Guest celebrities on "The Muppet Show", who also did Disney (part three)

My look at guest celebrities on The Muppet Show who also did some things for Disney continues. As always, I do not intend to do every single guest celebrity, only those whose Disney roles are in any way significant. The show's first season having concluded, I will now move on to the second season...

Season Two
The first episode of the second season has Don Knotts:

Knotts certainly has been in many Disney productions, mostly in the 1970s, including as Theodore Ogelive in The Apple Dumpling Gang and its sequel The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again...

...Wheely Applegate in Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo...

...Denver Kid in Hot Lead and Cold Feet...

...and, at the very end of his life, the voice of Mayor Turkey Lurkey in Chicken Little:

After that, there is Edgar Bergen:

Bergen and his dummies, Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd, have appeared in Fun and Fancy Free...

...as well as on the very first Disney television production, One Hour In Wonderland...

...and, very late in Bergen's life, they were on hand to pay homage to Mickey Mouse on his 50th birthday in 1978:

In addition, Charlie McCarthy was featured in animated form in two cartoon shorts with caricatures of movie stars. One was the Silly Symphony cartoon, Mother Goose Goes Hollywood...

...and the Donald Duck cartoon, The Autograph Hound:

Next up is Steve Martin:

Martin has had a long connection with Disney. One of his earliest jobs was working at the Main Street Magic Shop and learning comedy from Wally Boag of the Golden Horseshoe Revue. He also as one of the guest hosts in Fantasia 2000, introducing "Pines of Rome":

As part of Disneyland's 50th anniversary, Martin also hosted a film shown at the park to commemorate the occasion, sharing the spotlight with Donald Duck:

Up next after that is Madeline Kahn:

Although she has done very few things for Disney, she has done at least one significant thing, just before her untimely passing in 1999: providing the voice of Gypsy the gypsy moth of the Circus Bugs in A Bug's Life:

That's all for now. I will get to more later. Stay tuned.

Welcome back, Disneyland!

As of April 30th, Disneyland and the California Adventure has officially reopened (albeit only for Californai residents, for now)!

The parks are at 25% capacity as of late, but rumor has it that California will remove its reopening tier system should COVID cases remain low. Hopefully, then, such restrictions should be relaxed.

In any case, enjoy this video for the grand reopening ceremony:

Opening with the park is a brand-new Snow White ride which replaced Snow White's Scary Adventures. It's now called Snow White's Enchanted Wish:

Frankly, I'm not that sure what to make of it. In any case, enjoy this ride-through video, shown side-by-side with the earlier ride, and provide me with your feedback on it:

I will definitely be going back again soon, possibly sooner than expected!

It's official: Disneyland is FINALLY reopening April 30!

At last, we have a reopening date in place for Disneyland!

Read here for more information: https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/03/magic-is-back-at-disneyland-resort-theme-parks-plan-to-reopen-on-april-30/ .

For the time being, assuming Orange County is in the red tier, it will reopen at 15% capacity. However, if, by the time the park reopens, Anaheim is in the orange tier, it will be 25% capacity. Furthermore, out-of-towners will be barred from entry for the time being, while live entertainment will also gone.

This article shows the initial list of attractions available at reopening, including an improved Snow White ride: https://laist.com/latest/post/20210317/disneyland-reopening-april-30-theme-parks-covid-19-coronavirus/.

While it may be a while before I go back again (which I can theoretically do as a California native myself), it bears repeating: Disneyland has been missed! Welcome back!

Guest celebrities on "The Muppet Show", who also did Disney (part two)

Recently, I began to look at guest celebrities on The Muppet Show who also did some things for Disney as well. Please note, however, I do not intend to do every single guest celebrity, only those whose Disney roles are in any way significant. And now I will continue on with this list...
Up next in the parade of guest celebrities is Sandy Duncan:

Duncan has done a few Disney performances, including appearing as Katie Dooley in The Million Dollar Duck...

...Dr. Liz Bartlett in The Cat From Outer Space...

...and the voice of Vixey in The Fox and the Hound:

And she also played Snow White in Christmas in Disneyland:

After that came Ben Vereen:

His main Disney role (as far as I know) was hosting the Walt Disney World Christmas Parade special in 1985 with Joan Lunden:

Then came Phyllis Diller:

Diller's most significant Disney role is the voice of the Queen Ant in A Bug's Life...

...but she also appeared on a Halloween-themed episode of The Mouse Factory:

After that came Vincent Price:

Price does the voice of Ratigan in The Great Mouse Detective...

...and the narrator for the Tim Burton short Vincent:

Also, in Disneyland Paris' Phantom Manor (their equivalent of the Haunted Mansion), Price provides the eponymous Phantom's maniacal laughter:

And that concludes the first season of The Muppet Show.

Disneyland can soon reopen! For real this time?

COVID cases have been dropping as of late in California.

According to various news sources, in keeping with California's drop in cases, coupled with its rise in vaccinations, the state's reopening guidelines have been modified, which means that parks in California, including Disneyland, can reopen as early April 1, albeit at a very limited capacity, at 15%.

Here is but one sample article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/experience/america/theme-parks/2021/03/05/disneyland-reopening-california-allow-limited-capacity-residents/4602061001/.

My take on this, however, is that having been disappointed when its alleged July reopening date from last year did not pan out, I have to express my doubts. It also doesn't help that the reopening date is April 1, which is of course is April Fool's Day.

I don't usually like to say it, but I really hope I am mistaken in what I say and things do in fact pan out.

Guest celebrities on "The Muppet Show", who also did Disney (part one)

This is the first part in a series...

On February 19, 2021, the classic Muppet Show started streaming on Disney+ for the first time.

In honor of that, its 45 anniversary, I thought I would talk about some of the guest celebrities who appeared on the show who also did Disney at some point in their lives. This is not going to be a full list, but broken down by seasons. It should also be noted that even if they only did just one thing for Disney, it will still be acceptable.

Season One
Neither Connie Stevens nor Juliet Prowse, the first two guest celebrities on the show, have done anything for Disney, so up first we have Joel Grey:

As far as I know, Grey has done only one Disney role, that of Beppo Brown, the father of Jenny and Django Brown in one episode of Phineas and Ferb:

Next up, we have Ruth Buzzi:

Buzzi's Disney career is decidedly more extensive. Among other things, she has done the singing voice of Frou-Frou the horse in The Aristocats (her speaking voice was done by Nancy Kulp)...

...Kanga of Winnie the Pooh fame in an early computer software game called "Winnie the Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood"...

...and Mrs. Sweeney, a villain in one episode of Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers:

After that, we have Rita Moreno:

Among other things, Moreno appeared in a few episodes of Zorro as a minor character named Chulita...

...and, more recently, as Queen Camila on Elena of Avalor:

After that, we have Florence Henderson (I didn't even know she did Disney until I looked it up on the Disney Wiki site):

She voiced several incidental characters in newer shows, including Demeter in the Hercules animated series...

...Grand Mum in Sofia the First...

...Aunt Ginny in an episode of Handy Manny...

...and Irma in an episode of KC Undercover:

Then came Harvey Korman:

Among other things, he portrayed Captain Blythe in Herbie Goes Bananas:

Then came Peter Ustinov:

Ustinov has done a few significant roles for Disney, including the title character in Blackbeard's Ghost...

...Prince John in Robin Hood...

...King Richard, also in Robin Hood...

...and Dr. Snodgrass in Treasure of Matecumbe:

That's all for now. I will get to more later, but I have some big plans for today. Stay tuned.

Black-and-white Mickey Mouse shorts that cannot be shown on Disney+

My critique of Disney shorts on the Disney+ streaming service continues...

In a previous article, I had hinted that I might post a list of all the black-and-white Mickey Mouse cartoons to see which ones could be shown on Disney+. As it stands now, only two such shorts are available on the streaming service: Steamboat Willie (for obvious reasons) and 1933's Ye Olden Days.
In any case, Mickey's early career is worth taking a look at.

The problem, however, is that many of them have questionable content, from racial or ethnic stereotypes and antisocial behavior (such as smoking or drinking) to violence and just plain crude behavior, which came under the heading of "barnyard humor".

One way to separate things out is to look at the series of black-and-white Mickey cartoons which, when shown on the Disney Treasures line of DVDs, often were preceded by introductions by the host, film historian Leonard Maltin, who explained that the cartoons were a product of their time and would be unacceptable today. On the first black-and-white Mickey set, released in 2002, the cartoons simply had intros in front of them, but the second set, released in 2004, actually separated out such questionable cartoons from everything else (and they didn't even do a good job there, as The Mad Dog and Trader Mickey are not separated out and are part of the regular lineup). Presented below are all the shorts which were given specific intros on both sets (along with a handful that don't), and as such, would not be seen on Disney+:

The Gallopin' Gaucho (1928; Mickey smoking and drinking)

The Barnyard Battle (1929; the cats all wear German helmets, violence)

The Haunted House (1929; Mickey cries "Mammy!" at one point)

Pioneer Days (1930; racial stereotypes)

The Moose Hunt (1931; gun violence, alleged animal abuse)

The Delivery Boy (1931; a Yiddish-dancing turtle, suggestive behavior at the end)

Mickey Steps Out (1931; blackface gags at the end)

The Grocery Boy (1932; a Napoleon statue is blackfaced after crashing into some fireplace ash)

The Mad Dog (1932; racial stereotypes, gun violence)

Mickey In Arabia (1932; racial stereotypes)

Trader Mickey (1932; racial stereotypes)

The Whoopee Party (1932; a blackface gag)

The Klondike Kid (1932; drinking, gun violence)

Mickey's Good Deed (1932; a "black" toy, animal abuse)

Mickey's Mellerdrammer (1933; racial stereotypes, violence)

The Steeplechase (1933; racial stereotypes)

Shanghaied (1934; Pete becomes blackfaced after crashing into a stove's ashes)

Gulliver Mickey (1934; a Lilliputian is blackfaced from getting hit with ink from Mickey's fountain pen)

The Dognapper (1934; animal abuse, gunplay)

Two-Gun Mickey (1934; smoking, gun violence)

Mickey's Man Friday (1935; racial stereotypes)

Those are pretty much all the cartoons that would probably not be included on the list because of questionable content. All those not on the list, as far as I know, should be fairly acceptable for the streaming service, so I really would like Disney to include those someday. A guy can dream, can he not?