Browse by Tags

You're going to read a lot today about how - by revising their long-standing policy on facial hair - Disney Parks and Resorts is now turning its back on nearly 60 years of tradition. Which isn't entirely true. I mean, if Walt Disney himself really insisted that no one with a beard or a mustache...

In honor of William & Kate's wedding today, I thought that it might be fun to circle back on a royal-related story that I briefly mentioned on this site back in November of last year. As part of a Why For column that talked about a sequence that was originally considered for " Fantasia 2000...

Are you looking forward to " Rango " ? Copyright 2010 Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved I know that I am. And not just because this project reunites Johnny Depp with his " Pirates of the Caribbean " director, Gore Verbinski . Or because this Paramount Pictures will be ILM 's...

What was the toughest part of riding herd on all of the CG artists at Rhythm & Hues who worked on " Yogi Bear " ? According to Alex Orrelle , the Animation Supervisor on this new Warner Bros ' live-action/computer animated 3D adventure, it was actually when he had to persuade his crew...

October was a great month for Jim Korkis fans. Adventurers Club enthusiasts who attended ConGaloosh 2010 got to hear him hold forth on the hidden history of this late, great Pleasure Island nightclub ... Special thanks to the ConGaloosh Society for use of this image ... while members of the World Chapter...

When people talk about where the Disney / Pixar magic comes from, there are always a few California cities that get mentioned right away. Burbank. Glendale. Anaheim. Emeryville. But - to be honest -- there's one other place that really belongs on that list. And that's Valencia, CA. Which is home...

"Book publishers send me out to schools all the time. And the kids there always ask me how they can get a job like mine. And my answer is: Put your stuff up on the Web. Because you never know who's going to see it." Trust me, folks. Noah Z. Jones knows of what he speaks. You see, this illustrator...

It is arguably the best-loved film of that trio of fairy tales that Walt Disney Animation Studios produced during its Second Golden Age. The first hand-drawn animated feature ever to be nominated for Best Picture, " Beauty and the Beast " has been discussed, dissected and written about so often...

Yeah, I know. JHM has a brand-new look. It took a long time (more importantly, an awful lot of hard work by Nancy Stadler and Max Schilling) to make this happen. So if you like what you see here, you have those two to thank. And normally, I'd be posting an article here that hyped all of the site's...

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...

Okay. I know. You’re probably chilling out on this Memorial Day Monday. Maybe doing a little barbequing in the backyard. Or – more likely – just collapsed on the couch, watching ‘way too much cable TV. Animation artwork from "Mulan" to be featured in the Pres-Aid live auction. Image courtesy of Pres...

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...

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...

Have you been by that “ Help the Hodges ” eBay page yet? If not, it’s quite likely that you’re going to miss out on your chance to own some truly one-of-a-kind pieces of art. Take – for example -- this drawing of Ursula the Sea Witch that “ The Little Mermaid ” supervising animator Ruben Aquino did specifically...

I know, I know. Wednesday is typically the day we talk about books here at JHM. But today, I just had to make an exception. I mean, take a look at this beauty. Copyright 2010 Help the Hodges. All Rights Reserved This copy of Jeff Kurtti ’s “The Art of Mulan” redefines one-of-a-kind. By that I mean, this...

With all the talk this past week or so about how NBC is booting Conan O’Brien off of The Tonight Night so that network execs can then turn this show back over to Jay Leno , I thought that it might be interesting to take a look back at how CoCo actually got into the late night talk game. Which is why...

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...

If you feel a slight breeze coming from the West Coast today, that’s that huge sigh of relief coming from all of the artists & animators who worked on “ The Princess & the Frog .” Given the estimated $25 million that this new John Musker & Ron Clements movie pulled in over its first weekend...

Last week, the International Animated Film Society revealed who was in the running for this year’s Annies (which are the animation industry’s equivalent of the Academy Awards). And among those singled out for recognition this time around were writer, teacher, animator, historian and all-around-nice-guy...

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...