The Disneyland Annual Passholders “Wednesdays with Walt” series continues with a look at another episode from the “Disneyland” TV show. This time, we look at “The Plausible Impossible,” which premiered on Halloween night, October 31, 1956.
This has to be one of most enjoyable “Wednesdays with Walt” episode I’ve seen. It shows how you can take what you think is impossible and make it possible. For example, this was done in art as early as ancient times, and especially Greek mythology. The head of a bird was seen on the body of a human. And of course, there’s the centuar with the upper body of a human on a horse. We can’t forget the Chinese dragon, and dinosaurs.
Of course, the plausible impossible can be seen in most animation sequences. We got to see an excerpt of “Through The Mirror,” where we see Mickey Mouse on the other side of the looking glass. The plausible impossible in this cartoon short are the furniture and playing cards. Shortly after stepping through the mirror, Mickey sits on a chair, and it immediately becomes lifelike. A telephone rings, and it too is lifelike. The phone has to be one of my favorite characters in this short. I think it’s because Mickey seems to be annoyed by it more and more as the short goes on. Plus, the phone and the cards become a central part of the story.
In addition to “Through The Mirror,” we are reintroduced to Donald Duck’s cousin Gus. Gus is a goose, who claims that he doesn’t eat much, but he does. He was first introduced in 1939 in the short “Donald’s Cousin Gus.” As the short begins, Gus is on his way to see his cousin Donald. He has a piece of paper with “Donald Duck” written on it. He stops in front of Donald’s house and see the mailbox. He pulls out the paper, which is upside down, and tries to match it up with the mailbox. Once he turns the mailbox, it matches what Gus has on his paper. So, off he goes to ring the bell. Donald answers the door and meets Gus. He reads a letter from his Aunt Fanny. After that, Gus’s watch rings, and it’s time for dinner. His watch has times for dinner, lunch, tea, and supper. Gus then smells the food inside, runs in, and helps himself to just about everything on the table. The plausible impossibles in this short are a goose “knitting” spaghetti, peas dancing and moving across the table while Indian-style music is playing, and hot dogs barking.
After that, a deleted scene from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is shown. Snow White has just made soup for the Dwarfs and before they can eat, Snow White tells them they need to wash. Well, they oblige, except for Grumpy. But did you ever wonder what happened to the soap that Dopey swallowed? Well, that question gets answered in this deleted scene, which doesn’t really add to the story, but it’s easy to see why it did get deleted. The scene just ran too long. However, the plausible impossible in the deleted scene is the bar of soap that Dopey swallowed.
Next, is another scene from “Fantasia.” This time, it’s “A Night On Bald Mountain.” Walt shows us how the music from this sequence can be incorporated into other animated features. For example, the forest fire in “Bambi,” which was odd to see and hear, but you can tell that it would have worked. The plausible impossible in “A Night On Bald Mountain” is basically the entire sequence, however, Chernabog’s human-like actions, the evil spirits, and restless souls add to the plausible impossible.
So next time you see any animated short or film, be sure to look out for the plausible impossible.
“Wednesdays with Walt” continues through Wednesday, July 22, 2015. Be sure to check it out if you have a chance. You won’t regret it. More info can be found on the Disneyland Annual Passholders Facebook page.