General

Why “Western River” Went South — Part 6

Published

24 years ago

December 31, 2000

OUR STORY SO FAR: If you’ve read Parts 1 through 6, you’ve already have a pretty good understanding of the history of “Western River Expedition.” At least from the Marc Davis point of view. So there’s no need for me to do yet another recap.

But please be aware that Imagineering is a highly collaborative place. People of all ages – from all walks of life – work there. And these folks don’t always get along.

Imagineers often have disagreements about how certain theme park attractions should be constructed. These spirited discussions usually lead to better rides and shows for the public. But sometimes, people’s feelings get hurt in the process.

Such a thing happened during the latter development phases of “Western River Expedition.” An off-hand remark by a then-junior member of the Imagineering team accidentally derailed WED’s grand plans for Thunder Mesa. What rose up in its place was a thrill ride that has become so popular that versions of it can be found at all four Disney resorts worldwide.

This was an attraction that made that young Imagineer’s career. But – in the process – this thrill ride crushed another man’s dream. As a result, this senior WED employee held a grudge against this younger man for over 25 years.

Not exactly a tale you’d expect to hear about two guys who work on “The Happiest Place on Earth.” But it’s a true story, kids. So sit back and enjoy the next exciting chapter in the never- ending “Western River Expedition” saga.

“I don’t like it,” said Tony Baxter.

Standing beside the model he’d been laboring over for weeks now, Baxter’s comment shocked his bosses at WED. After all, who was this young kid to be passing judgment on the company’s theme park plans.

Who indeed?

Tony Baxter was part of the new breed at WED. Hired in 1970 while Walt Disney Productions was beefing up its Imagineering staff to handle the Florida project, Tony was an Orange County kid who’d practically grown up at Disneyland.

As a youngster, Baxter made so many visits to the Anaheim theme park that he memorized most of the park’s original attractions. This was a skill that he’d use to amaze – and sometimes frighten – family and friends. After watching a Fantasyland ride vehicle enter its show building, young Tony could predict – sometimes down to the second – when that particular ride vehicle would exit its attraction.

While in high school, Baxter furthered his knowledge of Disneyland by becoming a cast member. Starting out in 1965 as a street sweeper at the park, Tony eventually worked his way up to ice cream scooper at the Carnation Plaza Gardens before finally moving over to Tomorrowland. There, he worked as a ride operator on “Journey Thru Inner Space.”

After graduating from California State University – Long Beach with a degree in theatrical design, Baxter landed his dream job when he was hired by WED in 1970. Now Tony would no longer be just a visitor or employee at Disneyland. He was one of the folks who was entrusted with “imagineering” new rides and shows for the park. It was a job Baxter took very seriously.

Tony’s enthusiasm for his initial assignments soon caught the eye of master Imagineer Claude Coats. Coats – best known today for the superb atmospheric settings he created for Disneyland’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Haunted Mansion” – soon became Baxter’s mentor, teaching Tony all the tricks of the Imagineering trade.

Despite the great difference between their ages (Baxter was just 23, while Coats was in his 60s) and experience, Claude and Tony were began working together on Fantasyland attractions for Walt Disney World. Coats was so impressed with Baxter’s attention to detail on scenery the young man designed for “Snow White’s Scary Adventure” that he arranged for Tony to receive a field assignment.

And that’s how Baxter ended up Orlando in the summer of 1971, telling 50 year old contractors how to sculpt rocks and reefs for that park’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” It was on this particular project that Tony learned a lot about the proper placement of props and mechanized figures on Disney theme park attraction. Put too few in one area, the guest feels cheated. Put too many and the guest gets confused, doesn’t know where to look. The knowledge Baxter gained from his “20K” field installation experience came in handy a lot sooner than he thought it would.

Once Walt Disney World opened, Baxter returned to Glendale to find that – now that the Florida project was up and running – WED no longer needed so many Imagineers. So, as Walt Disney Productions began laying off all its new hires, Tony became terrified that his Imagineering career would be over just as it was getting started.

But Claude Coats – who had grown fond of Baxter – called in a few favors and got Tony a job in WED’s model shop. Here, Baxter worked on models for many of WDW’s proposed “Phase I” attractions. Chief among these was Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mesa.

Tony actually enjoyed working on the model for WDW’s Space Mountain. Given that an elaborate marble maze he had constructed for his own amusement had helped land Tony his job at WED, Baxter got a kick out of the idea that he was actually being paid to build yet another small scale roller coaster.

But Big Thunder Mesa was another matter entirely. Having spent his first few years at WED basically as Claude Coats’ apprentice, Tony had trouble adjusting to working with Marc Davis. Claude was a gentle and generous man, willing to politely take the time to listen to whatever ideas another Imagineer had to offer.

Davis – on the other hand – was a task master. Marc had designed each and every aspect of Big Thunder Mesa and expected its model to meet all of his exacting specifications. Any suggestions Tony would offer to improve the attraction, Marc would immediately dismiss. After all, what could this 25 year old kid know about designing theme park attractions?

It was a very frustrating time for Baxter, who – after begging to be given some part of Thunder Mesa to do on his own – eventually ended up with the runaway train ride. Unfortunately for Tony, Davis had envisioned this piece of the proposed Frontierland addition as the show building’s secondary attraction. Meaning that he would not allow Baxter to make Thunder Mesa’s train ride so entertaining that it would potentially over-shadow or out-shine “Western River Expedition.”

That’s maybe not the nicest thing to say about Marc Davis. But please understand that Davis was an artist, and all artists have egos. Having labored for five years to bring “Western River Expedition” to life, Marc was determined that his dream attraction wouldn’t end up being upstaged by some little runaway train ride.

Even with these Davis-imposed limitations, Baxter still turned in some beautiful designs for Thunder Mesa’s runaway train ride. Tony even recycled Claude Coat’s designs for the “Rainbow Caverns” sequence from Disneyland’s “Mine Trains Through Nature’s Wonderland” to give this proposed Florida attraction a snazzy opening sequence.

But still Baxter found himself frustrated by the circumstances he was working under. Tony knew that – if he were just given half a chance – that he could make Big Thunder Mesa’s runaway train ride into something really special. That chance came unexpectedly in the spring of 1974, when Disney Chairman Card Walker, WED head *** Irvine and several other senior executives from Walt Disney Productions stopped by the model shop one afternoon.

This was a particularly crucial time for the “Western River” project. Walt Disney Productions was still reeling from the effects of the energy crisis. Walker had responded to the nation’s fuel problems by putting all future development for the company’s Florida resort – including Thunder Mesa – on hold.

But now gas prices had begun sliding down again. This meant that Walker could consider unfreezing future projects for Walt Disney World. But which project should the Disney CEO let thaw out, and which plans should he permanently assign to the deep freeze?

That’s why Walker, Irvine and his cronies were touring WED. They were trying to decide which shows they should go forward with and which projects they should table – permanently. With this in mind, the Disney brass walked into the WED model shop and found themselves dazzled by the Big Thunder Mesa and “Western River Expedition” models.

Anyone who ever saw these models still comments on how beautiful they were. The “Western River” model had all these richly detailed miniature versions of the ride’s sets and figures. The Thunder Mesa model was a beautiful little tabletop mountain with a miniature version of Tony’s runaway train ride rolling through its caves and canyons.

Impressed by all the time and effort that Baxter had obviously put into the Thunder Mesa model, Walker complimented Tony on his craftsmanship. Card was surprised when Baxter shrugged off his compliment.

“What’s the matter?,” Walker asked. “Don’t you like the ride?”

“No,” Tony replied. “I don’t like it.”

Baxter went on to explain what he felt were the flaws with Thunder Mesa’s runaway train ride. Chief among the attraction’s flaws – in Tony’s eyes, anyway – was that the ride didn’t really tell a story and the its thrill element were introduced too late in the game. Wouldn’t it be better if Thunder Mesa’s runaway train ride were exciting right from the get go, with suspenseful scenes all along the way that built a thrilling climax?

Tony then quickly explained how *HE* would have designed a runaway train ride for Thunder Mesa. Using all the lessons he’d learned while putting together WDW’s “20,000 Leagues,” Baxter spoke of atmospheric scenes like coyotes howling on high bluffs, dinosaur bones that stick out along the train’s route as well as a dramatic cave-in finale.

Baxter was pleased that Card seemed entertained by his ideas for Thunder Mesa’s runaway train ride. But he was floored by Walker’s next suggestion. Card then asked Tony to work up some plans for his proposed attraction – *NOT* as an extra added feature for Thunder Mesa, but as a stand-alone ride that would compete for “WRE” ‘s Frontierland construction site.

Walker had quickly grasped the innate appeal of Baxter’s runaway train ride idea. Here was an attraction that would make an easy fit for the area’s theming. It would also quickly add a new thrill ride into the park’s line-up of shows and attractions (something that recent guest surveys had suggested that WDW’s Magic Kingdom was lacking). More importantly, this runaway train ride could probably be built for about a third of what Marc Davis was asking for “Western River Expedition.”

That alone was reason enough for Walker and Irvine to give Baxter the go- ahead to develop his runaway train ride idea as a potential replacement for “Western River Expedition.”

When Davis heard about what had happened, he was livid. Here was Baxter – the young Imagineer who was supposed to be helping Marc get his long proposed Frontierland attraction off the drawing board – who ends up convincing Card Walker to allow him to develop a different attraction for the very construction site along WDW’s Rivers of America.

Tony tried to apologize, explaining that he hadn’t intentionally stolen Marc’s thunder (figuratively as well as literally). But Davis could not be assuaged. For the 25 years that followed this incident, Marc held a grudge against Baxter – insisting that the young Imagineer had deliberately undercut his “Western River” project.

Time and again, Tony tried to make it up to Marc (Davis’ “America Sings” figures turn up in Baxter’s “Splash Mountain” not by accident, kids. Tony was even then – 10 years later, in 1983 – still trying to make it up to Marc. This gesture didn’t work, though. We’ll cover this part of the story in greater detail in our next installment), but to no avail.

So now there are two western themed attractions competing for the exact same spot along WDW’s Rivers of America. Only one can be built.

Guess what happens next, kids?

General

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

Published

9 years ago

June 23, 2015

Jim Hill

Greetings from NYC. Nancy and I drove down from New
Hampshire yesterday because we'll be checking out
Disney Consumer Products' annual Holiday Showcase later today.

Anyway … After checking into our hotel (i.e., The Paul.
Which is located down in NYC's NoMad district), we decided to grab some dinner.
Which is how we wound up at the Melt Shop.

Photo by Jim Hill

Which is this restaurant that only sells grilled cheese sandwiches.
This comfort food was delicious, but kind of on the heavy side.

Photo by Jim Hill

Which is why — given that it was a beautiful summer night
— we'd then try and walk off our meals. We started our stroll down by the Empire
State Building
…

Photo by Jim Hill

… and eventually wound up just below Times
Square (right behind where the Waterford Crystal Times Square New
Year's Eve Ball is kept).

Photo by Jim Hill

But you know what we discovered en route? Right in the heart
of Manhattan's Garment District
along Broadway between 36th and 41st? This incredibly cool series of life-like
and life-sized sculptures that Seward
Johnson has created.

Photo by Jim Hill

And — yes — that is Abraham Lincoln (who seems to have
slipped out of WDW's Hall of Presidents when no one was looking and is now
leading tourists around Times Square). These 18 painted
bronze pieces (which were just installed late this past Sunday night / early
Monday morning) range from the surreal to the all-too-real.

Photo by Jim Hill

Some of these pieces look like typical New Yorkers. Like the
business woman planning out her day …

Photo by Jim Hill

… the postman delivering the mail …

Photo by Jim Hill

… the hot dog vendor working at his cart …

Photo by Jim Hill

… the street musician playing for tourists …

Photo by Jim Hill

Not to mention the tourists themselves.

Photo by Jim Hill

But right alongside the bronze businessmen …

Photo by Jim Hill

… and the tired grandmother hauling her groceries home …

Photo by Jim Hill

… there were also statues representing people who were
from out-of-town …

Photo by Jim Hill

… or — for that matter — out-of-time.

Photo by Jim Hill

These were the Seward Johnson pieces that genuinely beguiled. Famous impressionist paintings brought to life in three dimensions.

Note the out-of-period water bottle that some tourist left
behind. Photo by Jim Hill

Some of them so lifelike that you actually had to pause for
a moment (especially as day gave way to night in the city) and say to yourself
"Is that one of the bronzes? Or just someone pretending to be one of these
bronzes?"

Mind you, for those of you who aren't big fans of the
impressionists …

Photo by Jim Hill

… there's also an array of American icons. Among them
Marilyn Monroe …

Photo by Jim Hill

… and that farmer couple from Grant Wood's "American
Gothic."

Photo by Jim Hill

But for those of you who know your NYC history, it's hard to
beat that piece which recreates Alfred Eisenstaedt's famous photograph of V-J Day in Times Square.

Photo by Jim Hill

By the way, a 25-foot-tall version of this particular Seward
Johnson piece ( which — FYI — is entitled "Embracing Peace") will actually
be placed in Times Square for a few days on or around August 14th to commemorate the 70th
anniversary of Victory Over Japan Day (V-J Day).

Photo by Jim Hill

By the way, if you'd like to check these Seward Johnson bronzes in
person (which — it should be noted — are part of the part of the Garment
District Alliance's new public art offering) — you'd best schedule a trip to
the City sometime over the next three months. For these pieces will only be on
display now through September 15th.

General

Wondering what you should “Boldly Go” see at the movies next year? The 2015 Licensing Expo offers you some clues

Published

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