General

“The Black Cauldron” : What went wrong

Jim Hill takes a look back at the production history of this animated feature, paying particularly close attention to the role Don Bluth may have played in sending this once promising project off track

Published

19 years ago

February 9, 2006

Jim Hill

Perhaps it was Ron Clements (I.E. The co-director of such Disney classics as “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin“) who put it best. When he asked about “The Black Cauldron,” Ron reportedly replied:

“That film was supposed to be our ‘Snow White.’ But we just weren’t ready for it.”

“Who’s this ‘we’ that Clements is talking about?,” you ask. The then-young turks who had invaded Walt Disney Studios back in the mid-1970s. That next generation of artists & animators who were supposed to take over for the “Nine Old Men” and then lead Disney Feature Animation into a bold new era.

Copyright Walt Disney Productions

Mind you, this extremely talented group would eventually take WDFA to amazing new heights, churning out box office smashes like “Beauty & the Beast” and “The Lion King.” But that would happen in the early 1990s, when the Walt Disney Company was being run by Michael Eisner and the corporation was then willing to take a few risks.

Back in the mid-1970s, the studio side of Walt Disney Productions was being run by Ron Miller. And Miller … He didn’t really like to take risks. Particularly when it came to Disney Feature Animation and his pet project, “The Black Cauldron.”

Now, you have to understand that — almost from the moment that Walt Disney Productions first acquired the rights to “The Prydain Chronicles” back in 1971 — Ron thought that really great things would come from this project. That a truly fine film could be carved out of Lloyd Alexander’s five book series. The sort of epic adventure that could vault Walt Disney Studios back to the very top of the Hollywood food chain.

And Miller’s enthusiasm for “The Prydain Chronicles” project … It was evidently contagious. Take — for example — this quote from Don Bluth. Who — back in 1976, anyway — was thought to be the future of Disney Feature Animation. One of the talented young artists who’d been entrusted to keep the traditions of “The Nine Old Men” alive.

Anyway, when asked by journalist John Culhane about what projects Disney Studios then had in the works that really excited Don, Bluth replied:

“Right now, enthusiasm for a story called ‘The Black Cauldron’ is boiling through the studio, and we hope that the new generation can touch people with that story in ways that Walt never dreamed of.”

The only problem was … Even though Miller was obviously excited about all of the possibilities involved with the “Prydain Chronicles” project … Back in the mid-1970s, Ron didn’t really think that the studio’s young turks were actually up to the challenge of “The Black Cauldron.” At least not yet anyway.

Copyright Walt Disney Productions

To explain: Veteran studio story man Mel Shaw had created this truly amazing series of conceptual sketches (some of which you’ll see being used as illustrations for this article) for the proposed “Prydain Chronicles” project. And these images that Shaw had created … They were full of potential, loaded with mood & drama. More importantly, these pastel sketches suggested a film that (To Miller’s way of thinking, anyway) was still well beyond the abilities of Disney’s next generation of animators.

Which was why Ron decided to put off production of “The Black Cauldron” for a few years. Prefering to have WDFA’s newest artists & animators initially hone their skills by working on several less ambitious projects first (I.E. “Pete’s Dragon,” “The Small One,” “The Fox and the Hound” & “Mickey’s Christmas Carol“) before they finally tackled the “Prydain Chronicles” project.

Miller reportedly thought that his “You have to walk before you can run” approach was the most prudent course to returning Disney Feature Animation to its former greatness. Of course, what Ron hadn’t counted on that certain members of the WDFA staff already thought that they were very capable of running. Mr. Bluth, to be specific

Don had already made it very apparent (in interviews that he’d given the press as one of Disney’s rising young stars in the mid-1970s) that he thought that WDFA could do better. Lots lots better. Take — for example — this excerpt from a chat that Bluth had with John Culhane:

“See, we haven’t been telling better stories than ‘Snow White,’ and we should be. We’re doing the same thing over and over again, but we’re not doing it any better.”

To Don’s way of thinking, waiting a few years before tackling the challenge of “The Black Cauldron” just didn’t make any sense. He and his loyal team of animators were ready to tackle an ambitious project now. They didn’t want to wait ’til Ron Miller thought that it was finally time for them to try their artistic wings.

Which is why — after hours — Bluth and his crew began working on their own project. A traditionally animated featurette called “Banjo the Woodpile Cat.” Which — Don thought — would provide all the challenges that Disney’s animators weren’t then finding at work.

Courtesy of Google Images

Of course, Ron eventually found out about “Banjo.” And — to be honest — the studio head wasn’t pleased. Miller supposedly saw this after-hours project as a distraction. More importantly, he reportedly thought that the artists who had been working on this independent featurette were being somewhat disloyal. That the animators who were employed by Walt Disney Productions should only work on official Disney-sanctioned projects.

Well, Don … He didn’t see things that way. Which is why — when Aurora Productions (I.E. A movie production company that was founded by a trio of former Disney execs) came along in 1979 and offered Bluth all the financing he needed to produce his own animated feature — Don took the money and exited the Mouse House.

Mind you, when Bluth left Disney, he didn’t go alone. He took his good friends & WDFA colleagues, Gary Goldman & John Pomeroy , with him. And the very next day, 11 other members of Disney’s still-in-the-process-of-rebuilding Feature Animation staff walked out the doors to join Don over at Aurora.

Now you have to understand that this mass exodus of WDFA personnel (To put this exit in context: Disney Feature Animation’s staff was so small at this point in the studio’s history that — when those 14 people walked off the lot — that basically meant that a quarter of Disney’s newly trained animation staff had disappeared overnight) had a truly devastating effect on this side of the studio. For starters, the release of “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” had to be pushed back a year.

And as for “The Black Cauldron” … To be honest, that picture never really recovered. Joe Hale, a longtime layout artist at Disney Studios, was given a battlefield promotion by Miller and made producer of this still-in-development project in early 1980. And Hale immediately set to work, trying to get “Cauldron” ready for production. He personally rewrote the film’s script, capsulizing Alexander’s sprawling story and making some rather significant changes to the narrative.

Take — for example — what Mr. Hale did with the Horned King. In the book version of “The Prydain Chronicles,” the Horned King is actually a relatively minor one. He’s actually killed off in the first book in the series, “The Book of Three.”

Copyright Walt Disney Productions

Well, in spite of that, Joe promoted the Horned King. Making him the main villain of “The Black Cauldron” because … Well, let’s Mr. Hale explain:

“We thought (that the Horned King) would make a good animation character mainly because he had horns sticking out of his head.”

Er .. um …

Under Joe’s guidance, “The Black Cauldron” slowly began to drift. What had once been trumpeted in Disney’s annual reports as being ” … a classical fairytale combining the most exciting elements of ‘Snow White’ and ‘Fantasia’ ” and a film that one day ” … may take (its) place besides the great animated features,” now became a repository for gimmicks. EX: Since Ron Miller wanted “The Black Cauldron” to be seen as a big important picture, the decision was made that this animated feature should be then shot in 70MM. Which was the first time that Disney had used 70MM for an animated feature since “Sleeping Beauty.”

Actually, the most audacious gimmick that was proposed for use in “The Black Cauldron” never actually made it beyond the test phase. You see, for a time during this film’s production, Disney’s animators were in league with the Imagineers to create the first hologram that could be projected in a conventional movie theater.

Copyright Walt Disney Productions

The idea here was that — at the moment in this motion picture where the very first “Cauldron-born” emerged from this cursed kettle — the holographic projection system would suddenly click on. And there on the big screen, this seemingly undead spirit would emerge in three dimensions and appear to loom out over the audience for a moment.

That sounds like a truly cool effect, don’t you think? Well, I’m told that those who actually saw the test version of the holographic “Cauldron-born” emerging from the Black Cauldron were impressed. They thought this effect would truly wow audiences, turning Disney’s newest animated feature into a “must see” movie for film fans.

The only problem was … The projected cost of creating a holographic projection system that then could be used in conventional theaters was astronomical. Given that — after its years & years of development — “The Black Cauldron” was already severely over-budget (“How severely over-budget?,” you query. When this film was finally released in July of 1985, Disney execs admitted to spending $25 million to produce this full length animated feature. Though some company insiders would tell you that the movie’s actual final production costs were much closer to $40 million). So adding a holographic projection system to the mix just to make this motion picture seem more special than it actually was was out of the question.

Copyright Walt Disney Productions

And — in the end — all that extra effort that Ron Miller had put in, in order to make sure that “The Black Cauldron” became a memorable motion picture, didn’t really matter anyway. For — by the time that this Joe Hale production finally reached the big screen — a new regime was then in power at Disney Studios. Ron Miller was out & Michael Eisner, Frank Wells and Jeffrey Katzenberg were in.

And — to be honest — these three newly arrived execs just didn’t get “The Black Cauldron.” They couldn’t understand why Walt Disney Productions — a company that had, for decades now, produced the finest in family entertainment — would go out of its way to create an animated feature that had to be rated PG.

Speaking of which … When Jeffrey Katzenberg finally got to see a nearly finished version of the film and saw the sequence where one of the “Cauldron-Born” brutally slaughtered one of the Horned King’s cronies (I.E. A human who got too close to the Black Cauldron) … Well, Katzenberg quickly got out his scissors and started cutting the picture. As the brand-new head of Disney Studios tried to change the deliberately dark “Black Cauldron” into a much more family-friendly film.

Now let me stress here that a lot of very talented people worked incredibly hard on this Walt Disney Productions release. Were you to look at “The Black Cauldron” ‘s credits today, you’d see that a veritable “Who’s Who” of modern animation masters worked on this motion picture.

Don’t believe me? Then let’s take a look at a few members of this film’s production team:

Production Manager — Don Hahn

Animators — Andreas Deja, Hendel Butoy, Dale Baer, Ron Husband, Shawn Keller, Mike Gabriel,
Barry Temple, Ruben Aquino, Ruben Procopio, George Scribner, Mark Henn & David Pacheo

Effects Animators — Barry Cook & Mark Dindal

Additional Animation — Kathy Zielinski & Maurice Hunt

Additional Story Contributions — Steve Hullet, John Musker & Ron Clements

Assistant Animators — Jane Baer & David Pruiksma

Inbetween Artists — Kelly Asbury & Robert Minkoff

Effects Inbetween Artist — Gary Trousdale

Anyway … In spite of the heroic effort that all these talented people put in, this film was released to theaters in North America and only earned $21 million. Which didn’t even come close to covering “The Black Cauldron” ‘s production costs. And given the bad taste that this animated feature had left in the mouths of Disney’s new management team, I guess it’s easy to understand why this Joe Hale production then got locked away in the Disney vault for over 13 years.

Unlike most Disney animated features, “The Black Cauldron” was never re-released to theaters. It was only begrudgedly released on VHS in August of 1998 after thousands of animation fans repeatedly wrote to the Walt Disney Company and asked that this movie finally be made available for purchase in the home video format.

Yes, in spite of this film’s prolonged production and the somewhat flawed final product, “The Black Cauldron” still does have its fans. Were you to hammer on this link or this link or this link … You’d see what I mean.

But me … I can’t help but wonder if things would have turned out differently — not only for “The Black Cauldron,” but for the entire Walt Disney Company — if Ron Miller … Well, rather than holding WDFA’s set of then-young turks back in the mid-1970s, if Ron Miller had just turned these guys loose on the Lloyd Alexander books. Telling them “Look, I know that this ‘Prydian Chronicles’ project will be really be a challenge for you guys. But let’s give this a shot anyway. Let’s try and make the best possible motion picture that we can.”

If Ron Miller had just done that, maybe Don Bluth wouldn’t have left Walt Disney Productions in September of 1979, taking a quarter of WDFA’s staff with him … And if that seismic event hadn’t occurred, we’d probably be talking about a very different version of “The Black Cauldron” right now. Or — for that matter — a very different history of Disney’s Feature Animation department.

Anyway … That’s my somewhat protracted take on what went wrong with the production of Disney’s “The Black Cauldron.” Do you folks have any thoughts about this somewhat flawed animated feature? An FYI for all you “Black Cauldron” fans out there!

The finished roughs for Taran, Eilonwy and Fflewddur Fflam that were used to illustrate today’s article are currently up for bid over on eBay. So if you’d like something extra special to add to your “Black Cauldron” collection, I suggest that you go check these drawings out ASAP.

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