'Little Mermaid' Director Disney Values Message Above Story ... Needs 'Course Correction'
Disney's gone off the deep end with their woke messaging and needs to focus on the building blocks of story, so says the director of several Mouse House classics.
John Musker -- who directed the animated versions of "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin" and "Moana" -- called out the content giant during an interview with El País ... basically saying Disney's gone overboard on getting their message across.
JM says, "I think they need to do a course correction a bit in terms of putting the message secondary, behind entertainment and compelling story and engaging characters."
Elton John No Love Song For Timon & Pumbaa ... Rat/Pig Can't Sing My Song!
Elton John didn't feel "Hakuna Matata" while working on the "Lion King" ... 'cause one of the movie's stars says he had serious gripes about some of the flick's original choices.
Nathan Lane -- the Broadway star and voice of Timon in the hit 1994 flick -- spoke with Entertainment Weekly for an interview published Friday ... where he revealed the Academy Award-winning song "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" was originally supposed to be sung entirely by his character and Ernie Sabella's Pumbaa.
The way Lane explains it ... when Elton found out he voiced his displeasure, saying he wrote the song because he wanted to have an epic Disney love ballad under his belt -- and "didn't want it to be sung by the rat and the pig."
Richard M. Sherman Dead at 95 ... Wrote 'Mary Poppins,' 'Jungle Book' Music
Richard M. Sherman -- half of the Sherman Brothers songwriting duo responsible for some of the biggest Disney hits ever -- has died ... according to the Walt Disney Company.
Sherman passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, the company posted on its website. The announcement cites age-related illness as the cause of death.
Richard and his brother Robert -- who died of natural causes in 2012 -- caught their first big break in Hollywood in 1959 when their song "Tall Paul" reached #7 on the charts.
North West Standing Ovation ... 'Lion King' Singing Debut At Hollywood Bowl
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Some say The Kardashians are Hollywood's version of a Royal Family ... and now Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's firstborn is ready to take the crown!
North West performs "I Just Can’t Wait to Be King" at the Lion King 30th Anniversary Concert at the Hollywood Bowl last night 🦁
— YEFANATICS (@yefanatics) May 25, 2024 @yefanatics
Other perspective: pic.twitter.com/XxMsLnrIif
North West made her Hollywood Bowl singing debut Friday evening ... performing "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" at the Bowl's "The Lion King" live concert event.
TMZ obtained a pic of Mama Bear Kim watching from the crowd with Chicago sitting in her lap.
Morgan In 'Enchanted' 'Memba Her?!
American actress Rachel Covey was just 8 years old when she conveyed her colorful imagination as Morgan -- Robert's adorable daughter in Disney's live-action musical fantasy film "Enchanted" back in 2007.
Young Rachel shared the big screen with Amy Adams whose destiny is to live in a fantasy world happily ever after, Giselle, Patrick Dempsey as the serious businessman who falls in love with Giselle, Robert and James Marsden as the dashing prince who attempts to marry Giselle, Prince Edward.
Actresses Susan Sarandon, Idina Menzel and Jodi Benson were also featured in the film with Julie Andrews narrating.
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Disney Not Banning Tinker Bell From Parks ... Rumor Fueled By Far-Right
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Tinker Bell's not getting the boot from Disneyland -- even though a crap ton of people are under the misconception she is ... all 'cause of baseless fan theories that have run amok.
You may have heard about this in recent weeks -- namely, reports that have suggested that the live version of the Tinker Bell character at Disney parks in the U.S. was persona non grata going forward ... and that they were putting her on the shelf for being "problematic."
This all stems from a NYT story that detailed an internal study Disney did a few years ago analyzing which of their characters didn't hold up to modern-day standards ... and Tink was one, as their own people felt she wasn't a good role model for girls in the 21st century.
Guess Who This Lil' Cowgirl Turned Into!
Before this cowgirl cutie with five older siblings turned into an actress, singer and model ... she was just a theatre kid playing dress up, throwin' on her cowboy hat and hip hoppin' around Oakland, California.
She first broke into the entertainment biz as a model and a backup dancer for commercials -- eventually landing at Disney and really shook things up! In 2013, she was so close to taking home the Mirrorball Trophy but was snagged by Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough ...
Ain't no challenge this euphoric star can't handle ...
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Adivina en quién ¡se ha convertido esta vaquera!
Antes de que esta pequeña vaquera con cinco hermanos mayores se convirtiera en actriz, cantante y modelo, no era más que una niña que jugaba a disfrazarse, se ponía el sombrero de vaquero y crecía en Oakland, California.
Su primera incursión en el mundo del espectáculo fue como modelo y bailarina de acompañamiento en anuncios publicitarios, hasta que acabó aterrizando en Disney. En 2013, estuvo muy cerca de llevarse a casa el trofeo Mirrorball, pero Kellie Pickler y Derek Hough se lo arrebataron.
No hay reto que esta eufórica estrella no pueda superar.
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Kermit Voice Actor Blasts Muppets Pre-Doc Release ... Jim's Spirit Has 'Withered'
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The former Kermit the Frog actor says he's not hurt he's excluded from the upcoming Jim Henson documentary ... he's hurt 'cause he thinks Jim's spirit within The Muppets is dying.
Steve Whitmire -- who took up the role in 1990 after Henson's untimely death -- tells TMZ ... producers contacted him about the forthcoming documentary "Jim Henson Idea Man" all about the iconic puppeteer a few years ago for home movies he shot dating back to 1978.
Whitmire says he happily handed over the tapes and expected the team to come back around when they were ready to interview him -- after all, he voiced the franchise's most iconic character from '90 until his firing in 2017 -- but, he says no one followed up.
Voz de la Rana René Critica el estreno del pre documental de los Muppets...
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El ex actor de la Rana René dice que no está dolido por haber sido excluido del próximo documental de Jim Henson, dice que está dolido porque cree que el espíritu de Jim dentro de Los Muppets se está muriendo.
Steve Whitmire, quien asumió el papel en 1990 después de la muerte prematura de Henson, le dice a TMZ que los productores se pusieron en contacto con él por el próximo documental "Jim Henson Idea Man", sobre el icónico titiritero, particularmente por unas películas caseras que filmó que se remontan a 1978.
Whitmire dice que felizmente entregó las cintas y esperaba que el equipo volviera para entrevistarlo, después de todo, dio voz al personaje más icónico de la franquicia desde el 90 hasta su despido en 2017, pero dice que nadie lo llamó.
Ex actriz de Disney "fui despedida" "Por publicar fotos vestida de Blancanieves"
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3:41 PM PT -- Fuentes con conocimiento directo le dicen a TMZ que Disney es muy intenso cuando se trata de la integridad del personaje, ya que mantener la magia viva con sus huéspedes y clientes es de suma importancia para ellos, por lo que terminaron despidiendo a Sophia Dottir.
En este caso en particular, nos dicen que la integridad de los personajes que valoran se ha roto, así que han tenido que hacer lo que tenían que hacer. En cuanto a los rumores de que Blancanieves está "prohibida" en sus parques, nuestras fuentes afirman que no podría estar más lejos de la realidad y que eso nunca ocurrirá... y que si vas a cualquier parque de Disney hoy en día, el personaje estará allí siendo interpretado por otra actriz.
Una mujer que interpretó a Blancanieves para un trabajo afirma que fue despedida por la Casa del Ratón por arruinar la magia en redes sociales, lo que ha dado lugar a cierta confusión entre los fans de Disney.
Ex-Disney Character Actor Mouse House Canned My Ass ... For Posting as Snow White
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3:41 PM PT -- Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Disney is very big on character integrity -- because keeping the magic alive with their guests and patrons is of the utmost importance to them, which is why they ended up getting rid of Sophia Dottir.
In this particular situation, we're told the character integrity they value was broken -- so they had to do what they had to do. In terms of the rumors that Snow White is "banned" from their parks, our sources say it couldn't be further from the truth and that'll never happen ... and that if you go to any Disney park today, SW is there being played by another actress.
A woman who played Snow White for a job claims she was canned by the Mouse House for ruining the magic on social media ... which has led to some confusion among Disney fans.
Ncuti Gatwa "El mundo celebra la mediocridad blanca"
Ncuti Gatwa está criticando las actitudes hacia los actores negros, diciendo que tienen que actuar impecablemente para conseguir el reconocimiento de la gente, mientras que la "mediocridad blanca" es amada por las masas.
Gatwa, que interpretará al primer médico negro de la serie "Doctor Who", habló con Attitude para su edición de mayo/junio, en donde le preguntaron por la reacción que había suscitado su icónico papel.
Por si no lo saben, el personaje principal de "Doctor Who" cambia de actor con regularidad, como James Bond, y todos los actores que habían interpretado el papel antes eran blancos. Algunos fans incluso protestaron cuando el actor ruandés-escocés asumió el papel.
Ncuti Gatwa First Black 'Doctor Who' ... White Mediocrity Celebrated!!!
Ncuti Gatwa's blasting attitudes toward Black actors ... saying they've got to perform flawlessly to get love -- while "white mediocrity" is loved by the masses.
Gatwa -- who's the first Black Doctor in the show "Doctor Who" -- spoke with Attitude for its May/June issue ... when he was asked about the backlash to him taking over the iconic role.
If you don't know ... the main character in "Doctor Who" changes actors regularly -- sorta like James Bond -- and every actor before NG who played the role was white. Some fans protested when the Rwandan-Scottish actor took over the part.
BARRY KEOGHAN EYES ONLY FOR SABRINA!!! Magical Disney Date
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Barry Keoghan and Sabrina Carpenter took their budding romance to the Happiest Place on Earth -- hitting up Disneyland's sister park, where the cool kids go.
Check out these photos, obtained by TMZ, which show the singer and actor hanging out Wednesday at Disney's California Adventure with a group of friends ... where they all seemed to bouncing around and having a good time.
Specifically, we're told they hit up the theme park's Mendocino Terrace wine lounge at one point ... yes, this is the park that actually serves booze, and they wanted adult beverages it seems.
Kanye West, Bianca Censori Disneyland Shocker ... No X-Rated Display
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Kanye West and Bianca Censori were the center of attention at Disneyland, but not for some X-rated public display ... just family-friendly fun, sans any kids.
The couple was out Tuesday at the Happiest Place on Earth -- and they were appropriately clothed ... yes, Bianca too. Ye and BC strolled about with all the normies through the famous California theme park, even hitting the Star Wars Nite experience at one point.
![041623-bianca-kanye-disneyland-kal](https://imagez.tmz.com/image/a2/16by9/2024/04/17/a233f23428f34c9586344bb2f0596c35_md.jpg)
Check it out ... Kanye and Bianca seemed to be in great spirits, smiling while making small talk and holding hands. The lovebirds were also filmed hand in hand walking down a winding path as they headed in and around Disneyland. Like we said, no children were in tow.