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Partners (statue)

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Partners
File:"Partners"- Taken by Mackenzie Conway.jpg
The original, located in the Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California.
ArtistBlaine Gibson
Dimensions6'5"
Location
OwnerThe Walt Disney Company

The copper statue “Partners” depicts Walt Disney holding the hand of the most popular character to be created in Walt Disney Studio, Mickey Mouse. The statue is 6’ 5”, seven inches taller than Disney himself. It is the central point of attention as people walk past it to enter the Disney parks. The sculptor, Blaine Gibson, took one year to sculpt this piece.[1] He used a bust of Walt Disney, created in 1960, as his model for Disney’s half of the sculpture. Gibson, however, had to be a little more creative when sculpting Disney and Mickey’s conjoined hands. He referred to the film “Fantasia” for an example of the popular mouse, who shook hands with the composer of the movie, Leopold Stokowski. Disney and his companion are depicted quite happily in the statue. This is exemplifies Walt Disney’s intention for the park (specifically Disneyland at the time). His wish was for the park to be the happiest place on Earth, a place where family comes together to make memories that last a lifetime. There is speculation regarding Disney’s hand in the sculpture, which is raised outward. Many believe his arm is raised as if he is showing Mickey what has come of his dream. Blaine Gibson, the sculptor of the piece says, “I chose to depict Walt as he was in 1954. I think that was when Walt was in his prime. It was tough trying to match the media image of Walt Disney, the one the public knows, to the real Walt, the one we knew. I think Walt is admiring the park and saying to Mickey, ‘Look what we’ve accomplished together,’ because truly they were very much a team through it all. ‘Look at all the happy people who have come to visit us today.’”

Sculptor

Blaine Gibson is shown here, surrounded by actors portraying his creations in the Haunted Mansion.

Blaine Gibson (February 11, 1918 - July 5, 2015) was born on a small farm in Rocky Ford, Colorado. After graduating high school, Gibson attended Colorado University. When Gibson was twenty-one, he applied for a position at Disney.[2] His applied through mail, requesting information regarding any job opportunities in Walt Disney Studios. He received a reply, explaining that an application could be made by mail, including a drawing in the application. His illustration, that depicted a little boy milking a cow, squirting milk into a kitten’s mouth, scored him a job as an effects animator for Walt Disney Studios in 1939. Drawing was the focus of his career for many years as an Imagineer at Disney. He is most known for his animations in Fantasia, Bambi, Song of the South, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, and One Hundred and One Dalmatians. After ten years. Gibson became an assistant animator to Frank Thomas. While Gibson was very successful in the art of animation, sculpting had always been his passion. He would design and animate at work and take classes at Pasadena City College to perfect his sculpting techniques. Soon, Disney took interest in Gibson’s sculptures, and assigned him to the Disneyland Project.[3] From there, Disney had Gibson sculpting everything. Some of his most noticeable works are the pirates in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride, the ghosts and ghouls of the “Haunted Mansion” ride, the birds in the “Tiki Room” attraction, and the children of “it’s a small world” ride. He also sculpted the busts of the presidents in the Hall of Presidents, excluding Obama.[4] After his retirement in 1983, Gibson was still consulted on the bust of Barack Obama for the Hall of Presidents. He died of heart failure, at 97 on July 5, 2015.[5]

Locations

The original statue is located in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Disneyland. The statue was first unveiled in 1993 in the Disneyland park on Mickey Mouse’s birthday, November 18th. The plaque below the statue in Disneyland quotes Walt Disney as saying, "I think most of all what I want Disneyland to be is a happy place...where parents and children can have fun...together." “Partners” was recreated for Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and placed in the park on June 19, 1995. The plaque  below the statue in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World uses a slightly different quote: "We believe in our idea: a family park where parents and children could have fun — together." There are now five locations for the Partners statue. The third statue was placed in the Tokyo Disney Resort in Tokyo Disneyland in April 15, 1998. The fourth statue is located in Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California in December 5, 2001. The final statue is located in Disneyland Paris on March 16, 2002.

Location Exact location Dedication
Disneyland Resort Disneyland Park November 18, 1993
Walt Disney World Resort Magic Kingdom June 19, 1995
Tokyo Disney Resort Tokyo Disneyland April 15, 1998
Walt Disney Studios Burbank, California December 5, 2001
Disneyland Paris Walt Disney Studios Park March 16, 2002

Statue Secrets

-It was planned that Mickey Mouse would be holding an ice cream cone in his left hand, but Gibson did not go through with it. There is no evidence given for this decision.

-Gibson sculpted a bust of Walt Disney as a thank you gift, but Disney refused it, exclaiming that sculptures were for dead people. It is rumored that this bust was the one Gibson used as his model in “Partners”.  

-The Disney family that remained alive before “Partners” was created were very hesitant to the idea of Walt being sculpted after his death, and almost refused this idea.

- An award, Partners In Excellence, is awarded to less than 2% of cast members who work at Disney Parks around the world . It demonstrates characteristics of an excellent worker, who has the company in mind through all of their actions. Should someone be awarded this, they receive a pin of the statue to put on their name tag.[6]

-Walt and Mickey are holding hands to portray the unity between character and creator.

-In 1981, to honor the 200 millionth guest to enter the gates of Disneyland, Charles Boyer was instructed to create a lithograph of Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney holding hands. Only 2,500 were made to sell to cast members only. This image became very popular and is the basis for “Partners”. (Partners looks very different compared to the lithograph due to artistic differences.)[7]

-Gibson was brought out of retirement to create this statue.

-The letters “STR” on Walt’s tie represent Smoke Tree Ranch, a resort in Palm Springs where Disney owned a home.

References

  1. ^ "5 facts about Disney's Partners Statue". WESH. 2014-12-10. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  2. ^ Colker, David (2015-07-08). "Blaine Gibson dies at 97; prominent sculptor, animator at Disney". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  3. ^ "Access - D23". D23. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  4. ^ Weber, Bruce (2015-07-11). "Blaine Gibson, Sculptor of Figures in Disney Parks, Dies at 97". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  5. ^ "Blaine Gibson". IMDb. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  6. ^ "The History of the Partners Statue: Part One". Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  7. ^ "Walt Disney World Chronicles: Partners Statue". allears.net. Retrieved 2017-10-19.


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