This Week in Disney Pop Culture
Kokomo and Cocktails
It all started on my way home from work. I was listening to a Beach Boys playlist on Spotify and the song Kokomo began playing. I had already started researching this week’s article, and I had found a fun Disney reference to The Beach Boys, so I decided to do some research and find further Disney references which coincided
Did you know the music video for Kokomo was filmed at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida? Sure enough, the music video was filmed in 1988 on the beaches of a popular resort hotel.
The song Kokomo first hit the airwaves on July 18, 1988, and was featured on the soundtrack of the Tom Cruise film, Cocktail (1988). Along with the footage filmed at Disney, the music video includes several cut scenes of Tom Cruise mixing drinks and frolicking on the beaches of Jamaica.
The lyrics of Kokomo describe two lovers taking a trip to a relaxing place in Kokomo, a utopian island off the Florida Keys. In addition to the fictional Kokomo, the song also makes references to several real Caribbean islands, including Aruba, Jamaica, Bermuda, Bahamas, Martinique, Port Au Prince, Haiti and Montserrat.
Several of the island locations mentioned in Kokomo also have references to either Disney films, resort properties or projects. Below is a quick list of a few Disney references tied to the islands mentioned in the song. I am bound to have missed some, so please feel free to add onto this list in the comments.
Aruba, Jamaica and Martinique:
Aruba, Jamaica and Martinique are the names of three of the five resort areas found at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Would you like to island hop around the Bahamas? This resort is for you. Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is also on the Disney Skyliner.
Jamaica:
It’s impossible to have a conversation about Disney and Jamaica, without mentioning the film Cool Runnings (1993).
Derice Bannock: Sanka you dead?
Sanka Coffie: Ya, mon.
-Cool Runnings (1993)
Set in Kingston, Jamaica in the late 1980s, Cool Runnings is one of the greatest underdog sports films of all time. Based on a true story, the film follows the fictionalized events surrounding the creation of Jamaica’s Olympic Bobsled Team and their journey to the 1988 Olympic Games in Calgary, Canada. For those feeling nostalgic, grab your lucky eggs and open a Red Stripe before you watch this film.
Sanka Coffie: Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up, its bobsled time! Cool Runnings! -Cool Runnings (1993)
Bermuda:
There is a terrific reference to Bermuda in Sword in the Stone (1963) made by Merlin. “Blow me to Bermuda…”. The 1963 Walt Disney animated fantasy Sword in the Stone (1963) features a quirky conversation about Bermuda, with the eccentric magician Merlin departing for a vacation on the island several hundred years before it was discovered, using the magical incantation “Blow me to Bermuda!” Merlin returns later wearing shorts, sunglasses and tennis shoes.
Bahamas:
Each of Disney Cruise Line’s five ships have Nassau in The Bahamas listed as their port of registry.
Disney Cruise Line’s private island, Castaway Cay (also known as Gorda Cay), is located just north of The Bahamas. In 1997, The Walt Disney Company purchased a 99-year land lease (through 2096) for the cay from the Bahamian government. Gorda Cay had also been used in the filming of different movies. The beach where Tom Hanks first encounters Daryl Hannah in Splash (1984) was filmed on the island and parts of the film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl were filmed on the cay, as well.
Key Largo, Florida Keys:
Disney's Old Key West Resort is a Disney Vacation Club resort located at The Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It opened on December 20, 1991, and was formerly known as Disney's Vacation Club Resort until January 1996, when it was renamed. It was the first Disney Vacation Club Timeshare Resort and is considered the flagship resort for the Disney Vacation Club.
Port au Prince, Haiti:
The final scene of the Marvel blockbuster film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) takes place on the island of Haiti, where Shuri visits Nakia at her beach front home (maybe near Port au Prince) during an emotional scene where Shuri burns her funeral garments. The scene is very powerful and contains a few spoilers if you haven’t seen the film, dealing with themes of grief, family and moving forward.
The scene takes place at the 145-minute mark in the movie and is followed up by a mid-credit cut scene (SPOILERS) which occurs around the 151-minute mark.
This Day in Disney History: August 13th- August 19th
August 13, 2017: The Great Movie Ride and The Universe of Energy Attractions, Both Close at the end of this day at Walt Disney World
Debuting at the Disney-MGM Studios theme park on May 1, 1989, The Great Movie Ride was a dark ride which took guests through scenes from famous films throughout motion picture history.
The ride was located inside a recreation of the famous Hollywood landmark, Grauman's Chinese Theatre. The theatre is a full-scale reproduction of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, found in Hollywood, California. Featuring handprints, footprints, and signatures of some of Disney's greatest stars embedded in the cement outside, the theater meticulously captures the pageantry of the legendary movie palace that has become a symbol of Hollywood's Golden Age.
Originally, the Walt Disney Company was denied permission to use the name "Grauman" when referring to the theatre inside the Disney Park. The proper name of the building was simply "The Chinese Theatre". To further muddy the water, at the time the attraction opened in 1989, the actual Grauman's Theatre was officially known as "Mann's Chinese Theater" as it was owned by the Mann film theater group. The attraction featured nearly 50 lifelike Audio-Animatronic replicas of legendary movie stars.
The attraction officially closed at the end of the day on August 13, 2017, to make room for the new Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway attraction, which is now housed inside of The Chinese Theatre.
The Universe of Energy pavilion was part of the Future World section of Epcot. From 1982 to 1996, it housed the Universe of Energy attraction. In 1996, the attraction was changed to Ellen's Energy Adventure. The name of the pavilion, however, remained unchanged.
The original Universe of Energy pavilion itself was an innovation in energy technology, as the entire roof was covered in 80,000 photovoltaic solar cells that partially powered the ride vehicles. Visitors were transported through the pavilion in large battery-powered "traveling theatre cars" that followed guide-wires embedded in the floor as opposed to riding along conventional ride tracks. The original attraction featured numerous films that presented information on the subject of energy in a serious fashion, as well as a ride through a primeval diorama complete with audio-animatronic dinosaurs.
The pavilion closed at the end of the day on August 13, 2017, to make way for the new Wonders of Xandar pavilion, and the new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction.
August 14, 1939: Today is Donald Duck Day at the 1939 New York World's Fair
Today is Donald Duck Day at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Donald has been flown in from Hollywood to attend the premiere of his latest cartoon, Donald's Penguin, playing at the National Biscuit Theatre in the Food Pavilion.
Since this was in the years before Disney developed costumed walk-around characters, Donald was a 3-foot-tall model that was occasionally used for public appearances. Donald ‘handed’ out gifts to five hundred lucky children and took part in a special parade.
Afterwards Donald was presented with an honorary degree of Doctor of International Friendship from Dr. Frank Monaghan, a professor of American History at Yale University.
August 15, 1901: Songwriter Hall of Famer and Disney Legend Ned Washington is born in Scranton, Pennsylvania
Born August 15, 1901, Songwriter, Hall of Famer and Disney Legend Ned Washington is born in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Ned arrived at Disney in 1938 and received Oscar nods for “Baby Mine,” featured in Dumbo (1941), and for the title song of Saludos Amigos (1942). Ned also wrote lyrics for “I’m a Happy-Go-Lucky Fellow,” featured in the “Mickey and the Beanstalk” sequence of Fun and Fancy Free (1947).
In 1939, Ned Washington first inspired dreamers with his evocative lyrics for the song “When You Wish Upon a Star,” which he co-wrote with fellow Legend and composer Leigh Harline. The beloved ballad, first introduced by Jiminy Cricket in the animated feature Pinocchio (1940), remains the signature song of The Walt Disney Company today.
Ned subsequently garnered three Academy Awards, two of which were for his work on Pinocchio, including Best Song “When You Wish Upon a Star” and Best Original Score.
August 16, 2007: The US Postal Service™ Releases a New Set of 41-cent commemorative stamps, titled, The Art of Disney: Magic
On August 16, 2007, the US Postal Service issued a 41-cent postage stamp, titled, The Art of Disney: Magic, in four designs. Designed by David Pacheco of Burbank, California, the stamps go on sale nationwide August 16, 2007.
The Art of Disney: Magic stamps will be available in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of 20 (flat sheet) and a $12.95 stamped postal card booklet of 20 stamps.
With this stamp pane, the U.S. Postal Service® honors the art of magic as imagined by Walt Disney and his studio animators. With help from some of Walt Disney’s famous animated characters, Postal Service art director Terrence McCaffrey joined with a Disney team including artist, Peter Emmerich, and creative director, David Pacheco, to create four stamps that feature the following characters:
Dumbo and Timothy Mouse.
Peter Pan and Tinker Bell.
Mickey Mouse as “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.”
Aladdin and Genie.
This was the fourth stamp pane honoring the art of Disney that the Postal Service has issued. The first, issued in 2004, was on the theme of friendship. The second, issued in 2005, focused on celebrations, and the third, issued in 2006, was on romance.
August 17, 1986: Luxo Jr. Premieres in Dallas, Texas
Luxo Jr. (1986), the first film produced in 1986 by Pixar Animation Studios —following the studio’s establishment as an independent film studio — premieres in Dallas, Texas.
Written and directed by John Lasseter, the two-minute short film revolves around one larger and one smaller desk lamp. The larger lamp, named Luxo Sr., looks on while the smaller, "younger" Luxo Jr. plays exuberantly with a ball to the extent that it accidentally deflates.
The film is the source of Luxo Jr., the mascot of Pixar.
The success of Luxo, Jr. will be followed by a series of shorts (Red's Dream, Tin Toy and Knick Knack) in which the Pixar artists explore and develop their medium, much as Disney had used the Silly Symphonies as steppingstones to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Luxo Jr. was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short in 1987 at the 59th Academy Awards, becoming the first CGI-animated short film to be nominated for an Academy Award.
The short was later released in theaters with Toy Story 2 in 1999, subsequently appearing on its VHS and DVD releases in 2000. In this version, the short is preceded by the message, "In 1986, Pixar Animation Studios produced its first film. This is why we have a hopping lamp in our logo."
August 18, 1989: Disney's Live-Action Film Cheetah is Released in US Theaters
Disney's Live-Action Film Cheetah (1989), starring Keith Coogan and co-produced by Roy E. Disney, is released in US Theaters.
Cheetah, also known as Cheetah and Friends, is a 1989 American family drama film from Walt Disney Pictures starring Keith Coogan and Lucy Deakins. This motion picture was loosely based on Alan Caillou's novel The Cheetahs. It was shot in Nairobi, Kenya. This motion picture features the phrase "Hakuna matata" which became famous when Disney released The Lion King (1994), five years later.
It was first screened alongside a re-issue of the 1948 animated short, Mickey and the Seal.
August 19, 1963: Actor and Musician John Stamos, is born in Cypress, California
Born on August 19, 1963, John Phillip Stamos first gained recognition for his contract role as Blackie Parrish on the ABC television soap opera General Hospital, for which he was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
He is also known for his work in television, especially in his starring role as Jesse Katsopolis on the ABC sitcom Full House. Since the show's finale in 1995, Stamos has appeared in numerous TV films and series. From 2005 to 2009, Stamos had a starring role on the NBC medical drama ER as Dr. Tony Gates. When ER finished filming its very last episode in March 2009, Stamos (a huge Disney fan) was asked on camera what he was going to do next. He replied - "I'm going to Disney World”.
John Stamos’ Involvement with The Beach Boys
John Stamos has occasionally performed in concert with The Beach Boys, dating back to 1985, typically playing drums and various other percussion instruments. In 1988, he appeared in their video for "Kokomo", in which he played both the conga drums.
At the 0:54 mark in the video, John Stamos talks about filming the music video at Walt Disney World and playing with the band, The Beach Boys.
The video for the Beach Boys' 1988 hit song "Kokomo" was filmed on the beach at Walt Disney World's Grand Floridian Resort in Florida.
John Stamos continues to perform with the Beach Boys. On March 24, 2022, Stamos emceed the MD Anderson benefit concert and performed with The Beach Boys at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
Trivia Results…
If you said, Disney’s The Grand Floridian Beach Resort, then you are correct!
The video for "Kokomo" was filmed at the then-recently opened Grand Floridian Resort at Walt Disney World in Florida. Although they had not played these instruments on the recording, Mike Love is seen playing saxophone, Al Jardine is shown playing tambourine, Carl Wilson is shown playing guitar, and Bruce Johnston is shown playing bass, with touring drummer Mike Kowalski pictured in his usual role and actor and occasional Beach Boys live guest John Stamos is shown playing steel drum.
Back from Bermuda…
To sum things up, at the end of the Sword in the Stone (1963), Merlin returns from Bermuda and the 20th century and explains to Arthur he is now the once and future king.
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Sincerely,
Harper