Big Hero 6

We saw Big Hero 6 this weekend. It was really good.

Sadly, the most interesting and most fleshed out character dies early in the film (or does he?). The villain has the coolest costume.

It has a couple of plot twists that should shock most kids under 10 and be mind numbing my obvious to anyone over 12 who has seen a film in the last 30 years. In this case, it doesn't really take away from enjoying the film. It's not about the destination. It's about the journey. I would have liked to have had Godzilla appear but there will likely be a sequel so there is hope.

There is lots of cool science in it. Tons of near future tech too. One review I read said the reviewer's daughter said she wanted to go to college to study science after watching it.

The main lead is mopey and angst ridden for much of the film. He's likeable but very much like a younger brother. The rest of the team while not completely flat are 2 dimensional overall.

The Stan Lee cameo is funny. There is one post credit scene. It doesn't really set anything up but it's funny. Think the shawarma scene after the credits in The Avengers.

Overall, I'm looking forward to the DVD when I can watch it again.

3.5/4 Stars

As I stumbled through life the other day.....

Somehow, the other day, I ended up on Disney's back lot.

I have never been a Disney Geek, but I immediately recognized the Roy E. Disney building.  Why wouldn't I?   I've seen it in enough pictures and shows over the years.  It is easy to enough to recognize.  LOL.  Who wouldn't?

While everyone else in the car seemed indifferent, I found it to be rather exciting.  I noticed that the people working at the building seemed to have grown quite custom to it's presence.  In fact, when I looked around the driveway, everyone was merely arriving or heading to a meeting.

I took a quick snapshot and headed in a different building, in a different direction - to my own meeting.

Junk for the Office: Runaway Mickey

and Julius Kubrick from Disney - a 2-pack action figure set.
Reaction: The only problem I have this is that someone is likely to take it. While you get a lot of comments and questions on where you got it, everyone would realize that they don't want to go to all of the trouble of ordering it.

And one night, they would simply disappear.

Are you willing to take the chance on losing $18.99 just to have these two characters on your desk?

'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' Trailer HD

I was asked if this movie was based upon a comic book or graphic novel.

Has anyone seen Fantasia? With Mickey. The cartoon. Remember? (Robert: Not to mention the semi epic story by Goethe that the Fantasia bit was based on. Just sayin'.)



They even have the mop scene:

Toy Story 3

Every Christmas, my wife recounts the story of the Christmas Eve we arrived in Nogales without presents. We fruitlessly hit every Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and Toys-R-Us in Southern Arizona looking for a Buzz Lightyear to replace the one hidden at the top of our closet back home in Amarillo. Three viewings of Toy Story on the 'portable' TV/VCR during the 12 hour drive had reinforced the importance, significance, and magnitude of the gift.

We saw Toy Story with the twins when they were toddlers. Toy Story 2 came along with Kindergarten. And now that they are poised to start their junior year, Toy Story 3 has arrived. Of course we had to take them. Neither was keen to see the movie--having long ago passed the days of Disney rapture. (They now play Pokemon as a sort of a retro nod to their 'lost childhood'--read this voice of experience reflect on the bygone days of his youth.) But The Wife and I insisted. A mistake.

The movie, as with almost all of Pixar's work, is beautiful, thoughtful, moving. It is art. It continues to move Disney animation forward. It sets a bar that other studios (perhaps excluding only Miyazki) can only watch.

But--if you are a father facing an empty nest, if you took your children as toddlers to the previous two films, if you sifted through stacks of toys looking for the last Woody doll--DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE. Don't do it to yourself.

You do not want to have to explain your teary eyes to two embarrassed teenagers. You do not want your wife looking at you with that kind of pity.

Take them all to Prince of Persia. The film sucks, it goes on and on, and you will never want to play another a video game. But you will not have to run to the bathroom to wipe your eyes and regain your composure.

And yes Zimm--apparently Disney does own me.

Bayard

What the.....Giant Guitar Mickey

I really didn't realize that this was a "GIANT" Guitar Mickey until I saw the sticker price, and then I looked at the size of it. OMG! $3499.99. Yes, I have been enjoying the Medicom Toy line of Disney characters, but I may have to win the lotto to get this one.

And then I would need a special room dedicated to stuff I don't mind being this big.....Oh, I forgot to tell you. He is 40" tall! Egads!

Still kindof cool though.

Sideshow Toy: Scrooge McDuck Bust

Licensed By Disney
Manufactured by Enesco, LLC
Type Polystone Bust
Size 8"H
Ship Date 1st Quarter 2010
Retail Cost $64.99
Find it Here Sideshow Toy

Zimm's Two Cents
What a BEAUTIFUL piece. I'm not a Disney collector, but some of the pieces that they are coming out with are just too fricken sweet.

Points In Favor

• The Colors - Bright, sharp and clean.
• The amount of detail in this piece are not usually seen in busts in this price range. The glasses, the coins, the facial expression.
• It's Scrooge - my favorite Christmas character. Don't ask.
• Awesome Base. I wouldn't expect this much of a base on a bust.

Points Against

• Not quite certain about the texture of the jacket or the safe.

Recommendation: Buy. This would be a nice holiday piece to pull out every Christmas. Take a look at the other pics at Sideshow Collectibles.

Robert's Two Cents
Wow! I haven't seen this one before. They nailed Scrooge. Disney does great stuff with great licensees (licensors?).

Points In Favor

• The details.
  
• I love the safe base. And all of those coins dumping out.
  
• That facial expression is all Scrooge. You couldn't ask for a better Scrooge face.
  

Points Against

• Too bad it's not a statue.
• I gotta figure out where to put it.
  

Recommendation: Buy. I love it. Of course Scrooge McDuck is my favorite Disney character. I loved Duck Tales back in the day. I'm not much of a Disney collector either. I have a few pieces. This would be a super piece to own.

Marvel Entertainment To Be Acquired By Disney for $4B

The official press release can be read here.

I’ve been expecting something like this to happen for years, and yet I’m still shocked.

It’s still not 100% a done deal. It still has to pass through the FTC for anti trust issues and it still needs to go through the stockholders of both companies.

It makes a lot of sense, but at the same time, I thought they should have done it around 1999. And instead of Disney I actually expected it to be Universal, since they were making several of the Marvel movies and had a Marvel section in one of their theme parks. Plus it makes sense

Robert’s Two Cents:

• How will this affect Boom Studios Disney Comics licenses in the future? (And it won’t at least until the current licenses expire)
• Will the Incredibles crossover with the Fantastic Four?
• Will there be a Marvel park added to Disney World? I really like the Universal Studios Islands of Adventure Marvel section and would like to see more of something like that.
• Can we get Beauty and the Beast remade with Beast from the X-Men? (thanks @edkaye on Twitter)
• Can Howard the Duck take his pants off now?
• Can we get a Fableslike comic starring Disney characters?
• Will Marvel finish publishing Abadazad?
• Will Marvel publish other Crossgen properties?
• If Phil Noto does more covers for Marvel, he'll be working for Disney again.
• Will Dazzler be played by Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) if a film gets made?
  

Zimm’s Two Cents:

• Does this mean we get more Bowen Disney statues?
• Will there be a Spider-Man or Hulk action figure in the next Toy Story movie?
• Will they film a battle happening at Disneyland in a future Marvel movie?
  

I’m sure I’ll be updating this post later with more questions. What are your thoughts? Post them in the comments section and I’ll be updating this post throughout the day.

Just wow!

Update 11:17: See Johana Draper Carlson's notes on the webcast here. They're much better than my own notes.

Mummy Mickey

Just in case you are considering developing a "Halloween Set", I thought I would throw this one out there as well:

He has been out for a while, but still worth the adding to a nice "Spooky Collection". Something that even I would consider.

Medicom Toy: Franken Mickey

Another great piece from Medicom Toy. They are really providing us with some great pieces . You can tell that Disney has to approve every piece, as the quality definitely shows.

Licensed By Disney
Produced By Medicom Toy
Size 5.7" Tall
Type Vinyl Collectible
Edition Size Unknown
Release Date Q4 2009
Price $69.99

Zimm's Two Cents
This one might be a great Halloween Holiday piece. Therefore, I could purchase it and pull it out once a year to enjoy. Definitely a nice buy.

Robert's Two Cents
Sweet! I love pieces like this from Disney. They're not afraid to mess with their characters. These take me back to the Pez dispensers from several years ago, where there were normal Mickey's and one in four would have an angry looking Mickey.

Runaway Brain Mickey Mouse

Just doing some of my geek snooping around, and I stumbled across this Mickey Mouse. While I haven't seen the video (you can shoot me now), the statue makes me want to.

Produced By Medicom Toy
Size 12" Tall
Type Vinyl Collectible
Edition Size Unknown
Release Date July 2009
Price $159.99

Zimm's Two Cents
This is one of the reasons that I wish that I did have a little more home office space. This is a great piece and a great addition to anyone who happens to collect Disney paraphernalia. If you are one of those people, then consider this one.

It's a lot better then adding another princess or traditional piece to the collection.

Robert's Two Cents
This whole series of statues/figurines are great. Disney puts out some awesome pieces. They're even really good at putting out merchandising that doesn't take their brand too serious.

Not that there's anything wrong with the traditional pieces, but I acknowledge the fact I'm a little bent. So I love it.

Disney: Pinocchio A Terrifying Tail Figurine

Disney is really starting to impress me with their figurines - to the point that I want to show an upcoming release for June 2009. If I was a true Disney fanatic, I would definitely be collecting a few of these.

Produced By Disney
Sculpted By Ruben Procopio
Dimensions 10" Tall
Type Porcelain Statue
Edition Size 1500
Ship Date June 2009
Estimated Price $125.00
Sale Price $105.99

Zimm's Recommendation: Buy - if you collect Disney stuff. Buy one of this entire series. I will post more as they are released.

Disney is Releasing some Mini Busts

Disney has started to release a series of collectible polystone mini-busts with such characters as:

• Captain Hook
• Peter Pan
• Snow White
• King Triton
• Ursla
• Witch

And while I an not necessarily a Disney collector, these mini-busts do deserve some form of recognition. Even the bases on the busts were carefully considered and designed for each character.

Take a look, and tell me if this is something that you would like to hear more of in the future. So, for any Disney fanatics in your life, this might be a collection to consider. Only warning is that I don't know how large of a limited edition Disney will maintain.

Robert: I've seen a few of these at Disney World. They are really nice.

Even though Zimm's warning about how limited the editions may be is valid, Disney more than makes up with it in quality. One of my favorite collectibles I own (and the only Disney display piece) is a Mickey Mouse as Paul Revere sculpted by Jim Shores. I was at Epcot on the day of release and got Jim to sign it.

Disney collectibles are usually a safe bet if you buy from Disney directly as long as you like the piece. If not, don't buy them as a collectible piece.

Bowen Designs' Goliath from Gargoyles Statue

Goliath from Gargoyles

Manufacturer: Bowen Designs
Sculpted by: Randy Bowen
Category: Statue
Dimensions: 23.5" Tall
Edition Size: TBA
Release Date: TBA
Retail Price: $275.00

Gargoyles was one of the greatest cartoons ever. It was one of those cartoons that came out when I was pretty much done with cartoons. You might say it kept me in the cartoon game when I was about to give up on them.

This is one that they had up on the site and pulled, presumably because the deal had fallen through. However, I'm delighted to say here it is.

Interestingly enough Gargoyles featured many Star Trek: Next Generation alumni as either stars or guest stars. Brent Spiner is now my Facebook friend. Sorry, just geeking out.

Robert's Two Cents:

Points in Favor:

• It's Goliath.
• It's the Gargoyles.
• It's Goliath from Gargoyles.
  
• The base is awesome. Nice detail. These are almost becoming a Randy Bowen Signature.
• The amount of detail is phenomenal.
• Check out those wings.
• While it's not in the style of the cartoon, Randy has captured the essence of the character and taken an animated design and made it acceptably realistic.
  
• Another of the better paint jobs that Bowen has done in recent years.
  

Points Against:

• Price, but it's huge. It's one of the largest and most detailed statues Bowen's ever released.
• I need a bigger house and more shelves and more money.

Recommendation: Hot Buy. This statue rocks! It's pricey, but it's one of the biggest and best statues that Bowen's released. I don't think anyone but Randy Bowen could have sculpted Goliath in a realistic style and kept the essence of this particular animated character intact. Plus, it's based on one of the best animated properties ever.

Zimm's Two Cents:
We were just talking about something like this yesterday, how we wished that Bowen would expand into some other genres or characters - and what a choice: Disney. Bowen, being Bowen, he did not start with a simple typical character; instead, he started with Gargoyle - and a magnificent Gargoyle to boot!
Points in Favor:

• Hopefully, it is the first in a series, which makes it even more of a collector item.
• The base provides a lot of detail and character to the statue.
• The wings are are beautiful.
• Randy's attention to detail around the hands, clothes, wings, and base.
• It was sculpted by Randy Bowen
  

Points Against

• Not an exact rendition of the cartoon Gargoyle - but instead, a more 'lifelike' version.
• The price is steep.

Recommendation: I concur. HOT BUY. This one will look good as part of anyone's collection. If you are beginner, what a way to start.