Bookmark This Page; The Disney Company in China, a podcast series

When the missus went on sabbatical I recorded a six-part series for the Pink Monorail Podcast on how the Disney Company started doing business in China. If you want to listen to the entire series then Bookmark This Page.

Disney in China, Episode 1

Disney in China, Episode 2

Disney in China, Episode 3

Disney in China, Episode 4

Disney in China, Episode 5

Disney in China, Episode 6

Have you ever visited any of the Disney parks in Asia? Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

When Disney made the best ghost stories!

It’s that time of the year where ghouls and ghosts take over our streets. Since I had been on a Disney kick I was thinking fondly about the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. I had talked about the attraction in the past and compared it to the God of War series. Specifically how the attraction, and game had richly themed environments. With that in mind I was wondering about how it was presented in game form.

I discovered an old Disney game that had a dedicated Haunted Mansion stage. Mickey no Tokyo Disneyland Daibōken was a game published by Tomy for the Super Famicom (SFC) in 1994. The game featured Mickey and his friends at Tokyo Disneyland. Mickey was trying to get his friends together to practice for a concert. Each friend just so happened to be located in a different area of the park.

There were bad guy weasels trying to keep Mickey from his duties as he traveled around. Of course Mickey had to be able to fight against bad guys, but in a Disney game you couldn’t really be too violent. So Mickey was given two types of balloons that he could use on his adventure. The water balloon he could bounce off of, as well as throw at his enemies. Then there was a helium balloon that allowed him to float to higher platforms, of breeze over gaps. Parents wouldn’t be able to object to Mickey defending himself with balloons after all.

The big attraction at each land was the basis for each stage. It was neat seeing how things like Big Thunder Mountain, and the Pirates of the Caribbean were turned into platforming levels.

The fourth stage was set in the Haunted Mansion. That attraction was arguably the greatest dark ride ever created. It was layered with so much detail that it developed a cult following. Even I was not immune to its importance in theme park history. In fact I wrote about the Hatbox Ghost 10 years ago on this blog. You can read about the history of the Haunted Mansion on the Disney Family Museum page. The fact that the Japanese game was able to turn iconic scenes featured in the attraction into actual stages was mind blowing. The “stretching room” for example was amazing, it took advantage of the SFC’s fabled “Mode 7.”

The attraction did not have a definitive story, but was rather a collection of spooky vignettes. An official album tried to tie together the various scenes. However many things were added, or removed through its history. Each of these changes were embraced by the fans. Fan theories spread among the community, in the ‘80s these were discussed in fanzines, and would eventually make their way online. Even leftovers from a refurbishment got a legend all to themselves.

The game even featured animated suits of armor. This was a brilliant callback. In the early days of the attraction in the late 1960’s they actually had cast members wearing the armor, and pop out to scare riders. This was eventually turned into a stationary animatronic that rattled.

The busts that followed visitors in the foyer, and the head of Madame Leota in a floating crystal ball also appeared in the game. The developers at Tomy had certainly done their homework. The attraction was filled with 999 Happy Haunts. There was plenty to pull from, and many ghosts that people should expect to see in a game.

The deepest cuts in the game were the ghost portraits. Not every painting by Disney Animator / Imagineer Marc Davis was featured in the original attraction, or the follow ups in Florida or Tokyo. The ghostly fisherman was part of a pirate theme that had originally been pitched for the attraction. The mariner with the harpoon had appeared in both Mickey no Tokyo Disneyland Daibōken, as well as Epic Mickey.

At the end of each stage there was a version of “Pegleg” Pete waiting to challenge Mickey. He wore a costume that was appropriate for the particular attraction. In Stage 4 Pete was waiting in the mansion graveyard. He was a pale blue color, and wore a pale victorian suit as many of the ghosts did in the attraction. He floated around the stage, and shot plasma balls at Mickey. As far as I know this was the first and only time this version of Pete had ever appeared in an officially licensed game.

In honor of this eerie version of Pete, and just in time for Halloween I decided to make an illustration of “Phantom Pete.” What do you think? Should Disney revisit platform gaming? Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Dressing up familiar faces for Halloween - A 1UP classic from October 8, 2010

I’m sure you are getting into the holiday spirit. Halloween is around the corner and all of the stores are putting out the displays and getting people primed on the holiday. I’ve been on a Disney kick this past year and am pleased to share the changes that the park has done for the season. Some of my pictures are posted on JimHillMedia.com, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

It’s unique the approach that the parks in the USA have compared to the parks overseas, in particular the Disney parks in Japan. Each park goes through a makeover on Main Street and a major marketing push as well. Autumnal colors, pumpkins and miscellaneous ghosts and goblins can be found all over the park.

Both parks have a distinct take on the Halloween themes. If you think about it a moment, how do the Japanese view the western holiday? It’s changed a tremendous amount in the West since the Christian and Celtic traditions of All Hollow’s Eve became a candy and costume cash-cow for retailers. It’s easy to see that Japan is adapting the popular concept of Halloween for their parks rather than observing any ancient traditions. Popular characters are now presented in costumes, not so much with the Universal monsters that are recognized here (Frankenstein’s monster, the Wolf Man and Dracula) but instead shades of orange and purple in a Victorian tuxedo and top coat with a slight twinge of the mysterious.

Tokyo Disney Resort over the holidays has many of the same things featured in the parks in the USA. Such as trick-or-treating for families, where guests can show up in costume, as well as parades and events set in the holiday theme on top of changes made to certain attractions. The visual style that Japan has in contrast to the Halloween Time at Disney in the USA becomes apparent the more you go over the web sites and art direction posted in both sites.

As if the differences between Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland weren’t distinct enough, there is another layer of originality with the visual style of the holiday at Tokyo’s Disney Sea park. At that park the characters are popular characters are presented with the theme of a Victorian (almost Romantic-era) Masquerade Ball. Mickey Mouse for example is not the vampire that he is presented in the USA during the holiday nor is he dapper Halloween gentleman from Tokyo Disneyland. Instead he is a masked brother-at-arms, looking quite dashing with his cape and tri-corner hat.

The other characters are also themed accordingly, with the masquerade ball costuming being added to them, sharing nothing in common with the other Tokyo park or Disneyland and Disney World in the USA, while still respecting the legacy and design of the classic characters.

As an artist and designer I have fun taking a look at and learning from the differences between the parks and the aesthetics that they have with the familiar characters. Of course the goal is to someday be able to take the family to the various parks to experience the holidays in person (and to get some unique items as well!) and not spend so much time writing and wishing about it.

What do you enjoy best about Halloween? Are you already planning a costume choice or decorating for a haunted house or party? Tell us about it and have a great weekend. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Disney in China, Episode 3

The new episode of Disney in China, looks at how the Disney company adapted to the Chinese tourist, both domestically and abroad.

If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Disney in China, Episode 2

In this episode we look at how the Disney company turned around the underperforming Hong Kong Disneyland park. With help from plans created for Paris Disneyland, as well as two entirely new themed areas!

If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!