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Mickey’s Mulligan OR How Disney kept redoing WDW’s Golf Resort over and over and over …

JHM columnist Larry Pontius returns with a wonderful piece about the one hotel that WDW management could never quite get right: The Golf Resort AKA the Disney Inn AKA Shades of Green.

Published

20 years ago

on

Hey, gang!

Jim Hill here. Our Mr. Pontius is far too modest to toot his own horn. Which is why I’m here today to do it for him.

Earlier this month, Larry’s book — “Waking Walt ” — was singled out for recognition by the Florida Writers Association. Cited as being the best speculative fiction book of the year, “Waking Walt” was then awarded the 2003 Royal Palm Award.

This is a really big deal, folks. Which is why — on behalf of the rest of the staff here at JimHillMedia.com — I’d like to offer our heartiest congratulations to Mr. Pontius. Way to go, Larry!

So now — with any further ado — here’s that award-winning author, Larry Pontius …

 

I guess everyone who’s interested in golf has heard that Vijay Singh won the Funai Classic this October. For those of you who don’t know a Vijay from a blue jay or a tee from a tea, the Funai Classic is the PGA golf tournament that’s held each year at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Well, that’s not exactly right, either.

This was actually the first Funai Classic. You see, Funai (a Japanese company that sells electronics under the Symphonic, Sylvania and Emerson brand names) is the new sponsor of this annual event that goes all the back to the opening of Walt Disney World in October of 1971.

Over the years, the tournament has had other sponsors — National Car Rental and Oldsmobile — and different formats. For a while it was called the Walt Disney World Team Championship and the golf pros played in two-man teams. The venue has also changed. Originally, it was played on the Palm and Magnolia courses at the Golf Resort. Then in 1986, it was switched to the Palm and Magnolia courses at the Disney Inn. Since 1994, the event has been played on the Palm and Magnolia courses at Shades of Green which is owned by the U.S. Army.

And with that brief history and rather strained attempt at humor, we get to the real subject of this column: what happened to the Golf Resort? Why did it morph into the Disney Inn and then end up being sold? Every year when the Classic comes around in October I scratch my head over that question. Before I scratch myself bald I’m going to lay out my take on it.

I think the Golf Resort was a conundrum (a paradoxical, insoluble, or difficult problem; a dilemma) from the beginning.

As far as I know, it wasn’t part of the original plan for Florida. The Palm and Magnolia golf courses were completed in 1971, but the Golf Resort didn’t open until 1973, two years after the grand opening of Walt Disney World. When I arrived as director of marketing in 1974, I heard the story that the golf courses and the Golf Resort were afterthoughts — plugged into the plan at the last minute by the “golfers” in California.

I have no idea whether the story is true or not, but I do know that there were several avid golfers among the top executives of the company at that time and they had to foresee spending a lot of time in Florida. With all that undeveloped land, it’s easy to see why they might have warmed to the idea of a golf facility on the property — especially one that was up to PGA standards.

Another detail might be construed to fit that theory: the Golf Resort opened with only 125 rooms and all of them felt like suites, with at least 450 sq. feet of space. Not exactly what you think of as “tourist” accommodations.

However, the clearest evidence that it was a last minute idea, and one of the clearest problems the Golf Resort would have, was the location. Take a look at any early Walt Disney World plan (there were a lot of them) and you’ll see that some things remain constant. There is a Ticket and Transportation Center across a lagoon from the Magic Kingdom. And there is a looping monorail connecting these two and any numbers of resorts on the shores of the lagoon.

The Golf Resort was literally out of the loop; almost a quarter of mile away from the nearest monorail stop at the Polynesian, down at the end of a two lane road that went nowhere.

Walt Disney World has changed dramatically since that time, with resorts spread all over the property today, and while the location may not seem a big deal now, believe me it was a major stumbling block in those days. It put the Golf Resort in the same boat as the Lake Buena Vista hotels, with most travel agents and tourists considering it not really a “Disney” resort. That was part of the reason that occupancy at the Golf Resort hovered from 60% to 75% while the Contemporary and Polynesian were essentially completely booked 365 days a year. In fact, as I recall, the Golf Resort was used as an overflow for the other two resorts. Otherwise, the numbers might not have been that good.

Of course, that also meant that there was always a room for the “golfers” from California. But I wax cynical here. I don’t for one minute think that Disney top management added the Golf Resort to the plan merely for their benefit. I’m sure they thought it would be an advantage to Walt Disney World, too. A magnet for serious golfers and for the millions of weekend duffers that would be bringing their families to visit Disney’s new theme park in Florida.

I mentioned earlier that I came aboard as the new marketing director in 1974. And, as you might expect, the Golf Resort “problem” was one of many high priorities that I found waiting on my desk. But I must admit that I broke my pick on this one. Despite an advertising campaign in several golf publications, the enormous publicity from the annual PGA tournaments, special mailings to travel agents, and a broad effort to include it in all of our marketing programs, the Golf Resort remained the weak sister of the Disney hotels on site — including the campground at Fort Wilderness.

So, what was going here? You’ve got a beautiful resort with two of the finest golf courses in the country located at the most popular tourist destination on earth — and nobody wants to stay there? Call me a “duh!” but I think that’s exactly right. Nobody wanted to stay there. The serious golfers that were supposed to be drawn to the Golf Resort had too many other quieter places to play in Florida, without tourists crawling all over the place (not that there’s anything wrong with tourists). Not to mention the Mickey Mouse stigma that many “serious” people abhor. And pity the weekend golfer who brings his family to Walt Disney World and puts them up in an out of the loop hotel so he can play a few rounds of golf. No, it simply didn’t have a market. And, frankly, I couldn’t figure out how to solve the problem.

Then, near the end of my tenure at Disney in 1980, I suddenly thought I had a possible solution. There was talk circulating that the company might build a third course at the Golf Resort. It would have to be different, I thought. Not just another 18 holes. Maybe it could be the answer; something that would attract every kind of golfer, a fantasy come true like the Magic Kingdom, but for golfers.

And that quickly the idea popped into my mind. I knew that the Imagineers at WED could design and build almost anything. So, what if we got together a committee of great golfers and had them select the greatest 18 holes of golf in the world. The greatest first hole (from Ireland perhaps). The greatest second hole (maybe from South Africa), and so on. Whenever possible we’d use the original designers of the holes as advisors to make sure we got things right. And we’d call it The Fantasy.

I still believe that any golfer who is still breathing in an out would have an itch to tee off on that course. It wouldn’t matter what your score was, but that you played “the game.” However, the powers that be pooh-poohed the idea and it was never really considered.

Instead, to appeal to more than golfers (as the releases noted), the Golf Resort became the Disney Inn in February of 1986 and was remodeled with a Snow White theme, and the addition of 150 rooms.

Since I’ve been an outsider, I have no idea of the thinking behind the other developments at the Golf Resort — aka Disney Inn — but I can report that a new golf course was added in 1992. The Oak Trail, a walk-only 9-hole course, is described as “for novices and better golfers who want to stretch their legs.”

I assume that these changes and additions didn’t work because in 1994 the Disney Company agreed to lease the Disney Inn to the U.S. Army for three years. And Disney management must have been flabbergasted when the resort almost immediately produced an occupancy rate of 95 per cent. Two years later the Army purchased it for $43 million and re-named it Shades of Green.

Part of this amazing turn-around is undoubtedly due to prices. In the early 1990s Disney was offering stays at its Snow White themed Disney Inn with room rates ranging from $195 to $500. The 2003 rates at Shades of Green range from $95 to $105, with suites that sleep 8 people available for $225 per night. The fact that Shades of Green is one of the few vacation facilities specifically for military personnel is also key. But the big reason may be a lot simpler than that. Shades of Green give thousands of military kids and their families the opportunity to live their fantasy of visiting Walt Disney World. And most of them don’t give a *** about golfing.

I watch golf sometimes now, but I’m not really into it. Still. I have a couple of great memories of the Golf Resort. One is from the Disney Team Championship tournament in 1976 won by Woody Blackburn and Bill Kratzer (I didn’t remember those names, I had to look them up) Long after it was all over, the awards given out, the champagne glasses clinked, and airline connections caught, I was walking through the Trophy Room restaurant. To my surprise, I saw Card Walker, the president of the Disney Company, sitting at a table all by himself. I thought at first — Nah! But then, why not? So I walked over and asked Card if everything was all right. He invited me to have a drink. And before the night was over I had agreed to move to corporate headquarter in Burbank with new expanded responsibilities.

My best memory, however, is from the Disney PGA tournament in 1999. The story begins with the fact that my 85 year-old mother has for some years been a golf fanatic. She can tell you the scores of most of the players, but her favorite is Tiger Woods. So, when the 1999 Classic approached I thought — what a great idea! Unfortunately, I had been an outsider by then for almost 20 years, with no access to any goodies. However, by hook and wife — who works for Universal — I was able to purloin two tickets.

And so, on the first day of the tournament, after parking frustrations and a long, tiring walk, we found ourselves in the crowd on one of the spectator mounds surrounding the 9th hole of Magnolia course close the club house. I couldn’t see what was happening, but when my mother said, “Someone’s coming!” I told her, “Pretend you’re an old lady — push to the front.”

And she did. And it was Tiger Woods, the winner of that year’s Classic.

 

Special thanks to Walt Dated World for providing additional research materials for this article.

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General

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

Published

8 years ago

on

June 23, 2015

By

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

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

… the postman delivering the mail …


Photo by Jim Hill

… the hot dog vendor working at his cart …


Photo by Jim Hill


Photo by Jim Hill

… the street musician playing for tourists …


Photo by Jim Hill

Not to mention the tourists themselves.


Photo by Jim Hill

But right alongside the bronze businessmen …


Photo by Jim Hill

… and the tired grandmother hauling her groceries home …


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

… or — for that matter — out-of-time.


Photo by Jim Hill

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


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

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

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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

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

Published

8 years ago

on

June 10, 2015

By

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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

Your thoughts?

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General

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

Published

8 years ago

on

June 9, 2015

By

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc.
All rights reserved

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights
reserved

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc.
All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Lucasfilm / Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

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

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

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