Browse by Tags

• 1978
• 2007
• 2009
• 2010
• Alice in Wonderland
• animated feature
• backstage
• book
• Broadway
• Broadway musical
• Broadway production
• Cameron Mackintosh
• Comic-Con
• Comic-Con International
• costume designer
• costumes
• Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz from Godspell to Wicked
• Demi Lovato
• Destiny
• development art
• Dick Van Dyke
• Dinosaur
• director
• Disney
• Disney Channel
• Disney Channel Original
• Disney Digital 3D
• Disney Feature Animation
• Disney Legend
• Disney Publicity
• Disney Theatrical
• Disneyana fan
• Disneyana fans
• Disneyland
• Drama Desk Award
• drawings
• Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation
• DreamWorks
• DreamWorks Animation
• dressing room
• East High Wildcats
• Ed Wynn
• edited
• Elgin's Peoples
• Ellen Boag
• Fannie
• film
• first class
• Flashdance
• Fraidy Cat
• Germany
• graduate school
• Gregory Maguire
• Hannah Montana
• Hans Bacher
• High School Musical
• High School Musical 3
• High School Musical 3: Senior Year
• High School Musical 4
• High School Musical franchise
• High School Musical: East Meets West
• hipster
• hit
• Hollywood
• Hollywood crowd
• Hollywood party
• Hollywood royalty
• Howard Ashman
• HSM
• HSM4
• illustration
• illustrations
• inspirational material
• Italy
• Jack Nicholson
• Jake
• Jake and Elwood
• movie
• musical
• New Amsterdam Theatre
• New York
• NYC
• Pretty in Pink
• Radiator Springs
• Romeo & Juliet
• school rivalry
• series finale
• set
• stage
• stage show
• stage version
• Tim Burton
• Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland
• Tony
• Tony Award
• tours
• TV movie
• Walt Disney Feature Animation
• Walt Disney Pictures
• Walt Disney Studios

• London’s original musical “Mary” is now Broadway’s newest nanny

  Jim Hill talks with Laura Michelle Kelly, the Oliver Award-winning actress who has just begun appearing at the New Amsterdam Theatre in Disney & Cameron Mackintosh’s long-running production Read More... Posted Friday, November 06, 2009 12:00 AM | 1 Comments Filed under: Disney, Broadway, Disney Theatrical, New York City, restaurant, New Amsterdam Theatre, Minskoff Theatre, NYC, Broadway musical, 2009, Tony Award, Broadway production, Cameron Mackintosh , 2005, London, 2004, New York, Tony

• Practice makes perfect with the stage version of Disney's "The Lion King"

  Jim Hill goes backstage at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, expecting to see all sorts of craziness. But what he finds instead is a smooth-running, relatively stress-free musical-making machine Read More... Posted Friday, October 23, 2009 12:00 AM | 3 Comments Filed under: Disney, Broadway, musical, The Lion King, Disney Theatrical, Julie Taymor, Las Vegas, Tokyo, Paris, stagehands, Broadway musical, stage version, 2009, 1997, Broadway production, backstage, staging, London, Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, stage show , Singapore, 2010, stage, costume designer , set, costumes, stage manager, stagecraft, tours, Mandalay Bay, sets

• Pixar piles on the international intrigue with “Cars 2”

  Jim Hill walks you through the storyline of this Summer 2011 Walt Disney Pictures release. Which sends the Radiator Springs gang overseas and then has Mater being mistaken for a secret agent Read More... Posted Thursday, September 17, 2009 12:00 AM | 7 Comments Filed under: Disney, Pixar, John Lasseter, Walt Disney Pictures, Robert Zemeckis, Cars, Pixar Animation Studios, Italy, Japan, Germany, D23, animated feature, animated short, animated features, London, Disney Digital 3D, 2011, 2006, 1989, 1985, Summer, Back to the Future , 1990, D23 EXPO, Radiator Springs, Mater, Cars Toons, Mater's Tall Tales, Cars 2, Universal Pictures

• Do eye-popping effects & an emotional thru-line really hold the key to audiences connecting with “Alice” ?

  Jim Hill shares what Tim Burton said at Comic-Con last month while this acclaimed filmmaker was talking up Disney’s new Digital 3D version of “Alice in Wonderland” Read More... Posted Wednesday, August 05, 2009 12:00 AM | 3 Comments Filed under: Disney, Johnny Depp, Walt Disney Pictures, Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton, Walt Disney Studios, film, movie, 2009, animated feature, London, 3D, Disney Digital 3D, 3D film , 2010, Pretty in Pink, 3D movie, San Diego, Comic-Con , Comic-Con International, live action, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

• Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland” exhibit gets ready to wander the globe

  Jim Hill reveals where this Comic-Con highlight may be headed next. He also shares some information about the plot of this new Tim Burton film Read More... Posted Monday, July 27, 2009 12:00 AM | 4 Comments Filed under: Disney, Walt Disney Pictures, Ticket & Transportation Center, Toronto, Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton, movie, touring version , London, Disney Digital 3D, 2010, Pretty in Pink, Comic-Con , Comic-Con International, tours, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

• Tune Thursday: 2010 brings “Camp Rock 2,” ”High School Musical 4” as well as the “Hannah Montana” series finale

  Jim Hill brings you the latest news on these Disney Channel productions, including the real reason that Miley Cyrus agreed to a fourth & final season of her hit sitcom Read More... Posted Thursday, July 09, 2009 12:00 AM | 3 Comments Filed under: Disney, High School Musical, Disney Channel, WalMart, Vanessa Hudgens, High School Musical 3, High School Musical 4, High School Musical franchise, Zac Efron, Miley Cyrus, Michael Jackson, Disney Channel Original, HSM, Jeff Hornaday, West High Knights, Shakespeare, series finale, London, school rivalry , Flashdance, TV movie, Hannah Montana , Camp Rock , High School Musical: East Meets West , star crossed lovers, Captain EO , Montagues & Capulets, 2010, Malibu Hills, director , Mickey By program, Jonas Brothers, Rich Ross , Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas, Kevin Jonas, Demi Lovato , clothing line, O2 Arena, Camp Star, Chloe Bridges, Utah, This is It!, Matt Prokop, Jemma McKenzie-Brown, Camp Rock 2: Final Jam, Peter Barsocchini, choreography, East High Wildcats, choreographer, Romeo & Juliet, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Paul Hoen, Dan Berendsen, Camp Rock 2, Max Azria, Jump In!, Malibu, HSM4, Regina Hicks

• How sometimes being in the wrong place is the right thing to do

  In this week's "Why For" column, Jim Hill shares a story that Wally Boag once told him. Which explains how -- thanks to being accidentally upstaged by Steve Martin -- this Disney Legend wound up appearing on "The Muppet Show" Read More... Posted Friday, October 31, 2008 12:00 AM | 1 Comments Filed under: Muppets, Jim Henson, Disneyland, Anaheim, Disney Legend, Saturday Night Live, YouTube, Hollywood, Steve Martin, Steven Spielberg, Golden Horseshoe , Wally Boag, opening night, backstage, London, audience, Universal Studios Hollywood , Woody Allen , 1978, Ellen Boag, The Muppet Show, The Golden Horseshoe Revue, Muppet Show, Golden Horseshoe Revue, Universal Amphitheater, Jake, Dan Ackroyd, Elwood, John Belushi, vaudeville, Jack Nicholson, vaudevillian, vaudevillians, Elwood Blues, Hollywood royalty, Jake Blues, Hollywood party, Jake and Elwood, Hollywood crowd, The Blues Brothers, Adam, Blues Brothers, first class, Bernadette Peters, comfort zone, dressing room, right place, wrong place, Wild and Crazy Guy, A Wild and Crazy Guy, Pecos Bill, Mexican, opportunity, engagement, 80% of success is showing up, apology, special guest, special guests

• "Defying Gravity" details Stephen Schwartz's sometimes difficult dealings with the Walt Disney Company

  Jim Hill reviews Carol de Gieve's career biography of this Academy Award-winning songwriter, which features some great behind-the-scenes stories about the five Disney projects that Schwartz worked on Read More... Posted Wednesday, October 01, 2008 12:00 AM | 6 Comments Filed under: book, Disney, DreamWorks, Broadway, musical, Michael Eisner, Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, DreamWorks Animation, Stephen Schwartz, Los Angeles, Walt Disney Studios, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Broadway musical, September, animated feature, 2007, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Disney Feature Animation, Peter Schneider, London, TV movie, show business , 1996 , 1986, Tony, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Academy Award-winning, world premiere, Walt Disney Company, musical theater, musical theater fan, Broadway credits, trio, long running hits, long running hit, hit, Godspell, Pippin, Wicked, Disneyana fan, resume, lyricist, 1990s, 1978, Working, Radiator Springs, Children of Eden, 1991, graduate school, NYU, therapist, Sir Tim Rice, A Whole New World, Kevin Bannerman, Carol de Giere, Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz from Godspell to Wicked, Applause Books, softcover, songwriter, career, lyrics, 1992, Shirley Jones, Colors of the Wind, John Smith, Native Americans, Romeo, Romeo & Juliet, Juliet, West Side Story, Something's Coming, creative process, 1994, The Prince of Egypt, China, Matthew Wilder, David Zippel, Written in Stone, Destiny, Geppetto, Academy Award-nominee, Enchanted, Gregory Maguire, middling reviews, rhyme, reviews

• Stage version of "Mary Poppins" draws a lot of its inspiration from ... Well, drawings

  Jim Hill looks back at the development of this Disney / Cameron Mackintosh production. Which is not just based on the 1964 film, but also draws its inspiration from P.L. Travers' stories and Mary Shepard's illustrations Read More... Posted Friday, June 20, 2008 12:00 AM | 7 Comments Filed under: Disney, Broadway, musical, Disney Theatrical, Chicago, New Amsterdam Theatre, NYC, Academy Award, film, movie, road company, Broadway musical, stage version, 2009, Tony Award, Broadway production, Cameron Mackintosh , Jolly Holiday, Bob Crowley, Mary Poppins, London, penguins, stage show , production team, March, stage, national tour, North American National Tour , Ashley Brown , title role, Gavin Lee , Drama Desk Award, New York, 1964, set designer , costume designer , set, motion picture, setting, Practically Perfect, Richard Eyre, creative team , Matthew Bourne , Julian Fellowes, P L Travers , Robertson Ay, footman, A Spoonful of Sugar , 1934, Mrs Corry , Annie, Fannie, gingerbread , gilt stars , Gingerbread Stars , Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, talking shop, bake shop, Jaws 3 People 0, Bad Wednesday, chapter, Mary Poppins Comes Back , Royal Doulton , George Stiles , Anthony Drewe , Temper Temper, Miss Andrew, governess, Ruth Gottschall, birdcage , Mary Shepard , Let's Go Fly a Kite, 1943, Mary Poppins Opens the Door , Neleus, statue , statues, illustrations, illustration, The Marble Boy, Starlighter , costumes, constellations , Anything Can Happen If You Let It, Mary Poppins in the Park, England, Theatre Royal Plymouth , Cadillac Palace Theatre, Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Matthew Garber, Karen Dotrice, Ed Wynn

• "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 and the Beast, 101 Dalmatians, Dinosaur, Walt Disney Animation Studios, France, WDAS, 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, 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 , Wales, China Doll, emperor, series finale, 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, school rivalry , edited, massaged , Disney Publicity , production notes, European version, Loire , generic-looking , Mulan