Spongebob Squarepants! Spongebob Squarepants! Spongebob Squarepants! Spongey-boooooob Squarepaaaaaaants!
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover: my wife and I visited Mardi Gras World, a giant-sized warehouse-shaped museum in New Orleans in which floats are constructed, painted, stored, disassembled, reassembled, repainted, reconfigured, and displayed for guests who want to take a long walk through local party-time history.
As promised last time, here’s a sampling of the many heads, bodies, persons, places, and things on display that have entertained generations and enthralled the sober and the drunken alike.
These tigers were among the shiniest, heaviest-looking animals we saw.
Some guys like Quasi-Louis Armstrong are prepared for inclement parade weather.
Part of the fun of visiting a real art studio is seeing works-in-progress like this raptor awaiting his war paint.
The Flash and Wonder Woman are maybe halfway to action, unless an artists changes their mind and turns him into the Reverse-Flash.
Darth Vader’s makeup team is building layers for a new, all-white foundation to appease some of the next movie’s most judgmental critics.
A: “Abraham Lincoln, Dorothy Gale, and Smokey the Bear.” Q: “Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen?”
We weren’t allowed to use these Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots to stage our own boxing matches, even if we offered to pay extra.
Some of you may remember McGruff the Crime Dog’s anti-crime PSAs from your childhood. If not, then I have no idea which cartoon mascot was keeping your neighborhood safe at night.
Paul Revere would like to remind everyone that non-fictional characters have a place in every parade, too. One if by Mardi Gras, two if by Macy’s Thanksgiving.
Official Mardi Gras queens representing, maybe.
Bluto and Olive Oyl gather dust in a corner, wishing dearly that Popeye’s fame hadn’t faded away.
I’M A DOGGIE.
Chibi-headed Wicked Witch of the West reflects the Oz of a whole new generation.
“Hello, my baby! Hello, my honey! Hello, my ragtime gaaaal…!”
With a little work and one more head, you can build your own Marvel Mt. Rushmore.
Batman, Joker, Underdog, Leonardo — meet your all-new #FantasticFourSeasonTwo!
To be continued!
[Link enclosed here to handy checklist for previous and future chapters, and for our complete road trip history to date. Thanks for reading!]
Midlife Crisis Crossover! 