1987:
Disney's Sleeping Beauty is released on LaserDisc. (LaserDisc
will remain the "Lexus of Video" ... until the release of DVDs.)
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2002:
Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper, co-hosts of television's leading film
review series "Ebert & Roeper," host their second annual Ebert &
Roeper Film Festival At Sea aboard the Disney Wonder cruise ship.
The Atlanta Braves take on the University of Georgia for an afternoon
spring training game at Disney's Wide World of Sports Baseball
Stadium. The stadium, located at 700 Victory Way in Lake Buena Vista, is the spring training
home of the Braves.
2005:
Clear Channel Radio launches a major promotion to help celebrate
50 years of family fun at Walt Disney theme parks.
More than 400 Clear Channel radio stations participate in the
campaign by airing promotional spots providing event details
for the "Happiest Celebration on Earth."
Florida Governor Jeb Bush names longtime Walt Disney World executive
Tom Lewis to run the Department of Management Services. (The agency
is responsible for overseeing state government infrastructure, including
building construction and state vehicles.)
Filming begins at the Disney Studio in Burbank, California for
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
1929:
Frank Gehry, architect of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, is born Frank Owen Goldberg in Toronto, Canada. Some of his best-known creations include the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain, Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington, and his own private residence in Santa Monica, California!
1948:
Tony Award-winning actress-singer Bernadette Peters, the voice of Angelique in Disney's 1997 Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, is born Bernadette Lazarra in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. In 1997 she also played Cinderella's Stepmother in the ABC-TV movie Cinderella (starring Brandy). Peters' television credits include a 2008 episode of Grey's Anatomy and 5 episodes of the 2009 Ugly Betty. In March 2017, she attended the Beauty and the Beast New York screening at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center. With a career that has already spanned 5 decades, Peters has starred in musical theatre (Into the Woods), films (Pennies from Heaven), and television (The Muppet Show).
1955:
Comedian Gilbert Gottfried, the voice of Iago the Parrot for Disney's Aladdin feature, TV shows, and park attractions (such as Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management) is born in Brooklyn, New York. Gottfried's Disney TV credits include episodes of Hanna Montana, The Emperor's New School, and Hercules.
1986:
retires at the age of 81. Among Larson's creations ... the kitten Figaro for the 1940 animated feature Pinocchio.
1997:
ABC-TV airs "Walt Disney World's 25th Anniversary Party" at 9 p.m. EST. The special is hosted by Melissa Joan Hart (of TV's "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch") and Will Friedle (of TV's "Boy Meets World").
Wookie Chewbacca and actress Carrie Fisher (who portrayed Princess Leia in the classic film Star Wars) cuts an opening ribbon with a light saber, along with Michele Reese (Vice President, Marketing), during a Star Tours rededication ceremony at Disneyland. The event highlights the attraction’s 10th anniversary (Star Tours first opened January 9, 1987) and the 20th anniversary of the film (originally released on May 25, 1977).
2003:
UL's "Test the Limits Lab," attraction opens in Epcot's Innoventions at Walt Disney
World. Underwriters Labs Inc. (whose ubiquitous "UL" marks can be found on billions of products around the
world) hosts the interactive exhibit.
Downtown Disney's Pleasure Island begins its 3-day annual Mardi Gras celebration.
The Lizzie McGuire episode "A Gordo Story" debuts on the Disney Channel as
does the That's So Raven episode "The Parties."
2004:
The Earl of Sandwich Shop opens at the Downtown Disney Marketplace in Florida. The shop's name honors British naval officer John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, who is credited with inventing the sandwich in 1762. Montagu’s living descendant, 11th Earl of Sandwich John Montagu, and his son Orlando collaborated with Robert Earl, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Planet Hollywood, to create the shop.
2006:
Disney releases Lady and the Tramp on a 2-disc DVD (for the first
time) to commemorate the animated feature's 50th anniversary.
Jazz vocalist/pianist Steve Tyrell releases his newest CD
Steve Tyrell: The Disney Standards.
An open house takes place at the 1927 California home of the late Roland Hill, architect of Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle. The storybook home, located on Bennett Drive in Los Angeles, reflects Hill's whimsical style. Hill, who passed in November 1986, first began designing homes
and set designs in the mid 1920s. He joined Walt Disney Productions in the early 1950s.
2007:
Prestel Publishing releases the book Once upon a Time: Walt Disney:
The Sources of Inspiration for the Disney Studios by Bruno Girveau.
The Atlanta Braves kick off their home spring training schedule at Cracker Jack
Stadium (located in Disney World's Wide World of Sports Complex) with a game
against Georgia Tech.
"Come on! Everybody out! Migrate, people! Migrate!" -Iago
(Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management)
Veteran animator Eric Larson
(who retired on this day in 1986)
spent 53 years at the Disney
Studios. In addition to feature
films (such as Fantasia and
Peter Pan), he was animator on
18 shorts
and six
television
specials.
1957:
Disney's series Mickey Mouse Club is among the
Golden Globe winners for Best TV Show.
Emmy Award-winning actor John Turturro is born in Brooklyn, New York. His Disney/Touchstone credits include The Color of Money (1986), Quiz Show (1994) and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000).
FEBRUARY 28
FEBRUARY 28
THIS
SITE MADE
IN THE USA
Gilbert Gottfried born
"The important thing is not how long I've been here (at Disney), but how much I've enjoyed it and what I've
accomplished in all that time. When I think about my contribution to the animation that people enjoy so
much, it makes me feel good." -Eric Larson
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1942:
The Pluto short Pluto, Junior, directed by Clyde Geronomi, is released. Like his father, young Pluto has a knack for getting into trouble, even while Pluto Sr. attempts to nap and relax.
1965:
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs part one of "Almost Angels" on NBC-TV.
2010:
The Visual Effects Society announce the winners of the 8th Annual VES Awards at
the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, California.
Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture goes to Pixar's Up (Pete Docter, Jonas Rivera,
Steve May & Gary Bruins).
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or Special is awarded to Disney's Prep and Landing –
Gadgets, Globes, and other Garish Gizmos (Dorothy McKim, Scott Kersavage, David Hutchins & Kee Suong).
Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture is given to Pixar's Up – ‘Carl’- No Dad
Scene (Ed Asner, Ron Zorman, Brian Tindall & Carmen Ngai).
Outstanding Effects Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture is also awarded to Pixar's Up (Jason
Johnston, Alexis Angelidis, Jon Reisch & Eric Froemling).
1956:
Donald Novis, Judy Marsh and Wally Boag (from Disneyland's Golden Horseshoe Revue) appear on the ABC-TV series Mickey Mouse Club. Today is Guest Star Day.
Voice actor Lloyd Sherr is born in San Antonio, Texas. He is best known for his role as Fillmore in the subsequent installments of the Cars franchise taking over the role from George Carlin since his death in 2008.
1977:
Episode 31 of The New Mickey Mouse Club airs. The Mouseketeers set sail in King Harbor,
California, and join a Sabot sailboat race. When Mouseketeer Scott falls overboard, it's the Coast Guard to the
rescue! Goofy demonstrates the proper way how not to water ski in the Mousekartoon Aquamania.
1981:
Disneyland holds the "America Sings Weekend" for the next two days. A whimsical salute to American history, guests can snap a souvenir photo with Sam the Eagle.
FEB
FEB
Star Tours rededication at Disneyland
1993:
The animated television series Bonkers premieres on The Disney Channel with
the episode "Trains, Toons and Toon Trains." Bonkers, an out of work cartoon bobcat voiced
by Jim Cummings, joins the Hollywood Police Department to catch cartoon criminals. (The series will later
run for 65 episodes, as part of The Disney Afternoon.)
2012:
The Disney Fantasy sails into New York Harbor on this morning
marking the arrival to the U.S. of the newest cruise ship in the
world. The Disney Fantasy is the first DCL vessel to ever sail into New York
Harbor. The 4,000-passenger ship is in New York for its christening ceremony
Thursday (March 1) before making its way down to its home of Port Canaveral, where
it's expected to arrive on March 6.
1938:
Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev visits the Disney Studio, with his lawyer Randolph
Polk, to play the piano score of Peter and the Wolf for Walt Disney and Disney
composer Leigh Harline. Peter and the Wolf, written by Prokofiev in 1936, was actually first commissioned by
Natalya Sats and the Central Children's Theatre in Moscow. Disney will produce an animated version of the work in
1946, with Sterling Holloway providing the voice of the narrator.
(In an episode of Disneyland entitled "The Fourth Anniversary Show," Walt recalled how Prokofiev himself visited the
Disney studio, eventually inspiring the making of this animated version. But Disney used an actor to re-create how the
composer sat at a piano and played the themes from the score.)
14th Golden Globe Awards
Feb 28
FEBRUARY IS DCA MONTH
2016:
Pixar's animated film Inside Out takes home the Best Animated Feature prize at
the 2016 Oscars. This marks Pixar's first win in the category since Brave and Disney's continued
dominance in the category. Fittingly, the award is presented by Toy Story's Woody and Buzz Lightyear.
Director Pete Docter accepts the award along with producer Jonas Rivera.
Although it doesn't win, Inside Out is also nominated for Best Original Screenplay, the only animated
feature nominated in that category.
Jack Lindquist, the first president of Disneyland, passes away at age 88.
He began his nearly four-decade career at Disneyland when he was hired by Walt Disney as its advertising
manager at age 28, a few months after the theme park opened in July 1955. During his 38 years with Disney,
Lindquist did everything from market the original ticket books that guests used to ride attractions in Disneyland to
serving as an integral part of the planning for Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland and what is now Disneyland Paris.
In 1990, he was named president of Disneyland, a position he called "the best job in the world!"
He retired from Disney on November 18, 1993, a date that also marked Mickey Mouse’s 65th birthday.
2014:
Disney's animated The Pirate Fairy is release only at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. (It will be released on DVD and Blu-ray April 1.) When a misunderstood dust-keeper fairy named Zarina steals Pixie Hollow’s all-important Blue Pixie Dust and flies away to join forces with the pirates of Skull
Rock, Tinker Bell and her fairy friends must embark on an adventure to return it to its rightful place. The
voice cast includes Lucy Hale (Periwinkle), Christina Hendricks (Zarina), Tom Hiddleston (Capt. James Hook),
Matt Lanter (Sled), Lucy Liu (Silvermist), Debby Ryan (Spike), and Mae Whitman (Tinker Bell).
1995:
Rhythm of the Pride Lands an audio CD is released by Walt Disney Records. A "sequel" to the original motion picture soundtrack of the animated film The Lion King, most of the tracks are composed by African composer Lebo M and producer Jay Rifkin and focus primarily on the African influences of the film's original music.
2020:
Disney + premieres their newest unscripted series Shop Class, hosted by Justin Long. This family-friendly competition show brings together teams of students and teachers to compete against each other on a task. Over the course of eight episodes, contestants will proceed through a bracket to become the Shop Class Champion.
The all-new "Magic Happens" parade makes its debut at Disneyland park.
Wendy, a fantasy drama film directed by Benh Zeitlin, is released by Searchlight Pictures (a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios). A re-imagining of J. M. Barrie's "Peter Pan,"
the film stars Devin France as Wendy and Yashua Mack as Peter. (Wendy had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020.)
Fantasmic! closes at Tokyo DisneySea. Originating at Disneyland in 1992, the nighttime show featured fireworks, characters, live actors, water effects, pyrotechnics, lasers, music, audio-animatronics, searchlights, decorated boat floats, and mist screen projections.
2018:
The 25th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival begins at Walt Disney World. Overflowing with the brightest plants, flowers, trees and topiaries, the event will run through May 28.
1940:
Racing car legend Mario Andretti is born in Istria. One of the most successful in the history of the sport, he played himself on three episodes of the ABC sitcom Home Improvement. Andretti also lent his voice to Pixar's Cars, where his voice was used for a cameo in which he played the 1967 Ford Fairlane who wins the Daytona 500 (a parody of his own success in that race). In 2019, Andretti guest-starred on Disney’s animated series Mickey and the Roadster Racers as Mario Mousedretti in the episode "Mickey’s Spring Grand Prix."
1996:
Disney's 1995 animated film Pocahontas is released on VHS.
The 38th Annual Grammy Awards are held in California. Best Song Written Specifically
for a Motion Picture or for Television goes to Alan Menken & Stephen Schwartz (songwriters) for "Colors
of the Wind" performed by Vanessa Williams.
1998:
Bug Juice, a Disney Channel reality series, debuts. The series focuses around 20 kids and their experiences at summer camp. The first season takes place in Waterford, Maine, at Camp Waziyatah.
2021:
The 78th Golden Globe Awards take place in Beverly Hills, California. Among the winners:
-Best Motion Picture Drama: Nomadland
-Best Director: Chloé Zhao – Nomadland
-Best Original Score: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste – Soul
-Best Animated Feature Film: Soul
1931:
Actor Gavin MacLeod is born Allan George See in Mount Kisco, New York. Best known from The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977) as Murray Slaughter, he also starred on ABC's The Love Boat (1977–1986), in which he was cast as Merrill Stubing, the ship’s captain. Featured in over 20 films during his career, MacLeod also appeared in episodes of such television shows as McHale's Navy, The King of Queens, and That '70s Show. In 2009 he appeared on 2 episodes of Disney Channel's The Suite Life on Deck as Mr. Barker.
2000:
Radio Disney: Jams vol 2 and An Extremely Goofy Movie Dance Party! are both
released by Walt Disney Records.
