Rumor Disney 100: Great Moments with Uncle Walt to Replace Mr. Lincoln

[Rich T]

Creating an animatronic of Abraham Lincoln in 1964 seems very much in the same vein as creating a deepfake of Walt in 2023. I think Walt would absolutely love this. You may think he would hate it. The reality is he’s long dead, and if you believe Walt is looking down on us from heaven, then he’s probably annoyed that people keep claiming to know what his opinion would be.

It’s somewhat in the same vein, but the context is different; here we have the idea of a huge, greedy media corporation recreating the studio’s founder in an attempt to pretend they actually still believe in Walt’s ideals, all while taking the parks and studio further and further away from Disney-created IPs and charging more and more for less and less.

And I’m not just saying that because I lost the Tron coaster AP lottery this morning. Honest.

 

[TP2000]

This hologram just looks hokey. And weird. And overly smiley and fake, like he's throwing in free floormats if we buy the car today.

And he also looks oddly and obviously de-aged and de-greyed. Which then leads back to hokey.

Also, the first thing that popped into my head when seeing this was... Walt Disney, Presented by Just For Men!

 

[TP2000]

I watched that video a second time and it got even worse.

I'm now getting distinct Gavin Newsom vibes from his mannerisms and cheesy politician smile!

 

[BasiltheBatLord]

What is the point of this? Why not just use actual existing footage of him? This reeks of the whole "they were too busy asking if they could, they didn't bother to ask if they should."

 

[flynnibus]

What is the point of this? Why not just use actual existing footage of him? This reeks of the whole "they were too busy asking if they could, they didn't bother to ask if they should."

probably an R&D project to work on this kind of deepfake stuff and this was just an avenue to put it out there and experiment.

 

[mlayton144]

This hologram just looks hokey. And weird. And overly smiley and fake, like he's throwing in free floormats if we buy the car today.

And he also looks oddly and obviously de-aged and de-greyed. Which then leads back to hokey.

Also, the first thing that popped into my head when seeing this was... Walt Disney, Presented by Just For Men!

Looks like the satirical Walt Disney look alike owner of Wally World from the movie “Vacation” , does chevy chase make an appearance ?

 

[Practical Pig]

I think Hologram Walt has taken a step too far into the Uncanny Valley.

 

[Parteecia]

There was a while when they were showing his TV episodes in that theater as an AP perk. They should do that again, open to everyone. Let him speak for himself, unedited.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Not feeling the hologram either. It’s off.

 

[waltography]

Is this even really a hologram? Is it not just a projection on a curved screen? It doesn't look like it approximates depth at all in the way other holograms have done (whether it's like an updated Pepper's Ghost used by those tribute concerts, Musion scrims, or those volumetric boxes PORTL does that can actually replicate volume).

 

[celluloid]

Is this even really a hologram? Is it not just a projection on a curved screen? It doesn't look like it approximates depth at all in the way other holograms have done (whether it's like an updated Pepper's Ghost used by those tribute concerts, Musion scrims, or those volumetric boxes PORTL does that can actually replicate volume).

Yeah, it really seems more like a crisp projection that could be part of a Musion, but there is no depth like any of Universal's or others.

Even Ripleys Believe it or not in the 90s did it better. Grainy old internet upload but it gives you the idea.

 

[Dr.Cheeto]

I watched that video a second time and it got even worse.

I'm now getting distinct Gavin Newsom vibes from his mannerisms and cheesy politician smile!

His body is also doing the classic Trump lean forward from the waist.

"We own the greatest mouse who's ever lived some say. Mickey the Mouse- that's what they call him and he.. is ours. We love Mickey don't we folks! What a beautiful man! Those sleepy Warner Brothers have nothing. What do they have, a rabbit? When I'm president I will get rid of that rascally rabbit, believe me."
-Walt Disney, 2023

 

[celluloid]

It is like watching Rod Serling do some jumping jacks while giving a TW Zone narration.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

probably an R&D project to work on this kind of deepfake stuff and this was just an avenue to put it out there and experiment.

Or just a CG model like the hologram 2pac from Coachella a number of years ago. I wonder if this holo Walt is keyframe animated or using some sort of deepfake model to animate the face.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

This hologram Walt is not connected to the WDI project for DL. Trying to confirm the current status of the Walt AA, though it was making its way through the approval process as late as last fall.

 

[CaptinEO]

Or just a CG model like the hologram 2pac from Coachella a number of years ago. I wonder if this holo Walt is keyframe animated or using some sort of deepfake model to animate the face.

Holograms usually involve motion capture and 3D filming of a look alike and then implementing a CG face over the look alike.

The Walt "impersonator" they filmed for this is way too over animated in his mannerisms.

 

[No Name]

We are only a few years away from Disney being able to have an autonomous animatronic, in other words, one that interacts with guests without any script. Whether they choose to do it is another question, but I expect we’ll see it happen somewhere well within our lifetimes.

 

[waltography]

We are only a few years away from Disney being able to have an autonomous animatronic, in other words, one that interacts with guests without any script. Whether they choose to do it is another question, but I expect we’ll see it happen somewhere well within our lifetimes.

Something I think that's totally possibly in our lifetime/potentially more budget-friendly would be implementing real-time voice processing to allow masked characters like the stormtroopers or Mickey and the gang to respond in meet and greets without having to do preset responses.

 

[PiratesMansion]

Something I think that's totally possibly in our lifetime/potentially more budget-friendly would be implementing real-time voice processing to allow masked characters like the stormtroopers or Mickey and the gang to respond in meet and greets without having to do preset responses.

Didn't WDW once have a talking Mickey that fit this description, or did that Mickey have to choose between preset responses?

 

[waltography]

Didn't WDW once have a talking Mickey that fit this description, or did that Mickey have to choose between preset responses?

Preset responses! So sometimes it made for pauses in conversations that were ever so slightly off (or in the case of the DCA playtest, lines would be triggered too soon and overlapped with other characters unnaturally). Still magical though; I especially love that DCA playtest, it's so fun.