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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...

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...

Are you confused about where animation is going these days? If so, join the club. What with the rise of performance capture, the revival of hand-drawn animation over at Disney, not to mention CG going 3D, animation students aren't sure what they should be doing these days in order to properly prepare...

Hey, folks -- Jim Hill here. Before this month's Floyd Norman column officially gets underway, I thought that I'd take a moment to let JHM readers know that Mr. Fun recently launched his very own blog. Appropriately titled Mr. Fun's Blog . So if you want more than just the usually once-a-month dose of...

There's this genuinely eerie passage in Karen Paik 's " To Infinity and Beyond! The Story of Pixar Animation Studios " ( Chronicle Books , November 2007), which talks about how a single book basically changed the course of John Lasseter 's life. In ninth grade, Lasseter was searching the art section...

This is probably going to seem like a very weird request. But -- if you could -- I'd really like it if you guys could buy up a bunch of copies of " Walt Disney's Cinderella " (Disney Press, August 2007) Copyright 2007 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved "And why should we do that?," you ask...

If you've been reading JHM for a while now, you already know that I'm a very big fan of Didier Ghez 's "Walt's People" books . So -- that said -- is it really all that big a surprise that I enjoyed reading " Volume 5 " of this ongoing series. Mind you, at 443 pages in length, this paperback is the heftiest...

It is one of the more intriguing aspects of the production history of Pixar 's latest, " Ratatouille ." The fact that this animated feature started off with one director (I.E. Jan Pinkava , who helmed this animation studio's Academy Award-winning short , " Geri's Game ") yet wound up being completed...

This past Friday, Amid Amidi (Who -- along with noted animation historian Jerry Beck -- rides herd on the always-entertaining-and-informative Cartoon Brew ) was singled out for a pretty amazing honor. You see, the Theatre Library Association declared that Amid's latest book -- " Cartoon Modern: Style...

In October of 1994, when Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg first announced that they were about to launch a brand-new entertainment company ... Well, this trio of show business vets was thought to be so unstoppable that the Hollywood press corps dubbed them the Dream Team. But 11...

I've been getting a lot of e-mail lately about Michael Barrier 's new book, " The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney " (University of California Press, April 2007). Particularly from Disneyana fans who just purchased Neal Gabler 's " Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination " and are now...

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...

Given that it's only 64 pages long, " The Art of Meet the Robinsons " (Hyperion, February 2007) can hardly be called an in-depth look at the creation of Walt Disney Feature Animation's next release. Copyright 2007 Disney Editions But -- then again -- given that making-of books aren't selling all that...

I don't know how Didier Ghez does it. I mean, the guy holds down a full-time job at Warner Bros. He also travels the world (Didier & his wife just got back from a trip to Africa). In addition to running his snazzy Disney History website (If you haven't already bookmarked this great little site, do...

First up, Kelly T. writes in to ask: Whatever became of Roger Colton ? I used to really enjoy his "Ruminations" column. But it's been months now since you last published anything from Roger. Is everything okay? Kelly T. Everything's fine. It's just that -- after almost four years of writing for JHM ...

Got a Barnes & Noble giftcard or an Amazon.com gift certificate that's burning a hole in your pocket? Well, if you're a Disney dweeb, you may want to hold off on those book-related impulse purchases for a while. In fact, you may actually want to start setting some dough aside. Given all of the great...

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...

Earlier today, Mark S. sent me an e-mail asked: Dear Jim: Today's "Scrooge U" article compelled me to pull out my old VHS copy of " Mickey's Christmas Carol ." And you're right. It is fun spotting all of those characters from earlier Disney films that pop up in the picture. In addition to those " Mr...

John S. writes in to ask: Jim -- My son and I recently discovered your website and we've really been enjoyed digging through all of your old stories. Since my son is now showing such a keen interest in the history of the Walt Disney Company, I thought that I might give him a Disney history book as a...

If you're a Disney history buff, you've undoubtedly seen this photograph before ... Copyright 2006 University Press of Kentucky It's from the infamous strike of 1941. When hundreds of artists & animators picketed right outside of the Buena Vista Street entrance to the studio. With the hope that Walt...