The Disney Look... to the past! (Feb. 19-25)

Hello, and welcome to this week's look at the Disney Past! Take a look at what happened years ago:

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This Week in Disney History: Feb. 19-25

Feb. 23, 1935 - "The Band Concert" debuts

This Silly Symphony short marked Mickey Mouse's first appearance in color, in which he led an orchestra of Disney all-stars in a rousing rendition of The William Tell Overture. Donald Duck, on hand to sell ice cream, produces a flute and attempts to lead the company into a different song. Mickey fights back by directing the orchestra into "The Storm" section of the overture, summoning an actual tornado that sweeps up the band members. Donald, despite his seemingly inexhaustible supply of replacement flutes, fails to get the last laugh. The classic cartoon provided the inspiration for Silly Symphony Swings at Disney California Adventure Park.

Feb. 22, 2009 - Disney•Pixar's "WALL-E" wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film

Admit it: you can't walk down Main Street, U.S.A and hear "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" without thinking of "WALL-E."  WALL-E (which stands forWaste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth class) is the last robot on a planet long deserted by humans and has been compacting the garbage they've left behind into neatly stacked cubes for the last 700 years. But when he falls for his first visitor in centuries, EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator), WALL-E learns that what he was programmed to do, wasn't what he was meant to do.

The idea for "WALL-E" originated from the same 1994 Pixar lunch meeting that generated the stories behind "a bug's life," "Monsters, Inc." and "Finding Nemo," and the film was helmed by "Nemo" director Andrew Stanton. Aside from its Academy Award win, "WALL-E" was ranked first in TIME Magazine's Best Movies of the Decade list.

Also this week in Disney history:

Feb. 19

1985 - Mickey Mouse visits China in commemoration of Disneyland Park's 30th anniversary

Feb. 20

1986 - WED Enterprises is renamed Walt Disney Imagineering

Feb. 21

1997 - The first Club Disney opens in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Feb. 22

1996 - The website www.Disney.com launches on the Internet

Feb. 23

1939 - Walt Disney receives a special Academy Award for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

2004 - "Snow White - An Enchanting Musical" debuts at Disneyland Park

2010 - "Captain EO" reopens at Disneyland Park (first ran from 1986-1997)

Feb. 24

1939 - "The Practical Pig," a Disney's Silly Symphony cartoon, debuts

1985 - Disney Clothiers, Ltd. opens on Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom Park

2008 - "Ratatouille" wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film

Feb. 25

1938 - "Boat Builders" (Mickey Mouse cartoon short) debuts

1965 - "Mary Poppins" receives 13 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture

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