Disney is opening up its studios to the public for the first time in nearly seven decades for special screenings of its new animated movie.

Walt Disney Studios in Burbank will show “The Princess and the Frog” at its theater from Nov. 25 to Dec. 13. The last time the public was let in was for a special showing of the 1940 movie, “Fantasia.” Walt Disney had the theater built just in time for the movie viewing, according to a Disney press release.

The cost ranges from $20 to $50 per person, depending on the seats and package for “The Princess and the Frog” premiere events.

Tickets went on sale last week after the announcement. Carman Knight, a Disney studios spokeswoman, declined to release information about ticket sales.

“We’re welcoming families to our Studio to see where Walt Disney made real movie magic,” said Dick Cook, chairman of the Walt Disney Studios in a prepared statement. “Our Studio is not open to the public, so it’s an unprecedented opportunity for Disney fans to experience a movie right here on the Disney lot where we’ve filmed Disney classics like ‘Mary Poppins,’ ‘Princess Diaries,’ ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and many more.”

“The Princess and the Frog” opens nationwide Dec. 11

“The Princess and the Frog” marks Disney’s return to hand-drawn animation, after years of hit movies made with computer animation. Disney’s last hand-drawn movie was the 2004 “Home on the Range.”

Disney has been hyping the new “Princess” movie with this studio event, new merchandise and an upcoming parade-like show at Disneyland. Last week, the first 30 minutes of the unfinished film was shown to audience members at the D23 Expo, a Disney fan convention.

To buy tickets or find out more, go to the Disney “The Princess and the Frog” Web site.

Princess and the Frog isn’t yet released, but the excitement for the movie is already boiling to new highs. Several sellers of Halloween Costumes have already played into this theme by selling Princess Tiana costumes online. Toy’s R Us is selling the Princess Tiana Costume now for $39.99, but it is likely that many other sellers will follow through with costumes of the other character. Wouldn’t it be much fun to dress up like Dr. Facilier with Halloween or to freak people in your Louis or Madame Odie costume! We’ll keep you posted if more of these costumes will come on the market.

More pictures are available now of the Princess and the Frog fortune card set. We have better pictures now of Ray, Louis and Madame Odie. Hope you enjoy them!

Louis

Madame Odie

Ray

After the first look we gave you of the upcoming Disney animated film, The Princess and the Frog there’s more good news to share. Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California and Clearview’s historic Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City will open their doors for a limited engagement allowing fans to screen the film almost a month before it’s official  December 11th release date. Not only will you get to view the film, but an entire family fun event has been created for you to enjoy.

Starting on November 25th, Disney will open its doors for multiple screenings of The Princess and the Frog. The film will be shown several times a day on both coasts with viewing times of 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., with a 9:30 p.m. show available select dates. During this once in a lifetime event there will be several other activities you can enjoy besides just viewing the film.

Themed to the film’s setting, New Orleans, The Ultimate Disney Experience will feature something for everyone.

PRINCESS POWER — All nine of the Disney princesses will come together for the first time ever, welcoming Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Pocahontas, Jasmine, Mulan and of course, Disney’s newest princess, Tiana.

FUN ‘N GAMES — The Experience will feature opportunities to swing on ropes, climb trees, play games and race through the Bayou Adventure, plus a New Orleans’s Bead Toss, Naveen’s Leap Frog, video games and more.

HOLLYWOOD HEIRLOOMS — Disney movie archives will be on display for the first time ever, including props and costumes from a variety of films like Mary Poppins, the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy and more.

MOVIE MAGIC – Guests can learn movie magic from real Disney animators who will be on hand teaching guests how to draw a character from the film.

PICTURE THIS – Guests can put themselves in the movie at Kodak photo locations. Kodak photographers will capture guests’ images and place them in a scene from the movie.

INSIDER’S GLIMPSE — Burbank guests will also have the rare opportunity to tour the Studio lot.

Tickets are on sale now for this limited engagement. Group general admission tickets (for groups of 20 or more) are $20 each, general admission tickets are $30 each, and royal seating (a reserved seat, The Princess and The Frog Mardi Gras beads and an exclusive limited-edition collectible lithograph from The Princess and The Frog) is $50 per ticket.

For more information on the event and how you can purchase your ticket, visit www.princessandfrogtickets.com or call 1-800-DISNEY-6.

Krystal Clark

Disney Animation Studios has released its newest trailer for “Princess and the Frog”, this trailer displays far more graphical footage of the movie than the first trailer, so definitely check it out!

Willem de Vocht

By George Roush,

Today during the Bob Iger presentation fans and media were treated to the first 30 minutes of the Princess and the Frog. The animation was 87% complete, but it was hardly noticeable.

The story opens with a young Tiana and her friend Charlotte sitting in a room while Tiana’s Mom, who is a seamstress for Charlotte’s father, reads them the story of The Frog Prince. This is where we’re first introduced to the character of Tiana. There are some really funny moments with Charlotte’s cat.

Next, Tiana and her mother take the trolley past the rich neighborhoods of New Orleans to the poor neighborhood where Tiana lives. She makes gumbo with her father and shares the meal and laughs with her neighbors. Later that night, her father tells her about the restaurant he plans on opening called Tiana’s Place. Her parents tell her that it’s ok to wish upon a star, but she also has to work hard to accomplish her dreams. She wishes upon a star, and a frog is on her window sill. She looks at the frog (thinking they’re creepy from the story she heard earlier in the day) and when the frog ribbit’s, she screams and runs out of the room.

Tiana re-enters her room, but it’s years later and she’s an adult working at Duke’s Cafe. She’s working double shifts to save up enough money to purchase a building so she can finish her now deceased father’s dream of opening the restaurant. We’re also introduced to Dr. Facilier, the Voodoo priest who is seen scaming people for money. In one scene, he gives a patron a full head of hair, only the man’s hair grows until it covers almost his entire body.

Tiana’s friend Charlotte comes into the restaurant, excited about the arrival of Prince Naveen. Since she’s royalty, she’s seeing wedding bells.
Read the rest of this entry »

Hoping to build excitement, the studio begins an early rollout for its first hand-drawn animated movie in years.

First rule of movie marketing: With a hard sell, sell the faithful first.

So it was with Walt Disney Co., which on Thursday used a gathering of thousands of loyal Disney fans to unveil “The Princess and the Frog,” perhaps the studio’s riskiest movie in years.

Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger used the assembly of devoted followers at the Anaheim Convention Center, many of them sporting Mickey T-shirts, to screen a major portion of the film that marks the studio’s return to hand-drawn animation.

The film and its subject matter — a contemporary twist on the fairy tale of a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again — are reminiscent of classic Disney tales of yore. Indeed, the movie adds another tiara-wearing princess — the first African American one — to a lineage of cinematic royalty that dates back all the way to 1937’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

Iger took the stage at the start of Disney’s D23 Expo, where attendees posed for photographs near a steel-and-plexiglass replica of Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage, sat for tea with the Mad Hatter from Tim Burton’s upcoming noir interpretation of “Alice in Wonderland” and played a video-game version of the “Toy Story Midway Mania” theme park attraction. The expo is conceived as sort of an in-house Comic-Con to whip up enthusiasm for Disney’s movies, TV shows, video games and theme park attractions.

“Nowhere do we shine more brightly than in classic Disney animation,” Iger said to applause as he announced the 30-minute screening, adding, “Promise me you’ll go see the rest when it opens.”

Extracting such an assurance from hard-core Disney fans might not be difficult. But with the wider public, “Princess and the Frog” presents potential obstacles. Read the rest of this entry »

Disney Animation Studios has introduced a card deck with 14 different card with the Princess and the Frog characters on it. The cards are meant to “predict” your future with tarot cards (to get the fans into the voodoo spirit of the movie).

By Willem de Vocht,

At the last press conference given by Disney, the villain in the coming movie “Princess and the Frog” was finally revealed. Dr. Facilier, a voodoo doctor who turned the story’s main character in a frog, will be the first real remarkable and recognizable villain in the Disney stable, after Hades in the Disney classic “Hercules” in 1997. The part will be voiced by actor Keith Davids, a rather unknown actor having played parts in e.g. Platoon and voiced many documentaries. Several pictures of Dr. Facilier were released during the conference, which I will put in this post. I personally can’t wait until this movie hits the theaters on December 11th and to see this villain in full glory.