Sleeping Beauty Castle, October 1963
Of all the Bavarian castles built in the 1950's, Sleeping Beauty Castle is one of my favorites. Definitely "Top 20". Let's take a look at some nice 1963 photos of the thing, shall we?
I am not the first person to point out the serendipitous juxtaposition of the castle and the Matterhorn - they work so well together that it's hard to believe that it wasn't always planned that way. I love the little arched bridge in the foreground - I think Mr. Vintage Disneyland Tickets mentioned that it had been rebuilt at some point, and the arch was ironed out. Boo.
Here's a scan of a Disneyland note card (from a set of 4 different designs) that was designed before the park was open - interesting that they put some snow-covered mountains in almost the same spot as the Matterhorn.
Hmmm, what does it look like from this angle? Still very pretty, turns out. Those were the days when you could still afford to have an expanse of green grass, just because. Now grass is to be despised and laughed at! The mushroom-shaped lamp shades remind me of the miniature golf course that I used to go to with friends. I always won, of course - you probably read about it in the tabloids. Darn paparazzi.
Apparently a nearby volcano dropped a fine coating of volcanic ash, making this photo rather gloomy and gray. Hey! There's Pluto! He is the most huggable of the Disney characters (sorry Tigger). Do you have greasy fingers from popcorn? His fur will soak it right up.
EXTRA! Here are the other three note cards that were in that 1955 boxed set:
"The River Boat"... something tells me that they had not pinned down the "Mark Twain" name yet!
"The Railroad Station"... notice that the train is going the wrong way, and that Mickey's floral portrait shows a sort of 3/4 profile rather than the front-facing portrait that we are so used to.
"Main Street"... looks pretty faithful, to be honest!
19 comments:
Major-
You aren't kidding about the juxtaposition between the Sleeping Beauty Castle and the Matterhorn. Why, they go-together like 'ham and eggs', 'hot dogs and beer', even 'Tracy and Hepburn'-! I'm not so certain about that note card, though - it reminds me more of some 'snow-covered Egyptian Pyramids', rather than a Swiss Alp, or two-! In spite of all the millions of images that must'a been 'recorded' of the SBC, it still continues to impress to this day. Some things just seem right.
Thanks, Major.
I've seen that watercolor from the note card before, and just assumed it was post-Matterhorn. Silly old me!
And why bother with Pluto's fur when his tongue is hanging right there?
Snow Mountain was a proposed idea that featured a toboggan like vehicle with a center handle bar that when pulled forward would make the toboggan roll faster. These was a system found throughout the USA , Canada and Europe - not a Disney developed “ride”. I don’t think Walt was really that excited about it and when production on the Film 3rd Man on the Mountain , his plans became much bigger. The notecard illustrator has greatly exaggerated how big “Snow Mountain” was going to be.
In order to get merchandise ready in time for the parks 1955 opening , vendors were given images of concept art as fast as possible - most ended up dypicting concepts that hard progressed far past what the merchandise designers were shown. Also the developers didn’t necessarily understand the overall plan of what Disneyland was going to really look like.
It was kinda like Kenner Toys being shown scenes vehicles and characters from Star Wars in advanced so they could develop toys to be ready around the time the film would be released - so often the subjects Kenner chose and manufactured were ultimately cut or edited out of the film or changed before the final
Cut. Oh well!!
Sadly the open year Disneyland merchandise is some of the ugliest and blandest collectibles ever created for the park.
And MAJOR: have you ever hugged the 1977 Shaggy Dog character?? You might change your mind regarding Pluto!!
"Disneyland note card (from a set of 4 different designs)"? Now you've got me curious about the other 3.
The juxtaposition of the castle with the Matterhorn is a pretty common image and even featured on some of the pictorial souvenir booklets of the day and other Disneyland related publications. That's why I thought yesterday's castle images was so unique for doing the reverse side view. Thanks, Major.
If you take a close look at the third photo, you can see some vertical bars on the tallest tower. Were those always there? ;-)
I too am now curious about the other note cards. I am a sucker for Disneyland art work. Pamphlets, maps, concepts, you name it. I think the man in the last photo is an off duty drill sergeant and he is dressing down Pluto for a costume violation. "Are those popcorn stains on your uniform!" "I can't here you!!" Great scans today, thanks Major.
Nanook, you left out mustard ’n bananas as far as classic taste combos go. You’ll have to forgive the pyramid mountain - how could they know that the real thing would look like the Matterhorn?
Melissa, nope, those note cards are oldies! Does Pluto’s tongue hang out? I forget. I know the Big Bad Wolf’s does.
Mike Cozart, if I understand your description of the original toboggan concept, it sounds like it would have given guests a real workout. They all would have been totally ripped by the time they got off the ride! All veiny and aggressive. I agree that, for the most part, early souvenirs are not the best, but I also find the cheesy quality to be kind of endearing. Not only have I never hugged the Shaggy Dog character, I have never SEEN him. I can’t imagine he walks around the park that much these days, whereas Pluto is almost a sure thing!
K. Martinez, I’m heading out for a few hours, but I will try to post the other three note card designs later if I can. I realize that it’s a trick of perspective, but doesn’t it seem that the Matterhorn, visible in photo #1, should also be visible in photo #2?
Chuck, those bars are known in the industry as “anti-KONG bars”, they prevent giant apes from climbing to the pinnacles of buildings.
Jonathan, stay tuned for the other note cards! I’m with you, I love the concept art, and am especially fond of maps of all kinds. Ha ha, it does kind of look like that man is yelling at an ashamed Pluto.
@Major and Chuck, we include anti-Kong bars on all major highrises now after the tragic events in NYC involving giant primates.
Now that I have seen these bars, I cannot un-see them.
I have always thought that a snowy mountain had to have been part of the original concept since it fits so well with Fantasyland in general, and the Castle in particular.
I was always puzzled by the guide book maps that included the Matterhorn in Tomorrowland when it's theming was clearly related to Fantasyland. Now that I know it's construction, with the submarines, was a major update to Tomorrowland, the maps make sense.
Thank you for these pictures with the original soft pastel coloring, which prove as Nanook aptly avers, some things can't be improved upon.
JG
Major-
Actually, it's not a trick of perspective at all, but the image was captured on October 15th (National Cheese Curd Day). Oh, you think I'm making that one up, do you... And as all good Disneylanders know, is when the Matterhorn is sent out for dry cleaning-! Martinizing, actually.
I can't vouch for what the Plutongue was up to in '63, but
as of 2012 it was set to medium loll.
@ Melissa-
Well, judging from that image, it appears Pluto's tongue is just right-sized for Churro sugar licking-!
Thanks for the extra scans, Major! I find them absolutely fascinating.
Note that the train is going the wrong direction. This seems to be a recurrent problem with early Park merchandise - it also goes the wrong direction in the Disneyland Monorail Game from 1959.
Yeah, Major-
Thanks for posting the other note card images. They do seem very 'crude' and un-polished; but their simplicity and [ultimate] inaccuracies just add to their charm. (I certainly hope none of the engineers get any strange ideas...)
Thanks, again.
I love these note card paintings and can't figure out why. There's something very familiar, but they are all new to me.
The images almost seem to be painted from verbal descriptions given over the phone rather than sketches.
I wonder if there is some occult Masonic significance to the Disney trains going clockwise? Other than the fact that this is the direction that a sundial shadow moves in the Northern Hemisphere?
Thanks Major, for supplementing today's post with these cute images.
JG
JG, anti-Kong bars were originally conceived by Frank Lloyd Wright, but everyone thought he was nuts. He was ahead of his time! I am unclear as to whether a snowy mountain was truly conceived as something for the park, or if it was just the way the stars aligned, so to speak.
Nanook, thanks to a friend who does a lot of food-related art, I have learned that there is a day for nearly every kind of food imaginable. It gives her a reason to post something coffee-related, or donut-related, etc.
Melissa, one could definitely wipe greasy hands on that tongue! Hopefully Pluto won’t bite, though.
Nanook, I hope Pluto is OK with his soon-to-be increased sugar intake.
Chuck, there was a time when I wanted to get nice copies of all of those early Disneyland board games, but I also don’t have lots of room for a stack of large-ish things. I know that they reprinted them (maybe for the 50th anniversary), but I won’t sully my home with repros!
Nanook, they eventually released another set of early note cards that used familiar (and yes, early) postcard images. That set seems to be even scarcer than the one reproduced here, for some reason. Maybe more of them were actually used for mailing.
JG, some of the images (like the one of Main Street Station) resemble concept art that I’ve seen elsewhere (hand-colored brownlines, for instance), but others are unique to my eyebones. And trust me, there is Masonic significance to EVERYTHING! I have a book about fraternal organizations, now I want to read it. Finally.
Major, thanks for posting the other three note cards. I like them.
@Major. I have a book about the overt Masonic symbolism in the architecture of Washington DC. Definitely a thing. I read it with my tinfoil hat on tight.
JG
Say what you like about the Masons, they make a damn fine canning jar.
@Melissa, as long as you keep the lid on tight.
JG
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