Sunday, July 6, 2008

Disneyland and Pixar are Finally Getting Along



Disney and Pixar weren't always a happy couple, you know. Back in the 90s and early 2000s, they were constantly squabbling and making life for difficult for each other. Today, however, they are completely harmonious with one another. The evidence of this can be seen in box office figures, merchandising, and, most recently, theme park attractions.

You may find it surprising that although Disney/Pixar have been making extremely successful films since 1995, it wasn't until 1998. And that was a low-key dark ride in Disney's Magic Kingdom in Florida, called "Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin". Since then, more has been added: Its Tough to be a Bug, Mike and Sulley to the Rescue, and, most recently, Nemo's Submarine Voyage and Toy Story Mania.

Yet, it doesn't seem like enough. Some spectacular Pixar movies that Disneyland and Disney World have wrongfully neglected or have done no justice to, include Ratatouille, Cars, The Incredibles, and Monsters Inc. (Although there is a Monsters Inc. ride, they could do better.).

Disney plans to change this.

They are changing this by adding a 12-acre "Cars Land" (which'll cost 'em hundreds of millions of dollars) to Disneyland's dysfunctional neighbor, Disney's California Adventure. As you can tell, Disney and Pixar are off to a very good start, since their two most recent rides, Nemo's Submarine Voyage and Toy Story Mania, were awesome.

Tom Fitzgerald on Imagineering's feelings toward Pixar: “We love bringing their stories to life. They have wonderful characters, worlds, humor and great adventures you want to live.”

I can't wait and see what they will come up with over the next couple of years and next couple of billion dollars.

Source: Variety

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