Walt's Animation Vault: The Little Mermaid / Aladdin
Mahoning Drive-In Theater - Lehighton, PA
They've finally got permission to show Disney animated features on 35mm at the Mahoning Drive-In Theater. In honor of this occasion, I decided to put together the absolute laziest and most groan-inducing cosplay in the history of the drive-in.
Mahoning Drive-In Theater - Lehighton, PA
They've finally got permission to show Disney animated features on 35mm at the Mahoning Drive-In Theater. In honor of this occasion, I decided to put together the absolute laziest and most groan-inducing cosplay in the history of the drive-in.
I'm "Under The C". Get it? 😛
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| Show banner designed by Andrew Kern |
Walt's Animation Vault weekend was originally planned to take place in July and it was going to be a double feature of The Lion King and Aladdin. Jeff's passing and the delay to the start of the 2024 season caused a ripple event which resulted in this event being rescheduled for the weekend of August 23rd and 24th. Unfortunately, this created another issue at the last minute. The Lion King was placed in a temporary blackout from public exhibition due to the upcoming release of Mufasa: The Lion King.
The plan is to show The Lion King at the Mahoning next year for Walt's Animation Vault II, but for this year, it was swapped out for The Little Mermaid. For as much as I love The Lion King, I don't think that too many people on the lot minded all that much. The place was packed with families who came out to see a double feature of Disney classics on the big screen at the drive-in.
The t-shirt for this weekend was designed by Andrew Kern, and it's one of the coolest Mahoning shirts that I've ever seen. I especially like the 35mm film reel vault and the Mahoning Drive-In Theater written in the style of the old Silly Symphony logo.
Andrew really went all out for this event. In addition to designing the banner, the poster, and the t-shirt, he also had stacks of coloring pages available for free in the concession building for all of the kids and the adults who are kids at heart.
Click these links to download full size scans to print and color: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
The Big Kid Store had a vendor table outside of the concession building, and much like they did for Clue and The Goonies, they hosted a fun scavenger hunt activity on the lot. These really have been a great addition to the 2024 season, and I hope they continue hosting them going forward.
Last, but certainly not least, Virgil's son had a lemonade stand on the lot, complete with free stickers and lollipops. I can attest that the lemonade was very good, just as the sign says!
The Little Mermaid hit the screen when the sun went down. It premiered in 1989 a week before Thanksgiving and it went on to become the first animated feature to top $100 million at the box office during its initial theatrical run. It was also the movie that helped Disney reclaim the throne as the king of full length animated features.
It has to be thirty years since I've watched this movie. The last time I remember seeing it was when my 8th grade Spanish teacher showed us the Spanish language version of it in class on the day before Christmas break. It's clear from all of the kids on the lot that it's just as big of a hit today as it was when it was first released.
There were two Donald Duck cartoons shown on 35mm during intermission. The first was a 1956 theatrical short called Chips Ahoy. This was the second to last regular Disney theatrical cartoon to feature Donald in a starring role, and it was the final appearance of Chip 'n' Dale during The Golden Age of Animation.
The second was a 1955 animated short called Beezy Bear. It features Donald Duck as a beekeeper and Humphrey The Bear as a mischievous honey-stealing bear. This is the first time that I remember seeing either of these cartoons at the Mahoning. They were a very nice surprise that made Disney night even better.
The second movie of the night was the animated feature Aladdin. It premiered on November 11th, 1992, just one week shy of the third anniversary of the release of The Little Mermaid. Like The Little Mermaid, I haven't watched this since I was a teenager and I forgot how fun both of these movies are. I've always been more of a Looney Tunes kid than a Disney kid growing up, but these movies truly are timeless classics that anyone of any age can enjoy.
After the double feature, there was one final surprise for folks who were able to stay up late. Rob put together an hour long reel of trailers for Disney live action and animated features. He mentioned to me a few weeks ago that he was working on this to close out the night for Walt's Animation Vault, and I was looking forward to seeing this as much as the movies themselves. The highlight of the night for me was the trailer for my favorite Disney animated feature from my childhood, The Black Cauldron.
