BOOK REVIEW: Walt Disney’s Mother Goose

Posted on April 24, 2016 by Dis-LEE

Once again a flea market has offered up another vintage Disney book for the blog:

9 1/2″ x 12 1/2 ” with 30 pages

Mother Goose nursery rhymes have been told and retold too many times to count, but this retelling gives the familiar tales a Disney twist. Each verse is accompanied by images of beloved Disney characters, both well-known and obscure.

Title Pages

The artwork is attributed to the Walt Disney Studio, with no single artist being credited.

Now let’s take a look at some of the rhymes with accompanying artwork:

The whole cast…

It’s always cool to see so many Disney characters together! Above we have a collection of favorites like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Pinocchio alongside vintage characters like the Three Little Pigs/Big Bad Wolf and Clara Cluck, and then obscure characters like Bongo and Pablo (the penguin).

The Old Woman needs to add a boot annex to her shoe!

The Seven Dwarfs

I thought this page was neat because it used each of the seven dwarfs for a different rhyme that basically fit their personalities.

Song of the South

The book has many references to the Song of the South. The rhyme One to Ten depicts the only time Br’er Fox would ever consider letting Br’er Rabbit go!

Bongo and Lulubelle

Not many Disney fans remember little Bongo and his girlfriend, the couple from the package film Fun and Fancy Free. This was a character that didn’t quite make it but did show up from time to time in books like this.

You can read more about Bongo in an earlier post by clicking the link.

This page caught my eye. Not only are characters from Song of the South featured again (Yea!) but Snow White makes an appearance in a color-variant of her signature dress.

Lastly, the little black lamb from So Dear to My Heart makes an appropriate cameo in Baa, Baa, Black Sheep!

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The rhymes are basic and well-known, but for very young children, everything is new again! The artwork alone, with the Disney touch, is worth adding this book to your child’s collection.

I would give this book a 4 out of 5 Stars. Again, story wise, there is nothing new here. But for the Disney fan, seeing beloved characters portraying favorite Mother Goose characters should be worth a look. You can find a reprinting of this book on Amazon as of the date of this post.

Back Cover

This particular copy is the eighth printing by the Western Publishing Company from 1973. It is part of the Golden Book series.

Posted in Books, Reviews | Tagged A Big Golden Book, Book Reivews, Books, Golden Press, Mother Goose, Nursery Rhymes, Reviews, Western Publishing Company | 4 Comments

Top Five Disney Weather Conditions

Posted on April 23, 2016 by Dis-LEE

You’ve spent months planning the perfect Disney vacation. You’ve accounted for every possible contingency. You’ve packed enough stuff to outfit an expedition to the real Mount Everest. You’ve psyched your entire family into a Disney-induced preoccupation.

And now you’ve arrived at your chosen Disney destination. And there’s weather.

Do not despair! I have compiled a complete list of Disney Weather Conditions along with What-to-do-about-it ideas. So without further ado, and before this post is called on account of weather, let’s start with:

CONDITION NUMBER FIVE

COLD & RAINY

Tut, tut, it looks like rain! Nothing says ‘fun’ like riding an attraction in a deluge of Biblical proportions. We like riding Splash Mountain or the Grizzly Bear Rapids to get wet, but Autopia or The Magic Carpets of Aladdin? Not so much.

Here’s what to do: Do not leave the park! Everyone else will, so this is the perfect time to do indoor attractions that usually have long lines. Also, it’s a great time to shop because the stores will be less crowded, and the Cast Members will be able to give you better attention. Grab a bite at that busy restaurant that you can never get reservations for.

In short, continue to have fun. Oh, and wear a Mickey Poncho!

CONDITION NUMBER FOUR

ANYBODY’S GUESS

Those who live in Florida have a saying: Don’t like the weather? Wait a few minutes, it’ll change! Remember earlier when I said you planned for every contingency, and packed everything you’d need? Well, that’s great. But if you get up in the morning and it’s sunny, so you wear shorts and a t-shirt with no coat, but two hours later it’s cloudy and windy with a wee nip in the air, followed by one of Florida’s famous downpours, followed minutes later by scorching temperatures, you quickly realize that this weather condition isn’t much better than a full rainy day!

Here’s what to do: Watch the skies. Sometimes the weather is merciful and gives a few moments warning of what it has planned. Learn to roll with the punches and deploy that famous sense of humor of yours. You have one of those, right? It won’t help!

CONDITION NUMBER THREE

WINDY

Hang onto your Mickey Ears because it’s about to get blustery! This isn’t one of the worst weather conditions you can face at Disney, but it does present some challenges. You may want to rent a locker and stow the hats and other loose articles. Do up the coats. And get ready to acquire a taste for dust!

The main problem with this weather condition is that some rides may be shut down, such as Characters in Flight in Disney Springs.

Here’s what to do: Just keep having fun and try to make a game of dodging debris.

CONDITION NUMBER TWO

CLOUDY

Now we’re getting closer to the ideal weather conditions for a perfect Disney vacation! When the day is overcast, but not raining, usually the temperatures are moderate. The sun isn’t beating down on you and the blonde-haired person in your party isn’t a bright red yet.

Here’s what to do: Go on as many of the slower outdoor rides that you can. Driving with the top down (the cars, not yours) on The Tomorrowland Speedway for example is much more enjoyable without depleted-ozone induced cosmic rays killing you! It may also be the time to rent that watercraft and get out on the Seven Seas Lagoon. If it’s windy too, don’t rent a sail boat or you may end up in another State!

CONDITION NUMBER ONE

HOT & SUNNY

Ding! Turn me over, I think I’m done. California and Florida can get pretty hot when the sun shines in the middle of Summer. So you may think that this would be the worst time to be at a Disney park, right? Wrong!

Here’s what to do: You can use the heat for an excuse to scarf down a dozen Mickey Bars. You can ride a water-based attraction and get soaked. No problem, you will be dry by the time you get to the next attraction. If all else fails, you should be able to talk your family into some pool time back at the Resort. And trust me, you’ll quickly learn how to bathe in a drinking fountain.

Also, bright sunny days provide the best conditions for taking awesome photographs!

Sure, you’re going to suffer. But enjoy the sun while it lasts. Remember, you’ll be back at work in the middle of Winter before you know it!

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So there you have it, my Top Five list of weather conditions that you may encounter at a Disney park. And maybe I’ll see you there some day. I’ll be the one shaking my fist at the sky and screaming ‘WHY’ over and over again!

Posted in Disneyland, Humor, Lists, Tips, Vacation Planning, Walt Disney World | Tagged cold, Disneyland, Hot, Humor, Lists, Tips, Top 5, Vacation Planning, Walt Disney World, Weather | Leave a comment

BOOK REVIEW: The Grasshopper and the Ants

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Dis-LEE

This is one of my favorite Silly Symphonies (1934) and I have a few items of memorabilia featuring it in my collection. It’s a classic tale of industriousness versus laziness with the lead character, the Grasshopper, learning a sobering lesson… the hard way!

Let’s have a look at the story along with some of the artwork by Larry Moore:

Title Page

The Grasshopper is a happy-go-lucky fellow who thinks the world owes him a living, so he does nothing all summer but play his fiddle, dance, and eat whatever is within easy reach. In contrast, the ants are busy collecting food for the winter. They have no time to play!

The summer is quickly passing, but the Grasshopper just doesn’t care. He continues to play and dance.

After getting an ant to goof off with him, the Queen ant arrives and warns him of his folly. But the Grasshopper doesn’t listen and dances away.

Winter finally arrives and the Grasshopper finds himself without food and shelter. Near collapse, he comes upon the ants’ home. The ants are warm and safe, enjoying the fruits (literally and figuratively) of their summer-long labor.

When the Grasshopper knocks on their door, ten sympathetic ants help him in and care for him. But then he has to face the Queen!

He begs forgiveness for not listening to her warnings and promises to change. The Queen has mercy on him and charges him to play for the ants as payment for sharing their bounty. In the end, all are happy!

The book contains the following page about the author:

May 23, 1910 – November 13, 1952

I would give this book a 4.5 out of 5 Stars as it covers the story well and has a very good moral for children, but without being overly preachy about it. The artwork is beautiful and rendered in a soft way. I take a half-star off because it may not have characters that children of today would warm up to.

As I said, this is not the only Grasshopper/Ants item in my collection. For more, please read the post entitled The Grasshopper and the Ants Record-Reader.

Posted in Books, Reviews, Shorts | Tagged Book Reviews, Books, Disney Press, Larry Moore, Margaret Wise Brown, Shorts, Silly Symphonies, The Grasshopper and the Ants | Leave a comment

Original Radio Broadcast Long Play Records

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Dis-LEE

Although I love Disney, it doesn’t have a stranglehold on my interests. My attention turns to anything interesting and especially vintage!

This post contains no less than ten LPs I found at a local flea market. And what they contain is pure entertainment gold:

The Shadow Knows!

The Shadow is a vigilante crimefighter and one of the most famous adventure heroes of the twentieth century. He has been featured on the radio, in a long-running pulp magazine series, in comic books, comic strips, television, serials, video games, and at least five films.

The character debuted on July 31, 1930, as the mysterious narrator of the Street and Smith radio program Detective Story Hour developed in an effort to boost sales of Detective Story Magazine. Later a magazine based around The Shadow was created. The first issue of The Shadow Magazine went on sale on April 1, 1931. On September 26, 1937, The Shadow radio drama, a new radio series based on the character, debuted. And the rest is history!

The most famous man to voice The Shadow was Orson Welles. And by coincidence, the next two LPs I found feature him:

Many may not know that Welles got his start in radio. He did a little show with The Mercury Theatre on the Air called War of the Worlds (October 30, 1938) which threw a whole nation into panic and chaos. But it certainly got Welles some attention!

The copy of War of the Worlds that I have is not the original broadcast, but a reproduction of the play by The Lux Radio Theatre done on February 8, 1955.

Keeping with the science fiction and adventure genre:

The Green Hornet visits Germany?

The Green Hornet and Kato

A masked crime-fighter created 1936 who first appeared on radio. The character appeared in film serials in the 1940s, a network television program in the 1960s (co-starring Bruce Lee as Kato), multiple comic book series from the 1940s on, and a feature film in 2011.

The Green Hornet is the alter ego of Britt Reid, wealthy young publisher of the Daily Sentinel newspaper. By night Reid dons a long green overcoat, green fedora hat and green mask to fight crime as a vigilante. He is accompanied by Kato who drives their technologically advanced car, the “Black Beauty”. The twist for this character is that he is believed to be a criminal, a cover he uses to infiltrate the underworld and foil their plans.

Let’s continue with another fictional character that focuses more on thinking than punching:

Sherlock Holmes

Basil Rathbone played Holmes and Nigel Bruce played Watson in fourteen U.S. films from 1939 to 1946, and in The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes on the Mutual radio network from 1939 to 1946.

The top LP features two half-hour episodes from the radio New Adventures series and features some nice, if simplified, artwork on the cover. For many of these old LPs it is the covers that draw in the collectors!

The bottom two LPs feature a more generic cover with only the text changing. Not as interesting for collectors, but easier to produce for the art department!

Next I have two LPs that feature some of the finest non-Sherlockian mystery shows:

Many A-list actors and actresses took a turn at radio in the early days, some even lending their names to the programs, such as Mystery in the Air with Peter Lorre.

Other times, the radio program was popular enough to be made into a movie:

The Fat Man was popular during the 1940s and early 1950s. The detective started out anonymous but rapidly acquired the name ‘Brad Runyon’. Broadcast from the studios of WJZ in Newark, New Jersey, the series premiered on the ABC Radio Network on Monday, January 21, 1946, and ran until 1951. In that year, 1951, it was finally made into a movie for the silver screen.

The first Thin Man movie was released in 1934 and spawned many successful sequels. The movies were popular because of the volatile relationship between the main leads. It was a natural to recreate this chemistry on radio!

OK, let’s lighten up things a bit!

My favorite comedy duo of all time! From silent films to talkies, these two comedians had no equal. Their low-key approach stood in stark contrast to the frantic antics of other popular acts of the day which only served to endear them to fans and critics alike!

This LP features some skits taken from movies and short subjects filmed between 1929 and 1940. Think of it as more of a comedy album than a soundtrack.

Fun Line: “Well, you can’t fool the doctor some of the time, and you can’t fool the doctor part of the time, because you’ll only be fooling yourself all of the time!” – Stan

I look forward to sitting in the dark and listening to these great old programs! Now, at the end of this post, I’d just like to remind my readers that “The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay… The Shadow knows!”

Posted in Collectibles, History, Humor, Soundtracks | Tagged Collectibles, History, Humor, Laurel and Hardy, LP, Orson Welles, Peter Lorre, Radio, Radio Broadcasts, Sherlock Holmes, Soundtracks, The Fat Man, The Green Hornet, The Lux Radio Theatre, The Mercury Theatre on the Air, The Shadow, The Thin Man, Vintage, Vinyl Records, War of the Worlds | 4 Comments

Monday Topics: Best of Disney

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Dis-LEE

W E E K T H R E E

BEST OF DISNEY

Our friends over at Love Our Crazy Life have asked some of their blogging friends (like me) to participate in a Blogging Challenge. So for four weeks in April, on every Monday morning, I will be covering a different Disney-related topic. You can click the link above to find all of the other participants and their entries. Enjoy!

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Top Five Best Disney Characters

A good thing about Disney movies is that they are populated with great characters. You can cheer them on and delight in their life journeys. Some even touch your heart and stay with you for a lifetime! But who are the best of the best?

Please check out my Top Five List of the best Disney characters, and my reasons why:

Number Five – Mickey Mouse (The Little Guy)

Photo Credit: Disney’s PhotoPass CD

The underdog has always been an endearing character in history. Charlie Chaplin certainly took his Tramp persona to unprecedented levels in the silent era of film, and in so doing spawned a long line of imitators–of which Mickey Mouse is certainly one of the best!

Mickey led the world out of the Depression. He taught our children how to be nice. And he showed us all that good guys don’t always finish last. He was the little guy who never gave up.

What really endears this mouse to my heart is that he never puts himself first. In a world where selfishness and Me-ism seems to be the norm, even celebrated, Mickey just keeps on showing that when you put others first, that’s when you gain real happiness!

Number Four – Uncle Remus (Song of the South)

Photo Credit: Copyright 1958 Walt Disney Productions

At a time in history when there were many justifiable reasons for hatred and resentment, one African-American man decided to show unprecedented love. No matter the skin color of the child in need, he was there with a story to make everything better again!

Song of the South is presently ‘banned’ from release due to alleged racism in its content, but I see a very different story within this important film. I see an older man of color respected and relied on by his former owners, a leader amongst his own people, and a person who shows just how big the human heart can be. Uncle Remus is a man everyone in this present world needs to meet and learn from!

James Bassett deserves better than to be robbed of his due for his portrayal of such a pivotal character in the Disney canon.

Number Three – Anna (Frozen)

Mention the Disney movie Frozen and everyone will immediately think of Elsa, the Ice Queen, who finally learns to ‘let it go’ and be her true self. Sounds good on the surface, but have they actually seen this movie? We have a person who damages her own Kingdom, runs away instead of staying and trying to fix things, abandons her duty and her sister, almost kills her sister (twice!), and basically adopts the attitude that it’s not her problem anyway. And this is a woman for little girls to look up to?

Anna, on the other hand, has no negative qualities. From childhood, she desperately tries to make a connection with her sister. Even though she is alone and rejected for years, her love never cools. When the Kingdom is in trouble, she steps up. She tries again and again to save her sister. And in the end, she is willing to die for someone who has done nothing to deserve such a sacrifice. This is a woman for everyone to look up to!

Just because a character has a hit song doesn’t mean they are one of the best Disney characters. Billions at the box office doesn’t do it either. Anna is one of the best Disney characters because she exhibits qualities that we all should strive to emulate!

Number Two – Baymax (Big Hero 6)

“Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion.” Those who dedicate their lives to serve others, like nurses, are to be commended and respected. And although Baymax is a robot who was programmed to serve, we learn as his story unfolds, that there is more to him than computer code!

Two things emerge about Baymax during the film Big Hero 6. He will bend over backwards to do what he is asked by a ‘patient’ up to the point that it would harm them. Then he refuses to comply and explains why. Secondly, at the end of the film, we see that he is willing to lay down his own life, or terminate his program, to save others. Again, self-sacrifice is a big part of why Baymax is on this list!

“On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate this character?”

Number One – Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins)

Practically Perfect in Every Way. Using the word ‘practically’ means that there are a few things, or at least one, about this Nanny that could be better. I guess she is a bit full of herself, but in a prim and proper way! So why is this lady number one on my list of the best Disney characters?

First, she is selfless. She has given up a life of her own to serve and protect the children of the world. We find hints that she loves Bert and could pursue a relationship with him, but not without compromising her mission. So she goes on alone.

Secondly, her love of children is strong, but she can never have any of her own. In the final scenes of the movie, we see her shed a tear as she has to leave yet another set of children whom she has come to love as her own. Imagine going through that pain each and every time you accept a posting, knowing that you will have to leave!

Thirdly, even though she is a bit of a bossy flossy, she usually lets her hair down and joins in the fun.

Oh, and Supercalifrajalistic makes her expialidocious. And who else can you say that about?

Bonus Character – Herbie (The Love Bug)

Just look at that face! Adorable and plucky, this little VW Beetle probably has one of the most endearing personalities of any Disney character. Whether it’s bringing two people together, winning a race, foiling a plot, or falling in love himself, Herbie does it all with a ‘Meep Meep’ and a ‘Vroom Vroom’!

Perhaps no other character better personifies the no-quit spirit. He has been sabotaged, stolen, ripped in half, and heart-broken, but never has he been beaten! Sometimes it’s the smallest amongst us that have the biggest hearts.

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Be sure to check out all four of my posts in this series of Monday Topics:

Topic One – Disney Essentials

Topic Two – Disney Tutorial

Topic Three – Best Of Disney (You are here)

Topic Four – Looking Back at Disney

Posted in Lists | Tagged Anna, Baymax, Big Hero 6, Blogging Challenge, Frozen, Herbie the Love Bug, Lists, Love Our Crazy Life, Mary Poppins, Mickey Mouse, Monday Topics, Song of the South, Top 5, Uncle Remus | Leave a comment

BOOK REVIEW: Donald and the Big Cheese

Posted on April 17, 2016 by Dis-LEE

There’s a title for ya! This book is part of Disney’s Small World Library series which featured original stories based on the geography and customs of twenty-eight different countries. You can view the covers and read reviews for each book on goodreads. But only I will bring you a review with pictures!

So please read my very own review of one of these books, featuring the Netherlands:

7 1/2″ x 10 1/2″ with 36 pages

This series is very well illustrated and inserts some of your favorite Disney characters into a storyline created to highlight the nation being featured.

Inside leaf, back and front

Owner page and Title page

I was happy to see that the child who owned this previously didn’t believe in marking up books, so the owner page is not filled in with a name.

So time to look at the story: Daisy wins a trip to the Netherlands by entering a cheese recipe in a contest. She sculpts the cheese into a windmill! Soon her and Donald are on their way on the plane:

Once there, a handsome tour guide meets them. Daisy is smitten and Donald is jealous! Hans, the tour guide, takes them on a journey throughout the Netherlands.

Hans is making quite an impression on Daisy leaving poor Donald to struggle just to be noticed. He ends up getting into all kinds of trouble as he shows off for attention, usually ending with Hans saving him, much to Donald’s chagrin. He begins to dislike Hans!

But when Donald makes yet another mistake and Hans covers it up so that Daisy doesn’t see it, Donald has to reassess his thoughts about the tour guide.

Near the end of their tour, a big cheese (hence the book title) ‘escapes’ from its handlers and is going to crush Daisy, but Donald trips into its path and saves her. Now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d type!

Donald is a hero and once again he has the complete affection of his love, Daisy. And so the story ends.

A nice feature of these books is the four-page spread of Did You Know? facts about the country being featured. So let’s see how many facts you know about the Netherlands:

Well, I guess if your cows can produce a lake of milk, you may as well make cheese!

Back Cover

I would give this book, and by extension this series, a 4 out of 5 Stars. I’m not impressed with how stereotypical some of the titles are, playing on common perceptions and using outdated myths for many of the countries. For example, we have the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland, Mounties in Canada, leprechauns in Ireland, and painting in France, just to name a few offenders. Although these things are a part of each country’s heritage, it would have been nice to see a less obvious approach to creating the stories.

Overall though I would highly recommend this series for your children! Many of the titles can still be found on Amazon and eBay.

Posted in Books, Education, Reviews, Travel | Tagged Book Review, Books, Daisy Duck, Disney's Small World Library, Donald and the Big Cheese, Donald Duck, Education, Grolier Enterprises Inc., Netherlands, Travel | Leave a comment

Black Mickey Mouse Alarm Clock

Posted on April 16, 2016 by Dis-LEE

My favorite part of using my iPhone to get up in the morning is the variety of sounds I have to choose from, and that it has a snooze feature. And it’s quiet!

When we first got the alarm clock featured in this post, we put it next to our bed. Big mistake! The ticking almost drove us mad and so we had to remove it from the room and find somewhere else to display it.

Mickey: “Gosh, it’s midnight!”

I have a red version of this clock somewhere, but couldn’t locate it in time for this post. But you can see a Plane Crazy version by clicking the link.

Them bells are loud!

So these alarm clocks are oxymorons because they keep you up all night with the ticking so that you don’t need to be awoken in the morning!

Posted in Merchandise | Tagged Alarm Clocks, Merchandise, Mickey Mouse | Leave a comment

BOOK REVIEW: The Walt Disney Song Book

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Dis-LEE

Perhaps even more than the story or the characters it’s the music we remember the most from our favorite Disney movies. From the iconic Some Day My Prince Will Come from Snow White to fun tunes like Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah from Song of the South, we love to sing along. Even our favorite theme park attractions have signature songs, like It’s a Small World, which we just can’t get out of our heads!

Well, now you can not only sing along, but actually play the tunes yourself, thanks to this Golden Book:

This was published by the Western Publishing Company as a fourth printing in 1976. My goal is to have only mint condition first editions in my Disney book collection, but with the extensive title library available, I’ll have to settle for some later editions in questionable conditions, like this one.

I picked this copy up at a local flea market for $6.00 CAN which was still too much to pay, even though it was on for half price. The condition makes it all-but worthless monetarily, but I thought it still had some value for interest sake.

Let’s have a look at the inside:

Nice collage from the inside leaf, front and back

Title Page

Contents Page

Each movie or Disney property featured starts with a brief introductory blurb. This gives you some basic information about what the songs were meant to achieve in the story.

Let’s begin our review of the songs in this book by visiting the animated film that started it all, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs:

As you can see, the artwork, although well done, is not ‘on model’. That is, the characters are more stylized than what we may normally see in promotional artwork for the same characters.

Here are some more pages and songs I picked out:

From Dumbo

Casey Junior is one of my favorite Disney characters! It is amazing how many trains made it into Disney films, although not surprising when one considers Walt obsession with steam locomotives!

From Song of the South

One of my all-time favorite Disney live-action/animated blends! And although the song above may not be the signature song from the film, it has definitely been an inspiration for me. Because I don’t want you to miss any of the fun lyrics, here is the concluding page:

Everyone finished laughing? Then let’s move on:

From Rascal

OK, when I came across this song from a movie I had never heard of. I’ve never seen this song on any Disney compilation CD either, so why it was included in this volume is beyond me. The live-action film was released in 1969 and was a based on the book Rascal by Sterling North about a young man and his pet raccoon set in Wisconsin.

The movie is a dramatization of Sterling North’s 1963 “memoir of a better era.” The movie relates a year in the life of young Sterling North which featured, of all things, a raccoon.

The film features the forgotten song “Summer Sweet” and starred Bill Mumy of Lost in Space fame.

From Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Not one of Disney’s best live-action/animation blends, it was made to capitalize on the popularity of Mary Poppins. It starred Angela Lansbury (who later became Mrs. Potts) and featured the return of Mr. Banks actor David Tomlinson. Although not a singer per se, he is featured prominently in this song along with Ms. Lansbury.

I had heard and enjoyed this song long before I knew where it came from. I think most Disney fans may have been in the same predicament, as the 1971 film doesn’t rate very high on most people’s ‘Best of Disney’ lists. Although the film received mostly positive reviews from critics and has scored 63% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Now let’s branch away from movies to a theme park entry:

It’s a Small World

Written by the Sherman Brothers for the UNICEF attraction at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, this song just. Will. Not. Die. It’s been playing continuously, or at least it feels that way, since 1966 at Disneyland. And I guess we wouldn’t have it any other way!

From TV’s Davy Crockett series

With only five television episodes Disney managed to whip the world into a frenzy with this ballad turned anthem. The episodes were released as two feature-length motion pictures to even greater reception. If only I had a penny for every coonskin cap sold!

From TV’s The Mickey Mouse Club show

Fittingly, the song book ends with this merry march, singing the virtues of everyone’s favorite ‘leader of the club’, Mickey Mouse.

Back Cover

I would give this book a 5 out of 5 Stars as it is useful to those who wish to play their favorite songs on the piano while singing along. The inclusion of complete lyrics is a plus. The artwork, although stylized, is very good.

If you would like a copy, Amazon has several available. Used copies start from $19.99 US with new hardcover copies starting at a much higher $135.88 US as of April 2, 2016.

Posted in Books, Music, Reviews | Tagged Ballad of Davy Crockett, Bill Mumy, Book Review, Books, Casey Junior, Ev'rybody Has a Laughing Place, Golden Press, Heigh-Ho, It's a Small World, Lyrics, Mickey Mouse March, Music, Portobello Road, Rascal, Reviews, Summer Sweet, The Walt Disney Song Book, Western Publishing Company | Leave a comment

Sinclair Oil Corporation Inspired Dinoco

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Dis-LEE

The Sinclair Oil Corporation is an American petroleum corporation, founded by Harry F. Sinclair on May 1, 1916, by combining the assets of 11 small petroleum companies. Originally a New York corporation, Sinclair Oil reincorporated in Wyoming in 1976. The corporation’s logo features the silhouette of a large green dinosaur. And there is where the Disney/Pixar tie-in begins!

Dinoco is an oil company/gas station that has been seen in Toy Story and Cars. In Toy Story, the logo is an Apatosaurus. In Cars, the logo is a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Dinoco may have been based on the Sinclair Oil Corporation, because it also uses an Apatosaurus as its logo (above).

I recently came across a vintage promotional film for Sinclair service station owners entitled Sinclair: You Are a Retailer. It likely dates from the early 1960’s if the vehicles in it are any indication.

This was an extremely well done film for an in-house effort! And it yielded many interesting images…

Directly above, you can see what a typical Sinclair service station looked like back in the days of full-service and friendly attendants. Below is what a Dinoco service station looked like in Toy Story:

Let’s compare all three dinosaur logos side by side. First will be Sinclair, then Dinoco from Toy Story, and last Dinoco from Cars:

The first two dinosaur logos are very close, but it appears the Dinoco of the Cars franchise decided to power up their Dino!

It was a real treat to find this vintage promotional film from Sinclair! And it is good to see that Disney/Pixar is paying homage to companies that have helped to shape the landscape we pass through on a daily basis.

Ding Ding! Fill’er up please!

Posted in Education, History, Signage | Tagged Apatosaurus, Cars, Dinoco, Dinosaur, Education, Gas Stations, Harry F. Sinclair, History, Pixar, Service Station, Signage, Sinclair, Sinclair Oil Corporation, Sinclair: You Are a Retailer, Toy Story, Tyrannosaurus Rex | 1 Comment

Monday Topics: Disney Tutorial

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Dis-LEE

W E E K T W O

DISNEY TUTORIAL

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Learn to Draw Mickey Mouse & Friends

A Book Review

This great how-to book was published by Walter Foster in 2015 and was written by David Gerstein and illustrated by John Loter and the Disney storybook artists. If you’ve ever wanted to draw your favorite Disney characters for yourself, this book is for you!

There are three main character designs featured as the book takes us on a journey through the decades. Early, or vintage. Classic. And Contemporary, or modern.

Early designs feature the look of the characters in the 1920’s.

Long-billed Donald Duck, primary shapes

Classic designs cover the years of the 1930’s to the 1980’s or so.

Beanstock Mickey, roughed in

Contemporary designs feature the Disney characters as they appear today.

Daisy Duck, full rendering

The book also contains an Animation Timeline, Film Facts, the Inside Story for Disney’s most famous characters, and lots of drawing tips.

At 130 pages, this book is easy to read because it is mostly pictures, in keeping with the how-to theme. To conclude, here is the 6-step process for drawing the full body of Classic Mickey:

And… it’s just that simple!

This is a great book for the closet-animators among us. I would give it a 4 out of 5 stars. However, I thought the 6-step system was too minimal for someone to really learn how to draw a Disney character. More on the reasons for each step would have been nice. For example, every lesson starts with a basic shape featuring a guide line. Some explanation of why these shapes are used, and what a guide line is and why it is important, might have enabled a beginner to later draw these characters without having to look at the book, and copy.

Who would you like to draw?

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Be sure to check out all four of my posts in this series of Monday Topics:

Topic One – Disney Essentials

Topic Two – Disney Tutorial (You are here)

Topic Three – Best Of Disney

Topic Four – Looking Back at Disney (April 25)

Posted in Artwork, Reviews, Tips | Tagged Artwork, Beanstock Mickey, Blogging Challenge, Book Review, Books, Daisy Duck, David Gerstein, John Loter, Learn to Draw Mickey Mouse & Friends, Longbilled Donald Duck, Love Our Crazy Life, Monday Topics, Tips, Walter Foster | 2 Comments

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