Sleeping Beauty Ceramic Figurines

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By Nick 

My friend Jill gave my wife and me several ceramic bisque figurines that had belonged to her mother.

These are of Princess Aurora, who by the time she meets Prince Philip is now Briar Rose, and who will eventually be Sleeping Beauty.

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They are 6 1/4″ tall.

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We aren’t sure where they were purchased, but they originally sold for $12.99. Searching online, they are supposedly hard to find. Made in Japan.



Maleficent is 7 1/4″ tall.

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I’m assuming she was the same price.

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Wordless Wednesday: The Festival of Fantasy Parade

Photos by Barbie

Wordless Wednesday: Maleficent From the Festival of Fantasy Parade

Photos Barbie:

Sleeping Beauty Blu-ray Review

by Nick 

I bought this Sleeping Beauty Blu-ray several years ago, when I first got my Blu-ray player, but just got around to watching it last weekend.

A couple of things prompted me to finally pop in this disc which was released in 2008, for Sleeping Beauty's 50th Anniversary.
D23 Magazine's article on Eyvind Earle and Sleeping Beauty for one, and Maleficent for the other.
Eyvind Earle was chosen by Walt Disney to be the driving creative force behind Sleeping Beauty, responsible for the absolutely gorgeous styling of every frame of this masterpiece.
And this Blue-ray release brings those images to the forefront. This is arguably the most beautifully rendered of all of Disney's animated classics, seen for the first time in 1080p Hi Def. And the extra wide picture really showcases this.
The story, well, it's...slow at several points. Not enough to lose an adult's interest perhaps, but I could see how a child's attention might wander at times. Barbie and I, on more than one occasion, asked each other if we remembered one scene or another from previous viewings, or remembered things very differently.
The 7.1 surround sound is terrific, I felt I was at Aurora's Christening, dancing with Briar Rose in the forest, and fighting the dragon!
And, finally, it was great to compare Maleficent's take on the tale compared to Sleeping Beauty. As anticipated, the former has completely altered how I view the latter.

The second disc in this collection has a wealth of wonderful extras.

 Games and Activities: 

Maleficent's Challenge.
This is very entertaining Maleficent herself appears to tell you that the magic orb on her staff will read your mind, through a series of questions.
Choose a "Creature," "Element," "Vegetable," or "Other."
You are then asked a series of questions.
My wife chose lettuce. After several questions "Maleficent" guessed that we were thinking Salad!
I chose a dog. Yep, she got it!

Briar Rose's Enchanted Dance Game.
This teaches you the dance steps to Waltz! I confess, we didn't do this one.

Fun with Language Game.
Learn words with the 3 Fairies. For very young children, this teaches you words like "bowl"

Backstage Disney has many "making of" features, with a look at the original Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle walk through attraction, a biography of Eyvind Earle and a look at his art, alternate and deleted scenes, storyboard and art galleries, a look at how they restored the soundtrack, and trailers!
In addition, there is a 16 minute segment from the original Disneyland TV series titled "Four Artists Paint One Tree" featuring a bookend introduction from Walt Disney, and a look at four of the Disney Studios artists, including Eyvind Earle and Marc Davis, and a look at each artist's creative interpretation of one subject. This alone was worth the price of the Blu-ray set.

There is also a DVD which has a view extras of it's own, including a short titled "Grand Canyon" which a visual interpretation of the Grand Canyon Suite, with absolutely beautiful images of the Canyon and surrounding areas, like Monument Valley, which I'd never seen before.

There is a "Diamond Edition" of Sleeping Beauty due to be released later this year, no doubt to coincide with the release of Maleficent.
I'm not sure how they will possibly improve on the visuals and sound, but I confess I am curious to see what extras the new edition will hold.

Maleficent- Mostly Spoiler Free Review

by Nick

I liked Maleficent a lot. Really. Admittedly, going in, I wasn't sure I was going to. When I first saw the preview, I was excited. But the last couple of previews left me thinking it may not be as good as I'd first hoped. Then, there have been the reviews. I didn't read any, as I didn't want spoilers, but I did note that it had a score of 50 out of 100 on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 141 reviews.
And the beginning made me actually think - "Uh oh."

But then, it got real.

It's not as epic as previews would have you believe. It's almost a human interest story, with magic thrown in. I really fell in love with some characters, while loathing others thoroughly.

Have you ever wondered what Maleficent's motivations were for putting a curse on an infant? In Sleeping Beauty it seems that she is angry for not being invited to the party. In Maleficent, we see why she's so angry. And she certainly has every right to be! She has always been, to me, the most visually interesting of the Disney Villains, and I loved how bad she could be. But my love of the character has reached new heights. She is now my favorite Disney Villain. Can I still call her that?

When we got home, we popped in the original Sleeping Beauty. Surely in the original, the fairies Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, who are renamed in the update for some reason, aren't as incompetent as they are portrayed in Maleficent? Yes, yes they are. Maleficent explains how Aurora managed to get to 16 at all, because I absolutely found myself questioning that while watching Sleeping Beauty!

This is complete and utter revisionist history, and I will never watch Sleeping Beauty the same way again, much as I will never view Mary Poppins the same after seeing Saving Mr. Banks. But I don't care! I prefer this much less black and white version of the Sleeping Beauty story, if I'm being 100% honest! And, might a story being told from 2 different perspectives be something completely different after all?

After the movie, I struggled a bit with how this would change my view of ALL of the characters from Sleeping Beauty going forward. Yes, I realize it's not reality, but at the Disney Parks, they kind of are real. Maleficent is in the Castle Show and in parades. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather can also be found on occasion, and of course Aurora is very easily visited. I will now look at them very differently indeed.

And if I ever see King Stefan...but I cannot go any further, as the title states, this is a mostly spoiler free review!

by Barbie

What can I say? Nick pretty much summed up how I felt about the movie, so I will talk about the visuals and the acting. The movie was beautifully shot, and the computer generated imagery was stunning.

Angelina Jolie's performance has made me completely rethink the character of Maleficent, and villains in general. Now I want to know the back-stories to ALL the Disney Villains!

The part of Aurora was beautifully played by all of the actresses that portrayed her through various stages of her life. The fairies were a comical delight, and I'm surprised that their parts weren't played in previews more.

All in all, I really enjoyed, nay, loved this movie, and look forward to seeing it again!

And that King Stefan...!

Maleficent Merchandise at the Disney Store

By Nick

My wife and I stopped by our local Disney Store a couple of days ago to see what was new and to say hi to some of the wonderful Cast Members we've made friends with there.
As expected, we found merchandise for Maleficent, which was released by Disney yesterday.

Mugs are $12.95, there's a journal for $16.95, t-shirts and a tunic range in price from $12.95-$39.95.  There's also a Lithograph Set which is a limited edition of 3000 for $29.95.

The hottest sellers, however, are the dolls, which are $34.95.

Aurora:

Maleficent was sold out, this was on hold for another guest.

Maleficent merchandise can also be found at the DisneyStore.com

Funko Disney/Pixar Mystery Mini Figures

I'd read about these Funko Disney/Pixar Mystery Mini Figures several months ago on a Vinylmation site.
The article asked if it was possible that these new figures could overtake Vinylmation in popularity.
That obviously hasn't happened, but I actually think they are pretty terrific!
They come in a blind box like Vinyl, and inside they are in a black plastic bag.

 

The character range isn't as wide as Vinylmation, certainly, but manages to include a few of our absolute favorite characters, Mickey Mouse, Stitch, Tinker Bell and Winnie the Pooh. They are about a half inch shorter on average than a 3" Vinylmation.

 

What's very interesting to me, is the rarity of some of these. Some are very rare indeed! 1 in a 144 rare for a Pooh, Tink, or Sulley! Why the top left Mickey is 2 in 24 and not 1 in 12 is a mystery.

After reading the article, I went on a search for these at the local Barnes and Noble, as well as their online shop, and came up empty handed. I found them on Amazon and eBay, but decided to limit myself to finding them at the store. I never did.
But Barbie didn't forget, and bought me some for my birthday! Since they were gifts, I have no idea how much they cost, but she says they were at a reasonable price.
Let's see what I got!
The first package I opened contained a Mike Wazowski. 1/24. Not bad. The very next box I opened contained...the exact same figure!

Next, a Mickey!  1/18.

I love the tail!

 

Next up was another Mike, 1/18, followed by a Sulley, 1/48.
They make a great pair!

Another great tale!

Last, but certainly not least, my wife's favorite, Stitch! 1/18.

Well, I didn't get any super rare figures, but I love what I got! This of course has given me Mini Madness, so I'll be searching eBay for more. I'll share what I find here in the future.