LPWire: 75 InspEARations on Tour

The Walt Disney Company's Celebration of Mickey's 75th Anniversary Continues With Statue Tour

75 Mickey Mouse Statues, Designed by a Variety of Mickey's Friends, to Visit Cities Across America

The Walt Disney Company's celebration of Mickey Mouse's 75th Anniversary marches forward as 75 Mickey Mouse statues, designed by a variety of Mickey's friends, will embark on a 10-city tour across America from May through October 2004. The statues were unveiled on Mickey's 75th Anniversary -- November 18, 2003 -- at Walt Disney World Resort.

"This program is an impressive tribute to Mickey from some of his biggest fans, including Elton John, Ellen DeGeneres, Tony Hawk, Tom Hanks, Ben Affleck, Gary Baseman and more," said Michael Eisner, chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company. "Mickey is a hometown hero to many so it makes sense to take this tribute across America and right to his fans."

Appropriately deemed "Celebrate Mickey: 75 InspEARations," the Mickey statue program is comprised of Disney legends, artists, actors, athletes and performing artists who lent creative talent or simply creative inspiration that resulted in 75 uniquely designed, 700-pound, 6-foot-tall Mickey statues.

Whether deciding to use Mickey as a canvas or finding fun ways to dress him up, each artist's statue is a genuine work of art. Getting into the fun, artists such as Raven, Wyland, David Willardson, Peter and Harrison Ellenshaw, Rosie O'Donnell and MEAR ONE even chose to personally paint their Mickey statue. Otherwise, TivoliToo, a Minnesota-based design and sculpting studio, transformed the remaining statues for each artist.

In groups of 15, the statues will visit 10 cities in 2004 and will be on display for approximately two months in each location (see following schedule for tour details):

In 2005, all 75 will come together again at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif., Washington D.C. and New York City (details to be announced later) before they are auctioned by Sotheby's Auction House to raise money for the charity of each individual artist's choice.

The Walt Disney Company was able to bring "Celebrate Mickey: 75 InspEARations" to fruition with the help of The Coca-Cola Company, the primary tour sponsor. In addition, The Home Depot(R) provided the "Disney Color by Behr" paint and other supplies to bring the statues to life. Suddath Relocation Systems is "Movin' Mickey" and will transport the statues to each destination. Kodak will use its EasyShare system to offer digital photographs in each city during the tour. Radio Disney stations will act as Mickey's host in the ten communities.

Mickey's Future

A star of stage, screen and ice, as well as the Chief Host at all of Disney's Parks & Resorts, Mickey has entertained kings and presidents, prime ministers and princes, sports stars, film stars, TV stars and millions of just-plain-folks. He will continue to dazzle and spread his special mouse magic for years to come.

As part of the 18 months of celebration surrounding Mickey's 75th Anniversary, the world's most beloved mouse will be making his rounds on everything from U.S. Postage Stamps to the "The Three Musketeers" direct-to-video premier to "Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas" direct-to-video premiere which features Mickey and the gang in three-dimensional CGI animation for the first time in a feature film.

Said Eisner in November 2003: "No other single character has remained in the limelight like Mickey, no other single character has been at the definitive forefront of a global entertainment company, no other single character has such timeless, ageless appeal or has engaged the hearts of so many. Chances are, if you talk to a 4-year-old or a 70-year-old anywhere in the world, they consider Mickey a special friend."

For more information about the 75 InspEARations including images of all 75 statues, please visit the official website.

 

** Brian Matson, creator of the "Field Mouse" statue, is an employee of Marshall Fields.  The Nicollet Mall Marshall Fields will play host to his statue while it is in Minneapolis.

--Posted April 7, 2004
Source: Walt Disney Company