Boston Town Was Loaded With Tea/He Up And Dumped It In The Sea

In honor of this Independence Day, here's the 45 rpm record cover for the songs from Walt Disney's  Johnny Tremain (1957). Even though "The Liberty Tree" is heard as a vocal in the film and has become a somewhat familiar Disney song, the film's theme song is not sung in the movie; it's only heard as part of the movie's score. The songs were written by the film's composer George Bruns (the orchestra and chorus for this recording were conducted by George Bruns) and its screenwriter Tom Blackburn. This follows the pattern of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett," which was written at Walt Disney's request by the same duo from the "Davy Crockett" shows, composer (Bruns) and writer (Blackburn). If only the Johnny Tremain songs were as popular as the "Davy Crockett" theme—they deserve to be. You can easily find these songs online to listen to—you already have "The Liberty Tree" permanently embedded in your brain cells and once you hear "Johnny Tremain"—well, let's put it this way, you'll "remember his name." In the meantime, check out the article I wrote about Johnny Tremain on the new-and-improved D23.com. Happy Fourth!

The Lone Ranger: The Forgotten CBS Classic

Disney releases its version of The Lone Ranger today, and already its being attacked for, among things, being too bizarre. But there was another version years ago, an animated version created for CBS as part of their all-new animated superhero Saturday morning block in 1966. Produced by Herbert Klynn and Jules Engel and their famed Format Films, the show reflected the graphic proficiency of its producers, with stylish designs and distinctive scratchy ink work (actually chinagraph pencil) on the cels. The show was credited as a Jack Wrather Production (Jack for many years held the rights to The Lone Ranger; he may be best known to Disney enthusiasts as the creator/owner of the Disneyland Hotel until 1989, resulting in he and his wife Bonita Granville Wrather being named Disney Legends in 2011). The animated Lone Ranger ran on CBS from September 10, 1966, to September 6, 1969.  The evocative narration ("a man who became a legend...a daring and resourceful man who hated thievery and oppression. His face masked...his true name unknown...with his faithful Indian companion at his side, he thundered across the West on his great white stallion, appearing out of nowhere to strike down injustice and outlawry...and then, vanishing as mysteriously as he came") was spoken by Marvin Miller, who among his many other credits was the narrator for UPA and Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959). As opposed to the live-action TV show this animated version had the Lone Ranger and Tonto battling not bandits and desperadoes but rather aliens, monsters and mad scientists—much like CBS's prime-time live-action western/sci-fi/fantasy/steampunk series, The Wild Wild West, which had premiered the year before. Below are model sheet details from this utterly unique and unfortunately all-but-forgotten cartoon gem. 

Why? Because We "Like" You On Facebook

Today is the anniversary of Mickey Mouse's debut in Steamboat Willie (1928), Mickey's "birthday," so it seemed like a good opportunity to point out that the birthday boy is on Facebook. Yes, Disney has an official Facebook page for Disney characters, movies and parks, and it's a lot of fun. So many favorite characters are listed as having their own official pages, everyone from Mickey and Minnie (it's her birthday too!) to Edna Mode, from Dopey to Dr. Facilier, from Aurora to Tangled. Celebrate the Mouse who started it all and all that he started (Walter Elias Disney has a Facebook page too) by "Liking" the official Disney Facebook page. (Once there be sure and click on the tab that takes you to the individual Disney Pages.)

Hey Kids! No School Tomorrow!

A little known footnote of the Disney theatrical roster, feature- or featurette-length compilations of cartoon shorts were a way to repackage the cartoons and satisfy the demand for Mickey and his pals. Thanksgiving weekend of course means four days of no school so it’s naturally prime time to pack movie theaters full of kiddies. In 1953, when this Thanksgiving cartoonarama were released, the Disney theatrical animated short was on its last legs and the following year Disney entered series television with a regular showcase for his animation. Cartoon compilations like this was another way to showcase classic cartoons while giving theatres the opportunity to tap into the matinee audience, which of course expanded past Saturday afternoon during the Thanksgiving school break. This particular poster offers its own pleasures with that wonderful art—definitely something to be thankful for.