Interview: Imagineer Bob Baranick on the rehabbed Pirates
Page 2 of 2

LP: What about the mayor dunking scene?

BB: That used to be way out of sync. What was working was way out of sync. Now it's restored to its glory and it's really kind of fun because I think one of my favorite figures now is the Well Captain. Very, very dramatic. The flute player's kind of charming because the way we programmed him he has a certain innocence to him. He actually plays the song which is something I'm tickled with. We did a lot of research on that and we kept going back and forth on how a flute player holds a flute.

LP: His playing is now actually in sync with the notes we hear and he's playing those notes?

BB: Now in sync with right notes, yep. And he does this cute little thing with his eyes. He's got a real charm now. Something that I'm really proud of is every single one of these characters now actually plays to the scene. They're not just - we used to call them "swimming" - where they'd just move around if they could without any type of sync, nothing to the story. Now each of theme has a role. They're all doing what they're supposed to do. They act off each other when they're supposed to. If you're not listening to the dialog you can watch the animation and it'll tell the story. I'm really proud of that.

LP: Next is the auction scene

BB: We completely rebuilt the auctioneer and the heckler with the bottle, and he's funny too because he's got real drunkenness to him. There's one point in his little show where he does this little thing where he's so drunk he can't even get the words out, and he lays his head down on his arm. It's really fun.

LP: Are the maidens more animated as well?

BB: The maidens were rebuilt and restored. So was the Asian pirate up on the barrel right underneath the Cantina sign, He's very active now

LP: Next is the gluttony scene

BB: The Pooped Pirate was a chronic problem. He's been completely rebuilt so keep your fingers crossed, I hope he lasts.

LP: Anything else in that scene?

BB: No. Well there was one Pirate up on the steps that I thought looked really feminine. I used to call him Vivian because he looked like Vivian Vance did in I Love Lucy where Vivian and Lucy were dressed as Pirates. But now he doesn't look quite so bad. Old Bill, the pirate with the cat, was rebuilt. He's got all his functions back. So do the musicians, the three musicians were completely rebuilt. In the burning city all of the figures were rebuilt, they're doing much better - the pirate with the hats and the pirate on the bridge. All the fire effects are new which I really liked. Mostly due to the lighting it has a "hotter" temperature now.

LP: Is it a new type of effect or just lit differently?

BB: It's lit differently.

LP: Next is the jail scene

BB: It has programming even I don't remember. It's completely rebuilt and reprogrammed now. This is mostly about lighting effects and animation.

LP: And the final scene, the arsenal?

BB: That's just full of animated props and functions that we hadn't had in years. Behind the pirate that lays on the barrel there's a new wall with a new fire effect in the window behind that. The upramp has more lighting, and the horseshoe curve has new artwork for the map that burns.

LP: Is there more to come?

BB: Very doubtful actually. I think they're going to move to, certainly Small World is where people are focusing right now. And Splash Mountain. And Indy's going to get a rehab, it's first one ever.

LP: Can we expect to see the falling rocks come back in Indy?

BB: No.

LP: Is there anything we can expect that you can mention?

BB: Look for a new snake.

LP: Earlier you mentioned there are some effects in Pirates that still need some tweaking. Is that still being worked on?

BB: Yes.

LP: Thank you very much for your time, Bob.

-- Posted 11/1/99
-- Interview by Doobie Moseley