Hollywood's legendary El Capitan Theatre kicks off its 80th anniversary with a special two-week engagement of Disney's Oscar-winning animated classic, DUMBO, from May 25 - June 7. DUMBO is celebrating its 65th birthday this year, and a new deluxe BIG TOP EDITION DVD release of the film is scheduled for June 6th.
For this engagement, a pristine new transfer of the film was made, and it will be digitally projected. Adding to the festivities will be a live in-theater appearance by Winnie the Pooh (who is also celebrating his 80th birthday this year), and a screening of the 1966 Pooh animated short, WINNIE THE POOH AND THE HONEY TREE. The engagement will kick-off with a special filmmakers' panel on May 25 at 7:00 pm that will include veteran Disney animator Eric Goldberg (ALADDIN), Academy Award-winning songwriter Richard Sherman (who wrote many songs for the POOH films), film music historian Miles Kreuger (president of the Institute of the American Musical), among others. Tickets can be purchased at the box office, online at http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/el_capitan/ or by calling 1-800-DISNEY6.
To further commemorate this landmark anniversary, Disney's Soda Fountain and Studio Store (located next door to the theatre) will be offering a special El Capitan 80th Anniversary commemorative pin. They will also be serving up a special "El Capitan Sundae," a delicious waffle bowl dipped in homemade chocolate, filled with two delicious scoops of Dewar's vanilla fudge ice cream, and drizzled with caramel, topped with whipped cream and a chocolate covered strawberry and dusted with a shimmering gold powder.
1941s DUMBO, directed by Ben Sharpsteen and co-written by the late, great Joe Grant, has enchanted generations of moviegoers and influenced many animators. It is most notable for its surreal Pink Elephants on Parade sequence. DUMBO won an Oscar for Best Scoring of a Motion Picture, and was nominated for Best Song ("Baby Mine").
WINNIE THE POOH AND THE HONEY TREE, directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, finds the silly old honey-loving bear up to his nose in trouble when he and his pals Christopher Robin, Eeyore, Owl, Kanga and baby Roo, Rabbit and Gopher encounter a swarm of bees and a fabulous honey tree. This was the first of Disney's enormously successful animated adventures with the A. A. Milne characters, and featured memorable new songs by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman (aka The Sherman Brothers). Among the films memorable scenes is Pooh posing as a "little black rain-cloud" in an effort to fool the bees and get himself a smackrel of honey.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
