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• Universal Studios Hollywood freshens up for the Fall

  During a recent trip to Southern California, Jim dropped by USH and discovered that lots of changes have been made to both the Upper & Lower Lot Read More... Posted Friday, September 12, 2008 12:00 AM | 6 Comments Filed under: movies, musical, Universal Studios, Visual Effects, attraction, Brad Bird, Labor Day, Lucille Ball, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Halloween Horror Nights, Southern California, Audio Animatronics, Steven Spielberg, movie, 1974, Universal, tourists, studio theme park, 1976, 2008, 2009, Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, October, animated feature, attractions, shows, rides, ride, show, 2005, 1975, soundstage , November, 1955, blueprints , 2006, March, June , interactive, 1986, screenplay, Summer, attendance levels, Universal Studios Hollywood , USH, Upper Lot , Lower Lot , The Simpsons Ride, slow season, theme parks, special event, special events, park, newish, guest experience, fire, New York Street, King Kong , tram , ride-thru attraction , Bob Gurr , Tram Tour, remake, original, 1933, Peter Jackson, V-Rex, ride designer, ride designers , battle sequence , Naomi Watts , animatronic , replacement, Collapsing Bridge, studio insiders , Lucy: A Tribute, exhibit, Lucy, walk-through attraction , The Universal Experience, archives , poster , Carl Laemmle, Universal City, 1915 , Robert A Mattey , blockbuster, Jaws, Curious George, 1999, maquette , Imagine Entertainment , Nickelodeon Blast Zone, The Adventures of Curious George, kiddie play area, cartoon series, PBS Kids, full-length animated feature, Creature from the Black Lagoon -- The Musical, press release , storyline , horror film , stagecraft, choreography, source material , Little Shop of Horrors, Spring , Autumn , Fall, Castle Theatre, Fear Factor Live, audience participation, Universal City Plaza, The Simpsons, Simpsons

• Monday Mouse Watch : Will a new name really be enough to boost ticket sales for WDW's "Pirate & Princess Party" ?

  Jim Hill brings you a pile of "Pirates of the Caribbean" -related news. Including the tabling of the "Tortuga" restaurant project Read More... Posted Monday, March 03, 2008 12:00 AM | 39 Comments Filed under: Disney, theme park, Visual Effects, fireworks, Pirates of the Caribbean, Walt Disney World, Magic Kingdom, Best Buy, The Magic Kingdom, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Jack Sparrow, Disney Princess, restaurant, WDW, Disney Blu-Ray, Blu-ray, The Crystal Palace, movie, The Walt Disney World Resort, ticket sales, 2007, merch, full service, Saturday , Tuesday , merchandise , WDW management , Captain Jack Sparrow, The Black Pearl, Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, Pirates 4, 2006, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirate & Princess Party, Disney's Pirate & Princess Party , Disney franchise, Disney's Enchanted Adventures Parade , fireworks extravaganza , Music Magic and Mayhem, Walt Disney Creative Entertainment , hard ticket , after-hours event, break even , Rivers of America, Hershey's Treasures , WDW officials , financial success , Monday, Friday, April , Mickey's Pirate & Princess Party, POTC, Tortuga project, Adventureland Veranda, Adventureland , Cinderella's Royal Table, dining experience, Caribbean cuisine , rum , development pipeline, mock-up , test kitchen, Bonfamille's , French Quarter , Disney's Port Orleans Resort, Disney's Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter, test meal , face character , quick service restaurant , full service restaurant, Liberty Tree Tavern , lunch , dinner , dining facility , occupancy rate , 2012, Pirates of the Caribbean films, retail chain , Hi-Def , disc player, flat screen , HDTV , retail world, equation

• Could you please have the Rat whip me up some crow?

  Here (finally) is the JHM column that Pixar fans have been waiting for. Where Jim Hill talks about how well "Ratatouille" has been doing overseas ... as well as other Disney-related matters Read More... Posted Friday, November 23, 2007 12:00 AM | 31 Comments Filed under: Disney, movies, TV, Visual Effects, Gore Verbinski, Walt Disney Pictures, Ratatouille, Brad Bird, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, Pixar Animation Studios, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, television, The Game Plan, Hollywood, WDSHE, DVD, box office, film, movie, Thanksgiving, leftovers, seas, international, worldwide box office, Disney / Pixar, animated feature, production costs, release date, stateside, exhibitors, ticket sales, top selling, FX, effects, The Michael Eisner building, Michael Eisner building, character-based merchandise, 2007, Wild Hogs, Wild Hogs 2, titles, floss, promotional costs, The Best Reviewed Film of the Year, domestic performance, The Ivy, opening weekend grosses, opening weekend, Hollywood Reporter, Variety, strip-mining, wild-assed guess, Magic 8 Ball, television program, TV show, television programs, TV shows, The Hollywood Reporter, The Nielsen ratings, Nielsen ratings, domestic box office numbers, entertainment industry, initial domestic run, evergreen title, franchise, film franchise, film franchises, merch, nuturing, long term profit potential, long term profitability

• "Walt's People -- Volume 5" is an entertaining addition to this ongoing Disney history series

  Jim Hill reviews Didier Ghez's latest book, which features a fascinating collection of interviews with various Disney Legends Read More... Posted Wednesday, July 25, 2007 12:00 AM | 1 Comments Filed under: animation, book, Disney, movies, other, theme park, Walt Disney, Visual Effects, Imagineering, traditional animation, Walt Disney Pictures, WED, Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Ron Clements, John Musker, Ward Kimball, Marc Davis

• Tube Thursday : Are the gruesome extra features found on "Primeval" ' s promotional website eventually going to bite Disney in the butt ?

  Jim Hill talks about the site that Buena Vista Home Entertainment set up to help promote this Mouse-produced horror movie. Which features an interactive guide to serial killers as well as an online game where you can then pretend to be a vicious crocodile that eats machine-gun-toting mercenaries Read More... Posted Thursday, June 07, 2007 12:00 AM | 25 Comments Filed under: Disney, DVD / Video, movies, other, Visual Effects, CG, Hollywood Pictures, Buena Vista Home Entertainment

• "The Art of the Pirates of the Caribbean" pays tribute to this film trilogy's talented production design team

  Jim Hill checks out Disney Edition's beautiful new coffee table book, which features an amazing selection of pre-production artwork from "The Curse of the Black Pearl," "Dead Man's Chest" and "At World's End." (WARNING : This article does contains some mild spoilers for the "Pirates of the Caribbean" film trilogy as well as some preliminary info on the proposed storyline for "Pirates 4") Read More... Posted Wednesday, May 30, 2007 12:00 AM | 27 Comments Filed under: book, Disney, movies, theme park, Visual Effects, attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jerry Bruckheimer, Johnny Depp, Gore Verbinski, Walt Disney Pictures

• "Bring Me That Horizon" features a treasure trove of tales about Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy

  Jim Hill checks out Michael Singer's new behind-the-scenes book, which features lots of great stories about how "The Curse of the Black Pearl," "Dead Man's Chest" and "At World's End" were actually created Read More... Posted Wednesday, May 23, 2007 12:00 AM | 7 Comments Filed under: Disney, DVD / Video, movies, theme park, Visual Effects, attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jerry Bruckheimer, Johnny Depp, Gore Verbinski, Walt Disney Pictures

• Why For did Michael Eisner try and shut down production of "The Curse of the Black Pearl" back in 2002 ?

  Jim Hill shares some stories about the first film in the "Pirates" trilogy. In particular how Disney's former CEO -- because he genuinely believed that teenagers would think that a movie that was based on a theme park attraction was totally lame -- repeatedly tried to pull the plug on this project (WARNING : This article does contain some mild "At World's End" spoilers) Read More... Posted Friday, May 18, 2007 12:00 AM | 26 Comments Filed under: Disney, DVD / Video, movies, theme park, Why For, Visual Effects, attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, Walt Disney Pictures, Michael Eisner, Dick Cook

• "Droidmaker" takes an entertaining & informative look back at the development of computer animation

  Jim Hill reviews Michael Rubin's delightful history of the digital revolution, which includes many entertaining tales about John Lasseter's initial efforts to get WDFA to embrace CG Read More... Posted Wednesday, May 16, 2007 12:00 AM | 9 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, DVD / Video, Pixar, Visual Effects, traditional animation, computer animation, CG, John Lasseter

• Toon Tuesday : Why Cundo Rabaudi is the model DreamWorks Animation employee

  JHM profiles a PDI / DreamWorks Animation visual development artist who creates these incredibly elaborate models which are then used for reference on that animation studio's features. WARNING ! This story contains some mild spoilers for "Shrek the Third" Read More... Posted Tuesday, May 15, 2007 12:00 AM | 14 Comments Filed under: animation, DVD / Video, TV, DreamWorks, Visual Effects, ABC, CG, Walt Disney Pictures

• Tune Tuesday : Meet the (Julie) Andrews Sisters

  Jim Hill points you toward a fun YouTube clip from 1972. Where -- for the first & only time -- Julie Andrews shares the stage with her two most famous characters, Eliza Doolittle and Mary Poppins Read More... Posted Tuesday, April 17, 2007 12:00 AM | 14 Comments Filed under: Disney, DVD / Video, movies, music, theater, TV, Broadway, musical, Visual Effects, computer animation

• Walt Disney Pictures plans cheesy promotional stunt for "Ratatouille"

  Jim Hill shares the Gouda news about how the Mouse is going to get the word out about Pixar's next release. Would you believe a 25-foot-tall wedge of cheese that you can actually walk through? Read More... Posted Tuesday, March 27, 2007 12:00 AM | 6 Comments Filed under: animation, book, Disney, DVD / Video, TV, Pixar, Visual Effects, Pirates of the Caribbean