John Culhane wrote this article at the time of the film's release in 1977. He inadvertently had became the model for one of the characters, Mr Snoops. As a longtime Disney fan and historian, John was elated to have been "immortalized" by animator Milt Kahl. Who wouldn't?
The article gives you a pretty good idea where the studio was at, regarding the transition from the old guard to a new generation of Disney artists.
I miss John. When it came to animation he was so enthusiastic and always fun to talk to.
These articles are always a joy to read (and, like I've said before, I would've had great use of them when I was writing my dissertation). So thank you again for sharing these with us.
ReplyDeleteSay, Andreas? What did you think of John Culhane's caricature from the "Rhapsody in Blue" segment on "Fantasia 2000" (since you worked it)?
ReplyDeleteI thought he looked great. As does everything in Rhapsody in Blue. What a fantastic short film!
DeleteOh yeah. That piece was my introduction to Gershwin and his music, especially "Porgy and Bess".
DeleteI Like the version of "Sumertime" by Billie Holiday as well as the version by Janis Joplin! :)
DeleteIt is so great that Gershwin combines two musical styles I like!:)
It is my kind of therapy against bad mood to hear Ravels Bolero at first and than Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue.
And it thrilling me everytime when I hear the clarinet in the beginning! :)
Mr. Deja,
ReplyDeleteLooking at the cover of American Film at the lead of this article, I assume that the drawing is an example of the "Xerox" method. I'm having difficulty understanding that process. How many steps were saved by the process, and whose drawings were Xeroxed, the animators' or the cleanup artist? I would think some animators would have a difficult time as their sketches would be so rough. Maybe you could do a demo of how this worked. And was it still be used when you were at Disney?
As far as I know, the cleanups were the ones that got xeroxed. I ignore if Milt Kahl or any other animator did his own cleanups from time to time (it's possible). As for the same saved: I suppose only the inking on acetate step was skipped (coloring cels still reaquired hand-painting), but I guess once the process was standardized there was quite a lot of time optimisation possible. Inking by hand require skilled artists, loading a Xerox machine require a somewhat less skilled technician. And a complex drawing requires more time to ink by hand, whereas xeroxing speed does not depend on the complexity of the drawing.
DeleteIf you are hand-inking the only way to do it faster is to hire more people.
It is a great article! :)
ReplyDeleteI read it more often!
Thanks for posting it! :)
...Yes, I think people like John Culhane are hard to find! :(
thank you!
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