“It’s not symmetrical or perfect, but it’s beautiful…”
Hello readers,
As I’ve been writing this post, I’ve been listening to the Encanto soundtrack to keep me motivated, and, at the risk of sounding cheesy, it is great for putting life into perspective.
“I wish you could see yourself the way I do. You are perfect just like this. You are just as special as anyone else in this family.” Julieta, Encanto
A Few Housekeeping Items…
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For those who are new to Magic in the Mail, this is a weekly publication which comes out on Sundays. The first section discusses what is new in Disney pop culture and the second discusses different events which happened this week in Disney History.
Please feel free to join the discussion by liking this post or leaving a comment.
Indiana Jones: The Saga Continues
It has been two weeks since the release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and I really enjoyed watching the film! I spent some time this weekend at Disney Springs in Orlando, and there were several promotions going on for the film.
Are you still hungry for more? Check out these fabulous content creators and authors for the continued story of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
The Mummy Movie Podcast: Reviews Indiana Jones
I have started listening to a FANTASTIC podcast, called the Mummy Movie Podcast. This podcast is hosted by a real archaeologist, and he reviews and rates different films, typically in the mummy movie genre.
In honor of the release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Peter Rose, the content creator, watched and reviewed each of the Indiana Jones films. He discusses the field of archaeology, and how it pertains to the films, and shares his point of view as an archaeologist.
CLICK HERE to listen to the first episode in the Indiana Jones series.
All of the episodes are worth a listen, but if you are wanting to start with the Indiana Jones content, start with episode #39. Rose began his podcast by reviewing mummy movie films, starting with the original Mummy (1932).
The Smithsonian Museum: The Real History Behind the Archimedes Dial in ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’
The Smithsonian Museum Magazine has released a great article about a device called the Antikythera Mechanism, which is the true-life inspiration for the artifact found at the center the plot for the new Indiana Jones Film, which was released in theaters on June 30, 2023.
Like the fictitious Archimedes Dial, the Anitkythera Mechanism shares a fascinating parallel history with the Dial; filled with some of the same mysteries and intrigue. Truth can be just as strange as fiction.
Here is a brief excerpt from the article, outlining the actual discovery and study of the Anitkythera Mechanism:
Off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera in 1900, sponge divers came across a shipwreck filled with ancient treasures. Hidden among flashier finds like marble statues and jewelry was a mysterious device known today as the Antikythera mechanism.
In the decades since [the discovery of the Antikythera Mechanism], scholars have used X-rays, CT scans and other tools to study the 82 surviving fragments of the mantel clock-sized object, which is believed to date to between roughly 200 and 60 B.C.E. Observers originally speculated the mechanism might be a navigation device, or perhaps a modern object dropped at the Antikythera wreck site centuries after the ship sank. A more far-fetched interpretation suggested the device was “alien technology used on alien spaceships,” Marchant says.
Click here to read the full article on the Smithsonian Magazine’s website. (If you click on one link in this article, this is it!)
Decoding the Heavens: Furthering Reading
Would you like to learn more about the Antikythera Mechanism? Check out this book, by author Jo Marchant.
In Decoding the Heavens, Jo Marchant tells, for the first time, the full story of the hundred-year quest to decipher the ancient Greek computer known as the Antikythera Mechanism. Along the way, she unearths a diverse cast of remarkable characters and explores the deep roots of modern technology in ancient Greece and the medieval European and Islamic worlds. At its heart, this is an epic adventure and mystery, a book that challenges our assumptions about technology through the ages.
This Week in Disney History: July 16th-July 22nd
July 16, 1993: Disney’s Live Action film Hocus Pocus Opens in US Theaters
Disney's live-action feature Hocus Pocus, starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, and Omri Katz, is released in theaters. The film was theatrically released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States and Canada on July 16, 1993. The film received mixed reviews from film critics at the time of its release. Although it was not a critical or commercial success upon its release, it has garnered popularity largely through many annual airings on Disney Channel and Freeform (formerly ABC Family) all throughout the month of October. Hocus Pocus has been rediscovered by audiences, resulting in a yearly spike in home video sales of the film every Halloween season.
Over the years, the film has achieved cult status. On October 2011, the Houston Symphony celebrated various horror and Halloween classics, including Hocus Pocus, with "The Hocus Pocus Pops".
On October 19, 2013, D23 (the official club for Disney fans) held a special screening of Hocus Pocus at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, to honor the 20th anniversary of the film. Nine of the cast and crew gathered for the screening, and hundreds of D23 members attended. Returning members included Kathy Najimy, David Kirschner, Thora Birch, Doug Jones, Vinessa Shaw, and Omri Katz.
During her Divine Intervention Tour in 2015, Bette Midler appeared on stage dressed as Winifred Sanderson. Her Harlettes appeared with her dressed as Mary and Sarah, and the three of them performed the film's version of "I Put a Spell on You."
July 17, 1955: The Opening of Disneyland was Covered on a Live Television Special, Dateline: Disneyland
Disneyland Preview Television crews, Walt Disney, Art Linkletter, Ronald Reagan, Bob Cummings, the Mouseketeers, Thurl Ravenscroft, California Governor Goodwin J. Knight and over 28,000 guests witness the opening of Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Broadcast on ABC, it is the biggest live telecast to date!
Walt Disney took the opportunity to network and invite as many local dignitaries as possible, including the Anaheim chief of police.
July 18, 1933: Industrial Designer and Neo-futurist Concept Artist Syd Mead is Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Born on July 18, 1933, Sydney Jay Mead was an American industrial designer and neo-futurist concept artist, who has been described as "the artist who illustrates the future.” During the course of his 60 year career, Mead was invited by Disney film makers and designers to give presentations of his artwork. Mead’s art inspired the look and style of a number of popular Disney Franchise projects.
Fans of the Disney and Star Wars franchises will remember Mead for his concept designs for: the Light Cycles and Master Control Program (MCP) in TRON (1982), the designs of a futuristic Paris featured in The Timekeeper attraction (1992), for inspiring the design behind the AT-AT’s featured in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and the film Tomorrowland (2015), as well as other non-Disney franchise projects such as Star Trek, Aliens and Blade Runner.
Syd Mead has an impressive resume, but he is best remembered for a series of illustrated books and catalogs published in the mid 1960s for the United States Steel Corporation (also known as U.S. Steel), in which he created futuristic concept art, featuring practical applications in: transportation, urban planning and industry.
Over the course of his career, Syd Mead would be invited to give presentations at the Disney Studios (at least) 10 times to consult on different projects and movies.
The Inspiration for the AT-AT
A Futuristic Society
A Neo-Futuristic Castle
It is easy to look at these concept drawings and see how the images could have inspired the look of several projects.
Here is a quick timeline of Syd Mead’s meetings with Disney, taken from the project history page on his website. This list is most likely incomplete, because it doesn’t include his early consultations on TRON (1982). Some of the meetings lack details, but it makes you wonder on which projects he may have been a consultant.
1986: DISNEY IMAGINEERING BURBANK, CA
Featured presenter to design staff
1991: THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY BURBANK, CALIFORNIA FROM TIME TO TIME GROUP BURBANK, CA
(Concept design for 36O deg 9 screen format: Visularium attraction, EuroDisney)
1998: ROUGH DRAFT – GLENDALE, CA (Non-Disney Project)
Pre-production design for proposed SIMPSON’s spin-off series for television: design of rocket ship character for show to be called ‘FUTURAMA’
1998: WALT DISNEY PICTURES – BURBANK, CA:
Pre-production design for ‘MISSION to MARS” movie
2002: TRON LIGHT CYCLE BURBANK, CALIFORNIA DISNEY INTERACTIVE DIVISION:
Syd is commissioned to create the design of the LIGHT CYCLE for the TRON 2.O electronic game as sequel to the LIGHT CYCLE
Syd designed for the feature release TRON, “TRON 2.0” Design of the new TRON Light Cycle
2005: DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS:
Syd is invited to give a presentation to the animators and staff at the Burbank Studios
2008: Disney Animation:
Guest Presenter
2013: Disney Movie Project:
TOMORROWLAND Promotional Art
July 19, 1976: Actor Benedict Cumberbatch is born in London, England
Actor Benedict Cumberbatch is born in London, England, on July 19, 1976. Cumberbatch plays Marvel Avenger, Doctor Stephen Strange, a brilliant neurosurgeon and the sometimes Sorcerer Supreme for Earth-616.
Cumberbatch has portrayed the role of Doctor Strange in seven different MCU films and television series, the most recent being the animated series What If…? (2021) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2023). I highly recommend watching the What If…? series before watching the Multiverse of Madness film, as the series adds another layer of storytelling to the film.
July 20, 1995: The Walt Disney Company Signs a 99-Year Lease to Manage and Operate the New Amsterdam Theatre
The Walt Disney Company signs a 99-year lease with the 42nd Street Redevelopment Project to manage and operate the New Amsterdam Theatre (which was in desperate need of restoration) in New York City.
Located at 214 West 42nd Street in the heart of Times Square, the theater was built in 1902-1903. Walt Disney Imagineering oversaw the renovation of the New Amsterdam Theatre. Some mock-ups of the decorations were created before work commenced. Conservators took a paint chip sample from a billboard outside the building and discovered 121 layers of paint, each for a different event.
According to Hugh Hardy of Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates (HHPA), the project entailed recreating half the oak paneling and three-quarters of the plaster decoration, as well as the restoration of other decorations and the installation of new mechanical systems. Some of the decorative details were painted and glazed to appear older than they actually were. New spaces, such as lounges, restrooms, and elevators, were also created.
After millions of dollars and several years of work, the theater would officially reopen on April 2, 1997.
In November 1997, Disney's stage version of The Lion King would open to critical acclaim. The Lion King ran at the New Amsterdam until June 2006, when it relocated to the Minskoff Theatre to make way for Mary Poppins. Mary Poppins began previews at the New Amsterdam on October 14, 2006, and had its first regular performance on November 16, 2006.
July 21, 1899: The Newsboys of New York City Go on Strike, and Later Inspire the Newsies Franchise
A large number of New York City newsboys refused to distribute the newspapers of Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of The New York World, and William Randolph Hearst, publisher of The New York Journal. The newsboys' strike of 1899 will change the way newspapers compensate their child labor force of newspaper hawkers.
The events of the 1899 strike will later inspire the 1992 Disney film Newsies and a musical theater adaptation of the film, also called Newsies, in 2011.
The strikers effectively stopped circulation of the two papers, along with the news distribution for many New England cities. The strike lasted two weeks, causing Pulitzer's New York World to decrease its circulation from 360,000 papers sold per day to 125,000. Although the price of papers was not lowered, the strike was successful in forcing the World and Journal to offer full buybacks to their sellers, thus increasing the amount of money that newsies received for their work.
In recent news, a new London based production of Newsies opened on the West End last year, with previews starting on November 22, 2022 and the show formally opening on December 8, 2022. The London Cast of Newsies was invited to perform at the 2023 Olivier Awards.
July 22, 1967: Irene Bedard, the speaking voice of Pocahontas, is born in Anchorage, Alaska
Born July 22, 1967, Irene Bedard is an Alaska Native actress enrolled in the Native Village of Koyuk. Irenehas has played many American Indian characters in a variety of television shows and films. She is best known as the voice actor and live action model of Pocahontas in the Disney animated films: Pocahontas, Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World and Wreck it Ralph: Ralph Breaks the Internet.
Bedard was born in Anchorage, Alaska, and though raised primarily in Alaska, she also spent a few years as a child in Washington state. She is Inupiaq and Yup'ik on her mother's side, and Cree on her father's side.
Her television roles include Stephen Spielberg's Into the West, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Longmire and Westworld. She has performed in two Stephen King series, 2017's The Mist as Kimi Lucero, and 2020's The Stand as Ray Rentner.
Bedard's decades of creative work include singing, theater, spoken word, producing television and movies, speaking, and teaching. She's served on the American Indian Enterprise and Business Council to the United Nations, and is involved in frequent activist work around the environmental and Indigenous issues.
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Stay optimistic, and see you real soon!
Sincerely,
Harper