Happy 2012 everyone! The Mouse House is back for another exciting year. Although 2011 has just passed us, the year provided Disney fans with a bunch of wonderful, fun memories. Thanks to the Internet and the abundant amount of viral videos, even more aficionados have been captured by the Disney magic, no matter where they live. In this edition, I’ll share some of my favorite clips produced in 2011, whether created by the company or by ordinary individuals.

10. You can’t escape flashmobs… even at Downtown Disney

Flashmobs have taken over the world. That may sound like a grand statement, but consider how enormous this trend has become in the past few years. Groups like Improv Everywhere started setting the path of creating elaborate, unique dance routines in everyday places. Recently, a young man by the name of Jamin helped coordinate an over-the-top, but ever-romantic marriage proposal to longtime girlfriend Val. Where else to stage this than the Downtown Disney entertainment district in California? Jump to around three minutes into the clip to see excited Jamin jump into the routine. Val’s shocked expression to his proposal appeared priceless. Congratulations to the engaged couple.

9. Disney D23 Expo 2011 excites fans

Imagine being surrounded by tens of thousands of other Disney geeks in one setting for three days, previewing never-before-seen clips of upcoming films and glimpsing into the future of theme parks. In many ways, August 2011’s D23 Expo smashed the inaugural convention out of the ballpark. As indicated in the following clip, which showed just a small recap of the first day, the lines stretched long but the enthusiasm extended even longer. The event may have been overwhelming to the senses and exhausting to the mind, but it was an unforgettable experience for me, as well as for my fellow fans.

8. Up, Up and Away

These two guys’ “extreme home makeover” puts to shame any regular household project you could work on in the garage. A recreation of the iconic home from 2009’s Up, this structure was created – and eventually lifted high into the sky – by hundreds of 8-foot-tall balloons. In this ABC News clip, previewing a National Geographic special that tracked the progress of this massive undertaking, you will see the miraculous moment when the house first soared. Much like when Carl Fredricksen launched his beloved home above the city in the Pixar film, watching this produces awe-inspiring feelings.

7. The best Disney teaser trailer in years

I only wish I waited a few extra months to develop my favorite Disney trailers article, which you can find here, because the teaser for John Carter would have easily been at the top of the list. Peter Gabriel’s somber, yet epic rendition of Arcade Fire’s “My Body is a Cage,” now one of my favorite songs, sets the mellow mood of the mysterious world John Carter becomes inhabited in. An element of intrigue draws viewers in from the moment we see Carter awaken on Barsoom. I think the lack of dialogue works for the teaser’s ambiance, one of wonder and obscurity. The dazzling ship-like aircraft and majestic horse-riding visuals harmonize fantastically with the raw energy of Gabriel’s voice. Willem Dafoe’s signature huskiness concludes this utterly-brilliant teaser for a film I hope lives up to my high expectations. This is the rare case when a trailer manages to achieve everything well.

6. Life “gets better” – take it from Disney’s cast members

Following the lead set by other major American companies like Apple and Google, Disney created its own “It Gets Better” video. These videos have spread quickly across the Web, but not solely for their creativity. Rather, the honesty and poignancy they provide have made them popular, helping support awareness of the amount of bullying and hate speech that circulates in the lives of many teenagers and young adults. These Disney cast members, and even some key Imagineering figures, can attest that “it gets better” with age and more experiences through life. Kudos go out to the featured individuals in this video for making a difference by sharing their stories, and offering hope to others.

5. Darth at Disneyland

I have shared this fantastic viral video once in the Mouse House, but it never hurts to share something special a second time. Disney generated more excitement for the new Star Tours: The Adventures Continue through showing everyone’s favorite “bad dad” at a location where you would least likely find him: the happiest place on earth. Here, Darth takes on King Arthur’s Carousel, The Haunted Mansion and everything in between – using his handy lightsaber when necessary. This clip already boasts over 1.6 million views, and assuming Disney markets another new attraction in a similarly-sensational manner, expect even more hits.

4. Pirates Trailer Taken Quite “Literally”

The folks over at Tobuscus know what they’re doing in making the seemingly-ordinary quite extraordinary. Take, for instance, their laugh-out-loud and quite apropos narration of popular movie trailers. I think it’s apparent they had a fun-filled time when it came to spoofing On Stranger Tides’ preview. You have to love the keen observations they make, such as pointing out the “dramatic main character reveal.” I appreciate they came up with lyrics, so to speak, for the Pirates theme in the background. One of my favorite lines arrives when the trailer shows the creepy-looking mermaid emerging from the water: “the mermaid is less hot now.”

3. The unhappy vacation destination

Wow, did this viral video spread like wildfire. Over the past several years, families have been posting “Disney vacation surprise” videos, capturing the heartwarming moments when parents reveal to their kids of where they are going in a few short weeks, days, or even hours. I’m assuming the folks of these children were not expecting a reaction like this. Who knew kids could be so excited about heading to Chattanooga and disappointed over now having the chance to dine with the Disney princesses? Certainly not the dad, who quips “I have never heard anybody cry because they’re going to Disney World… instead of Chattanooga.”

2. “Man or Muppet” Music Video

The Muppets is not only the best film to come out of Disney in 2011, but it also provided one of the most memorable songs you will listen to in any film released during the year. Call it terrific songwriting or spot-on hilarity, but whatever the reason, the mixture of multiple creative factors that the Muppet brand is known for helped shape the brilliant “Man or Muppet” scene. A few short weeks after this song debuted in theatres to much acclaim, Disney released this music video online. While it ties in much better within the context of the film, I believe this was a smart move to help draw additional interest to The Muppets. Just be warned that the “famous celebrity cameo” is found here, so if you do not want to be spoiled, skip the clip.

1. “One Woman A Cappella Disney Medley”

Back in November, student Heather Traska posted an incredible, mesmerizing eight-minute medley of some of the most recognized Disney tunes. What made this one different was she sung over a dozen of these songs solo, complemented by video clips of the featured films. As you can see, she also designed the costumes and make-up by herself. What a talented individual! Without a shadow of a doubt, she invested a heavy load of commitment and time into making this all work, impeccably blending these various scenes and songs. She claims a robust voice that sounds even more gorgeous as every minute passes. If this is not a superstar in the making, I don’t know who is. Put Heather on the center stage of American Idol, she deserves the spotlight.

Which Disney viral or web videos did you enjoy, but didn’t make this list? Shout out your thoughts below, and be sure to share this article to get the word out on some of the funniest, coolest and most poignant videos released during 2011. See you next week inside the Mouse House!

Here at FusedFilm, we love sharing hilarious, neat videos on the web. For this edition of the Mouse House, I wanted to highlight some of the coolest and most hilarious Disney clips, whether they come from the company officially or are created by fans. Here are some of my favorites. Share your thoughts below and send in suggestions of clips that should be featured in another edition.

“Ode to Joy”

Everyone loves out-of-luck Beaker. His nearly three-year-old YouTube sensation video, a rendition of the classical piece Ode to Joy, goes horribly wrong, as you can see below. I love how this shows six different screens of Beaker, each one releasing a “meep” sound at a different time to create the memorable melody. Unfortunately, nothing goes as planned with this Muppet, who cannot keep up with the increasing tempo of the song. The glass shatters, the metronome fails to keep up the rhythm, and smoke erupts from out of nowhere. Poor Beaker, but at least he has gained over 13 million fans in the process.

“Literal Tron Legacy Trailer Parody”

Wow, do these guys behind the spoof of the trailer for Tron Legacy know the intentions of the film editors. Often you think about what the preview hopes to convey, but never have I seen such a spot-on “analysis” of a trailer in a unique manner. The eccentric changes in the voices to reflect the mood of the trailer builds excitement and tons of hilarity, too. There are too many great lines to reference, but among them: “Look at the arcade game, touch it;” “Oh (bleep), turn around, something’s rising;” “People look small, LIGHTNING, fade out;” and “Laser-tag, wait, that’s a spaceship.” I look forward to seeing what comes next from the “LITERAL” gang.

“How Dead Man’s Chest Should Have Ended”

The folks behind the popular animated web series of How It Should Have Ended (HISHE) have recreated conclusions for some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters. One of Disney’s most financially successful franchises was not immune from being altered, though. “You sure picked a fine time to show me you’re having second thoughts,” the cheated Will Turner exclaims when he catches Elizabeth and Captain Jack smooching on the ship, just before the Kraken is unleashed. What I love about this clip is that it pokes fun at the seriousness that characterizes this more intense sequence of Dead Man’s Chest and also plays with Johnny Depp’s often unusual, twisted dialogue. If that’s not entertaining enough, music sounding like the Hans Zimmer score begins the clip, and it offers some great quotes. “This isn’t anything like the ride at Disney World,” one of Jack’s mates quips. Catch a double dose of Mr. Jones at the very end, too.

Part of Your World

How this never became a YouTube sensation is beyond me. I love this girl’s version of “Part of Your World,” which plays off of when Hillary Clinton was running for the most prestigious job in the country. “I wanna see, wanna seem them votin’,” she chants. The clever lyrics adapted from The Little Mermaid “I want” song is only supported by appropriate backgrounds that argue for patriotism. Sure, the vocals might not be strongest, but I think the funny material stands for itself as pretty great. Although pretty dated now – after all, this debuted around the height of Clinton’s momentum in the race –  this video serves as a nostalgic reminder of this period in history.

Blam! targets Up

Last year, Disney began debuting silly “commercials” on their channel, featuring contemporary, play-by-play narrations of cartoons. Picture a sports anchor following every aspect of a game, only those games being Disney shorts from the 30s and 40s. These have received a lot of flack from purists, but probably not more so than the creators behind this hilarious, distasteful spoof of the Blam! ads by highlighting the characters and scenes in the sentimental Up. You know this is going to bad as soon as the narrator starts with, “Chubby here looks like he’s ready for adventure… ooohhhh, maybe not.” Little Carl hitting against the tree stump is possibly the most mild part. “Planks for nothing!” Puns and play-on words mark every scene, playful and smart throughout. “First comes love, then comes marriage,” he says. Then the shot of one of the film’s more upsetting scenes, Ellie’s miscarriage, arrives and the narrator launches, “then comes, uh oh – Blam! – inconceivable.” “Well, at least you have each other… boring!” Aww, this is just disgusting, but laugh-out-loud at the same time. The worst line: “In the end, love conquers all” – Ellie is shown at the hospital – “Psych!”

“It’s A Small World: Revenge of Satan’s Undead Dolls” on Mad TV

Fox’s version of Saturday Night Live ran on the air for nearly 15 years and commonly spoofed various entertainment trends. Turning Disney attractions into films marked 2003, with the releases of both beloved original Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and heavily-panned The Haunted Mansion. Mad TV couldn’t overlook this new “genre” of films and suggested a creepy, but definitely cool trailer for a movie version of one of the most cherished Disney rides. “They were the typical American family,” the narrator begins, but obviously uniting portrayals of Ellen DeGeneres, Eddie Murphy and Clay Aiken doesn’t exactly scream “typical.” “It’s a world of terror,” the undead dolls chillingly chant out. I’m sure we’ve all thought about this boat ride as potentially terrorizing in one way or another, and I find this spoof as all in good fun.

“The Dark Knight Trailer Recut – Toy Story 2″

What happens when you blend together the audio from the trailer of the best-reviewed comic book film and the visuals of the best-reviewed animated film of our time? This is what you get, a fantastically funny and smart combination. The sound matches perfectly with what is seen on the screen, especially the beginning when the explosions are timed synchronously with Zurg’s robots imploding. I also love how the voices carefully reflect the movements in the mouths of the Toy Story characters. Ever want to hear Michael Caine’s version of Rex? Here’s your opportunity.

“Disney Whore”

Broadway star John Tartaglia of Avenue Q fame is no stranger to the Disney community, as he is an avid fan and contributor within the company. In this original song, entitled “Disney Whore,” Tartaglia expresses his love of anything and everything within the Mouse House. “I don’t care if it’s all fake,” he declares, “if it’s one cheeseball cliche. ‘Cause believin’ in the magic gets me through another day.” His strong vocals, self-awareness in his silliness and laugh-enducing lyrics make this a song to remember and hum throughout the day.

“Disney California Adventure Opening Newsreel”

Ah, yes, DCA is now celebrating ten years, but things weren’t always looking up for Disneyland’s neighboring park. There was a time when we had no Toy Story Midway Mania! or World of Color. This ancient-era-style “newsreel” captures the sorts of diversions one could expect at the once-new California Adventure, making us who can actually remember the earliest days of the park cringe. Poor Michael Eisner is portrayed in the most negative light, or should I say, with the most creepy mouth. “Ahead we see California’s Largest Hubcap,” the old-style narrator says. ”What? That’s the sun? Why yes, the Sun Sculpture.” Humorously, we are told that it’s Pine-Sol that is being sprayed in front of our faces on “Soarin’ Over California.” The fun never ends in this terrific 6-minute video!

“Beaker’s Ballad”

Well, I thought it was only fitting that we begin and end this edition with everyone’s favorite Muppet. Beaker can never seem to handle situations when things go wrong. What starts out as a nice guitar melody – check out Beaker plucking the strings –  becomes a disaster when hateful comments appear right in front of him. The more that pop up, the worse things get and the more anxious poor Beaker becomes. Some of the most hurtful, but hilarious messages: “I can’t believe I wasted 15 seconds on this;” “Sounds like someone punched a goat;” “Disasterpiece!” and “lol @ dude on fire.” Beaker just can’t escape the cruel comments on the screen – both figuratively and literally. 

Thanks for stopping by the Mouse House and post away in the comments section below on your thoughts of these clips!

Awards season is in full swing and what is to stop the online community from getting into the action? nothing as the wonderful folks over at Rotten Tomatoes have put together their 11th Annual Golden Tomato Awards.

From the biggest Hollywood hits to the most provocative indies, they’ve got the films that made critics go nuts this year.

It was a huge year for sci-fi blockbusters, Avatar and the rebooted Star Trek, and Pixar was at it again with Up thrilling all age audiences. Which films took home the coveted Golden Tomato Awards? Where do your favorite movies rank? And which of these flicks took home the User Tomato award, decided by Rotten Tomatoes faithful readers?

Wide Release: Up with 98%

Limited Release: The Hurt Locker with 97%

Top UK: An Education with 94 %

Top Australian: Samson and Delilah with 100%

Action/Adventure: The Hurt Locker with 97%

Animation: Up with 98%

Comedy: In the Loop with 95%

Documentary: Anvil! The Story of Anvil with 98%

Drama: An Education with 94%

Foreign: Afghan Star with 100%

Horror: Drag Me To Hell with 92%

Kids/Family: Where the Wild Things Are with 73%

Musical: Crazy Heart with 89%

Romance: Adventureland with 88%

Sci-Fi/Fantasy: Star Trek with 94%

Thriller: State of Play with 84%

Moldy Golden Tomato: Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li with 4%

User’s Choice: Zombieland with 95% (followed by Moon which also had 95% but less reviews)

Overall the awards are great but I have to say some things didn’t make sense such as animated films not included in the Kids and Family section. Also there is  no way Adventureland is a better film than 500 Days of Summer, just no way, hence why the aggregation of critic reviews sucks but it is a good measure though, the best we have so far.

I was happy to see Star Trek everywhere as well as Up as they were  both my favorites of the year. Lastly I thought State of Play was one of the worst films ever and completely disagree with it winning the best thriller but the other films were not that good either so whatever maybe Taken should be in there, because that movie rocked, guess I will always disagree with a majority of most critics.

Kristin Stewart is playing Joan Jett in the musical biopic The Runaways, hence why you have seen her sporting the 80s chic mullet. Written and directed by Floria Sigismondi and co-starring Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie, the film follows Joan Jett and her all-girl band The Runaways. The first trailer for the film comes courtesy of MTV and you can check it out by clicking on the clip below. The premiere of the film will be at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Twilight star Kristen Stewart is Joan Jett in The Runaways, the rock ‘n’ roll biopic of the 1970s band who was hugely influential as the first successful all-girl hard rock act in America. Its members included guitarists Jett and Lita Ford, drummer Sandy West, singer-keyboardist Cherie Currie and bassist Jackie Fox.

The band was brought together in late 1975 by impresario Kim Fowley, who thought a novelty act of teenage girls performing in leather and lace would be an easy sell, but the girls ended up proving to be serious and influential musicians with songs like “Cherry Bomb.”

The band lasted about four years together, falling apart over management and money issues. Directed by Floria Sigismondi and co-starring Dakota Fanning, Scout Taylor-Compton, Stella Maeve, Alessandra Torresani, Hannah Marks, and Brett Cullen, the film is set to make a nationwide splash on March 19th, 2010.

Production on the film begins in January of 2010 with Kenneth Branagh directing and Chris Hemsworth playing the hammer-weilding Thor. Paramount has set the release date for May 20, 2011.

As the wife of Norse god Odin, to be played by Anthony Hopkins in the film, Frigga is the queen of Asgard. She’s also the step mother of Thor and foster mother to Loki, the pic’s primary villain, played by Tom Hiddleston.

Natalie Portman will be playing Thor’s love interest.

I think Russo is a good actress and the cast is definitely taking shape, I’m just hoping they will all blend well together to make an awesome movie.

What Do You Think?

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Josh Brolin may be heading to Columbia Pictures’  Men in Black 3:

“His exact part is a matter of discussion, but in recent days there’s been chatter in Hollywood development circles of a few possibilities: He could play a new single-monikered government agent, with Tommy Lee Jones’ Agent K passing the baton to Brolin’s character. Or he could play Agent K as a young man. Or something else entirely.”

Will Smith is set to return for the third installment, written by Etan Cohen. No word on whether Tommy Lee Jones is reprising his role. Barry Sonnenfeld is tentatively coming back to direct Men in Black 3, which could shoot at least partly in New York. I wonder if Brolin’s character will be a clone of Agent K or some young alternate reality version of him. Maybe even a alien cyborg that is designed to look like a young K as part of a grand plot of intergalactic domination. Speculate all we can this third installment could be really cool and a lot of fun.

I thought I was going to have to reach out to my Disney contact to find out who is responsible for these amazing pieces and then I remembered I had seen similar art before on artist Eric Tan’s website! Eric has been written about all over the internet and is regularly featured at our pals /Film on their Cool Stuff feature.

Tan grew up in San Diego and according to his profile he is a “Designer/Doodler. Grew up in the sleepy town of San Diego. Suffers from narcolepsy. When not working or sleeping…or sleeping at work, I usually have a skateboard, a snowboard, or a burrito in hand.”

Here is what Tan had to say about his art for UP and seeing the film.

“I finally got to see the finished film and to say that I loved it would almost seem like an understatement. It absolutely blew me away which says a lot because one of the perks of working with Disney and Pixar is getting to see the film at various stages of production. To get that access is amazing but at the same time, it’s difficult to see the final film with fresh eyes. More often than not, I find myself concentrating on the changes they made rather than the film as a whole. I knew early on that Up was a special film. Even in early storyboard form, it already had all the strong emotional and comedic elements. I guess it was so good that even after round after round of screening it, it really held up and continued to grow and resonate more and more with me. I can’t wait to see it again…for the umpteenth time. It’s definitely an honor to get to work on a tiny part of the awesomeness called UP.”

If you are interested in buying any of Tan’s art for this film or any of the others he has done (he has some great Wall*E art as well as Indiana Jones) you can get it on ACME direct but it is a little pricy but something tells me its worth it. My personal favorite is the Dug one, because he is the coolest character ever in a movie!, Squirrel!

“though the buyers who attended these particular preview sessions were first sworn to secrecy by Disney officials, several immediately reached out to me afterwards to say how thrilled they were to learn that Pete Docter will be following this year’s UP with a sequel to Monsters Inc.

It seems that this quote above is a report from Jim Hill Media Pixar is readying yet another sequel to its animated lineup. A Monsters Inc. sequel would make only the second pixar film to get a sequel. Toy Story, which was written by Docter, got a second film also written by Docter and is now getting a Third 3D installment.

I am not opposed to a sequel of Monsters Inc. but my argument against Pixar sequels, and this stands for Toy Story 3 as well, is that part of what made Pixar so fascinating to me was that they could have so many great films and each one was different. With the exception of Toy Story 2, all of the Pixar movies have been original stories ingeniously told and each one was different. Sequels in my opinion aren’t story expansive but just ways to make money and say that you have nothing else creative in the pipeline. Now bear in mind that I am not annoyed with sequels, I like to see new stories with the same characters – i.e. Transformers 2, The Dark Knight, Star Trek, etc. – I am just playing devil’s advocate. However I did have the same problem with Shrek and Ice Age at Dreamworks but they just keep pumping those movies out, so in its always about the money.

UP is my favorite Pixar movie to date but following it is one sequel and maybe another? I am not excited about that, it sort of underwhelms my expectations. I want to get something new.

I mean i wouldn’t be surprised if they brought Wall*E back and called it Wall*E: The Revenge of Johnny 5.

Welcome back to another episode of Afterthoughts, the video review YouTube series. This week we are reviewing UP, from Disney/Pixar.

As always Afterthoughts is filmed right after the movie theater and captures the latest opinions straight out of film.

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From Disney*Pixar comes UP a comedy adventure about 78 year old balloon salesman Carl Fredericksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip: an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell. From the Academy Award(r)-nominated director Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc.), Disney*Pixar’s Up invites you on a hilarious journey into a lost world, with the least likely duo on Earth. Up will be presented in Disney Digital 3-D in select theaters.