2002:
Disney's Tarzan & Jane is released straight to DVD and video. A sequel to the 1999 animated feature Tarzan, it is made up of three unaired episodes of the film's corresponding television series, The Legend of Tarzan. The film is set one year after the events of the first film.
Also released on DVD are the classic animated features Robin Hood, The Rescuers Down Under, The Great Mouse Detective, and The Fox and the Hound.
The soundtrack for the upcoming Disney film The Country Bears is released on Walt Disney Records. It contains songs from Don Henley, John Hiatt (who penned 7 of the 14 tracks), Bonnie Raitt, Men At Work's Colin Hay, Elton John, Brian Setzer, Bela Fleck, and The Byrds, and a score by composer & orchestrator Chris Young. Based on the Disney theme park attraction Country Bear Jamboree, Henley, Hiatt, John, Raitt, and Setzer play themselves in the film. (The Country Bears will open in wide release 3 days later.)
1911:
Disney background artist & Disney Legend Al Dempster is born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Starting in 1939, he worked on such classics as Fantasia, Dumbo, and Song of the South. Later Dempster went on to illustrate
more than a dozen Disney Golden Books. In 1966, at Walt Disney's personal request, Dempster donated his time and talent to the creation of the "Queen of the World" shrine at the St. Elizabeth Hospital in Red Bluff, California. Italian sculptor Pasquini Enzo sculpted the central figure of Mary, Mother of God, directly from Dempster's detailed drawings!
2003:
It is reported that for the first time Walt Disney World will run national TV ads about a single ride. The company's new campaign will be centered around Epcot's thrilling attraction,
Mission: Space (which begins operation August 15).
"Cinderella," the first single off The Cheetah Girls's self-titled soundtrack album The Cheetah Girls, officially premieres on Radio Disney.
1908:
Actor Karl Swenson, the voice of Merlin in Disney's 1963 animated release
"The Sword in the Stone," is born in Brooklyn, New York. He reprised the role of Merlin for the 1966 LP record "Walt Disney Presents All About Dragons." Swenson also played the role of Jenson in Disney's 1970 live-action "The Wild Country," and appeared in two episodes of "Texas John Slaughter" on the Disneyland anthology series. A character actor who started out on stage & radio, Swenson is best remembered for his television role of Lars on "Little House on the Prairie." He passed in 1978 at age 70.
1928:
Disney's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon Sleigh Bells is released.
1931:
Architect Arata Isozaki, the designer of the Team
Disney Building near Orlando, Florida, is born in Ōita,
Japan. The building's oddly looped gateway suggests
a giant pair of Mickey ears! Opened since 1991, Team Disney
Orlando in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, is the administrative headquarters
of the Walt Disney World Resort. It sits across from Downtown Disney
near the Walt Disney World Casting Center. Known for using bold,
exaggerated forms and inventive detailing, Isozaki's other designs
include Kyoto Concert Hall in Kyoto, Japan, Sports Hall for the 1992
Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, and Museum of Contemporary Art
in California, USA.
1945:
Actress Edie McClurg, the voices of Minny in both Cars & Cars 2,
and Carlotta in both The Little Mermaid & The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, is born in Kansas City, Missouri. Her Disney credits also include Frozen, Zootopia, Wreck-It Ralph, Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas, Home on the Range, Air Bud: Spike's Back, A Bug's Life, Flubber, and episodes of Disney Channel's
American Dragon: Jake Long. She can also be heard as the voice of Fran the squirrel on Disney Channel's Higglytown Heroes and Bea's mom on Fish Hooks. (One of the most recognizable character actresses, fans of the 1986 comedy feature Ferris Bueller's Day Off know McClurg as Grace, the secretary.)
1996:
Legendary singer-songwriter Mel Tormé records his live CD A&E: An Evening With Mel Tormé Live From the Disney Institute at Disney World. It will be released the following October on the Concord Jazz label. Nicknamed The Velvet Fog, jazz singer Tormé is best known for composing the music for the classic holiday song "The Christmas Song."
1999:
Inspector Gadget, starring Matthew Broderick,
debuts. The live-action comedy is produced by Caravan
Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures, and distributed by Buena
Vista Distribution. Loosely based on the animated cartoon series,
John Brown (Broderick) is a bumbling but well-intentioned
security guard who becomes Inspector Gadget after being badly
injured in an explosion. The cast includes Rupert Everett (as
Sanford Scolex/Dr. Claw), Dabney Coleman (as Chief Frank
Quimby), Joely Fisher (as Dr. Brenda Bradford/RoboBrenda),
Michelle Trachtenberg (as Penny Brown), Andy Dick (as Kramer), and Don Adams (as the voice of Brain the Dog - his final film role). Adams was the original voice of Gadget for the 1980s cartoon series. The film will gross $103 million worldwide and spawn a direct-to-video sequel.
Disney launches a digital projection release of the animated Tarzan film in only three theatrical venues including Walt Disney World's Pleasure Island multiplex for three weeks. The film is notable for being the first major feature release to be produced, mastered, and projected digitally.
 | ||||||
| ||||||
2006:
The Television Critics Association awards Disney Channel's High School Musical Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming.
| ||||
Mickey Mouse (playing the piano)
was first added to
Madame Tussauds Wax Museum,
London in 1930.
1953:
Disney's True-Life Adventure film Prowlers of the Everglades is released
along with the adventure feature The Sword and the Rose. In Everglades, Disney
filmmakers take their cameras to Florida and capture the lives of such creatures as alligators, raccoons, and
snakebirds. The Sword and the Rose tells the story of Mary Tudor (a younger sister of Henry VIII of England)
and her troubled path to true love. Based on the 1898 novel "When Knighthood Was in Flower" by Charles
Major, the film stars Glynis Johns as Mary. (Eleven years later, Glynis will portray Winifred Banks, the children's
mother, a suffragette, in Disney's Mary Poppins.)
1942:
A letter written on this day to Walt Disney from Chester Feitel indicates the level of security surrounding some of the military projects undertaken at the Studio. The letter references a training film on aerial gunnery tactics for the U.S. Navy. (The U.S. is in the midst of World War II.)
The letter includes these words: "Navy insists I re-emphasize the CONFIDENTIAL nature of this project. It should be discussed with only those whom you would be justified to entrust with work upon it. All correspondence should be destroyed or retained in safe, confidential files."
2004:
The eighth Phil of the Future episode "Daddy Dearest" airs for the first time on
Disney Channel.
An exclusive sneak peek preview of the film The Incredibles is held at the Comic-Con International convention in San Diego, California. It is attended by Pixar director Brad Bird
and producer John Walker.
2008:
ENCORE! Cast Choir And Orchestra (made up of Disney Cast Members) perform "Anything Can Happen" at Epcot World Showplace. Benefiting United Arts of Central Florida, the show features music from such stage productions as Mamma Mia, Spamalot, and Hairspray. It is the first of a 3-night engagement at the Florida theme park. ENCORE! was formed in 2002 by a small group of musically talented Cast Members who wished to give back to the community.
It is reported that Australian actress Mia Wasikowska has been cast as Alice in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (a combination of live-action and performance-capture CGI that will be presented fully in 3D).
1981:
Disney releases the film Herbie Goes Bananas to theaters in the UK. Already released in the U.S. since June 1980, it is the fourth of a series of films starring Herbie – the white Volkswagen racing Beetle with a mind of its own.
1983:
Kingdom of Dreams and Magic - Tokyo Disneyland, the first official Tokyo
Disneyland video, is released in Japan.
1994:
Disney's animated feature film The Lion King is released to theaters in Japan.
JULY
JULY 23
JULY 23
THIS SITE MADE
IN THE
USA
| ||||
| ||||
ENCORE!
"Wowsers! It's the top secret Gadget phone." -Inspector Gadget
2009:
At Comic-Con 2009, veteran directors Robert Zemeckis and Tim Burton join TRON
producers Sean Bailey and Steve Lisberger for an unprecedented presentation
featuring behind-the-scenes filmmaker insights about the highly anticipated 3D
adventures Disney's A Christmas Carol, Alice in Wonderland and TRON. Comic-Con's
first ever 3D panel, it is moderated by actor-comedian Patton Oswalt (the voice of Remy in the film Ratatouille).
At Epcot, ENCORE! performs the first of a 3-night engagment. A yearly event presented by
Cast Members, this year's performance "Revolution - A Musical Flashback to the 60s and 70s" benefits the United
Arts of Central Florida.
| ||||
1956:
Disneyland's Junior Autopia attraction debuts.
a
"Since Autopia was so popular, and the north area of Disneyland was so barren after the (Mickey Mouse Club)
Circus was removed, Walt added the second Autopia track in that location. Since the original Autopia cars were
a bit big for real tiny children, the Junior cars had booster blocks on the gas pedal so they could drive. The cars
used on both tracks were otherwise identical." -Disney Legend & Imagineer Bob Gurr
1993:
The comedy feature Another Stakeout is released by Touchstone Pictures. Starring
Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez and Rosie O'Donnell, it is a sequel to the 1987 film Stakeout. Las Vegas
police lose an important witness when their hideout is blown up by the criminals who want the witness dead.
The search for the witness moves to Seattle where two police detectives are joined by a female assistant DA in
staking out a couple on Bainbridge Island; the trio pose as father, mother, and son, and have as much trouble
getting along with each other as they do with their surveillance.
2012:
Typhoon Vicente shuts down Hong Kong Disneyland early. May through September is
peak typhoon season for areas in East Asia, including Hong Kong and Japan. Typhoon Vicente's rainbands
will bring heavy squally showers to Hong Kong, during which over 7.9 in of rainfall will be recorded!
July 23
This Day in Disney History - THE FIRST - THE ORIGINAL
Traveling in time since 1999!
2013:
In Florida, one of the original Pleasure Island clubs is torn down as the Disney Springs project moves forward.
Crews demolish the Comedy Warehouse building as part of plans to
transform the mostly defunct Pleasure Island and the rest of the
Downtown Disney area into a new complex called Disney Springs, featuring
new shops, dining and entertainment. (Pleasure Island opened in 1989 with several clubs, including Comedy Warehouse.)
1973:
Actress and comedian Kathryn Hahn is born in Westchester, Illinois. She played Ursula Gernsback in the 2015 science-fiction adventure Tomorrowland, and Michelle in Touchstone's 2005 romantic comedy A Lot like Love. Disney+ viewers know Hahn as Agatha Harkness in the miniseries WandaVision. (She is scheduled to reprise that role in the spin-off Agatha: House of Harkness.)
1960:
Director, writer, producer and animator Jim Kammerud is born in
Columbus, Ohio. His involvement with Disney began as sequence director for the
additional animation in Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World. He later directed and
designed the new characters in The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea. His credits
also include 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure, Tarzan II, and The Fox and
the Hound 2. He also worked on The Aristocats II, but the film was shelved after Disney decided to drastically reduce the number of direct-to-video sequels.
