Jim Hill
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Next up is Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas. Melanie made a number of films for the Mouse House back in the 1990s, among them “Paradise” (1991), “A Stranger Among Us” (1992) and “Born Yesterday” (1993). In April of 1992, she and her then-husband Don Johnson hosted the American version of the TV special that celebrated the grand opening of Euro Disneyland. But perhaps her favorite Disney project would have to be “Two Much,” the romantic comedy she made for the company back in 1996. For it was on the set of that particular picture that she met her now-husband, Antonio Banderas.

Speaking of Antonio, Banderas too has strong ties to Walt Disney Studios. In addition to the before-mentioned “Two Much,” Antonio has made appearances in several Mouse made movies. Among them are “Miami Rhapsody” (1995), “Evita” (1996), “The 13th Warrior” / “Eaters of the Dead” / “The Vikings” (1998) and “Spy Kids” (2001). Earlier this year, Banderas agreed to star as Emiliano Zapata in a movie bio of the Mexican revolutionary leader that Disney Studios will put into production sometime in 2002.

Anywho, given that these two actually met on the set of a Disney film, is it any wonder they have a soft spot toward the Mouse House? Which is why - when the Imagineers called about Superstar Limo - Melanie & Antonio immediately said “Yes.”

Tim Allen is another performer with incredibly strong ties to the Walt Disney Company. His long running sitcom, “Home Improvement,” was actually produced by the Mouse’s television division. As were his two feature films, “The Santa Clause” and “Jungle 2 Jungle.” Allen also provided the voice of Buzz Lightyear for those animated hits “Toy Story, “ “ Toy Story 2” and the direct-to-video “Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.” Tim’s two best selling books -- “Don’t Stand Too Close to a Naked Man” and “I’m Not Really Here” - were published by Disney’s Hyperion Press.

Given that Allen owes a lot of his success to Disney (Which -- ‘way back in 1991 -- originally signed Tim to appear in the Robin Williams role for a TV version of “The Dead Poets Society.” Strange but true, folks), Tim quickly said “Yes” when WDI came calling.

Which brings us to super model Cindy Crawford. Not a person that you’d think would have strong ties to the Walt Disney Company. But that’s where you’d be wrong. Crawford - as it turns out - has a three year development deal with ABC Television. Cindy also served as the on-line hostess for DCA when Disney.com began offering previews of the Disneyland Resort’s newest theme park late last year. Ever anxious to deepen her ties with the second largest media company in the world, Crawford gladly gave the Imagineers permission to sculpt her famous figure - mole & all - for SSL.

Drew Carey. Just like Regis & Tim Allen, here’s another guy who basically owes his career to the Mouse.

Carey signed a TV development deal with Disney back in 1991, right after his boffo appearance on the old “Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.” Though the first sitcom Drew appeared on - Touchstone Television’s “The Good Life” -- bombed, Disney still felt that the Cleveland comic had big potential. Which is why they quickly got behind his second sitcom, “The Drew Carey Show,” which debuted on ABC in the Fall of 1995. This snarky little show eventually grew into a huge hit for the Disney owned network.

Since then, the love affair between Drew Carey & Disney has just grown & grown. His best selling novel - “Dirty Jokes & Beer: Stories of the Unrefined” - was published by Disney’s Hyperion Press. Carey also delivered a second hit show for the network in the summer of 1999 when the Americanized version of that old Brit TV hit, “Whose Line is It Anyway?” debuted. Last year, Drew made his musical debut in “Gepetto,” an original musical that the company presented on “The Wonderful World of Disney.”

Carey’s love of the Disney theme parks is well known as well. Drew happily took part in the opening hoopla / promotion of both Disney’s Animal Kingdom & Disney’s California Adventure. He even has his own theme park attraction: Disney / MGM’s “Sounds Dangerous” show. So is it any wonder that the Imagineers felt that they didn’t have to worry about whether Drew would give them his permission to place his likeness in Superstar Limo. The guys at WDI knew that this was a done deal even before they asked. And so it was.

Next up: Action superstar Jackie Chan. Again, not a guy that you’d think would have any real connection to the Mouse House. But - as it turns out - Chan already has huge ties to Disney. For example, Chan sang the title song for the Chinese release of Disney’s 1990 animated hit, “Beauty & the Beast.” Jackie then followed this toon work up by providing the voice of Shang for both the Cantonese and Mandarin versions of the studio’s 1998 release, “Mulan.”

More recently, Jackie has begun doing some live action work for Walt Disney Studios. His appearance in Touchstone Pictures Summer 2000 release, “Shanghai Noon,” caused such a sensation that Disney’s already readying a script for a sequel, “Shanghai Knight,” which could begin shooting as early as fall of this year. Chan’s also entered into discussions with Mouse House reps about doing a big special effects filled action comedy for the studio based on that old 1970s toy, Stretch Armstrong.

Anxious to prove that he’s a team player, Chan quickly said “Yes” when WDI asked to use his likeness in Superstar Limo.