A Lady & the Tramp Masterpiece

It is worth spending time studying these clean up drawings from the famous Frank Thomas scene.

Inspired by story sketches from Joe Rinaldi, Frank outdid himself, if that's even possible.

His emotional acting and timing are beyond belief. There is no live action reference that would give you a kick start. It's all in the imagination and craft of the animator to pull off this scene in which two dogs fall in love over a spaghetti dinner. 

I think it's one of the most perfect scenes ever animated at Disney. I remember Frank talking about the part where Tramp nudges the last meatball over to Lady. He needed to compromise dog anatomy in order to pull this off. "No real dog can get into a position like this" he said. He was talking about Tramp's staging, and how he would have to use a completely different pose to be anatomically correct. But that went out the window in favor of getting the right feeling across.

(This part of the scene is not represented here.)

I know that Iwao Takamoto supervised Lady's clean up drawings. I don't know who did Tramp, but I wouldn't be surprised if Iwao did him as well in this scene. 

Animation acting and drawing on the highest level! To all animation students:

Study the dimensional volumes of the characters. Eyes, eye lids, eye lashes, the configuration of Tramp's muzzle and its squash and stretch.

Notice how Lady's and Tramp's attention throughout is with off screen Tony and Joe, who are playing romantic music and singing "Bella Notte".

And how cool that animation can be this extraordinary!!

Here is the link to a previous post on this scene:

https://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2016/03/why-this-scene-looks-so-amazing.html

Willie the Giant

Mickey and the Beanstalk is a short film that really stands the test of time. It was released in 1947 as a part of the feature Fun and Fancy Free.

The film's "villain", Willie the giant, was principally animated by John Lounsbery with help from Hugh Fraser. Some time ago, before a number a Disney animation books were published, and before any access to animation drafts (which list animator's names along with their scenes), many people believed that Willie was a Ward Kimball creation. It was an educated guess, since the animation is fluid, broad at times and inventive (Willie's anti-climactic sneeze). All characteristics of vintage Kimball animation.

But it is Lounsbery who wound up borrowing from Bill Tytla's giant in The Brave Little Taylor, the classic short from 1938. Willie is a simplified version of Tytla's massive but intricately drawn villain.

Lounsbery's giant is lighter, fluffier with an emphasis on comedy. Willie's voice actor Billy Gilbert contributed a whole lot to the character's development. His dialogue readings are rich in personality,

a giant who is funny, not too smart but utterly likable in the end.

I love these story sketches, perhaps by J.P. Miller.

A few stills from Mickey and the Beanstalk, featuring Mickey and Willie.

The Nine Old Men in China

I am thrilled to announce that my book on Disney's Nine OId Men is now available in China.

Song of the South

What a beautiful color sketch, perhaps by Mary Blair.
I know that many of you are frustrated over the Song of the South controversy. All that beautiful animation lost in the film's dispute.
As for myself, I do agree with Bob Iger in that the movie cannot be screened today (unless it is for a lesson in American history).
I do believe that Walt and his crew had the best intentions when making it, but unfortunately the thought of being hurtful to many people had not entered their minds. Luckily attitudes and opinions change over time, and I bet you that if asked today, the film makers would agree with Bob.

Tytla's Chernabog

The Night on Bald Mountain sequence in Fantasia is probably the most extravagant piece of animated film making in regards to character animation and effects ever produced.
Fire, smoke, highlights and shadows, floating ghosts and experimental use of light, every single scene is loaded with awe inspiring richness. The result is definitely not family entertainment. This footage falls into the horror film genre. (I've said this before, terrifying enough to scare the popcorn out of kids). Disney in perhaps his darkest yet astonishingly beautiful animated moment.

The perfect challenge for young animator Bill Tytla, who had already established himself as an artistic powerhouse with gorgeous animation on several short films like Mickey's Fire Brigade and Cock o'the Walk. And the of course Stromboli in Pinocchio.
I don't know who drew Tytla's clean ups, but this work is exceptional. A devil in Art Deco line work.

What fascinates me even more are Tytla's rough drawings, even exploratory sketches. They give you insight into his extraordinary mind. The way he puts down lines to get a hold of this bigger than life character, his torso, arms, hands.
Many of the poses originate from the sequence director Wilfred Jackson own performance in front of the camera. Michael Barrier posted a few stills a while ago. Skinny as Jackson might have been, but you immediately recognize them as the inspiration for Tytla's masterful animation.

http://www.michaelbarrier.com/Interviews/Jackson1973/Jackson1973.html

Here is the link to my first post on Bill Tytla:

https://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/search?q=tytla

Dr. Facilier

This might come as a surprise to you, but I was involved in a bunch of scenes featuring Dr. Facilier in The Princess and the Frog.

I remember that at the time story material and layouts for Mama Odie were still being worked on.

So I was asked to help out in the Facilier unit, which was lead by Bruce Smith, an amazing animator.

These are some of the scenes I animated. I drew the reacting characters as well.

I recall that two or three of my scenes were cut in order to improve story continuity. And Bruce re-animated a couple of my scenes because my timing wasn't up to Facilier.

But I really enjoyed animating him in this terrific, spooky Voodoo sequence .