British Literature Travel Plans

We are leaving next week for our first overseas adventure to Great Britain.  We will be staying in London, Edinburgh, and the Cotswolds and exploring from each.  The history, the culture, and the scenery are so rich!  Many of the images in my mind of Britain are based on literature.  The destinations and experiences that I am most anticipating all revolve around literature (with one exception – see footnote *).

My earliest exposure to Great Britain came from Richard Scarry and Winnie the Pooh.  As a child, I would flip through “Richard Scarry’s Busy, Busy World.”  For some reason, the double… For full post… click this link: http://www.familytravelescapades.com/british-literature-travel-plans/

My Favorite Disney Voice-Sterling Holloway-

You may be thinking, “Who is that?” I think you would recognize his voice if you watch or have watched Disney classic movies. He has been a voice in such classics as, “The Many Adventures of Winnie-The-Pooh”, ” The Jungle Book“, “Alice In Wonderland“, and in uncredited performances in Bambi, Dumbo and many others.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U8pAM4VXvI

Holloway began his acting career in 1926 in a silent short film. His last role was as a narrator in one episode of Moonlighting in 1986. He was born in 1905 and died in 1992 at age 87. His acting career was varied; acting in live action movies and television shows (such classics as The Andy Griffith Show (Burt in one episode), The Life of Riley, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, The Adventures of Superman and others). He also lent his vocal talents to many shows and movies; Disney and other ventures.

Since I am a huge Disney fanatic, I will tell you a little about his Disney roles. His most famous voice is my favorite Disney character; Winnie-the-Pooh. He played Pooh bear in the three films: Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too. These were all compiled into The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

Winnie-the-Pooh

The crazy Cheshire Cat

Kaa, the snake

Holloway also voiced such Disney classics as Kaa in The Jungle Book, The Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, and uncredited roles as Mr. Stork in Dumbo, and Flower (adult) in Bambi.

Mr. Stork delivers Dumbo to Mrs. Jumbo.

Flower, Bambi, and Thumper.

He appeared in many Disney shorts; many of which are obscure except for the most ardent Disney fans. You might have heard him as the narrator in Mickey and the Beanstalk. He also provided the vocal talents for Professor Holloway in The Three Caballeros, narrator in The Cold-Blooded Penguin (a Disney short), narrator in Peter and the Wolf (segment of Make Mine Music), narrator for The Pelican and the Snipe (Disney short), narrator for Lambert the Sheepish Lion (Disney short), and many others.

You might consider trying to watch all of these if possible. They are all great for Disney fans. We have watched almost all of them; any we could find that is.

 Walt Disney used many of the same actors in both his animated and live-action films. Sterling Holloway was just one of these, but he is my favorite. Listen up the next time you watch the above-mentioned movies and you will hear a beloved voice in each of them.

(I forgot to mention, he also played Roquefort the mouse in The Aristocats!)

Mother’s Day ideas for Disney fans-

Perdita (mom) here-

I include myself in this category (to say the least) and with Mother’s Day approaching I thought I would give some ideas to get for your mom/wife.

The gifts can be purchased at the parks, online on Disneystore.com, or from other online stores.

One gift idea  that I think would please any mom is a Disney print. These come in all sizes with about every Disney character imaginable. I have purchased several at the Disney Parks at Art of Disney in Epcot and at The Magic of Disney Animation Gift Shop in Hollywood Studios. They sell prints in the stores and have kiosks where you can look through hundreds of prints. There are three major types of art: pencil drawings, canvas-wrapped art, and prints that need framing. A fourth category that I purchased once was a cel ( animation in which the animator painted the Dumbo in by hand and the rest was a print). I should add that you don’t have to go to Disney World to purchase Disney prints. I have found them reasonably priced on Amazon.com and have bought one from Disneystore.com.

One other idea that is much less expensive and doesn’t have to fit (like an article of clothing) is kitchen accessories. There are mugs,dishes, glasses, pot holders, kitchen towels, wooden spoons, measuring spoons, etc. For me, it brings a little Disney “magic” home with me and a smile to my face when I see ( for instance) the Mickey measuring spoons or a Winnie the Pooh coffee mug. If you are at home there is a wide selection of items at Disneystore.com and free shipping is available for purchases greater than $75. Sometimes they have other free shipping offers for any purchase amount.

If you can discern the taste of your mom well enough Disney has a lot of jewelry available for a wide range of tastes and prices; from watches to Pandora jewelry to earrings, etc.

Clothing is available from many vendors besides Disney for sometimes a considerable cost savings from Target to online merchants like Zazzle. This is a trickier purchase due to not only taste considerations but the fit of the clothing. I would caution staying away from this type of purchase unless it is a basic t-shirt or pajamas.

Disney also sells handbags with a wide range of prices; from Dooney and Bourke designer bags to simple totes (which I returned home with on my latest Disney trip). Luggage is also a good gift idea but it comes at a high price for Disney luggage ($150-$200).

My favorite idea and I think the most fool-proof: knick-knacks or figurines. I have several with Winnie-the Pooh and Peter Pan, Mickey Mouse, Mr. Toad, Dumbo, etc. These come in so many prices points and with so much selection from so many places the choices are dizzying. (I scored major deals a few months ago at a local Hallmark store when I went in the store with no idea of the selection or the deals).

This is by no means an exhaustive list but is a good start. Again, these items may be purchased at the Disney Parks or ordered online from Disneystore.com or many other places like Amazon, Zazzle, or many others. Some items can be found at local  stores such as Target, Hallmark, or the Disney Store.

Disney doing Live-Action movies of former animated classics-

Recently there has been a plethora of announcements about Disney doing live- action movies based on many animated classics like Dumbo, Bambi, and even Winnie-the-Pooh! These are three of my favorites and I love Disney, but I am perplexed by these choices for movie making. I fail to see how you can make a live-action movie based on a previous animated movie with animals. Are they going to do CGI, or people in animal costumes?

Disney has announced that Tim Burton is going to do Dumbo. This is a tenuous choice at best. My imagination is going wild with what this could yield. For someone who loves the tender scene in Dumbo where Mrs. Jumbo is cradling and swinging Dumbo in her trunk while “Baby of Mine” plays (after the two have been separated with Mrs. Jumbo in quarantine) I don’t see anyone doing this justice in a remake.

Bambi with people? How do they do that? Winnie-the-Pooh? Reports are that the movie will be a depiction as Christopher Robin as a grown man. Obviously Christopher Robin could easily be played by a person, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see how they do Pooh bear and friends.

I love Disney and always have. A big reason is from great memories of all of their wonderful movies. (This was before I even went to Walt Disney World.) My hope is that they continue to create other great movies and memories; not bad ones. I hope my pre-judgement proves me wrong.