An Illuminated Personality

The Pixar Studios district at Disney's Hollywood Studios opened last summer with the debut of Toy Story Midway Mania. The entire area is full of many exquisite details (such as the multi-colored brick pattern duplicated from Pixar's campus in Emeryville, California) and fun surprises (like the Green Army Men playing Scrabble). Although the main focus is on characters from the Toy Story films, a certain little lamp can also be found here. His name is Luxo Jr., and he has become the unofficial mascot of Pixar Animation Studios, appearing at the start of every Pixar film.

Luxo Jr. was the title character of Pixar's first computer animated short film (image below ©Pixar). The film grew out of John Lasseter's desire to learn how to model an object on the computer. He chose as his subject the Luxo brand lamp on his desk. Further inspired by a coworker's young son, John wondered what a child lamp would look and act like. Luxo Jr. was born. "Luxo Jr." had its public debut at SIGGRAPH in 1986 and was met with rapturous applause. Never before had such personality and life been seen from a computer-generated image. It was the beginning of a journey that would culminate in Toy Story, the first full-length computer animated feature, and lead to a successful run of wonderful stories and characters.

Now, Luxo Jr. has been given new life in the form of an incredible new Audio-Animatronics figure on Pixar Place at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Throughout the day, just outside the facade for the Luxo Jr. Lighting Department, the little lamp hops out to have a little fun. Music starts playing in the area, and Luxo Jr. can't help but dance along. The music changes, and he responds accordingly. At night, Luxo Jr. discovers a connection with the trees around him, each shimmering with hundreds of twinkling lights. As Luxo Jr. calls to them, the lights in the trees react, dancing and changing color with him.

Luxo Jr. appears intermittently (approx. every 15-20 minutes), weather permitting. Of the two vignettes, "dancing" runs during the day. "Dancing" and "conducting" alternate with one another after dark. Additional vignettes may be added in the future, so stay tuned!

UPDATE: The Luxo Jr. figure was retired in Spring 2010 after proving to be too difficult to operate reliably in this environment. Hopefully, we'll see him return at some point.

Swiss Family Referenced on...

Downstream from the Swiss Family Treehouse is the loading dock for the steamers of the Jungle Navigation Company. Apparently, the Robinsons have been employing their services, shipping items to acquaintances far and wide. Pay close attention to these crates on the right as you exit the Jungle Cruise. You'll discover another bit of Hidden Disney:

Thomas Kirk, Esq. - Actor Tommy Kirk appeared as middle son Ernst Robinson in Swiss Family Robinson. He was a Disney regular, also starring in such films as Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, and The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (M. Jones Cartographers).

Island of Bora Danno - This is a reference to the eldest Robinson boy, Fritz, played by James MacArthur. MacArthur starred in the Disney movies Kidnapped, The Light in the Forest, and Third Man on the Mountain (inspiration for the Matterhorn at Disneyland). But it was his role as Danny Williams on the TV series "Hawaii Five-O" that brought him his greatest fame. As costar Jack Lord's Detective Steve McGarrett would say, "Book 'em, Danno."

Kenneth Annakin Director of Imports - Ken Annakin directed Swiss Family Robinson, as well as the Disney films The Sword and the Rose and Third Man on the Mountain.

Wyss Supply Company - This line refers to Johann Wyss, author of the 1812 book Swiss Family Robinson, upon which the film was based.

Colony of New Guinea - New Guinea, an island colony north of Australia, was the original destination of the Robinson family and their ill-fated ship, Swallow.

Meet the Robinsons

Taking another turn into Adventureland, we start to spy the remains of a wrecked ship in and around the rocky landscape. We know we can't be far from the treetop abode of the family Robinson. Inspired by Walt Disney's 1960 film Swiss Family Robinson, the original Swiss Family Treehouse opened at Disneyland in November 1962 and was a natural for opening day at the Magic Kingdom in Florida.

The tree housing the treehouse is the very large, very concrete Disneyodendron eximus ("out of the ordinary Disney tree"). It's artificial of course, but based in reality. The design of the tree was inspired by banyan trees, which send additional branches down from their limbs, eventually creating the appearance of a forest of trunks all from the same specimen. In this case, the root trunks allowed the tree's designers to provide the outer limbs with necessary structural support.

Moving closer to the tree, we begin to hear the strains of the "Swisskapolka" and are introduced to the family - Father, Mother, Fritz, Ernst and Francis - as well as their fate as survivors of the wreck of the Swallow. Through this sign, the Robinsons tell us that "From the wreckage we built our home in this tree for protection on this uncharted shore." Similar journal-style signs throughout the attraction continue the story of the Swiss family's adventures and provide us information about each of the rooms of the treehouse.

One of the most fascinating details of the treehouse, though, is how the wreckage from the ship is used to create almost everything we see. The entrance sign is made from a broken oar:

Spindles and rope form the fence along the entrance, while cannons from the ship are poised and ready to meet any approaching danger. It's no coincidence that the cannons are aimed in the direction of the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, deeper into Adventureland. If you recall, pirates figure heavily in the Swiss Family Robinson film.

More rope from the rigging and bits of the masts have been cobbled together to build this bridge across the river:

Of course, not everything the Robinson boys built came from the ship. Combining wood from the ship with bits of bamboo and other items from the island itself, they fabricated this incredible water wheel. Stop to watch, and you'll discover it actually works. The flowing water in the stream turns the wheel, cranking the gears and pulling the bamboo cups into the water below. The cups are then hoisted up to the top of the tree, dropping their load into an elaborate plumbing system that runs through each of the main rooms.

The Robinsons apparently enjoy island living. They may have left their Disneyland home (passing that treehouse on to Tarzan in 1999), but they still maintain treetop residences at Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris. With incredible treehouses in so many vacation hotspots, it's little wonder the family chose to neither return home to London or sail on to New Guinea. They seem to like it here just fine.

Call Him Bwana

Just inside the entrance to Adventureland is another outpost on the edge of civilization. While the British colonial structures on one side of the path bring civility to the jungle, Bwana Bob's on the other side aims to bring a bit of the jungle to the village. Bob trades all sorts of goods, from apparel to make tropic expeditions more comfortable to jewelry "hand crafted by natives."

Of course, if you question the authenticity of some of Bob's wares, you might be right. This Adventureland merchandise location takes its name from the 1963 film Call Me Bwana and the movie's star, Bob Hope. In the film, Bob plays Matthew Merriwether, an author who purports to be an expert on all things African, but has never actually visited the continent.

Why Bob Hope? Hope, long an admirer of Walt Disney, had been one of the biggest Hollywood stars to come out for the opening ceremonies of Walt Disney World. In his appearance on the "Walt Disney World Grand Opening Special" on NBC, his praise for Walt Disney the man and Walt Disney World the place was profound. Naming a location in the park as a tribute to Bob Hope was a way of saying, "Thank you."

Historical note: Bwana Bob's has not always been in Adventureland or in the same location where it's found today. The shop actually made its debut in 1983 in what had been an Adventureland ticket booth (attraction tickets were discontinued in 1982 with the introduction of the World Passport ticket). That booth, and the original Bwana Bob's, was between the Liki Tikis and the path leading down to the Jungle Cruise dock. It was removed in 2002 to allow for smoother traffic flow around the newly installed Magic Carpets of Aladdin. The present cart structure was added at about the same time and later rechristened Bwana Bob's.

The Edge of Civilization

The path through Adventureland winds intentionally, creating a sense of discovery and exploration - something new around every turn. The first section of Adventureland which Magic Kingdom Guests encounter is still fairly civilized, populated with architecture evocative of the British colonial period. The bright colors, ironwork and other details further help to transition us from Victorian-era Main Street, but create a distinctly tropical atmosphere.

The bulk of this building on the right was once home to an Adventureland restaurant. The Adventureland Verandah, presented by Kikkoman, was a quick service location offering Asian-inspired dishes. The Verandah closed in 1994 and is today used primarily for special events, including unique character greetings during the annual Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.

Although the buildings here may just be set dressing much of the time, it's certainly worthwhile to take note of them on the way to somewhere else. Not only are the architectural details and color styling beautiful to look at, but each facade is propped out to appear as though someone lives or works there. The collective effect is that the structure on the side of the path does not appear to be one large building, but instead a whole series of smaller, more intimate buildings each with a life of its own.