1961:
Disney's The Parent Trap, starring Hayley Mills, Maureen O'Hara, and Brian Keith,
is released. Mills portrays teenage twins Sharon and Susan, who are reunited years after being separated
by their divorced parents. The film features the songs "For Now, For Always" (sung by O'Hara), and "Let's Get Together" (sung by Mills), both written by the Sherman Brothers. Based upon the 1949 book "Lottie and Lisa,"
The Parent Trap will be nominated for two Academy Awards. It is Mills' second film for Disney. The cast also includes Joanna Barnes, Charlie Ruggles, Cathleen Nesbitt, Una Merkel, Nancy Kulp, and Frank De Vol.
Also released are the Donald Duck shorts The Litterbug (a combination live-action/animation) and the
animated short Donald and the Wheel.
1985:
Singer-songwriter Kris Allen, the winner of the eighth season of
American Idol and the second Idol to ever appear in an "I'm Going
to Disney World!" TV ad, is born in Jacksonville, Arkansas.
Disney's live-action feature film Return to Oz is released in U.S.
theaters. The film's plot is a combination of L. Frank Baum's novels Ozma of Oz and The Marvelous Land of Oz,
which were written as sequels to his classic novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Return to Oz is an unofficial sequel
as Disney has made the film without the involvement of MGM, the studio responsible for the original 1939 film. (The
film will receive an Academy Award nomination for "Best Visual Effects".)
Singer, songwriter, poet, model and music video director Lana Del Rey is born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant in New York City. The song "Once Upon a Dream" (originally written for the 1959
animated musical fantasy film Sleeping Beauty) was covered by Del Rey for the dark fantasy film Maleficent (2014).
1988:
The Touchstone/Amblin Entertainment film Who Framed Roger Rabbit
premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Actor Bob Hoskins plays a private detective who investigates a murder involving the famous cartoon character, Roger Rabbit (voiced by Charles Fleischer). The film
will be generally released in U.S. theaters the following day. Who Framed Roger Rabbit marks the first (and to date, only) time that characters from several animation studios - including Disney, Universal, MGM, Republic, Turner Entertainment, and Warner Bros. - appear in one film!
1991:
The Disneyland parade Celebration U.S.A. debuts.
The Rocketeer starring Bill Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, and Timothy Dalton is released. A young pilot (Campbell) stumbles onto a prototype jetpack that allows him to become a high flying masked hero. First premiering at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood two days earlier, The Rocketeer
was the first film to play at the historic movie house since the El Capitan's $14 million renovation. The feature is
based on the comic book created by illustrator and comic artist Dave Stevens; co-writer and co-producer
of the film as well. (The Rocketeer will later be nominated for both the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film.)
1995:
Tokyo Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade ends its run.
1996:
Disney's 34th animated feature The Hunchback of Notre Dame is generally released the same day "The Hunchback of Notre Dame – A Musical Adventure" debuts at Disney-MGM Studios. The film features the voices of Jason Alexander (as Hugo), Tom Hulce (as Quasimodo), Mary Kay Bergman (as Quasimodo's Mother), Demi Moore (as Esmeralda), Tony Jay (as Judge Claude Frollo), and Kevin Kline (as Captain Phoebus). The film's music, by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, will be nominated for an Oscar. The story is loosely based on the Victor Hugo epic novel, first published in 1831. The live stage show at Disney-MGM's Backlot Theater will run through September 2002.
2000:
DisneyQuest unveils two new attractions at the Indoor Interactive Theme Park at
Disney World: "Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold" (which allows guests to fulfill their fantasy of becoming a pirate and interacting in a pirate world)
and "Songmaker" (which allows guests to become a record producer and create
their own song).
2002:
Disney's newest animated feature Lilo & Stitch opens in U.S. theaters the
same day ABC-TV airs Disney's Lilo & Stitch Aloha From Hollywood.
The animated feature tells the story of a Hawaiian girl who adopts an unusual pet that turns out to
be an notorious extra-terrestrial fugitive from the law. Directed by Chris Sanders & Dean DeBlois, the voice cast includes Daveigh Chase, Tia Carrere, Ving Rhames, David Ogden Stiers, Kevin McDonald, and
Jason Scott Lee.
Country singer Wynonna Judd appears on Good Morning America singing "Burning Love" - the Elvis Presley song she has recorded for the Lilo &
Stitch soundtrack.
Disney Channel premieres episode #5 of the new animated Kim Possible
series titled "Downhill."
1989:
Comedian Harvey Korman greets Walt Disney World's 300-millionth guest
Matt Gleason at the gates of Disney-MGM Studios!
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
(which premiered on this day) went on to win 4 Academy Awards, the most at that time for a Disney film since
Mary Poppins.
JUNE
1963:
Director and writer Jan Jaroslav Pinkava is born in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He directed
and wrote the Pixar Oscar-winning 1997 short film Geri's Game and originated and co-directed Pixar's
Oscar-winning 2007 film Ratatouille.
JUNE 21
JUNE 21
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
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The Rocketeer released
"P-p-please, Eddie! Don't throw me out. Don't you realize you're making a big mistake? I didn't kill anybody. I swear! The whole thing's a set up. A scam, a frame job. Ow! Eddie, I could never hurt anybody. Oow! My whole purpose in life is to make... people... laugh!" -Roger Rabbit
2008:
The Disney/Pixar feature WALL-E premieres at the Greek Theatre (in Griffith Park) in
Los Angeles, California. (It will open in wide release June 27.) The film, set the distant future, centers on a
small waste collecting robot who inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of
mankind. Special guests attending the premiere include cast members Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard, John Ratzenberger,
Kathy Najimy, Sigourney Weaver and Elissa Knight.
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1997:
Disney's Nightmare Ned airs on ABC-TV with two new episodes -
"Testing...Testing..." and "The Accordion Lesson."
1957:
Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, children's book author/illustrator, director and screenwriter Guy Berkeley "Berke" Breathed is born in Encino, California. Best
known for Bloom County, a 1980s cartoon-comic strip, Breathed's 2007 picture book Mars Needs Moms!
was released as an animated feature by Disney in 2011.
2011:
D23 holds a special event at the El Capitan Theater to celebrate the
20th anniversary of The Rocketeer.
When the Sun Goes Down, the third and final studio album by Selena Gomez & the Scene, is released by Hollywood Records.
2012:
Disney welcomes a new okapi calf to the Disney's Animal Kingdom family. First-time
mom Zawadi gives birth to a 35-pound female calf named Nafuna. Often thought to be related to the zebra (because of its stripes) the okapi is the only living relative of the giraffe.
June 21
This Day in Disney History - THE FIRST - THE ORIGINAL
Traveling in time since 1999!
2013:
A special screening of The Lone Ranger takes place at Carmike Cinemas in Lawton,
Oklahoma. Johnny Depp (who portrays Tonto) makes a surprise visit. The film will officially premiere at Disney
California Adventure the following evening.
Goodman Theatre in Chicago begins previews of Disney's The Jungle Book.
Tony Award winner Mary Zimmerman has reimagined Walt Disney's 1967 animated hit into a wholly original new work
for the stage, drawing from both the film as well as Rudyard Kipling's 1894 collection of stories set in the Indian
jungle and featuring original Indian-inspired music and dance. Opening night is July 1.
Monsters University, a 3D computer-animated film
produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by
Walt Disney Pictures, hits U.S. theaters. A prequel to
the 2001 Monsters, Inc., Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi,
Bob Peterson, John Ratzenberger and Sissy Spacek reprise
their roles as Mike Wazowski, James P. Sullivan, Randall Boggs, Roz,
The Abominable Snowman, and Sofia Balthazar. The film takes
a look at the relationship between Mike and Sulley during their days
at Monsters University ... when they weren't necessarily the best of
friends. Directed by Dan Scanlon in his feature film debut, the music
for the film has been composed by Randy Newman, making it his
seventh collaboration with Pixar.
Playing in front of Monsters University is the Pixar short The Blue Umbrella
(which first premiered last February at the 63rd Berlin International Film
Festival). During a rainy day in a musical city, two different-colored
umbrellas meet and fall eternally in love.
2016:
"Frozen Ever After," the highly anticipated ride based on the animated blockbuster "Frozen," officially opens at Walt Disney World. The attraction, which replaces the classic
Maelstrom boat ride, is located in the Norway pavilion within Epcot's "World Showcase."
The BFG has its North American debut at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. A fantasy film about an orphan human girl who befriends a benevolent giant, dubbed the "Big Friendly Giant", it had world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Distributed in the U.S. by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, The BFG will open in theaters July 1.
2019:
Toy Story 4, a computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, is released to U.S. theaters. Directed by Josh Cooley (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Andrew Stanton (who had co-written the first three Toy Story films) and Stephany Folsom, the film stars the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Madeleine McGraw, Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reeves, Ally Maki, Jay Hernandez, Lori Alan, Joan Cusack, and John Ratzenberger. The film continues from Toy Story 3, where
Sheriff Woody and Buzz Lightyear, among their other toy friends, have found
new appreciation after being given by Andy to Bonnie. They are introduced
to Forky, a spork that has been made into a toy and embark on a road trip adventure. The film is dedicated to Don Rickles (the voice of Mr. Potato Head),
who died of kidney failure in 2017, and animator Adam Burke, who died from
lung cancer in 2018.
1979:
Actor Chris Pratt is born in Virginia, Minnesota. Pratt achieved leading man status after appearing in such films as Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), in which he played the role of Peter Quill / Star-Lord. He revisited the character two more times for the films Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). He is the voice of Barley Lightfoot in Pixar's 2020 animated Onward. (Pratt's best known television role is perhaps Andy Dwyer on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, which began in 2009.)
1999:
Actress Natalie Alyn Lind is born. Best known for her reoccurring role as Dana on the ABC sitcom
The Goldbergs, she also appeared in a 2011 episode of Wizards of Waverly Place.
1964:
Actor Doug Savant is born in Burbank, California. He played Tom Scavo in ABC's Desperate Housewives (2004–12).
2010:
Suddenly, the debut extended play by American pop rock band Allstar Weekend, is released by Hollywood Records.
2005:
Caroline Leonetti Ahmanson, a leading philanthropist in Southern California who supported art institutions and school programs, passes away at age 83. Over the years,
she was a board member of some of the largest companies and arts institutions in Southern California including
the Walt Disney Company.
1976:
Animator, storyboard artist and director Dan Scanlon is born in Clawson, Michigan. Starting out at Disney, he was an animator on Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998) and served as a storyboard artist for The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000) and 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure (2002). Joining Pixar in 2001, he was a story artist for Cars (2006) and Toy Story 3 (2010). He co-directed the short film Mater and the Ghostlight (2006) and directed & wrote the prequel film Monsters University (2013) and the adventure film Onward (2020).
1903:
Al Hirschfield, a caricaturist best known for his black and white portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars, is born in St. Louis, Missouri. Among his drawings of celebrities is Walt Disney! The "Rhapsody in Blue" segment in the Disney film Fantasia 2000 was inspired by his designs, and Hirschfeld became an artistic consultant for the segment; the segment's director, Eric Goldberg, is a longtime fan of his work. Further evidence of Goldberg's admiration for Hirschfeld can be found in Goldberg's character design and animation of the genie in Aladdin (1992). When Shanghai Disneyland was being developed and built, Imagineering wanted to build a Brown Derby or Sardi’s style eatery decorated with Hirschfeld style drawings of Disney characters. Dave Bossart, head of special projects at Disney at the time, looked to Goldberg to create the over 200 drawings. They made a book of all the images called “An Animator’s Gallery: Eric Goldberg Draws the Disney Characters, and displayed some of the original drawings in person at D23 in 2015.Today you can see his finished work at Mickey and Pals Market Cafe.
1941:
Actor, writer and comedian Joe Flaherty is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After serving in the United States Air Force for four years, Flaherty moved to Chicago, where he started his comedy career in 1969 with the Second City Theater. Best known for his work on the Canadian sketch comedy show "SCTV" (from 1976 to 1984), he also portrayed Harold Weir in the NBC teen comedy drama series "Freaks and Geeks." For Disney, he voiced Jeb in the 2004 Disney animated feature film "Home on the Range," The Chief Elder in the "Dinosaurs" episode "Green Card,", Cloaked Skull in "Teamo Supremo," and Hooft in "The Legend of Tarzan." His live-action Disney roles include Mr. Rupert in an episode of "Even Stevens" and Fred Holden in the feature film "The Wrong Guy" (which was released direct-to-video in the United States through Disney's Hollywood Pictures).
