Countdown to AFI's 10 Top 10: Fantasy

"Still round the corner there may wait,
a new road or a secret gate."
-- J.R.R. Tolkien

Giant apes, talking pigs, flying nannies, sword-fighting skeletons ... these are among the many fantastic elements that make up the next genre in the Movie Dearest countdown to AFI's Ten Top 10: fantasy.

Ranging from 1924's The Thief of Bagdad to 2005's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the fifty films nominated (see the comments section below for the full list) range from the obviously fantastical (anything based on Greek mythology) to more subtle variations on the theme (Being John Malkovich, The Purple Rose of Cairo). Fitting into the former category is the original King Kong, while the holiday perennial It's a Wonderful Life covers the latter; both are strong frontrunners for this top ten due to the fact that they have both been honored by the AFI five times in past 100 Years ... 100 Movies lists. But topping them both, with seven previous mentions, is a sure thing: The Wizard of Oz.

The other multiple honorees from the past countdowns are more recent: Field of Dreams and Ghost, plus The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (representing the entire trilogy), which placed in last year's top movies list and also won an AFI Award; Spider-Man 2 is the only other nominee that also won the annual award. Single list honorees also nominated this go round include Babe, Batman, Beetlejuice, Big, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Groundhog Day, Harvey, Mary Poppins, Miracle on 34th Street, The Princess Bride, Superman and Topper.

It is most likely that the final ten will be culled from these past honorees, but don't count out some potential first-timers, such as Brazil, Jason and the Argonauts, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Harry Potter, here represented by The Prisoner of Azkaban.

The results will be revealed when AFI's 10 Top 10 airs on CBS on June 17.

It's a Jolly Holiday with Ashley

Ashley Brown, Broadway's original Mary Poppins, will pack up her bottomless carpetbag and parrot-headed umbrella and hit the road when the Disney stage spectacular begins its national tour next spring.

The Poppins tour is scheduled to launch March 25, 2009, at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre. More cities and dates have yet to be announced.

UPDATE: Gavin Lee, who originated the role of Bert in London and received a Tony Award nomination for his performance on Broadway, will be joining Ashley on the national tour.

Ollie Johnston: 1912-2008

Ollie Johnston, the last of Walt Disney's celebrated animators known as the "Nine Old Men", passed away yesterday at the age of 95.

To say that Johnston was one of the giants of character animation is an understatement; he, along with his contemporaries at Disney (including his lifelong friend and collaborator Frank Thomas), practically invented it. While he himself was never seen onscreen, his performances as everyone from Pinocchio to Thumper are some of the greatest ever seen on film, still inspiring artists today (including Brad Bird, who honored Frank and Ollie with toon cameos in his films The Iron Giant and The Incredibles). Of the many memorable movie moments Johnston created, highlights include Baloo singing "The Bare Necessities" in The Jungle Book and the dancing penguins in Mary Poppins.

After retiring in 1978, Frank and Ollie wrote four books on animation, including the tome many consider the definitive word on the art form, Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life. The duo was also the subject of the documentary titled, naturally, Frank and Ollie.