Here’s a “hidden Mickey” that even many Disney fans overlook…
If you think you know where in the park it is, leave your answer in this entry’s “comments” section.
And while we’re at it, those who say that Disneyland doesn’t have a rodent problem can be quickly quieted by with this photo. The vermin seem pretty well settled in here!
In an interview with Underwire magazine, filmmaker Andrew “Mr. Stanton” Stanton revealed that not only was his new feature Wall*E a sequel to the classic Silent Running (as we discussed yesterday), it was also inspired by other classic Sci Fi films. For example:
Alien: This inspired the scene of WALL*E being chased through air ducts by overweight people armed with flamethrowers. The movie also inspired Stanton to cast Sigourney Weaver as a voice that “bursts from the chest” of a computer system.
Blade Runner: Referenced in WALL*E’s bizarre unicorn-dream sequence (which, at press time, it appears has been cut from the final print of the film — look for it to appear in a DVD “director’s cut” release).
2001: A Space Odyssey: The first half of WALL*E has no dialog because there is so much poetic silence in 2001.
Outland: Wall*E was clearly modeled after Sean Connery (though he’s armed with a fire extinguisher instead of a shotgun).
Planet of the Apes: WALL*E is cleaning up after the “damned, dirty humans.” Also referenced in the scene at the beginning of the film where WALL*E is dismantling the fallen Statue of Liberty.
Star Wars: WALL*E is actually Eve’s brother, but they don’t discover this until after they “kiss.” Also, WALL*E’s movements are based on those of actor Kenny Baker.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Stanton claims that “a close encounter of the fourth kind involves robots cleaning up after encounters one through three.”
Tron: As a nod to this film, Stanton suggested that Disney purchase Pixar.
So now that you know all about the film, go out and see it!
You may be interested to know that Pixar’s new film Wall*E isn’t a standalone feature. Although it is not widely known, this feature is actually a sequel of sorts to 1972’s Silent Running, which starred Bruce Dern as a space-faring gardener armed with nuclear weapons.
Silent Running is largely about three robots who are taking care of what is left of Earth’s plant life while certain other robots — not mentioned in the film — are trying to clean up the planet so that the plants can be reintroduced. The Disney connection is made clear by the robots’ names — Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
There are parallels in the films’ dialog as well. Silent Running: “Take good care of the forest, Dewey.” WALL*E: “Take good care of the planet, WALL*E.”
Tomorrow, we’ll look at a few more classic films that served as inspiration for WALL*E.
Correcting our earlier correction, mathematics historians now inform us that four is not “a couple.”
Sorry again!
Disney pin traders will be pleased with the latest addition to Disneyland Resort’s Downtown Disney — the Disney Pin Vault (captured just before opening by our Official DisneyLies Photo Correspondent).
This gigantic store has the largest collection of rare, vintage, hard-to-find, one-of-a-kind, signed, dangled, pin-on-pin, flocked, lenticular, light-up, animated, jumbo, micro, 3D, audio, holographic, precious-metal, scented, hallucinogenic, holy grail, POH, and self-aware collectible Disney pins on the planet. Says store manager Cloisinné Baubél, “Pin aficionados have been known to become excited to the point that they need medical attention when they see our collection. Our hand-selected pins cost from as little as $25 for a simple retired cast-member lanyard pin to as much as $12,000 for a pin encasing a relic such as a fragment of Walt Disney’s true desk. Many people ask if we trade pins and we answer that we do happily trade — for cold, hard cash.”
The store’s gigantic vault-like front door is in fact the real thing. It operates on a time lock, so guests must enter the store promptly when it opens at 10 a.m., and cannot leave until the door again opens at 5 p.m. Serious pin collectors only. No food, drinks, scrappers, or strollers.
It has been announced that after the release of Pixar’s newest feature Wall*E, a full-size animatronic Wall*E will be introduced into Disney’s California Adventure! This specially programmed, completely autonomous automaton will drive, make expressive noises, and pick up trash, just like its movie counterpart. Disney management says that it may even be allowed to interact with guests after it has completely cleaned its area of the park.
Unfortunately, just a few days after this news was released, Disney announced that it would be firing a significant number of its animatronics-department staff. This marks an end to Disney’s tradition of developing lifelike figures in-house or (in recent years) of outsourcing much of its animatronics work but not telling anyone. The released staffers will be replaced by specially programmed, completely autonomous Wall*E-style robots.
A little over a week ago, the Blue Sky Disney blog had an article responding to the question that is on many Disney fan’s mouse-puckered lips, “I’ve heard that because of the economy all projects for DCA are on hold or canceled.” Well, we have been diligently researching this topic and have come to the conclusion that, despite what some may have you believe, this is not a question at all. All it is is a statement about a rumor. According to several experts in the English language that we consulted, if it had been a question the sentence would have had a significantly different form, and there probably would have been a question mark at the end.
Now that this is cleared up, we would like to address rumors that DCA’s improvements have been delayed/canceled due to a downturn in the economy. Fortunately, few things could be further from the truth! It is true that construction at DCA has been delayed a few months, but this has nothing to do with a lack of funds — at least not in a traditional sense. As Peter Exchequer, former head of Disneyland Resort accounting, told us on condition of anonymity, “To make a long story short, I lost the checkbook. We were all ready to go with moving the park’s entrance and recreating 1920 Hollywood or whatever it was that they were going to do first, and I had purchase orders read for all the construction crews, but when I got to the head of the line at Home Depot to buy all the wood and nails and stuff, I couldn’t find the checkbook. It was really embarrassing. Fortunately I found it just yesterday. It was in the pocket of a suit that was at the cleaners. So now as soon as my successor can get back to Home Depot and pick out all that stuff again, we’re back in business!”
Sad but true! This is easily the most embarrassing delay experienced at the resort since a cast member lost the key to the front gate of Disneyland and the park had to stay closed for a week and a half.
One of the benefits of the new Toy Story Midway Mania attraction being largely computer animated is that it can be easily modified to suit current events. For example, beginning later this month, a certain little futuristic robot will be visible in the distance in one of the scenes, cleaning up darts that miss the background and hit targets. And when the new Tinker Bell movie is released directly to video, a certain pixie will appear in one game (and explode when hit with a burst of pixie dust that will make other objects on the screen fly — if they are thinking happy thoughts).
Holidays will also be commemorated as the season demands. Around Christmas time, players will be able to throw fruitcakes instead of pies, and Buzz Lightyear will sport a new red spacesuit and whiskers. You’ll be hurling colored eggs at chocolate farm animals on Easter. On Arbor Day, throwing a dart at a balloon in a tree will earn you double points, as will hitting any target in the Green Army Men scene on Memorial Day.
The attraction is also programmed to react to real-world events. Earthquakes will knock down all targets for a big score, and all on-screen characters are programmed to move calmly toward exits in case of a fire.
