Browse By Tags

"Dying is easy. Comedy is hard." These were supposedly the last words of Sir Donald Wolfit , a British actor & director who passed away back in 1968. Though I'm sure that there's a few Imagineers at Walt Disney World right now who - after five weeks of watching their CG performers repeatedly die...

Well, at least there's some truth-in-advertising to be found in this 1998 home premiere. For -- though " An All Dogs Christmas Carol " may not actually be an adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic tale -- this holiday special is definitely a dog. Copyright 1998 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation...

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...

I've been trolling around the web this morning, checking out all of the reviews that have been posted to date for " The Fox & The Hound 2. " And the general consensus seems to be that this "midquel" to Walt Disney Productions' 1981 release, " The Fox & The Hound ," is ... Well ... a dog. Which...

You want to hear something ironic? It was an act of generosity that -- in a roundabout way -- led to Alan Young being cast as the world's most miserly duck. Copyright 2004 Disney Enterprises, Inc. I'm serious, folks. Back in the 1960s, this " Mr. Ed " star helped a young man who was just getting started...

Earlier today, Mark S. sent me an e-mail asked: Dear Jim: Today's "Scrooge U" article compelled me to pull out my old VHS copy of " Mickey's Christmas Carol ." And you're right. It is fun spotting all of those characters from earlier Disney films that pop up in the picture. In addition to those " Mr...

Correct me if I'm wrong. But weren't we all laboring under the assumption that -- now that a new management team was in place -- that the Walt Disney Company would stop using Michael Eisner 's old playbook. And yet what did the Mouse do this past Friday afternoon? Waited 'til Wall Street had closed up...

Okay. I know. We all love those moments in "A Christmas Carol" after Scrooge has been redeemed. When the old skinflint tries to make amends to all those he's wronged over the years. That's when Dickens' classic holiday tale becomes truly heart-warming. But -- prior to this point...

So here I was yesterday, talking about how the Mouse is growing frustrated with the on-line Disneyana community . Reportedly because us dweebs are so quick to condemn anything new that Walt Disney Imagineering proposes for the parks. But now comes word that WDI is actually thinking of using us weenies...

Remember how I talked yesterday about how the CBS " Shower of Stars " version of " Scrooge " should have worked? What with a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright handling the adaptation of Dickens' classic holiday tale, a two-time Academy Award-winner performing the title role and...

John S. writes in to ask: Jim -- My son and I recently discovered your website and we've really been enjoyed digging through all of your old stories. Since my son is now showing such a keen interest in the history of the Walt Disney Company, I thought that I might give him a Disney history book as a...

I was just watching the news. And they had on another one of those stories about Black Friday . You know, the day after Thanksgiving? Which is supposedly the busiest shopping day of the year. Anyway ... This reporter was going on and on about the sales that the big boxes will be holding this Friday....

John Lasseter clearly must be a theater fan. After all, week before last, Lasseter was down at Disney World checking out DAK 's " Finding Nemo --The Musical ." Then this past Thursday, John was out in NYC attending the opening night of Disney Theatrical 's newest production, " Mary Poppins ." Which is...

The order reportedly came down on November 1st. Target employees around the country were given very specific instructions about what they were supposed to do. Which involved pulling down in-store signage that promoted most Disney products. Mind you, this order didn't just go out to a handful of Target...

For a film that has yet to officially be green-lit, " The Frog Princess " sure seems to be causing a lot of controversy. Late last week, rumors began flying around the animation community that WDFA staffers were allegedly upset with John Lasseter . Supposedly because the chief creative officer of Disney...

If you're a Disney history buff, you've undoubtedly seen this photograph before ... Copyright 2006 University Press of Kentucky It's from the infamous strike of 1941. When hundreds of artists & animators picketed right outside of the Buena Vista Street entrance to the studio. With the hope that Walt...

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...

Perhaps some of you are knowledgeable about Disney's first female animator, Retta Scott . Ms Scott has a credit on the Disney feature, " Bambi ." And I'm willing to bet she has been an inspiration for a lot of young women hoping for a career in animation. Unfortunately, I never met Retta Scott. But I...

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 cut to the chase, shall we? The Walt Disney biography that all of us dweebs have been waiting for (Some of us, for decades now) ... is finally here . While there may have been other fine books written about the founder of the Walt Disney Company (Bob Thomas' " Walt Disney: An American Original...