2003:
The 10th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival kicks off at Walt Disney World.
1930:
Disney's 15th Mickey Mouse cartoon Wild Waves, directed by
Burt Gillett, is released. This 7-minute classic features lifeguard Mickey saving Minnie from drowning.
1952:
Disney's Donald Duck cartoon Let's Stick Together, directed by
Jack Hannah, is released. This short features the last
appearance of a bee named Spike (also known as Buzz-Buzz).
1953:
Ron Clements, an animator/director/writer is born in Sioux City, Iowa. First
seeing Pinocchio at Sioux City's Orpheum Theater when he was 9 years old - Clements instantly
knew that he wanted to be involved in animation. He began his career as an animator for Hanna-
Barbera, but later served a two year Disney apprenticeship with famed animator Frank Thomas
(one of Walt's Nine Old Men). Clements made his feature debut as a character animator on The
Rescuers (1977) and Pete's Dragon (1977). Together with animator/storyboard artist/writer/director
John Musker, Clements created such classics as The Great Mouse Detective (1986), the smash hit
The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), Hercules (1997), Treasure Planet (2002), The Princess
and the Frog (2009), and Moana (2016). Although he retired in 2018 (after 40 years with Disney)
Clements acted as a consultant for the 2019 live-action Aladdin.
1961:
Disney's loan from the Bank of America is finally paid off. Revenue from movies can now go directly to Walt Disney Productions.
1970:
Actor Jason Lee, the voice of Buddy Pine / IncrediBoy in the 2004 Disney/Pixar animated feature The Incredibles and the short Jack-Jack Attack, is born in Huntington Beach, California. He was also the voice of Underdog in Disney's 2007 live-action feature Underdog. (TV fans remember him as the star of "My Name Is Earl" comedy series.)
1972:
Academy Award-winning actor George Sanders, the voice of Disney's Shere Khan in The Jungle Book (and the husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor) passes away.
1988:
Mickey Mouse and Michael Eisner appear on the cover of TIME magazine.
The issue features an article titled "Do You Believe In Magic?"
1989:
The second episode of The All New Mickey Mouse Club
(or MMC) airs on the Disney Channel. Today is Guest Day!
1995:
Angel Florez, a member of the 1977-1978 TV series The New Mouseketeers, passes
away. Born in August 1963, his first two professional credits were a Pepsi commercial and a pilot for a television
show before auditioning for the "New Mickey Mouse Club."
2000:
Disney's live musical stage production The Lion King opens in Toronto, Canada.
The ASCAP Film and Television Awards are announced at the Beverly Hilton in
Los Angeles, California. Among the winners for Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures is "You'll Be
in My Heart," written by Phil Collins from Tarzan. Among the winners for Top Box Office Films are Toy Story 2,
Tarzan, and Inspector Gadget.
It was while working at
the Kansas City Film Ad
Company in 1921 that
Walt Disney first attempted
and became fascinated with
the art of animation.
2007:
Zagat Survey announces the release of its first "Walt Disney World Insider's Guide."
Based on the experiences of 4,841 avid Disney-goers, the guide comprehensively rates and reviews all six of Disney's Orlando theme parks.
At Epcot, the new exhibit space in Spaceship Earth's post show, called "Project Tomorrow: Inventing the Wonders of the Future," opens. Presented by Siemens (until 2017), guests view a series of exhibits that explore advances in medicine, technology, and energy management, including Body
Builder, Super Driver, Innervision, and Power City.
The Hannah Montana episode "You Are So Sue-able To Me" debuts on Disney Channel.
"My strength is coming up with two outs in the last of the ninth." -Michael Eisner
2008:
Michael Eisner, who as Disney’s CEO between 1984 and 2005 oversaw its massive growth into an entertainment giant, is honored with a star on
Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
APRIL 25
APRIL 25
THIS DAY MADE IN THE USA
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Ron Clements born
1993:
Florida Governor Lawton Chiles celebrates Florida Earth Day at Disney
World's Village Marketplace.
Walt Disney World has recycling programs for Guests as well as Cast Members. WDW’s resort hotels have earned the prestigious Green Lodging Certification designation from the Florida EPA. Disney also has Green Guidelines that apply to all meetings and conventions held at the Walt Disney World Resort.
2011:
Principal photography begins in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on a new superhero film
titled The Avengers. To be distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film will open in May 2012.
2015:
The 2015 Radio Disney Music Awards are held and filmed at the Microsoft Theater
in Los Angeles, California. Among the winners:
-Best Female Artist: Ariana Grande
-Best Male Artist: Ed Sheeran
-Best Music Group: Fifth Harmony
-Best New Artist: Charli XCX
The event will air on Sunday, April 26, 2015 on Radio Disney and Disney Channel.
1997:
Touchstone Pictures releases the comedy Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.
Ten years after their high school graduation, Romy, played by Mira Sorvino, and Michele, played by Lisa Kudrow, haven't exactly accomplished everything that they set out to do. Despite their strong friendship, their personal and professional lives are still lacking. When they hear of their upcoming high school reunion, they take it as an opportunity to show their classmates how much they've changed -- first by trying to reform themselves, then by creating a lie that eventually spins out of control. The cast includes Janeane Garofalo as Heather, Camryn Manheim as Toby, and Alan Cumming as Sandy.
1965:
Puppeteer John Henson, the son of Muppet creator Jim Henson, is born
in Greenwich, Connecticut. John performed Muppet character Sweetums starting in 1992 following the
death of Richard Hunt (who trained John in performing Sweetums). His credits include the Disney feature
films Muppet Treasure Island and The Muppets' Wizard of Oz.
1985:
Comic actor Richard Haydn passes away at age 80 in California. He supplied the voice of the Caterpillar in the 1951 Disney animated Alice in Wonderland.
1940:
Actor and filmmaker Al Pacino is born Alfredo James Pacino in New York City. With a career spanning more than five decades, his film credits include Touchstone's action comedy Dick Tracy (1990) as Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Pacino also starred in Touchstone's drama The Insider (1999) and Touchstone's spy thriller The Recruit (2003). He received his first Best Actor Oscar nomination for Serpico (1973); and has since been nominated for The Godfather Part II, Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
and ...And Justice for All (1979). Starting on the stage in Boston in 1967, he has since received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, making him one of the few performers to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting!
2010:
Actress Dorothy Provine passes away at age 75 in Bremerton, Washington. Raised in San Francisco, she often played squeaky-clean housewives, girlfriends and sisters in various feature films and television programs. Her Disney credits included the films That Darn Cat! (1965) as Ingrid Randall, and Never a Dull Moment
(1968) as Sally Inwood. (You may recognize her from the films It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and The Great Race.)
New Morning, the major label debut LP by the alternative rock band Alpha Rev, is released on Hollywood Records.
1964:
Actor, voice actor, comedian, and producer Hank Azaria is born in Queens, New York.
Best known for his voice characterizations as a variety of characters in the animated sitcom The Simpsons, his Disney film credits include Pretty Woman (1990), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Cradle Will Rock (1999), and Mystery, Alaska (1999). (Fans of the 90's sitcom Friends will known him as David; Phoebe's love interest.)
2021:
The 93rd annual Academy Awards takes place. Nomadland (distributed by Disney's Searchlight Pictures) lead the awards, winning three of the six prizes the film was up for, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Frances McDormand), and Best Director (Chloé Zhao). Pixar/Disney's Soul wins Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score.
