October, 2013

For most people on the planet, Halloween will end at the stroke of midnight tonight. Once the witching hour passes and it's then officially November 1st, the masks come off, the costumes get packed away and those artfully carved pumpkins quickly get tossed in the trash as we then turn our attention to all of the other holidays that loom on the calendar. Mind you, I said "most." If you're someone like Brooke Walters , who designs mazes for Haunt at Knott's Berry Farm , Halloween...

D23 members got a treat (rather than a trick) earlier this month when the Official Disney Fan Club celebrated the 20th anniversary of "Hocus Pocus" by holding two screenings of this Kenny Ortega film on the Burbank lot back on October 19th. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved According to Billy Stanek , D23's web editor, the Studio really went all out for this celebration. Not only digging down deep into the Company's Archives to unearth iconic props & costumes...

You think -- what with all the attention that he's been getting lately -- you'd think that the Headless Horseman would have a bigger head. If he had a head, I mean. Copyright 2013 FOX and its related entities. All rights reserved To explain: Until relatively recently, if you were looking for a cinematic representation of this particular Washington Irving tale, you'd basically have no choice but to default to Disney's 1949 package feature, " The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad...

Here's a tricky question for all you theme park fans out there. Copyright NBCUniversal. All rights reserved If you buy a ticket for an after-hours, hard ticket event like Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights -- which states right on the brochure that you're handed as you come through the turnstiles that " ... this event is recommended for mature audiences only" ... Copyright NBCUniversal. All rights reserved ... and that " ... additional warnings and restrictions are posted...

This week in Hollywood, most of the ticket sales-related talk has to do with how well " Gravity " has been holding up (This Alfonso Cuarón film was No. 1 at the domestic box office from the third weekend in a row ) and how quickly " The Fifth Estate " folded. But there is another intriguing ticket sales-related story out there. And it has to do with how long " Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 " has been hanging in there. Copyright Sony Pictures Animation. All...

Okay. Halloween is less than 2 weeks away at this point. So do you have any ideas for a costume yet? I didn't think so. Well, when I'm out to make an impression at my sister Andrea's annual Halloween / pumpkin carving party, I always try to think about what scared me as a kid (As opposed to what scares me now as an adult. Which is the Visa bill). Copyright S/R Laboratories. All rights reserved Anyway, luckily the catalog for S/R Laboratories' latest animation art auction (which -...

For decades now, Mickey Mouse has been the corporate symbol of The Walt Disney Company. Nice, safe and bland. But there are those at the Mouse House who remember when Disney's corporate symbol used to be really funny. To be specific, Eric Coleman -- the senior vice president of Original Series at Disney Television Animation -- and Mike Moon -- who's a creative vice president for that same arm of The Walt Disney Company. And as Eric & Mike looked at those old Mickey Mouse shorts which...

So how long has Walt Disney Animation Studios been trying to bring " The Snow Queen " to the big screen? Would you believe 70 years? Concept painting for the aborted Hans Christian Andersen bio pic that Walt Disney and Samuel Goldwyn once considered collaborating on. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved Yep. As far back as 1943 (Which was when Walt was in discussions with Samuel Goldwyn about their two studios possibly collaborating on a feature-length biography of Hans...

Given that -- back when John Lasseter first began toying with the idea of building a movie around the secret life of toys in the late 1980s / early 1990s -- Buzz & Woody's very first adventure was supposed to have been a holiday special , it's kind of fitting that Pixar has finally circled back around to this idea with " Toy Story of TERROR! " (which airs tonight on ABC from 8 - 8:30 p.m. ET / PT). Copyright Disney Pixar. All rights reserved So how does this Halloween-themed...

It's been a busy couple of days, Disney news-wise. With all sorts of official announcements being made and weird rumors bubbling up. So as a special Columbus Day treat, I thought that it might be fun to dig down into this pile and then offer some additional information about some of the stories that have been swirling around out there. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved First of all, let's talk about that concept art for James Cameron's World of AVATAR that was showcased...

For those of you who are keeping tabs on which classic Disney characters have been popping up on ABC 's " Once Upon A Time ," this Sunday's episode really is a must-see. Why For? Well, since Emma & the crew from Storybrooke are wandering all over Neverland searching for Henry, who should they turn to for help in their effort to find Peter Pan's camp but Tinker Bell? Rose Mciver plays Tinker Bell in Sunday night's episode of ABC's "Once Upon a Time." Photo...

For 84 years now, Walt Disney Animation Studios has been in the castle-building business. Whether it's that golden castle-in-the-clouds that we glimpse at the very end of " Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs " ... Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved ... or that shiny undersea abode that King Triton resides in ... Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved ... the artists & designers at WDAS certainly have a knack for creating memorable domiciles for royals...

There's a heated debate going on right now among cinéastes about the proper way to see " Gravity ." Some say that the very best way to experience Alfonso Cuarón 's incredibly intense space epic is by catching the 3D version. While still others insist that -- in order to feel the full effect of (SPOILERS AHEAD) being stranded 375 miles above Earth -- you really need to see the IMAX 3D version of this movie. Well, according to sound editor Skip Lievsay , if you want...

Greetings from Washington D.C. Where -- while the U.S. Government may not be working -- DreamWorks Animation certainly is. T he Kennedy Center reflected in the placid Potomac. Photo by Jim Hill Last night just across the street from Georgetown Waterfront Park, Fox & DWA officials treated roughly 100 members of the National Association of Theatre Owners (who were in town for their annual general membership and board meeting) to a quick preview of their upcoming slate. After the audience had been...