June, 2004

After being off the map for a few days, Jim Hill returns with an explanation as to where he's been, what he's being doing, and - more importantly - an explanation as to what he's actually doing in that ridiculous chair....

On the road from VES 2004, Jim Hill looks back at some of the guiding principles animator and director John Lasseter has adhered to in bringing his films to life, and why it's been so successful. ...

Want to know what this history theme park was really supposed to be like? Then read what Bob Weis - a WDI senior vice president back in the 1990s as well as the man who originally rode herd on this project - had to say about "Disney's America." ...

Using info from Walt Disney Productions' 1974 annual report, Jim Hill talks about the version of Epcot that almost got build. Not the futuristic city or the theme park, but a brand-new project that falls somewhere between these two extremes....

Okay. So Louis Mongello's new book isn't exactly "War and Peace." That said, Disney dweebs are still sure to have plenty of burrowing through this trivia-packed volume....

As part of his promotional effort for next weekend's JHM tours of Disneyland & Disney's California Adventure, Jim Hill reveals the real reason that the Matterhorn was so quickly constructed in 1958 / 1959....

Jim Hill burrows through his archives and unearths an official Disney Company document that details how Disney's America would have been different from Disneyland & Walt Disney World. Judge for yourself whether this history theme park would have worth a trip to Prince William County, VA. ...

In honor of tonight's "Lion King" 10th anniversary event, Jim Hill looks back fondly at another great ASIFA-Hollywood panel. Back when the Disney animators who worked on "Beauty & the Beast" got together in 2002 to reminisce. ...

In honor of next Monday's "Lion King" 10th anniversary event, Jim Hill looks back fondly at another great ASIFA-Hollywood panel. Back when the Disney animators who worked on "Beauty & the Beast" got together in 2002 to reminisce. This time around, Jim talks about brawling animators and crashing computers. ...

With ill-conceived photo essays & lame readers polls, Jim Hill wonders: Is the "Save Disney" website -- what with all of its mixed messages -- actually doing Roy Disney & Stanley Gold's "Oust Eisner" effort more harm than good?...

In honor of next Monday's "Lion King" 10th anniversary event, Jim Hill looks back fondly at another great ASIFA-Hollywood panel. Back when the Disney animators who worked on "Beauty & the Beast" got together in 2002 to reminisce. This time around, Jim details how a stay in a little sleepy town in New York State proved to be the key to fixing this film....

Jim Hill reviews Ben Ohmart's new book, which is a fun & formative biography of the man who did the voice of Boris Badenov, Ludwig von Drake, the Pillsbury Doughboy as well as thousands of other characters: Paul Frees....

In honor of next Monday's "Lion King" 10th anniversary event, Jim Hill looks back fondly at another great ASIFA-Hollywood panel. When the Disney animators who worked on "Beauty & the Beast" got together in 2002 to reminisce. This time around, Jim details how this WDFA project wound up in the hands of two young untried animation directors. ...

Jim Hill reveals how Disneyland Paris' elevated railway (which got cut out of that theme park's Main Street U.S.A. area) eventually got resurrected & became a featured attraction in Tokyo DisneySea's "American Waterfront" area....

In honor of next Monday's "Lion King" 10th anniversary event, Jim Hill looks back fondly at another great ASIFA-Hollywood panel. When the Disney animators who worked on "Beauty & the Beast" got together in 2002 to reminisce. ...

... in an letter that Disney Store senior V.P. Kay Murfin sent out to all employees last week. In a JHM exclusive, read for yourself what Murfin told Disney Store staffers about the pending sale to The Children's Place Retail Stores, Inc....

In another of those what-might-have-been stories, Jim Hill talks about the Jim Henson Company's earlier efforts to bring a stage show starring Kermit & Co. to the Great White Way decades before "Avenue Q" made it to Broadway. ...

Given that last Friday's "A Question of Character" seemed to anger an awful lot of JHM readers, Jim Hill thought that he might point out some of the less-obvious Disney-related ties to some recently constructed theme park attractions....

Jim Hill reports on an interesting story that's currently making the rounds in animation circles. Evidently, Disney -- in an effort to make sure that its last traditionally animated film didn't accidentally upstage the company's first CG feature -- may have scaled back HOTR's promotion....

Want definitive proof that the Walt Disney Company is NOT adding a "Western River Expedition" attraction to DCA? Jim Hill points out an intriguing new pattern that's become prevalent at the Disney theme parks: that shows & attractions are almost always replaced with a new ride or show that's directly tied to a pre-existing set of Disney characters from a popular movie or TV show. ...

So many JHM readers seemed intrigued with last week's article about this never-built theme park that Jim Hill dug through his Disney history archives and unearthed a land-by-land description of the place....

Heidi Guedel's autobiography isn't a walk in the parks, folks. Some may be put off by Heidi's warts-and-all tales about her awful childhood and her early days at Disney. But -- that said -- Jim Hill still thinks that it's a fascinating read. ...

Is this how Disney chooses to honor a loyal company man like Drew Carey? By burning off the last season of "The Drew Carey Show" two episodes at a time during the dog days of summer? Jim Hill fills us in on the whole sad story. ...

... at least when it comes to the Muppets. Jim Hill fills us in on what's been going on since the Walt Disney Company officially completed its acquisition of the Jim Henson characters....