D23 – The Official Disney Fan Club members were treated to a special 20th Anniversary screening of the film THE ROCKETEER at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, CA on June 21, 2011.  There were many things that made the event special but the two that stood out the most was that 20 years later the film still enjoys a sense of fun and excitement and that the team Joe Johnston (Director), Bill Campbell (Cliff Secord), Rick Baker (make-up artist), Danny Bilson & Paul De Meo (co-screenwriters) and William Stout (illustrator) were on hand for a Q&A moderated by Kevin Smith (writer/director).

The Rocketeer is a film that stood out twenty years ago due to its faithful adaptation of the comic book from Dave Stevens and dazzling special effects.  Making believable ‘flying’ scenes in filmmaking is always a difficult task and Rocketeer managed to compel us 20 years ago.  Something that we didn’t count on is that the jokes and light-hearted nature of the film still have impact – something the director Joe Johnston and others pointed out during the panel.  Kevin Smith, who moderated, made sure to stress how much talent was on stage by filling in the audience on the achievements each person brought to this production.

Thus far no announcements have been made on a Blu-ray issue of The Rocketeer but fans will most likely demand it – especially after this screening.  The panel was followed by a screening of a brand new trailer for the upcoming film Captain America which is from director Joe Johnston as well and features a similar tone and style as that of The Rocketeer.

More info:
http://d23.disney.go.com/expo/062111.EE.EVENT_Rocketeer.html