Disney Xd

"Gravity Falls" doesn't sound like classic Disney animation. The new cartoon comedy series follows twins Dipper and Mabel, whose school vacation plans are dashed when their parents ship them off to spend the summer with cranky old Uncle Stan in Gravity Falls, Ore., where pterodactyls swoop overhead and gnomes plot to abduct Mabel and make her their queen. "Disney wasn't the first place I would have thought of going to," said the show's creator, Alex Hirsch, who grew up watching Fox's irreverent animated comedy "The Simpsons.

Quvenzhané Wallis is excited to be an Oscar nominee, primarily because it gives her the chance to meet some movie actors. Yet, when pressed, the 9-year-old star of "Beasts of the Southern Wild" says it's the stars of her favorite television shows "Jessie" and "Austin & Ally" that are most appealing to her. "I want to meet everybody on Disney Channel and Disney XD that are alive," she said in a phone interview Friday. Wallis and "Beasts" had been critical favorites since last year's Sundance Film Festival.

Walt Disney Co., acknowledging the powerful role that television can play in influencing children's behavior, announced that it has instituted a junk-food advertising ban on programs for kids. Along with its current healthful-foods initiative in its theme parks, Disney will begin imposing strict new standards for food and beverage advertising on its boy-centric network Disney XD, during Saturday morning shows on Disney-owned ABC television stations, on Radio Disney and online. Disney Channel and Disney Junior, which are not ad-supported but receive brand sponsorships, also would be covered under the nutrition guidelines.

Google is ready for some "Monday Night Football. " Walt Disney Co. has struck a distribution deal with Google Fiber to add its cable networks, including ESPN, ABC Family and Disney Channel, to the new broadband pay-TV service the search-engine giant is launching in the Midwest. For Google, getting the Disney properties will be key to competing against Time Warner Cable and satellite broadcasters DirecTV and Dish. Google Fiber is being unveiled in Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kan. In both cities, Time Warner Cable is the major multichannel video program distributor.

Someday, Disney hopes its princes will come. The entertainment giant, which has made billions catering to the princess fantasies of young girls, plans to relaunch Toon Disney as Disney XD, a cable channel that will target boys. The move, under wraps for more than a year, is an attempt by the company to capture a market that has long eluded it.

Google is ready for some "Monday Night Football. " Walt Disney Co. has struck a distribution deal with Google Fiber to add its cable networks, including ESPN, ABC Family and Disney Channel, to the new broadband pay-TV service the search-engine giant is launching in the Midwest. For Google, getting the Disney properties will be key to competing against Time Warner Cable and satellite broadcasters DirecTV and Dish. Google Fiber is being unveiled in Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kan. In both cities, Time Warner Cable is the major multichannel video program distributor.

Walt Disney Co. launched its overhauled Disney.com website early Tuesday, a week after the Jan. 29 target date. The first day's visitors posted generally positive reviews on fan websites, discussion groups and blogs, though people overseas complained they couldn't reach the new destination. In a preview offered by Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger early last month, the souped-up site emphasizes promotional video clips and games aimed at teenagers and children.

One of the most popular — and reviled — icons of 1990s children's television is back in the hands of the man who launched it. Media mogul Haim Saban has bought back the rights to "Power Rangers," the hit television show that fueled his dominance of children's television in the 1990s, from Walt Disney Co., which took control of the property in 2001. Saban has also signed a deal with Nickelodeon, Disney's primary rival in the children's TV business, to air 20 new episodes of "Power Rangers" that he will produce, along with a catalog of more than 700 episodes.

SUNDAY The drinks will flow and the laughs will follow as the veddy British and oh-so-droll Ricky Gervais hosts "The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards," the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.'s yearly shindig celebrating the best of the big and small screens. (NBC, 5 and 8 p.m.) MONDAY Think of it as Spinal Tap for kids: Logan Miller, below, stars as a suburban teen who helps a group of aging rockers known as Iron Weasel make one last stab at the big time in the new musical sitcom "I'm in the Band."

Some big names are returning to Saturday morning television: Haim Saban and a colorful cadre of professional wrestlers. In two weeks, the Los Angeles billionaire's company, Saban Brands, will launch a five-hour block of original children's programming called Vortexx. Aimed at young boys, the slate of shows will air on the CW television network and be anchored by "WWE Saturday Morning Slam," a new program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment. The half-hour show, which debuts Aug. 25, marks the return of WWE to Saturday morning children's television after an 11-year absence.

Some big names are returning to Saturday morning television: Haim Saban and a colorful cadre of professional wrestlers. In two weeks, the Los Angeles billionaire's company, Saban Brands, will launch a five-hour block of original children's programming called Vortexx. Aimed at young boys, the slate of shows will air on the CW television network and be anchored by "WWE Saturday Morning Slam," a new program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment. The half-hour show, which debuts Aug. 25, marks the return of WWE to Saturday morning children's television after an 11-year absence.

Walt Disney Co., acknowledging the powerful role that television can play in influencing children's behavior, announced that it has instituted a junk-food advertising ban on programs for kids. Along with its current healthful-foods initiative in its theme parks, Disney will begin imposing strict new standards for food and beverage advertising on its boy-centric network Disney XD, during Saturday morning shows on Disney-owned ABC television stations, on Radio Disney and online. Disney Channel and Disney Junior, which are not ad-supported but receive brand sponsorships, also would be covered under the nutrition guidelines.

"Gravity Falls" doesn't sound like classic Disney animation. The new cartoon comedy series follows twins Dipper and Mabel, whose school vacation plans are dashed when their parents ship them off to spend the summer with cranky old Uncle Stan in Gravity Falls, Ore., where pterodactyls swoop overhead and gnomes plot to abduct Mabel and make her their queen. "Disney wasn't the first place I would have thought of going to," said the show's creator, Alex Hirsch, who grew up watching Fox's irreverent animated comedy "The Simpsons.

One of the most popular — and reviled — icons of 1990s children's television is back in the hands of the man who launched it. Media mogul Haim Saban has bought back the rights to "Power Rangers," the hit television show that fueled his dominance of children's television in the 1990s, from Walt Disney Co., which took control of the property in 2001. Saban has also signed a deal with Nickelodeon, Disney's primary rival in the children's TV business, to air 20 new episodes of "Power Rangers" that he will produce, along with a catalog of more than 700 episodes.

SUNDAY The drinks will flow and the laughs will follow as the veddy British and oh-so-droll Ricky Gervais hosts "The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards," the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.'s yearly shindig celebrating the best of the big and small screens. (NBC, 5 and 8 p.m.) MONDAY Think of it as Spinal Tap for kids: Logan Miller, below, stars as a suburban teen who helps a group of aging rockers known as Iron Weasel make one last stab at the big time in the new musical sitcom "I'm in the Band."

Someday, Disney hopes its princes will come. The entertainment giant, which has made billions catering to the princess fantasies of young girls, plans to relaunch Toon Disney as Disney XD, a cable channel that will target boys. The move, under wraps for more than a year, is an attempt by the company to capture a market that has long eluded it.

Quvenzhané Wallis is excited to be an Oscar nominee, primarily because it gives her the chance to meet some movie actors. Yet, when pressed, the 9-year-old star of "Beasts of the Southern Wild" says it's the stars of her favorite television shows "Jessie" and "Austin & Ally" that are most appealing to her. "I want to meet everybody on Disney Channel and Disney XD that are alive," she said in a phone interview Friday. Wallis and "Beasts" had been critical favorites since last year's Sundance Film Festival.

Walt Disney Co. launched its overhauled Disney.com website early Tuesday, a week after the Jan. 29 target date. The first day's visitors posted generally positive reviews on fan websites, discussion groups and blogs, though people overseas complained they couldn't reach the new destination. In a preview offered by Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger early last month, the souped-up site emphasizes promotional video clips and games aimed at teenagers and children.