The imagination of a child is vivid.
Children can transpose their lives to a different key. They breathe in a world of fantasy and live among enchantment.
Through his passionate interest in Disney, James Bell ’12 has kept his beliefs and imagination active to this day. He lives quite the magical life.
“There is only one hope for Disneyland; it’s up to one boy and all his friends to stop those evildoers, rescue the lives of all Disney Heroes and Heroines, and restore and save the world of Disney; and that boy is me.”
This excerpt is just a snippet of “Disney’s Heroes at Last”, a 352-page story that James Bell ’12 has been writing for the last four years.
He recently finished this story and is now onto the editing process.
“I thought it up and dreamt it up as I went along,” Bell said when describing his story, which features a variety of iconic Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. Bell said he also hopes to get this story published by the Walt Disney Company and eventually transform the story into a movie, which will star Bell and all of his friends.
Although the story progression has consumed much of Bell’s last four years, his love for Disney has been lifelong. This love was birthed in Paris, where he lived for the first seven years of his life and where he and his family would frequently visit Disneyland. Out of all the attractions, Bell particularly enjoyed Jungle Cruise, Golden Horseshoe Revue, the Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Enchanted Tiki Room and Carousel of Progress. However the ultimate attraction for Bell was when all his favorite Disney characters came alive on the streets of Disneyland.
“My favorite part was seeing the parades,” said Bell. Bell recalls that as a child, he believed the characters participating in the parade were real, making the experience all the more magical.
When he learned that these characters were fictional, his interest in Disney became even more intense. Over time, he became increasingly more educated on the history of Walt Disney, the company itself, and voices that played each Disney character. His all-time favorite characters soon proved to be Mickey Mouse and Yen Sid.
“As I grew up, I became an inspired follower,” Bell said.
Bell seems to be inspiring others as well. At this point, Bell is such an expert on Disney that he often leaves his teachers and friends impressed.
“I consider his expertise on Walt Disney and the Disney enterprise a very unique thing to have. It’s almost superhuman how much Disney-related knowledge he possesses, and I’m sure that it will be handy in his future,” said Jeremy Heitz ’12, who is a friend of Bell’s.
Bell’s love for Disney is expressed through his apparel as well. Bell can often be found proudly wearing his Disney watch and ring, along with a shirt or hat. He has to tone it down at school, but at home, Bell’s activities are decorated in Disney.
For instance, Bell has spent countless hours at home working on miniature drawings of Disney characters and animations to go along with his story.
He draws this inspiration from over 100 Disney films that he owns and watches. A few of his favorites are Steamboat Willie, Silly Symphonies, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, and Fantasia. Bell said he will either pause the films in order to draw each character, or he will just draw from memory.
On top of that, Bell participates in his church’s choir, Staples’ Orphenians, and Western Regionals, which is a Connecticut choir group. Of course, Bell also loves to sing some Disney tunes on his own time.
And just like most teenage boys, Bell is always up for some video games. Yet even his video games have a Disney theme to them, as his favorites include Kingdom Hearts I, Kingdom Hearts II and Chain of Memories.
Between his story, his artistic talents, and his musical career, Bell has managed to keep a little bit of Walt Disney alive.
One day we may even see Bell’s name in bright lights.
