• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About | Press
  • Up the Waterfall
  • Media Kit

ZANNALAND!

Magical Adventures & Memories

  • Latest News
    • Top Stories
    • Disney News
    • Disney Movie News & Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
  • Places to Explore
    • Walt Disney World
    • Universal Orlando Resort
    • Disneyland Resort
    • Orlando Area Resorts
    • Disneyland Resort Paris
    • Disney Cruise Line
  • Things to Do
    • Disney Dining
    • Disney Special Events
    • D23 Expo
    • RunDisney
    • Travel, Theme Parks, and Resorts
    • Florida Theme Parks & Attractions
      • Universal Orlando Resort
      • Medieval Times
      • LEGOLAND Florida
      • Busch Gardens
      • Sea World Orlando
    • Orlando Area Resorts
    • Central Florida Family Entertainment
  • Up the Waterfall Podcast

Oswald

Amazing Disney Bento Boxes – Art You Can Eat!

18 April 2014 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
OMGiri Disney Bento
Orange Bird Bento!!

I certainly don’t have to tell any of you that the internet is an amazing place. Sometimes you stumble across something that just makes you happy and amazed and inspired all at once. Recently, someone added me on Instagram and their little avatar stood out to me so I clicked on their profile. Adorableness ensued and I knew I had to share their creations with you!

OMGiri (a play on onigiri or Japanese rice balls) aka Mike has made some edible works of art that some may say look TOO good to eat. I have always been fascinated by this art, but my creative ways do not extend to food art, so I just watched in wonder as I saw bento box art gain popularity over the years. Seeing this combination of Disney characters and bento boxes, seemed like the perfect mix.

Mike was kind enough to share photos of his work here today, and also the interesting story of how he got started making Disney character bento boxes and some background on the art itself. I thought it was best to let Mike speak in his own words:

My interest in food art in general took root after a trip to Tokyo Disney Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland. I was amazed by the adorable and creative food both resorts served. It was springtime and Tokyo Disney had sandwiches shaped like Donald Duck’s feet, melon buns shaped like Mike Wazowski, and sweet mochi chicks in Mickey egg cups. At Hong Kong Disneyland we ate at the Crystal Lotus, which is home to the most amazing character-shaped dining experience. They offer dim sum shaped like characters, including the Three Little Pigs, Chicken Little, Duffy the Bear, and the Little Green Men from Toy Story.

While in Japan I bought a couple bento boxes to motivate me to take my lunch to work. I had a bad habit of eating out of the vending machine, or worse, skipping lunch all together. A while later, I found a bento instruction book at a Japanese book store which contained a Stitch bento. I ended up buying the book and decided to try making a bento.

The first bento I ever tried to make was a Oswald. It was fun to make the bento, but what really got me hooked was how fun it was to have the character bento for lunch. In the beginning I just made whatever came to mind. I’d make all sorts of characters. I’d share them around our offices and on Facebook. Eventually I found other bento makers, or as I call them “bento boxers”, on Instagram and really started becoming part of a community. Over time my interest in Disney took over and now I find myself doing all Disney characters. The character bentos are also referred to as kyaraben or charaben. Funny, but I have made only one item out of the bento instruction book so far. And it wasn’t even the Stitch bento!

Disney Bento
Serious Maximus

While in Japan we also became obsessed with onigiri. Onigiri are normally triangle or round “rice ball” filled with fish or pickled ginger. They sell them in convenience stores like they sell sandwiches in the US. We ended up eating onigiri almost everyday for a quick snack on the go. The characters in my bentos are onigiri. They are balled up rice with a filling. I’ve changed it up a bit, avoiding raw fish. Instead I fill them with cooked tuna or salmon mixed with a little mayo and spice. My favorite filling is a crab and cream cheese. I also use leftovers for filling. Left over curries make perfect filling!>What I found was that I really needed a creative outlet in my life. I work in an IT office, which just wasn’t fulfilling  my creative side. Bentos are giving me a chance to activate my creative side before I go into the office each morning. Plus, it helps with my insatiable need for Disney in my life!

I am horrible at planning, so most of my bentos start with me looking up a picture of the character online. I normally start from a photo or two of the character. Then I just sort of play around. Some bento boxers sketch out their bentos ahead, but I truly just make it up as I go along.

As far as ideas, I like to work around themes. In the past I’ve done tied theme weeks to upcoming holidays, new movie releases, Star Wars May the 4th celebrations, and Disney events. Sometimes the idea comes from a post I saw the previous day. I also am really inspired by Disney artists like Jerrod Maruyama. I’ve made quite a few bentos based on his cute take on Disney characters. I love finding older Disney characters and forgotten friends, like Humphrey the Bear. I’m also lucky that Disney now includes Marvel and Star Wars, which opens up so many more characters for me to do. I’ve been a little neglectful of Pixar, but I hope to remedy that this summer. Lately, I started a series based on the Walt Disney Studios Animated release catalog I’ve dubbed “Movie Monday“. A friend and I have started watching all the films in the order of their original release. I will be doing a bento for each film. I also take requests. It a lot of fun to have someone request a character.

My favorites to make are always the characters with a lot of expression. I enjoy making fun facial expressions, like Olaf grabbing at his tiny carrot nose or the serious, disgruntled Maximus. The expressions tend to be extremely challenging, but when it works out they are the most interesting to look at. Villains are also a joy to do, because they have such interesting designs. And of course, any of the ones that are just super cute I love to do. If I had to pick my favorites to make, I loved creating Humphrey the Bear, DisNerd Minnie, Jafar, and the AquaDuck Donald the most.

I really enjoyed reading Mike’s story – and it’s even better to know that he’s making these all for his own lunch, that’s pretty amazing. I wonder if Mike would make a Figment bento box for me? {oops, looks like he’s already made Figment…well maybe he can add a Zanna toon to the mix hahaha 😉 } I love the detail, and the fact that he reaches beyond the most well-known characters to feature Panchito, Orange Bird, and even Humprey the Bear (my favorites along with AquaDuck Donald too!)

Here are some of his masterpieces – Click to enlarge – all photos ©OMGiri, used with permission:

OMGiri Disney Bento
Easter Bunny Mickey
OMGiri Disney Bento
DisNerd Minnie Mouse Bento
OMGiri Disney Bento
Thumper Bento
OMGiri Disney Bento
Love this AquaDuck Bento!
OMGiri Disney Bento
Jack and Sally Bento
OMGiri Disney Bento
It’s Art from Monster’s University in Bento form!
OMGiri Disney Bento
Jafar dares you to eat him!
OMGiri Disney Bento
Panchito Bento – genius!
OMGiri Disney Bento
Covering all bases, he even has the Duffy Bus as a Bento!
OMGiri Disney Bento
Oswald and Ortensia
OMGiri Disney Bento
And even Duffy IN a Sully costume, which my son has and loves. Perfect!
OMGiri Disney Bento
Humphrey the Bear!

You can find more of these wonderful edible creations at OMGiri’s Instagram and Facebook page. Stop by and let him know Zannaland sent you!

Think you’ll try your hand at these for your lunch? 

 

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Filed Under: Disney Dining, Fan Creations, Top Stories Tagged With: bento, bento boxes, charaben, disney bento boxes, Disney fan art, Disney fan creations, duffy the bear, edible art, fan creations, fanart, Humphrey the Bear, kyaraben, obento, OMGiri, onigiri, Orange Bird, Oswald, panchito, rice, rice art

New Epic Mickey 2 Release Date, E3 Trailer and Warren Spector Interview

6 June 2012 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Disney is showing a huge presence at the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) conference going on in Los Angeles this week. We’ve seen an amazing Epic Mickey 2 booth, including Oswald ear hats and game demos, along with some fantastic pieces from the Disney Archives and other new merchandise.

Also released at E3 was a new Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two trailer, with an emphasis on Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. This makes me even MORE excited to play this game!

 

 

Also check out this great interview with Warren Spector Creative Director and Vice President, Junction Point and Disney Archives Director Becky Cline discussing the amazing history of Oswald:

 

 

Epic Mickey: The Power of Two will hit shelves November 18, 2012 – see you there! You can check out screenshots and more info at my other Epic Mickey 2 post.

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Filed Under: Disney Movie News & Reviews, Disney News, Video Games and Apps Tagged With: Becky Cline, Disney Interactive Studios, E3, Epic Mickey 2 E3 trailer, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, Junction Point, Mickey Mouse, Nintendo, Oswald, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Playstation 3, Video game trailer, Warren Spector, Wii, xbox 360

AMAZING Epic Mickey 2 Behind the Scenes Trailer

18 May 2012 by Suzannah Otis 2 Comments

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two gameplayWe’ve previously shared a gallery of screenshots and concept art for Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, coming out soon on Wii, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Now Disney Interactive has released a behind-the-scenes trailer showing even more of this exciting new game.

The images and gameplay are just breathtaking. It’s so wonderful to see more of Oswald as well. I know we can’t wait to play around here!

 

 


 

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Filed Under: Disney Merchandise, Disney Movie News & Reviews, Video Games and Apps Tagged With: Disney characters, disney interactive, Disney Interactive Media Group, Disney video games, Epic Mickey, Epic Mickey 2, Epic Mickey 2 images, family video games, game images, interactive media group, Mickey Mouse, Oswald, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Playstation 3, studio disney, The Power of Two, video games, Warren Spector

Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two-Screenshots & Images!

23 March 2012 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two Oswald and MickeyI was a huge fan of Epic Mickey, as I think so many Disney buffs were so I can’t wait to see what the second installment brings to life! Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two will release on multiple gaming platforms this fall and this time around, Oswald is a playable character! Here is the official press release, with game images and official trailer too:

BURBANK, Calif. – (March 23, 2012) – Disney Interactive Media Group today announced the development of “Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two”, the sequel to the critically acclaimed and commercially successful “Disney Epic Mickey” video game.  In “Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two”, gamers will play as Mickey Mouse and for the first time ever, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney’s first cartoon star, in an all-new adventure of creativity and discovery. Created by video game industry luminary Warren Spector and Disney Interactive’s Junction Point game development studio, “Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two” returns the franchise to the Wii™ system from Nintendo, and expands it to new HD consoles including the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.

“As a life-long Disney fan, working with Mickey Mouse in the original ‘Disney Epic Mickey’ was a truly humbling experience,” said Warren Spector, creative director and vice president, Junction Point. “Millions of fans fell in love with Mickey as a video game hero and I know they’ll experience similar emotions when they get to interact with and actually play as Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in ‘Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two.’”

“Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two” returns Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to Wasteland, an alternate world filled with 80 years of forgotten Disney characters and theme park attractions.  But for the first time, Mickey and Oswald will join forces as true partners – Mickey with his magical paint brush that allows him to wield paint and thinner, and Oswald with his powerful remote control that allows him to command electricity.   This new co-op play further enhances the idea that “PlayStyle Matters” – a unique approach to gameplay pioneered by Warren Spector where players dynamically tackle different challenges in order to explore all possibilities and storylines, but with consequences for their chosen actions.

Image gallery: (click to enlarge)

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two game box
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two gameplay
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two gameplay
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two gameplay
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two gameplay
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two gameplay
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two gameplay
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two gameplay
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two gameplay
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two gameplay
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two gameplay
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two gameplay
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two gameplay
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two gameplay
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two Oswald and Mickey

Staying true to Disney’s rich musical heritage, “Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two” is the first video game that can be described as a “musical.” At many points throughout the adventure, characters will advance the plot by expressing themselves in song, with all-original music and lyrics.  In addition to this distinctive musical approach to storytelling, players will hear tunes and instrumentation that change based on their personal choices, ultimately allowing each player to “conduct” their own unique soundtrack.  Disney Interactive has enlisted the help of Emmy award-winning composer James Dooley and noted lyricist Mike Himelstein to create these musical gameplay elements.

The magic of Disney will not only resonate through the game’s musical numbers, but also through the introduction of authentic Disney Character Voices talent who provide player direction through genuine character dialogue.  In “Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two,” all characters—most notably Oswald The Lucky Rabbit whose voice will be heard for the first time—will communicate by speaking to the player.

“In the first ‘Disney Epic Mickey title,’ fans embraced Mickey as a true video game hero and welcomed Oswald back into the Disney family with open arms,” said John Pleasants, co-president, Disney Interactive Media Group. “Now, as the vision for the “Disney Epic Mickey’ franchise advances, fans and gamers across all platforms will experience completely new ways to embrace the immeasurable vault of Disney characters and attractions.”

Development for “Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two” is being led by Disney Interactive’s Junction Point.   Supporting the latest technology, the game will also feature full support for the PlayStation Move.  The game currently is unrated by the ESRB.   For more information, go to www.disney.com/disneyepicmickey.

 

I can’t wait to see and learn more. Zannaland will be sure to bring you any upcoming images, news or extended trailers for Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two!

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Filed Under: Disney Merchandise, Disney Movie News & Reviews, Disney News, Reviews, Video Games and Apps Tagged With: Disney characters, disney interactive, Disney Interactive Media Group, Disney video games, Epic Mickey, Epic Mickey 2, Epic Mickey 2 images, family video games, game images, interactive media group, Mickey Mouse, Oswald, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Playstation 3, studio disney, The Power of Two, video games, Warren Spector

Amazing Artist Tribute to Oswald-A Must Watch!

16 March 2012 by Suzannah Otis 1 Comment

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

While we all like to try our hand at drawing a Disney classic like Mickey Mouse or other favorite character, every now and then I stumble across some “fan art” which really elevates that moniker to a new level. This video is perhaps the greatest of all I have seen. I’ve been chatting back and forth with Morgan Ditta on twitter and seen her talk about doing live drawings on uStream but I hadn’t seen her work personally until last night. When I watched this video, I knew instantly I wanted to share it with as many people as possible. Thankfully, Morgan gave me the okay to share it here with you folks, and hopefully you will in turn pass it along to even more people. She’s already gotten over 30,000 views on YouTube!

Morgan is a recent grad of Montclair State, with an Animation/Illustration major. She’s been obsessed with Disney for most of her life and has been influenced artistically by it for years. She is quite fond of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit because he has actually proven himself to be a ‘good luck’ charm for her on several occasions. Without further ado, please enjoy Oswald’s Story:

 

 
Wasn’t that beautiful? The music really imbues the story with emotion as well. If you liked this, leave Morgan a comment here, follow her on twitter at @SillyWhims and check out her online portfolio of work here. You can also follow along her spectacular senior project – Project D40, which showcases 6 parade floats and 28 costumes she created herself, to celebrate Walt Disney World’s 40th Anniversary. Simply stunning! Just as this video is a must-watch, so is Morgan Ditta. I cannot wait to see where the future takes her!  

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share

Filed Under: Walt Disney World Tagged With: Disney fan art, Disney fan creations, Disney fan videos, fan art, Morgan Ditta, Oswald, Oswald animation, Oswald art, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Oswald's Story, SillyWhims

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe to Our Up the Waterfall Disney History Podcast

Up the Waterfall podcast

Get Some Park Candy!

Park CandyUse code ZANNA at checkout for 10% off your entire order!

FAVORITE VLOG

https://youtu.be/jUQvxcguh9o

Click below to SUBSCRIBE to our latest Vlogs & LIVE Shows!

Recent Posts

  • D23 Events for 2023 – Destination D23 Returns to Walt Disney World
  • Hocus Pocus Cottage in Salem, MA Airbnb – Book this Unique Stay for October 20, 2022
  • LIVE Updates from the 2022 D23 EXPO in Anaheim California
  • Walt Disney’s Grumman Gulfstream I Airplane Makes its West Coast Return for D23 Expo 2022
  • Lilly Singh and Raven-Symoné To Host ‘Disney’s Epic Entertainment Showcase: The Musical: The Extravaganza!’
  • ICE! To Return to Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando for 2022
  • DIS Con 2022 Fan Expo Will Take Place at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
  • Disney+ to Highlight Upcoming Content Throughout D23 Expo Panels
  • D23 Expo 2022 Full Schedule Lineup – Including Muppets Christmas Carol
  • LEGOLAND Florida Brick-or-Treat presents Monster Party

Zannaland Archives

Recent Vlog

https://youtu.be/aRB70OJelLc
DisneyStore.com

Subscribe to our podcast

Free Shipping on New Kate Spade Collection now at shopDisney.com!

Copyright Zannaland © 2023