Originally Posted By sherrytodd Addressing briefly the clown issue. I think there are two issues for me with clowns. I don't have a problem with clowns that have a natural looking face. It's clowns with whiteface that freak me out. They look like walking corpses to me and add the big red painted mouth; it looks like they've just been feeding and haven't wiped the blood off. I think the second thing that bothers me is that by painting the expression on their face, it hides their real feelings and thoughts. So, clowns with more natural warmer faces: not so bad. Clowns with white faces, big painted on eyes, mouths and big noses: AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!! John Wayne Gacy really didn't help either. Now back to the Spud...
Originally Posted By wonderingalice I guess now wouldn't be the best time to recall the terrifying "Poltergeist" clown doll that sat RIGHT... NEXT... TO... THE... CHILD's... BED.
Originally Posted By disneyland1 OH, wonderingalice ! That part of the movie was THE worst for me ! I was a young kid still and THAT scared me ! I also stopped swimming in the ocean after "Jaws" came out, and stopped sleeping with my legs or arms hanging over the edge of the bed after my best friend told me a creepy man comes around every hour, and whatever body part is hanging over the edge of the bed, he cuts off ! I was 12 when she told me this, and here, at 39, I STILL am pretty creeped out about that ! LOL ! p.s. --- yes, we are STILL best friends --- why, I am not sure.... LOL !!!!!!!!
Originally Posted By disneyland1 soory to go WAAAAAAAYYYY off topic there..... I, too, love the Potato Head guy. Very Cool, indeed !
Originally Posted By FerretAfros For what it's worth, a study was released in the fall (I think it was discussed somewhere on the LP boards) saying that something like 90% of people claim to have a fear of clowns. No I don't remember the exact number, but it was definately over 75%, and we still subject ourselves and our children to them, year after year. As for the creepy faces, I've heard it goes back to Roman jesters. At the gladiator events, they would go down after an event finished, and remove the face of the loser (who would be dead at that point), and put it over his face and make jokes from there. This is why there are the red spots around the eyes, nose, and mouth, and they are just generally creepy as all get out!
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Here it is! It was done by the University of Sheffield, and it surveyed 250 kids, ages 4-16 (some of which were pretty old and should "know better"), and every single one of them admitted to being afraid of clowns. <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080116/od_nm/clowns_odd_dc" target="_blank">http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/200...s_odd_dc</a>
Originally Posted By threeundertwo >> At the gladiator events, they would go down after an event finished, and remove the face of the loser (who would be dead at that point), and put it over his face and make jokes from there. This is why there are the red spots around the eyes, nose, and mouth,>> When I wake up screaming in the middle of the night, it's your fault.
Originally Posted By barboy Ronald McDonald seems to have pulled in the crowds over the years--- but then I haven't seen him on tv lately either. Now that Stephen King "it" was one freak clown. "Homie don't Play that" was just funny and I couldn't imagine him scaring anyone. And Krusty on The Simpsons is just plain whacko. Bozo was cool thought(I thought at least).
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA I like clowns. In fact, I almost enrolled in the Ringling Bros. Clown College at one point. Sadly, it closed in 1997. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringling_Brothers_and_Barnum_&_Bailey_Clown_College" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R..._College</a>
Originally Posted By Westsider This test was the first few hours of the first day of testing. There was an Attractions CM making 10 bucks an hour nearby who was controlling him, and it will be a routine duty of every Attractions Host/Hostess who works Midway Mania to spend a part of their day controlling the potato. It's going to take some time for CM's to get the hang of it, and some CM's will naturally be better at it than others. My point is, let's not judge this thing based on a 2 minute YouTube video taken literally within hours of the first real test. Give it a month of constant testing, let the CM's get used to controlling it and learning the hundreds of dialogue options they have, and then let's come back and discuss the merits of the giant talking potato. Until then, live your life through YouTube to your hearts content! ;-)
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 Does anyone have a clue as to how many hours of voice work Rickles did for this? Just curious as to how repitiive this will be.
Originally Posted By dshyates One thing that really doesn't help for me is that I have loathed Don Rickles since about 1970. And I just feel that the reason that they chose the Potato Head character as opposed to, say Rex, can be found on the LP Store sidebar to the left. The attraction/merchandise synergy is a little like high pressure sales to me. I always trick the kids into walking straight through the attraction exit stores saying that we need to get to whatever and that we will come back (after the thrill of the attraction has worn off and the desire for that particular trinket they saw in the ride subsides). That way we return home only with things they really do want instead of thought they wanted. But yes the AA is really high tech. I can't wait to see the tech used in an attraction. Can you imagine an Ursala in the Little Mermaid ride with 10 (8 legs, 2 arms) of those appendendages reaching for your clam shell.
Originally Posted By wonderingalice Personally, I think they chose Mr. Potato Head because he's a REAL toy a lot of us grew up with. Yes, they do sell a lot of related stuff, but when I first saw "Toy Story," he was a major, "Oh, how COOL!" moment for me.
Originally Posted By dshyates See, as a kid I had all those toys and had the same reaction to most of them. I really liked Sketch and Slinky. Mr. Potato Head is certainly a top shelf star to the Mattel/Hasbro generation, as is Mr. Rickles. Its just that even prior to knowing about the new AA, I had said, "Wow they are really pushing the Potato Head stuff. He's not even a Disney character." Just as my daughter holds up a MPH in mouse ears with a mickey ice cream.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <I guess now wouldn't be the best time to recall the terrifying "Poltergeist" clown doll that sat RIGHT... NEXT... TO... THE... CHILD's... BED.> I remember seeing that movie when it came out. When they showed the clown for the first time (long before he came to life), I looked over at my friend and said: "That clown is bad news, dude. BAD. NEWS."
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <There was an Attractions CM making 10 bucks an hour nearby who was controlling him, and it will be a routine duty of every Attractions Host/Hostess who works Midway Mania to spend a part of their day controlling the potato.> I didn't know this. But in general, it's a mistake to have an AA figure of this kind that has to be run by Cast Members. Some how on Bunson Honeydew and Beaker that rolled around DCA last year, it made sense. This stationary Potato Head -- dunno...seems odd. <It's going to take some time for CM's to get the hang of it, and some CM's will naturally be better at it than others.> Yeah....When it becomes a 'hit and miss' scenario depending on who's doing the operating of Mr. Potato Head, you're heading down a path that seems sort of backward. How is this Potato Head any more or less interesting and entertaining than the parrot at the entrance to 'Pirates of the Caribbean' at WDW? Or the Buzz Lightyear in the queue of ride in Tomorrowland? Heck, 'E.T.' was interactive in his ride at Universal 17 years ago. I remember seeing that one monster at the exit of 'Monsters, Inc.' talking to people. Read here later that it's operated by a person behind the scenes. It really didn't feel that interactive to me -- so what's the point? Sometimes it just feels like technology for technology's sake. Or in this case, a gimmick. Or am I just bitter?
