Southern California gears up for four full days of Disney-related fun

Jim Hill

14 years ago

You know, I kind of feel sorry for all of you Disneyana fans
who live out in the Los Angeles area.

Why For? Because starting tomorrow … There are so many Mouse-related events
going on in & around Southern California that it will literally be
impossible to attend them all.

Want proof? Okay then. Let's start with what's going on
tomorrow night at 6 p.m. When – courtesy of the Walt Disney Family Museum and
the Museum of Modern Art – you can see six newly restored Laugh-O-grams.

These animated shorts will be screened at the Chinese Multiplex 4 on Hollywood
Boulevard as part of this year's TCM Classic Film Festival. With noted Disney
historian J.B. Kaufman serving as the moderator for this Laugh-O-grams
screening and organist Ben Model providing live musical accompaniment, this is
a can't-miss event for animation history buffs.

FYI: You're a member of D23 – the Official Disney Fan Club –
be sure and show your membership card at the Chinese Multiplex box office. That
way, you'll be able to get your tickets to this Laugh-O-grams screening for
half price.

By the way, Thursday night's screening is just the start of
D23's Disney-related programming at this year's TCM Classic Film Festival. On
Friday, film critic & author Leonard Maltin will be showing a sampling of
the 75 Silly Symphonies that Walt Disney Studios produced between 1929 and
1939.

The Silly Symphonies will be screened at 1 p.m. in Chinese
Multiplex 1. And just like with that Laugh-O-gram screening, if you show your
D23 membership card at the box office, you'll get your tickets for this TCM
Classic Film Festival for half price.

Still haven't had enough animation history at this point?
Okay then. It's time to climb in your car and drive out to Sherman Oaks. Where
– starting at 6:30 p.m. – you can then attend the opening reception and viewing
of The Profiles In History Animation Art Auction.

A collaboration between Profiles In History and Van Eaton
Galleries, this animation art auction (which will be held live and on the
internet on May 14th, 2011) is sure to be a stunner. There are pieces up for
bid here that will make any toon fan's heart race. Not to mention one-of-a-kind
theme park collectables like an Abraham Lincoln prototype bust for Disney's
"Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" attraction …

… as well as a detailed model of the complete layout of
Disneyland's "Indiana Jones Adventure." WDI only made three of
the models of the interior of the Temple of the Forbidden Eye show building. With the first two being given to "Indiana Jones" creators George
Lucas and Steven Spielberg, while the third was made for the artist's own
personal collection. And now it can be yours … If you can come up with the
$10,000 – $15,000 that it's estimated this piece will go for.

You can view this amazing model – along with hundreds of
spectacular pieces of animation art – by attending Friday's opening reception
and viewing. Which is supposed to run from 6:30 to 10 p.m.

And if you can't actually make it to the opening reception … Not to worry. All
of these pieces will be on display at Van Eaton Galleries (which is located at
13613 Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, CA) right up until auction day. And if
you can't make it to the gallery in person, you can always check out the items
that are up for bid by grabbing a free download of the Profiles In History
Animation Art Auction catalog off of the
Van Eaton Galleries website.

Detailed model of the interior of the "Indiana Jones Adventure" show building
Image courtesy of Van Eaton Galleries. All rights reserved

"And why would anyone miss out on viewing such a spectacular
collection of animation art?," you ask. Well, maybe because they're more of a
comic book / pop culture fan. If that's the case … Well, they're probably going
to be spending much of Friday, Saturday and Sunday prowling around the Anaheim
Convention Center. Which is where Wizard World Anaheim Comic Con will be
presented April 29^th (from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.), April 30^th
(from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and May 1^st. (10 a.m to 5 p.m.)

"And why would a Disney fan want to go to this year's Wizard World Anaheim
Comic Con?," you query. I can think of a dozen reasons. Attending this year's event will be :

Lee Arenberg – the actor who played Pintel in the first three "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies
Irene Bedard – the voice and physical model for Disney's "Pocahontas"
Charles Fleischer – the voice of Roger Rabbit in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit
" and
the "Roger Rabbit" shorts
Dan Fogler – the voice of Gribble in Disney's "Mars Needs Moms"
William Stout – former Imagineer / key character designer for Walt Disney
Animation Studios' 2000 release, "Dinosaur"
Mira Furlan – the actress who played Danielle
Rousseau in ABC's hit series "Lost"
Martin Klebba – the actor who played Marty in the first three "Pirates of the
Caribbean" movies
Randall Kleiser – the director of Walt Disney Pictures' 1986 release, "Flight of the Navigator
," 1992's "Honey, I Blew Up the Kid" and 1995's "Honey, I
Shrunk the Audience"
Vicki Lewis – the voice of Flo in Pixar Animation Studios' 2003 release,
"Finding Nemo"
Ray Park – Star Wars Weekends favorite, the actor who played Darth Maul in
"Episode I: The Phantom Menace"
Marcelo Vignali – the Imagineer veteran who helped create Disneyland's Mickey's
Toontown and Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin

Plus – for those of you who love film car-related photo ops, Herbie the Love Bug
and the Delorean from the "Back to the Future" trilogy.

I included the Delorean in my Anaheim Comic Con dozen because … Well, in order
to attend all of the other Disney-themed events that are going to be presented
this coming weekend, you'll not only going to need a fast car, you'll also have
to have the ability to time travel.

Why For? Well, let's start by talking about what's going on back
at the TCM Classic Film Festival on Saturday morning. At 9 a.m. in Chinese
Multiplex 1, D23 will be screening Walt Disney Studios' 1963 release, "Summer
Magic."

Now what's going to make this particular screening of this
rarely-seen live-action musical a must-see for Disneyana fans is that the star
of "Summer Magic" – Disney Legend Hayley Mills
– will actually be in attendance.

Ms. Mills will also be on hand for the D23 screening that
will be in the Egyptian Theatre starting at 12 noon on Saturday, April 30^th.
Which will be Walt Disney Productions' 1961 release, "The Parent Trap."

Now keep in mind that – just like with the Laugh-O-grams
& Silly Symphonies screenings – if you present your D23 membership card at
the theatre box office, you'll then get half-priced tickets to this TCM Classic
Film Festival presentation.

Now please keep in mind that the TCM Classic Film Festival
isn't the only movie-based event going on in Southern California this coming
weekend. The Newport Beach Film Festival actually gets underway tomorrow. And
on Sunday, May 1^st – for the fourth year in a row — Academy Award-nominated
film producer Don Hahn and director/producer David Bossert will be presenting
their Disney Rarities screening.

When I spoke with Dave yesterday via phone, Bossert was in
his office at Disney Studios organizing his notes for this year's presentation.

"This year, the stuff that we'll be screening will be
loosely themed around agriculture, industry and charity. We'll be showing some
of the films that Walt Disney Studios produced for the Office of the
Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs. Rarely-seen animated shorts like 1943's
'The Grain That Built a Hemisphere' and 1945' 'Planning for Good Eating,' "
Dave said. "We'll also be showing most of an educational film that Walt Disney
Productions produced in 1965, 'Steel and America – A New Look.' "

Which – I know – sounds kind of dry. But if you've ever been
one of Dave & Don's presentation … You know that these two are capable of
uncovering kitsch in even the most high-minded, well-intentioned Disney
animated production.

"What I love about looking closely at
movies like these is that – if you're really paying attention – you can catching
the Studio re-using animation from films like 'Bambi' and shorts like 'Farmyard
Symphony,' " Bossert explained. "Or you can see how clever a filmmaker Walt
Disney actually was. Take – for example – that patriot off-screen narrator that
the Studio used for all of these South America movies. Which made these movies
that much easier to dub in other languages."

This year's Disney Rarities screening at the Newport Beach
Film Festival will feature everything that I've mentioned above. Plus a few
surprise reels that Bossert & Hahn have up their sleeves. Which is why this
90-minute-long presentation will be well worth catching. Particularly given if
you're a D23 member. Because if you present your membership card at the Lido
Theatre's box office … You'll get $5 off of this screening's $15 ticket price.

Of course, if you opt to catch this 7:30 p.m. presentation
of Disney Rarities at the Newport Beach Film Festival … Well, that means that
you'll then be missing out on the grand finale of D23's celebration of Disney's
Musical Legacy at this year's TCM Classic Film Festival.

"And what is that?," you ask. A screening of Walt Disney's 1940 animated
masterwork, "Fantasia." Which will then be projected digitally in Hollywood's
most famous movie palace, Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

This screening of "Fantasia" gets underway at 7:15 p.m.
Sunday night. And just like with all of the other D23 presentation at this year's
TCM Classic Film Festival, if you present your membership card at the Chinese
Theatre box office, you'll get your tickets for half price.

So there you have it. Four days that are just jam-packed
with Disney-related event. And it all begins with Thursday evening's
Laugh-O-Gram presentation (which – FYI – will be repeated at 5:45 p.m. on
Sunday afternoon in Chinese Multiplex 4).

So – as I said at the start of today's article – you Southern
California-based Disneyana fans have some tough choices to make. But wherever
you go this weekend … If you're looking to save a few bucks, you should
probably bring along your D23 membership card.

Your thoughts?