Lady & the Tramp Doll Houses

Well, not quite.

These three dimensional models were built to help Disney layout artists visualize the perspective for specific interior scenes. Look how detailed they were put together, with furniture, props , even wallpaper design. It makes total sense to offer this kind of visual reference to the layout department.

I just wonder why there were no models like these made for films like Snow White, Pinocchio or Peter Pan.

Even the movies that followed Lady & the Tramp didn't have this kind of reference. As far as I know 101 Dalmatians and The Sword in the Stone were all laid out without the benefit of miniature sets.

Final frames from the film show the result of all the research that went into creating believable environments.

Sebastian Cabot as Bagheera

That's character actor Sebastian Cabot in the photo, standing in front of story sketches by Vance Gerry.

Cabot voiced the black panther Bagheera in The Jungle Book. And beautifully so!

Bagheera is one of my favorite animated characters, for three reasons:

-I love his ernest personality, which strongly contrasts Baloo, who just wants to have a good time.

-The way Milt Kahl designed him with an ultimate economy of lines. Pure feline elegance!

-Most of his personality scenes were animated by Milt ( Bagheera pushing Mowgli up a tree) and Ollie Johnston (the night time conversation between the panther and Baloo about how to get Mowgli back to the man village).

Bagheera is like your dad, always sensible and concerned, while Baloo is like your crazy uncle. It is obvious why Mowgli wants to hang out with the bear. 

Bill Peet scribbled these terrific early character concepts, before eventually leaving not only the project, but the studio.

Story artist Vance Gerry continued working on sequences that involved Bagheera.

Here are a couple of his story sketches.

Milt Kahl researches design possibilities that would work with Sebastian Cabot's voice recordings.

At one point Bagheera apparently had colored pupils, and his upper jawline was defined. The final design doesn't show that jaw/ cheek line. As I said, simplified to perfection.

A few key drawings, done by Milt for Ollie Johnston scenes.

After Baloo got Mowgli into trouble, he screams for help. This rough Kahl scene represents Bagheera's initial reaction: "Well, it happened!"

Simple, full of personality, gorgeously drawn and animated!

Barbara Firth

I love Barbara Firth's illustrated children's' books. They capture the innocence of childhood without ever being childish. Beautiful sensitive watercolors with strong and appealing character poses.

It's curious to find out that she did not begin her career as a book illustrator until 1980. Before that she had worked for many years in the fashion industry,

Sadly Firth passed away last March at the age of eighty-four. Here is a quote from The Guardian's obituary:

Barbara Firth, who has died aged 84, achieved success relatively late in life with her rich, warm and evocative illustrations for books such as Martin Waddell's Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? Her realisation of Waddell's touching story of Big Bear helping Little Bear overcome his fear of the dark by bringing him bigger and bigger lanterns, before taking him outside to show him how the moon – the biggest lantern of them all – is always there, touched a chord with parents and children. Firth created an engaging, rumpled and shambling Big Bear and an enchantingly bright-eyed and eager Little Bear. Their cave is a haven of cosiness and Firth's illustrations are full of depth and surprise, as well as charm.

Firth never had any formal art training. Her lively work almost suggests that she might have had some kind of animation experience. Here is a small sampling from a variety of her books.

All illustrations © Barbara Firth

Secretary Bird

I wonder if Milt Kahl ever saw this illustration by James A. Shepherd from his 1894 book "Zig Zags at the Zoo". No idea, if the vast Disney Library had a copy of it.

But it looks like the Shepherd drawing might have been inspirational for the design of the Secretary Bird in the film Bedknobs and Broomsticks. 

Milt Kahl animated most of the scenes with this character, who constantly has to put up with King Leonidas' volatile temper. The Lion's roar is so powerful, it repeatedly messes up the Secretary Bird's outfit. Those scenes where he puts himself together again, straightening out his tie and adjusting his cufflinks are among my favorites from Milt's later work.

I'd like to talk about these animated scenes in a future post.

Chanticleer, Rough and Final

I think it is always interesting to compare preparatory work with the final illustration, especially when you are looking at art from Marc Davis. These color images are stunning, but it's the pencil sketches that tell you how Marc approached the research for his characters and compositions.

These images are as good as it gets when it comes to staging ideas for personalities and environments.

The pencil sketches were pinned onto a board and photographed in August of 1960. Marc had finished work on Cruella De Vil, but 101 Dalmatians wouldn't be in theaters until January of 1961.

I see the same confidence with which Marc animated Cruella displayed here in the designs for Chanticleer, which was hopefully going to be the next animated feature.

Disney anthropomorphic animals enter a modern aera, more designy and sophisticated than anything from the Golden Age of Animation.

To this day they cry out to be animated…as moving drawings.