Worth noting is that today The Little Mermaid will play it’s last preformance in the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. With just 685 preformances and 50 previews it’s the shortest Broadway run adaption of an animated Disney movie. Alan Menken’s new songs will live on in a national tour in the works for 2010 with future international versions as well.
Aladdin vetran Jonathan Freeman will have it’s last curtain all as Grimbsy at least on broadway.

As you might have heard the Broadway version of The Little Mermaid will close August 30, 2009 after only 685 performances and 50 previews. According to Disney Theatre Production head Thomas Schumacher he didn’t see a way to keep earning money from it. He also says his division is setting up a tour version to start somewhere around 2010. Also you’re sure recall that Disney shutdown the successful Beauty and the Beast that ran from 94 to 07. Since 1999 It’s home was the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.

Rumors say that a musical adaption of The Adams Family might be next to setup shop at Lunt-Fontanne. Depending of it’s a success it could hold out there for a few years let’s say 3 before Disney has to develop another production. I’ve a feeling a serious attempt to sculpt Disney’s 31st animated feature into a Broadway worthy musical is coming within the next few years. I love if Aladdin gets the musical it deserves around it’s 20th anniversary in 2012.
Let’s cross fingers.

On May 21st in Burbank ASIFA-Hollywood organizes a reunion of The Little Mermaid crew. Similar to what the organization did for the Aladdin. On November 15th Mermaid marks its 20th anniversary.

Character animator Tom Sito will moderate a panel consisting of Mark Henn (Ariel), Andreas Deja (King Triton), Ruben Aquino (Ursula), Tina Price (CAPS system and early CGI) and Gary Trousedale (storyboards) – with many more guests and panelists to be announced.

Via Cartoon Brew and UD forum

European’s best carvers came together at Noordwijk, Netherlands to create this year’s sculptures for the European Sand Sculpture 2008 festival held from 18 July to 17 August in Noordwijk.
This year’s theme was ‘In Celebration of Disney’ classic movies like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty got their homage in sand but also the recent Narnia sequel and Pixar’s Wall-E are presented. I traveled to Noordwijk last Wednesday, still quite the journey with tram, train and bus I was underway for about 90 minutes.
Pictures are uploaded at my Photobucket account.

Deviant artist Anamated did a evil Mozenrath drawing for her friend Cassie August last year. Browsing her gallery I found Jas hangs out with Belle and Ariel having a tea party and Harry Potter likes to go as Aladdin for Hogward’s costumed ball.
Commission for Cassie by ~Anamated on deviantART

Dreamworks CEO Jeffery Katzenberg sat down with AOL Entertainment to talk about his career in line of an upcoming Dreamworks film I personally have no interest in. The last time I went to theater to see a Dreamworks animated film was Shrek 2 a few years back or was it Madagascar? Can’t remember you do the math how much Dreamworks animated division interest me.

Anyway in the interview he says he did know nothing about animation or had any affinity with the genre before he joined Disney in 1984. Learning along the way with each new film until, after 5 years, he learned enough that his input nudged Disney feature animation back to the leading animation studio it was a couple decades earlier.

After all he had major influence on Aladdin helping turn it into the final beloved product we know today. I know he was the one saying it was better aging Aladdin so he would match better with the final form of Jasmine. There’s some footage on that meeting on the DVD under the title “Designing the Lead Character” and I believe the making of book mentioned that as well.

Still, for someone who didn’t had anything to do with animation Mr. Katzenberg didn’t do bad 24 years later. I mean he’s the big chef on the second biggest animation studio in the world with a turnover of multi-million dollars a year. Kudos.

Youtube’r Chrissy4jc made a Sims 2 music video of Aladdin’s theme. She cleverly uses Sim actions to make it appear the characters are singing and expressing. Using Genie on the drums and playing guitar and camera
Angles kept the music video fresh prevented from becoming boring.

Her Part of That World video is worth a recommendation because Chrissy recreated a believable underwater world by using floor titles and wallpaper plus the standard Sims 2 furniture. Ariel gestures are distracting from the song. The unknown singer isn’t very good and brings the video down. More or less the same goes for her Pocahontas video, too much gesture, bad singer.

Her Beauty and the Beast video is so awesome I can’t begin to describe it you’ve to watch it yourself.