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Patrick Romandy-Simmons is one of the skilled sculptors that contributes his talents to the award-winning Walt Disney Classics Collection produced by Walt Disney Art Classics. Patrick grew up surrounded by Disney lore, an influence inspired by his grandfather, the lead violinist for the Walt Disney Studios Orchestra from 1929 until 1942. Patrick’s grandfather can be heard on the scores to such animated classics as Three Little Pigs, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, and Bambi.
Patrick, a long time Disney collector himself, discovered his artistic talents at a very early age and practiced character drawing and development tirelessly. In the mid 1980’s, he worked as a special make-up and creature effects artist for the motion pictures industry. Soon after his movie experiences he wholeheartedly dedicated himself to his sculpting craft and networked his way into a position sculpting and designing attractions for Japanese theme parks.
In 1990, Patrick realized a life-long dream when he was given the opportunity to work at Walt Disney Imagineering, the master planning and creative development subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation of the Disney Theme Parks and their attractions. During his tenure at WDI, Patrick sculpted pieces for almost every Disney Theme Park around the world, including the Mickey’s Toontown Fountain and the King Triton Fountain, both featured at Disneyland in California.
Since 1994, Patrick has contributed his sculpting skills to the Walt Disney Classics Collection, Disney’s line of fine animation art sculptures that capture timeless moments from the library of classic Disney animated films. His work includes beautiful sculptures featuring such timeless Disney characters as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Bambi, and Jiminy Cricket. Among his many favorites, Patrick includes the detailed “Captain Hook’s Ship” from Disney’s animated version of Peter Pan, as well as his outrageous tribute to that classic Disney villain, Cruella De Vil, with the 1999 Villains Series piece, “That De Vil Woman” from Disney’s 101 Dalmatians.
One of Patrick’s proudest accomplishments was sculpting the first issue in the Signature Series entitled “Soup’s On” depicting Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in a moment from the film’s “lost” soup scene. The sculpture faithfully depicts a scene, never finished beyond pencil-test form (and not a part of the completed film), which developed a legendary status among Disney enthusiasts, who began to call it “The Lost Soup Scene”. It is one of the most detailed sculptures every produced for the Walt Disney Classics Collection, and it presented Patrick with many challenges, the least of which was having to create an interlocking armature that would enable him to sculpt each of the characters separately while still being able to place them close together around a table.
Patrick’s most recent contributions include the Walt Disney Collectors Society Animator’s Choice sculpture, “Baby Mine” depicting the beloved Mrs. Jumbo and her baby boy, Dumbo, and the newest release in the Villains Series, the evil Scar from The Lion King.
Patrick Romandy-Simmons brings a wealth of passion and zeal to his work for the Walt Disney Classics Collection. “I’m a Disneyaniac!” boasts Patrick. “I’ve been a faithful Disneyana collector since the age of five, so my fascination with the Walt Disney Classics Collection line of sculptures is deeply rooted in the strong emotion I feel for all the characters.”
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