Alphonse Mucha and the Disney Princess Nouveau Collection

Alphonse Mucha (1860–1939) was the Czechoslovakian artist who pioneered the ornate stained glass style of Art Nouveau. He moved to Paris in 1887 and lived as a "starving artist" for the next seven years. Then in 1894, his fortunes changed.

Around Christmas 1894, Mucha happened to drop into a print shop where there was a sudden and unexpected demand for a new poster to advertise a play starring Sarah Bernhardt, the most famous actress in Paris, at the Théâtre de la Renaissance on the Boulevard Saint-Martin. Mucha volunteered to produce a lithographed poster within two weeks, and on 1 January 1895, the advertisement for the play Gismonda appeared on the streets of the city. It was an overnight sensation and announced the new artistic style and its creator to the citizens of Paris.

Bernhardt was so satisfied with the success of that first poster that she entered into a 6 years contract with Mucha. He produced a flurry of paintings, posters, advertisements, and book illustrations, as well as designs for jewellery, carpets, wallpaper, and theatre sets in what was initially called the Mucha Style but became known as Art Nouveau (French for 'new art').

Source:Wiki

In 2008, Disney released their short-lived, but extremely popular Disney Princess Nouveau Collection, including shirts, stained glass hangings, trinket boxes and journals. Each of the main princess characters were reproduced in a style after one of Mucha's famous paintings. Ed Irizarry conceived and sketched the designs for the princesses and Enrique Pita colored them.


The Snow White reproduction was patterned after Painting from The Arts Series, 1898...

A. Mucha, Painting, 1898

Irizarry and Pita's Snow White as seen in The Art of the Disney Princess book, p.47...

Close-up...

Artist quotes from The Art of the Disney Princess book...

Book pages copyright Disney.

B+W Snow White image adapted by Jess Park from original by Irizarry and Pita.

Some of the others included Mucha's Poetry of 1898 which became Aurora from 1959...

La Plume as La Cinderella...

See more of the Disney Princess Nouveau Collection at mdmbrightside.

Also view the upcoming posts featuring Snow White's Nouveau sun catcher and shirts.

Snow White's Apple

When this image first appeared on the web, no one seemed to know much about it. From Crave: We don't have the details for this bit of art--whether it is a vinyl sticker or painted on. And it looks like this picture is all the information we'll be getting for now because the original image has been deleted by Flickr user LubeckerJung.

Snow White's Apple!

But it didn't take long before a variety of Snow White vinyl stickers started showing up for sale online. This would be just one of many.

Snow White's Revenge available from vinylville etsy shop

Multiplane Camera

What a fantastic invention this really was! The multiplane camera enabled the Disney studio to create the realism needed for feature-length animations.

Face Lift to Seven Dwarfs Mine

Renovations to the facade of the Seven Dwarfs Mine shop outside Snow White's Scary Adventures ride, Walt Disney World--November 2009.

Photos from personal collection.

Evil Queen Endures a Few Autographs

Video posted by TwilightZoneAnaheim

Screen Capture

On the Train to Hollywood

After its premiere on December 21, 1937 and then subsequent release to theaters in February 1938, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs became an instant worldwide critical and financial success. The film enabled the Disney brothers to pay off their entire loan of over $1,480,000 to the Bank of America as well as build a brand new state-of-the-art studio.

Disney's Folly it was not.

Yet some 15 years prior, Walt Disney was broke. He was living in the Kansas City office of his Laugh-O-Gram studio, taking baths just once a week at Union Station. It was 1923, and unable to make a profit, his studio went bankrupt. He sold his movie camera to pay for a one-way ticket to Hollywood.


Walt Disney reminiscing many years later about this point in time:

I met a guy on the train when I was comin' out. It was one of those things that kind of made you mad. I was out on the back platform--I was in my pants and coat that didn't match but I was riding first class. I was making conversation with a guy who asked me, "Goin' to California?"

"Yeah, I'm goin' out there."

"What business you in?"

I said, "The motion-picture business."

Then all of a sudden. "Oh, is that right? Well I know somebody in the picture business. What do you do?"

I said, "I make animated cartoons."

"Oh."

It was like saying, "I sweep up the latrines."

Some people make you mad, and you want to prove something to them even though they mean nothing to you. I thought of that guy...when we had the premiere of Snow White. And that darn thing went out and grossed eight million dollars around the world.

Excerpt from: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Making of the Classic Film by Richard Holliss and Brian Sibley (page 35)

Fan Club Pin

Released August 30, 2004, this Snow White Fan Club pin was limited to just 500 and was available only online from Disney Auctions. Fixed retail price $12.00 (USD)...

The backside is decorated with auction gavels and reads, "© Disney, www.disneyauctions.com, Limited Edition 500, Disney Auctions Exclusive, China"...

Original card backing...

Milton Bradley Snow White Board Game

The Game of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs board game by Milton Bradley Company. "© Walt Disney Enterprises" circa 1938. Dice and wooden playing pieces. Object is to be the first to make it around the board.

A second example via Heritage Auction Galleries...

Special thanks to Bob of the Allure blog for the tip-off on the auction.

Another via The Collectors Encyclopedia of Disneyana by David Longest and Michael Stern, p.146 (Collector Book 1992)...

Box measures 9.5" x 19".

Vintage Disney Pins

The idea of collectible Disney pins really did not come into its own until 1999 when Disney Pin Trading was introduced at the Disneyland Resort during the Millennium Celebration and then the following year at Walt Disney World.

Yet, pins in one form or another have been around almost since the beginning when the Disney Company started selling merchandise to fund their animated film projects.

Left: Vintage Mickey Mouse Pin. Made by Cohn and Rosenberger from 1933-1936. Measures approximately 1" tall, pinback clasp. Stamped "© WD" on back.

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Here's a brief visit with some early Snow White pins...

Made in 1938, this is one of the first pins to feature characters from a Disney full-length movie. It was popular at the time for little girls to wear their sweaters around their shoulders without putting their arms through the sleeves. This sweater pin was used as a fashion accessory to help hold the sweater on. Brier Manufacturing Company circa 1938.

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A Snow White pin made from plastic, it was sold at theaters during the first general release of the film. The Dwarfs are gathered around playing musical instruments. Pin came attached to a white card with non-Disney drawings of Snow White and Dwarfs in the woods. Top of card reads "SNOW WHITE PRODUCTS." Broach clasp. 1937-38.

Image via l_moon_star.

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This pin is made from a wood-like composition material. Snow White is hand-painted, but the rabbit with dust pan is not. Measures 1.375" high. A simple C-closure pin is glued on the back. Marked with "© 1938 Disney Ent." Produced for Disney by Schroco.

Images via Ogee's Antiques.

Not all paint jobs were created equal. The pin on the left shows the color from Snow's dress covering half of the bunny's face and leg. More one-of-a-kind examples on the right.

Images via PinPics  + exjouster.

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Sneezy is featured on this 1938 metal pin which was part of a series that included all the Dwarfs and Snow White. Measures approximately 1.125 tall, pinback clasp. Stamped "© WD" on backside. According to Tomart's Guide, the pins were produced by Brier Manufacturing Co 1938. Yet, Hakes has the pins listed as made by Nemo.

Images via PinPics + exjouster.

More on this set in a later post.

Part V - Snow White Awakens!

[CONTINUED FROM PART IV]

One of the notable distinctions about the Snow White ride is that for the most part, it is presented from the perspective of the young princess herself. In the original 1955 Disneyland design, Snow White was never seen. As the rider, you were her. Your experience was what she experienced. This is how the WDW version was designed as well. But during renovations in 1983 and 1994 at the two respective parks, imagineers decided to change it a bit, to make the ride less frightening for younger children. In addition, they sought to quell the inevitable question that guests would ask upon exiting the ride, "Where the heck is Snow White?" With the redesign, the princess would now makes a few appearances at certain points in the story. Nonetheless, the ride would still lead guests on an adventure--Snow White's adventure.

Now as rides go, the mechanics and special effects of this one are not the latest, greatest state-of-the-art. The audio-animatronics of Pirates and the simulated universe of Star Tours are much more sophisticated and advanced in their technological wizardry. But four days of sun, palm trees, and fun had opened a door for me. My childlike nature was ready for anything. And while I was still ignorant of the fact, this Snow White mythological tale was mine, that is, it would speak directly to my archetypal core. So for me, this experience would prove way more powerful than any other I'd had at WDW.

Ti and I were not the only adults in the queue for this ride. Many had kids in tow, but substantial numbers did not. We boarded our vehicle, waited for the bar to release, then lower, and headed off into the bowels of this "dark" ride.

The WDW ride begins by taking guests through the Queen's courtyard where Snow White is seen on the steps outside. The Queen is watching her (and us) from a castle window.

We then enter the castle and are greeted by the speaking Magic Mirror. As we turn a corner, we see the Queen standing, gazing upon her reflection in the mirror. Suddenly she spins to face us, but instead of the Queen, we see the green-eyed, nearly toothless Hag.

The ride continues into the dungeon where the cackling Hag stands over her frothing cauldron, poison apple in hand. The Queen's huntsman suddenly urges Snow White to run away and we escape into the dark forest. A thunder bolt flash reveals the princess, she screams as her dress gets caught by claw-like branches. The trees have eerie scowls and floating logs loom in the swamp like lurking crocodiles. Creepy eyeballs fill the shadows.

We hear the Dwarfs' "Silly Song" in the distance as we reach the safety of their cottage.

The refuge doesn't last long as we pass the Witch giving Snow White the apple, and upon exiting the cottage, hear her crowing that she is 'Now the fairest in the land'.

The ride heads into the Dwarfs' mine where we hear them calling out that the Witch is getting away. They head off in pursuit, scrambling up a rocky ledge. She stands upon a precipice over us and attempts to dislodge a boulder on our heads. But a bolt of lightning strikes and the Old Hag meets her demise.

It was at this point that the music kicked in--the finale reprise of Someday My Prince Will Come from the original 1937 film. The hairs on the back of my neck stiffened, and a chill ran up my spine.

We return to the forest where Snow Whites lies still on her bier. The prince is bending over the sleeping princess as he's about to kiss her.

Above two images © Disney via Walt Disney World website.

In the final scene, we hear Snow White saying "Goodbye" to the dwarfs and us as she and the Prince head to their castle in the clouds.

I don't know how to explain it exactly, but upon exiting the ride, I was in a bit of a quasi-daze. The imagery coupled together with the music had in a manner of speaking tapped into my inner circuitry. It was as if a light was suddenly turned on inside. This archetypal fairytale now had meaning for me, and the deeper symbolism of it all somehow made sense.

Nine years after the fact, the Snow White mythology continues to exert influence over me, hence the writing of a blog dedicated to Miss White.

WDW "Adventures" Poster

Snow White's Adventures poster located inside the entrance to the Magic Kingdom (under the train station), 2009.

Image from personal collection

Part IV - Prelude to the Scary Adventures

[CONTINUED FROM PART III]

First movie theater experience ever for me was the animated feature The Jungle Book. I must have been about 4 or 5 years old and loved it! I also recall in the early 70's really looking forward each week to watching The Wonderful World of Disney on television. But this was the extent of the Disney influence in my life.

Childhood family vacations never included trips to Anaheim or Orlando. No affinity existed with Mickey Mouse or any of the other household icons. When in middle school a group of girls started singing It's a small world after all, I knew the tune sounded somehow vaguely familiar, but I truly had no idea where it came from or what it was associated with. That memory faded away until 26 years later when on my first visit to Fantasyland, I finally discovered that the song originated from the It's A Small World ride. I was quite unaware of Walt Disney's life story and the extent of his creative genius.

My wife Ti on the other hand did visit Disneyland once and Walt Disney World twice as a child as well as a third time as an adult. She owned books on the parks, videos like The Little Mermaid and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and it was she (not me) who went to The Lion King when it first came to the theater in 1994. Only after the film landed at the dollar cinema did I agreed to go. We both thoroughly enjoyed the story, music and animation, and we ended up going back to see it at least 3 more times. Still I was no fan of the Disney canon.

So here it was...December 2000. Holiday music and decorations enhanced an already dreamlike atmosphere at the Walt Disney World Resort. Three days of rides, shows and stimuli had successfully expunged any remaining mental resistance I may have held toward the parks. Consciously, I was having a ball, enjoying a childlike essence I rarely allowed myself to feel. Beneath the surface, my psyche was in a singularly open state, prepped and ready to connect with something deeper.

The Magic Kingdom was indeed magical. Splash Mountain. Space Mountain. The Haunted Mansion. Pirates of the Caribbean...and on and on. As much fun as the other three parks had been, this was the crowning jewel. Attractions like The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and The Enchanted Tiki Room were just as delightful as thrill rides like Big Thunder Mountain Railway. I was expecting more of the same playfulness when we lined up in the queue for Snow White's Scary Adventures.

[CONCLUDED IN PART V]

Part III - Four Days, Four Parks

[CONTINUED FROM PART II]

The thirty minutes from airport to hotel was nothing short of surreal. A singing bus driver, live gators stirring along roadside ponds, and my first glimpse of WDW. The bus deposited vacationers at the Disney-owned Caribbean Beach Resort and then Coronado Springs before delivering us to the All Star Resort. The diversity of both guests and cast members at the check-in counter added a refreshing international flavor to the scene as the French national smiled and handed us our room keys and park tickets.

Pixar's Bug's Life was playing behind us on the lobby big screen. We would come back to enjoy it later in the week, marking the start of my submersion into Disney animated films--both old and new. My wife, having visited the World prior, was thoroughly prepared to be my guide...and what a tour it would be. Four parks in four days with a couple late night excursions to the Downtown Disney Market Place where even the bushes were singing.

Day One: Disney's Hollywood Studios (back then called MGM Studios). First ever Disney ride--Tower of Terror. Will never forget it. Waiting in line at the park entrance before opening, we watched the soda fountain jerk happily wiping the glasses and preparing for the crowds. Then at the allotted hour, gates opened, and we ran to reach the Tower. First guests to arrive. In fact we had it all to ourselves. As the warm morning sun rose in the eastern sky, a thick waist-high misty fog clung to the walkway leading up to the entry. It was an effect I absolutely love in movies and something that was perfect for the entrance to the Twilight Zone, but this was no effect!. Even the natural elements were getting into the act, creating a dreamlike world as introduction to the Disney parks. The Tower ride was beyond belief. The elevator drop scared the crap out of me. I was terrified! But oh what fun!

A Park Hopper is a special ticket that allows you to visit more than just one park in a single day. We had 'em. So each late afternoon, Ti would pull me away (literally) from the park we were in to take a sneak peak at where we'd be going tomorrow. Around mid-afternoon, we headed over to the Animal Kingdom. I was not prepared for what we were about to experience. Notazoo!


Day Two: Disney's Animal Kingdom. DINOSAUR! Guests board vehicles called Time Rovers and are sent back in time to the late Cretaceous period. The mission? To rescue an iguanadon from extinction before the meteor hits that caused the dinosaur extinction. WOW! What a ride! I was like a kid again, mesmerized by the excitement and realism of all the audio-animatronics and the extraordinary effects.

Day Three: Epcot's Future World & World Showcase. The diversity of rides, performances and architecture is astonishing. It's near impossible to take it all in on a single day. The giant geodesic ball Spaceship Earth. Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Ellen's Energy Adventure. The world showcase Norway, Mexico, Japan, Morocco...

I particularly enjoyed the Living with the Land attraction--a relaxing boat ride that takes guests through a tropical rain forest, an African desert sandstorm, and a turn-of-the-century family farm. The ride also includes a demonstration greenhouse utilizing "futuristic" farming techniques including hydroponics, aeroponics and aquaculture.

Day Four: The Magic Kingdom. We were having so much fun, I'd completely forgotten how resistant I'd originally been towards this Disney vacation. And now the real enchantment was about to begin with Snow White's Scary Adventures.

[MORE IN PART IV]