Press Release from Motion Theory

Venice, CA -- JUNE 10, 2010 – Creative production studio Motion Theory creates a stunning, cinematic, CG film, staring a redesigned Mickey Mouse in the launch of Disney’s spectacular new show, “World of Color”.

Motion Theory directors Mathew Cullen and Christopher Leone partnered with Disney and advertising agency, mcgarrybowen, to create an artful, cinematic experience where a mischievous Mickey Mouse unlocks a stunning world of beauty and magic as other beloved Disney characters boldly interact with dazzling fountains of colored water and light.

Motion Theory’s visual effects team was charged with the creative responsibility of conceptualizing and designing the story for the animations. This encompassed directing the Mickey animation with lead animator, Tony Bancroft from Duck Studios, as well depicting Pixar characters in incredible 3D water form. To re-create the characters in fluid form, as well as elaborate 3D water fountains and environments, the team articulately rendered over 150 fluid and volumetric mist elements utilizing cutting edge beta software to produce massive volumes of 3D fluid simulations.

The film begins with Mickey approaching a music stand, where he begins to wield a conductor’s baton.  Mickey fumbles, and as he reaches for the baton, the sensational magic begins.  The action is set in motion as a huge first blast of water erupts. Soon a fusion of mighty water fountain blasts and brilliant arrays of colored light explode skyward as animated Disney characters burst onto the screen, magically forming into liquid shapes that flow and move with the animation and music.

Inspired by “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice" sequence of /Fantasia/, Co-Director Christopher Leone said, “After a sneak peek of the ‘World of Color’ show, we realized that the bar was high.  Mickey Mouse is such a huge, iconic figure in our minds, we wanted to look beyond the icon and rediscover Mickey as a character -- a character capable of mischief, daring, and surprise.   We approached the blocking and designing of our animation with a live action sensibility so that our camera angles captured both Mickey’s performance and the epic scale of the show."

Each character had to be modeled, rigged, and match-moved.  Buzz, Simba, Eve, the Princesses, Crush and the other characters each comprised up to a dozen different simulations, formed from millions of particles. The full 3D environments that set the scene were a complex mixture of 3D water tricks, fountains, background mist projection screens, along with shafts of water shot 150-200 feet in the air under extreme pressure.

Visual Effects Supervisor John Fragomeni went on to say, “There are always challenges when you integrate traditional 2D animated characters into a photo-real 3D world of water. The key to success was finding that unique balance where the two styles could creatively coexist and retain the fantasy edge that makes Disney magical.  From the onset we knew we would be pushing the boundaries of CG fluid simulation technology to meet these challenges.  We developed a very lean and streamlined process to produce amazing 3D fluid simulations. It was a wonderfully rewarding project and the hard work by our terrific team of artists is reflected in the on screen quality.

The production timeframe for “World of Color” spanned February through June 2010. Production included concept, storyboards, pre-visualization, technical R+D, animation, fluid simulations, light, rendering and final integration of all 3D elements.

The production timeframe for “World of Color” spanned February through June 2010. Production included concept, storyboards, pre-visualization, technical R+D, animation, fluid simulations, light, rendering and final integration of all 3D elements.