General
Why For?
Jim Hill’s back with even more long winded answers to your questions about the Walt Disney Company. This week, we learn all about Tim Burton’s dealings with the Mouse House, animated shorts that you didn’t get to see, a suspenseful sub-plot that was cut out of “Mulan” as well as an apology.
![](https://jimhillmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/jim-hill-media-featured-1200x675-1.png)
Earlier this week, EdwrdScssrhnds wrote to say:
Jim –
Really loved your articles this week about forthcoming projects from Disney Theatrical as well as that new Clive Barker book. Your story about how Disney closes the deal with Clive – by offering him his very own “Abarat Land” at Disneyland – got me thinking: Didn’t Katzenberg make the same sort of offer to Tim Burton back in the early 1990s, back when Jeffrey was trying to get that director to sign a long term contract with Walt Disney Studios?
Dear EdwrdScssrhnads –
Wow, you’ll got a really good memory, guy. Back in the early 1990s – when former Disney animator Tim Burton had become one of Hollywood’s hottest directors – the Mouse really WAS desperate to get Tim to commit to some sort of long term contract with the company. Which is why they kept saying “Yes” to whatever projects that Burton would kick Disney’s way.
“A stop motion children’s film that features a morose skeleton who kidnaps Christmas? Sure, Tim! A sophomoric Chris Elliot comedy that’s stuffed with lots of expensive special effects? Absolutely, Tim. We’d love to make a movie like that! A black-and-white comic drama that dramatizes the life of infamous cross-dresser Ed Wood, the worst director in Hollywood history? Bring it on!”
And – each time that Burton would begin making a movie for the Mouse – then-Disney studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg would begin whispering in Tim’s ear. “Why do you want to make movies for all those other awful companies like Warners or Fox? We’ve got everything that you need right here in Burbank. Hell, we can even make your creatures come to life right off of the silver screen. Think about it, Tim. A ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ ride at Disneyland? Or – better yet – how about an entire Tim Burton-themed theme park? With a ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ land and a ‘James and the Giant Peach’ land?”
Burton was reportedly sorely tempted by Katzenberg’s constant cajoling. But – in the end – Tim opted to sign a long term contract with Warners instead. Disney execs were reportedly so furious when they learned of Burton’s defection to the enemy that they deliberately screwed up the release of “Ed Wood.” Throwing that picture straight out into wide release in late 1994, rather than starting the film out in a few smaller art houses and allowing audience interest to build in this odd little project.
Disney supposedly took the same sort of cavalier attitude with Burton’s “Nightmare” follow-up – Henry Selick’s “James and the Giant Peach.” Putting that film out in too many theaters without enough promotional support. Which is why that stop motion project supposedly did so poorly at the box office.
Which might explain why both Tim Burton and Henry Selick have been so reluctant to take part in the promotion of Disneyland’s “Haunted Mansion Holiday” attraction. After all, these guys remember all too well the shabby treatment that their films received when Mickey didn’t get his way. So why should these two talented film-makers go out of their way to help Disney now?
Still, given the continuing success of “Haunted Mansion Holiday” (which is now slated to be installed seasonally at both the Haunted Mansion at WDW’s Magic Kingdom as well as Tokyo Disneyland), perhaps Tim Burton might eventually have a change of heart someday. Particularly if Disney does a really good job with Clive Barker’s “Abarat” themed land. Maybe then Burton will agree to a long term deal with the Mouse House. Which – hopefully – could eventually lead to a full fledged “Nightmare Before Christmas” land.
Here’s hoping, anyway. Anyhow … Eric G. of Townsend, MA. writes to say:
Dear Mr. Hill:
You seem to know a lot about the early days at Disney-MGM. I recall that – back when I took the animation tour in the Fall of 1989 – I saw some storyboards for a movie called “Mickey’s Arabian Adventure.” These drawings showed Mickey in a Arabian marketplace clutching something that looked an awful lot like the genie’s lamp from “Aladdin.”
Did Disney’s animators ever actually get around to making “Mickey’s Arabian Adventure”? I mean, I’ve kept an eye for this film for over 13 years now. But I’ve never heard word one about a finished version of this toon. Could you please fill in the blanks for me, Jim?
Dear Eric G. –
Of course I’d be happy to fill in the blanks for you, Eric. The “Mickey’s Arabian Adventure” film that you mention was a short that the artists at Disney Feature Animation Florida were supposed to have made back in the early 1990s. Back when all these animators were supposed to was churn out a steady stream of new short subjects which were supposed to have been paired with Disney’s latest feature length animated releases.
“Mickey’s Arabian Adventure” was one of at least three different short subjects that the crew at WDFA were supposed to have churned out. Two other titles that these folks did development work on was an animated featurette based on the story of Christopher Columbus (starring – of course – Mickey Mouse as the noted explorer and Minnie Mouse as Queen Isabella of Spain) which supposed to have run in theaters in the Fall of 1992 (The 400th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of the Americas), as well as “The Legend of Lord Goofstroke: Goofy of the Apes.” Which – of course – was supposed to have been a comic retelling of the legend of Tarzan (with Goofy wearing the loincloth in this go-round).
Of course, by the time the Disney-MGM Studio Theme Park threw open its gates in May of 1989, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” had also opened and proven to be an enormous success. Which is why the animators at WDFAF suddenly found themselves abandoning their long-in-the-planning short subjects in favor of doing new Roger Rabbit Maroon Cartoons.
These Orlando-based animators worked on a number of “Roger Rabbit” (Including one called “Hare in My Soup” – which featured Roger as a harried waiter in a hoity-toity restaurant – that got shut down just as production was getting underway because Spielberg and Disney couldn’t agree on how the rabbit character was being used) … until they were recruited to start working on individual scenes and sequences for Disney’s newest feature length cartoons. Movies like 1991’s “Beauty and the Beast” and 1994’s “The Lion King.”
The superior work that these Florida animators did on these individual sequences lead to these artists being given a shot at making their very own feature length animated films, 1998’s “Mulan” (a film that I’ll reveal even more about with my next answer here at “Why For”) as well as 2002’s “Lilo & Stitch.”
As for what became of “Mickey’s Arabian Adventure” … I would imagine, Eric G., that – once Disney released a feature length animated version of the story of “Aladdin” in 1992 – execs at WDFA decided that it might be wise to table all plans for a animated short version of the same story. At least for a while. So I would guess that all those storyboards that you saw during your Orlando vacation ‘way back in 1989 have been safely tucked away in Disney’s Animation Research Library in Glendale, CA. Where they wait patiently for some enterprising animator to come uncover them someday and say “You know, these storyboards have the makings of a great animated short.”
Anywho … PsPorridgeHaut slung me an e-mail earlier this week, which said:
Dear Jim –
I love, love, LOVE your “Why For” column and all the way cool stuff that you reveal about Disney’s animated films. I particularly enjoyed last week’s story about that unfinished gag from “The Little Mermaid.” You know, the one about where the shark eats the dynamite? So I was wondering: Do you know any great stories about unfinished stuff from my own favorite Disney animated movie, “Mulan”?
Dear PsPorridgeHaut (Great name, by the way),
Actually, there are a lot of great things that ended up getting cut out of “Mulan.” Ballsy dramatic sequences, like the opening that Disney’s Florida story artists had originally envisioned for this film. Picture a scene where all of the incidents that lead up to the creation of the Great Wall of China are played out by shadow puppets performing by candle light behind a paper screen. This would have been a truly beautiful, evocative way to have started the movie … particularly given the shocking ending that WDFAF’s animators had originally wanted to tack onto this placid opening sequence.
And what sort of shocking ending was that? Well, picture this: Eventually, the camera would have pulled back away from the paper screen, revealing that there was an audience seated in a puppet theater that was watching this shadow play. The camera would then have drifted over to the theater’s window and revealed that – just as the off-screen puppeteer is explaining how the Great Wall prevented the Mongol horde from ever returning and attacking China – that Shan Yu and his army are (at that very same moment) swarming over the Wall. The sequence was supposed to have ended with the horde entering the theater in the middle of the puppet show. The audiences flees, screaming. Shan Yu kills the puppeteer and then sets fire to the shadow puppets and the paper screen.
Not exactly what you’d expect from a Disney animated film, is it? Well, the idea behind this version of “Mulan”‘s opening sequence was to give moviegoers as much info as possible about the world that they were about to enter as well as establish that Shan Yu and his horde really are very bad guys. The worst villains that we’ve ever encountered in a Disney feature length cartoon. Which would (hopefully) make the audience realize that the stacks are extremely high in this film. That if Fa Zhou actually does go off to war to fight against a ruthless army like this, there’s just no way that he’ll ever return alive. Which is why Fa Mulan (because she loves her father so) really has no choice but to go off to fight against the Mongols in his place.
But perhaps my favorite little dramatic plot twist that was originally proposed for “Mulan” that didn’t make it into the finished version of the film was the Chinese Dragons sequence. What sequence was this? Well, do you remember how Shan Yu and his gang of assassins made their way into the Imperial Palace by posing as a Chinese dragon in the victory parade? Well, originally Mulan was supposed to have learned of this treachery just before the celebration sequence in the palace’s courtyard was supposed to gotten underway.
Mulan then tells Shang, Yao, Chien-Po and Ling. The soldiers all then agree to set aside their differences and help their old friend unmask the invaders. So the five of them – with Crikee, Mushu, and Khan’s help – race into the palace’s courtyard to find … that there are no less than 15 different Chinese dragons dancing among the thousands of people who have crowded into the vast courtyard!
What was to have followed was a tense, but funny scene, as Mulan and her friends raced through the crowd – ripping the Chinese dragon costumes off of the backs of dozens of happy dancers. All the while realizing that – at the very moment – the assassins must be making their way ever closer to the Emperor.
Were you to watch this general section of “Mulan” again today, you would actually be able to pick out the shot that was originally supposed to have set up this suspenseful sequence. The “crane shot” of the entire palace courtyard, which showed that there are at least a dozen Chinese dragons dancing round in the crowd.
So why didn’t the folks at WDFAF opt to go forward with this exciting version of the palace courtyard sequence? To be honest, at this point in the picture, “Mulan”‘s two directors – animation vets Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook – were just running for the goal posts. Trying to wrap up the plot line in their picture just as quickly and neatly as possible, while still giving moviegoers all the tears, thrills and laughs that they have come to expect from Disney’s animated films. The whole idea behind the “Let’s go find the assassins in their Chinese dragon costume” was fun and exciting. But not exactly necessary for the successful completion of the film. Which is why this intriguing plot point eventually hit the cutting room floor.
Does that answer your question, PsPorridgeHaut?
And – finally – Polly Purebread wrote to say:
Jim –
What’s going on with your web site this week? First you fall for that obviously fake “Tom Schumacher was fired” story. Then you do an article about the new Clive Barker book where you actually mis-spell the name of the series throughout the entire article. (It’s “Abarat,” Jim. NOT “Arabat”). Then no new story today. This is amateur night stuff, guy. Totally bush league. And I honestly expected better of a web site with your name on it, Jim.
As did I, Polly. As did I.
Look, I won’t lie to you folks. We’ve had a rough couple of days here at JimHillMedia.com.
First up: Okay. I’ll admit it. We totally screwed up with that Tom Schumacher story. To give you a little background on how this exactly happened: This alleged news item was sent out to a number of Disneyana web sites late Monday night. Since I live ‘way out here in New Hampshire, I was already in bed by the time that e-mail came in rolling in at 11:23 p.m. EST. So I didn’t know about Tom Schumacher supposedly being fired until early Tuesday morning, when I was awaken by phone calls from various LA newspapers & TV stations, seeking conformation of the story.
But Michelle – our editor here at JimHillMedia.com (who works out of San Diego, CA.) – was still up when that e-mail came in. More importantly, she saw that the piece had also been sent to David Koenig & Al Lutz at MousePlanet, Jerry Beck of Cartoon Research and Lon Davis of Mouse Hole.
Which put Michelle in an awful predicament. You see, if she took the time to do a proper check on the story’s authenticity, she ran the risk of JimHillMedia.com getting scooped on this tasty little news item by our competition. But – if Michelle ran the story as it was and it turned out to be totally bogus – she then ran the risk of doing irreparable harm to the website’s reputation and credibility.
In the end, our fearless editor decided to run the article just as she’d received it. But with the following header attached to the top of this alleged news story:
Note: this information is unconfirmed, and should be treated as rumor until officially confirmed by the Walt Disney Company.
I received this interesting email this evening, as did several other webmasters and Internet columnists. There’s enough right in here to make me suspect it’s true, but not enough for me to confirm it at this hour of the evening. If anyone can confirm or disprove this, I’d appreciate an e-mail.
Which should have been enough to cover Michelle’s ass. Except that – due to the way that pages are formatted here at JimHillMedia.com – that disclaimer wasn’t actually attached to the top of the “Thomas Schumacher Fired?” story. It appeared in a separate box on top of that article. Which is why a lot of you folks never read (or even saw) that disclaimer. Which is why you assumed Michelle’s story was an actual news story, rather than just an interesting rumor that we were posting … with the hope that JimHillMedia.com readers could then be able to help us confirm or deny this particular story.
As you might imagine … that story caused a sensation. Particularly since all of the other Disneyana web sites opted not to run the item. We were the only web site who had decided to go out on a limb and run that piece. Which is why – since it’s my name that’s all over this web site – I’m the one who took all the heat when it turned out that this story was wrong. That Thomas Schumacher hadn’t actually been fired. That the reason that Schumacher hadn’t been sighted around WFDA for the past couple of days was that he was overseas, helping to promote the upcoming European release of “Lilo & Stitch.”
My apologies to all you folks out there – Mr. Schumacher, as well as our faithful JimHillMedia.com readers – who got tripped up or tricked by this bogus piece. Let me assure you that something like this will never happen again at this site. That we now have several new policies in place – particularly in regard to where disclaimers should be located and how prominently they should be featured in all future JimHillMedia.com articles – which should prevent you (and us) from getting hoaxed like that again. Again, my sincerest apologies for any of the confusion and consternation that this alleged article may have caused.
And – while I’m apologizing – let me sling a “Mea Culpa” at Clive Barker and all you “Abarat” fans out there. When I was writing Wednesday’s story, I was being so careful about double-checking the spelling of names like Kaspar Wolfswinkel, Christopher Carrion, Rojo Pixler and Candy Quackenbush that it never occurred to me to double-check the spelling of the book itself. Which is “Abarat,” NOT “Arabat” (damn it!!). Again, my apologies for screwing that up. I promise that we’ll make the appropriate changes to the text of that story shortly.
That is – of course – providing that our tech guy, Jon Nadelberg, is actually available to make some changes to that particular story sometime soon. Now please don’t mis-interpret this and think that I’m criticizing poor Mr. Nadelberg. Truth be told, Jon’s this extremely busy guy who has a very demanding career in addition to having to play doting dad to his brand new baby boy. Which is why, due to his crushing schedule (as well as a few meetings that he was forced to attend at the last minute), Nadelberg wasn’t really available to update JimHillMedia.com during the latter part of this week. Which is why those “Arabat” / “Abarat” typos remains in place in Wednesday’s story and why there was no update at all on Thursday.
Given that Jon donates all of his time and efforts to JimHillMedia.com, those of us who work here at the site are sincerely grateful for any time that Nadelberg can find to work on the site and update its content. Hopefully, over the next week or so, things will once again begin to calm down in Jon’s life. Which (hopefully) will mean that we’ll be getting back our old schedule – where there’s a new article and/or a story from the archives going up on the website every weekday, Monday through Friday.
So – again – my heartfelt apologies for any of the glitches that you may have stumbled upon while visiting JimHillMedia.com this week, folks. Keep in mind that we’re still a fairly young web site. Not even four months old yet. So we’re still working out some of our kinks.
I promise that we’ll try to do better in the future at avoiding these sorts of flubs. In the meantime, should you have any additional complaints and comments about JimHillMedia.com, be sure to lob them straight at the guy whose name is all over this website – Jim Hill – at jim@jimhillmedia.com.
That’s it for now, kids. See you next week, okay?
General
Seward Johnson bronzes add a surreal, artistic touch to NYC’s Garment District
![](https://jimhillmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/jim-hill-media-featured-1200x675-1.png)
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?
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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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