Gimzoo

Do you have a photo of John Lasseter manning the Jungle Cruise?

Yesterday at the D23 Expo, John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation, announced a pretty unusual contest – John of the Jungle.

Lasseter is known for bringing some of this generation’s most loved characters to life – Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Lightning McQueen, Mater, but few people know that he started out as a Jungle Cruise skipper right here at Disneyland park. He left this role with a love of Disney, storytelling and jungle lore, but without any photos of himself at the helm.

Now he’s out to fix that with John of the Jungle, a search for photos of him from his Jungle Cruise skipper days in 1977. Think you might have a shot of John in an old family vacation album? If you do, you could win a trip to the grand opening of Cars Land and a private Jungle Cruise with John Lasseter!

*Buy Disneyland toys at eBay.

Link roundup

1. A report that Chelsea Ives, "an Olympics ambassador who helped to promote the Games with London Mayor Boris Johnson was yesterday exposed as a riot suspect." Turned in by her mother. Via.

2. A fun conspiracy theory - - is this the real story behind Bin Laden's death?

3. Photo of Disney's Progress City.

*Buy Disneyland toys at eBay.

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Link roundup

1. Walt Disney Animation Studios chief technical officer Andy Hendrickson, in a talk at the Siggraph conference Sunday:

People say 'It's all about the story,'" Hendrickson said. "When you're making tentpole films, bullshit." Hendrickson showed a chart of the top 12 all-time domestic grossers, and noted every one is a spectacle film. Of his own studio's "Alice in Wonderland," which is on the list, he said: "The story isn't very good, but visual spectacle brought people in droves. And Johnny Depp didn't hurt."

Via.

2. Praise for the free typing game Type Hard.

3. "Glass Beach is a beach in MacKerricher State Park near Fort Bragg, California that is abundant in sea glass."

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Link roundup

1. Watch a Laika artist turn a cereal box into a tree.

2. After reading this, I was intrigued as to the new interactive features in Disney stores. They actually sound a lot better than they look.

3. Now bankers jobs are being outsourced.

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Disney markets to moms

This video about dining aboard the Disney Dream isn't particularly interesting - - the restaurants actually look not much nicer or inspired than tacky mall theme-restaurants (is LA the only place where Spielberg opened a submarine-themed restaurant?). But one brief scene in the video really caught my eye. It's like a mom dining in a stone room filled with statues:

Pirates of the Caribbean-themed backyard

Pirates of the Caribbean-themed backyard for HGTV's My Yard Goes Disney.

(Pretty much all of my favorite shows are on HGTV.)

Link roundup

1. The Australian National Measurement Institute has a position called "Head Of Time."

2. These are great - - make your own Haunted Mansion stretching portrait book marks. Apparently 20 minutes to make (although Jen is a fairly accomplished crafter).

3. Intimidating sheep animated gif. Relatedly, putting LED-covered jackets on sheep to sell Samsung tvs. Via.

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Tomorrowland concept sketch circa 1953

Tomorrowland concept sketch circa 1953 or 1954 from the The Art of Disneyland by Jeff Kurtti and Bruce Gordon, which is available (for many $$$) at Amazon.. Via these sites.

Retro-style Disneyland poster

Retro-style Disneyland poster by Richard Terpesta.

Retro-style Disney t-shirts and more

Richard Terpesta's DesignerLand is a love letter to classic Disneyland, filled with his own retro-style t-shirt and poster designs:

There's also goodies like soundboards and detailed looks at fonts. Via.

Link roundup

1. "Remember, when signing up for things with your email address, put the name of the company as your name so that you know who is leaking your email to spammers." More tips about spam here.

2. How to make a foam and posterboard mortar board graduation hat for kids.

3. "The Walt Disney Co.’s Imagineering research division, which develops new technologies for the company’s theme parks, is planning to open a small lab in East Cambridge next month, 11 years after Disney shuttered its last such facility in the city."

*Buy Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look at Making More Magic Real at Amazon.

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