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Okay. I admit it. Maybe -- just maybe -- the folks at Walt Disney Studios actually do know what they are doing. Case in point: " Ratatouille ." When this Brad Bird film only sold $47 million worth of tickets over its opening weekend (Which was at least 20% less than the $60 million that industry experts...

It's the word that every Disney executive dreads: Recall. Officials at the Mouse House still shudder when they think back on the " Rescuers " recall of 1999. When 3.4 million copies of that newly released video had to be pulled off store shelves. All because -- in just two frames out of the 110,000 that...

Do you still need supplies for tomorrow's big picnic. Not to worry. I know just the place to go ... To the Kwik-E-Mart ! Photo by Max Power What's that you say? That's just a fictitious convenience store from "The Simpsons" TV series . Not anymore, pal. As part of the promotion for " The Simpsons Movie...

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...

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...

By now, I'm sure that you've heard that the Broadway musical version of "Tarzan" will be shuttering on July 8th after only 486 performances and 35 previews. To be honest, this news took a lot of theater insiders by surprise. By that I mean: Everyone in the industry was aware that -- since this Disney...

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...

You know what's really striking about Andreas Deja ? Not that he's such an accomplished animator, the talent behind such memorable Disney characters as Gaston in " Beauty & the Beast ," Jafar in " Aladdin ," Scar in " The Lion King ," the title character in " Hercules " as well as one of the title...

When we arrived at the Walt Disney Studio as young apprentices back in the 1950s, much of Walt's "Brain Trust" still labored in the upstairs story rooms. The Storymen -- as they were called back then -- were Disney's elite, and their names are legendary. Bill Peet , Winston Hibler , Ralph Wright , Milt...

Shades of Sesame Street ! Is Mickey really looking to put Kermit & Co. back in the educational television business ? That's the rumor that's currently making the rounds. Thanks -- in large part -- to a new online survey that was initially mentioned last Monday on the message boards over at " American...

Steve T. writes in to say: My family and I caught a sneak preview of " Nancy Drew " this past weekend. And I was surprised to see Pat Carroll do a cameo in that movie. She's always been one of my favorites, even before she did her memorable turn in Disney's " The Little Mermaid ." But I've also heard...

You could hardly call it a competition. But back in the early seventies, two feature films were being developed at the Walt Disney Studios. Ultimately, only one project would be given the green light for production. F-Wing was on the second floor of the Animation Building. And at the far end of the wing...

Good God. Has it really been less than a year and a half since " High School Musical " originally debuted on the Disney Channel ? Copyright 2006 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved Back in January of 2006, Mouse House execs were just hoping that they hadn't wasted any of their promotional money...

How many of you remember " Primeval ," that "R" rated horror flick that Walt Disney Studios released through its seldom-used Hollywood Pictures arm back in January ? Copyright 2007 Hollywood Pictures Company. All Rights Reserved Obviously, this isn't the sort of movie that Mickey usually makes. But given...

This past Friday, Amid Amidi (Who -- along with noted animation historian Jerry Beck -- rides herd on the always-entertaining-and-informative Cartoon Brew ) was singled out for a pretty amazing honor. You see, the Theatre Library Association declared that Amid's latest book -- " Cartoon Modern: Style...

I've always been fascinated by storytellers. Those gifted individuals who have the ability to spin a captivating yarn and pull you totally into a make-believe world. Animation has had its fair share of talented storytellers. Lucky for me, I've had the opportunity to know and work with a few of them during...

It's one thing for Disney Studio executives to decide to base a motion picture on the " Pirates of the Caribbean " theme park ride. It's quite another to take that bare-bones idea and then turn it something truly special. A series of films that people the world over could then enthusiastically embrace...

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 -...

Having gone for the gold with its " Pirates of the Caribbean " trilogy, is the Mouse now getting ready to go for the silver ? As in "Hi-yo, Silver ! " It certainly sounded that way late last week. As the Web (Keying off of a story that had originally been posted on Collider back on May 24th) was suddenly...