Disney artwork part of Art Hop

Original artwork for some of Walt Disney's best feature films will be part of a triple-header of artistic creativity at the KVCC Center for New Media for the May 4 Art Hop in downtown Kalamazoo.

In addition to concept drawings that led to such superhits as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Pinocchio" in animation's breakthrough years, the exhibition will demonstrate the impact of the digital age on the medium through the work of comic-book artist Paul Sizer of Kalamazoo and showcase the foundational work of Center for New Media students who are the animators of the future.

The opening-night reception will be from 6 to 8 p.m. All three of the exhibitions will be in place through Sunday, May 20.

"Disney Animation Art, 1937 to 1988: Drawing from Imagination" is being made available as part of the 2007 Kalamazoo Animation Festival International that will be staged in downtown Kalamazoo May 17-20. The curator of the 55-piece display is Steve Stanchfield, an assistant professor of animation and digital media at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.

From the early 1930s through the 1950s, American animation, paced by Disney, Chuck Jones and Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes, Max Fleisher and Popeye, and the tandem of David Depatie and Fritz Freleng, "sparkled with beauty, creativity, technical innovation and humor," Stanchfield said.

Regarded as the first "Golden Age of Animation," the industry needed to almost re-invent itself with the coming of television as a medium of popular entertainment. Today, there is more animation, thanks to the emergence of computer technology, than ever before, but it comes from a different process and results in different forms.

When Disney launched his "Snow White" project, he was almost universally ridiculed for what was called "a folly" by so-called informed observers. However, Stanchfield said, "the result was a milestone in the history of animation as the highest grossing film of 1938. It proved that an audience would sit through a full-length 'Mickey Mouse' production and identify with the characters."

Yet, Disney's personal favorite was 1940's "Pinocchio" because of "its craftsmanship, attention to detail, and quality of the concept drawings," Stanchfield said. "Because of the onset of World War II, Disney's animators converted to war-time productions and the same level of detailed craftsmanship never returned."

"Drawing from Imagination" also includes the pen-and-ink drawings of other famous animators who created memorable characters on the screen with their film shorts and features.

Sizer's exhibition is titled "Looking for the Perfect Beat."

"As the medium of the graphic novel advances in subject matter and sophistication," said Sizer, whose characters and creations include "Little White Mouse" and "Moped Army," "so too does the requirement to advance the art as well."

He said these "new opportunities of technology" channeled him toward "B. P. M. (Beats Per Minute)" as a "combination of digital photography and traditional pen-and-ink work." His results will be shown on the plasma screens in the Center for New Media's Arcus Gallery. Sizer will also display digital work from his other "graphic novels" as well as the original pen-and-ink comic pages.

Among the KVCC artists showing their drawings in "Character Design & Animation: Center for New Media Student Work" are Rebecca Boensch and Pam Hoyt of Kalamazoo.

Boensch, who was raised in Saginaw, was a member of the Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University team that won the "Cartoon Challenge" competition at the 2005 KAFI. After earning her degree in fine arts, she was hired as an interactive designer by Biggs Gilmore Communications in Kalamazoo and is taking animation courses at KVCC's Center for New Media.

John Lasseter: Disney's new boss reimagines the Magic Kingdom

It wasn't the first time John Lasseter, the director of "Toy Story" and "Cars," had sat through the screening of a not-quite-ready animated film. But when he saw an early cut of Disney's "Meet the Robinsons" last March, he watched it with a new eye. He wasn't just a fellow director, and a founder of Pixar Animation Studios. This time he was the boss, the chief creative officer of animation for the Walt Disney Company, which had agreed to acquire Pixar two months before.

As he sat in a dark theater in Disney's animation studio here, something bothered him about the villain.

Almost all of Pixar's animated movies had an evil foil. In "Toy Story" Buzz Lightyear and Woody escaped a cruel neighborhood bully. In "A Bug's Life" an ant saved his colony from a menacing grasshopper and his thuggish crew. By contrast the lanky villain in "Robinsons," the story of an orphan who builds a time machine in order to find his mother, was neither threatening enough nor scary.

After the screening, Lasseter and his colleagues from Pixar and Disney met with the director, Stephen Anderson, and told him so. For six hours.

Ten months later, Lasseter was back in the screening room, watching Anderson's new version of "Meet the Robinsons," which is set for release March 30. Nearly 60 percent of the original film had been cut.

A diabolical sidekick had been added. And in one thrilling scene the orphan, Lewis, is chased by an oversize dinosaur. Later, when asked about the movie's ending, Lasseter's rubbery smile turned upside down and he pretended to cry.

"The audience is going to be sobbing," he said, dragging his index fingers down his cheeks. "It is really going to get them."

A Hollywood outsider whose independent shop popularized computer animation, Lasseter, 50, might seem an odd fit for a studio built on old-school cartoons and the mythology of Snow White and Cinderella.

But since Pixar was acquired, Lasseter has been heralded as a latter-day Walt Disney, a cultural arbiter who can rekindle the spirit of Disney's famous animation at its theme parks, on store shelves and in a theater near you.

Since the days of the 1928 Mickey Mouse classic "Steamboat Willie," animation was Disney's undisputed long suit. But after a recent decade-long parade of disappointments, most famously the 2002 bomb "Treasure Planet," the studio was desperate for a change of fortune. It abandoned its hand-drawn tradition in favor of computer-generated fare. In the process the keepers of the Magic Kingdom lost much of their cultural cachet.

Enter Lasseter who, along with a close team of handpicked animators had made Pixar this generation's premier storyteller with an unbroken string of hits including "Monsters, Inc.," "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles." The first filmmaker to run Disney's animation operations since Walt Disney died in 1966, he said he wants to reclaim the studio's golden era.

Since those early days, though, almost everything has changed. On the Disney campus, the creative culture is tattered still from years of cost-cutting and political infighting. And in the world at large audiences have moved on. The sweet wholesome tales of Mickey Mouse and friends don't have the same relevance for a generation raised on violent video games, distracted by 500 cable channels and preoccupied with Web diversions like MySpace.

"I'm not sure it's a trivial challenge," said Jim Morris, a Pixar producer who is working on the forthcoming "Wall- E." "As charismatic as John is, he can't do everything."

Longtime colleagues say the force that will guide the coming changes ? to the studio's offices, to the films at the multiplex, to toys and rides ? is Lasseter's own unique sensibility. He gets his inspiration from real life ? his own. "Cars," which lost the animated feature prize to "Happy Feet" at this year's Oscars, was the byproduct of a cross- country road trip he took with his wife and five sons. The idea for "Toy Story 2" was hatched when his children sought to play with toys he stored in boxes. And the die-cast collectibles he had issued for "Cars" were similar to the Hot Wheels he played with growing up in Whittier, California, in the 1960s.

That said, his greatest test may be getting Disney's battle-worn animators to embrace the new culture he is trying to create while at the same time churning out a movie a year. "John doesn't really change," said Andrew Stanton, the director of Pixar's "Finding Nemo," who is a close friend and frequent collaborator. "People change around him."

Lasseter rarely sits still. His hands dance and wave in the air in front of him as he rattles off ideas. Even during a lunch interview at Disney's studios after several days of being shuttled between hourly meetings and nightly screenings, he is alert and focused.

How then, he was asked, did he plan to restore Disney animation's cultural prominence?

He seemed almost dumbstruck by the question. "I don't know what to say," he uttered, sounding mildly annoyed.

"I don't think like that. I trust in my instincts. I'm a product of what this company has created. I do what I do because of Walt Disney. Goofy. Mickey Mouse. I never forgot how their films entertained me. I also love my toys. My Hot Wheels, my G.I. Joes."

But of course he has a plan.

Lasseter and Edwin Catmull, a Pixar founder who was named president of the combined animation groups of Disney and Pixar and who oversees operations, have designs for a new headquarters in nearby Glendale.

While the building will have Silicon Valley-style comfy couches, coffee stands and open spaces for animators to gather, it won't be a replica of Pixar's campus in Emeryville, California, where artists play afternoon badminton games and executives zip between in-house meetings on scooters. "We did not want to come here and turn it into Pixar," Lassater said.

Still, the cultural shift they are devising seems more like Pixar than not. For one thing, Lasseter and Catmull are encouraging animators to experiment more with their craft. For another, they hope to reintroduce hand-drawn movies. Simply put, the two do not want to see the art form lost. "One of the things I find distressing is that when money gets tight, the money for drawing dries up," Catmull said.

"When people draw, they are learning to see."

Black princess finally joins Disney's animation ranks

The damsel cast an image of striking beauty: mocha-colored skin, captivating eyes, coiffured hair, posing in a feathery dress and see-through veil. For a character that won't be in an animated movie for another two years, her arrival has been the subject of discussion for years - long before she was ever drawn.

Maddy, a 19-year-old heroine to be featured in the coming film "The Frog Princess," will be Disney animation's first black leading lady. That makes her the Sole Sister among a group of cartoon icons that bring out the inner princess in preteen girls worldwide - characters like Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel and Mulan.

Some say Maddy's debut is long overdue. Disney's characters have become firmly etched in American lore ever since the release of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," its first animated feature, in 1937.

In 1992, the animated version of "Aladdin" featured its first princess of color, Jasmine, of Arabian descent. Since then, Disney has had animated film hits featuring an American Indian princess, Pocahontas, in 1995 and an Asian heroine, Mulan, in 1998.

But even as real-life black actresses and actors have won major awards and helped dissolve barriers in the film industry in recent years, a divide remained for cartoon princesses on the big screen.

Black families have clamored for a Disney character crafted in their image, even circulating petitions. If that seems overly eager about a cartoon, it also underscores the power of fictional princesses to become role models for girls.

"It's always good to have positive stories and positive images, where the main character is of your background," said John Powell of Salisbury, Md., shopping with his wife and daughter near the Disney Store. "It lets you know that you have no limitations."

Like other Disney features, "The Frog Princess" is bound to resonate not only with black Americans, but with children of all backgrounds. Eight other "Disney Princess" characters generated more than $3 billion in retail sales last year. Five Disney Princess films rank among the entertainment conglomerate's top six video releases of all time.

Disney unveiled Maddy at its annual shareholders' meeting in March, even summoning Randy Newman's Dirty Dozen Brass Band for a performance. The award-winning Newman will write the music for the movie, which will be set in 1920s New Orleans and be hand-drawn rather than computer-generated.

But the announcement of the princess Maddy hasn't settled the issue. Information about "The Frog Princess," including a list of characters put forth in a voice-actor casting call, quickly spread across the Internet. It appears that the prince in the story is not black, which has raised dissatisfaction. There are also people criticizing the creation of yet another cartoon princess whose story, they contend, undermines a modern message of individual empowerment.

Disney risks having well-intended attempts backfire if the story doesn't resonate with, or offends, certain viewers. It's a problem the company has run into with previous films featuring characters of color. Disney officials have declined to comment on aspects of the film beyond the news release they issued in March when they announced the film at their meeting in New Orleans.

"We're very proud and excited about this," John Lasseter, chief creative officer of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios and director of "Toy Story" and "Cars," said at the time. "This is a fantastic story. This movie is going to be classic Disney, yet you've never seen one like it before."

To its credit, Disney has a reputation for being progressive in offering characters that appeal to people of all backgrounds, particularly on television.

However, on the big screen, Disney's depictions of people of color have occasionally raised objections. Even as Disney was introducing Maddy, it faced concerns over plans for the DVD release of its 1946 film "Song of the South," which has been criticized for its depiction of Southern plantation blacks.

And while Princess Jasmine got a favorable response from moviegoers, the film "Aladdin" itself was criticized as anti-Arab.

Entertainment Weekly ranked "Aladdin" 25th among its "25 Most Controversial Movies Ever," noting the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee's protest over the lyrics in the film's first song, "Arabian Nights": "They cut off your ear if they don't like your face. It's barbaric, but, hey, it's home."

Disney changed the lyrics for the video release.

Still, no one's doubting that Maddy will be a huge influence on girls. After all, she's a princess.

UnReview: Meet the Robinsons, Disney Animation’s Return to Form

If you’ve been waiting since Lilo and Stitch or TheLion King for a Disney-animated movie to come along that you, your family, and friends could build the same kind of heart warming experiences around that you had as a kid, your wait is over.

Walt Disney Pictures’ Meet the Robinsons is the best animated film to come out of the Mouse House since that studio’s fabled second golden age of animation in the early ‘90s.

Meet the Robinsons is everything you use to expect of a Disney-animated film and more. It is exactly what a G-rated (General audience) film should be—entertaining and appealing for everyone from 5 to 95.

Although you’d probably never figure it out from the movie’s rather unimpressive trailer, Meet the Robinsons is the story of Lewis (Daniel Hansen and Jordan Fry), an extremely bright, inventive young orphan who longs nearly as much for a family of his own as he does to see his birth mother once again.

One day Lewis, who already has several clever inventions to his credit, comes to the realization that he already knows what his real mother looks like. He’s seen her, although at the time he was an infant staring into his mother’s face as she left him one rainy night, on the steps of an orphanage. All he has to do is to invent something that will help him go back in time and retrieve the memory of that night.

With a little help from roommate Mike “Goob” Ygoobian (Matthew Josten) and the support of his science teacher Mr. Willerstein (Tom Kenny), Lewis sets out to perfect the ‘Memory Scanner’. Posing as a Time Travel Agent, an energetic young lad named Wilbur Robinson (Wesley Singerman) approaches Lewis before he can even demonstrate his device. Robinson warns Lewis to be on the lookout for a mysterious character called Bowler Hat Guy (Steve Anderson).

Bowler Hat Guy, and his hench-hat Doris (Ethan Sandler), have been watching Lewis, and first manage to sabotage the Memory Scanner and then, after its sad and dejected inventor abandons it, steal the device for their own nefarious purposes.

Frustrated in his effort to keep Bowler Hat Guy away from Lewis and his invention, Wilbur soon realizes the only way to solve his problem is to help Lewis with his. Before Lewis can say yesterday, he’s whisked off to the future on an incredible time-traveling adventure.

Lewis’ journey takes him to a place even he couldn’t have imagined—a place where the impossible no longer exists: the future. There, Lewis encounters a family unlike any other—the sublimely funny and futuristic Robinsons—who will help him with some of the most important discoveries of his young life, not the least of which is his own limitless potential.

Not unlike Disneyland’s famous Space Mountain, which makes a brief cameo appearance in Future City, Meet the Robinsons is also something of a rollercoaster ride. In the words of a friend, “it’s sweet, funny, and quirky,” all at the same time. The characters and settings, inspired by the William Joyce children’s book A Day with Wilbur Robinson, are beautifully detailed and draw the audience—no pun intended—into the story. This is especially true of the Disney Digital 3D experience, which is among the clearest and brightest 3D yet.

Ultimately, it’s the story of Lewis’ journey of discovery, hilariously and touchingly told, in a series of unfolding revels that makes Meet the Robinsons truly worthy of being called a new Disney Classic. It is a ‘message movie’ and director Stephen Anderson and his team of writers, artists, and animators deliver that message without over sentimentalizing it one bit.

Like a lot of films, Meet the Robinsons drags slightly in the second act and the transition to act three is bumpy. After its dark beginning, however, the emotional payoff of the third act is so uplifting and genuine it had grown men weeping—and that was at a critics screening!

Undoubtedly, some of that roughness had to do with the changes in creative control and management that took place last year at Disney animation. Earlier this month at Disney’s annual meeting, John Lasseter, the creative leader of Walt Disney Animation Studios, talked about meeting Steve Anderson and seeing Meet the Robinsons for the first time. Even though the film was over two-thirds of the way through production, Lasseter urged Anderson, an orphan himself, to go back and personalize Lewis’ story with his own.

The notes Anderson received from Lasseter, Disney/Pixar president Ed Catmull, and some of the creative folks at Pixar Animation Studio resulted in pushing back the release of the film from the 2006 fall holiday season to spring of 2007, and many hours of overtime. It was money well spent.

Meet the Robinsons is not a musical like The Lion King; however, like Disney’s Tarzan, it has some wonderful songs written for the film by Rufus Wainwright, and Rob Thomas. Additionally, British singer, songwriter Jamie Cullum does a bang up job as the singing voice of Frankie the Frog, a big band crooner and the Danny Elfman soundtrack is as clear and bright as the images on the screen.

Although the voice cast includes fine performances by Angela Bassett, as Mildred, and Tom Selleck, in a small but pivotal role, Robinsons breaks with the current trend of casting “bankable big-name” film and television stars in the leading roles. Wesley Singerman gives voice to a 13-year-old Wilbur Robinson that everyone from Baby Boomers to Gen Y’ers can identify with. Equally up to the task are Daniel Hansen and Jordan Fry, who voice Lewis across the full spectrum of childhood emotion. Veteran performers Tom Kenny, Laurie Metcalf, and Adam West round out the superb cast.

Meet the Robinsons is the first Disney CG-animated film designed specifically to be exhibited in digital 3D. It will be shown in Disney Digital 3D on over 600 screens nationwide, making it possible for audiences in virtually every major city in the country to see it in 3D.

Whether you seek out a digital 3D screening or just visit your neighborhood multiplex, you should go see Meet the Robinsons as soon as possible, and start your next round of memorable Disney-animated movie-going experiences!

First Black Princess in Disney Animation

The Walt Disney Co. has started production on an animated musical fairy tale called “The Frog Princess,” which will be set in New Orleans and feature the Walt Disney Studio’s first black princess.

The company unveiled the plans Thursday at its annual shareholders’ meeting in New Orleans.

John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Disney and the Disney-owned unit Pixar Animation Studios, said the movie would return to the classic hand-drawn animation process, instead of using computer animation that has become the industry standard. He called the film “an American fairy tale.”

“The film’s New Orleans setting and strong princess character give the film lots of excitement and texture,” Walt Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook said.

The movie will be scored by Randy Newman, who also wrote the music for Disney’s “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2,” “Monsters, Inc.” and “Cars.”

Newman performed a song from the score for the shareholders.

John Musker and Ron Clements, who co-directed “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin” and “Hercules” will co-direct the movie. The pair also wrote the story for the film.

Disney said its new animated princess – Maddy – will be added to its collection of animated princesses used at the company’s theme parks and on consumer products.

The film is set for release in 2009.

The past is Disney's future

The Walt Disney Studios will continue its fairy tale legacy in animation by taking moviegoers on an all-new "once upon a time" musical adventure with its 2009 release of "The Frog Princess," it was announced March 8 by Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, and John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Disney and Pixar Animation Studios.

A musical set in the legendary birthplace of jazz – New Orleans -- "The Frog Princess" will introduce the newest Disney princess, Maddy, a young African-American girl living amid the charming elegance and grandeur of the fabled French Quarter. From the heart of Louisiana's mystical bayous and the banks of the mighty Mississippi comes an unforgettable tale of love, enchantment and discovery with a soulful singing crocodile, voodoo spells and Cajun charm at every turn.

"The Frog Princess" is based on an original story written by Disney's acclaimed filmmaking duo John Musker & Ron Clements ("The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," "Hercules"), who will also direct. Oscar®-winning songwriter/composer and New Orleans native Randy Newman ("Toy Story," "A Bug's Life," "Toy Story 2," "Monsters, Inc." and "Cars") will write songs and the score for this project. Peter Del Vecho, a 12-year Disney animation veteran, will produce.

Commenting on the announcement from The Walt Disney Company's 2007 Annual Meeting of shareholders, Cook said, "We're pleased to be here in the heart of New Orleans to announce 'The Frog Princess,' a great story with all the ingredients that go into making an extraordinary motion picture experience.

Like many of Disney's most popular fairy tales, it has elements of magic, fantasy, adventure, heart, humor, and music. The film's New Orleans setting and strong princess character give the film lots of excitement and texture. We're also thrilled to have John Musker, Ron Clements and Randy Newman lending their talents and creative energies to this project. John and Ron helped to usher in Disney's second golden age of animation nearly two decades ago with 'The Little Mermaid,' and are on track to create the Studio's next great fairy tale adventure."

John Lasseter added, "Aside from being longtime friends and colleagues, John and Ron are two of the most influential and imaginative filmmakers in the animation medium, and I am so excited to be working with them in bringing their creative vision for 'The Frog Princess' to the big screen. They've come up with an original story that is deeply rooted in the fairy tale tradition, and it's filled with great humor, emotion, and musical moments. Randy Newman brings fun and excitement to every project, and I couldn't think of a better choice to deliver some wonderful New Orleans style music."

John Musker & Ron Clements have directed and produced five feature films for Disney including "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin." Additionally they received story and/or screenplay credits as well. Musker began his career at Disney in 1977, after studying character animation at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). He started as an assistant animator and went on to animate on "The Fox and the Hound."

Clements started at Disney in the Talent Development Program, and went on to serve a two-year apprenticeship under Disney animation legend, Frank Thomas. He moved from in-betweener to assistant to animator/storyman with credits on such films as "Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too," "The Rescuers," "Pete's Dragon," "The Fox and the Hound," and "The Black Cauldron."

Randy Newman is a 17-time Oscar® nominee and winner (in 2002) for his song, "If I Didn't Have You," from the Disney/Pixar film, "Monsters, Inc." Among his many achievements, he has contributed songs and musical scores for such other Pixar animated features as "Toy Story," "A Bug's Life," "Toy Story 2," "Monsters, Inc." and "Cars." Newman's impressive list of film credits also includes scores for "Ragtime," "The Natural," "Parenthood," "Awakenings," and "Pleasantville." He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002, and his other career milestones include three Grammy Awards, an Emmy, the first Henry Mancini Award for Lifetime Achievement, and an Annie Award.

Peter Del Vecho began his association with Walt Disney Feature Animation in 1995, following a 15-year stint working as a stage manager, production manager and associate producer in the world of live theater. From 1986-95, he worked for the renowned Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, leaving there as associate producer. At Disney, Del Vecho was the production manager on "Hercules" and associate producer on "Chicken Little," among other projects. A native of Boston, he received a degree in Theatre Arts from Boston University.

Maddy, the animated heroine in "The Frog Princess," will also join The Walt Disney Company's venerable court of beloved Disney princesses as they continue to enjoy the royal treatment at Disney's theme parks, consumer products, publishing, Internet and other businesses worldwide.

Animation fans don't have to wait to 2009 to satisy their animation cravings, they will be pleased with genre fare this year. Disney's Meet the Robinsons, is due out Mar. 30, DreamWorks Animation's Shrek The Third lumbers into theaters May 18 and Bee Movie is on tap for Nov. 2, and Pixar's Ratatouille is slated for June 28.

Disney classics

Taking the "cradle-to-the-grave" strategy literally, Disney has introduced a whole new generation to Mickey and its other core characters (Donald Duck, Pluto, Goofy, et. al) via the toddler-targeted Disney Channel skein "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse."

It's a money move on Disney's part: The munchkins who fall in love with Mickey today will be the kids who clamor to visit Disneyland tomorrow. In turn, those tweens will become the teens who wear Mickey-branded merchandise and then adults who spawn Mickey-loving kids of their own.

"No question this is the most beloved and important character to the Disney company," says Disney Channel Worldwide entertainment prexy Gary Marsh. "Certainly, the conversation internally has been trying to, if not reinvent, then reintroduce Mickey to this new generation. Our goal is, in success, that this character will be exposed to 500 million people."

Mickey's rebirth as a character for the under-5 set is paying off: Earlier this month, "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" posted its best ratings yet among kids 2-5, improving the channel's "Playhouse Disney" block by almost 40% vs. last year. Show regularly finishes in the top 10 basic cable rankings with the high-chair demo.

But even more key to the Disney empire, the show has further awakened what had been a stagnant character. Beyond his star turns in the first half of the 20th century, Mickey was known more from his role as a Disney mascot (seen in the company's logos and merchandising) than from any recent entertainment.

While the old Warner Bros. cartoons were saturated on TV for decades, the Mickey shorts from the 1940s and 1950s weren't as widely seen through the years. By the time both Mickey and Bugs Bunny appeared in 1989's "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," it was clear Warner Bros.' strategy had paid off: Bugs Bunny still came off as a contemporary character, while Mickey seemed out of place.

Behind the scenes, Disney execs were battling over the soul of Mickey. Execs including Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg were anxious to push Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy and Pluto back out into the world. On the other hand, traditionalists (rumored to include Roy Disney) felt the characters needed to be protected -- and the risk of injuring the core franchise was too great.

Many Disney execs were especially opposed to bringing Mickey and friends to television, which was seen as a step below theatrical animation.

"There was a constant schizophrenic discussion taking place within the company," says one former Disney animator. "Everyone agreed on one level that counting on people to know Mickey from cartoons from the 1950s was impossible... There was a push, 'We gotta do something with Mickey.' But then there was a pull, 'Yeah, but we can't risk damaging him with second-class material.' "

Slowly, the barriers began to fall -- first with ancillary characters on shows like "Duck Tales" and "Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers." Then Goofy was given a showcase in "Goof Troop."

At that point, it became OK to dust off the core Disney six. First came 1999's "Mickey Mouse Works," which featured new shorts in the classic Mickey cartoon style. That was followed in 2001 with "House of Mouse," which starred Mickey as a nightclub owner (wrapped around bits from "Mouse Works" and classic Disney cartoons).

But "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" reps the most ambitious attempt yet to bring the classic characters to TV. It's also the first time Mickey and company have been rendered in computer-generated animation (handled by a firm in India).

"Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" has a wider reach than any other Mickey-themed program, airing on 25 Disney Channels and eight Playhouse Disney channels around the globe. Show is also distributed to territories where Disney doesn't run its own kid-centric channel.

Because this is corporate icon Mickey, Marsh says extra care was put into the show's development. The company also conducted massive amounts of research with caregivers and their young children.

"There's no question there's a focus and a care with Mickey that is probably greater than any other character," he says. "It's the most beloved and important character to the Disney company."

Mickey and pals talk to the camera and engage viewers in helping him solve a problem (by counting, figuring out which gadget to use or other interactive games). Many episodes are based on nursery rhymes, such as the seg where Daisy needs help in finding her wayward sheep.

The new version also strips away much of the past history of Mickey and friends (Goofy, for example, is no longer a father), keeping the characters straightforward and uncomplicated.

The success of "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" has already spurred Disney to dust off another franchise, Winnie the Pooh, and adapt it for the tyke aud. Geared toward introducing a new generation to the bear and his pals in the Hundred Acre Wood, "My Friends Tigger & Pooh" will also be produced with CG animation. It launches in May.

"Clubhouse," which bowed last year, comes as programming blocks geared toward the diaper- and potty-training set have become the biggest growth story in kids TV. The genre has created megastars out of characters such as "Dora the Explorer," "The Wiggles" and Disney's "Little Einsteins."

But compared to such properties, programs featuring classic characters like Mickey have a quick leg up at launch.

Jessi Dunne, VP of global toys at Disney, notes that there's an immediate windfall when it comes to merchandising familiar brands. Toys can go on store shelves a few months after a show premieres, rather than the customary 18- to 24-month delay that's usually enforced to guard against shipping toys for a new show that flops.

"With 'Little Einsteins,' even as well as it's done in the ratings, we have to let kids sit with the characters and buy into the songs and everything else," Dunne says. "But everyone knows Pooh, everyone knows Tigger. We have an advantage that way."

Marsh says development comes first and merchandising later -- noting that parents still control the TV when it comes to the under-5 crowd, and they demand some educational and learning curriculum with the shows.

But once they feel comfortable with the program, he adds, parents have been quick to embrace the business portion of preschool fare.

"Parents want to buy toys and merchandise that help interact with their children," says Marsh.

Parents will also watch characters they're familiar with -- and that's where Mickey and Winnie again have an advantage.

"If we can create images and stories that kids today will remember the same way, then we will have done our job very well," Marsh says.

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