Over the last week I have introduced readers to a new format here at The Daily Octane. Beginning last Friday, each and every day will offer an article on a select group of topics of which I feel I have some level of expertise. There is a specific topic for each day and Wednesdays are a Wildcard.
Thursdays will be all about Disney!
In case you live under a rock, I will take a moment to explain what the word “Disney” encompasses. Without question, it includes all of the films and television the Walt Disney Company has produced since 1923, when Roy and Walter Elias Disney formed the studio.
The collection of theme parks also fall under the umbrella of this topic. Walt created WED Works to design attractions for the World’s Fair in 1952. He later renamed it Walt Disney Imagineering and together they designed Disneyland, which opened in California in 1955. Walt Disney World in Florida opened in 1971 after Walt’s death. The Walt Disney company later opened parks in Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo and most recently in Shanghai.
The Daily Octane is a Disney expert?
First of all, I am definitely no expert on Disney. People in my life and others that I follow on social media are actual experts on Disney and all its related nonsense. In comparison, I am an exceptionally passionate aficionado. In my 44 years, I have seen nearly every Disney movie, been to every park in The United States, and I have sailed with Disney Cruise Lines several times. I am a Disney Vacation Club member, a D23 member, a Disney World Annual Passholder, and I have run the Dopey Challenge three times to date. I have read close to every biography on Walt and watched all the reputable documentaries.
As for the rest of the family of IPS, my fandom continues.
I have been a life-long Star Wars fan. The first movie Star Wars movie premiered in 1977. The Empire Strikes Back was the second release in 1980. Both movies were on television by the time I saw them. They captivated me immediately. I finally saw Return of The Jedi in 1983 in theaters. I was awestruck by the villainy of Jabba the Hutt. The menacing danger of the Rancor terrified me. The friendly nature of the Ewok Wicket made me want to be on Endor with my heroes. I could not take my eyes off the final terrifying showdown Luke had with Lord Vader and The Emperor.
Like millions of other fans, I clamored for a seat for the release of The Phantom Menace in 1999. I can still recall my mood that day. As I realized the movie wasn’t good, there was an undeniable shift from pure bliss to abject horror. The next 16 years was hard to bear as a fan while I endured the prequel trilogy and waited for the newest crop of movies.
Disney buys Star Wars
The Star Wars fandom is an odd assortment of people. I believe that the story’s broad appeal invites a large swath of society in it’s narrative. It was brilliant of George Lucas to offer something for everyone. Unfortunately, the fanbase is too large. Nothing ever satisfies the mob. Fan reactions were split when Disney bought Lucasfilm. Many people were excited for the opportunity to see what the bottomless purse strings of Disney’s could accomplish. Possibly even more people were aghast at the idea of Disney making Star Wars too much for kids. Keep in mind this is after the debacle that was Jar Jar Binks.
Now that the overarching Skywalker Saga has concluded, the verdict is still out on Disney’s involvement in the franchise. I could make the argument that the best of Star Wars is not even in theaters. Disney has been involved in two animated shows and both are amazing. It started with The Clone Wars 2008 and later with Star Wars: Rebels in 2014. Of course, The Clone Wars started under Lucas on The Cartoon Network. When Disney bought Lucasfilm, they moved it Disney XD and the last few seasons of the show was amazing. Clone Wars has recently to television, with a long awaited 7th season airing currently on Disney+. Perhaps the best Star Wars story to date is The Mandelorian, which premiered on Disney+ in November of 2019. I will cover The Mandelorian in detail in a story very soon on this blog.
From the comic book to the screen
Comic Books have been a part of my life since I was twelve years old. My first comic book was an issue of Batman. The issue featured Anthony Zucco’s release from prison. He killed Robin’s parents and Batman was helping Robin avoid his internal desire to seek vengeance. The adult themes were amazing to me. Batman, along with many of the more iconic super heroes are DC Comics properties. As the years went on, I added more and more titles form DC like Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern and many more. Even with an endless appetite for comics, I rarely read anything by Marvel.
I watched Richard Donner’s Superman movies as a child and was beyond excited for Tim Burton’s Batman movie in 1989. As the 90s came, the Superhero genre of movies grew more and more stylized and campy. They were not moving in the right direction. This changed in 2008 when Marvel Studios released Iron Man. They took a second tier character and transformed him into the figurehead of a franchise and began a whole new method of movie making.
The following year, Disney bought Marvel. Through a series of restructuring efforts and backdoor deals, they created what has become known as The Marvel Cinematic Universe and are currently making more than a billion dollars on every movie they release. The 2019 theatrical release of Avengers Endgame is the highest grossing movie of all time at just under 2.8 billion dollars.
The Happiest Place on Earth
In this past Monday’s blog post, Massage Therapy Mondays, I recount my long failure-filled career. Along that journey, I landed for a brief time in Disneyland. When it opened on July 17th, 1955, Disneyland was a first of its kind. It was an immediate smash success and other companies have been trying for decades to copy the formula.
There is something very special about the Disney magic you find within their parks. The parks feature a well blended mixture of cleanliness, vibrant color, totally immersive theming, and world-class customer service. When you arrive on a Disney property you leave the outside world behind and it is intoxicating.
As I said before, I only worked for Disneyland for a brief time, but it left an indelible mark on me. I hooked my kids on Disney shortly after they were born. Later, I added Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel. In 2014, my ex-wife and I were finally at a point in our lives where we could afford a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida. It will forever be one of the greatest experiences of my life and it began a new phase of fanaticism for me.
I had never visited there as a child. My parents are not exactly park people. We went to Florida often because my grandmother lived in Naples, but never Disney. One year we went Busch Gardens in Tampa, but never Disney. As history will show, I was the one to take my parents to Disney World first. I dragged them along in January 2016 to watch me run my first full marathon, The Walt Disney World Marathon. That was also my first runDisney event. That is another addiction I have and once again, I will cover runDisney much further in future posts.
I am a fan for life
It is impossible for me to imagine a scenario in which I stop being a Disney fan. It is not uncommon for me randomly start listening to music from their movie soundtracks while working around the house. I have made true friends of people I have met in the parks and on their cruise ships.
A few years ago, I went to an actual wedding inside EPCOT. A former Disney Imagineer considers me a friend. My girlfriend and our sons were at Hollywood Studios for official public opening of Galaxy’s Edge, their new Star Wars themes section of the park. I scored early private access to Pandora, the Avatar themed land in Disney’s Animal Kingdom before it opened to the public in 2017. I signed up for the Keys to The Kingdom Tour at The Magic Kingdom a few years ago. It is an amazing tour of the backstage areas of the park. The hightlight is the Utilidors, which are the underground access tunnels of the park.
Needless to say, I am a fan for life. And going forward, Thursdays will be The Day of The Mouse on The Daily Octane.
Christopher Hess, LMT
