Jim Hill

In just one week, the Con is on !

Jim Hill reviews the programming for Comic-Con 2008 and then points out some panels & signings that Disneyana fans should probably seek out while they're down in San Diego Read More...

Posted Thursday, July 17, 2008 12:00 AM | 2 Comments

Filed under: Disney, TV, Pixar, ABC, Disney Channel, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, television, Walt Disney Home Entertainment, "Bolt", film, movie, Eric Goldberg, 2008, 2009, Disney / Pixar, TV show, feature film , Chris Sanders, "The Little Mermaid -- Ariel's Beginning", comic book, comic books , ABC reality series, "Up", "Prince of Persia"

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!"

Jerry Beck to be honored at this year's Annie Awards

Jim Hill pays tribute to this noted author & historian, who will receive the June Foray Award next week for the positive impact that he's had on the animation industry Read More...

Posted Wednesday, January 30, 2008 12:00 AM | 5 Comments

Filed under: animation, book, DreamWorks, CG, DreamWorks Animation, Nickelodeon, television, Jerry Seinfeld, ASIFA-Hollywood, animated character, Jerry Beck, "The Hanna-Barbera Treasury", October, comedian , animated feature, 2007, feature film , Chronicle Books, cartoons, coffee table book, hardcover, animated short, short, animated features, animators , books, article, articles, magazine article, magazine articles , Cartoon Brew , Amid Amidi , writer , historian , animation community, animation industry, June Foray award, June Foray, spotlight , November, Insight Editions, Saturday morning cartoons , Saturday morning cartoon, HB, Hanna-Barbera, William Hanna, Joseph Barbera, model sheets, model sheet, comic book, comic books , tchotchke , high profile project, movers , shakers , jaded, animation fan, Viacom International, Viacom, DK Adult, DK, Nickelodeon Studios, animated series , "SpongeBob SquarePants" , "Rugrats", "Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoons!", process , production phases, ironic , detail , character , show business , household name, Hollywood history, library, 12, James Brown, the hardest working man in show business, hardest working man in show business , store shelves, 20th, 25th , "The Art of Bee Movie" , production history , CG feature, feature films, shorts, gaming, UCLA, Royce Hall , 35th , Annie Awards

Remembering Suzanne Pleshette (1937 - 2008)

Jim Hill looks back on the Disney-related portion of this Emmy nominated actress's career as well as commenting on the role that smoking may have played in her untimely demise Read More...

Posted Monday, January 21, 2008 12:00 AM | 4 Comments

Filed under: Disney, TV, Universal Studios, Walt Disney, ABC, Disneyland, Walt Disney Productions, television, Burbank, film, movie, TV show, Disneyana fans, condolences, Bob Newhart, Suzanne Pleshette , Emily Hartley, Bob Hartley , "The Bob Newhart Show" , Dean Jones, 1966 , "The Ugly Dachshund" , 1968, "Blackbeard's Ghost" , 1975, "The Shaggy DA" , Roddy McDowell , 1967, "The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin" , "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride" , English language version, Hayao Miyazaki, "Spirited Away" , Tony Curtis , "40 Pounds of Trouble" , 1962 , Norman Jewison , Damon Runyon, "Little Miss Marker" , St. Joseph's Hospital , studio , Roy O Disney , Peter Ustinov , Disney lot, James Garner, Laura Hennessy , 2002 - 2005 , ABC sitcom, sitcom , "8 Simple Rules'', smoker, lung cancer, smoking-related illnesses , Emmy-nominated

Tune Thursday: Big Green Ogre heads for Great White Way

Jim Hill shares the latest news about "Shrek the Musical," which should open on Broadway just in time for the holidays. He also talks up a special promotional appearance that John Tartaglia will be making at NYC's World of Disney this Saturday & Sunday Read More...

Posted Thursday, January 17, 2008 12:00 AM | 10 Comments

Filed under: theater, DreamWorks, Broadway, musical, "Shrek", promotion, "Beauty & the Beast", "Shrek the Third", DreamWorks Animation, Playhouse Disney, Jeffrey Katzenberg, "Shrek 2", television, Tony Award winner, NYC, 5th Avenue, World of Disney, Broadway musical, 2008, television program, Disneyana fans, "Shrek Goes Fourth", holiday special, ogre, Shrek, "Shrek the Halls", Pinocchio, Tony Award, Broadway production, theme park attraction, animated features, Big Green Ogre , Great White Way, "Shrek the Musical" , Jeanine Tesori , Tony-nominated , "Thoroughly Modern Millie" , "Caroline or Change" , "Mulan II" , "Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch has a Glitch" , "The Little Mermaid -- Ariel's Beginning", William Steig , Oscar-winning , playwright , David-Lindsay-Abaire , Jason Moore , "Avenue Q" , Seattle, 5th Avenue Theater , Palace Theater, Tony Award-winner , Tony nominee, Christopher Sieber , Lord Farquaad , "Johnny and the Sprites" , John Tartaglia , puppet pal, Root, Saturday , Sunday, "Johnny and The Sprites Live – A Spofulous Broadway Concert" , Broadway Cares / Equity Fights Aids , fundraiser, Town Hall , family-friendly event , meet-n-greet , concert , autographs, pictures, www.broadwaycares.org

The Russians are coming !! The Russians are coming !! ... to Epcot ?!

Jim Hill shares the news that's been leaking out of Glendale since just before Christmas. Which is that the Mouse has recently revived its plans to add a Russia pavilion to Epcot's World Showcase Read More...

Posted Tuesday, January 08, 2008 12:00 AM | 37 Comments

Filed under: Disney, attraction, Imagineering, Michael Eisner, Walt Disney World, Epcot, Epcot Center, World Showcase, World Showcase Lagoon, television, Soviet Union, Russia, Imagineer, Disneyland Hotel, The Walt Disney World Resort, ride, show

Will the writer's strike force production of "High School Musical 3" & "The Hannah Montana Movie" to be postponed ?

Jim Hill shares the grim news coming out of Burbank. Which suggests that -- unless the WGA returns to work early in 2008 -- Walt Disney Pictures may have no choice but to push back production of the big screen versions of these two Disney Channel favorites Read More...

Posted Thursday, December 20, 2007 12:00 AM | 17 Comments

Filed under: Disney, Disney Channel, Walt Disney Pictures, "High School Musical 3", "High School Musical" franchise, television, "Hannah Montana", Miley Cyrus, "The Hannah Montana Movie", Burbank, Walt Disney Studios, writers' strike, film, movie, 2008, television program, tween, WGA

"Shrek the Halls" puts the fun back into dysfunctional family gatherings

Jim Hill reviews this new holiday special from DreamWorks Animation, which debuts tonight on ABC at 8:00 p.m. EST Read More...

Posted Wednesday, November 28, 2007 12:00 AM | 14 Comments

Filed under: animation, TV, DreamWorks, ABC, "Shrek the Third", DreamWorks Animation, television, Christmas, television program, TV show, "Tis the season" , holiday season , gingerbread man, "Twas The Night Before Christmas" , Gingy, holiday perennial, TV special, holiday special, Christmas special, Puss in Boots, Donkey, ogre, Shrek, "Shrek the Halls", Fiona, George Bailey, Zuzu's petals, Kleenex, The Island of Misfit Toys, Christmas present, Grinch, subversive, marshmallows, sweet potatoes, White Christmas, holiday guide, "Christmas for Village Idiots", family Christmas, Pinocchio, The Three Little Pigs, The Three Blind Mice, The Big Bad Wolf, dragon, decorations, triplets, holiday classic, waffle, Waffle Santa, jolly old elf, butter, syrup, Santa Claws, "Christmas ain't Christmas 'til someone cries", fart, fart joke, kazoo, Ogre Claus, Clement C Moore, Christmas goose, black lace, sheer black lace, chocolate kiss, harried holiday season, harried holiday, palate cleansed, dysfunctional family gathering, dysfunctional family, family gathering, The Gingerbread Man

Tube Tuesday: Gary Trousdale tries to "Shrek the Halls" without first wrecking DreamWorks Animation's most important franchise

Jim Hill chats with this WDAS vet about many of the ogre-sized challenges he faced while directing this new holiday special. Which airs tomorrow night on ABC Read More...

Posted Tuesday, November 27, 2007 12:00 AM | 6 Comments

Filed under: animation, Disney, DreamWorks, ABC, CG, Epcot, "Beauty & the Beast", "Shrek the Third", DreamWorks Animation, Walt Disney Animation Studios, television, WDAS, Future World , Christmas, film, gags , film franchise, Happy Holidays, "Tis the season" , feature film , "Shrek Goes Fourth", ratings, color coordinated , Godzilla, midnight snack, chimney, cookie plate, cookie, "It's the most wonderful time of the year" , holiday season , gingerbread man, "Twas The Night Before Christmas" , Gingy, holiday perennial, dated , timeless , film parody, in-joke, Disney in-joke, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers , recording session, DreamWorks campus, character bits , TV special, holiday story , "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" , "A Charlie Brown Christmas", Best Picture nominee, Richard Purdum , 1980s, "Cranium Command", Kirk Wise, holiday special, Christmas special, Gary Trousdale, fairytale, Santa's workshop, The North Pole, Puss in Boots, Donkey, Saint Nick, Saint Nicholas, naughty list, Santa Claus, ogre, Shrek, "Shrek's First Christmas", "Shrek the Halls"

Monday Mouse Watch: Is there really such a thing as putting too much Walt into a Disney theme park?

Jim Hill offers a different take on the upcoming DCA redo. Where the proposed revamp of this theme park has more to do with appeasing specific market segments than it has to do with making California Adventure better Read More...

Posted Monday, November 26, 2007 12:00 AM | 37 Comments

Filed under: Disney, theme park, Pixar, Walt Disney, attraction, Imagineering, Disneyland, "The Little Mermaid", Disney's California Adventure, Pixar Animation Studios, The Walt Disney Company, Disneyland Resort, Main Street U.S.A., television, Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyana, Hollywood, WDI, Southern California, Imagineer, DCA, dark ride, tourists, theme park fans, nostalgia, 1923, Disneyana fans, tribute, tributes, critic, critics, vocal critics, too much Walt, window dressing, Walt-centric, per-square-foot sales ratio, retail corridor, annual passholders, Main Street USA, 2001, entrance area, girl-friendly, 5-to-8-year-old girls, "Golden Dreams", "The Indiana Jones Adventure", "GM Test Track", "Radiator Springs Racers", Carsland, 18-to-25-year-old males, E-Ticket, corporate symbol, Colonel Sanders, Betty Crocker, The Disneyland Resort, Generation X, Generation Y, Disneyphiles, Disneyphile, guest, guests, pie-eyed Mickey, "Partners" statue, The "Partners" statue, Partners statue, attractions, shows, rides, Ol' Mousetro, ride, show

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, crow, 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

Monday Mouse Watch: Will MGM's upcoming name change really allow the Universal Orlando Resort to nudge Disney out of the spotlight?

Jim Hill shares what he's heard about Universal's bold new plan to reposition that Central Florida Resort. He also offers up additional information about that after-hours Halloween party that's now in the works for Disney's Hollywood Studios. And would you believe "Holidays at Hogwarts" ? Read More...

Posted Monday, November 19, 2007 12:00 AM | 36 Comments

Filed under: theme park, Universal Studios, Walt Disney, Walt Disney World, Disney-MGM Studios theme park, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Disney's Hollywood Studios, The Magic Kingdom, television, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Halloween Horror Nights, Universal Orlando, Central Florida, Florida, WDW, Walt Disney Studios, Steven Spielberg, California, Christmas, Universal, 1998, Universal Studios Escape, Disney-MGM Studios, studio theme park, Disney's Orlando Studios, Disney-Pixar Studios, 1976, "Jaws", Universal Studios Orlando, 2008, The Blockbuster Capital of the World, The Feature Attraction, theme park visitor, theme park guest, "The Hulk", "Jurassic Park", "Harry Potter" films, "Harry Potter" books, "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter", Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, 2009, TV commercials, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", "Holidays at Hogwarts", The Great Hall, Universal Orlando Resort, Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas", "The Nightmare Before Christmas", The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Walt Disney World Resort, Halloween, "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party", "Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party", "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror", 5th Dimension, The 5th Dimension, The Weasley family, Weasley family, "Halloween at Hogwarts", Halloween at Hogwarts, Alfred E Newman, what me worry, Toy Story Mania, "Toy Story Mania", Toy Story Midway Mania, "Toy Story Midway Mania", me worry?, What, me worry?", "What

"Raggedy Ann" reunion features look at rarely seen Richard Williams film

Jim Hill talks up this Saturday's benefit for the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive. Which will feature a screening of this 1977 release, followed by a panel discussion with various members of the "Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure" production team Read More...

Posted Thursday, November 15, 2007 12:00 AM | 6 Comments

Filed under: animation, Disney, theme park, Broadway, traditional animation, podcast, Ward Kimball, Art Babbitt, Disney Legend, benefit, television, YouTube, Disneyana, Hollywood, DVD, California, 30th anniversary, ASIFA-Hollywood, CinemaScope, 35MM, A

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