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.

Sony announced yesterday via PlayStation.Blog that the long-awaited Final Fantasy VII-themed costume DLC for LittleBigPlanet 2 is arriving later this month! July 13, to be exact.

You’ll have access to four costumes for $1.99 a piece — Aeris, Tifa, Cloud and Sephiroth. However, buy the full bundle for $5.99, and you’ll get Vincent Valentine added to the mix. He’s not available to buy individually, so think of him as a bonus to your party.

I’m trying to think of proper Sacknames for each character. So far I’ve only got Tifa Sackheart, Cloud Strack, Sackiroth (obviously), Aeris Sackborough and Vinsack Valentine. Can you think of any more?

Also, the PlayStation folks also announced an inFAMOUS 2 costume pack, a Killzone 3 set, one for Toy Story that also includes a level pack and some sort of MotorStorm: Apocalypse set.

The PlayStation Move-related level packs are also on the way soon.

Here’s a look at the rest of the FFVII crew:

Designed to replicate the universal experience of playing with toys as a kid, Toy Box mode brings cowboys, space rangers, dinosaurs, and little green aliens together for brand-new adventures that only a kid (and Pixar) could imagine. Kids, families and fans will dive into Andy’s toy box with creativity driving their own stories and adventures.

Toy Story 3: The Video Game also features a story mode that follows the Toy Story 3 film adventures in which Buzz, Woody and friends grapple with their uncertain future as Andy prepares to depart for college.

Toy Story 3: The Video Game will be available on all major video game platforms (Wii, PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo DS and PSP) on June 15, 2010. An iPhone and iPod Touch app will be available soon to promote the movie.

If you are looking to have a bit of light fun for you and your young family, then “Toy Story Mania!” could be what you’re after.

Rating: G
Players: 1 – 4
Genre: Arcade
Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Release Date: September, 2009 (NA)

RENT

Being a big Pixar fan, of course I have seen the Toy Story movies and I’m eagerly awaiting installment #3′s release in 2010. I’ve even played a Game Boy version from the Toy Story empire, but we aren’t exactly friends any more if you get my drift. Now we have a new game for the Wii by the name of “Toy Story Mania!”.

Based on the real life attraction “Toy Story Midway Mania!” at California’s Disney theme parks (as well as the Toy Story movies), “Toy Story Mania!” is a series of arcade-style mini-games to test your skills on. Many of these mini-games are the same as those you’ll find at the Disney theme parks, but there are also some generated for this game specifically. A lot of your favourite characters join in on the fun including Woody, Buzz, Bo Peep, Hamm, the little green aliens and more.

When you pick Story Mode, you have a choice of 6 different areas to play in. Each one has a theme; for example if you picked the area where Buzz features, then all of the mini-games have a space theme to them. Each mini-game has a variable amount of objectives to fulfil. If you do manage to complete all of the objectives, then the mini-game is unlocked in Free Play mode. If you don’t complete them all you have the option of trying again or proceeding to the next game.

Once you’ve completed the area, your points get tallied up in order to receive tickets – the games currency. These tickets allow you to buy games to play in Free Play and stickers and new pages for the Sticker Book – all of which are accessible in the Prizes menu.

Get ready for Woody's Rootin' Tootin' Shootin'!

While I enjoyed playing the different themed areas in Story Mode, the thing that was lacking was an actual storyline. When you select the area to play in, there is a tiny cutscene at the beginning and the end of the entire session, but in between there’s nothing along the lines of a story.

In Free Play mode, your choices are Quick Play, Play All and Build. Quick Play gives you the opportunity to pick one of the mini-games you unlocked in Story Mode, and just play it as it is. Play All allows you to play all of your unlocked mini-games, while Build lets you pick which games you want to play in whatever order you like.

Should you wish to play with more than 1 person, you can either pick however many players you’d like at the start (up to 4) or they can join in later after you’ve started. The gameplay doesn’t change much but there are instances where you have to play a session each, and then play in the next session together. But again it’s not much different than if you were playing on your own.

Provided with your copy of “Toy Story Mania!” is 2 pairs of 3D glasses – these are so you can play certain mini-games in 3D (accessible in Free Play). While 3D never seems 3D to me while wearing red & blue lenses, I was able to discern the different element it gave to the gameplay. It didn’t make me enjoy it any differently though.

Another thing that didn’t quite work was the Wiimote. Now while the Wiimote itself functioned properly, and the sensor bar was clear of obstruction, whenever I tried to aim in a certain spot the target pointer sometimes disappeared from the screen or jumped to a different position while I was trying to shoot at something.

If you are looking to have a bit of light fun for you and your young family, then “Toy Story Mania!” could be what you’re after. Adults on their own may get bored pretty quickly, so if you are able to I would recommend hiring it out first just to see if you would find it worthwhile.

Review product was provided by Madman Entertainment, and does not affect the outcome of this review.

Australia is said to have its own version of E3 in the form of eGames – an annual video game convention held in Melbourne, Victoria. I managed to get down there for this years event, and see whether it really was that big.

Held in the Royal Exhibition Building (in Carlton – a suburb of Melbourne) eGames was part of iDEF (International Digital Entertainment Festival) which also featured the Digital Lifestyle Show and Develop (a skills and careers expo) all of which ran from October 30^th to November 1st. I was there for the games, however I did find Jackie Chan in the DLS!

When I walked in on the first day I found the Namco Bandai booth which was promoting their Formula 1 game. They’d even gotten themselves a shiny racing car to appear at the booth as well.

Behind them were Microsoft who were showing off THEIR racing game “Forza 3” on the Xbox.I was itching to ask the PR about the recent controversy involving the game. I was so good though and left it alone.

Turning left into the heart of eGames I was greeted by the Planet Calypso MMO and 2K Australia on my left, and my friends from Madman Interactive on the right. 2K Australia were incredibly popular on both days I visited, but it’s no surprise considering they were showing off Borderlands! They also had NBA 2K10 on show which was getting a good amount of attention.

Madman had their usual Anime/Manga stall going on, but behind that they certainly showed they had some impressive titles available for us gamers. They’ve only recently started to venture into games, with Disney Interactive becoming a big notch in their belt. On display they had Disney Sing It Pop Hits, Toy Story Mania, Spectrobes: Origins, The Princess and the Frog, and Divinity II Ego Draconis – to name a few.

In the middle of the room there was a huge Ubisoft booth which was showing off a ton of games, as well as giving away some posters. At some point they decided to get people to sign up to their newsletter before they handed over the posters – which I found a little odd but it didn’t deter too many of the patrons. Anyway, the big games they had on display were Just Dance, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction, Assassin’s Creed II, and James Cameron’s Avatar. They were showing Avatar in a little side room and you were handed a pair of 3D glasses to watch the game in action. All I can say is that I imagine Avatar will be on a lot of peoples wishlists – and ditto for Assassin’s Creed II judging by how popular it was.

Walking around the left side of Ubisoft, there were universities, training institutions and game-related shopping booths. As I passed the Ubisoft booth (and the crowd formed for ACII), I found the AFA Interactive booth which was showing off A Boy and his Blob and Fairytale Fights. I now see the reason why some of the GA staff have been excitedly drooling over the latter, and I now want it too!

A little further away from AFA was the main stage where many competitions, discussions, podcasts and webcasts were held. Unfortunately the venue didn’t really allow for decent attendance on some of the items that took place, with the sound being drowned out by the crowds or the nearby eSports event.

Speaking of eSports, their event was held on the other side of the room. They appeared to have 2 teams competing against each other on a PC FPS game. Sadly, it didn’t hold my interest for very long. Right next door to them were my new friends from AustralianGamer. They had a casual kindof environment happening with a TV and console set up so visitors could hang out with the AG staff and their friends for a bit.

Next to them were a bunch of competition booths and LAN tournaments taking place with a couple of gaming hardware booths mixed in.

Apart from the disappointing fact that there were a few significant game companies/devs/distributors missing from this years event, eGames 2009 was a lot of fun. If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that I said meeting the AG crew was the highlight. While this is true, my other favourite memories will include chilling with a Rabbid for 5 seconds and the amount of ladies I saw in attendance. Oh, and there was a gamers meet-up night hosted by AG as well which I suppose wasn’t too bad. (Just kidding!)

Thank you to all of the organisers and exhibitors that I came across – I had a great time! See you all next year!

More pictures? Yep, sure:

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

//

]]>

Buzz Lightyear went to infinity and beyond recently. Buzz was aboard Space Shuttle Discovery STS-128 and returned home on September 11.

To celebrate more than 15 months in space, he’ll be treated to a ticker-tape parade down Main Street U.S.A in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida on October 2. October 2 is also the day that Toy Story and Toy Story 2 return to the big screen.

In the very cute picture, Tim Allen, the voice of Buzz Lightyear, gives Buzz a thumbs up for his amazing trip. The trip is part of a NASA-Disney educational outreach collaboration.

D23Expo

The D23 Expo invaded the Anaheim Convention Center from September 10 through the 13. The expo covered all things Disney and when Disney says that, they mean it. The coverage one would expect about upcoming additions to the theme parks to Bridal Gowns based on the Disney Princesses and everything in between. Each day of the conference featured different upcoming Disney Properties including Princess and the Frog, Tron, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Toy Story. Disney also brought in star power. Members from Dancing with the Stars and other ABC properties showed up to meet with fans and sign autographs. But the big surprises were appearances from John Travolta, Milley Cyrus,Tim Burton, Nicholas Cage and everyone’s favorite pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp).

All day there were panels that were very interesting, if you could get into them. I attended the expo on Sunday the 13th and had anticipated attending four panels. I attended one. The panel I attended was the Pixar Imagineering panel which went over the details of Pixar inspired rides and attractions. Pixar believes in taking their IP and extending on it in the parks. No ride or attraction will be the same story as the film, but an extension of the story that allows one to feel like a part of the world. It is quite amazing to see what attractions they have inspired around the world. Tokyo Disney has a Monsters Factory that put you in the exact factory. California Adventures is getting Cars Land that is 3 acres of the Cars world.

One area of the expo floor showcased what technologies are coming to Disney theme parks and attractions. I met Otto, the talking robot that interacts with the crowd completely based on his Artificial Intelligence. I also met a real sized Wall-E and Lucky the dinosaur. On display was a model of what Cars Land will look like as well as a model for the new Mansion in Disney Hong Kong.

D23 Expo

Vinyls were huge at Disney Expo. I bought six Vinylmation Mickeys and am now addicted. I want the whole set! I also bought the special D23 Vinyl Mickey that one can only get at the event. In the slideshow below you can see pictures of many unique vinyls that were on display and for purchase.

D23 Expo

Speaking of Alice, I was then invited to a Tea Party. On display they had various hats and the fashion jewelry that was recently announced as part of the Alice in Wonderland Fashion line debuting next year. To be honest, the Mad Hatter freaked me out..but I guess that’s what he’s supposed to do.

I sat in on a talk with John Lasseter, chief creative director for a Q&A about Disney properties and where animation is going. First question out of the gate was about the recent acquisition of Marvel. Mr. Lasseter did not have anything to say about the acquisition or what we might expect to see in the future.

D23 Wedding

The sale will be October 22-25 at the following location:
Costco Wholesale
Westlake Village Location Only
5700 Lindero Canyon Road
Westlake Village, CA 91362

I spoke to another lady about planning a Disney fairytale wedding. They take care of everything but prepare to spend money! The cheapest package is a weekday wedding for around $17,000 and a more recent wedding was priced at $109,000. Definitely for the princesses that have some money to spend on their happy day.

My favorite part of the expo hall was the Art of Disney Princess exhibit. The art pictures are all in the slideshow and a book will be sold soon online and in stores. The fashion tops, scarfs and purses that were on display were so pretty! Those will actually be onsale in October at Vault 28 in Downtown Disney and Nordstroms. I recommend the Snow White tshirt. It’s beautiful.

A huge announcement made at D23 Expo was the announcement of the re-imagining of Star Tours 2.0 in 2011.

Here is a video of the movie announcements during D23:

Here are the pictures I took at the event (click on the picture to advance to the next one):

I do have a D23 bag to giveaway. Just comment below and I’ll randomly pick in the next few days!

Buzz Lightyear

It’s going to be a big year in 2010 for Toy Story and the consumer products group at Disney is already working on the marketing of Toy Story. At the 66th Venice Film Festival, Disney Consumer Products unveiled a Woody and Buzz Lightyear made out of LEGO bricks. It too 13,600 bricks to make Woody and 40,000 bricks to make Buzz.

Toy Story is coming back in a big way with the re-release of the first two movies in 3D. Then next summer the third new movie will be released. Expect lots of toys, figures, party items and games to be released in the next year. The movie is set to release on my birthday, June 18, 2010. Who wants to go with me?

Here’s the teaser trailer for Toy Story 3:

D23 Expo Flyer

Walt Disney Studios is gearing up for the D23 Expo and they’ve released the program schedule which is full of upcoming sneak peaks as well as look back at Disney favorites.

Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook will be showing exclusive sneak peaks of Disney features as “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” “Old Dogs” (with Robin Williams and John Travolta), “Prince of Persia” and “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (both from producer Jerry Bruckheimer), “Tron: Legacy,” plus updates on many more exciting projects. Disney-Pixar Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter will be discussing and showing materials from upcoming Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios’ motion pictures as “The Princess and the Frog,” “Rapunzel,” “Toy Story 3. Both presentations will be in the Anaheim Convention Center in a 4000 seat arena.

Other screenings will be showcasing Disney Digital 3D shown in RealD 3D. Some of the US premiers will be Disney Digital 3D versions of Toy Story and Toy Story 2.

There is so much to do! Make sure you go to www.D23Expo.comto read about ticket prices and more details.

Here is the schedule. I can’t wait to see more information about Princess and the Frog!

THURSDAY 9/10

1:00 PM “Beauty and the Beast” panel discussion;
and screening of selected scenes in Disney Digital 3D™
4:00 PM “The Lion King” music program

7:00 PM “the boys: the sherman brothers story” panel discussion/ screening

10:00 PM “Darby O’Gill and the Little People” screening

FRIDAY 9/11

11:00 AM Dick Cook / Walt Disney Studios presentation (in the Arena)

1:00 PM Screening of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” in Disney Digital 3D™ plus Tim Burton shorts, “Frankenweenie” and “Vincent”

4:00 PM “Tron”/ “Tron: Legacy” presentation;
Digital debut screening of original “Tron”

7:30 PM “Walt & El Grupo” presentation;
Followed by screening of “Saludos Amigos”

10:00 PM “The Shaggy Dog” screening

SATURDAY 9/12

10:00 AM Disneynature presentation

12:00 PM “Snow White” panel discussion;
Followed by screening of Restored Print

3:00 PM “Princess and the Frog” presentation

5:30 PM “Prep and Landing” presentation

7:30 PM “Trail of the Panda” screening

10:00 PM “Sleeping Beauty” screening

SUNDAY 9/13

11:00 AM John Lasseter / Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios presentation (in the Arena)

1:00 PM “Muppets” presentation

4:00 PM “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure” screening

6:30 PM “Toy Story 3” presentation;

7:00 PM “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2” debuts in Disney Digital 3D

Risky Biz Blog has an article up tonight that just made me sigh and think about where Hollywood is going.

Yes our favorite toy growing up and in most cases still favorite, may now become a live-action movie thanks to Warner Bros. Warner Bros. purchased the rights to make the film. The studio and producer Dan Lin have hired writers to start working on the screenplay.

The picture is set to be a live-action CG described as a “movie set in the world of Lego that centers on the idea of achild-like imagination and examines themes of creativity and teamwork in the manner of “Toy Story.”

Even though most people seemed to not like GI Joe, it made so much money that we should probably expect all our childhood toys to be made into movies. I call Lincoln Logs next!