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You'd think that -- given that I've been writing about the entertainment industry for a couple of years now -- that the thrill of getting to go visit a new studio lot and/or animation studio would have faded by now. That a really-for-real reporter would have become jaded about this sort of experience...

In the previous installment, I detailed how Disney released Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" as part of the studio's already crowded Fall/Winter lineup. Which causes this highly acclaimed film to become buried under such Mouse House titles as "Tuck Everlasting" and "Sweet Home Alabama." With a 151 screen...

Thanks to the help of John Lasseter, Hayao Miyazaki/s film "Spirited Away" was finally going to get the US release that fans had been clamoring for. Many were ecstatic. Top notch talent working on the English dub, and with Disney's marketing might, Miyazaki was finally going to roll off the tongue of...

Japan loved it. France loved it. But Disney didn't want it. At least, that was seemingly the buzz heard around the Disney studios. The studio that had entered into a distribution deal with Studio Ghibli in 1996 to expand Miyazaki's films now felt that Miyazaki's works just weren't "American" enough for...

In our previous installment, Hayao Miyazaki and his staff had decided to take "Spirited Away" on the road, with amazing results. The film tied for Best Picture at the 52nd Berlin International Film Festival, and won top awards at the Japanese Academy Awards and the Hong Kong Film Awards. With a strong...

Greetings fellow JimHillMedia readers. I hope this little story will be enjoyable for you, as it is something that has been turning over and over in my head since the summer of 2002. With it, I hope you will learn a bit more about the film "Spirited Away." Hayao Miyazaki. This name is known by several...

Greetings from New Hampshire, gang. Where it's snowing ... again. Yep, Old Man Winter just refuses to give up the ghost out here in NewEngland. Which is why -- after what seems like six straight months of shoveling snow -- I finally threw in the towel today. After digging out the driveway for the umpteen...

Are you the type of person who peeks at the end of novels? Who rattles wrapped Christmas presents for a hint at their contents? Who spends hours poking around the Internet, hoping to uncover cool inside info about major motion pictures months before they open? (Look at whom I'm talking to here. What...

So what IS the deal with "Treasure Planet?" I mean, here you have a film that was crafted by Disney Feature Animation vets Ron Clements and John Musker. The directing duo that brought us "The Great Mouse Detective," "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," and "Hercules." This was also the project that had master...

Tess Turbo22 recently wrote to ask: Dear Jim: "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" has always been one of my favorite Disney animated films. But there's a moment in the movie that I don't quite get. What am I talking about? It's this short sequence right before the film ends. Phoebus has just saved Quasi's...

According to legendary screenwriter William Goldman, there is only one constant in Hollywood: "Nobody knows anything." TRANSLATION: No one person in the business can actually accurately predict what's going to happen next. Whether a picture is going to hit and/or turn out to be a flop. Some senior studio...

EDITOR'S NOTE: What a treat it is to have Rhett Wickham join us as our special guest today. Those of you who are familiar with the insightful and entertaining articles that Wickham has already contributed to LaughingPlace.com are no doubt aware of Rhett's unique take on the animation industry. As an...

Hey, gang! Jim Hill here. Last week's letter from Floyd Norman got such a huge response from JHM readers that I asked Floyd if he would consider contributing a regular feature to JimHillMedia.com. Norman's response was the article that you'll find tacked onto this intro. Which (I guess) means that Floyd...

Guess what's on the "Wonderful World of Disney" this Sunday night? "A Tale as old as time, true as it can be ... " That's right. Disney's 1991 Academy Award winner "Beauty and the Beast." The very same film that you (and I) already own in the VHS format, but just recently bought as a DVD, is being shown...

What's the hottest piece of gossip that's currently making the rounds in Tinsel Town? The news that Pixar Animation Studio recently held a test screening of "Finding Nemo" AND that the audience had a somewhat tepid response to the film. Okay, so that's not exactly earth-shaking news. After all, work...

Hey, gang. Did you miss me? Sorry about the lack of new stories for the past couple of days. But my computer and I both appear to have caught a virus last week. Which is why I've been crashed out on the couch, surrounded by piles of crumpled Kleenex, instead of churning out nice fresh copy for you folks...

Just like many of you out there, I spent 'way too much time over the past couple of days looking at the newly released Platinum Edition of Disney's "Beauty & the Beast - Special Edition" DVD. All in all, I think that Buena Vista Home Entertainment did a wonderful job with their latest release .....

You know, we're still getting a lot of mail here at JimHillMedia.com about that recent programming change at the Disney Channel. Extremely angry e-mails like this one from P**** B. of Townsend, MA. Who writes to say: "I can't believe that Eisner actually had the b&%$@ to cancel 'Vault Disney.' Now...

Okay. Now the answer that you've all been waiting for: "Is 'Treasure Planet' really any good?" Well, the word out of Germany - where the Walt Disney Company held a series of test screenings for the film back in early September - seems to be mostly positive. Kara K. wrote to say: "My son and I received...

The feature length cartoon that Jeffrey Katzenberg continually tried to stop is finally coming to theaters next month. For over 15 years now, director Ron Clements has had a dream. To make an animated version of "Treasure Island." Only - this time around - Robert Louis Stevenson's epic adventure would...