So just how quickly after the Disney - Lucasfilm acquisition was officially announced was tonight's "Phineas & Ferb Star Wars" special put into production? Well, to hear Dan Povenmire & Jeff "Swampy" Marsh tell the story, this affectionate-yet-hilarious show (which airs tonight at 9 p.m., 8 p.m. Central on the Disney Channel) was greenlit mere moments after this $4.06 million deal was revealed to the public back on October 30, 2012. "We were sitting in an audio...

It took the stage version of Disney's "The Little Mermaid" quite a while to finally find its sea legs. When the original Broadway production opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater back in January of 2008, the critics were not kind. Ben Brantley of the New York Times was particularly vicious, calling "Mermaid" an " ... unfocused spectacle" which saddled its cast with " ... ungainly guess-what-I-am costumes" and then forced them to perform in front of "...

You've no doubt already heard about all of the box office records that " Frozen " has broken over the past eight months (With the most recent one being the 16 weeks that this Walt Disney Animation Studios production spent as the No. 1 film in Japan. "Frozen" sold over $240 million worth of tickets in that country before it was finally knocked out of the top spot . Ironically enough by another Disney movie, " Maleficent "). But were you aware of how well the "Frozen"...

"Do your research." That is the lesson that John Lasseter -- Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney & Pixar Animation Studios -- has repeatedly drilled into the artists that he works with. That before they jump feet-first into developing a brand-new animated feature, these filmmakers must first understand the world that this movie's characters are supposed to occupy. CalFire crew members jump out of a plane as part of a training exercise. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights...

With everyone else looking forward to tomorrow's grand opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley , it might seem kind of strange that Tom Williams -- the Chairman and CEO of Universal Parks & Resorts -- is using this exact same moment to look backwards. "But you have to understand that I was part of the opening team for Universal Studios Florida . I was here back in 1987 when this was all still snake-filled marshland. And to see what it's become -- Central Florida's...

So when Disney Television Animation decided to build a show around the Seven Dwarfs, how did they give this new animated series its own identity? Make sure that people wouldn't confuse this program with the classic animated feature that the Dwarfs debuted in back in 1937? Well, DTA did this by giving this new Disney Junior series a somewhat edgy title, " The 7D ." They also gave the Dwarfs a bold new look & different personalities. And then -- to make sure that today's kids...

I realize that everyone out there in Online-land is already getting ready for the long Fourth of July Weekend. But before you plunge into three straight days of backyard barbeques & fireworks, I wanted to direct your attention to something cool that the Disney History Institute just posted: Project Fair Winds . Jeremy Marx spent the past 8 months putting together a CG version of the Tower of the Four Winds. Which recreates all 52 of the mobiles which decorated that 120 foot-tall, 100 ton structure...

So what did you think of "Maleficent" ? This past weekend, that Robert Stromberg film blew through the $200-million-in-domestic-ticket-sales barrier. Which makes this Walt Disney Pictures a blockbuster by modern Hollywood standards. That -- coupled with the $383.7 million that "Maleficent" has earned overseas to date -- means that this reimagining of "Sleeping Beauty" will ultimately be a very profitable enterprise for the Mouse. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All...

Well, it's July 1st. And you know what that means. Only 177 shopping days 'til Christmas. Mind you, when you head out to the mall this coming holiday season, you may discover something entirely new. Which is the DreamWorks DreamHouse. "And what is the DreamWorks DreamHouse?," you ask. Well, it's a whole line of business for that Glendale, CA-based animation studios. One that DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg talked up last month during his keynote address at the 2014 Licensing...

Janet from Another Planet sent me a note this past weekend, saying: I thought you were going to tell us more about what you saw at this year's Licensing Show in Las Vegas. What happened to that article? Photo by Jim Hill Nothing, actually. It just took me a while to wade through the hundreds of photos that I took at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center earlier this month. You gotta understand that the Licensing Expo kind of redefines sensory overload. As soon as you make your way onto the show...

All day long, I've been getting e-mails from JHM readers about "Frozen Summer Fun: Live at Disney's Hollywood Studios," which kicks off on July 5th and then runs straight through September 1st. What people most seem to want to know is this really Disney's response to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley (which -- not-so-co-incidentally -- officially opens to the public on July 8th)? Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved Well, while I enjoy a good...

Greetings from Las Vegas, where Licensing Expo 2014 officially gets underway later this morning. Photo by Jim Hill As you wandered through the upper floors of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center yesterday, you couldn't help but notice the folks who were hurrying to get the hall ready for today's events. Photo by Jim Hill Either by hanging banners or by using forklifts to carefully put heavy three-dimensional promotional pieces into place. Photo by Jim Hill Mind you, not everyone was willing...

I know that stateside Harry Potter fans have been focusing on the upcoming opening of Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida ... Copyright Universal Orlando. All rights reserved ... while folks overseas have been counting down the days 'til The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens at Universal Studios Japan . But it's also important to remember that Universal Studios Hollywood will soon be getting its own Wizarding World. And as I toured the Upper Lot yesterday ... Photo by Jim Hill ...

So how do you know Jim Dale ? To be honest, it kind of depends on which decade you grew up in. If you were in the UK back in the 1950s, maybe you were lucky enough to catch Dale's stage debut where -- at the tender age of 17 & a 1/2 -- he became the youngest professional comic to work the English Musical Hall circuit. If you're a child of the Sixties, perhaps you know Jim as the lyricist for "Georgy Girl" (which Rolling Stone -- back in 2002 -- said was No. 36 on that magazine's...

When it comes to the Walt Disney Parks & Resorts , it's kind of a tradition that good enough isn't really good enough. Case in point: " Pirates of the Caribbean ." When Walt Disney first envisioned bringing buccaneers into his first theme park in the late 1950s, he was thinking more of a walk-through attraction. A place where Disneyland Guests would first descend from street level in New Orleans Square and then stroll past this elaborately-themed dungeon which was to be filled...

After having dealt with those record low temperatures that this past Winter's Polar Vortex whipped up, I have to admit that I am genuinely enjoying this year's belated (but much appreciated) Spring. But that said, I recognize that late 2013 / early 2014 wasn't the only time that things got really, really cold here in the US. One other time that immediately comes to mind is January 21, 1985. Which is when things got so cold in Washington D.C. that then-President Ronald Reagan was forced...

Back when our grandparents used to visit the Sunshine State, there was always one place that they had to visit. And that was Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, Florida . Started back in 1936 by Dick Pope Sr. and his wife Julie, this 170-acre park quickly became world-famous for its lush botanical gardens & elaborate water skiing shows. But with the opening of Walt Disney World in 1971, the center of gravity for Florida tourism suddenly shifted over to Orlando. And with fewer & fewer folks now...

Given that the Memorial Day Weekend is traditionally when Americans take their first road trip of the year, it's entirely appropriate that Disney Movies Anywhere has just rolled out a brand-new " Cars " short, "Radiator Springs 500 1/2." Copyright Disney Pixar. All rights reserved This film is the first in a brand-new series of Car Toons from Disney*Pixar, "Tales from Radiator Springs." And when I asked Rob Gibbs -- the director of "Radiator Springs 500 1/2"...

So how do you follow Disney "Frozen," the top grossing animated film of all time ? That Academy Award-winning motion picture which then went on became a pop culture phenomenon ? The movie that taught people around the planet to "Let It Go" ? The quick answer is: You don't. Borrowing a page from Walt himself (i.e. " You can't top pigs with pigs "), Disney decided go in a very different direction with its "Frozen" follow-up. Which is why -- much in the...

For those who are keeping tabs on these things ... Nancy and I are now in Week 1235 of dealing with the cold-that-won't-quit. So our mornings are spent snuffling. Our afternoons are spent hacking. And as for our evenings ... Well, they're mostly spent cleaning up after all of that snuffling & hacking. In the entire 55 years I've been on this planet, I've never honestly been this sick for this long. And given that all of this coughing & wheezing has completely fried my voice...

2012 is not a year that James Monroe Iglehart looks back fondly upon. Mostly because he spent a lot of that year staring at his phone, waiting for it to ring. Adam Jacobs and James Monroe Inglehart in the 5th Avenue Theatre's 2011 production of Disney "Aladdin." "We had done the pilot production of 'Aladdin' in Seattle at the 5th Avenue Theatre in July of 2011. And then the powers-that-be at Disney went off to decide if they really want to bring this show to Broadway,"...

" To dream the impossible dream ... " That's the first line from the hit song from " Man of La Mancha ." Which was the stage musical adaptation of Miguel de Cervantes ' seventeenth century masterpiece, " Don Quixote ." Image courtesy of S/R Laboratories Animation Art Conservation Center But in a weird sort of way, that line also describes Walt Disney Studios' attitude toward Cervantes's spoof of chivalry. You see, the Mouse tried four separate times to...

You know it's going to happen, don't you? Given that " Godzilla " has been projected to earn as much as $75 million over its opening weekend , you can bet that -- come Monday morning -- some theme park fan, as they're telling their friends & family about this Legendary Pictures production, will then say "Wow! Wouldn't be great if someone built a Godzilla ride?" Well, as it turns out, 20 years ago, someone did actually did build a "King of the Monsters"...

Let's cut to the chase here: " Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts " (i.e. the feature attraction for Diagon Alley , that new Harry Potter-themed land which will be opening at Universal Studios Florida later this summer) isn't just a thrill ride. It's really " Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2.1 " According to Thierry Coup , the Senior Vice President of Universal Creative (i.e., the arm of Universal Parks & Resorts that designs all of the rides...

I'm sure -- by now -- that you're heard that " Once Upon a Time " teased that Elsa from Disney "Frozen" will be coming to Storybrooke for Season 4 of this hit ABC series. Copyright American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Now some of you out there (I'm sure ) will see this as a naked cash grab. The Mouse finding yet another way to make money off of this mega-hit Walt Disney Animation Studios release. But that's really not what happened here. As...