Is theater the new movies? Disney may be thinking so, if a raft of recent URL purchases is anything to go by. Disney fansite StitchKingdom noticed this weekend that Disney had registered theatrical/stage-related URLs for the following properties (Deep breath, now): Aladdin, Alice in Wonderland, Calendar Girls, Citizen Ruth, Coyote Ugly, Father of the Bride, Flamingo Kid, Freaky Friday, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Jungle Book, Nightmare Before Christmas, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pollyana, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Shakespeare in Love, Sister Act, Step Up, Toy Story and Yellow Submarine

I'll admit to not knowing what some of these properties are (Citizen Ruth? And the only Calendar Girls I can think of offhand is that "Old British women do a nude calendar for charity, oh look it's Helen Mirren, quelle surprise" movie), but even some of the ones I do recognize seem like an odd choice for translation onto the stage: Has the world been crying out for a Coyote Ugly show all this time and I've missed it? It is worth wondering how important theater is going to become for entertainment franchises in future, with stories about Warners' planned Batman stage show still ringing in our ears. Hasn't anyone else been paying attention to the disaster that is the Spider-Man musical?