The Walt Disney classic film, Mary Poppins, has been translated into 20 languages. Now Google Translate makes for 21. Don’t get me wrong. Google Translate is an amazing tool! But the translation algorithms have somehow managed to develop a language all their own, that no one else quite understands.
Most everyone can recognize at least one of the Mary Poppins songs in the following medley. Many know the words by heart. But even if you’re not an MP aficionado, you’ll pick up on the oh-so unique (!) Google Translate interpretation of the lyrics.
Compare the original lyrics to the songs (in the banner above the window) with the Google Translate version (in subtitles below), and have a jolly good time watching the brilliant video clip. In the words of Google Translate, “Oh, good night is blowing up!”
I admire a guy with the audacity to build a replica of the most iconic mountain in the Swiss Alps amidst the (then) orange groves of Southern California, within in sight of the Santa Ana Freeway … then “plussing it” with imagination and innovention (innovation + invention = innovention).
Walt Disney was that man. But what most people don’t realize is that Disneyland’s Matterhorn wasn’t a glimmer in Walt’s eye when the park opened in 1955. A pile of dirt occupied that spot–from the excavation of the moat for Sleeping Beauty’s castle–called Holiday Hill.
Opening Coincided with Anniversary of 1st Successful Ascent
June 14, 2015 marked the 150th anniversary of the first successful ascent to the peak of the Matterhorn, Switzerland’s most famous mountain. It also marked the anniversary of the opening of Disneyland’s Matterhorn Bobsleds. Walt Disney was known for his meticulous attention to detail, so I’m sure he planned the coincidence.
Walt Disney and his wife Lillian loved to spend their summer vacations in Switzerland. However, it wasn’t until Walt was in Zermatt, Switzerland filming the live action movie “Third Man on the Mountain” that he got the idea to build a to-scale (1/100) replica of the Matterhorn. Walt sent a postcard of the Matterhorn to Imagineer Vic Greene with the message “Build this!” written on the back.
Construction on the Matterhorn Bobsleds began in 1958 and the attraction opened on July 14, 1959, along with the Disneyland Monorail and Submarine Voyage. [PCs: Wikipedia]
I often wondered how Walt came up with idea for a roller coaster inside a mountain, until I read the history of the early railways in the Alps. Remember, Walt Disney was a huge railroad enthusiast–why there’s a railroad circling the park–and he and his wife spent many summers in Switzerland.
A direct railway route through the Alps was considered as early as 1848. But it wasn’t until the latter half of the 19th Century that four great tunnels were constructed. Because the change in elevation from one side of a mountain to the other was too drastic for a direct route, spiral tunnels (helicoidal) were constructed to gain the necessary altitude and maintain the required grade for safe passage. You can read more here.
I spoke with Diane Disney Miller a few years ago while visiting the Walt Disney Family Museum, and asked if her father got the idea for the “bobsleds running through the mountain” from the spiral railway tunnels in the Swiss Alps? She smiled and replied, “I don’t know, but that certainly sounds like him.
The new attraction had to twist and turn far beyond anything done before, and still remain safe. Bringing Walt’s idea into reality required innovention.
Hollow steel pipe track was used, instead of the flat tracks of traditional roller coasters. The tubular track had bracing welded to the outside of the rails, which allowed for contact with the bobsled on the top surface (with load bearing polyurethane wheels), on the inside to control horizontal movement, and on the bottom to restrict vertical movement. The tubular track was pressurized so sensors could alert when there was wear on the rails.
The bobsled cars are every bit as revolutionary as the track, as is the Ride Control System developed to operate and monitored the ride. The following illustration shows the intertwined tracks of the two bobsled routes, as featured in The “E” Ticket magazine (Number 42) — Disneyland’s Matterhorn Bobsleds.
I could go on and on, but I won’t. The following video is much more fun. Lederhosen aren’t required, but screaming is encouraged.
Matterhorn Bobsleds ~ Fantasyland Course (Right)
This video shows the 2015 refurbishment for Disneyland’s 60th Celebration, including a revitalized Abominable Snowman, updated special effects, and new props for staging.
Calling All Railfans (Train Buffs)!
I read (somewhere a while back) that the Matterhorn Bobsleds tubular track rail system was later used by some narrow gauge railroads, incorporating a third (tubular) rail at the center of the track. I don’t remember where I read this, and can’t find a reference. Would love to know if this is true. Thanks!
There are no words for the irony. Feral cats were original inhabitants of the Magic Kingdom…the place that started with a mouse.
Original Rulers of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle
When Disneyland opened in 1955, the interior of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle was empty. Later, when Walt Disney decided to build a walk-through attraction inside the castle, they discovered a significant number of feral cats had claimed it as their royal home. Unfortunately, there was also a huge infestation of fleas.
Homes were found for all the castle cats, the place was treated for fleas, and Sleeping Beauty’s Castle became the walk-through attraction we know it as today. Everything was good. That is, until rodents began to take over the park. Again…the irony.
No one had taken into consideration that the castle cats provided a much needed service–they kept the park free of unsavory vermin. So, when a new group of feral cats found their way onto Disneyland property, they were allowed to stay. These cats were trapped, neutered, then returned (TNR) to their home “land”, to maintain a stable (cat) population.
It’s no spoof, I’ve got proof!
Today, the Disneyland Resort (Anaheim, California) is home to approximately 200 feral cats. Disney neuters, feeds, and provides medical care for the cats, and in return the cats keep the park free of rodents and other vermin.
Feral cats have a home – outdoors! And although they appreciate a can of cat food, they don’t want to snuggle with you on your couch. ~Alley Cat Allies
Feral cats are not socialized to people, and prefer to stay out of sight. I recently visited Disneyland with the intention of photographing some of the resident feral cats. Intention is the operative word. I managed to get pictures of 9 of the 200 feral cats, and consider myself extremely lucky. Here’s proof of Disneyland’s most elusive ca(s)t members.
Becky ~ Rancho del Zocalo restaurant, Disneyland
Early one morning, I caught Becky climbing up to her perch atop Frontierland’s Mexican restaurant, Rancho del Zocalo. The way she poses, you’d think she knows the Bougainvillea backdrop compliments her complexion.
Francisco & Friend ~ Grizzly River Run, California Adventure
Francisco (left) hangs out at Grizzly River Run in California Adventure, and is one of the friendliest of Disneyland’s feral cats. He’s been known to come near the fence to give park guests excellent photo-ops. His** friend (right) came out too, but stayed at a distance in camouflage.
**Most tortoiseshell cats are female, as are calico cats. However, there are rare male tortoiseshell and calico cats. Likewise, most orange tabby cats are male, yet I have a friend with a female orange tabby.
Giovanni & Friend ~ California Adventure
Giovanni (left) hangs out at the Wine Country Trattoria restaurant (California Adventure) behind the upstairs terrace. His friend (right) hugged the rock wall far in the distance, pausing only long enough for me to snap a picture before darting out of sight.
Disneyland Hotel Feline Cast Members
Cats also patrol the property around the Disneyland Resort hotels. I stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, and found a few shy cast members luxuriating in the bushes surrounding the pool and Trader Sam’s on the warm, sunny afternoons.
I know some of the cat’s names, because I follow the Disneyland Cats blog, Twitter and Instagram accounts. I’m not kidding.
High-Tech Cattitude
Disneyland’s cats follow in Walt Disney’s footsteps with their love (and mastery) of technology. Apparently, cats can type. Hemingway’s cats had opposable thumbs (polydactyl), so why not? You can get all the latest mews, I mean news, straight from the cat’s paws. That is, if you can handle a little (?) snarky cattitude:
Have you ever wondered why cats are often portrayed as villains, the thug, or evil — or minions of evil — in fiction and film … even cartoons? There’s Lucifer, the villain cat in Walt Disney’s Cinderella and Si and Am in Lady and the Tramp. Those are two of the happiest movies ever. And the cats are villains! Don’t even get me started on the old Tom and Jerry cartoons.
You’ll hardly ever see a main cat character like this:
No. It’s usually something more like this:
This time of year especially brings out the negative imagery for our feline friends. What with Halloween’s stereotypical witches and black cat companions. [images from morguefile.com]
So…I was thrilled when I found the following montage spoof on “scary cat” scenes in movies.
Scary Cat Montage
What’s your “fictional” pet (no pun intended) peeve?
A couple of weeks ago, news of the just-released trailer for a new movie about Walt Disney stormed the Twitterverse. That’s how I first heard about “Saving Mr. Banks”, the untold story behind Walt Disney’s acquisition of the rights for “Mary Poppins” — the much-loved children’s book by P.L. Traverse.
P.L. Traverse’s Mary Poppins books were loved by many, well before Walt Disney turned the first book in the series into a major motion picture in 1963.
But the whole world fell in love with Mary Poppins, when Julie Andrews starred in the leading role opposite Dick Van Dyke. The Sherman Brothers’ musical score had everyone singing the hit songs Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, Spoon Full of Sugar, Step in Time, and Feed the Birds, to name a few.
Maybe it’s because so many of us grew up loving this story and its characters (even the dancing penguins!), that the trailer about the untold story behind the personalities that brought this story and film to life sparked a reaction similar “the tweet heard round the world.”
Characters Need To Be Larger Than Life
Anyone who’s seen Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color on TV (or became addicted to the reruns), is familiar with Walt Disney, the man: his voice, his mannerisms, and demeanor. So, it would be a hard-sell for any actor to fill those shoes. The same could be said for P.L. Traverse, if we were as familiar with her as we are with “Uncle Walt.”
I admit, that at first I was taken aback by Tom Hanks‘ impersonation of Walt Disney. My internal editor said things like, “Walt Disney didn’t talk like that” and “Walt Disney wasn’t that demonstrative.”
Then I took a step back and realized that P.L. Traverse probably wasn’t as pinched and twitchy as Emma Thompson‘s impersonation either. I finally realized that, much like the characters in the stories we write, the characters in movies have to be larger than life to be interesting.
Along with the characterizations of Walt Disney and P.L. Traverse … I’m sure embellishments were added and (or left out), to make the “story” screen-worthy. I’m OK with that, for the sake of an engaging (based-on a true) “story”. How about you?
A Sneak Peak at “Saving Mr. Banks”
To Learn More About the REAL Walt Disney…
If you are captivated by Walt Disney (the man) and all he accomplished, you should most definitely visit the Walt Disney Family Museum (WDFM) in the San Francisco Presidio. Trust me. It’s not like any museum you’ve ever been to. You will be amazed. You can find out more on my blog post about the WDFM here.
I admit it. I’m an animation geek. And I’m particularly geeky when it comes to Walt Disney feature-length animated films that were produced when Walt Disney was alive. So you can understand why I was shocked to hear that some young people today think “Walt Disney” is a made up brand name. Like Captain Crunch, or something.
Diane Disney Miller, the daughter of Walt and Lillian Disney, was shocked too. So much so, she and her family went to an enormous effort (and a heck of a lot of expense) to preserve the history and imagination of her father’s legacy by founding The Walt Disney Family Museum.
It took seven years of planning, designing, and construction before the museum opened in San Francisco’s Presidio on October 1, 2009. [photo by moi]
The Walt Disney Family Museum
WARNING! This is no ordinary museum. Be prepared to be amazed! [WDFM logo, Wikipedia]
The moment you step inside the first interactive gallery, you are walking in Walt’s footsteps, with his voice narrating his story. The journey starts with Walt’s ancestors immigrating to America, and shows you their humble beginnings on a farm in Missouri. From there you join Walt’s adventures selling papers, working on a train, enlisting in the army as an ambulance driver, cartooning, and creating his first animated films.
Not all of his early endeavors paid off. After a bankruptcy and losing the rights to his first animated character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt was on a train when he got the idea for Mickey Mouse. When you step into the elevator to go up the second floor of the museum, you step onto that train car with Walt, as he tells you the story.
When you get off the car, you’re in Hollywood!
As you walk through the galleries, you witness the development of a new animated art form, and the plethora of products and technologies that followed. The men who worked with Walt share their stories at the touch of a finger, on interactive consoles throughout the galleries. It’s amazing that one man could assemble such talented teams — artists and engineers — and inspire their genius to create all that they did.
I could ramble on and on about the live-action films, nature documentaries, audio animatronics, and other technologies Walt Disney inspired. And don’t even get me started on Disneyland. But that would be boring. It’s much more fun if you sneak a peek at the Interactive Galleries on the Walt Disney Family Museum website! And while you’re over there, check out the Special Exhibitions, Classes and Workshops, and Special Programs for the whole family.
I was having a cup of coffee in the museum cafe after my last visit, when I overheard a teenager at the next table talking on her cell phone…
I just walked through Walt Disney’s life, and it was so cool!
That simple statement — made by someone who wasn’t alive during Walt Disney’s lifetime — proves the timelessness of Disney magic. Forty-seven years after his death, Walt is still creating magic … for young and old alike.
In the following video Diane Disney Miller announces the museum’s opening on October 1, 2009.
Preview of the Walt Disney Family Museum on CBS
If you’re planning on visiting the museum, be sure to check the Walt Disney Family Museum web site for Hours, Location, and Directions. There’s ample parking directly across from the museum too!
WDFM Calendar of Events
The museum is closed EVERY Tuesday,
New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.
Good animation is based on good storytelling, conveying thoughts, feelings, and emotions by showing rather than telling. One of the principle ways of defining character in animation is “the walk”.
It’s All About the Walk
In animation, “the walk” of a character is everything. That’s because a simple walk isn’t … well … simple. Visually, it is one of the most defining parts of a character. A walk reveals personality and telegraphs mood. You can tell how someone feels by the way they carry themselves, move their arms, and by the quickness or slowness of their step.
Ichabod Crane, in Walt Disney’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
Walking With Emotion
In short, a walk conveys character and emotion without saying a word, for example:
Depressed, discouraged: Head down, shoulders slumped, hands in pockets, slow steps, dragging their feet
Happy, elated: Head high, shoulders back, arms swinging, bouncy steps
Angry, determined: Leaning forward, chin jutting out, brisk pace
In love: Ambling stroll, relaxed, distracted gaze, blissful smile
A great way to internalize a character’s mood is to imitate their walk. The old saying “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes” is too true. Which is why mimicking character movements is a common practice for animators. They physically act out scenes as their character, to study action and emotion.
Ollie Johnston, one of Walt Disney’s “Nine Old Men“, shared the following insights for enhancing character through motion:
Show ideas or thoughts, with the attitudes and actions.
Let the body attitude echo the facial expression.
Show what your character is thinking.
The thought and circumstances behind the action are what make the action interesting. Here’s an example: A man walks up to a mailbox, drops in his letter and walks away. … OR … A man desperately in love with a girl far away rushes to the mailbox, then carefully drops the letter, into which he has poured his heart out, into the mailbox with a sigh.
Theory is all well and good, but I’m one of those people who need examples in order to learn. The following two clips show the walks of two opposite-poles characters, Ichabod Crane and Pinocchio. See how much of their characters you can discern just from studying how they walk.
Ichabod Crane in Walt Disney’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”… Ichabod has a walk like no other. It’s one of the most distinctive walks in Disney animation, thanks to legendary animator Frank Thomas. I’d apologize for the “White and Nerdy” song this is set to, if it weren’t so fitting for the character!
Then there’s Walt Disney’s “Pinocchio”… You couldn’t find a more different character from ol’ Ichabod, and it’s immediately apparent from Pinocchio’s walk. There’s no music, but something “Short and Bouncy” would have been fun.
What do you notice most about the way someone walks?
A delectable post on All Things Summer (by Tami Clayton) set me thinking… What’s mymost quintessential summer experience? And because I’m a total adventure geek, the answer is two words: Roller Coaster!
My love affair with roller coasters is limited to the historic kind, however. Sorry, folks. I’m not a fan of the super-thrill-whirl-and-hurl roller coasters of today. I much prefer the sky-high rickety old wooden structures from the previous century. [photo credit] Maybe that’s because I grew up in a small town in Southern California, that was a two-hour drive from San Diego.
That’s where my adrenaline-ride love affair began … at Belmont Park in Mission Beach. Because THE BEST DAY EVER, was a trip to the beach and riding the roller coaster. Oh yeah, and a chocolate milk shake was part of that package too!
Twin Giant Dippers
San Diego’s Giant Dipper, also known as the Mission Beach Roller Coaster, was built in 1925. The original coaster was constructed by a crew of 100 to 150 people in two weeks. When the coaster opened on July 4, 1925, it was the centerpiece for Belmont Park. The park was a huge hit in the 1940’s and 1950’s, but fell into disrepair in the late 1960’s. The coaster finally closed in 1976, and was scheduled to be torn down in the early 1980’s. [photo credit]
Luckily, a group of citizens formed the “Save the Coaster Committee”, intervening in the demolition of the Giant Dipper, and had it designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1987. The coaster was restored, to the tune of two million dollars, and re-opened on August 11, 1990.
The Santa Cruz Boardwalk Giant Dipper is the twin sister of the San Diego Giant Dipper. And I can say from first-hand experience, that the Santa Cruz coaster is every bit as much of a thrill ride as its sister!
The Santa Cruz Giant Dipper opened on May 17, 1924, and is the fifth-oldest roller coaster in the United States today. [photo credit]
Over 55 million riders have ridden the coaster since its opening. The United States National Park Service recognized the Giant Dipper as part of a National Historic Landmark also covering the nearby Looff carousel in 1987. [Wikipedia]
The Santa Cruz and San Diego Giant Dippers are the only remaining coasters on the West Coast built by the noted coaster builders Prior and Church.
But hang on to your hats folks … there’s one coaster that deserves a mention, even if it’s not “officially” historic …
The Matterhorn Bobsleds, Disneyland Resort
What the Matterhorn Bobsleds ride lacks in historic clout, it more than makes up for in kitsch. And I mean that in the BEST possible way. Because the Matterhorn Bobsleds are awesome! [photo credit]
Walt Disney was inspired to build a miniature of the Matterhorn at his park in Anaheim, while filming the live-action drama “Third Man on the Mountain” in Zermatt, Switzerland (1956). Under Walt’s direction, his team of Imagineers recreated the mountain to scale (exactly 100 times shorter than Switzerland’s 14,700-foot-tall original), and designed special tubular steel tracks for the coaster to simulate the smooth motions of bobsleds gliding over ice. The ride contains two separate tracks that intertwine with each other as they descend the mountain, another stroke of genius by the man with the magic. The ride opened for the first time in 1959, and has been a favorite ever since.
The Matterhorn underwent its first major renovations in 1978, with the significant addition of the Abominable Snowman. The Audio-Animatronic creature roars at passing bobsledder as he glares with red glowing eyes. As if to say, “Get the hell off my mountain!” Uh, huh. Like that’s really working, Big Guy. I don’t know about you, but he’s one the main draws for me on that ride. The Skyway attraction, the buckets that passed through the middle of the mountain, were taken down in November 1994. And in 1995 the Frank Wells Lost Expedition tribute was added in honor the late Walt Disney Company President, who was an avid mountaineer.
The silhouette of the Matterhorn rising above Fantasyland is iconic. Yet oddly enough, Disneyland (in Anaheim, California) is the only Walt Disney park in the world with a Matterhorn ride. I’m not sure why. If anyone out there knows the “official” story, I beg you … please share.
Never ridden the Matterhorn Bobsleds; can’t make it out to Anaheim for face time with Mr. Abominable? No worries!
Check out the video of a real-ride experience … lederhosen are not required … but screaming is highly encouraged.
Because Fridays are always better with a Happy Dance!
Or … maybe … because my previous post on Animated Storytelling is the perfect excuse set up for posting a dance sequence that ALWAYS makes me laugh ... The dancing penguins sequence from Walt Disney’s “Mary Poppins”!
I especially love the penguin who toboggans off-screen, and then – try as he might – can never get back in sync with the group. I think that’s because I frequently feel like I’ve gone barreling off the map and am forever out of step with everyone else!
I came to writing fiction through animation. Yep, I’m an animation geek, and proud of it! And as circuitous as my journey might sound … it’s not.
Good animation tells a story by showing emotion, the same as fiction. This image of Thumper (from Walt Disney’s “Bambi”) is a perfect example. You can tell Thumper’s been reprimanded by his slumped posture, his paws held behind his back, his ears laid back, and his head tilted downward.
Likewise, in this next image (also from Bambi) it’s obvious the two skunks are infatuated with each other by their posture, how they hold their hands and look at one another. Good storytelling immerses you in the lives of the characters, so that you feel what they are feeling.
Writing fiction is not the same medium as animation (duh!), so the techniques a writer must use to immerse an audience are slightly different from the keys to invoking emotion in animation. But not so different. Really. I ask myself the following questions when I begin a scene. These questions are surprisingly similar to the questions an animator must resolve when animating a scene:
What is the character thinking, and why?
What is the character feeling, and why?
How does the character express their feelings, and how does that vary with the different people in the scene?
What is the arc of the character’s reaction to the circumstances?
What are the character’s strengths and faults, and how do they manifest as a result of the circumstances?
When I understand what’s motivating a character and why, I can figure out how the character will react and what their feeling. I keep a copy of the Emotion Thesaurus handy to prevent myself from using worn out descriptions, or reusing the same ones over and over.
The Bella Note “Spaghetti Scene” in Walt Disney’s Lady and the Tramp is probably the best-loved scene in animation of all time. It became famous, because we relate to the characters’ feelings (even though they’re dogs). We feel their love for each other through their nuanced looks, expressions, and gestures. Magical storytelling in action! You can watch this remarkable scene here.
