Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s podcast by discussing which shows on Disney’s new streaming service are worth seeking out. Drew also talks about “Frozen 2” (which he’s already managed to see twice). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor and Jim Hill start off this week’s episode with a lengthy excerpt from Sir Elton John’s official autobiography where the singer / songwriter looks back on his role in the creation of Disney’s “The Lion King.” Then Drew & Jim share what they know about Ron Clements & John Musker’s aborted animated feature which was to have been an affectionate send-up of Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s suspense films Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about how Tom Hanks & Robert Zemeckis may soon reunite to work on Disney’s live-action “Pinocchio” reboot. They then look back at Guillermo del Toro’s dream of collaborating with Walt Disney Animation Studios to create a series of family-friendly horror films Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim Hill uses the “Addams Family” strong ticket sales as an excuse to look at the nearly 80-year history of this freaky franchise. Then Drew Taylor shares his interview that he recently did with Brittney Lee & Griselda Sastrawinata-Lemay about the development of Disney’s “Frozen 2” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill starts off this week’s show by talking about “Klaus,” the Sergio Pablos film that Netflix will be releasing to theaters on November 8th and then making available for streaming one week later. Drew then shares an interview that he did recently with Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee, the co-directors of the original “Frozen” and its eagerly anticipated sequel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about how well “Abominable” did over its opening weekend. Then Drew shares a recent interview that he did with Lisa Keene, the co-production designer on “Frozen 2,” & David Wormersley, the art director of environments on this highly anticipated Walt Disney Animation Studios production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about what Bob Iger revealed about Disney’s 2006 acquisition of Pixar in his new book, “The Ride of a Lifetime.” Drew then shares an interview that he did with Jill Culton, the co-director of the soon-to-be-released DreamWorks Animation / Pearl Studios co-production, “Abominable” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by speculating about how MGM’s “Addams Family” may do over its opening weekend. They then continue their “Where are they now” feature by discussing the post-Disney careers of Andreas Deja & Glen Keane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about how much they enjoyed “Steven Universe: The Movie.” They then reflect on the challenges of covering some animators’ post-Disney careers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by discussing several of the television animation-related panels at this year’s D23 Expo. Jim then looks back at what happened with the “Disney Afternoon” during the waning years of this syndicated animation programming block. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about why “Angry Birds 2” failed to take flight. Then Drew shares what he learned this past weekend about Pixar’s “Onward” & “Soul” as well as Walt Disney Animation Studios’ November 2020 release, “Raya and the Last Dragon” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about how “Angry Birds 2” garnered better reviews & sold more tickets over its opening weekend than the original “Angry Birds” movie did back in 2016. Drew & Jim then go on to discuss how both Disney & Comcast are struggling to carve out distinctive identities for all of the animation studios these two media giants currently control. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill talk about some of the Disney theme park-related projects that animation master Eric Goldberg created new footage for. They also look back at how Walt Disney Animation Studios struggled in the late 1930s / early 1940s to create a full-length animated feature to follow the hugely successful “Snow White” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by paying tribute to the late Disney Legend who voiced Minnie Mouse for more than three decades. Drew then shares what he learned at the press junket for Skydance Media’s soon-to-be-released FX tour-de-force, “Gemini Man” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor starts off this week’s episode by sharing what he learned at the junket for DreamWorks Animation’s “Abominable” (which arrives in theaters on September 27th). He then shares a sit-down that he did with Academy Award-winner Hans Zimmer, who then talks about what it was like to work on both the 1994 animated version of Disney’s “The Lion King” as well as that studio’s photo-real remake of that film Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor starts off this week’s episode by talking about what it was like to attend the world premiere of Jon Favreau’s “The Lion King” at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre. Drew & Jim then discuss the very best strategies to employ if you’re traveling down to San Diego later this week to experience Comic-Con International Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about some of the casting decisions that Walt Disney Studios has been making on its live-action reimagining of “The Little Mermaid.” They then look back at those two traditional animation / CG hybrid projects that Disney Studios almost produced in the early 1980s, “Where the Wild Things Are” & “The Brave Little Toaster” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by discussing whether this summer’s pattern of sequels under-performing at the box office impacted “Toy Story 4.” They also discuss the animated feature Taika Watiti may tackle soon after turning his back on “Bubbles” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about “It’s A Wonderful Sponge” and the new CG series that Nick is spinning off of this May 2020 release. Drew & Jim discuss how underwhelming ticket sales for “The Secret Life of Pets 2” may impact Universal’s plans to turn this Illumination Entertainment series into a theme park franchise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about the teaser trailer for Pixar’s “Onward.” Then it’s a discussion of why it took Alan Menken four different tries before he finally found the perfect power ballad for Princess Jasmine to sing in Disney’s “Aladdin” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this podcast by talking about how Paramount’s decision to push the release date of “Sonic the Hedgehog” back to February 2020 may have actually made it harder for this live-action / CG film to succeed at the box office. Drew then shares an interview he recently did with Alan Menken, where that Academy Award-winner talks about the development of the original animated “Aladdin” back in the late 1980s / early 1990s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor and Jim Hill start this podcast off by singing the praises of the “DuckTales” production team for the artful & heartfelt way they folded Darkwing Duck into this animated series. Jim then shares some stories about how “Mulan” became Walt Disney Feature Animation – Florida’s first solo production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by sharing their concerns about the December 2019 release date that Disney selected for Blue Sky Studios’ “Spies in Disguise.” They also use the upcoming 10th anniversary of the release of Pixar’s “Up” as an excuse to look back at this Pete Docter movie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about how fan reaction to the “Sonic the Hedgehog” teaser trailer forced Paramount Animation to rework the look of that film’s title character. Then Drew shares an interview that he did with “Toy Story 4” director Josh Cooley, who reveals why Pixar decided to go big with the fourth film in this acclaimed series Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor starts off this week’s episode by sharing his thoughts on Warner Bros. “Pokémon Detective Pikachu.” Jim Hill then does a deep dive on “Gemini Man,” the long-in-development production that originally started off life as a project at Disney’s Secret Lab Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about the parallels between “Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin” opening at Disneyland Park in January of 1994 and “Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios getting its opening pushed back ‘til the Spring of next year. They also discuss what’s going on with “Frozen II” just seven months out from the theatrical release of this eagerly anticipated Walt Disney Animation Studios production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by discussing Rich Moore’s decision to leave Walt Disney Animation Studios for Sony Pictures Animation. Drew also shares what he learned about “Toy Story 4” while taking part in the press day for this upcoming Pixar Animation Studios’ release Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill look back at when Don Bluth resigned from Walt Disney Animation Studios in September of 1979 and then took 15% of that studio’s artists & animators with him. Drew then shares the interview that he did with Chris Butler, the director of “Missing Link” (i.e., Laika’s latest stop motion movie) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill kick off this week’s show by talking about “Steven Universe” ‘s win at the GLAAD Media Awards. Drew then shares an interview he did with Danny Devito at the press junket for Disney’s live-action “Dumbo” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by trying to sort out where exactly Disney & ABC now stand in regards to all those animated “Peanuts” specials. Then Drew shares the interviews that he did with Danny Elfman & Rick Heinrichs at the “Dumbo” media event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by revealing which character Walt Disney Animation Studios favorite Alan Tudyk will be voicing in the live-action version of “Aladdin.” They then get into the convoluted history of Mammy Two Shoes, the seldom-seen-from-the-knees-up supporting character in the “Tom & Jerry” series that underwent an intriguing makeover in the 1960s & 1980s Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill talks about which films from the Disney Vault will actually be streamable when Disney+ goes live later this year. Drew also shares audio from the interview that he did just last week with the director of “Mary Poppins Returns” about the challenges Rob Marshall is now facing as he preps his next project for Walt Disney Pictures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this episode by wondering if John Lasseter’s luck is starting to run out at Skydance Animation. Largely because of that open letter Emma Thompson sent to the Los Angeles Times last week (in which Emma explained why exactly she was exiting Alessandro Carloni’s “Luck”). Drew & Jim then go on talk about how animated series like Netflix’s “Race to the Edge” & the Disney Channel’s “Hotel Transylvania: The Series” now factor into studios’ decisions to greenlight sequels like “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” and “Hotel Transylvania 4.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor and Jim Hill start off this week’s show by talking about things they probably shouldn’t (EX: The name of that motorcycle-riding character from “Toy Story 4”). They then sequin into sharing some audio from the recent media event that was held for “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” out ahead of this Oscar-winning animated feature’s release on Blu-ray & 4K HD. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor starts off this week’s podcast by talking about how “Hidden World” director Dean DeBlois shared with him about the development of DreamWorks Animation’s third “How to Train Your Dragon” movie. Then Jim Hill shares the history of Epcot’s “Journey into Imagination” attraction and the role that Pixar may play in the future of this Future World pavilion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by recapping the 46th annual Annie Awards. They then debate the pros & cons of “Purl,” Pixar’s inaugural SparkShort, before then talking about how “Ralph Breaks the Internet almost started with the funeral of a famous video game character. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by discussing Pixar veteran Darla Anderson’s decision to sign a multi-year deal with Netflix. They then discuss why it took Disney Studios nearly two decades to produce a full length animated version of J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill talk about 2019’s nominees for Best Animated Feature and Best Animated Short Film. They also talk about how “Zootopia” being the highest grossing animated film in Chinese cinematic history eventually led to Shanghai Disneyland getting a new land built around these characters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by comparing Lee Unkrich’s graceful exit from Pixar with John Lasseter’s awkward arrival at Skydance. They then do a deep dive on Warners’ “Space Jam,” tracing the origin of that live-action / animated feature back to Nike’s “Hare Jordan” & “Aerospace Jordan” commercials Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill discuss what’s sure to be one of the biggest animation stories of 2019: David Ellison hiring John Lasseter to be the new head of Skydance Animation. Drew & Jim also look back at Lasseter’s last year or so at Disney & Pixar and muse over whether “Cars 3” ‘s under-performance at the box office & the cancellation of “Gigantic” contributed to John’s downfall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill look back at this year’s high points & low points when it comes to film and television animation. They also talk about projects that they’re really looking forward to in 2019 like Sergio Pablos’ “Klaus” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s podcast by discussing – given all of the stellar reviews that “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” has received to date – why this Sony Pictures Animation film only earned $35.4 million over its opening weekend in domestic release. Drew & Jim also look ahead to “The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part” & “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” which are both being released in February of 2019 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s episode by talking about why the late Stan Lee’s cameo in “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is a real standout in that Sony Pictures Animation film. These two then talk about the possible impact that John Lasseter’s slow-motion exit from Disney & Pixar may have had on “The Incredibles 2” & “Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Immediately after they finished doing a live recording of their "Fine Tooning" podcast at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort earlier this month, Drew Taylor & Jim Hill began taking questions from listeners who attended that event. The topics that got touched on in this off-the-cuff session include how "Winnie-the-Pooh" 's July 2011 release date helped kill off 2-D animation at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor and Jim Hill start off this podcast (which was recorded in front of a live audience) by recapping their "Pixar in the Park" event. They then discuss all of the Disney talent that's now making new animated projects for Netflix. Finally Drew discusses "Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2" and what Disney-related gags got cut out of this Rich Moore/Phil Johnston film. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor and Jim Hill start off these week's podcast off by discussing the stop motion version of "Pinocchio" that Guillermo del Toro is now prepping for Netflix. Then it's how Hollywood is commemorating the 20th and 25th anniversaries of DreamWorks Animation's "The Prince of Egypt" and "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas." Finally, Drew and Jim talk about why Ed Catmull's legacy -- when it comes to animation -- is complicated, to say the least. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor and Jim Hill start off this week's podcast by sharing their impressions of the recently released teaser trailer for Disney's live-action reimagining of "Aladdin." Drew and Jim then discuss how the huge popularity of "Lilo and Stitch" overseas undoubtedly factored into the Studio's decision to put a live-action / CG hybrid reboot of this 2002 WDAS hand-drawn film into development. Finally Taylor talks about what it's like to experience "Cycles," Walt Disney Animation Studios' first-ever virtual-reality short Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill first discuss all of the animation-related news coming out of this year's New York Comic-Con. They then puzzle over the live action / cg project that Brad Bird is supposedly working on as his follow-up to "The Incredibles 2." Finally Jim talks about the animated featurette that was supposed to serve as the follow-up to 1990's "The Prince and the Pauper," "Christopher Columbus" starring Mickey Mouse Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start things off by talking bout the key role master animator Mark Henn played in translating Disney's hand-drawn princesses into CG characters. Next Drew & Jim discuss the "Harvey Birdman, Attorney General" special that will be airing on Adult Swim later this month. Then Taylor & Hill look back at Disney Legend Woolie Reitherman and the role that recycled / repurposed animation had to do with the adoption of xerography at Walt Disney Animation Studios in the early 1960s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drew Taylor starts off this week's "Fine Tooning" by focusing a spotlight on the first-ever official collaboration between Walt Disney Animation Studios & Pixar Animation Studios. Then Jim Hill talks about Frank Thomas' struggles when it came to animating those dancing penguins in the original "Mary Poppins" movie. Then Drew & Jim talk about some of the more innovative things that are going on in television animation -- including how Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media moved at warp speed to cash in on Disney Junior's latest star. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices