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Well, Disney's last (for a while, anyway) traditionally animated feature -- "Home on the Range" -- continues to hang in there. After four weeks in release, this film has managed to pull in $45.5 million. Which (admittedly) isn't a smash hit by any stretch of the imagination. But -- at the same time ...

Let's say you're Rob Coleman, one of Industrial Light and Magic's top computer animation artists. And you're given the opportunity to render in CG one of the "Star Wars" universe's most beloved characters: Yoda. What do you do when you learn that you've landed this plum assignment. Well, according to...

Look. I know that there are serious film geeks who come by JimHillMedia.com every now and again. These are the people that I need to speak with right now. And my message to you is ... Do whatever you have to -- sell your car, your house, a kidney -- but just make sure that you're in San Rafael, CA. in...

Well, I doubt that anyone at the Walt Disney Company is going to forget "The Alamo" anytime soon. $9.2 million. This major motion picture -- which supposedly cost $107 million to produce and an additional $30 million to market -- took in just an estimated $9.2 million during its first weekend in domestic...

Picture a pre-pubescent me, acne sprouting up like weeds across the oily plain of his face, visiting his local comic book shop. His eyes dart across the racks. His heart starts to race. His hand adjusts the baseball cap perched awkwardly atop his enormous head, a trucker-style hat back when such headwear...

Okay. I'll admit it. I'd been kind of blue since I got back from California this past Tuesday night. And Nancy -- who'd grown tired of seeing me mope around the house -- had finally had enough. Which is why she threw me in the car yesterday morning and drove me into Boston. Why for? Because Universal...

The second night was definitely easier than the first. I think I had a fellow extra girl lace me up, so my organs all stayed where they were supposed to. The second night had a scene where Frank (Viggo) rides out on Hidalgo into the center of the ring. But the horse has other ideas, and does not stop...

Ah, "Hidalgo": the story of a man and his horse! The second film to be released by Disney with a star from the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, though actually the first to be filmed (or at least start filming). I was just about to wrap up my month-long stint as a Krispy Kreme doughnut girl at the El Capitan...

Hey, gang! Jim Hill again. Some of you may recall Rick Gutierrez from that amusing article he wrote last month about the infamous "Star Wars Holiday Special." Well, Rick would like to join JHM's regular rotation of columnists. Which is why we've been actively searching for an entertainment-related niche...

As I sit here, a few weeks after Christmas 2003 and just a day after the sad end of what we've come to know as "The Holidays" (aka "The Two Weeks Of The Year When No One Really Works, And If They Do, Nothing Gets Done Anyway"), I find myself wondering if there's anything holiday-related that truly applies...

I consider myself to be something of a student of George Lucas. Unfortunately, there's no Geek University at which I could actually BE a student of George Lucas. I'd love to pursue a Ph.D. in Geekology with a concentration in Lucasian Themes. I can see myself in the plush, hallowed halls of Spielberg...

If you're a Disneyana fan, I'm sure that you'll recognize the following couplets: Serpents, spiders, tale of a rat, Call in the spirits, wherever they're at, Rap on a table, it's time to respond, Send us a message from somewhere beyond But this next line may not be as familiar to you: I beseech you to...

"Now gather 'round, while I elucidate About what happens outside when it gets late. Around about midnight, the ghosts and banshees Get together for their nightly jamboree. There's ghosts with horns and saucer eyes, And some with fangs about this size. Some short and fat, some tall and thin, And some...

There's this great little moment about five minutes in to "George of the Jungle 2." It's when the audience finally gets its first good up-close look at the guy playing George ... and they suddenly realizes that it's not Brendan Fraser, the actor who played the clumsy jungle king in the original 1997...

Hey, gang! Jim Hill here. And -- I know, I know -- we've been introducing new columnists left and right here at JHM lately. But today, I've got someone really special for you to meet: Matthew Spring. And he's a geek. Now don't worry. Matthew's a geek in a good way. He's self aware. He has a sense of...

I'm sure everyone knows that July is National Ice Cream Month, and the third Sunday in July is National Ice Cream Day. In President Reagan's 1984 official proclamation, he urged all people of the United States to observe these events with "appropriate ceremonies and activities." It is in this spirit...

Hey, gang! Jim Hill here. Now I can't tell you who exactly it is who sent JHM this story. All I can do is assure you that this unnamed individual actually did work on Disney's "Haunted Mansion" movie and that their behind-the-scene tales are legit. Will "The Haunted Mansion" turn out to be a "Pirates...

Ah, what a difference almost-a-year makes. Some of you may recall how in late July 2002, Disney's "The Country Bears" opened in theaters nationwide. This Walt Disney Pictures production got absolutely hammered by the critics. Grossing only $16.9 million during its entire domestic run, "Country Bears...

I got an opportunity to meet with Ralph Bakshi before the release of his animated version of THE LORD OF THE RINGS. I had been warned of his sometimes overpowering personality where he often assumed the persona of the "new" Disney who was going to save animation from the children's ghetto of Saturday...

Hey, gang! Jim Hill again. Nancy and I are still out in California. As you read this, we'll probably already be on our way up to the Bay Area to check out some animation schools. And -- speaking of animation (nice segue, eh?) -- I'm pleased to welcome back to JHM guest columnist Mark Mitchell. Some of...