Friday, July 11, 2014

Wendy and Peter's Shadow


I’ve always loved this section from the film Peter Pan’s opening sequence. 
The backgrounds look very soft and dreamlike, and the character situation is just wonderful. Wendy explains to Peter that he can’t attach his lost shadow using soap, it needs sewing (who knew?). What great cartoon logic!

Peter Pan obviously doesn’t know the proper shadow attachment technique yet.



Kathryn Beaumont acted these scenes out for animator Les Clark. Quite the contraption as a stand in for Peter’s leg.



A nice animation key drawing by Les Clark.



Can you believe this background from the sequence? What amazing lighting. The beauty of these backdrops is that they look a little deserted without the character level, like a gorgeous painting that is missing something. This little masterpiece is on screen for only a few seconds.


A frame from the scene.



The craftsmanship and care that went into making these Disney movies never ceases to amaze me.

5 comments:

  1. On the last picture, that really looks like something that was digitally made. (Though, it isn't, yet!) It's wonderful to say that the last one tricked me into believing it came from the 2007 DVD. Plus seeing that Peter can't even learn to sew, that's pretty funny for a cartoon. (Because it IS a cartoon!)

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  2. Wow! The last two images are incredible. Thank you for sharing.

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  3. I miss seeing hand drawn features. Glen Keane's new short was fun to watch.
    You traditional Disney animation folks should get together and form a new studio.

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  4. Sewing the shadow back on comes from J.M. Barries 1911 novel, I'm afraid: http://www.literatureproject.com/peter-pan/peter-pan_3.htm So, not cartoon logic, but crazy Edwardian logic. :) Love the posts, though, please keep sharing!

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  5. The illustrations of Wendy inspired me as a child and continue to today. It's pure magic in these drawings and paintings. You make it come alive again and again with these posts.

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