#Studio DC Almost Live! With The Muppets | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rodpupo2 · 3 years

Text

Research: Persona Project

Ronin by Frank Miller

Ronin was a comic released by DC comics in 1983, and was created by Frank Miller, who besides having worked on the script, also worked on the illustrations.

Ronin is a internal evolution of the author, something that translates into a leap in quality in his work, transforming and aesthetically renewing his work.

It’s like stepping out of his comfort zone to face challenges to innovate.

Frank Miller stood out for his ability to break models, to shape a canon to a new look. And when he got to DC, he had a lot of new ideas involving the past and future, honor, society, discipline, technology, science and ecology. Miller’s mind amalgamated all this essence that culminated in this miniseries, overcoming any obstacles and marking the industry.

Ronin is the story of a past and a future that come together through science. From feudal Japan to the most decadent and technified New York, a samurai without a master, will return to solve the mistakes of the past, and do whatever it takes.

Miller brings with Ronin his interest that he already showed in other comics, which is the Japanese tradition, molding a crucible in which the past and future are mix organically, when technology is the next step in evolution. New York is engulfed by artificial intelligence that replaces the obsolete, the rotten and the dead, with the new and pure.

But for me, the best part of the comic, apart from the script and the whole idea of setting, is certainly the art.

The art of Ronin, maybe not for everyone’s taste, because it looks quite experimental and surrealist.

However, Miller broke new grounds with new page layouts, playing with the text, the thickness of the lines, close ups, cut plans and pictures, violence, death and pain like never before seen and felt in a comic book.

With a super stylized, bold and almost surrealistic streak. This led to a rejection of the miniseries, but it was necessary because Miller opened up, a new path in terms of narrative and composition of art, and invented new graphic tools with which he went in the direction of the unknown.

Josan Gonzalez

Josan is a renowned for exploring themes related to science fiction, dystopia, and above all, cyberpunk. He has already stated in an interview that he is strongly inspired by big names like Moebius, Katsuhiro Otomo - creator of Akira - and Geoff Darrow.

Gonzalez likes to create characters full of personality and compose scenarios rich in details. Josan has a very characteristic artistic artistic style: he uses complex line arts, flat colors and limited color palettes.

Being born in Spain, Josan starts reading comics since he was a teenager and this will influence later in his artistic aesthetic.

Initially he adopted a more painterly style which evolved later in the line work. Despite being always passionate about art he never thought it would make a real career from it. He succeeds in publishing his own books and working for big names such as Dark Horse and Boom Studios.

People is considering Josan’s work as being part of Cyberpunk genre, but the artist doesn’t like to classify them. He enjoy creating illustrations without establishing rules, just giving shapes to a futuristic world. Many of Gonzalez characters are linked by cables, which are a perfect metaphor for linkage human-technology. For a lot of artwork the artist get inspiration from religious imagery. Providing his characters with catholic and Hindu symbols. Mostly this happens, because of his catholic background in Spain. Another aspect, is showing people’s addiction with technology, which keep them repressed. Even if the artist explores different social questions his main goal remains the illustration and making interesting and timeless.

some of his most recent works are, for example, is the cover of the new edition of the science fiction book Neoromancer, and the steelbook art of the game Cyberpunk 2077.

The Story of Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi was Japan’s most famous samurai. He is credited with authoring the most important treatise in Japanese strategy, the “Book of Five Rings”.

Musashi Sensei, as his disciples still call his fighting style, lived from 1584 to 1645.

Musashi dedicated his life to reach perfection through the art of the sword. He fought and won more than 60 life and death duels, and was never defeated. He made contact with other art forms, such as painting, sculpture, calligraphy and poetry, in addition to Zen meditation and Buddhism.

Musashi was born in the province of Harima during one of the most troubled periods in the history of Japan, when the last great battles of the time of the samurai took place.

At the time, it was common in Japan for the same person to change his name at different stages of life. In childhood, Musashi Sensei was called Shinmen Bennosuke. It is believed that he received the first Kenjutsu (famous Japanese martial art) instructions from his father,Shinmen Hirata.

At the age of 13 he won his first duel, and won the second duel when he was 16 years old, as reported in The Book of Five Rings.

In his book Musashi says that his strategy to deconcentrate the opponent and beat him was to arrive late at the place of the duel. On the way, Musashi carved a sword out of a broken paddle and with this sword he dealt a blow to Kojiro winning the duel, which, although fast, is one of the most famous in the history of the samurai. The duel was immortalized in a monument on the island of Funajima representing the figure of the two warriors.

The Funajima duel was a turning point in Musashi’s life because from then on he began to reflect on how he had won so many duels and to dedicate himself to the task of leaving a legacy for future generations. It was from there, too, that Musashi began to dedicate himself to other arts such as painting and poetry.

He worked primarily with a style of ink painting, creating minimalist, monochromatic works portraying nature.

The last years of his life, Musashi spent as a guest with his friend, and then isolated himself in the cave of Reigando where he dedicated himself to meditation and practice of his art writing his Book of Five Rings right there.

Ned Bear Mask Artist

Sculptor Edward (Ned) Bear has combined study in Native education with an Honours Diploma from Vancouver college.

He has an extensive knowledge of Native art and culture, Bears has also made contributions to change as a curator, guest speaker and juror.

Bear was born in the town Frederecton, New Brunswick, Canada. When he was young boy he was inspired by a Native elder carver, and later on he received a formal training at New Brunswick College of Craft and Design, where he became the first aboriginal student to graduate. Bear received additional training at a Indian Federated College in Nova Scotia.

Bear created sculpted masks and marble or limestone figure forms. His masks are approximately three feet high and are usually carved from butternut. Each mask is adorned with horse hair ( symbolizing the free spirit), bear fur ( symbolizing healing) and metal ( symbolizing something which is of the earth). Each mask tells a story and offer a modern interpretation of traditional spiritual beliefs.

When creating art, Bear considered himself to be simply a vehicle through which energy flows from the eternal Great Spirit to the medium he is using. He doesn’t create any sketches for the masks, he said that he allows the great spirit to guide him through the process.

Ned Bear made significant contributions as an instructor of Native art and culture, a curator, a guest speaker, and a juror.

The indigenous sculptor died on the Christmas evening of 2019, at the age of 65. “ We delve into so many past wrongs of our lives that we forget to revel in the present. Learn to capture what you may never have again, now. Do what makes you content for this time, and begin to realize the true purpose of life”, said Bear.

Jim Henson

Jim Henson was an American puppeteer and filmmaker, and most known for creating the Muppets, and directing most of their movies and tv shows.

In the 1960s Henson and his future wife, Jane Nebel, created a puppet show on Washington television station and kept their jobs through the school years, developing the first Muppets (including Kermit) on a one minute television show called Sam and Friends.

The success of Sam and Friends led Henson to create his own company in 1958, initially called Muppets,inc. and many years later, The Jim Henson Company.

Part of the resounding success of Henson’s puppets was due to their innovative view that puppet controllers did not need to be hidden by physical objects while controlling them.

By instructing the camera controllers to focus on the puppets and keep the controllers out of sight, he allowed the puppets to dominate the TV screen and acquire more lively and similar behaviors to real people.

From the productions of Sam and Friends, many characters emerged who became famous over the years and who would become part of the famous cast of the Muppets, including their most famous member, Kermit the Frog.

The Muppet Show, which premiered in 1976 and was produced in England, gained an international audience ( it was shown in about 100 countries) and was soon followed by the film The Muppet Movie (1979).

Henson was able to create an interesting set of characters by developing innovative ideas with a sense of rhythm and humor that won an audience for both children and adults. His works are remembered in part for promoting positive values in childhood such as friendship, magic or love, themes that appeared in most of his works.

Research: Persona Brazilian Folklore research- Lobisomem

The legend of the werewolf is known practically all over the world. It defines him as being, part man, part wolf, who was cursed with lycanthropy ( the act of becoming a wolf).

The one who is cursed, becomes the werewolf on the nights of the full moon. Some variations of the legend say that lycanthropy was the result of the pact of one man with the devil.

Once transformed into a werewolf, the person frantically sets out in search of victims to kill them. Modern popular culture has spread the idea that the werewolf is vulnerable only to silver bullets or sharp objects made of silver.

Naturally, the legend of the werewolf arrived in Brazil through Portuguese, during the period when they colonized Brazil, in our country, the legend arrived and took on different characteristics in each region.

Some studies have concluded that there is no such legend among indigenous people. The closest to that were legends who believed that men or women could become some animals of the forest.

This legend in Brazilian folklore ended up acquiring elements present in its Portuguese version. Thus, it was common to believe that the werewolf was the man born after the mother had seven daughters, although versions of the legend say that if seven sons were born, the eight son would also be a werewolf.

In the north, of Brazil, the werewolf was the man who was in poor health, and the one who was anemic would eventually would become him. Once transformed, it feeds on the blood of other humans to make up for the poor diet as one of them. The transformation took place from Thursdays to Friday nights.

In the south, in turn, the fact that turned the man into a werewolf was incest. In Brazil, there was no record in the folklore of the belief in transformation of women into werewolves. In the folklore, only men becomes werewolves.

In the interior of São Paulo, it was believed that this being tried to invade the houses to eat children. Many believed that the werewolf went after, especially, unbaptized children.

One of the ways in which the person turned into a werewolf, was if he seriously injured with certain objects. One of these objects was a bullet bathed in candle wax from an altar.

11 notes · View notes

jimhenson-themuppetmaster · 5 years

Text

Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem

DEBUT 1975

PERFORMERS

Dr Teeth - Jim Henson

Animal - Frank Oz

Floyd Pepper - Jerry Nelson

Janice - Richard Hunt

Zoot - Dave Goelz

(Later)

Lips - Steve Whitmire

Clifford - Kevin Clash

Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem are the house band on The Muppet Show. They mostly stick to rock music, but they're capable of playing other styles, including jazz and (unwillingly) classical. Although Dr. Teeth is the leader, he is not the only one to provide lead vocals. Floyd Pepper is often a lead singer on songs, and Janice is lead singer on a handful of songs.

They drive around in a brightly-painted bus with psychedelic swirls and colors.

In an edition of Ask Henson.com, Karen Falk responded to a question about the origins of the Mayhem band:

“Music was always an important part of Jim Henson's work. He had a strong interest in all types and had an eclectic record library. When he began writing proposals and creating concepts for The Muppet Show in the late 1960s, they always included a house band that was to appear in each episode. At that time, Jim had a strong interest in the counter-culture movement (as evidenced by his experimental film Youth '68) and sought to reflect that in the composition of the band. One proposal from about 1970 says that the band would, "...do songs like "Sunshine" from Hair. In fact, they are all dressed to out-hair the Hair cast."

The Electric Mayhem as we know it first appeared in 1975 on the Muppet Show pilot Sex and Violence. A page of ideas for the show written by Jim describes the band this way: "Rock act - far-out, elaborate weird equipment, big amps...".”

MUSICIANS

Core Members

Dr. Teeth on keyboards, pianos, and vocals.

Floyd Pepper on bass guitar, cello, banjo, vibes and vocals

Zoot on saxophone, clarinet, flute, and tuba.

Janice on lead guitar, tambourine, trombone, trumpet, and vocals.

Animal on drums.

Additional Members

Lips on trumpet (The Muppet Show Season 5, 1980; The Great Muppet Caper, 1981; A Muppet Family Christmas, 1987; The Muppets at Walt Disney World, 1990; The Muppet Christmas Carol, 1992, Christmas in Rockefeller Center, 2009; "Jungle Boogie", The Muppets, and "Kodachrome", 2015; Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, 2016; The Muppets Take the Bowl, 2017; The Muppets Take the O2, 2018)

Guest Members

A Bongo Player (episode 413)

A brass section consisting of a clarinet player and two trumpet players (one of whom was Bobby Benson) (season 2 of The Muppet Show)

Clifford on percussion (The Muppets at Walt Disney World, 1990)

Don Knotts on stand up bass (episode 201)

Jim on banjo (The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence pilot)

Rizzo the Rat on cymbals (episode 511)

Rowlf on piano (episode 121 (German version only)), (episode 424, episode 513), in addition to Dr. Teeth (The Muppet Christmas Carol)

Scooter on percussion (The Muppet Movie)

Three frog backup singers (episode 406)

Trombone player (episode 517)

Trumpet Girl on trumpet (episode 123 of The Muppet Show) and trombone (episode 505, episode 513)

Zeke on banjo (episode 424) and marimba (episode 523)

A drummer (Episode 505)

Beaker on vocals (episode 424, Studio DC: Hosted by Selena Gomez)

Ninja Rogers on drums (The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson)

Hal Linden on clarinet ( Episode 517: Hal Linden )

A Trombone Player ( Episode 517: Hal Linden )

↑ hide

MANAGERS

Scooter - The Muppet Movie

Rizzo the Rat and Pepe the King Prawn - Studio DC: Almost Live!

↑ hide

SONGS PERFORMED BY THE ELECTRIC MAYHEM

1 of 15

Television

The Muppet Show Season 1

Episode 102: Connie Stevens - "Ain't Misbehavin'" (UK Spot)

Episode 104: Ruth Buzzi - "Sunny"

Episode 106: Jim Nabors - "Money"

Episode 110: Harvey Korman - "Love Ya to Death"

Episode 110: Harvey Korman - "Sweet Tooth Jam" (UK Spot)

Episode 116: Avery Schreiber - "Tenderly"

Episode 118: Phyllis Diller - "Lazybones" (UK spot)

Episode 120: Valerie Harper - "Searching"

Episode 123: Kaye Ballard - "Fugue for Frog"

Episode 124: Mummenschanz - "Mr. Bassman" (with Scooter)

The Muppet Show Season 2

Episode 202: Zero Mostel - "Chopin's Polonaise in A Flat"

Episode 209: Madeline Kahn - "New York State of Mind" (UK spot)

Episode 211: Dom DeLuise - "Don't Blame the Dynamite"

Episode 213: Rudolf Nureyev - Boccherini's "Minuet in A Major"

Episode 222: Teresa Brewer - "Cheese Cake" (UK Spot) (performed by Dr. Teeth on solo piano)

The Muppet Show Season 3

Episode 301: Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge - "New York State of Mind"

Episode 314: Harry Belafonte - "Honeysuckle Rose" (UK Spot)

Episode 315: Lesley Ann Warren - "Mack the Knife" (UK Spot)

Episode 317: Spike Milligan - "America"

Episode 320: Sylvester Stallone - "Lady Be Good" (UK Spot)

The Muppet Show Season 4

Episode 418: Christopher Reeve - "Sam's Song" (UK Spot)

Episode 419: Lynda Carter - "With a Little Help From My Friends"

Episode 419: Lynda Carter - "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"

The Muppet Show Season 5

Episode 503: Joan Baez - "Blackbird"

Episode 504: Shirley Bassey - "Barnyard Boogie"

Episode 504: Shirley Bassey - "After You've Gone" (UK Spot - performed by Orchestra)

Episode 510: Jean-Pierre Rampal - "Rockin' Robin"

Episode 511: Paul Simon - "Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover"

Episode 513: Tony Randall - "Poison Ivy"

Episode 524: Roger Moore - "How High the Moon" (UK Spot - performed by Orchestra)

Specials

Julie Andrews: My Favorite Things - "Your Mamma Won't Like Me"

Sex and Violence - "For the Birds"

Sex and Violence - "Love Ya to Death"

#jim henson #the muppets #the electric mayhem #best version #best quality #information

372 notes · View notes

mydearjanice · 7 years

Photo

More rares

#studio dc almost live #demi lovato #muppet show #muppets #the muppet show #the muppets #the electric mayhem band #electric mayhem band #the electric mayhem #dr teeth and the electric mayhem #janice #muppet janice #dr teeth #sgt floyd pepper #floyd pepper #zoot

24 notes · View notes

skullrock · 2 years

Note

My parents literally had me watching vhs of muppet sing alongs as a child. I’ve seen every epauode of the show, every episode of muppets tonight, the 2 or 3 “studio dc almost live” that they put out on Disney channel, and the Disney plus show but nothing beats the original

And then of course every movie. I also had the “muppets at sea” GameCube game 😂

YESSSSSSS u had the best childhood omg… i unfortunately was not exposed to this much but still a good bit!!! they are just timeless i love them

#answered

1 note · View note

tokupedia · 6 years

Text

How to invest in Tokusatsu Part 2: The List

Toei Co. LTD

Ticker #: TYO 9605

Dividend (Late 2017): 0.45 USD per share

Dividend Yield (Late 2017): 0.05%

Price: $105-106 USD (Late 2017)

Licenses: Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Metal Heroes, various heroes created by Shotaro Ishinomori, Sailor Moon, Pretty Cure.

Toei is massive in terms of what cards it has on the table. Name a popular anime in the past 10-20 years and there is roughly a 7 out of 10 chance it came from this studio’s animation department. Even Gen X American childhood favorites like Muppet Babies came from this studio’s animation department. Aside from that, they are the film and TV production company of Super Sentai, the original source material for Saban’s Power Rangers series, as well as Super Sentai’s older sister series Kamen Rider. Both are beloved staples of Japanese pop culture that make Toei some serious bank. If not for people like Shotaro Ishinomori, this company would not be known as the crown jewel of Japanese superhero media.

The downside is Toei isn’t cheap for some, 105 bucks is a lot to ask for. But it is justified as it is one of the most successful international animation studios outside of Disney and has made cult live action hits like Battle Royale.

The company as a whole has: Real estate, animation and live action film and television production, movie theaters, home video distribution (V-Cinemas and Hyper Battle Videos being an example), internet streaming content distribution, film studios for developing movies for clients, a high tech film R&D department, a Feudal Japan theme park (which many period piece shows or scenes use for filming). They also hold art exhibitions, stage shows and have a global marketing firm so people like Mr. Saban can get Toei licensed properties for international television.

Toho Co. LTD.

Ticker #: TYO 9602

Dividend (Late 2017): 0.11 USD per share

Dividend Yield (Late 2017): 0.73%

Price: 33 USD (Late 2017)

Product: Godzilla, Mothra and various popular Kaiju characters. The now defunct Chouseishin series.

The House of Godzilla is a proud company that dates back to the early 20th century and one of the most respected Japanese film studios in Hollywood thanks to being one of the studios that supported the projects of film legend Akira Kurosawa.

As far as what it does, Toho has its own chain of movie theaters, an animation studio division that makes popular hits like My Hero Academia, a TV production company, Real estate, a movie studio, a theatrical play production studio and film production and special effects studios. They also hold the film distribution rights to many popular anime such as the globally beloved Pokemon series which gives them a slight edge on the competition. In recent years, Toho is adapting to the times in a good way by reviving Godzilla on the big screen and expanding into the market of online streaming/sales distribution. This has resulted in great financial growth in the past 2 years that could go on if Godzilla’s box office takes for both the Japanese and US film series continue and further expansion into the internet through digital distribution and partnerships with licensing to companies like Netflix. Proof that the King of Monsters can still pack a mighty roar!

Bandai Namco Group

Ticker #: TYO 7832

Dividend (Late 2017): 0.11 USD per share

Dividend Yield (Late 2017): 0.62%

Price (Late 2017): 34-35 USD per share Lowest price in 2017 was 27 USD

Owns: Digimon and various video game franchises, has partial ownership of Ishimori Productions though absorbing a large money sharehold of that company in 2007 (Ishimori Pro is still family operated though through Akira Onodera).

Toy Licenses: Seemingly Almost EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN. Star Trek, Marvel, DC, Ultraman, WWE, Dragon Ball Z, Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, Metal Heroes, Sailor Moon, Gundam etc.

Easily the largest behemoth in Japan’s toy industry and now owner of the company that made Pac-Man among other things, Bandai is only spared from being compared to a maniacal corporate super villain in terms of power by having its global competitors live in harmony with it.

It produces in toy manufacturing of various types including model kits, DX toys, card games, premium collectibles, stuffed animals, Sofubi, electronic toys and video games. It also owns a few theme parks, manufactures arcade game cabinets, makes movies, TV and music, owns a trucking company, has a bakery to sell seasonal food stuffs online to customers, gashapon vending machines, clothing...They also own the famed animation studio Sunrise and have their own media distribution network. Yeah, Bandai is scary big!

However, that large amount of corporate product diversity and business means potentially that Bandai is stable and safe in most situations. If one falters, another could spring Bandai’s finances back on its feet. Bandai has recently expanded its global operations by opening a Premium website in the USA to sell adult collectible toys directly to customers online. So there is definitely growth potential!

Tohokushinsha Film Corporation

Ticker #: TYO 2329

Dividend (Late 2017): 0.14 USD per share

Dividend Yield (Late 2017): 2.52%

Price (Late 2017): 6.79 USD

Product: The Garo Series

Tohokushinsha Film Corporation or TFC for short is the distributor of the Garo Series. While Garo creator Keita Amemiya has his own studio, Crowd Inc., to produce the show, it is a private company with no stock investments. So the best way to invest in Garo is to support TFC. While Garo is the thing they are most proud of, TFC’s core business is being a film dubbing house for Hollywood movies, taking the dialogue and translating it so the moviegoers in Japan can understand what the heck people like Harrison Ford are saying in their own language. Its other core business is film archiving and storage.

Owning TFC includes these sectors: TV/film production, special effects studios, Marketing firms, TV commercial ad companies, Cable TV (red flag!), Supermarkets, a furniture store chain, a beauty salon chain, a brewery, anime production, moichandising sales and home video sales. They also have a licensing firm in Los Angeles, CA called Cente Service (which presumably is how Kraken Releasing got the rights to those shiny Blu-Rays of Garo Season 1!).

TFC is cheap compared to the others. But cheaper stocks below $10 always have higher risk in some capacity depending on company performance, so be careful!

Shochiku LTD.

Ticker #:TYO 9601

Dividend: 0.26 USD per share (Does not make payments quarterly)

Dividend Yield: 0.35%

Price: 150 USD

What you are Toku investing in: Ultraman films

Shochiku is the toughest of the film studios in Japan, as it has been around since 1895! Don’t believe me? This one Kabuki theater company turned film studio has survived the following: the end of the Meiji Era, World War II, US occupation, several earthquakes, changing technology, and stared down a near bankruptcy without even flinching. You know you have something special when a 122 year old company is still profitable and still growing. While they now focus on movies and media, Shochiku did not abandon their heritage as the Kabuki theater company that built it is still in operation, now expanded to doing other stage plays. Their core film business is Samurai movies, dramas and action/crime dramas

Shochiku owns movie theaters, a music record company, a film studio, an anime production unit, several stage theater companies including a costume department, real estate, restaurants, home video distribution, TV broadcasting etc. They also hold the rights to film distribution of the Ultraman movies.

Stock is a bit pricier, but it has had decent growth the past 3 years.

Takara Tomy Co.

Ticker #: TYO 7867

Dividend: 0.12 USD per share

Dividend Yield: 0.72%

Price: 16 USD per share

Owns: The Tomica Hero series, Transformers (co-partnership with Hasbro), Tomica toy cars

Takara Tomy is a famed toy brand thanks to the popularity of its products like Transformers and Beyblade. Recently, the company threw their hats back into the TV tokusatsu ring by making the magical girl series Idol x Warriors Miracle Tunes to compete with Bandai/Toei’s Pretty Cure Series.

While beloved, the grim shadow of Japan’s declining birth rate is making investors wary of Takara Tomy as their target demographic is younger kids. This leaves them in a very vulnerable position if Japan’s birth rate screeches to a complete halt, as no new babies means no future toddlers or preschoolers to ask parents to buy their products like PlaRail. Another blow to them recently is the loss of their long running Pokemon toy license to a rival company which will start selling their own toys in 2018.

Some meanspirited money men are even speculating Hasbro will just buy out Takara’s ownership of Transformers and ditch the remains if they sink. However, not all is gloom and doom as things seem to be doing better this year. Time will tell if this toy company, one half of which is one of the oldest toy manufacturers in Japan, will endure. In the meantime, give it some love so maybe we can get the Tomica Hero series back! (holding a large amount of stocks gives you voting power over who leads the company after all!)

Takara Tomy’s main business is of course toy manufacturing. It also deals in the making of baby products, children’s books, video games, gashapon toys, candies and various other youth marketed goods and apparel.

Sony

NYSE Ticker: SNE

Price: $44.81 per share (11/4/17)

Dividend: 9 cents USD

Yield: 0.40%

Owns: Funimation, therefore indirectly owns the distribution rights to the Garo anime.

Now, I know what you are thinking. Sony? Well, yeah. Given a very recent event, this counts. See just a week ago, Sony officially bought Funimation. And Funimation had a deal with MAPPA to buy the streaming rights to the Garo animes. Plus, Funimation was in the middle of simulcasting Infini-T Force when it happened! In addition, the company is a major partner with Bandai and Ishimori Pro in making Kamen Rider video games for its Playstation family of game consoles like the hotly anticipated Climax Fighters game.

The company is often overlooked for bigger tech stocks like Apple, but they are so much more than a video game company. In addition to consumer electronics, the Sony corporation has a movie studio (which is debated in merit due to the quality of some of their productions) a TV studio in LA that produces shows and beloved TV game show staples Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, an animation studio and that is just the visual media part.

They have semiconductor manufacturing plants, record labels and music distribution, Networking, medical firms, insurance, banking, telecommunications, advertising....In short, Sony is one of the most diverse businesses in the entire world and a worthy addition to a portfolio.

And now one NOT to invest in...

Fields Corp.

Ticker #:TYO 2767

Dividend: ???

Yield: 2.62%

Owns: Part of Tsuburaya Productions, the company that makes Ultraman. Also has a stake in HEROS, the manga magazine that distributes the Infini-T force, ULTRAMAN and Kamen Rider Kuuga manga.

As of this year...this stock is not worth your time. Fields is in trouble right now as the reports of its financials indicate a hard time. The company has lost a big chunk of its yearly income. It is in the negative in terms of debt in some areas and it is reporting major losses. Its primary business is Pachinko machines.

Figures, a company that invests on gambling would go down this year!

So there you have it, places you can support tokusatsu in the world of finance!

I know this was probably boring, but I promise the next post will be fun!

Note: This data is from November of 2017 and may not reflect future financial data.

#tokusatsu #stocks #finance #investing #toho #toei #sony #TFC #fields corp #shochiku #bandai namco #takara tomy

195 notes · View notes

dipulb3 · 4 years

Text

Disney Plus review: The streaming service for the young and young at heart

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/disney-plus-review-the-streaming-service-for-the-young-and-young-at-heart/

Disney Plus review: The streaming service for the young and young at heart

Disney/Screenshot by Bonnie Burton/CNET

Just like seemingly everything else Disney does, from Rise of Skywalker to Avengers: Endgame to Galaxy’s Edge, its streaming service is a phenomenon. Disney Plus launched in November 2019, and as of May had amassed 54.5 million subscribers — no small feat for a new streaming service. Its marquee original series, The Mandalorian, gave fans Baby Yoda theories, merchandise and memes. And its success has Netflix and other big names in streaming taking notes. Not bad for $6.99 a month.

Wide catalog of content from Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and National Geographic, plus early releases during pandemic

Low price compared to other streaming services

Easy-to-navigate interface, with 4K HDR available for some titles

Baby Yoda

Don’t Like

No other big original hits outside of The Mandalorian

Little customization of kids’ profiles

Tile-heavy design

The big question: Is it worth the money to you? If you’re a cord cutter, especially one with children, then Disney Plus is likely a must-have. With only a few notable exceptions, Netflix is losing a host of Disney content to the new service, meaning if you or the little ones want to watch Moana, for example, you’ll need a Disney Plus subscription.

Whether it allows you to ditch Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or Hulu depends on your budget and priorities. But one thing is clear: Disney Plus already belongs in the top tier of streaming services, with a massive catalog of TV shows and movies, a well-designed app available on pretty much every streaming platform and an affordable price. For those reasons it deserves CNET’s Editors’ Choice award.

Streaming compared

Disney Plus Netflix Hulu HBO Max Monthly price $6.99 Starts at $8.99 Basic $5.99 with ads, Ad-free for $11.99, Live TV for $55 $14.99 Ads No No Yes, with basic tier No Availability Now Now Now Now Top titles The Mandalorian, Avengers Endgame, Toy Story, The Simpsons Stranger Things, The Office, Breaking Bad, 13 Reasons Why Handmaid’s Tale, Catch-22, Lost, Bob’s Burgers Entire HBO catalog, Studio Ghibli films, DC films Mobile downloads Yes Yes Yes (on Ad-free plan only) Yes 4K available Yes Yes (on Premium plan) Yes No HDR available Yes Yes (on Premium plan) No No Number of streams 4 1 (2 for Standard, 4 on Premium) 2 (Unlimited with Live TV and a $10 add-on) 3

A catalog of major hits and forgotten favorites…

In contrast to the meager selection of nine shows offered by Apple TV Plus when it launched around the same time last November, Disney hit the ground running with 500 movies and 7,500 TV shows on its first day. There’s a ton of Marvel, a shipton of Star Wars, a boatload of Pixar and a healthy sprinkle of National Geographic (which is owned by Disney). You’ll also find 30 seasons of The Simpsons, and other programming from Disney’s takeover of Fox. Depending on the content and device there is support for both 4K HDR video and Dolby Atmos surround sound.

With so many movies and TV shows available, it’s likely that if you can think of a Disney movie or TV show, it’s there. Even before you try searching, the interface serves up plenty of suggestions, including a great mix of nostalgia (Turner and Hooch) and princess movies (Moana). And more besides.

It’s no surprise that Disney Plus is packed with kids-friendly shows and movies.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Disney’s ’70s period may be denigrated these days, but the service helped resurface some classics that appeared during that period, including the Herbie series and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. The interface will reacquaint you with movies that you may have forgotten were Disney, such as Flight of the Navigator. And if your formative years took place in the late ’90s and early aughts, you’ll find all of the Disney Channel Original Movies from that era on the platform too, like Halloweentown and Smart House.

All of the content isn’t perfect. At launch, The Simpsons was only available in widescreen, with no 4:3 option for older seasons that were not HD native — cutting out some great visual gags. However, the platform is now changing all 30 seasons of the show back to its original form. And the Han-shot-first scene in the original Star Wars movie, A New Hope, has apparently been edited yet again. Plus, it hasn’t produced any must-watch original series outside of The Mandalorian.

Read more: HBO Max vs. Peacock vs. Quibi vs. Disney Plus vs. Apple TV Plus vs. Netflix: How streaming stacks up

…and in the coronavirus era, new releases

With continued coronavirus lockdowns restricting access to movie theaters, Disney Plus has become a platform not only for old favorites and new originals but for big-screen releases too. At first, it started streaming already-released movies months earlier than planned, including Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Frozen 2, and Pixar’s Onward.

Now, Disney is speeding up the streaming releases of brand new movies too, giving you even more bang for your buck. The film adaptation of young adult novel Artemis Fowl was scheduled to hit theaters in May, but instead premiered on Disney Plus instead in June. And the company’s live-action film version of the mega hit musical Hamilton will be going straight to Disney Plus on July 3, coinciding with the Independence Day holiday weekend in the US — more than a year earlier than its planned theatrical debut.

This won’t be the case for every new Disney movie, though. The company has yet to announce that any of its big budget blockbusters like the live-action Mulan or any of the upcoming Marvel movies will come to Disney Plus before theaters.

Coronavirus filming shutdowns will disrupt some Disney Plus original shows and movies, too. But season two of The Mandalorian is still on track for an October release.

An easy-to-navigate interface

If you’ve used any streaming service at all, bar Disney’s own Hulu, then the interface of Disney Plus will be instantly familiar. The very top of the home screen is a web-like carousel with a selection of Disney’s biggest hits.

Underneath this, the brand’s most popular properties appear across the page as static icons: Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic. Hover over each and the icon will animate, and if you click on it a short animation will appear before the branded page appears. While the interface is designed to scale to low-powered devices like USB sticks we saw little difference between any of the dozen-or-so devices we tried. The design is tile-heavy, unlike the newer HBO Max service which gives your eye more of a break between titles, but it is easy to search through.

Disney Plus puts its big four brands (and National Geographic) front-and-center.

Sarah Tew/CNET

On the branded pages as well as the home page, the rows of icons are titled according to genre and help to hone the content to your requirements. Disney told us that, like the Netflix engine, the Disney Plus interface will adapt to the types of content that you watch over time.

At the left of the screen is a Netflix-like sidebar that lets you search for content or choose from your preselected profiles.

The only real way to configure Disney Plus is through user profiles, and by default your Primary profile offers access to all of the content. It can’t be set to a kids profile, but you can turn autoplay off or on or alter the main language. You can set up a kids profile for your child by toggling the Kids Profile setting to On, which prevents PG and PG-13 content from appearing on the profile. But it’s not perfect for every age group — for example, you can’t enable PG content and disable PG-13 content. Plus, a child could technically just switch over to another profile to watch those shows.

Outside of some launch day issues due to demand that have since been resolved, the biggest problem we found with the interface is that some popular things might be hidden — you may not know The Muppets is there, for example. But this is an issue that larger services such as Netflix also suffer from.

Which devices can you watch Disney Plus on?

Pretty much everything. Disney Plus has one of the widest distributions of any streaming app, and is available on just about any phone, tablet, computer, connected TV or streaming media box, including those from Apple, Google, Microsoft, Roku, Sony, Amazon, Samsung and LG.

Download Disney Plus shows on almost any mobile device.

Sarah Tew/CNET

With a Disney Plus subscription you can watch up to four different shows on four different devices at once — whether they are on the go (with offline downloads supported) or on TV at home.

We tested Disney Plus on Roku, Apple TV ($179 at Apple), Fire TV, iOS, smart TV (LG and Samsung), Android TV and the web, and apart from some weirdness on launch day back in November, they all worked in the expected fashion. If your streamer supports 4K HDR then there is a healthy selection of titles like the recent Marvel movies and The Mandalorian, but others like the recent Muppets titles are only in HD.

Voice commands worked well on Apple TV, Fire TV and Roku in directing us to the show title or the Disney service in general. Apart from crashing Fire TV when the app wasn’t yet installed voice searches worked every other time.

Should you get Disney Plus?

For Disney’s legions of Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar fans who want to enjoy those movies, and their extra features, the service is easily worth the relatively low monthly fee. The same goes for parents who want their kids to enjoy Disney’s myriad family movies and TV shows. And ditto for anybody who wants to follow the latest adventures of Baby Yoda.

Are people going to quit other services in order to afford this one? Possibly. If it’s a choice between this or Apple TV Plus, then get this. If it’s a choice between Disney and Hulu and you have kids? Get this. HBO Max has a strong slate of kids’ content as well, but is double the cost at $14.99 a month. For us, Disney Plus comes toward the top of our streaming service review rankings, below Netflix and a notch above Hulu and Amazon Prime Video, but your priorities may push one of those above Disney — especially if you don’t have kids.

Original programs like The Mandalorian and The World According to Jeff Goldblum are fine, but it’s the programming spanning almost 100 years that will likely encourage users to renew their subscriptions each month. Disney Plus is fun, easy to use and relatively affordable.

Now playing: Watch this: Is Disney Plus one of the biggest launches of all time?

3:06

0 notes