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Disney's Bedtime Hotline for kids is back for two weeks (starring Yoda it does)
Getting your wee ones to head to bed can be a chore. But what if the kids had a goodnight phone call from Spider-Man or Elsa from Frozen to look forward to? Polygon reported that Disney's Bedtime Hotline, which allows kids to hear good night messages from classic Disney characters like Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald Duck, is back in operation. Children will now also be able to hear from newer characters from the Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar universes, such as Yoda from Star Wars, Spider-Man, Woody from Toy Story and more.
Scientists say they revived 42,000-year-old frozen worms
A group of scientists in Russia claim to have revived a pair of frozen nematodes, or roundworms, that were between 30,000 and 42,000 years old. One of the specimens was found in a soil sample collected from a ground squirrel burrow located around 100 feet underground, and other burrows nearby have been radiocarbon dated to be around 32,000 years old. A second viable nematode was found in a permafrost sample approximately 41,700 years old collected around 11 feet below the surface.
'Kingdom Hearts 3' journeys to the 'Frozen' universe
Five years after the last title of the franchise first reached store shelves, Microsoft revealed a slew of new details about Kingdom Hearts 3, which the company announced last night will hit the PS4 and Xbox on January 29th, 2019. In KH3, players will be tasked with navigating a winter wonderland while guiding Elsa, of Frozen fame, past her feelings of self-doubt and towards a more heroic path in life. Beyond helping Elsa, Sora, Donald, and Goofy also find themselves in search of the seven guardians of light and the "Key to Return Hearts." Further gameplay details remain scarce roughly six months out from the game's official release, but stay tuned to Engadget for more information as soon as it becomes available.
Now you can rouse your kids to the smell of ‘Frozen’
Do your kids struggle to wake up, no matter how loudly you shout that if they're not quick, you'll steal their cereal? Perhaps you could try tempting them into wakefulness with the scents of either Olaf from Disney's Frozen or the armpit scent of Despicable Me's Minions. That's the idea behind the newest couple of devices from the makers of Sensorwake's perfume-based alarm clock.
Engadget's annual CES dance break is a 'Frozen' duet
Sometimes, the madness of CES builds to a fever pitch and only one thing can save Engadget editors from a complete mental breakdown: Just Dance 2017. Specifically, dancing a duet to the most popular song from Frozen, "Let it Go." This year's Video Game Challenge kicked off with a bang, featuring Engadget Senior Editor Mat Smith as host, and Senior Editor Andrew Tarantola and Senior Reporter Jessica Conditt (that's me!) as the performers. Note that none of those titles include the word "dancer" -- and don't judge. We could all use a little fun in our lives every now and then, and doubly so at CES.
Nanotubes can turn water solid when it should be boiling
Scientists have long known that under the right conditions, small amounts of water can be coaxed into changing its boiling or freezing point. A pot of water takes less energy to boil on the top of Mount Everest, for instance, and liquid under pressure takes a little more heat to convert into steam. A group of researchers at MIT has recently taken this effect a step further -- observing that water in nanotubes can actually freeze into a solid at temperatures well beyond its natural boiling point.
Fur technology makes Zootopia's bunnies believable
Zootopia is a world where humans don't exist. It's a big, crowded metropolis where anthropomorphic animals drive cars, fight crime, eat ice cream and ride trains. Prey and predators of varying shapes and sizes coexist in harmony until their prejudices get in the way.
Scientists reanimate tiny frozen animals after 30 years
In 1983, the first consumer mobile phones launched and "Star Wars" meant Return of the Jedi. That year, scientists from Japan's National Institute of Polar Research collected microscopic animals called "tardigrades" from Antarctic tundra. They then placed them in a freezer, where they spent the next 30 years. In 2014, researchers decided to defrost the samples to see if the tiny creatures, also called "moss piglets," would come back to life. When the thawing process completed, two creatures started wriggling immediately, setting a new deep-freeze duration record for tartigrades.
Young amputees will soon get 'Iron Man' and 'Star Wars' bionic hands
A heroic set of prosthetic hand designs will soon allow young amputees to transform into their favorite Disney characters. Whether they prefer a red Iron Man gauntlet, one of Queen Elsa's sparkling blue gloves or a hand inspired by Star Wars' iconic lightsabers, they'll be able to take on the world with a prosthetic that finally marries form and function. The three models have been created by Open Bionics, a startup working on cheap, 3D-printed hands for amputees. Joel Gibbard, the company's founder, says they'll cost around $500 and be available in 2016. Another, non-Disneyfied design should be roughly £2,000 ($3,071) -- considerably more, but still a fraction of what many existing prosthetics cost.
Disney's smart toys combine Avengers, sensors and imagination
Those giant, green Hulk hands in your closet might be cool but their utility doesn't extend much beyond freaking out your cat and making tired "you wouldn't like me when I'm angry" jokes. Disney has an idea to remedy that with internet-connected versions of those as well as a pair of Iron Man gauntlets. Wait, smart toys? Yep. As The Wall Street Journal tells it, these Playmation devices will work in concert, via radio frequency and infrared signals, with special action figures as well as other branded apparatus you strap on to your body. Based on what TechCrunch says, these sound an awful lot like a home laser-tag set. Different playthings offer different augmentations (action figures come with new, narrated, playable stories, and you can buy more of the latter via a connected app) but they won't all work together.
Not even 'FIFA 15' could dethrone 'Frozen' in the UK last year
It should shock no-one to hear that Frozen outsold every other piece of entertainment in the UK in 2014. Even so, the emphatic style with which it did so might surprise you. According to new figures from the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), the Disney sing-along extravaganza racked up just over 4 million DVD and Blu-ray sales last year, beating the nearest competition, which included films, video games and music, by a huge margin. Its closest rivals were FIFA 15, which scored 2.6 million sales, and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, which shifted 1.8 million copies -- a stellar effort, considering they debuted at least six months after Frozen's release. The film's soundtrack even made the top 20, besting entertainment home-runs such as Destiny, Gravity and Watch Dogs. The numbers aren't perfect though; the ERA's data only includes physical film and video game sales, while its music figures account for digital sales too. Even so, were downloads fully embraced we doubt Elsa and friends would have been toppled from their icy throne.
LittleBigPlanet 3 finds Frozen DLC, refuses to Let It Go
Having conquered movies, music and the minds of children everywhere, characters from Disney's animated mega-hit Frozen now join Captain America and Pixar's Toy Story cast among the wide range of licensed costume options found in LittleBigPlanet 3. Included in the DLC are costumes for all four of the game's heroes based on Frozen's fan-favorite characters such as Kristoff, Anna and Elsa. Each costume is available from the PlayStation Network at a price of $2, though you can also buy all of them at once for $6. Doing so will grant you a bonus costume based on Frozen's comedy relief snowman, Olaf. Of course, Frozen's characters would be totally lost without the ice and snow that serves as their film's setting and key theme, so LittleBigPlanet 3 is also receiving the Winter Creator Kit, a free DLC pack filled with new, winter-themed decorations for the prospective level builder. Now, the next time somebody asks you to build a snowman, you can be prepared. [Image: Sony]
Singstar Frozen revealed by European ratings board
Just when you managed to push "Let It Go" out of your brain, the Pan European Game Information group reveals that Sony's Singstar series of karaoke games will soon spawn a new edition dedicated to the music of Disney's mega-hit animated feature Frozen. As usual, beyond the initial reveal, the PEGI listing is largely devoid of useful information. PEGI claims the game is titled "Singstar Frozen," that it's being published by Sony for the PlayStation 3, and that singing along to Frozen's hit tunes is suitable for anyone above the age of three. Following the PEGI reveal, we contacted Sony for more information. The publisher was willing to confirm Singstar Frozen (as well as a previously unrevealed PlayStation 4 version of the game), but offers no further gameplay information. "We are very excited to be bringing the phenomenally popular songs from Disney's Frozen to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 with the launch of Singstar Frozen," Sony stated, before noting that licensing issues may prevent the game from appearing in certain regions at launch. Sony also claims that more information on the game, including a release date and track listing, will arrive soon. [Image: Disney]
Disney's 'Frozen' apparently inspired a color-changing bra
Something tells us Disney wouldn't be too happy about this, but sometimes you just have to embrace reality. Triumph, a lingerie company, has created a set of color-changing brasiers, seemingly influenced by the box-office hit Frozen. The Close Sister Bras, as they're officially named, can instantly take on a new hue when friends wearing a matching pair come into contact with each other. To create the design, Triumph (which has a history of... odd bra designs) recruited gadget-maker Fashion Entertainments, which was responsible for making and providing the electronic-paper used to trigger the color changes in the bra. Apparently, there's no plan to take the Close Sister Bras to market -- it's all about empowering self-confidence and sisterhood, according to the firms behind the eccentric underwear.
Global Chat: Let it go
Now that I've cursed your day by triggering that earworm song from Frozen, you're probably going to be in a grumpy mood. Don't fret; snow empowerment isn't the only way to set you free. Sometimes it's the well-penned prose of MMO bloggers who put to the page what only previously existed in your thoughts. On today's edition of Global Chat, one blogger and developer has a gaming heresy to share, another has a few harsh words to say about crowdfunding, and a third thinks that the future of the genre is all in getting smaller, not bigger. Check out these great posts from the past couple of weeks!
WoW Moviewatch: Do You Want To Do a Rep Grind?
It will probably be years before the Frozen parodies die off permanently and I'm just fine with that. Something about that movie warms the cockles of my cold heart, and I don't know when it'll get old. I blame the influence of a toddler girl and the endearing way she shrieks, "Warm hugs!" Do You Want To Do a Rep Grind? is a shockingly thorough WoW parody. The lyrics came together plenty well, and the vocal performance is tone perfect for both the original song and this mournful version. And, hey, I can feel the pain. Rep grinds suck, whether you're helping or the one being helped. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
Limited edition Frozen PS4 only announced for Japan, let it go
If you're a fan of Disney's animated musical Frozen, the sight of Sony's new limited edition PS4 might make you want to sing with joy - give us a sec to get the earplugs. Unfortunately it's currently limited to Japan, where the Frozen-covered system will be available on July 16 for 42,980 yen (around $424). If you're wondering, the answer is no, it doesn't come with a copy of Frozen - that would make too much sense. If you're surprised to see Frozen of all things on a PS4 in Japan of all places, the film's been the country's box office number one for the 16 weeks prior to this one. The film that finally toppled it? Disney's Maleficent. [Image: Sony]
Disney Infinity to add Wreck-It Ralph, Tangled, Frozen characters
Disney Infinity aims to live up to its name with the addition of three movie franchises to the platformer/adventure/sandbox/whatever-it-is game. Wreck-It Ralph and Tangled characters Ralph, Vanellope and Rapunzel have already found their way into stores, while Anna and Elsa from Frozen have yet to arrive. Ralph is available exclusively at Best Buy until December 31, while Vanellope is exclusive to Target until the same date. Walmart, meanwhile, gets to braid and play with Rapunzel's ludicrously long hair until December 31 as well. Anna and Elsa will be released nationwide on November 26, a day before the movie they star in. So if you already know you're going to love the movie and its characters - or you're a time traveler and have already seen the movie - these toys are for you. And everyone else who can find them. Along with the characters, Disney Interactive will also be releasing 20 new Power Discs. These discs grant various in-game bonuses, from items and aesthetic changes to boosts and abilities. You can see the full list of discs and their effects after the jump:
The Road to Mordor: Frozen in time
My goat snorted as it cleared the final rise, and I pulled its reins to bring it to a halt. Raising a hand to shield my eyes from the sun, I gazed at the decrepit ruins before me. A chill ran up my spine as I imagined the horrors that awaited me within the crumbling structure. For many days I had traveled the countryside looking for just this place, yet now that I'd found it, I was unsure whether I wanted to be here at all. My guides had long since fled in terror, abandoning gear and food in their haste to flee what they called "evil territory." I curled my fist and summoned all of the powers of determination that remained within me. It had to be done. I had come too far and shed too much blood to turn my back on the ruins' ancient secrets right as I was on the verge of discovery. Sure, it was the beginning of every scary play ever, but I knew completely that my destiny would be made or broken in the next few minutes. I kicked my mount into action, and we solemnly entered the deep shadows of the ruins' domain. It was do or die time. "FREEZE TAG!" I shouted. "GAME ON!"
Federal Excess: FedEx introduces liquid nitrogen-cooled biotech shipping, we can envision other uses
Just think about this the next time a FedEx van comes speeding past you -- that four-wheeled transporter could be carrying containers equipped with liquid nitrogen cooling that keeps its innards at a chilly -150 degrees Celsius. Don't worry, though, says FedEx, the use of dry vapor is actually safer than the currently used dry ice and classifies this new methodology as non-hazardous. While we may like to poke fun, it sounds like a pretty legitimate boon for healthcare and biotechnology shipments, which can now be maintained at a deeply frozen temperature for up to 10 days at a time. FedEx will provide the self-sufficient container and collect it upon delivery of the goods, while also monitoring its condition during transit. No word on whether or when DiGiorno will be signing up for the service. [Thanks, Pavel]
