April, 2010

Blog - News

Jim talks about the Disney villains attraction that never was on a Creepy Kingdom podcast - http://CreepyKingdom.com & a Disney Parks Update on MiceChat - http://mousechat.net/?s=jim+hill

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How Glenn Casale helped "The Little Mermaid" find her feet after this Disney stage show stumbled on Broadway

Jim Hill

07-26-2014

by Jim Hill

It took the stage version of Disney's "The Little Mermaid" quite a while to finally find its sea legs. When the original Broadway production...

Ready to let go of "Let It Go" ? Disney isn't. Mouse has five year plan for "Frozen" franchise

Jim Hill

07-23-2014

by Jim Hill

You've no doubt already heard about all of the box office records that " Frozen " has broken over the past eight months (With the most recent...
Disneytoon Studios worked closely with CalFire to make "Planes: Fire & Rescue" as authentic as possible

Jim Hill

07-17-2014

by Jim Hill

"Do your research." That is the lesson that John Lasseter -- Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney & Pixar Animation Studios -- has repeatedly...
Tom Williams, Universal Parks Chairman & CEO, reflects on the Universal Orlando Resort's magical transformation

Jim Hill

07-10-2014

by Jim Hill

With everyone else looking forward to tomorrow's grand opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley , it might seem kind of strange...

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Jim Hill

Why For did Disney wind up giving Maleficent the bird

Posted 04-30-2010

by Jim Hill
- 0 Comments
Jim Hill answers even more of your Disney-related questions. This time around, he uses artwork from the Spring 2010 S/R Laboratories catalog to illuminate some of the more interesting aspects of “Sleeping Beauty” ‘s production history...
Jim Hill

With new merch & a new movie in the pipeline, there's no stopping the Muppets now

Posted 04-29-2010

by Jim Hill
- 0 Comments
Jim Hill brings you the latest on Miss Piggy and pals. Including the news that the Muppets "Bohemian Rhapsody" viral video has just been nominated for two Webbys....
Jim Hill

"The Art of How to Train Your Dragon" reveals the film that DreamWorks Animation almost made

Posted 04-28-2010

by Jim Hill
- 2 Comments
Jim Hill reviews Tracey Miller-Zarneke's latest making-of book. Which walks you through many of the hard choices that Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois and Bonnie Arnold had to make while they were adapting Cressida Cowell's book to the screen...
Jim Hill

Monday Mouse Watch: MoMA’s Tim Burton exhibition gets ready to go down under

Posted 04-26-2010

by Jim Hill
- 3 Comments
Jim Hill just caught this killer display at NYC's Museum of Modern Art. Which -- after it closes tonight -- then gets packed up & shipped off to the Australian Center for the Moving Image in Melbourne...
Jim Hill

Panel discussion? Product signing? Rarities screening? Which would you choose?

Posted 04-23-2010

by Jim Hill
- 2 Comments
According to Jim Hill, there are just too many choices and not enough time this weekend. Especially if you’re an animation, theme park or Disney collectibles fan...
Jim Hill

Disneynature’s “Oceans” takes an in-depth look at the depths

Posted 04-22-2010

by Jim Hill
- 3 Comments
Jim Hill reviews Jacques Perrin & Jacques Cluzaud’s documentary. Which does a spectacular job of capturing the beauty, bounty and power of the sea...
Jim Hill

“How to Train Your Dragon” producer credits DWA team with that film’s come-from-behind box office success

Posted 04-21-2010

by Jim Hill
- 3 Comments
Jim Hill chats with Bonnie Arnold, the veteran animation producer about all the challenges that DreamWorks Animation faced while adapting Cressida Cowell’s popular children’s book for the screen...
Jim Hill

Monday Mouse Watch: Disney World uses coupons to promote off-peak dining & shopping

Posted 04-19-2010

by Jim Hill
- 3 Comments
Jim Hill talks about the 20%-off program that the WDW Resort tried out during those super-busy weeks surrounding Easter & Spring Break...
Jim Hill

“Waking Sleeping Beauty” continues to wow crowds around the country

Posted 04-16-2010

by Jim Hill
- 2 Comments
Jim Hill checks in with Peter Schneider, the producer of this acclaimed documentary. Which began screening today at theaters in Santa Barbara and Palm Springs...
Jim Hill

Andreas Deja takes a “Different” approach to the art of character design

Posted 04-15-2010

by Jim Hill
- 0 Comments
Jim Hill talks up the sketchbook signing & discussion that this acclaimed Disney animator will taking part in Saturday night at the Van Eaton Galleries in Sherman Oaks, CA....
Jim Hill

Pink’s Hot Dogs at the Knott’s MarketPlace is a real wiener

Posted 04-14-2010

by Jim Hill
- 3 Comments
Jim Hill talks about his recent visit to the new Buena Park version of this LA institution. Which has the exact same food that you’ll find at the corner of Melrose & La Brea, but none of the lines...
Jim Hill

D23 offers its members new benefits, additional discounts

Posted 04-13-2010

by Jim Hill
- 4 Comments
Jim Hill chats with Steven Clark, the Head of the Official Community for Disney Fans, about some of the special promotional offers that have just become available to D23 members...
Jim Hill

Would Disneyland’s Dixieland really have made a difference?

Posted 04-09-2010

by Jim Hill
- 1 Comments
Jim Hill’s back with an answer to another JHM reader’s Why For question. This time around, he talks about the Mark Twain-themed overhaul of Bear Country that the Imagineers tried to install back in the early 1980s...
Jim Hill

Tune Thursday: How “A Change in Me” wound up being added to Broadway’s “Beauty & the Beast”

Posted 04-08-2010

by Jim Hill
- 2 Comments
Jim Hill talks with Robert Jess Roth, the original director of Disney’s first musical for the stage. Who recently helped mount a brand-new touring production of this family favorite...
Jim Hill

Pook-A-Looz give classic Disney characters a quirky new look

Posted 04-06-2010

by Jim Hill
- 8 Comments
Jim Hill talks with Jose Zamora, the lead designer for this offbeat collectibles, as well as John Mallet, the director of plush for Disney Consumer Products...
Jim Hill

New viral video, Henson stage show as well as traveling exhibit make for a very Muppety Easter

Posted 04-02-2010

by Jim Hill
- 1 Comments
As a special holiday treat, Jim Hill directs your attention to “Stand by Me.” Not to mention “Stuffed and Unstrung” and “Jim Henson’s Fantastic World”...
Jim Hill

Trio of special events tempt Southern California’s Disneyana fans

Posted 04-01-2010

by Jim Hill
- 2 Comments
Jim Hill talks up the Disney-related panels that will be presented this coming weekend at WonderCon 2010, Christopher Merritt’s “Knott’s Preserved” event as well as the Carolwood Foundation’s private railcar trip along the California coastline...