The Lion King

• NEW YORK, April 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The worlds of arts, business, philanthropy, community, and sports will converge at the Figure Skating in Harlem (FSH) 2024 "Reaching for the Stars" Gala hosted by CBS Mornings' Vladimir Duthiers on Wednesday, April 17 at 6 pm EST at Gotham Hall.
• The 2024 Gala honors women advancing the access, amplification, and advocacy around equity in figure skating, education, and leadership on a national level.
• Sharon Cohen founded the 27-year-old nonprofit organization and has served more than 1,500 girls and young women within the Harlem and NYC community with programs centered around the sport, as well as academic and leadership development.
• Figure Skating of Harlem Gala Co-Chairs includes:
  Sherrie McPherson (first-ever alumna board member,) Laurin Henderson Menton, and Julianne Wagner.

• The design theme of the Disney Destiny, sister to the Disney Wish and Disney Treasure, will be "Heroes and Villains," drawing on the legacy of beloved Disney stories, characters and theme park attractions, to forge a cruise vacation that will empower guests to embrace their own calling aboard every unforgettable voyage.
• The Disney Cruise Line and Walt Disney Imagineering teams were inspired by the dynamic duality of every great Disney story, where opposing forces of light and dark drive characters to rise to their purpose, when developing the Disney Destiny.
• To embody and embolden the theme, Disney also unveiled brand-new filigree artwork for the bow of the Disney Destiny, continuing a beloved Disney Cruise Line design tradition.
• "The Disney Destiny will celebrate our most legendary Disney stories and characters, bringing them to life in new and exciting ways exclusively for Disney Cruise Line guests," said Sharon Siskie, senior vice president and general manager, Disney Cruise Line.

• ASPEN, Colo., Dec. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Hotel Jerome, Auberge Resorts Collection , Aspen's landmark hotel, has launched a world-class lineup of arts, culinary, culture and music programming to celebrate the 2023 holiday season.
• Hotel Jerome, Auberge Resorts Collection, Aspen's landmark hotel, has launched a world-class lineup of arts, culinary, culture and music programming to celebrate the 2023 holiday season.
• "Our Holiday programming this year is jam-packed with incredible talent and culinary experiences, offering several opportunities to celebrate this time of the year," says Patrick Davila, General Manager of Hotel Jerome, Auberge Resorts Collection.
• Prospect (Ongoing): In addition to the festive season programming, Hotel Jerome, Auberge Resorts Collection's main restaurant Prospect recently debuted a brand-new concept led by Chef Connor Holdren.

• They created a new character: a mouse, with large ears.
• Walt Disney was an innovator in terms of space, colour and movement.
• Walt himself holds the record for most nominations (59) and Oscar wins (22 competitive awards, plus four honorary awards) for a single individual.

Steamboat Willie and technological wonders

• He created The Alice Comedies, a series of short films featuring a live-action child actress in a cartoon world.
• Steamboat Willie, released in 1928, was the world’s first fully synchronised sound cartoon.
• A simple story featuring Mickey as a steamboat captain trying to navigate the boat while dealing with various comical situations, Steamboat Willie was universally praised.

The golden age and feature films

• Those early films still dazzle today – think of the Sorcerers’ Apprentice scene in Fantasia (1940) or the Pink Elephants hallucinogenic number in Dumbo.
• And is there any scene, in any film, more heart-wrenching than the death of Bambi’s mother?
• But the golden age never really stopped.

Disneyland and diversification

• It set the standard for theme park design and showed the way forward for the company: diversification.
• After Disneyland came Walt Disney World in Florida in 1971, then versions of Disneyland in Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Buyouts and a cultural behemoth

• These acquisitions solidified Disney’s position as the brand leader in the entertainment industry.
• The deal made some industry insiders uneasy: Disney had become a cultural behemoth, strangling competition, homogenising content and swallowing up entire franchises.

Not all plain sailing

• Its 1946 film Song of the South has long been criticised for its racist portrayal of African Americans and its romanticisation of the plantation era.
• Since 1986, Disney have tried to keep it out of circulation, although clips can be found online.
• Many old films streaming on Disney+ now feature a disclaimer telling viewers some scenes will include “negative depictions” and “mistreatment of people or cultures”.
• LGBTQ+ representation has become more visible since LeFou became Disney’s first openly gay character in its 2017 live-action Beauty and the Beast.