1963:
Disney's live-action feature film The Incredible Journey (the story of 3 pets - a cat
and two dogs, who lose their owners when they are all on vacation) is generally
released. Narrated by Rex Allen (known for his many Disney nature and Western films), it is based on the
novel, "The Incredible Journey" by Sheila Burnford. (In 1993 Disney will make a new version of the film, entitled
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey - in which the animals speak.)
Actress Ming-Na Wen, the speaking voice of Mulan in
both Mulan and Mulan II, is born in Coloane Island, Macau,
China. She also supplied the voice for Dr. Hirano in a 2008 episode of
Phineas and Ferb and in August 2014 reprised her role as Mulan for the first
time since Mulan 2 for the Disney Channel show Sofia the First and later the
animated comedy Ralph Breaks the Internet. Starting in 2013, Wen played
Agent Melinda May in the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. She also
lent her voice to 4 episodes of the animated series Guardians of the Galaxy in
2018 and played Fennec Shand in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian. She
was named a Disney Legend in 2019. (Wen is noted for starring in the films The Joy Luck Club, Street Fighter, and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.)
1946:
A press screening for Disney's Song of the South takes place in New York.
Although Walt Disney had attended the film's premier in Atlanta on November 12, he is presently in Europe.
Samuel E. Wright, the voice of Sebastian the crab for Disney's 1989
animated classic The Little Mermaid, is born in Camden, South
Carolina. Providing the main vocals for "Under the Sea," Wright also voiced Sebastian
for The Little Mermaid TV series as well as other direct-to-video Little Mermaid productions.
The original lead actor for Mufasa in The Lion King, the Broadway version of Disney's
classic animated feature, Wright also provided the voice of Kron for Disney's 2000 Dinosaur.
2005:
Disney's Broadway hit The Lion King performs show number 3,347!
1948:
Character actor Richard Masur is born in New York City. Appearing in more than 80 films, Masur starred in Mr. Boogedy (1986) and Bride of Boogedy (1987) which both aired as episodes of "The Disney Sunday Movie." He is best known for his appearances on such television series as Rhoda, One Day at a Time, and Hot L Baltimore.
1957:
The Disneyland TV series airs the episode "The Best
Doggoned Dog in the World," featuring Walt and actress
Dorothy McGuire (one of the stars of Old Yeller).
1959:
The TV series Walt Disney Presents airs "Elfago Baca: Mustang Man,
Mustang Maid." It is the 8th of a 10-part mini-series starring Robert Loggia.
1960:
Walt Disney Presents airs part 1 of "Moochie of Pop Warner Football."
1977:
The Wonderful World of Disney airs the episode "The Mouseketeers at Walt
Disney World" on NBC-TV. Comedic veterans Jo Anne Worley and Ronnie Schell join the
stars of The New Mickey Mouse Club at Walt Disney World in Florida.
1989:
Disney adds a $10 bill featuring Minnie Mouse to their Disney Dollars (originally
issued two years earlier).
Actor Cody Linley is born in Texas. He appeared on Disney Channel's Hannah
Montana as Jake Ryan, and on That's So Raven as Daryl. Linley was also one of the
hosts for the 2008 Disney Channel Games and a contestant on Season 7 of Dancing With The Stars.
1993:
The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame Plaza - an outdoor
exhibit featuring bronze busts of notable celebrities - opens at Disney-MGM.
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame Plaza is actually an outdoor exhibit, adjunct to the
ATAS offices, located at 5220 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood, California. In 1992, a deal was signed
with the Walt Disney Company, arranging for a portion of the Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World to
become the East Coast counterpart of the plaza.
1996:
Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame is released in France.
2003:
The Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater in the Walt Disney Concert Hall in California, hosts a presentation of Walt Disney's Alice Comedies.
2004:
ASIFA Hollywood (a worldwide organization dedicated to the art of animation)
saves several walls in a home once owned by the late Disney Legend Dick Huemer. Huemer's son Richard alerts ASIFA who is able to negotiate with the demolition company to
save two bedroom walls which feature original artwork by Huemer of classic Disney characters.
While Disney World's Haunted
Mansion boasts '999 Happy Haunts,'
it also at one time had a 'mouse' - a Hidden Mickey formed by an arrangement of dishes on
the table in the
attraction's
banquet scene.
1999:
The Disney Channel Original Movie Horse Sense, starring brothers Joey Lawrence and Andrew Lawrence, debuts.
2007:
Walt Disney Records releases the soundtrack to the new animated/live-action movie musical, Enchanted. The recording features songs by Academy Award Winners Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz with an original score by Menken. Included among the 15 tracks is the song "Ever Ever After" sung by
Carrie Underwood. It is the only original song in the film not sung onscreen. (Enchanted will open in theaters the
next day.)
Also released is the 6-disc set High School Musical Hits Collection featuring
5 CDS & 1 DVD.
Scribner (a division of Simon & Schuster) releases the book Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin. A memoir of his life, the comic-turned-actor/director describes his young
years selling guidebooks at the newly-opened Disneyland. In the decade that followed, Martin worked in Disney's magic shop, print shop, and theater!
1940:
Singer Tony Butala is born in Sharon, Pennsylvania. Known as the lead singer
for the vocal group The Lettermen since 1958, as a youngster he supplied the
voice of Slightley - one of the Lost Boys in Disney's 1953 Peter Pan.
NOVEMBER 20
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
NOVEMBER 20
N
O
V
 | ||||
| ||||
The Incredible Journey released
| ||||
"I gave my cat a bath the other day. . .they love it. He sat there, he enjoyed it, if was fun for me. The fur would stick to my tongue, but other than that ... " -Steve Martin
Enchanted soundtrack released
1942:
Disney's Pluto short Pluto at the Zoo, directed by Clyde Geronimi, is released.
Jealous of the larger bones in the lion's cage, Pluto decides to take one for himself!
"The first books I ever read were the Uncle Remus stories. Ever since then, these stories have been my special favorites. I've just been waiting until I could develop the proper medium to bring them to the screen." -Walt Disney
1998:
Disney/Pixar's A Bug's Life is released in Los Angeles. The second full-length computer-
animated feature produced by the partnership of Disney and Pixar Studios, it features an all-star voice cast
including Dave Foley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Denis Leary, David Hyde Pierce, Brad Garrett, Kevin Spacey,
Phyllis Diller, John Ratzenberger, Roddy McDowall, Madeline Kahn, Bonnie Hunt, Richard Kind, and Courtland Mead. Directed by John Lasseter, the plot of the film is loosely based on Aesop's fable "The Ants and the Grasshopper." A Bug's Life will be generally released nationwide on November 25.
Touchstone Pictures releases the action-thriller Enemy of the State, directed by Tony Scott, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and written by David Marconi. A lawyer becomes a target by a corrupt politician and his N.S.A. goons when he accidentally receives key evidence to a serious politically motivated crime. The film stars Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Loren Dean, Jack Black, Lisa Bonet, and
Seth Green.
An epic of miniature proportions.
2012:
Disney's direct-to-video offering Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups debuts. The cast
includes Richard Kind (supplying the voice of Eddy the Elf Dog) and Cheryl Ladd (portraying Mrs. Claus).
Mrs. Claus takes command of her husband's reindeer, with the "Santa Pups" on board as stowaways,
and guides them to a town that's lost its seasonal spirit.
A 1-disc DVD edition of the 1950 Cinderella is released.
November 20
2017:
Big Hero 6: The Series, produced by Disney Television Animation and developed by Kim Possible creators Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley, premieres on Disney
Channel. The series is based on Disney's 2014 film Big Hero 6, which itself is loosely based on the comic book
series "Big Hero 6" published by Marvel Comics.
2016:
Elena and the Secret of Avalor, a computer-animated musical fantasy adventure film,
premieres on both Disney Channel and Disney Junior. It is a crossover movie between two
Disney television series, Disney Junior's Sofia the First and Elena of Avalor. Sofia discovers the incredible mystery
behind her amulet. Princess Elena from the kingdom of Avalor has been magically trapped inside the amulet for 41
years, waiting for another princess to set her free, and Sofia is up to the task!
1941:
Legendary singer-pianist Dr. John is born Malcolm Rebennack in New Orleans. He recorded a version of "Cruella DeVil" (for the CD Classic Disney Volume 5) and a duet of "You've Got a Friend in Me" (for singer Steve Tyrell's Disney Standards CD). Dr. John can also be heard on the soundtrack for The Princess and the Frog, singing "Down in New Orleans" - written by Randy Newman and nominated for Best Song at the 53rd Grammy Awards. Dr. John also recorded a version of "Bare Necessities" for the 2016 The Jungle Book. His recording of "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" was featured in Disney's 1992 film The Mighty Ducks, and Disney's 2003 film Holes featured Mac's "Let's Make a Better World." (Beginning in the late 1960s, Rebennack gained fame as a solo artist after adopting the persona of "Dr. John, The Night Tripper." His act combined New Orleans-style rhythm and blues with psychedelic rock. The winner of five Grammy awards, Rebennack was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. Sadly he passed at age 78 in June 2019.)
2019:
Nominations for the 62nd Grammy Awards are announced. Among them:
-Best Pop Vocal Album: The Lion King: The Gift – Beyoncé
-Best Pop Solo Performance: "Spirit" – Beyoncé
-Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media:
The Lion King: The Songs — (Various Artists)
-Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media:
Avengers: Endgame — Alan Silvestri, composer, The Lion King — Hans Zimmer, composer &
Mary Poppins Returns — Marc Shaiman, composer
-Best Song Written For Visual Media:
"The Ballad Of The Lonesome Cowboy” — Randy Newman, songwriter (Chris Stapleton); Track from: Toy Story 4 &
"Spirit” — Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Timothy McKenzie & Ilya Salmanzadeh, songwriters (Beyoncé); Track from:
The Lion King
-Best Instrumental Composition:
“Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Symphonic Suite” — John Williams, composer
-Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical:
John Hill - "Zero" (from Ralph Breaks The Internet)
The Grammy Awards will take place on January 26, 2020 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
1984:
Actor and singer Jeremy Jordan is born in Corpus Christi, Texas. Jordan played Jack Kelly in the stage version of Newsies at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey in September and October 2011, and later reprised that lead role in Disney's Newsies on Broadway. He was nominated for the 2012 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. The following year he was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album as a principal soloist on the Newsies original cast album. Jordan is also the voice of Varian in Tangled: The Series.
1951:
Actor and voice actor Rodger Bumpass is born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Best known for his long-running role of Squidward on the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants, his Disney voice credits include such films and television shows as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997), Mulan (1998), Rolie Polie Olie (1998), A Bug's Life (1998), Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Tarzan (1999), The Emperor's New Groove (2000), Lilo & Stitch (2002),
Cars (2006), Gravity Falls (2012), Monsters University (2013), and Incredibles 2 (2018).
2020:
Marvel's 616 begins streaming on Disney+. Helmed by filmmakers, the documentary series explores Marvel's rich legacy of characters, creators and stories, showcasing the intersections of storytelling, pop culture and fandom within the Marvel Universe.
Walt Disney Records releases The Mandalorian: Season 2 - Vol. 1 (Chapters 9-12) (Original Score), featuring the music of Ludwig Göransson.
