Beyond The Mouse: A Weekly Disney Podcast

Merry Christmas! We have quite the treat for you at Beyond the Mouse. We recently had the amazing opportunity to chat with Rolly Crump. He was awarded the Disney Legend award in 2004 for his tremendous work as an animator and as an Imagineer. Rolly worked on attractions from The Haunted Mansion to The Tiki […]

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! This is a Christmas season like no other, and we are here to help you celebrate the season. One of the best times of year to be a Disney fan is during Christmas. Craig, Brett and Vanessa give you all the ways that Disney helps them enjoy […]

EXTRA –EXTRA HEAR ALL ABOUT IT! There was an incredible amount of news coming out of the Disney Investor Day presentation last Thursday. The whole crew is here to breakdown the biggest announcements from Lucasfilm, Disney Theatrical, Disney Animation, Pixar and Marvel! FEATURING: Craig McFarland, Brett Rutherford, Vanessa Ferguson __________________________________________ Named one of the top […]

It’s gift time! There are only a couple weeks left to Christmas. What gifts do you get for the Disney fan who has everything? We have the answers! The crew reviews some of their recommendations and then we jump into two very special items. The first is a new book called “Boundless Realm” by Foxx […]

Come Away with us! We are incredible excited to speak with Academy Award winning director, and Central Illinois native, Brenda Chapman. We had the chance to speak with Brenda about her career from her time working in animation during the Disney renaissance to her bring Pixar’s Brave to life. Brenda’s live-action directing debut, Come Away, […]

Happy Thanksgiving! We are so excited to bring you our conversation with Kevin Rafferty. Kevin’s book “My Magic Journey: My Fantastical Walt Disney Imagineering Career” is a must read for Disney fans. Kevin speaks to us about his love for The Walt Disney Company, stories about some of the attractions you have come to love […]

Happy Birthday Disney+! This week we take a look back at the successful launch of Disney+ on November 12, 2019. We also discuss what we have watched throughout the year. All the shows, documentaries and movies we have come to love on this streaming platform. Finally, we speak about what we are most looking forward […]

Happy Life Day! Craig breaks the Star Wars Holiday Special that just dropped on Disney+. This is a spoiler-free mini-review all about Lego, Star Wars and a really fun special! FEATURING: Craig McFarland  __________________________________________ Named one of the top 60 Disney Podcasts by Feedspot! blog.feedspot.com/disney_podcasts FIND US ON Patreon! patreon.com/frontrownetwork FIND US ON NPR ILL...

Welcome! This week we are so happy to invite to the show the cast the new podcast “The Super Secret Hive”. Julie and Mike are furloughed Disney cast members. They”ve spent the last 6 months writing/recording/producing a musical & educational kids’ adventure podcast, “The Super Secret Hive,” to help kids, parents, and educators navigate these […]

Thanks for listening! This week we are celebrating all things Brett as we help our friend and cohost ring in his upcoming birthday! One of his all time favorite films is the 1988 film “Big Business.” This fun comedy starring Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin is available right now on Disney+. So, put on some […]

Happy Halloween! This week we bring you a real treat, as the Beyond the Mouse crew talks with D.J. MacHale. In addition to bringing Are You Afraid of the Dark into our lives, D.J. also wrote and directed the Disney cult classic Tower of Terror! Based on the attraction, Tower of Terror thrills with a […]

Welcome! Beyond the Mouse continues a month long celebration of all things Halloween and Disney. Who would you draft on your team of villains from all Disney properties? Find out who Craig, Vanessa and Brett selected, and let us know who you think won this round! FEATURING: Craig McFarland, Brett Rutherford, Vanessa Ferguson __________________________________________ Named […]

Welcome! There is no better time to be a Disney fan than Halloween! We are joined by one of our favorite Disney podcaster Matthew Krul of the Imagineer Podcast. We speak with Matthew about his podcast. How the podcast came to be, his love for the parks and some of his personal favorite episodes. After […]

Welcome! Thank you to our friends at Ravensburger for providing us with copies of the new Hocus Pocus card game! We played it, and we will review it for you. Follow along as we discuss the design of the game, how to play and our overall impressions of this very impressive game. Fans of Hocus […]

Welcome! This week we bring you the second half of our interview with former Imagineer and Disney author Jeff Kurtti. He has written over 40 titles for the Disney company, and his latest book “The Disney Monorail: Imagineering a Highway in the Sky” was just released earlier this month. Jeff shares so many stories and […]

Thanks for listening! This week we bring you the first half of our interview with former Imagineer and Disney author Jeff Kurtti. He has written over 40 titles for the Disney company, and his latest book “The Disney Monorail: Imagineering a Highway in the Sky” was just released earlier this month. Jeff shares so many […]

Thanks for listening! This week we had an opportunity to speak to Imagineer Tom K. Morris about his work with the Disney company. Tom worked on many projects including Epcot, the castle in Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland and others. We also spoke to Tom about his new book about Imagineering which he is in […]

Thanks for listening! We are so thrilled to bring you this interview with Disney Legend Jodi Benson. We speak to Jodi about her time on Broadway, her work with the late Howard Ashman, her experiences bringing to life the iconic role of Ariel and so much more. FEATURING: Craig McFarland, Brett Rutherford, Vanessa Ferguson __________________________________________ […]

Thanks for listening! The Beyond the Mouse crew is here for a special breakdown of the latest Disney live action remake, Mulan. Originally scheduled for release in March, this film had an unexpected journey to premier access on Disney+. This review does include spoilers. FEATURING: Craig McFarland, Brett Rutherford, Vanessa Ferguson __________________________________________ FIND US ON […]

Thanks for listening! On this Beyond the Mouse/Classics crossover, the crew discusses the 1954 Disney live-action film, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. This movie has been beautifully restored on Disney Plus. We speak to the production design, the history, the influence on the Disney parks and more (maybe even a great James Mason impression) much […]

Thanks for listening! This week we are joined by two friends who have made the trek to Florida since the reopening of Walt Disney World. Kristen Wolfe speaks to her experience at the Boardwalk and all about the parks. Craig William II lets us know about his stay at the Polynesian and his take on […]

Thanks for listening! This week we return to Walt Disney World. There is one man who has spent numerous hours bringing us live content from the parks for the past fifteen years, host of WDW Radio, Lou Mongello. Lou speaks to us about his love for Disney, his career as a content creator and his […]

Download the Episode This week we are happy to bring to the podcast, Dan Cockerell. Dan spent a twenty-six-year career with the Disney company in multiple roles. Beginning in the Disney College Program and ultimately becoming VP of Epcot Center, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom. This week Dan has released a new book called […]

Download the Episode This week the documentary Howard drops on Disney+. We are celebrating the life and accomplishments of Howard Ashman in the best way possible, by doing a Disney Song Draft! Make sure to follow us on social media for your chance to vote for your favorite team!   Featuring: Craig McFarland, Brett Rutherford, […]

Download the Episode This week on the show we have a wonderful guest! Kaye Malins provides us with insights about Marceline, Missouri. Walt Disney always regarded his time in Marceline as vital to the creation of the Disney Parks, and many of his other projects. Kaye speaks to us about the museum, how it was […]