We were all shocked to discover when Darth Vader revealed himself to be Luke Skywalker’s father. But we experienced perhaps even more shock when news broke this week that The Walt Disney Company was acquiring Lucasfilm, George Lucas‘ 41-years-strong company. Now, Mickey Mouse will be both Vader’s and Luke’s parent, though not by blood — what an awkward “modern family” that deserves some critical examination.

Puns and jokes aside, this $4 billion purchase follows what has been a whirlwind of new ventures for Disney in just the past seven years since Bob Iger attained the role of CEO of The Walt Disney Company. 2006 marked Disney’s purchase of Pixar. 2009 signified Disney’s purchase of Marvel. And now 2012 represents news of Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm. One can only imagine what the Mouse House will obtain in 2015 if this ironically-consistent pattern of buying a big entity every three years continues. These heavily-expensive, but ingenious acquisitions reflect Disney’s focus of branding and leveraging well-known and well-received properties.

More than a year ago, Walt Disney Records released a soundtrack to little fanfare within the general music community, but rightfully deserves some attention. Collect a bunch of famous Disney tunes and gather some jammin’ jazz artists. Spin the two together and your creation is an awesome assortment of standards breathing new energy. Here is my review of Disney Jazz Volume 1: Everybody Wants To Be A Cat.

1. “Ev’rybody Wants To Be A Cat” by Roy Hargrove: The Grammy-winning trumpeter lends his potent musical skills into mixing up this classic tune from The Aristocats. While the first minute or so of the five-minute cover closely resembles the jazzy piece, he then spins some impressive arrangements. I could imagine listening to this strong instrumentation in a coffeehouse or lounge. Though it steers off in a different direction for much of the entirety, Hargrove returns to the memorable theme toward the end.

2. “Chim Chim Cher-Ee” by Esperanza Spalding: The artist who prevailed over teen sensation Justin Bieber at the 2011 Grammys as the “Best New Artist” adeptly takes control over the Sherman Brothers’ legendary melody. The orchestration possesses a French flair, with some light piano and accordion in the background at different points. Spalding scats with beautiful range in this romantic version that still stirs up a chilling sensation. Guesses are that if Dick Van Dyke has heard Spalding’s take on the piece, he would be pretty proud.

Ka-ching. It’s becoming increasingly more expensive to savor the magic of a Disney theme park, as a recent rise in ticket prices at the Disneyland Resort has struck many guests with frustration and anger. Although it is normal to witness changes each year, the most recent list of ticket prices shows quite significant upsurges. Here I’ll focus on the fiscal value of what you’re receiving for spending time at The Happiest Place on Earth.

Say you want to go to either Disneyland or Disney California Adventure for just one day. If you’re any adult, that will now cost you $87. Previously it was set at $80. Let’s consider that you take said ticket to Disneyland on a day when the park is open for 16 hours, and you stayed the entire day there. You would be paying $5 an hour, mind you the park would likely contain heavy crowds. Now let’s say you choose to “park hop” between both parks for that same day. For the past decade or so, the Park Hopper plans have been very popular, especially for those who might want to head to Disneyland during the morning and California Adventure in mid-afternoon when the original park feels packed. Well, that one-day park hopper ticket will now cost you a whopping $125, up from $105. Suddenly your money is not worth as much, as you would be spending $7.81 an hour over a 16-hour period. But really, who is in the park from opening to closing over such a long day?

Disney has released a photo-realistic image of their upcoming Cars-themed ride, Radiator Springs Racers, which will open later this year at Disney’s California Adventure Park in Anaheim, CA. Check out the full, larger image here below.

Radiator Springs Racers, which has the same ride system as Disney World’s Test Track, will be located in Cars Land, a 12-acre land within California Adventure Park. The ride takes up 6 acres of that space and is the largest attraction at the Disneyland Resort.

Amazon has eight titles available in their Digital Rental Deals for this weekend, which include several new movies, like Super 8, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Conan The Barbarian, and Cars 2, for only $1.99 each.

– Super 8 | 24-Hour Rental
– *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | 48-Hour Rental
– The Change-Up | 24-Hour Rental
– *Water For Elephants | 48-Hour Rental
– Conan The Barbarian (2011) | 24-Hour Rental
– Cars 2 | 48-Hour Rental
– *Tree Of Life | 48-Hour Rental
– *Miral | 24-Hour Rental

Once you activate the rental through Amazon’s Instant Demand service, you’ll have access to the movie for 24-48 hours (as noted above). If you’re interested in purchasing the digital versions, the cost is $14.99 each.