Storybook Land: From Mudbank to Magic

The Storybook Land Canal Boats opened at Disneyland today in 1956. This fanciful boat ride through the gaping mouth of Monstro the Whale and into a miniature world of Disney animated films has delighted guests for 55 years. The attraction as we know it today, however, had a very humble beginning.

Say "Aahhhhhh."

On Disneyland's opening day in 1955, what would become Storybook Land debuted as the Canal Boats of the World, a leisurely float past, well, pretty much nothing except mounds of dirt. The ride was originally intended to show miniature reproductions of famous world cities like Paris and London, but Walt Disney ran out of time and money to finish it properly. Instead, boat skippers had to pilot their crafts through an empty waterway, occasionally stopping to talk about coming attractions at Disneyland. Hardly an E-ticket, it was euphemistically dubbed the "Mudbank Ride."

In May 1956, my parents visited Disneyland for the first time and my father took these pictures of Storybook Land under construction from the Casey Jr. Circus Train:

The Old Mill under construction

Pinocchio's Alpine Village. Pardon our fairy dust.

When the Storybook Land Canal Boats officially launched in June 1956, four of the original Mouseketeers were on hand, as was the American Dairy Princess, who christened each vessel by pouring a pint of milk on it (I am not making this up).

Storybook Land has undergone a number of changes over the years, but it will always be a land of magical miniature sites and villages. The next time you ride it, though, try to remember that it all started as a pretty ugly ride to nowhere.

Cinderella's Castle today

Merrily on our way to nowhere in particular.

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Thirty Days of Disney Movies, Day Twenty-Two - Movie I Wish I Could Live In

Nearly 74 years of Disney and Pixar feature films have taken us to all manner of interesting places. From fairy tale castles to idyllic high schools; from quaint forest cottages to apocalyptic waste dumps. Some would be quite wonderful to live in. Others, not so much. Still, despite all those choices, I had no trouble deciding which imaginary Disney destination I'd like to go to.

I want to live on the Grid.

Seriously, what better place to get a nice apartment on the edge of town...

...catch up with old friends...

...or have a drink or two with new ones?

I could partake in challenging recreational activities...

...or even check out the local music scene.

There's nothing like attending a major sporting event...

...although, the traffic can be a bitch.

And yeah, OK, that whole derezzing thing is kind of a drag.

Still, there are plenty of reasons to want to live on the Grid.

I'll send you a postcard.

Wait, make that an e-mail instead.

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Thirty Days of Disney Movies, Day Twenty-One - Movie With My Favorite Actor

Jeff Bridges was 32 when he appeared in his first Disney film. It took him 28 years to do it again.

Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) faces off
with Clu (Jeff Bridges).

Bridges played video game geek Kevin Flynn and his digital doppelganger Clu in both Tron (1982) and Tron: Legacy (2010). For two movies where actors took the backseat to whiz-bang special effects, Bridges still managed to stand out, a credit to his gifts as an actor. Throughout his career, he's had a knack for making mediocre movies good and good movies great (see The Big Lebowski, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, and the criminally overlooked The Door in the Floor).

Neither Tron nor Tron: Legacy are great films, but they are entertaining eye candy and that's OK. That's all they were intended to be. Tron tested the limits of early computer animation and is the more groundbreaking film. Tron: Legacy, however, is the better overall movie experience, with bigger and bolder visual effects. Twenty-eight years of improved digital technology were kind to it.

You're messing with my Zen thing, man!

As far as Bridges performances, I prefer him as the cocky, goofy computer nerd of the first movie compared to the grizzled zen master he played in the second ("180 degrees from where we left him," commented Bridges). His nervous energy as he bounds up the stairs of the research lab or explains his plan to recover stolen game programs are what propel the scenes that are otherwise "off the Grid." He proves the perfect foil for bad guy David Warner, who does triple duty as the weaselly corporate drone Dillinger, his merciless program Sark, and the all-powerful Master Control Program (I'm pretty sure Warner played the villain in every movie produced in the 1980s--and then he sunk the Titanic).

In Tron: Legacy, using motion capture animation and facial mapping, Bridges played Clu as a younger version of himself. The effect is creepy, but it works. And it's still Bridges performance, even if it is digitally reproduced.

Kevin Flynn's ultimate fate in Tron: Legacy was up for grabs, leaving the door open for a new Tron installment (a script is already being worked on). Disney already put "day after" teaser videos on the Blu-ray release of Tron: Legacy, which were also briefly leaked online. Apparently, there is much speculation that "Flynn Lives."

Will Jeff Bridges be back for a third go-round on the Grid? I expect he will, and he'll again be as much fun to watch as the digital bells and whistles on screen.

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