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DonkeyBoy writes with a question related to Wednesday’s “ The Art of Shrek Forever After ” review . He wants to know about … … that image of teenage Shrek you included with your article. You mentioned that this was a storyline that Mike Mitchell and his team developed for this Dreamworks film and then...

As the lights went down in the Samuel Goldwyn Theater this past Friday night, the curtain rose to reveal Leopold Stokowski taking the conductor’s stand in Fantasia . But the first notes of the evening were not from that 1940 classic feature. But – rather -- from the tinny, half-destroyed instruments...

IronManFan236 sent in a question that was short & sweet: Did Marvel Studios deliberately make Howard Stark look like Walt in “ Iron Man 2 ” as a tribute / tip-of-the-hat to the Disney acquisition deal? Iron Man 2, the Movie: Copyright 2010 MVL Film Finance LLC. Iron Man, the character: TM & Copyright...

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...

Trina P. wrote in to say: Thanks for sharing those pictures from the Tim Burton exhibition at the MoMA . I’m a huge Burton fan and had wanted to get down to NYC while that exhibit was there, but never found the time. I noticed that you had a lot of pictures from Tim Burton movies that never got made...

It’s long been said that – if you build a better mouse trap – the world will beat a path to your door. Well, as the folks in charge of D23 have learned, if you give Disneyana fans an exciting new way to celebrate the Company that (as Walt Disney once so famously said) was “ … started by a mouse,” an...

This coming Saturday (provided – of course – that the Bay State isn’t still under water ), I’ll be down in Avon, MA. taking part in the 15 th annual Janet McDonald Memorial Walk Against Cancer . This fundraiser is something that my family does every year in order to honor the memory of my late cousin...

Why are all these people racing through the streets of New Orleans? * Photo by Nancy Stadler Because “ Dreams Come True: Art of the Classic Fairy Tales from Walt Disney Studios ” is closing on March 14 th . Which means that you now only have six short days to catch this acclaimed exhibition. Photo by...

"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop." Said by the King to the White Rabbit in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland” Okay. Then let’s start with the obvious. Which is that – up until now – there really hasn’t been a good movie version of “Alice in Wonderland...

First up, Davis P. writes to ask about JHM’s American International Toy Fair coverage this week : I thought that Jim Hill Media was a website that mostly covered Disney’s theme parks and animated films. What made you decide to go to New York and cover Toy Fair this year? Dear Davis P. Why did Nancy and...

With its turn-of-the-century architecture, Gotham Hall has long prided itself on being that spot in New York City “ … where style meets sophistication.” Well, yesterday morning, all of that style & sophistication gave way to silliness. As Disney Consumer Products turned this seven-story-tall gilded...

D23 is still a few weeks out from its really-for-real birthday (Just for the record, The Walt Disney Company launched its Official Community for Disney Fans back on March 10, 2009). But given that D23 just revealed that it will be holding first anniversary parties at Disneyland and WDW’s Magic Kingdom...

It’s always been one of the great what-ifs of Disney history. What if … All of the Studio’s overseas markets hadn’t been cut off by the start of World War II? It’s well known that – as of the late 1930s -- Walt was well into development of full-length animated versions of “ Alice in Wonderland ,” “ Peter...

Okay. I know. JHM has already done a number of stories on “ Disney Prep and Landing ,” that new holiday special that Walt Disney Animation Studios produced exclusively for ABC (which – FYI – wound up being the highest rated Christmas special of the 2009 – 2010 season ). Copyright 2009 Disney Enterprises...

Nancy and I got the news yesterday afternoon as we were driving down to NYC. We’d stopped to gas up the car in Tolland, CT when Angela called on the cell to say that Roy E. Disney had died . This was obviously sad news. But -- to be honest -- not exactly unexpected. Ever since word leaked back in June...

“ … There is hope for the future. When the world is ready for a new and better life, all this will someday come to pass, in God's good time.” Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved The above quote is – of course – from Walt Disney Productions’ Academy Award-winning version of “ 20,000 Leagues Under The...

Do you have a Disney fanatic in your family? Then this must be the time of year that you dread most. When you’re expected to come up with a suitable holiday gift for this problematic family member. Not to worry, though. Jim Hill Media is here to help. Over the first four Wednesdays in December, we’ll...

Today is a day when most people here in the US traditionally take a moment or two to reflect on whatever it is that they have to be thankful for. And for the more-than-a-thousand Southern California students who’ve taken part in the Ryman Arts program over the past 19 years … Well, they’re just thankful...

So where will you wind up spending MM’s b-day? It’s tomorrow, you know. November 18 th . That’s the date that The Walt Disney Company officially acknowledges as being this iconic character’s “ birthday ” (i.e. the day that “ Steamboat Willie ” – the first Mickey Mouse cartoon with synchronized sound...

For the better part of five years now, I have been waiting on “Wally Boag: Clown Prince of Disneyland” (August 2009, Disney Editions). Ever since I first learned that this project was in the works, I have been dying to get my hands on Gene Sands & Wally ’s book. So imagine my surprise last week when...