Sons (And Daughters) Of Liberty

In honor of Independence Day, here's the cover of the June 1957 issue of Walt Disney's Magazine spotlighting Walt's Revolutionary War-themed live-action feature, Johnny Tremain. The beautiful photograph by Roger Davidson spotlights the two leads, Hal Stalmaster (who starred as young Mr. Tremain) and Luana Patten. Luana was of course the very talented and appealing Disney child star of the 1940s, starring opposite Bobby Driscoll in such classics as Song of the South (1946). In the mid-1950s Luana made something of a comeback in such films as Rock, Pretty Baby (1956), starring Sal Mineo, and of course Johnny Tremain, which marked Miss Patten's return to the Disney fold. "During my first few days on Johnny Tremain," said Luana in an interview in which she described the warm welcome she received upon her return to the Disney Studio, "people kept coming up to me, shaking my hand and telling me about incidents that happened to me as a youngster. It really gave me a warm feeling to know that so many remembered me." As an extra element of this story of the close-knit Disney "family," Johnny Tremain also features Walt Disney's daughter, Sharon, in a small role—and who according to Luana, was a friends with Miss Patten when both girls were young children who found occasion to be at the Disney Studios.

America On Parade

Among other things, Independence Day is about history, so let's look at a historical celebration of America, freedom, innovation, music and all things July Fourth-ish, Disney style. As part of the US Bicentennial celebration, both Disneyland and Walt Disney World presented America on Parade, a stylish and spectacular musical pageant that was one of the biggest and most unique parades ever presented at the Disney Theme Parks. "Biggest" is an apt term for at the heart of this patriotic parade are the "People of America"—oversized, eight-foot-high doll-like costumed characters representing both historical personages such as Ben Franklin and Betsy Ross as well as common folk through 200 years of Americana. These whimsical players danced, marched and cavorted along with 50 giant-sized parade units. The only "real" people in the parade were the members of the specially-invited high school or college band which played in the parade's grand finale.

This colorful extravaganza was presented from June 14, 1975, through September 6, 1976, and was enjoyed by an estimated 25 million guests. Led by Mickey, Goofy and Donald in appropriate Spirit of '76 garb, and promoted with a fair amount of delightfully-designed merchandise, the pageant was covered with not one but two cover stories in Disney News magazine, one of which, from the Fall 1975 issue, is pictured her, along withe some wonderful photography that accompanied the article inside the magazine itself. Stylized, fanciful and truly memorable in its distinctively different Disney style, America on Parade is now part of both Disney and American history as a red, white and true-blue celebration of our national heritage.

The Lord Is Good To Me

With the Fourth of July fast approaching it seemed like a good time to turn our attention to an all-American subject—and what's more as-American-as-apple-pie than Johnny Appleseed, as brought to animated life in Walt Disney's animated anthology Melody Time (1948)? Little Johnny has always been one of my favorites, his animated legend told in delightful song (vocalized by the versatile Dennis Day, who provides all the short's voices, including Johnny Appleseed himself) and Mary Blair-style, with animation by greats such as Ollie Johnston and Milt Kahl. Now the Walt Disney Classics Collection has brought this memorable-but-still-somewhat-obscure Disney animated character to the forefront of our flag-waving consciousness with a superbly crafted sculpture, marking a return of the Walt Disney Collectors Society's star-spangled American Folk Heroes series. To celebrate both July and Johnny, I'll be posting about the sculpture and the character throughout the days ahead. In the meantime, if you want to get this great Johnny Appleseed for yourself, it's available only through March 31, 2009, and is available only to Members of the Walt Disney Collectors Society. See here for more information about becoming a Society Member.

Put On Your Sunday Clothes And See Wall•E

What on earth or in the universe does Hello, Dolly! (1969) have to do with the new Disney•Pixar computer animated film, Wall•E? You’ll just have to wait until you see the out-of-this-world movie to find out, and I strongly recommend you catch this comical, compelling film as soon as possible. With the film opening tomorrow (Friday, June 27) there are plenty of reviews and reports around to clue you into Wall•E details major and minor, but the best way to see this unpredictable film is to know as little as possible about it. Thanks to the good graces of sterling Disney exec, brilliant writer/historian and all-around good guy Howard Green, I attended a pre-release screening of the new Pixar triumph Tuesday night at the historic El Captain in Hollywood with good friends Ed Squair (the Disney Photo Library master who invited me to the screening in the first place) and Debbie Garcia. It would be inaccurate, however, to describe this funny, touching and fascinating film as a “typical” Pixar production, or as a “typical” anything. From its unusual characters (starting with the endearingly Chaplinesque title robot) to its extraordinary and utterly engaging plotting, pacing and storytelling, Wall•E is a completely unique film. For me, one of the movie’s best aspects is the absence of huge “star” voices. Indeed, as has been reported elsewhere, about the first half of the film basically has no dialogue. Ironically after the screening we ran into a true vocal star: Disney Legend—make that Disney royalty—Kathryn Beaumont, who you know and love as the voice of the title character in Alice in Wonderland and the voice of Wendy in Peter Pan. It was truly Kathy in Wonderland (or is that Wall•E-land?) all over again, for the ever-gracious Ms. Beaumont shared with me she found the film engrossing and thought-provoking, commenting not just on the expert animation but on the brilliant storytelling. Kathy specifically noted that the movie not only held one in rapt attention throughout but also lingered in the mind and imagination. What better recommendation could there be than Kathy Beaumont—the voice artist at the heart of two of Walt Disney’s most outrageously imaginative animated lands— saying that this new animated film takes viewers on an unparalleled journey of creativity, emotion and, yes, intelligence. So zoom over to your local movie house to catch this unique film—it only takes a moment to see Wall•E. Well, actually it takes 97 minutes, but every last one of them is (dare I say it?) magical.

Gawrsh! More Goofy

Things have gotten pretty goofy around here lately so the best cure is... more Goofy! Here he is on the cover of his very own comic book from November 1956 (four Color 747), drawn by the great Paul Murry. Paul drew gobs of Goofy over the years as the good-natured "dawg" was a frequent co-star of the many Mickey Mouse stories graphically essayed by the artist. Paul had his own delightful take on Goofy, for one thing making the silly cartoon star more bottom-heavy than the skinny model we are used to. Enjoy this prime example of Paul Murry's great version of Goofy.

Let The Goofy Games Begin (Actually, They Have)

Right now, the Walt Disney Classics Collection is having a special event centered around the new and hilariously crafted Goofy sculpture, shown here and on the cover of the new issue of Sketches, seen here. The Goofy Games event is happening this weekend (right now, in other words), June 20-22, 2008 at participating dealers. For a list of Walt Disney Classics Collection dealers visit here.

Hot Off The Presses: A New Issue Of Sketches Magazine

Here for all to enjoy (well, for Members of the Walt Disney Collectors Society, anyhow) is the latest issue of Sketches, which is as you know by now is the Official Magazine of the Walt Disney Collectors Society. This latest issue features three articles by myself (one on Johnny Appleseed, one on the classic Disney comic Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold, and—just in time for summer—an article about Walt Disney's charming live-action film Summer Magic) as well as a feature on that madcap monarch of Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts, by Stephen Matzkie and the cover story by the wonderful Disney writer Barbara Layman about Goofy and his classic 1942 cartoon, The Olympic Champ . There's only one way to get Sketches, the Magazine for Every Disney Fan: become a Member of the Walt Disney Collectors Society. See here for details.