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Jake Gyllenhaal was game for all the challenges he faced while filming Disney’s “Prince of Persia”

Leo N. Holzer reports in on what the star of “The Sands of Time,” director Mike Newell and producer Jerry Bruckheimer had to say about this upcoming Walt Disney Pictures release at WonderCon

Published

15 years ago

on

“Super Mario Bros.,” “Doom,” “Resident Evil: Apocalypse.”

The battleground for films based on video games is littered with the corpses of artistic and commercial flops. Even Angelina Jolie couldn’t save “Lara Croft – Tomb Raider,” although that’s considered among the best in a pretty mediocre group of movies.

But there’s a lot of excitement for “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” from producer Jerry Bruckheimer and the Walt Disney Studios.

Bruckheimer, director Mike Newell, game creator Jordan Mechner (also credited for the screen story) and star Jake Gyllenhaal talked up the film during a news conference and panel appearance at WonderCon in San Francisco.

Copyright 2010 Disney Enterprises, Inc. and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights Reserved

“I’ve been making games for 20 years and I love games, but not every video game should be a movie,” said Mechner, who launched the popular “Prince of Persia” game franchise in 1989.

“But I think ‘Prince of Persia’ lends itself well for a lot of reasons,” he continued. “One of them is that it’s set in this fantastical world of ‘One Thousand and One Nights’ that hasn’t been brought to film in this way in a long, long time. And, of course, there’s this dagger that can turn back time and who hasn’t wished that they could turn back time and do something
over?

“Games and movies are really different art forms. The big difference is that games are written to be played and movies are an experience to be watched by an audience. So it’s really a very different approach to storytelling.”

With help from Bruckheimer, Newell and a screenplay by Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro and Carlo Bernard, Mechner adapted the game into a story for the big screen. The job was a bit easier since the original inspiration for his game was those “great old-fashioned romantic swashbuckling adventure movies” from Hollywood’s golden era.

Jake Gyllenhaal (center). Photo by Andrew Cooper. Copyright 2010 Disney Enterprises, Inc. and Jerry Bruckheimer,
Inc. All Rights Reserved

The film promises action, adventure, a bit of mystery and romance. It’s set in the mystical lands of Persia. A rogue prince — now named Dastan (Gyllenhaal) — reluctantly pairs up with Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) and together they race against dark forces to safeguard an ancient dagger capable of releasing the Sands of Time and rewriting history.

The action required a lot of physical work from Gyllenhaal — parcour training with David Belle, gymnastics, horseback riding, swordfighting, even work with a dialect coach to perfect a 6th century English accent, which Gyllenhaal says he now will use occasionally at the dinner table to amuse his family and friends.

“We did all the normal training you’d do to get ready cardio-vascularly and then you listen to all of the experts and they teach you how to do it,” Gyllenhaal said.

“I’ve always found myself inhabiting a role starting from the physical level. Whether you’re changing the shape of your body, losing weight, gaining weight, figuring out what the character would look like … For this, it was very physical, which I love and which I’ve never really done
this intensely before. But I don’t think it’s any different at all (than playing a part in a drama). When you’re committed, you’re committed. Soon as I decide to be in a movie or play a part, it’s 120 percent commitment no matter what. …But I’m an active person anyway. I’m pretty athletic and I enjoy that as part of my daily routine of keeping my sanity. So I do keep it up.”

When asked about the difficulties of working on a film with a number of special effects shots added in post production, Gyllenhaal said it’s simply part of his job as an actor.

Claudio Pacifico (center). Copyright 2010 Disney Enterprises,
Inc. and Jerry Bruckheimer,
Inc. All Rights Reserved

“To me it doesn’t feel different. From the outside … it probably does look different because it’s such a spectacle. But for me, the work is the same, always,” he said. “Everything as an actor requires imagination, whether you’re playing with someone across from you who is playing another part … (or) if you’re dealing with something that doesn’t necessarily
exist yet. You’re imagining what that is just like you’re imagining that person sitting across from you in that drama … that smaller film, is who they are playing.

“So you’re constantly using your imagination as we all do when we eventually watch the movie.”

One of the few things different about Gyllenhaal’s preparation for the role of Dastan involved playing games from the “Prince of Persia” series.

“Yes, I played this man’s (Mechner’s) video game first when I was a kid” going all the way back to 1989 with side-scrolling action and a soundtrack of beeps and buzzes. “But,” he admitted, “I only started playing the game pretty intensely when we were really doing research, particularly for stunt research.

Jake Gyllenhaal (center). Copyright 2010 Disney Enterprises, Inc. and Jerry Bruckheimer,
Inc. All Rights Reserved

“I’d be in the middle of shooting and we’d go back to the trailer and I’d be playing the game and see something, a move, and I’d call the stunt guys into the trailer to show them and see if we could try it. So I played it and I continue to play it to this day.

“I’ve never played video games as research before. Sometimes, I’ve read books or hung out with Marines, but playing video games was great fun for research.”

The film also gave Gyllenhaal an opportunity to star opposite Academy Award-winning actor Ben Kingsley.

“Well, working with Ben Kingsley was different than a video game, that’s for sure. It was an honor. He is Sir Ben. Working with someone you can play with, someone who is so experienced, so wise” and someone Gyllenhaal called a “fierce competitor” when it came to swordfighting.

(L to R) Ben Kingsley, Jake Gyllenhaal and Richard Coyle. Photo by Andrew Cooper. Copyright
2010 Disney Enterprises, Inc. and
Jerry Bruckheimer,
Inc. All Rights Reserved

Gyllenhaal said he felt an obligation to both diehard fans of the video game series as well as people looking for a great time at the theater. “I just can’t wait for people to be able to see it.

“It really is an honor. … filling the shoes in a role like this,” he said. “This is a character that’s in the living rooms of many people all over the world and has been for decades.

“We had that pressure on our shoulders the whole time. But yet at the same time, transitioning from a video game into making a movie, Mike and Jerry from the very beginning said, ‘anything the prince does has to be based in some kind of reality.’ If fact, there were some times on set when we’d do some sort of stunt that would mimic something in the game and Jerry would say, ‘now, wait a second. Why did he do that? We need to have that be based in
the storyline.’ Everything had to be based emotionally in the storyline.

“So, we’d have to come up with a reason why he’d flip upside down over a horse, and we did.”

(L to R) Alfred Molina, Jake
Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton. Photo by Andrew Cooper.
Copyright
2010 Disney Enterprises, Inc. and
Jerry Bruckheimer,
Inc. All Rights Reserved

Newell concurred. “We wanted to make it emotionally real. So we did a huge amount of work at the script stage, at the rehearsal stage … to make it absolutely real. You should have seen what I saw, which was Jake rehearsing fights to the inch like ballet but, because it’s like ballet, it’s also got to have emotional reality to it as well. And that was always the big
pressure … to take it into an area where a game couldn’t go, while not destroying the game side of it.

“But you mustn’t let Jake’s modesty not say to you that the film would have been infinitely less unless he had done the enormous number of stunts that he actually did. … He’s a wonderful actor and I’m sure that’s why we chose him first. But then he has this extraordinary disposition simply to take that (stunt) stuff on. The number of times that it’s actually him is a lot and it makes it all real.”

Gyllenhaal admitted that the stunt work could get a bit harrowing, but he welcomed the challenge and pushed himself “a bit.”

“It got a little bit dicey toward the end because everybody saw that I liked doing things that were a little dangerous. … There is this one fight toward the middle of the movie that we shot near the end of production with my brother and he has an ax and I’m fighting him with my sword and a shield that I have left. We really got dangerous with that fight and there were a few times when the ax came so close to my face and everyone was saying, ‘oh, that looks so good.’

Jake Gyllenhaal (center). Photo by Jonathan Prime. Copyright
2010 Disney Enterprises, Inc. and
Jerry Bruckheimer,
Inc. All Rights Reserved

“That ax fight was an intense one and some of the jumps got pretty intense. … There’s a big 35 foot jump I did a couple of times and that got a little hairy, particularly with me saying let me try that again.”

Newell was asked to compare his duties as director on “Prince of Persia” to “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.”

“It was really different, because with ‘Potter’ I was brought in halfway through a series that was already a franchise, a huge success. Here, we had all the basic work to do from absolutely the ground up with no favors done. We had no idea whether we’d find favor with an audience or not,” he said, adding that “Prince of Persia” required him to “work harder …
to be cleverer and more original and, above all, not to ever let the thing sag. But Jerry’s the boy for that.

“There are also certain factors that simply twist your arm and you have to come along,” Newell said. “If Jerry Bruckheimer, a genre in himself, is going to give me 400 Calvary and 100 camels and get them to charge, am I going to say ‘no?’ ”

Jerry Bruckheimer (center). Photo by Andrew Cooper. Copyright
2010 Disney Enterprises, Inc. and
Jerry Bruckheimer,
Inc. All Rights Reserved

Bruckheimer, a huge proponent of 3-D, talked about how the desert heat of Morocco led to a decision to make “Prince of Persia” a traditional 2-D film.

“3-D has certainly done very well at the box office, thanks to ‘Avatar.’ It’s a new technology. It’s wonderful and makes the theater-going experience even more exciting. Hopefully you’ll see a lot more movies in 3-D,” Bruckheimer said. “I don’t know if ‘Prince of Persia’ will win the summer box office battle, but it’ll certainly be a contender. It’s a terrific film. So we
hope for the best.”

Asked about whether there was any discussion about trying to launch a new film franchise with “Prince of Persia,” Newell and Bruckheimer bristled just a bit.

“Not one word did Jerry say to me about it. We were just making one movie,” Newell said.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Thomas DuPont and Ben Cooke. Photo by Andrew Cooper. Copyright 2010 Disney Enterprises, Inc. and
Jerry Bruckheimer,
Inc. All Rights Reserved

“Absolutely zero (discussion),” Bruckheimer said. “What you try to do is make a really compelling movie with strong characters, great themes, a great story. And, if the audience embraces it, you get lucky and then you think about another one.

“When we made the first ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movie, we had no inclination that the audience would accept a film about pirates with Johnny Depp playing it like he was drunk. So you just go with it. If you get lucky and Disney wants to make another one and people embrace it, then we’ll think about another one.”

Based on the very friendly reaction that followed at WonderCon’s ‘Prince of Persia’ panel — with several women whistling at Gyllenhaal — people are ready to embrace it and make it the first real hit among video game-inspired films.

‘Prince of Persia, the Sands of Time” is rated PG-13. It opens May 28.

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

Published

10 years ago

on

June 10, 2015

By

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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

Your thoughts?

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General

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

Published

10 years ago

on

June 9, 2015

By

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc.
All rights reserved

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights
reserved

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc.
All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Lucasfilm / Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

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

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

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