Mickey, “Charming” as Ever!

Here is something any little 1950’s girl would have been so excited to have. I have never seen one like this before I received it. Well… strike that… I had seen the Mickey-in-the-box portion before, evidently (my friend says, “Yeah! You showed me a photo of it once!” and I said, “Really? Why don’t I remember that??!” I won’t forget it now.), but I’m sure I had no idea what it went to. Now, I know.

Somewhere there was a little girl who really felt like she was a member of the Club when she wore this as it appears to be well-loved. Both Mickey and Jiminy hang off its chain and seem to have been colored originally. You can see traces of paint left on both of them.  Jiminy’s  coat was green, it seems, and his umbrella was red. There is some remaining black paint in the crevices of Mickey’s ears and on his nose as well as a bit of red on his shorts and (oddly) one eye. Mickey apparently was suffering from conjunctivitis.  The paint on the Mickey Mouse Club logo and the boxed Mickey seems to have remained the longest.

Inner Mickey, as we will call him, is mounted on a little spring. You can remove the whole thing from the box, if you wish, but I’m thrilled nobody ever did long enough to misplace him, otherwise I would have been wondering what the significance of the box was and probably assumed maybe it was supposed to represent one of those super fantastic “strong boxes full of Mouseketreasures” you got when you were talented enough to be on a Talent Round-Up Day episode. Lucky kids.  But, lucky me for scoring such a sweet Mouseketeer trinket.

I hope all of my readers had a truly exceptional holiday! Here’s to 2011 being even more wonderful! Thank you for stopping by now and then to read my little retro Disney ramblings. I hope I’ll “see you real soon” in 2011!

Is it just me…?

Doesn’t Humphrey Bear look exactly like Tony Danza?? C’mon. Who’s with me?  I have always thought so, ever since I was a loyal Who’s the Boss viewer. They are one in the same to me… only one has more hair and the other enunciates better. Otherwise, SAME.

Do you agree?

You see it… right??

Need more? Ask and you shall receive.

Tony Danza in “Beezy Bear”.

Hmmm…

So, here I was, being patriotic, looking for some great World War II poster to put up as my Facebook profile picture to honor Pearl Harbor day and to my surprise I find this!

Now, I’m no prude, but it might be the most inappropriate place I’ve found Donald. I get the whole using Disney characters to drive a point home concept, but… Donald, condoms, a scantily clad woman conveniently lying under foliage, and venereal disease??? Ehhhhh. Not so much.

Then I started thinking about duck reproductive organs, and it really all went downhill from there.

I don’t know, what do you think? And, more importantly, what would Daisy think!!? :o

A Disneyland Photo Update

Greetings and salutations, all! I’ve got my very first Disneyland photo update coming atcha, so sit back and revel in the holiday gorgeousness!

I went this past weekend, December 4th, viewed the Candlelight Processional, and had a keen ol’ time! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get there earlier in the day to snap some more photos, but I like the ones I did get, and hope you do, too! Happy Holidays!!

View Full Album

Another Dick Van Dyke Post

I’m just surprised as you are, and further surprised by the fact that he has a singing group! This is either well known, or I’m sadly behind.

If you’re interested in seeing Dick Van Dyke and the Vantastix (they have an album!!) then mosey over to the Dear Old Hollywood blog for details.

If anyone attends, please tell me all about it! Guest “commentator” blog posting for you if it’s a nice review! :D

Unfinished Collection OR a Christmas *hint, hint* to my good friends that read this blog and need a gift idea ;)

I have three of these babies! I’ve seen others, but I’m a lazy shopper. I have some weird blockage that makes me feel guilty buying fun stuff for myself, so they remain at three. But what a cute three they are!! :D

The “they” I am referring to are miniature plates, sold in the park in what appears to be the late 1950’s by the stamp and lack of foliage happening on the paintings.

As it seems all the early Disneyland collectables are, they’re very well made and in fine condition these 50some years later. The colors are vivid and beautiful, I adore the style of painting and especially the charm they exude.

Each little painting clearly conveys the feeling of each area of the park, and when paired together, is a reminder of just how perfect Disneyland is; so many different lands juxtaposed flawlessly. It’s just about as perfect as perfect gets.

I will obtain the other plates. This I know. And when I do I will slap ‘em up here on the blog. But do check out the New Orleans triangular miniature plate post (here) as the idea is very similar to these. I wish they would have gone for circular ones, just to complete the set visually.

I’m not sure if I’ll get to another post this week, so if I don’t, I want to wish all my readers a very happy Thanksgiving. Take a moment to count your blessings, because each one of us really has so many, even if they appear at times to be hiding. Oh… and eat lots of pie. Mmmmmm, piiiie…

Another Reason Why Dick Van Dyke is a Total LEGEND (as if we needed more)

Feeling a little off today? That’s because Dick Van Dyke just out-awesomed all of us. We all knew he was the coolest kind of cool before… I don’t even need to list why… but then he goes and does something like this?

Finish up for the day, folks. There is no more awesomeness to be made. And anyway, it’s Friday. Enjoy your weekend! ;)

hehe! Happy reading! http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/nov/11/dick-van-dyke-porpoises-rescue

Little Bit o’ N’awlins! (with a side of silly story)

All right, so every time I see something from New Orleans Square, I’m reminded of Christmas 1997. I was working in the park and there was a campaign going, “Welcome Home for the Holidays!” in which, we were forced to greet every guest with that same phrase.

The management in New Orleans Square was very particular that we would address the area with an “accent” and say N’awlins rather than New Orleans. So, the spiel when working in that area was, “Welcome home to N’awlins!” or “Welcome home to N’awlins for the holidays!” or some such compound. Not really the most natural greeting, but we do what the Mouse commands.

So, being the dutiful cast member, I greeted a guest, with a big Disney smile, and it went something like this:

Me: Welcome home to N’awlins! Happy Holidays!

Guest: (confused expression) I… I don’t live here.

Me: Yes, sir. I know.

Guest: (still confused) I’m from Nebraska.

Me: (not sure how to get out of this one) Well, welcome to Disneyland, sir! Are you enjoying your day here?

Guest: Can you really  live here?

Me: No, sir.

Guest: Then, why did you say, “Welcome home”? What’s Naw-linns?

Me: (ignoring the first question, trying not to say “I have to say it.”) N’awlins is New Orleans Square. Now, how may I help you?

Guest: Why didn’t you just say, “New Orleans Square”? 

Me: (little bit hating on the management at this point) Because that’s how they say it down south, sir. How can I be of assistance to you?

Guest: You know you’re not in the south, right?

Me: (really quite embarrassed at this point) Yes, sir. Proud Californian. What can I do for you?

Guest: (walks away).

HARSH. 

Since then, every time I see anything from NOS, I think of that day… which was, by the way, the last time I said that phrase, and henceforth stuck with a simple, yet effective, “Happy Holidays!” I figured Walt would prefer it that way.

Anyway, that was a long introduction for a very small little item, which is seen here. A lil’ beauty from the late 60’s, I believe. Just check out the great color! I am assuming this was to be something similar to join the miniature plates of each of the lands that were produced prior to this (which I should post photos of in my next blog post… note to self), though it’s not round. Either way, I keep them all together and they look mighty perdy. I have to say, the look of the whole thing reminds me of the London Bridge section of “The Truth About Mother Goose”.

Hope y’all are having a mighty fine week! ;)

Finding Donald in Unexpected Places

Whether it be on the side of a bomber or marching downstairs in a Ginger Rogers’ film, Donald Duck is one versatile celebrity.  Sometimes, you just don’t know when he’ll turn up!

At first, I was quite surprised to see Dick York (AKA best Darrin Stephens) in this 1945 World War II training film  highlighting insomnia… but then very surprised to see our favorite duck appearing in what I feel is the most memorable part of the whole 20ish minute film.

You’ll all remember the short (“Early to Bed”, 1941 ), but you’ll probably find its usage very clever in the film, which once again proves that animation was so helpful and effective in training “our boys”. I’m pretty sure Samantha could have been very effective as well… one twitch and their insomnia battles would be over! Where’s a witch when you  need one? ;)

Detour!

If you have a free minute, please stop over to the Dear Old Hollywood blog. There’s a great entry about Walt Disney’s home and studios. He has also included current photos of the buildings. I’m very happy to see they still look nicely kept. Have a look!

Walt as a topic on BBC Radio

Stop by the BBC and take a listen to this great radio program they have. Their topic is the life of Walt Disney. It might be a little TMI about the bedwetting, though. Poor Walt! And poor Roy, for that matter! I can only hope he was quite small at the time.

From their website:

“Satirical cartoonist Gerald Scarfe nominates Walt Disney.

Gerald Scarfe spent much of his childhood in his sick bed, so it's not surprising that Disney cartoons and feature films meant so much to him. He can still recall the thrill at the prospect of seeing Pinocchio at the cinema, and then the agony of being lead away again in the rain because the tickets were too expensive.

Walt Disney came from a working family. His god-fearing father Elias, said by one writer to have 'hated Capital, and favoured Labour, but really needed to make a buck', found work where he could. So Walt lived a peripatetic childhood, and sought solace in drawing and play acting. Hard times early on did not make Walt frugal with money in adulthood, and despite the huge successes of the golden era of Disney, it was only with the opening of Disneyland that Walt attained any substantial personal wealth.

You don't have to look far to find myth surrounding Walt Disney. Even after his death, rumours that his body had been cryogenically frozen spread so widely that they soon slipped into folklore. He had actually been cremated, but the readiness with which the cryogenic claim was accepted perhaps bears witness to a man who was terrified of dying, who believed in the white hope of technology and who, some might say, had been searching all his life for an escape into an immortal, fairytale world.

Matthew Parris, Gerald Scarfe and guest experts Brian Sibley and Richard Williams, creator of Roger Rabbit, discuss the life of a complex cultural icon. A man who was seemingly unpretentious, and did not fit the image of movie mogul with his scruffy tweed jacket and awkward demeanour, yet a man who was accused of being a tyrannical egomaniac. The son of a socialist who ended up naming names at the House of Un- American Activities committee. Above all else perhaps though, they discuss the life of a man who strove tirelessly for perfection and who changed the cultural landscape of a little boy called Gerald, and arguably of the world, for ever.

Scarfe himself is best known for his classic images lampooning the great and the good of politics, and also in his iconic animation for Pink Floyd's The Wall. He reveals in this programme that he also spent time working on the Disney production Hercules.

The producer is Miles Warde.”

Pieces of the Mural

Seriously. What’s going on with  me? 3 blog posts in the span of a week?! How can this be? Will it keep up? Time will tell. However! I have a post to go with an old post today, which I was inspired to put up since I found photos of my chunks of Mary Blair (which sounds morbid, but I promise it’s not!).

My long time readers might recall a post, which you can find here, detailing the sad destruction, or possibly partial destruction of the fantastic Mary Blair mural in Tomorrowland.

I’m not certain if much of the mural remains, but I know that portions of the destroyed pieces were auctioned off. A friend of mine bought said chunks as a birthday present for me… which, in thinking about it, would be such a bad present for anyone who was not so marinated in Disney as I… and, being a huge Mary Blair fan, I thought they were pretty darn cool! Let’s hope they’re legit. I’ve never heard anything to the contrary about them.

As you can see, they’re relatively thick, seemingly the same thickness as seen in the tiles shown in the photos from my previous post. They’re painted, a bit weathered, but they still have a nice sheen to them. I don’t know what portion of the mural they come from, though I think they probably had residence towards the bottom area.

Here is the backside for anyone interested. It looks like there is some cement or mortar of some sort. I’m not a girl who would know the correct terminology for that. Some goo to make it stick to something else! How about that.

It would please me greatly if they brought the mural back, since they seem to be bringing back everything from our Tomorrowland of the past. Fingers crossed. :) Incidentally, did anyone see the floor in the Mary Blair area of the Walt Disney Family Museum? Fabulous!!! If they made that in rug form, it would be in my house right now!

Today’s lucky strike

Quick blog post today!

Normally, I’m hyper-organized. Yep, the annoying kind. The everything-in-cute-boxes-and-categorized kind. I have not yet approached the dark side of labeling everything, though. If I were the labeling type, (and I probably would be if I had a labeler) I probably would not have placed this guy where he didn’t belong. But, that said… isn’t it fun to come across things you forgot you owned!? Especially Disney stuff, right? Who’s with me!?  

I love the art on this matchbook. Simple lines and easy shapes create a whimsical and retro feel that perfectly illustrates the hotel at the time.

 

 

I am no Disneyland Hotel aficionado, so if anyone out there  can date this little guy for me, do speak up. :) I believe I found it in my mom’s old stuff, so I’m assuming late 60’s?? The design strikes me as older, though.

Wishing a happy Friday to all of my readers!

Back to Blogging with The Peter Pan Tea Set

I think I’ve been collecting Disney paraphernalia for my entire life… which isn’t as long as some collectors have been at it, but for me, it seems like a good while. I started with the easy stuff, collecting things from Disneyland, or preserving the things that my older sister had from her childhood, and eventually it blossomed into something bigger, better, and much older than I.

One of my favorite such blossomings is this miniature Peter Pan tea set from around the time of the film’s release in 1953. Being a massive fan of Peter Pan, it was an amazing gift for me. As you can see, it’s a rather large set, with very colorful graphics on every piece. Completely charming in every way and it looks as sparkling as the day it was made.

Unfortunately, the box and the cute punch out figures don’t belong to me. But, I love the graphics and the usage of the box! I love how, oftentimes, the box was used as some special part of the toy back then- like a colorful background -  instead of being pure waste as it always is now. Great graphics on the box, too.

Now, if only this came in full, adult size! :)

A Fun Find

 

 

There are a few Disneyland photos over at Blonde Episodes- a decidedly non-Disney site (I'm a vintage loving kind of girl!), but still fun to look at. Hop on over to see the others. :)

Walt feeds a penguin

While searching through my growing list of blogs I love visiting, I came across this great photo over at Hollywood Heyday. It's an amusing shot of a young and casual Walt with what appears to be penguin snacks in hand, coaxing some audio out of the little cutie.

The post chronicles the goings on in Hollywood around April 17, 1932. It says this in the photo's caption:

"Walt Disney, creator of Mickey Mouse animated cartoons, will move his bizarre animals from Columbia lots to those of United Artists some time in the middle of July."

I must say, I'm a little curious as to which short this was used for in 1932. If anyone has any idea, do let me know.

Have a great week, everyone! :)

Walt's Macaroni Mickey Mousse

While tripping along a Disney recipe index, I came upon this, which I think is so adorable. It's from a February 1934 Better Homes & Gardens issue. I thought it was too nice to be hidden, so I wanted to bring everyone's attention to it here.

I can't figure out who the blogger is who originally posted it, but here is the source link. It was great of whomever to post it.

Now, I don't know how much cheese had to do with the creation of Mickey Mouse, but it does make for a cute read and references the mouse that scampered around Walt's Kansas City office.

I love the part that reads, "Mr. Disney often serves Macaroni Mickey Mousse to his friends who visit him at his Hollywood bungalow." The recipe variations that follow lead me to believe that perhaps he actually did.

If anyone tries this recipe out, do let me know how it goes.

Bringing Back a Classic

We will call this post, Disney inspired, because it’s not directly Disney, but definitely something Disney brought my attention to; an unexpected topic, that of the Cream Waffle.

Here’s the story… I was looking through some images I had saved on my computer, getting organized, when I came across the breakfast menu from the Disney Studio Commissary. Going through it I began to wonder what some of the items were and being such a freak for all things 30s/40s I began to look things up and discover common products, packaging, and eating habits of the time (lots of meat for breakfast!). One such item on the menu caught my eye, the Cream Waffles of course, priced at 20 cents.

I assumed, perhaps it was a waffle topped with whipped cream, which I suppose it could very well have been, but after a bit of research I discovered the Cream Waffle is a whole type of waffle different from the rest. I found but one recipe for it online, as well as several people looking for the recipe, and decided to give it a shot. I journeyed myself to Trader Joe’s to pick up what I needed and made them for breakfast the next day.

What have I been missing?!? They were amazing! At first bite they’re common like other waffles, but in a few seconds the creaminess really takes hold and you realize just how much better they are in comparison to the old standard… at least in my opinion. I also found them to be faster and easier to make, which could have been a product of my enthusiasm, but there you have it.

I just couldn’t understand that such a great recipe had been lost in time, and so I bring it back here, to those interested, in hopes of reviving a classic and maybe, in some minute way, a little bit of Disney Studio history. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family did. J

Below is the recipe. Being a gal who is not into sugar, I replaced the sugar with a couple drops of liquid stevia and added a little extra vanilla because that’s just how I roll. ;) If anyone tries this recipe, do let me know what you think in the comments section.

Cream Waffles

· 1 cup all-purpose flour

· 1/4 teaspoon salt

· 3 eggs, separated

· 1 cup heavy whipping cream

· ½ teaspoon vanilla

· 1 tablespoon sugar.

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, and sugar. In a small mixing bowl, beat egg yolks on low while adding cream and vanilla. Beat for 1 minute. Add to flour mixture; combine on low speed, then beat on medium-high until smooth.

2. In another small mixing bowl and with clean beaters, beat egg whites on high until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into batter.

3. Bake in a preheated waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions. Serve with warm maple syrup or fresh fruit in season.