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Monthly Archives: August 2015

August 11

August 11, 1941 – Walt Disney and “El Grupo” Head Off on the Goodwill Trip to South America

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“That was the purpose of the goodwill tour: to try and sell the United States to South America.”

On August 11, 1941, Walt Disney, his wife Lillian, and a group of animators (known as El Grupo) set off on a goodwill mission to South America in the onset of World War II. As Nazi influence began to spread across the globe, the United States government was concerned about the relationship between the Americas, and called upon Hollywood to set up goodwill missions between the studios as the South American countries. Walt, and a handful of carefully selected artists traveled through Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, gathering story material for what would become the animated features Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros. Saludos Amigos would go on to be the offer of friendship between the Americas. Members of El Grupo included Bill Cottrell, Frank Thomas, and Mary Blair.

August 10

August 10, 1994 – The Concourse Steak House Opens in Walt Disney World’s Contemporary Resort

Image courtesy of mouseplanet.cm

Image courtesy of mouseplanet.com

On August 10, 1994, the Concourse Steak House opened in the Contemporary Resort of Walt Disney World. The table service restaurant, located on the fourth floor of the resort, replaced the Concourse Grill. The restaurant gave guests a view of Mary Blair’s southwestern-themed mural, with a modern southwestern theme to match. It offered breakfast, lunch, and dinner to guests, with a reservation highly recommended due to demand. The restaurant closed on May 31, 2008.

August 9

August 9, 1946 – The Donald Duck Short Film Wet Paint is Released to Theaters

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“Why, that dirty…”

On August 9, 1946, the Donald Duck short film Wet Paint was released to theaters. It was directed by Jack King, with story by Roy Williams.

A beautiful day finds Donald painting his car a nice red color. As he turns to get more paint, a bird flies by, accidentally catching her string on the car’s hood ornament. She flies down to retrieve it, and gets her feet stuck on the paint of the car. As she walks away, she leaves a trail of footprints behind. Donald notices and irritably paints over the prints, accidentally painting his windshield and not realizing he’s leaving his own marks. The bird watches Donald curiously, and Donald chases after it before angrily realizing that he’s left hand prints all over the new paint job. The bird gets her string caught in the car’s antenna, which hits Donald and ends up with him tied on the car. Donald gets out and throws a paintbrush fill of paint at the bird, who cleans herself off in the paint remover before shaking herself dry over the car, ruining the new paint job. She grabs a string from a hole in the front seat and flies off, but pulls out all of the stuffing in the process when Donald tries to grab the string back, giving the car a final “sheepdog” look.

Donald manages to remove the stuffing from the car, but finds the bird in the tailpipe. The bird spies another string, but Donald prevents her from taking it. The string, however, is an exposed wire, which shocks Donald and sends him bouncing among the paint cans. His tail covered in paint, he ends up giving the car a splotchy tie-dye paint job. Fed up, he chases after the bird once more, and accidentally sends the car zooming across the yard, where it crashes and loses its paint job. The bird finally takes a string from Donald’s hat, unraveling it. Angered, he chases after her with an axe and begins to chop down her tree, when she sees her nest and babies. Softened, he lets her keep the string, and the birds congregate on his head.

August 8

August 8, 1907 – Publisher and Disney Legend Angel Angelopoulos is Born

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“There were no strong copyright rules in Greece, at the time, like there were in France or England. Angel fought very hard to protect Disney and its characters.” – Fellow Disney Legend Armand Bigle

On August 8, 1907, Alkaios “Angel” Angelopoulos was born in Patra, Greece. After studying law and political science Athens University, he moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to practice law, and wound up becoming a reporter for the International News Services (INS), reporting on major events such as the Italo-Ethopian War and the Spanish Civil War. He continued to report for the INS during World War II, where he served in the Greek Resistance forces against the Germans. In 1950, Angelopoulos switched gears, this time working as a representative of intellectual properties, creating the company Educational Materials Enterprises S.A. Disney became one his many clients in 1953, with which he worked with much enthusiasm. He created the first Greek Disney magazine, entitled Mickey Mouse Weekly, and worked to manufacture Greek Disney merchandise. His zeal did not go unnoticed, and he was then asked to head up other developing markets, including those in Yugoslavia and Egypt. Angelopoulos was also instrumental in fighting the sale of pirated Disney merchandise in Greece, allowing Disney licensees to thrive. Known for his love of learning, he assisted Roy O. Disney in completing Walt’s dream of building the California Institute of the Arts, which was finally founded in 1970. Angelopoulos continued to work with intellectual properties into his 80s, and passed away in 1990 at the age of 82. He was honored as a Disney Legend in 1997.

August 7

August 7, 1946 – The Special Pluto Short Film A Feather in His Collar is Delivered to the Community Chests of America

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“That’s the spirit, Pluto! Thank you!”

On August 7, 1946, the special short film A Feather in His Collar was delivered to the Community Chests of America. During World War II, Disney characters were used frequently to encourage viewers to support the war effort, from buying war bonds to paying their taxes. This short film used Pluto to encourage people to donate to their local Community Chests.

The advertisement begins with Pluto sleeping in his doghouse when his nose is splashed with billboard paste. He sleepily looks up to see an ad asking people to give to their Community Chest. Pluto decides to open his safe and donate several of his bones, and is awarded with a red feather placed in his collar. Inspired, Pluto walks around town advertising for people to give to their Community Chest.

August 6

August 6, 1996 – Rainforest Café Opens in Walt Disney World’s Downtown Disney

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“Traipse the jungle and tantalize your taste buds with flavorful American favorites and kid-friendly cuisine.”

On August 6, 1996, the Rainforest Café opened in Walt Disney World’s Downtown Disney area. The restaurant replaced Chef Mickey’s (not to be confused with the restaurant of the same name in the Contemporary Resort), and is themed after the rainforest, complete with waterfalls, tropical animals, and a volcano. The restaurant features themed American fare, including Rainforest Pita Quesadillas, a Blue Mountain Chicken Sandwich, and the Sparkling Volcano dessert, complete with a decorative “sparkler.” Several other Rainforest Cafes have opened in Disney parks, including Animal Kingdom, Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Tokyo Disneyland.

August 5

August 5, 2010 – The Tomorrowland Transit Authority is Renamed the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover

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“Take off from Rockettower Plaza for an elevated ride into the world of tomorrow.”

On August 5, 2010, the new name for the Tomorrowland Transit Authority was announced, with the re-addition of the word “PeopleMover.” The attraction, which closed on April 19, 2009 and reopened on September 12, 2009, was enhanced with new LED lights, new speakers, and a new paint job. The renaming was intended to bring back a bit of the past to the updated attraction.

August 4

August 4, 1941 – A Letter of Agreement is Signed Between Disney and the National Film Board of Canada

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“I am convinced that certainly, in the technical film, the animated way is the best from the teacher’s point of view.” – John Grierson, Head of the National Film Board of Canada

On August 4, 1941, a Letter of Agreement between Walt Disney Studios and the National Film Board of Canada was signed. Walt had met with John Grierson, the head of the board, who had realized that there were several limitations in creating technical training films with live-action. Grierson was impressed with the work that the studio had done for Lockheed Martin, which was the short training film Four Methods of Flush Riveting. The studio was hired to make four animated short films to sell war bonds, with the studio reusing animation to meet tight deadlines. The four shorts included The Thrifty Pig, 7 Wise Dwarfs, Donald’s Decision, and All Together. Also included in the agreement was a training film called Stop That Tank!, which taught Canadian soldiers how to use an antitank rifle. Disney Animators were also called on for promotional material, including the design of the cover of a war savings stamp folder.

August 3

August 3, 2004 – The Soundtrack for The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement is Released Through Walt Disney Records

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“I’ll spread my wings and learn how to fly, I’ll do what it takes til I touch the sky.”

On August 3, 2004, the soundtrack for the live-action feature film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement was released through Walt Disney Records. Released eight days before the film, the soundtrack featured a song by Julie Andrews; this is the actress’s first song performance since her vocal surgery in 1997. The soundtrack also features performances by popular artists Kelly Clarkson, P!nk, and Avril Lavigne, as well as Disney artists Raven-Symoné and Christy Carlson Romano. The album peaked at number 15 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, as well as topping the U.S. Top Soundtracks chart; the album would go on to be certified Gold by the RIAA.

August 2

August 2, 2010 – The Special Summer Episode “Phineas and Ferb: Summer Belongs to You!” Premieres on Disney X D

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“By busting the boys, I’d be busting myself?”

On August 2, 2010, the special episode of the hit animated series Phineas and Ferb, entitled “Phineas and Ferb: Summer Belongs to You,” premiered on Disney X D. This episode was the first one-hour long special for the show, and had almost 4 million viewers on its premiere date. The episode then premiered on the Disney Channel four days later. It was directed by Robert F. Hughes and Dan Povenmire.

The episode begins with Candace calling her boyfriend Jeremy, who is vacationing in Paris. Candace hangs up because Phineas and Ferb’s robot creation is jumping rope in the backyard. In true fashion, the robot disappears when their mother arrives home. Phineas realizes that the summer is half over, and they need a real challenge. Candace is left in charge of the boys while their parents head out of town for two days. Meanwhile, Professor Doofenschmirtz is taking his daughter to Vanessa to Tokyo, though he has an ulterior motive in going to Japan. The next morning, Phineas reveals his plans to take the longest day of the summer and make it even longer: he and Ferb have created a rocket that will fly all the way around the world, following the sun, therefore making it the longest day ever. Buford is unconvinced that this could possibly be done, and bets the two that they can’t do it. Should they lose, they have to announce to everyone that they are governed by the laws of physics, summer’s not whatever they make of it, and they can’t do anything else the rest of the summer. Stunt singers Clay Aiken and Shaka Khan appears to sing a song rousing support for Phineas’ mission.

Vanessa is furious that her father brought work with him on their vacation to Tokyo

Vanessa is furious that her father brought work with him on their vacation to Tokyo

Perry heads down to his secret lair to get his assignment: Dr. Doofenshmirtz is off to Tokyo where the annual Good Guy Convention is being held, with Major Monogram as the keynote speaker. Meanwhile, Stacy is helping Candace through her worries that Jeremy might be seeing other girls while in Paris. Candace reveals that she and Jeremy aren’t officially “boyfriend and girlfriend” yet, and Stacy advises Candace to just call Jeremy her boyfriend first. In Tokyo, Doofenshmirtz has already captured Major Monogram and has taken him with him on vacation, much to Vanessa’s annoyance. Phineas and Ferb sets up their flight, and Candace, while originally wanting to bust the boys, decides to go because they will be heading to Paris. The group heads to Tokyo, where Doofenshmirtz has set up a giant water balloon to fall over the Good Guy Convention, with Monogram to get the blame. The plane crashes in Tokyo, where Stacy’s family has been waiting for them. They help them refuel with a musical number and head off, accidentally catching Vanessa as they go. Vanessa, who had decided to leave her dad and head to Paris on her own, was thrown from the Tokyo Tower by her father’s water balloon crashing into her. Vanessa decides to join Phineas and Ferb. Doofenshmirtz decides to go after them, begging for Monogram and Perry’s help to do so.

The boys’ plane crashes in the Himalayas, as they didn’t account for the weight of an extra person. Luckily, Baljeet’s uncle lives nearby, where he has set up a rubber-making factory. The group is able to borrow some of the rubber, and manage to make it out after a slight mishap. The group bounces around the world thanks to the rubber ball they’ve constructed. The rubber ball deconstructs by the time they reach Paris, so the group stops to get fuel and parts. The group splits up, and Candace finds Jeremy with a group of teenagers, and worries that Jeremy has found another girlfriend. Isabella tries to make her outing with Phineas romantic, but Phineas is more distracted by looking for parts for his plane. Doofenshmirtz arrives in Paris to take Vanessa back, and decides to go after listening to some advice from Ferb. Isabella and Candace are both despondent about their ruined romantic prospects. While Phineas cheers Candace up, Jeremy arrives, and Candace decides to tell him how she feels. Jeremy calls her his girlfriend, and the two establish their relationship.

Candace cries out in anguish as she finds that they are stranded on a desert island

Candace cries out in anguish as she finds that they are stranded on a desert island

The group then sets off home, and are close to making it home, when the rocket completely disintegrates, leaving the group stranded on a deserted island. Candace despairs as she thinks romance is dead, and Buford brags that Phineas and Ferb will lose. Phineas tries to come up with a plan to leave, but realizes that he doesn’t have anything with which they can create anything. Isabella cries as she feels ignored by Phineas, who is frantically trying to come up with a plan. Finally, Isabella gives Phineas the self-esteem boost he needs, and he uses the map to create a special paper airplane to fly the group back home. Candace argues that the plan won’t fly, but the group convinces her to believe thanks to the lure of Jeremy. The group manages to arrive back in Danville, and are able to make it back to the backyard after Buford gives the group their bikes back. The group arrives home to a welcome home party in the backyard, and a musical number.