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Steve Collins's Articles Display Category|Title|Newest|Oldest Rapunzel is Disney's Groundbreaking movie What's new on the horizon for Disney? Judging by the incredible amount of buzz surrounding both Bolt, set for release in 2008, and Rapunzel, set for a Christmas 2010 release, Disney is poised for greater glory. Both films are breaking new ground in the realm of animation and both are enjoying a new cultural hunger for fantasy and entertainment. Indeed, many believe these films could spark the next Disney Renaissance. Whereas Bolt is an original story, Rapunzel, of course, sees Disney revisiting the familiar realm of the fairy tale. Upon its release, it will be the 49th film in Disney's animated feature canon. A Delightful Space Age Adaptation of a Classic Treasure Planet is a science fiction animated feature produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Released in 2002, Treasure Planet marked the 42nd animated feature in the Disney canon. It is a science fiction version of Robert Louis Stevenson's popular novel Treasure Island. It employed the innovative technique of featuring two-dimensional animation over three-dimensional backgrounds. Indeed, this technique was used effectively on the character of John Silver, where his cybernetic arm was computer generated and the remainder of his body hand-drawn. The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Disney Animates a Classic Tale The Hunchback of Notre Dame was premiered on June 22, 1996. It marked the 34th animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. Inspired by Victor Hugo's 1831 novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the film varies significantly from the source material. This variance ensured the film received a G rating, but defenders and fans of the movie point out the fact that the it does address some rather mature themes, including lust, infanticide, religious hypocrisy, prejudice, and social injustice. Curiously, this is the first animated Disney movie to use the word "damn," though it is used only in the spiritual sense. Home on the Range: Bust a Moo Come on people and "bust a moo." When Home on the Range was released on April 2, 2004, it was designated to be the last traditionally animated feature for Disney. The studio proclaimed, to the surprise of industry insiders, that all features following Home on the Range would be rendered with CGI imagery rather than the CAPS method, which had been in use since The Rescuers Down Under. Indeed, Disney's traditional method of animation dates back to Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. This decision compelled Disney to fire most of its animation department. Sound System Rental Must Be Trustworthy Rent or own? For many products, this is real challenge. For instance, is it smart to rent a rototiller if you do not often need one, or is it better to buy one, assuming it will eventually pay for itself over years of us? In some cases, renting is questionable. After all, you never know who operated equipment last and how they treated it, and can you truly trust the owner to administer proper maintenance every time? The Emperor's New Groove - Nuttier Than a Holiday Fruitcake! Most fans agree that The Emperor's New Groove lived up to its tagline: "nuttier than a holiday fruitcake!" It was a critically lauded, if not ultimately successful, animated feature, and the first Disney animated film to ever feature a pregnant woman. Released in December 2000, The Emperor's New Groove mixes a careful balance of comedy designed to appeal both to adults and children. It marked the 39th film in Disney's canon and was initially slated to be a traditional musical along the lines of The Lion King. Though the title plays upon the Danish fairytale, The Emperor's New Clothes, by Hans Christen Andersen, the original story was based on Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper. The initial incarnation of the project was titled Kingdom of the Sun, with the creative team behind The Lion King, director Roger Allers and producer Randy Fullmer, at the helm. So prestigious was the production that Allers and Fullmer contracted Sting to write the music for the film. The Emperor's New Groove - Nuttier Than a Holiday Fruitcake! Most fans agree that The Emperor's New Groove lived up to its tagline: "nuttier than a holiday fruitcake!" It was a critically lauded, if not ultimately successful, animated feature, and the first Disney animated film to ever feature a pregnant woman. Released in December 2000, The Emperor's New Groove mixes a careful balance of comedy designed to appeal both to adults and children. It marked the 39th film in Disney's canon and was initially slated to be a traditional musical along the lines of The Lion King. Though the title builds on the Danish fairytale, The Emperor's New Clothes, by Hans Christen Andersen, the original story was based on Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper. The initial incarnation of the project was titled Kingdom of the Sun, with the creative team behind The Lion King, director Roger Allers and producer Randy Fullmer, at the helm. So prestigious was the production that Allers and Fullmer contracted Sting to write the music for the film. Pocahontas - A Legend Comes To Life In 1995, Walt Disney Pictures released the first Disney feature where, as the tagline states, "an American legend comes to life." Pocahontas, the first Disney film based on an genuine historic figure, was the 33rd animated film ever released by Disney Studios and marked the high-watermark for the Disney Renaissance which had begun in 1989 with The Little Mermaid. This film was one of the few Disney films to ever portray an interracial romance (between Pocahontas and John Smith). Cinderella iii Lives Up to the Charm of the Original People are fond of referencing Cinderella, merrily joking about the magical midnight transformation of the star character from an enchanted princess into her regular self. The 1950 Disney full length cartoon was nominated for three Academy Awards and has remained a childhood favorite for nearly sixty years. Hannah Montana: Life's What You Make it Teaches Valuable Lessons You can tell when you have broken into the top echelons of the entertainment industry when you receive a reference on The Simpsons. Miley Cyrus, aka Hannah Montana, broke that popularity high point in December, 2007 when Bart had to write on the blackboard "The capital of Montana is not Hannah." In the same month, Wheel of Fortune featured the celebrity in one of its puzzles. Asian Stock Photos Save Time And Are Effective In today's business environment, companies have to remain dramatically more competitive in a global market. As more and more companies and individuals from the Pacific Rim do business with each other, organizations struggle to find an edge, to separate themselves from the pack. Organizations that recognize the international nature of life will succeed, while others fail. Do Not Overlook Lilo and Stitch Lilo & Stitch is an animated feature released by Walt Disney Pictures in June of 2002. It was only the second feature produced at the animation studios at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida. It marks only the sixth Disney film to be set in present times, and had originally been slated to be set in rural Kansas. The setting was soon changed to Hawaii to facilitate a new take on the story. Tarzan - Advanced Technology Coupled with a Classic Story Tarzan is the Academy Award-winning animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures in 1999, becoming the thirty-seventh film in the Disney animated features canon. Based on the famed story by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the story follows the adventures of a feral child raised in the African jungle who returns to England to reclaim his birthright. This adaptation of the Tarzan tale is the first animated version. Robin Hood, one of the most beloved Disney films. Robin Hood, the twenty-first animated film released by Walt Disney Studios, premiered on November 8, 1973. It was the first feature the studio released that had no creative input from Disney himself, who died in 1966, and had many Hollywood insiders doubting the ability of the studio to carry on without him. The success or failure of this one production would make or break the most successful animation studio in U.S. history. Aladdin - The Most Popular Movie of 1992 Aladdin is the multi-award-winning movie from Walt Disney Pictures. Released to rave reviews in 1992, Aladdin was the thirty-first animated feature released by Disney Studios. It was released at the pinnacle of the Disney renaissance that had begun with the release of The Little Mermaid. It was the most successful movie of 1992, earning over $217 million domestically and $504 million worldwide. Digital Audio Mixers from the Audio Experts There are many different of applications for sound systems. Some tiny venues, such as a coffee shop or a room in a library designed to host lectures, may require only a straightforward public address system with a single microphone and a 100-watt amplifier. Church sound requires systems of varying sizes-the larger ones even employ sound technicians for sound mixing during worship. Big live sound events like music festivals, rock concerts, and political rallies call for sophisticated sound reinforcement systems with tens of thousands of watts to broadcast sound over a enormous area. Microflex Diamond Grip Gloves Nurses have never had it easy. Never. Throughout history they have been overworked and overlooked, faced difficult patients, suffered disgusting working conditions, and endured prejudice of all types. Not until the Crimean War and Florence Nightingale's famous appearance on the scene did people even consider the possibility of hospital conditions having an effect on the mortality rate. It is hard to imagine now the sort of awful experience she faced. Mary Poppins, An Oscar-Winning Classic Mary Poppins is the much-loved musical produced by Walt Disney and starring Julie Andrews. Released in 1964, the film was based on the best-selling children's book written by P.L. Travers and illustrated by Mary Shepard. It enjoyed extraordinary success when it was released, and was ranked by the American Film Institute as the 6th best musical of all time, just above A Star Is Born and below Cabaret. Minka Aire Creates a Fine Breeze Imagine sweltering through the heat of summer in the American south without ever having the benefit of cool. moving air! That aggravation alone could spark tempers ripe for Civil War! Not until the 1860's and 1870's did inventors discover how to get a little artificial breeze blowing! Beauty and the Beast, the Peak of the Disney Renaissance Beauty and the Beast is the 30th animated feature made by Walt Disney Studio. Based on the traditional French fairytale made popular by Madame Beaumont's story published in 1756, the film premiered at Disney's El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles in 1991. Beauty and the Beast is still one of the best known and beloved films in the Disney canon. Beauty and the Beast, the Peak of the Disney Renaissance Beauty and the Beast is the 30th animated feature made by Walt Disney Studio. Based on the traditional French fairytale made popular by Madame Beaumont's story published in 1756, the film premiered at Disney's El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles in 1991. Beauty and the Beast is still one of the best known and beloved films in the Disney canon. Beauty and the Beast, the Peak of the Disney Renaissance Beauty and the Beast is the 30th animated feature made by Walt Disney Studio. Based on the traditional French fairytale made popular by Madame Beaumont's story published in 1756, the film premiered at Disney's El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles in 1991. Beauty and the Beast is still one of the best known and beloved films in the Disney canon. The Shaggy Dog - Disney's First Live Action Comedy The Shaggy Dog is a black and white 1959 Walt Disney film about a youngster who is turned into a sheep dog by a magic ring. Aside from its comic merit, it is noteworthy as being the first Walt Disney live-action comedy ever made. A testament to its appeal is the number of remakes and spin-offs based on this source material. Dumbo, Disney's 4th Animated Feature In 1941, Walt Disney released his fourth animated feature, Dumbo. Based on the children's book of the same name, written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Perl, Dumbo follows the exploits of Jumbo, Jr., a baby elephant. Because of his unnaturally large ears, which give him the ability to fly, Jumbo, Jr. is nicknamed "Dumbo." His only friend, other than his mother, is Timothy the mouse. Bambi, Disney's Moving Masterpiece In 1942, Walt Disney released his fifth animated movie, Bambi. It was based on the Austrian book Bambi, A Life In The Woods, by Felix Salten. Published in 1923, the book followed the adventures of a male roe deer from birth to maturity. The book was popular both in Europe and the United States. Salten, whose real name was Siegmund Salzmann, was Hungarian by birth but spent most of his time in Vienna. The popularity of the book inspired Salten to write a sequel entitled Bambi's Children. Digital Audio Consoles - Create a mix in minutes. The recent Hollywood writers strike made nearly everyone in the country aware of just how indispensable one segment of the entertainment profession can be. It was a field day for reality television, but for everyone else it was a nightmare! The threat of a sound technicians' strike to any aspect of the music, television, or movie industry could be equally regrettable. Few people outside the business realize the importance of a sound person or could begin to fathom the workings of an audio console. Silicon Valley Hotels all Admire the Sainte Claire Silicon Valley in northern California is a lively place. Formerly associated with computer chip technology, the name now refers to a wide array of high technology businesses. Talented engineers met venture capitalist and moved into the neighborhood! Among the truly thousands of corporations headquartered in the vicinity are Apple Inc., Hewlett-Packard, and Cisco Systems. Obviously, with so many huge names in the tech industry housed there, the hotel business is going strong. The Country Bear Jamboree When Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom threw wide its doors in 1971, it featured a fun audio-animatronic show called The Country Bear Jamboree. As the name suggests, the show featured bears singing country music. The show was such a hit that capacity was expanded, Disneyland got its own Jamboree, and a duplicate theatre was built to hold fans. Sharkboy and Lavagirl, An Unusual Classic The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl takes viewers on an unpredictable ride in the grand tradition of creative films such as Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which is set in a bizarre world, and films such as The Never-ending Story, in which mistreatment by bullies sends the victim into a dream world where he can be a hero. The juxtaposition of fantasy and reality in the film is demands your full attention. The Internet Is Now Portable In New and Exciting Ways Imagine yourself in a crisis: you are supposed to be meeting a client for dinner to finalize a big deal and you have been delayed because a meeting in a nearby town ran long. When you go to contact your client, you realize you forgot to charge your cell phone. The battery is dead, and the client's contact information is in your dead phone! What do you do? Your contract is suddenly at risk just because you did not remember to plug in your cell phone?! When XBox Meets Disney, the Results are Great Because of the internet, the world is a different place, and changes happen overnight. It has metamorphosed the way we make friends with one another, the way we study, and the way we entertain ourselves. About a year ago, for instance, the Xbox Live Marketplace was started to allow users to download movie rentals on demand. This innovative service was embraced immediately. Within seven months, more than 10 million movies had been accessed via Xbox's online downloading service. Currently, it is the only company renting on demand movies in high definition. Digital Audio Mixers to Purchase or Rent No one watching a live television broadcast such as the Grammys or the Academy Awards show, could fathom all that goes on behind the scenes! It may look smooth as butter on your television screen, but just beyond what the camera sees lies a veritable hive of activity complete with cameras, long swinging jibs, boom mikes, many focused technicians, and miles and miles of cords. What may look spontaneous is anything but! Kimberly Clark Gloves Offer the Protection of Nitrile Rubber Many careers call for the use of gloves, both for the protection of workers and for cleanliness. Where once the manner of disease transmission was unknown and care for employees' health and safety was minimal, now such things are a matter of vital concern. Today, people in all sorts of jobs rely heavily on gloves. Day care workers and food handlers wear gloves to avoid the spread of germs, as do health care employees. Laboratory workers need protection from harmful chemicals, and industrial workers use gloves to guard against injury as well as harmful chemicals. The variety of gloves manufactured is amazing. Minka Aire Cools With Class There is something about a beautiful ceiling fan that stirs the imagination. For some people, they recall a easier time, when life moved at a less crazy pace, often dictated by the heat of the day. For the romantically inclined, the sight of fans spinning slowly conjures up visions of inviting porches in hot southern climates or the exotic atmosphere of tiki bars in tropical paradises. Anyone can appreciate the cool breeze generated by a ceiling fan as opposed to the punishing cold air blasted from an air conditioner. Remembering Disney in General 2008 ushered in the 85th year for the movie giant the world all refers to as Disney in general. Disney, specifically, began very small in 1923. The first productions were called "Alice" comedies, beginning with "Alice's Day at Sea." A lot of folks today have no memory of Alice, but the name Mickey Mouse rings a bell with nearly everyone in the country. Purell Hand Sanitizer Protects You Everywhere Have you ever been in a situation where you badly needed to wash your hands and there was no bathroom available? Maybe you just shook fifty hands at an outdoor company picnic, any one of them contaminated with who knows what. Or maybe you petted a dog in the park. Or the worst yet-the port-a-potty at your son's baseball field provided no way to clean your hands. The feeling that there are germs setting up camp all over your hands is enough to make you sick--literally! Fantasia - Disney's Experimental Masterpiece Fantasia is the third feature Walt Disney produced and is perhaps the most experimental. The feature has no dialogue, relying instead on a splendid soundtrack performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski. Though the film is mostly animated, it does have some live-action sequences featuring Stokowski and the Orchestra. Fantasia was also remarkable for being the first major film to be screened in stereophonic sound. The Great Disney Movies are also some of the Greatest Movies Almost from its quiet beginnings as an animation company housed in a garage, Walt Disney has been turning out hits. From the iconic Mickey Mouse to the popular collection of Disney princesses now taking over the world, Disney has captivated both children and their parents. For the eighth decade running, they are producing blockbusting movies which dominate the box office. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - a new step in Film Making The production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs began sometime in early 1934. This was Walt Disney's first crack at producing an animated film. To this point, Disney had effectively drawn a series of animated shorts entitled The Alice Comedies as well as Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies. Sleeping Beauty - A Classic You Should Revisit Sleeping Beauty was the sixteenth film in Walt Disney's canon, following Lady and The Tramp and preceding One Hundred and One Dalmatians. It was the last feature to be based upon a fairy tale, written by Charles Perrault. Indeed, Disney Studios would not return to a fairy tale again until the 1989 release of The Little Mermaid. Moreover, this was the last feature to use hand-inked cells. Pinocchio is the Best Hand-drawn, Pre-computer Disney animation. Pinocchio, the character, was created by Carlo Collodi in 1883. The darling boy made from a block of wood by Geppetto the woodcarver was first introduced in the tale The Adventures of Pinocchio. Collodi was very keen on using a impish, sarcastic character to explore his own personal convictions and cultural and political critiques. As late as 1938, this was how Walt Disney had characterized the much beloved wooden puppet who wanted to be a real boy. How Disney's Cinderella Changed 20th Century Animation Cinderella, the twelfth feature released by Walt Disney, was the first full-length feature since Disney released Bambi in 1942. The Second World War and a series of disappointing box office returns made the prospect of a full-length feature problematic. Indeed, most critics consider Cinderella a pivot point between the classic Disney animation of the 1930s and 40s and the new animation of the 1950s and 60s. Why I Enjoy Kuletos, one of the finest San Francisco Restaurants When it comes to fine dining, San Francisco is a difficult city to beat. It has a reputation for featuring cuisines from all over the globe. One of the local stand outs for Italian fare is Kuletos. Its menu is full of unique flavors from Northern Italy that often include the city's famous seafood. Reservations can be made online, so you can shop and tour the area surrounding Union Square, then hit Kuletos and be escorted straight to your table! Baby Boomers still remember the Micke Mouse Club Older Americans remember with fondness coming home from school in the latter years of the 50's to watch Walt Disney Studios' Mickey Mouse Club. The second television show offered by Disney, The Mickey Mouse Club was televised in part to help finance the creation of the Disneyland theme park. From 5:00-6:00 in its first two seasons and from 5:00-5:30 in its last two, U.S. teens were glued to the set. Ratatouille Is Tasty Film Fare Ratatouille, the eighth Pixar production, is a delicious treat. The irony of the kitchen's most horrifying menace, a rat, becoming a fine chef is too ironic to resist-at least, that is what Pixar thought of the idea when it was introduced in 2001. The name comes from a French recipe and translates literally to "toss food." It is difficult to imagine a more delightful title for this film. Why I Bought Disney's Cars from the Disney Movie Club The 2006 animated feature film Cars is a movie that will entertain everyone in the family. In a world populated entirely by vehicles, Cars carries a message of good sportsmanship and examines the idea of success and how it is accomplished. The seventh Pixar film (the final one before Disney took over) is as entertaining as its predecessors. Why I Bought Peter Pan at the Disney Movie Club Based on the famous play, and succeeding novel, by J.M. Barrie, "Peter Pan" had been slated to follow the wild success of "Bambi." Walt Disney had planned to make the film as early as 1939, even going so far as to parley the rights with the Great Ormond Street Hospital (who had been given the rights to play by Barrie). The outbreak of World War II waylaid the production until 1949. The film was not released until 1953. Larkspur Hotels Delight Travelers of all Types Every hotel likes to advertise itself as 'your home away from home" but few reach the level of comfort which Larkspur properties provide. Located in some of the most vibrant, naturally breathtaking areas of America, they make business travel a pleasure and pleasure travel nothing short of decadent. The Benefits Of Tech Lighting How quickly humans forget! With palm pilots which let us order our lives and even go online and home entertainment centers that rival a cinema, we hardly give a thought to the wonder of lighting. Yet lighting is just that-nothing short of a marvel. Have you ever tried to do anything by candlelight during a power outage? Effortless things like reading and climbing the stairs to bed become difficult. And it was not that long ago that our forefathers lived out their whole lives in that manner. No wonder everyone went to bed at dusk and got up at first light! Concert Sound, Why it matters Sound engineers are some of the important professionals in the entertainment business. From live gigs and TV broadcasts, to the recording industry and movie sound, the work of the recording engineers is vital. The quality of the recording or live show, however, is only as good as the equipment they use. Concert sound engineers have to have quality mixing equipment. Whether on the road or in a studio, the demands for crystal clear concert sound have never been higher.	Sign Up for a free account or learn more. 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