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Travel Mascots

JHM guest columnist Dale Ward takes a look at that intriguing phenomenon: gnome-napping.

Published

20 years ago

on

What is it about a lawn gnome that brings out the prankster in so many of us? Is it their magical nature? Is it their neutral position in the argument over lawn aesthetic or arbiter of bad taste? Could it be they’re infused with the earth spirits they were named for, or is it because it’s the only thing your neighbors own that isn’t guarded by an alarm and a Doberman? I’m going with the less poetic, alarm and Doberman answer.

Gnome nabbing was once, nothing more than a destructive prank. A gnome was stolen, just to be abused, spray painted, batted, dragged, drilled and launched. When a battered gnome was returned, it was seldom in the same shape it was in before it disappeared. Early pranksters hadn’t caught on to the notion that if both sides see the humor, it’s that much funnier.

Fortunately for both gnomes and their owners, gnome nabbing took an incredibly inventive and artistic turn. What started as theft and destruction of personal property evolved into an elaborate gag that has turned into a cultural phenom and cottage industry.

Once upon a gnome

The earliest descriptions of gnomes were as spirits, formless energy that roamed beneath the surface of the Earth. These spirits had an aversion to the sun; a single ray would turn them to stone. Over time the stories of the spirits evolved into stories of a race of teeny tiny people who lived in burrows just below the surface of the Earth. Since the teeny people had a very lucky mojo, small, crude, clay effigies were put in fields and gardens as a blessing for the land. Some historians believe the early clay pieces were also considered fertility charms but that changes the symbolism of their red hats in ways I’d rather not think about.

The first manufactured clay garden gnome (“der Gartenzwerg”) was made in Grafenroda, Thuringia, Germany in the early 1800’s. Part decoration and part good luck charm, gnomes were a predominantly German tradition… Until Sir Charles.

The eccentrics’ garden

On a March weekend in 1995 nearly 8,000 people passed through the doors of the Robert McDougal Art Gallery in Christchurch, England to see an exhibition of lawn gnomes. Yes, I said lawn gnomes. Close to 300 different gnomes were arranged in a “parade” down a center court of the gallery for viewing. The gnomes were the centerpiece of the first International Gnome Convention. The brainchild of the exhibition was Gnomologist Henry Sunderland.

For Sunderland, gnomes aren’t just lawn decorations, they’re environmental symbols; a funny and gentle reminder to be nicer to Mother Nature. Harry’s first environmental gnome use was when he left “Charlie” at the South Pole in 1976. The South Pole gnomesicle now has 2 dozen friends, with each trip getting a few column inches. The Gnome Convention served the same purpose while also bringing many international gnome collectors together for the first time.

While the convention gnomes were from all over the world, a crowd favorite was a sort of, hometown boy. Though not directly from Christchurch, the gnome known as Lampy is from England. In an army of gnomes, Lampy stands out because of his pedigree and price tag.

In the middle of Northhamptonshire county in England sits Lamport Hall. Bought by John Ishman in 1560, it remained the Isman family home for over 400 years. The hall began as a Tudor manor but, in 1655 architect John Webb was hired to add a new 2 story wing. In the three hundred years that followed, Lamport Hall was redesigned and expanded a generation at a time to look like the classic English country estate it has become.

Inside, the Isham family has amassed quite a collection. John Isham and his son collected rare books and the fourth baronet of Lamport made a grand tour of Europe to furnish the home with paintings and rare antiques. Recognizing the halls’, social and historical significance, Sir Gyles Isham, the twelfth and final Baronet of Lamport, bequeathed the hall and its contents to a charitable trust which now administers the estate. Its architectural design and decor make Lamport a national gem but by far the most unusual item in its vast collection and arguably, it’s most famous, has to be Lampy, the first million dollar garden gnome.

To be more accurate, Lampy is insured for one million pounds. Using the current rate of exchange he would actually be worth about 1 million eight hundred thousand dollars. Why, in God’s name would any garden gnome be worth almost two million smackers? Is he jewel encrusted? Was he part of an insidious plot to depose the queen? No, he was simply England’s first.

Sir Charles Ishman was the 10th Baronet of Lamport Hall. As a vegetarian and a practicing spiritualist, he was considered something of an eccentric. He had inherited a love of gardening from his mother and sometime in the mid 1840’s, Charles decided he wanted to design a garden on the grounds at Lamport. Being a bit offbeat, he chose an unusual theme. He chose an Alpine garden with a rockery. He imported over 20 lawn gnomes from Germany and gave them tools as if they were working the rock garden as a mine. The gnomes were the first known in England and many gardeners found them enchanting. Sir Charles had started a minor garden fad.

The gnomes were disliked by Charles daughters so, after his death, all the gnomes were removed…or so they thought. One gnome managed to survive in a nearly hidden niche in the rocks. By the time he was finally discovered, all the other gnomes had been tossed so Lampey was the last of his early kind and a rather significant garden artifact. Lampey now travels to the occasional gnome and garden show in his own special case. He also has a gnome handler that travels with him to each show. Considering the amount of gnome nabbings going on around the world, a handler isn’t a bad idea for the ones in your own front yard.

A gnome’s gotta roam

One August day in 2002 Barbara Austin came home from work and found one of her three gnomes missing from her North Carolina front yard. In his place was a plastic bag with a terse note inside that said:

“Gone travelin’. Back later.”

Not long after that that, Barbara received her first photos of “Gnome” traveling across the United States.

On a late summer morning, less than two months after he had left, Gnome was back in the yard, decorated with balloons. He had with him an amazing photo album of his travels and a map to show where he had been. The album contained photos from 28 states, Mexico and Canada. He had posed at national monuments, been to ballgames and visited with pets and various yard ornaments along the way. Gnome had taken a trip of over 11,000 miles, yet the identities of his traveling companions were never revealed.

While no one is able to explain exactly when gnomes went from lawn art to travel companion, the first recorded road trip was in the mid 80’s in Australia. A gnome disappeared from a neighbors lawn and soon after, he began to send notes and photos of his fun in the sun. When he returned, he had a brown shoe polish tan and the first age of travel mascots had begun.

The practice has become so well known that Travelocity launched an 80 million dollar advertising campaign based on the premise. The campaign began in New York with lost and found signs on telephone poles posted by “Bill” looking for his kidnapped gnome. Travelocitys “Roaming Gnome” TV ads now send witty images and travel updates to Bill from various locations across the globe.

There’s gnome business …

Not surprisingly, there are numerous traveling gnome websites. Lawrence the gnome  is a world traveler, while Norm  seems content to roam the United States. There’s also Roaming Gnome  a vacationing gnome community where anyone can upload their gnome travel pix.

Since photographing a small object against a large background is tricky, many of the photos are blurry and amateur, but some of the pictures are accidentally amazing. Mark my words, before the decade is through, some major art gallery or museum will have a show of traveling gnome photography.

While the traveling gnome has become more popular, lawn larceny has played itself out. It’s become more fun to shop for a gnome than to steal one. People scour antique stores, garden centers, online nursery’s and Ebay for the perfect gnome. If you prefer a tiny companion over a garden sized one, maybe Gnomads is what you’re looking for.

Big Boing Toys has given the traveling gnome an internet twist. Called “the first web enabled action figures”, Gnomads are a selection of pocket sized gnomes that not only love to travel, they have their own website where they can blog about it. The four inch tall Gnomads currently come in 4 flavors; A world traveler with suitcases in both hands, a t-shirt wearing tourist with a camera around his neck, a tropical gnome wearing a Hawaiian shirt and sportin’ sunglasses and a Gnomette with a pink hat and a shopping bag. Each Gnomad has a “tracking number” on its foot. By entering the number on an exclusive Gnomads site, you can upload diary excerpts and photos as you travel. Does your Gnomad want to go somewhere you aren’t going? Are you going on a trip and willing to take on travelers? The Gnomad discussion board has an area for Gnomad exchanges. You can send your tiny companion on an adventure without you or have a few friends mailed to you.

While garden gnomes are the poster child for travel mascots, they aren’t the only silly objects to travel.

You want fries with that?

While many of his ilk are being eaten with a Big Mac or served mashed and Au Gratin, Spuds the Canadian tuber is traveling the world. Billed as the world’s most traveled Mr. Potato head, Spuds has visited 28 states and 20 countries and has the photos to prove it. Spudstravels.com is filled with 16 years of photographs of a potato on vacation. The photographs are all authentic, not Photoshop fakes and spuds’ personal photographer Timm Chapman goes to a lot of trouble on some of these photos. I expect he spends a lot of vacation time crawling around on his hands and knees to get the shots he does. What makes the site fun is fictional stories are told about Spuds adventures in each country.

Where have they bean?

Kevin and Gary were friends that worked for the same company but in offices 150 miles apart. One day after lunch at Chevy’s, a local mexican restaurant, Gary left a doggie bag of beans in Kevin’s car. The beans made the 150 mile drive back to Kevins house. Kevin sent the beans back to Gary who sent them back to Kevin, who sent them back to Gary all via workers who traveled between the offices.

While people appreciated the gag the stench began to cause a gag reflex so the beans were thrown away by a co-worker, and that was the end of it all…Until Kevin bought a can of S&W black beans at the supermarket and the game was afoot once again.

A VP at the company was making a trip to China and offered to take the can of beans with him. He brought back photos of the beans at the Great Wall of China. Now the beans no longer traveled back and forth between just Gary and Kevin, the beans began to travel worldwide. In 2002 Kevin started a website called Beans Around the World (beans-around-the-world.com) posting pictures of the can of beans on vacation. While the original can of beans is in semi-retirement, folks from all over, now take a can of

S&W black beans on vacation and send the photos to BATW to be posted on the site. If you can’t find a can, a color label is available for download. Silly? Yes, and that’s just the point. The beans are a photographic diversion meant simply to entertain. Doesn’t it seem fitting that beans are used as internet filler?

When traveling leaves you flat

This year on the red carpet of the Oscars, Clint Eastwood was photographed with a chic and unusual accessory that caught everyone’s attention. No, it wasn’t a man bag, or studded cufflinks, Eastman was photographed with Flat Stanley.

One night in the Stone Age known as the 1960’s, Jeff Brown was trying to get his two boys to sleep. The youngest, J.C. was stalling to keep his dad in the room. When he had run out of excuses, he ran one last desperate ploy. He told his dad he was afraid the bulletin board over his bed may fall on him. Brown assured his son the bulletin board wouldn’t fall and even if it did it would take so long, he would wake up in the morning with the board on top of him, jokingly he added: “When you wake up in the morning, you’ll probably be flat.” The joke got a big laugh and for the next few nights, the three made up stories of what would happen if you were flat.

At the suggestion of a friend, Brown wrote Flat Stanley as a kids book. In the book, Stanley wakes up under a bulletin board to discover he’s not quite an inch thick. Among his adventures, his brother flies him like a kite and his parents mail him to friends in California.

In 1995 Dale Hubert was a 6th grade teacher in Ontario Canada about to have his first 3rd grade class. In searching for a project that might encourage reluctant readers, Hubert read Flat Stanley. The story of being mailed to California caught his imagination and he began to form a plan. He had one of his old 6th grade students teach him some basic HTML and created a small website. He got the help of 6 schools in the United States and 7 in Canada and began a Flat Stanley exchange program.

Each student from a participating class would make a flat Stanley and send it along with a blank journal. When you received a Flat Stanley, the idea was to treat him like a guest, treating him to places you liked and adventures that were unique to your area. At the end of his trip, you filled in the journal with your shared adventures and , on occasion sent along photos.

The program now in its tenth year has over 6,000 participating classrooms in 34 countries. Flat Stanleys have orbited the Earth in Challenger and ridden a Yak in Tibet. Stanley has been photographed with two U.S. presidents and now, walked the red carpet at the Oscars.

While the Flat Stanley Project, is reserved for accredited schools during the school year, many personal Stanleys visit Disneyland every summer. Just because Stanley is educationally minded doesn’t mean he quits writing in his journal or having fun in the summer.

By the way, if you’re wondering why Flat Stanley was with Clint Eastwood ? Stanley had been drawn by one of Clint’s daughters for her 3rd grade class.

In Part 2 of Travel Mascots, I’ll give a few tips for choosing your own vacation companion.

Related Topics:

Jim Hill is an entertainment writer who has specialized in covering The Walt Disney Company for nearly 40 years now. Over that time, he has interviewed hundreds of animators, actors, and Imagineers -- many of whom have shared behind-the-scenes stories with Mr. Hill about how the Mouse House really works. In addition to the 4000+ articles Jim has written for the Web, he also co-hosts a trio of popular podcasts: “Disney Dish with Len Testa,” “Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor” and “Marvel US Disney with Aaron Adams.” Mr. Hill makes his home in Southern New Hampshire with his lovely wife Nancy and two obnoxious cats, Ginger & Betty.

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General

Seward Johnson bronzes add a surreal, artistic touch to NYC’s Garment District

Published

10 years ago

on

June 23, 2015

By

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. 

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Wondering what you should “Boldly Go” see at the movies next year? The 2015 Licensing Expo offers you some clues

Published

10 years ago

on

June 10, 2015

By

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?

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General

It takes more than three circles to craft a Classic version of Mickey Mouse

Published

10 years ago

on

June 9, 2015

By

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?


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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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