Happy New Year's Eve!

Here's some Muppet merriment to usher in the New Year. This cover from the Winter 1988 issue of Muppet Magazine features Kermit, Miss Piggy and "special guest star" Jason Bateman (lately of Arrested Development and Juno) all dolled up for New Year's Eve. Miss Piggy may have diverted her Christmas gifts from Kermit to Jason but we all know who she'll kiss (or try to) at midnight. Happy 2008 everyone!

"The Only Society That Brings Disney Magic Home"

Here's a page from the Summer 2007 issue of NewsFlash, the quarterly Newsletter of the Walt Disney Collectors Society. Full of news, inside info, announcements and Disney fun (and written by yours truly), NewsFlash is just one of the many exclusive benefits available only to Society Members. There's only a few days left to join for Society Year 2007, but even if you join on the last day (Monday, December 31, 2007), you still get a full year of Society benefits. For more information on joining the Walt Disney Collectors Society, go here.

Here We Come A-Wassailing

In this lavish panel (click on the image for a larger view) from the magnificent Pogo Sunday page written and drawn by Walt Kelly for Christmas Day 1955, Albert the Alligator ponders the meaning of wassail at Pogo's carol singing party. I'm betting that even if you, like Albert, don't know exactly what wassail is, you know the Christmas carol the Okefenokee Swamp gang is singing (the lyrics are on the bottom of the panel) so why not join in, as we indeed ask God to send us a Happy New Year.

Don't You Kind of Love December?

I've always imagined the wintery happenings of "Once Upon a Wintertime," a stylish segment of Walt Disney's "package film" Melody Time (1948) as happening in the days following December 25. We know from the lyrics of the lush title song (written by Bobby Worth and and Ray Gilbert, and sung by Frances Langford) that the fun and unexpectedly adventurous sleigh-ride-and-skating jaunt of Jenny and Joe takes place in December, and their romantic excursion seems just the thing for a quiet Yuletide afternoon. The stylish design of "Once Upon a Wintertime" is courtesy of Mary Blair, and the charming 1950 Little Golden Book based on the animated short was illustrated by the equally stylish Disney artist Tom Oreb. Blair and Oreb are a treat for any fan of Disney, design or illustration, so have a cup of cocoa and enjoy the artistry of this Little Golden Book cover.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

For Christmas 1971, Newsweek commissioned Charles M. Schulz to draw a holiday cover and here is the very merry result. Joy to the World!

Christmas Eve with Pogo

This Pogo strip (or as much of it as I'm posting here) by Walt Kelly was published on December 24, 1949. The continuity concerned Pogo trying to throw a Christmas party for local orphans. Porky Pine hears tell Pogo has no Santy Claus so he slides down the chimney and gets stuck in the potbellied stove. Luckily, Pogo informs Porky he is welcome to the party anyhow as he's the guest of honor...

Christmas Animation Treats

Over at his Animation Backgrounds blog, Rob Richards has posted many festive Christmas production artworks including background paintings from Gift Wrapped (starring Tweety and Sylvester; the cozy pan background above is from this gem), The Night Before Christmas (starring Tom and Jerry) and of course many Disney films, including Mickey’s Good Deed, Pluto’s Christmas Tree and The Small One. There are also the deluxe Christmas cards (pictured here) that open the famous Disney TV episode “From All of Us To All of You.” Visit Rob’s blog and you’ll treat yourself to a Yuletide visual feast.

December 21, 1937

This magnificent poster (art by Gustaf Tenggren) heralded the release of Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Premiering a matter of weeks after the final animation was completed, Snow White was an unqualified hit, and became the most popular movie ever released up until that time. In numbers of actual tickets sold on that first release and on its many reissues over the years, Snow White has probably been seen by more people than any other feature film.

Hip Hip Pooh-ray!

Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day was released on December 20, 1968. Though the featurette was released two years after the death of Walt Disney, it had been developed under Walt’s supervision, along with the first Pooh production, Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966). With the addition of Tigger and Piglet (these characters had not appeared in Honey Tree), the second featurette was even more popular than the first, and was awarded an Oscar for Best Short Subject (Cartoon). In accepting the Oscar on behalf of Walt Disney on April 14, 1969, from Tony Curtis and the Pink Panther, director Woolie Reitherman called Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day “another memorable moment we’ve all shared with Walt.” (Interestingly, another animation nominee that same year was John and Faith Hubley’s similarly titled Windy Day.) To celebrate the release of Pooh’s Oscar-winning featurette, here’s a charming Sticker Fun book from Whitman. Issued alongside coloring books, tray puzzles, storybooks and other memorabilia as part of the merchandising bonanza accompanying the film’s original release, this sticker book and the other publications by Whitman was drawn by the same talented artists who drew the Golden Book line, as Whitman and Golden were both imprints of Western Publishing Company, which also produced the Disney comic books.

Christmas in Disneyland

Here’s a delightful Giant Comic from December 1956 all about Christmas in Disneyland. The Disney characters on the cover are drawn by Tony Strobl, who also drew the interior wraparound story of Santa Claus taking Timmie and Taffy (no, really) to Disneyland as a Christmas treat. What I really like about the cover is the photograph of Sleeping Beauty Castle with the colorful Christmas tree nearby. One of my favorite Yuletide Disneyland images featured silvery Christmas trees displayed in Sleeping Beauty Castle moat. This Christmas, Disneyland presents a holiday makeover of the iconic centerpiece of Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom, Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle. I was concerned when I first heard about this idea, as I’m leery of any plan to “enhance” the beautiful theme park castles. I’m sure you all remember the fiasco that resulted when Walt Disney World’s Cinderella Castle was transformed into a giant birthday cake, although you have tried to forget it. But I was pleasantly surprised with Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle. During the day Sleeping Beauty Castle is capped with snow but at night it’s transformed into a crystalline ice fantasy. Though I certainly wouldn’t want Disneyland's most important symbol obscured like this for long, it’s a nice wintry touch for Christmastime.