Google's doodle today, seen above, is a tribute to the late and great Mary Blair. The incredibly talented artist behind It's a Small World, with contributions to classics like Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Alice in Wonderland, was born 100 years ago today.
She has been deemed a Disney legend in more ways than one, massively shaping the style many Disney films and theme park attractions have taken. Her unique touch is hard to miss, and is nothing short of spectacular. Just get your hands on a copy of this or this or this, and be astounded by the manner in which she treats shape and color and contrast and artistic minimalism. It is unlike any artist before her or since.
Today we remember Mary, her wonderful film contributions, her gorgeous murals (now lost to less successful renovations), and the creative spirit she brought to the Disney we all know and love.
Showing posts with label Birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birthday. Show all posts
Friday, October 21, 2011
Mary Blair's 100th Birthday
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Happy Birthday Pixar! (with Link Round-up!)
It was 25 years ago today that the best movie studio of all-time officially came into being. Above you will find their original logo--it would soon be replaced, however, by a cute little lamp named Luxo, Jr.
Over at Cartoon Brew you can read Pixar's full, original press release from February 3, 1986. It is very interesting to see what the studio thought of themselves then, without having known how successful and iconic they would become.
At The Pixar Blog you can read the wonderful story of Pixar's creation from David A. Price, author of The Pixar Touch.
Anywho, in honor of Pixar's illustrious 25 years (and having being my favorite film studio of all-time), here is a massive Pixar link round-up for your reading pleasure:
Probably the most exciting bit of news is that Randy Newman will perform his Oscar-nominated song from Toy Story 3, "We Belong Together," live, during the Awards ceremony on February 27. Also performing will be Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi accompanied by Alan Menken with their piece "I See the Light" from Disney's Tangled. I am much more excited for Mr. Newman's performance since, as you know, the music from Tangled didn't exactly knock my socks off, whereas I just loved all of the songs from TS3. Just writing this post got the chorus of "We Belong Together" stuck in my head . . . again.
While we're on the subject of the Academy Awards and the third Toy Story, it's worth mentioning that Lee Unkrich and Teddy Newton (director of Day & Night) will both be on-hand at a symposium at the Smuel-Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills on February 24 to join all other nominees in the Animation categories in order to "discuss their films' development and their creative processes as well as present clips illustrating their techniques." Let's hope these discussions will be recorded and uploaded to the worldwide web so we can all get our Pixar-thirsty, grubby little mitts on 'em.
Now, while we're on the subject of Day & Night, it has recently won the VES (Visual Effects Society) Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Short. It is no surprise that the short won for its visual effects--it definitely broke several barriers in the field by combining classic 2D animation techniques with the world of CG... TS3 was also nominated, but lost to How to Train Your Dragon.
Above, you will find a picture of Tom Hanks recording his voice for an upcoming Toy Story Toons short, most definitely the short that will be attached to Cars 2, whose synopsis can be found here. He is surrounded by the energetic crew of animators (turned directors): Angus McClane, Bobby Podesta, and Scott Clark.
Speaking of Pixar shorts, in a recent interview with AWN, Reher of Pixar, leaked some info about future Pixar shorts. Reher told AWN that:
Read the rest of the larger discussion with Newton, Reher, and Wellins for more interesting tidbits on Pixar, their short films, and the overall process.It's funny, the new film we're finishing production on now, which will be attached to Brave in 2012, it's three characters and two sets, and man, how easy it is. It's different, there're no gags…It's beautiful, it's lyrical, it's very different from all the other ones. It's amazing how easy it can be when you just have 3 characters and 2 sets."
It has long been said by many that Lee Unkrich looks like Office regular Andy Bernard (played by the always-funny Ed Helms). To secure any and all suspicions, Mr. Unkruch went to the set of The Office and took the above photo, tweeting: "Amazing day visiting set of The Office. How is it that all these people are so incredibly cool and friendly? Reminded me of Pixar." This is not the first time that Pixar and The Office have united--Woody and Up and numerous other Pixar-related themes and characters have made their way onto the show in the past. Being a huge Pixar and Office fan, I think it is all very, super cool.
That's all the Pixar news out there for now! (Unless you call the constant "leaking" of new Cars 2 characters news. If that's the case, head over to TPB for the scoop).
Once again, Happy Birthday, Pixar! It's been 25 wonderful years of great films, whimsical stories, and truly timeless characters.
I cannot wait to see what the next 25 years will bring . . .
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Donald Turns 75
Today marks the 75th birthday of the funniest, worst-tempered, yet most lovable Disney character of all time: Donald Fauntleroy Duck.
He has always been my favorite Disney character since he isn't all smiles and kisses, but more fisty, emotional, funny, and, well, relatable. If you ask me, Donald is the most like a human out of all the classic Disney characters since he feels all emotion, not just the good. (I especially love the Donald Duck comics by Carl Barks. Classic).
Anyways, happy birthday, Donald you old duck.
Watch Donald's very first performance of all time in this little cartoon called The Wise Little Hen:
And, once again, Happy Birthday Donald!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
'Cinderella' Turns 59
Cinderella was Walt Disney's 12th animated feature. It featured Ilene Woods who beat out 309 other girls for the role of Cinderella.
The animated feature received three Oscar nominations for Best Sound, Best Score, and Best Original Song for "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo".
The movie was released on February 15, 1950 and was a smash hit. The Disney studio was in debt (due to World War II and poor box office returns) when they made the movie that had a nearly $3,000,000 budget. Had Cinderella not been a success, the studio would have shut down and not have had the money to move onto all of the animated features of the 1950s. Walt also got some of his money for Disneyland's early development from the release of Cinderella.
Today, we celebrate Cinderella's success, beautiful animation, and timeless story. Without all of these things, Disneyland, the Disney company, and all of the animated features following Cinderella would not exist today.
Happy 59th birthday, Cinderella!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Happy Birthday, 'Haunted Mansion'!
It was 39 years ago today that The Haunted Mansion opened at Disneyland. It was a big deal. There were thousands of people wanting to ride and hundreds of journalists trying to cover the event. There were “I Scream” sundaes being sold, as well as other promotional items and events put on by Disney. I'm sure that an event similar to that will be put on one year from today when The Haunted Mansion celebrates its milestone 40th year in operation.
Here are some interesting facts about the famous dark ride from New Orleans Square:
- Madame Leota, from the Seance Room, is modeled after Imagineer Leota Toombs (aka Leota Thomas). The figure at the end of the ride that reminds you to bring your death certificate is also supposed to be modeled after her.
- Some think that the singing bust (2nd in from the left) is modeled after Walt Disney. It isn't supposed to be Walt Disney, however. It is supposed to be Thurl Ravenscroft, who sings Grim Grinning Ghosts.
- The Haunted Mansion is actually located outside of the limits of Disneyland. The elevator brings you below ground and the first hill that the Doombuggies carry you up leads to a soundstage outside of Disneyland's borders.
- On top of The Haunted Mansion there are chess pieces - a couple of pawns, rooks, kings, queens, etc. - decorating the roof like mini-towers. The chess pieces are there because the building's architect and attraction's chief designer loved chess. The reason there is no knight chess piece on the roof of the mansion is because it is always "night" inside The Haunted Mansion.
- The Hitchhiking Ghosts you see are full, real, solid figures. The mirrors you look through are one-way mirrors, In a pitch black chamber beyond the mirrors, at the exact distance away are the figures themselves, who are lit dimly.
- Look for a hidden Mr. Toad inside the Pet Cemetery.
Some trivia provided by MagicalMountain.net
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