General

2005’s first Monday Mélange

Did you miss “Coming Home” ‘s big debut? Not to worry. JimHillMedia.com starts your new year off right with photos & a transcript of the teaser ad that serves as the kick-off of Disney’s 18-month long “Happiest Celebration on Earth.” Plus don’t miss this week’s trivia contest featuring great prizes from Just Plain Joe Coffee.

Published

20 years ago

January 2, 2005

Jim Hill

Did you see it?

That’s the question that’s been bouncing around the Internet this morning. Particularly among Disneyana fans.

As in: “Did you see the ‘Happiest Celebration on Earth’ ad that debuted this past Saturday morning as part of the Tournament of Roses’ television coverage? That TV commercial that cleverly mixed CG versions of classic Disney characters and live action settings to get people all excited about the Walt Disney Company’s upcoming 18-month long celebration of Disneyland’s 50th birthday?”

If not … Well, not to worry. Your friends at JHM have you covered. Thanks to the technical expertise of Jeffery Lange and Nancy Stadler, we’ve actually got some images from the ad as well as a full transcript of the commercial to share with you today.

First a little background info. This 60-second long commercial — entitled “Coming Home” — was actually created for Disney’s Theme Parks & Resorts division by the whiz kids over at Leo Burnett. This ad — which features a score by “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” ‘s composer, Alan Silvestri — is actually the first of the series. So look for other installments to get rolled out as we get closer to the official launch date of the “Happiest Celebration on Earth.” Which will be May 5, 2005.

WARNING!! There be spoilers ahead. If you don’t want to know how “Coming Home” plays out before you actually get to see this ad on television, then I suggest that you bail out of this story right now.

FADE IN …

The commercial starts with a live action shot high over Manhattan. As the Empire State building stands proudly in the background, a CG Dumbo swoops into the shoot. After smiling for the camera, the playful pachyderm flies off over the city.

Copyright 2005. Walt Disney Company

CUT TO … A palm-tree lined street in a quiet Florida suburb. A CG Goofy (Dressed in a red & white Hawaiian shirt with a bedroll strapped to his back) glances at his watch. He’s obviously waiting for someone.

CUT TO … CG versions of Iago and the Genie from “Aladdin” — riding atop a live action camel — cross the desert sands in Egypt. As they pass a pyramid, the parrot sputters.

IAGO: No! No! You should have turned right at the pyramid!

CUT TO … Laughing manically, a CG version of Stitch (In one of the wittier touches of this advertisement, the little blue Alien is dressed in the exact same outfit that the late Marlon Brando wore in 1953’s “The Wild Ones”) rides a motorcycle across Monument Valley.

CUT TO: … The Alaskan Wilderness. CG versions of Rutt & Tuke (You know? The two moose who talked like Doug & Bob McKenzie in Disney’s Fall 2003 release, “Brother Bear”?) struggle to swim across a beautiful mountain lake.

RUTT: Hey, we’re gonna miss the anniversary.

TUKE: Maybe we should dog-paddle, eh?

CUT TO: … The African desert. A CG version of Donald Duck drives a tour bus that’s packed with all those ballet-dancing hippos from “Fantasia.” As live action giraffes walk through the background of this shot, we see one hippo ballerina who’s on foot, who’s desperately trying to catch up with the bus.

WE CUT BACK TO … That quiet suburban street in Florida. Goofy’s ride has finally arrived. It’s a live action version of Herbie the Love Bug, driven by a CG version of Mickey Mouse. (And — if you look really close — you can see that Hewey, Dewey and Louie are sitting the car’s back seat.)

As Goofy tries to cram himself & his gear into Herbie’s front seat (There’s some great squash ‘n’ stretch here), Mickey asks:

MICKEY: Have you got everything, Goofy?

As his head pops out of the Love Bug’s sun roof, Goofy says:

GOOFY: Ready!

Copyright 2005. Walt Disney Company

With that, Mickey stomps on the gas and Herbie zooms off — out of the shot.

CUT TO … The lobby of the Paris Opera House. A CG Cinderella — in her beautiful blue ballgown — hurries down the steps, obviously rushing to get somewhere important.

WE CUT BACK TO … The African desert. Live action zebras cross the road, which prevent the CG tour bus from going forward. Through the bus’ windshield, we see Donald fuming:

DONALD: Come on! Move it!

Directly behind Donald, we see Ben Ali Gator (I.E. Hyacinth Hippo’s dance partner from the original “Fantasia”) slowly opening his jaws. As the alligator gets ready to bite the duck’s head off …

Copyright 2005. Walt Disney Company

… Donald suddenly turns and looks accusingly at Ben Ali Gator. Feigning innocence, the alligator quickly looks off in the other direction.

Copyright 2005. Walt Disney Company

CUT BACK TO … The Genie and Iago continue their journey across the burning sands. As their live action camel stumbles, the CG parrot temporarily loses his grip on the dromedary and squawks.

IAGO: Hold your horses! I almost fell off that time!

Copyright 2005. Walt Disney Company

CUT TO … Rutt & Tuke walking through the streetx of Manhattan. As live action New Yorkers get ready to cross at the corner of 57th & Broadway, Tuke turns to Rutt and says …

TUKE: Hey, this herd’s moving kind of slow, eh?

Copyright 2005. Walt Disney Company

CUT TO … Paris at night. With a beautiful lit-up Eiffel Tower off in the distance, Cinderella hurries along a wet cobblestone street. “Where’s the princess headed,?” you ask. Well, if you look beyond the live action limos in the foreground that are waiting at curbside, you can see a CG version of Cinderella’s pumpkin coach off in the background — waiting to pick the princess up.

CUT TO … Still on his motorcycle, Stitch pops a wheelie as he roars through a four way intersection in the middle of the desert. Seconds later, Mickey & Goofy (who — along with Donald’s nephews — are still riding in Herbie) come zooming up to this same intersection. The only problem is, Mickey’s having trouble following Goofy’s directions.

GOOFY: We’re almost there.Go left.

MICKEY: Right.

GOOFY: No, left is right.

CUT TO … The Golden Gate bridge. Still riding on the back of their live-action camel, Iago and the Genie find themselves at a toll gate. The parrot squawks down at the bridge’s toll-taker.

IAGO: No, I don’t have any quarters.

As if to back up Iago’s claim, the Genie reaches into his harem pants and turns his pockets inside out — revealing them to be empty.

CUT TO … Cinderella and her pumpkin coach, rolling down the live action Chans-Elisee. Though the real life Arc de Triomphe looms in the background, the animated princess has her head out of the pumpkin coach. She stares intently at something off in the distance.

CUT TO … Donald Duck and that tour bus full of hippos. Only now they’re driving along the top of the Great Wall of China. And — if you look closely — you can still see that one lone hippo ballerina. Still racing after the bus, trying to catch it.

An off-screen narrator (AKA “Frasier” star Kelsey Grammer) now chimes in:

NARRATOR: It’s our biggest celebration in 50 years.

CUT TO … Donald driving his tour bus, Mickey driving Herbie, Cinderella riding in her pumpkin coach, Genie, Dumbo, Rutt & Tuke have all arrived at their destination at the same time. They “Ooh” and “Aah” at something right off-camera.

NARRATOR: And everybody’s going to be there.

CUT TO … A live action boy in rural America. He runs through his own backyard as the CG Dumbo flies overhead.

NARRATOR: The only thing missing …

CUT TO … A close-up of the smiling boy as Dumbo flies off.

NARRATOR: … is you.

CUT TO … The CG version of Dumbo flies off to a brightly-lit castle in the distance.

CUT TO … Earth as it would be seen from deep off in space. As golden fireworks erupt above the northern hemisphere, it briefly appears as if the planet is sporting Mickey Mouse ears.

NARRATOR: Logo on to find about all the new attractions coming this year to the Happiest Celebration on Earth.

Below the earth in space hangs this web address: disneydestinations.com

CUT TO … Stitch still out in the desert, sitting on his motorcycle. Clearly depressed because he’s just been pulled over the highway patrol.

Copyright 2005. Walt Disney Company

FADE OUT …

That sounds like a pretty neat teaser ad, don’t you think? Witty, understated, with really great production values. It’s a commercial that successfully plays to the general public as well as the hardcore Disneyana fan.

(Of course, if you’re one of those “Seeing is believing” types … Well, you can just go take a look at this ad yourself by following this link over to disneydestinations.com and then going to the “Experience the Excitement” box that you’ll find on that page. Once there, just chose the “Long”or “Short” form of the TV commercial. And you should be good to go.)

Anyway … You wanna know the best part about “Coming Home” ? With the exception of that one castle off in the distance, you never actually see a theme park in the ad. This TV commercial truly is a teaser. It shows all of these Disney characters journeying from the four corners of the map to take part in some sort of significant event that’s about to occur at the Disney theme parks.

“But what sort of event?,” you query. “And inwhich Disney theme park will it happen?” Ah — but that’s the beauty of “Coming Home.” This commercial is specifically vague. While the off-screen narrator says things like “It’s our biggest celebration in 50 years,” Disneyland’s 50th anniversary (I.E. The event that the Walt Disney Company is really celebrating here) is never actually mentioned.

“Why for?,” you query. Because were this ad to emphasize the Anaheim resort, that’s where you’d undoubtedly want to go to attend this once-in-a-lifetime event. But that’s NOT what the Walt Disney Company wants you to do, folks. The Mouse wants to spread the wealth around, so to speak.

That’s why Disney is describing “The Happiest Celebration on Earth” as ” … a salute by all 11 Disney theme parks around the world (including Hong Kong Disneyland) to the 50th Anniversary of Disneyland.” With the idea being that you don’t actually have to go to Anaheim to get in on this 18-month long festivities.

This might explain why Jay Rasulo — president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts — has been telling reporters that:

“I think of Disneyland not just as a wonderful physical space, but also as a state-of-mind … Now as we near the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland in China, we have the Disneyland concept all over the world, creating a great opportunity for us to produce a truly global celebration that conveys the international appeal and emotional equity of the Disneyland concept to connect with our guests.”

“The Disneyland concept”?! I’m not exactly sure how I feel about this, folks. Me personally, I guess I would have actually preferred it if the Walt Disney Company had kept Disneyland’s 50th anniversary celebration as a Southern California specific event. So that the “Happiest Place on Earth” would have gotten all the attention & acclaim that the world’s first theme park so richly deserves.

But — at the same time — I recognize that the Disney Corporation is a business. More importantly, that the Mouse has other resorts (I.E. Walt Disney World & Disneyland Paris) that could really use an influx of tourists right about now. So if the “Happiest Homecoming” helps put heads in beds in all those empty hotel rooms at Lake Buena Vista and Marne La Vallee … Well, who am I bitch & moan?

Of course, some of you animation fans out there may still bitch & moan once you realize the “Coming Home” commercial actually offers you a brief glimpse into Disney’s future. How so? Well, how many of you remember “Dumbo II,” that direct-to-video sequel to Disney’s 1941 animated classic that was supposedly cancelled because the studio (which really wanted this video premiere project to be done in CG) could never come up with a computer-animated flying pachyderm that everybody at WDFA could live with.

Well, based on how often that CG Dumbo appears in the “Coming Home” ad, this is clearly no longer a concern of the Walt Disney Company. So I’m guessing that we can expect to see a CG follow-up to this traditionally animated classic sometime over the next two or three years.

Likewise that computer-animated Rutt & Tuke that pop up so prominently in this commercial … SCTV vets Rick Moranis & Dave Thomas have been recording dialogue for “Brother Bear II” for the better part of a year now. And my understanding is that Disney is currently leaning toward to doing this direct-to-video sequel as a CG product. (Though I should also note here that “Brother Bear II” is supposed to be a film that’s very much in the spirit of “The Lion King 1 1/2.” As in: This video premiere to Disney’s Fall 2003 release will basically star Rutt & Tuke. Kenai & Koda will make a token appearance in the picture, but the moose are really the main stars of this still-in-production film.)

Anyway … In honor of “Coming Home” and all of this TV commercial’s cleverly stylized CG versions of classic Disney characters, I’ve got a trivia question for all your JHM readers out there.

QUESTION: Who was the first Disney character to be rendered in CG? And for what film/project was this classic character computer animated?

BONUS QUESTION: What’s so ironic about the company that Disney hired to do the computer animation for this film/project?

The first three JHM readers who correctly answer this question win a pound of Just Plain Joe Coffee. The first person to correctly answer both this week’s trivia question AS WELL AS the bonus question win a pound of coffee plus a limited edition “Just Plain Joe Coffee” t-shirt.

Good luck, everyone. And have a happy Monday!

jrh

P.S.

I don’t know how many of you have actually already read Wade Sampson’s great article from last Friday? You know, the one about the history of the Walt Disney Company’s participation in the Tournament of Roses Parade?

Well, due to some technical difficulties, a few images that Wade had wanted us to use to illustrate that article (including a picture of the Disneyland promotional float from the 1955 Tournament of Roses parade as well as Walt’s appearance as Grand Marshall in the 1966 parade) weren’t actually able to be inserted into that story ’til just this morning.

So — as an extra added incentive to get JHM readers to go back & check out Sampson’s “Disney Goes to the Rose Parade” article again– we’ve added those images as well as a bonus photo. A picture of the Walt Disney Company’s entry in the 2005 Tournament of Roses parade. You know, that snazzy new purple-and-gold version of Sleeping Beauty Castle?

So please go take a peek at that piece that now includes some very pretty pictures, okay?

j

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

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