It's not difficult to see the happiness that Walt is feeling as his dream becomes a reality. Here he is cavorting with the mechanical hippos that will be an integral part to the Jungle River Cruise in Adventureland. From the publicity blurb:
NAME: WALT DISNEY AND FRIENDS
PROGRAM: DISNEYLAND NO. 38 "FANTASYLAND - A Further Report on Disneyland and A Tribute to Mickey Mouse."
TIME: WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 1955; 7:30-8:30 PM (NYT)
Walt Disney turns on his famous charm in an attempt to befriend a pair of half-completed life-sized mechanically animated hippos, who live in Adventureland, part of the Disneyland Park under construction in Anaheim, Calif.
A previously posted shot of the hippos being put into place:
Today, the hippos still charm guests every day at Disneyland:
See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland Jungle Cruise photos at my regular website.
Fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
JG
Nobody ever writes about MY hippos.
ReplyDeleteMajor: If I could insert a Debbie Downer sound effect here for you, I would.
ReplyDelete;)
Well they are a big members of the cast. Maybe he was thinking, with an alligator they already had and an ostrich, he could do a parody of the ballet parody in Fantasia...
ReplyDeleteDave I was thinking of the Walt and Joan Crawford pic, not that hippos remind me of Joan Crawford, but anyway. His view of Joan was probably different from mine. Where I think of the later roles, Walt's formative picture of her would have been as a flapper, wouldn't it? Back in the later 1920s. That puts a bit more of a gee whiz to it for him.
Chiana - It is difficult for some to think of Joan C without thinking of Mommie Dearest, but back in the 50s, she was a highly respected actress. As she got older, she also spoke out against actresses (namely marilyn monroe) who flaunted their sexuality. I can see where she and Walt would have been peers who admired how each succeeded in their fields.
ReplyDeleteYes she was. Pretty much from post-war through the '50s she was one of the Serious Stars iykwim. Did she ever have a long and amazing career. I was thinking of the most recent thing I saw her in: late flapper time in 'Gotta Feelin' For You' from That's Entertainment. But Walt would've seen her whole career from start on where I saw her in reverse. Plus he would naturally be more aware of the career side, Pepsi Co etc than most so I'm sure he did have a lot of admiration.
ReplyDeleteAt second glance, that one hippo does have the biggest potamus I've ever seen.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Joan Crawford movie is TROG! from 1970. My favorite line from that movie is when she shouts, "STOP IT, TROG!"
Dave and the rest. I learn more about movies from this blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the interesting commentary. All I remember of Joan Crawford was Sunset Strip or Blvd or whatever... creepy movie. William Holden I think.
You really fill in the blanks for me.
JG
JG - That was Sunset Boulevard with Gloria Swanson...and yes, she was very creepy in that!
ReplyDeleteChris - The best part of Trog is Joan's hair - I wonder how much hairspray they used on that one?