General
Why For does Disney think that “No Nudes is Good News”
Earlier this week, Paul T. sent me an e-mail with an image
attached that — I’m sure — will titillate a certain segment of the Disney fan
community.
Jim,
Check out what I found on an animation art auction cite!!
It’s a bare-ass Ariel!!
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
Well, okay. This is how this particular cel from that 1989
Walt Disney Animation Studios production was inked & hand-painted back in
the day. But please note that the paint never actually makes it to the bottom of … Well, Ariel’s bottom. That’s because when it came time for the scene in which this cel was featured to
actually go in front of the camera, this shot in
“The Little Mermaid” was framed in such a way that this Disney
Princess‘ shapely caboose was always going to be kept safely out of sight. So don’t expect that
when the Blu-ray
of this John Musker & Ron Clements film goes on sale later
this year (October 1st, to be exact) that — if you carefully go frame-by-frame during
this portion of that motion picture — you’ll ever be able to spy Ariel’s
behind as it’s depicted in the above cel.
Mind you, if you talk with true Walt Disney Animation
Studios veterans, they’ll look at this particular image from the Little Mermaid
and laugh. “That’s the sort of stuff that titillates you?,” these
guys would snort. “Let me show you some of the Freddy Moore girl drawings
that I’ve got squirreled away in a drawer here. Or — better yet — tell you
about those female nudes that used to be painted on the walls of the Studio’s
old Penthouse Club.”
Now you have to keep in mind that was the pre-1980s version of Walt Disney Productions. A few
years into Michael Eisner‘s run as head of the Mouse House, Mickey developed
kind of a prudish streak which continues even today.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
The inciting event of this “No Nudes is Good News”
policy seems to date back to the theatrical release of “Who Framed Roger
Rabbit” in June of 1988. A few weeks into this Robert Zemeckis movie’s run
in theaters, Disney executives learned that — when Eddie Valiant & Betty
Boop have their brief meet-up in the Ink and Paint Club — there was an moment in
this scene where, just for a single frame (depicted above), the strapless dress that this classic cartoon character slipped off of her breasts and thus revealed Betty’s bare nipples.
Mind you, the only reason that the animators who worked on
“Roger Rabbit” slipped a topless Betty into this Touchstone Pictures
/ Amblin Entertainment co-production was to pay tribute to those animation
pioneers like Grim Natwick who used to do the exact same thing when they were
animating the original Betty Boop shorts for Fleischer Studios back in the 1930s.
And the reason that they did this back then was … Well, most of the animators
who worked for Max & Dave Fleischer were young men in their 20s. And when
you’re that age, the temptation to try & put one over on the boss is great.
More to the point, given that film whizzes through the projector at 16 frames per
second (which is actually faster than the human eye can actually process
individual images), that meant 99.99999% of the greater movie-going public
would have absolutely no idea that the animated cartoon that they had just been
watching had included a somewhat salacious image in a single frame. So the
chances that anyone outside of this animation studio would ever find out that
the folks at Fleischer had pulled a stunt like this were pretty slim.
Copyright Hearst Holdings, Inc. / Fleischer Studios, Inc. All rights reserved
Of course, given that the cel in question had pass through a
bunch of hands (i.e. from the animator to the inker to the cel painter to the
cameraman, etc.), there were dozens of folks at Fleischer who knew about this
slip-a-sexy-shot-of-Betty-into-each-short gag and then kept quiet about it. In
fact, if what Richard Fleischer (i.e. Max’s son as well as the director of Disney’s
1954 live-action classic, “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
“) once told me
is true, Max and Dave knew about this stunt as well. But the Fleischer brothers
deliberately turned a blind eye to this practice because thinking that they
were secretly putting one over on their bosses made the animators at that
studio happy. And to Max & Dave’s way of thinking, keeping morale high at
their studio was far more important than being the sorts of bosses who came
down hard on their employees for silly, sexy pranks.
That said, there were certain high-minded sorts among the
movie-going crowd who thought — right from the get-go — that Betty Boop with
her short skirts & garter belt was far too sexy. And if these
self-appointed censors had ever known that the animators at Fleischer Studios
were deliberately inserting images of a topless or bottomless Betty into each
of these animated shorts … Well, they’d have lost their minds.
But once Joseph Breen was installed as head of the Studio Relations Committee in 1934 and then began enforcing Hollywood’s restrictive Production Code, pressure was brought
to bear on Fleischer Studios. And as a direct result, Betty Boop’s skirts got
longer and the animators there were actively discouraged to stop with all that
sexy stuff. Including slipping a single salacious cel into each short.
Joseph Breen
Even so, those pre-code Betty Boop shorts were still out
there. And kids who were just starting out at film school in the 1970s would
occasionally throw one of these old Fleischer animated shorts on a moviola. And
then — by going frame-by-frame through these films — they’d then eventually
find that single frame where Ms. Boop was doing something a bit naughty. And they
then gleefully share this information with their fellow film students. And these
future movie moguls would then all marvel at what production people used to get
away with back in the old days of Hollywood.
Anyway … That is why that topless image of Betty was
deliberately placed in “Roger Rabbit.” As a loving tribute to what Hollywood’s
animation pioneers used to do back in the old days. So — to Richard Williams‘
way of thinking (And — yes — from what I’ve been told, the director of
animation on this Touchstone Pictures / Amblin Entertainment co-production knew
that a single cel featuring Betty Boop’s nipples had been inserted in this movie and condoned
it. And depending on who you talk to, Robert Zemeckis was also supposed to have
been in on this gag as well) — this was just the next generation of animators
honoring the traditions of its pioneers.
Well, that’s certainly not how the executives at The Walt Disney Company saw
this situation. As soon as they learned that there was a topless Betty Boop
hidden in plain sight in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” they immediately
leaped into action. Even though this information was only brought to these
execs’ attention during the final few weeks of this live-action / animated
hybrid’s domestic run, they still sent Disney employees out to theaters around
the country. Where these studio representatives were then under orders to enter
each projection booth and take physical possession of that movie theater’s
print of “Roger Rabbit.” Only after these Disney employees had
unspooled the second reel of this movie, find the offending frame and snipped
it out of the movie were they then allowed to return control of this print to that
theater’s projectionist.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
These Disney employees then had to collect all of these
individual single frames of film (each of which depicted Betty Boop with her
top off) and return them to the Studio. Where Disney’s attorneys then
determined which frames had come from which specific print at what theater
(making sure that all of them could be accounted before) before Studio
officials then ordered that all of these
frames be destroyed.
So you can imagine how Disney Studios officials felt, after having
already dealt with the Betty Boob issue,
when they learned that there yet another single sexy frame that had been hidden
away in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” A moment late in this Robert
Zemeckis movie where — right after
Jessica Rabbit had been involved in a traffic accident — this cartoon siren
had thrown into the air. As Roger’s wife flew by the camera, for just an
instant, Jessica’s skirt flew up & her legs briefly parted. Which was when
it was revealed that this toon temptress was sans panties.
Now what made Mouse House managers particularly crazy about
the Jessica Rabbit / no panties
situation is that they only learned about it months after the VHS version of
“Who Framed Roger Rabbit” had originally gone on sale in stores back in October of 1989. So
while they couldn’t do anything about the millions of copies of this Academy
Award-winning film that had already been purchased by animation fans, they
could at least contact retailers and then asked them to return all of their
unsold “Roger Rabbit” videos so that the offending tapes could then
be destroyed.
Jessica Rabbit as she appeared in the sequence in question for
the 1989 VHS release of “How Framed Roger Rabbit” …
… and this same scene in this Robert Zemeckis film when it was released on DVD
on 2003. After Disney artists had gone in and digitally extended Jessica’s dress.
Effectively ending any questions about whether this cartoon siren had or had
not been wearing any panties during this sequence of that live-action /
animated hybrid. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
Mind you, given that the VHS &laser disc players that most people owned
back in the late 1980s weren’t really capable of going frame-by-frame through a
film (I mean, even when you did pause a movie using your VHS or laser disc player, what you
typically wound up with was an on-screen image that was either very blurry or had an awful lot of grain to it),
it became next to impossible for animation fans to verify whether the
Jessica-Rabbit-wasn’t-wearing-panties stories that had begun leaking out of Disney
Studios were true. Even those who knew exactly where to look in this
live-action / animated hybrid still struggled to find just the right frame. And
because they weren’t looking at the sort of crystal-clear image of this
sexy cartoon character that one might be able to procure in a professional
editing bay back then (or from one of today’s DVD or Blu-ray players), this Jessica-without-panties story just didn’t get the traction back
then that it would have surely gotten today thanks to the presence of websites
like Gawker, Deadline or TMZ.
So Disney kind of dodged a bullet with “Roger
Rabbit” ‘s original VHS release (And trust me, folks. The 25th anniversary
of this Touchstone Pictures / Amblin Entertainment co-production which Walt
Disney Studios Home Entertainment released last month has long since been
scrubbed clean). But on the heel of having to recall six million copies of the
VHS of “The Rescuers” in January
of 1999, all because Mouse House managers learned — well after the fact —
that there was a single frame in this 1977 Walt Disney Productions release
where a nude Playboy playmate could be spied in one of the apartment windows
that Bernard, Bianca and Orville flew by in New York City … Well, it was
finally time that something formally had to be done about this issue.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
Truth be told, Disney executives did start getting more
hands-on about the animated features that WDAS had in production prior to the
“Rescuers” recall in 1999. The first film to receive the
go-through-frame-by-frame-to-seek-out-the-sex process was “The Hunchback
of Notre Dame
.” Paul & Gaetan Brizzi had done a masterful job with
their animation of the “Hellfire” sequence in this Kirk Wise &
Gary Trousdale movie. But as studio officials began reviewing Paul &
Gaetan’s pencil tests, they became very concerned about that fiery version of
Esmeralda which Judge Claude Frollo envisioned dancing in his fireplace. The
concern — at least at the executive level — was this hallucinatory version of
“Hunchback” ‘s gypsy just looked too naked. Which is why the Brizzis
were then ordered to go back in and reanimate a specific portion of
“Hellfire.” So that it would then appear that Esmerelda, even as she
was supposedly made entirely out of fire in this scene, still had some clothes on.
Please note the scoop neck dress line that the Brizzi brothers added after the
fact to their original animation of Esmerelda in “Hunchback” ‘s “Hellfire”
number. Which then suggested that this fiery version of the sexy
gypsy was still wearing clothes. Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
Things got even sillier / stranger when “Mulan“
was in production at Walt Disney Feature Animation – Florida.
The executives back in California
were so concerned about the skinny-dipping scene in this Tony Bancroft / Barry
Cook movie that word came down that only the supervising animators for each of
the characters featuring in this scene (i.e. Mark Henn for Mulan, Aaron Blaise
for Yao and Broose Johnson for Chien-Po & Ling) were to be allowed to
animate these characters in “Mulan” ‘s skinny-dipping scene. With the
message from Mouse House Management clearly being that — if anything even
remotely risque were to pop up in this portion of that motion picture — Disney
officials would then know who exactly to
fire.
The irony is that — because Blaise and Johnson wound up
being so careful & cautious with their animation of Yao,
Chien-P & Ling in this film’s skinny-dipping scene — people who watched
test screenings of “Mulan” intially didn’t realize that the Gang of
Three had actually removed their clothes prior to jumping into the water to
join Mulan. Which is why — prior to “Mulan” ‘s June 1998 theatrical
release — Disney animators had to create a brand-new scene that (in
silhouette, mind you) clearly showed Yao, Chien-Po & Ling peeling off their
Chinese army uniforms before they then raced downhill to join Mulan for a late
night swim.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
But if you watch “Mulan” ‘s skinny-dipping scene
today, you can see how carefully choreographed it is to make sure that any naughty
bits are kept below the surface of the water and/or just out of frame. In fact,
to hear some of the animators who worked on this Disney Feature Animation
-Florida film talk, a lot of potential for comic tension in this scenes got lost
because the execs out in California were so paranoid about Mulan, Yao, Chien-Po
and Ling getting too close to one another and then possibly touching while they
were all together in that water skinny-dipping. So the notes that Bancroft
& Cook kept getting back from Burbank
was ” … make sure that those characters stay far apart while they’re together
in the water.”
The same sort of caution supposedly carried over to the production of Pixar‘s
“Brave” last year. That — while the folks back in Burbank
didn’t dare tell Mark Andrew, Brenda Chapman & Steve Purcell what sort of
story they should be telling in their tale of the Scottish Highland — they did
reportedly send along a note or two about Queen Elinor’s (SLIGHT SPOILERS
AHEAD) transformations. That — when Merida’s mother changed her form in this
film — Andrew, Chapman & Purcell please make an effort to make sure that
the Queen’s naked body was always kept just out of sight. That it was okay to
suggest this character’s nudity just as long as no real body parts were ever shown.
Merida’s bare-bottomed brothers — Hamish, Harris & Hubert — scramble into
Queen Elinor & King Fergus’ arms at the end of Pixar’s “Brave.”
Copyright Disney Pixar. All rights reserved
Likewise those brief moments in Pixar’s “Brave”
where Hamish, Harris and Hubert appeared naked and/or the members of the clans Macintosh,
MacGuffin, Dingwall and DunBroch all march back into the castle without their
kilts … Well, that was okay as long as these male characters faced away from
the camera and all the audience ever saw was bare butts. But even so, as a
direct result of these two brief bits of male nudity, “Brave” still
wound up being only the third film in Pixar history to be receive a PG rating
(with 2004’s “The Incredibles
” and 2009’s “Up
” being the
other two).
And to make sure that no other sexual content and/or untoward images ever pop
up in Pixar & Walt Disney Animation Studios productions, Disney Legal now
reportedly has several people on staff whose specific assignment it is to go
through each new film (once it completes production, mind you) frame-by-frame
and then search for questionable content that the filmmakers may have
deliberately and/or unintentionally placed there. And when you consider that a
CG film like Pixar’s “Toy Story
” had 114,240 highly detailed frames
in it … Well, it could take weeks at a time to go through each of Disney
& Pixar’s latest productions and then carefully search for questionable
content.
But to Disney Legal’s way of thinking, this additional
effort & expense prior to a new animated feature’s release to theaters will
ultimately pay off. If only because the Company will now be dealing with far
fewer embarrassing PR problems after production has officially wrapped &
these movies are out in theaters and/or have been released to various retail
outlets through Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
After all, in this age of Blu-rays & digital downloads,
it’s now possible for virtually anyone out there to go frame-by-frame through
an animated feature and then discover that single salacious cel that the
filmmakers thought that they had cleverly hidden out in plain sight. Which is
why — in an effort to save the Company from some future embarrassment —
Disney has adopted this “No Nudes is Good News” policy.
So how do you folks feel about this bit of news? Are you
happy that Disney Legal has gotten so hands-on about making sure that each of
the animated features that Disney & Pixar produces are genuinely
family-friendly? Or does this practice of going through a film frame-by-frame to
make sure that no questionable content ever makes it out in front of an
audience these days smack of censorship? A way of stifling the creativity of
the people who actually make these motion pictures?
Your thoughts?
General
Seward Johnson bronzes add a surreal, artistic touch to NYC’s Garment District
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.
General
Wondering what you should “Boldly Go” see at the movies next year? The 2015 Licensing Expo offers you some clues
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
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.' "
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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.
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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.
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Inc. All rights reserved
"Everyone within the Company seemed to have an opinion
about how Mickey & Minnie should be posed. More to the point, if you Google
Mickey, you then discover that there are literally thousands of poses out there
for these two. Though — truth be told — a lot of those kind of play off the
way Mickey poses when he's being Disney's corporate symbol," Bunker said.
"But what I was most concerned about was that Mickey's pose had to work
with Minnie's pose. Because we were bringing the Classic versions of these
characters up into Disney Infinity 3.0 at the exact same time. And we wanted to
make sure — especially for those fans who like to put their Disney Infinity
figures on display — that Mickey's pose would then complement Minnie.
Which is why Jeff & the crew at Avalanche Studios
decided — when it came to Classic Mickey & Minnie's pose — that they
should go all the way back to the beginning. Which is why these two Disney icons
are sculpted in such a way that it almost seems as though you're witnessing the
very first time Mickey set eyes on Minnie.
Copyright Disney Enterprises,
Inc. All rights reserved
"And what was really great about that was — as soon as
we began showing people within the Company this pose — everyone at Disney
quickly got on board with the idea. I mean, the Classic Mickey that we sculpted
for Disney Infinity 3.0 is clearly a very playful, spunky character. But at the
same time, he's obviously got eyes for Minnie," Bunker concluded. "So
in the end, we were able to come up with Classic versions of these characters
that will work well within the creative confines of Disney Infinity 3.0 but at
the same time please those Disney fans who just collect these figures because
they like the way the Disney Infinity characters look."
So now that this particular design project is over, does
Jeff regret that Mouse House upper management was so hands-on when it came to
making sure that the Classic versions of Mickey & Minnie were specifically
tailored to fit the look & style of gameplay found in Disney Infinity 3.0?
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Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
"To be blunt, we go through this every time we add a new character to the
game. The folks at Lucasfilm were just as hands-on when we were designing the
versions of Darth Vader and Yoda that will also soon be appearing in Disney
Infinity 3.0," Bunker laughed. "So in the end, if the character's
creators AND the fans are happy, then I'm happy."
This article was originally posted on the Huffington Post's Entertainment page on Tuesday, June 9, 2015
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