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"Hakuna Matata ! What a wonderful phrase. Hakuna Matata ! Ain't no passin' craze ..." If ever there's anyone on this planet who understands that Disney's " The Lion King " ain't no passin' craze, it's Danny Rutigliano . For almost a decade now, he's been appearing in the Tony Award-winning stage version...

First up, Kevin writes in to say: I was just wondering, how do Disney executives feel about the Wiggles joining up with Six Flags for the " Wiggles World " theme areas in their parks? Is this a sign that the Wiggles and Disney may be parting company soon? Kevin Dear Kevin -- Nope. You have to understand...

For Bill Nabel, Broadway's "Beauty and the Beast" really has been " ... a tale as old as time." Even before Disney Studios execs had officially decided to turn this Academy-Award animated feature into a musical for the stage, Bill has been a part of this show. "I actually took part in the first two readings...

Earlier this week, Perry T. sent me the following e-mail : Jim, Are you as sick as I am about how the Imagineers keep forcing characters into older attractions at the Disney theme parks? Just in the past six months, we've had that new " Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor " show replace the Magic Kingdom 's old...

Steve T. writes in to say: My family and I caught a sneak preview of " Nancy Drew " this past weekend. And I was surprised to see Pat Carroll do a cameo in that movie. She's always been one of my favorites, even before she did her memorable turn in Disney's " The Little Mermaid ." But I've also heard...

Gaelic Gary G. writes in to say: In honor of St. Patrick's Day , could you please share a few stories about my favorite Disney fantasy film, " Darby O'Gill and the Little People ?" Well ... What I always found intriguing about this Robert Stevenson movie is how long Walt Disney Productions had this project...

By now, you've probably seen pictures of " WALL E " 's title character. Maybe you've even caught a glimpse of this film's unique-looking logo. But what do you actually know about Pixar 's 2008 release? Very little, I'll bet. Which is standard operating procedure for this Emeryville-based animation studio...

All you Disney theatre fans out there might want to make a point of circling March 18th on your calendars. You see, that's the day that tickets for the world premiere of Disney Theatrical 's next production, " The Little Mermaid ," will officially go on sale. Copyright 2007 Disney Enterprises Of course...

Got a Barnes & Noble giftcard or an Amazon.com gift certificate that's burning a hole in your pocket? Well, if you're a Disney dweeb, you may want to hold off on those book-related impulse purchases for a while. In fact, you may actually want to start setting some dough aside. Given all of the great...

It's Christmas-crunch time, kiddies. You know what I mean. That horrible moment that arrives every holiday season. When you're feeling all smug & self-satisfied because you think that you've completed your Xmas shopping. Only to suddenly sit bolt upright in your chair and say: "Oh, cr*p! I forgot...

Yesterday's announcement that DreamWorks Animation SKG will be producing "Shrek the Halls," a new holiday special for ABC, caught a number of animation professionals by surprise. Not so much because this Glendale-based animation company was looking to move into television. As DreamWorks Animation's 2004...

It was 50 years ago tonight that the 1939 version of " The Wizard of Oz " was first shown on television. Copyright 2005 Warner Home Video The first-ever telecast of this Victor Fleming film was a rating smash. Over 44 million people tuned in to catch this broadcast (Which was hosted by the...

Let's clear up the confusion right from the start, shall we? That " Sister Act: The Musical " that's holding its world premiere at the Pasadena Playhouse tonight ... Copyright SisActs, Limited Liability Company ... is based on the Whoopi Goldberg movie that Walt Disney Studios released through its Touchstone...

First up, George S. writes to say: My family and I were visiting Disney-MGM earlier this year. And while I was at that park, I got talking with a cast member who was working at the " Great Movie Ride. " He met our car as we rolled back in that attraction's exit area and asked us what we had all thought...

You know, it was almost inevitable that Donny Osmond would wind up appearing in Disney's "Beauty & the Beast" on Broadway . Photo by Jeff Lange After all, back in 1962, the Osmonds supposedly got their start in big-time show business because they sang one day at Disneyland . As the story goes, Alan...

Now I know that this may sound like a very left-handed compliment. But -- as I was reading Tim Hollis & Greg Ehrbar's excellent " Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records " (University Press of Mississippi, May 2006) -- I kept putting their book down so that I could then go downstairs &...

Well, the good news is that the original cast recording of " Tarzan " went on sale yesterday. And this CD is a highly polished, very professional produced representation of Disney's newest Broadway musical. The bad news is ... Though "Tarzan" 's talented cast labors mightily to make this show's score...

That little gold sticker that's affixed to the front of " Beauty & the Beast " 's playbill pretty much says it all: "5000th performance." Only five other shows in the entire history of Broadway have ever run longer than that (And those shows are the still-running " Phantom of the Opera " [Which just...

First up, Louis T. writes in to ask: What happened to that seasonal retheming of WDW' s " Haunted Mansion" that you talked about a few years back? I thought that the Magic Kingdom's version of Disneyland' s " Haunted Mansion Holiday" was supposed to have officially debuted this past October. But that...

With little more than two weeks 'til " Tarzan " officially opens on Broadway, things are reportedly getting a little tense at the Richard Rodgers theatre . Where -- in spite of all the changes that have already been made to this new Disney musical -- preview audiences still aren't all that enthusiatic...