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A.M.P.A.S. Voices of Character event showcased the talented performers behind your favorite cartoon characters

Published

14 years ago

on

You've heard "How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria," right?
The song that the nuns sing in "The Sound of the Music" when they're fretting
about that novice's behavior? Well, have you ever wondered what that Rodgers
& Hammerstein song might sound like if Roz from "Monsters, Inc." had sung
it?


Copyright Disney Pixar. All rights reserved

If so … Then you should have been at the Samuel Goldwyn
Theater back on August 19th. When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences – as part of its Marc Davis Celebration of Animation – presented a
"Voices of Character" panel.

Moderated by noted author & animation historian Charles
Solomon, this was an evening that animation fans will remember for years yet to
come. Given that this "Voices of Character" panel featured appearances by
industry vets like June Foray, Russi Taylor, Susan Egan and Yuri Lowenthal. Not
to mention Pixar screenwriter Bob Peterson's singing nun impression.

The evening actually got underway with this terrific clip
reel that Les Perkins had created. The short montage featured a myriad of
actors in live-action films followed by clips of their famous animated
performances.   The audience in the
Samuel Goldwyn Theater reeled with delight as they watched Lucille La Verne
make her unmistakable cackle in a live-action film from the 1930s, which  was then reprised instantly in her iconic role
as Snow White's Wicked Witch.  The clips
oscillated from live-action actors – both legendary and almost completely
forgotten – to their animated counterparts, each unforgettable.  The brilliantly edited clips featured
everyone from Roy Atwell, first on-screen, then as the voice of the dwarf Doc,
to Eddie Murphy in Bowfinger then as Donkey in Shrek.


Charles Solomon moderated the Voices of Character
panel at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Photo by
Richard Harbaugh. Copyright  2010 A.M.P.A.S.
All rights reserved

The audience was then treated to a short clip of Monsters
Inc. where the dialogue changes to 30 different foreign languages.  The audience simultaneously giggled at the
foreign languages emanating from these familiar characters, and marveled at the
work it takes to produce these dubs and make them true to the story in so many
different cultures.

Then Rick Dempsey (i.e. senior VP of Disney Character Voices
International), animation master James Baxter and Bob Peterson took to the
stage. Where Solomon asked the panelists when the voice of the character first
enters their minds.  Baxter responded,
"from the instant you see the first  artwork of a character… the possibilities
start to open up.  And of course, once
you cast an actor, that may affect the design of the character in the end as
well." 

Peterson offered a different take on Solomon's question.  "When the character's flaw comes in, you know
(you need someone who can then) balance that flaw."  He went on to explain that Woody's unlikeable
behavior necessitated casting an actor like Tom Hanks who had inherent likeability
that could then balance that flaw.  Up's
Carl Frederickson was grumpy for a lot of that movie.  Which is why Ed Asner was the perfect voice actor
to make that Pixar character appealing.


James Baxter offered up his thoughts at last month's Marc Davis Celebration of
Animation. Photo by Ivan Vejar. Copyright 2010 A.M.P.A.S. All rights reserved

James added modestly, "With a good voice, all of your work
is done.  You pray for a rich, juicy
voice. Then you just have to not drop the ball."

Baxter talked about the unique situation with Enchanted's
Giselle.  Her animated design was tailored
to reflect the live actress who was cast to play her – Amy Adams.  After showing her some of the poses of her
animated counterpart, Amy then folded some of her cartoon mannerisms that James
had created for that character into her live-action performance.  "There was more back and forth between actor and
animator in that instance," he added.

Peterson shared that Tom Hanks has stated that voice-acting
was the hardest thing that he's ever had to do, emoting with only your voice,
working alone in a small booth.  Baxter then
offered up James Earl Jones' impressions of voice-over from the production of
The Lion King.  "When recording Mufasa,
Jones likened it to the way ancient Greeks players acted behind a mask."


Bob Peterson shared some behind-the-stories about Pixar recording sessions.
Photo by Ivan Vejar. Copyright 2010 A.M.P.A.S. All rights reserved

Bob talked about Albert Brooks' approach to Marlin in
Finding Nemo.  He was a gifted ad libber
and would dial in the nuance of his character take after take.  Then they would move on to the next scene,
and Brooks would stop them and say "Ooh, I want to go back. I thought of
something else."

Speaking of ad libbing, Peterson shared an anecdote from
Billy Crystal's recording on Monsters Inc. 
At some point, Crystal's mic was unintentionally given reverb which then
created an echo effect.  And so Crystal
spent the next twenty minutes pretending to broadcast FM radio from inside of the
Luray Caverns.  The crew at Pixar was in
hysterics listening to Billy.  Inbetween
laughs, Peterson noted to the others that " … We should be paying him for this
…  Oh, wait. We are."

The next clip screened in the Samuel Goldwyn Theater featured
Walt Disney in the only known footage of him recording Mickey Mouse.  Walt performed with Billy Bletcher as Pete in
1940's Mr. Mouse Takes A Trip.  It was a
curious sight to watch tall, lanky Walt invoke this squeaky, friendly little
voice.  And watching the diminutive Billy
Bletcher bellow like a foghorn as Pete.


Walt Disney and Billy Bletcher. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved

After this, June Foray, Russi Taylor, Susan Egan and Yuri
Lowenthal were welcomed to the stage with a montage of their diverse spectrum
of work  in everything from Rocky and
Bullwinkle to Spirited Away.

Animation's grande dame June Foray shared many hilarious
anecdotes from her life in voice-over. 
One of which involved her annual Halloween phone call to friend Pat Buttram.  Pat would call June in order to speak with
Witch Hazel, and receive a report on broom-flying conditions.  One year, Foray was running late from a
recording session, and so she called Buttram from a phone booth on a busy
street.  As June cackled and squealed
from the phone booth, curious passersby wondered, "What kind of nut is
that?"  The answer is obvious to us.  That's a real voice-over artist.

The panelists were asked about how much, if any, of the
performance is physical while recording. 
They all noted that it is surprisingly physical.  Russi noted that Bill Farmer bends his body
into an S-curve just like Goofy when recording the iconic character.  Yuri Lowenthal shared a story from when he
was cast as Superman for a project. 
Several sessions passed and while they were on break, the show runner asked
Yuri "if [he] always records like that?" 
Yuri didn't realize that, at each of the sessions, he had been standing
at the podium with his hands on his hips in the signature Superman heroic
stance.


Yuri Lowenthal struck a heroic pose at last month's "Voices of Character" panel.
Photo by Ivan Vejar. Copyright 2010 A.M.P.A.S. All rights reserved

In discussing the origins of Roz's voice for Monsters Inc.,
Bob Peterson shared that "… she was my lunch ladies from the 1970s, dispensing
government cheese."  It has a guttural
didgeridoo quality he noted, "But you can't make any physical noise while
recording. So you learn to act from the waist up."

Russi told a story she had heard about legendary actress
Carol Channing.  While recording
voice-over some years ago, her elaborate blouse made so much noise that it was
ruining every take.  So finally Channing took
off her shirt and finished recording in her bra.  "That's a woman."  Russi declared gleefully

June Foray noted that she's been playing Granny in the
Looney Tunes since 1957.  "I'm still
doing it. But now I'm old enough." 


June Foray proved to be an audience favorite at this Academy of Motion
Pictures Arts and Science event. Photo by Todd Wawrychuck.
Copyright 2010 A.M.P.A.S. All rights reserved

Susan Egan described dubbing anime like a jigsaw puzzle,
which is what she says really appeals to her about it.  It's such a technical process, working with the
director & writers to find just the right colloquial American word or
phrase to convey the intent of the dialogue. 
But then it also has to fit the timing of the existing mouth animation,
which changes everything all over again.   

Egan — who recorded Meg  for Hercules as she was performing in Broadway's
Beauty and the Beast — was asked if she felt her nightly stage persona
creeping into her voice recording.  "No,"
she responded, "but Alan Menken came to the show one night.  And after the show he came backstage and said
'your Meg is creeping into your Belle and I have notes for you.' "  The panelists noted that THAT was a version
of Beauty and the Beast they'd really like to see – a Belle with Meg's snark
who takes none of the Beast's crap.  Without
missing a beat, Susan dropped into Meg's voice and started snapping at the
Beast.  She referred to this as "Beauty
and the Beast 2:  The Divorce."

Susan discussed the difference between auditioning for the stage
and auditioning for voice-over.  Egan marched
in, handed them her materials and the casting personnel & directors
promptly put their heads down on the table. 
They just listened and "I felt very alone up there.  But they had a camera on me.  And sure enough, a year and a half later, I
noticed some of (my) gestures in Meg's performance." 


Russi Taylor remembered what it was like to work on some of your favorite Saturday
morning shows. Photo by Ivan Vejar. Copyright 2010 A.M.P.A.S. All rights reserved

Solomon then asked about recording in isolation and yet
creating a great sense of chemistry.  Foray
responded simply "You have to be a good actor." 
Taylor talked about the fact that this wasn't always the case.  All  of
her work on DuckTales (Huey, Dewie, Louie and Webby Vanderquack) and Muppet
Babies (Gonzo) was performed all together. 
The panelists noted that this was a rare luxury these days, and one that
they certainly relish when they have the opportunity. 

Peterson then shared an amusing anecdote of recording
Christopher Plummer's performance as Charles Muntz in Up.  Because of his long-ago experience in radio,
he physically moved past the mic, recreating the effect of falling past the
mic.  They had to tell him that they will
create the falling effect in post. 

Susan followed Bob's story by recalling the call that she
received from Disney while that they were working on the direct-to-video
feature, Lady and the Tramp II.  "Can you
sing like Alyssa Milano?,"  they asked. Without
a moment's hesitation, Egan responded "Yeah, of course. You know, it's something
— as an actor – (that)  I've been
working on for years."


Susan Egan talks about some of the sillier requests that casting
directors have made over the years. Photo by Ivan Vejar.
Copyright 2010 A.M.P.A.S. All rights reserved

The panelists then took part in a table read of the classic
Jay Ward Fractured Fairy Tale, "Aladdin." 
Bob Peterson assigned roles.  They
created voices.  Once completed, they
returned to an earlier point in the script and read again with the same actors
assigned each part, but with completely different voices.  As a member of the audience, you couldn't help
but marvel at their skill. 

June Foray talked about what a rare gift this is.  Lots of people can do funny voices.  But few can actually act, creating a
performance in that character's voice. 
Russi added, "…and keep it up, often for hours!  You have to start high energy and keep it up
or go even higher!"

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences'  Marc Davis Celebration of Animation: Voices of
Character event closed out with a montage of Mel Blanc performances. Which
easily illustrated why Blanc was called the man of a thousand voices.


(Seated) Charles Solomon, Susan Egan and June Foray. (Standing) Yuri
Lowenthal, Bob Peterson, Rick Dempsey and Russi Taylor. Photo by
Richard Harbaugh. Copyright 2010 A.M.P.A.S. All rights reserved

In short, this was one of those nights that the animation fans who were lucky
enough to be inside of the Samuel Goldwyn Theater on August 19th will
remember for the rest of their lives. And not just because they got to hear Roz
sing "How Do You solve a Problem like Maria?"

Your thoughts?

Related Topics:

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

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General

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

Published

10 years ago

on

June 23, 2015

By

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

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

… the postman delivering the mail …


Photo by Jim Hill

… the hot dog vendor working at his cart …


Photo by Jim Hill


Photo by Jim Hill

… the street musician playing for tourists …


Photo by Jim Hill

Not to mention the tourists themselves.


Photo by Jim Hill

But right alongside the bronze businessmen …


Photo by Jim Hill

… and the tired grandmother hauling her groceries home …


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

… or — for that matter — out-of-time.


Photo by Jim Hill

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


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

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

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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

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General

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

Published

10 years ago

on

June 10, 2015

By

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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

Your thoughts?

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General

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

Published

10 years ago

on

June 9, 2015

By

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc.
All rights reserved

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights
reserved

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc.
All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Lucasfilm / Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

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

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

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