Behind the Scenes: The Lion King
Posted on July 17, 2019 at 8:00 am
They’re not revealing much about the technology, but this behind the scenes look at the making of the new “Lion King” is fun.
What It’s Like to be a Disney Historian
Posted on July 8, 2019 at 3:13 pm
At the splendid Library of Congress tribute on the 70th anniversary of Disney’s Cinderella, I got to speak to Mary Walsh, the Managing Director of Disney’s animation library for thecredits.org.
She told me that “Cinderella” was Disney’s first animated feature after WWII, where it was mostly working to support the war effort. So this return to classic fairy tales was very meaningful for them. An excerpt from the interview:
Cinderella’s blue gown has to be one of Disney’s most iconic dresses.
Yes, like the ultimate Christian Dior design from the 1950s. It’s really interesting for me because if you think about the time in which this story takes place in the 19th century, 1800 – 1840-ish, but yet it was made in the late 1940s and released in 1950, so the design aesthetic that they chose is influenced by that particular time period in France but also the reflections of the artist working in the late ’40s to early ’50s. So her hair, the style of her gown, reflect both eras.
Meet the New Ariel: Halle Bailey
Posted on July 5, 2019 at 3:10 pm
Here they are in 2013
Here she sings the Nat King Cole classic, “Unforgettable.”
There were a few complaints from Twitter trolls, but the overall reaction was enthusiasm and she got some love from celebs, including Oscar winner Halle Berry, who tweeted “Halles get it done!”
Celebrating Cinderella — A Magical Night at the Library of Congress
Posted on June 21, 2019 at 8:45 am
Last night was truly magical, a celebration of one of Disney’s classic animated films, “Cinderella,” as it was added to the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress. Cinderella was there in person, of course, introduced by a courtier and welcomed by Dr. Carla Hayden, 14th Librarian of Congress, who presented the film’s official certificate that inducted CINDERELLA into the National Film Registry to Mary Walsh, Managing Director of the Animation Research Library at Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Attendees included members of Congress, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, and other notable D.C. area tastemakers and influencers. (That means me!) It was a thrill to see the film on a full-size screen, with an audience that included so many children and so many girls and women in ballgowns and tiaras. The Library of Congress had a spectacular array of their Cinderella-related treasures, from the original songs with hand-lettered lyrics that were submitted for copyright registration, including some that never made it into the film, to a fascinating collection of different versions of the Cinderella story going back literally thousands of years. They also had a set of the original lobby cards with pictures from the film and a flier with all of the products and tie-ins from the movie’s original release, with costumes, shoes, and even cleaning products. There were a number of photo opportunities and my favorite was a real-life Prince Charming in a booth filled with glass slippers, who was there to help the ladies and girls see if their feet would fit.
The new Signature series DVD/Blu-Ray release features a brand-new commentary track showing how Walt Disney and the filmmakers made comments and revisions as the film was being created. Stay tuned for my interview with Ms. Walsh about the film’s history, coming soon on thecredits.org.
Behind the Scenes: Voices of Toy Story 4
Posted on June 15, 2019 at 10:06 pm
It’s a lot of fun to see the voice actors working with the director to create their characters.