Disney World

How do you sing “bop to the top” in Hindi? If you are the Walt Disney Company, very carefully.A song from “High School Musical 2” called “All for One,” has been rendered in Hindi as “Aaja Nachle.” The media conglomerate is trying to expand the global reach of “High School Musical” to squeeze even more money from the franchise. The new efforts — which include a long-term London stage production, a touring stage show in Asia and music videos in 17 languages — are also intended to start prepping foreign markets for the musical’s high-stakes transition to the big screen.“High School Musical 3: Senior Year” is scheduled for release in North American theaters in October, with a global premiere to follow soon after. “These are all building blocks,” said Anne Sweeney, the president of the Disney-ABC Television Group. “Every new piece of this franchise opens a new door.” She added, “Plans are already in place for years to come.” Disney, which has had a 17 percent decline in its stock price over the last year, has been trying to convince Wall Street that its ability to leverage its offerings across its various divisions sets it apart from other media companies. Unlike the News Corporation or Time Warner, for instance, Disney can use its theme parks and mammoth consumer products operations to milk its hits. The worldwide push behind “High School Musical” is a test for the company’s franchise-management machinery, and not only because it requires Disney’s disparate fiefs to work together. While the property’s bubbly tone is easy to translate for foreign audiences, much of the colloquial language is not.

Consider “Bop to the Top,” the title of a song from the first movie. In India, one of Disney’s most important foreign markets, the phrase was changed to “Pa Pa Pa Paye Yeh Dil,” which the company said roughly translates to “the heart is full of happiness” in Hindi. A Hindi translator contacted by The New York Times said: “It’s sort of like a Duran Duran song. The words sound sexy but mean nothing.” The climax of “High School Musical 2” comes in “All for One,” an ensemble number about friends sticking together. In India, the title became “Aaja Nachle,” which all agree means “come dance along.” (A video used to promote “High School Musical 2” in South Asia can be viewed at nytimes.com.)

Rich Ross, the president of Disney Channels Worldwide, said that weaving “High School Musical” into the existing pop culture in various foreign markets was of increasing importance. “Localization really matters,” he said. “We’re pushing deeper into various countries. With the first movie, we didn’t do something special for the Netherlands. This time we did.” Perhaps the song lyrics — and whether audiences can even understand them — do not matter so much. Last week, the domestic Disney Channel presented a series of music videos made by recording artists in various countries. According to Nielsen Media Research, more than 1.5 million children age 6 to 11 watched “Aaja Nachle.” Even in a foreign language, children “can feel what they’re saying,” Ms. Sweeney said.

While the first two “High School Musical” movies made their debuts on television, the success of “High School Musical 3,” will turn on how successful Disney is at persuading audiences to see it in a theater. Live tours are meant to help fans make the shift. Disney plans to announce Monday that a long-running stage production of “High School Musical” will open in London on June 30; a previously announced tour in Britain kicks off Feb. 19 with $18 million in advance ticket sales. Additional productions are now planned for Argentina, Denmark, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines and Switzerland, the company said. Disney is also set to announce an expansion abroad of “High School Musical: The Ice Tour.” The company has also decided to make performance rights available for “High School Musical 2” to schools and amateur theaters around the world; Disney has licensed the first version 2,500 times in the United States and 500 times overseas. “The material is incredibly strong and lends itself perfectly to the live experience,” said Thomas Schumacher, the president of Disney Theatrical Group. “Seeing these characters portrayed live allows our audiences to bond with the story in a completely new way.”

Walt Disney Co. is no stranger to fantasy worlds, transporting audiences — whether to a cottage in the woods with a young princess in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” or to the Great Barrier Reef aboard the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage ride at Disneyland.
Now, Disney is spinning its tales in the newest mass medium — online virtual worlds, where children adopt cartoonish avatars and play games.
Disney and other entertainment companies are rushing to capitalize on the latest Internet phenomenon: the rise of virtual worlds for kids. Online haunts for grown-ups, such as Second Life, grab the attention of corporate marketers. But digital playgrounds for the juice-box set — such as Disney’s Club Penguin and Ganz Inc.’s Webkinz — are drawing bigger crowds.
As many as 20 million children and teens will visit virtual worlds by 2011, up from 8.2 million in 2007, according to research firm EMarketer Inc.
“You’re seeing a more than doubling in projected growth, between 2007 and 2011, in the number of kids and teens visiting these worlds,” EMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson said. “That’s why you’re seeing Disney making so many investments. . . . All the major media companies are making virtual worlds a big focus of their activities going forward.”
Some parents and advocates worry about the commercial aspects of these sites, which either charge a monthly subscription fee, serve up advertising or both. Several sites, including “Pirates of the Caribbean Online,” offer a basic game for free but require payment for more advanced play.
“It’s sweet-tasting candy that kids are going to want to have,” said Warren Buckleitner, editor of the Children’s Technology Review. “Give a free sample. Once you get started, it’s hard to stop.”
Online games that invite multiple players into virtual worlds have been around for more than a decade. What’s new is the increasingly younger audience. Disney’s Toontown Online was among the first to target tots, but since then, Mattel Inc.’s BarbieGirls.com, Nickelodeon’s Nicktropolis and others have popped up, attracting children as young as 3.
Disney plans to spend $5 million to $10 million apiece to develop as many as 10 virtual worlds built around familiar Disney characters and franchises.
“We’re creating virtual theme parks, but much more accessible,” said Steve Wadsworth, president of Walt Disney Internet Group. “You don’t have to get in a car or a plane.”

The Federal Communications Commission said Friday that it planned to fine Walt Disney Co.’s ABC network $1.4 million for airing an episode of “NYPD Blue” in 2003 that showed a woman’s nude buttocks.
The company said it opposed the fine and planned to appeal.
The FCC said it was seeking $27,500 for each of 52 stations in the Central and Mountain time zones that aired the scene in the 9 to 10 p.m. time slot in violation of federal restrictions against broadcasting “obscene material” between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
The agency has waged a battle against broadcast indecency under Chairman Kevin J. Martin. In October 2006, Congress authorized a tenfold increase in such fines. Broadcasters’ use of public airwaves subjects them to more regulation than cable channels.
The FCC said it received “numerous complaints” about the scene, in which a young boy walks in on a nude woman about to take a shower.
Stations in the Eastern and Pacific zones won’t be fined because they aired the episode in the 10 to 11 p.m. slot, local time.
ABC said in a statement that it had broadcast the episode and others from the police drama, which ran from 1993 to 2005, with appropriate parental warnings and with V-chip-enabled program ratings when they were available.
“ABC feels strongly that the FCC’s finding is inconsistent with prior precedent from the commission, the indecency statute and the 1st Amendment,” network spokeswoman Julie Hoover said.
“The law is simple,” FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate said. “If a broadcaster makes the decision to show indecent programming, it must air between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. This is neither difficult to understand nor burdensome to implement.”

A widow from New York has sued Disney Cruse Line in federal court, blaming the company for her husband’s death from injuries he suffered during a Mediterranean cruise last summer.
Marilyn Piazza alleges that her husband, Santo L. Piazza, died because a poorly designed threshold in a bathroom doorway caused him to fall; because the ship’s medical staff initially misdiagnosed his injuries; and because efforts to evacuate him to a hospital for emergency medical treatment were slow, and poorly planned and executed. Santo Piazza died Aug. 14 at age 78.
Marilyn Piazza filed the lawsuit Thursday on behalf of her husband’s estate in U.S. District Court in Orlando. Her complaint identifies the cruise line’s corporate entity, Magical Cruise Co. Ltd., and Disney Cruise Vacations as defendants. She alleges that they were responsible for Santo Piazza’s death, and her suit seeks more than $75,000.
Her complaint states that her husband was injured at the beginning of an 11-day cruise out of Barcelona, Spain, aboard the Disney Magic. Marilyn and Santa Piazza were taking the cruise with their daughter and her family.
The suit says that Santo Piazza tripped on the threshold as he stepped into his cabin’s bathroom. He fell, and his right side struck the bathtub, causing “catastrophic internal injuries.”
He immediately went to the shipboard health-services department, where he was given a Tylenol. Later that day, he returned to the health-services department after he vomited and experienced shortness of breath and severe pain.
During his second evaluation, the ship’s doctor diagnosed him with fractured ribs and a punctured lung, and said Santo Piazza required immediate evacuation and hospitalization.
The suit alleges that the Piazzas waited five hours before the Disney Magic altered its course toward Cagliari, Sardinia. Then ship personnel put the injured man in an inflatable raft and transported him through eight miles of choppy waves to the shore, “crashing and smashing Mr. Piazza up and down constantly.”
Santo Piazza died from his injuries 17 days later, according to the complaint.

The traveling Disneyland exhibit that was scheduled to appear at Union Station won’t be coming.

“Behind the Magic: 50 Years of Disneyland” was to have opened in November but was delayed because many of the display cases and graphic panels were damaged in transit. Officials said Friday that repairs were not possible within the time period of Union Station’s contract.

None of the Disneyland artifacts, which include artwork, models, drawings and ride vehicles, was damaged.

Disney Channel has launched its first broadband service in the Asia-Pacific region, Disney Channel@Play in Taiwan, featuring streamed episodes of popular animated and live-action series.
The rollout of Disney Channel@Play in Taiwan also marks the network’s third branded broadband service in the world. The new service offers Taiwanese viewers full-length, Mandarin-dubbed, Chinese-subtitled episodes of Disney Channel’s animated and live-action series through an online broadband player available at www.disney.com.tw/DisneyChannel/video/.
Viewers can watch a selection of streamed episodes of hit Disney Channel original series like Hannah Montana, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, That’s So Raven, Kim Possible and Emperor’s New School. Playhouse Disney preschool series such as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins and Handy Manny will also be available on the service.
The site will be refreshed weekly. Visitors to the service can also choose their favorite shows and create their own favorite program list. Users also have the option of watching the shows in Mandarin or English and picking the screen size they prefer to view the shows. The “What’s New” function also allows users easy access to the latest shows on the site.
Disney Channel is also producing original content exclusive to Disney Channel@Play. In February, to usher in the Year of the Mouse, a specially-produced music video of the song “Little VIP” performed by Taiwanese boy band Fahrenheit will be streamed on the service.
Dai Hua, the VP and managing director of Walt Disney Television International (Greater China region), commented: “Taiwan’s Disney Channel@Play broadband service complements Disney Channel on TV by providing new viewing opportunities for kids and families. This development extends the kids’ Disney Channel experience and gives us the chance to offer them Disney Channel content whenever and however they wish to access it.”

Billy Huang, the VP and managing director of Walt Disney Television International (Taiwan, R.O.C.): “Taiwan was the first market outside of the U.S. to launch Disney Channel in 1995 and we are pleased to continue that ground-breaking tradition with the launch of Disney Channel’s first broadband service in the Asia Pacific with Disney Channel@Play. Kids in Taiwan can now view their favorite Disney Channel shows in high broadband quality in the digital media space.”

Since 1977, fans have dreamed of visiting a galaxy far, far away and learning the ways of the Jedi. Many have gone to extreme lengths, from building their own lightsabers, costumes, and robes to creating their own “character” and back-story, but none have come close to true Force powers… And those are just the adults. What about the children? How can they learn to be real Jedi?
Kids are great at using their imaginations which is the heart of the Star Wars universe. But sometimes you really want your fantasy to become reality. So what better place than Disney World?
Jedi Training Academy is an interactive experience that began as a part of Walt Disney World’s Star Wars Weekends. It’s part show, part experience and in the tradition of Disney, magical.
This year Disney has embraced the theme “Where Dreams Come True” but the Jedi Training Academy has been making Star Wars fans’ dreams come true for many years now.
Meet some of the people responsible for making JTA come to life and get a sneak peek behind the scenes of Star Wars and Disney.

Hao Zhi met a character at Disneyland on Monday that he didn’t find at all Goofy. His acquaintance was a relative newcomer to the regular Hong Kong Disneyland gang: Cai Shen Ye, the bearded Chinese god of wealth, decked out in auspicious silk robes and an oversize belt.
“This is terrific,” said Hao, a civil servant from Inner Mongolia posing for a picture with the god along Main Street U.S.A. “It makes me so happy to see the god of wealth here.”
That’s just the reaction Walt Disney Co. is counting on following a marketing makeover designed to make a classic American theme park look a lot more Chinese.
Since it opened in 2005, Disney’s Hong Kong park has struggled to connect with consumers. The park, a joint venture with the Hong Kong government, missed public targets for its first year of operation, and attendance dropped nearly 30 percent in the second year to about 4 million. The travel industry has criticized the park for being too small and for not appealing to Chinese audiences.
Now, Disney is going on the offensive by going local. Its first big opportunity on that front is a stroke of astrological fortune. In the traditional Chinese calendar, it will soon be the year of the rat. As the Feb. 7 New Year holiday approaches, Disney is suiting up Mickey and Minnie in special red Chinese New Year outfits, and declaring 2008 the Year of the Mouse.
The Disneyland Chinese New Year campaign, which lasts until Feb. 24, features a logo with the kind of visual pun that only Chinese might appreciate: the Chinese character for “luck” flipped upside-down (a new year tradition), with mouse ears added on top. Inside the park, vendors hawk deep fried dumplings and turnip cake.
The parade down Main Street U.S.A. is being joined by the “Rhythm of Life Procession,” featuring a dragon dance, and puppets of birds, flowers and fish set to traditional Chinese music. And of course there’s the god of wealth, joined by the gods of longevity and happiness, all major figures in Chinese New Year celebrations.
The company’s experience in China “is very much in line with a number of other multinationals,” says Carol Potter, the China CEO of Omnicom ad agency BBDO, which has been helping Disney develop its new ads for China for nearly six months.
“As people really begin to realize that China has a complexity and depth, the marketing becomes more sophisticated,” she says.
One aspect of Mickey Mouse’s personality that’s harder to make Chinese: his love of cheese, which isn’t very popular in Chinese cuisine. A showcase inside the kitchen of “Mickey’s House,” a new attraction at the park, displayed his favorite cheese from Europe and North America — and a steamed rice flour cake from China.

Walt Disney Studios plans to debut new digital 3-D versions of Disney-Pixar’s “Toy Story” — the first feature-length computer-animated film — as well as “Toy Story 2.”

“Toy Story” is slated to open Oct. 2, 2009, followed by “Toy Story 2″ on Feb. 12, 2010. They will set the stage for the release of “Toy Story 3,” is being produced as a 3-D motion picture and is slated to open June 18, 2010.

An estimated 4,000 3-D-ready digital-cinema screens are expected to be operational in the U.S. by May 2009.

Veteran Pixar filmmaker Lee Unkrich, who co-directed “Toy Story 2,” is helming “Toy Story 3.”

John Lasseter — director of the first two “Toy Story” films and chief creative officer for Disney and Pixar Animation Studios — will oversee the creative side of the 3-D conversions for “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2.”

In converting the first two films to the format, the technical team is retrieving all of the original digital elements and rebuilding them in 3-D. Pixar already has developed its 3-D production pipeline, and in conjunction with the 3-D work, about 25 new hires are expected during the next several months.

“The ‘Toy Story’ films and characters will always hold a very special place in our hearts, and we’re so excited to be bringing this landmark film back for audiences to enjoy in a whole new way thanks to the latest in 3-D technology,” Lasseter said.

Originally released by Disney in 1995, “Toy Story” received Oscar nominations for original screenplay, score and song and earned Lasseter a Special Achievement Award. “Toy Story 2″ was released in 1999 and received an Academy Award nomination for original song.

Playhouse Disney in the U.K. has joined forces with the Pre-school Learning Alliance to trial an environmental nursery pack aimed at teaching preschoolers about the environment through play. The trial will see 7,300 nurseries across the U.K. receive a free pack as part of Playhouse Disney’s Playing for the Planet campaign, which it launched earlier this year. Nurseries will be invited to share their comments on the materials and offer their own ideas. The nursery pack combines elements of the Playing for the Planet guide with expertise from the Pre-school Learning Alliance, and includes a range of fun, educational activity templates and games focused in the areas of play and exploration, active learning and creativity. The activities also use Playhouse Disney characters to help educate and engage preschoolers in environmental issues such as recycling and conservation.