The Lion King turned 30 last month, and I have been speaking frequently to people who had questions about what it was like to work on the film.
As some of you might know, I had already animated two Disney villains, Gaston and Jafar. By the time the Lion King came around, I thought there would be little or no chance for me to do the villain again. Certainly it was time for someone else to handle the bad guy.
But let me back up a little bit. We were still in the process of finishing the movie Aladdin when a group of us had an important conversation in the hallway of the studio. As much as we loved working on Disney animated films (and it was really an honor), things had gotten a little dicey for the whole animation team.
I need to point out that at that time there was only ONE animation team, the one that had produced The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast as well as the almost finished Aladdin. For each of those films we had been given 12 months to finish the animation. That was a very tight schedule to say the least. In order to meet the weekly deadlines, a ton of overtime was needed. Dinners were catered to the studio. Many artists took their work home over weekends, I know I did.
Don't get me wrong, it was loads of fun to work on these films, and we were elated to see their boxoffice results. But people were getting exhausted, and some relationships suffered because we spent so many hours at the studio and very little at home.
It was time to have a talk with management to discuss these issues. We ended up having a company retreat on the Queen Mary, an old ocean liner turned onto a hotel, located in Long Beach.
Those talks were difficult and straining, but Disney management took notice. The result:
After Aladdin our one animation team would be split into two. Each small unit would be enlarged by hiring additional artists to the studio. And the time to animate a new feature would now be around 18 months.
The first two animated titles that went into production almost simultaneously were Pocahontas and King of the Jungle (which would go through a name change...).
In order to present pre-production work for both projects to the animators, a wine and cheese party was held. I remember gorgeous vis dev Illustrations by Mike Gabriel telling the story of Pocahontas and her unusual love interest. In essence this was a Romeo and Juliet concept. Everyone understood it and loved it.
King of the Jungle was supposed to be about a lion cub growing up, as he learns about what it takes to become...king of the jungle.
Mel shaw had produced a few atmospheric pastel sketches showing African wildlife, but there wasn't much of a story at this point.
Disney gave us a choice regarding which film we would like to be a part of. I still find this stunning after all these years. They could have seriously suggested which animator they saw fit for any of the two titles, but they didn't. We really had a choice.
As much as I loved the visuals for Pocahontas, it was clear to me that I had to be a part of the "lion project". Perhaps because of my love for the Jungle Book and my general passion for wildlife.
All the way hoping that a good story for the film might emerge.
So I started looking at early storyboards to figure out which of the "non villain" characters I might lean toward. Simba, Mufasa, Rafiki etc.
Then word got around the studio that actor Jeremy Irons had just read a few lines for Scar. I listened to these early recordings, and...my mind was blown. What a voice, what a concept, what a character!!
It might not have been my turn to animate another villain, but I just had to ask.
I got lucky!
I'm glad that you decided on animating The Lion King's Scar in the end, Andreas Deja. I do remember seeing this now 30-year-old epic Disney movie on VHS when I was around three or four years old. Also, The Lion King isn't just your typical Disney movie, no; it's rather more of an epic father and son story set in the African wilderness. And to this very day and age, Mr. Deja, I even find The Lion King's opening song, "Circle of Life", prefaced as it was by South African musician Lebo M calling out "Nants Ingonyama bagithi Baba!" (meaning, "Here comes a lion, father!") for Hans Zimmer, the guy behind the Lion King music score, to be the most epic and powerful song that Disney had ever commissioned, past or present. As for Scar, Mr. Deja, if Scar really hates Simba so much, and also got scared by Mufasa so much, why did he kill Mufasa during that CGI wildebeest stampede down the canyonlike gorge scene but not Simba?
ReplyDeleteI consider myself very fortunate having seen you speak on a number of occasions. I have been thinking about some of the content from those presentations and wondering if you've ever shared here on your blog. I remember you sharing sketchbook drawings you made of sculptures: investigations of how the sculptor maintained a unified design in 360 degrees. And your analysis of Milt Kahl's drawings: how rhythms move through in a unified and meaningful way. I'm going to dig through to see if you have ever hsared but, I figured I would ask as well. Have you ever shared any of these on your blog? Thank you for maintaining this blog!
ReplyDeleteFascinating stories like this one make me wonder how many thousands more linger in the memories of Disney artists but will never be told publicly. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteMr. Deja, danke fürs Posten! :)
ReplyDeleteSpannend und informativ erzählt fand ich dieses Stück Lebensgeschichte ausgesprochen anregend! :)
Da ich sechzehn/siebzehn gewesen war, als ich König der Löwen im Kino gesehen hatte, war ich ein Teenager als Ihnen die ersten Entwürfe und Pläne zu Pocahontas und King of the Jungle vorgestellt wurden.
Mit meiner heutigen Reife, aber ohne zu wissen, wie beide Projekte sich entwickeln würden, wie hätte ich mich entschieden?
In jener von Ihnen beschriebenen Phase hätte aus King of thé Jungle ein Film wie Bambi werden können und somit ohne einen so hervorragend entwickelten Antagonisten wie Scar. :)
Ob ich die Möglichkeit eine(r/s) Quest/Monomythos erkannt hätte?
Es sind die Lovestorys bei denen die Konflikte der (angehenden) Liebenden eher von innerhalb als von außerhalb kommen, die mir gefallen.
Mit innerhalb meine ich bedingt durch die Unterschiedlichkeit im Denken, in den Persönlichkeite oder in den Ansichten der Hauptakteure. Beispielsweise.
Protagonisten wie Dornröschen und Philipp machen auf mich schon rein äußerlich den Eindruck zu perfekt zu sein um mich mit denen personifizieren zu können...Ich bevorzuge (skurrile/schräge) Hauptfiguren mit Fehler und Tadel.
Diese Fehler und Tadel können meiner Meinung nach zusätzlich sehr hilfreich sein um eine glaubhafte Motivation des Antagonisten zu erarbeiten, die stark genug ist, dass ich mich ausreichend genug mit dem "Bösen" /die "Böse" identifizieren kann und daher den Verlauf der Geschichte unbedingt weiterverfolgen will.
Scar hat zudem unglaublich viel Charisma. Erst seine Entscheidungen und Methoden machen diesen Löwen zum Antagonisten...
Falls ich keine Chancen gesehen hätte und daher das Gefühl gehabt hätte mich nicht zwischen eine Art Bambi oder einer Romeo und Julia Inszenierung entscheiden zu können...
Da ich bei der von Ihnen beschriebene im Vorfeld lange vorherrschte Stresssituation am besten festgestellt hätte, mit welchen Menschen ich am besten auskomme, hätte ich mich dem Team mit dem für mich höchsten Harmoniebarometerwert angeschlossen. :)
Zudem bin ich mir ziemlich sicher, dass durch die exzellente Vorstellung von Pocahontas die Latte so hoch gesetzt wurde, dass sich King of thé Jungle zu dem Klassiker entwickelte, der König der Löwen bis heute ist! :)
I remember a documentary about the Disney animation studio at the time of the Disney Renaissance. My heart goes out to you and the whole team! It may have been tough, but you really put your all in every film!
ReplyDeleteThank you for shaping my childhood and my path as an artist!