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    Concept art de la pelicula de Disney Mulan

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    Concept art de la pelicula de Disney Mulan

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    349 views207 pages

    Mulan Art Resize

    Uploaded by

    Ricardo Klenner Moncada
    Concept art de la pelicula de Disney Mulan

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 207
    $60.00 Canada $81.00 THE ART OF MuIAN sixth animated feature, Mulan, a brave young woman is faced with the terrible reali- ty that her father—too old to be a soldier but too honorable not to be one—will be killed in bactle. Driven by her love for her father and her devotion to her family, Mulan makes a decision chat will change their lives forever. Disguising herself as a boy, she secretly takes her father’s place in the Imperial army thac is being gathered to meet the threat of invasion by the villainous Hun leader, Shan- Yu. Out of this experience Mulan, and everyone around her, will learn profound lessons about courage, honor, and love, Inspired by a 2,000-year-old Chinese legend, Mulan is the first animated feature film co be primarily produced by Disney’s studio in Orlando, Florida. This richly illus- traced volume, The Arc of Mulan, reveals the story behind the making of the film and includes more than 350 stunning color and black-and-white illustrations, showcasing a variety of art produced by the-many talent- ed artists who worked on the film. Like the film’s heroine, the Disney arcises who created Mulan made a journey of self-discovery that began with a momen- cous decision—eo make a modern-day film. adapted from an ancient C Their efforts to remain faithful co the spirie of the original legend and the cradicions of Chinese culture, while at the same time rate feacesibleto cody’ intemaconat (il audience, are chronicled in The Art of Mulan by th: artists themsei Their words reveal their passion wh demonsi. tes the lazzlin array of calgnt (continue. on back 9) EBM Poss 4y AH a FROM THE DISNEY ANIMATED FILM HY ERION| NEW york PRESENTS ar ' h; = 1 < Bwsv0s4 200% j at lh tee a / ; : ' / it : earner ee oat al I | | eS wa a et OR si = Endpaper: Visual development by Sean Sullivan, Page 1: Calligraphy by David Wang. Preceding pages: Visual development by Hans Bacher Opposice: Vieual development by Hans Bacher “Honor to Us All)” "Reflection," “ll Make a Man Out of You” "A Girl Worth Fighting For/’ and True co Your Heart.” Music by Matthew Wilder Lyries by David Zippel Original score by Jerry Goldsmith Copyright © 1998 Wale Disney Music C Allrights reserved. Used by permission Copyright © 1998 Disney Enterprises, Inc “The Legend of Mulan” poem on pages 2-13 translated from che Chinese by Lei Fan, Al rights reserved. No pare of this book say be uaed or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without writcen permission of the Publisher ISBN 0-7868-6588-9 ISBN 0-7868-6466-4 |limived edicion For information, address: Hyperion nig Fifth Avenue New York, New York soot Produced by: Welcome Enterprises, Ine. 588 Broadway New York, New York 1002 Project Director: Sara Baysinger Designer: Gregory Wakabayashi vn Editor: Wendy Lefhon Assistant Editor: Robin Friedman and bound in Japan by ppan Printing Co, Led, e987 6s 45a Adapted from Wale Disney Pictures’ MULAN, Music by MATTHEW WILDER Lyrics by DAVID ZIPPEL Original score by JERRY GOLDSMITH Produced by PAM COATS. Directed by BARRY COOK and TONY BANCROFT My work on this book is dedicated to the memory of my father, Robert Kurtti In our cynical world, certain terms have become passé. Far from their original meaning and purpose, the use of these cerms has become contemptuous, cheir ineene arch, and their orators suspect. Among these phrases are “passion,” “sinceriey;” and “labor of love.” ‘The team that created Mulan was not only unabashed in chese feelings for their project, they were fearless about sharing chem wich me. I am especially grateful to Peter Schneider and Tom Schumacher for afferding me such an ‘opporeunity. | also wish to thank Producer Pam Coats and Directors Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft for sharing their creative energies. “Those talented artists who took time away from making a movie co spend ime talking €0 me about making a movie include Sunny Apinchapong, Ruben Aquino, Hans Bacher, Tom Bancroft, Rob Bekuhrs, Aaron Blaise, Irma Cartaya, Chen-¥i Chang, Dean DeBlois, Jerry Goldsmith, Erie Guaslione, Mark Henn, T. Dan Hofstede, Rita Hsiao, Broose Johnson, Fran Kirsten, Alex Kupershmide, Sai Ping Lok, Ruben Procopio, Pres Romanillos, Laurie Sacks, Chris Sanders, Lisa Smith, Ric Sluicer, Robert Stanton, Barry Temple, David Tidgwell, Jeffrey Varab, Robert Walker, Matthew Wilder, and David Zippel. A special thanks goes to the without whose exhaustive efforts, Wentz, this book would never have seen the light of day. My appointed escorts through the halls of Feature Animation were my pal and fellow Disney fanatic Russell Schroeder, the ever-efficient-but-never- officious Kelly Slagle, my old friend Kim Piercy, and my new friend Sabrina ‘Wacerman. Iv’s rare to enjoy a collaboration as much as I do those projects that come from Wendy Lefkon at Hyperion. She is a consummate professional and an essential colleague, There are too many good things about her eo say here— Jane Healey, friendly, funny, and ever-helpful Ivan Hall along with chose of his successor Krissie and, as Wendy would tell you, | already over-write Thanks co David Andrew, John Canemaker, Jean Cress, Sasha Goodman, Shawn Hayes, Richard Jordan, Dan Long, Leonard Maltin, Sean Markland, Kenneth Martinez, Armistead Maupin, Tim O’Day, Michael Pellerin, Betsy Richman, Eric Sanford, Phil Savenick, Dave Walsh, and Gilles C. Wheeler I hope you'll never see a book of mine where | don’t express my gratitude co my de facto editor, my advisor, my research angel, my comic co-conspirator, and best of all, my friend, Robert Tieman Finally, my biggest fans and best supporters are still my family. Mom, Ron, Joan, Jesse, Darby, Jerry, Shawna, and the ever-popular Grandma Mick. The older I grow, the luckier I feel eo have you. LK. The producers also wish to acknowledge the following people for their indiapensabe contributions to his ook: Rabin Friedman and David Lae a yperion; Kevin Breen and Jody Silverman of Wale Disney Business Affairs Legal Ties Lewirof Ohauny Pebching Cinatien Dolepmane Ave” Hansen at the Animation Research Library) Ed Squair at the Photo Library Onil Chibis, Stacie Iverson, Tom Kennedy, David Wang, and Pam Waterman at Feature Animation; John Hanley, Masanobu Ogata, and Yuzo Hasesaes of Toppan Printing Co. Led. and photographer Michael Stem, a ealenced and dependable collaborator. CONTENTS Wes HHI res Hye Sete acer YQ SL AMSASQk~S= oe Reb Hexen a acer N\ We sH=braw GH BSn Tz & Reh BRhIE~ acer We SERASRSORISE & MALMESSNURS EERE Y In che family garden, Malan still, Background are by Barn Kooser. Layout by Richard ivingston, cleanup fayout by Peter DeLuca, =~ Se SVs ox WW. Ic Disney Feature Animation began a journey in 1034 that has yet to end. It Disney and his creative group bes: of Snow Whice and che Seven Dw That was the year that Wa an pre-production varfs, and initiated the creation of an all-new art form—the animated feature, Disney animation—now under the supervision of Roy E. Disney Schneider—continue to travel the pach that Wal They have and Peter Ic carved out more than 60 years ago. ‘© made it their mission to guard the tremendous legacy he left behind and expand upon it for a new generation. They have recurned from their many voyages with such features as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which have not only joined the ranks of their classic predecessors, bur have educated a whole new audience in the art of animation, and broken new ground in storycelling, art and design, filmmaking technology, and musie Every new project constitutes an excursion for its creators. After so many of these til rua eraser eaieal Sine the course would|be made caster Buc oferaisia at made more difficule by the desire to make a fresh statement, to use new techniques, and to avoid simply repeating the formula of prece. This ding su book is the story of another journey for Walt Disney Feature Animation, a Journey not only of a new animated feature with a new story and characters; but an excursion into new tural territory, with a new team, in a new studio facility, Icis not just the story of the mythic travels of a wandering heroine named Mulan, but the chronicle of the development of the Mulan tale for film, and a physical journey through China that yielded discovery and insight for the Disney creative team: Ie is also an accoune of che coalescence of that group, and how the integrity and spiric of a character they created produced a unanimity of chought that led them to a fervently shared vision. Finally, it is the story of the creation of the varied, eloquent and beautiful are that was, in many ways, only a by-product of a much greater endeavor. The uniqueness of Mulan is not just in the time-honored tale. Its uniqueness lies in che way ie entwines so many tales, ancient and contemporary; so many lives, pase and present, The legend of Mulan has spoken to hundreds of generations over the centuries The legend of Mulan spoke deeply to che Walt Disney Feature Anim, came together expressly to tell her story. ation team chat Now, from their efforts—and hers—Mulan will continue to speak to a wider audi- ence than ever before, and for generations to come. ~_ 47> begins with a single step.” AOZI(LAO-TZU) e Wa —LAo; Daode Jing Ching (The Way and les Power) ~~ ak SANE S HQ OKWRVRVVY “A journey of a thousand leagues wWeAzae wet 4tK Tne, = Preceding pages: Visual development of the moun- tains by Hans Bacher. ‘Model sheet pose of Shang by Supervising Animator Ruben Aquino, cleanup by ‘Cleanup Character Lead Bryan Sommer. Set WRAY VRay H=Aza ~<~ ud & euj r9v9 sved 1 YY slaw Hiw I serve slaail brs bsot sige sda ro Jo 9d Niw 1897 ylrto yer ii error} ecrivevie ism 9d3 03 priqos>l slqosq aud yess ai bsor “.bsslostisbie od 03 ovol Preceding pages: Visual development by Hans Bacher. Model sheet pose of Shan-Yu by Supervising Animator Pres Romanilos, de a5 a unique world belonging only Wns n~ Was asa Nn ety NLS WANN SY Lef: Background are from Pinocchio 1940] by Claude Coats. Below: Visual development for Sleeping Beauty (1955) by Eyvind Earle. A... the artists of Mulan were scrupulous in avoiding the conven- tional, they were not without the influence of certain legendary talents of past Disney animation. Claude Coats was a s4-year Disney staffer, and coneributed to che styling and backgrounds of most of the Disney features from Snow White and che Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Fantasia (1940) to Cinderella |1950) and Pecer Pan (1953). Robert Stanton states, “The work of Claude Coats has been influential. He worked on so many of the films, and carried a beautiful sense of grace—and I think that’s what we were trying to get back to.” Eyvind Earle worked briefly at Disney, notably as production design- er of the landmark feature Sleeping Beauty (1959). “Eyvind Earle influx enced us in a graphic sense—his understanding of how to put something down as a silhouette and just leave it,” Stanton says. Ric Sluiter agrees, “We were looking at these old films, and these artists, myself included, are used to working on films where we are putting a loc of illustration technique into the background painting. It’s real challenging to get a team of artists to really study the old guys and appreciate how they understood filmmaking, and ery to recreate that.” “T feel like with Malan we're starting to get back to the greys of nature,” Stanton says. “If you can use the greys of nature you can get any- thing across. And I chink that’s what we're getting ourselves back to, learn- ing how co use subtle colors and get an idea across. If you hold back you have a lot more room to go either way, you can have a lot more control,” “The Fa family comple. Background are by Xin-Lin Fan. Layout by Kevin Proctor. Above: The opening scene of the ‘musical sequence “A Gisl Worth Fiahting For” Production sill Background are by Barbara Massy. Layout by Armand Serrano, cleanup layout by Tom Shannon Onposiee: Visual development by Hans Bacher No matter how often they cite the research, the influences, the seylis- tic precedents, the Mulan artists inevitably come back to the same primary al content, | feel these force at work in their art. “Because of the emotiona characters have a resonance people will connect with,” Stanton states “And | feel that based on seeing them animated without any color. If the crew can get the story that locked down and refined, and the animators maintain the subtly in the drawings on the page, then for me, 90% of the I have to do is support what they've created.” job’s been done—now all about the film’s potential poten- Tony Bancroft was equally excited asm that grew when Hans Bacher began the ic excited me immediately. | knew that che styling for this pic- would be new and fresh, because Hans cy, an enthusi, production design ture, the visual feel of the film, doesn’e do anything half-way, or din’e be considered anything thae woul: original, He’s a unique personality and his insight to visual concepts is exceptional. | knew chat the styles would really meld beeween what you d what | saw in his graphic style. | thought if see in Chinese artwork, an ind a combination of those two things, kind of a yin and yang balance—his we could just fi then we would have something truly unique. Ie really is style and historical Chinese art.” mythic approach to the design, Bacher fele. Like, what I chink was There was also an epic, 41 chink chere is something mystical abouc ‘China, probably one success of The Lion King—Africa.’ You know, ica, it’s far away, and there are so many les~ everybody kind of likes the idea of Af fan. | just thought ends, and | think that was the same with China and Mul: what sweeping landscapes we could do, the vistas, you know—‘David Lean’ shots—and all che different colors, characters, and costumes z ESS S'S i TI he Production still » Bambi fra) posite above: Background are nny Apinchapong. Layout ig Grasso, cleanup ut by Andy Harkness, esice below: Khan and. an. Production stil WW SRY RT RY SH SY B~ NYE LD Vacs WE RLY BL HAKENE v Key to Bacher’s design is the seemingly incongruous combin, ation of sophistication and si mplicity—a style that is thoroughly and elaborately refined, but with a resulting overall visual simplicity. Bacher explains, “I noticed over the last years in animation in general that designers have tended co encumber the picture with too much information They try to make too much of every single scene; they pack s0 much detail in that sometimes you can’t really find the characters.” Pare of Bacher’s approach to Mulan was to look back to classics of Disney animation. “I thought, why don’t we go back to Bambi or Pinocchio or Dumbo, and see how they did ie? | studied these films, and | found chat in composing a scene, they created a ‘stage’ for the characters, so there was always an empty spot in some area of the background where there was no detail. Ie acts like a spotlight. In looking at the old back- Srounds alone, it was as if there was something missing. And of course there is something missing: the character.” Bacher thought, “Why don’t we do that again, and combine it with what we've discovered about Chinese arc?’ When I looked at some of the original Chinese arcwork—I bought books and tried to get all the informa- tion I could find—I got more and more involved in it. They concentrate on the most important information, and then hey work detail in, and leave everything else our. It’s very balanced, with detail/no detail, empty spaces/filled spaces.” AR’ RBG PrN BSH VU ona Seer er c seylise and che intesrity of che aryle Immediacely impressed che makers of Mulan. “Ie’s bold and it’s confidene—and thac is what Hans Bacher is,” Tony Bancroft asseres, Barry Cook agrees. “Hans has a perfectionist mentality. For Hans, it’s always a desire co get it right—and why shouldn’e ic be righe? Why does the composition have co be wrong, when it can be right? And chere are righe ways to de composition. There are certain rules chat apply, and he knows the rules, and adheres co chem.” Pam Coats recalls, “Barry Cook had a vision in his head, buc he ldn’e articulate it, nor could he draw ic. He could just feel it. And When Hans started co produce the work, chen ie became cl was the vision chat was in Barry’s head.” One might imagine that chis zealoery for design would alienate or anger the established and experienced artists who call Disney home, but Bacher’s passion created the opposite reaction. The production designer’s enthusiasm about the visual world of Mulan, and his abilicy co support ized all of che Mulan artists. his convictions, galvan “We might have had people saying, ‘I Tony Bancroft elaborates, can’e do this. I’m going co paint the way | know Bur we didn’e. We've had Hans come land i¢ how to paint. I’ve been paineing this way for to, 1s years a with these guys, and they aor i in and give classes and leceu "ve detail contrasted with tage negative shape is well llusraced in {his scene from the Hum ateack, ‘mately made possible by the une of (CGN co-animace each of che us cise helpadchac many of che artiecs were! fresh co the medium, an aited fo be at work on their first Disney feature. Bancroft explais “They were hungry co improve themselves and grow as archers © Gre Dizenetr Ric Siliter nocse chae 7Prasc ace yeeet Ould cake wich this film. Ie wa re for che simplified approach we we che seas artists to come around to the strong araphi a real strumsle for mone of the jock Hans was pushing co establish. He should nee a toc cr ceo’ for fed ing the design of che film in thar direction, Se fiae aneiegioes herelcslnemere a nt te “Hans chewed us these sherches and all of us said, “Ob, my God, this is way foo simpley’ because we had all been nurturcd inco chis illustrative, eight Righe: Bacher’ directions for the syling of the Hun attack sequence were very ner 4, art by Hans Bacher. = Betow: Production stil R CGI by Patricia Hannaway a and Marey Aleman, Le style of painting. We were getting more realistic yet losing the fife in the work. “But within our vision was co find the life and lose extraneous details that just got in the way. So it became more basic, ‘Keep lt Simple, che old K.1.9.5. technique. That’s what Hans brought in. And he also brought in the idea of simple shapes. Small positive detail and the Stupid, big negative shape. Just having a big shape wich simplicity, but having a r small pos detail.” This design consensus was the beginning of a heady feeling of col- laboration and an overriding sense of balance chat would pervade the mak- ing of Mulan Tor che benefie of his colleagues, Production Designer Hans Bacher creat- cd « style guide which summarized his approach to the design of Mulan SAR and included everything from an explanation of yin and yang to directions on Sasingy composition, and lighting. He also included a list of more than thirty-five film directors whose work he recommended studying— films ranging from silent era German Expressionism, to British and Hollywoed spion ef che xppce and Sam, 20 the Icallan-made “Spaghetti WN NSN Westerns” of the 19608 and 7os. _ 4 - Composition : i: . Examples DLA RS ey WY~Rwa COMPOSITION : Composition is the harmonious combi : nation of forms and space. Try Co create the right selection of order, rhythm, and incelligent balance in your first approach to the composition. An important consideration is the right balance between space—the negacive area that is all around your objects and defines their shape—and the objects, oF the posi 7 tive form, t : The design of the layout should lead the eve to the area where the action takes place—to the stage. Never overload che Picture with too much unnecessary detail where you will become trapped and won't be able to follow the character action Detail Arrangement a ‘monotone, no variety, Caer eros eee oo preach c eee ee or ese pages: Pages from Jans Bacher's Style Guide nd excerpts from his notes n composition and layout. LAyouT Always create a stage for the The best way is co plan the key poses first and chen build your background around chem. Working chat way you keep the character acting area free from too many disturbing background details. Of course, elements like per- spective and the camera angle should be planned first in thumbnails, as well as the con: trast—dark in front of fight and light in frone of dark. These pages: Visual develop- ment by Chen-¥i Chang. Mulan with Khan (above) and infront ofan ancestral si (opposite) SWS Wa ~~ = RAS SN TVWOERWS a 0. the question, “But what of the actors?” Bacher’s design philosophy was ously, creating cohesive, integrated and well-designed settings begs Specific in its incene to create ‘space’ for the actors, to establish settings that enhanced the cha ters, rather than detracted from them. Chen-Vi Chang provided the character design philosophy that created a cohesion between settings and characters chat would establish a fully integrated and fully realized visual world for Mulan. Supervising Animator Aaron Blaise recalls the impact of Chang’s design concept. “He’s one of the best artists on this picture. He’s just amazing. Alll of us drew and drew and drew and drew, and by this time we had our own individual characters, and we kind of had the personalicies, and we all did tons of designs of them—but none of the designs marched as one. There wasn’t a harmonious design theme through them. Then Chen-¥i came in and just unified everything, le was just th at simple, get- ting Chen-Yi and saying “Take care of it)’ and he did. Then we kind of fearned how to draw like Chen-Vi. The entire staff.” “He just blew me away,” Barry Cook states, “Chen-Yi's arework is very moving emotionally when you look at it Iccould be a simple design drawing, or a funny ch. ‘aracter drawing. But his stuff has so much depth of feeling in it. So, right away, we knew we had to get this guy on the show— whatever he was going to do. I chink that when he came in, Fa Es a & ea 4 aa ee) Be +I te ata fe Cera.) ey coed s ey race BSc fi ratte taken ese pages from lefe co righ: sual development of Fa Zhow an-Yu, the Emperor, Shans 1 Malan by Chen-Y¥i Chan. suddenly we knew thae che character design was not going to be a prob- lem. Hans! early development art on Mulan was so simple, so pure. Chen-Yi’s work is the same way. So, we've all found a way to work together to produce the best results.” Chang was working at another studio when the offer to work on Mulan came. “I was thinking, ‘Gosh, I’ve got to join this project, because if | don’t do it, I/ll be missing the chance of a lifetime. I know Disney is not going to make another Chinese story, so it felt like my destiny, I’ve got to do it, I’ve got to participate in It. 7 “| didn’t know how much a role | would play in thi so | feel really grateful. | really e show, I just wanted to participate in the production, directors and the producer giving me the opportunity. far.” appreciate the Otherwise | wouldn’t have done what | think is my best work so pove: Visual development ‘Chen-Yi Chang. low Production still. Mask Hen, Mulan and her dad, and the scenes between the rep Production stil, Mark is doing them both.” m are remarkable, because ht: Rough animation of Fa Zhow and Mulan by Mark Henn lou: Visual development y Chen:¥i Chang Dpposte: Fa Zhou prepares to ere his Emperor. Production cil, Animation of Fa Zhou y Mark Henny cleanup y Monica Murdock, A v 4 the story evolved, it became clear that the father/daughter relation- ship is the foundation of che film,” Henn relates. “Because of that, they asked me to animate Fa Zhou as well. They knew that the sequences in which Malan and her dad are cogether are the building block for what happens in the rest of the story. Hopefully based on my acting abilities, able to pull it off and make it belie hink ie works. One of my assistants, every they fel chat I’d be vable—this must be a very real relationship. | ¢ time she sees these scenes, wants co run home, pick up the phone, and call her father to say, ‘Dad, | love you.’ 4s | said, it’s a very real, very believable relationship. No matter which kind of characters I do, that’s always the most important thins) and her father, or Simba, or Belle, or Jasmine, and was taught co whether it’s Mulan or any, body. That’s what I’ve grown up with in animation, y Eric Larson, Frank Thomas, and Ollie 1” believe when I got to Disney 6} Johnston. It’s che believability in che characters that has to worl \bove: Visual development f Shang by Ruben Aquino, low: Rough animation of Mulan by Mark Henn and f Shang by Ruben Aquino. D pposice: Production sel Animation of Shang by hilip Morris, cleanup by Cleanup Character Lead bryan Sommer uben Aquino was assigned as supervising animator of Li Shang, the disguised Mulan’s commanding officer and, ultimately, friend. A 16-year Disney veteran, Aquino began his Disney career as an inbetweener on Mickeys Christmas Carol. He became a supervising animator on Oliver & Company, and has served in chat capacity since, on The Little Mermaid, The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and Pocahoneas. “Toward the end of The Lion King, | was approached to work on the Mulan project in Florida. | was in California at che time. | was incrigued because of my Asian heritage, and since Disney’s never done an animated film set in the Far East, | thought this would be a great opporcunity for me to work on something unlike we've ever done before and which had great artistic potential.” Regarding Shang’s appearance Aquino says, “We were pretty happy with the ly test version of Shang that we came up with, but I knew that Chen-Yi wasn’t. He came up with a design, based on what | had done, but it was a lot simpler. And chen Tom Schumacher said, ‘I like it, but his chin’s too much like Buzz Lightyear.’ He had this big chin. So | went over the Chen-Vi design and reduced the chin. Everybody liked it. And that’s the final version that we have now.” Chen-Yi Chang sees Shang as “a bit conventional. He has the shape of typical superhero. That’s a formula, buc it still works for us. But he can be warm as a military commander, He honors his father, cares about his ee ee ery and has a sense of humor, all of which work against his physical archetype. Still, in terms of story, we played it in degrees, so he wouldn’t overwhelm Mulan, because Mulan is the focus of the story.” In an earlier version of the story, Shang was Mulan’s betrothed, and the couple met briefly before Mulan di sguised herself and joined the army. In another earlier version they didn’e ke now each other, and the pair joined the army together but Shang was not her comm, anding officer. They were military peers, There w ‘as another character who was an army captain, an Sider effioet. Finally, che sharacear of chas samen betrothed Shang were combined into one. Although i and Shang, the structure of the sto ‘anding officer and the “There is a love interest in Shang, which we only kind of hine at,” Aquino says. “It’s present, but it’s low key. We did that intentionally because we fory Coo much. But you still get che feeling at the end of the film chat they come back to find Mulan,” might get cogether because Shang does Rough animation en Aquino, roduction sil, shang accepts sword which narks his promotion to the ank of captain, Cleanup ny Bryan Sommer, animation ny Ruben Aguine “As | picture Shang,” Aquino goes on to say, “he’s the latest in a fong line of milicary officers. His father is the general. His father’s father was a general, and probably back for generations. He went to the ancient Chinese equivalent of West Poin. He had all the proper training, read all the right books on the are of war. He is proficienc in martial arts, and can fighe wich a lot of differene weapons—swords, lances, and sticks. He knows military theory, but he has never actually commanded troops or seen battle. He really wants to do well by his father and when he is pro- moted to the rank of captain, it is his big opportunity to show what he can do—thac he’s got the right stuff. “When | started thinking about what actors or personalities Shang would be similar co, Barry Cook said maybe Clint Eastwood combined with Bruce Lee. Lee for the physicality, the athleticism, martial arts skills, but with Easewood’s understated macho. That’s who | think of when | think of Shang—very cool, very definitely in control, and very by-che-book. “A moment of the story chat shows another side of Shang is the burned-out village sequence,” Aquino continues. “It is the emotional low point for Shang. He’s just found out his father has died, but he has co get back up and command his eroops because China is in danger. The Hans are on the march and they’ve just defeated his father’s army. He has to protect the Emperor. We see the strength of his character there. At he gathers his own the moment of his greatest grief and personal loss, inner strength to inspire his troops and rally them to go on.” she: Vieual development of 10 by Chen-Yi Chang. fow: Visual development of 10 by Supervising Animator ron Blaise. oposite: Production stil nimation of Chien-Po, Yao, d Ling by Tony Stanley, anup of Yao by Cleanup haracter Lead Phil Boyd d of Chien-Po and Ling by leanup Character Lead ym Fish, a 7s aU aRS e 0 v qe Mulan joins the army, assuming the identicy of the boy soldier “Ping,’ fate throws her in with a disparate trio of fellow soldiers. Yao, Chien-Po, and Ling become an extended family to the solitary Mulan. The animation of the three was split between two supervising animators, Aaron Blaise and Broose Johnson. One of the graduates of the animation intern program at Walt Disney Feature Animation California, Blaise has lent his talents to The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and che Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King and Pocahoncas; and the Roger Rabbit shores Trail Mix-Up and Roller Coaster Rabbit. Blaise was assigned to the role of Yao. Blaise admits that his source for Yao was close by. “There's some- fa cliché about an actor, or animator, trying to put a litle bie of thing o| himself in all his characters, but it’s crue. I tend to have a pretty hor cem= ff me and make chat all per sometimes, and so I tried to find that part o| Yao. He’s this guy that just has no fuse—let alone a short fuse. If he was ina fight, he'd be way over his head. He’ but he’d be in there punching to the [ast minute.” Like his colleagues, Blaise found his design of Yao was influenced by “Af you look at his /d get his bute kicked every time, the distinctive character stylings of Chen-Yi Chang, character design, everything flows. You've got to draw like Chen-Yi, and you're trying and trying. And now at home, when I’m drawing something for myself, | find myself drawing like Chen-Yi His design principles and drawing principles have kind of rubbed off on everybody. And I think they'll probably influence us from now on. Ie just goes on and on—each picture has a litele of the last in it. eee ‘In the case of Mulan and Yao, is smooth curves and a simplicity in line. The arework actempts to get a8 much information actoss as possi- ble with as licele information as possible. By doing that, the artwork natu- rally comes across looking Asian. Even if you don’t intend to create Asian ooking work, by following the principles we followed, the artwork will end up wich an Eastern feel,” Broose Johnson came to Disney as a cleanup artist on Oliver a Company and The Little Mermaid. He became The Rescuers Down Under, then animator on Beauey and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King and Pocahontas. Malan ch. an animating assistant on aracters Ling and Chien-Po mark the beginning of Johnson’s work as a supervising animator. “Chien-Po quickly established himself as che gentle giane and a Pesseaker among the group, a perfect contrast. co Yao's sheer fuss. Then we thought of Ling. Where does he fit in? Well, for a while we thought he could be a con man—sort of a gambler type—but that didn’t feel quite Tight or fill che needed gap. Ling grew over time and ultimately became pare ladies man, part instigator, and a lot Goofy,” explains Johnson, “ve always liked how loose and elastic Goofy’s body is, perfect for broad Physical comedy. Pratfalls and head bonks aren’e that funny with Chien- Po and Yao, but they’re hilarious with Ling. We decided if one of the three 's gonna get smacked in the face, or lose some teeth, it’s gonna be Ling.” ve: Visual development of en-Po by Caroline Hu, Rough animation of Yao aon Blaise. (: Cleanup of Yao by Phil / animation by Aaron Blase nup of Chien-Po by Tom animation by Supervising, 1 Broose Johnson, ove: Cleanup of Ling by Tom animation by Supervising imator Brooe Johnson. Clean? san by James Pari anima aby Mark Henn, Wace fees mation by Kevin ONL pvighe Production stil our Visual developmen of Lis Broose Johnson. UNG: SNAKE... AHH! Yao and Ling echoes classic 1930° J, Clock Cleaners (19371, harm and humor The interaction of Chien-Po, cartoon shorts like Alpine Climbers (1938 ind Boat Builders [1938], where cl Donald Duck and Goofy each being confront: eir own distinctive ways Lonesome Ghoses (1937)) derive from Mickey Mouse, ‘ed with similar situations, and reacting in ch like crazy, I’d throw him Jobnson continues, “I worked poor Lins is head, and yet, all the while, and people would always jen-Po, around or smash chere’s sweet C! quietly being Mr. Peaceful’ over in the corner guy. L wane a plush toy of him!’ Poor Ling—ne respect say, ‘I love that bis “Since Chien-Po doesn’t say a lot in che m which he’s absolutely noc. In fact, but he only talks when he has some- ovie, people might see him as a big, dumb sey, he is quite possibly the smartest guy in the whole army, mes when we approach a scene and sayy but what should Chien-Po do!’ s as if the other ‘sneed to do something to be doing something. But for CI 1. As soon as he needs to do thing to say. There are often ti ‘Okay, Yao will do this, Ling will do that, Well, he’d just sie and observe. That’s what he does. le’ characters n-Po, wnat he does. He holds the center L” ‘seillness’ is wl something, believe me, he wil In designing Yao, Chien-Po, and Ling, Chen-Yi Chang sought an efficient way of quickly communicating character traits to the audience. “There’s three basic shapes which will probably be obvious to the audi- ence. Yao is square, Chien-Po is round, Ling is a triangle, actually, two triangles put together, a diamond. “So the shapes also represent their personalities, too, Yao is like...well, a brute. So he’s got a hammerhead, squarish, just like a ham- mer. He likes to fight. “Chien-Po is big, huge, but nice; so he’s like a big Buddha. Even though he’s got humongous power, he is gentle; he’s like a whale; a gentle giant. So everything in his body, especially in his face, is created by circles.” “actually see Chien-Po as being very similar to Jackie Gleason,” Broose Johnson says. “Gleason was more of a big guy than a fat guy. He wasn’e blubbery, He was compact and tight and graceful. So with chat in Jow Rough animation of mind, we tried very hard not to make Chien-Po come off like a fae guy. He doesn’t budge. He’s just plain big.” na Chien-Poy and Yao Broose Johnson, ht: The dream sequence ym the song “A Gil Worth sheing For” Storyboard art Tim Hodge, ove: Yao, Chien-Po and Ling ct upon seeing the oncoming, slanche, Production still w: Color model of Yao, Lins, 4 Chien-Po in drag. angular, and overall he has an Chang continues, “Ling’s head is tri ape. In China, when we refer co a person as someone aerodynamic sl d and sharp face,’ we mean he’s someone who likes co with a pointed hea imself involved. And that’s what make trouble for others but not get b Ling is. On the other hand, Yao’s tough demean his square shape. And Chien-Po, round and smooth, is sweet and gentle or is conveyed through Each shape contributes meaning to the character. But, of course, 1 don’t expect the audience to be consciously aware of the physical con- scruction. What I hope is that they can at least intuitively idencify the onalicies through their design 50 figured inco color styling. Head of Color Character traits al Models Irma Cartaya explains, "Yao, Chien-Po and Ling—their colors match their personalities. Red for Yao—he’s like a thermometer ready to burst. Blue for Chien-Po because he is calm and peaceful. And yellow for Ling because of his silliness.” low, let's see your war face Oooh LRN Above and oppasiee: Musha ‘ties eget Mulan co put on her “wa face” for her first day of training. Production stills, ‘Animation of Mushu by Charlie Bonifacio, cleanup by Cleanup Character Lead David Nethery jopposit}. Top rishe: Rough animation by Supervising Animator Tom Baneroft MUSHU: Don‘ atk with your mouth fll # chink my bunny slippers just ran for cover Rescuers Down Under. He then became Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King and Pocal cal ewin brother, “I was really excited when | saw Chen. his style,” Bancroft says. drawings because | love “Sort of the other side of Hans. Hans was slightly more realistic, very graphic. Chen-Yi hada cartoony graphic style, more comic-bookish, but a lot of fun. His character designs—even incidental characters—are fun. “Chen-Yi had a very strong opinion about every character in the film. But as I worked with him on my designs for Mushu, have a strong opinion about this particular character. “So for Mushu it was difficule, and me being a first-time supervisor, realized he didn’t the burden really kind of fell on me, it was fairly intimidating because | ferent than any other of the Past car- toony characters that Disney has done, the line-up, really wanted this character to be dif but I also wanted him to fie into when you saw the characters together, I didn’t want Mashu to look like he didn’t have the Chen-Vi style that all the rest of them had or the Chinese influence.” FIRS! ANCESTOR: The point is we willbe sending MUSHU: Whar «real dragon to retrieve Mula ‘Left: Mushu reacts to an insult from the First Ancestor as they argue over who will be sent to recover Mulan, Production stills, Below left: Visual development bby Peter de Seve, What! I’m area dragon more graceful and serpentine than th lizard. “Visually, iS S-curve,” says Chen-Yi Chang. “Our made Mushu more anup by David Nethery, nation by Tom Bancroft As is often the case with comedic characters, there was a tendency for the creative group to fall in love with Mushu—and as a result, throw more weight on the film’s comedic side. What often happens in that case is that the story is thrown completely out of balance. Tom Bancroft explains, “Because I’m the supervisor of che character, my number one concern is how he fits into this movie, certainly how he looks, but I’m also very concerned with how he plays through the story land what his personality is—if ie’s running through the whole film che way we think it should be. Obv jously, the story team has that same strong feeling that I do, but they have to do that for all the characters Me, I’m just concentrating on Mushu. One of the things we discovered about Mushu was thae giving him funny lines or wisecracks was easy (0 5 effectiveness. do, but if ie was overdone, it would lose it "So after the first pass, some of Mushu’s business went to Cri-Kee. That gave him more of a use in the film, and a better balance as Mushu’s partner. That really helped a lot. Cri-Kee carried more equal weight.” In addition, some of this humor went co Mulan. “She doesn’e always have to be serious. We could split it up a lictle bit, and thar became refreshing. Ie gave Mulan a whimsical side, She wasn’t always just acting and reacting ¢o things.” ‘Again, as was the case in other areas of the production, the Mulan ared vision of the character. “It’s not just me anders fighting for his ver- team wound up with a sh fighting for my version of Mushu, or Chris S. sion, or Barry or Tony saying, ‘This is the way Mushu should be.’ Through ic all, somehow this has come together and has become our ver- sion of Mushu she: Joe Grant's original ncept drawing of Cri-Kee. Jow: Rough animation Supervising Animator rry Temple rposice: Cri-Kee enjoys a e hot tea bath, Production [. Animation of Cr-Kee by ry Temple, cleanup by eanup Character Lead ie Lewis. WHR TDS M ushu has a counterpart, and a counterpoint, in the character of Cri-Kee, the ‘lucky’ cricket. Veteran Disney animacor Barry Temple was assigned as supervising animator. Temple began his Disney career as a cleanup artist on The Fox and the Hound in 1980, and has had a hand in nearly every Disney feature since then. His favorite experiences were animating the Sultan in Aladdin, Mrs. Potts, Lumiere, Cogsworth and Chip in Beauty and the Beast, and as lead animator on Flounder in The Litele Mermaid. “The cricket was a character that some didn’t want in the movie,” Temple admits. “On the day it was assigned to me, the directors didn’c want him in the movie, the story department didn’t want him in che movie, The only people who truly wanted him in the movie were [Disney CEO and Chairman] Michael Eisner and [Disney scory man] Joe Grane [who essentially created the character!—and myself, because | was assigned the character. | would sit in meetings and they/d say, ‘Well, where’s the cricket during all chis?’ Somebody else would say, ‘Oh, co hell with the cricket.’ They felt hac Cri-Kee was a character who wasn’t nec- essary to tell che story, which is true “An che same way, the mice and the cat weren’e necessary to tell the story of Cinderella. Flit and Meeko weren’t necessary to tell the story of Pocahoncas. But | can’t imagine now seeing Pocahoneas without Flit and Meceko. These characters are able to reflect and support the circumstances and emotions of their companion heroines in a way that also provides an opportunity for entertainment. gets the bla 1p with a cannon. Bury Macsinson, ove right: Production still “They made the decision to make the cricket Mushu’s companion, and what they came up with was really very good. Mushu translates for Cri-Kee, That’s how they got it to work. Instead of having a cricket juse hopping around, which could have been ineffective in realizing the charac- ter’s potential, Cri-Kee becomes Mushu’s steering mechanism. You'll see it ewo or three times in the movie, where Mushu wants to give up or he’s being selfish, and the cricket sort of steers him back. And that provides Cri-Kee with more of a purpose. Instead of simply being there and chirp- ing and going along wich Mushu, he sometimes has ¢o say, ‘I’m going. You'd better come with me.’ In contrast to Mushu’s emotion-based reac- tionary nature, Cri-Kee is reason.” ‘The three characters from her village, Mushu, Khan and Cri-Kee, become Mulan’s inner circle. The three characters know the girl and her secret. Even when the soldiers abandon her in the snow, Mulan’s home- town group is left In creating an animated performance for Cri-Kee, Temple faced a dis- tinct challenge. “The script doesn’t tell you much in terms of my charac- ter, because the character is pantomime. ‘The crickee breaks out of his case,’ but it doesn’t say what he’s feeling, or doing, or what kind of mood he is in. Ie’s both freeing and difficule. le’s more difficule to have a pan- romime character because a voice will give you timing and phrasing. With 2 pantomime character, you have to do it all. Even a lot of Cri-Kee’s chirps and chortles and things are done later. “It’s such a difficule form of acting, and | don’t know it on a regular basis, but | am glad to h. if I'd want to do ave this opportunity because it’s been done so well in some of our recent movies. The M, Abu the monkey in Aladdin were so well done, it’s agic Carpet and it, Mecko and Percy in Pocahontas. Those a challens for me to try to live up to that standard,” poste Khan watches Mulan tice her “guy” routine sduction stil. Animation of an by Alex Kupershmid, snp by Cleanup Character ad Sam Ewing. Te = Let: Rough animation of Khan by Supervising Animator Alex Kpershmide and of Mulan by James Jackson Below: Visual development by Alex Kupershmide nidt came co Walt Disney 16-year Disney staffer, Alex Kupershm Feature Animation Florida out of the Walt Disney Imagineering theme ure Animation debut was as an animator on park design group. His Feac he worked on Beauty and the The Rescuers Down Under, after which Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, as well as the Roger R. Trail Mix-Up and Roller Coascer Rabbit and the experimental supervised the ani- abbit shorts | shore Off His Rockers. Mulan is che first time Kupershmide has mation of his own character: Mulan’s loyal friend, the stallion, Khan Kupershmide sees Khan as “kind of a unique character to the film He’s the only character who has no ulterior motives when it comes to Mulan, | assume Khan is about ten years old. She probably acquired him when she was six or seven, so they grew up together. They tune into each d each other’s minds. He’s also crue blue, a straight ed him to. He’s the other, almost can rea arrow. He would sacrifice himself for Mulan if she a and white, so to speak, He also has dC only character in the film who’s black Kee, a certain qualities, particularly in his dealings wich Mushu ani certain snobbishness, He’s rather aristocratic, being a purebred Above: Production sil Righe Cleanup of Khan by Sam Ewing animation py Alex Kupershmid. Below: Visual development oa Tang dnastystle porse by Chen-¥i Chang. “As far as his acting, because so much of his ‘horse sense’ is tuned to Malan, whenever he is with her, he kinda mirrors her condition. So when- ever possible, 1 will look ac what Mulan does and try to echo that. Most of the time in che film, you will see chat when he is with her, cheir expres- sions are the same and their behavior mimics one another. “He's rather large, so every time he’s in a frame with somebody, he tends to draw the attention to himself like having a big black dot in the middle of che screen. So when he’s acting with another character, the less he moves, the better it is. He can’t be all over the screen really unless he’s all by himself.” “We cried co use as much contrast of shapes as possible in Khan,” says Chen-Yi Chang. “We do have the idea of an idealized Chinese horse—this huge bulky body with thin, stick-like legs. That's what you see in a lot of Chinese art. I think this design achieves the contrast and elegance we're looking for throughout the whole film. When | presented the character to Peter Schneider—he’s a horse owner—he said, ‘If | saw a horse with skinny ankles like chat, | wouldn't buy it.’” a = tS Below: Visual development by Chen-Yi Chang. Below righe: Cleanup of General Li by Cleanup (Characeer Lead Sam Ewing, animation by Supervising Animator Alex Kupershmide. Opposice: Production stil, Animation of General Li by Alex Kupershmide, cleanup by Sam Ewing, NRVWEUWS ~N upershmidt also performed another role, that of Shang’s father, General Li “His personality is felt throughout the film by the way it motivates the character of Shang,” Kupershmide says. “Li is a professional soldier. He has spent all his life in che army. He’s been successful with it, which is why he has acquired a status of general, He has the arrogant confidence of a man who is secure in the knowledge that his orders will be obeyed. He has the strength of someone who knows he has achieved the position that is suited to his abilities. Perhaps chis arrogance does him in, because he didn’t recognize just how sneaky and powerful the Huns would be. That's what | cried co give him. “ think in Western culture, a man of power is almost always required to move a lot, creating threatening gestures. | think in Asian cul- tures, it is just che opposite. Whoever is on top has to do very little. “1 cried co make his movements and his expressions very subdued Bue when he does say something, | cried co give him certain Mr. Spock-like gravity, if you will. Perhaps in that way, he and Khan are alike. They don’t do all chat much, in terms of physical movement. That’s a cough ching to do for an animator. By nature, we want to do things that impress. But once in a while, you have to do what's proper. And at a certain point, the char- acter will dictate what you do.” ove: Visual development Chen:¥i Chang ve right Rough anima ny Jfrey Vara posite: Production il imation of Chi Fu by fey Varab, cleanup Seote Anderson, effrey Varab began his career at Disney with the Christmas featurette The 5 mall One 1978), after which he worked on The Fox and the Hound [1981] ind did storyboards for Tron (198: He left Disney, working as a supervising animator on several projects, including All Dogs Go co Heaven (1989), FernGully... The Lase Rainforest (1992), We're Back: A Dinosaur’s Story (1993), and Balto (1995). Varab has also applied his ani- mation skills to che burgeoning computer animation field as one of the supervisors of the ghostly animated action in Casper (1996). Varab returned to Disney after a long absence to supervise the roles of the unin- hibited Grandmother Fa and the reptilian imperial majordomo Chi Fu. Again, a pervasive sense of balance and attention to the needs of the story dictated the behavior of the characters. In the case of Chi Fu, an inherent and effortless humor in the character came as a pleasant surprise “With Chi Fu’s character,” Varab explains, “the more unctuous we make him, che more funny he is—and you wouldn’t think that. At the out- set you wouldn’t say that Chi Fu’s brand of slime equates with humor, but the way he’s playing, with the combination of his design, material, and timing, it’s really working out.” Chi Fu’s disagreeable traits are communicated through color, too. Color Stylise Irma Cartaya says, “Chi Fu is not a nice guy—he’s basical- ly a slime ball. His flesh tone is green—like he’s seasick. And he’s repug- nant, just disgusting co look at.” Varab concludes, “Mulan was made for the character's point of view from the very beginning, and every concern was coming out of the charac- ters. The drama is coming out of che characters. The conflict is coming our of the characters, The humor is coming out of the characters.” ally | was supposed to do Grandmother Fa only,” Varab recalls. “She had a bigger role in the film. Eventually we had to reduce her role— LAYS wwe didn’c want her to upstage Mulan. She was getting too cute, coo slap- sticky. But I’ve come ¢@ really bond with her in a way, because she juse has so many nice bits chroughout the whole movie. “With Grandmother Fa it’s been a constant toning down to let the comedy come out of her personality and how she approaches life, rather than just giving her a funny walk or funny dialogue to impart humor.” NO PWRWO RY e ove: Visual developmene Supervising Animator rey Varab, he: Malan and Grandmother luring the song “Honor to AIL” Production sil nation of Mulan by Rune de Bennicke, cleanup by el Gracey. Animation of dmother Fa by Tada rman cleanup by Cleanup eter Lead James Parris, ove Visual development Chen-Yi Chang. she: Mulan is created to a d bath, Production stil, acer effects animation by nes DeValera Mansfield. ow: Cleanup of Fa Li by eanup Character Lead snica Murdock, animation Ruben Aguino ~ @ ‘a Li represents the ideal Chinese woman, wife, and mother,” says Supervising Animator Ruben Aquino. “Physically she resembles Mulan— just a bit older and more plump—but their personalities are very. differenc. Instead, Mulan takes after Granny who is a bit unconventional and unpredictable.” While Fa Li’s character may be traditional and predictable she does, however, represent a break with Disney convention. Along with Fa Zhou, she creates a two-parent family for Mulan which is unusual because the heroes of pase Disney animated films were often orphaned or had only one parent. The explanation for this reveals something about the complexity behind creating a tight storyline that eliminates everything that is unnec- essary. With two parents, unless they support the hero in different ways, they essentially perform the same story function. However, assigning dif- ferene story functions to each parent can suggest a disagreement beeween them that may distract from the story’s focus. In addition, animacion being extremely expensive, it doesn’t make sense to have ewo characters who do the same thing. On Malan, it w. Mulan is supposed to become—the dutiful wife who supports her hus- decided that Fa Li's function be to show what band. Without her mother to represent what was expected of her, Mulan’s dilemma and its ultimate resolution would not have been quite so clear. Fa Li, by being who she is, helps define who Mulan is not. In the end, che filmmakers gave Fa Zhou and Fa Li separate, black-and-white roles and let Mulan keep throwing herself in the grey area. Right: Shan-Yu changes down, ‘upon Mulan. Cleanup by (Christine Lawrence Finney, animation by Supervising Animator Pres Romanilles Opposite: After releasing two captured Imperial scouts, Shan Yu arins menacingly. Production sill. Animation of Shan-Yu by Pres Romanillo, cleanup by Christine Lawrence Finney, & Romanillos attended the School of Vi spent several years at UCLA studying Disney in 1988 for The Lietle Mermaid, ‘isual Arcs in New York, and acting and theater. He came to and has worked on The Rescuers laddin, Pocahontas and The Manchback of Notre Dame. Shan-Yu is Rom, supervising a “There is litle difference between wr Romanillos says. “What I’ve leamed Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, Al, anillos’ first assignment as a mator. riting, acting, and animation,” about animation is that singing, dancing, writing, and playing a musical instrument are all the same ching, arts, The medium’s different, but the and objectives are the same. We They are all part of the approaches father information, become inspired, and ‘ry to communicate what we are Seeing or feeling to someone else,” Romanillos has a cle. arcu perception about the characte and that character’s place he plays im the story. “The film is really about Mulan’s loupe enc" leider for her ta males Journey she undergoes a change, * transformation from an innocent child to someone who saves China an-Yu is the impending doom, Th, al the threat is to China, lan’s actions become.” from impending doom, Sh, 'at’s my charac- ter. The more re, the more powerful and heroic Mul. animation by Pres Romanillos. Below a over Visual development / Supervising Animator Dan Hofstede bove right: Rough animation the Emperor by T. Dan ofstede and of Shang. Ruben Aquino, fow: Visual development of otund and jolly Emperor /Chen-Yi Chang. pposice: Production still pimation ofthe Emperor by Dan Hofstede, cleanup by leanup Character Lead s¢y Seo We POVyuywsay ( Dan Hofstede began his Disney career with Aladdin, animated several supporting characters on which he ince then, his animation has been seen in The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hercules. For Mulan, Hofstede supervised the animation of the Emperor Like many of his colleagues, Hofstede was ini ally ateracted by Chen-¥i Chang’s character designs. “I took my cue,” he recalls, “from the first sketch that Chen-Vi had done of che Emperor—very tall, very regal, very composed; you know, everything was wrapped up in that one sketch, He had confidence; he had kindness; he had wisdom he had strength.” As his colleague Alex Kupershmide discovered in animating General Li, Hofstede noted that nobility and power could be communicated by mini- mal action. Hofstede explains, “He didn’t have to bounce around, he could just be very composed, and yet project a whole lot of feeling. ... So | knew from the beginning that his personality had to be played in minimal move- ments, and chat the movements he did make would have to have meaning, “That presented a challenge—how to get the most out of each pose,” Hofstede continues. “So I challenged myself to try to tell che scene in as few drawings as possible, to keep che Emperor as composed and in control as possible, because | felt that that was a part of his personality that fit into the film.” Hofstede was fortunate to be able to flex his acting muscles early in the production. “I animated the end of the movie first,” he explains, “which really was the most critical part. The Emperor's most meaningful scenes were his confrontation with Mulan. It w AS a good opportunity to sort of run the gamut, because he was very severe, and he builds up in severity lists all of her infractions, and then finally he softens and says, “You have saved us all’ and he smiles. Within th, as he at shore space of seven or eight scenes I’ve got to go through a huge are. Ie was good to work on ch, Tange in the beginning, so we could test the lin lowed, the character's lat wide mits. In the scenes that fol- acting boundaries were easier to determine.” Fy 4 he: Rough animation of f the « Ancestor by Supervising snimator Aaron Blaise and of Aushu by Tom Bancroft Ynposite: Produetion still, imation of the First nestor by Aaron Blaise, ead Phil Boyd. eanup by Cleanup Character WaT os = DAS YARUWS Lf: Visual development of a Fa ancestor by Chen-Yi Chang. ihe: Mulan’s Ancestors. Production stl Esso co performing the role of Yao, Aaron Blaise performed the supernatural role of the Ancestors. “There are ten ancestors that actually speak, and they alll have their own little distince personalities. But the First Ancestor, | just played him all-powerful and very regal. The fun thing about them was to get a spirit-like feel. So | made them very wispy and floaty. And if you watch the First Ancestor, his sleeves and his hair never stop moving. He’ll make a movement, and chen ic just kind of hangs there—very underwater-looking with lots of different timings and stuff like that. Cleanup hates me on those, but I’m really happy wich how that cured out.” ove: Praduction sel eanup animation of he Autchmaher by Cleanup haracer Lead Kathy Bay. he Visual development /Chen-Yi Chang. ove: Cleanup by Cleanup varacter Lead Kellie Lewis, mation by Byron Howard. jhe: Storyboard are Chris Sanders DVWYVSRDW RRA Yu RYS Ess to the cast of main characters in Mulan here were a number of secondary roles created that Were In many ways no less important to the story. One of the most memorable is the Matchmaker, who, while she appears in only one sequence, leaves a lasting impression. Led by Brian Ferguson, whose previous credits include work as an animator on Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, and as a Lead Animator on Hercules, the Matchmaker represents the strictest interpretation of what is expected of Mulan by her culture. While Mulan’s mother Fa Li is used as a subtle example of the traditional role of a woman in Chinese society, it is the Matchmaker who states it in no uncertain terms. After their disastrous meeting literally goes up in flames, she informs Mulan that she has failed. “You are a disgrace! You may look like a bride but you will never bring your family honor!” Althoush Little Brother’s appearances in the film are also few, Lead Animator Sean Keller and Animator Byron Howard perform the role to ove: Cleanup by Kathy ey, animacion by Lead imator Brian Fergusor- sr: Prodvation stil Cleaner mation ofthe falean by sanup Character Lead ristine Lawrence Finney: ow: Rough animation Trey Finney: “che smartest doggie in the whole firse scene, ed around co face the right full, comic potential. In his world” literally has to be picked up and turn igh the original legend features an tion when called by Malan. Alchous direct actual younger brother for Mulan, che story team instead conceived of Licele Brother as her companion at home. Chris Sanders came up with che n’s slight- idea for the simple but lovable pety who reflected not only Mula bur her deep sense way that Mulan’s personality an-Yo’s threatening men- the falcon is a natural preda- cunning agent for Shan- the enemy and as of loyalty as well. ly awkward nature, xy is seen in her com- In much che same panions Lietle Brother the falcon. Like his master y. He is also Huns to sneak up on che Imperial army: er of evil and doom and Khan, the villain Sh: ace is reflected in tor who aces swiftly and mercilessl adecoy to allow the locations o| a messens He is like the shadow cas° by he faleon’s close associacion s Animator Yu—acting as warning of the serves as an advance scouty the film, che falcon pearances. Throughout eceding Shan-Yu's aP jeself. Because of © ssign Supervis always Pr asso evil before you see © with Shan-Yu ic was Pres Romanillos to both roles. the evil ‘anatural decision t0 4 n early version of the film's ening had Mata riding Khan uence was eventually cut orvboard are by Thom Enriques RVVR ew Wen Sih DVUWUAYS WY “eR ny Vas Ooo an animated feature is a continually evolving process. It involves substantial experimentation and re-thinking in order to achieve a desired result in character development, humor or story action. Unlike live-action filmmaking, where the footage is shot from a finished script and then edited, in animation the script develops through a process of rial and error with various ideas and concepts. Some sequences are tight- ened and refined, others are augmented, while some are replaced or com- pletely abandoned. Throughout the journey of its development, Mulan evolved until it was a self-defining entity. Those in charge of creating Mulan leamed to asree on its basic principles, thus showcasing another unusual and effec- ‘ive creative erait: che ability co let go. Over the course of production, when elemencs were not working in service to the story, they were altered or eliminated, For instance, Chris Sanders recalls, “We had an overabundance of sidekicks; we had a dragon and a phoenix. Once we had ewo dragons, Yin and Yang. We immediately started trying to work on getting at least one of those cleared out of the story.” A number of songs were also considered and ultimately dropped Composer Matthew Wilder remembers, “There’s one piece that we wrote for Mushu that didn’t make it into the film. It was a send-up of Ray Charles. Then another number that we tried for the same character that was a send-up of James Brown. You might expect Mushu to have a mu cal voice, bur ie just wasn’e working, no macter how many differene waye we erled ie.” “le was frustrating for us,” adda Lyricist David 2 ippel Gyviiting all chess sores, and no matcet what we wrors (famaly aan ce risht for the story.” “So, chat moment fell by the wayside,” Wilder con. cludes, “because the lack of need clearly defined ieself.”” clow: At one poine, the film pened with shadow puppets {ling the story behind the build- of The Great Wall. Although idea was popular and che are ive, the sequence was sandoned. Storyboard are ) Dean DeBlois. Above: An abandoned character named Bao Gung. Visual develop ment by Chen-Yi Chang. ight: Production stil of che aban med shadow puppet seauene. Gof the shadow puppets bY lan Locke, Tony Plett, halernpon “Yo” Pounseth, d Heather Pritchett. ar righe: Visual develop ‘ment by Sean Sullivan, Far right: Visual development by Sai Ping Lok. Befow: Production sell Smoke effeces animation by Jame Fran. ese pages: Afraid for her bers life, Mulan makes a perate decision. She prays £0 ancestors for guidance and cection, then takes the draft ice a her family sleeps. fc: Production stil, “ty ee) WR AN ean~ We ss aN Wes A> (.. jg an encompassing defining moment in Mulan, ic is Sequence jomentous decision. She cakes Six. As her family sleeps, Mulan makes a m her fach armor—prepared to risk e everyth past ap also represents a point in the making of her’s conscription order, cuts her fong hair, and dons her father’s verything that matters to her, in order to save ing that matters to her. Malan has made a choice that takes ber return, Not only is this a pivotal moment in the film that can best be described point of no. the story, it as a complete and utter creative convergence, Ss hris Sanders remembers, “When Dean DeBlois finished Sequence Six, there was definitely a feeling thac Mulan had found itself. Ie had established its identity.” “Sequence Six started as a song,” cened ¢ mind, of reflections, ic had a lot of momentum co it. Ig: Johnson Ie show I wanted the sequence to have his ‘look.’ So a few of Barry Cook explains. “I had lis- ‘o the song and I had done thumbnails of images that stuck in my swords, just little ideas. When I listened co the song ave the few ideas | had to Barry n, who storyboarded the first version. We cut his boards co the sons: sed Mulan dressing in her armor. And then Chen-Yi Chang took it Chen-Yi re-drew it, and put in f his own ideas that had meaning co him.” EE With Sanders’ insistence thae the one and only story of Mulan is. “Mulan leaves home for the love of her father,” the song was ultimately deemed inappropriate to the developing story. Cook continues, “So the song went away. We had this really strong story moment that launched off this song, but we no longer had the song, “Dean asked to re-board Sequence Six,” Sanders recalls. “He said, /I know what I wane to do, let me just do it. | know what I want to portray DeBlois says, “The sequence was writcen in the script as a simple para. sraph: ‘Frustrated by what she sees and knowing what's coming, Mulan decides to cake her father’s draft notice as he sleeps; she steals his armor, cuts her hair, and rides off on Khan into the night. The family wakes up and realizes she’s gone.’ The only admonition | got before | began re-boarding the sequence was, ‘We would like to try co play it with minimal dialogue ry Dean DeBiois pages: Mulan cuts hair with her fathers word and takes his armor. ransformed, she goes he seable to gee Khan, Production sell lm," Tony Idn’e rks best for this fi and we coul 2 co do it “We began to discover that silence wo" se: Production stil sy: Rough animation of Bancroft recalls. “Whenever we SOF into figure out what to do, we just said, ‘How would ie play if we wer racters play the any dialogue, just lec che acing of the cha « the best way tan by Mark Henn and of silent, without at that 77 Nine cimes ouc we discovered tha sn by Alex Kupershmide scene out of een, e, his whole to do it Since DeBlois’ directive had been to avoid dialogu approach became visual ee ee mia along ay iv’s treated and handled. | felc d the sword, and the w and structure t© Lly ame stuff tha with the armor an how she did ic, especial at she’s about £0 there should be se seen her f dling the s: since she’s ju father han} ery is very flat, boxed-in and put on all of the imas' ighting aga As the sequence begins ed wichin a structure her father, her fa shat’s going on. From sere hat she is fi inst. Back and forth, her blowing out a candle. We € thae she sees agery ro symbolize w ‘and che candle blow go ried poetic im her parents, wing out, WE d face, and jnto action. From che moment a her resolved, determine she snaps cight on Tres ne A mand ‘Khan burse through the front aace and side away-wcteyrof thunder awakens the household and Fa Zhaw finds Matar haly coin in place of che daft notice and his _ ATMOr-gome-F ean forbs daugh- 7s life, Fa Zhou realizes that he "sal WhACSHE has done or he wll certainly be. led, Shove: Production exit rop: Yona layout are y Peter Del sca ive and dynamic, « s of camera moves. Wé tried to stage it 50 that from the steals the drafe notice, through to her cutsing h den, until she’s + { getting dressed; Ki dt as a soidier.”” {n approaching the [ayo f the scene, Robert Walker had begun. “Se nce Six was ail about # woman into a soldier, and leaving the ition from ouse, So.the way a Mulan thor.eran: staging extended to color design, The green x te Muiany the e omfortable cones of home, sive way as the se, STESSES Eo more intense col ‘Nearrior red.” quence pro- Use of the symbolic #5) and che increasii add to the scene, Chris Sanders found am exies tion from another film score im score, but one that march beirig created: With this temporary score attached, Screened for Peter Schneider bers, “Everybody the'story Feel was Sthathacher. Barry Cook remem. id, “Wowi”That told me that we Thomas. story visually.” DeBlois says, “Sequence Six was the first sequence that got put into Production, and it helped to eseablish our ‘silent’ approach.” ove: Cleanup of Fa Zhou by mica Murdock, animation Joe Haida, ove right: Production still ow: Workbook page by Head Layout Robere Walker. sm right: Production still. Animation is a visual medium, as opposed to a spoken medium. Sequence Six is the first ching we actually saw that worked. Sometimes in movies, you are confronted wich a collection of com- ponents—story, dialogue, visual images—and it seems they'll never come together. Then all of a sudden for a short moment, things click into place, and they define chemselves. For The Lion King, it was the opening sequence, ‘The Circle of Life.” equence Six that put It put che whole picture into perspective. le was S Mulan into perspective. We knew we could do it with greater simplicity — relying on visuals, and limiting dialogue—yet have it speak with a more universal eloquence: Chris Sanders feels, “Dean did Sequence Six wordlessly, eloquently, and it represented what Mulan would go on to be. Sequence Six became the standard that everything had co measure up to. It just hit, it was right, it was powerful, and everyching we did afterward was compared to it.” Seki ODN MRARS LC ae 3 W 3 ‘ 8 7 W 8 ZA —X sd jonmss bodeildsies Vlerrti} i and. boqesre yeti} 2¢ and -bs3001qu bororrod 9d Miw 31 swe qile s0nrn5 “oiasteneg 03 roiastemsg mov se The First Ancestor ment by Hans Bacher, Model p ee by Barry ses from the bei et pose of Mushu by ‘Temple, cleanup by Kellie Lewis, stion stills, Efe 4... the greatest influence on the making of Mufan is its status as the first feature-length production that is primarily che property of Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida. “They/re a most remarkably talented group of people,” Thomas Schumacher beams. “They’re brilliant. Their commitment and readiness for this film is unparalleled. It’s their first feature. They’re very intimate down there—they want to prove themselves as a team, and theyre doing so.” Pam Coats feels that their small scale and intimacy as a group “cre- ates a ‘small and naughty’ environment. While there is certainly a down- side to being away from our ‘mother ship,’ it does provide a freedom to just go off and do.” Broose Johnson continues, “Many of us are first-time supervisors, first-time leads, first-time cleanup people, first-time heads of depart- ments. We're all doing so much for the first time, that for us, ney as well.” it’s our jour- ‘Tom Bancrofe agrees, “There’s no doube about it. When you talk about journeys, | chink the big story of the journey of Mulan is the Florida studio. Ac first we were set up as a small studio and we were just going to do shorts. Within a year, we started helping out on features — The Rescuers Down Under, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Pocahoncas, Hercules. We've been contributing to features, but this is the first time we have the feeling of full ownership. “We've finally gotten to the point where—as cory as it sounds—this. is a labor of love for every single one of us. We've all done features before, and they were wonderful experiences. But this one’s different. This means more.” Bancroft concludes with comic menace, “This time it’s personal.” Tony Bancroft agrees with his brother. “I think that this being Florida’s first feature has helped us in mensely. We have an eager group of artists here. They are willing co work their butts off and do all thae they can. They don’t know the meaning of the word ‘impossible,’ or the word no.’ Ie’s nor just a nine-to-five job, this means something to them.” lands he intends to congue, Production sei Background are ®y Chaes Voter, Andy Harkness, Layout by cleanup layoue by Jeff Dickson, them. The Malan team eth: training program or premed: handbook. The ethic developed from a desi tion to the validity of their purs: Ruben Procopio feels that Mulan bec her creators to excel. “I chink something I own. These things begin and we’s sive it a life, that breath that we have. It sta a baby to a youngster, to a teem a few years here.” Irma Cartaya explains with M hold more than normal. You alweanys on a film, buc we wane co ie Were de everything for ie.” ; and to an have to put yo. loped organically. There was no deliber- tated production morality provided in a re to create excellence, a devo- wit, and a belief in their heroine oming a “real person” pushed ike Mulan takes on a life of its SE to give it a spirit, we've got to srow and progress, like adult. It’s a lifetime within WAS we're putting our lives on ur life on hold to work weted co chis film, and we'll do oops will never be prepared Production til S~ Sens a “‘M ulan will mean diffe concludes. t things to different people,” Pam Coats “A woman from France came up to me erying and she said, ‘I know exactly how it feels to try and try and ery to please your father. This movie means so much to me.’” With chis anecdote Coats draws near to the essencial eruths discov sredl BY the creators of Mulan. On ies simplest level, the end of Mullan’s Pumey is the retelling of a beloved folk tale and its transformation inco 2 Disney animated feature. Observed on a larger scale, thie transforma- Von gictually shares something of che quality of an epic quest myth Withoue belaboring che point too much with refere nees to the golden fleece, the Holy Grail, and ench lanted cities; suffice it to say that the Mulan company set out to accomplish something, and happily arrived home with a much more bountiful tre ‘asure than they had intended 4 sreater cultural leg, than its individual successes and accomplish, in and of For instance, there is acy at the heart of Mulan ents. Alchough significane seit on many levels, Matan is also a component of ¢ much larg- er body of work with hin the Disney canon, Peter Schneider explains, “The reason that I work here, and NOE-AE one of the competitors, is because | EE _—_ oO —<«< sow: Production sil vecom: Mulan finally sue- eds in climbing the pole 1 retrieving the arow. duction still think chere’s something very unique about Disney in itself. It’s bigger than making a movie. Disney will always be the standard everything is, held to. The passion that people have for the movies we/ve made—many great, some not so great—is one of the reasons that people become so enamored of Disney.” From his perspective as President of Feature Animation, Schneider sees Mulan not as a self-contained achievement, but a beginning of a new journey. “When you talk about Florida, and the significance of this project and how passionate they are, and hard they work, you're absolutely r But from my point of view, it’s not one movie that defines who you are. It’s a body of movies, a series of movies. The culcure of Disney is an enormous and complex mosaic I can‘c wait co look at it cen years from now, when there won't be just one movie from Florida. It is this one, the next one, the next one. This is a brilliant first scep. But life doesn’t end when this comes out, It'll be fabulous...but then there’s Monday morning—and ie'll be time to go back to work. Above: The Huns bush the Imperial my from above. reduction still. Flaming, rrow effects animation y John David Thorton, re ~

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