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“ … 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...

You'd think – given that Brian Roberts was the guy behind Comcast ’s February 2004 bid to buy Disney for $66 billion – that today’s announcement (i.e. that the U.S. largest cable services company has just signed an agreement with General Electric . Which will then give Comcast control over NBC Universal...

If you’re a fan of The Walt Disney Company’s theatrical productions , then you should probably make a point of setting your TiVo to record Friday’s “ Live with Regis & Kelly ” (when the Las Vegas company of “ The Lion King ” will be making an appearance on that syndicated morning talk show) as well...

Those of you who were so quick to dismiss Robert Zemeckis ’ “ A Christmas Carol ” as a cinematic lump of coal in Disney’s corporate stocking may want to take another look at the grosses for this performance capture picture. As Bob Iger admitted during last week’s quarterly earnings conference call :...

In honor of Columbus Day, I thought that we’d spend today peeking over the horizon. Discovering what new worlds possibly awaits us by checking out some of the domain names The Walt Disney Company has registered over the past few weeks. All of you athletic-types who enjoy taking part in endurance events...

As I sat in the Arena at the Anaheim Convention Center earlier this month, watching the Walt Disney Studios presentation at the D23 EXPO, I remember thinking that no one but Dick Cook could pull off a show like this. Kelly Preston, Ella Bleu Travolta, John Travolta and Disney's Dick Cook at Walt Disney...

The late, great George Carlin once had this routine about words that no one has ever said before. Truly unlikely phrases like: George Carlin (1937 – 2008) "Please saw my legs off." "Hand me that piano." "Do what you want to the girl, but leave me alone!" Why do I bring that up now? Well, while I was...

Mickey, meet Spidey. Spidey, Mickey. In a deal that (I’m sure) the Disneyana community will have trouble wrapping its head around, The Walt Disney Company announced plans today to acquire Marvel Entertainment, Inc. in a stock and cash transaction worth an estimated $4 billion. As to what actually drove...

If you’re going to see “ Ponyo ” and expecting yet another ambitious animated feature like “ Spirited Away ” and/or “ Princess Mononoke ,” you may be in for a bit of a disappointment. Copyright 2009 Disney Enterprises, Inc. / Copyright 2008 Nibariki-GNDHDDT. All Rights Reserved This time around, Japanese...

You'll find all sorts of tributes to the late John Hughes around the Web today. Stories where people talk about their favorite lines and/or sequences from " Sixteen Candles ," " Pretty in Pink " and " Ferris Bueller's Day Off ." But I wonder how many of these articles will bother to mention the role...

In response to last week’s Alice in Wonderland touring exhibit article , Cheshire Brat wrote in to say: In today’s article, you say that Tim Burton wants his version of “ Alice in Wonderland ” to be different from all the movies & TV shows that proceed it. That this time around, Burton wants to emotionally...

Is it just me? Or does it seem like – every other week – someone new is inventing yet another reason to go after “ The Princess and the Frog ”? Almost from the moment that this Walt Disney Animation Studios’ production was officially announced back in March of 2007, there have been individuals &...

I’m almost afraid to say this, given that there are still two installments of the “Harry Potter” film franchise yet to come (i.e. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One,” which is currently slated to hit theaters in November of 2010. While “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two” will...

Forget about the flying house, that giant bird and the talking dog. All of those out-of-the-ordinary items. Because -- when you get right down to it --“ Up ” is a movie that celebrates the boring stuff. Those tiny, little moments that really make life worth living. Copyright Disney / Pixar. All Rights...

The TV commercials claim that “ This is not your father’s Star Trek .” Which made me wonder: What audience is this new J.J. Abrams movie actually aimed at? Copyright 2009 Pararmount Pictures. All Rights Reserved So – to get a sense of who’d embrace this Star Trek reboot – I assembled a rather unique...

In honor of the 20 th anniversary of Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Which The Walt Disney World Resort will be celebrating this Friday with a variety of events at that theme park), I thought it might be interesting today to explore one of the great “What If” moments in Hollywood history. As in: What would...

In response to last week's review of Jeff Kurtti 's newest book , " Walt Disney's Imagineering Legends and the Genesis of the Disney Theme Park ," I got the following e-mail: Not everyone who reads JimHillMedia is interested in the Disney theme parks. Some of us come to your site because we want to learn...

Twilight is traditionally a time of shadows. But from what I hear, no one at Walt Disney Pictures dreamed that " Bolt " would be so totally overshadowed by “ Twilight ” at the box office this past weekend . As recently as 10 days ago, Mouse House marketing types were quietly putting out the word that...

This past weekend, I found myself 90 miles from home in Hingham, MA. Photo by Jim Hill Why had I driven down to the South Shore ? Because I was trying to find a theater here in New England that was screening " Morning Light ." Which went into extremely limited release this past Friday. Photo by Jim Hill...

By now, I'm sure that you're heard that Glen Keane is no longer the co-director of "Rapunzel." That he and Dean Wellins will be turning the reins over to Byron Howard & Nathan Greno , who were the co-director and head of story on " Bolt " respectively. To be honest, this change couldn't have come...