March, 2011

You know what I find bizarre? A week ago today at the annual meeting of shareholders, Bob Iger reaffirmed his commitment to keep "Song of the South" in the Disney Vault . Saying flat-out that it wouldn't be in the best interests of the Company's shareholders to make this Academy Award-winning film available for purchase on Blu-ray and DVD because " ... it was made at a different time." Image courtesy of Profiles in History & Van Eaton Galleries And - yet - when I popped...

Over the past 20 years, it's become something of a tradition that Walt Disney Animation Studios slips in a few Easter Eggs. A brief, affectionate nod to previous productions. Which is why the Beast from Disney's " Beauty and the Beast " can be among the toys that the Sultan plays with in " Aladdin " ... Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved ... and Mrs. Potts & Chip pop up on a table in Disney's " Tarzan " ... Copyright Disney Enterprises...

C.D.A. G.U.Y. just sent me a Why For question earlier this week that asked about some Pixar concept art that he'd seen back in January. Jim, I got to see that "Pixar: 25 Years of Animation" exhibit just before it left the Oakland Museum of California earlier this year. And in the " Monsters, Inc." section of this exhibit, I noticed that was a lot of concept art that seemed to be about television broadcasting. Copyright Disney Pixar. All rights reserved I know that there's...

Late last week, SkipperZippy wrote in to ask about that "Jungle Cruise" movie that Walt Disney Pictures just announced. To be specific: I'm so excited about the Jungle Cruise movie. Can you please tell me which roles Tom Hanks and Tim Allen will be playing in this movie? What scenes from the theme park attraction will be recreated as part of this movie? Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved SkipperZippy - First of all, you may want to contain that excitement a bit....

Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho. It's off to Disney Junior we go? Following in the footsteps of Captain Hook and Mr. Smee (i.e. the villains of Disney's 1953 feature-length version of " Peter Pan ." Who have recently found themselves reinvented as comic foils on that highly successful new animated series, " Jake and the Never Land Pirates "), Disney's first feature film stars - the Seven Dwarfs - may have just gotten themselves a new gig. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All...

In response to Tuesday's article , I got a somewhat irate e-mail from Annie M. Who must be a Disney Channel fan, given that her note said: How can you talk about National Pancake Day when there's a far more important Disney-related holiday coming up this Saturday, Platypus Day ? Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved Annie M. is right. To help celebrate the start of " Phineas & Ferb " 's third season, Disney XD & the Disney Channel have declared March...

Drop what you're doing right now. Seriously. Why For? Because truly cool things like this have a way of disappearing on the Web. Lawyers suddenly swoop in and something simply amazing that was there a minute ago is then gone forever. Which is why you need to head over to the Bob & Rob "Professional American Screenwriters" blog this minute. So that you can then get a glimpse of what Circle 7 Studios ' " Monsters, Inc. " sequel would have been like. Copyright Disney...

As I was watching Disney's "Mars Needs Moms" at this past weekend's press screening, I was reminded of something that Steve Kloves (i.e. the veteran screenwriter who's adapted all but one of the "Harry Potter" books for the big screen) recently told the NY Times . When asked about his initial meetings with Harry's infamously hands-on creator, J. K. Rowling (to be specific, whether she had given him any guidance in regards to how to turn " Sorcerer's Stone...

Ever since JHM's "Where to Find the Easter Eggs in Disney's "Tangled' " article went up on Monday, a lot of readers have reached out. Eager to share their ideas about where other hidden Disney references can be found in this acclaimed animated feature. Some folks are insisting that the wild boar which can sometimes be spotted in those crowd scenes at the Snuggly Duckling ... Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved ... is actually Pumbaa from " The Lion...

"If you find the right cast, we'll make this movie." That was the challenge that Gary Marsh - President of Entertainment and Chief Creative Officer of Disney Channel Worldwide - laid down for Debra Martin Chase . That if she could find just the right kids to bring Mark Peter Hughes ' book, " Lemonade Mouth ," to life ... Well, Marsh would then allow production of this Disney Channel Original Movie to go forward. Now a challenge like that (i.e. find five young performers...

Hey there! Hi there! Ho there! You're as welcome as can be ... I am certain that - when Disney's board of directors selected Salt Lake City as the spot where they'd hold the Company's annual meeting of shareholders - that Mouse House management hoped that they would get a warm reception in Utah. Photo by Jeremy Marx But never in their wildest dreams did Disney CEO Bob Iger & Chairman of the Board John Pepper, Jr . think that things would go as well as they did yesterday at the...

Chad Beguelin remembers exactly when he decided to become a writer. It was when this Tony-nominated bookwriter & lyricist was 14. And Chad and his Dad had gone to NYC to see a show. And the show that they caught was Howard Ashman & Alan Menken 's brilliant musicalization of Roger Corman 's schlocky horror comedy, " The Little Shop of Horrors ." Ellen Greene & Audrey II in the original off-Broadway production of "Little Shop of Horrors" Now jump ahead a few...

I was on the phone with Simon Wells last Friday morning as those first post-quake / tsunami images were coming in from Japan . And as the director of Disney's "Mars Needs Moms" put it: "Here in Hollywood, everyone seems obsessed with how much your movie cost to make or how much your movie made over its opening weekend. But it's at moments like this - when you see this sort of devastation -- that make you realize that things like production costs and grosses ultimately don't...

Have you ever gone to the movies and - as you were watching that film - suddenly fixate on a particular performer in that motion picture? By that I mean: You know that you've seen this actor somewhere else before. But you just can't remember where or when. Well, this past weekend, for the first time ever, this happened to me while I was watching a performance-capture movie. I was at a preview screening of " Mars Needs Mars ." And as Ki - the Martian tagger who teaches herself to...

James Marsden has battled Marvel super-villains in the "X-Men" trilogy . He's been rescued by the Man of Steel in " Superman Returns ." He's even come face-to-face with Con Ed workers in Times Square in Disney's " Enchanted ." Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved So why should a guy who's worked on this many big special-effects pictures suddenly be worried about working with a CG bunny? But that's really what happened on " Hop...

Time was that people went to the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts just because they wanted to experience all of the rides, shows & attractions and/or stay on-site at one of their hotels. Remy's on board the Disney Dream is the new gold standard when it comes to a first-class dining experience at the Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. Photo by Matt Stroshane. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved But over the past 10 - 15 years, another reason has emerged for folks to make special...