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5 days and counting: The Walt Disney Feature Animation-Florida countdown clock ticks on

In a bit of a change of pace, Jim allows an unnamed Disney Feature Animation exec to tell his side of the story. How the proposed closure of the Disney-MGM animation operation is an unfortunate but necessary step if WDFA is to survive beyond the next few years.

Published

20 years ago

on

You know, there are always two sides to every story.

As is obvious by the articles that I’ve run at JimHillMedia.com over the past few days, my sympathies clearly lie with the animators and technicians whose jobs may be going away next week. IF executives from the Walt Disney Company actually go forward with their plan to shut WDFA’s Central Florida production unit.

But — that said — I’m still up for hearing the other side of the story. Having a Disney exec try and explain the corporation’s rationale for shutting down an animation studio that has produced three hits films in a row (I.E. “Mulan,” “Lilo and Stitch” and “Brother Bear”). Amazingly enough, one such executive has come forward. And — provided that I would do what I could to try and to mask his identity — he would attempt to explain why the Walt Disney Company feels that, given what’s going on with animated films today, that it just has no choice but to shut down WDFA-F.

Mind you, I don’t actually agree with everything that this Feature Animation insider has to say. But I still think that it makes for some compelling reading. His e-mail reads:

Jim:

I am one of those “alleged creative VPs” that you have been talking about in your “WDFAF Countdown” articles this week. And I’m writing today to take exception to some of the things that you’ve been saying in this series.

Okay, I’ll admit that — over the past few years — there have been some pretty questionable decisions made by the “useless suits” (as you call us) back here in Burbank. But a lot of those bad calls (I.E. Putting films into the production pipeline before all the story issues had been settled) were made under Disney Feature Animation’s previous management team. Now that Peter Schneider and Tom Schumacher have both moved on, WDFA is still in the process of regrouping. Picking up the pieces, if you will.

Because — whether we like to admit it or not — we know that the Mouse Factory is broken right now. That — for some reason — Disney Feature Animation has lost the ability to create films that can really connect with a mass audience. Oh, sure. Our films still do well with families and animation fans. And these titles tend to sell well whenever Buena Vista Home Entertainment puts them out on video and DVD. But where are the teens, the young couples on dates that used to turn out in droves for Disney animated features like “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King” and “Aladdin”? These people still turn out in record numbers for Pixar pictures … But not for Disney’s animated features anymore. At least not any of our recent releases.

As you might expect, we’ve been doing a lot of market research, running a lot of surveys, trying to get to the bottom of WDFA’s disappearing audience problem. And you know what we’ve found, Jim? There’s just too much Disney animated product out there nowadays. We’ve glutted our own market.

I mean, look at the period from November 1st, 2003 to April 2nd, 2004. On the film side of the house, we had “Brother Bear” debut in theaters back on November 1st. Next week, the “Teacher’s Pet” movie pops up in theaters nationwide. And then — On April 2nd — “Home on the Range” hits the big screen. Meanwhile — over on the Buena Vista Home Entertainment side of things — we’ve just spent the four months promoting the hell out of “Finding Nemo” and “The Lion King.” This month, we’re hyping that “Sleeping Beauty,” “Fantasia” and “Fantasia 2000” are all supposedly going back into the vault at the end of January, never to seen again. Come February, BVHE will be promoting “Lion King 1 1/2.” Then in March, our big push will be “Brother Bear” ‘s release on home video and DVD.

You see what I’m saying, Jim. That’s an awful lot of product. So I guess you can understand why consumers don’t consider Disney animated films to be all that special anymore. Meanwhile — over at Pixar — what are they doing? Just one film a year. Which is why their stuff still seems special to the public. Which is why going out to see a new Pixar picture still seems like an event to most folks. Which is why people still rush out to see these films while they’re up on the big screen. Rather than waiting ’til these Pixar movies becomes available on home video and DVD.

Sadly, the exact opposite is what’s happening with Disney’s new animated features. Because so many consumers are now hip to the pattern (I.E. That — four to six months after a new Disney movie appears in theaters — that this same film will be available for purchase in the home video and DVD format), they no longer feel like they have to rush out to theaters to catch the latest WDFA release. (That’s what Disney’s own market survey work is telling us what happened with “Brother Bear,” Jim. Almost 35% of our North American target audience opted out of seeing that movie while it was in theaters. These consumers preferred to wait ’til “Brother Bear” was available on home video and DVD before finally checking out that flick. )

So you see, Jim, Disney — without actually ever intending to — has totally glutted its own market. We have diluted the Disney animation brand so much over the past few years that consumers can no longer differentiate between our high price theatrical releases and our low cost home premiere product. Which is why (we think) the grosses for WDFA’s films have been tracking steadily downward for the past five years.

Which is why Disney Feature Animation is currently in the middle of a rebuilding process, Jim. Step 1 in this plan is bringing all of the company’s top animation talent back to Burbank. Getting all of our best animators and story people back together under one roof. Recreating what Disney Feature Animation was like back in the late 1980s, when everybody was working on the very same movie. When we didn’t divide our talent between separate and competing projects, but all worked together to make the best possible pictures.

Yes, making a move like this comes with a pretty hefty price tag. It meant letting go of all of those great artists who worked at the Parisian studio, all those animators who did such nice work on “The Goofy Movie,” “Hunchback “and “Tarzan.” And it also means cutting loose our Feature Animation — Florida unit (Which — arguably — has been WDFA’s most consistent production unit. Year after year, these guys have turned out top quality work. I mean, how can you complain about the string of pictures that these folks churned out. “Mulan,” “Lilo and Stitch,” “Brother Bear.” Those titles will be making millions for the Mouse for decades yet to come.

But we had to do it, Jim. We really had no choice. WDFA is fighting for its life right now. This is a triage situation, Hill. And — given that the bulk of the Walt Disney Company’s animation production facilities are based in Burbank — it just made sense (in the long run) that, if this division of the Disney corporation was going to make one last stab at survival, that it would be have to be done out here in Southern California. Where — after all — Disney Feature Animation got its start back in the 1930s.

Please be aware, Jim, that this was NOT a casual decision. Something that we took lightly. In fact, for quite a while, there was an alternate scenario we were actively thinking about. Which involved shutting Burbank’s Feature Animation unit down and shifting the company’s entire animation operation down to Orlando. Where — given that it cost us a third less to produce animated films down there as it does to make them out here in Southern California — made sense. At least from a financial point of view. But then — when we began weighing what the possible public relations ramifications might be if the Walt Disney Company did something like that — shutting down WDFA-F instead really did seem to be the smarter choice.

Look, I know that some very talented people in Florida are losing jobs that they love, Jim. And — while I know that no one is going to believe this when I say it — but there are people here in the executive branch at Disney Feature Animation who actually do feel badly about this. If it’s any consolation, our arm of WDFA has also had to take a number of hits. We’ve lost a lot of people too, had our salaries cut. So it’s not as if the WDFAF crew is the only group that’s feeling the effects of all these changes.

You have to keep in mind that our Number No. 1 goal right now, Jim, is to save Disney Feature Animation. Eisner’s told us that we have to turn this division of the Walt Disney Company back into the profit center that it was back in the early 1990s or Disney’s going to start out-sourcing stuff. That’s what “Valiant” actually is, Hill. A test run for the WDFA out-sourcing concept. Right now, Disney’s only slated to release this Vanguard Animation picture in North America. But if this U.K. based CG production proves to be a big enough hit, it soon won’t be just the guys in Orlando who’ll be out of work. It’ll be every single person at Disney Feature Animation — from us “useless suits” (as you like to call us, Jim) right on down to the guy who guards the door at the Sorcerer Mickey building.

Anyway, I just thought that you and your readers would to know that there really is another side to this story. Yes, it’s unfortunate that Disney Feature Animation seems to have lost its way over the past few years. Yes, it’s sad that all those talented animators and technicians in Paris and Orlando have had to lose their jobs. But — right now — it’s that we can do to keep this once proud division of the Walt Disney Company alive.

It may not look like it from the outside, but there are really some of us “pinheaded” Disney executives who actually care about the traditions of great story telling at Walt Disney Studios. We aren’t shutting down entire divisions of Disney Feature Animation just because it amuses us or just because we enjoy firing people. In fact, most of us hate having to tell friends and co-workers that we’ve worked with for years that jobs that they love are going away. But — when you’re trying to save a sinking ship — you do whatever you have to. Even if you don’t like what you’re doing.

Anyway, thanks for allowing me to vent, Jim. Here’s hoping that you — and your readers — have open-enough minds so that you can possibly see the other side of the equation here.

An “empty-headed executive”

Again, I don’t exactly buy everything that this Disney Feature Animation vet was trying to sell. But — even so — I think that he brings up some very interesting points.

Your thoughts?

Related Topics:

Jim Hill is an entertainment writer who has specialized in covering The Walt Disney Company for nearly 40 years now. Over that time, he has interviewed hundreds of animators, actors, and Imagineers -- many of whom have shared behind-the-scenes stories with Mr. Hill about how the Mouse House really works. In addition to the 4000+ articles Jim has written for the Web, he also co-hosts a trio of popular podcasts: “Disney Dish with Len Testa,” “Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor” and “Marvel US Disney with Aaron Adams.” Mr. Hill makes his home in Southern New Hampshire with his lovely wife Nancy and two obnoxious cats, Ginger & Betty.

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General

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

Published

8 years ago

on

June 23, 2015

By

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


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. 

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

Published

8 years ago

on

June 10, 2015

By

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?

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General

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

Published

8 years ago

on

June 9, 2015

By

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.


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc.
All rights reserved

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.


Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights
reserved

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.


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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.


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc.
All rights reserved

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.' "


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

"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.


Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

"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.


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

"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.


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

"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.


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

"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?


Copyright Lucasfilm / Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

"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

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