Tim Burton's preliminary designs for the character of Gurgi from The Black Cauldron fetched a big $ amount at Heritage's recent animation art auction. After all it's Tim Burton!!
Milt Kahl's version of the character sold for a lot less, after all, who is Milt Kahl??
When working on early designs (during the late 1970s), Milt "recycled" shapes and forms from some of his previous characters. I would say that his Gurgi is a mix of King Louie and Tigger...sort of.
I myself had just a little to do with the final appearance of the character. Animator Hendel Butoy came up with the final look of Gurgi and did beautiful fluid stand out animation.
I tried to get the Milt Kahl drawings gor Gurgi but got way too expensive for me but I would have loved it as I think is a more interesting design than the final look in the film. Tim Burton's drawings were more expensive because of his fame but the drawings do not justify it, Milt's drawings are way superior. I hope these Milt's Gurgi went to you, Andreas.
ReplyDeleteBurton's Gurgi looks like a concept for a Muppet, but you can't deny it was creatively a bit freer than Kahl's "recycled anatomy", as Mr Deja put it. I think it was quite spunky for Burton to pit such designs against the ones of an animation legend's like Kahl - after all, that's what Kahl was at the time, and Burton was the nobody.
DeleteThey did, Sandro. Come by to see them and watch MUSHKA.
DeleteTim Burtons style did not belong in the Disney studio. I personally can't stand his drawings. No offense.
ReplyDeleteI love Tim Burton movies of Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the looking Glass because Tim has a great imagination he work on The Nightmare before Christmas, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Dark Shadows, that's his style I know he likes Gothic stuff wen he was 23 years-old in my age, wen he came to work at the Disney studios in 1984.
ReplyDeleteHendel Butoy is criminally underrated for his early character animation. His Dr. Dawson and Winston were excellent too.
ReplyDeleteDid you work with Tim, Andreas i think you and Tim talked about Animation wen you worked together.
ReplyDeleteTim Burton's design for Gurgi strikes me as looking like something that Jim Henson's Creature Shop might have created for either THE STORYTELLER or LABYRINTH.
ReplyDeleteThere's this old man I always see at meetings. He constantly stares at me and he looks like Gurgi! So I always imagine Gurgi staring at me from across the room, smacking his lips and then licking his lip. Then it isn't so bad!
ReplyDeleteThose are amazing designs of gurgi! I love Burton’s design but I prefer Kahl’s design in this case. This artwork made my Xmas awesome. I just got the movie on Vudu as a Xmas present.
ReplyDeleteYou can tell they're Milts drawing from all the extended fur all over the body. Gives him allot of overlap to play with.
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