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Blockbusters Take Over Theme Parks for a Mega Movie Summer
Gaming Gear

Blockbusters Take Over Theme Parks for a Mega Movie Summer

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Summer hits the theme parks and vacation destinations in this week’s theme park news. Universal Studios Hollywood takes fans back in time with Back to the Future and Jaws while bringing in the future with new Wicked and Jurassic World fun. Don’t worry, the Universal Monsters aren’t far behind; in fact they’re all hitting up Sin City for Universal Horror Unleashed’s opening in Las Vegas this August.

Over at the Disney Parks, Walt Disney World gears up for Test Track‘s reopening. Meanwhile, Old Navy and Disney collab on one heck of a roadtrip across America with their new summer Mickey & Friends collection.

And just in time for the release of DC Studios Superman, Six Flags gets the Justice League to unite for new superhero experiences!

Mega Movie Summer at Universal Studios Hollywood

© Universal

Iconic blockbuster movies abound as new entertainment, fandom foodie offerings, and more. To celebrate Jaws‘ 50th anniversary, the hanging shark makes its return to the theme park with a special Quint and Brody meet and greet, which is delightful and the actors doing their Robert Shaw and Roy Scheider impressions are fantastic. Hey if the kids can meet Mario and Luigi, letting the adults meet the Orca crew is a great compromise. There’s also more Amblin amusement park presence, with Doc Brown, his pal Marty McFly, and his trusty first time traveler Einstein the dog in the DeLorean. Both films get awesome curated cinematic cuisine at the parks too.

For Jurassic franchise fans, there is now a Mosasaur roar on Jurassic World: The Ride and a new tiny triceratops meet and greet (which was temporarily in London for the premiere of Jurassic World: Rebirth). Wicked fans will also be happy to learn they can meet Elphaba and Glinda in an alternating capacity and there’s tons of new Wicked merch in its designated store.

Universal Horror Unleashed: Universal Monsters – Area15 Las Vegas

All of the Universal Monsters will be featured in one haunted house at Universal Horror Unleashed, which is sharing more updates ahead of its arrival at Las Vegas’ immersive experience destination Area15.

“We’ve got four incredible haunted houses that put you right in the middle of iconic and terrifying scenes. In the Universal Monsters House, you get to follow Van Helsing as he battles all of your favorite classic monsters. Our legacy of creating horror in Universal Studios goes all the way back to the beginning of the film itself. We’ve been creating iconic horror movies that have stood the test of time. Our Universal Monsters Haunted House takes you through the stories of all of the classic Universal Monsters. All of them are there, and you get to walk into their world,” Universal Creative’s Lorelei Lee shared in the video you can watch above.

We can’t wait for this one, especially since  The Creature from the Black Lagoon’s Gill-man will be represented at last in Horror Unleashed’s Universal Monsters house.

Shelby Honea, executive producer at Universal Creative added, “We’re bringing something entirely new to Las Vegas. It is a year round destination, and so is our horror brand.” The destination is currently slated to feature houses in the universes of The Exorcist, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Horror Nights original canon characters. There will also be performers, walk-around scare-actors, themed frightful foods, and scary sips! For more info check out the recent Discover Universal podcast that outlines whats to come at Universal Horror Unleashed.

M3GAN 2.0 at Universal Studios Florida

Just in time for M3GAN 2.0, the army of dancing M3GANS make their theme park return in limited appearances during the day at Universal Studios Florida. Images of their return courtesy of Park Hop on IG.

Walt Disney World announces Test Track opening date

The Epcot cars ride (not that one) is set to reopen with new theming and a refreshed look July 22.

io9 met Laufey at House of Mouse Los Angeles

Check out our chat with musical artist Laufey live from House of Mouse Los Angeles, where she shared with us the different ways Disney was one of her first fandoms. “I grew up in Iceland, which is definitely a very, very different climate and a different world. I always knew of Mickey. And that was one of those first characters that I became aware of,” Laufey said. “It’s so classic, my dad loved watching very classic cartoons growing up. So I grew up watching the really, really old Mickey Mouse ones.”

The singer also revealed her fave childhood Disney toys. “I had the whole Winnie the Pooh zoo. I had Winnie and I remember specifically I have a Piglet. It’s really, really special.”

The Disney Style pop-up party is currently on a global tour at major cities where fandom and fashion collide.

Disney and Old Navy go on a road trip across America

To celebrate the summer Disney and Old Navy have dropped a Mickey & Friends collab for the whole family. Combining options for all sorts of weather, the Disney Americana-inspired collection features swim, tees, sweaters, kidswear, and accessories to suit the season wherever you happen to be. If you’re in Chicago this weekend, you can hit up the Disney x Old Navy road trip van which will feature immersive photo-ops, treats, and a showcase of the collection with a summer bbq vibe on the 21st. The van will also stop at the Santa Monica Pier on June 28.

Shop the collection online here.

Disney Jr. Let’s Play – The Disneyland Resort

Kids can have more fun with Mickey and friends as Disney Jr. Let’s Play returns to the Disneyland Resort August 8-10.

DC Heroes at Six Flags Magic Mountain

DC Heroes and Villains Fest arrives at Six Flags to get superhero fans hyped up as we head into a Superman movie summer. It’s filled with action stunt shows, character meets, music, and more, and DC fans can enjoy these offerings on Friday and Saturday nights from June 20-July 26.

Kung Fu Tea x How to Train Your Dragon

Kung Fu Tea locations across the nation will be featuring special drinks inspired by Universal Pictures’ How to Train Your Dragon until June 30 with drinks and collectible cups/stickers. The flavors include:

Toothless Soaring Slush – a frosty swirl with milk cap magic
Stormfly’s Dragonfruit Splash – citrusy zing + chia seeds that pop
Monstrous Flight Tea – dragonfruit base, honey boba finish

Pop Mart x Pride

The toy collectible giant currently taking over the world with Labubu launched its Pride collection at LA Pride recently with a float and LGBTQIA+ collectibles creators. Check out the Peach Riot and Hug You limited releases with special Pride colorways online now.

 

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.





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Tony Hawk and Rayssa Leal on the Suburbia level
Product Reviews

‘The soundtrack to skate parks was punk rock music’: Tony Hawk on the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater soundtracks, and how they shaped a generation of videogame skate kids

by admin



It’s difficult to think of games whose soundtrack had a bigger impact on an entire generation than the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series. Popular music had been a part of games for decades: Journey Escape for the Atari 2600 was a particularly weird example, and the use of Song 2 by Blur in FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 was iconic. But the Tony Hawk series was the first to use punk music in this way, and for many kids from the suburbs and the country, it was the first time they interacted with punk.

The structure of bite-sized two-minute levels was perfect for putting the music at the heart of the game as much as the skating was. The punk—or maybe hip hop or thrash—charging over each run became inextricably linked to skating, even for kids who had never touched a board or been to a park.

At the recent THPS Fest in Los Angeles, celebrating both the impending release of the new Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 remake and the legacy of the soundtracks in general, I spoke to some of the people involved with the music of the Tony Hawk games. Here’s what legends of skating and music had to say about their enduring legacy.


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For Hawk himself, all of his aims for the game came back to one thing. “I thought it was important to represent the culture of skating, and the culture of skating in my early days was early punk rock music. Then Activision’s music department wanted to keep it balanced with newer music as well, so they leaned in towards newer punk at the time, and it’s crazy to think that Goldfinger was ever new,” Hawk says, sitting in his trailer before the THPS Fest concert. “Also, just other sounds that represent skating, like hip hop. So the music was important to me, but I didn’t think it was going to be something that would be a standalone hit, in terms of people saying ‘Oh, we can’t wait to hear about the soundtrack to the game’.”

It’s coming full circle now

Steve Caballero

Those lofty expectations mean updating the soundtrack for Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4 had added pressure—you’re updating something people view through almost 25 years of nostalgia goggles. This time Hawk was more involved in the soundtrack of his namesake. “I guess it’s a lot to live up to, but I am proud of all the soundtracks, including this new one. I had more input this time too, so I hope it lives up to the expectations.”

Steve Caballero was a pro skater featured as a playable character in the games and now, at the age of 60, his latest punk band Urethane has a song featured on the 3 + 4 soundtrack. When the original games were coming out he was in the privileged position of getting to pick songs for the soundtrack that would also feature in his skating video at the end of the game.

“Skateboarding is gnarly,” he says, “and so when you have a punk song driving a part, it flows really well. I just picked music that I felt would go with my video part. For number two I asked for Millencolin, and for 3 I brought Bodyjar from Australia. It’s coming full circle now because Bodyjar is back in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4 and we’re touring with Bodyjar this summer.”

Lupe Fiasco is the artist behind the most famous skateboarding hip hop track of all time: Kick, Push. It was first included on Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam, a departure from the Pro Skater and Underground titles. Now it’s being featured in a main Pro Skater soundtrack for the first time.

“It feels good,” Fiasco says. “Licensing companies are gonna license. You’ve got to let them do that when they want to do it,” he laughs. “No, Tony’s a homie. When Kick, Push first came out, he was one of the first skaters of note to invite me out to L. A. to perform it at one of the events, so this is kind of a full circle situation.”

Lupe Fiasco – Kick, Push (Official Video) – YouTube

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One of the striking things about these conversations are how down to earth all the skaters and musicians in the culture are. The godfather of freestyle skateboarding, Rodney Mullen invented a shocking number of tricks, including the kickflip—he also has a surprising air of humility given all his achievements. According to him, the soundtrack is one of the main reasons why the game was so successful.

People tend to find their music between the ages of, like, 9 or 10, up till 13 years old, and a lot of people found it at that time.

Tony Hawk

“They created something so enduring and special that it stood above everything else,” Mullen says. “I think the way that Tony included all of those bands and the music, the way that he reached outside culture—even if you didn’t skate, you appreciated the vibe. It conveyed the texture of what the culture is. Street art, everything else. All of it worked together to make it something distinct and different from anything that’s ever been done before. That’s why it’s lasted so long.”

Of course, as with all things that have significant impacts on culture, it’s not just the thing itself. It has to find the right people at the right time to have an effect, and Mullen posits that while having all the ingredients for success was important, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was definitely in the right place at the right time. “There’s a magic era in all things, right? So much was happening in terms of music, everything.”

Goldfinger – Superman (Official Audio) – YouTube

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For what it’s worth, Hawk agrees that timing is why the soundtrack had the impact it did. “I think it introduced a generation that was impressionable. People tend to find their music between the ages of, like, 9 or 10, up till 13 years old, and a lot of people found it at that time. But they truly liked it, it wasn’t like it was just being forced upon them. But it was the same for me. I started skating when I was 10. The soundtrack to skate parks was punk rock music. It was Devo, Dead Kennedys, Buzzcocks, Black Flag, Agent Orange, and that’s what I heard while I was skating, and that’s what I associated with skating.”

While you can never go back and experience the things that changed you for the first time again, this golden age of remasters and remakes means the millennials who fell in love with this music and culture at the right place and the right time can revisit it. The expanded Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4 soundtrack also means those now-middle-aged millennials can discover even more new music, while artists such as Caballero prove that we don’t ever have to stop finding and making new music.

With everything Y2K coming back in fashion again, perhaps a whole new generation of kids are about to fall in love with punk music through videogames.



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