King Brian of the Little People St. Patrick's Day Photo Bomb

Happy St. Patrick's Day readers! I've mentioned before that we love celebrating this Irish-American holiday here in the cottage. Several birthdays surround the holiday for our family and we are already in a very celebratory mood! Whats a little more Guinness? And as an added bonus, I will be traveling to Ireland with my niece at the end of the month!! I am so excited.

And as is our tradition here in the cottage, we will be watching Darby O'Gill and the Little People. The movie was made in the live-action heyday of Disney studios and is a quirky little gem. If you're REALLY a Disney geek, or grew up renting these tapes from the video store, then you know exactly what I mean, and you've probably watched this one yourself a couple of times. This movie is not your standard Disney fare of today. But the bonus material on the DVD almost makes watching it worth it - even if you do groan all the way through the movie.

One of the central characters of Darby O'Gill and the Little People is King Brian, King of the Leprechauns - although that term is a bit pejorative for the Little People. He's a wee devil and only shows himself to Darby. I thought it would be fun to make him into a little png file and have him photo bomb our family for St. Patrick's Day! I had way too much fun doing this! He should also come in handy for some of those Ireland pictures that are to come!

If you are interested in this King Brian png file too, help yourself. It's for personal use ONLY as I created it from copyrighted materials. Enjoy using it today to photobomb you favorite people. And if you do, use #KingBrian on Instagram so I can enjoy it with you! Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

A Disney St. Patrick's Day

We love to celebrate St. Patrick's Day here in the cottage; with several birthdays falling on the 17th, it's become a big celebration! But when it comes to Disney, it's a little trickier to find some Irish magic; however, not impossible. Now some of you may be tempted to go in the direction of Brave, the new pixar movie. And for those of us not familiar with the politics of the UK, we might get away with it. But let us not forget that Brave takes place in Scotland. And there is NO celebration of St. Patrick and his roots anywhere in Scotland. They have their own patron saint to celebrate.

That being said, there is an old and dare we say, obscure, Disney movie that IS quite Irish: Darby O-Gill and the Little People. This is a live action film from 1959, and a regular part of my childhood movie viewing. It was just the slightest bit scary (there is a banshee and a death wagon) and still full of enchantment. Exactly the sort of thing Disney was known for in our house. (Think Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.) If you are interested in this little known, and often disregarded, part of Disney history, this is just the right thing for your St. Patrick's Day celebrations. It is available through Amazon, as well as on Netflix, but only as a DVD. And if the obscurity of it in not enough to convince you, this little gem has the added benefit of starring Sean Connery as a young man. You just never know what you're gonna get when the Walt Disney Studios gets involved!

Tomorrow we'll raise a glass to St. Patrick as we sing along with Sean Connery, Darby O'Gill, & the Little People. Perhaps you will too. Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!