Laura's Miscellaneous Musings: Mostly Ghostly at Disney Studios

Saturday, November 02, 2019

Mostly Ghostly at Disney Studios

Earlier this week I enjoyed a wonderful Halloween event on the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank.

"Mostly Ghostly" was presented by Disney's D23 Official Fan Club.

Over the last decade I've been privileged to attend several screenings on the Disney lot, which are linked at the end of this post, and Mostly Ghostly was another memorable evening.

The fun began at check-in, when we received this marvelous pin honoring the 70th anniversary of THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD (1949). I reviewed this film in 2014, and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" section of the movie was among the titles screened that evening.

It's always a treat to visit the gorgeous studio theater, which is located directly across from the studio's famed Animation building.

The theater lobby was beautifully decorated in the spirit of the holiday:

Everyone received a free bucket of popcorn, which was decorated with the logo from Disney's El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood.

Inside the theater, ahead of the evening's fun beginning:

The first section of the program was a history of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion ride, given by Chris Merritt of Walt Disney Imagineering. Chris is also the author of a wonderful history of Knott's Berry Farm, KNOTT'S PRESERVED.

I'm not a Haunted Mansion fan, but I was nonetheless very interested in Chris's talk thanks to my love for Disneyland in general. It's fascinating how many years the attraction was in development, and how many different ideas were considered before the final design was selected.

The talk also included a clip of Walt Disney and "Miss Disneyland Tencennial" Julie Riehm speaking with Imagineer Rolly Crump about his ideas for a "Museum of the Weird"...which was definitely weird!

Next up was Becky Cline of the Walt Disney Archives, who is also the author of THE WALT DISNEY STUDIOS: A LOT TO REMEMBER.

Becky showed two of her favorite classic Disney cartoons which were appropriate for the occasion. First up was LONESOME GHOSTS (1937), which may have inspired GHOSTBUSTERS (1984):

Although I'd previously seen LONESOME GHOSTS, TRICK OR TREAT (1952) was completely new to me. Donald's nephews arrive at his house to trick or treat, but Donald has some surprises of the "trick" variety in store for them.

The short featured the jaunty tune "Trick or Treat for Halloween" by Mack David, Al Hoffman, and Jerry Livingston, performed by the Mellomen.

The final speaker was Fox Carney of the Walt Disney Animation Research Library.

Fox presented stunning Mary Blair art for "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," which is half of Disney's previously mentioned animated "package" film THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD. Photos of the art were not allowed but the artwork was absolutely gorgeous, heaven for a Mary Blair fan.

"Sleepy Hollow" concluded the portion of the evening which took place in the theater, after which we went outside for desserts and hot drinks:

The frosted brownies were delicious!

The Studio Store was open for shopping:

Here's the spookily lit Animation building. There were also strategically placed colored "fog" machines which was fun.

I love the nods to past Disney and film history which are all over the lot. For instance, this sign honoring Earl O. Hurd is located in the theater lobby: