Disney Pins: Cinderella Castle Pin Print

It was bound to happen sooner or later.  As I was perusing Disney Musings Blog for a Saturdays With Nick selection, one of the items in Nick’s Disneyana collection looked familiar!  Black fame, white mat, combination of background picture and Disney pins!  I have that picture!  I remember where I got mine – and it wasn’t at Walt Disney World.  I got my picture from a friend at work who was having a garage sale, knew I loved Disney, and offered me the picture for what she paid for it.  I could tell she was somewhat reluctant to part with it and wanted the picture to go to a good home, so to speak.  So, for $15, I had my Cinderella Castle Pin Print delivered to me at my office.  Here’s Nick’s story…RM-Disney-Pin-Print-Cinderella-Mickey

Disney Pins: Cinderella Castle Pin Print

From: Nick

Off the Wall: Cinderella Castle Pin Print. I got this framed pin set from Walt Disney World a few years ago. I believe it was $14.95, with a $25 purchase at The World of Disney Store, in Downtown Disney. A wide selection of favorite Disney characters are illustrated here, with a few being represented in pin form.

 Pluto popping up in the foreground.

Tinker Bell over the castle.

Mickey Mouse shares center stage…

…with the castle’s namesake, Cinderella.

A pretty nice collectible at an affordable price!

See more of Nick’s Disneyana collection and follow the Disney travel adventures of Nick, Barbie and friends on your favorite social media sites:  Disney Musings Blog, on Twitter, on Facebook, On Instagram, On Pinterest.

Cinderella Tea Set & Movie Comments

RM-Cinderella-Tea-Set-BoxBack in February, long before the live action Cinderella movie opened, Raymond and I were very typically spending an evening at home watching TV and working on our respective computers; sharing companionable silence with an occasional comment on this or that.  I noticed something in my Facebook news feed that caught my eye and I turned my screen around to show Raymond the beautiful blue and white Cinderella Tea Set for sale through the Disney Store online.

Raymond, in his usual way, managed to convey volumes in as few words as possible.  His comment, as he studied the picture through his reading glasses was, “You need one.”  Haha, I thought.  Very funny.  I did then notice that the production number was 3000 and mentioned that it was a limited edition set and that it came with a steep price tag.  This time he looked at me over those reading glasses, one eyebrow raised, and said, “Get it.”

We have a few tea pots, but I wouldn’t really call them a collection.  Teapot 1I have two that are Disney, like this Dalmatian, and three others that were given to me as gifts and are all very beautiful.  I enjoy hot tea very much, but I certainly didn’t need this pricy Cinderella tea set.  I couldn’t stop thinking about it though.  It’s hard to hold out against temptation when I have Raymond’s encouragement to cave!

The box arrived a day before we left for Walt Disney World, so I didn’t have time to do anything but check to make sure the pieces were unbroken.  When we got home, I took the time to appreciate the beauty of both the box and its fragile contents more completely.RM-Cinderella-Tea-Set-Certificate-of-Authenticity2 RM-Cinderella-Tea-Set-Certificate-of-Authenticity1  RM-Cinderella-Tea-Set-BoxedI have to say, Raymond was right – this was a great purchase.  The certificate of authenticity is written in French on one side and English on the other.  The shape of the teapot is elegant, the cups and saucers dainty and beautiful.  Sadly, there are no cream and sugar servers in this set, but the gold design on a blue and white background is gorgeous and depicts many of the Cinderella movie’s best moments.RM-Cinderella-Tea-Set-Teapot RM-Cinderella-Tea-Set-Saucer RM-Cinderella-Tea-Set-Detail RM-Cinderella-Tea-Set-Cup

Speaking of the movie.  We didn’t see it on opening weekend due to prior commitments.  During the movie’s first week post-release, I read many ridiculous (to me) blog articles about this unexpectedly controversial film – one mother wrote an entire post on why she wouldn’t be taking her child to see Cinderella, basically because there are moments dealing with death and loss, moments dealing with unkind behavior, moments dealing with falling in love, moments dealing with people consuming (presumably) alcoholic beverages, playing card games, and so on and so forth.  When we finally got to see Cinderella this past Saturday morning, I had no idea what to expect!  All that drama over a fairytale?  Maybe Disney ruined the story!

Here’s my two cents:  This isn’t a movie for small children, but not because it deals with actual things that happen to people in real life or make-believe, magical things that don’t.  Small children may find the movie boring and the subtle parts of the film that I found touchingly beautiful might be outside a pre-school-aged child’s ability to understand.  One little one sitting near us in the theater (which was heavily packed with princesses under the age of 6), loudly exclaimed, “I hate this movie!” about halfway through.

Cinderella is visually stunning and true to the story I grew up with.  It also offers a modern touch that, while keeping the story timeless, allows us to see the characters in a deeper, more genuine way than the run-of-the-mill fairy tale usually offers.  The main lesson in the movie?  Be true to your convictions and your heart.  Love, kindness, and courage will help you prevail in the most difficult times, even when it’s impossible to understand what motivates others to be hurtful.  As far as a story’s moral goes, what could be wrong with that?RM-Cinderella-Tea-Set

 

 

Disney Vintage Vinyl – Cinderella

IMG_2518Dipping once again into Joseph’s vast collection of Disneyana, today I’ve chosen another album.  This delightful treasure from 1959 is the “Music from the Original Motion Picture Sound Track” for Walt Disney’s Cinderella.  “Featuring members of the original cast including Ilene Woods, Don Barclay, and Verna Felton.  Songs by Mack David, Al Hoffman, and Jerry Livingston.  Background music by Oliver Wallace and Paul J. Smith”.

Nine songs make up this LP – including my two favorite Cinderella songs:  “The Work Song”  (Jaq and Gus and the Mice) and “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo” sung by Verna Felton as Fairy God Mother.

Let’s talk about Verna Felton (July 20, 1890 – December 14, 1966 – yes – that is one day before the date Walt Disney passed away) for a minute.  Mrs. Felton enjoyed a long career (began performing publically at age 10) – first on stage and radio- before moving on to film.  She was well known (and in demand) for her distinctive voice and no-nonsense attitude.

IMG_2519You may have known this already, but I was surprised to find out just how many other Disney roles that Verna Felton also voiced beside Fairy Godmother in 1951:  Dumbo – 1941 (Elephant Matriarch),  Alice in Wonderland – 1951 (Voice of Queen of Hearts.  Sings “Who’s Been Painting My Roses Red”),  Lady and the Tramp – 1955 (Voice of Aunt Sarah.  Sings “Rock-a-Bye Baby”), Sleeping Beauty -1959 (voices of Flora and Queen Leah), and The Jungle Book – released after Mrs. Felton passed away, 1967 (Winifred the Elephant, sings “Colonel Hathi’s March”).

Okay – back to the record.  From the album cover’s reverse side:  “…Walt Disney has brought to life the beautiful Cinderella, her wicked step-mother and sisters plus that very funny and forgetful Good Fairy.  It is with the Good Fairy’s magical words “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo”, plus the talented brushes of the Disney artists, that we are able to travel at last into the dream world of Cinderella…”

Song List (Side One, songs 1-5 / Side Two, songs 6-9):

  1. Cinderella
  2. A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes (Ilene Woods)
  3. Oh Sing Sweet Nightingale (Ilene Woods)
  4. The Work Song (Jaq and Gus)
  5. A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes (Mouse Chorus)
  6. Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo (Verna Felton)
  7. Cinderella Arrives at the Ball (Orchestra)
  8. So This is Love (Ilene Woods)
  9. Finale (Orchestra and Chorus)

If you just have to have a copy of your very own – try eBay and Etsy.  Prices range from $5-$17.

 

Best Disney Christmas Gift for Little Girls

IMG_2326My eyes are always scanning for cool Disney items in stores.  This year while Christmas shopping I’ve seen quite a few great Disney gift items out there.  Today, though, I saw something that stopped me in my tracks!

At our local toy store (major national chain) , Raymond and I were battling the crowds to score the last few items on our list…as we were making our way up and down the aisles, I spotted this little treasure on an end-cap.  Disney fans!!!  If you have a little girl on your shopping list age 1-and-a-half to 5, you just go out right now and get them this.  I’m not in that age category and I came this close to buying it for myself.

Fisher-Price Little People Cinderella’s Winter Carriage.  Get this:  When the wheels on the carriage turn, it not only makes awesome sound effects – wait for it – Fairy God Mother sings Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!  With the horse and carriage, you get Cinderella and The Prince!  C’mon!  Who could ask for a better gift than that?

Sorry the photo’s not better – Raymond was literally laughing and dragging me away from the toy display while I took the picture.  Happy Shopping!