Theme Parks & Themed Entertainment

An all-Disneyland edition of Why For

As we wrap up our week-long salute to the Anaheim theme park’s 50th anniversary celebration, Jim Hill answers several of your Disneyland-related trivia questions. Like where to find John Hench’s name in Space Mountain, who was supposed to be lying under that giant patchwork quilt you see toward the back of the Storybook Canals, and what else almost got built inside of Main Street’s Opera House.

Published

20 years ago

September 1, 2005

Jim Hill

First up in Cory F. Who writes in to say:

Dear Jim:

I’ve really been enjoying Jeff Lange’s photos this week of Disneyland’s 50th anniversary celebration. I was wondering if Jeff attended the Space Mountain rededication back in July. And if he did, does he have any pictures of that ceremony to share?

Thanks,

Cory F.

I also keep hearing about this tribute to John Hench that’s supposedly hidden somewhere inside of Space Mountain. Would you or Jeff know where I should look to find this?

Dear Cory F.

Sorry. But Jeff doesn’t have any shots of the Space Mountain rededication ceremony to share with JHM. You see, back in July, Disneyland’s Publicity Department was somewhat stingy when it came to awarding press credentials to those websites that really wanted to cover the various events surrounding the theme park’s 50th birthday. And — since JHM wasn’t one of the four sites chosen — we missed out on getting decent pictures of the Space Mountain rededication ceremony, astronaut Mickey’s appearance with Neil Armstrong, etc.

But the upside is … I do know what you’re talking about when it comes to that John Hench tribute that the Imagineers have supposedly put into the recently renovated Space Mountain.

To be honest, I think that it’s great that the guys at WDI decided to honor John’s memory in this way. After all, if it hadn’t been for the late Mr. Hench, there might not even have been a Space Mountain.

Copyright The Walt Disney Company

You see, it was John who — back in the mid-1960s — actually came up with the idea of the “cartilaginous” (That’s Hench’s word for describing the extreme of Space Mountain, not mine) structure rising up out of the center of Tomorrowland. This vast building that — thanks to its size and shape — hinted at the future & space travel.

So — in honor of John’s contribution to this projection — the Imagineers honored his memory by hiding his name in plain site. You know those stark white faux future structures that you find scattered along the queue?

Photo by Jeff Lange

Sometimes it pays to pay close attention to what’s written inside of these things.

Photo by Jeff Lange

Next up, Liz E. writes in to say that:

Jim —

I love all of the Disneyland 50th photo montages that Jeff & Nancy put together for this week. You should make those available to JHM readers so that they can then use those images as wallpaper on their computers.

There was one shot from Wednesday’s article that I was particularly interested in. It showed Casey Jr. rolling past that large patchwork quilt-like flower garden you see toward the back of the Storybook Canal ride. Years ago, I had a friend who actually worked at Disneyland tell that there was a reason that that garden looked the way it did. That Walt had specific plans for that part of Fantasyland but never got around to building what it was he wanted to build back there.

Do you have any idea what Disney wanted to do with this part of the Storybook Canal ride?

Liz E.

Dear Liz E.

Yeah, I do know what your friend was actually talking about. And it’s always seemed a shame to me that the Imagineers have never actually gone forward with adding this proposed addition to the Storybook Canal boat ride.

The giveaway of what Walt wanted to do back here is the flower bed itself. Which — as you can see from this photograph of the greenery behind the miniature version of Agrabah– is deliberately designed to look like a giant patchwork quilt.

Photo by Jeff Lange

Well, who better to sleep under a giant patchwork quilt than a giant?

Photo by Jeff Lange

What Disney wanted to do in this part of this Fantasyland attraction was recreate a gag toward the end of the 1938 Mickey Mouse short, “The Brave Little Tailor.” Where the breath of this unconcious giant (who’s been knocked out by the Mouse in an epic battle) is now being used to spin the arms of a windmill. Which — in turn — is then being used to power a merry-go-round that Mickey & Princess Minnie are riding.

That’s why that windmill in this concept painting has been placed so close to the giant’s mouth. So that — each time a snore would echo out of his enormous mouth — the arms of the windmill on his chest would spin just a little bit faster. Neat gag, don’t you think?

Photo by Jeff Lange

Of course, the hostesses in the canal boats were also supposed to get in on the act. As they approached the sleeping giant, they’d have asked everyone in their boat to please be quiet. So as not to awake the sleeping behemoth.

Given that Disneyland’s landscaping department has faithfully maintained the patchwork quilt portion of the Storybook Canal ride, I have always hoped that — at some point — the Anaheim theme park would eventually get around to installing that oversized giant’s head. So that they could then finally pay off a joke that Walt himself had set up nearly 50 years ago.

Mind you, Disney had a number of things that he wanted to eventually have installed in Disneyland’s Storybook Canal ride. Like the Big Rock Candy Mountain (Which was to have featured a miniature version of the Emerald City from “The Wizard of Oz” inside). But — as the late 1950s gave way to the early 1960s — Walt’s attention was drawn to other things. Like the creation of Audio Animatronics as well as the development of “Project Sunshine” for Florida.

Still, given that more than half the work for this particular addition to the Storybook Canal ride has been done for decades now, I keep hoping that someday I’ll see a sleeping giant’s head poking out from under that enormous patchwork quilt. So who knows? It may happen yet, Liz.

And — finally — Cookie S. drops me a line to say:

Mr. Hill

My family and I just got back from our vacation to Disneyland. Where we really enjoyed that historic display in the lobby of the Main Street Opera House.

When we got back home to Tulsa, I was telling my uncle about our visit and all the memorabilia that was on display. And he recalled that, when he visited that same building at Disneyland back in the 1960s, that there was a different sort of display in there. One that supposedly promoted some Santa Claus movie.

Do you know anything about this other Opera House exhibit? Or is my uncle just having a “senior moment”?

Many thanks for your help,

Cookie S.

Dear Cookie —

Actually, your uncle is right. From December of 1961 through September of 1963, Disneyland’s Main Street Opera House was home to a pretty elaborate display of the props & sets from Walt Disney Productions’ 1961 release, “Babes in Toyland.” And given that this Jack Donohue film does rather prominently feature the home of the Toymaker (I.E. A character played by Disney favorite Ed Wynn, who supposedly made all of the toys that Santa then distributed on December 24th), it’s easy to understand why your uncle might have remembered this particular display as being about some ” … Santa Claus movie.”

Disneyland’s Main Street Opera House actually has a very interesting history. It was one of the very first structures to rise up out of the orange groves in the Ball Road development. You see, the Opera House was Disneyland’s lumber mill. So much of the wood that was used to build the rest of this theme park started out in this structure. Where it was then cut to length, then plained.

Mind you, the Imagineers didn’t envision the Main Street Opera House as always being Disneyland’s lumber mill. As you can see from this late 1954 / early 1955 era map for the theme park’s Main Street U.S.A. area, you can see that the wizards of WED are already toying with the idea of building International Street.

Photo by Jeff Lange

But if you’ll look closely toward the bottom of this drawing, you’ll see that Disneyland’s Opera House …

Photo by Jeff Lange

… was where the Imagineers initially thought about setting up a display of sets & props from “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” From this concept drawing, you can also see that Disney toyed with the idea of putting a cartoon studio inside of this building. Along with an “M.P. Museum.”

“And what’s an ‘M.P. Museum?,” you ask. Well, if you were to jump to the obvious conclusion — a “Mary Poppins” museum — think again. Walt Disney Productions’ wouldn’t actually acquire the rights to make any movies based on the P.L. Travers books for another five years yet. So if he didn’t have the rights to those characters yet, why then would Walt build a “Mary Poppins” museum?

So you see that theory doesn’t really pan out … Which brings us back to Square One and that most important of questions: What exactly is an “M.P. museum”? “Motion Picture”? “Movie Production”?

Do you folks have any suggestions? If so, drop me a line okay and we’ll then share your ideas with JHM readers next week.

Speaking of next week … In honor of the Labor Day Weekend, JHM won’t be updating again ’til this coming Tuesday morning. So that the staff at this site can take a well-deserved break.

So you folks have a great three-day-weekend, okay? And we’ll see you all again here again, bright & early, on Tuesday morning.

Til then, you take care, alright?

jrh

Television & Shows

The Untold Story of Super Soap Weekend at Disney-MGM Studios: How Daytime TV Took Over the Parks

Published

4 weeks ago

April 24, 2025

Jim Hill

Super Soap Weekends at Disney-MGM Studios

A long time ago in a galaxy that … Well, to be honest, wasn’t all that far away. This was down in Florida after all. But if you traveled to the WDW Resort, you could then experience “Star Wars Weekends.” Which ran seasonally at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Disney World from 1997 to 2015.

Mind you, what most folks don’t remember is the annual event that effectively plowed the road for “Star Wars Weekends.” Which was “Super Soap Weekend.” That seasonal offering — which allowed ABC soap fans to get up-close with their favorite performers from “All My Children,” “General Hospital,” “One Life to Live” and “Port Charles” — debuted at that same theme park the year previous (1996).

So how did this weekend-long celebration of daytime drama (which drew tens of thousands of people to Orlando every Fall for 15 years straight) come to be?

Michael Eisner’s Daytime TV Origins and a Theme Park Vision

Super Soap Weekend was the brainchild of then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner. His career in media began with short stints at NBC and CBS, but it truly took off in 1964 when he joined ABC as the assistant to Leonard Goldberg, who was the network’s national programming director at the time.

Eisner quickly advanced through the ranks. By 1971, he had become Vice President of Daytime Programming at ABC. That meant he was on the scene when One Life to Live joined the lineup in July 1968 and when All My Children made its debut in January 1970. Even after being promoted to Senior Vice President of Prime Time Programming in 1976, Eisner stayed close to the daytime division and often recruited standout soap talent for ABC’s primetime shows.

Fast forward nearly two decades to July 31, 1995. The Walt Disney Company announced that it would acquire ABC/Cap Cities in a $19 billion deal. Although the acquisition wasn’t finalized until February 1996, Eisner was already thinking ahead. He wanted to use the stars of All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital to draw people to Disney’s theme parks.

He had seen how individual soap stars were drawing huge mall crowds across America since the late 1970s. Now he wanted to bring dozens of them together for something much bigger.

Super Soap Weekend Takes Over Disney-MGM Studios

The very first Super Soap Weekend was announced in June 1996, just a few months after the ABC deal closed. The event was scheduled for October 19 and 20 at Disney-MGM Studios and was a massive success.

The weekend featured panel discussions, autograph sessions, and photo opportunities with the stars of ABC’s daytime dramas. Thousands of fans packed the park for the chance to meet their favorite actors. Due to the overwhelming response, the event became an annual tradition and was eventually moved to Veterans Day weekend each November to better accommodate attendees.

Longtime fans like Nancy Stadler, her mom Mary, and their close friend Angela Ragno returned year after year, making the event a personal tradition and building lifelong memories.

West Coast Events and the ABC Soap Opera Bistro

Disney even tried to recreate the event out west. Two Super Soap Weekends were held at Disneyland Resort, one in April 2002 and another in June 2003.

At Disney’s California Adventure, Eisner also introduced the ABC Soap Opera Bistro, a themed dining experience that opened in February 2001. Guests could dine inside recreated sets from shows like General Hospital and All My Children, including Kelly’s Diner and the Chandler Mansion. The Bistro closed in November 2002, but for fans, it offered a rare opportunity to step into the world of their favorite soaps.

SOAPnet, Port Charles, and the Expansion of Daytime TV at Disney

Eisner’s enthusiasm for soaps extended beyond the parks. In January 2000, he launched SOAPnet, a cable channel dedicated to prime time replays of ABC’s daytime dramas.

During his time at Disney, General Hospital also received a spin-off series titled Port Charles, which aired from June 1997 to October 2003. The show leaned into supernatural plotlines and was another example of Eisner’s commitment to evolving and expanding the soap genre.

The Final Curtain for Super Soap Weekend

In September 2005, Eisner stepped down after 21 years as head of The Walt Disney Company. Bob Iger, who had previously served as President of ABC and Chief Operating Officer of ABC/Cap Cities, took over as CEO. While Iger had deep ABC credentials, he didn’t share Eisner’s passion for daytime television.

In the fall of 2008, Disney hosted the final Super Soap Weekend at what was then still called Disney-MGM Studios. That same year, the park was rebranded as Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney began shifting away from television-focused experiences.

Within the next five years, the rest of Eisner’s soap legacy faded. One Life to Live was canceled in January 2012. SOAPnet was rebranded as Disney Junior in February 2013. Later that year, All My Children ended its 41-year run on ABC.

Only General Hospital remains on the network today, the last standing soap from the golden age of ABC Daytime.

A New Chapter for Daytime TV and Super Soap Fans

The soap genre may have faded from its former glory, but it’s not gone. On February 24, 2025, CBS premiered a brand-new daytime drama called Beyond the Gates, marking the first new soap launch in years.

Meanwhile, All My Children alum Kelly Ripa has been actively working on a revival. In September 2024, she mentioned a holiday-themed movie set in Pine Valley that would bring back many original cast members. The project was in development for Lifetime, though its current status is unclear.

And what about Super Soap? Fans like Nancy and Angela still hope Disney will bring it back. Even if it only featured the cast of General Hospital, it would be a welcome return for longtime viewers who miss that one weekend a year where the magic of Disney collided with the drama of daytime TV.

If you want to hear firsthand what it was like to be part of Super Soap Weekend, be sure to listen to our I Want That Too podcast interview with actor Colin Egglesfield. He shares behind-the-scenes memories from his days as Josh Madden on All My Children and what it meant to be part of one of the most unique fan events in Disney park history.

History

The Super Bowl & Disney: The Untold Story Behind ‘I’m Going to Disneyland!’

Published

4 months ago

February 6, 2025

Jim Hill

One of the highlights of the Super Bowl isn’t just the game itself—it’s the moment when the winning quarterback turns to the camera and exclaims, “I’m going to Disney World!” This now-iconic phrase has been a staple of post-game celebrations for decades. But where did this tradition begin? Surprisingly, it didn’t originate in a stadium but at a dinner table in 1987, in a conversation involving Michael Eisner, George Lucas, and aviation pioneers Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager.

The Unlikely Beginning of a Marketing Sensation

To understand the origins of this campaign, we have to go back to December 1986, when the Rutan Voyager became the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. Pilots Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager completed the nine-day journey on December 23, 1986, flying over 26,000 miles before landing at Edwards Air Force Base. Their historic achievement earned them national recognition, and just days later, President Ronald Reagan awarded them the Presidential Citizen Medal at the White House.

Meanwhile, Disney was gearing up for the grand opening of Star Tours at Disneyland, set for January 12, 1987. Following its usual playbook of associating major theme park attractions with real-world pioneers, Disney’s PR team invited astronauts Gordon Cooper and Deke Slayton to the launch event. But in a twist, they also invited Rutan and Yeager, who were still making headlines.

A Dinner Conversation That Changed Advertising Forever

After the Star Tours opening ceremony, a private dinner was held with Disney CEO Michael Eisner, George Lucas, and Eisner’s wife, Jane. During the meal, Eisner asked Rutan and Yeager, “You just made history. You traveled non-stop around the planet on a plane without ever refueling. How are you ever going to top that, career-wise? What are you two gonna do next?”

Without hesitation, Jeana Yeager replied, “Well, after being cramped inside that tiny plane for nine days, I’m just glad to be anywhere else. And even though you folks were nice enough to fly us here, invite us to your party… Well, as soon as we finish eating, I’m gonna go over to the Park and ride some rides. I’m going to Disneyland.”

Jane Eisner immediately recognized the power of Yeager’s statement. On the car ride home, she turned to Michael and said, “That’s a great slogan. I think you should use that to promote the theme parks.” Like many husbands, Michael initially dismissed the idea, but Jane persisted. Eventually, Eisner relented and pitched it to his team.

The Super Bowl Connection

With Super Bowl XXI just around the corner, Disney’s PR team saw an opportunity. The game was set for January 25, 1987, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena—just miles from Disney Studios. What if they convinced the winning quarterback to say, “I’m going to Disneyland” live on-air?

Disney quickly struck a deal with both quarterbacks—Phil Simms of the New York Giants and John Elway of the Denver Broncos—offering each $75,000 to deliver the line if their team won. Simms led the Giants to victory, making history as the first athlete to say, “I’m going to Disney World!” on national television.

A Marketing Triumph

That year’s Super Bowl had the second-highest viewership in television history, with 87 million people watching Simms say the famous line. The next day, Disney turned the clip into a national commercial, cementing the phrase as a marketing goldmine.

Since then, “I’m going to Disneyland” (or Disney World, depending on the commercial) has been a staple of championship celebrations, spanning the NFL, NBA, and even the Olympics. What started as a casual remark at dinner became one of the most successful advertising campaigns in history.

A Lasting Legacy

Jane Eisner’s keen instinct and Disney’s ability to act quickly on a great idea created a tradition that continues to captivate audiences. The “I’m going to Disneyland” campaign remains a testament to the power of spontaneous inspiration and smart marketing, proving that sometimes, the best ideas come from the most unexpected places.

To learn more about Disney’s ties to the world of sports, check out I Want That Too: A Disney History and Consumer Product Podcast.

Television & Shows

How the Creators of South Park Tricked A-List Celebrities to Roast Universal – “Your Studio & You”

Published

4 months ago

January 12, 2025

Jim Hill

Universal Studios has a rich and storied history, but few moments are as peculiar—and as hilariously cutting—as the creation of Your Studio & You. This 14-minute parody film, commissioned in 1995 to celebrate Universal’s new ownership under Seagram’s, brings together an all-star cast, biting humor, and the unmistakable comedic fingerprints of Matt Stone and Trey Parker.

Long before South Park debuted on Comedy Central in 1997, Stone and Parker were already carving out a reputation for their irreverent style, and Your Studio & You perfectly encapsulates their knack for turning even the most corporate project into something delightfully subversive.

Matt Stone & Trey Parker Before South Park

Stone & Parker were already known out in Hollywood as funny guys. Thanks largely to “The Spirit of Christmas,” which was this video greeting card that they’d crafted for a Fox executive – who then distributed this infamously funny thing (which had Our Lord Jesus Christ & Santa Claus literally duking it out for the holiday affections of Cartman, Kenny, Stan & Kyle) to friends & family.

This was the early 1990s. No internet. Each copy of “The Spirit of Christmas” was made on VHS tape and then mailed. Went viral the old-fashioned way. It’s rumored that George Clooney made over 300 copies of “The Spirit of Christmas” and passed these VHS taps along to friends and family.

Things didn’t move as fast as they do today. “The Spirit of Christmas” still became a sensation out West.

Zucker Brothers

Matt & Trey also had other supporters in the entertainment industry. Among them David Zucker, who was one of the members of ZAZ (i.e., Zucker Abrahams Zucker), the talented trio that made “Airplane!” in 1980, “Top Secret!” in 1984 and the three “Naked Gun” movies.

The original “Naked Gun” in 1988
“Naked Gun 2 & 1/2 : The Smell of Fear” in 1991
and “Naked Gun 33 & a 1/3: The Final Insult” in 1994

All five of these parody films had been made for Paramount Pictures. But in the Late Winter / Early Spring of 1995, Universal had persuaded the Zucker Brothers to come over and set up shop in a bungalow on their lower lot. With the hope that – at some point further on down the line – David & his brother Jerry would start making funny films for Universal.

Zucker Brothers featured in "Your Studio and You"

And it’s during this same window of time (We’re now talking April of 1995) that news breaks that Seagrams (Yep, the adult beverage company. Who – at the time – was making an absolute fortune on the sales of wine coolers) was about to buy a majority stake in MCAUniversal. We’re talking control of 80% of that company’s stock. Which would effectively make Seagrams the new owners of Universal Studios.

Edgar Bronfman

And Edgar Bronfman – the owner of Seagrams – knew that Universal had had a tough time with its previous owners – which had been the Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. of Japan. Matsushita had bought MCA back in November of 1990 for $7.5 billion but had never really understood the entertainment industry.

This is why – after repeatedly butting heads with Lew Wasserman & Sidney Sheinberg (i.e., the heads of Universal Studios & the Universal theme park respectively) when it came to creative control of this company – Matsushita decided to wash it hands of the entire enterprise. Agreeing to sell their holdings in MCA to Seagrams for $5.7 billion (effectively taking a nearly $2 billion loss on this investment).

And Bronfman … He knew that some bad feeling had developed between Hollywood’s creative community and the Japanese owners of Universal. The thinking was that executives at Matsushita Electric had just not gotten what it took to make movies & TV shows.

And Edgar? Right from the get-go, he wanted to show that Seagrams was NOT going to be Matsushita Electric Redux. Bronfman was looking for a way to send a clear message to Hollywood’s creative community that Universal’s new owners got it. That they were willing to work with Hollywood to make the best possible movies & TV shows at Universal.

And how did Edgar decide to get this message across? By making a funny movie.

Zucker Commissions Trey Parker for “Your Studio & You”

Mind you, Bronfman himself didn’t make this film. The owner of Seagrams reached out to David Zucker. Who – after initially agreeing to produce this introduction-to-Universal film – then farmed out the production of the actual project to Trey Parker. Who – just two days before shooting was supposed to star on the Universal Lot – persuaded Matt Stone to come help him on this project.

Which brings us to “Your Studio and You.” Which is a parody of an educational film from the 1950s, right down to being shot in black & white and featuring a very generic soundtrack.

Now what’s amazing about watching “Your Studio and You” today is that this 14-minute-long film features some of the biggest names working in Hollywood back in the mid-1990s. We’re talking about people like recent Golden Globe winner Demi Moore, Sylvester Stallone, Michael J. Fox and Angela Lansbury. Not to mention two of the most powerful men in all of Hollywood, Steven Spielberg & Jeffrey Katzenberg.

And what’s especially interesting about watch “Your Studio and You” is that – as you watch these performers go through their paces in this motion pictures (which – most of the time – involves doing some innocuous task while holding a Seagram’s wine cooler) – you often get the feeling that this star is not in on the gag.

So how did Matt & Trey get away with this? Simple. There was never actually a script for “Your Studio and You.”

Filming “Your Studio & You” at Universal Studios Hollywood

Mind you, David Zucker would always insist that there was. Especially when he’d phone up celebrities on the Universal Lot and say “Hey, I’m sending over a couple of college kids later today. They’re working with me on a new parody film. It’s something that we’re doing for the new owners of Universal. I need just a half hour of your time. We’re shooting something special for the party we’ll be holding when the Seagrams people first arrive at the Studio. Absolutely. You’ll definitely get an invite to that party. So can I count on you to help these kids out? Beautiful. They’ll be over there later this morning.”

And then Matt & Trey would show up and say “… Dang, Miss Lansbury. We’re sorry. We must have left our copy of the ‘Your Studio and You’ script back in our office. Which is clear on the other side of the Lot. So – rather than waste your time – why don’t we do this instead? Follow us over to the Psycho House. Where we’re then going to get footage of you painting the front porch on Mother Bates’ house while you say ‘Gosh, with all of the wonderful improvements going on around here, everyone is going to want to work at Universal.’ Oh, and can we also get you to wear this button on the front of your blazer which reads ‘Universal is A-OK’ ? “

And over & over again, the biggest names who were working for Universal at that time took part in the production of “Your Studio & You” because A) David Zucker vouched for Matt Stone & Trey Parker and B) this was something that was being made for the new owners of Universal. And it’s just natural to want to get in good with the new boss.

Steven Spielberg, Jeffery Katzenberg, and Jaws

But no one at Universal anticipated that “Your Studio & You” would wind up being as sharp edged as the finished product turned out to be. I mean, it’s one thing to bite the hand that feeds you. But “Your Studio & You” ? It doesn’t just bite the hand. It takes the hand off at the wrist.

It’s a brutally funny film. With one of the meanest moments reserved for Steven Spielberg, who plays a driver on the Universal Studio Tour who’s trying to persuade a tram full of bored tourists (one of whom is played by Jeffery Katzenberg) that the “Shark Attack” scene down by Jaws Lagoon is actually exciting.

Spielberg actually says lines like “ … Whoa, whoa. What is going on here? Ladies and gentlemen, this never happens. Look out! It’s a shark! Whoa, that is one big scary shark.”

Mind you, as footage of this mechanical shark repeatedly coming up out of the water is shown, “Your Studio & You” ‘s off-screen narrator (who is voiced by Trey Parker says):

“But what about tomorrow? If we don’t keep in step with the times, things that were once neat and thrilling can become old and stupid.”

“Your Studio & You” Reception

This film was supposed to be shown only once at the welcoming party for Seagrams executive on the Universal Lot. And I’m told that – when Edgar Bronfman saw the finished product at that party – he reportedly turned to David Zucker and said “ … That’s a little more mean-spirited that I think it needed to be.”

And with that, “Your Studio & You” was supposed to go back into the Universal vault, never to be seen again. But when “South Park” debuted on Comedy Central in August of 1997 and then became a sensation for its biting humor, there was suddenly a lot of interest in what else Matt & Trey had done. Which is why copies of “The Spirit of Christmas” began to circulate. And – over time – copies of “Your Studio & You” began to bubble up.

Which – as Stone & Parker have repeatedly pointed out – was just not supposed to happen. Largely because none of the celebrities who appeared in “Your Studio & You” had never signed releases for Universal’s legal department. Because – again – this was for a movie that was only going to be shown once at a private function on the Universal Lot.

Matt mentioned (as part of a career retrospective at the Paley Center in LA back in 2000) that “ … they wouldn’t even let us keep a copy of the finished film.”

It’s a funny but brutal movie. And worth taking a look at today especially if you’re a theme park history buff because it shows Universal Studios Hollywood’s “Jurassic Park: The Ride” still under construction on the Lower Lot. That attraction would finally open to the public in June of 1996.

“Your Studio & You” became a lot easier to see after Seagrams sold off its share of Universal to Vivendi in 2000. Copies began propagating online after that. Though Universal Legal will periodically make an effort to get the latest copy of “Your Studio & You” taken off the Internet because – again – none of the performers who appear on camera ever signed the proper releases and/or were paid for their efforts.

That said, if you’re up for a mean-spirited laugh, “Your Studio & You” is well worth 14 minutes of your time. That said, once you watch this thing, be warned: