Now that the Festival of Holidays decor is up at Disney Parks, we’re using that as our cue that the holidays are officially here! Plus, with the launch of Disney+(OMG, it’s tomorrow!), we know we’re about to have hours of streaming holiday classics — like The Santa Clause and Mickey’s Christmas Carol — ahead of us.
But the thing we’re probably most excited to watch this holiday season is the Disney+ original comedy Noelle. In Noelle, Anna Kendrick plays the daughter of the late Kris Kringle. She fully embodies the cheerful and fun spirit of Christmas, but wishes she could do something more “important” like her brother Nick (played by Bill Hader), who is supposed to take over Christmas duties for their father. When Nick begins to crumble under the pressure, Noelle suggests he take a quick vacation. But when Nick doesn’t return from his little getaway, Noelle sets out to find him and bring him back to save Christmas.
We got to visit the set of Noelle to chat with Anna Kendrick herself about what makes this movie so magical.
The set is incredible.
According to Anna, the production design is “bonkers.” She explained that the cottage where the Kringles live would be built, and then they’d sort of fold that set up and build new amazing sets in its place.
The cast is hilarious.
She recounted that both her and Bill Hader would often break character together, because it was so funny working together. “If I break, he breaks,” she described.
Anna just really loves Christmas movies.
What drew Anna to this script wasn’t necessarily just her connection to her character, but the fact that she genuinely loves the holidays.
I love Christmas movies, and I think this script is really funny and fun, and there are lots of fun set pieces in it. And that made me want to do it, you know? I don’t usually dive all that deep into character in terms of the decision-making. It’s just like ‘this looks like a fun movie and I would want to see this’ so, I was into it.
Anna truly enjoyed working on her scenes.
When asked if she had a particularly special moment in filming Noelle, Anna could hardly pick just one. From re-learning to ice skate to mechanical sleigh rides, she really seemed to have fun filming this movie, and we’re certain that will show.
The sleigh is on this big gimbal, and there’s a guy across the room holding a remote. And he just like throws you around. And we had to do a lot of takes of those because I couldn’t stop smiling, because it really feels like you’re on like a personalized rollercoaster. So I ruined a lot of takes because I could not contain how happy it made me, and I was supposed to be really scared.
Sounds like a pretty holly jolly movie to us — we can’t wait to heat up our hot cocoa and watch! Sign up for Disney+ now to stream Noelle starting tomorrow in the U.S.!
Disney+ Wants to ‘Plus Up Your Day’ with Special Events and Sweet Treats
November 11, 2019 | 12:00 am
To celebrate the big launch day, Disney+ has partnered with a number of brands to offer special promotions and experiences from LA to NYC. We’ve got the list of everything you can do to “plus up your day” this Thursday, November 12!
We know that much like us, you’ve been counting down the days until November 12, when Disney’s ultimate new streaming destination, Disney+, launches. We’ve basically blocked out our calendars for the foreseeable future to stream hours upon hours of Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic. And to celebrate the big launch day, Disney+ has partnered with a number of brands to offer special promotions and experiences from LA to NYC. We’ve got the list of everything you can do to “plus up your day” this Thursday, November 12!
National Offers
LYFT: Use promo code “DISNEYPLUS” in the app to claim one of 20,000 free rides, nationwide (up to $15)
URBANSTEMS: Use code ‘DisneyPlus’ on select bouquets at checkout and Disney+ will double the flowers!
New York City
Visit the Disney+ pop-up streaming hub on 6th Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Street (West Side, Bryant Park adjacent) from 8am to 7pm for the below experiences:
Step inside the Disney+ glass cube truck and be one of the first to stream all-new originals on the service.
Pick up free coffee, hot cocoa, donuts, and Disney+ cookies at the Disney+ treats truck
Get Disney+ swag, balloons, and more from the Disney+ street team
Listen to musicians fill the air of Midtown with the most loved music in the Disney+ library, from The Simpsons theme song to your favorite Disney tunes.
Take advantage of ways to “plus up your day” in NYC with these unique offers:
CITI BIKE: Use promo code “DISNEYPLUS” and grab a free trip today and ride throughout NYC
RESY: Reserve a table via Resy for the chance to have Disney+ pick up the tab (up to $150) at select restaurants in Manhattan
ROW HOUSE: Disney+ is taking over Row House in NYC! Row for free all day on November 12
BIG GAY ICE CREAM: Swing by Big Gay Ice Cream from 4pm–close for a free sweet treat, courtesy of Disney+
Los Angeles
Look for Disney+ signage and brand ambassadors at The Grove and The Americana who will be handing out Disney+ swag and answering questions about Disney+
From 11am to 1pm, you may see The Simpsons characters roaming around The Grove for photo ops
The cast of one of our favorite new series coming to Disney+, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, will be visiting The Grove to “plus up your day!”
And stop by the participating Caruso properties around LA and visit these exclusive retailers to help “plus up your day”:
Needless to say, we’re so ready for Disney+ to finally arrive, and — by the looks of all the free swag and treats — it seems that Disney+ is ready for us, too. How will you “plus up your day” on November 12? Tell us in the comments below!
If you haven’t signed up for Disney+ yet, it’s about time. Sign up for Disney+ and start streaming now!
A Behind-the-Scenes Look into the Animation of Frozen 2
November 7, 2019 | 06:34 pm
We’ve now returned to take a deeper dive into the animation of Frozen 2, and get a better understanding of how this beautiful upcoming masterpiece was brought to life.
It’s November, which means that we’ve officially entered the month of Frozen 2! It should be no surprise that we’ve basically been dreaming about seeing the film on the big screen for months!
About a month ago, we shared some exciting things we learned about Frozen 2 from the filmmakers. We’ve now returned to take a deeper dive into the animation of the upcoming film, and get a better understanding of how this beautiful upcoming masterpiece was brought to life.
The development of a great movie always begins with a great team. Frozen 2 involved bringing multiple artists together to create an overall animation style, despite having animators with their own unique approaches. While this was prone to its own set of challenges, there were leads that helped to carve out a cohesive direction. Alongside the Co-Heads of Animation, the Supervising Animators worked to take charge of the characters and really drive them.
When it comes to the process of animation, every person follows their own method to prepare for a scene. However, what is always consistent is the process of “issuing” with the directors, which encompasses breaking down what a scene will look like. In this stage, Directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck serve as the resources for the overall vision for the different characters and movements. The animators will then soak up all of the information they’re given to help bring the movie to life.
After issuing comes creating the layout for a scene. The job of the animation team is to then take the directors’ ideas and explore more of who the characters will be. How do they go about this, you may ask? By recreating their actions in real life! This often takes the form of acting out a motion to better see what it would look like, or shooting a reference. Co-Head of Animation Becky Bresee explains,
I actually act the scene out or my daughters will act the scene out, or [even] my husband will act the scene out. Everyone is affected by it.
Note to self: #SignsYouHaveAnAnimatorInYourFamily
The next step is Blocking, which involves looking at the timeline and number of frames in a shot. According to Co-Head of Animation Tony Smeed, the procedure entails filling in just enough film frames to pose a character in a “golden pose,” or showcase the tentpole moments of a scene. The purpose of this is to essentially showcase enough of the concept for the directors to understand, without having to fill out everything in case there are changes that need to be made. Upon receiving approval from the directors, the artists will close the gaps and smooth everything out.
The animation of Frozen 2 wouldn’t have been complete without some epic effects! From what we’ve seen in the trailer, we can expect the upcoming film to be nothing short of legendary. “Once you get to see the whole [film], every sequence seems to have [had] something really difficult to do. It was an effects animator’s dream come true because you [got] to do all this very cool, varied stuff,” states Head of Effects Animation Marlon West.
One of the amazing characters the effects animation team had the opportunity to take on was the Nokk, one of Frozen 2’s mythical characters. Fun fact: the Nokk took six months of development with half a dozen artists meeting almost daily! With that time frame and scale in mind, it isn’t shocking to hear that it was one of the most intensive characters from Frozen 2 to work on. Countless questions had to be considered during its creation, such as “How much do you even see Elsa through the Nokk?” West notes, “The character has to be believable above water [and] under water. Most of the things that make the Nokk look like water is his tail and his mane.” When working on effects, it’s also important to keep animations incorporated in mind to not conflict with the performance of the scene. Who else has full appreciation for the Nokk now?
What. A. Time. To. Be. Alive. We’re so ready to fully immerse ourselves with the animation of Frozen 2. Grab your friends and venture into the unknown when the film hits theaters November 22!
We Met the Real-World Character Inspirations for Disney’s The Lion King, and They’re Incredible
October 31, 2019 | 04:13 pm
Filmmakers went to Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge to get the look, feel and sounds of all our favorite characters just right. And we got to follow in their footsteps!
We took a trip to the Most Magical Place on Earth to meet with some of the animals (and people) who helped bring Disney’s The Lion King to life in honor of the film’s Digital and Blu-ray release. It quickly became clear how influential Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge were on filmmakers as they brought Disney’s The Lion King’s iconic characters to life in an all-new way.
If you’ve been to Walt Disney World Resort (or it’s on your bucket list), you know the level of immersive storytelling that goes into every attraction, from the biggest set piece to the smallest detail. Disney’s Animal Kingdom takes it one step further, because it’s the true-to-life habitat to over 250 species of animals. In fact, a whopping 75% of all the animals that appear in Disneys’ The Lion King can be found in the Park, if you’re prepared to search for them all. Which is why when filmmakers started out the process of adapting a classic… essentially from scratch… they went to Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge to get the look, feel and sounds of all our favorite characters just right. And we got to follow in their footsteps.
Step 1: Kilimanjaro Safaris
Riding the Kilimanjaro Safaris attraction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is like taking a tour through the world of Disney’s The Lion King. At one particular thrilling moment, we had to wait for a herd of wildebeest to cross in front of our truck (at least they weren’t stampeding). And that wasn’t all–the hyenas hid together in their den waiting for darkness to fall, hippos splashed in the water near pink-backed pelicans, elephants ate together, and the lions sunned themselves on the Disney’s Animal Kingdom version of Pride Rock like they truly owned everything the light touches. Disney’s Animal Kingdom has natural barriers, so the animals are aware of their neighbors by sounds and smells, even if they can’t all attend a Circle of Life-type celebration like they do in the film. (Sorry to whichever animals are next to Pumbaa’s inspiration.)
While there, we were able to meet Jon Ross, cast member with Disney’s Animals in Film & TV, who collaborates with Disney productions to ensure safe and humane access to the animals. We talked to him about how the animals helped filmmakers create the characters. (Jon’s favorite Disney film is appropriately Zootopia.)
“The filmmakers spent about 6 weeks [at Disney’s Animal Kingdom], basically getting unprecedented access to the animals. We worked really closely with our animal care teams to make sure the filmmaking process wasn’t getting in the way of the animals’ day-to-day lives. This allowed the filmmakers to focus on [the animals’] natural habitat and really hone in on those natural behaviors, which I think you can see really well in the final product.”
This past Summer, we got to meet Donald Glover at the premiere of Disney’s The Lion King but now we can say we got to meet “Simba,” too. That roar you can hear on the Kilimanjaro Safaris attraction could be the same roar you hear in the film.
Jon Ross elaborated, “We had a sound crew from Skywalker Sound come to the Park for about a week and [they] spent a lot of time collecting animal vocalizations. We worked with the animal care team to find out when the animals were the chattiest. We went into those areas as they were roaring…. And a lot of that wound up in the film.” (Clearly, our own personal chattiest time is right now, after we’ve just gone on this amazing tour.)
“We got to spend a lot of time around the lions. They are super active early in the morning… And when they come up to the front of their exhibit and start roaring, you can feel it in your chest. It’s awesome,” said Jon.
Claire Martin, who leads Disney’s conservation team dedicated to delivering conservation inspiration and impact on Disney property and around the world, chimed in, “Best sound in the world.” We have to agree, actually. In fact, Disney launched a global campaign called Protect the Pride, to help ensure lions continue roaring across Africa with a goal of providing $3 million to the Wildlife Conservation Network’s Lion Recovery Fund.
Step 3: The Hyenas
We spent some time with the hyenas only a few feet away from us (don’t worry, we were safe) and they are BEAUTIFUL animals. Their fur is gorgeous. Watching them play for a half-hour or so changed our perception of them. The animal care team was pleased to see the accuracy of the hyenas’ posture, movement and even their female-dominated social hierarchy accurately represented in Disney’s The Lion King. They told us the real-life versions of Shenzi, Kamari, and Azizi would probably be much nicer overall.
Claire has a soft spot for hyenas. “Hyenas, I think are one of the coolest animals on the planet. Of course, in The Lion King you have to have a villain… but in the animal world, they are heroes.” If they are, they’re definitely unsung heroes. We have a lot more empathy for them now!
Step 4: The Pridelands
We would be remiss not to talk about the character of Africa itself created by the filmmakers. We got to sit down with three-time Oscar®-winning VFX Supervisor Rob Legato to talk about the world that he helped to create. It blew our minds to learn that only one shot in the whole movie was real – shot on location in Africa. Seriously, just one?? If you want to watch the film frame-by-frame to find it, stop reading because SPOILER ALERT, it’s the opening shot of the sunrise illuminating the Pridelands. Don’t worry, we wouldn’t have known that either without Rob pointing that out to us. With the state-of-the-art technology having gotten so good at immersing the audience in perceived reality, he told us even he wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference without his unique insider knowledge. And he has three more Oscars than we do in visual effects, so that makes us feel a little better.
Also, because the Pridelands are NEARLY entirely virtual, we had to know if there were Disney Easter eggs hidden in plain sight. Rob confirmed that while he didn’t personally add them, he knows they are there. “[There are] always Mickey Mouse ears in every [Disney] movie. I haven’t seen the one — where they put this one in — [but] they’re there, for sure.” Well we know what we’re doing now that the film is out on Blu-Ray. There goes our productivity.
Disney+ announced new documentary titles coming to the service, and needless to say, our excitement can barely be contained! Adding to the already extensive library of films and series, these non-fiction titles build on Disney’s rich history in nonfiction storytelling that dates back to the 1940s.
Get the insider scoop on each of the titles below!
“Untitled Mickey Mouse Documentary”
Directed by Jeff Malmberg and produced by Morgan Neville, the “Untitled Mickey Mouse Documentary” works to decode Mickey’s deeper significance, getting to the core of what his cultural impact says about each of us, and about our world. We couldn’t be more intrigued to see this!
“Howard”
Directed by Don Hahn, “Howard” is the untold story of Howard Ashman, the brilliant lyricist behind some of our ultimate favorite Disney classics like “Aladdin,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “The Little Mermaid.”
“People & Places”
Produced by Jason Sterman, Brian McGinn and David Gelb, “People and Places” relaunches the original Walt Disney documentary short film series from the 1950s and 1960s. It’ll be so incredible to see.
“Science Fair”
“Science Fair” is the award-winning film from National Geographic that follows nine high school students from around the globe as they navigate rivalries, setbacks, and the awkwardness of being a teenager on their journey to compete at The International Science and Engineering Fair.
“Wolfgang”
Directed by David Gelb, “Wolfgang” is an in-depth look at the life and work of the original “celebrity chef” Wolfgang Puck, and we don’t know about you, but we can’t wait to see what this cooks up!
“Marvel’s 616”
Multi-talented actress/filmmaker Gillian Jacobs will direct the first episode of the previously announced series, “Marvel’s 616.” The episode, “Higher, Further, Faster,” will shine a light on the trailblazing women of Marvel Comics and explore how they found ways to tell inclusive stories in what’s perceived as a male-driven industry.
BRB, as we pre-order Disney+. We can’t wait to start binge-watching all things Disney on November 12!
