Disney Gallery Holiday Catalog, 1999 - PART 3
Welcome to more 1999 Disney Gallery holiday catalog scans, courtesy of Sue B! LET'S GO!
I must restrain myself from making "nautical pooh" jokes. I remember that there was a point where I was getting mighty overloaded with Winnie the Pooh on products and the Disney Channel. He was truly everywhere, all the time! But I have to admit that I can understand his appeal. I like the fact that these items portray the famous Milne characters as they looked in the original E.H. Shepard illustrations.
I'm a sucker for sets of things, though I am more of a commemorative thimble guy, as you know. But how about a Winnie the Pooh spice jar collection? HOW ABOUT IT?! I would truly love to know if there is anybody out there who is actually using their Pooh spice jars 24 years later.
Theo only time I was tempted to buy a ceramic cookie jar is when I saw a Bulldog Cafe cookie jar (looking just like the cafe in The Rocketeer) at a shop. But then I came to my senses!
It's interesting to see these leather accessories circa 1999. No iPad case? No phone cases? The first iPhone wouldn't be introduced until 2007, and I don't know how we lived before then.
I used to know a girl, she liked to collect snowglobes from every place she personally visited. They were usually those plastic ones you might see in an airport. However, once people knew she liked snowglobes, she would get them for her birthday, for Christmas, etc. And she got pretty annoyed. "I don't want just snowglobes!" she would scream from the top of the Empire State Building.
Those Mickey Mouse boxer shorts make me think of the Mickey "ear balloons" from Disneyland, so you can buy me a few pairs of those. And maybe a scarf!
One time, I was wearing a tuxedo, and I got nacho cheese on my black tie. It looked just like the tie in this catalog! True story: I often wear a cummerbund even when I'm in my casual t-shirt and jeans daily wear.
The Mickey and Minnie bears are odd. "Hey, Marty, you know how we can move all those teddy bears we got in the warehouse? Put 'em in Disney clothing!". "Tony, you are a genius!". The Maleficent marionette is kind of cool, and hey, it has Bob Baker's name on it. I'd like it even better if it had Bob Barker's name on it.
Many people remember when Eddie Van Halen played one of these short scale Mickey Gibson electric guitars in concert (this was when Gary Cherone was the lead singer - the best in my opinion!). You haven't heard "Panama" until you've heard it played on a short scaled Mickey Gibson guitar.
One of the most beloved scenes in "Cinderella" is when the mice and birds all work together to help create Cindy's beautiful ballgown. Until those wicked stepsisters see it! I'm just going to tell you the entire plot of the last third of "Cinderella", so sit back and relax.
WHAT? Only one more installment of the Disney Gallery holiday catalog to go? Yep, and in only a week too. THANK YOU to Sue B!
16 comments:
Major-
I do believe this is the best way to see all of this 'stuff'. No fuss... no muss... no $$'s exchanging hands.
Thank you Sue for making this all possible.
I'm sorry, but I can't help from snickering every time I see "Classic Pooh" or "Nautical Pooh", etc. printed on a page. If they had included "Winnie the" before the "Pooh" there would be no snickering.
Major, I suspect that anybody fanatic enough to purchase the Pooh spice jars still has them... unopened... unused... stored in some forgotten place where the sun don't shine.
Whoa! The mouse pad costs $35? For that thin, flimsy thing that doesn't even lie flat on the table? It must be made of diamond encrusted carbon fiber!
I don't recall that version of Mickey on top the snowglobe... creepy! Wild eyes, blue face, and teeth!
"Boudoir Pillows". Well la-di-dah! I guess they need the fancy/schmancy title in order to charge $225 for them. Nobody would pay that much for just "Bedroom Pillows".
Teddybear Minnie doesn't look too happy holding hands with teddybear Mickey. Like you said... odd.
I too, liked the Maleficent marionette... until I saw the price- $1,250 ??!!!? For that price she better turn into a dragon before our very eyes! And then burst into flames!
"The Cinderella Collection"... I shall strive mightily to keep my excitement under control. :-\
Than you once again for the scans, Sue. And thank you, Major for your commentary.
There's that black and white photo of the Moonliner rocket, again!
Okay, I finally found something in the catalog that I would want. It's the Maleficent marionette. But I would like it better if it wasn't a puppet, and was just a 32" doll. That way, I could display her alongside my 32" Barbie® and 29" Cabbage Patch® dolls.
Thank you, Sue and Major!
JB, that version of Mickey is from Walt's favorite Mickey Mouse cartoon, "Mickey's Rabid Pal Pluto."
Tokyo!, Ah yes, I remember now. Pluto's last cartoon appearance.
The version of Mickey Mouse on top of the snow globe is from the 1995 Mickey cartoon short "Runaway Brain" in which a mad doctor switches Mickey's brain with the brain of a monster he created.
Many of the photographs in these gallery catalogs were taken in an unmarked warehouse on San Fernando Road not far from WDI . They had sone craftsmen based there that fabricated special merchandise shelving and display cases. The prototypes would then be send to vendors the the final ones would be sent to the parks or Disney stores or hotels etc. one time we were up there to see some display cases being made for a gallery exhibit and there was a corner filled with film cans …. The Disney Studios sent them
To be used by decorating etc for window displays and the Disney Mgm studios … the stacks were massive and all different sizes of film cans … some labels were masters for upper and lower screens of MISSION TO MARS … HALL OF PRESIDENTS PROLOGUE…. IF YOU HAD WINGS SPEEDROOMS …. CIRCLE VISION PRE SHOW …. SOUNDTRACK MASTER SNOWBALL EXPRESS … I was frantic!!! It was like a pile of treasure to me …. And every film reel can was …..
EMPTY .
The studios at the time had been clearing out storage and dumping lots of stuff … and had also recently had a big 2 week prop storage sale …. Dump the history so they can make room to rent to other production companies.
Another note about these mail catalogs … about 60% of the items were mail order only items and not things you would find in the parks or Disney stores . The financial crash of 2007 killed the Disney catalog sales and they slowing disappeared.
I remember the display of the Bob Baker vintage style Mickey and gang puppets that used to be sold in the original Disneyanna Shop when it was still part of the Crystal Arcade / Emporium … they were so cool looking . I remember thinking how neat the 1930’s Peg Leg Pete marionette looked.
I love the Winnie-the-Pooh stories and the original E.H. Shepherd illustrations, but none of these items on offer particularly appear to me. I looks like the copy of When We Were Very Young is checked out.
TM! beat me to the Moonliner photo observation. But I still think it’s my favorite thing on these pages.
Finally - a matching tie and boxer shorts combo I can wear to the office!
I’d also accept a Maleficent marionette with Buddy Baker’s name on it.
JB, I’m not completely certain that the $1,250.00 price for the Bob Baker marionette is accurate. If it were a Bob Barker marionette, however, I’d know that the price is right.
Thanks again, Sue and the Unknown Catalog Photographers and Layout Artists!
Edit:
I love the Winnie-the-Pooh stories and the original E.H. Shepherd illustrations, but none of these items on offer particularly appeal to me. It looks like the copy of When We Were Very Young is checked out.
Just didn't want anyone wondering why I should be expecting any Pooh items to materialize or why I was comparing my appearance to a book.
I’ve always wondered about the “Pooh” sobriquet. Is it really Pooh? Who is named Pooh, get serious. Or euphemism for poo? Why?
I’m going out to scream this from the housetops. Back in a minute…
…ok feel better now.
E. H. Shepherd also loathed WTP, feeling the popularity of his illustrations for that story overshadowed what he considered to be his better works. So sad. Just take the fame and fortune, who cares why?
They should try selling teddy bears in Maleficent costumes, those would fly out the doors.
thanks Sue and Major!
JG
Nanook, I have to wonder how much of this stuff went unsold, which probably contributed to the demise of The Disney Gallery!
JB, for some reason, Nautical Pooh really gets me. And putting those spice jars where the sun don’t shine sounds very uncomfortable! Why would you want a mouse pad that lies flat on the table when you can have one that is wavy and warped? I didn’t notice the Mickey on top of the snow globe, weird. Everything is nicer when you put the word “boudoir” in front of it. “Boudoir skateboard”. See? The price on that Maleficent marionette is crazy, it might have a lot of hand work, but still. I’m sure the puppet itself was cast resin.
TokyoMagic!, so funny! There are two more installments from this catalog, now I’m hoping we’ll see the Rocket to the Moon photo at least one more time! Also… did they REALLY make a 32” Barbie??
TokyoMagic!, that’s the one where Pegleg Pete has to put Pluto down, but it’s a surprisingly moving sequence.
JB, Pluto should have eventually been given a voice. Something really annoying.
K. Martinez, oh yeah! I remember liking that cartoon a lot, and I think I’ve heard that the Disney “suits” decided it was too extreme, or something. I remember wanting a “Runaway Brain” figure of “deranged Mickey” and it was too expensive.
Mike Cozart, wow, I hate the thought of all those masters being sent to the dump (which I presume is what happened). I realize that they can’t keep everything, but in just a few years they would have been able to digitize everything. When I was working at the studio, I knew a guy who worked in the archives, his job was to scan original artwork at high resolution so that they could sell the originals! I also remember seeing stuff in trashcans around the office or abandoned cubicles (beautiful sketches, etc) that I wish I’d kept, even though that was a big no-no. There were early drawings for a film called “Lilo and Stitch”, what a weird name! I had no idea what it was about. Somewhere I have some laser prints of frames from “Dumbo 2” which was never produced.
Chuck, my grandma had a set of four A.A. Milne books, and that’s how I read the original Pooh stories. If I happen to be on a bridge over a stream, I still like to play Poohsticks. The E.H. Shepherd illustrations really were the perfect fit. Some of the stuff in this catalog is so funny, you can just hear the marketing people saying, “We need to make items for men! Any ideas?”. Would you accept a Maleficent marionette with Buddy Hackett’s name on it?
Chuck, I knew what you meant!
JG, the name was supposedly given to the stuffed bear by a very young Christopher Robin. I seem to recall that it was something like “Winnie ther Pooh”. You know, little kids and their soft palates. Or whatever. It seems to be a common phenomenon for artists to despise the thing that they become best known for. Debussy wondered why anybody liked “Clair de lune”, when he wrote so many better pieces. John Singer Sargent mocked his own brilliant portrait paintings. I guess it’s just human nature.
^ I've read that Harlan Ellison despised, (or at least, was unhappy with) the final version of his "City on the Edge of Forever" story that he wrote for the original Star Trek. And yet, it is considered the best ST episode.
Major, JB, I kind of get it. I don't have many good memories of projects either, probably because construction and design are highly adversarial and stressful. Most projects, even the ones that turned out beautiful, I just want to forget when they are over. All I remember are the fights and the things that didn't work out the way they were intended.
JG
What's a checkbook, and why do I need a cover for it? Can I get a case for by shiny new PalmPilot personal digital assistant?
JG, I think that's true of all project work. I build websites and I might be proud of doing a good job, but there's always disappointment when I see where compromises were made.
Thanks for the laughs! I loved looking at these catalogs when they arrived in the mail. I know Disney sent out at least two a year - maybe even 4 (one each season).
Thanks, Major.
.....did they REALLY make a 32” Barbie??
Major, I don't know....maybe. I don't have one! I do remember driving by a house in Long Beach, back in the nineties, and seeing a life-size Ken and Barbie in the front window. The decor around them and their attire would change, depending on the season. Now I'm wondering if those figures are still in that window! I probably haven't driven by that house in 20 years. Also about 20 years ago, there was a house in Garden Grove which I used to pass on my way to work, that had a life-size Elvis Presley figure in the window. The display around him would also change with the seasons and holidays. That particular house also had gates across their driveway, which resembled the gates at Graceland. Some people are hardcore in their fandom, I tell ya!
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