First look: "Rivers of Light" at Disney"s Animal Kingdom

Disney"s Animal Kingdom 2016 Tour and Overview | Walt Disney World Tour Video

Walt Disney World has been gearing up for the grand opening of Rivers of Light, the first nighttime spectacular at Animal Kingdom. But this past weekend, theme park guests were able to see the full production for the first time as part of soft opening presentations.

What they saw on the Light side: floating lotus blossoms that morph into colorful, prancing fountains, oversized animal sculptures that could well be from a species of Tiffany lamps and gigantic water curtains featuring splashy wildlife projections.

What audiences didnt experience: a complicated story, animated characters or bombastic pyrotechnics common with Disney World finales.

As a kiss goodnight, Rivers of Light could be considered a peck on the cheek. Thanks for coming by; now, off to your cars, folks. See you real soon.

Sunday nights show, for invited guests and visitors who secured FastPass+ reservations, appeared to be smooth sailing. It began with the floating flowers that change colors with the music and eventually blossom to reveal fountains that shoot water streams in various forms and all directions. In the final moments of Rivers, the largest lotus sprouts a blazing tower, probably the most memorable segment of the show.

The floating fountains arent as sexy an effect as, say, 300 drones in the sky, but that doesnt mean they arent complicated. The units are in near-constant motion while traveling on the theme parks Discovery River, simultaneously spinning and spewing.

In the beginning, dramatic lighting on distant trees frames shadowy figures of animals. (Audience members also can hear them, allowing minds to wander to the real residents of Disneys Animal Kingdom.) Later, barges carrying boxy, internally lit animal figures drift into the picture. The one with two elephants brings to mind Stella, the calf recently birthed at the theme park.

Wildlife also take the spotlight on large, arched water screens, sometimes running across multiple sprays. Down on the waters surface, there are animals baby bears, assorted birds virtually splashing, thanks to technology tucked into the floating lotuses.

The show also has live humans on its watery stage, although they can get lost among the oversized imagery. A boat floats by with a drummer, but a silhouette on its sail commands attention.

All of this is set to an enjoyable, if evenly paced, soundtrack. The vibe is similar to the middle section of IllumiNations, the long-running nighttime show at Epcot.

Its been a long journey for Rivers of Light, which was announced in October 2013 as part of a push to add after-dark entertainment at Animal Kingdom. In March 2016, a debut date of April 22 was announced.On April 19, media members were shown a portion of Rivers of Light, but also were told that a limited-run show named Jungle Book: Alive With Magic would be the first production to appear in the new 5,000-seat amphitheater.

But Rivers, set to have its official debut Friday, should help to entertain the masses expected to check out Pandora, the Avatar-inspired landscheduled to open at animal kingdom on May 27.

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Source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/theme-park-rangers-blog/os-et-disney-rivers-light-first-look-20170213-story.html

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Winning Nature Photos Capture Triumph and Turmoil in the Animal Kingdom

Disney"s Animal Kingdom 2016 Tour and Overview | Walt Disney World Tour Video

Now in its 60th year, theWorld Press Photo contest highlights images that visually capture events of the prior year. And this year"s winners are no different, including refugees trying to cross the Mediterranean, children wounded by the war in Syria and Olympians pushing through the finish line.

Butthe images also depict triumph and turmoil in the animal world, where many of the winning selections show how humans come into conflict with naturewith plants and animals usually falling on the losing side of the equation.

The winner of the single image nature category, by Spanish photographer Francis Prez, depicts a sea turtle photographed near Tenerife in the Canary Islands wrapped up in afishing net. Despite many attempts tolimit the use of plastics, the troubles with marine debris have persistednot only wrapping around sea lifebut also poisoningthem.

A wild leopard takes a nightime stroll through Sanjay Gandhi National Park, a protected area in the northern part of Mumbai, India, in September 2016 (World Press Photo/Nayan Khanolkar)

the second place image also shows how animals navigate the human-mediated world. The shot, captured with a camera trap by Indian nature photographer Nayan Khanolkar shows a leopard hunting in the alleyways of a village in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, just on the edge of the huge metropolis of Mumbai.

Khanolkar, who has been doing wildlife photography for 20 years, strives to "tell the story of how wildlife is coexisting with city life," he says toVijay Singhl atThe Times of India. The shot capturesan area where humans commonly coexist with leopards, Khanolkar notes. But venturing deeper into the city, where fear of the creatures is high, is hazardous for leopards to prowl.

Monarch butterflies on the forest in El Rosario Butterfly Sanctuary, in Michoacn, Mexico, after strong snowstorm in March, 2016 (World Press Photo/Jaime Rojo)

The third place single image is by Mexican photographer Jamie Rojo depicts the forest floor covered in monarch butterflies that froze to death after an intense winter storm hit their wintering grounds in El Rosario Butterfly Sanctuary, in Michoacn, Mexico, west of Mexico City last March. The storm destroyed 133 acres of pine forests in the core wintering area for the butterflies, killing 6.2 million of the winged insects, about 7.4 percentof the 84 million butterflies that overwinter in Mexico, theAssociated Pressreported at the time. Climate change is a major threat to the butterflies, influencing their migration patterns and weather conditions at their overwintering grounds. That, along withillegal logging and pesticide useare the biggest threats to the species.

Brent Sirtons photographs of poaching and poachers in South Africa, which took the top prize in the nature stories categories, document another human-created threat to animals. On assignment forNational Geographiche took a series of images capturing the rhino-horn trade in south and eastern Africa. Sirton writes that while South Africa is has the largest reserve of rhinos in the world, a battle is taking place along the South Africa and Mozambique border. If an animal crossed into Mozambique, he explains, its life expectancy drops to less than 24 hours.

Sirtons images chronicle the carnage fromthe rhino-horn trade, including a freshly slaughtered black rhino left to rot at a watering hole and the recovery of Lulah, a one-month old black rhino who was attacked by hyenas after her mother was poached. Though she lost her ears, part of her nose and was injured in the legs by the attack, she was expected to recover.

Ye Ye, a 16-year-old giant panda, at a conservation center in Wolong Nature Reserve in China (World Press Photo/Ami Vitale, for National Geographic Magazine)

Not every featured image of human interactions with nature, however, isso negative. Ami Vitales second place story-telling entry chronicles the efforts to breed and return pandas to the wild. Also on assignment forNational Geographic,Vitale documents the techniques perfected by Chinese researchers in the past quarter century tohelp the iconic animals procreateand prepare them for life in the wild. Its a great success story, which resulted in the recent controversial decision todowngrade pandasfrom endangered to vulnerable status.

The third place winner in the story category actively tries to avoid any human interactions with wild animals. Hungarian photographer Bence Mt is known asthe invisible wildlife photographerbecause of the elaborate hidden blinds he constructs to get close to his subjects without their notice.

For his winning series of images of African animals ata watering hole at night,he spent 18 nights at the Mkuze Estate, KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa, he tellsNational Geographic. Using a remote-control camera, he took about 15,000 images using a 40-second exposure, which capturesghostly images and blurs of his nighttime visitors, including fallow deer, elephants, water buffalo and hippos.

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Source: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-winning-nature-photos-world-press-photo-competition-180962162/

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Animal Kingdom premiere recap: "Pilot" / "We Don"t Hurt People"

Table Read - He"s In | Animal Kingdom | TNT

If gritty crime dramas with hunky men and mommy issues are your thing, theres a good chance youre going to go crazy for Animal Kingdom. Loosely adapted from the 2010 Australian film of the same name though more closely resembling a TV version of Point Break than anything else TNTs Animal Kingdom is steeped in California noir goodness. Theres coke, neon lights, sunny beaches, weed, robberies, violence, and Ellen Barkin. What more could you ask for?

The premiere certainly gets right down to business, with paramedics showing up at an apartment and responding to a woman dying from a heroin overdose while her son sits on the couch with a nonchalant look on his face. Its obvious hes been here before, though this time is different. The boy is Josh, a.k.a. J, and this time his mom, Julia, doesnt recover. After she dies, J ends up calling his grandmother (Ellen Barkin), known affectionately as Smurf, for a place to stay.

Smurf comes to pick up her grandson, and smuggles away some drugs while shes at it. As J is about to leave, hes confronted by his moms dealer, whos asking for money hes owed. J doesnt tell him his Mom died, but he doesnt pay him either. Its a small moment, but one that leads to a bigger turning point later in the episode.

When J is brought back to his grandmothers place, we get a glimpse at the life she and her sons are living. Theres a pool, nice cars, plenty of TVs, and money lying around the house. It seems like theyre living the dream, especially compared to the relative squalor J was used to, but its clear that everythings not exactly on the up-and-up. Still, Js uncles set him up in a room, bring him a TV, and give him some money to buy new shoes.

As it turns out, Js extended family are a bunch of criminals, mostly running robbery jobs. Smurfs in charge and her boys do the grunt work. Smurf wants to bring J into the fold for the next operation, which is set to go down in a few days, but her boys arent so sure. They dont know a thing about J and arent sure if they can trust him.

Still, the uncles are trying to make J feel at home, in their own twisted, criminally inclined way. They take him surfing, where they intentionally p**s off other surfers before getting J to pull a gun and show that hes manly enough, that he can hold his own with the big boys. J is clearly reluctant, but what choice does he have?

Back at home, J discovers the room hes staying in isnt exactly his. It belonged to Pope (Shawn Hatosy), another one of Smurfs sons, who was sent to prison for three years for robbing a bank. Hes back home now and not entirely excited to see J in his room. The feeling seems mutual. J is wary of the man and so is Smurf, whos fairly reserved for someone whose boy just got out of prison.

When J isnt spending time being slightly mystified and terrified of his uncles, hes hanging out with his girlfriend, Nicky. After some foreplay that J isnt into (ya know, because of the whole dead-mom thing), they start talking about his moms death and where hes living. As the episode progresses, its hinted that Nickys about to get roped into this criminal lifestyle alongside J, if shes not careful.

NEXT: New, stolensame difference

Source: http://www.ew.com/recap/animal-kingdom-series-premiere

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What"s On Tonight: "Animal Kingdom," "Uncle Buck," And "Wrecked" Premiere

Disney"s Animal Kingdom 2014 Tour and Overview - Walt Disney World HD

TNT

Animal Kingdom (TNT, 9:00/10:00 p.m.) If youre an Australian film fan, youll probably recognize TNTs latest drama Animal Kingdom. Its based on a movie of the same name starring Joel Edgerton and Bloodlines Ben Mendelsohn. The series (like the film) centers on a family of criminals and follows a teen named J who plunges into danger when he moves in with his wild relatives in a surf community. With Ellen Barkin and Scott Speedman fronting it, this series may just be TNTs first genuinely great prestige drama.

Uncle Buck (ABC, 9:00 p.m.) This series is based on the 1989 John Candy film of the same name. In it, Uncle Buck was a lazy free-loader with a gambling problem. ABCs looking to modernize the story by having Mike Epps play Buck as a street smart hustler. The two-part season premiere sees Buck moving into his brothers house and struggling to adjust to suburban life. When hes left to look after his brothers kids, his unconventional parenting techniques cause problems (and a lot of laughs).

Wrecked (TBS, 10:00 p.m.) After a commercial flight crash-lands on an island, the survivors of the crash must work together to survive. If youre getting some Lost flashbacks, we dont blame you. This TBS comedy, which premieres tonight, is a parody of the Damon Lindelof drama, one filled with a bunch of hopeless morons. Its also actually pretty funny.

Americas Got Talent (NBC, 8:00 p.m.) Doubtful well discover the next Taylor Swift tonight, but a new crop of contestants are willing to give it a try.

Hotel h**l (Fox, 8:00 p.m.) That inn owner with a hoarding problem from last week continues to receive help from Gordon Ramsay. Were no expert, but it seems like a psychologist/therapist should be the person trying to cure her, not a celebrity chef.

To Tell the Truth (ABC, 8:00/10:00 p.m.) To Tell the Truth was one of TVs most successful game shows back in the day were talking 60 years back in the day but ABC thinks it could be ratings gold this summer, so theyre reviving it. The show features celebrities trying to guess who among a trio of contestants is telling the truth. Tonight, Tracee Ellis Ross joins the panel with guests that include Americas fastest texter, Taylor Swifts high school sweetheart and a contortionist. Later, a drag queen who is also a high-grossing Tupperware sales person, shark attack survivors and someone who makes a living jumping off buildings while on fire test their bullsh*t detectors.

Containment (CW, 9:00 p.m.) Dr. Cannerts has a breakthrough as he works to find a cure for the virus; Katie and Jake discovering some unsettling truths about patient zero; Jana and Suzy plan their escape; and a risky plan to secure an antidote veers off course.

Coupled (Fox, 9:00 p.m.) One of the ladies is rejected as another shares secrets from her past.

O.J.: Made in America (ESPN, 9:00 p.m.) Part two of ESPNs epic O.J. documentary focuses on race and the 1992 Rodney King riots, which set the stage for his trial.

Feed the Beast (AMC, 10:00 p.m.) Tommy and Dion forge ahead with their plan to breathe new life into Thirio with the help of Ries designs, but in order to pay for the upgrades, they have to resort to crime.

Maya & Marty (NBC, 10:00 p.m.) Nick Jonas and Eva Longoria stop by for some musical sketch shenanigans.

Person of Interest (CBS, 10:00 p.m.) Finchs infiltration of a maximum security government facility could spell the end of Samaritan, himself and the Machine.

LATE NIGHT GUESTS

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Don Rickles, Lena Dunham, DJ Shadow featuring Run the Jewels

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert: Daniel Radcliffe, George Lopez, Hinds

Late Night With Seth Meyers: Maya Rudolph, Michiel Huisman, Brandy Clark, John Tempesta

The Late Late Show With James Corden: Matt LeBlanc, Alison Brie, Eliot Sumner

The Daily Show With Trevor Noah: Eddie Huang

Conan: Kate Beckinsale, Brian Sacca, Marlon Williams

Source: http://uproxx.com/tv/whats-on-tonight-animal-kingdom-wrecked-uncle-buck/

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