General
Sure, “Star Tours” is great … But would a “20,000 Leagues” simulator have been even better?
Jim Hill looks back at the proposed Discovery Bay attraction that could have been Disneyland’s first simulator ride: The “Captain Nemo Adventure.”
What with Monday’s “Next Stop: Tatooine?” story, I’ve been getting a lot of e-mail this week about “Star Tours.” Some JHM readers want to know more about what the proposed storyline for the next version of this Tomorrowland favorite. While still others want to know about the attraction’s alternate scenarios. As in: What other destinations did the Imagineers toy with sending the StarSpeeder 3000 to before they finally settled on Tatooine.
And — admittedly — those are all very interesting story ideas. Subjects that I may pursue in the weeks & months ahead here at JimHillMedia. But — to be honest — what really appeals to me are all the attraction concepts that WDI was knocking around before they finally settled on “Star Tours.”
And — no — I’m not talking about that lame Jedi training device version of this attraction. I’m talking about when the Imagineers first wanted to build a ride at Disneyland that made use of flight simulator technology: The “Captain Nemo Adventure” ride attraction that was supposed to be the centerpiece of Discovery Bay.
Now (for those of you who don’t know) Discovery Bay was this elaborate addition that was proposed for the Anaheim theme park back in the mid-to-late 1970s. And — according to the Imagineers’ preliminary plans — this new expansion area (Which was due to be built behind Big Thunder Mountain Railway, between Fantasyland and Frontierland) was supposed to be this fantasically detailed environment. A heady mix of Gold Rush era San Francisco and Vulcania.
“Why Vulcania?,” you ask. Because Discovery Bay’s “weenie” (I.E. The object that compells you to go deeper into that part of the park) was going to be a 200-foot-long recreation of the Nautilus. Captain Nemo’s sub from Walt Disney Productions’ 1954 release, “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.”
Ah, but this ornately riveted submarine wasn’t just something for Disneyland visitors to look at and admire from afar. No, this over-sized vessel was actually supposed to be a desination in Discovery Bay. A place that people could enter & explore.
According to the Imagineers’ initial plans for this 200-foot version of the Nautilus, once you came onboard the boat, you had three exploring options. You could:
- Do the “Nautilus” walk-through. Which was to have been a hyper-detailed recreation of the popular Tomorrowland attraction from the 1950s & 1960s. You know, something similar to what Disneyland-Paris patrons got when that theme park opened its “Les Mysteres du Nautilus” walk-through back in 1994?
- Dine in the Grand Salon, this super-opulent restaurant where Disneyland guests could have eaten high-priced fare as they looked out at a lagoon full of colorful fish.
- Or they could head down to the ship’s laboratory area and take a trip on the “Captain Nemo Adventure” ride.
“And what — pray tell — was the ‘Captain Nemo Adventure’ ride supposed to be like?,” you asked. Well, to be honest, had this proposed Discovery Bay attraction actually been built, it would have been the first simulator ride to ever be installed at a Disney theme park.
Now I know that some of you will find it hard to believe that Walt Disney Imagineering was actually exploring the idea of using flight simulator technology in the company’s theme parks back in the 1970s. So here’s a quote from the late Randy Bright, the legendary Imagineer, that (I hope) will assuage you.
“We became aware of industrial flight simulators and their possible entertainment applications within the Disney parks when we were researching various technologies for EPCOT Center,” said Randy Bright, WED’s VP of Concept Development.
Okay. Now that we’ve established that WDI was actually actively toying with this idea, let me share a memo from October 12, 1976. Which describes in great detail what the “Captain Nemo Adventure” ride would have been like.
In the attraction’s pre-show area, an audio-animatronic version of James Mason would have welcomed Disneyland visitors to his laboratory, then pointed out various inventions around the room. Among the more fantasical devices was a brand new type of exploratory sub. One that was supposedly capable of diving to depth as yet never experienced by man.
Nemo then invites us to join him on a quick shakedown cruise for his new prototype submarine. Nothing all that dangerous, mind you. Just a quick jaunt out into Discovery Bay to view some of the outlying buildings of the Captain’s undersea complex. Maybe a brief glimpse of the blue Pacific, then back to base. You know. A perfectly safe 10 minute long cruise … Where nothing could ever possibly go wrong …
(Snicker, snicker, snicker …)
So we exit the pre-show area and quickly board one of the two prototype subs that are waiting. Each of these “vessels” can hold up to 150 guests and — just like the Nautilus — they are highly ornate.
The most prominent feature of this submarine are its four enormous windows. But — as we enter the theater … er … sub — those windows are still closed.
Over our heads is a gravity pointer trim indicator. Along the port and starboard walls are small Davis lamps, mounted on swivels, which remain continually on a level whichever way the ship we’re in may rock or tilt. On either sides of the viewports stand two enormous vertical glass cylinders reinforced with copper bands.
Suddenly Captain Nemo’s voice comes on a loudspeaker, telling the audience not to worry, everything is perfectly safe, etc. and that our craft is about to submerge, enter through an underwater gatelock, tour a little of the unknown depths of Discovery Bay, cruise along parts of the uncharted Pacific Ocean, then head for home again.
Engine bells clang into action and both glass columns suddenly begin to fill with water at terrific force. Then the viewport screens open slowly as the lights inside our cabin dim to a lower amber. Our eyes then adjust to the underwater scene set before us.
We are now traveling away from Nemo’s underground laboratory thru beautiful undersea gardens. As we look about the room the once level trim indicator overhead is now registering several degrees of incline, and the Davis lamps along the wall are no longer level, but all tilting at the same angle.
A flash of bubbles obscure the view as we descend to greater depths. We see Captain Nemo’s crew in diving suits, hunters and farmers gathering a harvest at the bottom of the sea. Further on we see more evidence of Nemo’s genius: huge undersea structures and machinery, capable of withstanding the great pressures, and the wear and tear of the forces of nature.
Now an alrm is heard. A surface craft is detected on a sensor device, circling overhead, and the order is given to investigate. As we ascend, the wtaer filled columns suddenly empty and we clear the surface of the ocean. On the horizon we see a 19th Century warship, featureless, unromantic in its design. “A ship that flies no flag,” as Captain Nemo remarks to the helmsman.
The warship begins to fire on us and Nemo orders our craft hurled toward it at “Collision Speed!” The water parts on either side of the view ports in great volume, almost obscuring our prey. Our subrmarine strikes the warship at full force, bending in its iron plates, splintering the entire vessel in half. We come about and start to submerge, and see the once might enemy ship sink below the ocean’s surface.
Then a great explosion is seen (and felt), our trim indicator swings crazily about, the curtains on either sides of the great viewports sway back and forth. The mate calls to the Captain from the command post that our submarine is temporarily out of control and sinking rapidly. The warm amber lights in our cabin flash out and immediately the blue emergency lights come on.
The scene beyond the viewports gets darker and we begin to see unusual fish, with living phosphorescent lights of their own.
“We are deeper now than man has ever been before,” the Captain explains. “Fortunately our craft was only in temporary danger and can now ascend to the surface.”
Another alarm sounds: A giant squid has appeared from the murky depth and grabs ahold of our submarine boat. Great blue sparks crackle about the monster’s tentacles and body as Captain Nemo prepares the full electrical repellant charge. This is not enough, the mate replies and our only hope is to get back to the surface quickly so that the rapid change in pressure will destroy the creature.
As our ship once again breaks the surface, a terrifying thunderstorm at sea is in progress. Thunder and lightning flash about the crashing waves and we see the body of the giant squid still hanging on. Suddenly an overhead hatch opens and the beast’s tentacles slither through, thrash about wildly for a few seconds, then retreat.
Even some water comes in, but not enough to drench the first and second rows.
The hatch closes, and our submarine heads back towards Discovery Bay.
We submerge, enter the undersea grotto, but our craft blindly grazes some of the rocky walls “due to our faulty rudder,” the Captain explains,”caused by the warship’s attack and the giants quid.”
As we dock, the viewport hatches close and “when the cabin lights come on (the announcer informs us), we are to take any small children with us by the hand and any personal belongings and please exit to the right.”
Doesn’t that sound like an amazing ride? So why didn’t the “Captain Nemo Adventure” get built?
Well, never mind about how — when “The Island of the Top of the World” bombed at the box office in December of 1974 — Disney execs pretty much lost all enthusiasm for building an ornate new land at Disneyland that celebrated writers like Jules Verne & H.G. Wells. What the Imagineers were trying to do with their proposed “Captain Nemo Adventure” would have been technically virtually impossible.
By that I mean: Re-read the above show description very carefully. WDI wanted each of these two “submarines” to hold 150 passengers at any one time. Now keep in mind that each StarSpeeder 3000 at “Star Tours” only carries 40 passengers at any one time. Yet here were the Imagineers trying to create an attraction built around a moving platform that would have had to (at every single show) carry almost 4 times that weight.
And we’re talking 1970s era technology here, folks. Which then would have had to be synchronized with moving in-theater props, outside projection screens as well as a few Audio-Animatronic tentacles that were supposed to burst in suddenly & flail around for a while.
It was just too much show for the time. Which was why — after development of Disneyland’s Discovery Bay area was eventually tabled in the late 1970s / early 1980s — the Imagineers kept revisiting this idea. Pulling out the proposed “Captain Nemo Adventure” attraction and hoping that now (finally) they had the technology to make this long dreamed-of show a reality.
Which was why WDI was constantly seeing if the “Nemo” attraction might make a nice addition to the Port Disney project that was proposed for Long Beach back in 1990 and/or the Tokyo DisneySea theme park that the Oriental Land Company eventually built & opened next to Tokyo Disneyland in September of 2001.
And — indeed — TDS does have its own “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” ride. But that attraction (which is admittedly ornate and quite impressive) is actually a dark ride. Not a simulator.
Which is why — even though I’m excited that Disneyland is finally getting a “Nemo” ride (I.E. That “Finding Nemo: Let’s Party” attraction that’s currently under construction in Tomorrowland’s old Submarine Lagoon) — a part of me is still sad that the Imagineers never got the chance to build that first “Nemo” ride. The one where Captain Nemo himself took us out into the depths …
Anyway … That was the Imagineers’ first attempt at putting together a simulator-type attraction for the Disney theme parks. And — per your suggestions — in the weeks & months ahead, I will eventually tell you about all the “Star Wars” related ideas that WDI tried out before they finally settled on the “Star Tours” concept.
But — for now — I think I’ll be a little wistful about the big one that got away: Discovery Bay’s “Captain Nemo Adventure” simulator ride.
Your thoughts?
General
Seward Johnson bronzes add a surreal, artistic touch to NYC’s Garment District
Greetings from NYC. Nancy and I drove down from New
Hampshire yesterday because we'll be checking out
Disney Consumer Products' annual Holiday Showcase later today.
Anyway … After checking into our hotel (i.e., The Paul.
Which is located down in NYC's NoMad district), we decided to grab some dinner.
Which is how we wound up at the Melt Shop.
Photo by Jim Hill
Which is this restaurant that only sells grilled cheese sandwiches.
This comfort food was delicious, but kind of on the heavy side.
Photo by Jim Hill
Which is why — given that it was a beautiful summer night
— we'd then try and walk off our meals. We started our stroll down by the Empire
State Building
…
Photo by Jim Hill
… and eventually wound up just below Times
Square (right behind where the Waterford Crystal Times Square New
Year's Eve Ball is kept).
Photo by Jim Hill
But you know what we discovered en route? Right in the heart
of Manhattan's Garment District
along Broadway between 36th and 41st? This incredibly cool series of life-like
and life-sized sculptures that Seward
Johnson has created.
Photo by Jim Hill
And — yes — that is Abraham Lincoln (who seems to have
slipped out of WDW's Hall of Presidents when no one was looking and is now
leading tourists around Times Square). These 18 painted
bronze pieces (which were just installed late this past Sunday night / early
Monday morning) range from the surreal to the all-too-real.
Photo by Jim Hill
Some of these pieces look like typical New Yorkers. Like the
business woman planning out her day …
Photo by Jim Hill
… the postman delivering the mail …
Photo by Jim Hill
… the hot dog vendor working at his cart …
Photo by Jim Hill
Photo by Jim Hill
… the street musician playing for tourists …
Photo by Jim Hill
Not to mention the tourists themselves.
Photo by Jim Hill
But right alongside the bronze businessmen …
Photo by Jim Hill
… and the tired grandmother hauling her groceries home …
Photo by Jim Hill
… there were also statues representing people who were
from out-of-town …
Photo by Jim Hill
… or — for that matter — out-of-time.
Photo by Jim Hill
These were the Seward Johnson pieces that genuinely beguiled. Famous impressionist paintings brought to life in three dimensions.
Note the out-of-period water bottle that some tourist left
behind. Photo by Jim Hill
Some of them so lifelike that you actually had to pause for
a moment (especially as day gave way to night in the city) and say to yourself
"Is that one of the bronzes? Or just someone pretending to be one of these
bronzes?"
Mind you, for those of you who aren't big fans of the
impressionists …
Photo by Jim Hill
… there's also an array of American icons. Among them
Marilyn Monroe …
Photo by Jim Hill
… and that farmer couple from Grant Wood's "American
Gothic."
Photo by Jim Hill
But for those of you who know your NYC history, it's hard to
beat that piece which recreates Alfred Eisenstaedt's famous photograph of V-J Day in Times Square.
Photo by Jim Hill
By the way, a 25-foot-tall version of this particular Seward
Johnson piece ( which — FYI — is entitled "Embracing Peace") will actually
be placed in Times Square for a few days on or around August 14th to commemorate the 70th
anniversary of Victory Over Japan Day (V-J Day).
Photo by Jim Hill
By the way, if you'd like to check these Seward Johnson bronzes in
person (which — it should be noted — are part of the part of the Garment
District Alliance's new public art offering) — you'd best schedule a trip to
the City sometime over the next three months. For these pieces will only be on
display now through September 15th.
General
Wondering what you should “Boldly Go” see at the movies next year? The 2015 Licensing Expo offers you some clues
Greeting from the 2015 Licensing Expo, which is being held
at the Mandalay Bay
Convention Center in Las
Vegas.
Photo by Jim Hill
I have to admit that I enjoy covering the Licensing Expo.
Mostly becomes it allows bloggers & entertainment writers like myself to
get a peek over the horizon. Scope out some of the major motion pictures &
TV shows that today's vertically integrated entertainment conglomerates
(Remember when these companies used to be called movie studios?) will be
sending our way over the next two years or so.
Photo by Jim Hill
Take — for example — all of "The Secret Life of
Pets" banners that greeted Expo attendees as they made their way to the
show floor today. I actually got to see some footage from this new Illumination
Entertainment production (which will hit theaters on July 8, 2016) the last time I was in Vegas. Which
was for CinemaCon back in April. And the five or so minutes of film that I viewed
suggested that "The Secret Life of Pets" will be a really funny
animated feature.
Photo by Jim Hill
Mind you, Universal Pictures wanted to make sure that Expo
attendees remembered that there was another Illumination Entertainment production
coming-to-a-theater-near-them before "The Secret Life of Pets" (And
that's "Minions," the "Despicable Me" prequel. Which
premieres at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival next week but
won't be screened stateside 'til July 10th of this year). Which is why they had
three minions who were made entirely out of LEGOS loitering out in the lobby.
Photo by Jim Hill
And Warner Bros. — because they wanted "Batman v
Superman: Dawn of Justice" to start trending on Twitter today — brought
the Batmobile to Las Vegas.
Photo by Jim Hill
Not to mention full-sized macquettes of Batman, Superman and
Wonder Woman. Just so conventioneers could then see what these DC superheroes
would actually look like in this eagerly anticipated, March 25, 2016 release.
Photo by Jim Hill
That's the thing that can sometimes be a wee bit frustrating
about the Licensing Expo. It's all about delayed gratification. You'll come
around a corner and see this 100 foot-long ad for "The Peanuts Movie"
and think "Hey, that looks great. I want to see that Blue Sky Studios production
right now." It's only then that you notice the fine print and realize that
"The Peanuts Movie" doesn't actually open in theaters 'til November
6th of this year.
Photo by Jim Hill
And fan of Blue Sky's "Ice Age" film franchise are in for an even
longer wait. Given that the latest installment in that top grossing series
doesn't arrive in theaters 'til July
15, 2016.
Photo by Jim Hill
Of course, if you're one of those people who needs immediate
gratification when it comes to your entertainment, there was stuff like that to
be found at this year's Licensing Expo. Take — for example — how the WWE
booth was actually shaped like a wrestling ring. Which — I'm guessing — meant
that if the executives of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. didn't like
the offer that you were making, they were then allowed to toss you out over the
top rope, Royal Rumble-style.
Photo by Jim Hill
I also have to admit that — as a longtime Star Trek fan —
it was cool to see the enormous Starship Enterprise that hung in place over the
CBS booth. Not to mention getting a glimpse of the official Star Trek 50th
Anniversary logo.
Photo by Jim Hill
I was also pleased to see lots of activity in The Jim Henson
Company booth. Which suggests that JHC has actually finally carved out a
post-Muppets identity for itself.
Photo by Jim Hill
Likewise for all of us who were getting a little concerned
about DreamWorks Animation (what with all the layoffs & write-downs &
projects that were put into turnaround or outright cancelled last year), it was
nice to see that booth bustling.
Photo by Jim Hill
Every so often, you'd come across some people who were
promoting a movie that you weren't entirely sure that you actually wanted to
see (EX: "Angry Birds," which Sony Pictures Entertainment / Columbia
Pictures will be releasing to theaters on May 20, 2016). But then you remembered that Clay Kaytis —
who's this hugely talented former Walt Disney Animation Studios animator — is
riding herd on "Angry Birds" with Fergal Reilly. And you'd think
"Well, if Clay's working on 'Angry Birds,' I'm sure this animated feature
will turn out fine."
Photo by Jim Hill
Mind you, there were reminders at this year's Licensing Expo
of great animated features that we're never going to get to see now. I still
can't believe — especially after that brilliant proof-of-concept footage
popped up online last year — that Sony execs decided not to go forward
with production of Genndy Tartakovsky's
"Popeye" movie. But that's the
cruel thing about the entertainment business, folks. It will sometime break
your heart.
Photo by Jim Hill
And make no mistake about this. The Licensing Expo is all
about business. That point was clearly driven home at this year's show when —
as you walked through the doors of the Mandalay
Bay Convention Center
— the first thing that you saw was the Hasbros Booth. Which was this gleaming,
sleek two story-tall affair full of people who were negotiating deals &
signing contracts for all of the would-be summer blockbusters that have already
announced release dates for 2019 & beyond.
Photo by Jim Hill
"But what about The Walt Disney Company?," you
ask. "Weren't they represented on the show floor at this year's Licensing
Expo?" Not really, not. I mean, sure. There were a few companies there hyping
Disney-related products. Take — for example — the Disney Wikkeez people.
Photo by Jim Hill
I'm assuming that some Disney Consumer Products exec is
hoping that Wikkeez will eventually become the new Tsum Tsum. But to be blunt,
these little hard plastic figures don't seem to have the same huggable charm
that those stackable plush do. But I've been wrong before. So let's see what
happens with Disney Wikkeez once they start showing up on the shelves of the
Company's North American retail partners.
Photo by Jim Hill
And speaking of Disney's retail partners … They were
meeting with Mouse House executives behind closed doors one floor down from the
official show floor for this year's Licensing Expo.
Photo by Jim Hill
And the theme for this year's invitation-only Disney shindig? "Timeless
Stories" involving the Disney, Pixar, Marvel & Lucasfilm brands that
would then appeal to "tomorrow's consumer."
Photo by Jim Hill
And just to sort of hammer home the idea that Disney is no
longer the Company which cornered the market when it comes to little girls
(i.e., its Disney Princess and Disney Fairies franchises), check out this
wall-sized Star Wars-related image that DCP put up just outside of one of its
many private meeting rooms. "See?," this carefully crafted photo
screams. "It isn't just little boys who want to wield the Force. Little
girls also want to grow up and be Lords of the Sith."
Photo by Jim Hill
One final, kind-of-ironic note: According to this banner,
Paramount Pictures will be releasing a movie called "Amusement Park"
to theaters sometime in 2017.
Photo by Jim Hill
Well, given all the "Blackfish" -related issues
that have been dogged SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment over the past two years, I'm
just hoping that they'll still be in the amusement park business come 2017.
Your thoughts?
General
It takes more than three circles to craft a Classic version of Mickey Mouse
You know what Mickey Mouse looks like, right? Little guy,
big ears?
Truth be told, Disney's corporate symbol has a lot of
different looks. If Mickey's interacting with Guests at Disneyland
Park (especially this summer, when
the Happiest Place on Earth
is celebrating its 60th anniversary), he looks & dresses like this.
Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc.
All rights reserved
Or when he's appearing in one of those Emmy Award-winning shorts that Disney
Television Animation has produced (EX: "Bronco Busted," which debuts
on the Disney Channel tonight at 8 p.m. ET / PT), Mickey is drawn in a such a
way that he looks hip, cool, edgy & retro all at the same time.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights
reserved
Looking ahead to 2017 now, when Disney Junior rolls out "Mickey and the
Roadster Racers," this brand-new animated series will feature a sportier version
of Disney's corporate symbol. One that Mouse House managers hope will persuade
preschool boys to more fully embrace this now 86 year-old character.
Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved
That's what most people don't realize about the Mouse. The
Walt Disney Company deliberately tailors Mickey's look, even his style of
movement, depending on what sort of project / production he's appearing in.
Take — for example — Disney
California Adventure
Park's "World of Color:
Celebrate!" Because Disney's main mouse would be co-hosting this new
nighttime lagoon show with ace emcee Neil Patrick Harris, Eric Goldberg really had
to step up Mickey's game. Which is why this master Disney animator created
several minutes of all-new Mouse animation which then showed that Mickey was
just as skilled a showman as Neil was.
Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc.
All rights reserved
Better yet, let's take a look at what the folks at Avalanche Studios just went
through as they attempted to create a Classic version of Mickey & Minnie.
One that would then allow this popular pair to become part of Disney Infinity
3.0.
"I won't lie to you. We were under a lot of pressure to
get the look of this particular version of Mickey — he's called Red Pants
Mickey around here — just right," said Jeff Bunker, the VP of Art
Development at Avalanche Studios, during a recent phone interview. "When
we brought Sorcerer Mickey into Disney Infinity 1.0 back in January of 2014,
that one was relatively easy because … Well, everyone knows what Mickey Mouse
looked like when he appeared in 'Fantasia.' "
Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved
"But this time around, we were being asked to design
THE Mickey & Minnie," Bunker continued. "And given that these Classic
Disney characters have been around in various different forms for the better
part of the last century … Well, which look was the right look?"
Which is why Jeff and his team at Avalanche Studios began watching hours &
hours of Mickey Mouse shorts. As they tried to get a handle on which look would
work best for these characters in Disney Infinity 3.0.
Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
"And we went all the way back to the very start of Mickey's career. We began
with 'Steamboat Willie' and then watched all of those black & white Mickey shorts
that Walt made back in the late 1920s & early 1930s. From there, we
transitioned to his Technicolor shorts. Which is when Mickey went from being
this pie-eyed, really feisty character to more of a well-behaved leading
man," Bunker recalled. "We then finished out our Mouse marathon by
watching all of those new Mickey shorts that Paul Rudish & his team have
been creating for Disney Television Animation. Those cartoons really recapture
a lot of the spirit and wild slapstick fun that Mickey's early, black &
white shorts had."
But given that the specific assignment that Avalanche Studios had been handed
was to create the most appealing looking, likeable version of Mickey Mouse
possible … In the end, Jeff and his team wound up borrowing bits & pieces
from a lot of different versions of the world's most famous mouse. So that
Classic Mickey would then look & move in a way that best fit the sort of
gameplay which people would soon be able to experience with Disney Infinity
3.0.
Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved
"That — in a lot of ways — was actually the toughest
part of the Classic Mickey design project. You have to remember that one of the
key creative conceits of Disney Infinity
is that all the characters which appear in this game are toys," Bunker
stated. "Okay. So they're beautifully detailed, highly stylized toy
versions of beloved Disney, Pixar, Marvel & Lucasfilm characters. But
they're still supposed to be toys. So our Classic versions of Mickey &
Minnie have the same sort of thickness & sturdiness to them that toys have.
So that they'll then be able to fit right in with all of the rest of the
characters that Avalanche Studios had previously designed for Disney Infinity."
And then there was the matter of coming up with just the
right pose for Classic Mickey & Minnie. Which — to hear Jeff tell the
story — involved input from a lot of Disney upper management.
Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved
"Everyone within the Company seemed to have an opinion
about how Mickey & Minnie should be posed. More to the point, if you Google
Mickey, you then discover that there are literally thousands of poses out there
for these two. Though — truth be told — a lot of those kind of play off the
way Mickey poses when he's being Disney's corporate symbol," Bunker said.
"But what I was most concerned about was that Mickey's pose had to work
with Minnie's pose. Because we were bringing the Classic versions of these
characters up into Disney Infinity 3.0 at the exact same time. And we wanted to
make sure — especially for those fans who like to put their Disney Infinity
figures on display — that Mickey's pose would then complement Minnie.
Which is why Jeff & the crew at Avalanche Studios
decided — when it came to Classic Mickey & Minnie's pose — that they
should go all the way back to the beginning. Which is why these two Disney icons
are sculpted in such a way that it almost seems as though you're witnessing the
very first time Mickey set eyes on Minnie.
Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved
"And what was really great about that was — as soon as
we began showing people within the Company this pose — everyone at Disney
quickly got on board with the idea. I mean, the Classic Mickey that we sculpted
for Disney Infinity 3.0 is clearly a very playful, spunky character. But at the
same time, he's obviously got eyes for Minnie," Bunker concluded. "So
in the end, we were able to come up with Classic versions of these characters
that will work well within the creative confines of Disney Infinity 3.0 but at
the same time please those Disney fans who just collect these figures because
they like the way the Disney Infinity characters look."
So now that this particular design project is over, does
Jeff regret that Mouse House upper management was so hands-on when it came to
making sure that the Classic versions of Mickey & Minnie were specifically
tailored to fit the look & style of gameplay found in Disney Infinity 3.0?
Copyright Lucasfilm / Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
"To be blunt, we go through this every time we add a new character to the
game. The folks at Lucasfilm were just as hands-on when we were designing the
versions of Darth Vader and Yoda that will also soon be appearing in Disney
Infinity 3.0," Bunker laughed. "So in the end, if the character's
creators AND the fans are happy, then I'm happy."
This article was originally posted on the Huffington Post's Entertainment page on Tuesday, June 9, 2015
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