By Jim Fanning
Muppets ahoy! On February 16, 1996, X marked the spot for pirate zaniness as Muppet Treasure Island sailed into theaters. Treasure and treachery abound in this insanely amusing adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale. Brave Jim Hawkins tangles with legendary pirate Long John Silver as they and some motley Muppet pirates follow a…
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By Jim Fanning
A pot of gold in the form of Disney movie magic—‘tis Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959)! One of Walt Disney’s most lively live-action fantasies, this combination of Irish wit, whimsical wishes, and mind-bending special effects has been enchanting audiences for 60 years. Originally released on June 26, 1959, this live-action special…
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By Jim Fanning
In the zany tradition of such Disney live-action classics as The Absent-Mind Professor (1961), Honey, I Shrunk The Kids has been earning colossal laughs with its super-sized special effects and anything-but-small thrills for three decades. Released on June 23, 1989, this effects-filled film centers on bumbling inventor Professor Wayne Szalinski (Rick…
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By Jim Fanning
One of the most iconic heroes ever created swung to dynamic new life when Tarzan was released on June 18, 1999. Disney’s 37th animated feature brought the famed ape-man to life as never before through the art of Disney animation. Tarzan follows the extraordinary adventures of an orphaned infant raised by a family of gorillas who matures into a young…
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By Tim Lammers
Without question, one of the most uplifting Disney-Pixar films in the last 10 years is 2009’s Up, which not only went on to become a Best Animated Feature Oscar winner, but one of only three animated films in Academy Award history to earn a Best Picture Oscar nomination (Walt Disney’s 1991 classic Beauty and the Beast was the first, while…
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By Jim Fanning
Shifting for himself against all odds, that scrappy little speedster Herbie first sped into view 50 years ago when The Love Bug was released on March 13, 1969. This high-octane comedy hit about a Volkswagen “Beetle” with a mind—and heart—of its own is one of Disney’s most popular hits. Through the magic of Disney special effects, the lovable…
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By Jim Fanning
Released on January 29, 1959, Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty is celebrating 60 years of timeless characters, magnificent music of the classical kind, and dazzling animated artistry. One of the most elaborate animated features ever produced, this enchanting epic tells the spellbinding tale of a lovely princess cursed by an evil fairy to fall into a…
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By Jim Fanning
Told through the golden glow of nostalgia, Walt Disney’s So Dear to My Heart celebrates 70 years of humor, music, and animation. Released on January 19, 1949, this heartfelt film is set in 1903, in Fulton Corners, Indiana, where young Jeremiah “Jerry” Kincaid (Disney star Bobby Driscoll) adopts a mischievous black lamb he names Danny after famed…
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By Jim Fanning
Timeless in its humor, music, and classic Disney animation, The Sword in the Stone ascended the throne in 1963 as Walt Disney’s 18th full-length animated feature. A scrawny 12-year-old boy nicknamed Wart, who is in actuality the future King Arthur, sets ancient England on its ear when the mystical but lovably muddled Merlin—“the incomparable…
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By Jim Fanning
“All the characters in Peter Pan are in some way touched with magic,” Walt Disney once observed, and this was particularly true of the 1953 classic’s breakout star. He added, “The little fairy Tinker Bell glows like a firefly and leaves a trail of pixie dust behind her as she flits about with the speed of a hummingbird.” Walt well knew that…
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