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Huffington Post -- Vocal cast for Disney's "Planes" includes a "Top Gun" cameo, top names from stand-up comedy So how did Klay Hall wind up as director of Disney's "Planes" ? First there was this train derailment ... Or should I say: First an earlier project that...

Huffington Post -- Rich Moore looks back at the roads not taken with Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph" It was the story that artists at Walt Disney Animation Studios had been struggling to get a handle on for over 15 years. A comic action-adventure set inside of the world of video games, where...

How Pixar added depth to the Depths in "Finding Nemo 3D" Bob Whitehill is very particular when it comes to particulates. You know what particulates are, right? Suspended solids in liquid. They're those itty-bitty bits of matter that give sea water its unique color and clarity, which is...

This past Saturday morning after our water aerobics class (Yes, Nancy has got me exercising. With the hope that I'll eventually slim down from my current Jabba-the-Hutt-like physique to something a little ... Well, less bulky), we dropped by our local WalMart to do some grocery shopping. And as I...

When the development team that was working of Disney's " Beauty and the Beast " wanted to get the look of the Beast's castle just right, what did they do? These artists toured the Loire Valley in September of 1989, visiting many of France's famous chateaus. And when the " Lion...

New and a bit alarming Who 'd have ever thought that this could be? Well, " Beauty and the Beast " co-director Kirk Wise doesn't seem all that surprised that this Academy Award-winning film (which was the first animated feature to ever be nominated for Best Picture) got selected for...

Here's kind of a depressing fact to start 2011 off with: 88% of all people will fail to keep their New Year's resolution . With 45% of those folks falling off the self-improvement wagon by the end of January. And why is that exactly? To be blunt, it's because a lot of us aren't willing...

Now let me say from the very start of today's photo essay that the Security Hosts who patrol the grounds of the Disneyland Resort actively discourage people from bringing knives on property (That's why they do those bag checks at Disneyland Plaza, after all). But that said, this time of year...

In 1979 George Lucas decided to create the Graphics Group as part of the computer division within Lucasfilm . In 1986, Steve Jobs paid Lucas $5 million and renamed the newly independent company Pixar . Twenty-five years have passed, and as of last Friday, " Toy Story 3 " has earned $920 million...

With “Toy Story 3” earning over $365 million worldwide since this Lee Unkrich film was released on June 18 th (More importantly, with the “Toy Story” franchise having produced over $8 billion in global retail sales to date), it is sometime hard to remember that – just 15 years ago – there weren’t a whole...

If you read my March 16 th non-review of that Showest screening of “ Toy Story 3 ,” then you already know that I’m a huge fan of this Lee Unkrich film. But you know what truly impressed me about this Pixar production? That in the months leading up to the release of this acclaimed animated feature, no...

It’s that time of year again. When high school and college students all over the country are graduating. More importantly, when JHM readers reach out and ask for my suggestions when it comes to the perfect graduation gift for the would-be animators and Imagineers in their families. This year, though...

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...

Let’s start with the obvious question: Is Lee Unkrich concerned that he’s going to be the guy who breaks Pixar’s now-10-pictures-long winning streak? When I got to talk with the director of “ Toy Story 3 ” as part of a roundtable session at Comic-Con last year, Lee admitted that – with each new hit that...

As I was listening to the Vikings in “ How to Train Your Dragon ” talk about how vile & nasty dragons were … I couldn’t help but think about the attitude that some animation fans have toward Dreamworks Animation . You know the people that I’m talking about. The ones who – when you say that you actually...

You’ve probably seen a lot of Joe Ranft -related material popping up around the Web over the past few days. John Musker ’s excellent story reel-based tribute to his old pal (who was tragically killed in an automobile accident back on August 16, 2005 ). No to mention the first installment of Leo Holzer...

A few days ago, Lee Unkrich tweeted this phone message that he received from someone named Geordi. Who – upon learning that Lee was directing “ Toy Story 3 ” – actually left Unkrich voicemail which said : “Please, please don’t screw (this movie) up … Make it big. Make sure that something very important...

With its turn-of-the-century architecture, Gotham Hall has long prided itself on being that spot in New York City “ … where style meets sophistication.” Well, yesterday morning, all of that style & sophistication gave way to silliness. As Disney Consumer Products turned this seven-story-tall gilded...

Nancy and I got the news yesterday afternoon as we were driving down to NYC. We’d stopped to gas up the car in Tolland, CT when Angela called on the cell to say that Roy E. Disney had died . This was obviously sad news. But -- to be honest -- not exactly unexpected. Ever since word leaked back in June...

So what are the odds that – all on your own – you’ll ever get to see the inside of Pixar Animation Studios ? To be honest, they’re not good. At an “Up” preview screening that was held in Hartford, CT. back in May of this year, Donald Evans (i.e. the Senior Vice President of Animation Marketing for Walt...