General

The John Hench Legacy

And the John Hench tributes continue … as guest columnist Vance Rest returns with an article which explains how Hench’s ideas will continue to inspire both Disney theme park guests as well as Imagineers for generations yet to come.

Published

21 years ago

February 9, 2004

Jim Hill

Last Thursday afternoon, I was on the phone with Vance Rest (I.E. The writer who shared many of his concepts for rebuilding & revitalizing the Walt Disney Company in last week’s “Once and Future Kingdom” series.

Anyway … the two of us were chuckling about how Walt Disney Feature Animation was supposedly going to produce their very own “Toy Story” sequel without any creative input from Pixar (“If you haven’t seen Hillary Duff play Buzz Lightyear, you haven’t seen Shakespeare the way it was meant to be seen,” Zance quipped), when Nancy answered the other line at our house. It was my ex, Michelle Smith (AKA the Fabulous Disney Babe) with a really horrible bit of news: John Hench had died.

With that, all the fun went out of the phone call. Vance and I spent the next ten or fifteen minutes discussing John’s many achievements: his work at Feature Animation, his Oscar-winning effects work on “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” (a HUGE favorite of Vance’s), his decades of service to the Disney parks, most notably as a storyteller through color.

Then Rest said something that really caught me by surprise: “Years from now, those achievements will be but a fraction of John Hench’s remarkable legacy.”

“Excuse me?” I stammered. “Did John Hench leave some sort of legacy that I — and the rest of the Disney dweeb community — were yet unaware of?” Vance then went on to rhapsodize about some of the more lesser known concepts that Hench had spun out during his nearly 50 year tenure at Walt Disney Imagineering. Ideas that will serve as inspiration for decades yet to come. Both to the folks that visit the Disney theme parks as well as the artists and engineers that create them.

Simply dazzled by the brilliance of John’s yet-unused ideas, I asked Vance if it would be okay to share this story with JHM readers. “It would be my honor,” he replied.

So — in sort on an encore to his highly acclaimed “Once & Future Kingdom” series — here is Vance Rest to share a piece of John Hench’s as-yet-undiscovered legacy.

jrh

JOHN HENCH and the BUILDING FROM NOWHERE

John Hench worked in colors the way Steven Sondheim works in lyrics. And his yeoman-like dedication to his craft is the Gold standard that the rest of folks who work the Themed Entertianment Industry strive to live up to.

His silver tongue and flawless eye for color are legendary. But it is John Hench’s surprising creative foresight and eagerness to impart his unparalleled insight that will perhaps be his most vibrant legacy.

“Designing Disney” comes in Hard Cover. It should come in Stone Tablets.

No one would have faulted John Hench for writing a traditional autobiography. After all, the man led a pretty phenomenal life. Just the time he spent with Salvador Dali provided enough fodder for a full-length play (Kira Obolensky’s “Lobster Alice”). But — being the elegant and self effacing soul that he was — Hench wouldn’t be content cranking out something that was that self-indulgent. So — late in life — John set himself a higher goal: Which was to tackle the amorphous riddles of creating Disney Theme Park Magic.

Just what are the secrets of designing public spaces that immediately resonate with emotions? How are steel, concrete and fiberglass imbued with pixie dust? How do you tell a story to men, women and children from all walks of life, from every conceivable corner of the earth entirely with environment?

John knew, and he shared it with us. His book “Designing Disney: Imagineering and the Art of the Show” finally gave the craft of Imagineering its very own version of Frank and Ollie’s animation bible, “The Illusion of Life.” It’s kind of a miraculous thing.

When Frank and Ollie initially published “The Illusion of Life” back in 1981, animation was a vanishing wraith — fading to a memory. Then when Animation was reborn (“The Great Mouse Detective,” the explosion of the collectible cel market, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” the celebration surrounding Mickey’s 60th Birthday, “The Little Mermaid,” etc. ), a second generation of Animators had Frank and Ollie’s book to turn to for guidance. This much beloved volume actually helped launch the second Golden Age of Disney Animation.

Which — given the parallels between what was happening to Disney Feature Animation then and what’s happening to Walt Disney Imagineering right now — is why it’s rather fitting that John’s magnum opus debut now. Just as Immersive Storytelling & WDI in particular emerge from their darkest hour.

John’s book is constructed just as the parks are, in layers of experience. Reading and rereading his book, each time there is new applicability and resonance to the concepts he discusses. His section on “Liking the Guest and Spending Time with Them” (pages 20-21) should be PANI projected onto the side of the Team Disney buildings.

Maybe more than anything else, John understood the guests’ experience as a continuous whole, sinuously flowing, dream-like, and he knew how to keep from breaking that spell. And his greatest concepts mirror that understanding, the arc of the guests’ day.

The Building From NOWHERE

Decades ahead of their time, there was no end to John’s boundary-breaking creativity. And perhaps John Hench’s most revolutionary idea (which he had been floating for years) was a concept to the effect of…

Guests have been walking up and down Main Street U.S.A. all day, giving little notice to that vacant lot that sits on the corner … What if — at sunset — an eerie fog and creepy sound effects washed over this part of the park. And then – as the fog lifts — a brand new building has appeared in the vacant lot. This Building from NOWHERE could then become the threshold to a thrilling new adventure at the theme park.

It will be a long, long time before we can really fully appreciate just how earth-shatteringly innovative this one idea is. More than any other, this concept illustrates John’s mastery of the guest experience — as a single cohesive story — building in climactic theatricality.

Once you are able to pull your jaw up from the floor and mute the trillions of ideas that rocket through your head upon hearing such a marvelous idea, the logistical problems involved in pulling off a bold concept begin to creep in.

The Devil’s Advocate part of you spoils the fun the excited little kid in you was having. “There’s no way you can give enough guests the chance to experience an attraction that’s only open for the last 4 or 5 hours park operation.” That’s true, unless you really see how far the storytelling possibilities of John’s inspired concept stretch.

Imagine an attraction that you experience one way all day. Then, at sunset, there is a show or something truly miraculous that transforms the entrance — nay — the entire facade of the attraction. Now you re-enter the attraction through a different entrance, travel through a different queue and find the attraction in a completely different state of being.

*What if the Villains took over an attraction at sunset? What would the differences be in a “Hercules” attraction if you no longer entered through Mount Olympus, but instead found yourself wandering through an Underworld Job Fair hosted by Hades? Are Pain and Panic along for the ride now, whereas before they weren’t?

*What if Jack Skellington and his Halloweentown friends took over the “Haunted Mansion” each night at sunset — as if returning home after a long day at work? Could there be a shift change at the Mansion? Would we get to see the 999 happy haunts sail away on a ghost ship on the Rivers of America — in a nightly ritual/commute to ‘come out and socialize’ in the real world?

*What if you entered a “Perils of Mickey” attraction through our hero’s home but — at a certain time of day — you instead enter through the Mobile Laboratory of the sinister Phantom Blot, who has tunneled up through Mickey’s front lawn? Has the Blot now sucked all of the color out of the original Show? Is your mission somehow different now? Is this ride interactive now (Something it wasn’t prior to this metamorphosis)?

*What if — at some point during the day — Captain Nemo rammed the Nautilus into Epcot’s Living Seas pavilion? And Nemo’s crew then proceeded to seize control of Sea Base Alpha & tell the Ocean’s side of the Story for the remainder of the day? Or “Finding Nemo”s Tank Gang for that matter?

*What if there was a galloping change? One which, depending on which night you visited, would metamorphose a different entrance and attraction? What if Stitch’s spaceship crashed into a different Fantasyland Classic each night of the week? After which he would proceed to wreak havoc inside that ride (much as he did in the Inter-STITCHials of the film’s brilliant ad campaign)?

That is the MAGIC of John Hench’s concept. There is absolutely NO END to the possibilities of an idea as unabashedly innovative as his. In the decades ahead, we’ll only scratch the surface of the full potential locked in John’s Ever-Lasting SPARK.

Imagine a theme park … Not a theme park as you know them now, where you still the passive observer inside of immersive stories … But a park where you are the hero inside of these immersive environment, fighting alongside your favorite characters in stories that grow with your involvement. Couldn’t this park, with John Hench’s ‘Building from Nowhere’ concept as its guide, be created each morning, right before our eyes?

John Hench was a true Imagineer in every sense of the word. And perhaps his greatest legacy is — in fact — his ability to inspire others. I fervently believe his “Designing Disney: Imagineering and the Art of the Show” will eventually be the North Star for Creatives the world over for many, many years to come. And John’s ideas, such as the “Building from Nowhere,” will resonate out into Art forms that we can not yet conceive of in our lifetimes.

So when you watch a film John worked on, or visit the Disney parks, remember the steadfast dedication that this TITAN (perhaps one of the most stirringly brilliant Creatives who ever lived) brought to his craft. And take comfort in the fact that the breadth of his talents have not yet begun to be explored.

— Vance Rest honored to be a disciple of John Hench

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