Disney has already made a huge splash at the box office this year with “Muppets Most Wanted“, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Maleficent.”The summer of Disney home entertainment content is just as exciting! As part of a regular contribution to the Doctor Disney site I will be posting sneak peaks as to what Disney will be releasing over the summer and into the fall. With each release I will also be providing you all with the insight and content of the Blu-Ray package as well as and relevant Disney Movies Anywhere applications. Both of these are going to be covered at length in this and in future columns on the site. Be sure to read all the way through for the most exciting announcement yet!
And don’t forget to let us at Doctor Disney know which format you prefer and which release you are looking forward to this summer!
DVD/Blu-Ray Releases
TITLE: “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Around the World”
RELEASE DATE: May 20, 2014
RUN TIME: 126 minutes
REVIEW: Just a couple of weeks ago Disney home entertainment started its summer releases with a nice little compilation of some of the popular episodes of the television show as well as a new episode, being the Around the World feature. I’m sure there are those of you out there who no longer believe DVD or Blu-Ray releases have a market or an audience, and while it may be true that virtual or cloud based services may be the future Disney has found a way to keep it relevant with this release. This was accomplished by allowing the kids to interact with the episode from the show.
Upon receiving the materials I was skeptical there would be much excitement or to talk about in the review, boy did my son prove me wrong! Inside the standard DVD/ Blu-Ray release package is a little booklet called, “My Official Clubhouse Passport” as well as stickers and postcards. The pages in the passport follow along with the episode and teach the kids a little about the countries our heroes find themselves in as part of their adventure in the episode. The stickers included the flags, globe with location as well as key features of the country such as the Eiffel Tower in France, the Pyramids in Egypt and the Great Wall of China. This is a great way of introducing some of these concepts to the little ones and another fun adventure with Mickey and the gang! Here’s a clip from our pal Goofy!
Other episodes included on the disc are:
- Donald and the Beanstalk
- Goofy on Mars
- Mickey’s Handy Helpers
- Pluto’s Dinosaur Romp
Upcoming Releases
All of the features below will be released and reviewed here on Doctor Disney, and sneak peek content available soon! All will be released on DVD/ Blu-Ray editions as well as digitally on Disney Movies Anywhere. Additional details and full review coming soon!
- “Muppets Most Wanted” – August 12, 2014
- “Toy Story of Terror” – August 19, 2014
- “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” – September 9, 2014
Disney Movies Anywhere
As we have discussed earlier in this article and in previous releases here on Doctor Disney.com, the Mouse House is looking to streamline it’s viewers to the new cloud based entertainment world through it’s proprietary application Disney Movies Anywhere. Using this application users can access via the internet their previously purchased Disney films (provided you purchased the digital copy and entered the code in time) or purchase them again in this new format.
The benefits are that you can download copies to a local device, such as an iPad or iPhone, there is no disc to scratch or break and it is much easier to take with you on your drive to visit the Disney parks (a setup for future Doctor Disney articles when this Disney dad takes the trek you can come along!)
A lot of effort has been made to convert fans over to this new medium with the availability of a free movie (The Incredibles) earlier this year and will continue into the summer with the recent announcement of “Pixar Summer Movies TO GO” and the installment series “Tales from Radiator Springs”.
TITLE: Tales from Radiator Springs: Radiator Springs 500 ½
RELEASE DATE:
REVIEW: Disney is continuing it’s effort to extend the stories beyond the means of an hour and a half feature film format and stay relevant with their target audience, whose attention span continues to shrink, Disney Pixar recently released the first installment in the summer series Tales from Radiator Springs with Radiator Springs 500 ½. Let me first state that I absolutely LOVE this idea. Being able to periodically see new content even if in a smaller format is incredibly exciting to me. Disney has realized that their characters are so loved that their audience wants more and will give it to them! It started with the holiday release of Toy Story of Terror this past fall, these worlds they have created are there to be explored and nobody does it better than Pixar.
This free installment features Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen and directed by Rob Gibbs (“Mater’s Tall Tales”), Radiator Springs 500 1/2 tells the story of a “leisurely drive” planned in honor of Radiator Springs’ town founder, Stanley, which turns precarious as Baja pros descend on the town and challenge Lightning McQueen to an off-road race. Meanwhile, the townsfolk, led by a Stanley-costumed Mater, enjoy the planned “leisurely drive” to retrace Stanley’s original frontier route. Thinking they’re on the same course, a wrong turn sends McQueen and the Baja pros on a treacherously wild bid for survival. The misunderstanding leaves the racing professionals in awe of the “legend” of Stanley: the Original Off-Road Racer.
Announced Pixar Summer Movies To Go!
Soak up summer with Pixar Summer Movies To Go exclusively on Disney Movies Anywhere, the free app that lets you stream and download Disney, Pixar and Marvel films anywhere. Beginning June 3, log on for new Pixar surprises coming each week throughout 13 weeks of summer.
Check out a preview of the movies coming this summer here:
With Pixar Summer Movies To Go, a different fan favorite film will be available each week and you can unlock exclusive bonus content like special filmmaker introductions, film trivia and more Pixar surprises! Additionally, in the Discover section of the Disney Movies Anywhere app you’ll find “Countdown to Pixar’s Ultimate Movie-Making Secrets.”
Rev up your digital movie collection starting with Cars on June 3. Check in each week to find out what movie is featured, and you’ll soon be whizzing through outer space with Wall•E, floating on the breeze with Up, trying to catch your toys in action while watching Toy Story, and catching the East Australian Current with Dory in Finding Nemo.
Perfect for vacations and summer travel; download the free Disney Movies Anywhere app on your iPhone or iPad and gear up for Pixar Summer Movies To Go to get summer started right. And for a limited time, when you download Disney Movies Anywhere and link your iTunes account, you’ll get The Incredibles forfree. Find out more about buying, watching, and collecting your favorite Disney, Pixar and Marvel movies anywhere and download the App at http://di.sn/sX8
