Adventure Thru Inner Space Booklet
I just happened to scan today's VINTAGE PAPER EPHEMERA item for another purpose, but realized that it would be a fun thing to share with all of you. It's a booklet from Monsanto's Adventure Thru Inner Space - these were in bins in the entry area of the ride; because they were free, there are many thousands out in the wild, I've acquired half a dozen almost by accident. But that doesn't mean that they aren't great!
The cover is a colorful illustration, I assume that this was originally used as concept art for Monsanto's approval. I really enjoy the wild, abstract sky (representing fireworks?). We can also see the entry fountains to the right, and the Rocket Jets beneath the Peoplemover track.
There are two different ATIS booklets, this is the first one, with only artwork to convey some of what guests will see and experience. Notice that the cover could be detached and mailed as a postcard. The Mighty Microscope was thrilling to a small child, I feel like I could have watched this Atomobiles disappear into it for an hour if my parents had let me.
Riders were shrinkified, and entered a snowflake. At first the snowflakes appeared as familiar six-sided crystals, but (as we continued to shrink), they became massive walls of ice looming over us. Then we'd see H2O molecules (looking very much like "hidden Mickeys" before those were a thing) and finally, the pulsing nucleus of an atom. No... I dare not go on. I must return to realm of the molecule before I go on shrinking - forever!
As the snowflake melted and the molecules became more active, we slowly returned to our original size. Seeing the eyeball through our end of the microscope confirmed that we were "back on visual". Whew! The panel on the right shows an artist's concept of the finale of the ride, with some of Monsanto's products on display in an interesting "World's Fair" manner.
I believe that this artwork shows tableaus that were in illuminated "window boxes", with charming limited movement. I seem to recall the woman on horseback bouncing up and down!
Finally, how about some facts about Monsanto? If I could go back in time, I would have sent them a letter, in the hopes that they might send some rare item in appreciation! As with the front cover, the back could also be sent as a postcard...
... with this illustration showing an updated (new and improved?) Clock of the World. In the lower right, there is a code, I presume that "0567" means that these were printed in May of 1967. The ride debuted on August 5th of '67, but it makes sense that these would have been printed up in advance.
I scanned the newer ATIS booklet too, so stay tuned for that.
16 comments:
Major-
Boy, it's been a while since I've looked thru this brochure - it's like seeing an old friend again. (And now I'm going to be singing Miracles from Molecules the rest of the day...)
Thanks, Major.
OoOooh... Color! [JB's eyes go all wonky with kaleidoscopic patterns.] I too, like the abstract illustrations. I think it would be quite difficult to get the Rocket Jets to all get aligned like that. The Rockets looks great and futuristic and all, but I'm not sure they can even get arranged like that. It looks like a few kids are sporting Mouse Ears.
This is quite an impressive brochure, for being a freebie. Excellent artwork done in Disney fashion. Thanks, Major.
Major, you are right about the lady "bouncing" on the horse. I remember that! I also remember the landing gear of the airplane descending and retracting. I think the corn grew straight up out of the ground, in that other scene. And I believe the dog waved his magic wand in the bridal scene, but I can't recall what happened in the scene with the lady in the window. I want to say that her flowers in the window box swayed back and fourth, but maybe Mike can tell us for sure.
I love this item, but I don't remember them being available. I think I am too young. I wonder how long they were available? I was lucky to get mine as a child, because an older friend of mine had two of them and gave me one!
Thanks for sharing, Major!
In the 70’s the third image acted as inspiration for a multi level mural
Made from cut layers of acrylic. The mural
Was only visible from the PeopleMover along the wall that separated the MINIATURIZATION CONTROL room from the MIRACLES FROM MOLECULES room.
In the 70’s the third image acted as inspiration for a multi level mural
Made from cut layers of acrylic. The mural
Was only visible from the PeopleMover along the wall that separated the MINIATURIZATION CONTROL room from the MIRACLES FROM MOLECULES room.
Mike, I remember that! Was it there until the attraction was removed, or was it removed sooner? And are there any good photos of it out there?
I’ve seen these images before recently somewhere, and of course, I must have had one of these brochures back when, but it’s nice to see them again. Thanks Major! I’m glad you have both brochures, I know how you love completeness.
We all mourn the loss of ATIS, especially to be replaced by something as inane as Star Tours, but it isn’t just the loss of the ride that’s sad. This loss marks for me the beginning of Disneyland getting worse instead of better, the loss of the educational focus that was always just under the surface of the fantastic experiences. Now “Hard Facts” are eliminated in favor of pin trading, limited-edition popcorn buckets and shareholder value.
Thanks for letting me rant.
JG
Nanook, this is one of those freebie giveaways that I really treasure, even though they are so easy to come by!
JB, yeah, the Rocket Jets feel more like one of those old carnival “spinny” rides, maybe the artist didn’t quite get what it was actually going to be? I’m kind of surprised that mouse ears are popular - possibly more popular than ever - after Disneyland’s 70th birthday.
TokyoMagic!, I’ve always wondered if the Monsanto company had records of the Disneyland attractions in their archives - assuming they had an archives. Possibly rare communications back and forth, concept art, etc? There’s no Monsanto anymore, so I guess we’ll never know. Somewhere (maybe on Daveland?) I saw a photo of the queue, and you could see the bin where these freebies were, I don’t remember them either, but my most vivid memories of the ride are from years after it opened.
Mike Cozart, that acrylic mural sounds neat, I wish I remembered it!
TokyoMagic! that’s one of those details that probably nobody photographed, sadly. But you never know!
JB, I miss ATIS a lot, but I can’t really complain about it being replaced by Star Tours. At least they took out an old classic and replaced with what was surely a very expensive, technologically advanced attraction. And I do still enjoy it, the queue is pretty fun, and the ride is updated regularly, which is nice. But your point is taken, the educational attraction was replaced by IP. A trend that will never end.
Thanks for sharing these, Major! My family had a copy of this pamphlet from one of our visits, but it's fantastic to see them enlarged on my computer screen. I've gained a new appreciation for them because of that. I love the way the illustrated Atomobiles float through the different scenes, turning to view each part of the experience. They really capture the essence of the attraction. Strangely, I don't remember the Clock of the World, though I do recall the animated displays of Monsanto products, which were very clever. I have then stored in my memories along with the Goodyear Proplemover speedramp displays.
To me, the illustration marker style of the images seems very different from the usual Disney graphic style. I'm wondering if they weren't commissioned by Monsanto for their marketing campaign? The pages of the pamphlet that have the "Disney" illustrations include a WED copyright, so this brochure may possibly be a Monsanto publication?
Mike, It would be fantastic to see that acrylic mural in the Peoplemover tunnel. Was it similar in idea to the one in the AT&T building's tunnel?
JG, I'm entirely with you in missing ATIS - and feeling a bit confused and betrayed that they decided to slam Star Tours into the space. On my last ride on ATIS (late 1984), the sets were in very poor condition, and the entire section where one passes through the crystalline lattice of the snowflake was totally blacked-out, (I think the lattice scrims were damaged by a fire?). It was a very sad ending to what was a very imaginative (and weird) ride.
These brochure illustrations also appear on the MONSANTO - ATIS press giveaway record. I’m not sure if these were done by Disney or Monsanto. They are definitely done with early designer “Magic Markers”. In the 60’s they were a fairly new tool and were like stubby glass paint bottles with very wide cloth nubs. In the mid 1980’s some architectural illustrators were still using them - and some fashion/ costume designers used versions of them into the 90’s - they were replaced by the chart-pak/berol double tipped design marker - now also used limitedy mostly by fashion and landscape designers. I still use them!!! My BS degree is in architectural design and my AA degree was in Architectural graphics …. So it’s something I can’t give up after all the training and use … but in 2026 the color selections get smaller and smaller ..
Anyway if Disney did you the artwork I don’t think the original art survives … but that happens … many of the original art used to make the famous Marc Davis concept pirates of the Caribbean postcards are missing … lost or stolen between WED and the merchandising folks etc. MONSANTO did have an extensive archives … they were very helpful : I used to get information from them regarding the Monsanto house of the future when I was in school and still have all their correspondence! Author / designer Chris Merritt used to write them regarding Adventure Thru Inner Space and they also provided information - we use to share the Monsanto information and images via early color xeroxes. But i remember in one of my Monsanto letters they said they get more inquires from about the plastic house of the future , INNER SPACE and their CIRCLE VISION exhibits than any other subject!!
TOKYO : I do have some great slide images of that Inner Space Mural …. They were photographed by a Disneyland employee during a WED - Disneyland 1980 open house party it appears it was photographed from the PeopleMover right-of-way but the PeopleMover apparently is not operating . I loaned the slides to someone to be scanned and they have been misplaced or lost. We think they may have been mixed up with other slides and returned to the wrong owner. So currently I don’t have the images available - they were suppose to be used for a incompleted feature for TOMORROWLOUNGE BLOG on THE OTHER MURALS OF NEW TOMORROWLAND … which included the carousel theater murals , the Tomorrowland Terrace Mary Blair mural, the two Circle-vision “confetti” murals , the Mission To Mars exit mural , the STARCADE murals and the Inner space mural. I realy hope I get those slides back !!!
Mike, I forget that there was a different technology before the felt tip pens were developed. I was most familiar with the Chartpak AD markers. The ATIS illustrations make me think of the work that some car designers would produce. BTW, I just discovered that there's a remarkable likeness between the Rocket Jets illustrated for the ATIS pamphlet and Herb Ryman's rendering of the 1967 Tomorrowland. Of course the Monsanto pamphlet artist could have referenced the rendering.
I've got "Miracles From Molecules" on my iPod, along with the perky "Monorail Music", "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow". Plus the instrumental "It's a Small World", which also gives a kind of retro-future feeling. I like to think that's what they were playing in the shuttles from the cheerfully gaudy motels surrounding old Disneyland.
Omnispace, there was a big coffee table book about Disneyland from about 10 years ago (maybe less), I was looking forward to seeing rare photos of ATIS, but instead, reproductions from these common handouts were used. Disappointing! Seems hard to believe that they couldn’t find anything better - in fact, I have seen better photos from official Monsanto items. Maybe the author didn’t know. They did make a new “clock of the world”, but it looked different from that illustration. These illustrations were definitely done using markers… I never got the hang of those, though folks I knew in school could achieve remarkable things. Some auto designers did “Syd Mead”-level artwork with markers! I feel like once Monsanto stopped sponsoring ATIS, Disney really let it go. I remember some of the giant snowflakes that were within arm’s reach were punched and beaten by stupid (male) guests. And there was trash on the floor inside the ride. It was very sad.
Mike Cozart, I feel like these illustrations are so different from the usual Disney artwork, that it would not be beyond possibility that they were done by artists at Monsanto, perhaps working directly with Disney. But of course I could be wrong! I remember that product designers and (as you said) fashion students liked to use markers. I didn’t know any landscape folks! Wow, very cool that you have correspondence from Monsanto. I have no idea if any company would take the time to respond to a random person regarding something they did decades earlier. But in those days it was just how it was done. Of course Disney was great at that too, as we’ve learned from people like TokyoMagic!, they almost always responded and included brochures or some other “goodie”. I’ve told this story before, but I wrote the company once when I was perhaps 13 - and I did not get a response! Bummer.
Mike Cozart, wow, cool that you have images of that mural! Or HAD. Ugh, I’m sorry that they were apparently lost, I’ve experienced something similar, and it is super frustrating. I would have loved to see your complete post about the “other” Tomorrowland murals.
Omnispace, yes, I think that it was the Chartpak markers that my classmates used. Some of them had fancy gizmos that held dozens of colors, plus the “blender” markers. Is it possible that Herb Ryman did that artwork? I think of his style as being kind of different, but artists can have more than one style.
DBenson, back in the Napster days, I hunted for all sorts of Disneyland ride tracks and spiels, some that I have lost and never heard since. Hearing those tunes and spiels after so many years was such a blast!
There’s no Monsanto anymore.....
Major, I guess I had heard that before, but I forgot. I have an old unused bottle of Roundup® in my garage. It would have been purchased before Bayer took over the brand, so I bet I could sell it for an absolute fortune! ;-)
But i remember in one of my Monsanto letters they said they get more inquiries about the plastic house of the future , INNER SPACE and their CIRCLE VISION exhibits than any other subject!!
Mike, that's interesting that Monsanto got inquiries about Circle-Vision! They never had anything to do with that attraction, right? Was it just from people who were confused about which company sponsored which attractions? I wonder if G.E. got questions from people about the Skyway? Or if McDonnell Douglas got questions from people about It's A Small World? ;-)
I loaned the slides to someone to be scanned, and they have been misplaced or lost.
Mike, OH! So frustrating! I have loaned too many things out in the past that either got lost or damaged. It's amazing how people can be so irresponsible with someone else's property. Because of this being a common occurrence, I stopped loaning things out a long time ago! I hope you eventually get your slides back!
I just discovered that there's a remarkable likeness between the Rocket Jets illustrated for the ATIS pamphlet and Herb Ryman's rendering of the 1967 Tomorrowland.
Omnispace, I had noticed that, too! Looking at those two pieces of artwork, I always used to wonder if the Rocket Jets were originally planned as an even more thrilling ride. Like Major said, maybe one of those carnival "spinny" type rides, like the "Paratrooper"?
TOKYO : Walt Disney World’s Circle Vision was sponsored by MONSANTO from 1971-1982. They sponsored AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL , CANADA THE BEAUTIFUL ( shown only during the Canada Fest months) AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL BICENTENNIAL EDITION and MAGIC CARPET ‘ROUND THE WORLD ( the original version) the “new” MAGIC CARPET ‘ROUND THE WORLD from 1983 was originally created for Tokyo Disneyland but was shown during 1983 at Walt Disney World in Tomorrowland and was sponsored by BLACK & DECKER …. Who also sponsored AMERICAN JOURNEYS.
When CANADA THE BEAUTIFUL was shown in Tomorrowland for Canada Days it was just the 1967 Canada Expo circle vision film ( clips were also used in ‘OCANADA at Epcot, visionaium - from time to time , and Rocket Rods preshow. Flyers, posters and signage was created reading CANADA THE BEAUTIFUL as well as title screens for the film itself. Monsanto had several elaborate preshow I think early Florida quests are nostalgic about.
WED/WDI has lots of marker concept art but it’s usually not the “beauty” pieces used for marketing. Ryman did use markers for comps and preliminary set ups …I still
Use design markets … when I freelance I often get specific requests for marker style . Over time you get so use to the colors and their marker numbers so if you need to create a certain brick or stone finish or a weathered wood etc … you’d know exactly which markers you needed … but over time Many of the colors are replaced , updated or sadly just completely discontinued . Most marker concept art used pencil and some ink and touches of gouache. I think that’s what I love about the few people left in architectural character finishing … they still use some of these things … that department and the model shop still used paint , wood, metal , inks , foams , plastics , and it smells the way WDI-WED should smell!!
Come for the Disneyland ephemera, stay for the architectural rendering tools discussion.
Has anyone else noticed that TV ads feature people who are architects way more than other jobs? It seems like every few ads has someone with an architectural model as the main "character:
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