General

Why For?

Jim Hill returns with answers to your Disney-related questions. This time around, Jim talks about why Walt Disney World isn’t hurrying to re-open “River Country,” describes what “Baby Herman’s Runaway Buggy Ride” would have been like, discusses future plans for this website as well as revealing the winners of this week’s trivia contest.

Published

20 years ago

January 6, 2005

Jim Hill

First up, RandomRabbit writes in with a follow-up question that relates to yesterday’s “Dead Men Tell No Tales … ” column:

Jim —

Loved today’s article about the “Pirates” water park. What other details do you have about this proposed project for Disney World? Is this what they’re going to replace “River Country” with? I can’t wait to visit this water park.

You had lots of good articles up on your site this week. Please keep up the great work.

Dear RandomRabbit —

Thanks for the kind words regarding the content that we had up on JHM this week. As for additional info on that “Pirates of the Caribbean” Water Adventure Park … I’m afraid that what you see is what you get. At least for the time being.

To explain: Remember how I mentioned — in yesterday’s article — that the “Pirates” water park was still in its blue sky phase? Well, “blue sky” is an in-house term that the Imagineers use when they’re still knocking an idea around. Still exploring all of the inherent possibilities of a particular proposed project.

That’s the current status of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” Water Adventure Park. I’m told that the Mouse House’s money guys are very intrigued by the profit potential of this project. But — that said – – they still want to hold off on approving a final construction budget until they see how “Pirates II” & “III” do at the box office in 2006. If either of these two sequels under-perform (Which — I know — seems unlikely. But remember what happened with those two “Matrix” sequels ) … Well, I think you can understand why Disney might then not want to go forward with a “Pirates” themed water park project.

Mind you, one thing that I CAN tell you with a fair degree of certainty, RandomRabbit, is that this “Pirates” themed water park will NOT be “River Country” ‘s replacement. Yes, at first glance, it would probably make sense for the Mouse to replace the “old Swimmin’ Hole” at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground with something a bit more state-of-the-art. But then you have to understand that WDW’s current management has some serious logistical concerns with “River Country.” Chief among these being that water park’s size as well as its remote location.

To put it bluntly, “River Country” is just too small a site for what the Walt Disney Company wants to do with its “Pirates of the Caribbean” Water Adventure Park. Then — when you add in the transportation issues …

“What transportation issues?,” you ask. Well, how many of you out there remember how truly difficult it was to get down to “River Country”? How — even if you were staying on property — you still had to take a bus on down to Pioneer Hall and then hike all the rest of the way to the “Old Swimmin’ Hole.” Or — if you were staying at one of the Magic Kingdom Area Resorts — you still had to take a boat over to Fort Wilderness and then walk on over to “River Country.”

And if you were one of those poor unfortunate slobs who was actually staying off-property who wanted to visit “River Country” … fuggedaboutit. First you had to park your car in a remote parking lot. THEN you had to board the bus for Pioneer Hall. THEN you had to hike over to the water park.

You see what I’m saying, RandomRabbit? The “River Country” experience wasn’t at all like what WDW guests are now used to with “Typhoon Lagoon” and “Blizzard Beach.” Where all the bus stops are right up close to the entrance. Where even the day visitors to these WDW water parks have an easy time of it. They just drop their cars in the parking lot and stroll right up to the entrance.

Which is why re-opening “River Country” hasn’t really been all that high priority for the Walt Disney Company. The Mouse now thinks of that water park as a fairly problematic project. One where it’s really hard to see how the corporation would get a good return on its investment. Were Disney to ever throw a sizable amount of dough at this Fort Wilderness institution for expansion and/or retheming.

Which is why the “Old Swimmin’ Hole” remains locked up tight. Every so often, I hear rumors that Disney is thinking of re-opening “River Country” as a water park that’s exclusive to guests staying at Wilderness Lodge, the Villas at Wilderness Lodge as well as Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. But then I’m told that just the cost of bringing “River Country” up to current ADA compliance would be fairly considerable. Which is why the redo of this WDW water park remains (seemingly forever) on Disney’s bank burner.

Never mind the fact that a “Pirates of the Caribbean” Water Adventure Park doesn’t really fit in with Fort Wilderness’ America-frontier-of-the-mid-to-late-1800s theming …

Anyway … if I were a betting man, RandomRabbit, I’d bet that Disney will follow its old “Blizzard Beach” / “Typhoon Lagoon” battle plan. As in: If the Walt Disney Company actually does decide to build a “Pirates of the Caribbean” Water Adventure Park in Central Florida, that they’d then pick a parcel of land that’s just off of an already existing on-property road. That the site that they pick will have plenty of room for a parking lot as well as the attraction’s back-of-house areas.

Soooo … Anyone out there wanna eyeball an aerial map of the Walt Disney World Resort and hazard a guess as to where on property a “Pirates of the Caribbean” Water Adventure Park might fit?

Next up, Neil B. of Watertown, MA. asks:

Jim —

I really enjoyed that “Disney Decade” article that you wrote earlier this week. I was particularly intrigued by all the attractions that were proposed for Disney-MGM that were ultimately never built. Could you someday do a story about some of them? Like that Baby Herman Runaway Buggy Ride. How was that supposed to work?

Neil B. —

Actually, you picked one of my favorites, Neil. Had it ever made it off the drawing board, “Baby Herman’s Runaway Buggy Ride” would have been a whole lot of fun to ride. It’s a real shame that — due to Disney’s never-ending battle with Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment over which company actually controlled the rights to the Roger Rabbit characters — that the Imagineers never actually got the chance to build this particular attraction

“So what would have ‘Baby Herman’s Runaway Buggy Ride’ been like to ride?,” you query. Well, picture this: You’re on line at Maroon Studios. Where you’re supposedly about to get a tour of the set of the new Roger Rabbit / Baby Herman cartoon, “Tummy Trouble.”

But — as you make your way past Baby Herman’s trailer — you can hear that the diminutive star is inside that trailer & he’s throwing a tantrum. Baby Herman is saying things like: “That sequence is far too dangerous for a star like me to perform, Raoul. You better go hire some stuntmen to take my place in that scene.”

And the next thing you know, this cartoon’s frantic director is walking up to you & your party in line, asking you if you’d like to take Baby Herman’s place in the picture. To shoot a brief scene for the movie that’s perfectly safe. That really shouldn’t be any problem at all.

And — before you really have a chance to think this question over — you suddenly find yourself in Maroon Studios’ wardrobe department. Where you’re being fitted for a giant baby bonnet. And the next thing you know, you and three of your close, personal friends are being loaded into an over-sized baby buggy.

Once the lap bar comes down, Raoul shouts “Lights! Camera! Action.” And — with that — you’re suddenly whizzing around the wards of St. Nowhere Hospital, supposedly shooting a stunt sequence for “Tummy Trouble.”

Below, you find images from storyboards for this proposed Disney-MGM attraction, which shows your baby buggy bouncing over beds full of patients …

… as well as making wild turns in the hospital’s corridors, where it feels like you’re almost going to fall out of your ride vehicle.

And the best part of “Baby Herman’s Runaway Buggy Ride” was that this proposed Disney-MGM attraction was supposed to feature image capture. Which means — as you exited the ride — you’d have the opportunity to buy a picture of you & your friends seated in a giant buggy. With all of you wearing baby bonnets.

Yeah, just for the retail opportunities alone, Disney desperately wanted to built this “Baby Herman” attraction as part of the Sunset Boulevard expansion project. But then Steven Spielberg started getting all snippy about what could and could not be done with the Roger Rabbit characters. Which — in the end — meant no “Toontown Trolley” simulator ride for Disney-MGM …

… No “Baby Herman’s Runaway Buggy Ride,” no “Benny the Cab” ride … Well, at least for Florida.

Speaking of the “Benny the Cab” ride, let me share a little story about how this attraction was originally supposed to be laid out. Back when Mickey’s Toontown actually went by the name “Mickeyland.”

Take a close look at this piece of concept art.

Notice that the ride vehicles for the “Benny the Cab” attraction load at ground level, but then — via a ramp leading to the top floor of Toontown’s Powerhouse — head for the second floor. Where they then stay for the rest of the ride. Which includes a brief outdoor trip across the rooftops before your cab — via a ramp that takes you from the top floor of the Acme Warehouse back down to ground level — returns to the off-load area.

Wouldn’t that have been fun? To have gone outside in your “Benny the Cab” ride vehicle. Not to mention motoring along on the rooftops of Toontown. But — as you might expect — as they began cutting back on the budget for this Disneyland expansion area, some items had to get cut.

So out went the outdoor track section of the “Benny the Cab” ride (as well as the somewhat unique idea of staging most of this attraction so that it played out on Toontown’s second floor). Cut too was the “Little Mermaid” dark ride as well as the Mickeyland Opera House. Which was where the Imagineers hoped to present “Muppetvision 3-D” after Orange County residents got so upset about WDI’s original proposal. Which was throw our 16th president out of the Main Street Opera House and replace “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” with this new Muppet movie.

Which reminds me. I really should fold this piece of concept art into my “When You Wish Upon a Frog” series over at Laughingplace.com.

And — speaking of my long form stories — I got this note from Ryan R. earlier this week concerning my ” A Very ‘Mary’ Christmas” series.:

Jim,

Please don’t make (your) “Mary Poppins” story become the next journey through the “Light Magic” fiasco. That one was started twice and I am still waiting to hear the end. Now, I am waiting desparately for the end of the “Mary Poppins” story and it seems to not be coming soon.

Thanks for the site

Ryan

Ryan —

You can relax. The end of that “Mary Poppins” story is nigh. Though I should warn you that this series has mutated somewhat.

As longtime JHM readers already know, I know no short stories. So what starts out as just a simple two part story sometimes turns into a three parter or a four parter. Or — in the case of ” A Very ‘Mary’ Christmas” — a five part series.

Plus — given that this series is now going to finish up in January — my attempt at a Christmas tie-in for these “Mary Poppins” stories just doesn’t make any sense anymore. Which is why I retitling the series. It’s now going to be called “Mary Poppins: From the Page to the Stage.” And the series’ new opening installment (which may go up next Tuesday, more likely next Wednesday) will deal with Walt Disney’s 22-year long effort to acquire the movie rights to the P.L. Travers books. Part II will be the original Part I of the ‘Very ‘Mary’ Christmas” series. Part III will be a slightly rewritten version of Part II of the original version of this JHM series (Which talked about “The Poet & the Nightingale”). Part IV will deal with the Walt Disney Company’s attempt in the late 1980s to get a “Mary Poppins” sequel off the ground. And Part V will talk about Cameron Mackintosh’s 19-year struggle to acquire the rights to do a stage musical version of “Mary Poppins.”

My goal is to have this whole “Mary Poppins” series buttoned by over the next week or two. So that there will be no loose ends when it comes to my take on the Disney / P.L. Travers / Cameron Mackintosh tale.

But wait! There’s more, folks. As this new year got underway just eight days ago, I made a promise to myself: To finish up in ’05. As in: All of the other series that I’ve left abandoned all around the Web? To finally finish them all off.

This means the long-awaited conclusions to my “Tower of Terror” series, my “Light Magic” series, even “When You Wish Upon a Frog” (That one actually kind of frightens me. Given that I figure– what with trying to cover everything that happened between the Jim Henson Company & the Walt Disney Company from 1990 to today — that one may need another 15-20 chapters). Not to mention buttoning up my unauthorized Disneyland history book as well as finally getting out that first issue of the JHM newsletter.

My goal is — by the time December 31, 2005 rolls around — that I’ll go from being Jim Hill, the guy who never quite finishes the stuff he starts, to being Jim Hill, the guy who tells these really-cool-but-sometimes-really-long Disney-related stories.

I won’t lie to you, folks. Getting this all done is going to take some time. As well as a lot of work on my part. So I’m afraid that I’m going to have to ask for a little more of your patience. The current plan calls for me to first wrap up the “Poppins” series, then get out the first issue of JHM newsletter, then finish up “Little Magic” (I think). And then — after that — the Tower of Terror series & the Muppet stuff. So — if you can just hang in there a little while longer — I think the wait will really be worth it.

And — speaking of waiting — I know that there are a number of JHM readers who are frantically waiting to hear who won this week’s “Monday Mélange” trivia contest. The question was:

Who was the first Disney character to be rendered in CG? And for what film/project was this classic character computer animated?

And the answer was: Mickey Mouse, who was rendered in CG back in 1990 for Disney-MGM’s “Kermit the Frog presents Muppetvision 3-D.”

Given the large number of folks (73!) who entered this week’s trivia contest and correctly identified the character and the film, I have randomly selected three winners. They are:

Mark Noack
Bill Sencio
Rob Steere

So — if you gentleman would please send me your address information — I’d be happy to put those bags of “Just Plain Joe Coffee” in the mail for you.

Curiously, nobody got this week’s bonus question. Which was:

What’s so ironic about the company that Disney hired to do the computer animation for this film/project?

And the answer is: The company that computer-animated Mickey Mouse for “Muppetvision 3-D” was Pacific Data Image, also known as PDI. What’s ironic about this whole situation is that PDI would eventually be acquired by Dreamworks SKG. (They’re the folks who actually produce all of Dreamworks’ computer animated features like “Antz,” “Shrek,” Shrek II” and “Sharktale.”)

So here you have the very first company to render Mickey in CG eventually turning into Disney’s direct competitor in the computer animation field. That’s kind of ironic, don’t you think?

Anyway … It’s been a big week here at JHM. Plus we just had a big snowstorm up here in New Hampshire. So I think I’d best close now and get started shoveling that six inches of “partly cloudy” off my front deck.

“Isn’t it going to be unpleasant to have to go outside, Jim,” you ask, “and muck around in all that cold and snow?” Nah. I’ll just consider it excellent training for next month’s trip to Minneapolis. Where I’ll be covering Disney’s next annual meeting.

Yep. You heard right. Disney’s next annual meeting is going to be held in Minnesota. On February 11th. Me personally, I figure that the only reason that Eisner chose the Minneapolis Convention Center as the venue for this year’s meeting is that the one in Nome, Alaska must have already been booked.

Ah, but a little cold & a little distance isn’t going to stop JimHillMedia.com from attending this extra-special event. Our current plan is to strap on some snowshoes and mush on out to Minnesota. Where we’ll bring you detailed coverage of Bob Iger’s coronation … Er … I mean “this year’s annual meeting.”

Anyway … I’ll soon be bringing you details about what JHM plans to do once we get out to Minneapolis next month. But — for now — just like every other news organization out there that just learned yesterday what Disney had in store for this year’s annual meeting, I’m now scrambling to arrange for my plane ticket as well as my hotel accomodations. Hmmn … I wonder if I can get a direct flight into Minneapolis or if I’m going to have to make a stopover at Lake Wobegon first?

Okay. That’s enough stalling on my part. I gotta go shovel the deck now. You folks have a great weekend, okay? And we’ll all meet here again next week, alright?

Later,

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