Costumed Characters, October 1973
Meeting the costumed characters at Disneyland is one a beloved experience - no matter what one's age is, but especially for children. They know it's a person in a costume, and yet... the imagination takes over, in the most wonderful manner.
This first photo shows three kids meeting J. Worthington Foulfellow, aka "Honest John", from "Pinocchio", of course. I'm not sure I've ever seen him at the park! I love his design, less rounded and cute, and more angular and "foxy", appropriately. He's trying to convince these children that a trip to Pleasure Island would be just the thing to get away from their parents and to soothe their jangled nerves.
The boy with the hat is as happy as can be! He's wearing a hat with a "Robin Hood" patch, even though that movie would not be released until November. His brother (nearly-identical shirt) is still a bit stunned.
If you're not so sure you want your bambinos fraternizing with the likes of Honest John, you could have them meet ol' Pinoke himself. There's two grandmas, and two little girls with red sweaters. I love the way the girl to the right is gazing up at Pinocchio.
28 comments:
The little girl is from 1973 while the two boys are from 1965. Interesting in the tunnel the attraction posters are still in those sliding wood rail frames. I though those were gone by then …. But I guess not. You can see a GREAT MOMENTS WITH MR. LINCOLN #2 , SUBMARINE VOYAGE , GOLDEN HORSESHOE and STORYBOOK CANAL. Interesting about the Lincoln poster as Lincoln was temporarily removed in 1973 for the Walt Disney Story. What if we had a clearer view of that poster and it was one of those rare versions that show up now and then : like a 1973 Walt Disney Story attraction posters!!??
Refreshing to see the entry plaza unclogged of hordes of annual pass holders going to Disneyland to get the newest popcorn bucket and skipping work ….
Major-
Clearly "Honest John" has worked his verbal magic on the older lad, if we are to believe his broad smile. (I'm guessing he's been the recipient of a few cigars he can smoke when arriving on Pleasure Island). Oh, the fun he will have-!
Thanks, Major.
Upon reflection : that STORYBOOK CANAL poster is a SKYWAY attraction poster.
I bet these kids didn't need a reservation, and didn't need to stand in a loooong line to get their pictures taken with these characters. It was always a pleasant surprise to stumble onto a character in the wild, back in those days.
I love the Robin Hood patch on that hat!
I have pics of my brother and I with Pinocchio, Honest John, and Gideon. That Pinocchio in the third pic looks a little odd. The face looks just a little "pushed in" and the person in the costume looks like they might be just a little bit taller than the people who usually wear the Pinocchio costume. Maybe someone called in sick that day.
Mike, thanks for that info about the posters. I was going to ask what that first on the right was. It did look like the Opera House, but that was all I could make out.
Thank you, Major!
Mr. Foulfellow tries to convince people that he's an upperclass elite. But his clothing gives him away: His top hat is rumpled and his trousers are patched. He can't fool me; he's a con artist, through and through. But I'd still go to Pleasure Island with him because who can resist smoking cigars and drinking booze and eating candy for every meal! Plus, I think the donkey ears would make me look interesting.
In the last photo, the little girl looking up at Pinocchio is thinking, "Wow! He looked a lot shorter in the movie!
This must be the "little wooden head" version of Pinoke; before the Blue Fairy went and turned him into a real boy, because he's all spindly lookin' here. I'm guessing that's a female CM inside the costume. Maybe we should call him Pinocchia?
Thanks, Major.
JB, I was just thinking the opposite. Maybe it's a guy wearing the Pinocchio costume, because of their height?? But we better hope he doesn't have really dark hairy legs.
I hope I didn't ruin anyone's breakfast.
Thanks, Major.
Ahhh…a pleasantly-shaded, concrete-and-asphalt, leisurely and uncrowded entry plaza. Those were the days.
That Robin Hood hat is a curiosity. While the resolution here isn’t very good, the image on the hat looks to me like it’s showing a normally-proportioned human figure rather than the animated fox. I wonder if this is “new old stock” related to the 1952 film The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (which had its first airing on Disneyland in November of 1955). Perhaps they were trying to unload remaining inventory before the animated film was released, totally changing guests’ expectations of what a Disney Robin Hood would look like. Merchandising may not have ruled the roost back then, but they did know how to move product.
Mike, now you have me imagining a Skyway bucket navigating the canals of Storybook Land. It’s a round bucket like in the poster. And that mental image sparked a sudden realization that never occurred to me before - why didn’t they update the poster art when they changed out the buckets?
TM!, did you guys wear your matching white ovals to the Park that day?
Thanks a lot, Sue… [pushes away cereal bowl]
Another interesting detail: look at the entry tunnel plaque: it’s like a framed wooden sign with painted or screen printed lettering …
There was artwork created to create newer posters for both SKYWAY and AUTOPIA using newer vehicle imagery , but it is unknown as to why they were never produced. Even for Walt Disney World’s opening the very outdated SKYWAY poster artwork was reused for the Florida version of the poster - complete with outdated round buckets and the never built Tomorrowland Airboats…
Now I'm noticing what looks like skin showing, in the area of Pinocchio's wrists. Those gloves should go further up the arm, or those long sleeves should come down further. And why is Pinocchio wearing long sleeves, anyway?
Chuck, yes...we were wearing our matching white oval masks! With time, we got used to wearing them, just as Michael Jackson's children probably got used to wearing their masks in public.
Here are the pics of my brother and me with Pinocchio and Honest John.
I should have mentioned that the Honest John pic is from a slide, taken in May of 1970. The Pinocchio pic is a Polaroid, from about one year later. Both photos were taken by my dad.
The Boy facing the camera is screening out his brother, who is busily picking Honest John's packet. Sister is, of course, distracting HJ while the deal goes down.
In the second pic, Pinoke has busted the sister (and HER sister) with the Granny Brigade, while the boys scrammed.
The park was rife with such crime until the introduction of the exploding animitronic ducks. Now there is peace...of a sort...
Spindlenocchio! She's a giant! Towering over Aunt Helga and Auntie Esmeralda who have just flown in from far off lands. The sod looks neat and tidy in the floral Mickey. Pushing a lawn mower on that slant I'm sure was delightfully enjoyable. I have just a slight grade and it is un-fun at best. J Worthington Foulfellow was a staple character in my day...along with his cohort Gideon. There must have been a re-release of Pinocchio during that time. I overheard many kids on many different days saying "Mommy WHO is THAT?"....or Mommy saying "kids...go stand next to the doggie" (pointing to the fox...). It looks like the concrete wall has been Zolatoned or something...some type of finish, or maybe it's just the sunlight. I thought that the plaque above the tunnel had always been a brass/bronze one...looks like it wasn't. I have an image of Walt's cursive writing correcting what it should say. I also have a reproduction in my yard on a gate leading to my little secret garden...with most guests saying "what does that MEAN?". I tell them to figure it out. Some people immediately get it, albeit very very few. It's sweet to see the little wooden bench around the tree. Not everything needs to be "fancy pants". Humility goes a long way. It is nice to see this area uncrowded and shaded...with characters roaming about. Had no idea you needed fast passes or a magic wand or whatever they call it to see a character now. How silly...and so not fun for the person inside the costume. Mr. Train guy is up there picking and poking around. It seems that they were always picking and poking around. I think on those trains you needed those very specific engineers...very much a class of their own, and not part of any particular pecking order. I honestly don't recall ever seeing them headed to the "regular" locker room, or even at the Inn Between...but perhaps my memory fails. Perhaps they parked at the Roundhouse, and worked short shifts? The Retlaw "normal" guys certainly were out and about everywhere. The younger ones hanging about my neck of the woods looking for pretty girls usually. I don't know if they had the same casting for those guys like the Monorail, but they did all kind of look the same. I like seeing the cattle car, but I am digging for a memory that being ON the cattle car had something weird with it...not sure...I always preferred any of the others, but for some reason when the cattle car came around I had a big "sigh" to go along with it. Have no idea.....thanks for the memories Major!
JW, Gideon and Pinoke were staples of several visits in my youth, I recall them around SBC and the Teacups.
Bu, yes, Zolatone. Looks good on the wall there.
Thanks Major!
JG
Mike Cozart (nice to hear from you!), are you saying that the girl has traveled through time?? You might not be surprised to hear that I noticed those posters in the tunnels as well! I know I’ve had a few photos with Lincoln posters visible, but it never occurred to me to look to see if they were the Walt Disney Story version! I may go back and take a look if I have time later today.
Nanook, yes, Honest John is good at what he does. “We can ride my donkeys down to the wharf!”. So convenient!
Mike Cozart, you’re right!
Lou and Sue, the way the park has changed is so strange, I don’t think anyone from 1973 could possibly imagine what would be going on in 2022. I still remember seeing Tigger standing on Main Street, with nobody taking a picture of him - at least for a few minutes!
TokyoMagic!, that hat with the Robin Hood patch reminds me of the hats that you see on veterans who served on an aircraft carrier, ha ha. Cool that you have photos of you and your brother with Pinocchio, Honest John, and Gideon! I wonder why they didn’t have a walk-around Jiminy Cricket, one of my all-time favorite Disney characters? As for Pinoke’s face, it is true, this isn’t the best version of that sculpt.
JB, patches on the knees of one’s trousers are cool, man, cool! I remember my mom using iron-on patches on the knees of my ripped pants when I was a kid, those patches were always stiff, and they inevitably would start to peel off after a wash or two. There is nothing better than smoking cigars, or basically filling your lungs with ANY smoke. And luckily it has been proven to have no ill effects ever! Nobody wants the “real boy” version of Pinocchio, even as a kid I thought he looked weird when he was all round and squishy. I think that I have heard that they did use women to play Pinoke, at least sometimes.
Lou and Sue, it’s true, that person is so tall it might be a guy. Maybe he even has hairy arms/wrists! Luckily I rarely eat breakfast, so we’re all good.
Chuck, I guess my brain is up to its old tricks, because I can easily see the cartoon Robin Hood on that patch. But now that you’ve said something, I can also make it into a human character. It seems hard to believe that there was a lot of park merch for “The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men”, but then again, they did have a brief “photo op” in front of the castle with those characters, so WHO KNOWS. I have an idea: “Robin Hood Meets KISS”. And also, “Anna and Elsa Meet KISS”. Basically Disney should make more movies with the band KISS. You make an interesting observation about the Skyway poster; they would have almost had to make a whole new design, since the Skyway Poster is so incredibly “1950s”. Speaking of posters, I was just looking at the poster for the 1952 movie, Robin Hood is shirtless and rocking a 6-pack. Kind of weird for a Disney movie!
Mike Cozart, good eye on that tunnel sign, it really does appear to be printed or painted lettering. Thanks for the info about the never-realized poster updates for the Autopia and the Skyway, I don’t think I ever knew about that. It’s funny how they reused designs for WDW that were LONG outdated, including the Skyway (as you mentioned) and even the Monorail poster with the Mark I style Monorail!
TokyoMagic!, Pinocchio has to wear long sleeves to cover up his offensive tattoos (that he got while on Pleasure Island). They originally tried using makeup to cover them, but that would rub off on children’s clothing. Thanks for the link to your photos, I would recognize you and your brother anywhere!
TokyoMagic!, I wonder if the Polaroid camera was rented at the camera shop on Main Street?
Stu29573, all of the best child pickpockets understand the value of distracting your “mark”. Falling down and pretending to skin your knee is always a good ploy! I hope those little girls enjoy their time in Disney Jail, with nothing to eat and drink but stale churros and warm Pepsi. “Why did I turn to a life of crime?”.
Bu, I’m thinking (like Sue) that the person portraying Pinocchio must be a guy this time. I have definitely seen Pinoke standing MUCH shorter than me. Same with Buzz Lightyear, I have a photo of me with Buzz, and I swear he is a foot shorter than I am. Maybe the lawn crew had a special lawn mower designed to mow lawns at a slant? Or they got Mr. Lincoln to do it at night. Young kids might not have recognized Pinocchio (or other characters), but somehow that wasn’t a big deal. They would learn. I have no idea what Zolatone is, but I’ll bet it sounds great. “Herman’s Hermits, now in Dynamic Zolatone!”. You can’t expect “regular people” to know what that entry sign is, I’m sure even some Disney fans wouldn’t know. If I worked on the Disneyland Railroad, I’d poke and pick too. I’d carry a big wrench and pretend to loosen and tighten things, and occasionally I’d say (in a stage whisper) “I hope she doesn’t blow up on this trip, Smitty!”. Give the kids a thrill.
JG, I have definitely seen Pinocchio multiple times, but don’t know if I ever saw Gideon or Honest John.
Major, when I saw him, Pinocchio had a tattoo...
JG
@ Bu & JG-
I was hoping the wall was coated in Tex-cote-!
JG, well, now you know what I'm talking about! That tattoo is very graphic.
Nanook, Tex-cote is ten times thicker than paint and more durable, and it keeps out the radio waves from Russia that go directly into one's head.
WHAT tattoo??
@Anonymous, it is a joke. No tats on Pinoke, same with the child pickpockets.
Major, Zolatone is a kind of "polka-dot" paint, It sounds like a Wile E. Coyote thing, but it is real. Most often used in automobile work, but it can be applied as an architectural finish also. https://www.zolatone.com/
Major and Nanook, that Tex-Cote was always being hawked at the County Fair, with a baseball bat in the bucket for a swizzle stick. So thick, I have no idea how they would apply it... that stuff would take direct fire, to say nothing of radio waves. Definitely the right thing for the retaining wall.
JG
In the meantime I had googled Pinocchio tattoo. Oh dear!
JG, the last time I saw Pinocchio, he was all tatted out. He also had multiple exoctic piercings.
Major, the Polaroid camera was my dad's. He had a nice 35mm camera (I can't think of the brand....my brother has it now), and he had a home movie camera, and he had the Polaroid. My mom said that he used to drive her crazy, because he would take at least two of the cameras along on most family outings and holiday gatherings. I'm glad that he did, because we have tons of family photos, as a result.
The exploding animatronic ducks are frighteningly real, however...
This comment was supposed to be posted almost 4 hours ago, but our power went off for 2 hours. Then it took another hour before I got my internet connection back. So...
Sue, if there IS a guy inside that costume, he must be extremely skinny; just a skeleton with skin draped over it. And fortunately, I already ate. :-p
Chuck, you're probably right about the 1952 Robin Hood figure on the hat. I didn't even know Disney made a Robin Hood movie before the fox-y one. Was the older movie animated as well? The figure on the hat definitely looks like an animated character but, like you said, not the fox.
Tokyo!, you and your brother look like twins with your white oval faces. How did your parents tell you apart?
Stu, I KNEW those exploding animatronic ducks were there for a good reason!
Major, I too wore patched jeans. I played in the mud, on my knees, a lot. And yes, everything you said about them is true: the stiffness, the peeling. I think my mom ironed the patches on the inside of the jeans. But because of their stiffness, you could see them from the outside a mile away. I was only 4 or 5 at the time, so I didn't care about things like that.
I had the same response to the "round and squishy" Pinocchio.
Anonymous, you googled Pinocchio tattoo?... Oh my. Now it's part of your google search history and you'll get bombarded with links to tattooed puppets for the rest of your life!
Tokyo!, The only tattoo I saw on Pinoke was his "Made in Italy" stamp. But it WAS in an 'exotic' area of his woodwork.
"...[T]he last time I saw Pinocchio, he was all tatted out. He also had multiple exotic piercings."
TM! As long as Pinocchio doesn't have those big holes in his earlobes. Whenever I go to a food establishment and see those, I truly do lose my appetite. I can handle the piercings, but not the huge gapping holes. Sorry, again, to anyone who's eating while reading this.
TM! again, I love those photos you shared. Even though you don't show your face (or your brother's), I can still picture two adorable, happy little boys.
Fun day, as always!
Tokyo!, you and your brother look like twins with your white oval faces. How did your parents tell you apart?
JB, that was easy. My brother was taller! ;-)
Sue, I agree about the big "gaping" holes. I don't really understand them. It seems like you can remove the jewelry from any other piercing (if you change your mind about it) and the hole will close up on it's own. But with those holes, you would need plastic surgery to close them up. How can someone be sure that they are going to want to have disfiguring holes like that, for the rest of their life? And what happens if they get the gaping hole "hooked" on something? In the 1970s, my grandfather saw a lady in a department store get her large metal hoop earring "hooked" on a clothing rack and it pulled the earring right through her ear! Can you imagine getting the gaping hole in your earlobe hooked on something like that?
JB, the 1952 Robin Hood was live action. It was the second film (after Treasure Island) Disney made in the UK with funds that were frozen there after the War.
Doggoneit, Sue! I read GDB over breakfast!
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