It’s Just a Bunch of Hocus Pocus
Greetings Disney fans and Happy Halloween! Today marks the last day of October, and the first official day of the 2021 holiday season. If you’re like me, you may have started decorating for Halloween this year as soon as the first hint of Autumn was in the air.
Oh, look. Another glorious morning. Makes me sick!
Winifred Sanderson, Hocus Pocus
Our second issue of Magic in the Mail contains a few Halloween treats, as well as some November surprises. The Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney/Pixar, Disney + and other streaming services have announced several exciting projects debuting in November.
On November 24th, the much anticipated Walt Disney Animation Studios film Encanto arrives in theaters in time for the Thanksgiving holiday, with original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Miranda is the Pulitzer prize winning author behind the Broadway hit, Hamilton. This is Miranda’s second partnership with Walt Disney Animation. He previously partnered with Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa’i to compose the original songs in Moana (2016).
On November 12th, feature films Jungle Cruise and Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings will be available to stream on Disney + at no additional charge. Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye will debut on November 24th, while the three-part documentary series The Beatles: Get Back, directed by Oscar®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson, will debut over three nights on November 25th, 26th, and 27th.
“What's this? What's this? There's color everywhere! What's this? There's white things in the air! What's this? I can't believe my eyes, I must be dreaming; wake up, Jack, this isn't fair! What's this?”
Jack Skellington, The Nightmare Before Christmas
What is Magic in the Mail
For those of you who are reading our publication for the first time, Magic in the Mail is a weekly newsletter featuring short articles and anecdotes pertaining to Disney history which happened during the publication week.
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This Week in Disney History: October 31st-November 6th
October 31, 1939
It was on this fateful night on Halloween at 8:05 pm, lightning stuck the elevator towers of the Hollywood Tower Hotel and five people plummeted into the Twilight Zone.
On the evening of October 31, 1939, The Hollywood Tower Hotel hosted a Halloween party for the Hollywood elite in the Tip Top Club, a nightclub on the thirteenth floor of the hotel's central tower. The hotel elevator system had been hastily granted a permit to operate earlier in the day by an inspector named Cadwallader. This is a reference to six episode of the series, titled, “Escape Clause.” The hotel was immediately shut down, and remained closed until reopening its doors in July of 1994 to Disney guests.
November 1, 1988
A meeting was held at Walt Disney Imagineering to discuss Disney's past and possible future relationship with America's space program. Among the 13 individuals in attendance were: Roy E. Disney, Marty Skylar, Ward Kimball and Ray Bradbury. The meeting began with a retrospect of Disney's early space-related projects and moved on to more recent projects. They then discussed the potential for a Space Pavilion concept for EPCOT Center (1982-1993). Over the next three decades, several Space-themed project would emerge at Epcot, including the attraction Mission: Space and the Space 220 restaurant.
November 3, 1931
Walt and Lillian Disney board the luxury cruise ship SS California after enjoying a vacation in Havana. The Disneys had spent the last two weeks at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, which had opened the previous year in 1930. The trip to Cuba was the principle stop in a five week tour, and was the first vacation the Disneys had taken in four years.
Walt and Lillian had nicknamed the trip their gypsy jaunt, which included stops to the Grand Canyon, Kansas City to see Walt’s old home, Washington, D. C., Miami and other Florida resorts The manifest for the SS California, which lists Walt and Lillian as passengers, indicates California departed Havana on November 3, 1931 and arrived in the Port of Los Angeles on November 14th.
November 4, 1995
The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights lights arrive on Walt Disney World property for the very first time.
Trucked in from Osborne's home in Arkansas in four 18-wheel Mayflower Moving Vans, it took three teams of technicians working around the clock for three weeks straight to get the lights up along Residential Street at Disney-MGM Studios. The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights officially premiered on November 24, 1995 on Residential Street as part of the Backlot Tour. Guests could then walk Residential Street in the evenings after the attraction had closed for the evening.
Meet the Magic Maker: X Atencio
Francis Xavier '“X” Atencio (September 4, 1919 – September 10, 2017) was an animator for the Walt Disney Studios from 1938-1965, and then as an Imagineer for the Walt Disney Company until he retired in 1984.
Born in Walsenburg, Colorado, X moved to Los Angeles in 1937 to attend Chouinard Art Institute. X Atencio was best known for writing the scripts and song lyrics of the Disney theme park attractions Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion.
Walt first greeted Xavier with a robust, “Hi ya’, X!” when he was a young animator working in the Studio. Within a relatively short time, X was promoted to assistant animator on Fantasia (1940).
“Walt was a father image. You felt good merely having been in the presence of his dynamic personality.”
X Atencio
Atencio briefly left the company to serve in World War II as a photo interpreter in the U.S. Army Air Forces from 1941 to 1945, reaching the rank of Captain in the 2nd Photo Tech Squadron. Stationed in England, he was part of a team that analyzed aerial surveillance
Atencio became an Imagineer in 1965, and his first assignment was to help design the Disneyland Railroad’s Primeval World diorama segment. He wrote the scripts for Adventure Thru Inner Space and penned the lyrics to song, “Yo Ho (a Pirate’s Life for Me)”, heard throughout the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. He also provided the voices of various characters, including the talking skull that appears before the waterfall that carries riders into the main body of the attraction and the drunken pirate on the bridge who heckles the auctioneer.
“I didn’t even know I could write music, but somehow Walt did. He tapped my hidden talents.”
Arguably Atencio’s most iconic contribution to Disney was when he wrote the lyrics of the Haunted Mansion theme song, called “The Screaming Song” or “Grim Grinning Ghosts.” His voice can also be heard emanating from the coffin in the Mansion's conservatory scene. In the Disneyland Mansion, it is Atencio who reads the emergency spiel when the ride comes to a halt.
Another brief voice-over Atencio provided was for the Submarine Voyage, where he is addressed as "Bridge." He also wrote the lyrics to Buddy Baker’s music for the retired Magic Kingdom attraction, If You Had Wings.
He retired from The Walt Disney Company in 1984 and was named a Disney Legend in 1996.
Disney in the News…
The hearts of 1990’s children skipped a beat this week when the trailer for Lightyear (2022) debuted online. The idea for the film dates back to the very first Toy Story. As Pete Docter, Pixar Animation Studios’ Chief Creative Officer, explained during the Investor Day presentation, Buzz had always been inspired by a character from an epic blockbuster film. This film, which was announced last year, comes full circle in bringing the before mentioned fictionalized film to life.
Coming Later this Week
Today in Disney History: November 3, 1961
The Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life" first airs on television
Rod Serling's introduction to Walt Disney World's Tower of Terror attraction - as viewed in the library - is taken, in part, from this very episode. Serling begins the program with the words, "Tonight's story on The Twilight Zone is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction."
Imagineers completed the introduction for the attraction with dialogue by sound-alike actor Mark Silverman.
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Disney Trivia X: Coco and Dia de los Muertos
Join us on Friday, November 5th for Coco Trivia! Dia de los Muertos, also known as the Day of the Dead, is a holiday celebrated on the 1st and 2nd of November. The holiday originated in Mexico, and celebrates the departed souls of family members. The holiday is now celebrated outside of Mexico, especially by people of Mexican heritage.
Based on an original idea by director Lee Unkrich, Coco (2017) follows the story of a 12-year-old boy named Miguel who is accidentally transported to the Land of the Dead. He seeks the help of his deceased musician great-great-grandfather to return him to his family among the living and to heal his family through music.
Coco is a beautiful film about family, love and forgiveness, and highlights the beauty and traditions found in Mexican heritage. This movie is a must-watch with tu familia as we approach the holiday season.
Remember me,
Though I have to travel far,
Remember me,
And let the love we have live on,
Know that I'm with you,
The only way that I can be,
Until you're in my arms again,
Remember me.
-Remember Me, from Coco.
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Stay optimistic, and see you real soon!
Sincerely,
Harper