News

Disney won’t go broke anytime soon. The Disney licensing empire dazzles with 2024 sales, merchandising magic, and a century of innovation.

The Tl;Dr…

$63 Billion Haul: Disney topped 2024 with $63 billion in licensed sales, owning 20% of the $307.9 billion global market.

Mickey’s Start: The licensing magic began in 1929 with Mickey Mouse tablets, growing to a $600,000 empire by 1934.

Quirky Classics: Donald Duck Orange Juice and Peter Pan Peanut Butter turned characters into nostalgic food favorites.

2024 Standouts: Lilo & Stitch ($2.6 billion), Star Wars, and Bluey led the charge, with a 14% profit jump in Q2 2025.

Future Shine: Gen Z (27% of 2025 sales) and integrated experiences keep Disney’s merchandising magic alive.

Disney might “go woke” but they likely won’t ever “go broke.” At least not anytime soon.

The Walt Disney Company has once again claimed the throne as the world’s top licensor, hauling in a magical $63 billion in retail sales of licensed consumer...

It's Christmastime, and many of you reading this have undoubtedly been exposed to the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge at some point in the recent past. Whether that's Charles Dickens' original, Patrick Stewart's cruel and cold portrayal, or Michael Caine's iconic performance alongside Kermit the Frog, you know the story.

As much as The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) continues to dominate our feeds over 30 years later, how soon we forget how a certain mouse paved the way before Jim Henson ever signed a contract with Disney. Before we were chanting "light the lamp not the rat," Scrooge McDuck was our first introduction to the holiday favorite.

The Ghost of Disney Past

If you're anything like this writer, Mickey's Christmas Carol was your first exposure to the Dickensian story. The haunting of Ebenezer Scrooge and his three ghosts has been told and retold for decades, but Mickey's was more than iconic,...

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

The first feature film to be released by Walt Disney animation was, as most know, David Hand's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in 1937. Walt Disney himself, of course, had been working in animation for over 15 years at that point, having founded Laugh-o-Gram Studios in 1921. It was at that studio where Disney developed his taste for well-worn fairy tales, making shorts based on "Little Red Riding Hood," "Jack and the Beanstalk," "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," "Cinderella," and "Alice in Wonderland." That last film provided fodder for a long series of Alice Comedies that launched Walt Disney Production in 1923. The first 56 films made by Disney were Alice Comedies before he shifted to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, making dozens for him as well. In 1928, he debuted Mickey Mouse, and the rest is history. 

When it came to shorts, Disney clearly...

Donald Duck is officially taking YouTube by storm on this week's upcoming episode of Hot Ones.

In an August 21 X post from the official First We Feast account, Donald Duck himself confirmed that his next talk show appearance would be on the popular internet talk show. Hosted by Sean Evans, Hot Ones premiered on 2015 and quickly garnered a cult following of dedicated fans. The series sees Evans interview a celebrity guest over eight courses of increasingly spicy chicken wings dredged in a curated collection of hot sauces. In the years since its debut, Hot Ones has garnered both critical and audience acclaim, as well as numerous major industry nominations including two Daytime Emmys for both the series itself and its host.

Related Disney Backtracks on Controversial Response to Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Disney has offered an official response to the backlash over claiming Disney+ terms and conditions should prevent a wrongful death lawsuit.

Disney+ celebrates 90 years of Donald Duck with two remastered classics and a brand-new animated short.

In a June 9 X post from the official Disney+ account, it was announced that both "Crazy Over Daisy" and "Out on a Limb" had been remastered for rerelease in celebration of the 90th anniversary of Donald Duck's widespread debut. The shorts are joined by an all-new animated outing, "D.I.Y. Duck," produced by Emmy Award-winner Dorothy McKim and brought to life by Walt Disney Animation Studios' hand-drawn animation team.

Related The 90s Disney Princess Movie That's Aged Way Better Than the Rest

Mulan is one of Disney's most famous films and it managed to scoop up a ton of awards. But what makes this '90s hit a timeless classic?

Donald Duck's birthday is all it's quacked up to be!Celebrate with the new short "D.I.Y. Duck" and two newly restored classic shorts,...

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! Look who turned 90 years young! If you are looking for the lowdown on this cantankerous and cranky birthday duck, you’ve come to the right place. Donald Duck burst onto the scene June 9, 1934, and his popularity has continued to climb ever since. Donald has a reputation for being a little “ill tempered” from time to time, but we actually think he’s a little misunderstood, so let’s give our #1 duck a little love, with a look at some of the highlights of his illustrious life and career.

What Kind of Duck is Donald?

Donald may have more of an “everyduck” appearance, but he is actually modeled after a specific breed – the American Pekin. This is where Donald gets his bright white plumage, and golden bill and legs.

Disney animator Dick Lundy is credited with developing Donald as a character, and artists Dick Huemer...

While Mickey Mouse is the official Disney mascot, it's Donald Duck who holds the record for most appearances in Disney movies. Donald Duck's ferocious temper and hilarious misfortune made him just as famous as Mickey and led to his immense popularity worldwide. Donald Duck remains one of the most popular Disney characters, appearing in various animated shows, video game franchises, and even receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Since its establishment in 1923, Disney has seen the creation of many iconic characters who have appeared in multiple different animated movies and TV shows. Disney's most famous character, Mickey Mouse, has been a part of the entertainment industry for over 95 years. One of the most recognizable and iconic cartoon characters ever created, Mickey Mouse has appeared in many cartoons, comics, and video games since his initial debut in the 1928 animated short Plane Crazy.

As of May 2024, Mickey Mouse has...

Jimmy Weldon, the cheery ventriloquist, kids TV host and actor who provided the voice for the endangered duck Yakky Doodle on Hanna-Barbera cartoons starting in the early 1960s, has died. He was 99.

Weldon’s death on Thursday in Paso Robles, California, was reported by American Legion Post 43 in Hollywood, where he was chaplain emeritus.

With the puppet Webster Webfoot, a duck he created in the 1940s, Weldon hosted TV shows for youngsters in New York, Los Angeles and cities in the San Joaquin Valley. The Texan also appeared on episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Dragnet, The Waltons, S.W.A.T., B.J. and the Bear, Dallas, The Rockford Files, Diff’rent Strokes and It’s a Living.

Weldon voiced Yakky Doodle, a yellow duckling with green wings who is constantly being bailed out of trouble by his best friend, a protective bulldog named Chopper, on recurring segments of The Yogi Bear Show in 1961-62.

From left: Yogi Bear,...

Donald Glover made a rare appearance at the 2023 Writers Guild Awards in New York on Sunday night where he used some of his time onstage, presenting Atlanta executive producer Paul Simms with an honorary award, to joke about Community co-star Chevy Chase using the N-word.

The Atlanta writer-actor, whose upcoming series Swarm hits Amazon’s Prime Video later this month, recalled how the award Simms is receiving was named after former Saturday Night Live writer Herb Sargent, who came up with the Chevy Chase-hosted “Weekend Update.”

“Chevy Chase once called Herb one of the funniest writers working in television,” Glover said onstage at the WGA Awards. “Chevy Chase once called me. You know what? This is about Paul.”

Later, when Glover recalled hearing about Simms after working on Girls, he was more explicit about what happened with Chase.

“I was on the set of Girls after filming a sex scene for like eight hours,...

When it comes to iconic Disney animated characters, Goofy comes up a few notches below Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse. Those two saw massive popularity early on in the company's lifespan, and even got to lead theatrical movies like 1944's "The Three Caballeros" with Donald, or Mickey starring in the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" episode of the 1940 film "Fantasia." Goofy's appeal was different, less wide-ranging, and more eccentric than a perpetually exasperated duck or a blandly kind mouse. You couldn't even tell what species he was, although his longtime voice actor Bill Farmer claims he is a dog.

Goofy eventually did get to lead a theatrical film, although several decades after his 1932 debut. The character was best known for Disney shorts those days, and for his cartoony antics in them. As you could guess from his name, he was careless and clumsy, and his oblivious goofball shtick would often result in wildly elaborate slapstick.

With cameras just about ready to roll on The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare_, is yet to see a release here (or in much of the world), but in that it’s not exactly typical Guy Ritchie fare, even with lashings of muscular action. Oh, and yes, his name actually is in the official title. Check out the trailer here:

No London. No geezers. No gangsters. No quips. No dodgy nicknames. The Gentlemen this most assuredly ain’t. Instead, Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant – initially titled The Interpreter – looks like a tense, emotionally-driven military thriller that’s more concerned with the effects of war than the FX of it all.

Written by the Wrath Of Man director alongside regular collaborators Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies, the story here centres on Jake Gyllenhaal’s Army Sergeant John Kinley, who ends up being rescued by his interpreter (Dar Salim) when a tour in...

The celebration of the 100th anniversary of The Walt Disney Company at Disneyland begins today with the opening of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, a new feature that marks the first time the beloved mice have starred in a ride-through attraction at the Anaheim resort.

The attraction is located in Disneyland’s Mickey’s Toontown, which will reopen March 8 following its year-long closure on March 9, 2022, for the land’s makeover.

Related Story Disney Reorganization Looms Ahead Of First Earnings Report Since Bob Iger’s Return Related Story Disney Seeks To Soothe Fans' Ruffled Feathers With New Theme Park Perks Related Story Disney Theme Parks Ask Patrons To Show "Courtesy" While Visiting The Happiest Place On Earth

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway combines sets, audio-animatronics figures, animated media and projection-mapping techniques, all synchronized with trackless vehicles and a musical score calling back to Disney Television Animation’s Emmy Award-winning “Mickey Mouse” cartoon shorts.

Henry Gilroy probably wrote your childhood. As a film and television screenwriter, Gilroy's credits include "Batman: The Animated Series," "Jackie Chan Adventures," "Justice League Unlimited," and ""Ultimate Spider-Man." He also wrote for almost every animated series based on a movie, "Lilo & Stitch: The Series" and "DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms," not to mention an extended relationship with the animated "Star Wars" stories. The point is, Gilroy probably knows what he's doing, right? There are simply too many well known credits attached to his name for the guy to be bad at his job. 

And yet, even he struggles with studio interference. That's the fun part of the artistic process -- where the people in charge dissect the script and then take away a third of the cool stuff, maybe more. Sometimes it's justified; other times, it's just plain silly. Want to hear a silly one? Here's the story of...

This year’s documentary nominees explore diverse subject matter as saving birds (“All that Breathes”) and an exploration of the life and career of photographer and activist Nan Goldin (“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”). But the documentary nominees, which took place at the 15th annual Oscars on March 4, 1943 at the Cocoanut Grove, primarly revolved around World War II.

There were 25 nominees — shorts and features competed against each other — and four winners. The US Navy was the producer of winner “The Battle of Midway,” directed by John Ford. The 18-minute film featured footage from the Battle of Midway which was a crucial victory in the Pacific in 1942. The film featured narration by Ford favorites Henry Fonda, Donald Crisp and Jane Darwell.

The Australian News and Information Bureau produced the full-length documentary winner “Kokoda Front Line!,” which was also the first film from Down Under to win an Oscar. The film...

In stunning new art homaging Thanos' greatest comic book cover from The Infinity Gauntlet, Disney characters invade the Marvel Universe taking on the roles of iconic heroes and villains. In the art, celebrating the 100th anniversary of Disney as part of their series of "What If" variants, Big Bad Pete wields the Infinity Gauntlet as he becomes the Mad Titan, recreating one of Marvel's most classic covers. The image perfectly combines the world of cartoons and comics.

This week, Marvel Comics shared a new cover for the upcoming 100th anniversary of The Walt Disney Company in 2023. The latest cover from Lorenzo Pastrovicchio and Chiara Di Francia puts Disney characters in place of Marvel heroes and villains, homaging the classic art of George Perez from The Infinity Gauntlet. On the cover, longtime Mickey Mouse nemesis Big Bad Pete becomes Thanos and wields the Infinity Gauntlet, Mickey becomes Doctor Strange, Goofy is Spider-Man,...

After discovering the Forest of Valor and bringing back Donald Duck in Disney Dreamlight Valley, players can accept the "Crystal Mystery" quest from Merlin the Wizard. This early-game quest serves as an introduction to Night Shards and their function within the Valley. New players might have already stumbled upon these mysterious Dream Shard variants while exploring the biomes of the world. During the early portions of one's playthrough, these shards have no use outside of being unsellable and filling inventory or storage slots. Nevertheless, they will become essential later on, as Dreamers must gather them to complete a variety of Friendship Quests to progress the Villagers' stories.

To get started on the "Crystal Mystery" quest in Disney Dreamlight Valley, players must listen to Merlin about a strange black crystal he found in the Forest of the Valor. While he will not specify the exact spot, he will mention that the...

If you pay close attention to the background of John Landis' innovative 1981 horror-comedy "An American Werewolf in London," you will notice there are numerous Disney-related items placed throughout the character Alex's (Jenny Agutter) apartment. Indeed, she has Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Donald Duck figurines in her living room, along with a poster of Mickey Mouse adorning her hallway.

Landis carefully and deliberately moves the camera to include these Disney figures in the film's shots, often placing them alongside the main characters in such a way that it draws attention away from the latter. There's even a scene where leads David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) walk through Alex's hallway and Jack stops to smell a flower, only for the camera to suddenly shift so as to bring Alex's Mickey Mouse picture into the frame. When David looks at Alex's television, there is likewise a Minnie Mouse statue coyly smiling on top of it.

After discovering a vandalized sign of Donald Duck near the Peaceful Meadow's trail to Dazzle Beach, players will begin "Goodness Level Check," Stitch's Friendship Level 2 Quest in Disney Dreamlight Valley. It has not been long since Stitch arrived in the Valley, but he is already up to no good, vandalizing the signs that Donald had put up within the Peaceful Meadow. Therefore, it is up to the savior protagonist to resolve this feud between duck and alien by helping Stitch rebuild the property that he damaged.

The first step to completing the "Goodness Level Check" Friendship Quest in Disney Dreamlight Valley is reporting the situation to Donald Duck, after which Stitch must be informed of his wrongdoing. Next, players must collect the remaining two vandalized signs. One can be found near the southern stairwell to Dazzle Beach, while the other is located by the narrow slope into the Glade of Trust.

After players have completed the wearisome, multi-day task of unlocking Stitch in Disney Dreamlight Valley, they must proceed to fulfill several "hidden requirements" to progress his storyline. Typically, a Villager's quest log will display clear-cut prerequisites of what fans need to do next to unlock the subsequent quest. For instance, Mother Gothel's "Restoring the Sunstone" Friendship Quest required that players reach Friendship Level 10 with Mother Gothel and unlock the Forgotten Lands and Frosted Heights. Conversely, a hidden requirement typically involves finding a specific object or random Memory out in the overworld that triggers the continuation of a Villager's questline in Disney Dreamlight Valley.

Likewise, players must find particular objects to fulfill Stitch's hidden requirements and progress his character storyline in Disney Dreamlight Valley. The first hidden requirement will trigger after players reach Friendship Level 2 with the mischievous alien. While walking along the path from the Peaceful Meadows to Dazzle Beach,...

It's the first holiday season for Disney Dreamlight Valley, and the new update adds many new festive fish that players can catch around the valley. Of course, they're just pre-existing fish with Santa hats or mistletoe on their heads, but they should be fun to catch.

There are five festive fish in total: Festive Salmon, Festive Bass, Festive Anglerfish, Festive Squid, and Festive Fugu. Catching any of these fish requires Dreamlight Valley's fishing rod, but anyone who has been playing for a while should have this item. The festive fish won't enter the game until December 25th, so any quests requiring a festive fish need to be put off until then.

Related: Disney Dreamlight Valley: How To Catch The Fugu Fish

Festive Fish in Dreamlight Valley

Editors Note: The rest of this information is only speculation and should be treated as such. Time travel in Disney Dreamlight Valley will break...

If character X and character Y had a fight, who would win? Such is the question posed every day on the playground, yet rarely do competing movie franchises oblige childlike desires to see separate franchises go one on one. Until recently, anyway. With massive corporate control over huge studios with lots of IP under the corporate umbrella, movies in which properties cross over are more common nowadays. Think the droogs from "A Clockwork Orange" could never encounter "King Kong"? "Space Jam: A New Legacy" proves you wrong.

But which corporate synergy crossovers are actually the best? In putting together the all-time greats in that category, there had to be some ground rules. Mainly, the movie has to include at least two pre-existing properties that are sci-fi. Abbott and Costello don't count as sci-fi, for instance, while J.J. Abrams' first "Star Trek" reboot with Leonard Nimoy doesn't count because the...

Stitch, the lovable and mischievous blue alien puppy, has made his way into Disney Dreamlight Valley with the arrival of the Toy Story realm and the game's first winter celebrations. Inviting Stitch to the Valley doesn't require much work, but it sucks up time. With a bit of patience and the help of Donald Duck, players can invite chaos incarnate to the Valley in the form of Stitch.

Of course, that requires players to have Donald Duck unlocked in Disney Dreamlight Valley. Players first need to invite Anna and Elsa to the valley. Finding Kristoff will reveal a portal Donald wandered into. Even then, players need the help of Merlin to track the famous duck through the fog and unlock both him and Kristoff as villagers. Later on, part of the quest to invite Stitch will require Goofy, but players should already have him in their game.

Related: Everything Included...

The holiday season is nearly here, and with Disney Dreamlight Valley's Toy Story update, it looks like players will be able to get festive alongside their favorite Disney and Pixar characters this year. Gameloft is gifting fans with "Missions In Uncharted Space," an update that is not only massive but also free. It comes with an onslaught of refreshing content that adds several hours of playtime, as well as improving existing gameplay.

The life simulation game, though still in early access, has seen steadily positive feedback since its release in September. Many fans have been enjoying its nostalgic atmosphere and peaceful gameplay as they explore, customize, and meet all of Disney Dreamlight Valley's characters for themselves. No game is perfect, however, and some players have raised concerns about quality-of-life features they'd like to see added. Luckily, the update offers several community-inspired changes alongside a collection of fresh and exciting content.

The life-sim game Disney Dreamlight Valley allows players to spend time farming, gathering, and cooking with iconic Disney and Pixar characters ranging from classics like Mickey Mouse to more modern icons such as Elsa. Additionally, the game's continual major updates frequently bring in newcomers to the valley. Given the game is still in early access form, and will be until some point in 2023, it's likely that the number of residents will increase significantly even before Disney Dreamlight Valley's full launch. To that end, players looking to purchase it early might be wondering which characters they can expect to run into as of December 2022.

When players first enter Disney Dreamlight Valley, they'll be able to befriend characters like Merlin and Goofy right off the bat. As they play, they can learn how to unlock Moana in Dreamlight Valley, the Frozen cast, and even Pixar favorites like Wall-e. October's big update, Scar's Kingdom,...

Click here to read the full article.

At the start of a splashy Asia-Pacific content showcase held in Singapore Wednesday, The Walt Disney Company revealed that it is expanding its long-running partnership with Japanese publishing powerhouse Kodansha to co-produce a growing slate of anime originals for the Disney+ streaming service.

The expanded collaboration also will include licensing exclusive anime titles based on manga produced by Kodansha, starting with Tokyo Revengers: Christmas Showdown Arc, which will launch exclusively on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar in January 2023.

“We are thrilled to deepen our strategic collaboration with our long standing partner Kodansha on such an exciting genre,” said Carol Choi, Disney’s executive vp of original content strategy in Apac. “Japanese anime fills the white space in our content development plans and we believe this expanded collaboration will be a game changer in Disney’s future animation strategy in Japan. We look forward to...

Forty seven years after he took the stage at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in a sequined-studded baseball uniform as the world’s biggest pop star, Elton John walked on to the same stage on Sunday night wearing a bedazzled Dodgers bathrobe, a uniform more fitting for a 75-year-old man on the verge of retirement.

The crowd of more than 50,000 roared at the moment that came in the final minutes of the final North American concert of a tour John says will be his last.

“I want to spend time with my family because I’ll be 76 next year, he said. “I want to bring them out and show you why I’m retiring.”

He embraced and kissed his husband, David Furnish, while his two sons, 11-year-old Zachary and 9-year-old Elijah, wearing matching Dodgers jackets that read “Elton” on the back, waved gleefully at the crowd.

Read More: Prince Harry...

So there have been some great documentary feature biographies of show biz superstars. This year alone we’ve been given in-depth profiles of Sidney Poitier, Tanya Tucker, and Louis Armstrong. Oh but this one, well he just may be the biggest star in the whole wide world, and for the longest time. So, did I mention that he’s an animated character? Oh, but he’s The cartoon icon, who’s been entertaining the globe for 95 years. It’s been said that the test of a cartoon design is whether the figure can be identified by its silhouette. He’s got that beat as the shape of his head is immediately recognized, perhaps it’s because of its simplicity. After all, it’s really three connected circles that outline the face of Mickey: The Story Of A Mouse.

This overview/history/appreciation begins with the mouse meeting his many fans...

Screen Rant is proud to present an exclusive clip from the new Disney + special, The Wonderful Autumn Of Mickey Mouse. This extended-length special follows Mickey and his friends as they travel to a rundown pumpkin farm left to him by a distant relative. When Mickey learns the truth about his family's reputation in town, he is determined to change the narrative of the Mouse name.

Mickey's plan to make a new name for himself is to grow the biggest pumpkin in town, but things inevitably go wrong, and Mickey's attempts to save his name might just doom the town. In honor of Mickey's birthday, The Wonderful Autumn Of Mickey Mouse will debut on Disney Plus on November 18. Mickey Mouse, the character that started it all, is celebrating his 94th birthday with some of his oldest friends. Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, Donald Duck, and Goofy join him on this all-new adventure,...

At the end of Loki, Marvel fans were teased with the cinematic debut of the villainous Kang the Conqueror. Fans were intrigued by his role as the mysterious "One Who Remains," and couldn't wait to see more. They had to wait a pretty long time to see him again, though, and finally got to see him again in the trailer for the upcoming Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania.

The time traveler villain looks pretty good, being reprised by his actor from Loki, Jonathan Majors. However, he isn't the only time traveler to menace the Avengers. In fact, there are tons of such adversaries all over comics. Some of them might bring fans insight into where the MCU incarnation of Kang will go.

Doctor Doom

Doctor Doom is the swiss-army knife of comic book villains -- he's done basically everything he can in his quest for world domination. This includes time travel,...

Scrooge McDuck, Disney's iconic miser and Donald Duck's uncle, will star in a new graphic novel which explores the billionaire duck's origin. Scrooge McDuck: The Dragon of Glasgow will release from Fantagraphics next year and promises a new adventure in a classic tradition. Taking notes from the world of comic legend Don Rosa, the standalone story will feature a young Scrooge in his hometown of Glasgow, Scotland.

Scrooge McDuck, known for his appearances in Mickey's Christmas Carol and DuckTales, originally got his start in comics in 1947. Created by Disney comic legend Carl Barks, the character starred in numerous comic stories and had his life further developed by Don Rosa. Scrooge is an adventurer who made his own fortune and his adventures are legendary, leaving him at the top of the list in most studies of the richest fictional characters ever.

Related: Nightmare Before Christmas Prequel Is a Jack vs Oogie Origin Story

On Instagram,...

During the Story Quest "Lost In The Dark Grove" with Kristoff in Disney Dreamlight Valley, Donald Duck has gone missing in the Dark Grove, a pocket dimension where players will discover one of Donald's feathers and a mysterious plant. This plant is needed to create a tracking spell recommended by Merlin to enable players to retrieve Donald Duck and bring him back to the Valley. However, one problem in Disney Dreamlight Valley that many adventurers might have is that they need help finding this special plant required for the spell. If the plant is not collected, players will not be able to progress this important Story Quest further.

To find the plant from the Dark Grove in Disney Dreamlight Valley, players must reenter the portal to the dimension where they discovered Donald Duck's feather. The portal will always spawn the player protagonist facing a specific direction into the green mist ahead.

Wreck-It Ralph is now 10 years old. While its sequel was a gigantic, sloppy mess of internet references, the original holds up as one of the better takes on the mega crossover subgenre. Hence even though the movie’s characters of Ralph and Felix (John C. Reilly and Jack MacBrayer) are pastiches of Donkey Kong and Mario, their world (or minimized multiverse?) is full of many pre-existing characters from real video games. Folks like Q*Bert and Dig Dug pop up as either supporting players or background dressing.

Of course, the biggest use of the crossover plot device is Bad Anon, a support group for video game villains that bookends the movie. Ralph bares his soul there to his various counterparts from different games. Some of them are legit video game characters like Neff from Altered Beast and Clyde from Pac-Man. Then you get the legally distinct types like Cyborg and Shinobi,...

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences on Tuesday morning announced the nominations for the inaugural Children’s & Family Emmy Awards, which will be presented on Saturday, Dec. 10 (Creative Arts) and Sunday, Dec. 11 at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles.

Disney+’s The Mysterious Benedict Society and the movie Sneakerella lead the pack with 11 nominations each, followed by HBO Max’s Sesame Street (with 10) and Netflix’s Heartstopper and Sweet Tooth (which netted nine apiece).

More from TVLineAn Open Letter to Kit ConnorHeartstopper's Kit Connor Comes Out as Bisexual, Says He Was Forced by Misguided Fans of the...

2023 is going to be a big year for Nintendo, with tons of high-profile exclusives, Aaa third-party releases, and sequels to indie favorites. It's also going to be a year that Nintendo needs as well. As the supply chain issues have lessened and more next-gen consoles like the PS5 and Xbox X were able to hit stores, their sales have skyrocketed, so Nintendo needs a good round of hit games to prove that their 2017 console, the Switch, is still a viable contender.

While technically last-gen, the Switch's innovative features and focus on couch co-op have kept the console going strong in the 9th generation, and with a bevy of excellent games on the horizon, there's no sign of the console slowing down in 2023.

Disney Illusion Island (Tbd)

The Switch has proven something unexpected: platforming games are still beloved. Since the 3D era emerged in the late 90s, many gamers argued that...

A new update for Disney Dreamlight Valley has introduced a myriad of changes and improvements, including one that addresses Donald Duck's rampant anger issues. Although currently only available in paid early access, Disney Dreamlight Valley has already achieved massive popularity since it released last month. There's currently no timeline for a final release of the game, but there are already several big updates planned for the game.

Disney Dreamlight Valley sees players take up residence in the eponymous town of Dreamlight Valley, which has been left in shambles after an event called The Forgetting. The tragedy led to many beloved Disney characters fleeing back to their home worlds, and it's up to players to convince them to return to Dreamlight Valley through various quests. Players can unlock characters like Elsa, Moana, Minnie Mouse, and Donald Duck and live alongside them, building up friendships with them after they take up residence in town.

While Christmas might have beaten out Halloween in sheer quantity of televised specials, in my eyes, it was always the latter that reigned supreme in quality. Chief amongst my October rituals was plotting out what nights I had to be planted firmly in front of our television set to make sure I caught all my favorites. Whether it be Charlie Brown, Garfield or simply a themed episode of a sitcom that happened to be on, regardless of my familiarity with the thing, if it was Halloween oriented, I was in.

Those were days devoid of streaming options, my viewing habits dictated entirely by the TV Guide and sporadic trips to the video store. Still, it was the convenience (or inaccessibility) of any given program’s airtime that had the biggest impact of what I was or wasn’t able to see. As we didn’t have a Vcr that could record,...

New York, NY— October 13, 2022 — Across The Walt Disney Company next year, Disney 100 Years of Wonder will honor and showcase the rich legacy of storytelling and immersive experiences that have been a hallmark of Disney since its founding on October 16, 1923. Disney’s 100th anniversary will be celebrated around the globe, and Marvel Comics will be marking the occasion with a special monthly DISNEY100 Variant Cover Program featuring Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and more.

The variant program in honor of Disney100 will celebrate Marvel’s past, present, and future through the classic “What If” lens with a fantastic reimagining of Marvel’s most classic comic book covers. These first-of-its-kind art pieces will see Disney’s iconic characters immersed in the magic of Marvel storytelling as they pay homage to legendary moments in the Marvel Comics mythos, including Captain America assembling Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Avengers #4, as well as...

"Poltergeist" is a cinematic Rorschach test. Which scene was scarier, the maggoty meat or the evil clown doll? What does the film say about the values of 1980s American suburbia? Most importantly of all, did Tobe Hooper direct the film, or did producer Steven Spielberg do it on the sly? Director Mick Garris insists it was Hooper, but "Poltergeist" camera assistant John R. Leonetti says Spielberg. Film critic Scout Tafoya claims in "Cinemaphagy," his book covering Hooper's film career, that "Poltergeist" is Hooper's movie but has some distinctly Speilbergian touches.

There is another "Poltergeist" that never quite came into being. Early in the film's production, Spielberg decided that he needed help writing the script. In search of a horror expert, he turned to Stephen King, whose works at the time were tearing up the country's bestseller charts. King was away at the time, and by the time he returned, Spielberg had moved on.

Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products released each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

Halloween III Mini Masks from Fright-Rags

Have a happy, happy Halloween with Fright-Rags’ Halloween III: Season of the Witch mini masks based on the iconic skull, pumpkin, and witch masks from the film, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary.

Designed by John Tatarelli Jr., each vacuform plastic mask is approximately 6” tall and comes in its own window box with art by Kyle Crawford. Sold as a set for 60, they’re limited to 2,000.

Gigan Apron & Glove Set from Toho

Are you a monster in the kitchen? In honor of Godzilla vs. Gigan’s 50th anniversary, Toho made a Gigan apron and glove set based on the fan-favorite kaiju. It’s ￥6,600 — approximately 46 — straight from Japan, but international shipping is available.

It’s a good time to be a Disney fan. This summer alone, the entertainment giant dropped dozens of highly anticipated titles — some of which have been in the works for years.

There was the return of “Obi Wan Kenobi” at the end of May; “Ms. Marvel” in June; and come fall, we’ll be gifted with long-awaited sequels like the Sarah Jessica Parker-helmed “Hocus Pocus 2” and Amy Adams’ “Disenchanted”.

Despite all the exciting developments slated for the rest of 2022, it’s never too late to celebrate the classics. To hold you over, shop through some of the best Disney merch on the market right now, inspired by your favorite films and characters — from the new “Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook” to an “Aladdin”-inspired diamond jewelry collection.

‘Hocus Pocus’ Funko Pop

Celebrate the anticipated “Hocus Pocus 2,” in which Sarah Jessica Parker will reprise her role as Sarah,...

Disney fans young and old love a great adventure with Mickey Mouse and the gang. Over the years, Mickey and pals have headlined a variety of shows, each taking viewers on fun and fantastical adventures. The gang’s latest television hit is the Disney Junior animated series, “Mickey Mouse Funhouse.”

Mickey and the gang find the magic funhouse, Funny, in the woods. When Funny calls to them, they each hop in a car to race to their old clubhouse from “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.” From there the gang attaches their cars together to create the “Floaty Coaster” to fly to the funhouse. Funny then lets the gang choose between three themed doors for their adventure. The gang is then transported to a new destination and ready to solve any problem they might face. They come across friends, old and new, and Funny comes along too, morphing into different shapes to fit in.

Click here to read the full article.

As more and more media conglomerates shift their business models to subscription streaming platforms, the borderlines between “film” and “television” continue to dissolve. Methods of distribution are no longer concretely disparate as studio-made feature-length films now often debut exclusively on streaming sites and many TV creators describe their shows as “10-hour-long movies.” These newly permeable boundaries are rendering the taxonomies of awards season just plain weirder than ever.

Case in point: the utter grab bag that is the Emmy category for this year’s outstanding television movie, which has washed-up cartoon chipmunks competing against Auschwitz survivors. I suppose Emmy voters took the term “television” seriously, as most of the nominations center around cult-favorite TV wrap-ups and reboots. The lineup, quite frankly, is a bit bonkers.

First, there’s Disney+’s Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, an omnisatirical family comedy mystery based on a...

Hiroyuki Sanada is a true legend.

Even if you don’t know his name and haven’t memorized his filmography, his presence on screen elevates whatever he’s in. And he can make the most of even a fleeting appearance, like his cameo in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” as a mob boss who is taken down by Jeremy Renner’s Ronin.

In his latest project, David Leitch’s “Bullet Train,” in theaters now, he puts all of that legendary energy into his role as The Elder, one of the many mysterious figures who board a Japanese bullet train. Starring alongside Brad Pitt, he nonetheless steals every scene he’s in, which is somewhat fitting for a man that “Lost” co-creator and showrunner Damon Lindelof once referred to as the Japanese Harrison Ford.

Sanada will next be seen in 2023’s “John Wick: Chapter 4,” after being courted for a villainous role in...

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has built its brand on connections: one film introduces a character who spins off into their own movie; a streaming series sets up a new star who cameos in another show; a mob of characters team-up in a group film and everything eventually leads to the current saga’s conclusion. And while the increasing web of link-ups across Marvel Studios’ various projects can be exciting for fans to unpack, for those who find it intimidating or exhausting, the studio’s new animated series “I Am Groot” offers a welcome reprieve.

“I Am Groot” stars Vin Diesel as Groot himself, a bizarre tree-like alien that can only say the titular phrase. Introduced in the MCU via James Gunn’s 2014 sci-fi comedy “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the original Groot sacrificed his life to save his best friend Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and the rest of the Guardians. But from his body,...

If you've sailed on Disney Cruise Line's Disney Dream or Disney Fantasy ships, you're probably familiar with the AquaDuck, a water coaster that winds high above the vessels' upper decks. For its newest ship, the Disney Wish, the company has retained this popular ride's splashy thrills but sprinkled it with a bit more Imagineering pixie dust to deliver the AquaMouse. The result is what Disney's hyping as the "First Disney attraction at sea." I recently donned my swim trunks during a media preview of the Wish, and took the AquaMouse for a test run to find out what separates it from its Donald Duck-inspired predecessor.

For starters,...

The post How AquaMouse Became the First Disney Attraction at Sea appeared first on /Film.

Alongside other adored Disney characters like Donald Duck, Pluto, and Goofy, Mickey Mouse continues to entertain his fans in the recently-released Disney+ special The Wonderful Summer of Mickey Mouse. The iconic cartoon character is Disney's most recognizable personality, appearing in countless merchandise, attractions, shows, and movies since his debut in 1928.

Mickey Mouse has also made a lot of appearances in video games, both as the protagonist and as a side character. Due to his popularity across generations, a poll on Ranker seeks to find out the best video games featuring the beloved Disney character.

Scary but true, Deadpool 2 could arrive under the Disney banner. But we doubt a lick of it will be changed. Ryan Reynolds has channeled his inner Wade Wilson while weighing in on this possible merger between Disney and Twentieth Century Fox. Speculation about the merger has reached fever pitch, with many insiders predicting that the deal can be finalized as early as next week. This has prompted some excitement and fear among the hardcore Marvel fans. On one hand, we could possibly see some X-Men crossover in the McU, which fans have wanted to see since the inception of the true Marvel movie universe. On the other hand, many are concerned that Disney would try and sanitize characters like Deadpool.

Ryan Reynolds took to Twitter to poke some fun at the idea of the possibly pending merger by contrasting the difference between Deadpool and Disney's mascot. Reynolds retweeted a story...

Pink is opening up about her "very label-less household."

In a new interview with The Sunday People, the "What About Us" singer gets candid about life at home with her husband, Carey Hart, and their two children, daughter Willow, 6, and Jameson, 11 months. She reveals that she's raising their kids as gender neutral.

"I was in a school and the bathroom outside the kindergarten said, 'Gender Neutral – anybody,' and it was a drawing of many different shapes," the 38-year-old singer recalls. "I took a picture of it and I wrote, 'Progress.' I thought that was awesome. I love that kids are having this conversation."

Pink continues on, telling the outlet she and Willow have already had plenty of their own conversations on gender neutrality. In fact, Pink says she sees herself as a pre-teen boy.

"I do bake sales and lemonade stands. I take my kid to school and try to get there on time," she says...

President Donald Trump has always taken pride in his Twitter following of more than 40 million people. But now, former President Barack Obama is here to remind you that he has more than double the followers.

Without naming any names, Obama appeared to subtly shade his Twitter-obsessed successor during a leadership forum in New Delhi, India, on Friday, where he noted: “I’ve got 100 million Twitter followers. I actually have more than other people who use it more often.”

(For the record, Obama has around 97 million Twitter followers while Trump has 44 million.)

Obama also touched on his Twitter habits, which read...

New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio won a second term a few weeks ago — despite, as it turns out, having some pretty famous competition.

A list of all the people who received votes in the 2017 N.Y.C. mayoral election was released by the city’s Board of Elections on Wednesday, and it has a few familiar names on it. Quite a few, in fact: Though there was a lighter turnout for this year’s mayoral election than in years past, The New York Times reported that there were more write-in votes than ever.

And it turns out there are...