It's a Small World, December 1973
I'm sure you recall a recent series of photos that I shared (in two parts) featuring the Country Bear Jamboree. Well, that same photographer snapped ten photos inside "It's a Small World". Processing costs be damned! They aren't the greatest images, but they get the job done. As usual, I like to use the "Small World" album narrated by Winston Hibler as my guide.
First up, I believe that these are the folks dancers from Scandinavia. We’re greeted first by a chorus of Scandinavian children, while young ice skaters whirl and glide.
Up ahead, we can see bits of several tableaus, including England (to our right), Ireland, and the Holland. Shout out if you recognize more!
And now near London Bridge, the English children sing to us.
And... we're now approaching the Emerald Isle, where the Wee Folk serenade us on their beautiful Irish harp.
I always liked this scene - possibly because I remembered it vividly from my Viewmaster reels. Little Dutch boys and girls seated on tulips click their wooden shoes gaily to the rhythm of the song.
I posted these in the order based on the numbers printed on the slides, and it appears that we skipped quite a few countries. But we are now in Bali: A many-armed golden goddess, silhouetted in a temple door, reigns over the beautiful land of Bali. Looking a bit like delicious birthday cakes, Balinese umbrellas shelter a variety of dancers and musicians. And one grinning Bengal tiger!
Maybe I mis-numbered the slides, because the bearskin-hatted trumpeters of Tivoli certainly shouldn't follow Bali, and yet... here we are. Rewinding a bit, the album mentions a squad of toy soldiers as they strike up the band.
That's it for part one. Stay tuned for part deux! I'll try to pay more attention to the order of the scans.
15 comments:
The silhouetted Balinese goddess was always one of my favorite parts of the show. I've been fascinated by Balinese shadow puppets for decades and I love how they animated her here; simple, but graceful and exotic.
It's too bad the focus is off a bit off on these, I would've liked to see more fine detail. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers. And besides, the soft focus gives them a dreamy appearance.
I know some people don't care for IASW... don't care AT ALL! But I find it charming and enchanting. And it's nice to be enveloped in goodwill and friendship for a few minutes, given the state of the world. Thanks, Major.
Air conditioning made this ride all the more lovable.
Thanks as always Major P
Hmmm, I wonder if Winston Hibler got it wrong. Or I guess, it would be the script he was given that was wrong. Is London Bridge in It's A Small World? I don't remember ever seeing it. But Tower Bridge is.
Hey the photographer didn't take a picture of the children of Franistan!
You can just make out the plaid hills of Scotland at the extreme right of the second photo. I’ve always loved that whimsical detail.
It didn’t occur to me that the Balinese goddess was supposed to be a shadow puppet until I was on the downhill slope of my 20s (and that didn’t hit me until after a trip to Thailand, which also has a shadow puppet tradition). I had always assumed it was just another imaginative medium used by the Imagineers to show another culture. It had never occurred to me that that imaginative medium had actually been borrowed from that culture.
TM!, London Bridge originally was in it’s a small world, but it fell down.
TM!, London Bridge originally was in it’s a small world, but it fell down.
My Fair Lady!
TM!, the collapse may have been Disney's revenge after being denied the 1964 Academy Award™ for Best Picture.
Chuck, you may be on to something. Maybe Julie Andrews was also involved, because she was rejected for the role which she had originated on Broadway.
I couldn't call these officially Blurzles (tm) as the content is good: they all have the Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds camera filter on. Pre-Employment: I was completely obsessed with this ride...in Employment I was "too cool for school" and the cool kids did not partake in the Small World Love Club. Later in employment I was able to tune the entire ride out after hundreds and possibly thousands of times through it. Later in life I have appreciated more and more the artistry and mid century time capsule this Mary Blair production involves. When the background and ceiling are blacked out: the show is so much better. I never liked seeing the ceiling tiles: and some of them were water stained etc. There would always be a few balloons stuck on the ceiling as well. When you don't watch the show: you stare at the ceiling. I have more than a few funny stories about "it's a small world" (lower case) that I have babbled on before about. The best way to enjoy the ride is to ride it with someone who has never seen it...then it all becomes very magical again. The perfect blend of song, score and visual content. Please do not add any more Disney IP please. It takes away. It does not add. Thank you. and thanks Major.
I guess I’m weird because I’ve always liked IASW, and especially the song.
I’ve never understood the chess pieces in England. I read somewhere they were not in the Worlds Fair version and were added when the show was moved. Designs by Rolly Crump. I like them, just don’t understand how they are English. Are they metaphors for the Windsors?
Major, I’m happy to have these photos, even if out of sequence a little. Your using the album narrative helps too, thank you!
JG
For being interior shots from the 1970's, these pics are pretty darn good.
IASW is such a repeatable ride because there is so much to see in detail. It's a Walt Disney era masterpiece of sorts. Believe it or not, I love the IASW song as well.
Thanks, Major.
@ TM!-
"Hey the photographer didn't take a picture of the children of Franistan!" Hey - quit pulling our legs-! You know perfectly well the only way the Maharincess would allow Franistan's inclusion into iasw was if Babalu could be heard while passing thru that portion of the ride. And that was a non-starter-!
Thanks, Major.
The ride is enjoyable until you're bumping boats waiting for the unload area for 10 minutes. It happens quire a bit at WDW, I don't know if it's a regular occurrence at DL - I've only been on it once there with no unload delay.
Although I enjoy the "flooded room" styling (and no added Disney IP) WDW version more than DL's, the exterior is infinitely better at DL, of course.
JB, I have always liked the silhouetted dancer (goddess?) too, and wanted a better look, I’m not sure how much the silhouette actually moves - it seems pretty limited, but I guess is “enough”. I agree, it stinks that these aren’t a bit sharper, but them’s the breaks. I’ve said it before, but I have always enjoyed IASW, and think that those that hate it are dopes.
walterworld, the AC definitely does not hurt!
TokyoMagic!, Winston Hibler was probably on LSD. I don’t think London Bridge is in the ride, it wasn’t very visually striking. As you know, everyone thinks that the Tower Bridge is London Bridge.
Chuck, seeing these photos takes me back to the days when I would listen to my IASW album on my little portable record player, and I’d look at the full-color booklet inside - it really took me there! I can’t remember when I first learned about the shadow puppets, but always thought it was a cool idea. I’d love to see an actual puppet show, though it would probably be incomprehensible to me.
TokyoMagic!, um… Camelot! (We’re naming famous musicals, right?)
Chuck, has a Disney movie ever won Best Picture, even now? If only there was a way to look such things up.
TokyoMagic!, they should have made a movie in which Julie Andrews and Audrey Hepburn have to fight. Bare knuckle!
Bu, ha ha, poor Liz, she was so beautiful in her day, it must have been rough to get old. She seemed like a pip though (as my grandfather would have said). I’ve explained this before, but it was so fun to ride IASW with my 8 year-old niece, she was blown away by the look of the scenes, and somehow already knew the song, maybe they sang it in her school, so she sang along. It was very cute! I’d like to someday see one of the later version of the ride with the “flooded room” look, but… who knows.
JG, I agree, I never really “got” the chess pieces either, except that there is a King and a Queen (etc). I don’t know if they were in the World’s Fair version of the ride, though there is color footage of it from a “Wonderful World of Color” episode, probably easily found online.
K. Martinez, the one time I got to talk to Tony B., he himself was complaining about the removal of details. “Do you know how many flying carpets there are supposed to be?”. “No?”. “FIVE! Now there are two!” (or something like that).
Nanook, I sure wish I found "that show" remotely funny.
Dean Finder, true, it is a bummer when the boats back WAY up. I’ve had that in “Pirates” too, stuck in the burning town for a surprisingly long time. Other than the fact that the WDW version has the “flooded room”, is it otherwise basically the same?
Major, the WDW version of the ride is exactly the same as the Disneyland version, with the notable exception of the elements that are completely different.
You know perfectly well the only way the Maharincess would allow Franistan's inclusion into iasw was if Babalu could be heard while passing thru that portion of the ride.
Nanook, I wonder if she would have settled for "In Santiago, Chile" playing in the South American section?
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