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A real treat showed up in the mail today. " Darkwing Duck: Volume 2 ." Copyright 2007 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved I don't know how many of you remember this " Disney Afternoon " show. But "Darkwing Duck" was great fun. A witty spoof of the whole superhero genre, "DD" debuted as part...

First up, Kevin writes in to say: I was just wondering, how do Disney executives feel about the Wiggles joining up with Six Flags for the " Wiggles World " theme areas in their parks? Is this a sign that the Wiggles and Disney may be parting company soon? Kevin Dear Kevin -- Nope. You have to understand...

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...

Back in the old days, when an animator had trouble visualizing what a particular prop and/or problematic character looked like from a certain angle ... Well, the usual solution to this problem was that that artist then had to construct a model. So that they could then literally see things from a different...

To hear Roy Disney tell the tale, he basically owes his entire career in animation to his mother needing a babysitter. "When my Mother needed to go shopping, she'd drop me off with my Dad's office," Roy explained. "And my Dad would eventually say 'Get out of my office and find someone else to play with...

Karen M. writes in to ask a special favor: Dear Jim -- I just want to send you a quick e-mail to thank you for writing about Charlie Ridgway 's new book, " Spinning Disney's World ." On your recommendation , I picked up a copy and found that Mr. Ridgway's biography was just as you said it would be: Loaded...

For the past decade, the Sonoma Valley Film Festival has heard the refrains of "You've Got A Friend In Me" from John Lasseter , the creative force behind Pixar . Now the festival is turning the tables and planning quite a bash April 11-15 in recognition not only of its 10th anniversary but in tribute...

In a little more than three months time, Pixar 's next big release, " Ratatouille " will be rolling into theaters. And -- to date -- Walt Disney Pictures ' promotional department has done everything that they can in order to get the word out about this Brad Bird film. This includes creating a teaser...

By now, you've probably seen pictures of " WALL E " 's title character. Maybe you've even caught a glimpse of this film's unique-looking logo. But what do you actually know about Pixar 's 2008 release? Very little, I'll bet. Which is standard operating procedure for this Emeryville-based animation studio...

It's often been said that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Well, I'm guessing that the folks at Walt Disney Feature Animation have never heard that expression. For they're right in the middle of an Extreme Makeover of their 2008 release, "American Dog." Gone is Chris Sanders ' quirk-filled take...

First up, Robert M. writes in to ask: Jim, This may have been asked before. But since Robert Zemeckis is now back with Disney, what do you think the chances are that they will try to produce that long anticipated Roger Rabbit sequel? Rob M. Rob M. To be honest, I think that the ship has already sailed...

This week's "Toon Tuesday" column (I.E. "How will 'Ratatouille' fare in Hollywood's Summer 2007 rat race ?" ) generated an awful lot of controversy. I got phone calls from Burbank, e-mails from Emeryville. With all sorts of folks who are intimately involved with this production chiming in, wishing to...

First of all, don't let the title fool you. " A Sesame Street Christmas Carol " really doesn't have a whole lot to do with Charles Dickens. Copyright 2006 Sony Wonder Oh, sure. This 2006 Sony Wonder release does borrow a few key concepts from that classic holiday tale. In that -- on...

You know, if things had just gone a little bit differently, all us Disney dweebs would have had something truly spectacular to celebrate this holiday season. You see, 2006 was supposed to be the year that Walt Disney Home Entertainment finally released " Song of the South " on DVD. This limited...

Well, at least there's some truth-in-advertising to be found in this 1998 home premiere. For -- though " An All Dogs Christmas Carol " may not actually be an adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic tale -- this holiday special is definitely a dog. Copyright 1998 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation...

It's Christmas-crunch time, kiddies. You know what I mean. That horrible moment that arrives every holiday season. When you're feeling all smug & self-satisfied because you think that you've completed your Xmas shopping. Only to suddenly sit bolt upright in your chair and say: "Oh, cr*p! I forgot...

Few would argue that "A Christmas Carol" is a story about redemption. But what happens when you try to retell Charles Dickens' timeless tale with characters that are utterly irredeemable? Well, you'd probably end up with something like that special Beavis & Butt-Head episode that...

There's nothing wrong with " A Flintstones Christmas Carol " that a sharp pair of scissors couldn't take care of. Copyright 1999 Turner Home Entertainment To explain: In its heart of hearts, this William Hanna, Joseph Barbera & Buzz Potamkin production really wants to be a faithful...

I got notes from a number of JHM readers yesterday who said that I was far too hard on " Alvin's Christmas Carol ." Though one in particular -- an e-mail from Trendy Trudy -- really stuck out. She said. What did you expect? This was an episode of an animated television series. You know...

Over the past few days, we've talked about some of the different forms that "A Christmas Carol" can take. There's the fairly faithful adaptation (I.E. " The Muppet Christmas Carol "), the out-right parody (" Blackadder's Christmas Carol ") as well as that truly...