Infinity's Soundtrack Includes Peter Pan's Flight, Toontown and Condorman

Abu, Mike and Luigi enjoy some classic Danny Elfman

The creators of Disney Infinity recognized the importance of having their game sound like a Disney universe as well as look the part. Players encounter an eclectic and colorful soundscape ranging from the light-hearted jazz of Monsters University to the pulsing electronic beats of Tron. One particular game item enables the option to select the background music.

The Radio Disney Boombox is a vault item every player should try to unlock as soon as possible for use in the world-building Toybox mode. Thankfully, what you hear is not taken from today's real-life Radio Disney, but from the company's films, theme parks and one certain show with a platypus. The selections include:

"Steamboat Willie" - The track fom Mickey's Toontown (listed simply as "Mickey Mouse")
"Peter Pan's Flight" - The queue medley from Disneyland
"Cinderella's Castle" - Music from Cinderella's movie score.
"Alice in Wonderland"- Loops the trial, chase, final scene and closing credits song.
"Nightmare Before Christmas" - The film's closing credit music.
"The Incredibles" - Features "Saving Metroville" from the film score.
"Jessie" - The Toy Story character's western theme.
"Condorman" - Henry Mancini's theme song for Disney's campy, legendary flop.
"Phineas and Ferb" - A remix of "Gitchee Gitchee Goo" plus an instrumental of "Ain't Got Rhythm."
"Finding Nemo" -Plays the "Wow" opening score from the film.
"Tangled" -  A pop instrumental of "Something that I Want."
"Emperor Zurg" - From Toy Story 2
"Sugar Rush" and "Suger Rush Showdown" from Wreck-It Ralph.
"Recognizer" and "Derezzed" from Tron: Legacy.
"Wall-E"- Music from the score. 
"Frankenweenie" - The "Re-Animation" track.

The boombox doesn't include all the game's music: Other tracks are triggered when a particular item is activated, and many are exclusive to the character adventures. Overall, it adds up to a soundtrack as diverse and entertaining as Infinity's anything-goes gameplay.

Crocodile Smiles at World of Disney

The Crocodile from Peter Pan gazes down upon shoppers at the World of Disney Store, and I don't think he's got customer service on his mind. What a fantastic character design; Who could blame Hook for being afraid of this critter's single-minded quest for Captain a la Carte?

Most artists drawing a cartoon crocodile would probably focus on the sharp teeth, but Disney's animators zeroed in on what's truly scary about this guy: his gaping bottomless pit of a gullet. The croc (unofficially known as Tick Tock) gave me nightmares when I was a small child, and--though he's one of my favorite characters--his mouth still creeps me out big-time!

Reviewing the Competition: How Peter Pan Might Hold a Clue to Adventure Time's Success

Have you ever wondered what an average day in Neverland is like for Peter Pan? Sleep late, fry up some crocodile eggs, fight pirates, play games, visit mermaids, fight pirates, have lunch on the volcano, fight pirates....

In a nutshell, that's the drawing power of Cartoon Network's smash hit animated series, Adventure Time: Its hero, Finn, lives every boy's dream of the perfect treehouse-based life. Blend Neverland with the post-apocalyptic world of Ralph Bakshi's Wizards, add heaps of Mad-Libs random craziness, and you've got a show full of endless story possibilities.

If you're an Adventure Time fan, think about it a moment:

Strange Things 9: Laughing Sky Edition!

Holy Cheshire Cats, "Beyond the Laughing Sky" is on iTunes! Time for another edition of Strange Things -- Recordings of Disney tunes which are offbeat, rarely heard or performed in unexpected ways. All are available on iTunes and Amazon MP3.

This first one, a stealth release from Disney, is one fans have been waiting for since the days of laser disc!

TRACK: Beyond the Laughing Sky
ALBUM: The Lost Chords: Peter Pan

The Lost Chords are short albums highlighting songs which were not used in the Disney films they were written for. Past releases include songs from Cinderella, The Aristocats and The Rescuers. Each lets you hear the original demo version, followed by a new recording of the piece.

"Beyond the Laughing Sky", however, is a special song--one that forever links the production history of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. If you watched the bonus material on the Alice in Wonderland laser disc or recent DVD releases, you probably know its history. The song was written for Alice, but not used. With a new set of lyrics, the song became "Second Star to the Right" in Peter Pan. Here's a music clip from the video releases, hosted by Kathryn Beaumont, the voice of both Alice and Wendy:

The new recording (by Vangie Gunn) on iTunes is beautiful. If you buy one Disney song this week, this is the one to get. Its history is strange, but its performance is wonderful.

Next up (we've got five picks today): Time for a classic 20,000 Leagues song as sung by a bunch of scallawags...

Why does Peter Pan's Flight Remain So Popular?

Year in, year out, the waiting line builds up immediately after the park gates open and remains packed until closing. If you've ever attended an early morning rope-drop at Disneyland, you know the choice everyone makes as they hurry down Main Street. Half the crowd peels off to the right for Star Tours and Space Mountain while everyone else heads straight to Peter Pan's Flight.

It's one of the park's unique joys -- walking quickly up through the ride's queue and seeing the line of flying pirate ships waiting for you. You get one ride, and by the time you disembark two minutes later, the line is already too long to make a second flight worth considering.

A Disney Nut Reviews The Hobbit

I'll get straight to the point: if you loved Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films, you'll love The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. If you didn't like the former, you won't like the latter -- because,  above all else, Jackson has crafted this new film to be an exact stylistic match to the trilogy in dialogue, design, music, pacing, tone and even the gore-level.

In other words, Jackson has taken J.R.R. Tolkien's charming, amazing children's novel prelude to his later epic Rings saga and -- much as he did with the trilogy films -- turned it into a huge, sprawling action movie full of visual wonderment. Rather than skew the film towards the younger audience the book was written for, Jackson has made a movie for older fans of the Rings films.

Personally, I loved the heck out of this movie -- all nearly-three-hours of it. Is it perfect? No. Does it seem a bit padded-out to make it merely the first third of a new trilogy? A bit. Is it full of enough magic, heart, great acting and jaw-dropping spectacle to make it worth seeing? Absolutely -- unless, as mentioned above -- you didn't like The Lord of the Rings.

Waiting For Peter Pan

According to the classic film, flying to Neverland is easy; it just requires happy thoughts and pixie dust. Flying to Neverland at Disneyland, however, simply requires patience. Lots of Patience.

Peter Pan's Flight has been a favorite of Disneyland guests since 1955, and its popularity shows no sign of waning. Early morning arrival is the only reliable way to catch this classic ride without a hefty wait; guests flock to the flying pirate ships right up until park closing, no matter how late.

For many, including myself, no trip to Disneyland is complete without a flight through this masterpiece.