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 […]

For many following animation closely in 1982, The Secret of NIMH was more than just another summer movie. A lot was riding on this animated film that was opening amidst other blockbusters like E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Rocky III. It was the first feature directed by Don Bluth. His name had become well-known just several […]

Before Lilo & Stitch debuted in theatres, no one knew what to expect. Disney launched an extremely creative marketing campaign with teaser trailers that featured Stitch appearing in scenes from Disney’s animated features Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King. In the trailers, the blue creature that was a combination of thing-from-another-world strangeness […]

Some movies blindside you, in a good way …a very good way. Meet the Robinsons is one of those films. Released just after Disney animation was emerging from several challenging years that saw disappointing box-office results with films like Home on the Range, and just before new leadership brought a new decade of successes, with […]

When FernGully: The Last Rainforest opened in 1992, Washington Post film critic Desson Howe said of the film that it “…sounds as though its environmentally correct message will fall upon you like a heavy rubber tree. But FernGully is neither weighty nor whiny. It sings its messages unobtrusively through – and for – the trees. […]

Just when you think there’s no way to re-tell a familiar story, you see something like Three Little Bops. This re-telling of The Three Little Pigs fable with a swingin’ jazz beat is still as infectious and fun sixty-five years after its release. This Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short tells its entire story using music, […]