Walt Disney Meets Santa Claus

Originally broadcast on December 23, 1962, "Holiday Time at Disneyland" is one of the most delightful Disneyland-centered episodes of the Disney anthology series. First shown on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, this colorful (naturally) episode showed off holiday celebrations at Walt's Magic Kingdom, kicked off with a simultaneously surreal and altogether appropriate meeting between Santa Claus and Walt. Did I say "meet"? Walt and Santa greet each other as if they are old friends. Well, why wouldn't they be? First off, Walt made Santa into a Disney character in two Silly Symphony cartoons, Santa's Toy Shop (1932) and The Night Before Christmas (1933). Secondly, in the conversation between the two magic-makers, Walt clearly expresses his dominion by stating that while Mr. Claus has one day a year, Walt has the other 364—an incredible statement when you think about it. Even Santa is impressed when Walt calls upon Tinker Bell to turn off the unusual Southern Californian snowfall and she obliges with a flick of her magic wand. After all, who is more important in the world of childhood than Walt Disney? I say this as someone who firmly believes (as I'm sure anyone who regularly reads this blog also believes) that Walt Disney is not just for the kids. And neither is Santa. I post all of this (including this still from "Holiday Time at Disneyland" taken from the Storyboard blog of the Walt Disney Family Museum) as a birthday tribute to Walter Elias Disney, born this day in 1901. Surely a bit of Christmas magic must have rubbed off on this December-born baby who would grow up to rival even Santa Claus as a master magic-maker.

Sweet Tweets From Disney

Disney has officially started tweeting from its Twitter account, @Disney, yesterday, December 5, 2010, in celebration of Walt Disney's birthday. And that's appropriate because the tweets are to be very Walt-centric. Disney's tweets are planned to include links to, art, video clips and photos. Disney started its tweets with a look at Walt and his Tomorrowland (ready for a rare color image of Walt playfully interacting with GARCO the robot?), and soon will segue to Christmas. If you hook up with only one Twitter account, make sure you sign up with Disney's. To celebrate @Disney on Twitter, here (above) is a detail from a piece of Retta Scott Worcester's exquisite art for the 1950 Cinderella Big Golden Book, immortalizing the second Disney princess's bluebird friends. After all, a bluebird is the symbol of Twitter, promising tweets that offer the sweet treat that only Disney can deliver.

Happy Birthday, Walt: A View On Art

To honor Walt Disney on this, the 109th anniversary of his birth, here's a rarely-seen 1964 photo from the Los Angeles Times of Walt visiting an early version of the California Institute of Arts (CalArts), the famed arts school founded by Walt. 1964 was also the year Walt threw the Hollywood premiere of Mary Poppins on August 27, 1964, as a benefit for the burgeoning school, at which Walt screened a short film entitled The CalArts Story. In 1966, Walt had this to say on the subject of the Disney Studio producing "art": "An artist who consciously goes about producing art can become inhibited. It's always easier to talk about art, or to strike a beatnik pose, then it is to create. My artists are asked to 'let go'. We encourage a free-flow of ideas. It is always interesting to me how many people can vividly recall a sequence from a favorite Disney film—they can even tell you the colors! This may be nostalgia, or it could be that these films and their creative ideas are becoming a part of art history."

A Merry Christmas Card from Walt Disney (and D23)

In these quieter December days following Christmas Day I like to focus on quieter activities such as sleigh rides and getting together with friends, all with a Christmasy feel. This vintage Christmas card from Walt Disney meets all those criteria. Orginally sent out by Walt for Christmas 1933, the card features priceless art of Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and their less-often seen friends Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar (and a lean-and-lank horse, perhaps Tanglefoot?). This reproduction was a gift to D23 Members, just one of the gifts sent out through the year with each issue of D23's Disney twenty-three Magazine. Don't forget, Charter Memberships in D23 are available for only a few more days—after December 31, 2009, there's no way to become a Charter Member in the Official Community for Disney Fans, so you'll want to hop on a one-horse sleigh and dash through the snow to D23 with (jingle) bells on.

Walter Elias Disney (December 5, 1901-December 15, 1966)

A fascinating artifact from late 1966-early 1967, the Annual Report of Walt Disney Productions for 1966 had to be "enhanced" because, printing schedules being what they are, the Report was completed before Walt's death on December 15 of that year—an obviously cataclysmic and (given the relative short period of Walt's illness) unexpected event. Here you can read the letter (click on the images for a larger view), written by Roy O. Disney, that literally covered and figuratively (and sadly) overshadowed that year's Annual Report.

December 5

Today is the birthday of Walt Disney, who was born in 1901. Certainly one of the best and most appropriate tributes ever paid to Walt is the affecting bronze sculpture Partners, sculpted by the great Imagineer Blaine Gibson. Originally dedicated on November 18, 1993 at Disneyland® Park in honor of Mickey's 65th anniversary, the statue was re-dedicated on what would have been Walt's 100th birthday, December 5, 2001, and Tulgey Wood features it here today in honor of the man and his day.

From the Pages of Sketches Magazine: Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom

In the Summer 2005 issue of Sketches, the Official Magazine of the Walt Disney Collectors Society, there appeared an article written by me to celebrate the golden anniversary of Disneyland® Park. Featuring rare ephemera and precious photos from the Walt Disney Archives and the Disney Photo Library, this article served to celebrate five fantastic decades of Disneyland goodness, with the emphasis on Walt's own favorite attractions and contributions. Sketches is available exclusively to Members of the Walt Disney Collectors Society, so be sure and become a Member by going here . And in the meantime, celebrate the anniversary of Disneyland with this article about the man who started it all.