Defying analyst expectations, Disney/Pixar’s UP has come in first in the box office battle yet again. This time with $44.2 million barely beating out “The Hangover” and totally trouncing “The Land Of The Lost.” That brings the animated feature to $137 million domestic total. I… Read More »Pixar’s UP tops at Box Office again
Actually it’s from Disney’s Family.com, but never mind. Go download this great papercraft project where you can print and then fold together your own model of Carl’s house, complete with balloons, from Pixar’s animated feature ‘UP’. I’ll be doing it myself tomorrow.
Back in 2006 when Handy Manny was first broadcast on the Disney Channel, I wrote about the lack of toys available for this very popular series. There were dozens and dozens of comments on that post asking where they could find Handy Manny toys. I… Read More »New Pooh Movie among Disney’s new licensing plans
Looks like I don’t have to tell many of you to get out and see ‘UP’ from Disney/Pixar. It has brought in an estimated $68.2 million at the box office this weekend. That’s pretty close to the $70 million “The Incredibles” earned on their opening… Read More »Up Soars at the Box Office
Southern California animation fans take note: Don Hahn will be giving a talk and signing the new 2-volume collection of Walt Stanchfield notes entitled “Drawn to Life” tonight Thursday May 28th at 7:00 PM at the Barnes and Noble at Glendale Americana. Here is the… Read More »Don Hahn Book Signing tonight in Glendale
The first time I saw Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor was at Disneyland in the early 90s. They were set up outside of the Plaza Inn doing radio interviews. Although later in life they were much skinnier, at this point they were ‘larger’ than the average person. Wayne had this amazing full beard (which was very out of place in the park). It was a little chilly out and they were dressed in matching plaid outfits. Thinking this was some form of celebrity appearance I hadn’t seen before, I stuck around to see what was going on. A few minutes later I was surprised to hear two very familiar mousey voices coming out of these two large people, it was Mickey Mouse and Minnie.
It was almost a decade before I really got to talk with Wayne and Russi and hear them speak at length. In the meantime they had gotten married (in 1997 to each other in Hawaii) and continued to do amazing work both for the Disney company and other projects. Turns out, you would be hard pressed to find a nicer couple of people then Wayne and Russi. They were always happen to meet with fellow Disney fans and spin a tale or two of their experiences as Mickey and Minnie.
Wayne was trained as a sound effects guy and foley artist by one of the best in the business, Jimmy MacDonald. Along the way he learned to do Mickey’s Voice from Jimmy, who himself took over from Walt. Wayne first did Mickey’s voice in 1977 as a lead in voice over for the New Mickey Mouse Club and had his first feature animated voice work for 1983’s “Mickey’s Christmas Carol.”
I recall one anecdote Wayne told at an NFFC event, he had asked Jimmy MacDonald for some advice about doing Mickey’s voice and Jimmy said “remember, you’re just filling in for the boss.”
In 2008 Wayne and Russi were named Disney Legends in a ceremony at the studios. Recently Wayne had been combating complications related to diabetes and was said to be in need of a kidney transplant. Sadly he passed away May 18th as a result of his illness. Official confirmation was made on his Disney Legend bio.
I like to think that now all three voices of Mickey Mouse are reunited somewhere discussing the affect that one little character had on their lives and on the world. Our lives are all richer for their efforts.
Everyone here at The Disney Blog wishes peace and condolences to Russi and the rest of Wayne’s family.
(below the cut is a video of Wayne and Russi talking about their roles and Mickey and Minnie)
Read More »Wayne Allwine, Voice of Mickey Mouse & Disney Legend, 1947-2009
Depending on how you define animation, The Walt Disney Company actually has two major animated films coming out this holiday season. “The Princess and The Frog”, Walt Disney Animation Studios return to hand drawn animation is opening December 11th, but before that Disney will enter a new era of animation with its first 3D Motion Picture capture movie “A Christmas Carol”, which will hit theaters on November 8th.
A few minutes of footage were screened at Cannes this week and we got our first look as Jim Carrey as Scrooge (click above for larger image). You’ll also be able to experience an early look at the film as the ‘Christmas Carol Train Tour’ makes 40 stops around the country beginning this weekend. Click below the cut for the full schedule.
Actor Jim Carrey, actress Robin Wright Penn and actor Colin Firth attend Walt Disney’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ Photo Call and Press Conference at the Carlton Hotel during the 62nd Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2009 in Cannes, France. (Photo Courtesy Disney, Jeff Vespa/WireImage.com ©Imagemovers Digital, LLC. )
Read More »3D ‘A Christmas Carol’ brings motion picture madness to Disney
The countdown to Pixar’s next film ‘UP’ is on. It opened Cannes film festival to much praise, the Hollywood premiere was this weekend, and the reviews are coming in (so far 100% positive on Rotten Tomatoes). Meanwhile, the rest of us wait until May 29th… Read More »Finding Inspiration for Pixar’s ‘UP’