Angela Lansbury Week 2011 - Day Five

Day Fiiiiiiiiive! Yep - it's the end of Angela Lansbury Week 2011. But don't cry. Hold back those tears until you've seen all the amazing Lansburys that people have sent in. You can shed your tears afterwards... Now brace yourselves. You're about to get Lansbury'd!

It’s the last day of Angela Lansbury Week 2011 so I’m opening up with this incredible submission from Sarah. I’m pretty much speechless about it. Why’s that? Because as I type this, the actual crocheted Eglantine Price from these photos is sitting next to me! YEAH! I really don’t know what to say. She’s so cute! I might take her to work to sit on my desk and we could sing “Substitutiary Locomotion” when we feel sad. Yeah – that sounds like a good idea. I bet no one would mind that. Thank you so much for this Sarah (and Mark!)!

You can do it! Put your back in to it! Yeah! That’s right! This photo montage was sent in by the ever-sassy Carly. What makes Carly sassy, I hear you ask? Well, for a start, she used a picture from teen classic Save The Last Dance. Don’t pretend you haven’t seen it. Even I have seen it and Angela Lansbury isn’t in it! Oh. Wait. Looking at Carly’s picture, Angela *was* in it. I had no idea! Wow. And her and Julia are wearing the same colour! I love it when pals coordinate outfits on a night out. I would do that if I ever went to club…or if I had any friends. Thanks for sending this in Carly!

Once upon a time, I told a nice guy that the only way we could ever be BFFs would be if he drew me an Angela Lansbury. And lo – it was so! That’s right, Martin – comic lover and all-round cool dude, submitted this drawing for that very reason! He even did it on his lunch break! HOORAY! I don’t know whether I’m imagining it, but it looks like there’s a single tear rolling down her face… Heartbreaking. Well played, Martin. Well played indeed. Thanks for sending this in, Martin!

Bedknobs and Broomsticks is such a cute and fluffy film it is easy to forget that it deals with war and the unfortunate things that come with it – families being split up, invasions etc... But you know who didn’t forget about that? Seafaring superdude Warwick – the owner of one of the finest drawing hands (and beards) in the UK. Warwick drew this very focused-looking Eglantine, armed with sword and broom. She means business! I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side… Thanks for sending this in Warwick!

Uh oh. Someone did a murder…which must mean that Jessica Fletcher is in town. And if there wasn’t a murder, someone made a terrible mess on the carpet. This drawing was sent in by Gon – a fine fellow who stopped by my table at MCM Expo in October. He’s opted to draw everyone’s favourite murder mystery writer/solver – and when she looks this cute, who can blame him? Thanks Gon!

This drawing – by Trev – was one of the earlier entries in Angela Lansbury Week but I’ve kept it for the end because it involves TWO of Angela’s roles. TWO! But there’s only ONE drawing! What the cabbage? Don’t panic! Trev’s explanation actually makes sense. He originally wanted to draw Mrs Potts…until he discovered that Angela Lansbury was also in a version of The Picture of Dorian Gray! So, using his artistic skillz, Trev worked on a way to combine the two, the result of which you see before your eyes! HOORAY! Thanks Trev!

I spend about an hour commuting to work every day. An hour of scary drunks, pushy business types and screaming babies…and that’s just in the morning. But you know who doesn’t have to worry about any of that stuff? Eglantine Price from Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Why not? Because she can ride a broomstick (and also because I don’t think she had an actual job?)… This was sent in by Ben. I don’t know if Ben can ride a broomstick or not but I’ll still say thanks for sending this in. Thanks Ben!

I love that old joke. You know the one – “my dog has no nose.” Well, this dog has a nose…and some lipstick…and a hat? Hang on. It has a necklace too! That’s right – this drawing, sent in by Peggle, is an Angela Lansbury/basset hound hybrid! As far as I’m aware, Angela hasn’t played portrayed a pooch, but never say never. And if Peggle’s picture is anything to go by, she would look very cute if she did. Thanks Peggle!

LAST MINUTE ENTRY! This Lansbury, despite what I'm told, landed in my inbox this very afternoon. Sent in by Craig, this features four Lansbury references - Mrs Potts, Jessica Fletcher, Bedknobs and Broomsticks (there's a doorknob which is sort of the same) and some poison...which is sort of what Angela's character in The Manchurian Candidate did to people's minds... OK, fine, it just contains two Lansburys. But that's still two times the amazingness of a normal pictures which contains zero Lansburys! Thanks for sending this in Craig (even though it was late)!

Do you hear that tappity-tapping? The sound of metal on paper? The creaking of fingers as they dance around the typewriter? If you can’t, maybe you need to rewatch the iconic opening sequence to Murder, She Wrote. Or you could just look at this brilliant drawing by Ross and imagine you’re watching it? For a lady that spends so long in front of a typewriter, Jessica must get lots of writing done… but what if she just typed then word “murder” over and over again? It would explain the title of the show… Hmmm… Thanks for clearing that up, Ross. And thanks for the drawing!

When I was about 20, I used to wear a cape. I’m not joking. An actual cape – think Florence Nightingale rather than Batman. I don’t wear it anymore since I would probably get beaten up…but if I was brave, I’d spend at least one day a month dressed like a pirate. But not just any pirate – I’d want to dress up as THIS PIRATE that was sent in by Jamie. He’s drawn Ruth from Pirates of Penzance – and I think we can all agree that there has never been a sassier pirate! The hair! The hat! The weird gold shoulder pads! Be still my heart! Thanks for sending this in Jamie!

Treading a fine line between scary and saucy, this Lansbury was sent in by all-round brightspark Dan. He has obviously decided to base his drawing around Lansbury’s ability to play sinister characters. Well, he might have? I just made that bit up because it sounded grown up. I suspect I’m not fooling anyone. Whatever – I think it is important to remember that Angela has played her fair share of scary characters – it just goes to show what a brilliant actress she is! Thanks Dan!

LAST MINUTE ENTRY: You know who is a classy dame? Angela Lansbury, that's who! This beautiful drawing was sent in by Simon - a  lovely gentleman who saw Angela herself in the Blythe Spirit a few years ago! In real life! Not just on the television! The only way I could be any more jealous would be if he went to Nando's with her afterwards. That's the dream, right? I can't tell you much about Simon as we've never met, but I guess that he's ace because he went to see Angela Lansbury on stage...which is worth a zillion cool points in my mind. Thanks Simon!

QUESTION: Which is the best Disney song about the sea? You might say Under The Sea from The Little Mermaid…or you could be right and say The Beautiful Briny Sea from Bedknobs and Broomsticks! I know it’s a controversial opinion, but go and watch Angela Lansbury do her underwater dancing and prepare to be bewitched! Speaking of bewitching, this magic drawing was sent in by the charming Kristyna. She gets bonus points for the supercute seahorses in the background! Seahorses are the cutest! I think they are going to be big in 2012! Very on-trend. Very sassy. Very Krikri! Thanks Kristyna!!!

Top tip: that whole “Keep calm, blah blah,” is tired. Get a new slogan. Or, just use this one! It’s catchy! This drawing was sent in by Will – a gentleman I met at a comic thing a few years ago. Will is suggesting that Angela’s acting prowess is natural…but I reckon she also worked pretty hard too. I watched an interview where they said that Murder, She Wrote could shoot for 18 hours a day – which is a good portion of the day to be spent typing books and solving murder. Thanks Will!

Watch out everyone! There’s been a murder! And look who seems quite pleased about that… why, it’s Jessica Fletcher of course! And I guess she *would* be happy about a murder – it’s yet more inspiration for a new book, right? This Angela was sent in by Stuart who did a great job with getting Jessica’s hair right. And he even remembered the pearls, collared shirt and earrings. Good work! Thanks Stuart!

 

Are you ready for the last Lansbury of Angela Lansbury Week 2011? Let me rephrase that… Are you ready for the last…

MRS ‘ARRIS ALERT! MRS ‘ARRIS ALERT!!!

This Mrs ‘Arris was sent in by the Queen of Cardboard – Philippa! Clearly (and quite rightly) she was so besotted by Angela Lansbury’s performance in Mrs ‘Arris In Paris that she had to make this super cute drawing. If you’ve watched the movie (why wouldn’t you have?!) then you’ll spot a very familiar-looking hat and coat… not to mention a loveable Cockney washer woman. Oh come on – how could you not want to watch this movie? It’s so good. And so is this drawing, Thanks Philippa – it’s a great way to close Angela Lansbury Week 2011!

And so...that's the last of the Lansburys. After 5 comics, 50+ submissions and over 5500 words, Angela Lansbury Week 2011 is over. I really hope you've enjoyed it. Due to some unforeseen work and life issues, it's been more work than I was expecting, but on the plus side, it has also been much more popular than I was hoping for! A massive thank you to everyone that sent in a drawing. And another thank you to everyone that retweeted or linked to it. I really appreciate it! And maybe Angela Lansbury herself will see all these great drawings and she'll appreciate it too? Well, fingers crossed.

Now, next week isn't back to business as usual. Oh no. I'll be uploading a diary comic of my weekend at Thought Bubble over the week. It's a bit of an experiment as I haven't really tried autobiographical comics before... but if it's half as successful as this week then I'll count myself lucky.

Stay out of trouble

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