This scene appears after the opening credits for The Aristocats. The kitten Toulouse has climbed on to the butler's head and is playing with the hat's plume.
Milt Kahl shows his mastery for how hands articulate an action clearly and beautifully. The first drawing is held for a little while with an eye blink on top. I love how Edgar's right hand reaches for and grabs the kitten. After that the same hand straightens out the hat before moving down to grab the horse's reins. Impeccable staging here. Edgar's head stays in profile pretty much throughout the scene as not to attract attention away from the hand action. And that action is the main thing in this scene for the viewer to follow.
Any animator who knows the mechanics of hands and how to apply those within the acting will always be ahead of the game.
For some reason this has become our national tv's go-to movie to show on New Year's Eve, so I've watched it again quite recently. I always found it interesting how the acting in Edgar's first few scenes, including this one, makes him come across as a quite likeable character, until he finds out that he's not going to inherit Madame's fortune. Of all the villains, he's probably the one with the most reasonable motive. And this is indeed a great scene, it makes him look gentle and caring, but also duty-oriented.
ReplyDeleteI hope the new year brings you and your loved ones great things, Andreas.
Thank you so much!I appreciate it.
Deletevery static scene like this, also need a good managing of frames in XSheet and finding low risc extreme poses. i mean a clear guiding for animators.
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