Hello I'm new to the forums here even though I've been following this website for years now. All of the talk about the leadership of imagineering has led me wondering who is truly trying to continue Walt's vision and what people are creating different paths for the future. I know very little what kind of people joe rhode, rasulo, staggs, John Lasseter, Fitzgerald, magnum, and others are like and what they have done. If you could help me understand what each imagineer is like and what they have accomplished I would appreciate it! Thanks and sorry for any misspellings of the names.
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Imagineers
- Thread starter joe pickering
- Start date
vagabondarts
Member
I think the fingerprints of their work are evident in most of the attractions/parks of the last ten+ years.
It also seems like there is a collision in ideals for the direction of the future and we are seeing a lot of the fruit of that (Im an outsider looking in so all I have to go by is the fruit of their collective labor)
It also seems like there is a collision in ideals for the direction of the future and we are seeing a lot of the fruit of that (Im an outsider looking in so all I have to go by is the fruit of their collective labor)
Timekeeper
Well-Known Member
Martin, how about a series of videos dedicated to serving as illustrative biographies for these people? 
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
I don't know if that is a question that can be succinctly answered on a message board.
Seabasealpha1
Well-Known Member
Okay,
So, I'm no expert on every last Imagineer...nor do I know a ton of things about the ones you've listed or even some of the greats...
What I would suggest, is getting a good book about Walt. Learn about the beginnings of the company and follow the story up to the creation of WED Enterprises. Some of the first Imagineers weren't theme park designers...they were animators and people who worked for the studio. I would learn about the earliest Imagineers like (these are just a FEW examples) Marc Davis, Yale Gracey, Rolly Crump (who wrote a seriously kickin' book recently!), X Atencio, John Hench, Bob Gurr, Claude Coats, Herbie Ryman, and several others...
Then work your way to Marty Sklar and Tony Baxter (we're transcending styles, time, and series of Imagineers)...learn about EPCOT and how it was put together and by whom...you'll start to see Joe Rhode appear a bit here with the Mexico and Norway pavilions...along with several others...
Then kinda learn about the Eisner years and the changes to how things were done...
Get past that and you get into Disney-MGM, Disney's Animal Kingdom, and then finally to today...you'll get to see where everyone has landed...though honestly, in my mind, Joe Rhode is one of the newer ones (in the grand scheme) who has crossed the line into being legendary himself...Animal Kingdom is like, that guy's mind open for tour! He's really awesome and seems very down to earth...one of my favorites as well...
Keep in mind too that Staggs, Rasulo, and even Lasseter are more execs than Imagineers in the purest sense of the word...they're busy watching the dollar...Magnum kinda straddles the line in that sense to me...Then there's Vaughn and the new guys...whom I probably know the least about...
Overall I have to agree with Lazyboy97o...it's a big subject matter and it will take you several books and some DVD's & Youtube to get it down pat...and keep in mind that the playing field is always changing...each generation of Imagineers brings something different and the challenges are of course, different as well...
Good Luck!
So, I'm no expert on every last Imagineer...nor do I know a ton of things about the ones you've listed or even some of the greats...
What I would suggest, is getting a good book about Walt. Learn about the beginnings of the company and follow the story up to the creation of WED Enterprises. Some of the first Imagineers weren't theme park designers...they were animators and people who worked for the studio. I would learn about the earliest Imagineers like (these are just a FEW examples) Marc Davis, Yale Gracey, Rolly Crump (who wrote a seriously kickin' book recently!), X Atencio, John Hench, Bob Gurr, Claude Coats, Herbie Ryman, and several others...
Then work your way to Marty Sklar and Tony Baxter (we're transcending styles, time, and series of Imagineers)...learn about EPCOT and how it was put together and by whom...you'll start to see Joe Rhode appear a bit here with the Mexico and Norway pavilions...along with several others...
Then kinda learn about the Eisner years and the changes to how things were done...
Get past that and you get into Disney-MGM, Disney's Animal Kingdom, and then finally to today...you'll get to see where everyone has landed...though honestly, in my mind, Joe Rhode is one of the newer ones (in the grand scheme) who has crossed the line into being legendary himself...Animal Kingdom is like, that guy's mind open for tour! He's really awesome and seems very down to earth...one of my favorites as well...
Keep in mind too that Staggs, Rasulo, and even Lasseter are more execs than Imagineers in the purest sense of the word...they're busy watching the dollar...Magnum kinda straddles the line in that sense to me...Then there's Vaughn and the new guys...whom I probably know the least about...
Overall I have to agree with Lazyboy97o...it's a big subject matter and it will take you several books and some DVD's & Youtube to get it down pat...and keep in mind that the playing field is always changing...each generation of Imagineers brings something different and the challenges are of course, different as well...
Good Luck!
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Thrill
Well-Known Member
Rasulo and Staggs are executives, so they really don't matter in terms of Imagineering.
For Rhode, I'd get a book on Animal Kingdom, since he did almost all of the park. The Imagineering Field Guide was pretty good, I thought. Martin might have a few solid tribute videos for parts of AK as well, so take a look at those.
With Lasseter, I'm not entirely sure how much he's contributed to WDI. I think he's more of an executive figure there, rather than a hands-on creative person. However, a Pixar book or even a documentary would be good to learn about him; I liked The Pixar Story. Maybe even watch a commentary of Toy Story, to get an idea of how he works creatively.
I'm not familiar with the work of anyone else on the list at all, so I'm in no position to comment on them.
For Rhode, I'd get a book on Animal Kingdom, since he did almost all of the park. The Imagineering Field Guide was pretty good, I thought. Martin might have a few solid tribute videos for parts of AK as well, so take a look at those.
With Lasseter, I'm not entirely sure how much he's contributed to WDI. I think he's more of an executive figure there, rather than a hands-on creative person. However, a Pixar book or even a documentary would be good to learn about him; I liked The Pixar Story. Maybe even watch a commentary of Toy Story, to get an idea of how he works creatively.
I'm not familiar with the work of anyone else on the list at all, so I'm in no position to comment on them.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Executives can still have a profound impact on Walt Disney Imagineering.
Thrill
Well-Known Member
They do, but not creatively. The most they can do is shoot down ideas or botch them with budget cuts. Or let the division get so out of hand that they seemingly work at twice the budgets that Universal manages to work with.
There's a difference between designing a ride and paying for it, is all I'm saying. WDI does one, and executives try to do the other.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
They can demands certain items/goals/etc. be included. Not everything starts in a pure Blue Sky process.