Disney Being Sued Over Toy Story 4’s Duke Caboom

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

Toy Story 4 was another Disney/Pixar success when it released last summer. Well, now it seems Disney is in a little turmoil over one of the fun new characters featured in the film – the fearless Duke Caboom! The big question… does Duke (Canada’s greatest stuntman) resemble Evel Knievel?

As shared by ComicBook.com: Disney is being taken to court over their character, who was a fan-favorite and quickly spawned merchandising. According to a report from TMZ, a company called K&K Promotions, headed up the late Evel Knievel’s son that owns the copyright and trademarks for the stunt performer, has filed suit against Disney, Pixar, and other subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Company asking for a damages to be paid out.

The suit alleges that the character and film is littered with homages and nods to Knievel’s dress, noting that the toy of Duke Caboom itself seems to be directly lifted from a similar 1970s toy featuring Knievel. They also note that those involved with the film went out of their way to never mention Knievel in interviews while promoting the movie.

The Walt Disney Company Restoring Salaries of Senior Executives to Pre-COVID Levels

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

During the COVID-19 theme park shutdown, Disney announced that Senior Executives for The Walt Disney Company would be taking salary cuts to help in the midst of the unprecedented effects of the pandemic on the company. Now, their paychecks are being restored while thousands of Cast Members remain on furlough.

Back in March, Bob Chapek sent out an email stating all senior executives would have their pays reduced throughout the closure period. Chapek had his salary reduced by 50%. Bob Iger agreed to forgo 100% of his salary. Various decreases in pay for SVPs, EVPs, and VPs were also enacted: VP by 20%, SVPs by 25%, EVP by 30%. The salary cuts went into place on April 5th.

According to an exclusive from Deadline, salary reductions will be lifted starting August 23rd. Walt Disney Company employees were informed yesterday that the pay reduction period would be ending this Sunday. Changes will be reflected in the executives’ next paychecks. It is unclear whether the pay restoration would impact Iger and Chapek. The salary cuts were meant to be temporary, and were to remain in effect until the company saw “a substantive recovery in business.”

As expected due to the theme park shutdown, results from the company’s recent Q3 earnings call were bleak, with a historic $2 billion reported in revenue loss from the company’s Parks, Experiences and Products division. However, Walt Disney World is operating at a meager profit, or at the very least exceeding variable costs, according to CEO Bob Chapek. Still, thousands of Cast Members, including performers, events staff, and more, are still furloughed at this time due to limited park hours and operations.

Disney Is on Board with Renewable Energy

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

What better way to power the magic Disney brings than with renewable energy?! So, how does Disney do this exactly? Check out the details below as shared by The Walt Disney Company.

As part of our long-term goal to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions, Disney is making ongoing investments in renewable energy across our operations. We continue to seek innovative ways to bring clean electricity to our local energy grids and increase our own renewable energy portfolio.

At our corporate campuses, we have implemented multiple renewable energy installations. For example, at our sites in Southern California, we have expanded solar arrays onto a number of rooftop facilities, including a main soundstage and a prominent walkway at our Burbank Studio Lot. At the nearby Grand Central Creative Campus in Glendale, the primary parking structure includes a 460-kilowatt solar rooftop system.

Throughout our parks and resorts, we have also made continued investments in renewable and lower carbon energy, taking into account the unique needs and infrastructure at each location. For example, Disneyland Paris is leveraging geothermal energy to help power its onsite theme parks and resorts. At Castaway Cay in the Bahamas, Disney Cruise Line uses solar power to heat water for our crew on the island. And, at Disney California Adventure, our Radiator Springs Racers attraction is powered by 1,400 solar panels.

This year, we brought online a new 270-acre, 50+-megawatt solar facility near Walt Disney World Resort, built in collaboration with the Reedy Creek Improvement District and Origis Energy USA. This facility generates enough power from the sun to operate two of our four theme parks in Orlando. This installation joins our popular “Hidden Mickey” solar array at Walt Disney World – a five-megawatt installation in the shape of our very own Mickey Mouse.

Disney Reduces Capital Expenditure Decrease for Parks to $700 Million

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

As it turns out, Disney Parks, Resorts and Products will be spending more than previously expected on construction and refurbishments at the theme parks.

At last week’s Q3 earnings call, The Walt Disney Company announced that the cut in capital expenditures has been reduced to $700 million. Previously, a $900 million cut was expected. Disney CFO Christine McCarthy attributed the spending cut to lower spending on domestic Disney resorts, including Walt Disney World and the Disneyland Resort.

The news comes off the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic devastating the company’s finances. Disney Parks, Resorts and Products reported a $2 billion loss for the third quarter, which covered most of the closure of domestic Disney parks and Disneyland Paris. The Disneyland Resort remains closed at this time, with no reopening date reported as of yet.

Walt Disney World has already begun to see the results of this spending cut. Last month, it was confirmed that both the large-scale refurbishment of Spaceship Earth and the Mary Poppins-themed section of the United Kingdom Pavilion at EPCOT had been postponed, while rumors abound that work on Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge has been cancelled. Other projects remain ongoing with work continuing “in stages,” including TRON Lightcycle / Run at the Magic Kingdom and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and the Play! Pavilion at EPCOT, as well as Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway in Disneyland and Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventure.

Celebrate National Book Lover’s Day with a Good Disney Book

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

Happy National Book Lover’s Day,

The Walt Disney Company not only, does theme parks and restaurants and movies, but they also do books as well. To celebrate National Book Lover’s Day, visit their website https://books.disney.com/

Here’s the feature book from the website today;

Paola Santiago and the River of Tears

Paola Santiago and The River of Tears

Space-obsessed 12-year-old Paola Santiago and her two best friends, Emma and Dante, know the rule: Stay away from the river. Paola’s mother is constantly warning about La Llorona, the wailing ghost woman who wanders the banks of the Gila at night, looking for young people to drag into its depths. Hating her mother’s superstitions, Pao organizes a meet-up to test her new telescope near the river. But when Emma never arrives and Pao sees a shadowy figure in the reeds, it seems like maybe her mom was right. . . . Critically-acclaimed author Tehlor Kay Mejia writes the latest Rick Riordan Presents adventure about overcoming evil with science and the power of love.