Ice Bucket Challenge: Bob Iger
Iger accepts the Ice Bucket Challenge and nominates Olivia Pope, Peter Quill and Tony Stark.
Mowgli cast
Favreau announces that he has cast ten-year-old Neel Sethi for the role of Mowgli in The Jungle Book. Sethi will play the young Indian boy that is found in a jungle and taken in to be raised by a pack of wolves. Favreau:
Casting is the most important element of any film and finding the right kid to play Mowgli was imperative. Neel has tremendous talent and charisma. There is a lot riding on his little shoulders and I’m confident he can handle it.
Cast as Bagheera
Disney announces that Kingsley has been cast as the voice of the black panther, Bagheera, in the live-action film The Jungle Book. The movie is slated to be released in 2015.
Donates bobsled to museum
Disneyland donates an old ride vehicle to the National Roller Coaster Museum. The ride vehicle comes from the Matterhorn Bobsleds roller coaster, which received new vehicles along with its refurbishment.
We’re delighted to provide these pieces of Disneyland Resort history to the National Roller Coaster Museum, an organization that celebrates our industry. The Matterhorn bobsled and California Screamin’ signage represent two of our most beloved attractions, from the first tubular steel-tracked roller coaster in the world to one of the longest and most thrilling.
Elephant born at Animal Kingdom
A female baby elephant is born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom park. This is the fifth elephant born at Animal Kingdom and the second baby born to elephant mother Donna. The calf’s name is Luna, and she weighs 288 pounds at birth. Including Luna, thirteen elephants in total live at Animal Kingdom.
Elephant births are among the most amazing and complicated processes in the animal kingdom. Our animal care team has worked with Donna attentively throughout the course of her pregnancy. At this point, we’re optimistic for the calf’s likelihood of survival and are thrilled that both Donna and her calf are doing well.
Baby goats born at Disneyland
Five baby goats are born within days of each other at Circle D Corral at Disneyland park in Anaheim, California. Three of the kids—named Squishy, Dory and Pearl—are born to mother Gadget, and the other two kids—named Stitch and Lilo—are born to mother Mulan.
You can see several animals, including two more expectant goats in Big Thunder Ranch at Disneyland park, and you’ll be able to see the baby goats at Big Thunder Ranch in a couple of weeks.
Gorilla born at Animal Kingdom
An endangered gorilla is born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park. This is the third gorilla born at the park, the first in 1997 and the second in 1999. Guests can see the baby gorilla as they walk the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail attraction.
Thomas Smith, Disney Parks social media director:
The newborn gorilla is doing well and has already become an integral part of the gorilla family group that includes first-time mother, Kashata, father Gino and two other females.
The baby girl gorilla is named Lilly.
Baby white-cheeked gibbon born
A baby white-cheeked gibbon is born at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The baby’s mother, Melaka, has two other children, named Suki and Tuyen. The gibbon family lives in a habitat near the Kali River Rapids attraction. The birth coincides with a gibbon Species Survival Program run by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
White-cheeked gibbons, an endangered species, spend their lives in the tops of trees. They produce offspring about once every 2-3 years after 7 to 8 months of gestation. Infants have the ability to cling to their mothers immediately after birth, which allows females complete range of motion while moving about the forest with their offspring.
‘Hope for Haiti’ telethon
Disney VoluntEARS, including Walt Disney World cast members, receive calls and donations during the “Hope for Haiti” telethon, operating out of the Disney Reservations Center in Orlando. The telethon lasts for two hours and allows viewers to donate online and on the phone to help victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
Thousands of Disney Cast Members have personal ties to Haiti and some are still trying to locate friends or family members in the region.
Donates money to protect forests
Disney donates $7 million to support forest conservation efforts, including protection against deforestation in the Amazon, the Congo and throughout the United States. The company partners with Conservation International and The Conservation Fund to support a variety of related causes.
These efforts supplement what we are already doing across the company to cut down on fossil fuel use, to switch to cleaner forms of energy and to educate kids and adults alike about being better environmental stewards.