Theme Parks & Themed Entertainment

The Ant Bully: “We’re not making fun of it. We’re celebrating it”

In the second installment of JHM’s three-part series about this new Warner Bros. release, Roger Colton talks with Ken Mitchroney about many of the in-jokes & film influences that can be found in this animated feature

Published

19 years ago

July 26, 2006

Roger Colton

If you were looking for someone who has experience in story on animated productions at most of the players in Hollywood, then this guy would be well placed on the list. The name of Ken Mitchroney is found on the credits of many animated television and film productions. Usually as part of the story crew, but for “The Ant Bully,” he steps up to the plate as a utility fielder, as it were. It seemed as if he was there to help fill a number of roles on the production.

You’ve seen his work before as he was part of the story crew for Pixar’s “Toy Story 2” and “Monsters Inc.,” Dreamworks “Shrek 2” and Disney’s “Mickey’s Three Musketeers.” Prior to that he worked on animation productions for Disney, Warner Brothers and more as well as drawing for a number of comic book titles. For a brief period, he even had his own animation studio in Florida.

Branching out into other well-known art forms, he learned the art of pin striping and other gifts from classic car culture icon, Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. But he really seemed to find his stride working in Irving for DNA. It was the right place at the right time as he put all of his talent and experience together to be an integral part of the film’s crew. During a recent interview, he shared some thoughts on the production.

No, this isn’t a late night story conference …
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Roger: We chatted a bit about using traditional film making techniques for this animated film. Can you tell us about how that was helpful in this production?

Ken: Over the years, it’s becoming increasingly important to use filmmaking techniques in all facets of animated films. I mean, we ARE making a visual representation of the story.

The use of good staging, character placement and composition, and understanding of camera usage (lenses, dolly equipment and so forth) really are important tools in the telling of the story.

On “The Ant Bully” especially, I introduced our crew to the use of director’s viewfinders. We found these tools invaluable. I’ve been using them for years, but introducing it to the story crew helped them immensely.

If a storyboard artist is having trouble composing a shot, we would mock up a quick set, get a few story artists – or “victims” – whoever was standing around – and as you would on a live set, work your shot out from there, using the viewfinder. This way, the story artist can see the shot he needs to draw, and then can break it down mechanically in a down-shot overview and start placing cameras for preceding shots in his sequence.

Lucas takes out his anger on the ant colony
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

When we launched the story artists on a sequence, I tried to give them a down shot of the set and where the actors were, so they could move their characters and compose their shots. We’d work it out as if you were shooting live action, so as they place cameras “on the down,” and as they place their actors, they’re using their natural story visual talents to draw what is actually being seen through the lens. This now gives all the departments in the production a road map of camera moves and character path, and it doesn’t waste the story artist’s time trying to guess what he wants.

Ken Mitchroney and his element of choice
Photo by Roger Colton

I have an old Mitchell viewfinder from a camera used in the late ’40s and ’50s, and when shots went through animation after being composed in layout, I brought that into the screening room for animation dailies. I could check and balance out shots after they were animated, using the cross hairs in the old Mitchell, which automatically shows you all four quadrants of the screen for balance. What started out as a gag prop turned into an incredibly useful tool.

The folks at Panavision in Irving were kind enough to bring cameras and equipment for a one-day seminar for layout and story departments. The artists were able to work with the cameras and dollies, and get a feel for what it’s really like to shoot and use cameras, as opposed to staring at their monitors and trying to imagine. That was eye opening for the whole crew.

One good use of just the plain viewfinder went as far as animation: In dailies, there was a problem with a scene because the camera moves seemed flat. I knew what the problem was, but the animator was the one who needed to fix it.

So I called him in my office, took out the viewfinder, and let him watch two or three camera moves from classic films off my monitor through the viewfinder. When he saw this, he could feel in the center of his chest the move.

Then we looked at his scene through the viewfinder, and he saw the flatness. So we worked on the move. I left him the viewfinder to double check and triple check his scenes, and when we both looked at it together when he was finished, you could feel it as well as see it. You gotta love these toys! . .

Roger: Within that context, we discussed how a frame is set to provide emphasis on a particular element within the frame, be it a character, characters or objects. Can you tell us a bit about why that was important?

Ken: Composing a frame is key to making the point of that shot. Where should we be looking? Which way is the action going? What is the point of the shot? Using set dressing to help eye-line and using character placement for emphasis are all part of composing one shot.

Every shot in the film is important. There are no “bridges.” If you’re recording a shot on film, it should not be wasted as a “transitional element.” It exists because it’s important. Using compositional skills helps make that point clearer.

It’s said I have an unhealthy obsession with the Warner Bros. films of the late ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. Sadly, it’s true. But learning early on – and even today – from compositional greats like Mike Curtiz, John Huston and Raoul Walsh, just to name a few, helped me when I was in film school (and even now) to realize just what a good looking, useful tool good staging composition is to move your story forward.

Roger: Over the course of the production, you mentioned showing the crew various scenes from classic films to give them examples of some of these techniques. Was there one scene from a particular film or director that somewhat got the message across what you wanted them to find?

Ken: Here’s something silly I did, just to sort of give an on-the-nose example:

In the 1941 Errol Flynn film, “Footsteps in the Dark,” Errol and his sidekick, Allen Jenkins, are having a conversation. They are standing and having a conversation in a room full of paintings.

Errol stands up in the shot with an idea to tell Allen Jenkins. He turns and looks at Allen and gives him the information. Now, Flynn is taller than Jenkins, which gets your attention. He’s the one with the power and the information. Jenkins is lower than him, and is receiving the information.

And placed between them, to help Errol Flynn’s eye-line connect with Allen Jenkins’ eye-line, is a rather large, Erte-esque painting of a woman pointing in the direction of Allen Jenkins, with her shoulder off Flynn’s eye-line but her finger pointing at Jenkins’ eye-line.

It’s so on the nose it’s hilarious.

But I blew that frame up and put it in layout and story, and I put it on my door with a note that says, “It’s not just us.” Meaning that it may sound like nit-picking to compose shots by moving the set dressing or the actors or what have you, but I just wanted to let them know that this is what filmmakers do.

“It’s not just us”
Photo by Roger Colton

I tried to show the crew as many good, classic films as possible, and I constantly hounded them to watch Turner Classic Movies. “American Idol” is nice, but it’s not going to show you how to shoot a boardroom scene.

The film I used the most to show them what we wanted in “The Ant Bully” was “Lawrence of Arabia.” We wanted the scale, scope and depth that David Lean achieved in this great film.

This also suggested our lens theories for our film, which was 20mm and below lenses for the ant world, to make it huge in scale, and 50 mm and above lenses for the human world, which is our standard eye forward, keeping the human world as cramped as possible. This worked out great, and gave us a visual language for the film. All I can say is, “God Bless Lawrence!” It really helped in the pre-visualization stage.

The Queen speaks to her colony
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Roger: The concept of work booking was something I found rather interesting. Can you explain a bit about the concept and how helpful was it to everyone working on the various elements of the production?

Ken: Work booking is the visual conduit from the storyboard drawings to the layout department that is composing the movie on computer screen. Early on, I suggested work booking to help speed up production and to take the pressure off the layout department somewhat, and to give Director John Davis and myself one more chance to change the visualization before things went down the pipeline.

What our version of work booking entails was copies of the sequence in storyboards printed on a page; the key frames were blown up and next to those key frames was a down shot of camera placement and character, and the lenses to be used. This also included art department previsualization of the scene. These were pinned up and the editor, the director of photography and the director, with the help of the head of work booking, could walk through the entire sequence, agree on everything from camera to lenses, etc., sign off on it, and send it to layout.

This provided a no-questions-asked road map for the layout artists. So, what would take six hours to try to figure out on the fly would take three hours for first-pass layout. It saved us a ton of time.

Personally, I had not used work booking before, but the production needed it. I’d seen it in operation at Disney, and it eliminated any guesswork. You could put it in front of the layout artists, and BANG, you had everything you needed to get the first shot together.

Roger: And yes, thank you, what homages to other sources should people notice or not notice?

Ken: I’ve always considered this to be a film made by fans. I mean this in a GOOD way. We’ve been to the conventions. We’ve done the panels. We’ve watched the same science fiction movies, the same junky old TV. We can talk “Star Trek” with the best of them. We know all the Ray Harryhausen movies, chapter and verse. And it was just fun to tip our hat to some of our “obsessions” and inspirations.

There’s a “Talos” bowling trophy in the Nickles’ living room (Talos is the statue from “Jason and the Argonauts.”) The sound effect of the ants in the Warner Bros. movie, “Them!” runs throughout the film. There are homages to my favorite filmmakers in various shots. Even Ricardo Montalban (Head of Council) speaks lines reminiscent of lines from “Fantasy Island” and “Wrath of Khan.”

It’s just the Joe Dante in us, I guess, that causes us to add these elements and keep all of us fans in the loop. Things like that make it a hell of a lot more fun. And you can’t do it anywhere else except at DNA Productions. We’re not making fun of it – we’re celebrating it!

Lucas takes to the air along with his newfound friends
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Roger: On the subject of story, with the book as a starting point, how much freedom did the story crew have to work with?

Ken: When John Davis delivered his adaptation of the book – his script – what I did was launch the artists on their sequences, with the understanding that they were allowed to expand only after they did what John had on the script. Visually play with it, but don’t wander too much. If you want to do something different, offer it as an alt (alternative) and we’ll pitch it to John. I never say no, no matter how weird it is. Just do what John wants, and offer the alt after the story pitch.

The thing I love about working with John Davis is he always allows you to challenge him. He may not like the idea, but he’s always open to hear new material. I think that’s one of his strong points. He’s just so open to anything, and that allows me to be the same with my crew.

In the third & final installment of JHM’s look at “The Ant Bully,” Roger Colton sits down with the film’s director, John A. Davis.

Television & Shows

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

Published

3 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

3 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: