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I've always loved Toontown in the " Roger Rabbit " cartoons. Toontown was the special area of Tinseltown where cartoon characters were segregated because they were -- Toons. I've always thought this a brilliant metaphor for racial inequities in the real world. Being a cartoonist and a person of color...

So last week, I'm wandering around the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center , trying to scope out all of the cool Disney-related stuff that's on display at the American International Toy Fair (Take -- for example -- these truly beautiful "Pirates of the Caribbean" sculptures that National Entertainment...

I got a lot of nice notes in response to yesterday's Peter Ellenshaw tribute . Though what I thought was kind of intriguing was the theme that ran through many of these e-mails. Which was: "How I wish I'd had the chance to stand in Peter Ellenshaw's studio and watch that man work. See how the special...

It's often been said that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Well, I'm guessing that the folks at Walt Disney Feature Animation have never heard that expression. For they're right in the middle of an Extreme Makeover of their 2008 release, "American Dog." Gone is Chris Sanders ' quirk-filled take...

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...

First up, Robert M. writes in to ask: Jim, This may have been asked before. But since Robert Zemeckis is now back with Disney, what do you think the chances are that they will try to produce that long anticipated Roger Rabbit sequel? Rob M. Rob M. To be honest, I think that the ship has already sailed...

First up, Kelly T. writes in to ask: Whatever became of Roger Colton ? I used to really enjoy his "Ruminations" column. But it's been months now since you last published anything from Roger. Is everything okay? Kelly T. Everything's fine. It's just that -- after almost four years of writing for JHM ...

Okay. How many of you remember that story that I told as part of last Friday's "Why For" column ? Where I detailed how -- back in the early 1990s -- Universal Studios swooped in & snagged the theme park rights to Jay Ward 's Rocky & Bullwinkle characters right out from under Mickey's nose? The...

Picking up where we left off last week ... Things were a little bit different when I returned to Pixar Animation Studios in 1998. This was the second year in the development of " Toy Story 2 ," and it's not surprising to hit a few snags in this wacky process of crafting an animated feature film. Things...

First up, Rich writes in to say: Hello, Jim, I was hoping you could answer this Disney related riddle for me since you seem to be the Disney Go To Guy. A friend, knowing I am a huge fan of both Dave Steven 's The Rocketeer , as well as of the Disney film , once told me that in the summer of 1991, Disneyland...

It was a year ago today that newspapers around the world featured the headline: " Disney Buys Pixar ." With articles trumpeting the $7.4 billion the Mouse was about to pay out in order to acquire Pixar Animation Studios . Oh, sure. There were a few of us out there who squawked about that ginormous price...

Picking up from last week ... As usual, I decided to sit in the rear of the theater at Pixar Animation Studios . It was the day of the John Lasseter screening of " Toy Story 2 ," and I decided it was best to remain out of sight. This was nothing new for me. I learned this back in the sixties at the Disney...

Whatever you're reading, whatever you're doing right now ... Stop it. Drop everything and click on this link ASAP. This, my friend, is the on-line version of the Walt Disney Company's 2006 annual report. And -- as you burrow through all of the various sections of this report -- if you're a hardcore Disney...

Picking up where we left off last week ... In early in 1997, we had been storyboarding on the sequel to "Toy Story" at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. Occasionally, our small crew would fly north to meet with our Pixar colleagues. Our meetings were always high spirited and energetic because things were...

This week's "Toon Tuesday" column (I.E. "How will 'Ratatouille' fare in Hollywood's Summer 2007 rat race ?" ) generated an awful lot of controversy. I got phone calls from Burbank, e-mails from Emeryville. With all sorts of folks who are intimately involved with this production chiming in, wishing to...

I have to tell you that " Bah, Humduck ! A Looney Tunes Christmas " caused a considerable rift in the Hill household this holiday season. Copyright 2006 Warner Home Entertainment My daughter Alice just hated this Christmas special. After catching "Bah, Humduck !" after it originally...

First of all, don't let the title fool you. " A Sesame Street Christmas Carol " really doesn't have a whole lot to do with Charles Dickens. Copyright 2006 Sony Wonder Oh, sure. This 2006 Sony Wonder release does borrow a few key concepts from that classic holiday tale. In that -- on...

Over the past 37 installments of JHM's " Scrooge U " series, we've shown that "A Christmas Carol" is a surprisingly flexible property. That even when you change Ebenezer Scrooge's race , sex & nationality or shift this holiday tale's setting from 1840s London to...

"Tell the truth. You're getting kind of tired of writing about ' A Christmas Carol ,' aren't you?" No, this wasn't an e-mail that some disgruntled JHM reader sent me. But -- rather -- the ever-wise & patient Nancy (Who -- FYI -- has been formatting each & every one...

Does the name " GoodTimes Home Video " sound familiar to you? If you're an animation fan, it probably should. Given that this is the infamous production company that churned out all of those cheap Disney knock-offs. With the hope that consumers might then get confused and accidentally buy...