December 25: Merry Christmas

December 25 is chock-filled with Disney history ... just click HERE!
Thanks for visiting all year long Disney fans ... Happy Holidays!

December 23: A Film Of Many Firsts

On this day in 1954, Disney released the film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The first science fiction film ever produced by Walt Disney Pictures and the first Disney film to be shot in CinemaScope, it was based on the classic novel (of the same name) by Jules Verne.
20,000 Leagues was also the first feature length Disney film to be distributed by Buena Vista Distribution (at the time a recent addition to Disney - as prior to 1953 Disney's productions had been distributed through Columbia Pictures, United Artists, and RKO Radio Pictures).
20,000 Leagues was also the first live-action Disney film not to have any animated sequences and the very first Disney film to feature multiple Hollywood stars.
Kirk Douglas (already a box office heavy-weight) played Ned Land a master harpooner. Captain Nemo was played by James Mason, a British actor who had first become immensely popular in the 1940s. The part of Professor Pierre Aronnax was played by Paul Lukas, a successful stage and film actor. Peter Lorre (best known for his roles in Arsenic and Old Lace and Casablanca) portrayed Conseil - the professor's assistant.
The film received positive reactions (becoming an instant Disney classic) and was highly praised for the performances of its leading actors. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea went on to win two Academy Awards - one for Best Color Art Direction/Set Decoration and a second for Special Effects.

Dive on down to December 23 for more Disney history.

December 20: Tigger's Film Debut

On this day in 1968, Disney released Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day - the studio's second Pooh short. Blustery Day marked the film debut of a character named Tigger ... that's T-I-double-guh-err!
First introduced in Chapter II of A. A. Milne's book "The House at Pooh Corner," the bouncing tiger-like character was first voiced in the Disney film by Paul Winchell. Tigger's bouncy personality in the Disney cartoons is much like his personality in Milne's books - he is confident, has a high opinion of himself ... and most notably mispronounces words!
Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day also debuted Tigger's favorite song "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" (written by the Sherman Brothers).

Bounce on over to December 20 for more Disney history.

December 05: The Ultimate Day in Disney History

On this day in 1901, Walter Elias Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois.
Click HERE for more birthday history.

November 30: Birth of a Literary Icon

On this day in 1835, Samuel Langhorne Clemens better known as author & humorist Mark Twain was born in Florida, Missouri (a village in Monroe County). Noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Twain was immensely popular in his lifetime and admired by many ... including Walt Disney. Learn more about Twain's role in Disney history .... HERE.

November 25: Box Office Hits

On this day in 2008, Walt Disney Records released "Box Office Hits," a collection of the best songs from Disney's biggest movies.

Tracks include:
1. "Ever, Ever After" sung by Carrie Underwood and written by Stephen Schwartz and Alan Menken for Enchanted
2. "Down to Earth" sung, written (along with Thomas Newman) & produced by Peter Gabriel from the soundtrack for WALL-E
3. "Real Gone" performed and written (along with John Shanks) by Sheryl Crow for the 2006 Cars
4. "Little Wonders" written & sung by Rob Thomas and produced by Danny Elfman for Meet the Robinsons
5. "This Home" written & recorded by the band Switchfoot and originally featured on the soundtrack for the 2008 The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
6. "Breakaway" sung by Kelly Clarkson and written by Avril Lavigne, Bridget Benenate & Matthew Gerard for The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
7. "Can't Take It In" sung by Imogen Heap and used during the closing credits of The Chronicles of Narnia
8. "I Thought I lost You" performed by Miley Cyrus and John Travolta from the animated Bolt
9. "Our Town" performed by James Taylor and written by Randy Newman for Cars
10. "All I Know" performed by Five For Fighting (the stage named of singer-songwriter John Ondrasik) from Chicken Little
11. "The Call" by singer-songwriter & pianist Regina Spektor and written especially for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
12. "Where Is Your Heart At?" sung by singer-songwriter Jamie Cullum - but composed by Rufus Wainwright - for Meet the Robinsons
13. "Le Festin" performed by French singer Camille for Ratatouille
14. "Jack's Suite" by Hans Zimmer and Paul Oakenfold for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
15. "UNKLE Reconstruction" by the British music outfit UNKLE for The Incredibles

Give a click HERE for much more November 25 Disney history.

November 19: Mister Ed's Buddy

On this day in 1919, character actor Alan Young was born in Northern England. Fans of the CBS 1960s sitcom Mister Ed would probably be surprised to know that Young's convincing "American accent" is not his own! (Young played the eccentric and clumsy Wilbur Post who owned a talking horse named Ed.) But "doing voices" is a natural for this Emmy Award-winning actor whose career first started in radio back in the early 1940s. What is Young's connection to Disney? You've heard his most popular Disney character dozens of times ... click HERE to reveal the answer.