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For three weeks now, photos of a mysterious bankers box have been making the rounds on the Web. Brad Bird and Damon Lindelof reportedly deliberately put these images out there to help whet people's appetites for " Tomorrowland ," the sci-fi -themed project that these two wrote which is...

My animation friends & colleagues can pretty much tell the same story. All of us benefited greatly by having the opportunity to work side-by-side with seasoned veterans.Our careers were enriched by the tips and techniques they generously shared with us over the years. However, there was one other...

Today's the day that the 2012 Newport Beach Film Festival officially gets underway. And given that -- for the past four years now -- this annual event has been a lot of animation fans' radar thanks to those "Evenings of Disney Rarities" screenings that Oscar-nominated producer Don Hahn...

Wow. Has it really been 15+ years since Beth Dunlop wrote " Building a Dream: The Art of Disney Architecture " ? Obviously Disney's world has gotten a whole lot bigger since 1996. Which is why I think it's terrific that Disney Editions recently decided to revisit Dunlop's book....

I'm sure that you're already familiar with that Audio Animatronic version of Abraham Lincoln which appears in The Hall of Presidents at WDW 's Magic Kingdom . Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved And maybe you've seen that cool, new NextGen version of Honest Abe which...

We got any " No Ordinary Family " fans out there? The cast of "No Ordinary Family." (L to R) Romany Malco, Kay Panabaker, Michael Chiklis, Julie Benz, Jimmy Bennett, Autumn Reeser and Stephen Collins. Photo by Bob D'Amico. Copyright American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All rights...

I’ve often been asked this goofy question. “How would you run an animation studio if you were in charge?” Questions like this come from young people who assume I have answers. The truth is, I’m not in that position, and I don’t expect to be. However, I once ran my own business...

In an age where even blockbusters have to battle for screen space (Witness what happened late last month when the studios behind “ How to Train Your Dragon ” and “ Clash of the Titans ” clashed over the limited number of 3D-capable theaters that were available at that time), what chance does a dinky...

I don’t know who came up with the bright idea, but it was a darn good one. What about spending our noon hour with the Vice Chairman of Walt Disney Feature Animation ? Would Roy Edward Disney accept our invitation, we wondered? The only way to find out was to simply ask. The early 1980s proved to...

Okay. I know. JHM has already done a number of stories on “ Disney Prep and Landing ,” that new holiday special that Walt Disney Animation Studios produced exclusively for ABC (which – FYI – wound up being the highest rated Christmas special of the 2009 – 2010 season ). Copyright 2009 Disney Enterprises...

If you feel a slight breeze coming from the West Coast today, that’s that huge sigh of relief coming from all of the artists & animators who worked on “ The Princess & the Frog .” Given the estimated $25 million that this new John Musker & Ron Clements movie pulled in over its first weekend...

Are you an animation professional and/or a toon enthusiast? If so, then there’s only one place that you need to be this coming weekend. And that’s the CTN Animation Expo 2009 . Copyright 2009 Creative Talent Network. All Rights Reserved Presented by the Creative Talent Network , this three-day long event...

If you’re ever lucky enough to get inside of the Sorcerer Mickey building , you then HAVE TO go check out the 1300 corridor. Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved This is where the personal artwork of Walt Disney Animation Studios staffers is displayed. They literally just wrapped up this year’s Halloween...

You’re going to read a lot of stories this morning about how Disney’s “A Christmas Carol” had a bad opening weekend. How – because this new Robert Zemeckis movie didn’t make $35 - $40 million during its first three days in domestic release – this rather expensive ImageMovers Digital production is now...

He’s ba-a-ack. After taking a six month sabbatical from the Mouse House, master animator Glen Keane is back. Keane – who stepped down from his directorial position on “ Rapunzel ” last October due to health-related reasons – is now back supervising animation on that project. Master animator Glen Keane...

I’ve been spending a fair amount of time in Disney’s old Animation Building recently. A visit to the second floor always provokes a flood of memories. The structure has been renovated, and yet things look pretty much the same. At least enough remains to remind this Disney veteran of a time long gone...

I'll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue And it's hey to the starboard, heave-ho Look out, lad, a mermaid be waiting for you In mysterious fathoms belo w ... Twenty or so years ago, I gathered with a small group in a Walt Disney Animation Studios screening room in Glendale, CA. Directors John Musker...

Some years ago, I watched helplessly as Walt Disney's animation department was moved out of their old building on the Burbank lot. You see, the new management needed room to expand, and animators took up space. So clearly somebody had to go. The Animation Building on Disney's Burbank Lot. You can wait...

Picking up where we left off last week ... "Wild Life" had been in development for nearly two years, and now it was finally moving toward production. The crew was delighted when word got out that two sequences had been given the green light for production. In spite of the obvious story and theme issues...

There's a popular television show called " Survivor ." I've never been able to watch this show or even take it seriously. It's difficult to consider the consequences of surviving on a desert island when craft services is located nearby. However, I did see some real survivors a few weeks ago as I walked...