General

Why For?

In his patented long winded style, Jim Hill answers questions about Frank Wells, Quasi’s bells, and Hell’s former occupants.

Published

22 years ago

October 10, 2002

Jim Hill

Charles H. from Menlo Park, CA. writes:

Dear Jim:
I’m loving this new web site of yours. It’s great to finally have a steady stream of great inside stories about the Mouse Works, all delivered in that snarky Jim Hill style. Keep up the great work, guy!
Anywho … Here’s a quick question for your “Why For?” column. I know that you try to be even handed and all when you’re writing about the Mouse. But you and I both know that the Walt Disney Company has been going through a prolonged rough patch. That the corporation’s been on the skids for least two or three years now. So what do you think started this all, Jim? Was there one key event that you personally think sent Mickey over to the dark side?

Thanks for your note, Charles. As for this “rough patch” (as you call it) that the Walt Disney Company has been going through, my personal opinion is that its origins can traced a hell of lot further back than just “two or three years” ago. I’d set the start of Mickey’s slide “to the dark side” back to April 1994. April 2nd, to be precise. That terrible Easter Sunday when Frank Wells, Disney’s then-president, was killed in a helicopter crash while vacationing in Nevada’s Rudy Mountains.

To hear some Disney insiders tell this story, the day that Frank died was the very same day that things started to go wrong at the Mouse Factory. Why? Because (at least according to folks that I’ve talked with), Wells was this incredibly honorable man. His word was his bond. If Frank told you that something was a “go,” you could actually count on it happening.

Plus Wells understood that – sometimes – in order to make money, you actually have to spend money. Case in point: (This is a story that I’ve heard from a number of Imagineers over the past few years. So I’m going to assume that it’s not apocryphal. Anyway … ) In late 1984, just weeks after he and Michael Eisner had come on board at the Walt Disney Company, Frank sat down with some senior Imagineers at WDI. The subject up for discussion was “Splash Mountain.”

This is the make-or-break meeting for this project. The one where the Imagineers actually got the funding that they needed to finally go forward for this proposed Disneyland addition OR the one where “Splash Mountain” was shelved. Permanently.

I’m told that Bruce Gordon and Tony Baxter put on a wonderful dog-and-pony show that morning. Walking Frank through the 1″ scale model of the proposed attraction. Talking him through the show’s elaborate storyboards (with the “Song of the South” soundtrack blaring in the background). Stressing the amount of money that Disney would actually be saving on this Disneyland addition by recycling the old “America Sings” AA figures.

Of course, Bruce & Tony knew that they had to stress cost savings wherever they could in this presentation. Why for? Because they knew that “Splash Mountain” was going to be one of the most expensive attractions ever built for the park. In-house estimates reportedly placed “Splash”‘s initial construction costs at around $17 million. Which is nearly as much as Walt Disney spent to build all of Disneyland back in 1955.

I’ve heard that Gordon and Baxter were absolutely crestfallen when they heard Wells say that “This ride is just too expensive …” But then – after a somewhat lengthy pause – they were stunned to hear Wells continue by saying ” … but we’re still going to have to build it. This idea’s just too good to keep out of the parks.”

So Wells went back to Burbank and convinced Eisner that “Splash Mountain” – though expensive – was still worth building. And the end result was a franchise attraction (With one “Splash Mountain” in Anaheim, another in Orlando, still another in Tokyo and – if the rumors coming out of Marne la Valle lately prove to be true – another “Splash Mountain” is due to leap up out of the ground over at Disneyland Paris sometime in the next five years) that’s loved the world over.

Of course, to hear some other Disney insiders tell this story, perhaps the most valuable thing that Frank Wells used to do WASN’T going to bat for the Imagineers. But – rather – keeping Michael Eisner in check.

To hear Peter Clark, a veteran Disney executive tell it: “Frank was actually (Michael’s) moral compass. He was the Jiminey Cricket” who kept the Mouse House’s somewhat slippery Chairman & CEO on the straight & narrow path.

Don’t believe me? Michael Eisner actually admitted as much in his autobiography, “Work in Progress (1998 Random House) when he said “If I was the rudder, he was the keel. For 10 years (that they worked together) we never had a fight or disagreement…I never once felt angry at him ? not until Easter Sunday afternoon in April 1994 when the ski helicopter carrying him out of the back country in northern Nevada crashed and he died instantly. Even then I felt angry only because Frank was not around to help me out with a difficult situation, as he had so many times before. But mostly what I felt was an overwhelming sense of sadness and loss.”

Just as Eisner says, Frank was the guy who fixed things. The man who got the Walt Disney Company out of a lot of difficult situations. EX: That financial restructuring deal that saved Euro Disney? That was Frank’s doing.

“It’s just hard to imagine what Disney would be like today if Frank hadn’t died back in 1994,” said one Mouse House insider when we spoke earlier today. “Wells would have probably found a way to keep Jeffrey from going off the reservation. At the very least, Frank would have kept the damage down to an absolute minimum. He’d have cut Katzenberg a nice fat check, probably help Jeffrey set up his own production company with an exclusive distribution deal with Disney.”

“You see what I’m saying, Jim? If Wells was still alive, there probably wouldn’t have been a Dreamworks. At the very least, we wouldn’t have gone through that whole Ovitz debacle. And Frank certainly wouldn’t have allowed Eisner to go forward with that stupid Katzenberg royalties trial. The company would have avoided tons of unnecessary negative publicity and financial hardship.”

“Plus I’m betting that Wells wouldn’t have allowed DCA to end up the way that it did. I’m sure that Frank would have run interference for the Imagineers with Pressler on that project. Kept Paul from cutting that thing to the very bone.”

It’s statements like this, Charlie H., that make me think that the Walt Disney Company would be a very different corporation today if Frank Wells had just survived that crash.

Which is why I was never one of those people who got behind the whole “Promote Paul Pressler” movement. I was always the guy who was saying “Screw that Paul Pressler crap. Let’s help Disney try and find another Frank Wells.”

Anyway …

BettyBoob writes:

Dear Jim (AKA Of Great Knower of All Pointless Disney Trivia)
I keep hearing that there are a lot of veteran Disney animators who just hate the studio’s “Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Why’s that? Because of the gargoyles, Jim! To hear these toonsmiths tell the story, Victor, Hugo and Laverne just ruin that movie for them.
Me personally? I love the gargoyles. Especially Hugo. And I think that the gargoyle’s musical number – “A Guy Like You” – is one of the very best things in Disney’s “Hunchback of Notre Dame.” So can you please tell me, Jim, why it is animation pros like Nik Ranieri supposedly hate “Hunchback”‘s Victor, Hugo and Laverne?

Thanks for your e-mail, BettyBoob. To answer your question: it’s not so much the gargoyles themselves that make some Disney animators dislike the studio’s “Hunchback.” But – rather – what the gargoyles represent.

You see, back in the early 1990s, there were a number of animators at Walt Disney Studios who were pushing for “Hunchback” to become the studio’s very first really adult piece of animation. A feature length animated film that actually dared to take a few chances.

The version of “Hunchback” that these guys wanted to do … Well, pieces of it still remain in the finished film. By that I mean, picture a movie that was as dramatic & daring at “Hunchback”‘s “Hellfire” sequence. But all the way through the film.

But as this project made its way through the studio’s pre-production pipeline, WDFA management started to get a little nervous. A Disney animation film without any comic sidekicks and/or cute little animal friends? Would audiences actually go for that?

More to the point, what about all the money that the Mouse would potentially miss out on if “Hunchback” didn’t cough up a few marketable characters? Friends of Quasi that could be reproduced as ceramics, plush and/or turned into cute little promotional toys that could be dropped into Burger King Kids Club meals.

So it was about this time that studio execs began leaning on the “Hunchback” production team to “cute up” their project. Which is undoubtedly why – in the sequence in that picture where we first meet the adult Quasimodo – the film’s title character befriends a baby bird AS WELL AS talks with his kooky, krazy stone pals.

So what these animators actually resent about “Hunchback”‘s gargoyles, BettyBoob, is – because they had to make room for these comic characters in the movie – a lot of the more adult, edgier material had to fall by the wayside. Which, at least to the point of view of animation veterans like Mr. Ranieri, was to the detriment of the finished film.

Me personally? I LOVE the gargoyles in “Hunchback” too. I actually did a story about these characters and how they came to be in that film for MousePlanet back in the Spring of 2000. Which – if I’m remembering correctly – ended up being archived over at LaughingPlace.com last year. If you’d like to read that story & learn more about Victor, Laverne & Hugo, follow this link.

Anyway … For those of you Disney animators who still hate the idea of “Hunchback”‘s comical gargoyles, let me remind you that they weren’t the first choice to portray Quasi’s playmates. Do you recall when the production team was actually toying with making Notre Dame’s bells Quasimodo’s confidantes? Where – just like Mrs. Potts & Cogsworth in “Beauty & the Beast” – these enormous inanimate objects would have been able to speak and (of course) sing & dance. So, instead of Victor, Hugo & Laverne, we could have had little Sophia, Jean Marie, Anne Marie, Louise Marie and Big Marie.

Giant bells that sang, danced & talk?! Yikes!

Hey, we were just talking about LaughingPlace.com, weren’t we? Which reminds me of another e-mail that I received this week. Mebert of Fort Drum, N.Y, wrote just today to say:

Jim –
Did you see that article over at LaughingPlace.com today? The one about the new “Winnie the Pooh” attraction at Disneyland. Man, that makes me so sad. Why for? (Tee Hee!) Because that “Pooh” ride makes me think about the other “Pooh” ride. The one in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Which makes me think about the old “Mr. Toad” ride that used to occupy that show building.
Why did the Imagineers have to close that ride, Jim? Doesn’t anyone at WDI like Mr. Toad?

Actually, Mebert, there are lot of people at Walt Disney Imagineering who like WDW’s “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.” And please note that I used the present tense in that last sentence. “Like.” Not “liked.”

Why is that? Well, here’s kind of a weird story about how Disneyana fans actually managed to get through to the guys working at WDI. You may recall the whole brouhaha that leaped up a few years back around the closure of WDW’s “Mr. Toad.” How hundreds of Toad fans then banded together. Set up web sites. Signed petitions. Doing everything that they could to try to keep the attraction open.

Meanwhile – out in Glendale, CA. – a bunch of Imagineers were actually working on the replacement for WDW’s “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” (I.E., a somewhat dumbed down version of Toyko Disneyland’s “Pooh’s Hunny Hunt” attraction). And these folks eventually got wind about how upset Disneyana fans were about the pending closure of Florida’s “Toad.”

Now you have to understand that the folks who work at Walt Disney Imagineering are fairly sensitive souls. And – as proud as these people may have been of the “Pooh” ride that they were putting on – they were still pretty shocked to hear about how upset Disneyana fans seemed to be about WDW’s “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” closing.

These California-based Imagineers read all the posts on the “Save Toad” web site and thought “These people can’t really be as upset as they sound here.” Which is why these folks decided to fly out to Orlando on September 7, 1998. The very last day that WDW’s “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” was supposed to be in operation. So that they could see for themselves if people really were as upset as they sounded about this attraction’s closing.

So WDI was there that day, guys. Standing quietly off to the sides. Watching all the people in line tear up and/or complain loudly about how their favorite WDW attraction was being shut down for no good reason. And the Imagineers couldn’t help but be … well … touched.

Which is why – the very next day, as the “Toad” tear-down began – these same Imagineers went into WDW’s “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” and began harvesting props. Black light painted plywood flats. Signs. Anything that they could carry …

And – then – they packed these pieces up and took them back home to WDI Headquarters. Where these chunks of this much beloved WDW ride were distributed and then used to decorate offices & cubbies all over the Glendale campus.

So – in a weird sort of way – the enthusiasm of some very vocal Disneyana fans turned a lot of Imagineers into hardcore “Toad” fans. Which is one of the main reasons that those paintings depicting Pooh shaking hands with Moley and Toad handing the deed to Toad Hall over to Owl ended up in WDW’s “Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.” As sort of a tribute to the attraction that used to occupy that show building.

And that’s why – when you walk through WDI these days – you keep running into all these little pieces of WDW’s “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.” And – just for the record – the most prized pieces of that attraction (the one that Imagineers keep stealing back & forth from one another) are those little devils that kept popping up in the ride’s “Hell”scene. If you have one of those decorating your office at WDI these days … Well, you’re considered to be a pretty hot ticket.

Hell … Hot ticket … I know there’s a halfway decent joke in there somewhere. But I’m just too tired to find it right now.

Tell you what: You folks have a great weekend, okay? And we’ll talk again on Monday.

jrh

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