How Long Will My Baby Be Gone? That’s the musical question that Buck Owens tried to answer way back in 1968. The song was the last of eight number one singles on the country chart for the man who would become a country legend! The single spent just a lonely week at number one and a total of thirteen weeks on the country chart all together. But perhaps its lasting legacy is that it’s still played during The Country Bear Jamboree at more than one Disney Theme Park around the world.
Perhaps, like me, you’ve wondered where Disney got the play list for the Three Bear Rugs and the rest of the bruin players. While some tunes may have been original to the bears, this one tune for sure was written and recorded just three years prior to the attraction opening at Walt Disney World in October of 1971.
The Country Bear Jamboree version goes as follows:
Wendell is the name of the bear who sings this song in the Jamboree and he is a hyperactive golden brown bear who plays the mandolin. He wears a blue bandanna around his neck and a light brown hat. He also has a massive overbite and buck teeth. He is voiced by Bill Cole.
The original Buck Owens version goes as follows, with one extra verse:
Would you like to know what the full lyrics were? Then read on:
How long is forever How soon is now or never How long will these heartaches linger on And how long will my baby, be gone.
How wide is the notion How deep is the devotion How long do these sleepless nights go on And how long will my baby, be gone.
For I could never understand How she could turn to another man.
How much does a heart ache How deep is a heartbreak How long do these sleepless nights go on And how long will my baby, be gone.
For I could never understand How she could turn to another man.
How much does a heart ache How deep is a heartbreak How long do these sleepless nights go on And how long will my baby, How long will my baby, be gone…
Whenever I visited the Jamboree, I always thought the songs played were from the distant past, maybe the 50s or 60s, or perhaps even earlier in the history of Country and Western music. But I forgot that the attraction opened in 1971, which wasn’t all that later than the 60s! So when I first heard them play in 2007, yes, the songs were old. But they weren’t all that old when the show opened.
Now if we could just find out who wrote ‘Mama Don’t Whoop Little Bufford!” we really will have achieved something! Maybe they shouldn’t shoot him before we find out…
I’d like to buy the world a home and furnish it with love grow apple trees and honey bees and snow white turtle doves I’d like to each the world to sing in perfect harmony I’d like to buy the world a coke and keep it company that’s the real thing I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony I’d like to buy the world a coke and keep it company that’s the real thing
I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke was released in the U.S. in July 1971 and immediately struck a responsive chord. The Coca-Cola Company and its bottlers received more than 100,000 letters about the commercial. Many listeners called radio stations begging to hear it. Were you one of them? I can remember this jingle and the commercials. And I’m an avid Coke Zero drinker to this day! Sorry, Team Pepsi.
Coca-Cola has perhaps enjoyed one of the most extensive and successful advertising campaigns ever and with good reason. The sheer amount of different icons they have used, from Santa to Polar Bears, is staggering. And now we can add Disney characters to the list:
In 1986 the Coca-Cola company celebrated the 15th Anniversary of Walt Disney World with several commemorative pin sets. I only own one, the main character set, in its original plastic display case. Apparently each set was a Limited Edition run of 1,000. But I can’t confirm that for certain.
Until I started researching these pins for this post, I didn’t realize just how many sets there were! Some of them are must-haves for any Disney Pin Trader.
I found the above images on the Internet. The one on the immediate above left shows the complete set of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Each set would have come with the 15 Years center pin. But on the immediate above right you can see that someone managed to collect the entire series and then had them framed.
Perhaps the most exciting set would be the Theme Park grouping in the center of the framed display. This is the one I am now in the market for!
Coke and Disney have a longstanding relationship. So it’s no surprise that I have other Coke-themed Disney collectibles in my possession! But those will be for another post. Before I go though, I guess we should answer the question the latest Pepsi commercials have put to us. When asking for a Coke, the waitress asks: “Is Pepsi okay?” The answer? No. No, it isn’t. Sorry again, Team Pepsi!
In 1924, a 23-year old Walt Disney was captivated by a silent film entitled Peter Pan. It was an adaption of a stage play written by the original author of the story, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. It would be another 29 years before the more famous animated version of Peter Pan would grace the same movie screens.
Silent films aren’t everyone’s bag of popcorn. Whether it’s the title cards, the dramatic and often distracting music, or the over acting, many prefer modern day cinema. But back in their day, fortunes and stars were made as millions spent their hard earned nickels and dimes at the Box Office to see these black and white masterpieces!
This particular example was lost and believed gone forever until a print was found in the 1950s. After being painstakingly restored, we get to see it again. This post displays the DVD copy that I have in my collection, and some stills from the film itself. I’ll also give my thoughts.
The tradition of having a female play the lead of (the male) Peter Pan dates back to the first stage plays featuring the character. 1904 saw the first production and it would be Maude Adams that would become most identified with the character. It seems that very petite women were consistently used because they were easier to move around on wires during the flying scenes.
Betty Bronson as PETER PANVirginia Browne Faire as TINKER BELLGeorge Ali as NANAA very manly dog!
I find it distracting to see a female Peter Pan as most actresses still come across as feminine in the roll, moving in a way that even a young boy would not. That said, most do a fine job and the story sweeps you away! This 1924 version has many interesting innovations. Tinker Bell is played by both a lightbulb on a string and by another petite woman. The way the filmmakers integrate her into the scenes with full-sized characters is nothing short of incredible given the technology of the time!
Another standout piece of movie magic is the nurse-dog Nana. Cleary a man in a dog suit, it still comes across as an endearing portrayal of a doting nanny as the costume had several controls that allowed the eyes and ears to be moved to display emotion.
Ernest Torrence as CAPTAIN HOOK
The other characters are pretty true to what we are familiar with today from modern retellings of the story. All of the actors and actresses give solid performances, but in keeping with the broader style of the silent era.
The CrocodileFeeding the clock to the croc
Other animals are portrayed by men in suits, such as a lion, and the crocodile that we do not smile at. The two screen captures above show the crocodile as Captain Hook feeds him a clock so that he may better hear it sneaking up on him in the future.
Mermaid LagoonAnna May Wong as TIGER LILY
Several key scenes from the original storyline are just glossed over in this film. For example, we see only a glimpse of a mermaid lagoon with about 5 seconds of screen time. Interesting side note: They appear topless, which would not be uncommon of films of this era, but are actually wearing bralettes. A production still from the back of the booklet included with this DVD release confirms this. So… family friendly!
As one might expect, this is sometimes an insensitive product of its time. Native Americans are portrayed in the standard stereotypical fashion with Tiger Lily being played by an Asian actress. They are also called ‘Redskins’ in the title cards. On the whole though, there is much less to be culturally offended over in this version than with the later Disney animated version. So there’s that.
Special Effects
I am constantly amazed at how well the special effects and stunts of these old silent films hold up even under the jaded eye of a modern film goer! How they pulled off much of the visuals in this film with the technology available in the 20s is mind boggling! These old films are worth watching just to marvel over how they did things.
Back of DVD PackageCover of Booklet
This DVD release comes with a 16-page booklet outlining some key aspects of the production, which I have used to fill out this post. It makes a nice companion to the disc and helps a fan of the process and history of cinema to round out their knowledge. Yes, if you read this booklet, you may actually win your next game of Trivial Pursuit! If it has questions on the 1924 release of Peter Pan.
I have over a dozen Silent Films in my collection and have seen dozens more. I enjoy seeing the first versions of famous films and comparing them to more modern, and likely more known, versions. If you’re a fan of cinema at all, you owe it to yourself to watch at least one of these old productions all the way through. Just turn down the music. It’s usually remastered or replacing lost soundtracks anyway, and it will be less annoying that way!
As far as Silent Films go, I wouldn’t say this one should have won any Academy Awards. And it didn’t. It does move a little slow and most of the actors/actresses definitely graduated from the Douglas Fairbanks School of Overacting! Betty Bronson (as Peter Pan) especially copied almost all of Fairbank’s most outlandish ‘masculine’ gestures and posturing, but still ended up giving us the most girly Pan possible. Now that’s acting!
I’d still give this a 3.5 out of 5 Stars. I’m glad to add it to my collection!
To see how Disney and Pixar slip references from old movies, including Silent Films, into their modern movies, check out my earlier post entitled Classic Movie References in Disney Movies. How many of these did you catch?
The only thing better than Minnie Mouse is more Minnie Mouse, so it’s a wonderful thing that these Kitchen Towels come in a 2-pack!
It sure makes things easy for your friends and family around anniversary times when you’re a Disney fan. Anything with a Disney character on it makes a great gift, and if it’s functional to boot… well, that’s just swell (insert a Mickey giggle here)!
These bow-rific tea towels come in 2-packs for just $9.99 CAN and now we have four individual towels to rotate around laundry day. Some of our gift-givers were of like minds!
We use these towels and enjoy how they add a splash of colour to our kitchen. For our 32nd Wedding Anniversary (which is today!) we also got, among other things, another great Minnie Mouse tea towel:
What a cutie! She came with a bottle of champagne and some chocolates, so it’s going to be a calorie-filled celebration. Who’s complaining?
I usually end a post with some pithy remarks or a link to a related post from the past, but I thought this tea towel gave too good of a parting shot, and so nothing more was needed:
Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Pluto and Goofy are the ‘athletes’ trying for the Championship. Someone has given José (Joe) Carioca a pair of starter pistols and he yells “Let’s Go!” But will it be the natural athletic ability of each contestant or the mysterious Speedometer that determines the winner? You’ll have to play Walt Disney’s Big Track Meet game to find out!
This game is for up to four players but no age limit is given. So I guess everyone can get some exercise with this game!
This game was manufactured in Canada by Ontex Games, which seems to be a French company. Not much is evident about the company after an Internet search and I assume they are no longer in business.
How old is the game? As is the case with many board games the manufacturer doesn’t put a date on the box. That would help, but no such luck here! We can guess based on the characters used in the artwork. Other than the four main characters and the Starter Bird, we have Pinocchio, Geppetto and Figaro, Bambi and Thumper, the Three Little Pigs, Mickey’s nephews Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse, and Donald’s nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie. The newest of these characters is José Carioca from early 1943 (he first appeared in the package film Saludos Amigos). But he appeared again in The Three Caballeros in early 1944, although that movie was released in North America in 1945.
The box has the artwork wrapped around the cardboard like a sticker, which makes it quite early, as newer printing simply puts the image directly on the boxes. The patina also dates the game to an earlier time. Also, the game pieces are generic and made of wood. Later games would have had plastic game pieces molded into each of the characters. The style of the artwork is also in keeping with the 1940s style of Disney animation.
So this game could have been produced during WW2. The next animated movie to introduce a character that could have been included in this game was Cinderella in 1950. Being as she is missing, we may also guess that the game was made no later than 1950. Isn’t sleuthing fun?
The game also carries the trademark of Walt Disney Productions (1929-1986) which validates the age range for the game.
I like to include the instructions to any game I feature. I feel this is especially helpful if the rules are printed on a separate piece of paper as these often are lost from these older games. But in this case, the rules are handily printed on the inside of the box lid.
Game play is simple. You spin to see who goes first and then move whatever amount of spaces the spinner, or Speedometer, indicates. Landing between dark red lines either enforces a penalty or gives a reward, like moving ahead extra spaces. You simply keep spinning and moving until one player reaches the finish line and wins the track meet. The prize, in case you were wondering, is $1,000 in fictional play money. Don’t spend it all in one fictional place.
One discrepancy from the box cover art to the game board art is the Starter. One has José Carioca firing the gun, while the other has Minnie Mouse doing the honors. I notice these things. It’s a curse.
Are you ready to finally win that Track and Field medal? Then… Let’s Go!
Nom Nom Nom! ‘M.I.C.’ may stand for ‘Mickey’ but ‘C’ has always stood for ‘Cookie’! And where better to store your favorite round snack than this Mickey and Minnie ceramic cookie jar:
This is a basic design than one could call generic. It has Hidden Mickeys around the bottom as a band and the names of Mickey and Minnie clearly stenciled.
The images of the Mouse and his bestie are patterned after their earlier looks:
This is a very heavy cookie jar! I doubt there is a kid, or Cookie Monster, that could hope to heist it away, especially when it is fully loaded with sugary goodness.
On the up side it is also a very big cookie jar! So the capacity to fill it with dozens of your Grandma’s best oatmeal concoctions is a mouthwatering thing to contemplate.
My favorite type of cookie is indeed oatmeal. Adding chocolate chips is allowable, but not necessary. What is your favorite?
For another cookie jar with a Mickey and Minnie theme, check out the link, or if the weird and wonderful is more your thing, check out my José Carioca cookie jar. It’s old and just the right amount of creepy!
I’m returning to the Funko Minis Pixar Shorts vinyl figures, adding to my Blue Bird figure, for another post featuring two characters from one of my all-time favorites:
When Day, a sunny fellow, encounters Night, a stranger of distinctly darker moods, sparks fly! But as their suspicions turn to curiosity, they are delighted to find that this budding friendship can offer a new perspective on the world. And of course, a whole new line of merchandise, including:
The boxes are very sturdy and collectible in their own right. But the real stars are the characters in them. They are charming and endearing and just too cute not to own!
I do have one other figure in this series and I find that overall the set isn’t well finished. The figures have rough edges and ‘blotchy bits’ that is not common with Funko products.
But the characters more than make up for the execution!
I have a few more figures in this line to find. And then I imagine other series in the line will be added to exploit the many other Pixar Shorts and Sparks Shorts that exist.
FUN FACTS: Day & Night was released in 2010 and shown in theatres before the feature-length animated film Toy Story 3. The radio broadcast in “Day & Night” is taken from a talk given by Dr. Wayne Dyer, a motivational speaker and author.
“I was thinking,” added Madam Chairwoman, “of Miss Bianca.”
This action-adventure story is about three courageous mice each from a different background who go on a quest to rescue a Norwegian poet imprisoned in…The Black Castle–the roughest prison in a rough, uncivilized country. This story is about bravery, trust, and friendship.
Marjorie Sharp – Clara Margery Melita Sharp (25 January 1905 – 14 March 1991) was an English author of 25 novels for adults, 14 novels for children and the young at heart, four plays, two mysteries, and numerous short stories. Her best known work is The Rescuers series about a heroic mouse named Miss Bianca and her partner Bernard.
Garth Williams – Garth Montgomery Williams (April 16, 1912 – May 8, 1996) was an American artist who came to prominence in the American postwar era as an illustrator of children’s books. Many of the books he illustrated have become classics of American children’s literature in no small part because of the friendly, fuzzy baby animals that often inhabited his artwork.
One of my favorite animated movies as a kid was Disney’s Rescuers which came out in 1977. I loved everything about it, down to its musical score. It was such a tender, sad, and sweet story (with many funny moments woven in for good measure!). I didn’t know that it was based upon a children’s book until this summer when I found this copy at a thrift store. And until today, I didn’t know this Rescuers book is the first in a series of nine books dealing with the adventures of Bianca and Bernard. It is the second book entitled Miss Bianca that Disney’s The Rescuers is based off of. In both the book and the movie, Miss Bianca is a beautiful, well-bred mouse used to the finer things in life, and Bernard is a humble, stalwart sort of fellow from a working-class background. They volunteer for a mouse-led organization that helps humans in need. Poor Nils doesn’t get even a cameo in the Disney version, whilst he is an integral character in this book.
The artwork is very charming and detailed, helping the reader imagine him/herself there personally watching the events unfold. I enjoyed peering into the little nooks and crannies of the pictures, to see what gems of plot points were hidden there. I was not disappointed. Mr. Williams’ illustrations really do capture the mood and movement of the narrative.
I give this book a 5 out of 5 Stars. Whether you read this to your child, or read it for yourself, you will be happy you did. Your children will thank you for it!
We have a few books in our collection that feature the Disney version of the Rescuers. One continues with the characters from the movie in the Disney’s Wonderful World of Reading series. Return to the bayou for another treasure hunt! It got 4.5 out of 5 Stars.
Mickey’s Fire Brigade is a color Mickey Mouse short released in 1935. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are firefighters who must rescue Clarabelle Cow from a burning building without interrupting her bath. And of course, they do a great job. (Pause for sarcasm to sink in) No. No they don’t!
This is one of the best and most frantic of the earlier Shorts. Walt Disney provides the voice of Mickey with Clarence Nash squawking for Donald and Pinto Colvig rounding out the main cast with Goofy.
This post features a wonderful Mickey’s Fire Brigade ceramic tea pot, inspired by the Short:
The fire engine is really a standout in the Short. My teapot is a nice interpretation but have a look at the original footage to see some differences, as well as a closer representation to our teapot from a piece of aftermarket artwork:
As holders of one of the largest animation archives in the world, Choice (Marvel Fine Art) specializes in offering collectors the original hand-painted cels and animators drawings that were used to create classic TV shows and feature films. Choice is dedicated to delivering the highest-quality collectible artworks with museum-quality framing at the best prices.
But enough of that! Back to our teapot:
I love how the firehose comprises the teapot spout and how the lid to the boiler comes off to give access to the tea inside!
Only the word ‘Disney’ is given for the copyright/branding with ‘Mickey’s Fire Brigade’ engraved into the rear of the pot. No manufacturer is credited so dating is problematic.
Mickey and friends are still very busy making Shorts! Check out my Mickey Mouse Character Subway Bag with swag to see how they do it today.
Okay, hands up, who has heard of the Riders in the Sky? In fairness, this LP Record entitled ‘Cowboy Jubilee’ came out in 1981, which may be before some of my readers time! But I bet you do know at least one song that they did, especially if you’re a Disney/Pixar fan.
Okay, hands up, who has heard of ‘Woody’s Round Up’ from Pixar’s Toy Story 2? Well, if you remember that song, than you know the Riders in the Sky!
Before we get to far into the LP that is the main feature of this post, perhaps you’d like to jog your memory a tad and hear the boys play Woody’s signature tune for ya:
Official Disney Pixar UK
Woody’s Roundup. Come on, it’s time to play, there’s Jessie, the Yodeling Cowgirl. Bullseye, he’s Woody’s horse. He’s a smart one! Pete, the old prospector, (Has anyone seen my pick?) and the man himself, of course It’s time for Sheriff Woody. He’s the very best. He’s the root’-ness, toot’-ness cowboy in the wild, wild west. Woody’s Roundup.
Riders in the Sky is a Western music and comedy group whose style appeals to children, hence why it is sometimes considered to be a children’s band. They have written and performed music for major motion pictures, however, and released more serious records like the one in this post.
The Riders first performed on November 11, 1977 at Herr Harry’s Frank N’ Steins in Nashville, TN. They released their first album, Three on the Trail, in 1979. Cowboy Jubilee was their second release. And they’ve only missed 12 years between 1979 and 2018! Now that’s prolific, Pardner!
This album is a nice mix between traditional western music and original compositions. Overall it’s fun entertainment!
The gentleman who wrote the liner notes summed up the band in this inexplicable way: “I guess I can best sum it all up in “Festus-eze” – It’s a purple-tinged pearl buttoned bangled-billy!!!” And I have no idea what that means.
Disleelandia 