Of Cyberspace and The Sea: A Magical Afternoon at Walt Disney Animation Studios

February 12, 2019February 12, 2019 Mike Manalo

When I was 10, I wanted to be a Disney Animator. It happened around the time my single-parent mother, who was always working to make end’s meet for us, managed to scrounge up enough money to take us kids to Walt Disney World in the mid-90s. One of the parks we ended up visiting, the old MGM Studios Park, had this attraction called “The Magic of Disney Animation.” Sure that park also featured attractions for Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and not to mention the first-of-its-kind “Tower of Terror.” But for me, The Magic of Disney Animation was everything that made the park so special.

For 15-20 minutes, I got to see how true art was made. I learned about how the hundreds of talented artists came together and brought to life the iconic “Be Our Guest” sequence from Beauty and the Beast, and how those same people were working hard at that second to bring together future classics, Mulan and Lilo and Stitch. I went into that building a complacent boy who only watched movies, and exited a person inspired by a dream and a drive to make it come true.

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DC Comics, Movies

‘Shazam!’ Director David F. Sandberg and Producer Peter Safran Say the Magic Words

February 11, 2019April 11, 2019 Mike Manalo

The wisdom of Solomon! The strength of Hercules! The stamina of Atlas! The power of Zeus! The courage of Achilles! And the speed and flight of Mercury! Those are all the powers that are imbued upon mere mortal 14-year old Billy Batson to become The World’s Mightiest Mortal, SHAZAM! (Note for all you noobs who have no idea what I’m talking about — I said SHA-ZAM, not to be confused with KA-ZAAM, the genie who plays basketball better than he acts, raps, or plays Shaq-Fu.)

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Animation, Marvel, Movies2 Comments

Lots of Big, Nerdy Options for Big Hero 6 Pre-Order

January 14, 2015March 11, 2015 Christelle G.

Having just been nominated for a Best Animated Feature Oscar, Big Hero 6 will be available on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD on February 24. Since that’s just a month away, most retailers already have the movie available for pre-order. Fred the Fanboy would be pleased to know that several different packages of the movie will be made available including The Collector’s Edition, the Target Exclusive, and the Wal-mart Exclusive.

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Movies, Star Trek5 Comments

My Star Trek Blu-ray Dilemma

September 10, 2013June 17, 2014 Keith Chow

14665781_201309051255 — Target has, arguably, the worst box art. But I’m a sucker for bonus features.

As you know, one of the reasons we at The Nerds of Color decided to celebrate Star Trek this week — aside from it being the franchise’s 47th anniversary — was the fact that the latest iteration of Trek, J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness, was being released on DVD and blu-ray today.

Like a good fanboy, I went straight to Target first thing this morning to secure my copy as soon as possible. After carefully examining about a dozen different cases, I finally chose one whose slipcover was minimally damaged by Target’s idiotic security cases (I’m very picky about the condition of the packaging).

It wasn’t just happenstance that I went to Target to get my copy of Into Darkness. You see, when Paramount Home Video announced the blu-ray release back in May, they also announced a series of retailer-exclusives and multiple versions of the disc. As of today, there are nine different ways to own Star Trek Into Darkness on blu-ray (and this doesn’t include options such as iTunes or DVD). Now, giving different retailers incentives is not a new phenomenon. In the past, the kinds of exclusives offered by different outlets ranged from unique packaging (like variant slipcovers or steelbooks) to including little tchotchkes (such as collectible figurines or other paraphernalia).

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