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Here is your fun WTF? video of the day … back in the good ol’ days (around the late 1940′s/early 1950′s) the Walt Disney Company used to make educational animated films to teach young people about, well, things. Among the things that Disney animated a film about was the female menstruation cycle. Trust me, it’s worth spending a few minutes watching this odd yet educational video … and who knows, you may even learn something in the process.

Back in 2009 we got to see a new photo of Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens all dolled up as Disney fairy tale characters Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora from Disney‘s Sleeping Beauty. Today we get to see new photos, shot by Annie Leibovitz, of more celebs dressed up as Disney characters. Queen Latifah portrays Ursula the Sea Witch, Olivia Wilde as The Evil Queen (with Alec Baldwin as the Magic Mirror) and Penélope Cruz & Jeff Bridges as Belle and the Beast.

Yesterday the LA Times published a story that made it very clear that the Walt Disney Company had decided that they will no longer be making animated films based on classic fairy tale stories in lieu of focusing on making original films that will have a “wider appeal”. In the wake of public disappointment to that news, the official Disney Facebook page was updated with an official statement from Ed Catmull that maintains that fairy tales will remain “alive and well” at Disney. Catmull was quoted in the LA Times article regarding the end of Disney fairy tale films and now claims that the LA Times article is “erroneous”. Here is Catmull‘s full official statement as posted on the Disney Facebook page:

A headline in today’s LA Times erroneously reported that the Disney fairy tale is a thing of the past, but I feel it is important to set the record straight that they are alive and well at Disney and continue this week with Tangled, a contemporary retelling of a much loved story. We have a number of projects in development with new twists that audiences will be able to enjoy for many years to come. – Ed Catmull

It is interesting that Catmull claims that Disney has “a number of projects in development” in this statement but was quoted as saying “we don’t have any other musicals or fairy tales lined up” in the LA Times article. You will also note that this new statement only says that fairy tales are “alive and well” but doesn’t actually mention any of these new “projects in development”. To be honest, this latest message kinda feels like Catmull is trying to placate fans by recanting a bit on what he told the LA Times while not offering specifics … is he actually saying that Disney will continue to make fairy tale films or does he just mean that the spirit of Disney‘s fairy tale history will remain “alive and well”? I truly hope that Disney does NOT abandon the practice of creating animated films based on classic fairy tales. But, we won’t know what Disney will do for many years. I’ll wish upon an star and remain hopeful that Catmull‘s latest statement is true … that the fairy tale is truly “alive and well” at Disney and that they will continue to make animated films based on classic fairy tale stories.

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Sad and very disappointing news to pass along today Disney Animation fans … according to the company itself, The Walt Disney Company will no longer produce animated/musical films based on classic fairy tales. Tangled, Disney‘s modern take on Rapunzel, hits theaters next week and altho the film will not be presented in traditional 2D animation, it will feature a classic fairy tale story (like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) set to a musical soundtrack (like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin) … and, sadly, it will be the last Disney animated feature to do so … at least for the “foreseeable future”:

Once upon a time, there was a studio in Burbank that spun classic fairy tales into silver-screen gold. But now the curtain is falling on “princess movies,” which have been a part of Disney Animation’s heritage since the 1937 debut of its first feature film, “Snow White.” The studio’s Wednesday release of “Tangled,” a contemporary retelling of the Rapunzel story, will be the last fairy tale produced by Disney’s animation group for the foreseeable future. “Films and genres do run a course,” said Pixar Animation Studios chief Ed Catmull, who along with director John Lasseter oversees Disney Animation. “They may come back later because someone has a fresh take on it … but we don’t have any other musicals or fairy tales lined up.” Indeed, Catmull and Lasseter killed two other fairy tale movies that had been in development, “The Snow Queen” and “Jack and the Beanstalk.” To appreciate what a sea change this is for the company, consider that a fairy tale castle is a landmark at Disney theme parks around the world and is embedded in the Walt Disney Pictures logo. Fairy tale characters from Disney’s movies populate the parks, drive sales of merchandise and serve as the inspiration for Broadway musicals … Over the decades, Disney has benefited from the ticket sales and licensing revenue generated by such princess-driven properties as “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin.” The studio’s most recent offering, however, was a clear disappointment. Although critically acclaimed, last year’s “The Princess and the Frog” was the most poorly performing of Disney’s recent fairy tales. In the age of mega-franchises when movies need to appeal to a broad audience to justify a sizable investment, Disney discovered too late that “Princess and the Frog” appealed to too narrow an audience: little girls. This prompted the studio to change the name of its Rapunzel movie to the gender-neutral “Tangled” and shift the lens of its marketing to the film’s swashbuckling male costar, Flynn Rider …

The article excerpt continues, after the jump …

Last September we saw some pretty cool artwork that re-imagined the Disney Princesses as twisted, more sinister creatures … today we get to see some of those same princesses re-imagined as sexy comic book vixens. Here are a few illustrations created by Marvel Comics artist J. Scott Campbell that feature the Disney Princesses as you’ve never seen them before:

Dang, these ladies are hawt!! This sexy side of the Princesses reminds me of the artwork we saw last October of the sexy Disney Princes. If ever the Walt Disney company wanted to win new male fans, I think they be smart to hire Campbell to help them in that endeavor. These Disney Princesses are crazy sexy … which is kinda cool, no?

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Back in August we learned the news that The Walt Disney Company was interested in acquiring the entire catalog of Marvel Comics characters and, very surprisingly, Marvel was interested in selling. Today we learn that the deal, priced in the $4 billion dollar range, has been completed … Disney now owns the entire Marvel Comics company and catalog Marvel characters:

Walt Disney Co. completed its $4.24-billion acquisition of Marvel Entertainment Inc. on Thursday, bringing Spider-Man, Iron Man and 5,000 other characters under the same roof as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Marvel shareholders approved the acquisition Thursday morning as expected. Marvel Chief Executive Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter, who owned 37% of Marvel stock, supported it. He will oversee the Marvel business and report to Disney CEO Robert Iger. Iger said the deal can help Disney grow revenue and profit, saying in a statement, “The creative and business potential of this combination is substantial.” Marvel shareholders received $30 per share in cash, plus 0.7452 of a Disney share for every Marvel share they owned. Disney shares closed Thursday at $32.25. That valued Marvel shares at $54.03 each, and put the purchase price at $4.24 billion. The deal is Disney’s largest since it bought Pixar Animation Studios Inc., the maker of “Up” and “Cars,” for $7.4 billion in stock in 2006. Separately, Pow Entertainment Inc., a company led by Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee, said it expanded a three-year relationship with Disney by giving Disney greater rights to its creative output and exclusive consulting services. Disney, based in Burbank, will take a 10% stake in Pow for $2.5 million, it said. Walt Disney Studios’ president of worldwide distribution, Bob Chapek, said it made sense to extend the relationship with the company partly because of Lee’s “knowledge and familiarity of the Marvel Universe.”

And that’s all she wrote … the Mouse now owns Spider-Man and Friends. I’m still not really pleased by this sale at all … the thought of such a major comic book company coming under the ownership of a company like Disney worries me to no end. I’m comforted by the fact that Disney‘s purchase of Pixar Animation has been a good union, with Pixar keeping full creative control. My hope is that Marvel will continue to have creative control as well … but if push ever comes to shove and Disney wants something a certain way, then as owners they will get their way. I suppose, at the end of the day, everyone has their selling price … everyone. Disney just happens to have the funds to pay Marvel their selling price. I just hope this deal with the Mouse doesn’t end up to be more like a deal with the Devil for Marvel.

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In late August pretty much everyone lost their shizz when the news came out that The Walt Disney Company was acquiring Marvel Comics for $4 billion mainly because there was a huge fear that Disney would interfere with Marvel and ruin those characters. BUT, what if the reverse actually happened and Marvel was able to influence the nice, sweet Disney characters instead. Illustrator Jeffrey Thomas envisions what Disney characters might look like if they received the Marvel Comics treatment … here are a few of the Twisted Princesses that he envisions:

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if instead of Disney’s wussification of Marvel’s characters, the tables were turned and instead Marvel turned the Disney princesses into Skrull invaders and zombies like this Dark Little Mermaid? All the images are by illustrator Jeffrey Thomas, who’s as twisted as he is brilliant. Please oh please can’t we at least get a comic book out of these images?

Aren’t these illustrations fantastic? I love mashing up characters like this … seeing the Disney Princesses in a more dark light only highlights their personalities, I think. Some of them look evil (ie. Ariel the Little Mermaid) but some of them just look more realistic and strong (ie. Pocahontas). I LOVE these illustrations. I urge you to visit Thomas‘s website HERE to see these illustrations in higher resolution … they’re really amazing. One can only hope that the marriage between Disney and Marvel might bring to fruition an alliance like this … my guess is that it won’t really happen but it’s nice to wish … upon a star.

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Terribly scary news to pass along today … The Walt Disney Company has announced that it is planning to acquire the Marvel Comics company — including its 5,000 characters like Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Hulk, etc. — for $4 billion in cash and stock. Um, to this I say, WTF????????

The Walt Disney Co. says it is acquiring Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing characters like Iron Man and Spider-Man into the Disney family. Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters. Disney said Monday that Marvel shareholders will receive $30 per share in cash plus 0.745 Disney shares for every Marvel share they own. It said the boards of Disney and Marvel have both approved the transaction, but it requires an antitrust review and the approval of Marvel shareholders.

This is terrible news! While I’m sure Disney plans on acquiring Marvel Comics for the sole purpose of keeping it the way it is, I can’t help but wonder if they will start tinkering with the way Marvel operates its comics and/or movie biz somewhere down the line if they successfully gain control. I had no idea that Marvel was in a position where they would want to sell … to anyone … let alone Disney! Says Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer:

“Disney is the perfect home for Marvel’s fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses.”

And here’s a quote from Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company:

“This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney’s creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories.”

I can’t help but feel deep in the pit of my gut that this is a terrrrrrrribly horrible idea … one that will adversely affect Marvel comics fans down the line. I mean … right? Does this sound like a good idea to anyone out there??

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