No other music group had a bigger influence on Walt Disney, both in the parks and the movies, than Thurl Ravenscroft and his quartet, The Mellomen. His voice can be heard throughout the parks, although many of his recordings were replaced in 2001.

Here is a list of places to find Thurl:

• The Haunted Mansion
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• The Enchanted Tiki Room
• The Disneyland Railroad (until his voice was replaced in 2001)
• Peter Pan’s Flight
• Alice in Wonderland
• Country Bear Jamboree
• The Sailing Ship Columbia
• The Mark Twain Steamboat (until replaced in 2001)

Of course, his talents do not stop in the parks. He and his group, The Mellomen, can be heard in Alice in Wonderland when the cards are “painting the roses red.”  Thurl cameos in too many features to count, but if your curious, please visit http://members.aol.com/allthurl/thurl2.htm

His contributions will never be forgotten. There is hardly a song in Disneyland or the animated features that Thurl doesn’t cameo somewhere.  Thurl was certainly a main ingredient to the magic we call Disney.

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Yesterday, I discovered DisFriends.com. It has been a storm of discovery for myself. I have used other social networking sites and have been somewhat impressed, but no one has anything in common with me for the most part.

Then came DisFriends. I didn’t know there were others like me. People who get a bit weird when it comes to anything Disney. But I could never talk about Disney with my friends without that plastered smile and “help me” eyes that told me it was time to talk about the local news again, or football, or work.

But here it is, a place I can unashamedly call a place of my own, where people of my own kind roam and think the same happy thoughts! Now there are people who understand me when I mention some random thought about the style of the animation, how it fits in the Disney historical timeline, why Walt would or would not like it, etc…

I have roamed the internet and have found many wonderful Disney sites, but none that could manage the mass interaction DisFriends has to offer.

There are journal entries anyone can post, discussions of any topic, groups that focus on a special topic, contests, etc…

Check it our for yourself. Maybe you, too, will find where you belong:

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Since the early days of Walt Disney animated features, Walt had re-released features back into theaters, producing more revenue for the studio. This is not what I would call greed or milking to public for all they’re worth. This is simply business savvy. Anyways, Walt hated that he needed money, he only wanted to make better things. He saw money only as something he could use to transform into his projects.

Today, the classics are re-released every seven years or so on a better format. I generally wait until the 2-disc special editions come out before even considering purchasing a classic, but as I wait, the formats are improving. October 7, 2008, Sleeping Beauty will be released on Blu-Ray.

It makes me smile to know that Disney goes to great lengths to restore the classics to their pristine original beauty that time is always trying to wear away. If anything, the re-released cleaned-up versions may be better than the originals. The bonus material is certainly to be treasured. To have a behind-the-scenes look at the features only makes it that much more special to me.

Even though the plot is very basic, and there were few lines, this movie does have a lot to offer. The art is outstanding. The music is rich and deep to match the artwork. This is an awesome pick for Blu-ray. It was the first animated classic to be produced in widescreen to show off the beautiful background art (which had to be redone on both sides to fit the new format)

I personally love the story as simple as it was. If you watch it for the plot alone, you may be disappointed. The story really is mostly about the fairies, as Aurora didn’t even speak until halfway through the film. That makes her more of a side character. The prince has even less showtime. Just enjoy it for the aesthetics. The rich compositions and stylized art make this movie one of the most memorable of the Disney Cannon. It would have to be somewhat memorable. Disney has based Sleeping Beauty’s castle for three of the five theme parks around the world: Disneyland California, Disneyland Paris, and Disneyland Hong Kong.

An updated list of the classics can be found here at www.ultimatedisney.com

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Yesterday in Disneyland, the gates to the Haunted Mansion opened up to this year’s Haunted Mansion Holiday. The combined ghostliness of the existing Haunted Mansion combine every year with Tim Burton’s creepiness to make a memorable Halloween/Christmas for all those who visit between yesterday and after Christmas.

The time is ripe for pumpkins and goblins and all the Halloween decorations to go up, making for an early festive spirit that could haunt you all month long!

There is no better source to learn about this celebratory event, or anything else you want to know about the Haunted Mansion than at www.doombuggies.com. Chef Mayhem, curator of DoomBuggies.com, has taken the time and research to make a masterful crypt of information.

If you didn’t get your fill of the ride from his website, then read his book whenever it becomes available again:

Oh, and don’t forget to check out Disneyland’s awesome Halloween website here.

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It’s hard to ignore the gas prices when you fill up your tank these days. And it’s not really a shocker anymore. We are learning to save money to afford to drive anywhere. Until the prices go back down again, which might be when we have another fuel source years down the road, we can certainly stop driving when you don’t have to.

The internet has made it easy to get what you need without ever getting your keys out. Instead of driving to your local Walmart to pick out a DVD, you can now simply surf to a many number of online DVD retails stores, such as Amazon.com . Then, instead of having to pay for the gas to drive there and back, simply click to get Ratatouille. There is no longer the hassle of having to drive, find a parking spot, discover that Cars is sold out. So you leave, find your car, drive to another place that may not have it on sale. You find it, pay a heftier price, waste more gas, get home, but now you are too tired to enjoy it. Why not save all that trouble by going to Amazon instead? Save the gas and hassle.

Renting movies has become easier than ever as well. Netflix has paved the way to easy movie renting. Instead of the same old story as above, you can also click to pick what movies will be delivered to you. Or, better yet, get Netflix’s player by Roku to watch movies instantly, or if you have the X-Box 360 with an XBox Live Gold membership, and soon the LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player. Then you won’t even have to wait to see what you want to watch.

Alternatively, Amazon has some exciting new developments. Amazon Video on demand allows you to buy movies or tv episodes and then watch them instantly, or download them to your PC or Mac, or even watch it on your TV by downloading it to your Tivo DVR. Now you can get your fix of your favorite Disney movie anytime you want. Blockbuster has been competing with Netflix on having movies mailed to you as well. So if you prefer Blockbuster, click to get you favorite movie.

As you can see, there are many choices to save on money and gas and still have an evening of Disney magic.
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There is much fuss over Winnie the Pooh these days, which by some estimates brings in over a billion dollars a year in Pooh merchandise to the Walt Disney Company. With the amount of money Pooh is worth, it was no wonder that Walt Disney World’s Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was shut down to be replaced with a Winnie the Pooh ride in the face of so many Toad fans. It could have been an early sign that money, not the guest, ruled the company. At the very least, in that particular decision.

But let us not forget that there is more of a connection between these two famous anthropomorphic stories. Obviously, both had the Disney treatment. The Wind in the Willows was not very successful, but Disney was not doing well financially at the time as the Disney Studio was still recovering from a strike and a war that almost shut the studio down forever.

Winnie the Pooh, originally Edward, gets his name from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Not directly though. A black bear cub that was bought by a hunter for $20 and shortly became a national mascot for W.W.I. and was named Winnipeg after the town. A. A. Milne and his son, Christopher Robin Milne, frequented London Zoo that housed her. Christopher took such a liking to the bear that he named his teddy bear Winnie. Various stories come about from where “the-Pooh” comes from. Some say a swan, but the first chapter of Winnie-the-Pooh says it was due to how stiff Winnie’s arms were, and if a fly should land, he would have to blow it off.

They had A. A. Milne in common. Yes, he only wrote Winnie-the-Pooh and subsequent stories. However, he was a playwright that had taken a liking to The Wind in the Willows, saving the book from obscurity. Milne was certainly inspired by the story and wrote his own imaginative tales. Also, the 1931 edition of The Wind in the Willows was illustrated by E. H. Sheppard, the same talented illustrator for Winnie-the-Pooh.

While you can certainly ride both rides at Disneyland, I recommend reading the original stories. Start with Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows. The story is a delightful tale of Mole and his friends that includes, you guessed it, Mr. Toad. It certainly has a catching first chapter, and by many accounts is the best first chapter of any story ever written. So if you simply read the first line, then you will want to read the first chapter. And if you read the first chapter… Oh, you know what you will have to do.

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“You can’t top pigs with pigs!” Most would not know these words, the word’s of Walt Disney after a failed attempt to produce a successful sequel to the ever most popular Three Little Pigs (1933). It was a lesson that Walt had learned from then on. It is a lesson that has been forgotten since The Rescuers Down Under (1990). With a not-so-great-reception, the company (Michael Eisner) failed to learn what Walt had learned. Instead, Disney began producing sequels straight to video, beginning with the Return of Jafar (1994).

I will not list every stupid sequel that the DisneyToon Studios produced, as they leave a bad taste. Bob Iger had decided to shut down the studio, but direct to DVD sequels are still continuing to cheapen Walt Disney’s name and the company he started. There will be a total of five “sequels” to Peter Pan alone (Return to Neverland, Tinkerbell I, II, III, IV) If it isn’t good enough for the big screen it isn’t good enough for DVD.

OK, you got me. Return to Neverland and The Jungle Book II made it to theaters somehow. But why bother? You can’t top pigs with pigs! It just saddens me to see Disney fall on such cheap tactics to stay afloat. It makes for bad business. To exchange quality for quantity doesn’t payoff in the long run. It’s like paying off debt with another credit card. Pretty soon the collectors, namely Disney fans, will come to collect on their debt.

Walt was not interested in making money. He wanted to bring quality entertainment to people he could be proud of. Why else would he put his name on everything in his company? It was a seal of quality.

Let’s stick with Walt’s philosophy, which worked between 1937 and 1967 (the last feature, The Jungle Book, Disney touched before his death in 1966). For thirty years, Disney always pushed for quality, not a quick buck. Sure, they had made money, but if money is the goal, quality is lost. Walt believed so deeply in quality rather than money that he had bargained his life insurance policy for Disneyland when everyone was telling him that Disneyland would fail. Even Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was nicknamed “Disney’s Folly” before it released, proving all the skeptics wrong.
When even his animators questioned Walt about trying to save money on Disneyland, Walt had replied, “If we take care of our guests and our cast members, the rest will take care of itself.” The Walt Disney Company needs to remember that. Years ago when the company tried to save money on maintenance, they lost the life of a guest on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Pixar has learned from Disney’s history.  They had only produced their first full-length feature with Disney when Disney then asked them to make a direct to video sequel at a low budget.  John Lasseter did not like the idea of damaging their image.  Instead, they made a sequel that was more successful than the first.

Perhaps Pixar has learned something new, something even Walt Disney didn’t even know. Perhaps Pixar can top pigs with pigs.

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