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Good God. Are we really already be up to Volume 9 in the “Walt’s People” series? I can recall when Disney Historian Didier Ghez initially proposed these books (which – if I’m remembering correctly – was sometime back during the Pleistocene Epoch) that would collect & then reprint the very best Mouse...

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...

Trina P. wrote in to say: Thanks for sharing those pictures from the Tim Burton exhibition at the MoMA . I’m a huge Burton fan and had wanted to get down to NYC while that exhibit was there, but never found the time. I noticed that you had a lot of pictures from Tim Burton movies that never got made...

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...

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...

It was late summer 1958 and things had been going well. The mad rush to wrap the animated feature film, “ Sleeping Beauty ” was finally succeeding, and the film was well on its way to completion. Taking a break from the drawing board, I headed up to the second floor of the Animation Building...

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...

So how long has Donny Osmond been closely associated with The Walt Disney Company? "About 200 or 300 years," this pop icon joked as he made an appearance yesterday in the Mattel showroom at the American International Toy Fair . Which isn't entirely true. I mean, Donny's brothers did get their big break...

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...

GnatteringGnate writes in to ask: So you were out in Southern California last week. Did you do anything cool? Did you get to see any celebrities? Well, I did get to see the cast of one Academy Award-nominated film up-close while I was out on the West Coast … Photo by Noe Valladolid … but they were all...

The juggernaut that is Disney’s “The Lion King” just rolls on and on and on. The stage musical version of this Academy Award-winning animated feature isn’t just one of the most popular shows on Broadway. It’s now one of the most beloved pieces of entertainment in the world. Want proof? Then let’s take...

For a guy who spends much of his time among the stars (the Hollywood kind, anyway), author and film historian Leonard Maltin is surprisingly down-to-earth. Which is why – when Leonard and I chatted on the phone yesterday about how he’d been selected to receive the very first NFFC-Disneyana Fan Club Heritage...

You know what they say in Hollywood. That your movie is only as good as your villain. Well, one of the main reasons that Disney’s “ The Princess and the Frog ” was so highly praised (Richard Corliss of “Time” Magazine flat-out called Disney’s return to hand-drawn animation “… the best film of the year...

It’s always been one of the great what-ifs of Disney history. What if … All of the Studio’s overseas markets hadn’t been cut off by the start of World War II? It’s well known that – as of the late 1930s -- Walt was well into development of full-length animated versions of “ Alice in Wonderland ,” “ Peter...

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...

Okay. I know. It’s verging on panic time when it comes to holiday gifts. Especially if you’re still looking for something for the Disneyana fan on your Christmas list. You know, the one who’s always so difficult to shop for? Not to worry, though. The always reliable Jeff Kurtti (i.e. the guy behind ...