Between Books - Disney's Hollywood Studios: From Show Biz to Your Biz

As a people leader both in my professional and personal life I am always looking to hone my skills.  But I prefer to read books that provide lessons with hooks tied to things I care about like for example Disney parks.  And I have been lucky enough to stumble on Between Books that provided leadership and business lessons and used these teachings in my own leadership.  But something I had not stumbled upon yet was a book with lessons found in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios: From Show Biz to Your Biz by J. Jeff Kober provides a leadership tour of Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  Kober walks his readers through the Florida theme park, providing a description of attractions and landmarks and then building out principles that can be applied to leadership.  All of the short chapters start with a physical location within Disney’s Hollywood Studios which is supported with a tale from that location or one of its real life connections.  Many chapters have extra details called out in bold text for the reader to linger on.  And every chapter ends with at least four questions for the reader to reflect on to help one better incorporate the lesson into their own life.

I started this volume thinking I was not going to be learning, just reading.  Instead on page four I went into a discussion of wayfinding, providing visual clues to help users find their way.  And this was following on page five with service netting, putting nets in place to help customers before they can make a mistake.  And I found myself thinking through how and if my own business unit had service nets and which ones we could put in place.  And Kober had not even left the parking lot.  So I was impressed early that I still had much to learn in leadership and business, and Kober could teach it to me.  I am guessing that many readers may be able to escape the parking lot and get into the park before stumbling on new information.  But it impressed me early that Kober was going to provide most readers with new tools for their business life.

Though the stories all start within the park, many leave the park quickly.  However, when Kober’s supporting stories leave Disney’s Hollywood Studios they are tied into the location discussed within the park.  For example, the discussion of Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage is followed by  a discussion that includes the history of Beauty and the Beast stage show and providing dynamic products, for extra details did you know Hugh Jackman played Gaston on stage in Australia?  The chapter on One Man’s Dream discusses success through disappointment and shines the light on Walt Disney’s life to show how perseverance can overcome obstacles.   These Disney ties will keep the attention of Disney fans looking to improve their business acumen.  

I don’t always read business books, but when I do I really really hope they include Disney!  J. Jeff Kober  in Disney’s Hollywood Studios: From Show Biz to Your Biz provides a context that Disney fans will enjoy to improve their leadership and business skills, much like he did in Lessons from Epcot.  And his highlighting of an under appreciated park helps provide a fresh Disney context from which we can learn from.  

Review Copy Provided by Theme Park Press

Mousey Movies - Atlantis: The Lost Empire

I have been working on cleaning up some of my Disney film history gaps.  For some reason 2000 and 2001 must have been a busy time for me because it seems I was not going to Disney movies during those years including 2001’s Atlantis: The Lost Empire starring Michael J. Fox as Milo Thatch.  Thatch leads an expedition in 1914 to uncover the lost city of Atlantis.  As we would hope from a typical Disney movie, he finds the city and perhaps the heart of Princess Kida.  Now with Fox and Leonard Nimoy providing voices I was very willing to say that it was a nerdy movie or a geeky movie but I really fought calling this a Mousey Movie.  In the end, I lost:

·     Jim Varney: Varney voices “Cookie” the expedition’s chef.  Cookie in good western tradition swears to beans but not vegetables.  Varney earned his Disney star voicing Slinky Dog in Toy Story and Toy Story 2, a character you cannot help but love.  Varney passed away before the movie was completed and he never saw Atlantis: The Lost Empire, which is dedicated to him.        

·     Don Hahn: Don Hahn alert, Don Hahn alert.  Hahn, the producer for Beauty and the Beast, was very busy producing Disney films during this timeframe including Atlantis: The Lost Empire and The Emperor’s New Groove.           

·     Joss Whedon:  I about fell out of my chair when I saw Whedon’s writing credit for this film.  Whedon got first crack at the script, but left to work on the story for Toy Story.  Whedon known for television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly returns to the House of Mouse this summer as screenwriter and director of The Avengers. 

·     David Ogden Stiers: Stiers’ voice can be briefly heard as Fenton Q. Harcourt, Thatch’s employer at the Smithsonian Institution.  Harcourt is not amused with Thatch’s dream of finding the lost city!  Stiers has numerous Disney credits to his name including Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast.  But he can also be found as Governor Ratcliffe (fitting name) in Pocahontas, and Dr. Jumba Jookiba in Lilo and Stitch.

·     Jules Verne Style Subs: The animators were charged in this movie to develop submarines, earth movers, hot air balloons, and gliders that would fit in 1914.  The submarine that carries Thatch’s expedition, the Ulysses, may not be the Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea but they could definitely be cousins.    

·     Greed is the Root of All Evil: Like two other Disney movies from this time frame, greed destroys the natural and more innocent ways of the world.  It feels as if Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Pochanotus, and Tarzan all came from the same playbook. 

·     Corey Burton: You probably won’t hear it in the voice, but Burton plays Mole.  Mole is the team’s mineralogist and loves dirt, really loves dirt.  I cannot hear anything in the voice that gives away the actor.  Burton is a voice acting legend with numerous credits ranging from imitating the late Paul Frees, the original Haunted Mansion ghost host, for Disney parks attractions to the current Captain Hook voice in shows like Jake and the Neverland Pirates.     

The Between Family enjoyed this feature much more than another from the early 2000s, The Emperor’s New Groove.  The movie offers action, cool looking sets, a Disney princess and a somewhat predictable story that fits within the expectations of a Disney film.  On a cold day in Betweenland, Atlantis: The Lost Empire is worth a watch.