Passamaquoddy

Today we're taken another glimpse at some of the works in the Ellenshaw Museum located near Sand Dollar Ella's castle.

In film, an establishing shot tells the "where and when" the remainder of the scene takes place. But if your scene takes place in a long gone time in a village that never existed, you've got a task ahead of you. You could spend a fortune building the village and settling for whatever you can get in a brief time. Disney's workaround was hiring Peter Ellenshaw to create the location on glass, leaving certain areas unpainted so live action materials can be seamlessly combined.

In the image above, the lower left corner is obviously live action footage combined with the painted village and lush greenery dominating the rest of the frame.

Treasure Island was Peter's first picture with Walt Disney. It began a professional relationship that would carry through generations. Peter's son Harrison continued the matte painting for several years.

You can see more mattes from the Ellenshaw Museum by searching for "Ellenshaw" in the right menu search engine.

A little more than 25 years ago, the Passamaquoddy Designers (Quoddesigners) came out with a new attraction.  It opened along with and was located near the "Come Unicorn" attraction.  Of course, I'm talking about the "Kickin' Krabaret".  This was a whimsical look at our second favorite crustaceon.  (We honored our favorite with the "Rockin' Lobster Coaster")

The Kickin Krabaret was a fifteen minute stage production that was performed in side a small theatre that could hold three (or one comfortably).  The lights would dim and the audience would get introduced to "Sandy Crabs", a homemaker who cooks up a heck of a crab feast.  But before eating the crabs up she makes them sing a song or two.  Sort of a reverse "sing for your supper".

Songs included:

• the "Boogie Woogie Beluga Boy" sung by the Andrew Sisters-like trio "Canned Tuna Sisters"...
• A vaudeville act performed by Clam and Eggs (who insisted on being called "Caviar")
• "Wedgie Wedgie" "Brute Brute" is a song performed by feuding gangs a la West Side Story, the Sharks and the Nets...

Then Sandy Crabs finishes off with the entire cast returning to sing the finale.

The attraction closed a few years later to be replaced by "Coral Rocks" - which in itself fell into the sea when a helicopter knocked into it while filming "Soarin' over Passamaquoddy".

But while it lasted, kids loved the attraction, especially the many animatronic crabs performing period music,  And the songs were catchy too, many of them still are heard on KWDY.

Bad news for our little fishing village. As you all know, our local community theatre has put together a rousing musical production of HOOKING NEMO. It's a story of a slippery clown fish who spends the story outwitting the poor fisherman up above. There is an eventual happy ending as a local fisherman who needs just one more fish to make his quota, catches the little bugger in his net.

As you remember, the story is also presented in a wonderful musical with such songs as "Big Blue Bobber" and "get with the net".

But now it seems we've had a couple strangers in town who have issues with the ending. I tried to point out that we consider the lucky fisherman the hero. They are flying me down to Orlando Florida to see a similar musical called FINDING NEMO. In the meantime, Hooking Nemo is being closed while we look at this other musical.

We will keep you informed.