Disney Dialogues

Denyse Klette ~ Disney Dialogues: Conversations with the Magic Makers#denyseklette #disneyarytist #disneyart #artofdisney EPISODE: 39Denyse’s journey began at age four when she spent hours copying a "How to Draw" book. Years later, she discovered that the book was written by a Disney artist, foreshadowing her eventual career. At age eight, she famously told her parents she wanted to quit school to become a full-time artist. While they made her stay, she was already selling line drawings by grade five and published her first cartoon strip in local newspapers at sixteen. Denyse holds the distinction of being the first Canadian artist to be signed and published under the prestigious Disney Fine Art collection by Collectors Editions. Early in her career, she spent five years working one-on-one with a master of color theory while running a mural company. This period resulted in iconic public works, including a massive 30-foot mural in Saskatoon that stood for over 25 years. She is known for her unique "sculpted bas-relief" style, where she blends traditional painting with 3D elements and even Swarovski crystals to create what she calls a "magical sparkle." After a serious accident where she severed her thumb, she gained a renewed perspective on life.This experience solidified her commitment to "choosing joy" in her subject matter, which led her perfectly into the whimsical world of Disney. Beyond Disney, her work has reached millions through her award-winning children’s series Belly Button Buddies, a worldwide adult coloring book line with Macmillan Publishing, and large-scale installations in luxury hotels and casinos.

Jeff Barnes ~ Disney Dialogues: Conversations with the Magic Makers#jeffbarnes #disneyauthor #drjeffreybarnes #thewisdomofwalt #ProfessorJeffreyBarnes #mrdisneylandEPISODE: 38Jeff Barnes is the best-selling author of The Wisdom of Walt: Leadership Lessons from the Happiest Place on Earth and Beyond the Wisdom of Walt: Life Lessons from the Most Magical Place on Earth. Known as Dr. Disneyland, he teaches the only accredited college course on the History of Disneyland. He is an international speaker, higher education administrator, university professor, and leadership/success coach. He has more than thirty-five years of professional speaking experience and nearly twenty years’ experience leading teams in higher education and teaching more than twenty different college courses. He attributes his passion for Disney parks to his love of history, story, and success. He believes the parks teach us some of life’s greatest lessons—as long as you know their history, you know what to look for, and you are willing to connect it all to your own story. Jeff lives in Riverside, California with his family. When he is not speaking, teaching, or writing, Jeff enjoys spending as much time as possible in “The Happiest Place on Earth.”

Gary Pilla~ Disney Dialogues: Conversations with the Magic Makers#garypilla #garypillaart #garypillaartist #disneyart #disneyartist #fanartistthatspecializesinDisneyEPISODE: 37EXECUTIVE LEVEL CREATIVE DIRECTORSMALL BRANDS, MONSTER BRANDS, MOMS & POPSBRANDING, CREATIVE DIRECTION, ART DIRECTION, COPY DIRECTIONOVER 80 AWARDS IN ALL MEDIUMS. DIGITAL, TRADITIONAL, EXPERIENTIAL.LIVED IN LA, SAN FRAN, GAINESVILLE, CLEVELAND, PORTLANDSTARTED 3 COMPANIES, 11 PATENTS PENDING, 1 ANIMATED CARTOONEXECUTED CREATIVE IN 21 COUNTRIES205 DISNEY VISITS AND COUNTING (PATHETIC, I KNOW)ALL PALE IN COMPARISON TO BUILDING A LIFE WITH MY WIFE AND FOUR AMAZING CHILDRENCreative Director. Writer. Artist. Occasional Sherpa. For years, I chased the glitter of awards—until I realized the real shine comes from ideas that move people, not judges.

Ken Bruce ~ Disney Dialogues: Conversations with the Magic Makers#kenbruce #disneyanimator #animator #disneyimagineering #waltdisneyimagineer #disneyinterview #disneyauthor #waltdisneytikiroom #disneytikiroom EPISODE 36Emmy Award-winner Ken Bruce has built a remarkable career in animation, contributing to the industry in a wide range of creative roles. His work includes serving as an animation timer on shows like Family Guy, a sequence director for The Fairly OddParents, and a storyboard artist on beloved films such as Shrek, Up, and Toy Story 3. He has also contributed his artistic talents to iconic series including The Ren & Stimpy Show and The Simpsons, earning two Emmy Awards along the way.Today, Ken brings his lifelong passion for Disneyland and its beloved attraction, The Enchanted Tiki Room, to center stage through his extraordinary book, Before the Birds Sang Words. This masterful work carefully untangles the history of the attraction, exploring the creative vision, innovation, and storytelling that led to its creation. Years in the making, the book reflects Ken’s dedication and love for the subject, standing as one of the most thorough and thoughtful examinations of a single Disney theme park attraction ever published.

Joe Lanzisero~ Disney Dialogues: Conversations with the Magic Makers#joelanzisero #disneyanimator #animator #disneyimagineering #waltdisneyimagineer #disneyinterview #disneycruiselines #disneyresturants #disneyauthor #disneyanimatorEPISODE 35Joe’s creative career can simply be described as magical. A spectacular journey with 37 years at Disney, Joe began as an animator and worked his way up to the top of Imagineering. He’s served as creative lead on over $9B in marquis projects to date but more importantly his work inspires and brings joy to generations of guests around the globe.Joe, a Disney Imagineer, responsible for over US$9 billion in built projects, including Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland, Toy Story Land, Mystic Point and Grizzly Gulch at Hong Kong Disneyland, and dozens of classic Disney rides, shows, and attractions in the parks and aboard Disney Cruise Ships, Joe Lanzisero is a true celebrity of our industry. Lanzisero studied at CalArts alongside Tim Burton, John Lasseter, Brad Bird and other luminaries of animation and film before becoming a Disney animator in the early 1980s. Today, he is a designer, illustrator, art director and creative director of the very highest caliber, garnering the respect of his peers and serving as an in-demand public speaker on the topics of user experience and experience design

Ryan Christenson (known by the pseudonym ARCY) is an graffiti artist and muralist. He has created numerous murals and live paintings throughout the USA,  England, Portugal, Greece, Ireland, Australia, and other locales.

In 2012, Christenson quit his father's landscaping business to start an art and design company called RC Murals. In the summer of 2015, he went on a tour where he first used the pseudonym, "ARCY"(a play on his initials). He painted 30 walls in the United States, Europe, and Canada.

In 2016, he continued traveling, painting murals and performing live painting demonstrations in the process. He created a 30 by 130-foot mural in Chicago and 7 works featuring local wildlife in Porter County, Indiana. He also won the Mural Marathon in Reno, Nevada with his painting of a macaw.

In 2017, he created an installation in Sydney, Australia and a mural in Waterford, Ireland. He also painted a mural of famed Hartford, Connecticut residents (Mark Twain, Samuel Colt, and Katharine Hepburn) in that city.  He again toured around the country painting murals and engaging in live painting demonstrations in locations like Helena, Montana, various cities in Wyoming, and at the East Texas State Fair.

 His mural in Helena of a miner panning for gold was named one of the 50 best murals in the United States by Parade.  Also in 2017, Christenson began creating pieces for Disney's Fine Art collection and had a permanent display at the Walt Disney Hometown Museum. He had previously inserted hidden Mickey Mouse ears in all of his works because his children enjoyed finding them.

Credit Wikipedia

For more exclusive interviews join us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@PeteMcDevittShow/featured

Original YouTube air date April 5, 2022.

Michael Provenza is a celebrated international artist known for his unique style of interpreting licensed Disney characters.

BONUS EPISODE

Michael Provenza has a totally original perception of nature and landscape. His oil paintings reveal a successful blend of the old with the new, merging a realistic and remarkable dimensional quality with a surreal and magical environment – in a truly distinctive style characterized as Surrealist Pointillism.

“Viewers of my work say they feel as if they can walk right into my paintings – they want to be there.”

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, Provenza has lived, worked, studied, taught, and painted for more than 30 years. Inspired by his artist grandfather, Provenza began painting at age nine, pursued art academically holding a Fine Art college degree and continues to professionally create oil paintings as his life-long passion. Provenza has become a highly recognized and collectible artist both nationally and internationally.

“My paintings are an exploration or journey that I’d like to take in a world that comes from my imagination with pieces of reality sprinkled in.” All of Provenza’s work invites you in to experience Life’s Journey – with a twist.

credit disney Fine Art.com

For more exclusive interviews join us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@PeteMcDevittShow/featured

Original YouTube air date March 29, 2022

Rick Farmiloe is an animator and sequence director who has worked for various studios, including Walt Disney Animation Studios, Rich Animation Studios and DreamWorks.

Rick has been animating for over 30 years, and is best known for bringing life to Disney sidekicks Scuttle, LeFou, and Abu in the beloved Academy Award-winning films The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. 

​​Rick’s early career began in 1978 after attending the California Institute of the Arts, when he was hired at Filmation Studios. There, he contributed to numerous projects, including Fat Albert, Mighty Mouse, Tom and Jerry, Zorro, and Flash Gordon, to name a few.

Our guest's remarkable career in animation has included contributions to beloved creations such as The Rescuers Down Under, The Swan Princess, The Prince of Egypt, The Iron Giant, and The Road to El Dorado.

Rick’s work in animated shorts and commercials has featured iconic names and projects, including Snoopy, Timon and Pumbaa, How to Train Your Dragon, and The Princess and the Frog.

Our guest’s influence on the musical genre, through his creativity, has led him to collaborate with iconic names such as Brian Wilson and Paula Abdul, among others.

His directing career as an animator at DreamWorks included bringing the beloved Moses the camel to life in The Prince of Egypt (1998). He followed that achievement in 2001 by contributing storyboards to Shrek, which went on to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

For more exclusive interviews join us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@PeteMcDevittShow/featured

Original YouTube air date October 16, 2025.

Brian Hull is a voice actor and impressionist. He is also known for his Disney Impressions on his Youtube channel and he is very satisfied of him voicing Count Dracula.

A master voice actor, gifted impressionist, and passionate Disney Parks enthusiast.

Brian first gained recognition through his viral impressions on YouTube, which eventually led to incredible collaborations with major studios and appearances in Disney projects.

His incredibly creative and masterfully done cover of ‘Let It Go,’ performed in the voices of various Disney characters, has now reached over 34 million views on YouTube.

Brian is best known in Disney productions for his signature roles, including creating the character of Young Sideburns in ‘Tangled: The Series’ and stepping in to replace Adam Sandler as the voice of Dracula in the ‘Hotel Transylvania’ movies.

You may have seen Brian outside of his YouTube channels as he’s performed at many cons and live shows around the world and the United States, including in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the UAE, and even at Disneyland’s D23.

For more exclusive interviews join us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@PeteMcDevittShow/featured

Original YouTube air date October 9, 2025.

Jason Ratner holds a degree from the prestigious Pratt Institute and is a proud alumnus of the Disney College Program. He has worked professionally with Disney and with Loungefly, bringing his creative talents to iconic brands.

• Jason Ratner is a passionate creative designer and Disney Artist featured at the EPCOT Festival of the Arts.

• Jason holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design and Communication Arts from the prestigious Pratt Institute in New York.

• Disney has been interwoven throughout Jason’s career and continues to inspire and influence his journey today through his independent artwork.

• In the early 2000s, he proudly served as a Disney College Program Campus Representative for four years, representing the Walt Disney World College Program and sharing the magic with future participants.

• Disney has been an integral part of Jason’s journey working with Disney Destinations, serving in roles such as Creative Support and Professional Intern, contributing to Walt Disney World Global Marketing Sales with Creative Services, and the Walt Disney Company’s Disney Parks Gallery Program.

• In addition to his Disney career, Jason also completed a Creative Assistant internship with Nickelodeon and later served as a Senior Graphic Artist for Loungefly, further expanding his creative portfolio.

• Jason has also had the opportunity to work on special projects for Disney Entertainment, creating art that includes a photo backdrop on Main Street for Disneyland’s Merriest Nites event, as well as exclusive artwork for Club 23.

• Our guest tonight had the prestigious honor of having his Epcot piece for the 2023 Festival of the Arts selected as the official festival poster for Epcot — a truly special recognition.

• You may have first seen him last year in Anaheim at D23, or maybe this year in Florida at Destination D23 — and we certainly hope that will be an on-going tradition.  But tonight, you get to see him right here on Disney Dialogues . Please join me in welcoming Jason Ratner to the show.

  
  

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  Original YouTube air date September 30, 2025.