that,  even I can realize that Sharpay Evans is a vapid and shallow character that never learns her lesson and just repeats her action in all three movies and why all of characters, did she get her own film?   Sorry about that tangent,  this song was the one of the early numbers in HSM 3 and well,   I get they were going for with Sharpay talking about her dreams and what she wants. But  how is a fan who hates this character supposed to enjoy this number, when in every other movie, we wanted her to fail.  I get the diva attitude, it fits for the character but all this song does is highlight how vapid and shallow, Sharpay truly is.  Why should we care, what she wants?    When  as I said in the first two installments, we were rooting against her.    If you wanted to redeem her into a likable character, (which did NOT happen in her film),   you shouldn't have waited until the third and final movie. You could've maybe dropped hints of her wanting to change her ways in the other films.   I don't know, what you could've done but this just came out of the blue.  Sure, you did it in part because we had a new antagonist that was 10 times worse then Sharpay  and I didn't think that was possible.   Anyways, we have another song from Sharpay that is actually worse.   

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a

Yeah,  I got nothin'   Look I may have put my Disney credibility on the line saying that I'm a fan of these films but even then, this is incredibly stupid.  It  just makes no sense and there's a reason, this song was cut from the final product  because it adds nothing.  Say what you will but at least most of the songs advance the story.  This one is just a stop and look at me type number.  Well, that does fit, Sharpay.  All this song makes me want to do is listen the the much better Pineapple Princess by Annette.    And how do you even pronounce the title of this song?  Oh, sure Ryan and Sharpay knew how to say but how long do you think, they practiced.   Two songs to go.

 Yodel-Adle-Eedle-Idle-Oo

There was no avoiding this one.   I've been able to avoid this and rest of this film, since I regrettably saw it in theaters.  To this film, I say this:  "This is your villain song!   Are you sure, you don't want to try again?"  I mean comedic villain songs are nothing new but this?  Really?   I'm  just perplexed by it. It... it...it.. just doesn't make sense.  Well,  I mean I get the Pied Piper idea but really?   That's what you wanted to go with. Really?   I'm less mad at this song and just more confused by it's existence.  But it's still pretty bad.    

Supercali

I'm done, I give up.  I'm done, I'm done!!!   Does someone have a hammer I can borrow?  Because that is the only way to survive this.   WHY does this exist?   Whose idea was it to turn one of the most beloved Mary Poppins songs into a rap song?  I really want to know, because I'd like to introduce them to the Cave of Wonders.   WHY?  Okay,  you didn't even do that.  You just used the original with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke's singing for a remix.   WHY?    Sure, when I think of remixes,  I think Mary Poppins.  Oh wait,  NO I DON"T KNOW!!!   This shouldn't be a thing. 

WHY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?   Y'know what,  I apologize to every other song on this article. This should've been the only song that I featured.   This... This... This .  is STUPID!!!!    I am done, there cannot be anything possibly worse then this.     And I'm not sure, but I think it broke me.    

Yep, that sums up my feelings.

Well, that ends this Music Fridays.  Now, if you'll excuse me,  I have to hunt down the person responsible for Supercali and let them know much of an abomination it truly is.    Peace!   Trust me, the one responsible for that song  thing is going to need some.   

Classic Shorts Showcase: Summer

Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney. It's certainly been a while since I've done a Showcase.   I just checked, the last one went up in April.  So, I might be a little rusty on reviewing shorts but I think I've still got it.    With that said,  today, we  once again delve into the "4 Seasons" shorts as I take a look the second of these shorts, Summer.  Which this brings us one step closer to having reviewed all 4 of the "4 Seasons" shorts.  With that out of the way, let's begin.



Plot


If you have read my reviews of Autumn or Springtime,  you would know that these shorts are not exactly known  for plot.   And I feel that with Summer and it's predecessor,  that is very obvious.   These shorts for the most part are glimpses into animals enjoying or in Autumn's case preparing for the coming season.   Does that make this short bad?  No,  not every short in the early days was trying to tell a story.  These "4 Seasons" shorts are just meant to be a glimpse into the season through another pair of eyes. And that is rather entertaining.   Having said that, I do feel that thus far, this is the weakest of the "4 Seasons" because as you'll see with this review's Memorable Moments,  it didn't really stick with me.   It just felt as though that after I finished watching this particular short,  I forgot it.  



Memorable Moments


Bugs Entering The Flower

This one was kinda cute,  we saw these little bugs enter the flower and then pop out again.  Not to much say on it, really but it was neat. How they  were going through the flower.


The Firefly Tiff

First off,  I'm not positive and if I'm wrong,  I do apologize.  But anyways, it was rather fun watching this creature and another  just go at it.  It seemed as though they had it in for each other and I felt like I had walked in on a long standing rivalry.  And sad to say but these really are the only moments that truly stood out to me.



My Final Thoughts


This short isn't bad,  it's just rather forgettable.  Which is a shame considering the last two entries in the "4 Seasons" that I reviewed were quite good.  And at least ,  I remembered them,  after I was done watching them.  This short doesn't make me angry like say Casey Strikes Again but after I finished watching this, my reaction was "It exists"  and that's the best I can say about this short.  It exists.   Having said that,  I say give the short a chance for yourself as you may enjoy it more then I did.  


And one more thing before I close out,  in the coming weeks, your are going to see some changes to Showcase.  It's  a small one at best but I've decided to abolish my old Mickey Rule.  For those that do not remember, that rule stated that only a Mickey short that was an adaption of an already established story would be reviewed on Classic Shorts Showcase.  I've thought about this long and hard.   And while there are plenty of other shorts left for me to review,  I just think that it's time to do away with that rule.  Thus meaning Mickey shorts or Goofy or Donald shorts will now be reviewed as a part of Showcase and the first of these Mickey Showcase reviews will happen after I come back from my trip to the Everglades.   And that'll be a review of my all time favorite Mickey short.    Join me for the first of these as I take a look at...


The Band Concert

A Look at Disney World: Top 6 Head Scratching Disney World Decisions

Hello & welcome to the finale of A Look at Disney World.  Today,  I'm going to end this a little differently then planned.  You see I had thought about reviewing another special but then I realized,  if I love something, I need to be able to point the things that just make me wonder "Why?"  So to close out,  this event I'll be taking a look at what I call the Top 6 Head Scratching Disney World Decisions.  By the way, expect a lot of EPCOT on this list. Poor, poor EPCOT.  With that out of the way, let's begin.


6.  The Rainbow Brite Costumes

Yeah,  I still don't get this one.   If you recall an earlier article, I did, I tore these costumes to shreds.   As stated in that article, EPCOT was originally meant to be character free and people didn't respond quite well to this.  So, the characters were eventually added. But in THESE?   Are they supposed to be a superhero team and I still want to know, why  Pluto  has that windmill thing on his head.  What does it do? Predict the weather.   I get that this was supposed to tie in with Future World but you seriously thought this is what, we'd be wearing in the future.  Well,  I'm glad that's not the case.    And thank goodness, these went away and were replaced by the much better  World Showcase costumes.   I still think Goofy is either a lost member of KISS or a Michael Jackson music video with what, he's wearing.


5.  Replacing Dreamfinder With Dr. Nigel Channing

I'm not going to spend too much time on this one as I've dedicated an entire article to this one. If you read that article, you know that I feel that Dreamfinder is a better character and fits with what the ride was about. And there is a reason, he is one of the most popular park characters. Whereas with Dr. Channing, the reaction seems to be "Oh!"  Simply put,  Dreamfinder shouldn't have been replaced but he was taken out of the ride because Eisner didn't like Dreamfinder and Figment as he didn't feel they were Disney like.  Phooey.




4. Adding Zazu and Igao to Enchanted Tiki Room

I've made my disdain for this attraction in the past quite clear. I HATE New Management.   And why is that?  Disney, repeat after me.  Not every attraction at a Disney park needs a Disney character. Simple as that.   And having now seen both this abomination and what Tiki Room was meant to be.  I can easily say that Zazu and Iago don't work for Tiki Room.   It's supposed to be a simple and fun but Zazu and Igao.  Good characters on their own and I get The Odd Couple approach that you were going for but it just didn't work and not every show needs comedic characters. Actually,  I take that back  the much better  Not Under New Management had comedic moments with the birds making friendly jabs that were  oh,  I don't know.  Funny!      With these two birds,  they were forced in.  Moving on.



3.    The EPCOT Wand

This one admittedly didn't start off so bad as it was meant to be a temporary thing and started off originally for the millennial celebration back in 2000.

That's fine but it seemed to overstay it's welcome and it really didn't fit in with the theme of the park.  Because here we have Sorcerer Mickey holding a wand over Spaceship Earth.   That's more magic while EPCOT is about  about science and world cultures.  So, it doesn't really work and let's not forget that there was not a wand in The Sorcerer's Apprentice.   So, that's not accurate to that segment either.   It just all in all  felt out of place for this park.   And in  a way, this ties into my # 2.



2.  The Sorcerer's Hat at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Oh, how I loathe this.   Yeah, not even my favorite park is immune from this list.  Disney's Hollywood Studios is the only park to have it's icon piece changed.  It's original icon piece was The Earful Tower

I love The Earful Tower and it was different from other icon pieces as it was not in the center of the park but in the back.   I liked it because seeing a water tower gave me that movie studio feeling.   The hat was brought in around the same time as the EPCOT wand.  And I recall that there was a joke amongst the Disney fan community that  Sorcerer Mickey was running around the park stripping and we'd find his robe in the Magic Kingdom.  Anyways back on topic,  I'm not a fan of this thing because  it just feels out of place.  I won't say that it doesn't fit in studios but it's a stretch.  The best I could come up with  is  that it's supposed to represent the magic of cinema.  That was never confirmed. And don't even get me started on how this thing blocks The Great Movie Ride. Grr.    I just want this hat to go away.




1.  The Birthday Cake Castle For Walt Disney World's 25th Anniversary

This one may have been temporary just for the 25th anniversary of Walt Disney World by seriously.  Why would you do that to Cinderella Castle.  Cinderella Castle in it's regular form is gorgeous but this.....


WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!??!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?


It's ugly, it's atrocious,  it's a disgrace to Cinderella Castle to hide it behind all of this.   What did you guys play a game of Candyland, and then say to yourself  "A birthday cake would look cool for the 25th Anniversary".   No, it doesn't.  This is what you wanted to do to your most beloved icon piece for yoru 25th anniversary but in '96.   Huh?  It's an eyesore.   It's an insult.   Cinderella Castle, I'm so sorry, they did this to you.    You deserve better then this and thankfully, you were returned to normal in later years because this thing is just UGLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nice to use that again as it sums up my feelings on all of these.  Even after doing this list, I still love Walt Disney World as it always makes me happy, when I go there.  But it has had it's share of hiccups along the way as any great thing has,    This was a fun event and I hope that you guys enjoyed my look at Walt Disney World.   This is easily one of my favorite events that I've ever done.  And I figure this would be a fun way to close out, then pointing out the flaws of something I love.  Peace!

Can We Talk about A Same Sex Couple Appearing on Good Luck Charlie

Hello and welcome back to A Look at Disney.   Today's Can We Talk about is a bit different.   Some set up,  you see I've always maintained the rule "Give every Disney show a chance".  Some, I continue, others I want to fry my brain after watching them. I'm looking at you Crash and Bernstein.  But one show, I've watched from the first episode all the way up to this season is Good Luck Charlie.  This Disney Channel show stands out because like so many of their other shows, it's not about hiding a secret identity or trying to be famous.  It's a show that is about a family that is trying to live their everyday lives.  They just happen to get in awkward situations.   It is admittedly one of my favorite shows to watch.  I've gotten a lot laughs out of this show.   The show is now it's 4th and final season.  And I'm here to talk about the B plot of an upcoming episode of this season.  The Yahoo News article, where I found this does a pretty good job of explaining this.  By the way, here's a link to said article.

Duncan parents Amy and Bob will meet the women when their young daughter Charlie hosts a playdate for a new classmate, in the B-storyline of an early 2014 episode that centers on Teddy’s bestie Ivy heading off to college.

Personally,  I don't see anything wrong with this.   I think it's a good idea.   And neither of the big kids channels that show live action sitcoms have done this.  Nick nor Disney Channel have done this before.  When I read this,   I thought to myself "Why not?"   Because this seems like a good idea.  However,  I made a key mistake in reading this article.  Never read the comments on a Yahoo article as they are filled with hatred, and blindness.   Because we had some people saying that this is pushing an agenda.  Maybe?  But I don't see it that way.   Or my personal favorite some parents claiming they don't want their kids to be brainwashed and so they won't let them watch this episode.  Really, people?!?!?!?!     I would've thought that we would have moved past in 2013! Honestly, I thought we would have moved past that in 2002.  But no, I'm wrong.    How is this brainwashing? Gasp,  a child may see that a family unit isn't always made up of a mommy and daddy.  It sometimes may be a mommy and a mommy or a daddy and a daddy.  Maybe it's because of when I grew up but to me,  if two people love each other, who are we to judge them.  And why not show this on a kid's show.  Some people need to face it,  these families are a part of our society.   These close minded people can choose to shun them but that won't make them go away.  Oh,  there is another comment that I just love and I actually have to quote this one.

Just one more example of how mainstream TV is not actually family friendly any more.

Really,  family values change over time.  Again,  families  aren't always what was shown on TV back in the day.  There is one more comment, that I have to bring up because it incensed me as a Disney fan.

And Walt is turning over in his grave.

Thanks, Charlie.








Uh, you seriously brought Walt into this.   No, no, no, no, no, no, no,no,no,no,NO!!!!!!!   This in no way shape or form involves Mr. Disney and this as *gasp* shocking as it may be did NOT need to  be said.   Look, I love and respect Walt but even I know I cannot speak for Mr. Disney.  Why? He's dead and  I didn't know him personally".  People really need to move away from the "What would Walt do?" mindset.  He doesn't run the company anymore and this show came out after he died.  He had  zip zero notta, no involvement in this.   So, why Mr. Disney's name into this? I'd also like to point out to these so well informed people that this is not the first kid's show to feature a child with two moms.



In 2005, an episode of the Arthur spin off, Postcards From Buster came under fire for featuring a child raised by two mothers. Here's a summation of the controversy from the show's Wiki page.

In January 2005 Margaret Spellings, United States Secretary of Education, criticized the show for exploring same-sex marriage. Episode #33, "Sugartime!", which features Buster visitingHinesburg, Vermont to learn about the production of maple sugar, includes Buster meeting several children who have lesbian parents. Vermont was one of the first states to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples. In the episode, the word lesbian or homosexual is never said, and the episode — like all Postcards episodes — has no sexual content. Buster meets the children and comments, "Boy, that's a lot of moms!"; one girl mentions her "mom and stepmom," adding that she loves her stepmother very much, and no other comments are made about the couple. PBS vice president of media relations Lea Sloan said at the time, "The fact that there is a family structure that is objectionable to the Department of Education is not at all the focus of the show, nor is it addressed in the show."[1] Spellings demanded that PBS return all federal funding that had been used in the production of the episode, claiming that "many parents would not want their young children exposed to the lifestyles portrayed in this episode."[2] PBS decided not to distribute this episode, but some member stations across the country chose to air the episode, including WNET in New York, KCET in Los Angeles, and KERA in Dallas/Ft. Worth, which are flagship stations; and the show's co-producer, WGBH in Boston (which distributed the episode directly to public television stations after PBS's decision). Some of these stations opted to air this episode in prime-time, with some following the episode with a local discussion on the controversy. Shortly after the controversy, PBS's CEO announced she would step down when her contract expired in 2006.[citation needed] Cusi Cram, a writer for Arthur, later wrote a play titled Dusty and the Big Bad World, based on this controversy

Look at that, there was no sexual contact. Duh, it's a kid show and they never even said lesbian. The closest they came was Buster's line...

"Boy, that's a lot of moms!"

Just an observation but as you saw PBS gave in and pulled the show's funding.   Way to stick up for your show guys! Ha.   And I can already tell you that we are going to have some people who are going to protest this episode because they want to "protect the children" from seeing something so wrong.   Excuse me, from something that they don't agree with.  And I am hoping that personally that Disney Channel stands by this episode and does not pull it. Yes, Disney is family entertainment but as I've pointed out,  family doesn't always a mother and father these days.  Honestly,  I don't think something like should stir controversy but it will.  It already has and the episode hasn't even aired yet.  These are just my feelings on this.  I would've thought the world would've made a little more progression regarding stuff like this and this shouldn't be a taboo subject.   That stigma does need to exist any longer and it's slowly going away. Now if we could just get rid of these closed minded nay sayers.  What are your thoughts? Tell me in the comments. Peace!  

A Look at Disney World Music Fridays # 96: Hollywood Studios Main Entrance Loop

Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney World.  Strap in folks,  this is going to be a Special Extended Music Fridays.  What do I mean by that? Usually,  on Fridays I only cover 4 songs. Oh no, not today.   Seeing this is the last Disney World Music Fridays.   Today, you'll be getting 7 pieces of music.  Why three more then usual?  Heh, why not?    We are coming close to the end of A Look at Disney World with only article left to go.  Anyways, today I'm taking us back to my favorite WDW park, Disney's Hollywood Studios and taking a look at the music that is found in the Hollywood Studios Entrance loop.   As with any entrance, it should transport  you and music plays a key role in that. And here, the feeling is to be transported back to classic Hollywood.   Which I think works well with the pieces of music that'll be featured in this Music Fridays. Oddly though, there's only one piece of Disney music and it's not even from a canon film.  Hmm.   And I'll admit, this probably makes me look bad but a lot of these films, I haven't seen.  Sorry.   With that out of the way, let's begin.

1. Rocky Theme (Gonna Fly Now) - Bill Conti  (From Rocky)

Okay, who hasn't heard this theme?  I mean, if you've never seen Rocky, which I have but it was so long ago.  You've heard this piece of music as every show seems to love this and the Benny Hill theme.   And I can see why, it would be used here.   To get you pumped up and excited about visiting the park.  Because it's just the kind of music that makes you wanna go Yeah.  Y'know, that doesn't feel right.   

There we go, that's more like it. Thanks, Snowflake.    

2. The Magnificent Seven Soundtrack Suite  - Elmer Bernstein (From The Magnificent Seven)

I think BigBlackHatMan should be happy hearing this one.   Anyways,  growing up I could never get into Westerns.  My elementary brain found them boring and would rather watch Power Rangers.   But having said that, this is a really good theme that captures that Western flair. And it is very exciting to hear.   I just pictured myself riding along with the great cowboys while listening to this one.   I have to say that this one is rather infectious.

3. Superman Theme - John Williams  (From Superman: The Movie)

To me, this is easily the best piece of cinematic music.   Everything about this piece says Superman.   I mean along with the costume,  The Daily Planet, and Clark Kent.  When I think Superman,  I think John Williams' amazing score.  And part of that is that this score has that triumphant feeling to it that we associate with Superman.

4. The Forest Battle - John Williams (From Return of The Jedi)

This score is interesting because it started off as almost dark and mysterious and I still get that.  And that works very well for this score but at the same time,   it also has moments of whimsy to it.  I know that may seem hard to explain but that really is the case here.   But when it gets intense, it gets intense.    

5.  Parade Of The Charioteers - Miklós Rózsa  (From Ben-Hur)








Now we come to another film, I haven't seen. And we were doing so good as I'd seen most of the previous films. Anyways,  this one.  It's not bad,  it's quite good.  Again, like Superman, it  gives me a feeling of triumph and victory.  Pulling out a win.


6. Dallas Theme - Jerold Imnel (From Dallas)






Now, we go from a film I've never seen to a TV show that I've never seen.  It aired before I was born.   Okay, that's not a good excuse but hey, it's the one I'm going with. As for this one.  While I like it,  there is a clear difference between themes created for TV and film.  This one is fine but so far the film scores that have made me excited.   This one really doesn't elicit much out of me.


7.  Return To Neverland - Joel McNeely  (From Return To Neverland)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qk6kXNePto



Sorry about that but the search engine wasn't bringing up the video I wanted. Anyways, I just had to get to this one for my own sake.  After all this series is called A Look at Disney.  It'd feel a little weird to not include something Disney related on here.  Admittedly, Return To Neverland is an okay film. One of the better sequels.  And this score does capture the exciting feeling of being in Neverland and seeing the many various things such as pirates, Tinkerbell or The Lost Boys.    It does what any good score does, it paints a picture.






There you have it,  my look at some of the music found in the entrance loop of my favorite Disney theme park.  I hope that you guys enjoyed this .  Join me next week for one that I was able to avoid for so long....

Bottom of The Barrel

A Look at Disney World: EPCOT Center: The Opening Celebration

Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney World. Today, I continue my look at Disney World on TV as I take a look at EPCOT Center: The Opening Celebration.    Now, this is the first time, I'd ever seen this. My thoughts, most of the stuff they showed in this special isn't there anymore. Well okay, other then that, it was really good. Today, we are headed back to 1982 for the opening celebration of EPCOT: Center.  This special in the Disney World fan community is often cited as the best opening celebration and after watching this, it's not hard to see why.  Like yesterday, this review will be broken down into Host, Highlights, Signs of The Time  and My Final Thoughts.  With that out of the way, let's begin. Okay, you may have noticed one slight change.  Well unlike yesterday, there was so much stuff in the special that A. it's hard to keep track of and B. I don't want to spoil it for you guys, if you choose to watch it. Which you can do as it's up on YouTube in it's entirety.


Host


Danny Kaye

You know, it's interesting but I remember hearing in an interview on WDW News Today, with one of the directors that Danny Kaye was a pain to work with.  Well, if that's the case, it didn't come through. Danny Kaye was very energetic and fun, the entire time on screen and never let up. Unlike yesterday's special, where Drew just introduced segments and then handed them off, Danny Kaye was there during every minute of the special.  This special did not give you time to breathe.   It was packed to the brim and  it never let up. Which, I liked because it kept me entertained all the way through.  Oh and one more thing, Danny Kaye knew the proper way to do a send off.  What do I mean? Well in the Animal Kingdom special,  Drew Carey just ended it by saying goodnight and walking off. Not here, Danny Kaye actually thanked you, the audience for joining him on his journey through EPCOT Center.  And you made feel as though you were a part of something. The send off for a special is one of the most crucial elements because when done,  it can leave you feeling excited about what you watched. Whereas just ending with goodnight, leaves you with  a feeling of that was good but asking "that's the end?"



Highlights


Danny Kaye & Drew Barrymore

The first celebrity that really stood out to me was a young Drew Barrymore and her interaction with Danny Kaye was just precious.  Oh, one thing I forgot to mention is that Danny does a lot and I mean a lot of singing in this special.   To the point, I nicknamed it EPCOT: The Musical.  But all of the songs are rather good such as the one, he sings to Drew, "Grow Up To Be A Kid".   Now,  the true highlight of their time together for me was Dreamfinder and Figment.  Forget any of the celebrities.  this is when I had my fanboy moment. Getting to see Dreamfinder.  THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   The only thing that made me go "aw man, that's a bummer" was that Figment didn't talk.  Oh well,  I got to have my EPCOT fanboy moment.


SMRT-1 Explaining to Siegel how he controls the Audio-Animatronics



Remember, how I said Danny Kaye was in every part of the special.  That's not true as there was one part, where we saw a robot from the earlier Danny Kaye and Drew Barrymore segment,  Siegel.   And he found another robot, SMRT-1 in CommuiCore (which was gone from the park by the first time, I went to EPCOT) and SMRT-1 explained to him, what he does and then it goes into a montage of the various Audio-Animantronics at EPCOT. Here's what SMRT-1 looks like. By the way, I'm so glad I know his name now because when I was at EPCOT, last time  I bought a box of 30th Anniversary Mystery Pins and one came with him on it. And this is one Disney character, I'd never seen before.  So, in that sense I was relieved to finally learn his name.

Alex Haley Describing The Africa Pavilion to Danny Kaye


This is another one that stood out to me but according to this special, Roots author, Alex Haley was a consultant for World Showcase and in the special, he showed Danny and the audience a model of what the Africa pavilion in World Showcase would look like. The funny thing is though, we never got that. And that's not the only one mentioned that we never got as there was also mention of an Israel pavilion as well.  Funny this is though, Africa would eventually find a home in Animal Kingdom. Keep in mind, however that this is from 1982.


Danny  Picking Up The Workers for World Showcase


Okay, this was just so funny. There was a segment, where Danny Kaye went to the airport to pick up the young men and women that'd be working at World Showcase. It actually showed him on the runway. Can't do that nowadays.   He was there to greet him but everyone thought that he was a porter handed him their bags.


Tribute To Walt


At the end,  someone was brought to talk about Walt. Sorry, can't remember the name. There were so many people in this.   But he actually part of his eulogy that he read when Walt passed.  And I cried, hearing these. Because it just made me appreciate being a Disney fan, all the more.


Signs of The Time


Perhaps, the biggest sign of the time in this special was that as I stated so many of the attractions featured in this special are no longer in EPCOT. Such as Kitchen Kabaret, which was a concert put on by produce.  It has a lot of fans from what I've heard.  I guess you had to be there.    Still, it was neat to see these attractions from years gone by and see what EPCOT looked like, when it first opened.




My Final Thoughts


I adore this special.  It is so easy to see why this special is held in such a high regard. It is just that good.  You guys, really need to track this one down and give it a watch. You will not be disappointed.   This is bar none of the best things, I've had the pleasure of viewing.

A Look at Disney World: Animal Kingdom: The First Adventure

Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney World. Today, I am taking a look at the 1998 ABC special that aired as a part of The Wonderful World of Disney.  Animal Kingdom: The First Adventure.  Now this review is going to work a wee bit differently.  A bit like my One Year Anniversary review of the Disneyland opening day special. Instead of the usual categories, this will be broken down into Intro, Host, Segments, Signs of The Time & My Final Thoughts.  Now, this is the only image that I could find for this review but this special is still very good.  You recall how I said in my cross over with richb that I had wanted the Sabrina episode to show more of Animal Kingdom. This is what I wanted.  With that out of the way, let's begin.

Intro

This special opens with Eisner as most Wonder World of Disney's did back in the day. And look, I may have a lot of severe disagreements with Eisner but doing these intros proved that he understood the importance of the company having a public face.  Eisner went on to talk about how Disney has had a long history with animals as clips of various Disney animals and the True Life adventure films are played.  And then Eisner goes on to talk about Animal Kingdom's goal is to bring people closer together with animals.  Which brings me to my next point, out of all the Disney specials, I've watched thus far, this one felt the most educational and almost PSA like. Mind you, that's not a bad thing and it's understandable considering the park, they were in.

Host

Drew Carey

I like Drew Carey, always have as Whose Line is one of my favorite shows but to be honest,  he was hit or miss. Some of his jokes were great but when they were bad, they were real bad. Thankfully, Drew never overstayed his welcome as he was mostly there to introduce the segment and give a little background on the park such as talking about what it took the Imagineers to build the Tree of Life or how they actually went to Africa to do research on what their Africa should look like. Now Drew, did get his own segment. Drew's Fun Safari Ride.  In which we saw him on Kilimanjaro Safaris  with a guide, Hetta.   Now this was great because Drew was making jokes at the animal's expense and they were actually funny.  For the most part, Drew was good but he did have his moments when he fell flat.  Thankfully, they weren't many however.

Segments

This  special actually opens with a performance of Circle of Life with the cast of The Lion King from Broadway on the Tree of Life. Our first segment took us to the fictional African village of Harambe with Jane Seymour and her family as they meet up with a guide to take them through the village and see the animals and the "locals" including the "mayor".   I don't remember that from when I went but ah well,  anyways, Jane, her husband and their three boys got a private ride on   Kilimanjaro Safaris.  Lucky,  anyways this was cute especially seeing her young children that were about may 3 to 5 as they saw the animals and their eyes were so wide. It reminded me of when I took my nephew on this ride. He loved it.     Anyways our next segment took us to Dino Land with Tia, Tamara, and Tahj Mowry.   Now remember how I said that this special felt a little educational. Well, that where this comes in as they give out the scientific facts on dinosaurs and not just that but also,  the way it was shot felt like a segment from Bill Nye The Science Guy.  It almost felt as though a different director took over.  Not to say, this wasn't entertaining but it just felt as though, it didn't fit in with the rest of the special, the way it was shot.   After this our next segment, featured comedian Paul Rodríguez  showing us It's Tough To Be A Bug and of course, they had to throw in the cliched joke of  swatting a bug on your neck. Paul, then went on to explain why bugs are important to society and then we saw him enter the theater in Tree of Life and watch the show. Yeah, that's kinda boring.  The next segment is one that got me really excited as it featured world rewound  Primatologist, Jane Goodall.  I don't know why this made me so excited as I know so very little about her but I think part of it came from her giving the park her seal of approval and having someone that actually studies animals for a living and had lived among them, added a sense of authenticity to the special.  Having her presence there in my opinion was a great touch.  Our final segment featured Will  Frielde and Danielle Fishel from Boy Meets World went to Gorilla Falls and showed us, the gorillas and then the Conservation Station.   Which looks cool for young kids and  Will also showed us Flights of Wonder.  And the special ends the same, it started with a reprise of  Circle of Life.  All in all, I highly enjoyed this special.  It was very well put together special that highlighted what the park is.

Signs of The Time

Now there weren't too many things that dated this but there were two things that did.    The first one being the special's usage of TGIF stars.  Having these stars,  it's abundantly clear, that if even you didn't know when it was shot, it came out in the '90s.   The only other big sign of the time was that the ride now known as Dinosaur was referred to as Countdown To Extinction.  Which personally, that name makes more sense for the ride as you are sent back to this time period and trying to outrun it.  The only reason, the name was changed to Dinosaur was to cross promote the film of the same name.  Honestly, there is nothing directly from the film in the ride.  Sure, they added the dinosaurs that were featured in the film but the only connection it has to the film is  Aladar standing outside the attraction.  And honestly,  how many people remember this film. 

So, it doesn't make sense to use it. Ah, well.

My Final Thoughts

I really enjoyed this special. It was very informative about the animals and the park and it showed off what the park had, going by when it first opened.  I'd say, check this one out.   Join me tomorrow as I continue our look at opening celebrations with a look at EPCOT Center: The Opening Celebration.