General

The Pruning of Cypress Gardens

JHM guest columnist Kelly Monaghan recently visited Cypress Gardens Adventure Park. Sadly, Florida’s first theme seems to have lost much of its original charm at the hands of its new owners.

Published

20 years ago

December 20, 2004

Jim Hill

Cypress Gardens celebrated its “Grand Reopening” on December 19. I was there a few days earlier and the park was nowhere near ready. Nonetheless, what we lovingly call “the mainstream media,” greeted the event with fawning coverage. What were they smoking?

The sad fact of the matter is that Cypress Gardens Adventure Park (as it has been misleadingly relabeled) is a major disappointment. Those who knew and loved the old park will be shocked and saddened by how much it has been diminished. Those new to the park will wonder what all the fuss was about. And the new, younger demographic that the park hopes to draw has plenty of bigger, better, funner alternatives just a short drive away.

First, some background for those who start getting the shakes whenever they step off Disney property. Cypress Gardens, in Winter Haven, about an hour’s drive southwest of Orlando, is widely credited as the first Florida theme park. Yes, attractions like Silver Springs predate it, but that was a mere matter of capitalizing on an existing natural wonder, something that had been going on for centuries.

What *** Pope did at Cypress Gardens was fundamentally different. In 1936, he took a bug-infested cypress swamp on the shores of Lake Eloise and transformed it into a man-made floral paradise. It didn’t strike a lot of people as a great idea. Pope was nicknamed the Swami of the Swamp, but like many a visionary since, he saw something nobody else got. Within five years, Cypress Gardens was drawing half a million visitors a year.

Pope did it with publicity – free publicity. He staged photo shoots of pretty girls in his picture perfect park and mailed copies by the thousands, in gardenia-scented envelopes, to newspapers and magazines throughout the country. The media took the bait. One photograph of a skyborne water skier appeared in 3,670 publications. Of course, Cypress Gardens was mentioned in the caption. Pope lured filmmakers and television stars to Cypress Gardens. Esther Williams, Mike Douglas, and scores of others used Cypress Gardens as a backdrop. He staged outrageous stunts like playing the piano for a ballerina while both of them were being towed behind a speedboat, she on water skis, he on a piano-sized platform. Taking a cue from the Miss America pageant, he started crowning a new queen of something or other on an almost daily basis. All of it became grist for Pope’s voracious publicity mill. Pope and his wife were also inspired improvisers, creating new marketing strategies on the spur of the moment. Some of Cypress Gardens’ most revered traditions, like the water ski shows and the Southern Belles, came about almost by accident.

The story seemed to come to an end in 2003, when Cypress Gardens closed, seemingly forever, a victim to changing tastes, declining attendance, and mounting financial losses. The tourism drought caused by the attacks of 9/11 was the final straw. It looked like the park’s prized lakeside real estate would be turned into luxury home sites. But the park had its fierce partisans and the idea of Cypress Gardens refused to die.

Enter Kent Buescher, the owner of a moderately successful regional amusement park in Valdosta, Georgia. Buescher put together a deal to “save” the park and an ambitious refurbishment and expansion schedule was announced. Eventually, and after being slammed by two hurricanes, the project cost a reported $45 million.Alas, Buescher’s business model for the new park seems to be to overprice and underdeliver. Whether he will be successful remains to be seen. However, I am not terribly sanguine about Cypress Gardens’ prospects for long-term survival.

Much of what made Cypress Gardens so beloved to its fans (and, therefore, less than competitive in today’s superheated theme park market) remains, but in a much truncated form. If it couldn’t draw enough visitors when it was great, what makes Buescher think it will draw visitors now that it is merely so-so? Moreover, the new elements that Buescher has added are, in a word, underwhelming. Yes, there are now rides, but nothing you’d drive out of your way to experience.

Of the preexisting elements in the park the original Botanical Gardens were the most iconic. They were an over-the-top extravaganza of riotous color and lush greenery. They are much the same today, it’s just that there seems to be less where there once was more. How much of this is due to hurricane damage and how much to conscious redesign is hard to say. However, I get the uneasy impression that a decision has been made to cut back in the interests of easier maintenance.

The Wedding Gazebo is still there and the vista from across the big lagoon is still lovely. Unfortunately, the lush backdrop of towering trees is now ragged, with gaping holes that open onto the area where a new water park is still being constructed. Perhaps in time the gaps will fill in. At least, this is one area of the gardens where they seem to have done quite a bit of work. Elsewhere there are signs of cutbacks. The French Garden and the Rose Garden are gone, although the statuary remains, and other areas seem to be slated for easy-to-maintain groundcover.

Of course, these deficiencies may be the result of the hurricanes and the park may have plans to restore the original gardens to their former glory. Let’s hope so. However, a garden this size requires a massive horticultural staff and Cypress Gardens used to have one. They put on spectacular floral festivals throughout the year, one every six weeks or so. For those who love gardening, these were a major draw that was supplemented by regular live presentations by gardening experts dispensing horticultural wisdom.

All that’s gone now. The Flora-Dome that used to house many of these festivals has been transformed into the park’s entrance area. The massive array of behind-the-scenes greenhouses (unseen by most visitors) is now the parking lot. All of which leads me to believe that the new Cypress Gardens has neither the will nor the wherewithal to hew to the same high standards of the old park.

Another icon of the old Cypress Gardens was the water ski show, which always got the highest five-star rating in my guidebooks. The highlight was a human pyramid, in which a bottom row of six men (on water skis, mind you) hoisted six “Aqua Maids” aloft, the one on top waving a little American flag. The owners of the new Cypress Gardens, it turns out, didn’t want to pay for the liability insurance such a stunt demanded. Nor did they want to employ six Aqua Maids. Or six men, for that matter.

The new water ski show, while not bad, is a shadow of its former self. There are now just two pretty girls in the company, which to my unreconstructed heterosexual view of things, is a decided step backwards. The previous cast of twelve has been cut back to about seven. It used to be that the Cypress Gardens water ski show was the best in the world. Today, it’s just another show.

Similar bean counting is in evidence over at the Royal Palm Theater (formerly The Palace). As before, there’s an ice show in this lovely 800-seat space, but like the water ski show it has been cut to the bone. There used to be some excellent Russian-trained skaters in this show; today there’s just one Russian name in the cast list. There are now just four chorus parts and three principal skaters, only two of whom do the really fancy stuff. Once again, it’s a matter of the same but less.

Okay, so maybe this old-fashioned stuff was never a big draw to begin with and people won’t particularly mind that what they’re getting today is just a pale reflection of the good old days. But what really did in Cypress Gardens, its critics said, was the perception that it was a park for the blue-haired set, with nothing to attract kids and teens. One of Buescher’s greatest innovations was his announcement that the new, rejuvenated Cypress Gardens would be a “rides” park. Well, sorta.

For me, the best thing that can be said about Adventure Grove, the new section that contains most of the rides, is that it is set off in such a way that it’s easy to totally ignore it. If you do venture in, you may ask yourself what all the hype was about. The thirty-some rides here seldom rise above the level you’d expect in a well-appointed state fair or a traveling carnival. Yes, there are three roller coasters, but they barely make it out of the kiddie category.

Again, I had to ask myself what were they thinking? The “old” Cypress Gardens had added a section of kiddie rides (now gone) and kiddies, it seems to me, are the ones most likely to visit with the grandparents who were and still seem to be the park’s prime demographic. Then, too, the “old” park had installed a small water park area (also now gone) that was finding a willing audience among families in the nearby “drive market.” So if these innovations couldn’t halt Cypress Gardens’ slide into the red, how will adding, at great expense, a few dozen piddly rides that older kids will laugh at as they speed by en route to the mega-coasters at Busch Gardens Tampa and Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure?

And speaking of great expense, one thing that particularly irked me on my visit was the price being asked for admission. Now a $34.95 adult admission may not seem outrageous, compared to the Orlando parks, where one-day tickets are pushing the $60 mark. And, indeed, when the park is fully operational, the price might be justified. But considering that large swaths of the park are not yet open, it struck me as something of a marketing blunder.

Nature’s Way, the series of low-key animal attractions that was one of the nicest things in the old park, is not open. Indeed, an unauthorized stroll through it reveals that work hasn’t even begun on refurbishing this section. Several shows that are announced in the park brochure are likewise not ready for prime time. The Wings of Wonder butterfly conservatory was still shuttered when I visited, as were most of the shops and the major restaurants. The Conservatory Gardens , located just past Wings of Wonder, were barren, with no indication of when, if ever, they would be returned to their prime. Apparently some sort of boast ride on Lake Eloise is planned, but it is not ready. Not even all the rides in the much-heralded Adventure Grove were open. Add it all up and it’s not hard to see why some people might feel the asking price was a tad high. A lower price, touted as a Special Preview Price, might have generated some goodwill and got some positive word of mouth going. (By the way, the one-day price for kids (3 to 9) and seniors (55+) is $29.95.)

Similarly irksome is the annual pass policy. Annual passes are a reasonable $69.95, but unlike every other park I know that offers an annual pass, parking is not included. You can either pay $7 each time you visit (something that makes no sense if you will be visiting often enough to get an annual pass) or you can pony up $25 for an annual parking pass, that requires an ugly pink sticker on your windshield. So if the effective cost of an annual pass is $94.95 ($69.95 + $25), why not just say so?

Of course, even at $94.95, the annual pass is a terrific bargain if you live within driving distance of Cypress Gardens and are a fan of the sort of musical entertainment they dish up. This is one element of the old park that the new management has not only retained but actually improved on. The new Star Haven Amphitheater, an open-air field with bleachers at the back seemed way too big to me, but I was assured by park regulars that they packed the place for Kenny Rogers. There are some 35 concerts scheduled for 2005 and they include acts like Glen Campbell, Loretta Lynn, the Guy Lombardo Orchestra, Chubby Checker, and the Smothers Brothers. If there’s a show scheduled when you visit, it’s included in the one-day admission; annual passholders get into all of them.

There’s more to the new Cypress Gardens than I have space for here. I have posted my complete, if somewhat jaundiced, guide to the park as it existed in mid-December, 2004, on my web site. It’s in PDF format and can be downloaded here.

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