Whatever it was, it was the catalyst to get my stubborn butt to finally give-in and pay the fee to join D23. I was not going to miss an official Disney event in my own backyard. And last night I was there as D23's Fanniversary set-up shop in Chicago. Or as I like to say, the magic finally came home!
California? Florida? Marceline??? Sorry kids, not matter what happened in any of those places, the story begins right here in my kinda town! This is where Walter Elias Disney was born. So it seemed very appropriate that the Fanniversary tour (at least this leg - more to come on that) ended here.
Staged at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, my first impression was how large the theater was. I don't know why but I'd had visions of something a little smaller, and more intimate, no matter what it was to be. Well, actually my first impression was "am I really going to get back on the train tonight with this silly pennant they handed me?"
At stage-left (that's your right, for non-theater nerds) were two chairs and a lectern. But at the back of the stage stood a movie theater-sized screen with the now familiar image of a red D23 Fanniversary 2012 pennant, like the one I found myself holding.
(The only picture you were allowed to take lest your phone. . . and perhaps hand be taken by a tick-tock croc!)
I'm going to get right into it. There were a number of highlights of Fanniversary, but overall I will tell you I was disappointed. I didn't know what to expect and yet it still didn't quite live up to my expectations. I still enjoyed it & I'm glad I went. But it was a quick (albeit stinky) train ride for me. There were folks in attendance who'd come in from other states after hours of traveling. Had I been one of those, my reaction may have been a little different.
The show was hosted by two guys from the Disney Archive, Jon Cryer and the other guy. Admittedly I didn't commit their names to memory but that's how my brain registered them. They tried to make it seem loose and fresh but it was clear 90% of their presentation was scripted, even the impromptu jokes.
The theme of Fanniversary was that this year marks a number of milestone anniversaries for a various Disney properties, from movies to television to their foray into the NHL and of course, my favorite of all, Epcot (or EPCOT Center.)
It was essentially a 90 minute clip show. From Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to Newsies the Musical (zzzzzzz . .. huh, what?)
The entire time I kept thinking this was all building towards something, an announcement, a reveal, a man behind the curtain . . . anything. When it was over, they just sort of said good night and that was that. They read 2 questions that had been tweeted in by local fan Liz Driscoll (one of which was about New Fantasyland and they didn't know the answer) and then announced new Fanniversary dates coming in the fall to Seattle, Texas, and Philly. It ended with not a bang nor a whisper, but a shrug.
But okay, so it wasn't quite the amazing, mind-blowing Disney event I'd hoped for. So they didn't roll out Richard Sherman and a baby grand. So the Dreamfinder didn't lead us in a sing-along of One Little Spark. It was still a heck of a way to spend a Sunday afternoon. And there were some real highlights for me!
Fantasmic! (20th anniversary) ~ A great interview with Fantasmic's creator Barnette Ricci. Aside from hearing the story of how it came to be, why they chose the Rivers of America, how she worked with the pyro department to create the dragon's fire, there was one little moment that made everyone in the room catch their breath, and then expel a collective "awww." As she described the feeling of opening night and the roar of that first audience when they saw the spectacular, Barnette's voice cracked and her eyes welled up. Twenty years later and she was still moved to tears at what they'd created. Understood.
Richard Sherman (The Jungle Book's 45th anniversary) ~ I mean, first of all it's Richard Sherman. I could stop right there. But they recorded a special interview with Richard talking about being in the studio with Louie Prima & Phil Harris laying down I Wanna Be Like You! I could only imagine the energy in that room! And of course, Richard was at a piano so he treated us to a little bit of the song as well. Love that guy!
Making EPCOT Center (Epcot's 30th) ~ I'm not entirely sure if that was the correct title, but they showed us a behind-the-scenes video taken during EPCOT Center's construction. It must have been early 80's because some of the attractions such as World of Motion appeared to be nearly done.
Truth be told, everything about the Epcot piece was a highlight, from the moment all the original EPCOT Center symbols appeared on the screen and then merged into that classic Epcot logo.
Disney's leaving a lot of money on the table because I know if they put out a DVD of this video, along with some of the other promotional EPCOT Center specials, including the famous t.v. special in which Alex Haley discussed the planned Africa pavilion, I know that would be a hot seller.
The Mouse Factory (40th anniversary) ~ Okay, so I admit, this was the first one to stump me. I had never seen nor heard of this short-lived series. But after seeing a few stills and hearing how it was a little weird and absurd for Disney, AND featured live characters . . . I'm in! Where can I see this?? Have it washed and brought to my tent immediately!
Walt. Seeing and hearing some recorded commentary by Walt himself, and not the usual stuff we've all heard in One Man's Dream or Walt: The Man Behind the Myth hundreds of times. Those were the moments I really felt emotional. Sadly one of the best and worst clips was footage of Walt touring through Disneyland's New Tomorrowland construction in October 1966. The moment I saw him onscreen, my head calculated the numbers and I knew this was taken not long before Walt passed away. It felt like the last time you saw you Grandfather. Walt the eternal child at heart looked tired, weary. He was sick. Though surrounded by his staff of loyal Imagineers, he was probably the only one who knew it.
And yet you could still see that spark in his eye, he was talking a blue-streak and his hands were moving, no doubt conjuring new ideas even as construction was well underway.
There were other highlights, but these were the ones that really stuck with me first thing this morning. Just wanted to get some thoughts out and share them with the community, especially those who weren't able to attend a Fanniverary this year. I'll probably be receiving a cease and desist any moment now anyway!
Truth be told, if another Fanniversary rolls through Chicago, or another city I may be in one day, I'll very likely go again. I'd just like to see it be a little more interactive. I'd like to have an Imagineer or two on hand, maybe even fly in one of the many Disney legends to talk to the fans. Heck even sell a little merch! Far be it from Disney to make a buck or us fans to spend one!
But hey, this is only the first year, Who knows?
Hey Bart!
ReplyDeleteI was there as well.....do you know Liz? I do! We were sitting up toward the back....
I too was a bit disappointed in this. I was totally under the impression that we were going to see exhibits, and there would be guest Imagineers, etc. more like the EXPO in Calif. Ya, I was let down. It was nice, but we spent $40.00 to park, and $40.00 on lunch...well, you get my drift. And I came away with a flag, and a pin. You get my drift.
Eesh! I took the train for that very reason. Of course, I didn't get home til 10:00!
ReplyDeleteI actually met Liz there. Well, we were already Facebook friends (aren't we all?!) She actually came and sat next to me. I saw a few other faces I recognized from FB but it was so crowded didn't get to say hi. Hopefully next time . . . or better yet, at the World!