2001:
Disney's Dinosaur (originally released in May 2000) thunders onto DVD and video.
An orphaned dinosaur raised by lemurs joins an arduous trek to a sancturary after a meteorite shower
destroys his family home.
A remastered original soundtrack from Disney's Mary Poppins is released
as is the newly remastered Jungle Book Soundtrack.
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1951:
Singer-songwriter-drummer & Disney Legend Phil Collins is born in
London, England. He's composed music for such Disney features as Brother Bear
and Tarzan (for both screen & stage). Collins' single "You'll Be in My Heart", from the
animated Tarzan, spent 19 weeks at #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and won
an Oscar. He is also the voice of Lucky in the 2003 The Jungle Book 2. (Music fans know
Collins best for his successful solo work and as a member of the Grammy Award-winning
Progressive Rock band Genesis.)
2005:
The 32nd Annual Annie Awards are presented at the Alex Theatre in Glendale,
California. Winners include the Disney/Pixar film The Incredibles for Best
Animated Feature, The Lion King 1 1/2 for Best Home Entertainment
Production, and Lorenzo for Best Animated Short Subject. The Incredibles also win for
Animated Effects, Character Animation, Character Design in an Animated Feature
Production, Directing in an Animated Feature Production, Music in an Animated
Feature Production, Production Design in an Animated Feature Production,
Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production, Voice Acting in an Animated
Feature Production, and Writing in an Animated Feature Production.
Disney's On the Front Lines DVD wins a Special Achievement award.
Singer/actress Christy Carlson Romano (the voice of Kim Possible)
performs in the DisneyMania 3 Concert at Disney's California Adventure.
1883:
Vaudeville comic Eddie Collins, the performance model and voice for Dopey in Disney's 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, is born in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
1924:
Author of fantasy Lloyd Alexander is born in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. His 1964 book Chronicles of Prydain and the 1965 follow-up The Black
Cauldron were the inspiration for Disney's animated 1985 feature The Black Cauldron. A
National Book Award-winning influential author, Alexander was one of the creators of
"Cricket," a popular magazine for children.
1934:
Disney Legend Bob Matheison is born in Portland, Oregon. His 34-year-career with Disney started in 1960, when he received a call from an old friend offering him a job at Disneyland as a sound coordinator. Matheison later acted as director of operations for Disneyland and then vice president of the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT at Walt Disney World.
1957:
The Disneyland television series airs the episode "All About Magic." Hosted by Walt himself and the Magic Mirror (voiced by Hans Conried), it features animated shorts having to do with magic!
Professional golfer William Payne Stewart, who won the 1983 Walt Disney World Golf Classic, is born in Springfield, Missouri. Stewart won three majors in his career, the last of which occurred only months before he died in a 1999 airplane accident at the age of 42.
1959:
The TV series Walt Disney Presents airs "The Peter Tchaikovsky Story."
In certain cities the audio portion of the broadcast is transmitted by two radio stations, an
AM station carrying one channel, while an FM outlet carries the other. It is one of the first
stereophonic broadcasts of a television program. (Tchaikovsky was a 19th century Russian classical composer. His works include "The Nutcracker" and a ballet version of "Sleeping Beauty.")
1988:
Walt Disney World's EPCOT debuts IllumiNations.
The nightly show includes 13 special-effects projectors, theme music,
12 wire/mesh grids, 180 nozzles which create the fountains and 783
fireworks pieces. (Over the next 24 years there will be three different
versions of IllumiNations.)
1990:
Actor Jake Thomas, who portrayed young brother Matt McGuire on Disney
Channel's Lizzie McGuire, is born in Knoxville, Tennessee. He also portrayed Jason
Stickler - a reoccurring character on Disney Channel's Cory in the House.
1994:
At Super Bowl XXVIII (in Atlanta) Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith shouts
"I'm going to Disney World!" following his team's 30-13 win over the Buffalo Bills.
2000:
The halftime show at Super Bowl XXXIV in Atlanta, features Disney's "Tapestry
of Nations." The 20-minute performance at the Georgia Dome includes Christina Aguilera and Enrique
Iglesias singing "Celebrate the Future Hand in Hand." Phil Collins entertains the Atlanta crowds with his
"Two Worlds" from Disney's Tarzan. Later, St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner exclaims "I'm going to
Disney World" after his team defeats the Tennessee Titans, 23-16.
Jim Cummings, the voice of Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Zummi Gummi
and countless other Disney
characters, provides the narration
at the beginning of Epcot's
IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth.
Reflections of Earth's beginnings
can be traced back to the original
IllumiNations, which premiered
this day in 1988.
JANUARY 30
1882:
Franklin D. Roosevelt, the thirty-second United States President, is born in
Hyde Park, New York. Elected to four terms in office, he served from 1933 to 1945, becoming the
only U.S. president to serve more than two terms of office. During World War II, Roosevelt saw Disney's
air power was the Allies' only hope in beating the Axis powers. Roosevelt agreed with Seversky's idea,
later influencing the planning of D-Day and impacting the war's end. Visit FDR and all the U.S. Chief
Executives at Disney World's The Hall of Presidents.
1980:
Singer-songwriter Josh Kelley is born in Augusta, Georgia.
First signed to Disney's Hollywood Records in 2002, he can be heard on the soundtracks to such films as
A Cinderella Story ("To Make You Feel My Love") and Brother Bear 2 ("Feels Like Home").
Actor, producer, singer and television personality Wilmer Valderrama is born in Miami, Florida. First known for the role of Fez in the sitcom That '70s Show (1998–2006), his Disney voice credits include Onward (2020) as Gaxton and the series Handy Manny (2006-12) as Manny Garcia. He also played Uncle Ernesto in a 2010 episode of Wizards of Waverly Place and appeared in 5 episodes of ABC's Grey's Anatomy.
32nd
Annie
Awards
JANUARY 30
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
"I'm going to Disney World!" -Emmitt Smith
1995:
At the 22nd American Music Awards, The Lion King: Original Motion
Picture Soundtrack wins Favorite Pop/Rock Album. Containing songs from
Disney's 1994 film written by Elton John and Tim Rice, and a score composed by Hans Zimmer,
the soundtrack was recorded in three different countries: the USA, the UK and South Africa.
Actress Danielle Campbell is born in Hinsdale, Illinois. Disney fans known her as Jessica Olson in the Disney Channel Original Movie StarStruck and as Simone in the Disney film Prom.
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1987:
Outrageous Fortune, the 10th feature film released through Disney's Touchstone
Pictures, hits theaters. Lauren (Shelley Long) and Sandy (Bette Midler) are total opposites who end up in the
same acting class and who don't know they are sharing a man (Peter Coyote). When he disappears under mysterious
circumstances they refuse to believe that he is dead and are the only ones who search for him across several states.
2007:
Disney's Racquet Club, located on the Contemporary Resort's North
Wing, is demolished to make room for a new Disney World project. (The
project will be unveiled in September 2008 as Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort.)
1971:
Disneyland hosts the first of a 2-day event called Alice in Wonderland Days. Guests are invited to see two special parades, beginning at Town Square and ending in Fantasyland. Alice, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, and the Walrus pose for photos with guests at Alpine Gardens (located between Sleeping Beauty's Castle and Tomorrowland).
2009:
The Annie Awards are handed out at Royce Hall, UCLA, Westwood, Los Angeles,
California. Although Disney's Bolt and Wall-E are nominated, Kung Fu Panda sweeps many of the categories.
On a happier note, John Lasseter is one of 3 awarded the Winsor McCay (given to individuals in recognition of
lifetime contributions).
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SEASON 3 EPISODE 15
"I'm writing new songs for a Broadway version of Tarzan, which is very interesting. I think what I learned from the Brother Bear score side of things, I've brought into the new Tarzan songs. Thinking outside just guitar, bass, drums and keyboards." -Disney Legend Phil Collins
"Be sincere; be brief; be seated." -Franklin D. Roosevelt
"I got to work with people that believed in loyalty, camaraderie and sticking it out through good days and bad
days. No one person could do everything by himself or herself. It was a team effort." -Bob Matheison
1986:
Steve Jobs buys the computer graphics division of George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic (a motion picture visual effects company) for $10 million and incorporates it as Pixar. ILM first established their use of computer-generated imagery when they hired Edwin Catmull from NYIT in 1979. John Lasseter worked for ILM in the early 1980s as a computer animator.
JAN
JAN
Using most of the arrangements from the previous "A New World Fantasy" and "Laserphonic Fantasy" shows, IllumiNations is a precursor to IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth.
Screenwriter Homer Brightman passes away at age 86 in Washington. The original gag writer for Al Taliaferro's Donald Duck newspaper comic strip (from 1938-1940), his Disney film credits included such features as Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros, Melody Time, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, and
Cinderella. Brightman later worked for such studios as Walter Lantz Productions, MGM, and UPA.
"Good evening and welcome to World Showcase. Tonight we are pleased to present a visual journey, an
international fantasy of music and light. We're about to embark on a sparkling, abstract expedition around World
Showcase. With the music as your passport, we'll discover sights and sounds from colorful ports of call. And to
celebrate our journey, the countries will be united by the festive elements of water, fire, and light. And now, let
your imagination be your guide as EPCOT Center proudly presents IllumiNations!"
1948:
Walt Disney writes a personal letter to Jean Hersholt, actor and president of the Academy
of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, suggesting that James Baskett be awarded a special Academy Award for his work as Uncle Remus in Song of the South. Disney is not alone in his
praise of Baskett’s performance. Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper is one of many journalists who publicly declare that Baskett should receive an Academy Award as well. (Less than 2 months later, Baskett will receive an Honorary Academy Award for his performance as Uncle Remus - making him the first African-American male actor to win an Oscar.)
January 30
This Day in Disney History - THE FIRST - THE ORIGINAL
Traveling in time since 1999!
1998:
Hollywood Pictures & Cinergi Pictures releases the horror film Deep Rising
to U.S. theaters. Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures, the film tells the story of a newly unveiled ocean liner, the
Argonautica, which sets out on its first cruise ... only to encounter dangers both on board and in the ocean depths.
The cast includes Treat Williams and Famke Janssen.
101 Dalmatians: The Series premieres in syndication.
Stage and screen actor Ferdy Mayne passes away at age 81 in England. Born in Germany, he emigrated to the United Kingdom in the early 1930s, and resided in the UK for the majority of his professional career. Best known as a character actor, Mayne appeared in Disney's 1959 Third Man on the Mountain as Andreas Krickel.
2015:
Disney's animated Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast begins a run at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. An ancient myth of a massive creature sparks the curiosity of Tinker Bell and her good friend Fawn, an animal fairy who is not afraid to break the rules to help an animal in need. But this creature is not welcome in Pixie Hollow—and the scout fairies are determined to capture the mysterious beast, who they fear will destroy their home. Fawn must convince her fairy friends to risk everything to rescue the NeverBeast.
To be released on Blu-ray March 3, the voice cast includes Mae Whitman (Tinker Bell), Ginnifer Goodwin (Fawn), Rosario Dawson (Nix), and Angelica Huston (Queen Clarion).
1952:
Guitarist, film composer, conductor and orchestrator Steve Bartek is born in Garfield Heights, Ohio. Best known as the lead guitarist for the band Oingo Boingo and for his orchestration work with bandmate composer Danny Elfman, Bartek's Disney/Touchstone film credits include Cabin Boy, Romy and Michele's
High School Reunion, Meet the Deedles, and An Extremely Goofy Movie. Bartek also contributed music to both the
ride queue and exit of Disneyland's short-lived Rocket Rods attraction in 1998.
1974:
Actor Christian Bale is born in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales. He was the voice of Thomas for the 1995 animated Pocahontas and played Ken Miles in the 2019 Ford v Ferrari.
1991:
Character actor John McIntire, the voice of Grumpy Badger in Disney's 1981 animated feature The Fox and the Hound, and Rufus in the 1977 The Rescuers, passes away at age 83 in Pasadena, California. Raised in Montana, he grew up with ranchers and cowboys which later inspired his performances in dozens of westerns (such as Apache, The Kentuckian and Rooster Cogburn.) Coincidentally McIntire's wife, actress Jeanette Nolan, voiced the muskrat Ellie Mae in The Rescuers, and Widow Tweed in The Fox and the Hound. McIntire's Disney credits also included the 1974 live-action Herbie Rides Again (playing Mr. Hudson) and the Touchstone Pictures 1989 release Turner & Hooch (his last film) playing a crazy dog owner. (Fans of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho will recognize McIntire for his role of Sheriff Al Chambers.)
2021:
M&M's store opens at Disney Springs next to Splitsville Luxury Lanes and the NBA Experience. (The Mars Retail Group currently has six M&M’s locations around the globe including spots in London,
Las Vegas and Shanghai.)
1932:
Actor/singer Gino Conforti is born in Chicago, Illinois. His Disney voice credits include Monsters, Inc., Adventures of the Gummi Bears, and DuckTales.
