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Earlier this week, Paul T. sent me an e-mail with an image attached that -- I'm sure -- will titillate a certain segment of the Disney fan community. Jim, Check out what I found on an animation art auction cite!! It's a bare-ass Ariel!! Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved Well...

Huffington Post -- Rich Moore looks back at the roads not taken with Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph" It was the story that artists at Walt Disney Animation Studios had been struggling to get a handle on for over 15 years. A comic action-adventure set inside of the world of video games, where...

If you listen carefully today, you can hear thousands of people around the country quietly cursing. "And why are these people cursing?," you ask. Well, that's because these folks are just now realizing it's February 13th. Which means that tomorrow is Valentine's Day. That day when...

Huffington Post -- The online premiere of Disney's "Paperman" So what do you know about " Paperman ," that new Walt Disney Animation Studios production which was recently nominated for a Best Animated Short Oscar ? Well, you may have heard that this mostly black-and-white film...

Disney showcases its past & future with "Snow White" and "Paperman" screenings at New York Film Festival You'd think, given her previous dealings with poison apples, that Snow White would be somewhat hesitant when it comes to visiting the Big Apple. But Disney's very first...

"Since Disney Has Yet to Make Her a Princess, Megan Hilty Settles for Being a Fairy" Some people complain about the commute that they have for work. But not Megan Hilty . Of course, if your work took you from Oz to Broadway to Neverland and then back again, would you ever complain? Copyright...

New and a bit alarming Who 'd have ever thought that this could be? Well, " Beauty and the Beast " co-director Kirk Wise doesn't seem all that surprised that this Academy Award-winning film (which was the first animated feature to ever be nominated for Best Picture) got selected for...

Dorse Lanpher has a real eye for detail. Which is just what you'd expect from one of the top effects artists in feature animation. But as it turns out, Lanpher was able to use his eye for detail for more than just creating all those fire, water and shadow effects that you've seen in most Disney...

When you watch Disney's "Prep & Landing: Operation Secret Santa" tonight following ABC 's annual airing of " A Charlie Brown Christmas ," keep a sharp eye out for ... something. Sorry that I can't be more specific here. But there's an Easter Egg hidden in this...

Walt Disney once said "For every laugh, there should be a tear." But there's another unsaid rule when it comes to the animated features & shorts that Disney Studios produces. Which is that -- for every smile -- there should be a shriek. I mean, think about it. Is there another studio...

Nancy and I were just watching "The Purdum Reel." Which is this Special Feature on the Blu-ray version of the Diamond Edition of Disney's " Beauty and the Beast ." Which hits store shelves yesterday. Concept art from the Richard Purdum version of "Beauty and the Beast."...

I have been writing professionally about The Walt Disney Company for over 25 years now. Which is why I can tell you what it felt like to be in a theater on November 17, 1989. Which was the night that " The Little Mermaid " was first released to theaters. As the credits rolled, I remember turning...

In many ways, " Tangled " is a return-to-the-1990s for Walt Disney Animation Studios . In that this film is a feature-length fairy tale that features a score by Academy Award-winner Alan Menken as well as animation supervised by the great Glen Keane (i.e. the industry legend behind Ariel in...

It’s that time of year again. When high school and college students all over the country are graduating. More importantly, when JHM readers reach out and ask for my suggestions when it comes to the perfect graduation gift for the would-be animators and Imagineers in their families. This year, though...

David Kracov remembers the night that he decided to quit working in animation. “A bunch of my friends took me out to Astroburger . And while we were eating, Brad Bird tried to talk me out of quitting. Brad said that he wanted me to come work with him on this new movie he wanted to make. Which was about...

In an age where even blockbusters have to battle for screen space (Witness what happened late last month when the studios behind “ How to Train Your Dragon ” and “ Clash of the Titans ” clashed over the limited number of 3D-capable theaters that were available at that time), what chance does a dinky...

When you look at Mama Odie, what do you see? Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved Okay, for starters, she’s one of the more memorable characters from Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” (FYI: Sales of the DVD version of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ return to hand-drawn animation...

As I was listening to the Vikings in “ How to Train Your Dragon ” talk about how vile & nasty dragons were … I couldn’t help but think about the attitude that some animation fans have toward Dreamworks Animation . You know the people that I’m talking about. The ones who – when you say that you actually...

For the past few months, JHM has been talking up “ Waking Sleeping Beauty ,” that terrific new documentary about the Second Golden Age of Disney Feature Animation. Well, this film goes into limited release this Friday in New York, LA, Chicago and San Francisco. The 1975 graduating class of Cal Arts included...

You’ve probably seen a lot of Joe Ranft -related material popping up around the Web over the past few days. John Musker ’s excellent story reel-based tribute to his old pal (who was tragically killed in an automobile accident back on August 16, 2005 ). No to mention the first installment of Leo Holzer...