Nemo channeling Walt?

       I just watched Pinocchio (One of my favorite "Walt era" Disney features by the way) and Finding Nemo back to back,.this was just a completely random selection of movies to watch together, and I noticed many similarities in these two films.  Andrew Stanton was the director of the critically acclaimed computer animated film Finding Nemo, in which he also supplied the voice of Crush the 150 year old turtle.  He also studied character animation at The California Institute of the Arts. Anyway my point in this that some of the themes present directly coincide with each other.

        Let us take Pinocchio,  Geppetto goes searching for his "son" who went missing.  He also gets swallowed by a whale in the ocean.  And his son Pinocchio has a great idea at the end to get them all out of Monstro the whale. In Finding Nemo, Marlin (Nemo's father), goes searching for his son who is taken from him.  Marlin also gets swallowed by a whale.  toward the end of the film Nemo has a bright idea to help free Dory from the fisherman's net.
  
        The major difference in these films are that Marlin has already felt the pain of losing the ones he loves and Geppetto has yet to feel the pain of losing his loved one.  So Geppetto is not too protective yet and Marlin is overly protective based on experience.  I wonder how overly protective Geppetto got after Pinocchio became a real boy and almost lost him previously.
    
      Also there is Jiminy Cricket who represents Pinocchio's conscience.  In Finding Nemo there is a vague reference to a conscience in the scene where Dory and Marlin descend into the abyss to locate the divers mask.  And Marlin pretends to be Dory's conscience in the pitch black.
  
      Maybe this is a stretch, and is purely coincidence, but I would like to think that there is always inspiration coming from the beginning of the Disney company.  And especially Walt himself.  It is amazing what Walt and his animators, story men, and the like were able to accomplish over 70 years ago.  The films are truely timeless through the story and the quality of the pictures themselves.  Which I believe film makers now could always glean ideas from Walt's previous accomplishments.  What do you think?


 

Park Tickets 2

     I have these tickets that are still good!  I think of it like currency, only going to go up in value.  If I do not use them.

This ticket is from 1989 and is still valid!

Would I use it at the newly opened studios? Nah it is not a park hopper,

 and MGM was built to be only a half day experience

I wish!

This is a comp ticket from 1986

Park Tickets

     Check out these park tickets that I have from the 1970's.  These are from when Walt Disney World charged an entry fee to get in the park, with an additional fee for ride vouchers to experience most of the attractions.  Some of the attractions were included with park admission like The Walt Disney Story, Hall of Presidents,  If You Had Wings, Circle Vision 360 film, and The Diamond Horseshoe Revue.

Here are a couple of  ticket book options available to purchase after your initial park admission fee

Look there is still have two D tickets and one B ticket left.   

These tickets could be used for any attraction.  These you save for the big ones like Pirates, Space, 20,000 leagues, and Haunted Mansion.  These tickets are dated 1979.

 

    With a D ticket I have access to The Enchanted Tiki Birds in Adventureland, Tom Sawer's Island in Frontierland ( remember it closes a dusk), the Admiral Joe Fowler, Richard F. Irvine Riverboats in Liberty Square.  Also the Skyway to Tomorrowland from Fantasyland and also from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland, only one way trips though.  The Mickey Mouse Revue, also in Fantasyland.  In Tomorrowland you can ride the Grand Prix Raceway, Star Jets, and Mission To Mars.

      With a B ticket you can ride Dumbo and The Mad Tea Party in Fantasyland.  In Liberty Square you can take a ride on the Mike Fink Keel Boats.  In Frontierland you can shoot targets at the Frontierland Shooting Gallery.  In Adventureland you can tour the Swiss Family Treehouse.

    What is interesting is that Disney refers to all the attractions as adventures.  So you purchase tickets based on how many "adventures" you would like to experience.

All America Parade

       This blog has no direction as of yet, but what inspired me to begin was an article from the book Four Decades Of Magic by Chad Emerson (highly recommended reading by the way).  The article was written by Tom Corless of  WDWNT.com and  is titled "When is the Three O'clock Parade? Then, Now, and Forever."  Here he writes about a little known parade that ran from late-1987 through September 1989.  I was in the park to celebrate the 200 year anniversary of America.  Tom states that it was incredibly difficult to locate information on this parade.  By happenstance I was browsing through an old photo album and came upon several pictures of this exact parade.  I decided that I should share these pictures that I have for all the Disney history buffs out there.  Enjoy!

I don not know where this parade starts, so this looks good.

Mickey and Minnie in colonial outfits

Looks like flags from original colonies and early America

Missed the float right before this with a eastern seaboard lighthouse and more of these cast members in ponchos

These floats seem to represent the American southwest

There is something endearing about a character riding a horse

You know Woody would be on this float if it was after 1996

These floats look like the American northwest

Song of the South characters before Splash Mountian

Not sure what Capt. Hook and Smee are doing in front of the Midwest floats

Definitely Midwestern

Country Bears

Is this the hen from The Wise Little Hen?  Donald Ducks first cartoon.

"The Spirit of America"

very long paddle boat

Donald Duck the Captain

Daisy too

I know this float was rebuilt for the Mickey Mania parade with skateboarders riding over the ramp

Not sure what this float represents other than a big wave

Ahhh the famous castle float

Look at all the random characters on this float,  Sheriff of Naughtingham, Cinderella, Snow White, The Gummi Bears

I think that is the White Rabbit from Alice on the back

Happy 200 years America!

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