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462

Earliest Known Disneyland Mickey Mouse Animatronic

Currency:USD Category:Memorabilia Start Price:50,000.00 USD Estimated At:80,000.00 - 120,000.00 USD
Earliest Known Disneyland Mickey Mouse Animatronic
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All items are genuine pieces of Disney memorabilia with the exception of those noted otherwise. We have been exclusively dealing in rare Disneyana memorabilia for over 7 years and we have been collecting for a life time. We only work with authentic and genuine pieces. We use documentation to support each item and or genuine provenance. We guarantee each item authentic as described.
DEMO LOT
(Disneyland, c. 1963). Extremely rare and exquisite earliest known Disneyland Mickey Mouse animatronic. Walt Disney began experimenting with animatronics in the 1950's, including some very early but limited animatronics in Disneyland like the hippos of the "Jungle Cruise" that moved up and down. In the 1960's, Walt Disney returned his focus to animatronics and teams of Imagineers began work on life-like characters that not only had more movements but could generate sound. The result was the first Audio-Animatronics of dancing and singing birds in W.E.D.'s "Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room" that opened in Disneyland on June 23, 1963. A year later, Disney would present an incredibly lifelike moving and talking Abraham Lincoln at the 1964 New York World's Fair. Offered here is a 1963 Mickey Mouse animatronic created for display in Disneyland to coincide with and celebrate the beloved featurette "Mickey and the Beanstalk", which was showcased on Walt Disney's "It's a Wonderful World of Color" in the same year on November 17, 1963. Mickey and the Beanstalk, however, originally premiered in 1947 as a featurette and the second half of "Fun and Fancy Free", though Walt Disney had originally planned for the story to be Mickey's first full-length animation feature film. As early as 1938 Walt held creative meetings with his team on the idea of having Mickey star in his first feature film. In choosing the Beanstalk tale, Walt instructed his animators that.“I think this story has great possibilities for the fantastic things. I would like to see it done in such a way that would really put feature quality into it.” Production started on the film but unfortunately was halted due to the outbreak of World War II. After the war, Walt made sure the story wasn't completely lost and salvaged "Mickey and the Beanstalk" as a featurette and in which would also be the last time that Walt Disney would completely voice Mickey Mouse for an entire animation release. It is undeniable how close to the heart "Mickey and the Beanstalk" was to Walt, for so many reasons. It's not surprising that the earliest known animatronic of Mickey in Disneyland captures him in this endearing character, dressed in his feathered cap and rugged jacket and shorts. The Mickey animatronic has parts built to move his arms, head and eyes. The animatronic has not been tested but in the past was fitted with a new power cord for running the parts. The animatronic is in fair condition with normal wear from age and park use, including a nose that is beginning to develop cracks and fabric that is aging. Mickey is approximately 26" x 12".
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