Later on in the year the short film Runaway Brain is turning 30. It premiered on August 11, 1995. A few things come to mind when I reflect on the film's production:
At the time the French animation crew in Paris was so ready to take on a project like this one. These were the artists who had previously animated the beautiful Goofy Movie. Not much tutoring on my part was needed to get the crew ready for a potentially classic Mickey Mouse short (which I think it is.) All of the animators had done "their homework", they knew how to produce top notch Disney animation.
When the film was released I wondered about the tempo in which the story was told. It seemed a bit too fast to me. But looking at the short now, it looks perfect. A dynamic, fresh and entertaining short which echoes Mickey's early gutsy personality.
Last not least I met quite a few French people who became lifelong friends. What more can you ask for from an animated short film production?
Here is a write up from the time of the film's release in Disney's internal news letter.
Here is a blog post on Runaway Brain from 2012:
https://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2012/12/runaway-brain.html
I'm not sure that every Mickey film should be like Runaway Brain, but I really like it! I love that type of well-controlled, but very squashy and lively animation.
ReplyDeleteWish they'd do a Mickey feature along the lines of A Goofy Movie
When Runaway Brain first released, I was still pretty young-- and I was terrified of the ads. I skipped watching A Kid in King Arthur's Court with my sister so I would miss it.
ReplyDeleteLittle did I know that Disney would sneak the short in front of a screening of George of the Jungle a couple years later. Once it started playing, I went, "Oh... this is fine!" I loved the gags and Mickey's swashbuckling antics at the end. Once I got past my initial fear, I was fine. I get why Disney is careful with rereleasing the short nowadays, but I wish they weren't.
You are right on the money about the Paris team crushing it, Andreas. The way Dr. Frankenollie's arms and legs trade off for expression and movement a few times was a great touch. Who animated his scenes?
What a great post! Thanks for sharing your unique reflections on this short and posting a few pags from the Newsreel--loved it.
ReplyDeleteWhat movies was it shown before? Mike mentioned A Kid in King Arthurs Court, but I never saw that however I remember seeing this in theaters in its first run....
ReplyDelete