EPCOT Center’s Equatorial Africa Pavilion, as seen from World Showcase Lagoon in this Imagineering model
One of the seldom-heralded benefits to the theme park history nerd that the internet provides are the many, many artist portfolios that have appeared online over the years. Disney is notoriously stingy about releasing Imagineering art, especially that of a historical nature, so a nice back-window into the Imagineering process comes when ex-Imagineers are out looking for jobs and post samples of their previous work. Lots of treasures can be found that way.
Recently someone was kind enough to point out the online portfolio of artist Jon Seisa, which includes quite a bit of art, illustration and model work. Of interest to us is the work Seisa showcases from the old WED Enterprises model shop, featuring some fantastic model work for EPCOT Center. You can find a lot more on Seisa’s site, but here are a few highlights.
Another shot of the Equatorial Africa model, this picture shows the treehouse from which guests would look out over a moonlit African watering hole. Via rear projection and dimensional sets, animals would appear to emerge from the jungle to sip at a pool.
This photo of the Equatorial Africa model shows part of the interior courtyard. The structure on the right was meant to be a shop. Through the giant tusks to the left, guests would enter a “sound safari” which would re-create a jungle trek using audio tricks and directional sound.
Here’s a model we’ve seen before; World Showcase circa 1978.
At last – something that did actually get built. This model shows one of many humorous scenes from General Motors’ World of Motion
Finally, here’s another “Lost Epcot” classic. Tony Baxter’s original vision for a “Land” pavilion. This fascinating concept of a series of glass-enclosed biomes containing several attractions was eventually abandoned when Kraft signed on as sponsor and a more food-oriented pavilion was designed.
The biggest thing to emerge on the Disney historical front during my recent blogging absence was the release, on Passport to Dreams Old and New, of A Musical Souvenir of Walt Disney World. This remarkable two and a half hour audio collection provides an aural tour of the Magic Kingdom circa some time in the late 1970s.
There are occasions when you see people put out things that amaze you – things that depend on some remarkable “find” while digging through old documents, or some never before seen picture or piece of artwork. Then there are those that come from people simply working really hard to put together a ton of research into some huge project, whether it’s a book, or an art project, or a video. Then you see something that not only took meticulous, obsessive execution but also the uncovering of facts that you didn’t even thing could be uncovered – info that, surely, was lost to the ages. And that’s what this collection is.
So go to Foxx’s site and download; don’t miss out on the wonderful “retro” booklet and also the copious additional notes available for those of us who wonder just how, exactly, this thing got made. Then listen over and over and over; I certainly have. If You Had Wings! The Electrical Water Pageant! It’s all there.
And one more thing. If you feel like your everyday surroundings are a little drab and humdrum, why not spice them up with these MAPO stickers that Foxx also recently released? It will turn that boring card table into an IMAGINEER-MADE card table in a matter of minutes!
The long, long, long development process that has plagued Disney’s animated interpretation of Hans Christian Andersen’s 1845 tale The Snow Queen might actually have an end in sight. Now tagged with the “hip and edgy” moniker Frozen, the computer-animated adaptation is slated for release November 27, 2013. The film has been in development, on and off, for more than a decade, and was previously intended to be a hand-drawn animated release.
Details of the film announced this week include the casting of Tony Award winning actress Idina Menzel (Wicked, Rent) as the titular Snow Queen. Menzel joins actress Kristen Bell (the always-great Veronica Mars), who was announced as part of the cast earlier. Disney described the film’s plot in a new press release:
In “Frozen,” a prophecy traps a kingdom in eternal winter, so Anna (voice of Bell) must team up with Kristoff, a daring mountain man, on the grandest of journeys to find the Snow Queen (voice of Menzel) and put an end to the icy spell. Encountering Everest-like extremes, mystical creatures and magic at every turn, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom from destruction.
Also announced was the songwriting team for the movie, husband and wife duo Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Lopez is a two-time Tony winner for Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon; the couple also wrote the songs for last year’s Winnie the Pooh as well as Finding Nemo: The Musical at Disney’s Animal Kingdom park.
Frozen (that title… so terrible) is directed by Chris Buck, who previously directed two animated films about surfing: Surf’s Up and Disney’s Tarzan. Peter Del Vecho (Winnie the Pooh, The Princess and the Frog) is producing.
In other… news, Disney announced yesterday that the first Pixar-derived direct-to-video project, the Cars spinoff Planes, has been pushed back to a Fall 2013 DVD and Blu-ray release. Could this have anything to do with rumors that Mr. Lasseter is pushing for a theatrical release for his spinoff? I don’t know. But work on a sequel is already underway…
From across the aether this week come the voices of myself and Beacon Joe thanks to the fine folks at WEDWay Radio. The first, briefer piece is a news update about the death last week of Ray Bradbury, science fiction icon and friend of Walt Disney. We discuss an interview I conducted with Bradbury in 2010 about his time working with WED Enterprises on Spaceship Earth.
The other show we appeared on this week is episode 117 of WEDway Radio. The topic of discussion is the best and worst years in Disney history. Hear us remember things! Hear us talk about things! Hear us pay homage to Ducktales for the NES, midnight showings of Dick Tracy, and the ridiculous jingle for the Disney Cruise Line!
And all for the low, low price of your sweet, precious time.
From the Progress City archives comes this collection of 33 tall tales and true from Disney history. Available in paperback, hardback, and ebook formats.
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