Yo ho, a Disney Imagineer's life for him

New book explores the artistry of the man who drafted Pirates of the Caribbean song.

- TODD MARTENS

GEORGE SAVVAS Disney XAVIER "X" ATENCIO, top left, tied pirate ride's scenes together with music.

When Xavier "X" Atencio was plucked by Walt Disney in 1965 to be one of his early theme park designers, he was slotted on a number of projects that placed him out of his comfort zone.

Atencio, for instance, never would have envisioned himself a songwriter.

One of Atencio's first major projects with Walt Disney Imagineering - WED Enterprises (for Walter Elias Disney), as it was known at the time was Pirates of the Caribbean. In the mid-'60s when Atencio joined the Pirates team, the attraction was well underway, with the likes of fellow animators turned-theme park designers Marc Davis and Claude Coats crafting many of its exaggerated characters and enveloping environments.

Atencio's job? Make it all make sense by giving it a cohesive story. While Atencio had once dreamed of being a journalist, his work as an animator had led him astray of a writer’s path.

AMONG the concepts theme park designer Xavier “X” Atencio contributed to Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion attraction is the fabled one-eyed black cat.

(Disney Editions)

Atencio would not only figure it out but end up as the draftsman of one of Disneyland’s most recognizable songs, “Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me).”