August 13: U.S. Premiere of Bambi

On this day in 1942, Disney's 5th full-length animated feature Bambi had its U.S. debut at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. (The film had premiered 5 days earlier in London, England.)
Based on the book "Bambi, A Life in the Woods" by Austrian author Felix Salten, the film rights had actually been purchased in 1933 by Sidney Franklin a producer-director at MGM. He had originally wanted to make the story of Bambi into a live-action feature, but realizing the difficulties involved - he in turn sold the film rights to Walt Disney in 1937. Disney began immediately crafting the story into an animated adaptation (along with director David Hand) hoping for it to be the studio's second animated feature. But due to its slow progress, other projects (like Fantasia) took precedence.
Disney's Bambi tells the story of a young white-tailed deer who is hailed as the "Prince of the Forest" at birth. As Bambi grows he makes friends with other animals (a rabbit named Thumper and a skunk named Flower) and learns the skills needed to survive in the woods. As he grows, Bambi experiences the death of his mother at the hands of a hunter, falling in love with a doe named Faline, and rescuing his friends from a raging forest fire. As he matures, Bambi assumes his proper place as the "Prince of the Forest."
Bambi was voiced by 4 different actors - Bobby Stewart as baby Bambi, Donnie Dunagan as young Bambi, Hardie Albright as adolescent Bambi, and John Sutherland as adult Bambi. Other notable voice contributions included Sam Edwards as adult Thumper and Sterling Holloway as adult Flower. (Edwards later worked for Disney voicing many characters for LP record releases and Holloway later became the first voice of Winnie the Pooh.)
Believe it or not Bambi lost money at the box office during its first release. Although the film received good reviews, the timing of the release during World War II, hurt the film's box office numbers. Despite the initial financial loss to the studio, Bambi did teach Walt and his animators much about the art of production. Because of the film, the animators now had a broader spectrum of styles and an expanded knowledge of the multiplane camera. Also Disney's paint lab developed hundreds of new colors for Bambi that would later be used on other projects.
Today the film is considered a classic (and has obviously made a large profit due to its multiple theater re-releases and home video/DVD releases).

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August 09: Welcome Foolish Mortals

On this day in 1969, Disneyland's Haunted Mansion opened to the public for the first time in the park's New Orleans Square! A dark ride attraction, its roots date back to even before the completion of Disneyland in 1955.
Walt Disney himself always wanted to include a haunted house in his park and asked some of his first Imagineers (such as Harper Goff, Ken Anderson, Marc Davis and Claude Coats) to create it. It took many years to develop and finally build just the structure of the mansion. As of 1963, the Haunted Mansion sat visible to guests - but completely empty on the inside! It took another 6 years to flesh-out the storyline and complete the attraction (and unfortunately during that time Walt passed away).
Among the attraction's most important components ... the song "Grim Grinning Ghosts (The Screaming Song)" written by Buddy Baker and Xavier Atencio. The music for the theme song was written Baker (already an accomplished composer who scored may of Disney's films). Baker's "Grim Grinning Ghosts" melody is used in a wide variety of variations throughout the attraction. The now-famous lyrics were penned by Francis Xavier Atencio (an Imagineer who originally started as an animator).
The Haunted Mansion quickly became a favorite of park guests and versions were later added to Disney's other parks around the world.

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August 06: Bumper Cars on an Air Hockey Table

On this day in 1961, the last attraction to open in Disneyland's
original Tomorrowland - the Flying Saucers - debuted.
Held on a 16,000 sq. ft. metal floor, 16 saucers "flew" guests while another 16 were being loaded. Air valves allowed the saucers to float about an inch off the ground while guests shifted their body weight to control their flight. Similar to bumper cars, guests would often ram each other with their saucers!
The attraction was an immediate hit (even making the cover of National Geographic) but it was also plagued with technical problems. If a guest weighed too much - the saucer wouldn't move, if too light - the saucer would just hover. The saucers were also expensive to operate and did not fit the normal Disneyland guest-flow as only a relatively small number were able to ride per hour. The attraction was designed by Karl Bacon and Ed Morgan from Arrow Development, who helped create many of the earliest ride systems for Disneyland. The Flying Saucers were cutting edge for their time, but Disney paid for it with constant breakdowns.
The Flying Saucers only lasted five years and were replaced by the Tomorrowland Stage in 1967 and eventually Space Mountain in 1977. Still a much talked-about attraction among Disney fans, rumor has it that a similar ride themed to the animated film Cars may be part of the expansion of Disney's California Adventure.

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July 31: Mickey Finds His Voice

In previous Disney shorts, Mickey Mouse had laughed, cried, grunted, and made all types of noises ... but his first spoken coherent words were uttered in The Karnival Kid, released on this day in 1929.
The Karnival Kid featured Mickey selling hot dogs at a carnival - hence his first words: "Hot dogs!" Ironically it is often reported that Carl Stalling (Disney's first musical director) supplied the voice for Mickey in this particular short - not Walt himself, who originated the voice. (Stalling's Mickey seems to have had a rougher, deeper quality than Walt's.)
One of the many gags featured in this short is one in which Mickey takes off his "ears" and tips his "hat" to a smiling Minnie Mouse - the Shimmy Dancer. Gag writer and illustrator Roy Williams (also known as one of the adults on TV's Mickey Mouse Club) was later inspired by this scene to create the famous Mouse Ears that are today sold in Disney theme parks all over the world.
Also appearing in The Karnival Kid was Clarabelle Cow (one of Minnie's best friends in a cameo) and Kat Nipp (a villainous cat making his third and last appearance).

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July 29: Belle's 5,464th Performance

On this day in 2007, Disney's Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast played its final performance. Ending its successful run on a Sunday at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater in New York City, the show had officially debuted on Broadway back in April 1994 at the Palace Theater.
This last performance featured actress Anneliese van der Pol (known to Disney Channel fans from That's So Raven) as Belle. She had first stepped into the role back on April 3, 2007. Returning for the last evening's performance only was Donny Osmond as Gaston. He had first played the role back in September 2006 (for a successful 3 months).
The closing-night cast also included Steve Blanchard as The Beast, David de Vries as Lumiere, Glenn Rainey as Cogsworth, Jeanne Lehmann as Mrs. Potts, Jamie Ross as Maurice, Ann Mandrella as Babette, and Mary Stout as Madame de la Grande Bouche.
Steve Blanchard had first played The Beast in the Toronto Company in 1997 before coming to Broadway to actually play Gaston. When the production moved to the Lunt-Fontanne, he took over the role as The Beast! The "last candle standing," David de Vries had played the role of Lumiere in 4 different companies (in 42 different cities) before coming to Broadway.
Beauty and the Beast, which was based on Disney's 1991 animated film, featured the music of Alan Menken, Howard Shaman, and Tim Rice. The musical ran on Broadway for an amazing 5,464 performances - becoming Broadway's sixth-longest running production. During that time a total of 17 actresses played the role of Belle!
Walt Disney Theatrical Productions' musical had its world premiere at Houston's Theater Under The Stars in November 1993. It then opened on Broadway on April 18, 1994 at the Palace Theatre (located at 1564 Broadway in Manhattan, New York). The show ran there until September 5, 1999 after which the production moved to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (at 205 West 46th Street). Beauty and the Beast began performances at its new home on November 16, 1999. As of 2009 Disney's Little Mermaid is performed at the Lunt-Fontanne.
The success of the Broadway show enabled Disney to bring productions to Los Angeles, Toronto, London, the Netherlands, and dozens of other theaters all over the world. Beauty and the Beast has been performed in 19 different languages!

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July 28: All the Buzz at Epcot

On this day in 2003, Buzz Aldrin (the second human to step foot on the moon) took the controls aboard Epcot's Mission: Space for the filming of a television segment advertising the new attraction. The spot later aired August 15, 2003 on ABC-TV during the broadcast of the feature film Mission to Mars. August 15 was the same day that the attraction had its first soft opening to the public.
Born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey in 1930, Edward Eugene Aldrin was selected as part of the third group of NASA astronauts in 1963. A United States Air Force pilot, he flew aboard Gemini 12 (with Jim Lovell) in 1966 - the 10th and final manned Gemini flight. In 1969, Aldrin was the Lunar Module pilot aboard the famous Apollo 11 flight. He and fellow astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first to land on the moon.
Buzz, along with fellow veteran astronauts Jim Lovell and Wally Schirra, attended the grand debut of Mission: Space on October 9, 2003. A motion simulator thrill ride, Mission: Space allows guests to experience a futuristic mission to Mars (including the g-force of blast-off).

"Mars is there, waiting to be reached." -Buzz Aldrin

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July 27: Son of the Mad Hatter

On this day in 1916, character actor Keenan Wynn was born Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn in New York City. The son of comedian Ed Wynn (the voice of the Mad Hatter for Disney's Alice in Wonderland) Keenan became an actor with his dad's encouragement. (Years later it would be Keenan who encouraged his dad to take on dramatic roles.)
Keenan appeared in hundreds of movies and TV shows between 1934 and 1986 (the year he passed). Among his Disney credits - The Absent-Minded Professor & Son of Flubber (as the villainous Alonzo Hawk), Snowball Express (as Martin Ridgeway), Herbie Rides Again (as once again the character of Alonzo Hawk), and The Shaggy D.A. (as John Slade). His dad Ed also appeared with him in Son of Flubber - playing A.J. Allen.
Keenan's non-Disney credits included the classic films Annie Get Your Gun and Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. He also appeared in an epsiode of The Twilight Zone titled "A World of His Own." In 1956 he and his dad appeared together in the Playhouse 90 broadcast of Rod Serling's teleplay "Requiem for a Heavyweight." They were both hailed for their superlative work. Fans of the holiday TV special Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town may recognize Keenan as the voice of Winter Warlock!
He is interred along with his dad at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California.

"My billing has always been; 'and' or 'with' or 'including'. That's alright, let the stars take the blame." -Keenan Wynn

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