The Toy Story content continues with a brand new comic series released by Marvel and Disney. Buzz, Woody and all the Toy Story characters are back for a brand new story arc.

“Everyone loves Toy Story, so we’re excited to team with our friends at Disney-Pixar to bring readers all new stories of our favorite characters from these blockbuster films,” said Axel Alonso, Editor in Chief, Marvel Entertainment. “TOY STORY allows us to bring great new material to the market that’s not only perfect for kids, but also a great read for fans of all ages. What’s next for Woody and Buzz in these stories? We can’t wait for you to find out!”

In March, Buzz, Woody and the team will have to deal with a new puppy! The puppy is going through a chewing stage, so how will the toys react? Look in March for this four issue story arc.

Next March, Pixar gets in on this whole Kinect business with Kinect Rush: A Disney•Pixar Adventure, which brings five Pixar films to the console — Up, Cars, The Incredibles, Ratatouille and Toy Story (of course). The whole thing (and the whole “Rush” concept) seems to be based on a series of time-based challenges. (In that case, why no Finding Nemo?)

Here’s a trailer:

Who says guys can’t have a softer side? Industry Vets, Christopher Cherubini and David Chiapperino have created Jupiter Moon Studios. Christopher is from Activision/Infinity Ward as a Lead Artist for Call of Duty and the Modern Warfare series. David comes from Disney having worked on Pirates of the Caribbean and Toontown. They plan on creating their own IP.

Jupiter Moon’s first title will be for the iOS. Bunny Popper will be released this December. Bunny Popper was created with accessibility in mind. Basically gameplay can be done with one finger. Don’t let the cute look fool you, these bunnies are evil!
The premise of Bunny Popper is, “evil inflatable bunnies from outer space are invading a carrot farm. The carrots need you to stop the hoards of hares from taking them away!”

Mom’s don’t have to worry about passing their iPad or iTouch device to their kids to play. Bunny Popper’s target audience is moms and their kids. No worries about influences from Call of Duty here. There are 16 levels plus 4 bonus levels in the game and you get a bonus achievement for popping every bunny in the level.

Jupiter Moon is located in Los Angeles and while not hiring yet, but they expect to grow in 2012, so watch their Bunny Popper. Jupiter Moon plans on expanding to developing titles for a variety of platforms including console.

The demo allows you to jump into the Pirates of the Caribbean universe as one of four characters: Mickey Mouse, Mike Wazowski, Stitch and (of course) Jack Sparrow.

This is in addition to Best Buy stores offering the demo up for play starting December 12. Yeah, the game is already out (for Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC), but this way you get to try before you buy.

James Cameron's Avatar The Movie

When Avatar came out it was so revolutionary and beautiful that people exclaimed how they wish they could visit that world. I always thought that would result in an MMO, but it looks like Disney Parks is going to bring a real life Avatar adventure to you.

Teaming up with Fox and James Cameron, Disney will create theme park guests with the ability to explore Avatar within the Animal Kingdom Park. The construction is set to begin by 2013.

“James Cameron is a groundbreaking filmmaker and gifted storyteller who shares our passion for creativity, technological innovation and delivering the best experience possible,” said Robert A. Iger, President and CEO of The Walt Disney Company. “With this agreement, we have the extraordinary opportunity to combine James’ talent and vision with the imagination and expertise of Disney.”

Interesting note, the press release states there are two more chapters in the Avatar saga.

“This exciting new venture combines the world of AVATAR with the enormous reach of Disney and the incomparable talent of Jim Cameron,” commented Fox Filmed Entertainment chairmen Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman. “While Jim is bringing audiences further into Pandora with the next two chapters in the AVATAR motion picture saga, the theme park attraction will likewise bring a new dimension to the amazing universe he created.”

Disney will have exclusive global rights to use Avatar franchise at the Disney parks. Maybe now with your glow in the dark light saber, you’ll get tails that light up too.

D23 Mickey

Last weekend I went to D23 Expo. The expo is a highlight of all things Disney. My previous post was full of the great pictures I took at the event. Now I have an edited video (warning…I’m new at editing), from the event. You’ll get to see some Kinect Disneyland, Fairies announcements, and Disney Celebration!

I’ll be at Disney today and I hope you enjoyed this video!

D23 Mickey

This past weekend I went to the D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center. D23 is the official Disney Fan Club. Anyone can purchase tickets to the expo, but D23 members get exclusives all year long. Find out more about D23 Expo here.

The convention covered many, if not all the aspects of Disney. Games were there with Disney Universe and Kinect Disneyland (more on that in another post). Consumer Products showcased many great new products that made me want to do some major shopping. Disney Baby is coming out with a new line of baby items. One is like a onsie that has a second set of buttons that allow an outfit to be used at least a little longer while the baby grows. Pretty smart. Disney Books was there to talk about their latest selections. The color on the floor really came from the new Disney party offerings. Now it’s easy to set up a Princess or Fairy themed party like a pro. No need to bring out your inner Martha Stewart. Order the party theme and use the extra time to treat yourself like a princess. Disney has partnered with Cakes.com to offer amazing Disney cakes. My favorite is the Tinkerbell and is included in the pictures below.

The parks were represented with discussions about the new Cars land. In the pictures, there are pics of the cars and what pieces of the track looks like. Also, Walt Disney World will be getting a re-imagined Fantasyland in the future (I think 2015).

Disney Channel was there and featured many stars for kids to meet all weekend. Loved seeing Radio Disney get out there and dance!

Of course when you are done looking at the variety of new products that are coming, you can shop for ones that are already out. Vendors had collections of hard to find items. Disney Shop was there celebrating 25 years with special items you can only get there. One of the items I wanted so badly (read no way can afford), is the re-imagined princess dolls. They are all so beautiful! The collection was being sold for $500 there. The dolls will be sold every couple of weeks starting soon. It was difficult to get details, but I think they are about $50 each. Instead I bought sticky notes that showcased the designs.

No celebration of Disney would be complete without appreciation of the art. There was so much to fall in love with. Many artists interpretations were represented. I picked up a few prints, but my favorite are from Mary Blair, whom until recently I really didn’t know much about. Now I want to buy even more of her art! I picked up her Small World prints. But I am definitely a fan and will be getting more in the future.

With so much Disney Magic in the air, D23 is a must convention for any Disney fan. I do wish I could have gotten into the arena for a panel, but there definitely was enough to see and do otherwise. I went home with fabulous art and a head full of dreams.

*disclosure – I attended D23 Expo as press for GamingAngels, but I do work at Disney Interactive Media Group for my day job. ^_^

I’m not entirely sure what the point is, but the press release was pretty sure to note that this is the first time some characters and world have been united. I am not sure if Kingdom Hearts counts in this tally. If it does, I’ll switch that “first” to “third,” because you could totally summon some characters no matter where you were. So, ha?

You can also team up with three of your friends for co-op action.

At least you can dress the “things you dress up” (seriously, I just looked for a name and I can’t find one other than calling these things “new classic characters”) as Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald now. That was the point of this post. And it’s kind of cute. Check out the critters below.

As someone who has attended San Diego Comic Con for 13 years, this both boggles my mind and makes sense. The NY Times had an article up earlier this week that Warner Brothers, Walt Disney Studios, Dreamworks Animation and Marvel Entertainment are on the fence about coming to Comic Con 2011.

Over the past five years, SDCC has become known for it’s coverage of pop culture more than a celebration of comics. Studios ran to SDCC to create buzz for their film from the geeks attending. Only this past year, the buzz wasn’t enough to cover for horrible movies. Movies like Sucker Punch, Megamind, Scott Pilgrim and even Tron had much hype at SDCC, but when the films came out, they bombed.

Warner, Disney and Dreamworks are definitely not coming to SDCC. Marvel Entertainment is on the fence and hopefully that just means their movies because it would be ridiculous for them not to be there to talk comics.

Universal is still planning a stunt for Cowboys & Aliens (which I can’t wait for) and Paramount will be there to talk “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn”. Twentieth Century Fox will be there and of course Lionsgate will be there in full force for Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.

The part I feel conflicted about is that their decisions are based on the performance of what were critically panned movies. At least they were able to create buzz for the four days of SDCC. With their booths or presentations missing, this will definitely open up the floor. Let’s hope for a return of fans to loving Comic Books (an area that is almost always empty at SDCC in the last five years) and possibly less people overall.