General
Toon Tuesday: Cartoon characters connect with seriously ill children through Famous Fone Friends
Jim Hill shines a spotlight on this very worthwhile organization, which connects celebrities, sports stars and voice performers with hopitalized kids all over the country
I was just watching the news. And they had on another one of those stories about Black Friday. You know, the day after Thanksgiving? Which is supposedly the busiest shopping day of the year.
Anyway … This reporter was going on and on about the sales that the big boxes will be holding this Friday. How some of these stores will actually be opening their doors at 6 a.m. in order to accomodate shoppers. Who — in some cases — are already camped out by their entrances, dressed in parkas & sleeping in folding chairs. That’s how anxious these idiots are to get their hands on the hottest new toy and/or the latest personal electronics gadget.
Me? I just hate how people give lip service to the whole “Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward Men” concept this time of year, but then not practice what they preach. Don’t believe me? Then drive out to your local mall this coming weekend and cruise around the parking lot. And just see how much “Goodwill toward Men” you experience as you try & fight for a parking spot.
It’s at times like this — when everything seems to be so crass & so commercial — that I’m so glad that there are organizations out there like Famous Fone Friends. This is a non-profit that’s run by people who clearly have their heads on straight. They’re not out to do something impossible — like try and save the world. They just want to make a few sick kids happy.
What? You’re never heard of the Famous Fone Friends? Well, given that this organization likes to operate below the radar, deliberately avoiding most publicity, I guess I can understand why you’ve never heard of these guys.
Well, perhaps you’ve heard about how a seriously ill child — clear out of the blue — got a phone call from a celebrity or their favorite cartoon character. Well, that’s what the folks at Famous Fone Friends do. Help the friends, family and medical staff treating these children make the proper connections. So that these kids — amid all the horrors of hospitalization — can have a few moments of happiness by chatting with a famous friend.
I guess it wouldn’t surprise you to learn that a lot of folks who work for the Walt Disney Company have played a very active role in Famous Fone Friends ever since the organization started making arrangements for calls like this back in 1986. Among the people who have happily contributed their time & talents are voice actors Wayne Allwine (the official voice of Mickey Mouse), Russi Taylor (the official voice of Minnie), Bill Farmer (the official voice of Goofy & Pluto) and Tony Anselmo (the official voice of Donald Duck).
I should point out here that these folks donate all of their services to Famous Fone Friends. They don’t get paid a single cent to talk with seriously ill children. These talented performers do this all on their own time, out of the goodness of their hearts.
What’s even more remarkable is that the Walt Disney Company — renown for its iron-fisted control over its characters — tends to look the other way whenever these folks make these phone calls. In spite of its overly aggressive image, the Disney corporation doesn’t insist on being compensated for the use of Mickey, Minnie et al in this particular situation. If it’s really being done to entertain a seriously ill child, then the Mouse doesn’t want a dime.
Who’d have thought it? The suits that run the Walt Disney Company actually do have hearts.
By the way, if a sick child isn’t necessarily a Mickey & Co. fan, that’s okay. There’s lots of other talented performers who voice Disney characters who happily donate their services to Famous Fone Friends. Among these are Scott Weinger (the official voice of the title character from “Aladdin“), Linda Larkin (the official voice of Princess Jasmine from “Aladdin”), Paige O’Hara (the official voice of Belle from “Beauty & the Beast“), Jodie Benson (the official voice of Ariel from “The Little Mermaid“), Jim Cummings (the official voice of Winnie the Pooh) and Robin Williams (the voice of the Genie from “Aladdin”).
So what is a seriously ill child isn’t a Disney fan? No problem. The vocal talents behind the industry’s other top toons also take part in Famous Fone Friends. Among them are Nancy Cartwright (the voice of Bart Simpson), Jess Harnell & Rob Paulsen (the voices of Yakko & Wacko Warner from “Animaniacs“) as well as June Foray (the voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel).
Celebrities and sports figures also gladly lend their voices to Famous Fone Friends. Among the performers who have — totally out of the spotlight — taken time out of their busy schedules to entertain ill children are actors John Stamos, Henry Winkler, Courtney Cox and Mark Harmon, talkmeisters Jay Leno and Rosie O’Donnell as well as athletes Karl Malone, Joe Montana and Scott Hamilton.
So what do these people say to the kids? Well, each individual performer approaches his Famous Fone Friends duty in a different way. For example, Robin Williams once had such a great time talking with a hospitalized child on the phone that he invited the kid out to his home to play pool. The late Jim Varney (AKA Ernest P. Worell) used to love to dress up in his character’s costume, then barge into a seriously ill child’s room carrying a tool kit and a ladder. Pretending to be the hospital janitor, Varney would create all sorts of havoc (as well as lots of laughter for that sick kid) as Ernest labored to change a light bulb.
Personally, this is the part of all this Famous Fone Friends experience that fascinates me: What must it be like for one of these athletes or performers to reach out and try to make a meaningful connection with a seriously ill child?
To answer this question, the nice folks at Famous Fone Friends put me in touch with Cheryl Chase — best known as the voice of the adorably obnoxious Angelica Pickles on Nickelodeon‘s popular animated series, “Rugrats.” Cheryl — in sharp contrast to the five year old terror she regularly provides vocals for — turned out to be a terribly sweet young woman who just sort of backed into her Famous Fone Friends gig.
“Someone contacted my agent, saying that they’d gotten a request for Angelica to talk with this kid,” Chase explained. “I thought it would just be a one time thing. Little did I know that my character would wind up talking with six or seven sick children every couple of months.”
Cheryl — though a soft spoken person while off-stage — clearly takes pride with her involvement with Famous Fone Friends. Though even she seems surprised at how popular her abrasive character is with children in hospitals around the country.
“I don’t soften up Angelica at all when I talk with these kids. I just pretend that she’s always been their somewhat bossy friend. And the kids just love it,” Chase continued. “They seem to get a real kick out of what a fireball Angelica is in the phone.”
Even so, Cheryl sometimes has to psych herself to make these calls. Making one of these Famous Fone Friends calls can be a pretty emotional and physically draining experience for a performer.
“I remember this one little girl. Denise, I think her name was. Five years old with some sort of immune system problem,” Chase remembered. “I got on the phone with her, figuring that I’d end up carrying the conversation. But Denise totally took over.”
This little chatterbox immediately started telling Angelica/Cheryl about all the things that they had in common. How they both loved dolls and hated broccoli. In fact, Denise was so happy that Angelica had called her that she decided to entertain her favorite cartoon character by singing her a song.
So here’s Cheryl Chase — quietly choking up at her end of the phone — totally blown away by this sick five year old girl that she’s supposed to be entertaining who’s now belting out a song for Angelica from her hospital bed.
“Okay. Now you sing a song, Angelica,” said Denise. Wiping away her tears, Chase did just that.
The folks who work with Famous Fone Friends have hundreds of stories like this. Sweet little sick kids who are just so thrilled to get a phone call from the real Ariel. The real Mickey Mouse. The real Angelica.
So why did I bring this particular story up today? Famous Fone Friends is a non-profit organization that regularly receives requests for these sorts of phone calls from over 300 hospitals across the United States and Canada. And everyone who works for this amazing outfit is a volunteer. More to the point, this service is entirely funded by donations.
So — this coming Friday — you could blow all of your dough on those early sales at the mall. Or you could give some of your cash to an organization that could actually do something worthwhile with that money. Which is make a sick child happy.
It’s your choice.
Famous Fone Friends is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization that provides bright moments in the lives of children who are hospitalized or home-bound due to serious illness or injury. Celebrities telephone these children to talk about hobbies, friends, school and other subjects of interest. Famous Fone Friends can be an actor, athlete or musician – even Mickey Mouse, SpongeBob or Bart Simpson.
If you know a hospitalized child who would like a call from his/her favorite animated character or TV star or athlete, call Famous Fone Friends at 1-310-204-5683 or e-mail fonefriends@aol.com for more information.
If you’d just like to make a donation to this very worthwhile organization, please drop a note to this address:
Famous Fone Friends
9101 Sawyer Street
Los Angeles, CA 90035
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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