Garage business: top ten companies started in storageStoring cars is but one use for the humble garage. Another can be to house the storage space for new businesses. Oliver Milman selects the top 10 garage start-ups.
Disney
Daily Proposition: Relive the Disney magic in person
Disney has clocked up an impressive run of 50 animated feature films and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne is celebrating the achievement with a new exhibition, Dreams Come True. Matt Smith went along.
Dreams didn’t come true at ACMI’s Disney exhibition
New Disney exhibition Dreams Come True at Melbourne’s ACMI centre boasts more than a splash of great artwork but its official association with the Big Mouse inevitably restricts challenging discussions about artistic strengths and weaknesses, writes Stephen Rowley.
Guy Rundle: Rundle’s mid-terms: the depthlessness of Palin, and the town Disney built
Marshalled against the portentous, and sometimes vacuous, appeal to depth made by Obama, Palin deploys the same tone of high-school, the idea that none of this study stuff matters, that it is all illusion.
The Big Mouse’s struggle to stay in the black
Walt Disney Chairman Rich Ross ought to be happy about generating more than $2 billion from two movies this year alone, but the Big Mouse has a plethora of ongoing dilemmas it needs to constantly address in order to remain profitable, writes Julian Lee.
Horsing around in the acting game
What makes a horse a good actor? Slate asks this question as it looks at the new Disney film, Secretariat, about the 1973 Triple Crown winner. For just one horse character on screen, they used ten different horse actors.
No taking the Mickey at Disney
It’s a fairy tale for Disney right now, with Pixar, DreamWorks and Marvel deals, a rising share and an autonomous European Disney all helping to spotlight chief exec’s Robert Iger’s Cinderella moment.
Film Review: The Princess and the Frog — Play it again, Sam
The Princess and the Frog is Disney’s first hand drawn animated feature in five years, but directors Ron Clements and John Musker seem intent on making that gap feel a lot longer. It’s very old hat and that’s precisely the point, writes Luke Buckmaster.
Disney crowns its first African American princess
Disney is going old school with its new feature The Princess and the Frog, the first return to hand drawn animation in five years. But for the first time in 71 years, the Disney princess is African American.
Kids who watched Baby Einstein fail to discover E=mc2
So your kid watched Baby Einstein but still ended up as a tantrum throwing brat? After being threatened with a class-action lawsuit disputing their educational benefits, Disney has admitted defeat and is offering full refunds for Baby Einstein DVDs.
Mini Disneylands: stores get a crisp makeover
Steve Jobs, who is both Apple boss and on the board of Disney directors, is sprinkling some of his magic fairy dust on the Disney stores, helping to make them more interactive and fun to play in.
Behind the scenes at Disneyland
Ever wanted to run away to Disneyland and draw frogs? Simone Mitchell also got to tour the Disney toys and interview excitable animation nerds about their new hand-drawn film.
New-look Disney ejects studio head from the castle
Actors loved film studio head Dick Cook. But with poor box office performance, despite a 38-year history with Disney, management has ordered him from the Happy Kingdom. It’s part of a wider rebranding, says Kim Masters.
Spiderman, Captain America… Ravana the 10-headed demon king?
Fresh from acquiring Marvel Comics, Disney is now eyeing off the lucrative market for Indian comic books and cartoons. Based on ancient Hindu mythology, the stories are apparently big business with the world’s 900-odd million Hindus.
Pitching to boys
Boys spend billions each year on apparel, toys, and video games. They’re hard to reach but a gold mine for those who succeed. The media is increasingly looking for ways to cater to their whims.
Cheap money fuels takeover splurge
The past week has seen two big takeover attempts that tell us that the financial alchemists and spin doctors are out peddling their wares again: last week it was Disney and Marvel, overnight it was Kraft bidding for Cadbury.
Killing Spider-Man: Disney buys up Marvel Comics
While Marvel shareholders prepare their pockets for the $30 per share they’ll receive from the company’s acquisition of Marvel Entertainment, the most pressing issue for the Marvel minions is wondering exactly how Disney will abuse their beloved superheroes, writes Clem Bastow.
Woodstock: Blame the boomers for not going far enough
The Woodstock anniversary shows once again the power of the 60s social movements. Except, the women’s movement challenged the madonna/whore distinction and we ended up with post-feminism and … Madonna.
The Disney depression
The Happiest Place on Earth is not so chipper today, with news that the world’s biggest media company’s profits dropped 26% in the last quarter due to slumping ad sales and a dearth of visitors to its theme parks.
Disney unveils creepy Robot Obama
Walt Disney World has added an animatronic Barack Obama to its Hall of Presidents attraction, and it’s quite disturbing. Duff beer for me, Duff beer for you…
Did Disney dump toxic waste?
Citizens of Burbank, California, are suing Disney for allegedly dumping toxic chemicals in their backyard. Not a great look given Disney’s recent announcement that it’s going green.
Once upon a black princess…
Disney has its first black princess. Some say it’s a breakthrough; others see it as yet more stereotyping. But Monique Fields argues the trouble is princesses full stop.
Flight of the Navigator will fly again
Disney are planning a remake of ’80s sci-fi cult classic, Flight of the Navigator.
Jonas brothers need to cross over before tweens tire
Pop sensations the Jonas Brothers need to cross over, and fast. The tween market is fickle and allegiances come and go faster than ever. The band needs to strike before its core fans — young girls — “age out” of the experience.
The week in geek: Hate sites attack hated brands. Shock.
Hate sites. Hates sites everywhere! Attacking idolised Aussie brands like … McDonalds … and … Amex. Well done Daily Tele.
