Between Books - The Jungle Cruise: The Wild History of Walt's Favorite Ride Second Edition

Two things can be true at once!

FACT: The Jungle Cruise: The Wild History of Walt’s Favorite Ride Second Edition is an interesting, fun, and factual chronicle of The Jungle Cruise which highlights the impact that cast members have had on the evolution of the beloved attraction.

FACT: The Jungle Cruise: The Wild History of Walt’s Favorite Ride Second Edition is a poorly delivered and executed book that has numerous misprints, odd prints, repetitions, and miscellaneous errors that distract from the reader’s experience while lowering the ability for a fan, like me, to claim it’s a truly authoritative history of the attraction.

The Jungle Cruise: The Wild History of Walt’s Favorite Ride by David “Dr. Skipper” Marley is a book that had not joined my Between Books yet. But with the printing of a second edition, I jumped online to Dr. Marley’s Etsy page to buy an autographed copy. It is likely the most excited I have been about a book in the mail for the last several years.

The Jungle Cruise: The Wild History of Walt’s Favorite Ride Second Edition by David “Dr. Skipper” Marley provides a historical account of the development, growth, and current state. Marley, a trained and practicing historian, uses the narrative history of the attraction, his own history with the boat ride, and oral histories to offer an entertaining and interesting account of the Disney original. The chapters are typically long and cover long stretches of park history. The book starts in Anaheim, but includes development and growth for the versions in Orlando Tokyo, and Hong Kong while addressing why some parks like Paris lack a jungle cruise. The book ends with a current state survey of the attraction, post inclusion edits and a world with a Jungle Cruise big budget movie. Marley, being a former skipper, does an excellent job of using the collective memory of the skippers and demonstrating the impact the attraction had on these cast members and the legacies they have left.

I for the most part really enjoyed this book. I am running around with my newest fun fact, The Jungle Cruise in the Magic Kingdom park is on the ground level of the park. It’s on the same floor as the utilidors! I mean it feels like the mind should realize that as we walk down the incline, but it took the book to point it out. There were numerous factual discoveries like these that I enjoyed. The text is generally entertaining, which can be in question when written by an academic. I did enjoy the use of interviews and skipper quotes throughout the text. Marley provides a text that often tickled this fan boy’s heart. He writes in a conversational style that is entertaining and often sparks joy.

Now the other truth. This book is an editing mess. If it was a Kindle book I would expect an update correcting the editing and printing errors that frankly gets in the way of the journey. These mistakes(shortened list for time) include,

• Printing errors that include incomplete letters and odd or inconsistent spacing

• Editing mistakes including incorrect or inconsistent use of punctuation (double or misspaced periods), use of italics, conflicting factual claims in the same sentence

• At least 3 instances with reprinted paragraphs printed on a span of 2 to 3 pages

• Gaps in sources, for example Marley clearly has an opinion about the movie, but his discussion of the budget and reactions lack cited sources

I did not expect this from a second edition, though mistakes can occur like this in self-published books. While I don’t have the first edition, it does seem from other comments that the editing mistakes, and thank you to an editor, occurred in the firs edition. I get it! Authors can simply get to close to their work. I will admit that both me and an editor missed numerous instances of the word “solider” in place of “soldier” in a past project. I am not super detailed writer, and I”m sure this blog is full of mistakes. But the problems become an obstacle to digging into the story of the jungle. I’d love to see Marley write a history for Disney Press, but his frank discussion would likely not fit within the publishing house’s goals. What I would really want is a publisher to work with Marley and fashion a really well done and executed third edition. Because at the moment, any endorsement I would make about this book includes the caveat, it is not edited or printed well. So you need to think carefully if the $40 is worth it to you.

Hey authors, I’m willing to read through drafts or proofs to help find obvious mistakes, because if I can see mistakes more critical readers will definitely find plenty.

Jungle Cruise I love you, but sometimes your books seem to be hindered by publication and editing. The Jungle Cruise: The Wild History of Walt’s Favorite Ride by David “Dr. Skipper” Marley is an interesting and often entertaining reflection on the Jungle Cruise and their skippers important to our fandom. It is also a inadequately produced volume, which has errors that limits the text’s authority. I found both enjoyment and frustration on these pages…because two things can be true.

 

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Dreaming Disney - The Jungle

It was sad news. Tales From the Jungle Crews which has really slowed in posting episodes the last few years is being fully retired, and the episodes will no longer be available. That’s a real kick in the pants as I’m still hungry for new chapters. With this turn, we must ask ourselves where do Disney fans hungry for Jungle stories go now?

Luckily, I adventured to The Jungle podcast. The official description is “Two former Jungle Skips talk Disney, Theme Parks, & Pop Culture. However, in true Skipper fashion, the conversation frequently heads into uncharted waters. Hosted by David "Dr. Skipper" Marley (Author, Disney Historian) & Trevor Kelly (Crooner, Senior Art Director).” The podcast drops every two weeks. The format is basically chit-chat between two long-term friends that focuses primarily on Disney news, Disneyland, Tiki events, and since we have two former Skippers, the Jungle Cruise. The chat is generally light-hearted with some fun opinions. The two know each other very well and able to get a little silly, which let’s be honest we can all use a little silly.

I mentioned that these two are two Disneyland former skippers. Dr. David Marley is a historian who currently teaches history courses. He has also written a number of books about the Jungle Cruise and is a speaker who appears at several Tiki events discussing I assume the Jungle Cruise. Trevor Kelly, is a crooner and podcaster that I listened to years ago on a show called Joey and Trevor Talk to Each Other, which much like The Jungle was two skippers chatting, or as I remember it more like shooting the poop. The Jungle is very much that type of show, where the topics could be the two mulling the latest Disney or Disneyland news, telling stories of their days in the jungle, or just them talking about whatever moves them that day. It’s that chit-chat type of format that for me is what I like. It’s chat going on in the background where I feel like someone is talking with me, even if I’m not live or in the room with them. It does not fill the gap left by Tales From the Jungle Crews, a show that transformed from chit-chat to one of the best oral history podcasts you can find. But it does give fans a little Jungle Crews content in an easy-to-digest format. And living so far from Disneyland, I like hearing local takes on the happenings around the park and the Disneyland Jungle Cruise. 

The Jungle is a fun chat between two friends. It’s a bonus they are informed former skippers who bring up the Jungle Cruise on the regular. The Jungle is fun mostly Disney talk that definitely provides me the coffee chat that I need, in a safe I’m still an introvert way, on a Monday morning.

Between Books - Star Wars: The High Republic Tempation of the Force

The world has changed! Star Wars: The Acolyte has introduced scores of new eyes to the High Republic. It is rumored that the series won’t be coming back for a season 2, largely due to honestly toxic Star Wars culture and not due to story pacing or plot concerns. We’ve now seen Vernestra Rwoh in the flesh, and even rightfully I will argue been too obsessed with birthdays. So it’s a perfect time to jump back into the High Republic Between Books, and maybe even reflect on if the High Republic show changes my thoughts on the literature.

Star Wars: The High Republic Temptation of the Force by Tessa Gratton continues the epic space battle (or star war) between the Republic and the Jedi versus warlord Marchion Ro and his Nihil forces. Much of the focus of the book is Jedi Masters Avar Kriss and Elzar Mann as they seek a way to save those trapped within the Occlusion Zone ruled by the Nihil. They seek to combine technology and the Force to better understand hyperspace and how they can free the captive. Meanwhile, a new blight is visiting planets and leaving death in its wake. Marchion Ro and Jedi Knights Bell Zettifar and Burryaga seek to understand the relationship the blight has with the Force, the Jedi killing Nameless, and another almost forgotten adversary. Also, Jedi Master Porter Engle focuses on his own mission of…revenge? All of these events move forward to a stopping point that allows us to face all these problems in a future book.

First and foremost, some of these books have just exhausted me. Out of all of the High Republic books this has likely been my favorite. We have spent enough time with Avar, Elzar, Marchion Ro, and the rest of the supporting cast that we have enough knowledge to follow along with them and have some investment. I just had the feeling that this is a story that is pushing forward to conclusion. But there are so many elements that I feel many of them take from the rest of the story. This is a story laid out by a committee! I wonder if Gratton had permission to just create an Avar and Elzar story if it may have had better pacing and been a little more satisfying. We’ve seen so many characters culled from the story since Light of the Jedi, that I really wonder if less is showing to be more.

It does feel like there is so much story to serve. I thought Gratton had us on a path to a conclusion for the whole arc. But she’s not able to get there due to all of the elements. Those elements include an adversary that was introduced in the first phase of the project and then largely disappeared. Also, in this book, we begin to see the pay off to why the time jump backward was written. But even then, I don’t find that connection to matter much to me. Honestly, I think Marchion Ro is a really villainous villain. What I would like to see happening is the Jedi focussing on fighting him. I also could use a little more time with him and less with his subordinates. If we were given a High Republic arc that was basic Marchion Ro is bad, Jedi are good, Jedi need to stop him… we could have a pretty fun adventure. George Lucas is famous for “faster, more intense” and this principle could have helped the whole High Republic instead of building a lot of lore and worlds. Just give us Jedi are good, villains are bad, let's throw them against each other. I often tried to read this book in that light, which helped me as the pace seemed to slightly build up.

Gratton does give us a piece that I really enjoyed, Jedi in love! We have seen many times how love is seen by Jedi as a road to attachment. Avar and Elzar have a strong, long-standing relationship that is really complicated among the Jedi. This gives them moments to discuss love, and if it is a road to the Dark Side. They, for the first time, discuss how love can be freeing, love can be a road to the Light Side, and it does not need to be a prison. I’d agrue that Kanan Jarrus was the best of all Jedi, and he pushed into love. I appreciate that Gratton’s view of love aligns better with what I think many of us feel than the horrible tragic quality many other Star Wars books treat love as being. I love, it makes me better! It seems a few Jedi may actually agree.

So, I’ve seen Star Wars: The Acolyte which for this book likely mostly impacts my take on Vern. Vern is older, much older, and a little more cynical and political as a leader among the Jedi. So while Vern bounces around the sides of this story, I do see her less youthful and more hard-edged. I’m judging her for some of the opinions she’s expressing in glances. I think the writers would prefer I see these moments as how she got to that point on the show. But…due to recency bias, she’s already changed on the page.

Yoda appears in a fancy robe! I mean, Yoda is sprinkled lightly into the story.

Star Wars: The High Republic Temptation of the Force by Tessa Gratton is a fast-paced mostly adventure novel that moves quickly to the conclusion of this battle. The best portions of the story focus on Jedi seeking to defeat the villain. But sadly, the weight of the entire High Republic and the lore has slowed the pace. And overall, for a Star Wars project that I have been somewhat critical of…for story reasons…Temptation of the Force is likely my favorite offering yet. There is a nice little adventure in here. 

 

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Caps Comics - What If...? Donald Duck Became Wolverine

Regular Giada Perissinotto Cover

Shared birthday parties…I’m not a fan. Someone gets less attention than they should! In sharing a party between 90-year-old Donald Duck and the 50-year-old Wolverine, who will get less love. 

 Phil Noto Donald Duck Wolverine Cover

“What If…? Donald Duck Became Wolverine” is a fun mashup of Donald Duck and Wolverine written by Luca Barbieri with art by Giada Perissanotto. The story is pretty simple all-ages Marvel fun. Pete-Skull has taken control of Duckburg, including Uncle Scrooge’s Money Bin. There’s only one hero who can save us from this evil. Sleeping on Grandma Duck’s Farm is that duck hero…Donald-Wolverine. Another hero comes to the farm to recruit the reluctant angry clawed duck. The duo, then trio, go on a voyage to face Pete-Skull, where we discover Wolverine-Duck’s real superpower.

Peach Momoko Cover

Alright, I had to hide some secrets. Perissanotto’s art gives us some really fun Marvel-Disney crossovers. It’s too giddy joy to spill the beans on these images. The combo of Disney characters and Marvel costuming is just fun. I will reveal, that there is a wonderful splash page of Donald in Wolverine variant costumes that is super fun and I would love to frame on my wall. Donald’s feathers/hair is just so on-model for Wolverine and makes me giggle whenever he is in the frame. These images are more fun than the Disney 100 variant covers, which always were on the wrong comic. 

Ron Lim  Cover

This is written for Marvel fans. The story elements to me are a Marvel tale with Donald’s world and supporting cast tipping the hat to Marvel and not the other way around. I think the biggest gap among the cameos is no Watcher. “The What If…?” brand is really led by the Watcher, and we need an introduction from the Watcher to really setup the story and the world we are visiting within the multiverse. Oh geez, if only Donald-Wolverine had appeared in Deadpool & Wolverine with his perfectly styled feathers that would have made this all over-the-top. 

Skottie Young Variant Cover

“What If…? Donald Duck Became Wolverine” is Luca Barbieri’s first Marvel comic. He is an Italian writer who we should not be shocked to see wrote a few issues of Topolino, you know Mickey Mouse, and Wizards of Mickey. This is also Perissanotto’s first Marvel comic, though Perissanotto has provided Marvel variant covers. We should not be shocked that Perissanotto is also Italian and shares in the deep Mickey Mouse Italian comics tradition. I think it is brilliant that with this batch of recent Mice and Ducks Marvel is leaning into the Italian expertise instead of grabbing American Marvel artists and writers, other than Jason Aaron. 

D23 Variant Comic Set

“What If…? Donald Duck Became Wolverine” is an all-ages comic that is fun for kids and adult Marvel fans. I have enjoyed this recent wave of Marvel Disney comics and love there is more to come. It sounds like collectors are also enjoying these waves, with variant covers fetching big money on eBay. We also know that in the party between a Duck and the Canuck…the Duck wins as this is a Duck party from page one.

Between Books - George Pérez

We’re Disney Adults…we’re used to our favorite art not being taken seriously!

I’ve long been a fan of the late George Pérez. If anything, I thought he may have packed too much into his comic pages. But to me, he was a master comic book artist who helped inspire the look and storytelling of two of the most important comic book movies of all time, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Apparently, there was more criticism of Pérez than I believed.

George Pérez by Patrick L. Hamilton is a biographical monograph that takes comic book art and the work of George Pérez seriously. The text opens with a discussion of who Pérez was as an artist and criticisms of his work. This includes the fact that he was often considered slow as an artist and did not complete to the end all of his comic assignments. Additionally, Hamilton points out the primary of writers over artists in praise of comic book work. Let’s be honest, Stan Lee jumps to the top of more minds than Jack Kirby. Hamilton next outlines artistic visual choices that Pérez took in order to populate a full world around his characters and use the page to create vibrant action. The final two chapters discuss how Pérez depicted disabled characters such as the Teen Titans Cyborg and Jericho along with female characters like Wonder Woman and Scarlet Witch. Hamiltons shows his readers a common thread in his depictions! Pérez looked to draw reality into his characters and sought to avoid comic book troupes. Along with the discussion of the artist’s life, Hamilton includes a number of color and black-and-white images that demonstrate Pérez’’s artist endeavors.

Really the opening, with it’s criticism, was eye opening to me. As a comic fan, I know all about the obstacles that slower artists, often many of them the best, face in reaching deadlines. Pérez was one of those artists. But I think as shown in the visual examples found on the page, that his lack of speed was a tradeoff to realism. Pérez drew people and places that were vibrant and full. His backgrounds were filled with the clutter we find in our own homes. And his characters acted out like we would expect them to behave in the real world. Hamilton shows how Pérez grew to bind his reality to our real world. And I think it was all for the better, knowing how the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is bound to reality, has used Pérez art as one of the guides to put comic pages into live action.

George Pérez by Patrick L. Hamilton is a trend I love. Academics are taking pop culture seriously as part of culture. This text is a serious academic work that can be used, and likely will be used, in college courses on art and sociology. It is published by an academic press! This is not a silly book about silly books. And you will feel like someone is taking beloved pop culture seriously.

For Disney fans, you will need to expect some discussion of DC comics, as comic creators often do shift from one company to another. For those who want to understand the evolution of an artist or get to know George Pérez and his legacy better, this is a short yet serious read that can challenge one about what they believe about silly comic art. I wish that when I was an undergraduate, or when I taught, that I had monographs like this available to better connect students to material they were familiar with while making serious points about culture and society. 

 

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Review Copy Provided for Review

 

 

Between Books - Disneyland: the Nickel Tour

 

$683 used! I get it. This book cannot land in everyone’s Between Books library. It’s $683 (today) used. I am being dramatic, there is a copy listed for only $295.99! It is acceptable condition, so it’s acceptable! When I got my copy, they typically ran for about $400. I got lucky. I purchased my copy off Amazon from a Friends of a Library group. I had a pile of gift cards, but still under $100. I reached out and said, this is what I have, I will cherish this book. I will respect this book. And I know what this book is. There is no other owner who will love this volume as much as me! And the friendly friends struck me a deal.

It’s 1995 and Disney fans and postcards hobbyists Bruce Gordon and David Mumford gave other fans a look into their extensive postcard collections in Disneyland: The Nickel Tour. From there, this book became mythical to Disney books fans as it has been cited in numerous Between Books sitting on the shelf. The flow is simple, and one we have seen many times since. Gordon and Mumford work through the park and provide the history of the park and its evolution using primarily postcards purchased at Disneyland and found in their collections. Those cards were often affordable souvenirs costing just a nickel. The hobbyists start with founding and they walk us through the decades up until the 1990s. The cards are supplemented with additional images not captured on postcards to provide us with additional context. They also offer fellow collectors checklists of cards that were offered in the parks.

Gordon, Mumford…which one of you is the funny one? Maybe it’s both. There are a fair share of dad jokes in this book that made me unexpectedly chuckle. Honestly, the light and friendly tone combined with images provide a very easy to engage with text. Throw in some additional background on attractions that we may not see mentioned in a lot in books and some images, like a bulldozed Fantasyland, to help one understand how this book has been referenced heavily. This is especially true as one asks how many Disney history books were offered in the 1990s.

The late authors often provide a tone that makes you believe that they are friendly with many of the figures they are discussing. When they talk about Tony Baxter for example, it comes off as their pal Tony, not some third party who they are simply chronicling. This is because they are bringing across in their tone the actual relationships they held. Gordon was an Imagineer who contributed to Splash Mountain, a project led by Baxter. Mumford worked on the Land and Star Tours in Tokyo Disneyland, a project that Baxter helped to design in the United States. This gave them the perspective as a pair of not only chronicling but in some cases making Disney history. It also can help explain their access to some photos not found in postcards. And despite their years at WED and WDI and vast achievements, it is in their role as Disney historians that they are often best known for, helping found a tradition of Imagineer historians with this being seen as one of their most important contributions.

I do need to warn those of us with collector personalities, this book can be addictive. And I’m not just talking about collecting this hard-to-find volume. As you read, you may find yourself saying, “One postcard isn’t a collection, and I like that image. It’s vintage!” Gordon and Mumford are enthusiastic not just about Disneyland but also about postcard collecting. I found myself putting the book down to shop on eBay several times. I have a little bit of an addictive personality, so one card could easily become 30. It does compliment the authors that 3 decades later, readers are excited not just about the Disneyland park that brought them to the volume, but also the hobby that helped extend their fandom.

Disneyland: The Nickel Tour by Bruce Gordon and David Mumford for many Disney fans may be unobtainium, a book that is priced well outside our price range. But keep your eyes open as you may never know what you will find. The volume itself is visual, fun, insightful, and best of all engaging. It helps us uncover a Disneyland that many of us never saw. It also binds us together in our shared fandom and excitement in our various hobbies. 

 

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Mousey Movies - Deadpool & Wolverine

Did you hear about the Disney film that is so profane, so outrageous that it has changed Disney forever? I mean the language! And don’t even get me started about the innuendo! There was a fair amount of exposed female bottom in the film. It was so bad, that Disney had to create Touchstone Pictures to release the vulgar picture, a phrase used throughout reviews, of Tom Hanks’ 1984 romantic comedy Splash!

I’m just saying we’ve been here before and we will be here again. Some movie-goers will not like the new Deadpool & Wolverine, and they should just not go see it! I actually thought of friends that this movie is not for while watching it. With this being the third film in the Deadpool franchise, it’s not like Ryan Reynolds has been hiding what his film is! If you know it’s going to offend you, don’t go. Yes there are going to be elements that you enjoy and look forward to. But…it’s a R-rated movie, it’s the biggest R-rated movie in cinematic history. But if you know you’re not going to like it, don’t go see it. I mean, that’s my strategy for dealing with things that I know are not to my taste. For example, I don’t view horror movies, I don’t like to be scared.

Disclaimer and Warning: If you have kids, while this is a Marvel movie and filled with superheroes before you consider taking them, you need to know your kids. I was shocked when I saw Logan that there were kids way to young in the theater for what I was seeing. I didn’t think these parents knew their kids better than I did based on the reaction. If you’re kids are not ready, you may have to explain some language and adult situations that could be uncomfortable!. SO DON’T JUST GO…be conscious of what’s going to assault your ears, eyes, and heart. Don’t think it’s a clean-cut film just because Deadpool is currently meeting fans at Disney California Adventure (who saw that coming)! Because, this is the third film in a R-rated series and you should know what this series is already.

I can see how some would say, why Marvel Studios, why a R-rated film? I say why not? The great experiment of the MCU has been mixing up genres. The MCU has proven that superheroes can be applied to multiple movie types…and this franchise was already established and well-regarded. Did I mention what movie was beaten for #1? Yeah, it was Deadpool!

I won’t summarize the plot of Deadpool & Wolverine as I don’t want to spoil anything. Did I get shushed for yelling out loud? Yes! Was I unsurprised by some elements due to rumors? Yes! Was I surprised that rumors I thought were ridiculous, came true? Yes! And were there pieces of the story I didn’t see coming? Yes! I went with a big group and the hard thing was walking out without spoiling it for those coming in.

But…is it good Deadpool using only my standards?

• Community: Yes, Wade Wilson as he enters this third movie has his community! If you see the trailers you know his motivation is to save the nine people who matter to him. These are his people, and he will do anything for them, even if he is morally flexible. Additionally, he discusses his past community people with X-Force and what could be next for him in a found community. The community aspect is massive in this movie as it guides decisions, helps him learn his lessons, and defines him as the plot moves forward.

• BetterUp: The movie opens with Wade in a broken place. Okay, he was broken from the first movie. But here he is really really trying to be better. He knows that his relationships and community need more from him. And so professionally and personally he has gone on an improvement quest which may have only made the matter worse. And from the second scene on, he’s working on himself.

• Laugh Away the Pain: Yep, it’s all there. So much of the humor in Deadpool & Wolverine is to hide or confront the pain felt by both Wolverine and Deadpool. We are on a journey my friend, and that nervous laughing is a bandaid. It’s just like when I couldn’t stop laughing on the Tower of Terror as a family member punched me thinking I was mocking them. No, I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing through this. The absurdity is ramped up as Logan, Wade, and the situation are all things that put everyone on edge.

• Your Pal Wade: Hi Wade, you see me and I see you. Deadpool…and others… break through the wall and chit-chat with us the audience. At one point a look at the camera and two words did nothing but make me squeal. Wade knows we are with him on this quest, maybe even more than Grumpy Logan. And he appreciates us!

I loved Deadpool & Wolverine. Is it a cinematic masterpiece that will be the next Godfather? No, but how often do you watch that masterpiece? I was thinking about a rewatch in the theater while walking out as I know there is so much I missed. I never thought I would see a Deadpool movie…now I have three. I never thought I would see Wade and Logan together again and properly on the screen…now I have. For me this is what Deadpool & Wolverine is…a comic book event where the creators pull in visual and story references that make me squeal and have fun, showing the things I knew and sometimes didn’t know I wanted to see on the screen. Every comic reader loves it when heroes from other books meet in unexpected ways. It’s not overwhelmed with cameos, and I think they are used well. It’s also a tribute to a franchise of comic-book movies that have been eclipsed by the MCU, and may have actually made me miss it. 

It’s smart, it’s crass, and I will be watching it again.