Jim Hill Archives
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (10/11/2001)
Tiring of all the controversy surrounding people's passionate opinions of DCA in general (And Paradise Pier in particular), Jim Hill tries to lure a few more folks out onto The Middle Ground.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (10/10/2001)
Jim Hill tries to provide a little context so that LaughingPlace.com readers can get a grip on their feelings about Paradise Pier.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (10/5/2001)
During a week where there seemed to be nothing but bad news coming out of Disney's California Adventure theme park, Jim Hill tries to put a positive spin on the situation.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (9/27/2001)
As Jim Hill begins to wrap up his Disney/Muppets series, he fills in a few of the blanks as to why -- in spite of all the residual bad feeling following the April 1991 lawsuits -- Mickey & Kermit still managed to stay in business together.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (9/25/2001)
Before Jim Hill gets back to work on that Disney / Muppet series, he first has to organize a bunch of Mouse-related factoids.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (9/21/2001)
Jim Hill tries to follow Mr. Eisner's advice but is still somewhat distressed by the news coming out of Orlando.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (9/18/2001)
Jim Hill reveals some of the first rate jokes that Disney Feature Animation had second thoughts about.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (9/13/2001)
Jim Hill remembers Imagineer Randy Bright, a good man who had some simple yet profound things to say about the American people
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (9/11/2001)
Jim Hill takes a short break from the Muppets to express his disappoinement with the Walt Disney Company today.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (8/30/2001)
Jim Hill continues his multi-part series exploring the history of the convoluted relations between the Jim Henson Company & the Walt Disney Company. Part 9
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (8/28/2001)
Jim Hill continues his multi-part series exploring the history of the convoluted relations between the Jim Henson Company & the Walt Disney Company. Part 8.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (8/23/2001)
Jim Hill continues his multi-part series exploring the history of the convoluted relations between the Jim Henson Company & the Walt Disney Company. Part 7.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (8/21/2001)
Jim Hill continues his multi-part series exploring the history of the convoluted relations between the Jim Henson Company & the Walt Disney Company. Part 6.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (8/16/2001)
Jim Hill continues his multi-part series exploring the history of the convoluted relations between the Jim Henson Company & the Walt Disney Company. Part 5.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (8/14/2001)
Jim Hill continues his multi-part series exploring the history of the convoluted relations between the Jim Henson Company & the Walt Disney Company. Part 4.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (8/9/2001)
Jim Hill continues his multi-part series exploring the history of the convoluted relations between the Jim Henson Company & the Walt Disney Company. Part 3.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (8/7/2001)
Jim Hill continues his multi-part series exploring the history of the convoluted relations between the Jim Henson Company & the Walt Disney Company. Part 2.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (8/2/2001)
Jim Hill begins a multi-part series that explores the history of the convoluted relations between the Jim Henson Company & the Walt Disney Company. Part 1.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (7/31/2001)
Disneyana fans seemed shocked last week when Walt Disney Studios announced that it was planning sequels to "Tron" and "The Country Bears." Well, if that news knocked you for a loop, wait 'til Jim Hill tells you about the other film follow-ups the Mouse House supposedly has in the works.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (7/26/2001)
Jim Hill reveals the celebrity tragedy that lead to Disney's decision to deliberately neuter this once promising dark ride ... as well as the right-now-in-the-works plans that should turn Superstar Limo into a real crowd pleaser. Part 4 of 4.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (7/24/2001)
Jim Hill reveals the celebrity tragedy that lead to Disney's decision to deliberately neuter this once promising dark ride ... as well as the right-now-in-the-works plans that should turn Superstar Limo into a real crowd pleaser. Part 3 of 4.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (7/19/2001)
Jim Hill reveals the celebrity tragedy that lead to Disney's decision to deliberately neuter this once promising dark ride ... as well as the right-now-in-the-works plans that should turn Superstar Limo into a real crowd pleaser. Part 2 of 4.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (7/17/2001)
Jim Hill reveals the celebrity tragedy that lead to Disney's decision to deliberately neuter this once promising dark ride ... as well as the right-now-in-the-works plans that should turn Superstar Limo into a real crowd pleaser. Part 1 of 4.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (7/12/2001)
Jim Hill explains his recent absence from this website as well as offers an update on the status of the Disney - Muppet negotiations.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (6/28/2001)
Sure it’s a little weird that this Disneyland favorite is returning to Anaheim next week with a different name (Disney’s Electrical Parade) in addition to having a different route (down DCA’s “performance corridor�?). But Jim Hill recalls a time when this night-time spectacular had an even stranger name (The Hercules Electrical Parade) and had an even more bizarre parade route (Up 5th Avenue).
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (6/26/2001)
As the Disney corporation gets ready to launch its company-wide celebration of the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney’s birth, Jim Hill suggests you check out an excellent new biography of Walt’s original right-hand man, Ubbe “Ub�? Iwerks, “The Hand Behind the Mouse.�?
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (6/21/2001)
A LaughingPlace.com reader tries to urge Jim Hill to only write about the positive aspects of the Walt Disney Company. (This ain't gonna be pretty.)
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (6/19/2001)
Given "Atlantis" 's less-than-spectacular debut this past weekend and the fact that "Pearl Harbor" is fading fast at multiplexes nationwide, many folks are wondering what has become of Disney's fabled magic touch. Jim Hill suggests that this is what happens when you make the bottom line your top priority.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (6/12/2001)
What would Disney make of our modern age or what's become of his company? That's the question that's been intriguing Disneyana fans for decades now ... which former Disney VP of marketing Larry Pontius attempts to answer with his entertaining on-line novel, "Snowbird."
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (6/7/2001)
As Disney's newest feature length cartoon gets ready to make its big screen debut in NYC and LA tomorrow, Jim Hill wonders whether this animated action adventure really has what it takes to succeed at the box office today.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (6/5/2001)
Jim Hill fills a LaughingPlace.com reader in on the link between the troubles that Epcot's Test Track had prior to its March 1999 opening and the closing of Disneyland's Rocket Rods
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (5/30/2001)
As the Mouse rolls out the promotional campaign for its newest Florida mega-hotel complex -- WDW's Pop Century Resort -- Jim Hill takes a look back at the early 1980s, when Mickey first started getting serious about the hotel business.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (5/24/2001)
It's been nearly 12 years since the Mouse first tried to swallow the Frog. But now that the Muppet's German owners have officially put Jim Henson's creations up for sale, the big question is: will Mickey take another stab at acquiring Kermit & Co.? Perhaps ... If the price is right
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (5/22/2001)
Want to learn some of the secrets behind the production of Walt Disney Studios' soon-to-be-released blockbuster, "Pearl Harbor"? Then why plan a trip down Mexico way to visit the huge outdoor facility where many of the film's post-battle scenes were shot, the Fox Studios Baja complex in Rosarito, Mexico?
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (5/17/2001)
In response to a recent reader request, Jim Hill dishes the dirt on one particularly promising Disney theme park project that never made it off the drawing board: Disney / MGM Studio Theme park's Maroon Studios, which was to have been home to a trio of truly cool "Roger Rabbit" related attractions.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (5/15/2001)
Yet another pile of Disney-related news coming out of the Big Apple. Learn how the Mouse used its "50/50" on Regis, as the Walt Disney Company opted to cut back on the number of times "Millionaire" would be broadcast each week on ABC. Plus other assorted N.Y.C. stories
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (5/10/2001)
Jim Hill throws the "Music from Disney's California Adventure" CD into his stereo and -- surprise, surprise -- find that it's possible to turn a fairly middling theme park into a really entertaining recording.
Jim Hill: From the Archives - Jim Hill (5/10/2001)
Originally published in September 2000, this articles looks at the behind-the-scenes story of how Kingdom of the Sun became the Emperor's New Groove. Part 2 of 2.
Jim Hill: From the Archives - Jim Hill (5/8/2001)
Originally published in September 2000, this articles looks at the behind-the-scenes story of how Kingdom of the Sun became the Emperor's New Groove. Part 1 of 2.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (5/8/2001)
Jim Hill explains why Disneyana fans should make room in their audio collection for yet another Disneyland recording ...
Jim Hill: From the Archives - Jim Hill (5/3/2001)
Originally published in March 2000, this article looks at the long and twisting story behind Who Framed Roger Rabbit and why there may never be a sequel.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (5/3/2001)
Today Jim continues his story on discoverying Winnie the Pooh in the unlikeliest of places.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (5/1/2001)
In this week's column Jim discovers the original Winnie the Pooh in the unlikeliest of places.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (4/26/2001)
Jim returns from New York with a story about The Producers, which has dethroned The Lion King on Broadway, and its many Disney connections.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill with Michelle Smith (4/24/2001)
Michelle Smith helps out Jim Hill this column about the possible return of the Main Street Electrical Parade to the Disneyland Resort.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (4/19/2001)
Originally published in early 2001, this article looks at the history of one of Disney's most controversial attractions - Alien Encounter.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (4/19/2001)
In part two of this two-part series, Jim Hill looks at why the Africa Pavilion never got built at Epcot.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (4/17/2001)
In part one of this two-part series, Jim Hill looks at why the Africa Pavilion never got built at Epcot.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (4/12/2001)
At this special time of year, Jim Hill turns the spotlight on an organization that does special things all year 'round: Famous Fone Friends
Jim Hill: From the Archives - Jim Hill (4/10/2001)
Originally published in October 2000, this article takes a look at the under construction Mission: Space at Epcot - what is to be and what could have been.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (4/10/2001)
Jim tries to find out the scoop on "The Master Builder of Disneyland" - C.V. Wood.
Jim Hill: From the Archives - Jim Hill (4/5/2001)
Originally published in April 2000, The Greatest Performances You Never Got to Hear - Parts 3 and 4 looks at some Disney animation voice performances and appearances that almost, but didn't quite happen. Included this conclusion to the series are Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hercules.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (4/5/2001)
As WDI readies plans for the Disneyland as well as the Tokyo Disneyland versions of "Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin," Jim Hill recalls that - in spite of the best laid plans of the Imagineers - Disney doesn't always get the chance to double up on savings...
Jim Hill: From the Archives - Jim Hill (4/3/2001)
Originally published in April 2000, The Greatest Performances You Never Got to Hear - Parts 1 and 2 looks at some Disney animation voice performances and appearances that almost, but didn't quite happen. Included are Winnie the Pooh, The Aristocats, Aladdin, Pocahontas and many behind-the-scenes stories.
Jim Hill - Jim Hill (4/3/2001)
In his debut column Jim Hill explains how he ended up on staff at LaughingPlace.com.