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Picking up from last week ... As usual, I decided to sit in the rear of the theater at Pixar Animation Studios . It was the day of the John Lasseter screening of " Toy Story 2 ," and I decided it was best to remain out of sight. This was nothing new for me. I learned this back in the sixties at the Disney...

Whatever you're reading, whatever you're doing right now ... Stop it. Drop everything and click on this link ASAP. This, my friend, is the on-line version of the Walt Disney Company's 2006 annual report. And -- as you burrow through all of the various sections of this report -- if you're a hardcore Disney...

Picking up where we left off last week ... In early in 1997, we had been storyboarding on the sequel to "Toy Story" at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. Occasionally, our small crew would fly north to meet with our Pixar colleagues. Our meetings were always high spirited and energetic because things were...

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...

I have to tell you that " Bah, Humduck ! A Looney Tunes Christmas " caused a considerable rift in the Hill household this holiday season. Copyright 2006 Warner Home Entertainment My daughter Alice just hated this Christmas special. After catching "Bah, Humduck !" after it originally...

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...

Does the name " GoodTimes Home Video " sound familiar to you? If you're an animation fan, it probably should. Given that this is the infamous production company that churned out all of those cheap Disney knock-offs. With the hope that consumers might then get confused and accidentally buy...

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...

Belle has always been one of the more intriguing characters in Charles Dickens' classic holiday tale. The woman who gave Ebenezer Scrooge back his engagement ring because she was the first to see how hard his heart was becoming. Whatever became of Belle after she walked out of Ebenezer's life...

You know, sometimes the very best presents are the ones that you weren't expecting. Those tiny little surprises that you sometimes find tucked under the tree. That's sort of what happened with " Maxine's Christmas Carol ." This animated holiday special wasn't originally on the...

"Dying is easy. Comedy is hard." These were supposedly the last words of Sir Donald Wolfit , a British actor & director who passed away back in 1968. Though I'm sure that there's a few Imagineers at Walt Disney World right now who - after five weeks of watching their CG performers repeatedly die...

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...

To be honest, I don't know quite how to feel yet about this particular animated version of " A Christmas Carol ." By that I mean: I've watched this DIC Entertainment production back-to-front twice now. And there are aspects of this 1997 holiday special that I have to admit I find incredibly...

With Christmas Day now just a week away, retailers & toymakers are already turning their attention toward the 2007 holiday season. With some of these folks already fretting about the disturbing news that's begun leaking out of Disney Consumer Products . "What disturbing news?," you...

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've been trolling around the web this morning, checking out all of the reviews that have been posted to date for " The Fox & The Hound 2. " And the general consensus seems to be that this "midquel" to Walt Disney Productions' 1981 release, " The Fox & The Hound ," is ... Well ... a dog. Which...

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...