A 90 Year Journey...

The Disney Brothers Cartoon Studios has come a long way...

When Walt and Roy formed their company nine decades ago, I don't think they had any idea what the company they formed would look like today.  I'm sure they would be surprised to find that their studio which would turn into Walt Disney Productions and finally became known as the Walt Disney Company wound up being the largest entertainment company in the world.

Certainly, all of Walt Disney's contemporaries wouldn't have believed it.  From Jack Warner to Darryl F. Zanuck, none of the old Hollywood moguls would have thought that a guy that made little cartoon shorts would ever be on equal footing with them.  Remember when Walt made the leap from shorts to full length features with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"?  The disaster that they thought would happen.  No one will set through a hour+ long cartoon.

Disney's Folly.

That's what they called it before it was released.  The night of the premiere when the crowd gave it  such an enthusiastic response didn't even make the suits across town to ponder it much.  Even though it went on to be the number one film at the box office in 1937.  It certainly was no folly.

The money that Walt Disney made from that film bought the land in Burbank where he built the new studios that the company has called home for sixty years.  And with the land, he and Roy built sound stages.  His goals became bigger, and after World War 2, he had a lot of cash in England that he couldn't get out because of tax policy, so he used it as an opportunity.  He made some live-action films.  And they were classic Disney, particularly "Treasure Island".

And he took chances that the moguls didn't expect.  He attempted things that if had failed would have ended the company.  His production of "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" was an expensive gamble that, if it failed would have destroyed his dream of a family park that was to open the following year.  If it failed, he most likely would have had to sell it and maybe even the studio.  But he didn't have to, it was a huge success.  And that park was supposed to be another project doomed to fail.

Not that he didn't fail from time to time.  But he succeeded when it counted. And his rivals misread him.  They underestimated him.  They didn't believe in him or his dreams.  And although all studios in this storybook land are built on dreams,  the base of the Walt Disney Company are built on the dreams of one man. A man that started off with big ideas, a pad of paper and a worn out pencil.  Oh, and a mouse.

Can't forget about that Mouse...

One. Small. Step...

The American Way: Imagine the impossible and do it...





A pinnacle of human achievement happened on this date...

Forty-three years ago on this day, Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk upon the surface of the moon with the success of the Apollo 11 mission.

The historic event is broadcast in Tomorrowland... It was a perfect example of the optimism Walt saw when thinking about man's future. It is a case of doing something right. Something positive. It was American progress on display for the world to see...

That's what was/is great about Walt and what was/could again be great about Tomorrowland. it represented the best of what man could do, and never focused on what he could not.

The impossible is only impossible when we tell ourselves we can't do it...

The Dreamer's End...

On this day, fourty-four years ago, Walter Elias Disney passed from this world into the next.

The night before he had been visited by his brother, Roy Disney. Roy was relieved that his brother said he was feeling better and presumed that things would be taking a turn for the better. Walt even talked about work and returning to the studio, which he could see just outside the window of his hospital room after asking the nurses to turn his bed facing that way. He passed away the next morning. To the shock of everyone and the sorrow of his brother and family.

The Dreamer passed away, but the dream lived on and still does to this day...

Small Beginnings...

Mic...


To imagine him not being a part of the American consciousness...

Eighty-one years ago, Walt Disney applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a trademark to a new character he had created to replace Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, whom he lost in a shady business deal with his former distributor. He doesn't intend that to happen again with his new one, Mickey Mouse.

And the rest was history....

A Horse Is A Horse...

Of course, of course...

It seems that Walt Disney Pictures' "Secretariat" trailer is online exclusively at Yahoo! Movies. Take a look and see if the movie looks like a winner.

We already know the horse was...

Innocence Lost, 1956...

Sometimes your life can hold treasures untold...

Take for example, Jeff Altman, who found a 16 mm film that his Grandfather took of Disneyland when it was a wee, one year old. Great stuff, and in color too.

Hat Tip to The Disney Blog.

The Seeds Of Disneyland...

Take a look at this amazing footage if you haven't seen it yet...

Most of you don't know about the big strike against the Disney Studios back in 1941. But if you love Disneyland, you should. Because that strike was a pivotal moment for Walt Disney. After it, he and the animators didn't have a cordial or friendly a relationship. Events would start to happen like World War II, which redirected his focus on not just sustaining his company, but his country. After the war he moved more and more into live-action as well as animation. And his thoughts turned to another project he had. Something that involved a theme park. He had once been just an animator, then a producer of animation. Walt moved in many different arenas, but that strike back then made him realize that there was more out there than animation and it also helped him take his other passions to another level.

History moves in leaps and small steps but where it goes isn't always clear until the passage of time makes it appear clear...

Hat Tip to Cartoon Brew.

Anything Is Possible If You Simply Believe...

Walt Disney always believed in doing the impossible...

He believed that dreams can come true. The undying American spirit was in every fiber of his body and action as the living embodiment of what it is to be an American.

Forty years ago today, a dream that was thought impossible for millenniums became a reality for us, and all mankind. It alone proves that anything can be done if you have the willpower and hard work together to make it happen.

All you have to do is start with a dream...

Owning A Piece Of History...

On this day...

Eighty years ago, Walt Disney applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a trademark to a new character he had created to replace Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, whom he lost in a shady business deal with his former distributor. He doesn't intend that to happen again with his new one, Mickey Mouse.

And the rest was history....

The First American...

On this date, three hundred and three years ago a genius and revolutionary man was born...

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Josiah Franklin and Abiah Folger. He would go on to create or discover many things and become a celebrity of that age. Kind of if you mixed Steve Jobs with Bono(but not really). He helped found this nation and helped define what it is to be American.

Walt Disney knew the worth of men such as these in instilling the values that made this country what it is. Just like the "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" attraction at Disneyland or the American folklore of Johnny Appleseed, John Henry and others, Walt believed in educating as well as entertaining.

So in 1953, Disney adapted the children's book by Robert Lawson into the animated short "Ben and Me." I remember watching it on the "Wonderful World of Disney" as a kid and it helped spark my interest in history and my love of American history. For that I thank Walt...

Oh, and Happy Birthday Ben.

The Last Keynote...

Tomorrow at nine in the morning, a little piece of geek history comes to an end...

When Phil Schiller takes the stage at the Moscone Center, it'll be the last Macworld that Apple attends. It'll be the last one they introduce new products that I and other Apple enthusiast will lust over. It'll be the last chance to here the phrase: "One More Thing..." And if it's said, it won't be by Steve Jobs, which makes it doubly bittersweet. There are rumors that Steve will make one last appearance. He'll show up as a surprise to let the faithful see him spin his reality distortion field one more time.

I tend to be an optimist... And while I hope that does occur, I don't hold out for it. The best I can expect is that Phil shocks the world with something "Insanely Great," but that probably won't even happen. Somehow I feel it'll all end quietly or with a slight whimper...

But for two decades now, Apple has wowed audiences at these events. Granted, they only started to get really exciting after the Fruit Company bought NeXT Computers and in walked Jobs to make it all official... But there's something sad to knowing that next January there'll be no getting excited about what could be.

Only the sad feeling of what was...

In Memorium: VHS (1977-2008)

Today we bid farewell to VHS...

He was only thirty-one years old. I knew him well. I grew up with him. All my friends played with him. He always did us favors. And he never forgot, although occasionally he'd loose things. I'll miss him. I almost feel bad that I lost touch with him in the late 90's when I met this new guy named DVD. Of course, now I don't hang out with him nearly as much since I met Blu-Ray...

Am I fickle? A fair weathered friend, perhaps?

It appears in this article over at JoBlo that the last distributor dealing in VHS tapes has shut down. It's over. No more tape. VHS is dead...

Long live VHS.

The End Of The World As We Know It...

Nothing is permanent but change...

As time marches on you see people pass away, buildings fall and culture evolve. There is nothing that lasts. That should be humanity's epithet really. But no matter how much you realize it, that little phrase doesn't hit you until events make you pause for perspective.

I've been watching Steve Jobs since his original introduction of the Macintosh back in 1984. Yes, I'm that old. But to be fair, I was just a cute little tyke back then. But I've been an avid(some would say religious) observer of him since he came back to the company in 1996. His Keynotes are the highpoint of those festivals of Mac Geekdom we call Macworlds. Watching him get up there and spin even the most trivial new feature into the greatest creation of mankind is fun, frustrating and entrancing all at once. It's been known for a few years that Apple was getting tired of the show and was thinking about leaving them altogether. They stopped doing the ones in Boston/New York several years ago, but the San Francisco ones are almost an annual pilgrimage. Where the faithful journey up to the Moscone Center for the annual introduction of this year's Cool Thing. Everyone always waiting for Steve to say: "Oh, and one more thing..."

That has all now ended even before it really has. If you follow Jobs and Apple you'll notice that the last few appearances he's made were suspiciously shorter than in earlier years. He's started to allow others more and more time on the stage. Phil Schiller has always been like a Robin to his Batman, but hey, he's Robin. I don't go to see Robin. Well, it was just announced that Jobs will not be delivering the Keynote in January's Macworld... Phil will deliver it instead. Not only that, but this will be the last one that Apple attends. No more. Some people say that they're doing it because the Internet makes these trade shows obsolete. Others are saying that the company is planning on starting their own shows. One that can be controlled more(if that were possible) by the little fruit company. Still, there are some like me that feels this is really the preparation for a life without Steve Jobs at the helm. He may be the largest share holder in the Walt Disney Company, but his heart, his soul are at Apple and it's almost unfathomable to think of the computer company, scratch that, the electronics company without thinking of him guiding it.

While I'll look forward to what new devices, gadgets and gizmos they come out with in January, I won't be looking forward to the Keynote like I use to. As nice and competent as Phil Schiller is, he's not Steve Jobs. It's like comparing Ron Miller to Walt Disney... there's no comparison. Jobs generates excitement, he makes you care about what he's talking about. Which in turn makes you care about him...

I'm going to miss that when Macworld 2009 begins in January. There's going to be a large room filled with thousands of people, but somehow that room is going to feel really empty this time...

Honoring History...

Congratulations to Senator Barack Obama on winning the election to be the 44th President of the United States of America.

No matter which side you were on, it was a historic occasion for anyone watching. May God grant him the wisdom to make the right decisions over the next four years and the ability to carry them out...

Also thanks to Senator John McCain for an eloquent and dignified concession speech. Americans may disagree on many things, but it still amazes me how the transfer of power is handled here compared to many countries that change governments, not through ballots, but bullets.

Now, back to talking about Disney...

One Small Step For Man...

Thirty-nine years ago on this day, Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk upon the surface of the moon with the success of the Apollo 11 mission.

The historic event is broadcast in Tomorrowland... It was a perfect example of the optimism Walt saw when thinking about man's future. It is a case of doing something right. Something positive. It was American progress on display for the world to see...

That's what was/is great about Walt and what was/could again be great about Tomorrowland. it represented the best of what man could do and never focused on what he could not...