Star Wars Rebels Release Date Officially Announced!

Disney and Lucasfilm have announced a premiere date of Star Wars Rebels, and the animated series will make its debut with a one-hour movie called "Spark of Rebellion" on Friday, October 3rd, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Disney Channel. The series itself will then make its premiere Monday, October 13th at 9 p.m on Disney XD.

More details on that in the press release below.

Continuing the epic tradition of the legendary Star Wars saga, an exciting animated one-hour movie "Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion" will be available first to verified users on WATCH DisneyXD.com and the WATCH Disney XD app beginning  MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29. WATCH Disney XD allows consumers to watch on tablet, phones, computer and set top boxes.

The global television debut of "Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion" is set for FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3 (9:00  p.m.,  ET/PT  in  the  U.S.) on  Disney  Channels  around  the  world, ushering  in  the series  "Star  Wars  Rebels"  beginning  MONDAY, OCTOBER 13 (9:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney XD.  The series will air in 34 languages across 163 countries in over 400 million households.
The television movie garnered rave reviews at last month's San Diego Comic-Con fan event for its story (set between the events of Star Wars Episodes III and IV) and its look -- akin to the classic Star Wars trilogy.  The series designs are influenced by the work of original Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie.

The story unfolds during a dark time when the evil Galactic Empire is tightening its grip of power on the galaxy. Imperial forces have occupied a remote planet and are ruining the lives of its people. The motley but clever crew of the starship Ghost -- cowboy Jedi Kanan, ace pilot Hera, street-smart teenager Ezra, the "muscle" Zeb, warrior firebrand Sabine, and cantankerous old astromech droid Chopper -- is among a select few who are brave enough to stand against the Empire. Together, they will face threatening new villains, encounter colorful adversaries, embark on thrilling adventures and become heroes with the power to ignite a rebellion.

"Star Wars Rebels" is created by Dave Filoni (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Sherlock Holmes), and Carrie Beck. The Lucasfilm Animation production is also executive-produced by Filoni and Kinberg as well as Greg Weisman (Gargoyles).

The talented voice cast includes Freddie Prinze Jr. as Kanan, Vanessa Marshall as Hera, Steve Blum as Zeb, Tiya Sircar as Sabine, Taylor Gray as Ezra, David Oyelowo as Agent Kallus and Jason Isaacs as the Inquisitor.

The multi-platform schedule in the U.S. is:
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29
·         "Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion" one-hour movie will be available to verified users on WATCHDisneyXD.com and the WATCH Disney XD app for smartphones and tablets. It will also be available on Disney Channel SVOD.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3
·         Premiere telecast of the one-hour movie "Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion" (9:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney Channel.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4
·         "Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion" will be available on Disney XD VOD and for purchase through Apple iTunes, Amazon Instant Video and Google Play.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 6
·         "Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion" (8:00 p.m., ET/PT) premieres on Disney XD.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 13
·         "Star Wars Rebels" (9:00 p.m., ET/PT) series premieres on Disney XD.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14
·         "Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion" will be available to own on DVD in retailers nationwide. The DVD includes the movie, a free Ghost 3D model ship, four "Star Wars Rebels" shorts, plus a never-before-seen piece that takes you deeper into the world of "Star Wars Rebels" and the upcoming season.

Pictures: copyright DIsney - Lucasfilm

A Last Tribute to Robin Williams, as "The Timekeeper" in The Visionarium - From Time to Time Attraction

As i've told you last week in my Robin Williams tribute, Robin was part of the now extinct WDW Magic Kingdom attraction "From time to Time", known at  Disneyland Paris as Le Visionarium, also extinct unfortunately.  Robin did the english voice of the Timekeeper character for the WDW version but WDI Imagineers originally envisioned to give to the Timekeeper robot the face of Robin Williams. For different reasons the Imagineers changed their mind and in the show the Timekeeper only had reminiscences of  Robin's face and didn't looked totally like him.

Back in the early 90's when DLP Imagineer Tim Delaney was designing Discoveryland, Tim did a great artwork showing the Timekeeper with the face of Robin Williams. Last week i couldn't find back this early concept-art, but i've found it finally, and here below is this never-seen-before Tim Delaney rendering!

But i've also found another never-seen-before document and it's the picture of an amazing WDI small study model of the Timekeeper in which the face was also inspired by Robin Williams face. The scale of it is 2 inches equals 1 foot and this represents the first step after the color rendering, that had to take into account the mechanism for the Audio-Animatronic.

In the WDW version of the attraction the english voice of the Timekeeper character was Robin Williams' voice and for those of you who've never seen it, here is a video showing the full WDW "From Time to Time" attraction, including the pre-show.




In fact, From Time to Time has not been the only Disney attraction which had Robin Williams participation. There was another attraction in the 90's that some of you might remember and it's the one which was part of the Disney Mgm Studios Animation tour, a great short film with Robin Williams and Walter Cronkite called "Back to Neverland". And to end this tribute to Robin, here is the full movie!




Pictures and videos: copyright Disney

In Today's Mice Age Update: Shanghaî Disneyland delay, Star Wars Land to be built north of Frontierland, Toon Town would disappear, and more...

Editor's Note: Today's Mice Age update brings all kind of news: no surprise ones with the ( expected ) delay of Shanghaî Disneyland opening, apparently to be moved from end 2015 to Spring 2016, but others more surprising like the idea that Toon Town will be removed and a Star Wars land would be built north of Frontierland and where Toon Town currently is !?! And, no it doesn't seems to be an April Fool...

More also about a Marvel Land at DCA near the Hollywood section, which looks to me just as bad idea. Why the hell don't they use the land they have for a third gate to build a third park with Marvel and Star Wars land? Anyway, jump HERE to read the whole update!

Star Wars 7 Update : Main Villain Artwork, Han Solo Rumors, Concept-Arts, and more

I've got new Star Wars: Episode VII infos for you! Last week was leaked information about who the villains in the story would be and Indie Revolver now has a piece of concept art featuring the main villain. No need to say there are spoilers ahead so if you don't want to see the artwork or learn more about him, then jump to the next post!

So,a s we learned last week SW7 main villain is supposed to be a Sith Inquisitor, and the site describes him as being "tall and thin and terrifyingly creepy, with glowing red eyes to match his red lightsaber. He also got some robotic upgrades, like Vader – but no mask. The cybernetic bits weave in and out of him. He’s got a human upper lip, a steel jaw… and the robotic hand that J.J. Abrams posted an image of."

In SW7 we’ll get a background of the Inquisistor character with some flashbacks that will include a young Princess Leia and Darth Vader’s involvement with the Sith during his prime. Apparently, this Inquisitor has a fascination with Vader, and as you will see, in the concept art below he's looking at Vader's shattered helmet.

The Inquisitor sure will be a terrifying-looking character, and i can't wait to see him in real!


Now, about Han Solo. We've learned last week that Han Solo and Chewbacca no longer have the Millennium Falcon and that it's possibly being piloted now by Oscar Issac's character. Apparently, the two lost it while gambling. According to Indie Revolver, Han and Chewie are actually piloting a freakin' Super Star Destroyer in Episode VII!

"Han and Chewie are piloting a Super Star Destroyer….I believe the Falcon is in the hands of Oscar Isaac’s character, who is very much the Lando Calrissian of this movie – all the way down to wearing a cape. There are other familiar spaceships in this movie, including three variations on TIE Fighters. There’s the classic design, the TIE Interceptor and a new generation TIE Bomber – the pods on these are stacked, not side-by-side."

And Indie Revolver also mentions something that will get fans excited:
"Back to Han – you will get to see him use a lightsaber once again."

Okay, that news may look a bit hard to swallow but after all, 30 years later, why would they still piloting a Millennium Falcon?

Now, Indie Revolver also have some concept arts giving us a glimpse of what Harrison Ford may look like as Han Solo in Star Wars 7. And on these he's sporting some Hoth and Endor gear. Which doesn't mean they will return to those planets in the story, and also that these outfits will be used in the movie anyway. They always do tons of artworks for a film like this, so he might wear something totally different. 

I remind you that so far all these are just rumors coming from a site that seems to have a lot of information on Star Wars 7 so it's up to you to believe any of this - or not. 

Artwork: copyright Lucasfilm, Lyndon Berresford

Tatooed Disney Princesses

Let's start the week with something fun and hip, glam, gothic and more. And don't worry you'll have your weekly shoot of Disney parks pictorial updates soon.

I don't know if you've noticed but tattoos are fashionable these days and artist Emmanuel Viola created this cool set of Disney princess art that reimagines several characters with tattoos. Ariel and Jasmine are labeled hipsters, Cinderella is a glam girl, Belle got the gothic label, Aurora is a tattoo artist, and Snow White is the pin-up girl.

Hey, may be these will give some cool tattoos ideas to some of you!

Artwork: copyright Emmanuel Viola

Disneyland Paris book "From Sketch to Reality" Sale on eBay Ending Tonight !

Looking for my Disneyland Paris book "From Sketch to Reality" and like to buy on eBay? My sale for the english edition is still running during 9 hours from now and will end tonight around 10pm local time in California!

Jump to eBay HERE to get your copy! And, yes, all eBay buyers get also the surprise gift!

Sea World Announces First-Of-Its-Kind Killer Whale Environment and$10 Million In New Funding For Research and Conservation Projects

Sea World had a hard week with its stock losing 30% due to bad last quarter results. There is several reasons for that starting by a decrease attendance due to what was unveiled by the BlackFish movie. So, last Friday, Sea World counter-attacked by revealing a major expansion of the killer whales habitat, called "Blue World Project" which include a much bigger habitat for the killer whales. 

Once completed, in 2018, Sea World guests will enjoy breathtaking underwater views of Sea World Shamu(s) but will it be enough to make the killer whales happy? I'm afraid that Sea World still don't want to admit that these huge animals are obviously born to live free in oceans and not in man-made environment, even if they are 350 feet long with a depth of 50 feet like the new one will be. Anyway, i suppose that a jail twice bigger is better than nothing, and let's have a look at what is in the plans with the press release and really nice renderings.

Transformational New Environments

Once again, SeaWorld is on the leading edge of innovation and science with the announcement of these first-of-its-kind killer whale environments. These new homes will build upon SeaWorld’s legacy of providing state-of-the-art animal living spaces and offering park guests unique killer whale encounters, inspiring generations to come.

The new killer whale homes and related research initiatives have a bold vision: to advance global understanding of these animals, to educate, and to inspire conservation efforts focused on protecting killer whales in the wild.

The first of these environments will be built at SeaWorld San Diego and is planned to have a water volume of 10 million gallons, nearly double that of the existing facility. With a maximum depth of 50 feet and a surface area of nearly 1.5 acres spanning more than 350 feet in length, there will be no other realm like this in the world. The new environment will also have views exceeding 40 feet in height, providing guests with the world’s largest underwater killer whale viewing experience.

Named the Blue World Project because of its size and scope, the new environment will allow for increased engagement with SeaWorld experts through new enrichment experiences and interactive programs. The environment will enhance the educational experience for guests, foster deeper knowledge of killer whales and their ocean environment, and inspire guests young and old to celebrate and conserve the natural world.

Expanding on SeaWorld’s legacy of animal environment design, the enlarged environment will provide killer whales with even more dynamic opportunities. It will support the whales’ broad range of behaviors and provide choices that can challenge them both physically and mentally.

Among other things, it is planned to include a “fast water current” that allows whales to swim against moving water, thus functionally increasing speed and diversity. 

Innovative features focused on husbandry and animal care will offer SeaWorld’s animal health professionals and independent scientists unique access to the whales that can lead to a better understanding and care of the animals both in the parks and in the wild.
The San Diego environment is expected to open to the public in 2018 with new killer whale homes to follow at SeaWorld Orlando and SeaWorld San Antonio.

Artwork: copyright Sea World