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David Ogden Stiers was the sort of guy who forced you to step up your game. Just ask Alan Alda. Who had - for the first five years that "M*A*S*H" was on the air - had Larry Linville (who played the weaselly Frank Burns) as Hawkeye Pierce's comic foil. But when Linville opted out of continuing...

Now through February 7th (in honor of the 80 th anniversary of the general release of the studio's first full-length animated feature), Disney is presenting "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" at the El Capitan Theatre. To help sell tickets to this extremely limited engagement (How limited...

If things had gone a little different at Walt Disney Animation Studios back in the early 1980s, it wouldn’t have been J.K. Rowling who first introduced the world to the idea of a school that then specialized in teaching wizardry and witchcraft. But rather, it would have been another English author...

"We can't do this. This doesn't work." This is what Michael Eisner - the then-Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company - told Thomas Schumacher, Peter Schneider and Julie Taymor back in August of 1996. That the stage version of Disney's acclaimed animated feature, "The Lion...

When Mouse House managers wanted Christmas to come to Arendelle, they knew exactly who to turn to: Kevin Deters & Stevie Wermers-Skelton. Who are basically Walt Disney Animation Studios' in-house specialists when it comes to holiday specials. After all, Kevin & Stevie are the talented team...

Greetings from Orlando. Where Nancy and I are right in the middle of a whirlwind working trip. Things got underway bright & early this past Saturday morning with the kick-off of the first-ever Disney Dish Podcast fan weekend. Organizing by the very nice folks at Storybook Destinations, this three...

When "Star Tours" originally opened at Disneyland Park back in January of 1987, one of the things that most excited theme park fans about this motion-based simulator is that its ride film could supposedly easily be changed out. Which meant that - once the cabin of the StarSpeeder 3000 had been...

What makes a Disney Princess? In this post-"Frozen" period, that may seem like a pretty silly / simple-to-answer question. But as Jody Dreyer - the former Vice President of Corporate Synergy at the Walt Disney Company - recounts in "Beyond the Castle" (Zondervan, September 2017),...

When she first started out in stand-up back in 1982, Lea DeLaria - who now proudly describes herself as " ... an actress, singer, comedian and professional lesbian" (though not necessarily in that order) -- could have never imagined the path that her 35 year career in entertainment would follow...

How long can you hold your breath? I ask this question because Paul Briggs wound up holding his "Breath" (i.e., "Catch My Breath," that charming picture book which Briggs wrote & illustrated. This is also the 48-page hardcover that Disney Hyperion sent out into stores late last...

If you look around the Web today, you'll see that there are lots of Disney fans who are expressing sorrow at Marty Sklar's untimely passing . But I wonder how many of these folks would ever admit that they were among those who - just two weeks ago today - actually booed this Disney Legend. All...

I know, I know. You don't have tickets for Comic-Con this year. Which means that you can't partake in all of the cool, pop cultural stuff that's going on down in San Diego right now. And that's making you blue, right? Copyright Disney Pixar. All rights reserved Well ... What if I were...

What with the introduction of the Toucan Tracker wristband system back in 2014 (which can virtually hold one's place in line outside of Hall H. Which means that most Comic-Con attendees can now go back to their hotel rooms & get a good night's sleep -- more importantly, bathe - prior to seeing...

For the better part of a year now, theme park fans have been closely watching as all sorts of steel has been rising up in the northwestern corner of Disneyland Park . Photo by Jim Hill Mind you, it's common knowledge that this construction was being done for Star Wars Land, which is supposed to open...

The Hall of Presidents at WDW's Magic Kingdom is renown for a lot of reasons: Its earnest, respectful and almost painfully balanced look back at our nation's history. Not to mention being a technological marvel that - thanks to the magic of Audio Animatronics - manages to create the illusion...

So if you had wanted to see the Original Mouseketeers in person back in their heyday (1955 - 1958), what were your chances if you lived outside of Southern California? Slim & none. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved And why was that exactly? To be blunt, "The Mickey Mouse...

" Cars 3 " got off to a solid start this past weekend, racking up over $53 million in ticket sales during its first three days in domestic release. Copyright Disney Pixar. All rights reserved And given that this Brian Fee film currently has a 66% freshness rating over at Rotten Tomatoes (which...

Greetings from the Holiday Inn Fairborn. Photo by Jim Hill I'm here in Fairborn, Ohio for Dayton Disneyana . Which is this terrific weekend-long event that's hosted by the "Plane Crazy" chapter of the Disneyana Fan Club. This year's event is particularly exciting, given that Mike...

The original version of Star Tours (which - because the initial iteration of this thrill ride opened at Disneyland Park back on January 9, 1987 - is celebrating its 30 th anniversary this year) was many things: Copyright Disney / Lucasfilm. All rights reserved A ground-breaking theme park attraction...

This past weekend, thousands of " Cars " fans made their way to Sylvester Baxter Riverfront Park in Somerville, MA. Eager to get a peek at Pixar Animation Studios ' upcoming release as the "Road to the Races" tour made its one & only pit stop in the New England area. And it...