Say what you will about Disney, but sometimes they do extremely cool things, such as the Star Wars Weekends summer events planned out at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando. Launching this weekend is the incredibly cool Carbon-Freeze Me experience:

Using state-of-the-art imaging technology, this experience casts your likeness as a three-dimensional, eight-inch figurine. At the Carbon-Freezing Chamber, several cameras will capture multiple angles of your face. The images are then reconstructed in a computer for processing, and in approximately four weeks, the completed figurine is shipped directly to your house. I had my image captured during early tests for this experience, and it was surreal to see a digital version of my head.

What Star Wars fan wouldn’t want an 8″ figurine of yourself frozen in Carbonite?

The best part about this whole thing is that you can get these custom figures for a relatively low price. For only $99.95 you forever frozen can be yours, and duplicates can be ordered for only $74.95 using the original digital reconstruction of your face.

Of course you will need to be at Disney’s Hollywood Studios to partake in this deal, but if you find yourself at the happiest place on earth this is one of the better souvenirs you could possibly pick up. Details on how to make an appointment (a necessity) can be found at Disney’s Park Blog.

Skimming close to a billion dollars worldwide after a mere 14 days, Marvel, Disney and Paramount are proving that you can indeed make a movie mashup with other characters and pull it off. With that in mind, and that massive payroll coming into the Marvel Studios bank account, you had better believe there are already plans for a sequel to The Avengers.

Deadline has the official quote:

Disney CEO Bob Iger just announced that the company is developing a sequel. The film’s success “is a great illustration of why we like Marvel so much.” Demand for Avengers merchandise has been strong, he added.

While there is no official word, you can expect that Disney is courting Joss Whedon to return to the pen and/or direct for the second film, but we all know it’s going to be a bit far out. The next batch of sequels you can expect to take off will be Shane Black’s Iron Man 3, Thor 2, and the sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger.

With the live action Avengers hitting the big screen today Marvel doesn’t want fans to forget they have other programs featuring their heroes available to watch. In fact, a TV series about the Avengers is currently running on Disney XD right now.

That show, called The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, airs on Sundays and this week’s new episode promises some pretty good action and fun for kids of all ages. To help set the mood Marvel has sent us a preview for this Sunday’s episode along with some word we’re supposed to include. Here they are:

Can’t get enough of the Hulk?! This Sunday on Ultimate Spider-Man, catch more HULK SMASH action as he teams up with Spidey to take down an invisible villain who’s destroying Manhattan! In this behind-the-scenes interview, the big voice behind the big guy, Fred Tatasciore, gives an inside look into the mind of this week’s breakout Avenger.

Don’t miss Fred as The Hulk in Ultimate Spider-Man and in a new The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (featuring The Guardians of the Galaxy!), this Sunday inside Marvel Universe at 11a/10c, only on Disney XD.

Check out the video after the break.

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One of the most endearing parts of Who Framed Roger Rabbit was the imagined world where Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse were denizens of the same  world. It was a real thrill to see classic animated characters from multiple companies come together for one film.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Disney is at it again with their new film Wreck-It Ralph:

The movie features other spoofs of real-life games: Glee‘s Jane Lynch is a Sarge-like figure (Halo) in a sci-fi first-person shooter called Hero’s Duty, and comedian Sarah Silverman voices cutie-pie Vanellope Von Schweetz in a dessert-themed Mario Kart-style racing game called Sugar Rush.

But before Ralph ventures into those worlds, we find him confessing his woes in a support group for fellow videogame villains, and that’s where the first big cameos begin.

So on top of spoofs, the movie will also see actual cameos for famous video game characters. The EW article goes on to name a who’s who of classic villains, including Dr. Robotnik and Bowser. Does this foreshadow an appearance by two of the most famous video game mascots ever, Mario and Sonic?

What is also interesting is that it appears that a zombie, potentially from the Resident Evil universe, also appears. The truth of the video game industry is that there are a lot of mature titles and franchises that kids are drawn too, would a Disney animated feature call reference to them? You can find out when Wreck-It Ralph hits cinemas this winter.

While there are some haters out there who think a superhero mega movie isn’t worth the time spent on popcorn, the majority of the country, and now, the world, seem to disagree. Disney and Marvel’s The Avengers opened up in specific worldwide screens this weekend, a week ahead of the domestic release on May 4th, and have already superseded expectations in their market, breaking records in Australia by having the second biggest opening weekend of all time behind the final Harry Potter film.

THR breaks down the rest.

The Marvel Studios and Disney tentpole grossed $6 million, compared to $7 million for Deathly Hallows Part 2. And Avengers opened 214 percent ahead of Iron Man 2 ($1.8 million).

Avengers, which is beginning its foreign rollout a week ahead of its domestic launch on May 4, also did record business in Taiwan, scoring the best Wednesday opening gross of all time in earning $1.2 million.

The tentpole is setting down in a total of 42 foreign markets this weekend. Avengers is expected to be a box office monster, both domestically and overseas. In North America, it could debut north of $150 million, based on the sizable strength of pre-release tracking.

Not too shabby for a film about a group of dysfunctional teammates who take down an alien race, right? Catch Avengers in theaters next Friday.

Pixar has set into a pretty stead pattern of releasing one film a year. This summer we have Brave to look forward too, and next year brings us Monsters University. But what about 2014 and beyond? Worry not, Pixar is not letting up anytime soon.

Variety is reporting that Pixar has come clean on several projects targeted for 2014 and 2015:

Pixar has announced its latest project in development, setting a 2015 release target for a toon based on the Mexican holiday of Dio de los Muertos… Other Pixar news from Las Vegas: The studio has titled its dino pic “The Good Dinosaur,” set for May 30, 2014; and has dated its “Untitled Pixar Movie that Takes You Inside the Mind” for June 19, 2015.

So The Good Dinosaur for 2014 and a potential double dip in 2015. What is most exciting is the news of the newly announced film that is based on the Day of the Dead. There is a wealth of culture and history to be mined out of the Mexican holiday, and of all the studios willing to go down that hole, Pixar is by far the most capable of giving it the proper due.

We here at The Flickcast will keep a close eye on this future project, but in the mean time we can all brace for the potential awesomness that is Brave this summer.

Sometimes news is just so pleasantly surprising you can not help but to smile. In the back of our minds we expected another solid Hans Zimmer-y type score for the next Disney period, action/adventure, Jerry Bruckheimer extravaganza. That would have been fine, maybe even great, instead we will be getting something far more interesting.

Jack White, of The White Stripes fame, is stepping on board to compose the music for The Lone Ranger. A bold and exciting direction for Disney to take, but one that makes so much sense when you really think about it. The Lone Ranger looks to be turning into a very progressive blockbuster, and hopefully in this case quality follows progress.

As for Mr. White, movies are not an entirely new endeavor for the talented rocker. He wrote music for actually acted in Cold Mountain, his folksy styling fit in perfectly with that civil war tale. He also co-wrote and sung the theme song to the most recent James Bond film Quantum of Solace. That film might have been divisive, but most agreed the theme was quite good.

Like other established musicians turned composers, Jack White will likely keep a distinctive style in his Lone Ranger music. If he is really successful he will sound like himself while transcending his own sound like Trent Reznor and Danny Elfman have done in the past. We can’t wait to hear what he has in store for us.

Much like myself, every fanboy and fangirl in the world is counting the days to May 4th when they have their childhood dreams realized on film as Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, and Hulk join together in one amazing film by the man that made X-Men and a cheerleader who fights vampires cool, Joss Whedon.

Leading up to that, in typical Disney fashion, the genius marketing reps over there have managed to make every day leading up to the 4th like Christmas morning with tons of new clips and treats. First, they treated a special group of superfans to a screening across the country last weekend, and now they’re treating us all to an onslaught of clips.

Some of you have already seen the popular Black Widow clip from the film, but this new one, featuring an all-out brawl between Thor and Iron Man is probably the best one we’ve seen yet.

Take a look after the jump, and catch Avengers in theaters starting Midnight, May 4th.

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OK, so lets break it down to you in the simplest way possible. Disney wants to make a movie that is based on a ride, that was based on a movie, that was based on a book. We here at The Flickcast are generally pro re-imagining properties, but that seems stretched a little thin.

Deadline is reporting that Disney is keen to get a movie in production based on yet another popular ride from a Disney Park:

Disney has feature film plans for Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, one of its longest-running theme park rides. The studio has set iconic commercials and video director Pete Candeland to develop a live-action/CGI mix feature that will bring to life a theme park ride that originated in Disneyland on its opening in 1955.

Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, if you remember, is the children’s dark ride that simulates a wild and drunken high speed car chase that ends with a first person simulation of a horrible death and hell. It is by far the most insane, ‘WTF’ ride at Disneyland and the concept of turning that experience into a feature film is crazy, but maybe just crazy enough to work.

The current idea would be to craft a film based on the attraction, not the well regarded source material. So sorry Wind in the Willows fans, it looks like you won’t be getting the umpteenth adaptation of your beloved book.

Disney’s big holiday animated project likely hits close to home for many of The Flickcast’s readership. A tale of an 8-Bit villian who tires of his repetitive life of villainy and struggles to find a place for him to be a hero. No it is not the biography of Donkey Kong, it is Wreck-It Ralph.

In the wake of the Pixar merger a few years ago, Disney has had a very successful run of animated films NOT produced by the famed animation studio. While not quite the high water mark of the second golden age, the last handful of years has been a welcome return to quality animation for the mouse house. Hopefully Wreck-It Ralph keeps that newly forged streak alive.

The newest poster for the upcoming film has hit the web today, and its simplistic, 8-Bit design fills us with confidence. Clearly this film knows it’s roots and is being made by people with a genuine love of the video game world. 8-Bit design has found a resurgence in the geek community in recent years, and to see a major motion picture studio plastering the style in theater hallways nationwide is heartening.

You can see the full poster after the jump.

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Tron: Legacy is a bit of a polarizing film. Some people loved it, others hated it while few could find much middle ground. Say what you will about the movie itself, it is hard to deny that Legacy re-introduced us to an intriguing universe that deserves to be explored a bit more.

While a third Tron film grows less and less likely with each passing month, Disney remains committed to the franchise with a new animated series set to debut on Disney XD soon. We have long known of this project, as it was announced shortly after the release of Legacy, but it has been awhile since we have been reminded that the show is still on the horizon.

That reminder has finally arrived in the form of a new trailer for the show, showcasing an impressive animated style that fits the digital world of Tron perfectly. The show also boosts an incredible voice cast, starring Elijah Wood, Mandy Moore, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reubens and even Bruce Boxleitner back as Tron.

You can check out the new trailer after the jump.

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The recent trend of Fairy Tale re-imaginings is going to be around for at least a few more years as Disney announced today that one if its most intriguing in-development projects is moving full steam ahead.

Maleficent is a live action re-telling of the Sleeping Beauty story, but from the perspective of Maleficent herself, played very appropriately by Angelina Jolie. Originally the movie was being developed by Brad Bird and there was even a time when Tim Burton was attached to direct, but recently the project had been rather dormant.

That was until today’s announcement of course. Disney has confirmed that Robert Stromberg will be making his feature debut with this film, which is now set for an March 14th, 2014 release date. Stromberg is a production designer that was a major contributor on Avatar and has worked with Tim Burton and Sam Raimi in the past. With a resume like that it is a safe bet that the film will look stunning, and with Angelina Jolie still perfectly cast in the title role this film has much going for it.

There was a time when this project looked dead in the water, but this new niche sub-genre has been gaining a ton of momentum as of late. Even the poorly marketed Mirror Mirror ended up gaining some admirers. Hopefully re-done fairy tales has some more creative heft to it now that the Twlight aesthetic has grown so stale.