It’s a Messtival of Fantasy!

What do you get when the daytime parade goes horribly wrong?

A Messtival of Fantasy!

Wendy's not sure what she thinks
about the mess ahead...
Image via itsadisneything.com

Disney fanatics across various social media platforms posted videos and photos of the May 31 Festival of Fantasy, when the parade encountered several mishaps, including a deflated balloon!

Festival of Fantasy Floats Arrive!

Awhile ago, I shared with you that the Celebrate a Dream Come True parade had ended at Magic Kingdom, to be replaced in March with another parade called Festival of Fantasy.

Well, the floats have arrived!

Video from YouTube.

Float 1: Yes, that is an awesome steampunk Maleficent dragon float – too fantasmic for words!  I literally fangirled when I saw the tweet a few weeks ago about the float because, as you (should) know, Maleficent is one of my favorite Disney characters, especially in her dragon form!  I just hope this isn’t a tie-in to the upcoming movie because, well, you know….

SO FREAKING COOL!
Image via Disney Parks Blog.

Float 2: this float is going to hold Mickey and Minnie.  I love the colors, and I absolutely adore the use of Fantasia characters.  That movie and its characters needs more spotlight at the Disney Parks!

Image from the Disney Parks Blog.

Float 3: Merida will be astride this bagpipe float, with her bear brothers popping out of the drones.  I think it’s funny how Hubert, Hamish, or Harris (whichever one of the three it was) looked limp in the video….odd that Disney let the animatronic/puppetronic hang loose like that in the video.

Love the DunBroch colors on the bagpipe!
Image from the Disney Parks Blog.

Float 4: Can you say WHOA-ho?  (Catch my wordplay there?)  This fantasmic float is going to host Peter Pan and Wendy in the ship, with Captain Hook and Smee on the anchor and Tink in the back.  I absolutely love the different layers and film elements on this float – one of the best!

This float looks huge in the video!
Image from the Disney Parks Blog.

Two floats Disney “forgot” to include in the video are the The Little Mermaid and Tangled floats, which look just as cool as the others.

Interesting that this one doesn't have a clip-art version of the characters...
Image from the Disney Parks Blog.

I. Love. This.
Image from the Disney Parks Blog.

I love the colors on the Ariel float and the fact that it reminds me of my favorite Disney parade (Mickey’s Soundsational Parade), and I can’t get over how absolutely astonishing the Tangled float looks.  That one I can’t way to see in person!

What are your thoughts?  I’m thinking we’re in for a pretty fantasmic parade!

Keep in mind these floats won’t be parading in public until March this year!  Book your tickets now with Destinations in Florida, an authorized Disney vacation planner and proud affiliate of The Disney Freak’s Blog!

ttfn!

Annie Leibovitz’s Merida

Just today, the Disney Parks Blog released the newest addition to the Disney Dream Portraits series, in which famous celebrities pose as Disney characters to be magically photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

This newest addition is of Merida, the feisty protagonist of Brave, portrayed by actress Jessica Chastain.

Image from the Disney Parks Blog post.

Merida and Angus from Brave for comparison.
Image from Forbes after a Google search.

While I absolutely love Annie Leibovitz’s work in this series, I’m a bit on the fence for this one because Jessica Chastain just looks…too old to play our young Scottish princess…it’s weird because I feel like I’m looking at an aged Merida, in her early twenties.  Angus’ face also seems a bit out of focus, but that’s nit-picking.

I do have to say, I love how perfect Jessica's hair is!

On the Disney Parks Blog post, many fans are commenting that Disney should release a book with all the portraits in the series (either now or whenever it’s completed). I wholeheartedly agree – I’d buy it in a second!

Tune in tomorrow for an update with a behind-the-scenes video.

What do you think of the new portrait overall and the casting of Jessica Chastain?  Who do you think Annie Leibovitz should do next for the series?

ttfn!

***UPDATE***

Welcome…Princess Merida!

It’s official – Merida, Scottish star of Disney-Pixar’s features Brave, is now an official Disney Princess.

Not just a princess in the Disney franchise.  No, she’s now the 11th member of the Disney Royal Court aka the official lineup for the Disney Princess franchise.

Take a look with me at the royal festivities!

I Am Merida…And I Am a Princess!

This morning at 9:30, the ceremonies began at Disney World. 

Video from YouTube. Leave it to InsidetheMagic.net to always create an amazing video!

In a pretty epic coronation ceremony, all the members of the Royal Court showed up in front of Cinderella Castle to welcome the newest member, who came in riding on Angus (that was sweet!) with banners and Scottish dancers.  Let me just say at this point that I love how “Merida” stayed in perfect character during the entire ceremony – just wonderful!



All images, unless specified, are from InsidetheMagic.net.

Joining the Royal Court on the stage, Merida told everyone how excited she was to be here and then the proclamation was read.  Her mother Queen Elinor (yeah, that’s right!  Her first Park appearance!) came out and crowned Merida, making her the 11th member.



I love Queen Elinor so much!
The speech she gave to Merida was so cute!



Image from Stitchkingdom.com

Then there was a really really cute hug between mother and daughter.



I can't tell you how much I am in love with this!

And then the best part: Merida happily stood before the audience in her new crown and proclaimed, “I am strong. I am brave.  I am Merida…and I am a princess!”

I just can't.



Love love love!

Cue fan girl screams now.  Man, Disney sure knows how to do it right.

After Queen Elinor gave Merida her bow, Merida joined the rest of the Royal Court for a final photo opportunity – a once-in-a-lifetime one until Princesses numbers 12 and 13 come in 2014.



Wishing so hard that I had been there!

Welcome Princess Merida to the Disney Royal Court!



What a smile!

Reaction: *sigh*...just magical
Source

ttfn!

***UPDATE***

Here’s the video of the coronation from Disney Parks Blog, showing different angles/views of the event!  Enjoy!

***UPDATE***

Mary Connor at the blog Capturing Magical Memories got an up-close spot at the coronation, and her pictures of the ceremony really make you feel as if Merida and the others are standing right in front of you!

Winter Will-o’-the-Wisp

After we got some snow at Benedictine, I found this mythical creature waiting by a tree..



Picture by THE Disney Freak;
do not remove watermark.

Perhaps it wants to lead me to my fate.

Reaction: Gosh
Source link missing.

See you all real soon.

The 11th Disney Princess: Verified

Thanksgiving day, YDF, MDF, and I worked on some of their Disney Princess puzzles.

Picture taken by THE Disney Freak;
do not remove watermark.

Picture taken by THE Disney Freak;
do not remove watermark.

The next day, I was glancing through all the toy catalogs from various retailers.  In the Target one, I found an interesting Disney Princess doll set.

Picture taken by THE Disney Freak.

Picture taken by THE Disney Freak.

Why am I highlighting this?  Maybe it was pretty obvious that this would happen, but Merida is included in an (*ahem*) official Disney Princess doll set. 

So is Merida going to be an official Disney Princess?  Or is she just being included with official Disney Princesses as a non-official princess?  Will that change (aka question A)?  Several questions arose at the sight of this set, obviously.

Immediately, I called over TDSO (our previous Brave hypothesizer) for her take on this all.  She said that she didn’t think Merida would be an official Disney Princess but because she is a Disney princess, she would be included in a few sets.  Just like when Kida or Nala sometimes appear in Disney Princess merchandise.

However, seems things have changed – or been verified.

Because in July 2013, Merida will indeed join the official lineup as the 11th Disney Princess.

What are your thoughts?  The Disney Mermaid is personally upset because Ariel won’t be the only ginger anymore (and for some other reasons).

As for me, I’m not quite sure what I think right now.  As the Disney Wiki pointed out, Merida will be the first Disney Princess without a love interest, which I’m not against, but all the other Princesses appear with their Princes in some merchandise and at events at the Parks.  Poor Merida will be the odd one (literally) out.  Like The Disney Mermaid, I’m disappointed that they would add in another ginger, and if they’re going to just add any new princess character they add, why not allow Kida to join?  How does Disney’s selection work (hey, that’s another post to work on!)?

See ya all real soon!

Christmas is quickly approaching!  Shopping done?

Midnight

It has happened.

Brave is now out in theaters.

See it.

The Pizza Planet Truck

If you know anything about Pixar movies, they have certain traditions for every movie.

Some people call these "Easter eggs" because when you look for them, it's like being on an Easter egg hunt.

One such Easter egg is the Pizza Planet Truck.

Picture from the Pixar Wiki.

If you don't know where the truck's from, it originated in Toy Story since Pizza Planet is the restaurant Andy and his family go to.  Since it's first appearance, the Truck has appeared in every following Pixar movie, except The Incredibles apparently.

But what of the upcoming Brave?

It seems a bit odd to think of a truck appearing in 10th century DunBroch.

However, Mark Andrews, one of the "co-directors" of Brave, has confirmed that the all the traditional Easter eggs will appear, including the truck!

It made my Disney Family and I wonder just how this was going to be done.

I'd read somewhere (the source escapes me) that it would appear but it won't be what you're expecting.  Some sort of twist.  Makes the hunt a little more exciting!

But here below is a clue, if you want it.  Otherwise, I direct you to another post of mine....

Clue, Maybe

According to both the Disney Wiki and the Pixar Wiki, "it was reported that Tia Kratter, art director of the film, has hinted during her presentation at the D23 Expo that the truck would be in the Witch's house" (The Disney Wiki).

Good luck!

Breathe, Myself, Breathe...

It's official.

Brave opens tonight at midnight because then it will be tomorrow.

Picture from the Disney Wiki.

To put it plain and simple, it opens tomorrow, Friday the 22nd of June.

I can't tell you how excited I am!

I went from casually learning about the movie via the Disney Wiki, being curious, creating a blog, learning a ton more, and becoming to excited to be unable to tell you just how excited I am.

To put in less words, it seems like so long ago we were just learning about it and then waiting for the release date.  And now it's about to be here.  Literally!

While I will not be able to make it to the premiere because I don't personally have any money at the moment, MMM is "considering" taking me this weekend to see it.

To end this post:

"If you had the chance to change your Fate, would you?"

Witch's Magical Mystery Brew

I still can't stop grinning from watching the new clip/trailer from Brave.

It's absolutely the funniest one that's been released yet.

And probably the best one yet.

Picture from the Disney Wiki.

Sure, it doesn't exactly tell more of the story.  It plays more like a ad.

But it's hilarious!  The music that starts playing, such upbeat happy music, when the narrator starts to say, "But next time, don't just wish your problems away..."  It's fantastic!  (Oops, I meant to say fantasmic!)

The part when the "ad" goes through all the side effects of the "Witch's Magical Mystery Brew" was when I really started smiling.

By the way, Queen Elinor, that's not exactly lady-like, is it?

Order your Witch's Magical Mystery Brew today!

Elinor and Fergus' Own Clip

I've mentioned I like these two, right?

As I've said on the Facebook page for this blog, June is Brave month because....Brave comes out on the 22nd this month.  It's going to be so awesome!

Well, here's a clip that shows that full scene which we got glimpses of in Trailer 3.  I really enjoyed seeing more of it.

But what I really like in this clip is Fergus and Elinor together.  I still want to know their backstories (were they married through arrangement?), but this clip really and finally shows me they are a great couple together.  Their little conversation is very cute here, and I understand now that Fergus can be pretty serious about being a king.

Let me explain myself.  At first, when I started watching Brave clips, I thought maybe Fergus didn't really want to be king and left all the work to Elinor, which she apparently didn't mind but at the same time did (she obviously was still queen but seemed to want her husband to focus, rather than "encourage" Merida).  While I'm pretty sure Fergus is still a fun-loving guy a lot like Merida, he does take some matters seriously.

The one thing I really really like?

Elinor's muttering.

"I don't mutter!"

Sorry, Your Highness.

Cutting Class: New Brave Clip

If only all classes were like this, I'd always look forward to school!

This video is fairly new - it was posted on YouTube by ThePixarPost on Sunday.  As always, every Brave trailer aims to please, and at least in for me, always hits that mark!

I love how Queen Elinor (who is slowly becoming one of my favorite characters) always thinks her husband is on her side only to find out, well, Merida is a lot like her father and putting them together doesn't work out the way Elinor would like.

The one thing I'd really like to see, speaking of Queen Elinor, is how she and Fergus got together.  She's so diplomatic while he's just a guy who wants to have fun.  And it seems the kids take on after him.

There's a video on the King and Queen, but it really doesn't discuss much, except that they couldn't be any more different from each other.

By the way, sorry about the weird sound issue in this video in the middle of it.  And I'm also sorry that I've been unable to do a post on every new Brave trailer that comes out - there are just too many of them!  Some of them I haven't even seen yet, but I try to share my favorite ones here on the blog.

See ya all real soon!

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Introducing....

Pardon me for taking forever to post this.  Seriously.  What I'm gonna tell you is kind of old information now.

Like I said, it ain't mandatory to post anymore.  Which makes it a bit hard to keep on track.

Cross your fingers for me.

Anywho.

Several weeks ago, MMM and I headed to Target to do some shopping.  I had tagged along because we were looking for a new caculator for me as my previous one stopped, er, working and I had a math final the next day!  And even though I told MMM my calculator is like the most common calculator EVER and OF COURSE Target will have it on stock, she thought I should come along to see if it wasn't on stock.

Who was right?

Guess.

After finding the needed, matching calculator in less than a minute, I decided to head over to the Toys section while MMM browsed adult stuff.  Kitchen stuff, etc.  Where you (the child) stand there watching the ceiling and wondering when you'll go home.

Mostly, I went to check out Target's Breyer selection (gotta keep an eye on my stores' selections, and apparently this particular Target no longer sells Breyers).

On the way to that search, a very obvious display practically shouted for my attention.

(Target exclusive) Brave merchandise.

Ooh.

Of course I checked it out.

It Is! It Is!

(For your information, before I start the juicy part of this post, this post's title is in answer to that of the previous post.  Did you catch that?)

As questioned in the previous post, that is indeed Merida making her soft opening debut at Epcot at Walt Disney World.  Apparently, according to The Disney Blog, characters and their hosts make soft openings like the rides to get used to being in the Parks.  Merida seems to be getting along fine, as these videos show!

She's got a great smile.  And that voice!  Love it.  I've mentioned before that I love Scottish accents, haven't I?  Oh yes, in an earlier post...

I agree with John Frost, the author of The Disney Blog post, that this actress seems a bit old to play the part of spirited teen Merida, but I think we'll get used to it.  As Frost says in the post, "But I guess you have to meet certain realities when you’re in the park."

Overall, I think Merida did a great job making her brave new appearance.  What do you think?  That's what comments are for, my friends!!

See ya all real soon!

***UPDATE***

While I thought her accent was pretty good (other than she faltered a bit), I have to say I'm not expert on accents.  Many people are complaining.  Read the comments in the post at The Disney Blog or here is a different post discussing only her accent and its controversy.

Could...Could It Be?

The Disney Princess, a tumblr blog, has shared photos of what looks to be the new Merida at Disney Parks!

Merida?
Got bow?
All pictures from The Disney Princess.

Those eyes...gorgeous!
And that hair...is it too perfect to be real?
Disney announced they preferred someone
from Scotland with actual curly red
hair but had wigs if needed...
Your takes?

Full-length...

"Mum tries taming my wild mop of hair,
but I like it just as it is."

Another missing bow?

Could it be?

I can't wait to meet her!  I know I haven't seen the movie yet, but I'm thinking Merida's going to turn out to be one pretty cool character.

***UPDATE***

Yes it is!  The Disney Blog just shared videos of Merida being spotted in Epcot for her soft opening.  I haven't watched the videos quite yet, but I will do soon and post them with my thoughts in a different post later today!

Almost There...!

No, I am not referring to Tiana's classy song about almost hitting it famous.

Actually, I'm referring to a new picture for Brave.  I found it on the Disney Blog today.

Merida: I've almost got it...almost!
Me: The tension is too strong!  What will happen next?
It kind of left off here in the trailer too, but in slow motion.  Which was kind of fun.
Picture from the Disney Blog.

If you saw the last trailer, the picture should look pretty familiar.  It does to me.  But seeing this as a picture reminded me of a question I have (which I shared on the Disney Blog in the comments).

Who's the second bear (the one trying to help Merida out)?  All I know about Brave is that there's Mordu (the bear with just the razor-clawed paw showing), the demon-like bear from folklore.  Obviously the movie has something about Merida defeating him.  But that's just a hunch.

I'm also curious why the second bear is helping Merida, it seems.

Could that second bear possibly be Mordu's mate...and/or the mother of these three?

The three little bears.
They'll be at the Parks with Merida!
Could they be the cubs of the second bear...and/or possibly Mordu?
Picture also from the Disney Blog.

We'll just have to wait and see.

Can you stand the tension?

***UPDATE***

My Disney-unnamed sister mentioned her theory on the bears:

• Because of the curse, the queen turns into that second bear who helps Merida out.
• The triplets turn into the trio of bears.
• Only the king stays as he is (not counting Merida of course), and Mordu is himself.

Some good "proof" that this could be so:

• The triplets match in number with the trio of cubs
• The maid doesn't like the triplets (such as when they steal the cookies in one trailer).  And...
• She runs away from the bear cubs

I don't really have any "proof" for Queen Elinor turning into a bear.

What do you think?  I think my sister may be onto something.

Merida's Brave Story

Disney released yet another trailer for Brave (which is a good thing!).  This trailer highlights the back story of Merida, which is helpful.

Why is it helpful?

Let me explain.

Sunday (yes, Easter Sunday) I headed over to my Bestie's house for an egg hunt.  And as the parents made abundantly clear, it's not your typical little-kids-look-there's-the-Easter-Bunny-hey-what's-that-over-there-wink-wink egg hunt.

No, this was a teenage egg hunt.

Think money.  And woods.

You're pretty dang close.

We had some extra time until the adults were done hiding the eggs, so she flipped open her Mac.  She showed me a few funny talking animal videos, and then I showed her the Pixar short "George and AJ."

And one of the videos on the side of the screen (you know how YouTube pops up similar videos alongside the one you're watching) was the first trailer for Brave.

And she didn't know anything about it!

So when I tried to explain it, all I could really get out was "Really great Pixar movie coming out."

Not exactly what she was looking for (but she did watch the trailer).

Now with this new trailer, I can give a little more info.  So thank you Disney!

Brave New Characters!

According to The Disney Parks Blog, guess who's coming to the Parks soon (the article focused on WDW)?

Merida from Brave!

Who's excited?

I am!  Beyond a doubt!

If you have been paying attention, I'm very excited for the upcoming Pixar movie.  And the fact that you can now meet her...

Sigh.  I love Disney.

Not only will Merida doing meet-and-greets, she will also help guests perfect their archery skills and do other fun things based off her Scottish homeland.  And the three young bear cubs (you may have seen them in the trailer) will also make appearances.

I'm curious about the last three little guys.  Will they be meet-and-greet characters?  Puppets?  Animatronics?

In the article, the third picture showed artist concept of the meet-and-greet spot (taking up Rapunzel's spot at WDW).  It shows Merida helping a guest with his bow (her helping the little kid looks sooo cute!!), and the bears are peeking out over an archery target...

So it doesn't look like they will be walkaround characters.  Maybe like Remy at Epcot.

We'll just have to see.

Comments: What are your reactions?  And your guesses on the bears?

**UPDATE**

Well, doing some research for any good old post, I stumbled upon an article at MouseInfo.com that discusses these characters coming to the Parks.  It didn't confirm whether or not the bears are going to be animatronics or puppets.  Bear (haha like it?) with me as I work to uncover the answer!!

**UPDATE**

According to The Disney Wiki, Merida will be a face character. The first Pixar face character, in fact.  Makes me more and more excited!!

Time to be Brave

Guess who did an article on the upcoming movie Brave?

Time magazine!

(Liked my pun-on-words post title?)

While I read the article in their actual magazine at my piano teacher's house, only a snippet is available on their website (but if you are a subscriber, you can see the whole article online).

In short, the article discussed how this will be Pixar's first film starring a female protagonists.  Yes, all the previous movies starred male characters (Jessie is a "star," but the main focus is on Woody). 

The second most important thing the article focused on was the history of the movie: how it was developed, how Chapman was replaced by Andrews, and where things stand now.

The article also humorously discussed some of the "no-cussing" policies enacted by producer Katherine Sarafian, which was not taken very well by director Mark Andrews (according to the article, he owed nearly $1,000 for cussing while talking with the team).

And also featured on Time's website is a slideshow of pictures behind-the-scenes of Brave.  I've included the link for the slideshow for you as well.

Picture 6 looked awfully familiar...

And then something of interest, photo 7 shows an image of the storyboard for "The Prize," which was featured in the movie's second trailer.  Picture 8 from the slideshow gives an idea of the final image from the storyboard (fully "computerized"), though I've included a more accurate one from the trailer.

Storyboard art for "The Prize" scene.
Photo from Time Magazine.
Photo copyrighted by Disney/Pixar.

The final animated shot from the same scene.
Photo from the Disney Wiki.

Hope you enjoy!

New Brave Trailer

Just yesterday, Disney posted the new trailer for their upcoming Pixar project Brave (to be released this summer) on their Facebook page.

(Sorry this isn't the one actually from the Disney Facebook page - it wouldn't come up when I tried to put it into this post!)

Poster for Brave.
Photo from the Disney Wiki.

For those of you unsure of what Brave is, here's a synopsis from the description of the video from Disney Facebook's page: "Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor. Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin, surly Lord Macintosh and cantankerous Lord Dingwall. Merida's actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric old Witch for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it's too late."

Now I have to say, this recent trailer makes me all the more excited to see it.

One, I love Merida's independent attitude, how even though her mother orders her to drop her bow, she lets loose her third arrow, splitting the one already on the target through the middle!  (Reminds me of a certain scene in Robin Hood....)

Two, well I was already excited to see it with the first trailer.  This is just extra icing on the cake.

I'm a big lover of fantasy and fairy tales (hence the big love of Disney Classics), and this fits into those two categories.  In fact, Brenda Chapman, the writer and co director of Brave, was inspired by Hans Christian Anderson and the Grimm Brothers when she wrote the screenplay (The Pixar Wiki).

And finally, who doesn't love Scottish accents?

What are you going to do about it?
Photo from the Disney Wiki.