General

The Original Story of Dumbo

Disney storyteller extraordinaire Wade Sampson returns to JimHillMedia.com with a tale that looks back at the original source material for this 1941 animated feature.

Published

20 years ago

December 27, 2004

Jim Hill

Hey, gang!
Jim Hill here. Talk about your belated Christmas presents. After a far-too-long-absence, Wade Sampson has returned to JimHillMedia.com.
“So where has Wade been these past few months?,” you ask. Well, Mr. Sampson has been absent from JHM for the latter part of 2004 because he was busy dealing with a family tragedy and some related financial challenges. A good friend of this site, Disney historian Jim Korkis, took some time from his own whirlwind life to encourage Wade to return to sharing his insights into Disney history with JimHillMedia.com readers. Thankfully, Korkis’ effort worked. Which is why we’re now going to see some more stories from Mr. Sampson.
So thanks Jim and welcome back, Wade!
And now — without further ado — here’s Mr. Sampson’s story about Dumbo’s original story …

Several months ago, I wrote a column about wanting to know more about Helen Aberson.

The Disney feature film, “Dumbo” originated with a story by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, and was adapted for the screen by the great story team of Joe Grant and Dick Huemer. It appeared as a Roll-A-Book. A Roll-A-Book was a distinctive format. It featured about a dozen illustrations which appeared on a short scroll that was built into a box and the reader would twist a small wheel at the top of the box to get to the next panel illustration. Apparently no known copies of this original Roll-A-Book survive today and Helen’s family had never heard about the Roll-A-Book version of the story. Shortly after the Roll-A-Book version, the story and illustrations were reprinted in a regular book edition of no more than one thousand copies.

While visiting Disney historian Jim Korkis during Mousefest, my eyes popped out and my mouth dropped to the ground when he pulled out from his private collection a copy of that book edition. He told me that it had taken him over two decades to locate a copy and discovered it by accident at a flea market in Central Florida.

It is only 36 pages long (counting covers) and the bright yellow cover declares: “Dumbo the Flying Elephant by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl” with no mention of Disney at all. The cover features Dumbo with a red, white and blue color and a yellow clown hat with a red ball on it. Dumbo is waving a flag with red and white stripes (no blue square with white stars).

The book was published by Whitman Publishing Company and there are two copyrights: 1939 by The Roll-A-Book Publisher, Inc. and 1941 by Walt Disney Productions. It is roughly 8 by 11 inches.

In the illustrations, Dumbo looks very much the way he does in the feature film, although how many variations are there when it comes to drawing a baby elephant with huge ears? The artwork is very rough almost like quick black pencil sketches or charcoal. There is very little detail. Some pictures of humans are little more than stick figures with a dot for an eye.

The design of the book includes eight full page pictures (leaving barely twenty-four pages of text mixed with drawings that often take up half a page). There doesn’t seem to have been a model sheet for Dumbo or his mother as their appearance and proportions seem to fluctuate from drawing to drawing. Not to mention that some of Dumbo’s expressions are odd in the sense that they don’t communicate the innocence of his better known cinematic incarnation.

“Spring seems to be the season for circus babies. Anyway, this particular Spring was. There was a new baby lion, a new baby zebra, a baby bear, a baby hippopotamus, a baby camel, a bay giraffe and a new baby elephant. Everyone made a great fuss over the baby elephant because he was the cutest of all. His Mother Ella was very proud of him. She caressed him with her trunk while she listened to the other elephants praise him.

‘You can tell by his ears that he’s going to be a big fellow,’ said one elephant.

‘Why, he’ll probably be a regular Jumbo,’ remarked another.

And right then and there Mother Ella named him JUMBO.”

The circus is in its Winter quarters in Florida and is preparing to visit hundreds of cities and will be transported by a proudly puffing train. As they went from city to city, all the circus babies grew except for Little Jumbo who even though he ate his bale of hay each day only his ears grew and he often tripped over them.

While both Mother Ella and Little Jumbo were unhappy that everyone made fun of him because of his ears, they were happy when Jack, the elephant trainer decided to give the little elephant a part in the new elephant act. So Mother Ella scrubbed Little Jumbo extra clean, sprayed him with water from her trunk and hung him out on the line to dry. (The title page has a picture of this with two clothespins on each ear holding him to a clothesline while he looks at them with an annoyed glance.)

When the big day came, it was a balancing elephant act with the first one balanced on a large red wooden ball and five other elephants climbed on top of the first elephant. The illustration shows a plank on the back of the first elephant for the others to stand on.

Little Jumbo was “to climb up to the very tip-top of the highest elephant and stand up bravely, waving a little American flag. Mother Ella kissed him for good luck. Holding his little flag in his trunk, Jumbo started to climb up on the big elephant. He was so happy that he looked back to smile at Mother Ella.”

At that moment, he tripped over one of his big ears and fell while the crowd shrieked with laughter. He rolled over and over and hit the wooden ball and all the elephants tumbled and they “landed with such terrific bumps that the high-diver’s tank bounced into the air, the trapezes danced about crazily, the people fell out of their seats, and the tent began to topple!! Animals and people alike ran for safety! And when the tent collapsed completely, who should come crawling out but little Jumbo smiling and waving his American flag!”

“That night, the circus train carried two very sad elephants. One was Mother Ella. The other, little Jumbo. They had put him in the donkey car. And on his water pail, they had crossed out the ‘J’ in Jumbo and painted a big ‘D’. And from that moment on, little Jumbo was known as DUMBO.”

As further punishment, Jack and the ringmaster turned Dumbo over to the clowns. They painted a big clown grin and silly looking eyebrows on Dumbo and put a dunce cap on his head. Then twice each day, Dumbo had to perform the “fireman trick” where the clowns chased him up a ladder to the window of a toy house. The flames forced Dumbo to jump into the paper net the clowns were holding and Dumbo would fall through the net into a tub of mud while the audience laughed.

Dumbo was heartbroken and would cry himself to sleep. One day, after the performance and dripping with mud, instead of returning to his mother, he walked right out of the circus grounds. He just wanted to get far, far away.

Before he got very far, he heard a cheerful little voice say, “What’s the matter, little fellow? Did someone throw mud at you?”

That cheerful little voice belonged to a little robin in a red vest and a pearl-gray derby. The robin’s name was “Red”.

When Dumbo told Red his sad story, the robin decided the problem was that Dumbo had a complex about his ears and so he decided to take Dumbo to a friend of his, Professor Hoot Owl, M.D., Ph.D., M.A., L.L.D. Psychiatrist and Notary Public, who lived in a large tree.

Doctor Hoot Howl tapped Dumbo with little hammers, tickled him with feathers and shot guns off under his chair and finally questioned him about his dreams. Shyly, Dumbo admitted that he dreams about flying.

“What’s stopping you?” the Doctor shouted at Dumbo. “If you want to fly, go ahead and fly! Ten dollars, please.”

Red told the owl to charge it to his account and when he asked the doctor how Dumbo should begin flying, the doctor boomed, “That information will cost you ten dollars more—and this time it will be cash!” So Red decided he would figure out a way for Dumbo to fly.

Red’s plan was to have Dumbo repeat “I CAN FLY” a hundred times and then he took Dumbo to the top of a high cliff and had him jump off. Dumbo fell towards the ground with his legs, ears and trunk all flapping.

Red flew alongside and shouted, “Spread your ears! Soar! Pull yourself out of it before you crash!”

Suddenly, Dumbo wasn’t falling but flying. Every day, Dumbo practiced with Red flying alongside, giving him instructions. “And soon, he learned to loop the loop, spiral, glide, dip and soar just like a bird.”

“We’re going back to the circus, little fellow. But you mustn’t say a word about all this to anyone. I have a plan that’ll make us rich and famous, but we must wait until the time is ripe,” counseled Red.

Mother Ella was very thankful to see her son again and pleased to meet his new friend, Red. Dumbo was able to tolerate the hateful “fireman trick” because Red was there to encourage him and because of the wonderful secret.

After a few weeks, the circus came to Madison Square Garden, the most important stop on the circus schedule. The clowns even made the platform for Dumbo much higher, hoping the people would laugh harder. However, on the opening day performance as Dumbo was about to jump, Red flew up and whispered to him, “Now’s the time, Ace! Let ’em have it!”

Dumbo was frightened and when he jumped he couldn’t remember how to fly so he closed his eyes and kept falling. Red shouted instructions at him until he was almost in tears. Suddenly, Dumbo straightened his ears, dipped low and flew.

The audience and circus performers gasped. Dumbo flew in and out of the trapezes. “He looped the loop, dipped, circled, and soared. Then he swooped down low, scooped up a trunkful of water from the high-diver’s tank and shot it at the clowns. And he spanked the ringmaster with his trunk! Then he soared right through the door out into the street. Outside he caused a general panic. Women screamed! Men hid in doorways! Policemen blew whistles! Automobiles jumped curbs! Dumbo, scared at what he had done, flew back to the Garden. He was greeted with wild cheering and applause. He came to a graceful landing and bowed to all the people” and then ran over to Mother Ella and kissed her.

Dumbo became the star of the circus and all the posters advertised “Dumbo the flying elephant” and the ringmaster introduced him to audiences as “the eighth wonder of the world! The only flying elephant in captivity!” He had his own private car in the circus train and his name was painted on it in gold letters. In addition, he had servants to wait on him and his mother and Red.

“And the last we heard, they were on their way to Hollywood. For Dumbo is going to act in the movies!”

And the final picture is Red in his derby holding papers that say “contract”.

Once again, I would like to thank Jim Korkis whose love of the film “Dumbo” even exceeds my own for allowing me to share with the readers this lost piece of Disney history.

General

Seward Johnson bronzes add a surreal, artistic touch to NYC’s Garment District

Published

10 years ago

June 23, 2015

Jim Hill

Greetings from NYC. Nancy and I drove down from New
Hampshire yesterday because we'll be checking out
Disney Consumer Products' annual Holiday Showcase later today.

Anyway … After checking into our hotel (i.e., The Paul.
Which is located down in NYC's NoMad district), we decided to grab some dinner.
Which is how we wound up at the Melt Shop.

Photo by Jim Hill

Which is this restaurant that only sells grilled cheese sandwiches.
This comfort food was delicious, but kind of on the heavy side.

Photo by Jim Hill

Which is why — given that it was a beautiful summer night
— we'd then try and walk off our meals. We started our stroll down by the Empire
State Building
…

Photo by Jim Hill

… and eventually wound up just below Times
Square (right behind where the Waterford Crystal Times Square New
Year's Eve Ball is kept).

Photo by Jim Hill

But you know what we discovered en route? Right in the heart
of Manhattan's Garment District
along Broadway between 36th and 41st? This incredibly cool series of life-like
and life-sized sculptures that Seward
Johnson has created.

Photo by Jim Hill

And — yes — that is Abraham Lincoln (who seems to have
slipped out of WDW's Hall of Presidents when no one was looking and is now
leading tourists around Times Square). These 18 painted
bronze pieces (which were just installed late this past Sunday night / early
Monday morning) range from the surreal to the all-too-real.

Photo by Jim Hill

Some of these pieces look like typical New Yorkers. Like the
business woman planning out her day …

Photo by Jim Hill

… the postman delivering the mail …

Photo by Jim Hill

… the hot dog vendor working at his cart …

Photo by Jim Hill

… the street musician playing for tourists …

Photo by Jim Hill

Not to mention the tourists themselves.

Photo by Jim Hill

But right alongside the bronze businessmen …

Photo by Jim Hill

… and the tired grandmother hauling her groceries home …

Photo by Jim Hill

… there were also statues representing people who were
from out-of-town …

Photo by Jim Hill

… or — for that matter — out-of-time.

Photo by Jim Hill

These were the Seward Johnson pieces that genuinely beguiled. Famous impressionist paintings brought to life in three dimensions.

Note the out-of-period water bottle that some tourist left
behind. Photo by Jim Hill

Some of them so lifelike that you actually had to pause for
a moment (especially as day gave way to night in the city) and say to yourself
"Is that one of the bronzes? Or just someone pretending to be one of these
bronzes?"

Mind you, for those of you who aren't big fans of the
impressionists …

Photo by Jim Hill

… there's also an array of American icons. Among them
Marilyn Monroe …

Photo by Jim Hill

… and that farmer couple from Grant Wood's "American
Gothic."

Photo by Jim Hill

But for those of you who know your NYC history, it's hard to
beat that piece which recreates Alfred Eisenstaedt's famous photograph of V-J Day in Times Square.

Photo by Jim Hill

By the way, a 25-foot-tall version of this particular Seward
Johnson piece ( which — FYI — is entitled "Embracing Peace") will actually
be placed in Times Square for a few days on or around August 14th to commemorate the 70th
anniversary of Victory Over Japan Day (V-J Day).

Photo by Jim Hill

By the way, if you'd like to check these Seward Johnson bronzes in
person (which — it should be noted — are part of the part of the Garment
District Alliance's new public art offering) — you'd best schedule a trip to
the City sometime over the next three months. For these pieces will only be on
display now through September 15th.

General

Wondering what you should “Boldly Go” see at the movies next year? The 2015 Licensing Expo offers you some clues

Published

10 years ago

June 10, 2015

Jim Hill

Greeting from the 2015 Licensing Expo, which is being held
at the Mandalay Bay
Convention Center in Las
Vegas.

Photo by Jim Hill

I have to admit that I enjoy covering the Licensing Expo.
Mostly becomes it allows bloggers & entertainment writers like myself to
get a peek over the horizon. Scope out some of the major motion pictures &
TV shows that today's vertically integrated entertainment conglomerates
(Remember when these companies used to be called movie studios?) will be
sending our way over the next two years or so.

Photo by Jim Hill

Take — for example — all of "The Secret Life of
Pets" banners that greeted Expo attendees as they made their way to the
show floor today. I actually got to see some footage from this new Illumination
Entertainment production (which will hit theaters on July 8, 2016) the last time I was in Vegas. Which
was for CinemaCon back in April. And the five or so minutes of film that I viewed
suggested that "The Secret Life of Pets" will be a really funny
animated feature.

Photo by Jim Hill

Mind you, Universal Pictures wanted to make sure that Expo
attendees remembered that there was another Illumination Entertainment production
coming-to-a-theater-near-them before "The Secret Life of Pets" (And
that's "Minions," the "Despicable Me" prequel. Which
premieres at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival next week but
won't be screened stateside 'til July 10th of this year). Which is why they had
three minions who were made entirely out of LEGOS loitering out in the lobby.

Photo by Jim Hill

And Warner Bros. — because they wanted "Batman v
Superman: Dawn of Justice" to start trending on Twitter today — brought
the Batmobile to Las Vegas.

Photo by Jim Hill

Not to mention full-sized macquettes of Batman, Superman and
Wonder Woman. Just so conventioneers could then see what these DC superheroes
would actually look like in this eagerly anticipated, March 25, 2016 release.

Photo by Jim Hill

That's the thing that can sometimes be a wee bit frustrating
about the Licensing Expo. It's all about delayed gratification. You'll come
around a corner and see this 100 foot-long ad for "The Peanuts Movie"
and think "Hey, that looks great. I want to see that Blue Sky Studios production
right now." It's only then that you notice the fine print and realize that
"The Peanuts Movie" doesn't actually open in theaters 'til November
6th of this year.

Photo by Jim Hill

And fan of Blue Sky's "Ice Age" film franchise are in for an even
longer wait. Given that the latest installment in that top grossing series
doesn't arrive in theaters 'til July
15, 2016.

Photo by Jim Hill

Of course, if you're one of those people who needs immediate
gratification when it comes to your entertainment, there was stuff like that to
be found at this year's Licensing Expo. Take — for example — how the WWE
booth was actually shaped like a wrestling ring. Which — I'm guessing — meant
that if the executives of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. didn't like
the offer that you were making, they were then allowed to toss you out over the
top rope, Royal Rumble-style.

Photo by Jim Hill

I also have to admit that — as a longtime Star Trek fan —
it was cool to see the enormous Starship Enterprise that hung in place over the
CBS booth. Not to mention getting a glimpse of the official Star Trek 50th
Anniversary logo.

Photo by Jim Hill

I was also pleased to see lots of activity in The Jim Henson
Company booth. Which suggests that JHC has actually finally carved out a
post-Muppets identity for itself.

Photo by Jim Hill

Likewise for all of us who were getting a little concerned
about DreamWorks Animation (what with all the layoffs & write-downs &
projects that were put into turnaround or outright cancelled last year), it was
nice to see that booth bustling.

Photo by Jim Hill

Every so often, you'd come across some people who were
promoting a movie that you weren't entirely sure that you actually wanted to
see (EX: "Angry Birds," which Sony Pictures Entertainment / Columbia
Pictures will be releasing to theaters on May 20, 2016). But then you remembered that Clay Kaytis —
who's this hugely talented former Walt Disney Animation Studios animator — is
riding herd on "Angry Birds" with Fergal Reilly. And you'd think
"Well, if Clay's working on 'Angry Birds,' I'm sure this animated feature
will turn out fine."

Photo by Jim Hill

Mind you, there were reminders at this year's Licensing Expo
of great animated features that we're never going to get to see now. I still
can't believe — especially after that brilliant proof-of-concept footage
popped up online last year — that Sony execs decided not to go forward
with production of Genndy Tartakovsky's
"Popeye" movie. But that's the
cruel thing about the entertainment business, folks. It will sometime break
your heart.

Photo by Jim Hill

And make no mistake about this. The Licensing Expo is all
about business. That point was clearly driven home at this year's show when —
as you walked through the doors of the Mandalay
Bay Convention Center
— the first thing that you saw was the Hasbros Booth. Which was this gleaming,
sleek two story-tall affair full of people who were negotiating deals &
signing contracts for all of the would-be summer blockbusters that have already
announced release dates for 2019 & beyond.

Photo by Jim Hill

"But what about The Walt Disney Company?," you
ask. "Weren't they represented on the show floor at this year's Licensing
Expo?" Not really, not. I mean, sure. There were a few companies there hyping
Disney-related products. Take — for example — the Disney Wikkeez people.

Photo by Jim Hill

I'm assuming that some Disney Consumer Products exec is
hoping that Wikkeez will eventually become the new Tsum Tsum. But to be blunt,
these little hard plastic figures don't seem to have the same huggable charm
that those stackable plush do. But I've been wrong before. So let's see what
happens with Disney Wikkeez once they start showing up on the shelves of the
Company's North American retail partners.

Photo by Jim Hill

And speaking of Disney's retail partners … They were
meeting with Mouse House executives behind closed doors one floor down from the
official show floor for this year's Licensing Expo.

Photo by Jim Hill

And the theme for this year's invitation-only Disney shindig? "Timeless
Stories" involving the Disney, Pixar, Marvel & Lucasfilm brands that
would then appeal to "tomorrow's consumer."

Photo by Jim Hill

And just to sort of hammer home the idea that Disney is no
longer the Company which cornered the market when it comes to little girls
(i.e., its Disney Princess and Disney Fairies franchises), check out this
wall-sized Star Wars-related image that DCP put up just outside of one of its
many private meeting rooms. "See?," this carefully crafted photo
screams. "It isn't just little boys who want to wield the Force. Little
girls also want to grow up and be Lords of the Sith."

Photo by Jim Hill

One final, kind-of-ironic note: According to this banner,
Paramount Pictures will be releasing a movie called "Amusement Park"
to theaters sometime in 2017.

Photo by Jim Hill

Well, given all the "Blackfish" -related issues
that have been dogged SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment over the past two years, I'm
just hoping that they'll still be in the amusement park business come 2017.

Your thoughts?

General

It takes more than three circles to craft a Classic version of Mickey Mouse

Published

10 years ago

June 9, 2015

Jim Hill

You know what Mickey Mouse looks like, right? Little guy,
big ears?

Truth be told, Disney's corporate symbol has a lot of
different looks. If Mickey's interacting with Guests at Disneyland
Park (especially this summer, when
the Happiest Place on Earth
is celebrating its 60th anniversary), he looks & dresses like this.

Or when he's appearing in one of those Emmy Award-winning shorts that Disney
Television Animation has produced (EX: "Bronco Busted," which debuts
on the Disney Channel tonight at 8 p.m. ET / PT), Mickey is drawn in a such a
way that he looks hip, cool, edgy & retro all at the same time.

Looking ahead to 2017 now, when Disney Junior rolls out "Mickey and the
Roadster Racers," this brand-new animated series will feature a sportier version
of Disney's corporate symbol. One that Mouse House managers hope will persuade
preschool boys to more fully embrace this now 86 year-old character.

That's what most people don't realize about the Mouse. The
Walt Disney Company deliberately tailors Mickey's look, even his style of
movement, depending on what sort of project / production he's appearing in.

Take — for example — Disney
California Adventure
Park's "World of Color:
Celebrate!" Because Disney's main mouse would be co-hosting this new
nighttime lagoon show with ace emcee Neil Patrick Harris, Eric Goldberg really had
to step up Mickey's game. Which is why this master Disney animator created
several minutes of all-new Mouse animation which then showed that Mickey was
just as skilled a showman as Neil was.

Better yet, let's take a look at what the folks at Avalanche Studios just went
through as they attempted to create a Classic version of Mickey & Minnie.
One that would then allow this popular pair to become part of Disney Infinity
3.0.

"I won't lie to you. We were under a lot of pressure to
get the look of this particular version of Mickey — he's called Red Pants
Mickey around here — just right," said Jeff Bunker, the VP of Art
Development at Avalanche Studios, during a recent phone interview. "When
we brought Sorcerer Mickey into Disney Infinity 1.0 back in January of 2014,
that one was relatively easy because … Well, everyone knows what Mickey Mouse
looked like when he appeared in 'Fantasia.' "

"But this time around, we were being asked to design
THE Mickey & Minnie," Bunker continued. "And given that these Classic
Disney characters have been around in various different forms for the better
part of the last century … Well, which look was the right look?"

Which is why Jeff and his team at Avalanche Studios began watching hours &
hours of Mickey Mouse shorts. As they tried to get a handle on which look would
work best for these characters in Disney Infinity 3.0.

"And we went all the way back to the very start of Mickey's career. We began
with 'Steamboat Willie' and then watched all of those black & white Mickey shorts
that Walt made back in the late 1920s & early 1930s. From there, we
transitioned to his Technicolor shorts. Which is when Mickey went from being
this pie-eyed, really feisty character to more of a well-behaved leading
man," Bunker recalled. "We then finished out our Mouse marathon by
watching all of those new Mickey shorts that Paul Rudish & his team have
been creating for Disney Television Animation. Those cartoons really recapture
a lot of the spirit and wild slapstick fun that Mickey's early, black &
white shorts had."

But given that the specific assignment that Avalanche Studios had been handed
was to create the most appealing looking, likeable version of Mickey Mouse
possible … In the end, Jeff and his team wound up borrowing bits & pieces
from a lot of different versions of the world's most famous mouse. So that
Classic Mickey would then look & move in a way that best fit the sort of
gameplay which people would soon be able to experience with Disney Infinity
3.0.

"That — in a lot of ways — was actually the toughest
part of the Classic Mickey design project. You have to remember that one of the
key creative conceits of Disney Infinity
is that all the characters which appear in this game are toys," Bunker
stated. "Okay. So they're beautifully detailed, highly stylized toy
versions of beloved Disney, Pixar, Marvel & Lucasfilm characters. But
they're still supposed to be toys. So our Classic versions of Mickey &
Minnie have the same sort of thickness & sturdiness to them that toys have.
So that they'll then be able to fit right in with all of the rest of the
characters that Avalanche Studios had previously designed for Disney Infinity."

And then there was the matter of coming up with just the
right pose for Classic Mickey & Minnie. Which — to hear Jeff tell the
story — involved input from a lot of Disney upper management.

"Everyone within the Company seemed to have an opinion
about how Mickey & Minnie should be posed. More to the point, if you Google
Mickey, you then discover that there are literally thousands of poses out there
for these two. Though — truth be told — a lot of those kind of play off the
way Mickey poses when he's being Disney's corporate symbol," Bunker said.
"But what I was most concerned about was that Mickey's pose had to work
with Minnie's pose. Because we were bringing the Classic versions of these
characters up into Disney Infinity 3.0 at the exact same time. And we wanted to
make sure — especially for those fans who like to put their Disney Infinity
figures on display — that Mickey's pose would then complement Minnie.

Which is why Jeff & the crew at Avalanche Studios
decided — when it came to Classic Mickey & Minnie's pose — that they
should go all the way back to the beginning. Which is why these two Disney icons
are sculpted in such a way that it almost seems as though you're witnessing the
very first time Mickey set eyes on Minnie.

"And what was really great about that was — as soon as
we began showing people within the Company this pose — everyone at Disney
quickly got on board with the idea. I mean, the Classic Mickey that we sculpted
for Disney Infinity 3.0 is clearly a very playful, spunky character. But at the
same time, he's obviously got eyes for Minnie," Bunker concluded. "So
in the end, we were able to come up with Classic versions of these characters
that will work well within the creative confines of Disney Infinity 3.0 but at
the same time please those Disney fans who just collect these figures because
they like the way the Disney Infinity characters look."

So now that this particular design project is over, does
Jeff regret that Mouse House upper management was so hands-on when it came to
making sure that the Classic versions of Mickey & Minnie were specifically
tailored to fit the look & style of gameplay found in Disney Infinity 3.0?

"To be blunt, we go through this every time we add a new character to the
game. The folks at Lucasfilm were just as hands-on when we were designing the
versions of Darth Vader and Yoda that will also soon be appearing in Disney
Infinity 3.0," Bunker laughed. "So in the end, if the character's
creators AND the fans are happy, then I'm happy."

This article was originally posted on the Huffington Post's Entertainment page on Tuesday, June 9, 2015