Between the Lines: Three Blind Mice

Hello again. As promised last week, I am posting a brand new interview this week after featuring "reruns" for the past several. We're back with a bang, as I actually have three interviewees for the price of one. Allow me to introduce the Three Blind Mice. Let's see if we can get the inside scoop on them shall we?

Greg:  Welcome. I'm glad you all could be here together today. I gather that it's been a while since you've all been together.

Mouse #1:  Yeah, it's been a long time. We ain't seen each other in years.

Mouse #2:  Hah, that's a good one--seen each other. As if we could. You always was an insensitive bloke, Morty.

Mouse #3:  Now Fred, don't be so hard on the lad, you know he ain't one t' think before he speaks. It's just his way.

Fred:  You quit stickin' up for him Jasper. You was always stickin' up for Mort you was.

Jasper:  Now don't take on like that, Fred. It weren't his fault. He saw his chance and he took it. If it had worked out, I'm sure he would of gotten us in, too. But the whole plan went belly up and that's that. Then there was that whole deal with the farmer's wife.

Greg:  Hold on. I'm a little lost here. Can we take it from the top. What broke you three up?

Mort:  It's a long, rather painful story. I don't think we need to go into it.

Fred:  No, I think we should go into it, Mort. We got to get it out in the open-like. Maybe then everyone can judge for themselves.

Jasper:  No Fred, I think maybe Mort's right. There ain't no need to go dredgin' all that stuff back up.

Mort:  No, don't worry about it, Jasper. Maybe Fred's right. It might be good t' clear the air.

Greg:  Hey cool. It sounds like we've got a scoop here folks. Okay, we all want to know what happened to break you guys up.

Mort:  Well, it was like this, see. In our younger days we was always lookin' for some good times. We never stayed in one place long. We was runnin' here, there and everywhere. We lived in this house with this farmer and his wife, boy was she scared of us.

Fred:  Yeah, we'd chase her all over the house, out in the barnyard, wherever.

Mort:  Sure, sure. She was always scared. It was a lot of fun. But that was our day job. We did more than that. We had an act.

Greg:  An act?

Jasper:  Sure, ya know Vaudeville--singin' an' dancin'. We was real good, too. Had a lot of Hollywood types interested in us.

Fred:  Yeah, yeah. They was interested in all of us--one in particular was real interested.

Greg: Who, who?

Fred:  Ya sound like an owl, talkin' like that. Ya gave me the shivers for a minute there. Watch it, will ya? Anyways, yeah, the big guy himself, Mister Entertainment--Walt Disney--was real interested. He wanted to talk t' someone, so Mort here volunteered t' go.

Mort:  You an' Jasper didn't have time t' go. You was both chasin' the farmer's wife.

Fred:  Ya sure took advantage of that, didn't ya?

Greg:  How? How did he take advantage?

Mort:  I didn't. I met with Disney, but he didn't want a trio. He was lookin' for a single, and he wanted me. I would be Mortimer Mouse and star in all his pictures. I went back t' the others with the news. I promised 'em I'd find a way to work 'em in with me once I got established.

Greg:  Sounds reasonable. So what happened?

Jasper:  Fred and Mort got inta it pretty good. They almost came t' blows. I tried t' step in an' make Fred see reason, but he wasn't havin' none of it. In fact, Mort was just about t' walk out when it happened.

Greg:  What happened?

Mort:  The farmer's wife finally got up her nerve an' came after us. She was totin' a huge carrvin' knife. She was swingin' it madly above her head. Finally, she cornered  us and chopped our tails off. Scared us blind it did.

Greg:  What about Disney?

Mort:  He didn't want no blind, tailess mouse, so he backed outta the deal. Hire some rube from Malibu named Mickey ad the rest is history.

Greg:  Oh, bad luck. But listen, you shouldn't let a little setback like that get you down.

Fred:  Yeah, I suppose not. I'm willin' t' let bygones be bygones if you are.

Mort:  Sure thing ol' pal. Put her there.

Jasper:  Aw, that's great fellas, I knew you'd make peace. Now let's see if we can't scare up an agent. I hear they're plannin' a remake of Cinderella, an' they're auditionin' mice an' birds, let's get a move on!

Did You Know? Mary Poppins

Yesterday, we had the pleasure of speaking with Mary Poppins. Today in Did You Know? we'll be checking out some little known facts about the Mary Poppins series of books by P.L. Travers. Let's seee what we've got here...

Did you know...

• The first book, Mary Poppins, was published in 1934 and thee final book, Mary Poppins and the House Next Door was published in 1988? Overall, there were eight Mary Poppins books published in that 54 year period, all written by P.L. Travers.
• Jane and Michael Banks had two other siblings? In the books, younger twins John and Barbara share in the adventures. They were left out of the Disney film.
• The Disney film version depicted selected events from the first four Mary Poppins books?
• Bert the chimney sweep was also a compilation of several characters in those first four books?
• P.L. Travers was approached by Walt Disney about making a film version of Mary Poppins as early as 1938? She did not think that a film would do the book justice. She finally relented and agreed to a film version in 1961.
• P.L. Travers' real name was Helen Lyndon Goff? She was an actress in her younger days and adopted the Travers name as her stage name.
• P.L. stands for Pamela Lyndon?
• She admired Peter Pan creator J.M. Barrrie?
• P.L. Travers did not care for the Disney adaptation, particularly the animation sequences?
• Although she never married, she adopted a baby boy from Ireland?

Although Ms. Travers disliked the Disney film and animation, I happen to really like it. So, with all due respect to her, here is a classic clip from the film:

Did You Know? The Adventures of Pinocchio

After our interview with Pinocchio yesterday, I decided to see what kind of fun facts I could find out about him and author Carlo Collodi. So, here's what I found.

Did You Know...

• Pinocchio was written by Italian author Carlo Collodi?
• It was released in serial form between 1881 & 1882, then published as a children's book in 1883?
• The story is set in the Tuscan region of Italy?
• In the story, Pinocchio starts out as a talking block of wood?
• In the original story, Pinocchio is hanged? Collodi later added to the story. The Fairy with Turquoise Hair rescues him and turns him into a real boy.
• Pinocchio actually kills the talking cricket in the original story? He accidentally kills him with a hammer. The cricket returns later to rebuke Pinocchio about his behavior.
• The story was translated into English in 1892, two years after Collodi's death?
• Geppetto is a nickname for Giuseppe?
• Over 14 films have been made based on the story?

Here's a bit from one of those films, Disney's 1940 version:

Monday Interview Series: Pinocchio

Today, I have the great pleasure to interview another beloved character from children's literature--Pinocchio.  We actually had a tense moment here at The Deliverers Publishing Headquarters when we had to rescue the world's most famous wooden boy from a flock of woodpeckers. Luckily we were able to shoo them off, and Pinocchio was unscathed. So, let's see what our young friend has to share with us.

Greg:  Sorry about those birds. I can't understand it.

Pinocchio:  No worries, it happens all the time. I guess it's just a life hazard.

Greg:  All the same, I'm embarrassed that you had that little mishap on our doorstep. Now, I have to ask, are you the traditional Pinocchio, or the Disney version?

Pinocchio:  Huh? What do you mean?

Greg:  The original Pinocchio came to a bad end, the Disney Pinocchio came out okay in the end.

Pinocchio:  Oh, well then I'm the Disney version. After all, I'm an animated wooden toy. Ha! Get it? Not bad for a blockhead!

Greg:  Very funny. You have a future in show business. 

Pinocchio:  I was once on the stage, but it wasn't a very happy time for me. I spent most of my time in a cage. I've had a number of experiences in my short life, most of them unpleasant. 

Greg:  Care to talk about it?

Pinocchio:  You sound like my conscience, Jiminy Cricket. He's big on talking things out. Sure, I can talk. I was led astray by a fox named Honest John and his cat friend, Gideon the cat. I wound up in some rundown sideshow. I begged the Blue Fairy for help, but I wound up lying to her, and my nose grew real big, so she was no help. Jiminy bailed me out of that one. Jiminy was all for going home after that, but I foolishly gave him the slip.

Greg:  That doesn't sound like a very wise decision. What happened?

Pinocchio:  I wound up falling in with more undesirable companions. This time, I thought I was headed to a great playland with some other kids. They carted us off to this island, and it was fun at first. We were able to do all sorts of things we weren't allowed to. Then, things got freaky. Everyone-all the kids, I mean-started turning into donkeys. That was weird, but then I started turning into one, too.

Greg:  Hmmm, might be a lesson in that somewhere, don't you think?

Pinocchio:  Boy, now you're sounding like Jiminy again. Yeah, there was a lesson--when kids all around you are turning into donkeys, it's time to get going. I got off that island as fast as I could, and went home. But guess what? My father, Geppetto, had gone out to rescue me, and had been swallowed by a giant whale.

I went out to rescue him, but I wound up getting eaten as well. It turned out to be a lucky thing, because I lit a fire in the whale's belly and he coughed us up real quick. Have you ever been regurgitated by a whale? It's gross.

But anyway, we were out of there. We managed to drift to shore, so the story has a happy ending. Now, I'm a real live flesh and blood boy, and Jiminy is a full-fledged conscience, so everything turned out okay.

Greg:  I'm very pleased to hear it. One thing puzzles me, though. If you're a flesh and blood boy now, why were the woodpeckers attacking you?

Pinocchio:  Oh, well I may be a flesh and blood boy, but I'm still kind of a blockhead. Woodpeckers can spot that a mile away!

Monday Interview Series: Mowgli

A couple of months back, we interviewed Tarzan. This week, we'll be speaking with another son of the jungle, Mowgli from The Jungle Book. Luckily, Mowgli was in the area on a Disney movie tour, so we didn't have to hike on out to the Indian jungle. Let's check out what he had to say.

Greg:  Hi Mowgli, thanks for stopping by. So, you're on a publicity tour for Disney?

Mowgli:  Yes, they are re-releasing the movie, so I'm making some appearances to the 45th anniversary of the film.

Greg:  Really? That's not something that I would have thought you'd go for.

Mowgli:  Well, normally, you would be correct, but times are tough. The jungles in India are rapidly disappearing. There's not much room to roam, so I thought that if I'd have to return to the man village, I would do it on my own terms and see a little bit of the world.

Greg: Okay, fair enough. Now, I know your basic history, that your parents were killed in the jungle in a tiger attack, and that you were raised by wolves. What was it like to be raised in a wolf pack.

Mowgli:  It was a great way to grow up--definitely better than growing up in the man village. I got to run with the pack, and pull thorns from their paws. I could out stare any wolf in the pack, and I was a really good hunter.

Greg:  Didn't they give you a nickname?

Mowgli:  Uh huh. They called me Frog because I did not have any hair and I moved around a lot.

Greg:  It sounds like you had a great time in the jungle. Were there any drawbacks?