In October of 1971, Walt Disney Studios’ released the musical fantasy film Bedknobs and Broomsticks, which would quickly become a favorite among generations of children and their parents.
Now, more than 50 years later (and after two delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic), D23 – The Official Disney Fan Club welcomed its members to a slightly belated anniversary screening on the very backlot in Burbank where the film was shot.
D23 members lined up outside the Zorro parking garage on the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank to check in for the Bedknobs and Broomsticks 50th anniversary event and attendees were presented with the very cool Limited Edition pin pictured above. Outside the lot’s main theater, there were also multiple D23-themed step-and-repeat photo op backdrops available for the use of guests.
Inside the theater’s lobby, two displays of sketches from the development of Bedknobs and Broomsticks were on display. These were drawn by “Big Roy” Williams, an in-house artist and entertainer perhaps most famous for his time as an adult “Mooseketeer” on The Mickey Mouse Club television series in the 1950s.
In the theater’s auditorium, slides with Bedknobs and Broomsticks still images and trivia entertained the crowd as they awaited the start of the film. Then just before the screening, four lucky winners were presented with Loungefly bags themed to the movie. After the film ended, guests were given the option to visit the nearby Studio Store or to wander down to the Burbank lot’s Frank G. Wells building, where additional exhibits of props, costumes, and artwork from the production of Bedknobs and Broomsticks were on display.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks is currently available to stream on Disney+. Be sure to visit the official D23 website for more information on membership and fun events such as this one.