The West Side of the Kingdom
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A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Memories go Down!

Okay, time for a major confession! Until this month, I had never seen Mary Poppins all the way through. Isn’t that just about the worst thing you can imagine coming from a Disney enthusiast’s mouth? It’s true; I just never had the opportunity and when it’s been on television, I just passed it over, saying, “One of these days I am going to rent that, so why watch it now?” Well, that day came; I went into the local video store and there it was - a brand new copy of Mary Poppins on DVD sitting there on the shelf staring me in the face. I got it, took it home and popped it in the machine. For the next couple of hours, I sat completely delighted and blown away at how much fun the film really is! Poppins is definitely one of Disney’s true gems. The fantastic surprise was the extra material on the disc! There is wonderful footage of the Hollywood premiere at the Chinese, as well as a very cool “making of” feature on the disc that is a must for any Disney fan. Just about half way through the film, during the “Jolly Holiday” segment, I turned to my wife and her little sisters and said, “You know, I would love to have this in my movie collection!” Now I guess I just have to wait for Christmas to see if I’ve been good enough to get it! So, if you haven’t seen Mary Poppins or have, but have never seen it on DVD, I highly recommend picking up a copy (just buy it, because you aren’t going to want to return it). It truly captures the magic of Walt Disney - a masterpiece!

And speaking of the magic of Walt Disney, I hear that a little place in Anaheim just turned 45 years-old! Happy birthday, Disneyland! Being 500 miles away, it was a tad far to drive, but thanks to the awesome video available on LaughingPlace.com, I was able to see the morning’s events and feel like I was at least there in spirit. 

I’ve been at Disneyland on many anniversaries and it always is a time of reflection for me. I walk through the Park and really take a look around, absorbing everything I can - the sights, sounds and smells. It’s almost too difficult to comprehend that the Park has been there - and even more so, some of the attractions - for so long; in some cases, 45 years. I was born in 1970, so even attractions like The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean were open for business and thrilling thousands of guests each day before I was even a twinkle in the sky! That’s crazy! To think that the Auctioneer has been trying to get the Bride sold off since before I was around is nuts! And to think that The Jungle Cruise has been operating for longer is too much!

Disneyland’s changed quite a bit in just the past 10 years or so; I can only try to imagine what it must be like for some of our older fans out there that have had the opportunity to enjoy the Park throughout all its years - something that many of us only get to do whenever the Disney Company tosses out something in the middle of the night on Vault Disney for us to devour like hungry dogs! Here’s a hint for any Disney executives that may be reading this: DVD IS A GOOD THING. WE WANT DISNEYLAND HISTORY ON DVD. YOU WILL MAKE MONEY. MONEY IS GOOD. YOU WANT MONEY. WE WANT TO SPEND MONEY. JUST GIVE US OUR DVDS…

I read with total agreement on LaughingPlace.com Discussion Boards that some were disappointed that Disney didn’t air any Disneyland specials on The Disney Channel this week in honor of the Park’s anniversary. That really is too bad. It would have been wonderful to begin say, at 7pm and show the Opening Day special and then move up through the years over the next three hours (because let’s face it, most children are going to be impressed with old Disneyland footage for about 20 seconds). But God knows, Disney tapes every event at the Park and they have enough stuff archived to run a week solid on the Channel. Why they gave us absolutely nothing is beyond me - and others, I am sure. The Disney Channel is a great thing - but the programming is sometimes a bit confusing to me. Disney is supposed to be for everyone; unfortunately, they seem to think that the majority of adult Disney fans are up watching the Channel at 2am during the week and that is when the really juicy stuff gets airplay! But please - if someone from programming is reading this - if we never hear that woman sing Let it Please Be Him during the Osmond Brothers/Haunted Mansion special ever again, it will be too soon!

Related Links

• Purchase Mary Poppins DVD (from Amazon.com)
• An Interview with the Sherman Brothers
  The Sherman Brothers did the songs for Mary Poppins and many other Disney films.

-- Rick West (July 19, 2000)

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