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Who is Roy Edward Disney?

As they say in baseball: “You can’t tell the players without a program.” So who exactly is the man challenging Michael Eisner’s leadership of the Walt Disney Company? Wade Sampson provides you with all the appropriate details.

Published

21 years ago

on

Roy Edward Disney is the son of the vastly underrated Roy Oliver Disney, the brother of Walt and a primary force behind the Disney Company who passed away two months after the opening of the Magic Kingdom in Florida. Many people still make the mistake of thinking that Roy Edward is the brother of Walt Disney and he often gets identified as such in stories probably because of the similarity with his father’s name. Very much like his father, Roy Edward is a shy person who prefers avoiding public appearances and speeches and much prefers being left alone. (Although he is an intensely competitive sailor which reveals the ambition and determination behind that calm, quiet exterior.) Over the past decade, he has become more accustomed to being a public spokesman and to being the protector of the Disney legacy.

Author Bob Thomas who wrote biographies of Roy Oliver as well as Walt described Roy Edward: “He isn’t impressed with himself, or what he has done. He is essentially a very shy person. He was an only child, so the family doted on him. He also was always in the shadow of his uncle.”

Roy is the nephew of Walt Disney and used to take some amusement in sharing the story of Walt taking him around the Disney Studio and saying, “Here is my idiot nephew”, an unfortunate nickname that stuck for many years.

“Walt could be tough on me, but God knows he was tough on everybody,” remembered Roy Edward. “I got along with him well. If he liked what I did, that was great. If he didn’t like what I did, it was tough. That wasn’t just with me, that was with anybody.”

Roy remembers an episode of WALT DISNEY’S WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOR which contained a song Roy liked. However, as Walt watched the screening, he started nervously tapping his fingers on the armrest of his chair, a warning sign that he was not pleased or bored.

“When it was over,” Roy recalled, “he said, ‘I really don’t like that song at all, Roy’. He then took what I had done and ripped it all apart. But in the end it came out as one of his favorite shows.”

The show was THE LEGEND OF EL BLANCO and originally aired September 25, 1966, roughly three months before Walt’s death and with a different musical approach that Walt preferred. The show reflected Roy’s affection and respect for Hispanic Culture.

In March 2001, the Roy E. Disney Center for the Performing Arts and the Hispanic Culture Foundation were the recipient of a million-dollar donation. Roy E. Disney, then vice chairman of the Board of Directors of The Walt Disney Company, gave a personal gift of five hundred thousand dollars to the Foundation and the Disney Foundation contributed another five hundred thousand dollars. The donations were used to help construct a $22 million center for performing arts at the National Hispanic Cultural Center located in the historic Barelas neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

At the time, Frank Figueroa, president of the Hispanic Culture Foundation said, “We are elated with Mr. Disney’s gift and that Mr. Disney is so supportive of our efforts to preserve Hispanic culture and performing arts for the entire nation. The Roy E. Disney Center of the Performing Arts will become a premier site for performers and visitors from all over the world. Mr. Disney is leaving an amazing legacy, by making our dream of a National Hispanic Cultural Center a reality.”

Roy Edward was born on January 10, 1930. As a school kid, Roy was teased mercilessly by his fellow classmates who wondered if he had been the model for Goofy which probably added to his shyness. Graduating from Pomona College with an English degree in 1951, he found it difficult to find work at the Disney Studios because he was considered one of “Roy’s boys” which meant the financial end of the business rather than one of “Walt’s boys” which was the creative end. Producer Harry Tytle was confused when Roy’s mother, Edna, pleaded with him to try and find a creative job for her son at the studio. Instead, Roy got a job editing the early black and white DRAGNET shows for Jack Webb who was filming the series on the backlot of the Disney Studio (until the noise of building things for Disneyland in the warehouses became so loud that it forced him to find another location).

Roy began working for the Disney Studio in 1954 as an assistant film editor on the True-Life Adventure films. His first True-Life Adventure was MYSTERIES OF THE DEEP which was nominated for an Academy Award but didn’t win and Roy claims that “I am still sore about that.” He helped write narration for animal-related television shows from 1957 to 1971, and also directed (1973 to 1978) and produced (1968 to 1977) many of the same type of shows.

Another Disney film editor, Stormy Palmer recalled one day when during a break, Roy Edward was bouncing a ball off a wall and it got accidentally stuck on the roof. Roy Oliver who was then president of the company was hosting an important guest and as the two were talking in his office suddenly saw through the office window Roy Edward climbing up on the roof. “Yes, my son works here,” Roy Oliver reported quipped, “He’s the one on top of the camera building retrieving that ball.”

Roy Edward’s affection and respect for his father is well known, as is his frustration that his father does not get significant recognition for his contributions to the Disney Company. “In his heart of hearts, he would have loved to have had more credit I believe, but he didn’t want to take away from his little brother. He recognized very clearly that the name Walt Disney was gold, so why mess around with it?” stated Roy Edward in an interview several years ago.

While Walt could be a tough boss, he was also a warm uncle. One time when a young Roy Edward was suffering from chicken pox, his uncle sat on the edge of his bed and told him the story of PINOCCHIO which was then in development.

“He scared me to death with the stuff about the whale and everything else,” remembered Roy many decades later, “I remember it very, very sharply and very clearly even today. He was that good a storyteller. But when the movie came out, it was big letdown for me. It was nowhere near as good as Walt’s version.”

Roy remembers his father telling him that as boys, he and Walt slept in the same bed and sometimes Walt would wet the bed. “He peed all over me then, and he’s still doing it today,” Roy Oliver would joke. (However, Roy Edward knew when his father had a tough time with Walt at work because if his father pulled into the driveway and slammed his car door hard then “you knew it was time to go do your homework.”)

Roy’s engagement to his wife Patty was announced the day before the opening of Disneyland in 1955. While it was obviously a difficult time for Walt, Walt made a point of going out of his way the next day to greet the couple at the front gate of the park to let them know how happy he was for them.

Roy was so shy that when he asked Patty to marry him, he sent the proposal in a five page letter with the note that if she accepted to please call him in Utah where he was shooting a nature movie. She tried to reach him but couldn’t track down a phone near him so she finally resorted to sending him a telegram with just two words: “Hell, yes.”

Roy was first elected to the board of directors in 1967 shortly after Walt passed away. In 1971, his father suffered a stroke. Only a few days earlier, Roy Edward’s then fourteen year old son Roy Patrick Disney had been playing on the roof of the family home and tumbled off, leaving him in a coma fighting for his life. One of Roy Edward’s strongest memories is being at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Burbank where Walt had passed away with Roy’s father in room 421 and his son in room 321. Roy Patrick recovered but Roy Oliver did not.

Shortly, Roy found himself shoved aside by new executives at the Disney Company and he left the company in 1977 with little hope of being more than being a figurehead on the Board.

However, the law firm Roy Edward had been using assigned him a new lawyer named Stanley Gold who was as outgoing as Roy was reserved. It was Gold who determined that the Disney family was too dependent on the Disney Company not only financially but also for such things as travel arrangements and accounting services. So with Gold’s assistance, a company named Shamrock was formed (named after the boat that Roy Edward raced at the time). For a time, Shamrock became one of the nation’s top takeover firms.

Gold who was fearful that the Disney family’s holding were shrinking fast because of the poor performance of the Disney Company literally told Roy Edward: “We have to make a decision. We need to either get your money out of the company, or try to get new management in at Disney.” Making matters complicated was the fact that the current management was being led by Walt’s son-in-law, Ron Miller.

Roy Edward immediately resigned as director which sent waves through Wall Street that there was trouble in the Magic Kingdom. Gold and Roy Edward orchestrated a big investment from the wealthy Bass family of Texas which formed an alliance with Disney stockholders that resulted in Michael Eisner and Frank Wells being installed as the new management team in 1984. Roy Edward returned in 1984 as vice chairmen of the board, and head of the animation department.

Eisner had even considered dismantling the animation department since it was costly and time consuming and there were enough classics in the vaults. It was Roy Edward who specifically requested being given the job of overseeing the animation department and under his guiding hand revitalized the Company with hits like LITTLE MERMAID and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.

Former Disney animation chief Peter Schneider stated in 2000 to a reporter that “the single most important thing in the history of animation at the company was Roy Disney’s persuasion in 1984 of then-president Wells to spend a mere $10 million on computer equipment to restore the animation quality lost through previous cuts. Not only did it restore colors and blushes, it also led to innovations in movement and forged the kind of style that distinguishes such films as BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.”

Roy was also thrust into the role as protector of Disney family traditions and while his influence became more and more muted over the years, it was still enough for him to authorize the Disney Company to assist Leslie Iwerks on the book and documentary about her father Ub Iwerks, to make sure that the Salvador Dali-Disney collaboration DESTINO was finally completed, to insist the Disney Institute Animation Event continue, rescue a metal box of important family papers from his garage and donating them to the Disney Archives and much, much more.

Roy was a valuable resource and his presence on commentaries for the Disney Channel and special edition DVDs supplied a validity that could not be achieved any other way. In 2000, Michael Eisner told reporters that “(Roy’s) been in the Walt Disney Company for sixty-nine years which is his age. His name is above the door. And he has a historical perspective and appreciation of the culture of the company that is unmatched.”

However, Roy could be quite sharp in his comments when he needed to be. Former Disney animation chief once said, “there’s no mystery about how Roy feels about anything.” Roy didn’t feel the Disney Company should have made HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME and he didn’t care for some scenes in LION KING like the sequence set to Elton John’s “Can You Feel The Love Tonight?” and had no hesitation in letting people know those opinions.

There have been increased frustrations between Eisner and Disney for at least the last two years with communications reduced to telephone conversations or e-mails. More and more, Roy Edward found needed relaxation in sailing (one of his chief passions) or at his castle in Ireland.

Just a week ago, Roy Edward Disney received a pin from the company for 50 years of service.

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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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General

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?


Copyright Lucasfilm / Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

"To be blunt, we go through this every time we add a new character to the
game. The folks at Lucasfilm were just as hands-on when we were designing the
versions of Darth Vader and Yoda that will also soon be appearing in Disney
Infinity 3.0," Bunker laughed. "So in the end, if the character's
creators AND the fans are happy, then I'm happy."

This article was originally posted on the Huffington Post's Entertainment page on Tuesday, June 9, 2015

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