General

Mouse FACTory 6.0

Well, better late than never. Dale Ward’s back with even more stories from Disney history. This week, he brings us the tale of the Columbia, talks about the “Alice in Wonderland” dark ride, looks back Disneyland’s additions for 1959 as well as paying tribute to Cliff Edwards

Published

19 years ago

June 15, 2005

Jim Hill

June 14th

June 14, 1958 — The Columbia is christened at Disneyland : In spite of the fact that I have spent most of my life only miles from the ocean, I am not what you would call a seafaring man. My first ocean voyage was just last year on the Disney Wonder for a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas. And I found out that — thankfully — I am not prone to extreme seasickness.

Of course, if we had hit the same 30 foot swells on the way home in — say — a ship less than a hundred feet long, I don’t think I would have been able to keep a good meal down. I bring this up (excuse the pun) because the cruise gave me an even greater respect for the crews of old sailing ships like the Columbia.

In the early morning of Sept 30, 1787, the eighty-four-foot sloop — the “Columbia Rediviva” — left Boston Harbor on ger inaugural voyage. The strange last name of “Rediviva” means “revived.” “Columbia revived” pays homage to Christopher Columbus.

The purpose of this voyage was to barter inexpensive goods from Boston for pelts from the Indians of the Great Northwest. The pelts will be traded in Canton China for tea, silk, and spices; all lucrative items to sell to Bostonians. Columbia and her crew were the first to try such an expensive gamble. Which would then take nearly three years to pay off.

The sea passage to the Northwest coast is around Cape Horn, a trip of over twenty thousand miles. Soit’s a years trip just to Nootka Sound, a Spanish settlement on Vancouver Island off the coast of British Columbia. Where the Columbia then drops anchor for the winter.

Spring bartering around theNnorthwest brings over a thousand pelts. And — with their new cargo — Capt. Gray and the crew of the Columbia set sail for China via the Hawaiian islands.

The Columbia returned to Boston Harbor on August 9, 1790 as the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe. The good news was the trip opened commerce with China and the pelts netted $20,000. The bad news was that the money bought a cargo of tea that was damaged on the way home.

Since the trip had opened up trade, the investors of the Columbia sent Gray to do it all over again just six weeks later. On this second trip, while he’s in the Northwest trading for pelts, Capt. Gray discovers a river and names it the Columbia after his ship. A few years later, naming the new river helps America claim land up to Oregon and spawns the first push of pioneers out west.

The Columbia is — of course — the same Columbia that sails the Rivers of America at Disneyland today. Walt chose the first American ship to circle the globe as Frontierland’s sailing ship. And he wanted it as close to the original as his designers could muster. $300,000 later, he got his wish.

83 1/2 feet long and 24 feet wide, Disney’s Columbia is an accurate ten gun, full scale replica of the original. More importantly, it was the first three masted ship to be built in a hundred years.

What’s the main difference between the two ships? Disney’s hull is iron and built by the Todd Shipyards, the original was all wood construction.

Now — small differences aside — I want you to think about the scale of Disney’s ship. When you’re standing on the deck of the Columbia with hundreds of other tourists as some cast member points out the plastic deer along the riverbank, remember that a crew of somewhere between 15 and 30 absolutely insane individuals took a ship that size … And sailed it around world 220 years ago. That’s a courage I can’t even fathom.

June 14, 1958 — “Alice in Wonderland” opens in Fantasyland: “Alice” is an unusual ride for so many different reasons. It’s got the most unique outside theming of any Disney theme park attraction. It’s the only 2-story dark ride at Disneyland. It’s the only ride I know where you travel on the back of one of the characters from the film (Okay. Technically, you’re parking your tush where the caterpillar’s squishy innards should be. But work with me, people … ). More importantly, there’s only one Alice dark ride in all the MagicKingdoms around the world.

The ride design and layout are the work of Claude Coats, one of Disney’s best animation background painters. Walt personally asked Claude to help out with the opening of Disneyland. Coats wound up staying at WED for the rest of his career at Disney.

Claude helped design and paint all three of the opening day dark rides in Fantasyland. But “Alice in Wonderland” was the first ride where Coats was given full show design responsibility and he ran with it. Claude designed the ride from concept to completion, the giant flora and fauna outside, the two story ride building, even the caterpillar vehicle were his ideas.

And what great ideas they were. The leafy exterior of the ride building and the pout of your reluctant caterpillar / ride vehicle lets you know that this isn’t a normal ride. Lewis Carroll’s oddball characters were a great choice for the blacklight treatment and a lot had been learned by Claude and company about using this painting technique to its best effect. The 1958 interior of “Alice” felt like the book, looked like the movie and did it in less than 3 minutes.

June 14, 1959 –Dedication Ceremonies for the Matterhorn, the Monorail and the Submarine at Disneyland: What are the odds that *** Chaney will be at the reopening of the new Space Mountain at Disneyland?

No, I’m not trying to start a new rumor. I was just making a modern day comparison. It seems odd to think of the Vice-President, the second in command of the free world (in theory, anyway) coming to a theme park to dedicate a ride. But that’s what happened in 1959. Somewhere between having his car almost flipped over in Venezuela and a month before having the “Kitchen Debate” with Khrushchev, Richard Nixon, then Vice-president of the United States and his family came to open Disneyland’s newest attractions for the summer.

Can you imagine a vice president dedicating a ride today? I think I’d stay home and watch it on the news because I haven’t felt the need to be strip searched. And I think that’s the only way you’d be allowed into the park.

Eisner and Iger dream of such publicity and coverage. But on June 14, 1959 Nixon wasn’t just the Vice President at a “photo op.” Nixon came and opened the first three E-ticket rides as Walt’s friend.

And — if you were going to dedicate something at Disneyland — July of ’59 was a pretty good time to do it. The list of attractions that came on line at the Anaheim theme park that month were pretty impressive

The Matterhorn was the park’s first roller coaster and it was a marvel. Disney and Arrow Development from Northern California came up with a tubular track with urethane wheels. And the system changed roller coasters.

The new design meant a smoother ride and the ability to have more than one car on the track at the same time. More than one car meant more people could ride in an hour and more money could be made. It also meant faster lines and less wait time. But the real revolution was the potential for speed. The new technology meant later coasters would go really–really fast.

The Matterhorn was no speed demon. Its 18 mph was hardly a breakthrough. But the experience of dips and curves and riding in and out of a mountain (A mountain!), coupled with the spray of water at the end was a pretty cool rush. The addition of a ground breaking, state-of-the-art coaster meant Walt had now reinvented every old school ride in the amusement park arsenal and raised the bar on every try. Walt’s park was obviously more than a novelty.

By itself, the “Submarine Voyage” would have been an expensive undertaking. Add the Matterhorn and the Monorail and their engineering challenges and all three cost the Disney company a huge steaming pile of cash.

The statistics for the submarine ride was impressive: A 4,000,000 gallon lagoon, a watertight show building designed under the Autopia, $80,000 dollars were spent just on the custom submarines, all to create an 8-minute-long show. Did Walt really need to spend all that money? No. But that’s what people loved about Walt’s park whether they knew it or not.

In the 1950’s, Walt was doing well and he finally had some expendable income. His movies were earning a few bucks, the animated characters he had developed generated good revenue, his shows on television were well received and people were coming to Disneyland.

So what did he do with his new money? Did he buy expensive cars? Yes. Did he throw crazy parties? Yes. Did he build a big pool? Yeah, it was so big, he bought a couple subs to put in it and for 5 dollars American, you could experience every one of his wildly extravagant purchases.

Logic says the submarine ride should have been a dark ride. Walt could have shaved a few million off the construction of a lagoon and watertight show building and saved millions on maintenance, because a ride on land is much easier to maintain than an underwater one.

Would the ride have been as successful if it was a dark ride? Why wouldn’t it? If there’s no submarine ride to compare it to, you’re going to compare it to the dark rides. Do you need a submarine to enhance the underwater scene in Small World? Do you need a remote controlled helicopter to feel like you’re flying over London in Peter Pan? Logically you didn’t need a lagoon and iron subs. But Walt did it anyway.

Did traveling in water actually enhance the submarine experience? Oh, yeah. In fact, Walt had an early run of the ride with Naval officers aboard. And they wanted to know how deep they were diving. The experience fooled the experts. That had to be a defining and reaffirming moment.

The Monorail is another example of Walt’s wonderful extravagance. When it opened, it traveled in a circle above the park. That’s it. It didn’t go to the hotel and it didn’t have any other stops. A cool looking vehicle with an Imagineer-designed front cab. Smells kinda like a mid-life Ferrari to me.

But Walt spent millions on the Monorail instead of a Ferrari because — to him — a Monorail was cooler. He put a huge pool in Tomorrowland instead of in his backyard because the pool could be bigger at Disneyland. The park was Walt’s extravagance and he lavished it with every extra he could afford to. It was his expensive toy and his exotic car and his wild party all rolled into one.

Sure, it can be argued that Walt saw the transportation value of the Monorail and he wanted to say to cities all across the world: “Isn’t this great looking? Don’t you want one of these in your neighborhood?” But he could have made a documentary and run it on his TV show and made the point to a larger audience. But he didn’t.

And Walt didn’t really need to redesign the original boxy German Monorail cab. But he did.

And that’s what showed in 1959. Disneyland was full of bold, inventive and futuristic new rides packed with details so cool, it got the Vice-President of the United States and his family to come out to Anaheim and come take a ride.

Oh, if you’d like to know why Walt may have built three expensive rides at the same time, you can read Jim’s article here.

Birthdays

Cliff Edwards (June 14, 1895 – 1971): Cliff Edwards was born in Hannibal Missouri, the hometown of legendary author Mark Twain. He left home at 14 and began to perform in clubs, bars and saloons. Since he was on the move, Edwards decided to learn an instrument he could carry with him. Cliff chose the ukulele because it was the cheapest instrument in the store. A club owner who could never remember his name called him Ukulele Ike. And — for the next two decades — the name stuck

Since Cliff didn’t have any formal training, he did what came naturally. So Edwards began to play around with a form of scat singing popular with jazz singers. The main difference with Ukelele Ike’s approach was his nearly three octave singing range. Which gave Cliff some pretty impressive high notes. The combination of the Ukulele and Edwards’ jazzy style made Ukulele Ike a big hit in the 1920s. In fact, “Ike” made the ukulele so popular that publishers started adding ukulele chords to sheet music.

In the 1930s, Cliff had his own radio show and had made numerous movie appearances when Walt cast him as Jiminy Cricket. In 1940, “Pinocchio” was released and “When You Wish Upon a Star” won the Oscar for best song.

Sadly, Edwards life had a dark side. He drank heavily, gambled constantly and married easily. In spite of money and fame, Ukelele Ike declared bankruptcy 3 times in his life. In his later years, Cliff would hang around the Disney studios waiting for voice work.

While his declining years may have left him penniless, Edwards’ voice is anything but forgotten. “When You Wish Upon a Star” has become the Walt Disney Company’s unofficial theme song and Cliff can be heard inside the castles of Magic Kingdoms around the world every day.

General

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

Published

9 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

9 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

9 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