Retro Disney Lunch Box from yesteryear.. with a Hanna-Barbera connection.

by Darrin Vindiola


So I recently flew back to Colorado for a week to help my parents with some pre winter projects on their house.  I was pleasantly surprised to be reunited with some old relics from my youth.  While working in my Dad's shed, I looked up on a shelf and noticed an old Disney lunch box.

I could not believe my eyes, and was flabbergasted that my Dad had held onto it for so many years!  He simply said "I'm not sure why I kept it, I just felt like I needed to".  I immediately took out my phone and snapped some pics to post here and on social media. When dear old Dad saw me snapping pictures and fondly examining the details of the lunch box, he told me to take it home with me if I wanted.  I eagerly obliged and thanked him multiple times.  Check it out..

I always loved this lunch box. I believe it was made in the late 1960s.  I was a sucker for anything Disney (always have been) and this lunchpail is an absolute work of art, that Disney collectors such as myself absolutely drool over.

In a day and age where retro looking lunch boxes are hitting the shelves left and right, if you really take a close look at these new boxes, there truly is no imagination or effort put into the designs on most.  Heck.. the same image is usually printed on both sides of the box, with very little if any art on the remaining panels.  This was not the case back in the day!  Check out the rest of this box..

I love how Mickey's nephews Morty & Ferdie and Donald's nephews Huey, Duey and Louie are peering out of the back windows.  Morty and Ferdie were a staple back when I was a kid.  I'm not quite sure why Disney has distanced them from cartoons etc in recent years.  I also love the Emergency door warnings. "OPEN FOR LUNCH ONLY".  HA!  Too cool.

Now C'mon.. they even added art of a bus chassis to the bottom of the pail!  Now that my friends, is attention to detail.  I swear Disney artists and creative teams used to give it a 110% when it came to merchandise.

Now.. here's an interesting part of this piece.  Notice the Sticker above Goofy on the front of the bus?   It has to do with a cartoon I hadn't given a second thought about in decades being, Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines

This Hanna-Barbera cartoon focused on the efforts of Dick Dastardly and his canine sidekick Muttley who were always trying to catch 'Yankee Doodle Pigeon', a carrier pigeon who carries secret messages. His gang of baddies were called 'The Vulture Squadron'.

My older brother and I loved this Saturday morning cartoon show.  My brother so much so.. that he actually joined the Vulture Squadron, via a mail away fan club / membership kit!  This kit included a poster, Vulture Squadron Flight Diploma, Flight Book membership card, sliding 'Yankee Doodle Pigeon Decoder', clothing patch, and stickers.

Now the staunch collector in me wants to restore this lunch box to its former glory, or at least as close to original condition as I can get it.  However, I will simply never be able to bring myself to pull these stickers from the lunch box that my brother applied with his own hands as a wee young lad.  It's family history, and that is way more important and heartwarming, than simply possessing this beautiful piece of Disneyana from my childhood.

While I will clean it up and buy the matching Thermos for this lunch box, the stickers will stay put.  For sure.. it makes for some nice stories, and walks down memory lane.  I'm sure my late Brother would treat it the exact same way.  This will be the centerpiece for my slowly growing lunchbox collection, and it most likely always will be.

Thanks for swinging by.  If you have time.. check out the other kiddie lunch box I picked up while in Colorado.  See ya Real Soon!

Americas Sweethart Annette Funicello passes away at age 70

I heard the news three years ago today, that Annette Funicello had passed away.  She had lost her long battle with multiple sclerosis, which I vividly remember her first announcing back in 1992.  Even though Annette Funicello was a star of the Baby Boomer generation, it certainly didn't mean that me.. a Generation X-er, wasn't just as enthralled with her.  Even though I was a child of the 70s and 80s, and was very much a lifelong fan.

I vividly remember going to my grandparents house after school back in the early 70s, flipping on the TV, and watching old reruns of The Mickey Mouse Club.  Annette was always my favorite Mouseketeer.  There was just something about her that seemed comforting, relaxing, and real.

She came across as so sincere in her acting, that it actually felt as if she was speaking directly to me.  I was a huge fan of Disney's Zorro, and a two part episode Starring Funicello became one of my favorites as a kid.

Fast forward to my preteen years of the early 80s.  Many a Saturday afternoon was spent in front of the TV watching Monster movies, when somewhere around summer 1982.. I discovered surf and beach party films.  When I saw the movie 'Beach Party' starring Annette and Frankie Avalon, Annette once again caught my eye (albeit for totally different reasons than when I was six years old).

'Beach Party' got me hooked on the campy 60s surf flicks like 'Beach Blanket Bingo' and 'Bikini Beach'.  Those movies sure showed plenty of skin, but were wholesome enough to sit down with Mom to watch, and watch she did.

Whenever I was watching surf movies like this, my Mom would sit down and spend the entire time reminiscing about her youth.  She would tell me about how she would go hang out with friends at the beach as a teenager.  She would explain slang and vernacular that I wasn't familiar with.  She would also laugh at the hairstyles, clothes, music, and dance that she herself was in the thick of during the 60s.  I cherish those times, as it was at that point of my life that I realized my Mother was once someone else other than "Mom".  It made her more human to me, and from that point on I related to her much easier than ever before. 

Through the 80s and 90s, I remember seeing Annette everywhere on television.  She was an incredibly popular spokesperson for 'Jif' peanut butter, she would often be seen at Disney events and specials, and I recall on more than one occasion seeing her at Mousketeer reunions.  I specifically remember folks getting excited or fondly smiling and reminiscing when she appeared on television programming.  The mere sight of her would almost always garner responses from my parents like "Hey look it's Annette!"  It was always obvious to me that she had quite an effect on many folks besides myself.

Annette Funicello had that "special something" that very few actors have.  She could sing, dance, and act, but above all that, she was endearing.  Countless folks fell under her spell, and she is ingrained in pop culture and Americana as a result.  She will continue to be missed, but not forgotten.  Rest in Peace Annette. 

70s Mickey Mouse Bank

by Darrin Vindiola


One of the many pieces of my childhood I've managed to buy back over the years, is this little fella you may recognize.  It's a Mickey Mouse bank!  Remember waaay back in the day when everyone used cash and coins?  Wasn't it nice to have somewhere to store your spare change?  A bank just like this one did that for me for upwards of 30 years.  Here's some background info..  

I've always loved Mickey Mouse and all things Disney, and as a child I was nearly obsessed.  In fact, the nickname my father affectionately gave me at the age of five was "Mickey".

As a wee young lad living in southern California, my room was basically a shrine to Mickey Mouse and Disneyland.  I had Mickey Mouse sheets, blankets, pillow cases, curtains, books, a Mickey bubble gum machine, a Mickey AM radio, and the pride and joy of my collection, a Mickey Mouse bank just like the one above, that sat on my night stand. On nights when I was scared from listening to spooky radio shows with my brother, I would lie in my bed next to Mickey as he watched over me until I fell asleep.

I actually remember the very day my mother bought me my Mickey bank. It was around 1976, because I remember playing with a J.J. pull string doll from the TV show 'Good Times'.  I'll give you one guess as to what J.J. actually said when you pulled the string on his back.

My Mickey bank was one of those items from my childhood that for some reason was really special to me. It remained a constant in my life for close to thirty years. I would use my Mickey bank to house my silver and paper money throughout my entire youth. During my brief stint as a bachelor, the Mickey bank graced my dresser. He followed me to three different states, and when his nose got broke in one move, I carefully glued it back in place. As I got older, it was like my Mickey bank was a link back to the past for me. He allowed me to still hold on to a little bit of my youth and helped me to not take myself so seriously. It must have been somewhere around the age of thirty that I realized he was gone. I believe he got lost in a move from Virginia Beach to Colorado.

Fast forward to August 2009. While on vacation in Florida, I had the pleasure of visiting an exhibit at Disney's Hollywood Studios that focused on Walt Disney's life from beginning to end. Among the numerous displays showcasing Disney antiques and artifacts, was a glass case that displayed a variety of old toys marketed towards children over the years. Guess who was in the glass case staring right back at me? An old Mickey Bank identical to my old bank!!

I honestly can say that my Mickey bank hadn't even passed through my mind for almost ten years. I quickly grabbed my wife and kids and showed them the bank and started reminiscing about my youth. As they moved on, I stood there for a few more minutes, getting as close to the glass as I could to examine the thirty some year old bank.

A few weeks passed and the Mickey bank weighed heavily on my mind. One evening I got on eBay to look at Disney memorabilia and decided to do a search for Mickey banks. Lo and behold there were several auctions for my the exact same bank I possessed for all of those years! I put in a bid, won the auction, and was reunited with my old pal Mickey less than a week later!!

It's amazing what kinds of information your brain can store and recall when triggered. I unpacked my Mickey bank and immediately recognized the smell of the plastic, the feel and texture of the paint, and even the markings underneath the base.  It's like we were never separated.  I suddenly felt reminiscent, giddy, almost like a kid again.  And go figure.. it was all because of a little mouse.