The Old Witch at Beverly Sunset Sweet Spells

All images from personal collection unless otherwise noted.

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Image courtesy of disneypix.com.

Like a cousin to the Candy Cauldron, the Beverly Sunset Sweets Spells shop is a wickedly savory confectionery located on Sunset Boulevard at WDW's Disney Hollywood Studios in Orlando. The outside facade replicates the Warner Beverly Hills Theatre that once stood aglow in neon on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.

Inside is...

an odd but effective and sometimes stunning mixture of Gothic and Art Deco styles that extends to the nearby Villains in Vogue location as well. Often missed due to the store's attractive and tempting assortment of candy and pastries is a series of high perched reliefs that serve as a hall of fame of Disney villains. Source: 2719 Hyperion

The villains overlook the shop...

And the Face in the Magic Mirror stands guard in several locations...

There's candy galore including these Evil Queen mints and Grumpy sours...

And these theme park chocolates (which are also available at Disneyland in Anaheim)...

Candy Box images courtesy of TokyoMagic! Used with permission.

Setting up shop in one of the storefront windows is the Old Witch...

Taking a little direction from her spell book which reads...

juicy apple

gobs of butter

sack of sugar

pinch of mystery

____

cast spell

boil in cauldron

She works her wicked ways for all to see as her arm moves up and down "dunking" the apple into the bubbling cauldron...

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Down a couple doors, the Witch appears again, this time in the store window of the Scary Apothecary where she tries to entice innocent passerbys to splurge on a few Vinylmations...

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For more on the Beverly Sunset Sweet Spells shop and the other building facades along the DHS Sunset Boulevard, read the write-ups (with more photos) at AllEars.net, WDWfacts.com, and Main Street Gazette.

Wicked Mints and Grumpy Sours Tins

I'm a big fan of Snow White tins, especially small ones. I guess there's just something about the fact that they're made from metal, and if properly cared for, they'll be around way longer than I will. Here's a couple nifty examples currently available at the theme parks...

"Wicked" Evil Apple Mints tin. Purchased from the World of Disney store at Walt Disney World Resort, November 2009. Measures 4" x 2 1/2" x 3/8". Original price $3.95 (USD).

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This "Grumpy" Orange Sours tin (in shrinkwrap) was also purchased from the World of Disney but in February of 2011. It wasn't available in 2009. Same measurements and price as above.

1938 Texas Electric Recipe Brochures

Here's a couple rare gems from Snow White collector Rick Payne--two 1938 printed recipe handouts issued by the Texas Electric Service Company in Fort Worth. Each measures 3" x 5" when folded. 

[CLICK IMAGES TO SUPERSIZE] 

Dopey Chicken Curry...

Front Cover

 Inside Text

 Back Cover

 Doc Spice Roll...

 Front Cover

 

 Inside Text

 Back Cover

All images courtesy of the Rick Payne collection. Used with permission. See what Rick has for sale at dadric's attic.

"Happily Ever After" Snowglobe

Currently available from disneystore.com, this ''Happily Ever After'' snowglobe features Snow White on horseback as the Prince leads them to his castle. Hand-painted, sculpted resin with glass and metal, the piece stands 10" tall. A wind-up key on bottom can be turned to play a Brahms Waltz. An automatic blower stirs the sparkles inside the globe. Runs on 2 AA batteries. Retail price $99.50 (USD).

The snowglobe also comes with a title plaque which can be engraved with up to two lines, 20 characters per line. This personalization is required at purchase, but is included in the price.

Item No. 6447039758453P

Stock images copyright disneystore.com

"Animators of Film and Television" Book

Front Cover

Author Noell Wolfgram Evans is a playwright, animation historian, and two-time winner of the Thurber Treat award. Although he may work by day as a creator of theater, he's always had an interest in animation.

From an email correspondence with Noell...

I started a few years ago exploring various animators and films for on-line and print publications.

As I wrote I became intrigued at the through-line from "classic" animation to today's popular culture. The closer you look at say some of the great Warner Brothers cartoons or the design work of the late 40s/early 50s modernists, you start to see some of the roots of how we look and laugh at things today.

So I wanted to explore that a little further and I also wanted to share the stories of the people who were really doing the day to day work of creating these shorts, bringing such joy into our lives and truly influencing much of what we think about, from an entertainment standpoint, today.

Author Noell Wolfgram Evans

Published in 2011, Animators of Film and Television takes a good look at 19 influential animators, directors, and writers from this past century who affected animation and in turn, our culture.

Sample Pages via amazon.com

Of specific interest to Snow White enthusiasts are the chapters on Art Babbitt, Joe Grant and John Hubley. The three were employed at the Disney Studio in the mid 1930s during the creation of Walt's first feature film. They worked for the Mouse, but it wasn't all princesses and fairytales. Not all animators were looked upon proportionately to the work they produced. This smartly written book tells it like it was without the fluff. An interesting read for anyone desiring to delve deeper into the history of animation.

Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-4832-6
Ebook ISBN: 978-0-7864-8603-8
Publisher: McFarland, 2011
Format: Softcover, 228 pages
See the book listing on Amazon.

WDCC/WDAC Grumpy's Scary Adventures Figurine, 2001

Back in 1999, a Walt Disney Art Classics Convention was held at the Orlando theme park where attendees had an opportunity to meet the artists and purchase exclusive limited edition pieces. It was a well-received event and became an annual occurrence for a number of years--the first three with a focus on theme park attractions.

At the third gathering on May 5, 2001, "Fantasyland" was the theme and Snow White's Scary Adventures was one of the highlighted rides. A Grumpy figurine, "Hmph! I Ain't Scared" was release with an edition size of 750. Sculpted by artist Blaise Gauba and rendered in fine porcelain, the comic piece features the angry dwarf riding in a mine car from the attraction. It stands 4 1/2" tall and retailed for $175 (USD). The bottom-stamped annual production mark for 2001 was the Butterfly from Bambi.

Stock image copyright Disney.

Image via Worth Point.

D23 Mine Train Details

More details about the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train have been released this weekend during the D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center. On display is a model of the Fantasyland expansion with a 3-dimensional look at all of the new attractions including the forested hillside in the center of it all.

Looking through the gate at SDMT with the Little Mermaid ride and the Storybook Circus in background...

The Dwarfs' cottage near where guests will exit the train...

The train tracks through the forest...

Model photos via Lebeau's Le Blog.

Foam mine car mock-up...

D23 Mine Train Mock-up image via Attractions Magazine.

Vehicle design and development video...

Video posted by Attractions Magazine.

A ride-thru preview...

Video posted by DisneyParks. 

And a video look at the expansion model and the mock-up mine car...

Video posted by InsideTheMagic.

Special thanks to Kurt Raymond for his assistance with this post.