Hello there, this is Sean Nyberg and this podcast is being recorded on the evening of Sunday, March 21st, 2021. Alright, let’s dive into the news.
We have ANOTHER huge news week for the Disney parks, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced this week that Disneyland in Anaheim California will officially open on April 30th. This is incredible news and something Disney Parks fans have been waiting to hear for over a year. While we already know that there will mandatory face masks, social distancing, adjustments to indoor dining, and increased sanitization, it is unclear whether the park will be capped at 15% capacity or 25%. Currently, Orange County sits in the Red tier, which allows large theme parks to open with 15% capacity, however, by the time April 30th rolls around, the county could be in the less restrictive Orange tier, which would allow them to open with 25% capacity. If current Covid-19 trends continue in southern California, then they should be in the less restrictive Orange tier, but, if things start to level off due to increased spread of the more contagious variants, then the county will remain in the Red tier, with 15% capacity limits. I don’t even want to talk about what would happen if the downward trend of cases turn a corner and start increasing again due to people not wearing masks and not getting vaccinated. These reopening plans will mean nothing as the county will be required to shut down again.
So it is up to us to make smart and healthy decisions. Wear masks, keep distance, get vaccinated, and wash hands frequently.
We got this and the magic is just around the corner if we stay vigilant.
Assuming everything goes as planned, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure will open on April 30th to California Residence only, at first. The only Disneyland Resort hotel that has announced reopening plans is the Grand Californian Hotel and Spa, which will open on April 29th, one day before the parks. We also learned that the newly refurbished Snow White’s Enchanted Wish, will open with the park on the 30th. The ride was completely overhauled over the past year, with brand new scenes added to lighten up the notoriously scary ride.
We will be watching all of the news surrounding this reopening here on The Disney Beat podcast and on The DisInsider.
As the parks get ready to reopen in California, Disney California Adventure is currently hosting their special ticketed event called ‘A Touch of Disney.’ The event kicked off a few days ago and has been sold out ever since they made tickets available earlier this month.
We also learned that Disney park employees were not the only cast members heading back to work, starting July 5th Walt Disney Company employees will begin to head back to their offices after more than a year of working from home. Staffers at the Burbank offices were informed, via video message, that a select number of workers will be called back into the office, with more expected over the second half of the summer.
There were a number of cast and crew announcements made this week, including:
- Noelle star Kingsley Ben-Adir will be returning to Disney+ in an upcoming Marvel studios series titled Secret Invasion. Secret Invasion follows Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far from Home and will include Samuel L Jackson’s Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos. Ben-Adir is playing an unknown lead villain, there is no release date announced.
- Actors Alan Tudyk and Molly Parker have joined the upcoming live-action ‘Peter Pan and Wendy,” the film also began production this past week in Vancouver. The film is directed by David Lowery and produced by Jim Whitaker, both worked in their respective roles on Pete’s Dragon. ‘Peter Pan and Wendy” will premier on Disney+ in 2022.
- Speaking of production beginning, according to The Lonely Island’s Instagram page, filming up for the upcoming Chip N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers for Disney+ has begun. The film is being directed by Akiva Shaffer, of The Lonely Island fame. The project stars John Mulaney and Andy Samberg and will include a cameo by Seth Rogan. The film is slated for a spring 2022 release on Disney+.
- We learned this week that George Tillman, Jr., best known for his work directing and producing the 2018 smash hit The Hate You Give, will be directing a new series titled ‘The Crossover’ at 20th Television, for Disney+. The series will begin filming this June with no release date announced.
The Academy Award nominations were announced and The Walt Disney Company walked away with 15 nominations through their various studios, the nominations include:
NOMADLAND (Searchlight Pictures)
6 Nominations
Best Motion Picture
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Frances McDormand
Best Achievement in Directing - Chloé Zhao
Best Adapted Screenplay - Chloé Zhao
Best Achievement in Editing - Chloé Zhao
Best Achievement in Cinematography – Joshua James Richards
SOUL (Disney Pixar)
3 Nominations
Best Animated Feature
Best Original Score – Jon Batiste, Atticus Ross, Trent Reznor
Best Achievement in Sound
MULAN (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Disney+)
2 Nominations
Best Costume Design
Best Visual Effects
ONWARD (Pixar Animation Studios / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
1 Nomination
Best Animated Feature
THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Disney+)
1 Nomination
Best Visual Effects
BURROW (Pixar Animation Studios / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Disney+)
1 Nomination
Best Animated Short Film
THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY (Hulu)
1 Nomination
Best Actress - Andra Day
This years Academy Awards will be televised live on ABC, April 25, 2021, 8:00 PM EDT.
Speaking of, I want to you remind you to please visit TheDisInsider.com to see a number of features that were not discussed in this episode. Over there you can see the new Loki poster for the upcoming Disney+ Marvel series, you’ll find a first look at ‘Earth Moods’ coming to Disney+ for National Geographic along with a first look at ‘Monsters at Work’ an upcoming Monsters Inc series, you can see a new mini trailer for the upcoming film Cruella, and a review of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Go check them all out.
And, finally, in Disney film news, Walt Disney Animation’s Raya and the Last Dragon is currently in select theaters and Disney+ with Premier Access for an additional fee. For those who want to own the physical and/or digital copy are in luck. Walt Disney Animation Studios’ epic adventure arrives on all major digital platforms beginning April 2, and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD beginning May 18.
I loved Raya and recommend it to everyone who hasn’t seen it.
On behalf of myself and those of us here at the Disney Beat, along with the DisInsider, we wish everyone good health and prosperity.
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I also cohost the Disney podcast Walts Apartment, that comes out every Thursday and the Disney Parks themed podcast Extra Magic Hour which is released every other Friday. So check those out.
Thank you again for listening and I will see you here again next week for another edition of The Disney Beat podcast, my name is Sean Nyberg. Have a fantastic week!