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• Tune Tuesday : "Hello, WALL-E! Well, Hello, WALL-E ..."

  Forget about Pixar's latest production. Jim Hill talks about the many other ways that Jerry Herman's Tony Award-winning musical has popped up at the Mouse House Read More... Posted Tuesday, July 01, 2008 12:00 AM | 20 Comments Filed under: movies, Pixar, musical, Imagineering, CG, Disneyland, Walt Disney World, 20th Century Fox, Magic Kingdom, James Bond, Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions, The Magic Kingdom, New York City, Main Street U.S.A., Eddie Sotto, Euro Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, television, The Haunted Mansion, Rotten Tomatoes, Tony Award winner, WDI, WDW, Imagineer, Walt Disney Imagineering, film, movie, 2008, 1970s , opening weekend grosses, opening weekend, Disneyana fans, Main Street USA, Tony Award, Andrew Stanton, Tony Award-winner , CG feature, 1970 , Imagineers, Disney Pixar , "Kung Fu Panda", "WALL-E" , New York, domestic release, 1969, Jerry Herman, showtunes , futuristic fable , "Put on Your Sunday Clothes" , "It Only Takes a Moment" , CHUD, robot, "Elegance" , "Before the Parade Passes By" , area music , E.J. Peaker , "Disneyland Showtime" , "The Wonderful World of Disney" , Donny Osmond, Merrill Osmond , introduction, Miss Molloy, dress shop , Minnie Fay , movie star, Love Bug Parade , "Condorman" , spoof , 1981, Woody Wilkins , Michael Crawford , Barbara Carrera , Cornelius Hackl , original Broadway production, "Phantom of the Opera", Dolly Levi , extras , 14th Street , senior Vice President of Creative Development , Tony Baxter , turn-of-the-century , Gene Kelly , Barbara Streisand , price tag , "Hello, Dolly!"

• "The Pixar Touch" shares seldom-told tales about the early days of this animation studio

  Jim Hill talks with author David A. Price about how he went about writing this unauthorized history of Pixar Animation Studios Read More... Posted Thursday, May 15, 2008 12:00 AM | 4 Comments Filed under: book, movies, Pixar, John Lasseter, Leslie Iwerks, Pixar Animation Studios, Emeryville, "The Pixar Story", "To Infinity and Beyond: The Story of Pixar Animation Studios", Karen Paik, Steve Jobs, movie, animated feature, 1980s, Chronicle Books, coffee table book, Lucasfilm, short, "Tin Toy", shorts, David A Price, SEC, "The Pixar Touch : The Making of a Company", "Monkey", Microsoft, Hallmark, Knopf, authorized history, Alvy Ray Smith, revisionist history, 1985, 1986, Shogakukan, Pixar archives, Pixar saga, Japanese legend, Chinese legend, Hollywood gossip

• 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

• 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

• "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

• Toon Tuesday: Why "Ratatouille" 's good-but-not-great box office numbers are now causing problems for Disney's marketing department

  Jim Hill talks about all of the finger-pointing that's going on in Burbank & Emeryville, as execs try to find someone to blame for this Pixar picture's perceived under-performance Read More... Posted Tuesday, September 04, 2007 12:00 AM | 105 Comments Filed under: Disney, movies, Pixar, computer animation, Walt Disney Pictures, promotion, "Cars", "Ratatouille", "The Simpsons Movie", Brad Bird, "Enchanted", WALL E, "The Incredibles", "Finding Nemo", Pixar Animation Studios, "A Bug's Life", marketing, "Toy Story", "Toy Story 2", "The Bourne Ultimatum"

• Wanna peek behind-the-scenes at Pixar? Then check out the two events that the Cartoon Art Museum will be holding next month on the Emeryville campus

  Thanks to Roger Colton, JHM readers get a "heads up" about two fun fund-raising events that are being held in the Bay Area on September 15th. Be sure and order your tickets quickly, though. They're sure to go fast Read More... Posted Tuesday, August 28, 2007 12:00 AM | 6 Comments Filed under: animation, movies, Pixar, "Ratatouille", Cartoon Art Museum, "Finding Nemo", benefit, Dr. Michael B. Johnson, Mark Andrews, Sharon Calahan, The Blue Parrot, Roger Colton, Pixar Animation Studios, Emeryville

• Toon Tuesday : Want to help chart Pixar's future? Then be sure and take that animation studio's online survey

  Jim Hill directs your attention to several interesting new spots that have recently popped up on the Web: The Buy n Large homepage as well as an online survey that asks for your opinion on what the most important aspects of Pixar Animation Studios are Read More... Posted Tuesday, August 07, 2007 12:00 AM | 38 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, movies, Pixar, traditional animation, computer animation, CG, Walt Disney Pictures, promotion, The Lion King, Disney-MGM Studios theme park, "Beauty & the Beast", "Cars", "Ratatouille", "Aladdin", Buy n Large, WALL E

• Monday Mouse Watch : Wanna peek at Bob Iger's vision for the future of the Walt Disney Company? And is "Ratatouille" really starting to fade in the Hollywood rat race?

  Jim Hill has noticed something interesting about the title sequence for ABC's new "Wonderful World of Disney" movie anthology series. He also sees some disturbing trends in the new box office numbers for Brad Bird's latest film Read More... Posted Monday, July 16, 2007 12:00 AM | 59 Comments Filed under: Disney, movies, TV, Pixar, fireworks, Pirates of the Caribbean, ABC, CG, Bob Iger, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, NBC, Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Epcot, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Disney-MGM Studios theme park

• Toon Tuesday : Sure, "Ratatouille" rebounded over the extended Fourth of July holiday. But what happens tomorrow ... When Harry meets Remy?

  Jim Hill once again chats with Chuck Viane, head of Distribution at Walt Disney Studios. Who puts a very positive spin on the box office performance of Pixar's latest release Read More... Posted Tuesday, July 10, 2007 12:00 AM | 92 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, DVD / Video, movies, Pixar, computer animation, CG, Walt Disney Pictures, Buena Vista Home Entertainment

• Monday Mouse Watch : Disney says it's far too early to write off "Ratatouille"

  Jim Hill talks with Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Walt Disney Studios. Who says that the real test for this new Pixar production comes in the coming week. When we see how well tickets sell for Brad Bird's latest over the extended Fourth of July holiday Read More... Posted Monday, July 02, 2007 12:00 AM | 96 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, movies, Pixar, computer animation, CG, John Lasseter, Walt Disney Pictures

• "The Art of Ratatouille" gives its readers a glimpse of the picture that Pixar Animation Studios almost made

  Jim Hill reviews this handsome new hardcover from Chronicle Books. Which features a surprising amount of artwork from Jan Pinkava's version of "Ratatouille" Read More... Posted Wednesday, June 27, 2007 12:00 AM | 24 Comments Filed under: animation, book, Disney, movies, Pixar, computer animation, CG

• Monday Mouse Watch : Could underwhelming box office receipts for "Ratatouille" really spell trouble for Disney & Pixar officials?

  Here's an article that's almost sure to upset all you animation fans out there. Jim Hill shares what he's heard about the projected domestic box office for Brad Bird's newest movie. Which suggests that "Ratatouille" is going to earn significantly less than "Cars" did last year Read More... Posted Monday, June 25, 2007 12:00 AM | 100 Comments Filed under: animation, movies, Pixar, computer animation, CG, John Lasseter, Bob Iger, Walt Disney Pictures, Dick Cook

• Why For do the Imagineers keep adding new characters to Disney's classic theme park attractions?

  Jim Hill returns with even more answers to your Mouse-related questions. This time around, Jim addresses Disneyana fans' concerns with the growing number of Pixar-related rides & shows that are being added to the Disney theme parks Read More... Posted Friday, June 22, 2007 12:00 AM | 63 Comments Filed under: animation, DVD / Video, movies, theater, theme park, Why For, Pixar, attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean, Imagineering, traditional animation, computer animation, CG, "Shrek", WED, Disneyland, Walt Disney World

• Toon Tuesday : Is Disney now trying to manage box office expectations for "Ratatouille" ?

  It's being called the " ... little film with the great big heart." Which is perhaps a polite way of saying that the folks at Disney Studios don't expect this new Brad Bird film to do all that well at the box office next month. Jim Hill explains why the Mouse now appears to be working behind-the-scenes to help lower industry expectations for Pixar's next big release Read More... Posted Tuesday, May 29, 2007 12:00 AM | 62 Comments Filed under: Disney, movies, Pixar, DreamWorks, Pirates of the Caribbean, computer animation, CG, "Shrek", Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, Walt Disney Pictures