General

Why For?

This time around, Jim answers your Disney-related questions about Epcot’s latest additions, the disappearance of the highly detailed queue as well as what could have been done with the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights this year.

Published

21 years ago

August 21, 2003

Jim Hill

First up, it’s Barry from East Boston. Who writes in today to say:

Dear Jim:

What the hell is going on at Epcot? All of the rides that I used to love as a kid – “World of Motions,” “Horizons” and “Journey in Imagination” – are being ripped out and replaced by these pale copies of the original attractions and/or by stupid hi-tech thrill rides.

Why is the Walt Disney Company turning its back on its own heritage? What’s the matter? Is there some sort of corporate conspiracy currently in place that calls for all of Disney’s AA-based shows to be replaced with cheaper-to-produce movies & off-the-shelf rides?

I mean, how expensive can it be nowadays to produce an attraction that features a few Audio Animatronic figures?

Color me Dis-gruntled & Dis-appointed, Jim.

Barry B.

Barry –

Well, to hear my friends at Walt Disney Imagineering explain it, there IS considerable cost involved in creating an AA-based attraction for one of the Disney theme parks. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of dollars you have to spend annually to maintain these highly sophisticated robotic figures.

But — honestly, Barry — that’s really not the reason that the Mouse has begun to shy away from these sorts of shows. To hear the guys in WDI tell it, the real reason that Disney has pulled the plug on elaborate attractions like Epcot’s “World of Motion” and “Horizons” is that … well … tastes change. When WED was initially putting together rides, shows and attractions for Epcot’s Future World section (back in the mid-to-late 1970s), the Imagineers felt that elaborate shows loaded with AA figures were really the way to go. That this was the sort of stuff that would really dazzle Disney World visitors.

The only problem was — when EPCOT Center finally opened in the Fall of 1982 — all of these earnest, well meaning, thoroughly researched and incredibly-expensive-to-produce shows failed to really wow the public. WDW guest surveys that were done during this period showed that — while Disney World visitors appreciated all the obvious effort that had gone into the creation of Epcot — they weren’t all that enthusiastic about the place. When these folks got back home and friends and family would ask them about Disney’s newest theme park, these people would invariably say something like “Oh, EPCOT Center was nice enough. But it’s no Magic Kingdom. The rides and the shows there were kind of boring.”

This is why — when Michael Eisner came on board in October of 1984 as the new CEO of Walt Disney Productions — one of his very top priorities was to revitalize / jazz up Epcot. To bring some real color and excitement to this well-intended but still rather dull theme park.

Which was why the Norway pavilion and its flume ride, the “Maelstrom,” were quickly added to World Showcase. Not to mention the “Wonders of Life” pavilion with its hi-tech thrill ride (“Body Wars”) and its two colorful, celebrity-filled film-based shows (“Cranium Command” and “The Making of Me”). Eisner did everything that he could think of to try and re-energize Epcot.

And — given that it was typically the slower moving shows like “World of Motion” and “Hozizons” that were scoring the lowest on Epcot’s guest satisfaction surveys — this is why, when the leases were up on these particular shows, that Disney would push these pavilions’ corporate sponsors to allow them to replace the previous attraction with something bright, something colorful. Ideally, a brand-new thrill ride.

It wasn’t that Disney was deliberately trying to destroy Epcot’s Future World section. Pulling out all of these highly themed rides, shows and attractions that Disneyana fans now look upon with such fondness. But rather, they were just trying to fix a park that was performing poorly with the public.

And the fixes continues, folks. Even today, almost 20 years after Michael Eisner came to power at Walt Disney Production, this CEO is still trying to make the place a success with a broader segment of the theme-park-going public. After all, what is “Mission: Space” — with its centrifuge-based simulated-flight-to-Mars ride — but a flat-out naked attempt to make the Future World section of this troubled theme park into something that will be much more appealing to teens?

And “Project Gemini?” That’s really Epcot’s “Hail Mary” play. The Imagineers’ last-ditch effort to re-invent / re-energize / revitalize WDW’s science and discovery park. Given how radically that once-ambitious plan has now been downsized, one wonders if “Project Gemini” will now even be worth the effort. Will a new version of “Soarin'” and a “Finding Nemo”-themed overlay for the “Living Seas” pavilion really be enough to make a significant number of tourists come back to Epcot?

Time will tell, Barry. But — for now — given that “Mission: Space” is already shaping up to be an incredibly expensive near-miss (And the Imagineers are reportedly really regretting all that pricey carpet that they laid down directly under each of the centrifuge units. Given all the “protein spills” that they’re regularly having to deal with here, WDI employees in Florida are already supposedly taking bets on how long it will be before “M:S”‘s carpeting gets torn out … only to be replaced by a much-easier-to-maintain-and-clean tile floor), it’s pretty safe to say that we’ve seen our last multi-million dollar make-over of a Future World pavilion for a while.

Even that once-ambitious “Spaceship Earth” redo — featuring its hi-tech “Time Racers” thrill ride — is reportedly being rethought. So — at least for now, Barry — you can assume that there are no “World of Motion” / “Mission: Space”-style radical redos in Epcot’s future.

But — beyond that — Future World’s future does look rather bleak.

Anyway … next, Ted E. writes in to ask:

Jim –

Love the site. I was wondering, though, if you could answer a theme park related question for me. As in: What became of all the great themed queues & pre-shows that Disney used to do for its theme parks attractions & rides. These days, particularly over at DCA, it’s just painted steel rails and overhead monitors. You don’t really get a sense of a story anymore. That you’re about to embark on some magical adventure. You’re just crowded in like cattle.

So am I wrong, Jim? Are the glory days of the Disney pre-show – where we’d get an elaborate queue like the one is “Star Tours” that set up the whole story before you even got on your Star Speeder – really dead and gone?

Please say it isn’t so.

Thanks in advance for whatever info you can throw my way.

Ted E.

Sadly, yes, Ted. I honestly do think that — at least for the foreseeable future — the elaborate queue (An item that — back in the late 1980s / early 1990s, anyway — was the hallmark of a truly great Disney theme park attraction) is dead.

At least here stateside, where WDW and Disneyland Resort visitors are constantly complaining about the amount of time that they have to spend in line, no one at WDI is thinking about creating elaborate queues anymore. They’re just looking for ways for even faster ways to load guests onto attractions.

The introduction of Fast Pass did help to deal with this issue a bit. But what’s complicating that matter is the significant number of complaints that Disney Guest Relations Dept. has been received from theme park guests who now find themselves stranded in the “Stand By” line. People who really seem to resent being held back as those guests who are clutching their “Fast Passes” are allowed to board these attractions that much faster.

Strange as this may seem, Ted, there are actually Disney theme park regulars who are strongly advocating that the Mouse drop the Fast Pass system entirely. To go back to the old ways. When everybody had to stand in line together. When no one got special treatment.

Even more intriguing are the folks with WDI who are suggesting that the Disney theme parks take a real step backwards. Abandoning the pay-one-price-to-ride-every-attraction-in-the-park-as-often-as-you-like admissions media in favor of returning to ticket books. That’s right. Ticket books.

Mind you, this may not be as odd an idea as it initially appears to be. After all, back in the day when both Disneyland and WDW’s Magic Kingdom used tickets, guests were more evenly distributed around the theme parks. In order to get the most out of their investment in Disney admissions materials, these folks would deliberately try to use every one of their tickets. So they’d go out of their way to visit the park’s A, B, C, D and E Ticket attractions.

Which is how attractions like the Mike Fink Keelboats and Disneyland’s Motor Boat Cruise were able to justify their existences. By turning over the admittedly-not-large-but-still-rather-steady number of tickets that guests handed over each day. Which allowed the operators of those Disney theme park attractions to say “See? People DO like us. They’re still willing to pay good money in order to ride us.”

And — based on the number of tickets that a Disney theme park attraction would taken in annually — WED could then justify making additions and/or improvements to that attraction during its yearly rehab. How would the Imagineers do this? By pulling an annual tally for the number of tickets that had been collected for a particular ride, show or attraction. “Snow White’s Scary Adventure,” for example.

WED’s reasoning would go something like this: “4.5 million rode ‘Snow White’s Scary Adventure.’ Given that a C Ticket has a cash equivalent of 50 cents, that means that this Fantasyland attraction made $2.25 million for the Disney corporation last year. Which is why I think it’s reasonable for Imagineering to spend $100,000 next year on upgrades and upkeep for this show. So that ‘Snow White’s Scary Adventure’ will continue to stay popular with the guests. So that this Fantasyland dark ride will continue to pull its weight — financially, that is — for Disneyland.”

But once the stateside Disney theme parks switched over to the Passport system in the late 1970s, that financial model flew right out the window. And the Imagineers found it harder and harder to justify to increasingly cost-conscious executives how it made sense to continually attempt to improve (or — at the very least — maintain the status quo) the theme park’s older attractions. This was just about the same time that Disney management became fixated on the idea that they’d use a brand-new E Ticket — something that they add to the parks, with much hoopla, every 3 to 4 years — to keep attendance levels at the theme parks consistently high.

Of course, when you tie this mentality in with all of the cost cutting that Disney has done at its stateside theme parks over the past few years, you can end up with a pretty lame lean bunch of new attractions. Rides like “Aladdin’s Magic Carpets” at WDW’s Magic Kingdom and “Tricera Tops Spin” at DAK — even though they are new rides — don’t exactly inspire tourists to catch the next flight to Orlando.

So what’s it going to take to bring back the good old days at Disney’s stateside theme parks? That time when you got to wander through a wonderfully detailed queue like the one you find in Disneyland’s “Star Tours” and/or that quarter of a mile of thrills and chills you encounter while you’re making your way through the Temple of the Forbidden Eye? According to some folks at WDI, ticket books would be “just the ticket” to clean up this particular mess.

I know that this all sounds rather unlikely, folks. But there are some staffers at Walt Disney Imagineering — some rather senior staffers, I might add — who are actively advocating for this idea. We’ll keep you posted as to whether they actually make any progress.

Finally, Jeff L. from Connecticut writes in to say:

Jim:

I had just finished making the travel arrangements for my next trip down to Disney World when I learned that the Mouse had suddenly pulled the plug on this year’s version of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights . $%#&@ !? That was one of the main reasons that I was headed down to Disney this holiday season, Jim. Just so I could walk along Disney-MGM’s Residential Street and check out this over-the-top Xmas lights display that I’ve heard so much about over the past few years.

Obviously, I’m disappointed, Jim. As well as kind of annoyed. I mean, the Walt Disney Company owns 43 square miles of land down there in Orlando. Surely they could have found some empty spot down there at WDW and set the Osborne Lights over there.

So what’s the real deal here, Jim? I know that they’re currently doing all sorts of work on New York Street (replacing facades and all that) as well as tearing down the “Golden Girls” house to make room for an Americanized version of WDS’s auto stunt show. But surely there was somewhere else at Disney World — Downtown Disney, for example — that could have served as a temporary home for the Osborne Lights. At least ’til all the construction was completed over at Disney-MGM.

So what gives, Jim? Inquiring Disneyana fans wanna know!

Jeff L.

Jeff –

Believe me, you’re not the only person who’s upset at Disney’s seemingly sudden decision to pull the plug on this year’s Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights. Given that this somewhat garish holiday display was recently voted the resort’s most popular holiday attraction by WDW annual passholders, I’m told that Disney World got hundreds of letters from angry and disappointed would-be guests. Many of whom — just like Jeff L. — had been planning their WDW vacations to coincide with the previously announced dates for this year’s light display.

I’m also told that there were many veteran Disney World cast members who were surprised that the Mouse didn’t at least try to jury-rig a smaller version of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights display for Disney-MGM this coming holiday season. Maybe just set up a highlights version along Mickey Avenue.

When asked about doing something like this, WDW management’s response went something like this: “Oh, there’s not enough time to do something like that. We’re just going to have to wait ’til 2004 — or maybe 2005 — for all the construction to be completed on the stunt show.”

Oh, really? Five months isn’t enough time to find a way to display the Osborne Lights this year at MGM? How many of you remember when “Mickey’s Birthdayland” debuted at WDW’s Magic Kingdom back in June 18, 1988? That entire land (which was built specifically to help Disney World’s visitors celebrate Mickey Mouse’s 60th birthday) was designed and constructed in just three months. From the initial meeting where someone said “Wouldn’t it be cool if …” to the moment then-First Lady Nancy Reagan cut the ribbon at Mickey’s House … just 90 days. And that involved changing the layout of the Grand Prix Raceway to accommodate the footprint of the new show buildings, creating a new station for the Magic Kingdom’s railroad, erecting steel, putting in new pipes and electrical wiring, etc.

Obviously, that was no lightweight project. But still — with three months of hard work — the folks at Walt Disney World were still able to pull it off. Creating something that — even 15 years later — millions of WDW visitors are still getting a kick out of.

Now contrast that with what happened with Disney World’s current management team was given FIVE months to come up with a new place on property to display the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights. Their response was: “There’s not enough time. It would cost too much to quickly put together a temporary place to display those lights. It’s better that we should wait ’til all the construction is complete on MGM’s backlot.”

Well, while Disney is sitting around waiting, Universal Orlando is really on the move. Sensing that there are some seasonal customers that they can snatch away from the Mouse this year, USF is ramping up the holiday displays at both of their Central Florida theme parks. Universal Studios Orlando will be bringing back the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade balloons for the holiday parade that will run daily through that theme park. While — over at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure — a bigger, beefier version of Grinchmas will be bowing over in Suess Landing this holiday season.

Will these customers come back to Disney-MGM once that the management team at that studio theme park gets its act together again? Maybe. But — right now — there are certainly a lot of angry WDW annual passholders (as well as Dis-appointed vacationers) who really feel like they’ll be missing out on something this holiday season … just because the dim bulbs who currently run the Walt Disney World Resort couldn’t find a new place on property to display the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights.

Okay. That’s it for this week, folks. Again, my apologies for my exceedingly low profile at JimHillMedia.com this week. But we’ve nearly gotten all the worms and viruses taken care of at this end. So — hopefully — things will get back to normal around here next week. (By that I mean: As normal as things usually get around JimHillMedia.com. Which isn’t very normal at all.)

And remember … come by on Saturday and Sunday to catch Parts V and VI of Jim Korkis’ on-going “History of the Comic Book” series. The first four installments made for some pretty fascinating reading.

That’s it for now. Talk to you next Monday, okay?

jrh

General

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

Published

10 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

10 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

10 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