Everything that Fred Moore drew had appeal and charm. When he started at Disney in 1930 he was just perfect for the studio, and the studio was perfect for him. Here was this kid with a natural, instinctive talent for the kind of drawing that would change the Disney style. He enriched what had been done up to that point. His drawings looked like round little sculptures with super appealing proportions. His characters moved with a fresh squash and stretch approach, and they had real weight. Naturally all animators at Disney were asked to follow his lead. As Marc Davis said: "Fred Moore WAS Disney drawing!"
Here are a few of his rough drawings depicting kids.
These are drawings of Peter from the short film Peter and the Wolf. The actual animation for this scene was by Ollie Johnston. Peter is venting his frustration over Grandpa's strict instruction not to leave the house to pursue the Wolf. Just like Milt Kahl would do drawings for other animators in later years, Fred helped to improve poses and attitudes for anybody who asked for his input.
Incredible energy throughout! *Love* the last two demo poses.
ReplyDeleteI love his style.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could re-watch Peter and the Wolf, it's one of my favourite shorts. Too bad it's not on Disney plus and all the full YouTube clips seem to be blocked in my region...