Famous Addictions: Absinthe, Opium, and Disney Signage

Like Oscar Wilde his absinthe, Charles Dickens his opium, I'm addicted to signage. I need it. Without signs, I travel in circles, squinting at trees and staring at buildings, uncertain whether to turn left or right, and eventually winding up at such unsavory spots as Camp Crystal Lake - where I was tempted to ask some guy in a hockey mask for directions but then remembered that I'm a dude and dudes don't ask for directions.

Disney understands dudes like me. The theme parks and resorts are salted with signs, each one uniquely designed to match its locale.

Cory Disbrow of WDWPhotography has taken it upon himself to study these signs and chronicle them with his camera. In Part 1 of his on-going series, The Amazing Signage of Walt Disney World, Cory shares his first few shots which include a woodsy quartet of signs in Frontierland (one points helpfully to the restrooms) and the shield-shaped sign outside Sir Mickey's.

What makes these photos memorable is Cory's photographic skill. He doesn't just shoot these signs; he frames them and transforms them into something more than just a chunk of wood or plastic that you glance at for a moment and then forget.

Disney has so many signs you could create an encyclopedia of them. Earlier today I gave hullabaloo to Patrick Malone's encyclopedia of Disney shorts so why not a companion tome of Disney signs. I don't think Cory plans such an undertaking, but it's amazing how many things about Disney lend themselves to compilation.

PS. Jason (in the picture to your left) was apparently a big Julia Child fan. See for yourself in my hullabaloo of September 3. And be afraid.

MORE: WDW Photography (Cory Disbrow)

Strange Days Indeed for Disney-Marvel ... and Pixar, Too?

Ever since Disney bought Marvel last year, there's been buzz (in comic book hives, anyway) about which Marvel character would get the Disney film treatment first. Perhaps with Pixar's help.

Lately, a lesser-known character called Iron Fist (see my hullabaloo from August 26) seems to have punched his way into the lead, but other pundits still chant the name Strange, Dr Strange, one of Marvel's earliest characters and seemingly a natural for the big screen.

One such pundit, Brendan Bettinger, reports on Collider today that another pundit, comic-book artist Brendan McCarthy, had a meeting with Disney recently and the talk got 'round to Pixar animating a Dr. Strange movie. But another pundit, in lightning-fast response to the first (and second) pundits, promptly posted the opposite - that Iron Fist will be first. So far, no pundit has posited a 'reboot' of Howard the Duck (whom Donald has sworn to kill on sight).

For those unfamiliar with Dr. Strange, he was created by Stan Lee back in the early 1960s and drawn with surreal style by Steve Ditko, the artist better-known for co-creating Spiderman, drawing that character's early issues, and then becoming a hermit.

Dr. Strange was, in fact, a physician: an arrogant surgeon who learned the mystic arts after he injured his hands and could no longer operate. Stan Lee loved to write scripts for Dr. Strange because he enjoyed wordplay and coining over-the-top phrases like the Dread Dormammu or the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak or the All-Seeing Eye of Agamotto. ('Nuff said.)

I'd prefer a Dr. Strange movie over an Iron Fist movie, though I'm not pundit enough to prognosticate the producer's predilections, true believer. Which, then, will film first?

Not even the All-Seeing Eye of Agamotto knows. (Excelsior!)

MORE: Collider (Brendan Bettinger)

Living in a Purple Van Down by the RIVER

After my last potentially upsetting hullabaloo about Lotso, the evil bear from Toy Story 3, getting his strawberries sliced off, it's time to relax with a more humble hullabaloo, with apologies to Chris Farley's family for the title.

John Van Meter has been driving his purple van on Disney property for a very long time. When you think of Disney, you think Mickey, Cinderella Castle, and John's purple van (well, maybe not, but I'm hoping he'll give me a free ride the next time he sees me hitchin' down International Drive).

John's wonderful blog, InsideJohnsLocker, isn't so much about his purple van as what he sees when he's out with his purple van. Today, for instance, he saw something (really saw, as in saw it and knew what he was seeing) in Port Orleans French Quarter that I've seen myself many, many times but never saw until now.

The check-in desk at French Quarter is decorated with large golden musical notes. If you've ever stayed at French Quarter, you've seen them. But, taken together, the notes form a five-line musical staff, the opening bars to a well-known song, a song quite appropriate for guests marching in to a resort themed after New Orleans.

(What song? Go flag down the purple van and find out.)

Each day John posts new imagery from his Disney travels. I now visit his blog daily and often find things I've seen but never really saw. See? (Cue the Jack Benny routine.)

PS. If you want to learn more about what John does, he was profiled last year by National Public Radio. Recommended reading (or listening)!

MORE: Owner's Locker (John Van Meter)

Kingdom Hearts: Will Lotso Ever Get His Strawberries Sliced Off?

Kingdom Hearts is a series of video games featuring an unlikely mix of characters from Final Fantasy and Disney. The characters battle villains through a colorful atlas of Disney-themed lands in a universe developed exclusively for the game. My son loved the first several titles in the series until his tastes evolved (or perhaps devolved) into on-line multi-player games like Runescape and abominable indy music (the neighbors often hear the refrain: Turn It Down or Leave This House!).

Over at VGChartz, however, Stephen Kelly's tastes do not seem to have changed: in his new article he takes a look at the top ten Disney properties he wishes beat more brightly in Kingdom Hearts.

Even if you don't play the game, Stephen's list is an informative run-down of an eclectic set of Disney movies, TV shows, and characters.

For example: Darkwing Duck. Yes, Darkwing Duck, everyone's favorite super-powered crime-fighter in a fedora. Actually, I think the folks who watched Darkwing Duck back in the early 1990s have all been abducted by aliens, so maybe he's not such a good candidate for the next Kingdom Hearts.

Stephen sensibly wonders at the lack of Pixar characters in the games and suggests a 'Pixar World' inhabited by characters from all the studio's films. One hopes the evil bear Lotso would then appear in 'Toy Story Land' and get his strawberries sliced off by a cigar-chomping, sword-thrusting Donald Duck while banjo music from Deliverance plays in the background. (Yep, the Lotso hatin' never stops here at the Disney Dispatch.)

But the Stephen lovin' has just begun. His list will bring back many Disney B-movie memories. And it doesn't smell like strawberries.

MORE: VGChartz (Stephen Kelly)

Disney Encyclopedias: By the Pixel, Not the Pound

Back in the old days, if you wanted a set of encyclopedias, you bought it by subscription and waited for each volume to arrive at stately intervals by mail. Sometimes, a shady character who smiled and perspired way too much would even knock on your door to inquire whether his encyclopedias might help Junior split the atom.

I'm glad I don't hold stock in an encyclopedia company. Everything is now available as weightless pixels on-line - and I mean everything, not just bastions like the Britannica but small, focused knowledge bases like DisneyShorts, Patrick Malone's immaculately organized encyclopedia of Disney's short animated cartoons.

If you have an interest in Disney shorts, Patrick Malone is your new messiah. He has catalogued in jaw-dropping details hundreds of Disney cartoons from 1922 through 2007.

At random, I went to 1936 and from the nearly 20 items there selected Three Blind Mouseketeers. The entry for this cartoon includes basic information like a synopsis, credits, and technical specs; where (and when) the cartoon appeared on television, video, and DVD; gorgeous screenshots and title cards; and much informed commentary (this particular cartoon has a very long comment from Ryan Kilpatrick, owner of the DisneyFilmProject, who got hullabaloo here on September 4).

The entire catalog of over 4000 pages is internally hyperlinked so you can jump from character to character, year to year, etc., until you become as blind as one of the Mouseketeers.

Patrick accepts donations and has attracted a few sponsors to help cover the costs of his non-profit site. The site has been around since 1997 but I've never seen Patrick in a Porsche, so I'm guessing he could still use the help.

MORE: Disney Shorts (Patrick Malone)