Category Archives: Disney at Home

Disney CD Set: The Music Behind the Magic

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This week’s Saturdays With Nick takes us once more to an item in Nick’s amazingly fantastic collection of all things Disney.  How I would love to get my eyes (and ears) on this in person!

Disney CD Set: The Music Behind the Magic

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by: Nick

Released in 1994 by Walt Disney Records, “The Music Behind the Magic: The Musical Artistry of Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice” is a four CD set highlighting the creative evolution behind the music of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin.
The set includes demos, tape recordings, final recordings, and unreleased master recordings of some of the most beloved music in Disney history.

The book and CD case are both cloth bound.

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The word genius gets tossed around waaaay too often these days when it comes to music.
If you want to hear musical genius unfold before your ears, one needs only to listen to these CDs.

The first 2 discs show how 2 men, Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, in my humble and honest opinion, saved the Walt Disney Company. The impression I get is The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast were written around the lyrics to these songs.
Really.
The third disc shows how amazingly fortuitous it was that they found Tim Rice to help complete the music for Aladdin after Howard Ashman’s untimely passing. Rice’s lyrics meld seamlessly in with Ashman’s.
Some of my favorite material from this set is hearing Ashman and Menken’s Little Mermaid Demos. It’s just amazing to hear Ashman do different character voices. The standout for me being his Ursula.
This set also comes with a wonderful book that looks at this creative period in the rejuvenation of Walt Disney’s animation department.

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Track Listing, on Amazon.

You can read all about Nick, his wife, Barbie, and their passion for all things (and places) Disney: Disney Musings Blog / Disney Musings on Twitter / Disney Musings on Instagram / Disney Musings on Facebook

Disney Around the House

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RM-Dalmation-Tea-PotIf you’ve been visiting here a while, you might remember when I talked about adding a little Disney to your day.  Being the Disney fans that we are, we do tend to accumulate a few Disney collectibles here and there.  I know guests to our home (who know us at all) probably expect to see a lot more Disney than there actually is…Don’t get me wrong!  It’s pretty much everywhere, but it’s not as prevalent (or overt) as one might expect.  You mostly have to be looking to see it all – but love each and every item we do!  And, in the future, there will be more…of course, there will be more.

Disney Around the House

If you’re going to live in an empty Disney nest, I recommend you surround yourself with at least a few special objects, strategically placed, to bring you peaceful Disney happiness during those times when the chicks who have flown the nest are in low-maintenance mode.  These are the times you can most enjoy a carefully crafted home environment sans drama (while constantly checking the days on your Disney vacation count-down app).  I’ve been experiencing just such an interlude recently and have been thinking about adding a few more pixie-dusted touches here and there.  First let’s talk about what we’ve already got & maybe you can help me decide which of our new Disney prints I should have framed next.

RM-Mary-Poppins-PrintCome in through the front door and you’ll notice the Mary Poppins-inspired print Joseph gave Raymond for Christmas.  No pics of the living room or dining room which are both Disney-décor free (for now), but in the kitchen – which is certainly the heart of our home – you’ll notice the most Disney love.

RM-Remy-PrintThe Remy Print we, in a crazy moment of Disney happiness, purchased on a Disney cruise a few years back is near our kitchen table.  RM-Mickey-Dinner-PlateOf course we have Disney dishes – including (not pictured) salad plates in both white and red.  RM-Disney-Mugs RM-Disney-Juice-GlassesWe have some Mickey dish towels and a spoon holder, a Haunted Mansion bottle stopper, and, of course, a selection of Disney coffee mugs and juice glasses.  RM-Disney-Cookie-JarThe Disney cookie jar currently stores packets of hot cocoa mix.  RM-Mickey-TrayMickey is always around, ready to lend a hand!

RM-Pirates-PrintThe Pirates picture Megan gave me for Christmas is in our upstairs TV room.  RM-Disney-Curio-CollectionIn our library is our curio of all small Disney collectibles.  RM-Disney-Junk-DrawerAnd we even have a Disney junk-drawer for storing some of our pins and new Christmas ornaments (wrapped in tissue paper) that haven’t been added formally to the Disney holiday collection.

Raymond and I picked up a couple-few (that’s the technical term here in the South for two to six items) more prints that we haven’t yet framed.  RM-Disney-Kitchen-PrintsCurrently we’re in pre-vacation penny-pinching mode, but when we get back, I want to have one or two of these framed & located in their as-yet-undecided places of honor.  We have two kitchen prints (from Food and Wine Festival shopping) featuring Goofy and Donald.  RM-Disney-Mickey-PrintA new Mickey picture.  RM-Ursula-PrintAnd Ursula who will look absolutely fantastic in our upstairs bathroom.  Which one(s) should we start with?

Do you decorate Disney-style?  What are your favorite pieces?

 

 

Ten Disney Moms and Why They’re Great

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Helen Parr and JackJackToday is Mother’s Day – a great time to appreciate your mom and enjoy be appreciated as a mom (as the case may be).  Nearly all of the Disney Facebook and Twitter folks I follow will have mom-related posts in honor of the occasion.  Me?  I’m taking the day off.  And I’m sure it will be great!  Megan and Joseph are certain to put in an appearance and family time is the best time!

Seeing all those mom tributes, though, makes me think about some of my favorite moms of the Disney variety.  Disney movies often have important mom roles – although in a lot of cases, the role is filled by someone other than a character’s biological mother.  Those, unfortunately, often meet with an early demise…what is up with that, anyway?  Whatever kind of mom they are, there’s a group of Disney moms I think deserve to be celebrated.  What better time than Mother’s Day?

Ten Disney Moms and Why They’re Great:

10. Kala:  Yes, she’s an ape, but she rushed to rescue human little Tarzan from certain doom!  Then she loved him as much as any mother possibly could.  She’s absolutely phenomenal as a mom.

9. Mrs. Jumbo:  Back in the days when storks brought babies, Dumbo’s mom was completely and totally smitten with her big-eared arrival.  Who could ask for a better mother than that?  Don’t we all have our moments of feeling the unlovable misfit?Mrs. Jumbo

8. Bambi’s Mother:  Okay – granted, she wasn’t around for long, but made the ultimate sacrifice.  After loving and bonding with her darling baby, she knows what will happen if the hunters find Bambi and makes the ultimate sacrifice.  So sad!

7. Andy’s Mom:  Andy may or may not have had a dad around, but no matter, his mom totally rocks!  She supported Andy’s make-believe world, took him to Pizza Planet, and got him all the latest and greatest toys – what kid could ask for more?

6. Eleanor (Merida’s Mother):  Not sure I could forgive my kid for seeking out a witch, buying a spell with an important piece of jewelry, and turning me into a bear (along with my other children!) – this lady is certainly more woman than I could ever hope to be – seriously, if Merida had been my kid, not so sure she would have gotten off so easily – so, cheers to the forgiving and patient mothers everywhere!

Mrs. Potts and Chip5. Mrs. Potts:  Survives becoming china with all her offspring – Mrs. Potts is just as sweet and motherly as she can be!  Wow!  I’m a little bit jealous of her ability to remain calm under any circumstance.  Oh, and that voice!  Nobody makes you feel more loved than Angela Lansbury!

4. Coral (Nemo’s Mom):  First, points to Coral for even marrying Marlin in the first place – I’m pretty sure his OCD/worry-wart tendencies had to have been evident prior to tying the knot and would have been a deal-breaker for me.  Then…whoa!  Using herself as bait to keep certain death from claiming every one of her children.  That’s a MOM!  Luckily for her, Marlin figures out in the end how to be as great parent as Coral could have hoped for.

3. Frigga:  Thor and Loki’s mom clearly loved both her children (in all their imperfect beauty, arrogance and vulnerability) exactly the same – she was the epitome of maternal adoration to the very end – her end.  Managing to save virtually everyone else.  Excellent demonstration of maternal goddess-ness!

2. Nani Pelekai:  After losing both of her parents, Nani takes on the upbringing of both Lelo AND Stitch.  She could easily have played the “I’m too young for so much responsibility” card and opted out.  But no, Nani’s willing to do whatever it takes to honor her parents and keep Lelo by her side – even when things get really tough.

1. Helen Parr:  Tough, loving, caring, and, above all, flexible (ha!), this mom to Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack is the very best sort of mom – always rooting for her family, even when they seem determined to let her down.  Of all the Disney moms mentioned here today, Helen is the closest to who I’d like to be if I could be a Disney mom.

Well, there you have it – Living a Disney Life’s salute to Disney mothers everywhere!

Who made your top ten list?

 

 

 

A Visit to the New York World’s Fair – Book From Disney History

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1964 World's Fair PlateTime for another post from our friend, Nick.  Regular visitors to this site already know how I’m connected to the 1964 World’s Fair – I was THERE!  Well…sort of.  See, my parents took my brother and sisters to the fair.  I was…under construction, so to speak, and wouldn’t make my debut until November, 1964.  Know what that means?  Yup, you guessed it – I arrived in the same year as legendary Disney classics like Carousel of Progress and It’s a Small World!  That makes this particular treasure in Nick’s collection especially meaningful to me…enjoy!

A Visit to the New York World’s Fair – Book From Disney History

by: Nick

Fans of all things Disney will no doubt know of the importance of the 1964 New York World’s Fair on the Disney Theme Parks. It is at this fair, for which Disney created 4 shows, that the “Audio-Animatronics” and “People Mover” ride systems were designed and perfected.
The fair opened 50 years ago, April 22nd.

When I saw this children’s book at the Flea Market a couple of years ago, I picked it up, curious to see if any of the Disney pavilions would be included.

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By Mary Pillsbury, illustrated by Catherine Barnes. Published by Spertus Publishing Company in 1964.

Lovely illustrations. Still trying to find some Disney.

And there it was, a piece of Disney history illustrated in this great book.

Ford Motors presented “Ford’s Magic Skyway” a WED (now Imagineering) designed pavilion. It included an early prototype of what would become the People Mover ride system. The ride moved the audience through scenes featuring life-sized audio-animatronic Dinosaurs and cavemen.

Indeed, the book even refers to this as “a Walt Disney wonderland of Past, Present and Future”.

These same Dinos can still be seen today in Disneyland’s Railroad Primeval World diorama.

But wait, there’s more!

Next came a look at “Small World”!

At the Pepsi Pavilion, “Pepsi Presents Walt Disney’s It’s a Small World – a Salute to UNICEF and the World’s Children” (whew!) was featured. I think we are all familiar with “It’s a Small World”, but if not, it features animated dolls representing the world’s children and animals, and a song by the Sherman Brothers which, if you’ve started to hum it will be stuck in your head all day now.

“In each country they passed, thanks to Walt Disney, they saw animated figures of children dressed in picturesque costumes-and there were even the right animals for each country!”

And how much did I pay for this little “time machine”? $1.00!