Notably Disney is the ultimate Disney podcast covering music and books written by and about The Walt Disney Company.
Episodes
Tuesday Jun 17, 2025
Tuesday Jun 17, 2025
We hate to love them, as well as love to hate them. The Disney villains compromise an electric crew of sinfully satisfying baddies. Some appear in animated movies, others live-action films. Others are on television, in the theme parks, or even on Broadway. Disney villains are sometimes misunderstood, funny, and charming, and often cruel and truly wicked. And of course there are those villains who are antiheroes or even fuzzy in having the villain status. Over two episodes on Notably Disney, author, professor, and musician Matt Hodge joins host Brett Nachman to examine the songs associated with Disney villains. On this episode they highlight their selections for the best tunes, noting their appreciation of the lyrics, composition, singers, and the song's role in the specific project. The next edition will focus on the worst songs
Learn more about Matt's work by visiting his website. And be sure to purchase a copy of Cool Cats and a Hot Mouse: A History of Jazz and Disney, his award-winning book about Disney and jazz, by visiting Amazon or Barnes and Noble. You can also subscribe to Matt Hodge Music on YouTube.
Feel free to reach out to Brett via Bluesky @drnachman and Instagram @drnachman, subscribe to the podcast, and send your feedback to notablydisney@gmail.com
New episodes of Notably Disney debut on the first and third Tuesday of each month.
Tuesday Jun 03, 2025
Tuesday Jun 03, 2025
Danielle Kelly, also known as the Dapper Danielle, started out her career as a Disney cast member, and has since evolved into delivering fun social media content and now writing a book that focuses on the most popular theme park in the world. In I Love Disney’s Magic Kingdom, Danielle, with editor Ian Wilson, work to elevate our appreciation and understanding of the enchanting park. On this episode of Notably Disney, Danielle joins host Brett Nachman to share how her pixie dust-infused career has taken her from Cinderella Castle to digital spaces and now the author of a new book.
Check out more about Danielle and I Love Disney's Magic Kingdom on her website. Follow Danielle (@thedapperdanielle) on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
Feel free to reach out to Brett via Bluesky @drnachman and Instagram @drnachman, subscribe to the podcast, and send your feedback to notablydisney@gmail.com
New episodes of Notably Disney debut on the first and third Tuesday of each month.
Tuesday May 20, 2025
Tuesday May 20, 2025
Emmy-nominated composer Jeff Morrow held the mighty job of crafting a score for the live-action adaptation of Disney’s first animated feature. 2025’s Snow White takes our heroine and countless memorable characters into a new landscape for which Jeff has a fertile playing ground to capture whimsy, darkness, and everything in between. On this episode of Notably Disney, Jeff Morrow joins host Brett Nachman to share how this trombone player-turned composer has now been responsible for creating music for a major motion picture for the studio.
Check out Jeff Morrow's scores on Spotify or wherever you listen to music!
Feel free to reach out to Brett via Bluesky @drnachman and Instagram @drnachman, subscribe to the podcast, and send your feedback to notablydisney@gmail.com
New episodes of Notably Disney debut on the first and third Tuesday of each month.
Tuesday May 06, 2025
Tuesday May 06, 2025
Three decades later and Disney’s 33rd animated feature remains one of its most controversial for its historical inaccuracies and racial depictions. Yet Pocahontas also remains a celebrated film for its score and songs, garnering Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz a pair of Academy Awards. On this episode of Notably Disney, host Brett Nachman leads a discussion of Pocahontas. Joining Brett are two guests who have examined Disney work from a scholarly sense: Dr. Peter Kunze, Assistant Professor of Communication at Tulane University, who was on the podcast a couple of years ago to discuss his book Staging a Comeback, as well as Dr. Michelle Anya Anjirbag-Reeve, Affiliated Researcher at the University of Antwerp. Michelle and Pete examine the roles of race, culture, language, and more in this thoughtful dialogue about how Pocahontas fits within the Disney Renaissance period and in the company more broadly.
Email Pete at pkunze@tulane.edu and check out his book about Disney musicals - Staging a Comeback - on the Rugters University Press website.
Learn more about Michelle's work by checking out her website: MichelleAnjirbag.com
Feel free to reach out to Brett via Bluesky @drnachman and Instagram @drnachman, subscribe to the podcast, and send your feedback to notablydisney@gmail.com
New episodes of Notably Disney debut on the first and third Tuesday of each month.
Tuesday Apr 15, 2025
Tuesday Apr 15, 2025
June 7 marks the end of an era, one that lasted 34 years to be precise. The closing of Jim Henson’s Muppet*Vision 3D at Disney’s Hollywood Studios signifies not only a farewell to one of the oldest and most beloved attractions in the park, but also to one of the cleverest shows that has ever existed in a Disney theme park. As the last production that Jim Henson worked on, Muppet*Vision 3D is filled with laughs, heart, and ingenuity. To honor this magnificent attraction, author Aaron Wallace joins host Brett Nachman to share our memories, favorite show elements, including its brilliant writing, and they think represent the show’s legacy, among other topics. This episode is a salute to all 3D shows, but mostly Muppet*Vision 3D. If you know, you know!
Check out what Aaron Wallace has been up to by following him on Instagram (@aaronhwallace) and find out more about his books on AaronWallaceOnline.com.
Feel free to reach out to Brett via Bluesky @drnachman and Instagram @drnachman, subscribe to the podcast, and send your feedback to notablydisney@gmail.com
New episodes of Notably Disney debut on the first and third Tuesday of each month.
Tuesday Apr 01, 2025
Tuesday Apr 01, 2025
For more than 70 years Walt Disney Imagineering has been at the forefront of creating unforgettable experiences for theme park guests around the world, and one individual has played a crucial role in spearheading a vision filled with ingenuity and experimentation. Bob Weis, who presided over WDI from 2016-2012, chronicles four decades of self-described success and failure in Dream Chasing: My Four Decades of Success and Failure with Walt Disney Imagineering, a fantastic autobiography recently published by Disney Editions. In this episode of Notably Disney, Bob speaks with host Brett Nachman about a range of topics, from dealing with tight budgets for park attractions to bringing new lands to Disney's Hollywood Studios. Throughout Bob explains the commitment that Disney Imagineers have in developing rich experiences based on classic storytelling. Bob also shares a bit about his new fiction title entitled Ghost Dog.
Follow Bob on Instagram @bobweis! Learn more about Dream Chasing on Disney Books and Ghost Dog: A Novel from Old Mill Press.
Feel free to reach out to Brett via Bluesky @drnachman and Instagram @drnachman, subscribe to the podcast, and send your feedback to notablydisney@gmail.com
New episodes of Notably Disney debut on the first and third Tuesday of each month.
Tuesday Mar 18, 2025
Tuesday Mar 18, 2025
Last fall saw the release of a massive new autobiography from legendary Disney Imagineer Bob Weis, who ultimately led Walt Disney Imagineering as its president toward the end of his career with the company. Dream Chasing: My Four Decades of Success and Failure with Walt Disney Imagineering recounts Bob’s amazing time with Disney Imagineering, working on new theme parks like the Disney-MGM Studios and Tokyo DisneySea to conceptualizing projects that never materialized. It’s a wonderful look at not only one person’s career, but also the major endeavors that they contributed to. Joining host Brett Nachman to review this title are Emily McDermott and Courtney Guth from the Book the Mouse Club podcast.
Be sure to check out the Book of the Mouse Club podcast on Apple Podcasts and wherever you listen to podcasts. Their email is bookofthemouseclub@gmail.com
Also make sure you follow Book of the Mouse Club on Instagram (@bookofthemouse), along with each of the hosts: Courtney (@greatguthsby) and Emily (@emily_mickde).
Feel free to reach out to Brett via Bluesky @drnachman and Instagram @drnachman, subscribe to the podcast, and send your feedback to notablydisney@gmail.com
New episodes of Notably Disney debut on the first and third Tuesday of each month.
Tuesday Mar 04, 2025
Tuesday Mar 04, 2025
Notably Disney commonly features conversations with composers and musicians responsible for developing many of the scores we love, including those in the theme parks. Rarely, however, has host Brett Nachman had the opportunity to speak with a musicologist who disentangles such tunes. Joining Brett on this episode is Dr. Gregory Camp, a senior lecturer of music at the University of Auckland School of Music. Later this year, Camp's new book, Music in the Disney Theme Parks, will be published through Routledge. Gregory discusses with Brett what’s in store in this academic title that peers into the music that completely envelops us when visiting a Disney destination.
Learn more about Dr. Camp's work by visiting his faculty profile page on the University of Auckland website.
Feel free to reach out to Brett via Bluesky @drnachman and Instagram @drnachman, subscribe to the podcast, and send your feedback to notablydisney@gmail.com
New episodes of Notably Disney debut on the first and third Tuesday of each month.
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Tuesday Feb 18, 2025
Animator, director, and voice artist Stephen Anderson has held a variety of roles with The Walt Disney Company for more than two decades. Perhaps he is best known as co-director of 2011’s Winnie the Pooh and 2007’s Meet the Robinsons, including as the voice of the eccentric Bowler Hat Guy. Today he joins host Brett Nachman on Notably Disney to discuss his journey in covering two decades of seeming overlooked Disney history via the comprehensive book Disney In-Between: The Lost Years 1966-1986, published by The Old Mill Press. Steve shares the undertaking of compiling around 20 years into 450 pages or thereabouts, including the lessons learned from a period of reconciliation and change for the Mouse House.
Purchase a signed copy of Disney In-Between on The Old Mill Press website. Follow Stephen on Instagram, Bluesky, and X (@SteveHatGuy).
Feel free to reach out to Brett via Bluesky @drnachman and Instagram @drnachman, subscribe to the podcast, and send your feedback to notablydisney@gmail.com
New episodes of Notably Disney debut on the first and third Tuesday of each month.
Tuesday Feb 04, 2025
Tuesday Feb 04, 2025
Before the clock strikes the 75th anniversary of Walt Disney’s masterpiece Cinderella, the release of the full written score of the animated film invites musicians and aficionados to engage with this work. Today’s guest on Notably Disney is arranger and orchestrator Shawn Degenhart, responsible for this new release. Shawn joins host Brett Nachman to share the process of translating the beloved score by Oliver Wallace and Paul Smith to wider audiences.
Check out Shawn's work and purchase a copy of the full score on his website: degenhartmusic.com!
Feel free to reach out to Brett via Bluesky @drnachman and Instagram @drnachman, subscribe to the podcast, and send your feedback to notablydisney@gmail.com
New episodes of Notably Disney debut on the first and third Tuesday of each month.