“It's fun to do the impossible.” That is one of Walt Disney's most popular events, often used in the context of the wonders of the theme park imagined by the company he created.
Throughout the decades, Walt Disney Imagineering, the secret arm of the Walt Disney Co. dedicated to the experiences of the thematic parks, has dreamed a room full of birds and flowers singing, gave life to a mini New Orleans, captured the idealism of space flight and modern transport renounced, for appointing only some of its many varied achievements.
For his last trick, Imagineering will try to resurrect a kind of life, that is, completely encourage a highly accurate robotic creation of one of the most recognizable figures of the twentieth century, Walt Disney himself. For the first time last summer at the D23 convention of the company's fans, the goal, said Disney Experiences, Josh D'Amaro, in the event, is to capture “how it would have been to be in the presence of Walt.”
That means finding a middle ground between romanticism and realism.
Imagineers Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz, on the left, and Tom Fitzgerald, are directors of “Walt Disney, a magical life”, which will debut in the house of the main street in Disneyland on July 17. The show will have a realistic robotic figure of Walt Disney.
(Mike Pucher / Disneyland Resort)
On Wednesday morning, Imagineering was reviewed for a select media group, the next program “Walt Disney, a magical life”, will premiere on July 17 to coincide with the 70th official Anniversary of Disneyland, when an attraction centered on a robotic Abraham Lincoln will temporarily displaced. An early sculpture of what would become the animatronic, a complete with age spots and Disney's tiredness around their eyes, the imaginators emphasized that their intention is faithful precision, but much of the attraction remains secret, is revealed. The animatronic was not shown, or imagining any image of the figure, which promises will be one of the most technically advanced.
Instead, Imagineering sought to show the attention in which he was returning Disney while trying to calm any fear with respect to what has become a very weakened project among the Disney community. When D'Amaro released “a magical life” last summer, he pointed out that he had the support of the Disney family, pointing out Disney's grandson, Roy P. Disney, who was at the audience.
However, soon, a monitor of critical social networks for the attraction of Walt's granddaughter would go viral. He raised new ethical questions that often surround any project that tries to capture the dead through technology, whether they are holographic representations of artists or cinematographic animations recreated digitally, namely, debates surrounding the wishes of the deceased and if such creations are exploiting. “Dehumizing,” Joanna Miller wrote in his Facebook publication about the figure.
The animatronic represents a change in the thought of Walt Disney Co., since most of his robotic figures are representations of fictional characters or political figures that are too saturated as those of the Florida president's hall, in which new politicians are added while living. It could be said that the Walt Disney Co. proved for the first time the public's will to adopt a resurrected Disney through a holographic projection for its “Disney 100 tour: the exhibition”, which initially raised some eyebrows.
The imaginer for a long time Tom Fitzgerald, known for his work in the dear Disney projects, such as Star Tours and The Guardians of the Galaxy Coaster in Florida, said Wednesday that “a magical life” has been in process for about seven years. When asked directly about ethical concerns of representing the deceased through a robotic figure, Fitzgerald pointed out the importance of Walt Disney's history, not only for the company but also for culture in general.
Disney Imagineers work in the Walt Disney closet for the new animatronic show, “Walt Disney, a magical life.” Seen here there is a close -up of the seam of a logo for the Smoke Tree ranch by Palm Springs, a favorite Disney retreat. The place will be represented in the Disney tie.
(Mike Pucher / Disneyland Resort)
“His life story had already been told in these other formats,” says Fitzgerald, referring to the movie “Walt Disney: One Man's Dream”, which is currently broadcast on Hollywood studies in Florida. “What could we do in Disneyland for our audience that would be part of our vernacular tools kit, but that would give life to Walt in a way that you could only experiment in the park? We feel that technology had come there. We feel that it was necessary to tell that story in a new way.”
Disneyland, in contrast to the other parks of the company worldwide, gives a premium to historical attractions, partly because it is the only park that Disney entered. The Patriarch of the Park even had a small apartment in Main Street, USA, in which the night spent. After his initial career during celebration 70, “A Magical Life” will play in conjunction with “great moments with Mr. Lincoln” thanks to a recently built rotating stage. A new gallery prior to the show will have a mini creation of the Disney apartment and will also reveal some artifacts never seen before, such as the first Disneyland master plans.
The figure, essentially, was created in part to anticipate criticism. Fitzgerald points out that the modern public, with the ability to expand a character through a smartphone, are much more demanding. The Animatronic will be aimed at representing Disney in 1963. Disney died in 1966 at age 65.
“You need to be able to talk to your hands. Hands, very important,” says Fitzgerald. “When you see Walt Disney speaking, it is very expressive with your hands when he speaks. He also has expressive eyebrows, of which many of you had heard. When he speaks, he talks to the eyebrows … one of the things I discovered when I saw the footage, does not blink when he speaks.” Therefore, by encouraging the ocular movements of the figure, says Fitzgerald, there was a lot of discussion about his “flicker profile”, ensuring that he coincides with the filmed images.
Although the exact arc of the program was not revealed, which will be revealed about 17 minutes, Fitzgerald and his partner Imagineer Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz, who was instrumental in the recent reinvention of Tontown by Disneyland, said that all dialogue will be taken directly from Disney's speeches. The stage will be in the Disney office, and during much of the Disney show will rely on its desk, although the figure was provided to be able to stand up.
Fitzgerald and Shaver-Moskowitz point out that they investigated the size of the Disney shoe, looked at molds from their hands and even tried, and failed, discovered which hair products used Disney. It will wear a tie stamped with the Palm Springs Smoke Tree Rancho Tree, a favorite Disney retirement.
“We do not ask for an animatronic to look like Walt,” says Shaver-Moskowitz. “We built a Walt Animatronic to offer an performance that was specifically Walt.”
The veteran Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald reviews the graphic scripts associated with “Walt Disney, a magical life”, which is launched on July 17 in Disneyland. The program will include a robotic figure of Walt Disney, as well as a short film.
(Mike Pucher / Disneyland Resort)
However, can any animatronic capture the essence of a human, even a theatrical interpretation of one?
“I could never get the chance of his conversation,” wrote Disney's granddaughter, Miller, in his publication. While those who know the Disney family have confirmed the veracity of the position, attempts to get to Miller have not been successful. It is said that the members of the Walt Disney family are divided, and many support the animatronics and some others against them, they say to those who know that they have refused to speak in the record of the fear of ruining their relationships.
“I was so fascinated with technology, and also with the intersection between technology and art,” says Kirsten Komoroske, executive director of the Walt Disney Family Museum of Disney. Multiple descendants of Disney sit in several boards with which the family museum is associated, and Komoroske says that those who work with the institution have promised their support for the animatronics. “They really feel that this project would have liked.”
Others who knew Disney, such as the legendary Imagineer Bob Gur, the Disneyland Monorraíl designer, Matterhorn's bobsleds and more, as well as a fundamental collaborator in the figure of Lincoln, have confirmed that they have seen the animatronic but have chosen not to discuss it. “I am embarked,” Gurr al Times told only that the public would have “a great reaction.”
Imaginators were asked about Miller's comments. Dusty Sage, executive editor of the Disney fans site, Micechat, told the audience that he has spoken with Miller and his main concern was that Disney never wanted to become a robotic figure.
“In all our research, we never found any Walt documentation saying that,” says Shaver-Moskowitz. “We know that it is anecdotal and we cannot talk about what was told people in private and we cannot talk to Joanna's specific feelings about the project. But we have worked very diligently for many years with the Walt Disney Family Museum and members of the Disney and Miller family … We have taken care that the family is along the trip with us and we feel that we have presented a faithful presentation The living medium in the living medium in the middle that keeps the medium in the middle in the middle that keeps the medium in the middle in the middle that keeps the medium in the middle that maintains the medium in the middle that maintains the medium in the middle that maintains the medium in the middle of the family that keeps the medium in the middle of the family.
Walt Disney Co. has made a significant effort over the years to mitologize Disney. Disney statues can be found in Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, and the baratijas who carry their image, including an adorn from the latter, can occasionally be seen for sale in the park's gift stores. The reality of who Disney was darkened.
“Walt Disney – a magical life” will walk a very fine line when it opens, trying to inspire a new generation to look at Disney's life and at the same time portray it as more than a character in the Arsenal of the Park.
“Why are we doing this now?” Fitzgerald says. “For two reasons. One is the 70th anniversary of Disneyland is an ideal time in which we plan to create a permanent tribute to Walt Disney in the opera. The other: I grew up watching Walt Disney on television. I suppose I am the old man. Old man in our living room every week and talked and was very informal and that I felt he knew the man. But many people do not know that Walt was an individual.
And now almost 60 years after his death, Disney once more Grace Main Street, whether the public, or even some members of his family, is ready to greet him.
