Deedunununu, Star Tours now ready for departure

It's no doubt that guests have long wondered when Star Tours would meet the advancements and offerings of 3-D and high-definition resolution technology available today (I most certainly have), and after a much long awaited renovation, the new Star Tours ride answered that question when it launched today on June 3rd (inaugural flight 6311) to much fanfare at Disneyland Resort in California.* (It tickles me that the grand opening ceremony would include a likeness of the spokesperson from the original ride, rocking her 80s futuristic hair-do or should I say "don't"--oh ho ho ho!)

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman, Tom Staggs, at
the ribbon sabering for the re-launched Star Tours ride

Fanfare much-ado and many hands and cameras in the air

Gone is the jittery screen and single journey option. Instead, the new ride promises some 54 combinations of adventures to ensure an enduring excitement for the ride with journeys to Hoth, Kashyyyk, Naboo, Tatooine, Coruscant, and the unfinished Death Star. Along the way, there will be the familiar and adored faces of Admiral Ackbar, Boba Fett, Chewbacca, C-3PO, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, R2-D2, and Yoda. Although this renovation sees the arrival of a new pilot droid, AC-38, it should comfort some that "Rex," the original RX-24 pilot droid, is not fully retired, and makes a cameo in the ride queue.

Vader confronts the Speeder in one of many possible
appearances and locations for the re-launched ride

Personally, this fulfills a dream I've had since I was a child. Of my earliest memories of Disneyland, I recall exclaiming to my brother, "Next time, let's go to Endor!" only to learn--much to my chagrin--that the commercial packages were simply a prop and backstory for the ride. However, after 14 years in the making and much teasing along the way, Star Tours: The Adventure Continues finally makes this dream come true as it flies its way into our hearts with a finish that is--as the Los Angeles Times puts it--"lightyears better than the original."

2011 Summer will witness not just the relaunch of the Star Tours ride but also a debut of so many other attractions. This is an exciting time for Disney fans!

Deedunununu, Star Tours announces the boarding of the Endor Express. All passengers, please prepare for immediate boarding.

*The updated Star Tours ride opened on May 20 at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida.

Away from keyboard

Firstly, I should explain the reason for my long hiatus. Life. Life often gets in the way, but in addition to that, I have a big project planned that was conceived early on with the creation of this blog. I hope it doesn't draw the ire of Disney. That's all I want to say for now. Unfortunately, this hiatus has caused me to miss out on reporting so much Disney-related news. Stuff that has since happened: World of Color, Disney purchases Marvel, Tron Legacy, Shanghai Disneyland, Summer Nightastic, and so much more. :(

Another book about Walt

In a recent LA Times article, Charles Solomon reviews the latest of many Walt Disney biographies, Walt before Mickey by Timothy S. Susanin. Solomon has little to say about Susanin's animation expertise but also makes it clear that Susanin is an attorney, which undoubtedly affects the narrative.

I initially wondered where such a biography could find a receptive audience after Walt's early endeavors were already so thoroughly documented in Neal Gabler's Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination and Bob Thomas's Walt Disney: An American Original; however, Solomon quickly notes the different narrative Susanin offers, which may be very much of interest for entrepreneurial minds.

Due to the subject matter, this account of Walt's successes and failures should expectedly stop shortly after Walt's famous Santa Fe Railroad trip from New York after the last of a string of managerial frustrations with Charles Mintz. Still, closing the story at this point likely fails to acknowledge the full extent of the incessant entrepreneurial betrayals that Walt encounters again and again with the likes of RCA's Pat Powers and the hardships that define most of his early life. At 384 pages, this surely is not an abridged account of Walt's early creative efforts but presents a facet of an otherwise lengthy subject.

With a foreword by Diane Miller Disney, readers can at least be assured of a somewhat authorized/approved portrayal of Walt that other attempts like Gabler's did not win. I'll likely pick up a copy at some point but probably be in no hurry to do so. Walt's life is already so very well documented in so many ways.

Justice League: The New Frontier

I went out and bought the Justice League: The New Frontier one-shot special, the release date of which coincided with the release of the movie. Contrary to what the cover says, it's nothing special and certainly nothing new. After reading it, I realized that I never shared my thoughts on the movie, so I thought I would go back review it. I didn't mention it at the time, but I was at the world premiere showing of Justice League: The New Frontier at Wondercon.

What can I say? Overall, it was a just-a-league of disappointment (rim shot). I very much enjoyed the main title sequence, which resembles the cover art for the different issues, but that's pretty much the extent of what I liked. The writer seems to have forgotten that Hal Jordan and John Jones (aka J'onn J'onzz, Martian Manhunter) really carry the story (for volumes 2 & 1, respectively). It was very fast-paced and at some moments, downright confusing. I don't believe anyone who hasn't read the comic can easily understand what is going during their first viewing. My friend, who read the series, agreed; his sister, who never read the series, also agreed. So, safe to say--confusing. Granted, it is very difficult to compress all the events in The New Frontier into an hour and fifteen minutes. That's understandable but not really excusable. The voice acting was mediocre--I found many of the male voice actors sounding very similar, characterized by a very testosterone-y voice (the one refreshing voice was that of Neil Patrick Harris, N-P-H rocks!). I love New Frontier, but with that and this recent one-shot special, I think I've had my fill of anything new and frontier-ish for now.

Go read the book.

Jim Starlin and the Death of the New Gods

So I purchased the Cosmic Odyssey mini-series to see Mike Mignola's early work (1988) with DC, and, of course, because of my unbridled love for the New Gods. To say the least, Cosmic Odyssey left a lot to be desired. Mignola's style hadn't yet matured to the point that has in his Hellboy series, but it was solid. Jim Starlin's writing, however, was left wanting.

I concede to the possibility that I'm just irritated that Starlin has the audacity to kill off all of the New Gods, but what probably annoyed me the most is what he purportedly said in an interview [citation need]:

I sort of think of this project as putting an ending to Jack's New Gods' saga. Since Kirby's initial run on the characters others have presented them with mixed results. Looking back I'd say at least half of the past New Gods series have done more harm than good. So for me, Death of the New Gods is half honoring Jack Kirby, half mercy killing.

I'm not so deluded that I won't agree with him. Looking back, a lot of the New Gods work probably has done more harm than good. In fact, I can readily cite one work that has done said harm--Cosmic Odyssey. And honoring? Right. Just as how if I was to honor Disney, then I would write out Milo and his buddies. I don't like Jim Starlin's work. Don't even get me started about Thanos. Most likely, some years down the road, the stories will likely get retconned (just like Cosmic Odyssey), and they'll be brought back, but in the meantime, I'm pretty annoyed by the pretense the guy has going into this tie-in with Countdown... or at least the undeniable pretentiousness of forcing the continuity of [to my knowledge] what has been a largely ignored explanation of the Anti-life Equation. Granted, I could just be a comic fan-boy.

Besides, Starlin is racist.*
* Note: Jim Starlin is [most assuredly] probably not racist.

Names

I don't really pay much attention to names unless it really stands out. From the art that I like to the papers in science journals that I read, I can't readily cite names associated with certain works. I'm just not a name person. This being the case, imagine my pleasant surprise when I saw that Lou Romano (one of the people who had their work on exhibit at Nucleus for the "Band of Bugs" show) had his concept art in the book "The Art of The Incredibles". I have flipped through this book many times, mind you. I never stopped to catch the names of the artists though. The only reason why I recognized Romano's name was because Amanda Visell links to him and sometimes speaks appraisingly of his work. I've heard accounts that Franklin Delano Roosevelt used to have an uncanny ability to perfectly recall people's names. It was said that he would mentally spell a person's name on their forehead in his favorite color whenever he met someone. Quite impressive. Me? I'm not much of a name person.

L-O-L

R-O-F-L

(I guess I should explain. Jimmy Jr is Lucy's son. Lucy is Lois's sister.

Lois is Lola's mother... wait for it... YES. Comics are fun :B )