Walt Disney Classics Collection Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Brave Little Tailor

By Nick

These Mickey and Minnie, Brave Little Tailor Walt Disney Classics Collection pieces are among my favorite collectibles.

Mickey stands 7 1/4 inches tall. Plussing includes a matte platinum finish on his scissors.

 

Titled "I let him have it", it is the 1993 Animators Choice Figurine, and the first year redemption sculpture for the Walt Disney Classic Collection. It bears the Treble Clef production mark, symbolizing the music in the Academy Award-winning 'Silly Symphonies'.

Minnie stands 6 1/2 inches tall. Her veil is painted with opalescent paint, and her shoe buckles are painted gold.

 

Titled "Princess Minnie", this piece was the 1996 Animator's Choice sculpt.

She has the Sailor's Hat production mark, which represents Donald Duck's on-screen debut in 1934 animated short, 'The Wise Little Hen'.

 

 

They perfectly capture 2 beloved characters in a beloved scene from a (Is he going to say it again? Yes!) beloved animated short. 

The Skeleton Dance, A Disney Silly Symphony

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The Skeleton Dance was released in 1929, the first Silly Symphonies animated short.

If you haven't seen it, it involves, well, skeletons dancing! There are plenty of sight gags revolving around the skeletons using various bones and a hapless cat as instruments.

I bought this Skeleton Dance Cinemagic Films Volume One figure along with several other capsule toys off of eBay.

Other capsule toys can be found here and here, and I will be sharing more in the future.

The Skeleton Dance is available on the Walt Disney Treasures - Silly Symphonies DVD collection, as a bonus on the video game, Epic Mickey 2, and can be found on YouTube. It makes for perfect Halloween viewing!

Disney Animation Collection 2: The Three Little Pigs

I confess, I was never a big Three Little Pigs fan. I knew the song of course, what Disney fan hasn't heard "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf'? But I never got it. Well, I thought I didn't. Then I read a terrific article in D23 magazine, which prompted me to watch it on YouTube. Then I downloaded it from iTunes!

This classic Academy Award winning Silly Symphony released in 1933 is one of the most famous Disney cartoons, and a leap forward for character development.

Watching it brought back a wave of nostalgia. I had seen this as a child, and the scenes with the Wolf blowing down Fifer and Fiddler Pig's homes was especially vivid.

On the right, the Wolf about to blow the house down. 

Photo taken at The Walt Disney Family Museum.

There are some edgier little visual gags, such as the picture of "Father" as a link of sausages, which hangs in Practical Pig's house, and the Wolf's disguises are especially funny.

I was happy to discover the Disney Animation Collection 2, available on Netflix, not only features the The Three Little Pigs, but 2 of it's 3 sequels (I'm not sure why all 3 aren't on this) along with 4 other shorts.

Following the Three Little Pigs is it's 1934 sequel, The Big Bad Wolf, which adds Little Red Riding Hood and her Grandma into the mix.
While this isn't as strong as a whole, I feel the animation is better. The edginess continues, with the Wolf dressing as Grandma and breaking the 4th wall by asking how he's doing at one point. There is even a moment which "dates" this, when the Wolf imitates Jimmy Durante at one point.

This is followed by another sequel, Three Little Wolves, from 1936. By now I started wondering why Practical Pig continued saving his ungrateful and lazy brothers. But save them he does with his "Wolf Pacifier". This is even edgier, and, well, a bit odd, when at one point the Wolf dressed as Little Bo Peep, locks Fifer and Fiddler in behind him, to which the Pigs reply with a blush, "Why, Bo Peep!"
It's interesting to see the progression in the skill of the animators from one short to the next, and while this is the weakest of the 3 cartoons, it's the strongest animation.

The next cartoon is a wonderful short from 1952, which I featured here on Disney Musings in the past, Lambert the Sheepish Lion about a lion cub who is mistakenly left with a flock of sheep by a stork.

I've used the word edgy several times in this post, and this next animated short is the edgiest of the bunch, if not one of the edgiest cartoons by Disney ever! Chicken Little, released in 1943, is obviously an allegory for World War II, and has a very dark, disturbing, and cautionary ending.

The next cartoon is a Silly Symphony I'd never seen, The Three Blind Mousketeers, from 1936, which takes the 3 blind mice and makes them swashbuckling Musketeers, fighting a tyrannical cat trying to keep them from feasting. It starts rather slow, but gets more enjoyable as it goes on.

Rounding out the set is another Silly Symophony I'd never a seen, even though I've seen the star several times. Elmer Elephant, from 1936, is invited to Tillie Tiger's birthday party. Tillie loves Elmer, but the other animals incessant teasing drives him off, until an emergency flares up, and Elmer saves the day, and Tillie reveals her love for our hero. This is a very sweet cartoon, and a nice way to end the set.

Disney's Little Hiawatha

I recently bought several Disney capsule toys off of eBay. The seller shipped me 1/2 of my order rather quickly. But, you'll note, I only got 1/2 of my order. When I wrote the seller to inquire about the other 1/2, they were very apologetic, and sent me a couple extra toys, a very nice surprise. One of them was this Little Hiawatha from the Cinemagic Films Volume 1 collection.

One of the wonderful things about these little one inch figures is the unique and often obscure characters they present from the entire history of Disney animation.

 

Little Hiawatha is a Silly Symphonies animated short released in 1937 about a young Indian brave who sets off into the forest prove his worth by hunting big game. After a series of misadventures he becomes a friend to all (well, most) of the woodland creatures.
Why are his drawers falling down? This is a running gag throughout the cartoon.

 

I watched this wonderful cartoon on YouTube, but it can be found on Walt Disney Treasures: More Silly Symphonies Volume Two DVD set. In fact, Little Hiawatha is on the cover!

 
Seeing the cartoon jogged my memory. I have a couple of Disneyland Magazines from childhood. I went to my box of Disney Magazines, and sure enough, on the cover of one I found our little friend here.

He is featured in a Cinderella's Disneytime story inside!

We'll take a more in depth look at Disneyland Magazine in the future.

The Walt Disney Family Museum

I'm not even sure where to begin to describe the scope of this tribute to a person who has brought joy to countless millions around the world.
While visiting, one word kept popping into my head. Overwhelming.
I visited the Walt Disney Family Museum located in San Francisco within the Presidio on a dreary Monday, arriving a little later than I'd hoped, about 11:15am.

The museums hours are Wednesday to Monday 10am-6pm, with last ticket sales at 4:45pm. Closed Tuesdays, New Year's Day, Christmas and Thanksgiving.
If you intend to see everything, you can easily spend the entire 8 hours doing so. Indeed, if you are interested in the special exhibits being held as well, you could dedicate 2 days.
Upon entering, you are greeted by the ticket counter and cabinets containing some of the awards and honors Walt received throughout his all too short of a lifetime.

Venice International Film Festival Trofeo d'Arte della Biennale for Snow White, 1938

Honorary Academy Awards for Snow White

There were also pieces of art that hung in his home found here, and furniture from his apartment in Disneyland.
This is where the word overwhelming first popped into my head!
Ticket prices are $20 for Adults, $15 for Seniors and Students with valid ID, and $12 for children.
There are also different levels of Membership. If I was a California resident, or even within a reasonable distance to San Francisco, I would become a member. There are special programs, films, events, exhibitions and talks through the year. There are monthly film screenings, and "Animate Your Night" after hours museum parties!
Overwhelming.
I paid my $20 to enter, and then heard a young man next to me say he was a D23 Member, and received a $5 discount! I turned to the gentleman who gave me my ticket, and said I too was a D23 Member. He was very gracious in refunding my $5! So if you're a D23 Member, bring your card!
By the time I was done looking at some of Walt's accomplishments, it was nearly Noon!
I got lunch at the Cafe which is right next to the entrance. I had a tuna sandwich, which was phenomenal, chips, and an even more amazing cookie. It wasn't cheap, but it was filling and delicious.
I was now ready to enter the Museum!
The first 2 galleries take you through the beginning of the Disney Family and Walt's life leading up to his arrival in Hollywood in 1923.
You then take an elevator up to continue.

The following galleries on the 2nd floor take you through stages of his career, including his earliest successes and failures, creation of Mickey Mouse, the Silly Symphonies, merchandise, comics, innoventions, inventions...overwhelming.

   The earliest known drawing of Mickey Mouse!

Cel from the first Technicolor cartoon, "Flowers and Trees".

Throughout are family photos and momentos from the time period represented.

 Walt and Lillian's Marriage License

It was now coming up on 3pm, and I was only at Snow White which occupies one whole gallery; and I thought "Uh oh, if I keep going at this pace, I'll be here until Wednesday!"

I needed a breather. So I walked through the rest of the galleries, just to get an overview. This made things worse!
Again, and I cannot stress this enough, if you are a fan of Walt Disney and want to see and read everything, you will need the entire day, if not two, especially if, like me, you spend time chatting with some of the absolutely amazing employees and other visitors for extended periods of time.
You can also spend an inordinate amount of time taking video and photos.
This is all fine and well, but pacing and planning, like visiting a Disney Park, is important.
I wound up skimming through the early animated features section much quicker than I would have liked; but, as I will absolutely be returning in the future, decided I needed to make a sacrifice.
I picked back up in the World War 2 era.

The galleries are so inventively laid out and artistic that you can be caught for extended periods of time just admiring the artistry.

When you come to the long hallway overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, stop and relax a moment. Take in the beauty. Prepare yourself for what is to come.

At the end of this hallway is a bench from Griffith Park where Walt would sit and watch his daughters Diane and Sharon play, which made him think how nice it would be to have a clean park where families could share time together. This started the emotional ball rolling. I sat in it. I burst into tears.

Then you enter a gallery so breathtaking you just need to stop and gawk.

We see Walt's train, the Carolwood Pacific, the TV era, and the creation of Disneyland.
I was told that the gigantic model of Disneyland represented the years and attractions Walt was personally involved with.
We come to the 1964 New York World's Fair, the many innoventions this brought, and the plans for the Florida Project and Epcot.
Then we come to the inevitable.

No more words need be said. Except maybe one. Overwhelming.

Wednesday-Monday: 10am-6pm

Wednesday-Monday: 10am-6pm
Last ticket sale and entry is 4:45pm
Closed on every Tuesday, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day - See more at: http://www.waltdisney.org/hours-location#sthash.YJiHZpG4.dpuf

Wednesday-Monday: 10am-6pm
Last ticket sale and entry is 4:45pm
Closed on every Tuesday, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day - See more at: http://www.waltdisney.org/hours-location#sthash.YJiHZpG4.dpuf

Wednesday-Monday: 10am-6pm
Last ticket sale and entry is 4:45pm
Closed on every Tuesday, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day - See more at: http://www.waltdisney.org/hours-location#sthash.YJiHZpG4.dpuf