Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Frank & Ollie

I want to thank everybody for visiting the blog and for posting the nicest comments!

You guys sure know how to flatter this animator. I am a little overwhelmed by
the reactions from around the world.
That means the pressure is on to surprise you with posts that will knock your socks off.
So, I continue with FRANK & OLLIE !
I met them both for the first time in the spring of 1980 at Disney, during a visit to LA, before I started to work at the studio. Eric Larson took me to their office.
They were working on "The Illusion of Life" at that time. The walls were covered with storyboards, holding original art from many Disney features. Backgrounds, designs,animation drawings....I almost fainted.
Curiously though when posing with them for this photo, I seem to project an attitude
that says : May I introduce you to my two assistants, Frank and Ollie.
The nerve...

The pencil test shows two scenes from "Sleeping Beauty" in continuity.
The first scene was animated by Ollie, the second by Frank.
I purchased all of the original ruffs from Ollie many years ago. After scanning
them and adding sound I couldn't believe what I was watching.
Acting and drawing are so utterly convincing, completely alive!
Ollie stages his scene very clearly, three characters interacting, but the focus is on
Flora's finger. And Frank's close up of Merryweather shows a mood change with stunning subtleties.
The way her head anticipates ever so slightly the word "frost".
This is the kind of stuff that still brings me to my knees....




78 comments:

  1. this is great!
    thanks for sharing!

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  3. Wonderful acting on Frank and Ollie's part. Such subtle, expressive body language! I really dig seeing the underdrawing on Frank's shot, you can see the perspective he planned out on Merryweather's hat as it tilts towards the camera. Really fine draftsmanship!

    It must of taken a while to scan all these drawings in, composite them together and export it all, but thanks for putting all that effort in and sharing this with us.

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  4. Hey Andreas,

    This is great stuff to see these days, specially with all these CG characters in current animated films.

    Congrats again on your blog. I had never seen the number of followers grow as fast (over 200 in one day!), that's great.

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  5. Actually, you kind of look like James Franco there.


    Amazing clip, thanks for sharing!

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  6. This scene has such great acting and understanding of the character relationship. I hope you'll post some of the stuff you're work on soon.

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  7. Oh wow! You didn't hold back! This is awesome.
    I saw a Disney Dreams Come True exhibition in Melbourne, Australia and I think one of these drawings was in there (it mentioned you had loaned it to the exhibition).

    Any chance you could post one or 2 of the drawings as a scan so we can take a closer look in higher resolution? Love to really see the detail in there.

    Thanks again for posting!
    Mike

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  8. Hello, Andreas. My name is Denis, and I'm from Russia.

    I'd like to ask you about your generation of Disney's animators (like yourself, Mark Henn, Glen Keane, James Baxter). What do you think, are you better then Disney's Old Men, or their skills are still unattaineble?

    Thanks in advance :)

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  9. Mike,
    I will post some scans of the original ruffs from these scenes very soon.
    Thanks for visiting.

    Andreas

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  10. You rock Andreas! thank you for starting this blog and sharing your cool collection and info. Much appreciated

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  11. Fantastic stuff. Thank you very much for creating this blog and for sharing this precious and timeless information/work with us, Mr. Deja! I'll definitely be visiting this site often. Take care!

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  12. I did put up a promotional post for this blog on my blog. Hopefully It'll attract more people. Will you ever post anything on Bill Tytla?

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  13. Bill Tytla ?
    You bet! He is one of the guys the 9 Old Men looked up to. I will post some awesome ruffs in the near future.

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    1. Oh, Andreas! Can you upload anything by Norm "Fergy" Ferguson? The Nine Old Men looked up to him, too! Especially John Lounsbery!

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  14. Just checking to make sure he was coming up. Do you have any Warner cartoon stuff you're thinking about in the near future? How's progress going on the shorts?

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  15. Thank you for posting such wonderful animation and giving us some insights on the inner workings of Disney hand drawn animation.

    Joe

    p.s. You look like you're beaming with excitement to be with Frank and Ollie. I know I would be.

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  16. Good to see you heading in this analytical direction - to have one of today's top animators dissecting his favorite scenes should prove educational & entertaining . The animation in the clip is so solid .

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  17. Andreas, I am so happy you have started a blog. Looking forward to the Deja View!

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  18. Andreas has got a blog! Hooray!
    What wonderful and insightful posts, thank you for sharing your treasures and thoughts. There's nothing quite like this on the net, your blog will be the busiest in no time.
    I can't wait to see more.

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  19. Uli, thanks for checking in.
    EVERYBODY: the one and only Uli Meyer !!!
    Uli is a big part of my Disney history. We both went to
    see Milt Kahl just before he passed away.
    Memories....

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  20. Thank you so much for taking the time to start this blog!

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  21. It is awesome to read a blog from some one who can right a classic book on his experience and sell it for a good price. Thanks a lot to come to us =)

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  22. "May I introduce you to my two assistants, Frank and Ollie."
    That is one AWESOME photo :D
    Hope you're keeping well,
    Best Wishes,
    L

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  23. Pure gold - can't wait to read and look at more!
    Thanks a lot for doing this - essential stuff! :D

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  24. Got here through Uli´s Blog and couldn´t belive my eyes.Thank you so much for this, you have been my idol as child when I wanted to become an animator ( which I did not in the end, haha ).
    I really loved your work on Lilo&Stitch !!

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  25. Hello,
    Very nice blog. I also have to thank you for the wonderful interview during your stay in Paris (for Winnie). I appreciated it and the Tigger is now in a frame on the wall of my bedroom.

    Marc
    http://www.cloneweb.net/interview/rencontre-avec-andreas-deja/

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  26. I love their work, the animation is so subtle and refined ... and thank you for creating your site since I seek one on you because I admire your work.

    see you soon
    Jerome

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  27. WOW! This is it, my dream come true...I always wondered and wished that I would see you here on the blog world...
    Its fantastic to see you here Andreas Deja.

    Been a big fan of your skills, back from the days of Aladdin.

    Love, respect and hugs from this side of the world...from India :)

    Peace
    Gulzar

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  28. wonderful scenes, Andreas...keep 'em coming...

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  29. Ciao from Italy, Andreas! That's great to see these pencil tests (no computer generated animation will be never the same) Sleeping Beauty is one of my favorite movies absolutely and the blu ray is stunning (indirectly I worked on it for adapting in italian all the extras of it and also the cineexplore...) All the best and hope to see some other great animation of yours soon!
    Nunziante

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  30. Such an amazing project Andreas, I can't believe we can not only share all this invaluable material but to have the chance to leave you some thoughts! I'm wonder how they'll look the wire sculptures with a super animator's mind behind. A big hug from Spain!

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  31. Oh the internet...Back in 1991 all we had was traditional mail..and I remember when I got my Disney letter the same way you describe on the animation pod cast...but life acts differently ...Anyway,

    Hello Andreas, cant believe I am actually talking to you! You and Glean Keane were the ones responsible for for my carrer as a animator..with Gaston and Scar...

    I heard your animation pod cast long time a go and still do..anytime I forget or let work pressure get in to me..

    Thank you very much for this...

    Marcos Correa

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  32. Fantastic to see you blogging Andreas, so much excitement from everyone sitting near the screen here when we discovered your new blog! Wonderful to see the pencil test from Sleeping Beauty as well.. absolutely inspiring

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  33. You saw them working on the Illusion of Life's maquette? yes, my socks are knocked off!!

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  34. Toller Blog, Andreas. Danke!

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  35. Great stuff!! Thanks for sharing Andreas!! And welcome to the blog world...looking forward to see some more great stuff in future. Best wishes!

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  36. Thanks for posting these Andreas.
    ...and thanks for blogging!

    Long live hand drawn animation.

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  37. You have a blog! I'm actually nervous writing this. You are one of my biggest inspirations. Thank you.

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  38. Awesome stuff Andreas! Traditional animation inspires me so much, to work harder and better so that my own CG Animation can be as fluid and alive as it can be.

    Thanks for setting up this blog - you're an inspiration to us all! Good luck with your projects, I'll be following your blog religiously.

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  39. I am very happy you started a blog! I will be visiting very often. I hope you share the knowledge and experiences you have had and have!

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  40. Wow! good to see you have a blog!! Can't wait to see what you gonna be posting!

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  41. This is so cool! I'll be back for sure!

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  42. WOW Thanks for sharing this!! Its an inspiring thing to watch before I go to work. KEEP POSTING!!! :)!

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  43. Congrats on your new blog, so glad I found it, looking forward to future posts.

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  44. Awesome awesome! I don't think I've ever watched penciled roughs and been so utterly blown away by how convincing the acting is! When I saw you started a blog I immediately came here and favorited it. I'm so excited to see more of your posts! :D :D

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  45. 2D Forever! Wonderful fresh blog!
    Thanks Andreas! :)

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  46. So glad to see you here in the blogisphere Andreas! Your collection is so (legendarily) huge and awesome, I'm thrilled the world gets a chance to see it all. These scenes from Frank and Ollie are incredible! I love both for totally different reasons. (Though I think Ollie's is the tougher of the two. The angles of the characters, the acting and careful staging and timing between them all is like a ballet.) Frank's scene reminds me of Mark Henn's scenes.

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  47. Hey Andreas,

    This is great to see your Blog. You always been a great inspiration for me sir, I'm following the blog at once. I'm so excited to see more of your posts!

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  48. Incredible! A true master at work.

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  49. This is incredibly inspiring to me as a beginner animator. I've been scouring the internet for any resource I can find. I've listened to you talk about your experience on the animation podcast; so this is just more knowledge and helpful insight. Thank you so much!

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  50. Thank you so much for starting this blog! I love Frank and Ollie and really enjoy hearing about the nine old men. I can't wait to read more! :)

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  51. Thank you so very much for this blog. This is probably the closest I'll ever get to being mentored by you! :)I can't wait for all the updates.

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  52. Thanks Andreas for sharing your Three Fairies clip with us and in HD too! It helps us students study. After you start work on your short films, have you ever thought of opening a theme park like Disneyland? I would dubb it Dejaland. Love your blog, thanks so much.

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  53. beautiful! so much appeal. I can't wait for the next post.

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  54. Is this real!?
    Just like many other people, I am super excited that you started a blog!!!
    Thank you for sharing and I can not wait for more goodness to come! :D
    Truly inspiring :)

    Cheers,
    Junko

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  55. Andreas,
    Wow! welcome to the blogosphere. How amazing and inspirational is this!? Such a needed boost of inspiration, knowledge, and history! Thank you for doing this! Best of luck to you.

    Shane

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  56. Are you sure your not from EAST germany, judging from this photo?

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  57. Fantastic! I almost think I'm dreaming...there couldn't be a better blog! I have to say, I really appreciate the commentary you take the time to add on all of these posts. Your passion seeps through into all of the information!
    Frank Thomas' work on Hook and on Mickey in 'The Brave Little Tailor' absolutely changed my life... but Ollie, he is one of my all times heroes. One of the greatest animators of all time, in my opinion.
    Thanks for posting!!

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  58. I'm pretty sure my comment will be lost among the many, many others, but I just wanted to comment on how great it is that the fairy's finger leads your eye to the central fairy's face and then leaves your eye in that region, the finger receding away without drawing attention to itself. Brilliant :D

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  59. A,

    great blog!

    thanks for posting and looking forward to whats next.

    >oVi

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  60. Wonderful Post!

    It's amazing to see the work of Frank and Ollie, thanks a lot to share this. I'll be waiting for the next post!

    Also, thanks again for your time when you came to Mexico city to talk about Bambi and Alice! It was so great to meet you in person.

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  61. Some of my favorite Disney stuff, Sleeping Beauty. The fairy godmothers worked so well as three separate characters and yet one entity in that film.

    I'm constantly beside myself that animators like you got to spend so much time with the Old guys. Hopefully someday I can run into YOU and your generation of animators =)

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  62. I just wanted to thank you for starting a blog to share your stories and knowledge. I'll definitely be following it! :) I've been wondering what it's really like behind the scenes, and try to integrate the different things I've heard.

    I really like seeing some of the more subtle gestures and mood changes that really seem characteristic of Disney animation. I am really excited to see the scans with more detail. It must have been incredible to see all the classic Disney stuff laid out (I haven't been able to see any of it in person yet).

    Will you be talking about your new projects at all? I'm certainly curious about that!

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  63. I immediately thought... where's YOUR yellow shirt?

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  64. These first posts are excellent, very inspiring.
    And the scenes of Frank and Ollie are sensacional.......geniuses!
    Thanks for sharing.

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  65. Wow! I love how Ollie anticipates each line - the way Merryweather bounces excitedly before speaking, and that Flora's finger bring the eye right to Fauna as she's about to speak. So fluid!

    That close-up really does so much to change the tone. I love her eyes - that she doesn't look back to the fairies until the last word - it really sells the realization.

    (thank you so much - this gets me so excited for your blog!)

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  66. I had to laugh when I read your comments about meeting Frank and Ollie. I can relate. I got to meet John Hench and had my photo taken with him but I look more like a teenager standing next to her favorite rock star, LOL. Awesome post and awesome photo!

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  67. Just reading through these posts is reminding me of why I got into animation in the first place . Thanks for the inspiration Andreas. As you looked up to their work, I look up to yours.

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  68. Welcome to the blog world Andreas! In Frank's close up Merryweather seems to be reading the line from a Prompter.

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  69. Thanks for sharing all this awesome stuff! I hope you post some of your own work as well (and maybe talk about your process). I'm glad you're here to put the spotlight back on traditional animation. thanks!!!! :)

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  70. You're welcome, David.
    Stay tuned, lots more stuff to come.

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  71. wonderful stuff once again Andres....what i most pleased about your blog is that i can talk with you through this blog...The world is becoming so small in this age...it was impossible to learn and know and talk with some persons who are already legend in this art...and we can enjoy it from various part of the world...thanks again for taking this excellent step...and we will be always with you.

    Besides,Could you please upload the drawings of the animation of 3 fairies?
    Greetings from Bangladesh.

    Arif

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  72. Wow it is amazing how that little head anticipation gives her so much character. I love it.
    Thanks for posting these great insights.

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  73. Hi Andreas,

    Thank you a million for posting and sharing this wonderful knowledge of Animation legends. i believe i have spend hours reading over and over on every single post that you share with us.

    Thank you again for your generosity. To me, and im sure to a lot of people, You are a legend of our days in animation.

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  74. Wow, beautifull drawn. I just watched great document about Frank & Ollie, didnt know earlier, that they was so unique friends.

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