Tag: Walt Disney Company

  • Disney Legends 2013

    At the previous D23 Expo in 2011, the Disney Legends ceremony was the kick-off event for Day 1; it was a fantastic session that set the bar for everything that followed.   The inductees in 2011 including the singing voices of 4 Disney princesses  (Jodi Benson – Ariel, Page O’Hara – Belle, Lea Salonga – Jasmine & Mulan, and Anika Noni Rose – Tiana), among other honorees.   The four voice actresses sang individually, as well as together, as part of the ceremony.    We also got a live performance from Brian Henson as his father Jim was inducted as a Disney Legend.   These performances were so memorable that there didn’t seem to be any way the 2013 ceremony could top that.

    The 2013 Disney Legends included 8 new honorees, 4 of whom were present plus 4 that were being honored posthumously.    There were no performances this time, so the ceremony was not as energetic or exciting — but it was moving, and I think everyone in the audience was touched and felt privileged to be a part of the celebration of the work of the newest Disney Legends.

    Tom Bergeron (Host of Dancing with the Stars and Americas Lamest Jokes with Videos) hosted along with Bob Iger (Disney CEO)

    Tony Baxter

    The first honoree was Tony Baxter, for Imagineering.   Tony worked his way up at Disneyland, starting out scooping ice cream in the park.    Tom shared a brief recap of the story of how during a break, Tony snuck in to the still-under-construction Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, where he got a personal tour of the ride from legendary Imagineer Claude Coats (who would later become Tony’s mentor in Imagineering).   I’ve heard Tony tell a longer version of this story at another D23 event, and it really captures some of the pride of craftsmanship and eagerness to share that characterizes the greatest Imagineers.

    Tony was moved into Imagineering in 1970 and participated in development of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.    He returned to California to work on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.   He participated in the development of many well-known attractions at various Disney parks after that, including The Living Seas, The Land, Journey Into Imagination, Star Tours, Indiana Jones Adventure, and Splash Mountain.   He was the executive producer of Disneyland Paris and continued work on various Imagineering projects until his quasi-retirement in 2013   (he remains an advisor to Imagineering).

    In his remarks, Tony said that one of the secrets to success is recapturing the naive optimism of a 12 year old who believes that anything you can imagine is possible, and said that Disney is a company that encourages employees to find that childlike place again.

    Ed Wynn

    Ed Wynn’s career started in vaudeville and continued in television, movies, and on Broadway.    He was best known as a comic actor but did dramatic roles as well (earning an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for The Diary of Anne Frank).

    His association with Disney begin with voicing the character of The Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland.    (The King Candy character in Wreck-it-Ralph is a tribute, as Alan Tudyk does a pretty spot-on impression of Wynn’s voice in the role) .

    He did many other Disney roles in films such as Babes In Toyland,  The Absent-Minded Professor, Son of Flubber, and several others, but no role was better remembered than that of Uncle Albert in Mary Poppins.

    Mr. Wynn’s granddaughter accepted the Disney Legends award on behalf of her grandfather.

    Collin Campbell

    Collin Campbell was an animator and, later, an Imagineer with Disney.    As an animator, he worked on such classics as Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty and 101 Dalmatians.    He’s another case of someone working their way up on the inside, having started with the company as a messenger.

    Collin was one of the employees assigned to WED (the precursor to Imagineering) to produce attractions for the 1964 New York World’s Fair.    He built models and sets for the fair exhibits Magic Skyway, it’s a small world, and Carousel of Progress.   At Disneyland he worked on The Enchanted Tiki Room, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Club 33.

    Moving on to Walt Disney World, Collin produced concept art for the resort hotels and worked on areas such as Tom Sawyer Island and the entrance and queue to Pirates of the Caribbean.

    Collin retired in 1990, but returned to work on the Tom Sawyer Island renovation at Disneyland.   He passed away in 2011.

    The Disney Legends award for Collin was accepted by his son Jim.

    John Goodman

    John is best known for his work outside of Disney, as an actor in both dramatic and comedic roles in movies, TV, and on Broadway.   He was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actor in a Music for Big River.   He frequently appears in Coen Brothers films such as Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, and Barton Fink.

    He is probably best known for playing Dan Conner in the long-running sitcom Roseanne, earning a Golden Globe and seven Emmy nominations.

    His Disney appearances include the films Arachnophobia, Born Yesterday, Stella, Coyote Ugly, and Confessions of a Shopaholic.

    His most loved Disney/Pixar work as as Sulley in Monsters, Inc. and this year’s Monsters University, but he has also lent his voice to animated characters in The Emperor’s New Groove, Kronk’s New Groove, The Jungle Book 2, and The Princess and the Frog.

    In accepting the award, he indicated that he really felt he and Billy Crystal were being honored as a team; somewhat unusually for animated voice work, they performed their lines together in the studio rather than recording them separately.    (He also was thankful that he didn’t have to follow Billy in his acceptance).   John also said that it the true honor was just in being cast to work with the Disney artists in the first place.

    Billy Crystal

    Billy Crystal was a successful stand-up comic who gained a national audience through his appearances on the shows Soap (1977-81) and Saturday Night Live (1984-1985).   He hosted several Comic Relief fundraisers along with Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams.

    He appeared in a number of Rob Reiner films including The Princess Bride (“Have fun storming the castle!”) and When Harry Met Sally.     He was nominated for Golden Globes 3 times for his film work.

    He turned down the opportunity to voice Buzz Lightyear in the original Toy Story film before voicing Mike Wazowski in Monsters, Inc, a role he has called his favorite character he ever played.    He recently reprised the role for this year’s Monsters University.

    As a 9-time host of the Academy Awards, Billy has surpassed everyone but Bob Hope in the number of times hosting the show.

    In accepting the award, he reflected on the change in how we watch entertainment today — specifically recalling how watching Disney movies was something that brought the whole family together, with everyone watching together, rather than everyone wrapped up on their own iPad / iPhone or other device and doing their own thing.

    Dick Clark

    Dick Clark was recognized for his enormous contributions in the television industry, as a host and producer.

    His best-known contributions are American Bandstand, which he hosted for over 30 years, and the annual New Years Rockin’ Eve special which he also hosted for over 30 years.   In addition to those shows, he performed on or produced many game shows, awards shows, and specials.

    Dick won five Emmy awards and is a member of both the Television Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll hall of fame.    He passed away in 2012 and his Disney Legend award was accepted by his wife, Kari.

    Glen Keane

    Glen spent 38 years as a Disney animator, and is the pencil (or computer-pointing device) behind some of the most beloved characters of the second Golden Age of Disney Animation.

    His father, Bil Keane, is the cartoonist behind the long-running Family Circus comic and devised all six of the jokes used in the strip.

    Glen joined Disney just as the last animators that directly worked under Walt were approaching retirement, and was mentored by such greats as Frank Thomas & Ollie Johnston and Eric Larson.

    Characters animated by Glen include Penny (The Rescuers), Elliott (Pete’s Dragon), Tod, Vixey, and the bear (The Fox and the Hound),  Ariel (The Little Mermaid), the Beast (Beauty and the Beast), and the title characters in Aladdin, Pocahontas, and Tarzan.

    Glen did much of the original development work on the Rapunzel story that eventually morphed into Tangled.

    Glen retired from Disney in 2012 but continues to teach and inspire new artists.

    Steve Jobs

    Steve Jobs is obviously best-known for his contributions to Apple, but his contributions to Pixar are bigger than many (or most) people realize.   Before reading Walter Issacson’s biography, I had assumed Steve was just an investor / owner; only after reading about his involvement did I realize how important his contributions were to the company that Pixar became.

    When Disney acquired Pixar in 2006, Steve became Disney’s largest shareholder and a member of the Board of Directors.

    Steve’s award was accepted by Pixar and Disney future legend John Lasseter.   The acceptance was certainly the most moving part of the Legends ceremony, and perhaps the most moving moment of the entire expo.     I recommend watching it here.

    That concludes the 2013 Disney Legends; inductions are now biannual to coincide with the Expo so then next class of inductees will be named in 2015 shortly before that year’s Expo.

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  • D23 Expo 2013: Live Action (Part I, LucasFilm & Marvel)

    The second day of the D23 Expo was again led off by a presentation of upcoming studio releases.   While Friday’s day one presentation was focused on animation, the Saturday presentation was about live action films.   Again, the presentation was segmented by the studio: LucasFilm, Marvel, Disney Nature, and Disney features.   Part I of this post covers Marvel (and the tiny bit that was shared about LucasFilm).

    Bob Iger again kicked things off, but then quickly handed off to Alan Horn, Chairman of Walt Disney Studios, to talk about the upcoming films.

    Alan shared that Disney has grown its portfolio of studios quite a bit over the past years; with the acquisitions of Pixar in 2006, Marvel in 2009, and LucasFilm in 2011.

    LucasFilm

    Alan welcomed LucasFilm to the Disney family but disappointed the audience by saying there would be nothing new to share regarding LucasFilm projects.    He repeated some of what we already know — Episode VII will be released in Summer 2015; JJ Abrams will direct and is currently working on the screenplay with Michael Arndt; and John Williams will once again score.

    Marvel

    Marvel has been a very successful acquisition for Disney; they have two of the top 5 grossing films of all time with The Avengers and Iron Man 3.    Alan introduced Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige to cover the upcoming Marvel films.

    The Avengers was the culmination of Phase I of the Marvel cinematic universe.   We are now seeing Phase II  (which will conclude with Avengers 2).   Iron Man 3 was the first of the Phase 2 films.    There are 3 more Phase 2 films before we cap it off with Avengers 2.

    Thor: The Dark World will be the next release.    Director Alan Taylor took the stage and we got an extended first look at the feature.   (I believe this same footage was shown at Comic Con).   Cast members then came out on stage … Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Natalie Portman (Jane), and Anthony Hopkins (Odin).    Hopkins received a standing ovation; I think most of the audience was surprised he was in attendance.    Hiddleston did not sing for us this time.    We saw a new clip, of Jane’s first day on Asgard where she is suffering some sort of infection.   Odin insists that she be sent back to Midgard (Earth) where doctors there can take care of her.    She is fascinated by the technology being used (and appears to understand it far better than the Asgardians expect of someone from such a primitive place).   There is a good bit of humor in the scene while at the same time setting up a conflict between Thor and Odin regarding Jane that might be a significant plot point.

    Captain American: The Winter Soldier was up next.  We were shown two clips, both action-oriented fight scenes.  The first, taking place in an elevator, was shown previously at Comic-Con.    I believe the second scene, taking place (mostly) on a boat, was being shown for the first time; much of it was in pre-viz stage with very rough blocked-in CGI.   Cast members Chris Evans (Captain America), Anthony Mackie (The Falcon) and Sebastian Stan (Bucky / The Winter Soldier) were on hand to talk about the film.    Filming has been completed and the film is now being edited for an April 2014 release.

    And now for something completely different.   Guardians of the Galaxy is just underway (4 weeks into shooting).   We were shown some footage assembled from the first few weeks of shooting, but surprisingly some of the CGI characters looked very good for such early footage — so clearly they wanted to have something flashy to show for Comic Con and D23,  and it worked.   The characters of Groot (an Ent-like character) and Rocket Racoon (I think that one is self explanatory :-) ) look amazing.    This looks like it will be very humorous.   Release scheduled for August 2014.

    We were then shown a brief teaser trailer of Avengers 2: Age of Ultron.   There was nothing shown other than the face plate of the Ultron robot character.   The feature is scheduled for 2015.

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  • D23 Expo 2013: Art & Animation (Part 3: Disney Animation)

    Part 1 of the Art & Animation presentation (Pixar) is here.

    Part 2 of the Art & Animation presentation (Disneytoon Studios) is here.

    The final segment of the Animation presentation covered upcoming releases from Disney Animation Studios.

    Before beginning the Disney Animation Studios portion of the presentation, host John Lasseter took a few minutes to recognize 60-year Disney animator Burny Mattinson.   Burny started as an animator with Disney in 1953, and is still working today.   He’s the last active animator at Disney who worked directly with Walt Disney.    Burny was in the VIP section of the audience and apparently unaware that he would be honored; he received an enthusiastic ovation from the crowd when he joined John on stage.

    We were then treated to something both new and old.   The Disney short Get a Horse was shown; I think this was the first time it was shown to an audience.   This is a very interesting mash up of a film — and I think the less you know about it going in, the more you’ll enjoy it.   It will be released as the short in front of Frozen later this year.

    The first Disney Animation Studios feature we were told about is Big Hero 6.   Director Don Hall took the stage to introduce the film, based on a relatively obscure Marvel comic.   We were shown a trailer for the film, that introduces a brilliant young robotics student whose invention falls into the hands of super villains.   He then must assemble a team of would-be super heroes to save San Fransokyo (a visually interesting city that mixes features of San Francisco and Tokyo).   He is assisted by the robot Baymax, an inflatable robot intended to function as a nurse, but modified by Hiro extensively.

    Zootopia was the next film presented; this feature is being announced for the first time at the D23 Expo.   Director Byron Howard (Tangled) and writer Jared Bush presented.   This is a buddy action comedy set in a world where humans never existed, so we get a view of how the world would be different if it was designed for, and run by, animals.    Cities aren’t divided up into ethnic neighborhoods, but rather into habitats, so you have a tundra area, a desert area, etc.   The film’s creators were trying to get the feel of some of the classic Disney films where you had animals in clothes such as Mr. Toad and Robin Hood.

    Frozen is the next feature coming from Disney, releasing on November 27th of this year.   Director Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee took the stage to introduce us to the world and characters of Frozen.   Frozen stars Kristen Bell as Anna, Idina Menzel as Elsa, Jonathon Groff as as Kristoff, and Josh Gad as Olaf.   The story is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen.

    Kristen and Josh joined the directors on stage to talk about the film and show a few clips.   The first is when Olaf (the snowman) first meets Anna and Kristoff.   The second clip shows Olaf singing a funny, if somewhat clueless, song about how much he looks forward to experiencing summer for the first time.    (Yes, he’s in for quite a disappointment).   Songs for Frozen were written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez (Book of Mormon).

    To wrap up the presentation, and end the animation presentation, Idina Menzel (Elsa, or Elphaba in Wicked if you prefer) came on stage to perform Let it Go, from the film, while the audience was showered with confetti snow.    A powerful ending to the morning session and kickoff of the D23 Expo.

  • D23 Expo 2013: Art and Imagination (Part I: Pixar)

    The 2013 D23 Expo kicked off with a presentation of upcoming animated feature releases from the various Disney studios.

    We were welcomed by Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company.   (Bob was here live this year; two years ago his introduction was taped).   He mentioned that since the last Expo, Disney has acquired LucasFilm, but that we wouldn’t be getting details of Star Wars Episode VII during the Expo.   He also said this Expo was the biggest yet.

    Bob then turned the floor over to Bob Lasseter, who was the host for the remainder of the 3-hour presentation.   John is the Chief Creative Officer at Pixar, Disneytoon, and Walt Disney Animation Studios, as well as the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering (in other words, he has ALL the best jobs at Disney).

    The presentation was divided by studios, so I’ll divide the blog posts accordingly.   First up:  Pixar.

    We first heard about the success of Monsters University, currently in theaters.   John mentioned that one of the break-out characters from the film that really surprised them was the slug.   And then John was joined on stage by SNL alum Bil Hader, the voice of the slug.   They had a brief bit of banter before John announced the first D23 Exclusive of the day:  we were shown a new Monsters University short film, Party Central.   This was a really cute short film  that will be released theatrically in front of The Good Dinosaur.

    And that lead us in to a discussion of The Good Dinosaur, Pixar’s next film.   The premise here is: what if the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs missed the Earth?   director Pete Sohn and producer Denise Ream came on stage to discuss the film.   The first clip shown was of the dinosaurs engaged in farming activities.   This was a very lovely, pastoral scene that was different in tone from the funnier scenes that followed.    The animation style (particularly the character design) is more cartoony, and less photo-realistic, than I had anticipated based on what I heard previously.

    The voice cast includes John Lithgow, Frances McDormand, Bill Hader, Neil Patrick Harris, Judy Green, and Lucas Neff.    Bill and Lucas came out to talk a bit about the film, they both play siblings in the featured dino family.   We then saw another clip of the film, where Arlo (Luca’s character) meets a human for the first time.

    The Good Dinosaur will be in theaters in 2014.

    The next film presented was Inside Out.   (Announced at the 2011 Expo as The Untitled Pixar Film That Takes You Inside the Mind, but for some reason they chose not to stick with that title).    I can’t help but think of this as Cranium Command: The Movie — fans of that shuttered Epcot attraction will recognize the story line similarity.

    The movie as about 11 year old Riley, a young girl whose family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco.   As she adjusts to her new surroundings, we see her emotions personified as characters in her head.   The voice cast features Lewis Black as Anger; Mindy Kaling as Disgust; Bill Hader as Fear, Amy Poehler as Joy, and Phyllis Smith as Sadness.

    Phyllis Smith (The Office) and Bill “I’m not Dwight” Hader then came out to talk about the film.   Phyllis certainly nailed the Sadness role as she was in character throughout.

    The film takes us various places inside the brain, from HeadQuarters (the command center) to Long Term Memory, Imagination Central, Abstract Thought, and Dream Production.   All these areas are connected by the Train of Thought.

    We saw a story reel (essentially storyboards plus temp voice tracks) showing how a family dinner goes with the family — we get to see the inner emotions of the Mom and Dad as well as Riley, and the hilarious scene went over very well with the audience.   This looks like a gem.

    Next:  Finding Dory.   Director Andrew Stanton and producer Lindsey Collins set up the film, which takes place about a year after Finding Nemo.   Dory’s homing instinct kicks in and she takes off to search for her original family; her new family then has to search for her.   Voice cast includes returning Albert Brooks (Marlin) and Ellen DeGeneres (Dory), plus Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy as Dory’s parents, Ty Burrell, and more voice cast to be announced later.    At this point Bill Hader came on stage dressed as a Sea Cucumber to beg to be cast in the movie … with 3 Pixar films in a row under his belt, if he could just get one more, he could become Pixar’s “Lucky Charm”.

    Well, that comment just could not be allowed to stand.   At this point Pixar’s reigning lucky charm, John Ratzenberger, came onto stage accompanied by a full brass band that punctuated his every joke with a rim shot or appropriate flourish.    We saw a slideshow of all 14 of the characters John has voiced in Pixar films.    I don’t think Bill will be unseating John anytime soon.

    John Lasseter then explained that Pixar has been thinking about TV specials even before they did the first Toy Story, but now have finally created their first.   Toy Story of Terror will debut this Halloween, and we were treated to the first 10 minutes of the special.

    That concludes the Pixar portion of the animation presentation … the next post will pick up with the Disneytoon Studios project calendar.

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