The Partners statue with Tomorrowland in the background at Disneyland California . PHOTO BY BRIAN SHIH
One of the most legendary Disney Imagineers , Blaine Gibson played a significant role in developing various classics at the Magic Kingdom . Blaine was hired at The Walt Disney Studios in 1939 as an in-between artist and assistant animator , but it was his interest in sculpting that led to Blaine ’ s noteworthy career at WED Enterprises .
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In Imagineer Podcast Episode 86 , I had the honor of chatting with Blaine ’ s son , Wes Gibson , about his late father ’ s life and legacy . He had some rather fun stories to share about his dad ’ s work at Disney , which resulted in some of the most iconic creations at the Disney Parks .
SELECTED BY WALT , DEDICATED TO WALT Although Blaine was hired as an animator , it was his sculptures that caught Walt ’ s attention . As Wes recalls , his dad had created a sculpture of a mountain gorilla and displayed it at an exhibition at the studio . Walt came across the sculpture and was captivated , so he had animator Ken Anderson call Blaine to ask if he could buy it . passing — nearly a decade after Blaine ’ s retirement — Marty Sklar had called to ask if Blaine would be willing to create a lifesize statue of Walt .
Blaine was understandably a bit hesitant but ultimately agreed to do it . The first step in creating the statue was to design a bust that everyone , including Walt ’ s family , would approve . The next step was to sculpt the entire figure , which he sculpted in Sedona , Arizona , where Blaine was living at the time .
The only major change from Blaine ’ s initial design was Mickey ’ s left hand . Initially , Blaine planned to have Mickey holding an ice cream cone , but he changed the pose to Mickey with his hand on his hip , to avoid appearing as if they were promoting one of the ice cream vendors at the park .
The final design is one that certainly holds great sentimental value for Disney fans , and according to Wes , the Partners statue is one of the 10 most viewed statues in the entire world .
As it turns out , the Los Angeles Zoo had tasked Walt with creating an entrance to their park , and Walt felt that Blaine ’ s design would make a great entrance to the zoo . While the project didn ’ t pan out , Walt never forgot Blaine ’ s talent for sculpting and invited him to join the Imagineering team about a decade later , where he ended up sculpting figures for Pirates of the Caribbean , Haunted Mansion , Walt Disney ’ s Enchanted Tiki Room , “ it ’ s a small world ,” and other noteworthy classics .
It ’ s perhaps only fitting that decades later , Blaine created the iconic Partners statue , the sculpture of Walt and Mickey that you can find in front of Cinderella Castle and at almost every Disney park around the world .
Ironically , Wes told me that Blaine created a bust of Walt on his own in the early 1960s , but Walt didn ’ t like it . Years after Walt ’ s
The Partners statue at Tokyo Disneyland . PHOTO BY DANNY SHUSTER
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