Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor

Jim Hill starts a solo edition of this podcast by discussing how well “The Wild Robot” did at the domestic box office this past weekend.

He then discusses the Halloween-themed “The Bad Guys” special which will soon be debuting on Netflix

Throughout this episode, listeners will learn about:

• How will Warner Bros. Discovery be celebrating Scooby Doo this month

• Who will be introducing “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie” at this year’s Animation is Film Festival

• What did the “Mufasa: The Lion King” production do to differentiate this film from Disney’s photo-realistic “Lion King” from 2019

• Where did “Shrek the Musical” do its out-of-town try-out

• Why was Jeffery Katzenberg reportedly upset with a plaque he found in the lobby of the Broadway Theater

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In this episode of Fine Tooning, Jim Hill and Drew Taylor discuss the surprising news of Jennifer Lee stepping down as Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios and what it means for the future of Disney’s animated films.

They explore:

Plus, hear the latest updates on DreamWorks’ Dog Man, The Wild Robot, and more!

Don’t miss this deep dive into the latest animation industry news and insights.

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In this episode of Fine Tooning, Jim Hill and Drew Taylor discuss how the successful 15th-anniversary re-release of Coraline inspired Disney to bring back some of its beloved classics to theaters.

Find out how The Nightmare Before Christmas and Hocus Pocus are making their return to the big screen this Halloween season.

Join us as we cover:

Tune in for all this and more, as we dive into the latest animation news and Halloween favorites making their way back to theaters!

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In this episode of Fine Tooning, Jim Hill and Drew Taylor take you behind the scenes of Disney’s beloved Hocus Pocus and its unexpected connection to Steven Spielberg.

Discover the untold story of how the Halloween classic was pitched, nearly lost, and ultimately stolen away from Spielberg.

Tune in as we explore:

Join Jim and Drew for an inside look at one of Halloween’s most iconic films, plus the latest in animation news and commentary.

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Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start this week’s show by discussing how “Inside Out” became the highest grossing animated feature of all time.

They also take a look at the upcoming new “Wallace & Gromit” film, “Vengeance Most Fowl”

Throughout this episode, listeners will learn about:

• How many films in Hollywood history have grossed over a billion dollars overseas

• Which emotion was originally supposed to be Envy’s twin in “Inside Out 2”

• Who acquired the North American theatrical distribution rights for “The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie” 

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Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start this week’s show by seeing how “Inside Out 2” ‘s worldwide box office stacks up against Jon Favreau’s photo-realistic “Lion King.”

They also talk about that Nightmare Before Christmas-themed light trail that’s coming to New York’s Botanical Gardens

Throughout this episode, listeners will learn about:

• This long-running animated series just celebrated its 25th anniversary back in January

• Will Warner Bros. be releasing Genndy Tartakovsky’s “Fixed” anytime soon

• When will Pixar’s latest feature-length film be available for purchase on Blu-ray

• How many movies did Robert Stevenson direct for Walt Disney Studios

• Who almost played Nora, the daughter of the lighthouse keeper in “Pete’s Dragon”

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Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start this week’s show by looking back at some of the animation-related news that came out of the D23 Expo.

They also discuss a number of the books that event attendees could pick up at this year’s eve

Over the course of this episode, listeners will learn about:

• Who now is voicing Elio’s aunt in Pixar Animation Studios’ big release for June of 2025

• Why it’s kind of ironic that the Mouse House just decided to make Frank Oz a Disney Legend

• What’s the reported premise for “Hoppers,” Pixar’s Spring 2026

• What’s intriguing about the visual clues that were included in the “Frozen 3” concept art that Jennifer Lee showcases at the Honda Center

• How many episodes of Pixar’s “Dream Productions” did D23 members get to see at this year’s Expo



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Drew Taylor starts off this week’s show by looking back at the

“Jurassic World: Chaos Panel” he moderated at last month’s San Diego Comic-Con.

Then Jim Hill discusses the three feature-length films that were made at Fox Animation

Studios in Phoenix

Over the course of this episode, listeners will learn about:

 What spot did Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” just claim on the list of all-time worldwide top

grossing films

 When will the Boomerang streaming service officially get folded into Max

 Which “Gravity Falls” -related book now tops the New York Times bestseller list

 On what television broadcast back in the Summer of 2016 did the “Moana” teaser

trailer first appear

 Back when “Titan AE” was still supposed to be a live-action production, what was

the title of this film originally supposed to be

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Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start this week’s show by talking about how “Inside Out 2” just became the highest-grossing animated feature of all time (barring Disney’s photo-realistic “Lion King” of 2019).

They also take a look back at “The Rescuers”

Throughout this episode, listeners will learn about;

• Which character was Phil Harris originally supposed to voice in “The Rescuers”

• How many art students did Disney initially invite to take part in the Studio’s inaugural animation boot camp?

• What advice did Bob Newhart give Don Rickles in regards to voicing Mr. Potatohead in Pixar’s “Toy Story”

• Which Disney featurette from the mid-1970s did the Studio’s animation trainees cut their teeth on?

• What film did better than the original “Star Wars” when it was finally released in France in 1977

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 Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start this week’s show by talking up the “Jurassic World: Chaos Theory” panel Drew will be hosting at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.

They then talk about which animated film franchise is currently the top earner 

Throughout this episode, listeners will learn about:

• How many days will separate the release of “Toy Story 5” & “Shrek 5” during the Summer of 2026

• Where is William Stout’s booth located in the San Diego Convention Center

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