As Dreamers Do: American Magic Redux

[OldNavy1988]

Princess Mononoke
Released by Touchstone Pictures on November 3, 1999

Animation Produced by
Studio Ghibli

English Dub Produced by
Hanna-Barbera

Main Voices
Billy Crudup as Ashitkaka
Claire Danes as San
Minnie Driver as Lady Eboshi
Billy Bob Thornton as Jiko
John DiMaggio as Gonza
Jada Pinkett Smith as Toki
John DeMita as Kohroku
Gillian Anderson as Moro​

 

[OldNavy1988]

Sesame Street: 30 Years and Counting

Aired in primetime on November 1, 1999 on most PBS stations.

Featuring Interviews with
Bob McGrath
Sonia Manzano
Roscoe Orman
Emilio Delgado
Carroll Spinney
Loretta Long
Jim Henson
Joan Ganz Cooney
Frank Oz

Archival Footage Featuring
Matt Robinson
Will Lee
Richard Hunt
Northern Calloway

TTL Changes for the 1999-2000 Sesame Street season:
- Tiffany Disney, now 16, will be featured with Elmo on an arts and crafts segment. She was previously featured with Big Bird on a 1996 segment about grandparents, in which Tiffany draws Mickey Mouse on an easel, explaining how her Grandpa Walt created the character.

Other notable TTL celebrity cameos on Sesame Street:
- C-3PO and R2D2 appear together in separate segments in 1978 and '79.
- Greg Rhodes, Molly Ringwald and Sean Astin appeared together in a 1984 segment after Huck's Landing came out.
- Judith Barsi made five appearances between 1988 and '92.
- Judith Hoag appears with Oscar in a 1991 segment in which she defines "compassion" to the viewer, with Oscar's disapproval of course.
- A 1992 segment features Jonathan Taylor Thomas as his Randy Taylor character.
- Leonardo DiCaprio appears as Peter Parker in a 1993 segment with Big Bird.
- A 1993 segment features Keanu Reeves explaining to Big Bird about how to make cartoon characters talk. This was after Keanu voiced the title role in Disney's Aladdin.
- Another "Word of the Day" segment featured Gus St. Pierre as his Ferguson Darling character, straw hat and all. This was taped on the Clarissa set in June of 1994, just one week before his older sister Colette was killed. For some reason, the segment itself was shelved by CTW until an October 1995 episode.
- Terry Bradshaw filmed a "Word of the Day" segment from the Fox NFL Sunday Night desk.
- Devon Sawa appears as his Junior Floyd character from Little Giants in a 1995 segment.
- Christina Ricci appears in a 1996 alphabet segment with Elmo.​

 

[OldNavy1988]

Pokemon: The First Movie
Released in North America by TriStar Pictures on November 12, 1999

English Dub Produced by
Nelvana

English Voice Cast
Same as OTL

Notes
- The Poke-Ball incidents, which led to the deaths of several infants and an infamous recall IOTL, have been butterflied.​

 

[OldNavy1988]

Toy Story 2
Released by Touchstone Pictures

Produced by
Pixar Animation Studios

Cast and Crew
Same as OTL

James Bond 007: The World is Not Enough
Released by United Artists

Produced by
EON Productions

Cast and Crew
Same as OTL

Notes
Toy Story 2 comes out as the winner since Thanksgiving is usually associated with family-friendlier releases. Meanwhile, Turner has been tight lipped as to whether Pierce Brosnan will return as Bond for one more mission.

Logo Change:
After five years with the full United Artists name in gold letters against the marble background, UA's "Swoosh" logo returns:

 

[OldNavy1988]

Cats
Released on December 3, 1999

Produced by
DreamWorks SKG

Distributed by
Universal Pictures

Written and Directed By
Simon Wells
Phil Nibbelink

Based on the musical by
Andrew Lloyd Webber

Voice Cast
Timothy Dalton as Munkustrap
Elaine Paige as Grizabella
Charles Dance as Macavity
Helena Bonham Carter as Demeter
John Rhys-Davies as Old Deuteronomy
Emma Thompson as Bombalurina
David Hyde Pierce as Mistoffelees
John Partridge as Rum Tum Tugger
Paul McGann as Alonzo
Drew Varley as Mungojerrie
Job Gibb as Rumpleteazer
Brian Blessed as Bustopher Jones
Felicity Kendal as Jennyanydots
David Tennant as Skimbleshanks
Melanie Walters as Jellylorum
Sir John Mills as Gus

Stuart Little
Released by Columbia Pictures on December 3, 1999

Based on the book by
EB White

CGI animation produced by
Columbia-TriStar Imageworks

Cast and Crew
Same as OTL

Fantasia/2000
Released by Walt Disney Pictures on December 10, 1999

Executive Producers
Roy E. Disney
Walt Disney, Jr.
Donald W. Ernst

Music for New Segments Performed by
The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra

Conducted by
Jahja Ling

PROGRAM
(Animation in these segments are the same as OTL)
Beethoven's 5th
Beethoven's 5th opens the film as an overture of sorts. Reminiscent of how Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor opened the original.

Ottorino Respighi's Pines of Rome
Introduced by: Steve Martin and Itzhak Pearlman

George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue
Introduced by: Quincy Jones with Ralph Grierson
IOTL, my first exposure to this piece was really through United Airlines' Friendly Skies commercials.

The Steadfast Tin Solder
Based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale.
Music: Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2
Introduced by: Bette Midler and Yefim Bronfman

Carnival of the Animals (Finale)
Introduced by: James Earl Jones with Eric Goldberg

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (From the original Fantasia)
Introduced by: Penn and Teller

Sir Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance (Marches 1 thru 4)
Introduced by: Jahja Ling and Yo-Yo Ma

Stravinsky's Firebird (1919 Version)
Introduced by: Angela Lansbury

The Sorcerer's Apprentice
From the 1940 Fantasia

Composed by
Paul Dukas

Based on the poem by
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Directed by
James Algar

Music for The Sorcerer's Apprentice performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski.​

 

[OldNavy1988]

X-Men
Released by 20th Century-Fox on December 17, 1999

Directed by
Rachel Stone-Abbott

Producers
Laura Ziskin
Ralph Winter

Associate Producer
Kevin Feige

Screenplay by
Christopher McQuarrie
David Hayter
Ed Solomon

Music
Danny Elfman

Production Companies
Marvel Films
Charm City Entertainment

Main Cast
Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier/Professor X
Sir Ian McKellen as Erik Lensherr/Magneto
Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine
Famke Janssen as Jean Grey
Sophie Okonedo as Ororo Munroe/Storm
James Marsden as Scott Summers/Cyclops
Gus St. Pierre as Remy LeBeau/Gambit
Anna Paquin as Anne Marie/Rogue
Francoise Yip as Jubilation Lee/Jubilee
Liev Schreiber as Victor Creed/Sabertooth
Rebecca Romijn as Raven Darkholme/Mystique
Ray Park as Mortimer Toynbee/Toad
Tim Robbins as Senator Robert Kelly

Notes
- After X-Men proved successful at the box office, Disney officially hired Rachel Stone-Abbott to co-write and direct the live adaptation of Carmen Sandiego, which is slated for a Summer 2002 release.
- Taking over for Stone-Abbott for X-Men 2 will likely be either Jon Favreau or Shane Black.
- Ian McKellen had to film his scenes early in principal photography. During production, McKellen was cast to play Gandalf in Peter Jackson's upcoming adaptation of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.​

 

[OldNavy1988]

Blackadder: The Movie
Released by Paramount Pictures on Christmas Eve 1999

Produced by
BBC Motion Pictures

Directed by
Mandie Fletcher

Screenplay by
Rowan Atkinson

Music by
Howard Goodall

Main Cast
Rowan Atkinson as Edmund Blackadder
Tony Robinson as S. Baldrick
Stephen Fry as Melchett
Tim McInnerny as Lord Percy Percy
Hugh Laurie as George
Miranda Richardson as Queenie
Patsy Byrne as Nursie

Cameos
Brian Blessed
Jim Broadbent
Elspet Gray
Robert East

Notes
- Shortly before the film opened in the United States, the Federal Trade Commission approved Microsoft's acquisition of Paramount Communications.
- British courts cleared Paramount Communications chairman Sumner Redstone of any wrongdoing after he was accused of tampering with the BBC.​

 

[OldNavy1988]

Ring in the New Millennium!

 

[OldNavy1988]

State of the Animation Industry as of January 2000

WARNER BROS.
Warner got burned pretty badly by the disappointing box office returns for Looney Tunes: Back in Action. Chuck Jones, 87, has now officially retired from the animation business after a stunning career lasting over 60 years. And after roughly ten years at Warner Bros., it looks like Tom Ruegger is on his way out.

DREAMWORKS SKG
Cats was unable to compete with Stuart Little this past Christmas. Even with that box office defeat, DreamWorks will proceed with future Andrew Lloyd Webber projects, like Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which will be released for Thanksgiving of 2000. After that, look for DreamWorks and PDI to team up again when they release Shrek in the Summer of 2001.

HANNA-BARBERA
This year will mark 60 years since Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera gave the world Tom and Jerry. Look for Bill and Joe to give us one last Tom and Jerry project in collaboration with United Artists sometime this year. This year will also be the 40th Anniversary of The Flintstones, who will make their primetime return to ABC this fall. On the big screen, Hanna-Barbera has Hey Arnold! The Movie lined up for a Summer 2002 release. But HB will need to settle on an exact date quickly to avoid getting the football head punted by Sailor Moon 3, Carmen Sandiego or the second Star Wars prequel.

KLASKY-CSUPO
Klasky-Csupo has been on a roll with Rugrats, The Wild Thornberrys and Rocket Power for Nickelodeon. Look for As Told By Ginger later this fall as The Jim Henson Company retools its Saturday Morning output under the Nick on ABC banner.

DiC
A piece of real estate in DiC's animation library has been vacated thanks to Disney's acquisition of the Carmen Sandiego franchise. But with Saban's recent acquisition of New Line Cinema, DiC will take over the next season of RoboCop: Alpha Commando from Film Roman. In addition, DiC will now have access to New Line's stake in the Goosebumps franchise, with a possible animated movie planned for a 2003 release. Other than that, Andy Heyward is under relentless pressure to crank out new, lucrative franchises and fast.

NELVANA
Nelvana's long-standing relationships with Hasbro and Nintendo remain strong. Look for a feature length adaptation of The Legend of Zelda to reach theatres at some point in 2002. Nelvana intends to cast Haley Joel Osment as the voice of Link, fresh off his Oscar-nominated performance in New Line's remake of The Sixth Sense. Nelvana also hopes to get Zelda Williams to provide the voice for, you guessed it, Zelda.

UNIVERSAL
Universal chairman Brian Grazer is looking to hire Tom Ruegger to revitalize a once-proud cartoon studio reduced to making direct-to-video sequels to An American Tail along with Archie's Weird Mysteries for the USA Cartoon Express.

SCREEN GEMS
Look for the Justice League animated series to reach CBS's Saturday Morning lineup in Fall 2001. Until then, look for Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker in theatres this Thanksgiving.

RANKIN-BASS
RB's biggest hit has been Arthur on UPN's Saturday Morning lineup. In primetime, King of the Hill has held steady in competition with The Simpsons, Futurama and Family Guy. Look for Frosty the Snowman and other Rankin-Bass Holiday specials to move from rival networks to UPN and Odyssey beginning this December.

RUBY-SPEARS
Cartoon Network chief Betty Cohen looks to build on the momentum generated by the unexpected smash success of Spongebob Squarepants. One project that has piqued Betty's interest is Chris Savino's pitch about a boy living in a family with ten siblings.

MURAKAMI-WOLF-SWENSON
Down, but not out, MWS has entered the bidding war for Tom Ruegger's services. For the studio itself, Bally and NBC/RKO will each go head to head.

CINEGROUPE
This Montreal based studio is not new to the animation business, but they turned a few heads with The Kids from Room 402 on the USA Cartoon Express. Their most recent acquisition is the rights to a series of children's books written by Australian author Andy Griffiths (not related to TV icon Andy Griffith). This book series, about a mischievous teenage boy who tries to perform elaborate practical jokes, will be adapted for television under the title What's With Andy?. Now the question becomes "Who will be interested in Andy?" Potential distributors include New Line Cinema, Lionsgate, Hollywood Pictures or RKO.

PIXAR
Look for Monsters, Inc. in 2001. Brad Bird, who clashed constantly with Universal management over the direction of The Iron Giant, is looking to pitch The Incredibles to Pixar or another studio.

DISNEY
Don Bluth confirmed to several news sources that he intends to retire and hand the reigns over to Daniel Abbott. On the big screen, look for Dragon's Lair and The Emperor's New Groove in 2000. After that, look for Atlantis: The Lost Empire in 2001 and Lilo and Stitch in 2002. On the small screen, the coming years should bring us Casper and Molly McGee, Kim Possible, The Proud Family and X-Men: Evolution.

GRANTRAY-LAWRENCE
The Simpsons have been renewed for at least three more years. Family Guy so far has proven to be a worthy competitor on Fox's primetime lineup. Ditto Futurama. Now the question becomes if Seth MacFarlane can stay on the same page with Daniel Abbott in the coming years. The Backstreet Project will have its final season in the Fall of 2000, with the Boys citing creative burnout and wanting to take a break from touring.

FILM ROMAN
Could this be the end of Film Roman? Not yet, but to bail out this aging studio, they literally need a bailout for Phil to keep the lights on.