Longtime readers know I"m a huge fan of legendary cartoonista Lalo Alcaraz because only he and he alone knows how to illustrate my pathetic love life. But what's also amazing about Lalo is like a fine queso, he only gets better as the years go on. Nearly 20 years ago, he busted onto the national spotlight with "Migra Mouse," his depiction of Mickey Mouse as a Border Patrol agent done in response to news that Disney had donated money to California governor Pete Wilson's reelection campaign.

Nowadays, Alcaraz is even faster. Yesterday, as digital Aztlán erupted in anger with news that Disney was trying to trademark "Dia de los Muertos" to sell a bunch of crap, Alcaraz went to the drawing board and created "Muerte Mouse," Mickey now a Godzilla-like skeleton destroying civilization. HILARIOUS!

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UPDATE, 6 P.M.: After a flurry of online outrage, Disney has decided to no longer pursue a trademark on "Dia de los Muertos."

See Also:
*Lawsuit: Disneyland Employee Dressed as White Rabbit Refused to Hug Black Child
*Disneyland and AIDS Charity Sued for Darth Vader Swinging at Bird But Hitting Lady
*Noche de Altares 2012: A Dia de los Muertos Celebration in Santa Ana

In a statement provided to the public-radio network Fronteras, a Disney spokesperson told them they had tried to trademark the name because it might've been the name for a planned Pixar film that is to be Dia de los Muertos-themed. "It has since been determined that the title of the film will change and therefore we are withdrawing our trademark filing" the spokesperson said.

Gee, I wonder why the film's title changed in the course of less than 12 hours?

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This is just an idea so far from Disney World in Florida, so who knows if it will ever come to pass--or ever come to be in Anaheim?

The idea is to decorate resort-hotel rooms as though they are part of the Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Caribbean attractions or Disney's princess franchise.

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See the update at the end of this post on the warring theaters reaching an agreement with Disney that has them selling advance Iron Man 3 tickets.

ORIGINAL POST, APRIL 16, 3:27 P.M.: For an idea on how psyched Disney is about the Iron Man movie franchise, you needed only to go to the Anaheim theme park Saturday, when a new exhibit themed after the popcorn flicks starring Robert Downey Jr. opened at Disneyland (suck it, Florida!).

But the good vibes do not extend to movie theater owners, at least not in reference to Iron Man 3 opening mega-wide May 3.

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See the update at the end of this post on Disneyland's Space Mountain remaining closed, a contractor being fined and other rides reopening.

ORIGINAL POST, APRIL 15, 9:13 A.M.: M-I-C . . .

. . . See you at the bottom!

Following citations by the state Friday over concerns about workers falling from tall attractions, Disney closed the Matterhorn and Space Mountain at Disneyland and Soarin' Over California at California Adventure on Saturday.

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See the update at the end of page 3 about a local blogger's pictorial tribute to Annette and funnymen busting out tweets.

ORIGINAL POST, APRIL 8, 1:51 P.M.: Annette Funicello today "died peacefully from complications due to multiple sclerosis, a disease she battled for over 25 years," according to a statement from Disney. She was 70. Her rise to national prominence, which began with TV's The Mickey Mouse Club in the 1950s and continued with her Beach Blanket Bingo movies with Frankie Avalon in the 1960s, coincided with the opening of Anaheim's Disneyland, which is where she made one of her last public appearances.

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I can ride It's a Small World at Disneyland and have that goddamn song stuck in my head for days. I can simply pass Small World and have that goddamn song stuck in my head for days. I can hear a snippet of the Small World theme on the teevee and have that goddamn song stuck in my head for days. So I can imagine the hell Jose Martinez endured when he got stuck inside the ride for a half hour--and that goddamn song stuck in his head for lord knows how long.

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Remember the two knuckleheads who dared try to import counterfeit Disney collectible pins and sell them on the Internet?

Hell, even Vlad Putin's too scared of the Mouse to pull that shit.

The second of the two guys pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges and enhancements for past crimes that could send him to state prison for eight years and leave him $201,000 lighter in the wallet.

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Charles Phoenix's slideshows of found photos from kitschy '50s and '60s always seem to sell out but there are still tickets out there for March 16-17 "Retro Disneyland Slide Shows" at the Curtis Theatre in Brea.

"Festive dress is encouraged but not expected," says your gentle host.

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I'll be honest: I've never cared much for Disneyland. That doesn't mean I hate on the entirety of the Resort--I like the hotel workers, I own many cups from Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar, and the eating at Napa Rose is simply magnificent. But the park itself? I've been exactly three times since 1995--two years ago with my chica, around 1999 with some girl from the rancho, and in 1995 with a group of friends and with a girl I went to second base with that was my second cousin--true story!

Of course, that puts me in the vast minority of O.C. residents, who love the park so damn much that Disneyland just ended discounts for Southern California residents. This was the focus of my KCRW-FM 89.9 Orange County commentary yesterday.
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