Disney Debates: Robo Walt Disney
Well, the day has finally arrived, and I think everyone is feeling a bit conflicted.
After months of excitement, Disneyland has unveiled its Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic. Opinions were already divided with lines drawn in the sand months ago.
Now that people have seen the latest Imagineering creation, everyone is rushing to post their thoughts online.
So, since everyone is already doing it anyway, we might as well discuss it as well.
In this week’s Disney Debates, it’s time to talk about Robo Walt Disney.
The Happiest Man on Earth
Disney
By any reasonable evaluation, Walt Disney lived an extraordinary life.
First, he aided the war effort before he was even old enough to serve. Later, he lived his dream.
Photo: D23
A creative at heart with the mind of a brilliant businessperson, Walt Disney made cartoons.
The visionary imbued his creations with so much life that fans demanded more.
Photo: Gameloft
Alas, Uncle Walt learned a harsh reality about how Hollywood executives treat the talent.
Universal Pictures technically owned the character of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, even though Disney created it.
Photo: D23
In a shocking turn of events, Universal fired Disney from the Oswald cartoons even though he was their inventor.
Dejected but not beaten, the illustrator spent an entire train ride inventing an entirely new character.
Photo: Disney
His invention was something you know, a mouse named Mickey. And we all know how that turned out.
Later, Walt Disney tried again, seeking a new challenge as well as an original creative outlet.
Herbert Kalmus and Walt Disney in 1943. Photo: Cartoon Research
Walt Disney created a feature-length animated movie, the first of its kind.
This feat seemed so impossible that Hollywood insiders and media mercilessly mocked the project.
Walt Disney
Ultimately, Disney had the last laugh, though, as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs revolutionized the entire industry.
Not content to rest on his laurels, Uncle Walt tried something even more ambitious 18 years later.
Photo: The Academy Awards
By this point, Disney was an accomplished executive in addition to being a frequent Academy Award winner.
He wanted something more, though. Disney dreamt of a place where families could play with their children.
CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES – JULY 1955: Children running through gate of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at Walt Disney’s theme park, Disneyland. (Photo by Allan Grant/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)
So, Walt Disney set out to build The Happiest Place on Earth, and when he did, he became the Happiest Man on Earth.
The Leader of the Robot Revolution
Disney
AI has become a buzzword over the past couple of years after generations of sci-fi stories warning us about it.
Walt Disney somehow claims a position at the forefront of the robot revolution, though.
Photo: D23
For all the claims people have made about robots, Disney is one of the few from a previous generation who actually did it.
During the early 1950s, Imagineers at WED Enterprises enjoyed a EUREKA! Moment on the job.
Photo: Disney Archives
During one of his famous European vacations, Disney had stumbled across mechanical wind-up toys.
He loved them, but he immediately recognized a way to improve them. He just needed to turn them into machines.
Photo: Disney
The founder of The Walt Disney Company tasked his Imagineers with creating a robotic version of these toys.
The team called it Project Little Man, and they even hired actor Buddy Ebsen aka Jed Clampett to dance for it.
Disney
At the time, Uncle Walt believed that he needed a small machine, but he failed to recognize something.
Computer technologies are generally cheaper and easier to create when they’re larger.
Photo: D23
Making the parts smaller added to the complexity and manufacturing cost.
Roger E. Broggie, considered The First Imagineer, informed his boss that it’d be better to build a bigger one.
Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room – Disneyland
That simple piece of advice led to the creation of the Audio-Animatronic birds at Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room.
This attraction debuted in 1963 and squarely positioned Walt Disney at the forefront of robotics.
The following year, WED Enterprises stole the show at the 1964 New York World’s Fair by introducing Robot Abe Lincoln.
Photo: D23
That’s the Audio-Animatronic you’ve probably seen at Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.
I can assure you that it was a terrifying yet impressive sight to behold in 1964 when it debuted.
A lifelike robot felt like the next age of civilization.
The Robot Revolution
Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln
Obviously, the robot revolution proved tough sledding, although Boston Dynamics is certainly trying.
Think of the creepiest robots you can dream up in your head, and Boston Dynamic has probably built one.
Kill it with fire. That’s the only way to be safe. But I digress.
Photo: Disney
The point is that Disney has continued its robot revolution all along. Many of its most recent Audio-Animatronics are breathtaking.
And that leads us to today’s topic. Walt Disney, as a person, was at the forefront of robotics.
Photo: Disney
Now, Imagineers want to honor his legacy by making him a permanent part of the theme park he created.
The catch is that they’re doing it by building a Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic.
This decision isn’t even unanimously popular within the Disney family, much less with fans.
Even the debate itself feels weird, too. On the one hand, we know that Walt Disney relished this technology.
On the other hand, at least one family member swears that Uncle Walt explicitly stated he never wanted to be a robot.
So, you could make the argument based on the facts at hand that Disney officials are going against Walt Disney’s wishes.
However, the counterpoint is that most members of the Disney family seem perfectly okay with the idea.
Imagineers happily showed the Walt Disney animatronic to family members and got a general seal of approval.
And that raises a simple question. If the heirs to Walt Disney like the idea, isn’t that what matters?
Is Robo Walt Okay?
Photo: Disney
I was leaning toward this side of the debate from the moment Disney announced the attraction.
Honestly, I’ve been looking forward to Walt Disney- A Magical Life as a fitting tribute to the company’s founder.
Now that I’ve seen the Walt Disney robot in action, I’m recalculating, though. You can see it here.
Obviously, MickeyBlog will be all over this story for the next couple of weeks.
Personally, I think Imagineers have captured the spirit of Walt Disney quite nicely here. He looks the part.
The flip side is that his face seems to have too much fake flesh. His cheeks look like a Play-Doh accident.
Photo: Disney
And that matters here because Disney needs to get this one right. It’s a professional imperative.
I’m a little skittish about whether they’ve done that. I don’t hate what I’m seeing, but it’s like a copy of a copy.
Photo: Walt Disney Imagineering (via Scott Gustin)
A robot was never going to look exactly like Walt Disney, but that’s the sticking point here.
This thing is just different enough to ruin the immersion and remind me that I’m looking at a fake.
Also – and it’s a little thing – his tailor isn’t doing Robo Walt any favors with that jacket.
Since Imagineers must hide the machinery within the robot, his outfit seems simultaneously too tight and too loose.
Photo: Disney
I think I can get past all these things as long as the show is good, which I fully expect it to be.
Still, I’m feeling a bit conflicted on first blush. So, what do you think of the robotic version of Walt Disney?
Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below, and one of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon!
Feature Photo: Disney
