Trifter

Until I was 46, the name of Disney meant little to me personally. Yes, of course I’ve always been familiar with Disney movies and cartoons from an early age, but the Disney magic had never grabbed me. I could take it or leave it. Cartoons are things that I have always enjoyed, and that has not changed. I used to love watching Bugs Bunny, Roadrunner and that poor coyote who was always plotting ways to catch him, as well as other familiars such as Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Tweetie Pie, oh yes, and Pepe La Pew who had an insatiable appetite for young female felines whom he thought were skunks. Then there are the giants of the cartoon industry, Tom & Jerry. They are true cartoon legends with their crazy antics, accompanied often by that magnificent chap Spike the dog, turning it into a dog v cat v mouse scenario, often quite violent, yet extremely hilarious. I could go on for ages talking about the golden days of the cartoon on television, but I will be digressing from the main subject of this article if I do.

At the grand old age of 46 I discovered the real Disney, during a trip to Florida and Walt Disney World. I went along with the family, not really knowing what to expect, so I had no preconceived ideas as to what I could find when I was there. I am not a ride person, so I wasn’t really interested in them anyway, but there was so much more to see and do at WDW that did interest me. There were various shows that, without exaggerating, were simply breathtaking in their execution.

In front of Cinderella’s Castle at Magic Kingdom, a cast of characters perform a beautiful song and dance show, with special effects and ending with a flourish of fireworks that draw lots of “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd, along with well deserved applause and ovations.

Some used visual effects and 3-D animation that were astonishing. Philharmagic at Magic Kingdom was absolutely stunning where animated characters and other items suddenly came right at you once your eyes were behind a pair of 3-D specs. I remember watching people in the audience actually reaching out their hands as if to catch, touch and even to save themselves from being hit by flying animated objects. I know that because I was one of those people!

Some shows used quite complex puppetry, with additional effects that include spraying the audience with water, moving floors, not to mention the feeling of having “things” running around your feet and across your shoulders as thoughtfully placed jet air jets make the audience jump, scream and laugh. These interactive shows really are excellent. The workmanship involved in putting one these shows together must be mind-blowing.

Other shows involve the use of human characters who handle their parts extremely professionally, with acting that is every bit as good as what we come to expect at the movies and on TV. Beauty and the Beast at Disney MGM Studios (as it was then) was brilliant and the Fantasmic show just took my breath away with the effects of showing animated images on water fountains along with all the acting by the cast of characters and use of the lake upon which Fantasmic is set, with the boats becoming parade floats.

At Animal Kingdom there is a magnificent Lion King show that involves human actors and performers such as acrobats, dancers, fire jugglers and wonderful lighting effects.

At Epcot, the fireworks display across the large lagoon is awesome, using a large sphere which represents the Earth, and is used as a screen for myriad images and effects. Fireworks displays are a nightly occurrence at Magic Kingdom too, around Cinderella’s Castle.

Disney have it all covered. The attention to detail is awe inspiring and everything seems to work like clockwork. Yes, it can be said that it should do as everybody involved does it every day, but the complexities of what they do, and the ease in which things can go wrong demonstrate the professionalism of all those concerned, for their ability to focus and to make every show as good as or better than the last.

Then there is the history of Disney, which is the main thing that grabbed my attention at the time. It was nice to be able to look at some original artwork and storyboards from various movies as well as to see the many Oscars awarded to Walt Disney, including the one he received in 1932 for the creation of a certain Mickey Mouse. The place for the history stuff really is Disney MGM Studios, or should I say, Disney Hollywood studios following its name change for 2008. I just love the atmosphere there with all the art deco style buildings and streets that give a thick air of nostalgia of the golden days of movie making of the 30s and 40s. Disney Hollywood Studios is not just a Disney theme park though. As its name suggests, it is also a fully functional studio facility for recording and making movies both for the big screen and television. There is a fantastic stunt show involving lots of cars, people, guns and fire that gives insights into how some of the effects we all take for granted in the movies are actually done. The Indiana Jones stunt show is another one worthy of mention. It is both very entertaining and informative, and although I am not particularly into the Indiana Jones movies, I came away with a lot more appreciation of the work done by all the people involved on both sides of the camera.

It wasn’t until near the end of this holiday to Florida that the Disney magic finally grabbed me by the throat and gave me a good shaking to wake me up. It was during our second visit to Magic Kingdom, watching one of the many parades that punctuate the day at the parks. The parades incidentally are something else. The quality of the floats and again, the workmanship that goes into designing and building them is amazing. I digress.

The first float of this particular parade featured Mickey Mouse in his many guises through the years, from Steamboat Willie in 1928, through the Sorcerer’s Apprentice from Fantasia in 1940, to modern Mickey. In large letters adorning the front of this first float were the words, “It all started with a mouse”. That’s when it really hit home to me what this Disney thing really is all about.

The cynical approach is to say that Disney is all about money making, and of course it is. It has to be, for it is a multi-million dollar corporation. However, it’s not just any old multi-million dollar corporation. No, this is a corporation that exists to make people happy. It costs millions of dollars to make movies and television, to run the many parks and outlets it operates worldwide, to manufacture the merchandise that is abundant and to pay the wages of the many thousands of people employed throughout the Disney empire. It has to therefore, generate a massive income to enable the wheels of this huge industry to keep rolling. It does that too of course, but then it’s down to whether the income generated is received as a result of value for money or whether it is just something done on the cheap. Well, I am more than satisfied that it definitely is not something that is done on the cheap. If you have never been to Disney you will just have to take my word for it, but I can say with complete assurance that it really is value for money. The quality of the entertainment given by Disney is second to none. Where else can you pay one price and be treated to awesome shows, spectacular rides and a whole park where you really do escape the rigors of the real world for a day and enter a world of magic where dreams come true?

I genuinely believe that the money I spend paying for my Disney tickets is money well spent. A large percentage of that money is probably pumped back into the Disney parks to keep them running so smoothly and safely as they do.

Smoothly I said, yes, definitely smoothly. If you have ever been to one of the Walt Disney World Florida parks then you will see what I mean. The logistics of getting thousands of daily visitors in and out of the parks has been well and truly cracked by Disney. You can be in within minutes, and the same applies at the end of the day when it’s time to leave. You don’t feel like you are part of a crowd of people thousands strong, every one anxious to either get in or get home as quickly as possible. It is simply superb the way that Disney has conquered this problem.

So, now I am not only happy with the times I have spent so far at Disney, but I am now hooked by the Disney magic, the Disney history and everything that goes with that. I am not a big fan of every Disney film by any means, and I am not of the opinion that everything Disney does is brilliant, but I am a convert nonetheless. When the concept of a mouse can bring about so much joy and happiness to people around the world then it cannot be wrong can it?

We must not forget that Walt Disney did not have everything his own way when he first created Mickey. He had to fight to have him accepted by the people who decided what the public wanted to see, and it was not until the third Mickey short was made in 1928 (“Steamboat Willie”) that he finally met his public. Walt could easily have dropped the whole Mickey concept after failing to get his work shown in public after making “Plane Crazy” and “The Gallopin’ Gaucho”, but his perseverance finally paid off. Mickey went on to have a glittering career, going through a few physical changes along the way, as well as personality changes. In the very early Mickey shorts, he is depicted as being a bit mischievous, a bit of a bully, a smoker, a drinker, and a womaniser among other things. Eventually he calmed down and took on a more serious role as “leader” of a gang of characters including Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto. Minnie Mouse had been with Mickey right from the beginning, so it is only right to acknowledge her role in the Disney empire too.

Today, Mickey is but a bit-part player in the Disney scheme of things, and has taken a back seat to watch things from afar. Why shouldn’t he? 2008 sees his 80th birthday (and Minnie’s too) and he is only doing what any old man would do at that grand old age. What I do find rather special though, is the fact that Disney has never forgotten how it came to be, and Mickey Mouse is, as he has always been, still the face of Disney. I doubt that will ever change. It had better not, because without that face, Disney just would not be Disney.

The statue in front of Cinderella’s Castle in Magic Kingdom at Orlando is a beautiful reminder to everyone that without those two guys, none of what they are seeing would have been possible.