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What was the toughest part of riding herd on all of the CG artists at Rhythm & Hues who worked on " Yogi Bear " ? According to Alex Orrelle , the Animation Supervisor on this new Warner Bros ' live-action/computer animated 3D adventure, it was actually when he had to persuade his crew...

Well, it looks like Christmas is coming a little early not only for fans of Walt Disney the man, but also for the Walt Disney Family Museum at The Presidio in San Francisco . Today, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment is releasing a combo Blu-ray / DVD collection featuring both " Fantasia"...

So what's the very best way to break into the biz? Does going to some four year school like Emerson College or CalArts (which specializes in Communications and the performing arts) really give you an advantage? Or would it better in the long run to just hook up with some outfit like pabootcamp and...

Did you catch that terrific profile of Michael Giacchino that " Variety " ran yesterday? I mean, if you thought that this Academy Award-winning composer was busy in 2009 - 2010 (i.e. that's when he composed & conducted the music for " Prep and Landing ," " Day & Night...

Nancy and I were just watching "The Purdum Reel." Which is this Special Feature on the Blu-ray version of the Diamond Edition of Disney's " Beauty and the Beast ." Which hits store shelves yesterday. Concept art from the Richard Purdum version of "Beauty and the Beast."...

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...

"Book publishers send me out to schools all the time. And the kids there always ask me how they can get a job like mine. And my answer is: Put your stuff up on the Web. Because you never know who's going to see it." Trust me, folks. Noah Z. Jones knows of what he speaks. You see, this illustrator...

Remysthe14me writes in to say: Copyright Disney Pixar. All rights reserved I saw Jon Nadelberg 's story about the " Pixar: 25 Years of Animation " exhibit at the Oakland Museum of California and was wondering if this is the same exhibition of art that was presented at the MOMA in 2005?...

You've heard "How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria," right? The song that the nuns sing in "The Sound of the Music" when they're fretting about that novice's behavior? Well, have you ever wondered what that Rodgers & Hammerstein song might sound like if Roz from "Monsters...

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...

So why exactly should you buy " Two Guys Named Joe: Master Animation Storytellers Joe Grant & Joe Ranft " (Disney Editions, August 2010)? Because this new John Canemaker book not only does a brilliant job of paying tribute to these animation legends, this 192-page hardcover contains one...

Have you seen Disney's new feature version of The Sorcerer's Apprentice ? Although the film has garnered largely favorable reviews, including this one , the Jerry Bruckheimer summer blockbuster hasn't quite stirred up the level of box office magic for which the studio had been hoping. Disney's...

I know, I know. For the past week or so, JHM has been running a lot of Comic-Con- related stories . Talking about the various celebrities who made a special trip down to San Diego this year. Well, as it turns out, Anaheim had its own star-studded affair earlier this month. Jennifer Cody (i.e. the winner...

There’s a mistaken notion that back in the 1950s the Walt Disney Studio was strictly a man’s world and women were not even allowed in the Animation Building. It was believed that women employees were restricted to the “women’s work” over in the Ink and Paint Department where...

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...

Greetings from the Universal Orlando Resort . Where I’m now in my final day of covering the grand opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter . Photo by Jim Hill It has been an absolutely amazing couple of days. And I’m heading back to New Hampshire tonight with all sorts of stories to share about...

Welcome to Las Vegas. Where the 2010 Licensing International Expo is just winding down. Just like last year, before attendees could enter the Mandalay Bay Convention Center , they first had to walk through this gauntlet of colorful banners which trumpeted all of The Walt Disney Company’s key brands and...

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...