Sunday, December 10, 2023

Treehouse Entrance, March 1963

The title doesn't say that these are SNOOZLES™, but they are. If they weren't way too dark, they'd be nice, but somebody had their settings all wrong. Don't blame me! Believe it or not, you are seeing them after they've been lightened up as much as I dared.

It's March, 1963, and folks are excited to see the new Swiss Family Treehouse; it had only been open for about five months at this point (it debuted on November 18, 1962), and still had that new treehouse smell (that joke never gets old). Mom paid an extra $7 to get the ULTRA cats-eye glasses, and it was money well spent. The boys are dressed alike, but are not twins. Sorry, Melissa! A single trashcan is visible, it was carved from a giant piece of bamboo.


Whoa, this one is even darker for some reason. The lanterns aren't lit, which makes me believe that it was actually still fairly light out, despite these spooky images. In this low light the treehouse looks more like a messy construction site. One lonely cast member dreams of his break.



11 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-
Gotta love those cute brothers. It sorta makes up for the dreary-looking image.

Thanks, Major.

JB said...

No, Major, the dinginess isn't your fault. But it isn't the photographer's fault either. Ya see, 1963 was "The Year Of Darkness" (It's in all the history books). The Earth temporarily broke out of its orbit around the sun and flung itself out beyond Mars, where it fell into Jupiter's gravity well and got slingshotted back toward the sun where, as luck would have it, it landed back into its old orbit; no harm done! Except, everybody's photos from '63 were quite dingy and dark, as we've seen in some of the other GDB scans. It is what it is.

You can tell the not-twins apart by the color of their hats; Jeffy, the oldest, has a blue hat, while little Timmy has a red hat. And, oh my, those really are special cat's-eye glasses that Mom is wearing! And it truly is a rarity to find bamboo that is 2 feet in diameter for that trashcan (it can only be found on a single remote island in the South Pacific). Disney spared no expense!

Hmm, with the second photo being darker, I would say that the Earth was at its farthest point from the sun... but the photos were taken just moments apart. One would think that the lighting would be the same. So perhaps the darkness is NOT due to the Earth leaving its orbit after all!...... never mind.
So, is the CM supposed to be Fritz, Ernst, or Francis?

I had fun with your Snoozles today, Major. Thanks.

TokyoMagic! said...

Those little boys are wearing venticular "flasher" buttons. The one on the left is wearing the Mickey Mouse/"I Like Disneyland" version, and the one on the right is wearing the "I'm Goofy About Disneyland" version.

JB, that CM is supposed to be "Roberta"! ;-)

JG said...

Tokyo, I had the Mickey button, probably bought about the same time as these pics.

Major, these are kind of dreary, the second one looks like it’s from Mrs. Chuck’s Disneyland of the D@mned. Downright creepy.

The kids smiles redeem the first photo. That, at the sparkling rhinestones in Moms glasses. And not having to hunt for a trash can, especially a bamboo one. This Yellow X pattern was a transitional design used on the Esplanade between Frontierland, NOS, and Adventureland. There were other colors of X’s too.

I can’t wait for Bu to chime in on the Bad Show of the CM hanging his winter coat on the fence picket. If not careful, he will be demoted to Gum Scraper before the next shift.

Thank you Major!

JG

Dean Finder said...

Maybe our photographer was practicing some "day for night" shots.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, it’s true! Cute kids make up for a lot of other issues.

JB, I thought that the darkness might have been caused by those huge flocks of passenger pigeons that I’ve read about, but it turns out they were gone by 1914. I blame myself. However, I am glad to learn the true reason why it was so dark, it makes sense once you know. This is why I propose a ban on the planet Jupiter. If those boys were smart, they would switch hats every once in a while. “I’m not Jeffy, HE is!”. Bamboo started growing that big after the atomic tests in the Pacific, I read all about it in The Enquirer. Maybe the second photo is darker because of Jupiter AND passenger pigeons?

TokyoMagic!, “venticular”! Auto-correct strikes again. Do you think the boys picked out their favorite lenticular pins, or did mom (or dad) pick for them? ALso, who is Roberta? Roberta Flack, pop and R&B singer?

JG, I’m a phony, I didn’t get my flasher pins until they came up on eBay. I’m not proud of it. Mrs. Chuck could never take a photo as dreary as today’s examples! I know there were trashcans with red X’s, so besides the yellow, were there others? Perhaps a nice emerald green? Man, I could barely see the offending coat hung on the fence, maybe that’s how the CM got away with it.

Dean Finder, it’s so funny, long before I knew what a “day for night” shot was, I’d see one in a movie or TV show and wonder why it looked so weird.

JB said...

Major, you might be on to something with your pigeon/ Jupiter combo theory. When the passenger pigeons went extinct they created a black hole in the environment which, of course, started sucking in all the nearby light, which accounts for the darkness. The intense gravity from the black hole, which stayed in place when the Earth was flung out to Jupiter, pulled the Earth back to its original orbit. Wallah! (I'm gud at fizziks!)

Also, Roberta is the character that the Robinson boys rescued from the pirates... and later fought over.

TokyoMagic! said...

Do you think the boys picked out their favorite lenticular pins, or did mom (or dad) pick for them?

Major, I don't know about those two boys, but my brother and I were allowed to chose our lenticular pins. I chose Mickey and my brother chose Goofy. I have both of them now. About 15 years ago, I bought the Tinkerbell version on ebay, but I still haven't acquired the Donald Duck pin.

As JB pointed out, Roberta was a character in the movie, but not a member of the Robinson family. Roberta was disguising herself as a boy, when they first encountered her. Janet Munro played the part, and was also in two other Disney films, "Third Man On The Mountain" and "Darby O'Gill And The Little People."

Bu said...

Bu chiming in: sorry for the delay: buried again....it is absolutely disgraceful that this employee chose a coat rack of his own! I can give some credit to wardrobe for the sparkling and very pressed shirt...but: fences are for fencing...and not fencing like a Shakespeare play. Fences are never coat racks. To be super honest: these employee locations did not have the ability to house anything, so I get it. I often was horrible too for putting my coat over the railing or a fence. At the Treehouse: there isn't much opportunity to put anything anywhere. Makes it tough to store your lunch/snacks/etc. when you are in a remote location: without access to a locker/storage place. Rides have their own offices, etc. ODV: basically: it goes into your wagon. On a popcorn wagon we had the bin: ice cream wagon: I hope your stuff is freezer proof :) A frozen sweater is a bit counter productive on a chilly day: when it started out hot, and then the sun went down....you had to be prepared...so: I put this back on the park to supply a place to hang your coat, etc. I'm sure it's different now as everything is! I'm from the dark ages of walking miles from the parking lot to Harbor House to my locker to Bear Country in 3 feet of snow during a blizzard.

Anonymous said...

....uphill, Bu?
;o)

—Sue

Anonymous said...

Uphill, both ways right Bu?

JG