Campaign 2020: Cartoon Characters that ran for President, Part 2

Once again, as a service and a distraction from this year's Presidential campaigns, we offer you some alternatives:  Cartoon Characters who ran for president in the past.   Maybe one of them will appeal to you and the masses...

Part Two:   Winnie the Pooh For President!

Yes, that silly old bear ran for President four times between 1968 and 1980, despite the fact that he is    British-born entity and not eligible for president. I assume he hoped no one would ask to see his birth certificate..  

In 1968, At a special Disney Night at the Hollywood Bowl, Winnie the Pooh announced his first candidacy.  No doubt the audience that night was surprised by this late entry into the presidential race, but Pooh did his best to get his message across.   He did most of his campaigning at the Tomorrowland Terrace stage at Disneyland, where several times a day he would give his campaign speech as part of a Kids of the Kingdom show called "On Stage, USA."   This first campaign would not prove successful as he was edged out by Nixon come election day.  However, Pooh had gotten a taste for politics and recognized that his next campaign would require much larger backing...

1972 looked like it could be Pooh's year.   He had gotten some big endorsements from both Disney and Sears, which backed a massive advertising campaign to get the word out that Pooh was a viable candidate.  They went all out with daily "Pooh for President" parades down Main Street USA in both California and Florida (both key states with massive electoral votes).   They also took a two week whistle-stop train tour of the United States, sponsored by Amtrak, stopping in various places between Los Angeles and Washington D.C.  The train had a special boxcar that converted into a stage.   Pooh could roll into town, give his campaign speech , then quickly roll away to the next town.   

During the train tour, Tigger, Pooh's press secretary, began dropping hints that Owl was being seriously considered as Pooh's running mate.  It was felt that Owl had the attributed necessary to appeal to both left and right wingers.   However, Piglet ended up being the Silly Old Bear's choice for Vice President.  Eeyore became his campaign manager.  Below is some archival footage from Pooh's '72 campaign.

Pooh even held a Children's Party Convention in Walt Disney World, where 50 children (one from each state) and their families were selected to be delegates.   They unanimously selected Pooh as their candidate despite a smear campaign by a rogue heffelump.   

Despite the vigorous campaigning, Nixon again stole the election from Pooh.  Well, there's always next year...

For his 1976 campaign, Pooh enlisted the help of award-winning musician Larry Groce to write his campaign song.   Larry came up with "Pooh for President" and the record was given out at Sears outlets.   The song was even nominated for a Grammy for Best Children's Record.   The song promises honey in every pot, no taxes on toys and snacks for all (finally a campaign I can get behind).   I know you'll want to hear it at least once, so here it is:

Pooh ended losing the Presidency to Jimmy Carter.   At this point, many of Pooh's supporters felt he should hang up his hat and retire.   However, Pooh, like Perot, felt he had one more campaign in him...

In 1980, Pooh ran his campaign in Disneyland. He ran against Captain Hook for his party's endorsement. Disneyland Guests ware encouraged to vote for one or the other, and despite a last-minute effort by Hook to (literally) steal the election, Pooh received the endorsement. However, by this point his election had run out of steam and Ronald Reagan was elected president.

In recent years, there has been some talk about Winnie the Pooh taking another stab at the presidency.  However, recent issues Pooh has had with China's president (see HERE) have probably killed any future campaigns for the time being.   

For much more info on Pooh's campaigns I direct you to the following article by Jim Korkis, just click HERE.

Super Bowl time!

Yes, it's that time of year again...  time for everyone to make their favorite high-caloric snacks, sit in front of their TV for hours, and watch that great American pastime, the Super Bowl commercials.  In between these salutes to commercialism, Denver and Seattle will be pitted against each other in a game that is sure to bring my level of apathy to new heights.  Personally, I am pretty jealous of the snack vendors in Denver this year.  Now that a certain illegal substance is legal in those parts, I can imagine that snacks sales will go off the charts during the game.   I wish I had the Doritos franchise in Jefferson County.

I assume that there are some of you out there who, like me, have only a passing interest (there's a pun there if you're not too particular) in football.  For those people I am posting this instructional video on how to play the grand old sport.   Made in 1944, it's one of the quintessential tomes on the sport.... as well as being one of the greatest Goofy cartoons ever made.   Enjoy!

The Incredible Mr. Limpet returns?

 

As a kid, one of my favorite movies was The Incredible Mr. Limpet.   Keep in mind, this was at a time when DVD's and videotape didn't exist.   We were subject to whatever movies were available on TV, and Mr. Limpet was one that was broadcast often.  I looked forward to it whenever it was screened.

For those of you not familiar with the film, it's the story of Henry Limpet, a mild-mannered fish enthusiast who longs to join the navy.  A fall into the ocean causes a fantastic metamorphosis that turns him into an animated dolphin.  As such, he becomes the Navy's greatest secret weapon against the Nazis in World War II.

The movie was released in 1964 and was a beginning and an end, of sorts.  This film launch the film career of Don Knotts, who went on to star in other classic movies such as The Shakiest Gun in the West and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, both of which made up a big part of my childhood viewing.  On the downside, this was the last animation produced by the Warner Bros. cartoon studio.  Once the film was completed, the studio closed their doors, ending an almost 35-year stream of great animated cartoons.

There has been talk in recent years of a remake, and stars such as Jim Carrey and Zach Galinfiakis have been associated with it from time to time.  Currently Richard Linklater is pinned as director. 
We all know that Don Knotts went on to bigger and better things, but what became of the animated fish?  Many people are unaware that the fish found work at the Walt Disney studios.   Limpet played a cameo role in The Little Mermaid.   In the Under the Sea number, you can see Mr Limpet in the big finale at the end.  See the photo below for unequivocal proof. 

Click on photo for a larger view.   You can see Mr. Limpet near the top, to the right.  Look for the fish wearing glasses.

Limpet made such a big impact in the movie that when it came time to build a Little Mermaid attraction at the theme parks, it was imperative that he was a part of the ride.   So, next time you ride Ariel's Undersea Adventure at Disney California Adventures, keep at least one eye open during the Under the Sea scene.   Near the end of the scene, look to your left, away from the action.  There, you can see Limpet, swimming over to join in the fun!   Again, look below for more unequivocal proof.

It's good to know that Limpet is still making a nice, steady income as he waits for his chance at a remake.  Hail to Henry Limpet!!

Saturday Morning Cartoon: Croissant de Triomphe

Yeah, I'm a little late with this one, but I think it's worth waiting for:  Croissant de Triomphe, a new Mickey Mouse cartoon from those fine folks at Disney.  Yesterday Bob Iger announced that this would be the first in a series of 19 new Mickey Mouse cartoons being made for the Disney Channel and Disney's website.  I think this first one is a great start...   it almost seems like a 1930's cartoon, but it also has a contemporary touch to it.  In addition, I like the characters all speaking French.  Click the link below the picture to watch the cartoon at the Disney website.  Aimer quelque chose!



Croissant de Triomphe on Disney Video

Saturday Morning Cartoon: Broken Toys

I hesitate posting this one, but in most respects it's so darn sweet that I can't resist.   Today I'm presenting Broken Toys, a Walt Disney Silly Symphony from 1935.  The film is one of my favorite Silly Symphonies, despite being a bit un-PC.  Among the caricatures of W.C. Fields, Ned Sparks and Zazu Pitts that you'll see, you'll see one of Stepin Fetchit.    All the caricatures in the film are true to the characters' screen personas in the 1930's, but unfortunatley the Fetchit character is now out of step with modern thinking, and rightly so.  There's also a few other stereotypes featured in the film.   For these reasons, this film is rarely ever shown, which is a shame.   It's a real charmer and shows the talent of the Disney artists at that time.