Xavier Atencio

Birth : 1919-09-04, Trinidad, Colorado, USA

History

He was a Disney artist from 1938 until 1965, when he became an Imagineer to help design the Disneyland Railroad's Primeval World diorama segment. He then contributed to various Disney attractions. He wrote the script for both Adventure Thru Inner Space and Pirates of the Caribbean, for which he also penned the lyrics to the theme song, "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" and provided the voice of the talking skull early on in the attraction. He also wrote the script for the Haunted Mansion, including the lyrics to that attraction's theme song, "Grim Grinning Ghosts (The Screaming Song)." His voice can also be heard emanating from the coffin in the Haunted Mansion's conservatory ("Hey! Let me out of here!") and, in the Disneylandmansion, when the attraction comes to a temporary halt it is his voice which announces, "Playful spooks have interrupted our tour. Please remain seated in your Doom Buggy" as well as other emergency spiels. Another brief voice-over he provided was for the Submarine Voyage Thru Liquid Space where he is addressed as "Bridge." "Bridge: Aye, aye, all ahead one third. Stand by the mooring lines." He also wrote the lyrics to Buddy Baker's catchy music for the retired Walt Disney World attraction If You Had Wings. Atencio served as a photo interpreter in the U.S. Army Air Forces from 1941 to 1945 during World War II, reaching the rank of captain in the 2nd Photo Tech Squadron. Stationed in England, he was part of team that would analyze aerial surveillance for military intelligence. He retired from The Walt Disney Company in 1984 and was named a Disney Legend in 1996. -Wikipedia Entry

Movies

Extinct Attractions Club Presents: Ford's Magic Skyway And The Peoplemover
Himself
Walt Disney's involvement in the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair would have a great impact on the course of his theme parks for years to come. Join us for a trip through time. Back, back over 40 years to a period when Disney reigned supreme at the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair!
Extinct Attractions Club Presents: The Pirates of the Caribbean Story
Himself
See the behind the scenes story as told by the people who worked side by side with Walt Disney on the most famous theme park attraction of all time! From the walk through concept to the final design in Disneyland and Disney Theme parks world wide.
Extinct Attractions Club Presents: The Haunted Mansion Story
Himself
Through painstaking research, the torrid saga of the dearly beloved attraction is now revealed. Witness rare unearthed footage, superlative imagery and vicious interrogation of the guilty parties.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: The Story Behind the Masterpiece
Himself - Storyman (as X. Atencio)
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: The Story Behind the Masterpiece is a behind-the-scenes documentary narrated by Corey Burton on the making of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. It was originally made to commemorate the film's 20th anniversary, and was included with the film's subsequent home video releases. The special was made in 1996 by TV is OK Productions and was directed by Harry Arends.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Story
Whether we’re young or forever young at heart, the Hundred Acre Wood calls to that place in each of us that still believes in magic. Join pals Pooh, Piglet, Kanga, Roo, Owl, Rabbit, Tigger and Christopher Robin as they enjoy their days together and sing their way through adventures.
Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree
Story
Christopher Robin's bear attempts to raid a beehive in a tall tree.
Cri Cri el Grillito Cantor
Animation
Biography of the famous composer of children's music Gabilondo Soler. Starts from his childhood, when he worked as a pastor and grandmother tried to teach him to play the piano. Later he went to the city to study music theory and began writing his first songs.
A Symposium on Popular Songs
Production Design
Professor Ludwig von Drake plays a variety of popular music, all of which he wrote. First, ragtime: the Rutabaga Rag, with vegetables dancing in stop-motion. Next, the Charleston, with cut-out animation of a singer and dancers. Dixieland and more cut-out animation; the crooner/love ballad; 50's doo-wop; and finally, rockabilly.
A Symposium on Popular Songs
Story
Professor Ludwig von Drake plays a variety of popular music, all of which he wrote. First, ragtime: the Rutabaga Rag, with vegetables dancing in stop-motion. Next, the Charleston, with cut-out animation of a singer and dancers. Dixieland and more cut-out animation; the crooner/love ballad; 50's doo-wop; and finally, rockabilly.
Back Stage Party
Animation
Party, enterianment, and Behind the scenes
Babes in Toyland
Visual Effects
All roads lead to magical, merry Toyland as Mary Contrary and Tom Piper prepare for their wedding! But villainous Barnaby wants Mary for himself, so he kidnaps Tom, setting off a series of comic chases, searches, and double-crosses! The "March Of The Wooden Soldiers" helps put Barnaby in his place, and ensures a "happily ever after" for Tom and Mary!
The Parent Trap
Title Graphics
Two identical twin sisters, separated at birth by their parents' divorce, are reunited years later at a summer camp, where they scheme to bring their parents back together. The girls, one of whom has been living with their mother and the other with their father, switch places after camp and go to work on their plan, the first objective being to scare off a gold-digger pursuing their father.
Noah's Ark
Animation
The Biblical story of Noah's ark full of animals gets the Disney treatment in this animated short.
The Shaggy Dog
Title Designer
Through an ancient spell, a boy changes into a sheepdog and back again. It seems to happen at inopportune times and the spell can only be broken by an act of bravery....
The Truth About Mother Goose
Layout
We learn the true stories behind various nursery rhymes. Little Jack Horner: a servant to a city official was delivering a present to King Henry VIII, baked, as was the custom of the time, in a pie. The present was the deed to a valuable estate, which Horner stole. Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary: Mary Stuart brought "quite contrary" French style to the Scottish court. After a series of disastrous romances, she was jailed; the jailer's son, captivated by her, helped her escape. After a brief but disastrous attempted coup, she fled to England, where her sister, Queen Elizabeth, soon grew jealous and had her imprisoned. London Bridge: The bridge, finished in 1209, was soon lined by shops with luxury apartments upstairs, turning into a popular commercial and cultural zone. The Great Fire that broke out in 1666 spread to the bridge, but the houses were rebuilt. Over the ages, things decayed. In 1823, things finally got bad enough that the bridge was demolished and replaced.
A Cowboy Needs a Horse
Layout
A young boy dreams of being a cowboy. After he gets the basics, as outlined in the title song, he's attacked by Indians. He runs out of bullets and manages to lasso them. He smokes the peace pipe with their chief. A robber is holding up a stagecoach and he rides to the rescue, refusing the reward. He also saves a train from a dynamited bridge, and a girl tied to a cactus, before riding into the sunset (and back to his suburban bed).
Jack and Old Mac
Characters
Two stylized nursery rhymes are shown. First is "The House That Jack Built" as told with a variety of characters composed of letters that spell out their names (Example: the cow is made up of an intertwined C, O, and W). Next is "Old MacDonald Had a Band" (no, not farm) in which Old MacDonald and his band give way with a hot jazz number (even his animals play instruments). The piece comes to an end when Old MacDonald's wife is tired of doing all the housework and gives him a swift whack on his head with her rolling pin.
Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom
Animation
In this short subject (which mostly represents a departure from Disney's traditional approach to animation), a stuffy owl teacher lectures his feathered flock on the origins of Western musical instruments. Starting with cavepeople, whose crude implements could only "toot, whistle, plunk and boom," the owl explains how these beginnings led to the development of the four basic types of Western musical instruments: brass, woodwinds, strings, and percussion.
Theme Parkology Presents Pirates of the Caribbean
Special Guest
Documentary presenting the history of Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland