September, 2007

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Would Woody Allen have been a better fit for LeFou in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" ?

Jim Hill

09-26-2016

by Jim Hill

Given that the silver anniversary of Disney's " Beauty and the Beast " is coming up (This Kirk Wise & Gary Trousdale film initially went...

Universal Studios Hollywood's The Walking Dead Attraction is amazing. Just don't make the mistake of calling it a maze

Jim Hill

09-22-2016

by Jim Hill

When Southern Californian fright fans return to Universal Studios Hollywood this Friday for the official kick-off of Halloween Horror Nights 2016 , they'll...
How the makers of Disney's "Moana" almost chickened out

Jim Hill

09-11-2016

by Jim Hill

It's kind of a tradition at Walt Disney Animation Studios that the hero or heroine of each new production has an animal companion. Sometimes they talk...
Will "Kubo" be the next "Iron Giant," a great animated film that has to be rediscovered before it can then be fully appreciated?

Jim Hill

09-08-2016

by Jim Hill

Let me get right to the point here: It kind of breaks my heart that "Kubo and the Two Strings" hasn't done better at the domestic box office...

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Jim Hill

Jerry Seinfeld and the Boston "Bee" Party

Posted 09-26-2007

by Jim Hill
- 21 Comments
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...
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"They'll Never Put That on the Air" reveals how to grow a hit television series

Posted 09-25-2007

by Jim Hill
- 7 Comments
Jim Hill reviews Allan Neuwirth's latest book. In which TV veterans talk about how they took shaky new shows and eventually turned them into smash hits like "M*A*S*H," "All in the Family" and "Seinfeld"...
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Toon Tuesday: Will "Enchanted" 's health-conscious promotional campaign ultimately result in robust box office receipts for this new Walt Disney Pictures release?

Posted 09-24-2007

by Jim Hill
- 26 Comments
Jim Hill wonders: Can a feel-good movie actually be used to encourage healthier eating habits? For that seems to be a key component of the marketing plan that Disney has cooked up for its big Holiday 2007 release...
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Monday Mouse Watch : Down Under Disney Style

Posted 09-23-2007

by Jim Hill
- 21 Comments
Does a Kissimmee-based company hold the key to an Australian pavilion possibly being added to World Showcase? Jim Hill directs your attention to Lionsgate International LLC, a corporation that's now trying to insert itself in the negotiations that Disney typically holds with countries that are interested in sponsoring new Epcot pavilions...
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Why For aren't there more countries in Epcot's World Showcase area?

Posted 09-20-2007

by Jim Hill
- 12 Comments
As Jim Hill recounts, it wasn't for lack of trying on Walt Disney Productions' part. Jim talks about the lavish four-day-long party that the Mouse threw back in 1975 in an effort to convince more nations to become part of the project...
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Tube Thursday: Want to meet some Disney Channel stars? Then hightail it over to the Roostertail this Sunday afternoon

Posted 09-19-2007

by Jim Hill
- 5 Comments
Jim Hill talks up the Make-A-Wish fundraiser that the Michael T. Schoenith Foundation will be holding this weekend. Which will feature appearances by "High School Musical" & "Cory in the House" cast members ...
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"The Disney Mountains: Imagineering at Its Peak" will be a tiptop addition to any Disneyana fan's library

Posted 09-18-2007

by Jim Hill
- 7 Comments
Jim Hill checks out Jason Surrell's latest book. Which offers an entertaining & formative look back at how the Imagineers went about creating all of those "mountains" that you now find inside of the various Disney theme parks...
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Monday Mouse Watch : When it comes to Disney's Vanessa Hudgens problem, no new nudes is good news

Posted 09-16-2007

by Jim Hill
- 20 Comments
Jim Hill brings you the latest on the "High School Musical" crisis. To be specific, what the Mouse is now doing to keep this story out of the news...
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Why For the Muppets didn't make it into Tokyo DisneySea

Posted 09-13-2007

by Jim Hill
- 13 Comments
Jim Hill's back with even more answers to your Disney-related questions. This time around, he shares info about a trio of rides that were supposed to have been built in TDS's American Waterfront area. With at least one of these attractions drawing its inspiration from a Muppet-based show that had originally been proposed for Disney's America...
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Tube Thursday: How the Mouse missed out on "Monk"

Posted 09-12-2007

by Jim Hill
- 7 Comments
With Tony Shalhoub up for yet another Emmy on Sunday and the "Monk" season finale due to air on the USA Network tomorrow night, Jim Hill talks about how Touchstone Television originally developed this series as a starring vehicle for "Seinfeld" second banana Michael Richards...
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"Walt Disney's Legends of Imagineering" looks to be worth the wait

Posted 09-11-2007

by Jim Hill
- 16 Comments
Jim Hill interviews Jeff Kurtti, the author of this long-delayed Disney Editions book. Who explains how expanding the scope of "The Genesis of the Disney Theme Park" wound up putting this eagerly-awaited paperback behind schedule...
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What was it like to be at Disneyland and/or Walt Disney World six years ago today?

Posted 09-10-2007

by Jim Hill
- 18 Comments
In honor of the sixth anniversary of 9/11, Jim Hill Media reprises a piece from 2006. Where the site's readers remember what it was like to be vacationing at and/or working in Anaheim & Orlando as this tragedy unfolded
...
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Monday Mouse Watch : Will a second set of nude photographs cause Disney to flunk Vanessa Hudgens out of its "High School Musical" franchise?

Posted 09-09-2007

by Jim Hill
- 41 Comments
With "People" magazine now reporting that this "HSM2" star may have previously sent naked pictures of herself to a performer on Nickelodeon's "Drake & Josh" show, Jim Hill talks with an unnamed Mouse House official about what Mickey's next move may be...
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Another Kingdom That Never Came: Disneyland expansion plans circa 1976

Posted 09-06-2007

by Jim Hill
- 12 Comments
As a follow-up to last week's "Why For," Jim Hill shares some excerpts from the Disneyland Long Range Masterplan. Which goes into great details about such never-built "lands" as the Lost Continent, Big Town U.S.A. and World Holiday Land...
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Does "Graduation" actually bring Kim Possible's career to a close? Maybe

Posted 09-05-2007

by Jim Hill
- 33 Comments
On the eve of the airing of this series finale, Jim Hill talks with KP creators Robert Schooley and Mark McCorkle. Who talk about the surprise fourth season that this Disney Channel show received as well as how Kim will now live on as the star of a brand-new interactive attraction at Epcot...
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New Disney patent application reveals that FASTPASS-for-pay is not so far away

Posted 09-04-2007

by Jim Hill
- 62 Comments
Jim Hill shares some info about changes that appear to be in the works for the Mouse's virtual queuing system. Some that are pretty good, and some that are sure to upset right-to-privacy fans...
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Toon Tuesday: Why "Ratatouille" 's good-but-not-great box office numbers are now causing problems for Disney's marketing department

Posted 09-03-2007

by Jim Hill
- 105 Comments
Jim Hill talks about all of the finger-pointing that's going on in Burbank & Emeryville, as execs try to find someone to blame for this Pixar picture's perceived under-performance ...
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Remembering Epcot Center's very first visitors

Posted 09-02-2007

by Jim Hill
- 10 Comments
Jim Hill looks back at Labor Day 1982. When Walt Disney Productions invited the construction workers who'd actually built Disney World's second theme park to be among the first to sample its selection of rides, shows and attractions...