Download Walt Disney Desktop Wallpaper

How to install wallpaper images on PC or Mac.

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How To Install Wallpapers

On a PC: Click on a link below. Then right-click on the picture and choose “Set As Background” or “Set As Wallpaper.”
On a Mac: Click on a link below. Then right-click or Control-click on the picture and choose “Set as Desktop Background…” or “Use Image as Desktop Picture.”

Download Classic Disney Animation Desktop Wallpaper

How to install wallpaper images on PC or Mac.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

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Beauty and the Beast

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Fantasia

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The Little Mermaid

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Winnie the Pooh

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How To Install Wallpapers

On a PC: Click on a link above. Then right-click on the picture and choose “Set As Background” or “Set As Wallpaper.”
On a Mac: Click on a link above. Then right-click or Control-click on the picture and choose “Set as Desktop Background…” or “Use Image as Desktop Picture.”

Fred MacMurray Flies Again in Walt Disney’s Son of Flubber

By Jim Fanning

What are the secret ingredients in a foolproof formula for a hit Disney comedy? Add a beaker of beloved Disney stars like Fred MacMurray and Tommy Kirk, mix in some mixed-up comic circumstances, stir in a test tube of startling special-effects and a vial of Ed Wynn, and the chemical reaction gives you—watch out for the explosive wackiness!—Son of Flubber.

Originally released on January 18, 1963, this is the souped-up sequel to that bouncy blockbuster The Absent-Minded Professor (1961). The original may have bounced some basketball players down the court, but Son of Flubber flies football players down the field for one hilarious touchdown after another. With Fred, flubber, and fantastical fun, Son of Flubber is zanier than ever as D23 celebrates this 50 and Fabulous film.

Windows shatter, football players fly, and thunderstorms materialize indoors

In this flubberized follow-up, Medfield College of Technology’s lovable but laughably absent-minded professor—Ned Brainard (Fred MacMurray)—bounces back with new misadventures. While Ned tries to cure his financial woes with a new invention that will control the weather, his student Biff Hawk (Tommy Kirk) discovers a byproduct of flubber called flubbergas, a lighter-than-air substance that really makes anything fly. As Biff uses flubbergas to turn football into footbrawl, windows shatter, football players fly, and thunderstorms materialize indoors, All the while, Ned fights to keep Medfield from falling into the hands of ruthless land developer Alonzo Hawk (Keenan Wynn) even as chemically-created chaos erupts all around him and his bewildered bride Betsy (Nancy Olson).

Son of Sequel
Son of Flubber marked the first time Walt produced a sequel to one of his theatrical features. The great showman didn’t believe in repeating himself, preferring always to do something new and different. But when The Absent-Minded Professor created a sensation in 1961, becoming a pop-culture phenomenon among kids, teens, and adults alike while making “flubber” a household word, the opportunity to revisit Professor Brainard and his off-kilter friends and foes (not to mention flubber!) was too delicious to pass up. Even so, in a true Disney touch, the unprecedented sequel was given a delightfully nonsensical title as a wink to the endless sequels—from The Son of Kong to Son of Lassie—thathad been churned out over the years.

Scientific misadventures with Professor Euclid Bullfinch

Walt wouldn’t have been satisfied simply rehashing the earlier hit; he wanted to add something new to the formula. Disney owned the screen rights to the Danny Dunn series of books by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams. Centering on teenage Danny and his scientific misadventures with his mentor, Professor Euclid Bullfinch, these fun-filled stories featured all kinds of inventions. In Danny Dunn and the Weather Machine, Danny uses an ionic transmitter to create miniature rainclouds, and this strong concept, fraught with comedic possibilities, was incorporated into the Son of Flubber script by screenwriter and co-producer Bill Walsh and animation veteran Don DaGradi, to be directed by Disney’s premier live-action director Robert Stevenson.

The backyard inventor who makes big scientific discoveries in a small-town garage is a theme that appealed to Walt

As with The Absent-Minded Professor, some have seen semi-autobiographical overtones in Son of Flubber. The opening scenes in which the prof attempts to obtain money the U.S. government has promised for flubber, only to discover his officially sanctioned recompense is hopelessly tied up in red tape, for instance, is reminiscent of Walt’s attempts to be compensated for some of the government films he made during World War II. And of course the backyard inventor who makes big scientific discoveries in a small-town garage is a theme that appealed to Walt, just as it had with the first film.

The Absent-Minded Professor Players Reunite
All of the major players returned to Son of Flubber to reprise their well-loved characters from the first film. The first person to be designated as a Disney Legend (he was inducted in 1987), Fred MacMurray is again front and center as the perpetually preoccupied prof. (In a fun salute to Fred’s early career as a saxophone player during the 1930s, Ned plays the sax at the Halloween party he attends, costumed as a 1920s college student.)

Son of Flubber was Fred’s fourth Disney hit, and at the time of the new comedy’s release, he was in his third season of My Three Sons, co-starring another Disney favorite Tim Considine. According to Walt, Fred was “a down-to-earth, practical actor. He has a way of handling comedy that nobody else can compare with. I’ve got a lot of respect for Fred and, besides, he’s a wonderful fellow, I dunno, I just like him.”

An Academy Award®-nominee as Best Supporting Actress in one of Hollywood’s all-time classics, Sunset Boulevard (1950), Nancy Olson was back as the patient (to a point) Betsy, now married to Ned. “I love doing comedy,” said Nancy, “particularly the sort of situation comedy we have in this picture. The Absent-Minded Professor was comedy but the gimmicks were the big thing in that one, like the flying flivver, the leaping basketball team, the bouncy shoes. Son of Flubber depends more on the actors and their interpretation.” Nancy would return to Disney for Smith! (1969) and the 1972 comedy Snowball Express, along with Flubber co-star Keenan Wynn.

As for Keenan, he was back in fine, funny form as the villainous Alonzo Hawk, the man who tells his son—Disney favorite Tommy Kirk back as collegiate athlete Biff Hawk—that if he weren’t deductible, he would disown him. Keenan would reprise the Alonzo Hawk role in the Walsh-produced-and-scripted/Stevenson-directed Herbie Rides Again (1974).

Leon Tyler, who bounded into The Absent-Minded Professor basketball game on flubberized feet, is back in an expanded role as Humphrey Hacker, the hapless halfback who is the subject of fellow footballer Biff’s flubbergas experiments.

These actors enjoyed working with each other, and their lighthearted relationships are reflected in the on-screen fun. Nancy Olson considered Fred MacMurray a consummate actor with a wonderful sense of comedic timing. Tommy Kirk appreciated the respect showed to him by Keenan Wynn. This particular pair also found an unlikely connection: go-cart racing. Keenan introduced Tommy to this Hollywood fad—not as one might expect, the other way around—and the pair gathered at a track with other film-land figures to run their low-slung racers. “At top speed, we average between 75 and 80 miles per hour,” Tommy reported. “I have a red, white, and blue single-engine McCulloch. Keenan’s is a black twin-engine model.” As for working at the Disney Studios, the actors reveled in the friendly, relaxed atmosphere set by Walt; Elliott Reid compared to acting at the Studio to a paid vacation.

New Stars Sign Up For Son
New faces abounded in this latest flubber farce. Charlie Ruggles, a hit as the kindly grandfather in The Parent Trap (1960) portrayed the understanding judge in Son of Flubber‘s climatic courtroom scene. Just a year away from joining Fred MacMurray as regular character Uncle Charlie O’Casey on My Three Sons, longtime Hollywood farceur William Demarest played Mr. Hummel, the neighborhood milkman who runs afoul of the professor’s experiments. Making his film debut, Paul Lynde is the flummoxed play-by-play radio announcer who calls the buoyant football game. Just a few months after Flubber‘s release, movie audiences saw Paul re-create his famed Broadway role in the film version of Bye Bye Birdie, also starring Dick Van Dyke.

Portraying a persistent 1960s-style “mad man” straight from Madison Ave., Ken Murray was fresh from a TV triumph in which he presented his own home movies, personally filmed over his years in show biz, starring his Tinseltown friends and co-workers. Entitled Hollywood, My Home Town, the NBC-TV special was highly acclaimed. Ken had put together another special for 1963, and the highlight of Hollywood Without Make-up was footage Ken shot at Disney Studios while Son of Flubber was in production. Walt himself playfully showed Ken and his young daughters Janie and Pammy around the lot in his electric golf cart; Fred MacMurray also gave the girls a spin in his temporarily earthbound Model-T.

Classic Comedy Cameos
It wouldn’t be a Disney comedy without a cavalcade of character actors causing comedic chaos, and Son of Flubber has quite the chuckle-worthy clique. Forrest Lewis and James Westerfield are again on hand as Officers Kelly and Hanson who are always in the wrong place at the wrong time. Joe Flynn, who had just started his stint as Captain Binghamton on the McHale’s Navy TV series and would go to become part of Disney’s comedy repertoire company in the 1970s, was the TV advertising pitch announcer, Rex Williams. Ed Wynn returned to play the small but mighty part of agriculturist A. J. Allen, while Ed’s grandson—and Keenan’s son—Ned Wynn made it a Wynn family triple play as the Rutland team’s student manager. Everyone’s favorite traveling salesman from the Golden Horseshoe Revue at Disneyland, Wally Boag, brought a balletic slapstick touch to the flubberoleum commercial—and as the bouncing (literally) baby boy, a new star with the unlikely name of Wed Miller made his screen debut. (This was actually Walt Disney’s grandson Walter Elias Disney Miller doing his bit for the Disney cause.)

The most unusual cameo in the filmic funfest may be the ultra-cool hot rod driven by Tommy Kirk—a 1915 Ford Model-T roadster created by teenage auto designer Martin Hollmann who went on to a career as one of the world’s foremost designers of private aircraft. Hot Rod magazine called the amped-up auto “the wildest street roadster ever constructed.”

Indoor Rain Makes an On-Screen Splash
As always with these zany laugh fests, Disney added a special touch no other movie studio could begin to match with mind-boggling special effects. For example, in one of the film’s funniest sequences, Professor Brainard uses his weather-making device to create a thunderstorm inside the car of his condescending college-professor rival Shelby Ashton (Elliott Reid). Clouds, thunder, and lightening all congregate inside the moving car, as Shelby—aptly costumed as King Neptune for the Halloween party—finds himself swimming in the accumulation.

Disney’s legendary second-unit director Arthur J. Vitarelli recalled that the car could not in reality be shown driving along full of water because the tires would not hold the weight. The special-effects wizards installed double-sided windows in the car; the water was actually held within the windows themselves, giving the perfect illusion that the car itself was full of water. A separate pipe was used to shoot water out of the car as it careened around corners. When the car finally stopped and the doors were opened, sending Shelby and a torrent of water flooding out of the station wagon, an entirely different vehicle was used. Shot on a soundstage—as opposed to the moving car, filmed on the backlot—this car had tires filled with concrete instead of air in order to bear the weight of the water!

Setting the Stage For Slapstick, Disney-Style
In addition to creating a standing small-town business district set on the Disney backlot that would be used into the 1980s, the moviemakers constructed a football field in one of the Studio’s largest soundstages—for if The Absent-Minded Professor had sent basketball through the roof by flubberizing the sport on (and above) the court, then Son of Flubber could send football into orbit. While some of the long shots were filmed at nearby Burbank High School’s football stadium, the high-flying football game was shot on the specially constructed set. The many special effects created on stage made outdoor filming impossible, so a section of the stadium and a major part of the field were built indoors where the trick shots could be carefully controlled. The soundstage was actually less than one-half the size of a regulation football field, so only one-third of the field could be shot at any time. In reality, there was only one set of goal posts and only part of the field was covered with transplanted green sod; the remainder was actually covered in artificial grass matting.

As for the stadium spectators in the background, they were mostly made of paint and cardboard. Art Vitarelli recalled it was Walt’s idea to provide the audience via a painted backdrop.

The most elaborate special effects were reserved for the field itself. To inflate Leon Tyler’s football uniform, Art ran a pipe out into the middle of the field. The real trick lay in hiding the pipe, so he hid the pipe with a tiny bush. No one noticed except co-producer Bill Walsh who wanted to know why a bush was growing on the 50-yard line. Art also revealed that some of Leon’s airborne antics involved natural motion as a bungee-type cord was used to keep the flubberized football player aloft. “All the other players had to do was give him a push,” Art later recalled, “because he weighed very little on the wires.”

To add authenticity to the football free-for-all, a troupe of former college football stars and current pros were gathered, including Johnny Olszsewski, one-time star quarterback for the University of California and with the Detroit Lions at the time Son of Flubber was in production. The pro players made up Medfield’s opposing team from Rutland College. The soundstage filming was of some wonderment to the pro players in a time before indoor stadiums were more common. (The Houston Astrodome did not open until 1965.) “I’ve played all around the country and in all kinds of weather, but this is my first time indoors,” Olszsewski said. “As they say in the movie, ‘I’m flubbergassed!'”

Son of Flubber Merchandise
Most of the Son of the Flubber merchandise fell into the publications category, including a paperback novelization and a coloring book. There was naturally a comic-book adaptation drawn by veteran artist Dan Spiegle who also drew other Disney funny-book adaptations including The Shaggy Dog and The Parent Trap. Also available as promotional items were Son of Flubber mini-footballs and inflatable football players. Unfortunately, an officially Disney-licensed toy version of Flubber, released in fall of 1962 in anticipation of the film’s release, was recalled in Spring 1963 when some mild rash outbreaks were reported—even though the manufacturer maintained that the play version of Flubber had been safety-tested before first bouncing into toy stores.

Son of Flubber Hits The Roof
In one of the first-such engagements, New Year’s Eve pre-release screenings—with particular appeal for teens and young adults—were held in several cities on December 31, 1962. Released on January 18, the new Disney comedy started an exclusive Los Angeles run at Hollywood’s legendary Grauman’s Chinese Theatre—and Son of Flubber promptly broke a three-year Chinese Theatre attendance record. Disney Legend Ginny Tyler—one of the head Mouseketeers for the Mickey Mouse Club then in syndication—accompanied Tommy Kirk, Mickey Mouse, and Pluto on a personal appearance at the Chinese on Sunday, February 10. (Ginny isn’t seen in Son of Flubber, but she is heard: she’s the “voice” of Baby Walter of the flubber TV commercials.)

The Mickey Mouse Club repeats featured new commercials for Disney films playing in theaters, so Son of Flubber naturally received a lot of promotion. Despite heavy rains, the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre showings that Tommy Kirk, Ginny Tyler, and the characters attended were sold out, and the in-person Disneylebrities were mobbed by fans. In light of this smash, Tommy and the Disney characters were requested for personal appearances in April for Detroit and New York City. The anti-gravity gag-fest soared to new heights as a comedy hit, and today, Son of Flubber is considered a classically kooky entry in the Disney comedy canon. It’s Fred, fun, and of course, flubber, all over again… for Son of Flubber is 50 and Fabulous.

The Six Degrees of Walt Disney and the 2013 Academy Awards

We’ve all heard of “The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” a mid-’90s parlor game based on “The Six Degrees of Separation,” a theory in which any two people on the planet are connected by just six (or less) other people.

In honor of the 2013 Academy Awards, we thought we’d put the theory to the test with none other than the man himself, Walt Disney. We set up a couple of parameters:

Connections had to be made through actual people who worked together, were related, or are truly friends.
The same people could not be used more than once (otherwise, let’s face it, Julie Andrews could probably get us everywhere!).

And the Best Actor nominees are:

Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) worked on this film with Robert De Niro, who worked on The Untouchables with Sean Connery, who worked with Walt on Darby O’Gill and the Little People.

Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables) worked on Les Misérables with Anne Hathaway, who costarred in both Princess Diaries films with Disney Legend Julie Andrews, who worked with Walt on Mary Poppins.

Daniel Day Lewis (Lincoln) appeared in Gangs of New York with Jim Broadbent, who was in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with Dame Maggie Smith, who appeared in Death on the Nile with Disney Legend Angela Lansbury, who was hired by Walt.

Joaquin Phoenix (The Master) worked on Quills with Michael Caine, who worked on Alfie (1966) with Millicent Martin, who worked with Juliet Mills on an episode of the British TV series The Morecambe and Wise Show and who is sister of Disney Legend Hayley Mills, who worked with Walt on The Parent Trap and other projects.

Denzel Washington (Flight) costarred in The Preacher’s Wife with Whitney Houston, who worked on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella with Bernadette Peters, who presented on the 1987 Tony Awards with Chita Rivera, who appeared on Broadway in Bye Bye Birdie with Dick Van Dyke, who worked with Walt on Mary Poppins.

And the Best Actress nominees are:
Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) worked in The Help with Emma Stone, who worked in The Amazing Spider-Man with Sally Field, who worked on Legally Blonde 2 with Bob Newhart, who worked on his self-titled TV show with Suzanne Pleshette, who worked with Walt on The Ugly Dachshund.

Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) was in X-Men: First Class with Kevin Bacon (we had to get him in here somewhere!), who worked on Apollo 13 with Bill Paxton, who starred in Twister with Helen Hunt. Helen Hunt was in As Good As It Gets with Shirley Knight who worked with Candace Bergen on The Group and whose father, Edgar Bergen, worked with Walt Disney on the book Edgar Bergen’s Charlie McCarthy Meets Walt Disney’s Snow White.

Emmanuelle Riva (Amour) worked on Blue with Juliette Binoche, who worked on Chocolat with Johnny Depp, who worked on Finding Neverland with Julie Christie, who worked on Doctor Zhivago with Alec Guinness, who filmed Oliver Twist with Robert Newton, who worked with Walt Disney on Treasure Island.

Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) will star in the upcoming Twelve Years As A Slave with Brad Pitt, who starred in Interview With A Vampire with Tom Cruise, who worked on Vanilla Sky with Kurt Russell, who worked with Walt on Follow Me Boys and other projects.

Naomi Watts (The Impossible) is best friends with Nicole Kidman, who worked on The Paperboy with Zac Efron, who worked in Hairspray with John Travolta, who was in Grease with Frankie Avalon, who worked on Beach Party with Annette Funicello, who worked with Walt on the Mickey Mouse Club and numerous other projects.

Top Five Disney Academy Award Moments

The Academy Awards® never fail to provide indelible memories. So the D23 Team did an informal poll around the office to see what we felt the top five Disney Oscar moments have been. What do you think? And don’t forget to tune into ABC on February 28 to watch more moments as they happen!

5—“A Lifetime of Magic”
On February 26, 1942, Walt Disney was honored with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award at the Academy Awards ceremony held at the Biltmore Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. It was only the fourth time the award had been given out. The night served as a double honor as this was the same year Walt, William Garity, John N. A. Hawkins and the RCA Manufacturing Company were honored for their outstanding contribution to the advancement of the use of sound in motion pictures for Fantasia. The “lifetime achievement” may have been a given a little prematurely: Of the 31 Academy Awards Walt received during his lifetime (he received one posthumously), 17 were presented after he received the Thalberg award.

4—“Sooner or Later,” It Was Bound to Happen
The words “Madonna” and “Disney” wouldn’t necessarily go hand in hand. But leave it to Warren Beatty to cast the pop superstar as Breathless Mahoney in his 1990 adaptation of Dick Tracy and, in the process, bring one of the world’s most controversial celebrities into the magic of Disney. The song, penned by Tony Award-winner Stephen Sondheim (Into the Woods) won an Academy Award, and Madonna showed that she could hold her own as she took to the Oscar stage and belted out the breath-taking song.

3—A Beauty of a Nomination
Released in 1991, the magnificent Beauty and the Beast was the first full-length animated feature to be nominated for Best Picture. While it didn’t take home that trophy, Beauty and the Beast did win awards for Best Score and Best Song (“Beauty and the Beast”) for Disney Legends Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. No other animated film was nominated for Best Picture until Up received that honor in 2009.

2—Julie’s Jolly Holiday
It was definitely supercalifragilisticexpialidocious for Julie Andrews when she picked up the award for Best Actress in 1965 for her role as the title character in Mary Poppins. It was practically perfect because Julie had been passed over to play the role of Eliza Doolittle in the film version of My Fair Lady, a character she had created on stage, and her fellow nominee in the category was Audrey Hepburn, who was selected to play the role. (The two ladies ultimately became good friends.) “I have so many thank yous, I only know where to start, and that’s with Mr. Walt Disney, and naturally, he has the largest thank you of all,” Julie told the audience as she accepted the award for what would become one of the most iconic characters in film.

1—Walt and the Seven Oscars
In 1939, Walt Disney won a special Academy Award for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The award—one large Oscar statue accompanied by seven “dwarf” Oscars—was presented to Walt by Shirley Temple. It was a particularly sweet moment; prior to its release, Snow White was nicknamed “Disney’s folly” by skeptics who didn’t believe general audiences would be interested in seeing a full-length, animated feature. After raking in $8.5 million at the box office during a time when movie tickets cost 25 cents for an adult and 10 cents for a child, Walt proved them wrong, and received a beautiful statue to show for it.

2012 In Memoriam

January 18, 2013March 27, 2018

Norman Alden, an American character actor who performed extensively on television and in the movies, passed away on July 27. For Disney, he voiced Sir Kay in The Sword in the Stone, appeared in Ed Wood (as cameraman Bill), and performed on television in the two-hour movie Sunday Drive (as John Elliott).

Ernest Borgnine, a renowned American film and television actor whose career spanned more than six decades, and who won an Oscar for his riveting performance in Marty, passed away on July 8. For Disney, he appeared in the film The Black Hole (as Harry Booth), on television in Appearances, and in the Disney Channel Original Movie Love Leads the Way.

. A lifelong admirer of Walt Disney, Bradbury enjoyed visiting the Disney Studio Lot, often sitting down to talk with Disney Legend and Chief Archivist Emeritus Dave Smith. “He’d speak at length of the times he was privileged to have lunch with Walt in his office,” Dave recently recalled.

A shining moment came for Bradbury on Halloween night, October 31, 2007, when the “Father of Halloween” experienced his personal dream come true: the lighting of his very own Halloween Tree at Disneyland in celebration of the 35th anniversary of his novel The Halloween Tree. On that night, Bradbury said, “I know that the ghost of Walt Disney is blessing me, right this very moment. This is one of the greatest nights in my life.”

Roger Broggie, Jr., a Walt Disney Imagineer and the son of Disney Legend Roger E. Broggie, passed away on December 11. He was 73. Roger’s contributions to the Disney Studio machine shop helped make many Disney theme park attractions come to life, including Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, “it’s a small world,” and the Carousel of Progress.

Harry Carey, Jr., an accomplished American actor who appeared in more than 90 films—including several John Ford Westerns and numerous television series—passed away on December 27. Known primarily for his roles in such classic Ford films as 3 Godfathers, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and The Searchers, Carey also appeared in several Disney films and television shows, including the films The Great Locomotive Chase (as William Bensinger), Run, Cougar, Run (as Barney), and Tombstone (as Marshal Fred White); the television series Spin and Marty and Texas John Slaughter; and the two-part television show Ride a Northbound Horse.

Dick Clark, an American radio and television personality who was the longtime host of American Bandstand, passed away on April 18. He was 82. For Disney, he, under Dick Clark Productions, produced the television show Your Big Break, hosted a game show called The Challengers, and was host of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on ABC for many years.

Phyllis Diller, legendary actress and comedienne, passed away on August 20. For her comedy act, Diller’s stage persona was that of a hairdo-challenged housewife not afraid to take a few cheap shots at her own age, fading appearance, and appalling cooking. For Pixar, Diller voiced the Queen in A Bug’s Life. She also had a cameo appearance on ABC’s Boston Legal, playing herself.

Patricia Dailey Disney, a noted philanthropist who grew up as a neighbor of Roy E. Disney in Toluca Lake and was married to him for more than 50 years, died February 3, 2012. She was 77. “We will always remember her irrepressible spirit and dedication to our company,” Robert Iger, chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company, said in a statement. “Patty was known for her kindness, outgoing nature, and especially for her philanthropy.”

Michael Clarke Duncan, an American actor best known for his performance as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, passed away September 3 at the age of 54. For Disney, he starred as Bear Kurleenbear in Armageddon, Eli in Breakfast of Champions, and voiced the character of Tug for Brother Bear.

Bonnie Lynn Fields, a Mouseketeer who joined the Mickey Mouse Club for its third season and quickly distinguished herself as an agile dancer, passed away November 18. She was 68. The South Carolina native was 12 when she was offered a prized slot on the show, joining the cast for the 1957-58 season after an audition in Burbank that drew thousands of young performers. After leaving the Mickey Mouse Club, Fields performed in live shows at Disneyland and appeared in the TV serials The New Adventures of Spin and Marty starring Tim Considine; and Annette, which featured Annette Funicello.

In later decades, Fields’ career encompassed film and theater. She also ran dance studios, including the Lynn Fields School of Tap and Performing Arts in Santa Monica, California.

Ben Gazzara, an intense actor whose long career included roles in influential films by John Cassavetes and work with several generations of top Hollywood directors, died February 3, 2012. He was 81. For Disney, Gazzara had roles in Hollywood Pictures’ Shadow Conspiracy (as Vice President Saxon), Touchstone Pictures’ Summer of Sam (as Luigi), and Brian’s Song (as Coach Halas), which aired on The Wonderful World of Disney television show.

Don Grady, a former Mouseketeer who went on to play Chip and Ernie’s wholesome, heartthrob big brother, Robbie, on the classic television sitcom My Three Sons, passed away June 27. He was 68. Born Don Agrati, the name he used as a Mouseketeer, Grady changed his name when he signed on to play Robbie. While he would go on to appear in several other television series, Grady also enjoyed a successful career in music—composing songs and music for television, theatre, and films, including the theme song to Phil Donahue’s talk show.

Andy Griffith, a beloved American actor whose folksy Southern manner charmed audiences for decades on Broadway, in movies, and on television—most notably as the sheriff on the long-running situation comedy that bore his name—passed away July 3 at age 86. For Disney, Griffith appeared in Hollywood Pictures’ Spy Hard (as General Rancor).

Celeste Holm, a legendary star of stage and movies who won an Oscar for her performance in Gentlemen’s Agreement, passed away July 15. She was 95. For Disney, she appeared in Touchstone Pictures’ Three Men and a Baby (as Jack’s mother); and on television in Kilroy and The Bluegrass Special, which appeared on Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, and Polly and Polly—Comin’ Home, which aired on the Magical World of Disney.

Whitney Houston, an American recording artist, actress, producer, and model, passed away on February 11, 2012. She was 49. For Disney, she starred in Touchstone’s film The Preacher’s Wife, and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella on television.

Stan Jolley, whose magic touch extended from Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle to the dusty streets in Zorro and onto the big screen in Old Yeller, passed away June 4. He was 86. Born in 1926, he quickly learned the ins and outs of the entertainment industry as the son of I. Stanford Jolley, a popular character actor of the time. Following his naval service in World War II, he became an apprentice in the art department at Warner Bros.

Later, Disney artist Herb Ryman convinced Stan to come work for Walt Disney on a new and unprecedented project. Long before Disneyland opened, Stan was hard at work with Herb, Walt Disney, and Dick Irvine, designing some of Disneyland’s most beloved landmarks. His influence can be seen in the Main Street Emporium, the Golden Horseshoe Saloon in Frontierland, the Storybook Land Canal Boats, and Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Bob Lambert, a digital media executive whose work encompassed movies, television, and gaming projects at Disney for more than 25 years, passed away September 7. He was 55. For Disney Feature Animation, he helped create a strategy to replace cel animation with CGI production.

George Lindsey, an American actor most known for his roles as Goober Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show, passed away on May 6. He was 83. For Disney, he appeared in Snowball Express, Charlie and the Angel, Treasure of Matecumbe, and provided the voice of Trigger in Robin Hood, and Lafayette and Deadeye, the rabbit, in The Rescuers. He also appeared on television in Bristle Face.

Lucille Martin, who served as Walt Disney’s personal assistant and later vice president and special assistant to The Walt Disney Company Board of Directors, passed away on October 24 at age 90. One Friday in September 1964, a few weeks after the world premiere of Mary Poppins, Lucille typed up a résumé and stopped by the Studio to inquire about work. She was hired on the spot. Lucille started in the secretarial pool the following Monday and was immediately sent to work for Donovan Moye in Publicity. She worked briefly for the vice president of Labor Relations, Bonar Dyer, and in early 1965 was called to report to Walt’s office.

In 1995, Lucille was promoted to vice president and special assistant to The Walt Disney Company Board of Directors. In this role, she served as a liaison between company management and the board.

Cliff Osmond, an American character actor and television screenwriter, passed away on December 22. He was 75. For Disney, Cliff appeared in The North Avenue Irregulars and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again.

Tony Scott, a British film director and producer, passed away on August 19. He was 68. For Disney, he directed Touchstone’s Enemy of the State, Crimson Tide, and Déjà Vu.

Mel Shaw, legendary animation concept artist, designer, and storyman for Disney films from Bambi to The Lion King, passed away on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 22) at age 97. His career at Disney included several tours of duty, starting in 1937 with early story and character design work on “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” which started as a short film and became the genesis for the feature Fantasia. He went on to work on story and visual development for Bambi and for “The Wind in the Willows” segment of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. He left the studio in 1941 but returned 33 years later to help influence the look and story for such beloved and modern-day Disney films as The Rescuers, The Fox and the Hound, The Great Mouse Detective, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King.

Robert Sherman, half of the acclaimed and prolific Sherman Brothers songwriting team, passed away in London, England, on March 5 at The London Clinic. He was 86 years old. In collaboration with his brother, Richard M. Sherman (who survives him), Robert wrote some of the most memorable and best-loved songs in the history of modern family entertainment. Personally selected by Walt Disney to write songs for his films, television shows, and theme parks, the Sherman Brothers had perhaps their biggest career milestone with the 1964 Disney masterpiece Mary Poppins, for which they received two of the film’s five Oscar wins, for Best Song (“Chim Chim Cher-ee”) and Best Original Score.

Dick Tufeld, an American actor, announcer, narrator, and voice actor, passed away on January 22, 2012. He was 85. For Disney, he was the narrator on television’s Here’s to You Mickey Mouse, and was announcer/narrator on the television specials Christmas at Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Happy Easter Parade, and on many episodes of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color.

Ginny Tyler, the head Mouseketeer on live segments from Disneyland during the re-edited and repackaged syndication run of the original Mickey Mouse Club, passed away July 13. She was 86. Ginny’s first job with Disney was as narrator on phonograph records for Disneyland Records in the 1960s. For Disneyland Records, she narrated beloved vinyl recordings of Bambi, Babes in Toyland, Hans Brinker, and More Mother Goose. Ginny’s vocal work gradually moved from narration to character voices for Disney: she played two amorous female squirrels in The Sword in the Stone and sang for several of the barnyard animals in the “Jolly Holiday” sequence of Mary Poppins.

Ray Watson, noted for helping build the town of Irvine, California, and advising Walt Disney on the original vision for EPCOT, passed away on October 20. He was for 30 years a member of the Disney Board of Directors, serving as chairman in 1983-1984. His first job was planning a civic center for the city of Stockton. He left Northern California in 1960 to join the Irvine Company in Orange County, enticed by the company’s 90,000 acres of undeveloped land.

Watson first got involved with Disney in the mid-1960s when he was asked to meet with Walt to discuss EPCOT, the “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow,” which was still just a dream in Walt’s imagination. Walt needed advice from someone with urban planning experience on the same grand scale as his new project, and Watson, who was then currently developing what is now the city of Irvine, was a perfect fit. Although he was never actively involved in the development or construction of Walt Disney World, Watson would frequently stop by the site whenever his business affairs took him to the East Coast.

William Windom, a triple threat actor whose work includes countless credits on Broadway, television, and in films, passed away on August 16. He was 88. For Disney, he appeared in the film Now You See Him, Now You Don’t; the Disney Channel premiere film Back to Hannibal: The Return of Tom Sawyer; and on television in The Bluegrass Special and The Fanelli Boys series.

Jack Skellington Sugar Cookies

Makes 18 cookies.

Ingredients

Cookies
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¾ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp. vanilla extract

Icing
2 egg whites
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
black food coloring paste

Preparation

Cookies
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside. Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture in three parts. Once dough comes together, cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 400°F. On a floured surface, roll out dough to ¼-inch thickness. Using a round cookie cutter or an overturned cup, cut dough into circles about 3 ¼ inches in diameter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely before icing. Yield: 18 cookies

Icing
Place egg whites in bowl of an electric mixer; whisk until frothy. Add confectioners’ sugar a little at a time, until thick but still spreadable. Place 1/3 of icing in a separate bowl. Add black food coloring paste to reserved icing and stir until color is uniform. Decorate cooled cookies by covering with white icing and letting it dry (placing cookies in the refrigerator will speed up this process). Place black icing in a pastry bag or a plastic resealable bag and cut off a tiny bit of the corner to create a very small hole. Use black icing to draw eyes, nostrils, and stitched mouth on each cookie.

Courtesy of Disneyland Resort

This recipe has been converted from a larger quantity in the restaurant kitchens. The flavor profile may vary from the restaurant’s version. All recipes are the property of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc., and may not be reproduced without express permission.

Disney’s Dark Side

October 18, 2012July 2, 2018

Dead men tell no tales.

Or do they? This time of year, Hong Kong Disneyland and Disneyland Paris scare up nightmarish spectaculars, wicked parties, and hair-raising attraction overlays that are not for the faint of heart. Check out our photo tour of some of their most tortured experiences.

Terrorific Night at Disneyland Paris

Terrorific Night, a hard-ticket event soiree created only for Disneyland Paris, conjures up a real scare. Attractions are bathed in ethereal lighting and macabre music as gruesome creatures and monstrous characters haunt park corridors and darkened alleyways.

Graves Academy at Hong Kong Disneyland

When Hong Kong Disneyland opened in 2005, a ghoulish fall event with haunting effects and shadowy characters arrived with the park… and it has continued to grow each year. The new Graves Academy, where Master Graves is breeding the evil of the future, is opening its doors in search of new enrollments.

Cursed Jungle at Hong Kong Disneyland

Meet for a creepy photo with nocturnal mythical creatures, ghoulish souls, and the Grim Reaper wandering the dark, fogged pathways of Adventureland—Cursed Jungle. Guests should beware of the imminent treachery they will be exposed to when they visit the traveling show set up in the heart of Adventureland and its renowned main exhibit at Revenge of the Headless Horseman.

Main Street, U.S.A.—Clash of Evil at Hong Kong Disneyland

Guests should join forces to support their team when the Vampires and Werewolves meet for the ultimate showdown at Main Street, U.S.A.—Clash of Evil. Be there to witness which team will be victorious and the supreme ruler of all dark forces. At Disney’s Haunted Halloween 2012, the Vampire Coven and the Were Tribe—two emerging forces of evil—are invading Hong Kong Disneyland and stirring up an intense clash to determine who will permeate every corner of the park. The Choose Your Dark Side Challenge mobile app will be available for users to download and play. Users can join the struggle for ultimate power between the Vampire Coven and the Were Tribe as they collect dark power with a simple flick of their touchscreens, anytime and anywhere.

Disneyland’s Pet Cemetery

The original pet cemetery at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion began in the 1980s with just a few grave statues tucked away on a small patch of lawn on the side of the queue, out of sight for most guests.

After a few years, Disney Imagineers realized there were more ghost stories to tell from Mansion‘s animal inhabitants. And in 1993, the gravesite was expanded into the section along the queue that guests visit today.

Recently, there have been some changes afoot in the small graveyard. Amid the decor and grandeur of Jack Skellington’s decorations for Haunted Mansion Holiday, those with a sharp eye may be able to spot a new and shocking addition to the pet cemetery: the upturned grave of Sparky from Disney’s film Frankenweenie.

the upturned grave of Sparky from Disney's film Frankenweenie — Sparky

Working in tandem with Walt Disney Studios, Imagineering added Sparky’s tombstone and freshly disturbed plot to the queue-side resting place. Yet unlike the other, more restful graves of the animal afterlife abode, Sparky’s is freshly disturbed and not exactly filled with the dearly departed.

Sparky had a few canine companions during his brief stay in the cemetery, including Buddy and Fifi. While not much is known about Fifi, Buddy was clearly a “friend until the end” and deserved a prominent place in the plot.

Buddy the canine's tomb in the Disneyland Haunted House — Buddy

Fifi's tomb in the Disneyland Haunted House Pet Cemetary — Fifi

While those loyal pooches seem pretty innocuous, other arrangements seem a bit more questionable. The first tableau in the cemetery seems to indicate that the resident feline had a hand (or paw) in the fates of several feathered friends.

Resident feline in the Disneyland Haunted House Pet Cemetary — Resident feline

Not all tombstones in the pet cemetery reflect “traditional” pets. Some, including Rosie the pig, appear to have “bought the farm” a little early.

Rosie the pig in the Disneyland Haunted House Pet Cemetary — Rosie the Pig

Freddie the bat and Lilac the skunk are also interred here, and despite Lilac’s “common scents,” something smells funny about her untimely demise.

Freddie the bat from Disneyland's pet cemetary — Freddie the Bat

Lilac the skunk at Disneyland's pet cemetary — Lilac the skunk

One of the graveyard’s most notable residents croaked on a very auspicious date. Old Flybait, the departed amphibian, actually died 100 years to the day before the grand opening of Haunted Mansion. Perhaps he could help Madame Leota with her predictions?

Old flybait's tomb in Disneyland's pet cemetary — Old flybait

While we don’t know how all these animals met their demise,

for some the writing was—and remains—on the wall. Four more interred individuals grace the brick facade of the queue, including a fish, rat, spider, and snake. While the bones of the fish have been picked clean leaving us nary a fateful clue, death came for the serpent at the hand of the gardener, and poor spider Jeb was unfortunately tangled up in his own web.

In addition to those above, there are grave markers for a squirrel and a rabbit without inscriptions. You can come to your own conclusions regarding their fates and personalities. While these happy and hairy haunts can’t go home with you, some pin traders have gathered the Haunted Mansion Pet Cemetery collection. Released in 2009, this grouping commemorates the design of each headstone, so be on the lookout this Halloween to see if you can trade for any of these tombstones. And for those in the Disneyland area, throw our subjects a bone and stop by on your next visit and say “hello” to these four-legged friends.

A Tribute to Bob Moline

October 5, 2012March 27, 2018

Visiting any one of Disney’s theme parks is a multi-sensory experience with so many engaging sights, tastes, smells, and visions… and in the most magical of ways. For those audio-inclined D23 Members who enjoy the melodies of Epcot, singer-songwriter Bob Moline occupies a special place in your hearts—and ears!—for his monumental contributions to the literal tone of the park, penning such iconic tunes as “Golden Dream” and “Listen to the Land.” On the 30th anniversary of the park’s opening, D23 looks back on Bob’s history with Disney and how he put his stamp on the Epcot experience.

Bob’s tenure with Disney began in the 1970s when Billy Long, Disneyland’s then-director of Marketing, heard him singing in the Wine Cellar dining room at the Newporter Inn in Newport Beach, California. After taking in Bob’s performance, Billy asked him to compose the music for a commercial promoting Disney’s 20th anniversary. This became Bob’s first step down the Disney path, and his wife, Sheri Moline, tells D23 that Bob also wrote the jingle for the “It Could Only Happen at Disneyland” promotion. As further proof of Bob’s enormous talent, his efforts on this campaign were rewarded with a CLIO Award nomination, a globally recognized honor for creative excellence in advertising.

While Bob’s parks prowess began at Disneyland, the opening of Epcot in 1982 prompted his greatest body of work for a single Disney park. The prolific songwriter spent years crafting many of the songs that flowed throughout the pavilions, and when it came time to celebrate the opening of the park, the entire Moline family was on hand. Bob, Sheri, and his children, Justin and Jennifer, arrived at the gates clad in custom red shirts emblazoned with the words “Visiting Epcot to hear Daddy’s songs.” Standing out just like Bob’s trademark lyricism, the stylishly proud family was quick to dive in and see what their patriarch had created.

As the family entered Epcot, Bob’s first song was on the right, where “Listen to the Land” streamed from the eponymous ride in the Kraft Pavilion. One of this song’s hallmarks is its ability to appeal to guests of all ages, and Justin is quick to point out to D23 that this is one of his dad’s strong suits. “He always had that part of him that never grew up and could always connect to childlike wonder,” Justin says. “I think that is where he drew a lot of his lyrical substance from, which you can hear in his songs like ‘Listen to the Land.'”

The Moline family made their way out of Future World and into World Showcase, and the first stop on the right yielded “Canada (You’re a Lifetime Journey),” another Moline masterpiece. While the song has a distinct international flair with lyrics in both English and French, it was written and recorded, like nearly all of Bob’s works, in Southern California. “I oftentimes would go to the studio with him down in Newport Beach… so I could look through the window in the studio into the booth and see him singing,” Justin reminisces. At the end of the day, Bob would bring Justin into the booth so he could hear the finished recording and finally hear what his father had been working on.

As with any creative exercise, Bob was constantly thinking of the next medley or lyric. “He would write a lot of lyrics at the house, or at the table, or wherever he happened to be,” Justin explains. It was impossible to tell when inspiration would strike so Bob kept a pad of paper by his bedside and wrote whenever his passion struck him, seemingly pulling the notes out of thin air. “I remember seeing him get up from bed in the morning. He had a paper and pen by his bedside, and he would jot down some things that came to him in the night,” Justin notes. “To me as a kid, it seemed like magic.”

As the family continued around World Showcase, they came to the site of one of Bob’s most magical, inspirational, and famous compositions, “Golden Dream.” The rousing end to the combination video and Audio-Animatronics® show The American Adventure is a family favorite and a true classic, as Sheri explains. “‘Golden Dream’ inspires hope and unity for America which is so vital at this time.” Justin notes how the song “always gives me goose bumps,” and he had the distinct pleasure and pride of hearing it performed by a marching band in a road parade. “At first I was like, wait, why are they playing my dad’s music? But it is actually a huge compliment,” Justin says. This surreal experience was the ultimate tribute to his father, something Justin could only describe as “phenomenal.”

The Moline family spent two days at Epcot, taking in the sights and most importantly, the sounds. “I can’t begin to express the happiness and excitement we felt while visiting each pavilion and sharing in the excitement of actually seeing our long-awaited dreams come true and knowing that Bob would leave his mark in life,” Sheri says. At the end of the trip, the gang was riding back to the airport on a shuttle bus with other park guests. To make the trip a little more enjoyable, Bob began to sing his songs from the park, much to the delight of those on board. Sheri tells D23 that at the end of the ride, another famous “Bob” emerged from the front of the bus: Robert Sherman was also on board the coach, and Sheri says her husband felt it was the ultimate compliment when one of Disney’s greatest songwriters came back to shake his hand.

Bob was recognized for his hard work with an official EPPY award presented to him by Tom Elrod, vice president of marketing, for his efforts in promoting Epcot. This award now resides in daughter Jennifer’s home; quite the souvenir! While Bob’s songs continue to live on in Epcot, his contributions to Disney do not stop there. “He loved doing everything for Disney” remarks Justin, and Bob continued to contribute lyrics and music to the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, and he even wrote the theme song in 1994 for the then Disney-owned professional hockey team the Mighty Ducks.

Sadly, Bob passed away in December 2011, and the Disney parks and the world lost a great singer and songwriter. However, Sheri notes, “long after his passing, his music will continue to live on, thanks to Disney.” While all the families that visit Epcot may not wear matching red shirts honoring Bob’s work, they all surely appreciate Bob’s deft lyrics and beautiful musical notes as they enjoy the magic and wonder of the park.

From all of us at D23, and all those who have heard or ever will hear your wonderful songs, thank you Bob.