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Walt Disney Studios has for nearly a century featured disabled characters in its animated cartoons, from a none-too-bright Dopey to Nemo and his damaged fin. Now a Bay Area couple has asked for one more from the media giant: a princess who has Down syndrome in common with their daughter. In the past two weeks, their Care2.com petition to persuade the Burbank studio has garnered more than 30,000 signatures from around the world. “We love Walt Disney,” said Keston Ott-Dahl, 48, of Antioch, whose 15-month-old Delaney Skye has high-functioning Down syndrome. “When I see her mesmerized by Disney princesses, it...

At this point, we've seen just about every iteration of Disney princesses recontextualized by creative fans. The well may have run dry, but this exhaustion speaks to how eager a global audience is for animated females who break the traditional Disney mold. In the meantime, one writer has started conjuring some new princesses who break that mold so comprehensively they've become more likely characters for violent indie thrillers than family-oriented studio fare. Which is kind of a shame. Former DreamWorks effects animator and fledgling artist Jason Porath recently created Rejected Princesses, a website that features detailed, often hilarious stories and...

Fifty years after Julie Andrews starred as that practically perfect nanny, the character is still a role model for young women. Like all Disney movies, Mary Poppins is full of whimsy and adventure, good guys and, if not bad guys, at least shades-of-grey guys. And as we celebrate the film today, on its fiftieth anniversary, let’s not forget its feminist perspective.

Is your daughter a victim of male oppression? Blame Aladdin – as well as The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, The Lion King and Toy Story 2. Disney cartoons and other G-rated children’s movies are full of “gendered sexuality,” subjecting women to the male “objectifying gaze,” as “heterosexuality is constructed through hetero-romantic love relationships as exceptional, powerful, magical, and transformative.” These were the conclusions of Women’s Studies professors Karin Martin and Emily Kazyak in their 2009 research paper, “Hetero-Romantic Love and Heterosexiness in Children’s G-Rated Films.” The sociologists examined “all the G-rated films grossing $100 million dollars or more between 1990 and...

In what Bloomberg calls a “digital push,” Disney announced that it is closing 23 of its 24 terrestrial stations, laying off nearly 200 people in sales and operations. (See the intra-company memo from GM Phil Guerini below.) Disney is shifting its efforts and resources from terrestrial to the broadly-termed “digital” realm, which in this case means program distribution on SiriusXM and online streaming platforms. The company maintains a Radio Disney mobile app. The strategy shift represents what Disney calls “the habits of the consumers we serve.” Inside Radio reports that only 18% of Disney’s radio audience tune in via AM.FM...

en her phone rang that day in 1963, Alice Davis was working as a seamstress, stitching bras and girdles in the downtown Los Angeles garment district. Walt Disney, the caller said, wanted to see her. When she arrived at Disney's office, the theme park pioneer made her an offer: Design costumes for a new ride he was planning for the 1964 New York World's Fair. That ride would be, he promised her, an attraction that would bring joy "to every child from 1 to 100." "I could hardly wait to get there for the first day," recalled Davis, now 85....

At the Television Critics Association conference on July 22, PBS and “American Experience" announced it will produce and broadcast a new biography focused on Walt Disney. “Walt Disney” will be a four-hour, two-night film focused on the life of the American icon. The biography will premiere in fall 2015.

The unnamed woman called police after the “That’s So Raven” star, 26, showed up at her North Hollywood home and caused a disturbance on Monday night. In audio of the incident, a man police believe to be Brown can be heard shouting, “I’ll kill you, your mama, your daughter and everybody.” For his part, Brown claims that the woman has been stalking him and that he was only at the woman’s apartment so he could explain to her boyfriend that nothing untoward was going on between the two.

It may seem to some as something of a dream job - working alongside childhood heroes such as Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck. But in order to get, and keep, a job as a character at a Disney park or resort, employees must abide by a number of strict rules, ranging from the obvious to the bizarre. For anyone thinking of trying to get a job at a Magic Kingdom, here is a rundown of some of the more idiosyncratic employee rules implemented by the bosses at Disney.

JULY 19, 2014 A Thor Subject The comics industry grapples with attracting women readers. By Jim Geraghty The surprises came in a trio: First, Marvel Comics announced that the character of Thor, based upon the Norse God of Thunder, would become a woman. The second surprise was the venue in which the switch was announced — ABC’s feminine-minded daytime talk show The View — but perhaps that was predictable, considering that Marvel and ABC Television are both owned by Disney. But the third, and biggest, surprise is that anyone thought this was a good idea. “This is not She-Thor,” senior...

During the ceremony, Michael gave an incredibly emotionally-charged acceptance speech Michael Sam became the hero of the 2014 ESPYs last night when he not only proudly walked the red carpet with his boyfriend, but also brought the audience to tears with his emotional and inspiring speech when accepting an award for his incredible courage.

CLERMONT, Florida (CNN) — Just days after getting arrested in a child sex sting, Robert Kingsolver is a long way from his beloved job at Walt Disney World. Inside his rented house in a suburban Orlando neighborhood filled with children, he sits in a folding chair in a nearly empty room, wires dangling in the corner where his computer used to be connected. Now, he can’t be online or near children. “My life is ruined,” he told CNN in an interview at his home. “My family’s life is ruined. My kids’ life is ruined. I’ve devastated my parents because of...

A British tourist had the tops of two of his fingers sliced off while riding on the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disney World in Florida. The victim lost the tip of his ring and little finger after apparently dangling them outside the log fume ride which inspired the Johnny Depp movies. Disney officials in Orlando, Florida, immediately shut down the ride in the Magic Kingdom park following the incident.

I’ve reported in the past about rumors of a Star Wars land coming to Walt Disney World. Over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, two attractions are closing in the near future, and these closings are leading some writers to speculate that Disney is making way for a Star Wars land at DHS.

Watching Jolie pose and smolder and glower is the chief attraction of “Maleficent,” which posits that the reason for Maleficent’s rage wasn’t being left out of a christening party for Aurora, but instead started years earlier, when she fell in love with the princess’s father, Philip. Propelled by passion, power and betrayal, this iteration of the fable — written by Linda Woolverton and based on stories by Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm — isn’t a lot of fun. (“I wish she had smiled more,” one tween viewer was overheard saying after a recent screening.) It’s dark and brooding and...

A man was jailed on suspicion of battery after rushing up and touching Brad Pitt on the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the movie “Maleficent,” witnesses and police said, though Pitt was apparently unhurt and soon resumed signing autographs. Witnesses saw the man from the fan area jump over a barrier onto the red carpet at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood and rush at Pitt, touching him briefly before security guards wrestled him back across the barrier. …

Does a Supreme Court Ruling Mean Disney Will Lose 'Spider-Man' Rights? 11:58 AM PDT 5/21/2014 by Eriq Gardner Once rejected for not suing soon enough, the company challenging Disney's hold on the character thinks it's no longer precluded from moving forward in court. Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the daughter of an author to sue over rights to the Martin Scorsese film Raging Bull. The film is undoubtedly a classic, but its continued commercial prospects are limited. Unlike, say, Spider-Man and the many comic creations of Stan Lee. Now, the owners of Stan Lee Media Inc. --...

Alan Horn net worth and salary: Alan Horn is an American entertainment executive with an estimated net worth of $50 million dollars. Born in Long Island, New York, Alan Horn graduated from Union College in the mid 80s.

The Star Wars team is thrilled to announce the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film.

Luke. Leia. Han. Chewie. Artoo. Threepio. All present and accounted for as StarWars.com unveiled the official cast of "Star War: Episode VII" Tuesday. Here's the full release: The Star Wars team is thrilled to announce the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film. Director J.J. Abrams says, "We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars:...