General

Twas the “Why For” Before Christmas

As the staff at JHM gets ready for Christmas Eve, Jim Hill answers a few of your Disney-related questions, reveals the winner of the “What Does a Yeti Smell Like?” contest as well as thanks the people who actually keep this website up & running.

Published

20 years ago

December 23, 2004

Jim Hill

I know, I know. It’s Christmas Eve. You’ve all probably got errands that you still have to run. So I’ll try & keep this short.

First up, ConstantReader chimes in to say:

Jim —

How come you don’t do any more columns about DCA? It used to be that you’d beat up on that theme park at least once a week, saying things like “Walt wouldn’t have liked this,” etc. But for months now, you’ve been mum on the subject.

So what’s going on here, Jim? Have you gone soft on California Adventure or what? And — if so — why?

Dear ConstantReader:

Well, I wouldn’t say that I’ve gone soft on DCA, ConstantReader. I think it’s more a case of … Well … I guess I’ve come to think of California Adventure as more of a work-in-progress.

Don’t get me wrong. This theme park still has a hell of a lot of things wrong with it. And some of the quick fixes that Disney has thrown into California Adventure in an effort to re-energize that theme park are already in desperate need of fixing themselves. (EX: DCA’s Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The ride itself is fine. But that outside queue area? What a dud. Unlike the Florida original, guests don’t get any real sense of fear or foreboding as they wind their way through the exterior queue. Given the utter lack of shade back there, their biggest fear while queuing up for TOT is probably: “Am I going to get a sunburn while I stand in this line?”)

But — that said — the Disneyland Resort’s new management team IS making an effort to turn the place around. In fact, if you folks come back by here on Monday morning, I’ll be talking about the new attraction that’s just been greenlit fot DCA. One that’s sure to make all your Pixar fans happy.

But — beyond that — I don’t see the point of continuing to bash DCA. I mean, Disney knows now that this theme park needs help. So — over the next 5 to 10 years — they’re going to try & fix the place. Add new rides, shows and attractions. Do everything they can to turn California Adventure into a worthy second gate for the Disneyland Resort.

So — as I see it — our job (as Disneyana fans) is to now to just sit back and be patient & supportive. Rather than continue to bitch & moan about what DOESN’T work at DCA, how about we all try a different tact now? And celebrate the stuff that actually DOES work in that theme park? Like “Soarin’ Over California.” Or the lobby area of the “Magic of Disney Animation” exhibit. Or how pretty Paradise Pier looks when it’s all lit up at night.

I know, I know. That’s a very short list of things that the Imagineers got right with DCA. Here’s hoping that — in the not-so-distant future — that we’ll be able to add the names of a few new rides & shows to that list.

And — by the way — for all you folks out there who insist that “Walt Disney would never have built a theme park like California Adventure,” let me drop a mind-blowing little factoid on you. Something I recently discovered while re-reading Harrison “Buzz” Price’s new book, “Walt’s Revolution by the Numbers.”

As part of this volume, Buzz lists the 110 studies that Walt Disney Productions had Harrison’s company — ERA, Economic Research Associates — work on while Walt and Roy O. were still alive.

So what’s No. 68 on this list? A Disneyland research project.from ‘way back in January of 1961. Back when Walt was evidently looking into ways that he could expand what Walt Disney Productions already had in Anaheim. And among the ideas that the Old Mousetro was supposedly considering was adding a second gate in Disneyland (Translation: Building a second theme park right next door to “The Happiest Place on Earth”).

“And what was the proposed theme of this second gate?,” you ask. Well … I know you Disney diehards are not going to believe this. So why don’t I just quote what Buzz wrote in his book:

Disneyland Project No. 68 – 1/61 – California Living Second Gate

Let me repeat the part that I know is just blowing the minds of all you Disneyphiles out there:

California Living Second Gate

That’s right, gang. According to Buzz Price (Walt’s trusted associate. The man who — while he was working with C.V. Wood at the Stanford Research Institute — helped determine where Disneyland should actually be built), Walt Disney actually toyed with the idea of building a theme park right next door to the “Happiest Place on Earth” that would have celebrated California Living. An early 1960s version of DCA, if you will.

This is why I always say that it’s dangerous for Disneyana fans to try & pretend that they’d know what Walt would have done in any one situation. For it’s the stories like that always prove that Walt Disney was a very difficult guy to know. That every time that the people who actually worked with Walt day-to-day thought that they could predict what he was going to do next, he’d then throw them another curve ball.

Regarding this “California Living Second Gate” : Sadly, I don’t have any additional information about this project other than what was mentioned in “Walt’s Revolution by the Number.” But I am going to make an effort to get ahold of Buzz Price and see if he can shed some more light on this subject. And — the next time I’m down in Orlando — I’m going to make a point of dropping by the Harris Rosen School of Hospitality Management (Where Price recently donated 71 boxes of his personal papers) to see if the school’s research library has anything on file about this “California Living Second Gate” study.

Next up, Robert H. writes in to ask:

Jim:

I try and keep up with your site but I apologize in advance if you have addressed this already. What is the big deal about Stitch? The marketing of this character to the degree Disney is going leaves me scratching my head. Nemo was far more successful and had little in the way of toys and certainly no attraction was themed for him. What gives?

Dear Robert H.

Disney’s been marketing the hell of the little blue alien, Robert, because evidently there is this huge demand for Stitch stuff out there. A few weeks back, one of my sources within Disney Consumer Products was nice enough to slipped me the results of a recent survey. This survey showed the precise pecking order among the Disney characters. As in: Which characters moved the most merchandise. According to this Consumer Products survey, Stitch was actually No. 4 on Disney’s list. Right behind No. 1 (Winnie the Pooh), No. 2 (Mickey Mouse) and No. 3 (The Disney Princesses).

This might explain — as WDI was busy earlier this year turning WDW’s “Alien Encounter” into “Stitch’s Great Escape” — that the Imagineers made sure to re-engineer the exits of this Tomorrowland attraction. So that — once Magic Kingdom visitors left either one of SGE’s two theaters — they were fed directly into the “Merchant of Venus” or the “Mickey’s Star Traders” shop. Where these guests would — not-so-co-incidentally — find tons of merchandise (EX: t-shirts, hats, mugs & plush) with Stitch’s image on it.

Speaking of “Stitch’s Great Escape” … I’ve been hearing a lot of stories lately from Magic Kingdom cast members that suggest that this recently-opened Tomorrowland show may already be in trouble. The way I hear it, audience tracking has revealed that SGE is actually pulling a lower guest satistfaction rating that the extremely troubled Tomorrowland attraction that that this show replaced, “Alien Encounter.”

Then there are those persistant rumors that — immediately upon seeing “Stitch’s Great Escape” — Disney CEO Michael Eisner supposedly announced that he absolutely hated the show. Which is there has been a lot of talk lately about SGE quietly closing in 2005 for a few months for $5 million worth of retooling. Whether that will be enough money to actually clear up all of this Tomorrowland attraction’s story problems remains to be seen.

But — given that the Walt Disney Company sees Stitch as a character that they’d like to make a lot of money off of for (at least) the next 20 years or so — Disney World just can’t afford to have a version of “Stitch’s Great Escape” up & running that scares kids as well as confuses adults. So look for this Magic Kingdom attraction to undergo some “re-imagineering” over the next year, as WDI tries to clear up all of the story problems that this Tomorrowland show has. Not to mention making SGE more kid-friendly.

And — speaking of scary monsters — you won’t believe the response that we got to last week’s “What Does a Yeti Smell Like?” contest. Over 50 JHM readers wrote in to offer up their own takes on what the Abominable Snowman in DAK’s “expedition Everest” thrill ride should smell like. We had everything from the silly (Peter Emslie’s take on the situation: “A yeti smells a lot like the unwashed gym socks of the Dalai Lama… “) to the overly precise (Ian wrote in to say: “I would probably say that a yeti would smell like a mix of mostly yak with a little bit of a tahr smell, dirt, and a very slight does of fir, birch and some rhododendron [campanulatum ssp. aeruginosum for example] mixed in.”).

But — out of all the entries that I received — I’d have to say that the best written one came from Shannon DeArmond. This one … Hell, this JHM contest entry reads like a scene straight out the almost-inevitable “Expedition Everest” spin-off film:

I had just turned the bend in the icy path when the smell reached my nose. The word “smell” doesn’t really describe it, actually. It was thick, almost tangible, and sharp like the rocky precipice I strove to climb. I reeled under its weight, staggering dangerously close to the cliff edge. Dropping to my knees, I shuffled off my gear and grasped my nose with my cold, heavily-gloved hands, staring wildly around me for the source. It was an acrid smell that could make your eyes water just as quickly as the bitter cold froze those tears to your cheeks. It caught in the back of my mouth like bile. There was old, cold malevolence in that smell — a pungent, deteriorous ancientry that had been quietly tracking the unsuspecting for an age. . . And quietly tracking me for four days.

And so when its shadow fell over me, I didn’t turn to see it. I had learned all I wanted to know of the Yeti from the odor that prefaced its arrival.

Pretty snazzy, don’t you think? Which is why — given that Shannon A. did such a beautiful job of describing how this horrible beast could possibly smell — I’ll be sending her a copy of the screenplay for Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” Just as soon as she gets me her mailing information, that is.

Well, that’s pretty much it for this week’s “Why For,” folks. But — before I close out this special holiday edition — I just want to take a moment to thank a number of people. In particular, the very nice folks who actually keep JimHillMedia.com up and running.

You see — because it’s my name on the front door — I’m usually the guy who gets all the credit for everything that happens around here. But — truth be told — I’m not the one who actually does all the heavy lifting at JHM. I mean, sure, I regularly churn out a large pile of poorly written stories. But who really puts these things up on the site?

Well, actually, it’s JHM’s webmaster Tony Moore and my significant other, the lovely and long suffering Nancy Stadler. Without the hard work of these two … JimHillMedia.com would be a shambles … Well … More of a shambles than it already is.

And — while I’m passing out the compliments — I can’t forget longtime JHM columnists like Roger Colton, Andrew Franks, Aaron Gordon, Rick Guttierrez, Drew Hackney, Michael Howe, Patrick Hurd, Jackson King, Jim Korkis, Seth Kubersky, Scott Liljenquist, Alain Littaye, Jean de Lutèce, Andrea Monti, Floyd Norman, Chuck Oberleitner, Larry Pontius, Cindy Russell, Wade Sampson, Matthew Springer and Michael Sweeney. Or continuing contributors like AliKzam, Sara Allen, Joe Apel, Eric Craven, Frank Duren, Josh Edwards, Cara Goldsbury, Scott Irving, Joseph L. Kleiman, David Michael, Mark Mitchell, Monique Pryor, Angela Ragno, Paul Schnebelen and Ian Westhoff. Or great guest writers like Juha-Pekka Alanen, Arlen Miller, Peter Emslie, Tim Finn, Meg Frazer, Gregg Jacobs, Don Jones, John Lockamy, Richard Mercer, David Michael, Kelly Monaghan, Vance Rest, Barbara Schneid, Nick Stevens and Rhett Wickham.

And — of course — I also have to mention the two folks who actually got JimHillMedia.com up & running back in August of 2002, Jon Nadelberg & Michelle Smith. Plus the site’s photo archivist and probably my oldest friend on the planet at this point, Jeff Lange.

You see … There’s a lot of people who work on this site. People who I’m eternally grateful to — for their help & their humor, their advise and counsel, not mention all the info that they give me for my stories.

So don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because there’s one name on the door that JimHillMedia.com is a one man operation. Far from it, folks. This site only exists because of the continuing hard work of a lot of people. Each of which I hope has a very Merry Christmas.

By the way … I also extend my holiday wishes to all of you nice folks too, the JHM readers. On behalf of the rest of the crew here at JimHillMedia.com, I’d like to thank you for regularly stopping by this site. Here’s hoping that we continue to have your patronage in the years ahead.

Okay. That’s enough yammering for today. Here’s hoping that you folks have a happy holiday, okay? And we’ll (hopefully) see you all again next week.

Til then, take care,

jrh

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