I spun around until I was dizzy, and picked two slides out of a Tiffany favrile glass bowl. Yes, I broke the bowl because I was so dizzy, but that's beside the point. One slide was a Blurzle! It is dated "August 1965", and could have been a nice and unusual "you are there" Pack Mule perspective, but it's hard to take a clear picture from the back of an oscillating mule. That's why Ansel Adams stopped taking his large-formate photos of Yosemite from the backs of animals. Good move, Ansel. Nearby, a delightful Mine Train disgorges its passengers, with the help of a friendly Redshirt.
I'm still sore about breaking that bowl! This next slide is from July 1964, with a too-dark photo of the Matterhorn. You just know that this was a brilliantly-sunlit scene, and yet... this was what we get. Did cameras have auto-exposure in 1961? Maybe Disneyland should do a Halloween overlay of the Matterhorn, it looks so gloomy here. How about a big Chernabog figure on top?? Maybe he could emerge at night!
Here's Chernabog, for those of you who need reminding.
Major-
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to hear confirmation on the Ansel Adams story. Fact-checking is SO important these days.
Thanks, Major.
Thank goodness you didn't put your slides in one of your Fabergé eggs! I mean, yeah, you could have put them in one of your less spectacular eggs; no big loss there. And you can always salvage the jewels from the broken bits.
ReplyDeleteI hate it when mules oscillate! (It's so embarrassing.) Still, it's better than seeing them masticate, especially in public. Perhaps the blurriness was due to an incorrect distance setting on the camera, because the foreground seems to be almost in focus.
With the Matterhorn being so dark, it's hard to tell what color the Gondolas are: Blue and green? Black and aqua? On the plus side, the darkness does make the Mountain look larger and more real.
Looking at the Chernabog photo, I just noticed that his wings don't really make anatomical sense. In theory, each of the 'ribs' in his wings would represent a modified finger, like on a bat, or a pterodactyl. That's not happening here.... But he's still scary as heck!
Interesting photos, Major. Even if they are Blurzly and Snoozly.
That lead mule rider is wearing a Wonder bread bag on her body—and a tree on her head. Quite the fashion statement.
ReplyDeleteThese are fun pictures, Major, thank you.
Sue, I think in the past, there have been "flour sack dresses," and also "trash bag dresses." Maybe that little girl's mom specialized in "bread bag blouses"!
ReplyDeleteDon't give them any ideas, Major. We'd get Chernabog on the Matterhorn from July through November, with lengthy rehabs at each end. And in the end he'd just catch fire anyway.
ReplyDeleteI'm not fancy so I had to look up favrile, which I know the look of, but didn't know it had a name. That rabbit hole was quite interesting and took me to another rabbit hole: looking at the mural "Dream Garden" (1916) made out of 100,000 pieces of favrile glass, and designed by Maxfield Parrish. It still is around in Philadelphia. I thought Major wanted to say "favorite"...and Apple wants to spell check it to that...so my curiosity got the better of me for a half an hour. The name actually was "fabrile" meaning handcrafted, but Tiffany changed it to "favrile" as it sounded better. Now on to mules and mine trains. I get not having the mules anymore, but they do add some tactile authenticity to Frontierland: now a kind of a shell of it's former self. I like Big Thunder, but my old school ways want to go back to the days of the Mine Train, the Golden Horseshoe and a shopping trip to Pendleton while hearing the "ping ping ping" of the shooting gallery. Add some stagecoaches and conestoga wagons in there too: even though I suppose they aren't officially "TRE", as they were exited in Walt's time. Chernabog was a wee scary, but I could only sit through Fantasia once, and as an adult. Although it is a visual masterpiece, it's a long one. My aunt did Le Rossignol under Stravinsky...and had his signed photo in her music studio...as a kid I suppose you just see these things as "auntie going to work", and are more interested in the ice cream for breakfast that you would be spoiled with. As always, I should have asked more questions. Thanks Major for the many rabbit holes, and hope everyone enjoys the unofficial beginning of winter as Daylight Savings Time ends.
ReplyDeleteThe Mine Train pic is top notch, I was there just a month later in September 1965, but we were out of color film.
ReplyDeleteMajor, “favrile” sounds much like “febrile” which sounds also appropriate for a giant demon on top of the Matterhorn. Sorry about your bowl.
I was thinking about Chernabog yesterday too, wondering why “Night on Bald Mountain” doesn’t figure more prominently in Disney’ Halloween festivities. Seems like a natural, but I think Chuck explains it pretty well.
Thanks for these pics, very good today.
JG
Nanook, someday I may relay the story of how Ansel Adams invented the Dorito.
ReplyDeleteJB, keeping slides with Fabergé Easter eggs is an excellent suggestion, and I will consider combining them. Mules tend to oscillate more as they prepare to molt their skins, so be warned. I’m unfamiliar as to how old cameras worked, I guess it depended on how “automatic” they were. Yeah, don’t even try to figure out the colors of the gondolas, it will drive you mad. Madder? Your mistake with the picture of Chernabog is that the wings are not modified finger appendages. Rather, they are modified toe appendages.
Lou and Sue, the Wonder Bread colorful dots is one of the greatest examples of graphic design ever! For some reason those dots (on the dress) remind me of the old game “Twister”, a game I never liked.
TokyoMagic!, the more clothing made of trash, the better! It’ll happen too, you know how those crazy fashion designers are.
Chuck, you make several good points. I was thinking that an inflatable Chernabog might work, but wasn’t the Fantasmic dragon inflatable? There’s also wind to consider, imagine a local waking up one morning to find a giant Chernabog in their front yard.
Bu, I’ve always wanted to see that Maxfield Parrish mosaic in Philadelphia… it shows up in the movie “The Sixth Sense” in the background of a key scene. I used to really be “into” Parrish, though perhaps my admiration has cooled just a little. I still love the old-fashioned fairy tale subjects of his work, though. My mom was a fan of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s work, so I know my Favrile glass! I agree, the mules just wouldn’t work in today’s Frontierland. Where the heck would they go? It’s all too covered with roller coasters and splash rides. Losing the Stagecoaches and Conestoga Wagons for the Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland was a reasonable trade-off, though of course I wish I could have experienced those old coaches and wagons. They were gone before I was born.
JG, at least you have a black and white photo… I have NOTHING! I had to look up “febrile”, I’m ashamed to say. If I use it five times today in casual conversation, it will become part of my vocabulary. So far no circumstances have presented themselves. My theory is that Chernabog is just a bit too “devilish” to appear in American parks, some people would have strong objections. I could be wrong though.
Sue & TokyoMagic!
ReplyDeleteThat little girl/lead mule rider's favorite Beginner Book at that time was "Put Me in the Zoo" by Robert Lopshire.
An exceptional perspective of the Mine Train from the mules. This is a rare one Major!! KS
ReplyDeleteJG, at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic KIngdom in WDW, Chernabog forms the backdrop for the final float which holds Maleficent and the Evil Queen. I always wonder how many people recognize him. Not sure if he's featured in any of the Halloween festivities at Disneyland, though.
ReplyDeletePete, I haven't seen that character at Disneyland, or for that matter, any of the Fantasia characters, but that might not mean much since I don't go often and try to avoid Halloween when possible. Maybe the WDW appearance is included in Anaheim.
DeleteJG
Actually, the European "Night on Bald Mountain" makes a bit more sense on the Swiss Matterhorn than the Tibetan Yeti who's been prowling it for years.
ReplyDeleteDBenson, I agree. The Yeti is a little far afield in Switzerland. Maybe he is on vacation?
DeleteJG
I think everyone agrees the Abominable Snowman makes no sense on the Matterhorn...and yeti's still there...
DeleteTokyoMagic! There were also women's paper dresses from the 1960s. I remember seeing them on a rack in Baskins (an upscale clothing store), as a kid.
ReplyDeleteMajor, I'm now chuckling at the thought of all of us playing Twister. No one would be able to get up.
Ken M., I remember "Put Me in the Zoo" -- from my childhood! I just looked online and see that the author wrote a few different books with that polka-dotted critter. BTW, Princess Diana made polka dots popular in the 80s....I remember wearing them then.
Chuck, I'm not even going to acknowledge your last comment. I don't want to encourage you.
;o)