Josh Sundquistis the still the reigning Halloween costume king!
For years, Sundquist — a motivational speaker and author — has imagined clever outfits for Halloween that are as charming as they are entertaining. From dressing up asan iHop signand a partially eatengingerbread man, to the leg lamp fromA Christmas Story, his costumes have received tens of thousands of likes on social media.
And with each outfit, Sundquist has helped other people with disabilities embrace their body image.
“When I was a child, I wanted to be a Disney animator when I grew up. At age nine I lost my leg to cancer,” Sundquist tells PEOPLE. “A few weeks later I got a letter from an animator at Walt Disney who happened to be a double amputee. His name was Broose Johnson. Make-A-Wish later gave me the chance to meet him.”
Johnson helped to design some ofDisney’s most iconic characters, such as Sebastian the Crab fromThe Little Mermaid, Simba fromThe Lion King, and Tuke the moose fromBrother Bear.
Josh Sundquist
“Broose was a big Halloween fan himself and had designed an amazing Beast costume, a character he would later animate — and his costume helped inspire the look of the Beast in the movie,” Sundquist says.
“The letter Broose sent me as a child had a drawing of Genie, which was one of the characters he animated. So this year I wanted to dress as Genie as a tribute to Broose, to Make-A-Wish, and, of course, to Robin Williams.”
The lateWilliams, of course, portrayed Genie in the 1992 version ofAladdin.
Sundquist, who is also anaccomplished athlete, began making his single-leg costumes in 2010, just “as a way to make my friends laugh at Halloween parties,” he toldPEOPLElast year. His wife, Ashley, is the one who came up with his 2012 lamp costume fromA Christmas Story.
“I thought it was a hilarious idea,” he explained. “The illusion is uncanny, the concept feels appropriate since I do a lot of hopping in real life, and, of course, Tigger is a character I loved growing up.”
This year’s choice of costume is especially timely, as Disney recently released their first teaser trailer for their upcoming live-action version ofAladdin, withWill Smithtaking on the part of Genie.
source: people.com
