Bob Mattey

Bob Mattey
Biographical information
Aliases	Robert A. Mattey, Jr.
Date of birth	June 27, 1910
Place of birth	New Jersey, U.S.A.
Date of death	January 14, 1993
Place of death	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Physical description
Species	Human
Gender	Man

Robert A. "Bob" Mattey, Jr. (1910-1993) was a special effects artist who frequently worked with Disney. Amongst his film repertoire was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mary Poppins, The Absent-Minded Professor, Blackbeard's Ghost, The Love Bug Babes in Toyland and Jaws. At the Disney Parks, Mattey worked on the Jungle Cruise in-addition to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, and Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland.

Jungle Cruise tributes

• In his audio-loop, Nigel Greenwater mentions a location called Mattey's Boatyard providing boat parts for skippers of the Jungle Navigation Company and which is run by one Mister Mattey.

Other connections

• Mattey worked on the film Tarzan and His Mate (1934). In the Magic Kingdom's Jungle Cruise, Albert Awol mentions skippers watching a film called Tarzan and Me.
• In the Skipper Canteen is an illustration of the Giant Squid attacking the Nautilus, both from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. This was a film and scene which Mattey engineered. In the library of the canteen is a book called The Wildest Ride by J.T. Toad, referencing Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
• The squid from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea has its arm mounted in Trader Sam's Grog Grotto with this bar also containing the car-keys of Mr. Toad.

Trivia

• Mattey's Main Street window identifies him as a taxidermist. It is possible that this can be connected to the taxidermy arm of the Giant Squid in the Grog Grotto.
• Mattey worked with Steven Spielberg on Jaws. Spielberg's work has been notably integrated into the Jungle Cruise with the Indiana Jones films.
  • Jaws is seemingly referenced in the Magic Kingdom's Jungle Cruise where in the Amazon River Base's trophy-case is Skipper Shaun's trophy for the 1937 Adventureland Film Festival and his film "A Bigger Bote", alluding to the famous quote from the film, "We're gonna need a bigger boat".
• The Jaws attraction in Universal Studios seemingly referenced the Jungle Cruise by having a similar ride/animatronic/effect system aboard a boat with a live-performed, "Skipper".