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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...

Was your darling daughter one of those tweens who helped make that " Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both World Concert " film such a smash this past weekend? If she just can't get enough of Ms. Montana, then you may want to schedule a trip to Disney's Hollywood Studios in the not-so-distant...

Marvin T. writes in ask about " National Treasure: Book of Secrets ." What do you make of the last scene of "Book of Secrets" ? The one where the President of the United States asks Benjamin Gates about what he thought about Page 47 in the President's book. And the historian / treasurer hunter replies...

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...

Okay. Fess up. Who's been screwing with the space - time continuum? The reason I ask is … In the world where I live (Well, used to live), TV movies that were produced for airing on cable channels - particularly those cable channels that targeted the tween demographic - were always pretty horrible. These...

"Maybe Tuesday will be my good news day ..." -- lyric from "The Man I Love" by George & Ira Gershwin Well, if you worked on the Miramax Films side of the Mouse House, Tuesday definitely was a "good news day." Disney's art house arm snagged Academy Award nominations for four of its most recent releases...

To millions of television fans, Suzanne Pleshette will always be Emily Hartley. The sarcastic but sexy bride of mild-mannered psychologist Bob Hartley on " The Bob Newhart Show ." But for Disneyana fans, Suzanne Pleshette will always be far more than that. She was Dean Jones ' love interest in a trio...

Now the answer to the question that everyone has been waiting for: Question: Why is the monster in " Cloverfield " tearing up Manhattan? Answer: Because this creature is still P.O.ed about not being able to score tickets to the " Hannah Montana " concert. Okay. Now that that lame joke / obligatory Disney...

How many of you know the story of the blind men and the elephant ? I bring up this ancient Indian fable because ... Well ... I have to admit that I was highly amused by what happened last Wednesday. When the on-line animation community went completely bananas over those "Bolt" pre-release images . Copyright...

"What Time Is It ?" Well, according to the folks who are working on the next installment of Disney's hugely popular "High School Musical" series , it's time to push back the start of production. Where once this Walt Disney Pictures release was supposed to begin shooting in January , now the word coming...

Do you want the Disneyana fan on your holiday shopping list to have a very "Mary" Christmas? Then be sure and pick them up a copy of Brian Sibley & Michael Lassell's " Mary Poppins: Anything Can Happen If You Let It " (Disney Editions, December 2007). Subtitled "The Story Behind the Journey from...

Over the past week or so, I must have received a dozen or more e-mails just like this one from Disney Defender: Photo by Jeff Lange Jim, Have you heard about the revamped version of Spaceship Earth that just soft-opened at Epcot ? The Imagineers have absolutely ruined this classic Future World attraction...

In response to this week's Toon Tuesday column , CC writes in to say: " Pixar wanted to produce a holiday special back in the 1980s?! Come on, Jim. You've GOT TO write an article about that." Ask and ye shall receive. But please keep in mind that the Pixar that I'll be writing about will not be the great...

It's okay. You can admit it. As the camera pulled back at the end of " Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ," leaving Captain Jack Sparrow just as we'd found him at the start of " The Curse of the Black Pearl " (i.e alone in a small boat in the middle of this empty huge sea), you felt a little blue...

Have you ever heard the old saying that "Life imitates art" ? Well, this past Wednesday night, master animator Glen Keane actually got to live that axiom. When -- after attending a performance of Disney Theatrical 's new musical, " The Little Mermaid " -- Glen got to go backstage at the Lunt-Fontanne...

Bernie W. writes in to say: Jim -- Can you please help me win a bet at work? A co-worker of mine says that WALL-E makes a brief cameo appearance in " Ratatouille ." More importantly, this guy has bet me $100 that I'll never ever be able to find that robot in this movie. Copyright 2007 Disney...

There's this genuinely eerie passage in Karen Paik 's " To Infinity and Beyond! The Story of Pixar Animation Studios " ( Chronicle Books , November 2007), which talks about how a single book basically changed the course of John Lasseter 's life. In ninth grade, Lasseter was searching the art section...

Everyone out there enjoying the day after Thanksgiving? Particularly all of those delicious leftovers that you've got stashed in the fridge? Not me. I mean, sure. I'll get to them eventually. But first ... I have to choke down a rather large portion of crow. By that I mean ... Have you seen the international...

How many of you out there remember Steve Martin , stand-up comic ? That absurdist in the white three-piece suit who -- as he was leading audience singalongs -- would say: This half of the room! Beautiful! Now this half! Good, good! All right, two fifths! Now, three-fifths! Good. Seven-ninths! Two-ninths...

A few weeks back, Nathan Rose of MagicalMountain asked me to provide him with some fairly innocuous information (i.e. My favorite Disney theme park, my favorite resort, favorite film, favorite animated character, etc.). Which Nathan then planned on using to help promote his Magical Definition podcast...