"Guardians of the Galaxy" are Searching for Teen Super Heroes Who Are Out of This World!

Do You Have What It Takes to Join the

"Guardians of Good"?

In honor of the upcoming August 1 release of Marvel’s latest and greatest in the way of action-packed space adventures, Guardians of the Galaxy the search is now on to find the select few who are real life Guardians of Good.  So just what is a Guardian of Good and do have what it takes, or know someone that just might be the next to join this elite squad? MARVEL’S “GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY”—GUARDIANS OF GOOD is searching the universe to find the truest of superheroes that already are out their, spreading their unique brand of good and changing the course of the world along the way. “Guardians of the Galaxy,” are scouring the four corners of the country looking for young men and women (ages 14-18) to share their stories of how they are bettering their communities through service, science or innovation, and gives them the opportunity to connect with a galaxy of Peer Guides—who are already doing great things—to learn from their successes. Entries will be accepted between June 11, 2014 and June 29, 2014.   Application forms, eligibility requirements, official contest rules and more information are available at http://www.marvelguardiansofgood.com.

Applicants for GUARDIANS OF GOOD will participate in online sessions with Peer Guides, who will include representatives from generationOn, Broadcom MASTERS®, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World” Ultimate Mentor Leadership Council. Peer Guide sessions are scheduled to take place between June 13, 2014 and June 21, 2014. The Peer Guides will discuss their personal stories of service, science or innovation as well as learnings and advice.

Following the Peer Guide sessions, all applicants will then submit a short video explaining how they are improving the galaxy and what inspiration and guidance they received from their Peer Guides. The five best video entries will be selected as winners.

The five winners will each receive: Two round-trip tickets to Hollywood, including hotel accommodations, from July 20 through July 23, 2014, to be on the red carpet at the World Premiere of Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” on July 21, 2014; an invitation to the first-ever GUARDIANS OF GOOD INNOVATION & SERVICE SUMMIT on July 22 at The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, where professionals and peers will share their knowledge; a backstage tour of the Disneyland Resort; and a red-carpet screening of the film at a Dolby® Atmos ^TM Theatre in or near the winner’s hometown.

GUARDIANS OF GOOD INNOVATION & SERVICE SUMMIT is scheduled to include presenters from NASA/JPL, speaking on the monitoring and protection of Earth through asteroid detection and Earth-observing satellites and ensuring the safety of Mars spacecraft during a comet encounter, Disney Imagineers, generationOn, Broadcom MASTERS®, Discovery Science Center, & Disney Global Community Outreach.

For more information about MARVEL’S “GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY”—GUARDIANS OF GOOD, please visit http://www.marvelguardiansofgood.com.

Now the only question is, how will you use your powers of Good, to change the world and join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Guardians of Good?   

Can’t wait for August 1 for the Guardians of the Galaxy to save a universe near you? Join others now by

Like the Guardians of the Galaxy on Facebook  www.facebook.com/guardiansofthegalaxy

Follow Guardians of the Galaxy on Twitter https://twitter.com/Guardians

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY opens in theaters everywhere on August 1st!

Get Ready For "Captain America:The Winter Soldier"

If you haven’t seen “Captain America:  The Winter Soldier” yet, here’s a piece of advice-get everything you need from the snack bar before the movie starts because you will not be leaving your seat.  

Then hold onto your popcorn and get ready for two hours of nonstop, sit on the edge of your seat fast paced, action and fun at its best. This latest edition in the Captain America and Avenger movie series are what Walt Disney Motion Picture Studios and Marvel does best-combines the excitement and rip roaring adventure of a fast paced action movie with the brilliant comedy and delivery of some of the best one liners around and you have yourself what movies are supposed to be all about-an escape from reality. Based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series, first published in 1941, Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is produced by Kevin Feige, p.g.a. directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, from a screenplay by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, and stars Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily VanCamp and Hayley Atwell, with Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. 

“Captain America :The Winter Soldier” is the second installment in the Captain America franchise. Without giving away too much of the plot, because the twists and turns and surprises are what makes this movie a cut above the rest, after the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” finds Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever- widening conspiracy while fighting off assailants sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier. 

Just when you think you have it all figured out and you know who the bad guys are, you quickly find out that you don’t. Can anyone be trusted? Has Captain America really gone rogue? Does Robert Redford ever age? 

Here's A Clip from "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"

For me, the best part of this movie was the fact that it is great story telling and character driven-it has heart and it is that heart and soul that dictates the direction of the plot.  Most super hero movies have me leaving the theater feeling that I had a good time, but that they probably could have cut off 30 minutes and I would have been OK with that but not so this time. “Captain America: The Winter Solider” is the perfect blend of story telling, combined with just the right amount of incredible but not over powering action, all done in a way that helps to advance the plot. In other words it has something for everyone and it leaves you wanting more.  Make sure you stay until the very last credit has rolled for not one but two surprises.  Make sure you check out “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” this weekend and hold onto your seats. You’ll be sitting on the edge of them the entire time.

Join in the conversation with other Captain America and Marvel fans by going to Facebook and Twitter:

Like Captain America on Facebook: Captain America Movie and by

Following Captain America on Twitter: @CaptainAmerica

Go See “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” now playing in theaters everywhere!

Gayle is a lifelong educator by day and avid blogger by night and is the owner and cofounder of the Disney Gals, one of the most popular Disney blogs around! Proud mommy to 5, Grammy to 4 she is blessed to share her life with amazing family and friends who encourage her to chase her dreams no matter where they may lead.  When not in the classroom, she can be found following her son as he dances his way through life, or working with young performers in free nationally recognized after school children’s theater program that she founded 13 years ago. On any given day you will find Gayle skipping her way through life with a giggle and a smile knowing that today is meant to be lived and enjoyed. To learn more about Gayle, click here.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe

A  Guide to the Marvel Universe

With the upcoming release of "Captain America: Winter Soldier" this Friday, we thought it was time to take a look at how this Marvel Comic came to the Silver Screen. And who better to take us through the Marvel Cinematic Universe than our own Bob Eckman, lifetime lover of all things Marvel. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is opening next Friday, April 4th. It will be the third film of Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe culminating in the Avengers: Age Of Ultron opening next May 1, 2015. And what does any of that gobbledygook mean and why does it matter? Well the short answer is it’s all Disney! ‘Nuff Said!! If you’re still not convinced you should know superhero movies aren’t just for the boys anymore.

A long time ago back when dinosaurs roamed the earth my grandfather gave me a box of Superman and Batman comics. I couldn’t read yet but the bright, colored pictures sucked me in and I was able to puzzle out enough of the words to get the gist of what the stories were about. I was hooked on what became known as the Silver Age of Comics of the 50’s and 60’s. I got a little older and didn’t come back to comics until Hollywood special effects caught up with them and movies like the first Superman films and later the Batman films of the late 80‘s and 90‘s became a reality. But even these films, as visually stunning as some of them were never really held my interest as the stories usually included a pretty fair helping of campy ridiculousness taking their cue from the entirely campy, though wildly popular Batman TV series of the late 60’s. It was as if Hollywood didn’t believe anyone could take comic book characters seriously. They had to not only inject a large helping of humor but also make the heroes look like buffoons in the process.

In the 80’s the comic book world started changing. There started to appear large-scale graphic novels with sophisticated stories that were serious and with serious ramifications for the characters. Back in the 60’s when Marvel comics started introducing characters like Spider Man, X Men, Iron Man and a host of others their stories had been a bit more serious with elements of teenage angst. The graphic novels of the 80’s exponentially pumped all this up and by the 90’s Hollywood was ready to finally get started getting serious about comic book characters. The successful and ongoing series of X Men movies starring serious actors like Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan and Hugh Jackman arrived in the late 90’s. These people might be pretty strange but they had serious human problems and situations. And the action and special effects rocked!

A few years later Marvel, the comic book company behind Iron Man, Hulk, Spider Man, X Men, the Avengers and many others decided to get directly into the movie business instead of licensing their characters out to other studios. But they did it with a difference. They had a big super hero team, the Avengers, which included a variable and ever changing groups of characters. Why not make several separate movies featuring the solo adventures of various characters leading to a big team up movie with an earthshaking adventure that only the whole team could possible solve and survive? And furthermore why not put some crossover bits into every solo movie thus solidifying the concept that all these heroes existed in the same world? Thus the Marvel Cinematic Universe was born. And in 2009 Disney bought Marvel lock, stock, and barrel.

So far we’ve had Phase One, which included solo films featuring, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Captain America and culminated with the Avengers in which the heroes saved the world and simultaneously tore up a lot of New York City. This film left enough questions unanswered that the fallout has affected all the main heroes in their next round of Phase Two movies. Iron Man aka Tony Stark was so torn up about what happened in the Avengers that he spent a large portion of Iron Man 3 trying to cope with it and ultimately gave up all his Iron Man suits and technology. Thor managed a rough reconciliation with his brother Loki, one of the main adversaries of the Avengers film only to lose (?) him at the end of the last Thor movie. And now it’s Captain America’s turn. We get to see him go through the wringer next week and then next year we get to see how the whole Avenger’s team deal with whatever fierce challenge Marvel has been building up to.

I, for one, am getting very excited about seeing Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I try to stay as completely ignorant of what happens in these films as possible prior to seeing them but the advance buzz and reviews are pretty spectacular so far. In fact Disney is so excited about the film that they’ve already hired the director and screenwriters for the next Captain America film without even waiting to see how this one does at the box office. That’s entirely unheard of. April 4th can’t arrive too soon.

Get social and join in the conversation with other Captain America fans

Like Captain America on Facebook: Captain America Movie

Follow Captain America on Twitter: @CaptainAmerica

See CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER in theaters everywhere on APRIL 4, 2014 !

Disney Fans Among the First to see the Latest From Marvel

Executive Producer Jeph Loeb hosts viewing event of the upcoming action-packed drama on August 11 in the D23 Expo Arena

 Guests at the D23 Expo will be among the first to see the highly anticipated one-hour drama Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on Sunday, August 11 at 3:00 p.m. in the D23 Expo Arena. Marvel’s Head of Television & Series executive producer Jeph Loeb will introduce the screening, taking place during the ultimate Disney fan event, August 9 – 11, at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The series begins where Marvel's The Avengers left off. It's just after the battle of New York, and now that the existence of Super Heroes and the incredible has become public knowledge, the world is trying to come to grips with this new reality. Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) is back in action and now has his eye on a mysterious group called The Rising Tide. In order to track this unseen, unknown enemy, he has assembled a small, highly select group of Agents from the worldwide law-enforcement organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division). The S.H.I.E.L.D. team has a mission: To investigate the new, the strange and the unknown around the globe, protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premieres on ABC September 24 at 8:00 p.m., ET, but guests at the D23 Expo have the opportunity to see this dynamic show over a month before it debuts.

Gayle is a Disney Gal that loves churros for breakfast, still gets giddy with delight at the first sight of the “Disneyland next exit sign”, loves the overwhelming emotions and memories that come with each and every return to the Happiest Place on Earth and dreams of one day being the Captain of the Jungle Boat. To learn more about Gayle, click here