Ollie Johnston: A Celebration of Life - 8/19/2008 at the El Capitan Theatre
Page 10 of 10

As plans were being made to move the Marie E. from Julian to Sonoma, Lasseter began to devise a plan to let Ollie run his narrow gauge one more time. He realized there was a well known location between Julian and Sonoma with narrow gauge track, where the train could be run with comparative ease. But as that location was Disneyland, Lasseter wasn�t quite sure what would be involved. So he picked up the phone and called then president Matt Ouimett. There was immediate interest, but the request had to be sent all the way up to Michael Eisner, who readily agreed. Thus it was that on May 10, 2005, Ollie Johnston�s Marie E. became the only outside train engine to ever operate on the Disneyland Railroad right-of-way.

The light dimmed and video of this very special day was shown. As it concluded, there was sustained applause from the deeply moved crowd. Lasseter said that the look on Ollie�s face alone was worth all the planning and work.

He related that the night before, there had been a dinner at the Resort. The event, scheduled for 7am, before Disneyland opened to the public, was a secret. Ollie was told he was to receive a special award. As he looked around at the dinner that night, he remarked, �Boy, there�s a lot of people here I know.�

The next morning, after the speeches and award were done, the Marie E. steamed into the New Orleans Square station. It was only when Ollie was turned around that he recognized his own engine. He began to cry. Lasseter leaned down and asked, �Do you want to take her for a spin?� The roundhouse crew had built a special ramp to gently ease Ollie into the cab. They also �borrowed� a seatbelt from a Matterhorn bobsled to ensure he would be secure. When Ollie grabbed the throttle, it was as if twenty years dropped away. He circled the park, taking photos at the stations along the way.

The Marie E. is an authentic 1901 Porter that originally worked in mines, running back and forth. At Julian the Marie E. had also operated for some forty years over a straight section of track. It was only that day that the little engine, over a century old, ever completed a round trip.

Lasseter also related that there were complications involved in letting the Disney executives take their turn running the engine. It seems that Disneyland requires that any outside equipment be handled only by employees of the vendor that owns it. Therefore, both Bob Iger and Michael Eisner had to become �employees� of Pixar for the morning. The proper papers were signed, and a token payment of one dollar was made to each. So, Lasseter mischievously concluded, for a few hours Bob Iger and Michael Eisner were working for him!

In closing his remarks about his friend, teacher, and mentor, Lasseter looked into the crowd and said, �I�ll always remember Ollie Johnston. Thank you very much.�

To sum up Ollie�s final days, Leonard Maltin brought out someone who had been closest to him, his daughter-in-law Carolyn Johnston. She began by noting that just ten days after that special day in Disneyland, Ollie�s wife Marie died.

Carolyn was there that night, because, as she said, �Marie and Ollie would want someone from the family to thank you.� She extended their gratitude to all who organized and participated in this profound and heartfelt tribute to Ollie, as well as all who attended. �Ollie truly does live on in his two sons,� she said, �As well as his animation sons, of which there are many.�

Ollie and Marie Johnston: A Match Made in Heaven
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She shared a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: A painter told me that nobody could draw a tree without in some sort becoming a tree or draw a child by studying the outlines of its form merely . . . but by watching for a time his motions and plays, the painter enters into his nature and can then draw him at every attitude . . .

As a montage of family photos was shown, Ollie�s recorded words were played. �The big thing in my life has always been the feeling that we put real life in those characters, that the characters were alive� All these little animals in there are real� They want to be seen, and so do I.�

Carolyn Johnston concluded that Ollie Johnston would not want us to weep for his memory, but to weep for love. He would ask us to take this mystery of love and imagination into all our lives.

A final image of Ollie, stepping out through the gate of his home filled the screen. Accompanying it were these words: