Hello Disney Fans!!
Well true to form ... Summer activities took up a lot of time and here I am again sitting in Starbucks thinking about what to write on. And I must confess ... with everything going on this summer ... I'm still struggling.
First off I am sad to announce that my partner and I have decided to call it quits after three years... Sad news indeed but like many things in my life I look at this as a move for the best. This doesn't change plans for a 2017 trip in September at all mainly because I've already got a good head start on the money being set aside for it and it's an open invite to friends who wish to go. But more on that later.
Much like you would expect, breaking up took it's toll on my emotions and I started thinking about what would make me happy. In true Disney Fan fashion I took a look through my DVD collection to see what would cheer me up. I'm sure I've mentioned my DVD collection in previous posts and really what gives me joy is owning not just many of the more popular films such as the Princess films and popular live actions like the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, but also many that are rarer to today's audiences. Eventually I decided on The Aristocats. The story of the well-bred Duchess and her three kittens Marie, Berlioz, and Toulouse, the scheming butler Edgar getting rid of the cats to inherit a fortune, and with the help of Thomas O'Malley the Alley Cat and his friends their return to Paris.
There isn't much reference made to The Aristocats now that you can find anywhere really in the parks ... At least not that I've been able to track down (if the changes I'll be sure to update in future posts). So really it may be a harder video to find. But ... whenever I'm sad the film reminds me of my very first cat ... who I named Thomas O'Malley (or Malley for short). Watching the film I then started to dig in a bit more as I normally do and realized so many wonderful details that drew me to the film; such as music being composed by the Sherman Brothers (the very same team that composed music for Mary Poppins & Bedknobs and Broomsticks) and I found this to be one of the first films where the main characters have a single parent, but unlike most films, the single parent is the mother not the father.
Voice talent wise, Aristocats has voices many of us have come to recognize in the pantheon of recording artists. Duchess is voiced by Eva Gabor (Miss Bianca from The Rescuers series), Thomas O'Malley voiced by good ole Papa Bear Baloo, Phil Harris. There's also a multitude of talent in the supporting characters as well like Roquefort the mouse voiced by the same master of voices as Kaa and Winnie the Pooh Sterling Holloway, and the Shun Gon the Siamese Cat voiced by Paul Winchell (many of you may know him as the voice of Tigger), and the biggest surprise to me was Billy Boss the Russian Cat voiced by the distinctive bass of Thurl Ravenscroft (yes THE Grim Grinning Ghost himself).
You see all ... Disney is a source of happiness for me as I know it is for many of you. This post may be a bit on the meandering side but ... Today I just wanted to let things out and show my appreciation for All Things Disney as I know you share it with me. No pictures today ... No filler ... Just the written word. I hope you guys are still out there reading and enjoying this blog. It gives me a lot of joy writing down my thoughts for you even if they are a little self-indulgent.
For now I will say ...
Have a Magical Fall Day
Patrick A
