Latest news with #Grampa
The Guardian
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Walt Disney's granddaughter denounces animatronic portrayal of animation legend
Walt Disney's granddaughter has condemned the entertainment giant he founded for re-creating the late entrepreneur as a soulless 'robotic grampa' for the 70th anniversary celebration of California's Disneyland theme park in July. Disney, who died in 1966, will appear as an animatronic figure in a new attraction called Walt Disney – A Magical Life in the park's Main Street Opera House that commemorates the resort's 17 July 1955 opening. When the project to show 'what it would be like to stop by Walt's office' was announced last year, company officials said it would be 'a fitting tribute' to one of the pioneers of modern entertainment. But in an interview with the Los Angeles Times published on Tuesday, Joanna Miller said her grandfather would have hated his regeneration into a talking mechanical replica – and accused the company of ruining the legacy of her beloved 'Grampa'. 'I think I started crying,' Miller said of the moment she first saw the figure. 'It didn't look like him to me.' She said she laid out her fears in a letter to Disney's chief executive, Bob Iger, when the venture was first proposed and later met him and members of the team creating the attraction. 'He was very kind. He let me do my spiel,' Miller recalled, but she said her plea to drop the animatronic fell on deaf ears. She also spoke out in a Facebook post in November, in which she said Disney was 'dehumanizing' her grandfather, who loved to meet crowds at the park in person and would spend hours chatting with them. 'The idea of a robotic Grampa to give the public a feeling of who the living man was just makes no sense,' she wrote. 'It would be an imposter, people are not replaceable. 'You could never get the casualness of his talking, interacting with the camera, [or] his excitement to show and tell people about what is new at the park. You cannot add life to one empty of a soul or essence of the man.' On a personal level, she said she remembered magical childhood days with her siblings when their grandfather would take them to his studios and let them play with whatever he had been working on. 'He's ours,' she said. 'We're his family.' As for the public's experience of watching the animatronic and hearing Disney's computerized voice, Miller told Iger: 'I strongly feel the last two minutes with the robot will do much more harm than good to Grampa's legacy. They will remember the robot – and not the man.' Miller told the Times she was not speaking on behalf of her five siblings or other descendants of her grandfather. 'I do speak for my grandfather and my mother,' she said, adding that it 'pains' her to be speaking out about the company he created. 'When you get older, you just start to get pissed off. And you get tired of being quiet. So I spoke up on Facebook. Like that was going to do anything,' she said. 'The fact that it got back to the company is pretty funny.' A spokesperson for the Walt Disney Company on Tuesday directed the Guardian back to a press release about the attraction issued in August 2024. Josh D'Amaro, chair of Disney Experiences, told attendees of D23, the company's annual fan event, that the company would strive to create an authentic version of Walt Disney using animatronic technology more advanced than 60 years ago, when he introduced a figure of Abraham Lincoln at the 1964 New York World's Fair. 'Creating our first Walt figure is an idea that's been whispered in the hallowed halls of imagineering for years, decades, even,' D'Amaro said. 'We just had to wait for innovation to catch up with our dreams. And we're finally ready.'
Scottish Sun
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Popular TV star reveals plans to convert to ‘true Scot' as he sits citizenship test
'The more successful I've become, the more I've channelled that anxiety into kind of momentum. It's become my superpower' IDEAL HOME Popular TV star reveals plans to convert to 'true Scot' as he sits citizenship test Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) BANJO Beale has revealed he has designs on becoming a full-time Scot - as he will sit his UK citizenship test later this year. The Aussie interior designer famously backpacked his way to the Isle of Mull with cheesemaker hubby Rohan Christopher a decade ago before finding TV stardom in 2022 when he won the home-makeover BBC show Design Masters. 4 Banjo and Grampa pose at home on the Isle of Mull. Credit: BBC 4 Banjo at home on Mull with hubby Ro and their rescue dog Grampa. Credit: BBC 4 Banjo with his fellow TV judges Anna and Danny. Credit: BBC He has since gone on to front his Scottish Bafta-winning series Designing The Hebrides and is a popular judge on the Beeb's Scotland's Home of the Year. But now Banjo is preparing to make Scotland his permanent home. He says: 'It's funny because so many Scots seem to pine for a move to Australia and the sunshine and the beach. 'I tried to escape once. We moved back to Australia about five years ago and after a short while figured we'd made a big mistake. 'So, I think coming back a second time was us tying ourselves down to the place. 'Then in January we got what's called a Right to Remain which is one step off from sitting the citizenship test which we'll do later this year.' The Life in the UK test, as it's officially called, can contain a raft of Scottish-related questions, including asking what is our national flower (thistle), to naming important historical figures like Mary Queen of Scots. But despite living on Mull for a decade, Banjo reckons he'll need a brush up on all things Scottish. He says: 'I haven't quite dived into what's in the test, but will probably need to do some revision - although if they ask me to point out Mull on the map I should pass.' Banjo certainly won't fail any geography questions about Scotland having visited almost every 'nook and cranny' of the country thanks to his telly shows, including Scotland's Home of the Year (SHOTY) alongside architect Danny Campbell and designer Anna Campbell Jones. Inside colourful flat in seaside town featured on Scotland's Home of the Year He says: 'I have been so lucky first with Scotland's Home of the Year, which took me down every street in Scotland to Designing the Hebrides. 'It's kind of criminal that I haven't seen as much of Australia because everything is so far away from the next place. 'Everyone on SHOTY complains about all the driving, but for me it's nothing. I used to jump in the car and drive 12 hours to see my parents for the weekend.' He adds: 'I've also stayed in every bloody Premier Inn and Travelodge going - I've even ended up with a loyalty card for Brewers Fayre pubs that's always attached to these places. 'It means I get a free pudding with every meal.' Banjo, whose real name is Brendan Beale, was raised in Bathurst, New South Wales, with sister Belinda and their folks Kay and David. Badly bullied at school, he believes that travelling across the world brought out the best in him. He explains: 'I'm actually quite private and awkward. The funny thing is doing Design Masters I saw a version of myself on TV that I really liked. 'It made me think 'I can be that guy', so coming here has made me a better person.' Banjo - who earned his nickname because he was so highly strung - gave up a corporate job Down Under to pursue his love of interior design in Scotland. However he reckons he's able to unwind being at home with hubby Ro, 40, and their rescue dog Grandpa. He says: 'I've always had a little bit of anxiety. But what I've learned is the more successful I've become, the more I've kind of channeled that anxiety into kind of momentum. It's become my superpower. 'So whereas before I'd be highly strung and stressed in Australia, working in a corporate job and being part of the machine, here I am working for myself, doing something I'm passionate about.' He adds: 'I never ever felt at home in Australia. In Scotland I've suddenly found my place and have been busier than ever. 'I really don't think I could have done what I'm doing now back home. Scotland's given me this opportunity to do what I love and it's saved me a little bit. 'Although I think Ro enjoys it when I'm away working as then he's king of the castle. Because even when I'm home my mind's always ticking. That's the thing about being an interior designer, you never quite switch off.' Banjo, 38, will get to discuss his interior design skills at The Ideal Home Show Scotland in May. OTHER AUSSIES IN THE UK BANJO isn't the first Aussie to hit the right notes with UK viewers: CRAIG REVEL-HORWOOD THE Strictly judge started his career as a dancer in Melbourne before moving to London to star in the West End in 1989, becoming a British citizen in 2011. Craig, 60, choreographed the dance routine for Hugh Grant in Paddington 2. BARRY HUMPRIES BELOVED Barry left Australia for London in 1959 to become a comic – before finding fame as iconic chat show host Dame Edna Everage. Humphries, who died in 2023 aged 89, also created popular character Sir Les Patterson. JOHN TORODE THE Aussie chef moved here in the 90s to work for Conran restaurants. John, 59, first appeared on ITV's This Morning in the early 2000s, before joining MasterChef in 2005. JASON DONOVAN AUSSIE import Neighbours brought actor Jason to our screens as Scott Robinson – along with Kylie Minogue's character. Jason, 56, left for the UK in the early 90s to become a pop star, and appeared on the West End stage. But his own ideal home doesn't sound like anything available on our shores. He admits: 'I would stay it's probably somewhere warm, tropical and open to the outside. 'I'd love a pool with a swim up bar. It'd also be surrounded by jungle.' However he insists that even if he did end up with a jungle bolthole, he would always return to Scotland. He says: 'When I lived in Australia I took the sunshine for granted. But I've never appreciated having sun on my skin more than I do now. 'We're at the mercy of the weather here but I love it and going through the seasons. And then that one day a year that the sun shines in Scotland is like the best day of your life.' Banjo will shortly have dual-nationality, but he says his mum believes he's already a naturalised Scot. He jokes: 'You don't have to choose between one or the other, but my mum reckons I've lost my accent anyway, so as far as she's concerned, I've renounced my Australian citizenship.' He adds: 'But I think that's maybe what people have liked, that they've got this bloke that's come to Scotland and wants to live in their place and says, 'You know this place is fantastic with some awesome design. 'It's a beautiful place to live and it's now our home - officially.' *Banjo Beale will be at Ideal Home Show Scotland at SEC, Glasgow, which takes place from May today. For more information visit:
