#cruise adventure 2022

[guillotineman]

[adventuresofoswald]

"This is a funny looking tree."

[esperderek]

I have to have a chuckle at the Screenrant article posted recently about the Galactic Starcruiser, which totally wasn't about Jenny Nicholson's video honest.

In part, because early in Nicholson's video, she talks about how unnatural it is to have your influencers speak in adcopy and copyright rather than the more colloquial nicknames, and how it makes the people speaking about the product seem very insincere and, well, paid off. Because normal humans don't speak that way, but advertising does.

What's the first two lines in this article?

"As a life-long fan of Star Wars, there was nothing quite as exciting as finding out that I would be working on the immersive Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience. Located at the Walt Disney World Resort, the Galactic Starcruiser opened on March 1, 2022, and welcomed passengers to board a two-day, two-night cruise through the stars, during which they could live out their own Star Wars adventure."

No one talks like this naturally. No one writes like this naturally.

This is supposed to be your passioned defense of the place you worked at, the people you worked with, and the memories you made along the way. C'mon! Why don't you open with a story, perhaps an anecdote about the best moment you had working there, or the devastation of the day you lost your dream job. We need to feel your humanity! But there's nothing of that here, to the point where you can just hear the TM behind Galactic Starcruiser.

The first half of this article continues in this vein, reading like a press release Disney marketing put out, just with past tense rather than present or future tense:

"Essentially, the Starcruiser experience was a 48-hour movie that passengers were actually a part of. It was all facilitated through the "datapad," which was accessed through the Play Disney Parks app."

"To facilitate the overarching immersive experience and storytelling, the Starcruiser built a jam-packed itinerary for each and every guest that would consist of a variety of important activities: the captain's toast at muster, a bridge training exercise, lightsaber training, and more. These types of events were essential to understanding what was happening, as they would give passengers the chance to interact with characters and build their story. This is why the Starcruiser could never be just a hotel; every part of it was designed for enthusiastic interaction."

Like, c'mon. I used to work in television. I've seen and used adcopy in my former job, and this is some serious adcopy. It honestly wouldn't shock me if the author dredged up some old adcopy they had lying around about the topic and just transferred it over, changing the tense. You're not here to sell us this product, because there is no product to sell. It's gone, it's been gone for a year, you don't have to sell us on IT. Speak about your experiences.

The next part is yet another topic that Jenny Nicholson pointed out, the bad faith excuses that influencers and advertisers made for the extreme price point:

"What many people don't know, however, is that the price included much more than just a room. The passengers' food, park tickets, recreation activities on board, non-alcoholic drinks, and more were all included - with merchandise being one of the few additional costs on board."

Which is absolute bad faith reasoning, especially when there are plenty of other vacation options that are ALSO all-inclusive, but are MUCH cheaper and offer MORE amenities than the Galactic Starcruiser did! Including Disney Cruises, owned by the same company! Seriously, you can go on a halfway decent sounding cruise or all-inclusive resort somewhere warm for, like, a week or two and spend far less than GSC cost.

Then the last part is essentially: "All the workers liked working there and the bad reviews afterwards make the workers who worked on it feel sad. :("

Which, like, companies have been hiding behind that reasoning for ages. Curiously, the author never offers....any reasons or stories. WHY did working on it impact you so much? What set it apart, what were the people like, what did you like about working there, why are you so passionate about it even a year later? There's nothing, just a generic sort of "We worked hard." and "We're sad it's gone." Why? How? What happened? The video you're obviously writing this in response to is filled with personal anecdotes and stories, it's the backbone of the video! Again, you need to give us something to show your humanity!

Especially when you consider that Nicholson repeatedly points out that the only highlight about her experience, the only thing that kept the damn thing going was the workers.

She had nothing but praise for them, and nothing but contempt for the higher ups who wasted and abused that enthusiasm, to the point where one of her last points was "Hey, Disney is basically exploiting labor."

Much like Jenny, I'm also not condemning anyone who had a good time working there. Good! If you were having a good time at work, that's great. If you have good memories about the people, awesome. But I'll note two things:

a) That doesn't meant you weren't being exploited, and

b) That doesn't mean you have to be a useful idiot for the corporation you worked for afterwards.

I'm not conspiracy brained enough to go "Oh, Disney TOTALLY forced this article into being.", because a cursory examination of the author's prior works and such suggests a lifelong passion for Star Wars, she did work at the hotel, and she's a Star Wars Editor (whatever THAT means in this day and age) for Screen Rant. Apparently one of the heads of Screen Rant says that Disney had no hand in it either.

Though, I can see why people would think that way. It READS like a press release, not something a normal human being would write about an experience they feel passionate about.

[samsdisneydiary]

Dining on the Disney Wish | Sneak Peek from Making the Disney Wish streaming on Disney+ February 17, 2023

Dining meets storytelling aboard the Disney Wish. Long before the Disney Wish set sail, Imagineers, food and beverage managers, and chefs from around the world were designing restaurants, planning and testing out menus, and concocting one-of-a-kind drinks. What does it take to feed 4,000 guests and 1,500 crew on a floating castle on the sea hundreds of miles from shore? Making the Wish: Disney’s…

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

Sneaking Around

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~900

Warnings: fluff

Summary: You and Spencer are keeping a relationship a secret from your brother, Derek

Square Filled: "don't you touch her." (2022) for @spencerreidbingo

Author’s Note: any and all comments are appreciated <3

x

You don’t ever want to leave this bed. It feels too damn good to want to start your day. Spencer has been up for a while just watching you sleep. He likes to see your eyes flit back and forth underneath your eyelids as he wonders what you might be dreaming about. Where do you go when you fall asleep? Based on the smile on your face, your dream is about him.

“Darling. Wake up,” Spencer whispers and nudges his nose with yours.

You scrunch up your nose in the way he loves, the way that makes you look like a squirrel, and you open your eyes slightly. He waits until he sees your bright eyes before kissing the tip of your nose. There you go again with the cute nose scrunch.

“Why did you wake me? I was having a great dream,” you sigh happily.

“Was it about me?”

“When is it never about you?”

“Tell me what it was about.”

You yawn and move away to get a better look at him.

“Well, I was on this boat and it wasn’t a cruise ship-type boat but like a sailboat. You know, the one Rossi lets us use sometimes. We were in the middle of nowhere but we didn’t feel lost or felt scared. We felt content. I decided to go swimming so I jumped into the water, but then I grew a mermaid tail and you were so jealous because I swam faster than you. You jumped into the water to see if you could grow a tail but couldn’t. So, I decided to take you to my underwater world where we had fish children and ate kelp all the time.”

“Sounds adventurous,” Spencer laughs.

“It was weird,” you giggle.

“So, while you were snoring,” you push Spencer away playfully, “I was thinking maybe we can go up to your parents’ cabin this weekend.”

“That sounds ama—wait,” you sigh, “we can’t. Derek is having his friends over. He’s taking the weekend to do whatever it is they plan on doing. The last thing I need is to be caught by him.”

It’s not that Derek doesn’t approve of your relationship with Spencer, it’s just he’s so protective over you. You have nothing to do with the police or the FBI, and he doesn’t want you getting mixed up in that life. It’s bad enough he’s in it, he doesn’t want to add another person you could possibly lose. He’s only looking out for you, and you understand that, but you fell in love with Spencer the second he introduced you two.

You two have been seeing each other behind his back, and it’s been working out so far.

“Maybe we can rent a hotel room, then. I really want to go away with you for the weekend.”

“I’d like that,” you grin.

You lean over and kiss him, but the kiss is anything but short and sweet. It’s the kind of kiss that makes your head spin. The kind of kiss that makes you want to do very bad things with him. The kind of kiss that makes you fall in love with him all over again. The kiss gets heated very quickly and he pulls you onto his lap so you can feel how hard you’re making him.

Suddenly, the front door slams open and your brother can be heard laughing downstairs.

“Reid! You here?”

“Shit,” you gasp.

You scramble off Spencer and fall off the bed toward the window. Spencer laughs at your panic just as you crawl underneath his bed. Seconds later, Derek opens Spencer’s bedroom door, and you cover your mouth to keep quiet. Spencer doesn’t mind that Derek barges in whenever he wants. With him are Matt and Luke, and the latter smirks at the flushed look on Spencer’s face.

“Why is Y/N’s car here?”

“She dropped it off here,” Spencer thinks quickly. “She took an Uber to hang out with the girls. She didn’t want to drive, and it was cheaper to get one from here than her house.”

Luke looks around the room and sees your toes underneath the bed. He smirks but doesn’t comment on it.

“When she gets back, she can sleep in the guest room.”

“No problem,” Spencer shrugs.

“Don’t you touch her,” Derek points at him.

“I won’t. Why did you come here? Not that I don’t love your company.”

Spencer doesn’t want to get up because then they’ll see the boner he has.

“We’re going to a baseball game. Want to come?”

“No, thank you. I have a bunch of books to get through.”

“I can wait ten minutes,” Derek laughs.

“Maybe next time.”

“Alright. Let me know when she gets home safe.”

“Sure thing.”

The three men leave the room and Spencer busts out laughing at the situation.

“Shut up,” you glare and hit the underside of his bed. You crawl out from underneath it when you know it’s safe to do so. You kneel on the bed and kiss him lovingly. “Derek may be my brother, but he’s not the boss of me. I love you with all my heart, but I better go before he sees me.”

“We gotta tell him soon.”

“I know but sneaking around with you is so much fun,” you wink.

Instead of leaving through the bedroom door like a normal person, you sneak out of the window where there is a tree that slopes down, giving you the perfect escape route. Spencer watches you go with a chuckle, glad that someone like you is in his life.

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[medievalandfantasymelee]

Submissions are closed but many of our noble and worthy Contenders still need Propaganda to aid them...

Of our 294 Entrants, the following 27 have had no text propaganda submitted

Amarendra Baahubali [Prabhas], Baahubali Series (2015-2017)

Arondir [Ismael Cruz Córdova], The Rings of Power (2022-)

Asbjörn [Tom Hopper], Northmen: A Viking Saga (2014)

Balian de Ibelin [Orlando Bloom], Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

Bjørn Ironside [Alexander Ludwig], Vikings (2013-2020)

Sir Bowen [Dennis Quaid], Dragonheart (1996)

Elrond Half-elven [Robert Aramayo], The Rings of Power (2022-)

Geoffrey Chaucer [Pier Paolo Pasolini], The Canterbury Tales (1972)

King Henry VIII [Ray Winstone], Henry VIII (2003)

Isildur, Son of Elendil [Maxim Baldry], The Rings of Power (2022-)

Prince Jingim [Remy Hii], Marco Polo (2014)

Kai [Michael Gothard], Arthur of the Britons (1972, 1973)

Sir Lancelot [Richard Gere], First Knight (1995)

Merlin [Nicol Williamson], Excalibur (1981)

“The Mute” [John Bernthal], Pilgrimage (2017)

“One-Eye” [Mads Mikkelsen], Valhalla Rising (2009)

Sir Percival [Tom Hopper], BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012)

Pero Tovar [Pedro Pascal], The Great Wall (2016)

Ragnar Lothbrook [Travis Fimmel], Vikings (2013-2020)

Richard III [Benedict Cumberbatch], The Hollow Crown (2012-2016)

Robin Hood [Tom Riley], Doctor Who: “The Robot of Sherwood” (2014)

“The Sherriff of Nottingham” [Alan Wheatley], The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-1959)

“The Sherriff of Nottingham” [Peter Cushing], The Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960)

Syrio Forel [Miltos Yerolemou], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Tormund Giantsbane [Kristofer Hivju], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Ubbe [Jordan Patrick Smith], Vikings (2013-2020)

Wil Ohmsford [Austin Butler], Shannara Chronicles (2016)

The following 63 DO have text propaganda, but only consisting of a single sentence, (or propaganda that contains spoilers) and could use a bit more...

Aguilar de Nerha [Michael Fassbender], Assassin's Creed (2016)

Allan-A-Dale [Joe Armstrong], BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-2009)

Sultan Alauddin [Ranver Singh], Padmavaat (2018)

Amleth [Alexander Skarsgård], The Northman (2022)

Arman [Matevy Lykov], I Am Dragon (2015)

King Arthur [Graham Chapman], Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Asneez [Isaac Hayes], Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

Ash Williams [Bruce Campbell], Army of Darkness (1992)

Azog the Defiler [Manu Bennett], The Hobbit Trilogy (2012-2014)

Ser Barristan Selmy [Ian McIlhinney], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert [Sam Neill], Ivanhoe (1982)

Carlos I [Álvaro Cervantes], Carlos Rey Emperador (2015-2016)

Cesare Borgia [Mark Ryder], Borgia: Faith and Fear (2011-2014)

Charles Brandon [Henry Cavill], The Tudors (2007-2010)

Chu Hun [Peter Ho], Double World (2020)

Connor MacLeod [Christopher Lambert], Highlander (1986)

Prince Dastan [Jake Gyllenhaal], Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Dong Yilong [Henry Lau], Double World (2020)

Eamon Valda [Abdul Salis], The Wheel of Time (2021-)

Sir Elyan [Adetomiwa Edun], BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012)

Forge Fitzwilliam [Hugh Grant], Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

Galavant [Joshua Sasse], Galavant (2015-2016)

Galessin, Duke of Orkney [Alexis Hénon], Kaamelott (2004-2009)

Gandalf [Ian McKellan], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Geralt z Rivii [Michał Żebrowski], The Witcher (2002)

Gimli, Son of Gloin [John Rhys-Davies], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Prince Hamlet [Christopher Plummer], Hamlet at Elsinore (1964)

King Henry V Plantagenet [Kenneth Branagh], Henry V (1989)

Prince Humperdink [Chris Sarandon], The Princess Bride (1987)

Ivanhoe [Anthony Andrews], Ivanhoe (1982)

Jack [Tom Cruise], Legend (1985)

Ser Jaime Lannister [Nikolaj Coster-Waldau], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Jaskier [Joey Batey], The Witcher (2019-)

Little John [Eric Allan Kramer], Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

Prince John [Richard Lewis], Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

Sir Lancelot [Luc Simon], Lancelot du Lac (1974)

Sir Lancelot [Santiago Cabrera], BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012)

Loial [Hammed Animashaun], The Wheel of Time (2022-)

Matrim “Mat” Cauthon [Donal Finn], The Wheel of Time (2022)

Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck [Dominic Monaghan], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Mikoláš Kozlík [František Velecký], Marketa Lazarová (1967)

Murtagh Morzansson [Garrett Hedlund], Eragon (2002)

Niankoro [Issiaka Kane], Yeelen (1987)

Niccolo Machiavelli [Thibaut Evrard], Borgia: Faith and Fear (2011-2014)

Phillippe Gaston [Matthew Broderick], Ladyhawke (1985)

“The Player” [Richard Dreyfuss], Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990)

Rand al’Thor [Josha Stradowski], The Wheel of Time (2022-)

Richard II Plantagenet [Ben Whishaw], The Hollow Crown (2012-2016)

Robin Hood [Kevin Costner], Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

Robin Hood [Jonas Armstrong], BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-2009)

Rodrigo Borgia [Jeremy Irons], The Borgias (2011-2013)

Rollo [Clive Standen], Vikings (2013-2020)

Roose Bolton [Michael McElhatton], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Saruman [Christopher Lee], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Sid [Luke Youngblood], Galavant (2015-2016)

“Taunting French Guard” [John Cleese], Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

King Theoden, Son of Thengel [Bernard Hill], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Thierry of Janville [Jean-Claude Drouot], Thierry la Fronde (1963-1966)

Sir Thomas Grey [Nigel Terry], Covington Cross (1992)

Trumpkin [Peter Dinklage], The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

Vlad III Dracula [Luke Evans], Dracula Untold (2014)

Wat [Alan Tudyk], A Knight’s Tale (2001)

Wen Kexing [Gong Jun], Word of Honor (2021

And the following 57 have had fewer than 3 pictures submitted as visual propaganda

Prince Aemond Targaryen [Ewan Mitchell], House of the Dragon (2022-)

Ahmad [Mahesh Jadu], Marco Polo (2014)

Shah Ala ad Daula [Olivier Martinez], The Physician (2013)

Alessandro Farnese [Diarmuid Noyes], Borgia (2011-2014)

Amarendra Baahubali [Prabhas], Baahubali (2015-2017)

Amleth [Alexander Skarsgård], The Northman (2022)

Arman [Matvey Lykov], I Am Dragon (2015)

Arthur Pendragon [Oliver Tobias], Arthur of the Britons (1972-1973)

King Arthur [Sean Connery], First Knight (1995)

Sir Bowen [Dennis Quaid], Dragonheart (1996)

Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert [Sam Neill], Ivanhoe (1982)

Carlos I [Álvaro Cervantes], Carlos Rey Emperador (2015-2016)

King Caspian X [Samuel West], BBC’s Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989)

Cesare Borgia [Mark Ryder], Borgia (2011-2014)

Prince Charmont [Hugh Dancy], Ella Enchanted (2004)

Chu Hun [Peter Ho], Double World (2020)

Connor MacLeod [Christopher Lambert], Highlander (1986)

Dong Yilong [Henry Lau], Double World (2020)

Fjölnir [Claes Bang], The Northman (2022)

Francesco de Pazzi [Matteo Martari], Medici (2016-2019)

Geoffrey Chaucer [Pier Paolo Pasolini], The Canterbury Tales (1972)

Gest [Jakob Þór Einarsson], Hrafninn flýgur (1984)

Gimli, Son of Gloin [John Rhys-Davies], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

King Henry II [Peter O’Toole], The Lion in Winter (1968)

Hugh Beringar [Sean Pertwee], Cadfael (1994-1998)

Prince Jingim [Remy Hii], Marco Polo (2014)

Little John [Nicol Williamson], Robin and Marian (1976)

Kai [Michael Gothard], Arthur of the Britons (1972, 1973)

Sir Lancelot [Richard Gere], First Knight (1995)

Lurtz [Lawrence Makoare], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck [Dominic Monaghan], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Merlin [Nicol Williamson], Excalibur (1981)

Much [Sam Troughton], BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-2009)

Murtagh Morzansson [Garrett Hedlund], Eragon (2002)

Niankoro [Issiaka Kane], Yeelen (1987)

Niccolo Machiavelli [Thibaut Evrard], Borgia: Faith and Fear (2011-2014)

“The Player” [Richard Dreyfuss], Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990)

Podrick Payne [Daniel Portman], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Rilk [Jesse Lee Keeter] JourneyQuest (2010)

Robert the Bruce [Chris Pine], Outlaw King (2018)

Robin Longstride [Russell Crowe], Robin Hood (2010)

Saburo Naotora Ichimonji [Ryu Daisuke], Ran (1985)

Sid [Luke Youngblood], Galavant (2015-2016)

Sihtric Kjartansson [Arnas Fedaravicius], The Last Kingdom (2015-2022)

Syrio Forel [Miltos Yerolemou], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

“Taunting French Guard” [John Cleese], Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Thierry of Janville [Jean-Claude Drouot], Thierry la Fronde (1963-1966)

Sir Thomas Grey [Nigel Terry], Covington Cross (1992)

Thraxus Boorman [Amar Chadha-Patel], Willow (2022]

Sir Tristan [Kingsley Ben-Adir], King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)

Uglúk [Nathaniel Lees], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

“Unnamed Elf Escort” (Alias: “Figwit”), The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Wen Kexing [Gong Jun], Word of Honor (2021

Wil Ohmsford [Austin Butler], The Shannara Chronicles (2016)

Will Scarlett [Patrick Knowles], The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Will Scarlett [Christian Slater], Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

Willow Ufgood [Warwick Davis], Willow (1988, 2022)

[disneytva]

Variety Interviews Ayo Davis, Meredith Roberts And Emily Hart On Disney Television Animation's 40th Anniversary And What To Expect On From The Past, Present And Future

40 years ago, Disney TVA was founded on the heels of challenging outcomes with features “The Fox and the Hound” and “The Black Cauldron.”

Initially, Disney TVA was restricted from using established Disney legacy characters, but nevertheless had huge successes with new shows like “The Wuzzles” and “Adventures of the Gummi Bears,” both of which became popular in syndication. As time went on, DTVA was able to use its limited rights to create shows like “DuckTales” and “TaleSpin,” which featured Disney characters. Today, the slate has evolved to include shows that travel across Disney’s streaming, linear and digital platforms, including Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney Junior and the Disney Parks

Over the 40 years of the studio has collaborated with Walt Disney Imagineering to bring beloved Disney Afternoon characters to the parks as well Mickey And Minnie's Runaway Railway and AquaMouse for the Disney Wish and Disney Treasure cruises from the Disney Cruise & Ships Line as well collaborating with Disney Yellow Two Shoes Team to redesing some heritage characters for the WDW Passholder Magnets.

Disney TVA characters also have gone to the realm of live action. In 2019 Disney Channel brought Kim Possible to the live action world as a Disney Channel Original Movie in 2019. In Spring 2022, Walt Disney Studios brought Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers to a new generation of fans trought a meta-driven live action/animated hybrid film which won an Primetime Emmy Award for Best Feature Film.

In April 2024, it was announced that Kiara from The Lion King II: Simba's Pride created at Disney TVA will make her live action debut on the motion capture/computer animated film "Mufasa The Lion King" with the character being voiced by Blue Ivy Carter. In Fall 2023, it was announced that Blumhouse Television and Atomic Monster where developing a live action reboot of Gargoyles for Disney+.

The future of the studio looks bright as the studio is slated to debut it's 100th show overall "StuGo" in 2025, as well new interations of beloved classics like The Proud Family, Phineas And Ferb, Sofia The First and Darkwing Duck trought revivals,reboots and spin-offs in the coming years with early talks of new interations of TaleSpin, Kim Possible and Recess since Early 2023.

“We have a wildly diverse development slate because we don’t have a house style,” says Meredith Roberts, executive vice president, television animation, Disney Branded Television and CEO of Disney Television Animation “Our styles are creator-driven, so that allows for real support of the artist or creator to fulfill his or her vision. Anything is possible, whether it's CGI. (“Monsters at Work”), hand-drawn 2D (“Big City Greens”,"Primos","Hailey's On It!"), rig-based 2D (“Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur”,"Kiff") and stop-motion (“Mickey Saves Christmas”,"Rhona Who Lives By The River".). Roberts continues, “We really try and solve all the problems and develop it. We look at the scripts and the story arcs. Every project has to have a strategy behind it that will complement the slate and separate it from other things. Each project has a distinct swim lane to attract an audience. And we’ve learned to meet the kids where they are, in terms of streaming and YouTube.”

Co-viewing, the viewership that happens when adults sit down to watch a DTVA show with the kids in their lives, is part of the studio’s secret sauce and long-term strategy. Many of the shows are written with jokes and plot points for both audiences so both groups will return.

“We double down on the kids and family space,” says Roberts. “We’re not just dipping a toe in the water. We’re diving in. I think we’ve seen a lot of churn with the competition, who just don’t have the patience to develop and are for this audience, which is a very specialized kid audience and co-view audience.” ("The Witchverse", "Rhona Who Lives By The River","InterCats","Fantasy Sports") Roberts reflects: “I think one of the things I’m most proud of is how stable Disney TVA has been for the last 40 years despite a lot of outside churn of the animation industry. Many of our crews feel that Disney is their forever home. I think the excitement they have to illustrate and create with this brand has been terrific because it’s harder to be funny and clean. And nowhere are we tearing down people to get that laugh. I think that’s the beauty of a Disney animated show.”

DTVA also sought to meet kids where they are by making their audience — which is made up of the most diverse generation in history — feel seen, with series such as “Elena of Avalor,” which featured Disney’s first Latina princess, and “The Proud Family,” franchise focused on the life of a teenage Black girl.

“We do have an amazing insights team that are constantly in the field, giving us general information about how kids are watching content, what they’re into,” Emily Hart (VP of Current and Development - Disney Junior) says. “Some of those things are evolving, as we know the ways kids consume content is changing. But there are some universal truths about kids, and it’s great to have that reinforced. Kids still like a lot of the same things that we like. So, there’s a combination that we’re always tracking with every new idea, and we do pilot testing. We get to sit down and talk about the content, and we invite our creators in so they can see the kids talking about it because they’re the audience and they’re the truest test of if the story is going to work.”

Ayo Davis, president of the Disney Branded Television and VP of Current and Development at Disney Television Animation says the division is a “driving force” for memorable kids and family entertainment.

“All of us at Disney Branded Television are so proud of the studio’s 40-year legacy as it continues to entertain future generations with shows like ‘Kiff,’ ‘Big City Greens’ and ‘Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 2.0" --- Davis says.

Those creators who come to DTVA often stay for a long time, partnering with the studio on a variety of different projects or expanding on a hit and reimagining it for the next generation of viewers. “The Proud Family” was a standout in 2001 on Disney Channel. Creator and executive producer Bruce W. Smith is now working on the Emmy-winning “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder,” which is based on the original series. The show follows Penny Proud as she navigates family life and her own childhood.

“Being at Disney TVA has allowed me to realize all my artistic dreams,” says Bruce W. Smith. “As a kid, you always have hopes, thoughts, dreams, ideas and characters that can help lay out those ideas in your head. Disney has allowed me to really tap into my creative instinct, at the end of the day, you have to learn how to trust yourself. Meredith Roberts has been a true shepherd for me in all of this, allowing me to stretch my wings. Because of her belief in me and my ideas, she’s really allowed me to blossom as an artist. All that happened at DTVA.”

“They really seem to be a place that welcomes your ideas,” Dan Povenmire says of Disney TVA. “They want to find people with real strong ideas of the stories they want to tell, and then they let them tell those stories for the most part. They seem to put storytelling and characters over anything. With [‘Phineas and Ferb’], we would write jokes for the kids and the adults in the room because we knew the adults would be there too. We were just careful not to do any double entendres.”

[frozen10fanzine]

Frozen Through the Years

Yearly Spotlight: 2022

Written by @secretsofthestorymakers

In 2022, some further expansion of the Frozen franchise came through other Disney properties.

Frozen characters were included in the story of Disney Mirrorverse, an alternate universe/crossover role playing game featuring many Disney and Pixar characters. In July, the Disney Wish cruise ship sailed for the first time, featuring Arendelle: A Frozen Dining Adventure. This immersive character dining experience brings guests into the world of Frozen with a royal dinner to celebrate Anna and Kristoff’s engagement.

In books, 2022 brought new editions of both La Bibliothéque Rose series and the Histoires d’Arendelle books, two series of fairly short stories written in French. In July, Polar Nights - a chapter book set after Frozen II - was released. It explores the story of one particular myth in Arendelle and what happens when the past comes back to haunt Elsa and Anna.

As it had been several years since the release of Frozen II, and as the 10th anniversary of the original film was approaching, fans wondered what could be next for the franchise.

Stay Tuned for More

👆🏻 Click above if you want to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Frozen. The due date is April 12, 2024.

We look forward to seeing your memories ❄️

[angelasscribbles]

Wild Ride: A Bad Romance Prequel One-Shot

Series: Bad Romance Continues

Original Series: Bad Romance

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairing for this chapter: Riley x Leo

Rating: NSFW

Warnings for this chapter: Lemons

Word Count:  2,503

A/N: If you've read Bad Romance you know who Riley ends up with in the end. If you've read Disney Adventure, you also know that there was a previous weekend with Leo that predates her meeting everyone else. (And she had no idea Leo and Liam were connected until the coronation). Disney Adventure references this weekend (many times lol), but goes into no detail. This is that detail. Or at least the beginning of it.

Way back in November of 2022, I posted a prompt wheel ask event to celebrate passing the 350-follower mark. That was 15 months and roughly 1,100 followers ago. I received 10 asks and completed 9 of them. (and 3 of those launched series, two of which have been completed to date). Here is the list of those asks with links to the completed fics.

This is the last of those asks. And it's only 15 months late. 😆

The ask was from @harleybeaumont and it was for Leo x smut x nightlife. I decided it was the perfect opportunity to answer all those questions I got about what exactly happened the weekend Riley and Leo met in my Bad Romance universe.

I credit @dcbbw for putting the idea of Riley and Leo in my head in the first place. I have loved writing their dynamic both here and in the Disney Adventure mini-series. I hope you all enjoy it as well.

My other stuff: Master List.

Leo Rys, former crown prince, and current international playboy, made his way through the crowd, searching for prey. The BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn Music Festival was one of his favorite New York events. All summer long, free, outdoors, and full of eligible, hot women.

He had been at loose ends since he’d abdicated the throne. Sailing around the Mediterranean on a cruise ship had been amusing for a little while… until he’d gotten his heart handed to him. Again.

He knew he should be doing something with his life, but he didn’t know what. Not yet. He would give himself a couple of years to have fun, then he would get serious about something.

Meanwhile, he was on the prowl for his next good time.

He spotted her next to the stage. The lead singer was eye fucking her, and she wasn’t discouraging it.

She was wearing a crisscross tie-dyed halter top, her hair spilling down her back in luscious dusky waves as she undulated her body while keeping her eyes locked on the singer.

His focus narrowed. Target acquired.

His eyes flicked to the stage. He was hotter than the lead singer, and he wasn’t stuck performing. His odds of pulling her attention were high. He liked his chances.

She didn’t see him coming. It was loud and her attention was occupied. She jumped when a voice spoke in her ear, “I can play the guitar better than that guy.”

She turned her head to say something snarky, but stopped when her eyes fell on the owner of the voice.

Hot as hell didn’t begin to cover it. He was a fucking Greek God is what he was. Blond hair, blue eyes, muscular build, grey T-shirt straining across his chest.

Blond wasn’t her usual type, she tended toward dark and swarthy. But in his case, she’d make an exception.

He looked like he worked out on the regular. He had dimples when he smiled. Broad at the shoulders, narrow at the hips, and barrel-chested. He checked several of her boxes.

And that accent.

Good humor sparkled in his ocean-blue eyes as he jerked his head toward the stage, then yelled in her ear, “I’m better looking than him, too.”

She flipped her hair back as she gave him an appraising look, then leaned forward to yell back, “Are you competing with him for something?”

“Oh, yeah.” He nodded his head vigorously.

“Yeah?” Her eyebrows raised, “What?”

He leaned down to put his mouth to her ear again. “Your attention.”

“You want my attention?” She yelled back.

“I do. You know what else I do better than him?”

“What?”

“Fuck.”

She laughed. “How can you possibly know that?”

He pulled out his cell phone. “I have references. Want me to call up a few old girlfriends?”

Her eyes ran over every inch of him before replying, “That won’t be necessary. I’ll give you an interview right now.”

“What would that entail?”

He had barely finished the sentence when she grabbed his face with both hands and brought her mouth to his.

Her tongue tangled with his, and he felt himself sinking.

She tasted like cherries and summer; her lips were soft and lush. Her tongue was insistent, demanding.

He kissed her back with everything he had.

When she pulled away, she grinned at him. “I guess that was okay.”

“Okay? Just okay?”

“I said it was okay. Take the win.”

“I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t expecting it! Can I have a do-over?”

“Tell you what,” she stepped closer to him, placing a hand on his chest, “Take me to dinner and we’ll see where it goes.”

“Fuck yeah!” Leo grinned as he grabbed her by the hand and led her away from the stage.

When they finally got far enough away from the music to talk normally, he introduced himself. “I’m Leo. What’s your name?”

“Riley.”

“Nice to meet you, Riley. What do you want for dinner?”

“Food is usually good.”

“All right, smartass. Food it is!” He stopped next to a red ninja motorcycle and handed her a helmet. “Ready?”

“Nice bike!” She said appreciatively.

“Thanks. I like it.” He put his own helmet on and fastened it.

She climbed onto the back of the bike with his help and wrapped her arms around him.

His abs were rock hard. She snuggled closer appreciatively.

He started the bike, flipped the kickstand up, and leaned into it as the bike surged forward.

Riley squealed in delight as the bottom dropped out of her stomach.

He stopped the bike in front of Fred’s Pizzeria.

She pulled her helmet off and hit him in the back. “Pizza? I can’t eat pizza!”

“Ow! Why not?” he asked as he pulled his own helmet off.

“I’m allergic to tomatoes!”

“Oh, shit! I’m sorry! We can go somewhere else!”

“Nah,” she jumped off the bike with a laugh, “I’m just fucking with you. I’m not allergic to anything.”

“I…what?” he laughed.

She was already at the door. She looked back at him over her shoulder. “You coming or not?”

He shook his head as he climbed off the bike. This girl was trouble with a capital T.

Good thing he liked trouble.

The pizzeria was crowded, so they ended up eating outside, sitting cross-legged on the sidewalk. The conversation was light and flirty, the looks they exchanged were steamy and anticipatory, and the tension that filled the air was thick and thrilling.

“Hey,” he wiped a smear of marinara sauce from the corner of her mouth, “Do you want to get out of here and go for a ride on my bike?”

“Didn’t I already do that? Isn’t that how we got here?”

“All right wiseass, would you like to go for another ride on my bike? Maybe do other things on it…”

“Other things?” Her eyebrows shot up in interest. “What other things?”

Leo jumped to his feet and reached back for her. “Well, come on and I’ll show you!”

She took his hand and before she knew it; they were on his bike again, speeding through the waning evening light, heading away from the city and toward the shore. Cool, ocean air caressed them as they flew down a coastal highway and then a dirt road. He drove around a barricade and brought the bike to a stop on a small, private beach. 

Removing her helmet, Riley shook her hair loose as she asked, “Wasn’t that a no-trespassing sign back there?”

“It’s fine,” He assured her as he pulled his helmet off and tossed it carelessly on the ground before climbing off the bike. “I know the owner.”

He caught her as she slid off the motorcycle, his hands going around her waist as her body bumped into his. He didn’t release her, instead; he pulled her closer. With a cocky grin, he told her, “If you don’t want to make out with me, you’d better say so now.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his grin. “Oh, I was beginning to think you were too chicken to make a move.”

“Too chicken?” He laughed in surprise. This girl had a way of challenging and surprising him, and he liked it. A lot. “I’ll show you too chicken!”

His lips crashed against hers, his grip tightened around her body, and his desire for her became evident as he pressed his body closer to her.

She responded to him as darkness dropped across the beach. One leg went up and wrapped around him as her fingers gripped a handful of his hair. Her head tipped back as his lips traced warm kisses down her neck.

He buried his nose in the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply before moving up to nip at her earlobe. She smelled amazing; she tasted amazing, and he needed more. Much more.

His hands worked quickly but gently to pull one item of clothing after another from her body, until she was bare in front of him, her sun-drenched skin gleaming in the moonlight. “My god, you’re beautiful,” he breathed out as he renewed his exploration of her now-naked body. His fingers trailed across silky skin, his tongue caressed taut nipples, and his warm breath sent shivers chasing down her spine. He pulled back with a satisfied smile, pleased with how she trembled under his touch.

“Don’t stop now,” she admonished him, lurching forward to yank his shirt over his head. She gave him a teasing smile before leaning forward and running her tongue up the side of his neck. “It’s only fair if we’re both naked.”

“I cannot fault your logic,” he laughed as he stumbled out of the rest of his clothes. He liked the way she didn’t sit still and wait for his next move. This girl was a firecracker, and he couldn’t wait to watch her explode.

There was nothing between them but the night air as he pulled her back into his arms. “What do you think you’re doing?” He asked as she slid out of his arms toward the ground. A moment later, that question was answered as she took the length of him into her mouth.

His hands sank into her hair, his eyes fluttered shut and his head fell back with a heartfelt, “Oh, fuck!”

For several long moments, he lost himself in the overwhelming pleasure washing over him. His entire body tingled from the top of his head to the tip of his toes. She was good at it. Too good. “Stop!” He placed one hand on her forehead and pushed her gently away as he stepped out of her reach.

There was a mischievous, almost predatory glint in her eye as she stood back up. “What’s the matter? Afraid you’re not going to last?”

“Fuck, yes…” he drew in a ragged breath as his mind spun with ideas. His gaze landed on his bike and his eyes lit up with delight. He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward it. “Come here.”

“What are we—"

“Hold on,” he put the bike on its center stand and swooped her off her feet.

She was still shrieking with surprised amusement as he deposited her on the seat, facing him. He gave her a confident smirk as he pushed her legs apart and knelt before her.

“I like where this is heading,” she arched her body toward him in invitation.

He did not disappoint. This was a man who knew how to deploy his tongue. Her body twisted and withed as she struggled to keep hold of the bike and not topple off of it onto the ground. The soft warmth of his mouth on her most intimate place filled her with heat as the salt air caressed her exposed flesh.

With an expert flick of his tongue, she lost control and slid forward toward the ground as a tidal wave of pleasure crashed through her body.

She was still throbbing from the orgasm when he scooped her up, put her back on the motorcycle, and hit the start button.

His voice was rough and low as he told her, “Turn around. Straddle it like you’re driving it. Trust me on this.”

She prided herself on her willingness to try anything once. Twice, if I like it, was her motto. She turned so that she was facing forward. Leo scrambled on behind her. His arms circled her waist as his breath brushed against the side of her neck. “Now, hold on to the handlebars.”

She did as she was told, gripping the handlebars to maintain her balance as his hands ran freely over her body. She turned her head back to receive his tongue in her mouth. He broke the kiss to whisper in her ear, “Now lean forward, rub that pretty little pussy against the fuel tank and rev the engine.”

Oh, that was something new.

She pressed her body forward as he entered her from behind. He moved slowly at first, sinking into her an inch at a time. The synthesis of him moving inside her, combined with the vibration of the bike pulsing through her clit, sent spirals of pleasure rippling through her body. She controlled the strength of the vibration with the throttle as Leo’s thrusts became faster, harder, and deeper.  

She let every inhibition she had fall away as she screamed her release into the deepening night. Ecstasy throbbed in her center, then spread in fiery hot ribbons throughout her entire being as the top half of her body arched off the motorcycle, her head coming to rest on Leo’s shoulder as her lower body rubbed against the smooth metal of the tank.

Her complete and utter abandon pushed him over the edge with her. The sound of her cries in his ears, and the sensation of her clenching around him as a squirt of hot liquid coated his cock, destroyed any vestige of control he had left. With one last savage thrust, he exploded inside her with a guttural roar.

“Goddamn,” he gasped when he could speak again. “That was fucking amazing. Marry me?”

She laughed as she turned her body around so that she was still straddling the seat but facing the opposite direction.

He scooted back a little to give her room and once she was fully turned around; he moved back and pulled her into her arms, raining kisses down the side of her face and neck and dropping them along her shoulder.

She squirmed happily under his affections. “I think marriage might be a bit premature.”

“Fine,” he huffed, pretending to take offense. “But at least come back to my room with me. I have more tricks up my sleeve.”

She hooked her arms around his neck. “That I can manage.”

Forty-five minutes later, they were back in his hotel room. She was in his shower, and he was on the phone ordering room service. She requested chocolate sauce and whipped cream and damned if he was missing out on whatever she had planned for those.

He hung up the phone and flopped down on the bed, hands tucked behind his head. Staring up at the ceiling, he let his mind wander a little. He knew they had just met, but he was completely bewitched.

She was mesmerizing. Her fire reminded him of another woman, the one that he hadn't been able to get over. In his whole life, there had only been two women he had been remotely interested in holding onto, and both had slipped through his fingers. Katie had married someone else, and Liv might be in love with his brother.

He had come to realize that his infatuation with Katie had probably been nothing more than a rebound. How does one move on after being dumped the night before you were planning to propose?

He pushed those thoughts away.

Tonight, he had Riley to focus on and he was determined to show her the time of her life.

Who knew? Maybe it was the beginning of something great.

[fatehbaz]

Caribbean cruise vacations have a long violent history. Earlier today, I came across one of the early print advertisement illustrations for the Caribbean cruise ship vacations offered by “the Great White Fleet.” And I pondered bananas.

Just as uncomfortable as it sounds. The story of the origin of the Caribbean cruise industry is, after all, also the story of the origin of the term “Banana Republic.”

In 1914, the Great War began as the planet’s powerful empires of old were collapsing, as British, French, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, Russian, and Qing/Chinese powers were marred by internal revolt and global warfare. But in 1914, the United States completed their Panama Canal and consolidated power in Latin America and the Caribbean, celebrating the ascent of a “new” empire made strong, in part, by bananas.

As of 2022, bananas generate 12 billion dollars per year, with 75% of bananas exported from Latin America and the Caribbean.

The planet’s single biggest banana-producing company is Chiquita. The Chiquita brand was previously known as United Fruit Company, which had essentially monopolized the banana industry in Latin America. United Fruit Company has a bit of an image problem, following its theft of Indigenous land across Central America in the early 20th century; its role in provoking the killing of tens of hundreds/thousands of plantation laborers during the Banana Massacre of 1928; the company’s direct role in the CIA-backed toppling of the Guatemala government in the 1950s; and the company’s role in paying to harass and intimidate labor organizers in Colombia in recent decades.

But what of the “romance” and “adventure” of the Caribbean?

So it’s 1915 or 1916.

Middle of the Great War. Classic empires are disintegrating: Spanish empire, British empire, Austro-Hungarian empire, Russian empire, Ottoman empire, remnants of the Qing/Chinese state, etc. And whose empire is rising? United States, an empire expanding in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. After the 1898 Spanish-US war, as Teddy Roosevelt’s cartoon cavalry conquered Cuba, the Spanish Main belongs to the US of A. The US Navy controlled the Caribbean Sea, and was aiming to expand across the Pacific Ocean, to Hawai’i and beyond.

But the official US Navy isn’t the only fleet upholding the empire. The United Fruit Company had its own fleet.

The text of one of these Great White Fleet ads, from 1916, adorned with imagery of a blue-and-gold macaw and an aerial map of the Caribbean, reads:

“[W]here winter never comes and where the soft trade winds bring renewed health. [W]ith all the comforts and all the luxuries of life you enjoy aboard the palatial ships of the GREAT WHITE FLEET. Delicious meals a la carte [...]. Dainty staterooms, perfectly ventilated [...]. [A]mid the scenes of romance and history in the Caribbean. And with it the opportunity to win for yourself a treasure of health and happiness, of greater benefit than the fabled fountain of youth, sought by Spanish adventurers in the tropic isles of the Spanish Main.”

Who’s leading the charge?

The United Fruit Company!

From the May 1916 issue of Red Book. Image source, from Archive dot org:

Another:

Image source, from Archive dot org:

“There the Pirates hid their Gold -- and every voyage, every port, every route of the Great White Fleet through the Golden Caribbean has the romance of buried treasure, pirate ships an deeds of adventure [...].”

The Golden Caribbean.

The same region where Columbus murdered Indigenous people, where the US and France had just spent 100 years punishing Haiti with unending economic warfare afters slaves rebelled against colonization, and where the United Fruit Company would now set up shop.

The company’s plantations would expand across Central America, establishing brutal racial hierarchies and essentially controlling federal governments of Central American nations.

In 1928, over 30,000 laborers were on strike at banana plantations in Colombia. They demanded payment of actual wages, rather than the credits they were given which were mostly only redeemable at company-owned stores in company towns. The US government threatened to send the Marine Corps to intervene if the “subversive” workers would not return to UFC’s plantations. In December 1928, after martial law had been declared, General Cortes Vargas entered the town square of Cienaga (Magdalena) during Sunday gatherings, with machine guns, opening fire on the crowds, and killing perhaps 3,000 people.

In the late 1940s, the United Fruit Company intensified its ad campaigns led by propagandist Edward Bernays (nephew of Sigmund Freud???), who also practiced his skill at manipulative advertising when working to popularize the American Tobacco Company by showing women smoking “torches of freedom” and linking “women’s rights” to cigarette iconography.

Bernays, who explicitly wrote about his “counter-Communist” intention in the ads, was “drafted” in the war to topple ascendant leftist governments. After 1944 and after Arevalo’s labor reforms, Jacobo Arbenz Guzman took control of Guatemala in 1951, and took over 200,000 acres from United Fruit Company and returned them to poor families. Bernays launched propaganda attacks against Guatemala, helping to plant stories about Guatemala eventually carried in the Saturday Evening Post, New York Herald Tribune, and Reader’s Digest. In January 1952, Bernays personally led a tour of Central America, accompanying publishers and editors of Newsweek, the Miami Herald, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Cincinnati Enquirer, Scripps-Howard, and Time magazine. When the CIA-trained military force led by Carlos Castillo Armas invaded Guatemala, with CIA aerial support, installing Castillo Armas as president, Bernays called them an “army of liberation.”

Bananas and Caribbean cruises aren’t the only culprits in expanding imperial power in Latin America, the tropics, and the Global South.

In 1914, the same year that the United States finished the Panama Canal and consolidated power in Latin America and the Caribbean, Richard Strong was a newly appointed director of Harvard’s new Department of Tropical Medicine. Strong was also appointed director of the Laboratories of the Hospitals and of Research Work at United Fruit Company. Strong toured the company’s plantations in Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Cuba. In the coming years, Strong would also personally approach Harvey Firestone, chief executive of the Firestone company, which owned and brutally operated rubber plantations in tropical West Africa. Research in tropical medicine was thus inaugurated by and dependent on colonial/imperial plantations and racial/social hierarchies at United Fruit Company and Firestone sites across the tropical regions, planetwide. Strong is just one character that demonstrates the interconnectedness of academia, fruit plantations, rubber supplies, food distribution, motor vehicle industries, strike-breakers, military forces, imperial expansion, and other tendrils of violently-enforced racist power.

Today, in 2022, Chiquita maintains twenty thousand employees across 70 countries. 

I think about this as I eat a banana for lunchtime. I think about this when I see the Edenic portrayal of a Caribbean shore, a landscape baked not so much by the tropical sun but instead scarred by centuries of genocide, slavery, and plantation labor, where government officials gleefully report “with honor” on the massacre of thousands.

“Just a banana, it ain’t.”

Agreed.

[wildcmbcrsupdates]

toryburch: Day 2 of the @ToryBurch #EssenceofDreams getaway: yoga with @torysport, exploring the Croatian town of Stari Grad and a sunset cruise to dinner hosted by Havana Rose Liu (@babywhiterice). Stay tuned for more as our dreamy #ToryBurchBeauty adventure continues.

Havana Rose Liu via toryburch on Instagram, 08/25/2022.

[magicaltrash]

It's time for the 5th annual Magical Trash Year-in-Review, where we take a look at trash cans at the Disney theme parks and resorts worldwide. Yes, it's a weird idea, but you are going to keep reading, right? (View previous Year-in-Reviews) Some may note that it's been a somewhat rocky year for the Mouse, but trash can activity has been strong. As we've seen in previous years, this year's additions were primarily driven by attraction openings, including Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway at Disneyland, the opening of the World of Frozen in Hong Kong, and the arrival of the Zootopia in Shanghai. Unfortunately, we also saw the fastest introduction-to-removal can timeline with the closing of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser - which had opened just a year earlier at Walt Disney World. Over the past year, MagicalTrash.com celebrated the 1,000 trash can photo milestone (only took 14 years!), while adding over 100 new entries. This was complimented by 1,600+ posts across social media networks, including Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Mastodon, Threads, and Bluesky. Posts were also added to Twitter/X, but frankly it's hard to continue supporting that platform due to its overall decline on many fronts (and I say that as someone who works in corporate social media professionally!). For 2023, Magical Trash tracked 16 substantial trash can design changes, a 14% increase vs. 2022's 14 tracked changes:

Added: 14

Historical Cans Added: 4

Updated: 0

Endangered: 0

Removed: 2

The US-based parks saw the most activity, with Disneyland Resort experiencing 6 changes, while Walt Disney World recorded 4 changes. Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Disneyland Paris Resort both recorded 2 updates, and Shanghai Disney Resort saw 1 new addition. No notable changes were recorded for Tokyo Disney Resort or Disney Cruise Line.

Here's a detailed breakdown of updates:

ADDED New trash can designs that debuted in Disney theme parks over the past year

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway (El CapiTOON Theater) - NEW Disneyland, Mickey’s Toontown With a movie theater setting, iconography is anchored by a popcorn bucket image with large “EC” letters.  

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway (M.A.G.I.C.) - NEW Disneyland, Mickey’s Toontown Outside the attraction are cans associated with M.A.G.I.C. - short for the Municipal Agency of Garbage Identification and Collection. Now that's a group we want to join!  

World of Frozen (Arendelle Crest) - NEW - NEW Hong Kong Disneyland, World of Frozen The official crest of Arendelle features a crocus - a multi-color flowering bulb that typically blooms in the spring - and seen throughout the Frozen franchise.  

World of Frozen (Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs) - NEW Hong Kong Disneyland, World of Frozen Furthering the rugged forest theme of the family coaster, decorative Scandinavian folk art patterns are found throughout queue, with geometric shapes highlighted in red, green, and orange hues.  

Zootopia - NEW Shanghai Disneyland, Zootopia A surprising entry to Shanghai's bland trash can scene, green trash cans with zebra-like stripes on the lower portion combine with a city emblem.  

San Fransokyo Square - NEW Disney California Adventure, San Fransokyo Square The shoehorned Big Hero 6 retheme of DCA's Pacific Wharf gave us new cans that looked a lot like the old cans - but with bonus "SFS" branding. Ho hum.  

Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana - NEW Walt Disney World, Epcot, World Nature You can tell this is a modern Disney attraction because the name is an IP-laden paragraph. Lots of storytelling to explain "scenery."  

Parkside Market - NEW Disneyland Resort, Downtown Disney Probably one of the more visually-stunning additions in 2023, Mickey Mouse + mid-century design. Simple concept, well-executed.  

The Villas at Disneyland Hotel - NEW Disneyland Resort, The Villas at Disneyland Hotel New DVC borrows much of its design from Aulani. Not ugly, but also not magical. Were these picked out of a catalog?  

Pixar Place Hotel - NEW Disneyland Resort, Pixar Place Hotel The retime of Disneyland's Paradise Pier Hotel features trash cans very similar in design to those implemented at The Villas at Disneyland Hotel. Maybe they got a 2-for-1 deal?  

Disneyland Paris Reusable Tableware Cans - NEW Disneyland Paris, Adventureland France's Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law is focused on phasing out improper disposal of waste. Food service at the French parks has implemented reusable table settings, which has impacted trash can design.  

"Fantasyland 2" Backstage - NEW Disneyland Paris, Fantasyland A backstage can makes an appearance onstage as a support trash can from the “Fantasyland 2” zone, parked where everyone can see.  

Pym Test Kitchen Food Waste - NEW Disney California Adventure, Avengers Campus After debuting combination food waste trash cans in Tomorrowland around 2021, Disneyland expanded the practice to the Avengers Campus at DCA.  

Jollywood Nights Temporary Media Can - NEW Disney's Hollywood Studios, Grand Avenue Throw a sticker on an existing trash can and it's something new! Temporarily rethemed can at Disney's Hollywood Studios during a media event for Jollywood Nights holiday entertainment.  

HISTORICAL CANS ADDED Retro trash can designs that were unearthed by new research this year, but are no longer in use

MK Main Street (1974) - HISTORICAL ADDITION Magic Kingdom, Main Street U.S.A. Early years of the Magic Kingdom featured very detailed trash cans on Main Street U.S.A, often in multiple colors. Quite a contrast from the undecorated brown cans used in the 2000s.  

Farmer's Market (Late-1980s/Early-1990s) - HISTORICAL ADDITION Epcot, Future World, The Land The famed umbrella tables at The Land found their shapes emulated via the trash cans, which were primarily brown with light tan arches represented on all sides.  

River Country (2010) - HISTORICAL ADDITION Walt Disney World, Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground 9 years after the water park closed, remnants of the ‘Ol’ Swimmin’ Hole’ could still be spotted at Fort Wilderness.  

Mulholland Madness (2007) - HISTORICAL ADDITION Disney's California Adventure, Paradise Pier Tacky theme was on-point for DCA 1.0. This green can with road sign decal found a home in Paradise Pier.  

UPDATED Existing trash can designs that have been modified or revised in the past year

None for 2023  

ENDANGERED Trash can designs that still exist, but will most likely disappear in the future

None for 2023  

REMOVED Trash can designs that have been eliminated from use at Disney theme parks

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser (Interior) - REMOVED Walt Disney World, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser The in-wall trash cans for the 100-cabin Corellian MPO-1400 model Galactic Starcruiser were in use for just 579 days.  

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser (Terminal) - REMOVED Walt Disney World, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser You won't be needing to dispose of your garbage before boarding the MPO-1400 Star Cruiser Halcyon, as these cans will probably have a longer life than the hotel ever had.  

One massive disappointment in 2023 was Walt Disney World's opening of TRON Lightcycle / Run in the Magic Kingdom's Tomorrowland. Generic silver cans, thus reinforcing WDW's continual cheapening out on themed trash can design. Paul Pressler called and even he thinks you can do better.

Here at Magical Trash we celebrated our 14-year anniversary covering the world of Disney trash cans, which included keeping up with various salt shaker merchandise releases that showcase the iconic can shape. 6 new designs were released during festivals: The Dude with the Food (DCA Food & Wine 2023), Amazingly Sweet (DCA Food & Wine 2023), Groovy Garden Orange Bird (Epcot Flower & Garden 2023), Stuck on Imagination Figment (Epcot Flower & Garden 2023), Chef Mickey (Epcot Food & Wine 2023), and Spaceship Earth (Epcot Food & Wine 2023).

If you happened to be at Tokyo Disneyland, you could have picked up a mini figure version of a Tomorrowland trash can or a TDS trash can toy. In the U.S. you could pick up a shirt or water bottle with a recycling can image proclaiming that you "Love Our Disney Parks" -- Disneyland or WDW-specific versions. There was plenty of trash can auction action as well.

Thanks to everyone who contributed photos, visited MagicalTrash.com, and interacted with this weird hobby over the past year. You've put a smile on my face as we all follow this goofy passion. As it's impossible to be omnipresent at 12 theme parks and numerous resorts around the world, let us know what we've missed! Thanks for an interesting year, CanFans! - Steve Tanner, your Magical Trash host

[All photos used by permission.]

[n4rut0runn3r]

Step-by-step Sweater

I finished knitting my first sweater! This has been a long adventure, and I wanted to share some highlights.

This sweater was originally crocheted and finished on November 14, 2021. 5 hours later, a historic flood had come and destroyed my childhood home with 6-10 feet of water inside my house and our shop. The water moved with tremendous speed and I had lost all of my possessions. The sweater was thrown into a wet garbage bag with the rest of the clothes we thought could be salvaged, as the flood was from the river overflowing through dairy farms and from an asbestos tainted mountain run off. It was washed by some volunteers who I am very grateful for. Unfortunately it never fit right afterwards.

I was going to throw it away, but on November 28, 2022 I decided I should at least salvage the yarn.

This yarn has been so many places. I worked on the crocheted version in Washington DC, and New York. It even accompanied me on the NY subway in all its grimy sticky glory. This yarn has gone on every road trip the past 2 years. This yarn came with me on a cruise and I made so many nice rich old lady friends. I even got a nice handful of cough drops for showing a lady how to do the increase I was working on.

I decided to learn how to knit because I read on a forum that knit garments use less yarn and are less heavy, and that was my original complaint with the first one, was that it was too heavy.

I frogged and restarted so may times, questioned my ability to count, but I kept going. Here are some things I learned:

-Knitting is very fun, I would just want to come home and sit in my chair and spend all day working on it

-Frogging knit is alot harder than frogging crochet

-The absolute hardest part of the whole thing was weaving in the ends. Why is it so much harder with knit!?!

-The nicer knitting needles are worth the investment. I knit alot faster with cooperative needles and cables. The bamboo ones also don't squeak like the metal ones

-I learned how to hold yarn tension in my right hand! I'm so used to holding it in my left hand, that it took a solid 6 months of practice to get it! I still can't do it when I purl though.

This is how much yarn was left over. All the yarn I had to use came only from unraveling the crocheted sweater panels, all of my yarn had been lost otherwise, so I didn't have any extra skeins on hand at all. This is how much more yarn was used to crochet vs knit. That's why the first one was so heavy!

This is me washing and blocking the sweater, I laid down some towels to help keep my table from being soggy for days. I washed and rinsed with wool light delicate. All of the yarn had already been machine washed, but I just wanted to be gentle since this project took so long.

I'm glad to be done! I'm already starting a second one, and I'm being sure to document the whole process. I'm attempting some more techniques in my second sweater. The sweater was completed on December 22, 2023. Here are some final pictures of the sweater!

The pattern I used was amazing. I also followed along with the YouTube guide. I highly suggest this pattern/video if anyone wants to try knitting for the first time. Video link posted below.

[truecrimethirdeyeblind]

TYLER DOYLE, MISSING DUCK HUNTER LITTLE RIVER, SOUTH CAROLINA 1/26/23

Everyone deserves for their story to be told; no matter who they are, if they are not here to tell it, they deserve to have a voice.  With this blog, I hope to be that listening ear to that voice in the darkness and make sure that their story is broadcasted to the best of my ability.  

Coastal South Carolina is filled with beauty and wonder; marshlands that support an entire ecosystem of fish and birds and other wildlife.  The low country streams and rivers meander into lakes and slough off into swampy marsh filled with turtles and heron and cayman.  In summer, the air is heavy with brine and still except for the sounds of crickets and tree frogs and splashes of alligators. Spanish moss drapes wanton like forest green curtains hung haphazardly over live oaks that stretch into the sultry southern sky.  

There are wide expanses of beach, sand and dunes, beach grass bending to the wind in a cadence matching the ever present tides.  The blue green Atlantic beckons like a siren, calling in surfers and swimmers and boaters and fishermen.  On stormy days and the skies turn grey casting a pall on the cerulean sea as it churns into blue grey whorls; those are the days the sea claims them all for its own.  

Every year, over 20 million people flock to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to enjoy the sun and sand by day and by night there are hundreds of activities and adventures to choose from. There are aquariums, amusement parks, over 2000 restaurants, and more mini golf than you can shake a stick at.  If you should you choose, you can even take a cruise on a casino boat and try your hand with Lady Luck.  

But for every bit of paradise, there always seems to be a sinister side.  For all that beauty and wonder, there is a matched darkness and evil.  According to the FBI’s latest US Crime Report, Myrtle Beach, SC is now officially the 3rd most dangerous city in the United States (Charlotte Stories, 2019).  These are high statistics and surprising because most would assume that larger cities like New York City or Los Angeles would fall highest on that list.  

Crimes listed vary from murder to larceny to kidnapping.  South Carolina Department of Natural Resources reported in 2022 (SCDNR.gov 2023)  that missing persons cases went up by 131%.  Again, these are high statistics and suggest that perhaps there is a trend given that crime in general is high in this city.  

Just North of this crime mecca is North Myrtle Beach which ranked at number 30 on the same federal list.  That is where this untold story comes in.  North Myrtle Beach/Little River is some of the most beautiful raw nature on South Carolina’s coast.  It boasts a small town running along the Intracoastal Waterway, rife with beautiful waterfront homes and sandy beaches that lead to the Atlantic.  There are oyster beds on the intracoastal and long marsh-walks stretching across the vast waterways that course out to the Atlantic.  The area is rich with history and family owned land dating back to the 1800s in the glory days of lumber mills.  

On January 26, 2023, Tyler Doyle, a duck hunter from Loris, South Carolina went missing right there in Little River, South Carolina.  As the story goes, he was going duck hunting that afternoon with a friend.  He is said to have dropped the friend at the jetty rocks in order to go scare up some ducks to shoot.  The friend calls 911 some minutes later stating that “I am in the ocean and my boat is drifting out into the ocean.”  The 911 dispatcher asks for verification if anyone is hurt on the boat.  There is a pause.  He then states “I’m on the jetty rocks, Tyler, a buddy of mine; his boat is sinking.”  He explains that Tyler had called him in distress and that the engine had cut off and the boat was taking on water. 

The friend asks to hang up so that he may call Tyler and check on him.  He has stated that he cannot see him any longer and that he had turned away and when he looked back, he was gone.  The 911 dispatcher instructs him to hang up to call Tyler and call her right back.  Several minutes pass and the friend calls back.  On this second 911 call, he states that he was not able to reach him.  Phone records later showed that he had not even attempted to call him.  Instead, he had called a different friend for assistance stating that “If I need you, will you come.”  Just tuck that little feather in your hat for later. 

The 911 operator patches him through to the Coast Guard who is already on the way.  He tells the dispatcher before the patch that he cannot see the boat.  The dispatcher tells the caller that the Coast Guard should be there, as in they at least should be visible.  

TLDR:  The friend is picked up from the jetties by a rescue boat.  He is transported to the landing.  There is at first a report of two people being rescued, so there is momentary confusion.  Did Tyler get rescued as well?  

It turned out that he did not.  A 911 call from a family member from that night reveals the anguish felt in learning that Tyler Doyle was indeed missing.  

Remember that feather?  Yeah, go ahead and pluck it out.  At the landing, the friend who was with Tyler, now the sole witness of his disappearance, refused medical care even though he had to get in the water in order to be rescued by waiting officials.  He denied treatment for potential hypothermia.  He stated that he was waiting for his friend.  Everyone assumed he meant Tyler, but he did not.  

The friend that showed up, the one he had called instead of Tyler, was given possession of the gun and waders that was on his person during the time in question.  No explanation was given for why these items were allowed to be removed by a civilian who then later refused to come to the station to give a statement.  It was instead written by the lead investigator.  

Hours pass, officials arrive and a search is made.  It is suspended around 10:00 pm due to unfavorable conditions, stating that they would regroup in the morning.  

Over the ensuing days and weeks, they searched over 600 square miles of ocean, all the way up into the Cape Fear River because some duck decoys had been found. Five days into the search, a family led search party found a pair of waders.  They contained Tyler’s wallet with identifying information and cash.  It is unclear whether the items were wet or dry; there is conflicting information that has been released at the time of this post.  After that, the trail went cold.  The search was officially called off after 43 days; ruled a boating accident and no foul play was suspected.  

And yet there are questions. There are always questions when someone disappears but this case felt different to me so I stayed in tune.  I began to research. I gathered my own evidence.  I walked the beaches with which I was already so familiar.  I had spent my entire life traveling to this area.  And then I realize that is why this bothered me so much.  I know the area like the back of my hand.  The jetties are not some magical wall that occludes visibility.  The friend should have been able to see Tyler at all times. 

Immediately after Tyler went missing, posts began to circulate.  Tyler Doyle Discussion groups began to form.  These groups grew to over 100k in some instances.  There was infighting in the groups.  In the wake of no information being found and day after day, reports that Tyler had not been found, people started to speculate and it got a little crazy: Somebody came and stole somebody’s Daddy.  Wild theories emerged.  Tyler was in Mexico with a mysterious pop up go-fund me that grew to over 30K and was then cut off due to the speculations and criticism over the web-based charity pot.  For a brief time, Tyler was thought to be on the run because he had been charged with attempted murder.  On searching records, officials were immediately able to verify that those charges had been dismissed and expunged far prior to the incident in which Tyler went missing.  

Family was not heard from during the early months of the search for Tyler and subsequent quest for answers. They started to speak up as their shock wore off and they have questions too.  

The reports and statements submitted by the investigating body are sloppy and incomplete at best.  However, it should be noted that this law enforcement agency is not designed to investigate foul play or even trained to recognize patterns or critical thinking in criminal situations.  They are put in place to deal with land and endangered species preservation in times of accidents, give out gaming tickets and patrol the waterways for potential dangers. 

Besides, it was a small Southern town.  Everyone knows everyone; who could possibly want to hurt him? Living in the low country though, everything isn't as it seems sometimes. Not everyone has that idyllic white picket life. 

As it turns out; things were not perfect in his life.  There were echoes of marital strife with a baby on the way in a fairly new marriage.  In June, the wife moved out of the home she shared with her missing husband; lawsuits were filed against her by Tyler’s family for allegedly removing items that she shouldn’t have.  The case is still ongoing at the time of publishing of this post. 

And what of the attempted murder charges which were said to be connected to a Snapchat argument between Tyler’s brother and some unknown individuals who later did not show up for the trial?  

Could it have been a revenge killing?  Did someone have something against Tyler?  The bigger question in my mind was that I know duck hunters. When I ran this case by them, their first question was “why was he going duck hunting in the afternoon.” For myself, the area in question does not seem conducive to duck hunting. I’ve gone down there my whole life and again that’s why this case has always bothered e me.   

There are more questions on this case than answers and as of December 5, 2023, SLED (South Carolina Law Enforcement Division) joined the case of missing Tyler Doyle.  As of December 11, 2023; SLED officials picked up Tyler’s boat from SCDNR.  

The family, the media, and thousands of interested parties now await what could be a months-long review of the investigation.  Witnesses could be called back in for questioning and further statements could be needed in order to sort out the cloudy timeline of events surrounding the disappearance of this young husband and father to be.  

I will be posting more about this case as it develops and filling in information that I have been able to find on my own.  It has been nearly 11 months since Tyler went missing and Christmas is approaching.  I am sure that his presence is dearly missed.  Tyler is described as a thoughtful kind young man by all that knew and loved him.  

We can only hope that answers are found soon and that Tyler can be found and laid to rest and his family and friends can gain some semblance of closure. 

The question remains:  What really happened to Tyler Doyle?  

Roxy Jane Slater©

True Crime Journalist / Web Blogger

[sleepykittypaws]

New Year's Eve Favorites

New Year’s Eve rolls around just six days after Christmas, when many are still knee-deep in wrapping paper and ribbon. It’s easy to just roll New Year’s into the Christmas celebrations, doing little to mark the moment beyond watching the ball drop at midnight. But there are plenty of films centered around New Year’s that deserve their own holiday film recognition. 

Updated: December 31, 2023

My Favorites…

About Time (2013) - This Richard Curtis written/directed movie is one of my all-time favorite films, period. But it all starts with a life-changing New Year’s Eve party.

When Harry Met Sally (1989) - Often considered a bit of a stealth Christmas movie, this rom-com classic ends, unforgettably, on New Year’s Eve.

The Cutting Edge (1992) - It’s hard to call this movie about a former hockey star turned Olympic figure skater “good,” in any objective sense, but that doesn’t keep me from loving it wholeheartedly. Even if you haven’t seen it 50 or so times, like I have, I doubt anyone can forget that moment when sparks fly, literally, between Doug Dorsey and Kate Moseley at a New Year’s Eve party, when they twirl into each other’s arms with sparklers at the stroke of midnight (sigh). 

Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019) - Not specifically holiday-themed but Brittany makes a pretty perfect New Year’s watch. Funny, inspirational and all about self-improvement. Absolutely adore this one.

About a Boy (2002) - While it also features some sweet Christmas scenes, Hugh Grant and Rachel Weisz meet cute on New Year’s Eve.

The Poseidon Adventure (1972) - The movie that defined 1970s disaster movies remains good, cheese-tastic New Year’s fun. I remember the first time I saw this one as a kid, on cable, on New Year’s Eve. A group of New Year’s revelers trying to escape a cruise ship that flips over? Indelible.

Starstruck (2021, HBO Max) - Think of season one of this 6-episode British series, written and created by a Kiwi, as a three hour rom-com that begins on New Year’s Eve and ends the following Christmas. A delightful watch any time, but extra-special during the holiday season.

Peter’s Friends (1992) - This criminally under-rated British ensemble  comedy features a host of stars—Hugh Laurie, Imelda Staunton, Emma Thompson, Kenneth Branagh and Rita Rudner—gathering to celebrate the New Year at their college chum’s English estate. 

Something from Tiffany’s (2022, Prime Video) - This holiday romance centers around Christmas gifts from the famous jewelry being inadvertently swapped, but most of the movie takes place between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve when everything comes to a head.

Plane (2023) - If this New Year’s Eve-set action movie leaned in just a bit more to its New Year celebration, it could reach Die Hard-style holiday classic status. While the New Year’s element doesn’t factor much after the first 15 minutes, this is a well-made, well-acted and well-paced watch. Honestly, some of Gerard Butler’s best work which, yeah, isn’t the highest bar, but Plane is a super entertaining action-disaster pic that, forgive the pun, is a lot more grounded than expected.

Other People (2016) - This very well told story about losing a loved one to cancer is funnier than you’d think, given the subject matter, has an amazing cast, led by Jesse Plemons, Molly Shannon and Bradley Whitford, and starts off with a New Year’s Eve bash.

About Fate (2022) - This American remake of a Soviet-era New Year classic, 1976′s The Irony of Fate, available to legally watch on YouTube via Mosfilm, stars Emma Roberts and Thomas Mann as recent (sort of) dumpees who meet cute due to alcohol-induced architectural confusion, and end up attending a New Year’s Eve wedding together with chaotic results, with the whole story playing out from December 30th to January 1st.

Fruitvale Station (2013) - This gut-wrenching Ryan Coogler feature directorial debut should have won Michael B. Jordan an Oscar. Set entirely on New Year’s Eve, it’s the devastating true story of the last day of Oscar Grant’s life. 

Phineas and Ferb: Happy New Year (2012, Disney Channel) - This fun episode of the crazy kids’ series works as a stand-alone New Year’s special that’s better than most.

Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings: Two Doors Down (2019, Netflix) - Cheese-y, feel-good, queer holiday romance that ends with Dolly Parton singing Auld Lang Syne. What more could you want?

An Affair to Remember (1957) - This Cary Grant-Deborah Kerr classic is basically the third lead in Sleepless in Seattle, but it is a New Year’s classic in its own right, as Kerr and Grant’s characters vow to meet on the top of the Empire State building after an epic New Year’s Kiss.

Entrapment (1999) - There’s just something about thieves and New Year’s, I guess, as the final job in this Sean Connery-Catherine Zeta Jones film is set on Y2K. There’s also a good bit of bonus millenium Christmas content.

Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne (2021, Apple TV+) - A kid-friendly New Year's Eve watch the whole family can enjoy. Apple is doing a fantastic job of preserving the Peanuts legacy with their new holiday specials.

Holiday (1938) - Another Cary Grant classic that features a memorable New Year’s Eve. Even though the “holiday” of the title refers to a vacation, it’s on New Year’s Eve that sparks really begin to fly between Grant and Katherine Hepburn. Trouble is, she’s his fiancee’s sister.

After the Thin Man (1936) - This sequel to the runaway 1934 hit kicks off on New Year’s Eve, with James Stewart joining Myrna Loy and William Powell for more mystery solving slapstick antics.

Red, White & Royal Blue (2023, Prime Video) - Based on the book of the same name, this delightful rom-com’s President’s son-meets-Prince romance really gets going at a New Year’s Eve party, following fitful Thanksgiving-Christmas flirting via text.

In Search of a Midnight Kiss (2007) - This independent dark-ish, rom-com can be a little hard to find, but it’s worth seeking out. Two lonely people looking for hope and love by New Year’s Eve.

Ghostbusters II (1989) - Definitely less than the original classic, this holiday-set sequel concludes with New Yorker’s saving the city via a chorus of Auld Lang Syne, with an assist from Lady Liberty.

Boogie Nights (1997) - Definitely not an uplifting New Year’s Eve watch, this Paul Thomas Anderson classic does feature outstanding performances and an unforgettable New Year’s Eve party appearance by William H Macy.

Rudolph’s Shiny New Year (1976, ABC) - Not the only animated New Year’s special, but easily the most memorable, this Rankin-Bass classic has Rudolph teaming up with Baby New Year and Father Time to save the holiday.

More to Explore…

If my New Year’s picks don’t make your ball drop, there’s plenty more movies/specials set around welcoming the new year.

Happy New Year (2014) - This bouncy, Bollywood showstopper is available on Netflix.

New Year’s Eve (2011) - This farly-cynical Garry Marshall attempt to recreate the holiday anthology magic of Love, Actuallyshouldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath as that film, but this mess of a movie can still be fairly good fun when watched ironically with enough wine and the right friends.

Happy New Year, Charlie Brown (1986, CBS) - Nowhere near as iconic as the 1960s Peanuts specials, this is still a solid, kid-friendly New Year’s watch.

Pete the Cat: A Groovy New Year (2017, Amazon Prime) - Hep cat animated special based on the popular children’s book character.

200 Cigarettes (1999) - Set in the 1980s, this follows a group of young New Yorkers looking for a memorable New Year’s Eve.

Snowpiercer (2013) - The Chris Evans dystopian thriller where civilization is relegated to an always moving train, strictly divided by class, and New Year’s is celebrated every time they circumnavigate the globe.

Highball (1997) - This very early, extremely low budget Noah Baumbach movie takes place over a series of holiday parties that culminates with a New Year’s Eve bash. Is it good? Well, Baumbach petitioned to have his name removed from it, so…

Waiting to Exhale (1995) - This movie about a close-knit friend group and their complicated romantic lives, based on the book by Terry McMillan, is framed by New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Four Rooms (1995) - This overly ambitious anthology, featuring four stories each written and directed by a different high profile auteur, with only one connecting character, a hotel bellman, takes place entirely on New Year’s Eve.

Ocean’s Eleven (1960) - The Rat Pack original isn’t as fun as the George Clooney-Brad Pitt remakes, but it does set its heist on New Year’s Eve.

The Sword in the Stone (1963) - This Disney animated classic’s pivotal moment—the extraction of Excalibur—occurs at the New Year’s tournament, which Arthur attends as a lowly squire.

The Godfather Part II (1972) - Fredo Corleone is handing out New Year’s party kisses in this, the only sequel to ever win the best picture Oscar.

Midnighters (2017) - When a couple accidentally hit a man with their car on New Year’s Eve, they put him in the backseat and go home to avoid the consequences.

Radio Days (1987) - This Woody Allen (yeah, I know) movie ends with the cast welcoming 1944 on a wintry New York, New Year’s Eve.

Repeat Performance (1947) - A New Year’s Eve wish to repeat the year comes true, but fixing mistakes made proves more difficult than Joan Leslie imagined.

Sunset Boulevard (1950) - The iconic tale, later turned into a Broadway musical, hinges on a New Year’s Eve party. 

A Midnight Kiss (2018, Hallmark) - Carlos PenaVega helps Adelaide Kane plan a New Year’s bash. 

Royal New Year’s Eve (2017, Hallmark) - Designer Jessy Schram meets her Prince at a New Year’s ball. 

The Birthday Wish (2017, Hallmark) - This is another Jessy Schram-joint that starts at New Year’s and is one of the more original Hallmark movies of recent years.

A New Year’s Resolution (2021, Hallmark) - This long-delayed Aimee Teegarden and Michael Rad movie finally got an airdate in early 2021.

Midnight at the Magnolia (2020, Netflix) - Natalie Hall and Evan Williams are radio hosts who fake a romance for a New Year’s Eve live show.

A Year and Change (2015) - Bryan Greenberg topples off a roof at a New Year’s Eve party, leading him to change his life.

The Gold Rush (1925) - For those who like their New Year’s celebrations extra-classic, this iconic Charlie Chaplin outing features the Little Tramp all alone on New Year’s Eve.

Two Lovers (2008) - This little-known Joaquin Phoenix-Gwenyth Paltrow movie culminates on New Year’s Eve.

Strange Days (1995) - Kathryn Bigelow’s sci-fi/romance prominently features a plot pivotal New Year’s Eve party.

Hudsucker Proxy (1994) - Some have called this critically-panned Tim Robbins movie It’s a Wonderful Life for New Year’s Eve. It even features Charles Durning as an angel.

Poseidon (2006) - This overly serious remake was a box office flop, but it’s still a big, dumb New Year’s Eve disaster flick. Just be careful it’s extra-long run time doesn’t make you miss the ball drop.

Money Train (1995) - This heist film starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson (remember when those guys were leading men and action stars?) has these former cops robbing the NYC subway on New Year’s Eve.

Are We There Yet? (2005) - Ice Cube’s original road trip comedy takes place on New Year’s Eve.

Carol (2015) - It’s a New Year’s Eve party that lets these repressed ladies first turn their passion loose.

Phantom Thread (2017) - Not mostly about the holiday, but does feature one of the most visually stunning New Year’s Eve parties ever committed to film.

New Year’s Evil (1980) - It wouldn’t be a holiday without a bad slasher film taking place on it.

Sex and the City: The Movie (2008) - The ladies celebrate a very memorable New Year’s Eves in this movie, based on the HBO series.

A Frozen New Year’s Eve (2019) - Direct-to-VOD animated kids’ movie

Dr Who: The Movie (1996, BBC) - The Time Lord takes on the millennium in this made-for-TV movie.

New Year’s Day (1989) - This little known movie is David Duchovny’s first major role. He plays a man who moves to L.A. on New Year’s Eve, only to find his newly-rented apartment occupied by three women. 

A Long Way Down (2014) - Four strangers meet on a rooftop on New Year’s Eve, each contemplating jumping.

Endings, Beginnings (2020) - This Shailene Woodley-starring movie features a love triangle that begins at a fateful New Year’s Eve party.

Do It Yourself, Mr. Bean (1994, ITV) - Mr. Bean plans a New Year’s bash in this ITV special. 

A Month in Thailand (2012) - This Romanian film follows a man in the time between Christmas and New Year’s trying to decide if he should pursue the ex who broke his heart, or stick with his current adoring girlfriend.

The Shining (1980) - This bleak, wintery horror classic wouldn’t be the most uplifting way to celebrate New Year’s Eve, but its plot pivotal NYE party photo certainly makes it seasonally appropriate if you’re looking to scream in the New Year.

Age of Adaline (2015) - This very weird movie starring Harrison Ford and Blake Lively begins at a New Year’s Eve party, with the holiday holding other significance in the story.

New Year, New You (2018, Hulu) - New Year’s entry in the Blumhouse-produced horror, holiday anthology movie series.

What for New Year’s Eve? (2018, a.k.a. Cosa Fai a Capodanno?) - This Italian comedy-drama from writer-director Filippo Bologna recently became available in the U.S. and explores what happens when a group of friends decide to switch partners at a New Year’s Eve party.

Midnight Kiss (2019, Hulu) - more holiday-set horror from Blumhouse.

New Year’s Kiss (2019) - Made-for-TV rom-com starring Erin Karpluk and Robin Dunne.

Way Through Snow (2017) - Russian movie about an online couple meeting for the first time on New Year’s, available on Amazon Prime.

Break (2019) - Russian horror-thriller directed by Tigran Shakyan about group of friends who get stuck in a gondola during a New Year’s Eve power outage.

I Hate New Year’s (2020) - LGBTQ holiday rom-com about a singer who goes home for the holidays and (surprise!) finds unexpected romance, made by TelloFilms.com.

The Lost Husband (2020) - Gentle romantic, Texas-set drama that’s not full of holiday cheer, but does start on New Year’s Eve, if you’re looking for a low stakes way to ring in the New Year.

The Silver Skates (2021, Netflix) - This sweeping Russian romantic epic, a lavish costume drama filmed in St. Petersburg, is set around the holidays, namely New Year’s, and is Netflix’s first-ever Russian-language international original.

All My Friends Are Dead (2021, Netflix) - Polish horror-comedy set at a New Year’s Eve party that takes an unexpected turn.

Prime Time (2021, Netflix) - Polish-language hostage thriller set on New Year’s Eve 1999. 

Ask Me to Dance (2022) - Rom-com set between Christmas and New Year’s when a fortune teller promises two strangers they’ll meet their true love by midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Stuck with You (2022, Netflix) - French romance about strangers stuck in an elevator on their way to a New Year’s Eve party.

Terror Train 2 (2022, Tubi) - Tubi original slasher sequel set during a New Year’s Eve train ride.

Snow Falls (2023) - The New Year’s Eve horror movie about a group of friends trapped by snow in a remote cabin stars Hallmark regular Jonathan Bennett.

To Catch a Killer (2023) - Shailene Woodley plays a troubled cop trying to catch a New Year’s Eve killer.

New Year, New Us (2019) - A newlywed couple overcomes challenges in their marriage with New Year’s resolutions.

New Year, New Us 2: Love Goals (2023) - Sequel to New Year, New Us

Sealed with a List (2023) - Hallmark holiday romance about undone resolutions that concludes on New Year's Eve

Christmas ➜ New Year’s

And don’t forget to consider these movies that carry over from Christmas to New Year’s, giving us a solid dose of both holidays.

Rent (2005)

Bridget Jones’s Diary* (2001) 

Last Holiday** (2006)

Holiday Inn (1942)

The Holiday*** (2006)

Sleepless In Seattle (1993)

Trading Places (1983)

While You Were Sleeping (1995)

Bachelor Mother (1939)

Bundle of Joy (1956, a remake of Bachelor Mother)

The Apartment (1960)

A Christmas Prince (2017, Netflix)

Holidate***** (2020, Netflix)

Starstruck***** (2021, HBO Max)

About Fate (2022)

Ask Me to Dance (2022)

Something from Tiffany’s (2022, Prime Video)

*If I hadn’t already dubbed Bridget my all-time favorite stealth Christmas movie, I’d have put it on my New Year’s list for sure, probably at No. 1, since Jones’s New Year’s resolutions bookend the film, which actually starts on New Year’s Day (when she meets Darcy at her mom’s annual turkey curry buffet). Really, it’s a pretty perfect New Year’s watch and an annual in between Christmas and New Year’s must-view in our house.

**As with Bridget, Last Holiday would be at or near the top of my New Year’s favorites, if I hadn’t already dubbed it one of my favorite Christmas films. But, while it takes place over the entire Christmas season, much more happens on New Year’s in this Queen Latifah classic, than Christmas, and it’s a great way to spend any New Year’s Eve.

***And the same goes for The Holiday, which is mostly Christmas, but culminates on New Year’s Eve, the only part of the film where all four leads share a scene.

****Yet another that would be at or near the top of my New Year’s list, if it weren’t already on my Top 25 Stealth Christmas Movies list, as the New Year’s Eve in Holidate was among its best, and most memorable, moments. 

*****Starstruck takes the opposite tack of the rest of this list, starting on New Year’s Eve and ending at Christmas.

TV Series Standouts

While Thanksgiving and Christmas-themed episodes of TV series abound, the timing of New Year’s, coming when most shows are on hiatus, means there are only a few truly iconic television episodes devoted to this holiday. A handful worth noting…

Mum: December (2016, BBC, series 1)

Absolutely Fabulous: Happy New Year (1995, BBC, series 3)

Dr. Who: Resolution (2019, BBC)

On My Block: Chapter Eleven (2019, Netflix)

My So-Called Life: Resolutions (1995, ABC, season 1)

The X-Files: Millennium (1999, FOX, season 7)

Futurama: Space Pilot 3000 (1999, FOX, pilot) - Like Matt Groening’s Christmas-themed Simpson’s pilot, this series intro could also be seen as a New Year’s Eve holiday special.)

That ‘70s Show: Finale (2006, FOX, season 8) -Though it aired in May, this series ender was set on New Year’s Eve 1979

Fraiser: RDWRER (2000, NBC, season 7)

30 Rock: Klaus and Greta (2010, NBC, season 4)

Friends: The One with the Monkey (1994, NBC, season 1)

Friends: The One With All the Resolutions (1999, NBC, season 5)

Friends: The One with the Routine (1999, NBC, season 6)

Modern Family: New Year’s Eve (2013, ABC, season 4)

How I Met Your Mother: The Limo (2005, CBS, season 1)

How I Met Your Mother: Tailgate (2012, CBS, season 7)

The Office: Ultimatum (2011, NBC, season 7)

Seinfeld: The Millennium (1997, NBC, season 8) - This one actually doesn’t take place at New Year’s, but is about a New Year’s Eve party

[disneytva]

Walt Disney Pictures Unveils Trailer and Key Art Of Night At The Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again.

Same Shift, Different Night

The 10-day countdown to the debut of the Original Movie Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again is on, and to celebrate, Disney+ released the trailer and poster for the all-new animated adventure. Based on the popular film franchise, Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again debuts exclusively on Disney+ on December 9, 2022.

Every night at the American Museum of Natural History when the sun goes down. Nick Daley’s summer gig as night watchman at the museum is a challenging job for a high school student, but he is following in his father’s footsteps and is determined not to let him down. Luckily, he is familiar with the museum’s ancient tablet that brings everything to life when the sun goes down and is happy to see his old friends, including Jedediah, Octavius, and Sacagawea, when he arrives. But when the maniacal ruler Kahmunrah escapes with plans to unlock the Egyptian underworld and free its Army of the Dead, it is up to Nick to stop the demented overlord and save the museum once and for all.

Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again features the voices of Joshua Bassett (High School Musical The Musical: The Series),Jamie Demetriou ( Warner Bros Barbie,Dead End: Paranormal Park),Alice Isaaz (Savage state), Gillian Jacobs (Invincible),Joseph Kamal (Call Of Duty:Blac Ops III), Thomas Lennon (20th Century Studios Night At The Museum Trilogy), Zachary Levi (Tangled Franchise), Akmal Saleh (Tracey McBean), Kieran Sequoia (Netflix’s Daybreak),Jack Whitehall (Jungle Cruise), Bowen Yang (Fire Island), and Steve Zahn (20th Century Family’s & 20th Century 2000 Pictures Diary of a Wimpy Kid Trilogy)

Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again is directed by Matt Danner (Legend Of The Three Caballeros) the writers are Ray DeLaurentis & Will Schifrin (Nickelodeon’s The Fairly Odd Parents); the producer is Shawn Levy (20th Century Studios Night At The Museum Trilogy); the executive producers are Emily Morris, Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, and Michael Barnathan; and the music is by John Paesano (20th Century Animation’s Diary Of A Wimpy Kid Franchise).

Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again is produced by 20th Century Animation & Atomic Cartoons in association with 21 Laps Entertaiment and Alibaba Pictures with Walt Disney Pictures being the distributor.