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I have been writing professionally about The Walt Disney Company for over 25 years now. Which is why I can tell you what it felt like to be in a theater on November 17, 1989. Which was the night that " The Little Mermaid " was first released to theaters. As the credits rolled, I remember turning...

It is arguably the best-loved film of that trio of fairy tales that Walt Disney Animation Studios produced during its Second Golden Age. The first hand-drawn animated feature ever to be nominated for Best Picture, " Beauty and the Beast " has been discussed, dissected and written about so often...

Steven Clark was a very busy man in July. When he wasn't down in Anaheim, helping Tony Baxter dispatch StarSpeeders full of D23 Members at last month's "Star Tours Final Flight" event ... (L to R) Steven Clark and Tony Baxter actually suited up in this July 26th members-only event,...

Do you hear that loud beep-beep-beep noise coming from Burbank? That’s The Walt Disney Company backing up. Rapidly retreating from its earlier attempts to make the Winnie the Pooh characters seem hip, fashionable and contemporary. “Coming off of ‘ My Friends Tigger and Pooh ,’ we did a lot of research...

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...

All’s well that ends well. Or so says William Shakespeare and/or John Heywood . But it’s not Heywood that we’re talking about today. But – rather – Hollywood. And after having watched Disney’s “ Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time ,” I’m now wondering if it’s actually okay to overlook the first 100 minutes...

David Kracov remembers the night that he decided to quit working in animation. “A bunch of my friends took me out to Astroburger . And while we were eating, Brad Bird tried to talk me out of quitting. Brad said that he wanted me to come work with him on this new movie he wanted to make. Which was about...

Let’s say that you had this great idea for a theme park ride. So you write your idea down and then ship it off to The Walt Disney World Resort . Care to guess what happens once your new ride proposal arrives in Orlando? As soon as the cast member who works in Guest Relations (they’re the department at...

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...

When you look at Mama Odie, what do you see? Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved Okay, for starters, she’s one of the more memorable characters from Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” (FYI: Sales of the DVD version of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ return to hand-drawn animation...

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...

For the past few months, JHM has been talking up “ Waking Sleeping Beauty ,” that terrific new documentary about the Second Golden Age of Disney Feature Animation. Well, this film goes into limited release this Friday in New York, LA, Chicago and San Francisco. The 1975 graduating class of Cal Arts included...

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...

Given this documentary’s title, it’s kind of ironic that “ Waking Sleeping Beauty ” got its start the way most of us do when we’re just trying to wake up. Which is with a good, strong cup of coffee. As director Don Hahn recalls, it was November of 2006. Peter Schneider’s latest project – a stage musical...

Why are all these people racing through the streets of New Orleans? * Photo by Nancy Stadler Because “ Dreams Come True: Art of the Classic Fairy Tales from Walt Disney Studios ” is closing on March 14 th . Which means that you now only have six short days to catch this acclaimed exhibition. Photo by...

I got a note this past weekend from HatMadder Am I the only who’s confused by what’s going on in Burbank these past few week? First Disney changes “Rapunzel” ‘s title to “Tangled” and then cancels “The Snow Queen” outright because studio execs reportedly believe that modern moviegoers are no longer interested...

What with Walt Disney Animation Studios ’ decision last week to rename “Rapunzel ,” the folks working Mattel ’s showroom at the American International Toy Fair were caught kind of flat-footed. You see, all of the signage & product that they had brought to NYC to display at the Javits Center still...

Pavement Chaser starts things off with a rather succinct query. Which reads: Copyright 1995 Disney. All Rights Reserved Was there ever a Pocahontas ride in development? Pavement Chaser Dear Pavement Chaser – Whenever Walt Disney Animation Studios has a new project in development, you can pretty much...

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...