The Mouse Castle Lounge Podcast: Disney News and Interviews, Cocktails and Conversations - MCL 08-21-2015 - Inside the Disney Marketing Machine, the Walt Disney Hometown Museum and the Walt Disney Birthplace

MCL 08-21-2015 - Inside the Disney Marketing Machine, the Walt Disney Hometown Museum and the Walt Disney Birthplace

08/22/15 • 52 min

The Mouse Castle Lounge Podcast: Disney News and Interviews, Cocktails and Conversations

Another D23 Expo has come and gone. Hopefully you caught our slightly inebriated recap of the festivities on Inside The Mouse Castle. Today, we’re going to sit down in the Lounge with some of the people who were part of the Expo. Tim's got Kaye Malins and Peter Whitehead with the Walt Disney Hometown Museum in Walt’s boyhood home of Marceline, MO. They’re going to talk about their ambitious fundraising efforts to restore the Midget Autopia, which was relocated from Disneyland to the city of Marceline in 1966. It operated in Marceline for a number of years before falling into disrepair and now the Museum wants to bring it back...and you can help.

Another great cause to support is the Walt Disney Birthplace in Chicago. It’s the actual home designed and built by Walt’s parents in 1893 and the very place Walt was born in 1901. The Birthplace is undergoing an extensive restoration and Todd Regan will be here to bring us up to date on how it’s progressing.

Before we get to that, though, we’ll be joined by the former director of corporate synergy with Disney, Lorraine Santoli. She’s also an author who’s had a long time association with the original Mouseketeers. In fact, Lorraine hosted a celebration of 60 magical years of the Mickey Mouse Club at the D23 Expo. She was joined on stage by the likes of Sherry Alberoni, Sharon Baird, Bobby Burgess, Tommy Cole, Darlene Gillespie, Cubby O’Brien and Doreen Tracey. It was a delightful presentation.

Before the Expo, Tim and Lorraine chatted on the phone about her latest book, a memoir of her 22 years at the Walt Disney Company, Inside The Disney Marketing Machine. In it, Lorraine recalls the many memorable events she was part of in the 1970s, 80s and 90s including Mickey Mouse’s 50th birthday, Donald Duck’s 50th birthday and Disneyland’s 30th anniversary. She also talks at length about the leadership styles of Disney’s top executives during that time, Michael Eisner and Frank Wells. It’s an insightful look behind the scenes of an entertainment company on the verge of becoming the media giant it is today.

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Previous Episode

MCL 08-14-2015 - The Making of 'Pinocchio' with Disney Historian J.B. Kaufman

Pinocchio is arguably Walt Disney's most triumphant achievement in animation. The charming, perilous and ultimately heroic story of the wooden boy who wanted to be real has delighted movie audiences for 75 years. It's a film that represents the absolute peak of Disney animation artistry and storytelling. How the movie came to life is as compelling as the story of Pinocchio himself, and author J.B. Kaufman has written an exquisitely detailed book about it: Pinocchio: The Making of the Disney Epic.

J.B. is always a welcome guest in the Lounge. You may recall a conversation Tim had with him a few years ago about two of his other amazing works of Disney history, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Art and Creation of Walt Disney's Classic Animated Film and its companion volume, The Fairest One of All. These are must-reads for any Disney enthusiast, just like J.B.'s meticulously researched book on Pinocchio. He's at the D23 Expo this weekend, but not because of Snow White or Pinocchio, mind you. Because of Silly Symphonies.

In 2006, J.B. wrote a comprehensive history of Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies with co-author Russell Merritt. Drawing on that expertise, both historians were asked to contribute liner notes to the upcoming release of the Silly Symphony Collection on vinyl from the Disney Music Emporium. Tied to that release, you can catch both J.B. and Russell at the D23 Expo along with music producer Randy Thornton. They'll be inside the Anaheim Convention Center at the Disney Dream Store today at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3:45 p.m. They'’ll also be at the Expo’s Autograph Central Saturday at 1:00 p.m..

For now, however, let's wish upon a star and go behind the scenes for a look at the making of Pinocchio with J.B. Kaufman, Tim's guest today in The Mouse Castle Lounge.

Enjoy!

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Next Episode

MCL 08-28-2015 - Disney Legend Bill "Sully" Sullivan, Part One

In the summer of 1955, William “Sully” Sullivan got a job at Disneyland, just days after he watched the park’s grand opening on television. It was the beginning of a career with Disney that lasted nearly forty years. Sully started out as a ticket taker on the Jungle Cruise before becoming a Jungle Cruise skipper. And that was just the beginning. Sully moved up the ranks at Disneyland, with side trips to the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley and the 1964-65 World’s Fair in New York. He got to know both Walt Disney and Roy Disney. He even met his future wife in Adventureland. Sully ended his career as vice president of the Magic Kingdom in Florida, and in 2005 was named a Disney Legend.

In his memoir, From Jungle Cruise Skipper to Disney Legend: 40 Years of Magical Memories at Disney, Sully talks about the many adventures he had during his lengthy career, and he’s going to share a few of them with us today. In part one of our two-part conversation Sully tells us about Walt, the early days of Disneyland, and the four principles that guided Sully throughout his career. Sully Sullivan is Tim's guest today in The Mouse Castle Lounge.

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