Fine Tuning: Estelle Harris Tribute, Pixar Promotions, and Disneyland's Encanto Show

Remembering Estelle Harris

• 🎭 The episode begins with a tribute to the late actress Estelle Harris, known for her iconic roles.
• 🎬 Harris began her acting career at age 53, with her first film role in Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in America" and her first TV role on "Night Court."
• 🌟 Her most famous role was as George Costanza's mother, Estelle, on "Seinfeld," a character who debuted in season 4.
• 🥔 She also famously voiced Mrs. Potato Head in "Toy Story 2," "Toy Story 3," and "Toy Story 4," with "Toy Story 4" being her final film role.
• 📺 Additional voice roles included Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth's mom in "Futurama," Sylvester the Cat's mom in "The Looney Tune Show," and Death's mom on "Family Guy."

Pixar Leadership Changes

• 🚀 Following the success of "Turning Red," which topped Nielsen's streaming charts with 1.7 billion minutes viewed, Lindsey Collins has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Development at Pixar.
• 💡 In her new role, Collins will lead a development group focused on originating and shaping story ideas for features and streaming content.
• 🌟 Domee Shi, the writer-director of "Turning Red," has been named Vice President of Creative, sharing the title with Dan Scanlon and becoming part of the Pixar brain trust.

Disneyland and Animation News

• ✨ Disneyland Park is debuting an Encanto-themed projection show on the "it's a small world" facade starting April 11th, featuring "We Don't Talk About Bruno."
• 🎤 A meet-and-greet with Mirabel from Encanto will also be available in Frontier Land's Zocalo Park.
• 💡 The Main Street Electrical Parade returns on April 22nd, with a new patriotic finale celebrating modern Walt Disney Animation Studios productions.
• 🎬 The trailer for "Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank," formerly "Blazing Samurai," is set to release on April 11th, with the film arriving in theaters July 15th.
• 🎬 "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" animation is described as solid, though characters were noted as inexpressive, possibly due to a rushed production timeline.
• ⏳ The animated series "Tape: A Time Machine" is teased as a spectacular project using Unreal Engine, with a trailer available on Cartoon Brew.
• 🎭 The live stage production of Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" is streaming on Hulu Japan on July 3rd and 4th, with no current announcement for US availability.
• 🎨 An in-person panel and book signing for "The Art of DreamWorks Bad Guys" will be held at Gallery Nucleus on April 14th, featuring the film's creatives.
• 🐶 The trailer for Netflix's "Marmaduke" has been released, featuring a significant amount of fart jokes.
• 🍔 The trailer for "The Bob's Burgers Movie" has also been released, with a May 27th release date, coinciding with "Top Gun Maverick."
• 🐌 The trailer for "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On" has dropped, featuring stop-motion puppets by the Chiodo brothers.
• 🏆 Phil Lord and Chris Miller defended the animation industry in response to dismissive comments at the Oscars, highlighting animation's significant financial contribution to Hollywood.
• 🎬 Richard Linklater's "Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood" is discussed, noting its animation style and inspiration from an unmade "Incredible Mr. Limpet" remake.
• 🌟 Peter Ramsay, director of "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," is directing at least one episode of the upcoming "Ahsoka" series for Disney Plus.
• 🎙️ Drew Taylor discusses upcoming interviews for his "Light Fuse" podcast, including a filmmaker from ILM and discussions about "Top Gun Maverick."