News

Descendants of Walt Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney have weighed in on the bid by two activist investment firms to win seats on the board of the Walt Disney Co. — and they’re in Bob Iger’s corner in the fight.

Nelson Peltz, the activist investor who runs hedge fund Trian Partners, is waging a proxy-fight battle to install himself and ex-Disney CFO Jay Rasulo as directors; Peltz’s stated aim is to drive up the price of Disney’s stock. Another investment firm, Blackwells Capital, supports the leadership of CEO Bob Iger and the current board but is urging Disney shareholders to vote for its own three candidates instead of Disney’s or Trian’s nominees.

Disney opposes the candidates put forward by Trian and Blackwells as lacking “the appropriate range of talent, skill, perspective and/or expertise,” and is urging shareholders to vote for its own 12 nominees.

In two open letters to shareholders of the Walt Disney Company, grandchildren of Walt Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney came out in support of CEO Bob Iger and current management, which is being assailed by two investment firms trying to change the makeup of the company’s board.

“From Mickey and Minnie, to Snow White and Mary Poppins, Disney is not a company that makes widgets – it makes magic,” wrote Roy P. Disney Susan Disney Lord, Tim Disney and Abigail Disney, who has been outspokenly critical of the company in the past. “And it takes a special group of leaders with a deep respect and understanding for this tradition to develop the kinds of incredible experiences – whether in a theme park, at a movie theatre, or in your own home – that touch people’s hearts. Bob Iger, his management team, and the Board of Directors are faithful to this magic.

Ron W. Miller, Walt Disney’s son-in-law and the husband of Diane Disney, passed away February 9, 2019, in Napa, California. He was 85.

Miller was 21 and a member of the USC Trojans football team when he was introduced to then-20-year-old Diane Disney on a blind date. They were married in Santa Barbara on May 9, 1954. Ron served in the Army and played football for the Los Angeles Rams before his father-in-law recruited him to work at The Walt Disney Studios in 1957. Miller’s first job was serving as second assistant on Old Yeller (1957). Eventually, as CEO, Miller pushed the Company to expand and explore, creating Walt Disney Home Video, Touchstone Pictures, and The Disney Channel.

“Everyone at The Walt Disney Company is deeply saddened by the passing of Ron Miller,” said Bob Iger, chairman and chief executive officer, The Walt Disney Company. “His life and legacy are inextricably linked with our Company...

Ron Miller, who served as president and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, has died at age 85 in Napa, Calif., the company confirmed on Sunday.

Miller, an Army veteran and star athlete at USC who played for the Los Angeles Rams, came to the company by way of his wife, Diane Disney, the daughter of company founder Walt Disney.

He served as a producer on 1960s and ’70s films like “Son of Flubber,” “That Darn Cat!” “Pete’s Dragon” and “Escape to Witch Mountain” — and helped drive the innovative computer animation in the 1982 sci-fi thriller “Tron.”

In 1978, he was named president of Walt Disney Productions and then promoted to CEO in 1983. He led the creation of Walt Disney Home Video, Touchstone Pictures and The Disney Channel...

Exclusive: Before he created Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney was an animator and businessman who spent a decade shrugging off failure in order to build the studio that would turn him into an icon. The indie period drama Walt Before Mickey chronicles nine years worth of these early struggles, with American Pie‘s Thomas Ian Nicholas playing the young and ambitious Disney and Napoleon Dynamite‘s Jon Heder as his brother Roy. Check out the trailer exclusively on Deadline.

Disney fans got a peek at the 1960s-era Walt in last year’s Saving Mr. Banks, but Walt Before Mickey offers up the pre-Depression Era “missing decade” during which he launched four studios and moved from Missouri to California, with varying degrees of success. Jodie Sweetin (Full House) and David Henrie (Wizards Of Waverly Place) also star for first-time feature helmer Khoa Le, who directs a script by Arthur L. Bernstein and Armando Gutierrez.

We’re a little light on quantity at What to Watch this week but not on quality. And our newest contributor, Dave Canfield, has already handled today’s release of “All is Lost,” a film you really should add to whatever queue allows you to see quality films. When you’re done with that, pick one of these five. Ok, four. Ignore “Diana.” Please.

The Returned: Season One

Photo credit: Music Box Films

“The Returned: Season One”

Netflix landed a lot of press for the way they stormed the gates of the TV industry in 2013 but I think the story of The Sundance Channel’s evolution into a major player was under-reported. Jane Campion’s “The Top of the Lake” and the brilliant “Rectify” would have been enough but this import of a French series was actually their best program, and one of the best on TV overall.

The release of The Jungle Book on Blu-ray today has become, as when Saving Mr. Banks was unveiled a couple months ago, an unplanned forum on a most thorny issue for the Disney uber-fan: was Walt Disney a racist/sexist/anti-Semite, and if so, was he a super-racist/sexist/anti-Semite, or just your average, garden-variety racist/sexist/anti-Semite? Even though the 1967 animated film based loosely on a collection of stories by Rudyard Kipling opened months after Disney passed away, this was the last film on which he had any serious impact. And, since Meryl Streep chose to make her speech applauding Emma Thompson for her performance as P.L. Travers in Saving Mr. Banks as much about exactly how bad a man Walt Disney was, the issue of his true personal feelings–whatever those may have been–and whether or not they crept into the films he made has become unavoidable as of late.

Two-time Academy Award®–winner Emma Thompson and fellow double Oscar®-winner Tom Hanks topline Disney’s “Saving Mr. Banks,” inspired by the extraordinary, untold backstory of how Disney’s classic “Mary Poppins” made it to the screen. This past month Wamg attended the Saving Mr. Banks press conference where Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Colin Farrell, Jason Schwartzman, Bj Novak, Bradley Whitford, director John Lee Hancock, writer Kelly Marcel and producer Alison Owen discussed making the film, Nanny McFee, and scarring grandchildren with Winnie the Pooh.

When Walt Disney’s daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers’ “Mary Poppins,” he made them a promise—one that he didn’t realize would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine.

As first pictures emerge of the simian pretender, we're feeling the force of all today's film news and more

In the headlines

• First pictures released of the monkey that might have played Yoda, as it's revealed that Star Wars characters will be in Lego movie

• Harvey Weinstein is co-offering free Mandela movie lessons to La schools, while Obama will end "official" White House screenings after Mandela film to avoid "Oscar politics"

• Joe Carnahan calls MGM boss "gutless turd" after exiting Death Wish remake

• Kevin Spacey sent Woody Allen Netflix subscription in hope of being cast

• Watch Gravity spin-off short featuring voice of Sandra Bullock, while Alfonso Cuarón says China references in Gravity no marketing ploy

Elsewhere on the site

• Peter Bradshaw tells us why we should watch Gone with the Wind

• Reel History shoots from the hip with Parkland

• Week in geek: Amazing Spider-Man 2 viral site hints at catastrophe in sequel,...

Napa, Calif. (AP) — Diane Disney Miller, Walt Disney's daughter and one of his inspirations for building the Disneyland theme park, has died at her Northern California home. She was 79. Her death Tuesday in Napa was confirmed by The Walt Disney Co. The cause was complications from a fall, said Andi Wang, spokeswoman for the Walt Disney Family Museum. "As the beloved daughter of Walt Disney and one of his inspirations for creating Disneyland, she holds a special place in the history of The Walt Disney Co. and in the hearts of fans everywhere," Robert A. Iger, the...

Los Angeles, Nov 20: Movie legend Walt Disney's daughter died at her home in California. She was 79.

Diane Disney Miller passed away Tuesday after suffering a recent fall, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

She was the only biological daughter of Disney and his wife, Lillian. Her sister, Sharon Mae, was adopted by the couple in 1936. Mae died 20 years ago.

Disney's daughter was married to former Walt Disney Company CEO Ron W. Miller, who was replaced by Michael Eisner and Frank Wells in 1984.

Paying tribute to Walt's daughter on Tuesday afternoon, current Disney CEO Bob Iger said: "We are deeply saddened by the.

Walt Disney's daughter Diane Disney Miller has died, aged 79.

The philanthropist passed away in her home in Napa, California after a series of complications following a fall in September.

"As the beloved daughter of Walt Disney and one of his inspirations for creating Disneyland, she holds a special place in the history of the Walt Disney Company and in the hearts of fans everywhere," Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement.

"She will be remembered for her grace and generosity and tireless work to preserve her father's legacy."

Walt's only biological daughter has previously recounted how she and her adopted sister Sharon inspired him to create a theme park.

"He'd take me and my sister Sharon to the merry-go-round at Griffith Park and stand there all day waiting until we were ready to go," Miller told the San Francisco Chronicle in 1998.

"As he stood there, he kept thinking...

Diane Disney Miller, the daughter of Walt Disney and a force in making sure architect Frank Gehry completed the Los Angeles concert hall that bears her father’s name, died Tuesday at her home in Napa, Calif., after suffering a recent fall. She was 79. Miller was the only biological daughter of Disney and his wife, Lillian Bounds Disney. Her sister, Sharon Mae, who was adopted by the Disneys at birth in 1936, died in 1993. Photos: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2013 Her husband of 59 years, Ron W. Miller, was CEO of the Walt Disney Co. until 1984, when he

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Walt Disney’s only biological child died today at her home in Napa, CA, of complications from a fall in September. Diane Disney Miller was 79. She was a driving force behind the construction of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown L.A. Her husband of nearly 60 years, Ron W. Miller, is a former CEO of Walt Disney Productions. Here’s a statement on her passing from Disney president and CEO Bob Iger: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of Diane Disney Miller and our thoughts are with her family during his difficult time. As the beloved daughter of Walt Disney and one of his inspirations for creating Disneyland, she holds a special place in the history of The Walt Disney Company and in the hearts of fans everywhere. She will be remembered for her grace and generosity and tireless work to preserve her father’s legacy, and...

Every time I chatted with Diane Disney Miller I had to pinch myself, realizing that I was talking to Walt Disney’s daughter. Now I have to come to terms with a different reality following her sudden and untimely death. I mourn for her large, loving family—her husband Ron, seven children, thirteen grandchildren, and one great-grandchild—as well as the extended family she fostered while mounting a series of tributes to her dad, culminating in the opening of the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. Walt Disney was a very public figure, but Diane did her best to avoid the spotlight until she realized that her father’s centennial year was approaching in 2001. She worried that...

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Diane Disney Miller, daughter of Walt Disney, died Tuesday. She was 79. The Walt Disney Company president and CEO Robert Iger said Tuesday that Disney Miller “will be greatly missed by all who knew her,” noting “she holds a special play in the history of The Walt Disney Company and in the hearts of fans everywhere.” Also read: Disney Breaks Its All-Time Record for Global Box Office “We are deeply saddened by the loss of Diane Disney Miller and our thoughts are with her family during his difficult time,” Iger said in a statement Tuesday. “As the beloved daughter of Walt Disney.

Since its release in 1964, "Mary Poppins" has dazzled millions of moviegoers with its beautiful songs, witty banter, and heartfelt storyline. On December 20, audiences will finally get a closer look at what into making the film in Disney's "Saving Mr. Banks."

The new drama takes you inside the creative process of "Mary Poppins." Here, Walt Disney (played by Tom Hanks), the animator and studio mogul, desperately attempts to mount a production of the movie, while P.L. Travers (played by Emma Thompson), the notoriously protective author behind the original story, demands changes at every turn.

Today, Moviefone is thrilled to premiere the trailer for "Saving Mr. Banks." It's less a biopic than a dramatization about how creative conflict can give way to something truly exceptional. In addition to performances by Hanks and Thompson, fans of Disney will be very happy to see the Sherman Brothers (played by Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak...

As news spreads of Annette Funicello’s passing at age 70 from Multiple Sclerosis-related complications, colleagues and fans have begun to share their fond remembrances of the former Mouseketeer and “Beach Party” goer.

Lori Loughlin, costar in 1987′s Back to the Beach: “Annette Funicello was really a wonderful person. I enjoyed working with her immensely and found her to be kind and down-to-earth. She faced her illness with courage and never wanted anyone to have pity on her. I have a fond memory of having lunch at her home many years ago and when she opened the cabinet to get something,...

Of all the classic animated films, Peter Pan may be the one that has spread its influence furthest. From James Kirk’s reference to the second star on the right to Michael Jackson’s compound being called Neverland, the enduring story of the boy who didn’t want to grow up resonates with us all. Walt Disney has shined its latest crown jewel to a brilliant luster in the Diamond Edition release of Peter Pan, a combo pack featuring Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital copy (along with a Storybook app for tablets). Said to be one of Disney’s favorite stories, he intended it to be among his earliest releases but circumstances delayed it from being completed until its 1953 release. As a result, some of the lush rotoscoping we saw in Snow White is replaced with complete hand-drawn animation, but it also means some of the figures, from Smee to the...

Chicago – Disney continues their stellar HD upgrades of their most important films with this month’s release of the absolutely timeless “Peter Pan.” Complete with new special features and an absolutely perfect HD transfer, it’s another great addition to the most important line of animated Blu-ray releases on the market.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

“Pinocchio,” “Beauty & the Beast,” “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” “Cinderella,” “Fantasia” — all must-own films if you have a kid at home or just consider yourself a Disney fan. Unlike most companies, Disney doesn’t just re-release films on DVD and Blu-ray. They give them loving, notable restorations for the HD market and always include not just new special features but all the previously-available ones as well.

The new stuff this time includes a 40-minute short called “Growing Up with Nine Old Men,” two deleted scenes, and two deleted songs, including the vocal version of the crocodile’s theme song,...

On February 5, 2013, The Walt Disney Studios released the 60th Anniversary release of Walt Disney’s classic, Peter Pan, with a new digital restoration and high definition picture and sound, for the first time on Blu-ray. The classic tale that taught us all “to believe” and first introduced us to the Darling children – Wendy, John and Michael – as they flew with Peter Pan and Tinker Bell past the second star to the right and straight on ‘till morning to the enchanted world of Never Land. Rediscover the magical adventure and relive childhood memories of this great bedtime story.

Peter Pan is a timeless classic from Disney’s Golden Age of animation. The film is one of three to boast all nine of Walt’s famous “Nine Old Men” as Directing Animators, and is a revered audience favorite. This is one Blu-ray that you want to add to your collection. I mean…...

Peter Pan is not the first Disney movie that jumps to most people’s minds, but even among those who take issue with the film’s ending (like myself- and the New York Times… upon release) for not staying true to the original work, and thus somewhat negating the adventure, it’s a Disney classic that has a firm place within the Disney establishment. Whether it’s the classic ride at Disneyland, Tinkerbell’s inclusion in the Disney logo roll, the recent explosion in popularity of the new Tinkerbell movies and cute spins like Jake and the Never Land Pirates, or dozens of other treats, Peter Pan has touched much of the Disney world.

The last film to feature the talents of all of Disney’s Nine Old Men, the film has a much celebrated, and interesting production story, being put on hold (originally intended to be the fourth feature-length...

Blu-ray Review

Peter Pan

Directed by: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske

Cast: Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conried

Running Time: 1 hr 16 mins

Rating: G

Due Out: February 5, 2013

Plot: Wendy and her brothers are whisked away to the magical world of Neverland with the hero of their stories, Peter Pan.

Who’S It For? Everyone knows the story of Peter Pan, but perhaps you haven’t seen it for a while. This review will clue you in if your child is ready.

Movie:

Since we all know the basic concept of the film, but are perhaps years (or decades) removed from seeing it, I’ve decided to do a running diary review of Peter Pan. I hope you enjoy.

“All of this happened before, and it will happen again.” That’s where we start, which I guess is referring to history repeating itself, but with other children, as opposed to...

Cinelinx has a wonderful thought after watching the Peter Pan: Diamond Edition Blu-ray!

The Set-up

Three British children are transported to Neverland, where a young boy named Peter and his band of Lost Boys do battle with the nefarious pirate Captain Hook. Based on the classic children's novel by Sir James Barrie.

The Delivery

Sir James M. Barrie's classic children's novel about the boy who never grew up has seen a number of incarnations, from the original story to a number of silent film and stage adaptations. Walt Disney's animated version, released in 1953, keeps some of the elements of the original story, with a good amount of Disneyfication (for lack of a better term) thrown in.

The fact that Disney softened some of the darker elements, added musical numbers, and changed a few things is hardly a drawback. In fact, it gives this version just the right personality and distinction.

On Tuesday (February 5), The Walt Disney Studios celebrates the 60th Anniversary release of Walt Disney’s classic, “Peter Pan,” as it soars to all-new heights – with a new digital restoration and high definition picture and sound – for the first time on Blu-ray™. The classic tale that taught us all “to believe” and first introduced us to the Darling children – Wendy, John and Michael – as they flew with Peter Pan and Tinker Bell past the second star to the right and straight on ‘till morning to the enchanted world of Never Land. Rediscover the magical adventure and relive childhood memories of this great bedtime story. In anticipation of the upcoming release of the 60th Anniversary Edition of Peter Pan, check out the slideshow featuring 1950s Live Action Reference photographs from Walt Disney Studio’s Vault!

The “Peter Pan” Diamond Edition Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy & Storybook App) is a...

I’m overdue with a new film book survey, and with the holidays upon us I’m trying my best to catch up. If you sense some redundancy in my descriptions of the following titles, it’s because they are all elaborate, beautifully printed coffee-table books, any one of which would make a fine gift. I haven’t had a chance to sit down and read the texts—with the exception of the Snow White and Gershwin titles—so these are first impressions, rather than reviews. There are more to come… stay tuned. The Fairest One Of All: The Making Of Walt Disney’S Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs by J.B. Kaufman; Foreword by Diane Disney Miller (Walt...

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A Planet Fury-approved selection of notable genre releases for October.

Cinderella (1950) Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Blu-ray and DVD Available Now

The Walt Disney classic finally makes it high definition debut. Though it was made over half a century ago, Cinderella remains a timeless work of animation. Part of its lasting appeal can be attributed to the amazing concept art of Mary Blair, whose gorgeous backgrounds and unique color palettes help to define its iconic visual style. Though she was only credited with color and styling, her influence in the look and feel of the finished product cannot be denied. Another aspect that is often overlooked is the lovely vocal contribution by actress Ilene Woods. She brings a measured confidence to the beloved heroine and her singing voice is as gorgeous as the animation.

Special Features:

• Tangled Ever After Animated Short

• Behind the Magic: A New Disney Princess Fantasyland...

Blu-ray Release Date: Feb. 5, 2013

Price: Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.99, Three-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo $44.99

Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

For its 60th anniversary, Disney’s movie adaptation of J.M. Barrie‘s classic children’s book adventure, Peter Pan, got a restoration for its high-definition Blu-ray debut.

The 1953 animated film tells the wonderful story about the Darling children — Wendy, John and Michael — who travel to Never Land with the boy who won’t grow up, Peter Pan. But in the fantasy land, they discover an ongoing war between the Lost Boys, Peter’s gang of runaways, and the evil pirate Captain Hook. But nothing can’t be fixed without some pixie dust from Tinker Bell.

The movie was directed by three men with plenty of classic animation pedigree: Lady and the Tramp‘s Clyde Geronimi, Cinderella‘s Wilfred Jackson and 101 Dalmatians‘ Hamilton Luske. And Peter Pan was executive produced by Walt Disney himself.

The Movie Pool couldn't wish for a better Blu-ray than Disney's Cinderella Diamond Edition!

The Set-up

Walt Disney's twelfth animated feature film tells the classic tale of Cinderella (originally written by Charles Perrault), a young girl forced to work as a servant for her evil stepmother and stepsisters. With the help of a fairy godmother, Cinderella breaks free of her bondage and wins the heart of a young prince.

The Delivery

Released in 1950, Cinderella was Disney's followup to Bambi released eight years before, and it was one of the final films considered among the studio's true classics. By the 1960's, Disney would suffer from a lack of originality and lower budgets, which it finally overcame with The Little Mermaid and the Disney Renaissance. The films of the 1950s, led by Cinderella, would be Disney's last hurrah for a while.

With a classic storybook art design and nice mix of rotoscoped humans and signature Disney animals,...

This week: The latest collaboration between Tim Burton and Johnny Depp is a remake of the '60s soap opera "Dark Shadows" with Depp playing the centuries-old vampire Barnabas Collins, who is having an amusingly difficult time adjusting to the weird and wonderful '70s.

Also new this week is the family drama "People Like Us" with Chris Pine, the Blu-ray debut of Disney's animated "Cinderella," a Blu-ray collection of the first seven "A Nightmare on Elm Street" movies and "Universal Monsters: The Essential Collection" in high definition for the first time.

'Dark Shadows'

Box Office: $80 million

Rotten Tomatoes: 39% Rotten

Storyline: Tim Burton's remake of the '60s soap opera of the same name stars Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, a 200-year-old vampire accidentally released from his coffin prison in the 1970s, who returns to his family estate and tries to get its fishing business back in...

Disney Transforms Its Classic Fairytale To All-New Blu-ray™ Heights for Its Diamond Edition Debut on 27 August 2012.

Cinderella is available on Disney Blu-ray™ from 27th August 2012 and to celebrate we have two Blu-rays to give away to our readers.

At the stroke of midnight, 27 August, 2012, dreams around the globe really will come true when The Walt Disney Studios opens its prestigious vault to release one of Walt Disney’s most timeless and beloved masterpieces of all time, “Cinderella,” in the highly anticipated Blu-ray™ Diamond Edition Collection.

This enchanting classic comes alive in stunning fashion for in-home viewing for the very first time on Blu-ray high definition with enhanced picture and sound, once again being embraced by new and old generations alike and only available…as long as the spell lasts.

The “Cinderella: Diamond Edition,” with its spellbinding storyline, memorable music, unforgettable characters and spectacular animation, sparkles like never before with a...

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By Todd Garbarini

The first Disney movie that my family owned was Dumbo (1941) on the Capacitance Electronic Disc (Ced), RCA’s long-defunct pipe dream home video format that began production in 1981 and ended in 1986 after seventeen years in development, an also-ran in the kiddie’s seat while the recordable VHS sat at the grown-up’s table. The picture quality of Ced was nothing to write home about though it was arguably better than the aforementioned recordable cassette. Ced was a stepping stone, albeit in the analog realm, to a future of home video viewing in the form of movies on a disc. While Disney offered a considerable number of their most beloved titles on VHS, the sheer lack of decent picture quality never sat well with me. I was beside myself, however, when most of their best known works made their way to...

Chicago – “Lady and the Tramp” has been somewhat forgotten by time. When people think of Disney, their mind usually goes one of two places — to the classic early day mouse house films like “Dumbo” or “Bambi” or to the comeback films like “The Little Mermaid” or “The Lion King.” The mid-section of the canon seems to be getting lost, including films like “Peter Pan,” “The Sword in the Stone,” “The Jungle Book,” and the recently-released-to-Blu-ray “Lady and the Tramp.”

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Nuzzled comfortably in the canon between “Peter Pan” and “Sleeping Beauty,” 1955’s “Lady and the Tramp” is one of the gentler, sweeter films in the Disney legacy. It’s nowhere near as manic or kiddie-oriented as some of the more popular films in the company’s history and that could explain some of its lesser reputation. Although, to be fair, even Disney films with less of a profile than others have a huge cultural impact.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment is releasing the 1955 classic Lady and the Tramp on three-disc Blu-ray and two-disc Blu-ray for the first time February 7, in these new Diamond Edition sets. To celebrate this high-def debut, we have a contest lined up for our readers. We're giving away copies of this new Blu-ray, plus one lucky grand prize winner will receive the Blu-ray and nine plush toys featuring the characters Lady, Tramp, Si, Am, Trusty, Jock, Bull, Bell, and Pedro. These prizes will certainly fly out the door, so enter this contest today.

Grand Prize Winner Receive:

Lady and the Tramp Blu-rayLady and the Tramp plush toy set including Lady, Tramp, Si, Am, Trusty, Jock, Bull, Bell, and Pedro

First Prize Winners Receive:

Lady and the Tramp Blu-ray

Here's How To Win!

Just "Like" (fan) the MovieWeb Facebook page (below) and then leave a comment below telling us why these prizes must be yours!

Walt Disney's daughter Diane Disney Miller discusses Lady in the Tramp

Last week, I was invited up to the Disney Family Museum in San Francisco to celebrate the Blu-ray debut of Lady and the Tramp, which arrives in three-disc Blu-ray and two-disc Blu-ray February 7. The setting was quite fitting, since one of the special features, Diane Disney Miller: Remembering Dad, was shot in the museum, and offers a unique glimpse into Walt Disney's life, as told by his daughter, Diane Disney Miller. The special feature gives us perspective into a rather hectic period of Walt Disney's life, when he was in production on Lady and the Tramp and also working on plans for his now-iconic theme park Disneyland.

I had the chance to sit down with Diane Disney Miller to chat about Lady and the Tramp, the Disney Family Museum, and more. Here's what she had to say below.

Above the little red fire station on Main Street USA, a light flickers in a window. It's hardly recognizable in a modern day Disneyland filled with colorful marquees, laser light shows and nightly fireworks, but it's there, shining around the clock. Its soft glow illuminates a small apartment that's decorated with antiques, cranberry red glass lampshades, vintage instruments and a grandfather clock. It still looks today as it did when Walt Disney kept it as his personal home inside Disneyland.

The apartment isn't open to the public, but one frequent visitor is ready to open up about her fond memories of Walt's personal escape. Diane Disney Miller, Walt's daughter, is the founder and head of the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. To celebrate the DVD re-release of "The Lady and the Tramp" and mark the 55th anniversary of the opening of Disneyland, she spoke to the Huffington Post about her father,...

The man who gave generations of movie lovers animated classics like Snow White, Cinderella, Fantasia and Pinocchio, not to mention Mickey Mouse, is often cast as a mythic moustachioed figure, presiding over a fleet of animators and churning out hit movies, TV shows and that famous theme park, but his daughter wanted to give fans of her father's work the chance to see who he was outside of the glare of success and fame and show the man she grew up calling dad.

In San Francisco to speak with Diane Disney Miller about the Blu-ray release of Lady and the Tramp and her father's legacy, we were among a handful of journalists given a tour of the Walt Disney Family Museum, filled with artifacts and tokens of Walt Disney's life before he was a brand, including family portraits, early drawings, his marriage certificate to wife Lily, and displays of his later staggering success,...

Film Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Broken down, the shining history of cinema is defined not by genres or by the measure of stardom, and in mockery of the vast budgets that are spilled on overblown epics, it is the smallest moments that endure in memory. Few will remember the specifics of a grandly-made film, no matter how impressive, if it doesn’t have the hooks that drive nostalgia or the kind of visual and lyrical versing that stick in the mind, it won’t be remembered.

It is the briefest exchanges, the shortest of lines that tend to extend a film’s life beyond traditional timescales, and Disney films thrive on those moments. The Mouse House has always been well versed in that sort of instant iconography, and one of the single most enduring images of all is that of two dogs sharing a single strand of spaghetti and inadvertently...

Just in time for Valentine's Day, the Disney classic Lady And The Tramp will be available on Blu-ray for the first-time ever in the history of Disney. The new edition includes the option for Spanish language and subtitles.

The famous puppy love animated story on Blu-ray will also include three new never-before-release scenes, Inside Walt’s Story Meetings, a making of Lady And The Tramp featurette, The original storyboard from 1943, and a song never released before. Both the Blu-ray and DVD versions include an interview with Diane Disney Miller, Walt’s daughter.

A classic love story unfolds in the best Disney tradition as a lovely young pedigreed cocker spaniel named Lady, who lives a pampered life, finds herself falling romantically for Tramp, an amorous street-smart pooch without prospects. Although they have fun together on several dates, including a sentimental spaghetti dinner by

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Disney To Release Two Amazing Classics From The Vault In 2012. Lady And The Tramp & Cinderella Both Films Will Soon Be Added To The Company.S Prestigous

Collection Of Blu-ray. Hi-def Diamond Edition Classics

The Walt Disney Studios proudly announces the addition of Lady And The Tramp and Cinderella to its coveted, cutting-edge Blu-ray. Diamond Collection line-up of animated classics. Released from the Disney vault for a limited time only, the lovingly pampered cocker spaniel and the mutt from across the tracks will unveil on February 7, 2012 and Cinderella.s clock will strike midnight in Fall 2012.

Disney.s Blu-ray Diamond Collection represents The Walt Disney Studios. most prestigious and treasured animated classics. Diamond Edition titles boast the highest level of picture and sound; feature groundbreaking, state-of-the-art immersive bonus content; and include unprecedented levels of interactivity, personalization and customization, made possible because of Blu-ray technology.

To date, the company has released four Diamond...

Two of Walt Disney's animated classics are emerging from the Disney Vault in 2012. Lady and the Tramp and Cinderella will both be available for purchase. Tramp will be available first on February 7, and Cinderella in Fall 2012.

Here is the official press release:

The Walt Disney Studios proudly announces the addition of Lady And The Tramp and Cinderella to its coveted, cutting-edge Blu-ray™ Diamond Collection line-up of animated classics. Released from the Disney vault for a limited time only, the lovingly pampered cocker spaniel and the mutt from across the tracks will unveil on February 7, 2012 and Cinderella’s clock will strike midnight in Fall 2012.

Disney’s Blu-ray Diamond Collection represents The Walt Disney Studios’ most prestigious and treasured animated classics. Diamond Edition titles boast the highest level of picture and sound; feature groundbreaking, state-of-the-art immersive bonus content; and include unprecedented levels of interactivity, personalization and customization, made possible because of Blu-ray technology.

Blu-ray & high-definition download Release Date: Feb. 7, 2012 | DVD & standard-definition Release Date: March 27, 2012

Price: DVD $29.99, Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.99, Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy $44.99, standard-def download $29.99, high-def download $39.99

Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

It’s always a delight when Disney debuts another of its classic animated films on high-definition Blu-ray, and Lady and the Tramp is no exception. The 1955 movie has love, romance and that very special spaghetti dinner.

Who needs reminding of this story? In case you do, Lady and the Tramp tells the story of two dogs from different sides of the tracks. Lady is a cocker spaniel who lives a pampered life, and Tramp is a street-smart mutt without prospects, and he’s happy that way. Lady falls for Tramp’s charms, but she stays loyal to her humans and their newborn baby. Their romance in threatened when Tramp gets Lady in trouble and she’s thrown into the dog pound.

Modern day audiences were shocked 3 years ago when an animated film with very little dialogue captured the imaginations of audiences young and old. Critics called it revolutionary, a brilliant film-making achievement. Pixar's Wall-e was all of these things, but 66 years before, there was another film with minimal dialogue, mostly visual storytelling, and a powerful environmental message. Bambi is usually not people's favorite Disney movie, but I think it has more to do with the film's difficult message. It is hard to feel warm and fuzzy when humankind is the villain.

Bambi opens with the birth of Bambi, the newest “prince” of the forest. Slowly, Bambi's mother teaches Bambi all the workings of the forest. Eat the greens as well as the clovers. Never run into the meadow. Keep an eye out for humans. He becomes friends with a rabbit named Thumper and a skunk named Flower. He learns about birds,...

Even today, 69 years after it was released, Bambi remains a remarkable achievement in hand drawn animation. The world depicted within it is not realized with the depth of detail we see in today's animated features. The result, however, is equally convincing and certainly more artistic. Yet, despite is technical and aesthetic merits, the charming characters and some wonderful moments, Bambi shows its age. The musical score is old-fashioned, the story is simple and there is not an annoying personality to be heard. Irrespective of how well it resonates with modern audiences, however, Bambi has never looked better. It is the latest Blu-ray reissue in Disney's Diamond Edition series. Yet again the studio has done yet a splendid job of remastering the audio and video for HD. It has also packed in a mass of superb extras making Bambi another must-buy for collectors.

Bambi is based on Felix Salten's novel,...

The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Fred Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)

The Disney restoration team do another incredible job with one of their animated classics, making the new high definition release of Bambi (Walt Disney, Rated G, Blu-Ray-$39.99 Srp) look like it was produced last year instead of 70 years ago. Bonus materials include all of the original DVD’s bonus materials, plus a new intro from Diane Disney Miller, deleted scenes, a deleted song, featurettes, and galleries.

Chicago – Disney always likes to keep consumers on their toes. After spreading out the canonical releases hitting Blu-ray, often with many months between them, they have delivered a one-two punch to the wallets of parents around the world by unleashing “Alice in Wonderland” on February 1st, 2011, and following it just a month later with an even more beloved classic in “Bambi.” If you’ve been following HollywoodChicago.com for any amount of time, you probably know how we feel about the Disney Blu-ray releases. They’re the best reason to buy a player.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

“Bambi” is almost seventy years old, coming fifth in the Disney canon after the amazing string of releases that started the legend — “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Pinocchio,” “Fantasia,” and “Dumbo” (all but the last one are available on Blu-ray and simply must be owned). Watching the interesting special feature “Inside Walt’s Story Meetings,...

I'll have to come clean and admit something: as a child I never watched Bambi. My head and heart were captured by outer space and Star Wars, and the cartoons I grew up watching were old Looney Tunes and Woody Woodpecker shows. Instead of crying over that most infamous of moments in Bambi (and if you don't know what I'm talking about, then I won't be the one to spoil you now), I cried over Bruce Dern blowing up the Valley Forge at the end of Silent Running.

It was only later in life, as a teenager, that I started understanding the legacy of the old school Disney animated films. By the time I caught Dumbo on television, I knew all about the scene where his mother could only caress her baby elephant through the bars of her cage -- but that didn't stop the gravity of that scene from playing out with my emotions.

DVD Playhouse—March 2011

By

Allen Gardner

127 Hours (20th Century Fox) Harrowing true story of Aron Ralston (James Franco, in another fine turn), an extreme outdoorsman who finds himself trapped in a remote Utah canyon, his arm pinned between two boulders, with no help nearby, no communication to the outside world, and dim prospects for survival, to say the least. Director Danny Boyle manages to prove again that he’s one of the finest filmmakers working today by making a subject that is seemingly uncinematic a true example of pure cinema. Inventive, breathtaking, funny, and horrifying, often all at once. Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara make a memorable, brief appearance as hikers who connect with Ralston during his journey. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Boyle, producer Christian Colson, co-writer Simon Beaufoy; Deleted scenes; Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.

Amarcord (Criterion) Federico Fellini’s Oscar-winning, autobiographical classic might...

#Gift It seems almost pointless reviewing Disney's classic reissues on Blu-ray because the films themselves are familiar and the Hi-Def restoration work is guaranteed to impress. The personnel behind the HD remastering of releases of classic animated films from the Disney vault have established a standard of excellence that they are sure to meet with every new release. It is intriguing to think that movies such as Fantasia and the previously released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs probably look better now than they ever have before. Today's audiences have the privilege of seeing them looking more pristine and sounding clearer than audiences contemporary with their original release could have imagined possible.

Given the superlatives above, it goes without saying that both Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 look fabulous. This can be expected from the latter because it was made relatively recently. The restoration work on Fantasia is all the more...

Hard to believe, but it’s been 70 years since Walt Disney first released his Technicolor triumph, Fantasia. Still one of his, and the studio’s, most ambitious projects, Fantasia remains a remarkable achievement of animation, sound and art. And now, for this first time on Blu-ray, this Disney classic is with us once more.

With dialogue used sparingly throughout, Fantasia is a collection of eight animated segments, all set to pieces of classical music. Conducted by Brit conductor Leopold Stokowski and performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, each segment is introduced by composer and critic Deems Taylor, who explains the narrative, or lack thereof, the music involved, and the images we’re about to explore.

What follows in each segment is nothing short of genius on Disney’s part. Each one is a work of dedication, beauty, and what Disney himself would call ‘pure animation’. Making use of classic pieces Toccata and Fugue in D Minor,...