Walt's Windows - Kimball's Engines

People, its people that has always attracted me to history.  Honestly strong and unique personalities have always caught my interest.  So in baseball history, I have always been attracted to Ty Cobb not because I idolized him but because of his strikingly defined personality.   

Luckily as a Disney fan, there are plenty of unique personalities to study.  One of those men that I love to hear stories of and recount to others is Ward Kimball.  Kimball was a unique and intelligent man who seemed to have a number of diverse interests including trains and the society of tomorrow. 

Part of Ward Kimball’s personal backyard transportation collection were fire engines.  These items have been added to the collection of the Los Angeles County Fire Museum.  And their Spring 2012 Newsletter “Fire Warden” profiles Kimball and their place within their collection.  And best of all “Fire Warden” is available as a free downloable PDF that all can enjoy.  

There are two pieces in their collection that Disney fans should be excited about.  The first is Kimball’s 1888 Silsby Steam Pumper.  This piece shows the care that Kimball spent in preserving his collection.  This hand pulled 19^th century piece was repainted by Kimball, but only have he used his drawing skill to document its decorations.

1888 Silsby Steam Pumper: Originally Hand Drawn

The second is guaranteed to get any Disney fan excited.  They hold Kimball’s 1916 American LaFrance Fire Engine.  Kimball restored this piece for use by his jazz band, the Firehouse Five - Plus 2.  The Firehouse Five – Plus 2 would play from the hose bed.  The band made up of Disney staff members including another one of Walt’s Nine Old Men Frank Thomas and Harper Goff who created many of the early representations of the park.  The band was popular during the 1950s and had made many public appearances before the opening of Disneyland.  But Disneyland was a location where they preformed often playing on the back of the 1916 fire engine.  

1916 American LaFrance Fire Engine

I highly recommend that you download this issue of “Fire Warden” which takes us back to a day when Disney legends played jazz music for guests from the back of a privately owned fire engine.   

Between Books - Disneyland: Sunrise to Sunrise

I hate Tom Bricker!

I hate that my last Facebook cover was created by Tom Bricker, that my current was created by Tom Bricker, and that the next will be created by Tom Bricker!

I hate that my best pins on Pinterest have Tom Bricker’s name behind them!

I hate that unlike creatives like Designerland and Bricker I lack an eye for creating artistic pieces and I am stuck appreciating the work of others instead of truly creating.

Yes Tom Bricker, you are on my list! 

Bricker in Disneyland: Sunrise to Sunrise provides readers with a glimpse into the 2012 “One More Disney Day” held on Leap Day.  He provides over 200 pictures taken in the park during this one single day, be it a long day even for Disneyland.  The pictures are organized not by themes like the hour of the day or land in which the shot was taken, but around which shots are pleasing together.  Some pages consist of single pictures which generally are ones that instantly transport you into the park.  Along with his pictures, Bricker provides commentary on the shots including location, perhaps time of day, or historical tidbits about the subject of his picture. 

As much as I hate Bricker and his creativity, these pictures are fantastic.  He provides shots that will take you back to the park no matter where you read the book in Betweenland.  And they are photos you will want to share with others, after my first read the Between Family all sat down to scroll through the book which lead to conversations about our own Disney Parks memories.  There are photographic subjects which reoccur throughout the book.  For example, one may say that multiple shots of Sleeping Beauty Castle are going to get old fast, instead I found that each shot of the castle though centered on the same subject brought a unique look at the Disneyland “Wienie” and honestly never got old.  And every Disney fan would be happy to have many of these shots as framed prints on their walls, perhaps claiming they personally took them.

Maybe I really don’t hate Tom Bricker after all!  Maybe I am actually a fan!   

If I could make any special requests, I would have loved a shot of the Firehouse at night, with Walt’s lamp glowing and a shot of the plaque from the Main Street U.S.A. entry arch.  Of course, that’s because taking those shots are part of my traditions and would love really well composed shots of each.  Honestly, my pictures of both are pretty touristy.

Disneyland: Sunrise to Sunrise is an eBook which you can buy direct from Touring Plans.  And it did cause me minor issues, I tend to be a physical book guy and not an eBook reader.  So I did struggle to get it into my eReader, struggles that ended the moment I had my “duh” moment and easily pulled the file into iTunes.  Trust me, if I can do it so can you.  I found that I preferred reading the book horizontally and not vertically, which on my reader gave the pictures and text better scale onto the screen.  Additionally, I found I really enjoyed skimming through the book on my home computer, which gave the pictures the maximum space needed to live. 

For me in Betweenland, it was never an option to attend “One More Disney Day.”   Instead I do feel like I had an opportunity to participate, following other Disney enthusiasts like Tom Bricker on Twitter and bugging a friend who is Disney Adjacent and went to the park after work.  Personally I am thrilled for the opportunity to have a photographic souvenir from that one very long operational day in an affordable and mobile package.

Mr. Bricker maybe we can reconcile if you put a nighttime picture of the firehouse on Pintrest.  It would go a long way towards apologizing for reminding me how poorly my photos look. 

Dreaming Disney - The Unofficial Guide’s Disney Dish with Jim Hill

Betweenlanders want to know more about Disney, we want the inside track on rumors and what could have been.  Let’s face it, living in Betweenland you are kinda out of the Disney loop.  Sure we can hear rumors and get news from the main Disney news outlets, but we want to know more than Cars Land is going to open June 15, 2012.  We want to know about the things that could have been, the things that never happened and the inside stories of how our favorite attractions were developed or became extinct.

Jim Hill lives that dream.  He knows people and has connections within Disney and the theme park industry that most Disney enthusiasts will never have access to.  Sometimes it is about who you know!  Additionally, it seems clear that sometimes Mr. Hill has lucked into seeing pieces of Disney history that many would not have noticed, but when seen through Mr. Hill’s eyes tell a story of what will or was to be. 

Len Testa, of WDW Today and Touring Plans, has partnered with Jim Hill to create “The Unofficial Guide’s Disney Dish with Jim Hill.”  The podcast is simple in production but rich in content.  The two Disney experts literally walk around the parks talking.  Testa throws out questions to which Hill responds and provides stories and details that often have not been heard before by Disney fans.  As they talk you hear the sounds of the background music and running attractions around them. 

In the first seven episodes they have toured all four parks of the Walt Disney World Resort; The Magic Kingdom Park, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  Additionally the two have walked through the hotels of both the Epcot area and Magic Kingdom.  They have even toured Downtown Disney.

The content of all these podcasts is fascinating.  I have repeated so many of these stories to the Between Wife, she would probably like me to quit listening.  The story telling is engaging and often funny.  And both Hill and Testa know these theme parks in a way many of us could only dream of.  Every episode is an absolute must listen.  And when they are done, you feel like you know something new and something the off the street Disney fan is not in the loop about yet.   

The biggest question I have is the future.  The podcast releases on a very irregular schedule, with every release being a surprise that instantly goes to the top of my listening queue.  So every episode leaves the listener with the question of when will another episode drop and what will it be about.  I can foresee episodes on Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon.  And there could be more episodes on hotels, it’s not like they have visited the values yet!  Perhaps, one way to keep this series going is more visits to the visited parks, especially after the completion of the New Fantasyland.  Another idea would be a visit to Disneyland for three or four episodes.  Yet another opportunity is clear in their episodes on the Universal Orlando Resort, which introduced this park to me a non-Universal fan.  As much as I don't want to admit it, Orlando offers more than one resort.  Most recently they have released episodes with Sam Gennawey with Testa, sharing his planning knowledge about design elements within the Magic Kingdom. 

Clearly there is still opportunity to share some great stories.  And I will be waiting out here in Betweenland to put myself in the loop.           

Mousey Movies - A Computer Animated Hand

Yes, a Computer Animated Hand!

This short video from 1972 is referenced in The Pixar Touch.  Compared to a big screen Pixar production, or even Pixar's earliest shorts this video is simple.  And it does not impress our 21st Century tastes.  But this production by Pixar founder Ed Catmull was a landmark moment in computer generated animation.

The segment was later reused in the 1973 movie Westworld.  And it was included in the U.S. Film Archive for preservation due its historical significance. 

Yes, a Computer Animated Hand!  And one more step towards Toy Story!

Between Books - The Pixar Touch

David Price in The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company details the origins, struggles, and successes of Pixar Animation Studios until its 2006 purchase by the Walt Disney Company.  Price begins his story with college student Ed Catmull who wanted to be an animator but determined that he had limited drawing talent.  The highly intelligent Catmull instead threw himself into computers and became determined to use computers to create animation.  In 1972, he created a graduate film in which he animated his hand.  The video was both simple and revolutionary in showing the potential available in computer animation.  Catmull became recognized as a leader in computer graphics and professionally tied himself to like minded Alvy Ray Smith in the quest to improve computer animation with a shared goal of an animated feature.  Eventually Catmull and Smith found themselves drawn to Lucasfilm, working on computer systems and graphics for the George Lucas’ production company.  While at Lucasfilm, Catmull and Smith recruited a third revolutionary figure, former Disney animator John Lasseter who provided the animation skill needed to create convincing character animation.  Catmull, Smith and Lasseter hid their efforts to achieve their common goal of an animated feature with Lucasfilm, who chose to sell Catmull’s computer unit off or shut down their operation.  They reached out to former Apple executive Steve Jobs who was attracted to the hardware potential in his new acquisition.  Still Catmull lead his team with the goal of animation, despite Jobs’ apprehension.  After years of being a financial lose, Jobs’ incorporated Pixar Animated Studios found enough success with commercials and short films to partner with Disney to complete and distribute an animated feature, Toy Story, which filled with character and innovative animation began an instant hit and classic film.  Price then outlines the problems in the Pixar-Disney relationship including friction between Jobs and Disney CEO Michael Eisner which was leading to an eventual end to their partnership.  Instead of a lasting schism, new Disney leadership under Bob Iger led to the Disney acquisition of Pixar Animation Studios.  This purchase lead to Lasseter becoming Disney’s and Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer, including Walt Disney Imagineering, and Catmull being named President of Walt Disney Animation Studios, along with Pixar.  The disgraced Disney animator and the boy who could not draw had become the guiding forces behind the world’s most prestigious animation organization.   

Price does an excellent job of presenting the details of a complex story.  He makes it clear that the leadership of Pixar were always united around a common vision, making an animated movie.  While others may have seen them as computer hardware or software group, the Pixar leaders regardless of their company name, were always dedicated to a common cause.  With their vision not aligned to their owners at times, leaders like Catmull had to make hard decisions or be partially dishonest to do things like add John Lasseter to the payroll.  And Price makes to clear how that vision was shared with others, with Lasseter at one point rejecting a return to Disney in order to make history in the Pixar ranks. 

I was also shocked how my opinions of some within the Pixar story changed.  I had pictured Jobs as a benevolent leader who guarded the Pixar staff from economic forces with his own personal fortune so they could evolve towards making an animated feature.  Price instead gives us a picture of Jobs who is at times more adversary than benefactor, with figures like Catmull protecting the Pixar staff and at times unsuccessfully.  Additionally, Price shows that Jobs was a late comer to the dream of an animated film.  And I found my already high opinion of Catmull being further extended as one realizes the opportunities he turned down for short gain that resulted in his and Pixar’s success in achieving their dream.

The Pixar Touch is well written and engaging.  It is not a fictional thriller, but a straight forward and highly accessible read.  It may be considered a business book, but it is one that any Pixar or animation fan can read and enjoy.  Price takes the time to explain highly technical points, especially around software and hardware, that those not in the information technology realm would not readily know.  And he does a good job explaining these to the common man.  The book clearly demonstrates the power of vision to technical and business leaders.  Additionally, it is well researched based on interviews and primary and secondary sources. 

The Pixar Touch is an engaging and educational book.  It shows how the power of vision and the determination to follow it through can make something clearly amazing.  It is a must read for animation fans, those interested in the history of computing, and Disney enthusiasts.  Those wishing to explore the history of Pixar should begin with The Pixar Touch.  

Dreaming Disney - Real Pirates

Since 1967 with the opening of Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland, Disney fans have been suckers for Pirates.  The addition of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise has both reinforced this tendency but also brought pirates into the public eye and pop culture.  Being Disney fans, when the Between Family saw that The Science Museum of Minnesota was hosting Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship sponsored by National Geographic, it was a no brainer that we would be attending.  Of course attendance in this family means with tricorn hats and spyglasses for the kids. 

My first word of warning is this traveling exhibit is somewhat pricey.  For those looking to take in Real Pirates at The Science Museum of Minnesota, the cost can easily be $36 per adult on the weekend.  I recommend seeking out discounts, determining if an annual pass (much like the Disney parks) may provide a discount, or touring during times when the price may be decreased like the weekdays.  As we Disney fans know, time and money are likely two of your most valuable commodities when looking to make family memories. 

At The Science Museum of Minnesota guests are provided a timed entry ticket to the Real Pirates exhibit.  Guests enter from the queue as a group into a small movie viewing room that provides background information about piracy, the pirate ship Whydah, and the discovery of the sunken ship off the New England coast.  At the conclusion of the film the screen rises to unveil the original bell from the Whydah carefully preserved in a water tank.  I hope this revelation does not spoil your visit, but the sight itself is remarkable and puts the audience in a nautical state of mind as you begin to wander the exhibit.  

Bell of the Whydah

Guests then walk through an exhibit that starts with a history of the African slave trade including artifacts.  The oldest Between Kid was especially struck with the fact that items on display were used to hold people in forced captivity.  The heaviness of it hit the Kid right between the eyes.  For something that the kids thought was only going to be fun, I think the lesson about treating each other humanly was unexpected. 

Real Pirate Life

 

The exhibit then leads guests through the story of how Captain Sam Bellamy of the Whydah chose to make his fortune as a pirate and grew his reputation as a pirate captain.  The exhibit shows a number of recovered items from the Whydah including cannons.  As part of the exhibit an actor portrays Bellamy, who to the pride of any Disney fan stays convincingly in character.  Bellamy discusses the use of cannons on the Whydah including his strategy for defeating another ship.  Later in the exhibit is a walk through replica of the Whydah showing life aboard the pirate ship.  Before stepping onto the ship with their right foot, infamous pirate Blackbeard spoke with the Between Kids about pieces of 8 and making change in the pirate world.  Again, the actor never left character and the Between Kids gave the pirate full attention.

Real Pirates including kid pirate John King

Reproduction of the Whydah

Like Pirates of the Caribbean, I thought the exhibit was over with the treasure room.  The exhibit displays the only recovered pirate treasure in a room filled with pieces of silver and gold.  This includes a chest full of Spanish pieces of eight.  I could imagine Jack Sparrow sitting in the middle of the chest counting his treasure.  After leaving the room, guests are providing information on the final fates of members of the Whydah crew including Captain Bellamy and kid pirate John King.  The exhibit also tells guests of the end of piracy.  And as I walked past these final plaques I thought it was time for the Between Family to run out into the rest of the museum.

Real Pirate Treasure

But I was wrong, and we still had a figurative waterfall to climb.  I was quite impressed that the final room was actually a display of recovered artifacts.  The exhibit showed actual water protected recovered blobs of artifacts.  The display showed how these collections of metal are preserved, identified and recovered.  It was a piece of working history that I did not expect to see in this exhibit.

As part of the exhibit each guest was provided a free audio guided tour.  The tour included narration from actors portraying Whydah crewmen and helped provide a flavor of what being a pirate is, along with education.  Walt Disney would have probably signed off on this form of Edutainment. 

Out here Between Disney you find connections to your Disney experience and make the most of it.  In the end, others may have found it odd that the Between Kids were wearing pirate hats but honestly we entered this educational experiment with a sense of fun.  All in all every member of the family learned from and enjoyed this exhibit.  We may not look at Pirates of the Caribbean completely the same again, filled with facts of real piracy.  If it’s in your budget and near you out here Between Disney, Real Pirates may be a fun way to spend an afternoon. 

   

Mousey Movies - The Black Hole

I’ve been really critical of Disney sci-fi properties.  I will continue to argue that if Tron and not John Carter serves as the Disney sci-fi standard, Houston we have a problem!  I wanted to find a Disney film that helped me show that John Carter was part of a tradition of some decent Disney sci-fi and was not just an aberration.  Searching the corners of my mind I remembered many a weekend afternoon as a child where with 4 channels and no VCR it was Read a Long Story records that replayed The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark and other classic stories in my mind.  And one of those worn out records was a Disney movie, 1979’s The Black Hole. 

How I Remember the Black Hole

It has been decades since I had last seen The Black Hole.  And seeing it again frustrated me!  Frustrated me because we have talked about Tron and made it cult classic, while The Black Hole has been largely ignored.  Maybe it gets lost in the wake of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.  With both films having roundish robots and standardized henchmen, maybe Lucas has overshadowed Disney.  I have to admit that both films also share a chase across a massive spaceship as the heroes attempt to escape the villain.  But honestly, though they share themes they are very different movies with Lucas using the heroes journey as a template and Disney using the quest for discovery as theirs.  There are so really interesting sci-fi additions too including an ESP connection between a robot and a human along with the back story of the robots that man the Cygnus.  And with a cast including the likes of Maximilian Schell, Robert Forester, Anthony Perkins, Roddy McDowell and Ernest Borgnine, we are given a group of actors who brought skill to the production.  Honestly, this may have been one of Disney’s Mouseyest movies ever:      

·      Disney Legend:  Peter Ellenshaw was named a Disney Legend in 2003.  Ellenshaw served as a matte artist for numerous Disney films.  A few you may have heard of include Treasure Island, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Old Yeller, Johnny Tremain, and Swiss Family Robinson.  He went onto special effects in other Disney movies including The Love Bug and this little picture you might not know a lot about called Mary Poppins!  Basically Ellenshaw built a career on the Disney live action Parthenon.  For The Black Hole, Ellenshaw created the miniature effects which make us believe that we are in space and not a studio.  For his efforts, the movie was nominated for an special effects Academy Award.  The effects for being over thirty years old really are good.  They may not of the Industrial Lights and Magic quality but they are believable, and you are sure you are looking at real objects and not animated effects.   

·      Freaky Friday: Director Gary Nelson may have seemed like an odd choice to helm The Black Hole.  I do have to admit with credits including Get Smart, Gilligan’s Island, Gunsmoke and The Andy Griffith Show; Nelson did bring experience to the film.  And he had directed 3 films before The Black Hole, all for Disney.  So maybe it wasn’t his experience directing sci-fi epics that got him the job, and instead the fact he was a known Disney director after leading Jodi Foster through the original Freaky Friday. 

·      The Final Frontier: Disney seems to think that humans need some living space.  In The Black Hole Captain Dan Holland’s (Forester) on the USS Palomino is exploring space for worlds to open up for humanity’s use.  If you want to explore this concept yourself, I suggest riding Mission Space at Epcot, so you can simulate a visit to Mars.  Sadly, no black holes though the location of the landing strip next to a giant canyon still seems odd. 

·      Is that you Captain Nemo?: Is this movie The Black Hole or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?  You can’t help but compare Schell’s Dr.  Hans Reinhardt to Captain Nemo.  Both have vast intellects who find it difficult to be understood by mere men.  Both live solitary lives on vessels; one in space and one in the sea.  Both are surrounded by a crew whose loyalty is unquestionable.  And most of all both have fantastic beards!

Schell's Dr. Han Reinhardt

James Mason's Captain Nemo

·      The Son-in-Law: The Black Hole was produced by Ron Miller, which actually links The Black Hole to Walt Disney himself.  The former football player married Diane Disney in 1954 and was convinced by his father-in-law Walt Disney to enter the family business, film making.  Miller produced a number of films before becoming the President of Walt Disney Production in 1980 and CEO in 1983.  Miller left the company in 1984 in the upheaval that saw him ousted and Michael Eisner and Frank Wells joining the company.  Not looking behind him, Miller has thrown himself into the Silverado Winery and supported the development of the Walt Disney Family Museum.  And according to some Mousetalgia hosts, he is still a very handsome man to this day.  

The Black Hole really does hold up over time.  It is well acted, has a good story and decent effects.  I do not understand how this is not a Disney cult classic.  It is a movie sci-fi fans, families and Disney enthusiasts can all enjoy.  It is Mousey through and through and maybe someday the rumors of a remake that surface every few years will come true.