Eeyore & Pooh, August 1981
We all like to dress up like giant fuzzy cartoon characters (for "reasons"), but other people - the smart people - get paid to do it! I don't know if Disneyland was the first amusement park to have walk-around characters to meet and hug - probably not. But the Disney characters are iconic and beloved.
Who doesn't love Eeyore? Autocorrect wants to call him "eyesore", but he's not that bad. The tack holding his tail in has always been a source of unease for me, but maybe it helps me understand Eyesore's mournful demeanor. I think that kids have a natural desire to let Eyesore know that they love him.
And then there's Pooh! He doesn't have any emotional issues, in fact he's generally pretty cheerful, especially when wearing a jar of hunny on his head (wouldn't you be?). I believe that the 1980s were the beginning of "peak Pooh", when the bear's popularity grew and grew, until some people worried that he had eclipsed Mickey Mouse himself.
Or was this photo supposed to feature the lady with the mint-green pants?
7 comments:
Major-
"Eyesore", huh-? (I wonder if AI will finally put a stop to these annoyances caused by autocorrect-?)
As for Miss. mint-green pants - 'Sylvia' even strikes the perfect pose with her one, bent knee. (I wonder if she's between cigarettes-??) She reminds me of Alice Pearce - the 1st Gladys Kravitz on Bewitched.
Thanks, Major.
From this front view close-up, I can't tell what Eyesore's expression is. Woeful? Bashful? Or just kinda goofy. Those stitch marks (he IS a plushie after all) makes it look like he got ran over by a mountain bike.
Pooh looks especially happy here. (Maybe it's the end of his shift and he's looking forward to going home.) Did the CM look out of pooh's 'hunny' pot? I can't tell if mint-green lady is just amused, seeing Pooh, or if she's posing hammily (that's a word, right?) for the camera.
Character photos are always fun, and welcome. Thanks, Major.
It's interesting that even though these are dated August 1981, the 25th Anniversary banners are up in both photos. I'm pretty sure those all came down for the 1980 Christmas season, and never returned. I wonder if the photographer could have possibly waited 10 months or more, before developing his/her film?
JB, yes....the person in the Droopy Pooh costume would look out through the "Hunny" pot. The letters were cut out and filled in with screen material. Fun fact.....the "Hunny" pot was open on top, with just a single cross bar for mounting the bee on top. So guests could throw trash and other items into the pot, and it would end up on the head of the cast member inside.
1981. The first year I went to the East Coast park!
Ms. Mint Pants is featured in EVERY picture she happens to get in! Sort of my goal too...
I could never be a character because I have claustrophobia, which, as we all know, means fear of fur.
That kid with the Darth Vader shirt is looking for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, but he'll have to wait a few decades.
Yes, Pooh was very popular and still is. Remember Pooh for President? Piglet is my favorite from the Pooh-niverse though.
Thanks, Major.
I’ve always sympathized with Eeyore, since I had emotional issues too. I figured the tacked-on tail was a side effect of that.
I think Disney Pooh was popular even before the failed presidential bid. I had a book of the stories (from Scholastic Books) with the original illustrations, and Mom bought a little plush figure Pooh at Disneyland about that same time, mid 1960s.
The whole Pooh universe is a sad story overall, it brought enjoyment to millions of kids, and only sorrow to the real Christopher Robin.
Thanks for the pics, Major.
JG
Nanook, you have more faith in AI than I do. Ms. Mint Green really does appear to be striking a pose. She’s always “ready for her closeup”!
JB, I think Eyesore’s expression is open to interpretation. But “woeful” will do! Imagine being a CM with your head inside that Hunny jar for an hour. No thank you! Plus, no use of your arms, and what if your big toe itches?
TokyoMagic!, hmmm, good point, although I just scanned some slides that, based on one clue, look like two years might have passed between when they were taken and when they were developed (it has to do with the style of Autopia car). I suppose there were probably awful people (teenage boys?) who would actually do things like toss trash into the open top of Pooh’s hunny jar. “Let’s pour this bread bowl of hot chowder into the hunny pot!”. Sigh.
Stu29573, there is an east coast park?? Har har. So you have a “fear of fur”, but what about a “fear of fluff”? I couldn’t find anything exact, but Google says that “sidonglobophobia” is fear of cotton or cotton balls.
K. Martinez, ha, I didn’ even notice the Darth Vader shirt! This wasn’t long after the release of “The Empire Strikes Back”. I do remember “Pooh for President” and just scanned some photos of a PfP parade!
JG, when you think about it, it was quite a strange concept for A.A. Milne to include a character that is so depressed. Definitely not standard kid-lit fodder. I understand why kids love Pooh, particularly the Disney version; but it did feel wrong to have his popularity eclipse Mickey’s.
Post a Comment