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"We currently have no traditional hand-drawn animated motion pictures in production or development." Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved I'm paraphrasing what Disney CEO Robert Iger said at the recent shareholders meeting in Phoenix, AZ . But whether he knew it or not...

My daughter and I attended the launch of Disney Infinity , Disney Interactive 's new platform at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood Tuesday. In a kind gesture to the Disney fan community, members of D23 , the official Disney fan club, were invited to attend and watch the proceedings from the balcony...

My animation friends & colleagues can pretty much tell the same story. All of us benefited greatly by having the opportunity to work side-by-side with seasoned veterans.Our careers were enriched by the tips and techniques they generously shared with us over the years. However, there was one other...

It's become a constant theme in my writing this past year. I've been comparing today's animation studios to the cartoon factories of years past and the changes I've observed. Most noticeable are the amazing technological advances as cartoon making has moved from traditional hand drawn...

I recently learned of the passing of my friend and colleague, Ginny Tyler . Ginny and I shared our love for Disney. And I always regarded her as a true talent as well as one of the chief Mouseketeers much like the original head mouse, Jimmie Dodd . Back in the 1960s, Ginny performed live segments from...

Being green typically isn't all that fun. It usually means going without (i.e. reusing your bath towels during a hotel stay) or having to do something that can sometimes be kind of gross (EX: washing out pet food cans so that they can be placed in the recycle bin). But what if I were to tell you...

Disney Interactive has embraced the social gaming concept in a big way, and they were eager to show off their newest games at E3 this week. Following the success of Gardens of Time , a Facebook game from their Playdom studio that beat out Cityville last year as Facebook 's Most Popular Game of 2011...

As I sat at my drawing board wildly sketching away on a new feature film idea, I suddenly glanced up to see two visitors in the room. It seems they were scrutinizing the sketches, models and story boards in my cluttered office. The two older gentleman were wearing the pastel colored garb usually sported...

Universal Studios Hollywood transformed its Lower Lot yesterday, rolling out yards & yards of red carpet right next to the Starway escalator, so that celebrities like Holly Robinson Peete ... Holly Robinson Peete and her son Roman & Robinson. Photo by Shelly Valladolid ... as industry legend...

Did you love Epic Mickey , Guilty Party or Disney Sing It ? Would you like a chance to play some of Disney Interactive 's games early, before they're released to the general public? Would you like to help keep Disney Interactive's games bug-free and fun to play? There's a little-known...

Disney Interactive Media Group and game designer, master storyteller and huge Disney geek Warren Spector announced the sequel to last year's Wii game " Disney Epic Mickey ," with some changes that fans will love - or hate. The problems with the camera that plagued Epic Mickey will be a...

Is it just me or has animated cartoon film making finally evolved into something else? With motion pictures like " Rango " and " The Adventures of Tintin " finding a home in the Academy Awards animated film category I can't help but wonder how these movies are all that different...

Given that " John Carter " is mostly set on the red planet, it's only appropriate that the stars who attended Wednesday night's premiere of this Andrew Stanton film ... Photo by Shelly Valladolid ... walked down the red carpet at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live . Walt Disney Pictures really...

The other evening, a pal who works for an animation studio that shall remain nameless was telling me about the project he was developing. It was great news to hear he had garnered the attention of the studio bosses and was moving into development on his new movie. But I couldn't but think how things...

So how did I almost wind up winning an autographed "Tim the Tool Man" Taylor toolkit while attending a taping of Tim Allen 's new ABC sitcom, " Last Man Standing " ? It's kind of a funny story. Tim Allen and Nancy Travis on the set of "Last Man Standing." Photo by...

The new Mission Impossible trailer was screened last weekend and I couldn't help looking for the screen credit, "Directed by Brad Bird." I've always considered Brad to be a risk taker and I remember him saying that a creative person has to be willing to "leap off the cliff"...

Though Southern California is over 2500 miles away from the island of Hawai'I, those who dropped by the Westin Pasadena this past weekend got a sample of that Aloha spirit ... Photo by Noe Valladolid ... by attending a DVC presentation about Aulani, that soon-to-open Disney Resort & Spa which...

I didn't work on Disney's " The Black Cauldron ," so you'll gain no film-making insights from me this time around. Oddly enough, this was a very important film for The Walt Disney Company. And although it didn't exactly burn up the box office charts when it opened, "The...

The redo of Disney California Adventure Park is really coming together nicely. As you can see from these shots that Noe took yesterday, its Pan-Pacific-Auditorium-inspired entrance is getting closer & closer to completion. Photo by Noe Valladolid How close? A quick peek over that Disney-characters...

Though there's been no formal announcement yet, jungle drums quickly spread the news last night that Trader Sam's (i.e. the bar component of the Disneyland Hotel 's new Tangaroa Terrace complex ) was finally open for business. Photo by Shelly Valladolid Tiki fans stood in hour-long lines...