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More Cheese from the Mouse: “The Gnome-Mobile” and “Blackbeard’s Ghost”

Using these recent DVD releases from Buena Vista Home Entertainment as a jumping-off point, Jim Hill looks back at the career of veteran Disney director Robert Stevenson.

Published

21 years ago

on

In an age where some many people seem to know the names of the directors that work on their favorite films (I.E. Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, James Cameron et al), it seems surprising (to me, anyway) that so few people remember Robert Stevenson nowadays.

Which is kind of bizarre. Given that — back in the mid-1970s — Stevenson was Hollywood’s highest earning helmer. According to Variety, the combined worldwide box office office for the 20 films that he directed for Walt Disney Productions totaled more than a billion dollars. Which is why all the other studios in town tried for decades to lure Robert away from the Mouse House.

But Stevenson never strayed. Why for? To be honest, Robert was loyal. More to the point, Stevenson liked working for Walt Disney Productions. He liked the safe, secure feel that the studio had back in the 1960s & 1970s. Which is why he never felt the need to move beyond Burbank.

You see, you have to understand that Stevenson got kind of a rude awakening when he first arrived in Hollywood back in 1939. At the time, Robert was one of England’s top action director. He had helmed such U.K. hits as “Tudor Rose” and “King Solomon’s Mine.” So — when Stevenson was signed by David O. Selznick — it was assumed that Robert would follow in Alfred Hitchcock’s footsteps and become the next big thing in Tinsel Town.

Well, that didn’t happened. Over the next 17 years, Robert was only to direct 6 motion pictures. Though one or two of these films were fairly high profile projects (I.E. “Jane Eyre” with Orson Welles & Joan Fontaine), none of these movies were huge successes by Hollywood standards. Which is why — over time — Selznick seemed to lose confidence in Stevenson’s abilities and gave the U.K. helmer fewer chances to direct.

By the time the mid-1950s rolled around, Robert was virtually out of the business. Another Hollywood has-been. But then Walt Disney came on the horizon. Truth be told, Disney wasn’t really interested in using Stevenson as a really-for-real motion picture director at first. Walt was just looking for someone who could work quickly and turn out good-looking-but-low-cost episodes for his weekly ABC TV program, “Disneyland.”

And — after all those years of not being behind a camera — Stevenson nearly blew his big comeback chance when his first film for Disney, “Johnny Tremain,” went ‘way over-budget. To add insult to injury, Robert’s kind of ticked off Walt by staging that movie’s Boston Tea Party sequence — arguably one of the more pivotal event in American history — as if it were a slapstick scene out of some Hollywood musical.

To help recover the additional money that the studio had spent on completing “Johnny Tremain,” Disney put that Robert Stevenson film out in theaters prior to showing this originally-made-for-television feature on ABC’s “Disneyland” show. And — by normal Hollywood standards — that should have probably been the end of Stevenson’s tenure at Disney. Except that Walt must have seen something that he liked in the soft-spoken Englishman. Which is why Robert was given another shot at directing for the studio. The chance to direct Disney’s big Christmas 1957 release, “Old Yeller.”

That film — as any good Disney history buff will tell you — was a hit. And — from there — Robert Stevenson had this really extraordinary run at Walt Disney Productions. Directing another 18 films for the studio over the next 18 years. Some of these pictures being Disney’s biggest hits of the 1950s, 1960s & 1970s. These titles include:

  • The Shaggy Dog (1959)
  • Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959)
  • The Absent-Minded Professor (1961)
  • Son of Flubber (1963)
  • Mary Poppins (1964)
  • That Darn Cat! (1965)
  • The Love Bug (1969)
  • Bedknobs & Broomsticks (1971)
  • Herbie Rides Again (1974)
  • The Island at the Top of the World (1974)

“To what do you attribute Stevenson’s great success at Disney?,” you ask. Well, to be honest, Robert had this gift for grounding fantasy in reality. Making even the most unlikely scenario seem plausible. Whether it was a practically perfect nanny who traveled by umbrella or a Volkswagon with a mind (and heart) of its own, Stevenson knew how to sell these things on screen. To carefully lay out all the necessary story groundwork so that an audience could eventually say: “An English spinster lady who wants to help the war effort by using empty suits of armor to battle ***? … Okay. I guess I can buy that.”

Case in point: The two Disney DVDs that we’re going to talk about today — “The Gnome-Mobile” and “Blackbeard’s Ghost.” These two Robert Stevenson films occupy some pretty interesting spots in the Disney Company’s filmography. For “The Gnome-Mobile” marked the studio’s return to big-screen fantasy following Disney’s smash hit, “Mary Poppins.” And — as for “Blackbeard’s Ghost” — Well … This was actually the Stevenson film that was in production when Walt Disney died in December of 1966.

As for “The Gnome-Mobile” … This movie was actually hoping to catch a bit of a ride on “Mary Poppins” ‘s coat tails. For this July 1967 fantasy film stars Karen Dotrice & Matthew Garber, the two English children who played Jane & Michael Banks in the 1964 Academy Award winner. In fact, just to make sure that movie-goers got the connection, Walt actually had Karen & Matthew billed in “The Gnome-Mobile” ‘s credits as “those ‘Mary Poppins’ kids.”

The film itself is a fluffball. Walter Brennan plays a dual role: D. J. Mulrooney, a well-meaning lumber magnate as well as Knobby, a 943-year-old gnome who lives in the Redwood forest that Mulrooney’s company has been cutting down. D.J.’s grandchildren Elizabeth (Dotrice) and Rodney (Garber) try to persuade the old gent to spare the woods & save the gnome’s home. Which Mulrooney does … eventually.

In the meantime, the usual complications entail. When D.J. starts talking about gnomes, naturally his staff thinks that he’s gone nuts. Which is why his scheming vice president, Ralph Yarby (Richard Deacon. Best known for his work as the much put-upon Mel Cooley in the original “*** Van *** Show”), has Mulrooney committed. Which is why it’s up to D.J. grandchildren to now bust him out of the nuthouse.

This is (of course) followed by a slapstick chase through the forest in limousines. Which is then followed by a semi-pseudo-sort-of “Sadie Hawkins Days” chase through the forest, as Knobby’s grandson, Jasper (Tom Lowell) tries to escape a bevy of lady gnomes.

As you might expect with a Disney film from this period, “The Gnome-Mobile” ends happily. With D.J. deeded 50,000 acres of redwood forest to the gnomes — so that the little people will always have a protected home. Then everyone goes for a ride in Mulrooney’s limo as they sing a reprise of the title song that the Sherman Brothers wrote just for this picture.

Disneyana fans are sure to enjoy “The Gnome-Mobile” at the very least for its curio factor. For this film marks the last on-screen appearance of that Disney favorite, Ed Wynn (Who died soon after production wrapped on this picture in June of 1966). Meanwhile Disney theme park fans may be intrigued by this movie’s use of Audio Animatronic figures to play the owl, raccoon & bluejays who warn the gnomes to stay away from humans.

It was Walt who (it’s said) insisted that Stevenson use those AA figures in “The Gnome-Mobile.” For Disney saw this on-screen use of robotics as animation’s next logical step in its evolution. So — with that in mind — one has to wonder what sort of movies we would have seen coming out of Disney Studios if Walt had just hung on a few more years.

But — sadly — Disney didn’t have a few more years. The surviving members of the cast of “Blackbeard’s Ghost” recall all too vividly the day that Walt made an appearance on that film’s set. How sallow the studio exec looked. How the skin seemed to hang off of Disney’s already skinny frame. Suzanne Pleshette talks about how she tried to tease Walt during his visit to the soundstage where “Blackbeard” was being shot. Straining to get a laugh out of the obviously exhausted executive. But that night — when Pleshette went home — she just cried when she thought back about how sick Disney looked. How obvious it was that Walt wasn’t long for this world.

Given the grim feeling that must have pervaded the Burbank lot back then, it’s almost surprising to find that “Blackbeard’s Ghost” turned out to be such a sunny comedy. The picture is another one of those family-friendly fantasy films that Stevenson seemed to do so well. Disney perennial player Dean Jones plays Steve Walker, Godolphin College’s new track coach. Through circumstances that are really too convoluted to recount here (which actually involved an enchanted bed warmer), Walker summons Blackbeard’s Ghost (Peter Ustinov). Who’s doomed to linger in limbo until he performs a good dead.

In this case, the good deed involves Jones & Ustinov teaming up to defeat a group of gangster who are determined to toss a bunch of little ladies (led — FYI — by another Disney studio favorite, veteran character actress Elsa Lancaster) out of their seaside home so that the mob can make it over into a casino.

As you might expect (This being a Walt Disney Productions picture directed by Robert Stevenson), this film features a laugh-laden sporting event (In this case, a track meet where Blackbeard’s Ghost helps Godolphin’s woebegone team come from behind to win) as well as a slapstick finale. This time around, Dean & Peter work together to rid the rest home of its gangster infestation.

Me personally, what I find fascinating about watching the DVDs of “The Gnome-Mobile” and “Blackbeard’s Ghost” virtually on top of one another is how much creative continuity there is between these two films. For Stevenson used the very same set designer (Emil Kuri), the very same costume designer (Bill Thomas), the very same cinematographer (Edward Coleman), the very same art director (Carroll Clark) as well as the second unit director (Art Vitarelli) on the two pictures. Robert even used some of the same actors — with Richard Deacon, Gil Lamb and Norman Grabowski playing key roles in both “The Gnome-Mobile” and “Blackbeard’s Ghost.”

Though — to be honest — that was one of the real virtues that the films that Walt Disney Productions churned out in the 1960s had. That — like the big Hollywood studios used to have in their heydays in the 1940s & 1950s — Disney had this core ground of experienced creative people back then that the company could always draw on. Studio veterans like Stevenson, producer Bill Walsh and screenwriter Don DaGradi who could always be counted on to crank out a quality product.

But then as the 1960s gave way to the 1970s and folks like Stevenson, Walsh & DaGradi retired or passed away … Walt Disney Productions really seemed to have lose its knack at turning out these sort of films. These family-friendly fantasies that featured eye-popping special effects as well as just enough laughs to keep adults involved in what was ostensibly a kiddie picture.

And — given that two of Stevenson’s bigger hits (I.E. “The Shaggy Dog” & “The Love Bug”) are currently being remade by the Walt Disney Company, it’ll be interesting to see if these modern remakes can actually recapture the magic that the originals had. Or whether these pictures will just join the long line of pale copies that Disney has churned over the past thirty years. As the studio struggles to recapture what Robert Stevenson seemed to make look so easy. Which is make the implausible look possible.

I know that — at the very top of this article — I promised you more cheese from the Mouse. Well, truth be told, “The Gnome-Mobile” and “Blackbeard’s Ghost” aren’t really all that cheesy. By that I mean: If these two recent BVHE DVD releases were to be compared to cheese, I guess that they’d probably be a quality Camembert. NOT a stinky Limburger.

So — if you want to have a bit of nostalgic fun — you might want to pick up a copy of “The Gnome-Mobile” and/or “Blackbeard’s Ghost” DVD today.

Your thoughts?

 

Related Topics:

Jim Hill is an entertainment writer who has specialized in covering The Walt Disney Company for nearly 40 years now. Over that time, he has interviewed hundreds of animators, actors, and Imagineers -- many of whom have shared behind-the-scenes stories with Mr. Hill about how the Mouse House really works. In addition to the 4000+ articles Jim has written for the Web, he also co-hosts a trio of popular podcasts: “Disney Dish with Len Testa,” “Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor” and “Marvel US Disney with Aaron Adams.” Mr. Hill makes his home in Southern New Hampshire with his lovely wife Nancy and two obnoxious cats, Ginger & Betty.

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General

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

Published

10 years ago

on

June 23, 2015

By

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

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

… the postman delivering the mail …


Photo by Jim Hill

… the hot dog vendor working at his cart …


Photo by Jim Hill


Photo by Jim Hill

… the street musician playing for tourists …


Photo by Jim Hill

Not to mention the tourists themselves.


Photo by Jim Hill

But right alongside the bronze businessmen …


Photo by Jim Hill

… and the tired grandmother hauling her groceries home …


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

… or — for that matter — out-of-time.


Photo by Jim Hill

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


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

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

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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

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

Published

10 years ago

on

June 10, 2015

By

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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


Photo by Jim Hill

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

Your thoughts?

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

Published

10 years ago

on

June 9, 2015

By

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc.
All rights reserved

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights
reserved

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc.
All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved

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

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


Copyright Lucasfilm / Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

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

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

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