Hello Dear Readers, I’m gonna launch right into it today, no small talk, just get to the heart of the matter — our topics:

Get ready – the onslaught is coming – he’s soon to be ubiquitous – you know what I’m talking about – Duffy • Scary Poppins ... is that anything like Mary Poppins? • Questioning the Disney Geek

Judging from what I’m reading on the Internet, there’s a huge chunk of you who don’t give a hoot, could care less about, don’t even want to hear the name ... Duffy. If that’s you, skip on down to the second topic, unless you’re mad for my witty banter and snappy repartee, then by all means stick around because I’m going to, yes, wait for it ... talk about that bear.

Last Sunday I went to the Duffy Annual Passholder event at Disney California Adventure. I wasn’t exactly sure what it would entail but I was pretty sure it would be one big buy-this commercial. I actually sort of expected, as my colleague Kevin Yee in Florida did, that it would be like a press event, but you know, without all the pandering, smoozing, and free stuff (not that I know anything about pandering, smoozing, and free stuff, mind you). Which is pretty much what it was. So much so in fact, that when the event finished, I found myself wondering where the press kit was so that I could get all the facts straight. Oh wait a minute. It wasn’t a press event. No pictures allowed. No Bear Facts.

Good thing I took notes.

Now, why no photos were allowed was a mystery to me. I suppose Disney had a good reason, but logically one would think that if you are going to the trouble to invite your most loyal fans to a presentation of the newest tchochke, a tchochke you want to sell by the billions, you’d want them twittering and Facebooking ad infinitum to get the buzz going. Free advertising and all that, you know? But alas, no.  No photos, no video, no nothing. Except I did get permission to take a couple photos of the stuff after the show, so hey, at least that something.

Before I get on with a description of what took place, I do have to say that it was very nice to get to do a Passholder thing, an extra, a little lagniappe. Back in the 1990s before Disneyland became rather jaded toward Annual Passholders, there used to be a lot of these nice “little” things. I’m not talking about the big merchandise events where you pay beaucoup bucks, but more along the lines of the Annual Passholder nights. Anyone remember those? The park was open only to APs, it was a hard ticket event but you paid something minimal like $25, most of the attractions were open, no real lines for anything, and you got to do something cool, like ride Space Mountain with the lights on (way scarier than with the lights off, I’ll tell you) or look inside the Main Street Electrical Parade’s Elliot float (super interesting).

It was a little peek into the magic and those events were special. I miss them. And while the Duffy event was a thinly veiled commercial, the Disney folks didn’t have to spend their time and money presenting it and they did make it very fun for those in attendance. So don’t take what I said in the initial paragraphs wrong, as snarky as my words may seem, the Duffy event truly was fun and well done and I appreciated being able to attend.

So here’s what they showed us ... After checking it at the old Millionaire building in DCA, we queued up around the side and waited to be let in. Once in, there were lots of seats lined up facing a very press event-like stage. After a short wait, we were introduced to our MC for the day, Jason Palmer, who came trotting out with a Duffy bear in hand admonishing, “Don’t judge, I am a grown man with a teddy bear. I am not afraid to admit it. This little guy hangs out with me everywhere.  And I’m very excited to give you all a sneak peek.”

Jason launched into his spiel which was loaded with bear puns, “Ladies and gentlemen I think today we’re gonna have a beary good time,” to which the audience replied with a resounding groan. Jason quickly made fun of the pun business warning the audience that there were a lot of bear puns to come. So many in fact, that he needed a volunteer from the crowd to keep track of all of them. He invited the most adorable little guy, eight-year-old Sage whose mom drove him all the way from Carson so he could meet Duffy the Bear, to join him up on the stage and handed him a bell which he instructed Sage to ring every time the word bear came up.

Now, who woulda thunk it ... Sage turned out to be the best thing about the event, he brought loads of humor with his practically perfect job of ringing a bell every time the word “bear’ was mentioned (even though he admitted he didn’t actually know what a pun was) and he even turned into a foley artist when Jason asked for help with sound effects during the this-is-Duffy’s-story portion of the show.

At the end of the day, Sage was rewarded for his efforts with his beary (sorry, the puns linger in my mind) own Duffy. I got to talk with Sage after the event ended and he was really excited to be among the first in America to own a Duffy bear. As he hugged his Duffy, he spoke about how he was going to share his adventure of getting to go up on stage and help with the presentation with his class at school the next day. I wondered, since he got to be a part of it all, did he get to have his photo taken with Duffy? Nope, came the answer, no photos allowed. I thought that was kind of scrooge-ish on behalf of the Disney folks. I just didn’t understand the no photo mentality since as I said, this event was basically a thinly veiled press event, you’d think they would want the word to spread like wildfire and what better way to do that than to let APs take photos and twitter away? Nonetheless Sage and his family were very excited about Duffy.

So what is Duffy’s story anyway? Or what is the current version of Duffy’s story, might be a more accurate question, because I swear I’ve seen this bear for sale at Disneyland back around 2003-04. Well, it seems Mickey Mouse decided he was going to set sail on a voyage but it was a windy day (insert Sage’s wind noise here). In fact, there was a tornado in the distance (wind noise grows louder). And then of course, the sun came out (wind noise stops), it was peaceful so Mickey was ready, and the birds came out (chirp, chirp), and some pirates came lurking (Argh!), so Mickey was ready to set sail.

But Minnie Mouse, she was in tears, (wahhhhh, wahhhh), she as so sad. She was all upset that Mickey was going to be traveling alone. So she got out her sewing machine (it didn’t work because Sage didn’t have a sewing machine noise in his repertoire), change that, so she got a needle and thread out and sewed a beautiful bear to give to Mickey and he was so glad he got this bear he shouted with glee (YAY!). And since the bear came in a duffle bag, Mickey decided to name him Duffy.

So Mickey went out on his adventure and he started out on a motor boat and it ran out of gas so they docked ... and so on and so forth ... in order to provide the laughs from Sage’s sound effects ... which were darned funny. The audience loved it and that kid worked hard! The real Duffy story (which is very similar) you can read on the hang-tag attached to each bear.

The comedic portion of the event finished, it was time for the big pitch, out came Disneyland Ambassador, Quinn Shurian who, of course, brought his own Duffy who, “goes everywhere with me.”  Jason asked Quinn what was one of his favorite things about being Disneyland’s Ambassador, “When I get to share something new with some of our most loyal fans, it’s just incredible, I love it.”

This launched into a discussion about how Duffy is huge in Tokyo and how people queue up for hours to get a picture with Duffy, how they tote him around everywhere, & dress him for every occasion, and while all this is all going on, somehow in the back of my mind I begin to hear another sound track ... Tom Waits’ raspy voice starts pounding out the words, “But I’m big in Japan.”

Suddenly I’m ripped away from my inner Tom Waits concert with the words, “He seems like a unique travel companion, someone to take with you around the world.”

Yeah, this really is a big commercial.

Having fun though.

And the bear is cute.

Time for the second guest ... the Manager of Merchandise Synergy, Events, and Communication (whew, is that a long enough title?), Dara Trujillo. Now Dara, I have to say seemed real nice but was one peppy lady. She had also been at the Duffy presentation at Walt Disney World the previous day, how anyone could have that much pep after taking part in a Florida event, then hopping a plane to CA to host yet another event of the same nature just hours later, is beyond me.

In her super upbeat and cheery delivery (also fraught with bear puns), Dara laid more Duffy info on us: She explained that she was the envy of every adult on the plane as she traveled with her bear companion Duffy (really?), that every Duffy comes with a little booklet telling the story of how he came to be, and that Duffy was made with a lot of specialties, “When Minnie made him, she put in some unique qualities ... Minnie searched all around the world for the best, the fluffiest, the squishiest fabric she could find to make Duffy specifically for Mickey.” Dara also pointed out what is so unique about Duffy’s face (duh, shaped like a hidden Mickey), paws (more Mickey-ness), “birthmark” (yet more Mickey-ness and how come it’s not a bearthmark?) on his butt ... yada yada yada.

And so it went.

What I really want to know is why was poor Minnie staying at home while Mickey was gallivanting around the world with the teddy bear she made for him. I mean what kind of boyfriend is that? He couldn’t take Minnie with him? No wonder she lives in a separate house back there in Toon Town.

Okay, so back to Duffy:

He’ll make his debut in Disney California Adventure on October 14th. He won’t be in Disneyland. No way, no how. That is, unless you bring your Duffy there. You’ll find
Duffy’s meet & greet in DCA at Paradise Pier near Treasures (where you will be able to purchase all things Duffy). When you meet Duffy you will receive a “I just hugged Duffy the Disney Bear” sticker. All around DCA there will be special photo locations created, all so that you can pose with your Duffy to show where he’s been and then share on Duffy’s personal Facebook page. At some point Duffy will also be Twittering. He’s very tech-savy, that bear is.

Duffy merch to be on the lookout for: Magnets, keychains, a zipper pouch (in the shape of, I have to admit, a super cute mini Duffy), a 28-inch Duffy, 12-inch pre-dressed seasonal Duffys such as “My Birthday” Halloween, Christmas, and the Easter Bunny, all of which, we were told, will be exclusive to the United States.

By way of a segue into what Duffy-related food will be sold, we learned that Duffy’s favorite food is fruit. RaspBEARies, strawBEARies, blackBEARies ... get it? Ahhh, the cleverness of all those bear puns! And the Duffy-themed food that will be for sale? Rice krispie treats (we were all given one to sample, tasty but typical rice krispie just plastered with Duffy’s face), a ganache-iced chocolate cake, a Duffy-shaped molded mug and molded popcorn bucket (liked both of those – very cute). There will also be a menu activity placemat at selected dining locations so you can, you know, learn about Duffy (in the off chance that you’ve been living on a deserted island and have never heard of Duffy).

And next Spring (sometime around March), there will be a flocked Duffy pin for sale, a limited edition ear hat, and the first non-Mickey-shaped Vinylmation ... yes dear readers that bear is everywhere — he’s getting his own Duffy-shaped Vinylmation. And if that isn’t enough, look for Duffy in this year’s Christmas telecast when Duffy will parade down Main Street riding on his very own Duffy float.

At the tail end (ding! Bear pun. Tail end?), Duffy, himself, made an appearance, giving the crowd copious high-fives, but alas, no photo op with the bear allowed. A perfect opportunity missed, if you ask me,

I guess the point of all this, besides liberating you from your money of course, is that Duffy is supposed to be kind of like Flat Stanley, you take him somewhere and then document where Duffy has gone, because one of the last thoughts we were left with at the event was, “Where will you take your Duffy?”

Okay, I can answer that one.

Sue Kruse you just attended the AP Duffy Event, where are you going now?

I’m going to Disneyland.

Naturally.

Yes, Dear Readers, I succumbed. Though his story is somewhat contrived and I feel like he’s been here before and nobody cared (I was told, no, that bear was My Disney Bear, a cousin of Duffy’s), Duffy is a pretty cute bear after all is said and done I’ve always loved teddy bears. Those attending the event were allowed to buy one Duffy ($25) & a sailor outfit ($15). I bought them. So sue me.

I wanted Halloween clothes for the bear though. Sailor outfit? Bah! It’s HalloweenTime don’t you know? Off to Build A Bear in Downtown Disney (whose Halloween costumes for beary types are disappointingly severely limited this year). My new Duffy got a pumpkin outfit. Fit him perfectly and was $5 cheaper than the official Disney sailor outfit (which has no pants. Why are Disney characters always pants-less? I want to know that. Really. Why?).

Into Disneyland I went with Duffy. We headed to the Ranch to check out the terrific pumpkin carvers’ handiwork. I kept getting stopped and asked, “Is that Duffy?” I was actually really surprised at how much I was asked that. And for all the Duffy PR work I did for Disney, I ought to get paid something. Like maybe another one of those rice krispie treats. Or something.

Okay, so one last burning question about Duffy before we move on ... I just want to know how long before Shellie May shows up?

Oh Dear Readers, I’m afraid I’ve gone on and on so much about Duffy there isn’t much more room this week. But I just can’t leave you with all that sugary stuff now can I? Here’s a little something to ponder, the All American Melodrama Theater’s latest show ... Scary Poppins:

In a melodrama, the bad guys are always defeated, but how will Long Beach's All American Melodrama Theater fare when its newest villain, Scary Poppins flies into town? Singing nannies, '60s children's fantasy films, and current pop culture are parodied in "Scary Poppins," the latest offering from The All American Melodrama Theater. The story is about a crazy inventor who has created something the small country of Yoursovanina wants. But how will they get it? Enter Scary Poppins, a children's nanny who may not be who she appears to be. The inventor's children, Jill and Jerome, must do everything in their power to thwart the "practically imperfect au pair" from getting her prize.

"Scary Poppins" runs at the All American Melodrama Theater in Long Beach, CA from September 24 to November 21. For more information visit: www.allamericanmelodrama.com or call: (562) 495-5900

Finally, that Disney Geek is so clever, this week he answers a question from one of our readers. So of course here's the link to it…

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Okay, that’ll do it for now. I’ll be back next week with lots of Halloween-ish goodness and don’t be surprised to find that I may have something to say about Destination D. when we meet again to discuss more...

© 2010 Sue Kruse