Thanksgiving In Wonderland

Here's a rare Thanksgiving treat—a piece of seldom-seen Disney art that graced the November 27, 1981 issue of Disney Newsreel, the Disney Studios' in-house newsletter. I couldn't find a credit but I'm quite sure this whimsical bit of Wonderland insanity was created by Disney artist and author Russell Schroeder. It's a feast for the eyes, so be sure and click on the art for a bigger helping. Happy Thanksgiving! (PS I see that Matt over at his Wonderland blog already ran this art in 2008. Be sure and check out Matt's blog, it too is a feast of madness any day of the year.)

Super Fun!

It's time for the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and also time for the equally fun and colorful annual poster. I love the cut-out style art—it also has a sort of felt-board feel—and as always this annual artwork conveys the excitement of the world's most famous parade. (Click on the poster for a larger view.) Greg, the title character of the bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, makes his debut as a giant balloon, and I say anytime a character from a book joins the lineup of Macy's balloon characters it's a good thing. A writer also joins the pageant's inflatable array this year, believe it or not —it's Virginia, the star of the animated Yes, Virginia Macy's-sponsored CBS special. Virginia is of course the author of the famed 1897 "Is there a Santa Claus?" letter-to-the-editor. So is Virginia the first Macy's balloon to be based on a real person? She may well be... not that I don't think that Spider-Man and Snoopy aren't real—or at least they seem be. (Update: See this post for the only other "real" person to be represented as a Macy's balloon. No, it's not Buzz Lightyear.) Tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day, tune into NBC for the parade, featuring as it did last year Jimmy Fallon and the Roots. It will be, as Jimmy said a couple of nights ago on his show, "Super fun!"

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.)

Fantasound: Not Just For Fantasia Only

I've been writing a lot about Walt Disney's Fantasia (1940) lately, and that magnificent film is being released as a Diamond Edition Blu-ray later this month...so what better time than now to take a look at Fantasound. I don't exactly mean the Oscar-winning multichannel sound system created for Walt's animated masterpiece but rather a little-known series of recordings released in the late 1960s by Disney's prestige label, Buena Vista Records. Promoted as a sophisticated adult listening experience for the serious audiophile, and recorded mostly in Europe, these specialized LPs were first issued in 1967. The Fantasound albums featured classical selections and the scores of Broadway shows (and The Happiest Millionaire, the Disney musical in release at the time). Billboard magazine reported that Vista launched a major promotional campaign for this internationally-distributed adult-oriented series, elements of which included posters, counter displays and special discount rates to retailers. Another promotion was included on the inner sleeve included in all Vista albums, the Fantasound detail of which is pictured above (click on the image for a larger view). Plus watch this blog for news of some of my upcoming writing about Fantasia.

Conan Takes To The Skies Over Burbank

Living in the center of Hollywood (well, it's really Burbank) one gets to see a lot of things some people living in some other parts of the country might not. For example, I have seen overhead on numerous occasions the Goodyear blimp and the Fuji blimp. (Sadly, I have never seen the MetLife blimp, featuring the famous World War I Flying Ace.) Today I saw the new Conan blimp. It seemed to be basically flying over the Warner Bros. lot, which would make sense as Conan does his freshly-minted late-night show from that lot, which is right here in Burbank. I imagine Conan will make reference to his blimp being directly overhead. I'll soon know as his show starts in less than a half-hour as of this writing. (I'm not surprised Conan has a blimp as he has always seemed to like them... if memory serves, I think he had Andy Richter spend an entire episode of his first NBC series aboard the MetLife blimp. Some people have all the luck.) You can find out more about the Conan blimp and even track its travels (so you will know when its over your city) here. (Even though the graphic above says the Conan blimp will be in flight through October 31, its flight has been extended trough November.)

60 Years Of Crashed Kites And Disrespectful Dogs

Today, October 2, 2010 marks the 60th anniversary of the comic strip that surely needs no introduction, Peanuts, for it was on this date in 1950 that the initial entry in what would become a worldwide phenomenon was first published in a mere seven newspapers, a marked contrast to the 2,000-plus papers in which the comic would eventually appear. To mark the occasion, here's a rare bit of art—a 1967 letter sent out by comic-strip artist/writer par excellence Charles M. Schulz in response to a fan apparently requesting original art. It would be interesting to know if Mrs. Jones of Parsons, Kansas ever received an original strip from United Features Syndicate. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this example (click on the image for a larger view) of special art created by Schulz outside the strip itself as we celebrate sixty years of happiness with Peanuts.

Who Is Wade Sampson And Why Are They Saying All Those Wonderful Things About Him?

As most every Disney fan who peruses the internet now knows, the mysterious online Disney historian Wade Sampson is actually the mysteriously gifted Disney historian Jim Korkis—and Jim has a brand new book that collects the many in-depth articles Wade, uh, I mean Jim has published online. (Go here to read the final "Wade Sampson" column.) One of the best thing about this book, entitled The Vault of Walt, featuring all kinds of overlooked, underrated and mostly unknown Disney behind-the-scenes stories is that Jim has enhanced his original historical reporting with new findings and even more little-known delicacies. Be sure and get your own copy of this fascinating book here and discover the wonderful historical world of "Wade Sampson."

Blazing A New Frontier At The Walt Disney Family Museum

If you are in the San Francisco area this weekend, you won't want to miss the Fess Parker tribute at the Walt Disney Family Museum. Jeff Kurtti, otherwise known as King of the Wild Disney Historians and one of the guiding imaginations and Disney authorities behind the splendid museum devoted to a man named Walt, will be hosting two very special salutes to the tall Texan who so winningly portrayed the coonskin-capped Congressman in Walt Disney's groundbreaking, blockbusting "Davy Crockett" TV shows. For more information about all the Fess Parker festivities, check out the Museum's website.

Share a Horse Laugh With Horace (and Other Disney Stars)

One of the many informative, intriguing and just plain fun offerings on the D23 website is a series of star bios. Who do we mean when we refer to Disney stars? Well, Mickey Mouse of course and Donald, Goofy, Minnie...but there's also some other members of the gang that don't always get the star treatment. I had the honor of writing these D23 biographies, and I have to admit I'm proudest of the pieces about such immortal but obscure Disney pals as Clarabelle Cow, Clara Cluck and that improbable matinee idol, Horace Horsecollar (seen here in panels from the famed Mickey Mouse newspaper comic strip drawn by Floyd Gottfredson, originally published on December 2, 1931; click on the image for a larger view). Don't miss Biographies of 10 Classic Disney Characters at D23.com.

Jimmy On Broadway

Or is it Broadway on Jimmy? Either way, all this week on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, it's Broadway Week. Each night, starting tonight, Monday September 13, 2010, Jimmy is presenting a number from one of the musicals currently trodding the boards on the Great White Way. Jimmy's show emanates from famed 30 Rock, and its proximity to New York's storied theatre district makes it a natural to showcase productions that only a relative few of us will otherwise experience, so this is a not-to-be-missed celebration of musical theatre. First up is this year's Tony winner as Best Musical, Memphis, followed on Tuesday by a selection from Promises, Promises (which looks, well, promising to me because it seems to have been produced with a very 1960s vibe), and on Wednesday, it's the Green Day musical American Idiot. Assuming you aren't staying up to watch the actual Late Night broadcast (and no one I know is doing that) you can catch all these acts and the rest of Broadway Week on Jimmy Fallon's website.