2001:
"Believe There's Magic in the Stars" returns to Disneyland. This fireworks show (originally
staged during Disneyland's 45th anniversary) features some all new pyrotechnics, many low level fireworks and
crisscrossing comets.
It is reported that attendance for the opening of Disney's California Adventure Park on February 8, fell far below the estimate of 33,000. By 2 p.m. (usually Disney's peak hour)
14,000 tickets had been purchased and roughly 10,000 people were inside the park. When the gates opened at 8
a.m., only 3,000 were waiting to get in. Officials had prepared for more than four times as many.
The Lizzie McGuire episode "I've Got Rhythmic" airs for the
first time on Disney Channel.
2005:
"DisneyWar" by James Stewart hits bookshelves. Stewart details the scandals of CEO Michael Eisner's management.
"Disney was a great infiltrator, a champion of animal rights. He taught us against cruelty to animals.
He made us sympathize so much with animals. He made us realize we've all got a mother.
He gave us a compassion for animals. I credit him a lot." -musician Paul McCartney
1914:
Disney Legend, animator and engineer Bill Justice is born in Dayton, Ohio. Growing up in Indianapolis, Indiana, he moved to California in 1935. He first joined Disney in July 1937 as an animator and worked on such features as Saludos Amigos, Victory Through Air Power, The Three Caballeros, Make Mine Music and Peter Pan. Justice later went on to work as a programmer (starting in 1965) for Audio-Animatronics figures for such Disneyland attractions as Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, Mission to Mars, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Haunted Mansion. He also designed the floats and costumes for one of the first Disneyland Christmas Parades. Justice retired in February 1979 and chronicled his 42 years at Disney in the book Justice for Disney, in which he told the "story of a very lucky fellow from Indiana who was able to find a job he loved."
1940:
Disney's animated feature film, Pinocchio opens in Los Angeles theaters (2 days after
premiering in New York). Actor Dickie Jones supplies the voice of the living puppet. The film will win 2
Academy Awards. (Although it is Disney's first treatment of the classic story it is actually the second filmed version
of it. In 1911 a silent black-and-white Pinocchio was produced in Italy.)
1951:
Disney's Pluto cartoon Cold Storage, directed by Jack Kinney, is released. It is winter
and tired Pluto discovers a stork has moved into his nice warm doghouse.
1955:
The Disneyland television series airs A Progress Report, featuring a report on the Anaheim theme park's construction and the True Life Adventure Nature's Half Acre.
1964:
Singer-actor Scott Craig, a member of the 70s TV series The New
Mickey Mouse Club, is born in Los Angeles, California.
Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color airs part one of a
3-part story called "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh" (a
combination of the Robin Hood and Scarlet Pimpernel stories).
The 1-hour episode features Patrick McGoohan as the Reverend Doctor Christopher Syn.
(Unfortunately for Disney more than 73 million television viewers are watching the much
anticipated American debut of The Beatles on CBS-TV's The Ed Sullivan Show.)
1979:
Disney's live-action comedy The North Avenue Irregulars, starring Edward Hermann,
Barbara Harris, Karen Valentine, Michael Constantine and Cloris Leachman, is
released in U.S. theaters. When crooks set up operations in a small town, a minister and a group of
church ladies are willing to do anything, no matter how wacky, to drive them out!
1986:
Magic Journeys, a 3D film shown in Epcot's Journey Into Imagination Pavilion, closes. It will reopen at the Magic Kingdom in December 1987. Magic Journeys premiered as one of the opening-day attractions at EPCOT Center back in 1982.
The film looks at the world through the eyes of a child.
1996:
The Disney Institute opens at Walt Disney World, Florida. The Institute (inspired by the
Chautauqua Institution in Jamestown, New York) offers more than 60 programs in 8 interest areas such as animation,
culinary arts, rock climbing and wilderness exploration. Guests stay in Villas (previously part of the Disney Village
Resort) on a 75 acre, 457 room resort. The Institute is an attempt to allow guests to have a vacation ... with a dose of
educational entertainment.
Kelli Berglund, an actress, model, dancer and singer, is born in Moorpark, California.
She is known for portraying Bree Davenport, a bionic teenager with lightning speed, in the Disney XD series Lab Rats,
and its spinoff Lab Rats: Elite Force. In 2014 Berglund starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie, How to Build a
Better Boy, where she portrayed Mae Hartley, a tech-savvy young woman who along with her best friend, devises
a plan to create the perfect boyfriend.
1999:
Disney's Mulan and the Disney/Pixar A Bug's Life both receives Academy Award nominations for Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures (Original Musical
or Comedy Score). The 71st Academy Awards ceremony will take place March 21.
2003:
Disney's The Jungle Book 2 has its premiere at the El Capitan
Theatre in Hollywood, California.
2006:
The Walt Disney Company re-acquires the rights to Oswald the Lucky
Rabbit back from NBC Universal along with sports considerations for
ESPN. The rights are obtained as part of a transaction permitting football
play-by-play analyst Al Michaels to contract with NBC.
1946:
Vincent Francis Papale, a former part-time bar tender/substitute teacher who went
on to play professional football with the Philadelphia Eagles, is born in Pennsylvania. Despite playing just one year of high school football and having no college football experience, Papale went on to play in the NFL at age 30 - making him the league's oldest rookie! His story is the basis for the
2006 Disney live-action film Invincible starring Mark Wahlberg.
2007:
Disney World's Pleasure Island becomes Sweetheart Island today,
tomorrow and February 14 in honor of Valentine's Day.
Singer-songwriter Paul McCartney
(best known as one of The
Beatles) names Lady and the
Tramp as his all-time Disney
favorite! McCartney
appeared on the
October/November
1992 issue of
The Disney
Channel
Magazine.
1773:
William Henry Harrison, the ninth United States President, is
born at the Berkeley Plantation in Charles City County, Virginia.
The oldest president elected (until Ronald Reagan in 1980) Harrison is also the last
President to be born before the United States Declaration of Independence. Sadly, he
died on his 32nd day in office of complications from a cold – the shortest tenure in
United States presidential history. Visit him and all the U.S. Chief Executives at Disney
World's The Hall of Presidents.
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FEBRUARY 9
FEBRUARY 09
THIS
SITE MADE
IN THE USA
Pinocchio debuts in Los Angeles
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The Disney Institute opens
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SEASON 1 EPISODE 16
2009:
Disney announces an exclusive long-term distribution and marketing deal
with Steven Spielberg's production company, DreamWorks Studios. Under the
new agreement, Disney, via its Touchstone imprint, will distribute 30 DreamWorks films over five years.
1942:
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominates Disney's Dumbo
for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture and Best Music, Original Song (for "Baby
Mine"). Also nominated are Lend a Paw and Truant Officer Donald, both for Best Short Subjects, Cartoons.
Oscar night is February 26.
"There is nothing more corrupting, nothing more destructive of the noblest and finest feelings of our nature, than the exercise of unlimited power." -William Henry Harrison
"One of the most enjoyable Disneyland projects was the Pirates of the Caribbean.
Manipulating the figures in each vignette was a multiple challenge." -Bill Justice
1953:
Disney's Water Birds is nominated for an Oscar Award in the category Short Subjects,
Two Reels. Winners will be announced March 19.
Versatile actor Ciarán Hinds is born in Northern Ireland. He supplied the voice of Grand Pabbie for both Frozen and Frozen II. Hinds also appeared in the live-action John Carter as Tardos Mors.
1962:
Disney premieres the live-action feature film Moon Pilot, starring Tom Tryon as astronaut
Richmond Talbot and French entertainer and songstress Dany Saval (making her
American film debut). Based on Robert Buckner's 1960 novel Starfire, it is directed by James Neilson (his first of
many films for Disney) and reflects Disney's interest in America's early space program. Talbot, an Air Force captain,
inadvertently volunteers to make the first manned flight around the moon! The cast includes such familar Disney actors as
Brian Keith and Tommy Kirk and features 3 songs written by the Sherman Brothers.
1977:
Greg Wilson, son of celebrated magician Mark Wilson, brings a hatful of magical tricks for Surprise Day on episode 18 of The New Mickey Mouse Club. Donald Duck reminisces about the first time her met Daisy in the Mousekartoon, Donald's Diary.
Actor A.J. Buckely is born Alan John Buckley in Dublin, Ireland. He supplied the voice
of Nash (the son of Tyrannosaurus Butch) for Pixar's animated The Good Dinosaur (2015).
1972:
"Folk Tale Favorites," episode 3 of The Mickey Mouse Factory, airs on telelvision.
Guest host Johnny Brown (comic actor and singer known for his appearances on Laugh-in) takes a look at
songs and stories written about some of our most popular folk heroes.
Feb 09, 1964 - the beginning of a new era in popular culture.
FEB
FEB
A funny thing happened to me on the way to the moon.
2012:
Disney takes possession of its newest cruise ship when the colors of German
shipbuilder Meyer Werft are lowered and the Disney Cruise Line flag is raised
over the Disney Fantasy. The traditional maritime ceremony marks the final step of construction
before the 4,000-passenger ship makes her way across the Atlantic, eventually arriving to her homeport
of Port Canaveral, Florida, and inaugural voyage on March 31. The Fantasy will first stop in New York City for its
March 1 christening before heading down the East Coast to arrive at Port Canaveral on March 6.
February 09
2014:
The cast of Disney's Oscar-nominated Frozen (Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Josh Gad
and Santino Fontana) perform songs from the animated hit live inside Bel Air’s'
Vibrato Grill. Attending the event are Frozen co-directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, the film’s songwriters
Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, and Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar president Ed Catmull.
FEBRUARY IS DCA MONTH
2018:
The Legacy Collection: Beauty and the Beast is released on Walt Disney Records.
(The Legacy series commemorates distinct anniversaries of Disney films and the 60th anniversary of Disneyland,
containing newly remastered versions of the original and expanded soundtrack albums.) The fourteenth volume in the
series, this two-disc soundtrack features the 1991 original soundtrack from Beauty and the Beast, including deleted
songs, extended score, and early demos.
2019:
Ron W. Miller, president and CEO of The Walt Disney Company from 1978 to 1984, passes away at age 85 in Napa, California. A professional football player (for the Los Angeles Rams), he met the Disney's daughter Diane on a blind date and the two were married in 1954. During his time as CEO, Miller spearheaded the creation of Walt Disney Home Video, Touchstone Pictures and The Disney Channel. Miller had been president of the board of directors at The Walt Disney Family Museum, which he helped establish in 2009 in San
Francisco.
1992:
Animator, director and producer Jack Kinney passes away at age 82 in Glendale, California. A veteran animator, who spend most of his career working at Walt Disney Productions (later known
as the Walt Disney Animation Studios), he directed the first film in the Donald Duck series to win the Academy
Award for Best Animated Short Film. A sequence director on Pinocchio, his short film credits include Bone Trouble, Goofy's Glider, The Art of Skiing, and How to Fish. In 1988, Kinney published a short memoir,
Walt Disney and Assorted Other Characters: An Unauthorized Account of the Early Years at Disney's.
1947:
Nominees for the 19th Academy Awards are announced. Disney's Squatter's Rights
is nominated for Best Short Subject – Cartoons. Winners will be announced March 13.
1981:
Actor Tom Hiddleston is born in Westminster, London, England. He portrayed Loki (the adopted brother and sometimes enemy of the superhero Thor) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
1976:
Actor, screenwriter, producer, director and musician Charlie Day is born in New York City. He was the voice of Art in the 2013 Monsters University. (He is best known for playing Charlie Kelly on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.)
2020:
Toy Story 4 wins Best Animated Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards. The sports
drama film Ford v Ferrai (distributed by Disney's 20th Century Fox) wins both Best Sound Editing and Best Film Editing.
2021:
Disney announces that it will be closing Blue Sky Studios in April, after 34 years of existence. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic's continued economic impact on all of its businesses, it is no longer sustainable for Disney to run a third feature animation studio. Based in Greenwich, Connecticut, it is a subsidiary of 20th Century Animation, a division of Walt Disney Studios.
