• Friday, January 15, 2009
• Screenland Theater
• Doors at 6:30
• Pre-movie talk by a special guest who will be announced soon
• Movie Begins Promptly at 7:30

The Story of “Walt and El Grupo”“Walt Disney goes South American,” proclaimed the lobby poster for the 1942 film Saludos Amigos. It was an era when Washington called on Hollywood to help shore up relations between the Americas, and the film was the outcome of a trip Disney and a handpicked mini-studio made to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and other nations of the region at the request of the U.S. government.

It was also a time that Disney would later recall as “the toughest period I’ve had in my whole life.” His studio was going through great difficulties, the Roosevelt administration had growing concerns about Nazi and Fascist influence in Latin America, and the entire world was slipping further into war. On the trip, while gathering story material and befriending fellow artists, Disney and “El Grupo” as they were called, were also embarked on a de facto diplomatic mission and Saludos Amigos carried the expectation of being an offering of inter-American friendship.

It is a story that still resonates on both sides of the equator. Drawing from personal letters and artwork from the trip, remembrances by descendants and survivors, and archival footage that provides a condid and never-before-seen glimpse of Disney and his artists, Walt & El Grupo time travels through five nations to capture a story that is both a tale of making art in a time of war, and a geo-political saga that has pressing relevance to our own times.

Tickets are going fast for this once in a lifetime event. Seating is limited, so don't wait as this event will likely sell out early. Tickets are $35 each, or $30 if you are a TYWD Laugh-O-gram Club member. We also have V.I.P tickets available for $50 which includes a TYWD Poster ($25 value). The first 11 V.I.P. tickets sold will get priority seating in the large cushy red leather recliner seats for the movie inside the Screenland theater. To order your tickets, email info@thankyouwaltdisney.org for payment information. Tickets are sold on a first come, first serve basis.

At only 4-years-old, Virginia Davis lit up the screen in Walt Disney’s “Alice’s Wonderland.” This was the first in a series of “Alice Comedies” that Disney made while in Kansas City and California. When Walt moved to California to continue the series, he insisted that Virginia and her family join him to continue the series.

From 1923 to 1924, they made 13 “Alice Comedies” together starting with “Alice’s Day at Sea” and eventually ending with “Alice Hunting in Africa.” These successful comedies helped start the Disney Company, and paved the way for future Disney projects and characters such as Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Mickey Mouse, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” and others.

Virginia’s experiences at Walt Disney Studios didn’t end with the “Alice Comedies.” Walt tried to recruit her as Snow White’s live-action reference model, and she dearly wanted to work on that project. She eventually had to turn the deal down and the live-action reference role went to Marge Champion. But Walt didn’t give up. A few years later, he hired Virginia to do some voice work for “Pinocchio,” and gave her a try-out in the studio’s ink and paint department.

In the late 1930s to early 1940s, Virginia began to lose interest in the Hollywood life. After putting in her last performance in the 1946 MGM musical, “The Harvey Girls,” Miss Davis and her husband, Navy aviator Robert McGhee, left show business for good.

Robert and Virginia were married for 59 years, had two daughters, Margaret Sufke of Boise, Idaho and Laurieanne Zanderbergen, as well as three grandchildren, Krisitanne Barron, Nicole and Juliette Zanderbergen.

Over the past 20 plus years, Virginia has made numerous appearances at Disneyana events, as well as 3 visits to help out Thank You Walt Disney. In early 2002, she was invited to a Thank You Walt Disney fundraiser, and it was the first time she had returned to Kansas City since she left at the age of 4. This past May, at the age of 90, she returned to Kansas City for one of her final public appearances. To a packed room, she recalled stories of working with Walt. She jitterbugged, she reenacted her favorite episode of the “Alice Comedies,” where she was a cowgirl, and she strode around the room with her hands at her hips ready to draw her pistols at a moment’s notice. She had the audience laughing, applauding, and hanging onto every word. She may have left show business over 60 years ago, but show business never left her. She is truly missed, and will forever be known as Walt’s very first star.

The entire Thank You Walt Disney, Inc. staff wishes to extend its condolences to the friends and family of Virginia Davis during their time of sorrow.

by Lon Davis

We are proud to announce the debut of our newly refurbished, Thank You Walt Disney website! It's been a long time since we've been able to update our site and give it a fresh new look.

The website has a much cleaner look to it and makes it much easier to find information you are looking for pertaining to Thank You Walt Disney, Inc. and you can also learn there are places to find the history of the building and Walt Disney in Kansas City, you can also learn about the future of the Laugh-O-gram Studio Building and what we are doing to preserve it. There are a few sections of the site that we are still fine tuning before turning them on, I think you will see many more updates and news about upcoming events from this site. Feel free to check out the new site and sign up for our e-Newsletter, and you can even volunteer your services to help with upcoming projects or events. We look forward to debuting the new General Store soon with some exciting new products coming out.

So be sure and visit the new site at www.ThankYouWaltDisney.org, and take a little break in your day to learn what Walt was up to nearly 90 years ago. There are two companies we would like to thank for helping get our new site live. First is Reactor. This local advertising company, run by Clifton Alexander, did a fabulous job in redesigning the site from the ground up. We couldn't be happier with the overall look and feel. The second company we would like to thank is Sampson Design Company, headed by Kevin Sampson. Kevin spent many hours building the site for us and really helping us with all the nuts and bolts behind the scenes. This site could not have gone live without both of these companies working to see it complete. Many thanks to both of you.

For those of you who were there, it was something you will never forget. For those who wished they were there, it is something you should plan to not miss again. Earlier this year, Disney debuted the new D23 club. This "fan-club" designed by Disney, for the ultimate Disney fans out there, was difficult for people to grasp. But once these D23 members showed up for the D23 Expo held in California, all questions were answered as to why they joined this club.

Disney pulled out all the stops showing all kinds of behind the scenes displays, upcoming movie and theme park announcments, and a multitude of guest speakers covering every aspect of the Disney company. They even presented this year's "Disney Legends" awards to the 10 recipients, Tony Anselmo (the voice of Donald Duck), Harry Archinal (Administration), former Golden Girls Bea Arthur, Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan and Betty White, Bill Farmer (voice of Goofy), Don Iwerks (Film Production), Leota Toombs Thomas (Imagineering and Attractions) and iconic actor Robin Williams — joined the circle of Disney Legends. Their names and handprints will forever be enshrined in the Legends Plaza on the Disney Studio Lot in Burbank.

Tony Anselmo and Bill Farmer started their acceptance speeches as their animated alter egos, and Robin Williams followed suit by doing part of his speech as Elmer Fudd, followed quickly by, "Oh, wrong company!" Betty White even used this opportunity to end some of the rumors going around that she was Walt's babysitter when he was a little boy.

While everyone has their favorite moment from this year's first annual D23 Expo, many people were shocked when Disney announced the 4th movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean series titled, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At Stranger Tides." Johnny Depp in full Captain Jack Sparrow costume and persona then staggered onto stage from a makeshift boat and interacted with the guests asking them such questions as, "Has anyone seen that frog [Kermit the Frog] that was here earlier? I wonder if he tastes like chicken?"

Disney has now set the bar extremely high for future D23 Expos. They have their work cut out for themselves for next year.

The new attraction, "Toy Story Mania!" has been getting rave reviews at Disneyland and Walt Disney World for its unique 3-D interactive ride. The lines are always long and people seem to be quite competitive since it keeps high scores that other guests have made. There are numerous websites out there that give you clues on how to score many points rapidly in the game. With all the water squirting at you, the rockets wizzing by your head, and the blasts of air hitting you in the face, it's hard to stay on target and get the highest score possible.

Now guests have a new way to practice their skills. Just released exclusively for the Nintendo Wii, is the home version of "Toy Story Mania!" This game features the same levels from the attraction and adds many more. Some of which are even in 3-D, thanks to the 3-D glasses included with the game. All of the voices from the attraction are included in this game as well. This could turn into one of the ultimate party games out there for all of you Disney fans.

Bret Iwan is an American voice actor and an illustrator and now has the honor of being the fourth voice of Mickey Mouse, a role he assumed from the late Wayne Allwine. He graduated from the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, USA in 2004. Iwan was previously an illustrator at Hallmark, designing Disney Hallmark Ornaments and drawing pictures of Mickey! While he would also draw other non-Disney characters for Hallmark, he now says that he tries to stick to the Disney only ones now.

Iwan was first called in to be the voice of Mickey Mouse shortly after the death of Wayne Allwine on May 18, 2009. He has since done a few illustrations of Mickey Mouse and unreleased voice acting clips. His first recording of Mickey Mouse was for a new interactive toy coming out soon, followed by some new prompts for the Disney Cruise Line. The new "Celebration" Disney On Ice show also features Bret Iwan as Mickey. Those who have seen this show, or seen the clips online, can easily testify that Bret's version of Mickey is nearly identical to Wayne Allwine's. It's virtually impossible to tell the two apart. Great job Bret.

Beckie Baker:

Many Kansas City residents who are Disney fans may remember Beckie's specialty retail store, "Second Star To The Right," in Crown Center. Beckie owned and operated the store selling many Disney collectibles and memorabilia. At the same time, Beckie served on the Advertising and Marketing Council for the Center. Beckie has also worked with Halls Plaza and Executive Hills Designs working with displaying merchandise in their retail divisions.

Currently Beckie is working with Boveri Realty Group as a sales associate in the Commercial Division. She is focused on the Urban area of Kansas City, Missouri, working with business retention and development of new business with a specialty in retail, office, live/work buildings, and condo sales.

Beckie is a member of KCRAR (Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors), an associate member of International Council of Shopping Centers, a member of the Downtown Council serving on the Business Retention Committee, on the Kansas City Arts Council serving as Arts Council Concierge working as liaison with the KC Arts Council and Boveri Realty Group, and a member of the Urban Core group.

Beckie Baker graduated with a BFA degree from the Kansas City Art Institute.

Just to give you a small sneak peak of the next issue of The Anivisionary...

Is Disney digging into their roots and doing something new with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and The Phantom Blot? Are they teaming up? And if so, why???

Look for all these answers in the next issue of The Anivisionary to read the whole story.

Join our Laugh-O-gram Club

A one-year membership includes:

• A Laugh-O-gram Club Lapel Pin

Become a member of Walt’s 100 Club

Walt’s 100 Club membership includes:

• Recognition at the Grand Opening
  of the Laugh-O-gram Studio
• A Laugh-O-gram Sweatshirt
• An original Laugh-O-gram Poster
• A Walt's 100 specialty Lapel Pin
• A Laugh-O-gram Lapel Pin