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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...

If you go strictly by the numbers, there aren't really a whole lot of reasons to be happy with the way " Ratatouille " performed this past weekend. Were you to compare how this new Brad Bird film opened versus how other earlier Pixar movies did over their opening weekends ... Title of Movie Year Released...

Over the past six months, JHM has featured a number of stories that talked about the Walt Disney Company's concerns about " Ratatouille ." How the marketing department at the studio has been struggling to find just the right way to promote this new Brad Bird film. (Don't believe me? Then check out these...

It is one of the more intriguing aspects of the production history of Pixar 's latest, " Ratatouille ." The fact that this animated feature started off with one director (I.E. Jan Pinkava , who helmed this animation studio's Academy Award-winning short , " Geri's Game ") yet wound up being completed...

Here's the official party line for the Walt Disney Company nowadays : That everyone who works in Burbank is just thrilled that John Lasseter & Ed Catmull now exert so much control over the corporation. More importantly, that all Mouse House employees have been eager to embrace Pixar 's "Quality is...

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...

This past Tuesday afternoon, the news traveled around the Disney lot at lightning speed. PAs saw it displayed on their pagers, while executives read all about it on their Blackberrys. Sharon Morrill -- the long-time president of DisneyToon Studios -- was out. Morrill -- who (it's said) had made billions...

As you might expect, I got an awful lot of e-mail yesterday concerning that "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" project that Universal Studios just announced. That $500 million re-theming of the "Lost Continent" section of Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park . First up, Kurt G. wrote in to say...

Did anyone else find it kind of bizarre that Disney's PR flaks are already out there, trying to spin " Pirates of the Caribbean : At World's End " 's box office results ? Okay, admittedly this Gore Verbinski film didn't top " Spider-Man 3 " 's stateside opening weekend numbers ... But -- that said -...

Monday, September 17, 1979 is a day that lives in infamy. At least for the folks at Disney Feature Animation. You see, that was the day that Don Bluth , Gary Goldman and John Pomeroy suddenly resigned from the Mouse House to form their own animation studio, Aurora. And over the four days, nine other...

In October of 1994, when Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg first announced that they were about to launch a brand-new entertainment company ... Well, this trio of show business vets was thought to be so unstoppable that the Hollywood press corps dubbed them the Dream Team. But 11...

By now, you've probably heard that Nikki Finke has confirmed what I wrote back back on February 5th (Though -- to be fair here -- I guess I should acknowledge that it was actually Arthur Levine of About.com & Lance Hart of Screamscape who first reported this story). That Universal Studios has in...

To hear Roy Disney tell the tale, he basically owes his entire career in animation to his mother needing a babysitter. "When my Mother needed to go shopping, she'd drop me off with my Dad's office," Roy explained. "And my Dad would eventually say 'Get out of my office and find someone else to play with...

I spent the better part of yesterday on the phone with folks at Walt Disney Studios. Each of whom put their own special spin on " Meet the Robinsons " 's No. 2 finish at the box office this past weekend. Okay. So $25.1 million in ticket sales isn't exactly something to sneeze at. Particularly when you...

For the past decade, the Sonoma Valley Film Festival has heard the refrains of "You've Got A Friend In Me" from John Lasseter , the creative force behind Pixar . Now the festival is turning the tables and planning quite a bash April 11-15 in recognition not only of its 10th anniversary but in tribute...

In a little more than three months time, Pixar 's next big release, " Ratatouille " will be rolling into theaters. And -- to date -- Walt Disney Pictures ' promotional department has done everything that they can in order to get the word out about this Brad Bird film. This includes creating a teaser...

Given that it's only 64 pages long, " The Art of Meet the Robinsons " (Hyperion, February 2007) can hardly be called an in-depth look at the creation of Walt Disney Feature Animation's next release. Copyright 2007 Disney Editions But -- then again -- given that making-of books aren't selling all that...

Over the past five weeks, the Walt Disney Company has really been out there thumping the tub for their upcoming line-up of animated features. In early February, John Lasseter & Ed Catmull were talking up " Meet the Robinsons ," " Ratatouille ," " WALL * E ," " American Dog " and " Toy Story 3 "to...

On behalf of the Walt Disney Company and its stockholders, I'd like to apologize to the city of New Orleans. I mean, hasn't this beautiful city suffered enough? After having been blown about by Hurricane Katrina , was it really necessary to then expose the Big Easy to yet another long-winded female,...

I think that Ken K. speaks for a lot of JHM readers when he says: Now this is more like it. I thought that the JimHillMedia that I first fell in love with was gone for good. That I was never going to enjoy another epic-length theme park history story because you were too busy lecturing us about how the...