When we last read up on my adventures, it's now nearing 5:00pm, and the pin line for the Soda Fountain has just started. I head to the back of the line and soon find myself between two cast members from
Disneyland. I enjoy a pleasant conversation with them, one of whom as it turns out is from the city right next to the one where I grew up and now live. She's even been to the store that my friend used to own that's been referenced here on prior trip reports. Seeing as how it's opening night for Sleeping Beauty, we also discuss exactly why, at least in our opinions, Sleeping Beauty is the best film Disney has ever made. The great thing about Disney films is that you can find plenty of reasons why one film is better than another, and in the end, neither person is right or wrong. Chances are that many of you reading this will name a film other than Sleeping Beauty as your favorite. You probably have equally compelling and personal reasons for why you love your favorite film, and that's the beauty of Disney. We truly are united more by what we have in common than our differences.
I'm also quite enjoying this night as a chance to talk with other people who love the Disney classics as much as I do. Some people don't understand why these films and theme parks mean so much to us, so it's a wonderful feeling to be among friends as it were. I also have a nice discussion with one of the CMs about the Dream Suite. She'd just been trained to work on it, so she could tell me a little bit about how Disney ensures that the winner is always completely random and what they've done with it. I think I'll always miss the Disney Gallery being in what was supposed to be Walt's apartment, but I feel a lot better about what they've done with it. We also lament how Fauna gets the shaft in the color argument from Sleeping Beauty, though I should note here that Disney animators did use green at one point for the Briar Rose costume. At a Sleeping Beauty presentation by a friend of mine who worked on the film(I met him through my friend's store), he showed a cel of Briar Rose in green. The color green, while warmer, did not work right with the backgrounds of the film, so Disney animators wisely chose to make her costume gray. The CM commented that when the Parade of Dreams passes by, she always tells Fauna to make it green to make her feel better. I, of course, continue to drive Flora crazy by telling her that she's wrong.
While waiting in line for the pins, I learned about why I was smart. When the tickets first went on sale, I decided to spring for the VIP seats for opening night, figuring that a closer seat and the popcorn and drink that came with the VIP seats would be worth it. What I did not know is that having VIP seats also means that you don't have to line up and wait for seating to begin. VIP seating gives you a specific seat in a certain place that nobody can take. So while some people are now arriving and waiting in line in an effort to get a nice seat, I can relax knowing that my seat isn't going anywhere. The popcorn always comes in a souvenir tub, which I'm told is themed to the film playing at that time.
As the time has passed, it's now time to go inside the Soda Fountain and Studio Store again. And once again, Disney is quick. I'd eaten there about an hour ago, and there was nothing to be seen in regards to the Sleeping Beauty sundae, complete with a chocolate rose and pink and blue sprinkles. And now, they're all over the place. They also have a wide assortment of Sleeping Beauty merchandise, most of which is aimed at little kids as opposed to collectors, but I was able to pick up a nice hard cover storybook with some beautiful illustrations and a a free poster featuring the artwork for the new DVD release. I also pick up the pins, deciding at the last minute to add the one with the 3 Good Fairies, if only because it shows Aurora's crown and the 3 Good Fairies are cool. In a nice Disney touch, one of the pins did not arrive in time for the release due to weather issues, but Disney is allowing you to pre-order it and they will ship it to you for free when it arrives.
With my pins and storybook in hand, I head over near the exit from the Soda Fountain into the lobby of the El Capitan and talk some more with a nice lady that I'd conversed with earlier in line for the pins. I even have a chance to show her some of my art collection, which is on my brand new camera since I was learning the ropes of it a few days before I left. From the outside, I can see a large crowd gathering in excitement and anticipation of the soon to be opened doors, with more than a few getting really excited at a glimpse of the title character from the film, standing right inside the lobby a few feet away from the doors.
The great thing about having VIP tickets for this showing is that I don't have to worry about finding a seat. I already have one reserved and there's also a special line(or complete lack thereof) for VIP ticket holders to pick up their popcorn and soda. I've been told that the popcorn buckets are themed to each film, but the one tonight is just a generic El Capitan bucket with no relevance whatsoever to Sleeping Beauty. I pick up my soda and popcorn, and show my ticket to an usher who proceeds to take me directly to my seat, which is about front and center, so I'm happy about that.
If you ever decide to see a movie at the El Capitan, make sure, by all means, make sure that you arrive in plenty of time to see Rob Richards at the El Capitan organ. This is absolutely awesome. For around 20-30 minutes before the show starts, he plays a wide medley of Disney songs, from beloved classics from Walt's time to new favorites from films as recent as Enchanted. It's just a lot of fun to sit in an old movie theatre and hear Disney music played on the organ. I even bought the CD they sell in the store since it was so much fun. And as 7:00pm is now minutes away, Rob Richards plays one final song on that magnificent organ. And soon, the organ is returning to the depths of the stage as the final notes of Once Upon a Dream fade away.
And then the curtain rises to reveal the Sleeping Beauty 50th Anniversary logo and Don Hahn steps out onto the stage. For anyone who's read my Walt Disney Studios report, you know that was full of moments, where in the words of Syndrome from The Incredibles, "I'm totally geeking out here." And so this was just the beginning of many more geek out moments. Don Hahn is one of the producers of another one of my all time favorite Disney films 1991's Beauty and the Beast and here he is on stage moderating the panel discussion. And then Mr. Hahn proceeded to introduce the special panel tonight, a veritable who's who of Disney Legends. The panel discussion featured artist/Imagineer Blaine Gibson, Imagineer Tony Baxter, stylist Frank Armitage, author Bob Thomas, and the Princess Aurora herself, Mary Costa. As much as each subsequent introduction brought the house down, introducing the voice of Sleeping Beauty at the premiere of the 50th anniversary screening brought everything to a crescendo.
For those not aware of the accomplishments of this group, here goes. Blaine Gibson worked on man of the classic films, even provided the speaking voice for King Stefan in Sleeping Beauty, and went on to help create such beloved classics as Pirates of the Carribean and sculpted every single President of the United States for Hall of Presidents. Frank Armitage did background for Sleeping Beauty and helped design Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland Paris. Tony Baxter created Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and worked on Star Tours, Splash Mountain, and the Indiana Jones Adventure. His current project is the reopening of the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough at Disneyland. Bob Thomas has written many books about Disney, including The Art of Animation, a veritable making of Sleeping Beauty book. Mary Costa would use Sleeping Beauty as a springboard for her distinguished career where she would sing at President Kennedy's funeral at the invitation of Jackie Kennedy, and later sing opera at the Met in New York City.
Eyvind Earle and some of his astonishing concept art for the film
The panel discussion was fascinating as they touched on the impact of Sleeping Beauty and discussed the artwork and subsequent career of Eyvind Earle. Mary Costa spoke of how Walt did not want to meet her until after the recording was done as he did not want to be influenced by her appearance and personality. Interesting note about the casting of Mary Costa. There was some concern over a Tennessee accent for an English princess, but the 9 Old Men figured if the English Vivian Leigh could play a southern Belle in Gone With the Wind, then a southern Belle could voice an English princess in Sleeping Beauty. Walt also told Mary Costa to paint the palette of Aurora's emotions with the colors of her voice. A lot of the information in the panel discussion is also contained on the Sleeping Beauty 50th Anniversary DVD release, which I highly recommend acquiring if you want to know how Disney makes films. With the restoration work done on this film, Sleeping Beauty is now being been the way Walt intended it to be for the first time since the films' release in 1959. After the panel discussion ended, Don Hahn showed us the incredible sound system Disney installed at the El Capitan and then the curtain lowered and the reason we were gathered together in the El Capitan Theatre was about to begin.
Seeing Sleeping Beauty on this occasion was like seeing it again for the first time. Yes, I know the story inside and out, but to see this masterpiece in all its' glory was a sight to behold. Seeing the film with an audience of Disney fans is even better. Applause rang out for every credit, especially when the names of the 9 Old Men went up. It was so much fun to see a film with an audience that could fully appreciate the classic they were watching. As John Lasseter said on the audio commentary on the DVD, the sequence where Prince Phillip fights Maleficent is one of the most memorable in the history of cinema. And to see it on the silver screen is astonishing. It literally takes your breath away. Small wonder that nearly every major Disney villain since Maleficent has imitated her by transforming into a gigantic nightmarish creature of some sort. All too quickly, the movie ended and outside the screening room, a large line had formed. Mary Costa was gracious enough to wait around and sign autographs for the legions of fans.
So after initial confusion about where the line really started, I was able to find the back of it and struck up a friendly conversation with the gentleman in front of me, who turned out to be another Disneyland cast member. After a while, I realized that we were standing 5 feet away from Disney Legend and composer Richard Sherman. While I wanted to get my picture taken with him, the chance never arose, but that's okay. Although Richard Sherman is cool, I wasn't there to see him. Eventually my turn came and I met Mary Costa. I told her that I'm friends with one of her friends, who did animation on Sleeping Beauty. She was kind enough to sign both a Sleeping Beauty storybook I'd bought hours before at the Soda Fountain and one of the cardstock fliers Disney had made to advertise Sleeping Beauty.
Kathryn Beaumont, the voice of Alice from Alice in Wonderland and Wendy Darling from Peter Pan was also signing autographs, but I didn't have anything on me from either of those films, so I just headed over to the Soda Fountain and Studio Store to enjoy a Sleeping Beauty sundae and then the time had come to leave. After a brief detour, I made to I-5 southbound and made my way to Anaheim, checked into my hotel and went to bed in anticipation of an exciting day at Disneyland in the morning.
