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Mention the name Stephen Schwartz to a musical theater fan, and they'll automatically list his Broadway credits. Particularly this songwriter's trio of long running hits, " Godspell ," " Pippin " and " Wicked ." However, were you to mention Stephen's name to a Disneyana fan, they'd then mostly likely...

It's the highest honor that a Mouse House employee can possibly recieve. The Disney Legends award. Established in 1987 to honor " ... the many individuals whose imagination, talents and dreams have created ... Disney magic," each year's honorees are selected by a committe chaired by Roy E. Disney . And...

It's still hard for all us Adventurers Club fans to fathom that -- just seven weeks from now (give or take a day or two) -- that Pleasure Island will be no more. That on September 28th, WDW will permanently pull the plug on PI . Having spent many pleasant nights at the Club, I just can't imagine a Disney...

Folks who visited Disney's Animal Kingdom late last month got something of a treat. In that -- for a while there, anyway -- most of " Expedition Everest " 's effects were actually working. The scenic mist that's supposed to drift off of Forbidden Mountain top actually did that. The fog bank that your...

As I was reading through the most recent issue of " Tales from the Laughing Place " magazine (Which -- FYI -- features a spectacular selection of articles on Epcot & its history. If you aren't yet a subscriber of this high quality quarterly, this is one issue that you should probably go out of your...

Today, the "Special Edition" version of " The Aristocats " DVD goes on sale. Copyright 2008 Disney. All Rights Reserved And while it's hard to find fault with this 1970 Walt Disney Productions release itself (Which remains just as charming as ever. With Duchess the filthy rich feline falling for Thomas...

It's the story that won't go away. How back in 2001, Michael Eisner reportedly told Disney's board of directors that he'd be postponing any further contract talks with Pixar Animation Studios . "And why would the then-Chairman & CEO of the Walt Disney Company do that?," you ask. Because Eisner had...

To paraphrase Al Jolson (the immigrant son of a Russian Jew) : "You ain't heard nothin' nyet ! " How many of you recall the Disney Decade ? That grandiose expansion for the theme parks that Michael Eisner announced back in January of 1990? One of the real highlights of this event was Michael revealing...

It's going to seem like "Old Home Week" at Hollywood's Egyptian Theater tonight. What with acclaimed filmmaker Leslie Iwerks sharing the stage with industry legend Roy E. Disney during the Q & A portion of tonight's screening of " The Pixar Story " at the American Cinematheque . You see, if it hadn...

Welcome to Day 3 of ABC 's Premiere Week. Copyright 2007 ABC, Inc. All Rights Reserved Over one seven-day-long period, the Alphabet Network is rolling out 11 brand-new series. Though two of this season's more high profile projects, " Pushing Daisies " ... (L to R) Orbit the Dog, Swoosie Kurtz, Ellen...

Herb W. writes in to say: "I really enjoy how JHM covers the Walt Disney Company, mixing the business side of things in with all of that juicy gossip. But where do you get your information? How can you know all of this stuff?" Here's the Reader's Digest version, Herb : I've been writing about the Mouse...

You all know Floyd Norman , right ? The animation legend who regularly contributes columns to this website? Well, over the past few days, Floyd received a very special invite from the Walt Disney Company. They asked this veteran storyman to come by the lot on October 10th. More importantly, to bring...

Were you surprised by the rather generic-sounding new name that the Walt Disney Company saddled Disney-MGM with last week? Well, you weren't the only one. Many of the Mouse House managers that I spoke with over this past weekend were really taken aback by the studio theme park's new moniker. As one Disney...

As a direct result of some of the "Ratatouille" -related pieces that I've posted on JHM over the past few weeks, I have received a number of ... er ... colorful messages from Pixar fans recently. Here's one of the more family-friendly examples. Which came from Patty T. of Haines City, FL : Why must you...

First up, Kevin writes in to say: I was just wondering, how do Disney executives feel about the Wiggles joining up with Six Flags for the " Wiggles World " theme areas in their parks? Is this a sign that the Wiggles and Disney may be parting company soon? Kevin Dear Kevin -- Nope. You have to understand...

For Bill Nabel, Broadway's "Beauty and the Beast" really has been " ... a tale as old as time." Even before Disney Studios execs had officially decided to turn this Academy-Award animated feature into a musical for the stage, Bill has been a part of this show. "I actually took part in the first two readings...

There is an old Zen Koan that goes something like this: If a Tree Falls in the Forest, and No One is Around to Hear It, Does It Make a Sound ? Last week, Walt Disney Imagineering experienced the corporate equivalent of that tree falling in the forest. In that last Tuesday, there was this extreme makeover...

Christian P. writes in today to say: I'm a huge Pirates of the Caribbean fan and I'm literally counting down the hours now until the third movie opens next week. Do you have any new stories that you can tell about these great great movies that might distract me for a while? Prevent me from spending so...

First, an apology. You know, in yesterday's review of Carlene Thie's "Disneyland Under Construction" books, I'm afraid that I may have come down a bit too hard on Ms. Thie. Or -- at the very least -- criticized things that I didn't really know about. For example: In yesterday's...

First, Noel Aronson writes to ask: Hello: It's a little belated, but let me add to the list of people congratulating you on getting your own web site. The only problem is -- whenever I lose track of whatever site you happen to (be) writing for / on -- I always manage to find your new home just as...