Sustainable Disney Gift Ideas

Sustainable Disney Gift Ideas

Disney Theatre Tickets

There are so many Disney theatre shows to go and see at the moment. “Frozen” the musical, “The Lion King”, “Mary Poppins”, “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” and “Beauty and the Beast” are all available to go and see in 2022. If you don’t like the sound of theatre tickets you could go and see “Disney on Ice”.

Reusable Disney Make-Up Removal Pads

I bought some last year from the independent seller: “The Fun Impossible”, and I’ve reused them many times before. They would be a great gift that’s not too expensive either, the ones that I bought were only £6 and they have Disney princesses on them. There are plenty of available designs on Etsy.

Vintage Disney Clothing

Did you know that there is roughly 100 billion items of clothing that are made every year, when there’s only 7 billion people on the planet. Buying second hand clothing is something that needs to become to norm and what better time than at Christmas. Websites like Vinted and Depop are perfect for finding vintage clothing, but I also recommend “Beyond Retro” which is online, but you can visit in person shopping in Brighton, Bristol and a few in London. There’s also “Handsome Freaks” in Margate and I’m sure there are several other places all over the UK. If you know a great place to get vintage Disney clothing please leave the info in a comment down bellow.

Disney VHS Notebooks

Notebooks are such versatile gifts and to make the gift a little more sustainable, you can get one that’s recycled out of old Disney books, Disney DVD’s and videos.

Just find out what their favourite film is and I’m positive you’ll be able to find a notebook with their favourite film/character on it. “Retro from Scratch” is an online store that makes them, but you can also go onto ETSY and find many sellers that make recycled Disney notebooks.

Similarly you can also purchase repurposed Disney DVD and video’s into clocks.

Disney Plus

You could gift a year’s subscription to Disney Plus. This is rather expensive at £80 but just think how many Disney movie nights you could have together, how many times the recipient could watch their favourite movies again and again. There are lots of films and shows coming to Disney Plus in 2022 like “Pinocchio”, “Peter Pan and Wendy”, “Mandalorian” S3, “Hocus Pocus 2”, “Disenchanted” (Enchanted sequel) and so much more.

Disney Bath Bombs

“Bath Enchanted” creates Disney inspired bath bombs which are all vegan, cruelty free and come in eco-friendly and biodegradable packaging.  I’ve tried these bath bombs and I absolutely love them, they add magic to bath time and are great for a Disney inspired pamper evening. They’re also really affordable. The average bath bomb cost £3.50. One is great as a stocking filler, or you could purchase several and make a hamper.

Disney Pouches

From many online shops, you can purchase Disney pouches. I bought metal straw holder pouch which is Pixar themed and the I bought a reusable knife fork and spoon set pouch which have Disney Princesses on it. These are so handy to have because I can just throw them in my bag whenever I go anywhere and it means I don’t have to use plastic straws or throw away cutlery. There are also reusable sandwich pouches you can get off of Etsy. It’s a fun way to add Disney into your day to day objects.  

There is a lot of Disney merchandise out there at the moment and it would be great if we all took a second and thought, is this really the right gift? Is this person going to love and treasure this for the years to come, or are they going to discard it after wearing/using it once?

Gift giving is such a beautiful thing to do, but we all need to do it with the consideration of the effects that it will have.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my list of possible gift ideas that are that little bit more environmentally conscious and sustainable. If you have any ideas, please leave them linked bellow and come back next week for another Disney blog.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks The Magical Musical Theatre Review

Bedknobs and Broomsticks The Magical Musical Theatre Review  

Bedknobs and Broomsticks was a film released by Disney in 1971, it was based on the books by Mary Norton (who also wrote The Borrowers). Disney have now released Bedknobs and Broomsticks The Magical Musical, a theatre show. The screen play of the show was written by Brian Hill, and it’s directed by Candice Edmunds. I recently went to see this show and I really enjoyed the experience. I’d seen the film many times as a child and had fond memories of watching it.

The first half of the show last for 62 minutes, then there is a 20 minute interval and the second half is again 62 minutes. It’s the perfect length of show, not too long, not to short.

Dianne Pilkington played miss Eglantine Price and did a wonderful job portraying the witch in training. She also has a strong and beautiful singing voice. My only critique is that I feel like she was a little young. In the film she’s an older lady, in her 40’s/50’s but in this she’s 30.

Emelius Browne is played by Charles Brunton, he wasn’t my favourite, I enjoyed his performance but I couldn’t say I loved it. It was the children’s performance that blew me away. Charlie was played by Conor O’Hara, Paul was played by Paul Rawlins and Carrie was played by Isabelle Bucknell. All three of the children blew me away, especially the actors that played Paul and Carrie as they’re so young. They gave such strong performances, hit their marks, remembered all the lines and the choreography, I was very impressed.

There is a lot of magic within the show which I absolutely loved to watch. There’s a lot of flying, objects vanishing, people disappearing and appearing and much more. I have no idea how they created many of the illusions and that’s a testament to the ingenuity of theatres. It’s not surprising that the illusions in the show were so good, it’s because Jamie Harrison worked on the show, he’s one of the talented men behind the magic found in “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, two of the most magical shows I’ve ever seen. Furthermore, the director Candice Edmunds founded Vox Motus a company that specialises in magic in shows.

The stage itself is actually very small, I’m not saying that because the stage that I personally went to is small, I say it because the show creates its own mini stage and everything is housed in this area. Luckily I was in a theatre where the three rows in front of me were completely empty so I didn’t have any compromised viewing, however I could see it being a problem if you’re viewing is restricted. However, even though the set was small, it was impressive, there were so many props, the sets kept on changing, and they created a lot of depth behind them with canvas’s showing London skyline, the streets of London and more.

I had heard that some people enjoyed it but did find it strange, I’m not going to spoil anything, but yes I would agree, the show had a very unusual ending. However I do think that it was a satisfactory ending and I did enjoy it, but I do feel that others wouldn’t be as happy, it’s a bit like marmite, you either love it or hate it. If you’ve seen the show and know what I mean, let me know your thoughts on  the ending of the show in the comments bellow.

The music in the original film was written by The Sherman Brothers who are also responsible for music in “The Jungle Book”, “Parent Trap”, “Mary Poppins”, many of the Winnie the Pooh films and many more. The music in the show is lovely, everyone’s favourite “The Beautiful Briny Sea” was included and was a highlight of the show. “Portobello Road” was also included along with others. However my favourite song, that wasn’t in the original film was “Negotiality” which comes up several times during the show.

Less than a month ago I went to see 2Beauty and the Beast” at the theatre and although I loved that show, I much preferred “Bedknobs and Broomsticks”, which is surprising because when choosing which film of these shows I would watch I would always pick “Beauty and the Beast”. However I think that’s the point. I loved “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” so much because I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. I have seen the film many times when I was a young child, but I haven’t watched the film in about 18/19 years and so each scene was a surprise, whereas with “Beauty and the Beast” I’ve seen the film many times regularly over all the years of my life so I knew exactly what to expect. So having said that, I wouldn’t recommend watching the film before going, I think it’s best to let the show unfold before you’re very eyes.

The other thing was that “Beauty and the Beast” felt like it was a film on stage, whereas “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” felt like it was a theatre show. What I mean by this is that on the stage of “Bedknobs and Broomsticks”, there were a lot of cast members who just move the set pieces around and hold props, whereas “Beauty and the Beast” would transition scenes under the cover of darkness. Bedknobs and Broomsticks  felt a lot more immersive. I do think to a certain degree it’s unfair to compare shows because each show is a work of art in itself, however sometimes it takes going to different show to work out what you like and what you don’t.

I can say without a doubt I would recommend this show, maybe not for any child under 8 as some scenes at the beginning are a little unsettling but otherwise I think anyone could enjoy it as long as you’re into musical theatre. I wouldn’t rush back to see it this year, but if it’s still around in a few years I would happily watch the show again. Let me know your thoughts in the comments bellow and come back next Monday for another Disney blog.