By Cassandra Pinkney
Walt Disney Imagineering is responsible for creating magical experiences for Disney fans around the globe. With their best-in-class innovation, no part of the storytelling process is too big or too small for their dedicated teams. When Imagineer Allie Wong, senior graphic designer, began work on bringing the fan-favorite Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway attraction to Disneyland Park, her job was simple: make Mickey’s Toontown a little sweeter.
Imagineering design teams asked and answered countless questions when deciding on the look of the attraction—How should the El CapiTOON Theater be decorated? Which films from the Disney canon would be culturally significant to the citizens of Mickey’s Toontown? And, equally important, what candy would the Toons enjoy when they went to the theater? That’s where Wong, a designer who helped fill the theater’s faux concession stand, came in.
As a huge fan of A Goofy Movie (more on that later), Wong was “set on figuring out a candy for Powerline,” the film’s musical sensation. She needed a pun for her Powerline candy idea to keep on theme with the queue’s pun-tastic scenery—the theater itself is a play on Disney’s El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood and features posters of “classic” Toontown films like The Chipmunk Trap (an homage to The Parent Trap) and Meeska Mouska (a pastiche of Hocus Pocus). Inspiration struck: “Power Limes, an electric lime-flavored candy.”
Wong began the Power Limes project by considering what she liked about the look of candy packaging in the real world. “Whenever I buy candy in bulk, I always love how the box lid folds into a mini billboard to showcase the candy’s logo,” she explained. Grounded in the reality of how candy is packaged, the cartoonish nature of Mickey’s Toontown let her imagination take flight. “Anything can happen in a cartoon,” she added. “So of course it’s okay for Powerline to be holding a huge lime during his concert!” As the design process progressed, she and other creatives fine-toon-ed the candy to ensure the finished product could walk a delicate balance. It needed to be cohesive enough to blend in with the rest of the treats available at the El CapiTOON’s faux concession stand while still being flashy enough to stand out (pun intended) to eagle-eyed fans. The final result is a testament to Wong’s love for A Goofy Movie. With a striking illustration of Powerline holding a giant lime wedge and a promotion for a free trip to Lester’s Possum Park, Power Limes are one of many details that set the world of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway in motion.
A Goofy Movie is an important film for many people because of its wide-reaching appeal. Wong explained “A Goofy Movie has everything in it… there’s a singing opossum, an iconic musical superstar, with a really great soundtrack, and at the core, you have a really compelling story about a dad and his son dealing with growing up.” She speaks from experience. Her love for the film began with sing-alongs with her father on her way to school each morning. “When ‘Nobody Else But You’ came on, we would always sing the end together as Max and Goofy spelled out ‘Y-O-U!’… I think about my dad and the fun times we’ve had together whenever I hear it.” The movie and its music continued to serve as the soundtrack for important moments in her life, “When my husband and I were introduced for the first time at our wedding reception, we had ‘I 2 I’ playing, and that was awesome!” And now, as a new mom, Wong says she feels just like Goofy in this film, “a parent that wants to keep their child close forever.”
A Goofy Movie is an important part of Wong’s life, and now, she’s able to share her love of the film with everyone who rides Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Not only that, but guests also have the oppor-toon-ity to take a piece of Wong’s handiwork home by purchasing Power Limes candy at EngineEar Souvenirs. “I’m happy to play a part in a guest’s souvenir for the day,” she grinned. “I got into graphic design because I wanted to bring joy to others…When Power Limes first came out, there was so much buzz and excitement, and I’m grateful to have been a part of it.”
But, of course, the question of the hour—does Allie Wong, a creator of Power Limes, like the candy? Yes! “I think it’s very flavorful, and the lime is just right. I saw that they now come in bite-size pieces with different flavors, so I can’t wait to try those next.”