Disney and NASA to explore “Goldilocks” planet in new 3D IMAX film

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

 

IMAX Corporation and Walt Disney Studios today announcedan agreement to produce and distribute a new epic 3D documentary from veteran IMAX director Toni Myers.

IMAX and Disney previously have worked together on the distribution of a number of high-profile films, including Fantasia 2000 and the recent Oz The Great and Powerful, although this marks the first collaboration between the two companies in a production capacity.

Produced in cooperation with NASA, the upcoming space-themed documentary, which is still untitled, will use IMAX's extremely high-resolution photography and videography to offer "breathtaking, illuminating views of our home planet from space, exploring the astonishing changes that have occurred on Earth in just the past several decades."

The film will also explore "mankind's future on and off the planet... while also travelling light-years to other star systems to ponder the possibilities of 'Goldilocks,' an Earth-like planet." The film is expected to be released in 2015.

Ward Kimball's artwork for
Mars and Beyond (1957)

This will not be the first time Disney has teamed with space scientists to produce a documentary about life beyond Earth. In the mid-1950s the House of Mouse worked closely with famed rocket scientist and aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun on a series of ambitious documentaries about space travel and life in the universe as part of the DisneylandTV series (1954–1958).

 

The documentaries -- Man in Space (1955), Man and the Moon (1955), and Mars and Beyond (1957) -- were directed by the legendary Disney animator Ward Kimball, who, in his later life, claimedto have been involved in the production of a Disney documentary in the mid-1950s that was backed by the US Air Force and which was intended to acclimate the public to the reality of the UFO phenomenon and alien visitation.  

Disappointingly, the Air Force eventually decided to pull the plug on the documentary, which, according to Kimball, was set to feature real UFO footage provided by the military.

 

NASA also has a history of assisting filmmakers on alien-themed productions. In 1982, NASA helped Steven Spielberg with his classic alien contact movie E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, offering the filmmaker advice on how scientists would likely respond in the event of a real alien contact scenario. This collaborationshaped sections of the movie, including the scene when NASA personnel enter a sealed-off suburban home in search of E.T.

 

Producer Kathleen Kennedy also asked NASA what sort of planet E.T. might call home. The space agency came up with a “little green planet” populated by “little mushroom farmers.” E.T.’s biology reflected this scenario, said Kennedy – the friendly space creature being “closer to a plant than a biological human being.”

Curiously, NASA also lent its cooperation to the Disney movie Mission to Mars (2000), in which astronauts discover the remnants of an ancient civilisation on the red planet and make contact with one of its alien survivors – although NASA was keen to point out during the end credits that its cooperation and assistance “[did] not reflect an endorsement of the contents of the film.”

 

 

 

Military link to Disney's secret science-fiction movie 'Tomorrowland'?

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

Last month, Silver Screen Saucers took a peek inside Disney’s oh-so-mysterious ‘1952’ box, which supposedly holds clues to what we might expect from Brad Bird’s upcoming, oh-so-mysterious sci-fi project Tomorrowland(working title: 1952). We pointed out that a magazine buried inside the box is an August 1928 issue of Amazing Stories, the cover story for which – The Skylark of Space – deals with the discovery and implications of free energy; interstellar travel; and – contrary to denials by the film’s screenwriter Damon Lindelof – aliens.

Well, now we have a smidgen more info thanks to D23: the Official Disney Fan Club, which recently asked the Walt Disney Archives Director Becky Cline to help solve the other mysteries presented in Brad Bird’s photograph. Cline has numbered the items in the ‘1952’ photograph (above) and shared the following with D23 (note, in particular, the description of photo #4, which suggests a possible military link to this Disney project): 

1. "From the age, type, and conditions of the items I can see, I feel that the materials in the box were gathered together for a project from the past. Perhaps as research for a science-fiction-themed film, television, or park attraction, or even a futurism project like Walt’s vision of EPCOT."
2. "It looks like someone reused an old banker’s box from another Disney production. We don’t use this style of boxes anymore at the studio. There is another sticker on the cover of the box, but the text on the picture is obscured."
3. "Someone put tape over the original production label and hand wrote      "1952″ in pen—the brevity of the title and the fact that it’s handwritten sounds to me like it’s probably a working title. Both the studio and WED often used working titles before they came up with a final title of the project. “The Concert Feature” was what they called Fantasia before they decided upon a final name for example."
4. "On the top there are some old photos. The three that I can see are of Walt with visitors, probably taken here at the studio. The one on top is in our photo collection and I was able to identify the man with him as Major Woodlief of the U.S. Army Reserve General Fund. It was taken in September 1943. The Disney Studio worked closely with the United States government and military soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force elements were stationed at the Lot for the duration of the war. I can’t identify the people in the other photos, but we have the negatives for the photos in our collection. They were taken in 1950."
5. "There is a large manila envelope sealed with a loose sticker. It appears to have material in it, but we can only guess its contents. From the size and shape of the envelope, I would guess it might contain maps, brochures, or some other kind of folded documents."
6. "The magazine that appears along with this curious collection of documents and objects provides more clues. It is a copy of the science fiction magazine Amazing Stories from August 1928. I got a closer look at the cover by looking it up online. It shows a man in flight wearing some sort of jet pack, powered by a hand-controlled device of some sort. After doing a little more research, I discovered that the cover story of that particular issue is the serialized novel The Skylark of Space, written by Elmer Edward "Doc" Smith and Lee Hawkins Garby. Walt was always interested in futurism and flight especially in the 1950s and early ’60s; in fact, for Disneyland’s Tencennial Celebration in 1965, he actually had a man fly down Main Street, U.S.A. with a jet pack. The man also did flight demonstrations in Tomorrowland in the Flight Circle."
7. "There are two slide boxes in the box, one features the Technicolor logo; the writing on the other white slide box is indecipherable."
8. "There is a 45 rpm record that appears to be a master disc. It is probably from the ’40s or early ’50s (these type of records pre-date magnetic tape recording). It’s definitely not the kind of record that is pressed and sold to the public. Unfortunately, its handwritten label is too blurry to decipher."
9. "There is a blue paperback book in the box. The title appears to be Moral Research. The spine has other writing that I can’t read—the author’s name could possibly be at the top, but I can’t make it out. There is another name that looks to me like "Roland"—probably the name of a fictive publisher."
10. "There is a small white box on the right side that looks like the boxes we use to store individual reels of 8mm film. There is no print that I can see for further ID."
11. "There is a U.S. mail letter on the right side. I can see two purple postage stamps, but the denomination is not clear enough to read."
12. "Under the photos, record, magazine, and the letter is what looks to me like one of the old peg-and-screw albums we used to use here at the Studio for scrapbooks. It appears to have more photos and perhaps art in it (artboard anyway). Under that are the old string accordion files that we used to use for clippings, documents, loose art, etc. And there are a couple of manila mailing envelopes, too."

Whatever it’s about, Tomorrowland is scheduled for release December 19, 2014.

Disney’s ‘1952’ now called ‘Tomorrowland’ and is not about aliens... or is it?

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

So, Brad Bird’s hotly-anticipated sci-fi project for Disney – tentatively titled 1952 – now has its official name: Tomorrowland.

Rumors have been swirling online for months that Bird’s film – which will star George Clooney – is to be a Close Encounters-style UFO epic. Bird himself has remained tight-lipped.

In October of last year, Vulture reported on the movie’s mysterious back-story, which goes like this:

last spring, Disney’s head of production, Sean Bailey, arranged for screenwriter Damon Lindelof (Cowboys and Aliens, Prometheus) to be given access to “one of the studio’s odder curiosities: a banker’s box of files and documents that had been left moldering in Walt Disney’s personal development lab, WED Enterprises, which later became the studio’s vaunted Imagineering department.”

According to Vulture’s “spies”, the box was originally labelled with the title of Disney’s 1965 comedy That Darn Cat!, which had been crossed out and in its place was written “1952.” Apparently, inside the box was a “collection of documents and primary source materials that, when looked at all together, indicated that someone had been working on a project (movie? Theme park ride?) about alien contact.”

The identity of this “someone” from Disney’s bygone era working on a project about alien contact was never specified, but I speculated that it might be Ward Kimball – who famously claimed to have worked on an aborted government-sponsored Disney UFO documentary that was supposed to have featured real UFO footage.

However, within hours of publishing his inside scoop on 1952, Vulture’s Claude Brodesser-Akner made a public apology, stating that he had “misunderstood” his source for his story and that Brad Bird’s movie “is not in fact about an alien encounter.”

Now, the movie’s screenwriter Damon Lindelof has chipped in with the following Tweet: “We won't tell you what it's about (yet), but we will tell you what it's NOT about. And that would be ALIENS.”

Teasing us even further, Brad Bird last week Tweeted a picture of the aforementioned “box of files and documents” which is serving as inspiration for this mysterious movie project...

 

This marks the beginning of what will surely be an elaborate marketing campaign for Tomorrowland, with the contents of the box clearly intended to spark further speculation about the film’s plot. So let the speculation continue...

Looking at the box, we are afforded a glimpse of a magazine cover – which is obviously an issue of Amazing Stories. To be precise, it’s the August 1928 issue, which famously laid the foundations for the adventures of Buck Rodgers in the story Armageddon 2419 A.D. However, the cover of the issue is not related to Buck Rodgers, but depicts a scene from the story The Skylark of Space, by E.E. Smith. You can read the full plot for The Skylark of Space here, but suffice to say it deals with the discovery and implications of free energy; interstellar travel; and, yes, aliens.

 

So, basically, what on Earth (or in space) Tomorrowlandis about is still anyone’s guess. Care to guess, anyone? Who are the men pictured with Walt Disney in those photographs? What’s in those dusty files? What’s in that brown sleeve? Is that a music record? Is there film in that Technicolor box? If so, what’s on it?? Damn you Brad Bird and Disney!

Tomorrowland is scheduled for release December 19, 2014.

UFO movie news round-up (11 Dec. 2012)

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

‘Oblivion’: trailer, poster & concept art

 

In theatres April 12, 2013, Oblivion stars Tom Cruise as Commander Jack Harper, one of the last remaining men on an uninhabited Earth. He repairs the drones which patrol the skies and protect the planet from warring aliens.

The first trailer is now online. Looks pretty epic...

 

 

 

Also check out the official poster (above) and concept art below.

Oblivion is written by William Monahan (The Departed) and directed by Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy).

 

All you need is Cruise (and military support)

On the subject of Tom Cruise and aliens, the couch-pummeling star was pictured recently shooting his other upcoming ET invasion epic, All You Need Is Kill (plot details here), which is scheduled for a March, 2014 release. These pics were snapped in London last month and show Cruise in military uniform stepping out of an RAF helicopter in the center of London’s iconic Trafalgar Square, which had been sealed off for filming. The military hardware on show in these pictures is a clear sign that the movie has received production assistance from the British Royal Air Force (RAF). There is no indication at this point that the US Department of Defense (DoD) has had any involvement in the production. More pics here.

 

 

Indiana Jones and the Lawsuit of the Crystal Skull

"Lawyers... why'd it have to be lawyers."

Lucasfilm, Disney and Paramount Pictures are being targeted by a lawsuit relating to a “stolen” Crystal Skull. The Lawsuit was filed last week on behalf of Dr. Jaime Awe, director of the Institute of Archeology of Belize. According to The Hollywood Reporter:

“This real-life Indiana Jones is suing on behalf of the nation of Belize over the Crystal Skull artifact, popularized in the 2008 Steven Spielberg film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Awe is demanding the return of the Crystal Skull from a treasure-hunting family that allegedly stole it 88 years ago from Belize. And if that's not enough, the lawsuit targets Lucasfilm, its new owner the Walt Disney Co. and Crystal Skull distributor Paramount Pictures for allegedly using a replica "likeness" of the Crystal Skull. Among the damages claimed are the "illegal profits" of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The movie grossed about $786 million worldwide.” More here.

Disney heads to ‘Terra Incognita’

Walt Disney Pictures has cooked up yet another original sci-fi (and potentially alien-themed) project called Terra Incognita.

Variety reports that Guardians of the Galaxy's Nicole Perlman will pen the screenplay.

The premise for Terra Incognitahas yet to be disclosed by Disney, but the title references a Latin term for "unknown land" that is most commonly associated with ancient cartography.

Terra Incognita joins Disney’s sci-fi production line-up along with the (allegedly) alien-themed 1952 and an untitled space adventure from screenwriter Max Landis. 

New ‘X-Files’ movie and TV reboot?

Former X-Files producer Frank Spotnitz told Den of Geek recently that he would love to make a third X-Files film with the existing cast to bring the series to a close.

Apparently Spotnitz and X-Files creator Chris Carter have been discussing the idea and, although not yet at the scripting stage, the movie would likely be “the climax of the alien colonization story that began the series."

Spotnitz was also asked whether he thought The X-Filescould return to TV the way Star Trek did. He told DoG:

"I wouldn't be surprised at all. I mean, I don't think I would have anything to do with it but you know, for better or for worse, these things are titles of big corporations, like Star Trek belongs to Paramount and The X-Files belongs to Twentieth Century Fox and it's a huge asset in their libraries so I can't imagine they would let it sit languishing forever.

Anything could happen. I just hope that if they do it, they do it well, that's my only request."

'Seasons'

First-time director Tim Miller has been chosen by Sony to helm an adaptation of Joe Haldeman's short sci-fi story, Seasons. The tale, which features in the author's anthology "Dealing in Futures," is about an anthropological study of a sexless – and supposedly placid – alien race. But when the seasons change on the aliens’ home world, so too do the aliens’ personalities. Needless to say, things go horribly wrong for the anthropologists.

Currently in its early stages of development, Seasons will be drafted by Sebastian Gutierrez and produced by Michael De Luca with Alissa Phillips executive producing.

Disclosure through Disney in 2013?

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

Disney's aborted 1950s UFO acclimation movie headed for the big screen?

Earlier this year, Silver Screen Saucers asked: “Could it be that Disney is producing a dramatization of the flying saucer fever that swept America in 1952?” That question was prompted by the enigmatic title 1952 – a “top secret” Disney production quietly announced by the House of Mouse back in June of 2011. We were told that a script was being penned by Damon Lindelof (Prometheus, Cowboys and Aliens), and nothing more. We subsequently learned that Brad Bird (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles) had signed on to co-write and direct.

But yesterday (Oct. 17) saw some intriguing (and confusing) developments when Vulture reported the following:

• Despite its title, 1952 is largely set in the present day.

• Its plot will focus on aliens visiting Earth for the first time.

• The film will also reportedly follow a man in his late 40s through this alien ordeal.

• Lindelof and Bird are aiming to re-create the magic of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

 

1952 co-writer Damon Lindelof

 

Vulture also reported on the movie’s mysterious back-story, which goes like this: last spring, Disney’s head of production, Sean Bailey, arranged for screenwriter Lindelof to be given access to “one of the studio’s odder curiosities: a banker’s box of files and documents that had been left moldering in Walt Disney’s personal development lab, WED Enterprises, which later became the studio’s vaunted Imagineering department.”

According to Vulture’s “spies”, the box was originally labelled with the title of Disney’s 1965 comedy That Darn Cat!, which had been crossed out and in its place was written “1952.” Apparently, inside the box was a “collection of documents and primary source materials that, when looked at all together, indicated that someone had been working on a project (movie? Theme park ride?) about alien contact." 

The identity of this “someone” from Disney’s bygone era working on a project about alien contact has not been specified. As it turns out, though, we may already know... the name “Ward Kimball” springs to mind.

While at a MUFON symposium in 1979, Oscar-winning Disney animator and Imagineer Ward Kimball (the man behind Jiminy Cricket, The Mad Hatter and Pinocchio) claimed that the United States Air Force (USAF) had approached Walt Disney himself during the 1950s to request his cooperation on a documentary about UFOs that would help acclimate the American public to the reality of extraterrestrials. According to Kimball, in exchange for Disney’s cooperation, the USAF offered to furnish the production with genuine UFO footage. Kimball claimed that Disney accepted the deal and – ever faithful to Uncle Sam – began work immediately on the USAF project. It wasn’t long, however, before the USAF reneged on its offer of UFO footage. When Kimball challenged the USAF Colonel overseeing the project he was told that "there was indeed plenty of UFO footage, but that neither Kimball, nor anyone else was going to get access to it." The project was then abandoned and eventually forgotten by all but the few who had worked on it.

 

Walt Disney's most trusted animators - his "nine old men" - included Ward Kimball
(pictured far left, front).

 

So, could Disney’s mysterious 1952 be a 21 Century revival of its aborted 1950s UFO acclimation project? Based on the information thus far presented, there would certainly appear to be a connection... but hold on there, because here’s where it gets confusing...

Within hours of publishing his inside scoop on 1952, Vulture’s Claude Brodesser-Akner posted the following correction to his report: 

“Apparently I misunderstood my source for this story, who contacted me after it was posted to clarify that while it is true that 1952 is very much in the spirit of Close Encounters (and centers around a Roy Neary-like protagonist), it is not in fact about an alien encounter. My apologies for the erroneous plot description.”

Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) making first contact in
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

 

 

Hmmm. So when the unnamed source told Vulture: “It will be set largely in the present day and it is about aliens making contact here on Earth,” and that the aborted Disney project that inspired it was “about alien contact,” apparently this was just a miscommunication. And yet it is just like Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Hmmm. Could it be that Vulture’s source (almost certainly an official viral ‘leaker’ for Disney) spilled one too many beans in his revelation of the movie’s alien aspect, has been reprimanded by the studio and has subsequently issued a rather implausible “correction”?

It’s hard to say for sure, but given the past UFO-themed credits of screenwriter Damon Lindelof, and in light of Disney’s longstanding fascination with the UFO enigma– not to mention the strong UFO-related connotations of the 1952title – my money is still firmly on this movie being about aliens.

In terms of the movie’s marketing, Vulture also reported the following: 

“The collaborators are planning an elaborate, very J.J. Abrams–like advanced marketing campaign that will start before filming even begins. The idea is to stage a treasure hunt for intrigued moviegoers that will gradually reveal clues about and build intrigue for the film right up until its release, and which may or may not be related to the contents of the box.”

Perhaps, then, the “box” is just a viral marketing device vaguely inspired by Kimball’s story? Or perhaps it is, as the source originally stated, a real box with real photos and documentation that have directly inspired a new and highly secretive Disney project? Perhaps the box is a remnant of the aborted Disney UFO documentary?

Indulging the latter assumption for a moment – that this new movie will feature real photos and/or footage of UFOs and perhaps even their occupants – what would be the point? If presented in a fictional context (as apparently it would be), said material would immediately be fictionalized by way of its presentation in a “science-fiction” movie. Also, in today’s world of photorealistic CGI and Performance Capture technologies, debates surrounding “real” and “faked” footage would be very difficult to resolve. We could be looking at genuine alien landing footage from any time during the modern UFO era and automatically assume it to be CGI. 

So again I’ll say, “hmmm.” Intriguing stuff, for sure, but until Disney hits us with more info on 1952, I’ll quit with the speculation. Watch this space...

 

1952 is scheduled for release in 2013.

Aliens next door: "Shouldn't Obama know about this?"

Silver Screen Saucers

Aliens -- Disney just can't get enough of 'em. The House of Mouse will launch its latest alien visitation-themed project this September through TV subsidiary ABC. Here's the official blub (and scroll down for the trailer)...

"How well do you know your neighbors?

Meet the Weavers, Debbie (Jami Gertz) and Marty (Lenny Venito). Marty, in hopes of providing a better life for his wife and three kids, recently bought a home in Hidden Hills, a gated New Jersey townhome community with its own golf course. Hidden Hills is so exclusive that a house hasn't come on the market in 10 years. But one finally did and the Weavers got it!

It's clear from day one that the residents of Hidden Hills are a little different. For starters, their new neighbors all have pro-athlete names like Reggie Jackson (Tim Jo), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (Toks Olagundoye), Dick Butkis (Ian Patrick) and Larry Bird (Simon Templeman). Over dinner, Marty and his family discover that their neighbors receive nourishment through their eyes by reading books, rather than eating. The Weavers soon learn that the entire community is comprised of aliens from Zabvron, where the men bear children and everyone cries green goo from their ears.

The Zabvronians have been stationed on Earth for the past 10 years, disguised as humans, awaiting instructions from home, and the Weavers are the first humans they've had the opportunity to know. As it turns out, the pressures of marriage and parenthood are not exclusive to planet Earth. Two worlds will collide with hilarious consequences as everyone discovers they can "totally relate" and learn a lot from each other.

The Neighbors stars Jami Gertz (Entourage, Modern Family, Still Standing, Ally McBeal) as Debbie Weaver, Lenny Venito (Bored to Death, Men in Black III, Person of Interest, Curb Your Enthusiasm) as Marty Weaver, Simon Templeman as Larry Bird, Toks Olagundoye as Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Clara Mamet as Amber Weaver, Tim Jo (Glory Daze) as Reggie Jackson, Ian Patrick (Wanderlust) as Dick Butkis, Max Charles (The Three Stooges, The Amazing Spider-Man) as Max Weaver, Isabella Cramp as Abby Weaver.

Guest starring are Mitch Rouse as Real Estate Agent and Doug Jones as Alien. Co-Starring are Bruce Green as Angry Man and Mary K. DeVault as Angry Woman.

The Neighbors was written by Dan Fogelman (Cars, Tangled, and Crazy, Stupid, Love) who is also an executive producer with Aaron Kaplan, Jeff Morton (Modern Family) and Chris Koch (Workaholics, Modern Family). The Neighbors was directed by Chris Koch and is from ABC Studios."

The Neighbors premiers Wednesday Sept. 26 9:30|8:30c.

“Alien language” presented by CIA & Disney

By Robbie Graham Silver Screen Saucers

UPDATED: 19 JUNE, 2012

SCROLL DOWN FOR NEWLY ADDED IMAGES FROM RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN FEATURING SYMBOLS - AND CODE (?) - DESIGNED BY THE MOVIE'S CIA ADVISOR...

Nordic aliens in Disney's Race to Witch Mountain (2009).

One of the most eyebrow-raising cases of government involvement in a Hollywood UFO movie in recent years is that of Race to Witch Mountain (2009), which apparently received extensive support from the CIA – albeit in an ‘off the books’ capacity – despite its plot drawing extensively from UFO mythology (with references both to Area 51 and Roswell) and its presentation of a sinister government UFO cover-up.

In 2010, the film's director, Andy Fickman – a self-described “UFO enthusiast” born and raised in Roswell, New Mexico – told me that, although he personally shaped the majority of the film’s UFO-related content, at least some of it was the result of CIA input. The director claims that, in a highly unusual production arrangement, he and his crew were closely assisted by an active employee of the CIA whose advice extended to designing the alien writing seen in the flying saucer during the film’s climactic scenes. 

Race to Wicth Mountain: inside the flying saucer.

Despite my best efforts, Fickman has been unwilling to reveal to me the identity of his CIA advisor, but claims he’s a former Air Force Technical Intelligence Officer, that he had been “very active in Hollywood,” and “had a lot of connections in the computer world and [experience in] satellite imagery.”Fickman said of his CIA advisor:

All of the on-camera alien language in terms of their spaceship and everything – that was all designed by him in the sense [of what] the mathematics of communication would be, so you know... there would be a similar mathematical equation that the government probably has if they were to ever come across an alien race. So a lot of the things we ended up using were things he was bringing to me... and the next thing you know, that’s what I had on screen. 

The alien “language” to which Fickman refers appears onscreen in Race to Witch Mountain in the form of holographic symbols aboard the Nordic aliens’ flying saucer. Some are simple, some are more elaborate. Presented below are three of the most frequently recurring symbols that appear in the climactic scenes of the movie...

Morse code-type design as featured in the Race to Witch Mountain DVD menu.
This 'code' also appears in the film alongside various symbols.

Race to Witch Mountain DVD menu featuring various symbols that appear in the film. Not all symbols are displayed here.



The symbol pictured right frame appears frequently in Race to Witch Mountain's flying saucer. In the film it is seen to rotate.



Left frame: the flying saucer's schematic.

The question, of course, is what do these symbols mean? Besides some of them bearing a passing resemblance to certain crop formations (the authenticity of which is debatable), it is difficult to ascribe any significance to them beyond the fact that they were designed by an alleged CIA operative.

Has the CIA, in cooperation with Disney, presented us with real alien symbols / language? If so, to what conceivable end? In all likelihood, the symbols mean nothing, but it would be remiss of me not to throw them out there for feedback. Your comments are welcome.

More information on CIA involvement in Race to Witch Mountain can be found in my article UFOs and Disney: Behind the Magic Kingdom.