General
Why For?
The King of the Run-on Sentence returns with even more answers to your Disney-related questions. This time around, Jim goes on (and on and on …) about Disneyland’s Chinatown, why “Aladdin” won’t be going Platinum next year, and why it’s Lenny (and not Benny) the Cab. Also: Cast your vote for the series that you want Jim to finish next …
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Arson W. wrote to ask:
I saw a concept painting of “Chinatown” for Disneyland. I’ve never heard of this “Lost Land” before. Did some of this get re-themed into New Orleans Square somewhere in the planning stages? Am I missing out on common knowledge of a bad idea, or was there some kind of nationality foul play afoot? Or something else? I just gotta know: What’s the deal with Chinatown?
By the way, I saw this on this page.
Ah yes, Chinatown. One of a half dozen ideas that the Imagineers have developed – over the past 50 years – for construction on that great piece of backstage property at Disneyland.
Which piece of property am I talking about? That roughly pie-shaped piece of land that lies between Main Street U.S.A. and Tomorrowland. These days, this is strictly a back-of-the-house area. A place where the parade floats can get parked between their daily (or nightly) runs. Or where Disneyland employees can go to grab a quick bite to eat at the aptly named cast member cafeteria, the “Inn Between.”
But it just killed the Imagineers to think that this great piece of centrally located property was just laying there, undeveloped. So – starting ‘way back in 1955 – they kept throwing ideas at Walt. Hoping that he might finally greenlight one of these concepts for construction.
WED’s first idea was to use this space to create an “International Street” area for Disneyland. A place where guests could wander through a network of colorful but quaint boulevards, each of them themed to look like they were from another land. An early precursor to Epcot’s World Showcase, “International Street” would have been filled with highly detailed recreations of shops and restaurants from Denmark, Germany, Spain, Japan, France, and Switzerland. Live musical entertainment was to have been presented every hour at the very center of this new “land,” which was designed to look like an authentic Italian village square.
Walt liked this idea enough to have a sign put up in Main Street U.S.A.’s hub area (near the proposed entrance to Disneyland’s next “land”) which read “Site of International Street – Grand Opening 1956.” To give park visitors some idea what they had in store, the Imagineers set up a series of “peep holes” – which would allow Disneyland visitors to get a look at a 3D photograph of the “International Street” model.
But – in spite of the very promising sign over this “Site of Future Sights” – construction never actually got underway on Disneyland’s “International Street.” The only thing that Disney ever seemed do was – every 12 months or so – was change the lettering on the sign. So first it read “Grand opening 1957,” then “Grand Opening 1958.”
By the time 1958 actually rolled around, that sign had undergo a really radical transformation. For – instead of touting the imminent arrival of International Street, now this Disneyland Construction Company announced that this backstage area was soon-to-be the future home of “Liberty Street – Grand Opening 1959.”
Why did the internationally themed area get cut in favor of a patriotic themed addition to Disneyland? Think about it, kids. Guests would be exiting Main Street U.S.A. in order to enter this new part of the park. It just made better sense (story-wise, that is) to have this colonial America themed area serve as an extension of Disneyland’s turn-of-the-century entrance area.
Mind you, this wasn’t the only Americana themed area that Walt and his Imagineers were thinking of adding onto Disneyland’s Main Street U.S.A. area. Midway up the avenue, off of Market Street’s dead end, they had hoped to build “Edison Square.” A cul-de-sac themed to look like New York City and/or Chicago of 1910. The time when gaslight was giving way to the next modern wonder, electricity.
What’s interesting about these two proposed additions to the Anaheim theme park that – had everything gone according to plan – these two expansion areas were both to have opened in 1959. They would have also presented early versions of two soon-to-be favorite Disney theme park shows. Liberty Square would have had its “One Nation Under God” show (Which was eventually resurrected at the centerpiece attraction of the Liberty Square area at WDW’s Magic Kingdom under the name “The Hall of Presidents”), while Edison Square was to have had its “Harnessing the Lightning” attraction (Which – in a somewhat mutated form – eventually emerged as one of the hit attractions at the 1964 New York Worlds Fair, “General Electric’s Carousel of Progress.”)
So why weren’t either of these proposed additions to Disneyland ever built? Because both of the attractions that served as the anchors for Liberty Square and Edison Square relied heavily on audio animatronics. Which was still in its infancy in the late 1950s.
Both “One Nation Under God” and “Harnessing the Lightning” would require dozens of authentic looking human-type AA figures to be built and maintained in order to pull off their shows. But the Imagineers had yet to build a single “electrical-mechanical” figure that could truly pass for human.
Which is why both of these projects eventually got tabled in the early 1960s. The Imagineers were ambitious enough to want to try and do shows like “Hall of Presidents” and “Carousel of Progress” back then. But the technology necessary to build & program dozens of authentic looking human-type AA figures just hadn’t been developed. Yet.
With an eye toward developing that technology, the Imagineers proposed doing a smaller, less ambitious attraction. Something that would only feature a few audio animatronics. That would sort of serve as a field test for the more ambitious rides & shows that Walt and his Imagineers already had in their planning pipeline.
This is where Disneyland’s Chinatown comes in, Arson. This picturesque block of oriental themed shops (which was to have been built right off of Market Street, right where Edison Square was originally supposed to have been built) was to have had a centerpiece restaurant … whose name escapes me at the moment. But the establishment was supposed to have been sponsored by Chung King (The company that made a name for itself in the early 1960s for selling canned Chinese food).
Anywho … this authentic looking eatery was to have featured Chinese cuisine as well as live and not-so-live entertainment. The after-dinner show would have been kicked off when the head of the decorative dragon (which looped throughout the restaurant) would suddenly come to life and start in with Wally-Boag-written gags like:
DRAGON: (Belching fire, then) “Does anyone mind if I smoke?”
And
DRAGON: (After prolonged burp) “Oooh. I think someone I ate disagreed with me. Of course, that’s probably why I ate him in the first place. For disagreeing with me. (Another burp) Excuse me.”
Then the AA dragon would introduce the show’s live entertainment, a trio of lady singers known as the “Nightingirls.” Toward the tale end of their performance, audio animatronic birds were to have been lowered from the ceiling and provided back-up for the trio’s closing number.
But the real highlight of the show was to have been a performance by Confucius, Disney’s first full-fledged audio animatronic figure. This robot (which is also identified as Grandfather Chun in some drafts of the show’s script) was supposed to appear as if he was providing wise counsel for live questions that the audience was asking.
Of course, all of the questions that the Confucius figure would be answering would be on pre-recorded track. But – since these questions would be coming from speakers that were hidden all over the restaurant – it would sound like guests from all parts of the dining room were firing questions at the legendary wiseman.
Of course, one of the reasons that the Imagineers loved the idea of building an AA show around Confucius is that – due to the age of this mystic ancient – it would just make sense to the audience that this robotic figure would move slowly and/or remain seated for the bulk of the show. Just like a very old man would.
Plus Confucius’ elegant long silk robes would go a long way toward masking all the mechanisms necessary to run a complicated figure like this. So – all in all – the Chinese Restaurant dinner show seemed like an inspired choice for Disney’s first full fledged audio animatronic show.
So why didn’t Walt and his Imagineers finally go forward with Disneyland’s Chinatown? To be honest, they could never come up with a head that they liked for the figure. Imagineers who worked for Walt Disney Productions back in the days when the Confucious AA was being built still talk about how disconcerting it was to walk into the room where they were developing the restaurant figures and see this disembodied Chinese head on top of a box, just chattering away.
Still – the AA birds that were built for the Chinese restaurant were considered a success. So – even though the Confucius dinner show project was tabled in the early 1960s – those robotic birds soon became the stars of a show of their very own, Disneyland’s “Enchanted Tiki Room.” (And that talking dragon head? Well, he served as the inspiration for all those talking tikis that line the walls of this Adventureland Theater.)
“But, Jim,” I hear you asking, “If the Walt Disney Company perfected the use of audio animatronics in the mid-to-late 1960s, then why wasn’t Edison Square or Liberty Street or even Chinatown ever added to Disneyland?”
That’s an excellent question. And – to be honest – I don’t know why none of these expansion plans for the area behind Main Street U.S.A. and Tomorrowland were ever revived. Perhaps Disneyland management way back then just felt that this area was too valuable (given all the behind-the-scene activity that goes on back here) now to be developed. Which is perhaps why all future talk of expanding Disneyland out into this particular piece of the property dried up in the mid-to-late 1970s.
Mind you, a few of the ideas that were proposed for this part of the park still survived. Edison Square’s signature attraction – that “Harnessing the Lightening” show – eventually was built at Disneyland. Only it was housed in Tomorrowland’s theater-go-round building.
And – as late as 1978 – there was still talk of adding a “Liberty Street” (Now called “Liberty Square”) to Disneyland. But that idea petered out once the Imagineers saw how low attendance was for the WDW version of this same attraction.
And as for International Street … would you believe that – as late as 1982 – the Imagineers were still trying to get an international section added to Disneyland? The last version (which was to have built out beyond the berm behind “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Haunted Mansion”) was known as “World Holiday Land.” This area – which was to have featured sections themed around London, Paris, Bavaria and Scandinavia – featured a Circlevision 360 film, a Scandinavian folklore ride, a Medieval England-themed attraction as well as an indoor Bavarian-themed attraction that would have allowed Disneyland to simulate the experience of skiing through the Alps. Along with the usual assortment of stores and restaurants, of course.
Mind you, the Imagineers never actually gave up on the idea of building new rides and attractions to be placed on that land out behind Main Street U.S.A. As recently as 1990, WDI was pushing to turn this part of primo property into Hollywoodland. Which was to have been a miniature version of Disney-MGM Studios theme park right here in Anaheim.
What would this have been like? Well, picture the backside of Space Mountain to be redressed as the Hollywood hills (With the famous “Hollwyood” sign towering over this side of the park). Back here, guests would have been to enter the Chinese Theater for a trip on “The Great Movie Ride.” (Interesting tidbit on this proposed attraction: The Disneyland train was actually supposed to roll through “The Great Movie Ride.” It would be seen – of course – in the Western Section of the attraction, rolling past an authentic looking frontier train station. Of course, only the Disneyland guests who were riding on the train would be able to see the scene on the backside of the depot. Where an AA version of Gary Cooper from “High Noon” would anxiously wait for that train full of gun fighters to roll into town …)
Also penciled in for construction as part of Disneyland’s “Hollywoodland” was that now-closed Disney-MGM favorite, “Superstar Television.” There were also plans to incorporate several rides that the Imagineers had originally designed for WDW’s “Sunset Boulevard” expansion area into the Anaheim theme park. Among these was “*** Tracy Crimestoppers” as well as “Baby Herman’s Runaway Buggy Ride.”
Of course, how the Imagineers were going to cram all these new rides and shows into that tiny piece of property out behind Disneyland’s Main Street U.S.A. and Tomorrowland remains a mystery. Even to me. (Hey, I don’t make up these stories, Arson. I just report ’em).
And finally – moving on to our next story – Heather B. asks:
I have a question about the Platinum Collection. I remember hearing rumors back in early 2001 that the DVD of Aladdin would come out in 2003, and that The Lion King would come out in 2004. However, in about January or February of 2002 it was announced that Lion King would come out in 2003, and Aladdin wasn’t mentioned at all. In fact, there was no word about Aladdin at all until this summer.
So, why’d Aladdin get moved back? Was Al the victim of post 9/11 paranoia? Was TLK moved up to coincide with the release of TLK 1 1/2? Or was the original rumor about the release dates false?
Also, now that the dates of the releases of all the Platinum titles have been announced, do you think there will be any more changes?
Heather, it’s not 9/11 that made Disney swap “Aladdin”‘s Platinum Collection release date with “The Lion King.” But – rather – economics.
You see, “The Lion King” is Walt Disney Company’s highest grossing feature length animated film (to date). Taking in well over a billion dollars worldwide. Whereas “Aladdin” … well, that 1992 film’s no slouch at the box office either. If you factor in all the revenues that “Aladdin”‘s two direct-to-video sequels have made, that film franchise has pulled in something along the lines of $700 million (to date).
So why does “The Lion King”‘s prior box office performance factor into why it’s getting released on DVD in 2003 – rather than “Aladdin”? Well, you have to understand that Disney’s quite anxious to market all of its feature length animated films through the newer medias. Not just DVDs, mind you. But also large formats like IMAX too.
And the strategy that Disney originally had in place for promoting its Platinum Collection releases actually went something like this: During the Christmas / New Years release window, whichever film that the Walt Disney Company intended to put out as the corporation’s major DVD release ten months later (AKA the Platinum Collection) would begin being shown in IMAX theaters worldwide. In an effort to generate some renewed excitement among consumers for that title. To whet their appetite, if you will.
At least, that was the plan as of January 1, 2002. When Disney released the Special Edition of “Beauty and the Beast” to IMAX theaters. Unfortunately, that film did fairly tepid business when shown in large format. Just $8 million during its first three weeks of release. Which wouldn’t even come close to covering the costs of cleaning up the film as well as animating its much hyped new sequence, the “Human Again” production number. And let’s not forget about the tens of millions of dollars that Disney poured into promoting the IMAX release of this movie.
After viewing these meager box office returns, the concern at Disney corporate headquarters was that – if the IMAX release of “Beauty and the Beast: The Special Edition” didn’t do all that well, the under-performance of the large format version of the movie might taint consumers’ perception of the product. Making them less likely to buy the forthcoming DVD of the film.
Which is why the higher ups at Disney thought that “Maybe we need to rethink hyping our upcoming DVD release to showing these films in the IMAX format first. Maybe this large screen stuff isn’t necessarily the best way to re-introduce consumers to the films that we’ll soon be making available for sale via our ‘Platinum Collection.’ Maybe there’s another way that we can get people excited about our older films.”
Which is not to say that Disney is getting ready to bail on its long term deal with the IMAX folks. Far from it, kids. I mean, the Mouse has already begun producing short large format films expressly to be shown in IMAX theaters. These include “Ultimate X” as well as the forthcoming “Young Black Stallion” movie. And – later this month, for the first time ever – a brand new feature length Disney animated film will be released simultaneously in the standard 35 MM format as well as IMAX. So you can chose to see “Treasure Planet” on the big screen or the REALLY BIG screen.
But as for Disney continue to tease consumers (prime the pump, if you will) by first showing the company’s next “Platinum Collection” release in IMAX theaters … Well, Heather, Disney felt that – following “B & B”‘s lackluster large format performance – that a test was in order.
“Let’s take our strongest film,” studio heads supposedly said, “The one that people keep asking us to re-release on home video and DVD and put that one out in IMAX theaters. If the box office response to that film is significantly stronger than the one we got from “Beast”‘s re-release, then let’s stick with IMAX for a while … If not, then let’s stop using this format to try and re-introduce, re-excite audiences to our older films and just go with simultaneous releases of our newer features at the multiplexes as well as IMAX.”
Why abandon the IMAX re-releases for Disney’s older films? Because, to be honest, it cost a lot of money to reformat these 10-years old (and older) pictures for large screen theaters. Not to mention all the time and the money that has to be poured into cleaning up these films. Redrawing and/or replacing awkward pieces of animation which – when shown on a 10 story tall screen – look just awful.
Mind you, clean up work has already been completed on the IMAX version of “Aladdin.” And I’m told that Disney’s animators are still hard at work on all the repairs that need to be made to “The Little Mermaid” before that 1989 film can look beautiful on large format screens.
But that doesn’t guarantee that either of these two films will ever be shown in the IMAX format. A lot depends on how the large format version of “The Lion King” does this holiday season. So – if you want to see Ariel and/or the Genie on the really big screen – make sure you drag all of your friends and family to see “The Lion King” in IMAX.
Otherwise, these two films will probably bypass large format and head straight for the small screen.
Then, MrTheFrog wrote to ask:
Jim, I’m in California (for the first time in 10 years), and today I went to Disneyland and rode Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin. I noticed that the license plates on all the cabs read “Lenny” instead of “Benny”. Is there a story behind this? Does Benny have a long lost brother, like the now infamous King Larry? Or is this part of the whole Spielberg/Amblin/Roger fiasco?
Sad to say, but Lenny the Cab only exists because of the Walt Disney Company and Amblin’ Productions’ continuing brawling over the characters featured in “Who Framed Rober Rabbit?”
Before Disney can do ANYTHING with the “Roger Rabbit” characters – be it using Roger and friends in a cartoon, a coloring book, a TV commercial or a theme park attraction – they have to clear how the character is to be used with Spielberg’s people. Which can take months.
As they were working on the “Roger Rabbit’s Car – Toon Spin” ride for Mickey’s Toontown, the Imagineers just got tired of dealing with all this nonsense. Of having to talk to WDI’s lawyers (which would then have to talk to Spielberg’s people) everytime that they wanted to change something in that ride.
So finally – in order to simplify their lives – these guys from WDI decided that, while they’d love to have Benny the Cab be the ride vehicle that took Disneyland guests on their trip through Toontown, it didn’t really have to be Benny. It could – in fact – be Benny’s brother, Lenny … without having any real impact on park visitors’ enjoyment of the ride.
And – of course – their higher ups at the Walt Disney Company just loved this solution because they could then copyright the name “Lenny the Cab,” making that character the sole property of the Walt Disney Company. And there was nothing that Spielberg’s people could do about this.
I know, I know. That’s not a particularly happy story. But – as you well know, MrTheFrog – not every Hollywood-related story ends happily.
And – speaking of stories not ending … Okay. I give. I’ve been reading all of the notes that you folks have been posting on the JimHillMedia.com discussion boards about how I never finish what I start. Which – if you’ll just look at my epic length “Western River Expedition” story – you’ll see that this isn’t ALWAYS true.
That said, I can understand your frustration. So how’s about this: I’ll be tallying votes for the next seven days. The unfinished series that get the most votes will be the one I finish first. The runner-up will be the one I complete second, and so on. That work for you folks? Hope so.
That’s it for this week. Have a great weekend, okay?
jrh
General
Seward Johnson bronzes add a surreal, artistic touch to NYC’s Garment District
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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.
General
Wondering what you should “Boldly Go” see at the movies next year? The 2015 Licensing Expo offers you some clues
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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
![](https://jimhillmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/jim-hill-media-featured-1200x675-1.png)
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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