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Santa and Rudolph Rescued

Santa and Rudolph, the puppets from the Rankin — Bass TV special that is, were found abandoned in an attic a few years ago and through a series of strange events (including a trip to the PBS series ‘Antiques Roadshow’) found their way to a puppet restoration specialist. They’re now on display in NYC and… Read More »Santa and Rudolph Rescued

Is America Ready for a new Mickey Mouse Club?

I’m reading this review of the High School Musical Concert Tour stop in Orlando and it occurs to me that this HSM phenomenon is very similar to the last few incarnations of the Mickey Mouse Club. The 90s version spawned the group "The Party" and solo stars: Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Justin Timberlake. Plus… Read More »Is America Ready for a new Mickey Mouse Club?

Christmas around the World

One of my new favorite traditions is to take a long walk around the Epcot world showcase and take in all the different holiday traditions represented there. Not only are there decorations, but each nation has a holiday storyteller and a little show to go along with it. If you can’t make it to Epcot,… Read More »Christmas around the World

Dick Van Dyke Digs SFX Work

Sheigh Crabtree gets a piece printed in the Los Angeles Times about how performing in Mary Poppins sparked Dick Van Dyke’s interest in special effects, which is still a hobby of his over four decades later. After starring in 1968’s "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," in which he drove a flying car thanks to the magic… Read More »Dick Van Dyke Digs SFX Work

Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor attraction Delayed at MK

LaughingPlace.com is reporting that Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor Comedy Club opening has been delayed until Spring 2007. More time is needed to train the cast members and fine tune the script. Hopefully that means they’ve gotten all the technology issues fixed. For spoilers see my report on the very first public preview of Laugh Floor.

Drawing tips from Disney Animator Walt Stanchfield

Walt Stanchfield was a drawing instructor for the Walt Disney Studios. His classroom handouts are valuable tools for anyone looking to learn the art of animation. Animation Meat has collected and numbered them while Leo has grouped them by subject as if he was publishing them in a book. Whichever way you digest them, these… Read More »Drawing tips from Disney Animator Walt Stanchfield

Michael Barrier on the latest Walt Disney Biography, 600 pages and still wanting.

Michael Barrier knows his stuff when it comes to animation and when it comes to Walt Disney. So I’ve been looking forward to reading his review of the Neal Gabler biography Walt Disney – The Triumph of the American Imagination. As it turns out Barrier has been working on his own biography of Uncle Walt,… Read More »Michael Barrier on the latest Walt Disney Biography, 600 pages and still wanting.

Lessons from the marketing of High School Musical

One of the interesting things about High School Musical is how it was the first real break out hit of the iPod generation. In print and online advertising for "High School Musical" that preceded the movie’s airing on the Disney Channel, tweens were directed to the "HSM" Web site to download a free track. That… Read More »Lessons from the marketing of High School Musical