Tag: Pixar

  • Disney Legends 2013

    At the previous D23 Expo in 2011, the Disney Legends ceremony was the kick-off event for Day 1; it was a fantastic session that set the bar for everything that followed.   The inductees in 2011 including the singing voices of 4 Disney princesses  (Jodi Benson – Ariel, Page O’Hara – Belle, Lea Salonga – Jasmine & Mulan, and Anika Noni Rose – Tiana), among other honorees.   The four voice actresses sang individually, as well as together, as part of the ceremony.    We also got a live performance from Brian Henson as his father Jim was inducted as a Disney Legend.   These performances were so memorable that there didn’t seem to be any way the 2013 ceremony could top that.

    The 2013 Disney Legends included 8 new honorees, 4 of whom were present plus 4 that were being honored posthumously.    There were no performances this time, so the ceremony was not as energetic or exciting — but it was moving, and I think everyone in the audience was touched and felt privileged to be a part of the celebration of the work of the newest Disney Legends.

    Tom Bergeron (Host of Dancing with the Stars and Americas Lamest Jokes with Videos) hosted along with Bob Iger (Disney CEO)

    Tony Baxter

    The first honoree was Tony Baxter, for Imagineering.   Tony worked his way up at Disneyland, starting out scooping ice cream in the park.    Tom shared a brief recap of the story of how during a break, Tony snuck in to the still-under-construction Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, where he got a personal tour of the ride from legendary Imagineer Claude Coats (who would later become Tony’s mentor in Imagineering).   I’ve heard Tony tell a longer version of this story at another D23 event, and it really captures some of the pride of craftsmanship and eagerness to share that characterizes the greatest Imagineers.

    Tony was moved into Imagineering in 1970 and participated in development of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.    He returned to California to work on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.   He participated in the development of many well-known attractions at various Disney parks after that, including The Living Seas, The Land, Journey Into Imagination, Star Tours, Indiana Jones Adventure, and Splash Mountain.   He was the executive producer of Disneyland Paris and continued work on various Imagineering projects until his quasi-retirement in 2013   (he remains an advisor to Imagineering).

    In his remarks, Tony said that one of the secrets to success is recapturing the naive optimism of a 12 year old who believes that anything you can imagine is possible, and said that Disney is a company that encourages employees to find that childlike place again.

    Ed Wynn

    Ed Wynn’s career started in vaudeville and continued in television, movies, and on Broadway.    He was best known as a comic actor but did dramatic roles as well (earning an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for The Diary of Anne Frank).

    His association with Disney begin with voicing the character of The Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland.    (The King Candy character in Wreck-it-Ralph is a tribute, as Alan Tudyk does a pretty spot-on impression of Wynn’s voice in the role) .

    He did many other Disney roles in films such as Babes In Toyland,  The Absent-Minded Professor, Son of Flubber, and several others, but no role was better remembered than that of Uncle Albert in Mary Poppins.

    Mr. Wynn’s granddaughter accepted the Disney Legends award on behalf of her grandfather.

    Collin Campbell

    Collin Campbell was an animator and, later, an Imagineer with Disney.    As an animator, he worked on such classics as Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty and 101 Dalmatians.    He’s another case of someone working their way up on the inside, having started with the company as a messenger.

    Collin was one of the employees assigned to WED (the precursor to Imagineering) to produce attractions for the 1964 New York World’s Fair.    He built models and sets for the fair exhibits Magic Skyway, it’s a small world, and Carousel of Progress.   At Disneyland he worked on The Enchanted Tiki Room, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Club 33.

    Moving on to Walt Disney World, Collin produced concept art for the resort hotels and worked on areas such as Tom Sawyer Island and the entrance and queue to Pirates of the Caribbean.

    Collin retired in 1990, but returned to work on the Tom Sawyer Island renovation at Disneyland.   He passed away in 2011.

    The Disney Legends award for Collin was accepted by his son Jim.

    John Goodman

    John is best known for his work outside of Disney, as an actor in both dramatic and comedic roles in movies, TV, and on Broadway.   He was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actor in a Music for Big River.   He frequently appears in Coen Brothers films such as Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, and Barton Fink.

    He is probably best known for playing Dan Conner in the long-running sitcom Roseanne, earning a Golden Globe and seven Emmy nominations.

    His Disney appearances include the films Arachnophobia, Born Yesterday, Stella, Coyote Ugly, and Confessions of a Shopaholic.

    His most loved Disney/Pixar work as as Sulley in Monsters, Inc. and this year’s Monsters University, but he has also lent his voice to animated characters in The Emperor’s New Groove, Kronk’s New Groove, The Jungle Book 2, and The Princess and the Frog.

    In accepting the award, he indicated that he really felt he and Billy Crystal were being honored as a team; somewhat unusually for animated voice work, they performed their lines together in the studio rather than recording them separately.    (He also was thankful that he didn’t have to follow Billy in his acceptance).   John also said that it the true honor was just in being cast to work with the Disney artists in the first place.

    Billy Crystal

    Billy Crystal was a successful stand-up comic who gained a national audience through his appearances on the shows Soap (1977-81) and Saturday Night Live (1984-1985).   He hosted several Comic Relief fundraisers along with Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams.

    He appeared in a number of Rob Reiner films including The Princess Bride (“Have fun storming the castle!”) and When Harry Met Sally.     He was nominated for Golden Globes 3 times for his film work.

    He turned down the opportunity to voice Buzz Lightyear in the original Toy Story film before voicing Mike Wazowski in Monsters, Inc, a role he has called his favorite character he ever played.    He recently reprised the role for this year’s Monsters University.

    As a 9-time host of the Academy Awards, Billy has surpassed everyone but Bob Hope in the number of times hosting the show.

    In accepting the award, he reflected on the change in how we watch entertainment today — specifically recalling how watching Disney movies was something that brought the whole family together, with everyone watching together, rather than everyone wrapped up on their own iPad / iPhone or other device and doing their own thing.

    Dick Clark

    Dick Clark was recognized for his enormous contributions in the television industry, as a host and producer.

    His best-known contributions are American Bandstand, which he hosted for over 30 years, and the annual New Years Rockin’ Eve special which he also hosted for over 30 years.   In addition to those shows, he performed on or produced many game shows, awards shows, and specials.

    Dick won five Emmy awards and is a member of both the Television Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll hall of fame.    He passed away in 2012 and his Disney Legend award was accepted by his wife, Kari.

    Glen Keane

    Glen spent 38 years as a Disney animator, and is the pencil (or computer-pointing device) behind some of the most beloved characters of the second Golden Age of Disney Animation.

    His father, Bil Keane, is the cartoonist behind the long-running Family Circus comic and devised all six of the jokes used in the strip.

    Glen joined Disney just as the last animators that directly worked under Walt were approaching retirement, and was mentored by such greats as Frank Thomas & Ollie Johnston and Eric Larson.

    Characters animated by Glen include Penny (The Rescuers), Elliott (Pete’s Dragon), Tod, Vixey, and the bear (The Fox and the Hound),  Ariel (The Little Mermaid), the Beast (Beauty and the Beast), and the title characters in Aladdin, Pocahontas, and Tarzan.

    Glen did much of the original development work on the Rapunzel story that eventually morphed into Tangled.

    Glen retired from Disney in 2012 but continues to teach and inspire new artists.

    Steve Jobs

    Steve Jobs is obviously best-known for his contributions to Apple, but his contributions to Pixar are bigger than many (or most) people realize.   Before reading Walter Issacson’s biography, I had assumed Steve was just an investor / owner; only after reading about his involvement did I realize how important his contributions were to the company that Pixar became.

    When Disney acquired Pixar in 2006, Steve became Disney’s largest shareholder and a member of the Board of Directors.

    Steve’s award was accepted by Pixar and Disney future legend John Lasseter.   The acceptance was certainly the most moving part of the Legends ceremony, and perhaps the most moving moment of the entire expo.     I recommend watching it here.

    That concludes the 2013 Disney Legends; inductions are now biannual to coincide with the Expo so then next class of inductees will be named in 2015 shortly before that year’s Expo.

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  • D23 Expo 2013: Art and Imagination (Part I: Pixar)

    The 2013 D23 Expo kicked off with a presentation of upcoming animated feature releases from the various Disney studios.

    We were welcomed by Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company.   (Bob was here live this year; two years ago his introduction was taped).   He mentioned that since the last Expo, Disney has acquired LucasFilm, but that we wouldn’t be getting details of Star Wars Episode VII during the Expo.   He also said this Expo was the biggest yet.

    Bob then turned the floor over to Bob Lasseter, who was the host for the remainder of the 3-hour presentation.   John is the Chief Creative Officer at Pixar, Disneytoon, and Walt Disney Animation Studios, as well as the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering (in other words, he has ALL the best jobs at Disney).

    The presentation was divided by studios, so I’ll divide the blog posts accordingly.   First up:  Pixar.

    We first heard about the success of Monsters University, currently in theaters.   John mentioned that one of the break-out characters from the film that really surprised them was the slug.   And then John was joined on stage by SNL alum Bil Hader, the voice of the slug.   They had a brief bit of banter before John announced the first D23 Exclusive of the day:  we were shown a new Monsters University short film, Party Central.   This was a really cute short film  that will be released theatrically in front of The Good Dinosaur.

    And that lead us in to a discussion of The Good Dinosaur, Pixar’s next film.   The premise here is: what if the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs missed the Earth?   director Pete Sohn and producer Denise Ream came on stage to discuss the film.   The first clip shown was of the dinosaurs engaged in farming activities.   This was a very lovely, pastoral scene that was different in tone from the funnier scenes that followed.    The animation style (particularly the character design) is more cartoony, and less photo-realistic, than I had anticipated based on what I heard previously.

    The voice cast includes John Lithgow, Frances McDormand, Bill Hader, Neil Patrick Harris, Judy Green, and Lucas Neff.    Bill and Lucas came out to talk a bit about the film, they both play siblings in the featured dino family.   We then saw another clip of the film, where Arlo (Luca’s character) meets a human for the first time.

    The Good Dinosaur will be in theaters in 2014.

    The next film presented was Inside Out.   (Announced at the 2011 Expo as The Untitled Pixar Film That Takes You Inside the Mind, but for some reason they chose not to stick with that title).    I can’t help but think of this as Cranium Command: The Movie — fans of that shuttered Epcot attraction will recognize the story line similarity.

    The movie as about 11 year old Riley, a young girl whose family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco.   As she adjusts to her new surroundings, we see her emotions personified as characters in her head.   The voice cast features Lewis Black as Anger; Mindy Kaling as Disgust; Bill Hader as Fear, Amy Poehler as Joy, and Phyllis Smith as Sadness.

    Phyllis Smith (The Office) and Bill “I’m not Dwight” Hader then came out to talk about the film.   Phyllis certainly nailed the Sadness role as she was in character throughout.

    The film takes us various places inside the brain, from HeadQuarters (the command center) to Long Term Memory, Imagination Central, Abstract Thought, and Dream Production.   All these areas are connected by the Train of Thought.

    We saw a story reel (essentially storyboards plus temp voice tracks) showing how a family dinner goes with the family — we get to see the inner emotions of the Mom and Dad as well as Riley, and the hilarious scene went over very well with the audience.   This looks like a gem.

    Next:  Finding Dory.   Director Andrew Stanton and producer Lindsey Collins set up the film, which takes place about a year after Finding Nemo.   Dory’s homing instinct kicks in and she takes off to search for her original family; her new family then has to search for her.   Voice cast includes returning Albert Brooks (Marlin) and Ellen DeGeneres (Dory), plus Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy as Dory’s parents, Ty Burrell, and more voice cast to be announced later.    At this point Bill Hader came on stage dressed as a Sea Cucumber to beg to be cast in the movie … with 3 Pixar films in a row under his belt, if he could just get one more, he could become Pixar’s “Lucky Charm”.

    Well, that comment just could not be allowed to stand.   At this point Pixar’s reigning lucky charm, John Ratzenberger, came onto stage accompanied by a full brass band that punctuated his every joke with a rim shot or appropriate flourish.    We saw a slideshow of all 14 of the characters John has voiced in Pixar films.    I don’t think Bill will be unseating John anytime soon.

    John Lasseter then explained that Pixar has been thinking about TV specials even before they did the first Toy Story, but now have finally created their first.   Toy Story of Terror will debut this Halloween, and we were treated to the first 10 minutes of the special.

    That concludes the Pixar portion of the animation presentation … the next post will pick up with the Disneytoon Studios project calendar.

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  • D23 Expo Preview: Panels and Performances

    Really tough choices in picking what to see and do at the D23 Expo.

    To some degree, I’m being guided this year by what things blew me away in 2011.   So the Legends ceremony in 2011 was incredible, and as a result I’m planning to do Legends this year even though it’s got some tough competition in the timeslot.

    This might change between now and show time, but as it stands now here are the things I plan to attend.

    Saturday:

    • Art and Imagination:  A preview of upcoming Disney and Pixar animated features.
    • Undiscovered Disneyland:  stories, film, and photos from the construction and early years in the park.
    • Marty Sklar:  Dream It, Do It.    Walt’s right-hand man for theme parks, one of several presentations Marty will be involved in this week
    • The Art and Artistry of Aulani – Disney Vacation Club’s Hawaiian resort
    • Broadway and Beyond – live performances from cast members of Disney’s various Broadway productions

    Saturday

    • Let the Adventures Begin:  A preview of upcoming Disney, Marvel, and LucasFilm live action features.
    • Once Upon a Time panel – a look at the ABC TV series
    • Disney Legends Ceremony – inducting this year’s newly named Legends
    • Crash Course in the Force:  Star Wars 101.   Curious to see if we’ll learn anything new about the upcoming features.
    • Richard Sherman and Alan Menken in concert — the Disney Songbook.

    Sunday

    • Working With Walt — an incredible panel of Disney Legends featuring Marty Sklar, X Atencio, Alice Davis, and Bob Gurr
    • To Infinity and Beyond:  Disney Interactive.   Need to finally figure out what this Disney Infinity thing really is.
    • Leading a Legacy –  Disney Imagineering panel
    • Leave ’em Laughing – Disney Imagineering panel

    I’m happy with those choices — but so many great-sounding presentations didn’t make it onto my final list, including

    • Behind the Scenes of Mary Poppins, with Dave Smith
    • Mayhem, Mischief, and Monkeys – the Mystic Manor attraction at Hong Kong Disneyland
    • Inside the Ice — a look at the upcoming Frozen animated feature
    • Voices of the Parks — the voices you hear throughout Disney theme parks share stories
    • The Art of the Good Dinosaur – a look at the upcoming Pixar feature
    • The DNA of Innovation – another Disney Imagineering presentation
    • Women of Pixar – the write-up on this doesn’t list the panelists, so not sure if they are primarily animators, executives, or a mix.
    • Craft of Creativity – another Disney Imagineering presentation

    I hope to hear from others who are attending these sessions so I can get a recap of what I missed.

    Panels and presentations are only a portion of what goes on at the Expo — there are also meet-and-greets, lots of shopping opportunities, artists, podcasters, and of course just meeting and hanging out with fellow fans.    More on all those things as the Expo gets underway, starting with the Sorcerer Preview day on Thursday August 8th.

    See ya real soon!

  • Expo Anticipation

    This year I’ll be attending my second D23 Expo … for the first expo in 2009, there wasn’t a whole lot of information released ahead of time, and I decided to take a pass.    When I saw updates from the Expo as it was happening, I realized I’d made a bad call … there was some amazing stuff going on, and I was missing out!

    So for the 2011 Expo I was there for all 3 days.  I absolutely loved what I saw — but what I saw was only a small fraction of what I wanted to see.    Unlike most of the other D23 events, where a ticket guarantees you a seat at every presentation, an Expo ticket only grants you the right to stand in line to get into the presentations.   Many of the most popular presentations filled up well ahead of their starting time, so anyone showing up a few minutes before a presentation was not going to find a seat.    So, if you wanted to see a 2 pm presentation, you pretty much had to forgo any presentations at 1 pm and start lining up between noon and 1 pm for the 2 o’clock.   For the main arena presentations, typically held first thing in the morning, lining up outside the convention center 2 hours ahead of doors opening was pretty much the minimum … for a while on Saturday we actually believed we were going to be the very last people admitted to the Studios presentation (they cut off the line behind us, but later let through about 100 more people).

    So, this year I wanted to maximize my chances to see as much as I could … which means Sorcerer.   A very limited number of Sorcerer tickets are sold, and each ticket guarantees a seat at any presentation (it appears we will be asked to register for the presentations we plan to attend just before the expo, so that they’ll have an exact count of how many seats to set aside in each presentation).     It’s a pricey indulgence, but for a once-every-two-years event, with a lot of content that will never be repeated anywhere at any price, I thought it would be worth it.   I hope they prove me right.

    So I’m watching the schedule as it fills in on the web site (D23 doesn’t announce everything at once, but trickles out the content in the weeks leading up to the Expo).    Already I see some tough choices … Friday morning at 10 am is the Animation presentation, with John Lassiter, covering all the upcoming Disney and Pixar animated features.    I have to be there for that … but that means I’ll miss Dave Smith (Disney Archivist Emeritus) discussing the making of Mary Poppins, and the Imagineers discussing the Mystic Manor attraction at Hong Kong Disneyland.     If only I had a few clones to send to those other presentations!

    Things got a little more real this week when the Expo credentials arrived … it’s very exciting to have my tickets in hand, but seriously … couldn’t they have run this through a spell checker and found the correct spelling of Sorcerer?

    IMG_3614

    I think the things I’m looking forward to most at this point are the evening concerts .. Friday night we get “Broadway and Beyond”, featuring current and previous cast members of Disney Theatrical Group’s Broadway productions.    Then on Saturday, Alan Menken and Richard Sherman take the stage together for the first time … I saw Menken perform at the Destination D: 75 Years of Disney Feature Animation event and it was a highlight.    I’m sure this will be an equally memorable evening.

    If you’re at the Expo this year, look for me and say hi … and comment below with what you’re most looking forward to at this year’s Expo.

  • Destination D: Day 1 Afternoon & Evening Highlights

    (for coverage of the Saturday morning presentations see here)

    Inside Walt Disney Animation Studios Today

    Based on the title, I thought we might be getting some insight into how the animation department works today (how CG and hand-drawn animation departments compete or co-operate, and similarly for Disney and Pixar animation groups).   Instead, this was really a look at upcoming animated features and shorts.

    Frozen

    The first feature that we heard about was Frozen.  This is a Holiday 2013 release.  I had not heard anything about this feature prior to Destination D, so it was exciting to get a look at something completely new.

    The presenter was CG animator Darrin Butters (Prep & Landing, Bolt, Fantasia 2000, and others).

    Frozen is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen.   We saw a number of story sketches here; no finished animation was previewed.

    The story focuses on two sisters, younger Anna (Kristen Bell) and older Elsa (Idina Menzel from Wicked, Rent, and Enchanted).   Few plot details were given other than it involves a curse, some prophecy, and snowmen sidekicks.

    Songs will be provided by Bobby Lopez & Kristen Anderson Lopez (Book of Mormon, Avenue Q, Winnie the Pooh).   We heard one song from the movie, “Let it Go”, performed live for us on stage to close out the presentation.

    Paperman

    The short film Paperman will play in front of Wreck-it Ralph coming this November.   We were shown this delightful film in its entirety, and were the first non-industry audience to see it.

    The presentation prior to showing the film described the unique animation style that is a blend of hand-drawn and computer generated.  The idea is to preserve the animators original sketch lines (which usually get cleaned up) all the way to final animation.   The technique was interesting but it was really the story that made this stand out.

    Paperman is the story of a chance encounter; boy meets girl on subway platform, then they are separated.   While at work, he spots her in a building across the street, and tries desperately to reach her with a paper airplane.   Then another.   Then another.    You’ll have to see the film to find whether it all works out in the end.

    Wreck-it Ralph

    The final film discussed in this presentation was Wreck-it Ralph, coming in November.    We were shown about 10 minutes of footage from the movie.  I think most of the information that was shared with us (casting, plot details) was already known, so I’ll just recap briefly.

    Ralph (John C. Reilly) is the villain in the 80s style arcade video game Fix-it Felix Jr.  (Felix is Jack McBrayer).   But Ralph doesn’t want to be a bad guy anymore.  So he leaves his game in search of a place he can be the hero.  (The premise here is that the power cord for the game leads to a ‘Game Central Station’ — a power strip where all the games are plugged in — allowing characters to come and go, and enter other games.

    Ralph’s adventures will take him to the Sugar Rush game (think Mario Cart) where he’ll meet Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) and Hero’s Duty (similar to Call of Duty or any first-person shooter) where he’ll encounter Sgt. Calhoun (Jane Lynch).

    The different games have very different visual styles which definitely makes things  interesting to look at.   There are many, many cameos by game characters dating from classics such as Pac-Man and QBert right up to present day.

    The Greatest Disney Animation You Never Saw

    This sounded like it would be a fun presentation, and it certainly was.   This was a presentation of Disney rarities — I probably had seen close to half of what was presented here, and given the Disney Geek quality of the audience I was probably not unusual in this respect.   But the animation that was shown has been in the vault for a long time, so it’s certainly hard-to-find, rare footage that it was fun to see again, or for the first time, as the case may be.

    Don Hahn and Dave Bossert were the hosts.   The format was to alternate film snippets (or in some case complete shorts) with commercials; it was very entertaining to get a look back at a time when Disney was more than willing to have their characters used in ads for all sorts of products.

    The playlist:

    • Back to Neverland.   I absolutely loved seeing this again — it was the original introductory film to the Animation Tour at the Disney-MGM Studios park.  The film features Robin Williams and Walter Cronkite and is vastly superior to the current film with Eddie Murphy’s Mushu character from Mulan.   Can we bring this one back, please?   Also, we were told that Robin’s performance here led to his being approached for the role of the Genie in Aladdin.
    • A 1950’s “I Like Ike” commercial produced by Roy O. Disney  (Walt’s brother, Roy E.’s dad)
    • The Roger Rabbit short “Tummy Trouble” (1989).
    • A commercial for American Motors featuring Jiminy Cricket (for the 1955 Nash Ambassador).
    • The pre-show film from Cranium Command at EPCOT’s Wonders of Life pavilion.  Directed by Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale who would go on to do Beauty and the Beast.
    • A commercial for Peter Pan peanut butter featuring Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, and Captain Hook
    • Film of Walt performing Mickey’s voice for “Mr. Mouse Steps Out”
    • A commercial for Jell-O featuring Alice and the Cheshire Cat.
    • An extended deleted sequence from Who Framed Roger Rabbit where Eddie is “tooned” (has a pig’s face painted on his head).
    • Roger Rabbit advertising Diet Coke
    • Early pencil animation for a very different version of the Fantasia 2000 Pomp and Circumstance segment.   In this one, we get a parade of all of the Disney princesses and many other characters both major and minor.   At the end of the segment, a flock of storks, led by Dumbo, deliver babies to each of the princesses.   A true what-were-they-thinking moment that had the audience unsure whether to laugh or cringe.
    • An ad for Disney Magix cereal, from the 1990s, featuring Mickey.
    • A sequence pitch for a never-produced Hiawatha movie.
    • Another Peter Pan ad, this one with a cowboy and a spaceman.   (Definitely not Woody and Buzz, but maybe this was inspiration)
    • and finally, the Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah segment from Song of the South.

    This whole presentation was just wonderful; kudos to whoever curated the content as it was a great mix of historically significant pieces, just-for-laughs segments, and great nostalgia for bygone attractions.

    Animating the Disney Parks

    Like some of the morning sessions, this was a session that focused very much on personalities rather than technical aspects.    Essentially there are three individuals whose contributions to the parks were featured, although a lot of other imagineers and animators were mentioned along the way.

    Claude Coats was the first to be featured.   Tony Baxter (Sr. VP, Imagineering and future Disney Legend) who worked with Claude, did this part of the presentation.   Claude did the show design for some of Disneylands’s most memorable attractions, including the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Alice in Wonderland, and Mr. Toad.  At EPCOT he contributed to Horizons, World of Motion, Universe of Energy, and several others.    On several projects he collaborated with Mary Blair.

    Claude Coats with Mary Blair

     

    The next Imagineer to be featured was Herb Ryman.   If you’ve ever seen concept art for Disneyland or EPCOT, it was most likely Herb’s work.   The original concept drawing for Disneyland, shown to investors to help line up financing for the park, is a Herb Ryman piece.

    Herb Ryman’s Disneyland concept art

     

    Next we hear about Marc Davis.   As an animator, Marc worked on Bambi, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan (Tinkerbell), and others.  He drew some of the definitive Disney villains including Maleficient and Cruella de Vil.   As an Imagineer he worked on it’s a small world, the Jungle Cruise, the Tiki Room, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and others.

    An Evening with Dick Van Dyke

    After a day full of presentations, after dinner we had a fabulous performance by Dick Van Dyke and his a capella group, the Vantastix.   They opened with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and continued with selections from Bye Bye Birdie. Mary Poppins (of course!), Jungle Book, Dumbo and quite few others.   It was a magical evening of music and laughter, if you ever have the chance to see this group perform, don’t miss it.   (Buy their CD here)

    Dick Van Dyke and the Vantastix perform