In the newest episode of the “One Day At Disney” shorts on Disney+, viewers get to see a model testing out a new look for Figment, the iconic character from Epcot.
Season 1, Episode 40, “Alice Taylor: StudioLAB,” shows a behind-the-scenes look at one of the more innovative branches of The Walt Disney Company through the eyes of Taylor, who is the vice president of content innovation for StudioLAB.
About midway through the episode, we see Nak Yong Choi, story artist at StudioLAB, working on a new look for Figment, showing off his first iteration of the design, and the second design he created after sending the first off for review to the Disney Parks team.
The second design is a much more simplistic, stylized look for Figment than we’re used to. When we reached out to Disney to see if this new design was something we could see in the future at Epcot, they shared that:
Disney’s research and development organizations are constantly exploring new ways to bring stories and characters to life. They often use Disney IP in various forms to test new technology and its capabilities, which is what the StudioLab was doing as part of this episode.
Specifically, it seems they were using this Figment design in relation to VR (virtual reality) technology, as you can see in the image above.
This episode of “One Day At Disney” was most likely shot about a year and a half ago, so there’s no way to tell how up-to-date this Figment design is, or if we could see it come to the Disney Parks in any form.
What do you think of this new Figment design? Would you hope to see it make its way to Epcot in the future? Let us know in the comments below!
Nooooooooooooooooo leave my beloved figment alone
If this is all for real, and they are thinking of giving Figment a makeover, the only criteria I have is that they make his features remain true to the song: “2 tiny wings, eyes big and yellow, horns of a steer, but a loveable fellow, from head to toe, he’s royal purple pigment, and there, eureka, you’ve got a Figment.” With a dash of childish delight, of course. The stuffed versions of Figment currently have his mouth a bit rounder, so, again, as long as they stay true to the Sherman Brothers’ original description, yes, I suppose a makeover could be okay.
Bottom line, ANY plans for Figment, which could help keep him (and maybe return Dreamfinder back to the) parks is a good thing indeed.
I look to figment when i need inspiration and this new look his is going to destroy figment. The models shown look exactly like the pokemon dragonite.
Why does figment need a new look? My children—now middle-aged—and I loved the original one and still wish the original attraction would be reinstated at Epcot. This remake has none of the charm, although I assume at some point it would have color added? Still, our family is a fan of bringing back the Figment we fell in love with.
Figment is an iconic character, not as much as Mickey, for example, but would you give Mickey a makeover? We all grew up with figment, leave him alone.
What is the reasoning for this?