Ask Dave Smith

Disney's Archivist answers all your questions!

Q: When the Haunted Mansion opened at Disneyland, were there live people who jumped out at you? I remember going on the attraction as a little girl and having to leave via an emergency exit because I was so frightened.
Tracie Robles
San Jacinto, California


A: From time to time, the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland has added actual people to the attraction. One was in a suit of armor. These cast members scared even the most jaded Guests who had been through the Mansion many times.

Q: I've noticed something odd about the nursery-cleaning scene in "Mary Poppins": As Mary and the children leave the room, the bed closest to the door is only half a bed! You can see only the foot of the bed and a folded quilt. Why is it like that?
Cayce Morgan
Sevierville, Tennessee


A: It's an optical illusion. The bed closest to the door is entirely visible. On the other bed, the quilt is piled high at the foot, and the rest of the bed is so low that it seems as though it's only half a bed. There's a nightstand with a lamp on it between the two beds; it isn't shown in the shot, since you see only part of the bed closest to the camera. When I checked this scene I did notice what might be an error: At one point Mary straightens some pictures on the wall, but later on they are crooked again.

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Q: I grew up in Moscow in the former Soviet Union, and I have always thought that Goofy is a wolf. That's because in Russian cartoons, wolves look like Goofy! I've searched the Internet for an answer as to what Goofy is, and most of his fans describe him as "an anthropomorphic dog." Is he a wolf, an anthropomorphic dog, or something else altogether?
Andre L. Romadinov
Forest Hills, New York


A: This is an interesting interpretation of Goofy; we have never heard him described as a wolf before. Goofy has doglike features, and indeed his original name was Dippy Dawg, but essentially he was created as a human character: talking, walking upright, wearing clothes, etc.

Q: As a little girl in the sixties I saw "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." I could swear there was a scene showing the Dwarfs making Snow White's coffin. When the video was released, I bought a copy, but there was no such scene included. Am I imagining that scene?
Lois Fusco
Boca Raton, Florida

A: There has never been such a scene in the film. There is some footage of the Dwarfs making a bed for Snow White, which you might have seen. That scene, which was also included in books, and another scene of the Dwarfs eating soup were never finished and never made it into the film.

Q: In the Hollywood Pictures Backlot at Disney's California Adventure, movie music constantly plays over loudspeakers. Is a CD of this music available?
Dan Voss
Wheeling, Illinois

A: There is a Disney's California Adventure CD available at the park that features some of the music heard in various areas and attractions. The CD includes only one track from Hollywood Pictures Backlot; that music is from Superstar Limo, a Backlot attraction. Perhaps a second CD with more Backlot music will be released some day.

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