2003:
Actor Robby Benson narrates Epcot's Candlelight Processional.
(Benson, the voice of the Beast for Disney's animated Beauty and the Beast,
had narrated the annual Disney World holiday event back in 2001 as well.)
1861:
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (a.k.a. author Lewis Carroll) is ordained a deacon
in the Church of England. Dodgson has written many mathematical books,
as well as books for children such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
1885:
Composer, radio commentator, and author Deems Taylor - the narrator of Disney's 1940 film Fantasia - is born in New York
City. He was also instrumental in selecting the musical pieces that were used in the
film. (A promoter of classical music throughout his life, working in broadcasting, and as
intermission commentator for the New York Philharmonic, Taylor's work "The King's
Henchman," was the first opera by an American composer to be broadcast on radio!)
1917:
the 1940 Disney classic Pinocchio, is born to a husband and wife aerialist team in
Chicago, Illinois. Sci-fi fans know him as Robby the Robot (one of two actors who played the mechanical
being) in the 1956 Forbidden Planet.
1936:
Another Snow White conference is held at the Disney Studio's Hyperion sound
stage in California. Twenty-nine employees (mostly animators and animation directors) discuss the
dwarf's personalities and listen to Walt's detailed shot-by-shot description of the movie.
Actor Héctor Elizondo is born in New York City. He played Judge in Touchstone's 1988 Beaches,
Barnard Thompson in the 1990 Touchstone release Pretty Woman, and the role of Joe in both Disney features The Princess Diaries in 2001 and the follow-up The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement in 2004. Elizondo also played Ed Alzate on the Fox (formerly ABC) comedy Last Man Standing, starring Tim Allen. Between 2007-2013, he appeared in 5 episodes of the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy. In the early 1980s, he met director-writer Garry Marshall while playing basketball, and they became great friends. Elizondo appeared in every film that Marshall directed!
1937:
Animator Wolfgang "Woolie" Reitherman runs into Walt
Disney at the studio the morning after the wildly successful opening of
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Instead of talking about how he can now take a little rest after
all the tensions he'd gone through during the four years it took to make Snow White, Walt talks about the next
animated feature and how he wants to get started right away!
1954:
The Disneyland television series presents episode number 9 "A Present for Donald."
It is a re-edited version of The Three Caballeros in which Donald Duck and friends celebrate Christmas in Mexico.
1955:
Mickey Mouse Club airs on ABC-TV. Today is Circus Day.
Buena Vista Distribution releases the Disney produced feature The Littlest Outlaw.
Filmed entirely on location in Mexico (but in English) with a largely Mexican cast and crew, it is directed by Roberto
Gavaldón and written by Larry Lansburgh and Bill Walsh. The film tells the story of Little Pablito, the ten year old
son of a cruel horse trainer who is responsible for training a Mexican General's horse to jump for the grand race.
When the trainer's methods cause the horse to become afraid of jumping, the general orders the animal's death.
Pablito runs away with the horse ... thus becoming The Littlest Oulaw.
1963:
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs a re-edited version
of the annual holiday episode "From All of Us to All of You."
1968:
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color airs "The Mickey Mouse Anniversary
Show," narrated by Dean Jones. The episode features Mickey's history from the time he appeared on
Walt Disney's drawing board to the days of the theme parks.
1995:
Writer, Imagineer and Disney Legend Bill Cottrell passes away in Burbank,
California. Brother-in-law of Lillian & Walt Disney, Cottrell was the first president
of what is today known as Walt Disney Imagineering. First working cameras at The Walt
Disney Studios in 1929, Cottrell eventually moved into the Story department where he contributed ideas to
shorts, including Who Killed Cock Robin? and Wynken, Blynken & Nod. He went on to direct the wicked witch
and evil queen sequences in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and later contribute to the stories of Pinocchio
and Peter Pan. One of the driving forces behind Disneyland's creation, Cottrell was one of Walt Disney's most
trusted advisers.
Walt Disney Pictures releases Tom and Huck. Based on Mark Twain's novel "The Adventures
of Tom Sawyer," the film stars Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Brad Renfro, Joey Stinson, and Rachael Leigh Cook.
Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn team up to steal a pirate’s treasure map from Injun Joe in order to save an innocent
man from being wrongly convicted in court. Witnessing a heinous crime, they are forced to run away from home. Presumed lost in the Mississippi River, they must decide whether to come forward and save the innocent man or
risk retribution from Injun Joe.
Chef Mickey's opens at WDW's Contemporary Resort (replacing the Contemporary Café). A spot for character meals, the restaurant offers a buffet breakfast and a buffet dinner.
1956:
The sixth of eight installments titled "My Dad, Walt Disney," by Diane Disney
Miller as told to Pete Martin (a "celebrity friendly" writer) appears in the
Saturday Evening Post.
During the parades at Disney
World, the second story windows
on Main Street open and close
automatically just before and
after the parade to reveal the
speakers that
play the parade music.
1953:
Disney's animated Peter Pan is released in West Germany.
DECEMBER 22
THIS DAY MADE
IN THE
USA
DECEMBER 22
 | ||||
Season's
Greetings
| ||||
| ||||
1984:
Disneyland's Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln is updated to incorporate
the latest innovations in Audio-Animatronics, technology and the
inclusion of a new finale song - "Golden Dream." A new audio-animatronic
Lincoln has been created with enhanced movements and facial expressions, new skin, a new
costume, and even the ability to hold a piece of paper in his hand for his speech!
| ||||
In Memory of Imagineer Bill Cottrell
DEC
"I learned early that a lot of talented people are often conforming to what is already being done. I’ve prowled around their offices at night, you know…and studied their work. I look for the things that will give me the key to their talent. The little things that they love to do on their own. Often, they hide their own ideas. They’re afraid not to conform." -Walt Disney
SEASON 1 EPISODE 9
1957:
The parade "Christmas in Many Lands" is held at Disneyland, featuring guests
performers from all over the world.
1982:
At 4:34 in the afternoon, all power to Disneyland (and Anaheim) is cut due
to winds knocking over a northern California powerline.
1959:
Disneyland's largest Candlelight choir to ever sing at the park ushers in the
holiday season. The choir is made up of 2,574 singers!
2007:
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Walt Disney Studios Park (the second
theme park of Disneyland Paris) opens to guests. The fourth Disney park to have the
attraction, it is based on the same designs as the version at Disney California Adventure Park. Although not
referenced at the attraction, the ride's official French name is La Tour de la Terreur - Un Saut dans la Quatrième
Dimension; literally "a jump into the fourth dimension." Strangely, the original American television series always
referred to it as the fifth dimension!
The 2007 Radio Disney Music Awards are held at the Radio Disney, Burbank, California. Among the winners-
-Best Female Artist: Hilary Duff
-Best Male Artist: Jesse McCartney
-Best Group: Jonas Brothers
-Best New Artist: Ashley Tisdale
-Best Song: "With Love" – Hilary Duff
-Best Artist Turned Singer: Amanda Bynes
1999:
Fantasia/2000 is shown at the Theatre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, France.
2000:
Touchstone Pictures' O Brother, Where Art Thou?, an adventure comedy film
directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, opens in theaters. Starring George Clooney, John
Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and Charles Durning, the film tells the story of
three escaped convicts who search for hidden treasure while being chased by a relentless lawman.
2009:
At Disneyland approximately 500 tuba players take the stage in Downtown Disney
to perform Christmas carols for holiday shoppers.
The final episode of Little Einsteins airs on television. "Little Elephant's Big Parade" is the 239th episode of the interactive preschool series (though there will be one more episode released direct-to-video in 2010).
Little Einsteins was designed to teach preschoolers art and music appreciation by integrating famous or culturally
significant art works and classical music into the scenery, plot and soundtrack of each episode.
(1906-1995)
December 22
2001:
Disney re-releases its 1937 classic
Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs on DVD.
1998:
Actress and singer Genevieve Knight "G" Hannelius is born in Boston, Massachusetts. She starred as Avery Jennings in the Disney Channel sitcom Dog with a Blog, had roles in the Disney Channel series Sonny with a Chance and Good Luck Charlie, and guest starred in Disney Channel's series Jessie. She also provided voices for the films The Search for Santa Paws, Spooky Buddies, Treasure Buddies, Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups, and Super Buddies.
2005:
Kingdom Hearts II, a video game which takes place one year after the events of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, is released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan.
2002:
Stage, film, and television actor Kenneth Tobey passes away at age 85 in California.
Performing in hundreds of productions during a career that spanned more than half a century, his Disney credits included Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, Davy Crockett and the River Pirates, The Great Locomotive Chase, Gus, and Honey, I Blew Up the Kid.
