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In one corner of the room, two men are blowing bubbles and watching them drift lazily away. In another comer, a group is entranced by a burning log. Elsewhere some artists are watching a fellow on a ladder dropping leaves, one by one, and near them, a man is dropping pebbles into a bucket of water. This is not a haven for eccentrics - it is the Animated Effects Department at the Walt Disney studio. The effects experts are simply searching for realism in preparing backgrounds for a Disney cartoon. Their problems are but a few of the many involved in such a production. Recently, Walt Disney contracted with the National Broadcasting Company for a new television series "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" to be sponsored by RCA and the Eastman Kodak Company. The weekly series would require all of Disney's techniques, talents and experience gathered throughout the years. It was to be designed specifically for color viewing. It was to have a variety format. And it had to appeal to a wide audience as wholesome family entertainment. A most important requirement was a new star to appear in the first show of the new series, preferably a cartoon character bearing the unmistakable Disney trademark. None of the characters in Disney's stable of talent seemed to fill the bill. Mickey Mouse, patriarch of Disney Productions would have been the logical choice, but his do-good personality and his perennial Boy Scout approach ruled him out for this role. Donald Duck? With his diction and temper he could hardly serve as a spokesman for color television. […]