General

Are Roy and Stanley making a Rainbow Connection?

First Steve Jobs and John Lasseter. Now the Henson family? Jim Hill has news about who else Roy Disney and Stanley Gold have reportedly recruited to help out with their bid to oust Michael Eisner. Plus a further update on what’s supposedly going on in the boardroom.

Published

21 years ago

December 2, 2003

Jim Hill

It’s Day 3 of Roy and Stanley’s “Oust Eisner” campaign. And — so far anyway — the folks on Wall Street don’t seem all that impressed.

Don’t believe me? Here’s a quick sampling of what some investment analysts have to say about the situation:

“Eisner’s not likely to go anywhere soon,” or so says Oppenheimer and Co. analyst Peter Mirksy.

“I don’t expect (Disney and Gold’s campaign) to have much of an impact,” sniffed Loop Capital markets analyst David Martell.

“They might have found a more receptive audience 18 months ago,” said Janna Sampson — a portfolio manager at Oakbrook Investments — as she dismissed Roy and Stanley’s efforts to recruit Disney stockholders to take part in their “Get Mike to Take a Hike” program.

So why is it that — given that the internet community has been so galvanized by all this talk of ousting Eisner — that Wall Street seems to have greeted this revolutionary idea with a shrug?

Because … well … let’s be blunt here, people: There aren’t really all that many investment analysts out there that are truly enthusiastic about the notion of Michael Eisner staying on as head of the Walt Disney Company through September 2006. But — then again — investment analysts are (by their very nature) a fairly cautious bunch. They don’t like taking risks.

So while Wall Street is at least willing to listen to what Roy and Stanley have to say, these folks then go pick up their copies of the “Wall Street Journal” and see that the price of Disney’s stock is up 39% from last year. And the studio’s current crop of movies seem to be doing well at the box office. And ABC’s ratings have gradually improved over the past three months.

Which is why investment analysts — while they really have no fondness for Eisner — are reluctant to rock the boat. I mean, what if the guy that Roy and Stanley bring in to replace Michael actually does a worse job of running the Mouse House than Eisner did? Right now, Wall Street is fairly optimistic about how the Walt Disney Company will do in 2004.

And Roy Disney and Stanley Gold realize this. Which why they’re trying to play down the recent gains in Disney’s stock price and all the talk about how attendance levels are up at the corporation’s stateside theme parks. Instead, Roy and Stanley are trying to make Michael Eisner himself the issue.

As in: Think about how much better the Walt Disney Company would be — how much more successful this corporation might be — if Michael Eisner weren’t still running the show.

This is the lynch pin of Disney and Gold’s Pixar stratagem. I.E. Due to his personal conflict with Steve Jobs, Michael Eisner is preventing Walt Disney Studios from closing a contract extension deal with Pixar Animation Studios.

But just yesterday, I got a peek at another page of Roy and Stanley’s playbook. And — to be honest — I was both thrilled and surprised to hear about what else these guys reportedly have up their sleeves.

What am I talking about? Well, do you recall Monday’s story — “Did Roy Jump the Gun?” — where I talked about how Michael Eisner had been embarrassed by the fact that he hadn’t be able to close the Jim Henson Company acquisition deal early year. Well, it appears that Kermit and Co. may soon be causing Michael even more discomfort.

According to several well-placed sources that I spoke with at the Jim Henson Company yesterday, Disney and Gold have supposedly been meeting quietly with members of the Henson family for months now. It’s even been suggested that Roy and Stanley may have played a part in the family’s decision to suddenly buy back the Jim Henson Company this past May, rather than allow the Muppets to be sold off to Mickey.

“So what’s the point of Walt’s nephew and Stanley Gold inserting themselves into the Disney/Henson negotiations?” you ask. Patience, Grasshopper. All will be explained shortly.

Okay, now how many of you recall the story in “Variety” last month which stated that the Jim Henson Company was actively looking for a partner? Some media conglomerate with fairly deep pockets and a great distribution system that could help Henson out with its film, TV and home video projects.

Well, Disney was one of the companies mentioned in this article. And — according to the folks that I spoke with at Henson yesterday — Disney and Gold (or their representatives) have supposedly been met quietly with the Henson family over the past few weeks.

“And what’s the purpose of all this cloak and dagger stuff,” you ask? Well, the Walt Disney Company is reportedly looking to get into a long term production deal with the Jim Henson Company — with the Mouse releasing and promoting a wide variety of movies, videos and TV shows that the Frog produces.

Furthermore, should the above arrangement prove to be pleasant, professional and financially beneficial to both corporations, the door might once again swing open for acquisition. As in: The Henson family would allegedly agree to sell the Jim Henson Company — lock, stock and Fozzie Bear-el — to the Walt Disney Company.

So what’s the catch? The Henson family will supposedly only agree to the above arrangement IF Michael Eisner is out as head of the Walt Disney Company.

You see the strategy that’s emerging here? “Michael Eisner can’t get Steve Jobs to agree to a Pixar contract extension. But Roy Disney — who’s a friend of John Lasseter — can.” And “Michael Eisner missed out on closing a deal to acquire the Jim Henson Company (again) in May. But the Henson family is willing once more to do business with the Walt Disney Company … provided that Michael Eisner is out of the picture.”

This is really an ingenious strategy on Roy and Stanley’s part, don’t you think? Getting Disney shareholders to overlook the modest gains that the corporation has made over the past year by pointing out how much better the Walt Disney Company could theoretically be doing if Michael Eisner weren’t in the hot seat.

So what’s Michael Eisner’s response to all this? He’s still letting the members of Disney’s board do most of the talking for him. Though — as has been pointed out to me by numerous JHM readers — these guys aren’t really mounting all that spirited a defense of the Mouse House’s Big Cheese:

So says Nome de Plume:

Take a closer look at those messages that Disney’s Board of Directors have been issuing to the media on Eisner’s behalf. Notice how careful the language they’re using is. How tepid it sounds. These guys are just going through the motions, Jim. Doing what they have to to keep Michael happy. But nothing more than that.

Maybe Disney’s Board of Directors really do have an Eisner exit strategy in place. And Mitchell and Co. are actually working in tandem with Disney and Gold to pull a pincer maneuver from without and within. Til the pressure gets so great that Disney’s CEO has no choice but to resign.

But if this is really the case … why didn’t Disney’s Board of Directors just leave their original Eisner exit strategy in place? Just allow Michael to somewhat gracefully announce that he’d be retiring of his own volition in September 2004 and then let Disney’s CEO ride off into the sunset.

“The Poet” (who finally checked in again this afternoon — hurrah!) offered up these intriguing answers to the above query:

Supposedly, not one of Disney’s Board of Directors actually trust Michael Eisner right about now. Their worry is that — after Roy Disney, Ray Watson and Thomas Murphy were forced to resign this week (in accordance with the corporation’s new governance, which insist that all directors must now retire from the board when they reach 72 years of age) — Michael might replace these corporate officers with three new directors who would be much more sympathetic to Eisner’s plight. Which means that Michael might be then be able to weasel out of his previous arrangement. Which would allow Eisner to stay on as the head of the Walt Disney Company ’til the end of his contract — which is September of 2006.

So — by making a co-ordinated effort now (with Roy and Stanley on the outside and Mitchell and Co. on the inside) — Eisner wouldn’t have any wiggle room. And — provided that enough public pressure could be brought to bear — Michael could conceivably be forced out of his CEO position at the Walt Disney Company well ahead of September 2004.

“The Poet” also went on to say that Disney’s Board of Directors is said to be uncomfortable with the size of the “golden parachute” that Eisner is insisting on receiving. The figure that’s reportedly being bandied about isn’t quite a billion. But “The Poet” suggests that it could be well north of $500 million.

In this post-Richard Grasso / NYSE scandal era (where CEOs are regularly being taken to task by the media for excessive compensation and bonuses), Disney’s Board of Directors is reportedly worried that — should the news break about how much the Mouse is supposed to pay Michael in order to get him to move along — that it could be another PR disaster for the corporation.

More importantly, given the enormous amount of money that we’re allegedly talking about here (which is said to be more than the amount that Mickey paid out to Jeffrey Katzenberg and Mike Ovitz combined), Disney stockholders could conceivably rise up in revolt. Which might result in the Board of Directors getting released from their extra-cushy jobs as officers of the Disney corporation.

So — with this grisly possibility rolling around in the back of their minds — Disney’s Board of Directors supposedly began exploring more affordable options. Like the possibility that — if there were a loud enough public outcry — they could possibly embarrass Michael Eisner into exiting earlier, under his own power. Which (hopefully) would result in the corporation having to offer a smaller financial “parting gift” to the company’s soon-to-be-former CEO.

You see what I’m saying here, folks? The stuff that’s made it out into the mainstream media to date. It’s all just the tip of the iceberg. All the players aren’t out on stage yet. The real drama now is being played out behind-the-scenes. As Roy and Stanley quietly and carefully recruit allies for their cause and Eisner weighs his options. And — all the while — Disney’s Board of Directors continue to say that they’re standing firmly behind the corpoartion’s CEO … when what Mitchell and Co. are really supposedly up to is looking for an opportune time to push Eisner out a window.

You know — according to this friend I have in Vegas — the current odds on Michael Eisner being out of the Walt Disney Company by January 2004 are 3 to 1. Me personally? I’m not sure that things are going to move quite that quickly. I’m pretty certain that Michael is going to wage a pretty tough campaign to hang onto his job.

But even so — were all the stuff that we’ve discussed in today’s JHM article to actually come to light (with Pixar allegedly only agreeing to sign a contract extension with Disney if Eisner is gone, the Jim Henson Company supposedly only agreeing to a long term production deal with the Mouse if Michael’s out of the picture, plus Roy and Stanley reportedly working in tandem with Mitchell and Co.) — it’s really hard to see how Eisner’s actually going to be able to hang on.

Hmmmn … maybe now might be a good time to call Vegas and see if I can’t get in on some of that Eisner exit action?

Your thoughts?

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