Tim Burton's Frankenweenie Electrifies the San Diego Comic-Con

Walt Disney Studios electrified the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con with multiple incarnations of Tim Burton's newest featured project, Frankenweenie.

A cult figure at Comic-Con, Burton's dark, quirky style has loyal fans excited about the black & white stop-motion animated feature. Frankenweenie (2012) is a Mary Shelley-inpired tale about a young boy who brings his dead dog back to life. In a Burtonesque twist of fate, the talented Tim Burton returns to Disney Studios, creating a full-length feature inspired by the Frankenweenie (1984) short-film that led to his firing as a young Disney animator and director.

On June 12, a month before doors opened to convention attendees, Walt Disney Pictures sponsored Frankenweenie Comic-Con banners that appeared all over Downtown San Diego and the Gaslamp District. Hanging on lightposts from Petco Park to Point Loma, the ads featured a stitched-up Sparky, Frankenweenie's four-legged star.

Frankenweenie Banner in San Diego's Historic Gaslamp District

At 2:05pm on Thursday, July 12, Walt Disney Studios presented Frankenweenie inside the San Diego Comic-Con's marquee venue, Hall H. To attend the afternoon event, many of Burton's fans lined up before dawn, competing with Twilight fans for coveted Hall H seating. Those lucky enough to get in were treated to Frankenweenie previews and a special Q & A panel with Tim Burton.

Tim Burton's Frankenweenie in SDCC's Hall H - Photo by Loren Javier

Following the Hall H panel, Walt Disney Pictures whisked Burton, actor Atticus Shaffer and producers Don Hahn and Allison Abate to a press conference held at the Bayside Hilton. Media outlets asked questions about the black & white Frankenweenie project, including technical aspects related to stop motion animation and the intricately made puppets. Burton also remembered attending the San Diego Comic-Con in the late 70's as a college student, when the event was little more than a collection of comic book dealers in a rented hall.

Frankenweenie Press Panel - (L-R) Don Hahn, Atticus Shaffer, Tim Burton & Allison Abate

Frankenweenie Director Tim Burton

Home & Garden Television partnered with Walt Disney Pictures to create HGTV's Electrifying Garden, a Frankenweenie-style crossover featuring a pet cemetery, Frankenweenie trailers and spooky loooking plants. The Burton-inspired exhibit was located in front of the Gaslamp Hilton, just across Harbor Drive from the San Diego Convention Center.

Electrifying Garden guests were invited to take photos, which were green-screened to place subjects in New Holland, Tim Burton's suburban setting for Frankenweenie. Every attendee enterprising enough to cross the street and enter the HGTV tent also received special Frankenweenie mini-tote bags and San Diego Comic-Con exclusive Sparky pins.

Frankenweenie Tote Bags from HGTV's Electrifying Garden

HGTV's Electrifying Garden - San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive Sparky PinsEven if Comic-Con attendees decided walking to the Gaslamp Quarter was too much effort and skipped the HGTV event, the Comic-Con's main convention floor featured plenty of Frankeweenie.

The fun folks from Funko featured a pair of SDCC 2012 Frankenweenie Exclusives. Funko's Sparkysaurus figure and Frankenweenie T-Shirts drew long lines, as people vultured around the Funko booth to purchase the popular items.

Funko's Sparkysaurus Figure and Frankenweenie T-Shirt

Gentle Giant also had a little Frankenweenie to show conventioneers. Their Frankenweenie collection included several figures patterned after Frankweenie characters, as well as the cute and cuddly Sparky plush.

The biggest Frankenweenie-related draw, besides Tim Burton himself, was the Art of Frankenweenie Exhibition. The gallery of stop motion puppets, movie props and Burton's concept art created a constant crowd clamoring to get their first peeks at Frankweenie. The movie's official traveling exhibition made the San Diego Comic-Con its second out of eight worldwide stops. The five day stop in San Diego allowed fans in Southern California a sneak preview. For those who missed out, Vincent, Sparky and the exhibition gallery will re-appear at the Disney California Adventure Park from September 14th to November 5th, in time to build buzz for the Frankenweenie's theatrical debut on October 5, 2012.

Sparky Stop-Motion Puppet - Art of Frankenweenie Exhibit

Hidden Mickey Monday ºoº - Buena Vista Street - Julius Katz & Sons - Window Display Mickeys

Over the past five years, the folks from Imagineering have outdone themselves revamping the Disney California Adventure Park. In addition to creating a new land and new attractions, Imagineers pulled from Walt Disney's past to give DCA's main thoroughfare a distinctively Disney feel.

Carthay Circle Theater Cosntruction - Disney California Adventure Park - April 2011The Carthay Circle Theater - Disney California Adventure Park - March 2012

Using Walt Disney's journey to 1920's Los Angeles as a template, WDI created a California Adventure counterpart to Disneyland's Main Street. Although Disney died in 1966, Buena Vista Street feels magical, as if it were finished with Walt's personal touch. After recreating iconic landmark's from Hollywood's past, Imagineering completed the illusion, by staging Buena Vista Street with dozens of historic Disney Details and a few Hidden Mickeys.

Julis Katz & Sons Storefront - Buena Vista Street - DCA

The only repair shop on Buena Vista Street, Julius Katz & Sons features radios, cameras, watches, televisions and other mechanical items from the 1920's & 30's. The items on display in the Katz & Sons front window, include a vintage television set featuring a Classic Mickey test screen and several Mickey-shaped antique locks.

Test Screen Hidden Mickey on a 1920's-era television - Julius Katz & Sons - Buena Vista Street

Test cards or test patterns were used calibrate early televisions and broadcast cameras. In an era when stations did not have programming to broadcast twety-four hours a day, test patterns also let viewers know that they were receiving signals (but no programming) from a specific broadcast station. In a nod to television's infancy, Imagineer's staged the window with a six-inch wide television screen, state of the art for the late 1920's.

Classic Mickey shaped antique locks in a display window - Julius Katz & Sons - Buena Vista Street

The pair Mickey-shaped antique locks are on display, hanging in a case above the television set. Imagineers understand that Disney is in the Details, so decorating choices are usually conscious ones. Mickey-shaped items are often used as Hidden Mickeys, especially antique locks, cameras with unusually shaped lenses and double alarms with bells as Mickey ears.

Hidden Disney Details - DCA's Red Car Trolleys

In 1901, real estate mogul Henry Hunington purchased several small Southern California transportation providers and consolidated them into the Pacific Electric Railway. He boosted ridership by extending the light rail routes throughout Los Angeles County and into the adjacent Orange, Riverside and San Bernadino Counties. Under Hunington's leadership, all of the Pacific Electric's urban cars were painted red, leading to the iconic Red Car nickname.

At its height, more than 900 Pacific Electric cars served approximately 100 million passengers a year. Although the light rail system enjoyed its busiest year in 1944, the advent of the automobile led to a steep decline in ridership post World War II. The icon's luster finally faded on April 8, 1961, as the Red Car Trolley made its last trip on the line connecting Los Angeles and Long Beach.

A Red Car takes passengers from Buena Vista Street to Hollywood Land.When Walt Disney moved to Hollywood in August of 1923, he would have seen dozens of the Southland's iconic Red Car Trolleys. Before the evolution of Southern California's freeway age, Red Cars were a transportation fixture. From 1901 to 1961, the electric Red Car system covered more than 1,000 miles of track throughout Los Angeles and its neighboring counties. Inspired by the Red Cars of the 1920's and 30's, Disney's Imagineers paid homage to the past by installing a trolley line between Buena Vista Street and Hollywood Land.

Passengers board Red Car Trolley #623 in Hollywood Land.

Buena Vista Street's Red Car Trolleys are based on the light electric rail cars operated by the Pacific Electric Railway in urban areas like Hollywood. DCA's Red Car Trolley #623 is patterned after the St. Louis Car Company's 600-series of trolleys that were comissioned by the Pacific Electric Railway in 1922 & '23.

The 23 in #623 refers to 1923, an important year for Walt Disney. His Laugh-O-Gram Studios in Kansas City, Missourri had gone bankrupt in July, so in August of 1923, Disney decided move to California. The great storyteller traveled to Hollywood, determined to try his luck making films.

Red Car #717 on DCA's Buena Vista Street

Red Car Trolley #717 is a direct tribute to July 17, 1955, Disneyland's Opening Day. The numbering for 717 is also inspired by the trolley's type, since it is patterned after the St. Louis Car Company's 700-series of trolleys, used in city areas by the Pacific Electric Railway in the mid 1920's to 30's.

In recent years, high gas prices and heavy auto traffic have led to a resurgence in public transit. Several of L.A.'s current Metro Rail lines even follow historic Red Car routes. To acknowledge its transportation history, the Port of Los Angeles operates a restored 1.5-mile trolley route called the Waterfront Red Car Line.

Destination D: 75 Years of Disney Animated Features

D23, the Walt Disney Company's Official Disney Fan Club, hosts Destination D: 75 Years of Disney Animated Features, held on August 11 & 12, 2012, at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.

Located at the Disneyland Hotel & Convention Center, the D23 event celebrates 75 years of Walt Disney Studios' animated features, a legacy that started in 1937, with Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Descriptions of Destination D's scheduled events:

Saturday, August 11

WALT AND THE FIRST GOLDEN AGE OF DISNEY ANIMATION - Hosted by Becky Cline, director of the Walt Disney Archives, Disney Legend Burny Mattinson, Disney layout artist and producer Joe Hale, and director Ted Thomas.  The panel will discuss Walt Disney‘s cinematic storytelling practices and traditions, Disney‘s animation milestones, and Disney‘s Nine Old Men.

ROY E. DISNEY AND THE SECOND GOLDEN AGE OF DISNEY ANIMATION - Hosted by Disney Historian, Tim O‘Day, Roy E. Disney's son - Roy Patrick Disney, Disney animation film producer - Don Hahn, Disney animation directors and producers - John Musker & Ron Clements, and Dave Bossert - creative director and head of special projects at Walt Disney Animation Studios. The paneilsts will remember Roy E. Disney and his impact on Disney animated features of the 1980s and 90s.

INSIDE WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS TODAY - Hosted by Disney animator Darrin Butters. An exclusive Destination D presentation, D23 members will get an insight into how today's animators carry on the tradition of Walt Disney Studios. Attendees will also be treated to a never-before-seen peek into exciting current and upcoming projects from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Exclusive sneak peeks and footage from Wreck-It Ralph, the 2013 feature film Frozen, and the short films Paperman and Tangled Ever After.

THE GREATEST DISNEY ANIMATION YOU NEVER SAW - Hosted by Oscar-nominated Disney producer Don Hahn and Dave Bossert - creative director and head of special projects at Walt Disney Animation Studios. D23 broke into the vaukt, presenting never before seen films and rare Disney animation from throughout the years, including commercials, test animation, cut sequences, and more.

ANIMATING THE DISNEY PARKS - Hosted by Becky Cline, director of the Walt Disney Archives and Tim O‘Day, noted Disney historian. Walt Disney Imagineering senior vice president of creative development Tony Baxter and Imagineering vice president of creative development Tom Morris join former Disney Imagineer Eddie Sotto to discuss how famed Imagineers such as Herb Ryman, John Hench, Claude Coats, Marc Davis and others, used their talents and experience as Disney animators to create Disneyland and the subsequent Disney Parks.

AN EVENING WITH DICK VAN DYKE AND THE VANTASTIX - An unforgettable evening of harmony provided by Dick Van Dyke & The Vantastix - a vocal quartet featuring the legendary Dick Van Dyke and three renowned west coast musicians— Mike Mendyke, Bryan Chadima, and Eric Bradley. The Vantastix will perform memorable songs from Van Dyke‘s career, along with several Disney standards.

SCREENING: WALT & EL GRUPO – THE DIRECTOR‘S CUT - An exclusive presentation for D23 Members - a special Director's Cut showing of the acclaimed 2009 film documentary, Walt & El Grupo. The screening will be hosted by director Ted Thomas and producer Kuniko Okubo. The documentary film chronicles the amazing 10-week trip that Walt Disney, his artists and accompanying filmakers took through South America in 1941. With much of the world embroiled in World War II, Walt and El Grupo (Disney's group of artists and filmakers) embarked on a goodwill mission sponsored by U.S. Government.

Sunday, August 12

WACKY AND WILD DISNEY ANIMATION - Hosted by D23‘s Disney Geek co-host - Billy Stanek, Disney animator and director Eric Goldberg and animation historian Jerry Beck. Attendees will view psychedelic and stunning Disney animation clips, while discussing Disney Legend Ward Kimball, renowned artist Salvador Dali, and many others.

DRAWING WITH PERSONALITY - Hosted by famed Disney animator Andreas Deja. Walt Disney Studios is known for breathing life into character animation. Animators will share some of Disney's animation secrets, which helped create Disney's most beloved animated characters. Attendees will also have the opportunity to design their own Disney animated characters, with a little help from talented Disney animators.

TINKER BELL: THE EVOLUTION OF A DISNEY CHARACTER - Hosted by Disney animation historian Mindy Johnson. Johnson will delve into the development of one of Disney‘s most iconic characters, Tinker Bell, presenting never-before-seen art, photos, and film clips. Joining the discussion will be Tinker Bell models Margaret Kerry and Ginni Mack, actress Mae Whitman - who currently voices Tinker Bell, and animation director Peggy Holmes.

HEARING VOICES: A SALUTE TO DISNEY VOICE ARTISTS - Hosted by Disney historian Tim O‘Day. Destination D attendees will get a chance to meet the actors who provide the voices for several of Disney's iconic characters. The panel will include, Dickie Jones - Pinocchio (Pinocchio), Kathryn Beaumont - Alice (Alice in Wonderland) and Wendy Darling (Peter Pan), Lisa Davis - Anita (One Hundred and One Dalmatians), David Frankham - Sgt. Tibbs (One Hundred and One Dalmatians), Bruce Reitherman - Mowgli (The Jungle Book) and Christopher Robin (Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree), Bill Farmer - Goofy (The Goofy Movie) and Chris Sanders - Stitch (Lilo & Stitch)

SNOW WHITE: STILL THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL - Hosted by Tim O‘Day, noted Disney historian. Walt Disney introduced the animated feature film, with his masterpiece Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Beginning in 1937, the Walt Disney Studios became the forerunner in animation and storytelling. D23 salutes the groundbreaking film with a rare appearance by 93-year-old Marge Champion, Snow White's live-action reference model. Also joining the presentation will be film musicologist and historian Alex Rannie and Gabriella Calicchio, CEO of The Walt Disney Family Museum. Calicchio will discuss the museum‘s upcoming Snow White exhibition and an exciting new D23 exclusive opportunity.

D23 will present a Bonus Featurette ― Once Upon a Mouse

AN EVENING WITH ALAN MENKEN - D23's Destination D animation celebration concludes with a rare concert by Disney Legend Alan Menken. The winner of eight Academy Awards, Menken has received Oscars songwriting and musical scores, creating memorable music for some of Disney's most beloved films: Tangled (Oscar nominee), Enchanted (three Oscar nominations) The Little Mermaid (two Oscars), Beauty and the Beast (two Oscars), Aladdin (two Oscars), Pocahontas (two Oscars), Hercules (Oscar nominee), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Oscar nominee).

Menken currently has three new shows running concurrently on Broadway (Sister Act, Newsies, and Leap of Faith). Among his long list of Broadway productions, are The Little Mermaid (Tony Award nominee), Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors, Sister Act (Tony Award nominee), King David, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Aladdin.

Hidden Mickey Monday ºoº - Goofy's Sky School - Bulletin Board Hidden Mickeys

Goofy's Sky School has a pair of Classic Mickeys hidden on bulletin boards posted along the attraction's queue. While waiting in line, Disney California Adventure Park guests will pass two Sky School message boards, which feature goofy advetisements and posts. Look around the humorous ads and to find the Hidden Mickeys stained onto the corkboards.

One of two Bulletin Boards at Goofy's Sky School - Paradise Pier - DCA

Bulletin Board Hidden Mickey Close-Up - Goofy's Sky School - Paradise Pier - DCAGoofy Bulletins posted at Goofy's Sky School - Paradise Pier - DCA

Close-Up of the second Hidden Mickey - Goofy's Sky School - Paradise Pier - DCA