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• 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

• "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, Cars, Ratatouille, Leslie Iwerks, Brad Bird, 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, banners, 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

• Tune Thursday: Timon tells tails ... er ... tales about his time on Broadway

  In honor of the 10th anniversary of the stage version of "The Lion King," Jim Hill chats with Danny Rutigliano. The veteran stage performer who -- for nearly a decade now -- has been playing the world's most famous meerkat (Outside of Flower, of course) Read More... Posted Thursday, October 11, 2007 12:00 AM | 6 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, movies, music, theater, Broadway, musical, Disney Theatrical, The Walt Disney Company, New York City, Max Casella, Julie Taymor, Danny Rutigliano, Bill Clinton, Minneapolis, The Sopranos, New Amsterdam Theatre, Minskoff Theatre, The President of the United States, Tony Award winner, meerkat

• "Walt Disney's Cinderella" is a picture-perfect picture book

  Jim Hill reviews this new hardcover from Disney Press. Which features a spectacular selection of Mary Blair's concept art for Walt Disney Productions' 1950 release Read More... Posted Thursday, October 04, 2007 12:00 AM | 4 Comments Filed under: animation, book, Disney, DVD / Video, movies, Walt Disney, traditional animation, Disney Press, Peter Pan, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions, Walt Disney's Cinderella, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Mary Blair, concept art, Newbury Medal, Cynthia Rylant, Animation Research Library, ARL, Jon Scieszka, WDAS

• Jerry Seinfeld and the Boston "Bee" Party

  As part of the publicity tour for this upcoming DreamWorks Animation release, this sitcom star and the two directors of "Bee Movie" buzzed into Beantown yesterday. Jim Hill brings you the details Read More... Posted Thursday, September 27, 2007 12:00 AM | 21 Comments Filed under: animation, movies, DreamWorks, CG, NBC, promotion, DreamWorks Animation, marketing, Bee Movie, Jerry Seinfeld, Matthew Broderick, Simon J. Smith, Steve Hickner, Renee Zellweger, Loews Boston Common, AMC Theatres, Boston Celtics, U.S. Customs, Logan International Airport, YouTube, AintItCool, Doc Rivers, Boston, Toronto

• 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 and the Beast, Cars, Ratatouille, Buy n Large, WALL E

• "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

• Are you wondering what Disney's new version of "A Christmas Carol" will look like? Well, wonder no longer ...

  It's Christmas in July, as Jim Hill posts a pre-production image for this new Robert Zemeckis film. He also shares some news about additional possible "Christmas Carol" cast members as well as discussing the impact this CG project may have on "The Princess and the Frog" Read More... Posted Friday, July 20, 2007 12:00 AM | 36 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, DVD / Video, movies, A Christmas Carol, DreamWorks, computer animation, CG, Walt Disney Pictures, Robert Zemeckis, Jim Carrey, Christopher Lloyd, Tom Hanks, Ron Clements, John Musker, Horton Hears a Who

• 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

• Toon Tuesday : 7-11's Kwik-E-Mart conversions allow you to shop just like "The Simpsons"

  Looking for something fun to do this Fourth of July? Jim Hill suggests that you check out one of these rethemed convenience stores around the country, which are helping to promote the upcoming release of "The Simpsons Movie" Read More... Posted Tuesday, July 03, 2007 12:00 AM | 17 Comments Filed under: animation, movies, TV, traditional animation, 20th Century Fox, Fox, promotion, 7-11

• 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