ABC pays tribute to the wonderful world of Disney
ABC will be airing Disney favorites this summer every Saturday evening. John Goodman, the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, and Jamie Lee Curtis are just a few of the special guest hosts who will be hosting these “movie nights.”
From the looks of the schedule, ABC is showing mostly newer Disney films. While I love films like Monsters Inc., I wish ABC would pay tribute to the older Disney movies like Robin Hood, The Sword in the Stone, and Cinderella.
I have the full schedule after the jump. The Disney extravaganza starts this coming Saturday, June 14th.
MONSTERS, INC. SATURDAY, JUNE 14 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET) — John Goodman (voice of Sulley, Monsters, Inc.) is hosting the evening with a celebration of Pixar, showing five Pixar animation shorts along with all of the Pixar-themed attractions at the Disney parks. The broadcast premiere of the Pixar animation shorts will include the Academy Award-winning “For the Birds” and the Academy Award-nominated shorts “Luxo Jr.,” “Lifted,” “Mike’s New Car,” as well as the Hugo Award-nominated “Jack-Jack Attack.”
CAMP ROCK SATURDAY, JUNE 21 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET) Jonas Brothers are hosting the evening with a special Cheetah Girls behind-the-scenes segment and their “One World” music video, a sneak peek at “High School Musical: Get in the Picture” and an exclusive “Making of the Jonas Brothers Burnin’ Up” segment, as well as the premiere of the “Burnin’ Up” music video from their new album, “A Little Bit Longer.”
THE HAUNTED MANSION SATURDAY, JUNE 28 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) Miley Cyrus (”Hannah Montana”) hosts a short segment featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the making of her new music video for “7 Things.” Then Miley and music video director Brett Ratner introduce the video.
THE PRINCESS DIARIES 2: THE ROYAL ENGAGEMENT SATURDAY, JULY 12 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) A short segment featuring the Walt Disney classic, Sleeping Beauty, and a behind-the-scenes look at the film’s restoration will be presented in coordination with the 50th Anniversary 2-Disc Platinum Disney DVD & Blu-ray Disc.
FREAKY FRIDAY SATURDAY, JULY 19 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) — Jamie Lee Curtis (Tess Coleman, Freaky Friday) will host the evening and discuss her new film, Beverly Hills Chihuahua.
PETER PAN SATURDAY, AUGUST 2 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) Raven-Symon (”That’s So Raven” & “College Road Trip”) is hosting the evening, which features an exclusive sneak peek and a behind-the-scenes look at the all-new original film Tinker Bell, releasing on Disney DVD & Blu-ray Disc this fall. For the first time in history Tinker Bell will speak, and Raven-Symon fills the illuminating role of Iridessa, a light fairy.
See what I mean? They’re showing Peter Pan which is a classic but other than that, they just have a segment of Sleeping Beauty (and it’s for a promo anyway).
Beat Ben @ the Box Office: Can Speed Racer Go?
Speed Racer hits theaters this weekend, and despite some of the most amazing visual effects in the history of the movies, it'll be tough for the latest TV show-turned-movie to find a huge audience.
One problem: The younger kids that the film's geared toward aren't too familiar the stars (Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman) or the '60s anime series. Beyond that, Racer has to deal with Iron Man's second weekend. Even if Robert Downey Jr.'s red-hot hero flick falls off 50 percent (which would be huge), it'd still make $50 million. So look for Speed to clock in at No. 2 this weekend with $41 million.
Think I'm wrong? Want to race me for the right answer? Drop a comment below, and I'll see you Monday at the finish line.
Do you plan to see Speed Racer? - VIDEO
I enjoyed Speed Racer when I was a kid. I haven’t seen it in 25 years or so and I’d probably be horrified now by what my youthful tastes were back then, but I remember liking the race scenes and what the car could do. I remember wanting my first car to be one that would have buzzsaws come out of the front and a big lever that would come down underneath the car that would make it jump over other cars. That last feature doesn’t seem like it would work to me, now that I think about it as an adult.
Anyway, the live-action version with Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, and Matthew Fox opens this Friday. And the early buzz is that it’s not going to do as well as they were hoping it would.
Industry analysts say it might do OK, but that Iron Man just might be the #1 film for the second week in a row (oh, wouldn’t it be great to go back to a time when the public didn’t know or care about the box office winners and losers?). Personally, I think the film looks hideous and headache-inducing, so overdone and relentless. What is it about animation done with computers that makes me hate it so much? Give me a cartoon or real-life action. This is between stuff just annoys me.
I’m also a little antsy about big-screen adaptations of TV shows. And that antsy-ness (?) increases by 50% when it’s a live-action adaptation of a cartoon.
Some more spinoffs I’d like to see
When one of our favorite TV shows goes off the air, it can be devastating. However, many times, the cancellation is the birth of a spinoff. Sometimes it can be a great thing (Frasier) and sometimes not so much (AfterM*A*S*H). Here are some this month’s spinoff ideas that I would love to see.
McCormack & Van Lowe: At Your Service
When Keith Mars becomes sheriff of Neptune and his daughter Veronica joins the FBI, Vinnie Van Lowe emerges as the county’s number one private detective. His new caseload is so overwhelming and his moral compass is so out of whack that he’s forced to employ attorney Cliff McCormack on a permanent basis. Together with the help of their excitable intern (Alia Shawkat), they bring their distinctive style of crime-solving to the citizens of Neptune.
Adventures with Oz
After finally accepting that his ex-girlfriend Willow has “gone girl,” Oz Osbourne settles down in Washington and does his best to come to terms with his lycanthropic tendencies. Finding an underground support group for recovering monsters, led by a reanimated corpse (Bill Fagerbakke), he does his best to make it big in the grunge scene of Seattle.
Mr. Seaborn Goes Back to Washington
When Sam Seaborn left Washington, D.C. to run for office in Orange County, CA, he left a huge gap that could only filled by him. After a successful term in the O.C., Sam returns to D.C. as the newest Senator from California. Unfortunately, nothing could prepare him for the abrasiveness of Speaker Glenallen Walken (John Goodman) and his loose cannon of an aide (Lori Petty).
Grace & Zoe
After the Manning girls graduated from high school, their parents Jake and Lily gave them a choice. They could live with their mother Lily and her new husband Rick in Chicago or they could move to New York with their father Jake and his child-bride, Tiffany. Deciding it was time to shake things up, they choose to hop a plane to Australia to see the world from the other side. With a little help from their landlady, Gretchen (Kristen Johnston) they live the life they had previously only seen in Paul Hogan films.
Frank Kowchevski: Truant Officer
When math teacher Frank Kowchevski becomes fed up with teaching slackers how to find the area of a rectangle, he decides to make a change in career to try and make a difference. Taking a position as the district’s head truant officer, he fights to keep kids on the straight and narrow. Since this job is too big for one man, Frank enlists the help of high school senior Bill Haverchuck (Martin Starr) to translate what “the kids” are talking about.