Browse by Tags

• "Aladdin"
• "Beauty & the Beast"
• "Cars"
• "How to Hook-Up Your Home Theater"
• "Monsters Inc."
• "Ratatouille"
• "Shrek"
• "The Adventures of Andre & Wally B"
• "The Incredibles"
• "The Lion King"
• "The Little Mermaid"
• "The Pixar Story"
• "The Princess and the Frog"
• "Tis the season"
• "Toy Story 2"
• "Toy Story"
• "WALL * E"
• 2007
• 2008
• A Christmas Carol
• ABC
• Academy Award
• actress
• American Film Institute
• animated character
• animated feature
• animated short
• animation fan
• Animation Research Library
• animators
• ASIFA-Hollywood
• attraction
• award
• Best Picture nominee
• Bob Iger
• book
• Brad Bird
• Broadway
• Broadway musical
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment
• Burbank
• California
• CG
• coffee table book
• comics
• computer animation
• Dick Cook
• Disney / Pixar
• Disney Feature Animation
• Disney Theatrical
• DreamWorks
• DreamWorks Animation
• DVD
• DVD / Video
• Ed Catmull
• Emeryville
• Epcot
• feature film
• film
• Glen Keane
• Grim Natwick
• holiday special
• Hollywood
• Imagineering
• Jan Pinkava
• Jim Hill Media
• John Lasseter
• John Musker
• Kirk Wise
• LA
• Leslie Iwerks
• Michael Eisner
• movie
• movies
• music
• musical
• NBC
• other
• Pete Docter
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Pixar
• Pixar Animation Studios
• Pixar campus
• Richard Purdum
• Robert Zemeckis
• Ron Clements
• Roy E. Disney
• theater
• theme park
• Tom Sito
• traditional animation
• TV
• Visual Effects
• Walt Disney
• Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Walt Disney Feature Animation
• Walt Disney Pictures
• Walt Disney Studios
• WDAS
• Why For

• Monday Mouse Watch : Get ready for WDW's monstrous new coaster

  WARNING !! There be spoilers ahead as Jim Hill shares what he knows about the family-friendly attraction that will be opening at Disney's Hollywood Studios in the Fall of 2011 Read More... Posted Monday, July 21, 2008 12:00 AM | 29 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, theme park, Pixar, Jim Henson, attraction, Imagineering, Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disney's California Adventure, "Cars", Disney's Hollywood Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Emeryville, "A Bug's Life", "Toy Story", Disneyland Resort, Disney Princess, WDI, "Monsters Inc.", WDW, Imagineer, Walt Disney Imagineering, DCA, Walt Disney Studios, animated character, Pixar campus, Disney World, "Toy Story Mania", animated feature, Carsland, Pete Docter, theme park attraction, soundstage , 2011, coaster, Imagineers, Disney Pixar , thrill ride, DHS

• Watch out, Toontown ! Here come the Tappet Brothers

  Are TV viewers really ready for a toon tune-up show? Jim Hill shares what he knows about PBS's newest series, "As the Wrench Turns" Read More... Posted Wednesday, July 09, 2008 12:00 AM | 8 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, TV, Pixar, "Cars", Pixar Animation Studios, Tom Sito, animated feature, TV show, sitcom , animated series

• Disney rarities to be screened tonight at Newport Beach Film Festival

  Jim Hill gives animation fans a "heads up" about an extra-special event that's being held this evening at the Lido Theater. Where some seldom-seen shorts will be hauled out of the Disney vault for a one-time-only screening Read More... Posted Wednesday, April 30, 2008 12:00 AM | 1 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Leslie Iwerks, Roy E. Disney, Richard M. Sherman, "Redux Riding Hood", "The Pixar Story", "How to Hook-Up Your Home Theater", animated feature, Disney Feature Animation, animated short, animators , animation industry, animation fan, Richard M Sherman, Newport Beach Film Festival, Don Hahn , "Oilspot & Lipstick" , "Destino" , "Lorenzo" , "The Little Match Girl" , "Fantasia 2000", Oscar nominee, Newport Beach, Lido Theater, "A Spoonful of Sugar and Song with Richard Sherman" , Disney animation rarities, film festival

• Remembering Ollie Johnston (1912 - 2008)

  Jim Hill asks you to remember this remarkable individual. Who passed away in Washington State earlier today Read More... Posted Monday, April 14, 2008 8:00 PM | 14 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Walt Disney, Walt Disney Productions, Walt Disney Studios, animated feature, animation fan, Ollie Johnston

• "Dream Worlds" offers look at abandoned Disney animated features

  Jim Hill reviews Hans Bacher's new "Production Design for Animation" book. Which features visual development art from "My Peoples," "Fraidy Cat" and "Wild Life" Read More... Posted Wednesday, January 23, 2008 12:00 AM | 6 Comments Filed under: animation, book, Disney, Broadway, Andreas Deja, Disney Theatrical, "Beauty & the Beast", "101 Dalmatians", "Aladdin", "Dinosaur", Walt Disney Animation Studios, France, WDAS, "The Lion King", the New World, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", LA, Germany, film, Broadway musical, stage version, animated feature, 2007, Disneyana fans, Walt Disney Feature Animation, "Mulan", Hans Bacher , logo, visual development, visual development artist , production designer, paintings, drawings , inspirational material , artists , animators , "Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation" , Focal Press, December , canvases , "China Doll", emperor, Shang, "My Peoples" , "Elgin's Peoples" , "Angel and Her No Good Sister", "Once in a Blue Moon" , "A Few Good Ghosts", "Fraidy Cat" , Alfred Hitchcock , crime story , London, development art , "Wild Life", The Secret Lab, urban, hipster, George Bernard Shaw, "Pygmalion", story points, BS-free , edited, massaged , Disney Publicity , production notes, European version, Loire , generic-looking , Mulan

• Oscar Watch '08: Miramax maxes out while the Mouse gets skunked

  Was today a good day or a bad day at Walt Disney Studios? Well, as Jim Hill points out, it all depends on whether you work at Miramax Films or on the Walt Disney Pictures side of the house Read More... Posted Tuesday, January 22, 2008 12:00 PM | 37 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, movies, Pixar, ABC, NBC, Brad Bird, "Enchanted", Pixar Animation Studios, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End", Amy Adams, "How to Hook-Up Your Home Theater", Academy Award, film, movie, actress, 2008, Disney / Pixar, animated feature, 2007, feature film , Best Picture nominee, Disney Feature Animation, animated short, picket line, Jan Pinkava, animated features, Oscar-winning , Norman Jewison , "The Man I Love" , George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, "good news day" , Amy Ryan, nomination , Best Actress in a supporting role , "Gone Baby Gone" , Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, ABC Inc, Best Actress , Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Motion Picture of the Year, Achievement in Music – Original Song, Original Song , nominee, nominations , "Happy Working Song" , "So Close" , "That's How You Know" , Best Animated Feature Film of the Year, Jim Capobianco, Best Original Screenplay, Achievement in Sound Mixing , Achievement in Sound Editing, Achievement in Makeup , Achievement in Visual Effects , Oscar, Oscars, Best Animated Short Film, Academy Award nominee, Academy Award winner, Academy voters , February 24th , 80th annual Academy Awards , actors , picket lines, Academy Award nominations , Academy Award nominees, Academy Award winners, Miramax Films , "No Country for Old Men" , Paramount Vantage, Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role , Achievement in Directing , Achievement in Cinematography , Achievement in Film Editing , Adapted Screenplay, "There Will Be Blood", Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role , Achievement in Art Direction , "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" , Pathé Renn , co-production, Michael Giacchino , Achievement in Music – Original Score, Original Score, Oscar broadcast, Golden Globes, hand-drawn animation

• Tons of Toontown's secrets revealed in "Animation Magazine: 20 Year Collection"

  Jim Hill reviews this new coffee table table that commemorates the 20th anniversary of this very popular publication. Which includes some great behind-the-scenes stories from animation industry vets Read More... Posted Wednesday, January 09, 2008 12:00 AM | 2 Comments Filed under: animation, book, Disney, Walt Disney, John Lasseter, "Ratatouille", Walt Disney Animation Studios, coffee table book

• Animation fans prematurely shoot off their mouths about "Bolt"

  Jim Hill points out the parallels between what WDAS's next release is now going through and "Beauty & the Beast" & "The Lion King" 's troubled productions Read More... Posted Wednesday, January 02, 2008 12:00 AM | 18 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, movies, Pixar, DreamWorks, computer animation, John Lasseter, "Shrek", Walt Disney Pictures, "Beauty & the Beast", John Musker, "The Little Mermaid", "Ratatouille", Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, DreamWorks Animation, "Aladdin", Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Jeffrey Katzenberg, "Toy Story", WDAS, "The Lion King", "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", WDI, Ed Catmull, Walt Disney Imagineering, Walt Disney Studios, "Bolt", Academy Award, film, movie, 2008, animated feature, Richard Purdum , "Cranium Command", Kirk Wise, Gary Trousdale, award, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Disney Feature Animation, "Mulan", "The Emperor's New Groove", "Kingdom of the Sun", "Kiskaloo", blind men and the elephant, Indian fable, pre-release image, teaser poster, November 2008, Bolt the dog, Mittens the cat, Rhino the hamster, Chris Williams, "American Dog", Chris Sanders, quirkiness, Jan Pinkava, George Scribner, Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers, S Gross, lemons into lemonade, November 28

• Toon Tuesday: The story behind "The Pixar Story"

  Jim Hill chats with acclaimed filmmaker Leslie Iwerks about her new documentary. Which will be screening this evening at Hollywood's Egyptian Theater and will be followed by a panel discussion with Roy E. Disney Read More... Posted Tuesday, December 11, 2007 12:00 AM | 6 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Pixar, computer animation, CG, John Lasseter, Michael Eisner, Leslie Iwerks, Roy E. Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Emeryville, The Walt Disney Company, "Toy Story", Animation Research Library, Hollywood, "The Pixar Story", Ed Catmull, Steve Jobs, film, Pixar campus, Disney / Pixar, animated feature, holiday special, Walt Disney Feature Animation

• Monday Mouse Watch: Ariel meets her maker? Has Tinker Bell lost her voice?

  Jim Hill shares a few fun Disney-related items that have popped up in his inbox over the past few days. Including where you can find an early reference to Rapunzel in "Enchanted" Read More... Posted Monday, December 10, 2007 12:00 AM | 12 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, musical, John Lasseter, Disney Theatrical, "The Little Mermaid", Disney Fairies, "The Tinker Bell Movie", Walt Disney Animation Studios, Kevin Lima, Glen Keane, "Rapunzel", stagehands union, movie, stagehands, Disney in-joke

• A special "Where's WALL-E" edition of Why For?

  Jim Hill's back with even more answers to your Disney-related questions. This time around, Jim tries to put together a definitive list of where the in-jokes & self references in Pixar's feature films & shorts are located Read More... Posted Sunday, December 09, 2007 12:00 AM | 26 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Pixar, CG, John Lasseter, "Ratatouille", Brad Bird, "The Incredibles", "Finding Nemo", Pixar Animation Studios, Emeryville, "A Bug's Life", "Toy Story", "Toy Story 2", "Monsters Inc.", "WALL * E", DVD, film, movie, Disney / Pixar, animated feature, "The Adventures of Andre & Wally B", animated short, short, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, "Your Friend the Rat", "Plan B", "Luxo Jr", "Red's Dream", "For the Birds", "Boundin' ", "Lifted", "Jack-Jack Attack", "Geri's Game"

• "To Infinity and Beyond!" is an entertaining look back at Pixar's first two decades

  Jim Hill reviews Karen Paik's inspired (more importantly, inspiring) new history of Pixar Animation Studios. Which offers a lot of insight about how John Lasseter became the Big Kahuna of the CG world Read More... Posted Thursday, November 29, 2007 12:00 AM | 4 Comments Filed under: animation, book, Disney, movies, Pixar, computer animation, CG, John Lasseter, John Musker, "The Little Mermaid", "Cars", "Ratatouille", Leslie Iwerks, Brad Bird, "Aladdin", Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Ron Miller, "Toy Story", "Toy Story 2", WDAS, featurette, "Monsters Inc.", "The Pixar Story", "To Infinity and Beyond: The Story of Pixar Animation Studios", Karen Paik, Ed Catmull, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney Studios, film, movie, Mouse, Disney / Pixar, 2007, "Tis the season" , feature film , Chronicle Books, "The Art of Animation", Bob Thomas, cartoons, epiphany, coffee table book, hardcover, church, pew, gourd, sermon, pencil, pencil time, award, The Headless Horseman, "The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr Toad", station wagon, Casper the Friendly Ghost, California Institute of the Arts, CalArts, character animation, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Disney Feature Animation, calcified, middle management, "The Fox and the Hound", old guard, Tom Wilhite, Maurice Sendak, picture book, "Where the Wild Things Are", Thomas M Disch, "The Brave Little Toaster", Marin, Lucasfilm, "The Adventures of Andre & Wally B", SIGGRAPH, animated short, short, character comedy, cutting-edge technology, money pit, Jane Eisner, Roald Dahl, "James and the Giant Peach", human costs, keyboard, repetitive-stress injury, "The Art of Ratatouille", aspiring animator, holiday shopping list

• Tube Tuesday: Gary Trousdale tries to "Shrek the Halls" without first wrecking DreamWorks Animation's most important franchise

  Jim Hill chats with this WDAS vet about many of the ogre-sized challenges he faced while directing this new holiday special. Which airs tomorrow night on ABC Read More... Posted Tuesday, November 27, 2007 12:00 AM | 6 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, DreamWorks, ABC, CG, Epcot, "Beauty & the Beast", "Shrek the Third", DreamWorks Animation, Walt Disney Animation Studios, television, WDAS, Future World , Christmas, film, gags , film franchise, Happy Holidays, "Tis the season" , feature film , "Shrek Goes Fourth", ratings, color coordinated , Godzilla, midnight snack, chimney, cookie plate, cookie, "It's the most wonderful time of the year" , holiday season , gingerbread man, "Twas The Night Before Christmas" , Gingy, holiday perennial, dated , timeless , film parody, in-joke, Disney in-joke, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers , recording session, DreamWorks campus, character bits , TV special, holiday story , "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" , "A Charlie Brown Christmas", Best Picture nominee, Richard Purdum , 1980s, "Cranium Command", Kirk Wise, holiday special, Christmas special, Gary Trousdale, fairytale, Santa's workshop, The North Pole, Puss in Boots, Donkey, Saint Nick, Saint Nicholas, naughty list, Santa Claus, ogre, Shrek, "Shrek's First Christmas", "Shrek the Halls"

• Instead of a Why For this week, how about a Where For ?

  This time around, Jim Hill talks up various Disney & animation-related events that are happening all around the U.S. over the next two weeks Read More... Posted Friday, November 16, 2007 12:00 AM | 3 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Pixar, Broadway, "High School Musical", Disney Theatrical, Anaheim, Orlando, Tinker Bell, Pixar Animation Studios, Emeryville, Manhattan, Feld Entertainment, YouTube, Los Angeles, Burbank, NYC, Florida, Walt Disney Studios, Las Vegas, California, LA, ASIFA-Hollywood, American Film Institute, "Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure", Grim Natwick, Connecticut, MiceAge, MousePlanet, LaughingPlace, WDWMagic, screening, panel discussion, OceanEars, National Fantasy Fan Club, Disneyana Enthusiasts, Rhode Island, Crowne Plaza, Warwick, Margaret Kerry, actress, "Tinker Bell Talks! Tales of a Pixie Dusted Life", Sherman Oaks, NFFC, Studio Chapter in Los Angeles, Westfield Shopping Town Fashion Square, David Koenig, "Realityland: True-Life Adventures of Walt Disney World", Character Warehouse, AMS, Assets Management & Sales LLC, White House, Orangefair Marketplace, Fullerton, The Annex at Las Vegas Factory Outlets, Las Vegas Factory Outlets, Puente Hills Mall, City of Industry, Mesa Pavilions, Mesa, 5th Avenue, flagship store, Disney Bear, Santa Mickey, Reindeer Pluto, Reel Appeal, Alameda, furniture, "Bedknobs & Broomsticks", Loft Appeal, Dave Smith, Disney Archives, stagehands, road company, Broadway musical, Disney's "High School Musical on Tour", stage version, Disney Channel Original, HSM, Playhouse Square Center, Cleveland, Providence Center for the Performing Arts, Ohio, "Disney Live!", "Playhouse Disney Live!", Wicomico Youth and Civic Center, Salisbury , Maryland, Veterans Memorial Arena, Binghamton, ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive, "Grim Natwick's Scrapbook", "Behind the Scenes at Pixar", Emery Ed Fund, Pixar campus, Van Eaton Galleries, Jerry Beck, "The Hanna-Barbera Treasury", JHM

• "Raggedy Ann" reunion features look at rarely seen Richard Williams film

  Jim Hill talks up this Saturday's benefit for the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive. Which will feature a screening of this 1977 release, followed by a panel discussion with various members of the "Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure" production team Read More... Posted Thursday, November 15, 2007 12:00 AM | 6 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, theme park, Broadway, traditional animation, podcast, Ward Kimball, Art Babbitt, Disney Legend, benefit, television, YouTube, Disneyana, Hollywood, DVD, California, 30th anniversary, ASIFA-Hollywood, CinemaScope, 35MM, A