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By Claudia Parsons NEW YORK (Reuters) - Disney's latest mega-musical "Tarzan" swung into town with a spectacular shipwreck scene and bungee-jumping apes but the critics were lukewarm and several resorted to phrases such as "bungle in the jungle." "Tarzan," which opened on Wednesday night, is among the most expensive musicals on Broadway with a budget reported at between $15 million and $20 million. It is Disney's latest effort to match the success of hit movie-based musicals such as...
By Gina Keating LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Squealing fans lined up ten deep on Hollywood's Walk of Fame on Tuesday, a few hurling themselves through a phalanx of minders to get close to their idol -- who wore only a red T-shirt over his yellow fur. "Nobody went this crazy over Britney Spears," a photographer marveled, as he and others snapped off shot after shot of the star. "Winnie -- to your right!" another yelled. The scene was the unveiling of the Hollywood Walk of Fame star for...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beat it Christopher Robin. It's time Winnie the Pooh had a girl friend. The Walt Disney Co. is planning a new Winnie the Pooh television series for 2007 plans which will have an as yet unnamed six-year-old girl as the core character instead of young Robin, a company spokeswoman said. But she cautioned that the new character "is not a replacement for Christopher Robin" and added that the role of the character based on author A.A. Milne's son in the upcoming...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former "American Idol" contestant who didn't make the finals of the television talent show will play Tarzan in a new musical of the classic jungle story on Broadway next year. The producers of "Tarzan" said on Thursday Josh Strickland, who was a contestant on the second season of the hit show on the Fox television network, would play the lead in the musical which is due to open in May with music by Phil Collins. Strickland was knocked out in the early rounds of...
By Gina KeatingLOS ANGELESÂ -- Winnie the Pooh is getting a makeover as the Walt Disney Co presses its second-largest franchise into play for a larger share of the $21 billion preschool market, the company said on Wednesday.Disney is readying a yearlong marketing push in 2006 to commemorate and capitalize on the 80th anniversary of the publication of "Winnie-the-Pooh" and expand the brand beyond The Forest and infant toys, clothing and furniture.The tubby yellow bear will appear...
By Gina Keating LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The marketing of Mickey Mouse and his friends is getting curiouser and curiouser. The Walt Disney Co. is taking consumers down the rabbit hole to a land where crystal-studded Mickey Mouse T-shirts cost $1,400, Tinkerbell earrings run $630, and a Cheshire Cat wrap sells for $500 -- and consumers are gladly paying. Disney's consumer division, better known for peddling kid-oriented fashions at Wal-Mart, has been cashing in on a hot trend in haute...
By Gina Keating LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co is unleashing a $150 million marketing blitz for the release of its "Cinderella Special Edition" DVD this week in what one toy industry analyst called "a smart strategic move" for a holiday season where consumers may be pinching pennies. The massive campaign rivals advertising to support theatrical releases of Disney-Pixar hits "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles." The royal roll-out is for Disney's Princesses -- the media...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Disney said on Monday it was looking for a sexy man of mystery with a rock singer's voice and a swimmer's physique to play the lead role in a new Broadway musical called "Tarzan." "He is NOT a muscle man, as in the traditional Tarzan type," Disney said in a statement announcing August 29 auditions open to both actors and people with no theatrical experience. The producers of the musical scheduled to open in early 2006 said the jungle man must be "charming, sexy,...
