So, so much from the mailbag today! In fact, just about all of it! But it’s everything that wouldn’t stay put last night for some reason. I hope to see you at Disneyland this weekend if you’re in this neck of the woods! Did you know MiceChat meets every Sunday at noon at the Walt and Mickey statue in the central hub of Disneyland? We do! And this weekend we have even more meet-ups and special things going on. Come join us (info at the bottom of today’s update).

D23 Celebrates 25 Years of Beauty and the Beast

This year, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast—the first animated film ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture—celebrates its 25th anniversary, and Disney twenty-three is giving fans a spectacular look at the film from its inception to its timeless legacy. The issue features interviews with Paige O’Hara (Belle), Robby Benson (Beast), Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Potts), David Ogden Stiers (Cogsworth), Richard White (Gaston), composer Alan Menken, screenwriter Linda Woolverton, producer Don Hahn, and many more, as well as stories about how the film has been equally successful in Disney theme parks and on stage. Plus, readers will learn more about the live-action adaptation of the film, coming to theaters in 2017.

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The issue, exclusively for Gold Members of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club, also features a Fall TV Preview, which includes interviews with ABC’s Once Upon a Time creators Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz; the producers and stars of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.; and Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh (who created Phineas and Ferb), who reveal details about their new Disney XD show, Milo Murphy’s Law. Plus, Hayley Atwell of Agent Carter and Cinderella gives fans a preview of her new ABC show, Conviction, and shares with readers her favorite Disneyland attractions.

ADAM HOROWITZ (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER), EDWARD KITSIS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)  (ABC/Todd Wawrychuk)
ADAM HOROWITZ and EDWARD KITSIS (ABC/Todd Wawrychuk) 
Photo by Henry Clarke
Photo by Henry Clarke

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Main character Milo will be voiced by “Weird Al” Yankovic! 

ABC/Image Group LA
ABC/Image Group LA

 

Also included in the fall publication of Disney twenty-three is an exclusive interview with Benedict Cumberbatch about his upcoming Marvel film Doctor Strange; a look at how Disney Theatrical Group creates spectacular shows for Broadway and beyond; a peek at the creation of Disney’s newest princess, Elena of Avalor; and a story focusing on the timeless artwork of Dumbo to toast the film’s 75th anniversary. The issue also includes regular columns such as Ask Dave, From the Vault, A Walk with Walt, and a special “From the Desk of” to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa.

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ELENA OF AVALOR

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The celebration of Beauty and the Beast’s 25th anniversary continues on September 5, when D23 Members—and Disney fans—are invited to join the festivities as the club kicks off its annual Fanniversary event. D23 will be holding member screenings of the groundbreaking film around the country, Gold Members will receive special “selfie kits” with the fall publication, and D23.com will offer fans exclusive features, new videos, printables, recipes, and much more. Fans are invited to “be our guest” for this 25-day event, and to use the hashtag #D23Fanniversary on social media to join the conversation. More details will be available in the coming weeks at D23.com/D23Fanniversary.

Sponsored by DVCResaleMarket.com

Jungle Book BluRay DVD: The Legend Comes to Life

Disney’s Groundbreaking Live-Action Adventure arrives on Digital HD August 23 &on Blu-ray August 30.

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Audiences were mesmerized by Disney’s live-action epic adventure “The Jungle Book,” which has earned more than $911 million at the global box office to date. Critically acclaimed, Jon Favreau’s stunning live-action re-imagining of Walt Disney’s animated classic, will be available early on Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere on August 23, and on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and On-Demand on August 30.

Venture behind the scenes with in-depth bonus features that reveal the innovative filmmaking technology used to create the richly immersive jungle world and characters; Follow the journey of the film’s only on-screen actor, charismatic newcomer Neel Sethi (Mowgli); Delve into a candid and humorous scene-by-scene audio commentary with director Jon Favreau and meet the all-star voice cast who help bring the film’s colorful characters to life, as well as the musicians who accent the adventure with a majestic music score.

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The all-star cast includes Bill Murray (“Lost in Translation”) as the voice of Baloo, Sir Ben Kingsley (“Learning to Drive,” “The Walk”) as Bagheera and Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”) as the voice of mother wolf Raksha. Scarlett Johansson (“Avengers: Age of Ultron”) gives life to Kaa, Giancarlo Esposito (“Breaking Bad”) provides the voice of alpha-male wolf Akela, Idris Elba (“Beast of No Nation”) roars as the voice of Shere Khan, and Christopher Walken (“The Deer Hunter”) lends his iconic voice to King Louie.

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Bonus features include*:
BLU-RAY & DIGITAL HD:
“The Jungle Book” Reimagined – Favreau sits down with producer Brigham Taylor and visual effects supervisor Robert Legato to discuss “The Jungle Book” and reflect on the years they devoted to the reimagining of this timeless tale. Discover how Rudyard Kipling’s original stories and the classic animated film influenced their unique approach, witness the technical wizardry that enabled the team to create a believable and thrilling movie-going experience, and learn how they borrowed a page from Walt Disney’s innovation playbook to make it all happen. Lastly, meet the all-star voice cast who help bring the film’s colorful characters to life, as well as the musicians who accent the adventure with a majestic music score.
I Am Mowgli – Follow the extraordinary journey of 12-year-old Neel Sethi, who was selected from thousands of hopefuls worldwide to play Mowgli “alongside” some of today’s biggest movie stars. Get a glimpse of Neel’s life before Hollywood came calling, check out his audition that sealed the deal, and see how a close-working relationship with Favreau brought out his best. Plus, Neel shares how filming “The Jungle Book” was one wild ride, from working alongside imaginary animals to performing some super-fun stunts.

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King Louie’s Temple: Layer by Layer – So, exactly how do you create a musical number featuring one man-cub, a massive, legendary ape and an army of wild and wily monkeys in the Seeonee jungle? Viewers are granted rare and unique access to the development of the “I Wan’na Be Like You” sequence in which King Louie attempts to coerce Mowgli into giving up Man’s deadly “red flower” (fire). A fast-moving musical progression reel showcases storyboards, animatics, Christopher Walken’s recording session and visual effects layers, which ultimately merge to form one of the film’s most memorable scenes.

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Audio Commentary – Favreau delivers his scene-by-scene perspective on the live-action adventure “The Jungle Book” with all the candor and humor you’d expect from this multi-talented actor-writer-director-producer.

DVD
King Louie’s Temple: Layer by Layer – So, exactly how do you create a musical number featuring one man-cub, a massive, legendary ape and an army of wild and wily monkeys in the Seeonee jungle? Viewers are granted rare and unique access to the development of the “I Wan’na Be Like You” sequence in which King Louie attempts to coerce Mowgli into giving up Man’s deadly “red flower” (fire). A fast-moving musical progression reel showcases storyboards, animatics, Christopher Walken’s recording session and visual effects layers, which ultimately merge to form one of the film’s most memorable scenes.
*Bonus features may vary by retailer

Note: The 3D version of The Jungle Book will be available later this year.

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Directed by Jon Favreau (“Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2,” “Chef”) and produced by Favreau and Brigham Taylor (executive producer of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” “Tomorrowland”), “The Jungle Book” is a live-action epic adventure based on Rudyard Kipling’s timeless stories, inspired by Disney’s classic 1967 animated film and centered on Mowgli (Neel Sethi), a man-cub who’s been raised by a family of wolves. But Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle when fearsome tiger Shere Khan (voice of Idris Elba), who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat.

The film’s musical score, composed by Emmy® winner and Oscar-, BAFTA- and Annie Award-nominee John Debney (“Elf,” “Iron Man 2”), features a classic orchestral sound accented by ethnic instruments and pays homage to the original film by highlighting snippets of the classic songs we all know and love.

DISC SPECIFICATIONS:
Product SKUs: Digital HD/SD, Blu-ray Combo Pack, Disney Movies Anywhere, DVD and On-Demand
Feature Run Time: Approximately 106 minutes
Rating: PG in U.S. and Canada
Aspect Ratio: Blu-ray Feature Film = 1080p High Definition / 1.85:1
DVD Feature Film = 1.85:1
Audio: Blu-ray = English 7.1 DTS-HDMA & 2.0 Descriptive Audio, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby Digital Language Tracks
DVD = English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital Language Tracks, English 2.0 Descriptive Audio
Languages/Subtitles: English, French & Spanish/English SDH, French & Spanish

About Disney Movies Anywhere (DMA)
Disney Movies Anywhere (DMA) is an engaging and family-friendly cloud-based digital movie service that makes it simple to buy your favorite Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars movies once and watch them anywhere. With DMA you can explore Disney’s library of over 450 eligible digital movies, discover hours of new and exclusive short-form content, and watch your digital movies from the comfort of the living room or across multiple mobile devices. You can add the free DMA app to a multitude of devices including iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android mobile phones and tablets, Android TV, Amazon’s Fire tablets, Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Roku, and Xbox 360. Then, connect your DMA account with participating providers including iTunes, Amazon Video, VUDU, Google Play, and Microsoft Movies & TV and your eligible movies will be shared across all your connected platforms. In addition, you can redeem Digital Copy codes found in Disney, Pixar and Marvel Blu-rays and DVDs, as well as earn Disney Movie Rewards points with every digital purchase.

New SoCal Annual Pass at the Queen Mary

The SoCal Pass program opens a sea of history and entertainment for locals who wish to hop aboard the world-famous icon and visit the exhibits, shops and restaurants. With the SoCal Pass, visitors can enjoy access to the Queen Mary for an entire year, discounted rates on day tours and complimentary parking for up to 3 hours.

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Get THIS: The pass is a mere $25 bucks! 

Whether you’re a history buff, lover of fine dining or just a Queen Mary aficionado, it’s effortless to board the legendary oceanliner and start your adventure with the SoCal Pass.

PASS BENEFITS

For a year from purchase date:
* Access to Queen Mary Historic Exhibits, Shops, and Restaurants
* Complimentary parking for up to 3 hours
* One (1) complimentary showing in the 4D Theater on date of first visit
* Access to day tours at discounted prices

The SoCal Pass may be purchased at the Box Office at the Queen Mary or online. If purchasing online, please note that you still must pick up the pass at the box office. Please visit the box office with a valid I.D. to claim your pass. The SoCal pass is only available to guests who reside within the following zip codes: 90000-93599.

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Terms and Condtions:
Valid for one year from date of purchase.  Blackout dates include but not limited to July 4th and December 31st. Not valid for special events which require a separate ticket including but not limited to ScotsFestival, Shamrock ‘n’ Roll, Fantasea Magic Festival, Dark Harbor, CHILL and New Year’s Eve. Pass is non-refundable, non-transferable and cannot be replaced if lost or stolen. Guided tours, 4D Theater and special exhibits are priced separately. Cannot be combined with any other offers or promotions.  Terms and conditions are subject to change without notice.

Meet up with Friends in the Disneyland Resort this Weekend!

There will be a gathering of a whole lot of friends this weekend from all sorts of different websites and podcasts, and many who aren’t from any at all! MiceChat’s own Roger Colton will start things off with a meetup on Saturday at 11:00AM: A Visit with Fortune Red

Not that one.
Not that one.

LOCATION:  Royal Court, New Orleans Square
Join Roger Colton of MiceChat.com and the Blue Parrot for his tradition of getting a bit of pirate advice from Fortune Red outside New Orleans Square’s Royal Court between the Pieces of Eight and the Port Royal Curios and Curiosities. A Fortune Red card for all hands and some Disneyland treasures, too!

Then, join us at noon in the central hub of Disneyland (right there at the Walt and Mickey statue) for the traditional MiceChat meet-up! We chat for about half an hour (about all things Disney) then we have lunch and ride some attractions . . .

Speaking of attractions, at 2:30 PM we’ll Ride the Pink Monorail* with The Fabulous Disney Babe

*Color subject to change without notice, since Disneyland does not actually HAVE a pink monorail. 
LOCATION: Disneyland Monorail Station (Tomorrowland near the exit to the Autopia)
All aboard the highway in the sky for the monorail roundtrip from the Disneyland station with Fab (Shelly of the Pink Monorail/Fab News on Micechat.com)  and Roger Colton of MiceChat.com and the Blue Parrot. Everyone who shows up gets one of these, because it’s my birthday:
Created by hand model Roger Colton.
Created by hand model Roger Colton, these will also be available to Patreon Patrons starting this month!

Thank you!

Thanks to my Patreon Patrons for supporting Fab News with a monthly pledge! Thanks to DVCResaleMarket.com for supporting Fab News with a monthly sponsorship! Also, thanks to DVCResaleMarketplace for giving MiceChat.com readers $50 off their closing costs if they buy or sell Disney Vacation Club points through them. Who wouldn’t? Nick Cotton and his team are the best in the business. They have almost a century of combined experience and have moved hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of DVC ownerships. They also have scores of happy clients with stories that they love to share. If you want to learn more about pre-paid vacations with Disney, or are thinking of selling some points, get hold of DVCResaleMarket.com today!

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and also available at [email protected].

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FTC-Mandated Disclosure: Sponsorship for this edition of Fab News was provided by DVC Resale Market.

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Shelly Valladolid
Shelly Valladolid, aka Fab, has been writing about Disney and theme parks for about two decades. She has written for various fan and pop culture sites, Disney Magazine and OCRegister.com and participated in several books, including Passporter's Disneyland and Southern California and Disney World Dreams. She was co-founder and president of the Orlando, Florida chapter of the NFFC (now Disneyana Fan Club). She taught a class on theme park history at a Southern California University. She is creator and co-owner of Jim Hill Media, one of the creators of MousePlanet and was a consultant on MSNBC, The Motley Fool and others about Disney and various media matters. She was a Heel wrestling manager on TV and a voice artist on the radio in Honolulu, HI, where she grew up. She has a blog and a podcast with her daughter, Mission:Breakout Obsessive Alice Hill. She and her husband, MiceChat columnist Noe Valladolid, live in Southern California with Alice.