Guest Column: A Brazilian Disney Fan
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But wait... important things happened in 2001: In April 5, Brazil had the first airing of the Disney Channel (a premium cable channel) broadcasting 24 hours of Disney programming, including "Disney Planet" - a monthly 30-minute show about the history of Disney theme parks, films and animated features.
In December 2001, a mall (in São Paulo) opened a movie theatre co-owned by Disney - called "Cinemágico" (Cinemagic), the theatre presents the latest Disney productions but with a bit of magic reminiscent of a Disney theme park experience. In the front entrance, kids can play with screens and take pictures wih Disney characters. In three high-definition TV screens, audiences in the line can watch the ‘making of’ before the film (well, forget that the sound level is usually very low and you never hear anything in the making of).
Once inside, the audience see on the big screen a picture (a drawing showing a door barely open). Then, we hear Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy talking with the audience (the action takes place through the speakers and not from the screen - probably for budget reasons). There is a great gag where Mickey tells the audience to turn off the cell-phones, but many begin to "beep" and Donald Duck gets crazy! A bit later Donald is heard in the shower and water comes down in the audience (an effect used in Disney theme park 4D theatres), and finally Goofy is in charge to inform the audience where the emergency exits are - so we hear Goofy walking around the theatre and pointing (many, many times!) the exits (the use of surround sound here is a bit like WDW’s "Alien Encounter"). The "Cinemágico" also has some light effects and fiber optics in the sides of the theatre. Actually, this is the pre-show before the screening of the film. Well, for those who haven't had the chance to visit any Disney theme park yet, the experience is very good, but for who DID visit, the theatre is a cheaper kind of Disney entertainment. And after the "Cinemágico", there are plans to open the Disney Stores in the near future.
(c) Disney
I have to say a little note about the Disney Channel (or the Brazilian Disney Channel). Remember the Fox Family Channel deal? Disney agreed to buy Fox Family Channel for US$3 billion in cash and other US$2,3 billion in debt assumption from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. (Murdoch wanted to sell partly to raise money for his offer to buy Directv from General Motors). Well, Disney also got the Fox Kids Channel in Europe and South America. Our Disney Channel doesn’t have any classic shows (like Disneyland), classic cartoons or series, but Fox Kids (a "free" channel) has "Zorro" and the animated series "Gargoyles". What’s wrong? I think the rule now is "no more Disney classic shows on TV!".