Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough

Sleeping Beauty came out (again) on DVD today, so in honor of that (even if I haven't purchased it yet) and the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough comeback, I present to you this nice little piece from Walt Disney's Magazine at the opening of the first walk through.

I'm a HUGE fan of Eyvind Earle and his amazing art, a lot of which depicts the area in which I live and have visited. I've been a fan since the first time I was swept away with Sleeping Beauty, and I keep my eye out for any art pertaining to his backgrounds.

I know a lot of people have mixed feelings about the style in reference to how it was used in an animated film, but as an artist myself, I just think it's magical!

I love the diorama effect of these small sized paintings. They draw your eye in, even in a magazine format.

I look forward to picking up my copy soon and seeing a great film in all its widescreen glory!

For your baby, in 1958

This is a pretty sweet piece from my collection. It's a mobile for your baby's crib with dangling characters from Sleeping Beauty. They include the nameless animal characters, which I think is pretty cute.

I couldn't find a thing to attach this to that would make it stay up, (and wasn't made of nice wood) otherwise I would have taken a photo of how this hangs, but when upright, looks just like the photo, so you'll have to use your imaginations. :)

The plastic pieces that dangle remind me of the "before" state of those old Shrinky Dinks. (Let me hear it! Who loved Shrinky Dinks as a kid? I did!) When I got this, I was slightly tempted to bake it... but don't worry, I won't.

A Look Back: 1959 Family Films

I tried to find something Disney related that went with Halloween, but alas, I found nothing unusual enough to post. So I look to tomorrow, November 1st. I'm sure I'm not the only person out there who finds it insane that there are only two more months left of 2007. Craziness!! I don't know what 2008 holds for the Disney company, but one thing I do know... the films will not be as sweet as they were in 1959.

This beautiful, colorful, highly charming ad is from the December 1958 issue of Life magazine. It gives you a happy look ahead to what the Disney company had in store for everyone in the coming year. Does it get more fun than Sleeping Beauty and Darby O'Gill? I'm inclined to think not. The storytelling in the films from this general time period in Disney history is so spot on. It's rare to find anything of its kind in our modern times. And when I say storytelling, I mean it's as it is in a storybook. I'm not talking brilliant cinematic film writing here. I'm talking about that feeling you had as a kid reading your favorite tales. The charming, unforgettable, warm, inviting kind of storytelling. And who doesn't like a good shaggy man-dog story?!

Don't even get me started on the art, either. Eyvind Earle's fantastic and inspired background art in Sleeping Beauty is something in itself. Absolutely beautiful. Everything is so realism-driven now, even in animation. You don't see anything like this anymore.

And actors. Sean Connery in Darby O'Gill. Can I get an Amen, ladies out there?!?! (Do I even have female readers? If you're out there, yell. Sometimes I think men are the only ones who comment on my blog.) Okay, perhaps that's more eye candy than his most brilliant piece of acting, but it will do, and I will not complain.

Yeep, yep, yep. 1959 was a good year.

Happy November, everyone!