More Disney Park Music on iTunes, Along With Remastered McDuck

Two recent digital releases on iTunes and Amazon MP3 give Disney music collectors a reason to rejoice--even if the timing on our first recommendation seems a bit...out of season.

It's A Small World Holiday

The bright, jingly soundtrack to Disneyland's popular It's a Small World Christmas overlay is available for the first time since its original appearance on the now out-of-print A Musical History of Disneyland. Including the Clock Parade intro, it runs about fifteen minutes, thus giving you a nice virtual ride-through and leaving the Small World/Jingle Bells medley forever stuck in your mind. Bwa-ha-ha! Reasonably Priced at $3.99

 

Ducktales Remastered - Official Game Soundtrack

First, a word about the game: If you're a fan of Scrooge McDuck, great games or both, Ducktales Remastered (available for download on just about every recent game console) is a wonderful, beautifully crafted adventure you shouldn't miss. Based on the popular 1989 Nintendo game (in turn based on the TV series), it's been reborn with stunning animation, the show's original voice cast and a fantastic reworking of its legendary score.

Now, on to the album: From the high-energy rendition of the opening theme to the haunting piano rendition of the game's Moon track, this album is a fantastic audio ride, and it includes the original 8-bit renditions of the score to boot! Forty-seven tracks for $9.99 -- Highly recommended.

Celebrate Christmas in May...in Duckberg! Happy listening!

Netflix Graced By Two More Disney Classics

As the wonderful Frozen sets box office records in theaters, Netflix has added more Disney magic to the home viewing world with the arrivals of The Sword in the Stone and Robin Hood. I was asleep at the switch when these two classics appeared last week: Many thanks to Josie Becker for alerting me to these welcome additions to the Netflix streaming lineup!

Both these films feature great character animation, and The Sword in the Stone is one of my very favorite Disney movies. What a great pair to watch beside a crackling fireplace this winter!

Netflix Invaded by Pirates of the Caribbean

Rejoice, all ye fans of swashbuckling, dark comedy and undead scallawags. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (the one truly great Pirates of the Caribbean movie) has landed on the shores of Netflix for instant streaming.

If I'm not mistaken, this actually marks a return of the film to Netflix, following a lengthy absence that began when the Netflix/Stars agreement ended. This new appearance falls under the terms of the more recent Netflix/Disney arrangement.

One way or the other, it's great to see this film available once again. Even if you feel a bit burned out by all the sequels, over-exposure and classic ride makeovers, Black Pearl remains a fresh, imaginative and (thanks to outstanding performances by all four leads) tremendously likable film.

Netflix Delivers a Holiday Mouse-Fest

I wasn't planning on another Netflix post so soon, but the service has just added a quartet of Mouse Flix, all direct-to-video productions, to their instant streaming service.

The highlight of the bunch is the wonderful, hilarious and very under-appreciated  Three Musketeers, which places the Disney Fab Five in a fast-paced, fan-pleasing feature-length send-up of the classic tale. In-jokes, great animation and unique character moments abound, plus Pete gets his peg leg back! If you haven't caught this beauty, you're in for a treat. This could have (and should have) been a theatrical release.

Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas is a trio of well-done tales. In the first, Huey, Dewey and Louie wish every day was Christmas and soon realize not all wishes should be granted. The second finds Goofy trying to give young Max a perfect Christmas in spite of a belief crisis. In the finale, Mickey and Minnie play out their own version of Gift of the Magi. Watch for Mortimer Mouse and an animated version of Firehouse Five Plus Two!

I'd love to see the entire run of the wonderful House of Mouse series show up on Netflix someday. In the meantime, the two compilation specials, Snowed In at the House of Mouse and Mickey's House of Villains will do. Both combine new animation with classic clips to create entertaining hour-long Disney mash-ups.

Gather the family, cook up some Mickey pasta and settle back for a good time. What a great way to start the Holiday video season!

A Classic and a Clunker hit Netflix

The much-loved compilation film, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, has arrived on Netflix for digital streaming. Fans will be pleased to find it's the good version, not the awful cable TV edition from years back that substituted Tigger Too with the cheaply-made Day for Eeyore.

This happy arrival completely makes up for the other new addition: Hunchback of Notre Dame II, one of the awful video sequels that boggles the mind and shames the studio name with its very existence. The best thing I can say about HoND2 is that its production gave employment to animators. Hooray for that, at least.

Haunted Mansion Holiday Materializes on iTunes

What's this? What's this? There's good news for all fans!

The park music digital download scene continues to flourish; The soundtrack to Disneyland's Haunted Mansion Holiday has creeped delightfully onto iTunes and Amazon MP3. For $7.99, you can add the world's most astonishing once-a-year ride metamorphosis to your playlist.

The album's stretched out with nine cute/creepy Halloween-themed parodies of Christmas carols, but--of course--the reason anyone would buy this is saved for the final track: a terrific and energetic 16 minute ride-through mix of the entire Nightmare Before Christmas-themed attraction. Even if you've never actually visited Haunted Mansion Holiday, this soundtrack completely captures the spirit of the experience. The wonderful music and voice work make it an audio celebration you'll want to listen to again and again.

This has been a great year for park music fans! Please Click here for a complete list of all the Disney park albums currently available on iTunes and Amazon MP3.

Lilo and Kuzco Arrive on Netflix

The Netflix library of Disney classics just got a great dose of later-era comedy. Lilo and Stitch and The Emperor's New Groove have arrived for instant streaming.

Two of the best-received films of Disney's post-Lion King hand-drawn lineup, they certainly seem to belong together in one release. Both are extremely funny, sharply directed, and much-loved by fans of all ages. The Emperor's New Groove is one of the most-quotable films Disney's ever released. Lilo and Stitch, despite the company's later over-exposure of the little alien, remains an incredibly original and imaginative story (its directors would go on to create the best Dreamworks film ever: How to Train Your Dragon).

It's good to see these two added to the streaming mix, they're the perfect films to watch on a brisk nearly-autumn evening!

Review: Disney's Official Park Albums Hit iTunes

Today, for the first time ever, Disney's new Official Albums for Disneyland and Walt Disney World are available for digital download on iTunes, Amazon and Disney's own online music store.

The Good News: Most of the tracks are available for individual purchase, so great new selections from both coasts such as "Radiator Springs Racers," "Test Track," "A Suitcase and a Dream" and "Be Our Guest" can be added to fans' playlists without purchasing both entire albums ($19.99 each). This is a great plus for buyers who already own most of the tracks from previous editions of the park CDs.

The Bad News (but we knew this was coming): Longer tracks (and a couple of short ones, such as Pooh) are only available if the entire album is purchased. There's no way iTunes would offer the nearly 20-minute long Fantasyland Dark Ride Suite for $1.29, after all.

Whether you call Disneyland or Walt Disney World your "home" resort, both of these albums are terrific collections of some of the best music ever produced under the Disney banner. There's actually very little duplication between the two albums. Toy Story Midway Mania, for instance, is represented by two completely different tracks on each set.

What follows is a quick overview of the collections. I'm going to assume most of you already own most of the classic tracks. If not, you can't go wrong buying both albums in their entirety.

Park Soundtracks in the Digital Age

As many of you already know, Disney recently announced an August 20th release date for new park soundtrack CDs. Disneyland and Walt Disney World will each have their own updated 2-disc collection, with several new tracks. Of course, this is terrific news, but--for me--the best thing about this announcement is....wait...okay, before we continue...

Let's pause here a second to look at the covers. Raise your hand if you think the cost-cutting "One Disney" merchandising concept needs to stop.

Okay, moving forward to the best part of this news: These titles will be available on iTunes, Amazon MP3, and Disney's own online digital music shop!

The Avengers Storm Netflix

A quiet little art-house movie Disney distributed last year has become available for instant digital streaming on Netflix. You might have heard of it; It's about two British spies named John Steed and Emma Peel who -- oh, wait. Sorry. No, this is the one where superheroes bicker, things explode, Loki gets beat up real good and the Walt Disney Company dances all the way to the bank.

It's not perfect, but The Avengers is certainly a spectacular flick with an outstanding cast and some amazing action set-pieces. If you haven't yet seen this one, get some popcorn and settle back for a fun ride.

For more films, see our full guide to Disney on Netflix.

Two Park Classics Parade Onto iTunes

In another big marching step for fans seeking digital park music, Disney's Electrical Parade and SpectroMagic have become available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon MP3.

The price points are reasonable, considering the track lengths ($2.99 for the 9:57 Electrical Parade and $3.99 for the 14:16 SpectroMagic). The sound quality is excellent on both releases.

SpectroMagic's release is a bit bittersweet, considering this week's news about the uncheerful fate of the retired parade floats, but the high quality of this recording should rekindle happy memories in fans and introduce newcomers to the timeless fun of this Walt Disney World exclusive.

The Electrical Parade's release might strike a pang of nostalgia in many Disneyland regulars who are coming to grips with the increasingly unlikely prospect of ever getting that show back to California (Elliott, we miss you!). This is the terrific Randy Thornton mix created for The Musical History of Disneyland (complete with Alice and Pete dialogue with the crowd) but with the DCA-era alternate opening and closing announcements hailing it awkwardly as "Disney's Electrical Parade." It just sounds odd not hearing "Main Street" in that fanfare.

Still, any Electrical Parade on iTunes is better than none!

I encourage all Disney park fans to purchase both of these releases: If we want more park music released digitally, we need to vote with our wallets!

As always, I'm hoping there's more to come!

For a complete list of currently available digital Disney park music, please click here.

Netflix Adds Brother Bear 2

Disney's direct-to-video sequel, Brother Bear 2 has arrived on Netflix.

After the recent flood of great classic Disney animation onto the digital streaming service, today's addition certainly seems anticlimactic all by its lonesome, but it's better than nothing. At least I hope it is...I haven't seen it yet. But--hey--It's gotta be better than Cinderella 2.

Two DCA Soundtracks Surf onto iTunes

Another blast of Disney park music recently hit iTunes and Amazon MP3 -- this time in the form of a DCA time capsule duo! First up: Music From (the original) Disney's California Adventure!

 

Wanna relive the early days when DCA kind of sucked eggs -- yet still had some genuine gems to offer? This long out-of-print park CD has been digitally resurrected! Here, preserved for the ages, you'll find the fun score to the infamously awful Superstar Limo ride (the music deserved better), and a pair of DCA "welcome" songs that -- in a nutshell -- sum up everything icky about the park's original attempts at being "edgy." As if in penance, this album's priced to move at $7.99!

Despite the few flops, there are several fantastic tracks here, many of which made the jump to later park albums, such as the scores for Soarin', California Screamin' and Seasons of the Vine. Great extinct show pieces include the finales from Steps In Time and Lights, Camera, Chaos plus nine minutes of music from the unusual Eureka! parade.

Atlantis Surfaces on Netflix

Netflix has just added Atlantis: The Lost Empire to its lineup of Disney films available for digital streaming.

Released in 2001, Atlantis has quite a bit in common with Treasure Planet (also on Netflix): It's a non-musical, straightforward science fiction/fantasy adventure about a fatherless young man on a quest to make a name for himself.

Also, like Treasure Planet, this film is greatly under-appreciated. If you've never seen Atlantis, now's your chance to embark on a terrific adventure that unfolds like an animated spiritual successor to live-action Disney adventures such as 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and In Search of the Castaways. Its unique blend of Jules Verne-inspired settings and hand drawn animation gives it a unique and very effective style. Highly recommended.

Golden Horseshoe Lives On Through iTunes

The recent "Limited-Time Magic" Tribute to the Golden Horseshoe Revue stage show is heading into its final days at Disneyland. While it's a shame the tribute isn't a permanent fixture at the park, the magic of the original long-running Disneyland classic can still be enjoyed, for Slue-Foot Sue's Golden Horseshoe Review is on iTunes (and Amazon MP3)!

Recorded Live at Disneyland in 1957, the album (misspelled title and all) captures the light-hearted joy and energy of the original show. The original amazing cast is in great form and this special presentation includes a guest appearance by the Disney's favorite barbershop quartet, the Mellomen.

Another classic park album joins our growing list of iTunes Disney Park albums. The digital scene keeps getting better and better!

A List of iTunes Disney Park Albums

 

Main Street's 20th Century Music Company is one of my top-priority shop visits on every trip to Disneyland. No visit's complete without a look at its selection of Park CDs.

The recent release of several Disney Park albums onto iTunes and Amazon MP3 brings a little bit of that shop's magic to the online music market. Unlike Main Street's music store, however, iTunes doesn't make it particularly easy to find all their park-related selections.

To help Disney music fans zero in on the digital albums, I've put together a page dedicated to keeping track of what's available. I certainly look forward to adding more titles as they're released!

Happy listening!

Photo by Lana Whitham

Netflix Adds The Rescuers & Treasure Planet

A quick update: Netflix, as part of their ongoing Disney agreement, has just added more two animated classics to their digital streaming lineup: The Rescuers and the very underrated Treasure Planet.

What a nice way to start the New Year! Check our Disney Netflix List for a full listing of the currently available classics.

Park Music on iTunes! A Review of The Circle Sessions

Happy New Year! If you're looking for some mellow music to unwind with after all last night's festivities, you're in luck; Disney has actually released an album of park music for digital download on iTunes and Amazon.

The Circle Sessions: The Music of Carthay Circle has been available at Disney California Adventure since early November, but just hit iTunes and Amazon a week before Christmas.

Comprised of twelve tracks from Buena Vista Street's Carthay Circle Restaurant, this album glides through smooth jazz interpretations of classic Disney tunes old and new, including "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes", "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat", "Alice in Wonderland" "Be Our Guest" and "Married Life" from Up.

Pete's Dragon: A Classic LP Returns...Almost Complete

After a long, long stay in the vault, the 1977 Pete's Dragon LP recently arrived on iTunes and Amazon MP3. Fans can rejoice, and then puzzle over the deletion of one of the album's tracks.

Pete's Dragon is no Marry Poppins, but the songs are still a lot of fun, and if you've never heard this album before, you might be surprised to find that several of the tracks differ quite a bit from the movie versions, particularly Mickey Rooney's "I Saw a Dragon." The songs are also in the wrong order (the album's always been like that), so you'll probably want to fix that on your playlist.