andPOP » disney

Disney Epic Mickey In Development

Brett.Caron — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:22:51 +0000

Disney Interactive Studios has announced that Mickey Mouse will be taking his adventures beyond Kingdom Hearts. Along with Junction Point, Disney is developing a new platform-adventure gaming starring the 81-year old anthropomorphic rodent.

In Disney Epic Mickey, the mouse pulls an inFAMOUS and unwittingly devastates the world of the Cartoon Wasteland, where old and retired cartoon characters go – which ironically sounds like Florida without Disneyland.

Mickey stumbles into this realm and must choose to be a hero or to just get the hell out as fast as he can, since being the mouse that inadvertently rained destruction on this world he isn’t exactly popular. Sounds good, especially with the combat style being approached from the 4th-wall breaking idea of paints and thinners. I’ve always wanted to erase Donald Duck anyway.

So playing Fable as Mickey Mouse, huh? Sounds interesting. We’ll keep an eye on it for you.

Cheers.

Disney Sing It: Pop Hits coming soon

April Apoong — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:44:38 +0000

Disney Interactive Studios has announced recently that there will be a Disney Sing It: Pop Hits, available to the masses. With the game being a multi-platform karaoke style title letting everyone the chance to give it a try. There will be a lot of familiar songs and expect singing tips along side vocal lessons from Tiffany Thornton herself.

On the Wii, Playstation 3 and Playstation 2 consoles, players will have the opportunity to match their talents with the performers which includes master recordings and popular music videos from global fan favorites.

With a bevy of modes that range from duets to competitive singing ensures enjoyment for one person or a group of your friends. New features include “Sing It Encore,” and “Run the Risk,” which allows players to play back performances and contestants try to correctly predict scores against their opponents.
The song list includes:

Miley Cyrus
“7 Things”
“Fly on the Wall”
“The Climb”
“Hoedown Throwdown”

Demi Lovato
“Get Back”
“La La Land”

Jonas Brothers
“Don’t Forget”
“Hold On”
“SOS”
“When You Look Me In The Eyes”
“Love Bug”
“Burnin’ Up”

Colbie Caillat
“Realize”
“Bubbly”

Vanessa Hudgens
“Sneakernight”

Jesse McCartney
“It’s Over”
“How Do You Sleep?”

Taylor Swift
“I’m Only Me When I’m With You”
“Change”

One Republic
“Apologize”

Duffy
“Warwick Avenue”
“Mercy”

Coldplay
“Violet Hill”

Steve Rushton
“Emergency”

Love & Theft
“Don’t Wake Me”

Mitchel Musso and Tiffany Thornton / “Hatching Pete” (Disney Channel Original Movie)
“Let It Go”

Mitchel Musso
“The In Crowd”

Hannah Montana
“Let’s Get Crazy”
“Let’s Do This”

Jem
“It’s Amazing”

When the time comes to pick this up on the Wii or PS3 you will have the choice of buying the game in a bundle which includes a Logitech mic or just the game itself.
For PS2 owners the game is only available as a standalone.

I’m starting to have the urge to raise my voice and give this a try when it comes out. I’m sensing a karaoke party in the near future.

OUTER PANEL HAVEN. 14

sarge-ak47 — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:31:49 +0000

Well, this certainly was an interesting week…almost finishing my review on The METROID PRIME TRILOGY, played Arkham Asylum and unlocked tons of achievements and I saw Kanye act like a total douche on TV.
What else is new?? OH how about the MARVEL buyout?? It’s sad eh? But maybe that’s a plus for Marvel, imagine a good CG marvel movie made by Pixar?? Truth be told a lot of us aren’t sure yet since Disney just has this creepy vibe to it.

Don’t get me wrong I love the animated movies, just not sure I’d trust such cool source material with them. I mean what happened to a sequel to the stellar return of Turok?? (Disney bought out Turoks rights).

So this comic is LOOONG overdue.. and by now almost every artist has touched base on this topic.
I’m the last one then.

As always click on the image for the full sized glory.

Walt Disney and Marvel Get Hitched

Emma Renda — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:09:57 +0000

Marvel Entertainment Inc., home of famed comic book characters such as Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Incredible Hulk and Fantastic Four, was purchased by Walt Disney Co. today.

The deal did not come cheap – Walt Disney Studios shelled out $4 billion in cash and stock to own the comic book catalogue consisting of more than 5,000 characters, some of which were created by legendary Stan Lee.

“This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters . . . with Disney’s creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories,” said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Walt Disney Company in a press release.

The full press release – and all the boggling stock statistics – is available online.

But it’s what this deal means to the comic franchise’s loyal fans that is concerning bloggers everywhere today.

The New York Daily News’ David Hinckley makes a valid point that this isn’t one rival company buying out another (think Coke buying out Pepsi). Marvel and Disney have never exactly been adversaries – rather, Disney has been at odds with Warner Bros. since the early 1900s, whereas Marvel has warred it out with DC Comics. However, DC Comics, home of Batman and Superman, is owned by Time-Warner and has admittedly been gloriously profitable since the Batman film franchise obliterated the dividing line between counter- and pop-culture.

The worry remains, as noted by The Wall Street Journal’s Steven Kurutz, of the unsettling offspring that could result from the close proximity of Marvel and Disney’s main characters.

“How about an American Idol-esque mall tour featuring pop songs by Ernst, a teenage girl suffering from the aging disease progeria, who first appeared in issue #135 of New X-Men?” Kurutz writes.

It’s a chilling thought, but Disney isn’t all bad. Sure, their reputation recently consists of little more than the photographic fare littering a teen girls bedroom walls (including Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers.) But that’s because they use subdivisions of the company to release their edgier films, such as the Pirates of the Caribbean series, rather than taming the content for family audiences.

But as everyone knows, there’s nothing better for business than a little competition.

With Marvel/Disney now fiscally and commercially poised to take on DC/Time-Warner, audiences worldwide can expect even more enhancements in the comic adaptation frenzy that erupted this decade.

Of course it’s hard to imagine improving 2008’s Iron Man, and even more difficult to imagine what kind of competition would have encouraged a stronger product than The Dark Knight. But I can’t say I’m not curious.

G-Force The Video Game Pops Out At andPOP… In 3D!

Josh Salem — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:07:29 +0000

Jenn had the opportunity to take the brand new G-Force video game for a spin on the Xbox 360 in 3D! While enjoying this guinea pig infested preview we spoke with THE G-Force expert about 3D functionality, Jerry Bruckheimer, the plot behind this game and much more.

Taking Control of team lead Darwin and his surveillance spy Mooch, you are the last line of defense against appliances turned evil robots bent on death, destruction and the end of civilization as we know it. Don’t worry, it’s a Disney game / movie… in 3D!

Game Review: G-Force

Josh Salem — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:56:34 +0000

This review marks a number of firsts for andPOP. It’s the first time I’m reviewing a Disney title, it’s the first game I get to play and write about before the official launch date, and it’s the first game I’ve ever reviewed… in 3D! That’s right, today I’ll be reviewing, nay, PREVIEWING Disney’s G-Force video game on the PlayStation 3; talking about what I liked, what bugged me, and all the interesting cute little things guinea pigs do that now freak me out when I see them in real life. With the movie comes out this Wednesday on July 22^nd, and the game being released July 24, this is your first look into the inner workings of a super secret group of spy rodents.

Following (but expanding on) the story line of the movie, G-Force has you taking the roles of Darwin (guinea pig) the commander of G-Force and his infiltration comrade Mooch (house fly). Throughout the game you progress as the movie progresses, however, in this rendition, you take an active role in saving the world as you interact with other members of G-Force. Beginning with a training level to show you how to make best use of Darwin and Mooch, you are taken through a fairly basic tutorial that looks like it’s been ripped right out the pages of Portal, while the level design is simple and pretty, I feel like this short training session was not nearly enough to prepare you for world savings and robot fightings.

As an action / espionage / adventure title, you are presented with times where you must sneak by lumbering humans, utilize your partner mooch to by-pass defense system (you can access Mooch for a limited time whenever you like by pushing up on the D-pad), upgrade yourself and your weapons, and cause general havoc throughout different parts of the game. What I enjoyed most about G-Force was the variation in gameplay you got to deploy throughout, as different obstacles and objectives gave you new and interesting methods of progressing to your goal.

While you have many different styles of gameplay to enjoy in G-Force, I felt that in order to include all these variants made the controls way too complex, especially considering this game is intended for children, the target demographic of the movie. I think the main reason I find the controls confusing is because not only does every button do something, but as well, depending on the context you are in these buttons can do something else. The best example of this is the X button, while walking it will let you jump, push it again and you double jump, push it a third time and you hover, push jump again and you use your rocket boost. As well, if you push jump while targeting a bad guy, you dive and roll. There are a number of techniques like this that you acquire throughout the game. Beyond this every direction of the D-pad gives you access to a tool such as your hints radar, Mooch, or heat-sensor vision while every face button changes your weapon equipped. The shoulder buttons allow you to attack, target, or scurry across the floor; really there is a lot to do with your controller and in the heat of battle it can get a little flustering. On the flipside, the reason you have so many buttons do so many things is because you have that many weapons, gadgets, and tools at your disposal. Weapons and items such as Mooch, heat-sensor vision, hint PDA, Electro-whip, Plasma gun, scanner, Nanohacker, Saberlizer (That allows you to weaponize every day appliances yourself) and much much more. One thing to note as well when talking about the controls behind this game is that there is no motion sensitive gameplay utilizing the PS3 controller; I would take this as a good thing as a) the controls are confusing enough, and b) I have yet to play a PlayStation 3 game that made good use of such a feature.

The sound in G-force is as expected, but done well. Action packed generic music; zappers, snapping, and appliance related sound effects sound as realistic as I guess we could assume them to sound, as the ambient noise that comes from action and infiltration fill the air I feel that at least, they are appropriate as they are used in the game. The voice acting is decent as well, while I don’t really know what rodents mouths would look like when talking, I take it as them actually speaking in the game, spot on and when talking through their voice communications, the radio-ish distant sound works well. Voice acting is another story however, while Disney was able to keep some of the voice actors in the movie for the game (namely the main character Darwin played by Sam Rockwel, G-force friend Zach Galifanakis, and Saber himself Bill Nighy), a lot of the more unique voices are absent. I guess Will Arnett, Nicholas Cage, Penelope Cruz, Steve Buscemi, and Tracy Morgan had conflicting schedules. Instead, similar sounding voice actors were used in their place but these I feel were hit and miss as I could not really tell the scope of these voice actors in the film based on trailers alone. For the most part I enjoyed the voices used but in some instances a faux Tracy Morgan just doesn’t do it for me.

Oh Mr. Pink, when are you going to make the leap into gaming?

Here’s the part I assume most of you are most interested in, the graphics. As a current generation game based on a movie which boasts it’s fantastic computer graphics, you would assume G-Force to look great, and it does! From little guinea pig hairs and whiskers, to Mooch buzzing around your head, the modeling of the rodents used in this game are extremely detailed. I wish the same could be said however for the humans roaming around the game as they seem to be a little less rendered than your average first year PlayStation 2 title. Luckily, you do not interact with humans very often as your main enemies are appliances that have been transformed into killing machines (almost exactly like the kitchen appliances at the beginning of the Transformers 2 movie). One thing I enjoyed about the Saber branded appliances however was that with each one introduced, their entire model name complete with number was shown (as if you could purchase these appliances in catalogues) as well, utilizing your scanner, you have the option of discovering each enemy’s weakness and exploiting them during your attack. Overall I think the graphics used in G-Force the video game weren’t exactly up to par with the movie (that took millions to produce) but were still pretty slick for a PlayStation 3 title with all the particle effects used and whatnot… what? That’s not the big thing you were interested in? Ohhhhh, you want to hear about the 3D? Well, let me tell you all about it, gather around children. As the first console 3D game, I was a little worried as to how it would work out because, to be honest, I always had a hard time seeing 3D in movies (like Monsters Vs. Aliens, Up, and Ice Age 3) but to my surprise G-Force came with two paper blue and red 3D glasses, like the old school ones instead of the new polarised technology. Now, the 3D-ness of G-Force can be turned on and off whenever you like in the options menu, which not only do I think is a fantastic idea for those who get headaches easily, but also extremely useful if you have more than two people in the room watching the game. I find the 3D welcome, but a mixed bag of usefulness from time to time. Mooch, your whip, and the jetpack will actually pop out and look amazing; but other times such as during some cutscenes and menus it is very hard to see what’s going on or what you are choosing. The most prominent example of this issue is if you are playing in 3D and your hint screen tells you to push a certain direction on the D-pad to activate a new ability, every direction looks the same in these 3D glasses and you cannot tell what direction the screen is telling you to push. Reading text in general while in 3D mode I find is also quite challenging. Overall however, the introduction of 3D into G-Force did not in any way make the game harder to play or control and in the end I think is quite amazing in short bursts, I don’t think I could play the entire span in 3D alone.

Now for the rest of the review that didn’t really fit in anywhere else. The instruction manual that came with G-Force was abysmal; I find more often as time goes on that companies stop using instruction manuals as well… manuals for instruction and rather as promotional pieces. I say this because I went through G-Force’s instruction manual a number of times looking for instruction on saving, controls, gameplay mechanics, screenshot explanations… anything that I would like to know before diving into the game and I could not find any. Instead there were just instructions on how to turn on the system and the rest of the manual was just an explanation of the characters, weapons, story, and levels. Playing through the game you collect health, ammo, chips, and silver and gold discs. Chips are a form of currency you use to purchase upgrades and new weapons, upgrades and weapons you unlock with gold and silver discs. In order to purchase these weapons and upgrades you must find a Saber branded vending machine. Two things about these vending machines, 1) you cannot see what you are selecting in the vending machine menu in 3-D mode, and 2) if these are machines… why aren’t they transforming and attacking you like every other machine in the game? Silver discs that provide upgrades are hidden (along with extra lives) throughout the game in strategically placed spots so for the completionist gamers out there, you have a little extra something to look out for while playing through G-Force. Maps showing the location of these silver discs can also be purchased at vending machines.

Overall I was impressed with G-Force, while it is not my type of game, I thoroughly enjoyed the graphics, control, gameplay, and innovations found within, and I know I’m not the only one that enjoyed it as you all will see soon enough when Jenn’s video interview and demo of G-force is published in the near future. One thing I have to ask though, is how vicious flesh tearing waffle irons get into the heating vents of an office building…

Gameplay: 4.5/5

Graphics: 4/5

Sound: 3/5

Replay Value: 2.5/5

‘Toy Story,’ ‘Beauty And The Beast’ Get 3-D Treatment

Eva Lam — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:28:38 +0000

Break out the three-dimensional glasses: Walt Disney announced Tuesday that it will release the computer-animated hits “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2″ as a 3-D double feature on Oct. 2.

The special presentation is slated to run for two weeks only.

Audiences will also see a 3-D trailer for the new “Toy Story 3,” which opens June 18, 2010. Like the 1995 original and its 1999 sequel, the movie features the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen.

The re-releases were announced at the annual ShoWest theatre owners’ convention, where Disney gave a preview of its packed 3-D lineup.

Among the studio’s other announcements — it will release a 3-D version of the hand-drawn animated musical “Beauty and the Beast” on Feb. 12, 2010. The original was released in 1991 and stands as the only animated feature to receive an Oscar nod for best picture.

Altogether, the studio has 17 3-D releases in the pipeline over the next three years.

DreamWorks’ own 3-D extravaganza, “Monsters vs. Aliens,” ruled this weekend’s box office, taking in $59.3 million over three days.

Miley Cyrus Responds To Outcry Over ‘Racist’ Photo

Joelle Tomlinson — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:10:04 +0000

Miley Cyrus has issued a statement regarding the photograph that surfaced of the teenager doing the “slant-eyed’ poser”. The photo shows Cyrus, her boyfriend Justin Gaston and a group of friends pulling their eyes back as if they were mocking someone of Asian descent.

The Disney star responded on her official fan site, MileyWorld. MTV News has a transcript of her response.

Cyrus wrote, “I’ve also been told there are some people upset about some pictures taken of me with friends making goofy faces! Well, I’m sorry if those people looked at those pics and took them wrong and out of context! In no way was I making fun of any ethnicity! I was simply making a goofy face. When did that become newsworthy?”.

“It seems someone is trying to make something out of nothing to me. If that would have been anyone else, it would have been overlooked! I definitely feel like the press is trying to make me out as the new ‘bad girl’!”.
According to MTV News, Cyrus feels as though she is a new target for scrutiny since the spotlight has faded on the infamous Britney Spears. “I feel like now that Britney is back on top of her game again, they need someone to pick on! Lucky me! Haha,” she wrote.

“You guys know my heart and know the most important things to me are my friends, family, fans and God! In no way do I want to disappoint any of you! But when I have made mistakes in the past, I feel like I’ve owned up to them and apologized”.

Cyrus concluded with an appeal to the people and media. “Anyway, I really wish everyone would stop focusing on my personal life and get back to focusing on what I love! Music and acting! Hopefully, I will be touring again this fall! Yayy! It will be a nice change to be back out on the road again! xoxo Blessings”.

Selena Gomez: ‘I’m Sorry’ Is Not About Nick Jonas

Irene Ogrodnik — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 14:43:33 +0000

Selena Gomez is setting the record straight about her song “I’m Sorry.” The Disney show actress is dismissing rumours that her single is about beau Nick Jonas, reports People magazine.

“It’s definitely not about Nick Jonas,” Gomez, 16, tells PEOPLE. “It’s about someone back home in Texas. When I read it, I was like, ‘Oh no this gossip has to go away!’ I haven’t known the Jonas Brothers for that long, but I’ve gotten really close with all of them.”

The actress starts in the hit Disney show ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’ and has just started work on her album.

“This year I’m finally in the process of starting an album. It’s something that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time and I also want to take my fans through that journey so I’ll definitely do a whole behind the scenes thing,” she said.

Although Gomez has a packed schedule, she still makes time to watch her favourite show ‘Gossip Girl.’ “I absolutely love it,” said Gomez, who got to meet the cast at last month’s Teen Choice Awards. “I think the whole cast knows that I like their show. They all looked as a group and waved and smiled at me. I almost had a heart attack!”

Disney Wants Fans To ‘Unlock More Rock’

Eva Lam — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:53:23 +0000

Fans of The Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus can now get even more from their favourite artists by simply inserting their CD into the computer.

Disney has set up “Unlock More Rock,” a website that features never-before-seen acoustic performances, interviews, behind-the-scenes videos and other exclusive content from Disney performers.

Those who own the artist’s album can access the exclusive content by visiting www.unlockmorerock.com and inserting the CD, which unlocks the extras.

Other acts featured on the website include Vanessa Hudgens, The Cheetah Girls and Demi Lovato.

Also featured is “Disney Mania 6,” a compilation album in which contemporary acts cover songs from such Disney films as “Monsters, Inc.” and “The Little Mermaid.” The “Unlock More Rock” website gives fans a chance to check out the “If I Didn’t Have You” recording session by Emily Osment & Mitchel Musso of “Hannah Montana” fame, as well as the making of Colbie Caillat’s “Kiss The Girl” music video.