A. Film L.A. test

A quick note from the road: the Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio in San Francisco is simply AMAZING! If you plan a trip, you will not be disappointed! I had the good fortune to attend one of the previews today, and I am still overloaded with new experiences, new things to see, new knowledge to gather. My favorite item? There are many, but one that stands out is a kind of "missing link," a message from Walt to Roy during the recording of the music for Steamboat Willie, describing the bouncing ball and "stick back-and-forth" system for synchronizing the music to the picture that I described earlier! You MUST come and see all these fantastic artifacts; you will get a new understanding of Walt Disney, the man! The museums opens officially on October 1st.

Though there was less traveling involved in the D23 Expo than in Comic-Con, it was no less hectic, fast-paced and exciting. As was to be expected for a first venue, there were a few hitches, timing problems etc., but in all it was a remarkably wonderful four days, with lots of surprises, celebrities and interesting events. Mind you, I was already a D23 convert from the outset, as one could quickly calculate that four expensive-to-produce magazines (4 x $16 = $64) and a free trip to UP (with celebrity appearance) for two (2 x $11 = $22) easily covers my $75 membership fee. But the Expo was, of course, a separate deal, four days in the Anaheim Convention Center especially for the fan community. It did give the fans quite an interesting peek into the thoughts of the different divisions and showed which of them likes their fans (Walt Disney and Pixar Studios, Archives), and which seemed to not care much (Disney Channel). It also showed me the qualities of a REAL star. I can mention the won...

Wednesday last week I had the good fortune to see Ted Thomas' wonderful new film Walt and El Grupo , as part of an audience that could boast of more Disney legends (or their offspring) than at any other recent event. The film is a documentary telling the story of the trip through South America that Walt and his staff made during ten weeks following their departure on August 11, 1941. Above poster will be for sale after the film officially opens tomorrow September 9th in the AMC in Anaheim! More dates on the official site ! Amazing historic footage and modern visits to the sites of 1941 are interspersed with interviews and readings of letters sent by the members of Walt's group to their family, as well as never-before-seen artwork. My favorite shot shows the group leaving the animation building in beautiful colors, with Ward Kimball, Ollie Johnston and Milt Kahl waving their goodbyes - Kimball looks like he thinks "yeah, right, why am I not coming, too?" Go see it! The...

Another classic! I bet everyone has seen this film. Animation by Louie Schmidt, Johnny Cannon, Don Patterson, Gerry Geronimi, Tom Palmer, Cy Young (effects), Frenchy de Trémaudan and Ed Love. Directed by Ben Sharpsteen, released on 3/6/38. This draft dated 1/19/38... Excuse my erratic posting - things are crazy busy, with the upcoming D23 and our Lost Chords concert there on September 12th!