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And what is HK doing about it?
This story appeared in this weeks LA Times:
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In the rich tradition of goofy sports trades, eminent sportscaster Al Michaels has been traded for a rabbit. Not even a real rabbit, a cartoon rabbit.
The Walt Disney Co., owner of ESPN and ABC, said on Thursday it dealt the veteran ABC broadcaster to NBC Universal for rights to highlights from a broad range of NBC Sports coverage, promotions for ESPN's "Monday Night Football" -- and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Who the heck is Oswald the Rabbit? How long has this been burning the Disney psyche, the fact that somebody else owned Oswald? When you think Disney do you really think Oswald? Maybe they need to stand a little farther away from the correction fluid during board meetings.
And how does this make Al Michaels feel? They traded him for a cartoon property that no one outside of a select few knows about. It's not like they traded him for Woody Woodpecker or Yogi Bear. They traded him for Oswald.
This is the reason animation isn't film
You think your safe in Emmeryville? Do you?
So much for the flickr badge idea. Dammit
Haggis Killer
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I love this deal.
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit has a facinating place in animation history. Disney started the series after business on his first one, Alice in Cartoonland, started falling off. Alice was a live action/animation combo. Oswald was all cartoon, with a lot in common with the then-most-popular cartoon star, Felix the Cat. Walt made Oswald silent cartoons for about 2 years, until his distributor went behind his back and hired away most of the Disney staff and pulled production away from Walt. His distributor owned the rights to the character (Walt had signed them over to do the initial deal) so they stole the staff and set up a new studio.
However, the one person who wouldn't leave Walt was Ub Iwerks. Ub was both the best and fastest draftsman Walt had on the staff. Walt learned about the loss of Oswald in a meeting in New York. Before hopping on a train back to California, he wired to Ub that they needed a new character. The legend is he sketched out the first rough drawings of Mickey Mouse on the train west. Supposedly, he showed his wife his sketch of "Mortimer Mouse", but his wife didn't like the name. So they hit on "Mickey Mouse".
Back in CA, Ub did the animation - all of it - for the first 3 Mickey Mouse cartoons. Just as they finished the third one, "Steamboat Willie", Warner Bros', hit "The Jazz Singer" made history as the first big "talking picture". Walt hired Carl Stalling (later of Warner Bros cartoons fame) to post-score "Steamboat Willie". That was subsequently released as the first Mickey Mouse cartoon, and the rest, as they say, is blah, blah, blah who's still reading?
Universal eventually re-stole the rights to Oswald, and produced crappy Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons until the late '30s or early '40s.
So, Oswald was Walt Disney's first cartoon star. The cartoons were popular, but Walt lost them in the deal. If he hadn't, we might never have had Mickey Mouse and who knows if the later Disney company would have paid 7.4 billion dollars to get me back as an employee.
The Disney family has wanted the rights to Oswald for a long time. Bob Iger promised the family he'd get it back for them. And he did, before the first year of his tenure is up.
I like this Iger guy.
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I know let's change it. Let's change the last ride Walt Disney actually oversaw. We'll make it more like the movie " Pirate's of the Carribean" Which, if memory serves me, is based on one of the rides at Disneyland. Wait a second! The movie is based on the ride "Pirates of the Carribean"! Which means they changing the ride to look like the movie which was supposed to look like the ride. What the F?
No more dancing pirates. I'll just spend my time in the water looking at Orlando and Johhnny. Maybe Kiera will be naked?
So much for the flickr badge idea. Dammit
Haggis Killer
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The Enchanted Tiki Room was the last ride that Walt personally watched over. It's been freshly painted. You should go see it. Of course, it's still the edited verion.
Oh, and, I completely understand your concerns about Pirates. What, Johnny Depp is going to be sitting on top of the big pile of gold, instead of a skeleton? Puh-leeze...
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Ye canna spake aboot the Tiki room! 'Tis forbidden and Eeeeeevil! Spake no more of it!
In the Tudor Period, Fencing Masters were classified in the Vagrancy Laws along with Actors, Gypsys, Vagabonds, Sturdy Rogues, and the owners of performing bears.
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Haggis Killer Wrote:The Enchanted Tiki Room was the last ride that Walt personally watched over.
In what universe can that be considered a "ride"?
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.
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Stacy and I once went to the Tiki Room with a gaggle of Buddhist monks. The monks really got off when the flowers started singing. They were pointing and laughing with each other. Those monks went nuts in there. It was awesome. It's always our first stop when we visit.
BTW, HK, you fountain of disney knowledge you, do you know if there's a hidden mickey in the Tiki room?
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
Haggis Killer
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The search terms you're looking for are:
hidden mickeys disneyland tiki room.
The answer is, apparently, yes. With room for personal interpretation and requiring a strong imagination.
Buddhist monks in the Tiki Room? Wish I'd seen that!
And no, it's not a "ride". It's an "experience". Or something. Hell if I know.
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I've been to the hidden mickeys website. It takes all the fun out of it. I stopped reading it as soon as I started.
No worries. I'll find them myself. I've actually only found one by myself - in the painting-the-roses-red paint drops in the Alice in Wonderland ride.
Disney isn't about rides so much anymore. That went out years ago. For Tara, it's about princesses and standing in long lines to get their autographs.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
Haggis Killer
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Is it all about the new line of Tinkerbell fairy pals yet? Or is that line of marketing not running through your house?
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...Barbie has the market cornered when it comes to fairy pals. Did I ever tell you about Barbie's Fairytopia? It's a masterpiece. A MASTERPIECE!!!
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
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The Tiki Room? That's the big buzz? Can we get back to the real subject. They are replacing the classic pillaging raping ( all in good fun raping)(yes, I know they took those out years ago and replaced them with food chasers) with Johnny Depp. Isn't that worth bemoaning? Tiki room, please. And why is that room still even in the park? Better yet, why doesn't it have it's own movie? They made a movie for Country Bear Jamboree and that ride isn't even in the park anymore.
So much for the flickr badge idea. Dammit
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OK Gang - big secret follows!
NOTHING LASTS FOREVER!
Oh crap - and I didn't even put a 'spoiler' tag!
Time and space make mincemeat of matter.
It's why I take so few pictures.
I learned about desecration of memory when they tore down Frontier Village. Just enjoy the moment and do not create sacred idols. Your joy will last for eternity, the source of that joy will decay to nothingness.
Fucking white-boy buddhists are annoying.
El Dingo
Haggis Killer
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First of all, you think that Pirates chasing after food instead of skirt was the death of this ride?
Wrong, wrong wrong!
When they replaced most of the Paul Frees readings from the talking skull telling you to stay in your effin' seats, that was the death of Pirates.
Besides, they're only adding a couple of new characters, not removing large chunks. That'd be too expensive.
See here:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/200602/35/">http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/200602/35/</a><!-- m -->
...for details
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The real tragedy was when they got rid of the Monsanto ride where you got shrunk down ala Fantastic Voyage. I've never gotten over that. They should bring it back.
And the demise of the "Mission to Mars" formerly "Mission to the Moon". It was a great show of what cutting entertainment technology was like in the early 1970's. Delightfully low tech.
Maybe Disney needs to spin off another park where they put all the old rides instead of just tearing them down. I think I'd even watch the Carousel of Progress.
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