Look at the strength in this pose above!
What a beautiful thing to study, there is this warm personality combined with a great graphic composition. The Fairy Godmother in "Cinderella" changed quite a bit from storyboard to final footage. Her design used to be more realistic, along the lines of the Stepmother and Cinderella herself.
I assume it was Walt's idea to enrich her personality by making her act absentmindedly and change her appearance into that of a warm, loving grandmother.
Brilliant actress Verna Felton supplied her voice, and her key scenes were animated by Milt Kahl, equally brilliantly.
You would think that Walt might have given this character to either Frank Thomas
or Ollie Johnston, who always had a sensitive touch in their animation.
But Frank had his hands full animating the Stepmother, and Ollie was doing the stepsisters.
It is obvious that Milt was able to do "warm stuff" as well, some of his previous assignments include Pinocchio, Bambi and Thumper.
The following Milt rough animation drawings show dimension and delicacy, especially in the character's face and hands.
