Free Republic

Ebenezer Scrooge begins the Christmas holiday with his usual miserly contempt, barking at his faithful clerk and his cheery nephew. But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come take him on an eye-opening journey revealing truths Old Scrooge is reluctant to face, he must open his heart to undo years of ill will before it's too late.

Robert Zemeckis’s A Christmas Carol opens today to a chorus of negative reviews and a rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes. A particularly harsh assessment comes from Joe Morgenstern in The Wall Street Journal: To put it bluntly, if Scroogely, Disney’s 3-D animated version of “A Christmas Carol” is a calamity. The pace is predominantly glacial—that alone would be enough to cook the goose of this premature holiday turkey—and the tone is joyless, despite an extended passage of bizarre laughter, several dazzling flights of digital fancy, a succession of striking images and Jim Carrey’s voicing of Scrooge plus half a dozen...

This has been coming for some time, and after recent shakeups at Disney, is really no great surprise. Now Daniel Battsek, the current president of Miramax, has announced that he’ll step down at the end of January 2010. At the same time, Disney will relocate the label from New York City to Disney’s headquarters in Burbank, CA, where they’ll reduce Miramax’s output to just three films a year. The label that launched Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith and was the biggest face of the ’90s indie explosion is basically dead. OK, the real end of the era hit...

China, finally, is ready to build a house for Mickey Mouse. Beijing has approved plans to build a Disney theme park in Shanghai, a major milestone in the more than decade-long effort by Walt Disney Co. to dramatically expand its reach into China. Disney and the Shanghai municipal government jointly submitted plans in January to build a $3.59-billion park to open as early as 2014. It would be the entertainment giant's fourth theme park outside the U.S., after Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong -- and the first in mainland China, the fastest-growing mass market in the world. The Chinese central...

Disney's Sorry It Couldn't Make Your Kid Smarter Blame Disney for your kid's poor test scores. The giant entertainment conglomerate Friday said it will offer refunds on its "Baby Einstein" serious of videos, conceding in a lawsuit that the video exercises didn't increase infants' intelligence despite claims it would. Lawyers threatened Disney last year that it would sue unless Disney offered a full refund -- $15.99 per video -- to customers who wished to cash in on their "Baby Einstein" stash, the New York Times reported Friday. Customers can get a discount coupon, exchange the video for a different title,...

Parent alert: the Walt Disney Company is now offering refunds for all those ”Baby Einstein” videos that did not make children into geniuses. They may have been a great electronic baby sitter, but the unusual refunds appear to be a tacit admission that they did not increase infant intellect. “We see it as an acknowledgment by the leading baby video company that baby videos are not educational, and we hope other baby media companies will follow suit by offering refunds,” said Susan Linn, director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which has been pushing the issue for years. Baby Einstein,...

Disney debuted its uber-high-tech simulator experience that features a first-of-its-kind robotic arm, Wednesday. The Sum of All Thrills ride, sponsored by Raytheon Co., utilizes something called a KUKA RoboSim 4-D Simulator to power the attraction, where guests design and ride their own custom roller coasters and other simulated-motion experiences.

'Ho White and the Seven Dwarves' beer advert angers Disney A beer advertisment featuring a ranchy version of Snow White has reportedly raised the ire of Disney. Published: 7:00AM BST 16 Oct 2009 The link to Snow White in the advertisement has reportedly angered Disney. Photo: adelaidenow.com.au The x-rated advertisement, for Jamieson's Raspberry Ale, depicts the fairytale heroine blowing smoke rings while lying in bed with seven semi-clad dwarves. In this Disney dystopia, Snow White has been renamed "Ho White", while the loveable dwarves Sleepy, Happy and Doc are rebranded Filthy, Smarmy and Randy - supposedly to represent different types...

An Australian beer company has landed itself in Disney's cross hairs with an ad campaign featuring the likeness of Snow White in bed with semi-nude dwarves. The Foundry, brewers of Jamieson's Raspberry Ale, said the "Ho White" campaign, based on characters from Disney's 1937 animated film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves," is designed to convince consumers the beverage is "anything but sweet," The (Sydney, Australia) Daily Telegram reported Friday. The campaign, which includes advertisements online and in bars, features "Ho White" blowing smoke rings while in bed with dwarves renamed "Filthy, Smarmy and Randy" by the company.

BLOWING smoke rings as she lies back in bed with seven semi-naked dwarves tucked alongside, it's Snow White like you've never seen before. Now this risque version of the fairytale favourite, renamed "Ho White" to promote a local beer, has drawn the wrath of Disney. The Jamieson's Raspberry Ale campaign, launched by brewers The Foundry online this week, features an adults-only take on the fairytale character, with dwarves named Filthy, Smarmy and Randy replacing Sleepy, Happy and Doc.

A pro-family activist says he's not surprised that the Walt Disney Company has named an open homosexual as studio head. Disney announced last week it had named Rich Ross as studio chief. The 47-year-old television executive helped to revive the Disney Channel, and now will oversee all production, distribution, and marketing for the company's live-action and animated feature labels. It is the first time an open homosexual has been named to such a position. Peter LaBarbera is president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality. He says although a boycott of the entertainment giant (initiated by the American Family Association) was...

I just wanted to warn people thinking of taking their kids to see Miley Cyrus. My daughter took my two grandchildren yesterday to her show in Milwaukee. She received no warnings from Ticket Master when buying the tickets and sure wishes she would have. Thinking she is a Disney star and with no warnings she was SHOCKED at the show. She told me that her brother opened the show and was disgusting removing clothing and simulating sex acts. When Miley appeared she told the audience she did a lot of growing up, mind you the audience was filled with kids...

Disney has long been the most gay friendly studio in Hollywood, having had a couple of gay production chiefs over the years, most recently Nina Jacobson, now an independent producer after being forced out in a studio purge several years ago. The studio's theme parks have allowed unofficial Gay Day celebrations for years, prompting a host of venemous attacks from various Christian right anti-gay zealots. But Disney now has a really big first -- Rich Ross, Hollywood's first openly gay studio chief.

Iowa at Disney encouraging gays to move to Hawkeye State October 2nd, 2009 by Eric Carpenter Figuring that plenty of gay couples in California are frustrated by the inability to get legally married here, representatives from Iowa have set up a booth at Gay Days at the Disneyland Resort encouraging them to consider moving to the Hawkeye State. Iowa is one of four states nationwide that allow gay marriages. That state’s Supreme Court made the decision earlier this year. Two representatives for three regional visitors bureaus flew out for the three-day Gay Days, when 30,000 partipants roll into town to...

Disney To Slash Miramax Films Staff To 20, Reduce Releases To 3 A Year By Claudia Eller October 3, 2009 Walt Disney Co., looking to rein in costs at its Hollywood studio as it focuses on mainstream movies, is slashing staff by 70% at its Miramax Films specialty label and is substantially reducing the number of pictures it releases. The retrenchment, which has been foreshadowed in Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger's strategy to emphasize family and "branded" films, comes quickly on the heels of the recent ouster of former Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook. The former movie chief left abruptly...

I have been playing this over and over thinking of O's in strategic locations http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu8wfzAu8WU

Did Disney get this right? A chilling video from WWII that was banned from viewing.

Did Disney get is right? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASW3UCc17AI&feature=related

This year's summer season was the worst on record for Orlando-area hotels. the Orlando hospitality market wrapped up the three-month season by filling only 58 percent of its available rooms in August, or 8.9percent fewer than in August 2008. That's the worst August on record since Smith Travel Research started keeping track in 1987. The June and July occupancy rates were also the worst for those months since the hotel-tracking company began conducting its local surveys. And hotel operators were not able to make up for the empty rooms with higher prices: Room rates were down by double-digit percentages all...

A South Bay lawyer wasn't acting as a Peeping Tom or a member of the paparazzi when he hired an investigator to stake out a Morgan Hill official in an unsuccessful search for evidence of a suspected romantic affair, a state appeals court says. Instead, attorney Bruce Tichinin was exercising a citizen's right to look into possible government wrongdoing, and can sue the city of Morgan Hill for allegedly retaliating against him by denouncing his actions, the appellate panel in San Jose said Monday. Tichinin's lawyer said the ruling by the Sixth District Court of Appeal should be good news...

Miley Cyrus and her bosses at Disney are so thrilled with an Internet parody of her new "Party in the U.S.A." video they're trying to track down the brains behind the beach party promo. SNIP The singer admits she's "obsessed with this video," and Disney chiefs, who are usually quick to seek legal recourse against all copyright infringements are reportedly eager to get hold of the man behind the promo, so that he and Cyrus can hook up for publicity.

Note: Video included. Suspicious device found under WDW bus Updated: Friday, 18 Sep 2009, 12:19 AM EDT Published : Thursday, 17 Sep 2009, 5:34 PM EDT SNIPPET: "LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Investigators with the Orange County Sheriff's Office Hazardous Device Unit have determined that an object attached to a Walt Disney World bus is not explosive or hazardous. Once that determination was made, investigators removed the object from the bus for further examination. It is still unclear what the object is or why it was placed on the bus. Employees located the object attached to the...

Walt Disney Co is to remake the zany 1960s Beatles movie "Yellow Submarine" in 3-D in a deal with the band's company Apple Corps. Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook said on Friday the new "Yellow Submarine" will be directed by Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis using the same motion-capture effects he employed in the family movie "Polar Express." It will incorporate the 16 Beatles songs and recordings from the original film, licensed from Sony/ATV Music Publishing and EMI Capitol Records. No release date was announced. The original film, about a peaceful, music-loving underwater community that is attacked by music hating "blue...

BURBANK, Calif. - Spider-Man and Iron Man have a new boss: The Walt Disney Co. Disney announced this morning that it is buying Marvel Entertainment -- and the more than 5,000 Marvel characters. They include X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor. "This is a great fit for us," Disney boss Bob Iger told CNBC this morning. He said the acquisition was a way to attract more boys. Disney said the transaction value is $50 per Marvel share -- or about $4 billion. Iger said the acquisition will grow both Disney and Marvel.

I finally had to sit down with my 11-year-old daughter for “the talk.” Despite my best efforts to preserve her innocence and protect her from growing up too quickly, I simply had to tell her some important facts of life. No, we didn’t have a talk about how babies are born. This talk was about America’s assault on girlhood. The time finally came for me to explain to my daughter the relationship between media and marketing and money, and why some people think nothing of exploiting girls if it increases their ratings, sells advertising and beefs up the bottom line....

FORT HUACHUCA — The downturn in the economy led one man to find a better path to financial security for his family. For 36-year-old Angel Ruiz, that avenue was to enlist in the Army. Now a private first class assigned as a cook to Company B, 40th Signal Battalion, Ruiz said becoming a soldier has provided him “security and peace of mind” when it comes to ensuring his wife and two children will continue to have support. He used to provide that support by working as a lead cook at a number of resorts. Taking a break from preparing deep-fried...

I'll always remember how magical it was to see Tinker Bell flitter across the TV screen. She would touch the top of Cinderella's Castle with her magic wand and release a million tiny sparkles that cascaded down the television screen and seemingly into my living room. Since our family normally attended church on Sunday evenings, it was a rare treat to watch the Wonderful World of Disney. On that occasion when I was home and could steal away and turn on the TV, I was instantly transported into a world of fairytales and dreams. Disney was synonymous with innocence, happiness...

Anislav Varbanov, 30, was pronounced dead late Monday at a hospital after suffering a head injury while rehearsing a tumbling roll for the "The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular." Tuesday's performances of the stunt show were canceled in Varbanov's memory. A Disney spokeswoman said the company mourned his death. The accident comes a week after a 47-year-old performer died following an on-stage fall during another show, "Captain Jack's Pirate Tutorial." On July 5, a 21-year-old monorail operator was killed when another train crashed into the one he was driving. The Indiana Jones show, which cast members call "Epic," has performers...

Moms everywhere are aghast at teen idol Miley Cyrus' recent pole dancing and exaltation of Britney Spears as her hero. The "Hannah Montana" superstar morphed overnight from a bubbly starlet into just another trashy singer, leaving moms feeling betrayed. Many thought they had finally found a " Hollywood type" their daughters could look up to. I visited a friend last year and marveled at the wall-to-wall posters of Hannah Montana that adorned her ten-year-old daughter's room. Like millions of other little girls, Hannah was her hero. From her clothes, music, and dance moves to her hairstyle, this little girl (and...

Go to link: http://disney.go.com/dxd/index.html?channel=260946&autoLaunchReg=true&#/disneygroups/friendsforchange/cds2/

A jury this morning found John William Moyer guilty of groping of a woman playing Minnie Mouse at Walt Disney World. Moyer, 60, of Pennsylvania, was convicted of misdemeanor battery for the June incident this morning. Judge Wayne Shoemaker imposed the sentence this morning. ... Before sentencing, Moyer's adult son spoke on his behalf. "He's a good man," Emory Moyer said. "He's a nice guy." Emory Moyer also described his father as a man who would never touch a woman inappropriately. Later, Moyer spoke briefly to the judge. "I am innocent, I am not guilty of the crimes that I've...

I found this cartoon on Youtube and have my kids watch every once in a while. There's a section about 4:20 in the kind of makes me think of the healthcare plan the National/Socialist Democrats are pushing. At any rate the cartoon is an interesting perspective on National Socialism you just won't see discussed these days. Will the rats take it this far? Sadly, I don't see it as such a stretch. Walt Disney - Anti Nazi Cartoon

A few weekends ago, I watched a movie with my son called “Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too.” It’s a very cute show—my son loves Tigger, and Disney is still making family-friendly movies, so I was on board. The movie starts off with a song about friendship, where all of the residents of the Hundred Acre Wood are having a picnic organized by Rabbit. Rabbit did such a wonderful job organizing the picnic that he was immediately appointed mayor of the Hundred Acre Wood. Upon Rabbit’s inauguration, he breaks into song to tell the citizens what he will do...

Tron: Legacy is the name (for now anyway) of the Tron sequel coming out next year. Last year at ComicCon Disney played a test reel and now they FINALLY released it this year at ComicCon we we can all see it clearly than from cell phone recordings of it. Download and watch here: http://www.flynnlives.com/media/video/0xendgame.aspx They also re-created Flynn's arcade at ComicCon and had a life sized model of the new lightcycle. Videos of this are at: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/41803 production art at http://www.aintitcool.com/node/41791

A teen visiting with a man arrested on a molestation count at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon was released to the custody of his mother Monday, a Department of Children and Families spokeswoman said. The15-year-old was visiting Disney with David Thomas, 29, of Mountlake Terrace, Wash., who was arrested on a lewd molestation count Thursday after deputy sheriffs said he touched buttocks a boy, 13, through his swim trunks. The teen's case was heard by a judge Monday, who ruled he could return to the custody of his mother, said DCF spokeswoman Carrie Hoeppner. Thomas also faces a charge of sexual activity...

ORANGE COUNY Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A judge denied bond for a 29-year-old man accused of molesting a child at Walt Disney World’s Typhoon Lagoon on Thursday. Orange County Sheriff's Office Sex Crimes Detectives arrested David Eugene Thomas, of Mountlake Terrace, Washington, charging him with one count of lewd molestation. The victim is a 13 year old boy. “One of the victim's father witnessed what was going on, and the lifeguard on duty also witnessed what was going on,” said Orange County Sgt. Rich Mankewich. Before a judge on Friday, it was revealed that Thomas told investigators that he...

Two Disney buses collide Updated: Thursday, 16 Jul 2009, 5:09 PM EDT Published : Thursday, 16 Jul 2009, 5:09 PM EDT ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Two Walt Disney World Resort buses were involved in an accident Thursday afternoon. The accident happened in front of the Contemporary Resort on World Drive south of the Magic Kingdom. Investigators say one Disney bus rear ended the other.. As it was slowing down and merging. At least 12 people have been taken to 4 different hospitals.

Dallas McKennon 1919-2009By dtemplar 07-14-2009, 11:26 PM Cartoon Brew reports that Dallas McKennon, the legendary voice of the claymation icon Gumby as well as the voice of Archie Andrews in the Archie cartoons for Filmation died today. He was 89. McKennon was a voice actor for several Disney films, including Lady & the Tramp, Mary Poppins, Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmations, and Bedknobs & Broomsticks. He also voiced in Disneyland attractions such as Benjamin Franklin in EPCOT's American Adventure, and Zeke in the Country Bear Jamboree. He also played Cincinnatus in the live-action Daniel Boone series, and as a gas station...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A third incident of groping occurs at a Central Florida water park in just over two weeks. Robert Double, 51, of Farmington, New York, was arrested Friday at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon. He's accused of groping girls and pulling off their bikini tops in the wave pool. The incident occurred at about 5:45 p.m. Orange County investigators said Disney Security officers watched Double on security monitors repeatedly assaulting young girls. Deputies talked to the victim and her father at the park. The 15-year-old victim told deputies that Double had been deliberately crashing into her while she was waiting...

I had a discussion a while back with someone and it got me to thinking about just how long that leftists have been trying to change the american mindset. So was Cruella a capitalist? I don't know, but I'm sure we could all agree she was clearly a conservative. She wanted to kill puppies for their furr. And she was white. So there you have it. Heh. Well, based on the media caricature of conservatives anyways. All of us around here on FR could clearly pick on the easy modern examples of liberal propaganda in the media and in TV...

Two monorail trains smashed into each other at Walt Disney World in Orlando early Sunday morning, killing one conductor and injuring the other. A Walt Disney World spokesman said the crash happened at about 2 a.m. Sunday on the monorail's last run of the day. The trains were carrying only five passengers and two employees, none of whom were hurt. "Two trains collided at the ticket and transportation center. One driver on one train is dead and the other driver from the second train was taken to the hospital," said Bo Jones of the Reedy Creek Fire Department. The crash...

Now, we've never been to this "Hall of Presidents" at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida (our parents instead taking us to real, disused dungeons and battlefields for family entertainment), but we're thinking about heading down there today -- not because the newest animatronic addition -- President Barack Obama -- has just been unveiled, but because his likeness is so... unlike him, so incredibly, terrifyingly creepy (and yet still impressive all the same). Yes, we'll pop all of our closest friends' children into the van and take a fantastic voyage down to the southern tip of our great nation just...

ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- He looks like President Barack Obama, speaks like him, and even gestures like him, but he is not exactly the president of the United States. This president is an audio-animatronic Obama surrounded by the 42 other U.S. presidents at Walt Disney World's newly revamped Hall of Presidents in Orlando, Florida. Disney gathered a team of what it calls "Imagineers," each trained in various disciplines such as artistry, design and engineering, to update the attraction that has been around since 1971. It's hard to believe the figures are not real people and, according to Disney officials, that's...

ANN ARBOR, Michigan, June 24, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Researchers at the University of Michigan have concluded that the love stories told in classic Disney and other G-rated children's films - such as the Little Mermaid - are partially to blame for the pervasiveness of what they label "heteronormativity." "Despite the assumption that children's media are free of sexual content, our analyses suggest that these media depict a rich and pervasive heterosexual landscape," wrote researchers Emily Kazyak and Karin Martin, in a report published in the latest issue of the Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS) publication Gender & Society. Kazyak...

ANN ARBOR, Michigan, June 24, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Researchers at the University of Michigan have concluded that the love stories told in classic Disney and other G-rated children's films - such as the Little Mermaid - are partially to blame for the pervasiveness of what they label "heteronormativity." "Despite the assumption that children's media are free of sexual content, our analyses suggest that these media depict a rich and pervasive heterosexual landscape," wrote researchers Emily Kazyak and Karin Martin, in a report published in the latest issue of the Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS) publication Gender & Society. Kazyak...

Remember Barack Obama’s bowling blurb on “Jay Leno?” The President’s comparison of his performance with ten pins to The Special Olympics was beyond crass and definitely politically incorrect. But we need to distinguish between such insults and situations that reveal PC is running amok in our culture. It’s becoming a literal black & white issue with increasing frequency. In “ObamaWorld2,” we noted the insulting lines crossed by the film “Obsessed” – but what about “The Frog Princess,” which is to feature Disney’s first black princess? Even before the film’s release, the princess and her prince are in trouble. People love...

Colby Curtin got her final wish. The 10-year-old girl desperately wanted to see the new Disney-Pixar movie, "Up." But the cancer-stricken girl was too sick to go to a theater. Thanks to a family friend who got in touch with the movie studio Pixar, an employee of the Emeryville-based company arrived at Colby's home with a DVD copy of the movie, The Orange County Register reported Friday...

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) - Colby Curtin got her final wish. The 10-year-old girl desperately wanted to see the new Disney-Pixar movie, "Up." But the cancer-stricken girl was too sick to go to a theater. On June 10, an employee of Pixar Animation Studios, which is based in the San Francisco Bay city of Emeryville, flew with a DVD copy to Colby's home. By then, the girl had only hours to live, The Orange County Register reported Friday. While waiting for the movie to arrive, Colby's mother, Lisa, said she asked her daughter: "Do you think you can hang on?"...

HUNTINGTON BEACH – Colby Curtin, a 10-year-old with a rare form of cancer, was staying alive for one thing – a movie. From the minute Colby saw the previews to the Disney-Pixar movie Up, she was desperate to see it. Colby had been diagnosed with vascular cancer about three years ago, said her mother, Lisa Curtin, and at the beginning of this month it became apparent that she would die soon and was too ill to be moved to a theater to see the film. After a family friend made frantic calls to Pixar to help grant Colby her dying...

ABC is refusing paid ads for its health care program at the White House. Thus they're refusing even a paid-for alternative viewpoint. Conservatives for Patients Rights requested the rates to buy a 60 second network spot immediately preceding the broadcast of the Town Hall meeting. Here is statement from Rick Scott, chairman of Conservatives for Patients Rights. "It is unfortunate - and unusual - that ABC is refusing to accept paid advertising that would present an alternative viewpoint for the White House health care event. Health care is an issue that touches every American and all potential pieces of legislation...