Episodes

Nov. 26, 2024

From Wicked’s Box Office Smash to Oliver & Company’s 80s Charm (Ep. 282)

In this episode of Fine Tooning , Jim Hill and Drew Taylor bring you the latest in animation news and insights. Tune in as they dive into: "Wicked" Dominates the Box Office: Universal Pictures’ adaptation dazzles with a mass…
Nov. 20, 2024

Rediscovering Disney’s Lost "Hero of Otherwhere" (Ep. 281)

In this episode of Fine Tooning , Jim Hill and Drew Taylor discuss: The history and mystery behind Disney’s forgotten project The Hero of Otherwhere , a live-action/animation hybrid tied to Pete’s Dragon and Jerome Courtland…
Nov. 12, 2024

Inside the 'Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail': Tim Burton’s Latest Haunting Spectacle (Ep. 280)

In this episode of Fine Tooning , Jim Hill and Drew Taylor dive into the magical world of Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail . Hear all about Jim's recent visit to this dazzling event at the New York Botanic…
Nov. 5, 2024

Did You Know Godzilla Had a Sidekick? Godzilla's Forgotten Cartoon (Ep. 279)

In this episode of Fine Tooning, Jim Hill and Drew Taylor dive into some of animation’s quirkiest corners and biggest news: Godzilla’s 70th Anniversary: Celebrating Godzilla Day with a look back at the 1978 Godzilla animated…
Oct. 30, 2024

The Disney Hitchcock Movie That Never Was (Ep. 278)

In this episode of Fine Tooning , Jim Hill and Drew Taylor explore a wide range of animation news and insights: Netflix's Spellbound and Disney’s Thanksgiving Line-Up: A look at Netflix’s upcoming animated feature Spellbound…
Oct. 24, 2024

Behind the Scenes of Moana 2: New Adventures, Big Challenges, and the Return of Maui (Ep. 277)

In this episode of Fine Tooning , Jim Hill and Drew Taylor take you behind the curtain of Moana 2 , diving deep into the highlights from Drew’s recent panel at the Animation is Film festival. They explore the exciting detail…
Oct. 16, 2024

The Lost Mickey Mouse Projects and Animation's Future (Ep. 276)

in this episode of Fine Tooning , Jim Hill and Drew Taylor take you on a fascinating journey through Disney’s forgotten Mickey Mouse projects, including the untold story of "Mickey Columbus" and other abandoned ideas that ne…
Oct. 8, 2024

The Fleischer Studios Legacy: Miami’s Forgotten Animation Powerhouse (Ep. 275)

In this episode of Fine Tooning , Jim Hill dives into the latest animation news and rumors. With Drew Taylor away, Jim covers: Unraveling Studio Feuds and Hollywood Drama : What caused the downfall of Fleischer Studios and t…
Oct. 1, 2024

What was it like to see “Steamboat Willie” ‘s world premiere back in 1928 (Ep 275)

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 debuti…
Sept. 24, 2024

Jennifer Lee Steps Down, Disney’s Creative Shift, and Pixar’s Behind-the-Scenes Struggles (Ep. 274)

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 ani…
Sept. 18, 2024

How Coraline’s Revival Sparked Disney’s Return to Theaters (Ep 273)

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…
Sept. 10, 2024

Hocus Pocus: The Halloween Hit That Left Spielberg Feeling Betrayed (Ep. 452)

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 …
Sept. 3, 2024

Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor Ep 451 : “The Wild Robot” gets ready for its world premiere in Toronto

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” …
Aug. 27, 2024

Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor Ep 450: Which screen legend almost directed “Pete’s Dragon”

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 ligh…
Aug. 20, 2024

Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor Ep 449: Pixar’s “Win or Lose” debuts on Disney+ on December 6th

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…
Aug. 6, 2024

Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor Ep 448: What’s interesting about the way Netflix is marketing “Spellbound”

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 Anim…
July 24, 2024

Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor Ep 447: What you really need to see at this year’s D23 Expo

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 ba…
July 19, 2024

Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor Ep 446: When Cruella almost starred in Disney’s “The Rescuers”

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 th…
July 11, 2024

Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor Ep 445: The “Nightmare” that led to “Toy Story”

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start this week’s show by talking up the two books that Josh Gad will be bringing to the marketplace in the next six months. They then take a look at how “Inside Out 2” & “Despicable Me 4” have been do…
July 2, 2024

Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor Ep 444: How “The Circle of Life” became the “Lion King” anthem

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start off this week’s show by discussing the animated feature that just blew past a billion dollars at the worldwide box office. They also take a look at how Universal Pictures’ promoted “Despicable Me…
June 25, 2024

Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor Ep 443 : Who animated the Toontown section of “Roger Rabbit”

Drew Taylor & Jim Hill start this week’s show by talking about “Inside Out 2” ‘s continuing dominance at the worldwide box office. They then discuss some of the television-related news that came out of this year’s Annecy Int…
June 19, 2024

Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor Ep 442: Where can you find Figment in “Inside Out 2”

Drew Taylor is fresh back from France. And he tells Jim Hill all about the animated films that he got to see at this year’s international animation film festival and market For this episode, listeners will learn about: What …
June 4, 2024

Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor Ep 441: How did Pixar decide which movies to make early on

Dfrew and Jim share fond memories of Disney Legend Richard M. Sherman
May 28, 2024

Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor Ep 440 : When the Sherman Brothers left Disney Studios

Jim Hill first talks about how “The Garfield Movie” did domestically over the long Memorial Day Week. He then discusses that new YouTube documentary, “Beyond the Glass: The WDW Animation Building” Throughout this episode, li…