General

So, you think that YOU’VE got it tough?

WDW cast members continue to share their war stories about their on-the-job experiences at the Disney World Resort.

Published

20 years ago

February 16, 2004

Man, who knew that one little story would strike such a nerve?

A week ago today, JHM ran “Cast Members at DAK’s Kilimanjaro Safari don’t think that WDW management is being very fair-i to them,” an article that detailed how difficult how tough it was to work at DAK’s “Kilimanjaro Safari” ride.

Well, that piece produce a tidal wave of response from WDW cast members. Which is why I decided to reprint a number of their notes as part of a rebuttal article, “The Cry Babies who runs Kilimajaro Safari is complaining again? Well, cry me a Kali River …”

Well — as you might expect — that article also got the folks who work at Walt Disney World writing in. So — this morning — I thought I might share a few of these e-mails with you.

Of course, we got another pile of letters from folks who said that their job at Disney World was at least as tough as working at “Kilimanjaro Safari.” My favorite, though, was this one from Chris T:

Dear Jim,

I was a College Program last year (Fall 2003) and I worked as a busser at Magic Kingdom’s Plaza Pavilion as a busser. I can understand that everyone thinks that their job is so hard and that they have it worse than anyone else, so I won’t say that mine was the hardest.

One of my roommates worked Kilimajaro Safaris as a driver. Everyday he would come home complaining about work and blah blah blah. The whole time he was complaining I was thinking “Yeah if only you did my job!”

Well in November, my roommate pulled extra hours as a busser at Plaza Pavilion. That day I went in a couple hours before him and got off a couple hours after him. When I got home he was laying in his bed in pain. He said he had not worked so hard since he had been at Disney. He said my job was about ten times worse than his job as a driver at KIlimajaro.

I’m not hear to complain about how hard my job was, or that mine was the worse out of all jobs because I know that there other jobs like custodial that are harder than mine. I’m just saying that maybe the Kilimajaro drivers should go out and pull extra hours at a place like Plaza Pavilion or Cosmic Rays to see what it’s like to not be sitting in a truck or handing out fast pass tickets all day long.

Sincerely
Chris T.

Then — of course — there were those who took a more pragmatic approach. These folks were the ones who sent me the e-mails that broke down who got paid what, what the built-in hazards for various jobs at Disney World might as well as how difficult it was to work with people who constantly complained about how difficult they thought their job was.

Here. Let’s let this WDW cast member explain:

Dear Jim.

Just read the letter from the Safari Cast member and I have to say boo hoo. I also work at DAK in attractions and all attractions cast members have an almost equally level of problems.

As far as pay … Well — first of all — Entertainment gets paid that 45 cents an hour more and is not worth what they go through like being abused by guests who have no sense of respect for them. Trust me there are at least 10 times as many characters who are injured and put out of their job for days or even weeks.

Security has to deal with guests who think because they paid $50 dollars and can treat us anyway they want, and have to deal with emergency calls and so on. Transportation has hundreds of more guests to deal with and they drive 8 hours each day.

I am not totally unsympathetic but crying changes nothing. There are other job classifications that have harder jobs and get the same pay. It’s not strictly management’s fault.

I have friends who drive Safari trucks and have no complaints. I also know a couple of their managers too. The problem with the union is they are too weak. Which is why we end up with lousy contracts. For instance, my medical insurance went up $3 a week and now — for some reason (that) I don’t understand — they decided to start having us pay 10 percent of our hospital stay. And this is an HMO!

(Mind you), I’m not complaining. I pay it and still love my job. It shouldn’t really matter what you’re paid but that you like your job. Everybody that works for Disney thinks they should be paid more even if their only job is to smile and say hi. We all consider ourselves underpaid.

Yes, driving a Safari truck may be hard. But it’s not the hardest job. The hardest job is going to work and listen to some of your fellow cast members complain every day when all they have to do is transfer. I say: suck it up or find another location to transfer to. He or she should be so lucky that they are not on the college program. Because (those poor kids) only get paid $6 an hour for the same (work that the full time cast members do). And — if anyone should be paid more — they should.

Then there were the folks who tried to put the whole thing in perspective. Give me a little historical background as well as offer up some psychological insights.

Our old buddy, Big Mike, perhaps did the best job with this sort of letter. Which is why I’m happy to share his note with you folks today:

Dearest Jim,

First off, I must say that if you weren’t around here, I would have to head off into the nether regions of the internet to find a good bit of insider info.

I read, with a smile, the articles regarding the Kilimanjaro complaint and the subsequent anti-Kilimanjaro rebuttals. I read with interest on how our Kilimanjaro safari host or hostess complained bitterly about his/her conditions and how he/she was paid only $6.70 an hour to perform these functions. I also read with interest about the “suck it up” articles.

These two stories indicate 2 things to me: the length these respective CM’s have worked at Disney and the typical decreasing morale level that can be found as the years go by as a Cast Member. So let’s, based upon my opinion and observations at the workplace, examine a Cast Member’s career and their differing levels of morale as time goes by.

Typically Jim every cast member fresh out of casting goes to Disney University for “Traditions”. Traditions, in the way past in the Disney golden age (the good old days), was a few days long and introduced the newest members of the Disney family to the Disney culture, its time honored practices and beliefs, and its willingness to go the extra mile for every guests of every day of every year…all with some perma-grin attached to your face. Nowadays, Traditions is only the better part of a day, if even a few hours, but it still manages to give the newbies some insight as well as a morale boost before they hit the chaotic frenzy known as Walt Disney World.

Now, fresh off of our Traditions tour and with freshly minted perma-grin chiseled onto our faces, we enter the chaotic frenzy ever willing to make the visit magical “for each and every guest.” This is where the fun begins…

Let’s take a side detour or a minute and look at our 3 writers. Case A, or the disgruntled Kilimanjaro Safari worker, exhibits behavioral signs of someone that has been working there between 1-2 years. Why do I know this? Well, first of all, he/she gets paid $6.70/hour which tells me he/she has been there for this length of time.

Secondly, he/she shows all the classic signs of a CM who has lost that shiny luster from Traditions and realizes that this isn’t as great as I once thought. To rebut what someone said earlier, it is not as easy to leave a high-stress job like Kilimanjaro as you might believe. I know people that used to work there…Cory and Elton for whom I mentioned in the first article. They left together and said that even though they hated it there and they couldn’t stand the lack of hours and overtime as well as the high-stress “wear your ass out” attraction Kilimanjaro is, it was hard for them to leave because they had developed friendships with people there who shared in their misery with them.

Thirdly, not being paid appropriately for an extremely hot and repetitive job like Kilimanjaro takes its toll and the worker begins to exhibit resentment. Imagine, you work your butt off for a week at Kilimanjaro and come home to a paycheck of roughly 260 gross and 215 take home. Wow, after you pay the rent and car insurance, if you have a car, and pay the utilities and the cable…oh, wait I can’t afford cable…you have no money, you are drained, and the resentment and hate starts to grow much like it did to Anakin Skywalker. Ok, sorry, I had to use the “dark side” perspective. And finally, the tedium of work and losing friends to termination and the introduction of cast destroyment, oh I mean cast deployment (the computer), and the “move bodies” mentality of management takes its toll and over time produces a disgruntled cast member. While this is not always true, I have observed that this is true for about 90%+ of all cast members, especially after 3 years or more of time with the company.

Case B, or the CM who “sacrificed” (sacrifice is the Iraq War, not working at Disney) of him/herself at Great Movie Ride for $6.35/hour instead of $10.50/hour at home (trust me, go home, make $10.50/hour and save Disney for visits), is a classic example of someone who is fresh out of Traditions and has an unbreakable belief in Disney (I do too, but only in the Walt Disney school of thought—not Eisner’s culture he has created there). Unyieldingly defensive of the product and “gee, this is so great” mentality overwhelms his passionate drive to ensure the best service humanly possible.

While I agree with this mentality in order to succeed, the Cast Member’s unwillingness to understand that $200 bucks a week “ain’t gonna keep the smiles” going for a whole long time. Also, the fact that he believes there are scores of others ready to take the job is frightening, at best. Why would scores of people believe that $200 a week is a good move? Because it’s Disney. Either they have no chance at employment elsewhere and the Mouse will hire them (trust me, I have worked with convicted sex offenders at Disney—child molestation sex offenders) or because they believe in a hallowed institution like Disney and will make the “ultimate sacrifice” to work there.

Working at Disney is a novelty; once the novelty wears off, reality sends a crushing blow almost immediately. Be careful of what you wish for…this is one institution that traps you…and you become institutionalized, afraid to leave what has become so familiar for 6 bucks an hour.

Case C, or the “suck it up” CM, is a classic example of someone who has worked there for a while and just wants to vent at someone letting them know they are not the only ones with a crappy job. The funny thing, is it’s true. I must, based on experience, say that Kilimanjaro is probably one of the most difficult (top 5) attractions host jobs at Disney. The Case C cast member is a person who believes in Disney but secretly resents their place of employment. This comes after many years of working there but is a byproduct of a “not giving into public negativity” mentality of those co-workers around him/her who hate the place and let it be known quite regularly. Case C seems to be pretty straightforward, but this is only my opinion (and besides, what do I know).

Jim, go back to my cast deployment letter. Think about what I said in there. The byproducts of the Eisner regime have been negativity and extremely high turnover. Why? The bottom line. Cast deployment, low pay, overbearing managers…it all adds up after a while. I didn’t mean to offend anyone on this board who posted, but the truth is real and tangible. Working for Disney is not what everyone thinks it is, unless you are an Imagineer or Animator (and even that is tough nowadays).

So, please, anyone who reads this letter…don’t throw your life away to work as attractions host for the MOUSE. It will ruin your impression of the place, trust me. It may not happen in a year, maybe no even 5…but as surely as time passes, it will happen.

Y’all come back, ya hear!?

Big Mike

*Disclaimer-it will be worth working for again if they 1., get rid of Eisner, and 2., go back to the old ways of the old days…just my two cents

But then there were the folks who — in spite of all the miserable working conditions that they had to put up with during their days at Disney — wouldn’t trade that experience for anything in the world.

My favorite — out of all these sorts of letters — had to have come from Jonathan D. Who wrote in to say:

Hi, Jim

I’ve read your stories over the last two days talking about who has it tough at Disney World. And as an ex-Cast Member (College Program; Spring 2001), I wanted to put my $.02 in.

For the three months I was there, I worked in Food and Beverage (Quick Serve). Which meant, for me, I was in a kitchen, specifically the kitchen of Restaurantosaurus in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It was the first job I’d ever had, and I was 21 years old (I was a spoiled child, and I’m very sorry for everyone who got a job when they were 15, honestly).

So, first of all, going from no job at all to standing on my feet for 8 hours a day was a bit difficult. Then one day while cleaning out the hood over the burger fryer I got some Encompass (a cleaning product, if you didn’t know) directly in my left eye, freaking out all the managers who were sure I was going to lose it (the eye…I didn’t, but it was bloodshot for a day or so). Another day, I was wiping down the large freezer doors when one of them came off its hinges and smashed me right in the face, bloodying my lip, nose, and giving me a black eye. And then there’s the various and sundry burns from oil, grease (is the word), hot cooking equipment, etc.

I also did some work as a busser, which meant wearing pink pants and a striped blue shirt (a great color combo, IMO) and doing general bussing-type stuff. Like emptying out huge trashcans that the guests would always fill to overflowing if you didn’t keep your eye on them at all times and replace them whenever they got to half full. Of course, when you’re emptying out one, inevitably one on the other side of the restaurant requires your attention. The trick was to put 4-5 bags in each trash can, so you weren’t
constantly having to replace the bag when you took a full one out (a valuable time saver).

Then there was the fun time that was always had when guests would ask for straws or lids for their little kiddies drinks…but of course, there ARE no straws or lids in DAK (for the safety of the animals, don’t you know). Of course, not having lids inevitably meant that their kids would be spilling drinks left and right (better then a protein spill, though) and while you’re cleaning that up, guess what? Those trash cans are filling right back up.

And of course there was the other routine stuff that comes with bussing, like pointing out the way to the bathrooms (for the guests who couldn’t see the large sign), wiping down tables, and checking lost and found for sunglasses. The best part, though, was the unusual questions you’d get: “Excuse me, where’s the Tower of Terror?” “Well, you want to go out this door here, walk on down the path, take the first left, then head out to the buses and go to MGM.”

But for any wacky guest question like that, there were the great once in a lifetime guests. Like a mother who was there with her son, who happened to have cerebral palsy. They were having such a great time, and it was so much fun to ask them what they’d seen so far, and what they were still planning to see, and to share in the joy that Disney was bringing them.

See, that’s what Disney is, Jim. It’s magic, pure and simple. Magic can’t be expressed in shareholder value, and it’s not a commodity that Michael Eisner can buy and sell. It exists in Disney, and it’s recreated every time a kid gets excited the first time they see that castle, or they meet Mickey or Donald or Goofy. And it’s passed on every time a cast member can do their part (even if it’s just keeping a smile on while telling the five thousandth guest that we don’t have straws or lids) to give a little bit of that Disney magic to someone else.

Whether any of this is easier or harder then any of the other stories you’ll get is anyone’s guess. But Jim, let me tell you…I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything else in the world. The people I worked with there were some of the best people I’ve ever met. People like Gretchen, Cesar, Plinio, David, Louis … managers like Brandon, Rich, and Jake (master of the tough love and the salad cooler talking to).

And best of all, it’s where I met my wife, Angela, who was there working in the same kitchen during the same College Program. So I’d say, as tough as it was, and as lousy as the pay was…it was worth every minute. Every single minute.

That’s all I’ve got for you. Thanks for letting me share my story, and thanks for all the great articles you’ve always got on the site. Later!

Jonathan D.

So — as you can see — there’s still a lot of people out there with strong opinions about what it’s really like to work at Walt Disney World. Which is why I’m giving some semi-serious thought to creating a whole new area at JimHillMedia.com. A place where we maybe could archive all of these great job-related stories.

So — if you’ve got a good or bad story that you’d like to share with JHM readers about your job related experiences at the Disney theme parks and resorts, feel free to toss it my way … and I may post it as part of this new section at the site.

General

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