Disney - page 3

Disney CEO is totally in love with Apple TV

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Apple TV 4 brings iOS apps to the big screen.
Apple TV 4 brings iOS apps to the big screen.
Photo: Apple

Amazon, Google and Roku are all battling to win over your TV, but according to the Disney CEO Bob Iger, the new Apple TV tops them all, not only because it’s great for consumers, but also because it’s a win for content creators.

“One of the most important things that the industry needs to do is demand a better user experience,” Bob Iger told Bloomberg in an interview this morning. “The Apple TV box and the interface that it provides is the best user experience I’ve seen ever for television users.”

Watch Bob gush about Apple’s new box below:

iPad Pro meets the mouse during Disney test drive

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Animators are raving about the iPad Pro.
Animators are raving about the iPad Pro.
Photo: Apple

Apple gave Disney’s animators an early look at the iPad Pro with its accompanying pressure-sensitive Apple Pencil, and based on to the teams initial reactions, they’re in love.

“Let’s order a bunch,” said Disney Product Manager Paul Hildebrandt at the end of his brief hands-on with the iPad Pro. Disney’s artists got a preview of the iPad Pro’s drawing capabilities with apps like Pro Create and FiftyThree’s Pencil app that are both optimized for the iPad Pro, and they’re raving about the device’s sensitivity and palm rejection technology.

Check out some of the sketches Disney’s artists created during the demo:

Disney officially bans selfie sticks from theme parks

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Seflie sticks are a big no-no at Disneyland
Seflie sticks are a big no-no at Disneyland
Photo: CollegeHumor

If you’re thinking about taking a trip to Walt Disney’s wonderfully whimsical theme parks this year, make sure to leave your selfie stick at home.

Disney announced this morning that it’s placing a ban on all selfie sticks starting next week, due to safety concerns.

Video shows how Disney animators recycled footage from older films

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Will the real Baloo please stand up? Photo: Movie Munchies
Will the real Baloo please stand up? Photo: Movie Munchies

Drawing an entire new movie by hand is a long, hard, tedious process, but the animators at Disney have a hidden trick up their sleeves: they recycle footage from older animated films into new ones.

In a new video showing how Disney’s team of animators remixed old animations for newer films, the team at Movie Munchies have mashed up some of Disney’s most classic movies. Did you know Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast have the exact same dance scenes? Or that animators drew over scenes from Snow White  to create footage for Robin Hood, all with the same characters and movements.

Watch the video below to have your childhood ruined:

New Tomorrowland trailer surprises us with loads of sci-fi action

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Not your standard kid-fare, then, Disney? Photo: Disney
Not your standard kid-fare, then, Disney? Photo: Disney

Disney’s has been showing us glimpses of its Brad Bird-helmed live action film for some time now, with the slow burn first trailer last October focusing on the young woman who gets a mysterious pin that transports her to an unseen, futuristic world, complete with jetpacks and glittering skylines.

That and present-day George Clooney, who convincingly portrays the curmudgeon next door with secrets of his own.

This new trailer, however, ratchets up the sci-fi action, giving us several more shots of the eponymous future city, even more jetpacks, and a team of future SWAT cops with ray guns coming after our heroine and Clooney as they climb into a bathtub and launch themselves into an uncertain, well, future.

Maybe Tomorrowland won’t be the sappy kid flick we all thought it would turn out to be, after all.

50 years ago, this amazing event showed us the future

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The 1964-65 World's Fair in New York was mid-century snapshot of American industry and a first-look at technological wonders we take for granted today. Photo: worldsfairmovie.com
The 1964-65 World's Fair served up a midcentury snapshot of American industry and a first look at today's technological wonders. Photo: After the Fair

Mitch Silverstein would have many visions of the future in 1964 and the first would appear in full-color wonder, his big 6-year-old eyes staring back at him in disbelief.

He was seeing himself on a color television at the RCA Pavilion at the World’s Fair at Corona Park in Queens, New York.

“It left such a big impression on me,” Silverstein said. “That was a first for most people because that was a pretty major technological step.”

For all the things the New York World’s Fair of 1964-65 was said to get wrong, the fair showcased several technological wonders that, some 50 years later, we take for granted.

Disney CEO tells how Steve Jobs ‘shaped his thinking’

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Photo: Tom Bricker
The relationship between Apple and Disney strengthened under CEO Bob Iger. Photo: Tom Bricker/Flickr CC

Apple’s partnership with Disney goes back way further than the latter company’s recent decision to accept Apple Pay at Disney World. At the time of his death in 2011, Steve Jobs was the single biggest shareholder of Disney stock as a result of it acquiring his company, Pixar, in 2006.

Jobs got on particularly well with Disney CEO Bob Iger, who called Jobs in 2005 and asked if he could repair the damage that had been done to the Apple/Disney relationship under former Disney CEO Michael Eisner.

That relationship is examined in a new Fortune profile of Iger, which describes his six-year friendship with Jobs as the “relationship that has most shaped his thinking.”

Disney’s Tomorrowland teaser brings you a touch of the future

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Britt Robertson is given a gift that could change her destiny. Screengrab: Disney
Britt Robertson is given a gift that could change her destiny. Screengrab: Disney

A young girl gets out of jail and is given back her paltry few belongings. A baseball cap, some gum, and a pin. The pin? Isn’t hers.

“What if there was a place, a secret place,” says the voiceover in this new teaser trailer for Disney’s Tomorrowland, “where nothing was impossible. A miraculous place, where you could actually change the world.”

As she touches the pin, the world around her changes. She freaks out.

Says the man in the voiceover, “You wanna go?”

If this would have happened to me when I was a young kid, enthralled with the idea of sci-fi-themed Tomorrowland as the best place to go when visiting Walt Disney’s happiest place on earth, I would have grabbed the pin in a heartbeat. Check out the trailer below.

Get a sneak peek at Star Wars: Rebels on iTunes before it airs on TV

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May the Force be with you. Screenshot: Disney XD
May the Force be with you. Screenshot: Disney XD

Ready for your next nerdy dose of Star Wars awesomeness? Lucasfilm Animation and Disney have put together an all-new animated adventure that takes place 14 years after the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (the third and final prequel in the Star Wars saga) and five years before Star Wars: A New Hope (the original movie that came out in 1977).

If you have an Apple ID, you can check out the first regular episode of the series right now on iTunes for free. How’s that for a deal?

Check out the extended trailer for the Star Wars: Rebels series below.

Kids love iPads more than Oreos, Disney and YouTube

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Photo: Oreo Cookies
Photo: Oreo

It’s official: kids love the iPad more than they do Oreo cookies. According to the “2014 Young Love” study — an annual survey carried out by leading youth and family research firm Smarty Pants — the iPad beat out 255 other brands (including Disney, Nickelodeon, Toys”R”Us, McDonald’s and YouTube) to be named the #1 brand among children aged 6-12.

The survey was conducted among a representative sample of U.S. households, with a total of 256 consumer brands evaluated as part of a three-month study of 6,661 children and their parents. Scores were based on a composite scale of 0-1,000 based on brand awareness, love, and popularity.

The top ten brands can be seen below:

Pixar’s upcoming film turns emotions Inside Out

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Screengrab: Cult of Mac
Apparently, it's crazy in there. Screengrab: Cult of Mac

Careful now – Pixar’s upcoming film, Inside Out, takes place within the emotional centers of a pre-pubescent girl. There’s some crazy characters in there — including Joy, Sadness, Anger and Fear — and they’re all just so happy to meet you.

In this brand new, super-short trailer, we get a tiny peek at what’s in store from us from Pete Doctor, the director of both Monsters, Inc. and Up.

Check it out below.

7 reasons we can’t wait for Star Wars: Episode VII

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It feels weird to suggest that George Lucas, the guy to whom we should be eternally grateful for bringing us Star Wars in the first place, doesn’t

It feels weird to suggest that George Lucas, the guy to whom we should be eternally grateful for bringing us Star Wars in the first place, doesn’t "get" his creation. Looking at Star Wars Episodes I-III, however, it would be difficult to argue that he’s totally in sync with what people love about the original trilogy. With all its mentions of trade embargoes and tax deductibles, the pre-credits crawl for Episode I reads more like Lucas filing his 1040 form than the setup for an exciting movie. Things only got worse from there.

That’s not to suggest there weren’t Star Wars moments in the prequels, but they were few and far between. Episode VII director J.J. Abrams, on the other hand, was 11 when the first Star Wars came out: the perfect age to be well and truly hooked. That fanboyishness comes across in everything we’ve seen of the movie so far.

Picture: Geeknutz


8 wild Apple rumors that turned out to be totally off the mark

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From personal computers and smartphones, to tablets and wearables, half the fun of following Apple is trying to figure out where it's going to go next.
Looking back through the Cult of Mac archives, a lot of the rumors we've brought to light over the years did hint at innovations that eventually found their ways into the sweaty hands of excited customers. But every once in a while a rumor comes along that's so ridiculous it can't possibly be true. And more often than not, that's exactly the case.Check out our gallery for our picks of top Apple rumors that turned out to be totally wide of the mark.

From personal computers and smartphones, to tablets and wearables, half the fun of following Apple is trying to figure out where it's going to go next.

Looking back through the Cult of Mac archives, a lot of the rumors we've brought to light over the years did hint at innovations that eventually found their ways into the sweaty hands of excited customers. But every once in a while a rumor comes along that's so ridiculous it can't possibly be true. And more often than not, that's exactly the case.

Check out our gallery for our picks of top Apple rumors that turned out to be totally wide of the mark.


Big Hero 6 trailer shows adorable Disney spin on Marvel comic

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big-hero-sneakpeek-1

When Disney bought Marvel Studios, they gained a huge backlog of intellectual properties and stories to mine. The Avengers and the various supporting live-action superhero flicks like Ironman and Thor were just the beginning, as we can see from this new trailer (below) for upcoming animated adventure, Big Hero 6, based on the comic of the same name.

Big Hero 6 [is] an action comedy adventure about brilliant robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada,” says the Disney press release, “who finds himself in the grips of a criminal plot that threatens to destroy the fast-paced, high-tech city of San Fransokyo. With the help of his closest companion – a robot named Baymax – Hiro joins forces with a reluctant team of first-time crime fighters on a mission to save their city.”

Marvel superheroes arrive on Disney’s Infinity Toy Box. Is Star Wars next?

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disney-infinity-thor
We want to see Thor fight Captain Barbossa.

Ever since Disney revealed its grand Infinity gaming universe, we’ve been wondering when Marvel-themed playsets would arrive — or even if they would. Disney bought Marvel in 2009, and it made sense the characters would show up: Infinity would be the perfect setting to flaunt the newly subsumed superheroes. Problem was, nary a whiff of Marvel could be found at Infinity’s January 2013 launch.

Nevertheless, Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow and the gang are coming to Disney Infinity — and boy do they look awesome.

Access Tons Of Disney Movies Instantly With “Disney Movies Anywhere” [Video Review]

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disney

While movie streaming applications like Netflix and Hulu Plus remain popular for what they have to offer, Disney has just released their own take on the genre. Disney Movies Anywhere is Disney’s latest application, giving users the ability to access an extensive library of Disney movies on the go. With plenty of great options and features available will Disney Movies Anywhere find its way on your devices.

Take a look at Disney Movies Anywhere and find out what you think.

This is a Cult Of Mac video review of the application “Disney Movies Anywhere” brought to you by Joshua Smith of “TechBytes W/Jsmith.”

Apple Brings New MLS And Disney Junior Channels To Apple TV

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appletvupdate

 

Apple updated its Apple TV offering this morning to include new channels for Major League Soccer and Disney Junior. The new channels aren’t bound to raise much excitement from average consumers, but sports fans and parents of young kids are sure to enjoy the new additions.

MLS allows soccer fans to hookup to their MLS Live subscription to watch live games across the country, while also keep tabs on scores and standings. There are a number of soccer-themed videos that can be enjoyed for free, and you can watch highlights of your favorite team via the Club Channels.

The new Disney Junior app provides live access to Disney Junior with a cable subscription, as well as access to Disney Junior TV shows on demand, so you can load up an episode of Jake and the Never Land Pirates for your rugrat while you rush around getting ready.

 

 

Disney Infinity: Toy Box iPad App Arrives, Free For a Limited Time

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncyN-LTKTMw&feature=youtu.be

Just after CES wound down back in January, I was part of a (relatively) small group of journalists and bloggers present at the Disney media event that revealed Disney’s Infinity game universe to the world. Problem was, I had no clue why I’d been invited, as all the hoopla was about the console game. Toward the end, I bumped into Bill Roper, Disney’s product development chief, and asked why I was there as I gulped down a delicious, miniature milkshake.

His answer was cryptic. But the reason I’d been invited has just made its entrance onto the app store today — it’s the Disney Infinity: Toy Box iPad app, a virtual sandbox mashup that allows anyone with an iPad to take a variety of Disney characters and play with them in different Disney worlds. And it’s free — for now.

Apple Talking With ESPN, HBO And Viacom To Form Its Own Pay TV Service

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apple-appletv12-channels-lg

Apple is reportedly looking to skirt the cable companies and strike up deals with HBO, ESPN, Disney, and Viacom to offer their content on a new pay TV service. Rather than distributing content in channels, Apple’s strategy would emphasize apps over cable TV according to a report from QZ.

Sony, Google, and Intel are also trying to score similar deals and might even get their pay TV services up before Apple. However, Apple is also looking to release a TV set as well, in order to control the entire TV-watching experience.

Disney Drops Definite Details On Two New iPad Game Apps For ‘Infinity’ Universe

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How do you *not* want this game?
How do you *not* want this game?

Disney’s upcoming open world sandbox game for gaming consoles, Disney Infinity, will bring all our favorite characters together from a host of Disney franchises, including The Incredibles, The Pirates of the Caribbean, Wreck-It Ralph, and more. It’s an ambitious release, and will include Skylanders-style figures and collectibles into the mix.

Yesterday, then, Disney revealed that there will be two separate iPad apps to support the console release. The Disney Infinity: Toy Box app will connect to players’ Disney ID and allow them to download and play in shared Infinity worlds. The second app, Disney Infinity: Action!, will allow folks to use characters from the Infinity universe in their own videos, blending the real world with the stylized characters from the Infinity game.

New Disney iPad App Offers A Colossal Treasure Chest Of Disney Animation

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disney-animated-ipad-2
Every scene of every Walt Disney Animation Studios feature ever made.

Just like the Disney theme parks, the new Disney Animation iPad app is saddled with a heavy price for admission—but reveals a vast trove of wonder once inside.

For $14, the app makes an immense amount of material available—almost two gigs worth—from Disney’s digitally and traditionally animated titles.