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How Disney decides where to draw the line when it comes to restoring its classic films

Published

13 years ago

on

How does a well-intentioned restoration wind up being
thought of as a desecration of a once-popular motion picture?

That’s what Steven Spielberg seemed to be wondering earlier
this week at the 30th anniversary screening of “Raiders of the Lost
Ark.” During the Q & A session following this Los Angeles Times-sponsored
screening, the topic of “E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial” ‘s 2002 release on DVD
came up. And Spielberg publicly admitted that he now regrets some of the
changes that were made to that version of this much-beloved movie (i.e. editing
out “You’re not dressing as a terrorist” line, digitally altering the guns that the Feds were
carrying in the film so that they now appeared to be walkie-talkies).

In hindsight, Steven now feels that he shouldn’t have listened
to all those parents groups who complained about the original 1982 version of this
Amblin Entertainment production. And that – by making the changes that he did –
Spielberg somehow managed to “ … rob the people who love E.T. of their memory
of the film.” Which is a mistake that this Academy Award-winning director seems
eager not to ever make again.


Copyright 2002 Universal Pictures. All rights reserved

I bring this issue up because … Late last month, I got to
take part in a WebEx Online event where I then got the chance to chat with the
folks who rode herd on the restoration of the 70th anniversary
edition of “Dumbo” (which hits store shelves next Tuesday). And as part of that
presentation, this dedicated team actually talked about having to deal with the
very same issues that Spielberg struggled with with his revised version of “E.T.”
That – when you work in the preservation & restoration business – you don’t
want to make so many fixes & futzes to a film that the audience then no
longer recognizes this movie as the one that they once saw in theaters.

Take – for example – this group’s 2004 restoration of the
first theatrically-released Mickey Mouse cartoon, 1928’s “Steamboat Willie.”

“We actually did a pristine restoration on that black-and-white
cartoon. We took the flicker out, we took the weave of the film out and we
cleaned it up,” Dave Bossert, the artistic supervisor of Walt Disney Animation
Studios‘ Restoration and Preservation Team explained. “And when we were done, ‘Steamboat
Willie’ was absolutely perfect looking. So then we screened the restored
version of this cartoon. And afterwards, we all just sat there and said ‘This
doesn’t really look right.’ At least from an artistic point of view.”


Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

So they then showed this restored version of “Steamboat
Willie” to Roy Disney. And while Roy applauded the work that Bossert and his
team had done, he pointed out that – by cleaning up this iconic cartoon & then
restoring the print to the point that it actually looked better than most
contemporarily-produced animated shorts – they’d accidentally drained some of
the hand-drawn charm & historical significance out of “Steamboat Willie.”

“And Roy absolutely agreed with us that you cannot make it look
that perfect, because that wasn’t the way that ‘Steamboat Willie’ was created,
with the technology of that day, and it just didn’t feel right,” Bossert
continued.  “So it was our group – if you
will – groupthink that you had to leave a little bit of grain, weave, light
flicker, for it to feel of the period.”

Mind you, as they’re working on a film, Disney’s Preservation and Restoration Team also try to take consideration the filmmakers’ original
intentions. Take – for example – the wire-removal work that they just did while
restoring the Studios’ 1954 live-action release, “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.”


This is a photo of the first version of “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” ‘s giant squid battle.
Which Walt Disney disliked so much that he spent $250,000 on an 8-day-long reshoot.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

“When they were originally shooting the giant squid fight in
‘20,000 Leagues,’ Walt went to huge effort to hide those wires. But when he saw
the footage of what was originally supposed to be a daylight fight, Walt went ‘Oh,
this is not working.’ And the Studio then went back at great expense and
re-shot this sequence at night to kind of help the squid look more real and to
hide some of its mechanics,” explained Sarah Duran-Singer, the Senior Vice
President of Post-Production with Walt Disney Studios. “So by going in now and
digitally removing some of the more obvious wires … Well, I feel like we’re
actually honoring the filmmakers’ original intentions. Which was to hide – as much
as possible – how the giant squid figure in this fight sequence from ‘20,000
Leagues’ was really being manipulated.”

Conversely, while they’re scanning these movies for
restoration (which – in “Dumbo” ‘s case, anyway – involved going frame-by-frame
through 3.2 miles of film. 275,352 frames, to be exact), Disney’s Restoration
and Preservation Team also tries to fix those glitches that – if the original
filmmakers back in the day had had the time or the technology – they would have
undoubtedly fixed as well.

“As we’re cleaning up and inspecting each individual frame,
we’ve done things like removing reflections of the cameramen or of the light
spilling into the room when someone accidentally opened the door to that camera
room just as this frame was being shot,” Bossert said. “When we look at these movies
as closely as we do while we’re doing our restoration work, you’ll notice all sorts
of oddities that really weren’t meant to be in the finished version of these films.”


As part of the Studio’s 1951 featurette, “Operation Wonderland,” Walt demonstrates
how the camera animation set-up works. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved

One of the other challenges that Disney’s Preservation &
Restoration Team had to deal with while working on this particular animated
feature had to do with the extreme economic conditions that “Dumbo” was produced
under. To explain: As the 1940s were getting underway, the Studio was just
coming off the release of “Pinocchio” & “Fantasia.” And since these two
animated features had been prohibitively expensive to produce and hadn’t nearly
done as well financially as Walt would have hoped, a decision was made at the
Studio level to take a far different approach with “Dumbo.”In that this
particular animated feature was to be made for as quickly and as cheaply as
possible.

“And because ‘Dumbo’ was a lower-cost production and the
Studio was trying to save as much money as they could, they would reuse cells,”
Duran-Singer said.

The way that this process worked was: After the animation
had been completed and it had been hand-inked & painted on an acetate cell,
it was then photographed. And once this footage was developed & screened,
and Walt and his team had then looked at it and said “That’s okay” … Well, then
these ink-and-paint covered pieces of acetate were sent to the cell washer. Where
all of the ink & paint were scrubbed off of that piece of acetate so that this
cell could then be used again in the production of another piece of animation.


Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

“And here’s a fun piece of trivia for all you animation
history buffs out there,” Dave Bossert chimed in at this particular point in
the WebEx Online conference. “Chuck Jones actually got his start in the
business by working as a cell washer for a little while here at Disney. Chuck
got his start here.”

Anyway … The problem with reusing pieces of acetate that had
been through the cell washing process was that it often scratched the cell
material. Not to mention introducing some warpage, expansion and shrinkage to
the acetate. Which eventually became obvious when this repainted cell was once
again placed on the camera stand and then photographed.

“So now – some 70 years after the fact – we’re now able to
scan movies like ‘Dumbo’ and then fix many production mistakes like this. Make
these films look as good if not better than they did when they were originally released
to theaters. But before we do anything like that, we always ask ourselves ‘Should
we?’ ,” Duran-Singer states. “Since we don’t want to repeat that ‘Steamboat
Willie’ situation … Well, we’ve had some very lively debates. We constantly ask
ourselves: if they had the time, the money, or the technical expertise, would
the Disney animators & artists who originally worked on this move have
fixed that? We always try to have Walt and the original filmmakers help guide
our choices here. We never want to change the original intention of any of the
films that we restore.”


Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Of course, what helps in a case like this is when you can
bring in animators who actually worked on these films back in the day and then
hear their opinions on how the restoration of a particular animated feature has
turned out. Case in point: That time back in 2002 when they showed the recently-cleaned-up version of “Bambi”
to Disney Legends Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas.

“I’ve been at Disney for 24 years now. And that particular
screening of ‘Bambi’ was probably the most nerve-wracking moment of my career,”
Duran-Singer remembered. “When the lights went up, I was just petrified as we
all turned around and waited for Frank & Ollie’s reaction.  And to see them smile and say, ‘It’s beautiful.  It’s how we intended it,’ was just so
satisfying for the whole team.”

Sadly, as the years go by, it becomes harder & harder
for Dave & Sarah to bring in folks like Frank & Ollie to come consult
on these film restorations. Which is why Bossert & Duran-Singer find
themselves increasingly turning to Disney’s Animation Research Library and the
70 million pieces of art that Lella Smith & her staff have on file there.  So that they can then make color comparisons
between the actual backgrounds that were painted for these animated features
and the way that these backgrounds now look in the scanned nitrate negatives
and then make the necessary color adjustments.


Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Which kind of brings things full circle here … Since – just as
film fans have complained about Spielberg’s retooled “E.T. : The
Extra-Terrestrial” with its guns-that-were-turned-into-walkie-talkies – some animation
fans have grumbled about how bright the colors are in these recently restored
Disney classics.

“We’ve gotten a lot of push-back on that issue,”
Duran-Singer admitted. “Which I understand. Given that so many of us saw these
movies in theaters during our childhoods. ‘Pinocchio,’ for example. My
childhood memory of that Disney animated feature was that it was dark. It was
loaded with dark reds, heavy browns and a lot of wood.  But when we scanned that nitrate negative,
what did we see?  All of these beautiful
pastel colors. These pinks, these lavenders. And Pinocchio’s eyes were so blue.
That’s when we began to realize that the prints of ‘Pinocchio’ that had been
out in theaters for decades now were not color-timed off of the original. Which
is why our memory of this movie is totally different than the one that people
who saw ‘Pinocchio’ during its original theatrical release back in 1940 have.”

In situations like this, where people are going to compare
how the newly restored Blu-ray version of a Disney classic looks on a high-def
screen versus the way that they remember this same film looking when it was
projected theatrically … Well, obviously there are going to be differences.
Especially when you consider that the film print that you were viewing then was
probably several generations away from the original negative.


Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

But based on their research, not to mention conversations with
the Disney Legends who actually worked on these films as well as the reference
material that they regularly pull from the Animation Research Library, Dave
& Sarah are very confident that the restored versions of the movies that their
unit at the Studio produces are great representations of what these Disney
classics actually looked like when they were originally released to theaters.

“You’ve gotta remember that – when we were working on restoring
‘Bambi’ – we had Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas and Tyrus Wong coming in to look
at our work. And these were the artists who originally worked on that film,” Bossert
said. “So to have those three approve of our restoration effort … Well, I’d much
rather make Frank, Ollie & Tyrus Wong happy than some ‘Bambi’ fan who
vaguely remembers what that movie looked like when they saw it at their local
cinema 25 years ago. I can sleep comfortably at night knowing that I made those
three guys happy.”

Which isn’t to say that the efforts of Disney’s Preservation
& Restoration Team can’t ever be improved. Take – for example – this unit’s
recent decision to revisit the work that they did on “Bambi.”


Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

“We restored ‘Bambi’ back in 2003. And that was the first
restoration job that we did by scanning the original successive exposure negative,”
Duran-Singer stated. “But because the tools that we use have improved and our
artists’ knowledge have grown so much over the past seven, eight years … When
it came time to produce a Blu-ray version of ‘Bambi,’ we immediately decided to
take another run at restoring this animated feature. Because we know, given
everything that we’ve learned since 2003, that we can do a far better job this
time around.”

I have to admit that this was the part that I liked most of
this “Dumbo” WebEx Online event. The fact that Disney’s Preservation &
Restoration Team was comfortable with the idea that they could revisit films that
they’d already worked on. That Bossert & Duran-Singer acknowledged that,
given the improvements in technology and film preservation techniques that will
undoubtedly arise in the years ahead, that it then just kind of made sense to
acknowledge that the restoration & preservation of Disney’s classic movies would
be an on-going process. But – at the same time – Dave & Sarah knew where &
when to draw the line, so to speak, when it came to the sorts of changes & “improvements”
that they could / should be making to these Disney films.

Which kind of makes me wish that Bossert & Duran-Singer
had had a conversation with Spielberg before he “improved” “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.”
But given that Steven – during the Q & A portion of this week’s 30th
anniversary “Raiders of the Lost Ark” screening – did float the idea that, when
“E.T.” comes out on Blu-ray, the version that will be available for purchase will
the 1982 original rather than the 2002 version of this Amblin Entertainment
production … Well, maybe Spielberg is learning, all on his own, where the line
is. At least when it comes to tinkering with much-beloved motion pictures.


Copyright 20th Century Fox. All rights reserved

Now if someone could only show George Lucas where this line is.

Your thoughts?

The article was updated / corrected on September 15, 2011 to fold in additional information

Related Topics:

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

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General

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

Published

9 years ago

on

June 23, 2015

By

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

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

… the postman delivering the mail …


Photo by Jim Hill

… the hot dog vendor working at his cart …


Photo by Jim Hill


Photo by Jim Hill

… the street musician playing for tourists …


Photo by Jim Hill

Not to mention the tourists themselves.


Photo by Jim Hill

But right alongside the bronze businessmen …


Photo by Jim Hill

… and the tired grandmother hauling her groceries home …


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

… or — for that matter — out-of-time.


Photo by Jim Hill

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


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

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

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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

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General

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

Published

9 years ago

on

June 10, 2015

By

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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

Your thoughts?

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General

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

Published

9 years ago

on

June 9, 2015

By

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc.
All rights reserved

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights
reserved

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc.
All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Lucasfilm / Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

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

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

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