A SYMPOSIUM ON PAPER PERSONALITIES

Recently, as gifts for a few of our friends who are also cool enough to appreciate such stuff, Jody Daily and I went to work with x-actos in hand and recreated several of the paper animation puppets from the 1962 Disney featurette "A Symposium On Popular Songs." Though not widely known today, it was included on last year's silver box DVD release "Disney Rarities."


A fun parody of one of the Andrews Sisters
(Patty, no doubt, with that blonde hair.)
This was a gift to our dearest blonde friend in the whole wide world Stacia Martin.



Ever since I had two eyes, I've admired the rare stop-motion animation done by the Disney Studio in the 1960s, especially the fanciful opening title sequences to "The Parent Trap" and "The Misadventures of Merlin Jones" (starring Tommy Kirk and Annette!)
I think these brief animated moments are every bit as fun as -if not even more fun than -the live-action stories that follow.


"I'm Blue For You....Boo, Boo, Boo, Boo, Boo..."
Why, it's a little paper Bing, with a body of string!



The Fortune Cookie Bakery Man!


The genius animation duo of Bill Justice and X. Atencio, the guys who originally came up with all these terrific character designs. Here they are in 1962 working on the "Red Hot Rutabaga Rag" sequence performed by vegetables. It's no wonder these fellas are my heroes.

Of course in the film, Professor Ludwig Von Drake modestly accepts all the credit for the paper animation sequences. Though he is a genius (make no mistake), we know the truth...


I suspect by now, you're curious to see some of the original paper animation in "A Symposium On Popular Songs."

Well, Here you go...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=G6mH_4Kzyzc&feature=related

PAPER EXOTICA

"Sound of Tiki" CD Art by Kevin Kidney 2008
Originally uploaded by Miehana

Here is my original paper sculpture for an upcoming CD of rare music recordings compiled by Taschen's "Book of Tiki" author Sven Kirsten. The album is being produced in Germany by Bear Family Records.

I'd like to mention that not one bit of this image was accomplished with digital trickery. This is 100% hand-embossed, hand-cut and assembled paper, photographed just as you see it here.

Everyday, people walk right up to me on the street and say, "Dude, why are you so HAPPY all the time??"

To them, I just smile and shrug.
But to YOU, I'll let you know my secret to eternal youth and happiness:

I'm a vegetarian
(mostly),
I don't smoke,
my close friends are all top quality people,
and I listen to LUXURIAMUSIC.COM

Go to their website and click on "listen" in the menu.
(I prefer to enjoy listening through the modern miracle of iTunes.)

MAN OF LA MUNCHA

Last year I must’ve devoured more Fritos, um, than usual, thanks in great part to the corn chips’ special 75th Anniversary packaging with vintage character art of the Frito Kid. I mean, just look at him. How in the world could I resist?!

Looking a lot like the blonde cousin to Bob’s Big Boy and sporting a gigantic wave of hair that resembles (perhaps unintentionally) a great big Frito, to me the Frito Kid is all that and a bag of you know what.



To clarify, the Kid himself was not celebrating his 75th last year, having merely reached the salty age of 54 by 2007. After tirelessly promoting "the best corn chips made" for 14 years, the Kid was sacked in 1967 and his spokesman duties were simultaneously taken up by the controversial – though equally ADORED by me - Frito Bandito (voiced hysterically on TV spots by Mel Blanc.)



But the name “Frito Kid” would hardly pass our hydrogenated oil-slicked lips today had he not managed to corral himself into a little patch of Walt Disney’s theme park heaven.

The first Casa de Fritos location opened on August 19th, 1955 next door to Aunt Jemima's Pancake House. The Frito Kid chip-dispensing machine stood just inside the door as you walked to the counter, and was not visible from outside, which explains why photos are scarce.



Here's how it worked. Put a nickel in the cash box on the fence, and the Frito Kid came to life. While rolling his eyes, licking his lips, and turning his head, he'd holler back to his unseen partner Klondike inside the mountain to send down some more of those "golden chips of corn," and before you knew it, a wax-paper bag of dee-licious Fritos came sliding out right down the chute.
Wha-hoo!



Always heard but never seen, Klondike remains a mystery. What did he look like anyway? I picture him the Yukon Cornelius-type, while Jody likes to imagine Klondike was a friendly chip-mining bear!

In the 1967 publicity photo below, the Frito Kid is shown whooping it up with the Golden Horsehoe cast. Klondike is nowhere to be seen, naturally, as a bear has no place inside a saloon.



"You always expect to find FRITOS, “America’s Favorite Corn Chips,” where there’s GOOD EATING, FUN and EXCITEMENT! Sure enough, you’ll find them in Disneyland, too, along with other delicious food products."



VISIT “FRITO HOUSE” IN FRONTIERLAND
"Enjoy “Fritos” with savory Mexican foods…chili, tamales, and a brand new taste treat “Ta-Cups.” See the “Frito Kid” in action amid a gala atmosphere of authentic “Old Mexico.”

I know you'll forgive the redness with a real rarity such as the next photo. When Casa de Fritos moved to a bigger location on July 1, 1957 (to the one-story adobe structure which became Casa Mexicana - and currently Rancho del Zocalo) the chip dispensing machine was relocated to a fenced-in area just outside the entrance.



You can see the Golden Chips Mine and mountain were completely redesigned, and the Kid has been moved to the left of the chute.



And now, here's a bit of Frito Kid trivia I'll bet you didn't know, and probably won't forget:
According to a 1955 premium Frito Comic Book, the Frito Kid has a horse.
And his horse's name is Maize!

(You call it corn.)

BOING!

Hayley Mills!
Originally uploaded by Miehana

A friend just wrote in to let us know we were recently featured on Boingboing. How cool!

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/04/01/disneylands-tiki-roo.html

THE TIME IS 2:34. THE YEAR IS 1986.  

More wonderful original pencil sketches for a 1955 newspaper section presenting some of the "many delights and wonders that are yours to enjoy at Disneyland."
The text for this page:

"1955 becomes 1986 as you enter the new era - Tomorrowland where our hopes and dreams for the future become today's realities. Symbolizing the time transition is Tomorrowland's futuristic clock. At a glance, this elaborate chronometer tells you the exact minute and hour anywhere on the face of the planet Earth.
Dramatizing future outer space travel is TWA's moon rocket --poised for blast-off. In Tomorrowland you'll marvel at the astounding exhibits of advanced science, developments presented by many of America's leading industrial firms, all housed in buildings keynoted to futuristic architectural design. "

"Welcome aboard Trans World Airlines' Rocket to the Moon! In Tomorrowland's world of 1986 you'll zoom through space at speeds of over 172 thousand miles an hour! Actually experience the "feel" of space travel!--see Earth below and Heavens above as you pass space station Terra, coast around the Moon and return! An eight-hour flight in ten thrilling minutes -- all without ever leaving the ground."

"In Tomorrowland, aluminum spheres on 20 foot tripods accurately forecast future techniques in outdoor illumination."

"Towering high above all else in Tomorrowland, the 172-foot TWA Moon Rocket symbolizes Trans World Airlines' interest in future air travel and planned scientific progress. Today, TWA serves 60 U.S. cities, and 21 world centers abroad."