D23 MEMBERS INVITED TO PARTICIPATE
IN DEDICATION OF ROY E. DISNEY BUILDING
ON MAY 7 AT THE WALT DISNEY STUDIOS
Feature Animation Building to be Named for Roy E. Disney,
Marking His Indelible Contributions to Disney’s Cinema History;
Special D23 Tribute and Screenings to Follow

BURBANK, Calif. – April 19, 2010 – The landmark Disney Feature Animation building on Riverside Drive in Burbank will be named for the late Roy E. Disney on Friday, May 7, in a special ceremony for invited Disney luminaries and employees and a limited number of members of D23: The Official Community for Disney Fans.

            The D23 Tribute to Roy E. Disney offers members the opportunity to attend the dedication, which will be hosted by Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger, film producer Don Hahn (The Lion King) and Roy E. Disney’s son, Roy Patrick Disney.

            Following the 4:30 p.m. ceremony, and especially for its members, D23 has organized two rare screenings of films that bear Roy E. Disney’s indelible mark: the 1957 “true-life fantasy” Perri; and Fantasia/2000.

            The two films, along with the Oscar®-nominated short Lorenzo, will be screened in the recently remodeled 400-seat Studio Theatre on the Walt Disney Studios lot, and will be introduced by Hahn and Disney historian Stacia Martin.

            A very limited number of admissions to this special D23 Tribute to Roy E. Disney, incorporating both the dedication event and the screenings, are available to D23 Members for $50 (plus nominal processing fee).  Admission is open only to D23 Members in good standing plus one guest.  Tickets will be available online at www.disney.com/D23 on Friday, April 23.

            From 1984 to 2003, Roy E. Disney was vice-chairman of Disney’s board of directors and head of Disney Animation, where he helped to guide the Studio to a new golden age of animation with an unprecedented string of artistic and box office successes, including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King.

            He executive produced Fantasia/2000, a sequel to the 1940 Disney classic, and served in a similar capacity on a number of recent animated shorts, including the 2004 Oscar®-nominated Destino, based on storyboards and original art by Salvador Dali. He also was involved in a number of award-winning nature-film projects during his 56-year association with The Walt Disney Company.  He passed away on Dec. 16, 2009.