| Disney to reduce junk foods at parks | | Posted Sunday, October 22, 2006 7:05:09 PM by Blog57 Team | | Walt Disney Co. plans to cut back on fatty foods at its parks and limit product licensing that relates to unhealthful menu items, the entertainment giant said. Disney said it wants to eliminate all added trans fats from food served at its parks by the end of 2007, as well as its licensed and promotional products by the end of 2008. The company said it wants to limit the amount of calories, fat, saturated fat and sugar that it serves. It plans to dish up "appropriate kid-sized portions" at its parks, with no more than 30 percent fat in main and side dishes, and 35 percent for snacks. Saturated fat will be limited to 10 percent in all foods. And added sugar will be limited to 10 percent in main dishes and 25 percent in snacks. Special-occasion birthday cakes still will be available for kids celebrating at their parks, but Disney said in a press release it wants to limit the number of "indulgence" items on its menu to 15 percent by 2010.... | |
| |
| | | Disney Hands It Off | | Posted Saturday, September 30, 2006 11:03:44 PM by Blog57 Team | | If it seems to you as if Disney (NYSE: DIS) has been spreading the wealth lately, you're not alone. Yesterday, the company announced that it would be shuttering its ESPN Mobile business by the end of the year. On the surface, it appears to be a failure. The sports programming giant got too cocky. It priced its sports-centric mobile phone service too high. There just weren't enough subscribers. That may all be true, but in pulling the plug on its service by the end of the year, Disney is once again in a position to cash in on the golden ESPN brand by farming it out to a wider selection of carriers. Disney has been doing a lot of that lately. On Wednesday it teamed up with VeriSign's (Nasdaq: VRSN) Jamster to provide Disney ringtones, mobile games, and graphics. Back in May, it partnered with Shanda Interactive (Nasdaq: SNDA) to introduce online games in China with popular Disney characters.... | |
| |
| | | Now showing | | Posted Sunday, September 03, 2006 9:26:18 PM by Blog57 Team | | Monster House (Animation/Horror, 91 minutes) Voiced by Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner, Spencer Locke, Steve Buscemi. Directed by Gil Kenan. DJ (Musso) is a teen oddball who constantly observes the house across from his home through a telescope. Together with buddy Chowder (Lerner) he tries to warn other people not to approach the house that swallows toys and people. The story makes a good teen horror film, complete with misfit protagonists, charming background story and some aggravating characters who are punished because they refuse to believe. Characters are computer-generated images drawn from live actors. Even though the movements look quite natural, the flatness of emotion in the characters' faces actually adds to the eeriness of this film. The fact that they aren't plastic-faced Disney characters fits very well into the creepy atmosphere.... | |
| |
| | | Disney jumps into portable gaming with GAMEiT! | | Posted Wednesday, August 30, 2006 7:03:55 PM by Blog57 Team | | Disney is set to jump into the portable video game market with a set of devices called Disney GAMEiT! Yes, the (nearly) all caps format and exclamation point are part of the official name. A little annoying, I know. The devices, made by the same folks behind the VG Pocket, can work either as truly portable gamers -- launching one of the 12 "new and unique" titles on the 2.5-inch LCD screen -- or as home consoles by hooking them up to a big screen TV. You'll find a 16-bit processor for 3D graphics and a couple of built-in speakers for the cutesy-wootsy soundtrack. The button layout is about as standard as it gets, with a video game "joystiq" (no relation to the popular gaming blog) on the left and a pair of action buttons on the right. Marketed at kids 6 and older, the GAMEiT! will come in two varieties, one featuring classic characters (Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, etc.) and the other with a different set of characters (Little Mermaid, Lucifer, Fotsam, etc.).... | |
| |
| | | Disney Unveils Two Fashion Brands For Infants | | Posted Sunday, August 13, 2006 1:21:13 PM by Blog57 Team | | Designed to appeal to trend-forward parents and discerning gift-givers, the Classic Disney and Walt Disney Signature collections of apparel and infant gifts were unveiled at the ENK Intl Children's Trade Show in New York City. Featuring scenes from Disney's stories, characters and art portrayed in an understated fashion, the collections will offer cashmere blankets, hooded robes and mittens, bibs and burp cloths, organic cotton tees, cardigans and casual separates. The collections will be available at exclusive boutiques and high-end department stores such as Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom this fall. "Our new Classic Disney and Walt Disney Signature infant brands speak to a consumer segment who indulges in premium essentials for their children and who splurge on the occasional luxury," said Simon Waters, vp of Disney Consumer Products (DCP), Infant Franchise Management.... | |
| |
| | | Two men with local connections profiled on Disney show | | Posted Tuesday, August 08, 2006 3:04:06 PM by Blog57 Team | | People usually don't think of grocers, librarians, truck drivers or mail carriers as heroes, but they are. They help people every day. Heroes come in all different shapes, sizes, colors, genders and cultures and do all different kinds of jobs. That's the message Disney Channel is trying to get across through its daily animated show, "Higglytown Heroes." This week two local heroes are appearing on the show talking about their jobs. On Tuesday, Gregory Hatcher Sr. will give viewers a peek into aviation when he shares details of his job as an air traffic controller for Ontario International Airport. The next day, submarine captain Adam Compton talks about his underwater adventures. According to a Disney press release, the real-life heroes give about a two-minute interactive educational profile on their professions.... | |
| |
| | | Going through a stage | | Posted Saturday, July 22, 2006 5:03:22 PM by Blog57 Team | | Toby Orenstein has made teenage actors delve into the experiences of African-Americans at the turn of the century with Ragtime and the drama of war with Aida, but she says for a real challenge try being a dancing candelabrum. Or a spoon, or a teapot, or one of the other colorful Disney characters in Beauty and the Beast, which is being staged this year by the Teen Professional Theatre program. .... | |
| |
| | | Disney sued over 'Pirates' screenplay | | Posted Tuesday, July 18, 2006 7:05:28 AM by Blog57 Team | | So far it's been smooth sailing for "Pirates of the Caribbean," the Johnny Depp adventure series raking in a combined half a billion worldwide. But the waters may be getting choppier for the Disney franchise, thanks to a lawsuit filed by a screenwriter claiming producers pillaged drawings and characters he created and used them in 2003's "Curse of the Black Pearl." Royce Mathew filed a copyright infringement suit against Disney, Buena Vista Home Entertainment and producer Jerry Bruckheimer in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on July 7. Mathew contends that in the '80s he "created and wrote a number of original works including drawings, screenplays, outlines, blueprints, storyboards and other original materials" for, what he termed, a "Super Natural Pirate Movie." Disney has denied the allegations.... | |
| |
| | | Adam Proulx goes to work in the House of Mouse | | Posted Saturday, July 01, 2006 1:07:28 AM by Blog57 Team | | Thanks to his selection as an Epcot Cultural Representative, he will spend the next year being immersed in all things Disney!"This is really a dream come true," he says. "I went to Walt Disney World for the first time this past January. I couldn't get enough. It really got me hoping that I could work there one day, so I am very, very lucky."Proulx leaves for Florida on July 18 for one year. He will be stationed in the Canadian Pavilion.He had been interested in applying at Walt Disney World in an entertainment position, but found that he would need to be an American citizen or acquire a working visa. Proulx was then informed of the International Program, which allows people from around the globe to work at the Epcot Center."It's all about the experience," he says. "Not only will I be working in Walt Disney World, but I will also be living with people from all around the world, learning different cultures.... | |
| |
| |
|
|
