Rare Characters From 1983's Flights of Fantasy

In a recent post we watched the giant Fantasia brooms march by, and now we're taking a look at some more rarely-seen characters who grabbed the spotlight in Disneyland's 1983 Flights of Fantasy parade. We've got a dozen photos today, starting with the best armored oddballs ever:

 

The Trumpeter, Hippo Knight and Rhino Guards from Robin Hood show up! Check out the rhino on the far right menacing the crowd.

Heffalumps and Woozles. Hide the honey!

Strange Things 5: More Great Offbeat Disney Tunes

Welcome back to Strange Things, an ongoing search for offbeat, unusual Disney tunes. The rules: the tracks should be obscure, rarely played, or performed in unexpected ways -- and available on iTunes or Amazon MP3. Today we've got Groucho Marx, pirates and more!

Let's start off with one of the best overlooked Disney songs ever, and a seasonal gem:

Track:   ONCE UPON A WINTERTIME
Album: Christine Davis & Family - Love Came Down.

I was surprised to find that this wonderful holiday song from Melody Time (the sequence with the young lovers, the horse-drawn sleigh and the cracking river ice) is only represented by a single recording on iTunes. Fortunately, it's a good one.

I'm not a big fan of electronic effects in ballads, but it works very well here. Mark Davis's relaxed vocals keep the song's folksy charm intact throughout this modern interpretation of a classic. Well done.

Next up: one of my all-time favorite finds on iTunes:

Once There Was a PeopleMover (with Fish Heads & Crumbs)

The abandoned tracks twist above Disneyland's Tomorrowland, serving no purpose except as a nighttime lighting fixture for the area's entry strip. Once there was a PeopleMover ride bustling along that wonderful elevated roadway. Why it went away, and what happened to its much-hyped  and ill-fated replacement remains one of Disneyland's saddest tales. It's clearly time to move on, tear those old tracks down and have fun imagining the possibilities for Tomorrowland's future.

Younger Disneyland fans often ask about those old tracks. It's the duty of PeopleMover pros to pass along their knowledge to these eager learners. And it's important to get the facts straight. And avoid fibbing. And...hey, look, it's Fish Heads and Crumbs...

Phineas & Ferb Keep Summer Alive at DCA

Christmas draws near, but in the world of Phineas & Ferb, every day is summer -- even though they've added a bit of Holiday music to their Rockin' Rollin' Dance Party. Here we see them dancing away their cares (backed by a chorus of helpful Fireside Girls) at the edge of Paradise Pier.

Phineas (in the striped shirt) looks almost frog-like from the front, which is why he's rarely seen from that angle in the TV show. All things considered, however, the characters translate to walk-around costumes surprisingly well.

It's still startling to see these two at first. Aren't they a bit tall to be ten-year-olds? Yes. Yes they are. The performers do such a great job of bringing the stepbrothers to life, however, that children buy into the fantasy instantly, and it only takes slightly longer for the adults in the crowd to get caught up in the fun.

The Rockin' Rollin' Dance Party, which has been a hit since the day it launched, must be an exhausting workout for the characters. I imagine they embrace the cooler days of fall and winter as a welcome relief after dancing through the show several times a day during the blazing heat of summer.

Reviewing Disney's Competition: Dreamworks' Rise of the Guardians

Dreamworks has produced two films that make me wish Disney would buy the company just so their amazing fantasy worlds could take form in the parks. The first was the outstanding How to Train Your Dragon. The second, just released, is Rise of the Guardians.

Directed by Peter Ramsey and based on a series of children's novels by William Joyce, the film offers a daring and playful twist on holiday legends. It also continues a welcome trend started by Dragon: another Dreamworks film mercifully free of pop culture jokes and bathroom humor.

The plot in a nutshell: Pitch Black (the Boogeyman) is tired of being ignored while childhood's assigned guardians North (Santa), Bunnymund (Easter Bunny), Tooth (Tooth Fairy) and Sandy (the Sandman) get all the love and attention. Having discovered how to corrupt Sandman's creations into nightmare creatures, Pitch sets out to destroy the Guardians by sabotaging their hard work. If children stop believing, the Guardians lose all their magic and the ability to interact with the human world. The threat is so severe that the Man in the Moon (never seen, but a respected sage to all the legendary characters) selects -- for the first time in centuries -- a new candidate to join the ranks of the Guardians: Jack Frost. But the freewheeling, responsibility-shirking Frost doesn't want to join.

It plays out like a cross between The Avengers and every Rankin/Bass holiday special you ever watched as a child -- and that's exactly why I love this movie. I always enjoy seeing different interpretations of holiday legends, and this one's a lulu.

Disney, of course, has a legacy of creating interesting takes on holiday settings, from the Silly Symphony Santa's Workshop to the Tim Allen Santa Clause trilogy to the terrific Prep & Landing specials. This Dreamworks extravaganza presents an entirely new universe where the Easter Bunny is a six-foot tall boomerang-hurling Australian and the Tooth Fairy commands an army  of hummingbird-like fairies to do her "field work."

The Rocket Jets: Tomorrowland 1983

Soaring high above Tomorrowland aboard the Rocket Jets was an early-morning tradition in my family (we always rode right after Space Mountain), and a spectacular thrill I miss dearly. Riding the gantry elevator to the ride's third-story platform atop the PeopleMover station was an adventure in itself.

I'm sure the Imagineers had the best intentions when they closed the ride and reinvented it as the ground-level Astro Orbitor. The newer experience, however, pales in comparison to the views and exhilarating heights of the Rocket Jets.

Guests can still enjoy an elevated rocket spin on Walt Disney World's Astro Oribter and Tokyo Disneyland's Starjets. Whatever the future holds for Disneyland's Tomorrowland, I hope the thrill of flying far above ground level returns in some form. Tomorrowland used to be all about looking up toward the skies. The land's been grounded for far too long.

Happy Thanksgiving to Disney Fans Everywhere!

Happy Thanksgiving! We don't usually post recipes on Mouse Troop, but I'd like to share my secret for these delicious Turkey Brownies:

1. Drive to local market's bakery section.
2. Slide debit card.
3, Transport Turkey Brownies home.

I am a disaster in the kitchen. If I'd tried to create the above little turkeys on my own, each and every one would've turned out like this:

I'm the guy who's always assigned "chips and soda" for office parties.

Have a great Holiday, everyone!