CABOODLE Questions and Answers- with Chris Peterson
Q: What was a sculpt you always wanted to do but never got to work on?? (Mark, USA)
A: I would have wanted to sculpt Little Hiawatha, because I love the design of this character and the cartoon short, I also wish that I could have sculpted Baloo the Bear and The Little Ranger and the Bears because my aunt Karen worked on these characters when she was at Disney Animation.
Q: What sculpture are you most proud of? (Stacey, USA)
A: I am very proud of I have Always Loved Trains , it was not easy to acquire the proper reference material and blueprints for the C.K. Holliday train. I went to Disneyland with my family on Christmas Eve right after I got the ok to begin the sculpt, the park was very crowded. I had to take as many photos as I could from every angle, the train engineer and conductor stopped the train and let me walk all around and even on the track and inside to take photos. We rode the train about a dozen times that evening. This was a model making project with a Mickey Mouse sculpture. In the end there were one hundred AND thirty one separate pieces. I actually have always loved trains myself, so this piece is a special one to me.
A: I think that some of these films were not as well known as others or they were voted out by the decision makers at WDCC, I am happy that Michelle and I got to create Oliver and Dodger.
A: I really enjoyed Zootopia, the characters had so much personality and individuality, they would have been fun to sculpt.
Q: What is your favorite WDCC piece that you did not sculpt and do you own it? (Bill, USA)
A: I recently acquired the Reluctant Dragon by Kent Melton which I love because it was from one of my favorite cartoons, and thanks to Pam Martin for sending me a plaque with Kent’s signature.
A: I do, because I collect WDCC myself and was very sad when the line ended, the sculptors were the top in the collectibles industry.
A: A Very Merry Un-Birthday and I Have Always Loved Trains took the longest for the details in the sculpts. Ben Ali Gator and Hyacinth Hippo we’re faster than I thought that they would take to sculpt thanks to designer Debbie Hayes for her amazing control drawings of every angle, I’ll post them soon when I can find them.
A: I enjoyed working with Marc Davis on the 101 Dalmatians Proud Pongo, Patient Perdita and puppies at his and Alice’s home, he was very patient and I was honored to meet them as he was an inspiration to me to become a sculptor.
Q: Do you have your own collection, and how do you display everything? (Hana, USA)
A: I have a very large collection of WDCC, Lenox Collections, Harmony Kingdom, Olszewski Storytime Collection including many years worth of my original sculpts and toys. I don’t currently have all of my collection on display but I am slowly getting there, I keep my favorite pieces in display cases in the living room and family room.
A: I feel that the females were often the strongest characters in the films and until Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty the males were not that memorable. Prince Charming from Cinderella has been sculpted several times and so has Peter Pan because of their importance in the films.
A: I was already creating a lot of Disney sculptures for several other companies, including The Disney Store and Disney Consumer Products when I introduced Kent Melton to my mold maker, Kent saw some of my work and suggested that I meet Suzanne Lee at WDCC, she asked me to create my first of many WDCC sculptures. Lady in Love and Tramp in Love were my first pieces, I will always be grateful to Kent for the introduction.
Q: Pam Martin What was the last sculpt you did for WDCC that was produced? (Pam, USA)
A: The last sculpt that I did was Going to The Chapel, I did one more sculpt of a Cinderella and Prince Charming cake topper that was not produced