The Disney’s Horse History

The children’s area in the Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort lobby is decorated with artwork of famous Disney horse characters, which caught me off guard at first.

Sure Disney has tons of popular animal characters – mice, ducks, bears and so on – but Disney horses? 

After a bit more research, it turns out we have a whole stable of horses in the Disney family. In fact, horse characters have been really important to some of Disney’s most popular animated films. Who didn’t smile when Woody reunited with his trusty sidekick, Bullseye, in “Toy Story 2”? Other horse characters have bravely ridden into battle with princes, helped princesses flee from danger or simply hung around to provide comic relief (like the horse featured above with Goofy in the 1950 short “How to Ride A Horse”).

I just L-O-V-E Maximus, the horse from Tangled!!! How not to love him???

In honor of the resort’s special day, let’s have some fun and name as many Disney horses as we can – especially those that can be seen around the Walt Disney World Resort. See if you can add to the list below.

1. Horace Horsecollar (Disney shorts) – What may be Disney’s first horse character, Horace (pictured above/left in the 1931 short, “Barnyard Broadcast”), made his debut in the 1929 animated short, “The Plow Boy.” Guests currently can catch him “hoofing it” in the Frontierland Hoedown Happening that takes place at Magic Kingdom Park.

2. Horse Major, mice Gus and Jaq (“Cinderella”) – Cinderella’s mice friends, Gus and Jaq, are temporarily transformed into horses to pull her pumpkin coach to the ball while the existing horse, Major, is changed into the driver of the coach. Gus and Jaq currently can be spotted giving an illuminating performance in the Main Street Electrical Parade at Magic Kingdom Park.

3. Samson (“Sleeping Beauty”) – Prince Phillip’s trusty steed accompanies him on all sorts of adventures in this 1959-flick, including meeting Briar Rose in the woods and joining him in the final battle against Maleficent. Guests can spot Prince Phillip, Samson and Maleficent in a new LEGO sculpture that decorates the LEGO Imagination Center at Downtown Disney Marketplace at the Walt Disney World Resort.

4. Prince Charming Regal Carrousel (Magic Kingdom Park) – This carrousel, originally built by the Philadelphia Tobaggan Company in 1917, was acquired by The Walt Disney Company in the late 1960s. The carrousel and it’s 90 horses debuted at Magic Kingdom Park on opening day in 1971.

5. Bullseye (“Toy Story 2” and “Toy Story 3”) – Bullseye arrived on the scene in “Toy Story 2,” when Woody ventures into Al’s collectible toy showroom. Guests can play games with Bullseye (and other “Toy Story” characters) at Toy Story Mania! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or spot him in the park’s Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade.

6. Khan (“Mulan”) – This horse appeared in “Mulan,” which was the first of three feature films produced inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios, in the same building that currently houses The Magic of Disney Animation attraction.

The Art of Marie Osmond [Doll Designer]

Marie Osmond is an Entertainer and Doll Designer who made the Disney-inspired Princess and the Frog doll.

Michelle: This year the Resort is celebrating the memories that guests make on trips to the Resort, and we’re asking guests to share these memories in the form of photos and videos. We have truly enjoyed having your family visit the resort on many occasions. Can you share with us one of your favorite experiences or memories?

Marie: “I was realizing the other day, while looking through scrapbooks that so many of my favorite family photos were taken at Disney, because everyone in the family is smiling from ear to ear. I think one of my personal favorite memories, which I’ve experienced eight times individually, is being on ‘it’s a small world’ with each of my kids for their first time and watching their eyes discover a whole new world. Then, they would almost always spend the rest of the day singing ‘it’s a small world.’ Even my now grown children still want to go to Disney for family vacation days.”

Michelle: You’ve been considered one of the top doll designers in the industry for almost 20 years. When did you first start to design for Disney? And while we’re on the subject, what has been your favorite doll, and why?

Marie: “I’m a founder of Children’s Miracle Network, since 1982, which helps more than 17 million sick and injured children every year. In the early 1990s, when I had just started out as a doll designer, we created a series of dolls called “Miracle Children.” One of the first sets, a boy and girl, wore Mickey Mouse ears and were on an adventure at Disneyland Resort. Soon after, Disney and I partnered to make my personal signature sculpt doll, Adorabelle, into the signature tour guides for various attractions such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion. I can’t pick a favorite doll from all of these years, but I can tell you that my collectors continuously seek after the Tour Guide Adorabelles. It makes me so happy that they love them.”

Michelle: Not only do you create exquisite dolls for collectors worldwide, but you have also collaborated with Disney on Disney Theme Park exclusive dolls such as your newest release inspired by Princess and the Frog. Where do you draw inspiration to create your Disney-themed dolls and what can you tell us about this newest doll that makes it so special?

Marie: “For Disney’s 50th Anniversary year, I had the best time designing dolls of the three favorite Princesses from the stories which I had grown up loving: Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and, of course, Cinderella. They were gorgeous, very limited edition, dolls and are now a hard-to-find collectible because so many of us adored these Disney princesses. They are still favorites, but now I see kids, including my own little girls, who want to hear the stories of the more modern princesses, like my newest Disney exclusive doll: ‘Disney’s The Princess and the Frog.’”

“Her gorgeous gown was inspired by the story and her delicate features and raven colored hair are breathtaking. Wait until you see her in person!! I love every aspect of this porcelain doll. She’s a stunning addition to any collection. I’ve got a place set aside on my own shelf for this one!”

Michelle: I’m sure our Disney Parks Blog fans look forward to seeing what’s next on the horizon from you. Without giving too much away, can you give us a glimpse into what we can expect to see in the future?

Marie: “I’m heading into my 20th anniversary of doll design in 2011. I think my collectors appreciate that I have always taken the chance to bring them the types of doll designs that I feel are collection stand-outs, both traditional and also trend-setting. I know my doll team has a great year planned, so…let me just say ‘Happy New Year!’ because it will be one for all of us who love to collect dolls.”

Renaissance-inspired Disney character portraits by former Walt Disney Imagineer Maggie Parr

The collection is a beautiful art series that honors characters in iconic paintings from a few of the world’s most famous and historic artists. 

Michelle: Maggie, your work continues to provide a sense of enchantment to our guests. Your ability to capture some of our most notable Disney characters in many film-related scenes and scenarios is just part of the charm and magic that makes them so special. Some of your most recognized pieces have actually had a type of “Renaissance” inspiration. What made you choose to depict the characters in that style?

Maggie: I originally got the idea when Imagineering hired me to paint Disney characters in famous artworks for Tokyo DisneySea. I really enjoyed imitating classic paintings, but it was also an interesting challenge to figure out subtleties of the characters: how they’d look in costumes, what expressions they’d have, how they’d look rendered in different mediums and techniques. I realized that Goofy, and all of the characters, have their own psychology. In fact, when I painted them they came alive on the canvas and I began to appreciate and understand the Disney characters in a whole new way while inserting lighthearted American humor into serious European history. Mickey and Minnie are beloved to the American imagination – so it made sense to paint them as “Queen Minnie” and “King Mickey” after famous royal portraits. It feels fun and irreverent to frame Goofy and Donald as English noblemen in the 1700s. And of course, portraying Minnie as the Mona Lisa is the ultimate parody.

"Comic Strip Artist's Kit" by the Art Director for Disney's Comic Strips in the 80s

This is a guide made by Carson Van Osten with drawing tips!

He was the writer and artist of Disney Comics. From 1969 to 1976, he created Mickey Mouse and Goofy  comics for the publisher Disney Studio, which produced comics for the European market. Starting in 1976, he was art director for Disney's comic strips  department in the 1980s. After that, it seems that he has sporadically worked on new Disney comics, including some covers and the adaptation of the Atlantis: The Lost Empire film.

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Comic Strip Artist's Kit by Van Osten by Marcio Disney

New Xerographic Animation Presented In Walt Disney's "Dalmatians" Feature

 Click Here to read the previous post about the 101 Dalmatians: Painting of Spots Huge Job in Producing Disney's "Dalmatians"

03.31.11 - Xerography, a new word in animation and motion pictures, snaps up the action and personalities of the dogs and humans in Walt Disney's brilliantly conceived $4,000,000 cartoon comedy, "One Hundred and One Dalmatians."

Xerox, as the new process is called, has the effect of transferring every artistic touch laid down by the artists' pencils directly to the screen and thus enormously improving the entertainment values of the animation.

Previously the transfer from talented pencils to film — color by Technicolor, in this case — had been done by girls with pen and ink in hand. Although the girls were artists in their own right, the copying had a tendency to lose a little of the feeling originally imparted by the creators.

Now the ink and paint girls are on the crews of the Xerox cameras.

The Haloid Company of Rochester, New York, inventors of the process, describe it as "a clean, fast, dry direct positive, electrostatic copying process" which eliminates the need, as well, for a darkroom or an intermediate film negative.

For his Dalmatians feature, Disney has expanded the system and adapted it to his own artistry. Recently Ub Iwerks, the studio's director of technical research, received the Herbert T. Kalmus Gold Medal Award for achievements which included his further development of the Xerography process.

From the 101 Dalmatians original press materials. 

Click Here to read the previous post about the 101 Dalmatians: Painting of Spots Huge Job in Producing Disney's "Dalmatians" 

Painting of Spots Huge Job in Producing Disney's "Dalmatians"

The painting of spots was one of the biggest creative factors facing some 150 artists during three years of working on Walt Disney's cartoon-feature comedy-romance, 101 Dalmatians.

In all, there are exactly 6,469,952 spots on the back of 101 heart-warming dogs and puppies as they appear in 113,760 frames of brilliant color by Technicolor.

Pongo, the cartoon canine lead, wears 72 spots while his love, Perdita, has 68 on her coat. The spots and all other color effects required 800 gallons of very special paint weighing nearly five tons, enough to dress the exteriors of 135 average homes.

Using a secret process, the studio has always mixed its own color in its own laboratories for all Disney cartoons. For 101 Dalmatians, 1,000 different shades were produced, 100 of them especially for that picture to achieve the subtlety and variety needed to handle the dogs and humans as they move through interiors and exteriors in summer and winter.

Producing the "white" for the dogs alone— Dalmatians are white under the spots— required enough very light gray paint to make this category the predominant one in the picture's broad spectrum. Pure white, of course, would have been too garish, too difficult to define, especially against snow.

From the 101 Dalmatians 1979 re-release press materials.

Treasures from ’20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’: never-before-seen Disney artwork

THE DISNEY ARCHIVES

I recently got a rare tour of the Disney archives (you’ll be reading a lot more about that visit very soon), and I can’t tell you how fascinating it was to see such a vast collection of artifacts and “lost” art. These costumes, props, animation cels, posters, documents, paintings, models, etc. are more than the ultimate cache of pop-culture collectibles — they chart the history of America’s most amazing entertainment success story.

We’re going to be digging a bit into that archive over the months to come to bring you glimpses into these treasures, and we start off with some compelling images that date back to “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” Disney’s landmark 1954 live-action film.

These are preproduction drawings from 1953 that show early visions of the famous battle against a giant squid that plays out atop Capt. Nemo’s Nautilus. These drawings have been meticulously preserved by the archive staff but never published in any form, anywhere, before now. 

These show the squid attack taking place against a dramatic sunset and indeed that’s how it was filmed — but Walt Disney watched the footage and felt it could be better. The entire sequence was refilmed, this time during a vicious rainstorm, a more frenetic setting. That’s the version that moviegoers saw when the film reached theaters in December 1954. 

“20,000 Leagues under the Sea” was just fifth live-action feature film from Disney (that’s not counting the nature films) and it tied with “White Christmas” as the top box-office draw of the year.

This final image below is a painting that is just amazing to see in person. It’s the original artwork for the cover of a record album that tied in to the “20,000 Leagues” re-release in 1963. The artist isn’t credited, unfortunately, and the archivists at Disney say if anyone has some insight into who did this great piece, he or she should leave it here in the comments section so the archivists can follow up and make their own records more complete.

 

As I said before, there’s a lot more to come from the Disney archives, and if there are specific things you readers would like to see, let me know. Also, for you hard-core Disney fans, the archives are typically closed to the public but they are scheduled to be opened several times a year to members of D23, the official Disney fan club.

– Geoff Boucher