Snapshot! - Blood Red Roses

Red roses create a dramatic contrast in this slightly different look at the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World. The chess-inspired rooftop architecture is countered by the slightly more whimsical weather vane. This area is easily one of my favorite places in the Magic Kingdom.

Don Rosa's The Son of the Sun

Okay, so maybe I tend to overdo it a bit when I acknowledge anniversaries around here. But here’s one I just can’t let pass without some degree of celebration.

It was twenty years ago in the spring of 1987 that the comic book story “The Son of the Sun” debuted in the pages of Uncle Scrooge #219, and marked the beginning of what has become the illustrious and prolific career of writer/artist Don Rosa. In these past score of years, Don has produced numerous wonderful stories featuring Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge and the many other colorful characters of Disney’s “duck universe,” all the while paying homage to, and expanding on, the creative legacy of Disney Legend and original “duck man” Carl Barks.

In a 1997 publication, Gladstone Comics staffer John Clark told of how “The Son of the Sun” came to be:

In July of 1986, as soon as the first of Gladstone's Disney comics hit the stands, Don Rosa called then-Editor-in-Chief Byron Erickson and told him of his life-long ambition to write and draw his own Uncle Scrooge comics. Rosa's name was familiar to Erickson as a contributor of long-standing to various fan publica­tions and creator of the Scrooge-like comic strip, "The Pertwillaby Papers," but Erickson explained that he would nevertheless need to see samples of what Rosa could do with the Disney Ducks. After receiving some model sheets, Erickson told Rosa he could begin a Scrooge story "on spec" — if it turned out good it would be paid for and printed. Don dusted off an old Lance Pertwillaby adven­ture entitled, interestingly enough, "Lost in the Andes," and revamped it into "The Son of the Sun." The rest, as they say, is history.

“The Son of the Sun” is an amazing piece of storytelling. Epic in scope and scale, it is a tour de force of fast paced action, clever and often hilarious dialogue, and dynamic, detailed artwork that at times is simply breathtaking in its execution.

Previously established by Carl Barks in a number of his own stories, the contentious rivalry between Scrooge McDuck and his arch adversary Flintheart Glomgold sets the stage for a contest involving the search for the legendary lost treasure of the Incan Empire. Information from the infallible Junior Woodchucks Guidebook points Scrooge, Donald and nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie to the Andes and a hidden temple dedicated to the Incas’ chief deity Manco Capac, the Son of the Sun. Devious and conniving, Glomgold shadows their every move as they journey high into the mountains of Peru.

There is action present that matches anything from an Indiana Jones movie. Spectacular airplane crashes, collapsing ancient rope bridges and a literally earth shattering climax that is both hilarious and stunning at the same time. Rosa’s penchant for details is evident just about everywhere. Superb examples include the spectacular mountaintop temple:

The vast Incan treasure room:

And the quest’s final penultimate object, the jewel-laden Eye of Manco Capac:

Peppered throughout the panels are delightful references to previous Barks-chronicled duck adventures. The opening museum sequence is filled with one homage after another to earlier Scrooge adventures, and upon arriving at Lake Titicoocoo later in the story, the group meets a very notable character previously featured in the classic Barks tale “Lost in the Andes,” who goes on to play a very humorous role in the story’s conclusion.

Don’t let the fact that this is a comic book fool you. “The Son of the Sun” is dense in both plot and details. And make no mistake, Rosa leaves no thread unraveled and no details unaddressed. It is clever, witty and highly satisfying storytelling.

Fortunately, “The Son of the Sun” was reprinted a few years ago and is still available from Gemstone Publishing. It can be ordered directly from their website.

Tomorrowland Wall Art - Part 2

As promised, here is the second Stitch-themed mural from the Merchants of Venus in Walt Disney World's Tomorrowland. The purple experiment looking down from the TTA Station is sporting a set of Mickey Ears, while the small yellow one in the plaza is clutching tightly to its own blue Mickey balloon. Fun stuff.

Tomorrowland Wall Art - Part 1

For all the Stitch fans out there (and I know there are at least a few), here is the first of two very fun murals that adorn the walls at the Merchants of Venus in Walt Disney World's Tomorrowland. Check back tomorrow for Part 2.

What a Character! - Goofy Junior

And it’s not Max.

Some four decades before the contemporary Goofy family dynamic was introduced in the television show Goof Troop and the films A Goofy Movie and An Extremely Goofy Movie, Disney’s dimwitted but always good natured star enjoyed a domestic condition rooted in the early days of the post-war baby boom. While the 1990s gave birth to the character of Max and portrayed the Goof as devoted single father, fifty years earlier, the Goofy cartoons featured prominently the character of George G. Geef, a perennial everyman whose immediate family then included the faceless Mrs. Geef and a very different, but still endearing chip off the old block.

Known in most historical resources as Goofy Junior, the little tyke was referred to simply as Junior throughout his five screen appearances, and was once actually identified as George Junior in 1953’s Father’s Day Off.

Born literally in the 1951 cartoon Fathers Are People, Junior would go on to star in four additional Goofy shorts through 1961. A quintessential postwar archetype, Junior was mischievous, charming and temperamental, keeping his father in a state of almost constant exasperation. The same era had given birth to Dennis the Menace, and Junior was not very far removed from Hank Ketcham’s now iconic creation. The highlight of Fathers Are People is the father-son battle of wills over a roomful of messy toys that George Sr. ultimately and unequivocally loses.

Junior’s most prominent role was in 1952’s Father’s Lion where he continually confounds an irritated mountain lion with fearless innocence and a dime-store pop gun. Patient with his father’s Baron Munchausen-esque storytelling, he is much less a foil than in his other appearances. His low key bravado is a comical contrast to his father’s well-meaning boastfulness.

Junior’s roles are reduced somewhat in both Father’s Day Off and Father’s Weekend. In Father’s Day Off, he is but one of a number of elements that contribute to the fiasco that develops when Geef takes over the household chores for the day. In Father’s Weekend, Junior only comes into the forefront later in the cartoon when his father takes him to the beach and its nearby amusement park. In 1961’s Aquamania, Junior is basically there just to drive the boat in a pratfall-filled water ski race.

Perhaps most distinctive about Junior is that he was not designed to be a miniature version of Goofy, a direction that was eventually taken when the character was reinvented as Max for the Goof Troop television show. With his bright red hair and absence of dog ears, he clearly stood apart from his on-screen father.

Upon becoming a parent of sons, I discovered an entirely new appreciation for these cartoons that featured the antics of G. G. Geef and Junior. Numerous moments in the films reflected some of my own personal experiences. While being firmly grounded in 1950s popular culture, they still retain a measure of timelessness that many contemporary viewers can no doubt still relate to.

Images © Walt Disney Company

Goofy's Candy Co.

Move over Willy Wonka.

One of the most creatively dynamic concepts realized in recent years at Walt Disney World in my opinion is in fact, not a theme park attraction. The Goofy's Candy Co. brand, and its signature store in Downtown Disney are amazing examples of the combined talents of both Walt Disney Imagineering and the Disney Design Group.

Goofy's line of confectionery products can be found all over the Walt Disney World property, but the retail location of the same name is an adventure into all forms of sugar intoxication. While my two kids spent extended moments of indecision deciding on flavors of Goofy Glaciers (among the choices: Goofy's Glacier Green, Gawrshly Berry Blue, and Orange You Happy Orange), I busied myself taking pictures of the establishment's many colorful design elements.


From the fun product brands that adorn the walls--To the various chalkboards that feature formulas and instructions--

To perhaps my favorite design, the Periodic Table of Elements of which Goofonium takes center stage.
Goofy is certainly represented throughout, but most impressively near the main entrance where he takes on a very iced-over demeanor as he hawks the aforementioned Glacier concoctions.

Goofy's Candy Co. has proven to be successful and very popular since its debut in 2005. It has been featured in the Boo to You Parade at Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, and its products have a presence in nearly every merchandise location on property.

Willy, who?

Snapshot! - Scuttle on the Lookout

High above Fantasyland in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, one of Ariel's best friends keeps lookout over the area that bears his name: Scuttle's Landing. Details abound throughout the Magic Kingdom; sometimes you have to arch your neck a little to see them all.

Wanted: Brer Fox and Brer Bear

These very cool design elements featuring Brer Fox and Brer Bear can be found in the exterior queue area of Splash Mountain that winds through a whimsical landscape in the shadow of the Frontierland Train Station. The irony of these characters' prominence in the Magic Kingdom while Song of the South continues to be locked away in the mythical Disney vault continues to be a source of frustration to countless Disney fans. In that sense, these Wanted posters almost take on meaning beyond their simple association with this very popular attraction.

"No Event Too Small"

And it will certainly be no small event when Disney Legend Charles Ridgway arrives in the Carolinas in just a little less than two weeks on Tuesday, June 5. Mr. Ridgway will be appearing that evening at 7PM at the Winston-Salem Barnes and Noble. I will be hosting and I look forward to meeting all my fellow Carolina Disney enthusiasts.

Charlie will be discussing his new book Spinning Disney's World, and will make a presentation of photographs from his own personal collection that span his long and colorful career with the Walt Disney Company. Mark your calendars and spread the word! It's going to be a fun night!

Taking the Gran Fiesta Tour

Let's face it. I was very predisposed to like this attraction. So I will state my obvious bias right here at the start. The Three Caballeros is one of my favorite Disney films; in my opinion, very underrated and up until now, largely unappreciated. It was a real delight to see these characters finally showcased in a theme park attraction.

Long in need of refurbishment, El Rio del Tiempo has evolved into a much more colorful, high energy presentation in the form of the Gran Fiesta Tour. Most noticeably gone now are the Aztec references at the beginning and the very weird marionette carousel from the finale. The movie screens have all remained in place and now feature animation that chronicles Jose Carioca and Panchito Pistoles searching for Donald prior to a planned concert. The attraction's mix of set pieces and film projections is a natural fit with the live action-animation mix of the original 1944 feature film. And unlike the all encompassing Seas with Nemo and Friends, Donald, Jose and Panchito do not overpower the entire Mexico pavilion.

While I always found El Rio del Tiempo an enjoyable diversion, it always impressed me as a bizarre amalgamation of other ride concepts. It was an odd mix of If You Had Wings and Small World, with Aztec history, albeit without the trademark human sacrifice, thrown in for good measure. Gran Fiesta ejects that seemingly obligatory history homage and subsequently pulls the other disparate elements together with a more consistent theme and mood. It's a fun ten minutes.

The Largest Sundae at Walt Disney World

The wacky antics of MuppetVision 3-D can sometimes extend just beyond the attraction building and its queue area. Mostly obscured on high walls to the right of the building, two oversize planters take on slightly different functions as their contents fall victim to the hot Florida sun.

The largest ice cream sundae at Walt Disney World is not at Beaches and Cream but in fact at Disney-MGM Studios.

A Recent Visit to the Laugh Floor

I am currently spending an extended weekend at Walt Disney World and I thought I’d throw up a post or two while buying into 24 hours of Internet access.

For all its troubled development and decidedly mixed reviews, I have to say that I enjoyed the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor much more than I expected to. Closer to cute and corny than to hip and hilarious, it certainly satisfied the crowd I saw it with. The little kids in the audience seemed to be especially taken with it.

That said, it is still very disappointing in other ways. It is totally disconnected from its Tomorrowland location, and no effort whatsoever was made to make it fit even on an aesthetic level. The queue and preshow areas are sparse, clearly betraying the attraction’s very short creative gestation period. As novel as the whole Living Character Initiative is, the attractions employing this technology are going to need to expand beyond the very simple screen-to-audience interaction that both Laugh Floor and Turtle Talk currently present.

If you can look past its obvious flaws (and likely many will not), it’s a mildly entertaining D-Ticket and a solid child-pleaser.

The Animal Kingdom Imagineering Field Guide

The latest entry in the Imagineer's-Eye Tour series of field guides has arrived in book stores. The Imagineering Field Guide to Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World is every bit as extensive in content and pleasing in execution as its two predecessors.

Animal Kingdom is literally dense with theming, making this tome especially enjoyable. The book is a treasure trove of concept art and design sketches. It was a real treat to see two very interesting concept ideas by Joe Rohde--the elaborate Oasis carousel that eventually evolved into the Tree of Life, and a Noah's Ark gateway that was an early idea for the park entrance.

The book truly serves to illustrate how in many ways the Imagineers' penchant for details if often overlooked or not considered by the average visitor. One excellent example of this is the outdoor theater that hosts The Flights of Wonder show. The Caravan Stage is in fact derived from a caravansay, a place where caravans would take respite from their journeys. It is intended to evoke the setting of the Silk Road as it traverses through the Taklimakan desert of Asia. And here you thought it was just a shady spot for the "bird show."

The book is filled with similar background expositions that will surprise and delight even those who consider themselves seasoned theme park experts. Like its already published Magic Kingdom and EPCOT counterparts, it's a great read for even the most casual of Disney tourists but also an indispensable reference for any Disney park enthusiast.

My only quibble with the book is that its small field guide format does not do justice to its many wonderful illustrations. Hardly a fair criticism considering the field guide nature of the publication, but it does make one hope for larger format collections of Imagineering concepts both realized and unrealized.

Snapshot! - Angling in Animal Kingdom

Along a meandering stream in the Camp Minnie Mickey area of Disney's Animal Kingdom, Goofy finally puts to use (well, sort of) the skills he learned in his 1942 short How to Fish. I really love the details that went into this scene, from the contents of the lunch box to the Goof's bedroll. The holes in his shoes are an especially nice touch and are a specific carryover from his many cartoon appearances.

It's Been a Goofy 75 Years

It appears that another major milestone of the Disney Company is going unrecognized and uncelebrated. Seventy-five years ago this month, Goofy appeared for the first time, albeit in the form of Dippy Dawg, in the 1932 Mickey Mouse cartoon Mickey’s Revue.

Goofy is especially unique among his famous costars in that his performances were not limited to the intellectually-challenged but always good natured personality he came to embody . His range extended to his now famous Sport Goofy and “How To” roles, and then ultimately to the post-war character of Mr. Geef, who was essentially a cartoon counterpart to the likes of television icons Ozzie Nelson and Ward Cleaver.

From the black and white shaggy persona of Dippy Dawg to his upcoming and hopeful return to glory later this year in How to Hook Up Your Home Theater, it is time to celebrate 75 years of Goofy-ness. That’s exactly what we plan on doing here over the next few weeks. There’s a lot of potential ground to cover so stay tuned.

Imagineers in the News - 1973

Amid over at Cartoon Brew pointed us to a new online archive from the UCLA Department of Special Collections that includes over five thousand images from the L.A. Times and the original Los Angeles Daily News. One of the more interesting results of my "Disney" keyword search was this all-star mash of Imagineering legends from 1973:


Published on October 23, 1973, the picture had the following caption:

NEW ATTRACTION--Disney engineers, from left, Marty Sklar, Tony Baxter, George McGinnis and John Hench examine a model of Disney World's new Space Mountain ride. The display was part of the first press tour ever offered of production center of Walter Elias Disney Enterprises.

Freeze Frame! - Aladdin and Some Animated Guest Stars

Continuing yesterday's series of Freeze Frames from Aladdin, we highlight some moments that feature references to other notable Disney characters. The Genie is responsible for two of these. He unceremoniously pulls Little Mermaid costar Sebastian out of a cookbook, and uses Pinocchio to illustrate his lack of faith in Aladdin's seemingly sincere commitment to granting the Genie's own freedom.


A bit more difficult to spot is Beast from Beauty and the Beast. His blink-and-you'll-miss-him cameo involves not the Genie but the Sultan. A toy version of the character is among the small trinkets that he amuses himself with just prior to the Prince Ali musical number.

Freeze Frame! - Aladdin, Groucho and Ed

The Genie's celebrity impersonations are among the many memorable moments from Disney's 1992 animated feature Aladdin. Two such characterizations center on personalities from television's golden age. Robin Williams' vocal take on variety show icon Ed Sullivan is near dead on as he intones the signature line " . . . really big shew."

When Genie morphs into the slightly more recognizable Groucho Marx a few moments later, it borrows heavily from Groucho's famous and hugely popular 1950s game show, You Bet Your Life.

More Aladdin Freeze Frames tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Snapshot! - Gulp Gas

One of my favorites elements from Mickey's Toontown Fair in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom is the very cartoon-esque rendition of a vintage gas pump. The entire scene of Pete's Garage is a clever homage to service stations of yesteryear. Clean restrooms were badges of honor for station operators back in the day and the restroom key was a distinct staple of gas station culture. My personal choice for best-Imagineered restrooms on Disney World property.

Robot Restrooms and Interplanetary Mail

As many readers here already know, the retro-deco designs of Tomorrowland are among my very favorite details in Walt Disney World. And as you can see here, those details extend all the way down to the restroom level.

A simple mailbox is not excluded either. And guests are clearly cautioned--NO INTERPLANETARY DELIVERIES.

The Original EPCOT Character Connections

Ah, characters in Epcot; the debate rages on . . .

Despite being initially and intentionally void of traditional Disney personalities when it opened in 1982, EPCOT Center was in fact never without characters. While most folks are quick to associate Figment (pictured above with pal Dreamfinder in an early postcard illustration) with Disney World’s second gate, there have certainly been a number of other animated characters, both traditional and animatronic (and sometimes even both) who over the years have called Epcot home.

Just for fun, a quick roll call of some of Epcot’s other animated denizens, both past and present:

The cast of Kitchen Kaberet, the Land pavilion’s audio-animatronic floor show that debuted with the park in 1982. It evolved into Food Rocks in 1994, but was then removed completely to make room for Soarin’ in 2005. It’s stars included host Bonnie Appetit who was joined by fellow performers Mr. Dairy Good and the Stars of the Milky Way, the Boogie Woogie Bak’ry Boy, the Cereal Sisters (Mairzy Oats, Rennie Rice, and Connie Corn), the Fiesta Fruit, and Mr. Hamm and Mr. Eggz. Among the Food Rocks incarnations were Fud Rapper, the Peach Boys, Neil Moussaka, Chubby Cheddar and the Get-the-Point Sisters.

Not quite gone and certainly not forgotten are the characters featured in Cranium Command. The Wonders of Life pavilion currently sits sadly without activity behind a row of potted plants, denying access to the broad and colorful characters of General Knowledge and Buzzy. Like Figment, Buzzy was also brought to life in both cartoon and animatronic representations.

While not as readily apparent as other early Future World characters, there were a few animated characters that resided in the Seas pavilion long before Nemo and friends swam in and took up residence. The talking submersible Jason existed in animatronic form, while mythological character Atlas starred in the 7 ½ minute cartoon The Animated Atlas of the World. In another cartoon film, Suited for the Sea, two unnamed fish explained the history of the diving suit.

Scattered across other Future World post-shows and exhibits were the likes of Bird and Robot at World of Motion’s Transcenter, SMRT-1 at Communicore, I/O from Backstage Magic and mini-robot Tom Morrow at Innoventions.

And please folks, this post was not meant to re-engage the Epcot character debate. My intention was solely to revisit some earlier EPCOT nostalgia and continue our celebration of EPCOT's 25th.

Donald and the Wheel - In Four Color!

One of my earliest posts here on 2719 Hyperion was a short feature about one of my favorite Disney cartoons: Donald and the Wheel. In digging through my long boxes recently I rediscovered a little piece of four-color fun I had forgotten I had—the Dell Comics adaptation of that 1961 Donald Duck short.

Most would likely dismiss this Donald Duck comic book as being fairly inconsequential. Typically, if a Duck comic from this time period doesn’t possess a Carl Barks pedigree, it tends to be largely ignored, let alone inspire any kind of discussion.

While adapting the vast majority of the cartoon’s sequences, the comic also added a framing sequence involving Huey, Dewey and Louie and established a narrative with Donald himself being a character, and not just assuming roles within the story. The Spirits of Progress, the father-son duo who are the central narrators of the tale, fully appeared in the comic, going beyond the rot scoped silhouettes they were in the cartoon.

One feature that remained consistent from film to page was the clever rhyming dialog that the Spirits cleverly engage in.

In keeping with the “edu-tainment” nature of both short and comic story, the inside, cover pages and the back cover provided some fun illustrated facts and diagrams.

Certainly in no way groundbreaking or otherwise significant, but a neat little piece of memorabilia nonetheless.

Don't Miss: Selling the Dream

Over at Passport to Dreams Old and New, Foxxfur has just posted the latest installment of her Selling the Dream series of articles about the various television specials Disney has produced over the years to promote their theme parks. Today's post takes a fascinating look at the 1982 EPCOT Center Grand Opening special hosted by Danny Kaye. The program was a very odd juxtaposition of idealistic pontifications and not-so-subtle advertising, but as Foxxfur ultimately concludes, it represented a significant moment where Disney actually promoted the "thematic and intellectual concerns" of one of its parks.

Great, great information and insight as we've come to expect from Passport to Dreams Old and New.

Retro Review: A Perfect Summer Movie

Ah, what is the perfect summer movie? Spiderman? Pirates of the Caribbean? Cars?

Solid arguments could be made for any of these and countless others as well. Ever since Jaws and Star Wars were released in the mid-1970s, summer has become the season for high energy popcorn-filled trips to the local multiplexes. But my candidate for a perfect summer movie predates those two films by nearly a decade and a half, and while it was certainly a special effects powerhouse in its day, it is best remembered for its undeniable charm and the engaging performances of its cast.

The Parent Trap makes me wish I had been a kid back in the summer of 1961. Released ever so appropriately in June of that year, the film remains timeless on many levels despite being so firmly grounded in the post-war, early baby boom popular culture. From the very funny shenanigans and heartwarming discoveries at Camp Inch to the fateful camping trip where gold digger Vickie gets “submarined,” The Parent Trap just oozes summer in nearly every frame of film.

There are so many points of merit to this wonderful movie; it’s hard to know just where to start.

Well, how about the opening credits? This captivating sequence of stop-motion animation was created by T. Hee, Bill Justice and X. Atencio and echoed their earlier efforts on Noah’s Ark and foreshadowed 1962’s Symposium of Popular Songs. Accompanied by Annette Funicello’s and Tommy Sands’ bubblegum rendition of the title song, the clever vignette immediately sets a tone of fun and romance that the entire movie ultimately embodies.

The screenplay and direction of David Swift mix equal parts melodrama, romance and comedy for very satisfying results. Some reviewers, including Disney scholar Leonard Maltin, felt the film uneven in its comedy and ultimately average, a criticism I personally have to disagree with. However, nearly all critics of the time were universal in their praise of the film’s cast. Accolades were deservedly given to romantic leads Brian Keith and the always beautiful Maureen O’Hara, but the film is also notable for its equaling engaging supporting players; among them Nancy Kulp, Frank DeVol, Una Merkel, Joanna Barnes, Charlie Ruggles, Ruth McDevitt and Leo G. Carroll.

But let’s face it; from beginning to end, The Parent Trap belongs to Hayley Mills. Her remarkable performances as both Sharon and Susan are every bit as convincing as the special effects that allow her two characters to share the screen. Studio veteran Ub Iwerks supervised the processes that brought together the two distinctly different twins; it proved an amazing marriage of technical achievement with the exceptional acting of the very talented Mills.

My favorite detail from the film? When Sharon and Susan are placed in isolation at Camp Inch, their discovery of sisterhood appropriately happens within the walls of a cabin named Serendipity. But you’ve got to squint to see the sign by the cabin’s front door.

As I said near the beginning, The Parent Trap is pure summer, in atmosphere as well as setting. Filled with summer camp antics, poolside pratfalls and treks through the wilderness, it is a shining example of family entertainment made the old fashioned way. While I’ll likely be visiting places such as Far Far Away, World’s End and Spiderman’s Manhattan in the coming weeks, I will also be doing some R&R at Camp Inch and Mitch Ever’s southern California ranch. 

One minor postscript: While the 1998 Lindsay Lohan remake was not a bad movie, it was certainly unnecessary. It was one of the less than remarkable results of Walt Disney Pictures “recycling” phase of the late 1990s that begat the likes of Flubber, and the live action 101 Dalmatians among others.

Postscript #2: The two-disc Vault Disney edition of The Parent Trap is an exceptional DVD set. You can still scare up a copy of this out-of-print edition on Amazon and other various online retailers.

USA Today on the Return of 2D

USA Today, both print and online editions, has a very good article on Disney's return to traditonal animation. Featured prominently in the article are both Enchanted and The Frog Princess. Included are comments from John Lasseter, Dick Cook, Leonard Maltin and even Simpsons creator Matt Groenig.

One interesting tidbit--the young heroine's name in The Frog Princess is revealed to be Tiana.