May we please have another … Dale Ward’s Mouse FACTory?

JHM got so much mail about Dale’s first trivia column that we just had to invite Ward back to share even more interesting factoids from the Mouse FACTory.

Published

19 years ago

May 4, 2005

Jim Hill

I know, I know. Everyone’s eyes are on Anaheim today. Waiting breathlessly to hear which new attractions are going to officially be announced (Gee, do you think those rumors about a new “Monsters, Inc.” ride for DCA will actually pan out?), etc.

But — while everyone else obsesses about what the future will hold for Disneyland & California Adventure — me … I’m more interested in looking back. In seeing what came before. Like …

May 1, 1989

The Disney-MGM Studio theme park (“The Hollywood That Never Was and Always Will Be” … or so it says on the studio’s dedication plaque) is finally officially opened to the public.

Though most folks are quick to credit Michael Eisner with coming up with the idea for MGM, truth be told it was Walt Disney that had always wanted to build a studio tour. As early as the late 1930s, Walt was toying with the idea of taking two acres of his brand-new Burbank lot and turning it into an attraction for Hollywood tourists. Among the fanciful structures that that Disney wanted to have built as part of his version of a studio tour were full-sized walk-through versions of Snow White’s cottage & Geppetto’s toy shop.

Unfortunately, Disney’s Burbank studio tour (which would have also featured a glassed-in corridor which would have allowed visitors to watch the girls in the Ink & Paint Department at work) barely got past the talking phase when World War II broke out. And — by the time the hostilities in Europe & Asia were over — Walt’s dream had already outgrown that two acre parcel on the Burbank lot. Which is why Mr. Disney began eyeballing that 16 acres of open land on the other side of Riverside Drive.

That version of the attraction that Walt was toying with building still had some of the same elements of the two acre plan. Including a carousel that was to have featured Disney characters to ride. But that version of project eventually outgrew the spot that Walt had picked out for it too. So Disney had to find a new site for his dream project …

As I understand it, Walt eventually found some property out in Orange County. An orange grove in Anaheim, if I’m remembering correctly. But — after that — the story gets kind of vague. At least to me.

I wonder if Mr. Disney actually ever did anything with that dream of his? (Just kidding.)

Anyway … It took another 34 years, but the Walt Disney Company did finally get around to building what Walt originally wanted. Which was a place where he could show people how he put his films & cartoons together. (FYI: Walt never really gave up on this dream. In the earliest version of the press releases for Disneyland, Disney talked about how the theme park was going to feature a glassed-in corridor where visitors could watch animators at work. Later on, there was also talk of turning the Main Street Opera House into a broadcast facility. Where Disneyland guests could be the live audience for a broadcast of “The Mickey Mouse Club.” But obviously neither of these two concepts made it off of WED’s drawing board …)

Though I think that even Walt (who was known for being a forward thinker) could have ever predicted that his Disney studio theme park attraction would eventually be built on some swampland in Florida.

Here are some fun facts about the Disney-MGM Studio Theme Park:

Cost to build park: $500,000,000 plus
Size of park: 231 acres, (about ½ the size of Epcot) which includes 77 acres of parking;
Rides/Attractions on opening day:

The Magic of Disney Animation
Backstage Studio Tour
Superstar Television
Monster Sound Show
The Great Movie Ride

Theme park staff 5,100; not including production and animation crews.

Kind of a thin assortment of attractions, don’t you think? Yep, isney actually opened the Studio with only six rides and attractions. I’ve heard that the theme park’s opening day brochures actually listed MGM’s information booth as an attraction. But I don’t know if this is actually true.

To be fair, on this same day — May 1, 1989 — the Walt Disney Company did also open WDW’s Pleasure Island, a highly theme array of nightclubs, shops & restaurants. Among PI’s initial assortment of attractions was Videopolis East, The Rockin’ Rollerdome and The Adventurers Club (Which was patterned after the Explorers clubs of the 1930’s). Sadly, Videopolis and the Rollerdome are no longer with us. But the Adventurers Club soldiers on. Kungaloosh!

The Imagineers created a wonderful and complex backstory for Pleasure Island. If you’d like to more about WDI’s made-up mythology for this odd collection of warehouses & storefronts, then follow this link to Wade Sampson’s excellent two part story about the plaques that you used to find all over PI.

May 4, 1977

Space Mountain at Walt Disney World officially opens to the public: As far back as the 1960s, Walt had an idea for an indoor “Space Port” ride in Tomorrowland. Unfortunately, it took technology more than a decade to catch up with Disney’s imagination.

The first Space Mountain opened at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World on Jan 15, 1975. Two years later, when this indoor roller coaster finally opened in Anheim, the VIPs on hand included Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, Betty Grissom (widow of “Gus” Grissom), Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald “Deke” Slayton. All members of NASA’s Mercury project and the first Americans in space.

FYI: Until Space Mountain opened in 1977, the Matterhorn was the only roller coaster at Disneyland. Oh, sure. “The Happiest Place on Earth” had quite a few thrill rides. But can you imagine Disneyland actually remaining competitive in Southern California’s cut-throat theme park market if the Mouse had actually stuck to that schedule? As in: Only adding a new coaster every 15 years.

The month of May also includes the birthdates of two men whose skill with music has entertained many a Disney theme park goer: Howard Ashman & *** Dale.

Howard Ashman (1950-1991) was born in Baltimore on May 17, 1950. He moved to New York in 1974 and became an editor at Grosset & Dunlap. By day, Howard edited. By night he wrote plays.

One of Ashman’s earliest plays, “Dreamstuff” was actually a musical version of Shakespeare’s “Tempest.” It was produced off-Broadway at the WPA Theater. Howard’s association with WPA was a happy one. Which is how he became the theater’s Art Director from 1977 to 1982.

As for Ashman’s legendary partnership with Alan Menken: Howard & Alan first collaborated on a musical version of Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, “God Bless You Mr. Rosewater.” But it wasn’t until they tried to turn Roger Corman’s so-bad-it’s-good horror film, “Little Shop of Horrors,” into a musical set in the early 1960s that their collaboration really clicked.

The success of the off-Broadway show eventually got Hollywood’s attention. Ashman & Menken were flown out to Tinseltown, where they wrote a brand-new song — “Mean Green Mother from Outer Space” — for the 1986 movie version of their “Little Shop” musical. Howard & Alan’s new song got an Oscar nomination. Which brought the song writing team to the attention of the Walt Disney Company’s new management team.

And the rest of the story … Ashman & Menken’s amazing work on 1989’s “The Little Mermaid,” 1991’s “Beauty & the Beast” and 1992’s “Aladdin” … you know.

But here’s something that you may not have known: Because Ashman tragically passed away on March 14, 1991 due to AIDS-related complications, he never actually saw a finished print of his last two films for Disney.

While their creative partnership was relatively short-lived, Howard and Alan still received dozens of nominations as well as a half dozen awards. To be specific: 2 Grammys, 2 Golden Globes and 2 Oscars. Interesting little side note here: When “Beauty and the Beast” won the Oscar for Best Original Song in a film, Howard’s posthumous award was accepted by his longtime partner, Bill Lauch.

*** Dale (1937- ) –What makes someone the “King of Surf Guitar”? Talent and timing. There were two things that *** Dale liked to do in the 50’s; surf and play guitar and *** Dale was good at both. A left hander, Dale taught himself to play without changing anything on a right handed guitar. That means he taught himself how to play holding a guitar upside down and backwards, one of the things which contributed to his very unique sound.

In spite of his unusual way of holding a guitar, Dale could shred. He liked his music fast and loud, long before metal was invented. Being good got him talked about and that buzz lead to a meeting with Leo Fender.

Leo owned an electronics store in Fullerton California. He had started by selling handmade radios and fixing electronic equipment. Guys started to bring their guitar amplifiers around for Leo to fix. And — in doing so — Fender noticed ways he could improve these amps.

So Leo and his partner Doc Kauffman began to build amplifiers. And — given that Doc had also designed guitars — these two created the first guitar that actually went with an amplifier. This new guitar (called the Telecaster) was selling well. So the partners built a second model. And Leo was just beginning to test his second guitar design when he first heard about *** Dale.

Fender gave Dale his new Stratocaster & amp to test. For those of who aren’t guitar people (myself included), there are only two guitars that matter: the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul. Many fight over the merits of each (like they were a Ford or Chevy). But I think it’s safe to say these two are the yin and yang of 50’s guitars. In short, the very heart of rock & roll.

Fender couldn’t stop laughing when he saw that Dale played the thing upside down and backwards. The guitar felt good and Dale gave it a try but he blew the amp in no time … and then another … and another. Leo (who didn’t actually play guitar) couldn’t understand why Dale wanted it so loud until he went to one of his concerts.

*** Dale and his dad had bought an old ballroom at the end of the Balboa pier that had been closed for a while. They applied for a permit which the city approved. With the stipulation that all the guys who attended concerts at this facility had to wear ties. The Dales agreed and *** would show up at his early concerts with a box of ties for his barefoot surfer buddies. So that no local ordinances were broken and that he could then proceed to play … Loud.

Leo Fender finally shows up in the middle of a concert with *** onstage and 4,000 screaming teenagers on the ballroom floor and he immediately gets it. Forty some amps later, Leo comes up with an amp and speaker combination that rocks and *** Dale uses it to make surf guitar history.

What’s that you say? Where does the reverb come in? Well, *** didn’t like his voice. He felt it was too flat. So Dale hunted down an old Hammond organ with a reverb. *** got Leo to build him a reverb tank to make his voice sound better and he was happy with the results. It didn’t take long for him to plug his guitar into it to get a long sustain on his guitar notes. And the last piece of *** Dale’s surf guitar sound was born.

In 1997, Imagineers decided to “plus” Space Mountain. They installed a speaker system in each car and got *** Dale to do the music for the revised Tomorrowland attraction. Until the current rehab, *** Dale performing “Aquarium” from Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns, was what accompanied you as you flew through space. Which wasn’t a bad way to fly. *** Dale will be 68.

And that concludes this week’s “Mouse FACTory.” I’m glad to hear that you folks seem to like all of this trivial stuff. And — given that Jim has given me the thumbs up — I’m guessing that I’ll be back with other columns in this series very soon.

Talk to you later, okay?

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

Published

9 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

9 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

9 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