HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: kimp@rpi.edu (Phil Kim)
Subject: Aladdin review (from Us)
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 22:43:17 GMT

From Us magazine (December 1992, No. 179):

				*** 1/2
				Aladdin
			Featuring Robin Williams
			Directed by John Musker
			    & Ron Clements

The first thing we learn from Aladdin, the Disney studio's newest
animated feature, is that Beauty and the Beast was a miraculous
achievement.  It was more than a mere cartoon: It was a majestic fairy
tale, a touching love story and the best musical in years.  Aladdin is
none of that.  It leapfrogs back to the pleasantries of conventional
Disney fare, falling somewhere between The Little Mermaid and The
Jungle Book.  Even the cutesy animals have reasserted themselves.
(Somehow, cute teacups were far more appealing.)  The movie speeds
through the story of Aladdin and his magic lamp at a manic pace -- one
that doesn't have much time for warm romantic musings or, most
disappointingly, good songs.  The music -- which includes the last
works by the team of Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman -- is
given astoundingly short shrift.  None of the production numbers are
mounted with the proper sense of moment or crescendo, not when you
compared them with knockouts like "Be Our Guest."  Then again, once
you realize that Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin are in different
leagues, comparing them begins to seem unfair.  On its own terms,
Aladdin is a great diversion, the kind of family film that pleases --
and respects -- both children and their parents.  Although the plot is 
ostensibly about Aladdin and his princess, every scene is stolen by 
the supporting players -- especially Robin Williams as the voice of 
the genie.  Williams is one man who was born to be animated.  Watching 
him pitch and whirl in real life, it can sometimes seem like he's 
shifting shape.  Here, he actually gets to transform with each new 
line of dialogue.  Before he's through, his big blue genie becomes a 
game-show host, a Borscht Belt comic, and an entertainment magazine's 
worth of celebrities (I counted Groucho, Arsenio, Ed Sullivan, William 
F. Buckley, Jack Nicholson and Rodney Dangerfield before losing 
track.)  Williams is a great natural resource; his participation is 
what sets this film apart.  Of course, Aladdin features plenty of 
sidelong animation highlights: the glittering desert sand, the flying 
carpet scenes and one fantastic crowd effect.  The script contains a 
surprising abundance of irreverent humor (there's even one hilarious 
reference to the Disney studio's zeal for self-promotion), and the 
mood is always zippy and upbeat.  For Disney, lightning may not have 
struck twice, but Aladdin has a brightness of its own.

Note: Us Review Ratings
*****	Excellent
 ****	Very good
  ***	Good
   **	Fair
    *	Poor
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
From: markj@iplmail.orl.mmc.com (Mark Jones)
Subject: Mickey's Christmas Party (was Re: WDW neophyte)
Organization: Martin Marietta
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 15:57:45 GMT

Stan writes:
|> Kenan Akfirat writes:
|> > Please advise as to which guide book is best for purchase for WDW?  I'll be 
|> > there during December 17-23.  Any advice about WDW during this period?  
|> > Special events, crowds, what to see in four days, etc.?
|> > 
|> > Will be staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort, and will have a rental car.
|> > 
|> > Thanks in advance for your help.
|> 
|> The Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party will be on 12/11, 12/12 and 12/19. If
|> you want to go to this I suggest you get your tickets early as they may be sold
|> out by the time you get there. You can call WDW information at (407) 824-4321 (
|> I think that is the number). You can have the tickets shipped to you.
|> 
|>    BTW this party is a special ticketed event and runs from 8:00PM to 1:00AM.
|> We went a couple of years ago and will be returning again this year. If you are
|> close to a Disney Store, pick up one of the flyers on the party or call WDW
|> information. I remembered I liked the party but right now I can't rember all of
|> the specifics. One things I do recall is the photo they take of the guests.
|> They print it and mail it to you about a week or two later. Nice photo even
|> though I was soooo cold and it shows in the photo.
|> 
|> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

   
   Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is a great and very fun event.  
Last year, the admission included: 
   -- a family photo
   -- a Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party button (picked up when you 
      have your photo)
   -- free Christmas cookies, punch and hot chocolate at various locations
      throughout the MK.
   -- Use of all MK attractions (all attractions were open except those 
      normally closed at night (i.e. keel boats, Tom's Sawyer's Island, etc...))
   -- Christmas Parade
   -- and other events I can not remember.

My wife and I had a blast last year.  There seemed to be a lot of people in
the park, but the attractions did not have very long wait times.  Though the
party is only 5 hours long, we were able to see the parade and catch our 
favorite attractions.  GET YOUR TICKETS EARLY!  THE PARTIES WILL SELL OUT!!
I believe the price for adults this year is $20.95 advance purchase
                                            $24.95 at the gate

Have a Disney day!

**********************************************************************************
Disclaimer: The views expressed are my own and not of the Coporation's.
**********************************************************************************
Mark A. Jones                          Martin Marietta Electronic Systems
mark-jones@orl.mmc.com                 Orlando, FL
**********************************************************************************
Matt 28: 16 - 20
**********************************************************************************

Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
From: ad198@yfn.ysu.edu (Carl Landis)
Subject: Re: WDW neophyte
Reply-To: ad198@yfn.ysu.edu (Carl Landis)
Organization: St. Elizabeth Hospital, Youngstown, OH
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 15:21:42 GMT


In a previous article, akfirat@husc9.Harvard.EDU (Kenan Akfirat) says:

>Please advise as to which guide book is best for purchase for WDW?  I'll be there during December 17-23.  Any advice about WDW during this period?  Special events, crowds, what to see in four days, etc.?
>
>Will be staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort, and will have a rental car.


We found Steve Birnbaum's guide very helpful.  However, since he has
died in the past few years, some material may be outdated.  Some of
it is basic, though, and still applies.  Yoaur local public library
may have it.  Have a BLAST!

-Carl
From: bd670@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Russell I. Dyreng)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: Re: Closed attractions - December?????????
Date: 18 Nov 1992 23:46:20 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


wiehn@gdc.com (John Wiehn) writes:

>Does anyone know what will closed for repairs at WDW in Early 
>December???
>
>I still haven't made it to the Haunted Mansion -- Always seems 
>to be closed for repairs...........
>
>John Wiehn
>EMAIL: WIEHN@EVAX.GDC.COM

I called WDW with that same question a few weeks ago.  They
told me that the only attractions scheduled to be down during
that time are....(drumroll please)..... The Walt Disney Story
and Mission to Mars.

I was a little bit surprised at the answer that they gave me,
since at Disneyland something is almost always shut down during
the off-season.  I asked the lady if she was sure.  She said
that she was.  I was about skeptical, but hey, in 19 days I'll 
find out first hand.

-- 
Russ
bd670@cleveland.freenet.edu
Remember-any advice that I give you may be worth exactly what
you paid for it.
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
From: mangieri@asd2.jsc.nasa.gov
Subject: Re: Closed attractions - December?????????
Organization: NASA/JSC
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 16:25:50 GMT

In article <1992Nov19.231421.10934@u.washington.edu>
mousktr@carson.u.washington.edu (Denise "Apple Lady" Lockner) writes:
>In article <1992Nov19.195228.4988@aio.jsc.nasa.gov> mangieri@asd2.jsc.nasa.gov
writes:
>>In article <1eekkcINNn3s@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> bd670@cleveland.Freenet.Edu
>>(Russell I. Dyreng) writes:
>>>
>>>told me that the only attractions scheduled to be down during
>>>that time are....(drumroll please)..... The Walt Disney Story
>>>and Mission to Mars.
>>
>>Hmmm, just 2 weeks ago they also told me that Carousel (sp?)
>>of Progress would also be shut down.
>>
>IS THIS A JOKE?????
>
>I HOPE so.
>
>Why is it people forget that the Carousel of Progress died circa 1976
>(to be replaced by "America Sings [Sang]" , which also died in 1988)??
>My roommate, who worked Star Tours, used to complain about the numerous
>guests who would inquire about the attraction.  It's the only attraction
>I know of at Disneyland that the public JUST WON'T LET REST IN PEACE.
>It's odd because NOBODY I know of EVER asks about the "old" Fantasyland
>(it was rebuilt in 1984- I think) with the Pirate Ship, etc. It's JUST
>the Carousel of Progress.
>
>I think it's safe to say that the CoP will, in fact, be closed for 
>Xmas.
>
>-Denise

If some wires got crossed on this subject, I was referring
to the COP at WDW.
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
From: krol@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Ed Krol)
Subject: Re: Wdw Employee Falls, Di
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 05:41:59 GMT

Ed.Sterrett@f166.n363.z1.fidonet.org (Ed Sterrett) writes:

>Should have been "death by stupidity".
> 
>  The wall he was sitting on is just over 4 ft high.. just below 
>shoulder level..  NOTHING on the other side of it but open air.. no 
>ledge, no nothing except a long way down.  The wall is that high for a 
>purpose.. to discourage stupid people from climbing on top of it.
> 
>  Tis true, the hardest thing to protect people from is themselves.
> 
One can certainly argue that this might have been good for the
gene pool, but my other fear is the fear of lawsuit.  As this
was reported in the Orlando Papers, there was no sign warning
of danger on the wall.  Right Disney just spent the money to build
the wall for its own health.
From: heiss@gdc.com (Mark Heiss)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: Re: Thurl Ravenscroft
Date: 19 Nov 92 13:48:24 GMT
Reply-To: heiss@gdc.com
Organization: General DataComm, Middlebury CT


Put on your Disney thinking caps on this one...

Wasn't Thurl Ravenscroft the voice of Big Al in the original 
Country Bear Jamboree singing "Blood On the Saddle"? 

Sorry if I don't remember the characters names, but after the 
announcer refers to the rotund female bear (the one with the 
wine glass) as a "Big Star", I can still hear Thurl Ravenscroft's
voice saying "That ain't all that's big". 

Any comments?

Mark.
From: genie@soda.berkeley.edu (Jeannie Yang)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: Need help on Disney cartoons
Date: 18 Nov 1992 19:01:25 GMT
Organization: U.C. Berkeley, CS Undergraduate Association
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: soda.berkeley.edu


	I will be doing a paper for one of my anthropology classes 
on the stylistic changes in Disney cartoons over the years, and I was 
wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to how the cartoons have changed.
I thought about how they have integrated the latest computer graphics stuff
into "Beauty and the Beast", and how the females characters started to 
have their own mind, i.e. Snow White waited for her prince to come, Rose 
(in Sleeping Beauty) was saved by the prince, whereas Belle saved Beast.
I have not seen Alladin yet, though.  I need more ideas, since the ones above
are definitely not enough for a 7-8 page paper.  Please post, or e-mail
me at genie@soda.  Thanks in advance!!!  (This paper is due on Dec. 4)

-- 
					|      "An archaeologist will date
	    Jeannie Yang  <:0)		|  any old thing."
	genie@soda.berkeley.edu		|                 ---a bumper sticker
    Department of Anthropology, UCB	|           spotted by Dr. Meg Conkey
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney,rec.arts.animation
From: collins_w@cubldr.colorado.edu
Subject: re: Saban's Little Mermaid movie
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 11:08:46 GMT

In article <m0mqYx6-0000PCC@juts.ccc.amdahl.com>, rich.bellacera@amail.amdahl.com writes:
> > From: collins_w@cubldr.colorado.edu
> >    I came across a video cassette, "The Little Mermaid" from Starmaker.

> The names listed for the three starring roles are as follows for voice actors:
> 
>               Kiersten Bishopric - Marina
>               Thor Bishopric     - Fritz
   He did Prince Justin's voice in Saban's Little Mermaid series.
>               Ian Finley         - Prince
   He did Dudhlee's voice in Saban's series.


> Notice 'Marina' not 'Maria' uless the copy you watched has been re-editted.
   I haven't watched it yet, I got this information from the cassette
box. Maybe 'Maria' was a mis-print?

   Thanks for the information.


> This *is* the self-same movie I have been talking about which you are now
> referring to which included Fritz' Uncle Duke the whale (which is a bit of a
> stretch.  Wouldn't that be like saying Ronald Reagan is a Monkey's Uncle?).
   Here is some additional information from the cassette box: "The Little
Mermaid" from Starmaker. 1989 & 1978. 71min. Does this match your copy?


> This movie version *is* the version that Saban's serial is based on.  I would
   They sound very different (except for the two common voice actors).
The picture on the front of Starmaker's cassette doesn't look anything
like Saban's Marina. Starmaker's mermaid has a blue tail. Saban's
Marina has a dark-green tail, with a lighter-green section above her
waist, which also extends into the front of her tail. I will have to
watch the movie to be able to make any further comparisons between the
two (one of these days I'll get around to watching it :-) ).


> assume that Saban was quick to purchase the rights to this movie to profit on
> the phenomenal success of Disney's con-current theater etended run of it's own
> version. I witnessed this even in my home town.  Children walking through the
> supermarkets and malls with there parents spotted the video versions of the
> Marina Little Mermaid (which had suddenly flooded the marketplace) and naively
> assumed it was Disney's version.  Many disappointed children and parents found
   I have seen a lot of this for many different movies. The consumer will
have to be very careful to make sure he gets the one he wants.

   Another problem with items looking the same is the cassette & CD
versions of the Disney soundtracks. They look almost identical. Someone
in a hurry may pick the wrong one (if they don't look at the back of
the package). Be aware of this.

> out too late that they had *not* purchased Disney's version (since it had not
> yet been released on video).
   Saban even has an Aladdin video cassette out now!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|				  Neil Collins				      |
| For email responses, please say the mail is "For Neil" on the subject line. |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: andyi@world.std.com (Andy G Ihnatko)
Subject: Re: Beauty and the Beast inconsistencies...
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 04:35:29 GMT

cs64fad@sdcc8.ucsd.edu (Robert Cook) writes:

>Thinking of that scene, I wonder why Beast died so easily because of
>the knife wound in his side.  Any serious wound could be fatal for a
>variety of reasons, but he had just been shot in the back with an
>arrow!  It didn't seem to bother him at all after the initial pain.
>Granted, this is possible, but unlikely.


If you look at that scene, you'll see that the arrow is only buried about an
inch or so into Beast's back, suggesting that he's been hit in a shoulder
blade (sketches of Beast's skeleton show BIG shoulder blades, so it's
plausible) and besides, the arrow has fallen out by the next scene.  OTOH,
Gaston buried a foot-long knife into Beast's belly right
to the hilt, and if Beast's vital organs are where they appear to be, he'd
be one dead anthropomorph in very short order.

-- Andy Ihnatko
   andyi@world.std.com
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
From: frazier@elf.etsu.edu (Jeff Frazier)
Subject: Re: "Belle" parody & testing II
Reply-To: frazier@elf.etsu.edu (Jeff Frazier)
Organization: East Texas State University, Commerce, TX
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 21:33:04 GMT

I missed it also, could someone send me a copy too.

Thanx,

Jeff Frazier (frazier@elf.etsu.edu)
From: chuq@Apple.COM (Eeyore's Evil Twin)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: Re: BatB Ballroom scene
Date: 17 Nov 92 00:13:57 GMT
Organization: Pooh Corner Country Club -- A Planned Community

chuq@Apple.COM (Eeyore's Evil Twin) writes:

>According to the guy I talked to up at Disney, the ballroom scene was hand
>painted, not computer rendered. Since his name was on the credits, I guess I
>have to believe him (hard to. I was blown away, too)

If I could only read english, I would have realized that what I said was the
opposite of what he told me. Oops. My apologies for the screwup.

-- 
            Chuq "IMHO" Von Rospach, ESD Support & Training (DAL/AUX)
                      Member, SFWA =+= Editor, OtherRealms
                chuq@apple.com | GEnie: MAC.BIGOT | ALink:CHUQ 

    I wanna drive the zamboni! I wanna drive the zamboni, yes I do.
From: jp4x+@andrew.cmu.edu (Jason S. Peltz)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: Re: ALADDIN @ BK
Date: 23 Nov 92 01:05:41 GMT
Organization: Junior, Art, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

Burger King is selling an Aladdin calendar for $1.  Excellent images, 
in what appears to be in wide screen.  Can't beat the price,  plus they
will be having other Aladdin tie ins in the near future.

Jason

jp4x
From: shay@cs.widener.edu (Norene Shay)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: A few questions before I visit ....
Date: 23 Nov 92 02:11:04 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Widener University Department of Computer Science, Chester PA
NNTP-Posting-Host: ashley.cs.widener.edu

Hi fellow Disney lovers:

   I will be visting Disneyworld the week following New Year's Day and
I have started planning my itinerary.

     I had a few questions that I know somebody out there has to know
the answers to:

	1)  What time does the "Dinosaurs (from that great hit series
on ABC) show" at MGM start? (Somebody told me that this show only
happens once a day ... and I don`t want to miss it!!!!!!)


	2) How do I go about making reservations for the Sci-Fi Diner?
Does anyone know a number that I can call to either call the Diner
directly or is there a general number that I can call to get the
number for the Sci-Fi?


	3) Somebody else mentioned the "Hoop de doo review" (where is
this held and what exactly is it?) ...it sounded very interesting .. does
anyone know if I need to make reservations well in advance or are
reservations not that necessary until I get there?  Also, what is the
actual price?


	4) Also, I haven't been to Disney for about 10 years ... one
of my friend told me that the "Bear Jamboree" (which was an attraction
in Frontier Land (i think) in the Kingdom ) was no longer there ... is
this true?


 

 
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
From: es1@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Ethan Solomita)
Subject: Re: ALADDIN!!!!! WoW!
Organization: Columbia U., New York City
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 23:22:38 GMT
Reply-To: es1@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Ethan Solomita)
X-Posted-From: cunixb.cc.columbia.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: sol.ctr.columbia.edu

In article <BxxJKJ.37G@unix.amherst.edu> atzachar@unix.amherst.edu (Aladdin) writes:
>ICWFM@ASUACAD.BITNET wrote:
>> 
>> I've been waiting for an adventure/comedy.  Don't compare it to TLM
>> & B&TB, you can't, and who'd want to.
>
>Exactly!!  I will paraphrase a quote from, I believe, the Wall Street Journal
>which basically said, "With TLM, Disney scored.  With BatB, they hit a gold
>mine.  Now the question is:  Will "Aladdin" live up to its predecessors?  And
>the answer is:  WHO CARES?!!"  As I left the theatre, I inevitably heard
>people saying, "Hmmmmm, I don't know if I like it as much as BatB" or "Boy,
>that blew BatB out of the water!!"  They are movies of different genres.  The
>only thing that they have in commin is that they are both from Disney Feature
>animation (and Frank Welker has a voice in both).
> 
	Still, you can discuss how well the movie was done -- how
well it achieved its goals. B&TB was predominantly a romance
musical with comedy and a dark side thrown in. It more than
succeeded in being a great romance musical.

	My problem with Aladdin is that it didn't seem to know
what it wanted to be: Comedy, Romance, Adventure, Action. It had
a bit of each, but the one thing it had consistently was comedy.
It was definitely successful from the comedy perspective.

	Basically, it led to the movie being very enjoyable, but
it just didn't have that extra "accomplishment" that the ending
of B&TB had.
	-- Ethan


"I have never seen one of these in tact before... This is the
famous dead-sea tupperware"

	-- Robin Williams
From: cs64fad@sdcc8.ucsd.edu (Robert Cook)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: Re: Oliver and Co.
Date: 21 Nov 92 14:01:27 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego

In article <1992Nov20.193228.17090@gvl.unisys.com> miller@gvls1.gvl.unisys.com (Bruce J. Miller) writes:
>The man at Suncoast says that Oliver & Co has not yet been released on video.
>Can some one in the know verify this?  If it's true, has there been a
>release date announced?  All info greatfully appreciated.

I'm afraid it's true.  As far as I know, it hasn't even been
released theatrically in the U.K., and certainly not on video.  I
know of no plans.

Oliver made $53 million at the box office, a record for animated
features as of 1988.  I suspect that they're hoping for one good
re-release to the theaters before putting it on video, like they
did for The Great Mouse Detective.


- Robert Cook
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
From: dpm1960@tm0006.lerc.nasa.gov (snopes)
Subject: Re: Haunted Mansion Mark I
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: Will pay money for food.
Date: 20 Nov 1992 13:08 EST  

In article <1992Nov19.230115.15449@forte.com>, 
  steve@forte.com (Steve Langley) writes...

>I've often heard stories about how Walt saw the first (more or less
>completed) version of the Haunted Mansion and said "Nope, too scary.
>Start over". They left the exterior standing and gutted the interior,
>resulting in the current attraction. (This was supposed to be the reason
>the Haunted Mansion was opened so much later than the original estimates.)

Planning for the Haunted Mansion started about the time Disneyland first
opened.  It was originally conceived as a walk-through attraction, with a
(human) host taking visitors on a guided tour.  The project was put on the back
burner for a number of reasons (mostly because the World's Fair project took
precedence), and wasn't picked up again until several years later.  The
attraction wasn't changed from a walk-through to a ride-through because any
aspect of the original design was too "horrific"; it just naturally evolved
into a ride-through during the planning stages.  And no, the original Haunted
Mansion wasn't closed down and revamped shortly after opening because a
frightened guest suffered a heart attack.  The current attraction is pretty
much the way it's always been, with a few minor changes over the years.

 - snopes

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| "Eating live worms shows a total disregard for living things.  We take a    |
|  very dim view and just wish people could think of other ways to raise      | 
|  money."                                                                    |
|                                     - Noeline Tamplin, RSPCA spokeswoman    |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+