Wilhelm M. Busch, Letters J, K, L

 

A Message from Bruce Reitherman

 

A few weeks ago Bruce Reitherman sent a video with him reminiscing about voicing Mowgli for the 1967 original Jungle Book. This of course was done in connection with the upcoming exhibition at the Walt Disney Family Museum: Walt Disney's The Jungle Book, Making a Masterpiece.

It opens to the public on June 23, and I can't wait to walk Bruce as well as Darleen Carr, Clint Howard and Floyd Norman through the exhibit.

Below is a pic with Bruce during a recording session with his father, director Woolie Reitherman. 

Here are a few comments by Bruce from a 2013 interview for the English Express:

"I was about 12 years old when this photo was taken. It was 1967 - the summer of love - and I was recording the voice of Mowgli in Disney's The Jungle Book. I remember I just loved that spotty shirt.

I'm with my dad, Wolfgang Reitherman, who directed the film. Working with my dad wasn't a big deal for me and recording Mowgli was fun, although you had to take it very seriously and come prepared to give it your best shot.

The voice of Mowgli required something special, in the sense that he had to be absolutely ordinary. It had to feel like a really average kid.

You had all these big personalities - people like George Sanders as Shere Khan, Sebastian Cabot as Bagheera and Louis Prima as King Louie - but Mowgli needed to have a sympathetic quality to make him someone you cared about.

The film took four years to make, and when I was recording I used to get out of school do to it, which was a real treat. I didn't have many friends at that age, but some kids knew what I was up to.

It's only since I've grown up and my generation have had children that I've really appreciated what a great thing I was involved in. that film is going to live on for ever - there's a copy of it at major film museums all over the world.

It's a piece of 20th-century art, and having been a part of it, you can't help but feel proud.

The film took four years to make, and when I was recording I used to get out of school do to it, which was a real treat.

Bruce Reitherman

I have a daughter now, Camilla, who's 10 years old. She loves to sing and dance - she's quite the performer, which I think she inherited from me. She's seen The Jungle Book many times and it's one of her favourites.

When we watch it together, there are moments when I might have a little flash of memory from those days, and there are times when my daughter will look at me and say, 'that was you!' But in general we just enjoy it as a piece of entertainment.

Much of the original cast have passed away now but Richard Sherman, who composed most of the songs, is a friend of the family and I still see him frequently. My father was one of Walt Disney's original "nine old men", the animators who worked with him in the early days, and they're all gone too.

But I'm a cinematographer now, and I still connect with members of the animation team who were just starting out at the time of The Jungle Book.

Disney is like a family. that doesn't mean there aren't difficulties, trials and tribulations, but it's a family that sticks together to look after the bare necessities."

A publicity still as Bruce is having a laugh with Kaa and his drawn alter ego.

Here is the link to Walt Disney's The Jungle Book, Making a Masterpiece:

https://www.waltdisney.org/press-room/walt-disneys-jungle-book-making-masterpiece

Wilhelm M. Busch, Letters G, H, I

Gorgeous!!

 

Ilene Woods

 

A beautiful publicity photo of Ilene Woods, the voice of Cinderella. Look at all that stunning art by Mary Blair. Some of you might know that Ilene originally sang the demo tracks for three of the film's songs: Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, A Dream is a Wish your Heart makes and So This is Love. Walt Disney liked the demos so much , he offered her the part of Cinderella. Much to her amazement. 

I had the chance of meeting Ilene a few times over the years at Disney events. She really embodied her character. Soft spoken, kind, patient with fans. There are times when I need to pinch myself for having met legendary people like her. How lucky can you get?

Ilene died in 2010, aged 81. 

Wilhelm M. Busch, Letters D, E, F

The next set of Busch's Circus Alphabet. 

Quick Mushka Update

 

Early this week I got up with the sunrise and discovered our Mushka maquette looking amazing in this natural light. 

See below a Mushka mug made for our crew members. 

Right now I am actually animating the last scene for the film. That's it, animation is done, just some post production left to do like final sound mix. Negotiations with streaming services will begin as early as next week.

Circus Alphabet by Wilhelm M. Busch

In 1981 German illustrator Wilhelm M. Busch published a limited edition portfolio titled Circus Alphabet. Edition size of 45. I feel so lucky to have found one of those publications online for sale. Busch gave himself the assignment of illustrating individual letters from the alphabet. What starts out as abstract shapes become figurative compositions inspired by the world of the circus.  

What a great exercise in imagination, draftsmanship and composition!!!

Every little ballpoint pen doodle is a masterpiece. Honestly, these sketches make me feel like I can't draw at all. Soooo deliciously beautiful!

Here are sketches that illustrate the letters A, B and C.

Of course I will post the whole alphabet in the future, in groups of three, with the hope that it will inspire many people to DRAW!!

 

Axed Scenes

 

I've always liked this sketch that shows Ward Kimball sulking in self pity over the cut of his "Soup Eating" scene from Snow White. He drew this image himself, and it effectively represents the sentiment of an animator mourning the loss of some terrific work. 

Many of us have been there. For my last feature film at Disney (Winnie the Pooh) I animated an early version of Tigger's entrance. That sequence was then rewritten, and instead of Tigger's interaction with a wooden sign, he now messed with a red baloon.  

The one cut that hurt the most was the so called "Bedtime Story" sequence in Lilo & Stitch. I had animated Lilo telling her sister Nani a story she made up in the moment about a bear called Toaster who has no friends because he smells bad. It was such an emotional scene, because Lilo identified with Toaster being lonely, and was actually talking about herself. 

Someone posted the pencil version on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i2JLC6-mUk

There have been other cuts and re-does of scenes throughout my decades at Disney. I agreed with most of them. But that scene with Lilo......

Happiness

 I CANNOT wait to see the show in London!!

Random Disney Mix

Here is a variety of artwork from classic Disney films over the years. What I love about the Dumbo sketch is the fact that even though this is a back view, it still reads like a symbol for the character. There is personality and entertainment.

Some Milt Kahl goodness from Bambi. Dick Williams told me once that he was astonished how the Disney animators were able to draw these deer with such dignity and grace. 

A beautiful development sketch for The Rite of Spring. Artists worked in all kinds of mediums when exploring this prehistoric world. 

This sensitive drawing was made for the 1938 short film Farmyard Symphony.

A clean up drawing of Donald Duck from a 1930s short. All of Donald's temperament is captured here. 

Great fluidity, weight and dimension. Animation probably by Fred Spencer.

Great caricature studies of one of the greatest animators ever, Fred Moore. That young man set a new standard for Disney personality animation.

Actress Helen Stanley acts out a scene for the character of Cinderella. Live action reference can be tricky and lead to stiff results on the screen. But Eric Larson and Marc Davis knew very well how to apply the reference while maintaining fluid animation. 

What amazing colors for Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. The Disney color model department was out of this world.

A beautiful story sketch by Joe Rinaldi. Terrific attitudes and staging. People still mistake his work for Bill Peet's. 

A large cel of Trusty from Lady and the Tramp. Again, beautiful colors and impeccable inking. Just a joy to look at. 

A quintessential scene from The Jungle Book. This is a touch up drawing, meaning that the clean up artist worked over a rough animation drawing by Ollie Johnston, on the same sheet of paper. Look at how thin and delicate the lines are. Unfortunately the current streaming version lost this particular quality. The film's original format was close to 4:3, but when you zoom into the image to create 16:9, you loose the top and bottom of the screen as well as the thin line quality.

Be sure to plan and visit the exhibition of Walt Disney's The Jungle Book, Making a Masterpiece. It opens next month at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.

1990 at Disney Animation

 

We had just screened a work in progress version of The Prince and the Pauper for two Disney icons, Marc Davis and Joe Grant. Here they are commenting on story, animation and general entertainment. This is 32 YEARS AGO!!! That might be the reason why I don't remember one thing these two legends said. At that time I had been at Disney for 10 years. And I was so lucky to have gotten to know Marc and Joe, but also Frank and Ollie, Kimball, Milt and of course Eric Larson. 

That's Dan Rounds on the left, the producer of the film. He not only imitates my pose, but also my sense of fashion... ;) 

A Medusa Cel

 

What a great cel of Madame Medusa from The Rescuers. Milt Kahl was very concerned about how the final cels with his animation would turn out. In the end he was very happy with certain visuals that mattered to him. During a conversation with Penny Medusa has taken off all of her eyelashes. At this point Milt wanted to show no eyelashes at all, not even her natural ones. The xerox line defining the edges of her eyes was eliminated, and a flesh colored ink line was added. This is all about contrast. Big eyelashes at first, then none at all. That's a clear graphical statement. 

Earlier on Medusa removed half of her lipstick, and again, that side of her mouth doesn't show any lip definition at all! Contrast, contrast!

To some viewers this might be gross looking, and it is, but sooo in character. I just love this sequence.

Another Look at Sleeping Beauty

Marc Davis draws Maleficent. This is not a scene from the film Sleeping Beauty, the sketch was made for publicity purposes. As I pointed out before, Marc worked on this film longer than any other animator. He actually skipped the production of Lady & the Tramp, so he could focus on and animate the movie's heroine as well as its villain. Aurora and Maleficent. This was a first, and it hasn't been done since. 

A live action photostat of Jane Fowler (later Boyd) as Maleficent. Voice actress Eleanor Audley also acted out important scenes for the animators.

A Frank Thomas sketch of the Three Fairies, pretty much as they appear in the film. But it took many exploratory versions to get to this point.

This is early live action footage for Aurora and Prince Phillip. Believe it or not, but that's Kathryn Beaumont (of Alice and Wendy fame). I don't know who her acting partner is, with his full hairdo.  

King Hubert, King Stefan and his Queen represented by actors Don Barcley, Hans Conried, and again Jane Fowler. 

 Camera moves planning and a clean up layout. 

Alice

 

A photo from quite a few years ago, taken at the home of Marc Davis. Alice Davis is giving a tour of Marc's art on display in their home. A visit to the Davis home is like walking through a museum, filled with extraordinary art from one of animation's grand masters. It makes your head spin, so much to look at, so much to appreciate and be inspired by.

That is Jake Friedman on the right. His new book on the infamous Disney strike is about to be released. Jake has a new book and I have a new animated film about to come out!

https://www.amazon.com/Disney-Revolt-Great-Animations-Golden/dp/164160719X/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3IV72B80JFL5D&keywords=jake+friedman+book&qid=1652169302&sprefix=jake+friedman%2Caps%2C351&sr=8-3

Mark Adlington

 

Mark Adlington is a terrific contemporary animal artist from the UK. I came across his beautiful work by accident online. He draws his subjects in their natural environments, before refining the sketches in his studio. 

Adlington has a great sense for observation, he can paint any kind of animal very well. 

I found two publications featuring his work on Amazon. One focusing on African lions, the other one on polar bears. 

Here are a couple of great videos with him talking about his work:

https://vimeo.com/543959832

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjnCn8LILNo

All images copyright Mark Adlington.