The long-range impact of Walt Disney’s vision has shaped history. From technological breakthroughs in sight and sound to how we tell and understand stories, from care in the smallest detail to the pleasure of grand spectacle, one of the most popular and enduring of all American institutions is responsible for the modern world’s relationship with […]
Posts Tagged ‘Walt Disney’
INTERVIEW: “Steamboat Silly” Is “Wonderful” Mickey Shorts Send-off
July 24th, 2023 
Jackson Murphy After a very successful decade-long run, Disney’s Mickey Mouse shorts under “The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse” brand are coming to a close. Finale short “Steamboat Silly” premieres this Friday July 28th on Disney+. Mickey and pals go through some old home movies, including a certain adventure that started it all for the Mouse 95 […]
A Very Merry Mickey: The 70th Anniversary of “Pluto’s Christmas Tree”
December 19th, 2022 Michael Lyons The fall and winter of 1952 saw many at the Disney Studio in a holiday mood. In October that year, Disney released the Donald Duck short that would become a Halloween classic, Trick or Treat. And, just a month later, the Disney artists would get into the Christmas spirit with a short that has become […]
Disney Legend Alice Davis Passes Away
November 7th, 2022 Jerry Beck Alice M. Davis, whose delightfully detailed and meticulously researched costume designs for the landmark “It’s a Small World” and “Pirates of Caribbean” rides at Disneyland died peacefully surrounded by family and friends on November 3, 2022 at her Los Angeles home. She was 93. A pioneer at WED Enterprises, now known as Walt Disney Imagineering, […]
A “Boo”-tiful Classic: The 70th Anniversary of Disney’s “Trick or Treat”
October 31st, 2022 Michael Lyons Few Disney short subjects pack more character, story, beautiful animation, and the feel of a holiday into a brisk eight minutes than Trick or Treat. The 1952 Donald Duck cartoon has become a Halloween tradition for so many, and for great reason: it’s wonderful. Crafted with great care by director Jack Hannah, Trick or Treat […]
Posted in Animation Cel-ebration 
Tags: Animation Cel-ebration, Donald Duck, Walt Disney 
No Comments » Donald’s Taxing Experience: The 80th Anniversary of “The New Spirit”
January 28th, 2022 Michael Lyons What could be a better topic for a Disney animated short than income taxes? Wait…what?!? Well, that’s precisely the focus of the 1942 Donald Duck outing The New Spirit. Eighty years after its release, watching it now is an intriguing look at how studios like Disney joined in the collective effort on the Homefront during […]
“Ears” to a Disney Masterpiece: “Dumbo’s” 80th Anniversary
October 20th, 2021 Michael Lyons There’s a scene in director Steven Spielberg’s oft-maligned comedy film 1941, where a hardened General, played by Robert Stack, goes into a movie theater that’s showing Dumbo. The staunch General’s joy at walking into the theater, his singing along with one of the film’s songs and his tears at watching a certain sequence are all […]
Kidding Around: The 80th Anniversary of 1941’s Orphans’ Benefit
August 24th, 2021 Michael Lyons At one time, re-makes at Disney were rare. Today, we are used to seeing and expecting a new live-action version of the studio’s classic animated films. In the studio’s early days, Walt and his artists were more focused on original output. This makes the 1941 Mickey Mouse short subject, Orphans’ Benefit, even more of a […]
A Novel Approach: The 25th Anniversary of Disney’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
June 25th, 2021 Michael Lyons The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo’s brooding literary classic wouldn’t be most people’s first response to the question: “How will Disney follow-up The Lion King and Pocahontas?” So, why was it chosen? “What appealed to us was the characters of the piece and the opportunity to tell a story about a character who was […]
Duck and Cover: Donald’s World War II Short Subjects
May 31st, 2021 Michael Lyons With his short temper and lack of respect for authority, Donald Duck doesn’t seem as if he’d be the first choice to represent the patriotic American soldier during World War II. Despite this, it was precisely the role he played in several short subjects produced at Disney during the War As America entered World War […]
Animation of “Note”: The 75th Anniversary of Disney’s “Make Mine Music”
April 17th, 2021 Michael Lyons There’s a caricature of Walt Disney that a Studio artist did during the 1940s. In it, Walt is sitting at a table looking exhausted, with his head supported in his hand, cigarette hanging from his mouth, eyebrow arched, he is staring off in the distance, trying to process, and he looks completely exhausted. The caricature […]
Peter Pan, Looney Tunes and Bill Plympton Among Massive Trove of Cartoon Art in Heritage’s Summer Animation Art Auction
June 12th, 2020 Jerry Beck One of the largest collections of artwork from Walt Disney’s Peter Pan ever brought to market, including masterpieces by David Hall and Mary Blair and the largest offering of art, photos, books, ephemera, checks, insurance cards and studio letters hand-signed by Walt Disney could make Heritage Auctions’ June 19-21 Animation Art Auction one of the […]
Heritage Auctions Posts Rare Disney Animation Art: “Song White”, “Pinocchio”, Mary Blair Originals
December 12th, 2019 Jerry Beck A magnificent Master setup from Disney’s first animation feature could bring $50,000 or more in Heritage Auctions’ Animation Art Auction Dec. 13-15 in Beverly Hills, California. The first animation auction to span three days, the event is the largest ever held, with 1,832 lots, and includes one of the most coveted Looney Tunes lots of […]
Rare “Looney Tunes” Original Art Cache Highlights Heritage December Auction
December 6th, 2019 Jerry Beck The first animation auction to span three days, Heritage Auctions’ upcoming Animation Art Auction Dec. 13-15 in Beverly Hills, California is the largest ever held, with 1,832 lots, and includes one of the most coveted Bugs Bunny lots of all time, the estate of the man referred to as “the world’s greatest animator” and rare […]
Oscar-Nominated Leslie Iwerks on “The Imagineering Story”
November 13th, 2019 Greg Ehrbar Animation enthusiasts will immediately recognize the last name. Leslie Iwerks is the granddaughter of the tectonically influential Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney’s Oscar-winning early studio partner who singlehandedly animated Steamboat Willie, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons and developed a myriad of technological advances that continue to enhance entertainment. Documentarian Leslie Iwerks’ path is to shed light […]
