Disney Dialogues

Pete McDevitt and Monorail Mollie~Jen

Our interview series shines a spotlight on the innovative and impactful personalities who bring Disney magic to life. From Disney Imagineers and artists to celebrated authors, influential social media creators, and dedicated cast members, each guest shares their unique role in shaping the Disney experience. Through engaging and insightful conversations, we explore the creativity, inspiration, and passion behind the stories, art, and innovations that continue to captivate audiences around the world.

Episodes

  1. 1D AGO

    Dave Avanzino ~ Disney Dialogues: Conversations with the Magic Makers

    Dave Avanzino is a fine artist and scenic designer living in the Southern California area.  For more than a two decades, Dave has created numerous one-of-a-kind, limited and open edition pieces for Disneyland®, Walt Disney World® and the Disney Cruise Line.  He typically works in a 3-D style and creates mixed-media paper sculptures in shadowbox frames.  Recently Dave has been converting some of his artwork into 2-D formats that can be reproduced as Canvas Giclées and Matted Deluxe Prints while working to keep some of the character and depth of his dimensional works.     His unique, dimensional style presents familiar characters, words and phrases in a fresh new way.  Dave uses a variety of materials including paper, wood, metal, wire, etc., to create his artwork.  He enjoys combining different textures, colors and materials and depth in order to make his designs literally pop off the page.  One of the elements Dave enjoys including in his artwork, in addition to the characters, is words.  The great library of classic Disney films and attractions has given him an endless source of rich, wonderful words and phrases he can create his artwork around.  Whether it's a quote by the Evil Queen from Snow White or the name of a Disney® theme park, Dave can come up with a way to represent it in his distinctive dimensional style.   ​ Over the past few years Dave has been designing a series of unique Tiki-themed signs and artwork. The first ones were whimsical Tiki Bar Signs featuring unique names and signature drinks. These were produced as limited edition handmade paper sculptures and reproduced as wrapped canvases, wood signs and matted prints. In addition he has designed and created a series of one-of-a-kind paper sculpture Tikis. Dave has also recently introduced a line of artwork he calls "Tiki Bots" which are a mashup of Tiki Culture and Mid-Century Robots.

    1h 13m
  2. FEB 5

    Terri Hardin ~ Disney Imagineer, Puppeteer, Sculptor, and Artist

    Terri Hardin is a world-renowned master sculptor, exceptional concept artist, and elite American puppeteer. As a Disney Imagineer, she’s widely celebrated for her contributions to both the Jim Henson Company and the Walt Disney Company. ** Our guest worked for The Jim Henson Company for over 30 years, performing in Dinosaurs, The Flintstones, The Indian in the Cupboard and The Country Bears.**Our accomplished guest was hired by Disney Studios where she helped design the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and The Dragon's Lair attractions at Disneyland Paris.**She has personal connections and is part of respected social circles with names Disney Legends John Hench, Xtencio, Bob Gurr, Rolly Crump, Harriet Burns, Alice and Marc Davis, and Roy Disney Jr just to name a few. **Additionally her direct reports while working as an Imagineer were Disney Legends Marty Sklar and Tony Baxter.**At Walt Disney Imagineering her imprint can been seen on 12 key attractions including Star Tours, Splash Mountain, Muppet*Vision 3D, Big Thunder Mountain, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and Journey Into Imagination to name a few.** Our guest is credited with 41 Filmography acknowledgements including titles like The Muppet Movie, Men in Black, King Kong and Bruno.**Her talents in the blockbuster Ghostbusters were impactful as played both of the demon dogs at the "Temple of Zuul" and served as a puppeteer for both the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man and the ghost librarian seen at the opening of the film. For more exclusive interviews join us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@PeteMcDevittShow/featured Original YouTube air date April 16, 2024.

    2h 6m
  3. JAN 29

    John Decuir Jr. ~ Disney Project Designer and Art Director

    John DeCuir Jr. is an accomplished art director who worked on major motion pictures and served as a project design designer for Walt Disney and collaborated on creative projects connected to Jim Henson. John DeCuir, Jr. has designed feature films, films for television and themed exhibitions in Italy, Spain, France, England, Ireland, Japan, Canada, and throughout the United States. He has been credited as Art Director on Ghostbusters and Production Designer on Top Gun Sister Act II, Turner & Hooch, Fright Night and many others. He was a student apprentice on, Cleopatra, Agony & the Ecstacy and Taming of the Shrew. In his years working at Disney, he was credited as Project Designer, on the master plan for Walt Disney's EPCOT & World Showcase He was project designer for Spaceship Earth & the original Communicore. John also assisted Disney in other theme park film attractions such as Jim Henson's 3_D Muppet Movie, Alien Encounter, and EPCOT's Energy pavilion. He received his Bachelor of Architecture degree (cum laude) from the University of Southern California and completed two years of graduate work at USC's Institute of Building Research & Technology. He has lectured and taught at UCLA, USC, The American Film Institute, Columbia College Chicago and Asbury University. In addition, he also conducts an online class, Design For Film, Television & Theater and is working on two books, The Architecture of Illusion and Travels with Dad. For more exclusive interviews join us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@PeteMcDevittShow/featured Original YouTube air date 3-26-24

    1h 14m
  4. JAN 15

    Joel Payne ~ Animator, Artist, Musician and Innovator

    Joel Payne has worked closely with Disney, Disney Imagineers, and Digital Backlot, building a strong foundation within the creative Disney landscape. He has made his mark in the world of artistry through his contributions to Disney Fine Art. A native Californian, Joel Christopher Payne's story starts with a life changing moment at the age four that would change the course of his life forever. Joel tells us, “My earliest memory that inspired my career came when I was riding on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and I looked up to my mom and said, Look Mom! Look how real the robots are!! At which point my mother without hesitation replied , -son, those are the waiters at the Blue Bayou... You'd think I was destroyed... but it was in that moment that I realized just how amazing Walt Disney really was. I couldn't tell difference between the fantasy and the real thing and I knew that I wanted to learn how to harness this kind of unique magic!” Disneyland and Disney feature animation would ignited a lifelong passion in Joel that would lead him to inspire others through his own style of breakthrough art.In 1996, Joel finally got his chance to work with Disney on “Disney's Virtual Jungle Cruise” ride still in operation in Florida's Disneyquest. Responsible for creating the rides river rafting track and 3D backgrounds, Payne learned from Disney Imagineers about the power of storytelling, color and lighting techniques that he still uses in his paintings today.From 1996 to present day, Joel would go on to build 3D worlds for Steven Spielberg's “Sky Pirates”, Art Directing Disney's Atlantis the video game, Mortal Kombat:Shaolin Monks, Max Steel and Star Ship Troopers:Roughnecks, Silent Hill:Homecoming and Baldur's Gate:Dark Alliance. He would also score film music for world renown Stan Winston.In 2008 Joel would head up Universal Studios very first virtual version of their world famous Backlot facades creating digital doubles of the famous "Back to the future courtyard" and in 2009 Joel's company Digital Backlot would design 75 original 3D characters for the project Growums. Featured on the show “The View” Joel not only animated the growums characters, but like Walt, voiced several of the lead characters to the tune of more than 100 cartoons. For more exclusive interviews join us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@PeteMcDevittShow/featured Original YouTube air date 2-27-24

    1h 59m

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Our interview series shines a spotlight on the innovative and impactful personalities who bring Disney magic to life. From Disney Imagineers and artists to celebrated authors, influential social media creators, and dedicated cast members, each guest shares their unique role in shaping the Disney experience. Through engaging and insightful conversations, we explore the creativity, inspiration, and passion behind the stories, art, and innovations that continue to captivate audiences around the world.