2005:
Disney releases Howl's Moving Castle (already a hit in Japan) to U.S. theaters. An
animated love story set in a fantasy world, the feature is directed by Hayao Miyazaki and has been dubbed into
English by Pixar's Peter Docter.
The fifth (of 6) Star Wars Weekends begins at Disney-MGM Studios.
Celebrity guests include Amy Allen and Matthew Wood.
The Buzz on Maggie, a Canadian/American animated television series,
premieres on Disney Channel. The series focuses on Maggie Pesky, voiced by Jessica DiCicco,
a creative, cute and expressive fly who dreams of becoming a rock star. (It will air for just 21 episodes.)
1882:
Composer Igor Stravinsky is born in Russia. His composition The Rite of Spring
can be heard in Disney's 1940 Fantasia. (Classical music lovers who know the pieces used in
Fantasia are sometimes offended by the cuts that were taken. The cuts in The Rite of Spring angered
Stravinsky - the only composer living at the time whose work was represented in the film!)
1930:
William Banks Levy becomes Disney's representative in England. He is authorized to license Mickey and Minnie Mouse character merchandising.
1933:
Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoon Mickey's Mechanical Man, directed by Wilfred
Jackson and featuring the music of Leigh Harline, is released. Mickey's builds a robot named
Champ who's going to win Mickey a prize by fighting Beppo the Gorilla, the Kongo Killer!
1938:
Disney's Donald Duck cartoon Polar Trappers is released. Directed by Ben Sharpsteen, the short features the voices of Pinto Colvig (as Goofy) and Clarence Nash (as Donald).
1946:
Singer-songwriter, arranger & producer Barry Manilow is born Barry Alan Pincus in Brooklyn, New York. His song "Perfect Isn't Easy" (co-written with Jack Feldman and Bruce Sussman) was performed by Bette Midler in Disney's 1988 animated Oliver & Company. (Manilow's career achievements include sales of more than 76 million records worldwide!)
1971:
Valerie Suldo (from New Brunswick, New Jersey) becomes the 100-millionth
guest to enter Disneyland - at 11:13 in the morning! The 22-year-old is accompanied by her
sister and brother-in-law from San Diego. Valerie's arrival is announced by Disneyland's Director of Marketing
Jack Lindquist during a ceremony in front of Town Square Station. Among the gifts commemorating her
historic visit; a Silver Pass good for admission to Disneyland and (the new) Disney World for a party of four.
1972:
The Main Street Electric Parade kicks off at Disneyland for the very first time.
The floats include the Blue Fairy, Casey Junior Circus Train, Alice In Wonderland, Chinese Dragon,
Dumbo’s Circus, Cinderella’s Ball, "it’s a small world", and the American Finale.
1977:
Jason Minor, a member of the 90's TV show The All New Mickey Mouse Club, and part of the country act Shiloh, is born in Maryland. Retiring from show business, he later became a wealth manager for a small Philadelphia-based company.
1997:
A touring exhibition of design art - from the Walt Disney Imagineering archives -
called Designing Disney's Theme Parks: The Architecture of Reassurance is
displayed at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal.
Con Air: Music from the Motion Picture is released on Disney's Hollywood Records.
Featuring music by composers Trevor Rabin and Mark Mancina, the action thriller (released by Touchstone Pictures) has been playing in theaters since June 6.
2000:
Disney Channel's new comedy series Even Stevens debuts as does the
Disney Channel Original Movie Stepsister from Planet Weird.
Following the life of the Stevens family, who live in suburban Sacramento, California, Even Stevens
mainly focuses on the clashing personalities of its two younger siblings, Ren (Christy Carlson
Romano) and Louis (Shia LaBeouf). The series will run for a total of three seasons and 65 episodes.
Stepsister from Planet Weird tells the story of a teenager named Megan (Courtnee Draper) whose
life is disrupted when her mother falls in love with and marries an alien ... who also has a daughter!
2002:
Authentic memorabilia from the Estate of Elvis Presley and exclusive VIP
vacation experiences to Elvis Week in Memphis, commemorating the 25th
anniversary of Elvis' death, are auctioned at Disney Auctions (presented by E-
Bay) from this day through July 4. The auction surrounds the June 21 nationwide
release of Disney's Lilo & Stitch, an animated comedy with an exuberant lead
character named Lilo, who is crazy for Elvis and his music.
2006:
Raven opens the First Annual 'School's Out!' Radio Disney
Music Festival at Morey's Piers in New Jersey.
1903:
Painter and teacher Donald Wilkinson Graham is born in Ontario, Canada. He was
Walt's resident instructor between 1932-1941, teaching such young animators as Marc Davis and Ollie Johnston.
In 1950 Walt Disney asked Graham to investigate the possibilities of making films on various aspects of art.
Dividing his time between Disney and Chouinard Art Institute, his research intended as a film
eventually ended up as a book, "The Art of Animation" (by Bob Thomas, Walt Disney Productions 1958) a major
treatise on the development of animation in America.
Songwriter Sammy Fain's contribution
to Peter Pan include the songs
"The Second Star to the Right,"
"You Can Fly!,"
"What Makes the Red Man Red?,"
"Your Mother and Mine," and
"The Elegant Captain Hook."
2007:
Forest Of No Return - Hal Willner Presents The Vintage Disney Songbook takes
place at London's South Bank Centre. A host of rockers including Shane McGowan
(formerly of The Pogues) and Nick Cave team up to perform a concert featuring the
music of Disney.
1902:
Academy Award-winning composer & Songwriter Hall of Famer Sammy Fain is
born Samuel Feinberg in New York City. He contributed to the song scores for such Walt
Disney animated films as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, and The Rescuers (his final
film credit). One of his most popular Disney songs - "Once Upon A Dream" (co-written with Jack Lawrence
for Sleeping Beauty) was based on a theme by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Fain is probably best known for
his Oscar-winning song "Love is a Many Splendored Thing," co-written with Paul Francis.
1916:
Singer-songwriter Terry Gilkyson (a name not well remembered today but very influential in the world of pop & folk music) is born Hamilton Henry Gilkyson
in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Known for his group Terry Gilkyson and the Easy Riders, their version of "Marianne" in 1957 was a million seller. In the 60's Gilkyson left the group and began working on movies for Walt Disney Studios. He wrote songs for Swiss Family Robinson, Savage Sam, The Three Lives of Thomasina, The Aristocats, and The Moon-Spinners, along with the television episode "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh" which aired on The Wonderful World Of Disney. In 1968 he received an Academy Award nomination for writing "The Bear Necessities" for The Jungle Book (the film's only song not written by the Sherman Brothers). Sadly he passed in 1999 at the age of 83 while visiting family in Texas.
1919:
Songwriter/pianist Gene de Paul is born in New York City. His music can
be heard in such Disney features as So Dear to My Heart, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad,
and Alice in Wonderland. (He's best known for the song "Teach Me Tonight," written with Sammy Cahn.)
1994:
Disney sends a team of artists to China to gather info for an upcoming new
animated feature based on The Legend of Mulan (first suggested by children's
author Robert San Souci). Over the next 2 weeks, the team will visit Datong, Luoyang, Xian, Jiayuguan,
Dunhuang, and Guilin,
JUNE
2008:
Fireworks, dancing and parachuting sky divers welcome Toy Story Mania to Disney’s California Adventure at the attraction's official grand opening in Paradise Pier. The
interactive attraction opens after three years of design and construction (the same Toy Story ride opened in Walt
Disney World last May). The ride's line features a large Mr. Potato Head Audio-Animatronics figure that interacts
with guests through pre-recorded snippets of dialogue performed by comedian Don Rickles, who voiced the
character in the Toy Story films. The sophisticated figure can identify people in the audience, sing and tell jokes!
The soundtrack to Disney Channel's made-for-TV movie "Camp Rock," starring the Jonas Brothers, is released on Disney Records.
The Sword in the Stone: 45th Anniversary Edition is released.
AFIs 10 Top 10 airs on CBS-TV. American Film Institute presents America's 10
greatest films in 10 classic genres. Among the winners is Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
at the #1 spot in the animation category. Other Disney classics in the animation genre include Pinocchio (at #2), Bambi (at #3), The Lion King (at #4), Fantasia (at #5), Toy Story (at #6), Beauty and the Beast (at #7), Cinderella (at #9), and Finding Nemo (at #10).
JUNE 17
JUNE 17
THIS SITE MADE
IN THE
USA
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Toy Story Mania Disneyland grand opening
"Who out there can't hear me? Raise your hand." -Mr. Potato Head
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1965:
Disneyland Grad Nite '65 takes place from 11PM til 5AM.
"It's by far the biggest thing that's ever happened to me!"
1821:
John Henry "Professor" Pepper, a British scientist and inventor who toured the
English-speaking world with his scientific demonstrations, is born in London,
England. He is primarily remembered for co-developing the projection technique known as Pepper's ghost,
building a large-scale version of the concept by Henry Dircks (an English engineer). Pepper's ghost is an
illusionary technique used in theaters, haunted houses, and dark rides .... such as Disney's Haunted Mansion.
Using plate glass and special lighting techniques, it can make objects seem to appear or disappear, to
become transparent, or to make one object morph into another. In the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland/Disney
World,the glass is vertical rather than angled, reflecting animated props below and above the viewer that
create the appearance of three-dimensional, translucent "ghosts" which appear to be dancing through the
ballroom and interacting with props in the physical ballroom. The scene in the Haunted Mansion where
hitchhiking ghosts join you for a ride in your car uses a slight twist on the illusion. In this case a half-silvered
sheet of glass (two-way mirror) is between you and the ghost, which is in front a black background. The
ghost is illuminatedby a spotlight and is mounted on a track synchronized to move at the same speed as
your ride car. In this case you are seeing the actual image of the "ghost" but your image is the reflection.
The effect is a ghost riding along with you in your Doombuggy!
June 17
This Day in Disney History - THE FIRST - THE ORIGINAL
Traveling in time since 1999!
1947:
Actress Susan Sheridan is born in New Castle, United Kingdom.
Providing voices for many child characters, her credits include Disney's 1985 The Black Cauldron
as the voice of Princess Eilonwy.
2016:
Finding Dory, a 3D computer-animated comedy
adventure film produced by Pixar Animation
Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures,
hits U.S. theaters. A sequel to the 2003 Finding Nemo,
Andrew Stanton, who directed the first film, returns as writer
and director. Finding Dory focuses on the amnesiac fish
Dory, voiced by Ellen DeGeneres, and explores her journey to
be reunited with her parents. The voice cast includes Albert
Brooks (Marlin), Ed O’Neill (Hank), Kaitlin Olson (Destiny),
Ty Burrell (Bailey), Eugene Levy (Charlie),
Diane Keaton (Jenny), and Hayden Rolence (Nemo).
Playing in front of Finding Dory is the animated short Piper. Produced by Pixar, it tells the story of a hungry baby sandpiper learning to overcome her fear of water.
The revamped Soarin’ flight simulator rides at Disney California Adventure and Epcot
open to guests. Now called Soarin' Around the World, new scenes include a flight over Switzerland’s Matterhorn,
the Arctic Ocean with a leaping whale, the Sydney Opera House in Australia, Germany’s Neuschwanstein castle, a
herd of African elephants, the Great Wall of China, Egyptian pyramids, India’s Taj Mahal, hot air balloons in Monument
Valley on the Arizona-Utah border, outrigger boats off Fiji, the Iguazu waterfalls on the Argentina-Brazil border and
France’s Eiffel Tower. A new soundtrack performed by the London Studio Orchestra is based on Jerry Goldsmith's
original Soarin’ score. Patrick Warburton (best known as Elaine’s on-again, off-again boyfriend Puddy on "Seinfeld")
returns as chief flight attendant and host.
The animated short Inner Workings, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studio,
debuts at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival. Utilizing the hand drawn and CG
amalgamated "Meander" animation style previously used in the Oscar-winning short Paperman, Inner Workings
focuses on the internal struggle between a man’s Brain and his Heart. It will later be released theatrically alongside
the animated feature Moana.
2019:
Amphibia, an animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation for Disney Channel, debuts. The series chronicles the adventures of a self-centered 13-year-old Thai-American girl named Anne Boonchuy, voiced by Brenda Song. After stealing a mysterious music box on her birthday, she is magically transported to Amphibia, a wild marshland-themed lilypad-shaped island full of talking frog-people and giant versions of smaller animals. The voice cast includes Bill Farmer, Amanda Leighton, Stephen Root, Kevin McDonald,
and April Winchell.
2017:
Season 4 of the animated series Avengers Assemble kicks off with the 2-part episode "Avengers No More."
1973:
Actor Luis Rooten passes away at age 66 in Massachusetts. He provided the voices
for both the King and the Grand Duke in Walt Disney's animated film Cinderella (1950).
1960:
Actor, director and writer Thomas Haden Church is born Thomas Richard McMillen in Woodland, California. His Disney film credits include Tombstone (1993), George of the Jungle (1997),
George of the Jungle 2 (2003), and John Carter (2012). (First known for his role in the 1990s sitcom Wings, Church went on to appear in such films as Sideways, Spider-Man 3, and Heaven Is for Real.)
1963:
Actor and producer Greg Kinnear is born in Logansport, Indiana. His Disney credits include the 2006 Invincible (as head coach Dick Vermeil) and the 2010 The Last Song (as Steve Miller; Ronnie and Jonah's father). Kinnear also appeared in a 2012 episode of ABC's Modern Family.
2021:
Disneyland Paris reopens for a second time, after nearly 7 months of closure due to COVID-19. (Both theme parks at Disneyland Paris had originally reopened July 15, 2020, but the French parks closed again on October 29 in line with new guidance following another wave of COVID-19 cases across Europe.)
2022:
Disney releases the animated sci-fi action-adventure "Lightyear," featuring the voice of Chris Evans. The film follows the legendary space ranger Buzz Lightyear on an intergalactic adventure alongside ambitious recruits, Izzy, Mo and Darby, and his robot companion Sox. As this motley crew embark on their toughest mission yet, they must learn to work as a team to escape the evil Zurg and his dutiful robot army who are never far behind. The voice cast includes Keke Palmer, animator Peter Sohn, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, and James Brolin.
