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Zootopia ‘Mystery Minis’ Finnick

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Dis-LEE

So who did you think is the cutest character in Zootopia? Could it be Finnick?

Just look at those eyes!

Finnick is the partner and best friend of successful con artist, Nick Wilde, being a cunning con artist, himself. Together, the two regularly roam about the city of Zootopia during the day, hustling citizens as a means to make a quick buck. Though they are polar opposites, the two get along well when working a scheme, and have shown to be met with considerable success in their operations. Being a fennec fox, Finnick is much smaller than Nick.

But would you still say he was the cutest character in Zootopia if you saw him out of his elephant costume?

Not-so cute now!

I think we need to go back to his cute self!

That’s better

Here are some (actually a lot!) of Fun Facts about this character from Disney Wiki:

Finnick’s name is a play on his species’ name.
The casting of Tommy Lister was intended to juxtapose Finnick’s character design.
In some books and merchandising, Finnick’s eyes are incorrectly colored blue or gray.
In earlier drafts of the story, Finnick and Nick worked at a fast food restaurant in Little Rodentia called Chez Cheese. Another version had them working at a restaurant called Bug-Burga.
According to co-director Byron Howard, Finnick is older than Nick, but refuses to disclose his actual age.
An elephant was not the only disguise choice for Finnick throughout production. Other roles included a popsicle and a nurse.
On occasion, he can ironically succumb to his own stereotype, as he was seen falling asleep in his stroller at one point of the film.
He is also a heavy snorer, yet ironically whimpers very much like a puppy in his sleep.
The song Finnick plays in his van during his reveal is “Parlez-Vous Rap” by Bloodpop and Daveed Diggs.
Finnick is either incorrectly proportioned or he has a form of dwarfism. Although fennec foxes are the smallest foxes in the world, in real life, adult fennec foxes are almost as large as red foxes, like Nick Wilde.
According to co-director Jared Bush, “Finnick” is actually just a nickname, and the character refuses to reveal his real name to others out of coyness.
Finnick’s outfit in early concept art heavily resembles the final design of Nick’s outfit.
Baymax from Big Hero 6 can be seen as an antenna topper on Finnick’s van.
During renovations of the Walt Disney Animation Studios building, beginning in 2014, Finnick was one of the character silhouettes featured on the wall mural.
Finnick’s popularity following the film’s release led to an increase in demand for fennec foxes as pets in Chinese markets, although the animals are considered unsuitable for domestication.

For more Zootopia Mystery Minis, please see the post entitled Zootopia ‘Mystery Minis’ Vinyl Figure.

Posted in Collectibles, Figurines, Movies | Tagged Blind Box, Collectibles, Elephant Costume, Figurines, Finnick, Funko, Movies, Mystery Minis, Vinyl, Zootopia | Leave a comment

Disney/Pixar Collectible Character Set

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Dis-LEE

We may be entering the wonderful world of Disney knock-off merchandise with today’s post. There are several reasons why I say this, which we will cover as we go. First, here is the item in question:

24 Carry Along Keychains

My first reason for suspecting the authenticity of this set is the price. You get 24 keychains for the small sum of $29.92 which equates to just $1.25 each. When have you ever seen official Disney merchandise sold that cheap? Of course, it was sold at Wal-Mart, so it could be an example of their cut-rate pricing deals with licensing companies. Or it could have been a sale price.

Fairly generic packaging

This set also boasts ‘Made in China’, where we all know that respect for trademarks isn’t a priority, and from where most knock-off merchandise comes from.

However, the packaging does also mention RP Toys Ltd. of Mississauga (Canada) and CDI (Creative Designs International) Toys of Pennsylvania (United States) so there is some legitimacy there. But these could just be importing gateways.

Nice assortment, none the less

Lastly, the quality isn’t up to Disney standards:

And what’s with the handwritten ‘2008’ on each keychain?

So each keychain does have a copyright Disney/Pixar as it should if real and not a knock-off product. But I’m afraid I’m still sceptical!

So what do you think? Is this character set a cheap knock-off, or just the product of a bad marketing deal?

NOTE: I can’t find this set on the Internet as a whole, but I did find the individual keychains for sale anywhere from $2.00 to $7.00 depending on the character. In case you’re wondering, I paid just $10.00 for the whole set on a local selling site.

Posted in Figurines, Merchandise, Pixar | Tagged Cars, CDI Toys, Figurines, Finding Nemo, Keychains, Merchandise, Monsters Inc., Pixar, Pixar Collectible Character Set, Ratatouille, RP Toys Ltd., The Incredibles, Toy Story, Wall-E | Leave a comment

Jimmie Dodd Meets Private Snuffy Smith

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Dis-LEE

Welcome to another installment of ‘Where On Earth Did You Find This‘ on Disney Nouns! The blog that seeks to share the most obscure Disney references imaginable.

Case in point:

This is a 1942 American film directed by Edward F. Cline and starring Bud Duncan as Snuffy Smith. It was actually a comic strip made into a movie, and done quite well, I might add.

Synopsis: Inspired by and envious of the $21 a month and free khaki britches and gold buttons of his friend Don Elbie (our man Jimmie Dodd), Snuffy Smith joins the US Army with his dog, Mr. Carson, concealed by an invisibility potion. As fate would have it, his company First Sergeant is Ed Cooper, a former revenuer who had unsuccessfully attempted to locate and destroy Snuffy’s still.

The clever Don Elbie (yup, Jimmie Dodd) has invented a new rangefinder that he hopes to have adopted by the army. General Rosewater hopes to test the new rangefinder in war games with a rival general. A pair of Fifth columnists hope to steal the rangefinder but are defeated by Snuffy’s wife Lowizie, Snuffy’s invisible dog and his hillbilly neighbours.

Sounds sane enough. And here is what the title cards have to say about Jimmie Dodd:

Jimmie Dodd actually cares for the only three tunes in the film:

Times a-Wastin, which is Snuffy Smith’s battle cry, was written by four men but sung by Dodd.

The Yard Bird, which referred to the Smith character once inducted, was written and performed by Dodd.

I Don’t Know What To Do Blues was also written and performed by Dodd.

Now here are some stills of Jimmie Dodd as Don Elbie from the film:

Keep in mind that this film was released in 1942, so it is a full 13 years before Dodd became the leader of the Mouseketeers. But we can see that he was already a musical player and songwriter. It was nice to find him in such a substantial role!

Jimmie Dodd (March 28, 1910 – November 10, 1964)

Dodd did many turns in the movies before linking up with Disney, usually uncredited, but Private Snuffy Smith is seldom mentioned.

Please enjoy this YouTube video of Jimmie Dodd as we all know and love him, singing to and about Annette:

About half way through the video, you’ll notice another Mouseketeer comes in to help Annette with her ballet. His name is Bobby Burgess. You can see him in his career after Disney by reading the post entitled Mouseketeer Bobby on Lawrence Welk.

Posted in History, Movies | Tagged History, Jimmie Dodd, Mickey Mouse Club, Mouseketeers, Movies, Private Snuffy Smith | Leave a comment

Cloudy Day on the Disney Wonder

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Dis-LEE

Some may say that any day on a Disney cruise ship is a good day. Well, take a look at this picture and see if you agree:

Mickey’s Pool slide on the Disney Wonder

Sometimes a cloudy day can yield great photographic opportunities! In this case, I liked how the bleak sky provided a perfect background for the colorful yellow slide.

Unfortunately, it was too cold to ride it!

Posted in Disney Cruise Line, Photography | Tagged Clouds, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Wonder, Mickey Hand, Mickey's Pool, Photography, Slides | Leave a comment

BOOK REVIEW: Life – Special Magazine on Walt Disney

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Dis-LEE

I saw many of my friends on social media publishing pictures of the cover of this magazine, but wasn’t really planning on picking it up myself. I have so many hard-cover books on Walt Disney, it’s hard to find any contemporary publication that can offer me anything new.

At $16.99 CAN, it had better be good!

But one day I had to wait for my wife and found myself trolling a magazine rack in a local pharmacy and there it was. So I broke down and picked it up. But seriously, $16.99? It had better be ‘special’ indeed!

Obviously the magazine basically contains an overview of Walt’s journey, as reported on in the pages of Life Magazine over the years. So every reference comes from Life archives. A main source of quotes comes from an author and animator named Stephen Cavalier. His bio reads as follows: He has worked in the animation and games industries for two decades. An animator, writer, and director, he has worked as an Animation Director for Disney TV shows and been part of the animation team at Steven Spielberg’s Amblimation. He also works as an animator, writer, and director through his own company, Spy Pictures.

I found his insights to be a bit critical, with even positive comments being followed with a negative point. Of course, Walt was no saint, so one expects this in any publication about him.

Again, I’m always looking for that one image I haven’t seen, or fact I didn’t know. Here are some of the few new things, for me, from this publication:

Walt Crockett and Son

Roy E. Disney in 1950 with awesome merchandise

Pinocchio Walt

The last picture was worth buying the magazine for on its own! It features Walt Disney dressed as Pinocchio as he tells the story to his two daughters. Pure cuteness, and a side of Disney we don’t always get to see.

Overall, a sound publication. I’d give it 4 out of 5 Stars, as it does give a competent overview of Walt Disney’s journey. But it doesn’t offer many new things for the seasoned Disney fan. And the price was ridiculous!

Posted in Books, Education, Reviews | Tagged Books, Education, From Mickey to the Magic Kingdom, Life Magazine, Reviews, Stephen Cavalier, Walt Disney | Leave a comment

Disney’s Gremlins PVC Figurine Set

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Dis-LEE

Gremlins, another movie that never was. Sometimes Walt Disney would team with another visionary and work on a joint project, sometimes for years, only to shelve or scrap the project. Destino with Salvador Dali was one such project. And the Gremlins with Roald Dahl was another.

The Author c.1954

The Gremlins is a children’s book that was written by Roald Dahl and published in 1943. It was Dahl’s first children’s book, and was written for Walt Disney Productions, as a promotional device for a planned feature-length animated. With Dahl’s assistance, a series of gremlin characters were developed, and while pre-production had begun, the film project was eventually abandoned, in part because the studio could not establish the precise rights of the “gremlin” story. Warner Brothers used similar characters in some of their cartoons, and the military used the Gremlins as mascots for many of their divisions.

I have a reprint of the book. I also have a Life Savers page ad featuring the characters. And now I have this great little PVC figurine set:

Little stinkers are damaging their own box!

All sides of the box has artwork

It’s truly a shame that this idea never made it into production. The playful and mischievous characters would have made for a great feature, and subsequent Shorts.

Let’s have a closer look at the figures:

I don’t quite know why the box says ‘Gremlin Jamface’ as there are three distinct characters inside.

In September 2006, Dark Horse Comics published The Gremlins: The Lost Walt Disney Production, a faithfully restored and updated version of The Gremlins including an introduction by acclaimed film historian Leonard Maltin. This is the edition of the book that I have.

The PVC figurine set featured in this post was produced in 2007 for Walt Disney Productions by Dark Horse Comics using their Dark Horse Deluxe branding.

NOTE: If there are any spelling mistakes or historical inaccuracies in this post… I blame the Gremlins!

Posted in Collectibles, Figurines | Tagged Collectibles, Dark Horse Comics, Dark Horse Deluxe, Figurines, Gremlins, Leonard Maltin, PVC, Roald Dahl | Leave a comment

Found Disney: Mouseketeer Bobby on Lawrence Welk

Posted on May 7, 2016 by Dis-LEE

And here we have yet another Disney reference popping up on television. We all remember the Merry Marching Mouseketeers with everyone’s favorite female performer, Annette. But who was your favorite male performer?

Perhaps it was Robert Wilkie “Bobby” Burgess (born May 19, 1941), who was one of only nine Mouseketeers who stayed for the entire run of the show:

Later he would continue his dancing career on the long-running Lawrence Welk Show. Here he is as he appeared in a LW clip show some time after the original run was completed:

And here he is with his full-time dance partner on the original LW show:

With so many of the original Mouseketeers ending their careers after the Club disbanded, and others falling into trouble, it is so nice to know that some were able to go on to continued success, both as people, and performers!

For more on all of your favorite Mouseketeers, check out my reviews of both the Mickey Mouse Club Scrapbook and the Mickey Mouse Club Scrapbook Special Souvenir Edition.

Posted in Found Disney, Music, Television | Tagged Bobby Burgess, Found Disney, Lawrence Welk Show, Mickey Mouse Club, Mouseketeers, Music, Television | Leave a comment

Pixar CARS Die-cast Character TOMBER

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Dis-LEE

I’m still adding to my Cars/Cars 2 characters collection ,even though the films are quite old now. Every once in a while I’ll find a variant that interests me.

The character named Tomber has a connection to my heritage, as my parents are both British (I was born in Canada). Britain is where this type of car was manufactured, as well as in France.

Tomber is a dubious little French car with an unusual, and very unstable, three-wheeled design that befits the meaning of his name: ‘to fall’. By trade he deals car parts from a stall in a Parisian market—though his questionable merchandise sources have led to his reluctant acquaintance with British secret agent Finn McMissile.

Tomber largely resembles the English Reliant Regal three-wheeler, but also bears similarities to a French Citroën AMI, most notably in his double-headlight structure. The Citroën DS also seems to have been an inspiration, mainly for the position of his rear turning indicators, which are situated in the upper corners of his rear window.

Tomber’s license plate is PCS NO1R, an abbreviation for the French “pièces noires,” a reference to the black market parts which he deals.

Let’s look more closely at this cars inspiration, the English Reliant Regal:

The Reliant Regal was a small three-wheeled car manufactured from 1953 until 1973 by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England, replacing the earlier Reliant Regent cyclecar van. As a three-wheeled vehicle having a lightweight construction, under UK law it is considered a “tricycle” and can be driven on a full (class A) motorcycle licence. A light-commercial version with a side-hinged rear door was marketed as the Reliant Supervan. This version you may remember is the one Mr. Bean kept running off the road in his hit comedy series.

Watch an informative and hilarious documentary on driving, and rolling, a three-wheeled Reliant automobile:

The most common view of any Reliant Regal/Robin

Yes sir, I have got to get me one of these for real!

Posted in Collectibles, Pixar, Transportation | Tagged Cars 2, Collectibles, Diecast, Mattel, Models, Pixar, Tomber, Transportation, Vehicles | Leave a comment

Guardians of the Galaxy STARLORD Tsum Tsum

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Dis-LEE

The title of this post probably sounds like a foreign language to some readers, but to fans of the Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy, it indicates their leader: Starlord

Tsum Tsum

Of course, the above repetition of words might be harder to understand! Here is the official description from the Disney Store: “Join the craze that began in Japan! Our “Tsum Tsum” Plush Collection is full of the fluffiest friends, and is now on mugs, dishes, iPhone covers and more!“

There are three main categories of Tsum Tsums: Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel. The last category is where our Starlord example comes from.

Not the handsomest Tsum Tsum out there!

I have resisted jumping on the Tsum Tsum bandwagon until recently when I saw this example on sale for just $1.49 at a local Disney Store (regular price is $5.95). For that discounted price, I felt I would temper my aversion to the craze and buy one. But only one!

This product line joins Trading Pins, Vinylmations, and countless other character-based gimmicks in Disney’s ongoing attempt to part us from our money by turning us all into obsessive collectors.

With that in mind, it didn’t take Disney long to capitalize on the popularity of the Tsum Tsum by releasing medium versions ($12.95), large versions ($24.95), mugs ($12.95), iPhone covers ($39.95), a clothing line, and also vinyl versions.

Detailing is quite well done

One problem I see with this line of merchandise is the size of these mini plush versions. Take a look at what happens when the labels are added:

Am I buying Starlord or labels?

Four labels for such a small product seem excessive, especially when two of them basically say the same thing: Marvel.

I guess I felt kind of sorry for the little galactic hero, sitting in his discount bin, without a friend in the world. And now I can say I own at least one Tsum Tsum. But only one!

Posted in Collectibles, Comic Books, Disney Store, Plush | Tagged Collectibles, Comic Books, Disney Store, Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel Comics, Plush, Starlord, Tsum Tsum | 1 Comment

Disney’s Zootopia MR. BIG Plush

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Dis-LEE

Hey youse guys! Dis is a offer youse can’t refuse! LOOK AT THIS PLUSH:

Mr. Big hisself

Dis is a special treat for youse as Mr. Big don’t normally pose for no pictures. But he’s all decked out for his daughter’s weddin’ and he wanted youse should all know how to dress when ya attends.

So listen up and pay attention! First: Sweat bullets over the little things…

Carnation, spats, and a vest

These is a must, unless you is a broad. So fellas, let’s look at the complete package again:

Lookin’ snappy from every angle

So likes I said, sweat like bullets them little things or get hit with bullets and sweat! See?

By the way, these here pictures were supplied by dem goombahs over at Tomy:

Now, if any of youse gotta problem wit any of dis here info, den the next thing youse is gonna see is somethin’ like dis:

“Enjoy your big sleep!”

Oh, and one more ting. Be sure to click the followin’ link-thingy and visit our inside-sloth at the DMV: Flash Sloth Plush. Tell him Mr. Big sent ya and get 10% off yer next traffic ticket. Youse is welcome!

Posted in Movies, Plush | Tagged Movies, Mr. Big, Plush, Tomy, Zootopia | Leave a comment