General
Making his Marc: “Art of Marc Davis” exhibit to open at Walt Disney Family Museum next month, “Walt Disney’s Renaissance Man” to be published this Fall
Today, March 30th, marks the 101st anniversary of Marc
Davis' birth and, with two upcoming events, it looks like 2014 is going to be
as remarkable as 1993. When Marc, at age 80, had a six-week exhibition of his
very personal artwork at The Howard Lowery Gallery in Burbank,
Calif.
Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved
The Walt Disney
Family Museum
is currently preparing "Leading Ladies and Femmes Fatales: The Art of Marc
Davis," a special exhibition in the museum's Theater Gallery from April 30 to Nov. 3, 2014.
The exhibition – co-curated by the museum's director of
collections, Michael Labrie, and animator Andreas Deja – spotlights some 70
original pencil animation drawings, conceptual artwork, paintings, cels, and
photographs from animator and Imagineer Marc Davis, who died Jan. 12, 2000.
Although Davis'
work and accomplishments could fill a much larger gallery, selected artworks –
mainly from Davis' personal
holdings, Walt Disney Imagineering, several private collectors and the Walt
Disney Family Foundation's collection – intend to focus on a part of Davis'
life and career with his mastery of the human form.
Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc.
All rights reserved
Disney Editions is also preparing to publish "Marc Davis:
Walt Disney's Renaissance Man,"
set for release on Oct. 7.
Walt Disney once said of Marc Davis, "Marc can do story, he
can do character, he can animate, he can design shows for me. All I have to do
is tell him what I want and it's there!" As such, Davis
touched nearly every aspect of The Walt Disney Company during his tenure.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
Since Davis had
so many talents, it is only fitting that this tribute book will be composed by
a multitude of talented writers. Experts in fine art, animation, Imagineering,
and filmmaking have come together to honor Davis'
contributions to their realms. Each chapter is accompanied by a wealth of
artwork, much of which was offered up by his wife Alice Davis exclusively for
this book. This $40 publication is designed to serve as both biography and
portfolio of a Disney Legend who was an animator, Imagineer, world traveler,
philanthropist, husband, and teacher. It is now available for pre-order from
Amazon.com. It will also feature some of the art that was in the 1993-1994
exhibition.
In honor of his birth, and with permission from Howard
Lowery and his wife, Walt Disney
Family Museum
planning team member Paula Sigman Lowery, here's a very good mini biography of
Marc Davis that was featured in the catalog for his exhibition, held from Dec. 15, 1993 to Jan. 28, 1994.
So here's "Portrait of an Artist: The Life & Art of Marc
Davis," by Paula Sigman Lowery. It was written for the 1993-1994 catalog with
Marc's direct participation.
The only son of Harry and Mildred Davis, Marc was born March 30, 1913 in Bakersfield,
Calif., where his father was engaged in the
burgeoning oil field business.
"My father was a very extraordinary man, but when you ask me
what he did I would say that he was a rainbow chaser – he went wherever new oil
booms developed, wherever there was something new. I lived all over this
country – in Florida, in Oklahoma,
in Arkansas, in Louisiana,
in Texas. … I spent my early
life in oil fields and mining towns."
Due to the Davis
family's frequent moves, Marc attended 23 different schools by the time he
graduated high school. When asked in 1983 if so many moves were difficult for a
young boy, Marc smiled. "I discovered that I could amuse myself when I was
lonely by drawing. But I also learned that I could go anywhere and meet anyone.
In retrospect, it makes me feel sorry for the kids who go to one grammar
school, one high school and one college. I had so much experience in the world
by the time I was through high school."
This experience about life, Marc believed, was a significant
part of "what I have to offer as a creative person." He acknowledged a great
debt to his father. In 1931, at the bottom of the Great Depression, his father
got him his first job. "He said to me, 'You've had a lot of education that many
people haven't had, but I think there's some education that you need.' He got
me a job in the Waldorf pool hall in Klamath Falls,
Oregon, tending pool tables. The pool halls
were filled with guys looking for work. Father was very good at psychology – he
wanted me to learn about life. And I did. You have to know about life, and you
create out of what you know. It's terribly important that we're aware of this.
It's what life is really all about."
Marc first displayed his talents when he was a little boy. He
remembered his first "creative experience" was in kindergarten in Reno,
Nev. "I stood up on stage and recited
'There was a crooked man who walked a crooked mile.' But I really got into
being the crooked man … and everyone laughed. I was a hit!"
As a youngster, Marc had little formal art training. At the
age of 13 or 14, while living in Tulsa, Okla.,
he began informal art lessons. "A very nice lady had an art club. She taught us
how to fix up a canvas. And she had a very spicy technique, almost an
Impressionist style." Later, in Texas,
Marc studied one night a week with an art teacher. The summer between grammar
school and high school, he enrolled at the Kansas City Art Institute for his
first formal art training. "I did all the high school annuals wherever I was. I
just happened to be the kid who could draw."
"My father didn't understand why I want to be an artist,
instead of an architect. He thought 'Architects make money; artists starve to
death.' I can appreciate his point of view. But my father was an artist
himself. He was an extraordinary watchmaker – he had learned that in Switzerland
where it really was an art – he was a magician, and he was a musician."
During the Depression, Marc's father moved the family to California
and Marc took classes at Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles
for a year. Later they moved to San Francisco,
where Marc attended the California School of Fine Arts.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved
When he ran out of money for art school, Marc got up early
and rode the streetcar to the Fleishhacker Zoo in San
Francisco. "I got to know the assistant director of
the zoo and they would let me in before they'd let the public in. They'd bring
creatures out for me to draw. It was very exciting, and sometimes a little
scary. They had a big collection of orangutans. One of the keepers asked, 'Have
you ever felt the palm of one of these guys?' So they got one of them to put
his hand out and I put my hand out. And, (the orangutan) closed his hand over
mine. The texture of his paw felt like sawed wood. He didn't squeeze or
anything, but I couldn't remove my hand. His grip was just like a piece of
iron. It took two or three keepers five minutes to get him to let me go." After
getting off work, Marc toiled in the public library, absorbing everything he
could about anatomy.
"I was trying for an art scholarship. There was almost a
whole room of my zoo drawings – on butcher paper – exhibited in the de Young
Museum in Golden Gate Park,
and I thought I had it made. I found out later that if you didn't take classes
from the director of the school, you didn't have a chance. So I didn't get the
scholarship."
The family moved from San Francisco
to Marysville, Calif.,
where Marc got a job working in a sign shop, designing theater posters.
Suddenly, his father had a fatal heart attack. "We hadn't been living there
very long, but everyone came to the funeral. It shows how much my father
affected people – he had a tremendous personality."
Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved
In December 1935, Marc joined the Walt Disney Studio as an
apprentice animator. "We continually attended art classes and worked our way up
by doing in-betweens, drawings that bridged the gap between the animator's
extreme poses in the action." Because of his understanding of anatomy and his
skill with the human figure, Marc was promoted to assistant animator for "Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs
," drawing Snow White herself under the guidance of
animation great Grim Natwick. "The very thing that I thought I had to offer the
most wasn't available to me, because I worked on the human."
When "Snow White" was finished, Marc was at last given a
chance to practice his specialty and joined the "Bambi
" unit. He spent most of
his time in story, designing the characters and developing the scene in which
the young forest animals fall in love. Walt Disney saw these story sketches and
said, "We ought to make an animator out of this kid – I want to see his
drawings on the screen."
Marc's story drawings are among the finest studies of animal
characters created in the Studio's history. He worked on most of the classic
Disney animated features and many shorts, before becoming involved in
three-dimensional animation while planning Disneyland.
(L to R) Josh Meador, Marc Davis,
Eyvind Earle and Walt Peregoy. Copyright
Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights
reserved
In the late 1950s, Disney background artist Art Riley
suggested that Marc, along with Eyvind Earle, Josh Meador and Walt Peregoy go
out and paint a magnificent old oak tree at Barham
Boulevard, near Forest
Lawn Drive in Los Angeles.
They went out on their own time, on Saturday mornings, and Riley filmed them as
they painted. The film, which demonstrated each artist's unique interpretation
of the same subject, turned up on the Disneyland
television show in 1958 as "Four Artists Paint One Tree," and subsequently has
been shown in art classes and schools around the world.
After animating Cruella De Vil for "101 Dalmatians
," Marc
turned his talents exclusively to Disney's Imagineering division, developing
theme park characters and attractions beginning with the 1964-1965 New York
World's Fair.
According to Marc, The Walt Disney Studio turned out to be
"one of the finest art schools I've ever attended." In the 1930s, Walt brought
in Don Graham, a teacher from Chouinard Institute, to instruct the apprentice
artists. "Don was probably the best teacher ever had." Graham's respect for
Marc's artistry was evident when, in 1947, he asked Marc to take over the
advanced drawing class he was teaching at Chouinard. Marc ended up teaching it
one night a week for 17 years.
"Everyone wanted to take Marc's class," said his wife,
Alice, an artist, costume designer and Disney Legend who was one of his first
students at Chouinard. "Marc's class was Tuesday night, and Wednesday morning
you'd find all the people who couldn't get in studying his drawings on the
blackboard. They wouldn't let anyone erase them."
Marc's teaching technique was simple but effective. "The
class was three hours long. The first 45 different positions for five- or 10-minutes studies. Then I'd lecture and draw
on the blackboard for 45 minutes," he said. "We'd take a break, have the model
again, and then I'd give another lecture. I never repeated the same lecture
twice. We studied how the body works and I tried to teach my students how to
think about capturing what they were learning about the body, and design
accordingly."
Marc's concept art for the Ford
Pavilion's "Magic Skyway" attraction at the 1964
– 1965 New York
World's Fair. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved
Marc stopped teaching at Chouinard in the early 1960s when
he was working on the New York
World's Fair for Disney. He wasn't able to lead his weekly classes because he
was spending so much time in New York.
Travel definitely had an influence on Marc's work. As a
student artist, he spent several months touring Europe.
He was – and continued to be throughout his life – fascinated by the classics:
literature and especially mythology. In 1947, Marc went to Mexico
to see the bullfights. "It was shocking, but at the same time it was
magnificent," he recalled in 1993. "The power of those animals, the drama of
the fight, was spectacular." He later went to Spain
and visited the great bullfighting arenas. Images of bull and bullfighters
(became) one of his favorite subjects.
In the 1970s, Marc and Alice became intrigued by the art and
culture of Papua New Guinea.
They made several visits to the island nation, collecting artifacts, tribal
lore, and sketching what is now, unfortunately, becoming an almost vanished
world. This interest inspired a book project, "The Bite of the Crocodile," and
many of Marc's rough sketches were turned into mysterious and evocative
paintings. (As of 2014, the book has not been published but there's still hope
for the project.)
Marc retired from Disney in 1978, after 43 years with the
company, to concentrate on his paintings. But he continued to consult for
Disney up until his death.
"I've always seen myself basically as an artist – an artist that
can take a medium like animation and work with it. Many of the paintings in
this (1993-94) exhibition are things I did while I was animating. I needed to
do them for myself," Davis said.
"Art is where I started. I never really left it."
His legacy – his art, character design and ability to create comic
moments that delight audiences – continues to inspire animators and Imagineers.
General
Seward Johnson bronzes add a surreal, artistic touch to NYC’s Garment District
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.
General
Wondering what you should “Boldly Go” see at the movies next year? The 2015 Licensing Expo offers you some clues
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
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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