The NY Times reports that Disney is having returned to them over 250 pieces of original classic artwork, most of it from Sleeping Beauty. These pieces had been lost for decades until four years ago, when they were found in a janitorial closet in Japan’s Chiba University. The fascinating story of their discovery is documented in the Times piece.

After restoration work, the pieces began touring Japanese museums in 2006. The artwork was also printed in this awesome exhibition catalog. Hopefully with the artwork now coming back into Disney’s hands, they’ll take the initiative of publishing an English-language version of the catalog, or better yet, combine it with the Sleeping Beauty artwork already in their archives to create the ultimate “Art of Sleeping Beauty” volume. Now there’s a book I’d love to have on my bookshelf!

Animation historian Jim Korkis had a series of three small strokes last week. The strokes were in a portion of the brain that control balance and equilibrium, so he’s a bit unsteady, but he has no paralysis or speech impediment, and did not have a heart attack (as many stroke victims do after their initial incident). I understand he’s doing pretty well, all things considered.

Jim is one of the most renown and respected animation historians in our field, and certainly one of the most knowledgeable Disney scholars I know. He’s also a great friend. Get well soon, Jim!

What’s wrong with the following sentence in this Andreas Deja interview: “I got to know, not only Marc Davis, but Frank Thomas, Artie Johnson, Ward Kimball, all these great animators, and just ask them all these questions about how they did certain things, what their trials and errors were, the ups and downs.”

Then again, the same article also doesn’t spell Rodin properly so it’s probably asking them too much to do the most basic research about animation history.

I alert you to this Disney auction, not because I know Brew readers are financially well off and can afford these vintage cels (several with Walt’s autograph), toys and ephemera — but because I know you will enjoy the ample photographs of this material pictured on the site. I certainly am! Check it out! Good stuff!

(Thanks, Anne Bernstein)

Wink-wink, nudge-nudge… An in-joke in today’s Family Circus. The strip’s creator, Bil Keane, is Glen Keane’s father. Jeffy (aka Jeff Keane) is Glen’s brother.

An animator/director friend, who asked to remain anonymous, emailed me with a bizarre observation: that Disney is adding fart gags to some of its TV ads for the dvd rerelease of 101 Dalmatians. Can anybody else confirm this or post the TV spots onto YouTube? I find it a little difficult to believe, and yet, it’s ill-conceived enough that I can just imagine some exec approving this idea. Here’s my friend’s description of what he saw:

I recently saw a commercial for “101 Dalmatians” and they put in a fart gag—brilliant. You not only hear it—they took the time to have this horse’s ass digitally distort as you hear the sound…then they cut to one of the dogs saying “that sounds strange” or something like that. AND I’ve only seen that version on Cartoon Network. I’ve seen a separate commercial for it when it’s on primetime network TV without the fart.

I guess it’s to be expected nowadays, but still. It’s crazy how Disney feels the need to have to add something like this to sell its classics… kinda false advertising, I suppose. Kids will probably be pissed when they don’t see that gag in the actual film.

Places I’d like to visit (number 1 in a series):

Tony Medeiros from Sandbox World sent in this photo:

I thought I would share with you a fine establishment called the “Donald Duck Taverne” in Montreal. I personally find this place to be out of place and character in our fair city.

If you find yourself in this quaint Canadian neighborhood, check out Taverne Donald Duck at 3223 rue Beaubien Est. And don’t order the orange juice.

In the video below, Disney’s version of Winnie the Pooh teaches kids that, “There are certain private places on your body that nobody is supposed to touch except you.” Let’s hope Pooh isn’t speaking from personal experience.

(Thanks, Christian Larocque)

There’s an intriguing story in yesterday’s news wires about how Disney is producing a new TV version of Lilo and Stitch specifically targeted towards Japanese audiences. The new series, titled Stitch!, which will be produced by Japanese animation studio Madhouse (Ninja Scroll, Cardcaptor Sakura), replaces the orphan Lilo with a Japanese girl named Hanako, and transplants the setting from Hawaii to a tropical island in Okinawa, Japan. The series will premiere on Japan’s Disney channel in October.

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