Disneyland General
Topic: 8/19/07 The Partners Statue...a clarification

#	Author	Message
41	Jim in Merced CA Wed 8/22/2007 9:11a	For those interested, here's a picture of the Jim Henson statue on the University of Maryland campus. http://www.jimhensonlegacy.org /StatueCloseupweb.jpg
42	utahjosh Wed 8/22/2007 9:51a	I think it's a perfect. It's just a nice "park" statue. It's mickey! It's Walt! It's just right.
43	tonyanton Wed 8/22/2007 11:00a	I think "Partners" is perfect.
44	tynkrbell1977 Wed 8/22/2007 11:54a	I think it is perfect too! =)
45	tiki tiki tiki tiki Wed 8/22/2007 1:50p	I ´ve loved the statue since the first time I saw it. I think it ´s very nice, touching, in just the right place and plus they both deserve it. And that ´s all, no more. I think it ´s so nice that I never bothered to really look into its "faults". Never studied the stiffness, the rigidness, Walt being in 2-D, I don ´t miss the flowers, etc. <<It's mickey! It's Walt! It's just right.>> It ´s that simple... imo.
46	tynkrbell1977 Wed 8/22/2007 1:52p	Cant go wrong with Mickey and Walt!
47	Goofyernmost Wed 8/22/2007 2:47p	>>>I'd have to disagree with that. To me, it's not Walt showing Mickey merely Disneyland, but the wonders of all his dreams and aspirations.<<< I couldn't agree more. Everyone is trying to figure out what Walt is pointing too but it is merely a sweeping motion, IMHO, showing Mickey all that they created. It is a very appropriate piece of art and it's location in front of the Castle is without a doubt the best place for it. In fact, I cannot even imagine it anyplace else. For those that haven't' been to WDW it is located in the same place. Perfect, and it says it all.
48	TMICHAEL Wed 8/22/2007 7:47p	Thanks for the link Jim, I absolutely love the Jim Henson Statue!
49	TMICHAEL Wed 8/22/2007 7:58p	And I'm also 100% in agreement with you knightnfrees. I was about to post the exact same thing about the Partners Statue needing to be in Town Square facing the castle. Although, to some, the center of the HUB could be seen as a place of prominance or even honor if you want to get that deep.
50	DlandDug Thu 8/23/2007 11:15p	I really wasn't sure I would comment on this blog. After reading what others have said here, I must chime in with my opinion. That one doesn't care for the Partner's statue is certainly their privilege. But the "support" offered in the original blog entry is, in my opinion, simply wrong headed. The most egregiously wrong headed statement of support is this : >>...this particular statue is what I think I have the problem with. For me, it fails on a sculptural level: Walt looks uncomfortably stiff, and Mickey's body is so rigid that it fails to convey any life whatsoever.<< Anyone, even those unfamiliar with classical statuary, should find this statement baffling. The figures not only appear at ease and naturalistic, they have been carefully designed to do so. Note that one of Walt's feet is resting slightly ahead of the other. His outstretched arm is counterweighted by the slight backward thrust of the opposing shoulder. Mickey is also rendered with the same care. This is no small feat, nor was it approached lightly. Mickey is a creation of two dimensional lines and circles. This figure captures that, and realistically renders him with weight and scale. Speaking of scale, the size of the figure was determined by Walt himself. There is a well known story that relates how Walt, in describing Mickey during a story session, held his hand out level, just above his waist. Those present understood exactly what that meant; Walt not only viewed Mickey as a "real" personality, he even knew just how tall he was. Technical skill aside, it should also be pointed out that sculptor Blaine Gibson was creating more than just three dimensional hagiography. He knew Walt Disney in life, and felt it was his duty to create a piece that was both completely realistic, as well as inspiring. I find other objections in the blog equally specious. The area where the sculpure has been placed was, and is, a beautiful flower bed. Citing John Hench on this topic is, again, wrong headed. (>>That famous [and possibly apocryphal] quote attributed to John Hench regarding DCA always springs to mind--"I liked it better when it was a parking lot"--well, I liked this better when it was just marigolds.<<) In point of fact, John Hench consulted on the Partner's statue. The following is excerpted from the LP article about John Hench's memorial service. It concerns Marty Sklar, after hearing Disney Legend Blaine Gibson discuss consulting with John Hench about the Partner's staue: >>Marty mentioned spending an evening listening to Blaine Gibson and John Hench discuss a detail of the Partner's statue. He was astonished at how the two of them could spend so much time on a single detail: the joining of Walt's hand with five fingers to Mickey's hand with four.<< As if the original article didn't offer enough fodder for criticism, there's this wrong headed assertion in post #37: >>I don't think Mickey--or even the field of "animation"--begins to describe who Walt Disney was.<< Many, many of Walt's associates agree that Walt viewed Mickey as his alter ego. Walt himself originally provided Mickey's distinctive voice. Walt constantly sought ways to keep Mickey in the public eye. The innovative Fantasia was sparked by the desire to create a showcase for Mickey. In Walt's first Disneyland television program he famously said, "My only hope is that we never lose sight of one thing, that it was all started by a mouse." As late as 1955, after Walt had "moved on" to other fields of endeavor, he launched the daily Mickey Mouse Club. >>...I don't think the Partners statue captures the broadness of Disney's imagination that we saw across all of his endeavors...it narrows it down into one specific area that I don't think is the most accurate one.<< To the contrary, the Partner's statue perfectly captures exactly what it is intended to be: a concrete evocation of something that Walt himself clearly believed. Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse were, and are, partners.

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