General

Wednesdays with Wade: A not-so-beautiful tomorrow for the Carousel of Progress

Wade Sampson returns with a full history of the Carousel of Progress, tracing the history of this beloved attraction all the back to its Edison Square days and then musing on COP's uncertain future

Published

19 years ago

April 4, 2006

Jim Korkis

I was recently solicited by two charming young college girls.

No, it's not want you think.

These two lovely young ladies had contacted me — along with several other prominent Disney historians like Dave Smith, Jim Korkis and Paul Anderson — with the hope that we'd then sign their save the "Carousel of Progress" petition.

So why are these college girls (Who weren't even born when the first three versions of "Carousel of Progress" entertained guests) so passionate about saving an attraction that has been rumored to be on the chopping block for the last five years? Perhaps it was Melissa Kratish (Who writes a column at www.mickeynews.com) who best summarized the situation when she wrote:

"Wanting to preserve the magic that I grew up with, I found myself as one of those people always petitioning against the closure of classic attractions such as 'Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride,' 'The World of Motion' and 'Dreamflight!' When my all time favorite attraction, 'Horizons,' permanently closed its doors in 1999, I went into a state of shock! Granted, I was only thirteen, but I remember whining like a maniac to my mother, expressing the concern of my future children, my children’s children, and so on and so forth, never being able to experience the magic and wonder of 'Horizons.' "

Why does "Carousel of Progress" generate such loyalty from Disneyphiles? "There was more of Walt in the Carousel of Progress show than in anything else we've done," remarked Admiral Joe Fowler in an interview with Disney Historian Paul Anderson.

"Walt was really 'into' the Carousel of Progress show, and the characters in the show. He was really excited with what was happening with Audio-Animatronics. It enabled him to do things that he had never done before. I think that for its time, there was more of Walt in the characters of that show than anything done," asserted Marty Sklar.

"When we were designing the thing, Walt couldn't resist getting up and doing the work himself," explained John Hench. "He jumped in the bathtub for the Cousin that was visiting–the guy who invented air conditioning with the fan and block of ice. And he'd say, `What would Cousin Orville do if he were in here?' Walt turned the tub around to face the audience, and he took off his shoes and wiggled his toes to show us. He went through the whole bit. He did several of the acts and even invented dialogue as he went. He was the best storyman, particularly on the small bits of business, and it's the small individual things that you never forget."

Most Disney fans know that the show originated at the 1964 New York World's Fair. For the fair (which wasn't officially a World's Fair because it lasted for two years instead of one), the Disney Company produced four attractions. Surveys showed that 91% of the fair's guests attended at least one of the Disney shows, most of which were later installed at Disneyland. The fair was literally the proving ground for Disney's newest innovation, audio-animatronics, and "Carousel of Progress" for General Electric a prominent showcase for this new technology.

As Disney Legend Harriet Burns points out, "Not only was this the first time we did human figures for audio-animatronics but also dogs and cats." Previously, only simple figures like the Tiki Birds had been created.

General Electric first approached Walt in 1958 with the challenge to "showcase the electrical industry and tell how it has helped the nation to grow and prosper". The result was a planned "Edison Square" with guest walking through four theaters to trace the development and value of electricity located on the other side of Main Street but that never developed further than an intriguing proposal. However, some of those story concepts resulted in the "Progressland" pavilion for GE at the fair.

At night, Progressland's domed roof (designed by Walt's friend, architect Welton Beckett) was aglow with thousands of GE light bulbs, all flashing in breathtaking patterns of color and motion. In fact, the second floor of the three story building move d as the carousel theater rotates from scene to scene and amazingly the light patterns on the roof mimic that same movement.

At the entrance to Progressland, a moving walkway takes the guests upward for not only a great aerial view of the fair but also the entrance to the "Carousel of Progress". Inside the theater, the first scene is a sixty-foot long "Kaleidophonic" display of starburst lights synchronized to the music as the narrator intones:

"Now, most carousels just go 'round and 'round without getting anywhere. But on this one, at every turn, we'll be making progress…dreaming and working and making a better way of life!"

The first scene introduces the audience to the family in 1880 who are enjoying a wonderful life thanks to a man named Tom Edison and a new company called General Electric. The next scene moves the audience to the 1920s, and then the 1940s and finally 1964 with the all electric "Gold Medallion Home" where television shows the same programs but now they are in color. (The show was quite clearly a living commercial for GE and one of my earliest memories of the attraction when it was at Disneyland was father warning the barking dog, "Don't bark at him, Rover. He might be a good customer of General Electric.")

"Progress is something you can't take for granted. It takes a lot of people wanting it and willing to work for it. And now, a new springtime of Progress awaits you…so get your packages, coats, hats, purses and 'spring up' out of your seats and head for the doorway to the future! And please keep moving…don't stand in the way of Progress!"

A moving walkway took the guests upstairs to the "Skydome Spectacular." Standing beneath a 200 foot planetarium dome, the audience is shown the story of man's search for energy from the caveman's first fire all the way to the exploration of nuclear power (without the assistance of Ellen DeGeneres or Bill Nye who tell the same story at Epcot today) and finishes with fierce electrical storms overhead, leaping flames and a sky full of spinning atoms. The exit ramp takes the audience to an actual demonstration of nuclear fusion and a glimpse of "Medallion City," a collection of stylized facades of intriguing homes, stores, and civil and industrial buildings that all showcase the electrical products that are changing the world.

When the Fair ended, Walt Disney had cleverly arranged for many of the attractions to be transported to Disneyland. So "it's a small world," "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln," the transportation system for the Ford Motor Skyway and "Carousel of Progress" made the cross country relocation. Sadly, Walt Disney died in December 1966 and never saw the July 1967 opening of Disneyland's New Tomorrowland with its transplanted General Electric "Carousel of Progress."

In Disneyland, the show concluded not with a "Skydome Spectacular" but with a detailed model for Epcot that was 115 feet wide, 60 feet deep. It had 2,500 moving vehicles, 20,000 trees, 4,500 structures (Walt insisted the interior of the buildings be finished, furnished and lit) and it all came alive as the audiences moved from one side of the room to the other. In fact, the final act of "Carousel of Progress" was re-designed to show the family living in Epcot. (Ever notice the Cosmopolitan Hotel, the centerpiece of Walt's Epcot, seen from the window behind the family at Christmas?)

After running six years in Disneyland, the Carousel of Progress show closed permanently in 1973 when General Electric felt that only repeat visitors were seeing their commercial message and that the new Disney theme park in Florida would be a better billboard.

The Carousel Theater building remained in Disneyland. From 1974 to 1988, the bottom level housed an attraction themed to the Bicentennial entitled "America Sings." Today, the theater houses the disappointing "Innoventions."

In January 1975, the "Carousel of Progress" show found a new home in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. However, it now revolved in an opposite direction than its West Coast counterpart because guests no longer went upstairs to see Walt's Epcot. (A very, very small portion of that model still can be seen if you take the Tomorrowland Transit Authority that us old fogies still refer to as the "PeopleMover.")

Also gone was the song, "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" (which Richard and Robert Sherman actually began life as a song that went "Walt had a dream and that's the start. We followed along…") since General Electric wanted people to buy things now instead of waiting for something better in the future. The Sherman Brothers composed "Now is the Best Time of Your Life." (Also, since Rex Allen, the original voice of the father hadn't done anything for Disney for ten years but had narrated Hanna-Barbera's animated feature "Charlotte's Web" which the Disney Company was upset about, the father's voice was recorded by actor Andrew Duggan. By the way, did you know that actor Preston Hanson was the model for the audio-animatronics father?)

On March 10, 1985, General Electric dropped its sponsorship and the show dropped all references to GE and was slightly revised to keep it up to date. (In 1983, "Horizons" opened at Epcot sponsored by General Electric and a snippet of "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" could be heard in the show as yet another audio-animatronics family revealed the future to Disney guests.)

It closed again in 1993 for a more substantial revision. It reopened in 1994 as "Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress" and included the restoration of "There's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" as the theme song, and author Jean Shepherd (of "A Christmas Story" fame) as the father and good ol' Rex Allen brought back to record the voice of the grandfather in the final scene. The final scene of course was updated to sixty years in the future from the 1940s where Grandma can enjoy her virtual reality helmet.

The show was "re-imagined" so that every scene was now a holiday instead of just the final one. Valentine's Day, Fourth of July and Halloween now join Christmas. The show now starts with one turn of the century and ends with another turn of the century. With its continuous showings, the Carousel of Progress has become the most performed show in the history of American theater, as well as the most-seen stage show in America even though as early as 2000 the show was rumored to be closed for good. (So much so that John Lasseter dropped by for a private viewing fearing it would be the last time he would see the show.)

Jacob Addison runs one of the best sites devoted to the attraction (www.carouselofprogress.com) and may have been the first person to start a "Save the Carousel" campaign. He received this letter from Imagineering Ambassador Marty Sklar February 10, 2000:

Dear Mr. Addison:

I have received your letter regarding your "Save the Carousel" campaign, and am also aware that you have written Paul Pressler and others about the same subject.

On the one hand – having written material for every version of the Carousel of Progress and supervised the recordings of Rex Allen for his role as "Father" – I can appreciate your sentimentality. On the other hand, I am also well aware that attendance at the Carousel has been in a constant decline for a number of years. The fact is that today's guests at our Disney Parks prefer other forms of storytelling, and not all of them are "thrill rides."

Although we have looked at other options for use of the Carousel building (as we have at Disneyland), we have no plans at the moment to replace or close the Carousel at the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom. However, I must underscore the fact that we are following history begun in the earliest days of Disneyland by Walt Disney when we evaluate replacing attractions. Walt started doing that almost immediately, and not all the attractions he replaced were "unpopular," or did not work for one reason or another. In fact, attractions like the Viewliner train and Midget Autopia were very popular, especially with young visitors. (Walt also tore down one of my personal favorites, The Chicken Plantation Restaraunt along the Rivers of America in Frontierland to build New Orleans Square in Disneyland; and later we removed the popular Rainbow Caverns Mine Train to build Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.)

Forms of entertainment change, sometimes dramatically, over time. What appealed and communicated to an audience in the 1960's does not necessarily work in the year 2000. For example, most of us would be bored to tears with the pace of 1960's television shows and would "zap!" 1960's style commercials even faster today than we did 30-some years ago. Our shows and storytelling devices must be as relevant in the 21st century as Walt's were in the 20th century.

I apologize for being so long-winded with this response. No one, except my colleague John Hench, now in his 62nd year at Disney – he designed the Carousel buildings for both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom – has a longer and more involving connection with the Carousel. I was responsible for "selling" G.E. on moving the show from the New York World's fair to Disneyland, and then to Walt Disney World; and working with Dick and Bob Sherman on the music, Marc Davis and John Hench on the scene vignettes, Claude Coats on the layout and production, and Wathel Rogers on the figure programming was like spending everyday at a Disney Legends convention.

But, Mr. Addison, if the time comes when we have the need, a "better idea," and the funding, I will be the first in line to change out the Carousel. And I will shed many tears at its demise.

Sincerely,

Martin A. Sklar

If you are interested in even more history about the "Carousel of Progress" I would suggest you checking out Dave O'Neal's extinct attractions club. that has just produced several discs devoted to the attraction. Disney fans Kim Eggink and Jerry Edwards just sent me some of the Extinct Attractions DVDs as a gift and one of them was the history of "Carousel of Progress".

I'll be honest and say that in the past I have always been cautious ordering ever since Dave heartbreakingly broke a promise to my now-deceased parents back when he was doing these on videotape and that ordering some of his first DVDs, I did not see much quality control and received DVDS with fingerprints and scratches on the discs and some of the discs being unplayable, constantly freezing. However, watching the history of the "Carousel of Progress" DVD, I will say that I am impressed that he is preserving the stories of some of the still surviving Disney Legends, that the production quality is high, that the research is accurate and that the DVD had no problems playing on my machine. I can see why Imagineers and even the Disney Archives are grabbing copies of the DVDs he is currently producing.

As for Kat and Ellen's petition, I signed it willingly although I believe that the "Carousel of Progress" is due for another "re-imagining" to really make it a tribute to Walt's original vision. However, I did tell the ladies that in my personal experience that petitions have less effect than individual letters written in a professional and polite manner. The rule of thumb at the Disney Company is that every letter they receive means that there might be a hundred more people who feel the same way but didn't take the time or know where to send the letter. I was much older than Melissa when "Horizons" closed and I now regret I didn't send a letter letting Disney know I would have preferred them keeping that attraction open than installing one that makes me ill.

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