Turbo, The Live Action Snail Mascot For Go Go Escargot Fast Food Restaurants In France

Bonjour!  The 2013 DreamWorks animated film "Turbo" stars Ryan Reynolds as a snail racing in the Indianapolis 500.  The Turbo F.A.S.T. series on Netflix was just the start of the snail's quest for world domination.

Today, Chanson Pourlespetitsenfan, the CEO of Go Go Escargot Restaurants (the fastest growing restaurant chain in France) has announced that Turbo will become the official mascot of the snail-based fast food empire.  Chanson says, "We encourage children to play with their food, so Turbo is the perfect fit.  Also, the character works well with our slogan."

That slogan just happens to be "Slow Food---Fast!"

New live action commercials will star a trained garden snail playing Turbo.  The snail will be fed peanut butter to stimulate the mouth movement, and Ryan Reynolds will add the voice later.  The new ads, directed by Michael Bay, will be filmed all over the world as part of the new ad campaign for Go Go Escargot.

Or I was inspired to make all that up when I found this 1999 STP fuel injector cleaner snail ad in an old magazine, and it reminded me of Turbo.

Disneyland Paris At McDonald's

Bonjour! Are you ready for an Escargot McMuffin and a Wine McFlurry? Great, because it's time to visit Disneyland Paris at McDonald's!

Disneyland Paris opened in April of 1992, and back then it was known as Euro Disneyland. I've never been there, but I remember watching the Grand Opening on TV, hosted by Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith. This special mentioned some Coming Attractions, including a Little Mermaid ride and a Beauty and the Beast show (neither of which was built), Discovery Mountain (the French version of Space Mountain, which did open in 1995), and the Disney MGM Studios Europe (which transformed into the Walt Disney Studios Park that opened in 2002).

Euro Disneyland had a bumpy start, which led to the new name of Disneyland Paris and a change in plans. The park has been promoted at McDonald's locations in Europe a number of times over the years, and this 1997 3D Relief Map/Puzzle Disneyland Paris Happy Meal illustrates some of the early additions and French Twists.

The Disneyland Hotel is located right at the front entrance to the Disneyland Paris theme park. The Disneyland Paris resort also has other hotels on property, including Disney's Hotel New York, Disney's Newport Bay Club, Disney's Sequoia Lodge, Disney's Hotel Cheyenne, Disney's Hotel Santa Fe, and Disney's Davy Crockett Ranch.

The Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland Paris features the Liberty Arcade and the Discovery Arcade, covered walkways to protect visitors from rain and snow.

In France, Frontierland and Adventureland switched places. Big Thunder Mountain is located on an island, and the roller coaster trains run through a tunnel under the water to get to the Mountain.

Phantom Manor is a Western version of the Haunted Mansion, with a whole new story set in Frontierland's town of Thunder Mesa. This continues a tradition of having the Haunted Mansion in a different land in each park. At Disneyland in California, the Haunted Mansion is in New Orleans Square. At Walt Disney World, it is in Liberty Square. The version in Tokyo Disneyland is in Fantasyland. The upcoming Mystic Manor in Hong Kong Disneyland will be in a new area called Mystic Point.

There is no Splash Mountain at Disneyland Paris. There have been rumors for years about a completely different theme for a version of the attraction in France. Due to the cold winter months, perhaps it is not a priority. If it ever gets built, my guess is that it would have a Woody's Round-Up theme, and feature Jessie, Bullseye and Stinky Pete.

Exclusive to Adventureland at Disneyland Paris is Indiana Jones et le Temple du Peril (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril), which is the first looping roller coaster at a Disney park (check out the loop on the attraction in this park map piece). This mine cart ride opened in 1993 as part of an accelerated expansion plan to increase park capacity.

Adventureland is also home to Pirates of the Caribbean, La Cabane des Robinson (Swiss Family Treehouse), Adventure Isle (this park's answer to Tom Sawyer Island) and another 1993 addition, Le Passage Enchante d'Aladdin (Aladdin's Enchanted Passage Walkthrough). There's no Jungle Cruise here.

Adventureland has also been a rumored location for a version of Splash Mountain over the years. This may be a totally baseless rumor. At any rate, I'd love to see a Splash Mountain with characters and settings from The Jungle Book (I know Baloo and King Louie and their movie have been very popular in Europe).

The European Fairytale characters have "come home" to Fantasyland at Disneyland Paris. Here you'll find Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant (Sleeping Beauty Castle). Exclusive to Disneyland Paris is La Taniere du Dragon (The Dragon's Lair) and an elaborate hedge maze called Alice's Curious Labyrinth. Classic attractions include Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), Les Voyages de Pinocchio, Le Carrousel de Lancelot, It's a Small World, Peter Pan's Flight, the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups, and Dumbo The Flying Elephant (note that the Dumbo vehicles on this map are wearing goggles---the artist took some artistic license here).

In 1993, Fantasyland expanded with Les Pirouettes du Vieux Moulin, a ferris wheel based on the 1937 Disney short, "The Old Mill" (you can see it on this map). In 1994, Fantasyland added Le Pays de Contes de Fees (Storybook Land Canal Boats) and a mild roller coaster called Casey Jr., Le Petit Train du Cirque (Casey Jr. Circus Train).

Tomorrowland at Disneyland Paris is called Discoveryland, and is based on the works of Jules Verne. Discoveryland opened with the Orbitron, Autopia, Star Tours and Captain EO. In 1994, Les Mysteres du Nautilus "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" walk through opened.

Space Mountain: De la Terre a la Lune opened in 1995, and was based on Jules Verne's "From the Earth to the Moon." The attraction got a new theme ("Mission 2") in 2005. The Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast was new for Discoveryland in 2006.

Disneyland Paris had a big McDonald's promotion in Europe in 1995/1996.

Squeeze a plastic Disneyland Paris building, and it pops open to reveal a hidden Disney character.

Since Space Mountain was the big new attraction, it was naturally a big part of this promotion.

Here's another French Twist for you: This set was also sold at Blockbuster video stores in the United States. That's where this Donald Duck toy is from.

In 2001, Disneyland Paris celebrated with a Circus/Carnivale theme at McDonald's.

I like the pairing of Genie and Abu.

This McDonald's set is a mix of plush puppets and plastic action figures.

I wonder why they did not use Dumbo for this Happy Meal.

I think the Hippo is the funniest character in this set.

Wow, McDonald's in Europe sells "Fish Fingers." Do they sell Mincemeat pies along with the Apple and Cherry variety (and currently, Strawberry Creme) we see in the United States?

Bon Anniversaire, Disneyland Paris! I hope to visit you someday!

The Magic Roundabout Annual 1977

Viewers of the Nickelodeon series "Pinwheel" (which ran on the cable network from 1977 to 1990) are probably familiar with "The Magic Roundabout." This was a stop-motion animated series featuring a shaggy canine named Dougal.


If you didn't know the characters from watching the show "Pinwheel," there's a good chance you may have seen them somewhere else.


"The Magic Roundabout" was created by Serge Danot back in 1963 in France. The series had its initial run on French TV from 1964 to 1971.


The show was also broadcast on the BBC in the United Kingdom, with new scripts and voices, from 1965 to 1977 (the year of this Annual). This version was shown on "Pinwheel."


Dougal and his colorful, cheeky friends had all sorts of imaginative adventures.


My family did not have cable, but I was able to watch Nickelodeon with neighborhood kids that did have the channel.


Lots of kids in America probably talk about having "a spot of tea." It seems like there are many popular animated shows imported to the United States from England. One of my favorites was "Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings," which was shown on "Captain Kangaroo." I still remember the theme song--"Well, you know my name is Simon, and the things I draw come true..." Nickelodeon also showed "Danger Mouse" and "Count Duckula." I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, but after watching all these shows, I think I could blend in pretty well in Birmingham, England.



A computer animated "The Magic Roundabout" theatrical feature was made in 2005. In the United States, it was called "Doogal," and it was recast with different actors and re-written in places. I've never seen this movie, but I do remember that there was a set of "Doogal" toys at McDonald's. I don't think the CGI "Doogal" did very well in the States. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Pete's Euro Disneyland Attraction

Many years ago, before the 1992 opening of Euro Disneyland (now called Disneyland Paris) in France, I remember seeing a Disney Imagineer on a TV show carrying a sculpted bust of legendary villain Peg Leg Pete (also known as Bad Pete). I then saw a picture of this Bad Pete sculpture in a picture of this issue of Disney Newsreel. Disney Newsreel's covers were in color, but I made a black and white xerox copy of this image many years ago and accidentally left the original at Kinko's or wherever I made the copy.




It's hard to see what is going on in this picture. In the background, you can see sketches of a vulture and a fox character, and a western set. What the heck is this?!? Is this the Frontierland Shootin' Gallery at Disneyland Paris? Was it a show? Was it a store?

EDIT: On October 10th, I found out that this is indeed the Rustler Roundup Shootin' Gallery in Frontierland at Disneyland Paris. Pete pops up in the scenery. That fox character is also there. Mystery solved!





Frontierland Pete was eventually seen in merchandise at Walt Disney World. Here Pete can be seen as a bean bag plush toy. Plush versions of Pete are a rare sight!





I recently had a post called Disney's Haunted Mansion Parade of Homes. In keeping with the Frontierland theme, I thought I'd add this here. I just found a rare glimpse of the back of Phantom Manor at Disneyland Paris. Yes, this is what you don't see! You also don't see the Hitchhiking Ghosts shown here in the attraction in France. But they look good in front of the light-up Phantom Manor, don't they?

Disney's Haunted Mansion Parade of Homes

Welcome, foolish mortals, to the Haunted Mansion. Well, a resin, light-up version of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion. This was available from The Disney Catalog and the online Disney Store years ago. Later, it could be found at a reduced price through the Disney Outlet on eBay.







Some of the 999 "Happy Haunts," like the Hitchhiking Ghosts, are just dying to have new visitors.





A few Grim, Grinning Ghosts have materialized to socialize. Don't close your eyes and don't try to hide.




Fans of Disney's Haunted Mansion have been able to get their mitts on replicas of their beloved attraction for some time now.




The original 1967 Disneyland Mansion is represented here it all its Southern, New Orleans Square glory.




Here we find spirited characters based on the original Marc Davis designs.



The fat lady may have sung, but there's more to see here.




Here we find the original version of the Bride from the attic.





She was originally a faceless, ghostly figure, with a loud, red beating heart.





The Bride has changed quite a bit over the years. The newest version is really cool, but I miss the simple charm of the original. The picture above is from the Haunted Mansion book and record. I still have the book, but the record went missing years ago. Side B of the LP featured Haunted sound effects, which I taped and used as sound effects for my own Halloween displays for Trick Or Treaters when I was a kid.





Also present is the legendary Hatbox Ghost character. He vanished from the ride before its grand opening.





Apparently, the character's gimmick (his head vanished and reappeared in his hatbox) was not convincing enough, so he was removed.





Here the character is seen in the Haunted Mansion book and record. He has been featured in quite a bit of merchandise. Maybe he will be back in the Mansion someday.





A resin version of Phantom Manor from Disneyland Paris was also available in the Disney Catalog and online. The famous Hitchhiking Ghosts are represented here, though I don't believe they are featured in the attraction in France.




A hinged-box resin Haunted Mansion was sold at Disneyland and Walt Disney World in the late 1990s. This is Walt Disney World's version, found at the Magic Kingdom's Liberty Square.




Open the box to discover the Hitchhiking Ghosts and the Corridor of Doors, with Goofy and a Ghost in a Doombuggy ride vehicle.




Here we get a rare glimpse at the back of the Mansion. Really, this is what it looks like. Haven't you always wondered?




A playset version of the Haunted Mansion could also be found at the Disney Parks. This is Walt Disney World's Mansion. It also includes accessories, and the Hitchhiking Ghosts. The Mansion facade seen at Walt Disney World can also be found at the Tokyo Disneyland version of the Haunted Mansion, located in that park's Fantasyland.



Like all the Haunted Mansions, it is equipped with wall-to-wall creeps and hot and cold running chills!



Jack Skellington and his crew from Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas have been taking over Disneyland's Haunted Mansion at Halloween and Christmas for 10 years now. "Haunted Mansion Holiday" is quite popular, and was also adapted for Tokyo Disneyland's Haunted Mansion.

Disney recently unveiled concept art for Haunted Mansion themed hotel rooms. This is probably an idea for rooms at an existing resort (a good guess could be for Disney's Port Orleans Resort at Walt Disney World in Florida). I'd love to see an entire hotel based on the Haunted Mansion.

I have been having difficulty posting photos on my blog recently, and have discovered I'm not alone. The new photo upload system does not work for everyone. I was able to find a way to revert back to the old editor, but it will be eliminated soon. Hopefully, the photo upload problems will be addressed.

Tic et Tac Les Rangers Du Risque Feves

Bonjour!  These ceramic figurines were made to be baked inside a cake as part of the celebration of the Epiphany in France.  The lucky person that finds one of these Disney "Tic et Tac Les Rangers Du Risque" Feves (trinkets) in their slice of galette des rois (or in the south of France, gateau de rois) is "king for the day."

The figures are about one and a half inches in height.  This particular set is one of the best I've seen in terms of sculpting and having the characters look "on-model."

Chipmunks Tic (Chip) and Tac (Dale) are featured here with mice Gadget, Jack le Costaud (Monterey Jack) and housefly Rusor (Zipper).  The villain, Catox (Fat Cat) has his henchmen, Mepps the cat, Mole, Wart the lizard, and Snout the rat.  These characters are from the 1989 Disney TV animated series, "Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers."

If you are looking for a collectible with a French twist, know that the chances are pretty good that your favorite movie or cartoon character has been made into a Feve.  Oooh La La!