Frozen

The main 'problem' with The Story of Frozen is that it was on ABC now, rather than on the blu-ray...

It was pretty good. Nothing that new and different, but very well done. But it should have been an on-disc documentary.

Agreed, nothing like this should of been on TV. It should of been on the blu-ray.

Dress Like Elsa on Your Wedding Day! Disney and Alfred Angelo to Release Frozen-Inspired Gown in January



Disney can’t hold it back anymore: Elsa’s getting the bridal treatment! The team behind Frozen, the highest-grossing animated film of all time, is linking up with Disney Consumer Products and wedding and bridesmaid gown designer Alfred Angelo to release a dress inspired by the gorgeous Snow Queen of Arendelle—and InStyle has the exclusive first look.

“A character like Elsa is a huge inspiration for any designer,” says Alfred Angelo’s Chief Creative Officer Michele Piccione, who designed the dress. “She is beautiful and elegant, and her inner beauty shines through when she is ultimately not afraid to embrace who she is with confidence and poise.”

To start the design process, Piccione looked at the moment in which Elsa transforms and “finally embraces her icy powers” during the song “Let It Go,” a tune so magically voiced by Idina Menzel. “We wanted to translate Elsa’s inner beauty and individuality into a sophisticated gown that exudes this,” says Piccione.

The result is an ice blue softly-flared sheath gown with a sweetheart neckline made with layers of satin, tulle, glitter net and organza (sketch shown above). All-over beading in swirling patterns cover the gown so it shimmers like Elsa’s so very treasured fresh-fallen snow. A Watteau train, a classic style that drapes from the shoulders to the floor, adds a finishing touch and “captures Elsa’s regal appearance and her bold personality,” Piccione notes.

The Elsa-inspired dress will be available in both ice blue and ivory versions in January 2015 at Alfred Angelo stores. Visit alfredangelo.com to find locations near you.

And if you’re a bride-to-be, Piccione has some advice while you’re shopping for your dream dress: Pull an Elsa, and let it go. “Knowing when to stop is key,” says the designer. “Find a dress that is an expression of you, whatever silhouette, fabric or rhinestone confection it may be. When you find the gown that makes you feel the most beautiful, a true extension of your personality, stop!”

Source: InStyle

Isn't Frozen getting a new ride in 2016 at Epcot?
I heard it was replacing Malestrom.

^That's true!

Disney’s ‘Frozen’ rules holiday toy list

“Frozen” is still hot.

Two toys based off Walt Disney Co.'s (DIS) hit animated film made Adventure Publishing Group’s Toy Insider Hot 20 list released today, making it the only entertainment property with multiple items on the roster. Disney and its licensees had seven items on the list, a selection of toys Adventure’s experts expect to top kids’ wish lists during the holiday season.

Disney’s movie about a princess with magical powers was released on Thanksgiving last year and racked up more than $1 billion in global ticket sales, making it the fifth-highest grossing film of all time. The success caught toymakers by surprise, resulting in a dearth of related merchandise and creating a secondary market that saw “Frozen” dresses selling for more than $1,000 online. This holiday season, Disney and its licensees are better prepared, with plenty of inventory and products to satisfy fans.

“It’s going to be a frozen Christmas, ice cold,” said Laurie Schacht, president of Adventure Publishing, which produces toy-industry magazines. “The appeal is so broad, and it’s such a wonderful story that parents are happy to put merchandise like this in their kids’ hands.”

The “Frozen"-themed items on this year’s list are a singing, moving doll of the movie’s protagonist, Elsa, as well as the Cool Tunes Sing-Along Boombox -- a small karaoke machine for the film’s best-selling soundtrack. Both items retail for about $35.

Disney, the world’s largest entertainment company, dominated the list with items from its in-house properties or from licensees. Among its toys on the Hot 20 are a Marvel character version of Disney Infinity, which combines action figures and video-game play, and a wheeled medical kit based on the Doc McStuffins cartoon.

‘American Heartbeat’

‘‘Disney is on the pulse of the American heartbeat these days,” Schacht said.

Other top toy lists also are released around this time of year by retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Toys “R” Us Inc., which said yesterday it will add 45,000 seasonal employees, the same as last year. While their selections often overlap with independent lists like the Toy Insider’s, the retailers tend to have more items from the industry’s major manufacturers, such as Mattel Inc. and Hasbro Inc.

Mattel, the world’s largest toymaker, had two toys on the Toy Insider’s list, and Hasbro had just one. Lego A/S had a lone item as well, a construction set based on Star Wars, another Disney property.

Because technology has become such a big part of the toy industry, Toy Insider created a separate list for gadgets, which includes smartwatches from VTech Holdings Ltd. and LeapFrog Enterprises Inc. aimed at kids 4 years and older.

Source: Yahoo! Finance

Hasbro Wins Disney Frozen Toy Licenses in Blow to Mattel

Hasbro Inc. (HAS) is shaking off its reputation as a boys’ toy company.

In a major coup, the company known for Transformers and G.I. Joe announced yesterday that it secured the doll license starting in 2016 for two juggernauts of the girls toy aisle with Walt Disney Co. (DIS)’s “Frozen” and Princess brands. Even better for Hasbro is that it’s taking the rights to make Elsa and Cinderella figurines from larger rival, Mattel Inc. (MAT)

“We’re talking about hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue in Disney Princess going away starting in 2016,” said Sean McGowan, an analyst at Needham & Co. in New York.

Hasbro had been ceding the doll category to Mattel, which dominated with its own brands like Barbie and American Girl as well as the relationship with Disney. Instead, Hasbro built a girls business by reviving brands it owned, such as My Little Pony. That helped it triple sales from girls toys to more than $1 billion in a decade. With this deal, it has set its sights squarely on Ken’s girlfriend.

“We have a true understanding of girls globally and how today’s girls want to play,” Hasbro Chief Executive Officer Brian Goldner said in yesterday’s statement. “The entire Hasbro team is looking forward to providing consumers with inventive new play experiences based on the beloved Disney Princess and ‘Frozen’ characters and stories.”

Hasbro Gains

Shares of Hasbro dropped 0.3 percent to $54.77 at 9:48 a.m. in New York, following an advance of 3.8 percent yesterday, the biggest gain since February. The Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based company is little changed for the year. Meanwhile, Mattel fell 0.9 percent to $31.38, adding to a decline of 1.3 percent yesterday.

Hasbro and Disney declined to comment on the length or the finances of the deal.

For Mattel, “there’s no question they are popular brands, but our portfolio is still quite strong” with Barbie, Monster High and Ever After High, said Alex Clark, a spokesman for El Segundo, California-based Mattel. The company will also have “Frozen” for the next two holiday shopping seasons, which will likely be the height of its popularity, he said.

While Mattel doesn’t break out sales from the Disney doll license, McGowan said it may have generated $500 million in revenue last year and that’s likely to increase this year with the continued success of “Frozen.” The Oscar-winning Disney film about two royal sisters in an icy kingdom was released last Thanksgiving and became the fifth-highest grossing film of all time with more than $1 billion in global ticket sales.

Portfolio Star

That on-screen success has been a boon to Mattel, especially since top doll brands Barbie and Monster High haven’t been growing. Mattel CEO Bryan Stockton called “Frozen” the “star of the portfolio” on a conference call in July to discuss second-quarter results.

“Mattel’s revenue and earnings visibility got a little worse,” said McGowan, who recommends holding shares of Mattel and Hasbro. “It’s a meaningful, but not crippling negative for Mattel.”

The Disney Princess brand has been a phenomenon in its own right. Disney has perfected the cycle of releasing movies with female characters and then later initiating them into the princess sisterhood in real-life ceremonies that boosts merchandise sales.

Disney, based in Burbank, California, has driven the princess-fad over the past few years -- one in which little girls could be seen wearing princess dresses several days a week and partaking in all manner of princess activities, accessories and toys.

‘Toy Wars’

“Disney Princess is a great brand” and it’s only a matter of time before Elsa and Anna, the stars of “Frozen,” get added to the lineup, said Jim Silver, editor in chief of TTPM.com, a toy website. “It makes the toy wars a lot more interesting.”

Hasbro won over Disney with what it has recently done in girls toys, especially Nerf Rebelle, and how it handled Disney properties Star Wars and Marvel, Chief Marketing Officer John Frascotti said in an interview. Rebelle is a toy bow-and-arrow line aimed at girls and was an offshoot of deep research Hasbro did into what makes today’s girls and moms tick, he said.

Girls and moms “don’t feel that traditional boundaries of what has been purely girl play or purely boy play should apply,” Frascotti said. “We really felt there was an opportunity to bring some of our fresh thinking to these great brand franchises in Disney Princess and Frozen.”

Source: Bloomberg

Preorder your copy today to get Frozen vinyl delivered to your doorstep on 9/30! Amazon Music

Idina Menzel News (@IdinaMenzelNews) - Brace yourselves - @idinamenzel’s “Let It Go” has been certified QUADRUPLE platinum!!