I like the old "classic Mickey" flower portrait, the version that was used for years. It's just like the painting that was seen at the beginning of Mickey Mouse short cartoons (with the sunburst behind his head); you can still see a bit of Steamboat Willie in this incarnation of The Mouse. Since then, the portrait has been updated to show a more modern visage.
In Town Square, Vesey Walker and his all-boy band strut their stuff. There's those blue band uniforms that look so spiffy (and that were only used for the first year or two). The horse-drawn Bekins wagon is out (mostly obscured though). Notice the large ticket book in the hand of the guest to our right - at this point, there were only A, B, C & D tickets (E tickets were introduced in 1959).
I like that the new shorts Disney is producing use a pie-eyed Mickey design that’s closer to the 1930’s version. It lends itself better to madcap antics.
ReplyDeleteThe magnificent striped shirt of Mr. McGradient in the second picture is really drawing my eye to all the other horizontal lines in the composition – signs, rooflines, moldings, even the band’s jacket hems and hatbands. The wiggly trolley tracks almost break it up, but the pillars don’t stand a chance behind that tree.
(That shirt makes me think of the old EPCOT Center Horizons logo.)
I want a moiré shirt, too.
ReplyDeleteI would've loved to have taken a ride in that cattle car, however I was born a few years too late.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that shirt is something else. I'll put my order in.
I saw that moiré on my padre while he ate a parfait with his fiance. He considered it his forte.
ReplyDeleteBill in Denver
Melissa, those new Mickey Mouse short cartoons are more lively than most of his 'toons from the 40's and 50's - I always thought that, while beautifully crafted, they were pretty dull for the most part. The logo reminds me of when I first got out of school, and I actually called the guy who designed all of those EPCOT logos!
ReplyDeleteChuck, now I am glad I spent the time to remove some dust and fibers that were on that shirt… the hardest place on the whole photo to do so!
K. Martinez, it would have been weird to stand while riding the Disneyland RR, but I guess it wouldn't be too different from the New York subway!
Bill, didn't your padre enjoy paté?
That shirt is an eye-catcher. I dig the band uniforms too.
ReplyDeleteEarly Mickey design rocks! :)
Yeah, the new cartoons are definitely for the short attention span crowd, and don't have the same joy and silliness as the classics, but they're cute.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you actually spoke to the EPCOT logo designer! Those things were masterpieces of 20th-century design.
Does anyone know the year that the Bekins/Global Van Lines building was demolished and replaced with the taller, uglier storefronts? I'm guessing late eighties/early nineties since I was only going to the park about once a year (or less) during that time and I don't remember seeing the construction. Hmmm, maybe I should consult Jason's Almanac.
ReplyDelete@K. Martinez - you can still take a ride in one of the cattle cars, although they've been heavily modified with side-viewing deck seating with a much better view of the Park. Not the same thing, I know.
ReplyDeleteI regret never having ridden in the original 100-series passenger cars, although I understand a private owner has restored them to running condition and runs them periodically for the public.
@Tokyo, I am not sure of the exact date, but it was in that era. I read recently in a thread somewhere that the dreadful design was subbed out to a non-Disney architecture firm in an effort to cut costs during the Pressler Reign of Error.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was very young, Bekins' had a big warehouse in a nearby town that was a landmark. I remember seeing Bekins' warehouse at Disneyland and figuring out they were the same, a big jump in logic for a little kid. Same with Santa Fe. Extra cool that Santa Fe was on the monorail too.
JG