Disney Tests Talking Trio at DCA

D

Deleted member 107043

GiveMeTheMusic said:
Y'all are old fuddyduddies. This is cool and the only problem with it are the hideous outfits they insist on testing talking characters in.
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I agree that it's cool, I'm just afraid of them. Haha.

For those of us who had to suffer through Disco Mickey Mouse in the 70s and Totally Minnie in the 80s the trendy outfits are par for the course.
 
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Disney Analyst

Disney Analyst

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I actually think it makes the interaction a bit less awkward when it's just Mickey. Sometimes you have long gaps waiting for a response, here they were all switching in and out making it more seamless.
 
MisterPenguin

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Curious Constance said:
How does this work? Who is doing the talking and where?
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Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain... who's pushing buttons on a conversation tree which alerts the 'friends' of the characters which routine to mime as the pre-recorded vocals are piped through a speaker and the servos in the heads move the mouth and eyes in sync.
 
Rich T

Rich T

Well-Known Member
I was ready to hate this idea. In the first moments, I was all set with a Five Nights at Freddy's comment.... but--what the heck. They're so likeable. And Donald made me laugh.

Really, there's nothing negative about this. If you don't think it's creepy to meet five foot tall versions of Mickey, Minnie and Donald in the first place, then what's not to like about them talking? The effect is basically like you're taking part in one of the park's cheesy stage shows. Embrace the hokiness.

Congrats to the performers, as always. They make it look easy.

(EDIT) I'd love to see a "PLAN B" routine installed for dealing with drunk or rude guests. The three fall silent. Mickey says, "Y'know, you're not very nice." The bouncer gorilla from Roger Rabbit steps out of the bushes and drags smart-alec guest away. Mickey says, "All righty, then, who's next?"
 
No Name

No Name

Well-Known Member
I really like it. It's far far more natural than static faces that can't talk. How as children did we ever believe these characters were real?

My biggest problem here is simply with the redesigned faces. Why are Mickey's cheeks so red?

I hope this finds its way to the cars in Radiator Springs. Not the red cheeks. The moving mouthes.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Curious Constance said:
What on earth was Minnie talking about seeing a pack of wild lions for anyway?
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I didn't get that either. The guy walks up, they all say hi, and a split second later Minnie launches into this random story about seeing a "majestic pack of wild lions!". Uh, cool story Minnie, but can we just try and drag the spotlight off of you for one second? :rolleyes:

This is obviously a test for Star Wars Land, where groups of droids and characters interact with you on pre-set plotlines and character arcs.

The original 2010 talking Mickey was way more interactive and memorable. It's been seven years since then and... nothing. Disneyland suits can't get a parking structure built in seven years, they can't move really cool talking character tech into the parks, and they keep rolling out turkey entertainment offerings like Summer of Heroes.

It feels like TDA needs a big shakeup and some fresh people to re-evaluate priorities and strategy here.
 
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MisterPenguin

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
TP2000 said:
I didn't get that either. The guy walks up, they all say hi, and a split second later Minnie launches into this random story about seeing a "majestic pack of wild lions!". Uh, cool story Minnie, but can we just try and drag the spotlight off of you for one second? :rolleyes:
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Looking back at it. Minnie's 'voice' thought that the videographer was going to continue to engage her, and so she launched into a story about "going on a safari the other day", but, that intro got lost as the videographer started to talk to Donald and Donald's 'voice' reacted to the videographer talking over Minnie. So, once Donald stopped talking gasping for breath, we were left suddenly in the middle of Minnie's spiel about lions roaring.

So, it seems that each character has their own vocalist choosing the routines and they, just like real people, can talk over each other. But, unlike real people, once a spiel is launched, it doesn't stop when it realizes it isn't being paid attention to.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
MisterPenguin said:
Looking back at it. Minnie's 'voice' thought that the videographer was going to continue to engage her, and so she launched into a story about "going on a safari the other day", but, that intro got lost as the videographer started to talk to Donald and Donald's 'voice' reacted to the videographer talking over Minnie. So, once Donald stopped talking gasping for breath, we were left suddenly in the middle of Minnie's spiel about lions roaring.

So, it seems that each character has their own vocalist choosing the routines and they, just like real people, can talk over each other. But, unlike real people, once a spiel is launched, it doesn't stop when it realizes it isn't being paid attention to.
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Oh, you're probably right.

But I liked my version of events where Minnie was hogging the limelight because she's just that way.
 

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