It’s become a somewhat tragic cliché in the past few decades–the young, hopeful Hollywood star, making a big splash on screens big and small before the pains of growing up on camera manifest themselves in drug addiction and wasted talent. The list seems endless, from Danny Bonaduce to the Coreys (both Feldman and Haim) to…
By 1930, Mickey Mouse had become a bona fide animated star. Since his creation two years earlier at the hands of Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, he had starred in almost two dozen black-and-white shorts, ranging from his ever-popular debut in Steamboat Willie to Mickey’s Follies (1929), which introduced “Minnie’s Yoo Hoo,” the song that would remain Mickey’s theme for…
After leaving Disney Brothers, Ub Iwerks’ own self-named animation venture, the Iwerks Studio, opened in 1930. Backed by Celebrity Pictures, with a distribution deal from major studio MGM, Iwerks was in an enviable position right out of the gate, making more money than he had ever made working with Walt Disney. He hired a group…
Strange to think that a dinosaur eventually gave birth to a talking mouse … but that is essentially what happened when two young animators named Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks met in 1919. Disney is, of course, a legendary name in the history of animation, having arguably done more for the field than any other…
Yesterday’s Google doodle honored the 100th birthday of Disney artist Mary Blair, and you know I couldn’t let that go by without a mention. So this week’s Saturday Morning Cartoons entry is dedicated to the beautiful, bold, and brilliant work of a true pioneer in the art of animation. Blair showed her talent for art…
Today, my blog partners Carrie and Nikki celebrate their (mmph mmphth) birthday! Yes, they were born on the exact same day on the exact same year (and no, they aren’t twins). To celebrate the occasion, for today’s Saturday Morning Cartoons entry, I’m posting the appropriately-titled Disney short “Donald’s Happy Birthday” from 1949. Enjoy! Wishing a…
I recently volunteered to contribute two posts to the “Top 70 Musicals of All Time” countdown over at Wonders in the Dark. My first contribution is up today: Walt Disney’s Pinocchio, ranked no. 67! Go check it out and join the animated (pun intended) discussion in the comments!
In 1954, Walt Disney and company decided to tackle their first science-fiction venture, a full-length live-action adaptation of Jules Verne’s 1870 novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Originally, the plan was to animate Verne’s story–after all, Disney’s animation studio had found undeniable success in adapting literary works ranging from Felix Salten’s environmental novel Bambi, A…
True Classics 