The 25 Baubles of Pop Culture! Advent 2022 Day 13

Disney is the next pop culture franchise that the random generator spit out at me. But there's just so much stuff out there that I am going to have to narrow my focus. For this post, I will share an ornament from the year I was born, an ornament based on my wife's favorite Disney film, another based on my favorite character, one from my favorite Disney movie and a DIY one. 

Born in 1977, I was surprised that there were several ornaments to choose from. I chose this satin ball deal from Hallmark because it looked the most like something I remember hanging from one of my grandparents tree. Mickey graces the front in between likenesses of Donald and Goofy. On the back it says 'Merry Christmas 1977' with images of Donald and Mickey. Though the Mickey on the back looks more like Mickey's nephew Morty.

My wife's favorite Disney film is Peter Pan. The 1953 animated feature is tied in to how we meet and it's played a huge part in our life together ever since. Again, there were tons to choose from and it was a tough choice. In the end, I went with this bauble from Disney Store Japan. It has Peter with Tinkerbell and his shadow standing inside a hidden Mickey that looks a lot like a snow globe, which is another favorite of my bride's. The top of the ornament has a Peter Pan hat and a green satin ribbon that completes the piece to a T.

My favorite Disney picture is Alice in Wonderland. The 1951 film is just so zany and oddball and that is something I feel that represents me very well. For my selection I chose this 2011 exclusive Cast Member bauble. Such an ornament was given only to employees of the various Disney parks and can be very collectible. I love the antique finish of the filigree that surrounds the image. I also love having the Mad Hatter and March Hare in a festive scene with Alice as the Mad Tea Party is my favorite scene of the book and movie. I just hate that the porcelain image has begun to yellow over the years. This is a sign that the owner of this ornament was a smoker and it lessens the value of this really cool piece.

My favorite Disney character is hands down- Uncle Scrooge. Many might not know this but Scrooge McDuck is actually a Christmas character in origin. His first appearance was in a 1947 story created by Carl Barks titled 'Christmas at Bear Mountain.' Over the years, McDuck would scour the world searching for rare and value treasure before finally living up to his namesake starring in the role of Ebeneezer Scrooge in 1983's Mickey's Christmas Carol. 

Being such a massive fan of that animated short, I'm picking this 1983-ish PVC ornament of Scrooge in his role as Ebeneezer yelling at whomever had that gall to hang a wreath on the door of his counting house. I know I didn't have this ornament. But I seem to recall owning this 2.5 inch figurine. I wouldn't be surprised is some company took a whole bunch of these plastic pieces, drilled a hole through them and sold them as make shift ornaments to make a few bucks. Or maybe one of my cousins had one. Either way, I remember this and I love it!

From the DIY Dept, it didn't take me very long to find my favorite ornament idea to share. I took one look at this trio and just thought it was brilliant. You take 3 clear glass/plastic ornaments, stencil on faces of Winnie the Pooh, Piglet and Tigger, fill with appropriately colored yarn or feathers and voila! Instant trip to the 100 Acre Woods!

Mickey and Donald Christmas Parade #4 (2018)

An adorable collection of stories starring Mickey, Donald and more of your favorite Disney characters. 

Highlights include:

• While doing some last minute Christmas shopping, Mickey finds a magic coat that starts spitting out tens and twenties.
• Donald challenges his nephews to the ultimate snow ball fight.
• It's Christmas Eve and the Beagle Boys escape from prison once again. Instead of downtown Duckburg, the crooks wind up in Wonderland!

I really, really enjoyed the Wonderland story. I just recently finished reading IDW's Disney's Christmas Classics which is comprised of dozens of rare holiday crossover stories involving Peter Pan, Snow White and many more favorites. Alice and her Wonderland cronies were not a part of that amazing series. So, this was a fun treat, especially as Alice is one of my two all-time favorite Disney films.

Once again all of the stories are taken from Disney comic mags from across the globe. The artwork is classic and very visually stunning. And I think that the translators of these stories from their original language into English are getting better. I saw one awkward misstep but overall, the language barrier and lost in translation factors in previous IDW Disney specials is getting few and far between.

One thing I noticed and if any of my readers can explain this curiosity, I would appreciate it. I've noticed that dogs are the dominant species in these stories. I am not talking Pluto, walking on all fours dogs. I mean Goofy on only two legs pups. I'm going to say that these characters are beagles as the all look like the Beagle Boys. With exception of main characters, like Uncle Scrooge or Daisy, all of the minor characters are dogs. Why is that?

A very fun Christmas special that was a trip back to the classic days of Disney. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! in The Oz-Wonderland War #3

The epic triple-sized cross-over between Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew, the people of Oz, and the residents of Wonderland comes to a close. With all of the needed rulers of Oz rescue, with the exception of one, this united coalition of freedom fighters take it to the Nome King one final time.

The series started with a whimper but ended with a bang. I enjoyed it very much. I’m typically not a fan of funny animal books, but I grew up reading Captain Carrot and I love Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (it’s also my favorite Disney film.) This mini-series was darn near perfect. The only thing really missing was Alice. However, in an article by series scribe Nelson Birdwell, it just wasn’t feasible since Alice dreams of being in Wonderland whereas determined by a sequel book to Wizard of Oz, Dorothy lives in Oz. So, I was able to forgive that slight.

(Spoiler) I’ve also been saying that this is the weirdest crossover ever- that was until the final page when Captain Carrot’s alter ego Rodney rabbit came face-to-face with the inferior 5! Now, as far as I know, nothing ever came of this surprise ending. But, as I think about it, I would love to one day see a Captain Carrot/ Spider-ham/ Inferior 5/ Great Lakes Avengers crossover with a special appearance by the Legion of Substitute Heroes. Hey, Marvel and DC, could we make this happen? PLEASE!!!!!!!

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! in The Oz-Wonderland War #2

Captain Carrot, the Zoo Crew, and a combined effort of Oz and Wonderlanian forces continue to search for more of missing leaders of Oz. This time up for rescue are the Scarecrow and a certain Wizard.

I really enjoyed this issue. It was a lot more fluid that the first book. I think it just needed a little time to hit its stride. It’s a good thing Captain Carrot has Dorothy Gale around or none of the missing Oz characters would ever have a chance of being found. But it’s a real shame Alice isn’t in this book. I wonder why she’s not here. I miss her. Hopefully, her absence will be addressed.

On the subject of absent promises, the Jabberwock was promised to be in the issue last issue, but he was nowhere to be found. I’m not sure why. However, he does appear here- along with a strange team-up between Captain Carrot and almost every funny animal of the rabbit persuasion to exist in DC Comics history. Along with several bunnies I’ve never heard of, the Good Captain meets up with another rabbit donning the red and gold- Marvel Bunny and briefly reunites with the love of his life- Wonder Rabbit. Sadly, their love is left unrequited.

 Also, thanks to some editor’s articles throughout this issue, I now know why in the last issue of Captain Carrot and the Amazing Zoo crew why we were promises with a 6-part series on the Oz-Wonderland War and only received 3. That’s because of the Zoo Crew series getting cancelled. Originally, there were to be a 6-part story that took place in the pages of Captain Carrot. However, shake-ups at DC caused the title to be scrapped altogether. The higher ups did manage to get this series to see the light of day as a mini-series and made 3 double sized issues instead of 6 standard sized comics. Thus, nothing was omitted and DC actually found a way to keep their promise in order for this series to find newsstands and eventually my collection.

 Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

 

 

 

Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! in The Oz-Wonderland War #1

 

It’s perhaps the weirdest cross-over of all! Captain Carrot and is squad of super-powered funny animals from earth-C are recruited by the Cheshire Cat to help Wonderland’s finest to save the leaders of the land of Oz. It appears there’s this guy called the “Nome King” and he’s the leader of a race of hairy bearded creatures called “Nomes.” Are the supposed to be gnomes? I don’t know, but these guys are mean. Along with his Nome soldiers, the Nome King wears a golden hat that gives him control of those scary flying monkeys.

 

With these baddies plus a bunch of other unusual creatures that have struck fear in the hearts of many a resident of Oz and Wonderland, it’s up to the Zoo Crew to save the leaders of OZ before the Nome King gains access to a portal connecting Oz to Wonderland. With each leader of Oz captured, the Nome King’s power is increased exponentially. So, with every Oz leader saved, the Nome King gets weaker.

 

There’s only one problem, the Nome King has changed these leaders into random inanimate colored objects in color coordinated places. So, if you got changed into a red fire hydrant, the Nome King would place you in a field of roses along with a red vase, some ruby red slippers, and a red rubber ball. The caveat is that you only get one guess or that person is the Nome King’s object forever. But, there is a little bit of the Batman villain the Riddler in the Nome King as each mission can be solved by a riddle that reflects the past history of Oz and Wonderland.

 

Since Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew have never heard of Wonderland or Oz, they’ll need help from the White Rabbit and Dorothy Gale to help solve the riddles. In this first chapter, the combined earth-C-Wonderland-Oz must save the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. Can they do it without letting their egos and unfamiliarity with the land of Oz get in their way?

 

A very interesting first chapter. It’s not at all what I expected. I thought the Zoo Crew would somehow be dragged in a war between the people of Wonderland and Oz, as the title implies. I thought some Zoo Crew members would have taken sides and it would’ve been like a true civil war. Instead, I like this idea of a team-up that involves solving a series of puzzles much better that my first thoughts. It captures the works of Lewis Carroll and L. Frank Baum quite well.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 8 out of 10 star