General

Looking back on Burbank’s Disney-MGM Backlot project

Want to join Wade Sampson for a brief dip in the Burbank Ocean? Then take a look at this new column from Sampson, which talks about yet another promising project that never quite made it off of WDI’s drawing board.

Published

19 years ago

June 15, 2004

Jim Korkis

Most Disneyana fans already know the history of the Disney-MGM Studios theme park, which first officially opened its gates for visitors back in May of 1989. How this project initially started off life as an Entertainment pavilion which was proposed for Epcot’s Future World section.

This Epcot addition – which was to have been built between that theme park’s “Land” pavilion and the “Journey into Imagination” ride – was supposed have featured an exterior that looked like a giant blue sky. In order to enter Epcot’s “Entertainment” pavilion, you would have had to have pushed through the turnstiles at an old fashioned movie theater ticket booth.

Once inside, guests could have chosen between taking a ride through a new Future World show entitled “Great Movie Moments” (Which was WDI’s first pass at the attraction that eventually became Disney-MGM’s “Great Movie Ride”). Or they could wander through an interactive display that was designed by Disney vet Ward Kimball, which revealed how a Mickey Mouse cartoon was really put together.

It was Disney’s CEO Michael Eisner who first realized that the history of motion pictures really couldn’t be crammed into a single Epcot pavilion. That – if this idea was allowed to fully flower – that it could serve as the basis of a half day attraction. (To explain: A half day attraction is something like WDW’s “Typhoon Lagoon” water park. Where guests could spend the morning there, then go off and visit some other section of the resort).

So – with Eisner’s encouragement – the Imagineers greatly expanded their initial concept for Epcot’s “Entertainment’ pavilion. Using about the same amount of acreage as Disneyland as well as the same basic design of the Anaheim theme park (Please note how Disney-MGM’s Hollywood Boulevard echoes exactly the size & scale of Disneyland’s Main Street U.S.A. area. Right down to have a movie palace – AKA the Chinese Theater – standing in for Sleeping Beauty’s Castle), Disney-MGM Studios theme park came to life.

When the studio theme park opened in the Spring of 1989, it was immediately mobbed. Which was why WDI quickly abandoned the park’s original “half day” plan, as the Imagineers went into overdrive to quickly “grow” Disney-MGM out into a full-size Disney theme park. Among the project that got greenlit during the theme park’s frantic first five years of operation was the Sunset Boulevard expansion project, which included a certain Hollywood Hotel…of Terror!

Like I said, many Disneyana fans are already aware of Disney-MGM’s history. But how many of you are aware that – due to this new Florida theme park’s popularity with guests – that Michael Eisner actually toyed with turning the Disney-MGM concept into the Walt Disney Company’s next franchisable attraction.?

For a brief time there, Disney’s Big Cheese was deadly serious about building at least three more Disney-MGM Studio theme parks. The first one was to have been built right next door to Euro Disneyland. But – when that theme park under-performed after it initially opened in April 1992 – this plan was put on hold for nearly a decade. Before it finally went forward (in a severely truncated form) as Disneyland Paris’ second gate, the Walt Disney Studios theme park.

Eisner also tried at Michael Eisner actually toyed with turning the Disney-MGM concept into the Walt Disney Company’s next franchisable attraction.?

Eisner also tried to persuade the Oriental Land Company to allow the Imagineers to build a Japanese version of Disney-MGM Studio theme park. Which was to has served as Tokyo Disneyland’s second gate. But – after more than a year of considering the Imagineers’ plans – OLC executives rejected the studio theme park proposal. Preferring to go with a totally new concept (Which was based – in large part – on the aborted “Disney Seas” theme park that the Walt Disney Company had once hoped to build in Southern California, right down by the water in Long Beach.
Anyway …)

Speaking of Southern California … Perhaps the most intriguing Disney./MGM spin-off that was ever proposed was the Disney-MGM Studio Backlot. An ambitious entertainment complex that was to have been built right in “…beautiful downtown Burbank.” Right next door to the Disney lot.

How close did this project come to becoming a reality? According to a press release that the Mouse’s marketing staff released back in 1987:

“The Disney-MGM Studio Backlot has been approved and is destined to become the entertainment marketplace of the 1990s. This new generation Disney attraction will be located in the City of Burbank, home to the Walt Disney Studios and may run a construction cost of $300 million.”

“So where would this project supposedly have been built?,” you ask. On a forty acre site (approximately one-fourth the size of the Florida Disney-MGM Studios) that ABC Corporate Headquarters, the Feature Animation building as well as Disney’s multistory parking structure were eventually built on.

And the plans that Michael had for this Burbank expansion project were nothing short of ambitious. Again quoting from that press release, Michael supposedly said:

” … Entertainment will be our magnet. The behind-the scenes Hollywood themes, street performances, live theater, Disney animation tours and operating radio and TV media centers will create an entertainment attraction and shopping and dining experience unlike anything else in the country.”

Under an agreement with MGM/UA Entertainment Company, Disney obtained the rights in Burbank (as it had for Florida) use to the MGM name. In this same agreement, Mickey acquired the rights to use that historic movie studio’s famed “Leo the Lion” logo as well as MGM motion picture and television titles, excerpts, music, costumes, sets, artwork and props. (Some of those rights — like for the use of James Bond and “Gone with the Wind” — had to be negotiated separately. And here’s an interesting bit of trivia: Preliminary plans for Florida’s Disney-MGM Studios theme park called for a James Bond stunt show, not an Indiana Jones-themed one.)

Getting back to that press release again:

“We are already developing ideas for special effects thrill rides utilizing the simulator technology we created for Star Tours at Disneyland and night clubs using our ‘ghost’ techniques from the Haunted Mansion.”

Speaking of special effects … A huge part of the Disney-MGM Studio Backlot project was to have been a West Coast clone of the Florida theme park’s “Great Moments at the Movies” ride. Which Michael Eisner described as being the “… quintessential Disney adventure ride, totally based on the magic of Hollywood and the movies.”

But the key difference between the Florida studio theme park and what the Imagineers were proposing for construction in Burbank was that fully one third of the development’s space was to be devoted to retail. With WDI’s goal evidently being to create the world’s first entertainment marketplace. Where the shopping would range from traditional and contemporary stores to exotic specialty shops and street bazaars.

Getting back to that pesky press release, Michael Eisner said:

“We will enlarge upon the movie-set themes of our Backlot to provide international shopping, dinning and nightlife like Tokyo’s Ginza and Paris’ Champs-Elysées. We can expand the themes of ‘lost cities’ of the past, the Wild West, California’s Gold Rush Days or Disney Fantasy for retail, restaurant and entertainment experiences.”

One of the more intriguing aspects for the project was the “Hollywood Fantasy Hotel.” Which the Imagineers envisioned as being the Disney-MGM Studio Backlot’s tallest structure. A luxurious hotel that was deliberately themed to be a celebration of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Where the cast members who worked at the “Hollywood Fantasy Hotel” would have worn costumes that made them look like characters from memorable movies. And the individual rooms & suites at the resort would have been designed to look like replicas of famous movie sets.

And – at the very top of the “Hollywood Fantasy Hotel” – guests would have found the Celestial Dining Room, an elegant eatery that was to have featured a planetarium ceiling. Where – as you dined – the heavens would seem to rotate, showing guests how the night sky changes as we go through the calendar year.

To the southwest of the Disney-MGM Studio Backlot project, the Imagineers envisioned building something truly spectacular. On the topmost floor of a multistory parking structure, WDI wanted to the “Burbank Ocean.” A heavily themed outdoor area pool area which was to have cascaded down the side of that parking structure.

Other entertainment planned for the Disney-MGM Studio Backlot project included a ten screen movie theater, an ice and roller skating arena, an audience participation video theater as well as several heavily themed nightclubs and restaurants. Guest were also supposed to be able to tour Disney’s historic old animation buildings to see where classic films like “Cinderella” & “101 Dalmatians” were made.

In addition to all this, all of the scenic locals that the Imagineers were to have created for nightclubs, restaurants, shops, etc. were – in theory – to have doubled as possible movie sets. The idea being that – where you to visit the Disney-MGM Studio Backlot – that you might actually get to see a movie being filmed or your favorite Disney TV show being shot live on location.

The press release closes out by saying:

“All in all the Disney-MGM Studio Backlot will be more than just Lights! Camera! Action!….and Shopping too!”

Sounds like a pretty intriguing project, don’t you think? So why didn’t the Walt Disney Company actually go forward with construction of the Disney-MGM Studio Backlot project?

According to what Jim Hill tells me, the Disney-MGM Studio Backlot really does have one of the more bizarre back stories ever associated with an aborted Disney project. You see, Universal Studios execs were said to be extremely ticked off at Michael Eisner at the time. Reportedly because Disney’s CEO had “borrowed” many of the ideas for Disney-MGM’s shows & attractions from a Universal Studios Florida pitch that Eisner had supposedly seen while Michael was still head of Paramount Studios.

Which was why – when Eisner announced that he wanted to bring the studio backlot in Burbank – Universal allegedly declared war on the project. Even supposedly going so far as to pay for the printing of some anti-Disney-MGM brochures. Which were then distributed to people who lived around Walt Disney Studios, talking up how this ambitious project would cause traffic tie-ups, increase tax rates, etc.

So was it Universal’s anti-Disney-MGM campaign that got construction of the studio backlot canceled? Actually, to hear the folks at WDI tell the story: Eisner eventually decided to pull the plug on the project because Disney’s accountants told him that the Walt Disney Company would never get a big enough return on its investment.

Of course, just about the time that Disney canceled its Burbank studio backlot project, Universal announced Citywalk, the dining, shopping & retail complex that was built right outside of the entrance to Universal Studios Hollywood. A complex that reportedly makes mountains of money for that motion picture company.

Hopefully, someday Jim will actually get around to chronicling the full story of the Disney-MGM Studio Backlot project. I seem to remember Hill saying that – after he completes that Disneyland history book that he owes Intrepid Traveler Press – that Jim is going to do a book called “Neverlands.” Which will talk about all sorts of Disney projects that never quite got of the drawing board. Like Westcot, Mineral King, Riverboat Square and – of course – the aborted retail / entertainment complex planned for Burbank.

You see, the history of the Walt Disney Company is littered with projects like this. Even Walt had tons of proposals that never made it past the talking stage.

I remember reading – in a 1962 issue of “Newsweek” – how excited Disney was about audio animatronics. How he hoped to follow up the “Enchanted Tiki Room” show with an attraction that would feature AA versions of all the Disney characters. Where robotic versions of some of your favorite Disney characters would be performing on stage, while still others would be seated in the audience – heckling the various acts as they came on.

Of course, that attraction never actually made it off the drawing board. But bits & pieces of that proposed show that Walt was so enthusiastic about ‘way back when wound up in WDW’s “Mickey Mouse Revue,” “The Country Bear Jamboree” as well as “Kermit the Frog presents Jim Henson’s Muppetvision 3D.”

So – given that WDI never ever lets a good idea die – who knows? Maybe someday soon we will be able to spend a pleasant evening bobbing around in the Burbank Ocean.

General

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

Published

8 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

8 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

8 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