Walt Disney + Technology, Who?
The Path Down the Historical and the Innovative Lane of the Walt Disney Company
Walt Disney,
an innovator, an entrepreneur, a film producer, but most importantly the original Imagineer. As many like to say, a man of the future.
In the year of 1923, Walt Disney and his brother Roy Disney founded the most popular company around the world, the Walt Disney Company.
The Walt Disney Company began with black and white cartoons. The Disney brothers partnered up with cartoonist and animator, Ub Iwerks, to create the very first characters of the Disney realm.
These characters were Owslad the Lucky Rabbit and Steamboat Willie.
The Walt Disney Company continued to focus on producing cartoons like Steamboat Willie throughout the 1920s and into the 1930s. That was until the year 1937.
The year of 1937 signaled a new era in the Walt Disney Company. This era is the era for animation like no other.
1937 = Full-color animation film → Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
This film was a technological breakthrough. It took roughly 3 years to produce and broke the record of being the first feature-length animated film in U.S. history.
The First Feature-Length Animated Film in U.S. History
Little miss, who ate an apple from a stranger, Snow White did that.
Along with the help of Burpy, Deafy, Jumpy, Lazy, Puffy, Stuffy, and Wheezy. → Just kidding, those were the original names of the dwarfs.
The real names of the dwarfs are Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, and Sneezy. Love these boys!!
The film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was just the beginning for everything that will come in the future for the Disney company.
In 1950, the Disney Company decides to attempt a new source of media.
Television.
Disney goes to TV with the show One Hour in Wonderland.
Along with going to TV, Disney achieved the company’s first live-action film. The name of this film is Treasure Island.
Treasure Island is an adaptation of the novel Treasure Island written by Robert Louis Stevenson, which was published in 1882.
As the Disney company continued to produce films within the Disney character realm, Walt Disney began looking for something bigger. Something that would become the new innovative project of the Disney company. The project that Walt decided needed to be done is Disneyland.
And it was — Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955.
Disneyland, the happiest place on earth.
The first amusement park of it’s kind. A place that was different from any boardwalk that you could go to at that time. A place that there was and is no drinking but instead, a place where every member in the family can find a piece of their childhood in and be apart of the fun that is found in Disneyland.
Words from Walt Disney, himself, one the opening day of Disneyland, the first of many Disney amusement parks around the world.
Disneyland was full of rides that amaze the guest. Rides such as Matterhorn Bobsleds and Pirates of the Caribbean. As well as rides for the little ones like King Arthur Carrousel and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.
The world remains amazed by the Walt Disney parks to this day. Which is fact because there are now approximately 7 parks: Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, Tokyo Disney Resort, Tokyo DisneySea, Disneyland Paris Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, and Shanghai Disney Resort. Not including the Aulani, a hotel and resort, that was built by the Disney company on the Hawaiian Island of O’ahu.
As Disney began to spread around the world, so did new technology. Technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and virtual reality.
Many people around the world would not associate advancing technology, like artificial intelligence, and Mickey Mouse together. Unless of course, Mickey is wearing a lab coat and pretending to be a scientist.
Well, it doesn’t take a mad scientist like Mickey here to see all the technology that is woven into Disney. But if you don’t see it, that’s because the Imagineers have done a good job in creating a universe within the Disney realm that complete ingulfs you to the point that you can’t see the machines behind everything.
Disney Imagineer,
A group of people that are employed by the Walt Disney Company, who research and develop ideas for the Walt Disney Company. Their job is to be in charge of dreaming, designing and building Disney theme parks, attractions, cruise ships, resorts, and anything else that take creativity and imagination for.
The Imagineers are behind every innovation that Disney has done in the past and is working on in the present. A few of these innovations from the past are singing birds, talking Lincoln, and the Shaman of Songs. All of these projects are just a few of the many advancements in auto animatronics that Disney has accomplished.
The order of the photos above is the order in which Disney’s animatronic advancements occurred. The Enchanted Tiki Room bird was open for the public to view and experience on June 23, 1963. While Mr.Lincoln opened up on April 22, 1964. As well as, the Shaman of Songs from the Na’vi River Journey opened to the public on May 27, 2017. Thus, making the Na’vi singer the most recent advancement and you can tell by the change in detail and movement between the three animatronics.
The names of the animatronics are linked to videos that show the animatronics in action. Within, these videos you will see the progression of the movements. The Enchanted Tiki Room bird has a rough and choppy flow of his speaking and dancing. Also, the bird’s mouth movements do not match up with the words “coming” out of his beak. While Mr. Lincoln was a smoother flow of speaking, his turns and gestures are rough and robot-like (the animatronic is shown at 8:50 minutes into the ride footage). However, from the years of 1964 to 2017, the Shaman singer’s singing, turning, and dancing are smooth and human-like. Her mouth movements match the singing voice that is “coming” from her. As the Imagineers continue to advance their animatronic techniques and technology, their goal is to become as human and lifelike as possible.
Disney just released that the Imagineers are working on an animatronic that is combined with artificial intelligence that is more advanced than the previous Disney animatronics. The character that will become this amazing advancement is Pascal from the Disney princess movie Tangled.
Stepping away from Disney animatronics in the parks, the Imagineers have created the first autonomous stunt robot double named Stickman (the link is to a video that has Stickman in action). This robot is a Stuntronics robot. This means that this robot is the new stunt double for action scenes in movies like the Avengers series.
Stickman is the name and stunt doubling is the game
Stickman weighs only 90 pounds and can reach up to 60 feet in the air. While in the air. Stickman can make real-time decisions about whether or not he/she will do a somersault or a canyon ball.
If I was ever to become an action movie actress, I would want Stickman to be my stunt double because I will definitely need one if I don’t want to break every bone in my body.
Animatronics and Stuntronics are not the only technology that Disney Imagineers work with and on. Imagineers are also working on Virtual Reality.
Within Virtual Reality or VR, Disney is pursuing entertainment and fun. Unfortunately, most of Disney’s VR experiences are in the creation process and are not open to the public. There is one experience that is. This VR experience is called The VOID.
The VOID is not just VR but is in fact Hyper-Reality. This meaning that not only are you virtual in the world but you can also become apart of your surroundings — mostly through touch and smell. The VOID offers 2 separate worlds that you can join and experience.
The first world is Star Wars. You can join the Star Wars realm through the hyper-reality game, Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire. Within this game, you will recover important Imperial information and return it to the Rebels. This game is also a 4 person experience.
The second world that you can choose to experience is the world of Wreck-It Ralph. The entrance of this world is through the game, Ralph Breaks VR. Within the experience, you and your group have a food fight, all while fighting off evil cats and bunnies. It’s the war of the cupcakes!
Virtual Reality games are not the only Virtual Reality experiences that Disney is exploring. Disney Imagineers are working on VR films.
The first VR film that Disney has ever released is the film, Cycles. Within the world of Cycles, the true meanings of home and family are expressed.
The short film took about 4 months and 50 collaborators to complete. The setting of the film starts in a traditional 1950s home and proceeds to progress to the present. The setting being from the 1950s to the present allows you to see the way people’s homes are and once were. This film is based on Jeff Gipson’s, the director, grandparents, and their home.
Another, VR film that Disney has recently released press about is the film, Myth: A Frozen Tale. Myth: A Frozen Tale is a spin-off of Frozen 2, where the user can interact and explore within the spirit realm.
Disney has partnered up with the VR company, Positron, to create the Myth: A Frozen Tale film.
Virtual Reality films are only a part of Disney’s adventures in the big world of VR. Disney Imagineers are beginning to explore the development of VR and car entertainment.
VR + Car Entertainment = Disney & Audi → Audi Meets Disney
This Disney and Audi collaboration is called the Audi-Disney media experience.
This collaboration has resulted in the creation of a VR world that allows the passengers of the vehicle to fly through the Marvel universe with Rocket Raccoon by their side, all while shooting lasers at drones and asteroids.
Along with the rapidly advancing technologies, like Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality, Disney is making great strides in the world of Machine Learning. Disney is using the technology of Machine Learning to make the parks and the guests’ experiences more efficient.
Disney is achieving the company’s goal of efficiency is through the MyMagic+ program. This program includes the Magicband wristbands and the My Disney Experience app.
The Magicband wristbands allow the guest to link up their ride fast-passes (Fastpass+) and their park entrance tickets. As well as, collect the links to their character photos for their Photopass.
While the My Disney Experience app, allows the guest to have easy access to their restaurant reservations and access their photos from their Photopass.
Machine Learning has become a way that the Walt Disney Company can make strong connections with their guest. As well as, run the Walt Disney World park smoothly and efficiently.
The Magicband technology is only being used within the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. However, hopefully, it will make its way into all 7 of the parks.
One more technology that Disney Imagineers are taking a look at is Visual Computing.
Visual Computing, also known as Computer Vision, is the development of basically giving computers human eyes and brains. The computer is able to see and take in information like humans. But the big difference is that computers get their information from videos, 3D models, and other things that are within the computer.
The Walt Disney Company has not yet released what they have been working on, but the Imagineers are busy figuring out their applications of visual computing.
The Walt Disney Company started off with just black and white cartoons. Then came the company’s first colored full length animated film — Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Once, Disney got a taste of advancing technology, the Imagineers went running.
The Imagineers ran all the way to modern-day, where they are focusing on even more advancing technology.
The technologies that the Imagineers at the Walt Disney Company are focusing in on:
- Auto Animatronics/Stuntronics
- Virtual Reality + a little bit of Hyper-Reality
- Machine Learning
- Visual Computing
This is only a temporary thing. Soon the Imagineers will be working on even newer technologies that have yet to be heard of or even explored.
So here’s to the amazing Imagineers that are always honoring the original imagineer, Walt Disney.
Thank you so much for reading my article about the Walt Disney Company and the Imagineers' involvement in advancing technologies.
I hope you love Disney as much as I do. If you ever want to speak about the Walt Disney Company and the technologies that the company is involved, please feel free to email me at makaylamlatkins@gmail.com
