Disney Glitteratti Turn Out for Little Mermaid at El Cap

innerSpaceman · 09-08-2006, 10:39 AM

No, I'm not talking the celebrities ... though they were there ... but rather the surprising (to me) masses of Disney message board folks who showed up in the early evening on a Thursday to the Little Mermaid event at the El Capitan. Folks from MiceAge/Micechat, Mouseplanet and our own Lounge of Tomorrow were all over the place. It was a geek reunion.

Not Afraid, €uroMeinke, and Alex were all last-minute surprise attendees, and a grand time was had by all.

Roy Disney showed up incognito, sporting a loud, Hawaiian shirt ... and was immediately spotted by our own ex-pat Hawaiian, Gemini Cricket (and zapppop) as he tried to duck into a side door of the El Cap. He exchanged pleasant greetings with our LoT emissaries and then wasn't seen again (his later wave from the audience went unseen by us folks in the preferred balcony seats).

The pre-show panel was hosted by Don Hahn, producer of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, as well as lesser Disney works such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame and everyone's fave The Haunted Mansion. He was a pleasant-enough fellow, and conducted a generous discussion among the following Little Mermaid contributors:

Directors Ron Clements and John Musker
Jodi Benson - the voice of Ariel
Animation God - Glen Keane
Musical Composer Alan Meinken
and Sheri Stoner, who provided the filmed live-action model reference for the animation of Ariel (and Vanessa).

Ms. Stoner actually provided some of the highlights of the presentation, via film clips of her reference work - decidedly low tech hystericalness ... being spun on a stool for a bit where the camera "revolves" around Ariel during "Part of Your World" and, hahahaha - some guy with a home-model, floor fan walking backwards ahead of her so as to keep her hair and cape blowing as she mimes Vanessa's first appearance on the beach.

At the conclusion of the panel discussion, Alan Meinken played the 88's while Jodi Benson belted out Part of Your World. This was a stupendous treat, one we had joked about chanting for over our pre-show ice-cream sundaes ... but which came to life before our eyes (and ears) as a marvelous lead-in to the film.

The screening itself was fantastic fun. The Little Mermaid is simply one of the best animated movies ever created. Beautiful visuals, great songs, a wonderful story, clever writing, and terrific voice talents. Hehe, there were some great anecdotes about Buddy Hackett during the panel discussion ... apparently he had composed a song for his character, Skuttle ... but it was rejected by Meinken and Howard Ashman as, um, unsuitable. Unperterbed, Hackett went on to perform the song live on The Tonight Show.

The songs that did make it into the film are just fantastic. Because the audience was applauding the the numbers, I noted that two of the better ones - Poor Unfortunate Soul and Kiss the Girl leave no room at their conclusions for the applause they also rightly deserve. Les Poisson got all the laughter it rightly deserved, and there was general laughter and happiness throughout the screening, with suitable applause for Ursula's demise and wild cheering at the film's finale.

Following the main feature, there was a Academy-Award consideration screening of a short animated film, The Little Matchgirl, that was conceived for a potential further edition of Fantasia. It's a beautiful piece, set to a string quartet by Alexander Borodin ... but it's ultimately sad and was a bit of a downer after the joy of The Little Mermaid. (So much for the feel-good effect of changing the end of the dour Hans Christian Andersen tale). The short was directed by John Allers, director of The Lion King, who also appeared to make a few comments. Don Hahn was the producer of the piece, and Roy Disney was credited as executive producer.

All in all, a terrific night at the movies, with tons of celebrities and friends. I'm not sure exacly how much restoration work The Little Mermaid really needed, but the print looked beautiful. The one downside of the restoration was a bit of silly censorship ... they removed the wedding minister's "knee" that some prudes thought was a protrusion of a different sort.

Alas, that sort of revisionism doesn't sit well with me, and Disney lost my $20 in DVD money with that one fell and foolish move. Frankly, the old DVD looks just fine ... and the enjoyment of seeing The Little Mermaid on the big screen last night will last me for a while.

.

Not Afraid · 09-08-2006, 11:15 AM

It was a really great evening. I wasn't expecting to go but a friend got me some comp tickets at the last minute, so I jumped on a train and headed to Hollywood. Lots of good folks there and it was a great evening.

Afterwards, I took the "posse" to the Renaissance to meet up with some people from High School that I hadn't seen in 26 years. Everyone got to hear all sorts of embarassing stories and antecdotes about life and sexual exploits in the late 70's. Damn fun evening!

Cadaverous Pallor · 09-08-2006, 11:19 AM

Sounds....magical. Sigh. I am so sad we missed this. A freaking THURSDAY???

LSPoorEeyorick · 09-08-2006, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

Sounds....magical. Sigh. I am so sad we missed this. A freaking THURSDAY???

They always do the opening night panel discussion on a Thursday when they're doing an exclusive pre-DVD re-release. I've been to Cinderella and Lady & the Tramp, and they were lovely events (especially Cinderella, which included Ollie Johnston and was the highlight of my stint in California thus far.)

I especially enjoyed the Menken/Benson duet. Lovely! And hearing that Glen Keane defended his choice to animate Ariel by pointing out that he'd been drawing his wife for fifteen years (now thirty.) Awwww.

Cadaverous Pallor · 09-08-2006, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LSPoorEeyorick

They always do the opening night panel discussion on a Thursday when they're doing an exclusive pre-DVD re-release.

Just because they always do it doesn't mean it doesn't suck.

Super OC jealousy on my end, but I'm glad y'all had fun.

LSPoorEeyorick · 09-08-2006, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

Just because they always do it doesn't mean it doesn't suck.

Super OC jealousy on my end, but I'm glad y'all had fun.

Hey! You live by Disneyland. I live by the El Cap. I don't think that's at all comparable! (Except maybe on nights like last night.)

cstephens · 09-08-2006, 02:23 PM

Thanks for the reports. When I saw the panel attendees, I knew it was going to be cool, coupled with having seen other panel discussions. I wish it had been timed differently so we could have made it, but glad y'all had fun.

Now, to ask my loves-Little-Mermaid friend if she wants to know what she missed since she and I were at the same concert last night...

Eliza Hodgkins 1812 · 09-08-2006, 11:21 AM

GEEKS!

Possibly that's jealousy talking. Possibly.

Not Afraid · 09-08-2006, 11:36 AM

H, you guys made a good choice not to join us at the bar afterwards. There was not a morsel in sight. However, you and Tom were missed.

Gn2Dlnd · 09-08-2006, 01:08 PM

Aw, nuts. Sounds like more fun than I expected when I chose not to attend. Someone really does need to call me when the LoTters show up to events.

09-08-2006, 10:39 AM	#1
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	Disney Glitteratti Turn Out for Little Mermaid at El Cap No, I'm not talking the celebrities ... though they were there ... but rather the surprising (to me) masses of Disney message board folks who showed up in the early evening on a Thursday to the Little Mermaid event at the El Capitan. Folks from MiceAge/Micechat, Mouseplanet and our own Lounge of Tomorrow were all over the place. It was a geek reunion. Not Afraid, €uroMeinke, and Alex were all last-minute surprise attendees, and a grand time was had by all. Roy Disney showed up incognito, sporting a loud, Hawaiian shirt ... and was immediately spotted by our own ex-pat Hawaiian, Gemini Cricket (and zapppop) as he tried to duck into a side door of the El Cap. He exchanged pleasant greetings with our LoT emissaries and then wasn't seen again (his later wave from the audience went unseen by us folks in the preferred balcony seats). The pre-show panel was hosted by Don Hahn, producer of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, as well as lesser Disney works such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame and everyone's fave The Haunted Mansion. He was a pleasant-enough fellow, and conducted a generous discussion among the following Little Mermaid contributors: Directors Ron Clements and John Musker Jodi Benson - the voice of Ariel Animation God - Glen Keane Musical Composer Alan Meinken and Sheri Stoner, who provided the filmed live-action model reference for the animation of Ariel (and Vanessa). Ms. Stoner actually provided some of the highlights of the presentation, via film clips of her reference work - decidedly low tech hystericalness ... being spun on a stool for a bit where the camera "revolves" around Ariel during "Part of Your World" and, hahahaha - some guy with a home-model, floor fan walking backwards ahead of her so as to keep her hair and cape blowing as she mimes Vanessa's first appearance on the beach. At the conclusion of the panel discussion, Alan Meinken played the 88's while Jodi Benson belted out Part of Your World. This was a stupendous treat, one we had joked about chanting for over our pre-show ice-cream sundaes ... but which came to life before our eyes (and ears) as a marvelous lead-in to the film. The screening itself was fantastic fun. The Little Mermaid is simply one of the best animated movies ever created. Beautiful visuals, great songs, a wonderful story, clever writing, and terrific voice talents. Hehe, there were some great anecdotes about Buddy Hackett during the panel discussion ... apparently he had composed a song for his character, Skuttle ... but it was rejected by Meinken and Howard Ashman as, um, unsuitable. Unperterbed, Hackett went on to perform the song live on The Tonight Show. The songs that did make it into the film are just fantastic. Because the audience was applauding the the numbers, I noted that two of the better ones - Poor Unfortunate Soul and Kiss the Girl leave no room at their conclusions for the applause they also rightly deserve. Les Poisson got all the laughter it rightly deserved, and there was general laughter and happiness throughout the screening, with suitable applause for Ursula's demise and wild cheering at the film's finale. Following the main feature, there was a Academy-Award consideration screening of a short animated film, The Little Matchgirl, that was conceived for a potential further edition of Fantasia. It's a beautiful piece, set to a string quartet by Alexander Borodin ... but it's ultimately sad and was a bit of a downer after the joy of The Little Mermaid. (So much for the feel-good effect of changing the end of the dour Hans Christian Andersen tale). The short was directed by John Allers, director of The Lion King, who also appeared to make a few comments. Don Hahn was the producer of the piece, and Roy Disney was credited as executive producer. All in all, a terrific night at the movies, with tons of celebrities and friends. I'm not sure exacly how much restoration work The Little Mermaid really needed, but the print looked beautiful. The one downside of the restoration was a bit of silly censorship ... they removed the wedding minister's "knee" that some prudes thought was a protrusion of a different sort. Alas, that sort of revisionism doesn't sit well with me, and Disney lost my $20 in DVD money with that one fell and foolish move. Frankly, the old DVD looks just fine ... and the enjoyment of seeing The Little Mermaid on the big screen last night will last me for a while. . Last edited by innerSpaceman : 09-08-2006 at 11:46 AM.
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09-08-2006, 11:15 AM	#2
Not Afraid HI! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 17,108	It was a really great evening. I wasn't expecting to go but a friend got me some comp tickets at the last minute, so I jumped on a train and headed to Hollywood. Lots of good folks there and it was a great evening. Afterwards, I took the "posse" to the Renaissance to meet up with some people from High School that I hadn't seen in 26 years. Everyone got to hear all sorts of embarassing stories and antecdotes about life and sexual exploits in the late 70's. Damn fun evening!
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09-08-2006, 11:19 AM	#3
Cadaverous Pallor ohhhh baby Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Parental Bliss Posts: 12,364	Sounds....magical. Sigh. I am so sad we missed this. A freaking THURSDAY??? __________________ The second star to the right shines in the night for you
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09-08-2006, 02:23 PM	#7
cstephens Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 231	Thanks for the reports. When I saw the panel attendees, I knew it was going to be cool, coupled with having seen other panel discussions. I wish it had been timed differently so we could have made it, but glad y'all had fun. Now, to ask my loves-Little-Mermaid friend if she wants to know what she missed since she and I were at the same concert last night... __________________ Disneyland Resort trip reports and restaurant reviews and more The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.
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09-08-2006, 11:21 AM	#8
Eliza Hodgkins 1812 Sputnik Sweetheart Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Long Beach Posts: 2,685	GEEKS! Possibly that's jealousy talking. Possibly.
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09-08-2006, 11:36 AM	#9
Not Afraid HI! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 17,108	H, you guys made a good choice not to join us at the bar afterwards. There was not a morsel in sight. However, you and Tom were missed.
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09-08-2006, 01:08 PM	#10
Gn2Dlnd Parmmadore Jim Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Casita del Queso Posts: 3,810	Aw, nuts. Sounds like more fun than I expected when I chose not to attend. Someone really does need to call me when the LoTters show up to events. __________________ Does anyone still wear a hat?
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