I own over 80 Disney movies on DVD. This includes all the major releases from the Disney animation studios, all Pixar films, True Life adventure films, several life action movies, and a few that have both animation and live action combined.
I'm anticipating adding Disney Nature's "African Cats" and Pixar's "Cars 2" and the latest "Winnie the Pooh" film, later this year.
But there is one Disney film, I've had to come to accept, might never be added to my collection. That film is "Song of the South."
Culturally questionable, since its initial release in 1946, for portraying allegedly misleading idyllic images of post Civil War race relations, the film remains locked up in the "Disney vault", hidden from generations of Disney fans. This in spite of the fact that there are several major attractions in Disney theme parks throughout the world based on the film and feature its animated characters.
Now I'm not going to go into the lengthy details of the nearly 65 years of controversy that surrounds "Song of the South". My favorite Disney historian and author, Jim Korkis, is a much better source of information and more qualified to write about the subject. Here's a link to an internet article about the movie along with some links to other articles he's written on the subject: http://www.mouseplanet.com/9602/The_Sad_Song_of_the_South
The Disney Company's decision not to release the Oscar winning film ("Zippidy Do Dah" won the Academy Award for "Best Original Song") made it the one of the Walt Disney films that I would probably never own.
Whenever the opportunity to discuss Disney movies and my personal collection would come up I always made sure I mention the one movie that's conspicuous by it's absence from my storage cabinet. Apparently my laminations (other than when you are referring to a book in the Old Testament when do you get a chance to use that word?) did not fall on deaf ears and was a lot more frequent than I had realized.
A couple of weeks ago a family member gave me a gift for my birthday that I never thought I'd ever get: an "unauthorized" DVD copy of "Song of the South." Through an exclusive path of channels and extensive efforts, with the help of some tech savvy friends (you know who you are) the family member was able to give me a rather decent copy for my collection.
As I sat in my living room relaxing on my recliner watching the DVD on my big screen TV I realized what a "home run" this birthday present was for me. It's just about the perfect gift for me at this point in my life. "Song of the South" is one of a group of films that defines who Walt Disney was as a film maker. It's part of the fabric and culture that is "Disney". Now I have my own copy of it in my Disney movie collection.
Getting to be in Walt Disney World in September 2010 on my 50th tops the list of ultimate Disney themed birthday day presents. Of course it was given to me by my wife. This year's gift, Uncle Remus, Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear and Brer Fox on DVD is worthy of second place on the list. The only intent of that statement is a big "thank you" to my family member and everyone involved in the process that put the DVD in my hands. I really appreciate it more than I can ever tell y'all.
Now anytime I need wan t to I can put the movie in my DVD player and make it a "Zippidy Do Dah" day.
The year 2012 was going to be a record year for me as far as Disney vacations were concerned. As of a couple of months ago I was planning on spending several days in Walt Disney World by myself (see the June 20 post). My wife and I had tentatively planned on celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary with a Bahamian cruise aboard the Disney Dream in December.
Of course both of these vacations come with a significant price. Back in April I began saving for them. I put away a small amount each day and a larger amount each Friday. I was well on my way to my goal of having saved a little over $3000 by the time we would leave for our cruise.
But over the last couple of weeks it has become necessary to redirect my Disney fund toward other issues "closer to home". A couple of things have happened in our lives that have taken and will take financial priority over Disney vacations.
But what could possibly be more important than a Disney vacation? Well here's my answers: the next generation and new transportation.
A couple of weeks ago James and Brandi, my son and daughter in law, informed us of the most exciting thing to happen in our family since Michael and Heather adopted Bo, their cat. They told us that this coming April we will become grandparents.
Since the baby will be our first grandchild both Paula and I are excited and plan to help our grand baby have everything that he or she needs while growing up. This might mean just helping with furnish the nursery and supply diapers and formula at first. However we're really looking forward to the time when we can spoil our grand baby rotten.
For a year or so now Paula and I have been praying that her car, a 1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, would last a few more years until we could save up enough money for a good down payment on a new one. Up until Friday September 9 it did. That's when, because of the cost of needed repair and maintenance we had to say "good bye" to the to the vehicle my wife has own for more than 10 years.
When we found her a new car, a 2011 Chevrolet Impala, it came with a monthly payment. So our budget had to be adjusted to allow for the inclusion of that payment for the next 5 years.
Now of all the things I value in my life: God, my wife, and my family are without a doubt the 3 most important. There are other things that come after them. In the interest of brevity I won't venture to name them or give them a specific order. For the purpose of this post only the place where my passion for Disney places is important. And that place is somewhere after the three I've already mentioned.
What does this mean? To paraphrase what Jesus said in 6th chapter of the book of Matthew. Where my heart is my "treasure" will be as well. That's why the funds I've saved and planned on saving for Disney trips will now and in the future be used to make sure my wife has a safe and reliable mode of transportation and to make our little "peanut" happy. (for an explanation of the use of the nickname "peanut" for our new grandchild see my "Found A Peanut" post on my RHFactors blog as listed above)
Unfortunately that means that all those 2012 plans for Disney are off the table. They won't be happening. I have cancelled the reservation of our stateroom for the December 2012 cruise on the Disney Dream. It looks like I will continue to experience Walt Disney World through the many media resources I (books, magazines, podcasts and the internet) I subscribe to while being "off world", for the foreseeable future.
I'm not saying that our Disney vacations have gone the way of Mickey's Toontown Fair. I fully intend to go back and visit "The World" again someday. Perhaps the next time I go it will be wilth my grandchild.
While Disney may be the best at giving the guests of their theme parks a special, fun-filled, memorable vacation there's something better. Serving God and taking care of the ones you love is the "true magic" of life. And when the opportunity comes along it is life's ultimate blessing.
So although I'm a bit disappointed that my 2012 Disney vacations are not going to happen and it took me a couple of days to really process the reality of that. I feel much better knowing that my wife has a reliable vehicle now. And I can't wait to be able to enjoy being a part of the life of my grandchild.
Before I start this post I want to let y'all know that in the 40 or so days since I've last posted on this blog (sorry it's been a busy and transitional time in my life) a lot of things have changed regarding the place of "Disney" in my life and my plans Disney plans for 2012. More about that in future posts. Right now it's time to tell you about and show you my new favorite Disney collectible.
Back in the spring I was sent home from work in the early afternoon because business was slow. Before I went home I decided that I'd go to a local flea market to see if I could find any Disney stuff for sale; specifically Goofy stuff.
This was one of those places that had individual booths rented by vendors to sell their stuff. My wife, Paula had a booth there when the place first opened to sell her hand made jewelry.
I found quite a bit of Disney stuff including a wide variety of small character plush toys. I bought one of Goofy dressed as an astronaut and one of Flick the ant from "A Bug's Life". I also found several vinyl albums with vintage Disney music and movie soundtracks.
I saw a couple Mickey Mouse phones. These were popular in the 80's. I saw a giant version of one of these on display at the Pop Century Resort during my 50th birthday trip to Disney World last year.
But the one Disney thing I found that really caught my interest was a Goofy phone. At the time I was just starting my exclusively Goofy collection. The phone would have been a wonderful addition giving some legitimacy to my fledgling collection.
It was at booth 37 about halfway down one of the corridors of the market. There were no prices on any of the items in the entire flea market. To find out how much something cost I had to go to the desk at the front of the building. I was told that the cost was $60.
While that wasn't all that expensive for something as novel at the Goofy phone it was a bit much for me at that time. I had just bought myself a new notebook computer and planned on getting a new bike for the summer. Paying $60 for a collectible at that time was a bit over the top as far as spending was concerned. Reluctantly I left the Goofy phone on the shelf of booth 37.
About 2 months later after thinking about it a lot I decided that I would go back and see if the Goofy phone was still there. I thought if it was perhaps I could negotiate a lower price. My heart fell when I found out that it had been sold. I lamented letting the opportunity to buy such a cool Goofy item pass me by. I came to terms with the fact that it just wasn't to be.
Let's fast forward to last week. It was my birthday and I wanted to buy a gift for myself. I couldn't think of anything I wanted. Paula had already let me get a personal PA system to use with my ventriloquism.
One afternoon the thought of the Goofy phone popped back into my head. I thought about the possibility of the phone being for sale on Ebay. I got online and found an auction just starting. I placed a bid. Three days later I received an email telling me that I had won the auction for a price that was about half of what the phone would have cost at the flea market. "Happy Birthday" to me.
A couple of days ago I received a package in the mail. The Goofy phone was inside. So now I have a Goofy phone in my Disney collection. It will only be a display piece but still it's battery operated animation is really cool. Here's a video of what a sleeping Goofy does when the phone "rings".
Isn't that cool? I love this phone. It's now my favorite Disney thing in my collection. While my red Yago feather from the Enchanted Tiki Room is the most unique item I have; my Goofy phone is the one Disney thing I like that most.
If you ever come to my house I'll give you an in person demonstration of my new favorite Disney thing.
