Disney Stuff – Disney Studios Collector Cards

Welcome back to Disney Stuff.

One thing about our favorite entertainment company—the Walt Disney Company just in case you weren't sure—is the following: They know their audience and they know how to market us a never-ending supply of stuff. Not that I'm knocking them. I happily oblige the marketing wing of the company and as long as the product is quality and it celebrates the films, characters, and parks in the right way, I'm all in.

A recent thing they got me to buy was the very cool collection of Disney Studios Collector Cards. Beginning in 2013, the Disney Studios began to release collector cards celebrating the Disney classic films. They were a subscription-based collection. This means that individual series were not available for sale. The only way you could have gotten them from Disney was to subscribe and receive them by mail every 4-6 weeks. You may notice that I'm speaking of these cards in the past tense. The reason for that is, of course, that the company has decided to stop producing this series of cards with Series One. In total, 21 packs were produced in the run, or 183 cards— including some D23 and D23 Expo exclusives. The reasoning is unknown, but considering they were a mail order subscription only, perhaps they just didn't sell quite as much as they had hoped.

As a D23 member, I found them while poking around on the D23 webpage, quickly signed on, and received the first three sets. I have to be perfectly honest; I'm not really sure what happened after that. If my fading memory serves, I signed on for an introductory subscription and got the first three sets and then they stopped coming. I'm not sure if I let it lapse, if my credit card expired, or if I only signed up for a limited subscription.

Whatever the case may be, I have the first three sets in the series and I'm actually sad that I didn't keep receiving them, especially now they are discontinuing production. As a matter of fact, if you click on the Disney Collector Card website, there is a message indicating that all cards are sold out. So, the time to get them from the source has come and gone. Now the Internet and the secondary market are your only recourse.

The cards arrived with a Welcome Guide, outlining what you were going to receive in each set.

They are oversized cards measuring 3 inches by 4.5 inches. This does make them larger than the average collector card. Instead of a plastic wrap like a pack of baseball cards, these cards arrived in their own classy looking envelope.

Each set included what they referred to as a limited edition mini lithograph like this numbered Bambi card…

…and a Sericel-inspired card printed on a thicker translucent stock. Shown here is an image from Peter Pan, my favorite Disney classic:

After those two types of cards, each pack would contain a selection from the following categories:

Disney Vintage Poster Cards

These cards celebrate the Disney Company's treasure trove of classic films by reprinting vintage movie posters. Here's a Jungle Book card:

The back features some interesting facts regarding each film.

Behind-The-Scenes Cards

These cards are written by Disney Archives Director, Becky Cline and contain inside information about the film pictured. For instance, this beautiful image was intended to be part of the original release of Fantasia and set to Debussy's “Clair de Lune.”

According to Ms. Cline's info on the card, it was instead put to different music and included in the 1946 film, Make Mine Music. For the 2000 Fantasia Anthology DVD it was re-matched with the music Walt had originally intended and included as a special feature.

Vintage Mickey Mouse Poster Cards

Similar to the aforementioned poster cards, these pay tribute to our favorite mouse from his original animated shorts, such as this vintage poster from Ye Olden Days:

Disney Concept Art Cards

These cards feature sketches and concept art from the films. Seen here is one of the most famous scenes in cinema history from Lady and the Tramp.

Disney Magic Moments Cards

Classic Disney film moments are the raison d'etre for this series of cards. Here's one of my favorite Disney moments, the Mad Tea Party from Alice in Wonderland.

The back of these cards feature film facts such as voice talent, premier date, etc.

Disney Villains Cards

It wouldn't be a Disney classic without a mean and nasty villain, now would it? Here's the very first, the Wicked Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs:

Once again, the backs of these cards contain film tidbits and the name of each villain's voice actor.

When Disney does a series of collectibles like this they tend to do a good job, especially when the good folks from the Disney Archives or D23 are involved. These collector cards are no exception. They are great collectibles, chock full of information and wonderful Disney art. Here are a few more of my favorites:

The larger size, glossy finish, heavy card stock, brilliant colors, and classy packaging set them apart from many other collectible cards on the market. These are special cards and should be saved and protected. Considering that they are now off the market, it's a pretty safe bet that they will go up in value as well. Initially each pack cost $7.95 plus shipping and handling and to me they were well worth that cost. I know I paid $1.95 for my introductory offer, so in my eyes that was a score. I enjoyed looking at these cards and learning more about these films that I love. I'll keep them safe and re-visit them often.

Am I one of the few out there that purchased these collector's cards? Is that why they disappeared so quickly? Maybe some of you readers out there have a set of your own? Or, is this the first you're hearing and seeing of them?

As usual, let me know what you think by clicking on the link below and I'll see you next time with more of that great Disney Stuff.

Author

Chris Barry

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