2002:
The 32nd Annual Candlelight Processional kicks off at Epcot with
guest narrator Edward James Olmos. (Candlelight Processional is a presentation of the traditional Christmas story told by celebrity
narrators who are joined by a mass choir and 50-piece orchestra.)
2005:
It is announced that Disney has renewed its Emmy-winning animated series Kim Possible for a fourth season.
Disney releases the film Sky High to DVD. First released to theaters in July 2005, the
film centers on Will Stronghold, the son of superheroes the Commander and Jetstream, who tries to
find a balance between being a normal teenager and an extraordinary being.
1898:
Irish author and scholar Clive Staples Lewis (commonly referred to as C. S.
Lewis) is born in Belfast, Ireland. He is known for his work on medieval literature and
for his Christian apologetics and fiction, especially the children's series entitled The Chronicles of Narnia. Disney
brought his 1950 novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to the big screen in 2005.
1917:
Broadcaster and newsman George Russell Walsh is born in Cleveland, Ohio. Best
known as the voice of TV's Gunsmoke, upon retirement Russell worked as a clerk at Disneyland's Candy Palace.
Walsh's voice was also featured in both (now-retired) Disneyland attractions Flight to the Moon and Mission to Mars.
(Walsh also recorded the signature line for Smokey The Bear: "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires!")
1926:
Disney's Alice Comedy Alice's Spanish Guitar, starring Margie Gay, is released.
1922:
Laurie Main, the voice of the "story reader" on many Disney Read-Along cassettes
and compact discs, is born in Melborune, Australia. Main provides the narration for such Pooh
video releases and TV programs as Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving, Welcome to Pooh Corner, Winnie the
Pooh and a Day for Eeyore, and Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons. He was also the voice of Dr. Watson in
the 1986 animated feature The Great Mouse Detective and appeared in the live-action comedies Herbie Goes to
Monte Carlo (1977), Freaky Friday (1976) and The Strongest Man in the World (1975).
1934:
Thanksgiving Day
Macy's Christmas Parade (later to be called the Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade) features the first set of Disney
balloons. Joining Mickey Mouse for the stroll down Broadway in New York
City are Pluto, the Big Bad Wolf, and one of the Three Little Pigs. Constructed
by the Goodyear Rubber Company, Mickey measures over 50 feet tall!
1937:
Walt Disney receives a letter from conductor Leopold Stokowski,
suggesting Walt create a new character to use in "The Sorcerer's
Apprentice" instead of using Mickey Mouse. (In 1940, Stokowski will make the famous
film Fantasia together with Walt ... and Mickey.)
1955:
Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Today is Guest Star Day.
1964:
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs part 2 of "Toby Tyler."
Based on the 1880 children's book Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus by James Otis
Kaler, Disney's version was first released to theaters back in January 1962.
Actor Don Cheadle is born in Kansas City, Missouri. He played the role of James Rhodes / War Machine in Iron Man 2 (2010), Iron Man 3 (2013), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
1970:
The Wonderful World of Disney airs the 1969 feature "Hang Your Hat on the Wind."
1972:
Carl W. Stalling, "the most famous unknown composer
of the 20th century," passes away at age 81.
He wrote and arranged the music for early
Disney productions such as Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho. He spent 2 years at Disney, where
he invented the "tick" method, a timing device that allows animators to set the tempo of the cartoons, so
that the musicians can play along before the cartoon is even drawn. He was the first music director to
extensively use the metronome to time scores. He also co-wrote the tune Minnie's Yoo Hoo! with Walt
Disney. (Stalling was also closely associated with the Looney Tunes shorts produced by Warner Bros,
where he worked, averaging one complete score each week, for twenty-two years!)
1987:
The Disney Sunday Movie airs part 1 of "Student Exchange." Tired of being ignored by classmates, two high schoolers (played by Viveka Davis and Todd Field) masquerade as foreign students. The comedy features Gavin MacLeod as Vice Principal Durfner and cameos by O.J. Simpson and Moon Zappa.
2001:
Disney World premieres the first (of 11) nights of the annual event Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in the Magic Kingdom. The ticketed party begins each night
at 7 p.m.
2004:
It is reported that The Incredibles has delivered Disney's biggest single weekend ever at the international box office, taking in $45.5 million.
2006:
High School Musical: The Concert, a concert tour kicks off
at the iPayOne Center in San Diego, California. The 50-plus date tour
is performed by members of the cast of the popular television films series, High School Musical, sponsored by AEG Live and presented by Buena Vista Concerts. The films' original cast members Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman take part in the tour, except for Zac Efron, who has a previous engagement filming Hairspray and has been replaced by Drew Seeley (who was Efron's singing voice in the first film). The tour also serves to promote the debut album of three members: V by Vanessa Hudgens, Headstrong by Ashley Tisdale and Another Side by Corbin Bleu. High School Musical: The Concert will run through May 2007.
The Disney Studio in Burbank kicks off the holidays with a "Light Up the
Season" event. Mickey Mouse lights the Studio lot tree, the employee choir
sings carols and photo ops and crafty activities are offered to the public.
A mechanical bird in a New Orleans antique shop in 1949 supposedly sparked Walt Disney's imagination to
create a 3-D animated
figure ...
later to be known as
Audio-Animatronics
technology.
1971:
The Walt Disney World Open $150,000 Golf Championship begins in Florida.
T
O
U
R
2007:
All Broadway shows that had been up and running before the Local One
Stagehands' strike, including Disney's newest musical The Little Mermaid (which
is in the middle of previews) begin offering performances for the first time in over
half a month. Originally scheduled for a December 6 debut, The Little Mermaid will now officially open January 10.
Disney's The Lion King finally celebrates its 10th Anniversary on Broadway. Because of the strike, the musical was unable to mark its gala performance on Sunday, November 11 at the Minskoff Theatre.
1948:
Disney's feature film So Dear to My Heart is released in Chicago. (It will be generally released
the following January.) Set in early 20th century Indiana, So Dear to My Heart tells the tale of Jeremiah Kincaid
(played by Bobby Driscoll) and his quest to raise his "champion" lamb, Danny. It is based on the Sterling North
book Midnight and Jeremiah.
NOVEMBER 29
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
NOVEMBER 29
N
O
V
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Kim Possible renewed
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"Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement." -C. S. Lewis
32nd Candlelight Processional
2009:
Starting on this day, Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground at Walt
Disney World begins offering sleigh rides (for the first time ever) through the
secluded beauty of the 700-acre backwoods resort.
| ||||
1999:
The forty-seventh episode of Disney's Recess, "The Candidates/This Brain for Hire"
premieres on UPN and in syndication.
November 29
2013:
Saving Mr. Banks is released theatrically in the U.K. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures
and BBC Films, it will be released in the U.S. in December.
Dickie Dodd, a first season replacement Mouseketeer on Disney's daily series
Mickey Mouse Club, passes away in Fountain Valley, California.
At age nine, Dodd was one of the youngest Mouseketeers. As an adult, he was a member of the
surf band, the Bel Airs, and later the Standells, a sixties garage band whose best-known hit was
"Dirty Water," as lead singer and drummer.
2018:
Mary Poppins Returns holds its world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Disney's newest musical fantasy film, directed by Rob Marshall and starring Emily Blunt, is a sequel to the 1964 Mary Poppins. It will be released in the U.S. on December 19. In attendance with Blunt and Marshall are Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Dick Van Dyke, Joel Dawson and Pixie Davies.
"The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration" airs on ABC-TV.
Songwriter and "Dancing with the Stars: Juniors" host Jordan Fisher and "Modern Family" actress Sarah Hyland host the two-hour event from Walt Disney World Resort, along with Jesse Palmer from the Disneyland Resort.
1995:
Actress Laura Marano is born in Los Angeles, California. Disney Channel fans know her from
her role of Ally Dawson in the series Austin & Ally (2011-2016). Marano also starred in the 2015 Disney Channel Original Movie Bad Hair Day.
2016:
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment releases The BFG on Blu-ray, DVD,
and digital download.
1976:
Actor Chadwick Boseman is born in Anderson, South Carolina. He was known for his portrayal of the superhero Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Captain America: Civil War (2016), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). Boseman played real-life historical figures such as Jackie Robinson in 42 (2013), James Brown in Get on Up (2014) and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall (2017).
(Sadly Boseman passed away at age 43 in 2020 from complications related to colon cancer.)
1906:
Actor Luis Rooten is born in Mexico City, Mexico. He provided the voices for both the King and
the Grand Duke in Walt Disney's animated film Cinderella (1950).
2019:
Disney's 2017 Coco debuts on Disney+. Pixar's ninth film to win best animated film at the Academy Awards, it follows Miguel, a 12-year-old kid who goes into the land of the dead to meet some of his musician ancestors.
1996:
The very first Epcot Holidays Around the World begins.
1986:
Actor Cary Grant passes away at age 82 in Davenport, Iowa.
Known for his transatlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he narrated Disneyland's Candlelight Ceremony in 1969, 1973, 1974 and 1978. In December 1972 Grant narrated Disney World's Christmas Candlelight Processional for the first and only time. Grant was one of classic Hollywood's definitive leading men during the 1940s and 1950s.
1940:
Songwriter Mark James is born Francis Rodney Zambon in Houston, Texas. The Grammy Award-winning James wrote hits for such singers as B.J. Thomas, Brenda Lee, and Elvis Presley. His "Suspicious Minds" became a No. 1 song for Presley in 1969. It can be heard in Disney's 2002 Lilo & Stitch. "Hooked on a Feeling," a 1968 pop song written by James was originally performed by B.J. Thomas. Recorded by many other artists, including Blue Swede, whose version reached No. 1 in the United States in 1974, it can be heard in the 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy.
1949:
Stand-up comedian Garry Shandling is born in Chicago, Illinois. Also an actor, he portrayed Senator Stern in Iron Man 2 (2010) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), and voiced Ikki in the 2016 live-action remake of The Jungle Book (which wound up being his final film role). (Shandling began his career writing for sitcoms, such as Sanford and Son and Welcome Back, Kotter. In 1986, he created It's Garry Shandling's Show for Showtime, and later The Larry Sanders Show for HBO. During his four-decade career, Shandling was nominated for 19 Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. Sadly he passed at age 66 in 2016.)
