General

Disney Deja View: Sorting out the sequels IV

JHM guest columnist Dan Weckerly continues his multi-part series on the various film series that Walt Disney Studios has produced over the years.

Published

19 years ago

October 31, 2005

Jim Hill

The Disney Studio didn’t just self-cannibalize its live action films across the years. The animated classics were often redone, extended, rethought, and revamped.

Mssrs Stokowski and Levine

Walt’s grand theatrical experience “Fantasia” (1940) was conceived as a work-in-progress, meaning that as a concert feature, it would be reissued periodically with new segments inserted and others retired. But, as we all know, that never happened, and the eight pieces presented by Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra (Bach, Tchaikovsky, Dukas, Stravinsky, Beethoven, Ponchielli, Mussorgsky, and Schubert) remained in place, as the film hit screens again and again over the years.

The audio half the film, however, was “remade” in 1982, when the studio decided to issue a true stereo version that could benefit from the pure sound of digital recording technology. Veteran conductor/arranger Irwin Kostal rerecorded the music, using a pick-up orchestra (to much controversy). It was a formidable task: With the animation already in place, the timing of the music had to be exact, rather than the usual process of the other way ’round. Kostal also changed arrangements for “Night on Bald Mountain,” opting for the wilder Mussorgsky orchestration rather than the somewhat-more-tame Rimsky-Korsakov version used in 1940. Also, Deems Taylor’s narration was replaced by Hugh Douglas. Purists cried foul, and when “Fantasia” was re-re-released for its 50th Anniversary in 1990, the original tracks (cleaned) were restored, along with Taylor’s commentary.

But Walt’s original notion of a rotation of musical selections inspired the studio to release “Fantasia 2000.” There are eight segments again (Beethoven, Respighi, Gershwin, Shostakovich, Saint-Saens, Dukas from the original, Elgar, and Stravinski), but James Levine and the Chicago Symphony replace the 1940 musicians. Narration duties are split by popular Disney contract players of the time, notably Steve Martin, Bette Midler, and Angela Lansbury. Most exciting (Walt would have loved it!), “F2000” was released in IMAX format, meaning the full power of the marriage between image and sound could be unleashed.

Fancy Footwear

Disney animation bounced back from post-war malaise with “Cinderella” (1950), a then-$2.9 million animated version of the Charles Perrault story. “Cinderella,” with its reliance on magic and fantasy, was a perfect fit for Disney and his imaginative artists. The story was fleshed out with peripheral characters that also provided comic relief.

Apparently, though, Happily Ever After doesn’t necessarily mean End of Story. “Cinderella II: Dreams Come True” (2002), a direct-to-video release, is really three stories combined: Cinderella has difficulties in her early days in the palace, Mouse Jaq yearns to become a human, and love finds Stepsister Anastasia, who was so misunderstood all this time. Who knew?

“Cindy II” is a sad affair; the animations are flat and without a hint of the original’s depth, artistic vision, or care. The backgrounds are bland. The writing is trite. Even the vocal work sounds phoned-in. How the mighty hath fallen.

Never Grew Up

The freedom of animation also enabled Disney to bring “Peter Pan” to the screen in a way not possible by any of its prior iterations. “Pan” represents a seminal chapter in young Walt’s life, and in watching the 1953 version — particularly where the flying Pan (Bobby Driscoll) soars above London and the clouds part, revealing a dizzying point-of-view shot — the feeling emerges that he has finally achieved a deep-seated dream.

That whatever-happened-to question was raised with the Pan crew in 2002, producing the answer in “Return to

Never Land.” Wendy has grown up and married and now has a daughter, Jane. To escape the drear of the Blitz in London, Jane dutifully listens to her mother’s tails of fairies and treasure, but is unbelieving. Her doubts remain until Hook and company kidnap her in an effort to get Peter to reveal the location of hidden treasure.

The vocal cast are all sound-alikes (some better than others) for the talents of Hans Conried, Bill Thompson, and company. They try hard, but there’s only so far that can be gotten in imitation of masters. Further, there is little of the wit and style of the original film. Oh to have even one moment in “Return to Never Land” that even approaches distantly the genius behind the 1953 scene in which Pan and Hook face off in the cavern holding Princess Tiger Lily.

He’s a Tramp… er, Scamp!

“Lady and the Tramp” (1955) stands as one of the Studio’s most consistently heart-warming and entertaining features. It’s the tale of a middle-class cocker spaniel in love with a cross-the-tracks mutt. She doesn’t always appreciate his blue (dog) collar ways, but when the chips are down, she knows she can count on him.

The original ends with Lady and Tramp having a litter, and in 2001, one of those pups, Scamp, got his own story in “Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure.”

Scamp is more like his father than his mother and wishes for the care-free leash-less life. He takes off on his own and encounters the Junkyard Dogs. He also meets Angel, a female dog, with whom he recreates many of the dating episodes of his parents (notably, a spaghetti and meatball meal).

While not as awful as other direct-to-video offerings, “Scamp’s Adventure” does suffer from some flat animation and rather obvious scripting. Also severely lacking is the film’s score — an inestimable asset of the 1955 edition. “Welcome” sets a nice Victorian tone, but a number of the other songs forget their time period and setting. And nothing is as memorable as the original’s “Siamese Cat Song” or “Bella Notte.”

A Pooh or Two

The books of A.A. Milne were brought to the screen by Disney in 1966 with the short “Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree” (released with “The Ugly Dachshund”). With narration by Sebastian Cabot and vocalizations from Disney vet Sterling Holloway, the look and feel of the film was very much in style with the original illustrations by Ernest H. Shepherd.

The score by the Sherman Brothers (“Mary Poppins”) brings a true charm to this story of a bear of little brain who gets stuck in Rabbit’s hole after gorging on honey. The Shermans were instrumental in getting Pooh to the screen, consulting for hours while working on Poppins with designer Tony Walton (Julie Andrews’ then-husband), who helped them get a feel for these classic British characters and the story.

Once they had it right, it made sense to continue; therefore, “Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day” came along in 1968, bounding ahead with a new Milne character, Tigger. Tigger got more of his own story with “Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, Too!” in 1974.

The shorts were combined in 1977, with some bridging animation and reshuffled Sebastian Cabot narration, as “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.”
In 1984, Disney tried Pooh again — despite the loss of much of the original vocal cast — with “Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore.” It was released with a “Sword in the Stone” reissue.

From 1988 to 1991, The Hundred Acre Woods denizens were on the small screen in “The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.” It shuffled around from The Disney Channel to ABC for a while, but it remained very popular.

A number of seasonal specials and direct-to-video offerings marched out of Christopher Robin’s toy box and into stores over the next handful of years. But in 2000, Disney got Pooh and company back into theaters with “The Tigger Movie.” Thankfully, John Fiedler, from the 1966 cast, was still in good enough health to play the put-upon Piglet, but Paul Winchell’s pipes were insufficient, leaving him to say TTFN to the film franchise. He did, however, return for Tigger’s voice for the WDW dark-ride attraction. And the Shermans were recalled to the Studio (first time since 1971’s “Bedknobs and Broomsticks”) to add more of their signature tunes, including extra verses to the infectious “The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers.”

More big-screen shenanigans with the Hundred Acre Woods gang came in 2003, with “Piglet’s Big Movie.” Again, Fiedler was on hand to provide a trademark stutter to the li’l porker, a job he held for the last time with “Pooh’s Heffalump Movie” (2005), having passed away in June 2005.

The DTV arm of the Pooh franchise has been almost too prodigious to catalog, as episodes of the TV show were repackaged, reheated, and re-served. “Pooh’s Grand Adventure” in 1997 and “Winnie the Pooh and Springtime for Roo” in 2004 are typical examples.

Wanna Be Like Them?

“The Jungle Book” (1967), the last animated feature to bear Walt’s personal imprimatur, uses only a smattering of Kipling but makes for an enjoyable 78 minutes. The cast — Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, George Saunders, and Sterling Holloway in particular — go a long way toward making the feature captivating.

The jungle came alive for real in the 1994 live-action remake: “Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book.” Mowgli (Jason Scott Lee) is raised by wolves, exits the jungle for civilization, falls in love with a girl, is humiliated cruelly, and returns. Along the way, he’s pursued for his knowledge of a temple overflowing with riches. The live action version is not nearly as frenetic as the original and therefore might pose an attention problem to younger children, but as an action-adventure for preteens, it more than redeems itself.

The animated “Jungle Book 2” came to theaters in 2003. Suffice it to say that by the time the Oscar-winning song “The Bare Necessities” is reprised for the third time, it’s clear: A re-release of the 1967 original film would have been preferable.

Mice in NY and Oz

“The Rescuers” (1977) brought Margery Sharp’s novel to the screen, as Penny (Michelle Stacy), a hapless orphan, is kidnapped to help a greedy villain, Madam Medusa (Geraldine Page) find a valuable diamond. Penny scribbles a plea for help and tosses the note in a bottle, which eventually lands in New York, where the Rescue Aid Society sends help in the form of two mice: Bianca (Eva Gabor) and Bernard (Bob Newhart).

The pace is easy-going — a little too easy-going in spots — but there’s comedy and excitement in an animated feature that echoed some of the more memorable work Walt oversaw himself.

In the 1990 sequel “The Rescuers Down Under,” Bernard and Bianca (Newhart and Gabor again) are hot on the tail of McLeach (George C. Scott), a ruthless poacher intent on killing a golden eagle in Australia. A young boy and an Aussie kangaroo rat are on hand to help.

By 1990, the next crew of Disney animators was finding its footing, vaulting off the success of “The Little Mermaid,” and becoming more comfortable with the artistic abilities their new computer programs were providing. The many breath-taking sequences in “Down Under” (when Cody soars on the back of the eagle, for example) are prime examples. Some of the simplicity of the original is gone, but then again, so, too is the awkward song-over-a-montage technique for bridging gaps in continuity. Both films, however, stand tall as excellent entries in the Disney canon.

Everything’s Ducky

The DuckTales TV series that had been a hit since 1987 on the Disney Channel received a big-screen treatment in “DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp” (1990). The TV show involved Scrooge McDuck (Alan Young) and various adventures with nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie (all Russi Taylor).

“Treasure of the Lost Lamp” took the crew to Egypt to find the treasure of Collie Baba. They are pursued by Murlock (Christopher Lloyd) and his sidekick Dijon (Richard Libertini).

The quality of the animation (from Disney’s French offshoot Disney Movietoons) is a step up from the television forebear, but not a big step up.

Hunting Wabbits

In 1988, the Studio cooperated with Steven Spielberg and his staff to bring Gary K. Wolf’s comic-strip- style novel “Who Censured Roger Rabbit?” to the screen in a whiz-bang spectacle of blended live-action and animation. The movie opened with a Warner Bros. homage short (“Somethin’s Cookin’), wherein Baby Herman (Lou Hirsch, adult) is being saved from all kinds of Tex Avery kitchen mayhem from the frenetic Roger Rabbit (a spluttering Charles Fleischer). The cartoon, from its Looney Tunes cornucopia title card to its Carl Stallings-ish score, certainly held out a great promise that Disney/Amblin could continue to cooperate on more Roger.

And as a lead-in to “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” in 1989, that’s exactly what happened with the RR short “Tummy Trouble.” Baby Herman accidentally swallows his rattle, and a breakneck trip to the hospital ensues. Roger’s second short holds itself well against its forebear, and the beginnings of a terrific franchise appear at the ready.

“Roller Coaster Rabbit” was attached to “*** Tracy” in 1990. Roger and Baby Herman chase a red balloon at an amusement park with amusing results.
“Trail Mix-up” was an opener for 1993’s “A Far Off Place,” and Roger and his ward face dangers during a picnic.

All four RR installments (including the one in “WFRR,” which is snuffed aborning) are side-splittingly funny. They masterfully capture the spirit and fun of their big studio ancestors and could easily have continued delighting both the kids of the day and their boomer parents, who fondly remember shorts as a standard bill-of-fare.

Some other RR projects were discussed, including a sequel to “WFRR” (“Who Discovered Roger Rabbit?” — green-lit as far back as 1989, even proposed as DTV, but never advanced) and several more installments of the shorts (“Hare in My Soup,” “Cotton Swabs”). But once Katzenberg shuttled himself off with Spielberg to create DreamWorks, Roger sadly fell victim to the enmity between the two studios and the carping of the lawyers.

Next up: Dan continues his listing of Disney animated sequels.

General

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

Published

9 years ago

June 23, 2015

Jim Hill

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

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

… the postman delivering the mail …

Photo by Jim Hill

… the hot dog vendor working at his cart …

Photo by Jim Hill

… the street musician playing for tourists …

Photo by Jim Hill

Not to mention the tourists themselves.

Photo by Jim Hill

But right alongside the bronze businessmen …

Photo by Jim Hill

… and the tired grandmother hauling her groceries home …

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

… or — for that matter — out-of-time.

Photo by Jim Hill

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

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

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

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

General

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

Published

9 years ago

June 10, 2015

Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Photo by Jim Hill

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

Your thoughts?

General

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

Published

9 years ago

June 9, 2015

Jim Hill

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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