MICKEY AND FRIENDS 10 CLASSIC SHORTS VOLUME 2

My kids grew up watching the animated show Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the Disney Channel. Hot Diggity Dog! They loved the show's Hot Dog song and dance segments as preschoolers so much that I still catch them now they are teenagers being Goofy dancing around singing the song. Talking to them the other day, I realized that beyond knowing about Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Pluto and Goofy from that cable tv show, they weren't familiar with earlier Disney works that crafted these characters into the beloved pop cult icons we know today. So, I was geeked to learn that as part of Disney's 100 Year Celebration, many of the original short films that introduces these characters to the world are being re-released on Digital and Blu-ray.

Arriving April 4 on Digital and June 27th on Blu-ray/DVD is MICKEY & FRIENDS 10 CLASSIC SHORTS: VOLUME 2. This home entertainment video release includes a brand-new animated interstitials introduction featuring Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald, Goofy and Pluto, as the beloved Disney characters gather together to watch a slideshow on some of their hilarious past adventures. Then viewers can enjoy the hijinks of Mickey and his friends in ten classic animated shorts.

Celebrate 100 magical years of Disney with this collectible compilation of animated shorts! Join Mickey and his friends in these 10 hilarious, madcap adventures which have entertained generations of children and adults alike. Highlights include The Band Concert, where Maestro Mickey and his friends face wild challenges while performing outdoors. Then see what happens when Goofy is in the driver’s seat pulling Mickey’s Trailer. In Pluto’s Sweater, Pluto gets hot under the collar when Minnie knits him a warm turtleneck, and in Pluto and the Gopher, Pluto stops to smell the flowers, but finds himself outwitted by a mischievous rodent. And there’s no stopping Donald’s nephews from coming between their uncle and the lovely Daisy Duck when Mr. Duck Steps Out. Five more charming, funny stories complete this legacy collection that’s sure to delight.

The ten included shows within MICKEY & FRIENDS 10 CLASSIC SHORTS: VOLUME 2 are:

I'm looking forward to some quality family time sharing with my son and daughter the origins of Mickey Mouse and the fun situations he and his friends were involved in before their Mickey Mouse Clubhouse years. Hot Dog! 

LEGO introduces Classic Disney Minifigure Series

My kids love the blind bags that you can purchase at the store that contain a random LEGO minifigure and are always excited when I let them get one.  In fact they enjoy playing with these minifigures and the ones that came within the LEGO playsets they've gotten almost as much as they like building things with LEGO bricks.  Based upon how much my own children like minifigures, I'm pretty sure LEGO fans of all ages will appreciate that the toy company is launching a collection of Classic Disney character minifigures that can be purchased individually without having to buy a playset to get them beginning May 1, 2016.  I know my kids have often wanted to purchase individual DC Comics, Marvel and Star Wars LEGO minifigures but we couldn't get them without purchasing a specific playset so it is interesting that these characters are being made available for individual purchase and this is an opportunity you may not want to miss out on.

The available characters LEGO fans can pick up will include Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Daisy Duck.

Plus characters from classic 1950s Disney animated movies such as characters Alice and the Cheshire Cat from Wonderland, Peter Pan and Captain Hook from Neverland and villain Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty.

Some minifigures will also be available from more recent Disney animated movie releases such as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and  Lilo & Stitch.

Also never-before-seen in the LEGO world, Mr. Incredible and Syndrome from The Incredibles will be released as part of the Classic Disney minifigure collection.

Beginning May 1st these LEGO minifigures will be available at LEGO Stores and other toy retailers nationwide and online via shop.LEGO.com for $3.99 each.

JULY FIRST MARKS THE RETURN OF MICKEY MOUSE TO THE PAGES OF COMIC BOOKS

After being on hiatus since 2011, Mickey Mouse is returning to the pages of comic books on July 1, 2015 when IDW Publishing begins a monthly serial titled WALT DISNEY'S MICKEY MOUSE that will feature the beloved character in brand new adventures.  Mickey Mouse first appeared in his own comic book story in 1941 and over the years his stories have continued through a variety of publishers which all maintained continuity with issue numbering until the series culminated with Boom! Studios' Mickey Mouse #309.  In 2011 after acquiring Marvel, Disney opted not to renew its licensing agreement with Boom! Studios as it was determining how it was going to merge its new acquisition into its corporate family.  So there has been a void in comic books featuring Disney's Mickey Mouse and friends characters until this year when IDW Publishing picked up the license to bring them back to life in print.

The first issue of IDW's MICKEY MOUSE will hit stores on July 1, 2015 and will have duel numbering on its cover being billed as #1 (#310) highlighting the beginning of the series with the new publisher but maintaining the legacy of the overall continuation of stories featuring the character since the 1940s.  This new issue will feature Mickey Mouse in a jungle trek as he travels "The Lost Explorers' Trail" and has a run in with the daredevil Eurasia Toft during the adventure.  The comic book will be 48 pages, retail for $3.99 and be available in a primary jungle themed cover plus a variant one that celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Disney Land amusement park.

Mickey Mouse will be joining Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck, and Walt Disney's Comics & Stories as  Disney themed comic book series.  For more information, visit www.idwpublishing.com/disney-comics

Mickey Mouse & Friends Returning to Pages of Comic Books in 2015

There has been a lapse in comic books featuring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and their friends since BOOM STUDIOS released its last Walt Disney character based issue in 2011.  Good news for Disney fans, and parents who want to let younger children enjoy comic books that aren't violent or have a graphic nature to them, the adventures of Mickey and his friends will be returning to the printed page in 2015! IDW PUBLISHING has announced that beginning in April new monthly Walt Disney character based series will begin starting with UNCLE SCROOGE #1 which will feature tales of the iconic tycoon adventurer and uncle to the international celebrity known as Donald Duck (who will also be getting his own monthly series).

Other monthly comic book serials from IDW will include DONALD DUCK launching in May, followed by MICKEY MOUSE #1 in June, and WALT DISNEY'S COMICS & STORIES hits store shelves in July.  UNCLE SCROOGE #1, DONALD DUCK #1, MICKEY MOUSE NUMBER #1, and WALT DISNEY'S COMICS & STORIES #721 (this series will maintain the continuity of past publishers over the decades) will all be special premiere issues with 48 pages of content for $3.99.  Subsequent issues will be 40 pages for the same cover price as the #1 editions and shall feature a combination of reprints of classic comic book stories from previous publishers and brand new tales from the creative team at IDW.  Throughout 2015 there will also be a special variant cover published for each comic book based upon a monthly theme promoting a different section of the Disney theme parks including Epcot, FantasyLand, The Haunted Mansion, and TomorrowLand, among others.

It is interesting that Disney decided to license these comic books to a third-party publisher versus what was popularly assumed would happen and bring the titles in-house to Marvel.  IDW though has an excellent track record for producing quality publications and should do a fine job with these new comic books(with the one exception of TRANSFORMERS VS GI JOE which is one of the worst comic books I've ever read with both horrible art and writing) .  I am currently reading their STAR TREK/PLANET OF THE APES cross-over mini-series and FALL OF GI JOE monthly series, which is scripted by acclaimed military and science fiction author Karen Traviss, and have found both titles to be impressive.  So I'm looking forwarding to picking up some of these new Disney comic books for my six year old twins so they can practice their reading skills while enjoying adventures about these beloved Disney characters.  So which classic Walt Disney character is your favorite?  I'm a Goofy guy myself, while it is Mickey Mouse for my son, Minnie for my daughter, and my wife has an affection for Pluto.

Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse

You wouldn't know it by looking at him, but Mickey Mouse turned 86 years old today.  He made his official debut on November 18, 1928 appearing in the film "Steamboat Willie" and has been entertaining girls and boys of all ages ever since.  Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse!

In recognition of Mickey's birthday, here are a few fun facts provided to A GEEK DADDY blog from our friends at the Disney PR department:

• Walt initially named Mickey Mouse “Mortimer,” until Walt’s wife, Lily, suggested “Mickey” was a better choice.

• The short film “Steamboat Willie” was the first short starring Mickey Mouse released, but was actually the third created. The first two, “Plane Crazy” and “The Gallopin’ Gaucho,” initially failed to find distributors, but were picked up and released later.

• The first Mickey Mouse Club was formed by theater owner Harry Woodin in Los Angeles. On his own accord, Woodin devoted Saturday afternoons in his theater to showing only Mickey Mouse shorts and led children in a Mickey Mouse pledge. Walt later partnered with Woodin and spread the idea of Mickey Mouse Clubs to movie theaters across the nation.

• The first Mickey short in which Mickey spoke was “The Karnival Kid,” the ninth Mickey short, which was released in July 1929. His first words: “Hot dog!”

• Walt Disney wasn’t satisfied with the first few actors chosen to provide a voice for Mickey Mouse, so he did it, and continued to do so through about 1947.

• A Mickey Mouse comic strip, penned by Ub Iwerks, launched in January 1930, and at its height was printed in 40 newspapers in 22 countries.

• The first piece of Mickey Mouse merchandise was a tablet of paper that featured the mouse, designed for children. The first Mickey Mouse doll was designed in 1930.

• When Walt Disney was contemplating a name for his first theme park (Disneyland park), he once considered calling it “Mickey Mouse Village.”

• Mickey Mouse was the first animated character to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which was given on his birthday (November 18) in 1978.

Our family always enjoys expressing our #DisneySide and looks forward to enjoying many more milestones and special occasions in the future involving the world's most famous mouse.  Do you have any special stories involving Mickey Mouse?