Overlooked Artistry at Universal Studios

Art is everywhere. I’ve said it for years, and I’ll say it again. Art is everywhere.

But maybe it would be more accurate to say “Artists touch everything.” Well… no, that’s not right either. “You can find the touch of an artist everywhere you look.” That’s more like it! Now we don’t sound like creeps.

Cue the horror music!

Exhibit A: The cover for the official instructions on how to file your Form-1040, aka your TAX RETURN (if you live in the US.) Isn’t it beautiful? An artist took that photograph. A graphic designer created the IRS logo. And the FreeFile logo. Another designer laid out the rest of the page, with a font that was specifically chosen. The list goes on. That piece of paper from the Internal Revenue Service that has the power to keep people awake at night, is a thing of beauty. And what exposure it gets! The majority of adults in the United States are required to file a Form-1040 every year! The artists involved must be SOOOO famous (whoever they are!)

But, Haley, I thought we were talking about Universal! It even says it in the title! Right you are, friend.

For Spring Break this year we spent four days at Universal Studios: going on all sorts of rides, casting spells at the Wizarding World, and just enjoying the warmth of summertime… but in March (an unusual thing for Iowans.) Emma’s favorite ride was E.T., Alex could have spent the whole vacation playing at the toddler park in the Curious George area, and my stepsons went on the Hulk rollercoaster about 8 times, I think. My absolute favorite part of Universal, however, is the atmosphere.

The E.T. ride gets pretty weird.

I could spend my days just staring at the false buildings and storefronts, lost in the tiny details that make Universal Studios an experience, instead of just a bunch of rides. From area to area, and even ride to ride, the uniforms are different for the personnel. There’s even different music playing around you, that relates to which area of the park you are in. I remember my stepsons getting tired of me pointing it all out a few years ago on our first vacation there: “Look! An artist painted that!” “An artist made this wall look so old!” “Look, this is fake rust on this sign, hand painted by an artist!” “YES, HALEY, WE KNOW!”

But do you? I have a hard time fathoming the extensive team it took to design and implement all of it. Here’s a great example, the door going into the SpongeBob SquarePants shop:

I'm ready! I'm ready!

The 3-dimensional building is painted to look like it belongs in a 2-dimensional cartoon, under the sea. The artists working on it (I can’t imagine it was just one person) used varying shades and tints of each color to accent and help define the edges of the faux paneling on the wall, and the “grain” of the “wooden” door. The décor inside is all related to the kids’ TV show – there’s even a framed “Employee of the Month” picture of SpongeBob on the wall.

Where can I get red shingles like that?

Another excellent example from a kids’ TV show: Curious George! This area of Universal is a waterpark, where they have “books” laid out with pages open to read, letting kids feel like they are running around inside the story! The technique here is genius – painting the buildings flat but vivid colors, with bright trim, lots of signs, and black paint along the edges and details, making it look more 2-dimensional and cartoony, outlined just like the illustrations in the Curious George books!

The artists spent hours and hours of painting by hand to make the bricks look exactly right. Check out the ornate details on these railings and windows, and the sign made of lightbulbs – it’s all custom designed and created for these specific buildings – many of which are false fronts! Thank you, artists!

And because it was the McAndrews clan, of course we spent a lot of time in the Wizarding World. Replicating Diagon Alley must have been a massive endeavor – and they nailed it! As you enter through the “magic” brick wall, you hear the sound of the bricks shifting and clacking, and then you are hit with the unmistakable music from the movies. You really feel like you’ve entered a magical place, particularly with so many people dressing in Hogwarts robes and waving their magical wands around!

It's us. We are the robe-wearing wand wavers.

Universal is such a popular destination for people from all over the world, that wait times for the rides are regularly 60-120 minutes or more! It’s brilliant, but they (Universal) have planned out the areas where you wait in line and decorated them so you feel immersed – for the Spider-man ride, you walk through the Daily Bugle office; for the King Kong ride, you weave your way through a jungle temple; and for the Hogwarts ride, you find yourself exploring the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. It’s all decorated spectacularly, with hidden Easter eggs for devout fans to pick out.

I could listen to the paintings argue all day.

It’s such an incredible experience to be there with my kids, and I look forward to going back again when my girls are a little bit older (and able to go on more rides) but not too old to stop believing in the magic there. Emma was so excited about going to “Harry Potter’s castle” before we went this time, and now that we are home likes to talk about how much “Mommy screams on all the rides!”