DISNEY TO BOLSTER ANIMATION UNIT AT FLORIDA STUDIOS.Byline: Christine Shenot The Orlando Sentinel The Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper of the Orlando, Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently in its 131st year of publication. The Sentinel is owned by Tribune Company and is overseen by the Chicago Tribune.Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney Co. will announce today a major expansion of its animation operations at Disney-MGM Studios Disney-MGM Studios is a theme park at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA. The third park to open at the resort, it debuted on May 1, 1989. Spanning 135 acres (546,000 m²) in size, the park's theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of . The move signals a more prominent and permanent role for central Florida
Central Florida is the central region of the United States state of Florida, on the East Coast. in the company's core business. The long-awaited expansion, anchored by a new, 200,000-square-foot building and a work force of 400, is meant to accommodate continued rapid growth in Disney's animation work here. The animation group now includes 360 artists and support personnel, up from 70 when Disney-MGM opened in 1989. Currently, local animators Famous animators no longer living
With the expansion - expected to be completed by the summer of 1998 - Disney officials say local production will rev up Verb 1. rev up - speed up; "let's rev up production" step up increase - make bigger or more; "The boss finally increased her salary"; "The university increased the number of students it admitted" 2. to one full-length animated film every two years. ``It really puts the Florida studio on the map in the animation industry,'' said Ken Dopher, director of operations at the studio. ``A lot of people still don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. that we even exist down here.'' The heightened commitment comes at a time when Disney faces substantial competition in a business it has dominated since Walt Disney founded his original studio in 1923. In recent years, several of Hollywood's top players have formed animation studios, including DreamWorks SKG SKG Stichting Kwaliteit Gevelbouw (Dutch) SKG Spielberg, Katzenberg,and Geffen (DreamWorks Studios) SKG Thessaloniki, Greece - Thessaloniki (Airport Code) SKG Smith and Kraus Global , which was founded by a trio that includes Jeffrey Katzenberg, Disney's former animation chief. In response, Disney has been laying the groundwork to diversify and increase its animated film production. Most recently, the company decided to expand its partnership with Pixar Animation Studios, the computer animation start-up that created ``Toy Story.'' The partners plan to follow that box-office hit with five major films over the next 10 years. In central Florida, Disney is building a four-story structure that will have a screening theater, conference rooms and an 800-car parking garage. Construction already is under way on a site adjacent to the existing complex, which measures just 15,000 square feet. Over the years, Disney has increased work space for its animators by bringing in more than 100 trailers. The expansion marks a major milestone in the central Florida studio's evolution. It was created, in part, to work on short films and ``featurettes,'' but local animators went on to play a variety of supporting roles in such blockbuster productions as ``Aladdin'' and ``The Lion King.'' |
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