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• “Ponyo” celebrates childhood, magic, the beauty of nature and … oh, yeah … ham

  Jim Hill reviews Hayao Miyazaki’s latest. Which Walt Disney Pictures has done a superb job of readying for its North American theatrical release Read More... Posted Friday, August 14, 2009 12:00 AM | 1 Comments Filed under: Walt Disney Pictures, E.T., Fujimoto, film, movie, 2008, 2009, seas, animated feature, Hans Christian Andersen, Lily Tomlin, Betty White, Noah Cyrus, Hayao Miyazaki, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, goldfish, motion picture, North America , 1988, Sosuke, Ponyo, The Little Mermaid, Cloris Leachman, ocean, sea, Frankie Jonas, Melissa Mathison, ham, My Neighbor Totoro, Liam Neeson

• 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

• Will showing selected scenes from “The Princess and the Frog” finally silence this film’s critics?

  Jim Hill writes about the new tack that Walt Disney Animation Studios is taking with the promotion of its new hand-drawn animated feature. Which involves screening footage from “The Princess and the Frog” at events that will be attended by African-American opinion makers Read More... Posted Monday, August 03, 2009 12:00 AM | 10 Comments Filed under: Disney, Walt Disney Pictures, Ron Clements, John Musker, Walt Disney Animation Studios, The Walt Disney Company, New York City, Los Angeles, NYC, LA, film, movie, 2009, animated feature, November, Tampa, film festival, New York, Aladdin, The Princess and the Frog, The Little Mermaid, The Great Mouse Detective

• 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

• Monday Mouse Watch: Will "Bolt" 's box office rebound over the long Thanksgiving weekend?

  Jim Hill shares what he's heard about the somewhat underwhelming debut of this new Disney animated film. Which seems to have been overshadowed by the big screen version of Stephenie Meyer's best selling novel Read More... Posted Monday, November 24, 2008 12:00 AM | 20 Comments Filed under: Disney, John Lasseter, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney Store, Miley Cyrus, Ed Catmull, Bolt, box office, film, movie, 2008, animated feature, tween, New York Times, tweens, tween demographic , plush, box office projections, box office estimates, Disney Stores, demographics

• Toon Tuesday : Will Disney Animation's latest "Rapunzel" rescue attempt have a negative impact on "Bolt" 's debut ?

  Jim Hill wonders if Glen Keane's exit will result in more reporters asking about why Chris Sanders was taken off of "American Dog" Read More... Posted Tuesday, October 14, 2008 12:00 AM | 10 Comments Filed under: Disney, movies, DreamWorks, John Lasseter, Ratatouille, DreamWorks Animation, Walt Disney Animation Studios, marketing, WDAS, Ed Catmull, Bolt, Glen Keane, Rapunzel, Dean Wellins, film, movie, 2008, animated feature, Disney Feature Animation, The Fox and the Hound, The Emperor's New Groove, Kingdom of the Sun, American Dog, Chris Sanders, Jan Pinkava, Roger Allers, animated features, Disney Publicity , webmasters, webmaster, 2010, PR team , storyline , co-director, films, Byron Howard, Nathan Greno, Dean DeBlois, Crood Awakening, 2002, Woolie Reitherman, Wolfgang Reitherman, How to Train Your Dragon, Lilo & Stitch, story, head of story, story problems, plot, plotline, reporter, reporters, entertainment writer, entertainment writers, marketing staff, PR Department, Lilo and Stitch, jewelry, Lilo, Stitch

• "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

• 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, 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 , Wicked Queen, 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, Captain Nemo: 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, Achievement in Sound Editing, Laurence Juber, Randall Wallace, Oscar, Oscars, Best Animated Short Film, Academy Award winner, Academy voters , school year, Virginia Davis McGhee, 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 , Theodore Thomas, Poppin' Guitars: A Tuneful of Sherman, The Black Cauldron , Adapted Screenplay, There Will Be Blood, Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role , Ted Thomas , 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, Walt Disney Pictures, Beauty and the Beast, John Musker, Ratatouille, Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, DreamWorks Animation, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Toy Story, WDAS, 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, The Emperor's New Groove, Kingdom of the Sun, Kiskaloo, blind men and the elephant, Indian fable, pre-release image, teaser poster, November 2008, gadget tray, 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

• 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., 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

• 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