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When we arrived at the Walt Disney Studio as young apprentices back in the 1950s, much of Walt's "Brain Trust" still labored in the upstairs story rooms. The Storymen -- as they were called back then -- were Disney's elite, and their names are legendary. Bill Peet , Winston Hibler , Ralph Wright , Milt...

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...

You could hardly call it a competition. But back in the early seventies, two feature films were being developed at the Walt Disney Studios. Ultimately, only one project would be given the green light for production. F-Wing was on the second floor of the Animation Building. And at the far end of the wing...

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...

I've always been fascinated by storytellers. Those gifted individuals who have the ability to spin a captivating yarn and pull you totally into a make-believe world. Animation has had its fair share of talented storytellers. Lucky for me, I've had the opportunity to know and work with a few of them during...

First up, Jacob L. writes in to ask: Did you see that story earlier this week about how Disney's PR department was reaching out to all these websites, telling them that much of the information that's now posted on the Web about " The Princess and the Frog " is wrong ? I don't recall...

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...

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...

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...

There is this rather brutal business-related saying. Which -- at various different times -- has been attributed to Gore Vidal , Genegis Khan , Larry Ellison , David Merrick and Attila the Hun . "It is not enough that I succeed. My enemies must fail." Now, given that I know that several executives at...

I spent the better part of yesterday on the phone with folks at Walt Disney Studios. Each of whom put their own special spin on " Meet the Robinsons " 's No. 2 finish at the box office this past weekend. Okay. So $25.1 million in ticket sales isn't exactly something to sneeze at. Particularly when you...

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...

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...

We got any " Get Smart " fans out there? If so, how many of you remember the Cone of Silence ? The weird Plexiglas thingy that Agent 86 would insist on having lowered whenever he had something super-secret to share with the Chief of CONTROL? Which was then supposed to shield the outside world...

On behalf of the Walt Disney Company and its stockholders, I'd like to apologize to the city of New Orleans. I mean, hasn't this beautiful city suffered enough? After having been blown about by Hurricane Katrina , was it really necessary to then expose the Big Easy to yet another long-winded female,...

Giselle28 writes in to say: I really enjoyed the stories that you recently posted on JHM about " Ratatouille " and " WALL-E ." But when are you going to write about the movie that I'm most looking forward to this year, " Enchanted " ? Do you have any new spoilers to share with your readers about this...

I can't remember the production number of any Disney or Pixar movie I've ever worked on -- except one. "Sleeping Beauty's production number was 2082. I've never forgotten that number and probably never will. It was a number I had to write on every production slip, folder and drawing. And you better believe...

I think that Ken K. speaks for a lot of JHM readers when he says: Now this is more like it. I thought that the JimHillMedia that I first fell in love with was gone for good. That I was never going to enjoy another epic-length theme park history story because you were too busy lecturing us about how the...

Quick question: Are you an animation fan? More importantly, do you live in the Bay Area? If so, make plans NOW to get over to the Moscone Center this coming Saturday. Which is where Wondercon 2007 , Northern California's largest comic book & pop culture convention, will be held tomorrow through Sunday...