July 1957 Batch, Pt. 4

Back in 1957, it was practically illegal not to have your photo taken in front of the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant. Many miss this Fantasyland icon (myself included), but one of my friends recently said to me, “I don’t get it? A pirate ship restaurant with tuna sandwiches?” Okay...so we just agree to disagree. But I digress...

One reader asked about the print on the underside of the umbrellas; here's a closeup. I do not believe these are reproductions of the attraction posters.



Two of the lovely ladies in our group also pose for the obligatory (albeit shaky) photo:



I would guess that an adult took this shot, as the camera seems to be much steadier!



For our last shot, I leave you in front of Storybook Land, where we will continue our next episode in this series. And don’t even think about taking this woman’s souvenir guide book. She knows how much it will be worth in the future and she’s not parting with it.



Today is the day that Disney/Pixar‘s “UP” is being released on Blu-ray and DVD.



I REALLY really really really cannot stress enough just how wonderful this film is. The storytelling in the first 11.5 minutes of the movie was enough to move me to tears...BOTH times I watched it. Even just hearing the theme song in my head (thank goodness not another Randy Newman score!) is enough to get me emotional just thinking about this movie. If you haven’t seen it, GET IT NOW! Just a few fun facts about this movie for you to enjoy:



Carl: In Up, Carl Fredricksen's hometown is Bloomington, PD, which the sharp eye may be able to spot on Carl's mail. The fictitious location is a nod to director Pete Docter (PD), whose own hometown is Bloomington, Minnesota. The distance from that part of Minnesota to Angel Falls is 3,268 miles. Carl Fredricksen's last name came from relatives of director Pete Docter. Carl Fredricksen is so stylized that he's only three heads high. Most people are about seven heads tall. Director Pete Docter animated Carl in the last scene of the film.

Ellie: Ellie is named after and voiced by Pete Docter's daughter, Elizabeth “Elie” Docter. She also drew some of the pictures in the adventure book.

Russell: One of Russell's merit badges is the Luxo Jr. ball. He also has a badge for 2D Animation, Toe Touching, Knot Tying, and many others. Jordan Nagai was 7-years-old when he was cast as Russell.

Muntz: Muntz's jacket is the first time in Pixar history where a cloth garment is made of fur. No CG animals were harmed.

Dug: Dug's Greek dog pack name was Lambda. Dug is voiced by Up’s co-director, Bob Peterson.

Kevin: Kevin is 13-feet tall. Director Pete Docter voices some of the bird noises for Kevin. Pixar created new feather technology just for Kevin, but it's used three other places as well: Ellie's parrot, a feather duster, and the feathers on Muntz's wall. Kevin's design is based on many birds, including an ostrich (legs), cassowary (feather shapes), Monal pheasant (feather iridescence), heron and other large birds (behavior), toucan, quail, and peacock (beak and "dongles" on its head).• During the production of Up, the Animation Department produced an average of 4 seconds of animation a week.

• “UP” has 330 characters and variants.
• The aviator cap is worn eight times in the movie.
• Paradise Falls is based on the world-famous Angel Falls in Venezuela. Up’s version is 1.8 miles tall or 9,700 ft., which is almost three times higher than Angel falls which stands at 3212 ft.
• To walk from the location where Carl and Russell first arrive on the tepui to the top of Paradise Falls would require a 14.5 mile trek. It's about 6.75 miles across to the nearest tepui when they look out across the landscape.
• Pixar had a group of live ostriches come to the studio for reference for Kevin. The ostriches belonged to veterinarian Dr. James Stewart. The Art Department took a field trip to his farm where he also kept zebras.
• There are 10,297 balloons lifting Carl's house.
• Pixar consulted with an architect to learn about home foundations to make the lift off of Carl's house more believable.
• All of the crowd dogs were actually a single dog based on Beta, tweaked around in shape and groom to look like a pack of 50.
• The Spirit of Adventure is a dirigible, a rigid airship, and not a blimp, which has no rigid frame. It is much larger than any dirigible ever built.
• The Spirit of Adventure is 3,061 ft. long, which is 3.8 times longer than the Hindenburg.
• The knots connecting Russell's rope between the garden hose and his backpack on the tether are real usable knots. There is a rolling hitch used to secure the rope to the garden hose, and three-half-hitches connecting the rope to the carabineer on his backpack. Both of these knots would have been something that Russell learned as a Wilderness Explorer.

And don’t forget “Monsters, Inc.,” also being released today for the first time on Blu-ray.

See more Disneyland Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship photos at my website.