SAMLAND

This week I will be taking a closer look at three very different books. The first is a sequel to a coffee table sized tome filled with incredible graphics from Walt Disney Imagineering. The second book is an intriguing tale of the Disney experience as seen through the life of Herb Ryman, one of Walt Disney’s favorite artists. Finally, I look at another nearby park that is near and dear to my heart – Knott’s Berry Farm.

WALT DISNEY IMAGINEERING
A Behind the Dreams Look at Making MORE Magic Real
Melody Malmberg
Forewords by Robert Iger and Jay Rasulo • Introduction by Marty Sklar
Afterword by John Lasseter
2010 - Disney Editions

In 1996, Disney released Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look at Making the Magic Real. This wonderful, oversized, coffee table book was stuffed with graphics of real attractions, future attractions, and attractions that will never be. The text supporting the graphics and tries to give an overview of what Imagineering does and how it does it. After you have finished, you will probably have gained an enlightened appreciation of the complexity of designing theme park attractions and environments.

Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dream Look at Making MORE Magic Real (whew) is the sequel. If you bought the first book, you should not hesitate to buy the follow-up. If you can’t find the original, I feel you will find great satisfaction in the eye candy that is presented in the new book. It begins where the other book left off and brings you up to date on Imagineering’s activities since the mid-nineties. A lot has happened over those years. It is beautiful. This is a high quality product with fine paper and well-done prints. Much of the concept artwork had not been seen widely before. Where necessary, there are gatefolds for larger pieces such as the Finding Nemo Subs Storyboard, WDI Art Library, the cruise ships, and others. The book also features short essays that explain how Imagineering functions. This book is not critical of the organization in any way. This is a sales piece.

Marty Sklar provided the Introduction and he outlines the Imagineering basics, what he calls Mickey’s Ten Commandments.

1. Know your audience
2. Wear your Guest’s shoes
3. Organize the flow of people and ideas
4. Create a wienie (visual magnet)
5. Communicate with visual literacy
6. Avoid overload – create turn ons
7. Tell one story at a time
8. Avoid contradictions – maintain identity
9. For every ounce of treatment, provide a ton of treat
10. Keep it up! (maintain it)

It is great fun looking very closely at concept artwork. You can easily imagine details that may be little treasures or just pure speculation. For example, one look at the new Be Our Guest Restaurant slated for Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom shows happy, upscale people (the prices?) dining in the Beast’s Ballroom with the Beast peaking around the corner. What really caught my eye was Lumiere singing on a pushcart. Will this be the same technology first used with Remy at Epcot? Another fun feature is looking at how projects have changed from conception to realization.

There are some fancy details not evident in the first edition. For example, you can see the history of Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom presented through a set of overlays. The first overlay is the artist rendering by Herb Ryman and it is printed on parchment paper. The second overlay is a transparency of the same view with the blueprint graphics. Both are overlaid upon a photo of the Castle.

Since the first book came out, much of Disney’s development and Imgineering’s work has taken place outside of the parks. The projects include the resort hotels, the cruise ships, and the shopping districts. Another area of exploration at Disney has been Next-Gen technologies such as the living characters like Crush and Lucky the Dinosaur. We learn that the entire project started with Mickey Mouse as the very first test character. The idea was pretty simple. You got into an elevator with Mickey and he begins to talk with you in real time.

Like most corporations today, environmental sustainability is the new buzz and the book outlines some of the projects that add to Disney’s credentials. Finally, to stress the collaborative nature of Imagineering, there is a page dedicated to the different disciplines on the payroll and a Master Glossary.

Melody Malmberg has crafted a book that will draw you back time and time again. There is just so much in the hundreds of drawings and photographs. Each time you will discover a few more details, a few more tidbits. This book is well worth the journey (and the high price tag).

I bought the book on Amazon.

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WARP AND WEFT: Life Canvas of Herbert Ryman
By John Stanley Donaldson • 2010
$16.95 • 400 Pages
Incanio.com

John Stanley Donaldson knew artist Herb Ryman for more then 30 years. What he has written is not your typical Disney-related biography. Herb Ryman lived a full life and the path of that journey has more twists and turns then most novels. The book goes well beyond Disney (much like Ryman’s life) to deal with Hollywood politics, deceit, and greed. Donaldson promised Ryman that he would “know letter from litter. To carry a history of Disney. To one day write this book.”

The focus of this review, for the most part, is the Disney related items. In my view, there are many occasions where the book will read like a revisionist version of history that turn many well-worn tales inside out. Stylistically, the author does not stick to a conventional narrative. At times you are inside the head of Ryman, the author, or become a witness to events.

I will begin with one trivia bit about the life of Walt Disney. We learn that Walt’s first date with Lillian, his future wife, was to see the musical No, No, Nanette. It was at that moment when the young couple decided that “I Want To Be Happy” would become their song.

We also get a different spin on the story of Mickey Mouse’s birth. It starts with Walt and Lillian’s trip to New York so that he can negotiate a new and more lucrative deal with distributor Charles Mintz for his successful Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon series. Walt and Roy had just built adjoining houses on Lyric Avenue in Los Angeles and he was highly motivated to get the most money possible. What Walt got was completely unexpected. When Mintz had visited the Disney studios a month before he was “warmly received” by the brothers. As it turns out, Mintz was working behind their backs and hiring his entire crew, with the exception of Ub Iwerks. When Mintz and Walt met, the filmmaker was told that he did not own the rights to Oswald plus he did not have a staff anymore. Walt could be an employee or just go away. Walt had to think fast.

While Walt was in New York, the newspapers were filled with stories about a famous opera singer and his pet, a marmoset named “Mickey.” Walt’s first thought was Mickey the Monkey. It could be shortened to Mickey Monkey, which had a nice alliterative ring as Charlie Chaplin. On the train ride home, Walt kept working the problem. He saw a magazine that outlined how to build a wood plank plane for kids that were excited about the achievements of Charles Lindbergh. Walt thought a cartoon about a monkey flying a plane could be good fun. But he paused and realized that mocking a national hero was not a good idea. So the monkey became a mouse. He changed the name to Mortimer until Lillian stepped in and suggested that Mickey would be better.

Walt believed in art education. He knew his artists had to gain the proper skills if they were to achieve the quality that he demanded. That is why he personally drove many of his artists to classes at the Chouinard Art Institute. The founder, Nelbert Chouinard said, “Talent is more valuable than tuition.” It was at Chouinard that Walt first met Ryman.

Over the years, many would call Walt Disney a genius. Walt would dismiss this compliment by saying his success “was built by hard work and enthusiasm, integrity of purpose, a devotion to our medium, confidence in its future, and, above all, by steady day-to-day growth in which we all simply studied our trade and learned.”

There is an additional layer of drama throughout the book courtesy of Ryman’s sister Lucille. Her story is told as well and we learn that she would use Ryman’s connections and try to become a rich and important person in Hollywood. This was not a happy or supportive brother/sister relationship. In many respects, the book is a chance for the author, a man who was at Ryman’s bedside when he died, to set the record straight. If the book were a movie, she would make for a terrific villain. As Ryman would say, “As long as she needs somebody, she can be as nice as pie.” When she was through, she would simply say, “out you go.”

Walt was not close to many of his artists. Ryman was an exception. One day Ryman was injured in a misunderstanding by one of the people cheated by his sister Lucille. Ryman was in a bad way. “You’re my family,” Walt told him bedside.

Walt was interested in many different business opportunities, many of which never actually got built. One such project would be a partnership with Bing Crosby and Charles Howard to build the Hollywood Gardens, an indoor stadium, at the corner of Fairfax and Third in Los Angeles. The facility would have been larger then Madison Square Gardens. In the end, the Los Angeles City Council killed the idea. Another missed opportunity was a partnership with Charles Strub. Strub owned Santa Anita racetrack and offered to finance the Disneyland project if Walt would have built it on the Pacific Coast. Walt did not want to be near the ocean.

We also learn the reason why so many of the early Imagineers came from Twentieth Century Fox. The studio was in financial trouble and let go many talented artists. These artists would find their way to Disney including Richard Irvine and Marvin Davis. The Twentieth Century Fox backlot was five times the size of Disneyland and was complete with streets, a period riverfront, and a lake. Donaldson say, “The place just needed a turnstile.”

We are also treated to the Ryman version of Disneyland development stories. There is his account of the famous “lost weekend” when he created the drawing that Roy Disney would use to secure the financing for the park and we learn why Sleeping Beauty Castle was built backward.

We also learn about the personal relationships between the Imagineers. Sometimes what we see is not pretty. Ryman was not a fan of Disney Legend John Hench. After Walt’s death, Hench’s power within WED was growing. Even though Ryman designed Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom, he was not invited to the grand opening to the park. So he snuck in with the general public and some friends spotted him. When Hench saw Ryman he asked, “Herbie – what are you doing here?” The author also speculates upon the cause of death of Roy O. Disney by placing some responsibility on future Disney president Donn Tatum. Ryman claims that “Donn was impatient. He didn’t want to wait any longer” for Roy to retire. He also has harsh words to say about Marty Sklar and how he was able to hide personal issues from Walt that would have otherwise gotten him fired.

I purchased this book from the author via his website.

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KNOTT’S PRESERVED
From Boysenberry to Theme Park, the History of Knott’s Berry Farm
Christopher Merritt and J. Eric Lynxwiler • Introduction by Tony Baxter • 2010
Angel City Press
www.angelcitypress.com
$40 160 Pages

If you are a fan of Southern California theme parks and history, then Knott’s Preserved is a must have for your bookshelf. Former Imagineer, Christopher Merritt, and Los Angeles historian, Eric Lynxwiler, have put together a wonderful and informative look at a true landmark, Knott’s Berry Farm, the nation’s first theme park.

Imagineer Tony Baxter provided the Forward. His passion for Knott’s is fully on display. Just to prove the point, there is a photo of a very young 22-year old Tony at the grand opening of the Calico Log Ride hugging the fence trying to get a peek.

The story of Knott’s Berry Farm is one of inspiration. Walter and Cordelia Knott founded the real life berry farm which would slowly grow into a theme park over time. The book starts with Walter’s obsession in finding the perfect berry to grow and sell. In this search, he discovered the nearly forgotten Boysenberry and saved it from extinction. Just think, every time you eat a Boysenberry you can trace it back to Walter’s farm in Buena Park. The book details how Walter found the huge berry and nurtured it to amazing success during very tough times. Walter found the plants growing wild along the banks of a stream on Rudolph Boysen’s property. He transplanted the berries to his farm, made them healthy, and then sold the berries and the plants by the box loads. Over time, Walter gained quite a reputation as THE berry guy. “We were the biggest people in the berry plant business in the West, and probably the country,” Walter proudly boasts.

Although Walter did better than most during the Depression, times were still hard. In addition to growing and selling berries, Walter started a nursery and a tearoom. It was in that tearoom where Mrs. Knott would introduce her amazing fried chicken and Boysenberry pie and serve the food on their own wedding china. The restaurant was an immediate hit and would soon grow beyond anybody’s expectations. By the early 40s crowds grew so large that people would wait up to 3 hours for dinner. The place got so busy that the Knott’s children also got into the act. Their daughter Virginia set up a card table and began to sell small novelties. By 1938 that card table was taken down and they built a store. That store still stands today.

Walter figured that he had to do something to entertain people while they waited for their chicken and pie. Walter found inspiration when he saw the Gold Gulch section of the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition in San Diego. Walter decided to add a reproduction of a western “ghost town” and started to collect buildings for his project. His philosophy when deciding what to add to his roadside attraction was, “We figure that if something interests or amuses us, it’ll probably interest or amuse others.”

Walter was very proud to hire local people and he had a tendency to pay them more. He also wanted to share his success with the others that made it happen, so in 1948 he paid out $26,000 in profit sharing to his team for the first time. His generosity continued and by the 1970s he had given away almost $15 million to his staff.

One of the real highlights within the book are the stories of the colorful cast of characters that populated Ghost Town. All of them worked as independent operators so they had incentive to be inventive and memorable. Ghost Town had a town sheriff, a guy with a trained horse, a crooner with a guitar that would serenade the ladies, and a popular Native American Chief. There was also a very young Steve Martin performing at the Bird Cage Theatre in 1965.

Walt Disney was fascinated by Knott’s Berry Farm and was frequently seen on property. He would have his team count the cars going in and out of the parking lot. One day Walt called Walter Knott and said, “Hey, I’ve got a new movie camera. Can we come out and film?” So he came out and filmed everything. Walt gave the Knott’s tickets for Disneyland’s opening day. When driving back Walter and Cordelia thought their place would be dead. They were wrong. Knott’s Berry Farm was busier than ever.

A lot of ink is dedicated to the story of Bud Hurlbut and rightly so. Hurlbut was the only concessionaire allowed to manage multiple projects. He sunk his life savings into the development of the Calico Mine Train and the Calico Log Ride. The mine ride may have cost $1 million to build but within 8 months Bud had sold enough tickets to pay back his investment.

Knott’s log ride was only the second one of its kind built in the world. The first log type ride appeared in 1963 at Six Flags Over Texas. However, that version was very lightly themed while the Knott’s version was rich in details. The grand opening featured movie star John Wayne as the first rider.

Walt Disney was excited to ride the new Calico Mine Train. When he walked up to the attraction he noticed that there was no line. What he did not know was Hurlbut had hidden a big chunk of the line where people would not be able to see it. Walt was so impressed that he began to create more immersive queues for his attractions at Disneyland.

Walter Knott was always an innovator. The Hunter’s Paradise shooting gallery originally used real .22 caliber bullets. The bullets would ricochet and cause all sorts of mayhem. So Walter had one of his guys invent the use of a light beam in the gun to shoot at the targets. Problem solved.

Knott’s Berry Farm did not charge a general admission. Walter resisted as long as he could until one of his employees got harassed. That was enough. The free admission policy would end in the mid-1960s due to security issues. Starting June 7, 1968 Knott’s would charge an admission for the first time. The cost was $1.

The book is filled with an outstanding collection of historic photos. I am a big Knott’s fan and this book brought back many memories. I am sure it will do the same for you.

I purchased the book directly from the authors as part of a book-signing event at Knott’s Berry Farm.

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Introducing My New Book
In October, my new book, WALT and the Promise of Progress City, will be available. Just in time for your holiday gift list!