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• Disney in-jokes add to the fun of “The Princess & The Frog”

  Jim Hill reports in on how well this new hand-drawn animation feature did over its opening weekend. He also shares some of the hidden Disney references that pop up in this picture Read More... Posted Monday, December 14, 2009 12:00 AM | 10 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Walt Disney Pictures, Ron Clements, John Musker, Disney Legend, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Cinderella, WDAS, Burbank, box office, 2009, animated feature, opening weekend grosses, opening weekend, in-joke, animators , animation industry, Aladdin, The Princess and the Frog, The Little Mermaid, animated film

• Revised version of “Timing for Animation” now features the best of the past & the future

  Jim Hill reviews the how-to book that many animators consider to be their Bible. Which has recently been revised and updated by animation teacher & historian Tom Sito Read More... Posted Wednesday, December 09, 2009 12:00 AM | 1 Comments Filed under: animation, book, CG, Christmas, animated character, Tom Sito, animation student, animated feature, Shrek, Christmas present, cartoons, animated short, holiday shopping list, animators , animation community, animation industry, CG studio , student, cartoon series, how to, holiday, animation historian, holidays, Christmas gift, animated film, animated films

• “Walt Disney and the Good Neighbor Program” book is a really great read

  Jim Hill reviews J.B. Kaufman’s “South of the Border with Disney.” Which does a brilliant job of illuminating & expanding this often under-reported aspect of Disney Company history Read More... Posted Wednesday, December 02, 2009 12:00 AM | 2 Comments Filed under: animation, book, Disney, Walt Disney, Disney Editions, Mickey Mouse, Mary Blair, Burbank, Southern California, South of the Border with Walt: Walt Disney and the Good Neighbor Program 1941 - 1948, Christmas, 2009, animated feature, Christmas present, holiday shopping list, animated features, Ted Thomas , paintings, artists , animators , December , Walt & El Grupo, animation fan, J B Kaufman, South American , Saludos Amigos, Don Hahn , 1948, Donald Duck, holiday, holidays, holiday sale, Christmas gift, The Walt Disney Family Museum, 1941, Kuniko Okubo, animated film, animated films, animation fans

• “The Art of the Disney Princess” artfully re-imagines classic cartoon characters

  Jim Hill reviews this new Disney Editions book. Which features all sorts of unconventional takes on your favorite Disney Princesses Read More... Posted Wednesday, November 25, 2009 12:00 AM | 2 Comments Filed under: animation, book, Disney, Disney Consumer Products, Beauty and the Beast, Disney Editions, The Haunted Mansion, Disney Princess, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, Glen Keane, animated character, D23, 2009, animated feature, Belle, Jasmine, Aladdin, The Princess and the Frog, The Little Mermaid, D23 EXPO, Haunted Mansion, animated film

• Disney’s looking for Beatles sound-alikes to come climb aboard its “Yellow Submarine” remake

  Jim Hill shares some information about the fab four feature film open casting call that’s been held in Stamford, CT this coming Saturday & Sunday Read More... Posted Monday, November 23, 2009 12:00 AM | 2 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, A Christmas Carol, CG, Walt Disney Pictures, Robert Zemeckis, Jim Carrey, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, cast members, cast member, ImageMoversDigital, D23, Connecticut, 2009, animated feature, character , CG feature, Disney Digital 3D, characters , performers, Beatles , walkaround characters, walkaround character, audition, auditions, audition process , Walt Disney Company, D23 EXPO, performance capture, performance, animated film, ImageMovers

• Suspended Animation provides online showcase for the non-Disney art of noted Disney artists

  Jim Hill chats with Tenny Chonin, the former head of Artist Development for Walt Disney Animation Studios, about the new web-based gallery that she launched last month Read More... Posted Friday, November 13, 2009 12:00 AM | 1 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, WDAS, Burbank, animation student, 2009, animated feature, animated short, animated features, paintings, artists , animators , Disney Studios , artistic development, artwork, animated film, animated films

• Monday Mouse Watch : “Carol” makes cash registers ring, while “Frog” ‘s financial future makes Disney animators jumpy

  Jim Hill looks past what “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” earned over its opening weekend to what this new Robert Zemeckis movie will gross over the next 3 to 5 years. He also talks about what impact “The Princess & the Frog” ticket sales may have on veteran animators’ careers Read More... Posted Monday, November 09, 2009 12:00 AM | 10 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, A Christmas Carol, CG, John Lasseter, Robert Zemeckis, Walt Disney Animation Studios, WDAS, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, Tim Burton, Burbank, Ed Catmull, ImageMoversDigital, box office, 2009, animated feature, ticket sales, opening weekend grosses, opening weekend, Disney Feature Animation, animated features, soundstage , hand-drawn animation, animators , CG feature, Disney Digital 3D, 2011, Warner Bros. , The Polar Express, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3-D , seasonal run , box office projections, box office estimates, The Princess and the Frog, hand-drawn, limited release, Charles Dickens, seasonal event, animated film, animated films, ImageMovers, hand-drawn feature, Winnie the Pooh

• Toon Tuesday: Glen Keane goes back to the drawing board

  Jim Hill shares some shots from Comic-Con. Where this master animator revealed that he had just ended a six month sabbatical and was now returning to work at Walt Disney Animation Studios Read More... Posted Tuesday, August 11, 2009 12:00 AM | 2 Comments Filed under: animation, book, Disney, convention, CG, Drawn to Life: 20 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes , Beauty and the Beast, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Tarzan, drawing class, WDAS, Burbank, Glen Keane, Rapunzel, Eric Goldberg, Tom Sito, panel discussion, 2009, animated feature, character animation, Disney Feature Animation, panel, animated features, drawings , animation fan, character , CG feature, train, 2010, Don Hahn , Walt Stanchfield, drawing classes, San Diego Convention Center , San Diego, convention center , Comic-Con , Comic-Con International, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Walt Stanchfield lectures, stylization, Ruben Procopio

• Say "Yup" to "Up" : Pixar's latest is a charming mix of heartbreak, hope and hilarity

  Jim Hill reviews this new Pete Docter film. Which uses colorful characters, faraway places & over-the-top action sequences as a way to illustrate what’s really important in life. WARNING ! This review contains SPOILERS. So read at your own peril ! Read More... Posted Wednesday, May 13, 2009 12:00 AM | 4 Comments Filed under: animation, Pixar, Pixar Animation Studios, film, movie, 2009, animated feature, Pete Docter, Up

• "The Art of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" details how DreamWorks Animation's latest came together

  Jim Hill reviews Jerry Beck's new book, which takes a look at the artistic development at both "Madagascar" movies Read More... Posted Wednesday, November 05, 2008 12:00 AM | 2 Comments Filed under: animation, book, DreamWorks, DreamWorks Animation, Glendale, Jerry Beck, 2008, October, behind-the-scenes stories , animated feature, feature film , coffee table book, 2005, animated features, Insight Editions, lion, African savanna, design team, director , Development , Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, behind-the-scenes , hippo, art of books, DW, art of book, feature-length cartoon, animation historian, artistic development, technological development, DWA, Little Golden Books, Henri Rousseau, stylization, Melman, Gloria, Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, Disney Photo Library, directors, Ben Stiller, Africa, artistic choices, storytelling, giraffe, zebra, Marty

• "Disney Dogs" showcases canine cartoon stars

  Jim Hill reviews this new hardcover from Disney Editions, which takes a detailed look at all of the dogs who have appeared in Disney animated shorts & features over the years Read More... Posted Wednesday, October 29, 2008 12:00 AM | 2 Comments Filed under: animation, book, Disney, Walt Disney Pictures, Beauty and the Beast, Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, Hidden Mickey, Peter Pan, Walt Disney Productions, The Aristocats, Lady, concept art, Animation Research Library, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, Bolt, 2008, Mouse House, animated feature, 2007, The Fox and the Hound, animated short, animated features, Goofy , visual development, model sheets, model sheet, butler, conceptual paintings, conceptual painting, Pocahontas, The Little Mermaid, The Art of Bolt, Disney Dogs, Disney Book Group, The Disney Book Group, Pluto, Perdita, Freckles, Lucky, Penny, Patch, Pepper, The Great Mouse Detective, thumbnails, rough animation, Nana, canine, canine cartoons, canine cartoon, canine cartoon star, canine cartoon stars, Hollywood Hound, Hollywood Hounds, Mouse House Hound, Mouse House Hounds, Rolly, Edgar, Ratigan, Basil, Dodger, The Dodger, Melissa Mathison, Tod, Max Azria, Basil of Baker Street, Percy, Ratcliffe, Governor Ratcliffe, Little Brother, Baker Street, Zero, footstool, dog

• A special "May the (Stephen) Schwartz Be With You" edition of Why For

  Jim Hill's back with even more answers to your Disney-related questions. This time around, he talks about "Enchanted" 's score evolves over the course of that motion picture, where Stephen drew his inspiration for "Out There" as well as talking up an event that's being held at Woodbury University this coming Monday night Read More... Posted Friday, October 17, 2008 12:00 AM | 2 Comments Filed under: animation, book, Disney, music, Broadway, musical, Disney Theatrical, Beauty and the Beast, Alan Menken, Kevin Lima, Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty, James Baxter, James Baxter Animation, Stephen Schwartz, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Paris, Kiss the Girl, ASIFA-Hollywood, panel discussion, stage version, ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive, 2008, October, animated feature, 2007, Happy Working Song, So Close, That's How You Know , animators , Mulan, Belle, Warner Bros. , 2010, Don Hahn , stage, Woodbury University, Pocahontas, Broadway-bound, The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Disney Music , Carol de Giere, Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz from Godspell to Wicked, Enchanted, The Alchemy of Animation: Making an Animated Film in the Modern Age, Craig Lucas, James Lapine, Cathedral of Notre Dame, Out There, Quasimodo, Hunchback, Mike Belzer, Nik Ranieri, Fletcher Jones Foundation Library, Fletcher Jones, Ever After, Ever

• 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 | 31 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, animated feature, Cars Land, 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

• Toon Thursday: "Kung Fu Panda" is one fun summer flick

  Jim Hill reviews this new DreamWorks Animation release, which opens in theaters nationwide tomorrow Read More... Posted Thursday, June 05, 2008 12:00 AM | 22 Comments Filed under: animation, DreamWorks, CG, DreamWorks Animation, Brad Bird, James Baxter, James Baxter Animation, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, animated feature, screenplay, lush visuals, fight scenes, Kung Fu Panda, action film , genre, PDI, Pacific Data Image, visually stunning , chopsocky , John Stevenson , Mark Osborne , traditionally animated , stylized opening , Po , panda, Kung Fu, Kung Fu master, martial arts, warrior , Furious Five, Valley of Peace, noodle shop, throwing stars , breakfast soup, Jade Palace , Oogway, turtle, Tai Lung, student, lust for power, Anhora, Dragon Warrior, Shifu, master , Kung Fu students, Kung Fu student, townspeople, Viper, Mantis, Tigress, Monkey, Crane, There are no accidents, plot description , serious, mystical, Jonathan Aibel , Glenn Berger, balance , character-driven , rope bridge, Pool of Sacred Tears, snow leopard , drawing classes, action sequence, Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom , transcends, plane of existence , flurry , cherry blossoms, fortune cookie , message, secret ingredient, third act , run-for-the-curtain, mis-step , Jack Black , Dustin Hoffman , Ian McShane , Speed Racer , WALL-E, Curly Sue, summer flick