For more on the Vinylmation and the product line itself, please check out Zoe's article here. The reason I'm bringing this up today is because I decided to Google the line, since we have not heard an update, to see if any more information was announced about the November 14 expected release date. I did not. Instead, what I did find, were a ton of columns from various blogs and news sites that talked about people's negative reaction to the look of Minnie Mouse.
I sincerely do understand the concerns of parents, but the above is purely meant to be a fun art style for Disney fan's to see classic characters in forms they are not used to. It is an art form, just like when DDG artists fit characters on a Mickey shaped canvas, Popcorns platform or Pook-a-looz. If you don't want your children to see or have this merchandise, then you avoid it or use it as a teaching opportunity. But it should not be pulled from the campaign as many suggest. It is a very creative and stylistic design that has many Disney fans excited for something new.
Here are some new images Disney/Barney's released. They include scenes from the video the public will see on November 14.
Closing scene from video
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You can Google "Barney's Electric Holiday Minnie" to see the opposition news articles I am talking about. I wanted to post Barney's and Disney's response to the critiques. It is a bit of a shame that they had to unveil the end of the November 14 video early just to try to quell some of the opposition.
From the Disney Post; The Official Blog of the Walt Disney Company:
(October 12, 2012) In August, we announced “Electric Holiday,” a project with Barneys New York. The one-time holiday promotion includes a moving art video that was designed to be a playful interpretation of the fashion world where Minnie Mouse briefly imagines what it would be like if she and her friends were a part of that high fashion world. The images shown during the brief dream sequence in the moving art video are highly stylized interpretations of these artistic characters. In the end, the video concludes with Minnie returning back to her classic self happily wearing a Lanvin designer dress.
We know many of our fans were intrigued with this news, and we wanted to give the behind-the-scenes story firsthand and provide insight into how we developed the creative concepts. I sat down with Luis Fernandez, senior vice president of global creative at Disney Consumer Products, to give us the scoop.
Nidia: Luis, we know that fans all over the world have an emotional connection to Disney characters. What can you tell Disney fans about how these stylized looks for “Electric Holiday” came to be?
Luis: “Electric Holiday” is a fun and colorful campaign that gave our character artists the creative liberty to do something artistic and completely unique. The elongated poses of Disney characters, including Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Goofy and Cruella de Vil, are dramatically stylized. They’re creative interpretations from a fashion lens, and only appear for a few seconds in this video. Their true form remains as classic as ever in every aspect of the company. A project like “Electric Holiday” is the kind of creative challenge which forces one to stretch the imagination while proceeding with caution. We know we have to be respectful of who these characters are and what they mean to us and to millions of people.
N: There is a scene in the moving art video when Minnie Mouse is transported into a fantasy world where literally anything is possible. Can you elaborate on that?
L: As we see Minnie gazing at a Paris travel poster, a dream sequence takes us into her mind – a fantasy world where she imagines herself as a fashion model on a Paris runway show, and we see her getting styled by the best in the fashion industry. Although Minnie is in her classic form for most of the piece, she does go through a dream portal at one point where she takes on this stylized fashion model form for just a few seconds. In the end, we see her happily back to her classic form still wearing her designer dress, designed by Alber Elbaz for Lanvin.
One of our more difficult challenges was bringing the two separate worlds of Disney and couture fashion together in a believable manner. Our solution was to have the characters pass through a magical portal as they step out onto the runway.
N: Sounds like a labor of love – a lot of passion, imagination and creative integrity went into the development process. What else is in store that fans can look forward to?
L: “Electric Holiday” will also feature a range of exclusive, limited-edition Disney holiday gifts that is just as magical as the creative itself and includes Vinylmation figures designed by Paul Smith and Diane von Furstenberg, Mickey Mouse ears designed by Rag & Bone and L'Wren Scott, and smaller items such as holiday ornaments, edible sweets, and much more. We also created original and exclusive artwork that will be featured on special Barneys shopping bags available with all in-store and Barneys.com purchases during the holiday season.
From The Window; Barney's Official Blog:
The "Electric Holiday" campaign is to feature a video in which Minnie fantasizes about modeling in Paris.
Most of the video's three minutes, Barneys has said, will show Minnie with her familiar proportions. But for a 5-second dream sequence on the catwalk, Minnie is stretched tall and thin because, as Barneys Creative Director Dennis Freedman initially explained, "The standard Minnie Mouse will not look so good in a Lanvin dress." Mickey, Goofy, Daisy and other Disney characters will be refashioned similarly.
In August, Barneys New York announced Electric Holiday, a special holiday project with the Walt Disney Company. The one-time only holiday program includes a moving art video that is conceived to be a playful interpretation of the high fashion world, where Minnie Mouse briefly imagines what it would be like if she and her friends were a part of a European fashion show. The 3-minute video maintains Minnie in her classic self, aside from the brief dreamlike runway sequence. Our intention was to keep the end of the short a surprise until its release on November 14th, but we can reveal it ends happily with Minnie—in her classic form—wearing the same designer dress she models on the runway.
We assure you Minnie is empowered throughout the video, seen throughout Paris in her classic form being photographed by legendary fashion photographers, styled by renowned hair and makeup artists and dressed by a top fashion designer.
While it is unfortunate the sketches that were intended to be concept art have been taken out of context, Barneys New York is fully committed to the magical spirit of “Electric Holiday.” We stand by the statement released by Disney and Barneys New York and we are confident our lighthearted holiday project along with the video’s positive message will be embraced by not only the fashion world, but Disney fans alike.
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