General

Food for Thought

Jim Korkis returns with a brand new column for JimHillMedia.com. This time around, he reveals the recipes for — as well as the stories behind — some of Walt’s favorite snacks.

Published

22 years ago

May 26, 2003

Jim Korkis

Hey, folks!

Jim Hill again. Once again, I’m pleased to introduce JHM’s newest columnist, Jim Korkis. Though — as I read the first paragraph of today’s story — I was somewhat saddened to see that mention of Jim’s Mom.

Why was I saddened? You see, Mrs. Korkis passed away this weekend. And — given how close Jim was to his Mom — well, I’m sure that her sudden passing was a huge blow to he and his father.

As you might expect, Korkis is going to take a bit of a break from JimHillMedia.com. Which I completely understand and support.

Mind you, that doesn’t actually mean that JHM is going to be without any new Jim Korkis stories for a while. Just before his mother’s unfortunate passing, Jim e-mailed me this huge pile of brand new columns. Which JHM will be carefully parceling out over the next few weeks.

Even so, the whole crew here at JHM still feels for Jim Korkis’ loss. And we ask that JimHillMedia.com’s readers keep our friend and his father in their thoughts and prayers during this extremely difficult time.

Thanks for your indulgence and understanding,
jrh

I remember my dad warning me that “you are what you eat” in a vain attempt to curb my passion for hamburgers, pizza and chocolate. I also remember my mom telling me to clean my plate because children were starving in Europe. It took me many years before I realized that even though I cleaned my plate, children kept starving in Europe but I was getting fat. So thanks to my dietary habits, I ended up looking like Baloo the Bear instead of Cary Grant.

Later in life, I was delighted to discover that my simple tastes in culinary choices were similar to Walt Disney’s favorite foods. Walt’s daughter, Diane, has stated that many early years of trying to save money resulted in her dad developing “a hash house-lunch wagon appetite. He liked fried potatoes, hamburgers, western omelets, hotcakes, canned peas, hash, stew, roast beef sandwiches. He doesn’t go for vegetables, but loves chicken livers or macaroni and cheese.”

Walt’s wife, Lillian, would complain, “Why should I plan a meal when all Walt really wants is a can of chili or a can of spaghetti?”

Walt even carried nuts and crackers in his jacket pockets so that he could have a simple snack if he felt hungry Without a doubt, one of Walt’s favorite meals was chili and beans. At the studio, if he had no visitors for lunch, Walt would eat at his desk. He would often combine a can of Gebhardt’s chili (which had more meat but few beans) with a can of Dennison’s (which had less meat and more beans). The meal was preceded by a glass of V-8 juice and accompanied by soda crackers. Visitors to Walt’s office were often offered V-8 juice which puzzled European guests who were used to a stronger beverage choice. Walt’s secretary often warned visitors that if Walt offered them a glass of “tomato juice” they had better accept it.

When Walt traveled he’d bring along cans of chili and beans and other canned foods he liked to eat. At the fancy Dorchester Hotel in London, the waiters would serve him chili and beans and crackers that he had brought from the United States much to the embarrassment of Harry Tytle, who was a producer of a number of Disney films and who was dining with Walt at the time.

Gertrude Booth collected “favorite recipes of famous men” in her book, KINGS IN THE KITCHEN (A.S. Barnes & Co. 1961 New York) (There was a second printing in 1964 and both are available inexpensively at used booksites.) Along with Bob Hope, J. Edgar Hoover, John F. Kennedy and Alfred Hitchcock and many other “famous men”, Walt Disney shared his special secret chili recipe and here it is for your enjoyment. The recipe has been reprinted several times including the Spring 1995 issue of DISNEY MAGAZINE (without indicating the original source) but here is how it appeared in the book.

WALT’S CHILI RECIPE

2 pounds ground beef (coarse)
2 whole onions (sliced)
2 whole garlic cloves (minced)
2 pounds pink beans (dry)
1/2 cups celery (chopped)
1 teas. chili powder
1 teas. paprika
1 teas. dry mustard
1 can solid pack tomatoes (large can)
salt to taste

Soak beans overnight in cold water. Drain. Add water to cover 2 inches over beans and simmer with onions until tender (about 4 hours). Meanwhile, prepare sauce by browning meat and minced garlic in oil. Add remaining items and simmer 1 hour. When beans are tender, add sauce and simmer 1/2 hour. Serves 6-8.

As part of the 100 Years of Magic Celebration at the Walt Disney World Resort, several restaurants wanted to offer special desserts based on Walt Disney’s favorites. One of Walt’s former secretaries, Lucille Martin, as well as Walt’s daughter, Diane Disney Miller, provided the information that Walt’s favorite desserts were very “homestyle” like Lemon Meringue, Apple and Boysenberry pie.

The Disney’s family cook prepared a dessert every night. Walt’s other favorites including Apple Brown Betty, Custards, Bread Pudding, Baked Apples, Red Jell-O® with Fruit, Lemon Snow Pudding, and Lemon Chiffon with a Graham Cracker Crust. He liked Gingerbread and another type of cookie made with Chow Mein Noodles and melted Butterscotch.

When Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower published a cookbook (FIVE-STAR FAVORITES: Recipes from Friends of Mamie & Ike. Golden Press 1974) and solicited recipes from their friends, the Disney family provided one of Walt’s favorite desserts which was also a favorite of Walt’s first grandson, Christopher Disney Miller, who provided the name for this lemon chiffon concoction on a graham cracker crust.

CHRIS’S COLD PIE

4 eggs, separated ¼ tsp. Salt
½ cup lemon juice 1 tbsp. grated lemon rind
½ cup water 1 graham cracker crust (recipe on box)
1 tbsp. unflavored gelatin Nutmeg
1 cup sugar

In a small bowl, beat egg yolks with lemon juice and water just until combined. Mix gelatin, half the sugar and the salt in the top of a double boiler. Pour in egg yolk mixture, blending well. Cook, stirring constantly, over boiling water (water should not touch top section of double boiler) until gelatin dissolves and mixture thickens. Remove top from boiling water. Stir in lemon rind. Let set 20 minutes in a bowl filled with ice cubes, stirring occasionally. Remove from ice when mixture thickens enough to mound when dropped from a spoon.

Meanwhile, beat egg whites (at room temperature) in a large bowl until soft peaks form when beater is raise. Gradually add remaining sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time beating well after each addition. Continue beating until stiff peaks form when beater is raised. Gently fold gelatin mixture into egg whites just until combined. Turn into piecrust. Dust top with nutmeg and chill several hours. (If desired, omit nutmeg and serve topped with whipped cream.)

Walt’s love of simple fare also sparked the creation of a Disney architectural term. At Disneyland, Sleeping Beauty Castle is known as the “weenie” that draws guests down to the hub. Architectural scholars have described the “weenie” as “the visual icon that causes people to gravitate naturally towards a location.”

To Walt, it was simply the “weenie” and the term had its origin in Walt’s personal experience and his simple Mid-Western vocabulary. Some cast members embarrassed by the modern connotations of the word “weinie” mistakenly substitute the term “carrot” because of the well-known image of being able to direct a donkey or a horse forward by dangling a carrot in front of it. However, Walt’s choice of the word “weenie” was deliberate.

In the early Fifties when Walt was developing the concept of Disneyland, he would come home late in the evenings. He almost always entered his house through the kitchen, which was nearer the garage. He also used it as an excuse to check to see what his housekeeper, Thelma, was preparing for dinner.

If she was preparing steaks or lamb chops or broiled chicken, Walt would say, “You know I don’t like that” with a sigh in his voice to indicate disappointment. It seemed that no matter what was being prepared for dinner, it was never what Walt wanted at that moment and he would grumble.

Walt sometimes had a big lunch at the studio (because he used that time for interviews or meeting with guests) and then would pick at his dinner. His grumbling still upset Thelma even though she understood that fact and she would try to hide the dinner she was preparing if she heard Walt’s car.

Despite the pleas of Mrs. Disney to Walt to avoid coming in to the house through the kitchen because it upset Thelma, Walt continued to do so because part of his evening ritual was to go to the refrigerator and grab a raw hot dog wiener. Walt called it a “weenie” based on what he heard it being called when he was growing up.

He would get the weenie for the family dog, a small white poodle named “Lady”. Walt loved that particular dog despite his frequently quoted statement that “I can’t even have a male dog. I’ve got nothing but females around here” referring to his wife, two daughters and housekeeper. “Lady” even appeared on a few of the early Disneyland TV show introductions with Walt.

Walt’s daughter, Diane, remembered in a Fifties interview that her father loved “this old dog we had, the old poodle. Mother wanted her put to sleep. Dad said ‘no’. Well, she was sick. She was just miserable during the day but she’d perk up in the evenings when Dad came home. That’s the only time Dad saw her. In the evening, when Daddy came home, Dad would play with her with this hot dog.”

Like many dog owners, Walt discovered that by wiggling the hot dog in the air, he could get “Lady” to follow it and go from side to side and jump up and down. She followed wherever Walt wiggled the weenie. As Walt was developing Disneyland, he remembered this fond experience and translated it into an architectural term (“the weenie”) when he tried to describe to his team how to get guests to go in a certain direction and to reward the guests for that choice.

It turned out that the term also became a memorial for “Lady” who passed away around the time of the opening of Disneyland. She died at the veterinarian’s while she was being bathed. Fearing foul play, Walt insisted on an autopsy which revealed that “Lady” had died from a normal blood clot.

Spaceship Earth, American Adventure, the Sorcerer’s Hat, the Tree of Life and more are the “weenies” that help subconsciously move guests through the Disney theme parks. At the original Disneyland, “weenies” like the Mark Twain Steamboat or the TWA Rocket Ship were supposed to pull guests into Frontierland and Tomorrowland. It was Walt’s love of simple food that resulted in the creation of an often imitated design concept. If the old expression “You are what you eat” holds true, then the current Walt wannabes might want to explore the diet of a true animation genius.

General

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

Published

10 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

10 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

10 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