The terrifying trailers for Maleficent may be leaving your kids nervous, but now that the film has actually begun screening, it is clear that the PG rating is fair. The trailers cram more horror into two minutes than the film actually has. The effect is much easier to watch when spread out over two hours- the advertising was a bit misleading in that way. 

I was a little disappointed that it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be (although it does take a lot to scare me) but it definitely has some jolts and scary images for the kids. Spolier alert: There is a death, and Maleficent herself has a very painful scene that can be difficult to watch. It's dark enough for parents to enjoy and light enough that it shouldn't give kids above kindergarten age any problems or nightmares. 

That being said, Angelina Jolie is pretty damn creepy in this movie. Her own daughter had to play young Aurora as any other actresses they tried to hire was too afraid of her. 

Roman Dirge, the writer and illustrator behind the dark and wildly successful "Lenore" comic books, has collaborated with Disney and other comic book artists to create a Haunted Mansion graphic novel. On amazon, there are plenty of good deals on the paperback copies available. 
I have been a big fan of Dirge's work since high school, and these comics seem to pre-date his Lenore fame, as there was an advertisement for those comics in the back of the book. 

heres a link to one of the copies i found- I had to be sneaky and screen-capture a couple of the pages since the format of the preview doesn't allow you to save them. You can just take them from here ;) 

 http://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Mansion-One-Welcome-Foolish/dp/1593620985

Ever notice how Disney has been making movies with backstories for all of it's original and "un-themed" rides? Like the great Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise or the absolutely terrible Haunted Mansion movie? You might be saying to yourslef, "but Splash Mountain is one of the most beloved theme park rides of all! Why doesn't it have a storyline or movie?" That's because it does, and it is terribly racist.


The story features Uncle Remus, an ex-slave singing happy diddies {Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, anyone?) to small white children and telling them stories about his slave days.

There are no legal DVDs of the short musical film anywhere, as it has become quite an embarrassment over the years to the Disney Company, but it is all over the internet and especially Youtube. 

One of the worst things about Splash Mountain's use of the characters? the portrayal of brier rabbit "running away" or escaping from home and being punished for it. (runaway slave references can be found all over the ride!!!) Not to mention the racist and stereotypical southern way that the characters speak.  

Long lost shows and character from the Disney parks are always entertaining to look back on. I have very vague memories of this show and now, as an adult I find that it was much more awesome than I thought it was a kid. These pictures are from fromscreentotheme.com and imagineeringdisney.com 

This blog has guides to all of the newer shows and parades. I'm sorry to say, it looks like this one in particular is gone forever. This was a show put on at the Odyssey and was part of a character dining experience at EPCOT Center, back when there was a big push to make the park less educational and more fun. (it obviously didn't work out that way) 

The character show featured our favorite friends as galactic explorers and even though these photos are from 1991- the retro style and costuming is so painfully 80s. It looks like Mickey mouse and Rainbow Brite had a few babies- Or pets. One thing the Show didn't have was Donald Duck- it was never explained how he somehow was less important than Chip and Dale, but I suspect Donald refused to wear that outfit. 

This letter may be from 1938, but as a female artist myself, I still find it a bit offensive. Vulture.com used the image on a page "fact-checking" different and equally "not flattering" accusations made against Walt's character. 

In the letter, (which appears to be signed by a female) says that no creative work is done by women, but if she wants to do some kindergarten style coloring, then she can go apply in person. Coloring someone else's work all day every day with no creative freedom (and paints mixed and planned out for you) seems like a pretty unglamorous job for an aspiring creative mind, but I think that using it as evidence that Disney hated and feared women is a bit of a stretch. 

This accusation goes hand in hand with the seemingly misogynist portrayal of Snow White, and in turn, her stepmother. As time goes on and society gets more progressive, the more insulting his original female characters appear to us as an evolved and equal opportunity culture. However times may change in the future, it is important to remember that nothing will change the past and that his early films will never reflect our modern views. 

His princesses may have been helpless and his mother figures may have been evil, but in 1938 women weren't getting hired for much of anything outside of typing and answering phone calls. This wasn't the only company who felt this way so, as ugly as the sentiment may be, it was the feeling of almost every employer at the time. 

Somehow, I was a kid when this pop up book chronicling the Haunted Mansion ride at Disney became available in stores, and I just learned about it TODAY. Hopefully, it shouldn't be too hard to get a copy of this book on amazon- I want to add it to my library. Just kidding, I don't have a library! I barely have a bookshelf- But I still want this book.  Take a look at these cool pictures i got from doombuggies.com

I am in love with the illustration style of this book- the graveyard is the best page since it's the only part of the ride where things actually do jump up and frighten you- i would like to make one, however using real pictures of the ride so i can play with it and then give to my kids who will probably be as obsessy bessy about it as I am.  Souvenirs from the parks themselves may be great, but I wouldn't bet on them having stuff that match all of our darker sensibilities. theorlandovacationstore.com has a lot of tips on how to save money on souvenir shopping for the kids while making backpacks or goodie bags more personal to your family. This, for instance, is something I would order ahead of time and put in my kid's knapsack for the plane- along with some candies and jack skellington toys :)  

Every now and then, i come across hilarious pictures of Disney characters and face actors and I log them away for future smiles and giggles. I always like pictures of people on their disney world vacation- if you have any good ones like these feel free to post them as comments or send them to me :) 
I decided I'm going to start posting some of my favorites on here. (Not all at once, obviously. The internet would crash) 

As these have been sitting on my desktop for a while, i don't know the sources of all of them- if you recognize any of these please let me know so I can credit them. 

The first one is one of the funniest- you barely notice there's a child in there at first! But there she is- a Tweedle-Dee, Alice, Mad Hatter sandwich. This is definitely a picture she's going to show her kids one day. 

The second is another Mad Hatter pic- showing off his silly side with an equally funny child. 

Please look at the ridiculous costume in the last photo- it is of the original Mad Hatter costume featured at the Disney Parks- The new one may not be as whimsical, but it is certainly way less creepy. Which one do you prefer? The exact replica of the animated film, or the more modern version? 

Star Wars Weekends began yesterday at Disney's Hollywood Studios. In the weeks leading up to this momentous occasion, fan art has been popping up all over the internet of Disney animation/Star Wars crossovers. 

The portraits of princesses as Star Wars characters have to be some of the best. Everything from the poses, to the lighting- to the amazing costumes- is EPIC. If Disney is smart, they will consider contacting some of these artists for t-shirt or other merchandising opportunities since the month-long Star Wars Weekends is one of the most anticipated events that Walt Disney World has to offer. My favorite one is the sexy dark depiction of Snow White. Who wouldn't fawn over these in a gift shop?! 

(I couldn't find the original source, but I think i got this particular file from Buzzfeed?) You can find more information on Star Wars weekends on this blog. 

This illustrator's Tim Burton inspired stills of the smash hit "Frozen" are not only adorable, but they also capture the darker side of the film. This may be one of Disney's most adult animated films.

Obviously I don't mean it's unsuitable for children. I just mean that the protagonist (and also the hero, i guess) isn't a sickeningly sweet damsel in distress looking for a prince. Rather, the main relationship in this film is between two sisters- one who must combat her inner turmoil each day and stay locked away because of her powers- and the other, who has been shut out and feels lost and abandoned by her older sister. Yes, yes, there are love songs and handsome men in the film but the focus is the sisters. 

While the film may not be coming out for another two weeks, these gorgeous promotional posters may just help tide me over until then. 


While I may have mentioned before just how evil and twisted the original story was, this modern version looks like it will dive even deeper into the shadows. In a possibly Wicked- inspired move, this film focusses on the witch rather than the princess. For this, it has already gathered the attention of Disney fans from all over the world. 

I am just hoping- no, praying- that this attempt at a "non-remake" version of Sleeping Beauty is not as bad as the modern Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland that came out just a few years ago. Tim, you know we love you, but that film was just awful. Let's just ignore it and watch Frankenweenie again, ok?