Disney Mines the Past for Inspiration

Disney has had a long and (mostly) successful track record creating theme park attractions from successful movies (Star Tours and Indiana Jones), movies inspired by park attractions (Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion) and putting a new spin on previous successes (Alice in Wonderland and The Parent Trap). This season is no different, with Disney dusting off three cherished chestnuts to appeal to a new generation.

Mickey is joined by Minnie and their pals in the new series.

Mickey Mouse
Absent from animated shorts since 1995's little seen Runaway Brain, Mickey Mouse is making a long-overdue return to series television. The series, simply titled Mickey Mouse, draws inspiration from animation styles from the 1930s and co-stars Minnie, Donald and a host classic pals. To keep the series feeling fresh and modern, Disney has tapped Paul Rudish, the quick-witted mind behind Dexter's Laboratory and Powerpuff Girls to produce and direct. Yay! In what I hope is the first season of a continuing series, Mickey travels around the world, finding action and adventure at every stop. The first of 19 new shorts premiers on The Disney Channel June 28, 8:30p/7:30c. Watch a preview here.

Bikers and surfers battle for the beach–with dance–of course.

Teen Beach Movie
Though the teen beach movies of the 1960s starred Disney icon, Annette Funicello, they weren't actually Disney movies. But when you consider the success of Disney's High School Musical franchise, the genre seems ripe for the picking. The Disney Channel Original Movie is directed by Jeffrey Hornaday, who's choreography credits include the movies, Flashdance, A Chorus Line and Michael Jackson's Captain EO. The soundtrack features ten original songs in the styles of surf rock, rockabilly and pop. Teen Beach Movie premiers Friday, July 19 8p/7c on The Disney Channel. You can view the trailer here.

Thunder Mountain's Rainbow Ridge is getting a facelift.

Big Thunder
ABC television has okayed production on a pilot for a new TV series based on the 1979 theme park attraction, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Though details are still scarce, the show's logline says "When a brilliant, late 19th century New York doctor and his family are given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to relocate to a frontier mining town run by a powerful, but mysterious tycoon, they quickly realize that not everything in Big Thunder is as it seems." If all goes as planned, the series will premier this fall  - right around the time that Big Thunder Mountain Railway attraction re-opens after a lengthy refurbishment. Helmed by Fast and Furious writer and executive producer, Chris Morgan, this could very well be "the wildest ride in the wilderness!"

Stay tuned... we still have a live action adaptations of Disney's Cinderella and Maleficent (based on the villain from Sleeping Beauty) as well as a motion picture adaption of Disney's Jungle Cruise attraction to look forward to in 2014.