Last Day At The D23 UDFE!

 The 2024 D23 Ultimate Disney Fan Event has wrapped up! The queue to enter the Anaheim Convention Center was not down the street, it was about typical theme park length, and once through security, another line. Then, the doors were open! There were about five-six rows for the Lucasfilm Pavilion so I decided to wait for it. One kind person in line pointed out that they were having attendees hold the Simba figure at Disney on Broadway. This was too cool especially since the queue really didn’t move. Disney on Broadway was one of the best pavilions in terms of helpful attendants, booth displays to photograph, and shows. This includes the D23 Expos in the past which had lines to use the VR helmets.  

Three attendees were ahead of me, a very cool experience, the Simba figure was about teddy bear size. I’m certain that it was built for con use and not something too delicate. The attendant showed the tiny switch that activated Simba’s limbs! He was game to take a video of me singing “Circle of Life”, I can repeat the lyrics, but don’t understand the words. Another prop was the Genie Lamp from Aladdin (2011)! I had seen the musical in 2018, loved the live action film from that year, and also the 1992 animated movie. Also, I had worked at the Aladdin’s Oasis restaurant, now Tropical Hideaway, at Disneyland. I had a few pics trying to summon the Genie in a bottle. 

Hyperspace at ILM Stagecraft screen, Lucasfilm Pavilion, author’s photo. 

Then, it was time to enter the Lucasfilm Pavilion to see ILM Stagecraft which had a big Volume screen. Daiyu City was shown from Obi-Wan Kenobi and then parts were shown of real sets and the background of The Volume. A hyperspace background was shown for photo ops. It was a swirl of blue that made me think of the Time Vortex from Doctor Who. At the end an ILM pin with the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon going through hyperspace.  At the Lorcana booth was co-designer, Ryan Miller, and also filming a video was David Errigo Jr., whom I found out is the voice of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit! He voicd Oswald in the vido games, Disney Speedstorm (2023) and Disney Dreamlight Valley (2022). On X-Men `97, he is voice of Leech, Mojo, and Banshee! 

It’s David Errigo Jr, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit himself, on the show floor, photo by the author.  

He took the time to take pics and talk with fans on the con floor. Give him a follow at @ErrigoVoice. Miller also met wth fans to chat and take pics. All of the Lorcana people were very friendly and they had to deal with some challenges of a very popular and valuable product. The previous night at Honda Center, they advised us to go to the Imagineering Pavilion, there was a line so I went to the Pixar section on the other side. For Dream Productions, there was a photo with a seat next to a unicorn going over a script. One of Riley’s dreams is a poster of “I Can’t Open My Locker!”, I remember that frequent nightmare! Also an Inside Out 2 photo op with Joy meeting Anxiety! I went back to Imagineering and spoke with Imagineer Joseph who took a break from sculpting the bas relief. It was great to chat with him about art, Imagineering, and getting back to artwork. 

I went back to Disney+ and saw at the back a photo op of Skeleton Crew. Three figures of pirates; Shistavanen Wolfman, a Gran, and a Nikto. At the Nikto’s boot was a case of gold bars. They must be the Fratellis in The Goonies-like story. I was there for the X-Men `97 photo op, Xavier’s office with Magneto’s helmet on his desk and the framed photo of the original X-Men. Afterwards, I powered my phone to 50% at the AT&T Oasis Lounge. At Kidrobot was a photo op with a life-size(?) Hawaiian Stitch. Check out their site for some fun pop culture stuffies! Then, I went back to Disney Animation for the Moana 2 photo ops. One was a Maui fishhook and Moana’s paddle, I was a bit unbalanced with my ear problem, and the attendants probably thought I would bring down the entire set! So they were careful with the outrigger with Moana and Maui. 

The recreation of Xavier’s office from X-Men `97, author’s photo.

Then, I tried for the new section at Imagineering which had a queue. One of security guys, Cook, was very helpful to the fans who wanted to see the new attraction models. There was a large diorama of the new Latin American section of Animal Kingdom. This replaces Dino Land. I couldn’t work out what was supposed to be there except the new Indiana Jones ride. It does look more attraction based and didn’t seem to have any area for animals. Next to it was the model of the Encanto house. Then, there was the models of the Avatar land for Disney California Adventure, curved stone structures and waterfalls. A full wooden bird was down the hall for the Coco carousel. Another diorama showed the Lion King-themed Disney Adventure World. It looks like Splash Mountain with a drop from Pride Rock! For Disney Hollywood Studios, there was the concept model of the Monsters Inc. themed coaster. It is like the buzz wire game running through a building. 

Lorcana artists, Nicholas Kole, Aubrey Allen, and Alice Pistoni, at the Talent Central signing, photo by the author. 

The end of UDFE was a gamble for me, I intended to go to the Disney Legends ceremony at Honda Center, but tried for the standby line for the Lorcana artists at Talent Central. This was the usual thing for Disney fans who did not have reservations including panels, but it is a time commitment. I didn’t have time for the TVA Pavilion or FX with the Shogun costumes. Fortunately, the other person in line had a charger so I got power to about 30%. How long would it last for the Legends ceremony? The standby line started to move at 5 p.m. which was the start of Legends. 

I felt it was like “I’m out of time and all I’ve got is four minutes!” Tick tock, tick tock. In another part of the queue was my group from the Lorcana night! In the line behind me was the nice lady whom I met at the Ravensburger queue! It’s nice to meet new people in line. Finally, I got the large card print signed by Nicholas Kole, Aubrey Allen, and Alice Pistoni, and had my cards ready to get signed. I told Nicholas Kole that this was my first autograph for a D23 guest in thirteen years! It was all coming to a close, I rushed over to the baggage check, Ubered, and then fast walked to my seat about an hour into Legends! It is currently streaming on Disney+. I hope everyone can attend the next one in 2026! The D23 UDFE was exhausting, but a convention full of displays, shows, great photo ops, and the best fans! 

#D23, #UDFE, #DisneyOnBroadway, #Simba, #Aladdin, #LucasfilmPavilion, #ILMStagecraft, #ObiWanKenobi, #DavidErrigoJr, #RyanMiller, #DreamProductions, #InsideOut2, #SkeletonCrew, #XMen97, #OasisLounge, #Kidrobot, #AnimalKingdom, #Encanto, #Avatar, #DisneyCaliforniaAdventure, #Coco, #DisneyAdventureWorld, #DisneyHollywoodStudios, #MonstersInc, #TalentCentral, #NicholasKole, #AubreyAllen, #AlicePistoni 

Day 2 - D23 UDFE: Convention Center!

Saturday, busy, and I didn’t accomplish much, but surprisingly there were fun places to find! There was a queue to get through securiety at the UDFE that went down Convention Way and then wrapped several buildings distance down Harbor Blvd.! It has been exponential more crowded, but the UDFE attendees have patience. The “Time for Friends” by Arcy mural had mostly the figures blank.  Once entering, it was basically walking, and buying a Gatorade. The reservations do cut down on activities at UDFE. Still, I was able to go to places I did not get to on Friday. 

On the second level within the D23 Marketplace, a signing there was full as well as the standby. Also there was Pixar Putt, a themed miniature golf game. I also saw a mini-section for Disney Store. Then, I went to Gifts by Small Fry where I usually go for autographed items, and in this case, Margaret Kerry was there! She is the original model and inspiration for Tinkerbell. I saw a numbe of people whom once they realized who she was had to meet her! Check out more info at Tinkerbell Talks: https://www.tinkerbelltalks.com. This is the only place I got autographs from except some authors. 

Mood Swings at the Inside Out 2 Headquarters, photo by the author. 

Margaret Kerry is so kind and charming, I would absolutely say see her at any signing. Also at the booth was Bill Farmer, the voice of Goofy, who was just stopping by I think. I returned to the second level to go to the Inside Out 2 Headquarters. Outside of it was an acapella group singing Star Wars songs! The fun part of the headquarters was the Mood Swings. Go through the Emotions while swinging! There are Friendship Bracelets to make and a photo op with the Control Console. On the first floor, there is the A Great Big Beautiful Car Show, this had the Worlds Beyond section. 

It had the black, 2014 Lexus GX 460 from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Also the futuristic 2054 Lexus Roadster from Minorty Report (2002). Through the tunnel with streaks of light is the main exhibit with the 1966 Ford GT40 MK 11 that was in Ford v. Ferrari (2019). Also cars from Disney classics like the 1915 Ford Model T Touring car from The Absent-Minded Professor (1961). Also, the 1974 Panther De Ville from Cruella (2021). A great mix of vehicles including the Disneyland tram that took guests to the park. What was missing was the scenes on screens to show the vehicles in action. 

Imagineer Jack testing the HoloTile floor at Imagineering: Behind The Dreams pavilion, author’s photo. 

The other pavilion that I had passed up was Imagineering: Behind The Dreams. I first noticed the HoloTile floor invented by the brilliant Lanny Smoot! The Imagineer, Jack, noted that each tile is raised and has two independenly turning parts that give motion to a very small area! Then, I noticed the BD-1 droid! It was tested out and then used in the Season of the Force, so hopefully it will be used in the future. The audio-animatronics also included the Elsa head that sang “Let It Go”, incredible detail. Three Imagineers were working on sculpting a freize of Disney characters! Also, the prototype ride vehicle for the planned Avengers attraction! The Ultimate Disney Fan Event had a few corners of fun! Also, the Disney Experiences Showcase is at the Honda Center tonight! 

#UDFE, #TimeForFriends, #TimeForFriends, #Arcy, #D23Marketplace, #PixarPutt, #DisneyStore, #GiftsBySmallFry, #MargaretKerry, #InsideOut2Headquarters, #MoodSwings, #ControlConsole, #AGreatBigBeautifulCarShow, #WorldsBeyond, #AgentsOfSHIELD, #MinortyReport, #Ford v. Ferrari, #TheAbsentMindedProfessor, #Cruella 

Day 1 - D23 The Ultimate Disney Fan Event (UDFE)!

The Anaheim Convention Center with the D23 UDFE!, photo by the author. 

Today, Friday, August 9th is the first day of the D23 Ultimate Disney Fan Event (UDFE)! Pronounced “Ooo-Duh-Fee!” The last D23 expo was in 2022. It is held every two years. Now we have UDFE! I was able to find out about the Lorcana exclusives from the website and the Lorcana night. This was my first objective. I walked past the Mickey sorceror hat statue by the fountains and then the queue into Hall A. This was the wait until the expo opened at 9 a.m. Then, it was a hustle down Hall B with Ravensburger next to the Avatar Pavilion. The crowd actually shut down the hall and the queue wound back to the other hall! It is just a waiting game of patience. Then, the queue moved and we were given wristbands to return at 2 p.m. The Avatar Pavilion was said to be a short wait, it had busts of Jake and Neytiri.

Then, a walk through the Pandoran jungle, nightsapes with bio-luminiscence. Including the purplish strands of the Tree of Souls. Past it was a sleek Thanator. Then, there was a screen showing the whale-like Tulkun with constant flow of water. It has a dedication to producer Jon Landau. Some Na’vi costumes followed with full size figures of Jake and Neytiri. Another screen with the flying skimwing. Then, a well lit Ikran and a scientist who carried a baby Ikran. I saw models of Ikran and then you were given a mini-poster. I just saw the outside of the Lucasfilm Pavilion. There was Professor Huyang and a Loth-cat in a case. 

Mountain Banshee, Ikran, figure at the Avatar Pavilion, author’s photo. 

Shifting to the Disney Entertainment Showcase, this was the first time that it was held at the Honda Center, usually it is the arena at the Anaheim Convention Center. There was more control at the convention center. All of the attendees were released and then the crowd would just move to get posters at the exit. The Honda Center is a much larger venue and setting it at the end of the day rather at the beginning may mean the trailers could be released like Comic Con. There was a bracelet handed out that had interactive lighting that went off during the presentation. I didn’t arrive at the start, I had to wrangle to get past the others in the row, but I think it was an introduction by Bob Iger. 

Auli’i Cravalho sings for Moana 2.

First up was the Moana 2 presentation which had Auli’i Cravalho come out and sing with Polynesian singers and dancers. She was of course was joined by her co-star, Dwayne Johnson, who had the crowd give out a loud, “Cheehoo!” Cravalho mentioned a new baby sister and finding new lands to unite th people. Then, the new trailer was shown, we get Moana trying to unite th peole acoss teh oceans as Wayfinder, then finding an island that will break a curse. She needs of course the help of Maui and faces again the Kakamora. Johnson also said it had “high emotional stakes.” He continued with his new action film, this had jets of flame at the stage, to announce the monster truck movie, Monster Jam. 

Afterwards, James Cameron came on stage, emphasis was noted that he had just arrived from the set in New Zealand. He brought in Zoe Saldana. Then, Cameron showed concept art and the title of the new film, Avatar: Fire and Ash. Next, Pete Docter arrived, and noted the success of Inside Out 2. The is a new series, Dream Productions, which has a crew prepare dreams when Riley falls asleep. Docter then presented Pixar’s first original series, Win or Lose, which will debut on Disney+, December 6th. He was followed by Andrew Stanton who will write and direct Toy Story 5. The new sequel will have “Toy meets tech”, with the appeal of online games and phones over toys. 50 Buzz Lightyear toys have gone into rogue mode! 

Marsh City photo op at the Pixar Disney Animation Pavilion, author’s photo. 

Then, Hoppers was presented Bobby Moynihan is the voice of  Beaver, Piper Curda voices Mabel, and Major Jerry is played by Jon Hamm. Mabel is put into the brain of a robot beaver! The new Pixar film, Elio, had the young actor, Yonas Kibreab come out and also the actress who plays his aunt, Zoe Saldana. This moved to Disney Animation with Jennifer Lee who introduced Frozen 3 which she said answers many questions. Zootopia 2 brings us to the new part of the city, Marsh Market, which was previewed at the Disney Animation Pavilion.  It was great to have Ginnifer Goodwin come out on stage and she said, “The bunny is back!” She said that reptiles are part of the story including the snake Gary! Then, it was announced that Ke Huy Quan voices him! A clip was shown of Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, getting information from a walrus! 

#D23, #UltimateDisneyFanEvent, #UDFE, #AvatarPavilion, #LucasfilmPavilion, #ProfessorHuyang, #LothCat, #DisneyPlusPavilion, #DoctorWho, Ncuti Gatwa, #MillieGibson, #PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians, #TaylorSwift, #TheErasTour

The Ark, “The Other You“, Review!

"The Other You" is a twist as we find what happened to Lt. Brice and find another Ark-1! Re:cap - “Anamoly”; Alicia warns about the box. Brice takes it and runs though the ship to take it to the airlock, it flies into the FTL warp and streaks away! The last we have seen of it? Eva checks on Brice and they start kissing. Garnet and Lane find them and walk away. Marsh helps up Kabir. He says she can start walking. She apologizes for being angry. Angus wants to walk too, but Marsh says one at a time, funny! He is getting sweet with Kabir? Angus asks if he was inappopiate to Jelena. He says he doesn't need help and she gives him a cane. Dr. Kabir is impressed he is recovering. Angus wonders about Kelly’s blood. Marsh says she has nanites that cleaned up is infections. The Valiant Comics hero, Bloodshot, has nanites that heals his wounds. 

He wonders if he will not have glasses. Kimi eats alone and Felix sits with her. He attempts to apologize. Kimi says they don’t have to be friends. He grants her full security access. Alone, Kimi goes to a see Lati (Coral Mizrachi) at her bunk and asks about the lieutenant in whispers. She says, “Have patience Kimi, we’ll get him.” The likely suspect is Lt. Lane who sabotaged Ark-15. I like Kimi even more as a subtle villain! What will see do with access? Brice is at Engineering and they drop out of warp, nothing happens. Lane says they don’t see Ark-3 or stars and then suddenly Brice disappears and his suit falls! Eva is stunned! A space mystery! He’s in another dimension? Why?  “The Other You” is directed by Milan Todorovic. The writers are Dean Devlin, Madeline Hendricks, and India Sage Wilson.  

Eva picks up the empty uniform of Brice, then Alicia enters, and Lane tells her that Brice is gone! We get a moving pov though the ship to Pod 0419 which opens, Cat emerges, naked!  Cat now in unifom walks down the corridors. She sees Will and hugs him. She asks if he is cured and has a British accent. Lane, Garnet, and Alicia ty to work out what happened. Garnet runs to check the recorder. Felix contacts Garnet to the mess hall. She walks in and sees Cat. She calls heslf Catrina. She says Trust is her husband. Garnet asks what she remembers, she was in cyro, and cat is told she died. This is welcome to have back Christina Wolfe!, but we also got Denise Crosby’s return as Lt. Yar in an alternate reality after she had died. This was in “Yesterday’s Enterprise” (1990). 

THE ARK -- “The Other You” --  CHRISTIE BURKE, REECE RITCHIE,  STACEY READ, TIANA UPCHEVA -- Photo by: Aleksandar Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY.

She calls Brice the Luna Colony hero. This is new. Lane says his father died in the attack. Alicia thinks it is an alternate history. Trust calls it quantum entanglement. Garnet says, “How do we get unntangled?” Dr. Marsh checks the knee wound of a patient, it is checked by Kabir, who want to get to work. She tries to get to sleep. A strange cacophony of voices is faced by Kelly. She is in her cell and tries to cover her ears. Felix opens the cell and Garnet with Kimi find that Kelly is hearing voices. Kimi puts on cuffs and they let her follow the voices. She moves down the halls and then to a panel. Garnet doubts her as well as Felix. She listens in to the panel and has heard Trust say, “Who are you?” and also hears Brice. She may have advanced hearing with her implants. 

Alicia says that they have been entangled with the other Ark-1. He wonders about Brice and Catrina. Garnet says Kelly has heard Brice. Catrina says she has sensitivitis and agrees with Alicia. Trust walks with Catrina and she says he’s beloved by everyone. He brings up his wife, Helena Davies. Jelena is at med bay and then Caterina walks up to Kelly. She says she specializes in post-humans. The twist on characters was also in the Star Trek episode, “Mirror, Mirror” (1967). Catrina says the augmentations ae off. Kelly asks about who works on the post-humans and Catrina says they regulate themselves. Mess hall, Alicia is intrrupted by Catrina and Trust, she says a quantum cup can break the entanglement. She suggests moving the ship. Eva is upset and the decision is left to her. 

At the engine room, they start to accelerate, it distorts and they are thrown against the walls. Brice is back about to start warp. Back to scene one. It is activated, but seems to fail. Brice suddenly wonders what happened and he’s naked. Eva socks him! Sasha wonders what is happening with Ensign Malkovich. Sasha calls in the report. Brice punches Sasha in the stomach and gets into uniform. It is a menacing Angus, without glasses, who meets up with Felix. Angus says Brice was dead. Brice is at the observation deck which we haven’t seen in some time. Felix runs into a man, Leon (Danilo Milenkovic) and kisses him. A glimpse of happiness for Felix? Will we see Leon again? They plan to meet for a date at the observation deck. Angus is there and sees Brice. He draws his security baton and then chases after him!

THE ARK -- “The Other You” -- RICHARD FLEESHMAN, PAUL LEONARD MURRAY -- Photo by: Aleksandar Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY.

Brice takes a series of turns and finds himself in the mess hall with Garnet who passes out! She revives, she doesn’t recognize Dr. Kabir, they are married! Two couples married, The Ark is less commitment phobic as Star Trek. Brice says they have never been married, live the fantasy lieutenant!, he asks about Alicia Nevins at waste management. She calls for him at the floor. Garnet was also the fantasy of Angus last season! She is obviously not the captain in this reality and most likely the command crew is running the ship. Brice finds Alicia, hair messed up without glasses, and dirty. He brings up quantum mechanics. Brice says in his universe, Alicia is a genius, she laughs and thinks it’s a pick up line! I don’t like this reality. She says she can’t help him and doesn’t have five degrees. 

Angus catches up him and says to Alicia, “Hi babe!” He easily knocks down Brice and Alicia stuns Angus for cheating on her. He must have post-human implants, a hint of things to come? Alicia kinda flirts with Brice! Then, she kicks Angus! Brice goes to the secret area of the ship and activates Trusts’ pod to waken him. He asks about Catrina. Her pod is empty just the uniform. He identifies himself. Brice brings up dropping out of FTL. Trust realizes that it is quantum entanglement. He still suffers from Klampkins disease. Brice says the Mediterranean recluse spider and two ingredients will cure the disease. He heads over to talk to Captain Lane. Captain Lane (Howard Saddler) mentions the void and that Brice had died. Saddler was in the British soap, East Enders. He is a bit gruff with his son. We had scenes with the lost commanders in season one so we should get more with Spencer Lane's father. 

Spencer runs in to bring up the quantum problem. He is at fault with the attempted stop at Ark-3. Then, the ship is tossed by the Ark-1 movement! Trust looks outside the window. Trust thinks it is the moving at the same time. He suspects that he saw Ark-1 and that they can send a radio signal to coodinate. Trust takes piloting hoping to get back his wife. Garnet enters and wants to see Brice. She is tearful and says goodbye, kissing him. I don't know who has more romances, Sharon Garnet or James Brice!, or both? He walks into the bridge. Trust has thought that he left out the direction of the ship! Alicia has found the message. She wonders about the ship direction. It is up to her! The consequences of the quantum entanglement is not debated with the fate of Catrina. “The Other You” has some good moments with twists for the actors, but the ep feels too much like Star Trek and seems like a filler episode until we get to Ark-3. 

Three Compression Suits out of Five!

#TheArk, #TheOtherYou, #MilanTodorovic, #DeanDevlin, #MadelineHendricks, #IndiaSageWilson, #RichardFleeshman, #ChristinaWolfe, #SamanthaGlassner, #PaulLeonardMurray, #ChristieBurke, #ReeceRitchie, #Howard Saddler, #PavleJerinic, #RyanAdams, #StaceyRead, #MilosCvetkovic, #TianaUpcheva, #ShaliniPeiris, #JadranMalkovich, #TamaraRadovanovic, #DianaBermudez, #DaniloMilenkovic

D23 Night at the Anaheim Packing District!

This night was filled with Disney fans and some Ravensburger game play! The D23 Expo, still calling it expo, begins on Friday, August 9th! This was a free event with D23 members able to get a World Taste Pass with themed food items, I like the Packing District restaurants, but didn’t eat anything, too busy! At Farmers Park, there was Lorcana games with the new Gateway introductory game, pre-set decks. There were a number of tables and the friendly Ravensburger people were helpful with working out strategy and I still get tripped up by the uninkable cards. I think it should have a cross through them, a stronger design element. 

Lorcana Gateway games at the Anaheim Packing District, photo by the author.  

Another game, Chronicles of Light: Darkness Falls is Disney themed, but I didn’t get much information about it and the game tables were full. Across the street to the Packing House is the MAKE restaurant which had Jav’s Barbeque, the Unsung Brewing Company, and Pali Wine Co. Outside were tables for the Villains Lair which featured the Villainous game from Ravensburger. I played Star Wars Villaious: Power of the Dark Side taking the part of Moff Gideon. I had to hunt and experiment on Grogu! The other two players were Darth Vader and Asaaj Ventress. You move your piece to a location to gain credits and also Ambition which activates Force powers. I had The Mandalorian and used a Dark Trooper that took out both cards! 

Villains Lair at MAKE restaurant, author’s photo. 

It was complicated two forms of tokens, locations where you could or couldn’t use a card. The game play and objectives need to be simplified. We just stopped play. Also at the MAKE Building was trivia and I signed up fo Star Wars & Marvel Trivia. My group liked that I knew the name of the Ewok village and also the name of the person who saw Tony Stark in the cave. I did not know Nakia’s tribe or what was the droid name for Captain Rex from Star Tours. It was a three way tie and I had to break it, but too slow to raise my hand for Spider-man’s creators. Ended up in third place and got a Lorcana starter set like most of my group! A fun D23 night at the Anaheim Packing District with many game activities! 

#D23Night, #AnaheimPackingDistrict, #Ravensburger.  #ChroniclesOfLight, #DarknessFalls #MAKE, #JavsBarbeque, #UnsungBrewingCompany, #PaliWineCo, #VillainsLair, #Villainous, #StarWarsVillainous, #PowerOfTheDark Side, #StarWarsAndMarvelTrivia

Deadpool & Wolverine Review!

Deadpool & Wolverine is a fun movie! The last Deadpool movie, Deadpool 2 (2018), was six years ago, but enthusiasm for the Merc with the Mouth has not faded. His entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally united him with the mutant who had “retired” the year before in Logan (2017). The bonding agent is director Shawn Levy who directed Ryan Reynolds in The Adam Project (2022) and Hugh Jackman in Real Steel (2011). Reynolds and Levy are part of the writing team including Rheet Rees and Paul Wernick, co-writers for Deadpool 2, and Zeb Wells, who wrote “The Retreat” (2022) episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Spoilers have dropped all over social media, but this review will avoid the cameos even though a majority might know them now. Brilliant and fun work by the actors in the secret roles.  

Deadpool (Reynolds) hums along with the Marvel Studios logo. We get snow falling as Deadpool brings up Disney buying Fox! There is Wolverine’s grave from Logan in North Dakota. Deadpool is there digging up Wolverine’s body. He also has an “I Live Me heart emoji” mug. Deadpool says, “He ain’t dead”, but then slams his shovel at finding the admantium skeleton. Time doors open and brings in the Minutemen who were in the Loki show. They are from the Time Variance Authority that deal with disruptions to the time line. He is faced with the Minuteman Leader (Leemore Marrett Jr). Deadpool promises not to use his weapons and instead uses Wolverine’s bones to NSYC’s “Bye Bye Bye”! The credits are shown on the bones in slo mo! He also uses Wolverine’s claws to lethal and painful effect. Silly and violent. 

We get a flashback to get viewers up to date with the first two Deadpool films via Cable’s time travel device. Then, we get the setting, March 14, 2018 seen in a clock, on Earth-616, the Sacred Timeline. This is about two months before the events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018). The timeline that the TVA is trying to maintain. Wade Wilson, without the Deadpool mask and in a suit, is meeting with Happy Hogan (Jon Faveau). A formal introduction into the MCU. Around the office are various Iron Man helmets and a prototype Captain America shield. Wade says he was in special forces and team leader of X-Force. He finally admits, “I wanna be an Avenger.” Foggy tells him that the team didn’t want to be Avengers, the world needed the Avengers, he says, “find your place.” This is the basic arc for Deadpool to be important to the world or at least his world. 

He returns back to Earth-10005, “six years later”, selling pre-owned vehicles at Drive Max. I don’t know if he is a top salesman with his scarred face, the family he is showing a mini-van to test drive don’t seem to mind. His co-worker is Peter (Rob Delaney) whom he saved from the ill-fated X-Force. His Deadpool costume is in Peter’s work locker. Peter says he is going through a mid-life crisis. They bike back to Wade’s apartment. Across the street, construction workers secretly are photographing Wade. A surprise birthday party is thrown fo him with his friends, besides Peter, there is Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), who is now his ex-girlfriend after he had saved her in Deadpool 2. There is also his roommate, Blind Al (Leslie Uggams). The X-Men allies include Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), with her girlfriend, the always happy Yukio (Shioli Kutsuna), and the “organic steel” Colossus (Stefan Kapicic). 

#DeadpoolAndWolverine, #ShawnLevy, #RheetRees, #PaulWernick, #ZebWells, #RyanReynolds, #HughJackman, #MatthewMacfayden, #EmmaCorrin, #RobDelaney, #MorenaBaccarin, #LeslieUggams, #KaranSoni, #RandalReeder, #BriannaHildebrand, #ShioliKutsuna, #StefanKapicic, #LewisTan, #JonFavreau, #LeemoreMarrettJr, #JamesDryden   

Toothsome’s Chocolate Emporium at CityWalk!

My favorite restaurant! There are some themed restaurants, I guess going back to Chuck E. Cheese, and like Hard Rock, the previous occupant at CityWalk. Still, mostly theme, kinda tasteless food.  Toothsome’s Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen is the exception. It is basically a steampunk themed restaurant with touches of chocolate! It opened in 2016 at Orlando’s CityWalk and I watched many videoes just wishing I could make a trip down there. I think like all sensations the youtubers made a video, lost interest in it, then it was a fad. Then, it opened in 2023 at Universal Studios Hollywood’s CityWalk. More info at: https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/web/en/us/things-to-do/dining/citywalk/toothsome-chocolate-emporium-and-savory-feast-kitchen. 

Toothsome’s Chocolate Emporium at CityWalk, author’s photo.

I love stories and this one is clever with Professor Doctor Penelope Tibeux-Tinker Toothsome and her robot pal, Jacques. They search the world in their dirigible for her parents after they went missing in London. They would find her with where there is chocolate. A Willy Wonka-like story with a dash of Jules Verne! I love the story and hope it becomes a novel, comic book, or even film! I keep thinking of the Key & Peele sketch with Levi who is “steampunk now.” I didn’t see Penelope and Jacques at the time, they usually visit on Fridays and Saturdays, but I had such a good time, it was like a theme park. The outside had a large smokestack and factory silos on the side. What looks like gas light lamps line the entrance, love it! Every corner had 19th century Victorian era inventions, maps, and books. I checked in at the desk and went upstairs to get my table. 

The gears of the emporium churning out the chocolate, photo by the author. 

This was the best since the first floor was crowded with happy families and diners. The upper floor offered a good look at the ceiling with dirigibles crossing the night sky!  It also had panels to show the working gears of the emporium. At the chocolate shop, there was a chocolate sculpture of a octopus-like helmet over a stack of books! Plus, the top hat with goggles over a box of gears, I don’t think the hat had a door for Ratatouille. I picked up a few chocolate bars; the Cherry On Top! Bar had a cherry taste with jelly beans, and the Mechanical Malt Bar had the malted milk shake in chocolate bar form! They also had t-shirts, goggles, and top hats, but I thought I would return. Live your steampunk life! Service was excellent, answered all of my questions, and the food was excellent! I’m thinking of going back even now though it is really a treat as a restaurant. 

Pub It Up Burger, French fried potatoes, and That’s Mint milkshake, author’s photo. 

They are known for their milkshakes, my friend had only ordered them, but I told him about the food and candy! I decided on the Pub It Up burger, $20.95, it had a Beyond patty which is tricky. Slightly cooked, it has a funny taste, but this was well cooked that it was juicy which is something I hadn’t had before, amazing! It came with caramelized onions, mushrooms (those two together are my favorite!), vegan American cheese and vegan “secret sauce”, along with French fried potatoes, yum! There chocolate dipped food items, but I did get the That’s Mint Milkshake, $18! Worth every penny. It had minty ice cream and whipped topping with a mint chocolate whoopie pie stuck on top. I could barely get the milkshake through the straw, delicious! The mason jar, plastic, is covered in chocolate and take home! Just taking bite after until I hit my limit and saved the burger and milkshake! There is no lid for the milkshake so I reversed a kid’s cup on top of it and wrapped it up with napkins. Can’t wait to go back!

#ToothsomesChocolateEmporium, #CityWalk, #ProfessorDoctorPenelopeTibeuxTinkerToothsome, #Jacques, #CherryOnTopBar, #MechanicalMaltBar, #PubItUpBurger, #ThatsMintyMilkshake 

The Ark, “Anamoly”, Review!

The third ep of The Ark has the strange discovery of a new lifeform! Re:cap - “Kill or be Killed”  the conflict of the new crew members from Ark-15 has led to the trial of Kelly. Dr. Marsh has revealed that Kelly has post-human implants. They have a chance of traveling FTL to Trappist-1 if they can recover parts fom Ark-3. The ship can make one jump if Trust can work on the navigational DOTE, but it requires a spacewalk! Garnet goes with Trust to set the DOTE and he gets space sickness! Garnet has discovered The Juno Project on Cat’s laptop. Trust explains that it was the genetic match for the surviving crew! Felix acts as prosecutor and Dr. Marsh is with the defense. Kelly testifies that she was sent to Ark-3 with Dimitri and Ross. Her memory is shut down so Dr. Marsh activates her brain implant. Ross had activated her post-human implants to kill the crew! 

Garnet makes the decision that Kelly is guilty of murder, but not deserving of the death penalty, but her actions has her mother, Evelyn Maddox, as responsible. Kelly is sent to the brig. Garnet walks with Kelly and says that her mother may have her feel less human, but she is human. She admits that she is a clone. Kelly says they are not alike, the crew hates her and loves the captain, maybe, but Garnet earned their loyalty. This is something that Kelly does not understand yet. Garnet unshackles Kelly and says the brig has been modified from a restroom. She sees the hole that leads to the next room. Garnet says that the engineering room is now ops. If the warp bubble doesn’t hold, Alicia says that they could drop out of warp, Trust says the worse case is that everything will be torn apart atom by atom and taken out of time. 

Garnet gives Eva the command to go into FTL. Sasha says the warp bubble is at 84%. A ribbon of energy hits the ship and the lights go out! A living being from the warp? It is Star Trek territory finding something defying classification like The Companion in "Metamorphosis" (1967) ep. Then, power is restored and in an empty corridor, The white lightning slips into an empty corridor! “Anamoly” has the same creative team as last ep; director Milan Todorovic and writers John Paul Nickel and Jonathan Glassner. Lane wonders about the Juno matches to Garnet. The locked cell of Kelly, the energy moves towards her, and then strikes the lock! She sees the sparking panel, opens the door, and walks out! Dr. Kabir wakes up in pain and Dr. Marsh looks after her. He realizes that she stays away from painkillers to stay sharp. 

THE ARK -- “Anamoly” --   STACEY READ, CHRISTIE BURKE, TIANA UPCHEVA   -- Photo by: Aleksandar Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY.

He asks to massage her, he does ask permission!, and parts her hair making Kabir angry at him! Eva and Brice are in bed and he says, “That was nice.” She says he is not geat with compliments especially speaking in Serbian. Then, he admits that he was trying to say, “I love you.” She says he was told he was actually saying, “I’m a cheese head.” They kiss. Then, she says the actual words. Garnet is at her quarters, checks the Juno Project on her laptop, I think it should be known ship wide. I love the swirling FTL like snow on her window. She checks her match and is stunned. Kimi meets with Felix and wants he secuity baton fom Garnet to watch Trust. He asks if there was a girl on Ark-15, about nine years old, she must be on the other Ark headed to Trappist-1. She says no and he thinks it is in the ship that Ark-15 destroyed. 

Garnet goes to her cabin and unfolds the Cat Call poster smiling. At the bio dome, Brice asks about basil from former Ark-15 crew member, Lati Meir (Coral Mizachi), and she says is actually mint!  He chats with Lane about his relationship with Eva and he brings up Garnet! He says her hug with him “lingered", people are noticing! Then, the power shuts off! Eva reports to the group that the power is random. They leave Brice behind and he runs to catch up. Felix meets with Garnet about the baton. She says that he needs the help. Garnet orders him to give Kimi the baton. He hands her back the security baton and says she shouldn’t have gotten Garnet to force him. She says Garnet noticed she didn’t have it. Kimi has the flashlight as Trust works. Kelly walks past. Kimi has Trust follow as Kelly is about to open the airlock! It counts down as Felix suddenly stops it. 

Trust is angry at him and Kimi takes him away. Later, Sasha checks on the keypad. Felix watches over Kelly. He says he realized that Garnet was right as a parent. Kelly admits that she didn’t see any kid on Ark-3. Sasha asks about the keypad and he has replaced the unit. Kelly says she hopes Felix finds his daughter. Kelly hears Trust say Garnet needs his help. She sees the hole to Trust’s cell. They see each other and then make threats. The crew member,  Naomi (Jessica Yemi), checks something, in a hall guided by Eva. The energy is behind her and then strikes her, was she wearing a red shirt? She falls and Eva has Marsh check on Naomi. Sasha says she was electrocuted without power. At the med bay, Marsh says he has studied for 14 years. Jelena asks questions about him. She says she goes for older men!

THE ARK -- “Anamoly” --  DIANA BERMUDEZ, PAUL LEONARD MURRAY, TIANA UPCHEVA, CHRISTIE BURKE, STACEY READ -- Photo by: Aleksandar Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY.

Alicia sees the lights at a corridor. Eva monitors her. She checks a panel. Closeup as she turns to hear the electicity! The energy snakes down and she starts to run, holding a cable to ground herself, it hits her several times and then snakes away. Clever girl! Jurassic Park reference. Alicia explains what happened with grounding strips. Garnet says that this should be told to the crew. Alicia says it turned aound. Brice says it was “alive.” Everyone is a little suspicious and Garnet says she should go to Dr. Marsh. Then, Eva working on it. Alicia waves to Angus and then reports to Marsh. She realizes she sounds crazy. He tells he to sit by her boyfiend! Angus says he is bored. She explains what happened with the lighting bolt. Marsh examines her. She says she was hit in the stomach and then the back. 

He orders her to stay and Alicia is happy to spend time with Angus. She says, “I don’t need orders to stay with you”, awww. Angus says works about the energy’s sentinence, he thinks it could be food, Alicia kisss him and then runs off. Alicia excitedly says that electricity is looking for a food source. Felix says it is at Deck 11. Garnet runs with Eva and Alicia. The energy wraps around the ceiling. Eva says power should shut off. Alicia is about to shot off the power, but hesitates killing a life form. Eva shots it out and the door closes. The energy races fo them, then Garnet thows them down. Alicia says it went for a power souce, not them, and says they can “corral it.” In the dark, Alicia says electricity Trust brings up the Faraday Box, which blocks electromagnetic waves, named after inventor Michael Faraday. Real science. They can cobble it together.

Alicia says the power to the ship and going to the engineeing room.  Garnet says it includes life support. Angus suddenly wakens and tries to stumble to the bio dome. Stops him and he is paranoid that Dr. Marsh scans his forehead and detects a high fever. The energy surges down and Jelena pulls Angus from the bed as it hits the panel. On the floor, he says to Jelena, “You are so pretty”, funny!  She helps him up and to a bed, he says he has a girlfiend. Kimi says she need cleaance and says that Kelly almost died. The energy lashes out and Kimi throws Felix down, her neck is buised. Garnet announces ship wide a system shut down. Eveyone suits up. Jelena puts an oxygen mask on Angus and Kabir. At engineering, the group gets ready in suits, the energy races though the ship, wow, great camera work, and heads to engineeing. Alicia says, “C’mon, little guy you can do it.” “Anamoly” has the first new life discovered, not categorized?, and even more surprises await Ark-1 on its journey. 

Four Compression Suits out of Five!

#TheArk, #Anamoly, #MilanTodorovic, #JohnPaulNickel, #JonathanGlassner, #ChristieBurke, #ReeceRitchie, #RichardFleeshman, #TianaUpcheva, #StaceyRead, #RyanAdams, #ShaliniPeiris, #PaveleJerinic, #PaulLeonardMurray, #SamanthaGlassner, #DianaBermudez, #JadranMalkovich, #TamaraRadovanovic, #MilosCvetkovic, #JessicaYemi