20 Reasons to Love Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story

You might or might not be aware of this, but November, 22nd, 2015 will mark 20 years since Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story was released. That being the case, I thought I would share with you 20 reasons why Toy Story (1995) is worthy of every movie and/or Disney lover’s respect. 

• It’s a product of Pixar Animation Studios, but also Walt Disney Pictures, which is the film company who has undoubtedly created the greatest animated movies of all time.
• It was the first movie ever to be animated completely by computer-generated imagery.
• It’s a very clever story that appeals to both adults and kids.
• The movie features the unforgettable song by Randy Newman, “You’ve Got a Friend In Me.”
• All of Woody and Buzz’s friends are humorous in their own, unique way.
• Its success brought Pixar Animation Studios the money, but also the inspiration to produce all of the films that have come out since then. (i.e. A Bug’s Life (1998), Monsters Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), Toy Story 2 and 3 (1999, 2010), etc.).
• Toy Story (1995) also spawned a musical/stage version that plays on the Disney Wonder Ship of the Disney Cruise Line. The film also led to the creation of two television specials, Toy Story of Terror! (2013), and Toy Story That Time Forgot (2014), and several shorts that have played in front of other Disney films, Hawaiian Vacation (2011), Small Fry (2011), and Partysaurus Rex (2012). Toy Story 4 is on its way as well and will be released in 2017.
• The voice cast of the film is tip-top. It’s nearly impossible to imagine any other actor in it. Tom Hanks was Pixar’s first choice to play Woody, but Billy Crystal was the studio’s first choice to play Buzz Lightyear. He declined, which he later regretted (fortunately he went on to become better known throughout the world as the voice of Mike Wazowski), and Bill Murray was considered for the role. Finally, the role was offered to Tim Allen, and he accepted.
• The movie was directed by John Lasseter, the Chief Creative Officer of Pixar Animation Studios, who was also one of the original story writers for the film. In addition to that, Lasseter was one of the original story writers, as well as the director of A Bug’s Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Cars (2006), and Cars 2 (2011).
• It consists of many pieces of unforgettable dialogue, written by 8 brilliant writers, i.e. “YOU ARE A TOY!,” “You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity, farewell,” “Hey Hamm, look I’m Picasso…I’d don’t get it…You uncultured Swine! What are you looking at, you hockey puck!”
• One of the film’s writers was Joss Whedon, the director and co-writer of The Avengers (2012, 2015) franchise. It was his own personal idea for the Pixar animators to create the character of Rex, the neurotic dinosaur.
• The lighting in the movie makes everything in the movie seem extremely realistic, that it becomes hard to believe that anything in the movie is animated, and not live-action.
• There are cute “Easter Eggs,” in the film, such as a Mickey Mouse Watch in Andy’s bedroom, and on Andy’s bookshelf, there are books with the names of all of Pixar’s short films produced prior to Toy Story (1995), including Tin Toy (1998), which was what hatched the idea of toys being alive in the minds of the Pixar Animators. “Toy Story” Easter Eggs can also be spotted in other Disney/Pixar films.
• Former United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant R. Lee Ermey voiced the Toy Sergeant in the film and its sequels. His voice-over performance is so brilliant, that it almost becomes hard to believe that he is acting. And in addition to that, it’s no wonder that he used to work for the Marine Corps.
• The movie received 3 Academy Award nominations, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Song “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” and Best Original Musical or Comedy Score. Although it lost in all 3 Categories, it did however manage to win a special Academy Award for Unique Achievement in Film, which was presented to John Lasseter. 
• The iconic Steve Jobs was one of the film’s Executive Producers. He originally suggested Bob Dylan be the writer and performer of the soundtrack before Randy Newman came into the project.
• Joe Ranft, one of the film’s writers, also provided the voice of Lenny the Binoculars. Ranft would also voice a number of other Pixar characters (i.e. Heimlich the Caterpillar in A Bug’s Life (1998), Jacques the Lobster in Finding Nemo (2003) and Red in Cars (2006)), before his untimely death of a car crash in 2005.
• Andrew Stanton, another one of the film’s writers, provided the voice of Buzz Lightyear’s enemy, the Evil Emperor Zurg in Toy Story 2 (1999). Stanton also go on to win 2 Best Animated Feature Academy Awards for his writing and directing of Finding Nemo (2003) (He also provided the voice of Crush in the movie.) and Wall-E (2008).
• John Ratzenberger, who provided the voice of Hamm, has gone on to lend his voice to every Pixar film, including Inside Out (2015). He is the only actor to do so.   
• Like many Disney movies, watching Toy Story (1995) is a heartwarming experience whenever you see it, but unlike many Disney movies, Toy Story (1995) will also make you thankful that you have the friends you have in your life, because true friendships last forever.

Not Quite 101 Facts about Walt Disney’s 101 Dalmatians

Walt Disney’s 101 Dalmatians (1961) is a very special film for the studio, and there are many reasons why that is so. Ever wondered why? First and foremost, it was Disney’s first animated feature that didn’t tell the story of magical fairies or the romance of a Princess and Prince Charming. Instead it was about a family of animals who get kidnapped or “dognapped,” looks after each other, and ultimately find their way back home. In addition to those, I can’t tell you 101 reasons, but I can tell you some reasons. 

• It was released in 1961, which was around the time where the Xerox machine had just been invented. 101 Dalmatians was the very first Disney animated feature to apply drawings to the Xerox machine, instead of just the typical “Ink and Paint,” style.
• Walt was initially displeased with the final cut of the movie. He preferred the typical “Ink and Paint,” style whenever he made an animated movie, which is ironic, because he was always looking to take good ideas a step further, and make it more and more magical. He made his peace with the movie, however, shortly before his death, 5 years after the release of the movie, in 1966.
• Dodie Smith, who was the author of the original “101 Dalmatians,” book, was very pleased with the final cut of 101 Dalmatians (1961). She even wrote to Walt Disney’s Head of the Story Department, Bill Peet, telling him that he had improved on her book.
• When Walt was casting the voice talent of the movie, he brought in an actress named Lisa Davis to read for the role of Cruella De Vil. Lisa Davis had previously done test shots for Alice in Wonderland (1951), but unfortunately did not get cast in that movie. She read for Cruella, but felt that she did not identify with the role, but that she did identify with the role of Anita. She was very anxious about telling Walt that he had made a mistake in considering her for this role, but she politely said, “Excuse me, Mr. Disney. I don’t feel like Cruella De Vil at all. I feel like Anita.” Walt then said, “Well, would you like to read Anita?” She said “Yes, very much.” She read for Anita, and was cast in the role. 
• Walt ultimately cast Betty Lou Gerson in the role of Cruella De Vil. Gerson had previously made her Disney debut in Cinderella (1950), portraying the narrator who opens up the story at the very beginning of the film.
• Betty Lou Gerson, however, did not provide live-action modeling as reference for the animators, because she was a very elegant actress, and did not look a great deal like the ugly Cruella De Vil. That being the case, Disney hired Mary Wickes to provide the live-action modeling. Mary Wickes is still given screen credit as a voice talent in the film, despite not actually having lent her voice to it. Mary Wickes’s very last film role was another Disney animated feature that she did lend her voice to, which was The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). She played Quasimodo’s female gargoyle friend, Laverne. She unfortunately died the year before the film came out, in 1995, before she had finished recording all of her dialogue. Jane Withers succeeded her in the role, and provided the singing voice for her character as well.
• Ben Wright (who I wrote about in an early blog post) was cast as Roger Ratcliff. Nearly 30 years after 101 Dalmatians (1961), Ben Wright voiced Grimsby, Prince Eric’s elderly guardian, in The Little Mermaid (1989). No one who worked at Disney at the time of The Little Mermaid (1989), knew that he had voiced Roger in 101 Dalmatians until he told them so.
• Bill Lee provided the singing voice of Roger in the film. Bill Lee is best known throughout the world for lending his singing voice to the leading male stars of Hollywood movie-musicals who couldn’t sing in her life, including Christopher Plummer in The Sound of Music (1965). Surprisingly, Ben Wright, who was Roger’s speaking voice, portrayed the evil Herr Zeller in The Sound of Music (1965).
• Marc Davis, who was the supervising animator of Cruella De Vil, as well as the characters of Princess Aurora/Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent, Tinker Bell, Bambi, and Thumper, retired from the studio after 101 Dalmatians (1961) was released. He did however, continue to provide character designs for Disney park attractions, including Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, The Enchanted Tiki Room, The Jungle Cruise, and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. His widow, Alice Davis, who worked as a costume designer for the studio, provided all the costume designs for the characters that he designed.
• 101 Dalmatians was re-adapted for live-action in 1996, with Glenn Close as Cruella De Vil, 35 years after the release of the original cartoon film, and 30 years after Walt Disney’s passing.
• Teen angst film auteur, John Hughes (writer/producer/director of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), The Breakfast Club (1985), Sixteen Candles (1984)) was one of the producers of the live-action 101 Dalmatians (1996). His specific approach to the movie was “I didn’t want the audience to see this as one of my movies. I wanted the picture to seem as though Walt Disney himself had come up to me and said ‘Ok, I know you can’t draw, but if you were to adapt this for live-action show me how you would do it.’”
• Dodie Smith published the original “101 Dalmatians,” book in 1956, the year after Disneyland first opened, in 1955.
• Dodie Smith’s inspiration for the character of Cruella De Vil, came from when a friend suggested to her, in an non-evil context, “You know, Dalmatians skins would make a nice fur coat.” The statement intimidated her, and the character of Cruella De Vil was born.

101 Dalmatians (1961) is definitely a beloved film for Disney! The studio’s previous animated film, Sleeping Beauty (1959) had been a flop for the studio, and they had to fire several employees as a result of that, but 101 Dalmatians (1961) was a success for the studio both financially and publicly, so it got the company back on it’s feet. It truly is a beautiful story that lives on in the Disney legacy in its own special way. It might be in your top 5 or 10 favorites, and it might not be, but it’s generally impossible to love Disney without loving this movie. 

Gibson…Blaine Gibson

Gibson…Blaine Gibson. You might not know who Blaine Gibson was, but as one of Walt Disney’s greatest animators, his name is known among animators as well as James Bond was among the world’s greatest spies. Blaine Gibson was an animator for the Walt Disney Studios who passed away earlier this month, on, July 5th, 2015, at 97 years of age. He was not one of Walt’s Nine Old Men, but his body of work for Disney can stand it’s own two feet. He worked on many projects for Walt Disney that are treasured by all Disney lovers even now, not just for the studios, but for the theme parks as well. 

  Walt Disney hired Blaine Gibson to be an assistant animator in 1939, and he worked on several of the studios most popular animated movies. He worked on “Song of the South,” “Fantasia,” “101 Dalmatians,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Lady and the Tramp,” and many others. However, after studying sculpture at Pasadena City College, Walt, in 1954, promoted Gibson to WED (Walter Elias Disney) Enterprises (which today is currently referred to as Walt Disney Imagineering) to put his unique talents to use in Disneyland. If you’ve ever been to Disneyland or Walt Disney World, you’ve enjoyed Gibson’s work already.  

His unique contributions consist of the pirates of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” attraction, the ghosts of the “Haunted Mansion,” the birds of “Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room,” the children of “It’s a Small World,” and the sculpture of Abraham Lincoln (the first Audio-Animatronic figure) for “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.” Besides all of that, he also designed the statues of all 44 U.S.A. presidents for the “Hall of Presidents” at Walt Disney World.

Not all of Walt Disney’s animators were fortunate enough to work on the theme park attractions in addition to the movies the studio produced. Those who were did have difficult work schedules, but I’m sure we can all agree that they’re hard work paid off immensely, especially Blaine Gibson’s. When we look at any of Blaine Gibson’s work, it’s difficult to imagine it any other way. His audio-animatronic figures are all very special because they create the illusion of real life live in front of your very eyes, instead of just on a movie and/or television screen. He truly was one of the most unique people who helped Walt Disney create his unforgettable and everlasting legacy of magical storytelling.         

Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men

Have you ever wondered where we would be today if Disney had never brought any stories to life with such beautiful characters like Snow White, Dumbo, Bambi, and Jiminy Cricket? Walt Disney hired many extremely talented people to work at his studio from animators, to musicians, to cinematographers, to directors, etc. Together, under Walt’s supervision, they all created the magical motion pictures, animated and live-action, that we know and love today. Of all of the animators that he hired, he had nine men whom he nicknamed “The Nine Old Men,” because they were the core animators for the studio. He named them that after the same nickname that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt named the nine members of the United States Supreme Court at the time. Those men were nine gritty old men that FDR disliked, but Walt’s Nine Old Men were very young, and he loved them dearly.

Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men consisted of Les Clark, Ward Kimball, Marc Davis, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, John Lounsbery, Milt Kahl, Wolfgang “Woolie” Reitherman, and Eric Larson (Animator of Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear in Song of the South (1946)). Each of these men had their own unique body of work for the studio. Because they were the immediate animators for the studio, their work was primarily character animation. Today, these men are all deceased, but their work continues to stand the test of time. They all also served as mentors for the new animators who would come to work at the Disney studios in the 1970s and 1980s.

Les Clark was an animator of Mickey Mouse, and he was the only member of the “Nine Old Men,” to work on that character. Ward Kimball’s work was mostly non-human supporting characters, i.e. Jiminy Cricket, Lucifer, Gus and Jaq in Cinderella (1950), and the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland (1951). Marc Davis started out for the studio animating the Princesses like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and also Tinker Bell, but his best known work for the studio is the villains, including Maleficent and Cruella De Vill. Marc Davis also designed the characters for the “Haunted Mansion” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” attractions at Disneyland. Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, who were very close in real life, animated characters that always played opposite of each other, for example, Frank Thomas animated Captain Hook, while Ollie Johnston animated Mr. Smee, and Frank Thomas also animated Cinderella’s Stepmother, while Ollie Johnston animated the Stepsisters. One might think that these characters relationships with one another were parodies of the real friendship that these two men had with one another. 

John Lounsbery’s best known Disney work can be seen on Mr. Darling in Peter Pan (1953), the Kings in Sleeping Beauty (1959), and Tony and Joe in Lady and the Tramp (1955). Milt Kahl began his career at Disney in 1934, but he really didn’t get up to the top of his game until after Walt’s passing in 1966, animating the villains of the movies that came out after that time, including Shere Kahn in The Jungle Book (1967), Edgar the Butler in The Aristocats (1970), the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood (1973), and Madame Medusa in The Rescuers (1977). Wolfgang “Woolie” Reitherman animated characters such as the Crocodile in Peter Pan (1953) the Dragon in Sleeping Beauty (1959), and the rat in Lady and the Tramp (1955). He and John Lounsbery both, however, were promoted to directing the all of the animated films after Walt’s passing, and their directing work includes Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too! (1974) and The Rescuers (1977). Reitherman also had 3 sons (Robert, Richard, and Bruce) that were all fortunate enough to be cast in Disney animated features. Richard and Robert shared the role of Wart in The Sword in the Stone (1963) with another actor named Rickie Sorenson, while Bruce voiced Christopher Robin in Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966) and Mowgli in The Jungle Book (1967). And last but not least, Eric Larson worked on Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear in The Song of the South (1946), Peg in Lady and the Tramp (1955), and the Vultures in The Jungle Book (1967). He was one of the studio’s top mentors for the talent at the studio today.    

All Disney lovers really need to tip their hats off to these nine guys for their incredible talent. It is because of their talent that we get to see Disney characters cavort about the screen, communicate with each other, and ultimately find an extraordinarily beautiful happily ever after. Although Walt did have other animators in addition to these men, it was this group of men who served as the foundation for the term “animated motion picture.”                

Hollywood Ghost Voices

Don’t you just love Audrey Hepburn singing “I Could Have Danced All Night,” in My Fair Lady (1964)? Or Christopher Plummer’s rendition of “Edelweiss,” in The Sound of Music (1965)? Well, too bad, because neither one of those actors actually sung the songs, or any of the other songs in those movies. Shocking, right? 

Whenever Hollywood makes a Movie-musical, animated or live-action, if the filmmakers cast an actor in one of the major roles, and if the actor can’t sing the part, or if their singing voice just isn’t conspicuously good, then the creative team has to hire another actor who can sing the part, and the latter’s voice is dubbed in for the former’s. The filmmakers have to make a completely flawless transition onscreen between the two different voices. You might be surprised to know how many actors who have been in the greatest movie-musicals of all time have had their singing voices dubbed in by other actors. 

Marni Nixon is an actress who is best known throughout the world for “ghosting” the singing voices of many Hollywood leading ladies who starred in movie-musicals. Her singing voice was dubbed in for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady (1964), Natalie Wood in West Side Story (1961), and Deborah Kerr in The King and I (1956). Although Betty Wand’s singing voice was dubbed in for Rita Moreno’s singing voice in West Side Story (1961), Marni Nixon’s singing voice was also dubbed in for Rita Moreno during the “Tonight,” sequence in the movie, and she dubbed in for Deborah Kerr again in An Affair to Remember (1957). You can also hear her singing voice in a number of Walt Disney films. She is the main title soloist in Cinderella (1950). She voiced the singing flowers in Alice in Wonderland (1951), and she portrayed the singing geese in the “Jolly Holliday” sequence in Mary Poppins (1964). And, her singing voice was dubbed in for June Foray’s singing voice for the role of Grandmother Fa in Mulan (1998). In addition to all of this, Marni Nixon can also be seen live in The Sound of Music (1965) as Sister Sophia.

Bill Lee was another actor who also lent his singing voice to blockbuster movie-musicals, including Disney. His singing voice was dubbed in for Christopher Plummer in The Sound of Music (1965), Russ Tamblyn in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), and John Kerr in South Pacific (1958). For Disney, he was one of the Card Painters in Alice in Wonderland (1951), he did the pirates in Peter Pan (1953), one of the dogs in Lady and the Tramp (1955), and he was the ram in the “Jolly Holliday,” sequence in Mary Poppins (1964). His most popular role for Disney, however, was the singing voice of Roger in 101 Dalmatians (1961). He also made a brief live appearance as one of the village people in Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1965), that starred Lesley Ann Warren in the title role. He played the father of one of the girls swooning over Prince Charming in the “The Prince is Giving a Ball Sequence.” One could easily characterize Marni Nixon and Bill Lee as the king and queen of “Hollywood Ghost Voices.”     

I can understand how one might find it disappointing that some movie stars didn’t sing for themselves, but in my point of view, that doesn’t necessarily make the movies any less- entertaining. That has no impact on how the story is told. It’s just a substitution for the performance of the live actor that is still equally enjoyable. If none of these people had lent their singing voices to these movies they wouldn’t be the treasured classics that they are. They all have terrific voices and their renditions of the songs from these musicals are absolutely unforgettable! We should never be judgmental of anyone who can’t sing, including movie stars, because not everyone shares the exact same talent as one another, and the fact that they can’t sing doesn’t mean that they’re not good actors. Occasionally, our favorite actors and/or filmmakers will do something in a movie that will disappoint us, but we should never expect the people we love as an actor/singer to live up to literally everyone of our standards, just like we should never expect the people we love personally to live up to every one of our standards, because that isn’t how life works. So next time you watch My Fair Lady (1964) or South Pacific (1958) and you’re enjoying the live performances of Audrey Hepburn or John Kerr, remember you’re enjoying the voice-over performances Marni Nixon and Bill Lee too!                 

The World’s Greatest Frankenstein

When we think of Fred Gwynne, we obviously think “Herman Munster,” which was his most popular role. But have you ever wondered if there was more to him than just that friendly Frankenstein? Fred Gwynne had a life quite far from Herman Munster. He did manage to prove himself a versatile actor, but not until the later years of his career. He had bit, but notable supporting roles in blockbuster Hollywood films (i.e. Ironweed (1987), Fatal Attraction (1987), My Cousin Vinny (1992)). 

In addition to being a very gifted actor, he was also an accomplished artist and children’s book author. He used drawing as a way of escaping the depression of his father passing away when he was very young, and he continued to study art in school as he matured into an adult. He decided to become an actor, however, in college at Harvard University. Although, he began drawing again, as a way of escaping the depression of being typecast as “Herman Munster.” So, drawing is basically what kept him from ever giving up on life, despite the depressions that he suffered as a child and as an adult, and that’s what lead to him becoming a book publisher. His widow, Deborah Flater-Gwynne, was also a book publisher when they met, and that played a huge part in drawing them together as a couple. 

I recently had the good fortune of reading one of his books, which was entitled “The King Who Rained.” It told a funny story about a little girl taking everything her parents said literally which is very similar to my own, personal life. Fred Gwynne based that book on the reactions of his daughter, Madyn, to puns and unusual sights.

Whenever monsters come to life in movies, television, literature, etc., in general, we as an audience, immediately jump to the conclusion that they’re scary and we try to shut our eyes away from the horrifying sight, unless we happen to like horrific stories. But occasionally, there’s an extraordinary man who lies behind the monster, and that’s definitely true of the character of “Herman Munster,” because although Fred Gwynne was not one of Hollywood’s most prolific actors, he managed to be quite extraordinary in the entire history of storytelling. He gave the term Frankenstein’s creature an entirely new meaning by making him friendly, and he wrote books to acknowledge the beauty and the humor of children’s imaginations.

The Voice You’ve Always Heard But Never Knew

            Whenever Walt Disney was casting the voices for his animated films he always hired newcomers with generally no acting experience whatsoever in the lead roles and radio/television personalities in the supporting roles. He cared much more about the quality of the peoples' voices in his pictures rather than their popularity, which is why he never cast a major Hollywood movie star in any of his cartoons. Many of the actors that he cast were fortunate enough to be hired by him more than once because of their distinctively unique voices. One actress, in particular, had such a warm and beautiful speaking voice, that Walt used her more than other actor he ever hired, and her name was Verna Felton.

              Verna Felton made her Disney debut on Dumbo (1941) first by playing Dumbo’s mother, Mrs. Jumbo, and the Matriarch Elephant. She then voiced the Fairy Godmother inCinderella (1950). The very next year, she was the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland (1951). After that, she voiced Aunt Sarah in Lady and the Tramp (1955). Her role after that was Flora (the good fairy) in Sleeping Beauty (1959). Next, she portrayed Eloise the Elephant in a short called Goliath II (1960), and her very last role for the studio was Winifred the Elephant, Colonel Hathi’s wife in The Jungle Book (1967). Coincidentally, she passed away on the exact same day the Walt Disney himself passed away, December 15th, 1966. Unfortunately, neither lived to see the final cut of The Jungle Book (1967).

            I don’t know for certain that Walt Disney and Verna Felton had a pleasant business relationship, but it’s difficult to imagine that not being the case. She portrayed so many heartwarming characters in each of these movies, with the exception of some villainesses. And in addition to hiring her, it was a family affair, because Walt also hired her husband, Lee Millar Sr. as the voice of Pluto and her son, Lee Milllar Jr. as the voice of Jim Dear in Lady and the Tramp (1955). It seems that Walt saw magic in all of their voices making them the right people for every one of those roles. Walt's, number one goal was to tell stories in magical ways, not to make movies that would be conspicuously entertaining. Verna Felton was definitely part of the magic!