Djsm~, AnJnj~¥'

Frank Thomas and Olli ~ J

1-
The Illusion of life
Disney Animation
-
YSNEp 1:01'1"10:'

New York
Th~ Illusion of Lif~
Disn~y Animation

Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston

 Thi s book is ded icated to
Wa h Disney
~1Ild the sta n' or artists
who brought the magica l qua lity of lire
10 character animation.

Cnpynghl" 19~1. Wa lll),,,,"Y P,od""hOn.<

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IO'J87 6~4J
 Contents
Preface
Acknowledgmc ms
I. An Art Fonn [s Bom 13
2. The Early Days 1923- 1933 29
3. '111C Pri nciples of Anim ation 47
4. Oiscowry 19J4- IY36 71
5. c.lnoon Comes of Age 93
6. Appea l and Dynamics
7. Hyperion; l bc E~ !lI()1;ion "'
14 1
,. Burbank and The Nine Old Men 159
, Our Proccdur~s 185
10 How to Gel It on the Screen 243
II . The Disney SourKIs 285
12. The Follow-up FUll(.1 ions 303
13. The Uses o f Live AClion in Drawing
Human> and Animah 319
14. Story 367
15. C h~ractcr Deve lupment 393
16. Animating bf'TC-...~ions and Dialogue 441
17. Act ing and Emot ions
18. 04her T )'pcs of Animat ion- '"
and the Futuro 509
Notes
Apf't'ndices
Index
<
•
•
Preface
Thi$ book is about Dimey chanw:~ animation . an an
form !hat CTtaied such " 'OrkHamoos cartoon fi,u~s
as Mictey Mou~ and Dornlld Duck . DiUICyanima-
_ makes audiences really believe in t~ charac·
1eI'$, ",ho$e ad,'enturc:~and misfortunes make prople
laup-and c"en cry. There is a t ped •• ingn:dient in
0\Ir type of animation thaI produces drawings that
appear 10 think ;uwj make dec isions and act of their
(I'MI volition; it is whal Crea lCS 1M illusion of life.
No • • stud;" Iw been able 10 duplicate this I0O$I
""I'OfWlI (but!fasc .. 11(\0:0100<1) clemen! in our fil ms.
b ~ be prodU«d by Ifl(lney alone. When a pro-
~ M15 he is coing") make a " Disney_type" film .
IIr may thint (hil rull aninwion. nicc c:oIor. and I
IaF 1ludgtI .e .U tlla! is n«<kd . But Di sncy anima.
• is mort lIwI dra ..... ing, or animating. or storytcll.
l1li. or p;iliMin,-~ is what this book is all 1000ut.
In tracing the de~clopl1lcn l of cl\aracler an;nUllion
ndIer than the stooio or the men in it , inevitably "'l'
will leave OUt the names of many fine anim.. We
~ slighting anyone , but we n:~t even more ha y·
ilia over!ool:ed a key scene: in anim~cion hiscory or a
IpKW SoeqIll:I'ICe in a piccull' chac WOtlld h3V~ helped
apilin and clarify oo r meaning. h is. perrn.ps . mis·
ItIdiDg kl CTtdi! specifIC ar1iscs ,,·ich lhe drawings we
.... in me book. since Ihis mighc imply Ihac bach Che
. . MId the ~ylc (I"", from one person: for this was
Iddom me Cas( . So much of OUr o ,,·n ...·ark appears
IItrt !.imply b«lIIse ;1 was aJl dIM was available after
III lIIII'Iy yean . AnimalOf$ uwaUy do noc save lhe
~I $kdches. chuxler drawings. and uperi-
mmcaI plans chat re~11 lhe mosc imporlanc slage, in
dtvdoping I pmonalicy or piece of business. In any
CIIIt. the tmphasii here is o n lhe research ralher Ihan
lilt ptOpIc who did lhe drawings.
One ofme mosl rcwuding pans of Ihis project has
beat me inkrv~ws wilh old friends and colleagues.
e!lablin, us 10 gain perspective and insiglu 011 e~nlS
lhat had gone: wh;u ing by ~k when ..~ wen roo
busy 10 1\01;•• or appnise . Ottasion:llly _ individ·
ual disagrttd wich anorher over inl.rprtUlion and e~n
Il'«>lIccrions. buc. lhen. argum.ncs ..·.re Ih.·ays daily
(l("(:urt"tn«S when we " "ell' mU ing chc pkwrcs . ThaI
was an i"'ponanl pan of Ihe I.am effort .
Many will loot. to Ihis book to teach lhem the S«rctS
of Disney animal ion SO Ihac lhey can become: huclnl
$lICCU5eS. Unfoounac. ly. Chis craft canllOl be learned
by j use readi ng a book . and not ..... emighl under any
c il'C\lnutancu. Our original intention had betn 10""';11:
I book 00 how 10 animal •• hoping we could offer
inspiration racher than _Ihing 10 ropy. bul as ..~
did our ,,"search ic became obvious C"'I c....... was I
greacer need 10 record ju~ how this sp:eial kind of
animacioo had dcvdoped . 'Those Ii""" ..·ere uniqlic:
and will never be dupl kaled : ~ nHath of " ·...1 was
lutnW had been valid in the lhealcr for 5Cvend hun·
dll'd yUIl a nd concinucs IQ be valuable where.·.r there
is commu nicalion wilh an audience . We fcilihal lhis
.... ahh of knQwledge in animalloo ~hould be prc5CrvnI.
Ron Milkr. cxecu~ive head of all production I I the
Oisney Studios. hoped 10 doobk ~ suff ofanimawrs
by 198 1. bu~ he foond. e ven . flC1" an inlCnsi~ scam..
lhat " ••. lhe~ just m:n ·lIh.1 many people capable of
doing Inimalion in lhe Disney seyle:· Wlw ii the
Disney style? Can il be uplained? We hope MI. This
book is "Tillen for lhe SllKicnl who want~ IQ know how
Dis.nc-y animalion was <ic:R: for ~ hi5rorian ...1\0 wants
to know why il was 00nc W t " "ly: for the aniSl ".1\0
has ncv~r rea lized the pot.ntial of an;malion as I pro.
fusion ; for the genera l publ ic who sli ll wonders.
·· Whal really makes lhem move r
We hope Ihal SOrTIC readers will be Slimulat«! to
carry on lhese lradilio ns and elevale Ihis art form 10 an
ever-hi&hcr k~1.
Acknowledgments

This book bclong~ to the pn>ple. pas! and l'"'5I:nl . of Ed Aardal Bill JU$licc:
Walt Oi§lleY i'rodU('lions. wl'los.l: ooop:n lion and ass;s- James N. Algar (ilen Keane
I.lo~ made it .11 possible. Speciallllanks muSt go!O Ken Anderson • Richmond (I);ck) Kelsey
(he CAl.'CutivCJ E. CIf\lon Wilker. Ron Miller. and William Andersoo Kalherine Kerwin
Vince Jdfcnls. for without lhei. continued suppon Xavier Aleno;io Belly Kimball
(lVe. the four 1<)Ili yeal'll we spc m puni!!g it together. An ll abbin Wan! Kimball
this book wO\Ild neVer have been wrinen . Ted Berman Eric l..aJ$OII
We wi~h to Ih~nk the many <kpanments who Wen: Al 8enilK) Fini Littlejohn
""'"' bclpful Illan their jobs mjui.w. In alphabctK:11 Carleton (Jack) Bnyd Ann LlQyd
order, they an: : the Animation Research Tum. under Roger Bmggie MIS. Ham ( Frukic) Lusl:e
Leroy Anderson. " '00 slorW the anwonc from each Bob Broughton Eustace: Lyecll
picture in the !lasemenl "catacombs"; in Archi vu. Les aart: Jim M",donaJd
Dave Smith and Paula Sigman. who tracked down Ron ClementS Bob McCrea
informalion. checked names and dates and spt"lIings Ufry Ci(mmons Bill Mc FlIdlIen
and tides and locations; An Props, .....tJos,e skills and aaude CoatS Bob MclntQSh
mo"'lrdgc in saJvagin& and ~nting mlIlerials ...-ere Evelyn CnalS Dave Mictr.cnc:r
in,,,lulblc; the tidies In Ink and Paint who furnished Ed Cool< Oarence Nnh
uS Wilh illCll'dible work on the cels: the dedicated staff Bill Cottrell Grim Nal wick
in the Library : Ihe crew in Merchandising and Publica- An Cruickshank Maurice Noblc
tions. and Don MacLaughl in in particular; the cooper- Jack CUlling C liff Nordberg
alh"c men in Still Ca mera and IMir indomitable leader Marc F. Davis Ken O·Brien
Dive Speno;cr . We are indebted!O tMm all. Wc also Lou Debney Ken O·CQnnor
a~ gr.udul (Of tM cno;ouragcment received. in N,.,. Al Dempster Dale Oliver
~cmber 1979. from Diane D~ney Miller, ","arm reo Don Duckwall Bill Peet
sponse to our manuscript in its first rompktc fonn . Becky Fallberg Ken Peter$Oll
We ".en: very (ortUNUC to ""~e (Of our cditOf the Vance Gerry Elmer Plummer
paUmi and scholarly Wahon Rawls . His sensitive COII- Blailll: (iib$on Manin Provensen
u;butions sho>o.·ed a remar1cablc underslanding of our
purposes that was boIh reassuring and apprttiated .
Our !hanks abo go to our ~ympalhclic publiIDcr RCJbc,r"I
"""" '""_
Floyd (iol1fre<bQn
Joe: (iBnI
Wolfgani Rcilhtrman
Leo Salkin
Milt Schaff~
E. Abrams. whose> persona! intcre ~t in the proj«t and Don (irifr"h Ben Sharpstetn
detcrmination to makc a quality book of our writings Belly Ann (i""nther Mel Shaw
and i kelchcs inspired us 10 an cven more critical Dave lland A" S1evens
approach 10 our work . Ed Hansen Sandy Slrother
"The day ancr Wah died. Woolie Reithemlan said. T. lice Hero Taylor
··From this day on it will never be li ke it was. but only John t leno;h Mary Tebb
ascach person remembers it.·· We want tOe~pre5SOUr Did Il ue"",r Ruthie Tompson
Iwm'ialion to the following peopi( who helped us Wilfred Jackson T om Wilhite
remembor the way il was:
1. An Art Fonn Is Born
. 'Animolian elln f,rptnin .. 'I"II~,'er ",,, mind of ""m e,m COll(t;W . .. Walt Disney
MiUI always has had a compelling urge to make repr!:-
senlaljon~ of .he things he ~s in the world around
him . As he looks 31 the creatures Iha. share his dai ly
aclivities. he first Iries to draw Of sculp! or mold their
f()l'm$ in recogniUlble f ..~hion. "Then. when he hewme.
mon: ski llful. he anempu to caplllre some.hing of a
c<talu",'s movemcnls--a look. a leap. a strogglc . And
ultimately. he :>«ks to ponray the ,'cry spirit of his
subject. For some pn:sumptoous Il'~. man reels.he
neW'o creale something of his own thaI appears to be
living.lhal has an inner 51I'1:n&,h. a vitality. a separate
idenlil)'-SOrnelhing that speaks out wilh authority- a
creation Ihal gives the illusion of life .
T"·~1I1y.five thousand yean ago. in the caves of
soothwestem Europe. Cro-Magnon man made ast<)Und·
ing drnwings of ' he animals he hunted . His repn:scnt3.
tions are no! only K\:urate and ""aU!ifully df'dwn. but
many seem to have an inner life combined with a
suggestion o f movement. Since that time. we ha,'c
been inundated with ani.lu· a!!enlp\S to .hape some·
thing in clay or stone or paint thaI has a life of itsown.
Cenain anists ha"" achieved marveloos Il'sults:
sculptures that are bursting with energy. paintings that
speak with slrong inner forces. carvings and dfllwinp
and printS that have captured a living moment intime.
Sut none can do n,OTe than suggest whal ILappcnedjUSt
befon:. or what ...·ill happen afler thal paI1icular moment
has p;1SSCd. Yel, through all the centuries. anists coo-
tinued to search for a medium of CX p"~ion tlLal wookl
permillhem to capture Ihal elus ive spark of life. and in
lhe late 18OC1s new invenlions scen>e:d allastlo mU:c
Ihi s possible . Along with improvements in the moIion
picture camera and the development of a roll f'lm
capable of s urviving the harsh m«hanisms for projecI.
ing its images. a new art form was born, animation.
Sy making SC<juential dra"'ings of a continuing action
.... 1lJIll' JoIM S.......II. fir;~
~8ambi.
and I"..*,,,tin& their phmographs onto a screen al a
con>lant ralC, an ani~t II(IW rould creatc ~II of the
m(w."",nt and inner tife he " 'as capable of.
An artl~t could rcp"'SI.'n! the actual figu .... if he
c~. mcllculou,ly caplUring its mo"enICnts and ac-
lions, 0.- tIC could uricalul'<: il . satirize, il . ridicu~ it .
And he "'""15 OOIitmlted 10 me ... actions; hc could silovo'
• mOIlOlllo. fcelinl~. c,·.n innermost fCar$ . Ilc could
K,,·t ..,alIlY 10 tilt d..,ams of Ihc visioNry . He could
• ..,al. a chuactcr on lhe scr<:cn thai not onty appeared
1(1 Itt li"ing but Ihinking and making dccision~ all by
himSl.'If. MOSt of all. to c'·.ryone·s su rprise. this ne w
an of animalion had lhe pow.r 10 make lhe audience:
:telually fCcllhl: CIllOlions of a ean""n figure .
What an ama7.ing an form! Jt is aSlonishinglhut so
r.",· prof.nionalS h.,.., in~.Sligated ils possibililies.
for ... he.., else don lhe aniS( ha~. such opponunitiu
for self u",""ss ion? The.., IS a ne",' ueilemc:nl 10 the
fanuliar e~mcnls of dl1lwing and design whcn thcy arc
'""""'n heroi<." $i~c on a large screen. bul. Il"IOoR: Ihan
!hal, the oddiuoo of n1(w.menl opI'lIS the ""ay 10 alll-'
uftlimllW new Il'lalionohlps in all areas. And the ""00-
dol"$ continue on inlo color .
E",n thc brightcSl pigments on a painling Can ..,nccl
~k 10 thc ~Ie""cr only a limited amount of light .
Their appa..,nl brighlness is 1'<:13I i,'c 10 itsel f .• nn~
fronl dark 10 light of aboul 20 10 I. But w'lh the light
intensily of III<' proj-eClion lamp ~nd a highly ..,ncctivc
scfftn. Ihis brighlllCss factor inc..,ascs 10 an udtina
200 10 1_ II:n l ime~ a$ g..,at! Just as thc slained glaS>
,,'Indow had brwghl dluling brilli..... afttT cenluncs
of ... Iat,,·dy dull ffl'SCocs. tilt inlroduction o f lighl
behInd till: film made .... hol~ new I1Inges of color ,,·ail.
able 10 till: artist . Add 10 this Ihc potenlial fOf building
«>lor ... IJIKlmhlpS in SoeqUCnce for wonger cmotional
rcspoIIse. and till: artist has before him "" incrNib~
med,um for self e~",""ssion. BUI re .... arding as anima-
lion is, it i~ al:>o . m t:mdy difficult . Slill. once an
an iSI sees his drawing,; conI< 10 life On lhe 5O; ... n. he
.... il1 IIC,..,r again be quite p.lisfled wilh any OIl11:r I)'pc
of upt<:ssion .
"The unique challenge of Ihis an form "'"as aplly
dc>e:ribed by Vladimir (Bill) T ylla. fir$! animltOr 10
brlnl Irw cmotlons 10 thc cartoon scfttn . ' ·· It ..~
melMionc:d !hat the possibilities of anlmallon ...., Infi •
nile . It is alilhat. and y.t "cry simplc-bul Iry and do
il ! There isn't a minI )"ou can' l do In il u far as
composition i~ to ... emcd . Therc isn' t a carKaturist in
Ihis country ,,'00 has as much liberty I S an animator
here of t.... isting and .... ea'·ing hi s lines in and 0111 ••••
But I can't Icil you how 10 do il- I wi .h [ (ould.··
Bill "'a~ spea king 10 a group of youn, animalors
....ho had boc:n asking how he achieved his wonderful
rcsults on lhe Kreen. II. ans ..·c...cl simply, "To me
il' Ii jU>l as much a mysICry as cver bcfore-$Ol"l"lCtlmtS
I g.1 il--somccill"lQ 1 don'l . I wool tncw . ItlCn I' ddo
il mo«: often .
" "The problem IS IlOl a single Il1>Ck one . Anllnalion
is IlOl just liming. Of j usl a ,",ell-dn,,'n CharaclCT. ~ is
Ihc sum of aillhe facton ~med . No matter ""IIlU the
de"i1 one talks aboul-wllelhCT fon:e or form. or ,,~IJ·
dn .... n chsl1lC'lers. liming. or 'pacilli- animacion is ,II
lhese Ihings-not anyone . What you I S an animalor
~re intcreSled in is conveying a ctnain f~cling you
h~ppcn 10 h~"c ~I that panicular time . You do all sons
of Ihings in or<J<,r to get il. Whcrn..r you 1Ilt,·c 10 rub
001 • IIiouS:tlnd limes in order CO gel it is imltlOllCrial .n
COII,",)'i"l tJ cerrain Irrli"l IS thc cu<n« of com·
munkation in any an form . The rnpoose mIlle vjc",'Cf
is an emotional one. boc:ause an spcaki 10 lhe hean .
This gh..,10 ""'mation an almost maenl abillly to ruch
inside Iny audience and communicate " 'ith all peoples
c~e'Y"·lItre, ... gamless of language Il.arnen. It is one
of an;malion 'li grcatesl slrengths and ,.nainly one of
lbe mosl imp<>nanl aspc'" of ll1i. an for the young
animator 10 study and mast~r . As anisls. "'c 110....· h.,·c
new responsibilities in addilion to I~ of draflsman
and designer: we ~ave added lhe d isciplines of lhe
aclor and the lheater. Our tools of communical;on are
11-..: symbols thaI all men understand hecau:;e lhey go
back hefore man df:veloped sp«cll.
Scicnlist and aUlhor Jane Goodall repons Ihal c'·en
les:;er primales. such as the chImpanzee. have a ....·hole
··complex nonverbal communication based on touch,
posture. and geslure. . ... The:;e ~clion s vary from
an exchange of greelings ....·hen mceling to aclS of
submission. often ... ilh lhe arm extende<l and the palm
lumed duwn . When a lop·ranking male arri,·c, in any
poop. "!he OIlier chimps invariably hurT)' to plIy Ihdr
~.lOUChlng hIm ·... ,01 ou!Stlffi:hed hands or bow·
,ng. JU!'! IS courlieTS once bov'w befln lheir king . "
Mll'Ii Goodall describe~ how a lone male passing I
mOIher arod her family Il:!ponded 10 her gll:eling with
a ''''''h. "as . himp eliq..eue demands. then greeled
her lOfant. plIuing il gently on tile ""ad while it looked
up al hIm wilh bil! staring eyes . ·· 1
Some tWO hurodrcd ~ s Igns Ib.al clearly d,s.pLay
chim~nzcc cmotiomi include preenIng. embracms.
charging. kissing. and pounding . Chimps are apt 10
ning lheir arms around u.ch OIlier for runUnln<;'(:.
throw Ihings in anger . steal objects funivcly. and
scream wildly wilh excitement .' Most of these ex·

•
J'l'cssions of fcding.! and language symbols are well
k""",'n In ",~n. W~It..r lhey "'" burk<J o.Ittp in his
WbronSCIO"~ Of Slill xli.·ciy u~ In h,s OWn com -
mUnlc'II'"'' bc.>tla,-;or.
Dogs. 100. !la'-" a ""hole p;!uem of actions 001 only
clearly un<krstood by OIhe, dogs bul by man as well.
Even ",Wl<)\l( u~ing sounds. ~s can coovey all of 'h~
broad s!"'tlrum of (moll om and feelings, There i.< 1\0
doom wh<:n l dol!- iJ ashamed. or proud . or playful.
or sad lot hdhllc,cm, .1«1')'. disgusted. ,ndillnant).
He Sprats ""j,h his whole body in both attitude and
mo"cmc:nl
'Y'I1c XWr is trained 10 tnoYo ' '''~ )ymboh of com·
munica'io" becau'>C they are his 1001- In trade . Ba-
SICally. the animator i. the actor in IIninkl'cd films_ . Ie
is many othf.:r things as well : how ... ver. in his druns to
cO""0unic:,lc his ideas. acting become:, his "''''' impor-
lanl dcvk.... Itut ,he animator ha, II ,pedal problem.
On the " age. un of lho: fOl"C'goinll ~)mb()ls arc aerom·
panied by sonK' kllld of personal magn<:,isnl 'M' can
ro.lU"unlU'C ,he f«lings and al1 i.OOes equally;o,. "ell
as .he action lIsclf. n...re is a ' P"" .n . his kind o f
rommunicalion .ha. is u.renK'ly ali'c and ,·i!al . 110\0'-
cver. wanderful a.~ .he world af anima.ion IS. i. is '00
crude la '''p'ure camplc.el)· ,hal ki nd af ,uhliely.
If in ~"ill1aliun we are tr)"inilla shu,,' Ihal "chamc-
Icr is sad. we droop lhe shoulders. slump lhe body.
drop III<' 11<':.<1. add a long face _ and dlOlg lhe f«1. YCI
lhose s.omc: s)"mbols also can mean Ihal til<' d.arae"r is
.-
I\
,
I,
!
!•
,ired . or discooraged. or e,'en li . tlc" . We can add a
lur and !,mpoint our ~llil udc a 1I11le he",'" but 1M' is
,he U lent of oor capabililies.
"The: Ih'c actor lias anulher :.<I'-anl~J!<: m lhat he can
imcrrelalc ..-nh others in the ca>l In racl. lho: producer
relics ho:avily un Ihis. When ho: bc~",. a I"'e acllon
pic. ure. he SlaMS ..-ilh two "'''","S ofp""'cn "hili!) ,,110
will gellcr~l c somc lhin g sp<:ci.1 JO" by being lIlgcther
TIlere " 'i ll be a chemi,,'Y at ""'k Ihal will create
charisma. a spc<.'iaJ cxci'ement Ih'" ,,111 dic., an imme -
diale re~sc from ,he audience The ",: l<", ",it each
proj«. a unH;jUC' cn<:rgy simply beea\>,"" the)" are re~1
prop • .
B)" ron'ntSl. in anima.ion " 'c , Ian "'Ih a blank pi«c
of paper! Oul af nowhere wc h;,,·c 10 00"", up wi,h
chalOlclers 1hal ".., ..,31. that hc . that illtcm:lale. Wc
ha,'C to work up Ihe chcmi>lry hc lwccn thcm I lf ;IIlY I<
la ui,' ). find way' 10 creatc the cou nter!"'n of ella.·
"sma. ha,l' lhe ehar"",e", muvc in _ betic"able man·
ocr. and do il all wnh mere pcncil d ..~"",V . That"
enough ehallenJl(' fur an) body
TIlesc problems ,,-uuld SCCm ,u C .~~le COII,KIe",bk-
diffoc:ullles For achl~~ing the c"mmonIC~lIon ct~lnK'd
for ~nlltlal ian, . 10'" can 11 ,,'00 "" " ooo.rfully? It
dncs il in ~ ~cry simple way Ihrough "h~t "'~ "all
"auditnce ,"~ulv~mem .. In '~Ir ,,"n livc'. w~ find
,hal u we ge( (a know JlCU1Ilt ,,~ , ha.e their ex!"'·
ricnces-w~ sympathize. " 'e cmpath<l.(. "C cnjuy. If
" 'c lu"c .hem. "l' bcconK' deepl) concerned ~bout
theu ...·df~. We IIecome invol,·w in their lives .
We IRvol'l: the audi~nce, in our filnlJ lhe ~"'"
way. WeMal1 with something they know and li ke_
This ... n bo either an idea or a characler. M Ionll as ;t
is famIliar IIIId acrealing. 11 can he • siluation every-
one IIu c~prncncc<J. an cmoI:ional ruction un[\l:rsally
sllartd •• fllC<'t of sonIWnc ·, personali ty ea$ily recog -
nized. Of any combinat ion of these . But lho: re mll.'il be
KIIIlI:thlng tilat is kllOYl·n lI!Id un<k~ood if the film is
10 achlt'l: audience: in,·oh"emcnt.
In dlt g~at d~ys of ntdio. the~ ""C~ many pr0-
gram! presented in such a specia l. intimale w~y that
lhey drew the li.lening audIence into lheir 'lotieS
conlplct.-Iy . The myslery prognm~ ...·en: p;IfIicul.trly
good Ie Ihls. using VQKl:S tIIal ~lIChed oul to you-.and
good sound eff~IS: h.:avy bru lh ing up close to Ihe
mlCTOphone. ~hoing footsteps. a creaky. door. you
wc~ held spellbo<lnd . Tho bro;idcasts were prop,ted
Ihmtlgh symbols inlO your imagination. and yo .. made:
lhe s ituation ~al. It Wall "'" jusl " 'hat you toean!. it
wa. what the sounds mad<: you bolie"" and fecI. It ...-as
"'" the IICtOf·' emotions you ,,'cre sensing anymore.
Thcy "'·e re y(;ur e motions .
Fortul1;llcly . ~nima tion worh In lhe sa"", way . II is
capllblc of gctllng ,",ilk the heads of 115 .lIo;he~.
in10 their imaginations . Tho ulUljflKfS WIll make OUr
little can<XIn character SJld-aclllally. far!-td<lcr Ihan
we could ever draw him-beo ll!ie in their minds thai
characler is uul. He lives In the" imaginaliom . Once
the audience has hecome IRwlvw ",·ilh your rnan.:.
lers and your Story. almost anything i. pos. ible .
Fm a char.Kter 10 be Ihat rcal. he muS! have a per·
 T IME CHART 1923 to 1933
1923
Walt maln "Ii«·. WnMt ,/,,1t/I W" allSa. Ci ty. In " ug uS!. W.lt romcs 10 Holly.......,.
Coo,Tr\ for AI ~ .mes.
Fonn. COn'Ipany ,, "h bIOthtr Roy.

1924
J"incd by lib I...~fl< .nd fncnd< from " "n.., Cit y. Tum out ,,"" ~tu fe • """'th .

19 25
~rin 5"".. " ful.
... ff gro'n ". 12. Ne'" cooll"lCl rot one picTu"" . '.ery th"'" ",ee~ •. lJuy pl'Of'Cn)· "" U)·pelion A.·e. Stan buildi"~.

1926
Mo .. e '0 ne"" "..clio 00 UYP"non .

192/
Complete I. .. Ioiia f,lm . !>!an new ... ie> .... i.h OM "hl ,h~ Lud~· R" Pt>JI.

1928
SOUN D COMtS I N - -
1929
More Ira« netde<l .
build; ~ e ~pa!>dod .
.oJ()
Staff in"ea.... '" 30.
Aftef 26 P;~l" t"I: ' . Wah 1000$ rights to O, ..·. ld. S.an, new ""ie, ",·ith Mickc)· Moo ..
-- ---- - - -- -- -- -- - - - - -- -- - - ---
Nov . 18. St fflmboa, Will,.. open< in New Yor\<..
Use of soo nd m. k.. Di,,,,,y·, f"", most c. l1oon stooio. Animato" flOm No" Yor\<. btli n ani,'mR
Firsl Silly S)'mpbony--Sk" ~"" Dan<"~ . .IIid,y·, 0 (1<) C/wo. anima.ed min ."1'''.
Chain G'JIIg. has OOi .hat later bee."", Pluto .

19.31
Nt "" buildings added for
anim.",,,. plu ~ wund U~ ly Duc*'in~ . nample of .. mnger "ari es , Fi"t I'yoot mon hi red .
,tage.

1932
n()~W' nnd T,,~• . fi rlol eanoon in rolor . S,.n of.n s< hool al nigh,

193)
Thru Urr/t Pi~. _ " Mou nd,ng """".. fi nance < e>pllniloo and man: ""dy. Bottom oIlJtprt:I,,,,,,
.
SOIIIIily. aoo. ~rerably. an intcre . ting 011<: . tl~ muS!
be • WIIIf..,.,:>bk ;b an old , hot . lCl "" exc iling as a
-!fIriIIc OIIt(oI . Sp«tators ean laugh at a gaG. be
daukol 11)' I lit...· df""I. ""'1 be ,n"'guN by 5<'fM'
Wng ~kly (re. h. hul an of Ihi ..... in hold their
Itlmlion r... hardy leo mlnUl ... A ~ Ch.rlie Charlin
aid of hi~ oUln beginnings in lhe m","e husiness,
"uuk as I kno:w .1x•.11 movie, . I k..., .... III" I\l)(hing
t"ns«ntkd I"'r<o"ality .··· In addillo n to ~.8 s ami
.fftc1S. there n\U,1 be a point of ~nlry through .... lIicll
.....it.:" can liknlify ,,·;tll \he §tOf)" ~,"'ation. ~nd the
~ "'lIY I, ,hrou,h a ch:ll:lct. r "ho ;. like someone
1he)' 111,·" knovon . lie un be more he ..... c. Of biuer
lIIan life .... "11"1<""'" Ihan sin : ' bUI b:I.~lCaU)" It<. ha.
10 be huma" c'K",!:h for lhe aud,ence 10 "mk:"laml
ar.: stuing tlnwn. You """Id be g~~rul . ~njoying c:och
<"",I ...·"'d. Or you cou ld be "rumphanl a, )·w Ih;nt
o f benef . ~''''''ger . more biting ...·... ds. Or you could
be ''''mbling " -;Ih ragc a, , he ",hoi" idea or lhe lerriblc
effrontery of Ihis mechanical age .
Suppose lhe ",riter " -en: 10"csick and " ·riting IU hi,
dre am girl- prohably the th;rd ~ uch rnM Ihal "I\If"·
ing . A ~ill)" smi le might become fi~cd o n his rae. a.. he
rc,"Cicd in each sug~ry word . Wilh II;Ilf·c kw:o.I ()'cs
and heavy ' iglls. he wo.. ld gale inlo .\fIOCe _ing a
mofM"tal"Y VISion of her precious fa«. '1"..,.., ..,,,,,Id
be kiss,", o f the <...rd ",hen he ",.;;tli fim. hN . ,,'-en
a
rel"",a~ III drop it inlll the nllllho~ unlll be Iu.d
sighed onc lasl ,ifM and ki,><:d lhe bek'\"cd n~II"I< jn>!
OllCe mOr(" .

...,.
him and ;(\cnlif)' .... ;Ih \he problem s It<. be •• in Ihe

nc ,rnt AIIII.: , icall lIIime and an ise Angn. Enters'

II is easy to !OCt: ht' .... Ihe dc"cioPIIICIl1 of '''' ill(iivi.
dual pef5<) n~lil)" in a .Iory s ilualion ca n nwkc ewn lhe
dulln t action b«omc cntcnainin, . In addilion 10 (he
II!Cd 10 &i'~ ller d~ lhe "",i,nment ,,( " 'riting " personality . hO\O't'·(r. the", . hould be ~ ( han1-'C in the
po.!$4C..:I ....... r IllUIl:innl cire"m"aocr$. beea"", il i. initia l aclion that ..·ill enable an ani ""'Ior to show
III KIlon «m' d of an)' inlere.' "h.b,,~'·er wilhoul mofl' than one side of 'his perwn;t]il)·. n.. ,nnsl ;nltr.
1h<..scM.... of rc~nati')" . BUI once a , lfOl" 1"'......... es,in, e llaraclCr in ,"" ...·orld is oot "e r)' u e i, in, ,,-hen
ali\y is inlnxloced g'"" i""',ibili,ics sIMJdcnly bc<:OnlC ,il1;ng ~nd l islcnin~ 10 .. ~)' nlphon y (oneen _ Our \rue
" ,·'wAf(;lll
apparent. personalil;", arc bes, rc\"uled h)" uur feae,iu", 1<> a o.;,n,ld·! C
To be,;n "i'h . i, hdps 10 tlc"dop a s ilualion in chan,c we d ,d nol e~pec'
"',lmJ;,,!
...tlich )'011' im~glllcd personalit y ca" (uIICI ;lIn. Say Take a . Imple example of .. goll"cl ~cuing ",ally 10 ~'_li~
thal)'llU'" .. .ning 001 on a too.; it is 1II01"l1l0g arnJ I"" make a eruc: IaJ shot . He >hu>o.', conccnlrat'on and !l..1er· ella"",,," .
~! is fUlJy 10 kave . You ha'-e been urged to hurry
lIP. but just lhen )·ou "''''''mber IlI;It you r",gut 10 put
tIw ~ 0lIl he(..re Ita" ing hom. ! You mu!>! "rilc a
""itt 110\( 10 )'' '''' neighbor "'ho Iu., It..; lc ~- . a,king
her 10we ca'c uf Ihing,. Now. huw w""ld y,,... " 'rite
lilt cud'! If )'011 h,,·( chosen a ncr-.·O\IS. in~cu.(. and
dil<l<Pni~ed I'monalil Y in Ih~ 1i"1 place. you will
h."I,·c allnl'" ""lilllll,,11 hil' o( bus;nc ~~ 10 sho",' all
factll Ii the d",.r""l.r~lt..; ""nf.,;,..... ,he p>nic . lhe
I. . 01 be,o, left ,"",hi nd. lhe inability '0 phr.>-.c " o rd.s
10 II.- they n..Lc ~ny ''''''''''. the fluuc r o f inm"""nt
.IIM». the Ik>rcrallon .
0.. ""PJK'St 11\0 po!.rotl .... ,,"og It..; card i, highly
ind;,nant """",,, • Ctlmpulcr in si.ls Ih:.\ It<. n", not
p:lld a o:cn~i" b,lI antl has jn>1 scm him hI> 1;1\1 IIOliee .
No ...· tilt wool. mn>! be chosen w;,h c~re . T"" com-
PUI'" and lhot '·"'"p.n)" Ih'" h.s b«n . Iup,d ~ nQUgh to
....·n it 1!III;t "" told "If in TIO unccn ain tcrms. There
... ill be 110 on..,."... (rom the ioc ",,,'c ,""eu, allons you
 minalion as he prepares for the imponam swi nS. llien .
suppose he misses lhe ball enlirely. His lrue characler
will be revealed 31 once! If he is Donald Duel:. . he will
fly imo ~ "'ge and blame lhe ball. If he is insecure and
nervous. he will blame lhe club and promptly break it
over hi s knee . Or. if he is a popular amateur who has
been off his game but has 3 sympathetic galler)" trying
10 encourage him. his response will be biuer dejec-
tion. and you will have pathos in your slory .
Our goal in these s tudies is to make the audience
fulthe en>otioni of the ~ haraclCrs. rather than appreci.
ate lhem intellectually. Wc want our vie .....crs not merely
to enjoy the situation with n murmured. "Isn't he
cu-ute?"' but reall y 10 feci something of ""h~tlhe char·
acter is feel ing . If ""e succeed in thi s. the audience
will now Care about the eharactcr and about what hap.
pens to him . and that is audience invoh·cment . With·
OUI il. a canoon feature will ne,'cr hold the anention of
ils vic",·ers.
The various aspecls o( what animalion is. whal it
could do. and how it worked were learned slowly over
the years . lliey werc ccnainly not evident when lhe
an form was flrsl di$Covered. c~cept in the epic works
o( Winsor McCay. the N..,,· York Hrmld' , s kill(ul
canoonist. Working essemially alonc:. he turned oul
several aSlou nding films between 1911 and 1921. with
SOme canOOll figurcs so convincing that he was accused
of tracing them from p/IoIogroph,. In responsc , McCay
drew a dinosaur for hi s next film. and. incidentally.
dis<;oyered the imponan<;e of a canoon chara<;tcr" s per.
sonality in establishing rapport with the audience.
Today his films arc historic clusi~s. but in their time
chey "-':~ not commercially successful. and Chat forced
McCay to return to ,",wspaper work . His c re.tions
were vinually forgonen for fifty }-.:ars.
OChers enlering lhe animation roeld lacked McCay's
awel'llrne calents. and few autmpted anything more
than whal was commercially aCttplable . Aflcr all. in
those early days. movies wc~ Mill a novelty and car·
loons " 'ere added 10 the progrum only (or amu seme nt
11Iey were not an imponam pan of the shnw. and very
liule ~y carne back to the studios thac made them .
Audiences responded tO,he gags and preposterous sit ·
uacions. so creative energies went into a search for
different approaches. fresh angles. new tricks. rather
chan into making hener pictures . When the men in a
Sludio f<IUnd a gimmick. that was successful, Ihey hung
onlo itlenaci<IUsly , Max Fleischer had his "OUI of the
Inkwell" series, and Pal Sullivan's slUdio produC<'d
OIto Messmer's films of "Felix tile Cat." Animaled
comic strips. illustrated jokes, live action relimed and
combined with drawings. and a variety of othereffons
were made to assure COntrao;t rene wal for a struggling
"\ldio.
Of aU tile early pictures. only tile films about Felix
suggested 1M idea of giving a character personality.
but his crealors had failed 10 develop Ihi s past rudi-
mentary beginnings. relying instead on visual trick.
that gOl audience response. Nothing then gave a due
10 what animation might someday become. and no
promising artists were attracted 10 lhe studios_ Most
people felt thaI by 1923 ju,t aboul everything had been
done Ihal wos possible. and IIle exhibitors were I""king
in OIher directions for something new to k.et:p lheir
audiences laughing.
This was the situation when Walt Disney enlered
!he field. and he was nol an immediate succes •. In
fact. it is uen surprising Ihat he was able 10 get a
toehold in this tough business of limited contracts and
tighl money. BUI Walt was a fighler and had great
detenninalion; he was no aeslhetic artist living in a
drum world. As he said. "I have been up againsl
tough compelilion all my life. I w<IUldn't know how 10
get along without it." Any man with Wah's talents
001 withoul his spirit and lenacilY would neVer have
made il.
'There were conSlanl ballies. many defeats. endless
disappoinlmenls: he losl the rights to his cart()()n char-
acter. his staff. his contracls. And then when he finally
began 10 achieve a bit of sucC<'ss. his studio became a
pri'-" 10 be laken over one way or anolher. or run <lUt
ofbusi~ss! Union jurisdictional problems plagued him
u he devtioped new te<:hnique<. new equipment. and
new idea' in entenainmenl. Yet Ihrough il all he never
losl bi,love for people or hi s faith in their judgment.
" I am inlerested in enlenaining people. in bringing
pleasure. panicularly laughter. 10 olhers. ralher Ihan
being coocemed witb 'expressing' myself with obscure
cre.tlive impressions
Thn:M.Jgh those first years. Walt and his brother Roy·
struggled alone against the people who controlled tb.
movie industry. In laler decades when Walt's back
was 10 the wall he had Ihe strong suppon of his staff,
whose loyalty and dedication to both lheir boss and
their wort kept lhem mak.ing sacrifices Ihrough dllJls
of uneenainty When it came right down to it, most of
uS were more interested in keeping animalion alive
Iban we were in making money. We were beginning 10
sense lhe magnitude of the an form that we were
discovering. and ils polential held us like a magnet.
Wall was basically a communicator. and in the ani,
mated film he found astounding potential forexprening
his ideas_ The cart()()n drawing always had been a very
simple and direcl graphic form. and whether it WitS for
social comment or just amusement it had 10 pcescnt a
unified. single idea with nothing complicated ..... tra-
neous. or contradiclory in its makeup. When IIle cu-
IUUO was transfem:<! to film these elements .<till applied,
and nOlhing was dra",'n Ihat was no! part of lhe idea.
Background, COStume. character. and e . pression were
all de.igned for a sucdncl statemenl. Behind lbe char-
acter there was only a horizon. or a house. or a rocklo
run into. but Ihat was all.
To include only objttts Ihal Were needed for the
idea became the basis for a language of drawings on
film, Walt t()()k to this nalurally. and if any of his staff
introduced something wrong or confusing or "ague.
he was quick to nOliC<' and to educate the offender.
Walt gradually added lhe more sophisticated graphic
symbols of acting. presenting complicated ideu that
had 10 he underslood very quickly . We used to indio
cate how successfully drawings communicated these
Ihoughts by saying Ihal they either "read" or '"didn',
read . " John Heneh .' one of lhe studio's most gifted
anists. said "We don ' t really know how much we
learned here aOOut using images to communicate-to
develop a kind of visual literacy ." At the time, oone
of us lhoughl in Ihose leoos Or stopped long enough to
gain perspective on what was happening. The language
of imagery was emerging as II _'eparate an form of its
own, fC<juiring skills and disciplines different from
those of related craf~~ . NOI every artisl could masler the
demands. and mosl failed to realize Ihal they were
invol,'.d in something quite different and exacting.
'" I Ihink Ihis is a lillie hard for people 10 under-
stand. ,. John continued. "the fact that yOU are devel,
oping a kind of language, and a very precise one.
They figure thaI graphics are no! precise al all-they're
 TIME CHART 1934 to 1943
Aoolh<:r building [(If 1934
anim.,;,,"
New wave of .11,,, , ",ns com ing. A,'t i"n .naly,;'_ cia',"". Icrlu", •. Pla'full'I"", .
• character 'kinks !FI.\;n~ Mm"~, G""Id~>5 of Spring . Wiu I.i lll~ 11m in'reklLl«"
Donald Duck .

Buildi"l\ fOf In k &. Pa'n!. 1935 •

Band Conca'. fi,,,, Midcy' in color.
Person",,1 passe. 400. C"""i~ Cam;,."I. /j,<>k,." Toys.
Goi<lrn r""'h. Who Kil/,d Cod ROO;" '

19J6
Mick~,,' ,
Grand Op<"' . Elme, t:l~rh,,"' .
Thru W,,/>-.... Thru 1M Mim)' .
Liltl~

A'pi"t Climb"•. Cmlnln, COO"" .

" r~,,")
Another anim.lion 1937
bu ildi ng
1I"~<lii(/n Holid"."_ Smwr~' s
~"""""l pas,.. 800. Clock C/~,,"us .
The Old Mill
A.pl'renli,y
grow,
II .n ,n"'",,,
Animation on IJr",'~ UII/~ raj/"r. in'o
Wall ~itk, to make one
I
1938
f~al u ", a yo.r. r,,,,uui,,
Anima, i"n (l" Prac,imi Pig.
,. ,""""'" "Of'
Thf I'oimfr. Goofy & 11'j/b"r. ""'"Y
Personnel p..... Ioc)).
Ugly V"dNnl/
lI"mbi
"Of)"
.nima""" , ",n,,'K'" ,,,no ,
"''''' _,1,"1 ".otl<

1939
,
""rerimen,,1
eurb.nk Studio fln ishcd: n"",ho oni",., ion
stafr mov .. a, work i. "or)"
compl.,ed on Fa"'''',,,. full c'rew
1940 I
anima'm"
Nn\"Cmbc, I'M()
,,..,
Warin Europe lake, f""'ign
market . Staff cui to 700.
Or,obc, I'M I

1'M2
PirlOCChio, Fanlasia.
Bambi .11 I"",
money II box office .
Golden Age i. over.
1943
ju~ SI)rI of droJnli~e. IIIe(re pleasanl 10 look 3t.
dlty"re ~helic-;n'lead of understanding ..'hal the
bait mini is about · image .' [don ' t know how e~
anyone could ~ this e~«"pt in motion pictures. and .
panicv.I;arly, in cartoons-you sure don't He! il in an
111 school,"
II ii impossible to judge the films that were m.de, or
1he animation that was done , or e ven whal is worth
Jft~ing in tile mcthodli that " 'cre used, without an
undef'Ualldin, nf this language of imagery th.l1 spol::c
IOdtarly flQ!!lihe K tte.. no! drawings by tho:tmel,"eS
01' paintin,~....- i!lOla' cd M iles, oot tile v;wal symbolS
o(_io;~tion , When the oulSl.nding violinisllsaac
Stem 10';1> ;l>kcd tho: difftfCllI:e bctw~"<!n the great and
!he truly great, he replied, "Tho ahil ily to communi ·
ca\C ," It i£ tho: key illgrcdicn. in eve ry an fmm and
«"nlinly tile' gNat strength of Wah Ois llC(s gen ius,
Wahw.u also a gambler wilen it mattered most, If
he believed in I n idea, he would risk lmolulelyevery.
thing In Jd it before lhc public, D UI he WilS also prnc.
lial tnough to work wilh " 'hat he had, rather than
~t (Of " 'hat he wishe([ he had , Ilc would ""'y, "[
don't know if it's an, but [ know [ like it." and he
ftil intuitively that if he liked it IIIe rest of the world
would like it, loo-if only he cou ld find the righl way
10 presenl ii ,
Walt hiId. rc>tlcss natuTC and never liked to do the
PIllt thingSl"'ice , As he said o f himse lf, " I can ne"cr
SUI'Id $Iill. r must uplorc and e~periment , I am never
Alisfoed with my "on:, I resent lhe limitations of my
own imlgination _" Where OThers felt luc ky if they
o;oukl hang on to whal they had , Wah was ronstantly
~an:hing for new way~, bener ways, and, especially ,
ways th31 hi s sma ll grou p of artists cou ld handle . As
mlny ofl~m .g~ ;n latcr years, "One of Wah' s
g=lCSt gifts wu his ability to get you 10 wmc up
... ~h things )'00 didn ' t know weTC in you and that
yoo'd ha,~ sworn you couldn' t possibly do!"·
As the alidicncc response verifitd Walt's cof"'ic·
lions aboul entertainment. he wa~ able to fight for
bener tontriICts thai brought in a lillie more money.
Now he could begin to add to his ~w ff men who had
be.n b,wer traint:d and artist!; who had a greater vari-
ely of talents , Tlle Depression had begun, and young
anisu ..'C~ fKed with a bleak foture, if any at all, ;n
the~ial ftclds, Tlle only two places fOf employ·
mem were lhe government.financed WpA and Dis.
ney's . In tcn years the studio wem from lhe ow vital-
ity and <.:ntdc. dumsy actions of S,filmOOaI Willit to
the surprising sophistication and glowing beaUly of
Snow Whitt , Togelher wc at the Disney Studio had
disco~crcd many Ihings about communicating with an
audiern:e . Wc weTC still to learn muc h more ,
Wc continued to experiment with many approaches
to filmm:.lting and different uses of animation, from
· 's top motio n " wilh cut outs, limited move ment ,
stylized design , puppets , and )·0, 10 the full «"I ani.
m:u.ion , Whate~r lhc method. the pictures that tOIthe
biggesI response in the theaters wen: al ways !he OlIOS
thai a(:hicvcd audience invol~cmc:nt by telling dermil-C
Stories through rich perronalilies,
h had begun wilb Mi<;key and Pluto, a cartoon boy
and his dog, who appeared to think and iugge>-ted !he
spirit of life , Tllen, the "Silly Symphonies" portra)'Cd
tmotions in their charactel'$. and there had been I
feding o( lifc , Finally . in the tell;ng o f fea~-Icngth
tales aboul spc<:i rlC characle rs who wcn: con~inci""y
real. the full illusion of life WU K hicvcd.
Tlle Illusion o f life is a rare acromplishmcm in ani-
mation, and it was never really mastered anywhere
e~ccpt at thc Disney Studio, Of all the characters and
stories and uciting dimension $ of ontenl inmcnt to
rome from that incubatOf of idcllS. this is lhe truly
uniql>C achic~emenl. This is what moSI he CIamined
and uplained, un<leT5100d and apprco;:Qtw, t.aught 10
others and ~ on to the animators of the futUR ,
It came from new ways o f thinking, ways of making
a drawing, ways of relating drawing~ to ClOch o!bcr-ail
(
!he: refinemenls in Ihis language of imagery, BUI il
also clme from new ways of looking at siorie,. Ours
"'ere n(lII "rillen down in Ihe usual way: li>cy were
dra"'n. because a few ,timulaling pictures could sug·
&tit far more aboul the potential entenainmcnt in an
episode tilan any page of words . More than that . our
5tones were kepi f1e ~ ible unlillong after ti>c first ani_
mation ~ been dQne. Oflen a whole new chardctcr
"tlUld appear from nowhere and take ovcr the SlOry.
When we ~ed Snow While. there was no Dopey in
doe casI. Pinocchio had no Jinlin)· Cricket. and 8 ambi
hMi no Thumper, An of ti>cse characters evolved as
!he: pictures de'-cloptd. A~ Walt said .. The i'>cSlthing,
in many of 0111 ptclUrh have come after we thought
!he: $lOt)' was tlloro\lghly prepared, SOmelime, we don·1
rtally get do", 10 our personalities untillhe story is in
animation ..•
Jt "'lIS ne'"Cr 100 latc Itl make a ch~ ngc : nOlhing w~s
el"Cf ~ as long as I"" possibililY c ~ i,~led Ihat il could
be made 10 relate beller IU the overall piclUr.: or com·
munitate more 'Irongly wilh Ihe audience. We slrug ·
gIed to build interesting. appealing characters. bUI
Il105t of all ,,'e worked 10 frod ways to make Ihe audio
(Ott Jttl lhe emOlions of the animated figurcs-
emotions the audience could ··relate to. identify with.
and \!eco"", im'ol'·ed in .··
All of lbis look ,lUdy and desire and knowledge and
inspil'3lion and monlhs of selection and building. but
that is true of any great a1'1i,lic a<:compli<hmem Fine
WOIb iIa,·~ nt".r been achieved easily nor ,,·iIOOUI the
MrI1t DIIi, Jo~ItSl()lt .
exer.:ise of constant critical judgment. That is why the
,,'orld· , greateSl mime. Marcel Marceau, say~ of his
own work. ··h takes )·ears of Mudy . You can t ju~t
walk Out on tile slagc and do it,'·
Marcel Marceau also said that his teacher. Etienne
~crou~. had lold him thai II>e principles of communi·
cation with an audience were the <amc ones in use
2.000 years ago: Ihey had been handed do"·n from
lea<:hcr to £tudent ever sillCe, l1Ie entenainer"s "sym-
bols" thai bring audience identification arn.l arouse
s)"fUp.ul>etic feeling •. as well as techniques used to
poriray emotions. 10 please. 10 e xcile. 10 capti,·ale. and
10 cnlenain. have always been known by sollle. At
Di,ney· s ,,'C leamt.-d lhem painfully and slowly by lrial
and enOl. Although wc had the greatest of leaders. I>e
was nOi "rictly a 1eaci>cr. Still. by learning the ru!es
this wa), we learned them thoroughly. and son"'tim.s
wc think we may have added a few foo1notes of our
O"·n to the histone lore of Ihe tlu:ater .
Most of our work has been in only unc small pan of
the vast lield of animatiun . There are so many arUS to
be e xplored. drawings to be tried. emotion. to be cap.
tured. effecls 10 be crealed. new wonders to be secn. Jt
is an exciting prospect. Wilh electronic aids being
perfected and new tools and materials being used. who
can possibly foresee what lies ahead'! It prom.bly will
,-
iny.m
not be another Wall Di sney woo willicad lhe way. but "",ilt
~.
someone Of ",1m group of anists will surd)' disco"er
neW dimen.ion. to delight and entenain the world, "'" ,
tJfItra
Hopefully. Ihis book ,,·ill be their springboard. ~B"'"
- ......
,....... :-
W- _
""fin Ward K im/xJlI. AlIt/Sf Frank Thoma.
A WALT DISNEY COMIC
M.J. WINKLER
DISTRIBUTOR.N.Y.
WINKLER PICTURES
@
2. The Early Days 1923-1933
.....tfirsl Ihe curWon medium wm just" "m'dry. but il nf'wr uully begun 10 hil umil "'f Itad morl' flam tricks . ..
,,11Ii/ we del'flOpi'd pUJol/dlilies . W" had /() I:el 1K)'0,," gf'lling u laugh. They may roll in rite aisles. bUI that
dotSIl " meall ),OU }'m-" u grew pin"r,. You Itav,. 10 Itav,. pathos in the thing:" Wall Di,ney

When Walt Oi_,,,,y first cam~ to f-lollywood he had no been praised on T uesday was regarded as only. stcp-
in(enlion of continuing 10 ma ~ . animated canoons. I Ie ping· s!one 10 something better On Wednesday .
had done that kind of work in Kansas City. achieving All his tl\Qocy went ioto films and the development
only meager success with his Laugh·O·Grarns and none of a swdio. as Wall began colk'Cting a staff li kely 10
at all with hl~ li rst film. Alic,.·" Wonder/and. Now he
wanted 10 try something that offered a greater outlet
(Of his continuous ,(ream of creali,'. ideas: Walt in-
tended 10 be a mo"ie director in one of the big studios_
II "'as only after his money ran Out and h. was yet 10
be "f'P'l"'ialed by the major produc~rs that he was
E'S
forced to return to the one thing that previou s ly had
paid his bills. Di,appointing as this muSt have b....,n for TSEA
Walt. it was extreincly fortunate for eYeryone else .
Altboogh he was interested in many different aSpe<:ts
of the entertainment world- as he demonSlrated in
laler life---animation was lruly the perfe<:\ oullel for
hi s special imaginalion and sense of fantasy. Slill. the
year 1923 Willi a p:micularly bleak one to be entering
that field .
As. ,howcase of hi s work . Wall had o ne completed
folm. Alia' s Wonder/m,d. and when he sent it off to
a cartoon dislribulor he was surprised to re<:eive. in
return. a contra<:! for Iweh'e mOre fi lms. This WaS a
startling beginning. and if One pIJnned films <:arefully,
watched expenses. and <:ul e"cry <:on<:eivable comer,
it was f'Os,ible 10 make a profit . BUI Walt was nol
inlCreSled in cU lling COmerS. It waS Iypi<:al of him thai
anything he went into had 10 be Ihe best. and not just
the b<,t of whal was curreotly being done. but the be SI
it was possible 10 do. This always made lhe job of
pteasing him very difflcull, since the drawing that had

gro'" along wjth him . Ben Sharp5lecn.' firs! of ,he:
anima'," tQ~ (lUI from New York , said. " [ ~
a job with I fUlUre. and [ did 1\01 see a promis ing
fUlUre at the$<: lllller s tudios . S UI W alt was diffcrc n1.
Hi s hiGh regard for the RnimatiOfl medium 300 his
detenninalion 10 produce a _,upcrior product grea tl y
3Jl1X'alw 10 me ." Wah had 1\0 idea then what lho~
superior pic!Urc~ mig\!! tIC or how he " 'oold go about
makillglhen,: he had nO'"filans and no spe.:ifte ~Iorics.
just the conviction thaI thc:y " 'en: going to be thc: best
canoons an)'OI'K' had .,,'H seen.
01' COUI'liC. Ihis was no! a ~w or U";quo: aim. />bny
of tho mm in New YOIt. had tried comtanll)' 10 impro~
tho: quality of animation . An cia",.,,, in lioc c".,ninll~
" 'ere fumi5hetl by Raoul Bam! al his !-ludio to help
impro"" IhI- drawing Ibility of his anislS. Occasion-
ally. an an imator " 'oold ha"c an opportunity to study a
specifIC action c"""fully. and everybody would be awed
by the animation thai followed . Still. i, was difficu lt
B,/"" ,h, d",.. of ",,/.
r ..... O. ...... ltF. "f...., _,,/~
,,~ .~"I Iw tYJotlJ ,,,,,",,
I.i. abj«"'.,.
for lhe average canooni51 1l'~lIy 10 kllOW how 10 im-
PfO'Ie his "'OI'k. The fun 01 aninlilling. of duinggaas. of
IhinkinJ Up funny businrM IIl{$ ~~IK~~ (,lve, the
Iong-Ierm, II'«mingly distanl n: " 'aRk of ~If.impro'·e_
menl . In many CI5eS. lhe aspiring an,lit " 'hoo;c c urios-
ily kept him lleeking more and more knowl(dge oIl(n
found himself lilt subject o f ridicu\c from hIS co-
worlffl . Bill Tylla was asked. "Whalillt Iltll do you
wanl 10 go 10 an school for_ yoo'1l' animaling. an:n'l
yooT '
They could nOl know il al lhe lime. bUI ilClua ll y
lhen: was lillie chance for lhe~ canoonb1-< 10 illiprove.
givcn the Iy~ of material lhey wen: animating . The
spo! gKlI$. Slc1l'OIyped figun:, . a~rw.:( of personality
in the charactcrs. and s lipshod method of working
gave lhe anists lillie opportunity 10 u~ any new· found
kOO\ll·ledgc. E""n the g1l'ateSl 01 animalon would t.a'·e
w ithered under such limited demands. This is as lrue
today a~ il wa. then: Ihe1l' nluSI ~ litO!")' buSlrocloli It.at
calls for lood animation or the1l' will be no wcll-
animaled scenes .
In 1923, lhe animated figure was muved as lillie IS
possihle in ~ canoon. and lhen only 10 n:ach lhe loca_
lion for Ihe next gag. If his fttl Went up allll down. he
was wal king . If they Wtnt up and down fasi. he was
running . As oflen as possible. lhe animall),s cut 10 a
$l;cnc wilh lhe characl(rs in place to " pull the gag."
and lhen Cui a""ay aflcrward 10 lhe ne~t ~I·up . lIow
lhe gag was staged Wll.< very importanl and given can-
fultbough!. bulthe mo,'Cml'1lI ""as considered more a
c~ It.an an opportunity for elllenamment There
was 00 allcmp! eilher 10 imital( 1l'al acllon or 10 eari-
calun: il . Bener W<>I"k had ,,"n dorIC' e~rher . especia ll y
by Winsor McCay. but no orIC kllC"" 110.... il had been
done . A fe w wished 10 impro'·c. hut whe1l' " ""Id lhey
study? Who c(""ld leach?
It "" as e~Cn m01l' difficult fur begin"" ... 10 learn
whul tricks already had bttn diS(o~ered . Th~ lead
animalQn; g=<kd Iheir """reI, carcfull)·. n~"er re-
vealing IMir pri"ale d~vices 10 anyone . Whal you
kamcd)"QII had 10 learn b~' ~'O\Irsdf as best )'ou could.
AI Wah's Mudio il wa. different . Ik insi~t~"<J on an
optn almosphtr~ where each an i,.1 ~ha,.."d hi, ,· i~".. ,
and discoveries . If one man made a drawing Wah
liked. he called e>'eryone logolher to point il 001. Or if
an action seemed clumsy or 1"~"ly staged. h~ would
diftt1lhe anisl immedialely 10 gel help r",,,, a 'Ironger
man. Alllhe de,k, ....'ere in Ollc large roum all he lime
(which encouraged di!.Cu!&io ns of Ollc type or anOlher
anyway). so lhe .nimalOr'$ talked abool Iheir an and
!heir problem' and whal Ihe fulure of the , Indio might
be. E"cn in Ihose days. Wah was moving so fasl inlo
onoc:haned areas thaI his men Wl:re hard put 10 keel' up
with him . No one cO\Ild dony thaI Wall was exceed·
ingly stimulating and cxdling 10 he around .
1'Iltre wa.< anolller faclor besides lalent and abilily
thaI was 10 playa major pan in Wah' , success. It was
hi s background as a fannboy living dose 10 lhe soil
and working w;lh animals. which had given him a
pIlilowph)' ;md approach to enlenainmcnt "ith a uni_
"crsal appeal. He ne,'cr pUI on air<. WI' alwa)'s sin-
cere and heme.l. and Ihesc b.,ic "alues permealed bis
.."Or!; . Atthnugh his tastes ha\'c hecn called mundane
by some. lie alway, soughl qu.lity and slyle. Wah
said Ihal h..... med hi s pic lure. 10 reneel Ihe "feeling
of happy .~dtemenl 1 had when I wa' a ~ id .. And
trn.1 .piril no....·cd Ihrou~llhe project> he touched,
There w,,-, one last custom thaI enabled lhe Disney
animalors 10 forge far ahead. and Ihi' seems 10 have
~nquile ae.idemal. The)" u",d peg" al lhe bouum of
theil drawing boards In hold lhei r work in place ..... hile
iJI!he EalllOp pcgs alwap had becn Ihe rule . 11 had
_mtd lo&icallo pul Ihe pc~' al Ihe tol' of the board.
001 of lile W3)' of the arti,,', band. and no one recalls
why Wall ,Iarted 10 use hn1lOm pegs hack in Kansas ,
Cily. No one knows why Uh'1wcrks' and Ihe olhcr
urly animalors conTinued 10 pm up wilh the lillIe
OOslluctions Ihal cnnlinua!i)' nicked thcir wriSIS and
hands. bul wilhoul Ihis chancc pmccdure animation
mi;lll "",'er ba>'e de>'eloped intn a "ilaL forceful. and
varitd art fonn .
"The rea"", for Ihis is more ,uhjccnvc Ihan literal.
OnIwin&S can lie made almust as ca~iI)" wilh ei lher Inp
or boltom pegs. and. ""hile rclali,m,hip, in Ihe aeliun ~
IlIl'more difficult 10 see when the paper is held alihe
lop, much of the action can be ponrayed almost as
well. BUI there comes a lime when the drawings are
near completion that it is necessary to "feel" the life
sUPJIOO"d to be in them . Thi s can be done onl y by
"mlling" the drawings back and fonh. with one fin-
ger between each of any five drawings. The aClion is
checked forward and backward in minU!e delail or in
brood relationShips. Drawings 12 frames apan c an be
checked against each other 10 see whether Il1<::y really
give the illusion of the aClion wanted. and then al! the
subtler secondary leHon s can be studied frame by
f_.
A whole SUlek of drawings can be lifted off the pegs
and nipped in !ieqlltnce to give a good check on the
overall &CeRe. but the only wayan animator can le ll if
his character is acting as the scene was <;:Qnceivcd is (0
roll tile drawings whi le feeling the action in hi s own
body. Usually the animator tries 10 feel tbe action as
be makes !he initial drawings. and man y a night he
goes home with a stiff neck or a wrenched back after
animating a dog in a quizzical look or a stan led duck
whirling about in astonishmen!. I! is possible to do a
vel)' nice scene simpl y Ihrough careful planning and
hard thinking , bIIt withoul being able to roll through
the drawings it is impossible to get that extra juice that
produces tbe illusion of life.
This "'rolling" action ~came so imp<mant during
the mid-Ihinies Ihat many an anist tried 10 enlarge his
capabilities o f handling mo~ than a mere five draw-
ings at a time . Many tried to involve both hands in the
proce<;iure. butlhat lost them the possibility of making
pencil corrections or additions at the same time . unless
they had l>e<.n trained to draw with their teeth . Even
!bat Was attempted . Those were days of invention and
e nthu siasm-nolhing Was impossible.
Wall had grown up watching the great vaudeville
aclS of the time . acts that had taken years to perfect
before an audience. amQng them " Willie. West and
McGinty" and " Joe Jackson and his bicycle, " aod
also the work of Ihe great downs like Emmet! Kelly.
Walt admired Chaplin and lhe olher film comedians,
KeatOR. Lloyd. and Lan gdon. and he quickl y unde.-
stood a basic truth of comedy: the personalily of the
victim of a gag determines jusl how funny the whole
incident will be . For instance. falling into an open
manhole is 1>01 funny in itself. A lillie old lady trying
to sell her lasl bunch of violets would gel a very con -
cerned response to suc h a lumble . An uger Boy SCOUI
who fell while demQnstrating counesy to his troop by
helping a lillie girl across Ihe Strut mighl draw some
c huckles. as long as he was not hun by the fall. BUI an
arrogant construction boss who hadjusl ridiculed some
wone. for not watching what he was doi ng would be
cenain to get a laugh. Marcel Marceau used a simpler
example: if a dign ified man slips on a banana peel. il
is funny . If il happens to a man who is down and out.
it is no!.
Walt also n:al iud that it was beller 10 build on a gag
and let the situation develop than to mOve quickly to
another gag. And mosl imponant of all. the thing thaI
n:ally g<:>I to an aud~nce was their knowing how the
character on siage fe l! about whal waS haJlPening to
him : the "' looks " at the camera . the ··bum.·· the rage.
the helpless stare. the blea k express ion . Lau rel and
Hardy used these ructions extensively. and Edgar
Ke nnedy was well known for his bum of mounting
anger. Years later. Jack Ben ny became famous for his
abiJiIy to provoke sustained laughter by llIerely looking
blankly out at the audience. Of course. the situation
 .II '" t,.•'j'm~M .. ,;,1, j<~~b<1/

... "Iw""
'''~~, .
,ffi''', ,h>~.'" '"

----:==::

- ,, ,

'-- I-fi,·t'l, ~<'/ln~ ,hm.-,

W,,/t'. !C"'" i~I'T~" in pa-
",""Ii 'i' ~"J 111,' ,hal knge>
h<' ~",.~ W hi, "n,,"""''''
Uh 1.. .,,1;.. ",ad, Ih , I~,''''''
" .. I W(lir ,/"",ii>t',/ Ih, .",.
",,,,"'....1 ,,111/.,.J.o .. ·.UIl~J
i~ Ilk- .... nr

tI.lIl lu b.: buil! '"Cry c~rdull} and \.'Ic'"(II)' for lhl~

hu."""", '0 Ix- cfr~·.:hw. bul the hu",.... .)( 1M s;lOalio"
I~)' In the lous.: ( N' Iknny ', fa...., and the k""" ledg.. o f
ho" h<;fdl . I
( Jlhc, '"('mediaM knew the ,~I"" 0' thi, d,,\·icc.
W.lt", Kerr In hi, book. 1'1,,, S"<'~I CI"''''I¥.' points
I~ ,/t,' """MI;" . .-If"...
"'~,~ ,""...~ i. a"'''' ,I,·
<,,,I Ihal Chapli n '''''k .arc '" (,u.bh.h h,m",,)f a> one ~" 'm,,' ~'("' . MklCl n-
"r "'. as be longmg 10 ,he world "r Ih .. audience ralher I"'·'.,~' (InX'" allll di'fu"
,"," Ihe characlC" on the >< Iccn. He >h ar~ d e,u)"- i" Stc.,"!~'.' W,II ,r.
Ih"'~ " 'illt u>--I rom rIclight 'n di,"rc sS-~11<! Ihi . is the
qualily Ih., Wah inmilively n:a<;hed for .,,-en before
lhe dlys of Mickey Mou§e.
In his f~ film$. !he c lw'Klen look I I !he Camel'll
allll 5hNg. or ha,>:: an embarns§cd . 1000hy smile. or
regiikr con~cmalion " 'ilh womw brows allll ~WUI
pouring off .heir faces in a 11n:am of droplcls . To
I~ of us who knew Wal•. i. wlS ob"ious Ihll he had
acled 001 each simalion and. cNde as Ihal early anima·
. ion ,,·as. we C(>Uld ,·isuali1.o:: him up lhere showing
how il oughl 10 be done .
Walt". glop wen: illlrinsic~lIy n(I I:>cner .han any
ocher ~udio·s. bul lhey " 'cn: llagw beller. " 'ilh ~
Call: taken '0 establiloh .he s itualion . Thc:n: was ~
concern for dc1ail. for building comedy. for mak ing lhe
lag payoff. but . mosl imponan •. for undernanding
lhe fedingsof lhe clwac.ers ;nvolved in. he gags . The
dcSQlslion when Ih ings went wrong . lhe happy. bouncy
walk when Ihings "l'1Il righl. annoyance w ilh indigni.
I~. dc.e""inallon. scheming. fear. panic. compassion
_~ were .hings Ihal could be animaled! This ""Ii
acti", . and i. ga"IC the animalor a chan« 10 Ui<: his
medium effecli,-.::Iy-in limi", . in carica.un: . and in
ac.ion . Animation began 10 corne .live. and " 'hen lhe
audieoccs recognized familiar situations they beGan
to iden. ify wilh lhe char:>elcrs' predkamenl$ . They
laughed harder and remembered .
When Rfflli,r"s Dignl w.nled. biographical s kelch
"TIllen on Walt. lhe nug.zine hired Richard Collier.
who aln:ady had 1...·0 suc«ssful credits in lhis field.
Ont: on MU»OIini and lhe OIher on Captain 800lh of
lhe Sal'"ation Anny. While at the ~udio. Collier ""ali
asked if lhen: was anylhing al all that lhese Ihn:<: men
had in c:ommon . His answer was a quick and dcfinile
affinnal;ve . "1.11 of lhem had lhe abili. y.o gel oc her
people .o work for lhem, and not jus. a few frknd~ WI
many people of diverse inleresls and backgrounds.
,"el)' unlikcly peOple. III wori<ing ...·ilh each ocher for
Ihis OAf:' man !" Ycan laler ...·hen Wah ""ali"kcd " 'hal
he considem:l his grealCU achievement. he n:plicd
$imply. " Building an organiUlion and holding il .·· It
WIS' n:al ac<:ompl i~h~nl .
Walt had ~umw wilh Ihe amazingly lalented Ub
I...·crl::$ and a few friendS fTOIll Kanl-ls C ily. WI none
of lhem n:ally knew anYlhing alxxlI animalion or how
10 make a film . He had pickw up one or IWO young
fellows "VIking around HoIly,.·ood. bul il ""IS IlOl
unlil he was able 10 hoinl <JIll men frvrn lhe New YOIt.
Mudios Ihat he fillllUy had some professionals 10 help
improve the prodOCl . Typical of Wah. he IOld lhem
whal to do righl fror" .he Sian .
Wilfred Jac kson." who had conI<' 10 Ihe Siudio in
1928. ~callcd lheirn:aclion. " Sollie of them fell he
was • lillie rough wi.h lhem allimes . Wah could make
you fcd n:a.I bad when he wanted '0. I don' . n:membcr
.hem n:bclling when he Ioid lhem 10 do il diffcn:nl . or
all.ed for belief animation . . . . Wah""" a '"CT)' p«.
s uasive individual and a "lC1)' inspiring person and he
had lhe IbililY10 make you want 10 do what he wan~d
you to do."
These early ani lll~lors wen: not anis.. as mIlCh as
lhey wen: enlenainen . BUI the field of enlenainmtnl
is wide. and any lboughl lhal il ~fen only io humor is
"lC1)' limiling . Wah 's ideas of enlena,nmenl ,,-.::nl far
beyond gags: he sooghllhe new. lhe novel. lhe unex·
pec.ed. the beal,lliful. and the colorful s iuwion wilh
wannth . Inslead of Ihinking of canoon malerial as
being ··cmenaining.·· one might r,nd a beller COl1CCpI
in Ihe word ··capl'v.,;ng. " Aud iences have '0 be
imprt$'C.J. 3hM)l~d . in" o l\'eo.l. la ken OUI or Ih~m ,
xIVe5. ~ 10 fOfg~1 I~i, own wOfIo,!, and I(}SC lhe m,
K lves ;IWI'S fOf <.'lInOOJl) to ""'''ted. W311 had 10 f,nd
Xlions lll:M "'~,~ funny tn I~I ,~, yet u s;l)" =<>r'
nitt<l as __ hin, b milia,. g3p thaI ,.,ere I'lau<ibk
('I'm thoG, h \~ry int,s inath 'e. situations that "we
based on tv\'ryooe 's uperience • • 00 ehara<;leN that
hid i1lttftS\in~ !k'l"Wf\OIl itie • . n...,,,,,, we.e the tl\in~,
tllat rould huld an ludic r.ce . and 10 Walt Il\e >' .ude<.l
up 10 one simple Ipproac h--~ cl .i"aturc ()f .nti" " .
He could be endle~<ly inll<lvative. c ~ pl,"' in g a ll facet ~
of the entcna inn-..:nl "' orl<.l . as long 3 ' he re mcmbc .e<.l
always 10 C3pl;,'a(e the au<.li en,e hy ",ali n~ il . 11
bclievat.k-h)' making ir real.
.. As far back ~. I ,'an ",me m"t>u. ·· Wlltrcd J••,:hl>f1
said. "WIlt .... nted hts dra"'-ing.~ th.:!! "" e re anima!ed
M ~m to bt ru l th inS' tMt had fee ling., 200 e (11ol)o
tions IIId rhou~, and the marn thing " 'as that the
lUd~ " ...... td bt lieve them and that lhey wOIItd e:m:
....mt happcM<J III them aoo he u..."tl to .to:"
thM !·· Re . S~atpSleen e _p«ssed it thi. " 'a)': " 1 thin~
t"- Witt WII initil ll )' ins piI'M b)' aninmoon that
strtsKd ~lWl'Ial ~)' . l"IIe woog impre,. i'lIl th.t il made
on bim ltd to hi. o.le$irt to plu, it in subscque nt pic·
tlUeS, Thi s ,,'~, une of the biggc,t fac tor< in Ihe ! uc·
cell of 0\1' early Ilicture,; Walt . e""gn il.c <l tho .'a lue
of pellOl1 ality an iOl~tion and he ~~n:-,_",d il in , wry
dmlopm<:nl. ..
As 3nim.>lion. the " '"d, d~ in the I"" ~ nll"_< ",:os
uJMlmiably trude . but the an"n;lIors n.: w . failed to
[WS(nt the poinl oflhe sa~ clearly, and lhey d~
!lie rillM s)'mOOhc II) )ho,,· tM attitlMb o r Ih( i. figu~> .
Nt\"frWk-\., thtK ""lis .... ,.,,,igh!. ..... auemp! at anal·
.,.y. 110 ;Jt,ouldcn; Of ~pine ' <1. bone> or m ~"",Ic, . The
(
~ t<JTy point~ ~~ lI cd for 00 ~nal y .• i, " I' an)' lh inll hc)'ond
tho: .t~f!ing of lhe bu $in.: ss, II i> ,,1<0111 "'onder thlt
Wa lt "tark<ias.king for reali..",. If ~n ~'Ol 1>:0.1~. enc ir·
d e ;0 larce ,>bjN1. it fTIC'fl:ly "'3> "",,,he<.! unt il ~,
( _ ~h to do tM job. If :'l io.·~e)· ,,"', >IIf'I"'!Cd I()
t>cd<on ti> Minn~ . I]u, .J1on ..... s o f hh ~.m II.,..Je tilt
h3nd 111<1/1; a~ if il " 'ere "'mt~hing hi, nt""" . '0 the lIIo.
malt" sim ply drew the ann k"'g enough In got tile hind
, kat "r the head . oot where the &,·,1110: ~',,,,Id be _ no
One d••y. ~ lntO!lt by """iden!. "''''l<~,"" ",:ok a !lC'f;'s
of draw ing.s that looked far toell Cr Ih,m "n)' lhin~ ~
bcfure . Ea,'h drawing. had So d"", a relali<>",h ip 10 lile
tJne prec~ding that "one line " .... ,10.1 1'0110101' Ih ...... ,h to
the I..," , .. L., Clark.! who h;,o.l C'"I I(' In II ..' . 10010 in
1927. Io/d of how ama7ed cw.)',,, ...· u, th.:t.t ;om nt:tk·
ing the l i",,~ tlmo.' throo ~h eac h dra .. 'm~ in a !o( ntS
coo k! mak e ...... h a di ff...tOCC In'I,·:.1 .... Ihe " XUIO
accti' lIl "",,111«<1 by a ~p o f ",.".Iy ",Iated dnvo'·
inj:s. -ud..Icnly WK "'·a. a plC3-'in~ ' 1I•• ~hness thai
In! tM eye from drawing. to dra,,-injl. " '[,hi, .... 3. ",ally
an c.w itin!; thin!! Ihat we di""" ',,il....r: ..
Man )' pr,lbk01S could""" then bo.' ..>I,'C<! . EWf)'ntI<:
k""w Iha l it "'~s "",-,,,,,a.)" to ~~ I ~ f~din~ til' "'C I~bl in
the <' h.ora.:te(s and ~ hcir P"'I" if ~ \'e r lhe)' were In be
~("",ind"g. but just drawin!! 3 ri ~urc 1 :"jI~ ha, "'~hing
tU d<l ",i lh h",. ' hc~\"y hc i~_ " w",~ h,.. r h a ll ,~' n is qu i~
lar!!e. The ,nimat'''' ..,n",d Ih al lhe l c)' 1<' lhe illu! ion
"f .... cij:hl lay in lhe liming a ~d n..,,,, f:,r a Cha.;IC~'
""ww ho,,,,
a',,", fl uid the "" I;,," "'·as. bm ir W,", not
unlil the)' "" c o::lbk: to stud)' Ii"" :OO;li,," fil"" thaI rhe
""IUli" n fi n.:.t ly "'a~ found . 0 ",',' Ill.: -,<,'rCls ,,'Cr(:
0.1;"';"""""'. th" anim.:"'" s " ................r \... h~· It...- I'fuhlom
h;td I>«n ,.. , diffo.:u l! . but in the ...: da~' .. til.: :.",,,·cr<
h;td d udo...l lhe m.
 •••
•••
•••
•••

,
 If an animat",'s drawings fi~lIy refl«:tw I more
Ulllul "'ay of moving, Wah would be likely 10 say,
" V.... r guy jU)\ ~ in and M 'l then: , ., I don't
.lee him do an)'lhing_ V·know •• guy nn be fllnny 1M
w~y be ~ Ihing~. Look at your comedian~ and
clown •• they've all gOi funny ways lhey wal k orfunny
timint- ihere'$ somelhing lhen: . We oughta be looking
!OI" fMtnaininl way. of ooing Ihinp. We don't wanl
IO~ §UaigN , y"know-",~'n: not copying n.atun:!"
" C.ncalure " and " uaggclltion" wen: t ...-o faVOl"-
iI¢ '''Q\h 10 !o1imul'le lhe animalor's a~h 1(1 his
lttI'Ie. The!;e words could be mi~interprcted as a TC'IueM
for wild , uocoolrol1ed action , bUI that course alway~
ended up with, " Look, you'l"\: not gening 1M idea (If
.........TIl .rl« here !"" T he K lio;m ....! III be tw.'iCdon
rnlism . IIlKl 10 fit the stoI"y ~itualioo , pul o V"T Ito.:
point ql tbe ~tne, and be in c haracter with <MM.
!hillJS bein, door: in different 0«""'. And when the
animalor felt he was gelli ng close to handling thnl
corm:tly, he eOCOlln1ered another admonition . .. y OII're
tryi", 10 oJo 100 much in the $l;ent . Nothing comes off
WOIIl b«a1l.<C the dwaclCr is all ove. the pl;oce . ""
An animator had to choosot the be .. aclion fOl" lhe
Ipll iw lhe picture, refine it to lbe Jimplest statement,
de> it !be hut lie could, make lhe drawing work for
tvtl)'thing lie was trying to say, keep the personality
ilthe movement, use enough anatomy to be convinc-
ins, and do.1 all .n an e nICn.ining way . That ",.l1y '$
IlOl tiki.g lUi) much if one apprttiates whal any good
.nor or monte llai 10 consider constantly. Bill lho$oe
c-ty ..imalOn ...~ jus.! beginners . As one recalled
withoul malice, ""It didn'l mailer how many times )"ou
did it over, Wall bad to get ...·hat 1\<'.0 wanted_ "~
SilM were ~ 10 help animalors ",member " 'hal
...,. had Ieamed: \ the d~tribolOl" of Walt 's popular O~wald the Lucky
"000'1 tonfu~ lbem_ Keep it ~ imple ."
" Too much action spoils lhe acting ."
" Mushy action makes a mll~hy 5Iatemenl."
"Say 5OlTIC:1 hing . Be ""'~ . , •
One man had a sign. ""Why would any""" wanl t(l
look al thaI'!" which was " conSlanl reminder Ihal he
shoold be s un: lie was f,.ming S(J"JClhing up on !be
SoCreen lhat was worth another person 's lime 01" money
to watch_ Whenever he lhooght he had • yea! illra.
Ihal sign >«med to tik, "" Rea lly now, would anyone
other Ihan your mother like il?"
Many aUlhoo h~ve reponed Ih"l "nilllalion W;tS tbe
one thing Ihal Walt coo\d not do. A~ he himsclfrealiud
Quite nrly , plenly of OIher aMim rould draw bclter
than he , but non.: of them seemed tn ha~ his .... ealth
o f Otkas 01" the knowledge of huw • pie<." IIf buSinc1:5
should be Pft".'Cntw . This gradually callied him to
give up hi s own dra wing board 10 concenlrale on 11\<'.0
areas of his great('t taknlS. Alone poinl, he sct up a
lable in the middle of lhe animators' room and had
them bring their SoCenes 10 him ... hen lhe y we", done .
Stlldying the action. Walt ull«! ( <II new drawings
...-he", necessary and limed the SUrlCS so lhey would be
mos.t effective , He cOITCCtcd staging and e~pret.Siom
and was quick 10 wucale those ...·orking wilh him .
Years lalcr. he adlllined, "11Ic: fellow . who work near
me catc h a lot of hell'"
As a matter of fx t . Wah could ,ni ma'e as we ll a.<
any of the men he had work ing on lhe Alia scries,
with the ~~ceptioo o f Ub IW~"'$ who..,as in a cla.. by
himself. FOI" five frustrating ),(,ars , from tl\<'.o ""Alice!""
to Ihe mor~ successful "O,walds," Walt sharpened
his own thinking while Irying 10 educate hi' staff. hul
II( got minimal TCr.oltS. Then in I92H , Charl ie /.iinll,
/
'"
~
-Q
, "
Rabbi! cartoons, !ook over !1Ie: righ!s!o!he O1~in ehar-
;>c!er and h i~ away all but four members of Wah' s
mim"ion ~tafr. It KConW li ke a diSilStcr at lhe time ,
but xlually it ~ncd the way for I new group ofani-
INIOrs " 'ho would IIOOfI help anirMIion ,row inm _
surprising art form . le:!i Cbrt rommentw abwI lhe
men .... ho had lone with Mint7~ "Thesoe animators left
the studio " 'hen Oswald len and Iht-y ,,~ nQI the
group who Iller animated on Mickey . I think the devel ·
opmenl of animation $tarted with the Mickey anima.
10<$, i nspi~d by W~h 's interest and enthusiasm."
At this point, Walt 's undcrMamli,,!! or the meehan ·
bolani"'alion beoan to fall behind . Son", r~n IIRIIK
merely lock" ... the palie~ ever 10 ma~tCr the art of
",Lat ing "'rawings to each ~her . l'rob;d>Iy he lacked lhe
particular talent 10 KC the movement in drawings as he
nipped them , I! is a spec",1 ability. and many of the
arti$ts Ioimply did 001 lIlIye It . Whatever!he rcawn. :os
It\t teChniques o f animation progressed. Watt under-
MOod Ie", and len o f how il all worked He knew the
iIIcmlicn!s • Kene ~"""'Id h~ve and " 'hat the acting
should be and what could be done " ' l1h a ""enc that
wu IlOl quile working, but he coold not ~ it oJov,'n at a
desk and make lhe drawings Ihat would demonStra le
his idcu , It was.n itt(reuing mystery 10 him and , in
some ways. an '~l of annoyance, s ince it was §Ome·
tlting he could not control or s hape into something
new. lie was r~ed 10 rely 00 others .
This led Ben S~lCen 10 claim that. "Animation
was dc:veloped fat more by the animators themselYH
~ by Walt ," This is true of the specifIC techniques
IlIIt adYJllCfll lhe art. OOt th is adyan«mcnt ,,_Id
lit,," IIlIve o«urred wit....... t Wah . As le:!i am ...it!.
"AnimMion developed bcausoe or Walt ·s insisle~
and wpcrvision ." n.e animator had to ...· rc~1c with
die problem of how 10 make the dr3wing~ work pmp.
my. 001 .... i!hout WIIt' ~ drive it i~ doubtful !hal any of
!hem would have tried so hard or learned whal to do .
Wall inlroducw two procedures that enabled I ~
animators 10 bellin improving . Fi,."t. t~y rould f~ely
$/IooIlCsts of their drawi nJS anti qu ickly soee film of
what they had drawn , anti. soeeond, they each had an
mistant leaming the busiMSS who was expected 10
rlftisb off the detail in ex h dra .... ;nl . Walt was quick
IOl"CCOSn;« tllllt lhere was more vitaloty anti imagiruo ·
lion and M/Tnl,h in SttMS animalw in a rough r..t. .
io n, anti ~ u ked all animators 10 work more loosely.
The assist.ant woold '"clean up" these: drawinJS tltaI
looted I\() sloppy , refi ni nlthem 10 I s ingle line that
could be traced by the inkers OIItO celluloid. "The as-
s istants became: k""",'n u "clean' up men ," ..,.;I the
animators developed one innovation after the othn.
achit:vin& effects on lhe screen that"" one had tlIougbt
pcwItib!c . In _ CIl'lH. the drawings _rc I\() rough it
was diffICult to find any cartoon figure inside the tan·
glw ~ w;rI or Ii..,,.. and the men who " ,..Jc I dock ora
doi oot o f s;mudgcs and 5Crate~s had to have I ~ry
spccial type o f knowlwge.
iliWlinllliW of~'lIGllhil6100J 1m11111 in I~
rough enahled I ~ animators !u check .... hat they hid
done before showing it 10 an)'OOC . Any p:u1 I~t was
.... Iy uff could be correc!W quickly and >IIot agaill.
'rhis e ,",ooraled experimentation, uploration , and
,mli,naloon. quickl y promoting a cimer bond amoIIlI
the animators . This probIbly beg.n .... hen one man
wantw 10 s how off the surprliinl results of his ~,
OOt the animators 'lOOn icarned t~t lhe~ was &reat
value in sharin& ideas. A..... the sharin, of judgment.
did 001 end with just Yiew ing the lelit. An animator
coold take his drawinp to any of the other me n and
lhey would happi ly make suuestions, showin& w~l
had worked for them in . similar si luation or excitedly
consi dering some!hing completely new .
.. Each gellCration of animators btllCfilCd (rom what
the pn: vious had learned by trial and error:' $aid Bcn
SlIarp:>I.cen. "and con.cqucnlly were IIloOft tlcsiblc: ill
.... hat they could accomplish, and they could ruth
creater heillhls." 8 uI it scnm that the ~t\CfIliom he
C- ,
~1\1
c-.( ->-
..,',,,.
'
-Sn(lwWb,(e
'''' EId/7,.",
w:os ~ftrTlng 10 la"ed It.s Illan a year api«c . Wilf,ed
JilCksoo add •.••... lhe~ was aIW!l)·s _ Ihing new
goin~ 00 . We ...·e~ al1 Itamlng $0 fast . ··
The: Marodard 1\). whkh the 'Iudio·~ effOfis ...·e re
judged ..·a\ un<l<.'niably Ihc ",·ay Walt initially pomayed
chara<:tcfl> f'Ir lhe "nimalor~ . A. Dick Hueme.' !laid.
·· Wall 'HlUld lak" stori"s and acl them oul 31 a mcel·
i.. : kill y..... llou!!hing lhey "'tn: $0 fURn)·. And rM)I JU~I
becau~ lie ..-a. the ~ "ilhe •. And then: it ",..... ld lie .
You·d havt llie feelin~ o f 1M ,,·hole Ihing . You ·d
know uilClly wh.1 he w.nled . we oflcn wonden:d if
Wall ~O\J ld have bttn a J;rcat actor or comcdi~n ... ,
Wall al ..·~Y' could ., lInw y .... , exaclly how Ille busi.
ness sItoold Ite 00nc. bul tM animator "'·as upccted 10
SO funlter willlihe idea . 10 C()ft"le up " ·;111 ""melhin, of
hIS o"'n. loOOI1oe loucll or bil of liming or an expn:.sion
Ih .....oold make il 001 only perwnal bul special.
It did IK)( 13ke lOllS 10 Ins",·er any questions or .<elli e
diSllglttlntnlS as 10 1I0w a piece of business shou ld tie
1und1cd. FOIlU n.:lleiy. lhere ,,·as a way of scuhng dis·
p.t1eS ..·h,le adding to oo r eduulion . As !oOOn as lhe
_ ..npnnl ora IK"'· canOOn wa~ rec..i,-ed. lhe ...·lIo1e:
ilalf noshc-d 0~(1 In lhe A\ex 1lt.ealtr in Glcoo.bk to
oec how il would gu wilh an alidicnce. The men never
. Iayfd for Ihe fealUre film but immedialely con veiled
oulside rOl" an imprumptu meeling on what went over
and .. hy. arol " hal had mi~d lhe mark_
E.!Ich direclor ~mc:mbers at kaSi one dismal c~ ·
ni ng 001 lhen: under lhe ~tlttl1igtt'$. becausc .~
meeting> made lhem face implacable n:~llIy. II "-a~ II()
longer lhe e~~il.mc: n1 of ""hal mil:h! he but the unde·
niable hJ"hness of what was. Wilfred hcl<snn no"~r
forgOilhe s;tkwal~ POSl mort~m afler hi_, IIrSI piclure.
Tit.. C'ilW""'Y, ·· Walt h;ld lIis hat way down alld his
coal up around hiH3.,;: · he recalled . ·· H ~ looked like
a wei bird . I walked by and on lhe "'·ay I Maid Roy
say in!! . ·Walt. I don·1 know if"'e ~hould rete,,,, Ihi~:
il doesn·1 IIM,k lih a Di_'noy pklure . ··· They released
il. of ",''''c. but Jackwn had learned his le.son: he
"", vcr made anolher film Ihal ,,,,,Id be 'ailed un·
Di ~ney ,
It " ·as • lIar<h "''lIy 10 learn a new profr$Sion. OUI
lhere on lhe ...eCI al nighl . but II was f'O'!'iti~ and II
was definite . Tile audience n:3C1ion was .I .... ay. dear
and s ..ong and undeniable . T hcrc was not >0 much
talk at><.>u t wh;11 should be done ne xt time a.there was
a dissection of ,,'hal had been done WfOf\g on lhe ,u,·
mil fIl m . and Wall' s commc:nb on lhal were as ,-,'u·
abk a. his slimulation had been in I~ f .... SIOf)'
meelings .
By 1933. tile animal"'s had lurned lheir ha,jc let·
wns well . and Ihey produced a film Ihal ",,,,,Id be
lo"cd aroond lhe world ; Thru UIII, I'itl' . h started.
new tr:1 al .1It:: Di"",)' Siudio .
 Types of Action Widely Used In Early Days

TIle audience was ra5Cin.ated with animation thaI reo
pe<1lwlhe same action oyer and over. and. since this
_ quite .. savings rOt" the studio . several devices
-~.
k . 1IrU wtIl' developed 10 ,ivc this 1ftU11:
limes. the character would do something di fferent in
his allempls 10 avoid or 10 conquer. bul whe:n he: c .....
.gain to lhe: »me spo! on lhe: paper . !he: actioo of lhe:
climb. slide. or hil could be repealed.

-.
riKiIo- TM Cyd, . This was a series o f drawings that ani.
""''''u.
10111
mated back into iuelfby having thc I.asl dnwing work
illlO the lim one, cn:ating a continuous action thai
IORide never Stopped. II was ideal for walks, dances. I nd
tef1ain "scramble IICtions" as a character tried to gel
away from somc:thing.
R'I"IJI A('liM . Sometimes an aclion CQIlld be re-
peated jUM as it was in a second scene:. but mort: often
• new beginning or. different ending were called for .
In thne cues. the animator could l'qICat part of (he
IICtion by borrowing dnow ings from the earlier scene .
TIw Cr0S3-U1'tr. Even better lhan having lhe: actioo
repeooled in a cyc:k wu to ha~ Iwo or more characlCcrs
doing !he: same actioo . A sySlcm called " CrOMo(lV="
100II:: care of thaI probkm by lining lhe: inkcn trace
one drawing in IWO differenl plates on lhe same ~I.
matching il to..,IS of s mall croues on the: drawing. By
animaling a lone figure going 10 the: lefl in a simple
dance slep. lhe: animator cou ld gel lhese drawings trnccd
over and oV<" 10 nlake a whole line of danccrs . AI the:
appropriale lime. lhe: drawings could be flipped OvCr
and traced from !he: back. callsing the: line of danccn

-
lIo'<>

"""'"
osiriooo.
/iI-
"lra ... -
.....
In OIb:r uses. there would be an action WI rould be
IqItIICd intact in the same sa:roes-a clwxlerclimb-
ing I $I i~ pole. or sliding down an incline. or
being knocked down by a mechanical device. BcIWftn
10 sashay to the right. If cvel'}'Q'lC liked this. il was
e~n simple.- 10 shoot !he: ~Is I second lime . making
!he: line of danccQ go thrwgh lhe: wOOlc prottdure
ag,ain. TlIC audience was cnthralled and could 001

1- I + , I
 , "'"
((Hrri"l

.....
"~,
;", illl<
lira-UtI

undemand how "-e could gel all lilt figuf(CS 10 acl

--- ~

,
•
~_uclry lhe "'"" y
AlIOIhcr popular roul",,, " -as to I\a,'~ the tan""n
Ii&u~ come: up 10"'ard tIM: ca"'era. usually umil lib •
IIIOIIlh filled It... ~n:cn . ~nd lhen retreal 10 lIis originnl
posiliQll. us ing Ihe Same drawins' .11(>1 in revu!oC: .
AI50 pllpular was lhe series of drawings run in a cyde
tllal animated the road as a character ' .m or dr<,.-e ~
Itta'gh, inlll ,he: Camera . This c<HI.isted of a ro w of
telrphonc p<>k:~ ,n [lCt"l'pe<:li'·e. a bush or t ...·Il. and pi.'S'
V>
.ibly some fence pmb lining the road . 8 y putung III a

-
•
v/

1)/
 Rippl e Action
~,
){'£Y-,
............ WOO/j,1I,;,h,,-

....
",u _ Fun"y LIllie
~.

f'jw RP<'''''' ",I,. ....,,,

asH j~ "",*j.. ~ IN "',,''',,.
'.
.--- ., " '" ,,,,,,,.
WA,n N.'IJ rail. Ir" la" ,.xIIJ'M,tJ a jI_',n, pall"

»·.-,-,;~li~"''''~'(j)l'1Iro',', ,
jill E~"" INJd".. Thnop
j.II_Ii/,td and r/o<td 1M
",It. EllS ""I.d do,,'" Ilr. oru......',' ....
, Mr, ..
</W•• I"idtd by IN r"bbi' "" ,Iwl """,rn dra ..',", J
""Itt /tft. iMII "'" lHl""j,.
pttIW Iht bw!". IMt>tt~1r , (j)
IU n"'"~_1 ""'. ....,rio-
;'" Iitt 'US T_ pI~>fwl
NJbbj,S al ,A, "8M lO«tJ
lit/I. eanJjtd 'ns on lop.
n.r", ""nts u,u/Jlly "".,
• Th, ;nM'M"'~". ""Mln8 2. "',11 IN '''' Ih,
10 tlJltr ,....'" ,,,,i"""OI"I """h alsIJ. aM" ch,m .."I ~s"all\' mad. la
_,nl d (""".., 1<, </ro>o' ".","''''. l/rr 'a"', '~<I("' eNrl"<'
.-ItQldwyNUJdo. This_
...... 110M by WoII,'"''
··W......,,·· f/,,,AumDn .
(j)
,,'110 11«__ a IlqHn';,;n,
a"i"""or. ditt("IO,. andji·
.-/(,
""lIy. prodwu, of <""oon
I.d/w,r, .

fcw Slmplc Inbel",·a:n5. lhe riM polo: anin,atro ba<;

the KWnd and the second 10 the Ihird . whllo: onet
was moving back to bttOllIC' ~no!her.
The publk alw li ked 10 $tt e/aOOralc produc
lines fut fanciful factories thai made toy s Of HI
eus ut in,aginati"c prodUCIS. These S«1\r'!; W(~ t
OIlS 10 animate bttallse of all lhe mo"mg pII1~.
chere ....1$ an ad'"anlagc m e\'Crything beinl in a <;
lhal rould be run o,'er and O1Icr and over-and usu
....1$ . The same W;l$ lrue of lhe g~at crowd shOll t
10 sIan so many pictures, Such a scene WIIS often
only contribution Ihal panicular an;mat<lf could n
10 lhe ... hok pictu~. but if the scene was cffCC'/i
ceruinly set the mood and lhe Ionle f<lf !he w
film . 1lut alone madre It .... onb .lIlhc won. buIll
not a favorile assignmcnl . J ust slightly better ..-en
long panuJes of marching flo .... ers or cookies or
Ihat werc iliad<: up of cycles on long pan paper
cou ld be pulled Ihrough the scene.
The~ " ,,, no n'"""mcn! in the ligures in earl)' ani ma-
tion btsKks a $in.pl~ pn)g~nK)fl ItCR):!;S !he p.>per . No
one tlle'W how 10 gtl any change of "'al"" Of flow o f
Xlioa from . - Ih "' lnl! 10 another _ ll>ere was no
r't!alioMhip of forms. ,0.'1 !he . .. me linle canoon lig_
"~In. lit ... po-u ioo on the neM pieCt of p;lpe' _ O~
solution 10 thi , . !lffllC" of aclion "b!O conceive of a
figu,('5 appcMaktS as ,",clions of a garden ~ . Since
no "!If kne ... ""yhuw "here bonrs ano.l musc le, mi ght
bt on a canOOI. fisure. Ihi . "'<lrked " 'ell-gi ving g~at
loose ..... anJ a nuio.l nl<)VC lr..,:nl. There WaS no §ug -
Rubber
gc>lion of rt.li~II'1>«"""" the COflC~pI of the c haracter
was fIOI 00.: of ",a1i<lII . Thi ~ !ype of roo,'Ctllenl fil the
Animal
<bign ptrfNlly and brouShl about SOme fun ny ""'tion
,",'i1h pt'1lI charm
II ....~'-n . il ...~ nvt the l}pe o f aclion Wah ,,·anted .
and lit W:l> fluret 10 cm;c;].e . We can imagine hI,
fUClion 10 lilt canoon calne l lhat O §" 'ald has jU~1
kidC'd inlo KIK:m:
"'00 his leiS h3v~ 10 be "" limp like th at" They
don't look li kt the y cou ld holo.1 up "nything.
"Get ~me S1raikht line. in there. like you've gnt in
0..... 10.1, Doe,n'! that camel havc" knee or an :!nkle'!
And )'oo "'t gOi tile 00d)' the same all the ti me- he
ran btnd h:.d Of forward. ( know. And gCI rid of
IhoK limp IIO<Klb; get "'HIM: df3".-ing in it!"

j
, )
3. The Principles of Animation
"W/!tn Wf ""'sitler u ne,.. wuj~"I, .,-e reully ,.,,,<ly ;/ ... nul j,,'" Ih,' ,'wjilce ide", bUi " ,ony/hint "I"",r ii, .•
Wah D;sr>ey

Ane .... jilfgoo w~ heard awunu the studio. Wonls like they were taught these I'r-~~tkc. as if lhey were the
"aiming" and "overlapping" and "pose to po,e" tlIl~s of the trade, To evef)'one' " surprise. they bttame
IUggested that certain animatiun procedures gradually the fundamental principles of animation:
had bee" iMllated and named. Verb, turned jnm noun,
IWCmighl .... r", c'~"'rlc. when lr.c '''lIge.rirm ... Why I Squash ami Stretch
don'l you melch him nUl ",nre '!" hcc3mc . '( iet more 2, Amicil'ati()n
ilrt~h <>II him . " "Wow' Look at the <.qoa,h on that 3 Staging
dnlwin~!" did IlOI mean th~1 a vegetable h~d sp lancred 4, Straight Ahead Action and p"", 10 Po,;e
tlII: utworl: it indicated Ihat S<lme animator had .uc- 5, Foilow Through and Ovcrlapping Action
ctlsfull)' ~oown a character in a flat1ened poSlUrc 6 Slow [n and Slow Out
Some <>f Ihi, terminology wa, just assigning new 7, Arcs
!IlC'.nin~' to familiar anJ convenient words . . . Doing"' ~, Secondary Action
I stene (Ould mean acting 0011he intended movements, 9. Timing
making exploralC>ry drawing." or a~tua ll y animating it: 10. Exaggeration
and once it was ., done:' the scene moved on to thc II, Solid Drawinl!-
next deportment, Layo ut> w~r~ done. backgrounds 12. Appeal
wm done. recvnling w~, d()ne. and. e,'entua lly . the
whole picture had ocen <lone, ,l.lixcd in with these
!emu were the new natll'" and phrases with morc
obscure meanings,
The animalor, c'()ntinucd 10 scan'h for heller meth-
SQ•.
odsofrciating drawing., to each other and Mad found a By far the most impunant disC(wery was what we call
few way! that seemed 10 produce a prediclable re,ult, Squ,,~h and Stretch, When a fi xed shape is move<!
Thty could IlOl expect 'uccess e"ery time. hut the..e al><>ut on the paper from one dmwinl!- 10 the ~xt. lhere
specia l te<:hni,!ucs ()f drawing a ~haracler in mol ion is a m~rked rigidit~' that is emphasiwJ h)' the move·
did offer"""", ",curity, As "acli of th"'" processes ment In reallifc. this occur> unly wilh the moM rigid
"'luirtd a name. il Wa' anal y;.cd and perfected and share" , u<:h~, chairs and dishe, and pan" Anything
tall:.ed abool . ~nd "'hen nC"" arti,t, joined the staff composed of li"ing tlesh. no matter how tKmy. will
""Id c~.~'W. his (~d-&-L~,,:::J
nllqJ alld dif''''''
oW no m(",hj~g
, in Ms f~u or

d6
US Clark-
Cou,in
Iry

"M(J'''Hh,~'ro
'" J,a" ,,"".
~ "" 1M ~ad " .
.. , 1U1;1>fI.
",1--)...:':;
_.,. ..• - .~ ' . T_' .... ",. _~i-'.:.~.I(.'."..
show considerable movement within ils shape in pnr the sa me form in a very cAtcndcd cond ition. The
geessing lhrough an aclion. A good example of (hi, is mo"em<:nt from 0"" drawing to the nCAt became Itl.:
the bent arm willt s ..... elling bicep straightened 001 so "cry essence of animation A ,mile Was no longer a
Iltal only the long sillCws are apparent. T he figure simple line spread a<:ross a fa<:e; it oow defined tnc
cl"{)\lclted is obviously contracled into ilself. in con- lips and their relation to tlk: clk:eh . L<:gs ,,'ere 00
trast 10 Ihe figure in an cxueme stretch or leap. lnc longer bent pipes or rubt>cr hoses; they s"'elled as they
face. whelher chewing .• miling. lal ~ ing. or just show- benl and strelched to long flexible shapes.
,"'for( a ~.a\J'
ing a change of CApre.s;on. is alive willt cltanging Immediately tllC animators tried to outdo each other
-"ay.d in brood, shapes ill Ihe clleeh. the lips . lhe eyes-only 1lte wax in making dr''''ings with more and more squash and
"" b.l' simply in· figure ;n (he museum is rigid. stretch . pushing lhose prirn:iples to thc "cry limits of
dry. Th. '<Jull·
~d" .<>Ium. 10$1
The squashed position can depict Ihe form ei1htr solid draftsmanship: eyes squinted shut and eyes popped
,.1>1<';" In8/Am n.llened out by great pre«ure or bunched up and open; tlk: sunken cheek< of an "inhalc" wcre radically
driU. pushed together . The stretched position always shows diffcrenl from tnc ballooned chee ks of a blowing aclion;
a mouth chewing on a straw wal' first shown far below
thc nose. and then it actually "'as compres,ed up
beyor>d tlk: nose (which changed shape as " 'cll) in
showing the chewing aClion . Through the mid-thinie •.
everyone was making IWO dr-Jwings for ""cI]' con-
ceivable aClion. and by wor~ing back ar>d fonh be -
Iween the squash [Xl,ition and Ihe "retch we found
we could make each [XlSilion sironger in both action
and drawing.
 In Ihiu,,"y "" i",,,',,'~ , Ih~
",.,i""i. w<ll ''''Ii''/ I>~,
wry (i/lid " ",/ >liff. 1"1>",.
is "" .q""," u>l<i J "~~'h ,
/011_ ' IIo"' ''KIt • •w f"" ~~
,>j "',ilf~1. Tlro .... ~ ' .......
IwtI It ( /roI", aM" "i",,;,...

...
boo, 'hr.,· NHI/J ....,
"W'r
,. ,IN.,, "
'''1'1'''''
.u · ", i~~ "

1'hc I'o.-M :t,hkc for t «ping It..: .!I SI~mkoJ .!'~"'ing~

I'm", looki", !>I();ote.! ur bull>uu ~ . ~n<J Ih..: , t<etclltd
.( j
e [j - ~
PO~llIO"~ from apJ'<!aring min8 Y '" withered. "'~$ to
(') con i idcr tllalthe ~h"l);: ur "olull);: W~> like ~ h,,' f· fill~d
flour "lICk. If dropp.."<i on the t100r. it will "<lu"," ou!
SC\.O:t<{.'
• l "" ~ '( "; <) /. ~_. ,, ~ .:;o 10 it. fullest sh;ipo:.;md ifpick~ up by 1M 'op <omcrs.
it will ,.u~h u ut 10 i,s lon,e~ ~ape : y(t i, "" ill ~,'er
ehanl t "o/urne. Wt e~n rnadl' d,~"" inJ!;s of , he 1loor
~L in Ilifferent allill><lQ-....<m; •. twiJled, do",bIcIl·
/ )
0 (5-
- ,1
!:'.f, tr. ~, 1.. ,.. ...
U
~oA_'
",·er- .ul'$C"ing elTlOliuns '" .... ell :,~ :o.:1"OOIS. llIaI
("teed us Id find "'" mO!.t 011""" "'-~y. ,he , i'llpksl
"ate""," !, (<< if " ... added an)' UUa l i lK'~ 10 amp/if)'
an ( Apn:. >ion it Iq, no Jongt/ a t1uur ,:.c~ . W.' r,,,,nd
Ihal Illany lin!e inlerior lines we re "'~ ''''''~ '''''y . ;......,

Y) .:3;>
0
the ",!>uk , h're. conc~i"ed properly. llid il all Tiles.:

~
't9
.. . .
"". IJ"" ,,,,., ~",
I'
...-., . 1"",,,n. "'~re aprl ied ro ~'1ick,, "'. h<~ty . "r hi, ch"ck •.
III Pluto', Ic~s. ur hi, munk. ur ~ "en I" l)auld ',!
""a..l .
On 1M "1""" ""8" of the: dail )' ""wsl'Jl"' l)C we (,,,,nd
TIlt1-*' "'1I/,plI.'J p.,..r
....t. p>Ik ... _'''~'''''''.I'
....... .. --.' ~"'_'"I>k
....... f/IJ,..<'<'{ ,.." ",,;.
tadt. , ...... ","*",yJ ..-"It
[/
.... ......... <Jj,Jw,p. ••
-Q

, ,

,
1oOJ~ "nO
pplird 10
• Jlfr~g lh
! afuling

a gold mine that hw been overlooked. Here Were great
photos showing the elasticity of the human body in
every kind of reach and stretch and violent action . Our
animation principles were clearly evident in the bulges
and bumps thai contrasted to long. st raight thrusts.
Mixed in with these w ntonion s wcre examples of the
whole figure communicaling joy. frustration. conce n·
tralion. and all the other inlense emolions of the sports
world . lllese examples opened our eyes and staned uS
observing in a new way.
llle standard animalion test for all beginning anists
was to draw a bouncing ball. It was quic kly rendered.
easily change<.!. and surprisingly rewarding in terms of
Whal eQuid be learne<.!. The assignment waS merely to
represent the ball by a simple circle. aoo then. on suc-
cessive drawings. have il drop . hillhe ground. and
bounce bad into the air. rewy to repeat the ""!>ole
pl"OC<:ss. We CQIIld have either a forward movement
progressing the ball across the paper. or have all tl>(,
aClion take place in one 'pol. allowing us. through a
cycle of the drawings. to make tl>e ball bounce contin-
uously. It seemed lik simplicity itself. but through

,/lQws dr·
'ifling his
'IIi inf'ottl
,
Whil, Iitt
,.,:ogni,.
"rr I....... "
""ion.

FtrgllJOlt

P"'~J
• OItlYIWW
)til)" lIum
hi,lm>M·
)t imp'..'
'olid (/",r_
"""'ionof
wfol.

~""'Pbrll

'Jr"" has
rtn by 'his
>t(JJ1 "gag
clio" Ihis
,/ism. b~1
"tJtt:M,. ~-
 Ibo lest we leamed the mechanics of animating a scene
while alro being introduced to Timing and Squa~h and
Stretch.
We were encouraged to change the shape of the ball
in tbe fasto:r SCl:mcnu of the bounce. making an elon-
pred circkl thM wO\, ld be ea.< ier In see. then quic kl y to
nliltn it as it hit the ground. giving a solid contacl as
welt as the squashed shape of a ruhber ball in action.
This change at the bottom also gave the feeling of
Ih t for the spring back into the air. but if we made
111 extra drawing or IWO at thai point to get the most
OUt of this K tion , the ball stayed on the ground too
ton!. creating weird effects of hopping instead of
boullCing. (Some tests looked more like a jumping
bean from Mexico than any kind of ball.) If we mis-
judgro oor arrange ment of the drawings or the dis-
tance between them . we created apparitions reminis-
Itcnt of an injured rabbi t, or an angry grasshopper.
or. II\DSt often. a sleepy frog. Howeve r. many of Ihe
circular foons just seemed \0 take off as if they had
, life of their own. Then. if Ihr botlOm drawing follow altd 8IJVt mort ...
The b<ginning anists were an inventive group. and was flal/m od. i/ ga'·e Ihr /0 1M octiOll. Th .... 1M b
all manlier of variations were: tried. each revealing approrana of bo"ncing. ginning' of SqlUUh <II
ElongiJIing 1M drawing. 011 Slrtlch.
«mething about the man who had done the animation each side math ;/ ~asi.r 10
and what he considered imponant in the ""ene. Some
I0OI added distinction by stming with a big bounce.
fallowed by shorter and shoner ones as the ball grad ·
uaIIy lost its spring. Some put the action in perspec·
live to show Iiow well they could figure a complicated
Anticipat ion
wigrrrnent. or they added a stripe around the ball to People in the audience watching an animated ""ene
simi bow much il turned during the whole action. will n01 be able to understand the events on the scrcen
These men were grabbed quickly by the Effecls De· unless there is a planned sequence of actions that leads
partment. which specialized in a mechanical type of them clearly from one activity to the next. They must
lIIim.li,,". Those more imeresled in a livelier lype of be prepared for lhe next movement and exJICCI it before
Clllenainmcnl preferred surprise endings: the ball e~­ it actually occurs . This is achieved by pre:<:eding each
liDding on contact. Or crashing like a broken egg on the major action with a specific move that anticipates for
r«ond boonce. or 'prouting wings and flying off. Ihe audience what is about to happen. This anlicipa-

ori" . i ,1t
icip<>IiDIo
~U-U
tion can til' as smal l u a change of up~uion or as big
A$ the: broadtst p/I),sic.l x tion . Before a man runs. he
c rouches 1o.... la' hering himKlf lih I spring . or. the
~>V$f:. he: <In. ..'s bact in the oppo&ilC dire<;tion . raising
his shoulders and 001: leg. as he aims himself al lhe
pi..:., of the nUt activi ty . Before Mickey ~aches 10
grab an objec t. he first raises hi s arm • • 5 he stares at
the ltIicle. broadcasting the fact that he is going 10 do
somelhing ... ith that panicular object .
Thi$ is !he oldest <levitt of the thealer . for ... ithout
il. the aud~nce becomu 1ICT'o'OUS and rnllcss.nd " 'his-
pel'S. " What 's he doing?" The: anticipatory "",,"e$
... W,"",.·
ipd'icM .,
.~ 0 ......14
, ,~ ",<WI.
~'. N'1(IM
QiWI(IIN
.~..mo.. .
may not show " '/I)' he is doing somcthinJ. but there is
no question about "'/Ia, he is doing-or ... hal he is
,oing 10 do ~~I . E~p«ting Ihal . the alldKoce can
now enjoy lhe way it is done .
The: opposite of thi s is the "surprise gag. " which
only worb when lhe audKIlCC is upt'Cling one thing
to happen. and sutkknly . ... ithout ,,·aming. sorrw:thing
e~i~ly different happens. Thc: surprise i~g canooc
work if a different action has ooc been a nt ici pated by
the audience . Similarly. no aclion on the ~lage u n til'
anything but a series of meaningless surpriscs without
anticipation .
Thc: mo"errw:nt s in early animation wen: abrupc and
u~~pccted ; too often the audKntt " .. s not propo.n y
alerted .nd missed a gag " 'hen il came. This was one
of the first things Walt s laned w correcl , l ie (aIled h is
remedy "aiming" and IICted OUI just how ~n action or ,
geswn: coold til' n,ade clear so that c >'cryo n<: would
see il. If Oswald lhe Lucky Rabbit is W put hi s hand in
his pockello get. sand"'ich for lunch . the whole body
mu~ relate w lhat hand and 10 the poc~et . When ,''''
hand is aimed. il must be " out in the clear " so e>'e ry·
one can sec: it and . nlk ip.:lle wlt;ll is going to happen.
OSl4..1d lifts IN. ft>ol lNl lo
tI.M .i,hlJ (1ft 10.. tarp' .
The head nnl10l be looking off somewhere else-the
impol1ant ICtion is Oswald's Il:lChing into his pocket.
hi. no! a pg. it is 1101 a laugh . but it must be secn. No
one should nftd to aSk. "Now ,,"'hell: did he c""r get
dIM s.and",·ich? " As Wall demonSIr.Ued how il should
lit done. he uauerated lhe action and made it far
1IlOO: interesting than the animator W3li c""r able 10

~_ As Lcs Clark $IMJ)'C'at'S later. " Today .t may

look simple 10 us; al the time it wa,n't It was some-
thing that hadn't been ttied before Of proved."
Ftw movemenls in real life OCCur without ""me
killd of anticil"'tion . It SeemS to be the na(Ural way for
creatures to move. and without it there would be little
power in any lICtion . To tho: golfer. it is the backswing;
to the b.:iseball pitcher. it is hi~ windup. ",., bauer
pr<:parn himself with a whole series of anticil"' toty
lC1ions. but the one that gi>'eli the clout is the final
t... "" and the ~tep forward 15 the Nit approaches the
plait:. Without that mo"" the might iest s wing is no
mon: tW a bunt .

Staging
"Staging" is the most ge""ral of the ptinciples because
it covers lO many areas and goes back so far in the
tho.ter. hs muning. oowevcr. i. ""I)' pucise: it is the
presentation of any idea so thlt it i. completely and Clnor ""lIi~1I ."pJ MilfJl~
wvnifol.hbly clear. An IOCli."., is staged so that ;t is " ... n I~ IIro<>d rr·
f~..,;n;n'
«,;""'. Tu ......,"tIt",.".
understood. a personality so that;t i. rcc<Ignizabk. an at "ali.... . "... N1'I.iM,s _
exprnsion "" that it can be: $eCn . a mood SO that it ""ill bJ~ ""iN"", c{ ,/It .../i-
• fftc! the audience . ~h is communicating to the '14M, .
fuI~ e~lt:nt with the vicWC'rs when it is proptrly

~"'.
The most important cons ideration is always the
"story point." It has been decided. for example. that
• cmain p;"cc uf busi",," will advance the story:
oow. how shou ld it be stlged? [s it funnier in a long
sho! where everything ca n be seen or in a dose-up
futuring the persona1ity 7 Is ;t beller in a maMer shot
with the talllC'ra moving in, or l series of short cuts to
different obje.:ts? Each 5«nr. will have 10 fit the plan.
and oVCf}' frame of the film mufol help to make !his
p::>inl of !he story .
If I "spooky" feeling is desired. the $Ccnc is filled
...ith the symbols of I spooky situation_ An old house,
..u.:r howling. lea""s or papers ",stling through the
 ,
,
./

AN'''A'~. An Sobbil/

."-
- TlIc Cnun!ry Coosin.
f"
O~ly do lIN ,lti,., ,,' "
/1_: OM of the _sf 1m_ ...
-
"
- ~ = ~,
/' ~
f'O"unl ",Il l
Tiv .-..,,,. _
of I~ 'Motu.
H , lipsy
"
~.
"
", '
~
/ ,(Q. ~ ( )
f,."", fancy/_
is "uMi"l
IOaSI """ "Irs 10
""d drink.
(>It "
AN_.
flirl

clullanl. Ht {lip. hi, ~"'.

of /'
• - ~

~"
,
./;;:;;"'?:;;z L-
,.{y ~ :.
bulla in 'h, "ir, piau. il
""tti", ..(
--
ill _iii"" INI"', ...-~
"" iI, and 'WII holds 1M
poSilion bri{jly INI"" InT
.....Mrl/a brN~ ,/J"""A
'".J (--!j
~, /
'for •
th, '(I<m.
""-. r' '..I ~~

.,
<
, .. (

-- -' J , ), -
..
,,- , , ,
' 'i
J
"~I>M_ F", "-, , • "
-Snow Whi! • .
, (,
•
\ .I •
'. r • )',
lk(Hy ...... Itis t-<
10 u",·
por>lri/y "iflr the muu of
,h. d"'''rf HM",/t 101", _
, ,
TIns C'OIIIp/ic"'M ,i'IIDII'""
,
~
Nsi/y w,,1d bN:omr diJfi- ,
elll, '0 ,,,,JuJland If no,
pt'Dprdy.",pd.
, , )
 ~jft' ill .... "".1,-
, b, U6 /~,.,b
1M, " .,., 1ft ,~
"""' if "'" ,., _~:
. .. ro<{tt,.J or ""'.
.,,;. liM, or ~ • .
I Actually. thi. limilal;"n waS more he!pful than ... <
I realized: ,',e learned !hal il is alway. hener !o .how the
yanl, cloud. floating ..eros. the moon, lh~atcning ~k y.
maybe ball' branches ranting or scraping again~t a
willdow. or a shadow mo"inC back and font.-ooll of
lhese say "~poob." A bright fIo_r bed "'ould be 001
o f place .
If yw are staging an """ion, you m ... ~1 be ~ure lhal
only one ..elion is s«n; il moM 00\ be confused by
drapery or by a poor choice o f angle I)f' upslaged b)'
somelhing tl~ Iha! mighl be goi ng on. y"" do 001
make drnwings JUSt becaust they Ire curt or look fun·
ny. y"" make lhe drawings th at will st3l1e each idea in
the ~I mngcst and the .impl•• t way before goi ng on to
lhe nc~t :.etion. You arc sayi n, in effect. "Look at
Ihi ll-now look a! this-and !l(/W th is ." You make
sure lhe camera;5 the righl di511nce from the c haracter
!o .now ",hal he is doing . If he is kk king , )'0'1 do 001
have the camern in dOS<e on I waisl 500. . If )"OU are
displaying your dlancler"s upres~ion , you do not
do i! in a long shoI .... here the fig... re is lOS! in lilt-
background .
Magic ians say lhey p""fer 10 work close 10 the peo·
pic they are fooling because it i, so much easier to
direci auenlion to any desired ~po1 . When an individ ·
ual work> alone o n a bi g ~tage il iii too euy for the
ludie nce 10 watch hi. feet. whal is behind him . his
clolllt-S. any UnnalUral movement ; the spectators might
be looking al everylhing eU:f:pI wh~1 II!~ magician i~
l/)'ing \Q show them . As a direct"'", D." f: HJnd f:mp/la-
si7.cd the valueo( lhe close-up ~hoI : ·' By iu usc ...·e Il/'e
... F"J Moou.
able 10 el iminale from !he mind o f the audienu any-
. . -,int . . ,It 'N m,i·
It . . ." ill Ji''''''''"I . A
Ihing that is less impor1anll han the p;u1icular poinl .... e
are pulling OVf:r aI the lime ."
"11 ,", uf 1M rltuil)' uf
. btJWi., IJ I<> sItoM it The animaton had a special problem of Iheir own.
The ch.araclers Wt':re black and ,,·hite. " 'ith no shades
of gray to soflen lhe rootrasl or delineate a foom .
Mkkf:Y's hody .... as blxk. hi~ anns and hIS Ilan<b--.oll
black . 1lIere .... u no way to Slage an action u cepl,n
si lllouclle. Ho w else could lhere be any clariTy? A
hand in fronl of the chc$t would . impl)· disapp:u:
blac" shoulde"" lined ag~i~ lhe black part of tho:
Ilt-ad would negale a shrug. and lilt- big. black carl
kepi geuing langlc<l up w;lh the reSl of til<: ac tion juS1
" 'hen I)Iher dl'llwing problem. s<:cmcd to be solved .
action in si lhoueue. Chap lin maintained lhat if an actor
knew hi s emotion thoroughly , he could show il '"
s;lhoueue . W,ll " 'U lIlOfe din....1 : "Wort;n silhoutue
so thai e'"ff)'thinc can be Sttn clearly. Don't ha,l' I
lund come ov<:r a face >0 Ihal you can'l Stt .... hal·S
happening. Pul it a....ay from lhe facr and make d
clear." ConSlanl redrawing. pla nning. and expell.
meMil\i were required 10 make the aclion look n.:.tunl
and real;~lic while keeping a clear ~illlouctu image.
We had \Q find a pose that reoo w;lh both dcfinil;""
and appeal.
Straight Ahead Action
and Pose to Pose'
"There are two main approache. lo animation . "The first
is known as Slraighl Ahead A<:t;Ofl ","cau.c lilt- an;1Il.i·
lor lilerally ....orks straighl ahcoo from his first drawin,
in the SUM . fIe si mply lak.. orr. doing one drawi",
afler !he other , gellins new ide"" a.~ he goe~ along .
unl il he reaches the end o r the ..,.,..... He " now> Ih.
story poiM of lhe scene and the business that is 10 he
induded. but he ha~ litlle I'lan or how ;1 will all be
d~ at !he li me 110: ' lans. BOIh (he drawing~ aad !ho:
act ion have a ftesh , slightly zany look. as the animalo<
kef:J>S the whole proce ss very crealivf:.
The second i. called f>osc to 1'"",. He re. 1110: anima·
tor I'lans hi~ 3Clil'R, figures out just .... hich dra .... ings
will M nuded 10 animate the busi""ss, make. lito
dn.wings . reLluing lh!:m to each OIlier in $i7.e ~ ¥ti<ln .
~ lives the 5Ct':1tC 10 his assiSlanl 10 draw me inbe·
1"'"ttR$. Su<;h a 5Ct':1tC is at"'ays easy 10 follow .nd
waRs .... ell bec3u~ lhe relalion>hi.,. have been clfl:·
fully cOJ!$;derM before lhe animal'" gel. 101) far inlO
the drawin8~ . More lime is .pent impl"Oving the key
 I
--- ..-- , dnlwings and uercising ""alec control ~!he m0ve-

• ment With Pose 10 Pose, thc~ is clarity and $ln:ngt/I .

In Srn.ighl Ahead Action. then: is 5pOnlaneity.

./
-, I
8 0dl mclhods arc Rill in usc: bttause they each
offer cenain advantages for diffcn:n! Iype$ (J/ Ktion .
Usually they an: combined in I way thai keeps !he
Stnoigh\ Ahead Ac. ion from gening OIU of lland. The
scene is planned wilh a path of action laid (IUt, and
(/ rough drawings are made depicting the chuacter',
~ probable progress; although none of these will be used
later in actual animation. they still se~ as. guide for
siu. position. aUitude. and n:lalionship 10 the back.
JI'OUnd. Tney offer as much control as might be rudcd.
evcn though some animators feel that the Ycry lack of
control is tho: elemcnt llial gi~es the sponW>eity. They
say: "llle animator should be as wrpri5Cd as anyono:
at !he WIly it comes out. •• Most wikl. $CDIT1bIm, .-lions
arc probably more effecti~ with Illis method ttw. ...itlI
100 muc:h careful pre-planning .
Straight Ahead Animation will "doom work if there
is Slrong perspective in the layout or. ~kgmund lhil
must be matched. One; man animated a dog jumping
excitedly and turning around. trying to aunlt! auen-
tion . While Ile achieved a funny act ion with mIlCh
spirit, it cou ld no! be used because Ile had failed to
match tile action to the limitatiom of tile layout There
was no way to tell how high the doB was jumping
s ince Ile roe~r really comacled tile ground, and !be
relationship of the drawings was thrown off by !be
~rspecti~ he had failed to consider . With 1 fbi back·
ground and 1 clear aren.a in all directions , there _k1
ha~ bttn no prob~m .
I-Io....,,,,,r, many pieces of actinB require a different
approach . If Mickey Mouse is d isroutaged, he tUfJI$

AI,II IWly , jams his hands far down into his p<Xknl, loots
back over his shoulder one last time. kicks a stone OUt
of hi s path. and walks off. This must be: done with
I \ Pose to Pose because each of tile positions mU$! be
handled c_fu ll y for maximum Clarity, appeal. and
communication . They should be WOI'kcd o~~Jy
and t~ther. until they do their job as effICiently II
possible: . Once these: poses relate well to each ocher, it
is • simp~ mancr to time the intervening dtawingund
to break down the action .
Another e~ment thal d>ould be considered in dIoos-
inK the method o f animation is ·· texture ." A seties of

. _-
 ....~I".ro. Woolie R~ilh,,· accions all with the same intensity aM .mOunt of
"",_ EI Ga""ho Goofy . movement will quickly become tedious and predictable .
Ex~mpl~ of "Srraighr It will have nO punch . But if the overall p<ltlem con-
Ah~ad" animation. Th~ tains a.cents and .urprises, contrasts of smoolh_nowing
animalOr is often os s~r­
aclions witll shon. jerky moves. and unexpected tim-
pr;f~d os anyo"" or 1M ~<I}'
the fane ends up_ ing. the whole thing becomes a delighl to watch. Obvi-
ously. this is impossible 10 anain with Straighl Ahead
Action. Using Pose 10 Pose. the le~lure in the v;ll"iety
of the movemenlli Can b" planned and the aClion de-
signed 10 make this a p<l" of the 100al statement
11>e fim animalors to use Pose to Pose were inter-
ested in a quic ker resull and were not aware of its
brilliant future . n.ey were more concerned with the
.~ geographic locations of the characters Ihan any poten-
tial for entenaining actions. "The guy is over here.
then he gets his hat, then his cane; he looks to see if
his wife is walclling. he does a hop. then runs out the
door. Si~ or seven drawings, a whole bunch of inbe-
Iweens. and l"m Ihrough with lhe scenef" When han _
dled thai way, with no attemlll to relale one pose 10
another. the scenes were bound to be wooden and
/1' jerky. It was not until the development of stronger
(.,_-... ,"', poses. improvements in timing. more skillful usc?f
..,..}i-~ Secondary Action, and. finally. the Moving Hold. thaI
-..,; I. I _.' Pose to Pose animation ultimately came illlo its own

-1'
,"•,
..,-,-, -
-. ",.
~ -'
-- {

Follow Through
and Overlapping AClio n
When I character enlering a sce~ reached (he spol for
hi s next action, he oflen Came to a sudden and com-
pklc stop . This .... as sl iff and did no! look natural. but
nobody ~'" ",hal IOdQ about il . Walt was conccmcd .
"Nnv don'l come to I Stop all at once, guys; fint
the~'i one pan and then another ," Several different
... ays were evemually found 10 correct these condi-
tions: they WeT<: caUed eitt>.r "Follow Through " or
"()o.erbpping Act;""" and no one really I:new "'Mrc
one ended and the other began . There seemed 10 be
fhc main categories.
l. If (Ile character has any a~mlages, such as
long em or a tail or I big COOt. these pans continue
10 ~ after the rest or,lle
figure has stopped . This
is euy to 5tt in rnl life. 1lIe ~""'nt of car;h
mu~ be limed cardully SO i1 " 'ill have 11M: e<:>rre<:t
freHng of weight. and it mmi continue 10 follow
through in the panern of aclion in a believable way,
no ""'ltcr how bmadly it is cartooned .
2. The body itsdf does not mo'"., aU 11 once. bu1
inr.kad it "retches, catches "'p, twists, tllms, and
COdtrICtS as !he forms work against each OIher, As
one pan arri~es ~t the Sloppin g point. OtheTll ma y
still be in movement; an arm Of hand may continue
ilSXtion e"en afler the bodY ;5 in itS pose. (Peg LI:,
F'tte'l beUy conlinued 10 boy.~ and llI.g intermi ,
nably.) In order 10 JltII O,"e r the auilude dearly. the
head. chesl . and s hOlllder!; might a ll SlOp together .
 1+-- ~
.4nr. AI~
.4U4. ~""J~'
_,(...1...,. _
- '1' ~ ~
;JR -
_ _
~"'f""7- ---joII-f,&...
_ . /_ _ ~ ~ - ____
_ 'm. ..~; -I4t""" · 1
~"""' _ o,(..,.1~1
-'y.J" -. ~ -.",-........ ~" "'f" /'-7 --r _ .;(_~_r :;..-:..:..~......-
.i~ Ihili i. l~ pan ttw: 1l1l,hc1KC >-houW !IX O~ mul inl behind ;1\ an actio.. i~ S<>mClime. c,,11ed
p.v11hat 11:~>kf~ how thedwX1er is f<."CI'~. 'llItn " dra::' and it ~i"es a h~ .....,.. and ~ ",.lid;I)' ..,
• few (rall"lt~ later. the resl of the p;an, " "",td >oCt1 .... Ihr figure th~1 i~ ' -;Ull to ,lie ftt linj: " f Iofe. Wbm
;mo lhe;, fin.1 """"'t;"n, p"ssibly ..... all :" lhto ~a.n'" dn"., "-en. Ihi. t~·.:hni<.JU<· ,. ""an..... !), d.:t~'·13t.le ~
1;1l"It. When lhe wl>ole fij!u11: has \.wnc tu a -'lOp in ' I th~ film is proj«lc,.L In cffe<:l. the anin1:l( ..r is ur.I"'-
,k fin,!c all itudc, thi ~;, ca ll .d ;( "ncld" ..ira"·,"g. in~ in the fourth tlllnen,'''"' fur II< i~ <k:ri",in$ •
5on", of til<' aninlaturs th"'-'sht ".~ WCfe genin" [i,ur~ ,t... way it ,,",...M bi: ~, .."Iy Ih:ot rn...... is!"
too (u$oS)'. but that " 'as ""[)' the b\:Jlnnlnj( ~' WaU "Mlmem The <Ira'.... mS'> a.... "''' tksisned h' "" ,",,,. od
""w ne ...• po»ibilitic:s in the "..".k h" ll"Itn W"11: 11)- ltu.m><,lvn. but ""Iy in ,. ","'Tk~ 1'",,....,k.'II;\ •
!loinS. l..es Clark r.:ohl " ·'th a ,·h""klr. " . . . We ".t~l>Ii,hcd .p.."C....
couldn'l undcfliland ","nclime.' why h,,: was gi\"in~ Man)' ",,,,,k ;oc1~'n' ha,.., Il<.~n 1>.,........." thl~ prin'
us hell t'''' s<>mtlhml: ...~ lh<IUght Wl < OCI."<:J1I"blc. ciple. ~s tile rat un a ,.unnin~ ,'har:M:iCr droll' ("nhor
'I1\en later on " 'C krw:w whal h~ wa, t.l king .tooul .. ~nd (mile, he hin<J . IImil ,lie ultimate "':"~I'lo' tbe
!>lcdcloo runs ufr. ka"in; It.. llcs.h 10 (.,,1Il for i,...,lf
) . The looj;c fk:~h 'III a fi~un.:, ,ueh 'I> II, ~htoe'" or 'I'hl~ 1)'1'" o f n~~~cr~l i".. ,,-ill I>ri,,~ tauPlS in tilt
D.mald Dock'. body Of aim",,! ~II vI' G"of). ,,'ill "h.lI1cr fitm~. t>ut l~ ,'hid '·all ...• "r lh" kind ,~
mfI_"e at a . I" ,,'cr . ""cd than 1!\c <kdctal pms, Th" r...,I10-0· Thmll~h I,c~ In ,t,
Ill"'" 'liNk II,..,' .

,-

'''''Y'
uf ,...".
Ir".,~,
"",-"
,h'/d!
4. TIle -..'ay in which an action is cc>mpJet~d "ften
lell~ ~$ n~ .bout the per.\oOn than the drawings "r
Ik lIIO\l:ment ilSelL A golfer lake.• a mighlY swing.
-..'hich ('<)\l:n only a few frames. but wh.u happens 1<>
him IfICf".-ard Can easily lake fi~e fee! of film and i.
mlltb .....:n Il',-uling. whether he is ,racdul and
$Iick in his follow through. or wraps him~lf up in a
knot . The anticip.tion ~ts up the action .....e e~pect
(OJ il it the ICtion the character expe<:ts?). the ""tion
-"ili7.1,t~~. lOll now ,,·c rome to the "punch line"
p,.
of tilt the follow through . whkh tells us what
llappcned-huw it all turnc:d OUt Ob'-;ou.,ly. the
tDding $/\wkl be cnn.idored pan of the entire aclkm
bd"", any dl'll ..... ings are made. hUI. am~7.inl'ly. the
etlding "'IS hardly ever <kvcloped in carly anima·
tion . 1t ..... as enough jU.\I\O do the reach. the thmw.
lne kk k. aod 00 thought was gi"cn 10 bow much
nt()fC cntcrt~ining the action itself c,>uld be. or "-Nit
it could tdl u. about the ch~rJCtc'" pe~lity_
S. Filially. the ... " 'as lhe M<>v.njl Uold . "hieh ~m·
pIoy~ pans <.Jf all the ocher elcmCnI.' '" O,,~.. lapping
Action alld Follow Through tn ach,ne a roe .. (... r·
ing of life and clarity . When a careful drawmg had
becn made of a po"' _it ,,'as hdd ..... ithuut mu"clt1(nt
on the screen for 3 fc'" fmme~t lea,t e'ght. maybe
as m3n~ as si~teen. Thi, wa. tu ~1I"w the audience
tin~ to abwfb the aUituok . That ant<>Untcd 10 !eM
lhan a .« <nnd . but il was enough . II",'.-c""r. ,,·htn a
dr~win~ was hdd for !ha! Ion~. lhe Ikow of action
wa" brol;cn . the illusion of din~n,ion "'as IOSI.
and the d", wing began to I,-",~ 1l11t . A way had to
be foom! to "hold" the dra " 'in, and ' Iill ~eep it
moving!
 The "n""~' "'~ S 10 m"~~ I"'," d,"" ",~,_ one 1tIt)'~
nlrem,' Ih,," Ih~ olher_ , '''' both contai~,n~ "II tl",
~kment' "r th~ f"»c . II w",
c'p laiol'll Ihi, "ay,
"You hu Ihe 1"'''',
Ihcn drJll nn i>e)-,<>lld I" an "\'e'n
'I",n~~r 1"''': ,,'"'ylhing ~,,.., fwnl,,"r, Ihe ,-hed,
~"up . 'ho! ,'"" 11)' '~<I. the h""d, ri,~: he g''''' un 10"
"'''~. h, s "F s upt:n "ieln, b"t """"li"ll; h,", ,ul l
"' hi, P"'" """"~ wuld u'" III.: F()II()" Th"~Lgh
00 Ih~ n"h} P'LTi' to ):i\'c '" Ih" ",)id'I> "nd din,,'n-
,i"n. we ,m,ld drag lhe pan. I" ~ i w III<" added kd -
'ng "r ",'i~hl and 'calif.". "n,1 we n,u'J >ll~n~lh"n
' >lIT 1"'''-''' fnr mox. "italil y, II "il added Llr h) ",,,ro!
life in th<o '<Celie_The "'"~ic' "'" bt:~i l1 ni ll ~ In "1'1"rl( .
Slow In and Slo\\" Out
Om:c ~" a"imator 1>;1<1 " '"rk,-,\ ,,'cr h" r"'~' ( 110,'
-"",~,,!<:,-, and r,'d,"wo ,hem "",il Iii", ,,~'" Ihe
1>1,,1 he ,·" "I d dn. he naiUmlly I"",,"d lilt' ;[",Ii~t\i;, I"
",,' then'- H,' liITlt'<lli>o.:.... lec, dr:,wmg' '" I\,nw <l LL;,'~I'
I",on ,"'" 10) lile ne". ," ,hal Ih,> hull: "I 110,' f'''-'Ia~~ "f
The "'~,,~ "'"uld bt: ~; Ih~! ",I '" d"", to lliow '"
Ifen",, _' fh pUlImg the inl>l'lu'ccIh d,,,~ I,) C"dl
nWflle ""eI oHI, ",Ie 11"~ling dr,t" i,, ~ halh",: 1,<>-
I"...-n. til,' "nion;,lo, ,,,'hi",,,,d a '.") 'ririt~,1 ,,·,ull.
\\ilh tho: dMI;oc)cr /ipp;n~ fr"", "n,' "'''Iu,k I" ,11<"
'Il'" 'Ih" \\,,, ,'~Ilctl Sh)w In "nd SIc", ()IlI, ' L n,·~ 110",
" Ihe way Ihe '" h.:(wc~''' "'ere 1llIk:J, ro" mudl of
1111' gaw" n,..chank,,1 fed 10 Ihe aClion, "'~hi~~ I!le
":~'k: of lilt, H':' lil< lil"t "';<, i'<'ing ,,, ,, gil l. hLL! il "'"
,t ;1I ;on ""l~"t"nl ,Ii,u,,·c,) Th"l he"an1C' Ihe b,<", "I
];ofn rcfin<'m~nt, m liming and ,raging
\\-,it """1ioued 1(> ,,<~ U, 10 ""alYlc th .. ~clions "k'''
<-ardully. ,,,,d III unJ~"t~ml I", ,,, th~ ho.~ ly lIurkd.
,i,,,,. Ihot wa' fhc otll)' "'~y \0 ~.t tne ,'a,;,·"I",,' or
,""Ii"" he "Jnted , "Our" ,"~ mll<t h., c; " fmllld~\;, '"
"I I"",.n ""Ie, to h",'c ,il\c~fi l\' , n", ,"0<1 h,Lt,,,,,,>
""lIlcJ\' i, "Iwa,'s b~",(l on Ihing' an""I ,"
0"" '1\,,,,,110' fr",,, <)1", i,1< the studi" w,,< "am,u"d
Ih.1I anyone w""ld lx' tlw inkr<'t~(1 "' the; ",.,h"(\i,, ,
()I m'~,')"'" bUI lh" uni4uc app",ad\ \\'3' th" 1'Cr)
l>I'aft pf n", \\'or~_ ~'"'C D"'i, ' 'umm~J il (11'. 'Il" ·
!\<;) anion"I",n i, ju,\ vC'Y <iiff~r"nl "oblJoJy , \ don-1
,·,,1. whn h.: I" ~ <"m con,,' f",,,, Ihe '\O<1,ide anJ Jra" .,
n"n.y Ch"rJCICr "'ilh"",. full ""M""",ding "f "hal
,I', ;011 ~ht,"t,"
Arcs
\" 'rI f,," ti' i n~ or~~LI'i'"'' are ,·;tr"blc of @wo!, IIt!t
h:<V<' " ""'d,,,n;,.1 "' ;olld OLII or up ,,~t! d,'\\,11 f'f,.... ;-
,"'n_ TIl<" ,,,.,,,,,, "f" \\",, ~ljXTkn 11l,~hl 1>1- an n,'<1'"
1"",. anJ. h<o,'au,c (}I Ihe fe"ml;,,,,, "I' "II ~\t~"1J1
, ~o kl<m. Ih~ .." ;Ire ""douhtedly ", ,,,,e "",,"pit, ,n Ih<
"",'d "wIJ. !>ttl Ih,' 111<"-"""''''' "I ,,><"1 lil-ing "'.... -
1m", ,,;\1 ,;,\1"" ~ '1i~1\l1) ~ir"ular Ilalh, Th~ Ix'..!
,d,I"11I lit ..."" ,frJigh, w1. Ih,'n b",'k aga in: ;1 lift,
,h ~hth, "t' dnol""' ,I relum,_ I\'rhar> Ihi, 10,,, 1" .1,
u ,lh ,,~,~hl ,;r ,,,,,)1>1' ";110 1h~ nlnn ,tru,-,"r~ ,,11il<:
Ili~ hn fur"" "I Ilt~. but. ",h:Olner the 1~'a,,)1'- "~"1
""'\'e""''''' \\ill dcwr;l-..:.n ,,,., ' "f ." J"", kind_
1h,' ", -ri"" ,~ a h" ",/ ,~'·>II"·" ,"·,,11 " 1"''''"''~ Ji" ,~'" ! "II "".,.
'-"(11101" paIn . Ih, a"",,,"<" ,-Jw"" Ih. 1~).\lII 'm ,,( h" ,1,.". -
""" "I ,," ~ fhl ,' " " 1/,- 111(11" '.' I", /"., (I,,,,, ·, ,,,,, , 11),1" """
'0
"·/'a,- ifll~ ·'~n'n.'- ,)"",1.1 I~' 1>/'" ",( k." " , 0/". /in,· <'I ," .", ~
,,,, Ihi,· <I,.,' ',,"er~ ' ,"'''.' d,,,,,' ,"'iI/""" J"I1"~ ' m,, ,/0" <II,-
d""'~f II,,· "m"" ""1"·,,,,,\
Thi, d',,-'ol-ery m~,I" a maJ"1 ,-ha,,~,' III the 1)1" "t
fI""·c,,,clIl, ""iTWllo" &';gn,,,j for 11,,'" ,-h"r;k'le".
hr~akin~ \\ IIh Ih~ 'i~;d a",1 ",t'!
"':I,nl" lhal had ~"""
I"'f",~, I" " w"I~, ,h" dlan"'t'"" 1",,1 1"'1'1,,-,-1 "r.nJ
tl,,"-n I;~,' """,han,,·,,1 ~adg"1s nn an ,-n~inc; n"'" 11." ,
":or,'cd" <'In ," II,,· "'r ot' II,,· .. ,1C)" ,,,KI --,,,·,,1--
u",l~r alii", l><mo", I""ition A h't or a II"n" ",~'ltl""
on "<':0'''1'''"1<"1>· ,":tighl Ii,,,'. hul th~ l-..:~in"ill~ "I II>:
,,(li<l(\ ,'"on~ "'e~plll~ III on :on a,,' a"d th" I',,\!,,~.
Ihr<)ugh ,,;or1~d a ,''''k'~",,, ""'i",,_
A, Ihi< I~·in,:il'le "a, bdf,'! I""k-,,"",j.
"-" ·t,,,, wtn!
plolt~d ,lla ,,;lh eh"fts and J,~~. ,to "'ell ,os r(\"1~
I~"e l. h' .t~\~,,,,i,,,· i "'1 h"w hlgh :11~1 h",.' I"" til<
charac1er sllould go in any ac'tion. Arcs were ,k~tc'hed
in, as the key action, were planned. 10 guide the even -
lIW drawings along Ihi> curved path . When the final
drawings were being made. more way' "",,uld be,",,",e
Bp]!>m'nl for the chamcter {() go e"en fanher in the
action, e,pecially using Squash and Siretch and Over.
lapping Action to good ad"antage,
One of the major problems for lhe inbelweeners is
1hat it i~ much more diffkull to make a drawing on an
arc than one halfway bet ..... een Iwo olher dra ..... ings_
Even .,lIen the po';tion ha, been indi<:aled. or a Slcrn
warning 'Hillen on Ihe extreme> .. 'Walc'h a,,"~ . lhere
i~ a ,lrong indination to pull back toward a more
normal inbelween . 11 is only a, a >crie, of dra""ings i,
""'lied" on Ihe pegs Ihat Ihe proper location for the
drawing become, e"idem, No one has ever found a
way of insuring that the dra ..... ings will all be placed
accuralely on Ihe a"'~, even ""hen nperieneed people
are inbelweening the "~tion. and ;t is one of the mosl
basic requirements for Ihe scene. Dr~wing, made as
straIght inbelween, compleleiy kill Ihe e,>cnce of the
a<'lion
Seco ndary Ac tion
Often , lhe onc idea being put m'er in a "'eoe can be
fonified hy subsidiary actions within Ihe body . A ,ad
figure "';pe, a lear as he lum, away _Someone stunned
>hakes bi~ bead as be GelS ' 0 bi, (ttl. A (lllsl~.~d
perwn pili. on bi, gl~sse$ lOS be reg;ins his com·
posure . When Ibis e~lna busi~$~ ....1'1"..1> IN: ..... in
ac.ion. i. is cilled a ~rondary A~'K:>n and i~ always
kep4 .ubo... din~.c !<l 11K: pril1'~r)' aClion, If il <:emOiel.
or b,:e:om.:. mo", ;ntc,..,_~ting or dominating. in any way.
it is eilfler lhe wmn~ choice or l, <!a~d impr"l'c:rly .
The chief difficII1.~· lirs in n.... king a unirocd Slate:·
ment .bmugh the dnaw,"g and liming of ""ra'-~Ie. bUI
",1;.0;0.1 . pam . If the sad figure has an upre ...,ion on
hi. (ICe: Ih~t should he "'en. the hand .... iping tlu: ICar
muM hc ca,..,flllly pl~nflW 10 .upport Ih~1 look, A
brood. "wrwllelmin~ gc_ , ture: '"'ilh a tist "o,winS hal f
lhe (ae.: would ""rdl )' 1K: ao:ce:p4ahlc _ SlilL if lhe acti....
is tOO OIlIt.Juo:d. il w ill be mu>hy. r<!-'lricted. and mcon·
~uc~ial; if il is 100 ,trong • •he face: ..-ill "",'cr be
sec.n. Shoold Ihis Sc:celfldary ACli".. be mode 10 " 'ork
wilh llIe features so that the expression i, "clllally
cmph.,i/.cd. lhe ",ern: will be ",,(>landing .
SotoclinlO!' lhe S«nndary Aeli"n "'i ll he the cxprt'.·
si .... Itself. Suppo>.C lhe...: Wl\> I" be a ellange from a
painful h" n 10 a helplc.<s. bk3k I""k as lhe cha"""lc.
lum. a",·ay. befon: he wi!,(.IN: lear_ l1Ic: dan~er no'"
i. 1101 that the exp",,,ion ""il1 ""m;na lc Ihe ~cllC bot
Ihal il never .... ill I:>c seen. The <: hange tnU'C come
bc:fQr~ I"" nlo~e. or afte •. and myst he 'taged .'" that it
i~ o/)vklUs. ~"cn lholl~h of ......,onda.)" imporla",:e ,\
('han~~ ;n I ~ middl~ or a .....jot ,",we ,, ;11 ~o ynno-
liced .•1Id ~ny valoo: ;nlcn<kd ""illite IOSI.
One anin,.lor roond the pmper rclali",,,hi!,, a"'''''g
alllheM' pans throu~h a "builllin~ hlock" !e~hni4I1e .'
Fi';1 h~ "nill1at~d t"" 1110.1 imponanl n.."'~. "'''king
... ~ Ihat il "" or~ed the .... ay he """nled. e"mmllni ..·:,ling
bis lhou~hl in .be st"'I1~~"t .... ~y . Then he w~nl Ih'''''gb
lhe M't"" a :ocrnnd linoe 3n;m3tin¥ Ibe s......·"n"ary
AClion. and e,-.:n ontt more If nc.;h~· . 10 '''d~e I""
f.,1 of Ihc.- Ilra ..... ing .clalc 10 til<"" IWO act;"",, Ik
,
""'::' i
cO'l1 inoo:d I" change an" :odju>I unt il all pan, or tltt
"rawing wOltc:d lOf-e100 in a "cry "". uraj way .
It is odv i,.;iblc in any ..'~>C to Iry il all in thllmb-
nails-lill ie uploraliX)' s~etdt(~_II<:f"n: doin~ an).
thing dsc:. 10 m•••• u"': Ihat evc')'lhing will >Ia~c "dl
and ....;n hlk "S conv i"" ing a' the anim~h" hall h"I1.:<I.
Wh.n u~d corrCCII~·. Sc~on"ar~· I\<.'.io,,; ""ill :MId
.ic"h...,s, Ie. ,he see"". "","nal""" ." lhe ac1 ion. ~"",,1
fulk. dimen.tOO .o .be pcrs.ooal;l), ,.r
II\(, "h:r.=.....
Timing
The numhcr "r drawing., u-cd ;n any ,,"'ve .k:lernlHwl
the amounl " r lime Ilia. OCI;'", ""iIIlak~ " n .he ",,,:.,.
If the (1.-.", Inj:~ .re "nlple. de"," .• nd C.1 pr....... ' •. lhe
"''''1' Jl"int Can be pul ""n qUICkl y. ~nd ,hi" ....,. all
Ihat cooccmc-d. the anima,,", duril1~ Ih,: ca.ly pe.~>J.
Timing in Ihu"c can""n; was li",ile,1 mainl)' I" f~>I
""}\"~s and ,I"", m"w,. "";Ih ".:.:cnls ,md th""" ~all.
in)! (or .~·ial handlin~ . lIuI lhe !,("",,,aliloe, ''''''1 ·...rt
.....·'·clopinl: " 'eo"<' defined nl<>« by •...,ir mo~~""""!
lhan tlock ;lI'P':or.<Ilcr. ;1",1 lhe . -a.yinl! ,.,...-.I "r .......:
",,,'cl1lenIS dctcrmin.:d ...·he!her the cha. :KI,·, ,,').
k:lhargic . cAc' ted. ne.ve>ll, .•ela",-d, Neilhe. aclln~ ...
attilude cuuld he ""nmycd .... ilhuut I",yin~ ,"cry d<,.;c
allenli,m h' Til11ing.
T..., (o"'pli~aled rela'ion,h,,,,, . hat ,alllO! ",-ilh St.:.
ondaJ)' '"'''''' IIIS and On,b(lf'inl: M"n,,,,ent. ,-~tlN
ftlr cuen.i,,, refi"".....,nt •. hUI ~"Cll lhe Ilk>Sl hit....
mo,'es sho ..·..-.J lhe ;m(l<"'''''O:'' of Tirllin~ and lhe «,".
stant ""cd f... 11I0re slud~'. JU.I 1"-" drdw;II~' of I
hc,lIl. Ihe ti ..1 showi n~ it lcanin~ I"ward th,' lI):h1
''''>II)der ano.!.he _'ond wilh il 'lVCT "n lhe 1ci"1 and II>
"hin slij;hlly r~iscd. "'an be m:t<k ." (o"'mlln;,:a~ I
"'.... ;111 ..... of Ilk" •. ck-pmd"'~ ~nl"':ly on I"" Tinll"1
" ,,-d. Exh inhel"'ttn d'-d""ng ad<kd ....·Iwccn 1~
lwo ··cx lre",,,,·· gi.-e< a ne .... ",canin)! In.he ;oct",",
y/
 No intM:tw~~ns TilE CHA RACTER has bo~n hit fa'I""tion on . 'IWOS" had I11O!'l: spm kle and ,piri t Ihan
hy a l r~mendous force , Hi . lhe $3me aclion with inbclw~r"" . whkh tetl<kd to make
head is rlCarly snapped off. tile Timing tOO eyen and n:tttQvcd the vitality.
One inbet"ttn ... has betn hit by a brick. Any lime lhe~ was a p;ltt trl<>'"~ in " 'hkh lhedwx,
rolling pin, fr)"in~ pan. ters f~t or a poinl of contact wilh the backlf'lllOd
T""" inbet"'fens , has a n~rvous lic, a mus' we~ show·n. lhe :aclion had to bo on -.~.' to nwch
cle spasm, an uncontrollable the moyes on the pan. or lhere ...'ould be ~il'P're
twilch . which looked p"uliar. Similarly. if the C'a1tlC'fll ~
"IlIrff inbel"'ttns . i. dodgin~ the !:>rick. roll , moving in any dirtttion (" 'hlCh mil$.! be ..... "ones",_
in~ pin. frying pan . lhere wQUld br a Sirange jiHerin~ unle5~ the ch:m.cter'.
Four inbelwfens i. giving a crisp order. action. were Ott "ones' al", .
"Gel ~oing !" "Move iii" When more daborate aclion! were called fOf and
Fiv~ in~lw~cru; is more friendly . "OH' more delicale change~ had to bo seen. lhe animalon
here .. ''Come on-hurry! " ~soned 10 1he use of "o"".'·_","nCli me~ thrO\lgMuI
Six inl>:I"'fens . """. a good-looking girl. the ~e ... and OIherwbc only in ~rtain place" A
or lhe .porIs car he hao alway~ !lCl1Imble aclion or 'I""~d ga,. a _,h;jrp :OCCCRI or flurry
wanted . of lIClivity , lhe pay-off aflCt " big anlicipation. all .
xI'en inbet"'fenS . _ . lries 10 gel a better look at nee<kd "ones." BUI lhe choice was Still difrlOlll 10
something . make ifille animalor had not ~11C' throogh I period of
Ei,ht inbet"'ttn. . sun:hes for the ~~nu1 but- e~l""rimenling and Irying and failtn, and trying again.
ler on the !.:itehen -'''<:If. Only then did he build up a hadlog of Ul""rlC:ntt that
Nine inbel"'ttn~ appraISes, cons iderin , would guide him Ihrough lhe.. I""rpetual ~ision1;.
Ihoughlfully.
Ten i!lbelwecn, . sireiches a sore mu ..le . Exaggeration
The 1'(,,>;,lcnl 4uc.linn. eS!,<,cially from Ihe Ne,,"' There WI.' some confusion "monl! tile animalm when
York men W3 S, " W","n Ju you u"" 'ones' and when Wal l first asked for more ~alism and tile" crilidzed
do)'ou u.. ' IW~ "!" This referred 10 tile numbor of the re., ull he<:ause il w~, not euggcrated enough. In
fr.,,-..:t of film to b\: ~hOl of a ,in81e d""',ing . One Walt· s mind. lhere wa., I"ohahly no difference . He
exposult w;'" tailed "UACS, ,- IW'O cxpoMlre. '- Iw",,_"' be lieved in goin8 10 llle Ilearl of ~n ylh;ng and dc_elop-
II Ita;] lon, been koo,,·o Ih.al f", moM IMJJmal :aclion inSlhe esserIC~ "f wh;jl he found . If a chancier was 10
IiIcn WillS ..... n«d 10 make a new drawing for el'el)' be ~ad, ma~e him ~der. bri~l_ make him brigIMcr;
franoe or rhe film Each dr1lwing could ocrupy IWO of worried. ~ " 'orried: " 'ild _ make him wilder . Some
the ~iotrS f"'mes. and the audknce ","Ou k) 11<'' ' ' of the m ists had fdl lhal " uaggfflllil>!t" meant I
deIeo:I il at 24 fraOles a SC<."Ond. This sa'-N immen ~ "",ion
ttlOf(' distorted d ..."wing, or an so ,ioIenl il_
am",,"!> of ........ k . nd in the slo"'er mo"emem~ gal'e I dislurbin~. They found lhey h;od m••!ltd lhe point.
,11lOO(her appeara fICc 10 Ihe aClion. More Ihan thai. a When Wall asked for rul i.m. he wanled a ,;oriea_

--
--- -
~-

~
...... ~ .
"""
~~', -
~ .
..
- --
:
I" '" 01 renl"Ill, One ani'l "na lp .. ,1 il ,·",",«,11 ) "h,' n h,> " ai l r" t Ilk· iii ", I",·,,,,," h;,,'. 11'111" "n II..: ~ 1c)\';,'l l ,
",i<!. " I !Ion't think oc n"-'~nt 'r~~II"tl ' I thin\. h" \\'all ': :tnto.:",iii ..
~" ,1 " 1',\\ ''' ''''' . •!t,'" ""1'1"'0.1 b:.:~
">t;~lI t """,,,thmg .ha. "a, mOJ~ Ctl'" 'OClnG •• h:o' n ~,de and I.,,>ltd al " ,,' . 1 11~",ghl I,,· " ", II" "'!! ,,, ,.-[1 me k'
~ hili'~trc"nt:K't " uh propk , ~,1Il 111: .1"'1 . a ".1 'reali,",' Ica,( t"" ~u,tJ"" ~UI "" said . ·"-""r.·. [)aw. Ihal-' JIN
",",,,,,..., 'rcal' ,hinl'S 00" ~.w~ '" "tkn [in 1"'= " hal I "~n,,,d:'
a"im31 ~"" l ' ht l'hamc'e' w<>ul<J d<. "''''''Ih'n~ unn.n- ,. It taughl III\' "h" h' "" all l..- I),,,,,') ,,,,,II,, h,,,,,
\" i ocin~. 'If III , no " , · 00" clewr 1"'= ~nlln:Ol<'" "-;0,. ano.l l no:n ,'I' { ",,"cr h:td a n~' lo'OIIbl,' "" h CUgj!etJlk>:l
il I" . ,n·1 rc"1. il "'3< plm'" ". W:tli ",,,,,Id ,I\,t J(C,'PI WII\' '' I " ,,, dnc,l ing I " ",'01 In ,:t} '" Ih" anllnal""
~"y l hi n ~ Ihat ' k'Irt>)'cti ~Ii e""hnil )', hl'l I, e ,,,"k ,,,, ' \\' ill J"" ,I" '''"'''l hin~ f ('f " ,e.' Will P ' " P11;tl c;1 ,,,
a,ke,1 an anim" I"" to I,m ,e <.Inw n ;on aC'I,,'" if I~ iJ"" nltem' Iha! y(>u """,' II". ",;,,1 ,."
w~s "S hl lor'i><" "'c''''_
Halld 101.1 of a lC,1 he had 0.1011'" "f ~hcl <~
I).. ,..,
nd,nll ,,1' '''11 In hIS ' a ,"cah. ,,·h"llInll. " 'Ih C\'<'~'lhln!,
00 IOC cat rJtlhn~ and t>oo,.n(lnl' . WI..:n 11t<~ (3m" I"
lit< 'W1I<.'r. It-..· ,oar ~k id<k<l a,lIl "Ie" ""I " " ,,' . "t
"h.d' I",1II1 II..: ,'ar ",~~,xJ. til, I"·"",,, I,l"t" t" " k d
" Wr and land,".. "'itlt il> nll mlJ.,·", "1""1<' d"" II an,1
~pcllill~ , " Oil , oc,'k l)" ,," "as "n,' Iltal "J," bu~l ..
and ho: ,,'a' cate fu l !" ' I.. ~( il '" Ih al 'I "",,10.1 mil .....
", ,,...,,1 "" Mlentl) lit had "' ~ e,>II''''''r,·,llh,' "h"I, .-,or
;0" '~lcrUJl). lur Walt ~'t)n'pl;ti"'.:d uf th..· la,:~ 1>' a..-lion
and ~,~ ~d h"n 10 du II o~'r .n....
IIC ' I IC" ,., ...·.·i ••·d 11..-
" ,,,I\: t,·a..·Utln .. It' ~ tI(I( brood "'M
_ '''lIh, II', lin' Iun-
n .·~ " S" I;m..·, I)a .~ ,'orr,',:led Ih" ",·Ii"". """ "11 ;lntl
Tc~1r~,, ;ng LlLllil Ite " a, '''':n l} Ih,,,ug!' lit,' I'''r.: r . and
, Iill W" II d,J nut kd 11t,- "d illn " '" ,p iri led "n" ugh
1,,( ,,!tal he \\ :lII led ,
,\1 Thai puinl 0: .... !"~ r"d "I' "rhe ,'''I~' I I"n~ I
kn,·" 10 tk. " '" '0 dn ""'I\'I""'~ oc """I",,'. laL.'_ ,,,
"'''~, " "" nlr.:n>e Illal "" "OIIld ",~. ' 1 d,dn' , mcan
,II", much" S" I ",cn. bac k and dod "'t1l('1""'!! 1k1lTi"[~ Solid Draw in g
d"h,"\,,1 I ,,'a, k ind 01 f'C\oud ,,( ,,,~,df an" ,·",,1,1" -1
11,,: "ld · I" 'M" '" "co', hat'! l'r""",I I" ~""r up "ilh ,'"
d,'m ,,,,,I, " f II", ,,,.,, 1'1"" " I :"" ",,,1,, ,,, Mo.\" ' hao ,,....
1"1' rJ"'" ,'"""",,,,.1 Ih~ oc~ """, ,.,,. " y"" , h""IJ I..,~"
i', ~
I" JrJ" '" \\'.-11 a, I_""ib lc ""I"'~ '1 ," H"~ I" ,,,,,,,,,,1""
(Or"" No" , "' ~ .' ".",,,,, """"a' M'" .·~",Cf .'I,m'~ "'
""" ,,,.~ ,II 1'):4 . 1"'''" '-.1 ' '''1. ,. n..- ..... lTer ~ .... ,' ''''
.II~", 11M' .'a,,,',. 11'11 "" f'J< ~"" y,,,, '11 h,n' It, dtn
lho.- .'h~r""·'~r m alii_Nit"", and IrOIl" •• ..w~ ~"!,-k·. u,!
,I' , ,," ,'a,,'1 ,k' t1, ,m" It",,· I" ,I ,,~.' ,I 1',1\1" "",,,. ,~I,..,
.'n ~I~. 'I" "cr~ ',-' Irl<'j",' "lid ,,,I.,., h,"~~r_' ~ l",(
I l.t< i. " '" ""-'''' phi 1'''''1'1",· " Ie " ."',,,, I,'h' (; " 1lr""
\ ". ~ " ~i' i "~" I"" f, "'''""" " · :~ ,, ;ttl,,1 " '''' a,'(',,' "I~,,,
L '''~ li"" I<~1 h.1 I" , ... ,,1). ",, 1.' II)' 1;., ~h, I.I~ :",d.!,,~
1"'1"'. '·'I":" "II<.·c " T,~. m~") "I' ,It., ""'''.
,'Id .wJ
 - - .. _- - - - - - -- --
• • fA!,e$
~ WOODE-N ~'ll'~.
-- - "./ll!. OI~ ~

..,.
lj.oJ, E'<'!; ,Ui'- , ;lIM ,f.I.OM>, FINGE.'R. ,l€G ,aUAIi:.,
~ , ~'fC. lo::>K'5o 714e- ~ A5 '75 ~.
PAIt"f · ,~c ea "'1" r.;; .It vcf!.!< .;;r'FF i.OOI(ING
{ friO'2E /JA1ZJ~'" oGW\R.<,'
~
~"
~e
€ACH 1J\2r OF
e:;ov VAeiES iN
WA'<'
WWS"'~D 'N6
tosl1e F.... er.
~"m6
CJ>-
<

N,~
".i",<1
'M""
th.;r
0.1,.
Otp<lr,
urli",

~"'

new. were full oflfic" and {cchni<luc~ thai had loo~ed

""a, in canooning ~ hool bUI did n01hing for them
al tilt Di,ney "uui,,_ The linle ,hadows under Ihe
II." <>f 11k: ,1\",,,. thc ,lick line. Ihe tlashy "er.'e of
clothing re:"'lin~ III "jolent .,.nion--all Ihe-e de"ice'
Ih'l had imp'C"C<.i US 11\ high ";h,,,,1 were of litt le
use anynlOrr_
.~igns were hung on many walis where the young
,,,,ince, w,,,,ld he 'u"-' In <Co lhcm. ~nJ the one we
"",w: ",i>cr he" waS Ihi , - "Docs your drawing have
weight. depth and halan<"e'!"-a ("a,ual reminder of
lhe ba,i" or "'lid. ,hrce ·dimens ional <lrawing, Men
h;Id de,'oted their whole lives 10 the mastery of the'e
elusi.'c prin.;iple ' , and here wa~ thi~ ~ ign "bout .,
prttemi'>Il' as OIl<' Ihal ,aid, "IJU)' Saving' Bond,:'
or pointed 10 l!>c nearc't exit.
Aoolher sign admom,hcd uS 10 w"len oul for
"I,,';n,' in "'If dra ..... ing' , Thi, is the unfonunale ,ilu-
alion \\h<:r~ to:lIh arm, "r lk,(h legs arc nm only paral ·
lei 001 (k,in~ c '"~tl)' (he ,ame Ihing, No one dra ...... would never think of c\prc"ing an en...,.i"n ..... ith twin. YOll"J'
Ihis way on ",,'po, e. and usually the aniSl IS not cvcn anywhere, bu(. sornehow . in a drdwing, if you're no! t"" di.
prol>lt
.ware Ihat he has done it. This affliclion waS not l;m- lhinking. il creeps in lime and again ,"
;(W 10 th. thin ;." ror again ;n the ,",vcnlies young Our main search was for an "animal.ble" ,hal"',
"-
animal"" Ron Clement' wa, ann"yed to find "twins" one th.t h.d volume but was still tlcxible. possessed
in hi s drawings no mallcr how hard he worked 10 keel' strength without rigidity, and ga,'c uS oppor1unities for
I~m om , "II wa, <>ne or Ihe roN drawing principles the mo"Cmcm, th" put ,,"cr "ur ideas , We n.,.,<led a
Ihal I heard "I' allhe studio , If you gCl into acling, you shape th.t was a livinl; form. ready to move-in con ·
 l<3;t ""ilil the ,'alic fonn. W~ used the lenn '·pllltlC.·'
''''fHIIMI~ and JU51 the definition of the ""on! seemed to ron"ey
~ r>ppMIito !he feclin8 of potential activuy in the dra""ing: "Capa·
"" ,iU<J"" ble of being shaJlCd or form~d , pl iable."
_'d "","
pf'6'1 i. tht
fa sd"ati"g Appeal
,<saPIr/on
lanydra ....
Appeal was ycry irnronan! frOlll the , tan . The word is
often mi.interpreted 10 . t.ggest cuddly bunnies and
$Oft kincns. To u •. it meant anything Iilat a person
llle$ 10 IOee, a quality of charm, plea, ing design. sim_
pllcity, communication. a nd magnet:ism . Your eye tS
dra""n 10 the figure Ihat hilS appeal, and. once there , it
is held ""hile you apf'",cialC what you """ seeing. A
Sinking, heroic figure "an have appeal. A "illaine!s,
even though ch illing and dramati" 'Muld have appeal:
otherwise. you will not want to walch what she is
doing_ The ugly and repu l si\'~ may uplure )'oor gv.e,
but Iilere will be neither the buildi08 o f character nor
identification ""ilh the snuation Ihat ""iIl be needed
There is shotk value, bUI 110 Story .trenglil.

II TM pmalld lin" of the pis~ Or h~., go,', no chana

/er solidif)' or di"'~JUiCl1,

~
lI'h," hrn,. ilUtN>d of"""", "'nlh, f» """.flh. "
..... ""I)' " IitWlr d.si,n .

o Addinlflnl! i ....rrns.d ,h. ",>!um ... Jlhoulli,·m.f "

fluid , (u: ,i,., po""'ial ,
, ,
\ \
,
~,
""'-~,
") '
A weak drawing lac ks appeal. A dr3wing I~I is
complicated or hard to read lach appeal. Poor design .
clumsy shape •. awkward 1Il0"cs. all are low OIl appeal.
Spect ator. e njoy watchin g SO,"",liling. Iilat ;s appeal in!
to them . whether an c~pru,ion. 3 charucler. a ~
,"",nt. or a whole story iuuation . Wh ile Iil~ Iwe aclOl'
has charisma . the a";n,at~d drawing has appeal.
 Young people, exciled aboYi Ill<: ~r~al su ..'c~,,,,,s
a:bje,'.d with Ii .... dr.,,-ing. are al" ""},, perplexed to
hr. thal delicate rdi'ler!!cn!> are ntIl flO".,ihle in Ihis
medium They r«~!1 scene, or g",al beaulY and pic-
IInS wllh strong ("""ions and C3nllOl sec thai lhere is
an~ problem ;n communkalion, BUI Ihe prohlem is
Wit. in every Keoe and c,-cl)- day, Sinee Ihe medium
lackltlle lublie shadow pallems on Ihe face Ihal can
Itveaitht , hade, of character in a per",m, we mu,t
concentral<: on Ihe acling or Ihe sillry 'Iruclur~, Deli·
C~ expr.:.,ion. can be misinlerpl"Cted. to .,'cryon' s
,,,,,fusion. and 3!lempl ing too much rdi""n""m can
make lilt drawing SO reslrained or m"oh'ed th31 no
rommunicalion is po."ihk_ Only .imple arnJ direel
anilOOes n'a~e good draw ing>. arid "' itlmul good draw.
ingl "'. ha,'. 1;lIle appeal.
The "'hole idea of Irying 10 conllllunitale feeli ng_'
wilh mue lines doc, ,"oem ridiculous .1 lime, . There is
alwa)'! the lemplalion 10 gel in doSC S<l Ihe audience
can Itally :leC how Ihe character is reaCling. bul Ihe
clO$e.up ~WnlS lite grealest prohlems . f)a\-e Hand
uid. in l\lJH. when '1ue,lioncd aboul lhe 3d" isability
of usin, tXlrem~ d"",,-up,;: " The race be,ins 10 flal-
len OUt ,,'tten you gel 100 dose on it. W. arc 31lempling
' ooven;"n", Ih31 now. wilh ~ new dye proce«. bUI il
will be son", lime before it's perfecled. " ( It ne"~'
was. )
Many greal effe<"" are ro'~ibJc. bUI I'~ nflen lhe)'
COSI "'''''' Ih~n lhe a'<erage proeJu<'lion Can afford . The
con.lanl bailie is 10 find lhe element' Ihal w;1I look
besl in Ihis n,cdium and Slill allow the wungesl com·
municaliun of Ihe idea presenled . A drawing must be
made in lin~. d upi ic~led on cel.', rainl~d in Oat co lo...
phOiograph.:d Over a bae~ground. ~T>d projeeled onlO a
g'anl "",retn. Tiny. sen,ili,'" lines on 1M dr~wings ore
now enlarged unlillhey ~It more Ihan 3 fOOl wide. and
'·ef)". "cry black. In lhe mid·.hinks. we wished for
shading. for le ~ lures. for are .. w;lh no oulline,. bul
Ihey "-ere nOI pm'·lica!. We had I" find Ulh"r " " ),5 of
pU!l;n~ u"cr the point' in Ihe scenes. and in S(> doing
<Ie,-eloped characlc'r .nimalion imo a ,(nnmunic",i\'\:
an Ihal 3$loun<.led Ihe world, Bul al the I"ne Ihere was
neilher glory nor ",ide in om eft"on~. only lhe nagging
linmal;on;, As we p."ed tach Olik:r in Ihe hall. wt'
shuok our heads and shared Ihe lhoughl. "lI's a crude
medium. "
,
4. Discovery 1934-1936
" I okjiuir.-I'-fi-..! ,/"" ..... , ''''''''" ,/" ,h", /'''''''-'';<"'/';''11. "',ud (>II ,11.. "'<II. ""I"s$ .,., JkJl /"'''''- ,II .. n'''/. ..
Wall n;'n~)'

Thl mid -\hlnl e~ w~. c~" 'y 110,' """I lhr;lIjn~ ~m'd
fOf the Dj'IIe)' "nimJror~ . II "'''' a lim, explosiwur
~row(h r,1I" 1he wtmle ~!ilt1in. In., 11 ...· ,",pl..,rin~ and
eXf"trimeminr_ ~OO d; ;:<:"""y CI~Jled an eXcllcmcnl
..,w, 'Iulle mald.,:J a,I1ain.
J">I t..",au~ ,,~ h;td n~mcd 0"" "r II,,· n,'" prirn.'j·
pit> IIf an,m.,ion did nOlI me~n lh~. we ",,,.kf.t'~..J ;1
I. ~~I,,-\l d ...· <' 'Mil ,,( il~ r<"<;1>;I/,;",_ C"n, 'am study
,r.! ",.r,·h;n~ had hmughl II> Ih,,' fa,. and mOre , [u,ly
u, In. "nly "3Y '" ~ ~cp ad\'an"i n~ , Wall >~cur/d
111m"" from "rh~r wmpanies for LlS '0 sec al Ihe .w-
~i(\ afln homs. and 110:: ,,,1<1 '" "r Ill<" g,eat ""ud~\'ilk
:0:1, ,<> ",'e whcno:wr till'}' were in I<>WI1 . b'~r)''''hcr~
~... ":em aoo c'-~I)'lhing "'-' did he,'a"", "'tloclhing 10
5/ooy: fu, liminj!. 'I~!! ing. hum"r. pcr""ml ily Ir~ih .
mo,...n ... m,. ",:Ii .. n (ln~ ~tli m;tI"r horrghl a Ihn,m
r..,lCO~ wllerr tloc~ (11'1 ,~n .... "uthe "'~r~ct . 10 pho",,·
mph hi, "wn fc, ,,,,r.:',' mal~ri.1 and Slud)' i, r'r~mc b ) '
[rime. II pul him all('~d uf the <>(h,' I', j",m~d'a ld y.
"rw:e Ik' was able 10 crc~ l ~ new ;'""O"S bcy""d llur
ul>;kr>i4,KJing. an ,eho,,!. Life " ,duL hUI il did nm ~u
d'~wing w~s ,\" i• . ",","O' f.\
Don Graham. 1 h')l in,rrue'",r '" (,h"lJi"ard' ~ A" In . Mally fa, c"ough ur fa>! cnough. DOll soon was ,pend· ",.... ~",d 10 '61
'>f,Iot~"i_.
"i,nlo:. wa, t>r.}I'ghl QUI 0111: c"cning a wcek IU imrrnvc ing ",on: tin'" 'lullyin~ Ihan la,:hin~. as he Ir i~d to
Ib: dr,,,,ing lakms "f the sl~ff. ,\1 fim il "'as jusl ke~p up wilh W~It"~ "nl hu .;a~m_
rqular lif~ dr~" ing. 1>111 il " 'as "'~ I"nj! hef"", l)Qn Wah r.:aliled 11\;11 lhe anin'a,nr» I~a("hing lho.· ~n
nmc undcr Wah' ~ im~n>i"~ drivc ~I,,- ap 10 gel ;." "",. "-~r~ Ihe OAC'S "'ho shaT~'" his desire 10 achie'.., hi,her
lhift1 ","lItT. He "'~nlclll)on 10 be,:,}ln< lhe QUISlan<!- "andaru;. ~nd in 1936 h~ put nu, this mCmo: ··W,·
i"l: ,"rhori!)' un lin~ drawing in lhc cuun!ry . He wanted plan "n inslalling ni~h l clas~~s nn aClinn anal}'sis
hi, men laughl Ihings you could nOI find in ~ny exi .•tinS immedialel}' . I in1cnlllQ ha"e '0"'" of lhe he" anima_

1/ ..... doN-s ,lit ilI>iI

,"" (lIma ..."
,M,.I.:
Ion ralk ro lhese meo and discu ss with them Timing.
landl mun~ of obI~ining cen3in effecls. . . in this
way I hop:: 10 Jlir up in this group of men an cnlh.. s;-
u rn and I knowledge of how to ao::hievc: mull'- that
will advarott them npidly:' Now "''C ...·ere comin~
Net two and rhrcc nighls every " 'cck eilher 10 talk or
to lisren. TIlere were liso guc.1 spea kers from OIllside
It.. st udio. bUI. while Ihey ...·ere stimularing and cn ·
rkhed ou r general bac ~gr[)Und . we did not ge t a.> much
from lhem in a praclical way U we did from our own
"upcns:' As Le!; Clark said. "1 karned more from
worting wilh rhe fellu. and from Walt:·
The memo ~inucd: " 1 also intend 10 Iu~e Don
Graham siudy our beller animal ion. 50 lhal he will be
Ible to analy •.e Ihings for the younger . nimaton.··
M ~ work for Don. and thi.l in a<Jdition to the cla~ses
he w~s conducting on acr;on analy,i, from live-action
film clips . He se lected ,;ogle lOCtions on short pi<:ces
of film and nn these back"'ard arwJ rO.....·I.d endles.<ly
... hile d;.cussing every observation he had been able 10
make. Our ~ycs Oickered in sync willllhe slow shUllt r
speed on the projeclor. but "''C ...-ere fascinated .
One piece of film sho ...·ed a hon;e in I ~to ...· canter
turning a half drcle 10 hi s left . Don wenllO daborate
lengths to prepare us for thi s film. e~ plaining ho .... lhe
hor~ had to lead with his left foot 10 keep his balance.
"If he ltd .... ith his right. the support woul<l con.. too
Ill<: for h i~ ",e ight . and he ...·ouk! rail o.-cr .·· llIen he
nn the film, and 10 c' ·cr)"o....,· s ,",rprise--and Don's
horror- lhe horse was running in a left lurn with a
righl Ie.d. Ke n Anderson' burSI OUI impei liousl)".
'· Hey. Don! Thc horsc is ""rong!" Too many nights
wirh tOO many classes wcre gening tu Dun. hut he
stoically kept on AClua ll y. he ",ade a bener point in
our mindS than he .... ould ha,"~ ot he rwise. for an)'
horscm~n kO<Jw~ Ihal a horse can lead w;lh eilh.:r foot
on a tum . Uowt\'er, his rhYlhm and I>;! lance will lot
betl<:r using the one lhal matches lhe direclion he is
luming. ,nd "''C Iud to know lhal ~ISQ.
Our OIIOSI stinting obscrv.ilion from films o f ptOIlte
in ~iOfl wa~ thai oJ"""l all actiOflS ~tan Wilh lhe
hips: and. ordinarily. lhere is a drop-as if gravily
.... ~r~ being used 10 getlhing' going . From this mov..,.
lhe.~ is u~u~lIy a tum or tilt or a wintl up . follo,"'cd by
a whipla"ih type uf action as the 1"C51 of the bod)' Slans
10 follow through. Th;, was evident first ;n sport.
fil",~ sl\u""ing ba",b,;,11 pit~hcrs and Ilolfefs, bu l soon
we (wid see il in n><ITC- gencn l ar.:livil in . Any I""~
~aning 10 mm"C from a ~ill. st;Inding r-""illOn . ""hellier
to SIan walking or pick l'OIT1C1hong up. alway. bel'""
lhe ,",,"~ ...·i th lhe hip" .
Don Graham c"cntually did I>o:e,",,,, lhe Icad;n~
aU lh ority un line <lrawing. hut ""Iy a ",.n of hi,
palicll<;C. inteliecl . and calm deter",in"li"n coul d h,,·.
las lc<lt hrough lhos( cia,,,,,, •. lie wou ld .• hake hi ' head
in di~lottief at the commenlS from all sides a. he tried
10 edu.:alc rna."", of imaginaliVO!. cnl hu~i" .. i<' arti",.
Don al""I),:, had a cigarelle in his hand . hul il wa~ turd
to . ccall hi~ lillhlinil- ol1C . In OUr " ",nll";"S, hi, c.p-
rellt"> were ....,,·cr o' ·c. Ih.".,·'!uan<:," "f an inch "'"'
(llcn ing sh<lrter by the minute). and lhe sm"ke clun~
to hi~ hand and went up hi , , kevc . ·I")".rt .... ere 110
ashtr~ys op on the model slan<l where I>c gcocr~ lI)'
talkcd. '" ru, ....,,'er s."".. d I" have a pbl<;( to put 0111
lhe smoldering tip. moving it adn,illy from one SCI of
pioclll.'<i fingernails to anot her. We found ,... rselvn
engros\C4 in these a",",jng displays "f agility in .. ead
of I)oo's carefully chosen wonb .
When St"''' o f the animal"'" ""'''' press",ing Wlh
ro let lhem change Mickey's eye. "" that "1OfC delicate
UpI"C"iun. cOIlld be handled. Walt a,kcd D... " to brin~
it up in hb class to sec whal all "f the fello .... , lhought.
II was a tliffieuh nighl for Oon . since he had "'''~
p'etcndcd 10 injecl him", lf into 1111: actllal wort; of
anima" OI'I. and he found hi nos.:lf trying 10 """,<01 a
spiriled di.cussion between aulhorilies or ""ried "",n-
io," and even more varied pcrsolUl hl ics . Some fe~
the u<lierott ...·wld "","c. 3CC1:r- the ne w design .nd
",'"uld """nder ",'hal WaS wnmll . Others claimed Ih.t
rcnplc would ""vc. nOliee, So me fd l il .... "uld be.1I
right to Iry it lOr just one pietlln: 111111 ",e ""hal happ.:nt<l
As the tnl k hecame morc Mated, .. lie noil" 'Iuiwni.
" Why don'l ....~ jusl ehan~~ nne e)'e III a Ii"",?""'
Many of the animators re>cnled the ennsl ant 1"'''"
1<>W2rd mo\fC ",alism in every acl" "'. To lhem. pulli",
o,'cr lhe gag. lhe busil1Cs.~. thc ' tmng p<>SI', ""a, all
thai ",'as needed to be cn lcn~ inillg . '1")'" .esl "'·as ju!.!
frillS . 6111 lhe ne .... types "f pi<'tllres clliled fo. action.
that had to be analyzed carefull y if they ,",'ere to COItl~
off. Then: was a famull' S<:crIC in "'h~ Cl,P'''' Shol' Ih. t
W;t.< (:lI ked about for )"Ca.,.. The ~IO')' was simpjc: In
<lId man has a china lohop. ~1lIl ",-hen he lta,'C' al niSh!
* r",,"nn COlI'" h) I,fe lI u"1I.: >Ce .... or.he k.nd ly
old shoptccpr< .~k"'g a la •• kll, k around •• lI.:n opening
!lie douI. "'alk,n~ .hruu~h it. anJ dosing. il behind him
"''''1 qUill' 3 change from the br"ad gail> and ;oC t ;un~ in
!he earlie, fil"", T he ac tinn n"t nnly had «, be Cun·
Yill<:inl. ;1 had tt) have Ch;"""I~L The u ld man h~J
Throuj:h lhost d.y •. the piCIP' .' ,,·c mad( rdlttled
lhe ",ide rang.: of c~ pt> Wah Wa~ uploring. 0..
film COfl\:CnlrlleU 00 dances and lhe E""""'''M; pM'
terns danc .... made lllben see" (rum above. TltilO had
become a popular camera ang le bc<.·au<e of lhe musi.
c al . li ve ·:';:Ii<>n sludi .". we", m.~ing: it ......., felt ~
mi~ht do it bctt~ • . bullhe audience, did no! .glft ... itb

•.
lillie ptrSOll3lily.1>u1 hi: had ." be old and kindl y and
_ ...'h31 ... mini .....",t .". ",",,,,one oul of a Dic ke n. lIS. We deal' ""'Ih fanl''''''~. ga,s. ,,'~a". IIKalM.
~ ad,..,n,u"" •. perwnalitio: lhe . il le, alone suggnt lhe
~ lIIi.m.uor ".~> delen"i","...! ." ~..."t • shumin~ ....·al k. variety of ' Ubj«1 matter: Tht F/"'III1/ MOIIH. bl/ally
a \)(nl po.»t ure . aP<l a feel in g of age in the 1111,,"em(:n". {.<1M. M ickry'J P,,/ Pluto, Tht P,'~d Pi!",. Th," Th,
He <lid ~ ,,·.nl Ihi. man 1<) rc~c h far. lake hi)!. 'Iep~. Mirror. Thr KIQ"dikr Kid. "buy or lhese w~n: ~
Of in I~~ "" Y """"ar tn be a'hl~I;C or ,"ung . The 'occes~ful. but Wall anal),lc<l,hc relKlior" and ,ried
lI)'OUlnun Ilad dra"" n a donf "n" "''311 Iha' rn.d a .rue somelhln~ dsc . There lil~n>td ..... ,,!kilO h~ ,de •. but
1Wf)'boot fccling. bu •. unfonun3lely. lhe donfklll.>b the bcsll\.',;I"J''''<' from both hi~ sl~(f ~nd lbe audiefloe
10» on lhe far , 10k.". lhe Ill .. , •. a Ion!! di,ta~ from "'as to h;~ talent for "" ....oping po:~lilie •. II pel·
!he eklt.I}· ihoplocpe, Ho had 10 walk o,'e, clOlo< nlealed hi.< Ihink ing 011 a lmO!i! ('"Cry '·cn lo,,, .
enough to ... arh 'lin eas il y and ~ '"'P it lIul th is Ieli
him sta ....hng directly in 'he p~lh uf the dour. which for
$OIIIC ..., _ ope""J in"'ard~
T...'O )'c~ ahe. Ihis. lhe .ni",ator .... ould have run
back 10 IIIe Mu,ie Roo'" and !'C"reamed aboo. ,he
rmrieIi~~ la)'O\ll. "Why d""" it hne to he at th is
anSIe?"' " Wh)' doc, the door '>f"!n in in,lead of OUl?"
" How am I , upl""'ed 10 ge t him Ihroug.h thi s door?· '
BUI tIIil ~ion had tm1 been con,ide .ed al the lin", of Wall h;t<.l . Iway. lo\'ed train!. with thoi. 011llO$!
nt (/Ii"" Sloop . That animalor. " 'ilh great de.erm'l\3· human en,'~. and as carly a!I In~ he had one of
IiGa. .txkcd "'" "rublem fro." an ;o,;lioo >I;mdpo.oinl . chem f""II..:d in lbe filn. Mil-Ic,.... 1 CIooo·CIooo. 1kn
probably hoopin~ >«retly ,ha, he "·,,uld >ho,,' e'"Cf)'Ofl(" SIIarp!.I«n hOKl lhe as";gmnc", or aninuting lhe lie'"
~ . ,tli he .,,.,w 'nalyJ.~ the si lua,i"" , n...: ""'.. chara<.:!er. ·· Walt was n<K content to have a stnllil e..plle
oprncd foo. incoc.< and hil the ~entleman'. fOOl . li e as a prop : he wanted 10 Ili~e it pc •.<onalily. In the
~ Nck in a casua\. ~hu ftling. mao"" •. Ik OJl<'ned story. the c ngin.:: came to a ,.ade ,,'here il w"" t.a~in,
tile 6ot:Ir anothc. rnur inche~ unly '0 tind ,ha,
il had great diffICu lty makiog. bead"'~y. ~nd with muck p!.Iff·
bumped a,a,1tSI his other fOOl . A!;8in he slepped hack_ ing and s' eaming il squalleU down 10 the ground i.
IIIOIlIer foo. inc""" . Now W do", " 'lIS again~llhe tiot fatigue . M ickey Mouse. ,he engineer. tried to prod;t
rO\lt~......., . The.e ....... no "'ay he could " ep bac~ into ",-'cion. and the engi"" trk'" 10 1"" forth I final
fartllOllgh ;nlo ,he ><:ene In dear thi, door. and lhe effon . 1lIe piSloos we"" an;m3ted 10 repre",nl arms
fllllle, lie backed up tm, mo"" I,,,,hlom the.e ..... " uld be
in WlIlt.ing around the ob'truCli,,,, 10 get our-ide. " 'here
be \IId.o lit by lhe 000 of lhe s<:enc:. So .s ,he film
roIIrd by . •he poor u ld man . huffkd .boo. endlessly as
tile door vaduUy ."",ned e", ... ~h fot" him In .n·elS<'
IIQ w:ps and ''''ru~1e in lu the night. It w., a comedy
of fITO<$ on .,'eryooc·s p.a". but lhe animatur br>.c lhe
bruni 0( lhe k iddin~ mo.e than the dirOX' lur 01 the
I
II)'IM I113n . The"" WaS much I" be learned . ',,-
 IUId hlUlds; lhey n:ached OUI and grabbed lhe rail~ all a
person mighl gnb a rope 10 pull himself .Iong.·· This
wlS more !han ju.. a mallcr of personality. it wu the
wboIc ide. bIIih on dW10Ctrr relationships Wt wuld
be .niJTUO~ . Mickey haod a dear ~uitlKk . theu was
something he was trying to do. and the engiroe offe",d
all kinds of opportunity to the imaginative animalor.
A characler was never placed in a lI<.:eroe unlellil he
had. definite ",ason for being lhen: . He had funny
bIIsiroess. gag materi,l. dialogue, something to make
him illltre.sling . and . ullually . 5QfTICthing Ihal showed
who he was and how he feh . Otherwisc . he ""as 001
shown. W.1t roevrr left a seeroe atlhe COfIIinuity level ;
he made $Omething out of il or uworked the story al
lhal point. As lhese ideas became s tronger. the cuning
and Slaging of the scenes bttame mon: important.
Dc.:ision~ .s to when: 10 have the carn<:ra. how far
bad 10 be. who 10 have lhe camera on. when 10 be on
someone el_all the fllC(:ts of filmmaking became
imponanl to the lillie c anooo . From. 1lO\"dly. _
wtn: coming of.~ in the piclU", bIIsiroess .
n.c U!iC of real pI'_lit~. for the c has"ac1crs had
rome aboul slowly as the belter Iype o f comedy and
gag'! developed . At firsllhen: wen: jusl geroe raltypc s
willi. the traditional conootations from the comic slrips:
big and tough . small and quick. fit and jolly. Ihin and
mi..:rly . n.c g~gs called for altitudes . np",ssions. a
cenain amount of lhought or con silkn lion here and
thcn: . but no need was felt for pl'rson.a) ily as e~pn:$SCd
in walb. n:actions. mOOVlIlions. or thinking. n.c audi-
ence was drawn inlo the piclU«: Ihrough the Iyl'" of
gags and sprighlly bIIsiness; Ihr.n: Will 110 necessity for
anything more . Ptople wen: delighted by eye,,". and
OIher tricks 10 make lhe impossible look plausible.
Prior 10 1930. none of lhe characters showed any
real thought procc ... Althougl\ Mickey had ",placed
Oswald hr. WIS doing lhe same things. and lhe only
minking done: wu in reaction to $Oftlelhing Ihal Iud
.... ppcned. Mickey would 'IC>C ii, UKI. u alitt Ihal he
had to gel a counter idea in a hurry . loot around arid
su hi, answCT. quickly convert il inlO $Oftlelhing Ihat
fil hii pred icamcnl. lhen pull the: gag by using il
wccc»fully.
Of course. the poIe",ial for having a chancier ",ally
appear 10 Ihink haod always bttn there in the routi1l<.'S
Il\al Wilit had envisioned . bul !lO one knew how 10
accomplish such an effccl . [t .... a$ r>OI even realilrd
how much such an addilion would in<.:ru!iC the audio
ence 's enjoymenl and involvement in the piclures. Tlw
all changed in one day ""hen a ~eroe was animaled of a
dog who Ioot.cd into the came", and s norted . Miracu-
lously. he had come to life! Walt was qu ic k 10 apprc"-
c ;ate lhe diffen:n<.:e and 50 was lhe aU<Jien<.:e. llle ye,..
wu 1930 and the animalor NOfm ~rguson . ·
Wilh lhe gradual advancementS in our skill<. the
way wa~ open for Walt 10 e~plorc a whole I\CW Nn·
ce pt : that of teiling a complele ~tOl)' . n.c earlier f,lm'
wen: made up of gal:" and had followed a " Iualion ....
prediclmenl through 10 the end . but there was roe_
an attempt 10 capture. an audience's 'nlen:$! Ihrou'"
lhe slOf)' itsclf. Now Wall wanlcd 10 10« if his .. all's
ability 10 mllent a s imp,," bul complete 5101)' could
hold up . for Ihat would open gual nc: .... flCkh to us. It
was ~ itep forward for Slory. but II huge leap for ani ·
matio n. Could we sus1lI.in a characlcr. ke<:ping him
Consislenl and believable for llevCn minute.?
Even more suprising to everyone al the lime "'.,..
Wail 'S des ire 10 buik! piclUUi around thr. idea. of
tendcmos . lhe lullaby. _ in lrouble. symJNIthy
and sacrifICe. 11M: fairy Slory. n.ciliC _re COI1ttpIS that
none nlhis .. orymen would eVCT have thought of doing.
and 11>0$1 cenainly none of hi. con,ptliIOOl. bul once
again Wal!"s intuilion was right . Sturie. with hean and
warmth broughl the greatest audie nce involvemenl, a
ruponsc far beyond lhal for picIU"" lJuilt only""
gags .
"The biw s l diffc",nce-and 11M: gamblc-wl>< tIut
,hcsc films would haV(C 10 be laken lleriously . Cartoons
heretofore always were intended to be funny, Would
lhe lileater palrnn, accepl thi, new genre, or w(mld
they I.ugn.t 001 ,-rude. pre,umplive efforts" How far
cOIIld we "re"l tllem w rollow ",'?
Fortuna{ely_ {he audience wa, more {han rcady for
Walt's type of entertainment Even in the grim day' of
(ho Dopre"ion, "hen Hny{hing li ke" r~i.y \<,," would
seem eompletel)' out of pla,e. he had one ,ucc-e', after
anotho'-no! ",'ery picture. nor rcHII~' "Ven h"lf of
them. bul coou~h {o ,how u, 111e way {o go and encour-
a~ Walt in hi' ideas on communication,
It was apparent {hat more {han mere nln{ inuity was
nffikd in presenting a full ,Io'y, An "kl favorite ioke
Babt, in ,he \\"HHI.,_ u,ing {he Han",,1 and Gre{eI
,tori.,. needed 4"ile" bil mo.e 10 m~h i{ cnt~rtaining
in thi' new form, We quickly learned (hat a drab
re{.lIin~ of any ,tory or an cmpl""" on c-on{inui1), and
c'l""i{ion "'as the w",ng way (() g(), Nothing is more
deadly in animation {han npI3na{i(In' of who {he char.
ade" arc Hnd what they ,"~ doing there. followcd by
more discussion of what {hey are going to do abou{ it!
We searched for (he entertaining si!Ua{ion~ inherent in
the 'tm)" ur in the I'ersun. li{ie, Ihal <.'<JUld be dc_elupcd,
On~ perfect example wa, {he r'N Mickey C",Won
in ~olor. TI,~ n"",/ (" ,,",'crt, It in{r",Juc-.:d {ill' amateur
harnyard musician, giving an upen-air concert to an
aprrcc-i,,1i"e ,m,hcnce, The ,tory wa, o"ilt around the
music being played and {he heckling o[ Donald i)uc\;.
an icc cream ,aic,man who wanted 10 play {he flutc_
There is no explanation of who anyollC is or OOW
Mickey acquired a b"nd. '" {here i, no need for lengthy
cominuity ,cenes , It is n<>1 Ihc Iype of pic-Iur<; Ihat
'ICC<JS a .tron~ personali{y build-up. '" i{ {uh" right
off with emcnaining bu_,inc,;.,. "nd ""c-h and c,"cry
<cetlc ,s packed with e tuenainmenL
TI,,, !'OiIllN ha, "cry Ii{tle actual ,(m), and fcw gag.
\lui;' bIIilt ~1"""1 entire ly on prr:<o~ality , In f:oc t, il
ltpR'S<nI' lhoe prak of Wall's f~elinr f()f ~1ickcy and
t... dillocue de\'dopment 111;01 is SO . pecific for Ihis
dwvltt lhal il 1IIe\ 't'J' ........ 111 fil Oun~ld or Goofy or
.. ~ but Mickey. One s imple ...cclIIe of Mickey read-
ing Iu PI~ !O froln a hook OIl I!o.... 10 lrain h~nling dogs.
llortgff , hoi"f It..il camp in tl\(: woooJ •. ~nd Ihl i. all
anyone otN\ IQ know about lhe situation . Thele is
lillk: ro"linuit)" once again. and ea~ h scc ne is in lhe
pielYI': because of il s entertalnmenl p"lential.
Mid(y'~ leaclion 10 seeing a beal ri~ 11l before him
;. pun: " I)isnty:' uni<!ue .•ponl'!'Ol'OO~, frnh. and
f...., No vno bul Walt "'<MI ld ha\~ IhlMlShl o f Ihal
di.l1of.v¢. 01 stlHdled "'" the . ilu~, i...., 10 "" moch
foocage. or nr«IN Ille animator 10 li usl ain lhe 1"'"
diomc1ll""ilh IIOIhing bul prl'sonali l)' , Bul .... hal per·
son.lily! Tlti. is no or<.i ina ry, "Oh. Ili. Mr. Hear_"
Righi from It.. firsl netv"", gasp of recognition. while
he 11 ~f\I~~ling 10 gain hi., e"'"posun: , he is the Mi ..·
souri farm lI"y 1I"ing QUI ~ f~nl~'y . '· Oh.. . II's you
... tlla! 1$. il i. you--.ain ' l il ? I "~an. c<n'l it? L:h . 1
dtou~hl Y"" " -en: Plum, but you ' re 1101 Pluto . . . .
YoII'~ ~vu. . a~n'l ch ..., Vh . . ,,·cll. I' m Miekey
Moose , , Y'know" Mickey Mou se~ I hope you "'c
heiU\l of me- J hopr~ _ _., Thi, ~ .v c lhe animator
.lron8 chanlles "f allilUlle und IC~lUrc in lhe IiClin~ Ihal
lIT scklom f""nd in oorrnal di alogue .
Wall Iud h«n ><t funny in IhI: '~Vf)' m«tinB-' acling
0111 Mickty' , conf... ,ion lhal 'OIr a. ked if ..'c e"uld
lhoot. film uf him;os he nx,JrthI (hi: l int~ . Mickey's
~,.-as al" 'a)'s "',"" by Walt . and he fell lhe lines
lind I~ ~IIU,",ion ... complrlrly , hal hr could nOi keep
from lCun~ 0111 lhe t'-eslures and e ,'en (I\( body alii .
lud( ~ ~; I... . . ill 11ll> dialogue Thi s wa, r.efol~ he had
"'o!~fd in fron l "f a ('"mCla. ~n<.i hi: wa, reticem
Doin~ I ~ood job of nxordin~ the voice "'i1h 311 11>(
smdinJ and ul1"n~ and expression 111;01 ""C le "'quiled
..-m tlll.lU~h cn:ali", d fon f.,. anyone, c.prcially ",·t..n
mlricw.J 10 an unnatural fal>Cllo voice for Micke)',
Wall ..~ ~cplical of l i~e aClion 31 1h31 I,me and no(
too Wlc ,Ji how "-e "'~Mlld U,", it, bul Ollr cnlhusia,,,.
woo him owr , Reluctanll y he ~glfed. bul wilh n:$lric_
lion.: ·' Well ... if)'oo keep lhe .an~ra in (11<: booIh---
not 001 011 It.. stage, mind you-and if I don'l kno'.i
"ho:n )'oo 'n: oo!ng it : and , ... On Ihat day. he wore
his ba~~i(>1 dothes and h, s favorile old felt 11;01. " -hic h
did noI give hi m a c li.p aPJ)l'araocc bUI d,d Illake him
feci comf"lubic and ",Ia~cd , The ,'an~r~ ..-'" ",I up
SO f:ll" a""ay flom Walllhal ,MIl ima",,,, on It.. lilm .."3S
' -e-ry liny, bul <lill il ( 3p(urcd lhe e_1I« of his ""'ins
While (he anlmaln.. nearly ....cnt bI,nd (rying 10 chan
lhe lill\;lI1: and 10 , kelch from lhe aclion. il paid oIf in
a """'lOI"~ble litlle sequence that n:n~"'IS W31t ·, Ihink-
ing .ompleldy .
At Ihe poim in Ihc reeordinli- wh.:rc he ,aid. 'Tm
Mickey Mouse , y'know ~ Mickey "-1ou>.(·'" Wal(
in>lioc1i>'CI)' reached 001 " 'nh h,s 1I;on.! 10 ""...,.~ It..
hti~ht of a link kid . It "":as the only lin ... ...., t"O:<
knc ..· JUs. how bi~ Wah considered M,dey to be . In
spite of lhe help il gavc 11$. he """ 'rl' k l us pUl a
.~mCla on him again : ami yeal .laln ..... hen .... e ..-an(e~
to Iilolk allhm film onc~ mort . it had <.ii,aP!"'ared, No
one kno w. what happo:ne<J II) ii,
The u.e of dtsign and color :,,,d Ixaut)' in oor film!
",' OS bcllinninlitO c""n~e their appnrnncc drAnJali.al·
ly, brill~ inlt the an...-,,", duosc r I" ~IOf}'boo~ il1u."",'
lioo . The a"" 'al of an is. s who.> ...·cn: beller d ... ftlolTC1l
meant Ihal the ~Iudio coold di'lltn>c ""ilh lhe lricks
a/llJ techniq"'" thaI had brought lho: film~ Ihis far aIIC,\
e mbalk on a mOre ambiti"". ,·,MlI'M . Mou,J began 10
play an imporlant part , Well ' <ks ijtnell long .hot, are
udliog (n .e<:, and if lhey eM establish a sprcial
lnc~le and build a ,"'-"'<I :11 lhe '<>1n", lime lhey "'"
in va luable , The y ...,aeh ,mn,woald), in lO lhe ,'it..... ,,'
imagin.a l;'~n. involving lhem in your ,,1t;lures before
you havc Nrdy beglln .
We were helped in Ihi. by ... hal we ,"< ... Id do 'O'ith
both wund effcci. and mll"c . s,)U.1<l m.~c. you Ihink
or you l own exprricnce~ , .... hk h .."..n. up a .... hole new
range of .y mOOb for ~<""'nunkal,,'n, Nighl <OIlnds,
erid~ts :",d f",p. ~elie ""iod, blu_ <lcry "'ind, lain 00.
wi/llJow or Qn lhe roof of a cal_ ,,11 .... olk in our '''''Ill-
orie., all<l i"",loCdialcly c>iabli>h a mood . Music e;m do
e,..,n mo~ 10 arouse OUI ~'kM i"".; and, ""hilt .n thr
Cally filtm _nd "" " '..,.1), and ~mln'so:e", of I
.mall ban.! in an "",,,,,.lflI pil , nIY'''' ,,"" 'kly found ii,
wa>' to a ITlOfC an;sl ic u_'" IhfOU ~h .I imng thelIl<'S tlaot
Iilcr.l1y Il"lInspor1td Ihe audience ;nlo OIl' maJ;.e·helic>e
",'orld • .
The Layoul l)cpartme nl had ""en . 1",,· I<> &vclop,
proo'lbl)' bc<,'au,", the...: ha<J I>I:cn lilli( (". 11 for (he art·
im)' Ime, brou~hl to lhe Iii" " . a,1<l ik»,ibly boccauso:
Wall was I>tJI aware at the time "" hal goOO I~yool'
<'(lII1d do. 'fhcre had been no dr.omatM: settings and not
even. layout that matched the 5Cope of ide," secn in
the action . 'fhcn: was a Ixk of el\ar.l<::ter in the dnlw.
ing. wl lh one: hoose lno~ ing li ke another , all tl'ttS
looleing ~ I i ke. and IIIe final ~i nl i nll so gent ly lin lC<.i
lhal il hardly cou ld be ~n . No one kne w yel how 10
support lhe pe~aJily of an aclor through lhe han·
dling of his surroundings . 'The aclor had 10 make hi.
way alone .
By lhe lint(: o f the Thru /.illl.. Pigs, Wah ""a$
""ginning 10 look for cnte n aining id.::u in a "harne-
lcr'~ loca le. ~OO he 10vC<.i 10 11'11 how the ~nist~ h:,d
drdWn pictures of bo~eD and spans r,gurell on the
walls of 011(: foolish 1",'$ hoose. and ptclUn:$ of ,iris
in the nU l , ",'hile the p<Xlkal pig had photos of
1>1on.ma and f'apa . n ils " 'as a ""ginn;II" bul few
~ >.IIw lhat touch in the background while walChing
all the ;"lc re Ming act;"n in fmnl of ;1. S; ~ shon 001
busy ye~n; later. lhe ~ud;ence was !<:eing the unforget·
I2bIe figun:s In GeppeIlO'S hoo,;c lind dcl~iI aftCf nlL:m·
OOIble delail througho,u lhe ,,'hole pICture . A " 'a y had
been found to do il.
By 1936•• new Iype of pitture ""as be<'onllng p0S-
sibic , TechnICal skills Were advanc' ng and a ne:w cam ·
era was be ing bui lt Ihal pmmised wonderful illu .• ions:
animalion of ruin ~nd clouds and lighlning had ,m·
prm~ 10 the point tlral they were quite coo\tnclng.
canoon colors; wen: beginningkl glow: and roc.stylon,
coordinaled all 0( a fil m ', pans onlO one unifted con·
etpl . W""n I"",,", achievemenl' wen: C()nlb,ned " ,(h
lhe abi lity 10 portray mood on (he screen. a 1m<: mllc·
SlOne in the dcvclopmcm of Ihe an imaled carloon
n:sultC<.i: 'fh.. Old M ill. Acadcnly A",'1Lftl ,,',nne:r for
1931 . Wilb no Slory OI""r tban I"" reKIIOn of vanOUS
animals 10011(: -'lOI"my n'ght.n a broI;~n do... n ""11 . tlte:
film sho'.... ed thai an audience ~""Id "" ~wcpl up by
sheer artls(ry and become deeply invol "cd In an 3111 '
mated fil m.
Wa lt had not been so sUcce"fu! in his au~mp1s III
1
 estaIIIUlo new frootm in OI~r ar(Cas. nlMabl y in t~ ..""..,,'" (;"'" NIJ'~-;clr
ani_ion of .... nWl figull:s. He clilled f..... cartoons - Cool,e Carmul.
.... Pn~ in the Godtk.u ojSp,int . II charm-
NI, "',. cootie ,i rl In TIw Cooilit Corn/I'ui. a win.
SOItl( ~tuffed <loll in BmJ:.M TO)',<. and an excitable.

greedy monan:h. King Midas. in Tht Co/drn Touch .

Thecookic ~nd the ooll ..... cre acC<:plably feminine. but
tho ",hok "'(Kid is highly critical of. le~s than ""neet
JtlftIC11ll1tion of a Pll:uy girl. The animator' s d",,,,· n~1
in" and tilt lJIO'."eme1lt wy depicted WCIl: adminedly .-.
far fl'Olll perfect.
Ki"l Midlos pfOvcd to be un.xceplable as wtll.
IIthoo,h thell: WU aI lea..! one moment wlltn his fed-
.....
m Sprir
_I

8t1)tttt '
,,,,,/J ..
inJs clme Kross to the audie nu so wongly that a
IIlI,KTItntary sensation of empathy was ~reated, The I~r$ fit.
IrOObic Mre ... u TI<)( so much ... ith the lonimatio n as
willi tho!>lOl')' .... hich h.... no! b«n ....'Ofkcd oul with
-'y the c~ that ....s customary. It m~ Wah real·
iullw .. Story ... must beoonsidtred the hean o f t~
1Miro:"." He continued . "Good aninlllon..-an make
• &COd strwy a kn<Xkout 11Ie1l: is rM)I much Ih~1 lhe:
best animatOl'S can do with b .... slories.··
Wal!"~ feeling ahout Stories generally always had
been 10 ~t the enlen ainme nl first and then find ways
10 lie it all logether, Chaplin had gone eve n fUMher in
this dilttt,otI. making e~lensi"e us.e of printed cards to
~.p hi) poWi<;.menb: "Sellick:' " That "'ghl:'
" Ii( ftnd~ II fnend .·· '· l.o:sl"- and 1M" ~ had ~ne
rich' !O tilt llean of ..'hal ,,'as funny in the silualion ,
W.k r~h the .a me: " 'ay : he was nOl intCIl:~ttd in gCt.
II", from " herc" 10 " there:' only in what h~ppcned
to lhe ch:ira.ler "not he was there .
A~her fronlier givi ng trouble wa~ Ihat .,r v.,i<;c •.
Walt'. origi!l.ll fecling seemed to be that CanoOn char-
...,,/"'"
..ren .hould h:,,'c canoon voices . !;()I'MthinG diffcll:nt
tid .. riot from a nalural voice as I~ d"''''ings "~re
fro.! ~al .nimals or people . He had found a dock's
.-oict in. ,:\diu comic.' a s inging c hicken in an u.
.....
- "''I
......
., ....
IlpmI sonsSt~j.S ••1Id bill Maff volunteell:d ~ unex. KiqJJ/
<'-rN ..,j
peeled wund., Aru lTUltor Fr~d Sperocer ~ou ld tal k
throuJlt a gargle Ilia ,..,emed appropriate fur a fi,h-------cr
. t 10"" <l)me unoe""aler character- and Ollie Johnston
oould talk ... i,h tile bleating of. shecp, but no U.<e ....'.s
co'ff foond fOf lhat panicul ar talent.
AI the ~orie.. hee;tme more .inc~re. the caSllng for
voo:es lOOk a "'w direnion . Now the ~an:h ....s for
 '00; everyone did . There had to ~ mure: '0 i. Ihan lhal.
A. he thought aboul ii , Ben deciUrd 1II:.II .he key ing~
dienl muM. be- "r!:alis m." In hi~ n ... n upenc,llCC'. lit
had found Ihal much of.he material in c an""" "hm
was lOS! on the vie~r5: Ihcy could nor U~r:<Iand it
or ...,lale to il . Will had bridged 111:.11 gap .... ith realism.
or a caricature of il . His si. ualions !Iller!: u~r.;landa·
ble , clear, and funny , Il is puson.al ilie ~ were ~ 01
someone you knew .
As lhe studio g""w. Walt had increasing lrouble
keeping rrac k of everything lhal was being done. so he
placed mo..., of.he hurlkn on his IWO directors. Happi·
Iy, he found .hat he could rum out rfIOr"C product lhi.
way while "ill exerci,ins jusl as much conlrol . At firs!
he had called lhem " slarylllcn , ,. because lheir job,...
10 sec rhal lhe M.ary ek:menu .... ere pre..,rvM. llIty
juS! g""w inlO their jobs r~lher .han heing appoin~'
with any ~""mony. because of lhe need for makingal'
!he action sync to !he hr:al. l'irsr it "'"IS Wilfred Jacbon.
)1 . ...-,........- sillCC're voi~es. real voices. 00( lhe ll'llinni voo Qf the who never e,'en ...,ally was hired . (l Ie had asked if ...
-~J_. us slage bul the completely natul'lll voice of the boy and ~ould corne in just to lurn . ) Then Wal. added ikn
-oIrnny C~n ·
...., 8m Gil· girl nUl door . In COQJd~ Corn;"ol and 8,,*('n TQ)'s • Gillell. who had cume OUr from New VOlt with !iOnIC
r.Td S",,, lhe voices were so eommonplace th at lhe animators repula.ion and experience.
Wnlr. Norm cou ld find no g<::slures or auiludes 10 caricatull:. Slraighl Eventually. when Ben moved on 10 Ollie. woR,
lid L.nJ,. voices demand maighl action. and the anisl~ si mply Walt moved up .he forthright and ambi.iou s Dave
("""ql"""" could IlOl make the characters come alive . l3ul Wah Hand, who had a lalenl for geuinSthing. done. By
'''''' C/)·Jr
·""imi. 8m ...·u IlOI worried . He feh su re they ...·ould get ;1 on lhe this lime, thr r!:.pomibili.ie.< of.1w,: direc.or were hr:gin-
I CAMlcAili. next piclure ! ning 10 expand . He became the hub from which all
II. flNllIl""" Theil: were changes in audience I.Sles, 100, which other fUnc1ions radia'M . He h3d 10 fo llow every Iasr
..... Wil/mJ
"'ri~, T.... b«ame ~ sop/liSlicaled. ~ accuM.omed 10 !Kt· det.ail .hrough e>-ery doep.onment , 10 make <\Ir!: .hal the
onwsI", J. ter anima.ion and ~ ...,aliSlic prnentMions . !>topIc finished film ..-uuld faithfully ...,neel lhe irku .hat had
Wm/> s",;r/t ...-en: upecling higher quality now and looted to us originalM in the Siory IXpanmr:nl , To do .hi~. he had
dHIIJ. Gi /lrs
for nt...,,,,,,ly co,wincing clranclen . One hislorian, as '0 h.o>-e imaginalion. ~licncc. drive . diplomacy. and
, T"""'''''''''.
, AH,_s,. III' lried 10 .race lhe growth in Wah's lhinking. u ketl, endless c...,ati ve ideas .
::ioorli, PAil· " Would il have been pos.ible to c...,ale anOther char_ The di...,clor· s offt« was c alled.he Music Room in
ICIer as broad as Donald Du~k by lhe end of lhe lhe early days of sound because .he lIlusician had hi,
thinks?"' DIe answer was unanimous: " No onc wanled desk and piano lhell: . L~ler, when music acquired a

.,
a1lOlher Donald Duck al Ihal lime." We had grown
CttriSlopher Finch in his book. Thr "" Of Walr
DiJnty, told a Slory about Dick Huerner mee.ing Ben
Sharp$.etn on the weel after Ben had 80M 10 wort: al
•he newly ~sdu] Disney Studio. Dick asked him.
"What's lhe 1«1l:' O'"e. II Oi.nr:y 's? Wha. do you
Ilu)'$ do Ihal' S dirr~nt?" ' Ben answered simply. "we
lIIllyu ." Dick r!:spooded .hat hi. people lnaIY1.cd,
broader role and .he mU.l ieian g01 a room of hi. own,
the name nor only persisted bul " .. me tn .usge••• he
whole funclion of pn:paring .he wort: for animatior>-----
even af.e. there were II10K directors and "Musk
Rooms " . han lhere "'ere musicians .
The euieS! limes for lhe direclor ....~ .... hen he was
Ioid uactly .... ha. he was supposed to do. His rTIOi\I
diffICult momenl. came "'~n his inslructions had bttn
vague or he had miS;nle'l""led Wah 's Il:marks II a
 met!ing . 'The lau~r was ~asy to do. "i nc~ Wall had a
wly of awiding a positive commitment when h~ was
IIO! quite sure in his Own mind. His usual method al
such times was 10 bolster the direclor's confidence.
sell him on 1he glories of !h~ ""que nee. fill the air with
t~ciling geDerali!ie~ . then duck out while evel)'one
was still.la!ed. II was no! until hours laler Ihal anyone
WOIIld realize there had boen no real resolution. The
slronger directors. such as Da"c Hand and Wilfred
Jackson . would not let Walt leave the room that way.
bul !hey ",'ould push him 10 the point of annoyance
until they were positive that Walt knew and approve<.!
of .~ac\ly whallhey "'ere going to do. AnOCher direc·
lOr might simply work ahead s!oically. hoping that
Walt would dmp in later with cie"",r instruction,. but
realizing alilhe lime thai his posi1ion was pre.:-arious
and his responsibilities enormous.
The animator received hi. "'enes fmm the director
in a special session called "the handoul" ' (or "pick-
up"). This meeting could stretch out over several days
as the dirtt!or e~plained how he wanted the scene
done. ideally in a way Ihat captured the animalor's
imagination and excited him about the scene's poten-
rial--whil. keepi ng him on Ihe right lrack. In the days
when scenes were only gags . a descriplion of the action
Iyped on lhe bottom of a story sketch was all that was
~d. and the handoul consisted of dealing Ihese out
like playing cards to whichever animator w"' f"", to
W<rl . Bul when lhe scencs ....·e re expected !O build
chal'a(ter and utilize personalities to tell the stol)'.
printed instruclions failed to convey the message . With-
001 wide-ranging discussions with the direc!Or and per-
sonal involvemem. the animator .....ould only illustrate
another person'. ideas , and that is as harren an assign·
menl as anyone ever had. Walt had been mOSI e~plicit
aboul!he necessity for "geuing the animators into the
'pirit of!he piclure. and nO( making them f~el outsid-
ers just executing someth ing workM out by S<.lIt\WOC
else. "
Dave Hand explained the whole busine~s of the
handout Ihi s way: "Our entire me<.lium i, tran,ference
of thought. "The thought is created firsl in the mind of
the stol)'man . . then transferred!o Ihe director. who
aUempls to transfer it !O the animator . This is ..... ~ere
the big problem of transference come,. bee.u,. the
animator then altempts to transfer it pictorially. He
takes it out of the intangible . and places il in tangible
form. in picture. for lransference back !o the: mind of
the audience and picture presentation i. clearer
than any other nlean~ of transferring tltought from one
person to ano!her."
At another time. Dave was not so poetic. " We can
talk until We "'" blue in Ihe face in the Music Room.
but (he animator thinks entirely a differem pictu"."
No one really knows whal ano!her person' s undefstand·
ing is. and the difference in conception can be unbe·
lievably wide. A director on a live_aelion picture can
..... "rk with the aclor and see what he i, going 1000.
The actions can bo altered. refined. changM. or ques-
tioned, and the results judged on lhe spol In anima·
tion. there is no way of kno ..... ing ahead of time how
the scene will look. Perhaps the animator ha, a dear
picture. but he can be fooled. 100.
A. more and more animators ..... ere added 10 the:
staff. there was an increa<ed need for training on one
hand and control on thc Other. Many system, ..... e"
tried . and for a while there was a categOT)' of "j unior
animator" to denote someone making a contribulion
but limi!ed in what he could do. The problem was bow
!O go about teaching those ..... ho still had much 10 learn.
With several sequence director, on lhe same picture it
was already difficult to maimain either the quality or
the characteri~ation Ihat Wall was seeking . The answer
seemed to lie in giving more re'potlsibility 10 the
stronger animators. and the job of Directing or Super.
vising Animator was invented Walt never likM titles.
so these men were never sure of ,,'hal they "'ere, only
what {hey had !o do. ,(",,",,"~,J ". P',.• c!U!
 SWEATBOX
Wallllad w have a way 10 sec dte animation before i,
""""I into his pktu~$. He could nip u.., ~nes and
51udy the drawings on the pegs. but tlx: ooly way he
really could t~lI how they would IooIi: \... ~ to h ..'c the
dl'llwing~ filmed . Thi s was known as a "pcncil test:'
300 ;t gave both Walt and the animator a chance to
siud y the OCI;on and make colTttlions before the scene
was inked and painted .
Ub Iwens had devised a way 10 look inside an old
projector while the film was run ning. e liminating the
need for I sc=n and v~wing room , and the Illen
slQOd in line tOSCC the effect oft/M:ir drawings on film .
It was 001 long before this innovation was contributing
so much to the making of the films that a standard
film<u ttc, 's vic ...''''' ma<k by the Moviola Company
was purchased . This had an enlarging lens. and 1.....,
pcople .",itll their heads pu~ c lo$c together could
watch al 11M: s.ame linle.
When tho: new additio n was made to the slUdio in
1931. the spocc uOOcr the stai rwe ll was ,""ved for a
place to see the pencil tests, l'rior 10 Ih al. the men had
~hielded the lens from the light by their coats Qr their
hands. Of by pl",ing the m", hine In a corroc: r and hang-
ing a cunain from the c~iling . This k~pt the area daft
enough. but rrutdc very cramped quarters fOf the t"'o
Of thl« people squeezed inside . That "'as nothing
compared 10 lhe new linle closel under lhe slairs .
By tbis Ii""". as many as five IX s ix people would
cbe<:t Ihc ~nes logelher . as Walt showe<J what he:
liked about lhe wm in a scene; Of, more oOcn. whal
he did no! like. It was inevi table Ihal sOmcQne would
refer to the enclosure 3 S a "swcatbox. ,. TIl<:n as lOOn:
11'IL'n " 'ere hire<J more machines ,,"'en:: needed, and these
"'ere placed where lhey could do Inc most 10 spee<J up
productiOll-iM sp.ace under the stairs " 'a$ nO longer
convenient enough . T he old leOTI prl:vaile<J. however .
and u scenes were Cut together inlo whole reels o(
pencil ICSIS, the animalor went 10 "swealbo~" when
he saw his scenes ""ilh the dir«lor. From tilere. it was
a small step (or the leOTI to become a verb. Even
though by 1934 lhere were Iwo fuU-fle<Jged projeclion
1'(IOn\i with air co ooilioning 100 comfortable chairs.
animators asked, " IIave your scenes been sweatboxed
yel?"' or sometimes said. " 1 bener nOl have a beer for
lunch. they're $weatboxing my stuff today . "
In these sessions. lhe pIlrposc is to be sure that
eVCI)1hing is wooing. whelher it is lhe acting. lhe
aclion, or the stage di=tions. If the scenes al"<' good,
!nOR: business may be added 10 make lhem even bet·
t«; if they are wrong. changeli are calle<J for. but
always wilh an eye to saving as much as p<)Ssib le of
'"'liat has been done. Animation is upensive. aoo the
nIOf2k of the animalIX is cril ic~1 10 a good result .
Slill. Ham Luskc,· the firsl supervising animator. 31-
w:I)'S cautioned lhe young ani$ls. "Never make a s mall
change . When they ask for a change, thefre thinking
of a big one . . something that w ill I"<'ally make a
difference: O1herwise Ihey wouldn't """nt ion it."
Wall knew whal made a scene play and C()Uld explain
it 10 the animatIX SO that he " 'oold understand. TIl<:re
wert many times when Wall waS undecided On whal
dirrctiOllto go. but once he !-3W a scene of animation
he coold quickly analYl,C " 'hy lhe atlion was tlOI as
tntrn.aining as it should h.Y<: been . TIl<: following
e~ecrpI from sweatbox nOles dated Mareh 25.1937,
sIlow oowminutely he wenl into each scene . This "·a.
f«d Moore's animation of Doc and Grumpy arguing
about whether Snow White should be: a guest in (heir
house:
s.: 246 Shoo! a Corr. ruff
Pu och Doc 's poking Grumpy morc.
Get a nervous head on Do<: to "W HO'S A ... " he
is mad at the stan and you have him calm down 100
much .
As Grumpy says .• A W SHUT u p " have Doc jump
bac k (jUSt a liule) in a fighling pose, dropping his
fanny and gelling a streIch in the legs . . . . gel a
spring in his legs and fanny wiggle (as Waltdcmon·
strafed) while in lhe /ighling pose.
Sweatbox noles such as these were taken do,,'n by
lhe Musk Room secll!lary. and il was no easy job.
Explicit ~ they sound. !he discussions tilatled up to Ihc
final decisions were full of a ltemale p<)Ssibililies and
anemJIIS 10 find com:ctions that the animator under·
stood and li ked . No one tal ked slowly enough for
complete notes to be recorded. and much of tile lenni·
nology "'as in wortls no one new 10 the business would
usc. While the secretary was trying 10 rephfasC Ihc
t houghl~ so her nOles would be clear, she would hear
Walt saying. "Yeah. I think that's your besl bel .
y'know? , .. li ke ,,'e tal ked itlhell! ... do illike tliat
a nd "'c'lI see how il looks . .. whaddya (hink?" and
she would know thai one of Ihe ways had been agrtcd
upon . Which one?
To any<:>ne not in the meeting. the swcalbox 00Ie!l
made no sense whatsoever; and to those of uS who had
been thell! it waS s(ill a mystery most of lhe (ime. since
the unfortunate secre(ary had gone through IItr 0010$
a nd tried to use her Own memory for the pans she
thought she understood. to make il all mean some·
th ing . If she was q~Slioned abl)ut_ of these ralhcr
p"l'SOIIal decisions on her p.art. the normal response
was .. 'Well. you were (here. "'eren'l you?" said in 3
thin , piercing , and slightly thrcatening voice .
Wall gradually turned o\'er lhe "nuts and bolts" of
making everylhing ",'ork properly to the din:C1ors. and
devoted his own lime to the bigger ideas . This did 001
mean Ihal he let things s lip by or did tlOI "",ice what
each man was doing. Not 3t alit He !llCl"<'ly n:alized
Ihat if he told a supervising animator or the din:ctor
how he thought a particular tiling should be, they should
be able to see thaI it was done tbal way . After all, he
had trained us carefully over (he years by going O)vcr
every lasl frame in each SCenc-not once. but maybe
fifty times-until _ had all seen clearly "hat was 10
be done .
 '-
(
• ITS A f', ".,- ..j.
..
rm in n.e anim~!O'" saw Wah at (he Story meetings where
~J,d· he aclCd 001 c~cry!hing as il should be. and then again
T. Hu;
in "swcalbox ," when (hey showed him (he scene 3S
byJ",
r.B~ " they had animated;1 In he! .....cc n limes. the direc tors
~u . discussed wi th lhem wha~ ac.ions would be used.
argued about how to stage them, how long the scenes
shou ld be, and how besl to do lhe business. The an; ·
mators le~d from each of Ihe dim:tor... and anima-
lion nourished .
In 1934. ""I\cn the hig upansion be ga n. lhe~ Well:
lhrl:c dinx!ors. Then: had been more woe\( than Wilfred
Jackson and Da,·c Hand could handle. and SQmwlle
was needed whQ could deve lop the !alents o f Ihe
younger men being hired al (hal lime. men Willl abil ity
but no prac tical experience in canooning o r comrne , -
cial an . Ben Sharpsleen WaS chose n for Ihi s lI-<signmcn(
because he was always wOlTied and co"""mcd and
dedica1ed to Ihe studio. He projected a father image
and !ried!O raise his fledglings tike hi s own children.
counseling lhem on everything. from .... hich car !o buy
10 which comedian!o study.
Ben Wall cono;crva!ive and made us work on fu nda-
men!als unlil we were o n firm ground before we could
go ahead . He gave drawing problems !O all the assis-
!an!~ and inbe!"·eeners. no! so much as a compel i!ion
but $0 lhey could learn to lal k o ver lhe di(ficultie~ and
observe the variety of solutions. One f~"ori!c assign·
mem was a tug-or- war belween Goofy on one .side and
Mic key and Dona ld o n lhe OIher. Ben wanled !O see
the rope tau!. the feel plamed ~uarely on!he ground .
hands and amls !hal carried the strain of lhe pulling
right inlo the bodies. head" Ihal reflected Ihe effon.
and an o"erall arrange me n! Ihal showed dearl y whal
they were doing . In addition. he SIIWS1ed Ihat it " 'ould
be good iflhe whole Ihing cou ld be made co tCrlaining.
wilh some fresh slam o n lhe Slaging or the way each of
them was participating in lhe action .
Many animalors were slill doing straighl ahead ani·
mation 31 1his lime. and il had a grealer appeal 10lhe
young and eage r Ihan lhe more lhough lful. disc iplined
"pose 10 pose" melhod . The danger. of couro;c. wal
lhal 0{) 0"" ~Iopped 10 make a solid drawing !hal had
("CI)'lhing in it. The animalor kepi !hinking. " The
... XI drawing will ha"e il- a l! Ihe characlcr and Ihe
aclion .nd the funnies and Ihe siraights and the good
drnw;ng, You'll be able!o see what he's doing in this
"01)' nexi drawing , , , , "
lbe nexl drawing was j usl as weak, as waS Ihe o ne
af! .. !hal. because a good drawin g is not made casual -
ly, especially while lhe ar1 isl is Ihinking about somc-
Ihing else-in (hi s ca!le, how !o gel (he fi gure from
0'" pi""" on !he paper 10 anOlher. Ben Sharpslun
k... w lhis all 100 well, and he knew the o nl y cure for
lhe nMhy, indecisi", aclion that ine"ilably "'suhed
was for uS 10 work over each drawing, ~Ircn gl hening
10<1 darifying, until the drawing proble ms had bee n
soh'ed, bd= we weOl ahead with anything.
Wilfred l ackwn (Dave Hand called him Willie but
wrole his nan .. "Jawn" once. and i! slUc k as a nick-
name "'ith lhe reSI of us) (aughl uS Ihoroughne ss and
lbc imponanc:e of detail. He had an immensely crea·
live grasp of his whole picture and what he wanted il
1000, bul his big strengt h was in the aSlound;ng allen·
tion he gave to e"el)' last delai]. E"el)' frame of each
su ... "'as cartfully consi dered and made ;nlo some·
thing .. Iuable ; lhe animator was never al a 10.. to
koow whal should be done in the fOOlage he had been
handed, [f},ou had a beller idea. l axon waS all for ii,
bul until yoo did he provided you with some very good
material to anima Ie. laxon was easi ly Ihe moSI Crea-
li ""oflhe direclor •. bul he was also lhe m",,1 " p icky"
and look a 101 of kidd ing aOOuI his Ihoroughness,
D."" lland 's major contribU1;on was in keeping up
lhe qualily of the work while organizing lhe proce·
dures, forcing deei,ions. and keeping it all moving in
the dirtClion Walt said he wanled , He look on the job
of making Walt's dre.ms and vague feeli ng~ tangible,
and 10 do this he conslantly had 10 try 10 pin Wall
down 10 specifics, BUI Wa lt often changed hi, mind,
and Ihi'! led 10 some healed . rgumenl ., lie confided
00Cl: Ihal Dave would slom, in'o his office "while
"ilh rage, He'd grip lhe wge of my desk until hi,
knuckles lurned while. . I'd keep Ihe desk hetween
us. " lben Wah would gel a twink le in his eye, a nd " 'e
knew Ihal he enjoyed ""'i ng Do,'e Ihi, concerned about
lbc produci and was not heing unsympalhelk , As D.,'c
had oomi u(d 10 him earlier, " I can 'l funclion until I
gCI mad!" It was an inleresting siluali on.
BUI Dave knew enough 10 recognize qualily. and if
Walt said, " Let' s gel Ihm into lhe pic!ure," OlIve
would make sure thai il gO( in and jusl (hat way, If
Walt said, "We Can Save money here; lei' s keep lhe
COSI down,' Dave would "!Ie every s!>oncul in the
boak , I-Ie never mnruS«! his own "iews 0.- ambilions
wilh Walt' s, and he never queslioned Walt' , au thori_
IY, He Iried 10 prolect Walt from ge ni ng swamped
wilh delails, and he Iried equally 10 prolecllhe anima·
lor.; from 100 many inICmtp1ions. Ik liked 10 see things
working in a producli"e fashion, and he was ,,", afraid
to do anYlhing Ihal mighl he needed 10 ach ieve thaI.
These qualities made him a "cry good direclor for
Wah, and later an excellent Produc!ion Manager, From
Dave we learned courage and integrily and an "&gres'
si "e approac h to Our work ,
When Wah was deep in lhought he would lower one
brow. S<juinl his eyes. le t his jaw drop. and ,Iare fix-
edly a t some point in space , oflen holding the auilnde
for several momenlS , Unfonunaldy, he did lhe same
thing when he appraised you prior 10 explaining a
new assignmenl or admonishing you for not gening
lhe idea he w.,; preseming---<}r worse. when he had
j usl noticed some quirk or mannerism ;n lhe way you
did Ihings, somelhing he could exploi l al a laler date if
he chose 10. It waS unnerving 10 he caughl in that
inle nse Slart, and we never knew whelher lhe scruti-
ni zalio n was because he was Ihinking of some new
way to get us to do .<omelhing he wanled, or if we
were merely acciocn lally in the path of ~ preoccupied
gaze, Many t,mes ,'.-e would look up casually during a

pro"id~ mceling 10 fillll 10 our s urprise that we Were bcinS
as ,lot .~.
sludie.:! inlemly . No words coold break Ihe spell. aTld
r""S""w being un~ure of the meaning o f lhe look il was inad·
,n p,,('I"
l't<l' obil· visable to say anything any,,·ay . So " 'e squirmed.
rdn't/bp- .!JI1ikd " ·eakty. looked .houghlful. Slared ~k . P'l"
r~~ U.'tn
ltnded II()( 10 00Ii«. or nodded wistty as ifin tenlalive
Uwm't ",.
agrttmtn •• until Wal! ~~nly bunt oul wilh 5Ome·
thinllike " Why don' l we ha.~ Plulo Jel mi~ed up in
Ihis sbting busino:» . •oo?"·
He Upecltd evtl)'OlIC' to work as hard as he did.
.1IIl1O Ix I S in.eres.ed and excited about ...·hat ...·e ,,'ere
doing . He IIC'ver splIred feding5. he<.:ause hi s inlerts'
w" in the prodlKt.TId no! in "'00 had lhe best idea or
who had malic ~ poor suggest ion or expected applause.
we WCrt all in it logether. and lhe fellow who Went off
00 his o wn. developing an i<ka Ihal Wall had not
aWO'·e.:!. WIS Isking for lrouble. aTld received it.
Atmost any comment about the material bein, CQn-
si<kre.:l wu acceptable as long as il ...·a~ offered in
&ood faith. bu. it was a different story if anyone tried
to Jet in I personal dig about either (he prOOuct or
Walt·s methods. S<.nnelimes an individual " 'oold feel
a litt le confident aller a sl>ttCssful meeting and would
try makin, a few kiddin, ren,arkli aboul W.I! . This
rash decision " 'as quiekl y regrened .~ Wal! . ...·ith liJhl·
ning response. made lhe culprit look uuerly ridiculou.
_ in I mailer o f seconds and in • very funny ..... y.
Stodcknty thl: .ables had bttn turned. and e,·nyont
was laughing at Waif. commenlS delivered at the
expense of the man who had s toned it all. Ward
Kimb;oll' said. "No one ever ~ (hi: bes t of Wall in
any exchangc. kidding or serious . Those who lrN:d
were cuI to riboons.··
Through all these days. Wall was consta nll y plagued
by money problems and by dislribulors who took the
lion' s share of .he tiny profit f...... m h i~ cre~live efforts.
He al" 'ays fel! that the wly 10 win in Ihis Iype ofbanlc
" 'as 10 "beallhem with prodUCI:' 10 make films SO
good Ihat.hI: ""Ofld " 'oold beat I JIlllh to his door. Ben
SharpSl.cen told of. 1929 conve' "$.l Iion " 'fth Walt:
"He was de.cnnined lila! he wookl no longer be de·
pendent on a dislributor or I victim of his chicanery."'
lllc in'pott.an' "'ing wu to improve lhe product.
he<.:ause audientts ...·ould respond to a bener film. ~
did no! believe in CUlling corners to save money if il
hun lhe qualilY nor would he lum OUI a cheap prodUCI
jusl to make money. Inslud of looking for Ihe ma~i·
mum profil. he was looking f(w lhe maximum audio
en<:(: response .
E"cn so. hi: wa~ watching Iti~ pennies ..cry careful·
Iy. An)'onc no! "'ooing at thl: sludio fooM Ihis Iwd
10 believe. sintt it Wa.'j obviou.s Ihal doing. sec:nc o'~.
lhrec: and rour .imes was ITIOI"C npensi"e lhan doing it
oncc:. Re:aching for IIC'W :achievemenls. Irying Ihings
that had never bttn done before. asking more of his
staff !han they kne .... how 10 do--.lllhis cost money.
ATId Walt knew il. bu. hi: chose 10 spend whal money
hi: had in .ho", .. ery areas. figuring Ih3. he could sa'"
someplace else. For uun'plc. simplifying lhe coneept
for a "'hole picture "'ould make it les~ cxpensi,'c:
eliminating rosily scenes. CXI", dWlIClcrs. crowd .$Xs.
anything thaI look more time or more work for lhe
same result. Too many c hlr:aclen in a Siory no! only
run. up the cost bul divides the ludiencc:·. imerest. It
lakes a"'ay time needed 10 Gct the most OUI of the:
main CharaclefS ....·Ito are supposed 10 be !he moo.I
in.cresting an)·"",y.
Changing his procedures . using his men di fferently.
 Gagman umi ,..11"" 'u/'"'
Pin'" Co/viS ""rjormJ for
"rtiSl AllN?rt I/"n.r. Pinto
~,'" ,Jr • •'Oi,', of Pi"'o.
GoofJ. Grumpy , a"d
SI.,py , us ~" II " s miS«l·
I,m",u. crk k,,,. I>ugJ. and
/i.Jr,

lI>ing more cycles. more repeat action. careful use of malerial; il waS felt thaI any ......,akne.. would show up
staging and cuning and field sizes to emphasize the farther down the line. or new idea. for "renglhening
cntertainment and eliminate everything else- these and building ....·0010.1 beromc obvious once the first ani -
wcre tk areas in which he saved, The new ideas . the mation was done . Walt was "~ guilty of Ihis as any-
better pktures. the things that paid off with an audi o one. bUI he slill pUI out a memo stating. " Very
e...:.. and even the training of his staff- this is where Ihorough prepamtion of lhe Slory in lhe Slory Depart-
he spent every nickel he could gel. We were "' ked ment plus the follow through of 1he story man with tk
manytimcs to find more economical ways of wor>:ing. dir«lor ... in lhe handing out and in the planning of
but never to compromise Ihe quality of the producL ,(',"'It""'" 1M PIW 90)
Walt was no! maling worls of art 10 hang in a
gallery . He was striving purely for entertainment. and
there Wert many ways of doing Ihal: il could be in Ihe
story. the personalities. Ihe visual e~cilement. innova·
lions. silualions. unexpceled twists. beauty. mood. a
spirit of fun. or just comic movements , If one part
bec:une 100 expensive. perhaps il could be balanced
somcwhert else wilh somelhing Ihal cost less but was
just a5 effe<:live .
The biggest saving proved 10 be one Ihal slaned in
the Story Department . If Ihe work was carefully pre_
partd there. il would flow through Ihe plant al r«ord
speed. Too often a storyboard would be approved just
because 00 one quite knew what else 10 do wilh lhe

1/
 First Inspiratio nal
For SI/OW Whit e
1Uf" d~picls silullliQns II,,,, /"'a
I mlO t~/1 S<'qw~1IffS. /<lrgl'ly hr·
Ih~ srimu/ariQn llu" .."m~ tTim,
lU(X"lrrs i~ (lllil,ufa ",,1/ r.-lllli",, ·
j )
J
,- - ".~

89
lhe x lion in lhe Music Room , .. will do a ]01 10
elimin~le losl mOlion on Ihe !"In of lhe animalOrs
caused by ani"",ling a ~ne IWOOllh= limes because
lhe xtion was nO! planned out properly in the firsl
place ." And again. " ... , we would find thaI doing
the preparalory """' in Ihe beginning is a very snlall
c~pense in comparison 10 having 10 do il when lhe
picture is In anlmallon .
His brother Roy kepi caul ioning Wall abool spending
man: than lhey ..~re gelling (or the films. but Walt's
allitude was. " Roy.)'011 gCI!he l1'IOIley. and ...... /1 make
Ihc: fil ms!" However. the lime came when there simply
was not any more money 10 be had for a canoon shon.
Roy pleaded with lhe rest o f the staff. " Hey. look.
fellas. you"'e got 10 wOft on Walt! Hc's gOi lo Slop
spending:lO much money!" (Years laler Walt was mak ·
ing Thr MagniJi"rlll M r. TQ(.d "noJ suggested a ]ine of
dialogue for McSadger: "Somet hin 's gOllo be done
about Toad! IIc 's spending to-oo much money!")"
Walt had a different ans ..~r 10 Ihis predicament.
a.ceording 10 Dave Hand: " If we put 10 of these 700
fOOl shons logether . we've gOl us a feature--7<XlO
f~1. Now lhe y .....,n·1 pay us but 15 thousand for a
shan. but for 10 of lhese. lhal "'ould be I SO.<XlO. and
surely _ can gel more than that for a fcalllre!" Da,~
~s not remember if Roy faint.!d at thaI bit of finan.
cial wizardI}' or not. But he docs remember his o",n
feelings : "There was no OIher way he (Walt ] could
stay in the businc... He would not sit slill and make
cIJ100ns at IS thousand doHars .··
Whatever his reasons. it seentS now Ihat it was inev_
iUlble thaI Walt eventually would anempl a feature-
length animaled film . His canoons had be<:ornc popular
in !he theaters (Mickey Mouse " 'as kno" 'n around the
world). and he was gaining confidcn<X in his s taff. In
the mid-Ihinies he wrotc a memo. "The animation has
made a vel}' definite adva",,, forward which. in my
estimatioll. is close to IIXl'*> over what it was a year
and;i. half ago . I know thaI evelllually"~ arc going 10
allain a degree of perfeclion never before lhought pos-
sible . II IKll>'CS to me Ihal the lime we have Spe nl
studying_ Il}'ing to analyu:: our problems. and sys-
tematizing ourselve~. is bearing fruil. The hit_and_
miss is goillg,
He ~new he had the Sirenglh in the Slory Depan-
ment because he was carefUlly adding new people.
experienud wrilers. to his rt:gular staff. ~nd he was
also d iSCO"ering greal lalelllS wilhin the ranks . Pe(tt
Pearce. who had on<:e ghosted the comic Slri p Thr
Coptain orrd 1M Kids, had beell moved outof Inbetw"""
after contributing one gag after another to the StOt)'
~panmenl . Once lhere. he s howed an ex«ptional
feeling for pe~nalily coupled with Ihe abil ily 10 act
out the traits that would work besl for animalion,
Perce was one of the first ~tol}'men 10 add the lillie
une~pected louches of characler and business (hl1
enrid..:d lhe films and made lhem SO memorable . One
section o f the picture might tell its idea ~II and fil
inlO lite story niedy. bUl it could still be bam:n and
cold , Pe"", would immediately Stan ,,~aving his touches
of wannlh through lhe aClion:o and the personalities-
nothing big or importalll . just lillie things Ihal added
charm and appeal. 11 mighl be a bil of a.cling or perhaps
a colloquial phrase in the dialui\ue . or i{ even could
be a few additions to the background that would make
lhe locale rroore dcconlive. more special. more imagi-
native .
TIlere was also Pinto Colvig. ex -circus clown. en\ef-
laincr. clarinet player. " 'ho had joined the staffa fe ....
years earlier contributing story ideas. voices. and fllnn),
ways of doillg things . Stimulaling visual suggestion!.
would be needed for the fealure film Walt had in mind:
S'WW Whjl~. In production management, lhere was
Dave lIand with his great ability to organi7,c and man·
age. along with his creative i1l<:as_ .!lte directors had
provelllheir capabilities, and ill layoul there we", t""
outslanding anislS Hugh Hennesy ~nd Charlie Philippi.
followed by Tom Codriek.
Wah ""OIIld need the besl a<.:tion he rould gel for
S .... w While herself. and lhis meant careful planning
and analysis in addilion 10 lalent . A f"ature film would
have 10 have lender moments, sincere momenlS. quic1
momen1s . There would be a need for dl"'dw ings With
great appeal. characlers with life and belicvabilit)'.
and personalitie.< thal could hold an audience for well
o,'er an hour. Gags. fun ny actions. and visllal Iricb
would ....1 do il. If Ihe audit",e ..'ere to be dra .... n into
this film. Ihi s world of fanlasy would have 10 be a ",al
world wilh real people doin!! real things . Thi s woold
not be a canoon . It would be "Ihealer:' and Walt
would have 10 have men leading lhe way who coold
make il all come lruc . .
1~.uaJ of -w."'11 "fJGrQI~
dro"-,,,,. of ....,.", ............
IU. Hw"u pIor.d _ .
rmpha". /ill l/tu/o(JrQ("/t"
imu(lcli"lI. K·hkh i. 01.
"-"'·S " n",r. prod. ,II,·,
.....,. WUff"'" ," 1I."k"l"
of lit, . h"......." . II Gil
.""" ..-i,lt ,,,.. IIL!f1'.m~
.•knrh .

•
5. Cartoon Comes of Age
NORM FERG USON AND HA M L US KE

"/~ _IM'~I't('tJ. 1M dr;"ins for,..' bthirw/ 1M «Iw.. Is 1M mouJ. flit ~r_Qliry. lilt ""'I/Uk of 1M ..""" .
IXftr-« al/tllrrt. TII"rfo". II" mi"d is Ihr pi/,M . Wt rhink of liIi"IIS btlor, IIII' bud., dMJ I/"m .· ·
Wall Disney

OisneyslCf)'man Dick Kelsey once said. " There is 00

perfect window for. hoose:: 1M", is sotllC thi ng wrong
will! III of IMm . They warp, conutle. rust. swell.
1WiII. 1IIII need ronSlanl paillling. I,' s a mallcr of ..-hat
you tile...:l "'~1 )"011'", wilting to put lip with . " And
till: ume applies to Inimalion . There is no ~s.I WI)' 10
~..,y more than thtre i. one "greJl«1 ~ni n' • •
kII"'_ pulCSI painlC1" or wrircl or actor. F..ach brings
bis own prr$(lIVl mn.sagc and inlt'l""'lation 1Q his
mfl. Md if hr Iw IiOmClllilll 10 say lIw audic:ncu
wan. 10 hear, and if in Iddition he Cl n effectively
«I!nmuniu!e lhal """"'"ge , he may be ronsidcml grl:~t.
His woct. may grow and l>ecome limelus. or changing
IISItJ lIP)' CIIII~C him in his 0 ...·" lime .
III II~ 19l5. Wall .,;eked four IMTI from his t, l.
t..:I crwp of .ni~lon 10 supervise lhe .nimltiorl
ell S-- Wlrir... ~ men ..ere Norman (Fer,y)
FerJu-, wilh I ma~lery o f broad Slaging; Ibmi hon
(fi¥n) l.uIJ;( , " 'i,h greal ability 10 analyu and develop
procedurn llIar: others could follow; Fred MOOf(', willi
II!)C1tI appeal in his drawings; and Vlad;mi, (8ill IX
T·bonc) 1)11a, with an abi lity to ponray llrea! emer
lims aod inner feelings In hi. characlers . We have 10
IItlievc thar Walt, wirh his uncanny inluition, muS!
luvc IUliud that he had round a magic combinatiorl
ill Ihis lfOIIP.
Tbrir me had been rapKI and thei' contributions
II'tllltndous. But lheir car«rs , whethe' due 10 ch~ng.
irIJ IISIe$ or pe.sonal problems, were 10 be fairly sllon·
~\f(IIj by Disney studio s.randards. " 'here many ani •
...., have produced SU«eMflllly for periods of 0'ICf
fony years . Their "';ork. beginning with shorts in tile
early thini~". ",ache<! it, height in S"o,..lVhit~. PinQ("·
chio. F,m/(lS;(I. and DUllloo . During th,s lin", tlley
more th,m justified Wal!" s confidell,"" in them. Ilut
continued SuCCeSS eluded Ihem. and. somehow. when
Iheir lin", had passed. they ..... ere nC ..·cr again (0 firoJ
the SlIme opportunities to expre" their panicu)ar t.l·
entS . Animation took a dire<:t;OIl (ha( demanded a",·
finement no longer compatible ..... ith their ,tyles.
These men were fine craftsmen ,,·h<. had hclrcd to
break away from the rigid tradilions of the past . Tllei,
scenes were idelltified with the new. impon~nt uscs of
fundamental s-Ihe broad Squash and Stretch and tile
won, Anric'p;lIion. 'flIeir ,.-ark "'"2J!; ":.sy '0 unlkr·
~. 10 rttOC."iu. and to ) tudy. Bu. lOll new men
...·,111 formal an rraining came along. and WIIt ·~ rhink ·
i
i",.umn! •.,..·ard an increasingly sophistica.ed .ype o f
anim.1'ion. I ,,~ sub.1e kind of >l<"tion wl.h more
CQIl'pk~ K . ing and more ,,~aninltflll u:pres,iOfl~ dc ·
,"tIopN . The anima.ion became w sophi,;c icalCd tlla.
,r ... alll'lOSl impossihk .o «<e.gniz" the basic pr,nci .
pies. Thc rntdium had de"eiopc:d in.o a n an form .
Pnhaps iI ..·as fa.e that brought ,!oe5C foor anima·
'(Q '~thcr wilh Wall ar rhis l in~ . Their styles ...."re
as d;,·elSe lOll any four could be: r<>ugh or clean . inlui .
li,"t or .nalyric~l . ir did not nMler . It .... as rhe combi · L
 nation of these four men that helped Wah set a COUrse
that would take Disney films to height~ never dreamed
of: lhe creation of chardc!crs that reached Out to audi-
ences in a way only a few live-action pictures e,'er
achieved.
However. it is conj«ture to say Ihalthe big devel-
opment in Disney animation came just frum the chance
combination of Walt. Fcrgy . Ham. Fred. and 8ill, 8uI
because these: men "'at put in positions of authority.
they aulomatically had cenain re.ponsibilitics thru>1
'lit "";"",,,,,., BUI
upon them that opened opportunities othe rs may 1\01
'Cj«tN 'M 'IF""t'
fiOM/ feeli",. i~'1) ha"c had . TIleir chances for greatne ss cenainly were
'<I<'It'l, incre3M'd.
 D.iw Hand believes 111M Walt .... ould ha~ rome up
" Ilh buically the p.me type of picture no maner ,,-hkh
top animalOTs he had 'hosen to lead off. Wil fred
Jltbon f.lt1lM: same way: " II is my opinion th.at if
Wall had ~ .t ......., d,ff.rent platt 11 the same
t,me w'th a different bUn<;h of guys. ,he resuh would
Iu.e been more or loss arona the same lille'. be<:au.sc: I
.Junk Walt had a real finn h.and on lhe liller. 11ltre
lTIIy be some lh,ngsthat some of the gu~ bmuaht ()Ul
" hlfh shon d po$sibililie. 10 Wall lhal he look advan-
~ of tha. spread lhe gospe l and the rest of us pk ked
up. bIn really wemed gu~ in other d Irections could
11.1,,,, &i'..n h,m a similar thing [ believe, becau5C he
really K1 the COIII'Je _ He was always OIIt there and " ..
we re trying to calc h up. ,.
Wah ga~ inspiration with his IOClina and storytell-
ing. and his animators ,arne up with 11M: e"menu that
brought about 11M: Golden Age of animauOII. [I is doubt·
ful ,,-hether the warmth and the t.nderne" and .he
heart would have aPI"'an:d in the pk.ures without this
combination . Wilhout these men it would h.I'-e been I
different SIlO»' Wllirr--if the picture would ha~ been
mad. a. all . But Wah drew ()Ut of each man whal he
'ould, and the n ~ontinued to build on .hal conlribu·
lion. always askina for more . H. was opponuni$lic. in
a way. in his ability to usc what a man had 10 offer.
 I~ ,hi.> X.II. fr- I'cculi.
Pm,:uins. ,Iw ,iri. """"'1ftI
..,,10 10., iMP' boJf~.
flips M • •ail/....Jon. i~ INs
It>«. ,Itno IOfMS Jon ....
in ,lor at'. HI'''' Laut.-...,;·
ma.d.1or s«rrr flap""""
..,.10 rood an.jr'J><I''''''''''
loilo.",II"""II. tn.,/.I,,1tt

...,,,"'...
..",w.. wrW ....vltl "..

On IIi, .«onl It ... ""

modr,1or .ai/ t;Ola"Jon...J
aJdeJ a ,lib "",*",,,1.,
a<"un, ,,<II.
,lor flip (, 'rr,kGI
row). Tltis ,a", ~nr.>p«ttJ
."",hI"is (1"'/
.It.,,·hoi.
,""ntll
".Ii"".
I()

and then 10 make the feUow produce far beyond his

nonnal capabilities.

Fergy
Norm RIlI,IWn (or. as " "C 11"'IYs called him . R rGyl
used 10 lib to tell of the lono:ly night " 'hen he s" 'itched
from camcnman to animator . He was SlayinG Late to
finish shootinG I ocellC .... hen he disco«ttd t\lM IiOlM
of the drawinss ""C~ mi~sins . 1lw:K wlS no one: cise
around to complete tbe animation a nd no one: to call.
so IS RIlY put it. " [ had 10 fill in." 1lw: scenes ,,'W:
so SLJCCeSsful thlt be was offcm! • job dn ,,·i nS. And
he ~asoned. "' If this is III there is to animation, I
suess 1"11 switch o~cr_it beat5 beinl on ca mera."'
Fergy . who came to the studio in 1929. had an
...t1I'~III . 'f\'~ti~" mind. and lit J"'I~, ...... I ~nOJ .>/o>;e .....<'d
_ ,1ufI1It 1.IIk<'d. ....'bal lit did say (lo_ 0\11 ",ilh a
.toctM Htw~ l~ n ~ .... 3nd,1 ""~~ uw .II)· jl<IlIClu.;U<'d
1» . ··Yuh. )~<ih. )'ou kll(O"'. )'00 ~....,w . • Ik ",ould
11".tII tOOIoI ~\'~nl~ thai ",.re soing ""(\Ill!. >0 iL " 'as
difflC:oll In 1.11 )U;I hew (kepi)' II. felt ahoo l IlIing; .
MOlt of tile lim.: dU 11"ll • "l>TIvcl5alion he would be
fooHn, "jib I lillie cu.l of hair (\Il his f~h.ad that
.1'11' Io«~ II> so.p;rrate from 1M ~, . Jack. ClJuin~ '
Aid thM "nln wide-open pf-le'bluc e)'oS :md fix<'d
loIoi!c ..........J ,uilekss ~nd friendly , bul ~'Cl)' SO often
)1II ~ tk (,,<,lin, WI his ~mile ""$' ",a.1. ..nd Ihat
lIthialj il he "ls OO>c ....·ing and nOlln; .,'u)'lhing you
"I'll oI.linr.
Fill)", IUle. did n[)1 run 10 Ihe inICIl~(lual. He
Ie"ed the old vaudeville eo",.di~M. and Ihis " 'as
prOOIbl)' loll chid form of cntcrla;m""nl while gro"'-
.. ..,.11. o.awe"eI)1hing as i( il " 'ere on $llge, nuher
iIIIII in ImnI of lhe in~ ol~<'d movement, KmlC anima-
1m """ IIbk 10 do after slIMlying 11,·" lICTion . A big
JIll! of. o:omcdiln', act was oflen lhe " " Y hi: looted
.1IiJ I~dicnc. in rupons.:: 10 ~ llelion or line of
~lIoJllO'-'htring his re":l ion broadly with Ih. spec -
W<ln. F.'i)· adapted Ihis vcry Hme rouline for hi ,
_ cIo, "IOQ would become Plum. ha~ins him
\oat into the ca!TM:ra 10 show hi! inner fcc lings. No
COCK dco.lblnlWI Ihis dog " 'as Ihinkins. too,
la OM of hi, firsl picru",-,. Frolirkh', Fish. Fcrgy
IIIimMtd I lirl~' trio u fi$lIts singillJ and doing I n
('/4.. iOfHIioe dance. BUI Fcrgy ' s vl\Kle"ille louch
"i'l1lOl11oe IIIOS1 memorable Ihing lboo.n Ih is piece of
lllitn1/i()1l . Wilfred Jactson pinpoinu Ihis itS. big 'tep
fcr,I':Ii'd : " In Ihal scene there was I fluid I)"f'l' of aClion
.)w,rt thf)' didn'l hil a hold and move OUI of il_ BUI
.In _ pan "'ould hold _Ihing cI~ woold move .
So ihcft ,,-.~ n~"er a complerc SlOp . And thi~ ,.,as a
!(tilt Wah made u~ ~1I100k at, ~.,usc lit !oaid thaI is
!hr " ....... Ihl"$- aboul Ihe kind o f anomal,,'fI }('" g"ys
~.C (I"ing. Your ch:lraclcr g"'.:~ 0.10::0<1 a..J il Ivob lit~ ~
d. a .... int::·
Ben Sh"'l"'l«n. ... ho had ~,<>mc f",,,, "'~w YOft
001)' a fc'" monlhs hdore Fell;)', f'-...,~II$ thaI Walt 'hell
a~sil:""-..J Fer,>" to the hIOOllho.",d '" Chain Gang:
"Ferg}' was I>u.;(cnful in ' gening a lOO$Coc» imo Ihe
hloodhound Ihl cngger~led it~ abilily 10 sniff (a
wrinllljng of!he ("O{I!;e, and 10 think (fao;ial expte.',ions.
such ~ a qllizzicalloolo; or a s.. doc!! .mile dim:tcd II
the: audience) . Fcrgy ilott«do:d in Jcuing a feeling of
fl.,..h in", his animation . No <>nC n'aJitcd ...·hat ~)'
had done. IklW·C"CT. unlil afler lhe preview . " No one
rcaJilcd. dlhCT. Ihallhi s dog " 'uuld dc"clop ;1110 I~
flmou~ Pluto . And l><Jn GrWl3m add •. "The doll
were , I,,'c, real. Thcy seemed 10 brealhe . They m(wed
like doiS. nOi lite drawing' o f dogs, The drawing$
nplained nOI SO mIlCh whll a n:al dot; look<'d like. bul
,,'10;01 •• ul dog did. "
Walt did nOI leU Fe.gy 10 do I diffen:nl <log or on.
thai added a new d inlC'nsion (0 ell100ns . Hc did not
"y, " LeI 'S ~ if " -,, (an make a dog {hink Ihis lime ."
lie did not tel! him. "I " 'aol ~'OUIO do. ~g that "ill
l(t like this and do these Ihiog~ because [ Ihink the:
audience will 10 fo. it.·· ThaI ,,'Ij 1101 W,It·s way_ not
" 'hen dc~elopin, a new characler . lie woold be apt \0
51111 1.I~i08 aboul diffe.enl dogs and !he fllnny wlY
lhey IIad o r sniffing when they ""C1l: on !he trail of
tomcthing , Before he knew il he "llUld be acting il
OUI , and the: fellows in the meeting would SWt laughing
beclus.: Ihis " 'U funny. !he " 'ay Wall did it. And
mon: Ihan likely. Wall would n:nM:n'~r a ~ptc;flC d(lll
he ha~ seen-maybe an old hunling doS Ihal lived
ncar lhe Disnty farm' "Y'know Ihi, old guy "'QIIld
come s nufflll ' alonilli k.e a "a.;:uum cluner. his mUllle
spread III OI·e. the I(round . You tll(O'" thisloooe skin
the:y hl\'( up h<ft: ,,'Cll. ;1 " 'ould bc ~ad 0111 Oat he
...·u II)'in ' >0 hard 10 gel hi~ I"III>'C dow'n nc:~1 10 IhI:
s _lI. ,,,,I he had 3111h~ wrinklcs buoo.' l",d up OYer
_ .... _ N",_~ "Frrv·· Ftrlw~ayf~1 Pluto
1M ftI-s JlYfNJIWr ~"U from Pla)·f~1 Pluto. " ",11._ '" prrSOMlIty """""''''''. f ·. - ,ltrfi_ '" tIN";,y",oJlyiifJ"
.. slt«, 0/ 'M srk., JI,-_r.
Pt~.,,·s prob/,fftS ' "", '" !>Hom, ....y,
'rtJ(",i(}lt '0 M. prrdkam,/U "nd M. flw\l.ghIJ of .../w. '" fly ~,~. Dr, ,/w,rd ..·i.~ ,h. audi,nr, . II "'I"
.,,,,,td 10 Iw Ihillki"8 on Ihe K'''''. and. Ihowl(h il last,d ollly 6.~ .,("(}Itds. ;1 ~"rd Ih' ..." ,./or ""i"""ioll of rrot c"'"acltrs
wI.h ,,",,, p,ohI,,,,,.
his I"I06C and down over hi, ~yu. Bm he W<lS ~riou.
abool il. y'know: he wasn· , a goof ball - Ihis was
serious businen 10 him .·'
And then W.ll would remember how the dog: would
suddenly SlOp and look liP . as if he was thinkinr-YOU
hardly knew whal. Maybe he was soning Ihings OIIt.
maybe he was lislening for $Ortlething. or mllybe he
was trying to remember when he had 1_ smelled thaI
panic1llar smell. or maybe il was just somelhing that
cru.y dog: did . And as Walt acted it OUI . it became
funnier and funnier: encouraged by lhe re sponse . Walt
would know he was 0010 $OmClhing Ihat was good
entcltlinrnent. He would imitate the e~~ions of the
dog. and look from one side 10 lhe other. and raise
fint one brow and then the other all he Iried to figu,e
Ihings 0111. Wa1fs eyebrows were panicularly facile.
and the piercina look with the one brow down and the
Othtr up was h is II106l common ex~ssion when he
Wall Ihink.ing . Fergy was watc hing all this as well as
laughing al the lhoughl of the o ld dog wilh a ll his
wrinkles and lhe sniffing and Irying 10 fiaure things
out , and in his m ind he was see ing the way il should
look on the screen. He was visual izing drawings. alli-
ludes. u~ssions . hulthey were not drawings of Wah
himsdf; they were drawings of a dog wilh a personal-
if)' who was thinking. Even though the animaloc would
JC1 hi, sole inspiration from the way Wall ":Ied 001 a
..
character. lhe~ was never. temptation 10 draw Wall.
_u..,
'0
M ' r i,. u'r;""" .i"..", TAr~A i,
"II."'.
'hr Jim """ a r/w'(I(ltt
Somehow he had the a bility 10 make)'O\l seo: what wu
funny abool!he characler ilself. and il was lhe c harac·
ler's ~xpr~ss;ons thai yoo saw and /aler tried to drlw;
but. still . lhal dog·s eyebro .... s could ooly have corroe
from Wah .
When fellY projected lhe tirsl tests of his new char-
ICier sniffin& and snortin& and Ihen s lopping 10 Ihink .
everybody was enlhusiaslk . No <:MI<' remembers what
Watt Slid. hut vel)' probabty his commenl ..·enl like
Ihis: ··Yeah ... y'know. he ooghllo have. big snort.
righl into lhe camera. afler he·. thoughl Ihinas over-
lhey do that . those dogs-il's 10 clear lheir tKISC5 or
something . BUI y· know. he·s look ing around. side 10
side. and lhen suddenly he looks righl at the ClnICrl
and gives I big ,nort-not really disgusted . you don·t
know why he does il. hul .it". funny. ~nd lhen he goes
bao;k 10 sniffing 5()ffiC tnOI"e . " Wah never Slopped 10
praise; I\2Ivi", seo:n somelhing he liked . he stancd
building 00 it immediately. making il betlCr and flllVlier.
Once he had seen whal FellY could do. he asked for
more of the same I)"pe of Ihing. hul Ilways somclhing
new and somelhing stronger. U'idllly the animator
barely had been able to ac hie ve lhe oriainal ((Suit. and
anylhing trIOre _tned 10 be beyond his upabililks .
Bul. once again. Walt would ··talk it"· and ··ac. it
0111 .'· and you had 10 admil thal;1 was funny busineu
and the scqucooe ,,"OU1d be better with theM' new idellS;
so. once again. )'0\1 woold S1r:a.in and struggle U)'ing 10
IC""Ir."t<I "" P"'" 1()41
 ,
/

-
In spirational Sketches
by Gustaf Tcnggre n
For Pinoccilio

apllIft &/I dusiveuprH$ioo or ~lI1CCnt or attitude .
Wootin& in this way. how could anyone daim crMit
for doinJ a o;erWlI K1I:ne or evtn an outsandingllCtion?
FerJY blew IlIat he had made the drawlnp and limed
them. They ~~ imll1CCnsc:ly lucassful because he
had been able 10 capeure c<nain dog chaQCleri slks
and 1(1 pruent them ""ith enough understanding of
enlCrtai~nl and enough grasp o f !.howmanship 10
make I fUMY Kent, Yet , without Walt there ""ould
ha.-e ben no PluIO. Fergy , on his OWII, WOlIld never
have conceivnl of these KentS 01' this personality . and
"" storyman _Id have cons~rM that such business
and aclions woold ever gel across in a cartoon , 6ut
fll$l of all, no producer woold have risked I nickel on
lIICh I new departure IS the ide. of a carwoo chanK:ter
hiving I personality , Wilhout Walt , who had tho: peat
insight 10 _ how an anirmotor u~ his ideas, plus .he
great abili1y [Q adapc thi s to his 0""" purposes, there
would have been....,'1 little improvemem in the: quali.y
of the: films. and FerlY ""oold never have had the
opportunity tocreate I world flmous canoondwxter ,
In his anal)'$is of Pluto . Ted Sean; , It<>p ~<>r)'man ,
said, "The: flypaper s.equence in Playfol PIUlo is always
1I1CC1I1K.>ncd IS lhe: best eumplt: o f his pantomime . This
is beo.;ause i. illustrated clearly att of Plu.o's charat'ler.
istks from dumb curiQSity 10 pilllic . It is limed in such
a way that the ludkntt fecls all o f Pluto's sensations-
each 'hold uprH$ioo' after a surprise action was c-.
fully planned , and uprcsocd ~ definilC attitude
causl", the audience 10 lw&h. Eac:h small climax builds
up into a bette, surprise , " Wilfred J ackson also (Qm'
menle<! on Fergy's flypaper st<;tuence: " Yoo can t.ake
thaI UII1CC gag wilhoot running over the dog' s thoughts
or emolions, just mechanically dol", the thing . and it
wouldn '. he funny,"
Fergy ac«pted the innovllions in his won: IS the
.....lIm course of eventS , and he never c&reO for mak·
ing rules .bool how 10 do something 01' being lied
down too much on the charat'ter. In one scene he: had
animated a partk lllarly fUMy look on Plulo. Plifling
his eyes from side to side, the brows won:in& like
Wall'$-<IIIe side lip and the Other down . The young
anirmotors dashed ' 0 his room 10 o;opy the timing on !he
t 1 pmure $he.et and pa w through his dnw inp_ Fer&Y
was puzzled , and he rommenled : " Why do yoo wanl
10 1I1CCm<>ri~ how I did thaI aclion? I might do it dif·
ferenl ne1ltill1CC ." 6 111 this shows ~ of the e"tile-
II1CCnt of that periOO--e"ff)'ooe "'PIing around to sec
how _ _ elK did _thinl, It also shaws s0me-
thing abwt Fergy's approach; he would IIQ\ WJp trying
to find I new and betIC' wly to do lhi~ same action
nell lime . I. was all well and good 10 I~am how some·
one did a good piece of anirmotion , but .o o;opy it was
very limitina and something Fergy woold never under.
"""'.
Mgy h.,;I had no formal art lI1Iining. SO he ....as IIQ\
inhibiled by ...... omy and drawing rules . Fred Moore
used to Ilugh and say. " He doesn't kIlO"" that you
can'l raiK .he e)'('brows above the head c ircle , so he
goes wad and does it and it gives a &real effect . "
And thaI was bu. ooe of the many Ihinp MIY initio
ated 10 liw: his ViOCI;: that exIra life and vitality . Marc
Daviu ays. " Norm R:rguson wasn ' t the ani~l. but he
wlS a shatp performer . nd .. s ho""mill-hard to know
if his dnwing WIIS lhere or wasn 'tthcrc-he had his
own kind of symbol. "
 Fngy"s drawing during this pc:rioo in the develop·
ment of animation actually was quite good and had a
solid sculptured look . Hi s feeling for stretches and
!ension right down to the toes and his handling of the
n~d! ~nd getting meat on bones-without losing the
SlIusagC body and stuffed legs-were outSllInding
Hc worked very rough for first te,ts-usually just a
tilde and two lines for the body . This kept the staging
simple and gave him a guide that ..... as easy to change.
With a quid test on his first rough dra ....·ings. he could
see whether he had something to build on. He could
keep making fa'll changes. never feeling thaI he had
invested so much time in a scene that he could nOl
discard it and try a ne ..... idea if something was not
working. This style su ited Fergy because he always exceeded all expectations; in fact. to many. she wlS
had something he was trying out. Most animators ..... ho exces:.ively terrifying . She. like Tytla·. devil in ·'Night
emplo)·cd this very rough method seemed to be cast on On Bald Mountain .·· w"-' nlenacingly ugly. which was ·
wm in which they experimented with fast action and nOl a characteristic of WaIfs later villains. The witch
gags-all SttIleS with broad movements. seemed to have an Anhur R.ckham ' quality and was
Maybe the", ..... as a cenain amount of impatience in ",mini.cent of his evil old woman in Hansel andGrt/r/.
Frrgy·s wanting to see right away what he was get . Fergy·s handling of her face was less of " typical
ting. or maybe IS Jack Cuning says. ··Fergy was nCr· formula than most Disney designs, ..... ith shapes that
V<lW • •• In eitherca!le. it wa, this abundance of nervous did not relate as well as they should for animatioo
energy thai led WilfreJ Jackson to recall affectionately be<:aus<: of the witch· s illustrative quality . The mouth
It.. following iocident . Someone asked if Fergy. after to check to eye and brow relationship. which i~ so
arriving from New York. had fit in rapidly and made imponam in animating expres:.ion changes. suffered
his ~nce felt. ··Jaxon' · replied. ··Fergy made his from his concept in design .
presence felt real fast wilh me. They had to get anOlher By 1953. Fergy had found it extremely diffICult to
row of animation desks at that time. so his desk was keep up with the new refinement. in acting and draw·
right back of mine . He used to shake his foot all the ing, and he had left Disney·s 10 won. in OIlier uudios.
time. and it would wiggle my desk and I couldn·t He had suffered much of his life from diabetes, and
draw---w he made his pre!lence felt right away with that. combined with other health problems. brought on
~ his death in 1957.
Fngy·s witch in Snow Whitr was the first of the Fergy·~ style of animating influenced younger ani·
great Disney villains . Her impact on the audience mators and is still in usc. panicularly the quick test to
 , ,

• ,

f. ,~
i
,

\ puncr.· · But this was actually Ham·s way of rclaxing;
\ 1\.1 <>OTe, hi s only f(>mla.1 an training came primarily
..-heck a pro~d
-
panem and maintain flexibility in
any JIIan. [t $Uil~d the " 'ar he thoughL If it works for
do mort.
)'OU.
Whal he did .... ilh Pluw ....·as probably his biggc$1
OOIIlrioolioo. He showed the way for other animators
in !he use of symbols such as takes . fl'(l","s. smiles.
and a ,,-hole range of express ions. Fcrgy's was the
ultimal< of the old style-a broad, l~ fuli ng. in
conccpl as "ell as drawing- a way that kept the door
open for incorporating new ideas right up 10 the last
moment.
Ham
Hamilton Luske was opening the door to a new, more
refined approach in which e"'(!')Ilhing 0"" hilS is put
into tile firs! tesl. Th is ~ui..,s an uninlClTUpted conti-
nuity of thought . h may lake days to do the scene, but
you musl not lose the thread. c hange your mind, or
lose your confidcnc<>-you mUSt be sure!
Ham had an absolute fascination wilh how things
moved . Eric Larson. who was Ham's assistant in the
early thirl ies. says , " Ham was studying anirrullion all
the time-it was his whole life. " O ne "ttkend Eric
and Ham were on lhe deck of lhe Catalina Steamer
with their wi~e$, enjoying the ""3 breeze and appartntly
Irying 10 forgel lhe care~ o f lhe day. But n~ Ham! All
of a s udden he pulled off his tie and held il OUt in the
wind . ·'Look , Eric! Look Illhe overlap . Sec how the
end keeps going down after the center pan Start5 up.·'
Every time the y would play golf;1 was lhe same Ihing.
"Now watch dose . See the f<:lllow· through "" my
and if a fricnd was going 10 relax wilh him, he Ud
better be ready 10 do SQmC analyzing and observing .
'00.
Of the four animat<>ri in thi s group. Ham was the
only one wilh a college educalion. He was graduated
from the University <:If Califomia al BerJocley. whcre
he majorcd in business. His wife Frankie laughs about
thi s, becau se she s.a.y' that Ham would OQ( cven 1001:
al lhe bills or lhe bank book . Like Fergy and Fred
from lhe classes thai Wall inilialed al the studio .
Ham had to struule with hi s drawing. bul he bad I
nalural fccling for animalion, story. and for what ""35
c menaining . So despite his lack of an anislic b.J,ck .
ground. he had many things going for him. Perhaps il
" ·as hi s college training. or ma)·be it was ju,t inbeTCIu
in hi m to have a """'1I -organi 7.cd analytical mind.
Eric Larson said. " Ham pla)·cd a I~ of ICnnis. so
when he was givell the chance 10 animate Max Hare in
lhe tennis Kquence of The Tortoiu and the HOFe, he
knew precisely what he wanted to do , ··llIe impona/ll
thing " ·as his krK)wkdge and fet'ling for lhe game, and
Ham had the ima.gina lion and the vision to dream
beyond what he himself rould do on lhe coon. He
knew the exact poses he wanted to use in his held
 .
:.., .;, -
II ....
po"l,on_ and j usl 00'" much overlap he I\\!~dcd I()
k~cp llIe: (lO>Cs .Iive. Thi s ...a~ a piclUl'\' in ,,·hich
E\"cIYbOOy credi ted II.", ... ith an~lyl.ing the e.<Senct
of lhe cule pose . fl'\'d Mool'\' h~d found the same: l)"pt
1<H Hs" liming ... ~~ "10'" in, ""nan! 10 IIIe: I"'fSOflalilic:. Ihan of thing imuiliwly. While Ilam di(l 1\01 .... ve lhe $aIIlO"
lit It""i. anylhinJ: done so far . llIc roc ky II.", 1.i~d from flair or rt;Ilu",1 fn:linl in hi. (I",,,·,ng>. the)" may Iu.,"t
'I p/<I)~,. I'll"" I<)~ ..... iih ~mpha,is on lhe movinl hold~. ~nd bec:n casier for mo..l ~hcrs 10 undcrsland . E' ·cI)1hilll
play. 1/,
10 folio .... the sp«dy ac!ion bcctw«" these holds. Ham .... as pl"",cd e X""'II)" ,.·he", he wanled It . nlOf"l: cnode"
I.~·
w .... and Wilfred Jackson. the dir«lor. dc:visW the bh~ Ihan in Frcd·s dr:l"·ings. 001 " ·Ilh 'I'\'~ cla"I)·. dd, ....
J/......... Mlul; l«h"iq~ . Juon says . ··1'baI·S lhe: firs! lime I I;"" . and caric~u"' .
tf
"·w.........
"""pI lie "",led outlhe char,ICle~. finding lhe ekmcnlS ia.
","~mbrr s hooiinl a color lesl for a PicIUI"C!o find 001
"" I(\~ if the bI~ SI",U WllS goinl lO ,,""Ofl; oul all rilhl . and a JIIM 1""1 ",all)" pmpoinled lhe ~U"'" of lho fttl
" fir·" il·' a JOOd Ihing ,.·c did . The firs! IWO or thm: time:. and body. the ";ghl pi"",,, for the hands. the arch of thI:
1M I~.'· ...e did i, did"·, ~ui t Walt .1 alL·· back. the lili of the head. ,,~hl down 10 hi~ famous
"'41'<:1> ··noah·· n\OUlh . Wc C~n'" IQ Ihmk of II .n. in lhesc
ter",s. a grown man "ctin~ OUI Ihis cUle stuff- lillie
an imals. d .... rfs. ()f Pinocchit>-., nd ",·cryone urin.
lUred him 111:01 ,,·ay. arod always with the .. 000/1 .. mouth
~l the bottom of lhe loog ui'P"r lip h~e S....,.,~y", . No
one ","cr cancalUrcd Fcr~)" ac!ing li~" Plulu. bul H;tm

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had b«()f11(' a symbol for Ihi , Iype of acti ng.
Wilen Wah a~k~d Ham and Le, Clark 10 dnlw a
bdirvablc. pully girl for Th~ G",/J,u "fSprinjl. boIh
uillW«S ,,·tre slumped. Eric l ar>oo aoclw oot lhe
~' I(I htlp Ham captUIl' !hi: m<lnnwms. but Walt
"'"IS IlOl pIc~ " 'ith the animation. (<<ling il was 100
rubber)' and Ikxible. les fvw nC> toelle!. e,'en " ';Ih 3
real ~i'l fl)l ~ modeL "I used my ~t'l(r. Mar<"~i l . for
Cfnlin pusc'''' lie <aid. "J had to gel some son of
humlll lllcalorny. you know. but it came off miserable.
I dlWtN. And I apologized 10 W~It. ~Il<l lie ki nd of
lIouaOO-i it "ff and said. ' 1 g""s.~ we coold do beller
nut lime.... ' And I tllink the Il'as"" il didn', oomc:
off.1tIt ctwxtcr " 'asn't desigrwd 10 be animated . T o
mt, tile ke~' 10 dw-acter animation is the design qual-
ily of tilt figu,e that you can ">C. I h;ooJ a hard time
"ith the Ii~ure. t\OI thai I didn'l kn" ...· how to draw ;t.
but 10 ",imllt it. "
/.
, .<, ... . ..
, ,'. ~
.
The animators were all wreslling with Illeir filSl
attempt 1<.> draw the human figurc ;n ;001100, and tllty
often wenl behind dosed doon to pl"Xlicc their roovq
withuut the com .... nts of their c<>-" .... kers. ·Tm .un:
Walt w,,-, thinking aheaoJ to .mo,.· Wlli" ." In Clao-k
~ h,dei ... Ahhougl\ he didn ' t tell nW tllat . I a.sumcd
later be"Ust S"",,' Wl\ite hnwlf wa~ de.ignc'd so that
~he <"1m'" be animated . ,.
11Ie ll1limattn ocr ...,ionally g<JI Ihf- glre, the m)1hm.
Ihe rdalionship that distinguished lhe Icllding lady of
Th.. G(~ldnl of Spr;", as a la.Jy : lhey evcn gO! tilt
wei,he "nd Nlanc:e and I"'I"$]I«I;"C ""cur~lc enough
:I<) thai ;n ~ S«1lCS W moved ronvinc:ingly. Bill.
e~hau)tw by ehe effon, they ~lie<.I on a "pretty girl"
formula for the face thaI not only looknl:as if.ne "-en
,,'~aring a muk, bul defeated 1M 100al ~freCi by ,ivinl
hel a .. nmb;e look. She CC'nainly w., 001 alivc and was
M all y devoid of pcrson~lily or feclinp.
,.
.
~
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.
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,
 After Ham had the experience of animating. Tillie
Tiger in EI~r Elel'hom, he ~ali~ed thaI a cartoon
ch<lracter only lived when the ",-hole dra"'-ing, as ",,,II
as ailihe parts, reflecled Ihe aUilUdc, Ihe personalily,
lhe acling, and Ihe feeling ofl he charaCler . His ~nal)1-
;';'al mind and care for detail equipped him for Ihe job
or linding a way of crealing an appealing heroine who
could survive Ihe growing pains of budding artisls
who were eager. bul slill nol able. 10 draw an anrac-
ti,'c girl in mo~ Ihan one position . When lhey started
On lhe heroine in Sno"" Whit<', Ham CQnceniraled on
her eyes and moulh and gcning IS much relalive l11O\'e-
mc:nt in her face as in her body . Crude as many scenes
",,,re , lhey bl:gan 10 live .
like Fergy. Ham had a strong feeling for what waS
entertaining, bUllhere Ihe similarily ended. In coni"'''
10 Fergy· s nalural ability to improvise while animal·
ing. Ham always sumed 10 follow a procedure wilh a
Slep· by-Slep approach. However. hi s anin,alion WIS
nO! mechanical in any way . On lhe con lrary. it was
full of life and the feel ing of the characler: hi. abi lily
10 move the audience " 'ith his palhos was second only
to Bill Tytll·s. Ham could nol Slart a ~ ne umit he
had the whole thing visualized . He would sil with his
arms foJd.)(! s taring at a blank piece of paper---lhinking
and planning . He fell thai if he could spend half his
time planning, he would animate hi s scene bener and
flSter. Eric :;aid Ham would bI: hun<;hed over hi s board.
fussing wilh his drawings and saying, "1lIe~ muSl be
SOme way 10 euggerale this pose." He ",·ould choose
Ihe pm:ise lhing 10 do and then push il funher .
Ham could make that exl", drawing in tlK: ac lion 10
give more Ihan the director asked for. al"'ays going
slronger. If Ihe animalor does jusl whal is on tlK: story
skelch. 11K: scene will nO! have enough zip_ And that i ~
.... hat Ham was bl:st at : lhal. and de~igning the char·
acteNIClion relationship for ~n appealing, interesting
~suh on the IiC re~n . NO! everyone has the mental dis·
cipline or abililY to think these problems through .
As Ham bl:g.an a &Cene. he Illade careful. neal draw·
ings that sho",-ed aU lhe actions, expre.;sions, and details
of timing . This done. he nipP"d the drawings , and
when he found an aClion lhal seemed .... eak he reached
in and crodely made a big. bold correclion on four or
fi' ·e d",wings, as he held Ihe whole OOlch in hi~ hands.
It looked as if two people had animaled lhe &cene, one
a Dr. Jekyll and Ihe olher a Mr. Hyde. bUI il kepllhe
~ne strong and alive with inf.llable staging, dear
action. and strong accenlS.
Ham "'·IS always probing around: Ihal wa, the key
feeling in lhose days _lhc animators .... ere al .... ays trying
to come up with a new way of handling an actioo .
fbm kept experimenl ing. trying 10 lind a diffe~nl
walk: so he kepl varying tlK: timing and relationships
until he finally wem so far Ihal he no longer had a
wal k. He had shifted the ~Iative timing of the am"to
the legs to the body until it waS now a peculiart",i,ti"g
mo"emem .
[f he saw an unusual Iype of animalion or viMla!
cffcctlhat some Olher studio was using. he would get I
kind of pUl1.led. annoyed look and >;ay •. . • woOOer
why we aren·t doing lhal. We should be able to figure
OUI how to do il. maybe even bene .. " And he would
Ihink aboul 111ill he had a beller way . A.... the things
Ham thoughl about- how be could do something new,
gO further and make it IllQre entertaining. give;1 more
personality- theM: were all things he was beginning to
understand in a way that IK: could define them for
somebody else . This was one of the greal things .boul
Ham . He realized thaI thi, typ" of knowledge mmt be:
pb>f~ IJIIIu lhe YOU"!; amnlal"," ,,.. lhe ~t~dio would caricalu'e And Wall ""ronde,1 w:t'ml). (hanki"~ I""
lOt ~ And Ham', ~rI(".'k:<lg( wa, ,,.,. limited fnr hemS tho: in-,p;~li<lfl for kn n)' Wrcn . H am'~ ab,l ·
10 _m.ot~ ... : hi, phi"""-'(lhy "r
~I"') CO' K·"rt-' may 'I~ 10 •...,mh;ne anal)'>'i •. sul>llcl)', aoo ~trc"glh had
hn~ cqouIkd ~ n) ot~ , ro,n,ibuli(>n ~ mad~_ maok knll) an ou. ~tBnding char.oclcr
\I'lltn .. ~ ... "", I~l k in~ O'~' ~ ~ce "e Of a "ory poinl. Ilam had remin"k" lho: ~''''''J! a"'",al>"~ .. 'Ou. fi ••1
"" M H> ... y. "rm Ihinbn~ OUI loud" Wh .1 he job is 10 tell a '1"1)' Ih,,, i,n'l ~oo"·,, to I"" ~UlI;" ......
!IW>IM ""'. "Dun' l take "hal I'm going 10 sal t()() Then ,,'~ h3" C 10 (ell a ' I"'~' Ih,'1 ma)" co'-cr scwr~1
>f,;',",ly)·c I I 'm nol c\"Cn sur<' my,d r. ·· And ""nlC- da) ., . "r !>ever"1 years. in a lilli,' O''a an hour: M'
Ii"" , he w,,~ ld "'y . . Tm ~ "'~ ....·"h)·.wa~h) on pur- c,,",c'I"e ntl)' we have to lell Ihi1\~ ' la,leI Ih"" tbe)'
f"lS<." .. hoeh ,,'~' a l'" \u 1.:1 )"0<1 ~,~)\' Ihal h<' wallk...J haPI'<"" in lit" 1\1", w,' wam '" ma~c Ihmg' m",,:
10 ' «li the 'h""~hl ali ,c. and 10 ,,,n,i<k,
c'""1)1hinj! inlcrc ••in~ Ihan Ofdina,y lif... Our ,,,,t,,n "'"
"k'f\'
hcf..< "",ion, II dovo n. '~h.-aN.-.J Ihan n,·,y.t..y pe,)pk: ,f "'~'k-~)"~' nn 3
A. In ~n'malr,... llam prohabl) ""'WI ~ h,_, _" ghb 110"", ur 01"'''' ~ <Ioor or ,," no ~ eM". "'C "-:on. to'"
>Cl OIl he,,,, a d,rn'OT or ~ ,ut'<"""'g a",,,,.",,-. In 'I ~s .intpl~ ~"" pml-..."" ,,,,,II) ~'I,,-,>,,"k . Our .... 1< ....
IY.lI. lot '"'' "nl) begonmng I" rea,'h h" peal poton - mU"t be 111or~ ,"(~'c'lin~ ~".I ,n.",- unu,,,,,1 Ih~n )""
lial in "",malo,"'- He hdd )", 1 "nim;' I~d ,h~ eha"":I "'
of Jtnnl W,,·" ill \\'/", Kilhl (',,<k l/v/",, -' 11,,,,, ',
Jrn") \la, " ,·. r,,·oWft' ,,) .\ 1"" We,1. an d through j,
onl_1 ""'.I)- he h"d I'i"poimco;i "ha' ""lu.II )' mode
hrf M« \\ CM: . ho: p""\"1I.:3.,,·,, '"
~)· tng ,,'al ~ with the
"""" >It,l1,n, ur ",-c'tht. I"" charoclcr"uc ""3y ~""
rnllnlhtt t~n ~nol talh-.J "ul " r, he ,w.:
of her nl(\\llh
I'" $lk'c....Jrd m 1"l1in~ ~., cdlenl diaIOil'''' >l"". bu.
;" I more lublle way than ~\"e' d,mo: Ixfcm_ And ,h:.,
;, _ of 1100: ,hiogs Ihat maW.' he r Come off S<J wdt.
lll!n (O\lI~ lell if w melhing ,,-as e,'c n one f,ame oUI of

S)'D/:. Jenn)' Nd lhe slow_moving, cool. COI,lidcnl "'''''-

lin" !hat ,~1 .. had-no quick mo"c~ or big amic;pa-
tiMs, SII<., l '~~ ,he ",at M"" _'<""'IC<.I ,,, h a'-~ 31'l""'>Cd
_ ",..a.",. "zed up the OptlO:>iU' lfI , aoo "' ''-~ ,n <"0111-
fiItIt e"nll<~ . The maleri31 Ilam had In ,,<lit " j'h ,,-as
o,"lito!. hul ,\til no' anin'a1<'" h"d <"wr ... '"~ anylhill~
lil. II IId"r" . hW~'''ne , aid . "Th ~i"s nell "'on: like
Mac Wo,t Ih:o" Mac he"clf! '" In fa,· I. ~be "Tnte a
ttn(r h' W. II ""mplim."'ing him on Ihe nUNandi,,)!

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 and I. 1lIcir lhoughl process mU~1 be quicker than
QUI'$. thoir uninlCfCSling progressions from one si ru·
lion to lnochor mU$t be ~kipp:d . " In those fcw sen-
ICfIUS Ham had summed up much tlult iJ in,portant
about picture-making: the Cntertainment , the time de-
melll . the acling. and the elimination 01 un""""","ary
action . Similar principles ha~e long been known in the
freld 01 ' il(11lture. for II.S one di"inguishcd prOfessor
has said. "Great fICtion is art and in~ention , not dupli _
Cited rulily . Most lifetimes do not POSSoCs~ the crises
you find in novels"" h that not what dOll"a is any_
way. life with the dull spols Cut OUt?
Wall probably wondered man y limes. i$ this the
right time to sun SIIOW Wltite? Have we got tho man ,
power and. most o r a ll. :m they capllble of doin&; the
job1 Who should be tho fim animalor to lead o ff on
tho picturc1lbe aru;-""(c1 to those qtIC$tions came in a
casting memo put OUI in laIC 1935: " From 00Y0' on
--
Tltls . _ . I.
Ham wkr is definitely anigncd to SIlO'" Wltirr!"
U....",y a casling memo is just . routine ~ of infOl'_
mation , but this one fai rly tingled with e xcitement IS
W alt announced the fim man to be cast on this dari",
new proj«1 . This iihows the imponantt that Wah at -
tached 10 casling and ea;pcc ially his great dependellCC
on Ham al !hi! time .
" Ham Luske moved up quile fast," recalls Wilfred
Jackson . " He w.. one of the firsl guys I re .... mber
who had nlOre t/uln JUSt an assistant_ prOmising young
guys ho would hand o ut lillic IOUnes to. One of tile
first guys .... ho bad a c rew to supe .... ise . Then On Snow
Wltirr he took complete chargo-ltic girls. . tho ani_
mals. If you lIIIm: dirttling the se<!"'"occ' with the girl.
you didn't have 10 direct the &;ill because Ham did it.
He bEw the way it was s upposed 10 be . tic shot ~
of the live action on it too. lie c.me up very fast and Ile
sllO"'w his ability to organize and put things together."
M>/", tlttur . . . •Iri• . Wr "7'. laid bJ H"", ...
,ltiM of ··D,. IN",,,,,,.:'
'N .Iut> s~ 11I ,.,..~, kids
....", ,,..,, Aut ,h, '''''"'''''}"
w..J"" ,hid:. kJfi fI-,."
c",... ,i~, . T~i. i. M kltarl
I"i'" Pcto, P~n. ~ni"'(l/ro
by I/~I K;~g .
Ow, of ,ltl. 'hinting cam,
Ih. ,~bbillin Snow While
_ Itls O,1r draM'" by Milt
KoM ...hil. "",,*,"1 ",ith
H"",.
 OI'kft .... II<'ft llam ~1IIl Fml MOOfC "'ould be dis·
1ur11n11IlIouI <o"Imtthing on the pi<.-turc the:y would run
,,10 W._·s o;>tl"oce. full of cnthUSIasm. hoping 10 sell
lIinIlhrir ide. of ho .... 10 corrttt it . But .someho.... Wall
oouldll .... y. scmc if it "" as WffiClhing he did not .... lnt
10 hw ..,."" 31 Ihal Ii,"", AIIIl be.ides. he: did 001
warn .n)'one in III<' position of telling him . o • .-;e ll ing
him. Of conf."",,ng him . Wall had", @rcal curiosily.
but he pl'd(l'f~ 10 find thing, out in hi.' o ""n ",·ay.
1IIk., til<' quc51ioo. he "" anted an5WCI$ II): arrJ his
opnIi", ~m'lflt) .... e..., usu~lIy duigMlJ to pUI you I)fI
/
.., dd...... I~c Of! 001: occ;o"ion. before Ham arrJ Fr.:d
cwkI JCI.' 00'00:1 OUI. Walt ,>,,-id ... ~. Ihm. 1 dodn ' t
bow)'OII f'"<" "'''"' l lie to """'k ."' whi<.-h gOl thc:m
offba~ and off Ihc: .ubj""" They had a nice chat.
and he~nll""'m on thcir way, When Ihcy gut ha lfway
dooon til<' 11;.11. they Slopped aM I""kc\l al each tllhe.:
Fftd >aid. '" Iky. ",ait a rninulc~ 1)0 ),ou r.:ali l.( wc
didn'llI'l a ,,'ord in'!"'
Ibm si~ and said. " Yuh. he: did it again "'
~ "'JS of",n d,fr",ulllO koo'" prccisely " 'hal Wah
loa" ;. • pocu of business. and .ft... eac h ITICcting
dim wouW be wme di&agrecmCnl OVtl' ,,'hat he h.ad
Aid.:on:I c,'on more confusion o" cr " 'hat he: had mtant.
Durin, thom SIOQIO' IV/tjle \lays. Ham was u.ually the
IIISI at kntw"n! jUM ,,'hat Wah wamed . As O~ man
p;ot~. "Somoonc: ,,'oold say Ihal Wall ui\l M want S il
liM '-;l. Ibm " 'oold ....y. ·No. lhat' S not what hc:
_ . Tho. l< ....11;01 he mean< ... But no one hil il
riP .. tho Un", wilh Walt . and Han,' S fint Iry ~t the:
S-- WIll'" mo<lel missed as f .... a~ Wait and n100M of
• klk.., .. , ,,'e.e cOfICemed . llam had an Inl ....csting
idea. iIol>'C"CI , H i~ drawing . ugge,ted an aw~ wa.d.
pIJIy teen.gel' ".. ilh a wim;"mc " harm . who could
¥Cf'j .-ell b>w t....,n animate<! without liv( ""tion, ilUl
!be WOf)' Iu<J >I:utcd 10 go a diffcr.:nt way b)' this lillie .
• !bon's F"I "'.." lurMd oo-..·n. If a ~tory $ktl<:h man
lid IIII'k the dr:l" m! it " 'OOIld not ha,'C attr:oc1Cd I i
-acrit",,,m. bolt when an an;m~I()f lUg~tS a " 'ay " '00 on lhe in~pindion of lhe: """"lent as an ao;1Or
1(1 *t.... the ch.u-a.Mcr , c"cryonc figu.~ thai IS lhe " 'ay \1""5. bul mu . 1 prc~nl our Char.>Ctcri7.alions through a
it is loin, 10 1),;. Siocc he: i. the uoe 10 pul {he char", · combil\;u~", of an. ltChniquc. and mcch;onic. {h;ot takes
111'011 lho: >c.een. til<" animalor r,nds him~lr in a "cry months fMIIl lhe concepliun to the finishW I"oouct.
.... omble p<"ilioo. and oflcn he "'inds up ,,"ilh a And ,,"'c h ~"c to make the au\lic~ rorget that the~
WOUIIIIod <I" arc \I...... ing • . We Cannot ri.k ruininl a SC<j ... nct or •
Some of II"", '. best thouj:hts came OUI in a lal k good Ch;or.octCri7.ation w;lh WIlle mccllanical irnp:rf«--
Jim! .. 1'133. "Our :>elors a.e dl'll"'ings. We cannot lion <If J,II( I lhat reminds lite auoJitnce that ""C are

from IMfill1t
10rJ 10 >/I"Jy
~ Bdl and
'" '" S.... ,,'
,.;"", Iib.JIoI
M;, "IJII~.
duling wil h drawi ngs inSlead o f ~al being~ . The .uc·
ccss of s,,"'" Whil~ wai d ue: 10 lhc publ ic accept ing
(IU' ChvaclCr$ as living beings. and llw: Ixt of 5UCCC~~
of the PrillC'C and llw: Huntsman las clw"~Iersl "'as
~ 10 lheir unprofcSliional ~~ult ."
~hfgie Sd l, who did the Ii"e action of the girl in
S"",,' Whil~, Idls of a funny incident during the shOUt·
ing , So Ih . t Ihe g irl's head size would ha\'c bellCf
car1 "on proponions and relale more 10 the . athe. la.ge·
headed dwarfs, SOmeone sugge sted, " Why don ' t wc
pul a fo<)[""1I Iw:lmel on Margie 10 make Iw:r head
biglet'l Th:1l oughta 00 it . ,. That did it all righl . Margie,
who 12tc. achieved fame on TV as M arge Champion ,
said thin " 'ithin minutes. under those hoi ligm s. $he
was re.spiring rr..... than a 260-pound tackk . She
'lr IJIId ,,,,,. added. " We lave that up in a hurry!"
""", IN ""- Ham made an enormous contribution 10 Snow Whilc
*"",~! .,\m
by ~ way he directed M argie fOf the Ii,'c x lton .
~ Ij"", 11><
",,",. -.I. Ham', chokes in handling lhe gi.L lupin, he. inno.
tdrl;tT, cent. feminine . appealing. and .ince~. ,,·e. e lhe ~al
, the scene look. "illed. If the movcm",", scems inad ·
keys 10 her acceplance by lhe audience , Th is Canno! be
done arbilrarily. The live action mu s! be s!udied m:I
undc .... ood Of , wilh a chaf3O;lCr like lhe girl , it could
bc<:omc comical . A I llw: lin~. il was juS! lhougl\l of IS
a Iw:lp 10 gclthe picl u~ (lUI. Of a cf\llch fOf animal""
who could no! dra .... 100 well. or I way of keeping!he
elwaclcr ronsisrent even Iho\Igh :ie,'enol animalQr$ \OUt
handl ing. her . Bllt looking back <)11 il now. " 'i1ho.t
Ham's control and imagin;otion. tasre and inventi~,
Soow While " 'o,dd no! hav( h"" lhe conviclion and
appeal lhal reall y sold the c haraclcr.
Wall fell lhat Ham had Ilccn ~ uoxess ful in slunng
the fellow, in th~ Ti ghl direttion on Sno'" Whit... and
for llw: n\OSt pa" he h"" achic\'l:d IIw: ~suhs wanted:
SO Walt rewarded him with lhe very difficlill la.oJ: of
shooIing li,'~ xlion for lhe BI~ F~iry in Pi_'flll" . In
I tal k given by Ham 1<> a group of animators m:I
direclors. it bc<:a"", obviou, thai Iw: was npecially
valuablc ,.. a con,n,uniUlions ~id hclwttn llw:l'C {WO
groups:
LeI' s say the character of the Slue Fairy now tI
pene<:tly c""""ived and perf~ll y ,:0.>1. 'Illen I ~'"t
10 go over to the """nd stage and shoo! livc actioa
on her that will appear na .... less and life· like as ani·
malion later on: afllJ 10 do thai . I have to in"m!
m,l" enlCnts agai~nough movements 10 be ablo
to be inbelweened . And IIw: only movemcnt< "'c can
find for Iw:r 10 do ar"t 10 have Iw:r lean f"""'ard and
b.Kk . So con:ie'l~ntly. in cvery scene. we IOId
MlU"gie Ikilio lean ("""lnI fow one ph""'" and bact
fOf the nUl. unt il it "" funny . We did cono...,i"C
s.e,..,ral walh and one ~ne o f her bending confi·
dentially inlO a cl~up with IIw: Crickel- and thai
will be OUr be .. scene of her . . . .
You !Ihould rel111w: actor wh~1 1000, no! how 10
do it . J think the trouble with mO~ 1 of our li ve ac!ion
has been in not giving lhe actor enoogh business to
do. and then meddling w ilh the way Iw: docs it wben
C<juatc . invent sonIC b"sioo:Sli. ~\lC h ~. pr>I: ;ng lilt
fire or SC'ralching the head .
An uample of in"cm ing busine:s. for ~ char.ortn
occulTed in lhe scene: "'Iw:~ Soow Whire (old< ""
arms as Grumpy " 'ould. while slw: os ,,'atching him. lr
 .... vtry JOOd \:~e of aclion for M I. bcealiK il
*"'" lit! sentk way of tc:a$ing Grumpy. And if
H-llid JKII u!oed an action of Ihi' typ<:, he W()tJld
..... betn IhlCk ".. ith hlvlnilio move her either ,lighlly
blt:k or slighlly forward . Ham continues with hi5
IfIPIllKh:
Ir WIn ",'e pick our Ii>~ ;tC,ioo lakes, a person !hat
!rtIM', aaima~ is '~ry apt {o pick them for flCial
6prtlSlOt"l!' . and 001 for K tioo . And we can' • • fford
10 do lhll .
Ham', capilCity to analy~c and to work OUt a proce-
clift WI rould be ",Titlen in outline form as a guide
lor othm rudo him " too yaluable " to be oonfined to
_ board . I" ..." though he did some an;mation on the
PI in S/ICIO' Whirr. Ham wa~ reall y a directOi on the
pK-llm. Wall felt Ihal Ham' S value lay in the influence
lit could 11>.,,, on 11M: younger animators. So , much of
....."mation handout, on the Prince. Snow While,
.. IIUM$JJIaII. and the: animals was IUmCd over to
HIm. SomdIow Walt always seemed to Io»d Ham up
.-idI.-. wOO: than anyone else . Fred and Bill sham!
the supervision of the dwarfs, ~lId Fergy took over On
lilt wiu:h. Any Olle of these: jobs was a handful , but
Ham'l WO\IJd have been inl unnountable for I1"I05t peo-
ple. KowcVCl, he h.ad • wly of spreading himself
~ .. hik still be ing effecti,·e .
Ilul 's arW)'lii. of tIM: beSt approach to desi,ninll a
d:w1ClCr that ,"el)"OI1I: rould halKlle i. s till in use
klday. Cflliinly the execution is more sophi)li cated .
but lilt princlpleli are the ,anle-a, arc the problem s.
k II _~ing to see in lIam's 1938 outline (in the
"wt.:Iil) OIl his app.....adl to ellar.octe. handl ing how
~ • iIIIJIIic. !<><by. As lhe "Knch ~y. " n.c mon::
tItiIJp cfIlIIgt". the mo<~ the )' !<lay (he ~me . ··
"lilt had a knack for being crealive in helpinll to
de>dop areas of animation thaI needed Stren~tlll:ning .
He w~ gtl":M with the you nllcr n~n, and . alo na with
md Moon: . WIIS prob;I.bly the beSt "'ac~. ;tIl_Jthe
1IIIioruIon. The suptn';~ing position tllat Ham held
0- 5_' Whitt" ...,." MkaJly SU;ted 10 hi. abilities. lie
_ " his pc:ak when he wa~ working do..,ly wilh lhe
youn, ",imtiOtS and still had 50"'" lime at the b<lard
bimsrlf. He was usually gentle and easy going with
lis o:tnlc:i-!m. but'" wuld be quite blunt and forceful
if thr sit uat ion IkmandW it . For one: thing. he roukl
00( wlente anything that "'"as 001 clear and definitc: .
" If you are going to ~w ~thinll. be SUIT )"011
don't do it halfway !" When ~ drew fOi you he would
oontinually "'ork his mouth and his brows. and he
seemed to be uraing hi~ pencil on and willing it 10 <lo
wllal he was visual izing .
livery time Ham would do or say >Omethi", ...
thought wn really funny . ~ ",_Id laugh so hard his
fllCc ",'ould lum red IU1d teat$ would roll do"'n hi~
cheeks. His favorile joke& were punr-the visual kind.
and the more farfetched. the bett~r . 01{«" in a meetin,
someooe mentiot>«! Bell &. ~Io... ell projectors . In an
;n!;Can! Ham "'";IS on his fttl ringing an ''''''gmlll)" bell
and then ju~ a~ quidUy I'amo miminlt a Ion,. , ikal
howl. Aft~1 that he would !;Cart laughing . usually in
lillie $hort bursts. Rnd our disapproval only made. him
laugh hallkr until finally he ..... ould Ito inlo convul .
.ion_ particularly if he Wlil reall y proud of his dfO!1 .
When he " 'ould eventually regain control. he "'ouid
look Nd and fonh among us with this half·bun upR$'
~ion and wonder why we could 001 iCC the humor in
his joke . Actually he had such an infectious laugh that
it was harolo resist getting inlO IIII' ~pirit of hi ~ gagl .
It is doubtful thai Ham or anyone else could hive
realizc<lthe far'll'aching impao:;t hi s procedUlTli wou.ld
have 011 the fututl: of Disney anim;ltion . WailliUd tile
.mlltmcllls thai the... proo:cduTC$ b",ughl . and ;t _
obyious from tM popularily of t... pio;IU\CS '" the bo~
office that the audience " 'holehealledly IIttc]>I"d theM:
advancemenU. TIle direction for the funher develop·
ment of.nimalion had been SCt. alKl much c~dit coo ld
go 10 Ham . ..... hQsc ability to Bn.>J YI.e. organi« , lind
plan had helped open the way .
Ham was a top dir«1Or on both P;If("-rlfio and Fd~ '
lus;l>. a position that he e njoyed. '«Iing;t ga,"C him
the Iype of conlrol he n«ded 10 be mn"t effeclive . Dut
as lime pan ed his interest. dll'w him funher Iway
from animalion. and iIJi lhe MW group of M1ptrvilins
animatorS added their contributions to the rapidly de~l.
oping craft flam h.ad Ie» and It» innuo:nccc Oft the an.
fOOT! he had done iO much to advance. lie ~inucd 10
direcl memorable ...qucnccc •. notably the cartooo _ _
tion of M a...,· PoppilfS. but. in<:reasingly, more of hi s
time was Spenl o n live ·action problem~ for the weekly
TV sOOws. until his lIcath in 1961l.
 Speed Lines, Staggers, and Vibration s
n~ .hQrI film' .if'he ~<ldy ,h;,,;., ,,'ere full 'ff<lM <lClion. slid,. fin,l ,·,mlle.' . Each
{mi"~"()r "'Of< ·h,d for" beller or f'''III;'' 11m- I<J dra ... Ih. '!f"'1 II,,'/e'/ I<J fi"'if'-
hi, "<"I;<>I! .

.","
iii

"" '/MAfOlt Frlln' Th"""IS-

Siceping Bc~uly.

F'alur~ film. al,o IIr,J,.d

'''' w.u,,1 d,m"; n~ "!f" fi"
'IS
c,,,,,i,, {/Clio,,'. Whe" 110 ..
fI(}Od fain- Flo", had 10
shrink in si:~. " spfd,,!
d,da ,,'{I' " ....,1,,/ I<> ""'ke
,hi, I,,,,k plau.,ible. II kind

,
\--\-+-
', -+-; 4
. •
of " 'iPM"" m,l<l, "f _'I"",d
lines "US uud .

[h. mo.II ,'Qmm"" ,/agger i.,' llor }.J.1.J5656767IJ7IiY liminK

for I(n ,>loll "'hen ,{<I"'"
rm8yc.,_,;"n " dc.,·;ml. II i, ''''fnl in
1',,1/, "'''/1'",10 ... ,md on 110, ..",I ,if <I ",'r\' ."''''"~ I<lke.
,,,MII'~ ..."'" 'if' '" Ih. <lClioll . [iii, '''''fI~ ..r is ,1<11" ,"'ird.,'
wilh ,10 .. ",,,'hllnie, <If""I""inR Ih .. d"''' 'i''~s ",,,/,, II,.. "(1"'-
m,. IniNlWeem ",. ",,,,/• .,I",,·in8 inl<> d"",;"1' No. \I "",/
Ihe 'f.II I." I,.ji up '" Iile ,'lIme",m<l"
 "'w_".... Bill R'''''''I.~
Clo<~ Clea n..,.
Til •• ,-'b,mimr ,,,...., ,.
,ll"hin"tJ by oni"..,.", "'''/.
,.,." "''''!;<"S "",tr- " .<IN ·
,I, """,,-SO Jf'ITh'/'~"
" .,,, Ira, '" INMI."ud. ..1I<I
,,,,,. f'<", ... u/',r 11<"<"11• <1/ , ....
•u ..... ,,',1/ J"~'m;"'· t..",
i, " "'",dl,,/ . .\"" '~'v m",!I'·'
, 1"",I,i .... in ,h,· ,.wn,' /,1,,, .,.
on ""Il ,' ''''eeom', .tr"~'
i"lI' . v' 'h, e,'e ~ ...II ,"." ,".
a "'''1' '" II/f "m""

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I I
 \

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,
;1 I
6. Appeal and Dynamics
FRED MDORE AN D BILL TYTLA

"W. ~.m 10 too... "'h,,, 10 "'01' tit, htoTl. ' O,h". ha,~ hit 'ht imrliter. 11'. r.." /rillh,,,, h' '''' """,rional"Yl}'.
1'IIou IO'/w uPINal tt) lit, im,lIrel only "ppr.d to a lorry Umiud group . Tit, "0/ rM"g ~hind ,his is : w,
(IT, in lit.
lIII)fi(Jft picrwr, tn..inus, onl)' ..... ar, ur"K'ing Ih~m ;"SI.M of pholOgruphinlf. rhm':' Walt Di~llty

However. his brolhers did 001 know whal Illey were

Fred
frtd Moon: never did It I 10 be a bilIUY, and wben be
" ' youn, be ,,'as mIlCh smaller than his broIbers .
l1q ..wid all pl~y buebaU IOgelhtr. and. OfCOUr5c.
!bey always made FrW play in I~ oulfidd and nevtr
ga •.( him a chaoce at bat. Finally. his mOlller made the
bt"uthm leI the linle guy bal . BUI the firsl ball wtnl
ovn hIS head. and t~ KCOnd one came along the
JI'lIIIId: tach time they " 'ould yell. "Strike!" The
third pil~h was Ihrown behirKI him . " Slri ke Iltr«.
you'", OUt!" F1l'd wou ld ge l so n,ad he could eat din .
missing. bee.uS<!: Fred really was a good .thlele. Ten
yean laler. ,... hoen Frtd was al Disney·s . ......·as bMy,o.·o
as ",he most ooordillll1ed guy in the ulidio.·· Acoord-
ing to Wilfred Ja.c:kson, " He us.ed 10 do all ~ vm-
naslies. Fred «l\lld knock tile ball clear oul of tile f'tld
where we were playing." Bul he look a 101 of kidding
about his s;u . lIam Luskr was juu enough biger
!han Fred 10 eaU him "squin." Ik lited 10 let FIN 10
~Iand back 10 back "'im him so ''''Y could measun .
E~n wilen Fred "'Of'<' his lhkkc~t shoe •• he was ~lill
looking up II the OIlier feUows.

BRAVE LITTLE TAiLOR

- R:M 14 -

c
 He ruUy wa~ a funny liuk iUY, bue IC..... ~~ noc Iliac
"" " "as If)"ing co be fUMY . h " 'as jU!1 Ihac his propor·
lions ..~ ' Ule. lib, his d.a,,·inp. MId il kind o f licUed
)"00 10 " 'IIl"h him moye:.round ,m'''linl ~ like
FmI ASlaire orChaplin. or trying _ raney jll"linl
acl. Eyen if che stuff dropped on the Ooor. Fred .... ""Id
al ..... a)"~ end up in I good pose-junlike hi, dra,,·ings.
He could IIOl Secm 10 do an}·chinl,,,·kw.rd .
The chinl ch.1 firmly csl~blishtd him a~ che Ir>p
alhlele ~ moni the arlislS " 'a!i ilK: way 1M: cou ld Ihrow
pllSbpin.••nd make lhem Slkk in lhe ....oo<Ic:n (\QOrl al
,"" old lIyperinn Studio . Hc I!oc :10 (IQII<Ithal he ,,"uld
throw IWO with each hand at Ihe !>ame ,i_ lAd make
allrow "iel:. This " 'as an ;no;mJ ible d"pia)' o f lim;nl!
and nalural ahi,ily. beelU,"" the a,·er.se feU" .... '~nnoc
eyen bo: ~urc of sli, ~ i ng <lne al • lillte . 8U1 cva)"onc
w~ s tryinll 10 do il. and wilh aU lhe~c pins banging
againsl the doQrs Ihere was an awful racket up and
do ..'" lhe hall . The noiw ~'>1 "" loud Ihal il carried
up"lain ..... here Wah could hur ;1. and he could no!
"JUre oul " 'hai .... as going on . Gradually 1M com~li·
lion la~red off becalU" Fred had ma~lercd "'''ry ...3)"
M could chink of 10 Ihrow lhem : MI he 10SI in le re.<1
except fn. an O«"asional h ISS behind his bac~ '" O\·c.
hi s shou ld.r .
An(lIhcr Ihing about F.cd--}·ou ...."OUld ha"c 10 ~all
il a ~r :l<lMlic)" Irail- he cOlI ld flO1 laugh al Of . eally
enjoy ~ Ihinl by him",lf. lie would keep the hu,"",
all botlled up inside unt;ll he righl people " 'e,,, arOllnd
to enjoy il .... ilh him. One nighl he .... as ..vrk.nl m·e.·
Ii.... alone on SIlO ... Whilt ~nd diwo' ·frcd ho ..· fu nn)'
lhe d...,:wf, ~okcs §OOnded " 'hen he ran che film t>.xk·
" 'WIO re .... ind i1. H: probabl y .cl)"fd a.... ake half .he
nighl Ihinking how funny il ..... ould bf '0 run Ihe :I<)(lnd
backward fur us in the mornin g.
TIle ne~1 day he .... as lbere ahead of any of u• .
... il'lIl OUI ,n tIM: hall and about to burst " ';Ih ~nlicipa·
lion . lie pulled us inlO the room "here Ice ha.I the:
~Io"ioll all ""V1TICd up and ",.iu"l " Wail lill )"ou
guy. he .... lhi~!·· He stepped on 1M pe:<.b.1 Ind imn",di ·
alely Ihcsc e rv.y sounds ... ncd ,~,mi,,~ 001: " Yah.
yah . yah. osker baby. (FQfWanl Ih is is . " He nevcr
lried. hah . lIah, hall .") Then. " msnik de middem. "
.. hic h Is. '"1" m agin' . em ..• The lau~hler Ihal Fred had
penl up fromlhe pre"iOllS c"ening (lme OlIllikc. dam
~aking. and " 'e III doubled up laughing " ',Ih him.
" 1 kne'" )'011 IU)'s "'OlIld chink '1... as funny:' hi
I!'~p<"d . And lhe ",eird ~n~u:lge contin""d 10 1""""
of !he ~"u"'er.
Fred ....... onl)· eighteen atlhe lime he ....... hirtd. 1IoI
art lraining had been limil'''' '" a few ni~h. d~s>cs.
101 in e~c hange for janilorial " 'nrk al Chouinard', M ~
In §liIUl( . He ",as given a ~" rlCAI 10 Jack CUlli",:
....·h" wa. nne of Ihe )'oonger ;'ni"'~lor... Jack <aid.
··Fr,.,J ....·()IIld ~illhe", ... ilh hi ~ anm fo l<kd rOf a _
c~
utc . 'ncn .. I:on d ·
r, ,,·,nl. lie hadn . I be.:n lhore ..... ,
Ihan 24 hours. Ind he WI' IIlaking the"" gr~aI draf,.
i"p . I c<)uldn 'l belie .... il .
da)'~
lJ y
lhe end of ~ c~"' l
he "'as slan ing to animale :something. " "e,)1bUc
came ca.)· 10 him."
·· Yes. Fred "'a~ j usl ffghl for the Ii....·," W.4
Kimball sa)'•. "He was Ihe fi.,.
one In e",ape fro.
lhe m., ld "f the nJbbcr h,,,..,. ,,<lund circle .<chuoI . He ~
bell-a n gelling cou nler n",,·cmems. ~""nl cr Ihru,".",
,he ..... a)· he drew . He ""'i1kd ", makc Micke}", ,hcrlI l
mow ",·,Ih his """'Ih ...... hich lhe ~' h..! "" Cf do.
hefor~ h"<:au~ )'ou d"' ...· ""Cf}'lhing i""ode the nmr.
lie "'Iua~ and s'reICh,:d him more and ......~ riglll.
lbe .ime. 001 Fred " 'as a lIi)!h ",'''''''I 'l3 i''''' an;n_
. .. ~nd be n""" nr less cn",r!cd dr~wing Ihal ".IJ"'!
NoI:><)('! y '"""~ 10 rctll<.·mber any dc,·d upn",n!. n.
rnl of us came inlO Ih i~ I'l:u:e- it ....·as a strang!
placc--"'c adapted 10 il. and .. e k(pllryin~ I" imp<<l't
~nd chanlle . ami .." henmc stlld.:nlS.,r il . "",,,d 11M"({
lhoughl vi" CI'l:!I. he w",n'l ~ >tudent of anin1<>lioot. IIr
...'" JUS! a !IlIlural. J!ifl~"" ani m:llor . .. ht.>sc "iIl'k MIl
dc ,d"l'mc:m " 'as perfecl. IIming· ...i ... for lhai pooa
in Ii"", ,' "
E""n lhe old· hand 1\1 "'k~y nrcn. su" h as I.e, C"laIt
wcre "'l1a1.ed a. whal F",d e,,,,ld dn. ··1' ......1 ..... a~ I
natural . li e had a nalu,...~1 now 10 his w'''~ . Ile"ooklD'l
m~kc a h:t<l drawin~. "'all}·. ·· n, is w..., I"lt:cau,"" Frtd
I
..·as ~n intutt"·c d.af"""n. and il is '1",,>t io llObk
...·helhe' """" fonnal an train,n, " '0II1d ... ,.... a.j,-ancal
him . Ik JUS! " 'as not as ",icnlw 10 ... assmo. ...... "'"
lc<1urc.' ~, >OlIte or the "",n ..."re. Ik wuuld '""y. !
.. Don G.aham can giye )""u 11'1<: ru le ; I j ll" !oay .1 looks
b,w er ...
Thi ~ is Plnbabl}' Ihe I)igg(>1 Ihing Fred had ioin~
for him : he h:t<llhe abilil)' 10 cell " 'hen ~melhing ,,-as
boue, OM " 'ay Irn.n "",.. her. II ,s difflCuh .(> r.."II.
.. F",ddic dJII"'ing" lhal did 001 hl\'c e Ye ' ything in 1!If

.........
,.
.....,.-
'fin. ItQJ "
FmlMOOf't
right place . l1le arms were always retaIN to lhe restof
the dnwing. and e~en if he put !hem where they would
nOl ~ lIQI'Tnalty . they still looked right. The head
~med 10 ha~ the righl lilt for t~ shouldeR. and
w,,",n he su=hed _thing O~l he could make thai
1001:: ~. too. If Fred drew il. it was pleasing 10
--
look '1. and it was this pleasing quality that earried his
work II\Cn than the acting.
FfW could not uprns hi~1f in words ~IY wdl.
". but hi: had • feelina for ",hal I drawing ought 10 be.
II """"" " "
As Larry Clemmon s says . " He WI, such. hdp to
typifird ~II other guys. Guys would come in his room and say,
... an/lUlU .
rd h)' lNt. ' FfW . how would you do lIIis?' Fred would say. 'Well
bm:!,-and he 'd ~w thc~ didn', in;lUfI:, he
juSt did ii ," Fred eould communicate his ilkas Ihn.lup
drawings bene. than anyone around. and that i. one of
the nu,n rcawns Watt made him a supcrvisoron S_
Wiliit . II was not that Fm:l1Iad any special leadership
qualities; il was because he: had such gn:at dwm and
appeal in his drawings . When IIOIT1oeQne wu doinc
rom.:! hing well. Walt wanted everyone to benefit from
it.
Walt kept prodding Fred to make drJ,winp fOl lilt
upe~nco:Ilnilmlors as wen as tIM: youn, ones. 10
Ihat .n tIM: dwarfs would look like hi s. This wu. very
difficu lt assignmenl for Fml . He would say. "~.I
~an'l go inlo some guy's room and say 1(1 me sitdowl
and make I <lnwing for you. Walt keeps ~lIing me ".
bul I just can' l do it unless tIM: guy asks me 10."
It is hard to believe Ihat a man with Fred' , Lale ..
would ever have any real diffw;ulty wilh dl'llwinl , but
aboul every four months 1M: would ha~ his trotlblts.
For two month' 1M: would be happy : tlM:n . in 1M third
month. he would be reslleu and sian .searching fOf
somelhing 10 Slimulate him , looking at m~gazir.es &nd
at dl'llwings by animators whose techniques were dIf·
ferent from his . BUI 1M: was not reall y ,"\>dying •
much as looking . Ariel' that 1M: would spend a mism.
ble six weeks or so trying 10 incorponlle what he Iud
learned . He would have no end of trouble mastc:ri"
11M: new ideas thai 1M: was trying 10 gel inlo his o.ul.
Sometimes il was hard 10 \ell, during this period, ...'bIt
Fred was talking about or whal 1M: was trying to lIIXOfI\o
plish . But finally 1M: would come out on lop and ha ....
another period of. couple of months in which be mi·
Iy was happy again .
AI limes Fred felt Ihal B different pendl would givt
him a new s lant on things . WlM:n be could not dr.tw
what 1M: wanted. 1M: was inclined 1O.\.U5peCI the pape!'.
the color o f the lead . or 11M: weight of 11M: pencil. " I
 don't know what's wrong with this p.;ncil: it ju~t <Joesn't
5«m to work anymnre'" Th" prompt~d ('..:orj;e Stal·
linp' to !.IIy. "You guys are like ba",ball player.,; ~)'
billie 1hcir ~Iumps and their 'urel"liti tion~ . They think
they b.,. 10 have a 'ped:.lbat - Iheir 'Iucky' bat -
and you !law: to have your spo:cial p.;ndl. ,uTiSf' F,~d Moor._
II WitS imporumt thai Fred he ~ompletely bUM on bi , Snow White .
sceneand ha"e nothing undermine hi~ confidence while
Dr~ ..-,~ ofSnul.'- d;,pI".,·,
he was working on it . ~cauw he could not ..... orl< until Frrd' s ~M'"ord"'d'" ("(m·
he felt right. The <10')' business ha<J to be ri~h1. the ,,,,I 0 ..." hi. Ii..... .
layout. the <taging. and the footage for his '"",ne.
These were .11 the responsibilities of olher." he fig _
umI. Then be had to fed right ahoUi himself. He had
toapproach the M:ene with confidence. gel his ego up .
~ ...·oold say. "Tell me how Itood Jam , fellows . " We
alwl)'S overdid it and told him that Walt neede<.l only
one animator a, long as Fred Was around. and he
would say, '"I don't need to be Ihm good, iI's only a
lihl. soxnc!" But laughler arnl the 'piril of fun had 10
be !he atl1l<"plicre or he coold not wOlk.
\I.'hen he w,,-' all square with lhe world and him»elf.
he would perch On hi, chair and 1-ip. zip. I-ip-hc
would go Inr<)llgh a ten ·foot scene in an aft~m(lOn, and
1h:n have lime 10 slarnl 3!"<)und and joke about how
IIIIt .11 tllw;e things we said aht .. ,1 him were. J Ie h~led
to ~ '"OI"T"<lioo •. believing thai all one'~ crcative
....It;.. \hould go inlo th~ linn exciling. complete
olTon. Whal came OUt 'parkled and lived and appealed.
and if yoo arc an emotion.llype Ihi, i. tile only way to
JO! Otwiou.ly, IlIi, procedure is hased on cmifidrnu.
The dlllwing' ",nected il. and his speed and (oocen·
Ilallon ,bowed il.
Fnxr. grtal facility with hb dr~wing fascinated ~ve.)'.
OM. It WaS uncanny ti}c way h" could plll hi s line
down with .\lIeh accuracy-shon Ii"", or long nowing
li..... ;1 made: no diffcren<~. lie COI.I ld control lhem

._' .'
Til< Mood S~ .., D'fKJ'"
_~, NJd ,h.
rtJpOIUi/>1UIy
1M diJlTI/Ho,i"t dnl,,'i"t~ NI'JlArot/ F,.d M",,'~
,Mt slttTto"td 'M t>ppr1W'd Pluto', JudiJUtlll Day.
appt<UtJN1 ",......... • M,·
I'I~", tJPPtfJ'~ 10 'hink as
- .. W....d KitJob<,lI .....
.,..id ",tid ,Moot IIyfrat...• 'M •.<pr.uiM r""",'"
u., IrUruIIf u. ,hi. for.,,.· ,
il. woodtl Wtf . ..1Ik~ Ms
htnf'r dnno.;~,. ,Iwnt _ y
"" ,lot .... ~"', OM'. ,IWJW.
i w, pi...,;. . h ..pts. ~w l·
""" "bI'/()I"ffIJ. aM br-'
~1I1'wd...

/121./-2 ;:;PP-6-''R$VISI<£) KllfBALL I'f()C£L" ClO- ~ MA.

~

•
all. His line Wls beauliful; it aimosl had a quality of
$ba.lin,. When he nalunlUy made the line thicker at
~ bonom of the dwarfs' juwb. it gave them an UU"ll
ktlill, of ..-ei~ and dimension.
Will IIIU very . ..-an of the , harm and plus;ng
quality of Fred's drawinl! and usually brou,lu the
impo!\lllt vi.ilors inlo his room. Fn:d found Ihat lhe
visilm wen: pani<:ululy enlraneed wilh seeing IWO
do:Iwiq:1 llu.1 could be flipped to show a dlange of
upmsion. web., goin, from a frown to. "lIke : '
CIIIWft 01 ~ eyes that showed tho: brows and the
ria: lIIO\'in&. ~ shapes Inimating . Fn:d rommenled
om and over •. 'llIey love !O s.ee tt..: d",wings move
IIId the characters think! Remember Ihal! Ifs what
IIq like to!iU in our scenes. II's what they liked wilh
Fern's l'Iuto. you mow. We should always let them
101 tbc dwaclm think r'
. . . dIIring this pIwoe thai the animators diSOO\"ffW
~ INt imponaoce of !iUing the characters think by a
than,. of Clpl-eSl;ion . llIey were concerned wilh the
principles of ""ting when lhey stumbled upon th at idea .
11 was just lhe heSI use of Ihe medium in showina
audiences what. you wanted them to "'"" . o.o:r the
)'ean " 'e ha"e upcrimenlCd ronIinually. uying 10 I11#e
the most Utreme statement oflhe change between tWO
e1prnsions on the dnlwin,l . Ward Kimball_mcd 10
go further in this exer<:i~ th~n anyone else. but Fred 's
drawing. moved just,.. well. Fred did no! Ihink in
lerms of eure,"" movenW:nI hi''''idf. Out he was ~T}'
impre !.SCd when he wo,dd Ii« it in _ elK',
dnwin&,. AIbef1 Horter did I dnw ing of Sleepy with
his mouth "',d~ opt"n in a y.wn . and once Fm:I had
Sttn something like that he <:I)U.ld inrorpontte ;1 illlo
his Own drawings. making il look even beuer with hil
natural !;fnlt of appeal.
The tTlOfe F~d worked with Mi'kty. the more he
suuggled w' th over<:oming the ~itrictionsofa charlo:·
Ief whose t in:ular head and body the lJIimawl"S had
traced rrom qUll1trS or hair doll ars . He kept puul in.g
about why he was not able 10 make the drawings wt
would give him Ihe aclin8 he ",·anted. "Suppose [
WlJlI Mickey 10 be cocky. well then I have to make
· "";"""OF could him chesly- and Ihat means arching his back. To do
,ltMbby pigs
lirll~ that I have 10 push some of the mass of the lower body
",/iJiry fi>1Uld i"
up into the chest, and I Can'l do it with thai rigid
,,'i"6$ of Fftd
body." As Les Clark also observw. "Us ing dimes
and quaners for Mickey's head was li ke moving a
cut-()\lt across the scn:en. We found out that if we
pulled somelhing oul and then brought it back to its
normal volume. why it would look good.""The anima·
lOr.; realized that they would have to be able to shift
that mass around. 10 drop it. raise it. squash it and
slretch it for whalever the attitude needed.
"The natural evolution for Fred waS 10 a pear-shaped
body. replacing the hard circle. Now he wu ld get the
flow and rhyth m aoo flexibility. With thoese new shape
n:lationships. he began to get a very appeali ng Mickey
with stronger aUiludes. beneT acting. and more per-
sonality. Mickey could be anything ""w~ with
slopi ng shou lders. chesty. or angry with shoulders up.
"The head and body wuld stn:tch oul. and the ear$,
100. for a take or an accent in dialogue. Now the
animators cou ld forget aboul coming \0 work wilh all
Ihat loose change for the diffen: nl- sized Mickeys
Bob McCn:a, who was an assistant at the time.
n:members that when Fred made SOme of his changes
in Mickey 's appearance he Wali nervous about show-
ing lhe n:suhs 10 Wah. Fred cou ld not bring himselflo
tell Walt before sweatbox whal he had done, so he Wali
IIHd ill/1M a"i"",·
III"", Fr~1 modd
-I,
perspiring ali he waited 10 see if Walt would notice.
W"'n the SCene came on thoe screen, Walt called \0
stop the projector! "Then he had thoe see ... run back and
fonh several limes while fred sal there and died. NOlI
word Wali exchanged; then Wall lurned 10 fred. one
eyebrow down , and said. " Now thafs the way I want
Mickey \0 be drawn from now on!"
"The squash and stretch of the walks that Freddie
animated had man: life, fell beller. looked bclte •• lIkl
probably seemed more real jusl because of his ability
to change lhe shapes. He had such a simple. clear wty
of showing the straight leg, the bent leg, thoe soo...eoff.
and the high!; and lows of the wal k. He did not expo.-
imenl with a wal k in the same way Ham did. varying
the timing and the relal ionships to gel sometbing
unique , because Freddie's was all feeling. He alwaY'
thoughl in lermS of a nice. plealiing drawing. He camt
up with new things. but they were based on whlil
looked right to him rather than an analysis. He hlld I
way of hooking hi~ fonns toget ... r that gave a nit.
solid look . No one drew the Ihree little pigs the .... ,
Fred did. nor had the freedom that he felt with Mickey.
Mickey Wali not a design based on logic. there v.m
100 many cheats.. BUI that kind of problem did 001
inhibil Fred because he only would pick a view tbaI
looked plealiing 10 him.
If a drawing looks clumsy. or lacks appeal, Of 00
I

lik~ ~ ",odel, perha~ the animll(" is

ao..- .omothing IIw Miould noI be .,hc,own. A6mT I'm MOOf1I' _

T.t "'".. givi,,! a ...11< on drawing Mickey . he

Throe UttIc Wohu.

~. "How <k> you draw him lookin, ri&hl down Tioe ..""",i", 1Mpt. ;"
'f hi, head'! " fred . esponolcd . " Why ww ld f '" d M~"1 /Uti...","",

"('pta! in the dc.ign of the ClwllcleT "'"s

""VlIis• JptrioI ' <('1.iJIopIr
to '~"r".dl
' '_111
;on"
lE II:M. bIlaroce uf the can. 10 the fIO§C: .
I ' of the cheek. to the C )"Q .n<J the hclld

lmI ..."OI1IJCmI why )"ou would deliberately

Ihe 01", ..;..,. tutd /lrt<Jll'krri..
uf «filM ,
~, "'II ,,~ ',Q,,...
.-!hI! OWlY? Why would you .how a vicw 11\;01
t"" '" mIlCh going for it as possible?
~I!Y ,,"c~lbuxcd ~II of Fred 's early wnl .
'II' lb. d..... arf" and Ihi. inc lOOo:d acling and ,....'..A'.. F"d MDQr<--
90 the I'-'!nl where he even picked on the .ite S"" ... Wlti~ ,

~ in ooc SCene. For some ""ason Fn.:d kepi Th,' fhl It'~nr Frrd ~ni ,

1ft.inB the fi nger; it just did n()I seem impor- ItO<Jlro on Snow While "'W'
..ilh ' his ''''/)' ",,;J("/ of
gh to do right away . So every week in sweat·

t
O"pey . lA '" IUn'S 'r'
\ ",ould "",nlion ;1 Kgaln . lie ,",Qu ill hXlx al jinrd his ~PI"",,,m rr . <44.
in ~""'tion. and 1"'-'" MS the projc<.: lioniM i"8 d,m", .",,1 approl.
~n ag);" 10 the 00, 1 ,;cene Wa ll wou ld lum to
'~).' rh.1'5 '1, Fred, lhe: finger 1I 1Ql> b ig ..
~ "Ht sccne WI, nne thaI Fred wa~ very proud
rl,od Wah 10".,.,.00\ wh,le it wa. running by
ioIld b. tooling al Fred and OOId ing his Qwn
l ~ !oII}m" Yes , lI!at' ~ II: tile lin,er i> 100

E he would '"m IlfOIInd and look ~l lho:

J-..t 10_11>0: nexi ~ne In o rder Indo this ----~ -

l it. Ii"'" m<>drl uf Dopty

I ItoJ ,/or _ ""..-h",-..

~
h .. f/tu, h.d ,..." ..."01.
 f(lf~t w llIctlli,,!;.: 1 ...... !;Ilt~ make a ~;sn a"d Slid it"
'n {",," of me on thedC".>.k so I "".w """'.. 'hl>t onidc
a~ ain . aUI ,he, e an: "bool a doM~ n Ihin~, I "" ..:va
s hould (orgel. Instead uf ~ s i~n. they oo#lt 1<.1 be "".
" heel : and ncry <1<1)' "",,,",n }OU ,.""", in. }"" j1.I>! ~i\r
Ihal III" wh~e1 a lum and that wa)' it ,," ... ,Id k«9
rem'niling )~ .. ,~ .. So he st:utC"<! ~ 11M o f Ih .. rund.mc.
tal Ihlnss ~n ~nim~(Of s hould ~I"·a)·. "'mcmm. "'"
he d'.""I<"c,.".1 Ilial he had 14 b;a,i<: ptJinb.

Fll.!il>"S ,,, POINTS 01: AN IMAnON

I. A~al in 1I...... in):

2. Siaginj:
~. Most im~"''';ng way'!
IW""ld anyone ,~hcr Ih~Ul )'"u r mother lil~ al It(
it?1
". b;t the m"~t CnlCTIainin~ way?
5. Af'e )'00 in chara<"t~
lhe projection i" " 'ou ld ha"c to run !)xk ~g ...;n for a 6. "'",,)" ...... adYa ....·in~ lhe ch;ll'a<'I~
fres h ~t;u1 and he would overlap into 11M: -CcllC ""i(1t 7. Is thi. r"" $implc._1 Slaten",nl .)( the maIn idt:I of
the bill-linger again. l"hcn they "" ould ~ off on anoIh<·r Ihe IKflll:?
round o f "( hc finge r is 100 bi~ ." Frcd WNlld crin~c Ii. I ~ the >II><)' point dcar"?
and wunder why he did II()I j u ~t ~ il do"," and 'OITcd \I . Arc lhe !\CCQndar)' ,...·ti""' working with tbe !Nit
that dUlnb finger. Week after wcek the s""calbox notc a<.1itm ·!
"'oold be: lite this 0 "" from O:l<tber 25 . 1'136 : 10. Is .he prc""'Malion he:<! fur lhe medium'!
II. ~ it h~'e 2 d imensional clarity'!
Scene 26. O .K. for c leanup with ch.an~~): 12. l>oe>; il h3~f 3 dimensional wlidity'!
Make [)opo.y . Happy and Snn-' y smallel . 13. Don;t h~,·c " dimcnsion;>l df~"" in,"!
Gronlpy'S arm and fmger gct quite lar~e " 'hen 1M: Io.~, ~"d (,,110..' Ihroo Khl
says. "SHE'S AN O l.D WITC'II ". TIM: ~cti"" b 14. Arc Y"" Ir),ing I" ,10 SOffiClhing Ihat should,,'1 be.
okay. juSt Cll( down on tht .• iu of the flllt:.c r and Ihe ,mt"lf"'-.[ ·'
lenglh of Ill<: arm. ILike Iry ing 10 ~ho... Ille lop of "1k~~y 's lleooJl
TIle Ilvu ,h~r.acte~ in the rij:hl f.g . ,'ollld hc sil·
houo:!lcd ~ litHe b it . 'n.., rela., .. .1. ul"""'f'IIiSlil."atcd nll,"n". th.aI lnotr
hi, d"''''lI1p !\t, grc;K al..., nt.adc" il difforuh r"
II is WfIlCtnncs hard on the ello to lakc all ihe criti· I'.....t to :tdjuSl 10 Walt·s 'OOSI~nl p«""-"''''' for ...".
cism thai goes ""ilh s"'·n,b<,.i"~ . bur F,etl mu,t ha'"" thinp . On.: ..... y Fml nn", hock from a 1II<"tI~
",aliud thai h~ WM one of thl: fe "" thai W~lt Wi<> usmg allll a;~ed . "Why dove; Wall alway, Iry 1() ~, ..
10 set ~ Manda.d of excellence fur hi s nrsl featurc. to Ju Ihi"i(S "'''' " "n', do '! Why (\;""n' l he ju,1 let
E"crylime Fred got "ac~ a Ic, l with " t,n,lal e un it u~ d., the Ihinp ..·c .."n d,, ?··
or an Ktion Ihal did noI pk",<,f hinl. i, wool.1 hc bee"u"" In lhe publ",' , ",;nd lhe", h.,·e bc~n "" ,,~ ...
he had foreonen wmething basi<:, som.:thing he h...! Ill<:nlOl"ahk d>arKt",. tJun Ilk' dwark and lIo......,·
a<.:lually kllO""n for )""M$. lit would lool; dis~u .. ed in p;orticular. Dopc~. s«med tV r<'fk-cl .... (on_
and ~y. " H«k. everybody kno",'~ rhat. I I-hout.ln·t .;0 mu.:h uf Ff~""<l himsdf innoc<"l1I . but ,,·,tII •
m;l)(c. mii l.l&ke like thaI. h 's ju~t bc<:au,,", ytJU a]",'''YS 1<111<"11 of mi.chicf; nai,,'. l>ut with ju>'l COIlUp,
"fI'(WldJi"'m, Tho.., '""a, !IOthin, h;d~n or m)·stc·
riou5 aOOul f m:!. H i~ pe1WfIa1it y ",-as on the OIIt-
_ low t'~\IIlC 10!;« ....'hat he: lact ed in sophis-
IiaIion tit ~ up in cllarm . Ht had honu ly.
_grity. and ,..." al,,'ays ,..ill;n~ to help the youn S
.,i","fro. As Dick Huem( . said. "He was the:
1'II'rtlCIIIU)' )"1'\1 woold want II) know . "
"My God ." M.,-" Dav is ~~ys . "F,-"d M"nfe
""" Disaq ""',.,;ng ! W( ' ,,( ~ II done thinp on
our O'II'~. bul 1M w:os the I);,.i. " f "hat Dhney
wood 1(11'. II " '-a> <..,rt~inly the opr ingbo.a.<I for
t\'tryt~(" g Iltot came afte. , Ht h~d 10 be as d ose
to I bo)' geniui no, . lit nc"er grew up, and
this i. '11'11;01 he Inim.ted , He animated what hc:
Dtw-, ud he <I"'" that "" Y- lle" cr gm"'ing up, "
Tk b>1 IeIl ye~rs of hI> life Fre<I txpcnenced
~m.,," ~... fru>lr:lI ion., He had bUl>l
nthe ,.,.
0IIt0 lhe s.:erlC in full bloom a .... li ke some
..-hole tl icnt, flowered nrly. Ilc found that he
h<>d achic"ed all his gnal . in a .ciati,'ely short
timt . He "'a~ quoted as sariiii-•.. • h;lse ..,ached
e' 'Cf)'lhillg • wanl_ and ' -m ""'y (,,'(nty-roor. Now
,,"'hat do • do'!"
He could nnt h" 'e .eali~cd 11131 the ,'ery Ihing
Ihal made him greal wao now the thing thai held
him back ; thi s childlike qualit y tbat pre~ente<l him
fro m g"' .... in@ with the changins , tandards. ' "Two
:mimalors \.,hom • ha'''' al ....ay. lhought of "" ~
'-;elim. of t"is ~"dopn"'nt .11 ~n i maliOf\ :- ~id
Ikn Sh3rpM«n. " "en: Fre<kJic Moore ..00 Norm
Ferguson . Th" y . imply <li<l tKJI ha"e (Iw: back-
ground , the training , and tm: ;nlui!;"e .bility 1<)
mn.ur~ up 10 lhe hest nWn we la{cr h3d on our
staff, Wh~{ i. >Old is (he f"'l 11t;o! they were IlOl
secondal)' men : they both Iud hecn lop 111m, and
,,
I' m sure it "';t.~ ~ c rushillg blo .... tu r""' ir pride _- -
On November 23 . 1 9~ 2 , Fred Moo•• died a. a
resuit of al\ auto accident at Ilk' age of fon)'-{wO,
"
,
/
 polite 10 inlerropl: so while he was wailing for his
~ning he would uncon§ciously Slarl maki",
fUMY linle half-whimpe:rilli, hummilli noises. IS
if he _re luning up 10 be ready ...·hen his oppor.
lunily CIIIX. a kind of an1icipa1ory sound.
8ill lo~ed and believed in 1he chan<:ters he ,"'IS
crea1ing. bOIl he was concerned aboul whelher he
would animale lhem U ~11 ~s he should, fU
rIttd 001 have worried. for he had 11M: s.cnsili.ily

Bill
Bill Trlla was (he last of the fou r supervising
animators on S""", Whi/t to come to Disney's.
Part of the great strength of these men was their
dissimilarity . and many would $lily WI Tytb. was ,/
the lea$! similar of the fou •. Dick Hucmer said ,
"Bill Tylla was the broodin, type . He was the
grealeSt ." Physically Bill was very uriking with
his 5wanh)' complc~iQn and bn'.Iad shouldcn. He
"ad a big mop of coal black h.ir, heavy black
brows, and very piercing dark eyes. \JUI more
than (hal it was what was under the surf""" thai
IIIOI<k Ilim sWld out. He had gn:at f«lings churning
I
around ins ide of him and tre mendous nervOUS
ene, lY .
Bill was a very in~ penon, oIlen moody
and ~ often very emolional. In spite of these
volatile nits, he was a very shy. gentle. and
sensitin man . When he had iIOmcthing to say thai
he fdl Ilmngl)' abouc. it would come OUI in spite
of any shyness. The wonls would literally pour
OUt of him , his mi nd worting faster than he could
talk . If 1Oi'1eOI~ else was talking he W<lUld be 100
., IllldersLand his characlers' motivalion in tenns
III a1ing, and !he abilily 10 interprel !hal inlo
. . . . and staging. He could ~y !he darkesl
CYiI and !he mosl frighlening lerror. His powerful
. .wilIg of !he devil in Ihe " Bald Mounlain "
""......... of FanU1SitJ was the mosl awesome pitQ:
III uimation ever 10 reach !he screen. and hi s
SIromboli was probably the moSI lerrifying and
WIly evil persooality of all lhe Disney villains. [I
is !rue thaI the basis for these characters is fOl/Ild
in the story. bul to capture SlrOmboli's mercurial
moods. his lighUling c hanges, and 10 show !he
emotions !bal came from !he inner f"",rings of his
characters was one of Tytla's greatest achieve-
ments .
His conunenlS in Snow Whi'~ Slory meetings.
wbere personality was di scussed . all show !hal he
was looking for !hal inner feeling and mood to

I
/

(
\

Nil"'.."., Bill Tyfu.-

Nigh! on BIId M....ntai
PI>"'trf~1 aClio", s,
d"J ."·. g, aM d."""
S"'li., Miped '0 rrtiJj
c/w'OCIe' ""y~. tWo
',mpltd pttvi(lw.s!y ;" ,
""'fI''''', "'"
i, ...... Jlot fi
i"g of <III i"",. 'Pi. lf"
alld p, im;liw, ,''''' rio
mtuit hi'" Ii.. 0"
s"." •.
help him determine Ilow Ihe chanc~r wookl ~ac;t ,
Amid constant suggestions by OIhers that the~
~Id be • $peei.1 anirudc in Ihe drawing on each
dwarf. Bill !!ubbomly came block to Ihe ....,.,
II'gIIIllCnt: the way 10 get a diffCTt'llCC ;n the appear-
mce and Iltitude is by knowing the mood and the
p«JOnality . In a meeting on November 17, 1936,
director ~nd storyman Perce Pearce pickro Bill's
brains on this subject:
Pcr<:e: let'S take Doc. get him from scratch. an;!
uy, noOOdy knm.-s him . f int hi$ most obvio.
feature is his pompous Iltitude . lie show$ this p0m-
pous altitude with his che!! . For instantt, Ilow do
you $e>e him. Bill. when he is pompous?
Bill: Hi s pose is a reaction to something. It is ooly I
~action of what he i. going to do. otherwise y""
are juSt making a drawing . Since ;t is up to Doo; to

",'I,WAr"" 8i11 T." lla-
Snow White .
ThiJ PO>'P""' ~lIil"J, QI!
DO<" cam, fwm Ih, WI'","·
10"'< kM ...I.d~r oj ...hallhr
chMocur ,,'uslhinklng,
expllin to the group what is going on, ~ son of
tmS the leadership whether he is entitled to it or
not He immedialcl}' ,;trikes that al1itude He gelS
flu\lered. and doe,n't ~now ",hat he says. trics to
mike OIIt-><>r1 of ~ French Provincial Mayor' s aUi·
hick. Grumpy Ihrow. him off balance Doc recom-
(l'.IW ~imself and tries to regain lo,t ground. So far
we h,,.. 10
had no oppor1Unity really try to do any·
Ihing IS far a' mannori,m Or ge,tures are concerned
-ill '" far IS g:stures react in dialogue. There has
been IKI opponuoily to us.e any ,cratching or Doc
fooling lIUl>nd with his beard. We ha,'e only had
dialog"" '" far.
While Bill"s wOO: <tood oUl wilh all ilS power and
$ll!ngth, it, em<~ions and inner feelings. its pathos
and deeply tl)ll(hing mO"""nt', it i~ rea"uring to Ihc
resl of us 10 kllOW that he sometimes made mistakes.
In 1M pm:eding quote he explained vcry lucidly how
he leh Doc should act in this Iype of ,itualion, but in
!he following .,,'eatbox notc from Walt it is evident
tNt he mi.sed on the timing of the f1u,tered f~..,ling
and its relation to Ihe di.logue. D,)C seemed to be an·
ticipating his o"'n "'i'take. and thaI was Bill', mis·
tII!;(, 100.
March S. 1937 Walt s",calboxing with Bill T~11a
T)'lla Sceoe 8 5eq. 4D Original
Make Doc' s "come on" gesture 8 hmader one-
no! a point at himself on . 'follow me."
The feeling now i, that Doc knows he is going to
say HEN instead of MEN. He should say COME
ON. HEN "'ith a bro~d gesture. seeming to com ·
picIC it. ;IOting as if he were saying tfle righl thing.
then do a quick half gesture on the mistake. and
follow with a broad gesture On Ihe-MEN . FOL-
LOW ME, The half gesture is not too defmite.
but just a ne'""oos feding
Have Doc tum on t~ fOLLOW ME in antici~·
tion of "'alking OUL
The range of BiWs characters was phenomenal. His
ability to get inside the innermost reaches of tlte;!
personalities enabled him to develop great scope in his
work. He .eemed to understand the problems that his
characters faced as well a~ their feelings about what
was hapl"'ning to them, Could anyone's thoughts be
ponrayed in a betle! way Ihan Grumpy's afler 5now
White ki ssed him? The audicnce literally could feel
the warmth thaI ,urged through him as he finally
released his bottled·up fcelings .
BU!, Bill"s mosl poignant scenes were of the lillie
elephant in DI/mho. Bill', inspiration for (he ""I"""""
of Dumbo b~lhing ~ame while watchinj!. his 0"'0 ron
playing in lhe tub, and hi, great pereepti"n enabled
him I" adapt to animation the spirit of w!utt he saw in
real hfe. Hi, draftsmanship is at its best in this 5<.'<:lion.
and I~re is excellent analysis of ",hat to euggerate in
the action as the baby s.eampcrs playfully around hi,
mOlher. But through all this. the big overriding theme
is the elusive quality of love and affection that Bill's
animation capture, '0 beautifully.
Many of Bill's characters were muscular like him-
self. and when they came on the SCreen il was like a
charge of eloxtricity, He made everything ",ork for
him. be~ause he drew >0 well and felt the personality
so Mrongly . He wanted his chardctcr.; t" move in a
special ",ay. to really live! ~Ic animated the head,
body, hand" and dr.. pery all in different colors . [I was
nO! until he had each pan working. communicating,
and mm'ing properly that tlc would make one oom·
pletc drawing in blac k. The eye" the mOOlh. the ges·
tures. and the SC<.'Ondary actions ar<: an: all brilliantly
ther<: in Stromboli, Thi. charJetcr has been criticized
for moving too mu~h. making it hard to follow on lhe
ser«n at times, yet no canoon ~haracter has pul over
any beller a rich. \'0Iati1e. and complete personality.
This character i~ extremely powerful and frightening .
Bill felt all these things through his whole body
when he animated . alwa)', trying I" !fan,fer his tre·
mendous energy into his characters . T . Heel recalls a
day durin, the making o f ""an/asia " 'hik Bill was
working on the ~vil in " Bald MO\i~ain '" f-k " 'anlC<!
to see Bill aboot something. but he opened !he door to
find the I"QOm in ..,midarkness. with Bill inltntly curlM
over hi s board. The only light came (rom the glow of
the nuorc:scent lamp under Bill"s drawing. which was
shining up in his face in an eerie way. As T . Hee
waitM at the door he fel! a tension _nd a mYSlieal
fortt II wod . SU<lnge thing$ " 'ere: going on. T . wa~
5(1 unnervW by this s ight that he quietly backM out
Into the hall ... ithout ever saying a nything to Bill.
T)·tl_lud studioM at the An SWdent s League in New
¥I)fk with Boardman Robinson . " 'hom he re:garded
very highly both as a man and a ttllCher . Robino.on
" 'as a"'~ that Bill leaned a liule toward the nw.y
$I)'1e of dnt.,,·ing.So he n,ade Bill hold his pencil ill tht
very tip. He IOId Bill that if he k .... w " 'hat he ".
trying to draw and rc:ally knew how to d", ... it , lot
CO\ild 00 it that way . Too man y ani sts have Icallltll
tricky ways of making a drawing look imprc:"i~.
even when il i. actually "out uf dr~wing" (i.aceu·
rule) . As Bill himself said • .. A whole bunch of nit"
can draw the figure. bul one: or lWO of the men n n do
something 10 the drawing that g iv~ a hell of a 101 of
meaning \0 it . ... here:1S ~r$ in thr ,""'pcan imprtSl
you. for the time. wilh n:WIy >luff.. ·
Later he st\ldioM sculpture in I'ans . .... hich accoullli
in pan for thr M1lidily .nd weight and e~cellent rela·
tionship of forms in his wl)fk. Because of thh an

__ ~MI!Id. lIill tl>ou~ht of hi s "'tn~s more in tern"
",,'' '\"'',)I.n ...than 111",1 animat,n l ie ...·anlnl Ucpth .
DOtoaly .. the dr:lwin~ 01" tm: eh;,ol"Kle •• hUI ~hu 111 lhe
""Y it """"~ d"'",gh tt... la)~lUI ; ...... 1m: tOl~IIk"!n " I"
!lIo: >C(II< II;od In be riShi. Ken Anderson ~ay' lh~t it
•• diff""ult 10 mak~ a layout th>t would pleas..: liill:
be: 11"'a~s h:ld ""me adju,lmcnl Ihnl would make Ihe
5«11( more inlc","inS. h~,·c hellC' ~lagin8. and t>c
_~y~m ...·.
8~I'u, nne of It... fc",' animat" " ~llho1t lime " .... ,
Iud atI). an 11~,n,n~ . He ...-as <la:rl)' appr«iat i~e I~
"'1. looking for lI'W)fe '1ualil ~ ;ond ....tlct
_in,
• Wdio
Iron> [he ani mal~. Ih~t Wall ...·..... Id.s0 M' f~f
"10 $e1 up hi, own an seh",,1 unlk. In e~pcrt lil:e
Dot! Graham I Kill and Don !r~w to h~.·c greal "".' pc"t
for <.Io<h "Ihe' . It i~ OO\";ou, f.om II ill's .(ma.h in a
1Ic1un: 10 the )''''n~ animaiOl") that this an ioChooi alrno·
iphm" ... a~ hke a breath of frnh ail to him:
Vl1Im I fiN C3 .... ou1 ""'" aboul t,,·O :md a half
)Ql. . . .. 'Ioc~' >I..ned ha"ing xti<'ln an.al ~·sb cla~SC"S
.., 1 kll f<lf them lite a ton 0( Mich. I ""a, in a
ptriod bet .. '« n lhe old and lhe roe'" siage o f anima·
tloR . Runn;n~ . ,uff in ,low ffil~;on w3 1 likc lifting a
~rtain IN "'.... Then ,W(3Ioo, sc"ionl we.e arn,th<:.
rt .. lal~m . Afler all. if you d" a p~ce of animat i,,"
znd f\JI\ it 1.1'' ' enough tinH:~. )'011 ",USI sc~ .... hoIt is
",.,." .. ,Ih i[ I'ormc:rly. I !\e"C' sa"" ,,"h~t I ~ni·
..-J. Wc "" o~kl C3lch a mo.. k " 'c ry N O ,.= t s 10
5«11«1IC "'.., had upcrimemcd on for d"''''· in~. o.
'f'Xinr ," ti"'in~. hOI ,,"c C<JOld" 't gel ",1I<.· h hendil
from uno: "icwing. In the the"t", lhey would nnl)'
run ,tic rl(lu,c I.... ice-Ihe who.11c Ihing whi1.'lc<l b)'
znd)vo f""'~01 all .bout " 'hal )'00 tried 10 do. Ami
lIftIt" ~..... did £1.1 to the m,,,,ie . you " 'nu ld new.
!« "'~)'O\I hild done . Furthetm(lfc . J n,:" cr ""'" . a
fmll Nft in reverse except onee in Nc"" York ,,-hen
..,. Il1R ~..c.:nc bacb'ards of a fdlo.... di .. ,ng " ff a
torod .•
",. ....," RIll TIt/,, _
S_ WI",• .
G""""., ..... /, " S'n" ,"'...
<If ",dillfratiofr ~. ~.. $ .."",.
Whll~ kiuM h"" /t<~J.f;yt-.
/rut d, h~ .,,,"ylfii ~ " '''Y hi,
",()Qt/ M.~(I" ""'fI,'''. ~,"'I
th~ a~di~"N ,-,,,,M /<·.1 ,h,·
""I'''' §/,,'"
"'hole />od,'.
,"""""''''''J( hj,
,\ I y "''''' in Nc,,' York neVC' ~tk"W ahoo.t1 a mowi·
o!:a- he f"'Oh;obly >lin docsn ', When he ~~" ~ Ictk.
from uno.: of ,..., !:>o>'s here "-'Ih ng about 1..... IC:<I,-
rouFh,. ",mi-r\l"ghs. ",,,u·dunups. cicanup'- and
fjn~1>- lhen lhe "hole thing is doni: m·.,
again. he
would,, ' t hclie"e il. My t>o.;s lhoo~ht il ,,'a, runny
'" 1H:11-~ hunch of fellow, runtl'ng a.ound in h.111·
".. ,,~· s with pic<:e~ "I' hlad and whilc fil", in their
h~nd, lo"k,ng (or mo"i"I:" . H... ""d. " When! h"e
a tn.1O to aninlate. I " -an' h.m 1<1 kno ..· 1\o.oYI •••
1".... tb,njt> doni: Ix-.~ '~''''' . I " 'oold n...,.; .......n-
""tk,"~l . and I k""",- tbe kll,...'~ bact C~.I ~'~r
Ihcm lo( nsa[ional ... htn lbo.·y heM dcsc.ip1IOO' of the
I,..~i"'n~ and opportunities "'....., . lim he", al Ihe _ ""U·
di" rhose ,hint:. art con""" .... d conmlOnploc;: . Tilt'
a,·e.a~~ (cll" ... he1\! dIX,,,'t ... wo reali,,, .. hat i,
beinj: .,II<,,'~d on him . lit is bo:,n~ ,'oaxw ~nd en-
~\lU"'Agcd 10 belle. " -ork . ~nd Ix- pr..mbl)· lhink, it ..
a p;lin in ,Ix- ........,1:. I ,ull)' can ' l con'pli .... nI Wal'
ano.l I ..... ' ...~ani/.alion mouJh fOf h:onding nUl ,he
, luff. ",.,~ is no olh... , fdluw ............ '11 ...... II .
8,,~ide . 1... II;ng K lot ~b<l\Il lIill . Ih i, ""' I"rial "i'..,1
3n ;nsi~ hl in", ... hy tIK- ,tudi" .~ aoov;: all Ill!.."
pla,Ci. alld;1 ~ive, a graphk I'klur~ of Wall', I'hilos'
oph), :md .. 'h~' th.:rc .... a. ''''''h a th.n g as In.: "(~~,Io."T1
Ai/.~ . "
Hill "",Id noI , land lbe ",d,naIY. If you "'c,e inln'
eMcd in )'fltl' "" nr~ .Ihtn ~"" >hould late ,he pain, 10
ob."",'< :lnd . tudy and makr P'''' charar"lcr:« diff"rcnt
and uniq ue . N" two SCelles should c~e. tIC' ali"" and dO
1... 0 Char. ... icrs should ev .... "0 som"!hin~ lhe ..,me
wa)·. Ijill pul it Ihi~ way:
Sh.d u""hod , of doin! IlIinll' ~r" """,1<:" ~nim•.
rion: "(f)' nften . morro'·cr. rhey arc b;o"..d nil ""
oIr>'Crv~lton at all . ~""'n1ly . ,;orne animalrO' will
animate 001 ..rmelhing he ha. ~n..,d . but so ..... •
tltill& hot h:.o.' nICn)oriwJ ,11:11 S<'mc.' QlhN anim:olOf
 lias dooc. In such cases. it is a matter of ""'" anima·
lOr copying another. memorizing a 101 01 !tinct stuff.
Thi. is ev.nt in eanoons ....here all the dtua<:ters.
regardless of pcfJ(>na!ity . wal~. run .nd move the
same way . The animator has not given even a thotlght
to the pcrwna!ilies involved. 10 dcline~ting charac-
ter and pcrwnality through variations in reactions
and actioos.
that i. already funny to stan with . Yoo may CtI
very dry pic« ofbusorcss to do. and no mailer
you work at il, you .... ,11 f~1 )'ou can 't make n
funny . If you Can make it jmer~5r"'":,':;',:,:~ .:~,:~:; I
done a very good job. But if you c:
business that is dry and uninteresting and i YOllclO!!
animate il so lllal it WIll be ali"e and vital. then IS
an animator. I think. you llave fulfilled you. duty.

Bill was intolerant of any animator sloughing off on
I scene just because
it did not inlcre~t him . Ui s advice
on an animator's resp.ms ibility has become a dassic:
'" 8i11
liltti",
"1X:,~t
Another thing in animalion . When yoo sIan yoo
will probably wi~h that you coold get a lot of stuff
Not evcry aspect of B,]!' s animation can be properly
analy~ed. for hi s thinking was complicated and in·
volved . Uo,,·cver. it is intcresting and cnloghlcninlllO
list the comJlOf'l'nl$ thaI are found in BIll's work. bt
his IJnt an imation lhey Ire all '~r... It takes steady
ooncentratioo to h.~ this kno"'ledge and ~klllll)'('lll'

..

.,

·tII j~ "", .........",

.,M "",,10 CA '
r;~il rkJI·
flllJMlpli and be able 10 lise il righl Like a baseball
pIdwr who 11M Ih-. rn<)me1lWy Ia~ ud giv"" liP'
home Nn.1be mimalor ~an gel himself ;nlo a hopdess
IoIhUllon Ihrough lack of concentral ion. This lisl of
components in good animalion is quitt an imposing
JIIlUP l(loombino in any scene:, any """ element on the
till ... challenge 10 \be 1:>0:51 of ani ""'ton.:
Inner feding~ and emotion
Acting with clear and definitt action
Owacrer and po:rsonalily
Thought procus through upres.sion chang""
Ability 10 analy>:c
Clear 'lliging
Good composilion
Timing
Solidily in dnwing
Power in draw ing
St re ngth in movemenl
l ma,in~lion
Bill had done I scene on PilltKXltio that he and the
other animalon. thoughl was grell . . ' Welt , iI's good,"
was Wall' , comment. " but il'$ not what I'd cxpect
from Bill Tytla ." Bill wlS crush<:d . For I time, like
many highl y emotional. sensili\'(:, and ern t;\'(: pe0-
ple, he fou nd il impossible 10 wort. A week . maybe
two Yl'(:l:u . pas$Cd before he plo.u.tly swted 1(1 JaII"tIt
around Ind explore other possibilities . In the end he
,lid find a bcuer way, and Wl tl liked il . This had been
Pinocchiu
_ _ Bill T,'/II -
S - White.
""i_
,_.
Wilt.. ,lit
,lit fit"'I. lit "'".,
<Ii.ron.
"''''"1'
......... b«t '" ,lot oritiMl

,Ie
(

e:(
l
turibiy hard on Bill, bUI he had been ,hown SOme-
IIIirI& aboul hi, own greal capabihlie" . Ihal he had
more 10 offer than he realized. and Ihal WaS why he
iovtd lile ,Iudio.
According 10 Ben Sharp,lcen. "T"lla ,umchow gO!
ptued as an animalor of heavies, Aflcr Sn,,~· Whirr
lie was ta>l on Siromboli in Pino<,<,hio and Ihe dc"; I in
tile ' Nighl 00 Bald Muunt.in' sc'lu~ncc uf ,",''''IlIS;(I.
Wall mad~ ~ui le a point ufTYlla 'IOd his ahilitie. on
tile tal"'r character, He buill il up as a spedal fca ·
hUe." Wilfred Jackson. who direcled Ihe " Nighl On
ibid Moontain" sequence. describes how he and Bin
TytIa worked lugelher On it;
1 was told hy wmehody . maybe Wall. I was SUp'
posed 10 gel IBela I Lugosi ar><! .hool live action, So
w( got him and he looked upon il as an aClor'job.
powerful devil or the lenderness in his handling of the
poignant Dumbo sceo~s, What OIhe", do mU~1 be dif·
fereOi. for a. both Fergy and Hill said. "Ii is too
limiling to copy someooe else." BUI il is IlOI U\l1 of
reach fur those who feel as dct:ply as Bill did. 10 do
something eq uall)' grul in their own way.
No one thing seems 10 explain Ihe reaSOn for Bill's
dcpanure from Disney' s io 1943. Ihough changing
st udio policie, ar><! Ihe (e"ling thai his famil)' wwld be
more ,""ure during wanime on his Cunnecticul farm
were cenainly slrong consideratiuns. In (he East. Bill
conlinue<! in the animation business as bulh anim.!Or
and direc{or. hUI he was never "gain to find the self-
fulfillment and personal gratificalion Ihat he had four><!
in hi< work during those greal days "I Di,ney's. Bill
died in 196)(,

bullhis was IlOI whal Hin wamed. He was inler.

CStrd in Ihe nlOyemenL Lugosi sianed showing him
how lie cou ld unwrap hi, "'ings li ke Ihal and we
were gelling along greal. bUI Rill was having an
a"ful lime-he was Ielling Lugosi huw he should
00 it Finally Bill gave up and wenl over in the
oomcr and su tke<! . so I gOI the besl Sluff I wuld uUl
ofil and afler il was over Bill ,aid. "J"d. ! don't
li~ ,,"'hal he', dune . I li ke lhe way you do il: won'l
ywlake your .hin off and gel in fmnt of Ihe COm·
m?" So I look my shin uff and he ran Ihe mu,ic
and we "",d Ihal .Iuff. Yeah. Ihe photostals of
skinn)' me . We ncver lold Wall . Bitt and 1 made it
up in !he music room before LugO!'i ever came. Ihen
Iju,lwenllhrough whal I had been duing wilh Bill.
Each time we'd do il he'd say tine, I even did lhe
box", pocu, Ihing with the linle guys on my hands .
I'm!lOl ,ure Wall inlended 10 h"ve such a power.
ful cllaraclcr. bot when you haw a piece of anima·
I;"" li k. Ihal you ' re nOl going to tum il down .

Someone once asked. "Who replaced Bitt Tytla

whon he Ht','" The an,":"r was. of COUI'>.e. no one- al·
Ihough .Iomeone may h3\'e laken o,'er his assignment
8ill Tylla. lih Fred Moore . Ham Luske. and Norm
~"son. brooght his special magic to Ihe screen, and
wiltn he kft Ihal panicular way of doing ~"melhing
disappeared wilh him . Il would not be possible for
1II)'OIIe clse 10 duplicale Bill'< way uf animating Ihe
7. Hyperion: The Explosion
Wall Disney

t.t.~ .phi~t has obsen'ed (hal 1 pcr,;on's ph¥s-

ir;aI_iIonmeN Fa.ly dct~ITI1iJ\eS how he ",ill ~It.a,,,
JDd . 'haI he is ap1 10 do. One historian 01 aninwion
J.claimed tllat doc: okI .. udioon Hyperion """nue al
[ . ,.,
IIIe farcaslml edge of Hollywood w a.~ t~rgdr rcspon·
Wk f<lr the in!>Ontiv .. and imaginali>''' thinkinl of
!he lI1iru who worked inside. The .wdio was indeed
.',
unique . bill I""" it would not have been filling for
Wall', "udio 10 bo: like any other place of bu.;",,",.
m.n III insignifICant beginning. the sHidio seemro
J1IduaIly 10 take on a li f.. of its 0"'0 and crow like the
IDfCicloI ".."Id i. waS creating. The Ql"iginat building.
,..,. oo:upied in 1926. was a mere t .fA) square feel
1IIl ....,.lLu\tly ~i<,:ed on a quiet 5t~t 1M. munllernl
down I 'l1l<I11 valley. Ne~t to it was ~ pipe organ
faclOl"J . butthtre was space behind and a vlIC. nt tOt on
11M: Olh<r , ide thaI gave plenty of privacy. That firs.
IMrilding oould hold .ome (\Oceoly men at most. ... it
_101 lon, before an additico1 ,,·a s~ . The orpn

.....
fItIory " 'as purchased and rombined wilh lhe Disney

Wlllin rno.uhs ~Ti ll """" space was ,,"ok<;!: the

arptnltll rttumW. and soon the liule building w~s
bultin, and prOlNding in unexpecled place s. In 193 I .
Walt ~iOOJ 10 PUI an end 10 1hi, rnaktShifl arrange-
Will and 10 build an edifice especially de.igncd for
animMion ..... ith In offICe for each animator and his
1SIisIaM. and I"'''' rwms fOl"" directors . Hour. and hours
of pI1nni"i ""till into The design of this " perfecc "
!ddiag. bul il W;tS ouldJled bcf~ Ihe ~inl dried.
f"onI . theft ....as only a SllliIII addiHo n 10 fl. then
dim ..·as I tonnc.::tion to another buildina. lhen >ome- with alkkd bungalows ami things on top or thin",
tIrini 0111 in back. and lhen suddenly a " 'hole new. including . finally. a special Ink and I'~int building thaT
imrnell)e tW()OSIOT)" struclU",. Soon the swdio flowed used a ll the propel1y up 10 the Streel un the eaSI. The
clw 011110 the side .l rUt. then back Ihe other way. studio wa~ spill ing oul in all directions .

n.c~ ~ ;d~ a buildi", across the ~T«tthat had
been built compkte wilh I skylight facinl tIM: north
for tIM: 111 c1;ISSJooms, offkes (or Don Graham and
vi~ilin8 lnists, and endle5s cubicles for youni hope·
fuls learning !he craft . The ~hape of the peaked roof
irtUntdil1ely ~m.inded Wall o f the chicken sheds hc
lI!OC:d 10 know as a boy, ~ he dubbed !he bu,lding
"The Incub;l\or." Before: long, he added 10 lhe back
01 lh'll. thcn inslalled pens be side il for Ihc animal.
needed for study md drawing , Like lhe cooking pot in
th. fairy tale Ihal t'Q!1tinued \t) produce oalmeal because
someone forgOlth. magic words. !he Wldio t'Q!1linued
10 If)tIwl and spread and COVtt the wllole ~. in a
s iow-molion CTUption. Then: wen: tunMIs and pu.
sagewlyli and bridge. and link: """""', ~nd partilion>
were 1'\11 up and taken down. and walls we~ moved.
aIId projection booths were made OUI of confere""e
rooms and offICeS and even closets . As Parkin.on·s
Law MaleS. "During a period of uciling discovery or
prolfUS tIM:K is 110 lime 10 plan Ihe perftel head-
qu&r1crs.'"
When every incb of open space had been filled.
neighboring buildings ...'ere: I"'"hased and cOIl\'ened-
8par1ment bouses, bungalows, offICes. any lIruelu",
\hal w" near and could house anis.ts and slo.-ymen . In
$fltakilll of hi~ own uperiencc in those "tan~ ac·
commodations. Mcl Sha~gid. "klhn Hcnch? OIl.
yes. 1M: had !hekilChcn of my apanment. , .. I had Ihc
bedroom and blIth." ThI: artisl' who were no! on lhe
main 101 felt left OUI and isolaled. Allthei. hopes werc
based on "stepping up" someday to lhe main building
ilCroU the SlrcCI. In Ihc main building the rooms ...~re
~ small and evCl)'Ol"lt "'"IS so pmmcd In ~elhc<"
if one IUY " 'amed 10 I,.'et (lUI, a ll thc <)tilers Iud 10
move thcir eh~iB to let him through . With e"eryono
that dOW, there ...·as an exchange of ideas ;t.l. ...·elll! I
lot of funny incident, and aags that wQUld n\lt hhe
happened otherwise. Walt kepi Il)'ing tll shkld hi.
animalon from disU"aClion~ and annoyance~ thai WOIIld
drain !heir creative cnergic$. buI. ;octually. more """,.
was achieved through thi, a.mIn!.~ment th;on if ""C hld
been SfIIl'W out in neat ro ...·s.
Exciting new thing. w~n: happening all arouoo lIS.
and Ihis dose personal rontact and lhe cruy a§~il'
lions kepi u. stimulated . Wc wc~ all uying 10 OIItdo
each 0Ihc. in thinking Q( Krc ...·y actions. delibtralely
trying 10 be difTercnt . to be fUMier. 10 cume up .." III
an unexpected gag in everythin~ wc did-away fro..
the sludio as .. ell as at work . ~ uf the carly anillli'
lor •. An Ihbbiu , said. "[ach teSI you did. )'0\1 tnN
to be as inventivc a~ pmsible..., the <)the. guys would
comment."
Unle" a lagman is thinking " funny" c'"Cry diy. lit
mighl find it hard 10 think 01 an unusual gag .. heft 10:
need. 0fIC. and we we~ <.\o:lcrmined alwa)'. to iCC tilt
unu.ual in the world around us , All ~ man had to do
was stumble over a chair. or knOCk something off I
de.k, QI" juSl make I chan« rcnwt. and inlllled;a~ly
hc " 'ould be inundated w ilh gag dnlwings. buiklina
!he s itllation 10 0liliandish prop:.nions. II looked li~e I
w..\le of valuable time. but. actually ....·c "" CI'I: all
leamin~ our IUO!iI inlpoC1anl k".orul in S1aging ~nd
communintion . If the gag was 100 obscure. if tho
dra""ing WI> no4 funny. if It was not OOffiClhin; tllM
could bc IIn<krslOOd ill)UlnlJy, 00 ooc laughed . This
amtl!OC:menl actually ...·as hcllcr t.-aining than de'dop'
ing bu~iness in thc pirll''''S' where: il would be Wttb
before: we "OIIld kOO'oOo' if lhe gil ... ;ao funny. or the
righl thing. or whether it cvcn had been ulKko.tood ,
Gags we~ also ~ very good w~y 10 rdieve tensioal.
Ward Kimball..ays. "It w ..~ this clme exacling wOO;
""C!.ad 10 do . . . Y"" had IU lei: il 0111, ro all ofa
wdden )'OII'd ~op and lei ofT Me~m. Wc'd all ~it doon
and dflw gap. ·' The drlwinp bn:ame broaUrr and
more prepotlerou~ by the day. yet there was always an
element uf believability in them. beeau"," at tho: ~ore
they "'-e", ba",d on rome quirk in _ parcicular fcllll\l"1
M.Ug Franl Thoma. ,
Sooroton, ,ugg.,ted /hal ,un lamp' b, inJ/aIl~d ,0
".imOiarl muid lQ(}k mor" h~alrl'}' _ Imm,diru".". /h~
lOB' bt,a. I'<"'ring in, Hn" Frank Thoma> , Mill
K.~I, and Olli. Joh",,,,,, ar" dt:picud QS n~edlll~ far
mort t/ron <J IOn,

lk I

personality . Thi. incisive uJ\dcrstanding of personality

Whil, Vip Panch ",'as an ""ISlam a/limawr. hi, d"".--
i"I_' ,iwK'ro Ih, "agillg and in,ight thm I.t" mad,
himf.",OILS a, a commerdal ('ar/oonl,'I, ,1./>0"., "Th,
Gog" mlehe. Ihe pre('iJ. a"itud.. II"d upr,,,io., of
th' f"loo', lookill~ at a "'''' gog Btlow, Vip' , \'fr-
.iQtr o/Ol/i, }uhmta"" animalioll ""it, Whn! told h'
hod 108ft an inbetwuner to mo, ... Ihe "'ork f",,,r ,
Vip mri;murro 1M on/l' typc of pa.",,,,lil." M fell he
ro«IJc""lroJ. ufl. ",,;mlllOr< O/li~ John.",m a"d K""
O'Sri,"
brought on elabora{e practical jokes as well. We had
to have .orne idea of an intended victim '. reac1ion to
Ihe gag, or it would be hard to see the possibililies in
il. Thi, ,arne approach was used daily in wod,ingoot
{hc gags and situation. for our cartoon charac{cB. If
you had a Donald Duck .oort. immediately everyone
knew what type of gags 10 use. what si{u.a{ions would
be funny. It was easy til find business for Donald
because we ali underslood his perwnality.
l1>e bun of the studio's moSI elaborate practical
jokc was an Englishman, Ted Thwaites, The men who
wllrked with him had ~ized him up as being rather
square and had planned {he .. busin.. .... in their little
scenario ac.:ordingly. Floyd G<Jufredwn, {hen headof
the comic strip department. relates !he story as follows:

\ The whole thing happened in lhe comic strip <k-

\ panrnent and lhe prin~ipal chara.:lers were Ted
\ \' Thwaites and AI Taliaferro We all wuded in !he
\,J . back room of the annu at Hyperion. Ted carried his
'-- --i; lunch in a brown bag and e"ery day brvught in a

II
. c·
small can of fruit cocktail and Ii<: loved it so much
and Ii<: smacked his lips o"er il and he'd tell AI. "I
juS! couldn't eat a lunch without this ,"
So this staned AI's brain 10 working and one day
he brought in a can til<: same si/.e, a can of mixed
vegetable •. When Ted went out of til<: room he
would always tell AI where he wa .. going, So lhe
minute lie gOI out of sighl, AI would jump up and
lake the label off, and put rubber cement OIl lhe
thing and wail Iii il almost dries-and jusl swilch
the labels from the mixed vegetable Can to tbe fruit
cocktail.
So Ted came back lhe first time and he opened
Ihis thing and he aclually took a spoonful of the
stuff before he noticed it wa, nO! his fruil cocktail,
AI. of course, waS watching him. Ted 'Iopped-
Ihen he took another spoonful of til<: stuff and be
looked at it and II<: says, "I can 't believe thi s, ,. He
was still very British and very gullible, He ""ys.
"Something's wrong here," So II<: ,hows it 10 AI
and Al purs at it and says, " What 's wmng? What
is that- vegetables?'"
Ted says, "Yeah! Look al the label-this is froil
cocktail. "
Al says, "Thafs strange,"
So between Ihe Iwo of them they de<;ided Ihal
some way the labels had gouen mixed up al the
canning factory, There wasn't anymore said ahoul il
eXCept Ted went around and told everybody in the
depanment, He couldn't gel over it. So AI let it go
for three or four days and then he switched I.bcl~
again, and Ted said. "The only way I can explain
this is that they must have mixed up a whole 101
shipmeni-jusl imagine! The.., thing.< arc on the
shelves of markets aU over the counlry,"
Al did it just far enough apan to keep Ted in-
trigued. He'd have peas or carrots and even hominy
one time--and Ted had !Ie"Cr seen oominy before,
To put a linle variety in {he act, Al re"erred the
procedure and put a vegelable label on the fruit
cocktail can,
'"That's crazy'" Ted says. "I know I hought
fruit cocktail this morning-AI. lnok at {hi~,"
Al says, "What'. wrong with it'!'"
Ted say., "Tha!"s mixed vegetables!"
AI says, "That'. funny, You must have pkked
 it lIP by mi$w.e.·· So. he open. the c~n ~f\IJ il It;ts
fnIit -':111,1 in it.
FiolaIly ~ was Ted him..elf ...·110 ~ioJ. ··Well J
lftily!hint lhis is an i!em for Ihun KipJty"s Btli, ...,
1,0, N",. [ think I . hould .... rit" il in 10 him Ind
tIl~bt 1"11 gel some money 001 of ;t ...
So we aUagr.:ed und by Ihis time everybod)" knew
about il. and he aclually wrole Riple y. Afler he had
'll'rimn 10 Ripky. w" knew we hod to 00 WI11C'lhing
"pay dI~,.,hok Ihing off. We wonde..w fot I,",u or
Gftt days ,,·Ut ...~ could 00 . We ro&;u..w il ..."OUld
tale richt days ~f~ hi: would expecl ~n an,""CT.
Tk plan called for this las! can to "" lNIiled to
TII ... llile$, witb appropriate King Futures J 1~""ls
IIIIde up by the comic mi p men and was to conlain
,rather poIent mesuge from Mr. Riplc)·. But AI
~·lln'e il alone . He had II> swilch one more
<21 and Ted elme back 100 §OOn .f\IJ AI had 10 ru.h

••
WIn Ted came in and ate his lunc:h righl afler
WI Md he pku4 up Ihis can and the J~""I s lipped
ott IIoc o;an and he,e was Ihis ",·"t rubber C"mem. He
iIOpPtd Ind looked al il for a minule. lhen II<: says
in hi. 8rllbh ;,cecnl. ··You so and so·~ . Sud<knly
everything is eleu to me. J know what' , bc<:n goi ng
01 hHe !"
Will wu tttnly a",·a~ of the cn:ali\~ procc5s and
'hOI criliciu lfl)'One for tu;ng time off to do gags.
He anncd I(l bo: ,War( I...... "'.., ....en: sharpening our
stiIk. Tht only Ihing he usc:d \0 say "'·as. ·· Why don·\
",.. FlI()<III: of thaI in lhe picture.?··
The plate ....,\£ ( ,p;mding so faM it !oetmcd as if il
WOllId bunl at the sea ms; il wa, teemin, wilh new
pe.lpIt evcry",·here. and lhe~ we"" ne .... ltfli.ls ~ominll
it a/mo<I evny day . We "'..:re all sqlltt1.ed into lilde
..:as Md aaI1nics and so busy aOO excikd Ihat "'"
(0lII0I . . kctp up ...·'lh whlIt our friends "'.""" doing .
We ~ always in 100 much of a hurry lu wanck,
..-...dIlle Sludio and ... y. ··Whal do you do?'" T~ n.
_day .• 0: ..·1)" fini ~hed picture we had nc'·ct lI<:;ltd
01 wouW be .oown for the ~Iaff-su~h as The Old
Mii/. Where did it <Orne frum? Who had worked on it?
AIo:Imrt. import~nt. how htui tht)' d01lt i, ?
Ow r)'n puppW out ""!len "'·e !iIIW .11 oj Th~ Old
, M'iI'u\l&:fliftCef\l innu\"3lions---things "'"<= h;,od IllM c'·en
dreamed of.nd did 1101 unden.tand . We did not know
how any of III<: .ffect. were achieve.! or ",·ho had done
",·hal and how;1 was painted. Even lhe inked ,·d.;rod
back groonds 4id not look like anythlO&; ...., had ncr
seen ""fun: . Unk""", n 10 us. Wait had hIred wkx
upertS and "n&inane and had ben! expcriITWnting wilh
"'",.. w~y. uf lightin~ and a multiplane ~an",r:a and all
sort. of thin!:s. And when ...·c talked wilh fellows like
Clau~ Cool.l.· who had been .... orkin!: on lhe pi.lure.
.... e could tellthcy .... ere almost a~ surpri..ed and hew;l.
dercd as we ""'re. uOh. I don't know . Well . il was
juS! like :lily OI~r picture. W. tried to do .. hat_
needed; ..... had our problems and our MUle,; "'~ had
our troubles ..
Each new pktun: <onlained breathl3k ing improve.
menl,; til<: effects wcn:: better. the aninlalion load !l"I(tt
lif". and the ",·1101•• tudio h ad an upward nlUn",mum .
It waS like beinH a player on a winning leam! Tow;,
allthi. was pure magic. Our own efrons to Slage a bit
of btlsincss or let a characler to ,,"roe 10 lif. in an
intere.«ing ",·ay-whlle keepi"ll our fonta,,, up and

i

not getting bogged dow[}--at time, would get us so
involved that we would lose sight of where the studio
was headed . Everyone waS working hard but few
complained. If there was not always exhilaration in
the work from day to day. the enlploy«s would he
filled with awe and overwhelmed with disbelief when
a new picture wa.. projected for them. Where were
we going? What was to happen with this cartoon
medium?
"There were not enough hours in a day for one per-
son to keep up with all the n<:w ideas and inventions
and I"ocedures, let alone deal with the imaginative
concepts and ideas for future productions . But one
man did' And he miraculously rode herd Over hun-
dreds of enthusiastic employees. A. somwne said.
"If Wah had done nothing else. he would be remem-
bered for hringing together 1000 anists and storymen
and controlling their work. No onc in history has ever
done that."
Mary Tebb. who staned with Wah as an inker in
1927, e'plained her feelings (his way: "That dedica-
tion wa.. the greatest Ihing in Ihe world---<>ur dedica-
tion to Walt and the prodOCI. our unquestioning auilude
No one ever said to Walt .. Aw th"t', too much ..... ork. I
don't want to dQ it." Oh no. you'd take it home and
,pend all night if you had to . Walt had something. that
po ...... r, It was just his pers<>nality. hi s genius. I goc", .•
""It wasn'llhat you IuId to do the,;e thing.>." Marc
Davis said. "You ..."med to do them You were so
proud . Every write-up the studio got. e>'erybody Went
QUI and got it. Very few people have ever. as a group .
uperien«d that lype of e~citernent. What we were in
on. really. was the invcntion of animation . Animatlill
had been done before. but slorie, were never toid.'"'
Milt Schaffer ",membe... a meeting in Ben Sharp-
steen's office of all the young ani't,. &n lold tilt.
this was going to become a great artislie mcdi~m.llt1!
they wCre all really going 10 work- that they had 00:(
even begun!o learn animation yet. In the c{)U~ of~
talk he said. ··It will tic with yoo like it wa • .. if!
Michelangelo. When you gu)" arC ""',ut ,i'ly·r,l't.
you'lI be read~' to hang out your shingle," Milt " l'
they Were all impressed. even when !old they were 00:(1
going to be any good until they were sixty -livc----<: ...
that was encouraging! All of this deterrniaed the ~.
ity of animation lhat ..... ould be dolle. It grew as 111111
fonn because evel)lune mred- and not j ust in tile";'
malion depanmen! bU! througooU! the whole .<t..m.
Out of this creative cauld",n ~ame the exciting dfi.
covery of life in the drawing. mill ... ith it came ....
way of looking at animation . Now the animator ''''kI,
do more than entertain the audiencc witb [,mny little
movement. in .yoc to ,ound; through thi , impoNll
revelation he could make lhe audic',,-,e believe in iii
characters.
To bring a character to life. il is ncreso;ary 10 i.....
each single utreme drawing of the fi~ure ..·ith II
attimde that reflects ..... ha! he is feeling or lbinking ~
trying to do, No scene is any better than!he suon 1<MII
of all its drawing •. Lift' mu", be in e"ery' d"wi",i
TIlere should be no drawings that merel)' nlOvt _ I
character from one spot to the next. [n other wools,
the life and vitality comes not fmm movement or t""1
ing alooo----a.< il did in the early Mkkeys-but f~
that ability to make the single drawings ,,,,nc oli ... ,
The animat'" must incorporate into his wt>r\ so",e ~
the power and arhstry of men like Honore Oaumicr,
As Daumicr himself ,aid. "[f my drawing doc, ~
convey anything tQ you. i! mU.<1 be Il.ad. and no cap-
tion can re!ncdy that, If the drawin)' i. g,,,,,l )"00 1IiI
be able to undersland it.· >~ There w~s hardly" ~
m",. mood. or human rela!ionship lha! D,umicr did ,
illustmtc . ..I
Animation was beginning to mcan ",mcthing dif·
ferent to each of u•. and every""" was ,urprl""d aI till
~finiti()n 0"" employee found in the dkti,mary , "~1oiI
people !hink!he word 'anima!iQn' n","ns nIOHn".'--l
he ,aid .. 'but it d"e~n·t . 11 comes from '3"im11,'" 1Q
_ 'lift or lu live : Making il n1<)\'c is nm ~nima­
tiorl, m..1 juSt lhe mechanics of it. " ,
I. thr wi)' pictures there ""ele indeed glin'p~~ uf
. . "lift:' but .i~ 00 animator reilly kne"'.. then .
..Utile NoJ do"", ;1 was im~,ible for it 10 be
.uOntd 0\,,,a >t1ies of draw ings . In 19)4. Tit..
F"i~1 MUlOl', with iu pathos, turned tIM: comtr-
_ lhm any Oilier tarly film _ fmm Mock gags Ie'>
~I ():'l I'"""nality. ~nd it Wa, immedialely appM'
nt!hat this <;Q.nmunic3ttd /)enef with tIM: audience .
lMf. die ~~ ani_ion <In Fig~ro in Pitlorrltio, the
~, lnI.I the liule ugly duckling "..,0: all uelting
111!11~ in this ncwdevdOpmC nl Pcnp~ ~ponded
10 thHt dwactfTS through tlM:ir fcclings-w",ething
ntcly Khieved in a eanoon before .
~ (OI\Cc [Il of instilling life in canoon figures
~ the rukof the animatOl' from a kind of c['('ator
,."'ISII back and ",'atched in a detached WI) a~ he ['lilt
IlilHlIlrlK1ef thO)lJgh 3mu,ing anlies 10 someone who.
__ found himself living ins Hk that linie person on
bildnt.,ioi 00anI, Jf it was a tcrrirocd Pinocchin locked
ilStromboli', <.ge or. ,hy Bambi at his r,~t mcctins
Wh F,Ii"". 110<: anirnat(ll' had to live every minute of il
«it....,..1d not be in his dra"·ings .
And.e ... W)'eth had compar~ble f«lings about a
painting he was working on and c~pr..scd them beall'
tifull)' in these ...ord~: .. Alld then fin;.lIy when you g<:t
f.,. cOOIIgh along in a .hing. you feel as IlIoogb you'll:
loving. there-IIOI ju.1 worting at I painting. but actll·
~lIy ... orking in th~' v::ollC'y . ~'",,'Il: lhell:."·
This is pos.s,bly what savC'd the anirrnttcd c~rtoon!
The whol~ ~orn:ep!inn of a sce"" bc.:~me diff"rent. II
ne ..... type of businc~~ ..... as demaloded from tIM: .IIOf)'
depanment. planning that ... <>old invoh'c showing a
widC' rangC' of c~ions through the f,""lings of the
dla",cleJ5 . S'Of)·",.,n now had to think lip sil~iQns
.hat wouk] drnw an ~udicncc into .he pictu. e. situa·
tions that r~qui['('d a"'ing that dC'riv<"<l humor from the
charact~rs rather than ju,t gags . And if Ihere ""a~ a
gag. il ,,"'ould now be a real pet><>nality that ",.. panic.
ipa.;ng;n i. ""her than a ~Iock canoon charactn'. Truly
1M age of .he animalor arri v<"<l wilh ,t.< first crude
e'·ide......, of lifo' 'n lhe singl~ dno"'inll ,
The arrival of the latest test liInl " '1. ti1c high poont
of tIM: day for animalorS. Son~ wag likened il tn I
matemit)' hospital when the blobi". a..., brought 10 their
mo!hcr~ . But thell: was Ml much discussion hefO['(' I
seenoe ""a~ done ~nd such high intercM in " 'hat new
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experiments might be in each other'~ scenes. that we
could hm!ly wait to see the film of what had been
tried. llte hall' echoed wilh the danering of film in
the Moviolas and, ,oon after. the sound of feet running
lhrough the halls. "Hey. have you ""en Lundy '~ te'!"
1l'1I kill ya!"
One day Boo Carlson was trying to COmplele a SCene
Qfhis own while thi, aclivity waS going on outside hi,
door. One I'QOnl in panicular down the hall had attracted
quite a crowd. as lhe film was repeated over and over,
A film could be run through lhe Moviola as many
limes as yoo wished without stopping. because it was
always faslened togelher in one conlinuoos loop. Often.
if il was a IQng scene. SQme of lhe film woold drag QII
lbe noor as il made ii' round trip thmugh Ihe machine.
As Boo lislened he could hear the pa11em of hushed
expeeuncy, the clal1er Qf Ihe film. the explQ,iQn Qf
hilarity. the bun Qf VQices discussing. CQngratulating.
suggesting- then the hush as the action came amund
again . Finally Boo's curiQ,ity g<ll the beSI Qf him and
he had IQ gQ down tQ the mom and see what was on
lhe film . The room WaS packed and it waS hm! tQ
crowd in where he coold gel a view of the MoviQla
screen . JUSt as he g<ll a dear view hel ....·een One fel·
low" ear ~ad an<llher', shin collar. the f,lm ripped,
lltere was a groan of disappointment. and all eyes
angrily followed tbe limp film down from the Movio·
la. acros, lhe floor. belween alilhe feel. and over to
one big shoe Ihat had stepped squarely on lhe film-
Boo' s!
Wall liked IQ have people arouad him who CQuid
make Ihings. build Ihings. Create with lools, If he had
an idea for a be11er use of SOme space in the building.
he wanled to be able 10 call a capable man immedi-
ately and JSk him. "Can't we do something here to
move Ihis OUt and get a thing here? . . . " Or if he
wanted the c",""ra 10 operale in a differenl way .. 'Can'l
we PUt somelhing on here Ihal will make this thing go
arouad Ihis way and ... ," His respeel for lhe men
who had lhe"" skins was .hown by lhe facllhat while
everyone else in the studio was On a first·name ba,is.
the carpenter wbo waS relained full-time was always
'"Mr. Rogers. ""The {)Illy Olher man to have Ihi s mark
of respect was Mr . Keener. who was the paymaster.
Tbe mher craftsman who could do a lillie of every-
thing was Jim Verily, but he did nOl quile merit the
addition of '·Mr.·· In his name. Slili. he deserved 100
much respect 10 be called simply. "Jim."' so some--
how a compromise was reached whereby hi, name
was run logether like one word : "Jimvcrity,"
In Ihe lale Ihinie., speciali,ts in <>Iher field, were
being added to Ihe 'Iaff. mechanics and engi",",,",
whose salaries eoold not be assigned 10 any >peciflC
job. Walt did nol know where he wa, going 10 use
Ihese men---some expens from machine ,hop!; . 0111< ..
graduates from Cahech-bul he knew he could IlOl
pursue his dreams wilboul lMm . When he wundered.
"Can'l we find a way 10. 7" hewantedamanal
his elbow who could say. "Well, lei me wor!< Q[I it."
Eventually Ihe ,tudio had eighteen highly ,killed
engine<:rs. headed by Bill Garil y.~ designing. build·
ing. crealing. experimenting. extending Ihe capabili·
ties of the animated cmoon to reach"",w heights. ne ...
achievements . Walt personally direcled lheir efforts
and chose the areas for experimentation. but someone
else had 10 find lhe category Qn the production cl\3lt
where Iheir talents and salaries seemed to fit.
In 1935. mosl of the country was still wallowing in
lhe Depression. and few companies were hiring. so.
j oo was a very precious thing, Where once Wall ~
w<:>Tried Ihal he was getting into lhe busincss too late.
aclually it seemed Ihal lhe liming was perfecl for him,
and he was able 10 pick and choose from 1M c reali""
talent of that period .
BUI there were lensioQ' and anx ielies for II>o!;e
seeking the jobs. since COmpetilion was very keen at>d
only the mo,t outstanding were hired . All manner of
hardships were endured to gel aad keep ajob ~ of
lhe uncenainty of the times is reflected in lhe recollec·
tions of Betly Ann Guemher about lhe apprehension
Ihat characlerized Il)'OOtS in the inking depanmem:
'"Every Friday was Elimination Day . aad we all sllool:.
in our bo<I1s. for fear we would be lei gQ, Everyone
was so scared and w<:>Tried they could hardly relax
enough 10 do lheir work . "
Ann Lloyd added. "'1(". a wonder we learned 10 ink.
we were SO nervous. and it really takes a loose arm
and relaxation to get this technique, and we ,,"'ere I1Crv'
ous wreds all the time. ··lltey needed lhe jobs desper.
ately. but il was more lhan Ihat ; it waS the innocence
of Ihal period. young people hoping lhey wQUld be
good enough and that lhey would be liked.
 On Friday" tlleir ranks werC thinned dawn, Th.re
wtrt many"''''' aoo hysteric!_ Butthme who survived
h.d real dedic,Uion and Ihe sen$e of accomplishment
diat "wid ~'O w;lh w.:alhering , ueh an ordeal. The
sgptrvi><>r> .Iil\ ruled them with a I1rm hand even after
thoy "'ere taken Dll. being . Iem and demanding in
thoircrilicilm .nd e,ening extreme p",,,urc on every-
<me 10 00 it fastcr and belief,
"[ WIll: heR righl "Ill of high ,;chllol. ,. "y' Kalh-
e"*, Kerwin. "arn.l in til<"" <lay, you worked", clsc .
NobOO), had cars il was really difficult ." Many
(I[ t~ young people traveled a, much .,; Iwo hour.,
liII'h wa)' hy 00, ,,,,1 sl1"Colear 10 gel 10 work, and Ihey
on Sn.)W Whil~. Kath-
","\0:. "I.-kc<i lill 1O;()() aI nighl
erine "'"' .,ked 10 wllrk all night lin <xca,;on" and
she "ill ,hr was plea>ed Ihal s<'rneon~ would ask her
'"The pwple werc all so young and had SO mue'l! cncr-
IY. alld ",hal lhey could give, they gave it, " The girl.,
wtIt.1I ••)!Cr In learn and wcnt III night d""ses, lou
1Jx)' lowd to ~n t<) Ihe Il><:atcr when II><: picture, came
OUI an<incitcdly pick out the scene, they had inked or
pilnled_
"It "as ~I"'ays" lhrill when W~II came by." Ann
Uo)'d ~y! _ "He didn't con", uften. but tic always
tinll'i""Il'td .1 f:hri'tma' wilh allthc,;c gifts, He fell
the ~irl, h:lIi hr"n w"rbng "or)' hard w he bro-ught a
~ltm f()f eac'h of u~," And one Chri.\lmas wtlcn
then: ~.~, '~l work he gave lh" girls a week's vacalion
iIIsle..J of loying them off. "Walt wa, ,hy and uncom-
fonaN. arn"oo ~i'ls, " Katherine adds affectionalcty.
"so the)' didn't ,<ee Ihat much of him, but ttlc)" loved
him,.oo I-.. appr",'ialed how Ihey helped him ..
With", much intensily in tm:
~ir, and Wal l', man-
agin~ ne'ythin~, and tho.: 'latI ",,«iog th. thous,md
m.,k, lhere "'<TC Ihe lIlcvimblc inequ ilie_ and ,omc
dislnmtlcd cmpi<,y""" Mainly, 1,,"-, pruhlem Cam" from
.. in<i;,Kiua!', feeling len out "r p",s.cd OVN . This
p«xI",:o". killd of bmc"",,, and a ,uilen allitu&', hut
the rtally cxplmi\'c re~clions c~me onJ)" ~s the re,uil strenuO\!< cfl<>rt_ And when yOll finally have it on
<ion looi"KI".I' , wnrk tJeing Cut oul of a pic'lure, Tho raper, you have sialed , jusl as dearly a.' if il were
mol :lnimating i, vel)', very (liffi(uit: fiN. becoming written. your mller Ie..ling, ahout how thi, thing <hould
romrnil1td to yO"' ""y "r doing Ihe S\; ene ; then. "nCe he done Then to have your own personal <tatcn!t.'!I1
rommill,d. ,[wnbiniog all Itic elelf'lC01 , that give il e'hallcngcd "r ~ritkilcd or ~Ol f"-''''' ()\C riclore- r,,,
life-lho <lra"clOg, ""ling. '!aging. timing-wh ile heing ",hate\'~r reas,, ~i. a 'taggering as.",ult ,m the ego .

!i11: Ihat it oli .dd, ur 1<1 enICr\,,,nment rut ",",c"llC At time, it WaS lerrihly hard to de~1 wilh Wal!"
be,i"'•.,oorsclf. Th,s may la};e days or e,-en weeks of e~,"'!ing <!em.nds . and "ftcn a proud young arfiSi found
himsdf becomi", bel[i~nl o\"c. some faull found in
his woot. 11 was not al ...-ays criticism either. 5OI1\C-
limes il was just the lac k of. compliment that hurt the
most. n.e majority of us had become accUllomed to
havinl our work criticized, but we had ""vcr been in,
situation whell: we ~artd so much. Love and hate are
closely allied. You hate only if you are dccplyinvolvcd
in some thi ng.
Valatile stOl)'man Bill Peel ooce became so angry
""n Wah's criticism !hal he !Mew ink ,II over his
wall , flc, the Slory merlinl was over-and left;t lhell:
in defiance. Walt prelended 001 to OOI ice for a lonl
time: then. one day. when thinls were calm. he turned
10 8 ill and u.id. "Whallhe heWs all thal ~u fl'?"" and
loki him 10 "clean up ,. his room . Wah underslood the
intensily o f comm;t,""nl lhal Sill and lhe Il:St of u~
had for the work. and he nc,'er wasted an opportunity
to take advantage of this commitment.
In an early SCrttninl of Snow Whirt someone had
"'rinen 00 an unsilJlCd questionnaire the SW1ling IUC-
lion, "Slic k to SI"-,tU," little knowi nl at lhe lime that
he had touchet! Walt in a mosl sensilive spot. That
",mark wouLd lLaunl uS for the "",xl three decades. It
indicaled to W,II Ihal lhe", was a rotten apple in lhe
botml. and sin« no OI>C k"",w who il was he .;""1
upon this incidenl as a pc~nt device 10 keep
the defensive . Through the years. lhe lerm ..
Shorts" became synonymous wilh
you well: tryinl lO ""I[ an idea thaI did I[
""er in a m«Iinl. wddcnly there wouLd be
" Ah iraaa!" and Wah's finler " 'QUid come
out toward you: in a triumphant voice he
"YQII muSI be the IUY who JIIid 'Stick 10
And for thai day you ..·tr" the IUY. and everyone
would keep look'ng at yOli and wondering . The
til
possible. SonIC of lhe men insisled they
real culpril w.s and thoughtlhal Wah knew , I
if he dod. he was \00 smart 10 k:t on. and he
relented in his «Inlinu;nl search.
Walt fe lt Ihat every idea had been thought of.
PI and even evcry ~ory-lhe key was how,..••
lhe material 10 upress your o ...·n worit . So he
"1
never con<;emed about .... here: an idea ea_ f........
day he slopped, young artist in the hall and ro",,;.\
nlented him on his drawings of Pil1OC<:hio~o When tb:
animator slancd 10 say th~1 he was just IryinllO
like the ()(OO fellows did. Wall interrupted 10 say.
,,', JM' damn ...·heTl: you gel il . JUSI keep doing
iI."
Walt tntd 10 mate best use of ...'hal talenu hi.
~ had. <>tr.oiously. not e""f)'QIIC caml . As
Mill Schaffn A)'S. "Then: ...·en: all varieties. some
-.: worldly wise than OIlIers. some cynical. some
.... ~"'(1$. " The practical-minded adopted tile view
tbat it "'as just I job. Walt was conlinually searching
Ie. rrftnli~.$10 ,elthis group moTl: involved. 10 gel
11K lllUimum effon from everyone . He hOld used the
boMIIl)'UCm of balancing salary against fOOlagto OUI-
1*1$ early lIS 1933. and . in spile o f Tl:pt:ated failllres.
"oonI,,·,.aed 10 belie,~ thaI it held the .,'s"'-er. Blltllle
~ had III ;nIle",nt ...." akness: the largest "''''ards
_ 10 the swiflest ratller than to tile beSI. C.nain
. . tOOk • w:ry pragmalic view of Ihis opportuni ty
.t spenl mosl of tlleir time looking for shoncuts.
ofI!II ,i"in, thei, kuer-paid assistants much of tile
wen 10 do.
~ idl the burden of responsibility for qulity to
11K COIIIcitlllious animators who fell lhat tile picru",
ca. fll$l. They rould 001 stand by and ....atch inferior
qtIIIity nul. ;1If'OIIds: so they look time from IlIei,
CIII1I ..'('Irk to do whatever was necessary throughout
the pklure to plItch up. Il:plIir. or Te-JIIimale work that
lacked tile illusion of life . In the long run. this ruined
their _ 'n Ippcannce on the " limo: chans .·· and with
i, a chall(" for any .iuble bonus . The bonUll s)'SIcm
did 001 produce betlCT pictuTl:s---OI" e""n load ones.
nw n:gulations do. Efficiency is beller built through
dedication ratlle, Ihan speed for ilS own :;.ale.
Surprisingly onen. confusion armc from not know-
ing ...·hat was Upccled of you . It wa~ even hard to find
out ""hom 10 u k. and Ihis caused u~ru.inty and cre-
aled uneasiness aboul one' s posilion . Thcn: ""en: sim-
ply too many people alier a while 10 notify about
""",,1hing. An~ j,c,ty over Ihis lack of rommunication
scnt many people scrambling around looking forWll)'S
to prot«t themse lvcs--to.hoTl: up thlli, jobs. To do
thi s. some began fonning walls of people around them .
scc'~larie$ and assistants 0' wlul1eve, . l1Icse "Em-
piTl: Builders." as Parkinson might have called !bern.
"wanled!() mull iply subordinates. not rivals .""
HOYo·ever. if anyone started taking himsel f too seri-
ously. he was ccnain to become I w,el IOOIItT or
I.t.r. One new employtt in man.gc~nt was quilC
officious and lried 10 rcorgani2e lhe workings of me
studio overnight wilh a flood of memos and orders. aU
 intillWing thatlhey were Walt '~ wishes . He " 'as vcry
bu~y and very 'luffy a nd ~ry gullible. One day as
' tOl")'men Ted &~ and Webb Smith g<J( in t~ eleva·
tor lhey we", joined by lhis buslling young ncculive.
Cl$Ually a convcf$ltion .~lartcd as Ted asked, "Hey,
Webb, bttn meaning.o ask you-did Wah send you
YOUI e levator pa§5 ~?" Webb, kind of mumbling.
"My elevator pass- Iet·s.w.c .. . " feeling alOunrl in
his pockets. "]l"s he", somewhere . ,. Tl><ir companion
wU drinking it all in . llley could sec: he had .alten tho:
bail already. Webb COO!inued as ho: gut off tho: e leva-
lot" , "Yeith. il came yesterday; maybe the day before."
The indignant executive m~de a beeline for Wah' s
:;e(I\.'1M)', " ~ 's my elevator pas..·1 How come you
didn 't send me one ?"
What could \1>< 1'eCretlry $;Iy? She did not know
whal he was lalking about. And neither diu Walt'
We gradually developed so many separate units of
diror;l(n and layou. pc""",nel on the fealUres and shon..
JIfUIlrams and trans ilion sequences and spttial cff«ts
seqUCntts lhal lhere wlt.> a conSlanl traffIC jam on lhe
rt'Ctm!ing slage. in inkers. in came ra. and even in
inbetwcoening . Some way had.O he found I<) sehedule
and ~impl i fy SO that tho: bc>.t usc could be made of all
the facilities. 11 wu in thi. almosphere. wilh so many
people around. th~l the Unit Manager was born.
lbese men started nch day wilh a meeting in whiek
they pw,ented the work schedule of !hei. individual
uniu and !be pro;cc,ied nee<Is in.1I ",Iated depan~ts .
n.en a lillie chart was made up sa ying that Wilfred
J:>ekwn '. unit cou ld record from 10:00 to 11 :00 Tues·
day , have two extra Layout men for fi ve days on
WC(!nesday, and gel .op priority in camer.l for two
w«u starting a week from Friday . Jack King'. unit
would r«on! from 11 :00 10 2:00. giYe up hi s two
11)'001 men on Wwnesday , wait .o shout his tests for
tWO wcoeks--and so it went, until each depanmcni was
a«'O\Intro for. As work loads ~ifted, Of • SC<l""nce
fai ltd to gel apptoV".oI. o r Walt cha nlled his mind.
e,·e,}·thinll WU adj usted in the morning m"eting.
Supposedly, each unit manager W<1S ",spon~iblc 10
hi$ unit dirc.: tor, who to ld him each dd)' 0,1("11." ",.r..c
he needed and " 'hen he had to have il . But often tho
unit" S rqMe,;entali"e " ..... ld return to hi~ home ba!.t 10
report that they could not h~\"e any of t~ things th.
director wanted . After hearins his job rctkfil1l.'<I by lilt
irdie direclor. lho: unil n",nascr w"uld lhen <"Un" 00...
the i tairs 10 "ent his pent ·up f«linp o n propIc .....
could not fiSht back. The normal procetlUfC would bo:
to come o",",r to lhe an ist'. lIc:,k, W;tIM... t ~ cllr(1)'
gm: ting. cllo:.:k the numt>cr of the drawing I)n his board
and malch i. I<) tho: nposulll slM.-el ,,·i.h an in,inllllinl
mumble: · · Itmm_mm. " 'f'", st ill on this p:ut. di!
Didn' l get ,,"tT onto \),., ,;erond page li~ c w~ lhought.
did we? C~n we count on Ihi s scenc by 4 :00 I)'dod
thh afternoon'l We're up nc~t in In k ~nd Pai1l1, yo.
know. "
All in all. tl>< unit manaj:crs slowed lho: wor\<oo.....
yet on papcr lhey I""kcd like the perfect ~Iuti"" 10
oor ,'hautk cnn;s-pu'J'O!".'" It ""as inlc"" ••ing to diJ.
cO\'er lhat when the .tudio cut oor pl!"TsnnlloCl in t..-
(and thi. typo: 1)( job was II<) longer ~ ..... ry). ",., ..iI
turned out as much work . Another Parkinst'" law 0JIt·
firm, thi, point: The fact is Ihal the numl""r of offl<iats
and . he '1Ut/mif)' of the work ..... noI relaled 10 cd!
other at all .
All throu llh the thin in and fortin. Wah wa, boins'
ing in one group of effl<icncy c~pI!"rtS aller another ill
an .uempl to find '''~ way 10 ron the studio moll
efflCicnlly . He knew t ~.c was a better way than tbt
CUrren! one, but he ne~r seemed 10 ~ali1e that hi!
own flow of ide ... foredolJl1Icol ueh pl an 10 failun:
before it had hegun. An organi1.a tion~1 plan presup-
poses that all emplO)'ttS will st~y in .heir o .... n >pOlS
doing j o.q what they :are SII~d to do in li1r ..... y 1hIt
has been ... I«ted for them to do it Thi~ "'as uttn11
 Mrri~ 10 WIII 'S IJIIlnl'ICh II, an)·.h,ng ~nd c~pn:ially
io_~ ""r'i'ti of his mcn . ' !ikon! ,hem 10 00
IIIiop w .....,dy ne ..· day afl.:r day.
Wall 1It\'f!' ~ tickling Ihc Mi ff arou' 'heir
dfxirlcy and hel ..· much "" ork ,hey wc.e !Urnin, 001,
Mill KaIIloclll !he s'<JrY abou' Wah brinGing a group
ohi$ilon into his room and sayil\~ .. , All ri~h._,oow
'.., why i. I.kt' so long ..
ro. erd rA'~ phen\1fnenal gmwlh ..r ~nimati"n can
lit IiIU<j W III< ron"""l auempl 10 eSI~hlish "l!""
I.ald rI QrIk. r, .. ,..., ",,11.111" 'ion of lhe piCIU<C5. Th is
1raacJn ..... ~ f'C'P1e~in!! chain of co'mnand for the
- . -...ih W~I' a1 ,he '''P. Thou,h his idea. " 'ere
~ 10 -r down to us lhfOl'gh lho: Pfodu" I;""
Sltprrv~. lhe SUI-.:rvising Director. and f,nally .he
Sequeno:c f)ir«I<)r. the}' never Quile did. and il was
impg!sibk for ~ny of u, Iu knnw whal W.I, rcall}' h""
iI ~ ""~I\ool. >rtin~ .00 hearing h" .dc ~~ f,n;lh~oo,
" I dido', ..... 111 Walt "',jng an )·,hin!: abou. th~ re,{ of
lite """'." In\'e 1I:uod. ,hen l'rod"", ion Supe",i",...
- . "kmo>;c he w,"" , . , "cry valuable in the ilk.
~ .. It .....~ tho: lhinking of ,he 'ime ' hal lhe
"* job rA {IK- '0
din.:elor .. a:< delivcr lho: itloca o( In"
sct!IC l011le animator and Ihat Walt w~> '\I hc ,hieklcd
frMt .,ll'-"Iihlc oIi 'lr"~Iiu",.
When ~ GllCs,inn.d a p,ece of busi,,,,,. in {he
1IIQUI'tX't'. lilt d,!'«1Or laid il .... a. the .... ay 1M." hod
Uodtd ~ to him . and ...~ "'e", nu' '\UPf'O$~d 10 ....orry
... ~ , TM,' h ie ..· """. i, all ..-orkw. and Ihis h (ho:
~"y" .. ~m,'d 11 . To Ihis day. Yo'/! ,..,11 are nm Su,e
no~' _.n ..,c know is that ",,/! "''tre no! ~mon~
WtI, l""alin~ U' in this "'anOCr w~ , a ".,Wl"" dc"i-
m.., m<)I.t "r.1I h<.",~u", v~t)' few l"'''rk "ould inler·
prtI Wall for anyone else So .he hando .. ," WctC ,:arri.'<!
OK! on • l inoJ ...... "-'!",bly Ii....: bas;.: "M anima'Of
~ poet up thT« 0' ('lOll scene, thai .. ..,'" ",;001\'.
IIdthen ........, the ""'.<1 man mn oul of "'Ofk 1M: " 'ould
pirt lip tile nt.'1 ,11m: '«TIC$. W( ....'C3nl<' in1crch:tn!!"-
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abk---i:ven lhough we W<",~ all Y~ry diffo:n:nt.
Fur .he ;tnimalon; " '00 "''tre nlOtlt t'>HICC",ed wilh
drawing u, lC•.-t",i'!.... or visual df«ts. ,h".....t..d OUt
"''til (nougb .ince they had linle inlnn! ,n story Of
clulrncter delineation. figuring IIw Wall the job 0( :spnt·
one c1.e . 8m r", many o( us. 'hi~ 'lopped the (Url"",
~ve loprncnl or char-4Cler animation . With Ihi~ piece-
ltlCal c~tin8. lhere ",'as no way '0 .u"ni" a cha,octe,
'" e,'~n IU kouw {he preeitot' way he should 1"'"0'111.
We " 'oooetcd hov.' Walt would interpre' our toC<:1Ie,
II",,· ""IUk! ..... Stt it? Would he go for lho: p;t,hoo <II
,he hU1l1OI" he/('! BUI there "'as no w~y '" find ""I ewn
" 'hy the !il:cnc w"" in ,he Pk1u/( , 'I'hol SfIIld ide~ lhat
w~s ,uppbed '0 .• implify prucedu"" an<l n1:lkc i' ~35·
ie, (']I' ""I'h I"'r....,,' 10 do his "",n ,job wilh a minimum
of distra.:tion had <kvd"l"'d into" ",sllkliYe ",para-
lion of ,he 1,1cnlS. We were fasl ""'ing lhe: .Iimulatioo
lhal hJd come f"nn the team effon ,
In W/lUbi. ot her pha~ of tho: business cominuN
'0 flourish and Srow in impurtan.:~ . 'The ~"'pIoaM' was
Ill".' On t .... ne'" ~k:nlCnL': dfn:ts. ,,"-"JIJ, ...... "'. ",,')'.
!<lyle; and. e"en ,hnu~h Walt lkmanUed as much frum
lIis .ni""'l''''''. ~llil1l;1[i.m was 1M) longer "",.idtTtd I
lruntic r, As Hill 'J'ytla ., aid. we c(lUld make a com·
",onpl:>ee s"e'\~ inreresting: we h~d I'fi'~cd wc were
prufc..i"nals .
Few "'ere .",arc or the polenli., f, .. beller (Illf!"
,ainme"I Ih~1 ...'a. bei,,!! klsl {If {ho: "'~y in ",'hich Ihc>e
dn:isiollJ ""rre endm!! ~ ~/(ss "f lho lit 01 :an;om--
' ion . Ken 1\.1~'11<tm! ' ",ho did Set lhe \bnger • ..;d.
" llIe tr~~y was tn..t anim~ti"n .....IS 1\01 really fero!:-
nized fl)l' wh;tC i! wa,;.--!he h~"rt I)f lhe busines.,." 'The
.hif, h:\d wm( jU~I a, we "'ere t>cginning I" realize
how mu,:h <'uuld be dooc with Ihi, ""'~," nf c~prc<­
sion. thi . ~ fnon Iha{ w~s so fulfilling aoo rewarding.
E~cell(n' animalion .... a' 'Iill bein~
done and """'"
di ...."'cnn wcre still beill!! made. hilI lho:y ~ndcd 10
be in ,he area~ of n:finemem MI'he.- , nan in hold """ of
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rbe nledium . lltcn:: waS link: inclination 10 c.perinlen! .
We thought of safe W~)'. 10 do the scenc~ ralher than
exci ting ones .
Th b had no! come ~boUI through any consdous
effon 10 do"'ngrade the ani mator OJ 10 lim;, his influ-
ence. T" ~lCn;on. rhe uplaO:Olion "'<IS simple: "T...v
f""lors !eroded 10 bring about the: isolation o f the ani-
malOr . One was the cQlnplcxiry of rhe animation pro_
d"",;on which led to • business of speciali.' ls lin
e",aling new visual images on the .<creen j. ~nd the
<>1M' was that the studio was upanding .0 bse. "
By 19)9 this upans iQn had forced !oOfl1e unilS 10
",ut miles ''''.Y in buildings thai could be ltaw:d in
Hollywood. The ,",'hole fiu",bi unit "~'as in 3 complex
1rn.1 un«: had hou>C<:l 31101111:. canoon studio: ~ group
worked in office space above the Ontra Cafeteria near
Iloll ywood and Vi ne . AI a lime when we nccdtd the
stimulation o f our friends. " 'C '""e", fan ller apoln .
l1Ie mo,.ing o(lhe.., unilS to Ulhrr quane .. did noIh-
ing to rd ieve tile congestion in the main buildin~ wllert
all of us were squashed togcth<!r wor", than ever . Arw.I
ha"ing so many separ.te units wor~ing so far -pan
s trctch<!d tho: production pnxedures La tho: Sn.:l~
point . The pnrocipk of "'Iua.h and Sln:1eh II'I;aI I'IId
built tho: Studio " 'u beginning to 113,'c a !lewmc:aninl.
aut ,;oon"'e woold leave tile jumble of bu ildings""
Hyperion A venue. so full of memories. SUI.'l:CSSCS. (ail·
ure •. di.\cuverie_,_ We were se ntimenlally att~lled 10
those MNCtures that contained SO much magic . 1!It
roomS thaI had secn 50 nuny ilk", Iknlop. tile build·
inp where so many o f u. 10010: our first eager ~ep..
Still. we " ·e.e anxious to be rid of tile annoyaoc« and
e xcited about all being t>;.ck Ingelller 3gl1in Undc:1 one
roof, In 19J9 the move began 10 the glorious new
sludio 0 011 in Bu.ban\; . There. Ille explosion that I'IId
begun on lIypt'OOn would be conlairoe<'
Al -"IIIfIIIIx, •.( r".,</"'· .... ' ''''·'M., ..d. W"'llwol k .•.• }101JTS ,,{ ",,,.~,,ij)a,,' l",iMi,,~ /" .,.,....... ,!h.1t/ ( lit;' U,'
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M II! IN J~;,Lm('r (lnil .\Iim"I",,,,,, "I Jot" ,'r"",,·
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bttt.f-rir, I"'~f'f"i.'" " .."" /.:I",,,'" II, S".,.",h,,~ oJ . ,\1><"'1 the J>i~!Ur~' Ihal !hcy ,tt.:h·,·
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...t Of! 1M 1""/11'1'.< '" hi.' .'Np<', ";"t>T, "'''/ tlir,.. ·"'''~ I'll ~V~ up''''' what', JI,'i,,~ "" .
,,,,,I
.. /todI "'...,.' f'1',,J,...,,f>tU . ,\tI<I j;'.' il '!r:t.l)!hl I"",, Wa h
1000000'f""""J: 1m- _""",,1,11;"( .~iii<,., . M·,·,h II '/11, Alloll,,-"" I'll ...... "'h.,., "lami", ",,' .
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F."", 1'1."",,,, "",I .\I, /1 K ttl!! 'I« ""',1 /II i'"I""'" ,,' " L'U j;Cl 1;.-.lh",,". 11", !hi"JI' !I",},·w 1'1~1I"''\l
iIuorlfl ..." h I,,·!(,m, " ()/o. MrI,i'- 'l'i~, ., Illw 1i'i,'".!I,' · T hai a" i",all"" ''''''H k"" ....
hr-' i>c, /ow,',1 "H ,1111/ 1',(If,I ,·",Iirl' l)o·" "" .,~ 'if hi, s,~ ,·"Im ,11<",. h~"r stHrr I'I,~, .
t1fl..'rn r f'<"~"''''''\'I, . 'If I ,iH:N,loI rlir , "I~i' ,r }I"", <:Xc. r ,'a" h.",1I)' ""il '" j:'"
., . S...NIIo" ,I. MII"",S;' I" It! 0/,'141. I' I/I'm' ..·luI/'.
1M. ~-.c /Itt,,. """,",'Ih ,;'r j/ut .... .. y ..... I h ~r I''''r~'' 1.:I"'n. 1-00" "Ik'" 1'", ~"""'.
1tfuT,.""" 'I'n.'if'" ,,,,,,,,,'Q,..'/'I ......W "" 'OIl ,or"". y .... ~ ...... "lor... 1.., r ..,t..........
MriJ .'/11 , ..., .... ",,,I ,,,,·I,~/\·. ,,'WI vlh' m",''''/ I,) ,1" I J on ' l " ...,," 1... " ...·11 .•,. :Ie I I.
_ """", i~ H",,,,.,,j_11<",,,. ,hr "1",, II""',;ng' IW'I' lI 's .It··I! li..- ""' .
... /ril,~ ,iIt' i"""'b." ,'.'. /m' III ,,"~ 'f ,"'" irl",", ....1
".;n·,it .. ".,,'" ,,,1/,,,/ .Ie·/I ",III .It"., J." ,,,,1, ,1" "1"1... ""'/I.A-"""-,, I"""'" II! "·"ig"''';,m. .. )',/U ...m·,
..-...J bd~~ ,/i,o m"rr' i"'I~"'''''' ',....~I"'" 1/ " .", ri~lil "./,,:"' w,,~ i"" '''''';''.~ """ I~Ilml",i,.... 0,,,. ,'1l"'/'<
""'.' Wall"••1ft,.,. XIhI' ''''.1'1' ,,"s "''''r r/~", (I ''''/'''''{'''' .,/o,~>J.: hi, /""", "",! ", M,..I" ~,·,·, ....III" ..,. hl.
dtwtI tit •• ""I""',"i,,~ ,IK .,,,i,,,,,,,,,,, frQm ,I". 1",,,...1. "1(1 " tJ{ tJ/tIJ ,/"" , ."" ,'"n', "'IIt-"",,
.\111 ' , "1>-" ~.·I
t4< of d." 11'.. /, "-,,, .._,pn ·li" ~ n,,·.... "" 1' 1\,,, ,,,'I <Jf II", ~IIII"" " "
8. Burbank and The Nine Old Men
Walt [)isney

Thr isol~ioo of tile .nimal'" did nO! end wilh the

_'~ 10 Burbank. b"l it wa' Ihe luming point. Except
fu: one: final picture, SIt"'l'in~ iJem"", where color
SIyIisl Ey>'ind Earle had" 1.,1 magnificenl ning. (here
wm no .pt.i"1 "~W breaklhroughs by any of the
SIIflIIOI1in~ fundiOll.' . The wJr and economic factors
hadf",ctd" rutboc k. and the day of th~ ,,,,,"ialis l was
(f<tf, Wilh a ,mailer ,lafr. {earn effon was ' t",<sed {o

o e\'tll grealer dc~rcc .•ml W.II ocgan to rely more

IIId IIlOI'I: ()II animation [" carr.,. th~ fohn., Th~ first
el'ide~ of (lie animal"'" breaking "ut nf lhe;' ,,,,la_
tion fI',", (he "",alion of the Animal;()n B()ard. which
hadbttnc$labli,hed~, early a, 1940 to help with tile
manaftn1enl of the animmion depar1menl. lis memo
be~iid"i ..d on hiring. firing. ""ignrnem5, moves.
proIIIOIions. and Iraining: bul. bit h)' hil. they were
al$o~rrnining what an ~nimator should be and how
be shoIlld be " ... d most effectively. The perwnnel of
!his board chan~cd ac(ording to the rrohlcm, being
<IlII<idortd, bllt by 1950 the board had settled down to
I pm11ancnt SHl"P of oine '''pen'i,iog animato" ,
~se key eTC"lo"" h~d an ;mponance beyond their
duties on th. hoard and inn"cnced the way pictures
tk\'cloped mltlle type of entenaioment that was done,
Although toc ,ujX:rvi,ing animal",.,. were ,(il l in their
tlIinies. Walt joked about their rc,ponsihitilies and
 their wisdom and affectionatd)' r.:krr~d w them iI>
.. Nine Old f> kn ... after the nifll.> justices of !he Su
Coun, The board ~()nsisted of Les Oar k. Woof
Reitnerman , Eric Lan;on. Ward Kimball. Mill l\aU
John Loun,OcI)'. Marc Da";s.l and. the author, of .
book. Frank Thomas and OUie John.l lon , We nn .
tho"ght of oo[Sel"e. as >ome elite group. and tilt
lime it even nosscd oor minds waS when Walt mae.:
kidding remark about hi~ N in~ Old ~1en I>cing over
hill. or gening too <kcrt:pil I.:> work. or losing all
old z ip.
In later }'ears. after Walt died, the press pick(~
thi, group's colorf,,1 tille and us.:d il as a ~1~nJOr
way of lin king Ihe.>e anim:llors " , hi m. The \t
publi""s kepi it aliw as s)'mbolk of tilt old gu
Ihal had surviwd from Ihe eJrI ,' days of animat
but the;r on!)" re<jues" of'" were to po"", fMpietU '
and that happetl<-.j ottly twi~~ in IW"m)' ye:m; .'
", Under Ihis le:oc.Iership. a new am! wI)' ,ignif"

,',. method of casting the animators ,"olved: an anima

It_'•
•
was to anil1lal~ alilhe ch"ra,·tcrs in his ,,'elK', In
first featurcs. a different animalor had handle..:!.
characler. Umkr thaI ,)" t~tn. ~wn with ~vt'rY"""
eraling , the poss ibilities of gelling '":l~ in ""11 ent, '
"'tnt 0111 of a :;Ccfll.> wc r,' ,,'mole at ","SI. Til<' fi"t,
10 animat~ On Ihe scene usually had t~e lea,! ~hat:l(tcr
and (he '~ond animator oflCn had 10 animale 10
thing II<' could not f~d or qu ite umlema",l. Of
sil)' . tne director was Ihe arbitrator . bUI cenain of
deci, ions and compromi se, w~", SU'" to make u.. '
mo re difflcu ll for at least on~ of Ihe anima1ors,
The t1<':W casling overrame many problems:md,
......
'"\< ~.......... ", .........
., •.....,.
imponant. produ<','d a major advancement in ~
e ntertain",e nt: lhe dWr(UUf fflulioli shiJ' . Wilh
.,,"-,. ,
"", man now animaling ,'wry dlaraCler in hi, """"' .
could (,..,1 alJ the ,'itlrati,ms and , ,,bile nua",~s !xl"
hi s ,haraclers , No ]O"ilcr "',Ir;eled by whal .0'
cis<: did . he w:iS free to try oUl hi. own ;,lea, of
hi. chardCl~fS fell aOOuI ca,'h OIrn.'r . Animators 00:'
,,'ore oo",rvant of human hchavi<!l" and built on It
!iollships Ihey saw around tll<'m every day .
1lIC Supervi,;ng Animator was given!hc nexibil' .
of making changes and impro\'cmcm, afln the ,
" ·a5 on Ilis board . Challg~~ tllat co",e after Ihe an;
tor has had a chance to li"e w;lh his S<"<,'"" are often
ones Ihal ",a~ c chara,tcrs really Come to hfe. W'
IC"""".,J "" ,.,.. 1
 1oMfST. Ward Kimball.
Wa,d Kimball s,l,u,m I"
hi. prncil "Sf: irnfJgi1Wti,'~
doodl .. don~ during "If
Animation BQa,d muting .
cit.,:o /957.

,moto of tn~ Njn~ Old M rlf, Front row, Woo/j~ K,,. Pf'so"",' O«O$io""II,. hod to ~ art"" in Sf""",'
. Ward K jmball. and Joh" Lo~ nJl>rry. Rra'. Milt K"h1. Marc OOl'i •. Fmnlc Tn"",,, •. Walt. "lid Wiljrrd JlKbooo •
, . Fr"nk Thoma •. E,ir La"on. and Olli, JohnslOn . Joh,,>to"'s drawi"g durinll tn. ma~ing of" TV .Iw", ,,".'101....,
Beauty.
, \ I
/

. . =!~t <::

,•
 iO
)

-I

"~'''An .. ' ""'nt 1""""'as-

R1JI\bi
TM. , .'"."" ""drn 'his
' ''''''' mirh' .wlll",,", i>ce/!
di.-!,I~,II""~un H,"" dIJJ~r"
"It ,,,,im,,,,,,," Un,l", 'hm
,.Id r""<rj,rg '"'""" ~l" il h
d""b'J~1 I/I ill.'p' of "," ,i,,,,
r ,,"1,1 "',,"' hHrr Ivaor/(/11 <JjJ"
ii' ~I/

""",h oClhe ~nct unok. hi s rontrol. the Supe ..... ising
Animalor can plan a Il"IOn: effecl ive " 'ay of using lhe
animation to put 0"" the Story points. by elu.nging
rOOlagc~. >Ilifling scenes. calling for long sho!~. dose
ups. expre~sions. aClion s- anyth ing thaI makes a
.tmngcr Statement aoo richer c ha.octerization .
One of lhe fin;.( example~ of Ihis was the !>Cqucncc
oC Ba,nbi and Thumper o n i«. TIle conceJll o f an
a.1imMOf takin~ an idea like this and de"doping it into
a ~uencc ",ally s Jlfllng from the " milking" o f a
situation in the earlier , hons to get evcrythinll OOt of
it . Nom! Ferguson'. Pluto and tht flypaper aoo Pluto
()II icc were IWO of the Clrlie~t and most outstanding
pi«t:s of entc,uinmcnl built by an anim~ tor . Fr"W
Spcn«r "'as s~ssful with this t)·p" of improvisation
00 00N1d in 1010";"1 f)(ry . But lhe Bambi and Thumper
~uen« had something that the Pluto and Donald
Stttions did nol have. Th at wa.~ a charactt r rdation_
ship with Strong beginnings in the "tory dcpar1mem.
whe", it wu workffi out by a man who had • feeling
for animalloo .· With this U I springboard. the anima ·
tor cont inuocd drveloping this rdationship ..... h k h only
could have bttn done by one p"rsotl Iu.OOling both
charxtc:n and eompletd y controlling every s inglt bit
ofocti()ll. limin~. and cutting . JuSI how much we "'e",
reall y aware of the value of this type of casting then is
hard 10 ny .
~,"er-al )"Carli later . for " 'hattver ",asons. the mold
was fur1he. broken on the thrtt Uncle Remus seclions
0( Solo, of 1M SOI'lh. " 'he,,, all the supe ..... i.i nll ani-
maun handled footage in large blocks. Bill Pect' s
s",al Mory ",or\; seemed to lend itsel f to Ihis type of
casting. He had de.'elope.:! ente r1aining situation'! wilh
suong character dclineal.ion. :and the dcsign of the dw·
acters inspired the animators to I!:et J very Ioo6c: ....
dling in their ,,'Oft. But Il"IOn: inlponam. aill" s busintM
called (or much personal contact bc:t"'"CCn the bo... tbr
fox . and the rahbit . Also. his ",Iationships<km:tndnl
split_SC<:ond reactions between characters thaI woold
have bttn impossible to handle in co-animation .
Thi. new ,,-ay of wOOinll with character relot_
ships e~ the ,,'hok nongc of relations bc!II_
t,,"<> or ~ characters-from the broadest to the_
drlicate . It involved ex~sion scene. Ihat often rep.
te",d the mos t Sttr<:t thoullht., nnd innel enlOlions 01
the char-deters. " 'hieh as lhey became more subtle 11m
also more ",,"ealing_ With moncy in §hone. 5Upply.
""C CUt OOt the frill s and put OOr energies to wort ill
new direction . doing the most with what ""C had . g.
ing up for WMt had bttn l05t in one area by corocG-
trating on outstanding characters in entenaining situ-
tions . It W3$ a new dimension in animation and lilt
key breakthrough in ",aching lhe audience.
Just. as the «>nceJll of ··l ife in. si ngle dr-awing" ' UI
00( bttn recognized as a dominant factor in anillWXll
that ~~ to li,"C. cha.-acte. relationship II~ IllI
understood as a major contribulion for many ~ars.
Th~ G",ssh"l'I~r lind Ih~ A n/S had brief mo""'nt~ 01
exciting ",Iationships. and thi s could e xplain why iI
was so successful. Tlte seven dwarfs had slrool ftb.
tiom.hips. but thrso: existed Il"IOn: because 0( . tory ~
animalion. "The animators:u that point coold not hart
developed this by themselVCl; .
Tlte Nine Old Men eventually we", able to do.
because lhey inrorpordted all of thei r "w""~',:~::,~:,
(along with what they had learned from tl
tors) ;nlO this new way 0( ,,'Ort.ing- nol
animatioo . not jU51. good dnw ings that ~,..~.
_.,.lb
~ ... ~. ~ ju.1 <1"".'in~s Ihat weI\' funn)-. btll
mm'tJ lhe aud~lII;c . As animalion hls-
.......... C~I~nc: said. ·· ~I o\ing drn .... inl'. bo...:ame
_1J""iII~ ,Jr;r,o. inll' ," ~
fob ... ,,)",1"'-" Nine 01<1 M.n <'olll;nu<'<l " , au~ck
.. problo"" ~nd ITlC'CI I)l( moonlinf! challcnllC< in
..... __ I~I leha!>"d . ....-ilh fcar on hi_' fa.c~ , 1<>01< the
1Il1 .ltr ur." lhal "L()Um""I)"~ wol f in Thf S"wd
;. IN SWlI('. with ils bn",<1. ""!Ilk. bul lerrihly rea l
ff"lSlr.Uioo. ~nO.J \ ' ill', Shere Kh an. a dC\" ''-'Ial;n~ cari .
Cllillt ,II" Ill<" 1.le G,.. ".~~ S~"'k,.,. ~ , ~ ,upcr ,tulf~d.
iU! Ii;". "'m: n.mpics of aclin!! 0;- c artoon animal,
in die 6O's 1M ~re consi<krably ad"anad from I""
WIo.Xln .,im.al. in anim.uioo·, 50-called Golden AJ!C
in die JO's ~",I -II)" •• , .
ObI....."}, ~nlfllal io.~1 ".,., ", ~n",un io...al j,,!! " ilh Ih"

",
atitnI:( ho.1k·, Ib;.n II hild hcfu.-c . ~I'KC Ihan "'-Img.
• )
IIUR 1IIo.>n ""'~. tl)()fC Ihan ",,"'M IC' hy il..: lf. <omc:--
1MI~ bl ~notd Ih~1 wa, all"win~ I"" animalo,... m
\
nprts, 11>..",,,,1,·,,,, nM~ r"II ),.• fI<llho.: ' ·ic"e .... ""t i<.:o.1
Ai W;d(', inl~n;'1 (u[(",d to 011"" thing,. Ihe ere"l; \ "

, ,,~,,, .. f,."" /I"",,,,,

\ 1.1, ,· 'Un,'" .' 1 1.11." ",1a<>J
\11 1". ••• 1
•
•

I

cn,dI rIf 1M pOclUfC" ""ifled in 11I.\'or nf III(> 3nima-
lin. lit had ~n "'h~( (hey could do ";Ih m31~ri:l1 he
. . . . . haooe o~a}ed in carher y"~'-Iht:)' mitdc it
!IIIC(IJiJlinf juS! Il'IlOIIgh lheir . kiTlful handlin.~ Be-
mloC' (I( thfJt ~ki!!., I"'mmalil)" animati on bcj;an 10
dvrnin ... I"" 110<)' mOleri,1 H(}IWH' . "... ~Iill n~.<.I~d
WOIIJ (.IO{ics. and t~S<I' c""ld !Kll han ""en <"Tcalc-J
wllloJ"j. .... n "11th a_ K ~n ."ooerwn. Rill Peel. " .. In.... "
~ >lid I)on l)a(ir.KIi "-110 gan" ~uch " blIlancc or
'*- ntlllflUl of idcilS ....illt lheir dlff~r~nl PC,""p<-'C-
ti>l1.I'ictur~ _we pl ~nonl .... ,rot "" i(h p",..,I~ en(cr -
uilllltnll'«(llC'n(r_'-"rit~ in 1""'''n"li r~' .nd charnt ltr
-and IIK' .... in (um. oclped the ~nilllltnr c"ntinu"lI)
I(l d,.'\'cklp h', :l("tin~ ~ kill, In hi gl~, "'I'e l"
l<litn Culh~n" r-;aiJ tit", c·Ita,aclc' 'clal,,'n.<hil" !oJ<.!
.,1Ii
IOIfI;n IX'l1c' OCllc, . . 'I n R{"';~ If<!<.Hi. Ihc rc "'ere
10 ~- vibfali"n' p.l"in~ t>.M,; k ~nd (,mh ....I".o n
I'tirIt< MIn. the ,.. in and mangy lI.m • • nd his taP-
-."CId ~ .);op/wII. Si, I l i~ . Ihal il a",ounled I"
-..!1OIl Sm.QIOUnd. " . And CulhalK" arkIN lit" in a
~I k!1<'f 10 II>< anima lor of Ihe~ .......'ne~:
I " .11)' d~1 ted h)"f>n<>lilcd in my Iheatre >C ~I . In
fx( 1fdt lho: "'ay Ihaltllal lon~ · a~o r.d ,u produ.:~r
... ,1 !\:r,c fclt ,,1>0 ~udilil'ncd i:.dlar a<::'gen :ond
OwIio: ~t.,:(""hy.and ,,-a~ di~gu>1ed "'n~ Ik'):~n
kw IlIlInl'lIngovn h i~ toMS unnl McCmhy ~napped:
-.
'Hm, let me 1Ia\"~ a 100).: at tha( ... an.J lhe pm--
do«, .twusr II\(: <'crill' jmo t~ d""" ny ', inanimale
M<J!'11>c (I,' illl' (lid ~1"n "ilh.. had le~ll\cJ Ibm arl
ditr<ll) from lhe 1nr ~nima")f, of n", I~ir'lies or bern
1IT!li'IYl' mlil).'l1I."(\j ~y lheir "<>' k. lA, n ",L hlId S'ar1c-d
." 1% I • Elk La,•..,n ."..,/lluall y loot o~CT the ali-imP"'"'
". ~ -'"0"
;:: ;;;;; - " d , ..,,-
P _d_ ~' ~
Nrrm Wurd Ki""-'ll.
W ....d 1<11." .. ',i.-li. j ib.
'" Ir;~ ",'f1,t '~II_' ""_-
""-'. f -" ",I, ,,"" Olli<:.
"i\h U~ lwerk. ha.-k in 1'l17. and he i tudicd conli,)-
"011,1)' fro,,, lhen "''- En.." [.arson. W ~fd Kimball , and
Milt Kahl had all Ic""",d uoo.:r Ham L.u, k<-: F•• nl
·n'l.Ima~ ;",,1 Ollie Johnslon had b.....'n \I·itb Fn,d M,~...,.
I>u, !he)' \I'ere .. rungly in flucoc.'d by Ibm omd DiU
T)lla. l"hM~' Luunsl:oef}' tr.u".,.J undtf Norm~ .
~1 a/c Va,·i. undn Grim N3I,,-k k , 001 bulh "r ""'IIl
~Iud.ed ,I\( ....lrl; of all of the lop ",en , woo! .. Reither-
man WIlS 1"'>b.1bl}' inn".'K"n1 ""IR' 1:1)' r-ergy 111M 1111)-
one ci s.:,
White 00 (,,'(} of us were: ~Iike. wc ~(ill had many
""iI' in ~<.>mmOI1, Forcmo:;l """""B 1i1c",' lOb (he""";l"<
10 INI the fi~SI pt>S-<ibl~ ~nte""in"""nl 00 the OCTttn.
1l!<.~ ,,-ere tTWI)' argUrt>l.'"IIl> ""'" d~""",,", """"'&
all of II! VII '''TfY co"""inbir is.~ ... . Still. 110 ....1C:r
how e~ a~pc'al~d we were OI' ilh """k."""'. ""ve,
en(crc:d 00. lIlillds 10 question hi~ m"li,'~~_ W~ k""'"
Ihal he wanled t~ piclure 10 he juS! 3< 11000 a. .. cdid _
fur "va Iwcnt~'-fi\'C yc.rs Ihi~ remarbbk learn
it
""",l~<.Iloll~l~r . <k.Jicated to Wal! and lito: 'llC'tliulO
and its (on,Canl imp"'~"mrnl. T I><n Msrc D~vi~ Wb
.,,·c'
nlo.)",~<.1 I" Wl'J) . our , iSIC' vrpni zalion. kl put
h'5 ~1"'<'i~J :rbilil ""'lo woo-k on lhe ndc~ and ~fOl
Disneyland. Wooli., Rcilhennan htg3n diT<"'<'I i"" m
(a/ll traming program ((0 in.un: Ihat ocw latcM wookJ
reu h ils ror~nti"1 quick!y) _ and in the mid,.o;cvenli<:.
both Wan! Kinlball and le i elm. ",(irc:d ,
(n I Y7S. aU lh". John CIIIk.'r'Il:Ikcr p:lid IribulC 10 !he ~
m.ining fOOl" ;winw.,.,; " r the nnginlill nint . " Thr>Inaf,
KIlhl . 'ohl\JtOfl and Loonsbery;lll" tiny bul daz:zling
re~' ,'n"'p;!Ily uf 'acton "'il~ a pen<:il!,9 With
cadi new film. lhey clwlgc roles. but >Iill ",uin tl>cir
individual spttialta. their star qu.alita. if you will . "
Johnny Lou.nsbery died suddenly in 1916: Milt re-
tired in 1911: and. in January o f 1918, we. Frank and
Oll~, len the . nxliu to write this book . A new en. WI.
Les Clark
When Wa.Lt hired Les Clark in 1921. he said, "Well,
)IOU know thi. is only. temponry jOO, Le •. I OOn' t
kno ........ hat·s goi ng to happen ." But as Le. said, "So
it IlISted fony-eight years!"
Les just kept going---.J.nd kept up! As Walt asked
for the b,me,. dnwmg and ~atef refinemems lhai left
50 many othen ~hind. Le. wo able 10 -"'pt and
continue: in the front ranks of lhe animatOf'S. year .fter
ye .... His <inwing. had appeal. were alway, gentle
and wann and likeable. and hi. liming was always
.sensitive. He quietl y went a/lcad perfecting what he
did bcsI. CQIISWIIly aI art class working han110 impl'O\'e
ancIlO learn. 'There was moch "millltion for this quiet .
~ginning jU$! as the one thaI had ~ned nUlly
fony-five yean of animation tame 10 an end . Hclt iI
I closeT 100/1: " these men in the order of their arri\'lll
althe Disney Studios .
thoughtful nun. who came in with no an backgl'OUlll!
yet through lihttr detennination and desiTl: not 0IIIy
kept up but helped advance lhe an with his ",fint·
menu of many fundamentals.
Walt was pleased .... ith Les's Mickey in FWll/lSio'l
.. Sorttm'l Al'P""ntice" and especially liked his ddi-
cale handlin, of the Sugar Plum Fairies in the " N...
crachr SuiIC." Ho.....,vc:r . the laller were not ~
alitie. but more like birds. lei said he had thought d
hummingbirds. and this gave them a chann in timilll
as ....dl as movement.
Les was a Sequence Direclor on Slap'''' BtInItJ.
From there Wa.L1 moved him into direction on TV
specials and educational films. )l,Ilt as he did in bos
animation. '·Le. never settled for anything that WI$II't
top quality-his work always had lhal fine fini~h . ""
One of his pictures. Tht RtstltSI Sro. was a winnerd
many awards . He continued directing I,Ip I,Intil bis
retirement in 1976. He died on September II . 1m
u~ Clar~ had a rpffial
luli~g lar lll~ I'mi~i ~,
'1"'111" I~ Miltlti, M""".
Woolie Reithennan
W!dit _III( IOOSI physil:i1 of IhI;: group-"'ilh a cuon-
,u1siool1O my young and 10 squeeze in e~erylhi ng
loefOft iI is 100 i3te .
Ken I't~rwn. who "'..., Woolic's ~s.blanl on the
dinD",u'l in f "aMmj(l . ~ay '. "You i:n[)w how Woolic
is . .. , lie ', ~onna lick Ihi s if il' ~ the l a~l thing he ~~er
iIot~ . The WI)' W,>OIi~ i~. he'U liglll for (n lC1tain -

.....- 1I'''' dIlI ...;n, pnlble" " ~ Md on his Sl uff---OOI

lie fi",Ny ~ iI. Sumo: of those p;lIICN. ~..x.o know.
'O'btooy(lU'd f'l In dean them up. \)u,n: wa. pr....1ically
,
noIri", Itf. of \110:," . They were all crumpled like o ld
<kill. bilt,........,,;nkk<l and brown "jlh different col-
om! pencil" :;u!l1in~ "'., ever finishc.J: a. )(}"g a. he
couW flip il. Il\t:rc we re going' t<l hc , hang~ s made_"
Wool~ "'y-;. " My work II..! vitality ~ 11d .n "I don'l
Ji... ,j;um-Iry il !" qu alit}',""
~ (ioo(y IhIIt Wwlie an;m:>led coonmun",ued wilh
Ik 1Udit~ in a "~'ay llIal o nly W.....l..., could have
<hit ~-Ihis ..... . new type of ao;o OllI;OO. Hi. tim-
iIa. w,iIIg. lellun:. pacing. ~s,rc 10' d.. <Otl"lh ;n~
diff..... , . .,n,! ~ag ~n~, knowled~c of whcthe r it
"'al(nI(minin~ (and tho abi lity to think of "'Ill~ ,hing
tilt if ~ was 11(ll), . 11 nmed over inlo hi. di rcoinl\.
Emy >101)' p"inl. every scene, ••'cry line or dia· atld would s till be going s(rotlll at five o'clock while
qwload .... he Ihn..,hed over • h~nd~d rime. in lhe the n:.t of Us , at in exhausted :od",i..~ti"" . lie was the
Itllth f(lf lhe e<~ncc o f rhe marerial . W""lic 'omuld ooly dit'e('1".. eyer 10 holndk a /Calli"' .1,,,,,, Md per-
SlIIhbIImIy . guc hi~ poinl ; then. oft~n rt) enrou",,~ a hap. ,,'as lhe only one willi lht: ...~njl.h atld .tImi... l<I
D/tII' "y ollootin~ al son"" hing '" .., [110l:Il: ,kern. k«r tnlt.. l of ~lI lhc people ~nd wh;tl tho;y ""'''' ~
!.. wwld .wileh ru a new position hoping 10 bri ng our and he ab .... to pull all the piCl.'<:s tdJ<'1her in the lise
tome frnh argum.nt~, Alway, .he search "'ll, f,,, e m.r- hcetM; mlJnlh~ .
Wnmtnl l n,J .~dic~ commun ieal;!)n , Iii., energy w~. l!oundlcs~. A.' 'III<: ~nim;otor 'aid.
I.il:e Wall . IH: never seemed to run out or energy "He d".... ' n· t ~v"n gel jet I~t: ...

Eric Larson
&;,:'1 F't pn> i~one of lhe fjnc~l uampln of p'''.
~ime t...,r dune •• the .'IOOio. The xting. lulure
in limIng . anct inner feel ing for lh e charal:tcr were
ltlI'Iarbble Ihin~" to ""hiew wit~l b.! ncfi r of dia-
. ' Hi, nyin~ horse. in FmllUliu w'ere gracdul in
1tO\n1t1'll lind coovincing in aclilJfl , He "'fXr.i..:d (he
.....ioa ()II lhe "cry difficult " 3g in /1"mbi atld ani-
"'''teU trollSt ,,r tho: lik;oblc old 0"'1.
1\..·'. 311,.... "r hi' abilitl t" h~ndk "wry ' YI'" of Ihint
tllat ~outd t1 y. En.: bcc~I1'" know'n as a bi rd·""," He
did cY<:rything from ~ jT"'Crc hint' wll<' hclrnJ Cindorella
make lIer beu to the 'T~liest of 111<'", ~ II. the Ar:ocuan
bini. In the A.nl"u~n . Erk dbpJ~}...'d ~ rcmm.bk f""l·
ing f,,, an Intagin.1ti,,, C.......c1cr In hasnJ ,WI ;on lIIIIM>-
pomorphkconcept . And one might add th.t t~ wu

.-.
ne~ anythin, in Eric', ~ dignifl«l outward behav.
ior 10 indicue IlIat this 5-I .....'e inooncruity could take

His quiet. matUft joogmcnl was ~ even when

he Will young . Whenever I special committee will
being scl~~, it waS always Eric and romcbody dsc .
And when. scrious conflicl or disagrcc:menl arose in
any large rnccling. il was Eric who scemed 10 be able
10 IOOthe everyone wilh his · · pow-oil.<),Hroublcd.
Wiler 5pCCdI," as Ward Kimb.all c.lke! il .
lt was _imes difflCull 10 lift how Eric evt:r got
any wOft. done, He: had lhe IIl"gC$I c~w. of any ohhe
lOp nw:n, and ~~ wu alw.)'$ someone in his room
with. problem. often nothing 10 do wilh produclion .
Eric was al ways p,alic:ntly listening . occuion.olly coun·
scling. but somehow, in spi te of .11 this. he was one: of
the besl footage men in the Siudio . When and how he
did it no one ever figured out. And 10 lop it all. he w ill
able 10 gel rootage (lUI of _ o f his c~w . At this
writing , Eric is Rill in clwJe of lhe lraining prog.am
f« the new talenl coming into animation . Ace has noll
dimini$hed his cmp.tthy with you", proplc .

Ward Kimball
Not III niDI: of the $Upetvising .... imatOIS 'Ovt:Te illlCr_
C$kd in personalily animation and c~ ~lltion·
ships. To Ward Kimball fell the mantle 0( true ic0no-
clast of the group, He had tried and done successful
per$(lnaJity animal ion 011 Jiminy Cricket. but soon
found this style too limiting for his JIlInicular talents .
He felt the proper use of animation for him lay funller
away from livt: lCI1on .
His conception and execution of the long song
5CqUI\'no;e in T~ Three C.II~rOI is I classic in the
ulllUtnclod use 0( the medium . The $011, was four
minutes loog wilh lillie « no business, and. after
lislenin,1O it for a week , Ward says. " 1 decidW tobe
optic.lly literal . What you hear is what you lift . When
they !-IY lhey havt: serapes-the SCrllpes appear. And
when ~ chll"loClen Went out 011 the righl-they'd
rome in 011 the lell : ~y'd , 0 OUI 011 the lefl , and
they' d c:omc in from the lOp. II wu opcically 1bMrlCI. ··
WOld KimbGlI
";W'
_
. "PP'u;ochunioj10 ...mi, "'as
Killy ~. ,
~
1(0 I'lL'" <>n
""'''' 1)'1'" (Of enlenain'
II< _b . . e).ccllenl drafts"",n ... ilh lhe """ Wil ily
iiid t fU<l~y ..sr..... in)!.., C<ju~lIy u " 'el l .....,iou.
OIH. lie: l\;Id a bone, de'ign M' n,.., Ihan <110,1 and
I~Shl oflm.~in"livc ways uf duin~ Il1 i"~i, Il~ n~ve,
did ~'h~1 "'., ~.",,"Icd. and 10 the conslemali(\n of al
I.. ~ un. d,m;IOl' never did II><: "-,,i~ nn"' nl Ihc way i1
.... IIandtd 001. Hi. stag ing VIi:.os I~, h b limin~
1IIiqur• ...J he c"uld , h" ... " 'hal wa~ funny 3h<ml a
...... lit h:od II knack for pick,n, QUI tl!.: ~PCC'"1.
Milt Kahl
~hh·.,...w \lfcnglh lay in h" d,~"" in, ~bilil)' ~nd his
COIOiclion llul ~nill13lion dr::l"'ings we.., ....,al ly I"·...
--..w a .... ,.... JlJld ""Ofk In 111:11 pia.......... ckiM,
. . . . . (10 )' ~J ....,ad and unlienland A. "n~ til' four
IlIiMlIICf'i \oj ..illl on the ch:u:octcl vi I" II( ..-.:h;... he
w.. ~,..." ,be l"i~lIrncnlllf an imaling P",,,,",chiQ ~s a
rt:ollxl)' t.,'I:"U'" or hi, carefu l dr'''''ing,
Mill '> conlr,,1 .n.bIM him In do Ih~ m",1 sublle
rDO\.... lUlling III repealed Call'"1: u" human c har~c­
Im. lhs 51! I:CIOI' and Kay in Th~ Sh·.ml,~ /he St"",,
-m Iht hHl ""man fi,u ..... e"cr done MI lhe ~Illdio,
allho::) " '(f( oJone ,",''1Il001 bell<'fil u f Ii,'" ,""lion or
Iinlc:· ...... 'cN Ir.i" in ~Imusl c>""l)'<lnc aroIIOO him .
and 1'011' I,,", on thai pcnun wwkl ha .'~ _ 1'"""1 ..,
hlln He " 'as an (~,:dlcnl mim< :.nd ,"OU ld " ilher ..,1
ou l lhe"" !rail. o. in<:O<pOrllle Il!.:m Inl" one of hi.
" harp ~aric'lUre S,
Typicat of Ward. he was at"" "..,ali ve in hi. apfl<\IOCh
\() l(aching life drawing. He u ...'<.llhc ;n",,>"alive ide.
"r lhe "model in ""'''en",n!"· to n,:U:.c h" dar.o nlOlC
aw,"", u f the pri nciple. of animal ion. whil.-b eJW.:uu,·
al,:•..., lhe )"OUnl,: sruocnlS 10 lhin~ in Icnns of rI'll,,",
and a.:lIon ,n Il!.:i. dr::lwing •.
lhe ,uf'PlI'I "I' ..,k",""c malerial. TlIoujth Mill ;o:,;l~·
all y pfde-m:J broad char",,'cn;. he \Ql'"
,","I pride '"
(Jmng ;usignmenu. thaI "'ere l"Ugh '" draw. lIis un""",
..,n~ tlf dlaracler de ••gn oo.nill:ued lhe feallln:. ror
uvef Ih in), yean. bul 11 "'as SO Pf'1l""",1 Itw il was
"flen d,m,,,11 (.,.. o.lien; 10 fntlnw . lie woold dc:ny
Ihi •• 'lay "'!!. ... Anyone who can draw . Can f"I1" .... it"
Wh", he reatly meant wa . . .. Any",", who ''''' dr~w
Ii~c me can du thi ~. .. He hall fCllt.aO;al>k powe!'>
10 ,·i~II.. lile . ~nd I f ~ .. id . "On..~ ho: (;C'!' <kiil'
in hi$ nllnd ,,'hal he' s goIng 10 00, ii', .lIS ,00II :» 00
lhe paper."
 He '''is hono:.u In the poinl of blunlno;:~, . Unl i~e
-,. irascible tcmpcnlllC'lIU ...110 ha'.., fi lled lhe halls
d~ . Mik ha<J a ""/)' SWUI hdpM sid~ . ....·hell he
chest. lie I ,ve uII$limina ly of his lim~ ~nd lal ent
. 1 II WU IQ help lhe pictun: and almosl as o rten 10
ldp . ltllow .niSI " '00 had a problem . HOVI·cve •. he
~ l/I)'lI'II: comin, for help to have worked hard
lflii rifd ~hing-(o have done his bc:~t bcfe«
OOIIIi"$.
Mih ', flftwell animalkm was his brillian tly done
~ in TM R~MW~'I. Thi, lime Mill h.lId. c har",,_
. . . 10 ~l\\SII:tf. aRi hi ~ n:wards ,,'en: ,.eat. IS slicN.·n
bJ 1M lribute: " The )'(lIInKer gencralion Mudi.", the
ICtIIC in "'hkh M me . M edun lakes off her makeup
wbilt plQIIlng child abu.>e. The way thaI Mil! Kahl
_ (lfraldinc Pa~e's fTUilY. cruel voice by nulI _
itc kr I. , ( lIl1I hard at he. false eyrltih unlil he.
f)'dioIlNpIC bKk [ike a IlIbbc. band is like ~ dnwin,
m., DlumlCr"s 'S ketcllC:! of E~~ ssion' series.
bul iJ1 mov<:mem!" jJ

Frank Thomas
Wriit.j: i. Millimtltr miI~I"!ine. John C.ncmake. !"lid
1M triboMe \0 Frank: " He ~ been ";nccrcly' affec I-
itc __ 1Im for fony years: he has made them IlIUgh
ftl l'I)", hate and fe~ . u~ing basicall y a pencil he hu
...,
dlIIJrd Wilh intelligence ~nd humanity, tun s of parer,
IItd tht 'pmi"~nce of vision' . .. l )
1'10 job \,..~ 100 p;oit1>lakin,. no rcsur<;h 11)0 lime_
~ t(I boy lhe &JOOndwod for a Thomas >c.
~. Each p:>ssibility had to be nplorcd endle"ly
10 fmll t'·'l)' Inl oooce .or enlena;nmcnl , H i~ polller.
of gt,ltO'liion and hi~ acutt memo')' for thing.o; he had
_WId ~udied ""cr IhI: )·t;m. gavc him a "a~t TC>CI·

...
.... uI nptrien« as he ~~ his s.cenes for anima·

His lINoIysis wenl paSI Ham I.II~k~ '~ rules . Through

1beIC powtrs be was abk to portray WmpliC31ed a, ·
tiou. llIitudtl . "ld ICI;ng , Hi s great feel fOf chanoc·
tr. K1 .... 111<1 enlertainment c~n be seen in the many
. . . 1Ibk sequenceshe ha.cu:d·· in . ~ mo5t famous
lIII1lO1 oco;nurily the: mo:st diffiwlt Kene. the d warf.
CQinl arouoo Snow Whit e', hier. is said 10 nave
extended \he emolional range of our cartoons.
To bave worked under Fran k was to have been
subjected to the most rigorous training imaginable. As
One young animator said, "II is impossible 10 plea~
that guy. He's never satisfied."' The solution was nOt
to try 10 master Frank's extremely complex acting pat-
terns. but to study bis approacb to entertainment and
bis usc of the fundamentals of animation. Frank's stag-
ing and his USC of squash and stretch and the strong
changes. in body shape that gave so much life 10 his
work were tangible things that have helped many young
animators.
Walt cast him with Milt Kahl repeatedly because of
Ollie Johnston
Like most of the group, O llie was at bis hest when
leading off on a character, par1icularly if the story and
the characters were at a stage where they were still
f1e~ible. He was often the first 10 perceive that achar·
acter or a Story point was n01 developing the right way
Frank's knowledge of what the character should do
and Milt·s ability 10 draw it .
Like the reSI oflhe fellows. Frank gave time!O help
others. His advice waS sought on music. layOtlt, I»ck.
ground, and SIOry as well as the animal ion . On the lIS!
few features. Frank would spend anywhere from Iii.
months to a year h.elping develop the story StT1lC~
and situations, sharpening up and defining the dtmo-
ters and tru,ir dialogue-and then h.e would animate oJI
those same sequences with a fresh eye .
Frank is a modest man. '"frank'" in his bone:sty,
penetrating in his criticism , bUI always tempering it
with humor.
and would work lireleSllly to correct i1. He had a vi.iQR
of what it ought to be and was dedicated to seeing II
come OUt that way. Through early experimental ";·
mation. he was able 10 show the potential for t!Ker.
tainmen! in the characters that would then be developed
in future story s ituations. In doing this type of devd·
opment he combined the appeal he had learned fKIII
Fred Moore with the ~nsitivity he had for tm, emo-
tions of how the characters felt
Colleagues agrud that Ollie carried acting and the
feeling of the characters to the highest point. He hod.
sensitivity for good picture, imaginative layout ..... hit
th.e character should be doing. and how 10 arrange the
scenes for the beSt effect. His knowledge of wbat MI
needed in a voice made him valuable in dealing wid!
difficult decisions of wheth.er the vocal talent was ~i¥·
ing lru, animator the performance he must h.ve to
make the character think and act .
In an interview Ollie said, "1 talk a 101 about any I
scene I'm gonna animate and get the best ideas I cal; I
and .... hen I'm convinced I have lhe besl ",a)' , thenl '
put everything I have into e~ecuting il. But just bec:t1M
I have a good plan doesn't make it easy . Animation is
inherently open to mistake s, and I could know exactly
what I want to do and still have trouble . And I" d say 10
myself. 'Whatever made me think Ihis scene .... ould be
e asyT or. '1 thought I promi>-ed myse lf last we<:k 1"4
never make that same damn mi stake again ." "
 In .pite of the u,ual problem,. his footage output
wasal"'a)'s the hi ghest on the picture. and the fact that
he ne,er IoJkcd upon animation a~ being casy helped
him Klemph3thize with the young animators and assi,·
lUtts working with him . He knew that their problem,
rtqUii"td gUldarx:c and patiencc. and this he willingly
provided.
Tho Jun ~1o: Boo);
Hi , drawing' of Me. Smee from P~t~r Pall mrned
<lUt to be a near self· portrait . Of course. 1hi~ is oot
uncummon when 1he animator is really feelinJ1. the
expre" ion, . A young an sm<iem vi,iting during the
production of The R .. ,.,:u~r., glanced at thc cat on Olli.· ,
board- then al Ollie- and s.aid. " Y,m look just like
Kufus. Why you eve n wear glas",s jus1 like he doe,!"
Johnny Lounsbery
As is of~en the; case. the; pupil surpauoed the ma5W .
Norm ~r,u_ had inslnlClcd well but Johnny had
gone beyond ""hat the Jf:gendafy master hid bttn ab'"
to do . His better drawing and bigger conccpl. not lim-
ited by old vaudeville acts. brought the bold. crude
approach 10 new heights, using more refinement. more
dramatic angles, more interest. and .11 without losing
the main ide., His simple staging. appealing ctwa.:-
ter$,,oad lasle. wong squash and 51",«:11, and con·
rroIled anticipations .nd follow throu&ll made a big
bold SUllelllC'nt. but they IE\a los! believlibilily. Hardly
subUc. his characlC:rs ~ always fun to watch.
He was good I' wooing with the young animaton
and did pose drawings that were an inspiring spring-
bolIrd to gel anyone started . As a draftsman he was
ideal for animalion . Hi s drawings were simple and
loose and full of energy. Tbey had volume and thaI
elusi~ quality of life. He had _ of Ham's ability
alway' to find the way 10 go funller in strengthening
his poRS .
Johnny's favorite of the c haracters he animated was JoM lAoi1lSMty
Ben Al i . the alligator in " Dance of the Hours " from somc of its subllcties withoot losing the 'tr'"i~ ·'
FtJ"tasia. whert\ he caplured a cocky. spirited walk bro.ad cartoon action.
and allituoJe....-QlII'! that was particularly unusual since Johnny ~nded to be an introvel1. bm asscned h'"
it III had to fit the tempo and lhe .ecents o f the ~If on key decisions. He had his own special way 01
Jn5COl'ed tr.ck . This work was I Ilrt\al innuence on lookin! It things. and no mailer how bad they WCK.
the OIher animalOn doing this ~tion. many of them alwlYs had some funny obscrv.tion 10 lighten the"
anilNlting for the f\JSItime. He had an especially good ation . At the lime o f his death. Johnny was d~
way o f woning 10 live lIottion. bo:ing able 10 adopt 5Cquenccs on Th~ Rucwers.

Marc Davis
M= Davis is an example of I talent bo:ing shifted 10
.... hert\ il is most needed. This h<tpp::ned to many of the
men since no one had been Inincd for the jobs tlw
were being devdoped at Disney·s . Seven.] men actu-
I lly created their jobs by doing something panicularly
well-and Ihat is how we got tile great rt\sults.
From careful cleanup on the delicate drawings of
Snow Whil~. Marc moved \0 Slory sketch and charnc-
~r design on 80mbi ~au~ of hi s ability 10 drn ....
animals . Af\cr doing outstanding work in lhe~ areas
he was given his fIrSt chance at animalion on the cJ..
Xtef$ of FIoWCT and his girl friend . After Btmtbi . .,
~ry ~lUt ile Man: returned to lhe: Slot")' dcpartnd.
where he designed lhe: Eagle and O:topu5 $CCtD 01
ViclQl)' Through Air P_·~r for Bill Tylla to aniR*
Due to some carden oversight. he III'!ver rcceiYld
Slory credit on either Bambi or Vic/Qry Through A;
Power.
In an interview. Marc upres~d this p/lil!>:lClpbr.
"To be an animator. you have to haY<' a ~nse of.
dmnllic. I feelin1 for ""ling; you h~~e 1<1 boe a ~10<)1-
. ... " II his own ""Ofk Mar.: ,I$<) added IIt(SC
~ _lOIl!""lin, 3uim,;Ie" btlln dl'll,,-ing, ~nd
* UIII\olJM:illJ rTIO\I\'llll'nl thai Came: ",ilh Ihis dl'll ...-ing
.aiIy. ~ 101"', unified rc:iationship of all pan, of a
cUt1ntr lIIOJ on lhe fI"",ooyant Cruclla \lcVil made
IIiC of rvt')1hing from her bony elbo",. 10 her posluring

Ihrou,h her malic mC\·emems.

OIl Marc', "bkfi~nl, he ~ho",ed ~ flai r for Ire
lllawlic NS«I ~ 00 p""'erful sh~pes in his de,ign
.. 1In'III, 1\Oe of color than 011 broad aclioo . lie had a
r.-, ((0' ihIlmpu:r<.;mce of a ,000 layoul and "",~

-.
OI'tIbJUd the "a!ue of props such as the 11I'~n and
I!lc i!4f w madc ,un: they wen: pari of the overall

Mare Ii . vCI")" gentle per",". hoi wilh sirong COn-

vietions Iholl he nold, 10 lenaci,-""Iy !' He has a special
Itol< <>f h~mor Ih~1 ~suall)' has Mln>C unc~pecled Iwist
.... He n I ,-et). >UCCeS.'ifullc""hcr. specializi"8 in
~ •.., rot 1""... IIon _ I/i, main courses ",en: giyen
io Ii;' sdiooIll Chouinard'~, and many of hi. Mu-
*-s IaItt f<llio'A-N him 10 Dis""y · • .

I / •
/
. '
j•
 Refining Techniques
Und~r 1M Irodt:rsltip of 1M Ni.... Old !ofr" , Ih, _ ....TOII F'aM:~

origt""l a"imil/to.. p, tN('tpl,••..,,, r'finn), p" , Bambi.

f«lrd. aNi ,~"'ndrd. By 1960. 1M r/ta,,,,,,,,,' Ot.Yrl<>ppi"6..rn....~
oc,iOllS had ~ So saphiJIKa"d il " 'as 01. IN)rr IIta" flu. " " "<IJ' 10
rrwsl impoJJibir 10 isola" Ihr rlrmrltls Ift(Jki"g
.Itt", " 'OO'k. SqutJJh /I1Id 'Irr",h. !oIlow Ih'OIigh, n"""""Ilifftriniarti""
d...nd "'M"
10 I~ 1M
1tr<Ht</ary aC/fOllS. all " 'rrr So suhllr and ;"",, ,dM",
" Bi, ·d!"
Bambi 10 ~"Y
rrlmld l/oal <Jnly Ilrt ~n(rrtainmrn( in Ilrr SUn,
W(i.J oo~io..s.

AN'.... TOII, Mill Kahl_

Pino« hio.

Pi""""Mo is 11M' /HJ"/( as

M /HorillS 10 /ur" i,./o °
tIorrkry . A. Irur, ""imo,or
"",N ","w.....or 1M ' ........
Iiofu .I<) 0'i0kItI oM "';w
IhoI,1tr J"""" ""M .aM
"",-uy _IJ Jrt,w 1>«.0
10./. Do lIOII confllSe kliorl
willi lOCI;",. , , • ,.
" "

"'''''TOIl, Er ic u."o,,_
Bambi.

/" ,M. qui" .aM, 1M old

0 .../ ad"tUS SOIfI' ~ou"l
/;i,tIs visili,.. 1M ....... baby
drrr .IIa,il is 'i..... /() 10.
TM si,,,,,,ion rrqll irrd ..
rr."aflWd IN)W, bo., _
wi,1t rlMl" JiIi"i"""" Do
I'0OI confuse ",btlety wilh
"'~.
n.
_WAn;ar, Ollit JoNul_
Adven!"",' of Mr. TOld.
Somt dft''''dlor~ ha.t
claimed. ··Ead drawing
.,,,., in/porlanl. i f, 'he
mowmtlll"· H~r./ar
dhlr -g •.., mod clarirya{
<K"fiaot.not" drawi.., in
I~ seeM ",,,,, ~ ,lie

al/irride dM ,lie """"g.

TIW RYM IIMgood ,utMr<"
/n ,Iw rUtiiq. "",,"asling
,he _~,ed. prNUt <I~
dlille <larr wi,h ,Itt " " ...._
ptc,ed whi,1 dM ace",ing
p<>'1Il allhe eM .

.' ••
 ",'INA'o. Fro~ * Th""",s-
S word in lhe Slone,

TA~ "",d Mud~,. Mi,. "'.. c>

" '""""aJl of M'ild DNitHI,
"nd '''lrallt' , M'ilA ~~ .....
J)«fl'li /""b."", a«~lilq
Mr ".w"/ilimi.. ,, 11',,1,
IuzJ N>~'iottl'li Iti, a~i .... _
'0", "D_ -, I>r b'04d
",It~.. 'M'~ if "" Ttf>JOII ,"
"", IAi. ,,"16 I.~ ,.,'fN'
pI_ /tN ..""Un, .... ,i.ily.

M"NA "'" _Mill Ka.IrI-Robi n

"-
I, loW Import"n, ,'''" ,A, t>
""dime. U~ Ih, Sh"iff cf
NOI';n, loti,. p~' ,hi. rojn in
hi. f"ITU a' 'M WIW Ii""
M <hliwml" liN cf di4 .
w,,,, _Flippin, ,M roUo I..
1M "i, "flTlNu 1M 'Y" It,
'M at:liM "ltd ,,.,,tin, 1M
JnUH " 'i,h 'M rojn IIUik
~ttrkM' 'M SMrijf. p" _
_ l(1)·. A JiM biI cf ""'-
i .., ""d "It"""'PI, cf
I.:upin, ,., 1N1i0l0 drtJ, .

~
AN'NATOII, Franlt. TIwmD._
The Llu&hing O'II< bo.
Thi. 1i,,1, ,a","" had "
tm.,1t lloal ,Ioall,rl'li ,Iau
IUIliI hU wHet Man,td. H i.
<h,p""" """"1" I" pt<>_
d~ Iti, /<mitt, """It tk_
INJIIJtd r'1H"ud c....",
In"lIw,~, i.. Iti,~
~-.
-
=~
 , -.- .~-

MTig Gltn Krone.

FarlY )'t~rs later ,Itt Win-
ejpl~J of e"mmuni,U/;ng
lhrough dra~ 'in8' j, car ·
,itd on by ....... animalo,s_
Tbtu .lOry JU(,ltts f'"
n.. Fa' and 'he lIaund
Iti;ny ."~ng'lt and dramal ie
impact in IIt~ dtsign, Pia,·
in, ,I«' lHat ltiXIt "n 1M
serun maUl him look bi,
and p"_rful.

"'''''011 GI~n K~an~

The 1'0, and Ihc: 11""00.
;I~n cd"i~d 'ltis Julin,
}vir inro hi. ani_'ion,
'~lainin8 1M grrol JCal~
",hil~ adding 1M ~ujU""'nl
,liar "" ,t."from ~_nl,

'"
 ...,," ~II/I K"M
W, loud I>n~ 'a~llll Ill""".
II} loot '01 '~'~l' /, ...-
"""OM P'op/' ...;S~ lA~
...,../d do, "'" too o{r,. ,. . .
~,,,,, IffQU""/ dt_..J,d
cau/"I 11,,,..·,•
.11 iJlfJ sOl/>-
tI.. ,d (I(,i<1I! TM~ uDrfo
_~ 1111/ PH' f''''''''' W
.."mIN/' s J.. ,/ I. SW<J<d In
.he St ...... II ~rf«r .....
of g~,,,,,,,,,,,,, "",m,,,,";.&,
,"""""lui,. ,hrou,I'A a
. .. 'pr;so~t {""'mI' iw forms
m,,/ ncili~1 """011.

•
9. Our Procedures

'nr lIIfoI
. . . JiJlI
.f"""
of >Jon
'WIU/J "" Ihl' ~t''0'''''III. Ih,' ,bTU!"'. <Iud 1/... /<1\"<1111 """'. <I.' ......11 <I.' ,1,(, "" ... id"". ''f'<'mtll1$
,mil. TIrt-) <III ,-h ""IJ "" Ii,...,,/.. "'IU"~lrd ,It
lh~ I',.-r,m' . No 0fI<' PUMPl shuulJ <I"",i"",(' ItJ
.. flltlll 1I'''''rl' I..- 'H,.. /tl trrp ,1... mhers 1m", rltlrm'j( ;/f'0 Ih.. """llKli,,,, (11,,1 j"ru/,· 1'.'1"("";")( ''''m",I,'t's.'"
Wah Oislloly

lupiltnf COII>liInl efru." and PCflll~lcn1 d~;n~. Wah h;od <-h~r:lCtcrllcd the" id.:~1 ho::ro " ' l1h gl/"'-,ng. nu....
...... dot! budd an org3n17.l1110n on the ~lricleSl ." ,n,. of loe'" as " " 'he F~,r. llaircd Suy:' ~nd ~I Ot~ncy'S I~
"word. WI\;oI he huih W3' ~ l"o~l)' umfied ~f<)lIP of role W3< aflilo ho:: .., t. ~n,icnl Ih~1 1M " fa" lI:Ii, ' " .• ~
IIIrnIOO I"C"'f'lk "';lh part icular all, I,,;e, ..... ho ~(lllid work ~"umc,j to ~ an ca,ill t," n,fclTC<.i ,,-,~ , -n.. .mp!oy~c

IIJStthtr in ~Ont i n" al l y ch " n~ ;"~ !"Ilt ern ,_ They did
1M."" I minimum of command and a mllXmlu,n of
obIiaIiool. \\'hat Wall " 'limed " ..~ I,,", great"" =al;\"<:
tII'on-lIOIlhc 10051 dficienr ~r.:Iljon . Thoere "ere
IiItI and d.put .... nls and job ciaM ,ficallOlls .. irhQul
mt. bulll1e)' had more to do ",il h rnpon~ib;I;ly Ihan
mhonl)' .
It 0/1\ the I'nwn Wi lh the bene. idea who wa, on
"'P. ItGardim of his job . Slill. Ihis ,eco~nilion alkn
IW\nN 00')' a 013),. 3~ ~me ... her l.ka "3' ~mhr:tC'('d
iI. 1"«"" 01 coole" gn'" Ih The .lang of the da)
, .
wanting an up,I:lIC o n "" velop",c nt s in hi, proj.,,,.
" -oold a~k . a~ he arriwd for " 'ork In the mumin~.
"Who's gOi I,", "'s today""
This me1hod ,,-oo-1;e<.I bttauM' Wall ,,-as 1M boM-noI
jU~1 becauSt it was his siudio or 1n.1 '"' h"" the author,
ity 10 ~tt " 'hat h~ wanlffi. but bocau"", hi. Kleu were
the be , t. Mati ) times we (<luld "'-'I umJc"I:md whal il
was tie wan lcd. hut ne,'e. did ,,'c lose confidellU in
him or his abilily. We could qunlion his judgl11l'nl. or roc"" 'Iii'
hi' .mphasl~, (I, the ".~y he went ah""1 ",:h",,',n1: "
"",uh. hul 11 ..... ~ "'l1h th~ bu""lnl~.· that Walt', "':Iy n.: IICSCIII

,
~l"'~) ~ " ." ~ "cry ,OOIJ w~y, li~uall)' c~dl of liS fde.
" Why dldn ' t [ Ihink oflh~IT ' bul ncr)" so ofltn ""e
oe<:mly "'llUld feel. " M y " 'ay tS bencr~" ~OOJ ,~a·
siQnl,IIY;1 wou ld s.utIoknl)' o;«m so 10 W.II. too . He
",]jed 1Io;;."il)' on hi, sl~rr to feed ;n neatlY' idea, .
[n umkrsl.nding Wa lt' ~ methods. il i. imporlant to
",~lil.e Ihal he ..... as no! in 1110;; . nimat;on bu,;ncs, to
....ke lTlllI'Iey. As be ....id . . .M ~y-", ralllel the Ia('k
of it to) <:any oul my Kkas- may worry me. hUI II doc.s
not c Adtc llIe. ldeu c,dtc me : ' lie ..... a~ tllOIl' [;kc a
man ..... ,th a hobby Ihan nne " 'ilh a <'(lmmc",i . 1 en lcr·
pri~, li e was doing ..... hal 110;; ..... 8nt.d to do .nd hoped
Ih~1 OIber~ .....ould shan: hi s 'Ulio< ;l), anJ eXdl~lll<:nt
aboollhe pokntial in what lbey ""en: doing, Hc pllt all
tho: _ y gained b.:ick inlO the nexl pielur. bcc3~
thilt ..... as ""hen: the flln "'·as. aooJ he cerlainl)' ne\'c'
reached. pnim ...'bere he did nor kIlO ..... " 'Mi lO I'y
~xl.
He ,lid 1\01 dream" hig , ow rall dream: he m"dc il
up os be wenl along , E;H.:h Ihing II<: did sugllc>led
SOIIIelhing cl",. somC:lhing new . somet hin~ Ihat hlld
nevel bcc:n Iried . something an aud;.""" mighl wam I"
..,.,. IIc rc:ali,...'tl lha, he: cuuld 001 c~rlore thc.... arc:a.
..... 'Ih<1II1 IxClcr laknt alou n.J him. so II<: waS al .... ay.
lidding to tile ,Iarr. "Nevel l11in<l Ihe dassifo':~lin".
jUji get Ihat guy in here ." Tolenl. "hilily. IlCW ideas
..... cre the im[lOltant matters .
ll i. ~1Il~/.ing faculty for C~Sl in~ his men on a»ign.
' nc OlS lhal ""(ltdd bring <lU ' UII<,.pet;t~'<I lalent' CAlenokd
de""'n 10 lhe IClist elllplo)'~e . When Da"c lIall..J ",'a,
p" ..hMt..m super";,, .. he ,aw Ihi, h:'Pfl(n O\'e r "nJ
"wr:
I think W ~II h;od an uucllnny ...'ay of lindi,,~ ju, 1 the
riplt pl""e for II .. ..".. SOIlI. " Admil1C'dl y. "''('IUS(:
n!OllCY had no relationship to his findin~ Iht right
job for lhe rig ht man . he .....ou ld dire'l lhe <I10\\: 01(nl
of the creative lalent . . . from nne place to an'MIler,
In my position. I waS ready 10 I:h'e up On s.on~ little
guy and .... ould 'iQ expres. my""l f 10 Walt . ~lan~'
limes he would say to mc:. "No. 0.."(. Ie, ', nK>,"C
him over 10 thi~ SpJl in Ihi) depanment . Maybe
he' ll ",'Uri: out there ." And e''<'" at timc • • if Ihe
"I""t "'1111" didn't ma\;.c;1 in thai department. Walt
.... 'lIIld"·! ~ive up on him; ,",'e would h~,·. In I')' ye!
allOlher spol . To my amll7.emcnl. IoOInc of Itlcse . ' \OM
souls " b«amc: "aluahle conlribulOI'l' 1O"" anb OW
pruoJuo;tion pro"".... AooJ ~ OIhe" .....""Id finJ a
niche thai ~~lisrlCd tit.: . tU<Jio a n.J IhenL
P()~sibl)' tile mosl elusi"" part "f Ih is caSling. and
lhe p.ort Ihal Da "e con'iders 10 he "filM: "Ulm,,!!
im[lOlt~nce." " 'liS the building uf lho: "",Ierial froM
lhe first da)'$ in story to",.rd 11M: mo:n ,",110 "'·ere .....
to Mndle ii, ".. story ere .......'11> !'elected for tho: i .....·
""t they m'l:hl ha,'" in II type of story ~iluation . • .
vel)' "",n . fter..... ard . as lhe en lCrla,nnlCnl val ues '"'m
emerging. lilC direclo.. ",,,,,Id hc sd~'Ct~'tl . The "t~'nl("
kne ..... Ihis <.iifi,elur·, lalent' 1I00J au tomatically 'lalWd
"tI;,ping their bu~inc\.S a lung hi, li,~ , At the l;Omt
ti""" Ihe nltn ""00 e,'enl ually ..·.ould animale thi. fila
"'"rc: cho.»ocn. ~nd e,,,,.yonc """l'kC'd 1<1 p""'iUc the I)'pt
"f nlalerilllIM:y did beM . "E~ell in tbe "'01'}' dc~e"",
IllCnl f!"riu,J. the bu,i""" hcin~ ",,",idered tf'l.m.p.
urn:on sd<)u. ly) is thoughl of rc: lal iy" to a (crtain .rr;.
1lI.a\<)f hci1\~ ahle 10 handle ii," I),,,",, ,aid. " 1 h"'itvt
il ,<> ~ a n w~ importanl part nf ha ~in~ lhe ricturt
n>lOC '111\ ..... ;Ih qual il)' al 11M: .Kh<:r end .- -
Thi. ;~ oh\'ioosl)' lit.: "PJlosite " I' approv'n~ a . .:npl.
preparinjl. the 1oC(""', and IIM:n callin~ in any . \'ailllhir
animators to (Oml'lele lit.: W()fl;, It als" pinl'"inblilc
su blle ..... orkin~ rdation,hi[lS lhat mooe an es\;,bh""-d
organ;~;lC i<ln iml""'"bIe. Any attempr al <I<.....·,.;bin, hoooo
lhe piclllfo!> .... ~re made h;o., tu be dorIC in lerm. of tile
nltn ..'ho made \hem and ho ..... Ihc)' fell aboul IhriI
ass;gnnlCnt~. There "''CI'I: constanl e~rerimcnt~ in i.....
,'ali,·c pru,:e</urcs lso mc sue(c~,ful. ''''"'' '1uidly
,lis.:.,dedl . hUI through ;! "II lher<: wa< a perpetual
shi !'li"~ of job r.:"I'<,"sihililies and <11ltlor'luni l;es. ~hl.,
lng ~ fil m h..:o; arne a seq""",,e of as.«",ial i<,",. "'~h tile
",hole process k<"PI utren.:ly Ik~ible until a p;IOII
prud""l xlually had been 3"'>\11\.'<1.
or all til<: Illtlhods lried ...... e li ~t bere ,110;; rt1<lM .<UC-
ct,,!'ul. and. in mo,t ca"",_ the nn..:' that prtxluccd ....
~re"te'l film~ . N() 1..... 0 pi<1Urc~ were dnne e1;O::II )' ~lil;(
,iM'e Walt ~I .." y, ",~rehc:d !'or • .'l ill hcUer ,,"~y . "
!he proccdure~ pre""nl~'<I h"I1: . how lhe ..... ~y the bnI
work "'.'" done ... t;oeh sta~ . l'elba .... il ..."" an unlJlU
wa)' 10 m~ke films_ but il br.... llhl in'piration ;n ,.
conceplion. coo tml in the t'fIJ!.lueli"n. and §UCl:C'~~ •
Ihc h<IX I'm,e , It look ),ea", I" folkl Ih""" concepti .
and I;: ..... "f lhem are quite " 'hal anynllC ",',1111,1 t ip«!.
The Team
The basis of (he Disney method of makin, • I'ilm
alway. has ~n ICam effon. where mnstMl di$Cus·
sion and daily argumcn15 replace rigid procedures. Wall
realiled thaI each person connected "" ith the film had
10 fec:llllal whal he did was the element th.at made iI.1l
wort. This meant keeping everyone involV«! in thc
lCan:hinl and the trying and the cvaliwing thaI went
on through the whole production. Wah summed it up
vcry simply. "Everyone has to ronlnbu le. Of lhey
~I~rs.'·
frank Lloy(! Wright once was trying 1(1 pinpoint the
blamr for something he did IIOC Car!' for in one of O\lf
rdm$. Whl:n ""C uplaiMd IhaI "'t all Wred in lhe
responsi bility since ,,~woRe<! so democratically.
snorted. " lkmocrncyl Ttu,'s nO' I .
MOB-ocncy!" [\ is true thaI
their lalenls 10 the group efforl. Highly
ideas aR nearly always bealen 10 the ground, " .
preference given 10 ~ $OIid cnlCftainment. Ioiaet
the baK mUSI be as broad as our audience. PnKIIIII
prdcren<:cl succumb 10 the:: majority rule. or the dilt(-
lor. or the producer. bUI in the uthangc of idus Ibm
is a stimulation thaI rIO individual cou ld generate ill
himstlf. Our proced\U'CS trkd 10 nW:e ~ beSlIl$e of
this collaboration by add.", COIIS\2IIt opponullitiH rtf
it 10 flouriUl.
 ..."" Kay N;~lu~­
"N;~It' "" BalJ
M""",,,i~." fanlb ....

...WiT Mil,., I
"Jqlmm, Itpp
Melody T ...",

.'.I""
SJ.,j, Q..J K,,/ "".

"'. duUHI djK"II..s J,Q"'j",.

,My "",,... *- II.
1(, ,It,
,_It'"
MM. vi lA, /it", .
 lilt , , " K~" A..J~".",-
1"" Rescu ....
Stylist
M!.IOX)' s«mc:d to call for >onJething new in the
.~ of ~)k iUId do:!;ign 10 m;Uch the mood of the m:lle ·
l1li;10. befono any KlUal SlOfY work '.'a~ begun. Walt
_lei IoQI: fOf an ~nist of unique ability 10 make some
di70iltp or painl,ngs tlw "'OlIld e~cile e~cybody .
From Wl$ido the studio I1c brought in lOp illusmlton
III thiktftQ' s books. such • • Kay Nid",n and Gu~taf
T~. 10 uplOl'e the visual possibilities of, suI).
p:t Witt"n our o .... n staff wen: highly talented stylisls
Iott Akn lIurI«. Mary Blair. Don O:oGnwli. and
(eo AIIIkrsoo ..... ho knew the produclion problems .vUjT Va ...... G..r n -
-' roulel r.uggest specific I~yoots or character s ketches l 'lM: S,,'ord in tbe Stont.
a<odl-lo help ",tthe,r ideas into the wooing de-
_ of !he pic1u~, But more often. thcse "ylisl>
om not r.upposed to concern tl1cmse"'cs ,,-jth the
~ of malin, the pICture . ll1ey we", tcying to
m• • "'I)'ofvisualil.ing the whole concc~ >0 that il
..tdbr IIItratti~e ,nd fresh and wablish an imegnt)'
til ~ fl)f both Characters and 10coles.
~ "inspirational ske "hes" Sianed the whole
IIIIft"""" AJ one animator saKi. "There ,s some-
""'(mung about animating on a seq uence that has
.~I\'C locaJe-.--a milke-believe plact: IILaI would
_'millIS 10 be In , Like the Snow Wbite IiClling- a
r.c.ful workt , lloc senings in Pilloccioio--Geppetto's
'"" full of all tllosoe dolls-the inside of the "hale. or
 Pkastln: Island-the locales i,"pin: ide"" for [ayuUlS
and exciling ~""" thaI you can' , feci in the unlinary
,~~rgl dif. siluations. h §timulaleS your imagirul1ion SO Ihat )'QIJ
~ ...
:am. pk'Urt
.,~ "" Ihink of mon: unusual ideas . "1 No One ha<.l a charn:e 10
get bore<.l or §talc IX feel he was juSt doing lhe SlIme
,<I Jittd IIw
.,,1, 1« " thing uver and over. Evcryul1C got a lift from ha"ing
For Bambi. frnh .... Ienl .;u.uinuaJly SlIggest new concelMs .
riN ID alp' "Then: " 'cn: times when the dramalk QI' e huming
"",/wdur
uI./w PIH''Y styles suggested could I'lOl be maintained in .he aClUal
•• ~'. booI;. animal ion-to everyone's disappoinlmenl. l'ossibly ""e
~"""'"
~ rrudiriIM ro
"'"ere juSt not guod enough to ron"ert the slrong designs
10 our Iy~ of animation. bIIt we fel. that as long as ""e
""ere achieVing our audience idcnlir.calioo .hl"{)llgh sin_
cell'. believ~b1e characlcrs in real ..,,,ings (no mailer
how fanciful). we had 10 keep certain fundamenlals of
animalion . We u~rimented ""ilh OIher Iy~s of move-
ment .hal might fil lhe sug~stions of lhe Slyl iS!, but
they al"" a)'S seemed 10 lack life. No maner ""hat we
tried. "" e well' ,"",ver able 10 adapt our Icchniques 10
lhe n:slriCiions of an incompalible design .
w e all loved the c risp . fll'sh drawinp o f Mary !:Jlair;
and. since she al"'ays wOlked in flat rotors wilh inlcr_
~Iing sh.apes. " seemed Ihal her "..ork rould be ani-
mated wilh wonc1erful rtsults. AI'hough wc kept the
colors. Ihe Il'lalive shapes, and Ihe proportions, once
Mary' s drawings beg.an 10 mo\"e by the principles of
animation thaI W ah had decreed they often ~ ~
spirit o f her design . h " 'as 00 problem 10 mo~ die
drawings art iSTically. keeping nKlly her suggesll\lIIIi
- and some very imereSling innQvat ions came from
lhose efforts-bul as won;c; il w~s M«essary 10 Idla
$lory with warmth and pers(lfla[ily il all broke <\I;N.
We had pro\"ed in Fonuuio Ih.al any ~ could II"OO\'r
in almusl any manner to malch lhe "erve and CIC"",
Mlcnl of a s.rong "'u~icallrack-as in the stirring dancn
in .. Nutcracker Suilc" or the ab>lracl !lcsigns of ··Toc·
cala and FugUl:" - bul this nlO,'cmenl could Qflly illlll-
IralC a Siory roocept; it could not sU$lain iI , "Thtrt a
po!O§ibly a way to do both. We JUSI ... ver round 11
Ken Anderson fclt the problem wenl deeper. " Mary',
style. . <lorsn'l adapllhJI ..... cll. .. . When you made
any adjustmc:nl al all , lhey ",'Cll' not Mary !:l IllI'S
BUI if you had mo,'cmem and color aga"'~l lhat bad·
ground. iI's a guod que.cion as 10 whether l1 ....wId
ha,'c been as wonderful a Ihing 10 Loo~ al.·· II m~y ~
thaI ccrta;n dcsign§ simply s hould be left in thf.:ir SUI>;
form. suggesting their O"'n dYlWnncs thl"{)llgh tbtl
Il'lalionships . Anlmalion has ,,~ Own languai"'. and •
is pn:ferable 10 dc'"C1op ,ts own c1cnlCnlS raloo .....
try 10 force il lO duplicate or augl1lCm another an form
Afler alL aninlation is as much a scpara'e ",cilium iI
ecramics. carvings, lapeslric~, fll'l'Cocs. or pl"inls.
,!I"",;u ""o>/Iit-- Sambi
 How The Storyman Works
I~ l10e foa ...J !he Ho.mcI. ,,.,. flu ..... ".is~J OIl 1Mf_ "", _hils h«Io ,~,..u loou ill dot 'WfHNh. Sui",,, ~i/wl ';UII . '" ,",,,.,,.,., ,~I.....,..,...
",,,IIl. poi"" lot is ""'" likr" In""," ...,.. "'ttJl/<u . Tlot oiu" is fi. A;"1"1 " JI,M>tI. iUIJ M ",JIltS "'~, 10 "'/P . ..,;,/0001, . t -"illg "",.,IIi", ..
~ .. fWt ·

:;vry upI<N'S lire pOJlibi/irjtl af 1M Si'IUl'iOll, 'ry;", """'Y

J ""yJ '"""8i"l pO.slbl, "",iottSI, aNI ,,1I,rMu .i,,,,•. .r'·~pl.
H , _II" 10
Va"", "i,s /1> find" NNllillUiry "'itA",,, dill/o,,,, 'M' il ,,,,ula;n;.
/1>/' bmlr d,,,,..,,,,,,, H, kttps hi, drow;n,. simp/., looIcln, i'" Ix>
" ir! attra(:li~ and Ih, h,.., lik,,,bl., with bolA '-''1 i,,',T'If,d ill ,ach and .....y. 10 ,,,,",nc. Ih, clu"''' 0/ ,h, si,"o,ion ""d tlr, dlll'o",

It.......,. rlI<u do _ .,..ilt

fl, dot 1IOryINUI' , c~".,,' COlI';""'" ...... V""", ",'HI'ulW b<Hvd,o '''' I'rodw'i(Hr U1ll,. 8,JoinJ v........ if
""" S«VtOd """,.., coJld IN . ',<HHIy bo<Jrd. •• TM, willllitN</DUIMtu _. '~II W<>DIje Rej.~.--. /.4", Cle"'-'U. tMId. j~tr-.,
..... '"'""'" DNI """ "" IIUd '" pill "I' OIl ol" rt.tJu nHIIi""ity. II ...... a~s di/fi<:MII /0 pili tIv IUldn "p i" d Jlnlil'" Ii.
Imk ",..IN:I, v........ d,D.... ",11I1w i .. lire fi-t fil". . boo, Au "",Iy ....111 ./oa.
up ... lilt e'ld. il ...... ",id I~ '''''JWWM ...... "" ""m..hl
.n.:.u MIl "".., I""w~hl "~rJ(HN' ..-.\c> ..«h "" ,,.,. '",,",,". Jq,.'''. ~ - . a (H"j",jJl . .
Storyman
I'lritlli pf pm,.." ,~ilJ hiKI be~ll brought into the ~tu·
diG. oollho)' ~'tf\: 'eldnm J;inn a charn:e to "'Iile, A
5I:ript could be u....-J in Ill<: bo:ginning 10 sh<l"" ,ugge,
MIls pf "h.1 mighl be done wilh Ihe maleriaL hul
"""" c{ltn tl>< idea, we'~ talk~d (I\"e,. lo>s~d ~mund,
be.llten to dc.lh . ..lIang.,.,] , di5carded , rc\'umrcd. built
upon. iIIKI "mitkeJ" \\ i!ll()Ut • >ingl~ \\wd hein~ put
tIown on I"'f"'r. Si~ animOl ion i; a vi,ua] medium, it
~ imjX'nanl th.1 the ~tM;- idca$. the ,'harac'l"fS. lh~
biJsinel<, 11>< e<>n1inuil)", and 1hc relation,hip, k pre·
se!tl~d in I"ilual [","111 rath"r tha" in wonk So th~
1WI}''''''rd ""' innnted_
1M fIN , kctcllo;, to be pinn~d up ""'ere not the
romi""il -' "r prof'< ,,,,dad iII n !:>ut gone", I iII u, t ration,
1Ifthc ide.: ~ro"pinp of c'ha,"~le". _,il"atio",. 10,:",
lion,. th< fiN attempt, 1<' \ isu"li'~ thi, ,tor)" Ur~d·
1IIl1)'. il,; ,"'>io;~, wcre made. mmc of a ,'Otllinllity was
leen.lnd. CI'"ntltally. ,ket"he~ emerged that defined
k'l~l so;c"'" Ihol mi~hl be on the >ereen, Thro ugh illl
t/Ies( ,h.n~>(" a, io.lcas g.rc ..... into >ome lhing bcll~r or
lIiN to hold up, ~r ..... ere found to be 100 elusive to
clp!Ure in <Iill dra ..... ings. <kctch"s ..... ere pinned up amj
...
taktndowlI , da~-I{le, day . h is a very nUible way to
The misnmem !;(Iundl deceptively $ impl~ . Find the
emmainmenl value, in 1he MOl')' ,iluati<ln~. then pre-
wm!hem \;lu311)' through Ihe feelings of Ihe person·
lIilies ia\'ol,·ed. t:ntil tm, specialor can S\:e an im:idenl
through" ,""rader', ey"'. thcre is nn life and I'e r)
link .-amnh, So lhe di,cu"ions ..... cre n('l ," much
lbout "Wh,! hapl"'''' ",,1','" a, al"Jut "h:ita<.,tcr rda·
ti'lI",hi!" and 1he tunny Ihing, that peopl,' do
A 11\11)' ,ntcrt,,;,,;n~ ide," ,ioc' nol c'ome o",il). and
hwoor h:i<lln "" c"n>ider~J a vC'Y ,erioo, hu,in¢~, ,\
PI: ~'" n,,,,,, "",ei>led ju<t Ixc'~u<e il ..... ~s t'u""y: ;!
had to "'mk )U>l rigln f"r that '1'<)1 in the ,to",' und for
Jh>1 panic"i." char""t"- On" new "'a" wa, 'lilt1n,d at
as r... t ,~~~ nl<ttlllg, "Ewryone W3, >0 grim, " he
uid. "So "'" \I", laughing_ I 1hooght. '\'u ncn,l direc·
to:n ha\'e ,,"Ire fu n Ih"n thi, I' .. :
\\",11 !<ktnm had ~ ,ingle \1ol')' man \\'()fking alone,
becauso ho.' kll t1J,tlwo or three men \\,,,,~ing togt lher
_oold !c",,",c m(lfc idea, a"d ::i'c gre"ter >C('!'" to
!lie;' subj<t'I , Oft~n it \\'~S " combination <lr a siorymnn
and a stof)' sketch m.n who ,'parked each other. eitoor
through slimulation (>r 'heer irrilation, When any-
one \\'as tl1'in~ h' pro'-e Ihat hi$ idea waS the very beSt
I"'''ihlc. he would \I'()rk harder to m.~e it ," interesi'
ing snd definite und clear", he could. n,., smryman
did the talking in the mecting>. which !!""c him a
d~f,nite Jd'-anla~~ in prescntin~ hi> ,,\I'n idea,: but Ihe
shtch m;1n could conlrollhe appearance or the board,
hy <'Iagin~ nql su~ge'tic.'n~ less <b~llingl}' than hi,
own, Usually "'''Ie agn-.:nl<:n1 c'ould he reached ~fore
Wall came III lee tn., I:>oards. bUI often a ~erlai!l t~ill<""
could I-.: di'Ccrncd as the storyman ~1ancd his prcocn·
tation "'ith th~ offhand ""mar~. "The -,ketches ore,,'t
vel')' g(>oJ , but_
When the men in the story unit !CIt Ih"t thc~' h;od
~otnethin~ to ,ho", . the )' ",~,Id <,;ol! f"r a mct1 ing
M"r~ olicn. Wall would barg~ in ulla nllO\l'l\....,d to >cc
ho" thin~ , we", ~"ing , Sirn:c h~ h~d a hahit of I'",wl·
ing through th~ "",m. 3t night 10 S<:c wh~1 i<.k~' wcre
bdng gen~r3ted. this type of \'isit u,,"uall}' meant thai
he had sun the 5tol')'hoards and wanted ~omethin~
diffcr~nt_thOtlllh this wa, ""Hr nlellliQIlCd . He woold
feign innocence wi1h. "Whateha got here. guys7" iU1d
the "'guys" would be caught so unprepared that they
could respond " 'ith neither a hard sell nor an alibi. So
they listened. and learned . As Dick Huetner ~id,
" Walt was his own beSt stol1·man."
Jf Wal t fclt that some solid idns II'¢re beginning 1<>
sh"" up, "r that lome fn:~h ideas wen: n«ded. he
would ~"II ;n "tocr M..... ymen to gel rca,'tions. F,,,
quit~ a ["'riod h~ had what he called his "shaping
crew." "ho 1"II"wed him r"'111 1001111<, n""n ~i"ing
thelf thou~hls and sugge'ti"n~. One di~~rut\t lcd ~I<,,,y.
man "ho preferred 1<> wor~ ",''''pletel)' .Iune co",·
pl~in,'{) al",ut thi, "~onventi"n " method of huildin~"
S1<11')'. and wp S1<)I')'m~n Ted Sean, ,um",,~1 up the
'imation I",,,t "ilh this pungent remark. "Ttw,,··, lII~h·
in~ w""c than '",neone "ho ,0n",'S in with a ffl"oh
coc'" But OUI of this sy'tem C3!OC w"",krfut "lOric<,
filled with r;"h jili,a' that g;l,"C tn., animal<.>n the ~redtC't
kip in the IIorld One of thenl conmlent!'d in Im"r
year; "hen he viewed ~n old film. " y"" ~ct the f,..,).
in~ (hal C>'~r)' la,t frame of that thing ha~ httn worLcd
ovcr un!il it's perf"t!"
 ,

W"II "YJIt,rd 1M ..+wIr l/aff

10 ptJrtidpalr 'It
Ihr build-
ilt, of nAOlr ('kl"". "l1li M
rItNwr('g.d ""uyo,,, 10
,,,bmi, gtlll {)#11M ~wrrml
Slory. HIN' ..'. ,,-,-c{'M
"",pili"", ,,,,11M ;It for
In. dwarf. ilt Soow While .

'"
Story Sketch
"A """y , uK"h j. 001 r'''Il,aphy- it ;, nUl mminul1}
-aI ~;, not. di~v~m . Nor ~s it merdy iII... stl~tC
lilt 1Ii:I~'1"" rOf die: >a/llCnc.:. Thm.: a,e aU the cum·
_..n.u... ort"" bc,;nnin ~ story ,k~l<:h man. TM
l11li) Ikttth ~1Iou1d .hQ .... dllrk'" , . alti, u,k. feelinl!~.
tJl\f:!U!lI!Itnt e~pn:~Sl()n •• t)I'" of ""IOn. ~'well ..
wllm~ I~ .101)' of ,,-haf , happ.:ning . Wnell )"0'" look
., board, it :;/10\11<.1 "' 11""1 the feeling of til<: "'que"""
I(l ~ .i<:~'cr ,tan. ,,, pkk up S'''llc c,dl~nl enl and
$li1tlU1.1;"" ... ,
The >I<lf}' Iktl. h ;, Wille" hal ~uml'ar~hk to th~
,~..... r",I;t, c.nwn d'3"' on~. of the thon;" " "hen
ItaroW Roo. pe,,,,,,ally ,evlewed all the dra\,-,ng .•
$IIlInoir.nI. lit " -a, ( .lIIeal of 11M: , taging. the: ,·hMac.
1m. lilt "",* oJe• . in r..., •. w:cry li nk ,,( the original
.m. ..", p,..;rd hom . and h.: "'-~ c~l"'clany u~ if
lie _14 MI fi~ule ,,,,I "h<'" h. a. , It( ",t·....., ... "
~ III bt .. h,l~ ~f\ 'n, Ihis '!luau.... ,' Mar.'
~,.... >«11<> ~".• 1'0,_ , .n d~,..,. the ~,,'!!nn..,nl nf
w>Wc to improw 'Ill Ire .Ia gin~ of ~ No·.., rorker
. .
.·~n""fI , lit LIIC'" 1\ .... ould be al"""" ""I'".. iblt 10..10.
;md v«y $OOfI h" MlMkms ~al;~<1 Ih,s . ' 00, .
" ~Inry ~kC!ch "Ian at 1M ,;10010 ....."'" IbUaIly ~"
~n"l .. ho It.1d ~ ~ ....dal i"le~st in iIIU,lr:olinn . <k.~n .
a ptl<"uan.:c. and char",·,cr . Hi. M~~In~ mllu(",·td lhe
la>'OUIS !h31 1r>I Lo",td . hi. approach ~".,"Ii,"'>d a '1)'lt
h" lhe piclure . ~'kl hi, ~rt:lJlgtn",n, ..1 the -ctnc. aod
Ihdt slnfytc ll ing value ""~"I11~ a gunk ,,, the: c Ulli n~
an,! 1'r.:,emaliQn "r Ihe i<kas in Ih~if r'n~r fQrm ,
W"ueas the " ,),I;sl had b<cn a, • •...t I" I11~Lc be.uti·
lui dr:''''"8 ' ;n full " ..lor ..·ilh n" rc,u k l,,,n< Qlh(r
Ih an Ihe creali"" (If an ~~"il;n~ illu'If~".m. lhe: "Of)'
.,." '''I''''
,. tile fi/.. l
., ~tlch mi n ,",'3S b...~J " 'ilh Ilk- 1"'oI>"'n, .If n,aLinE ~~ ..... QII<
/>nIJo WarJ,
c" CI)'t"ing " ',Ilk pod fil t"~e.hl:1 ~ ... I n"",'h ."'" s"",,·
Ii"" 'Ill his..t...,,"""'d I k tried ,.. he n,,~ ibk and k""" ""' '" ~
. ·d' Tim.
an ,' .... n min.!. "'·... ause II< L"",,- ,"'" In ,hi: " Of}' " ..:c, · &11 P«l n
"')I h" idea~ " -nuld he 'lilly 'I'rin~huarJ, ~l "" .. and ."...-d_
u..../d_y
j1;1~3Icl 'nne";'.....
."... /oak
h ..., difficuh 1<11 Ih.· >10.), ""-"I,' h IIIall ,,, mainlall'
a..J ,'" apr
a f,,"' in~ of dcl;l<;hn",nl al Ih,,,,., "".Sklll •• silK'<' lit d.. """",,_
n~: 1,
 ~'- j13 wa~ the firs! One to put up a drawing willt his bean ill
it The ani.ls who followed would be: juSt as vu1 ........
ble. but he was lite lead_off man . Even though 1!Im

• --
.. ~ Il
);: , were altempts 10 soften the blows ("we're no! criti·
c " , cizing you, it' sjusillte idea we don', like!" ), tbc: fll:l
(h
•

-." -
-
\.
,~

~
remained Iltallhe sketch man had believed in rhe draw.
ing when he made it. Because their comribution lo!he
whole picture was so grcal, only anist, who dre"' ...'~
a special appeal or a sensitive slyle were put in . lOr)'
- . .., q skelch, and lhe very sensitivilY thai made them VaR.
" '::-t., ";1
~
" '~''-'''' " ., , I able was whal made lhem so depressed when the .tory,
~'~~:ff?C '~ ('
board was changed. And il was always changW. ThlI
~' ~"ir ,/ < is the point of a storyboard.
.II " Occasionall y a SIOry sketch man would become too
personally involved in his work and lei hi s ego bliDII
S"t8~j/ionJ jor CQstumes by Tom Ortb. for Slttping Beauty . him 10 lhe needs of the over3 11 story _There was ati~
when one such harned aniSI could nol staDd the !Tell.
I, Captoi~ H""l lit" ropl",~d Tink~r B~II and is 1,)'in8 '0 make her d;I'U/II' 'ht
men! his lovely dr3wings werc receiving , As a paniol-
P~d • Sff'" hiding plact, Pre,ending friendship, he plays"" ht. jt~IOI<j)' of
~fino.lly wi", " " ""tr. She marl::; 1M Ipo1 on 'he map Jar favorile was being tenlatively fol<led over, he critd
i ratii up/Off<! <'<""""
"nglt •. slaging. of/ing. cha,act.. , d"'t/opmem.
ill riuY early d~t(heJ ,
IIX"''', ou!, " Wall, you can'l do that! Not thaI oner!"' WJIt
did not respond directly but carefully' Ii
pvIkd!h;lt s;:ct,h and the next th= dear off the board,
tearing tile comers where the pIIshpins had held them
<lfIlive; then he ", leased the tattered paper to let it
fluttI,r bclpk"ly to the n"or. He ~emcd to he en -
go~d in the pi~ture itself 300 totally unaware of
II"lIat he w~ doing to these ·'ma<terpieces.·· but the
menage k> the ,ketch m~n waS unmistakable. :-;0 dia-
~oe i$ needed if pantomime Can lell it all.
WC"bt> Smith wa, a great stor)·man wOO drew ;n the
old cartoon ,tyle and became not only one of 'he beSI
,",m." bill ()Ile of the most innovativc prankstcrs.
Om:c. he h<ld been ridi~ukd hy ()ther st()rymeo fm a
jW1;'alar drawinG "f a chiCken on Me of his story-
boards. and he felt that !'Orne form of retaliat;on was in
ookr. J.... minutes btfore his Co· workers were to have
lit important me"';ng w;,h Wal'. Wellh 'lipped iow
die mom .nd pinncd ,he thicken sketch right in the
m;ddl< 01 ~ MmyWaN. llIe ,wryman usually tried to
workupa fiTIC pitch of enthusiasm as he told his swry.
hilling. the boar<l, with a pointer. talking fa't. and
!o:!ling ...' <pontane()\l<)y as he c()\Ild ;n hope' of
, , - - ,.. \1'-..
~~'
--'lin.
~. .
,
...
-
~
~.
-
..........--'-..",
.'-.;.:,..1>
"(
... -""1; .
.-
I,
\
!
selling Wah the ideas being presented . TOIaily unpre-
pared for a Chicken in the middle of his .\to<y. he Wa!;
deep into the action as he approachc<l the interloper:
.. Donald Conl~S maring ar<.>und the ~vrrn:r. ,;c;o. an..! he
.tips o!llhis crJzy old rug here. ~nd then he crushe,
into this lamp, and he·s getting m~dder. and then this
chicken comes and he - uh - he goes an· - he
cOmeS - he comes in here an· _ well. anyway,
Donald c"()me, along here "'Jmewh<:re ...... The mood
had ~n broken.
Afterward the devastated storyman vowed revenge.
but Webb had a wal of protlll:ting his u wn boards
from intruder,. >0 the sketch ended up on 'I<)fflC toolly
innocent man· .. board just hcfore hi~ tie,\! meeting.
From then on. year after year. the great apprehen,ion
of e ,·ery storyman was that the famed ,·hkkcn .,kcl<:h
would appear on hi s tloard in the final tense m;nUle>
before Walt came for a big meeting. llIe ,.;ketch. bc<:ame
more crumpled and torn <1.'; it W;!S gr~bIx,,1 viol~ntly
time after time and thmwn clear out (Of 1he mont. but
somehow it .<urvived for years .
,
J,~R
8,11 ,
M"'
,~""
.~,
.""'~
,.~
fr~
 . . . . ..;:1 _ .. ' Director
:.t ~~/ U"

~~ " 'as a g~3te. v","..,t)" in " Mllsic R."",," pnxf-

dll'c than in an)' othc:r area. with W.Il·. Ica<knlllp
~ing tl\( only ronstan, f""h)( . Wah ...·Ofh-.J ""., .. hot
hc: " 'as undune.ed ...·uh .ktail. and able '0 Ie, hi!
imagina.ion ron free .... rho: di.<"Clor· . job I>.:~Jn ~;m
the fJfOC'.''' of picking up .Ik- pi.:ces and .rying to mal.
thc:m all fillogelho: •. Man)" diffcrt:nt men .... cre ,O«j ..
,his posirion. some cumin!: from .1\( r~"k> of rlIt
51"')'''''''' " '00 h.ad a ~'i31 ,ocnse of rh" ,,·IM ... pot.
ru,c. :rnd tllhc:rs from rM ~"un~''''''' " '00 Il:od ~ tucl
of ....orking " 'i,h )"oun,,-.:. al1is,". Loyou. n..,n "/"If
tried. a"i •• an. dir~c",.,.,. and c,'en people " 'hn ~
,0 nuat !>cl .... een dcp;lt'mcnl., wilhout ;'ny real t~

'" SI<.:r-
.,,.,,. ..kl'......
R"",IJi.
~

</1" /),,,.
II")' 1(>~a1llhcir oorne . Many of l he~ cooic~s survived
for only OIl( pieture .
Wah .....cr wanted to be told llIat he could not do
1GB"tIu",. ~pn""iaJly if 1M reason "'"lIS. tecltn icality
or mcrictlon of production . Still. he " 'as realistic
tfIOlI&h to know Ihc~ anno)"ance~ had to bc consid_
Md. IiO Ilt pul key men in the unen"iable flO"ition of
1u.'·ln, 10} w.y, ··No.·· when the i<k~s " 'ere becoming
lOOimpraclkal. He could not toicrale a ··~·e. m.n" al
lAy ~me. bul he brislled " 'hen he received any nega-
tr.t rnpomo-it brought his cre~li\"c dri,·c 10 an irnme·
.... hall.
"'limn tilt directors fclt like little 0",", than c~rb.
11)"" 10 put Walt ', i!leu On the sc=n. ,,·lti~ al other
limes they ....("K eXpn""ted to o13kc ~w«piog decisions
tIu.I aff«1ed lilt ...·oole studio. It depended upon where
Wal t's ;ntCresl !ay. If something excited him. Ilt would
be deeply involved. lelling everyone .... hallO do: ...·hile
if he Were mon: inlell:sted in some other area. he left
.urpnsingly big decisions to his direclln. often by
<kraul!.
TM mOSI successful arrangement was the Produc-
tion Unil . ...·here responsibility " 'as s!wed. TM di..,.,-
tor mllde lhe decision, bul .... ~~ aided by his layoul
man. 3 couple of supervi~ing animalors. and possibly
a s tory sketc h man on loan to draw up lhe ne ....
changes. Just bccau.5<: the storyboard. had Ilftn moved
down to the Music Room did not mean Ihat they h.:I
b«n approved enlirely . Hopefully. the .toryman SliU
could be persuaded 10 joinlhis crew in the process of
rdininl and devcloping wilhool f«ling Ihal ali hi.
cardul work ,,·a. being thrown OUL
 to "find" his characters before going GeppetlO we had wanted a gruff, crotchety old man,
other Story sequences or even the experi- who had a heart of gold but was accustomed to having
so the production unit began search- hi s own way sine<: hc-lived alone with only his pets
~I as one of its first assignments. By this and his dreams. On the storyboards this had ~med

:
::::~:~'~hethetypeprecise
of character we wanted in
voice that made him
ideal. llIere was warmth revealed in his inner fox>lings
and humor in his put-on crankiness. llIe perfect voice
always a very demanding process. For belonged to the character actor Spencer Charters . and

TEMPOl(Al(Y MODEL SHEE'1 OF GEPPETTO O",jiru(jqp4

chio IW """'1 0
PINOCCHIO " :J 3 rir. ufO«. "".
i~ Snow While. t
combined ....
~drdlfN
rl01I.
who did rM oa
...... swilrWro d
d rotttpl~dy lin
~"'tr8td.

P,NOc'CH/c) d!»
:J-3

our flBl model drawinp ..~re inOucnced by lIisappear-
ano;e. B",I • • fler nearly 100 feci of nperimental ani-
malion 11I0Il bttn done. i. ~me .pp"rent tl",. lhe
hidden nuances tllal sllould have &i~n the wamllh
"'tCre not as evident here as lhey miglll have been in
li~ ac1ion. The character seemed abrasi~ and 100
51l'0III in his manner. Wc had ~. KrlwS miSl2kc .
With JUSt o ne sequence in work and only lhe nper-
iment.1 animation inyolved. it was still possible 10
back up .nd SIan o-;c,r . The KaKh now Wili fOf •
melJo..wr .... n. more gullible. and with an old·world
chann. TIlesc qualities were found in ChriSlian Rub .
The characlcr Wili redesigned. the dialogue changed
to fll this new , u itudc. the Kqucnce rebuih around.
diffcrcnt per$OllalilY: e~n(ually lhere e merged .Iova-
ble old woodcarver ,,·110 was both me"-,,ble and
belieyable.
For a long lime Wall considered reoonIing!he voke$
iii pan of the Wlfyman's responsibilities. since he had
bttn deeply invol.-ed in ,.·riting!he dialogue and knew
so welt what the: lines ,.·c", supposed 10 do fOf lhe
sequence . In the fifties. Ihis idea was gnuJually aban·
doned iii II10K value WIS found in "-ying the dirtttOl"
and the ani .... tors on the r«Oniin, stage. II is Ycry
importlnllhat the animators be able 10 "scc" lhe alli.
tudes and npression s whcn lhey close Iheir eyes and
liSlen 10 the: voice . Too oflcn grell voices Of ,,,,al
actors prove disappointing in this "'gard: il is not •
maLlCr of talcnt or upt"ricnce . The quality of the voio«
itself ei.her bring, piclurcs to lhe animator's m;;"~
does not . TIle anim.tors were liso found 10 be
alcn 10 lhe linle sou nds. the g!\lnts. the
yO<,:11 mannerisms tha. gave .he specific
nttdcd to make .he (11100II dra"'inp li,·e.
is ",waled IlOl so much i
and ""'"' enleru.ining characters are
lillie _nds ralher Ihan lhe actual dialog...,.
h was abo disro~red lhal nuony times lhe
who had broug.hl lhe sequence up to Ihis
now drained of ideas: a fresh lalcnl Ulking ~
working wilh lhe a!;IQI$ eould :>dju'l more rudily
lhe problems of lhe ~dinll . If (he voice
liked ",neeted J slili'lly
0l'Il: plJllned. I~re hJd to be a in our
was Importln. thillhis rlCw i
for whal i. offered . 1ne", ofl~n would ~
enten.inment patenl;al in a y~ or
chal I pt"rtOII wilh J pm:oncep!ion mig.hl miS$.
PcIer !:khn teSled for the bunny 111.:11 was ."' • ""_
Thumper. the ",action of the ca~. ing direc:IOI"
"(io:. IhJI kid 0111 of there-~ can't act!" Th;, ;" . .
danger o f one man lI·ying to do it all himself. It i
10 bccornc so (klcrmined 10 gel ,.'lI.:It you Ihin);
w~ntlhat you 10K .,.h;,
sighl ...
"~, x,",,10,~,
offered.
The difflcul.y of making .his kind of j·'~'_"1
compounded by lhe " cin cu" lhat everyone getS 11111
liSlCns 10 lines being said oyer and o~r. Soon IhI
 aclimu. offeeling. Othe. actors became O>l'lSlimu latro
and neglected subllelies of the character liley were
Irying 10 portray. Usually nothing wu lost in h•.ving
K lOrS record their lines sepanuely , because I Jood
(l)l("h could bring out refinements in I perfOf1Tll/lCC
poaibly missed in a group recordin,. Anot"', advan·
tage to separale recordings surflC«l " 'lIen ei!her tile
I/limaIor or the di=tor later decided to alter tile amount
of time belween two lines-perhap$ to change . dw·
K le.', fK ial expression. If both voices had been re-
oookd on one track. wilh natural ovcrl l ppln" it would
have been imp<:>Ssible to open up the sou nd track. PM
We always tried 10 I"(cord only a portion of our
dialocue in the first SC$sion. On t... shorts il did no!
matter too ~atly. si nce thel"( was never much dil.
Ioaue in them anyway . Howe~r, on I'" fUtUl"(s. OUr
conlracts usually cilled for five sessions over I period
of It least tWO years. and occuionilly we had pr0b-
lems in rind inllhe acl()r1 ..·... n needed 19ain. (~
calls 10 Ellrope. Japan. and New York "'"Ue ~iml

~ all sound Ilike and no one eln jud(C' if

Illy f t _-tw is Willlted . Once again. tile team effort
fl_", !he I"(spons ibilities offel"(d Ihc be51 wlu-
1iIII. So !he director of tile sequence was askcd to
_ the ~ing session. with most of his unil
-.cIhim makiRj suggcslions, lislcning. discussing.
~. The recordin, Ihal was approved o n Ihal
.,. woukI be around 10 lutunt tllem all for years 10
___ ..., importanl thaI il be lhe besl everyone

Vr:ry 5t1doln did Ihe K I()r1 record all lhe lintS wilh-
!hey look I page or '''-0 of lhe $C11p1lt I
p>l' them I ch.ance to listen 10 ...~ they

;:~:~ l~~d':;:.=;,«:.~e~hance
of the10$.lime
makelines
5o&lu,
and !hey weI"( numbered Ind I"(femd 10 as
we I"(

One " or "Take Two " (or occasionally e~n

:
~~~~~;:,:.~"'
~n seleclions
This wmeli mesweI"(
led tomade later
rallier of
con-
Ii . ssistlnt director: " T1Iere ' sa
take in Take 3. so take Take 2 and CUI off the
. .. " . .ok< ."1 third take and take it clear 10 the

SeD ICIOfS _med ",·clllocether. giving I natural ,

_~"'. . quality Ind building t'" whole pie.:e 10
Sdndy DU~~dn .....U ' "
Vult in TIlt Fox and the
HOIInd. ,,'i.n dITU'OFl AFt
Su ..n. f/fft) d~d T~d
S.."".,n .
one oily 10 locate Peter USlioov. who was working
only' hal f_mile away a!!be NBC Sludios in Burbank.)
We needed lime 10 develop our characlers and build
SIns through thdr penonaJities. Jim Jordan. ooce
famed as Fibber McGee. was hired 10 do the voice of
our . llHolrou in TM RUCWfS . He ~ame alarmed
when we oullined our e~tended limetable and snorted.
" Huh! You beller get nl<! all at once! I 'm 5e""nty_si~,
y'lmow." Yean laler he was Slill =ording voices for
111 on Other piclIlRS.
We learned 10 be very careful about choosing the
voice of a fine performer if it did no. sound entin:ly
natural and casual. An outslanding Stage voice, or
even I straight voice , &ave the animalor very lillie
viMlal help . Similarly. the phony voi<;e or fabricated
voice of lhe imitator proved 10 be I problem ~IUK il
never had sincerily. In a parody or a $Ilin: the "put-
on" voice works well, but il fails to convil)C<: an
al>dience whe", bel ievability is required . The straight
voice will keep !he clunocter dull . and lbe phony voice
willlO$C the audic:nce .
A difflCull II"IOITIC'nt rornes when I lop wem ~Ii
rIQt give a perfOlTnaJlCC wilh either life or entenain-
men! in the first Kssion. Is this an off day? Is Ihe
material at fault? Should we look fOf someone elK?
We asked the very talented Sandy Ouncan 10 do the:
voice for our lady fox in TM Fox dnd the Howrd
because m her fresh. disanning manner and her abilily
10 give any line In unexpected charm . BUI thoop lief
performance was exceptional. lhe "'ading was di"l'"
pointing. lacking the crispnen and definition we had
anlicipated . ~periencc IQId us lhe trouble had 10 be;'
our script. and ~ wOft would be needed 10 p¥t
Miss Dunean I clear Cha"'ler and a strongtr sitat-
lion . We n:alized that we n:ally did I\()( know OIIr link
fQX as well as we thoughl we did.
Back al our desks. we looked (or business lhat p¥t
change. of altilude. SQmelhinlllo bring OUI n:1l COl>
cern, a ~ilualiQn lhat WQlIId $how Sandy-. CUte. u.,
side. and make usc: of the wonderful warmlh ~he 00IIId
give \Q almost any material. We wrote and talked a!Id
",wrote. and when she time in agai n the Kriplgl>t
her the CIJIPIIf1unilies she: nm:Ied. Her perfOl'lTllllCt
wrpasscd QUr original hopes, giving the inttgrity, (\or
surprises. the te~turcs, the appeal that we needed.
This kind of building and adapting naturally made
utensive changes in the sioryboards, and the s~
Willi e ither enthusiastic about the great new po$$ibililies
that were IIOw opening up , or he Willi slightly jIdnI
aboul all his careful work being aboned. Since l!o!
new suggestions had rome under lhe di=tor"J COD-
Itol. it was only natUrallhat he keep the boards lid
ine~ the new ideas . Ilowe""r , the changts .....
IlOl al ..... ys wccessful Of easily made. IeldillJ _
Sloryman 10 pin a large silln over his doot Ihll IUI!,
" II was funny when il len here!"
Assistant Director
This indi\"i~ual is neither an assi~t:"n nor a director .
Ik i! l uoobleshooter and ~cord·~eeper who has th.:
jOOof.w.ing order out of the ,weeping ~ritidsms and
mali .. e th<l\I~ht, of the direc1<>r and the productio"
unit. H. "'orks in area\ where Ihing., wnstantly c,on go
WIIIn,. Fr."".." can b.!com. )o"t morc easil)" than c~t ·
lie on the r.nFe. and. ~' '''ith the ~ tral' dogie, a nliss·
in5 frame mu,-/ be found_which i, incomprchcn:>iblc
10 li"NICli\ln edilon-. wh" me",ur~ Iheir film in arm
lettgth" Every I.st frame of " canonn must Ix: c"n·
!rolled if Itlcrc i. 10 b.! any' :'IIIC with th~ ""ice'. the
musio;,th. '''''00 dfe,,". or e"cn t" match one track
10 1IIOlher.
After a !"\!f<xding sessi"n. lilt' ""i'lam director takes
!he .elected lines and, with the cunN . .'pliccs them
t<J¥Cthe, "n they \\'ill play like;< r.dio scri pt . EVery'IOc
listens. erili<ilin~ the assistant for not leaving cn"ugh
Ii.., in SOIII< place>, puning in t"" much in others,
andocc;uiorolly for having cut in the wrong --take"
It)mewbere el~. When the tra<;k i~ approved. it is
written up on ~y sheets of paper marked with m~!I)'
1iDeJ, each one indicat ing a s ingle fra me of film on Ihe
trICk. The Itan and ~nd of each take is OOtw as ""ell as
\h:\otaJio!I of the words within the take. Any ch~nge
io1bc tratb from then on will be made on the~ !trey
s/Ietls, .,,,,sing "ut >-Ome frame l ine~< patching in "th.
en, In tbis way. these "'S~Y~" hccome the li"in~
rami of the piClUte. re.:ording each shift. each chang~ ,
(lit, RplaCt'mt:nt. s wilch. addition--evcry whim of
the diIector and animator,
kfort lronl(. thc<e grey~ will be <0 patched and
tanered that thc)' arc alm,,-,t unintcll igible, but TC-.;",d,
of atIOIher type ~ept .t the same time will take over.
Calkd"tw- shcc1.<;· they continue to be .. the bihle"
of the Music ~oom right On m the end of the project.
Thil method of r~cord-keepillg for every piece "f fitm,
Cutter
The cartoon ,uller has none of the latitude of his Ii"e '
.wn cOIlntcrp;lr! to deternl;ne lengths of seenn or
~which ,b<~s shall be used, Hi, job is C<lnccmed,
first , "'ith keeping. marking. and storing all "f the
whether ,ound or (lietore. w3, <k"e[oped in the forst
days of working "'ith music and is mo"" fully uplaincxl
in the chapter On -- The Dis ney Sounds;' oot il must
be mentioned here in relmion to the responsibilities of
the assistant director,
Thc !tar ,heets are a chart <In pa(ICr of e'-crything on
the rcel~ and On the grey., In a s imple namp!e, 3 take
has !xcn ",I""ted of Grumpy saying, .. I lion't know.
hUI I'm ~gin 'em." It runs 3 fcct, b frame:;, IUIII the
v"ice.1 of the other dwarfs hllVe !xcn cut into the Iccl
in relation to that foo,~ge, Now, the animator fon,h
that tlte line lacks Ihe emphasis he fccls for that spot
and (lrcfer~ an a!l~rnme take, which had more vitality.
The di!"<X tor agree6. so thc line i, rf:(llaccd . !lut the
new line i. ,h,)[[cr, running only 2 feet. 14 frame,.
Eight frame" mu,t COllie 0111 "t" JII track, for them to
work with Ihis tIC'" replacemcnt. but;t all can Ix done
on the !'Iar , heets first.
As one well -trained as~istant expJairnxl. "You do
the CUlling on paper. in df«!, and if your bar sheet.l
are accura~ . the assistant director doesn't have ~, ,'pend
lime in the CUlling Room . The culler jllst does what' ,
on lite bar sl!«tS!'" That is c.:nainl)' the ideal S;IIta·
(ion, bUI in actual uperieru:e i( is seldom that easy.
What work~ o n pap"T may not sound right 10 the ~.u.
and after trying a lillie ~hangc here .0<1 shifting one
lrack to a neW location and moving the music up
earlier_ omehow nothing OIJy Seem 10 fit to!1ethcr
anymore .
' I1lere is no more desolate fcdinj!. ~han being cOO(led
up in the ~utling room late at nij!.ht with the folm all
Over the floo... with nothing in sync anymore, 00 app"'_
ent way to ):et back i1l10 syl1l:, ~nd tlte "~rey.," not
refl«ting whal is on the tracks . Somdltlw thi$ u,u:tJly
OCCurs when the"" i. a crud~1 meeting schcdule<l for
first Ihing in the morning to look at the r(els.
film. aO<1, ~,ond, wilh keeping lhe all·important sync.
In order to have everythinj!. a" flexible as possible
while the animmion is !>ringing out new ide;lS, tlte
!.Ound should he kept ,m sel".rnt~ tracks. Even tltc
Mmplc~1 film ""I II h..·~ four !".eb : IWo of d'alo~"".
""" uf sound dY~·h. ~ """ of onu,...,.
11Ic culte. n'U~1 10.1 ~nd ,;".., ~''''ry lake lhal has
betn m~d.o: of (;,ell '·ute.., lalent: 1M sclen~<.Ila~C$ Ihal
,n
Wtre I"ed Ihe rceb. Ihe replaccnM:nlS and altcrnal~'
Ihal ....,'" con~lderW, and. linall y, all llle Ihou,and" of
I'ny scraps Ihal Were com. """,nds some an,malO' hkW
bul could 001 find any plac( 10 u"'"' AI thor t nd of Iht
pkl"",. lle w,lI be ",,~rchinl: desperalely for many of
Ihe'o . The J"" ,""e,m mUft I, ~e thai of a I,brari an Ih an
I film ed'm•. e'l'eci~ll)' if lhe .""I~m di.eclor h~.
dooc hi; job "'·ell. bUI. atlually. trn:rc ;~ moch crc:a·
1" ·IIY and dear Ih,nbn!; demanded of lhoe cutler .
Charactcr Model Departmcnt
In the mid·lh'rlM:'. ron modd ,hoxl o r the ChafXlei'S
was official "nul" bon: the S<!'I. '· OK. J ,G .. Joe
G.a nl , "nisI. wrile" dc~ it:nc •. onll. alone I'me. Pr<)·
ducer. was Ihe 'lull,,, aulhl>fil), "n Ihe design and
"flpearance of ""ulr ewr)'thin, llul "",,·W un lhe
scra:n. and hiS la>lt and jud~nl(nt "'ere larlel)· re·
• pon.ihle for the plcas'n~ \Irk that identif,.,d lhe
1)i"lC), product ,juring Ihal period He wlle,led under
h" ,,·ing. in Iht CharctCtcr MndclDepartmcnt. a 'trnng
j/lOUp of ,"cry taknled ~rI;>b .. ho m;uJc ;nspif1"~ ~nd
$UGG[Sltll MOIlEL."I
PEGASUS
The whole un;1 m.) be u,~r to l"le" tn a ... ~I)
.ecorded lract. hul lho;- l;u:onlC cUller "'ake' (>'tT)'_
,,'~ it unl,t ho;- has scrobed hb lakn ~nd put n~rlll"nt
in tmkr , In :oddit;on, h~ """C , u." ,. hi. ",",I~' trJet f<Y
an)'lhing, I·k worb cnli .eI)' wilh p""I ' so Ihal lhe
dir~ctOf nn Iry any id<:~, he wanl, " ';Ihool jeopardlz·
ing the ori~ ,"al. Clln~rs u,u:llI)" ",c", unc""l""fal"-'
since lho;-r :Irc reluctant 10 t3~e ~ dun« J~ 10 hca'
how an ,dta ,,·ill .. >lind A baldul C)...• ~rc.". the nu·
beranl animalor who d~i"". ·· we Cal\ 1(11 in ~ minui(
if it" " ~olng 10 wor t and lhen " ·e ,·"n put il t'~hl back
the " 'Il" ,1 ".,,!'. Somcllll"·, n ",,'·e. '1u'l<' ~o." n,.
back. and hoot., arc 1of"'n1lrpng 10 find OUt "h~ .
stimulJlln!; S~ctclll.'5 of all t.... """ ch~r...,t ...... bo,,'I:
eo""dercd .
Joo:., .In- wings were o.i<mc predominanll y in "","1 ~I·
lei,. hul hi, c.~w ,", .. ,1.1 handle ewry dramatic and
fla~h)" nlwium klll ... n 10 ~rt'~I.'. This " ·a, al ..·a)"s I
SOUrtt of anoo)";Intt. ~nd or""r. 10 .he ~n"n3I""". "•
we'" '~StrKIe<J I" 10"" (Iraw;n~~ and nal ,,,lor Joe
..:enlCd 10 ha'''' an end I,·,> supp!)' "r lo"ely sketch<.;.
hi . podet. , >u~~c"in~" nkcr effect . a ~flc' look. I
mo.e inler-.,ti n~ .ha~, and W.h a, ked r-.peale<.\l)".
JI: 7
OSTQICH DANC(QS
or me NOUIlS
OIW:£
CDtC[tlT FIATUtI£.
\ -
~ F-I2B -
 Sc~lp/O" C
doro ..NfDllk.
pow/oj" ....
oj a,,;u.
dr"","8""'"
..-1 -..,..

",,'1ST J,m Bodrno

,"

' - ,

•
 The Characler Model Department eventu,
panded to include three SCUlplOrs who lransl'
drawings into beautiful, liule day figures of eao;
acter , 1bese ,'..ere cast, and a limited number 01
models, painted in the colors suggested by the
Model girls," were dimibuted 10 the animators
were no elusive smudges here but hard realit y i,
and shapes magnificently do"", and lhey were
aid to the whole animation department . Unfom
lhey were so good that Wah started giving $OIT
to VIP's as souvenirs, while others became per
decorations in the offices of tOP personnel. 1
had a way of disappearing, especiall y as we 00:
end of a picture.

/" ,, ,.nsr J(N Gram

-" ,

"WIIat ya gO! lhere, Joe?" Joe would caslla!1y revuJ

his lillie masterpiece, causing Walt 10 exclaim. "Yeah
.. yeah! Look 3tthis. guys. isn'lthat beuer" Why
don't we draw it like that?" However. there was no
wayan animator could duplicate in line what had been
captured with a sl ighl snludge Qf chalk. Although I
stimulaled by an improved appearance for the charac·
ter. we were completely frustraled by lhe lechnique.
,r
I
I1'" .. ""Ie deparlltl.l'm ..·~s d,,,"an.kd i~ tile ,'C""".
.,,,,,.-~> MOOfhl un by till" ,,,',,nJ \\ ,,,Id \\"1< _ and
il ..'.' nt't. r<or~~n;'.td 01'11, "lOt'" IWO af In. ""."
,,"n I\'lum~d 10 thc studi\) .

'!be Story Reel

'lI I" "'~"\.If~' mu.t oow l.'IC ~I", ...,J
10 m~t.h Chnt 1M d;!c.cl'" .... >11 ~"" hi. ,,1I"'e !oC<ju(nc~ (In fil m on
, rurfl>l ""'I'l<l u:...-ls. so a "',,'r<l,n,!' i~ m.:l<l. thai ",nnin~ f{Ol nl Th" is ,he SlOT)' I/.re l, II i< ~ .t'·t lll ....... .
1-10:I~.~~J "b,k' 11k: ,' IT" "~ll:he< the ~lN~" ""n ;1 i~ "nrrc,."~'-bUI il ;, ~Iso t~1I vI' w'1'"~<~; !;OJ
rIO II.., famiio., ~k~ld"", . It is (l1lC thing 1<1 ",..11" !lion: ,· ,,,·.t~I;''''~ aIt mad( S,nr::~; I ;S almost .'IS n.y
. \~I. nw.in~ l/w pW1. spiril~J '" p.!acdul by I~ 10 ch"n)!c K s~ewh and ,<,hoot il I t. differenl fool~~c
I ~);h ~f Ih.. ""i~~ ~omh; .....>J "i,h dll' 1<'miX' 01 Ih~ ~. tIl ~ " "nl!~ II on \h~ Mnr"h"ard, f<!visi"' I> C"" he

.t- r'
~\i'IIlJ1~"' . hu, II is quile ,,"()1her H> .crtal,' "II) ,.f
~n. "h.I,' " ) In!,' In ~up "I' " ';lh a iOU 'lli ,e.."r,j·
'!!' WI ,~, Ih'''''~h ,he ."'w
I"" Is "nJ J,-ap (,'I",,,,
",uickl)" m..1t "oJ [~"td Are'" p<:ninent ~C)"nd dfc,'h
art :\d,k~! I" fl' c a litlle lC.q. alld ~me riC('<'~ "f old
II>U",' ""~11I t,.,. play\XI alooF._ide to su¥~c" I nll)(ol. 11
.
~ >l"ould I,,· Clcit;ng . Ol"'iousl~·. SllIII",hinf i~ CI\!o)' h ' " ~I"-'fln",nt "'"h Ihc ,«Ii ~I Ihi~ ,' IaJ,"'. ,1\IIk.
I ~ be ""'"'I""d on hoIh .. "" Ill ""'. ph...IUfe _n,•.' i. II.... inj: 111<'11' t .. i....,"" lang. or >J'IIIl~r . boI<kr . jl~mkr .
~ii., .... d'e 4'''',inu,n,; "1\;!,,fC' on ,.... :;"'~s. :...oJ ~ U~II"'~ - Iht pic'''ft" n,U~1 tr" all"",e,J t" ~r"'"
,-... .._,I. r~I.:h.d. ~",t "" "",,1 3. th. ,rarh"1\"
rodI<> ",,,, , h Iho: OC"" d.~" '":;$ Ihat " ill c"".k'n.~
kIft X1;""j ,,1lI (lp;ind OI hc'~ .
in,,, "'nrc,h in" b.:lI~' .
.~d,lin): I"," clemenl of "'.... to lhe ~IQf) t>u,inc~s
~ I ..... ~, m.k.> a >I:I1I lin~ d,fft.en,~ . It i~ nne nl tho.'
f"f1li:, prt"'''' I> ~ ...."'gh ~1'1"l'~im~­
":1"'01<'<1 unl ll nlOil dlffrcuJI ~hifts for ~ "'oryrnan!() make, ~nd "ftw
'T''' "'h;.·....d "r IIII! .... Y lhe sc'lucn.;c cw,llu3(()' he ~~m,,,, ,~C ... hy hi~ apprQa<: h ... ~~ nnt herter, It i,
ajl "1'1"'''' s.,"'ICday III; ~ iiI", i< sai n!', to t,.,.1''''jc'''cd I"'~ thai ,·,·,M;n IH"'~ of S~S ....... mQn; 5 uil~,1 t.:l pi"<"
<t'
'j'l \mCn at 90 feel. minule. aoolhe soonu We Sllln l emalion In a ~Iil! dra" ini, but some ~itualio n$ Ihlt
wilIt it.lt th~t <pced tI,e bene' (Iff "'e arc . We .an sou ndM \"r~' funny ""hen lold from the ""I)'board
t IIrc indi,idll.l! dlawin£.l .'n lhe ~t("ryOOard. let 00,' suddenl~' b:~(>n1e '-cf)' long !nd a"c ':l)uiit ....·hile
TIin~"'~ thtm. fewl in the rol(lr and the dcraih. ",hen; Ilf"! ,~dll~ pruot t~ Spo::.-':I~lors befn~ lhe)' I~,,'C ~
., NI it not tire "'~y lho: ;w.tW'flC"(" i. I!""'~ to sn OU, chan,.., Iv gr..,p ... h11 i~ happtnill9. ~ ml$ mu" be
~ no.- ok:I"'inj!~ ...'ill fI~,.h 1:0) mu,:h t,.., quid;I,' c","'creed ~ the} ",-ill ....<If\( .," filrn and """'c th.,

'r.
1rI,'" 'I'I"",i,,,,,1 ~ Ihcm;ch ·.. ~ . (::,,-h imJ~ "ill aold
hi k. Ihr "'h<~c c. "•• cpl. 3",1 Ih;, Lar~cr pi" IU'"
~ ,,-, .... 'Qf '" the ~udl("""'" , ,maj!inati<>n ,~ Ih<·
"''1u~".~ d""".,. II) it- final fUlm
E'~'~'''ne . tudic. I h~ ,",m,,,lt led n:el ~ . 1)OC. Ihe
""'1urn,"" I>l~)" ' hc ... ~~ il "d>". ,~ in:.lly pl~nllC"<1 '! 1~
",I<
~
. th:~ IkmaOO5 ~II ,lUI uIlCn(",n. II dt" d 1'P "alur~t1y? b il ,"pclil .... U•. doo:s il jll'[ lr~
, lIIo;: Itx~1 ~IIJ the d'~win!1" ~e.n' ro reI31.~ ill a lhe. t. h II (~nfu.'ing'> T'IIt la)'QUt m~n ,'a n <C(' ""hal
f~k "',"1><:,. tll( ,J,re",.,. ·"me.
(}\II I,,, ,,-,e~' .'~ >t~f:in~ "en lit:: ",'ay II\" Y.lre and ",-".1 PM!'
r'C >\I " nil 111m Willr (h~ ~rl"}> <m
II.: 1'111 \)1\ n'·... dIt""" '!""'I"pm~n'- H" ha.' roll,nd o ut .... lre'" he

j~"","m . tt,,·
,ea"d plar~1 ,'" Ihe OIh~r. ~",J 11,,:
. ;~h"'I. 10,' ""C~IIr' .... it li tire rcf"''''''CIII'. II".
I lr.rra In"'~\'td and (he l'f'X"i~ staging ~wi l td .
'j _''Un«I ~Mr~ an: ...."Cdc" ill II\" ,Jr~"'in ... ' . an.!
flit ."",. ,...."'<',, .na~· I~k .. 'c\'.'fa' J3y •• J:out II i.
¥ <,e~ n1l"me of I"," suu~glc _
J:.:::~hc" ~,~~mf i. tI'fI ... ~h . lhe ~.)I')' ~kc"h~< al\'
IIlII" ""'''1'.1110'' Knd "-h~re he can ""e hlm~c h n~J ·
I,·>~ "'I'I~ . T he anin1Jl0' .an 'i~U3Iil.c IIi> inte nded
,,«nc~ not "n ly in re!\i(i ... " II! the lime .U" ... «,
hlll tl!
the 01llr:r >cenO' in thaI ",,'Ii"", .11'1<1 I!\(- <l"'yman ,In
>CC II hI> I,k"'" Jf( aclually "'-o<k"'~ III Ihi. ""lIal form
h i ... nf~ ()"" ,(~p in Ih~ ... h,,!e rroductLa n procc\lule.
I>UI ;1 i~ 3 ';131 <lnt Ihal ,,·.11 speed up all of \h(o foIk,w.

'r-knI ""
l - ,.,01 k> Ca",era t .. ",. nf""",tI at Ih. f. Illt .
the 1're~·J. ~"tI. tlv' nc_" day. P,,',I.,:
'''I fU:l\.'IIOO~ a..~ ....eU
I'kturc.
~s guide e,'cryone lQW;Ud 11 br::1(c:f
 Layout
The layout man has the Il'SpODsibility for the appear_
ance ofthc pkture, ~ne by scene, and.s ltota l film .
If" special style has be<:n set for tM production. h..
adapIs this work 10 the breId·and-buuer ne.eds of the
SttIlCS. He worb with the: direclOr on the: suging and
dramatization. building on !he ideas of llle story sketch
man. He designs the ~kgrounds. suggesto the; p<lt .
tern of action for the .nimalor. ;nd~.tes camera posi·
lions for the most .,free.ive shoI and the cuui"g thai
will tell the Story in the most elllenaining way.
In li ~ action films. this important t uning. or wi ling.
as they ~fcr 10 <.:all it , is done after the film has bttn
sboI. 'The arrangemenl of the pieces can give the pic-
tun: special meaning, e>;cilemcnl , .",spense. purpose.
or j ust as easily make it a dull conglomeration of
tedi0ll5, endlen scenes. 1),., sarrN: potential uius in
the animated film. but _ must operate in ~versc ! We
have 10 make our de<.:iS1ons when the film exists only
in our d~ams. II i~ far easier when the~ a~ tangible
strips o f film thaI can be spliced t"lelher and ce>led
and j udged .
In theory. the layout man plarrs his seque~ e_
fully in rough s ketches. working back and forth to find
the bes l way to IiO lve aU of the problems inhc~OI ill
any film . Surpri singly. one of hi s biggest lM:adaches iI
in keeping the di~tions clear and C(IfIsi§lent lIS dw:
characters move "<'ross 11M: ~n:cn or uthangt: Ioob
during dialogue. As long as tIM: ~er.es were prcsenttd
as Ken by an audience watching. mge performanct.
the~ had been linle problem. 8uI once: !hi: camen
moved among the acun and throogh the sets. ~ bcame
more difficult 10 keep 11M: audience oriented. Since (b,
~enes we~ planned 10 stage the bus iness ralher
clariry the precise location o f 11M: c haracters.

from I~~' 8001; ,

PI' "'" ISIVIddrd DII"'"
If« S..... Wbite. TN
l" ........ iI fit I~ "'P.
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welt iI wily 1M /0)'0"1
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 Imaginative Staging Helps the Sequence
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~'(It ,on,tanl ",arnplc~ of o;omNln. apparent ly lookin g Ken AnderS011 . I have 10 tv back 10 my de,k and
I~'a)'~, he >p<lke tn ~ companio" who Was nOI 'lIow- Ihink ab.,Ul il 3 litHe .. ·
i~ in ttl. scene, Argumenls raged and diagrams "'erC Here is a 11<1 of .ome ()f tbe Ihi11~' Ihe layoul spe"
~ to I"v,-. thai a ,onccpt WJ, correct_ "The duli,j> think "oout. l"k~n fr<.>rn Ihe .",rap~ of !"Iper
camt .. i, he"" ~1ic~ey i~ here, And Donald is Ihcre~ pinned to ~hei, <Ie>ks. They cOme primarily from Ken
He h;lS 10 IcXl~ 10 hi. kfl 10 Htlk 111 ~lide)'~" BUI O"C,mn()r an<J D<ln Griffith. wilh a few from Ken
ItS",lI." of "".I"si" il ne"cr loo~~d corre,t to tt><: AnJers"n. hUI much of lbe wi .. I"", ~OC's hack 1<> their
.;ewer; unles> a Ck;if directivn fmm one OIOC nf the leacher<,
I(lt(n 1o Ihe "ther had been e,labli,hed, C~~'lir ,
The", ;, mo."" fun in drawing up Ihe b,~ pi,'tur;al I, One qui<:k l""k i. "II Ihe 3I1di"""c gels- keep il /Q,,,hr,
Itt'"" thal_<h"" the wholc ,et,up and e""bl,,h h<lth ~'mpl~. di ..,t, li l e a p"'ter; i1 must sell ;111 idea: ofl'rl>Ot1
!he _xl atld the d<;lails "I' Ibe lox.le Ofl~n Ihe pi.:-
lIlrn on Ihe scr(cn wiliidl as much about h"w ,orne·
2_ btt9 rendering al u ]at" ,laiC cannot sa,'e 3
p"ur original c<lf><'Cpiioll_
sun,
~" ...
Jim,",;,
~.,

one f..,l, as lhe acting: il i, a combin. ti vn "f tbe ,~ Alway' keep '~"-'en dir~liOl\' rI.."y. Thi< will Mml. "I
mood ;md the rdation'hip of Ihe chamelcr to h" ~ur­ he your bi~gesl head""he--don·1 ",-..I'M>t. il _ pom, ;r
rhurlp"
fIlIIIl<Iinf' , <I K~ep illf"r11lcd on: art in hi~l(lrY-"fchilc"'·lUre. ';rla", ,
Wilh the ex,'epli!>n of IhC fir-t four or fj," fcui<lre,. C,,-,Imne., land~·ape._ ""gof,ri,
_t of H,i, r"",edur~ 1m, relllained nnly theory for ~ Kcep illformcd "n: ,1}'I,'s, nl\:diums, textures, ",ir, rho
pl«, ,iW
!he11)"llIt m.n . The "nim~lor~ need work h..:fore IllCTe ~urfa<:c" """'P'"ilion. ,Irawin)!.
bas been time It' pi". an" Ihing. III\: I:>a.;kgwund paint~r h , Keep ;nfonnc,l <1,,: le.llnic,,1 inf(lfmation--t"f- It",,,,,,,"
~ ~"il,"g 10 "'p,,,inl\:nt W;lh I((hnique ' Md colors, feCI> ~,,'cn by differenl lenses. gm"nd gl"ss. f'ltcr~, had no
lhtdire.:tor "ant, him to ",ake 'orne ,kel"""" to repair ~ek What Ihe "1>1kall'rinlcr ,,"n d" f"r you, ,hall -""
!be 110<)' ltolS. and, svmehow, the part he ha~ been 7 :>'1000 can h<: e~tahlished b)' Illning and "IOVC· """',.,,,
1»' ",'int
dtinl:U\i aboul has !>fen revised before he even bad 3 mcnt' Y"" I'"
~~ to p~1 any thoughts down on pa!'C'r, Some men Sad "r Quitl-Iong $cellCS with slow mo.·e~ p","i.,.
CIil adapl quickly 10 ~uch chang~., aying one ide1 on pans, lrocks. and character;: . compJlco
"inuoll,'
Ifteuoother on the !po1, bUI mosl need lime 10 ~dju,!. Happy or E~ci!cd-.hort .\ceru:s. fasl CUIS, I"4'Wa&'
As one Itm.lrked, "! can·~ do ske~,hes on my lap lik~ quicktr mo'·cs on cameO! and characters. ·t·;", "
I..-_K,. O'C""fJOJ'
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 Four Ways to Plan and Make the Layouts
~~~--'(:.,. <£,

I. The Thoughtful Thumbn ail !If~

Devdoped by Ken Anderson and Wi lfred Jac:kson for .,.-..,'.....
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Tile Seng of the Soulh . W ilh their knowledge of ~!a,­

ing. layout . and visual communK:3!ion. !hey worked
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from the s toryboards in s mallihumbnai l sketches . try-

ing one way aflc r 3001hcr. When a conlinuity fin~lIy
was found. [he animators were Cllkd in 10 cnlk il.e
and StoWS! slill more iokas. Wilh Ken's IllW'ing abil·
ity. !iketches were made as fa~1 IS the men •• Ike(! .
~ became lhe basis for the final layouls. cunin,.
and SllIin,. and showed "'" :mirrullor where lIis KCM
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fil inlo the fult continuity.

2. Traditional
More: though! is pU! inm visuali1.inlllhe aclual layout
110 III • • C~ryOM will know ulclly wlu.l is being
planned and can judge if il will wOO; properly. ClaMP
still (:an be made . bul !hey genenlly are confined 10
small !hines. such as extending the drawin, !IO I slil,hl
1"'" move un be u~. or moving a piett 0( fumiture
10 make Il1(lft room for the chafxlcr in the KCIIC . ",~
method works best if the t.)'OIII1tWl has had cnougll
lime ~o plan ~he ~~~ging for the whole se:q~ncc .

-
3. The Multiple Choice
Also contributed by Ke n Anderson , the idea here is to
stimul ate everyo ne to the poss ibilities in a situation
and a locale, g iving the director , layout man, and
animators a cha nce to choose the staging and layout
each liked best. Ke n ins pired us with the possibilities
in the visual presentatio n, going far beyond business
and staging.

4. Long Shot or Establishing Shot

For The Fox and the Hound, Don Griffith establ ished
with this mas ter shot the houses o f the hunte r a nd the
widow , the dista nce be twee n them , a nd the detail s in
the terrain . For the w ho le pic ture, this layo ut the n
became the guide fo r all business in thi s area .
A scene of a closer shot along the fe nce is planned,
keeping all the spatial re latio nshi ps established in the
long shot. No matte r what came ra ang le is chosen ,
e ve ryone in the unit knows what shou ld be shown in
such a shot.
~, Experimental Animation
",1".
"t With the voices recorded and the lead story sequence
" approved in the story reel, it becomes time to start the
' ,Jx(Jerimental animation, The term is misleading in some
" ways, It means that' a supervising animator will now
, take these ingredients along with the suggestions for
the appearance of the main characters and, putting it
all together, see if he can come up with a personality
" that comes to life on the screen and is interesting enough
"7
i to hold the picture together,
lfhe sequence that is chosen for the first story work
:it involves the main characters coming together in an
" interesting situation, For instance, the first sequence
~:' ~f Pinocchio was the one in which all the characters
..,~"
;" are introduced in Geppetto' shouse, The action here is
subdued enough so that everyone can observe the
" appearance of these new figures, and there are enough
personality traits apparent In what they 'do to show
who they are and how they acL
(~
\
\
.
Some animators' prefer to start with the acting ,
revealing the personality of the new character through
what he does and leaving the refinement of his appear-
ance until they know him better, Others feel just as
strongly that the appearance is primarily a drawing
problem that must be conquered before any acting or
movement is attempted, Animators, like artists and
actors everywhere, are all different, and they each
have to find their own approach to their work, Much
of the strength of the studio actually has come from
just these differences in the individual animators, which

,1 ~VISED Moon
SHEE T

Our firM Pinocchio had wooden hands, (l stock-

ing cap, and a cocky personality. Wafl found
this to be lOO brash and lacking in appeal, so
we slopped animating until a new design could
be fOl/1Id, marching a !lew story concept of the
character.
Fred Moore 's drawings at upper right sug-
gested more innocence and the proportions of a
boy rallier than a puppet.
Milt Kahl's drawings of the chubby, naive
little boy in the Tyro/ean hat became the filial
model when we resumed animating six mOlllhs
later.

I
\
account for the variety of feelings and characters they
can portray on the screen .
The general appearance of the character can be
almost any design that fits the story and the overall
style of its presentation, but the specifics of how he is
drawn depend entirely on what business he has to do ,
what attitudes he must show, and what expressions he
will have . The voice will suggest many facets of his
personality , but the needs of the story and his place in
it are the major considerations. Once you know what
you want him to do , you will know how to construct
him so that he can do those things best. His job as an
animated character is to communicate story ideas in
the most entertaining way, and just being alive is not
enough.
We must study the design carefully, questioning the
shape of his whole figure, his costume , his head ,
cheeks, mouth , eyes, hands, legs, arms-even the set-
ting he is in and how he relates to it. Is the scale
correct? Is it drawn to give the best advantage to the
character? Does it support and fortify hi s personality
so that he feels dominating or timid or clumsy or defi-
ant, or whatever he is supposed to be? This is as much
a part of the problem as the type of movements he has,
the timing of them, and the acting in both body atti-
tudes and facial expressions.
However it is done , eventuall y there will be about
75 feet of film animated and projected fo r all to see
and criticize. It is interesting that the react ion always
follows the same pattern . If the characterization is
weak for any reason , the drawing is criticized. If the
business is weak, the characterization is criticized . For
some reason, the original business , also being tested at
this point, is assumed to be infallible, and only the
new figure's appearance is tom apart .
One young animator was quite shaken by the criti-
cism of hi s scenes. "The best drawing in the world
wouldn ' t have helped because it would still be empty;
it was because of the emptiness in the business that
they criticized the scenes." He went on to explain , " I
can' t make a drawing until I know what I'm trying to
draw. ,, 7
If the business is right and the animator made the
right choices on hi s drawing and acting, everyone is
elated . There may be tiny suggestions about details,
appearance , or ways of doing something , or. more
HATINOI/O."
NEIJ'S A~' £N"T"It'6
~~RrAIAJ
,.(100:1
1
n
likely , a way to build to an even more entertainingl
action, but the main reaction is one of enjoyment and
excitement. ~
Walt seldom complimented anyone, letting us fee~
that sheer perfection was the standard he expected of
everybody. Nevertheless , we will always remember
his reactions to o ur experimental animation of BambI:
and Thumper. He had been concerned over our ability,
to make four-legged characters have enough personal,
ity to sustai n a whole feature, but when he saw OUI
first efforts he turned to us with tears in his eyes!
" Thanks, fellows ," he said , "That stuff is pure gold!'~
It was one of the few times we can remember hif.
coming right out with a sincere compliment. Les Clarki
one of the earliest animators at the studio, remembered·
its happening twice in 39 years , when Walt said JM:1
particularly liked the Mickeys Les drew; usually his
appro val was indirect or buried in some other thought:
He did not like to expose his feelings , and it was ',
~
impossible to thank him for anything. He would cough
'f
and scowl and mutter, " Yeah, uh- well , say , we've,.
got to get going on this thing, y'know ; it' s gonna get
way out of hand if we don ' t pay attention here .... " "'
if
With the experimental animation approved, everY~
body could go back to work with a new idea of what
this story is going to be and how it is going to be told,
Once the characters have been seen as living and a,t~'
ing and showing very definite, specific , and , especial· .
 Iy, entertaining personalities, everyone knows how to
handle them . The storyman can now start on the next
sequences with more confidence; the layout man can
·work with more precision ; and , also, very important ,
!he " inspirational sketch" man can start exploring new
The Handout
The animator gets more than just a scene and a pat on
the back when he picks up his work from the director.
There is a tape or record of the sound track, along with
an exposure sheet, which is not only an exact copy of
the scene as it appears on the greys, but it also con-
tains suggestions for accents to be caught or certain
staging to be maintained . The animator will get a copy
of the final storyboards so that he can see how hi s
scene fits into the whole sequence , and he will have
the layout showing the size of the characters. their
suggested positions. the extent of their movements ,
and the area in which they are working. In addition ,
there is a full scene description which reminds him of
why the scene is in the picture, what it is supposed to
.actiieve, and what has been considered entertaining
'3b'out it.
When we were younger, the director and the anima-
.t~r acted out everything for each other, down to how
'Bluto would eat out of his dish . The handout of only a
few scenes could take the whole day because the idea
'W'as to pack as much entertainment as possible into
that continuity , and we knew it could be still better. no
matter how good our last version sounded. Elsa Lan-
chester said of the business she had worked out for one
of her scenes , "There's always a better way, you know .
No matter how good it is, the re's always a better way ,
and you ha ve to keep trying, don ' t you?" Back in the
thirties, we talked of how Chaplin would do the scene,
or perhaps Buster Keaton, or one of the fellow s in the
studio whom we both knew , and we climbed on the
table and over the chairs and all over the room chasing
imaginary cats or villains or whatever.
One day Wil fred Jackson was di sturbed by violent
sounds coming from Bert Gillett 's room directly above
him . "I heard this terrific music going on with thump-
ing and bumping- I tho ught they were moving furni -
ture or something ." Gi llett was the other director , and
situations that will give these characters their best
chance for great performances. The rest of the anima-
tors are brought on as suitable work is found for them,
although it may be six months before everybody can
be working full time on the work each does best.
Jackson was used to the sounds of a musician working
o ut a pattern as Bert jumped from his table to the floor
repeatedly, trying to capture the timing of fleas jumping
off Pluto 's back, or even the " thump-clop , thump.
clop-thump-c1op" as Peg Leg Pete ran after Mickey .
But this sounded more sinister, and Jackson just had to
go up to see what was going on .
His eyes popped as he opened the door. "Here was
Frank Churchill over at the piano with his cigarette
hang ing down, with his eyes closed and his foot
stomping away," while on the other side of the room,
Bert had Fred Moore up against the wall and was
swinging wildly with his fi sts. Fred was trying des-
perately to duck and break away , but was doing little
to defend himself. Jackson stared in horror , wonder-
ing if he should call for help or try to stop the fracas by
himself. Suddenly it all stopped, and the three men
walked back to the big table and looked at the expo-
sure sheet, marking down actions and timing . They
were working on a scene from Ye Olden Days where a
big horse has a fi ght with a donkey .
There was always great value in this process of
ac ting out a scene . The animator even had his assis·
tant do it when back in his room , so he could see how
the scene looked and determine the best angle for draw-
ing it. This helped in deciding how best to use the time
for putting over the business , as well as noting all the
tiny details of the action.
The handout is not finished when the animator takes
his scenes and layouts and tracks and readings down to
hi s room. He is sti ll turning things over in his mind.
The director has told him that these particular scenes
are the most important ones in the picture, with the
best entertainment potential , that probahl y no other
animator could do them as well, and that he really will
make a name for himself on this picture . The animator
listens to a record or tape of his sound track and won·
 ders if they really picked the best take of the dialogue.
He looks at the layout and wonders if this is the right
way to stage the business. Is the character too small
for the expression to read? Maybe it should be two
scenes. He makes some thumbnail sketches, studies'
the photocopy of the original storyboard, then storms
back up to the director's room with a whole new idea.
" Hey, wouldn't it be better if we did this in a close-up,
facing the other direction and saying this second line
of dialogue flfSt? Then we could add a gulp, and maybe
a sigh, and then go into that other line . . . ." The
layout man turns back to his desk muttering some-
thing that no one hears as he stans a new layout.
The director must listen because he may get back a
Supervising Animator
This title meant that the individual was responsible for
the work done by the men under him. Ordinarily, he
:animator is would be assigned anywhere from one to seven or
training the eight animators of varying talents. If they were strong ,
r assigned 10 experienced men, he had little to do. They would pick
Inston, left, up their work from the director and do the scenes by
Ie discllss a
I animate in themselves. The supervising animator would talk to
ne Hound. them about the character they were doing, exchange
scene without any life if the animator does only what J
he is told to do. Perhaps he is not thinking about the
scene in the same terms as the director, and that possi-
bility, coupled with the likelihood of a mechanical
performance otherwise, makes the director do some
thinking. He has an opponunity, now , to get a scene
that sounds different from what was planned, but one I
that has enthusiasm behind it and a good chance to be
just as entenaining; it is worth considering . I
A compromise is reached , the track is shifted, the
scene description changed, new layouts made, expo- I
sure sheets and greys are corrected, and the enthusi~­
tic animator returns to his drawing board . The handout
is over.
ideas on how to keep him consistent in appearance,
suggest business that might fit into their section of the-
picture, or discuss further ways they all might develop
the character. He might also commiserate when things
went wrong or try to defend his animators if they were
unjustly criticized.
When the animators were less experienced, the
supervisor did whatever was necessary to help them
get a satisfactory result. He was present at the hand-
out, making suggestions and being sure that these menl
understood just what was wanted. In some cases, be
made the key poses for each scene and even shot them
on film as a guide for how the scene should work.
Afterward, both drawings and film were tumed over
to the new animator, allowing him to concentrate on
just the movement within the drawing rather than wOll'f
about all the other aspects of doing a scene. This young
anist still had the problem of making that movement
convincing and entenaining with the quality of life we
wanted; his energies could easily be dissipated if be
were expected to do too much all at once.
We estimated that it took a year and a half to learn
the basic fundamentals of animation and another five
or six years to be at all skillful. Even so, we never
outgrew the concept of helping each other, exchang-
ing drawings and sharing ideas. It was the basis of the
team effon and enabled us all to do far better than we
would have by ourselves.
The Animator
Stooy,layout, painting, styling-these are creative jobs , the values of the scene as it stands . More than one top
difficult and rewarding and interesting , but essentially animator has ruined excellent story material by insisting
concerned with solving problems in the most an is tic on animating a scene when he does not understand the
manner. Only animation is magical. This is its appeal. humor in the story situation or feel the action.
The creative artist can make something here that exists The animator works back and fonh through his scene
and breathes and thinks for itself, which gets back to until he has made the drawings that control the move-
our test of all great an: does it live? Techniques can be ment . He might have to make a drawing for every
copied, mechanics can be duplicated. and even the frame of film , or his key drawing might occur only
drawings themselves traced, but the spark of life comes every foot , depending on the panicular action. The
only from the animator. His taste , judgment, and ideas number of dra wings is immaterial, because as an anist
are unique with him and his animation. It is a highly he would be drawing day after day in any job he has
individual effort. taken. Here , his drawings happen to be in continuity
As a person , the animator may be shy or introvened, and related in a very special way . He discards far more
arrogant or domineering , quiet or pensive; it no longer than he keeps in his attempt to capture on paper his
mailers. Personality traits fade away as an artist enters feelings about the scene, so his concern is not how
the private world of the drawings on his board . Through many drawings he has made , but how well they depict
the characters he creates, he can be adventurous, crafty. the vision in his mind.
funny, evil. lovable , athletic; he can be a bird, a flower ,
a snowflake, a shaft of light. This is a very auractive
prospect to most of us.
At times his scenes appear to be controlled too much
byo!bers; the design of the character, its personality ,
~ layout, the amount of footage are all determined
by soineone else. However, as a contributing member
at Ibe group, the animator undoubtedly will receive
I!lIlIt stimulation than restriction from this process .
Wbile the layout man was thinking primarily of
storytelling and design and mood when he suggested
the locale and the props. he undoubtedly had strong
ideas of how the character should act as well. Equally
sllong ideas were held by the storyman, the director,
and everyone else who had contributed to the scene up
to this poin!. Now the animator must build on the
work and the ideas of all these people , selecting and
discarding carefully, sifting and judging, suggesting
aad changing, until he has found a paUem of action
that is just right for him . He must understand it and
feel it; it must be his own, regardless of where the
ideas came from . It is this personal thinking of the
animator that makes the scene good. not the re liance
oa others to tell him what to do .
This does not mean that he is obliged to change the
business or feel compelled to think of something com-
pletely new . First , he must listen and try to appreciate
The idea for this scene in Vance Gerry develops the
The Fox and the Hound situation ill his story sketch.
comes from GIl inspiration.
al sketch by Mel ShalV oj
the faxes meeting in a ro·
malllic setting.

•
Rough layout oj the spe-
cific scene by Don Griffith
•
shows the approximate po·
sitions of the characters in
a close· up of the setting.

~ator Glen Keane Jits

his action illlo this set·up.

"
 " .-/
\) ~
I I -~
~
,
/)
I

. ;,
- J~

These rou h .
drawings I: g ommation
Jrom The J
Book establish th e ungle
and capture th actIOn
that the b e adoration
for his ne2fi Mowgli has
the bear. nend Baloo,

areHigh-qualit
re . y c Ieon-ups
. qUlred whe re
d rowing ofth the
subtlety of t: eyes and th e
are ehe ke . e expression
the scene Y
Thlngrediellts in
b . esewer d
Y specialist Dale ~/tze
and projected a . Iver
on the scr een .
mazing We
J'

Before W I
moved int: ~n Stan chfield
made a wh ImatlOn, he
the com ole booklet of
mis{Qke;ooif~hprobblems
e eg mn and
.
c Iean-ups th er En
sample p~ ese are two
ges.
Assistant Animator
Gradually we developed a professional class of " clean
up men " who took pride in their work. It was their
skill that made the pictures look so fi ne, ye t for a
number of years they never got screen credit , nor even
the salary they deserved . They sometimes were com-
pared to a blocking back on a football team who clears
the way for the star runner to make the yardage and the
headlines, and it was true that they had to take their
satisfaction from the success of the sequence on which
they had worked.
They studied line drawing, training on Holbein ,
Degas, Daumier, Da Vinci; they watched drapery in
movement , noting the difference between filmy
scarves, woolen skirts, f10wing capes, a nd even baggy
pants; they learned the value of a sharp , crisp line
against a large , soft shape; they knew how to keep
a design in the free-f1owing changing shapes of ani -
mation rather than make a rigid copy . They always
extended the arcs of the movement , squashed the char-
ICier more , stretched him more-refining whi le em-
phasizing both the ac tio n and the drawings . They
understood the business of the scene , what it was sup-
to achieve, worked closely with the animator in
:deciding which parts were developing well and which
needed a little help , and the y could see the char-
start to live as they " rolled" the drawings on
pegs. This required a special kind of talent as well
study-not every arti st cou ld master it.
The best working pl an seemed to be the small unit
only a few men who , with the animator, carried the
responsibility of doing everything on their own
. An ideal group would include an assistant ani-
who was experienced enough to make simple
IlnilnatilJn changes and corrections, a second assistant
drew well but was just learning his job, a reliable
limlkd()wn man, and an eager inbetweener who could
as bookkeeper and handyman . Thi s las t cate-
included everything: threading the film on the
taking a test over to the cutter, running up to
Music Room for a corrected layout, or even prying
the reels away from a distraught assistant director "for
just a couple of minutes ; we want to see how it looks
c ut in the reel! " Together they budgeted their work
and met their deadline. No other system retained as
much quality or moved as much work without losing
control of the way it was done .
Assistant animators who had this much ability were
seldom content to stay in this position for more than a
few pictures. Some went o n into animation, but most
went into other types of jobs where their interest in
detail, 'efinement, and design was stressed. Unde-
niably, it had cost more to have a clean up man redraw
the complete scene, but it was the o nl y way we could
have produced the rich charac te rs of the first features.
In later years, as costs continued to soar in all depart-
me nts , a new procedure call ed " Touch-up" was insti-
gated . It asked that the animator draw slowly and
carefull y enough so that the assistant need on ly touch-
up the drawings he re and there to make them ready for
the Ink and Paint Department. By this time all of our
animators had become more ski llful and were able to
adj ust to the new idea without noticeable damage to
the product. Top quality clean up work is needed on
only a handful of scenes in any sequence , and a great
variety of shortcuts can be used on the balance to
make them acceptable.
Unfortunately , the assistant' s work over the years
has been considered an area where money can be saved.
The production manager watching the money will have
been frustrated through the early days of production
since there is no way for him to measure ideas or work
in progress. But once drawings have been made, a
smile envelops his face . Here is something that can be
counted, checked , timed , and followed through the
plant. The term " pencil mileage" is heard often as the
number of artists plus the speed of output is balanced
against " footage to be done." Between trying to please
the animator who wants the best and the manager who .
wants the quickest , the assistant must reach a com-
promise that still satisfies his own standards .
 Pose Test
The quickest way to see how a scene is going to pl ay is
to shoot wha t we call a " pose test. · ' While the anima-
tor is sett ing up hi s sce ne , fig urin g the size . the move-
ment. the ac ti ng. he is making ro ug h drawings that
wi ll become the basis of the ac tual anim ation . No w ,
instead of refinin g those draw ings and re lating the m to
each other , he se nds the m to camera j ust the way they
arc . They are the key poses fo r the sce ne a nd show
how the sce ne is be ing pl anned . By shooting the m at
no less t~ a n 4 frames apiece and no more than 24. both
the director and the animator can see if the action w ill
be strong e nough . or too strong. and if the amo unt of
ti me all owed fo r the sce ne is go in g to be ri ght. Whe n a
series of pose tests are c ut together in a reel , the re is
quite a good feeling of how tha t part of the sequence
will play .
I
T he re is also a poss ibilit y that the scene may look
funni er and more interesting in poses than it ever can
in full animation . Fred Moore had a famous scene in
Snow While that a lways worked far bette r in the pose
test. The scene showed Dopey and Happy ve ry con·
cemed a bout the mag ical powers of the ev il queen.
Grumpy had just informed the m that she might be in
the ir room " ri ght now! " Fred used abour ekven poses
to show Dopey looking from side to side , then glanc.
ing at Happy ' s beard, lifting it, se arc hing under iI.
then rece iving a " bonk " on lhe head . When th is pose
les t came bac k from came ra . it had a s urprising crisp·
ness that gave excite ment and a fee ling of nervous

\~ tb I +-
-
I/? ]Po'l M_ l-
appre he nsion . There was a big laugh the first ti me it
was shown in sweat box . but that was the hest the
scene ever looked . f rom the n on it we nt dow n hill. I
i - - - =--': '-'" I Fred made new and be tter poses as he animated the I
scene , hut the c rispness was gone .
Afte r severa l uns uccessful tests. in desperation he
went back to hi s orig inal poses and tried to work
between them , hoping to recaptu re the spark le that
-- - - I - t-
--'--'-- was in his first pose test. T hat w as even worse. He

~~
-
-- 1-, t"'- 1.\':
-- never d id find the ri ght combinatio n of ti mi ng and
- spac ing and regre tted e ver having posed Ihe scene in
1-- ' :1
-= the first pl ace. The sweatbox note shows Walt 'seffon

I--.I f!~:l )
- -
--
-=
.~.
I - ~ 10 ge t more life in the sce ne:
,t 1:-- - -
~.
..:.:' 1'= I- ----1.1. Scene 3 1 ShOa l corr. ruff.
. - t- .
.
f:::- I- f- - 1= -g;:;z - ,;:.
-
 Be closer at the Slart of this scene. and as you pan
up. come back at the same time.
The minute Dopey looks unde r the beard . have
Happy tum right aro und and hit Dopey. takin g out
the stall yo u now ha ve . Happy wo uld ta ke it j ust as
the extreme was reached a nd turn right to hitting
Dopey.
Fred, you suggested that Dopey's head , fro m the
bonk , would go down and pop up agai n . Walt
okayed il.
Despite some negati ve aspects, pose tests have a
distinct value. as we d iscovered when working on
Bambi. The sequence of the young deer on the ice
with his friend Thumper was a bo ut to be c ut fro m the
story as being ex traneous business . The animator who
had hoped to work on this section was appalled " The
The Work Reel
When the animator has film on two or three o f his
scenes. he wants to see how they play in contin ui ty .
By themselves. the y may look just great, hav ing life
and sparkle and clarity , or they may be a comple te
disappointmenl. All of this can change completely whe n
the scene is viewed as part o f an overall contin uity.
After all , they ha ve been planned to work in sequence
Sl!dthat is the way they should be seen . The dull scene
may have just the subdued feeling needed for that
spot. and the active one may be e ntirely too violent .
The only way to be sure is to c ut them into the story
reel, re placing the story ske tches that are occup ying
dialogue that had been recorded was excellent ; the
story sketches showed clearl y what great enten ainment
the re would be in the situation; it would be a wonder-
ful seque nce to animate .
A meeting was scheduled to make the final deci-
sion, and the animator was de termined that this mate-
rial should get the best possible chance for approval.
For three days and nights he worked , posing scenes.
ro ughing out new sketc hes , making o ut ex posure
sheets, shooting held drawings and story sketches. until
he had a running reel on the main pan of the sequence .
It was c rude, but it sold the idea. Without the pose
tests sho wing the poss ibilities in timing and reaction,
the sequence would ha ve been cut from the picture. As
it was, the relationships were built into even more
entertai ning actions until that section became a high
po int in the who le picture .
this spot in the pic ture . Here. the y will benefit from
the suggestion o f ac ti vity and pe rsonality in the scenes
just preceding, as well as the ones that follow.
As each a nimator continues this prac tice . the story
reel gradually becomes the work recl. or the ruff reel.
since it contains all the scenes of rough animation.
Coupled with the matc hing sound ree ls. they are con-
stantl y chang ing with the latest revisions of footage
and scene cutting. As each new test comes in , there is
usually a request for the additi on of a sound or a slight
shift in position fo r bette r sync. In this manner, the
work reels , at all times, reflect the progress of the
sequence and show whether the anticipated entertain-
ment is actually there.
Everyone can learn something from them, even in
this rough fonn. The layout man might discover the
mood and design is not as evident as he had hoped, or
the background man can find out how long a certain
background will be on the screen and how much of it
How Does it Look?
We never made a picture starting at the beginning and
working straight through to the end. We began with
the section that gave the best opportunity to get hold of
the characters, then moved on to a sequence that either
had the greatest entertainment potential, or was needed
most for the development of other phases of the pic-
ture. There was no possibility of establishing a now
this way and very little chance of finding a balance of
fast to slow, excitement to serenity, pathos to comedy.
The individual sequences were not handled like a short,
hut they were complete in themselves and high in
interest. We were curious about how it would look all
cut together.
We knew it was fairly easy to make an interesting
picture that would run only ten minutes. Most people
will watch almost anything that is fresh or funny or
surprising for that long. Twenty minutes is an ideal
length for an animated film, and even a half-hour show
offers few real difficulties. The audience can be kept
dazzled or persuaded or laughing, mayhe even crying
a little , in that amount of time. But beyond a half
hour , troubles start mounting . A feature -length film
requires very special considerations. It is important
that it be seen in some kind of running form as soon as
possible.
Eventually, the day comes when this can happen.
However, there may be blank film on the picture track
with newly recorded dialogue carrying the intent, and
there will be many areas with only still , inspirational
sketches giving just the barest suggestion of what is to
come. But between the story reels and the work reels ,
and the bits of completed animation, perhaps even
some in color, the staff can follow the story, and for
the first time see what their picture is going to be.
will be covered by the figures. The director wants Ihe
work reels for his sweatboxing, the animatur needs
them to study his changes. and the assistant animator
must check the scenes he is to clean up. Throughout
the day, the assistant director will be trying to grab Ihe
reels so he can make all the changes thai were requested
yesterday. They are a popular and necessary item.
There was enormous excitement when that point
was reached in the production of SilO II' White and a
special evening showing was arranged out on the sound
stage, the building then doubling as a theater. Every·
one wanted to see the film, but there was only room
for the key personnel in the four rows of seats at Ihe
end of the stage. Getting ready at home, Walt was
nervous, anxious. critical, tense , eager. He suddenly
called to his wife. "Hurry up , Lilly , or we won't get a
seat'" Lilly, who had a much more pragmatic view of
life than her intense hushand , turned in dishelief. " Do
you mean to tell me that in your own studio they won't
even save you a seat?" Walt was nustered and tried to
cover up , muttering about how late it was and wanting
to get there early and you never could tell what might
happen , and it lVas a very important occasion' We had
saved them two seats right in the middle ; as a matter of
fact, there were four seats there , since no one was sure
he wanted to be sitting right next to Walt at such a
crucial screening.
Seeing the picture all together for the first time is
always a startling experience. Somehow it has picked
up a life of its own. In some ways it is like one of your
children. It may not be what you expected or what you
told your friends you would have, but there it is, and il
is yours. Up until now you have been living on dreams,
believing that the picture would be a certain way and
would tell a certain story and have these wondcrfui
characters that everyone would really love. Now your
hopes and dreams are over; this is what you have, and
this is what you have to continue molding and shaping
on a very practical basis. The picture probably has
some fairly good moments here and there, but it will
never look just right all the way through. If it is sup·
 Layout for the entertainin8
bed-huilding sequence iT.
Snow White. The dwa~
wanted to make a special
gift for their guest, but th,
sequence slowed down lht
movement of the story ana
had to be cut out just a.s
the animation was started.

to be exciting and is not , now you must do what

to make it exciting. If it needs s uspense, put it
. If it is too long, trim it , and if it is too short , Walt quickly realized tha,
IOQ.-Out add very judiciously. If it is redundant , or the relationship betweet
th e jealous Queen and rh,
to make its points- whatever the problem-you
unsuspecting Snow Whil~
work with these pieces of film until they become was the main thrust of tht
best picture you can make of them. story.
Too often the money is all spent by this time and
is screaming that the picture must be com-
in any form , "Just get it done!" But that is a
decision. This is the very time when the most
work must be done . Famed film director Blake In The Rescuers. it was not
said in an interview ,9 " It 's nothing to bring th e conniving of [he wild,
unpredictable Medusa that
in on schedule or under budget. The hard part
gripped [he audience but
making a good picture- I don ' t care what your the poignant predicament
or budget is I " of the lonely, little girl.
When making SI10W White, we thought that our main
Menainnlent would be with the dwarfs and the funny
they would do in trying to solve the problems
 d dragon/lv largely through keeping our procedure flexible , we
~he Rescuers
ended up with the best balance of story-charac ter-
n incidental
Jr role ill the sequence re lations hip we ever ac hieved.
While working on Th e Rescliers, we thought thai
the greatest interest would be w ith the two mice and
brought abo ut in their li ves by an unexpected visitor. the ir overwhelming problem. We worked 10 make Ihem
The queen and the girl were necessary parts of the sma ll and inept , but de termined. Medu sa, we fell,
story, but we would not dwell on the m. When we saw would be a spectacular villain, slighll y mad, powerful,
the whole picture in a very rough form that exc iting and a constant threat. The crocod il es wou ld be in·
night , it was immediately evident that the tens ion vinc ible , stupid , and ch illing. They would be the scary
between the vain quee n and the girl she was deter- part of the film . The little gi rl would have to be done
mined to kill was the main drive of the picture , and ve ry carefull y because she was presented as a real girl,
anything that interfered with this story progression not acaricalure, and since s he would be difficult to do we
seemed extraneo us. As a res ult , two whole sequences tried to keep to a minimum the scenes she was in . We
featuring the dwarfs were c ut out as well as a comic believed our big entertainment would be in Medusa
fight between Doc and Grumpy ; the sequences that and Snoops trying to o uts mart each other in their
carried our ma in story points were stre ngthened and attempts to get the diamond for themse lves, and in lhe
made even more dramatic . Partly through luck , but mice trying to outsmart the crocod iles.
Instead, when we sawall the pieces put together, the
dogs ill Ads· only thing anyo ne cared abo ut was the predicament of
'eoll arid La- the little g irl. Medusa was a wonderful. flamboyant
so succesJjll1 clown, Snoops a bumbling , ine ffecti ve partner, the
,equeflce Iha[
to be changed croes onl y dim-witted louts, and the mice j ust cule
rome in mw in. little charac ters trying to do their best. But the girl!
Your heart went out to the girl and the terrible situa·
tion she was in. Ii was not the vi ll ai ns surrounding her.
' ,derson . who built the anxiet y , but the predicament itself. So
we strengthe ned the sequences that featured her, paying
r oll/Illeers ill
:rs were cut special attention to an ything that would create more
a dedicated pathos. We staged he r sce nes for the most impaci we
, th aI drilled
could get , and used the sad and quiet moments fealur·
1incessantly 10
helpful little ing her for a bal ance to the madcap activi ties of lhe
Ihe bayou . rest of the cast. We used less of Medusa than we had
planned , cutting o ut one whole sequence and trimming
others, so that she would ha ve a brisk , crazy te mpo
whe never she was on the screen. The crocs were cut
down to relatively minor parts . The c limax was now
centered on the situation down in the cave, wi th 'Ihe
heroes facing the mindless force of nature rather Ihan
any di rect confrontation with the bad guys. At the time,
it seemed we would never be able to make Ihe film
come off with the proper balance, spirit, texture, fun,
heart , and tempo we needed , yet the public acceptance,
once the film was released, proves that it was worth
every headac he and extra dollar spent.
Some directors stubbo rnl y ho ld onto their beliefs 01
:what the picture is saying and cannot detach them-
selves enough to see what they actually have up there
on the screen. Woolie Reitherman has an amazing
ability, as a director, to pull himself back and view the
product impartially . He readily admits the weaknesses
and the strengths of what he sees just as if he had
nothing to do with the film up to that point. As he
commented with a sigh , "You've got to find what's
.working-not what you thought would work, and not
what's in your heart, but what's up on the screen'"
Among the things up on that screen that are working
might be an incidental character who, because of an
unusual voice or special animation or even sound
effects, is starting to click with the audience. The farm
dogs, Napoleon and Lafayette , in Arislocals and little
Evinrude in The Rescuers are examples. We always
tried to build on the scenes with such characters and
even considered bringing them back into the picture in
another sequence. Often we found that some clumsy
Story point could be told in a fresh and interesting way
simply by telling it through this new personality.
Our best advice, at this point, is to develop and
;trengthen what is good; edit out and shift emphasis on
what is nOi coming off; stay away from the common-
place and the hackneyed; constantly search for new
things the audience has never seen before- but tell it
all with the same old values and fundamentals of com-
munication.
No one can say that anyone of these steps in our
way of making a film is more important than any
other. They are all needed. The two most important
procedures are certainly (I) to involve the whole staff
in the production, and (2) to keep the picture growing
and improving, constantly, right up to the moment of
release. Many ideas that sounded great in those story
meetings become sodden and lifeless when seen on
the screen in relation to the rest of the business, and
, the sooner these elements can be discovered the sooner
I tliey can be corrected. Many other story ideas that
i were only "touches" will come to life in animation
, with so much entertainment that it is foolish not to get
~ the full value from them, even if it means adding
.unsiderable footage.
Someone outside the studio once stated that it prob-
ably was easy for us to make a film now that we had
lIone so many: we must have found the fonnula. Woolie
retorted, "On every picture, you're in a learning pro-
cess' It's not so much an application' of professional
knowledge as constantly learning! " He went on to
say, "It is always new, or it had better be. On each
film, you start from scratch , make the mistakes, pick
yourself up time and time again, yet never give up.
You must keep your belief in the picture and your faith
in yourself. For a picture to end up good, it must be
treated like it was the very first one you ever made."
Animating at Disney ' s was exciting, but it was also
extremely difficult. We were under great pressure and
had tight restrictions on time and money, although
seldom were they both imposed at the same time , If an
animator was doing excellent work, he was told not to
worry about the budget, but "could he work overtime
to get more of that kind of footage in the picture?"
The demand for sheer perfection in execution , along
with the constant search for top entertainment values,
creates far greater pressure than the requirement to
complete a job by a certain deadline.
When an outstanding scene of animation was done,
everyone somehow expected the animator to do that
well from then on, and even thought, hopefully, that
he would continue to improve, as well. A few weak
scenes in a row and the animator could be considered
to be "in a slump" or, worse, "slipping"! There was
a cliched remark in Hollywood during the thirties about
actors and directors: "You're only as good as your last
picture." One of the top animators at that time adapted
it to animation, claiming, "You're only as good as
your last scene'" It was a joke with an uncomfortable
twinge of truth in it, and we all felt a compUlsion to do
our best constantly and try to keep moving that stan-
dard ever higher.
Munro Leaf, who has written considerable fantasy
and magic himself, wrote these words after he had
seen Snow While. "If you come right down to it, there
isn ' t a live thing in the picture. Technicians can tell
you how it is all done with ink , paint , photographs·
hooked one on to another and garnished up with sound
effects. I'd hate to call a technician a liar, but some-
body is going to have a tough time telling me that
good, beautiful Snow White , her prince, the wicked
queen (who is really wicked when she settled down to
it), and all seven dwarfs, and the hundreds of birds
and animals carne out of any ink or paint pots . ,,'0
Seven Steps in Animating a Scene
When you picked up the scene fro m the d irector you 2. Thumbnails
we re given the story sketch , the layou t, the exposure Work out your ideas in sma ll size before making a
sheet , the sound , and a full description o f the ac tion. big. complicated draw ing. First. you will test:
Now, what do yo u do?
A. THE STA G ING
1. Think Example I
Wh y is thi s scene in the picture? What is the
e ntertainment pote ntial in the bus iness? What
ARTIST.- Marc Davis- Cinderella.
should I have the charac ter do? How can I best
show it? " Don't start animating before the idea Cinderella is awakened in the mornillg by (/ friendly bird.
Thi~' iJ the imroductiull of rhe heroillc. lind il is imporflln/
is worked out. Kno w exactl y what yo u are going 10 Jhow what kiHd of girl she is . Slw 11/11S1 he appecllillg .l1ol
to do before yo u start. " merely p relly.
 . ' UTI'ING AN D CO NTINUITY .... ill
B. THE: C , -hole sequcna so you
Be fami liar wllh the" fi . With the director
. ,_~ scene Its In .
.. _ ••• """T
know JUloIlOUw

and the la)'OOl men: 'II haracler you will ha ve

1 Plan t 31l'full y whte t '-_ I enlcnainment.
. on 10 gel to", mos
2. your
Pl an camera
when \0 use a \ ....'0-5 hoI • I long shot. or a

tl~-up,
r
. _ \0 gel dcpch and I'I'rspec -
J. Look for opponUnllICS lIeS in a row Ihal afC'
live and avoid \00 many see

~ df.
fial-on . Ie I1c:Il il is possible or logi-
4 Try 10 chan~ ang w . confuse the vjew.
<>. / ".
. I lit.. do not do anythIng 10

. R .
en . .
5. Do not pick an angl
hal is loogh to draw juSt to
. ed'fferenl'
I w,
II' "II l ake longer
be doing S()melhl~l~ ~ be M' dfeclivc . CIIoose
\0 animale a~ WI hc:1 fill for yoorbusine».
the angle that IS most p
-.;:i'
i \;;I~'\-
i (,
•• ?
~
.\
Example.~,_ _ _ _~:-;-,;;;
J . ., . .
~ ·'1

I
\
.' \
"~
,\
i

JJl ~_ _
 }\IH'J"<"U.M //oJ I'Ul'W<TI'"
3. Mechanics of Presentation
With a rough continuity ~nd Kene cuninll es!ab-
liIDed. !~ individual pictures l hoold tit: c~kw @.@ A_~/~_~

and developed .
@ ""'"
_ IU ......
_ - _ 1/IIF _" ""."
A. t>ERSPEC'T1VI: '" PJAI/, Aj oi((IIl' ....
Be sure to match !he perspec!i\'e~ of !he layou!. A"'~ . "'1l IOHI. 1. "
/IAn _ . ...,.... ... l ••
IF!he Fee! do no! fit on !he ba<:kllround. how
can you !how how much they lifl up?

E~amples;

I
/

If you draw two or more characlers in a Kcne.

do careFul key drawings for si,.c rela!ion Ship and
",,-ging . HI'''' IInod eye contact if characlers all'
looking a! each OIher!
8. S(' \U
(ho... ~ all I.",~,,, r", ,1'1" ...,~k " .., ,,,...-...1 on.,
[""m,' I. """,,.; ~"\lr "''I''''''''''
f,,,. '-pi,'to",,,'"
,,",,. ,... ,, ",II fcmlll,j you '" ,he ,"~ '" ,,,,.
ctlJl ... " " ~"u ~,~ ~"""., .. ,,~ Toc ',~k "f ,h,; """ /1,1/ r,,1.J.
,t..r....'I~I. '" the ,IIIn" aruun,j 'h<cm. and 10 II,"", 1."'.... 1.."'"
0'
<...-1, ,~ho.' •. ,,~n ""r-~ ':"" pan n~'~,"" ,1><,,,
t>o:'h",.bk'. a. "dl a~ ~""'~ ,I""" dlam, ~",l
'W· I
--1 '."'C'"/
..-' [.i.E ' .~,
, ~"y,-':-
.J • ~. ~ 4 . Solve Spec ial Drawin g
Prohlems
Ik ,un; ",., no ,'ommu",,·. '" ~ .... r t<k~:lII<l "'~
lit: ""1'1.,:.1 1'1\ "~"'rn"",,~"I.lc ,Ir~" "'~ 1"'*'1,,,,,,_
Wnrl 'hcm "", ." , hu"'h,,~,I' ," , ull 'If". t>U, do
"'" 1"...·'...-...1 u,,"1 the~ ~n.. ",1,,"<1

___ I
"II" \I,,,,! A ""I~,II (i ",~' rdb I
I.",'~ ,1""",,,,1,",,. "" , ,w,,,,,',' ,he ,,'ai,' .

..,~, 11m. ),-1>...___

11; ..,,," '''''.,
I'. ,~ ,of th_"'~. 10 •
'M ior-;s ~-..,' II} o/wJw R.
1/._.1 a, • t lJ'S' prr.
"'~, p". M« ", .. <ry
N"
-..

, '. •
, .-::.,..
"

•(,
~ ,
• -•-
0 '. -- "
'f<

.... , ,• ,"-r. •..

, ..
 5. Double Check Your Ideas
Onc~ you h.:I'"e you r ilk as dearly Ilefll\~d. check " 00,,", ""ccp' your dra " inS' to" '1uldl)':
your I~)"outto 1>1' 'lire it will " .... ~ as pl;tnl)fi\, Ih<cm 001 un >onwoo", (1)< ..
IJoe! il allow ellough space fur thoe ac:u ons )'00
....., ron>i"'riIlK '~ E.u mplc .

s...,..- WI"I<
"
• • ,
.... "'D.IfW"}' --..-::.-
'''-,..
==~
"*<ro' Itn)tlll.
,0aJc.·_ .
,,14<1
, .
.L,
II "
c;
I I •

6. Blow Up Drawings FuJI Size

Indi"Mjual slelche!; do noI alway~ relate 10 exh
oIheron the p.:gs the way you t~hllhey " '001<1 .
Kough 001 ali lhe l ey posilion, o llhe Stttle. ba.ed
on your Ihumbnails all<! re.earch dr.win~ ',

,,1,",.0"-
'. ,
.- . .. l , ij
-i
~~
rr
fr l
_mol,.,."

'h r~j, '."'r~

"~'''>p«",1

,
,/w ",..,.;,,'
'M 'A~",b ·
",.....J M·" A,~
M f"u "",.
I • - , - ~l!
. i!J -

•
,
17

[1". ,,- ",'

i"""'""r fro.
li"1 ri<'l m.
!'''I~, · r" ,·,.

'lit., '" ,'"

,P ', ',"'C"'.",
,,, ,,.,, dr,,.,.,

II',,,,," ,/),<1.
i",. "f<' md
Ii,,· I"",. ~
1,lon:: . Thu ,
" lIlod ' ..
""H' T'"
r,,~ , lit, IJm
' ,H lit, <I'd'
IX''' ''''" "I :
'"' 1..1"",,·,.

(I" " .."" Id.

'", "'''''' "
""T, ,,''''"''
i,, \' ,or"","',"

! 11,-",I",., "
'-" """";"(
"',Ii "''''rlt
111 ,iti.' '.11""
" 1,I"" ""r,
~r, · "" "J"
""" 11.' [,"
/" M ,'''"'
~h"." ,"11r~
Tik ,-,"R'"
1.,<, «Ii, " ""

!

10. How to Get It on the Screen
10 do (/(Jrn "tar o"yllt, .., if ..... ji,,,u
"/(J pouiblt 0«'
• t _do ""Jlloi"8 ..... //rinJc of ... illt litis . .•
SIatIy after Tlte Rueue.s was rekased in 1977. a
tndmnarted ,"J love those characters ! I thin ~ Illey
• probably the ,,,,ateM Dis,..,y h~s ever done ."
U.... niably lhe animal ion of the characlers is what
a n ... audience. but many othc:r elemelllS playa
.... role in:o. ~ful picture: the colors. the bc:aul y.
til: ,',su,al effects. the locale •• and the musk . The
_ o f ou. r.ntasy worlds tool: u much dW kalion
.n.,..'Ied~in !he ocherdepanmcnls as il did in tM
_lOll, and il occupie<J moch of Walt 's interest as
'"pn:...s
'Ilia '-' ~ in those firsl mtttings looking at !he
oob' !.ketches from the ~ylisl or IIIe inspira·
. . anist. an image was fomling in hi , mind . a loul
.ctptcl "'Nt this piel",,,, could b«<!,,-how all
... pw ..wid fil lOgelher. I10w il would look . how il
_1<1 SQIlnd , and 1>0101 il would ma ke p'''''pl<;: feel. II
. . I lJowly developing roncepl . but all the paru
....: m..1y related righ, from the Marl .
lit btgao to 5tt a plate ~hal WaS real . inh~bited by
(
u rtoi,. dtjittirt /Ioillgs .
Walt Dis""y
~haraclCrs Ihal wen: I"<'al. whc~hcr lhey wen: dwarfs
living in a land of magic. or a wooden puppet being
,h~ by a monstrous ...' h~le. or tiny fairies §pruding
drops of dew at nigh!. In his imagination il was an
'oming 10 life-mythical. bul bcl;"vabk . Thi s was
noI a dull. humdrum Iype ofn:alily bul one lhal t:.pr.Ing
from drum" a land where one could fccl at home. yel
whel"<' e~eT)'l hing ""as fresh and new ~1lIl diffel"<'nl. To
achie~e this on lhe screen. greal auemion tw to be
gi'-en to the locDle5--the si •.c of the fum'lure. the
props . the Il"<'es. lhe animals. lhe shadows lhey cast.
the air lhey bre~lhcd. the clouds tlt;u floaled o' '(rlllem.
lhe rain- it all hoo 10 be right, juS! .. hat you would
find in such a place .
'The: inspirational sketches often hoo .1M:rA-·n mIlCh of
this. but they wt're only a handful of still drawin,s .
u§ually done in a medium unsuited to production wort.
One question always hoo \0 be faced. " How do yoo
get il on the scrttn?" This major question broke OOv.'n
inlo a myriad of fiufe ones: how can " -" gel !~I soft Fanuosl
•
•
 sh 3d<>",'~ ",ere ~ho",,, on ,II<' "'all •. :tdd,ng 10 lilt spooly

drccl . bill Wah saw ""ore Ihan lhal. W",",n 1M d~..m

were grouped lOI'CIhc:r there \... ~, no' a f1a! 10'" of
..,'-en c~noon cha<aC.cl'll. II w-.. , more of a pl'11'llllll.
wilh the figu",s III lhe (""'ground (II Illulcr rolin,
givmg onl,,"'" and "CliMion to {he group He .."OI'oIkmI
if his .Iaff could do «"He!hing like that lie wondmd
if the mcn woold g~! fre'h Ideas on hghung In ~
if they acluati) could see a rcplic~ of the d..Otfs·1lOI'JII"
AI~n Il uner. lhe ,l~lCh ~no" ... hose "nagll\MJ\~
~" drow;IIg' in'pirC<J !he ' Iyle aoo "p'I""ar.nc" of mal)
' ~I"
'mly Silly SYlllphonic•. h",! ~ar l lcr been ~.",gneJ lhe job d

..
G#. drow 109 ~lIlhe nook, 800 .-r'lnmeS of Ih" lo{lI:C .. l .......
,,~
Hi. Swis., herila~c ~OO l oxn powc~ of obsm-a1Ol
. ",
made hIm Ilkally ,,,ued for capturing the storybook
,W charm or ~ couage that dwarf. ""ghl ha'l' "mh . ...,j
N, . now he h"d .0 mallY dntwlOll' of the s!"ir>, tile bed>.
lhe ...·,OOOWS. the fireplace. 3.00 eYelllhe kItchen """
' FIGARO Ihal lhe "hole structure alnlO!.l cook! he \ls~tiud
...,s~s
W~I! !-aoJ .. , So~ ..... ",Id probably b."k! a Il1OIII:I

-.--
f 3 · 5EQ.IA
.., of Ih~1 house just from IIIeSC drn"·lOg. , y'lnow. IbI
Il~>dcl we had of the <lId mi tt was a bIg Itdp 10 ","t!).
body 10 v",u;,lizin" !h"t picture. "nJ ;n plaoolng die
s«ne,; 3.00 camer. an"le, Let·, gel ,", cn Arw.Ico<>aio
ht-rc .. ,",en already Itikl been trn~fcm:d from antrD-
loon 10 layoot beea"",,, of h" archul'Ctur.1 k_ledct.
and !II,W hb formal tllt'nin& would he flUl 10 fuJ1het

'&,(1
-. .:~ . •
us.: . Wal l a.ked him to build lite mo<kl on a 5<:aIo d
one i,,,.
1t to lhe (OQI , Inlerpreling AU",n', I~
"kelChes 1010 rc~1 sha~~ and d"la~' W,lh Wall',
enlh"'Iasm aoo cur"",,)" cleanng the " 'oy, lhe d........
COItage .....,n emerged as a rcality. comptete wilh fPl'
niture ~"d prop,.
.. E"cry""", cn)wlled ~n",nd 10 "'" 1101" u Iookrd •

rd~ ?: OOW CJO lhal brilliaoc~ of 0010.- be anamed?;

how can we gCI Ihal elusive feeling of glowing lighl
ev~r)""here'!: hnw C~n Ihal overall effeci be ~a[llured
in our elUde medium?
While 1M Nckground man thou,hl mainly of roIor
:ond lhe la)"OOI m;tn of d",wing. Walt was all"."y, 1h'nk·
mg of a d,fferent approach thaI mighl open up some-
,• •
/()
Ihing enlirely new, At {he .<Iart of Snow IVhit~ . he
studied 1he first drawings of IIIe dwarfs >ca ••'h;ng
""
,. through 1hei. """SI'for ,.... UnkllO"" imruder. Greal
1IJI<thtr. (<&inaled by lhe rtlalionships llul ,'...,." now
.(1lOknl. A (ew uCIl.:d morroenls lale • . Walt had
. . . , ill... Why 001 lake Margie Sell ("'00 had
betn hired 10 do lhe live III:l;on of Snow While herse lO
_ !ohooI rolm of he, nn lroe siage . prelending to co"",
*ough . door. enlering lhe room. lookin, about in
~. ~ing a sm;oll chili. and Nnning 0"", 10 s il On
il"ThIl coold.1I be done " 'ilh the rroeUUTl:menu of
Ik ",'xld of lhe couage blo",n up !O full siu. Then on
~'lttl of film. we CQIlld . hooIlhe modelttou..,.
The work of the layoul men refkcted Ihis stimula1ion
in eve' )"lhing fllMT1 the desig .. of the specirlC 5('e~ 10
the presentation of lhe whole sequel'!«. Man: effoe-
tive camera angles. iOieresling aroupi ngs of lhe char-
aclers. u~ or perspe"l i~e to live dimension . types of
$Unes 10 build the mood--4l1 ,,-ere hIIndled SO sltillfully
that the spe<:tatOl"$ neilher noticed nor wondered . They
" 'en: romplelely ab-wd in " 'hal was happening on
the SCreen.

_un: . .
_hlllJllhe same camera moves--only this linlC' in
asumnenIS. This film ,"'ould be prim.:d
• •"III'IO/f reid eels (a newly disro...emI phoIographk
(Qr prinling dirtCtly omo the ce l ~) and lale,
"'ilh Ihe r,lIn of Ihe gi rl. If the dislanCeS
I I . it would appu' Ihal Margie
. . li).ii.\0 the dwarfs' house!
~ ntll'ly y,urI<ed . FOfIy ~ars lal<:l". TV cameras
Tl:gular!y combining lhe III:lion
on one Camera wilh a minialure sct
. but in 1935 there were 100 man y problems
.....
lOka 10 be practical. For one thin;. lhe eels
ftrtrilt and the developing ehemic:al~ "a .. sed an
amounl of ~rinkage 00 eac h piclUTI:.
'one to the "" XI. lhe qual ily
,
••
'.
was in eonSlanl jeopardy. Walt
for • way 10 make backgrou ....h
e'..,O ha ving them a nima led in
00 ..,,·cral pielures . While: lhi s .ozrm AI", ... Hu" , r -
• ffecls for individual scene s. il fu n he, Sno,.. While .
the n al c haracte!'!' on Ihe cds f,om Ihe "",ur's drawings of ,h,
io lhe background by contrasling lhe d"..,rj,· rollal' ...,,, So
'/001""",~ i~ <"OMr", aftd
techniques. Mrail 'N" a "",,"I at ,h,
of lhe COItage " 'as far from " 'asled sil'!« ~'h6I, "" i/di~, ....,s ...,...
uStd e'lonsi"'ely by both lhe . Iory skelch nlen s"~c'ed i"" jro", his
skrf~h,..
la)'OUI men 10 determine whal they should
.hen ~nling any piece of bu,iness. The Story
bad the job of making lhe house Sttm n::;tl
lICIivilies goinl on. and the la~"OO1 and
hid the responsibility of mak _
"'''''k
in a praclieal "'ay. They I
" Ihat " 'oold th row ~ h3tlow~ on lhe \
the 1ight~ for a variely of ef(<<1S:
p;c.u~ thal had a new authority. for this
longe, a make-belie~e hou!iC-il "1lS there
them;n a "cry rul Slate .
Four Styles of Background Painting
 ....:--.
,~ s"",A_
S...",.. WbJ ...
J . Fo, S""" Wl
hlirdr~ .....u,..<tI
ftiqws popdtv i~
I",,,oriotu of jaJ
S~S. "illS. <111
M/(H"j "" .. ""d<
bySt:tM.IOMlp
o<r~rs fir illlo rhi

4 F.... S"""""'B
1,",,0"*"11'_
of cloJt >tJ/w. ill

..
CfMIroiW".,.
dUtoriIy. a dow.
, .
•
 Backgrounds
The background painters " 'ere expe"mcnllnl;. 100.
Il)'ing 10 capm,.., in ""ater 00101' or tempera' jnJediums
easy to chang~ if necessary) Ihe .ame eff<XI till! styli_"
had ",hic,·etl wilh chalk or inb or some special hui ld
up of p.oinls. Taking the layout suggeSiions liS ~encs
that actually would b" inthl: p,,,ure. and SUrTQ\lnding
hin'sclf with thl: original s ~ etehl:s that Wa h had Ii ~ ed.
thc bac kground )lai nte r search<:d for ways to duplica te
an elusiw df«l .
These pa'nte~ ~re ~ the:: SlI''''' as easel painters,
c,'en though they ,hare many of the same talents. The
background palmer must know color very weil. I"l"
scs< a goO<l .e n,c of de.ign. ~ now how to pull a
pi~ture t¥tllt:r. and Ix able to handle hb mcdium
utremely ",·cll. lie may e"en ha"" some reputation as
a painter of landscapes or abSlractions. hut here lit the
Sludio he lias II "cl)' ~pe<:ial a..ign mc:m . Ik musl .tage
,,,,,b· lilt: char""tcr and s up[X>r1 the ""t ion . That con"",, Ix:f"",
an)'thing c l.e. His work may be dramalic .•ta"ling.
;" ,A,
",,,.a,, 1'O"'·erful. or thrilling. hut il mUSt still be only a ~k ­
_
U....I.,
.,.110. ,
ground for lhe.' "'lion.
There shou ld be IIOIhing behind the animated fig-
. ""'., ures Ih" dismtCts in any way . Too much <ktail. hu,y
",!Ct· .ha l"'s. eye ·,atd,ing forms are all ((,"fusing: tOO much
.,,_.
~'"~ry
til,,},·
"'""1·
color. tOO much dark and light panem. colors that
coonict ""ith the figures are all d,sturbing . The back_
ground anist i~ a.ked to paint l woodland gl* . hut
not 10 ha,-c any tro!<!S or bu.hI:, in the middle where tilt:
cha.,.",\Crs will be ",·orking. He i. told al>o 10 ~.
handling "cl)' simple on the Itft s ,de.' b«.... a Itor!t
will be: standing the",. IlOl mo~ing much but >till occ.
pying the sp""". And the grass al Ihe IXlUon, (anOOl b<
harsh or real istic ,,-i th indi"idual blades. becault drot
will dra'" 3nention a""ay frum lhe.' aclOO.: nor ran tbr
grass be: 100 soft and fU7.7.Y cither. or II ,,·,11 ~ppe.tIut
thl: ch¥acICrs ~'" ,Iandmg in a cloud There mu>tb<,
solid plane for their f«tto match. and il must be pm
i>e<:ause il i.grass. but it cannot look likc gr~>sorb< 1
JNjor pan of lhe design . The areaS "'·ben.' Ihr pol8In
can >how the Ita"es and br....che~ and the btaul) III
Ihi s rQrnanlic s~ are along lhe 10j>. oo..·n the n,II
side.'. and in a liny palCh O,'cr on the left bt ... th tb<
horM"S helly_ It i. nOI easy.
If lhe bac ~ground has been tk;,gne<l around tb<
cha.,.",ters and the aclion in the first place. this ~ b<
all (hal IS needed to gi,·c a gn.'at crfeel Subtk
(close in "alue) behind the figu,,"s aoo along tltt '"I*'
of act ion" can .,ugg~St much ",·hile ",toally s/IoIo""
vel)' liute . This is pos.ible to do, but a do:fini~ cfuI.
Itn", .
A~her " 'a), to keep the c haracler complaelr cQ
at all times is to hold down all tIM: dcn~nlS in"
backgroond SO Ihal lhey fr~me lhe actor as if toe ~M
s~lighted. or working in a ")1001 of light . " Thi,."
IlOl gi,'c lhe excite"""", found in a Wung dc.'sigo, I...
",ill insure that the animatioon ",ads "'clllhrou~
lhe ~ene.
The bac kground noa" i, p~"icularly fnr"I"lt,ed II!
"1It·~, Thore may be a long shol ",'h a !)usy brock
.'. bth,n<,I IIIe figu'l's or a .hdf full uf lOY'. and on
• IIU. >«nc a clo..e·up of lhe characl~r. 'n.., pain.~r
....1. '''h' N"" I can ,hoY. all the lel1urc and lhe
MId KTalchcs un lhesc ob)CC.~ .. There ,~ r~ally
III nmilO k..,p .1Ie ~aTlle background on ,uch a CUI.
and .he paon.er .... ,11 ruin lhe SCCI>C ,f he 1TIes. A pll'n
colored card would be far beller. or juS! 1he rainles'
$IIu~stion of lhe 1hongs seen ,n .he long shot AClual·
Iy. a li\"c·lI<,:lIQr1 «lmn:a mo"on, on Ih,s ""Y ~bly
",ould ha.-~ lhe background out of focus. and tim
would be .he ns,e<1 §Olulion
 _-
A >'<'ry dfect;ve SUite in Thr llt",'r 8001< showed
the !WIther si uing on a 1= limb with only the lumi-

... nous miSI of'hc!rOpical nigh, behind him . In ,he fore-

ground .... as a small clu.stcr of leaves and • flower
pI'~ '-'!fo>N"
... ~, ....
"., ...ulfllll. /ry.
dnwn vcry crisply. b.1I with just enough ind ividuality
10 ,iVi: the scene realism. heamy. and c haracter. [\
;"1 iii. paillli,., look ~ars of upericnce 10 know tha, th is W(lUld be
~ ("'~rall ..wod
bc~l. bul, 1;leraliy, only minules 10 paint ,
n ,,.,,'" bIowks of
<Md, l uping a Pointing backgrounds is a challenging and compl,-
«Ii""" dt<Jf of ealed luignmem, bu, one lhal offers vast opporlun;.
, dra",in, ; an;!. lies LO the artis!. Successfully done, the backgrotmds
/ins Q Ird"" of contribute m"..,h .o ~ audience's enjoyment and. like
~ lit< t:1\a,4(:ltrl
musk. can crUle a depth of fttl ing in the mood and
""' e~ ,he dnm.nic quality of thc .... hole film. Wlh
fdllhis was SO important that he asked [he background
mo:n 10 uy se"enl difT~nt paintings of the key IlCeHCS
.... ith • ".nety of colors and techniques 10 litimulate
tlw:ir imagiNltions and help !hem find the best IIflIXOKh .
These ....ere lhoI in color and judged from the film IiO
the aniS! could find the most S\lCCeSsful handl ing befon:
flOCing the restrictions of .upporting the animation.
The background pain(er .... ort;. closely .... ith the layout

~w..pItl>tri .
.n.. Ju"llt Boot ....,..,. AI CHMpJur - The: Ju",Le Book .
..-,Jr /kIDil «>
1M idra of ,Jrr
,
, ........ fYNI/Iit"inl
T IIon:/ow«j" ",
- . from lilt cMly u~rimcnts thai dcvdop eM roIor
~ *' 11)'1.. 10 the doign of 11M: effects animation
. . .ilI _ l i d the dlaractcr$ wilh all man~ of
~ fOlCtS. BUI adaplinlllIM: slyk ~nd thee rolor Of!
t I'I1II poett or p;lper is only p,arl of tile: problem. There
• IIiII Iht mallcr of gCll ing il 10 look rillhl in 11M:
IitIII:Itd film on tIM: SCl"<:en .

Effects Department
no eff«li animator is a special kind of ani.1: he hit! a
«Oity about tt.. way Ihings work. a feel for 11M: -""
··Ultk P
Tmr.c.,,·
.....~. and uwally 5ttS gr<:al beauly in 1M p,at ·
_ r:lNtUrc . ~ df«u ani~IOI$ have b«n fas· 7lot link
c-.I,,1Ih pu~ realism and ha\li: tried doggroly to Jim ....,/
. . . . rt ..."hiIe otllers have treated spiril in thee
A*". I1tOII
_ 0( .."lUer and la'll. drama in fires and 'Ioons •
.t1llOll,lohing Io\·clines~ in lhe handling of falling
b>tI and _ . During tIM: making of Snow Whi't •
• £n«u Animatioo ()epanmcnt ,",W to a lotal of

. -.
....,.s.
itr-Rl IIItII and ""On"oeII. many prof"tcicnt in special
all amazingly polknl I S tIM:y du:wcndle$s

Otiy~lIy. ,~acte, animators had done all of tile

dIrm ill Ihti' own scenes : rain. smoke. sh:otdow$ •
..... doud$. dur,! . speed li~vcn Ihrobbinglina
IIIqmn1i pain and question marks 10 show confu·
_ hWah fell lhallhe$C all lacked style and asked
~ . . to be men ~ .... anl and 10 draw more accu ·

-it They ottst...."Cd. and as soon 1 5 someone noted

.. dor ..... g! of a real object moving fu t is blurred
.fiIta. every lIIimator tried to find his o"·n way of
..... ab!umd image in eanoon terms. In attempt,,,,
I I " (xl! other. these animators rn:aled shapes
.. btamt designs in thcms.elve$. dominating tIM:
_ • .,,;Ithe inkers ..·ere pIIl.~led as 10 whet .... ,
_ ooncoc1ions should be t,aced in ink. painted on
.,or tilt: «I. drybrushed. or done in different rolors .
A fMnIr device for portny;ng an ann or a lei
..-.c 'If:tY fast was 10 dra'" a s.erics of afler i~le$
...... alone. UnfOf1u~tcl y. this always looked
_Ih$flllhttti uailin, eM limb than a tlW blurred
. . Cnton (Jack) Boyd. wlM:> lal~' became heead
or IIir Eff«1S Department. ~1;1I laughs about I~OM:
-""'......
ltu1li>q

w dro>oioor.
for ,los P<'P
1>tj{)U WrJJJd
_ ,;,/tIp
,.. uFo:..- f"", 01 w« spaghclli! It lool::cd awful-bul

we were Irying 10 find QUI how 10 do ii , II look a 101 of
mi~akes before you found OUI whal you ~ould do:'
This Iype or pel'§On~1 exl'fl'ssion ~ame 10 an abrupt
end when Wah evenlu~lIy set up lhe Effe.:ts IXpart-
IlIcnl 10 sI8ndardi'.e Ihe ~ures . unify Ihe appear-
ance. and ronlrollhe quality .
With new imponancc givcn 10 ",hat always had
be<:n serondary anim~liun . the men selected for the
new departmcnt ..,I/Iom could hold themsel"cs down
to a support"'e role . E"en !hough they " 'cre awan: th.1
their work .hould be subordinate 10 lhe main action of
lhe scene, lhe enlhusiasm Ihalled 10 lhe e~perimenting
_b...w..pt away care and rnuc:h of lhelr Judgmem .
Again. it was Jack Boyd who shook his head and
laughed as he thoughl bac k on a !.Cene he had once
dono:_ "1 hild just di!;l;Overed ,,·al.. r' I was a ~ar! You
guys did a wonderful jOb on lhe ~flaracter animallOll.
and I eame along with a splash and destroyed )'ou!"
Then wllh a sigh. "Now J -"'lI<kkr 10 thinl of'"
stuff .••
Sh~dows
II.
"iere anolhcr problem . These had beoI
done in a "ery .implc " 'ay from the ea,lit\l "'"
because they ancoo...d the figure to the ground
out 50fm kind of contact with lhe background.
characlers seemed 10 noal around. walk ing 1)11 au.
maller how mu.:h "-eight had be<:n an"Nlled Into
movements . J USI a cireular shape painted around
feCI in an unoblrusi,-c j:rcy defined where lhey ~
s tanding. and as they walked about or jumptd ~
tinued 10 shov.' JUSI "here lhe)' wen: . Ikrng OJ*III:
covered anything on the backgrOUnd Ihat II
over. unless il had bttn carefully animated 10 f.
shape it eneounten:d . Too often an e,"ler .§DIU!. .
to ask the backgroond man ~imply 10 In,nl "'"
offending objeci and luvc a barTen path in Oil ~
As the quality o f the P"~tures appro;oched "'- 0(.
heuer book ,lIustration •. Ihis crude ~h:ldow " .. It-
placed by om: dQm: ....·lth a transparent paim I~IP" I
much more realistic appeara~ . S,nce th" daBtleli
the background ,,-i thout obllleralln& any of lilt drIIi
the spoxlator rould now see every rock and pctott
rightlhrough the shado .... and lhe background pauw
became mu.:h happier. Unfortunately thIS """""'"
dried very quickly. leaving .Ireah and pudJltstl
varied in densily from celiO eel. c~u sing lilt ~
to i0oi:. quile agitaled on the scTttn as il "-luJod lit
jiuered,
When the painl "'as vcry cold il "'as .IOI1lt
easier [0 uSoe. and if i, ,,'('re confined to ~II amo;
llIe "'girls" could paint quickly and deftly.,
lory result could be oblained . So Ihe painters
clo$c: to tile refrigeralor and moved fast. bul lilt
was >lill only one ~h;>de ~nd the", was ""
possible if a sli&ht variallon was de"",d. M""
that. it was impossible to palm large ~rus tHI ~
and kerl' any consistency 10 tile qualny .
A far hener ",suIt canl\! fl"Qm palnllng tho:
complelely black. but photographing il al tHll)
upo$IIn: . This way . the", was complete o;orotroI
_.hadow would be lighl "hen il " 'lIS ~ hot alllllll)
cenl eXJXlSure or very dark when .hot at ..'till), p!I
cenl. and helwern the 1"'0 almo!;! any shade C'OIIId
obtained. ennchlOg the appearance of ttlt 5aI1
both design and color. ~i nce (he .h~dQ ... dark.ned
-
~ "'~" ~'II"ul J"lurt-'n~ III<' h''''~''\.'
I'I~ U , 111'1 ,. lui ".' ",,~.kJ h' mA.- the ~"'ul'
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, . . . , '"~ 1"1(" r',"I,"~, " " <'1',:,.,.1 1). a ,,11(>1. ",'"
Iti Ii(oIo., ~"", ,t.< ,I.,,~ JnJ Io~hl 1';011,·"" "t Ill.
!<tIt\" ... klt-.: ,rolI<J ,,,. n'" "",pic "") . rou l '" •
II) du! J<J;kd ,lq' lh .roJ 1\IIl\\n,'"'' !" all ama7' ''~
/qIrt n... ,h.,j,,,, > Ih.:u Ih" J " Jet> .; ••1 .'n III<: ".11,
- " II< h. 'uMI. ,·,'Ior. ellae "(,,,. ,we ,'" .n~ "". -,
.... ~Iltf w ell<" ,·",-h~nl~J r"d 'n~ "f II>.: ,,1I<'k
COIIft .\1 ItI< ""K "mt, "'''' Imlil"!, III<: ,11:0.1" " "
*f.,lII(' In Ill< ~"~'I' r,,'.nt,J tht.'m I",,,, !,~\ l, "~
Ill . p.>I"'t hneup
T'rIt« J,.. u~ I ~ ·t'r<',('J ,haJ"", .. """.d Ih~ 1 \h(
~-mt i'< rfoo"c'par/leJ N I,. , ''''' ' ,,"11 Il>< m and OOCr
, ...... Iu.' ~ "1, IIo'e onl) 3 h<3d1.:1>< IN II>< ,'am -
....... tv! J,,,,~I.-J ,II<" t ,[,<n", " f 10" t !f,'fb r-:,,, "'"
.."hilln lot .,,,,1.1 t>c 'h<><>IIII~ s.:r""~ ern and 1".1>.
.. r... ,~-'"1 ttl'd>. ," ,I\( pf"t-Itm> ,'I 1 ",',>n..!
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~"p."..,! ,II»,,, < "tr~ ,n'on~ Iht f,f; 1 Ih1n~'
~ ", . II m,n;l\td on It.. dnH I" ,' ul C\['<II .... S
.Ib, J"mJI'" ~ .... l ~n>untl r~lnli,,~ "'It. "ff) "'t·
!oIu,'h,n~ c,' Ir.: .; hJf:li;IC, ach, .. cd 11\.<\.' "f Ih,'
_",.~,. ,. ,'fCJ'N a 'Uri'X f «J J,, ~ 0' le~"'f('d
U I ~ .. t.I.~ ,110.,,, ~ .h.aJ"" I" n,,· R,'" ,,, ". Ih.:
Wljltlk1"~ ,'''' m,,', .. no! Ihr ~"I "'-'" n ." II\(" ,'a'~
. . ~ • M~ IJlllem " .lUIJ h"f Nfll a" IJ~ J!
~ b .Ju,J,,,,, I" au~ nl<'m 11M- 'u>!"·n ...· ~nJ III(
b\l of ItI< .. ," ~1I.>n , ~UI .. .-..;,' Ill<" '.~u(n'·. ,,~,
i:lJk"'"~ t l "",~h In. ".I) il '"'' Ill<" de,'"> .,,, ... ,
""",,,. C, !"""X-
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b "IJ"~
1 >,,/, .. ~, Uf, "" /, " H,"'"
.In,,,,,,',-.1
,"',,' , •~,/,I h. •• "
,h" .~N""'''' ~I,,',' /01,.,
madf I" kJ\~ "~it Ihf ,h;oJ"" , ~nd palnl Ih" ".111 Jar\;
~n.J "fl In>!uil Tht ,11<..-, an..! ft-~I of Ihr dlaflfo.·!cr>
"~f" pa lnl~J Ja,t al"". ><' 'he~ " ''IlIJ I>t J IIII.>M. part
,,( III<: t-ad~h",md . ~I""~ lhe- f~.hn~ 'hal Ihc~
ah .:o.I) '" ,h:.J.""
".'f
'r h",,,~h III~ uri, Ih",,, •. 'ht . m". Elf" "" Dr -
p~rlrntnl ,',In;,, ,,J ,>t onl> I" " lIlen l'~() D ' O.", •
'lr"'~hlf,'r" a c J, ,Iullho.)m. anJ ..kil,,'llfJ hahan and
C~ Y,)u nW , a 4ulrl aroJ "'".,,,'" ~UI ~'IU311~' >lubborn
C h",,, ..... "h" I"HJ I" pl., II>< "3,. f,JJlf as. h<>hb.
8 " 4h 'I"'~< "1111 ,u," "an
",',-cnl> Ihl 11\,1>1 "f III( haJ
dlffi,;uli) unJ.f,'~n..!ln~ "hal lhe) "crr J,I~'nJl . and
~,'mmunl, ~Ih'" N I" fen ...... , .. " ... , al""'~1 ImJl"'~I·
hi • .•'~' ,"II) "II<'n l.mp<'fs ilaffil Sm,'f !M) d,J
m,·,1 ,)1 Iht ~·.Hdol " ,>r~ 'h~m .. I'n. I II<' ~ n.~~.J ,,"I,
~ ~ ln~1c ~S-; "IJn! t><1"'~" In.,m , aM 3 m~Jof r ail ,,(
hI S J ~I' ,,~ . I,' :1i;1 h In'~'1'r(I~r. Jlpl nm~ It,' ."II I\a,, _
and f'C' K.m~hf S!;II. r." alllmal "f~ ha" . ~urra,~d
,I\( il(h~IIIIUI fClUI .. Illal 1M'" I"" n\("n .I<J .. I~ .nJ
""Ii.:ald~ ".;hlntJ ,, "h ,11<';, ",nalC scnk "f Jel"n ,n
nk"l"'"
Who., ,3n cHf I,"-~., !II<' It" d~ "h"~ "..",,,,,",.
t-,Iknn. '" r,,,,,.,.,,, f1"ahl\~ ~, .... ftull~ !t\ ~ 'ar.~'m~
1a"'hn~ ,,·n.1Ito so rtK( ,,( III<' " 31( J, ''''I~ I" be .. ho.>m •
and n><: or In'CIl<J , .. orhnt: aM ip' nnm~ as sl\(
J",,:.J "ft ,,"11 tiC! _"I"n·ul .;nmp3111\l<\.' Thai ,,;><
C) Y"on~ :11 h<> 1'<';1 Rl,,1> ;;,'IlIJ " II",I~ ,' cul< !u..- h
"""I f) anJ ,;.:n,ual u) ,,,. !n("fe 1\1,,,,,,,,,,', b!lln~ mlO
a 1"",J
t· ~" ,h"".J "".... Inu"s"~ anJ (Of . . III h,. ",n.
hul .. ..., .>lu~lI) ... n>II"', '0 ,"" ".ul .k"~,, T~p .. al
", h" ,ir,,,,np .. ... !he- ,'3111'n~ ,,~,·t> ,hOI 1I(• .kJ
~ t ,eh) 's .;,~ml1\on"~ ,n It.... 0.1""111 k~W""" "f"' Tllt
S"r"el~I '> Arr"nl"'~ Th ~ t1'fU I,)[ ,,( 'M I"'"''''
""mnl<'"I~J ,'n '" 'M .ma,int: paIICI\,:r anJ le n:><")
I l '~"1 JlSrla).d 111 J,"n~ Iht fih~r('(' ""'f! an.! f~m
I>< '1'"'n,,.,.J· ,roo..: I'. "t m~ pra.;n. all ) ,,,,I
,.f In. 1!lUt:",.n"n. 1U4\~ be lor. lhe I\(lp "f I(sc:ll\-h
ph"h'~ farll\ .. :
8,~h C) ~",j ll ~" " CfC J"('rm,~J h. ~.I "alt.m
.n l" Ihr,r " ,,,.l allJ .""h"J ';"""andy I" ''''.•• • ''' !1I(;f
UI\,IcIS!,nJIIl~ ()n., do) 111<' )' "'~r~ d''''u~"n ~ • "'tnt
m'"I"I\~ a ", I,h', l ett!. hu~"I\~ OVfr ~ f"., M
 -
••

dra"·n 00 t~
-
••

layout it was an old pol . ruSty and p.ilf· in

tiallyrove~ ,,·ilh 500t from yurs of cookina . Cy fell
lila. light from I~ fla~ ,,·ould he fdkc'ed c~nty
"'",.. a ...· o,·er I~ ,,·hoIe pol ; Ugo claimed that I~ lighl "'ould
•
Dtp.ilrtment a steady .",,"u.~ ~~ dn, ".
full of ideas . 0... o f tMIoC ,.~ JOIoh Meador.
comer ,.·ith an unusual CQrIlb,na'ion
and ind;vitluatiSlic. Josh ,,·as

r.::~".:'M~ ~
he only on I~ p<lt1IonS not co'·c~ by lhe 500t. since painter. drsigner. and he
soot Ilas 00 rdlccli~e po,,·ef. Each man wlS adamant. ity as "..,ll. 8)· the eoo of
and. s;n<;c lhere was only one way of plUying ",ho was laken over lhe depafln""nl. and for
right. a tire was buill in an em~y filII' cun ;11 the year lalcr. he had well over a hundred rnen
middle of lhe floor. with the shade from a goo~·ncd: lurning oullhe most imp I
l.,,,p invened n~er it as lhe pot. Soon lhe fl~mc~ wcre seen. One of lhe", !-aid ...
dancing merrily. live aclion arod upc:rimcnling ,,·;Ih lhe
While t'·eryone else was screaming . ·· Put th~I tire and smoke and a ll IIM:>5e Ihings . lie wa:;
OUt!·· tile discussion gre .... ;lIto an argument. The " .hoIe: thorough ,,·;,h hi~ research ,,·ork. He <.lido·,
",rface of the lampshade "·as indetd b.:athcd ;n glo,,·;ng down and an;male wa.er. he ... "'~"'~ ....
li,h! as the fla~ en,·eloped il. bul lhen: "·a~ 00 5001 w:aler. lhen too~ il home: a nd ~tu<.lied ".
on II- liS )"el . l'e<>ple ,,·ere running aboul. and ucilCd days y<MI <.lid that_you " ·ent homc alKl
prol~' " ·cn: now coming from far down.he hall . but dl"llwing .•• j
$Iill lhe IwO In;matOfS fanned lhe flames earnestly- Some: things jus, oould notllc <.I1"lI ... n;
Ihdr faces right down al lhe floor_ and slooied lhe wind. fog. driuling mis" a Ihick
curved bol1om of the shade. almosl aU kinds of snow . 8laine Gibson.
The llooleum had begun 10 curl on lhe floor before a scul~Q1". who was in lhe Effects
brigade of Dixie cups could be organi1.ed 10 <.louse lhe ly len years said. ·· It is quilc ·Il
flames and send the frustraled cff«IS animalors b,ac~ thing like that ; when you pul a line
In ,heir desks-wilh lhe poinl still unpro~ed . Maybe il even lhough you only give il a i
was inconsequen'ial any",·ay and hardly wOI1h coos;<.I· a"·a)" ;t". something tha!" . <.I,fferenl
Milg. buI thaI intensit)" of feeling and the: driYlllg drsi.., nUll foct did not .<I<:>p l<:>sh .
fOf knowledge: "'en: Iypical of their IpplWCh to :u.sign·
menl$.
8y 1935. new mell "'ere CQming in.o the Effects
nexl of II.Itun:
mar...ebstorm.
theThe ""35001 "::;':h::~~~~:~
he against
before llIat winter " ·as o'·er he
Tltr .... lrod~" ofr~ Ejf......
Ih".,rr_~r IIwh' ""l>bIi~1
"'MIl I~ a S•...tio ,ur. Fn.R
I~II. }"rl Boyd. }o,1t
"" odor. (",J Do~ Ma<;·
M(I~N' .

I rupl",,,.-.I d,,~It,. o{I'~ Tior II.......· .~'h·1t of iIIirr fl<)(J li~!; i~ lit, bOlll.
HI rh, J,,,,~ lor a~j"",, · >hooo., (I ,'rn' .Impl, rJ,.i~~ lor 1M "'01" tff"".

ml "'II,,r . Ir ...... "P to .Ior "'" ift llor u("""I.u"," lilil ...., ..... • _tlt TIt;-
,jfN1. a~,_, .....
'O MIr,· "" " .... ,., .... St. I. ...... impowb/. I() 1.11 """"
"''''' Ik>oo' ... ""1Id1, llory
i"lmll'~I' 10 I" ,lor d,·
""P' Allu .......... """. /D, ......y shr ""t'" Iw
Tit, arid",,,,, of ""p ""1>bI~. P'''' 1M JtN<hd
IIml tff...... ...,,1, to , ....p Mr ,.../)· _11
 "
.' ..
.r. r . .<'. ..,"
..... ::"""~
'''": ' ''
.
• , , 1,
•
.l " 1.1 ~
• ,., •,
,
___MOIl. Da ..
- Bambi.
Mot'Man~ s "
• ,
Draw;ngs 10' thr .plash of
a .1..,1, ,,,IIId,..,,, i .. ,h,
"....1.. , IIMmi.. 8 .mbi " -
f1r<:t Il..a,
tutd obs,,,,,,,;QII
'" ,,., ,11«11 " ..i _.

•
r "j'
111<,.... _ KtJ#<J//-
P,, ~ I

" RiwofSpri..,," !'""wi• . / /l' '\.

l"""ilWlio<l i" bolA ,",I,,,
tutd ""","",..... "1 ...... ..udrd
10. ,hi.
i", Jaw"
/"",IK_ .
laM of
,A,
la,,,
flo..,.
prl_ dlal
- /' /'.

Mmt Jul,. £",,1- "" """011 Ed A"rtl"l_

··RII,ofSpr;.., ." Fonluo. " RitrofSprI.., .·· F_o..
~ " Rile 1)( Spring" ,n Th,rr ....... ,,0 ""Y'o "Ully
Fon,a,i. ~"II,d I'"
mi." ,"<1h'woK- .rwpriolu in prr·
ral.. , .".01" , ",ltId, .....Ir• . histork 'i"... •. bu, this "",.
follin, rocl:s, fin , "ndflow- .,ondl,., S«N ""i.IS " ro,rd
i.., Ia ..... Iws' l t)I6r y"''' 1__ /1Upi' ''' ;QII(II ,trrr lw,
,a,/i." ItOM 01 ,M., rl· and J~KI'J'i<",S of '''to·
/«fI "",Id loa"" bult a ..i· po ...." In Srr"";", ky' ,
• ma,rd ron,'I"';"gly , ,.,~,ir.

256
 \Ofl fain, hard rain , h<:avy r"on, blo,qng r~in
I:Iln, dr'I.1.1ing l1Ion' llIcsc .... ~.., pr,med 001<
..-111 papas, SO Illey oould I1c cOl11bmcd ,,"h Ilk
~,...n OS III:1:ded 10 I:e l any dfcci wanled Jml
l1li bM lOkI, "Wilen I look al no;n. I don' l K'C • 100
tlMod: I.... around c"cry drop. SOI1lCIl""'~ I don'
I« ibt drop>. s.rcah Qf ligh!. and lill~
.. Tile animamr's d", wongs b
gil'(e Ih •• illUSIOn, bu. by COomb'n-
,dIM, II was poss.ble
I There waS drcary,
sad ~I""'ct In S""",lI'hu, "Ilen
M ber death, Illerc "',IS Ille fury Oof driv_
III, lIOI'my , e,cllcd min ,honly before, as .he dwarf,
chas<:d Ihe witch up.he rockS; and alter ,he had blkn,
. he >I~ad), drenching. Ilea,)' r~ln thai seemed 100 ,,'bIo
Ille nil nlCmonc. "\I"y, A fe,,' )c." 1~lcr. a ... 1>011'
>C<:Jucncc of <'ffeets an;mal;"" (Jericli n, a 'Ilmmcr >loml '"
,,'as. h,p.'point 01 cn'ertaonmenl on Bam'" 'n.. effect.
had bcconlC an Imellnl pan of the film, ron'ooolm8
drama and excitcrnC'" ami !T)i)(X!. a, wd l as the, " 31
clemen. of makmg t"cf)th,ng so belle, able .
Of all Ille n.,untl cle"",nb lhal h<Kl.o be dial'," In
peocj) hoc. withoul ,hadmg, WalCr "a' the 010" dlf·
fkll11 The combmauO<l of Ir:ln.parcncy. ela'''elly.
"''(elght . mOoI"Io.),. and ron,"'enc), "~lller ""h lilt
many ","Ood••,wc,aled wllh bod,e, of " '3'cr. ma(lc II
;'11I'"""ble to h,,,,dle rcah>l;cally. II had 10 be rcpre·
 .. nted in a design Ihe audience could accept without
ques1ion, As one animato, said, "You had to drJw
some kind of effeci Ihal would give Ihe impression of
,,'alor withoul costing a fonune," yet what could any·
one draw in line Ihat would look li ke waler' "You
,,'eren'l jusl drawing the creSt of a wave, you were
moving the highlighls and shadows and an the color
iooications that were so important \0 lhe animal ion ,...
If it was a large body of water. the animator had to
Ihink in temlS of the mass, the perspeclive. lhe depth,
the movemenl of ii, all going back into space. And he
had to be careful thai he did not have everylhing mov·
ing Ihe sante amoont and at the same speed. which
wO\Ild gi"e a t)'pe of rhythm 10 lhe aclion Ihal would
kill any feeling of realism, Ed Aanlal was one of those
"'ho had a special affinily for large water aClion, which
he allribuled 10 his year spent on a fishing bo<Jt off
Alaska . "When you lived all Ihal slUff." he com-
mented. ")'ou kind of memori"" ii-YOU gol Ihe feel
of il."
One animator admitted Ihat he had tried 10 fake his
","IS""I handling of Ihe water in a !'Cene instead of taking the
i/m;(JIl
lime and dfon to study real water and make il righl.
"oCin'
-, The ",\ri: was crilici7.ed immedialely. and a """"" expe-
IS ..... r~ rienced man was caned in to take it o,'cr. Nothing but
-,'
""'"8 a
the highe>l qualily was accepted. and although water
bl~s '0 was the mosl difficull effc<:llo do, and lhe moSI e~pen.
sive. mOSI of the men in the depanment felt that the
audie"'" remembered impressive !'Cenes of good ~ltI
animal ion longer Ihan any olher effect.
It 1"'" nOi only a malier of repre .."ting MUICt-
each film had its own design concepl. and lhe (Im,"'I
of the effects had to comply. Someone woold U)maI)
different wayi of depicting whatever it might be-
water. snlOke, frost. or sheen--searching fOl a "-3)-01
drawing Ihal was compatible with the Style but !iii
allowed the necessary frttdom of movemenl. H. WOIIIiI
Iry complicated groupings of colors and patche., niP.
lights and sparkles, drybrush. airbrush. any effeellhl
pictorially would be convincing and exciting. Donrc
tile period Ihal Josh Meador was in charge of fie
department. he was a wur«, of many sugg.-.
si"", he had such a feel for design and fomt aOO em
The experimental sketches were .ho"-n to !be de-
lor and his crew> and decisions were made allo .. hidt
design was best for this particular job, Often I Ito
color leSIS were shot to be .ure of the results bdM
embaning on the e~pcnse of animaling an elabont
concOClion. Josh would brnk dow" the "I."",mol
his sketch. figuring whal lhe animalors "wid do .•1tI
should be added by the inkers and paintors. and.iIII
would be done by Ihe cameraman with ex~1III
spcciallcnses_ It was often difficult for the an,mau.
visualize how his limited ponion could p<.>S5ttlly 1'1"
duce the exciting drama that had be<:n de>eriixd
Wall had SCI lhe siandard. and that way of ~
Ihings persists to this day: il muSt be lhe "el)" bell ~
can do; and, ,f properly prodded. you can al"~)1"
far beller than you think you can. Duong lhe_
of Pinocchio, lhe animalors were experirnenunl'"
various ways of handling bubbles, trying 10 gel_
thing on the !'Creen Ihat looked wet and shiny, 1\c)
carefully animated the circular forms. keeping lin
rubbery and fragile, wilh changing .shapes: bullllOlloi
their effon went into the choice of inks, of culm.
highlights, and lhe loxhniques thai woold milk. da
circles look like real bubbles. The 3nimaloo f.....
shot an assonment of e~perimenlS in coIol" and.
them for Walt so he could choose ",hal he ""lrltOO III
surprised Ihem all by commenting oot on the lines.
colors. bulthc qualily of the animation_ "Ilikeda
---Ihe OIhers look tOO heavy. The bubbles shouldll
full of air." Who else would even notice if ....
mated bubble looked heavy?
 ....'... mr N""" F"r~MM
- Alpine a/mba>.
Plw,,, /ws bUN r~s"w,d
from a s_.J,ift by ~ $,.
8",,,,,d " 'ish ~ braN/y
"Dlk. Wo,,,,,d lirro"8h .
I'/",,, 's r,,~ is ""'" ;n',,·
"'/1I,d by" "iol.m Iri<xwp.
srAllYl' (No.'I'AGE 199
•
r~ ..ory su,,1r Iwlow of
,Jr, 'itrrm.nj"l Ty , a nn<)•
... ,"'" Ru 'n "Ru. of
Sp,i"," .""uu !o,t.d
1i,1t1"1"~ <I ... b«tJrap.
,
Ali' .......
C",I""" (Joct) Bayd-
"Ru,ofS",m,," Fanwia

,, l),gM',nNJ ir"", ,h. sun,

"n;m(l/rd show It"w rir,

,
IU
"I'"'I1CI</<I' fl<lJhinK '!fec,
".", a"hi"',d . MUrmll'
f'"'"''' of blad a"" "'hi,.
d""bl" uposrd (J"U ,Jr,
( d'''''',n,s , ..."' ,Jr. sIr,,,,·
",,,in,. ,uml.,., 10M. of
•< ,,,,,'Iirlt,,,,,., •
Spec ial Effec ts
Pinocch,o is ~wimming madly 10 e:<cape the pot.<III
cha.ge of MUn,tm tM " hak . lIe is ~UfJOllndedll) ~
a ll da.hing for Iheir Ii ...."". He finall) brt~j 10 I:I!
.urfocc and app;trcnt freedo,n. but lhe mon'olnllll
n)C, from lhe deplh •• and III, huge .1"""'cklit. •
heavy sound on all ,,110 had med loelude hliD ••
C~Clung rnorncnl- lhe audience ohoukl (ocl *
$;00. lhe susre""". lhe desperalion of lhe"_
Iry,ng 10 (:<care.
The nnllnatlon of Pinocchlo is gOCld and <iox-;(\ICfI
whal i~ nceded for Iho.", ."'encs. The: r"h Iff . .
animated and the cff':':I' of bubbles and !.IftJlJ.
spccdhn.es all g"·c lhe impro:.slOI1 of grtl! C"ffMIIII
speed RUI SOIllClhmg more is I\eNed II dot; ..
Iha! neh lool. of a fir:u...,lass ,IIU$lraIlOl1 II dim
,,·ay 10 gel a waleI)' effecl here·' Afler .1. "'~"I
 way down tht-rc: and oughl lO look di ff~n:nl . And .",hal
abllul Monslro? 110 .... un ""' make him look huge?Of
course we need the Oilier char.oclers to be ",ocll smaller
to give the proper ~alc. but how about :some sllading
on the whale? One cont inuous lone over his entire
bult will ~'·cr gi,.., (h, illus;on of volume: . WIIal will
take i\ oul of the Ihin. flal world of the line drawing.
and get it inlo the depth ~nd dimensions of the shaded
df'~wjng and the painting?
To gellhc WlIlCl)' effect . a panel of glau ,,'as ground
wilh (he same Iy~ of ripple found in low-grade win-
, dow glass. When Ihis panel " 'as placed over the "cels U.,..CTSA1o'I,.,roll
u!\de, [he camera ~nd pull~~ slowly th rough It.. scene. G~",,~ R"~'I<'1'­
Pinoc<:hio.
lhe images ilenealh it .... rithed and " ';lUIled jusl as
~IS do when rdlected in I lake or C$fJ"Ciall y when S"",/J /l1l"'~6 g~~~'"l1y
secn uOOcr Water. haw II mold. uMdu/II',"S
IffJ""~. bad a~d forth,
Fo r 1m. tiny figures in long shots (fijures 100 small ~ "",bi~J ~'j,h II .Iigh, "p
10 be drawn XClIl'lue!y or painIW) . wlbholf n:lief cc:ls ",.J dQoo'll .... , ..... .
could be used since this permincd normal-size c harac-
ters to he rrouced 10 very s""tli si7.c. or blown up
large. as " 'ell as reposilioned or even made Inlo mul1i ·
pic prints .
To ~llhe sllading on Momiro. sorroeone devised I
"frosted" cellrealed 10 ereale a 100tli on lhe surface
Ihal would la~c ""ncil. paslel. chal~ or crayon . wilh
~mearor s mudge orcareful shading . alICe lhe drawing w's~ jllJI1It'S N"'t'IIM ~1IIb·
was compkled in full cok>r-il was really ~ of I O.aU (><lIIUlt of dONI~1
~I. r.rll. pan.lwfill:.
IUlured JliIinling- a special procedure cleared lho: cc:1
Iltloffmtd nurkd "p . ........
10 ils normal lransparency wilh lhe ani.!l·s origi nal M"ro "'ilh violnl tl(',i...ry
work ready 10 go under Ihe Camera. Now artisls could "'ilhilt Ih .. Ih~MS.
wed: in lhe colors lhey wanted and lhe sllading lhey
nttded 10 uplon: new dimensions in visual effects .
1llc men ... ho wI~ thesoe problems .... ere tho: skilled
crnfUi men of diverse backgr/)\lnds who had \:Ittn thrown
IOgether in the calChall deparlme nt. Special Effecls,
W.lt aJ"'ays Iud bttn skeptical of theory and phi kJso.
phy. preferring 10 have practical anisans around him
who could get right down to work .... ith their ha,,,;IJ.
For some reason. he had a dislrust of engineers lIS men
... ho designed primarily for thc~lvc$ without regard
for the inlended U$C o r the product and he refused 10 1M _gft"wl< of W [or.
have anyone on lhe: slaff wilh the lille. ··Engineer.·· ~"fi'~ in Bambi " .., "",.
There were unly three categories for a lechnician: "~y~(1 b,,, b~ ",O>'i"S "
c~m~"·". sou nd . or special effects. Bill McFadden had
di<l"rr;"" ,Iau 0 ... , Q

dTlIIftlllic p"i~"It,. " up'"

a degree in acronaulical engineering. which Ilad nuth·
ing 10 do with e ither ( amen or sound. so obviously he
'III~ 1""''''''
fl«liolu
MHd[or ff·
ilt 1M ...., .... .
""'~laU'l
~ Q ,.,.It".
otJdtl{dtr
B lmb; AI
"'I>QI,~~'

,
l~"''' 't·

lplm J" .
......11.
i. f7lw" "P'
,;.,~'" '"

had {o Ix in ~p"~1 df<"<1s. lloog ",nb lilt

makers. Iheamca1 craflsmen. plImlm. n~l"nllt\. (a
r<' nlcrs. a nd Ilk: odu'r individual. lrallled In
fc'~;()n Ihal ,,'a, "eve' ""<;"~',.~:""':::,",::::::;~I'.::I
mCn In Ihl~ cool!lomcrale I)

flo: dOIng nrxi Of /10 .. n mlghl ",laIC.' ~Ilhu ID

lralnlng Of Iflo: 1••1JOb lhey

nll ghl b.:: ask~d 10 find a way
'7.':':":':',:::::,:.:1
~. Of build a "hole ... " camera. or. pm of r...
lUre.. des,gn. tIl"khng. Of siring oc;Ws 00 bIld
I<J re.~"'nI >taB In lhe firma .... nl Few pt<>pr il fir
SIOOIO knew" /10 lheoc n""n well' Of ,,'''''1 the)' <kI . ..
c,"cr)"one SlIW Ihal ~ma/,"g >ceoc. were. apptJll,, _
lhe 5Creen. As one employee saId. "You C",,'I ""In
how m~ny prortlc II la~e. 10 do "'-'""I'lh,ng hk...
Rill Gamy. an u!X'n 00 "'a.....-:ll krues ....
rIill head of lhe lkpann""m. bul Will ,.."OItt!j ••
nell man on an .nd",dual baSIS. ISklllgquWlOIIS _
Ihan as,ign. ng J"b~ . A~ one of Ilk:," s;lId. ··Tht *
'1ues1.ons Wall a s~cd nlO>l were. 'Can you do _,. III
'What can )"ou do here? '" "J'"hc:y ,,'e", calk<!
5"'C~lboxes and SIOf)' Intttings and ofIC"ll)W WI
Igredients of a Scene

,
J r
/ •
r_

V
r
,
-
- - - -,
~
,
,,,
,
~"

- • ~ Gel>t,.."1> "nd Pin()("fitio Iry

r {I> 11",/0 Iheir raj' imo the
~. ocean ~'h.n MOIt.,'I' ,h.

tit '" ,~ .
-
...hal. ~ns his ""'WI/o 10
snu" . Th. SCt"t /a>l,

"""
.____________________ ~!
bar"',. flJU' '<,<,ond, on t~
S,"m and .hows ,"" ,,,,,,,, _
ing COJtNpl of ..'10m mad.
F a good-looking pic/" .. for
Ihis pia,. in the film, T""
.eparau poT/S o'r:
.... . Mons/r,,'s ",,10 aM
u~r ja ....
8 . Seagull. in di""""•.
C. W",... aClion on dis-
lOn/ .......an .
D, WMN running inlo
'M"th .
E. Th, ra/I,
G H F. Wale' spla,h., ",."
'lor IUlh, ra/r, and

G. PinOC('hio and erp-

P"'''
pushing 1M rot,.
H. Tlte ki",,, Figaro.
N 01 ,hoM'n: J""bI•• txp;>nd

=:----D smole jill,d ,,,.. lop half of

Ihe s,tnt .jrom ,"" /ir"liul
Pinocrhi(} s/anM.

The "<ira/I'" ojrht pklur.

Tt'COTds ."d. SCt"t by n,,/II-
brr. drscrip,ilHl, mul/oo/.
ag •. OJ .",1/ os ...lto ""i·
mal,d il. Srquenc. No_
10.7 aJ P;"""chi" slt",,·s
Su"e I a, 6[,,14 [,a/llu
and d'a"'lf by six ani"",·
lorS.

>OJ

-- . . .
"
 as ~he p,tCU of an ,dca stlned ~o come ~ogelher, \\" ah
,,'oold SIan calling in lhe men "ho m' ghl do lhe ,,-ork,
CUT}"nl II \0 I mort ad,'anced sialic ,. He~. Ict" S gCI
Joe In ~and "bo 's IMllmk fello .... ho bu,1t Ihal
Itllns for us? You \( """,' , Iha! lur from camer;) ; gel
him In he..." 100, An.d see ,f you can gel a mus;clan.
100: (hese liuy~ will havc to ,,'o.k logcther," Camer;) '
man. c~nltr, styllsl. colorist. (cchnictan , anist -
Ihey formed turn s n needed. " ';Ih no money for
upenses, no lime 10 n:suKh. only ,he" o"n in\"tn·
u"e mmds and Wall 's enlllUSlism 10 gUIde lhem
Once the y ,,'e.e asked 10 buIld an amngernenl tlla!
could hold $CpMlte la~'cn of an"'ork al "If)'1ng d,S'
tanCes from a still camera. so Ihat the ensum, p/loIo·
graph would h,,'e lhe appearance of dept h It " -as bUIll
of " 'ood and glue and lape- lS BIll .\kFado;kn uld,
" Yau couldn' l build anYlhmi Wllho ullape , y 'kno" , ..
But 11 " 'o. ked and Wah lI ked the .esull and suddenl)'
" '1\ talk,na about buildmg IIloche. one. larger Ind
more complicaled , th .. mlilhl be used for shoollnil
,,,,malion TIus " 'as more of I problem and called for
enlllleenni k""",'lcdlc, bul on lhe r«ords II " 'as buIlt
b)' Specoal Effects: And SO lhe firsl muillplane camel"1l
" '11 born .
Foor years Ialer Ihe men " 'e.t 11111 " 'ortlnl ,,',(h
lipe and glut , bUI no'" Ihey " 'c re creallng nquI slle,
delicale scenes for Ihe films FaMuw<I ,,-as a pamcu1a,
cllaJlenlc 10 !heir c...,ati~c mln.ds. "nh all of liS unpre·
cccknled effee,, _ To leI ,,-raith! rising f.om lhe gra,'cs
in !he fin! sce ne of " :-" Ighl On Bald .\ IOIIn\4l,n:· lhe)'
ck~t:>cd. method of ",n«lIng the an"'OTk 01110 a p!«C
of benl lin. much like lhe mlmm In a fun house It
11,'e an ee rie effecl. bU110 .vold OIher renecll ons tKh
THE HORIZONTAL MU lTiPlANE CR ANE
II'/( AC TIOI'! c.roo "'-((ISM,
~.-, n ~ ~ ~
I' '1l10 • -'U lI'UI lR€ ' OM""-!
u.yo~ 1 \" '1 lUI TW£l DO NOT !lib
~~ ~
• prIX.-
",,,,,tI
rrppl.J
V N)'P'
fnme had 10 be a Ihree·mmute Ilme·nposure "ob'"
room eompletel~ da.k Wllh 1M lime needN wMilt
alllhe mQ\eS an.d dunges be(a« lhe ne\l fl"1llllt
be ~. lhe men ba .... ~ could do 16 f"'lIlts an hoor
ThaI " -as only one fOOl of filnl, and somt of!ht >CfIft
" 'ere o'er ! O feel long'
S'lilng Ihere In the dark . hour afte, hour, the) n..w
nOl keep from noddmg. but ~omeone In the Ihru'l!III
c. e" a l" aI's manag..d 10 keep Ihlng' ~o,"g h) s.n, ...
001 Ihe hour or 1M fOOlagc Of the ne~t lnO'e to bf
made One of them ...,membfred after an all·nlp.t ltl-
SlOIllhat he had heard, ··Th.« o'clock," and a bIiIr
Ille., " Four o'cloc k ." ooe t~llhe ne~1 numb.! ...
"S'x o'clock '" Whll had hapPened w fi'e u'
No one kne,,· II first. bul j!rogg~ cOIIfe »1Qn\ rt,~aW
Ihal all Ih",e men had fallen asleep II lhe !oamt I.-
and SlePI for nearly IWO hours befo •• 'Oint In .., aI.,.
a,,'ake ned them
Earl) In Ihls C1 hau!Un~ schedule the final pial
"'eu maok for ShoollngtM la~1 \Ccne In lhe pIC1urt •
,,·.s the endln~ shol of lhe "A'e .\lMJ.I '" '<,..~
"h,ch had run 1010 st"cnl del,,~ s. PUIUIlI ~ fif ""I
on lhe SChedule The.e had bun man) r.u~~" ... 1ar
lhe content of th" ""CII! !o<: .. nc, rangIng from !WId
a lass " lndows 10 lo ,,'cflng cloud fo.mallunl till
S)'mboli~ed inner f«hnl~ of il"'lt magmu><k BUi ll"
declo:lcd on a Ioog. conllnuOllS s<:ene, nearl)' no
f«t.
lenglh, Ihal ,,-auld "aJ'I " '''h an Impn-.s1Qn of tho: _
nOf o f a largc GothIC "Ihedral From lhert. tho: c.-
era ,,-ould nK)'-C slo" I) and Sltad,l) Ihroullh tho:
III In,cnor "'hlle a shaf, of hghl d'lsol,'w '".
KrosS the Image 1"tH.n a ,'emeal !JIaft of h~ht ..0111
spn-ad as gl,nt door~ oper>c:d on a fantas) " OO'idl"
Marra "
.Ioo~ 100-0-
t~r K"rr~ t>
-.
• <la_1I. Jiving a spiritual feeling for the end of the
~
1\t 1op«ia1 effects men looked at each OIher . No
Ihty had could move that dO"'ly and continuo
wsI)'-"hy. it would have to bI' 40 or 50 f«t al:>ove
Ik drt"ings. Maybl' the camera could move horizon·
tally. but c,'en if il were put <m $(I"'" kind of linle
~ and !lIO'o'ed Iloog a track. a crew could ne'"er
III i III prttiKly ~ same place a second time 10
.at !he diiiOl"n Walt menlioned . And evcn if they
wert lhIe 10 calibrate the camera mo'"eS $(Ime way.
k an.'Or\ would ha"e to bI' on pane5 of glass at
least IbM or foor f«t wide. and mounted on some
bid ohund, and tho6e stands would haYe to bI' move-
1blt.1OO. It was out of the queSlion. il could n!M be
. . HoIo· ..."OUld ~y e'"er conuol the light ....·hat
bid of room "wId they lei. and ""QUId it no! bI'
lIIf'OUible 10 do away with the reflections off the
,ws! 1"hm was juSt no way that this cou ld bI' done.
apoaally in !be few remaining ""«h bl'fore the dead-
'- for die picture.
So Walt had ~ cllpCnten knock the seats out of
k cud of the SOtInd $l.3.ge (which was at leIS{ 4.5 feet
_I, II!\It down the recordinl senioru, and he told
8m! 10 iO ahead! A couple of cameramen. 1"'0 or
au (alPC'nttrs. twO inYenlOfS, and an an ist. and the
pt.,:t "':as begun. A panilion was built across the end
If .. $(J.IIU mge. and behind il stnnge things began
DIjIpC_. A ~iaJ $l.3.nd mounted on rubber ""heels
. . bui~ for the camera. and on the side, poinling
f'cidIylOthe floor. wu. metal pointer. On I ""ODden
tail naikd 10 lhe floor tiny numbers were marked in
IIlIdt and red and blue pencil. I II cardully melsured
from one end of the 5!age to the OIher. Set astride !lie
camera track and the marked rail were l~ stands
holding IWlCS of glass with lUTpOsingly litlle color
painted on ~m . Most of the dfect would be in the
lighling and (he camera exposures . Tooay it woold be
called a "Micke y Mouse" contrivance. but everything
seemed 10 ""Qrk , to be sturdy, and 10 offer the neces-
sary cootrol . TIle tape would certainly hold for one
lime Ihn.>ugh: as ""ith """,t of the $Iudio se"I-ups. this
.... as never e~pec~ed to be used again .
W ith barely three we..ks len before the deadline and
only days after (hose men had fallen as leep filming the
spirits rising from the ground. Ihc: crew suoned to shoot
this last S(:ene . With e"eryone can:fully checking and
rechecking_ each man made his moves as the lead
carn.en.man read from the dabonle e~posure sheet
and the camen inehcd its ...·ay across the stage . The
Crew who had built the set-up stayed on to do the
shooting. eyen lhe carpenters . Since lhey knew how it
was supposed to woO;. it was assumed that if tny!hini
wem .... rong they could fi~ it morequickly than anyone.
On thai crew "'·u a )"OUngand eager Bob BroughlOl'l.
""ho would contribu~ his talenl$lO the Special Eff«lS
IXpan~nt for another 40 years . They §hoi; nights and
they shot days. and the only time they had I break was
the One night of the ...·eek Walt played badminton on
the stage from 7:00 to 10:00 in lhe evening.
It tool< JUSt over si~ days to t.hoot it In, and Ihc: men
fell into bed ""hile the film was being processed at the
lab. The next da,y I "ery anxious group assembled 10
s« how this won<lerofwonders looked on film. It was
beautiful ! There was nol ajerk or wobble in the whok
thing. but there was a major diffICulty . In one: of those FIIIIlSia
unfalhomablc vag~ric, of tho: human mind, $OIDWIlC
had put tho: " -rong lens on the camera; $0 in addition 10
lhe magnifl«nt an,,·OO. lhe camera had recorded the
Stano», the track. and c>"cn lho: busy ,,·Oftcn; running
around during the w«k of ~hOOling!
II had 10 be done over. The deadline waS now only
days aw~y, Dul Ihi~ was 001 the deadline for Camera
"'ork, or r~ the lab. Of fOf the ~nswer prinl , This was
tho pn-miffl: sIIo"';ng of the picture ;n New York ! No
pitlure c\'Cr had been premiered with lhe 1.,;\ 200 fcci
mining. The filming had 10 be perfect this timc . The
CftW shol for three days and nights. stopping ror a
brief reSI during lhe badminton games-then back 10
the f'gufts On lhe floor and lhe carefullllQ'·c S. All was
goilli " 'cll, (off« was k«ping lhe CIl'W awake. and a
qu;"1 detem1ination had stilled OVCr lhe " 'hole process
when suddenly. late in lhe e"ening ofthatlhird day,
lhere ,,'U an canhquakc! Not a hig, shattering one, bul
a rolling, shaking mOVC",.,1l1 Ihal fro,., Ihe mCn in
lhei. l.ilCks. Rockinlcl and vibrating before lhem was
the line of wooden Stands holding lhe glas, I"'nes! The
mcn held their bn:alh. bul;1 was ovcr as :wdI.Icnly as il
had begun . No glu5 "'as broken. ooth;ng was off ;IS
marlt, lho: lrack sc-cmed intac1 and straighl. bul 110,,·
could they be sure? If they ,,'enl ahead and compleled
lhe scene and il lumed out to have ajump or ajerk o. a
fal>e movc , it would be ruined and lho:re ",ould oot be
enough time 10 reshoot it before opening ni,ht. If they
5Iartcd all ovcr a,ain. lhey Nll'ly would ha'''' lime 10
fin~ il before Ihat imponall1 date . What iflhell' ,,'Cre
a t\clay for any reasoo? Was that CUlling it tOO Ihin?
This was a big decision- for SOmeone d>e to mah.
The Crew went hom", to bed .
The next morning lile del"'rtrTlo!ll1 heads decided il
would be bener 10 cha....,e aoother ~anhqllakc. fire, ~
flood and go for a lake lhey could be sore of; sounce
Ipin lhe cre,,· rolled lhe camen. back to the slan;ng
mart. checked the lens. pol in new film. and staned
one la'll lime. Wah cancelled his badminton arid barred
cvcryone from going on Ihal stagc_
Wilh only one day to spare. lile Crew finis hed
shooting and rushed lhe film 10 lhe tab. n..re were 00
di_~ on the stag<: ~ al the lab. and the men had
done I peffectjob. While lhey look a ,,'eek 's vacation,
someone else jumped on a plane for New York with
the precious film under hi s a.m . arriv ing in the afte.·
0000 ,,-ith a good four hours to ~ pare ! It
01110 lhe ",nd of lhe picllll'C and that is the
",n nighl afler ni,hl il
lhe ,,'hole la" reeL '
Why did these men work SO
cagerly? Why did all)' of us become >0 t.
unquestioning, SO tlclem,inrd?
young aOli lhal the " 'ork WaS it;
menl sccmed impossible al lhe slart: let a "'TJ
found 10 do ii , and to do il SO ,,'CI1I""t the
was a,,'ed by the results . The I
Ihrough barri~"lo new frontiers waS II10re than
us could resi st.
Orville and Wilbur Wright ."~",""' ",~r••
Kilty Ih"k thai lhey ,,'CI'C be'ng eaten ali,.., by
sand fleas, .mliled by lhe bIo:ra"'I
Ihat got i t
cold wiOll., t i ; 'to read thei'
ureS wilh i!Ultlcqu31e r tin lhe . i
SO exdlcd abou t what Ihey were doing.
by the liny successes of each day lilal the)' fell
kids again and could hartlly wail r~ the
that ,,-uukl bring them it'
~vcry in\'entor has the cha"l'C' 10
lion, fOf o ften in spir~tillO end, up i •
compromise and d",d,ery . Fortunate are those
ha\'c known lhe e Xhiiaral ion o f the crcat; \·c prott>J-
With tile bo:ginning of the s.:cond World w;sr.
this camc 10 In cnd . Our highly lrained and
mt'n " -cre dra,,-n i I
skills were"",", urg",nlly nee<.k:d , Only
younger nll:n relurned to the fabled
Del"'nment, but the "'ork was different.
was calling for experimentation. bul in efroc;"1II !I'd-
ods rather than in nrw fidoJs.
By Ihattimc: , Ub I"'crko had returned 'i ,
Iype of creali\'e ;n"emion. It had been barely I
years si"l'C' he " 'as known U lhe ,reatesl anim;l1Q1-
Ihe "'orld, yet now he had given up drawing to
centnll. on his in"entions, finding """"
proc:cS!>cs, building new devices. crcating
effects . Pan of his genius ,,-as his Ibilil)' 1
10 the hean of the problem when something
""Of king. Whe,.., others lried 10 fix the fai!ing pan.
insl;nrlivdy went right to the thing causing lhe prte.
le m . Where "'hers looked for a way to gCI lhe
Ikn:. Ub found a way 10 maxe il into ""mclhing bel-
'". II< underslood cameras, projeclors. lenses. cds.
palM. and film, yel he al", undCn;loOO Ihe "nisI's
difflCull;'s. the ing.rcdienlS of a qualily proc.lUCI. and.
_ of all. Wall' s dreams .
The Spedal Effects Department became more
IOphllliralM. repiacin); hapha"ard laclics wilh orderly
flOC<dures_ InSlead of Ihe contraptions bui II with tape
iII.uch a casual maooer. the new devices were built to
M)r\; and 10 I." . A machine . hop was ",semhled !O
..u f)f«ision instruments and intricate mt.'Chan ;sms
. . ~<lUkI a,Sure ",pealed qualilY in the visual effecls .
no: mon in the Jcparlmcnt bc<:ame SOm'" of the mo"
IipIly skilled in 1101ly"'oOO and occasionally were
lent QUI 10 ",her siudios whcn "cry s pecial effect' were

""'The" unforeseen and enormou.< prohlen" of Disney-

1IId;md Walt Disney World drew lJb away from the
film ~'orI;. and Eustace Lycell look over Ihe depart·
..... Eu>lace waS one of the " kids" from Ihe carliest
~l.;md together with Arl Cruickshank and the rest of
am... coold handle any problem tossed 10 them . Sca-
1IIkd. e<perieoced, c realive . lheir ,kills were oeeded
...... oftcn on lhe live action pictures Ihan on lhe
~tf"lIy budgeted .nimalion fcalUres. For Th .. mack
Holt. IOCY had 10 Ihink up the answers before anyolle
nlqu ile awaJ'C Ihere would be a problem_ They koew
kft "wid h..'e to be a device Ihat could hold a
-..Jel spaceship .nd move it in e"ery flO"ihl.., man-
lei In il(\dition. lhey would h"'e to haye a camcr~ on
IIlounllhal could make any move 1<> match . and lhe
"'* ~wld have to be ~-oordinal~-d by so",,, meehan·
icaI IMllennind . They S"I around in a circle. di s·
aMing, first. what lhey would have 10 have; second .
.tIIItrpe of Ihing would do it; and. Ihird. how soch a
til, coold be buill . Thi s approach was reminiscenl of
m¥ing the homemade contraption for 1he lasl shOi in
' <lllkUu.. bot lbe results were dramatically different.
1W .... n dev~I"P"d ,;omclhiTlg so intricale and com ·
pIic-aIe<l. )'tl SO simple in appearance and operation.
*- ~~"" 10 be a highly sophistiealed rot>ot- which
is ju\l what il is. allhough they prefer 10 call il a
"C\lIIlfM.llcri1.td c. mer~ , " As long a< these men can
""'" up "'ilh answen; before we reali7-c 1here is a
~i()II . tlx- film, will continue 10 combine fantJSy
.d believability in a "ery real way.
 Color
Before 19J2. the only fuil color canoon, an)'""" had
eyer se<:n were in the Sunday nc ....·spaper comics. SO it
wa~ only natural that ..... hen Ihe first animated cortOlllS
appeared at the lah •. the tcchnicians tried to II'\3tcb
their harsh and gaudy and brilliant rolon . Wilen Ihe
original an material waS sent over to show tile deliraIC
gradations that had been SO urefully painted. the: ltx·
tion was still. "Why do)'ou ..... antthat? This bas!OOlt
punch and sock to it'" Gradually their .!litude: changtd.
but somehow the film did n01. For yea .. Wal t battled
wi th Technicolor 10 get them to give him tile elXl
colors his anists had painted . until everyone boe~ 10
reali7.c that it ..... al the oolor system in the film i~ff
that waS tOO erode to control 10 such a fine de~.
It .....orked quite ....·dl for ail tile hues in a middle
value. but once the colors s!lIned gelling 10 tile ligtwer
shades they bleache<l out quickly Teeth that WClt sup-
posed to t>e merely clean t>ecame SO chal ky tlleyflirly
leaped out of the mouths. whites of eyes glartd likl
headlights. soft foam on water looked like piles d
popcorn And on the O1her side of the ""ale. an)w..
slightly dark weill almost black .
'/.oJ)' in
To get. crc.m·colored dress or a soft bluebird ....
nOl casy. and a black dog. li ke the StOlty in Lodj' aN
Ih~ Tr<lmp. was alnlost impossible . If he were paiRlCd
darker than a medium value. he ....."111 too dart ta Kf
",""S ...
any del.il or facial expression. Careful shades of grt)'
I~""nn
'.Jt~'ItoI~ had to be selec ted. and the feeling of a black dog came
11<" 1M from painting the backgrounds very light behioo him
;,n oti.mi b'ery color sy"lem on film has ils own stltngda
,~~~. jot·
and .....eaknesses thai somehow mu,l be ma.>tcrtd II)
the craftsman ..... ho want< to put his color theories (11
the screen. It is oft~n an annoying and ffU\trating gam-
ble but il is wonh the effon if one is .1 all concerMd
wilh the appearnnee of the produce T . Hee. brill. .
caricaWris1. $lylist, and director. claims that. "Colo!
i$ equally imponam to the drawing itseIL " It sUppMI
lhe whole idea being presented. cenainly. aoo il_
troi s lhe mood completely. leading the auditnct a
surely a. the mu sic tr~ek from one feeling tQ the .m.
More lhan that. colors hav" lheir own vilali1 y. mat..
characters as weI! as si1uatiOfls exciting, restful.l\appy,
Or ev"n funny.
 1b. delil>C"lion of any personality almost stan. ,",';(h
. C()Sluming has been an essential pan of the
:;:::::~'i!~~~";~:;~:
slightly less understood
impact and poIenli.l of lhe rolors them -
· Hee is more sensili,'. (han rl>OSl when he
"On50meof llte caricatures. . [would make
""" face ,'''''n. because of his character. . he
'( look good in any OIher color. And olher
make their fa~s completely red. and
f",os "'ere no! red . Red is vibr~lions and
il "ibrations and ~II Of;1 is elecl,ic and iI' s alive
if you'"" around a pcrson for a linle while . . he
or be does no1. Relative values can be learned.
approach always will remain. making
onhodo~ or sensa!ional. dark and mystic Of
· realislie or abslracl. no maUCr how ....·ell he
leams!O pOI colors togelher . This is a conSlanl
:
:';:~"~ producer who wanlS a special feel to his
if he has a dozen color stylists and back-
paimers. seldom will any be exactly right for
, There must be conferences. crit-
and to oblain a
i ilit idea and graphic
will ha\'e the responsibility for
IIQI only a cnlor ~ey for the whole picture. but
of til.! characters in tbe various
direetor aJ,,'.YS may have visualized
in a pink gown. but if pin k does nOl fit the
1Ct.eme being suggest~-d, he had bener be pre_
change his concept. perhaps radically . The
1 "Nutcrac ker Suite" or tbe quaint
tt '. house only can evolve as the
"m together perfectly. The background man
... ill have complete authority in this area. since
is fully .uccessful when one function has dom-
t a balance is maintaiMd . the direc-
· layout man "',ork do",ly with tbe painter
producer watches the results carefully.
1irtt~r oelp comes from the Color Model supervi-
~ ~~:f.~~:~:~~~:r"j~f'~
Ink and Paint Department well.
ability to qualify for
is easy to do and woat is difficult and time
how much any prOCI'SS will
cme what colors are available. and even " 'hich ones
are stable or cause problems_ In addition. she is 3 fine
anist and has a good color sense, She knows how
much tbe thickness of a cel wi!! darken a color and
"'hat to mix to compensate for tl>e loss. To tbe un·
initiated, the list seems endless.
As one of the women put it. "You had to know
e"ery other aspect of the business to do your own
wor~ . and be creative about it. . . We're like a liai ·
son between all the departments,'"
Finding a set of colors that will work with the gen·
eral scheme. the specific bac kground. and the needs of
the character is only the beginning of the problems tbe
Color Model expert faces. All of the earlier work has
been done on paper with a variety of techniques. and
now a way mUSt be found to achieve an equivalem
effect in flat shades of tempera paim within outlines
on a cel. Handsome. appealing characters li ke Jiminy
Cricket or Thumper look so right that the average
person has great difficulty in imagining their being
any other way. but tbey all took imagination. dedica·
tion. and persi~tence.
One small example is the expense that will be
incurred in putting any character on the SCreen, To
begin with. each color represents an expense in itself
by the time it is mixed, put in small jars. dispensed to
the painter. PUt in the exact area On the eel. and then
allowed to dry. Each use of color adds an additional
expense. so the Color Model advisor speaks up early
when she sees a bit of questionable detail on the ani_
mator's drawings . That item will have to be drawn
many times. have a color selected. be painted on hun_
dreds of eels. and. finally. chec ked carefully . We were
told. "Each button COStS ten thousand dollars!" and
....1: became vcry selective in our decorative additions
to the characters. The question is constantly asked.
"Is it worth it?" "Do we really necd that exira but_
ton?" " How about the buckle on tbe belt--docs it
really need three colors?"
Jiminy Cricket had 27 colors in Pinocchio, but "'ben
he appeared later in the Mid..y MouS<' Club films that
number was CUt to nine, Almost any character will
h.ve that many colors. no matter how simple he is.
There are always lots of little places to paint> such u
inside the mouth. the eyelids. the bonom of the feet: a
person docs IIOt ordinarily think of these as having a
diff.",m color. )'1'1 il i~ needed for definition
E'-cl)'oJ>e k llQw, if the character is a drab liule guy,
• flamboyant extrovert. a deceitful villain. a SWeet
IJIO(hcrly type. but the selection of the eHct colors
!hal go logCtller 10 CrealI' this appearance is a mauerof
ptrW1131 JIIl'ference. The beueT the I~SIC and judgmem
rJ the c(llor ,noo.kl experts. the more handsome the
\'lIarXlOr will be. These chalicnJ;es are compounded
by ttlt fact thai <01()fS thaI appear right in a daylight
lC!Iing become garish against a nighnime background.
Olkn. different se1 of colon; will ha,'e to be chosen
r.:.!he night scene. or for some O1her unusual sequence
II'iIh a ,peciallighling or mood. And the problem does
101 SlOp lhere .
l! is DOl .oougll (0 choose colors for one character
111M IIIill wor~ Ihroughnullhe whole film. H is colors
ibomusl be related to those of all the other characters
lII¥aring with him in all the ""luc"""s; and. inevita-
bly. "'"' sh.oo and hues Ihal seem perf«1 fur one
firgurt cla:;h and Fighl wilh Ihe perfeci .;eleclions for
... <halllCler beside him . Then when Ihal annoyance is
1OI,"td. the ""xl sequence introc.luces new Figures who
lipid evcrything Ihal has been d«ided up 10 this poinl
The .. is 'Iill more. Often there will be mOre Ihan
_ cilaractcr representing a generallype of pel1'on in
... \lOry. Tltere mighl be two bad guy, ....·orking as a
1I:Im. '" three fairies who arc alway. togelher. Tlte
~Ie. of course. w~~ seven dwarfs. Seuing Ihe
cokIr n"o(lC\<ls is a difficult and lime-consuming prnce-
• . It lakes mure than one nice skelch 10 Find the
....trs.
Iftt.: picture is designed to be reali<lic. brighl col.
en on the characlers will be a problem. causing the
lrad;groond painter con'tan! headaches as he endeav.
cnlOfu the Figure> back into his painting ur maintain
UlKctssful color scheme for mood. Snow Wltile run-
.., through In.: woods in terror is a good example of
colors thai ooapltd as well 10 tlte threalening foresl as
tor had prtvioosly 10 Ihe sunny glade where she had
. . ""~ ing nowers. MUied color.; and a moderale
of hues give lhe painter far more lalitude in
::::,,,,;:,:::.pictures on the screen. A characler
: will limit the badgrounds 10 about
I'1S of oolors for the whole picture; any other
. will be muddy. 100 light. 100 colorful,
Black is a complete absence uf lighl on lhe screen
and Ihus becomes a hole ratber Ihan a color. While it
may add Kcent and sparkle to a still <.Irawing. il has a
lendency 10 suck Ihe life oul of the object when it is
projected . In SlupinK Beaa/y. the bodice of Merry·
wealher's peasant costume was black; and while il
made a brisk pallem in lhe o,"crall design. there was
an ama:>:ing los. of vilalily in the scenes in lite color
print compared 10 the rough peneil animal ion .
BIK k detail.' alo;o tend 10 blend intu lite darkcrareas
of lite backgrounds. causing them 10 lose lheir identi-
ty. The marcelled wJves of Captain Hook' s hair io
Pe/er Pan caused much consternation in the lnbet .....een
Depanmenl because lite comour could 1101 be a straighl
inbet ..... eeo oflhe lines. but had 10 be a complete draw·
ing of lite hair in a new posil ion. Ho..... ever. his hair
caused even more consternation in the final Film as il
faded into lite dark shapes in lhe background in scene
after see ... . We could have saved ourselves a 101 uf
work and money if ..... e had known that tbe oolors
behind him were going 10 be Ihal dark .
As a rohn. Pitlocrhio is undoubledly tbe mosl gor·
geousJy inlricate Ihal e,'C r will be done. f"uttJmi(J had
more imp.ressive scenes and visual surprises. but for
richness of handcr..fted detail. Pitlocchio will never be
surpassed. Walt knew Ihal be wanted a picture wilh a
greal f«ling uf atmosphere. with dimen<ion and space
in lhe backgrounds. He wanted dimension in his char·
aclers 100. wilh an emphasis on depth and roundness
in tbe actions. To aid in this. lhe Color Model advi·
sors. working wilh lite background painters. the color
experts. and a special group of effecls animators had
developed several t~hniques Ihal changed a nal area
of paint into a rounded form. TIley used a blend (hat
was rubbed on. drybrush Ihal was st ...... ed . .and air·
brush that was sprayed on.
Gradually one department after another ....·as crealed
10 controllhcse special processes. ~ airbrush depar1.
mell1 alone had over Iwenty wumen in ;1. all adroit al
controlling lite delicale spray Ihal o;oftcned harsh areas
of color. The killen Figaro had boIh airbrush and
drybrush 00 his face 10 give him (he .soft. furty look ..,
Iypical of a kiuen . Since Iltere was no way of making
(hese particular effecls e~actly the sallle way Iwice in a
row. there waS bound 10 be a n icker and a crawling
wben il was finished. but it helped lhe appea..-.. nce ~
muo.:h thai lhe decision 'us made 10 uSoe boIh te.:"h ·
mques.
l! was imperative Ihal Ihi s work be startetl early so
lhe~ would be lime to e~perimen1. This hltllthc added
ad.-antage of keeping the ,,'hole e~w ucited as they
saw new df«" being created for the piCIU~ e,'en
though lheir o,,'n part of lhe production at that time
migJIt have been minimal or rootinc. It also gave the
animators I chance to make their OWn 5UggcSIions and
enn to inoo'ponm, emergin, ideas imo their handling
of the c1l.araclCT"S . When Walt Slaned Funt(u;u. many
of ,he pictorial s uggeslions ,,'e~ so diFfcrcnl from the
SUlndard appearance o f cartoon material Ihat a special
crew of color uperu was combined " 'ilh the I«hni·
ci.lJI~ and cameramen to~ what could be done in Ihis
new direclion bef~ commining the " 'hole Studio to
the projecl ,
Typical of the new men we~ eSlabli~hed paimerl
soch as Lee 8 Iai • . Elmer Plummer. John lleneh. and
painter· teachcT Phil Dike. who was put in c harge of all
color. Everyone was encour~ged 10 experime nt in tech·
niquet, ibign. and effects . As John Hench said. " ThIlI
was one thing; if yoo wanted 10 do something Walt
v,oold let you do it." John gill inlo back,roonds. ,,-hich
soon led 10 a curios ity ahoul "'hat ha ppened in cam·
Cf1I . He had done some photography, so he tried dif·
fercnt I~ 105CC what df«IS hecould gd . This led to
three yean; in the fabled Special Effecls Depanmenl
doing everything. At one time he e""n did some effects
animal;on. His sense of design led to work at WED ,
the " Imaginecrin," subsidiary company that c~ated
Disneyland and Wall Disney World . tk later became
one of WED ', ch ief uccutives .
Walt tried these men he~ and I1e tried them lhere.
IS he found out wh:tt they coold do best; and wilh hi s
;1ICe$SlJ\\ drive 10 pia« an iooividual for t"a~imum
crcative output , he Maned them de"ciopinll his radical
ideas for a roneen featu~ film , Li ke the styli ~ts. the y
werc unhampe~d by past nperienccs on cartoons.
and .... ell: free 10 uprns an idea in the medium W I
heM ~uited !hem. without regard for how it evemually
could be duplicated on cds .
Alone meeting. Wall' ~ eye was caplivuted by a
series of wft pastel sketches 01\ black paper soo,.·;ng a
tiny fairy srnltlling dewdrops on the pllJItS at night.
Wall panicularly liked the delicate handling aoo the
1;10.... that seemed IOSUITOOOO lhe fig<=5 . and he ..-wed
boIh of those featurc. kept in the final furm. no IIWIa"
how it w~s done, To lhe a.'scmbled l,rtists. liOlJleoid
aoo some new, he said . " 1 $ay the~ arc possibilitlcs.
those backgrouoos down the~ ... ~oo wi.h ourdt-fl"
drop fairy lhere' s a cha~ for a differem trcaunm
Get away from lhe vivid 001"... aoo get a night rokr
for her. .. Our bIodgrounds should be done ,n I
fantastic ,,'.y when rcndcring lhem: iii) l oa)'. kt'l
open up and give us something thai hiu us. BOO.\I'''
When lhe meeting was 0''''' the pu1.1.1cd t~hnlC"
asked each other. "l-1ow Ihe dic kens arc we goinglO
get this thing on the KreenT' The new anistS ..-...
de~d. 100. Obviously. '''''"' painting " ' ;1.$ lOOt !lor
ans,,·er. They ,,'oold ha,'c 10 uplorc all the lechrucal
devices and ]If'OC('sses .ha. might help lhem . IS well .
think up some new things to tl)' in evcry arca. Su.d)...
the s ketches, lhey gradually f""nd ""nain c.. ~
that could be dra"'n. and others lhat "wid ha,..,
III
~Iy on what the camerl could do: the kn~, tile
fi lters . the double and triple exposurcs, Still
might be h:tndled wilh special work 01\ top oflhecm
airbruSh. oils. 5mud~s. bknds_
They u ied a fim tesl and looked al " long and hard.
"Oee-----it doeS,,'t look anythi"g li ke the ,","" " ••
liked: what do we do now?" All the eXpenS,..1 '
thoc showin,s. o ffering SUJi\CSlion$ from
limiled knowledge. and lhe materials werc
for a second try. Finall y a way waS
h:t,-.: taken lti many a> twctlly separale
the camrra . or a mask LO block out light from
neath. or. IiOft mul.iplane effect " 'ith slightly
fOCtls edges; each SCene was diFfercnl. each
inative e ~plomtion, II
original sketch in every way . ll>osc
,I"""ed and $/Iimmercd. " 'ere feminine
and worked in backgroooos of pure magic.
The " 'hile ballerina blossom Ihat floated.lO
fully down onto the placid , black water wa, i' ",,~,"
" 'hite oolline that matched the rolor of the pculs
she g ill looked 100 hanh. too ch>llky. Th;.~_
shot again wi.h a slighl diffusion that helped.
was not unl il separate exposures inlcnsifi"'] ItIt
th31 she seellled to glow " 'ith a pristine bc:ltlty.
and radiant . Elmer Plummer h.ad do" . . . "", • •
knew ,,-hat he "'amed in values. and wort.,.]
IIIMI In S"",ial Effecls unnl lhey g.... il: btll he $lil1
paUMW lhe bIockgroono.! himself 10 be su", Ihal il would
look ju~ 1br way he " 'anted il .
Elmtr explai .... d hi s posirion rhis ,,'ay : " I was a
bo.a fdt uri". and h:ld picw",s hanging all o~er lhis
roll/llry .... arercolors and oils. aoo ~II of a sudden I
"-l1ll)'~lf dOIng. "01')1 ske"h in paslel. bul done: in
IU<h I ,.... y Ih.r ir w., hard (or a guy who was nQI a
p!O-.. ho did IIQI know lhe lechnique-to pul il down
y:.
fie wno .... Wah relied on lhis u!>Compromising
insiSICIIC( On exacl values 300 relalionships 10 gel the
.... weHecls he ,,'U ~.king on ,''' ~n . The corn-
mercial anisl who mighl say. " Th al' s good enough:' ~-
would neVer h....e ,''' pc:l'$iSl.~~ or ,''' judgmenl 10 ~
kIlO"" the diHe"'~ , [1 ofren rook gn:~1 ]lCTliiSlence.
One o f the m.osl imp"'ssive KC .... S in lhal k<jucnce
is 1'" pride of 1'" harem in the Arabian Dance. the
delinre. whit~ fis h with lhe long flowing lail. sur_
•
rounded by her bevy of maids . As their black . ~mi ·
tr.lIIsparem tails enshroud her at lhe stDrt. there ill I ,•

filmy light provocativ~ly gleaminll behind this ..... t of
veils, Never h"s an object on celluloid looked so diaph-
anous ~nd delicate. When Ihis effeci finally h~d been
perfecled. il presenlcd an cnormOllsly ronlplicatNi job
for thc camcl'lIman. but Ih~1 ·..,as OOIhing 10 the shuck
he rttCh~ when the rompkted ~ne was broughl 10
him.
lbe Slack of dl'llwinp was far n~ Ihan one man
could carry-lhe scene was over 100 f«ttonll- and il
luoI:ed like a ~ mall rnounlain. for il included nul only
separale dr~wings for lhe fhh bul for all of tl>e 'par.
kles. lhe effects. the shadinll on the tails and Ille fins .
Each le~11I<kktl anulher group of drawinll". In facl.
the SC<:IIC had bttn so unusually luge that the anima-
tor. Don Lusk. and his assislams had been the subject
of Je"enl gag dnwinp showing them d ..'3lfed by lhe
~ne or buried under layers of pa"",r , The ar\JOII r>&
tU311y was I:>n*en inlo th= !o«1IC~. "h"'h lNdt,
ea.<icr 10 carry . but it ~Iill look 'u'>\ as lung 10 $IIott
The . uc«ss of these glorlUu_ ""cnc:~ "')S dDt.
large nlCdMlre to Phil Dike. the 'tUdl0'~ cob ~
nalor . lie had an mgeniou s ""lUi ,on 10 the prOOIt1o Ii
gClling a ,alhfaclory re_,ull fmm Ihe clu""e,,~
lies of lhe film being u>ed . I k a,~NI Tcchniroklr 111
prim a KCIIC as far 10 the m! , iok a~ lhey wuld (• •
lhey called " OUI of line "); then . gooually. on ~
so,'e prom • • he had them ..... ne ~k . onr ~ ill I
lilllc . 10 normal. 110en he ordered Ihc same thlllll ••
the blue . This " -ay he klli:w "hal he could tIp:<!.
what hues Were on his palellC. and could work IOda
limitalions.
These c~pcrin",nting 3ni,,. h:Kl funller d,rr""h.
wilh lhe slightly mOl'<' orgamicd dcpanmc1ltS"
surmtlndcd lhem . Walt h:od ~ "'~y o f Idling""" pr-
son 10 go ahead and gel " 'hal " ... nttdcd. 10do . . .
c~r "''as ~"''''''Y 10 rompielC lhe .JOb-.. 1Ih:,u
any oflhc other people ,,'100 would ~ in'....h·c-d m sa
a proj«t . When lhese roew men "-.,01 10 aooIher"
"",nl and annolloccd that they had 10 ha.e a «rlIiI
Ih ing. ur somelhing had to be d{lll< " ~n"," "'.y .•
they needed six in kers riChl away 10 do W11I1' .....
dirtttly fOf lhem. lhere were all "'I<ts of departmea
jcalou ~ics and " 'oundcd ~b'OS. Su""' ...·o'iOrl ""'" b'JIII
10 :!ohe new. unheard of p..oblcI05 . run their.
menl S cffocicmly. and >tilt g o~c Wall "'hal ho ___
!<n . when !>OTOC OUl$ider came in wilh an lde~ of ubi!:
over for a while. lhere n"tur~tty wa. SOIll" ronnicl MI
one could c,'cr run IQ Wall and iI.,k him 10 ,tr:t,~.
0,,1 or Ikflne lines of aUlhorilY. So coch man hadlOW
his own diplomat and do whal he C<>\lld to get Olhrn.
coopc:nl1e .
ThaI w,s the "'00-1 pan of 1'1111 Dok~ '~ a'l."'_
l ie " 'lIS respecled and he was hked. bulhe IWIO
cnll1dy Ihroogh other ","'Oplc and tho" de".._,
" 'olh " 'ords as his only lools. lie ( oold not poII1Jl ~ ..
them. or s hoot it for them. or c han~ a teltS for_
and sioce lie worked primarily with Oilier an,!-1. . .
was no end of opinions on whal the color >hooldll
and Ioow it could be oblaioc't! , But Phil w.s ''tT) ...
Iomatic . always look the bl~nlC. :ond ~_
thai the mos1 beauliful scenes c,'Cr done In IIU
,,~'" ( 'plum! fore,..". on film .

Ink and Pain t
'I\Im: ron>es a day " 'hen the animal ion dra wings h3\"e
lien COOlplete<J, ThI: sc~ne worh in continuity. tm,
ct.nmr Kts as ~ .hould, hi, c~pres.sions communi ·
~ >troI!gIy, the I~yout Stlppotb hi~ actions. and tt..
"',k of C05!Umes and props are all accounled for,
0. ~I <by, a big (I\rtk goes up on lhe prodU(:lion
BIn lhe draVl'ings an: far from finished, They
apprund as " -001111 ~Iy , Now
be pUl inlo Im,ir final form, lhe way lhe
"il l see lhem,
III tilt I"'cr-lies. lhe drawings were inked direclly on
pafIm the)' ..-~n: dnw n on , wilh 00 shades of
tlnl'l for le~lures, doCS, ~lwJ d«orolions Ihal
bc <lone with a pen, Celluloid! were used only
W Nckground ~nd " hdd ·' obj",ls Ihal did 001
TIll! SlI>ed the ledious VI'"",, of redra"'ing c"cry·
II "'" JllClure for e>"cry si ngle fra""" Winsor
ftll Ihal Ihis ronslanl lracing broughl a
life 10 Ihe Iolal drawing Ihal was
an form. bul few who fol lowed
bll diligence and dedic~lion , He ri,hlfu ll y
• com"",rdal lrade OUI of ,m,
lit had tIt "eloped,
l'..-.;r,'ro by Ihi, crilkism. lhe ",,,n in the ~ludiQ'i
~arch for easier and quicker " -ay, 10 gel
II I , As long as 1m, backgrou nd ,,'.1
lop of Ihe drJwings, lhe aCli on of lhe
..-a.\ ~Slri(lcd 10 lhe O('I'n arellS. and this lim-
I)'pes of gag. I"''' could be u~. Then one
...-..dem:I "hy lhe figure5 could IlOl "" on the
••::.'7.,~~'~~;:;~:'
•
were drJwn on lhe paper
I Inslead of being done as simple ink dnw·
both "'" ch<lraclefli and lI>(ir locales could bc
;.., . all the sh~ of grey as " 'ell as black and
AS long n II>( pai", u~ "'n ~ue. lhe
":~:::::~"'; lhe eel would bloc k OUI Ihe parIS of
tl he wal co>"ering. while lhe dur cd
httIt dfect on . i else in lhe Kelle . Earl
'i dilCO\'~ry.or in\'enl ion. and
btcn 00 essential change in Ihe procedure in
t~::!hing lO!>lIy 1....1 lhe drawings " 'ere lraced
cdluloid. bul quile another 10 do iI, Anyone
. ,.. " . '. ,' o w on glass wilh a pen will m:all
Ihal nothing mighl come OUt of lhe pen al aU. except a
long. fine scralch , You draw ~Iowly. you draw fa~I,
),ou make link mOkes . ),ou usc sweeping lines. lhen
suddenly. for no reason, Ggrbloob! a hug<' $pl.ner of
ink "}ln~s oul all al once , ll>c same is true of tracing / '
onlO a eel. It seems II>( ink mUSI be ··floaled " 00
ralher Ihan elched in 10 bc ~ ucccs,fu1.
In New York, il Will' fell that only men could master
Ihis diffICult an; in Ho llywood Walt assigned IWO
,,'Ornen 10 lhe job. and " 'hen he could not p.ay lhem he
married one and made the other head of 1m, Ink and
Painl Depanment , The IWO ladie.' in qUeslion ne"er
denied lhe slOry. although tl>(y exhibiled knowing
smiles as they listened 10 W~It' Ii relelling of ;1 O'~ lhe
years ,"
Mary Tebb remembers !he day s Ihal followed be·
~a"SC she in ked all of Th~ SkrltlOIt f)wrct by llersc:lf.
riM . .... ulls. and ,~nebrae_ She ask! het'selfnow. " lIow
did I do it? I don' l know. J wa. young, J sec il now and
I'm amazed!" HUI it was si mpler then with a heavy.
untapered line ~rQund e>"erylh ing and none of lhe
refine"",nlS Ih<I! would make each eel >uch a "'ark of
an in only a few ""'"' )~ars . II WiU Walt. as in aillhe
otl>(r functions. ,,'00 gradually raised the qualilY; he
asked in a way Ih al ~howed he e~pec!ed (he girls lobe
able 10 do ;!. In Mary's ""ords. " That's " 'h<I! maOc
him g",al, I Ihink. because I>( brought out from ...
""'"' than " -e lhoughl " 'e had ,' ·
I'ai nling is not ~s difficult as lhe inking. but il s!ill
lakes palience. OfJ!~nizal ion. and considerable skill.
Mary u plained lhe job this " -'y. ·· You .... ,..,!O learn
how to do it right first: leam how 10 mi~ your rolors •
read yo-ur model. put the righ! painl on Ihe righl
Ihinll- how 10 dry it- and be su", yo-u don't do il ""
the frool side of lhe eel inslead of II>( back , It 50Undi
easy. 001 it'. amll1.ing how nlany people can 'I do i!!"
On drawing after drawing lhere an: linle areu Ihal
could be anylhing: pan of Ihe flowing hair. lhe skill, a
tail. a ribbon. or even a hand behind II>( b;ock in II>(
middle of an K lion . Looling at the: drawinll by il~lf.
lhere is 00 ""'y o f lelling what il mighl be. or ..·hal
color Ihould be pul On i\. SOnlelimes a check of !he
dra"'ing5 in sequence will rtoveal II>( idenlily. but oflen
a fuJi confe",1lCC must be called , ·· Wh<l1 is Ihis thing
sOO"'ing Ihrough t..n:: supposed 10 be?·' To Iwlid this
kind of confronla!ion, lhe animalor's a5li$llnl usually
ad, Wbo Kill....
,? inI9J4.}"",y
,.1:1 '"~ ... poirUM
• c/ pink painl .
" '<IS iWt! in ,''''
, m.1 1M 'ff'~'
~ do,"'" milk,·

A
()
~ little OOIes on his dr~wing~ c ~ pla,nins any m)"5-
IIIrious forms erealed by the "",'-eme"t .
The ""OItl(n "'00 had "'-orked up to the "lOll: impo.-·
")Ob:s cootinu.lly were looking for ....·ay. to "':Ike
fir mdi,-idual cds 10m; '1"IOfC appealing . They did no!
.10 St'O crudt. barren "'00 going .hrough .he planl.
~ though the)' l """, thai pnlbably. in ac.i"". these
...."IISS " 'OlIld do tlocjob. Still. if the dr4""'ings could
lor NIk to i0oi; b,mer . ' 0 have a bil of _hading. or a
...
-'go:. Of one "IQI'C color. or a bil of detail tlla,
_101 ..ally male the wort Sp.1rU", . they would sug-
looI;ing al • eel of Sn"w White. some "f the w"men
lilt thiot tile bI;oo.:k hair looked unnatur~1 and han.h . S()
*r tntd adding a .....'Sf' of drybru.h on a lighle, Grey
tlMlfltn the cdge of her hair. II helped immensely. SO
*r procteded to add ;. 10 e,'el)' cd all ,hroullh . l1c
~. "l1h no indkation. (o,m the animator... and
IlCIIi n, to Kuide tl\o!m but ll1cir ""-n sens.c of ,,'hat
IIattd right . This had to be do"" on .op of lile cds.
_ tho: OIIly ...... y to he sUre the effe<.·' was worling
tom 001' to Ille ""XI W:lS by ml'pin~ tho: whole s he..,t
""I/uloid. heavy ....·ith paint . It "'as tiring and ri _ked
~ lile pain!. butlhere "'as no OIher ....·ay .
No 001' quile reml: "'ixrs wllQ first .~uggeslcd the
IIa of ,nking tho: outline of an a,..,~ ....·ith lhe SlIme
... IIw ,,-ookl bc u~d to fiJI in lhe area. but it
MUlklnilCd lho: aprcarance of til.: char""tcrs . Each
~ mal,s . srpar4.e c"lor must ha"e an outli""
--.I it (!elining it from the area ""AI 10 it . 1l>e hat is
_roIor. lho: hair aoolrn,r. Ill.: face still .nother. and
... Wlot .. lhtst' ootli"", arc done in black ink. there
thea,)'. crude: loot Ih.1 is tine for PCN Leg PelC but
. .""",. for more oclicatc charac~crs . CoIoretI inks
tried 011 tlot first color films and "-nt= an imPfO'~-
• but "Iotn a !oot of quality and careful shading
nttd«!. 11ot)" were still 100 strong. So sonle<'ne
up . ·,th tlot Klta o f inking " 'i,h the ~~ p3im
.""Id be put on the back o ( the cel. Thi s pa lot
tIlinned do""n to the corosisteJ'IC )" of ink and made
dM:Ur '" ma"h the ~)"ing effec~ of the thick-
of the eel on lhe color beneath il. Now there was
CM!m.!Nt "as scareely noticed on the screen . The
.... op:n for SClft color chang~ 011 ~ny form. the
Ih.ldes aOld su bdued "aloes Ihat l>3"e the beauly
~ been s«king .
This t)·po: of 'l'ftne"'ent was particularl)" needed on
femini"", fac~ " 'helhc, thl:y " -ere human or ani ...... ls.
A strong outline around any p3rts of lhe ""ad changed
the feeling. as indicated by Ihi_, nme f",,,, a I'j~O<"(hio
directive ; " When Pinocchio is a puppet. before 1lcL
COITIeS 10 life. "'e are going 10 have the black line
....·here his neck joins because it looks "lC<:hanical. but
" 'hen he comes 10 life. il spoils the cu te""ss .o have
those li""$ in blact SO We just ink this in the SlIme
culor as his ne~ k SO you don'l gct any hanl edge ho:re_"
Hefon: lung. the chane.c", had "lOll: colored lines
on lhem than the bl<ICk. and the y became so on,-01 ,~
Ihal the Color Model e .perts had a whole page of
notes on j ust the inking. a.t<Ic from 11M: notauon~ of
lhe colOO' lhemsel,·cs . 1l>e na~ a«epled for the col·
ored Ii"" be<.:anw a ""self· ink line."' and even afler lht
inkers "ere replaced ....';{h duplicaling proce:»n. lhere
wa~ still the r.eed in crilleal arcas f"r this kind of
fines.., .
Stili l))o(R refinemrnts " -ere ,uggested--many mon:.
01le that was quite impor1ant fot a few )'urs ....·IS
called lhe ··blend."· a ....·a.y liltle crayon tlult came in
"anous colors and cook! be rubbed o n top of 11M: ""I to
~Iightly duken the c"lor un<kr""alh , With the .. aliMic
painting mid strong dimensi"" in lhe backgrounds. the
ccls with IlM:ir Oat colon ....·ere beginnin~ '0 loot like
display urdhoanl." Tlle srlf· ink line leading to aOOll1c •
Shade had helped . but now ""ith a trans!",re", smudge
dfeet available ,n lhe blends. a luming edge roookl bc
suglle"cd . As with tho: drybrush. il required flipping
lhe painted "",Is 10 "" Sllre the "'ork followtd through
in both placement and density from "",I to cd : it took
tim" and judg nw~t 10 put on juS! the righl amount in
the right place~. but il ao.kJcd "'och to the ~ppurallCC: .
.."., bknd ,,-as such a suttessful addilion Ihat n"t1l
Mickey and Pluto " 'ere given a face· lift in Th~ Poim·
u . MiCkty's dleeh were not only round and ~hadc:d .
bolt lhey had a lighl bil of ~allh y color: Plulo's
"'''ndcrfull~ flal lack of anatomy .\ uddcnly sported
sh:ooJing thaI made him 10m; like a collec. ion of old
telephone poles. In the ne~t picture. he had aU of his
fornwr cartoon noppiness reslored .
Howe ver . "'hen lhe blend was taSldully used it Cre-
a led maf\'elous crfecl< . In SOIlle caSl'll. the scM-Ink line:
would be rubbcd off after 1l1c 3rea had been p.1i~ Ie<l.
and lhe place " 'here the ~,,-o colors canle together "'as
 , "r'
~

lion . a ... hok liule d<:panmcn! e."()I~c,J. (()II~~'nIGf

'oc peoplc ... "" wcre WpI al lhoir O"'n special tff«lS,
~~ , When thaI mammoth scene of tho: fish from It..
"'
,

~ n• "Ar~bian Daocc" am"ed at Ink and Paint . il "'M!!Iis

I ;.;\ \ • group who pul IIv lra~m palnl on IIv fill5. !lor
, ~

\ ~ drybru~h on tho lips of the tails. tho sp;lItlcs In !lor

water. the highlightS <m tho hubbles--all lhe ( l in

, "'or\.: thaI had tll be "'alched and checked and follQw.td
through unlil finally tho ca"",,,,man rlaced lhem 01
.', - his pegs. one by one. in sucuss..-c C.' postoRS. to o;ro-
ate 11M: nlystic and shImmering ~pectadc of Ihls pncr
I

-~
"" lor;al harem, llIc Irail s of fairy dustlllarking the PIths
of tIM: d<:wdrop fairlcs . Tin~Cf &11 In P" u Pn" . .t
/ '...... e'<el)' ~horobject ,1000'ing " 'ith ir~nt mat~_tIt

~ . ;/ tIM: work of this speCI alized crew . Difficu lt and"

mandin~ as it was, it Wa, the es,,",nee of fanla,y. SKIf'J

'- and animation. layoul and background. special df«ll

and can~ra could all creatc i""redillk illulJOR>. I.-
\ ~
lho visual s!imulalion Ihat came frum this patltrn.t
~

• r.
( c~re and \ kill addcd a touch thaI could not be Ilupl>
caled by anyone else .

, • " '
Actuall y. thore was more in,·ul.'ed here IIwt JIll
anislic endeavor . llIc !ransparenl pa;nllhat ,.,. . .
, , " • '- @....; :' , : '
the appealing filmy dfecl on the screen "'as IIII4r
from the bile of an Asian ox. alld "'as smelly MIl

C J ', \. unpleasant!u usc . When this paint was emplo)'«! kr

*1"" cu"erW by the blend so thai it bt:camc invisible. Wah

.....
"'pin,

,'~
was as amv.ed as anyone . "This is very effective! I
think we a~ cenainly on the righl track: ' Then.
..,membering hi. continuous financial problem. he
_",1·
'''t. cautioned. "But let's be very sparing Wilh Ihis blend
and tholil: lhings . That i~ "hal wHI hold up the works:
aU that bknd will s low it up." Later he commented
a~ain. "\ say \'.aleh this bklld business. and not de) a
101 of unlll'l:essary work . It is tOO upcnsivc. 100. We
muS! keep from going bmc on Ihis pkture.··
Most of these inoo\'alioos had been worked 00\ by
the Ink and Paint ,",pc:rvi:;ors and the Color Model
ill J{H'
advisors since lhe rest of the depaMment was too busy
1')""'"' producing the eels do any experimenting. Wah
to

....
-,~
~ "''hiot
bI.,.., .
asked, "Can'l ",e do wn>elhing "",., . . . ?" and the
women thought back 10 their an school days. or their
childhoods. for any materials !1Ia! mi,h! gi.'~ a rIC'"
effect A~ !he: demand ,re'" for !hi~ clabon>!e d<:<.:ora·

Fwaw <"II~J jM I.,
_ .1<lb«,,1t ul ........t
ntr . . . . . .. .1 TIN. ""i"
. . rtI .1111 fr_ /!IJ9
.... dot ''111;'" '" ~",I
.."" .....[,"""" "'PI",
. .. "/1'",,",,"1., S~".·· .
nIlHtJ I."".J,,·b'~Jh .
....",. 1I"""'I"'f<nl f1<1;nI.
-."Ir-all '" ",1</0';,," /()
... . 01' jOO of 1,~ci"6
......
" pono:il J,u,," "S' m Ih •
A ~"'.. '" "'Ilpl•
. . ...., III Q ''''';''1 '"
""'" - -.I ...
... ,.,. ... ottJ "."tJ•
"p', .
.,.... H,,,. Mrr'Y""
....., ...... " bil of
...,
In- ." ~......,
.h~dow5. i. was imperative lh~1 00 oulline be: ~n. S<!
lhe int ers had .0 .race the drawings 0010 .he ~Is in
", h~. ~mounld '0 invisib le ink. The p,amlers com-
plained . ha. lhey I"lOl only had 10 wort: fas! bu. rould
no! c,,",n s« .he lint lhey "'~re ..... OI"klng IO!
The washoff relief cds had .he cmulslOll on Ihc
back of the eel ..... here lhe p,ainl ",'U 10 lO. 1Uld ulreme
<;are ~ 10 be uS«! 01" boih ,.·""Id come off .he ~I
'ogclher. Bec ky Fallbe r,. ",'110 "'as lalcr he:.! of Ihc
drpanmcnl. ... y•• "0Il. il w~. honible! Everybody
moaned when lhe y g01 those kinds of scenes." There
even waS . rouble w ith the eel. lhenlselves. e~peda lly
whe n the on ly ones avail able Were made of .he highly
f1~mmablc nilralc. O ne s hipn",nl would be yellow.
one grey . one Stl would buc kle . the nex, would warp.
~nd all "" oold shrink once lhey ""ere ..... ltO ~I« .
When . he animation on 8"mbi .,aned rille" .. ,
Ihroop. lhe Ink and Pain' Deparlmenl . a ntw probkm
.lrosoe. The ~gs of the !lttr Iud 10 Ix 5troII& and ngld
fOl" .he animal 10 be rotIvir>eing . The aSSISlan's and
inbe'''''ccners in.he animllion bUIldIng h:.! wen "".II
care in p<"IClically l<acing the legs dunng a scene of
lillie nlO'·el"l"lem. bu, now lhe inkers found .hey coold
;11
 iS1S no longer could be hdd !Ogclher. Whon pox<
rClUmed four years laiN , Ihe mnecnlralion " .,. 00
bener way.~ 10 achie"c Ihe ,''''''e re, ,,1i Ihal "1'1('( h.Id
eml SO much in lime and effon . Since no rI.,<:ord~,,~",
kepi in Ihal era when procedures chanj;e<l WUn c<1Ch
scene. gradually people forl'ol how lh;ngs had been
done . Before long. the C<juipmcm Ihal once prodoctd
III<: greal effccls- Ihc dnnn lhal had ek:m,d (he frosled
cells, the mechanism (hal had proce~",d wa,ho(f "hd
cels. the in.-cmions 111:11 had held delniled wor\; 1000ethtr
under lhc came ra-WaS all ruSl;ng On (he bacllO!.:II'Jd
newcomers walking around the 101 "I nonn wOl'\lJtfed
",h~rr why anyone would keep ju"k like lhal around. JUi>! a
, all 'h, few years Imer. i1 waS lhro,..n OUi OC'C3Use the ,"1m;!
.."...~'".
I GJ ,hi. was in new procedures.
, Yr.o"'P. The primm)' concern waS (0 free the ink.rs fromlk

,101 wpy Ihese dr,;wings accuralely enough 10 a"oid

lhe jilitTli and wobbles Ihal always manaJ;ed 10 creep
in . Since lhe mO~cS were so , 01,11 ,nd no knowledge
of animalion principles wa>; in~olved. the Ink and Painl
artiSis sugges lcd Ihal Ihey do Ihe inoclwecning on lhe
eels, ciiminaling Ihe e ~lra drJwings Ihal were causing
lhe Irouble . There were many days during (he making
{)flne piclUre Ihallhey regrell~'<l baving made (he offer.
001 lhe resulls wcre magnificcnl.
This Iyl'" of dedicalion. in addilion 10 lhe len long
weeks oflraining hefore anyone e~en was hired. led 10
III<: mosl bcauliful inking eVer done. The lal"'red lines
and lhe sure, def! much made each eel a work of an.
Be fore lhe War 1here were many 1alen1ed candidales 10
choose from for (hi, work. and lhe ones selec!Cd were
line: anisls in lheir own righl. Belly Kimball admils.
"n.. inkcrs were "el)' good 31 dr,;wing . . .. They had
10 be, because Ihey had 10 gel Ihal feeling of lhe ani .
malor's drawings in lheir ink lines. and ifs vcI)' hartl
II} cOnlrnl a I"'n on Ihal slipl"'l)' celluloid."
M~I)' Tcbb fell lhal the morale of lhc slaff was
renecled in (he ...·o.-k Ihey produced . "'I (hink Ihm's
one n:ason why lhc produel ilself is. . slil1bcauliful
. because il was done by dcdiealed 1"'000Ic.·· TItcre
is cenainly some elusive rea~," why lhe pKlUres never
look daled. heyond the slyle. and fashions in both an
work and humo.-.
Wilh lhe second World War came economic prob--
!ems. and lhc in"nen~e slaff of highly skilled special ·
~~of coole" tracing. 5Q they ~ould<kvOle
Ib<v tIme 10 thlnv tmU re"lty counted . There wa~ ~
1tIl't OIIlbc pan of the animal"'" al lhe!>llme lime 10
faI_ ""Y 10 duplIcate accuralely theIr own crisp.
!III-& drawlnl" on thl: eels. The: " 'O"",n " 'ere good.
vay goJOd. but I""i. won: ""'" . 1111 a tratlng. and
_inKs never h:av<: thl: villllily of thl: orillll1al. In lhe
'* rofnn. Ub Iwerk. adapled the Xerox proce." to
0111 IIII(th. creatIng a great machine that copied the
,nVlIIIgS OIl an ch,elric~lty charged plate . Th"re was
'WY hnlt \ltl...,...,y in the ",.ult. and a light hne was
",10", OIIt cnhrely. bot the ~nimator's drawing
"111 do:rc. ~ronll and Irrevocable: In the !>Iacke" of
"'In flC!. thIS heavy. black line put uS right back
....
_ tilt 1921),. hefon: the rdinemenu of inking had
Other oolon Ihat the Xerox CorpocallOfl rould offer
were no belle •• so we allem~ed to mate I"" dark
outhne ""* man: acceptable by .ISlng II as the "ylc of
the woole ptClure. backgrounds and all 1010..1"",·
,;".... wa. IhI: result. spearheaded by the mulmal"nted
Ken Ano.lc:rson; the linear qualily of the anwort gave a
crisp. handsome: look. especially for a fIlm about !>lack
and while dogs , Th" animators were very pltased. bul
Wah leh it hleked lhe delic~cy ",id the ca.e that the old
picture. had achieved. Many in the IlKhencc relt "'"
same way. saying thaI they m~ the elegance of"'"
prewar films . It was not unlll we h.ad perfected a &",y
Ii"" for TM Ru€"~rs that we w""' able: 10 lose the
harsh OIIt""" and regain a soft IooIt ThaI simple
change brought rave. from c.i, ia wOO claimed we
had developed a wholt new Slyle for this picture .
WI;, ~~i1J,,~ ~~J
.,,/. /r;~tuJ from
kood. n,. ~~i_.
",..-u.,u llot lai'~ ·
'pi "prod.,'i""
~s·
,....Xmnpn>«..
f!.~';,w.., II!,
~ ,,.,, "'ssM 'h,
I ;~ //0. !aul ,lot"
liM.IootI,i.......

Many s~ori~s ~m 10 call for a final shoe of the
main charxlCcr .... alking a""ar inlo the di~t~occ: .... hile
the ca~n pull. back ~lo""I y-usually up imo the sky
for ~ picwre of the SU""" or the m<)()f1 or a ti,l., llial
says. "The End." This was always almost impofoSiblc
10 animale. because: of the dual problem of making tile
figure juSt the righl amount smaller .... ith neh SICp
",-hile keeping tile same s pirit throughout . The camen
u~ually pulls up intc) the sky beca use the c h~ractcr
looks SO [uTibl., thaI he is ruining tile wllole cooccpl :
and, even though the see"" needs 10 continue for al
khl nine feel. it ....ould he impossible to keep him Q1l
the screen any longer.
Out will\ the Xcro~ machine. all that h"" changed .
We ~ 10 animate only one complelC SlCp cl
chanw:tcr ..-alking away from us. and it tan bo
size con"cnient for us to draw . Once the action
c~ked and approved. the dra"'ings arc stili 10 '"
Xcro~ DepMlmcnt where theyall' bl"",'n """1110 61:
correct s ile ror the SCene. More than that. tht drP
ings ~rc repe~tw o,"cr ~nd over. s nl:lller each ti .....
tru.1 theon:licaliy OOr character can keep ",.I~ing b·
ever. From a pr.tI'tical stan.dpoinl , the painters c~
paint him after he reaches a tiny Si7.e. but uswlly'"
point is no! ",ached until the ~s o r lhe !CellI: lint
!Je<,n well n"'l .
1loe ooc problem thai ","'ains 10 be sot'"W is brouaIl
about by lhe "cry procwu", that sa~es 50 much eff<rt

fiwGlrom Th< Rc,""ucrs. TMn I"nd//ines ,md" medi"m
t"1 ,_, ill ,M Xerox I.",~hin' finally ~~,., uS 1M '''fl
."....,...... "',u mort. Colo,m line. "dded Ii! a cd of this
WrrropI""d thf df/icdcy " ... hod mjoYfd " 'ith the inHn~.
(}lol""';"" IIf t~f ,'0.</ .
..... y lmall. insignificant, hanlly ooliceable error in
lilt ..-.:l,'cmenl is magnified by repel ilion. A slighl limp.
,gimpy ,,'alk .• n unnalUr~1 TOil to Ihc OOJy. a fool
_picks up 100 high. a leg lhal pushes into lhe ground.
lilly lillic Ihing Ihal would nC,'cr be nmiced in one step
1I1I1 ordinary scene. becomes amplified wilh each
~al Unlil Ihe characler looks as if somelhing is
ItIIit>ly "rong wilh him: and as the camera soars up
l1li0 the sky. mo" of lhe audience is .....ondering if
I(Jn'Ir(lIle silould not go help the poor fellow before it is
100 1>1~.
~re continucs 10 be a need for good inking. bUI it
is In Imall areas "'here a self_ink linc i, u~cd or where
some imtreMing eff':':l is desired, The long hours of
endless copying ha"c givcn way 10 special work thai
re<juires II\c same skill s. bul nOW Ihc inkers Can con·
cemrale on juS! the Ihing., Ihal will make Ihe picture
look il s besl while cosling Ihc leasl. With. gianl
machine to take o,',r Ihe dull pans of their jobs. they
now can devOle lheir lime 10 lhe project' lhal a machiroe
cannot do .
From lime 10 time. Ihe key creative perwnnel felt
Ihal some of Ihe Ink and Painl aniSls who had done
superb work should gel "",en nedil for their effon..
[I would be impo,,;bJe 10 mentionc~eryonc. of course.
bur a few. wilh unusual talcnlS. or Iha! cXtra bit of
dedication. should be recogni7.ed. Th is neVe' oc<:urred
for sevcral reason~. FifS1 of all. in lhe early years, 00
one gO! screen credit. Walt had known Ihal the audi·
ence ....'uuld respond beller 10 one name-onc producI
Ihal easily could be rememhercd--than to a long list of
unrerogni7.ed names. Slili. he was appreciali''e of erea-
live effon and fell Ihe person who did an ooisianding
job should be given credil for il.
On Ihc comic strip he had tried 10 replace his own
name with those of the men who aClllally were doing
the con1inuily and the drawings. bul he was lold by lhe
syndicate thaI such a change "..ould kill the strip. 1be
public knew Wah Disney and Ihal was the name lhey
wamed 10 sec on lhe drawings. regard Ie" of ..-ho
made lhem. When he embarked on Ihe fealure films.
howe,'cr. Ihcre WaS a precedent already sel from lhe
live aclion films that justified Ihe naming of his key
people. Bul by Ihat lime. Ihere were over 600 mem-
bers of his staff putting in long hours. working with
complele dedication to the studio and devotion to lhe
films. Mosl of lhem were unconcerned aboUi SCreen
credit. preferring 10 be known as just pan of lheleam.
Slili. il was impossible 10 lisl even half the number
of people who really had struggled to make each tilm
an outstanding experie 'lCe for the thealcrgocr." Ass,s-
lanlS. inbelwccncrs. cutters. sound men. cameramen.
and. especially. the "girls" in Ink and Pa;nl had lobe
len OUI. evcn lhough Ihe tilms could nc,'e. have been
made wilhout lheir suslained effons. Some people
claimed Ihal Ihis work was only a craft and 001 al all
comparable 10 lhe neative thinking done by lhe "men
in lhe main building." but we relied heavily on their
skill. and thcir ideas. and they ncvcr leI uS down . We
loved those girls, Still do!
/
//
II. The Disney Sounds
"llhml' " ~,,()(I muir ,if ",,,,I<' IIYIII/d },.. i"di" "'~"j,,lJIr w Ih~ "";'''/11''''1-;( rea/i:mi,," "" /hrir pan'" how
"'''''''1'
mUlI,- i,I. h",,' 11111"""/ it is far ,,,'uple 1<1 ',.,,,,1 10 /I" 10 ""'S;<'-<I Jilll/Y of rhythm , II", d,,,,c'-Ih~
Wall Disney

Music
~<rl "'as ~iII be ing d'me on the laS! segmenl . of
r _ ", ,"'hen I"" Bambi "'C'" on(wed ;010 rull pro.
" ".1IIId W~II .... 3S kepi hoppins from one prujoe<: •
... room to lhe: nc:xt to kttp up " 'jl" lhe red . as Ihc:y
~. 0... day he ,,·~s called inlo a met'linS un
fir knll n~ ~q l>C nce in Hambi JUS! ~s he fi ni.<hed
y.e... ,ng Iflo: ,,'o.-k ree ls on Bccthow n', "a>wml S)"I11 -
,.,.y. The Il~",bi pictu~ ~c l was on ly half «.>mple.-
III. '- die inI/:". "'' as clear and (he music-ian. Ed l'Iu",b .
QI ~ 10 ~n. hi, Kkas on the §CQI"C he was
WIIIIIII H3If"'ay Ihrough IIj~ (JTcscnl a, jon. Wa ll
~ h,m alld asked the projccllo nisl if !1Ic f "a"II/';"
IIIriI " ( (t sfill up in Ihe bOll(h. The y weI"<!. so he
IIltd II> flo: ... lIN: storm mus ic from lhe PU5wm/ Sym·
,.,., nln in .ync ""ilh lhe flllll,bi red _ w e wnc
- . I by lhe ro"-Cf of lhe mus ic and lhe ucilcm,," 1 " 'ill be bigness and majesl)" and soarill~ spirits; " 'ith I
• ptt 10 the dnowing~. nermus, flullcring n",lod)" line on a single in§uurrK'III •
"11m " " 1IS o"~r . Wah lumcd and said . ·'There. or pulsaling drumheals. lhere will be agilalioo. appoe·
iI. that'l ", hal I wa n!. Somelhing big! Sce lhe diffN . hension . suspicion. Music Can build Icn.lion in com·
.,.-1" mo npl ace >« nc~ or ea"" il in noc s Ihal have btton",
1,:1".i00i; " -a.p:I" .hoc k. p:ln disbelief. and part visua ll y lno frighlening.
....... "'Bou, Wal!-Ih::u 's n ""loo"en!"' At times lhere is nl ... in playing counler 10 "'hal is
. 'II! 1tipOIldtd. " Yu h . , , ?. and wailffl 10 he~. being ..,.,n , C haplin "'rile~ o f hos troubles in getli"l
_ ~ ...·hy Ed roukl 001 " ·. il,, lhe sam<' SOI1 of arrangers 10 realize Ihal Ihc musk hehind his {ramp
... II ""S 1\0 rnor.: Ihan " 'h;ll he as ked of his whok charneler . Ilould 001 w"mpllO be funny. bul should
lit! O:Iy . fl"r day. Slri v" for an e mol ional dimension . " 1 wanled II>e music
Mm.iI: it ulldoublcd ly the 1110.1 importanl addilion 10 be a cou nlerpoinl of grocc and cham. 10 e~ pre.!s
..,..111 bo ~ 10 lhe piclure . II can do more 10 s.e nlimelll. ,,'illloul ,,'IIieh . as Hu lon say •. a work of
• pnlduction 10 lif", 10 ,in il inlegrily . ~I)"k , an is inc""'plel" , ""
~:?' mnnin~. and unily lhan an)" other ~'ngk Slill other limes require lhe music 10 express :Ill
; . Willi lhe s urge of a full on:hes lra . lhere allilodc: 11131 cannoo: be .100..'11 mooll y in "",,'inll dr.ow·

ing, . Feel inp of isol~tion. rejec1ion. an awarenes~ 0 1
beauty. ~ se n!;C of growing .trengtll. of lIope. of
dc~otion-theS<' are ~II inner emot ion; tllat are diffi .
(lilt to show. FonurI3tely. this i~ the area of greatest
strengtll for music. ~nd the mu.ician " '1\0 feels the
mood in your fi lm can make it all intensely moving .
Since mu~ic is IiO dosely assodalW with nlOSl of
the major even lS in our lives-nursery .<onss. C~IIII)'
fire songs. s-cl\ool 5Ongs. rel igiou~ 5Ongs. dances.
.... eddings. and . finally. funerals-it becomes the 5001
of our nrmory. f,,",~er coloring OUr Impressions. JUSI
lhe playing of a familiar theme bring. I>K~ the CI11<>-
lions of I""lt e xperience. and through associations W~
Can be made 10 feel empathy nen fOf proples uf di~·
tant cultures . This b«mnes a "ital elemenl in makmg
fanta>y ....orlds belicv~ble-notjust as ~ plact obse ...·~
from lhe comfort of OUr lhealer scats. bul a "'gion ...·c
aclually inhabit f{)l" the duration of the film.
" dare lhe days of ,;<)\lnd. it .... a~ the organ;,ts and
piano players in theatefli ""rms the wuntry .... ho used
lhe magic of muSK" 10 trnnsl""1 audlcnces 10 other
lands and other times. In a pnnmi\"e ~nd "ery di""';l
",,,y.these muslciam comm unic~tcd w;lh lhe vic"·"fli.
leading them from one emotion!O another as the slory
in tho film unfol<kd. From opera thoy look thomes of
pnsion and _ n l . dr)criptive pawlV' and mood·
scUtng phra>cs. In fol k songs. popular soogs. sentl-
nlCnlll ballads. Ihey found m(lodie. "'ith strong
connotalion~ thaI crealed an immensc emotll)ll.ll It-
sponsc. ~'Ioy'" theater mu.oc,ans Ilad a lfItC,al fffiill
for JUSt lho righl music 10 fit any silualion. t~ bP:.
ground 10 r~"eall lunes from cverywhere. and I~ abi~
ily 10 improvise constMlly. adapting new i<kas to old
song •. Thoir music communicaled; Dan,c. R0-
mance .•. Loneliness ... Cold ... .loy ~
. .. Bra"cry . . . .
Walt bffluglll men in from all oyer the coonl')' to
hel" dc"clop a new u~c of ",u,ic in a woole now ilB:!
of cnlcnainment. TIley i""loded Carl Stalhng. ~..
had oncc pbyw fOf lho 1..1Ougl!-0·Grams bact III Kat-
SIS Cily: Ikn Le,,·is. also from Kans;os City; Fnoi
Churchill. who wTOle the mu~ic for the famous tlypa-
p<'r sequence wilh I'luio. and "Who', Afl1lld of the
Big. Bad Wolf .. ' and all the wng. for S_ 11".0.:
Leigh Ibrline . ,,"'00 ..'as moSI f~lfK)Us for " Wlft Yo.
Wi.J\ Upon a Star"' bul had done tho m.. ~ic flO" ~
divcn;c suh)«ts as TI... OmsshUl'I"" ,,,,d,II<' ANI_
Th.. Old Mill : ~nd Ollie Wallacc. ",'100 I;omf"M'J do!
.<;ore for /)umh<, wilh Churchill and was be>! i.DtM
for "Dcr Fuehrers Face ... The,.. nrn were jOlla ~
Albef1 Malotte. who achieved nlOR! fame as lhta:e
poser of"TIle lord's Pra)'cr.·· and the h'ghl)' ~
I'aul Smith. fresh out of uni"ersity and full ofmlWCll
ideas . His adaptalion uf canO<\f1lCChniques in !he 5CIl'!$
f{)l".he Trul' Uf, Ad",nlur,s ..,,'cral years liIICf III.kW
immeasur.obly 10 tllal SoeflCIO of live action films IJUtio
Bakrl' al ... comribu.NI to botllli •.., aclion and ~~,
shn-..ing «jual facili,y in ~)"mphonic sunes Of ~
( hoscs.
Each of the." , men had a greal SCIIS<' of melody'-
a unique abllny 10 orcho.. r4le ,'cry lfItCW f... II~. CI"
them all. F",nt Churcll,1I probably h3d ,he
feel for.he an ,mal(:d film. a~ hi. !CO«: for S"",,· \I·/itr
showw '" well. The buhbhng qualily and fri<-tdy
spirit o f lhe "",clion in which the ~nimals UtI;( Iht pi
10 ,he dwarfs' oottagc ..-a~ especially apprahtIJ. _
".., as ~cd F..d Plumb "hat gin lhe mus",!IuI u.
somwnng Ed squinled hiS eyes. " Y·know. 1\.,,_
or;"w eyery oote in thai orchemation and I >I,ll ~.~
figurc OUl what dnes i, .. ·
Aflcr Fr.nk ChurchiWs dealh. hi. room ..-as
.0 Ollie Wallace . 011", was ptPl""ry . 5pr\I(\J . .-
al~y . had a Iwin~lc in hi. eye .... "hon ~clauDeil
that Frank '~ spirn " -as re"pons,hle (Of the: grUI ....,.
~ t"- to.lIinlK"d to come f ....." that room w~ IIQIkkd
_ htad~ and ~miled . Sut one d~y he was SCI",·"ng
II1II prof~ gn: .. anno)"lIocc ··That Churchill ha'"·t
_ntltn a d«ent note in lhe la.t Ihr« days!··
In 1928. 00 00.: knew how tile llrawings of Ille
~V\OOI1 ~nd the limes of the musk enuld be plJIlIw:d
~r It "'a, easy enough 10 improvis.e a..::OI"I.' 10 ~
oornpklt\l filn •. bullo figure out ahead of limc ,,·hell:
it bexs ...wld Ottur on Ille drawings " ·as ~)·ond
....,~ Wall in,;sled I~ mu,1 he a way lhe IWO
\Wid be "urted logether and he eon lrolled and built
IfIOIIlnd changed . What kind of graph or ch~rI or
kOIt roIIld t>c de,·ised Ihal w<lu ld bring the mu sk and
pK1~ 1.lhc.?,
1\1: ..,,,1)· arri,·ed Wilfml Jackson had lhe ans"·".
. ... "" metflll"lOl"lle. He rea.wned Ilia! if lhe film ran at
. _ lpo-ed of 24 fl"3n~ a second. all one hoolo
.. _... drlerminc how mIlCh music wem by in a,;«·
.t, " lIhough his knuw ledge of musical siruciure " 'as
n41mrn(ory. lie did know b;lr~ and beat. ,...d ~wffs
:~:~';':"i~';'OC;'~':': "~'": :OC~':,"~;:;":':"::~~d~:'!~: :Ihcse.".t""
first
rIC"· langua,e hoo been disco\"crW .
hctITI$l.implc C1IOUglI nov..• bul Dave Hand reponed
. :~~~.~:~;": :N;';:W~
)'car ,Y;:ork
.nd a were baffled
half before and tried
figuring out
acrenlS would occur" hile
tile drawings. Jackson·s s)"Slem " ·as calii ly
: ~~~;~~~!':'_~
'~ionS
in .empo
Ille .ong and 0100
adhemllo lime
a s.ricl
he ",rillen OUI from b"ginning 10 end .
the dilttlor kne'" ",h:,t pari of Ihe song "'1JU1d be
any action he planned. anll the musici~n
" -ell: being planned 10 go "'Ih
animator knc"· that if he had hi~ cha.·
from nlly in Me"sur'\' 54 .0 I~ middk of
I~r'\' wooid be dlher a slid(, "'hi.\lk or an
glissando (0 back him up On Ille final
Tht musician and the director wo.ked closely lO-
la tile $.I"~ room. planning .he ~ntir'\' pic.ure:
anImator bej!an a scerIC . Wil fred Jack~
in an inte.view: ··Fir51lhe mus;·
~\lU1d IUUeSI lune_ , for .he various ~Iions of
' :~';:;I'O gel Ihe mood Of general.l)'pc of action
II . lie "ould palientl y play Ille Sam..' phras.e
o"er and o"cr again ,,·hile Ihe animal ion di=IOf
visualized and timed (he aclion in his mind. WorkinK
back and forth . lhe musician ,,"OUld """"'ti""'5 ~h:ongr:
el"menl~ in the ~ore 10 enhance ~rlain "",lions. Of the
dirw()I" ,,·ould modify SOnIC: piece of husiness.w Ihay
il worked beller musically When bOlh "'ere !HIlisfied.
(he director " -ould mark the aclion do,,·n on lhe .dope
sheet" [Bar Sheell ,,'hik hi s panner ~kelChed OUI lhal
pan of lhe music SCofc. TIM:n lhey would move on 10
lhe rIC~t link pie« of action .··
This dose cooperalion became the Siandard pnx-e-
dure as other mu~icians "'ere added to the staff. It was
a long and tetlious process for mu sicia ns more a<kpt .1
improvising tbrl)ugh inspirJlion. and they often ,,-iM\ed
lhe)" could wilhdra"· from lhese daily meetings .fln
laying oul _ basic fOOIagu and the numbc.of Iw"s
in a '."IM: 'If a chorus . Even after the di=.or had
wor ked o,·tt evc r)" I.st ""..-en,enl in Ihe pi""re .
slrelching il '" condensing it 10 fil Ih" palle.n or lhe
beau. there: " 'a.< slill the animator who h~d 10 be
sa. isfied. and he inc,·i.ably had more refine"",nl, and
ideas Ilia! built on ,,·1Ia1 alread)" had been done . Ther'\'
...ere other limr:s " 'hen It.. anima.or simpl)" muld not
rut over all the busirICss demanded within Ille fOOla..~
limilat ion! impoM:d by It.. mUlie. and lhen lhe musi .
cian "'ould bc asked 10 add jusl onc more lillie beat to
his music-jU.<1 one? ASIOUndoed a( Ihis lack of com·
prehension of lhe basic ma'hemalkal SlructUIl: of
mllsic. lhe n'"sici;1.n would insist on a filII "",asurc. or
bener )·el. a phrase . bul that onl)" ~med 10 add fT1I)r"(
problems. The IIClion could nt~ br: padded by thai
much, SO!he ··)· 12 measure· · ,,·as in~cmed.
TI) ~ measure contai ning 1,,"'0 bca(s. an exIra beal
w~s added. crealing a measu"" of Ihree ~alS . When
lhe first musicIan lave inlo this rompromise the kmpo
wa, in 120. I,,-cl'·e fra~ 10 each be~t. 50 il ,,-as
~alled a 3· 12 measure; bul the lern, I"'rsiSled f"(gard·
less of lel11[X1 f(1f years_ It wa> like adding an exira
~Iep on u"", fOOl in a mareh; insl~:ul of ··Lefl, righe
lefl. righl:· il b«all1". ··Left. righl. righl.left. righl'-·
When an animator "itb a lI1usir:~1 background asked
hov.. Ihi, " ·as possible. he ~impl)" """lIS lold. ··Oh.
Churchill knt"'·~ 00"· 10 do it!··
W.1t used to claim lhal Frank Churchill always ~kpt
Ihrough lhe ;,Iory lI1"eling~ alld rIC'·er li~lened 10 his
firsl instructions. bot Frank hardly can ~ blamed . lIe
knew that no maner ,,'hat kkas w~re tossed out. and
00 maner how cnt hu~i3sticall)' they might be receivw.
that wook! h~ve linle bearing On the mu~ic he eVentu·
ally "wid .... ite . Il y the time: footage " -as addW.
~ ~pealw. K<1ion§ CUI 001. and c"C1')'lhing plas-
ICmI together ,,-ith an assonme:nl of )· 12 me:asll~'.
all)' original plan " 'ou k! be SO but,he=! lhe~ " 'ould
be link of illeft. Ue figu~d . COI'TCCtly. Ihat he ""OIlld
do benefto wail unlil lhe decisions had been made and
lhe foouge, SCI . and then he could write ~ ..:orc ,,'ith
integrily and no w. "'gardles' of " 'hal had happo.:ocd 10
lhe soo,alk.... SlnK IU~ , He would 5il al hi ' piano pen·
ci lin g in hi' melodies and mUliering. "Thi, ltOIe is for
lhe dill'uQI". and Ihi., is for lhe producer. while this
link note oo"'n hell' is for the animator. and Ihi. i$ for
the di. ecto' s Aunl Tilda. and Ih is is j us t fQl" me!"
It ..-as 001 an ca,y prucWll~ for an)'OIlC. bul 1""1
c""" rollabor.u ion " 'lIS the "ny Ihing that prodU«d
lhe 1lC'" art fonn . From lhe ad"enl of sound to lhe laIC
Ihin ie•. music and animalion had been 0IlC. Wil f=!
J.,bon C~(lI\'»Cd Ihe: general feeling: " 1 do 001 believe
thell' ..-as m..eh Iht)ughl given to the I1m,ic as ono:
thing and thl: animation as another. I be lieve we con·
ceived of tl><:m as dw>cnls which ....-e " 'c,-" trying 10
fusc into a ,,'1><.>11: IICW Ihing Ihal ....·ould be more lhan
si mply mo"emcnl plu.< sound ." Jerome Kern rccoK ·
nized the artistry in Ihi s process ~nd claimW thai a
di.ltioct ne ... music.1 fonn had been crealw. He termW
it "the use of music as language·' and credited Walt
"'ith mak ing an oOl,tanding cootribulion to the m~ic
of his timc-po$Sibly lhe only ",al contribulion o f tlw:
I ..-.:micth <.TIltu,),!J lbc dfecl of absolutely c'-':I)·thing
being related to the musical beat bttamc SO ..·,,11
do.-.:1opW thaI. in lhe musical ..-orld. " Mickc)"mous.
ing"· lJcc,~mc: lhe name for mllsle thaI accented QI"
echoed e.·,,1)' oclion on lhe ..,,....n. As a " 'ay of>\COring.
it " -OS IlOl limiled 10 ca'lOons. but also was used wi lh
good effect in suc h picturcs a. Kj,'g Kong. matching
the huge ape's aSC(!<>I of lhe Em pire Stale Building
"'i\h dr.lm.lic progression in the orchestratio n.
If Ihi. close integral iun u f music and aclion had
been a heao.h><.:he lu lhe music ians. il was e qually
dcm;mding for lhe animators. forcing lhem 10 beconle
more crisp in the ir Ihin"ing and bener Ql"gani7.w in
thei. ,5UICment... The:y al"'a)"5 had been rtqui=! to Bel
iIoCTOSS the ~tUf)' poinls on lhe leaSI amounl o f lime:. bul
It.." y had never faced the discipline of "''''king IOthr
rigid pal1ern of a beat. Where ,,,.d,na .. I)' they ,,'oW!I
h,a.·c la""n an e.<lra ci~ht '" ten fr~m". to COInf>IrIc.
l><.:tion. stage a pose. QI" reg"tcr a look. the InUIIl
moo.: them ""arch for the: absolule essence 0( ....
Klca-lhal and ~hing more . No fnlls. 00 "'I~: pi
right 10 thc point. It is doubtful If lhey ncr .. ,.,....
ha,'" "",hie,·w Ihis con.ci§c dislillation ,,';(Il0011''' ('I-.
stanl [IIl:S>u", thai do"' ....... d lhe r r,nd a .... y. 1.001:,.
back On it now. we Can sec thai it "'as "aluable ad
necessary Iraining . Unlimiled footage nc~rly al"'11I
lulls Ihe ani mator inlO a ~l ipshod I'crfuflilance
While II><: shons fealuring M ic~cy and acl,on lIP
.... re giving lhe ",u, kians such prohl",,,;. the S,u,
Symphonics Were pushing illto ~ new relalioMlt,p /I
music and ani",alion. He",. the ;lItegnty oflhe """*
was mure imponant. and the action had 10 do
:odaptillg. When a Ihc,,1C from
used. il bail 10 be used imacl or Ihc " 'hoi. cffet!
Bar Sheets
The exposure sheets were ,I~," and only
enough footage for Ihree ur four beals 10
Wilfred Jackson wanted to see lilt
OUt before him like SMoel music. so he
"bar sheel ." This oflen " 'as calkd lhe"
sil"lCC ;1 ,,"cnlually CQfIlaincd all lhe dope
mus;,,-- and the aclions. bul ;" "'",. ;,,' '"',...
lay OUI the bars of mus;,,-- in long boxes tM
Vie"~';:;:::;::,<::::::::;:::';~;;::~,:
songs. ~ ' \1
cach beat. and a notation of lilt §Ian of
which par1 was "erse and " 'hich chonos.
(hal mighl De used. and whe~ tilt 'nu,K:
into3~co nd
b<I ~es.
song, Evel).thinll;;':ir.:,;~~:
(Veil the location of sound
dialogue.
Along wil h Ihis was .... riltcn ii" "~,,,;~ ..
scenes. lhe stans and cuts ~nd tDe pal1em
Wilh alilhe information in ooe "':':::~;;:::
Ii« how any changc on one pan
lhe otlw:r parts. and corrttlion~ could be
~impl)'-OO paper. Disaster follo...ed ,,'hCQ
forBOI 10 correct the animator's cxpowrt
ootif)' the cutlcr. or mado. aJI~ 'i
e"~I)'one concerned. bul Ihat son
Iplikl! Tlw:r~ "'~ re 00 3-12 measures here, aJ>d con-
lIdmbIy mort work ,,'as requ,red 10 fiJ>d a<:.ions lha.
Ii Ihc: mus>c . IOId the >l0f)' . and >I,ll buih a penooali-
., II mo.n~ ih31 " 'as righl. ,·isually. ,••t)U1d ",Idom
...rn.t-.: sound on the U1lCk a. Iha. poin•. and lhe
~ had '0 11«0"'" mon: like c hoaographcTli,
1)'uI~ 10 1lI"ld ~ un,riC<J 'la ,cmcn l in m..,...cmcn. rich in
_1QrI31 COmen' and w'lh a mllesi, 'c nQ_all w'lh,n
.'. ro,C"~' of an e.<tubl',hcd >COre. The visual male-
!III roukl JIOl be choppy or f..... gnlC:med; it had tQ ha" c
., "~ unily Ill' I"" mllsic.
1.1ho:v fil'S! bttn s im_
, Meps and runs Ihal easil y could
10 ful !Q,1,· lhe Ileal of.he '''USH:. 8uI wilh
1II111l<:nee on humor and pcf'll(lnal'IY . the films
qu, c ~ ly inlo Slories Ihal (iC"'llnded 'he acling
:
::~~~:":,:m!po. 100. This rcached a pea k ,n 1935
C,mur/, which comb'ned ,,·c ll · koown
strong perwnalilH:S and a .i.llalion playtd
. .,.~ and ,he ~aff lines. ka";ng Ih i.. ... hich
bors. or ,,,,,,a' lIres. of the son~,
,. . . . No- !.heel.
...~ dclcmllncd the ,cmpo
t aw us lhe number of fran ....
. lOs. 16s .... halevcr . The .lrUClure
lhe number of beiliS 10 ,h~ bar.
;~ :::;~:::".·.:',:':'":':".:':'~bcal. h~c 'h" In ,h,s
12 f",me> '0 each bar.
enlirely in pantomime. It was a rarc combinalion.
reOeel,n, slill another use of music as language. As
One pnxiuc<:r sa'd. " Who else ...-oold lake a bandcon·
CCTt out of Walt·, boyhood. mi~ in ' William Tell" and
'Turkey in ,he Siraw' and a Ka nsas cyclone. and
come OU I w'lh a performance Ihal would enchant
ToscaninP'" (Typical of Wah . he did 001 Slop I"'",
bm began Ihinking of an eVen bigger lise of lhe sa me
principle . He called Ihal one f"IIIIIU1;(I,)
In addi tion 10 lhe siories Iha, ca lled for . piriled
musH:. Ihl:re " 'ere ""'lIC~S Ihal ulkd for a mood 10
be eSlablished by a spcc iallhernc . In many in!.WlCe:§.
lhe feeling of Ihis score ..."t)Uld inO""nee lily furthtr
<k "eloprncnl 10 ~uch an Ulenl Ihal il ...·as decided 10
record lhe IiOUnd rim and ... urI< 10 ils limitalion~, The",
is a fpedal feeling in work that is done Ihi s "" ay ,ha, i1
nO! found in ot her mClhods. hilI il is "",re cxJl"nsive
becau~ of lhe demands il makes in all the crealive
<kpannlC:nls.
A bar is Ihll$ 24X loog_
. . ., ". .. . I.;
'C" : I
Now we added lbe """ne <lans and CU IS. nOIing how
many Frames beFore: a bar. or aFter a b;tr il mighl be . [f
a scene ,,·e,.., ~hiflcd . il ...·as eraseU and pul in its ne ...·
Ioc~ion .
.r:r:-:--l.
Ne~1 Call 1l: Ihe aClion. , imc<J 10 the beal of a me lro-
""n.. . lhen wriuen On lhe bar ,heel . ,..,Ialing lhe aclion
10 lhe beal S. Now".., knew j usl how many ban ....,'"
needed ror nch bi. of business .
Lalcr. dialogue was added, sho ...·i n' ...·here lhe 'ake
Maned and ended . Localion of wund effecls were
•
OOIed . 100. (There is s. ill 00 music sllggeMed. just
lhe bealS . )
Timing, Spac ing, and the Metronome
The: IoCt;O" ,n • sccne
wI. pl.nr.td by IN: .niml_
tor and , .... .1'=1<)< ., ,h<c
lime ot' the handoot . If
1MI'<: wal musk. there
"'_ldbcclI,,"'~
uxt Of • tempo seI by the
"",.ician ,hal could be
m.l"'cd on the c~ poiu"
. bee!. When . mcl('{)r'l()<l1<
"'as .... to th.t tcmpo.th<:>sc
.... rin.n b.." btt.mc ludi -
bit. , iVIR, • ,oad indka-
tion of ,"" lfnOUnl of Ii .....
f.,. lIN: oct_ of the =~ .
If m.n, " 'as "" sound 10
..sf as I , .. ide. ,he m<:tro-
"""'" ,"'lltM only "" Y t"
dele.n,ine the length "r
Iny of , .... "" lion .
A Stlti", of 12, (N'icc.
strond) "" n ,,_lIy "sed .
... hiell mcam thai. bel'
came ~ 12 rl'lll'O. This
ju.r hlJlP(ns 10 be 'M
tempo of III mw:hc:$. al'ld
ofr.... ,ood ol'ornl,i,·.
",'hen no me' ",nome i.
~y, W",,'le ""}' ..-cll ·
" 'ilh me, Ooc . .. , .• bttn
..... Ikin' ()n 13.. ..
Wilh lhe m,:ln,IlOn .. 1"IIn ·
ning, I~ mo" C> " 'cre Ic'"
N ; how long dotll~ ch ... ·
aclCr ..7Jk. bow ...... y SlC'pS
dotl he cale ...· ~n doe>. ~
"op, how lonE;' ~ ~kP
II w:as.1I n.ocN ()n c~ . ~ .
pos"re . heel. <<>rr<<!w. al·
IC""'.' OO cried )! ill 'l'IOl~r
" 'oy , "nlil Ih. "cry be.1
pallem of 0<1100 I\ad bttn
rouOld . II ",·oscalkd. " " iOld-
in, lhe quid .... "-'y I() do
lhe 1nO$1."
T" roncci,-c "r a Inies
or ""c;"". Ihal would pUl
""cr I~ siorypoinl, kccp
I~ per.o,.. lily o r Ihc char_
""it" .. 00 he ;n"glnol,,·.
cnouglc l<) he Ctllcnaining
.... . . bit ... i",menl To
do il all " ';Ihin lhe IIm'1> of
the alloctttl rOOl."" " 'Ich I
r~linK of ICC<:nC. I() malch
I~ heal and geM"rei Ih l '
g.,·e ~y n< .nd mych",. 100/; Th~ ;~spirm;OI"'1 ,k~1C1I by Mrl Slo,,~, ,/w, J ~88~S'M ,lrrsunt.
more Ihon "" "" d"'''-inX

-,",,,,."'i~i2:~~;~
k""""n marc h until the abilily . EXAMPl.ti fll , In Ihi, "".... fron. TIo,-
rb)1hm il well e5llblio/led A vis,tor .'a1k,,,,Ihroo,h F.,. aNI ,10,- /f",,"". ,here: ,~

in )'00' mInd. tap )'011' f_
ane! t\Io,.., • r...,nd "",n' II><
"P' aI you ac, out
>Unt. You ,,',111101 be mon:
til.., . (!'IIme " rr. M ill Kahl
CHl<c proool.imed in " IC<'-
, ...... "Evcryooc " "Ilk. on
l~nlc,.•• ""....
th,n, ""","" ...i.h ''''m~''
WI lt S'"l'IChfidd immedi_
~Iydn:w I.ke«:hof. man
at I~ oo.:lor', off,ce ")'-
in" "Som<lhin,' . .... rong
the hall. " 'oold hea. the
",.u.red licks .nd cocb
,h. (omin, from "".",1 to()n"
II lhe ...... lin .. , I. III<
,,,,imol"" Ii"cncd and
acl.d. conoidered and
limed . Thai metronome
""",._ 10'11 I '!em . "n",knlln,
l:askmasltt ...... ic "10. ,..,_
"""",iblc for F*ki"3 """'"
cnlena inmenl inlo s",all
.mounts or fOOll,e Ihln
~ny oohe. prooNUrc ,
n~ -Ktltt ..·,,11 _ _ NI
,rod for a , ..iilt,
Soc ... d<lCripllon: Ani",als
playin g; fo > in waler;
lIoun<l dh'cs in. ,pl.'hi"~
,,·.ter .11 ""cr hI> friend .
TempO' Stc mC"lrot><>mc ()n
12 beac .
" OOloge : Undele.mlned,
bUI keep bri,k .nd l>II.y .
had 10 he ,he j.pInlcd r~l · AI·,n
ini;
,nK of 1" 0 kid. In lhe old
' '' ''''""n, hole . The
maUM" dccKkd '0 .,;on lhe
.ni·
occ ... .. "h ,hi: f",
alone '"
III< wote•. 'hen bring lho
I'Cl,,,ld in on the nimh r..",,,
L"tcnlnK 10 ,he rRC,m-
...,.... , "'" d<ccnmnctl tho,
,t>t "'" >h<>uld fUn for II)
f.--s hef"", hi: Jumped .... . . ...
~
For.t>t di~ •. It>t I"'P """'Id It"m /H , of f ru ....
h.,·c • bi, leap wi,h • 11,,,,_ It'~" j" ~m aN,,,,,

~
TIo,- bo<Itrring ",./1
of ("f)ft'tK'
""1
{)ft/y ~
MYI/o'Io,- , . ""nd_

,!O .t '""It '(Jnd'n ~ and iw"'l"ng l'<M1tJ(1l ,M

, ,0
-'J 0,
cP· ~",.. nd /<N si.. '" ~,~II' fr- '

",
'vi
'0

Tlo,-y ,.. '~/,,~ fra_ ......" ".. ...,"'.... {)ft,M Ch<mM {)ft ,10,- r_q'(Jjj"~ , 10,-.."
txpos"" JA", of a rMrI, liu ,/oj• .
' It 'lo,- f - I,
IotJb /,u ,II,.
 Th~ (lnim"'", m(!k~. "
r""" ,hrno';"JI "'~r'r 1M
P"P's hh>J ..,/I bot "" .....,~
of Ilrr d.."wing' i" rlrr Tun
,mJ jump .
)
•
"".... :!4 frame>, ~In! ,he 16 <'<lUI' .pac... . Earh o f 'pa; ifio artion. 1lw; >lcpo
t..sI. Thi, W1$ chancd on ,he.., became It\< !">Silio" that ..,.,nd .., """,h... ",.1
"""jlo)$U~~. ,..~h the of ,he pup ', head ., he in ""';tin.,,, ill oll .. imulal.
I fnme>bbnk .,Ihe >Ian. ~ '"' hi. run . To hi, imagination . and in.
co,ng 16 f..",., (0' Ihc k..,p 'hi' nm 'i,..,'y .• n S on:'~ lxlth the fu" of doin,
spIaI/I. >nil """' ...... 8 f"",.." (",me galk>p was c~". the ocellC ond Ute prtlbobil.
...... (111;1 ... ..., ,lie pioclu~ ,"'hie .. P'" the pup. hap- ity that it .. ill comcOUI on
or "" ro. drenched. bul py. bouncinB """,<monl •• tho so"",,, just ,he .... y II<

,.....
boighi",. The whol< ow,.. he cnlc«d . Wi,h coofi. has .·i .....li«<l i, _
'-10 ~ fttt 8 '''mon.OI' den« in ,he timing and ,he
p.3.h of ac'ion. all of ,he A c\oocr!>hot or til< ac·
Thr I.you, ,,'., <lIcok.'<! •• ;m"')("' cnttgH:' ,"()Il ld tion of ,II< (ox and hound
..... " ',",IT ..-", .""'"PI ,,",W boo conccnlr •• cd on pI.yin, in Ute " '''ff. Wi,h
_lor Ih< pop 10 run [Of "",tin, d",,,,' in,> or 0 ploy- no $Olid ,un..,., ",,"Ulh
16 f...,..,j from (he field ful pup in • mi",hievou. tll<ir r.. t. pcrspc<,,,'c bo,.
booIo, 1<1 the rdllC o f ,he mooJ. cornel impo...ant as the
_wr. ...... ""''''inp ...re W1><n tho f"'X'"d"'" i. only mean. or .... bI,>iling
.... o(lho .i,..oil'" dog ,,'rinon do" 'n >tep by i tep the k",,1 or .he "'ater. A
>lid hi, Illiludo .hroughoul th is "'ay. i. ~n" Ilk. an IIrld is dra"'n .0 n:mind .Ite
"" at100II. Ali ,h.,
- . d ..... to dc:lCfminc
re · im 'ol.'tt! and tntiou. pm-
.:0•. bu. ""tually i. to~ ..
animato< or the d"' ...·;ng
n: .. ric. ion. as he bob!; the
.hI: .pacing. 00101 far he only a mall .. of min"t .... cha ..... te ... "P and do... " t()
1lw; bi, ••hanl"", i. thai it l ive Ute fttli~ of ""inl in
."II1II,,,,.
_Id """.. 00 .""" dn ... _
"-n' . imple:
....... of .. kin, .he di.-
~i'"UlItc",,_a~ ..-at..... T1tc timing ()r the
10 think about his ""nco acti"",. "hkh . n: matched
- . from ,.... fiBl dnl"" pl.y " 'ith tho idoe •• . and to .hi. pcOl{l«.ivc. i. til<
. . 10 lhe >pol " .""",, he , ..... it all ","'ff in hi. mind only .... y of _;"~in, thi,
~,anddi"idlng j, into ber"", be i, co.mnil1cd to • ill".ion .

- •
T~ r~ptJ. u'r Uofft ~'jdo.~
0<1i<><t "'IHJplhr "'~. IN
jump. rmd,~ spl~sh .
•"-'-"Ii"
.
':-> ,. ~'''''
., :''"''\".
:/( . " . ...",,
~ - .'
......'.... . .,.,.
~ \o . 'F'''''
.' , ,'. , ,
# ' :""..t; .
.>"<-

,.<...'
" ',')

,
•
EXAMPLE ,1'2 .
WOT~in, '0 mu.i~ in dn
n/nl>ilJh"/In.,po.
Sec"" de"criplioo : Fi..., h.·
$'''''''
tie P;I runs iftlO his
houH. slams doof Wel-
come mal I • • n fron, of
door. He ope ... door. pull ~
in "... ,I.m~ door .pun.
TtmpO: ,woJ 14~. 0.-7 f'"mes
pcr ""'!.
First. we de,ermi"" tbc
nuun acccnt~ ,.-t ,.-ant lO
~alt h ," ,he 0<11011 . "They
-1. Gotn"broughtlocdoor.
, The nc .. bI& accen'. for
2. Sllmm,n, the door.
1. Or<n,ng III< <100<.
4. Pulling the mal 'Q .
S. Slmu1Iing,hodc>Ofagain.
S~c<,"d. ""C "udy the
uposure >heel In<! ,ht lay.
I'
,'.
.;"" .'
"'" and co.mlle. lhe bIg
~km/;n'~ of 1roe .,c."".
Set·
,in&th<' ,nclWOOmc'ma 14
I>o.!. ",'e u')' 10 vi<u.lize lhe
'ypc of KIK>n ,hal ....'ill ""
bc:~1 for 'h" ",wo{ion. We
"'"'" 10 S« .be pig \.11\11"
gle ntllnUy .nd . kid on
[he romo .... he :..,empt<
' 0 n;ach 'he door. (TIl ..
,'>'do.he aud~ • ch2ncc
to .han: hI> .",""""" •. and
,he mU'tel.n an opponun;ty
'" .uppor1 ,roc lC!ion.) The
bel' :>I'ccn, musically for
h,m '0 da~h in,o ,he house
would be on Mca'Su,. 155.
w"h ,he door .Iam roming
7 f",rntS !a,« on ,be up·
~.
,he "I"'n,n& of .he doxw.
cornu on MC&lu,.., 151>.
jUl, 21 f.amu af,Of 'he
d<><>r slam . The d<><>r muM
be clo>cd 10011 enough '0
g., pic''''''
the of lhe house
w"h ,he ",ekomr ma, .,
,tt<: do<>rs,cr. bu, nOl ".,
long ,h., 'he 'empo "
,poilcd. A, 'he door i.
ope .....'\!. ,he pig ~n'idpale,
f, .. . n"'''ie. 7 f,,,me•. divtS
for ,tie .... ,. and gnbs " ""
,he ... ~t be.t. ''''''' pull> "
in very f...The .....,,"'
door ~I.rn rould rome- ""
d.. do.....bnL of Menure
In A.lln,.ll of 'hI< OU,
10 ,he II.h of lhe ""', ....
oornc .how. ,h., 'h" pa'_
'em is jlUssible. II i, f.st.
bul .Ho"",, Ii".., "'..,. ..ery·
Ih,n&-,heudted f:>l'c.'he
",och . or<! lhe l",bbi"1 "r
,he ..... --and ."ll len.,..
p<CM" fo< 8 r",,,,,,, bef"",
,hean '"khnl.tctche, of
,he po>Il""" <>f"'" lillie "'.
throw,,,,,,,, the ac:ti<>n help;
10 prove OU' ,he pl"""'"g
ll>e ;1(1)00 ,,",II be brhk.
bUI "'hen " " chaned on
lhe ul"""'" '''''''' il i< all
cleat or<! look> in'ere,""& '
II ,. 1>me '" "an .n"nallng
 Tho: ..'hole §Klion of S,,,,,,, \vhi,.. th~t ,howed t~
Moo"" lying on her bier while her friend. mourned
_ planll<d 10 ~ I""",......,d Ofg~n lrack t h~1 SCI the
¥ and lbe mood of an)·thing that would be dllnc
riIoullly , No one ~ame 0111 of Ihe lhea ler " 'hislling that
..,. bill it was ~ ~at pi«e of mus ie ~nd did more to
dIotr \II' I~ sprclalOlS Ihan is generally ",alized. TIM:
IIIIlbtr of scenes was c~",fully pl~ntlCd as well ~s
..... rootltnl. 50 Ihat then: " 'ould be 00 busy scenc!i •
... fl)( mo ...... nothing Ihal " 'ould conlr.odict the feel·
ill in the music .
Tho: ... i.... I<)I' had to play Ihis lrack O~er and O'o'cr to
..uta'" lhe righl feding in hi s dr~w ing., and hi s oc·
_ .j It "'as ncccs'j.3l)' lhal he s,ilturatc himself wilh
as5plm 10 caplun: a similar mood in the animal ion .
l/IfO!lu ... {~ly. nc~t door. Fred Speoc~r wlS Irying to
_ as much life and "italily as he coo]d into the
tInrf,1S they ... ng and danced for Snow While in lhe
Earui""",nl s.cq,,",oce . A~ lhe d",ary org~n t~s o f
• mournin~ §Ktioo seeped through {1M: wall s . Fred
IIIDNI"P lbe "oluOle on his recorti of lhe yodelin, and
~. This quiekly cnli.'cncd the funeral ne~t door.
~"ng hours of gelung ,nto JUSt 11M: righ' mood .
Tk!t ..'~. poundi"g 01\ the wall from b<>th silks ~nd
fitrot lohooots of. "CUI OUt lhal sad Sluff!" an''''cred
.,. "Swp thai d~neing in lbere!! "
Prcscoring
I. f""kU"' . n""" of lhe m.. ,IC " '"," " frft ".,po"
-.I dol *" ~ ,0 • "rIC' he.,. ,,~och t .."a,cd .... k·
.-vd conJui"", fHr ,he use of ,he b;tf ,heelS , Wnh ,"'"
Iror bt"" 42 frame.' al><! ,tit ~'I 4 7 and ,tit nn' 4~ .
Ibm _"ti "" ..... y of ge,,,ng a CQfI.i ~,cn' "",",u",,,,,,nt
!(. • chiln , In"ci>d. ,he ,ra<k s ... crt "re:od" hy ,be
ntIm •• 110 ... ,"" a, .... y .."ad I"" diak>@:'" 'rae ....
_m'"I!1It Il0l>1101>. "" ,he ,,~..,,)' • . "
M,",ure "umbel> ""crc ...-ri"cn "" the >11«1>. alon ~
.... ~ acrmh and iUl)' OIhor place"",n!> ,he difn-·
... or.""""(01 ""~h! """d. Ac{"", OOIe. " 'ere .. fIl'en
t» til< P<)', bt,id< ,he mu,,,, .."ad,", In Ihl> CiISC . tr...
..., ,,-= l"'f'l """" .' a fttOId ,han a " ... l,n!
proct<lure .
Tho "]"....1. on ,,-orkonll 10 ~ ~>con:d lrac~ ,,'as
f",,/Jjw, ond ",any exira Story ",,,etings were heLd 10
Iitd!ht tat ~ivlIOC'l' to ~hov.' d .... ing all pa"S of lhe
mllsie . The Silly S)'mphooics had laughl lhe starr tho
"alue of 1~Il;ng musi" speak its mcssa~e uninletTUpl'
cd. SO the ~nimnlOlS ,,'en: well · pn:p.arcd for an (X.
l<ernely diff",ull job: ncvcr enough l in~ in 11M: nlu.ic
to do what needed 10 Ix' done in !>Orne ""l""r>ee$, al><!
far tOO much lime in .",as Lacking ideas in lhe fim
place, TIM: years of lraining produced unsufllused
M;enes of <le<:eptive simpLicily _
Wall had discovered "et)' early )"N' much lhe music
"ould do to eSlablish a mood and how milch il aided in
communieatioo witll {he audienet' . II did not bavc 10
be a symphonic score or c~e .. a gn:al p~ of millie,
us long as it COlllained lhe essenlial cicment of com·
nllmiealed (""ling and ...~s right (or Ihat spot in ttlt
picture ,
C harlie Chapl in ,,'roIe of his ""'n d.sco>'cries and
r""lingl: " £~en in !hose earLy cumedics I SIn»'C (or a
mood; IIsually music c realed it An old ~ng ca lled
Mrs. Grulld), crealed lhe mood (or 1'ht Immi,ra"',
The tunc had • wislful tenderness Ihal suggesled IW(l
lonely d"relicls gelling married on a doleful. rain)'
<,\;iy . ,,~
Wah had a si milar kind of rcaction 10 lhe emotion
s uggested by music . and " 'hile he did not P""ICI><! 10
know h(lw il wItS constructed or """. I, ...·orked he
always knew jll.'1 (he feeling he wanled if 10 Bive .
During lhe making of Sno... \Vhi,.., a SC'tj"""".h3d
been planned 5how;ng lhe d,,-arfs assembled in the
,,'ood. oYlside lheir cottage . The)' wcr~ Irying to Ihink
of a presenl they coo]d make for the girl " '110 had
~ome In , my wilh I~m. and as lhey Ihoughl a mu sical
vamp gave the (<<ling lhal S(,"~, h;ng "'OS aboul 10
happen . One by one tbe y " 'ould have an idea. leap up,
,nake {heir annolloc"m..,n! , havc il rejected, then wilt
back into dc:spoodcncy. and moo: 'hough! . Wall wanted
lhe music to «ho lheir altilUdes . ~nd hi s rcoc,ion s to
lhe propused Sl:on: is Iypical of his feeling~ aboollhe
music In .'''''y
ptctll"': " RighI""'" you !la,..,
100 much
sharpness ar.d 'boom·boom- of the piano , When one
o f 1M guys gels an idea . 11M: key!ohould chan", . WlM:n
he lifts up the nmsie g,,",i " ';Ih him. al><! when he sits
dO"'n ,he mllsic should go do,,'n. . I don' , like {he
idea of lhe muSIC jum]l1ng al you . I see i! liflin, up
,,'i{h lhem . . As eoch guy who think< he has. rare
idea is ~O!ed do"·n. the music 1""$ right into lhe wilt
dow • .
 Music Not Prcscored
MOSI all"""';"'" on Iht ft.",,,,~ ,•• as noI dont ' 0 a
pr=omJ ItXk . and will> .he tmpl\as,~ on actillg alld
mood.he S«nt~ ...'e,., belltr ~uppon«l by a fl'« 'tmpu
.ype: of mu sic 'han by tbe rigid beat . 10 tbo$ cnts.
.he mu,i,,, ... would a>t fOf • dummy ~ .0 he ...-
up ,""",,'i.., him ""~' he had ." mllch alld "'here
'hings happe:lICd , A mu,ic cll<:d "'a, ma<k of ,he
""holt _,ion ",'i.h .11 the ,"""me, . •he fOOlSltps. jumps.
"auns. dISplays of troolion. or stlulli looks . fool ·
ages ,,'tre mar\;«1 for each of ,he", .• he .. nlt.s 00 ,he
bar .~" . bu, !he choke of 110",' 10 ,ie all of lhem
lOt<.htt "''a$ Idl up 10 .he rom~r. If .hey bopp'nt<i
10 fall ,n rfI)'thmic .... " ....... lie rould u", a Ih«l ~ml'"
if .... cho>c. or he ( wid do II .11 to • free be.,_
Jim Macdonald dcvb.ed an in..,.,.,in! "'")' of n.a-
'II!' pm:;..,@uidcfOf ol"mII>..::;"' ''''ilh.h is problem.
On a 1'«1 of blank film. he I"'""hed (KII hoi., ,h.,
would make clkh.1Id pop5 ... hoen ,he film ...'.s run '"'
.he soulld head . "T'heJo: sound, " -ere tilllCd nactl y '0
the acl"", '"' .hc film . .., ,he m",ician rould hear
wlocrt .he« ""C."t~ c.me while: wrilillil a SCOf'c to
maleh.
lbt I"'bloc conllnued 10 enJOY .... in' clnoon cbor·
acl." 1110"" in close rtlation 10 ,"",ic ; there "" as ..,,,...
.hin, f"""n,'in,aboot il alld 1lOnICthing tha, felt ri,11l
10 Ihtm. 1I_'c,.." . iI had to he dont "",,'ully . ...·,th
"""" n"" . .,,., alld . urpri.., ••• arefully avoiding the
choppi"" .. alld "ricky_tick" ..... 1Id of the u,ly Cat-
,~ .
Surprise Accents
lbt audic""" f« l. romfonable ,,'Ioc ... ltd 10 btl"".
thai • .". in Ih,ng< w,lI happ'''' aOO.n fac, they .... , Thr
Clta"""" ..·.Ik' in rhy,hm wilb ,II<: musk ; he IoCctlll$
his mo'·e ...... "l> 00 the b..,; i. f«l. ",hI. TIw: oppJUi<
"",>I be lrue of the ""fJ'flse ,IK .• he un~_ dIo
",.nling . n..", accent> . too..ld ron .. 00 ,'''' off bt•.
.11<: up be.,. ""n,.""","", in In.. middl~ of ,"" ...........
" 'he,,, they are lea>! upc-cL«l. "floc auditoc. OJ. led 10
anllClp;1l. 0fIC thing. and the COOllnuctl aettn'i on the
"",,'nbea. fonify IhIS >o(n<c "f secu,ity . To lie. ,",_
prise . Ihc ..... 1Id mOl" rotrIC al a ""ally """,peeled
pi..., in t10c """ie _
Walt also ~\l g.ge~ted tloc", might be feelings of diw-
naroce in .he harmony. for the sak~ of comedy. and 10
5h<>w that tbc", was 1>0 a ~reemcnl in Ihis group, With-
out jus. the right feel ing In the ",usic. he l/lc)ughi tltt:
.... hole idea of doc sequcrocc: " "1$ onlinary IIId ~ ..tdi
doing_ He ro""'lenled a. the end ur lhe m«ting. "lt~
imponanl that ..'e work OIl' a good musical pattern {It!
.his or else " 'e had bener give up .he idea and IrY 10
W()rk i1 0111 in some othe, .... ay .·· The seqllC'lICf .'"Q-
wally was ~ut OUt of the piCIU""
Wah was JUIl as Crilical of the songs that 10m
!ug.gcsted for !he characler! '<1 ~ing . One ~
",poned that Wah could get his ideas acrnsi almost
wit houl usini words. because his c riticism Wl$ "WI)"!
ill terms <If tbc feeling he: " ·anled . He knew !hall
lIIerely prclly SOIIg wi,h a nicc melody w{)llid ~
_ _ ordinary ~nd drag h~< picture do"·n. The wng
IlIII '" ~,·c a fr~slllless and a Yitality and something
IID1 brlotl' he ,,'OO1d ac«pt it . If it did not rnUe him
ftrI tho .... y he ...·anted the audience to feel. he " "QUId
.. tho romposcr 10 Iry again.
As he Malted work on ,..""1<151',,. he was very honest
. . . his lock of musical kno,,·ledge. and it did not
-rr h,m in the "'ast 1h.3! his r.:octions wer.: those: of
• I11III In the suut. l.copold Stot.owski ...·as im .
_ If helpful and s!",nl some tinlC' e:>;plaining the
c.lNCtion of a musi,,0.1 number and the relation of
• form to the reaction of the Ii.<te"" •. He concluded.
" If our pleturi'.ation i. contrary to Ihe music. it will
_use the public; if it is in form. it will be clea. ~nd
~ and they " 'ill enjoy it.··
W"fs "'"flO'I§c was leu erudite . .• ~ an: th ings
ill . . mus.ic that the ge""nl public ,,'ill not un&r-
-.d ~ntiithey .<co: things on II", screen reprl'Sl:nting
til nIIIlic. Then Ihey will feel the depth in the 'n\'~ic .
.on
OIr nt;.ct is 10 reach the vcry people who ha, .., walk~-d
this 'Toccata and Fugue' because they didn't
~ it. I 1m """ of th«< people; but ... hen I
-.lmtand~ . I like it!"
-':mably IS lhe work r«>llreSSl:5 On any SCtjuence
__ KleIS pop up. aoo surpri.<i ngly ofte n these ilka.
_lIy will strenglhen the musk. since they shafJlC'n
Ik do:r.nilioo and emJlhasilc exactly " 'hat the com·
. . . IS Iol)"ing. If tndy creative people"", involved.
.. nosoc_ is quick 10 ..,Ihe the impro"ements and
tItFf to adapi his KOfC if that is still possible . The
~ solution to all of this " 'as the "temp (tempo-
.-y) tr.oc:kJ·· that were uscd so n tcnsively Ih roughoul
"lIIin;'s. fonies. and fiftics.
Ia concepi. the musician " 'ould record his idc~s in ~
.-If Itmporary forn, as a guide f.... all the pro<IUC:.
. . thai ,,"OUld follow . In .'iOr1le cases. a small orches·
"."JS broughl in and the " '00 .so carefully planned
_the IC>ult could be usc<.l f.... pnJdoction-i f desiml .
1I<ilhefs. the studio co"'poser woul<.l play hi s score on
.. poano 01" organ.
1\0: 1IIl'"lIntag~ of Ihis (arly t~S! recording is obvi-
_ . It pl"tsc:ntli a slrong musical coocept that i5
-.bt,,,, and inspiring . As lhe director and anima-
lin do:,dop lhe graJlhks. lhey arc guided but not
.ant:tcd by this track . Being tempur.. ry. the music
• lor changed and new ideas tri~d; the man woo
wrole it is Sl~nding by to help <.Iecidc juS! whattOOse
c hanges should be and ""heK in (he score they should
C<>lnC'. l ie i~ not beat~n dolO'n by whal stems li~c ,Jaily
trivia. but is av.i lable when help is needed; and !lav.
ing made hi, initial statenlC'nt of how he helievq the
mus ic soould be, he exens {l1I}1"C inf1l>C~ than when
he tried to tkl instant con'jIOSing in the 100m with lbe
director .
n.: best mllsic was achie'"ed " 'hen it could 'Pring·
board from the hours of thought and refinemem that
had gone into lhe story dcvclopnlC'nt and arting. If.
""quencc is. well balanced. builds properly. has life .
gotxl lc xtun:S. and a flow . lhe musician has a much
beuer chance o f " 'riling a wperior M:0Ie than if the
picture is dull . lifeless. and spotty . e ",n the grandt$I
score w ill stem unimpressivc under those rontIitioos.
With a ~nl;llk. crew and n tcnded schedule!; for tho:
pictures in the sixties and seventies. it WIS no longer
jIOSsible to keep a musicia n on full time. so we shared
one with the live action units. (K:orgc Bruns "vrkw
equ all y wel l in ei ther med ium. ""iting "Davy
Crockett" f.... the I;ve T V show at lhe same time he
W2S adaptin, Tchai kovsky 's ~lIet !'COle for S'UJII~S
8~"wry to our animated "en;ion of Illat classic fairy
laic. George .... as big and easy-going. but he wortw
very hard and produced a """"'ingly e ndless string of
fresh melodies and haunting SCore5 .
H~ d id Icmp tracks. prescored .some selections .
orchestrated sonp. jun,pW o,·c. to lhe live artion
shows. lhen back to consult on the best mUliical {reM-
ment for the ""xt §C<juence in the canoon . When there
was mme to tkl than he ~ould handlc. he suggested
Ihat we find a piece o f musk fmnl an ~arlier picture
~nd . ' track" our picture with that . 11 (BabIed liS 10 f,nd
just the mood ..·e ,,·anted. the tempos and phrasinl to
support our art;on. lU1d ~ept uS from ..."aring him QUI
" ';Ih tOO many c hanges .
When the lillie ClinIC' 10 write the final score. George
was fresh and en thusiastic. suggesting more effccti ve
ways to present our coocepl"s. and wriling 10~~ly ne ....
ballads in the SlUIlC' tempo and r..ding as the """ we
had ~ for our ·· tracking . ··
All of our feature canoon~ 100/1; anywhere: from t,,"O
to fi"e yean; to complele; w no mailer ""hat the
invol"ement of the musician during lhe formali "" peri •
od. there ... as .It ill much to be done in the final days.
In"ariably !here ""ere loan)' .urpn!ieS and ell;on~e. from
lhose fim UCI!ed plans. 'n., d,,«!or lias gooe !hroo~h
lhe =Is wilh lhe nlUskian hour after hour. di~u"mg,
planning. changing. humming: bU I he ;, IlCver ,ure
that It.. musician understands " ha! is '.'anted. and lhe
musiciao lias an c.-en Jl"IOI"l: difr",ull lime ~e!!ln, h"
Own ideas ""r()SS si nce !t.. langWlge of m,,'1C I. IlOl
IiOme!hing lhe direCI()f unde ... !~nds . SomC!UIIC. the
music will lac k Ihe magic an!ic llxllcd. and "hole .....>
!;"ns of the film " 'ill seem 10 fall ,har! of "h~! lhe)
might haw been: bul just as often. e"ery""" ",II be
startled by how nluch n~ po.....erful and Inlcn>t !he
",,!ions ha,·c bttome "hen fon,ficd ",Ih!he mu,1C
We had worked hard on T/", Rescuas. Irying to
make the mice seem "ery .mall a"d inadequale 10!he
lask racing them. but the con fidence and sp,rn In the
v~s KCnlallo dispel an) C<JIl«m " 'c could de,·clop
for them . Whtn Anie Butler ...·toIe lhe mu,,,,. he fclt
lhe predicalOCnl of the mice !>Culely and " ... ~c muSIC
that immcdi"lely made lhelr IU,k "nOnnuu'. "hlle
somehow kee ping lhem vinually helpl6' When lhey
tried 10 mo,'c lhe huge d,amond from ilS hIding place.
!he score added a good 0..., hundred p<JU",h 10 lhe
weighl of!he gem. The animalor exclaimed. "Iuie;j
10 make!he mlCc .!r~ln and hea'·. ;~.,::;;,';'::~
the,r strength .. hen lhe) pu>hcd agalA" I
hUI !h's--Ih" exhau_l, IlIC""
S""h efkel. ~rc no! e,,,lelll"''' plall<llrack
" hen plalcd "'Ih a couple or ""Iru",,,nll 011
tr.w;l It tale.!he full VOICIng of lhe orcheWli
the mU'le to hfe. and unulthal II~ I
go"" fallh Ihal the ~ore .... ,11 fulfill hl~
dreams Th~rc" no "ay a "n~J~ IlIu"e;."
~1Il.11 p,ano and an enlhu".,lie "uk" c.n
f....,hnll or 'pim Ihal ",II Come f""1\ lhe same
pI')'e<J {)n allille In"ru ..",nl>. Th"" unfoou ......
t"Cnl)·· (jvC ",u'Iem", ,uung un the .'!age
uNruc"on, h","," :on wK;t>mfonable ~f1ccl on a
"'"1
lur' S judlln>en! of rc""on~ "tlCn !he fiflll ":~:~
..,,·cah a d,fferent f....,hnll III the "'..,,.; than '"
antlClp:lled.
All !he: Olht'-r funcllon, '" the m.~,"~ of ::~:~l
NlIlllhruugh COlls!ant !e,lIng a"d cotr«lIn8
ing dlC be" rciall"",hlp!" the "h"Ic .• nd In I
non, ",u<o<: " 'os done: !he "'Ill" ""} FOI "' ..
year$. greal -..con." Il;o'c conhn[l(d I" Iolln, nc:-.
the MOOOO' < "",,"I I"'pular fil"". ,., en lhourh tho
mlt""< of malchlng "'Ulld 10 r,durc haH dUI!fld
"""""""I}' II <ocour~~c' one II. I>cl"" ,c Ihallhcre ,ull
"IIWI) """" "'a». cXCllon~ "'ap, on>[l""'~ wa)"
10 meld "111>1" and [lOClUn: 1U~~ll>cr
Wnrn Illtre "we >OI'~' in a picl ure in :"lU,uon 10
. . .",col >COre, II.. ) were" rlilen and reconk:d "el')'
arI).!iU 11>c)' "",Id "" 'nlc~r~k'<l carefull)' ,nl", lho.:
10') !le"flopn.. nl . Wah Wa' ~d~mam aboul Mlllg'
l1li >C<:Ipf1W the flo,,· of lhe ."()f~ " 'h ,le ,;on", ,in~er
*"",",Ir:lled hi, prowc". ,,,,d he illsi,led 11);11 Ihe
:~):::~:,:~:g "il 'O<Ild I>.: !U piel up II>.: le",p<' of
in a",~l>cr wa)'. "hile a,kllng 10
I I comen! of I].., ":<I""IIC1:. A good ,;ong
nW.e lhe audicnce fl.... 1 ",ore <kepI)' about lhe
-~
Om • ""'g had oc~n ,""eepled fro", the co"'p<,,,,,'r,
: ~::'::'«~'.;;',i":":' """Ie.."1.""proximali,,)!
'· ... n,i.kr Ihc lenglh
'I'll.: "(leal mighl
Illal cou ld be used in lhe finall .
....oolol be far beller on a lemp IrdCL, ""h lho.:
be On
:::::::::~:.:"~::.;'; or >ln~1I group Ihal
bier "he:n all finat Ik"'''i, .... , I>",'c oc"<:n
t;'<;lIIld
tn III< «<o,dong bu,inns. ,,]..,n " ""c"li>l i,
. ~"''''. the >'M ' g ilsctf a,,<l the: . i"ger·, ,lyle will
lhe numll<, of dlorusc) aool h< 'ight arr~nge ·
~". ""' """'<'_In ~ film. II>c _,It"",tun: mO>l be
by II>c na.'<l, o f the MOl)' . 11.11 I"'el oncc
• """fIO>oCr '" 110 " 'anted 10 conlrol lhe: pr<:-
of hI> n",loo),: " You ' re benef off " tilinG to
I I in II", piclure. bec:[U,c )'''ur ,on): "ilie",i
n~""" "ni~uc . h'>lca,1 of ,,'ri ling "hOi )'W
and a,ling f,M' 1"'-' pIClure 10 ad:.pt to il .
1""1 I"'" carlOt)fl malenal has been ,.'urked
O\~r. II ha, more lhoughl . <lcp<h. aoo enlef_
,n ,It""n )'(111 ",.lofC . You 'd bellcr II"" il!"
Ii flO',iblc 10 "m~ ,,,eh 'I"'cial ",;"erial
il beenllk!_' lill ie """e than a """cil),.
II ~'ork' "ell for lOe picI"'" aoo progre,,,",' lhe
"""~."'" n>lill "III h",·c g"'''1 value_
A..., I"'" OIlchc:, lhe e~act II .... '" of lho! '""I""!lCC
n In I f.-.:;.h ~nd "k!"IOr~blc ""a} "In tIo
, (or 1"'-' l'U"'p<>SCf. Ino . I.cLgh
and Ned ; 'I I""cl), "When V'III
dUI)'. introducing us
I" a ~rickcl ",II>" gt:nllc pen.onahl)' a, " 'cll a. sening
a mood f,M' lhe ,,"'hole piclure 10 follow . '!'be .......1"""I.
.. Liulc Woudcn Ilead.·· captun.'<llhe sp,ril of (JeptlCll"
and ga"e u' a chance 10 inirodlJC<: the ,"'<>Oden I"'ptlCl
in his lifelcss .'13Ie . Wilhoollhal ""'I: wilh lhe n.. lod~
Ih" ""..,,,11.'<.1 10 iii an ol<l,world lIlu,ie box, lhe "'q"",~
of inu-.Jd"",ing lhe [lU1'P"1 10 lhe olher res idents or lhe
10), """r W'lIIld ha"c IJc.en full of dL"IOIlUC:. comri,"",
gag..', and knglhy busi""" , Wilh a WIlg t""t fillhe-
" walion. il was full of melody and fun, and did mlOCh
10 show lhe au<lience how Ihis " 'oo<karVef livcd .
On.:c II .... ")tIg was rcconkd. Ihe slory""tn coul<l
s,an I""ci_sc ,,'orl on hi, storyboard. adapting II>c gen-
cr-~I ideas 10 II ..... mood and mcasu ..... of lhe- music. Of
... ue.u~ chan~ lhal mighl help bulh pictu", and
""'g_ Wilh only a ""'nlO lrack. chan~s "",Id be tried
and lhe structure ofthe- mu,ic altcred 10 fillhe gfO\\'ing
needs of lhe ,Ioryboard. In >01," ,'3""'. lhe vocal " 'ou ld
rCII",in. h\JI if il has bec" r«:urded on a §cplmue track.
changcs in the resl of the mu,ic " 'oold ha'-e no df«t
on il an)'''·a)' . Now. when lhe- booIrd looks promising.
aoo lhe Icnglh of lhe- song fcds ri,hl. the ~letchc:.ciUI
be shoi and:.dded 10 the story . ketch red. Once more
lhe~ art" changed and shirl~'<l. redr-~wn and reshot. unl il
everylhing ha, Ihc proper flow . The'" "ill will he
impro"cnlCnls lalcr On. a, ,I\:W i,kas keep coming. bul
for the ,no,t l)art. lhey will be ,,"ly loucbe. Ihat add
,..-.iril and ch;w.oclcr to _he: performance . Anim:oling 10
music is <llffIC"h and opensi,~ ~nd il is ""ise _o k""""
cxactly ",hal" " 'antcd before an),OfIC . Ian • .
Sound Effec ts
Funny suund' ~I""a)', ha,-c been ~n imegral pan of
cart"""s . II " alnlO>-l impo»iblc 10 thinl of lhe cnl)'
films " ,Ihoullhe ,Iide whi~tk:, ratchet. flOP"gun. A)'Jo.
phone .• nd bell-. Tb".., had all bl~n wrincn in a~ pan
of lhe score ~lId were"", r«orded until c"c'~lhing 011
lilt: pi<:lote ,"'", co"'pleled . The animal ion had been
done 10 ~ ,p«i (", be:'l. II>c aclions "~re all marked ""
lhc .,,,,'" "",IF. and fou, or fi"e pefCu"ion "'en ""ere
no,.' broughl '" ""ilh lhe orcb(~r. 10 record lhe "'hoIe
piclU'" in 0'", long. cnmplelC talc of C"cl)'lhin, Ih~1
would be on Ilk: sound m.c k .
As lechnica l ~no"'ledgc advKoccd. il became POSSI-
hie 10 do Ihe differenl pan_ of Ihc .'<>1100 separ~lcly and
combine them omo one track at a later date . No ..... if
wmeone hit a wrong gong or scraped his s..ndpaper
block once too often. the whole seven-minute take did
nOi have to be done over. But a larger advantagc was
that now the way waS open 10 experimem. The music
could be recorded in separate takes called ··cues.·· the
voices could be done oVer and over umil JUSt lhe right
inncction waS captured. and the SOIInd effecls could
be recorded individually. speeded up. run backward.
Of built out of 1.....0 or thT\.""I! separate pans.
For Thru Lilllf' W"I,·es . in 1936. the sound effects
men had to get the juicy impacl ofa ripe tomato hining
the big. bad ..·olf in lhe face. A ..... et ..... ashcloth had tOO
much inlpact. a spoonful of grease waS \00 "·et. and a
cup of water had too much splaner. The "",und finally
was achieved by comhining the three best sounds OVer
the blatant wund of the . ·razlberry ..• the impeninent
noisemaker made of two loose pieces of rubber. No","
by itself sounded anything like a tomato. but togcther
they had the feeling needed to match the action .
As Jim Macdonald says. ··The "",und man must
think about what the sound is going to do for the
picture-ooljuSt how it ought to sound.'· Jim was the
most creative and dedicated of all the sound mcn.
staying at the studio for SOme forty-two years. then
continuing to come in for "",und effects sessions after
that well into his sevcntics. Originally brought in as a
drummer to handle some of the sounds for those early
canoons. he was offered a steady job because of his
imaginat ion and <ense of emenainmen!. lie .says that
tl!" sound effects man must ··feer· the effect. cI·en as
he makes lhe sound. and in suppon of this philosophy
thre ..... himself violently into e\"Crything he did. from
JIOOnding o n a door to choking himself with the hic-
cups. Being a musician he saw to it that the soulKls
always fit properly into the score. and being an en-
tertainer he made sure the sound was the beSt that
could be gotten for Ihat spot. Good sound effects will
add life alKl excitemcnt to a film. whereas drab. ordi·
nary sounds will quic kly drain ....· h~t life there might be
in the action .
There ,.·cre always changes in the ideas and the
material as a picture developed; but ..... hen the studio
embarked on the feature cartoon. the period for this
uperimentation stretched to three year~ or more This
meant that there would be endless changes in the sound
tracks as a good track inspired beller business .... hod!.
in tum. built an even beller track . No departm<nt ...
free of Waif s constant building and improving. M!
new idca had to be tried out before a decision cookl bl
made about il' actual value. and this led 10 test tm
and leSI recording and test music .
No studio could afford to bring in specialists",,,,
time there was a new idca to try. ,;0 members of dill
staff who ..... ere particularly inventive and creati_
along wilh their other talents-were asked to do dill
experimenting. If it had to do with music or $Q\JrvI .•
waS usually SOmeo"," from the sound effects ~
men!. and most often Jim Macdonald .
With consi!lcrdblc in!,,,,nuity and a great dral of~
ing and accompanying dizziness. a track h~ bee.
recorded for thc organ that Grumpy played in fie
dwarfs" house . It was only a first test. oot it in,"O/¥etJ
everyone in the studio who could read music:. pius.
handful of com petent musicians and all the 001IIII
effects men. wme thirt y of us in all. blo ..... ing on Ixt-
ties and jugs and strange homemade inSirum<nlS. 1\t
most demanding pan waS for the man who blew 0I'III"
the giant jug for the lowest bass notes. That pan"
gone 10 Jim . Whcn Walt beard the tr""k he e~clai_
"Yeah' Thaf s a happy song. . a happy groop! Some-
bod)· should be )·odding:· and he turned to loot.
Jim . ·· Why don·t you get down on the stage and Ir)••
yodel?·· As Jim said. ··1 had never yodeled in..,
,.·hole life. but ..... hen Walt said. ·Yodel!· yoo y~IN"
And yodel he did. oWr an<l o'·cr. for a coo~"
years while Ihey built the track into a happy stqueotlt
witb JUSt the right amount of si nging an<l playing'"
fun. When everything ..... as finally approved. a proto.
sional group of yodelers was called in to gi,·c ..
ringing. authentic sound. but the structure and ..
length had been ""OTkcd out by amaleur y<l<kler
Macdonald. He commented. '· 1 was al ..... ays dotIII
J.
voices for actions where they didn·t ..·ant the ""rot" _
hun hi s vo;ce--grums. sirains. screams. gasping.. .~
In Aris/ocm. there was a scene of the alley III
O·M.lley nearly drowning in the river . Phil II-.
playc<J the pan and ..... as not only wilting to do..,.
thing we """d.,d. but invariably found a ..·ay to ......
alJ the morc entenaining. Still. dro ..... ning did...,._
to be a suitable application of his lalents. We had ISeI1
SOmC miscclla","ous gasp' and coughs he had o:.n. for

us a."~ buill our conlinuily and bu,ines_, 10 ilS cli -
max. ""Ilhe n we called upon Jim. Aflcr lookiog m lhe
film r.. .-.eommended Ih~1 be do il all in one lake as be
ulchOO the film on (he s.:recn. ralher Ih~ n in separate
pieces as he ",ually did. He brought oul a big (ub.
filitd i( with waler. and Ihen wilh the mi~c in place
Mid his chin half ,ubmerged. fi .,~-d his eye, on the
scm:n and gave Ihe order 10 rol l Ihe ti 1m l ie not only
matched lhe ""lion preci,"]y. bUI inhaled JI le"'1 a,
much w'aler as Ihe cal in Ihe pielure. and ended up just
>bool as rlCarly dro"-ncd.
Jim had • "'oodworking 'hop in his garage and
.""kl spend hours buildin~ ~ad~et ' Ihal mighl make
!OI.lods for 'pecial ",cl ions of lhe piclure._ When work
• :asboginning nn Thr Old Mill he ~aw (hal lhere would
be a ~ for many differem kinds of creak< as old.
roning pans of Ihe SlroClurc would lum . He corn:cived
Ii "" . labornlC commpl ion of drum head,;. siring and
bIInons and suppon,. and a wheel for lighlening il all .
f".ring thai ",ilh a bi l of ro,;in and a bo w he , hould be
able 10 gel w me exceplional groon,. Whal he gOl wa,;
I porfcel foghorn! So he recorded Ihal. which is slill
the on< used luday. and returned 10 his shop 10 Sian a
ne~' idea, II is "cry imponanl (hal (he effecls man
hal't enough limc !O Ihink and play "round wilh ideas if
the soond is to be al al l unu sual. or jU_'1 righl for the
poclure. Man)" l;'l>CS il is necessary 10 run Ihe recorded
I!Xk Ihroogh SOmC of Ihc sound ~"<luipmcnl . 10 re'·er·
berale il . or take oul Ihe lows. or , pee<! il up. or
combine il wilh " Iher sou nds. Wl\.:n Ihe day comes
Ihal lhe dire""lor is down on Ihe S1agc 10 record. lhe
sound effecls man mUSI Dc ready. II is Ihen (00 laiC 10
experiment
Every sound Ihal is recorded c"enlually goes 10 lhe
Sound Effecls Library for ~ se in olher piclures. Over
Ihe years Ihis enormous colleclion has been built inlO a
treasure house of ocarly e,"cry sound in (he world----
u cepl lhe ooc. special. elusi,'. sound Ihat you wanl,
There arC tiny different coughs. whi>lles. footsteps.
creaks. and foghorns. and Ihcse are widel y used 10
build Ihe leSI (racks. bUI when the pkwre is finally all
PUI IOgelher. Ihere i, al"'ays a long list of needed
sounds (hal should be dooc a link differenlly for I h i~
panicular piCI Ure .
If lhe sound is (!<In of a Slory idea or rela(ed to a
chara<;ler. it i, always re<;orded early. so lhe animalOl
can work 10 il. ralher Ihan 11)' ing 10 fil il in later, As
Ihe idea for Ihe exhau"ted dragonfly in Th£ Rescuns
was developing. Jim was (old uf Ihe problem and
immedialely Sianed searching for Ihing. he could use.
A power saw wilh ils varied whines and straining noises
seemed like an obvious choice because il sounds so
determined and despcralc. but il did nul prove as
flexible as a liulc creal ion of brass lubing and an air
hose combined wilh a rubber mcmbmnc OVer" kind of
drom Ihal Jim could play like. musical inSlilImentli
was when Jim add~-d (I\.: panting and v.'hcel.ing on lhe
end of lhe bu1.zing sounds Ihallhe characler of Evinn"k
finally leap( 10 life. Thai sense of cn(cn.imncnl in
commonplace .sounds is a vcry .peciallalenl .
Ie is lhe aSS;Slant dirCClor"S job 10 bui ld his InlCk$
and keep lhem in syrn: and growing 10 ",aleh Ihe needs
of Ihe picture. So il falls 10 him to rummage Ihrough
lhe sound CiTL"<:IS library for lhe mosl appropriate >ounds
he can find. and. also. 10 dedde juS! how many he
should PUI in . Too few can make lhe film sound spot·
Iy. 100 many can make il sound ridiculoos.
AI Ihe Slal1 of lhe war in 1941. Ward Kimball and
Fred Moore were animaling a long. involve<! sceoc of
a .mall soldier going (hrough all (he Ihings a soldier is
lrained 10 do-drilling. manual of arms. saluling-
cve1)'lhing excepl making hi s l>e<l and KP. There was
an eager aSSi~lanl direClor at (he lime ""ho "..as j uSt
wailing for hi s big chance 10 show whal he could do.
nr suggeslion was made that the scene "'ould gel
t in ils rough state if it had a few .ound
, Ward lind Fr«J cautioned the lIMistant th~t if
• effeclS "'Cn: lOll n:al lhe scene would be dull,
. . . if me,y 'o'en: !OOUOIie il ,,·o.lId b«ome si lly and
its ~~nglh. But the right IOlmds. carefully cho-
D. . oold li,'C • sprightly character to the " 'hole
hour$later IIIe !)earning assislanl returned with
t it on the MoviQla wi th the.ound I"",k
beside it. On the open ing frame of
, then: was a ratchet sou nd as the soldier' S
in I sa lule. fo llowed by a " ping!" from
.s lhe fing¢f$ touched the forehead . This
"sproings:' wheezes. tllOOs. claj1!i.
(llher. ac«nting every la.'lt linle
the animated churacter made . Fn:d and Ward
::':~: : : ~::~:'~::'::::~.::,::.:;.
back to lhelaugh_
into convulsi''C film.
They fell 10 the Iloor and could no longer sec the
bill me, p.:nde of unlikely sounds continued on
• popping .00 bleeping. li ke someilling gone
Tho: kIIlger il ,,'enl, the funnier it goI. and once
and Ward had sta l1ed to laugh . t he~ wlS no
assistan!"s bu ming look of anli ,ipatioll had
. . .,. " """",,,.,, mo«: defiant anitude. then 10 a
1(1 of determination . lie sta~d doggedly at lhe
through the Moviola , intenl on see ing
10 lhe end 00 matter what.
off lhe machi"", look o ff the
lhe room with his track under his
'The gales o f laughlCr had
allrac:1ed everyone cI~ in Ihal wing of the
and now ('Urious heads "''C'" thru'>!ing into
."",1,., lhe WOfCe of lhe humor. lhey
paSt lhem. and Ihal very
~~;:::,~;::::::::~
, .:';=:';:'"ma n is asked 10 come
• SOlInd for somet hing tllat cannot pos.ibly
iOUnd of ils uwn: fur instance. the sound uf a
"'eb shimmering witll de w. Wah insisted that
should be • 5pe<;ial sound. and though he could
llescribc it uactly he gave lhe impression lhal
",''''r knew "hat it should be . Jim Macdonald
1,,'Cn tho ,,"ign_1II al that point and lurned it
over in hi~ mind fur scverJI days. It s!lould be like_
" ';nd chime. he l!lought. soft and delH.:ale, withoullhe
impact of glass hilling glllM: it had to be something
else .
Jim found his an~"'Cr in ~ ~ of duraluminum
1((1 over frum a """. panel inMalied in the sound
de~"mcnl. He CUt the material into s.... 11 piccn and
suspended them from a plywood frame . and ""hen he
sho<H; the whole thing an amazingly light .nd shim.
mering IiOUnd Came forth. Walt li ked il so wdllhal he
3£ k«l Jim to tune it chromatically so that a gli5salldo
could be played. or maybe eVen ~ lune . II was neVer
enough 10 give Walt wllal he 3£ked for. ThaI always
.~timulated lIim to even II>OIl' elusive. bul untlcniably
beller. ideu , and especially ideas that never would
have been t!louglll of in the beginning .
One of Jim's gll'aleSt accomplish ments Wl5 the
sound for a gianl magnet. This actually was inttndrd
for I r10k at Wah Disney World. but Man: Davis. ",'110
had helped develop the ride. k""w from hi$ )'e2l$ of
animalion training that the key factor in mating me,
whole idea won: was 10 have ju~tthe ri,hl sound. He
called Jim OUt of ~ti",ment to find it . The fascinaling
thing is tha.t Jim "'enl righl 10 objects Ihal make no
.ound! Thai is, no sound the human ear can £kl~t . A
heavy-du ty soldering iro n operating on 60 cycle~ held
close 10 the microphone gave off a very low. rhythm;';
hu m . A de·magnetizer u~d for laking sMic elttlrit:ity
out of Kissors bef,,", CUlling lape gave oIT another
sound that barely could be recorded. and, finally. Jim
lUi a large cymbiol and gently brushed a liny piece of
COlton against the edge. No sound could be detected
on the "~e, but lhe tape machi"" "':as pickinl up
~trange vibrations. These tIu-cc ooullib well' taken to
the dubbing panel in the thealer. whell' lhe t"",ks " 'tf'C
mi~ed and s wilched and altered. and raised in volume
until the sound could be heard by human CaB. II was a
sluw. pulsing. indefinable sound. and il started to make
everyone lhere sick . As they bolted fur lhe door, lhe
~nnoyed lCchnician! yelled back al Jim. "You can't
pul that in Disney World! "
RUI Jim CQntinucd to play wilh his sounds. r~ling
like a mad inventor, until he had lhem at the provoca·
tive " age ju'>! short of producing ill",," and ju'>! pa'>I
n:eognition o f it as wond al all . It was mtII'C of •
feeling, and il fcll like a magnet should souoo!
71rt- ",."KIP!.. cf IIw ",~/,, ·
pia," """"ro " .Irot.n IH
,Irt-... ""'/oIk~,,,. IIrt- " ....

"'cf' * '"
r/~ m .. ",n' hm .. 1M<lm~
rlrt-/ar",/row) ..
Ih .. dr.<la"u is (lCI""/h'
III

"ur<it' "I' 'if fi"" riiff,,'rrll

I~,'..il' of uri WI!,t
12. The Follow-up Functions
"No (1/1( f't'WII CUll /akr cud;rfo, rhr Juct'rlS of" mor;on pirmrt . I,'s strklly" tram ,!forI. From thr iiiitt' I~
SIC!')' is ... ,ilun 10 rhr limr rhr finui ul~uu prim cornu off thr ",inuT. hlmdrrds of fW"l'if (trr ;n,'()h'r~(Jrh (It!<'
tloing " job-""'h job ("omribll(ing 10 rhr fi"I'/l'roduo. ,.
'-"1Ih lilt ...·riling of the mllsic. the 1$ ' Nly creali""
funclion has been completed . Some membcn; of the
lUff tlrudy ha,.., new a.signmenl$ and are excitedly
f~pIoring the rlCXI rrojeCI. bul the.., ~!i1J 8«' &Cvcral
crucial;oos 10 be done and deci.ions 10 be m;,de Ihm
""'11)' .ffecl the final appnflmcc of the picture.
UlUllly an rile money budgeted for the film has been
IJI<III. m.llht big push is 10 "get il out" in lhe '1uickesl
Q)' pouibk; )"CI 100 many oompromiKs al Ihis stage
could desuoy much o f [he ... alue of rile work already
door. FonuILlIldy. there are still dedicated propIe kfl
who ... ill 5« lhal this doc:. 1101 happen .
n.: ~ncS muSt be chec ked OVer and Ovcr 10 be
MIlt thaI all paIlS worl ro~!ly. The ~nwork must be
phoI~raphe<.l by lhe Camera Dt:panl1~nl. alilhe dif·
Imll! _nd tracks must be combined onto one: track.
-.I then !be lab must face lhe impossible lask of gel·
. . the colors on tho: film !O look !he same as tho:y
-m painted. While these jobs are noI glamorous.
!ky are "i!al in a~ing tho: seemingly endless string
r;I. one process or anolocr always going WTOni . Fran!i ·
all)" b)'ing !O control these proccs~s and keep the
pic!Urt movin~ i$ the Production Munager .
Someone has to assume!he responsibili!y for seeing
_!htre are no boctleneds. that ~ne:s move through
• OfJlIlizalion smoothly. !1Ia! dire.:!ives are being
caned 0lIl. that COSIS are held 10 a minimum. andliul
• prod~r understands why the projec! is I'lOl be:ing
wopktal on schedule . II does I'lOl have to fall to one
..tividual. It tan be: shared by a small group of over·
.m.cd artists with a special loyally to the whole pro--
durtiQn. However. it is the one person wi!h!he official
til:k Produclion Manager " '00 can be: blallM:d. criti-
Wal! Disney
dud. qunlioncd. and senl to lake care of mings.
IIis job was easy when the picture slo .... ly ,,·u!alt·
ing shape in the Story DepartllM:nl. the dirtCtOr was
Ics!ing vokes. and lhe experimental aninlation was
being done. Not much money was being spen t. bu!!he
crealive pnxcss is impossible 10 coo!roI anyway. How·
ever. ~ the "'ork h",~ been p;tssnl by lhe animalOn
10 their assiSlanlS. dra" 'ings Can be counted. deadlines
impo:sed. $("hedul~ arnngcd. and ",ork organiud .
"The: pic!ull' ill in full produclion at this point. and
.'iUddenly e"erything i. going a! 001'( and in all dire<:·
lions . Theil' is I'lOl enough !illM: in any dlIy 10 check
even half of il . especia!!y if lhe CrtW is behind sched·
ule and working oveni me to meet I deadlinc-whi<:h.
somehow. nearly always happens . NOIhing seems to
be wming OUt quite lhe way it was planned. and 1>0
one: really knows ,,·hy. Everylhinll conceivable for
keeping prodUCI;"'" moving has been trio:<! .... one tirrc
or al'lOlher. but a sense of de"OIion 10 the produc1
brings the beSI results. Ne,'(nheless . the Production
Manager will tell you Ihat!OO much devotion can COS!
too much money. too!
Checking
One of lhe beSt ways 10 keep "oR flowinll smoothly
i~ to have each $("CDC checked c_fully befOK it IDOVeS
on 10 the ne: ~1 dcpanment Once!he animation is com·
pletcd. il should be: chec ked for tcchni<:al problems .
l1Ie d ...... ings may ha,l' worked well in te~1 camera •
but sumrene has to adapt them 10 ~heir fin~1 fonn on
the cels . Are the c haracter. on!he right le,'cls to ma!<:h
the other $("Cne:s in the SC(juen<.:c? Should ~ of the
Icvels be comhined? will 1he pan moves and lrocks
woO; Sn1OOIhly? 15 the aclion ,onlplclCd 001 10 1he
r~1d bonkrs? Will il worl under the camel'll?
Befon: we had cheelers il was up 10 the cameraman
10 lttp a close ...·aleh 00 lhe drawings on hi. stand as
he was shooting, bul1hal usua lly wl,IOO laiC. Typical
of lhis situalion was an incidenl on Mkkty's Kanga·
roo. After shooting nearly ha lf thc .<ccne. lhe came ra·
man noticed thaI Pluto w~s snarling as if he we re
g\lUding his dish. 001 in a peculiar w~y he was stand·
illJ! in ii- though not quite in il. Ili. fOOl covered pan
of the did!. bui il did 001 match lhe ",urYe (W lhe sha]IC
of il. The dean·up man was ",alled over 10 explain
...·hat was intended. and he immediately cried. ".some-
one has moved the d ish! h 's iUpposed 10 he over hell:
righl under l' lulu'sleelh , not back where hi. fOOl is!"
A call to lhe hac kground man p",. lu,cd his copy uf the
....
laywI s.k.elch and his notes on the 5CCnc . • Ic was blan",'
AOOIher call; Ihis lime 10 the layout man . ...·ho can'"
with all his dn winp \Q prove lhat the dish always had
been in the same place. Now lhe ~nin'~lor joined the
as5Cmbled group. and after mon: di.<cussion he «<ailed
moving the di)h .<0 there would be room for Pluto to
run in and lup inlu Ihis defensive posi tion. He had
made I lrac ing of the locatio n of lhe dish and marked
it on his copy of the laywl. h was surpris ing 10 him
IMI lhe la)'OOl man did not lnow aboul il . aoo he
wonden:d ...·hy the final animation had not been ched ctl
before going ahead.
They all WlJ"ed bleakly at the compl~ct1 ..,1· Up on
the elmol'll Mind . The eels then "" cnl back to the pro-
d\lCtion rooms whe", adj us,"", ntS were made unt il lhe
SCene ...·otked properl y. bul muc h time wao lost in all
dcpanmenlS through mi slake, that somehow s lipped
past everybOOy. Ralher than u tablish blame it "", med
more imporlant 10 prevcnl it from happening. so the
pll6ition of Ch«l e r W3S created .
Very soon it was d~red that one: cheek ~r ....1Ii
IlQt enou,h . In addition 1o the eheek f(W mechanics
and technical problem~. lhere had to be & cheel for
mi~sing delail. for clear inMroclions 10 the inkers. f (W
mini n, 1i nc ~ around color arc~s. for r~gislry of one
eh",.-.cter to another or 10 an objec t on thl:: bac kground .
In Ink and I'lti nt (hey needed addition~1 chec king before
a scene was painted. a nd 51ill aOOlher afterward to
m~ke W~ cv~rything was on tho.: eels .nd follow,..
through perfeclly _ Some of lhe arna7.ingly cornpIin""
Kenes from f'<Jnlwi<J even required a specialw •
cheeking. 51""" the (1)fIlponents were iI<I involvul"
intemoliled thaI hardly anyone evcn knew ..1Iat ....
supposed to haPl"'n .
On ly ccnain individuals should be checkers. Tht jo»
C~ 1I 5 for a special persona lity ma keup more than an It-
tistic ta lent . and not everyone tan ~dapt '0 ,he do-
mand5 . Complete concentral ion 300 an "cagle eyc"
are needed hour after hour to ferrel out the ~, ...
ellon btll in lhe process a huge one 5h00.1d no!
by un"",iced! 'l'1Y cheeler mU$! be a dctcCIi,"t.
pletely dedicated and above penona] ;";:"::::~
S"" h ind ividuals scarcely can be blamed
ing. ·· ah.H AA.:aa .a.~tl!·· .... hen they d iscover a
lake. but 1 . i ll
pcrwn who made the error. No onc ~s
on purpose. and somehow a diSlll:ssing .ir
ination 'lttm. to bon, arouoo I visit to lhe Cheda'l
roolll . For IiOIIloC reilSOlt. the feeling ;s "'";"""~ ,.
being called 10 the principal's ofrlCC .
Blue Sketch
New procedu~s wcre .uggested con,lantly .." ... .
make thl:: checker's job simple' and eliminale $OInt of
the npensc treated by needless cffi)f"$. The " 8.
Sketch" ""1$ one of the mosl praclical .
One lime a backgrouoo painler was given a Laylllll
showing an ominous evening s.k.y with the vquc ~
of tree branches i ilhouelled againSI the clouds. nc
color key that styled this sequence ~ho ...'ed a grctlOlllt
sky with an ev il louk . "The bac kground man was ..
trigucd . Here was a good· louking de~ign. i
dramalie. and an impressive painting could be
lhis. l ie ca.dull y worlcd 001 lhe la.cy I
branches. the contra.uing dl~""" and colors.
tie shading in the clouds . The whole thing
and would make anyone: look I.... ice . The I
was thlt .he background paintcr had not
"'" what action touk pla.cc: in the
a do!'C· up of a large and formidable character
blotted out ali lhe lrees and 11I05t of lhe I
of painting around the edges showed .
d iu-ppointmcnt for the painter as ,,"til as a ,,__
...... and time. Something had!O be done: 10 keep Ihis
from Igppening Jg:.oin_ n..ol WIOS when 5O'''0:0'''e (hough(
ofJJlJking a "bloc .~kc( c h" of (he so,.'coc ,
Wlltn lhe xlion of (he rtlugb animalioo has been
IpprOYtd I".- h.a( we called " OKed for Ckan Up"), the
1«.. il picketl op by the t.ay()U1 Dcp'II1menl Jnd
checked for all lhe U(remCi of movemcnl , A c"",pos.
.. lnI:in~ iJ nJade in colomJ I"'ocils (predorninarllly
bkltl lhal. ~i (he size of the characlcr, how mucb
of him is showing. how hig h he goes on the paper, hi .
Jo.,.'e:!.I point. his maximom move 10 the k:ft or righi ,
MY conl<lCl he makes ,.-;Ib p3.u of (he Nckground, lOS
.-dlas lhe fi~ and laS! d",w ings in lhe IiCene. ~1iC
e$$t.lIi.1 lnoveme nl.' of Ihe c haracter are recorded So
1haI cvtl')'One will know j ust whe", he g"'" and wh.:ll
.., 000$ in th:ll OIW:' Kene , II ",\'(Cals cbanges lhe ani ·
_ may have ma<lc in lhe ... hole ~t . up tbat the
b)'OOl man possibly does no! know ~boo' y<:l. ~n,l il
DlDin!O the background nUln lhe: nUlin .",as of ac ·
Imf)' and !hose places lhat should be painled s imply .
•
E ven so. lhe clemen! of buman CIT()f will not be
shol out. TIle", was a Kenc in Th .. 1Iml(It Hook Ih.1 is
s lill a myslery 10 all involved , The boy, Mowgli. was
10 be w"'n running through the j ungk: af."" he thought
he had been double...,ros~ by B.loo , "The feeling
needed 10 be one of dcspcf:lliun, wilh more ahandon
and no.... dering (ban speed . The animator who Wa!!O
do lhe 5Ccnc: ren ~mbcred a pic« of live aclion film
showing a boy pusb asitle some ""'oche, IlJi he I11n inlo
• {hkket. II sccn~d li ke a good aClion Iha. would r,(
both Mo wgli 's allilude and lhe: silualion, 50 the film
was broughl op and.he anim,"or ~tudicd . made nokS,
and ~kCIChcd unlil he cou ld adaJII lhe acliun 10 lhe
.",Irkl iono of hi s $CCI>C , The boy threw op a prOlCC1ive
arm, ducked his head, \wislC:d his body , then 1cantcl
back . ~II givin, him more thrust .. hen lhe branches
were pushed u illc and he hurst Ihrough. C<lIIlinu;ng
hi~ forward progress. It was a good acliun and difrlCoJI
10 <:3p1u"" hut wonh it for lhe cxtn Ijual ity if would
gi\'(C lhe picture .
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,,
•
•
••,
•
 This type of aclion would t10I show up on the blue
sketcll, and """" of the peoplc who " 'Of ked on the
~nc toot OOIe of anything special about it, The effens
animator ..'ho did the final drawin, on the branches
....,-m as dose as he could to lhe action the animator
had defined, bul he fell the leavcs needed to he bigger
10 malclllhe new model and evcn:sddc:d a few more to
increase lhe overall masS. l1te layou l Illan , thinking
more aboul dense jungle thall the boy's problem. also
incre~sed the s izt and number of lhe luvtS . Finally ,
the backlfOOnd man. looting at the la)'oot and the
cff"" u animation . addc:d a bit of lush g"",·th of hi.
OVo'n that was .ppropriate to the jungle. bol by then the
Xlion " 1IS co",pleted covered! 1'he boy s imply JaJ1
behind """ W: de""" boshe~ and canw: ntll on the OIher
side: •• till running .
Mon~y and tim" and "fforl hall !I"'I!! into ~hOO1;n!l
the live action, animating Ihc $<;cI\C. cleaning il up and
inbetwffnin; it , making the 1~)'QlIt. and painting the
bacqround . Al Ihi. poinl in the production. whkll
ani5t should change what he Ilad done? A confc..,ncc
" 'as he ld and the decision was haloed on c~pedieney:
1e.,'C it lhe way it is: the audicOC'C w ill ",,"cr know
..'lull lhey a.., ",i~.illg . The beSt pl"OttdUIl'S always
have I way of bll'aking down. and on ly dose contact
betwff n the individual artisu can keep cveryone work-
ing toward a common goal.
Camera
The first animat ion camera was , uspc""'" f....
wooden frllme so it " 'ould poim SlrlIight 00..'0 111
a:;':'~b:':;.:Th<~~":':'~U~ ::~i:~::~~~
and most on
drllwings filmmakers boilt
;ngs had to he I
in lhe ,\.lI me place. various nW:llIods Were tried.
oole. punched in lhe papcr Ihat matched little
pegs boecominll the most successful.
ings absQluttly nat whi le photOj:rlIpilinC. a I
of heavy ,lass. c alled a pI~tcn . "';I;li
placed
Thi$ waS c,'cn more imporlant ...'hen Ccli '"'(ft
voh~. sincc they IIad a tcnde...:y to Nrl and
lighl bac k up into the eamerll knl.
lIefo!'e lhe hullon is pushetl to shoot J ,i ngk
of film , the woolc se l-u p of atld
mU~1 be cheded visua lly to see I
~'Ontple'd y f"", of foreign matter. A speck
curious fly can ruin ~n expens ive k cM,
is kept handy to blow off anyth ing thai
thc~ .
In lhe t ..'cmies. t,,·o CamerlllllC1l "'Cre . . . .
shoot • K'C"" s ince the Clmcrll had '0
be t
hand . One man stayed up on lop and carefu lly
tilt (!'link one lum. trying 10 keep. consistent
and m ythm throughout: the OIher lmlngod
ings o n lhe pegs. At Disney ·s. i, was lhe
Ub I ...'erks who rigged up an :::::~;'~'::'::':
thin, could be done by ooc man
lable ,
As fi lmmaker'S' ideas upandc:d,
to move I"" camera up and do .... n so
in closer on l sec"" or pull
action . A calib!'llted post repl.,.;cd lhe
A short !inw: later, lhey wanted to the,f"W.
cither to ooc side Of the OIher .•nd then
needed to twist !he camera as"m:OC~:h~~::~::,::
for special shots. and 10 lIlO'Ie ,
right a",l~ to their oonnal "",ition. This
"erl Kal pan even lhough t"" an " 'M
foxily flat . The pegs at both top and
placed on bars Ihat cou ld slide,
we!'e intrOOuced. and then a contrafllion thlll
IItOve lhe: pegs in any dir«t;on .
AttOfding to Bill Cottrell. "ho • . •" '" . : :

II i ilit . li is ideas <<In·
illiClf and cfft<'ls wen:
Bill said, " He asked me 10 experimcnt
filltl-to put 5i1ver nilMe on lhe film
. Tile pielun: Night waS prinled
srock, and we had • fin: sctIucncc Ihal was
01'1 red ."
tho ~ixlkl;, the came .... and animation slands
0.10 aimosl mon: Ihan moSI animalors knew how
..... of. These giants wcn: expensive, and few
. . . . , . , , " ' , . , . WffC uSt<! very oflen, b,,, " 'hen
wen: wonderful 10 hlvc . II was always I
. .,~, • •,.".. it was (lleaper to have the can~r·
r,I"J'UI'l', Ind different material , until a very
effeel Wli achieved) or hi.ve un enlerprisinl:
artist draw it ~II by hand . Sometimes lhen: was
sioo:: !he cffC'Cl could be obtained only by
1OUIt, but oow and lhen an enthusiastic and
cameraman cwld tal k the producer into
lhan really wa~ necessary .
Tkrt ...... a in the mid-th inies when every
the cn:ative fields had tn wort. in the
six weeks to learn how the pic·
pIIllOj;C!her physic:aJ ly. It $OUnded like a
.sea because il educaled everyone in the major
would be using in pulling lheir ideas on tile
I in truth it was a fiasco, The need for an
eye and complete concentration , com·
a l _ unlimited polenlial for error
~
~:~~:~more than mOSI anislie lemperaments
. E>:JIC'nIiCS soared and the produclivity
itself dropped to an all'lime low .
idea ~ abandoned, but for yean camcran~ n
IOCI~ a baleful eye at any animalOr who eal11e
. It was unfortunate, because animators must
_ Itthnk_1 knowledg<' just to animate ,,'(11
...... ',oo"" "t assi~ance the camera Can live
in achkving their n:sults .
lied inevitably 10 the huge. shiny, m)'Steri·
hidden behind signs saying,
Admittance" " the multiplane
Solidlyenginccn:d, it was built 10 withstnnd
.,",d ,r;""""'~'''t . bul il was a"'k"'ard 10 ~I
around and unbe lievably hea"}' . The li&ht · ~ight met ·
als ....~ hanlly known at that lime, and foor strong
men were needed just 10 lift the frame (hat held I
single animalion level. As many as ei,hl .'iOO Will
bulbs ...~ in a bank of light~ for one level, and when
all levels "'ere lit the helt wu oppressive .
Somehow this Camera Captu~ the im~ginations of
both anisls and the public , either because of its over·
whelming s in or its imJ)C'netrable workings or the
possibilities of what it could do. The prirociple or its
operal ion is simple and easy to uplain. but maki", it
work is quile another matter. The COllIplieations an:
suggested by lhe (act that less than IWO years aller its
initial use. a manual had 10 he pI'l'p3rcd that began:
"The Multiplanc Planning Board is I body headed by
the Direction Unit and CanJCr.l CoordinllO' and. rep-
resentative of the Enginccring Departrnent. lltc fullC'
tion of this bo.1rd is 10 work nUl the ways and means of
accomplishing Multiplanc shots ..• ,"
Baskally, the multiplanc aPJlllratus makes Woe of
several layers of glass . each with some jUnk malerial
on il and placed at a varying dislance from the camera.
For an average shot . !he background itself would be
eight f« t away , the fin! level ~ix f«t.the IiCcond live
feet. then another al rwr feel . and maybe a founh
level at only two-and·a-half feet . As many as si~ levelS
have b«n used and 5hot from a distance of 14 (<<I.
bul thll is not an average SCI · Up. Assume !he scene
called for the ca n~ra to move in through the anworlt
and progress 10 the righl ~ Iowly , The amount of the
move on each part woold luve been vcry carefully
calculated by an eng inccr. and alilhat is !cfl would be
10 run Ihrough the SCene to o:c:e if everything worts as
planned . On (he regularcamcra , there is no run Ihrough,
If a scene has been c hecked and approved, it will ... Oft.
00 the carnera. and it docs . The cameraman sllools il
just as the exposure sheet is marked . On the l11ulliplane
camera, ;\ is OCttSSllry to lest lhe mark ings.
The lights arc turMd OIl , the first eels an: placed in
position. and the Ic<:hnicians take !heir places beside
each of the level S, Up 011 top the carneraman is peeri",
through the lens , but lhen: is no Iilm in the camera.
First, lhe level wilh the fealured an .... ork is lit with the
proper intensity, then the OIher level s arc lit oeparatdy,
SO that each give s the besl anistic appearance 10 the
.... hoIe scene . T,,'O big problems plague the Crew end·
lessly: (irsl. rdleclions Ihal bounce off lhe ,;hiny «Is
imo ~ eamen klli . and . KCOnd. lighl from a Io"~r
level lhal occasionall y shows Ihrough lhe ~inl on lhe
back of lhe «Is.
'The refleclions look all kinds of ingenuilY 10 con-
quer. from adding neu lllli densily gla",,, undet lhe
talTlCl'lI lens al a fan y-five degree angle (10 " reflecI
~ refleclion away") 10 leaving the offending level
darlt for one diooIing. lhen ligNing il by ilsel f for a
second run·lhrough . E:.pcnsive and ledious. bon as lhe
crew uid, " We ~re shooting ~I of III<: .Ituff wilh
mul liple exposure anyway ."
Conquering lhe lighllcaks was nsi<:r-for the cam·
I.'r.llTlCn . This involvoo scnding all III<: «Is in lilal kvel
back to !he painters for another coal of~inl. Ihis lime
in heavy black . (Laler " 'h;te painl was used for this
backing.) The p;linlers " 'ere annoyed al !Ia"in, kI do
this utra ",ork . because ooly ooe fl3ffiC had 11l1li
leak . and a pic« ofblack paper ~I id underneath Iht cd
would have Stopped Ihal in a hurry . Aft~ }"zs(lf
protest from the paimers il finall y was agreed Ihll IluI
waS a good idea .
Won: in U ITlC .... completely Stopped while 11'c paIIII'
ers fumed and ~imcd the: back o f every last ttl ..
that kvel. ~n......n resumed late. that day . .... l1li).
evcn lhe neXI . lhe camera c re .... started \)'o'Cf 1pUI»
male sure everything "'001(1 work smoothly "'Ith dMt
new correction , They could 001 check cvery frame (If I
scene bul did have 10 run do,,'o to all die crilicalpoUIIl.
checki ng lhe umera moves . lhe appc ..... nce of !iii
SCcne al thaI poinl in the camera findt. , ~ Ii&hl; Ink!
on ocher k,ds, and IIw: ro<Istaoc rcfk<:t1ons . In 11*
of Ilr mosl ca",ful planning . ...,nlClinlC~ lhe~ ,,'ould
find thai lhe~ were o"crshooling a painl«l ."'. or
_ing I Ie,..-I ""f~ all o f ilS pans were 001 of lhe
QIIImI forld.
A! !he tamtfll WlIS Io".-erw closer to lhe al1"'oo.
..... problems Ippuml b«ause of lhe chan~ of angle
r..... camera 10 lighlS. Alleralions Ihal COlTttIW a ron-
doIoon alone poim . Iway~ ..,."med 10 'rl:ale a second
probItm al arlOlhe:r. So hour after hour Ihe canlCTa
m" Nck«l up. cbanged lhe: equipnlClu . ~la"W for·
.ad. bided up. ~ over. chllnged iOmClhing elsc.
.;[_11 pIIl1S or lhe scene " -ere working Oawlessly.
-.
nos literally lOOIt daY" . eVl:n with a full Crl:w of ro'"C
or !-lIlIItn. bul evenlually lhey wcre ready 10 ~hooIlhe
II is u .sy 1<:1..,." why of'CMing lhe muhiplane Cam·
era was SO upcn~i"c and why il WlIi used Ie" in laltT
years . Just 10 SCI up for a held p<!$ilion wilh lhe back-
ground 0\11 <:If focus look Ion&<,' Ihan on lhe regular
camera. bul lhe resulls were ull$UrpasKd . n.cre "'as
also I li_ faclor in just shoolinC lhe: film: 10 ~ tho
depth <:If fltld in the focus for ~UC:h • diSlarw:c •• time
exposurt: of SOme: eighl or nine s«onds was required
for every frame: uf film . In addilion . IlICre we", 22
possible adjuil ments Ihal cou ld be made before each
funIC was shot: not all wert: used on CVl:ry f~. bul
all had 10 be caleulal«l and wnnen up and tlotck«l for
~iJClo Ir~ . The upostlrl: sheets were so compIicaled
that only highly trained tethnical me:n cwld write
the:m-or rl:ad them .
In spitC o f the complications. there _re thrtt K'p<I'
rdtc muh iplane earneras working around the clock for
many motIlhs . One cameraman .a id •.. [ wor1<ed almOSI
a year on FumM;u. 12 hours a day. I had Ihe night
shift. I" d come in aboUI 6 o'clod: and I"d never gel
home tillS Of 9 in the morning ." He remembered the
special problems of shooting a lillie scene Ihal would
be on the screen for a mere Ihree seconds. yet it had 10
be shot [2 ~parate limes 10 gel the sublle effecls that
came only from mulliple exposure. "You'd do one
and lhen you'd do anocher. Ihen a distonion: )'cMid
do a diffu sion . you'd do mist; if you'd make one mis-
lake afler you SIan . ." He shook his head al tho
painful memory . "You had IU absolutely duplbil:
every move Wilh four or five guys-yoo've gOl a guy
Ihere. arKl a guy lhere-and a- yw'd never make Ilia
film looay. I guess. ' "
Few invenlions ha"e made such a difference in tho
appearance of lhe prodUCI as lhe old mulliplanc CUI>
era. When il was firsl used il was very special. aoothr
public heard enough aboul il 10 know Ihal il ......
qualily in produclion and vi~ual e~c ilcmenl. II .....
good publicily. a grea l adveni sing ilem. and the NIDI
appeared prominenlly in our ads. We well: amazal
one day lu sa an ad fur a Warner Bros. liv.-ac~
fealure, laid in lhe wooded hills of magniflCenllllOlla-
lain<. Ihal claimed the woole piclure had ~n s/IOI
wilh the "Glorious Mulliplane Cameu!" A goodpob-
Iicisl cannOC sum 10 pass up anYlhing Ihal is hoi al thr
lime!
[n laler years. when lhe mosl oflen heard quwx.
is. " How can we gellhe same effecl for less ..;~,ff· '
layoul men increasingly have gone 10 lhe optical
for
Ihislheir answers.
device: Asson;"~':O:";:d:"~";::~~:~;~~,?:
among them
of film Ihal in many ways duplicales I
anliqualed muhiplane camera. long si""" priced
exislence. In Ihis process, called bi -pac k. lhe
ler is shol o n o ne piece of film and lhe background '
shot on anocher. In lhe primer. I,~",,,pi'";"f'"
are combined-somclimes revealing a i
rim-ligh1ing. buc usually producing a , ",,,,i,i,,. ,r.
ing of dep1h 10 lhe scene. For a charolCler racing
lOward lhe camera. Of going away, Of for lhe
10 pan wilh Ihe character Ihrough ce nain r ,,od",,,,
bi-pack gives Ihe besl illusion .
Themeni~:::f::::;:;:~::':'~;::~::~;::::~:
and il is nul
over wilhoul asking questions.
Don Griffilh wenl Over 10 ask aboul the beSI
plan a scene he had for bi _pack. he was lold. ·"·m".
you wanl bi-pack? Why don'l you use Iwo-slripr'
Don asked. " What" s Iwo-slrip?"
He is nul sun: Ihal h:i:;~:7;,:::~r~,:~::;:;:
he says , "The main Ihing is Ihal
masICr peg Ihal used 10 slip and cause lhe
The Mu ltiplane Camera

Jl

CAII(U CARRIAGE -Q 0 10
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~
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,
lISl WE SI Olin MOtOR
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P
ml1J,1 FomROUND PLANE

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~

COilIlL I PWE OR 1II1111AT10NlEVEL -

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..
~ ') \,\
..," "AC~GROUND !'LAN(
~

",,, BACK'ROUND
-
M 1:::1
rim. lighting has been eliminated. and thrre a nd foor
wips can be wmbined silTMJltaneously. mel a soft focus
cln be achie~ on one level (as in the old multiplane).
mel ev~n a see · through effect for an overlay is possi-
ble . While Don Griffith is udtw a!xxll these accom_
plishments. An Cruicksh~nk. v~teran of the Special
Effect:;; Departn~nt since the thin;~s, $Iill likes the
multipla ne camcrJ best. He wishes it could be used
again. because I>OIhing can tate its place in achieving
~a1 effects . " 1lle bi-pack is okay for I C'1)lIpk of
Ie~b. moving in .nd around, but for a full . six-level
scene. it can't do the san~ thing al all."
Sc:v~r31 uceedingly alert minds around the world
ha,-c come: up with a OlIUPUleriud mulliplarM: camera
thai make:;; all the moVes of lhe separale level, aUIO'
,natically. ~nd Ihi ~ eliminalC~ loooe four or five I«h ·
nidans who stood around wailing 10 make I sma ll
move on t"'ir level hanlly often enough to ~member
if lhey had done it in (he fi~ place . NQW . when !hey
aulomate lhe: position of lhe: l ighl~. their relalion 10 lhe
c.n~ .. and to lhe ee ls. and figure how instanlly to
effect changes in the cels lhemselv~s as n«euary. it
rn.>y be economically possible to $Iart planning those:
in voh'cd SttrM:S again. l1w:rc lfC n"my wlys today to
make the old device less cumbersome: fot in'tance.
the use of sorullier lighls thai throw out as much actual
CantlkpoWCf as lhe old bank of 500 wan bul~ but
wilh vinually no heat .
More likely. how-cver. new U",iii will be found for
the aslonishing eleclronic invenlions that berome a'·ail·
able to lhe imaginatiV<' prod~r and director almoM
daily . 1ben. the venerable old liant thai stimulated 50
nuony ~rful concept:;; and made w many visual
d~ams cOme lrue. can be retired 10 Ihe mu",um. 11
p<O\l:d th;!t creative men with detennination eventu-
ally can find a way and Ihat !he anist who is alcn to
mechanical aids Cln find the assistance he need:;; to put
his ideas on lhe screen .
Dubbing
This is the: original name for lhe process of combining
all lhe: sou nd tracts onto a si ngle track that wilt be
prinled on lhe film along with the picture . Some:ho....
the dialogue. sound e ff«ts. and music all have to he
dubbed togelher without losing any of the ~peciat val -
ues that each has brought 10 the pieture . Proper hoi-
anee bet"'een these .ounds Can giyc lhe film more life
and sparkle. while a lesser job will leave il muddy'"
undistinguished .
Since the process actually call s ror~,:::,::~:.::~
thing a second time. it al,;o has been c;
or ··re·re. '· This presents 31\01her octa~ion for
onacy and compromi",. The wond ",,,.~" ". h;~~.
dards for what corn.lilute:;; good sound. and he;'
awan: of whal other sound men will »y about
" ·on(. Most potential conflict here comes from
sound man' S very best effOrt 10 gel clear. pu~
on lhe tr..cks " 'hen Ihal mighl 1>01 he the &OiI1 of
dir«1or . He may he after lhe reality of voices "';::::
in a cro,,·d. lhe confu~ion of noi~ in ~rong ao
lhe impact on I'" liSlener if he were the re ! The
man want., to hear every JOUnd clearly ~nd dI,,,",,,"
the direclor " 'anIS emotion and invo lvement.
There are 00 ab'iOIutcS in sound ; it is all .,••••
ships . You c~ n havc more highs. or 1llOIl: lows.
this. or a touch of thai. or a bit of ~,·crb. It is
plex. and it is all conlrolled by a sy~lem ,r".".O
regUlators and buttons that only the " miAt, "
t<".lOCh. Through this system go alilhe ~,"",""',
lhe same time . and there probably witl be as
tracts as there are sound he:ads on ,,'hich to;~::::
even whenlhe music has been re·rcc-onkd
,
mel is now on one: track . If the music track
,
lhe dialogue Cln~ he heard . If the dialogue is
up. lhe music can~ be "'anI. And i;r "", ~,.'<r..
are gi,-cn a .. ~. .~ apt to Wa!>! you 011
your seat. 11 iii a Ii 'il
s ion of whal shou ld be done . Very rarely ill
any agreemenl .
1lle assistant directors and tbe cutters spend
hours pre-puing for dubbing sessions. because:all
trach must he in order. with no din
old duplicales from the work tracks mUSI be
Th is is lhe tin~ they discov~r lhat the
piece of film lhey thoughl had been 1
ally 10M' This is also a tin~ of hope thai the
Conlaining the bar ,11«1, has been ac<:uralety
10 date. because this is the supreme aUlhority
stalus of !xxh the picture and the sound uxb.
(I()W on lhe", .wo " 'ilI be " 'orl::cd on scpar3lely.
II hipJy advisable mat they fit together perfectly ...·hen
"'"'tuaJly they an: printed silk by sid< <m • roll of
r...
Oflen, additional rcds containing the sound will be
-.Ie up jUlt for the dubbing scuion so that one take
01 dialogue can be moved off the reel that contains
pWMeS too close together or too different in \l()lume .
Thm must be enough time for • dubber or mixer to
Ir1I his dials when he blliances everything . A low
~ cannot be righl next tQ • yell <m the same:
ntt; it muM be II100VW to another rttl wheR it can be
-.>lled better. After the s.ound has been checked
MII.shihed . nd mea5ured and repl..:ed , cue sheets all'
~ up tIIat show the sound men just ...·hat is on each
ntt, ho;tw long it runs , and what come s up ,",Xl.
'Ibrse become the guide as reheal"SlLls bring out sug·
. ~. . . aai notations of what to uy on the neAt rull .
tile mUiic down jUi t a bit and bring up that
"~'.'kI'~W' ",,,,,,,1,,, in there ."'
TheIC ~Iic:e runs can take .11 day on a compli·
and in lhe carly days there was no
a mistake . Whatever happened, the
to the end, then be taken off, wound
i on t!'le sound heads. ()flIC
, With ten =1 •• and a CQIlfused s.ound
I spewy projectiQlIL st CQIlld not make up
. One assistant diRCt1l1' says h is bl""kest
!hose rehearsals, for afteT the proper
had been detennined for all the
in tile whole rcc:1 the diRCI01" would be called
. . _'"." for the first lime. While he frowned with
appnisal. the film might roll by for 700 feet
perfect balan<:e; then , for no . pparent reason , •
woold not be heard . or. sound
be . 1'hc diRClOr's comment woold
when you've got the bugs worked out: '
woold return to his room while the rttls ...-ere
_t. re· threaded, . nd nwJe ready 10 Sian Over
,.., lrom tile beginning .
""' cqII;pm.llt and inventions have greatly simpli·
"'hole procedure now. but there an: still deci·
be made:, 10m film. pal'1 S that sound thin no
dials an: lurned . heavy . tubby sound!
be made: IQ match. f~t ic trips b¥t to the
shift or replace a tiny piece of sound .
over again . . . .
Answer Print
Anyone ...·ho has shot color pictures of a vacation trip
knows WIthe slides or print$ ne""r corne bad looking
e~actl y the w.y the scene I PPU..w 10 the eye . The
pictu~$ all' a little bluer , or maybe redder, or in 5O<IIC
sU'aIlgC """y not in the same baJantt It all. "The wne
thing happens when film is shot o f the compleled
artwork and Sl:nt to the lab to be developed .
nac ~nes come back as " dailies·· and :eeagerly
51udied by a oon«med 51aff. 1'hc ~presentative of tho
lab uplains that "dailies" all' never true in color
s ince theyall' printcd in whatever bath is available at.
the: time . He IS$llres everyone !hat the: ne"ti." is
good . nd thaI .11 Ihis will be ~Ied when the lab
makes the Ans wer Print. 1'hc big trouble is that tile lab
cannot a lways do it . 1.$ }oM HellCh grumbled after
hours and houn of experimentation. " film j ust won't
<10 what you think it should!'·
The result. improve each year with new chemical.
and proc:esscs , btn for four decades il ...... I Ihomy
problem that took much energy and many meetings.
Walt even hi..w two key men from Technicolor to
advise 011 what could be done to irn;\I~' cenain reiUlt
in the final printing, and magnifLCCnt ~sults wue often
obtained one w.y or another .
!fa certain visual dT«t ~al1y is nttdcd in lhe film •
it is wise 10 experiment early to see if a ooopenli"" lab
can help in any way, for after the print has b«n made
the:re is ~ery little that can be done . II CIn be dafter. Of
redder 111' lighter 111' bluer , which might m.ake Lhc: over·
all scene read more clearly, but il cannot achie"" a
whole new color baJantt. That only can be done by
dllltging the original anwork IQ mate list: of 50ch
capabilities as are available at the lab. It is often I
disappoim ing compromise .
Foreign Versions
Ordinarily one does not th ink of the special problems
of making . foreign version of a film until after Lhc:
initial release. when the box oWl« rc<;eipu indicate
whether the venture is j ustified 111' not . At Disney 's Lhc:
foreign man.ct always has made up a large percentage:
of OUr revenue , stal'1ing wilh that first =ordinl of
Snow Whir.. in another langu.ge .
 /

-- •
 $i.:t!he shorts were Da$ed on sight gqs. the sound
Iud bttn mainly sound effects and ITMJsic. llIe
"H i. Minnie!" and "Yoo-hoo!" were
enough t(> he translated in to Freoch.
Ii Spanish. and Ponuguese , But wilh
of !be fUlures. new considc:radons had 10
man Wah cho5r: for this diplomatic and
_ .. ,., was lack Culling. who had staned as an
lIIilIked hi s way up to animalor. then swilChe<I
be the first assistant director. In thaI job he
evtrything about puning a piclure together.
pII~sically and aniSlically. bul his talents lay
thai . It was hi$ fccl for the chanelers them·
. . . ". "'haI made lhem wort; in tile picmrc that
his vtrsions in Mher languages so unique. He
to malch a deep voice. or a whiny voice. or
but wenl instead for an actor lllhocouid
regardless
r understood lIIe
n:laliorl$hi~ and 110111 they should play agairLSI
and he sea~he<J umil he found actors in
",110 could capture the $ame feeling
version we had mad<:.
Jklnlveled Orlen. lived in Europe: for much of each
IS be lumro lhe hlnguages. and be<:ame at ·
i' in Ihe studios and performers
and in the films. He worked with the
",Ti1cn and inlerprclers in rinding the best
keq') the spiril of a line rather Ihan just the
. Ind used his lraining and his judgmenl in
the vo~ ta!cm during tile recording sessions.
in lhe native country
i I because of the availabilily
lCIon and pilnly for the ....tur,r,1 feeling th;u
the phrasing and expressions.
M the popularity of the piclures grew in Europe and
.• II'IOre and I110fC languages were dubbed in with
k~~~~~m;,"~':ic and sound effects: all of the Scan·
~ ""ere reprncnled. as "'-ere the Mid·
w. lapan. Korea. Thailand. and even India in I
version of Bambi . If . piclure WaS popular in
II popular around Ihe world.
" Unless everyone feels thi s closeness 10 the end prod.
II time in that country.
As animators we WOI'Idcr about this popularity of
our work in Olher lands , When we have ~ so
hard 10 gel good syno--the very best acting 10 maleh
lhe voice lrack and to convince audiences IIIlI the
voice is ",.Uy coming OUI of thi5 cartoon ch.aracler-we
are puzzled that lhe figure still CUi corne alive when
hi$ voice is chan~. Do we worry 100 much about
making lhe li~ and the moulh and the whole fltt
speak the lines. or is il this very concern thai mnes
lhe character convincing even wilh another voice11s II
lhe care lhal Jack Cuning used in choosi ng a ptl'$OlUll.
ity!hal would match what we already ha"" animated.
or ;s !here more magic in this medium than we llave
su~pected7 However ;t happens , il ;s extremely graI;'
fyinglo know Ihat our lIIork and our vicws on enter·
tainmenl are bringing h.ppi~ss to peoples of all races
all around the world .
That's My Character!
Everyone who has wo rked on a picture will feel thaI
he made the personal contribution Ihal caused the car·
loon cllaneler \0 come alive on the !Creen. The SIOr)"
man ... uraJly will feel that the charaCIc:r is his. because.
after all. it was lhe Slory work thaI determine4 wbat
kind of an individual this figure would be: and the
story sketch man smiles because he dre ... the new
character. made the CIprr:Mions. showtd how he would
look: and lhe director knows that il was he who pulled
all these lalents logether and kept insisting llIal the
figure lOCI a cenain way: and all the time lIIe actor who
did lhe voice is $.I,yi ng. "Well. I know he's my char·
aclt r because he ', me; I did him!" And the animator
nods knowingly. because 00 one can deny that he 5C1
the final nKXkl and broughl him 10 life . and lhe _is-
lanl knows Ihal wilhoul hi s work lhe chanocler would
never have relOChcd the """",n, llIe person who sekctcd
lhe colors. IllcoK lllho pilinled the eels. even those who
carefully checked 10 ..,. if Ih;s d ....lOCte\' had .11 his
bul1on5; the cameraman wOO she!; the scenes; the _nd
miler who gave the spec ial sound 10 the yoice--(o all
of them . he is/hei, cl>aracler! This is as it should be.
uct. the dedication will not be there and the nrttSSary
care will not be laken 10 inwre lhal lhe end ruuh will
be the finesl anyone can do.
 HOW MANY DRAWINGS DOES IT TAKE?
T_y·four frames of film ... projected every-'. The LaYOUI mandoes abouI halflhat many: Ibm: Layouc
.,111 ",vnaj d rawin" 011 each fra"", . men: 22.SOO drawillp.
Then: i•• he background drawi", .hroughoul. plus .. The animalor makes .. Ita$! fi ve drawinp for cYC"f)'
_y '" four 1e...,ls of drawing' laid over il. For one Ioc keep'. bu! Ioc does ooly aboul • founh of lhe:
,MWICe: atlUal <In. ... i"" in lloc IKe... . lbo. would he: 11 '.200
A. Midcy·o It,. and feci ( ...·hich cIo 001 ........ c).
.ime$ , • S76 .000 dra .... in" from IU .Ioc Inima«lr$
combined .
B. Mick.y· , head I nd body ( ..·hich do """v.) .
Thc inl:>c:."·ee ..... do .1oc 34S.6OO leA in .I:>c: ~ .....
C. Plu,o . QlK"e in ruff. <>n« in (:QrI«'iooo. and aKlin in flnal:
pornops 1.036.800.
D. Plu"'·'lli l (,,·hich ....,' i.terminen.ly).
The clean.up men mj,aw all.1IO animo.on· d",win, •.
1'roNblc: ...raK' of 4 d"''''inl'' por frame lim.. 24
keepin, ""ly aboo. 0fIC of e~ery .hm: .hO! lIIc:y draw .
va - ' •

--
fl"lOn01 96 drawio, •.
11~.200 'i ..... 3 - 343.600 .
!16 draw,"IS I seawl Ii ...... 60 - '760 d ra ..·inp I
o..."" np by all per>OMCl of gap. carieM"'", ....
of how 10 ,.. 10 _ _ ., hou~. capLan •• ion. I ....
Tho: pietu .. i, 80 minu,,,, long. suW'-'ions for new >lagi,,« would c.,.ly IOUI 2000
Then:..., 460.Il00 1OIa1 drawin" for film.
n".
d ra .....

This mokes.he follo wing va<td lotal :

Bu! thoH are;"~ .i>e finished dra ... io,. (which will
be pu. 00'0 ""II and pain,ed. for .noll,ct 460.IIOO!) . In.pira.ion.l ,h."" ,"000
S'orr Iokc«:h 75.000
I. be,1O ... i,h .he: inspira'ionll . kcloh mu. Ik u. · uY{)U· 22.000
(\Oo,j t.l.dly did 1000 d",wio,o. coon.ing , ke.che •. do<>- Anint ....... 576.000
d~ . ....,In:h. Ind fi nll. In])e,w...... 1.036.800
No •••• he <101)' , k.teh "",n . Each man doc ••, Ie... 2(] A"i$lanlS 34S.600
drawings IdlY. 100 • ,,·eek. SOOO. year. IS.OOO !-'ni.hed «I. 460,80(1
dwi", .he .hm: y.at$ i •• ake. '0
make the pO<:.u ... . 1.517.200
five ... n WOUld .asily do 7'.!XXl d",winp on cath MiKeU.....,... . ke ...... 2,000
fc""", f,lm. T",al drawinp 2.S I9.200

WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LONG?

A f........ film ""' ,. be nne hou, •• n minu.cs
min,mum . A. nine. y f.... of film proj«.ed .very min-
UIt. Ibt:.. are 6300 fee •• 0 be animo'cd. Ilowev.r.
..,., OJ .... y filOl' " ..... obou' .en minu.e. longer.
'Olilini 7200 f« •.
Ten fee. a ,,·eek was .he avcrag. OUlf>ll1 of an
lOin,."", 00 ,hi •• ypo or OClion: 5Q01O did more. $Ome
ku . ..". ....'" usually had 'cn men ..·110 coold do ,hil.
Ten men do;na ten fee •• ,,·ee k " ..,.,]d 'ake 12
.. <d. '0 do 7200 f.... . Add 10 IhM boIidays. ~aca·
•iano ... in"" roId~ .• 1OlIc:h of flu. sl~ml'S. miSlat .. .
..h scmc or I...., .hM has to be done ~r. 78 ...... h
Ion,. 100al.
The ....'" .i . moo .... of ~""h bef~.he film
,nc5 iOlo pnxhlC.ion . The ... i. 0fIC year of WO<t on
""'Y. planning . .,yling. uponnlOnting. Ind "",ard·
ina bef~ .nint •• ioo i. begun.
Anlmo,i"" ,ak••• y.ar.nd • half.
Si. moo.hs follow·up .ime tlCeded for cltln up.
color. OIu.k. c ........ '""'_
erand 100aI: .hree ~ars Ii. moou.s, If ,!locI!...,
"" . ..... rophes. (fwcnty ... imacon do;n8 fiflccn f....
• ...... k could do it in .i. montll$--Ou •• !Ioc....... not
. wen.y ani_.on ,,·ho can do even len f« •• 'lll«k!)
13. The Uses of Live Action in
Drawing Humans and Animals
"Tllis i, " I'ery impo,wm IhinK. Thue (,r~ so In""), I"'''I'/e 5Wrling in "" Ihis . ,,,,d Ihey mig/" go hay· .... ire
if''''Y don-, kilO'" hoI<' I<J u:;<> this Ii". aerioll in anima/illg," Walt Disney

Our ((rm "Ii,'t: ;I<:(ion" refers here to (he filming of
ICI\lI) for
animals) performing scenes planned for car-
toon charoclcn. before animal ion begin" ., comparcd
to "re&ular animalion, .. which develop, emirely rm",
III 3Iti~fs imagination. The direct usc of li"e anion
mmhas b«n P"" of the ani,,,.lion inJu'I'), for yc.~
>i ." .id 10 animation. a companion to animal ion. anJ
(,"cn as a replace",,,,,t for animation. From lime to
lime. almos, ~,'cry ,(udiu has fa llen back on a ,(rip of
li.'t fi lm 10 pcrfecl a specific aClion animalors wen:
t;)[ able 10 carlon;. AI the Dj,ncy studio. filmed "",ion
\lfh.mans and ~nimals was u,ed in many ways (0 do
many job" and i( led to !lome imp<>11ant di,coveries.
Livc adion could dominalc lhe animalor. or il could
(each him . It could ,tine imagination, Of in'pire gr<:al
'ICW ide~s. It ali depended on how Ihe li\'c aClion waS
concei"cd and ,hoI and used.
In Ihe early 1930s, animalors drew from ltoe "mel
regularly. bul a, the necessily grew for more intricate
movement and conv;n<:ing acl;on ;n our film" lhis
type of ,talic study quickly became inadequate . We
had 10 know more, and we had to draw bettcr 10 3crom-
plish whal Wall Disney wanlcd. SonIC IICw wayl\ad 10
be found for an ani,t to sludy form, in movemcnt, ~nd
 for this to be useful it had to n:late (0 the ";Ofl:. on OUr
drawing boards . Running film at half·speed in OUr
action :malysis classes wa~ helpful fur ~ gencr.11 under·
!>landing of ..... igh. and thmslS and coun.n thrus.s. bu.
Ihe principles wen: not difttlly applicable to anima·
o. tion . Our instructor Don GrJham had chosen c~ nain
fitm ~gnw:nlS as dear. isolatn! examples of move·
ments he could U.<C in hi~ lectures. bill. " 'hile ,hey
gave uS insight into an iculation. they were slill eSSCn-
,ially classroom uerci"!' •.
One day. during a discussion of how the Snow Wlti,..
C .....II....... dwarf Dopey should ItCI in a panicular silUalion, 5Ome-
one suggested tll:lt his oction~ might be similar to those
of burlaque comedian Eddie Collins. This led 1O~~ery­
one'slloing down to Ihe theater 10 _ the exceptional
Mr. Collins perform. We inviled him 10 the studio.
and a film was shot of his innovative interpretalions of
DopeY'I n:actions--a completely ~w COft«pt thai
began to breathe li fe in10 the linle canoon cha rac,er.
Dopey had been the "leftover" dwarf. with 1M) p,an ic-
ular per'$Oftalily and not even a voicc:; so, now. 10 sa:
•he possibility of his becoming somc:one speci al. and.
panicularly. someone entenailling. was 311 uti. ing
moment! And best of all. ev~thin, Collins had iIlg-
gested Wali on film.
oc·
Then: was nUlhing in the film th~. could be copied
or used iUSl. the way it wali. bul as 5ClUrce material it
was a gold mine. Fn:ddie M~ had the
i 1 Ii
ran the Collins film over an<! over on
~arc hing not so much for Specl rlCS as for !be
CCIlttpt o f a chanK:ter. 1lM:n he sal down ;. ~:.:~
and animatn! a couple o f s«nes that fairly
with frnh ideas. Wail I Urned 10 the men gIIhtmt
the s ...·ea'b<u and .aid. " Why don'l .... e do 0I0fl:
this?"
ImlMdia.ely other comics ...·en: "".!"i.~"
, ainers from vaudeville. men "'00 had done voira
lhe OIher dwarfs; all .... ere put before lhe:
roulines were filmed. jusl i II
expressions that mighl help doh""ale a
o ...·n storynw:n who had 3 spec Ial I
<.Iragged tu ttoe sound stage. I
grJIphed each Olhcr. As Bill COll...,1l .uill ~ellfS
.. .. all _nl> 50 am~'curi~h _ b u t ;t ""as r... '
"'<OJ fun!"
probably ttoe most important dement of tNt
"m,.of
And thai spirit of fun and <ii,
No .... ,,~ had fi lm 111:1. had been shot
directl y related to lhe ch"r~ctcfl,", W," d'. . '••.•
even though ttoe ItCllnB was crudo. we ~Il p;cked
itkas 10 enrich .... r Sttnes. We ;:~~~"r;:;~
there wen: 1WO distin<.:tly different"
be used. As resoun:e material. It gave" ~n overall'
or a chanc.er . .... ith gcslUre~ and an itudos. an
ooald be Cariooluml. Ai a I1l<XIrI for the figu<c in
••.m'lIItnl. it could be studied fr~me by frame \0 I'\: veal
W ~.d" of a living (,mn' s actions .
"'1 ilia! time. tile only .... ay of studying live action
fnmo by frame was to trace the film on our 1'OI0SCQPe
llldulle. This was i imply a projector co.wcned to
b.:us one image al a time. from belo w. onlO a square
" ..""." mpullled in a dra".-ing boord . When draw.
III paper "1\5 placed ("~ till' glass. tracing after Ira';ng
could be made . each sheet kept in register by pegs al
toe IJQaom fA Ihr &las" It ,,-as lCdious " m and time-
CWIIUrnins. but Ihis was the way il had been done for
...tnl)' ~ars .
'-'1I;III1II'y, Wall changed that s ituation in a hurT)' .
II< had lbe fil m processing lab .... ork OUt a ~yslem of
,n.tins f<l<: h frame of 3 film onto pholOgraphic paper
* same SiK a~ our dr~wing papu. l1Ic"" 'ih«IS.

I ~~~::~:~~::~':~",:'~"~;' :h<~n punched 10 fit

animalor could
the :.cllon by flipping "frames of mm "
IIdward anoJ f.,.,..-ard. just as he did his dra"-ings .
Hrtt ooukl be ~n c'"CT)' tiny deuil o f changing sha~,
-.I reiatioonships in the muvcmems. Al last. lhe ani-
cwld $tudy a ll of tM n'ystencs th~t had in-
them so Ionl .

:
;~:,;'~'=~:<:d:.;';what we saw
far tnOfI! . The human form
o~~nJl ""ti,·ity th.an
II was not jusl the chest work_
agairu.l hips. or tM backbone bending around. it
~ bulk of the body pulli ng in . puShing out •
. Here ""Cre Hving eumples of
. principles th~t only had Ixc:n
And he~ WlIS the ·· follow throogh ··
i action:· tM Changing shapes. -,,- \
theCOOntef tcMioos. the ,.·cight sho,.·n
··timing:· and the '"exaggeratiun· · -unbelic v.
w~
f I
:
:::::-:'::;; Wc thought had IKen urawing
• but heu= "·c~ examples surpassing any-
we h.d done . Our eyes simply are no1 quick
""~k"'/
~~ ;,::""~ " 'hoIe aamut o f mo\'CrtlCnt in the ""j'
Somt lClioos wcU= so cumplicau:d they ,.'ere impos· , /-\
:~:~~,::~::~::r';:';:~:too /
subtle
ny of to capture
the: mcwes that
}\ \
"
tlte ' it tumW. [he changina
-.", .,,'<. the slight s" ",,n ina of a cheek in a
 \ - ' g:C-' ~--~
I\
I

A~ 1~
I
••
J
>~
fl" '. 0
.0,

- -
t\a:lins smile . 1M raisi ng of a ~kler as the body
IIIntd fo.....n -thc.'sc wen: the precious elements of
1m ~~lICd by 11M: camera.
But .... her.eve. we SIK)"'d 100 ~ 105C 10 tile pllQlOS la lS.
1)1 directly copied even a liny piece of human action.
IIr InIIIIS looted vcry mange . TIle lTIO\'es appe~
InI enough. 001 tM figufT lost the i llu~ion of life .
Wti a cenain authority in lhe movement and a
:~~;:;become:
:::~~:
:
wholei"'-ol'lC'd
cmoIionaJly action. but it waS
wilh this
creature who was IlCVff a l1:al inhabi-
flnUlSy world .
No! until we r.!al i~.ed Ihat photOgr-dphs mu St be
in Inimitable SMp."S (our pro.-cn loois of
Ii "'en: ...·c able 10 lransfer Ihl ~ kno,,·I·
animation. II was not the photographed
ao actor 's swelling clM:e k Ihm mancred . il
!be animated c""," k in oor drawings thai had IQ
-::::=;;:.~ .~:~~::::~ to m. kl' (he canoon figu...,
~ SlIme nlO"cmc: nlS U tile li,-., 3oC'''f. wilh
WIlt timing and the 1HImc: stag ing. bul. because
, hapes calle.J for a diffcre oce in propor-
the figu", and ils modd could not do Ihinp in
!be Nlme ... ~y . 1lIc actor's mo~emen t~ had to
••.~~, • •,.'" in lhe ...·orld of ourdesigM and .h~""s
As long as ,,-e remembered to use the phoIoslals
as I ",fnell« in making our o,,'n Slate"",m of
be in the Sttl"le. oor animation " 'as ne,'er
Our drawi ng ability had 10 inlprove.
of anatomy and ao.: t;og had to iocrease.
had 10 de,,,,lop. but ..... ith an aWre-
t Di§.l1Cy .... ~tcf1ing e"el)' line .... e made.
...·as IUlomatic-difficull, bul expecled . Our
: :~~.~~~~::::::;
a force.
befon: . This look study andand a richness
analys is and
. but 0I'Itt a mo"co~nt " 'as undcrMood it
('QUid be i!lC'Ol"Jl'O<"ated into cartoon tern's . We
break with rOloscope .
~ure ...·hy a peociltracing of a live
should look so stiff and unnalurnl on the
~i",ply is no realily in a ropy . 111e
~ learned this in art classes, bu t . .<ome-
film of a moving model made lhem
" 'as different . 1lIc ca"",,,, ~r­
...·hat i, there, but it records r ...· f'y'lring
that is there . with an impartial lao.:k of emplLal;is_ On
lhe other hand . an artist sho .... s ...·hat he sees is there ,
especially thaI .... hich might n<)l be percei ved byoth-
ers . His dr-dwings can be closer to the true realism of
an object because he can be 50Clectiye and personal in
wlLal hc c ltooosC's to sho.... . From the phoIo5uu, the
animator chooses only those actions that relate 10 the
flQint o f hi s particular scene: then he strengthens t~
until the y become the dominant action. with every-
thing else either eliminated or subordinated . Whit
a~ars on the Kreen is a simple , strong, dir«t ! 1aIC-
men t that has clarity and vitality . TIle spirit and life
ha ve be..n g.i ned by adapt ing the human form to an
art is!"s own designs, thc shapes and fonns that be ~s
in reaching an audience . This is no m«< than ,,-hat
art ists al ways have done . M ichel~ngelo 's magnifICent
statue of David . for all of its power and beauty. has
soch liistoncd normal proportions that Dayid would be
a strange looking apparition ,,'cn: he to be met .... a1kin'
down the greet. 1lIe COi:lebnted Venus de Milo could
not even fil into modem clothes, and most of the other
classic be~utic s of art, who have enthralled men for
~enlUrics. would_tInCt only SlUQ of ama«:ment at_
social fuoction . 1lIe point is: a woe"\; o f art is never a
copy; for ill0 hJ.ve meaning to people of many genera-
tions and numerous c ultu res. it must be the personal
s tate ment of an artist.
1lIc firsl li~e,ac:t ion films " -e had ~ ,,"'re for
",fe",occ only. and il was pure chance that 500lCthing
fit ei the r Our story continuit y or Our sound tracks. /lut
il was n<)l long before one of uS had pic~ed 00\ an
action be liked on a piece of film . synced it up with his
sound track . made a couple o f adjuSlment~ in liming •
~n" then incorpora ted thaI action imo his ~ nimat ion .
Soon " 'e were s hooting film for sp«ir~ ~CIICS or
iipecial actions. so that an animator would not ~~e 10
spend too much time searching for "'lennt material .
A~ a dirtttor shot more and more of his cartoon
continuity in sequcrn:e .... ith live acton . he began to
"'31;,.( that this was a ...·ondcrful opportunity 10 check
planned busint$s and staging befon: it ,,'as animated.
This was alw an c ~ccllcnt way of cSlabl i~h ing catly
communication .... ith tm: anim ator himself. for bere
was something tangible to diKU~S . l11c Klion was on
filn •. and thc director and animalor could build from
tm:re , adding or cun ing, doing more or doing less.
,
snn,thrn ing or modifying: but . ~l lust. lho:y \" cn: "" 'cal what is I\;af>Pl!ning. or il i~ lighled so Ih31 " '1Ia1
1IIrIlllJ: from 1M ~ poinl.
All of Ibft demanded Il"IOR' 0In: in tho: pbnnin~ and
you " 'lim 10 _ i) in sh3dov." (}tt..,iorAlI), lilt fOOUlJ('
" 'iII ~ho,,' o nl y ronllnuil)' of an actor lt1QVing from one
(
lIoooI,,'1 of li~f ""lion film . If the Ima~e on tho: film pl ace 10 allOlhc:r. or jl,lSI ...ai,ing. til' gelling ;nlo posl'
_'1\ righl. a "~ak animal"'" tou lll ,~l by '""ilh it and;l lion 10 do sOIll"lhing ime"" , ing lal~f on . Tnc aclion
\' it evell belter. Howe"cr. if muSI be "at:cd wilh enough delin;ti"" and emphasis 10
Ih"c "",ion ,,-as poorly plan... d, or staged in ~

:~::':':lII:Inntf. il wQUk! ~au~ trouble for

I (\'(1)"
dir«1Or ,,-oold do bene. \0 lhro,,· the film
"'If and.un .frel'h with tho: ... im'".... and hi. )turr'
11•••1. Es!oCnlially. the film .hoold be considered a
ilCp in 1m, v;syal <kI'clupnl\:nI of the StU!'}'
_ m,Ll. like . n . d".",.,(1 s lory s kct,h . and i, . hOllld
..'ilh that purpose in mind . Hefon: going Ol"cr

::~ ::~"=.gc.lhc di=tor . bould late.

is pbnninllO shooc and ask
h;InJ look
him~1r:

b llIis m.lcri~l really r(lIdy 10 go inlo animation?

~ lilt t..Jli",,~s fi t It.,, , tory'! The Char.lClcr'.' Is it

""" rOf the mood. the tempo. the 01".,,,,11 idea'!
TM ..'look pt'tI'dwriM """ "'",. p<I"...."..rNl i~ IN ""';"1
of lnKiaJ anioN, /11 ,1tI. SUM J« Slftpinllkauty. f __
Is ~ fIIltNininl~ I, it jllSt SQmd:>od)' ""ying _ ,,,., '4'. Itl,_, .....,.
F.".,SI N""dl, . 1)0" G'iffin.. (Ut;/ T_
~ d~Ioj;\Ie. or is it I s ituation thaI gj"e> tl!(, Codrirl< ,Mrt 'M;' 1".,_, "",r1,,,,,,,.
rl""'"s fA Krill_
..... , (",J II.I.M S'anlr,' di«,... ,h." "II.. ~ i,h ,h. di'ff'
1(101, ch~~ '0 build and C(m lribu le?
10f", CI,yl, "a,rry" G",",omi: S"I,,,,'i.in8 Im;"""01' ""J
.~~ .... ~Ji ,""'" f :,", I ..""", n'";"" $ ,,,., sc'ipt ~,ltil~ pro.
Un h:ipptn to lie! Some: funn), action...- "" ... bu,i- J""rioto <k ..gM.,\I.... Sl~ ~"''' _k,• • ~.. IN .........'" _ ,.
ml."ill;1 rot? Can thi~ be I,IS/:d casi l)' and cff« · 110.1 """dr. IN «r-o, ,'''', Nu ""~II plallMd.
bdi! Oats ;t animate as it is? Will it m:I~e: a good
_ ? WOlild I Ix" ucitw if I had 10 animale it"!

Am I ~tping the ani mator by ~ho<)ling Ihi ~. or will

i: be l(lUih 10 handle once: ;1 is on his boo,d '~

on the ,.,age .... ith tbe ....;en.:

and lilt X t...- ...:::od). be ,lIould n·"",mb... ,
film director Stank)' Kuhrlc l ' , t,nal
" Is anything happ.:n"'~ .... >nh put1in~ un

~,
..
":::,;.',:;::::~'~e" ~plion:Iny i,.., _or an ~n'ma·
a,k the man" ho ultimalely "ill " ~_IIOIUC-Wpurfr"",Copf. IIO<II;tMdonis'~
tbt 1«nes to belp plan lbe 00""""
on the Dt>tr BoI"C"'y rI'~s"'",,, ;-tl_i.~ pr~ <II M, .
SIItN III ,lti. SUM f'- PcICf Pan . TN FOP _ T«b
AI"""" aJ",,)'S " 'hen >ou1«>IK: eI", ~> fitm
Ih~ 1>00,. ~"DI;n,,,~ ",Ii"" ,'''', .. _Id"" diJfint/l to Q~;'
. . ."maIQf lhe ~amc"''' ;1 I"" far back . ur I"" mUl, ronl'ir/Ci"gly, K·hilr an ""iJ,n,if/rd rhlltl tJ<:IQI' pl"1'
. ..., I~ a.;tion is s iaged al the ...· fon~ an~ k Itl 'N .'okallttd,·,," /Hi1f(',,' TiV' UI)' .

M ulremely dear. but neither over.t<:ted nor so sublle
111.31 il f. ils to communicate.
p/tlrGlralt(!. On:at can: in the IDoocing prodU«d :K"enes on film
au pu.,toI,J 11111 W~n: iO lUttiOC1. $0 rich. and $0 ... ell ~Iaged lh~ 1
".. rAlq IIUUI "..
lbey could be CUI illlo lhe cominuil),..,.,1 almOSI like a
<IS "JlrQ il~'"
r~I}"l",d rlRl rough leit of animation . U"",·c '·er. they ...-en: nor
lbe W"li",t pieces of Kling onc might u~t in a li~
action film, b«ause Ihese imaginalive scenes had been
c&n:fully planned for lhc medium of ,,"';';awn: . Usual l)'
we use.:! attors whose talents included comedy. inven-
tivcne~$, and e,""aliv;ty--as wdl II-!l CQIlsid.:rable ,hoat-
rica l nperience . As the ",suit of building scenes wilh
~uch people, incorporating TlC'W ideas. searching for a
10,,0 IMaM'
way tha, communicates be,rc. or offers n>OIl: en' er_
;0 IAil IUM uf
·.,IIU wi/rA";,,, tainmenl. lhe live action film gave the animator a
iam . springboard '0 go beyond ",hat ho could II.3ve imag-
ined himself.
We photographed anything that might pro'''' help-
ful .• nd soon we disc...,..,,,,,,, thai the limin, of a clever
actor could make I mild gag hiluioos. tllltt an e"peri-
eneed siage comedian ...·oold offer SlI'" ways of 5tal-
inl ' 5C"CTIe's business. th<ll another talent miJht suggest
8,(Jl~.q"' dt· ways to put life into actions that had been conceived
.d 1M slap,rid simply as continuil),. Some actors ga.,." back only what
oJ " ..i"';OI'I was asked of them: o thers ....ere uger to lake O'o'er ~nd
llot" 1«ON!·
tell us how 10 do our whole production . In bet .... «n.
tllt:re was a group who enjoyed workin, on a role.
buildin, character. and finding ....ays to make it mem·
OCiIble .
Many times a performer ..."OUld devise a piece of
business $0 funny. so unusual and appealing, lllat (~ry.
one ..."OUld b( sold on il immWialely---tllindni 10 the
faet that iu length would ~Iow down the pact: of lhc
itOI)'. Just beeaU5C some: business is funny dou nor
Human
roecessarily make il right for that place in the piocIu~
is very difr",uh to jud~ "~::~::,:,:~~;~'::::
doing something is wonh the e~ lra
il Can b( shortened in ao;",atioo w;thoul Io!.i"l
value. Conw;:dy roul ines and pr.:r~rit)'-""ildift,
lake tilTlC': they clnnor be IUshcd . 'n.e
animalor mliSt decide ...·lIt:ther I
tant devdopment with t i
or just ,t",' ching oot the
Usually we did IlOl USl' 11
ocling and the charactcr"~ voice 011 lilt: sour>d
since we found thaI actors had a ICndcllCy :~;~:
Ume interpretation '0 both performances.
.... ant(d w~s somrone who coord add to the
performance . come up ...·ith a new dimension .•
of doing itli1lU no one else had s ugges ted. T~:::::
....e needed an ;nventi v( :.tClOr fl"Csh 10 lhe ...·
.... ith no precoocqMions 10 limit his imaginal .....
11Ie sound track was 00 a record. ,,·hich. ~:::~
played OVer and OVer while the ac,or wlS n
and trying out ideas for timing and clw"acler.
when the scene: actually ...·as shot. a recot"dUlJ
mad<: of lIN: sound as heard on tilt: stage" ,,,;~
After a "tak(" .... as ,hosen ",'..,1111 days latet.
",cording waS replaced by tOO original track. m',,"'
in sync .... hat had been r~ded on ,"" stage . I
actions had been devised that r((juin:d mort I
b(t .....,.,n lines of dialog"". the", was no "","_
ing the lrack al that point: ,;0. the needle ..-as I
from the m:ord and the scene .... as shot ··",ild.··
the film carne. back from lhe lab. the
animalor juUIed the pktu,"" and the sound
and forth unl;1 lhe y had lhe b(St sync
athie~. Sometimes a new ;nlerpreutioo
 Have Been Successfull y Animated
... ne«:5Sit~ted doing the ..1i~I<>g"" over with a differ·
COl or e~pn:S5ion; tlLlII se<juence ...'oold he
lhe nUl lime lhe "voiu lilen!" '
reason for 001 m.'<.roing all
at CJIIe session ,
It became increasi ngly imlX,rUnl In ~hoose jll fl lhe
~wr (or Ihis Iyl''' or he ;l<; lion, since il ...·ou ld
SIKh an inn""nce un the <kvclopmenl of I char·
IIZ'I p:rsonalilY. and eVen on Ille entertainmenl val ....
comc:diaOls ";ere versalile enough
anllcs for charactCI'li in one piclure aller
• bul (or IIle nJO:<il fill" "''C wanted a differe nt
Obviou~ly. the li untsman in S"" ...
never be portrayed hy lhe same man who
Mr. SIner in Pn", P",•.
~lIy. lhere will be a cartoon character K·
5Ubd~ role. or such careful planning.
is vinual1y no roOm for ""w conee",s from
IIle role romes 10 life with lhe proper
llIe visual image Should maleh. and nOlhing
The Huntsma n needed no more (X'rsorullity. no
:~.;:::';':';iStosc:e"". had been so " .."II coneci"ed
loot convinci ng to make hif s;ni~.
bdic,.,,~_
Of roursc. 1M", is alw.y~ I !.il: problem in making
"rul" or "straighl" charoclel'li in our pictures
-;,::!~ :~:rwn~lilY In carry Ih.!ir pan of IIkl sto-
~ dirttlor Woolie Rcilhemliln has »id.
a'! of aniJIIJlioo lends ilself least 10 reil people.
_ 10 .-:oric3lures and illusioos o f a pc,,-."
: ::.:": is misintcrpreled by many 10 mean
: ",·Ito h.." 10 be represented as real
bo: ~(1 oul of fealure r'hns. lhal lhe Morics
.....,,'"'w,'" broad ~ h~r.lclers who ca n be han.
died more easi ly. This would be a mislake. for sp«l.a·
lors ""rd It) ha~e .... meone or somelhing lhey un
belie,'c in . 01' lhe piclure faUs apans . In TM RrKWrI.
lhe )'OUn~ lirl Prnny "'"as .... rrounded by a ""hok (.lSi
of broad characlers; bul .... hile lhey enriclled the MOf)'.
they did noI carry it As W"olie s~ld afterward. ·· N,w.
the liulc gid was !ii' behev~hle ! Alilhose things ~nlUnd
her wen: gKal. bul you ""edcd Ihal si ncerily .··
n.: s,ncerity in lhat case came from careful planning
0( lhe Ke""" to make use 0( Ihc most appealing ~
of Ihis lillie characlCf. Some miSttllanoous scenes had
been mmed o( lwodifferenl fivc· ynr-old girl s . .... lh.1
lhe animator could slUdy Itow a child of that agc mo>'ed.
bUI lhere was '''' alternpl 10 ",cord special mOVelj or
aclual SCeneS after lhal. Inslead. ,he effort had gone
into findinl lhe righl Ihings for her 10 do and lhe bc$I.
"''''y for IlcT to do lhen, . II is .~iom~l it lhat boy or girl
characlers can be done more easi ly in live IClion Ihan
in cartoon. and Ih.l One ,~hou ld no! do lhings in •
~an(Jf)n beue. done in live acl ion, I~owever. if Ihat
philosophy had been (ollowc4 O,'er lhe years. the",
...-oold have been no S......• Whitr. roo Cindrrrila. no
PtlU Pan . nor most of lhe f(.al"'rcs lhal Ihc Disney
studio produced . To make a ",Inighl" Chancier con·
vincing and inleresling ""Iuircs llreal c"'3live effon . h
may lake imallinalion and a kn<, ... ledgc of Mh "Of)'
and animal ion. but lhere is ~Iway, a way- if lhe sl~ff
is sman enough 10 find il and willing 10 WOf~ hard
enough to accomplish il.
<knenlly s peaking, if lhere is . human <:hano<;1(' in
a Siory . il is wise 10 draw lhe pc"- wilh as mIlCh
caricalu", as the role will pennil. Early in lhe -sIOf)'
developme nl, Ihcse qucsl ion~ should be "'ked : "0nc5
this Char,ICler have 10 he Slrai ghl'"' "Whal is lhe rok
 hu~?" If il is ~ prioc~ or a hero or a sympa-
from lhe audicnu
>lory ..."Oft. . It..:n It..: chl""'ler mU>I be
f but noc necessarily in a re~tricted
In 101 Dalm(llians. Roger and Anita had to
trt~o:d ... ~al people because o f tt..: genuine ron·
their pets: yel they _re drawn w ilh
lhan tho: pri nu in either Sow'" Wltif~ ...
design o f the " 'hoIe piClure .• ~ well as
~lory. pennincd the: .nimalor more
in ~prc"'ntation . ~ Badu ns ~nd Cruella
~ broa!I.r roles and cou ld be drawn wilh more
them more inter-
>lronger. In • the lillie girl had
~he wa~ the hean of tile
alld Snoop~ L"UU ld be wild . romic fig _
they w~re no! sinister.
"bmevcr t,,'O or more ani maled characters arc in
SttIlC:. illlemlat ing in ...·ay. lhat ~'" lrue to
:
~~~~~~:;'i:':i :':':'i~:• iltionis difficult
st~ging caton be par-
anil11al~
>hannl a space. moving them aboul
thtir Mtpping QIl eaeh ~her. " 'hiie kttping a
~;~j:[~~:~~~~~~~~~j
if some crit ical ""ling is
the sceneinislhe: scrnc
s hot "'ith.
IIle actors mOve around in a "'~y Ihat
110 the animalors. e' ·cry..... will be""fit.
C1art W2S li~n the Stt"" to animale o f lhe
.::,~~:~~::~ " 'ilh Snow Whilc-l he: on ly long
~ dimensions of Ihe dwarfs' room
char~ctel"l' Ihrough their move-
tilt \Cate of the
Animating the decrease in the lirr s size as she
~ ;:~~::'''~'':'~'':'''~:•'''butwasronlrollcd
the matchingby,,·or\;-
perspec-
Lcs animated from imaginat ion
scene amazin gly convincing and added cre-
the "hole sequence .
dancing ~nes in I slOry should he . hot e arly
'~:~ :_:ghoul the: musical number. ",iller
• pi«cmeal ...·hen an animator nttds
. Obviously lhe chorwgraphy will be richer if a
it all. inslead o f leavi ng it up to the
.. f,,,,"
,~, o f some SlOf)·man. In the !iCtne
there waS a special problem w ith Snow
hand positions. Ju~t how high can a dwarf
re""h up comfor1abl~ 10 danu ",ith a young gil l? The
heighl of each dwarf had 10 he planned. not in relation
to lhe girl doing lhe Ii,.., action bul to her canoon
propor1ion~. derived from the photoslats of her danc-
ing . For the scene to be eff~tivc. il ",as important Ihal
lhe dwarfs should no! str~ in or he awkward as they
reached to take her hand . Fortunatcty. with Ham Lu, kc
shooo:ing the li~ action. a ll such details were c"", fully
covered
It is not worth the trouble of filming simply 10=001
a change in ,i1.t as a c haracler co"",. d()!;Cr (0 lhe
camera. but if a nlajar pan o f lhe design o r a sec"" i.
~ on Sianling perspccli"e or the "'Ialionship of
several character,; working in penpecli"". then ~ g~at
deal of Ihe unimalor 's time may be saved by first
proving out the effecli veness of lhe: scene on (,1m .
The same ~I Megy applies to the action o f the inan-
inl~le objects lhal might be in ~ scene . Ro ll ing bamls.
falling trees. avalanehe:s. maving car.; . wagons. and
tllin. are all tirtle o(on,umi"g and tc<.lious for an ani_
malor 10 maSlcr. and Ihey are ques ti onable c ' penses In
the ani"",tion IJudget " 'hen traci ng sue h things from
photOStats will gi~ jusl as good result,. if not hellel .
In l'i1lo«h;o. Siromboli locked lhe: linie fellow in a
large bird cage made of ben! Stick s. which boonc-ed
and swung as his wagon bumped along Ihe cobble-
stone streel s. The cage e>"cn had a s mall peICh insi<lc
that was s" 'ing ing in a scparale aclion . This iMriule
objccl "'"QUld have been almasl impossible to d"'...· in
the fil'!ol place . let alone 10 cap'urc the .... dght and
C(lnv incing mavenw: nt of its action. However . the poinl
of the scene "'~' not the cage but I'ioocchio's ",action
.... hile inside. calling r... help. Thai "",ion in itsc:l fwas
difflC\lll enough f... any animalor. and rOllun,"c1Y lherc
" 'as no need 10 add more expense to (he ~ne by
havi ng wnlCOne work o~r and o~r on the dr."'ings
of til<: ., winging cage. A model cage was built at half
size. and il ",as fIlmed so il appc.'ared to be the lighl
scale and ...·cighl for both the little puppc1 and the:
,,·agoo . The a nimal'" lhen ...·oritc<.l .... ith uxinp from
photOStats of the s",inging cage •• llemp'ing to match
the act ing he " 'a nted with the cha"~ing pcrsp«tive~ of
the bouneing cage . It was a nightm are to animate. bul
a spectacu lar Il\ealrical dev M;e .
In 1948. Wall Oisney had money problen'" (agam).
P;'wahiv (which had been finished in 1940) had not
 Tior mool'l ofCra,l/a', en,
wm;"",nud ...il h b/arl< /in"
,hal malil' i, look Uk, a
<I''''''i''g ...hen rrpr;>duc.d
"" ,b, PM/OJ'UII. TIw'"
aS' "'0' c ui oWl and p;ustd
on a e.l. Ib,,, r"Pi,d "'!itt
Xuru 1"0""" /il, ".,
'/"'''';ng, O'IC' il ""'p<l"'"
ed in filii color•. IU .....
ber•. illook.d J"" liuw
Qlher ....1' in ,he PIC'''''

"101 Dalma·
'aeolli<i"" M-
•• yel paid for ilself. Fm''''.,illlo"ked a, if il Wal' a!~1)1
10 be in lhe red. Bambi . Wall's favorlle pK:tu",ofall,
'Jdri'wtbyl/t~ was slil1l1l)/ ill lhe de"r. The solUlion 10 IIw studio',
>lingllor sa", financial bind se('lncd 10 be al>Olher carlOOO ftal ....
",,/tn'ars "'~ along It., lin~s o( the successful S"" ..' whi,e-1>IIhet
f, I">",,,' man
, Do"iJQvil("h, lhan anYlhing cxP<'rimcnial. Ahhoogh "padage roc·
j nw(M "",ker lures." like /If"." Mi,,,. MUJ'i,'. did not h.,"~ lhe f"'"
tff",. Mi"",· duel ion difficuhies of 3 "ol)'lclling cartoon feOlUlt,
ell')' aNi, 0' lhey had nol been ,"ery profilah!c eilher. A '"'w.....
<:dCooI:. Sw:h
J ,ak, howrsw expensive way 10 make the pmjcclc;l Clndfl~/lu lSi
w.., 'hi' Idnd full · ncxiglxi animallxi (ealure had 10 be found. R<aso:D-
ing Ihal animalion was Ihe mool rosUy pan of ~
business. Wah felt Ihal everylhing possible slIouJd Ire
do"" 10 save lhe anim~lor" s lime. 10 help hIm m3I.l
Ihal firsl le>1 "OK for cleanup" wilhoot (~
He IIlmed to live ac1ion 10 solV<' h, s problem.
All of Cinder.lla was Shol very carefully "'11tt lilt
actOr<. leSling lhe CUlling. the conlinuil)'. IIw >lagmr.
tile charac1cri1.aliuns, and the play between lhe ctt:n".
lers. Only the animals were le(I as drJwings. and It<l)
reels were ma(\c of lhose SkCIChcs 10 find lhe ~
wilh the reSI of lhe picture, Economically. ~'e rotIIiI
nol experimem: we had 10 know . and il had KI be
good. When all of Ihe live film was spliced IOg(Ihn
this was undeniably a sirong basc for proving the ~ttI..
Tl'(I("in~1 fr"'" pharoslats of I~ bird ("ag' Ihol i"'l"iJOI1ed abilily of .he SCeneS before lhey were animaled. III
P,fW("chio go,... Ihe uali>Ik aClion Ibal ''''IS nenled K'hile lhe in"cmivcneSl! and sl'e<:ial louches in the aclin! tIul
....",ing Ihe time Ihol ...ould b"," />een " 'quj,.,lro on,muu had made our animaliun so popular were lacklllJ, TIt
swcb a difficult assignmenl. E"'n more ,im, "'.", , ,,,',d b)'
droK'ing Ihe back <>flh. cog, on Gne I.;,,, and Ih, fronl on film had a distinclly live aclion feci. bul it ~'JS '"
beaUlifuHy S!ruclured and played so well 111:11 no ..
a"",h., 10 Ihal Pinoahio ,,,,,,Id I>e ,andK'khed "' ...."Nn Ibe
""'T)'
.....0 K·ilhou, In/,,,,,, r.giS!roti"" to ,b, bars "" dro"'in 8. could argue wilh .... hal had 10 be do"" . AS ani",..
~c fell r~'lri,l"cI .
.... ~n thou~h we had done "',," "t
Ih¢ tllmin~ (\ur<ttws . hUI the pi<:ll"~ had to tJ,., m~t!~
f""rri<;~. ,,,>.1 tlus "~'. undeniahty. a",,) "r d<ling
• By the time w" were stanin g l'<"Ie' 1'"". ".~ had
inn",d to get further away frum "n)" actual usc of the
h,·, ;octi<>n ,""en",. r"'taging them ~n~r >ecing w~ak·
!ll:S!its. "'ing the tilm as a 'tarling point from which to
"' ild.oJ inv.nt ;ln,1 eori~h . We hat! been ,h,,""n the
Srldi,,,
~..)·to go. hul we had [(> do the ··going·· <lu[';elves. Th<~,
III<Ithr pICture was bellCf fnr il. We recaptured much M,IS/"',
o(thr fanta,y an<I magic in lhe feature, In""" befo", acr., hi!.
cl ".1 Ii<
tho """",I World War
pi"",,.
IInlma1<>r, alway, h;ld lhe feeling Ih~y were ""ikd
10 thr flOOf "h"n their whole 'I!'lucn"e, w~re shnt Tilt .ni"
tht ,/""
ahead o[til1l" in li\"~ ~~ti[J1) . E'·eryone·~ imaginali"n
1I ro!tow ~ ,,",c no might be ~laged was limitetl hy lh~ "."""t"
rodtaw
~nl of the camera. for once a SCene had he~n mall ,.
I!Iot ~ was very hard to s ..... itch to a "h<)le !le .... poinl of """~Iri
K~AnJ,
,·Ir-<.·--<e'·cn though in anillla1ion i1 is qui1c easy to
!lane the came", from a Slar. or a "".rh". eI"ud. or let ,,,,td
tMU d<l
It.I
it drifl with tn" hr<~,o wh~rever it is needed. a,d th.
Robin H,

Animals I. T"h< 51
tilt ..I,.,
If .. animal in a f' iln is ,,"~"r;n g any kind of costume. /mit hi""
hr(ln oc hand led with human allrihmcs and the .udi . ,hk' i.l<
IIaJ '0 hi
tIC. ",·ill ""c.rt him . In '·<lnlra't. if~" aTlllmd ;n hi, ,har
,It.
,,"OJ
IIiIIIlal fur ,hoo ld suddenly 'l,md "I' and ,tart g~'li,· ". Ii", 0

btin~. tho.' \'irwe" will feci uno",,,. Put" (;"P on him. "ill br "
akJI"":r
"'. tio:. and he c·an ,,,"agg~r ",,,undo g",lllrin): and
clpproaci
JIOinling like any ham a,· lor. \"OU"~ f~
Stnngrrthan that. if the story parooics human activ . Mthkf fo
ito •. ;Il in SO/,t of 1111' S{!wh and Ro/)in Homl . lh"r" i,
110 IIC(J to restrict a character", movemenlS by lhe
limilation> of ii , a"imal txxly The ~hara~t~r can have
hit""" hall<is. fingers •• human pelvis. and fect w;lh
shoes. Of ml",. nalUral animal drawing or realistic
xrion will always add ~incerity and inter~.t 1<l lhis
~.pt 0( film. oot it is not tru Iy needed t<) tell the ,to')·
0. tht !litle, hand. if lhe 'tofY is man·, vicw of whal
Ihnn imai ",,,, Id i, like. a., io /.iuly WId Ihp Tmml'.
IQlllIllm""lins. and TI,~ lImgle Rook. In" animal.
rwst be mmp lctel)· bclie,·ahle or the ..... hole premi,e
oill collar'"
Tkre "·a, a un'4uc situmion in The Sword ill I","
 ~
,
f' ?-I(

.,)-
~. ["
- . mise was to have the boy limited in his ~""" I
squirrel's body and appearana: . yet retaining bi$ "'"
v'
rhoughu and mannerisms. lic IIad to move like a 5qIW'
.J£ rd. but .. rather ine~perienccd one.
When we Soay " real. " "-': mean only whIt tho ......
, 'J:("\\\ enee ac<:epts as being re~l. for obviously a real anillllll

.)- ~ -
f'"Y

~,
can1lQl aCt or emote as hmadly ~ s animators I'eljUII'C,
The more an animator goes toward cariealuring the
~nimal, lhe I1'IOR: he SCems to be eapluring tho es!nCI

-r- of that animal, and !he I1'IOR: he is creating poss.ibiliul:l

for leling . For e~amplc. if we IIad drawn real <Im'.
'.' '---" Bambi there would have b«n iiO linle acling poI(ItbII

, • ••
~.
• tlw 00 one would ha'-.: believed the decr really c, iSlal
,
<..""'"
$rOM that called for special ded~ion~ , The young
A"hur had ~n rumed imo a $Quirrel by Merlin, the
magician, so that the boy cou ld gain a bener under-
st.iUldillj of the world of natu~ , While in this guise,
Anhur met IiO!I"Ie ~al $Quirrels who ac<:cpted him all
one of !heir kind, even though he could IlOl speak their
language , The probkm was to animate !he boy so that
he would he believable both to the audience and 10 the
squirrels , If he Well' just .. boy running around in a
squirrel suit the audience would have no trutlble =<>g-
ni .. ing him, btl! wou ld people believe that real squirrels
could be fooled SO easily? If the ooy were animaled as
~ genuine $Quirrel, it would be impossible 10 p""serve
his characler--<lr !he humor in a situ.lion based on
Anhur', beillj' ml$fit in a foreign land. The compro-
as characters . But because we drew what people i....
ine a deer looh like. with a IJCrsonalily 10 mat~h,"
audicocc ,rcccpted our drawinlls a' bcing compleldy
real ,
or course. style ~nd design aIT pan of thi!.
cari.... ture canllOl r.. m;odoe without them. But lht
puint is that characters on the screen appear
real ...·hen lhey c an be ani",at~'d
and thi ~ only can be <Joo>c, .... hen there is
movcment in ~ll parts of the body . In Olller
more realistically animal s an: drawn. the I
will appear on the SCreen .
T he ~nimals in Sno ... Whitt Were c rudely
compared to those in Bambi. YCt they all r..ha,'Cd
w~y they should to work with lhe girt in
And sume people e"en thought the animals
Since it cenainty ....as 1101 the d ....... ing
creatures so convincing. it must ha,-.: been
in the animatiCKI .
When learning to draw anything. it ;',•::~: ':
the aniSt go to the source . Afte ..... ard he can
usc: of his lrno"'lcdge tllat he choo6es. but in tho
ning he muSt Study u.., real object. whether It
zcbrula or an aardvart . If Di sney ani~ .~, . . .
aninllile I fOK. they ....ould try 10 aet a rell fox
and phoIograph. and. ifpossiOle, f(el. N:~~~:::
the learning that comes fTOOl feelinK In
and mUKlcs and joinlS. 10 discover how
together and how far they tan move in any d:::~
is always surpris ing . The llI1ists ....ould Bet ill
of fox s keletons to help in understanding ... hy
looks like. fox . How is he different from .... .
mals? Then !hey would get film of foxes ill
fwlt'lild' , UIII~ birdfrin"b ""~ J.r,p'i\'tIHimpl~. Th,,'
,."...IIMIIIow. of srwJ.· Q..n Q full ",w"na",I"., of .~
".

DIr ....... 11'00/" R",huma~ Juul" pt. fM ,1••11 ".~ ("fflll.i

...... ,...,.".......-""II>. QJ >owl "',.. ..a"'~1 (HI TIw::
"'" -.I lilt Hound .

.-w
, .
-'!·lhti:

'
1IIO\·~nlC'nts
I fox~

~y ~"")"s.
and their lim ing . What make.
Whal all,ludcs or aclioru; are unique

film was a'·ailable on ,,"uall)" any

. ~ ofllie sludK)". greal hve·acl,OOl sene,.
r",l.ij. "',A.nmr~s. The an;malOf> dre,,' from 'h"
CQadQffbtlH.facuon and tim'n~ !o~ludy.
1I.no XIIOI1S m soe«,,",'e dra"mg,. and Ihen wcnl
Iod '" ..c!.dy some ""'"". "fhc: y f ....nd !hal !he am.]-
mg phocographs made by l-.:adweard MuybrMlrc ' near-
ly • hulldretl run ago were good for ren"nd,ng lhem
of .... ha' ,he animal doc~. bu, his callie,.,.,. did OOI.lwars
calch lhe e\l",mes or Ikla,ls of ",Iall\" IInU"g. Ind
,lie p,cture' could be m"leadmg ,f the anllna't)I"\ .... ere
unfamilar .... 'It. ,lie animal oc- IIie :KIlOO Smce 1\ 'i
"iw al" a)'$ hard 10 figure 0111 lhe bun,p' and ,haVC', ,n 1>1,11
phOlograph~. I;\'e aClion fi lm i, "'<Ire u:.cful : )'10 can
s« a rolt de,-dopmg . .". pull ..., <lUI ~mllghl. or a
.........
s...riuh,o.
Wltol -.ttl

""' .....
..... nul"',.,
fa """"'"
b\llgc coming ~p. or a JOInl mo"in~ ~mk:r 11M: , kin bit . OtlM:r Ihan a special cla.~ Ihal mighl .Iart 314:.10
much It1OIl: tlc~rly . ... and go ~nt il 6:00 (one hour of OUr lime a!IInSl I
Many ~ ~I 11M: idea Ih.aI produclion $lopped half hour of Wah·s ). atl of tho. Il:>can;h ""as doD:
for wx or (C"cn " 'ttks " 'hile C'"Cf)'I)M learned 10 draw .... hile kttpn, up our footage on lhe CUnni! ~
I ne ... CIlarxICr. ThaI ...-ould Iu,·c b«n I 100'c!Y " 'ay aflcrlloun ....ttkcnoh. noon houn . "'hcne'"Cf"'f ~
10 lain kno .... ledgc. bul il ....u II(lI e<.:Qnomkally feasi- sqU«1e in somo: exira lime: . 80th man "'"lImed 10 do
_~. and when he saw OIlIers draw ing bener he
qldly tried to learn what they knew .
Thil .haring of koo ... lcdgc speeded up the whole
ming process and kept a st imulating almosphc:A.'
"'c. If one of U~ Slarted to fall bdlind. Walt migtM
!If. "We can do bener than lhal!" as if lhe individual
- . JIOI as important 8" the whole lc~n1 efron. How-
1Mf. lie' was more apt to :Illy ... Why <Jon'1 you go see
Marc [}avis1 Hc', go! some nicc drawings of lhoo»e
e .... ·know. he ~sn'l get all lie<! up in lheanalomy:
}til look 11:11, ar.J they've gOi an aJlP"al and a
~:d~:~~;~:,Y.'~
..
&0 look al them: Marc might
. And Mon: would. and so would
• and any of the sketCh ,"",n working
of the animau,.,., <kvcloping idc~s .
or~ m.n.Bernard Garbutt had ~ """" pr<TIb-
. He knew animals ~nd how lhey nlOV<:d 100
Ihing~. but he ""vcr d",,,, from an ItClio"
There were 00 Ihru.'I$, no mU<eIcl< . •,..,
a clear • simple oudine of the aninlill
_me'l! . would go 10 him with a """"if..:
""m, ''I've ,01 Ihis dcer gcu ing up. and I know
, ,
"
-I' ~.
,.
the hilld end comes up fiDl . Tben I put OUt his front
kgs . . . . I think that's right. but what hal'l"'''SIQ ~
he~d at Ihal poin"!"
Garbutt would prrch on tho: edge of the table. ~
like a bird than a draftsman (he neVff sceme<110 sit in
a chair). and Slal1 nptain;ng. ~nd white he 1~lked his
pencil wou ld ••art making a thin line Ihal _med to
meander aimJc:5>'ly across the p;1per. We would lum
OUr heads first one way. then the OIlM:r . trying to see
what he was drawing, bullhe Ii"".
fe2nll,led a tangled
cobweb as much a.~ anylhing else . Then . suddenly, ~
saw a deer in the precise phase of the mo~rnenl we
had \k:;crib<:d; only GarbuU was drawing il upside
down so it faced us.
While"", wen:: blinking and trying to a.bsi.:dI thai
combination of rc:ndition and cxplarulion. be would
continue: "Now wilh a camel. he'll put Ihi. leg OUI
first and keep hLt head down .. ," When he had
finished dra"";ng a camel getling up, he ",wid go on
10 the buffalo. juM "" _ would ha~ a tlKwough
undeManding of whal was unique abou t t""decr in
Ihi. par1 icul ar action. In ten minutes we had a whole

"- 'J, L ,J
, ,
I
"'"\ , ~

'q
/
/
\, '
, , ,/
, ,,
\
"' , / ..... i '
\
V '~ ,
'j'J f,
I ", I ,J \
,I
/ , 1/
,I
I
course in comparalive analomy. iliumalcd v,ilh ¥cmle Another imaginati," bil of prubknH'olving
li!!lc conlour drawing~ Ihal had no bohJno:ss or Vi¥OT. for in Bambi was lhe drawing of lhe majtS1C
jom surprising accuracy . anlic rs. To follow Ihrough the perspec.;'-c ;;,~:~:=:
We IIad alIOIller unique laknl in Rena Scot!. lIIe prong as the head O"IU"w _buul was just I,
rlfS! ...·oman a. our slIMiio 10 ha,-c an ;merest in am- caled (or ,,'-en the
mation. She had an aslOllnding abilily 10 draw powCrfli1. and the fif'Sl filn>ed tests of the
virile animals from almoSl any perspe<:li,'c and in any revealed robbery.
action . Alone poim in Bambi. '.ie nttded $Om<' con- ofmajesly;
vincing and (righlening hounds 10 cha§( our heroine glory . So. a miniature plasler model was maok
F.line. bill none of. he anima.ors ,,-as advanced enough staB's head v,ilh the fun complen ... n. of anden
in his UndcrsllJl(\mS of hound. to !.:Kkk the i1.<liign~nt .
ke!!a cuuld dr~w th" dogs in any posilion. an-d she
and Ihis was placed bclICath
scope machi,IC. Up un the d
"~"~'.;':':'b:':~::::'::~
kJlew the Mliludes and Ihe mood. but ~hc wa; i,ICxpc: '
ril:llI:l'<l in It", ~" ul' relating nne d,awing 10 lhe nex!.
So the $upervisill{; animalor. tori<: UtrJiIIIl. sct lhe: ":elleS
lip fllr Mr.nd shn,,'w her whal needed 10 be don.: .
Wilh lypocallllOde,ty. Eric says. "I " 'orked " ',Ih her
on !he timiJ\i. bul iho:: d,d II all; sht: worked and ,,'med
on it. " Ilowever it was done. bcN"ttn lhe \ ...'0 uf lhem
there _ppe.red on lhe ~1l.'C1I one o( the: rrKbI chI lling
and uci. in, pi«t-~ o( aclion c,-", In he animated .
had the first drJwing of & scene with juS! the head of
the stag carefully drawn in . He slowly turned and
tilte<l the model undernealh umil the head liMd up
exaclly wilh his drawing. This done. he simply lraced
the horns. That drawing compleled. he muv,,<.i on to
Ihe next; with a slight change in Ihe model. more
horns Were ready to trace. The result waS perfect_ a
bit tedious. but not nearly so demanding as the aUemp!
to draw it all in perspective from imagination .
Rico Lebrun had been hired as "'-,:: began to work on
Bambi because of his knowledge of animals and his
ability to leach. He fdt slTongly that the only way 10
learn all about an animal was to gel your hands on it
and move it about and feci how the pa"s worked. He
started a search for a young fawn. but since none WaS
then available we conlemed oun;elves with studying
what film We had and observing older decr at the 7.00.
One.- day. Ri~o gO! a call from a ranger in Ihe FOTCstry Th, fa ..·n,ha,
had bUn1h.
mod.! fIN So man)" i"'pi"'·
Service who had come upon thc Carea" of a very
tional skneh •• had sr""·"
young fawn. no mon: than two days old. It was st ill in up 1>, ,h. lim, ,M oni"",·
good condition. and he could have it' Rico was ecswic . ",,, "Orlro On ,h. pie,.r,.
H.,.. Rico ILbeun SM""
That nighl in class. we cru",·dcd in close 10 watch
Frank Tho",,,, how ,h,
the 1lK>,·emcnts of the legs and the back and the head htad fi's om" ,h, n.d.
as Rico turned Ihe txxly roun<.i and round. lesling Ihe Also ...arrMng art Rma
aniculalion of each join!. He was enrap1ured wilh his S~o" and Boo YOltngt{uiJl.

model: we were a bil moTC TCsc ...·e<J-.aflcr all. il had 1M"" In f"NgrOltNI i, *«p.
n fIN ,b. de".)
be<:n dead for three or four days. Excitedly. he an-
nounced his plan to remo'·c the OUler layers. a linle Th, dur slom.oro mort in·
each nighl. so we could learn alilhe intricale workings ,,,,,, in Olli. JoJu,."o,,· s
righl down to lhe skeleton. The whole procedure mighl draM·ing ,luIn In h" job of
fh'.ing for ,b, dass . In
lake Icn cvenings in all. backg round. Mil, Kahl.
The nexi nighl. we stood fa" her bac k as Rico I'fl. alU! Bill Shull.

AN""A7'/)It D(m Lust-

Bombi.
Drawing peol>l~ms
mt)l". of a ,heM' '0,h.wu.
ma·
j.srk SlOK in Bombi 'han
,M bullns of ,h. hunufj.
No on. rou/d draw ,h. im·
(X)sing anll." So 'hat ,h.
colum. and pu.pu,'w
...,.,. ~onsron' from. draw·
ing ,,, drawi"g. Th. ac·
eurary sun hut ~am' from
'rodng a plasru mod.1 ,ha,
~ouldbt ,umro in on>" di·
r'~"o" '0 "",'eh ,h. ani·
"""ors dro"·'"g .

339
tt" motkl''''''*''1 N/II -
""ltdGjgi"uJ...-~" Tails and Ears Are Important Too
,/w~,"•
....... ...,wIIJ"
• JI<"UI6 J." ""

• "" BMnIIi.
.... .
B" ...
J ""
'" tnn...., .I",...",•.
7)lIIi.ot~(t}ffmly.
"' ....".., 1M IOn.

(I! 1:."<". ""

,/II impo""n'
pari of./w w./.ud. ,,~ any
""Imm .

(2) H ,,;' .... n bt- " t , y ,,,

~""mality. "",I ""'"Y.jmu
" 'iII ......... II" ... " ,/wroc",
/uls , S,ruU/' /Wlr ,i....,
"" wM,''''pl. Irri.ub/. Iaot.
S-lItmJ '/"./"" j. soft
WIll /m.;";", .

(1) Tail, ...." rJD ", ....11 '0

, ........./w - ' " of "" (I"j.
mm. TIorJ ...." ,,,... ,, fNdy
/.,11"". '" Jtow" *'jH.lott . ......
'" uf/«rw... Tlrq ."""Id ~.......
IlOl "II 'HI .11, ~ro,,1Id "'j,lI·
"", a ' nmlll, 1'h,y,"".l I
'",~~1,~, I
lIa.', lif' ,"'-'. Wm, 1I ou'/'"
"d",,"- WI/i.

($) R,m.mbrr . i. mu. /~I T/w ...... t is if"" (>'U"

--.
JqWl.Jlt WIll s/r.ull ,'~ """.... ,.I "" .... "'/w" «IO
"""""t
ptUf. of ,/w ..""""'" ,Irm
""'" IwIp Jtow" "" ""'".,".
It "'" /It' ..rrlINI'" /It'1Ii~·
~"II«. ,I0000' alrrMn• • /It'
CD<"ly " •• 11 ell,., ""'. or j lt·
dk"tt ,mt'"
 ~111O\'ed the ~k in---50 w~ CQUld ~xamine tl>< musel~~
and the le ndon ~ and the remarkable engineering prin-
ciples n:vealed in thi. w<>n<.k. of n.atu~ . Unfonun.atety.
uth ti mo: hi: contracted or extended l ny pan of tbe
cadaver a rich aroma wa. pumped into thl: air. He
called to us. ·· Hey. fdlu.gel in hen: dose. ""hen:)'QU
~.n sec what this Ihing i. doing ."
We answered warmly. " Oh . ~ un ~~ juSt fine
from back hen:!"
In spile of this uniq"" opportunity to gain vast
kno ...·lcdge. ~lIendance al thos<: evening cias5CS began
to fall off. Ilowe,'c" Rico's enmusiasm sa:me!I 10
i llC~JS<: in dirttl proportion to the odor ..... hich no
k>nger could be described as moeI'd ), pungenl . Our noses
finally lurned us all away. but not his. He su yed wim
his prize until it was only OOIlCS . In the end, Rico
furnished us with a ....o"""rful 5Ct of dr~wing~ that ...·c
studied ...·ith consitkrably more rcli. h ,
WI;i\c il is extremety hl:lpfulto understand the anal ·
omy o f an animal. its movement and timing and bal-
11K" and rh)-' mm an: just as imporumt from an aninution
standpoinl. and probably Il>< y all should be learn.d
together. This is ~ comfoning lhoughl if the subject is
~ lion. or liger . or rhi....,.,rtl5 . or any large. wild crca·

Ex"" ...,;... '''I(1f'('/t "'<I' al....", dt>M aI''''' a~ilft(l/(N, ~·

,...~ (1 """ rNu-lNln. Stnrlt ..., dir«tly from ,,,,. Jil... of·
't~ «1'<ltel ,Itt ' pi,;, of an a~i_1 anJ tltt uu ..u of hi.
"'o<'r"'t~'. f")T 10 I I)alm .. ians " ... u.d "'" Jilmtd aNion
,hi. ""Y - 'I oflt .. /"" .. "" pItcloJ/(JI,.

Sm'(" k,,,1 M lllp ;s>-

Ma,~ D;m·._
!Ure. We had link de~ire to probe: with our fingers the
inncr .... orking~ of the orangutan while animating King
Lou~ for Tht Junglt 8oo1e . A few th~rts of comp"r·
ati"e analOmy and some rttl! of film told us as moch
as ...-e .... anted to know .
Long before Our artists encountered Rico'~ fawn
cadaver. lhey had been ~tudying the JlcnUBI behavior
of real dec, at close range . "The sWdio had been sent a
pair of fa .... n~ from Mame that ...·ere kept in an arc.a
alongside the animal ion building. and the arti~ts had
only to glance out the ...·indow for stimulat ion and
ref~reRf;"e 10 the real thing . Despite the great vaJ~ to
the artist in dirtttly observing an animal in iu daily
activities ..... hen • story called for a rare or unfamiliar
action from a deer it was still a major problem for lhe
animator . In lhe first sequence of 811mbi ...·c needed 10
portray thoso: initial fcw minutes in a fawn' S exist~ncc.
" 'hen it is ..."Obbly and "ulnerablc and plI17.lcd by the
world. and dependent on ils mother . I-loweve •. nature
endows fawns with a sirength and ,,)ordination that
develops ~ quicldy that " 'ilhin only a couple of hours
they all: "ery different n~atures . Wb<:n the San Dkgo
Zoo phom:d 10 say they had a doc ready to foal any
day. the sludio s hipped a film Cre ...· down lhere inllne ·
diatdy . l1Io:y sct up their C<Juipment j ust outside the
dec,'s cm:~ure. at a Spollhat ga"c lhem full to,·cr·
age of every part of lhe pen . There ,,'as no place the
doe could have privacy if she desired il . Although .I he
had liven .11 signs uf being ready In deliver. '."":1 .•
night 's "igil produced nothing . Nor the nUl
either . "The " 'elf}' crew prepared for tile second
under the ...·atchful gn.c o f laT~e. doe C)"CS. '' ' ' ' '
Ca rne and the prospect ive mother ...'as calm ml
_'II:rvcd . The crew .... as ex hau't~d .
When ..... hing happened during the
sign~. no indications of any kind. lhe cn:w
g~t IIOme ~Icel' and corne bock aboul
been a~. urcd by the ,-"okeeper thaI "'OSI
during the small hoof'll of the morning .
gone for barely fi>'c hours and n:turned
and be .... ildered from too lillie slccl'. 001
.iI""
e,'en more bewildered 10 ga~e Ul"'"";': :::,:~~~
five·hoor·old fawn I'r~"cing aboul It
ere .......·ent back tl) bed .
animal action 10
In contrast seldom ::~~;':":i~:::'~~~:;~;
th'e can be sphced i
helpful continuil Y. Then: mighl be l shon
action !<Cem:s in ~ run Of a fight Ihat could be
t~her from !<Craps. but more often the
10 be in"cnti'-e. to find a specirot place
use a particular acl;on. Hopefully. he CIII
film of an animal flopping
Of <>roe 8ett ing to it~ fttt .... ith a Ii
mUloCles, Of a spirited, uciled
run-all
thi I1K1VCI1\CnIS
s. IhI: animator can that ';"~:~";"~"j:':'':':;:'""~;':::
place .. Ii j

""IV, TOft lIuXh F''''N_
'['he Adventure" or Mr.
T"".
TM ..w",rl MJ" ""'~ body,
"sIn/Ilk,. ''1'1'~''m''c~, Imd
il"""'""J 10 W >NUJ.ywoJ
"p 10 ",,~, A s 0 " ' ' ' ' ' _
dl/lnxftr. ".. M'"'''''''i'''''
"'''''ing hoo.llu",_
w"...m",.. of feeling, and wilh a little adjust·
"""' ilIId there (to improve the sync and m:llch
r il .
. scenes were shot of a dog
and luming, coming down
. Mraining on a leash-a ll of which were
lids in liming scenes for lhe piclure and
......'"• • ~ 10 achie"" nDmrar' appearinll K lion .
~~IIC'S Ihal broughl Ihe charaClers 10 life were
lhe one ~ imagined by lhe animalor. showing whal lhe
dog c<.>\lld have dollC'. in ways lhe dog would havc
done il .
In addilion 10 mo'~mcnts nttdc<l for KCIIC'S and
continuily, many miscellaneous ac1 ions wcre fil~ in
Ir)"ing to capture $OIIICthing of the individu.tl animal' ,
o,,'n pcl'SOflalily. These nalural movemenl~ proved 10
be 1he mosl helpful. since special meaning cou ld be
gi""n them by adding dialogue. or music, or sound
cffe.:ts, lhereby inlerjecling an eX ira qu~lily lmo lhe
behavior .
Probably the most important ",Ic for any kind of
animal phOiography is . " l)Qn ' l be afraid 10 waSle
film!" To gCI lhe nalural , lhe unexpecled. the rare
~nIS, there musl be unlimited plItience and a rvn-
ning camera. Thc director who is detennincd to gel
only what i. called for in hi. $l.:ript. and gel it righl .
will miss the wonderful Ihings that make an animal
whal he really is. Thc animalor who leaves the whole
ted ious bIJj~ to(llhcn will mi~ the firsthand knowl.
edge 111:11 only c ln rome fllJm being with lhe animal
while Dllempts are made: 10 capture ils unique auri .
bllle •. The besl ;o<;t1om are invariably unplanned .
When lhe caSling ....as sel for us 10 animate lhe Seese
in IlriJIIK"uts, we borrowed a camera fllJm lhe smdio
and vi~ il(d a friend' , ranch . He h:od . wo gcese. some
assorted c hic-kens. and J decrepil. 1allerW while lur·
key who had an amazing desire 10 slar in a scree n leSI .
The whir of film running Ihrough lhe camera caus.ed
him,o ~rvt ~boul " 'ilh his three or four ~maining tail
feathe,.,. ukew. bUI il made: Ihe g(cse run away _
As the ~ ran."~ were amaled 10 s« ho>oo closely
lhey SID)'ed together, with their ....ds almost inler-
,wined. We had Upecletl lhe roll of lhe body as .hey
paddled abou. c lumsily , bul the way lhe two geese
wor\;ed logelher "'a~ Slal1linll. AI once a kind of char-
DCter emerged for .he 1"'0 . which ,,'enl heyon<! lhe
dialogue ,,"<' were conlempl3ling (or a p;lir of silly
spinsters on a walking tour of France. Thc film we
look sct:mw 10 have an ~Imosl ronStanl o"erlay of lhe
JnPOStcroos lurtcy. bul behind him "flC al,,-ays the$e
two heads flCC'ring aroond , keeping lheir e)~s on lhe
camcru and the highly SUSI1«I man behind il. We
skctched from the film and from our n",mary. for ono;c
".., had seen lhese girl s in action . nOIhing rould crase:
Ihe realily of Iheir inlense s keplicism . The nicel y
 designed dra"'ings of geese lhal ,,'e had seen on lhe
SlorybQards we~ ~uddenly lWO vel)' ~al perwnalilies
ooMling about with lheir O\O'n poi"ate dignity-/"laugmy.
appnising . critical. and funny . "They were ~al gttse.
with all the mo,'emenls of rcal aeesc. OOt they IIad
~"ealed lhe pe""",alit;"$ lhal could be understood and
shared by all humans .
Finding emenainmem in a per$Ofllllity does not mean
making a clown 0111 of Illal e haracter . h means o nl y
lhal one is ~la1ing 10 qualilies common 10 all individ-
ual s. and lhere is no loss of dignily inherent in thaI
process. The personality lrails can be heroic. allruis-
lic. or noble; il is the uSC made of them in the Story
sil ualion lhal delermines whelher lhey ~rc comic. or
cute . or stu pid . or mean . Therc Irt many "'ay~ of
being tnlenaining . and the ch:.olkng.: is It> lile slOl"}'man
10 erealC s ieual ions where these individual lrail~ can be
brougllt OUI in an emen .ining way .
Many animals h" 'e !heir attribules al~ady defined
by the legends and sU}lies o r various culeurcs . " coy-
Ole is. cunning and wisc hero tu the American Indian.
and I villainous predator 10 the Sheepm. n. To mosl
people. a rabbil is nervous and almosl completely help-
less: I wolf is all villain. whether he i, slavering or
Ktn Ilndu'(NI_ deceilful: and the beaver is liard-workinG with no sense
"ood o f hu mor. When casling a pic ture with "I\ood guys"
and " bad guys:' llleSC are imponanl consideralions.
"The "good guys"lIavc 10 be small . ineffectual. CUle.
and associated with OOIlviolcnce . II doesn'l maner if
!he rcal animal is thaI .... y or not . You are playing off
images in lhe vie,,"CT$' subconscious. and if people
~"TtMII·
~;;;.;'".;
""/"''1
SlnpI"1
grew up thinking a ecru in " 'ay that is where you IlII.III
SIan . To hl\'e a mean and cruel kinen tcrrorizi", I
family of nervous . nigilly bear.; is an uphill fight (0:.-
e ' "CI)"body .
Still. lhere IS considerable room for van.llons. I.
Robin Hood. some: of u i thougllllile Shmff of~·
lingllam " 'oold be nlOll' inlc~~l ing if lie "'m: I ~
As the story wu structured . lhere ,,'a, no oem fo:.-'-
to be ~ crafty villain: he " .• ~ only slUpid. bossy. and
u!\Concerned wilh the peuple he mlghl be hurti", A
goal Wilh a lh,c k skull ,ould do lhi.' milch and gi,'c lilt
animalors ~ neW animal to dr~ w lhal could open op
fresh idt~s .
The director of [hal film fc!l jU~1 as Mrongly !hit tbr
Sheriff shoold be a wol f. becaUK tile I
lile " 'olf 10 be • villain . The facl lhal
~ shown him 10 be • good famIly =n and I
fellow " 'ill do louie to cllang.: ideas lhal ~ . " , _
old . In aojdiloon. lile goal has no established 10k
legend. and .. e ,,"OOld lIa"e the burden of,~;. . .
he " 'as good or bad or indifferent . De"clopin, m.
image coold w~~le precious footage lhat mighl be bIl·
ler used to .how entertai nment in lhe .pecifoc kind
villain he was.
The mUSI provocalive discussiuns come when tbr
story calls for a mythical crealure. or one """ •• 'd
appurcd in tale or legend . A dragOll is kOO\lll
ill-tempered and s ullen . so Ihal is not too much
~m. BUI OIher
no connotations picture,
. When ~:.:,:~.:"~~~~~
Wool",
mating lile dillO$3l1l"S in F,mt"siIJ . Walt
~wa", of an)' human personalit y tr..il$, " 000', m3k~
tllem cUle animal personaliti"" They ' "c gOI small
bnoins, y' koow ; make them ",al!" II was a disanning
m:juest .i nce ther~ was little ",sc~fCh pos~ihl~ on "'hal
a real dioosaur mighl hase bc:t'n like , but WooIlC "'3li
1\01 bothered. He dipped inlO his imaginal ion, com·
binc<J lita. wjth a few raw animal things he rutd ~n.
and, ,,'orking closely ,,·jth Bill Roben s, who wa s
directing Ihal St:<iuence, Came up wilh scenes of dino-
saurs thai St'Cmed 10 ~ ju.' the way people always
im .. gined these gianls should be . jf ever lhey had
thought aboul;1 bef<;«! Fooifled by Slra~m>ty's mag-
nificent S<;OfC. Ihey crealed , togelher. a Slirring flhn
. ha. ne'~r can be forgotten

""",.""" w""u~
H,,,~,,,,,, ~ _

" RII,o{Sp"ng," hnta...

W/wi k_'. ""'" ~ ,1"'O5<'~'
"·,,Il,d ",ill,,,,,, '1 'Y'<l"
II,,,,, Th,nJrT«,nJ,
,~,
''''''",,'''' ,Iu~'.
<UId.w..,
"8"'" lHfou tm,"t ,hi.
<v""'"";"t ~"n (III Ih, T.·
' ..n""5<l~'~' R,~
" 16 pound bo,,'Ii~g bo/J i$
rolling da....n Ihr a/Jry. II
ha$ a snu>olh , ron1;~uaus,
~venly sp<lcrd pN)gr~.._ -o-. -e ••-•••
.- ...
II is n(){ uralic; il d""s ~()/
s[Jrtd up ond s/o'" tkJk'n,
then spud up ogo;n.
II d""s nat chong, dira:_
lion obrl<ptly (I<n/~ .. it
mt." somnhing strongu).
••••• •
Ho", muchonobj«1 wrighs

•••••••• e.
is shOM'n by how much ef-
fort is ff(juiud 10 mo .... it.
'0 "OP ii, 10 dltJngr ilS di-
"c,ion. Th ... orr show"
Ih'""gh Timing , Ara. ond
SqUOJh and Str~l<h.
.,. c

II,h, obj«1 is 0 eHoraclrr.

(Jles i$ pu, OI<l I(J '''~ Ih,
_iRht, sqlklShing and ab_
.orbing 1M lorer 01 the
ma .....

In 1928. Mkkqhadcharm
bullIO w~iJlht as m IUrned
a romer wilh""l regardlor
'I<Pf'O'I or gr(Jviry . :-'----.;c

The Rhythm Walk

This spirlud "<I/k k'iln 1m
Munc. in Ihe middl. ,,""s
">id by au)'on' in thr
.ar/y lkirtin. II "'as 01-
"·o)" don. 10 II mu.kol
btal. g;";ns a happ)' .•nu_
gtlie luling 10 Iht aclion
and ojounryolliludrlor Ih.
eN".,uttr, Combin<'<i ...i,h
SOmt cartlret .. -his/ling. ;t
did much to "lab/ish M ir-
key's I""mwlily.
(U6) Mickry .111"$ ailOr_
mal ."'p. lilting hi_< ",,,1..-
high.
(USl ln Ih, miMI. of Ihr
sr'I', h' dips do,,·n.
( I j I) Then "P ,,~uin '" "
high pmition an h,ad WId
1>0<1.'"_
(/54J n""I/I', the 10"'.
iii
",q""sh'" /Wsilio" ," hr
"'acrs his fOO( to romplerr
Ih' st,p.
 /
THE IMPORTANCE OF WEIGHT

Wall. ~1I"ay, have becomc lrouhle""ne and O)tn - in everyday a.cl,,"lIles. Once lhe character ,,-ent into
.nim"I~ . The >ell"n Can o..X·<>Il'" 0.1' ,n - ""lion. il was lhe U me old business of moving lhe
body ,,-here lhe animalor ",ante.! il 10 he. lhen adding

~
:~:'il::~";.:"':'~'hl Ihal
di,lribulion and balance ami ,"",c -
ncr)' 'ingle dr~"' in~ heCOlnc, legs al\d feCi undernealh moving up and do",n .
lbey can do ><l much", "" 'c311"'''-'-
MId allliludc 'hal lbey arc UI>( of lhe anilnlllor ·.

: ::~:;~::::;;~.:;:'?'
in gcuing hold of aMany aclOrs;,fcd
char.K"ler Ihallbe
10 3",l y1.e
,I I I . Even the nlO,1 c:,wa l study uf pe"-
a b\J~y . lreel ,,·ill "" 'ca l dr;11""li,· diff.rence, in
lhey achieve §i mplc locomOlion: long ,Irilk,_
Ii I bouncin~. minelng.
/
l- ~

._ / /
<.l'
,
"-
,;""Iing: lhere i~ no end 10 lhe ,·ar..,I)·.
IJi the cady can()(}n~ bcfo,"" sound c."", along .
wm few attem pts lu makc walking anYlhing
~A >
- -,-

Ihln a means of mO"inli Ihe "bara'I.' 10 a ne w

- ./
on lhe: .<C!"ttn. Tko: "'a~ pacing b;>ck and
.;;:,~~;':~~:~;::~ off.....1 io SOITO'" or despair. - A ....".~i~, ""~
'F ~1rid,"g as be ... r""ghl back . bul no • >lwJq> 9t1'
......t~

"'. ""oJ.
lritd 10 O:lahl i"h characler by lhe " '3)' lhe
Wilh lbe ,",roduclion of sound lhe",
" rhYlhm walk." ",ilh il s C.<Ir" bounce in Ihe
- . IItU",,,".
~i~,
widt.
1("'.
~ will
'Ill i/N
JJippi,.,_,
anlllt"ni,., i.1O 1M
OJ" ",,' ga,'C lif. and 'piri l 10 n mundane "haracler I() kttp hi, btJJa/Oa .

'"
1.3
 Walks THE IMPORTANCE OF WEIGHT

h was the realization that the canoon figure could

ANI"ATOII, Frank Th(Jntas-
Robin Hood,
Rabin Hood rwns ;n 10 pick
up Ih~ lasl sack of gold. H~
placu h;sjOOI "'~II i~fronr
of his body and tlidu ;nl()
p<>Silirm, "ll;ltg th~ olh~T
Itg and planting il I() help
Supporl Ih~ ...~ighl of Ihr
,Iold'1$ ... rll at I() Sian his
chang. of direction.
nOi be believable without convincing ..... eighl Ihat really
changed tbe animalors' thinking. Tbe principles of
squash and Slf<'tch were beginning to be understood
and provided lbe procedUf<'S and thc tools for display·
ing lbe "",W discoverie s. Basically Ihe principle waS
that a moving body could not be shifted in direction
TIIr ,",,", of ~I
wilhout encountering resistance from ""mething in its ing thr/XIgh Ih,
pf<'SCn l path of movement. causing il to tum Moose lIu", .

"''-I''.r()// F,,,,,k Th(Jntas-

T1It Re""uers.
Luk., Ih. m~.kral. is Tun·
ning with his j~~ "'Mn h.
roUts a crocoojk nwku a
...ild. s<:rambling tak•• Tt-
I'"SU diTUli<m and l ips
""" Through Ihis impossi.
bit action, Ih. jug is limrd
u,,'itljca" y. ",ilh a full
a'cand convincing ,,'righi,
... hich mak.s ,,,,,ylhing
,
1
.1•• sum /Hli,''(J/)/r lao. If
Ih. jug IuuJ flipprd aOOUI
likt a pira of da/h Iht
...holt scene ...ould ha.,
lH~n j"" ano/hu franlic
roT/ocn wke.
(I J Obj«lJ/J7ma'~rial"M'
.....iSh n' amoun'S.
diff~r..
~~(j ,'2~~
~~., ,

Moid Maria,,' , .mrfbi"",.

in 'N brt,,:t in Rooin Hood.

""'''.roo Fud Moort'-

Plum· , Judgment Day.
E""1t in mnoo"laM, Plu,a
... dSIlS as mud. 011 a bowl·
i"S ball. H.. ,,, h" skids
"NUM ,h.. car"", umil 'N
fore .. of his ori,inal dirt'(:·
'irm has bun ilbJorlHd aM
a ....... di,,,,,,/rm is."ab·
lisW.

3<,
 )olm_
A............ Olli~
LOL DfJnwOano_

12J Tn, '/,mm/Hon l,.pu .

,"", IA. f"/i~1 of ...,I,M.

A.•., ....... F-rd Sptwn, Mo.-jill! o.oy

o -/d i. Iryj~1 M pI "fi.A buoo~ off /til ,ro, Iw 1)"ln,
'~J"''''''''' a'tHlull "rid allacA,nl 'h, 01"', ,nd 10 a P'«'
off~'nilw'• . H", h, i , ,unninl and ,lippmg as h. '~",:M.
1M fw/llfmi"" of Ih. ,".'~nd.".

ROV' ,,/til AnilO..fr_ LOI

DalmariAns. io<"~f,,/I", 1111(}
Ih~ pond. n~ " 'Dln hal
mod. all aj Ih,i, dOlh.,
1oH", and Ii..." aM ""-
Ii",.

n~ ...,j,N of I~ ,,,,jn~ i,
sloDw.·n DIll ' l ids '0 a IIOf'.
""" 1M odthd WlK"h of Ihr
rooJp,"i", _",,,riIY;'l/o
Ih. ,,/, h~lps Ih~ 'If'''',
 A/o"MAm. F"d Moorr-
SIIOW W hile .
Dopry ,ips Ift'o 1M ,Uftr
1Iop1"I/lJr " l«oM i lll
/,.,.,. S_· WIII,r. I" ordrr
10 I:Hp A..... lit bo/<Ut« I"
,N. "b<"PI SlCp. 1M ".n_
1IOQJ0<'ldrd" ....,_,Iidr
" 'ilil ,lit! /UI ...rll ""I I~
/ ,0ItI. /oJ/_tid by" ri,IJ
,>"/>r"li"" "" ,lIr ,«ow,.,.
Tills ro,iro''''r "/0 "''' .
~ /w."i("{J1 s.op addtld 'M,r.
10;"""", "';,/ro", d,,/,oy.
Ing lh, .....;ghl or brU,,'nlH/.
lry ~ /h' dklraclrr.

(JI 1V""~lIt i. ,,,,'ralrd b,'

hOM' Ju,rd " ch<!'~rttlr h,,, ,,-"/MAm. FrankT"'--
10 push", ""II "guin., "n TIlt Sword in ! .... SI<"'• .
obj'ct. Thr ITrat M'i,,,,d M"li"
ha. cJu,"Krd himsrlf inlO 0
.qu;" ,,/ OM mn a /at aM
'"1''''roy/"""'/r. SN i._II
'ITo1ll " ,h<!" M OM filld.
4/'"''
II,., ""fty 10 Jloow NT
.......,. Ail ~ly ..",...;",.
.... Mill Kalrl_
:llio
." ,,,ugh., .f l'i~'K"'
appily ,i.i(>pi"! of} 10
\p""., Ih. mnDIilll of
lIS. Illar i. p'm;b/,
I"':''mllnr oJ ".," ~
.. boy.
Walk s FO UR-FOOT ED FRIENDS
By tM time "'e had finished our .... ork 1)1'1 Pi/Wt'('hio
in 1939. lhe animalors h~d done skip.s and fUns. clsual
ilroli§. walks wilh emhusiasm. " 'ilh liud f« l , " 'ilh
appuhension. and ...·ilh he~v)·. f~w rage , In one
",,"ene . Jiminy Cricket e'"en dusscd himself " 'hile fUo'
ning full s peed; and in anQIher. Pinooxh io •• ~ a I"'P"
~t, waf made 10 simulate a " 'Il k " 'ith minliS.
Tllcn Wah Disney decided 10 make 8ambi. This
WII 10 br: a picln'" of buuly and mood. of philowphy
and poelry. contraslinllthe inlimacy of I dewdrop on a
bl~de of grass wilh Ihe excilement o f young bucb
leaping aboul o n a meaoo",. 8<1mbi had Ius Slory. by
flf. Ihan Ihe OIher fUlures . being olOre like lhe: piclo-
riai Silly Symphooies. bul il had SlronS charac~r ",Ia_
lionships. neitM.cartoon n:1~lionships 00f caricalU~.
bUI ",aI . believable ulalionshi~. Was Ihis askinlllOO
much of personal ily animalion?
Wah ...·u not sun: wc " 'en: up;lbk of aniltlillng
Ihis fi lm quile yct. SO " 'hile lhe: "'51 of lhe: slaff rtIO"w
on 10 F"IO/M/", IWO unimalors: wen: a,signed 10 p.zf
zle o,'er Ille n>o,'emem$ and dra"'inll pn>blem, of ~
and rabbits, anoJ to I><'an:h for a ".. ay of i"",OfJ"nI"
our lenelS of cOll\munk~lIon il>to tlll".\.C forei~n ~
We kne,,· ...·e cook! make Ihem n:al--th31 i<. look lilt
",aI deer-bul ....e .'so bll"" Ihal without ~bI~
perwrulity " 'e could ne'w m~~ ... Ih~1 Iyl'" of 11m
~ aJTy ~ ,,·ho~ feallll\' .
We >tOOied film of deer. looted at pictures. taIted
to the: sketch men who had been drawing ~r for ""*
of 3 yur (while tM Slory h3d b«n shaped arid &vtI-
oped), arod w~lched deer at the loo. The t,,"O f."1\1
kepi at tM sludio had long since grown up arid dtl*\i
cd. so we gOl 00 Ilelp from lhe:on. bul we did ha.t film
taken ",'hilt they ..'C~ )'oong arod frisky . Howevct.
no"'""u cou k! " 'c ~ the leg !;<lUll'" as il 1M tilt
weighl of Ole body. and 00 checks fallCoW as lilt
mouth closed . No eyes chanted ihapc . .., ja"" ~
il> a big )'a,,·n . 00 bud~' bulged or MmCbMt *'(
" 'en: a/l1"IO)'il>gly IiI"" ynd :iUpplc and Slrong and_
cullf. What ""en: "~aning 10 draw. animatc . ......J
IlJt >lttIh,~. Ii,,, ", """
"4{,.M",. "' m~,,·..d
.... '~JI' hun"" ~()"'''''I!
.."'. I. g ,.," .p/"","
_,1M ....,,,,.. w".
"'"' _ _ .. _",lid /rt>,'"
...""",. I••" if " ... " ~ ...II
Md IooJ "~".,"al /,j_ "
p... .,..Ira .., rMrt " .
.... 1Iw< all Mimi III! In •
........ />vJ, J,'""Pf't""ru
... "I"" ,"'''''' .V ....·
......., IN """".... cr·
"'*" ""., ".'hilt ,h"I'"
.., ~ ..d ,ud/,vll." <>n
tri?-rflltr/ilm Each
....... <)Ith /i ... I ..........
. . • lri/r "" d,,<,<:/,,,,, .of·

....,,-
"",_~"" ,,,,,,,ruU.", In.
""II"" milt. ar/i"" rr ·
 It wa. in the t,acing of the film th"t we found our
anS ..... cr, W~ did nO! have photostat, on this footage.
and the images ..... ere small and difficuh to SCe. bUI
once we discovered Ihe se>:ret of the animar~ con·
struction ali lhe pieces fell into place. There waS actu·
ally more squash and stretch than " 'c could use. but it
was not occurring "'here we had been look ing . In,{ead
of being oUl in th,' open, a"'ay from In. bod)'. the
acti\";!y w ~s a! both end, of the Ie);,. In the sllouJdm
and haunchc,. and. again. in Ihe tinge" and 100
Il ere the action ..... as as hroad "' any cartoon dra" iog.
with greal nc xibilily and ,pring in the tips. alld fl'W.
si"e swelling and IhrusHng up in tk bod~'.
h took WOlle time to understand Ihc dcers an.lom).

,-
,-
•
f?~ '\.-.:::->
-- .-
.. ,,- ,.. ..
...-:. ... -

-_._-
......
• .,.. &

' - ' .... ..., ~

..."..-

-.r.

8~si,' 'mimal ~'"Ik on /Qs, }/"I'I'.'" (I"ion. The wind· fa,;n II" ,,,,,,,. 11(111 TM,·
sho~'n an" P"I'P), b~co"s~ pl~s "" Ih~ ."me ~'h",e"'r sP<'rd "". slm" ,10k'!!, I''''''
il is "",'i" '" su M'hm i, 1M anim"l, II,~ le~ /,,""',,", m,,;II'Y ("(m'
happening in his loou "nd Animals ult/"m walt '·~r." <'~nlral"'~ on ~'herr Ihel'
TIw"",s-
• I'I'(1Jf1:
• ,lid the 1I",,1Id.
rn'on<fap"f'P)' run·
I/O,
10 rnlin Ihal (he ~houldel'!; an: ne~rly in front of lhe
iii ~ and ihal lhe n:ar end is pl'aClically all leg and
1IIImclI. ""I ~ Ihis " -as under$lood OUr <Ira" inllS o f
lilt ammals btgl/l 10 have lhe fluid. loose fuling.
rombllled ..'uh mUieular power. Ihal w.s so Iypical of
dm, Qnc, day "'e "'ere Si udying a Strip of film show>
iq; an adull dur bounding across a smal! ravine . A~
lhe from legs look up lhe "c'llhl of lhe body and
guided il inlo alum. lhe clbov.' Klually pushed up
abo.-, {he line of lhe bac:k . After Ihal. ,,~ bool;",'w
an)'lhing " l i pos.iblc .
Our o.hcr big ,urpri~ came in lhe amount of mo"e·
men! in 'he deer' s spine and pel .. i~, The ,wiSIS and lills
and lurns ~nd ne~ibilily wen: II"O(lfT Ihan " -c knew how

~ ~~
T."dwono/
"w,h on Q
Ihln;,,_

Sr'''/gh, Squosh N''''II(II Sr"'ln

-,-....
-'" -. ....
~

,..." '
---I
-
.... .,u
? ~~~ 0.. •

".t:~~
E !ft-
..-
""")"" .<idt.<10M ,''',r·
lorooouItop •• Ihr
d,...~';n!l.
1M lilt rira,U<"u, of 1M
o~'_I. )_ ("(1M

Ihr ~'sQn~/jr)' ,'om '0

rh<'~

Ih. ~''',* : J~'''gg'', p'~na.

aJ<I

""'''/''''. M'orf)' , £ofljid.nrr.

rlu hMd ""'1 M ""d ~illh .
n . ,n'lu, ",ay d'''11-
rlumgu "r Rlr/lud. lind li",-
ing "'ill rhans. In. rha,·
orl.. ""Itt ....,Il .
$,,"J,' Ih. all;"",I_ _ ,h<'
("(lTlQ()ft lo,mula,

r <tY ""·I,W,"''' OIli.Jm.n"tm_ The Fox."" {he 1100"".

Cyrlt ..,.,;"" of iMlwll dOli 'Imning "" 9• .
,4 _'U(~"'P"'fMCO''t''
"'W" ,...,,, ,,.,,,, I() /<>11 /,..
JlMJ of .""1" ",lIop or"
"ad (dnOOll '.", 1M a"i·
"""01' (tJ~8hl ,h~ IIU\""";
....".", of" ,fill _ u ,
 ohw, but (hey helpnl us Un<\ersland how fBwn~
~~~~'Ibc frolicking look ",he" playing. Thb also
III lurn the ba$ic p;!llem$ of all four·legged
In .... alh. troiS. gallops. and TUns.
II cmffc. for example. has 10 move his from fOOl
!he ...·1)· of the back fOOl. IS il swi ngs fOf'o"aro
long legs ,,,ver so much di~tan<:e in a

:::;:;~;::~QlK:e.
the illusinn of bolt. f«1 moving on
and in a :;ense they du fur a few
....·,".TOII Mill Kahl_
The Jungle Book
. 8ul. os""ntially • all animals mo"( their legs in
TA~ '''i~~ ,,~ ,A, li,~ • .
,.w ","""' '" right fore followed by left rear. We "'hie/! ordi/Ul.;ly WQl<ld I>t
doll'" 00 oor lland. and knees and t";"d it our- ,iNw"''''"SI.MiJo,dNomIiM.
..y,r ..w IInr ,,, d~rnil>t
:
~~::, immo:Jialely disco>"ci'W th., it wlS the IIut!u,m ofSIut,~ Klwlt. Br-
way to progress and stay in balaIKe. To ro~sr of ,.ro,.
JPrlt' <twdy-
lep in any other panem ,ives an i"'kward i~1 d~imal _ .... _111. ,lui

_,,.;, and a poor base for lIny kind or stability. anilfJl1lor "'Ill ohlr '0 do Ihil
is pussiblc [0 lrain IIorses and some circus scr,... Mli,,,,,,,,,
hrlp{rotIt""1
Ii..., <><:/iM /il....
gaits. these are b.uically unnatural
of 100000molion. By studying the I"<'al animal
iii ."'rting o'~r a cartOOn formula . we had
Ihrough 10 • new level of understanding thaI
oIher SIOrits .boU! ··..,al .. Inimals possible for
than that. OOC\' the ptoy~ka! rdalion-
~hara<,:ter of any animal are understood. the
altitudes: belligerent. ~od')' .
• rw:rvOll$. worried. or timid . And if thert: is a
I (Of a hick of coordination. 1M anima-
10 break the: animal' s natural rhythm of
. 10 mix up the: leg pattern . Il is dw.r1lClCr
 Walks ACfING AND AlTITUDES
Once the walks of the Canoon chardCters began 10
look ~at. the animators CO\lld experiment with charac·
terization and atlitudes . While pure inyemiveness and
imagination were still ,"eating funny scrambles and
se mi·dog actions for Pluto. acting and emolioos
capturing audiences in a new ..... ay . As the
watched Grumpy pull oUi of Snow White's
and Stomp away defiantly. they were more
with hi s feelings than they we", " 'ith
his walk, Figaro. thc cat in Pi1lOcchio. "'a5

"8ill Tyrla-
'bi~.

'~i" lri., 10 K;"~

"fJdrling tits as
.for ""ri ,

UOSStl lit, so/'.

mforr~r o~ his way

--. ~

!,Erk CI""""I>-
81< Book.
It WI2$ animsJltd as
,/w drtlwing. WO' ....
i",iniJIt~d in siu
II", so l/w ~1~pIumJ
"",,,It tIw persp«'
l/w 10Y'J"1 as ht
..".
,,,,,, I, "pl"'~lm~~' he w~l~ ed aero" t h~ !>cd. 'inking
d«p ,"h) the ."n c'''''''''. hut II w~, I,,, ~"n";.an,·~
.i,n Ine ,",',,<lant mtcnllptions from (jeprel1" th~t
nude tho: ,(ene come ~hve.
..,,' matter "f f"c·1. the animal"" found il e,,,ier 10
~, ~ "Jlki,,~ ,,':c"c if the character had ~ strong a11i-
lOJ,· dun if fie ".~, i",t m"\' in~ from \lnc place to
anothe r, There wa, nnthing t<1 caricature when nothing
wa, h"ppenin~; !h(1\: shoulJ be »ml<: 1\:",,->n why ttlc
"hara{·ter is walking . and that i, .... hal )'0\1 animal~_
The ~"!ing pussibihlics in an 3",ion enable the "ni-
mator to go beyond a mechanical perfonnance .

.."'.e,,. om,
TO. Rr>1CU<".
Aft" 0 ,,,,,It)
~(f«1km btl"
P~n"yandIM
M , hi", ".tI
oj
'M /cI'iu~ wi
a"d i",p' ""
.'",un~ {MOP/'
pm. Ir ""-' j'
"",ch /Of ,~;,
rlw film_
 """I"ATO* W.. ,d Klmboll---
Cinderella.
l"",gi~~II ... ~J~pl,,'ion 0{
"/"" ..... ~ll>y" ......"""""
.."/00 IIDJ obunnl ....,...,.J
~""Id ~"rirolU'~ Iitt" .. " i-
Iud" .

,
K~" ANkr_ $l,IC~ tI,·
pIwUoI$ "" " /rip It> Ajri€...
lOW" _i.. g wrMof'~~t>(:.
/i" ... 0{ olh~r ".,,,.M,, of
~is ",'".

K... ·sl:no ..1rJg' 8"'" au-

th.nliciry 10 his ideo of a
p<JmpDIU "'jlldb<q /<N CDt.
HGI/oi i~ ~ J....... Book.
Tw ..."",;0. of per_-
aliry lInd allilud, Id ",
S(.MS wil~ 8"a/ ~c'ing
DppD"un,·lie$ .
 ... ,.... It'II. Fr~M. T/JoIIuu-
The Rescue ..
8~rll(JtJ Iri~. '0 be It(»tCM.

II"
-
r .... ,... "R'H~_

~ . #,-"~-
-

~~ -
I - - ...·tNl.i). _ :r. _ WQ ,,~OIfT
....... ..,....• .AU "-I~_
_ _ I~II' a.1ot relfffJI,frcm ,lot
C"M,,,, '" I~e /n"",·h"', .
TIt<: 1Kt;"" .....
i" Ih~1s U> ...udI IN
"""UJ_
Ju.Io,_ """,Iot
,e1llUt.
U> ,he _"'" 0/ Itis 1UpI.

The fiNd Jr.....,.,. sJtow

" - """"I pItuuIi,.,
IW

i..,
scIwd flv "",,,,,,IDt'. "'"
probI~lIU .
Walks that Show Character Personality

:1, Kahl-
, ""'''Am.,Milt Kahl-
"P,cas Bill,"
ng in Ihis ..'all Melody Ti .....
IN pnson~liry
'us SMdf! af Thi •• a"y walk wilh Ike
A. modd shu, , winging hips has I><en
,,"lhrSctn~m copied widely Ihrougl>ool
' ~'lJlkcauldM 11>< animalion ir.dusuy. II
_It/w p;r,uff. was C""led origin.lly ror
SluerOQl Sue, lhe ,itt who
cap<ured Pecos Bill' , beatI.

olin LounsMry-
,/w H""rs."

'" r/rona for a

"ra",,~ for B~n
,,,<>/th~alliga .
:hl. litrl~ co-ciry
,dIG rMk~him
'om Ih~ olhus.
""I"~_ Erk LorSort-
~!Cr ar.d lhe Wolr.
Many dud "'<fddles haw
M~n a"lmald. and II Is a
cltall~np 10 find a pall'Tn
of "'oY ,m~n' Ihar Is just
rig'" for (/ ""... chartJC/~r.
marching boIh Ih, peTSOII-
aUry and 'h~ d~si8n.
 Group Movement
When rnon: than OM animal is walking or running
in a sane. there is alwa),s a temptation to animate the
U~ action for each figure . Once all the problems
have been solved and lep an in the righl placc. the
idea of doing a ~ SCI o f dnwinp onl)' slightl),
different J«m~ like needless .... ork . SI
special opporIunil)' in the handling of '"
make scenes of greal impact . Then: is
cltilicil), 1$ OM figure pulh; away from
cI<*s in again. or passes_ up ...
lhal livu the charm and feding of life

........... 1':-" 1_ _" 0tt« U_" Wi~urti_ ...

Melody 111M.
~ Lm_ uiJ. ' TM ptU'~'1t af "",....-Itl yoor ,n "'" af
IU<J , , _ "'" "Iw<oy, /r1Ic/""ud _ ." nm. M d,_ 'M
_lOtI
Snow While
"ro
uNnJI fi, ..,r,. IMIt .I<ITltd filliltlt ;It ";111 ",M,s. "I......)".
utU'Clri", 1M ,"", fI- "ltd frudom ,/sar uP' IlIr It,.",." An)" J"'''P •
llIiw. TM _ 1o<Id " w_,t.J/Jir lui af ,lIr JH111mu af J"""ldlw>~c
""""',....'" r ' Nlu b)" (J ''')liP of , ka,erl . E'i~ altd Rrll" ,iwm 10 IIrr
Srolilollo ...d 1M , ..,.... p'Mrduu ....MIt alti"""iltlllhr M,' all;,,,d,,. ,
"""'ilt, "llIi~ lit (lamb; . The I,ad dog wa, do~ firl/. mo,', 10,,,11.
IMIt 'M OIM" .....TO fill,d ilt /Hhiltd him • .../r,ffW' l/r~y 1Ul11y. "mll
"""W /Hit. mDd, rItrttt i,
pl,IU;It,.

_ _ Bill TylIa-
SOlOW While .
F"", of 1M dk"aif, ",,,,.
,I, IU IMy ",i, a l u,/OII,
G",'"PJ' "....., "' III, '~b 1<>
IH WOIMd aM «,wblmJ.
Bill T)"I/"', """h, , Ira ...
lIis IlIilllilt, (}It Ihl, IUII'It.
"...1\1 oM iri'luli", of/row
1M ,'''''''' and MI ...... of
ON! dkvuf """",d "II 1M
",M,. . H, ""<Id _ /JIll.
IfIIUr ""Y """ of 1M'" silt·
,/y. "", Io<Id 1<1 COftIitk. lItr
..ttak ....tion of 1M It'_
'" rJw nu,rfll;1tIIVIII ill rJw
~M .
 ..." ... _ f'ro~k 'TItomtu-
Robin llood.
TIIi$ *YN e{hJs roi~,_
.1000< .10, ....... bo>w tMd
a"_.""
.0

r~ui.yJ
ON e{ .1tntI1otoJ
..... a /tom .....
.-a,""'. S"'("~ .10, HqW<tU
'mmnlit,,~1y FlUr/'IIl IotoJ
e'IMd "" a wry 'l"~' <Utd
JOfrIINr""'t. i, .r".,"" /IotJl
'" starr .hrl I~,,'i/)ft "'i,h a
Imrsl of lawghur tJnd mk.k
and rUn"inx I.,r/. cami"t
0 .... a hill. Th~ a~i"""or
r/r ..... a ,tI."" "'/llt a IITr"
comIng "raithl in,,,IIu-
.............. TArn 10, """"""",,a
,impl. ~¥i''''0II. '" _~A
IN tpim 10, "'o"uJ Lok'
lit ...~~, bod Dlld dru,.
mi...-d .. J'id'JHI" ~/Iot
lOIIWbodv·. arm aM .......
ale,. "'DNad. auitt. or
a ,ibl>r>n lIftu,/o, ini.U1i
~..... " 'QJ ",,,,. I/o, (",.",.
a(:I." 1IJ.,ntr/<Utd ",n.so.."11
,h. '''ttl 011 a sM. pmt.
,,..in, Ih. aw,/;u(", a
("/oanu {" lu fflt"h of IN'"
jndil"idktll/y .

...,.,.... ,"" Frank T"'-'_

Snow While
'n S....... Whlle,/o, rJ....t/,
SN<Jk ''''''IM~..,.A
'Q,Mtl pidJu.,. 'rOJY '"
bll ,A. mo,..". I" 'N"
~ds. It ..... ""1'01'1_ Nrt
I/oa, att 1M rl/a"""", .........
IOtnlrrr. took IO,,,A,,.
Slop '''t"h ... '"uit '0.
",N •. '" ,hty "-rr. ani.
maud 01 /)ft. la". ""'IS
d"in8 lit, a(I00ll . .v",.
~"<Ird. ,hisshapt ..,ubrok,"
do ...n .n'o .It,
rnd,,·ld.. ai
dll""t/I. trrprn, all pam
... "lrin 'M _omwl ....".
shop' E,·,,. ./oott,1r D«
....'1M ,/0, I.ad. Iv ...., ""
mor, 'mponD.n',""" illiTe{
.M ",,,,,$. TN o..JiAt:t
..... lMlri,wJ ","",yn_"
,ftJ('I,", QJ OM .... ,Ir_1t
,"1/ "",illl /n hi, ","'n -..
..·"hu. ,A, pol"'"
/
 Story
man muSI JU c/""rI,. in
his .."'n mimi /WW f"~f)' pi~c~ of bU"intss in " Story .... iII lH put "'-..
....."')' <'« Klio". H.. sm,..ld 11<" fur ""''''lilt
OMYl)' f rom /tis SIQt')' 10 l(1k.. /.I sUon
" ... 10 JU wMIMr 1M,.. is lin)' drod phtlst' . . . /0 srt " 'MIlt" 1M /HrSl)NJluits ou goi"l 10 IN
~,,"",<l1Id "PP"(l/'''tl /0 ,Ir.. olMli.."u . H .. ,,,,,,"Id al.<O try ro su ,'''', 1M II.;IIIIJ t/tal Itis clwraclns art'
ort of on i1!lurm'''11 nalur..... Wall Disney

For Animalion be a story . And. ~f(:l'lIbly. ,Ilohould be a llooo.l one.

One artisl 5umlTOl:d il up. ··A ,ood Slory ~anOO1 be

~
~~~~~~;I" glUI U~ to as k "",hal
ruined by JXXH" animal ion. bul neither can a JXXH" story
filmma ker wrOle i:ooo.J
characters. good g~g,. be s.a~cd by lbe very beSl animation ..• ,
Unfoounarely. there IS no closely lie could ~ve gone 00 to say lhal a JOOd Story ,,150
nor any slm~ ans ..-er. Qlhcr tl'lan judg. ean be ruined by poor de"doplTOl:nl in the S.ory De-
. ~nd taknl. It ~gin~. Qr course. with partment. JuSt bcc:;ouse lhe Slory is g~"I. lhe~ 's 00
KIn for the whole pklUre. One .(oryman COUn· a5sura""" thaI il ..... ilI ~main &~al aner il has ~n
. " Film. to me. i, no diffcrcnl from crear ing a worked over and over on lhe Sloryboard s. Nothing is
...., . paiMing. !>Illig, play, or whalcver. If you automat ic ;n lhe ,n;mltion busincu ucepl the nega-
posit;'·c Malcmcm 10 ma ~e. )..... should ti'l'dc""RtS . 110.... good a picture can bc<:omc is much ,~hQ..

;:,~::"::P~;:'''~/p<I'mbru'h
I it I
Of pencil , '" M"""than.
mUSt have enough Importance to
kiiS certain .
First. the~ muSl be the big. simple idea : the story
Lady'nd 'beT.....

~'onh cummunkating- lo t>c ..... orth lhe ,,'ork and you can tell in two iiCnlences . As you ..... ork On a pic-
thaI ,,-,II be ~u,re<lto PU' it on tbe §cl'ttn. II tu~ il seems so compl icated thaI even two paragraphs
spellbmdlng; il mllSl ,,-ill 001 tell i. a ll . but if it started OUt as" good Idea.
and you have been fl ilhfullO that COIIttpt, one: day '1
will end up very s imple Ipin .
Alfred Hitchcock ha$ recommended I similar ap-
proach .
acters and pu. in lovable KqlM:0ce5 and eIua . .
know will be gn:at . but • hodgccpodgc can lUll!
)'(III
unless the~ has been ~ clcat. Slrong dri,,~ to tilt JIOI)'
from the v~ry sta",

I always ful comfonab le aboul ~

proje<:t when I
can ~ II the 5101)' in a very simple way ..• . I likelo
imagine a )'OIIng WORWI who ha$ been 10 S« liM:
movie and gon home very P lisroW wilh what she
hu_.
Her mother asks hcr. " What wu it ahout1"
And the girl replies. ·· We ll . it was aboU I a yU\lng
wom.n who so lUll! so ;ond SUo • . . "
I fccl that befon: ullde"aking to shoot • movie.
OIW! J huuld be able to do jLl$! that. to S.II isfy oneself
that it can be namtiW ju~t as clearly. the whok
cycle . ~
We have fou nd Ihal the siory idea for an ~nimate(!
film must be e ven 111011: direct
Jealousy leads a vain queen 10 tbrealen the life of a
young pri0ce5S. who nU5 into the woods where she
is befrknded by seven dwark When lhe queen. in
disguise, tncts her into eating a poison<:d apple . the
girl is thought dead and preserved in a glass w ffin
until a prince awakens her with love's rUlt kiss.
Sequences
Our featu~ films always sccmcd to ~nd up ""itll'"
14 KqutnCc$. No m.1tt~r how ~ach JUne(! OIlt ....1tnIft
wilh high advenlt>re or C'OO,pl i<:a.~d slories, by •
lim. we devcluped and NlftllCCd and SI",amlintd 1IId
edited we eooed w ith li ll ie more thnn a dozen. Allcatt
twoKquencn would ha"c~n cul ool.f"'r .... suna:I
production , and something else would have yow~ III
$¢(j1lO:1ICC !cnlth and been insc"ed e,'Cn la!C1" . SIlII. •
roever had more than 15 nor f....·.r rhan IOKqIltlKU
This facl becomes quite in!portan! .... hen I .,;c..
mjuiring many incidentS in diff.","t locaks is brtIt
oonsidert'd . Constant ac1ion s;w arions give no dwa
for lhe quiet Kquences lO'iM:re audiences can fall.
10" ..... ith lhe c""'""lCTli . In our experiotncc. a pK\III
that allempied COIlIinoous excilement and dronaroc lIS-
sion Mver held rhe attention o f the andicncc . It sm.II
'0 dull their senses. "There could be a '~::".~:: I
ing tilemc. bUI the Slory had to be told wilh
of rempos and f~lh ideas .

A b.obyelephanl iJ C'OOsidered a freat because of his

enormoos cars. unlil an enterprising moose discov· L lntnxluction; Quun
ers I wJy to tum Ihi' liability into a sta"ling asset.
2. White orders
Queen in ':;:i::,:~::~'~~;::~~
i .
An orphan girl is held captive by an «centric: WOUlan White and Huntsman .
who i, using the chi ld 10 retrieve a large: diamond 3. Panic in lhe woods ; SOOVo' Whi",
held in I lIeacherous cave . Two mice from the Res· animals; they tak. her to d ....arfs·
cue Aid Sodety help the girl find the diamond ; and help clean housc .
liM:n, with liM: aid of some local animals. effcc. iM:r ••
e$Cape .
,. $Onlething in .heir house,
Discover Snow White; .gree ro ....
Such a synopsis givC$ none of tiM: navor o f the Slay .
pKtUre or the rich c~rers that motivate it . but it 6.
dou renccl the basic drives that hold the piclure 7. Queen turns
together and make it ""00. If your idea is complicated Dwarh ente"ain
in the beginning. there sllQuld be much more thought
•• for them; dwarfs give
and discussion before cven sta"ing the picture . There 9. Witch prepares poisoned
arc many ~mptalions to overdevelop wond<:rful c har. cottage .
 ](I. J)"a.h lu'·( 10' ""'k. 31kr "Ilminj:
Sno,,· Whil( .
I I. &:. 12. BOlh ~u~ru;~~ d'opl'<'d.
I). Sn,,,,· While making ri~.,: "lid, arm·~>
3nd cnl~ " h,,,,se.
Animab ""am dwarf<: Ilk)· r~lnm 1O~' I:ot~:
Snow Wh;l~ f'I"""O<'d: "i1<·h fall, "n
cl iff.
l~ . (),,·arf> cry a1 Sno"· \\"hil(·' bicr.
16 . G lass rofr.n: I'lintt rol1"\eS; SrIO" While
awakened "nil gOl:' J",a), " ·;tll Prine",.
I. Boule found with call for help: KellCutc
A.d Socict~ ...,nds I) ianca and Btmani.
2. ), Iict learn aboul !'cnn~ rrom old C.l aI
o'1'h~nag( .
). At P<'wn shop. lhey learn wocre she b be·
ing held ; Meduu Ioea,·el.; mice left behind.
4. D, opped.
3. Albalross Air Ser,:itt: mice lake ofr'. fly
Ihrough clouds.
3.2 Dc"il·~ Bayou: P~nn)" lri~. 10 escape.
caugh! b~ crocodi les: mice lIrrivc. m~c l
Swamp Volun1eers. ride .... ilh E,·i nrude.
6. Medusa and S!tOOJ:IS plotting: mice chased
by cnx.:! inlO organ. s1loi 81 by),ledosa.
7. Medu l-iI "Ih 10 Penny; sad ."",,: mitt
lIrrh·e: escape pl.n.
8. F.,·;mu<le ~m f()r help. ~ha.\td imo bOlll~
b~ bat •.
9. & 10. Dropped.
I I. Penny in Pu'I1CS C.vc. find~ di.n>Ofkl.
bard ~· ~t$ OUt .
8 . 1. E,·innodc eludes bats: ~wJ.mp animal) 10
the resc"".
12 . TI", c~ape: diamond , ,,,,overed: I'~ rln)"
rescucd ,,·ilh aid of fire"·orh.
13. HaPi'~· endil1i : mICe s<:nt on 0<'''' mis;;on.
Our goal muS! be 10 k«p the audience pl~ascd . hul
lbo e.,cil~-d. ''''''''m.-d. ~",.r. c,p.x-ial1y. "·\J!lIlerin~
wh~1 i, soing 10 happen nCXI . "'hi~ ".. ill takc pla..·c on l)
if tM ~udienec i, involve,1 "illl In.- dlaf~C I~' ,\ and
..... hal IOCY are dOing . In addilion 10 an (~ci1ing ,· i.u~1
Jlf~""nt~U<ll' vr I h~ 1I1~leri~l . 1110.· ...• ,h'Klld b< ~ <ORioi
dc,·;:lopmcnl of lho: dru'rn1 ,"herem in c3iC"h 'M.....
A ~ilual"'" Ihal i. c""ntri,·oo ,impl)" "ilt ....,. hI.rJ "1'''
Ihe ,.:,..·,·n Similady. a 'iluaUon III;" j, ...d,ru}· (f
prcdkl., bk 'Ini.·kl)· " ilt ~c,'''''" dult 10 >()Ur aW~"'1:.
It " vita l d,al ).,'" ha,," the '·"·",·rs wil h ),,,,.r
~ ardutl) I~"J them Ih"",~h tile . 1''''y .itl"'t~_. ""'.
i. aimOSI ~~ ,mportant Ihal Iht:) ,1Ot).'fi ahe:ad 0( )"l1li.
Tho:) c~n k.sc inl~rC.1 in e,,,,n .'"'Klt 11.:", d""~. 'rnl
e'·~f)·ooc L""w. ,,·hat 10 ':"[,«1. or. """'""'. if ltullp
just seem 10 happen" ;thoul re~ard (<X ,,110 the dtn:.
lcrs arc or "·h ~t i5 moti'·alin; 11k:n1.
Often Ihi~ ~ilualion cannot bf: unct»em;i u.ntil fIIO<IIII
,,·ork has b«n compielrd 10 run lite rou~h redl. k'
not 100 lale to COITttI. ddelc. or fortify. but it r
eruciallh~1 the ,,·cab\Css be rtCOllni!ed and idoMifi
al this point. A eritici~m writ len aboul Tht fQt.
Iht lloomd after an early ~ n,,"ing of 8wroximllll:1
half the footage ,,·ill illu$lr1lte the probiem' "'e~.
me balit SIO' )" is lhal a )"oung hun1ing dvs pII)
hal'Pil~ " ·i1h a kil fo., ,,·hen both an: puppic-J. \IrI
adul .. ther li\"e in differenl ,,·<xld, . "The fo., his
rais..d b)· a kind ,,·ido..· li"ina on a (ann ....,,1()
huntcr ,,110 is \I·dining his dog. and lhoere is I "
owl who conslamly is tr)"inJl to help t~ litll~ ru.
c.'plai n Ihe wa~·~ of lhe wild 10 him .) Our .()flt.
was cloe:.tr enouJlh . bul Ihis " ·as lhe r.:aclioo:
The bineS! ""takncss is Ihal lhe~ is no ""I'ffl
'
audic~ can relate 10 lhe characler,;. We 00..·1
how Ih~ owl feel s aboul the fo.' . really. ~"M
is Irying [0 do--or why . Is ~~ Ihe SIImt ..
,,·idow? And we don·1 ~e enough of!~ .. io.i;..
f«l in,> 10 ju>li f~· lhe lenglh of a ... Itok:
where ~he Iums the fo~ I"""" in the ............
~inl of Ihc picture .eems slowbttaule "'.., oK
involved . More footage ~.'plair\ing lhe", thinC"
just mak e Ihe pitturc eH iI , lower.
O n ~n e~rl~ sOOwing..,f SlupmX 8,..",,)' " f rroml
a re"""on lhal rid,s OUtlhe , anN" I>pt ot .. abN
0\11 pf'C"•...-nIUI "In·
Th~'...,,. no ,~al ,·onl1i(1 "fGood and b-'I.31" I
abIJUI llo'lt. ;,oJ il UM"d :<[Ithc 'Y' "hol, and ~ \IIIJ
w~, aboullM a~~ ·uIJ .trutl~I,·. I'IlI ",""""", .
 (~to hl~, 00 coon '''1 r~ally
de\'doped The "ud,-
(!K't "b 1lC'-er .n\'oh-..l, 1lle characler< lallaJ aboul
Ibo'>l<lf) lho) " cre III. 001 d,dn't he 't- lhe audi-
CKt nt'-er fell II_ II ",as newr real
Ell') I"",ure gel ' lhe '."'" Iype of eni""'" at Ihis
1IIg(. "hl(h bungs up one of the mOre dtffkult ehal-
Itn,el ,n the woo lc proce.s of making Ihe fillll , Whal
!h:Jol~ be dor.e al Ihl< point. reganlle" of "hal wa.
.nurn ,n tho §Crlpl. 10 ma~e Ih'" p.clure COnIC 10 hfe '?
"\M ",II male the >!Iualions """" belle,ablc '? And.
_ ''''f'O"ant, hoJ,. can we make lhe: '101)' ~m 10
..... from "~I llIe eharaclers do~
\'rf}' oflen a fe'" \lmple change, ",II bf,ng d"4-
.-.: rtlulh AflC'f 0f\C of lhe sequenc"" ,n Thr Fo"
ad lilt 111iI"" had been reworked. " )'<)u"g a,,,,,,,,lor
,_,h" comment "All righi' Nov. you f.:.: l thal Ihe
\!ll!j'I;'OI!If:! 0,11 of III<: p.""'nalll,.~_n i~ not a riO!
.,
:K":Ift Ir)'"g 10 (lU>h lhe character< mil) n ~sn'l
.... fttl hle a SIOI)' II's jusl o;onlClhong II\;lI happen,
.... )'ou ."' lho". personalll'.S v.orklnl "Pili" each
..
SomotnllC~ ,I "(01)' a mailer of a f,," IIC:" >celles:
• nubh"',n! >bot 10 clarify the locallOfl or lhe cond,.
Id\ ",rroundm8 the characler>. or • ne'" way of
~lnl til< or'~mal idea Ml Ihat il h., more "reng,II ,
Iltt ocn,l()fI;jll y lho Slaff has 10 con.., up ""h :I "hole
Ro rompronu>e. or e'.n a complcl" lie" ...:<jOlene. in
.... 10 mnc lhe: COOI"'UII~ on lhe "'r~n hold an
S<:.n.bmes cullln~ OUI pans Ihal ~''t' b«n o'-crblllli
Gf bm>rnt ronfu~",g (e"en lhuu£h Ihe)' n"ghl he
.." '..'
enlcrtammg) ",II ~lInplif)' lhe ~1Qf)' and make u deam,
0r,en. (Ile cn(hu>!a,m for a "~n: b't of en(eru,nnw:nl
",II h~'-c blond<:d ('''')Ion. to Ille nttd for cOlftful
"'Ofl; in ~ .IOf) Of layoul ber...., (1M: ~nes 0Ift p,..sed
on 10 Ille an,malor. Somel,mes lhe ~nmulor him~lf
can be l<I nj;cr Ilc doe> r>OI wall for an) more prcparll'
(ory " 'OI'k before lie begin._ Th, s 1x,".nlC ~ rut pr0b-
lem on Ihe lale Ihirtic~ ,,·hen II j;cllcrall), WaS felt (hal
jusl aboul an)lhing ,'oold be anlmalcd .
Veleran .!Or)man LeQ Sal k' n. >peak,ng or ltom..
d;l)'. <a,d Ihallhe >(01)' work " -as much more e~dli ng
and SI,n,ulallng ., 11M: :tmm~lorS ,mprowd ,n their
ab,hue' 10 handle an)' l ind of :telm,. ROIl Ikn Sharp-
.I«n fell llul """ and lhen lhe SlOf}'n'.n lefl h,s o"'n
"ork 001) half done, 1·lc ..-rOlC, " I ~m ",clined 10
thmk Ihal 100 oflen people grew lScruSIO",ed 10 ..".... .,.
M""e IIr Ille ~rc"t p"rformanee, Ihal :,nimalors ga¥c,
and IIle) were conlinuall) rel)"n~ nn lhem ,n """,I iring
""-
D • .,,,,,,
""",ad
IIIe makmll of a picture. of rcall!.'Rg Ihal. f",. ".pM.1
<jUCRII), ""'pic SIOf} changes could produce e,'en be"
Icr"""Ii, ..
To ,lIu"lrJlc. he dll.N: a >«1100 of /)untbo lhaI5OOvo-S II tIfflIIJ
Tm~h)' MUll,., Mortling dronl The elo,,-ns h.'-e fr"""
,~ '"
b«n celebrallng and droppc<J a bottle of 1I,!"or ,nlo a
,ub of walcr. Timolhy and lAomoo ConI( along. "ery
""'t»t(t.
,'" (1111.
d,>o<:on,<)I"te. and L>umoo begin' 10 IlI ce"p. Timothy ~-. ""',of
botl,,",
,ugg"'" he drink ""nlC ,,'alcr, .. ,Id .'oUOn the lilli. de- _boJIbI•.
phant .. b.:l.3' ,ng on a slr4ngc manroer TonloOlhy "'00'
,.,.w
QJ,...A Tj
ocrs "h:.t ~ ,nd of " ."Ier is in Ihal lub and lakes a dnnk
h,m,elf Th .. "a, IIIe :tC1ion lhe ~Iof)'m.n lefl up to
11M: an,malor
The >O<:fllC "a. g,,-en to F",d 1>1.,.,.." 0fI0 of lhe lop
.....
__ ."",11/
,...,.
111' dot .""
-=--------<Z1-1
animar"", (wirh "ucce""," in Pinnrrhin on rhe c har~c­
rers of Geppeno. Lampwick. and Jiminy Cricker ). bur
he had trouble with rhi s assignment. aen Went on.
"Moore was animating the scene. and we could I>Ot
gel the result rhat we had visuali7.ed . It was based on It
very suhtle and difficult piece uf personality anima-
tion ." Timothy. so .... how . had to react in an appro-
priale and emenaining way, first. 10 lhe laSte of the
water. and, second. to the way it waS beginning to
make him fed . 'There was nOt enough lime to have
him complele the change 10 a funny drunk: the poim of
this SCene was jusl 10 show hi' initial reoclions to
taking the drink. It ...as s uht le-a nd questionable
planning as wdl.
After Fred had swealed and squinned through sev-
eral lests. noltC of which felt righI, the deci sion ,'..a,
made ro change lhe SIOry concepl at thaI point. 'They
went bock to the storyboard. and after many discus-
sio ... Ben recalled they eame up wilh Ihis idea:
When Dumbo showed signs of imoxicalion. Timo-
thy remarked. "I wonder whal kind of water this is
anyhow ," With Ihal remark. he leaned over 100 far
10 look into Ihe tub . fell in . and after a splash or
11010. Ihe sound of his voice c hanged considerably.
(In the final. lhey used a happy y<XIci I This was
done wilhout showing animatio n of Timothy . The
nexllime " 'e saw him. he was reSling on hi s elbows
on the edge of lhe lub with a sill y smile on his face.
This was a simple and easy way of puning the
transition over. II was a far bener .... ans of doing il
Ihan to have squ«zed everything we could have nut
nf the animator in some subt le manner . In fact. the
resulling animalion could have been done by an
animalOr of lesser abilities.
Annlher Iype nf change 10 consi<l<r if rho c~
need strengthening might be a shi ft in character ma-
lionship . It could be the busine~s itself that ItffdI
bolstering. but it also c~n be thallhh':,~:~:~'~;:.~:
not have a chance to play properl y a,
they are. Adapting the pen;onality lraits _ to
si tuation s Ihm are developing could be one
but occasionalIy a whole new relationship is net<kd.
Whon our production Unil slaned
of us thought we would make
tives more interesting and a lillie different
mice we had done by having them married.
been several successful live· action shows
band and wife team. and the idea seemed t
si~uatinns that would be stimulating for all of ul .
had moved lhe first Ihrough lho SlOI)'
well into experimental animation
became apparent Ihat 'he responses
various si tu ations "'ere too subtle for
cation in animation. [n the live films. the fact that
characlers are good-looking and involved in
ment really was all that waS needed .
logue belween them wuld fonify
but that was nOt vital. You either liked thorn.
not . and if you did li ke them .,
Ihey were doing. In animation, tha~ is IlOl enough,
We had 10 have stronger reactions. more
f«tings the audience
We tried bkkering. affection.
bUI everything was tOO mild or li
We finally realized that our biggest Ii
was thaI there was nothing eilher mouse was
achieve in their relationship. Withoul tho
wildering momenlS of gelling to know each
 the p<:>Ssibili,y of roma~. without 1~ ~xc ile­
of I new cOInp<lnion. ,,'C "'e~ rinding "cl)' few
, .N"."~h anim31ing.
II lAs 100, bttn koo".-n in the rhcalcllPtar OIlC of (he
"")'$ 10 gel hold of any characu.·r is 10 find OUt
he is trying '0 do. If he is mm:ly an """'n'er.
::~;~::~,:~::i:;;':~~::;~;::i::;:~
be difficult
in any situation. il will only concernedto
real 0 1 exciting. It is noI until he
to inle~late with Ollie, reoplc 01 ,,-;tPt human
...~:. " ~. hc Show5 his amy of unique t,.,.it~ . We
to find intcn:Sling ways for OUT charact<:rs 10
10 .. ything they might encOllntcr .
Imkad of I professional team " ';Ih the " 'isdom of
;
~;;~;. wc changed our mice to amateurs who had
pledge to the Rescue Aid Society 10 guide
Immw iatcly ric h alti tudes appeared, and siory'
,,:::::~,,:,:~gcr [0 ddv~ into (he Ol'W P'J"ibililiu
f it I But even more IM:lpful was to h~\"e
II(lI e~'cn ac:quaimed al the: starl . each seeing
for !he fi ....' time urly in ehe pio.:eull' . Now
them did " 'as roloml by l~ pres.
new romp;rniOfl . Min Biann. was v~ry
. " ' ilh qui ee an appeal for Bernard. and.
duey was to ehe socielY and hi s desire co
predica=m s "l're made rnuch
such an e~cieing f~male by
"" as wrong. he
fa r mon: encerlaini ng possi.
mamed for ewenly years.
B~', lack of regard for logic created real
any ronniCls bClw«n e~ two offered
pQ5sibililies 10 boIh the sH'ryn~n and the
. AI>(! all hecause we had c han~ed their Il'la.
to one lhae could grow and Il'mnin active.
many good plays have hecn written with no
~~~~::;:~~~~:~
""I.10 end. feel abolu
gt'nerally. the each
Storyocher
will
IS easily if lhe chan.c:lers an: no! pro-
tOO. An)'time tllcK c an be a de>l'lopmcm in
i, will be c<tSier to fil>(! busi~s
personalieies and hold ehe interest
so carried away by the potcmi~1 of the
.iC had made thaI we were in~pirt"d by Ken
",~· ".,,, t"' 10 build a whole sequence about
the mice 's prcparations for lhe mtssl()fl. 1bcy well'
told to check OUt the equipment needed from lhe sour
old rT1O\ISC down in lhe 51OCkl'OOll'l , While Bianca was
selc<:ting 11315 and oull;t5 chat ,"'ould make t~m loot
debonair. B~mard wu concerned with ... fety and
ingenious invencions thae a James Bood mighe have
used . When asked by the clerk if he knew how to
hnndle a ~f!C':ial lial1 gun . he aCled tlO1\Chalanl al>(!
competent in order to impress Bi~nca. Naturally. he hit
ehe rclc~se and nearly killed them all . lIis aplomb was
funl\er shaken when ~ was handed the survival kit
wilh t...-o pills 10 be. taken in case of c apture!
Ken made hundreds of dra ...·inp of the: props that
mice could mne OUt oflhimbld and erasoen and thinp
thaI human s had discar<kd. and " 'e "l'll' all exciled
about the enlel1ainm<'nl in both the locale and lhe situ·
alion . It wa~ no! Unlit several wefks later. after we
disco>'ercd Ihae the plighe of the little girl was ehe very
b;tckbone of our Story. that we realized Ihat we would
ha,l' 10 give up all of the byplay of the mice Vtting
ready 10 go on lhe m ission. Ie juS! delayed our Vtt,ng
Co the main part of the: S1ory . "!"he picture ~
interesling ...'hen I~ mice had a real problem 10 solve.
and allille talk be.fore they-acmally sean ed OUt became
dull, and. WOI'l'C', made later pailS of the piCTure seem
to he boring hecause they repeated atti tudes we were
using here , So the SC<tuence had TO be dropped, Of
course. the big problem romes in r«ognizing ehal chis
should be done . Basicall y. it i~ l:I\Iill 0fI a knowledgt'
o f what business is beSi suited 10 ehe animalion medi·
um . Every piclure will ha>l' scene$that an: diffICUlt 10
draw and ii«nes thaI call for upcrience and talent, bot
lhe bulk of the film should be made up of scenes chat
are usy 10 do, should be ~ffect ive and good·tooking
on ehe scl'ttn. and should make ehe but possible usc
of the anin,atiOfl poIemial,
Hell' arc a few guidelines Chat can help anyone joogt'
the: material be.fore the animation is st.ar\ed:
I . Avoid sce~ Of activities thaI are OfIly ronlin .. i·
ey . Thi s type of OoClion is difficult 10 do convincingly
and is always judged critically by an audience , If there
is a mood to be eseab!ished or scenic almosphere is
needed. all in the dwarfs man;hing home from t~
mine or ehe: sequence in Tht RtJcutrJ showing ehe:
mice flying on !he back of lhe albatross . chen t~ conti·
 - ,
, :\ - -
;~- . .!\ (l . t U
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f:Jt"..c
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Iv ~"yrq~ippW Iv/ur'
",,"i~l ""r, Tit", d,,,,,,·
inSI",' K,n AmiuSblt n. _
pwu 1M /du '" d ,,«k.
"""" ~""T' mk' rM~l 0'" •
fiI"~tU ,.uMiJ fiN ,11m
mi..io.rs. T'" _flY /t"_,,
FOP' DJi>pthl '" ,Iv ffNfIt
' "d _ ... Ii,., ,0100, .. ",.J

snJI" tn""",Iv rlwv....·

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".I'I,""~ Erk U
Lady and (he Tn
P" . tit, jaJnl.
Onl ond P()IlY
'''amp/oJ{" rita;
II IN/i<>,"tJbI, "'"
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ptVSSWIU by 1_

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e opla... 0,.,.11, f/"11$ 11l",«dt' 0''''' !ofart/WII"" Iwfor,
il "'P" ofd,ommir Kf'1tN; ,loot aJdJ ,UII...
"rrol dot'._
... , .., 10" _ _ tty dull ''''lNMU of rI.orIKUrs mm"ml"_
1«0/' W "_It,,
'" OM
 can be oecood~ry .... the pic!(Jri~1 effect . Other-
is more ;lIlere,<1 ;n whOi h:'ppcns o,...:c the
"'he,,, they are going lhan there: is in the
oction of gell ing there.
, ""(lid M'CIICS whose orly funcHo" is.o explain.
~::~::'~::.;~ chaoxlCrs ha"c 10 ~and around
:. I art .Iway~ difficult . Be Sure {I\c", is a s;tua.
1M ~ivc:s ,he characl.:rs ~ definite ~l1iludc. or
: :~?;£.::~::,
3 disagreemenl. or 3 prcdica -
Use a narrator or a title '" set up the
t.
make the onslage actors t.Io il.
l Mate sUre (he story in<;illem or . ituation is really
1 1~~~~""~~X~'~~j";:'~"iS'",H.i c~!l)'
acting . n.ey should m(lIivalc the
no! be upeclC:d 10
(he decisions they IIwke
,,'oole slruo;lure. OOt there
be a Sll\lIIg si' oalion Iltal has ~ootIgh imerest in
I di Like the liCeoc in 0"",00 of
IB,ng ,ho drillk. il should noI be len enlirc:ly
10 C'IT)' the s""1' idea.
S. Sure 1M char.octcrs ha'-c an oppo,1 unily 10
to life. Wah al"'ay~ lold us. " find the enter·
. .~'" in tile s ilualion and in yoor c har"':!c(s, Don'!
bognI down in . he SlOI)I itself," W~.ch 011' for
activity or uplosi!ioo . Bad; up hnmedi-
S. look for place!< to shuw!he chamc:ten thinking .
,.,• . ,~'" Changing aui lmk, and look for way~ 10
~ fac~., uf lheir ",,,,,,,,,,,Iilin; .hey should
~• • ~•• h .he film. Consider Ihi s: ~ strong silua·
has ~n ~stabl ishcd. Th .. Chal'"oIClCr "OIlI<"S imo il
Story""" Ed ""nner had an unu"u~1 prubkrn in TM
LwJ, - ' 1M Tramp "'~h lho: ....... ~ oflho:~. in
tilt city poond . The- i""""p.bl, fil<"l thallho: un"'anled
ani ....... ore PU' ''''oy al lho: .. pi ........ " 'a, a ~ey pan of
.... ...,.,. 1JItI .ho: lhoug/ll had 10 be pI .... N in ,hi.
StqU<n<: • • ",. ra'''''''of mc!anchuly dog' hchind b...
is""" Ihl"!'. bul ':lkin~ an "ni ..... l.o tho ,., c""nU.
tudorf,J "" lho: m<lIt>ld and "'..,n,ln ..... t;" ,n ow ..... -
dlum. II,,,.. ",>o ld il lit: pre.. ntcd,.., thai il was unmi , ·
LobI<Io.)'Ct tk_ ...·i'h a light I"""h~
or. jO[u.i....: Firs,. buIld a I"'FoIlkl ,""Ih ,ho: I;,..,·
l<lion pri<Ol'l (il"" Ih .. had been.., popula. jU>l. few
)':>n nrlic. ITlit' lI;r 1'""s~. TM I..... M"~I, ..... ~'n'
>1-.;1",* dtcl>t. of dIal",,,,, and ,"itude. ,
'"1.0,,1;, gUYI, ,hey'", lakin' Jo.Jo."·
wilh " definile and inlcresling a(l ilude . Confronled
wilh !M problem. he develop. hi s OWII pomonatily,
grows a link. ~s " '00 he is. makn his decision for
action. lhen docs i! in an clllcrtaining way.
6 . Ask yOll~If, ··C~n the slQr)" poilll he: dono: in
caricature"'" Be sure lhe scenes call for action. or
acling tlml can be caricalure<! if you an: 10 make a
dur SI~lemenl . JuSI 10 imila!" n~ture. illtAl""" reali.
Iy, orduplicale Iiv" action no! only wastes the medium
of animal ion bul puIS all enormous burden on thor alii·
mator. II should be belieYllhlc:. 001 not re~liSlic.
1. Tell your Story Ihrough lhe broad cartoon char·
:>etc"' ralher Ihalllhe "Sl l'lIight·· OOC5 . "There is no way
!o animale Sll'OIlg .... nough alt iludes, fecling$, Ofnprtso
sio'" on real isl;'; charactCI1i '0 get lhe com,"unicllion
you should Ntve . T he more: real . lhe leM lalilutic for
clur COll""unicalion. Th i. is more easily done wilh
lhe cartOOfl char.oc:le(S " '00 can carry !he SlOI)I .... ith
nlOfC illl.. resl and spiril anyway. SIlO'" w,,;,~ wa~ told
Ihrough lhe nnilllnls, Ihe dwarfs. and lhe wilch-no!
through lhe prinrC' or the quoecn or the huntsman. "They
had vilal roles. bul lheir 5Cencs were essenlially situ,,·
lion . "The girl herlil'tf was a ",al problem , 001 she .... as
helped by al " 'ays working 10 a sympathetic alli!lU1 or
a broad characler. This is lhe old vaudeville Irick of
playing the prel1y girl again.1 the buffoon : it ho:ll'"
both characters.
Our own f"" lings were ~ullllncd up very simply once
in a «01)1 meeting; " J uSl ~ $Ure you gi~ U$ some-
Ihing 10 animale . Don'1 give us a ~ene " 'here nothing
11;11'1'" ns!· ,
"Yeah, lY's lol;;nl ,ho: Ion~ ",,,Ik'"
" OIl. ,,·.11 .• I<hort lif, and a .....IT)' one. "
l1>csc wcre f.",iliar 'er",. lho: audic~ undcMOQd ,
S«ond. show ,ho: doS <)Illy in ,ilho:Juc1lc , '" a $hadow,
,<> minimi •.e ide ... iflCa,ion . Third. cwge IIY q',
na",. 10··N utsy."· I nd. fourth. give.ho: .ni ..... lioo to
C liff Nordhe:., " 'ith in.IrUClioot •• '" M .k. it fUMy!"
Only Oi« cook! handlt: wch an .... gn ..... nl. II. had
beeon .. kno""n for hi~ abilily 10 ."'... lho: un... reeled.
scn:wy act ..... ,,"hen: ordinary " ..."".. 1ItS _III ha""
",meed. !lis .. knls gave. uny '1uali.y '0 "'und....
.itullion. and ""ere just righl for Ih;, ""Iiea.. 1pOI in
lho: pictun: . No ooc doubted lhat Nu"Y """ indeed
.. ling hi. IISI "·llk. but IY "'''s 50 romical oOOul i,
th •• no one could bt:oomc o,·.<ly ronccrncd .
 Walt and the Storymen
Story_n are as d ivel"$C in thei • •~len\S and in.eresls as
anima'OI'$ , They are not interchangeable and cannot be
e~peclC:d 10 do equally " 'e ll on e~ery assignment. When
Walt wanted a cenain result. he cast his story_n wi.h
the same pc:lttp(ion and imuition he had displa~ in
castint his animaton .
Ted Scars and Perc<: P~arce were s ll'ong on chalX ·
te r dc~clupment ~J\d JIIlf1iona litics, Il ill Cot trell added
good taste. Ippropri~tcllt:ss. and judgmcn1. Bill I'l:c\
"""Id co ..... up wi. h I whole "",,W visual co"",,cpt ,
Erdman (Ed) l'cnner and Dick Creedon kne,., story
structure and undcl1.UOII the mcchanic~ of cOlnedy .
Ou" Englantler Wa~ a veritable libr.rian nf Walt's
discllftlcd idea • •hat were too gOO<l III lose . The: li st
c..ntinues on. with each t.lOIYn>aR Il:rving his O¥>'n indio
vidual s m:ngths and t~lent~.
Wal. nc~er was in.crested in s.ory ~tructure. relying
instead on his almos. infall ihle intuition f{)l" what wu
entertai ning in any idea . He tore ~tol)lhoards apart
ruthlessly as he tried to find .Ile span that could he
developed inlO an unusual and memorable sequence
_aJw.q. "WliJ.
" d«/Ii()#l .......
011 ""'YfIV~ lVId
{I<_lrDiIl(l rtlldr
~ ""'. H ..... "
........... ill I~
Jot: GI'QIU, C'nI-
'n KlruvyNu
'mpromftI~ SIMy
on film . Prior 10 1935. hi, story_n had mn t"""
10 Iool; r{)l" .he fres h. tile une~pected. the diffctnl.
and 10 think in terms o f cancature and ~U".nt __
which .Iley interpreted as meaning bilam, wikl. lIIII
impossible . The rtlOfl: outlandish . the bener thc~ liked
i•. To them . anything real or , incere meanl "~raIPt"
and automa. ically wou ld he dull . No .... , sin« ..
animaton could do so much more. Wall had to pull.
s.orymcn hal:k and leach them ne .... ~alllCs of ,,'ama
and bdic val>i lity . II~ still wanlc-.J fresh ~ituatiOM lid
funny predicaments, but he also wanted hil ~~
to achif:~ mnin' um identity " 'ith the aud~
This .ype o f think ing is .he Uillmale In CIUll..,-_
n.e challenge to.he st"'Yman plus tile "imulltlOl ~
Wah's ~onSl nn. pressure-- nol to deliv~r, but to $Card!
and prnbe and disrovcr_kcp( an air of c~ (~
_nl in the Story Depart"It:~ , I. i, not 100 difflClllt.
think " f ""'e hilS of business tha. dalmatian J'UPI"CIo
mighl do. e~pecially wilen Illere are fift~n of diem ill
one family. bul lhe hig itlca tllal has them all "'llchiaC
tde~ision li ke any family of kids is unique and cOllld
from I ",re talent. The idea goes further. for thc ...
gram they are Witching is a :\Cries featuring theu .....
Thunderbolt . the Wonder Dog . The aooiefu has •
•rouhle at:eeJlling this since Ihey have =n it in lhoW
o wn holllt:S night after nighl. II is completely tithe".
ble and offen; endks.. possil>ili. ics for bllli ...u. pa
""""h.y t.......,hc:s. gags. and _thing entirdy ...... ..
the scrttn . M~ than that . i. is. warm. h3!lP)' ..._
that w;1I play inlO lhe e~i l suspense of.he ""PPIn·.
heing kidnapped immediatel y following. Maybe II.
not genius. but it cen ainly is creati>"ity!
Many people contributed ideas to thitl ""_':
wi.h Wall leading t.... ,,·ay . bul .he .. oryman 011 • II
101 D"lmtllimll was .Ile talenled . pIIngent, imcitlle
hurno.-isl from Indi"na. lIill I'~e., He shared .IOII'Ir d
Waif s feelings fOf fannl~nd ~. and hi s char.>etm wm
al"'ays 5Omehow reat and do ...·n· to-earth. no
ho,., fanta!.!>c .he concept . It is amazing 1'0""" ..
observation e""bled him 10 calch lhe essenct of "I'f).
Ihing he drew . .... helher ;t wa, a hoxcar 00 a f~iPl
train or a Bavarian dwarf li" ing untler a lil y pad. feI.
10-..' storyn.. n and s ketch anlSI lbtph Wri ...... ,,'110 . .
hener kllO ...·n for his great gags "' the Goofy ..._
~ ""Ill thaI Bill ...·as 0fK of.he few ·· ...·00 rtr.....
up re.1. li ve charnclef1i thaI li ved and bre~thc\l . .
thougllt and came from the hean of tile Stot)' an i.!."
Bill PCCI alw~y$ h.ad a ~tl'Ollg, overall CQI"ICepl or tile
-"ot)' IT\3t"";al IIIaI integl'llled tile lIumor in boIlI the
cllaracters and the situation . Rather rh.tn s pOI pp.llis
imegrity drove lIin, 10 1iC;orcll 0111 an idea tIIal lifted the
s ituation OIIt of the com mooplatt. and sliI! left tile
door open 10 funher development in Ihis new difI!C-
tion. Yel after cooceiving all this in lIis mind . he could
~jcct the cmire lIOI ion if il did IlOl work wilh tile OIher
pam of I"" Slot)' .
Hill Pw pt>HS"" .. pIIMo
One suell invention IlIal laler lIad 10 be diliCanlcd s /uno' i~B ,~, "Dry"",,.',
was bhw. the buuard. in the early versions of TM
JUng/if Book. Rill nttdcd some way Ihat the bcaslS of
lif,." "'" -*""'"..........
pld. dT"",.ItII. wod _
prry could find OUt wl\at WlIS ",ing on in OIhe. p;lfU of e...." a piau fO.II AI /»rIo
.i,uA ,,"lSI aM "ory-
the jungle. so lhey knew the movements of lhe hunlrr malt. Bill /lad a ~";"w "".
Buldeo and lhe bQy Mowgl;' l ie could have !lad them r,,11M fi..,li~1 u" m"Ndi~·
s\.llking about. jlCt!ring lhroogh (lie tall grass constantly. i"8 ""'Y '" I~II " "<»""1 I"
or lislening (0 lhe:: warning cries of SOme bird of tile .irumi"", INu fflI<ld".. .....11
"ltimaud.
Indian jungln. BUI llill found a JTIOfl' en(enaining w~y
of lying ;1 alilogether. Since buzzards do not kIll , he TIIr ItJltlily of dDlOOOIuuu
had !shtar in [he humilialing position of llavi", 10 get " '''lrA 'M" I"WJI"iu 1V
lIis meals from (he scraps left by lhe liger and leopard pt<>"tJItI I(}~'IIr. liU "'"
Iuuntuofiuroily. lit IINs """li'
and !he wolves . Iking cn\(rprising:as ...·ell as hungry. ,.,,'i....
<UId rmrrl(}''''''l~'
lie promoted himself and hi. even(ual meals by u - 'IOU"'''' ,,. 10 1 ~(moci .....
•

c/wIgln, bils of informalion Ihal lhese bcasl~ mighl
need or find inlcn::S1ing---<'spcda ll y informalion abou l
tho Iocalion of a prospec live 11",~ 1 for e veryone .
BUI all uf Ih\:)e meal..,aling animals I"fIIl\1«I by nighl.
mllhe buuanJ is not el.juipped for 1I1Ivcling in I""
dart . He wall alway. SlIggc::slin,. " Pcmap' "'" can go
fnI thing in I"" IO>O<IIing . _ . "' only 10 be cut off by a
CIO"lin,. " Now !" And as "" ran off in pursuit o f his
bmefilClOf. bumping inlo tren and stunlbling . "'" heard
his vOO ~rying. whining. " Bul why does il have 10
be now? If. dark and ... Oof . . mBYIJc we cou ld
. .. ,Ikk . . . . 1I 0w aboul al the crad of dawn .
Oooof! ... T'
Nono: of t~ predalors liked I"" buuard . but I""y
'""' lilcd the infon",uion he brought them ....·hich
[RieIIlcd I wooll relalionship on whkh 10 build their
~Iil ic$ . It is al\uys good 10 know how oncch.at-
ICIer f« ls aboul another. BUI Bill 1hooullhl he waS on
the .... ronillrack and lossed OUI both lhe character and
tho ii lualion . lI.eali ,.ing il was more imponall1 to de-
.tlop a very believable re l alion~hip belween lhe pan-
ther and Mowilli. he found Ihis wcakened by the cOfl,ic
..oc, of orh." cllaractcrs.
No one had an easy lime wilh Wall or found him
p;l<Iicularly romfOf1llblc to be around. and anyone as
argumenlali~ as Bill was bound 10 compound the
problem. Sl ill , he e njoyed a rare rappon wilh his bou
lhat led Wah 10 relax more in DiU', room Ihan in most
orlters . Thi s was not always to Dill's advantage. He
lold of one 1II0min, when Wah dropped in wilh •
lerrible cold and nopped in an easy chair in fronl of
lhe boord!. It was c lear that he s hould be home in ~
instead o f roaming the halls wilh walery eyes and a
Sluffed· up 1lOISe . lie admi ued . " My head feels like a
block of cemenl.·· but quickly he 5C1 his Jaw in I
defianl aUitude and continued . ·· b.II I' m oot giving in
10 it! "' Bill smi led weakly; lhen Wall. with a heavy
sigh lin~ wilh dclerminalion. wen l on ... We ll . whal
the hell ya g(~ here . Bill ?" The boards were not
uppruvw. a!ld Ihal aflemoon Bill 5tan ed work on ~
new ven<i".. of lhe malenal .
Walt' s pass;ng fT100ds had a prufound errc:c:t on boIh
his judgment and hi~ bc","viOl" • and on his dark days he
was apllO rip I storyboard lpart for no apparent rea·
son . ti lll alw~yt; claimed thai there wen: 8ClUally thn:e
diffen:nl WailS: the dreamer. lhe realist. and lhe spoil-
e r. You never knew which one was coming into your
meelinll ' Bi ll quipped. "You have 10 pIlone down 10
lhe fronl gale and a~k the «>p wh ich Wa h came in this
mornmg.
Thc biggest problem the .torymen had with Walt
was lhat he nevc-r would look wben: they ~ ~nling
whe .. lhey uplainc:d the aclion on lhe 1MMnIs. Usually
he already had seen every thin, ,nthe room a couple of
nighl' bd~ and was not cvcn Ihinkin, aboul whll
was tldng said. bul be also had the knack of lislenin,
wilh one car while complelely engrossed in somelhing
else . Nothing ever slipped by the man .
Webb Smilh Slarted off one meeling by askin, Wall.
" IJQ you see this drawing up bere'" Will assured him
he did . Webb COIllinued. "And)'QU _ this drawin,
down here'" Wah grumcd I n:ply bul his curiosity
Wl!S piqued . Webbconcluckd. "Well . when I'm talking
aboullhis s kctch up hen:. I don', wanl)'QU looking al
Ihi s , ketch down here:' Walt laughed. bul deliher_
alely looked every where e~cep' where Webb was
pointinll frolll lhen on.
With Walt', policy of seldon' using. sin,IeSioryman
working alone: . lhen: was always a templalion for each
man 10 build his o wn private s toryboard over in a
comer iftStead of working together on • common dfM.
Ralph Wrighl in~is(S llul this is wh.al happe ned on I~
thort . TM Art Of SI:Ung. One storyman had all his
husi_ going from right 10 kft, while the Ot:her had
his gags going left to right. When Wa lt tried to com-
bine their e fforts, the dir«liom s imply did not: work .
After an annoyed s ilence. someone suggesled , " Why
don't you usc this stuff of the Goof going to t~ topof
the hill and i\C'uing ",ady 10 make his descent down the
SI«I' s lope f..cing hi m. then suddenl y have him shoot
b;K:kwlrd$ do.>wn the ~Iope he has just climbed; mat' ll
make him gning the ~vrn:ct d irecti...,n for the ~t of the
husineu , " It also mIOO thc funniesl ll~g in the piclun:.
To lien SluupI;l«n , Wall W;L' the wool<:- Siory dc-
partmo:nt . no maltcr who wa, wurking fOf him . Fmm
lhe puliition of di=1Or and oo;c25ionally l upervi,inll
director, Ikn had a special view of whm went on. l ie
uid. " Walt's :.:ting and Murytel1ing abil ity were If!
important fealu", in the success o rlhe studio . He had D
terrin,:; J"'rsonality fOf ttlling puries in such. way that
the animatan ~nd di=lon; were lhoroughly confident
and believed in thorn . lie could lell a story so that yoo
coold see it as il would ilf'PCIII' on the 5Cf'«n , I e;mnot
give the man lUll much erediL. "
Ikn _III on 10 rcl ~le how W ~1t helped the di=tOt
of the piclure U well.
I was assigned to di~ 0 .. Ia:. As I began 10 plan
it. production, I naturally assumed Ihat I would stan
at the belinning 0( the story 00 a!leQUCfICC or Mictey
Mouse showing off as an icc s kaler. Wah dropped
in unannounced, sat down. and began looking II ....
Story s ketches . He said, "The picture, ~ i1 ii, il loo
long. " Then he pointed to two sequences that \tint
pretty fir down in the nary. The first involved
Donald Duck and Pluto . Donald Slr::opped a pailgj'
ice skates 10 Plulo'S paws while PIUlo wu ukep.
Oon~Jd lhen yowled like a ,~t, wak ing PI"t()"p In
a n llgil:lled stale . Plulo's firsl thought was III take
off '" pumlit of lhe sound . lie hil the il:e and sklddod
IU'OUnd hartly , and ~ fooh .
TIE second lCt!ucnce presented Goofy u an ia
fi.r,,:rlllan QIl lhe ..... ..., fW7.en punoJ , H~ !\ad <:lit,
hole in lhe itt, and lhen had dropped bits or tiIe..m.
tobacco into it , with the in tePlion of dubbing rh<
fi5h as lhey c ame up to spil in the cuspidor "" had
provi<lcd. Iking Goofy. however. he kept mimns
lhem . Th is K'tjuence was • perfect companion fir
!he Pluto SCCjuence, because _ coold kave Pluloil
I helple •• S'lualion and then cu t back to Goofy and
his troubles without wasting time on tr::on$ilicmt
foou!'! .
Walt said. " lI ere YOll' ve 101 tw<) great li!ulticlBJ.
It i. n ' l ;mporlant how we lead up 10 thml. Nooo-
a fler you gel thr:m done and you know how mocb
footage they U!ie. lhen you can go b;K:k -.I t-iId
your heginn;ng ." Walt procteded to describe rh<

rhi, i"ht {i",,1 ('Q1I'i~uiry of 'hr ""tmp' '" tm s"""" W/IW

TIu- "rdit,,«'1uJd _ . INj(Kr bNft a<UJ 10 ""'int" •
....'''''1 "'u~ NlUld '''It ~ ;ft " Olrn>Oft. W...., Ifw:r
Iwlint .hi,?
 ..aRou$ " '115 tl'llt Pluto would try to get up on his
feet Igain. only to nop down . He w~nt through the
. fdc: routine . H~ a lso de!iCribed Goofy's fishing
prob!ellUi . H~ concluded by lIIying, "Now when
Goofy i$ completely outwitted by tho!ie fish. then
!bey aU come up IS' group Ind spit in !hecuSpidor.
And ..-hy don 't you consider pl ayi ng a little tune?
Some son of I liute tune wi th the spit hiuing the:
cw.pidor." We ended up by usi", what musicians
~J.l1 • " btt4k .·' They were high spots in the fin ·
(shed piClun:, This expericn<:~ was a valuable lesson
for lOt .
A drar example of how Wall worked wilh lhe story
-nIl i~ found in !he !ieq~nce in SliD'" W/rir" in
.. hich the HUn1 sman lries 10 kill the young girt. The
original "n';u" of this cla.'\.\K: fairy taie ma~ say, "So
tk quem onk..w a failhful ~rvant to kill the girt.
but. ;nst~ad. he told her lu nee inlO the woods." The
$('til( could hav~ been playe<l lhat way. " 'illl oor .".
lit! illustnl ing lhe aclion in. few pH:torial ~nes. but
that WIS not nearly enough for Wall. He fell there
OOIlkl be an n eili ng nlOltlCnt ~t thj~ spot. and there
Ud to be _ w.y ""e could do it in c,noon , Could
..t poMibly ~a(ll I ny of the techniques o f the curre nt
hw·actioo cinema'~
It _ • lime o f stimulating adYltntt:S and c~peri.
rnt1I1S IS new areas of commu nicatio n werc being
upknd. Many u titing uSC's ~n: being made of the
I
/ I
-" "" -
montage. a collection of K:ene5 CUI together to give an
overall mood rather than a specific continuity . Dr.
Jdr),// (lIf(/ Mr . Hytk. iUUTing Fredrir; Mardi . ronWned
a gripping lran$formation from genlleman to beasl right
before QUI eyes . The film Privott WQI'ldsc~plored the
mirod$ of psychotic indi viduals in an institution, with
/.>lIe panicullll girl named Sally. who hurd her name
called over and over in a fading echo. The sound track
was beginni", to be used to interpret f«lings and
sensation~ in addition to just carrying the dialogue .
Film I\ad oo~ of age as a medium o f uprusion and
W alt would not be left behind . He would find ways to
adapt many of these ideas in an imagi native way to the
limitalions and strengths of !he , lItOQn ,
He wondered what he could do with his o wn $eo
quence of an attempted murder. a burly killer who
' annol carry uut his missioo . It aU sounded SO n:a!iSlic.
"" WlIighl. SO emotional and dnomalic, and none of
lhose: elements ever had been consitlered for animation
before . More tl'lln onr;e he asked , " Can it be dont:1
Can we find • way 10 bring il off?" It was /.>lIe thi"110
have the girl s ingi ng to a group of ani mals. and quile
another to prescnt two human chanw;:1CTS gripped by
intenSC' cmoxions . How could he do il1
His first thought was to have the HunulIUlJI a real
villai n . a he.vy , with a "voice that is lUSty and
cracked ," He would l'llve . name , Humbert . and ~Id
be a de finite personality. like Wa llace Beery. only
meaner . His daily job was 10 kill , and perl1aps he neb
looked forward [0 this particular tas k. "When the
Queen says. 'till hu: [he Hunm""n's foce brigtnens
up IS though he wants to do il. " Here was real mc:~ .
1lIe girl had b«n "" nl out \0 pi~k flowers , 50 the
sequence should star! on a happy l10Ie wilh no hinl of
tl'Ollblc . 'Then gradually the suspen"" would Slart to
build ali Humben 5tt$ hi~opportunil y, draws his knife .
and . pproaches ~auliously. When somc:lhing ~auses
him 10 fail to CUT)' 001 hi s bloody as~ignment. lheR is
co nsi<kr~bl~ dialut!ue explaining whal he h:1(1 heen
lold to do. why he muld nol do il. and Whal Snow
While should do nnw .
This fim ven.ion Iold the .1IIIy wilh melodramatIC
e~cilement . but . If II h:od been !\COl down 10 the anim~'
t"", at that poinl. it would have been difficult to do
and ulKlouhtedly very cl umsy on Ih" SCreen . [I was R
Ii_action situatioo. with lIe.icale acting. 1lIe anin"".
100 wookl not be able to get hold Ill' either characler
without endlcu slIody of film, and even IMn lhere wa~
the danger that the re~ul l would be on ly a cruUc: ~ym­
bol, oontorted by rt:~lricted mQvemenlS and wei¥hl '
Icssness. 1lIere had 10 be ~ thought . mure refine-
ment , ~ adIopt.alion, before this woold be righl for
.nimMion .
More story TflC(:lings were held . .lind ma ny n>()fe
d..-~wings were made . nd pinned OfIlhe hoards. InStead
of pickin, a bouq ... l of flo",ers . perhaps Snow While
should be stretchctl OUI . reaching for. particular flower
in the Cnlnny of a rock , She would be more "ulnmoblt
and make . better larget iii lhe dagge. w l'l raised • ...,
one lone flowe. ",'ould be mure sy mbolic of the l"""ly
girl.
Wah began 10 feel Ihal even lhou,h tllo: flovom
reprnc:ntcd inntJ<:e~ lhey lacked warmlh . and tNybt
cIlanging 10 an animal Of II binllllat coold respond 10
Snow Wh ile would give a slronger situation . If . .
we re hclpin¥ an animal in !rouble the r.: would bcgreal
conlrasl 10 lhe evil ~ppr<>'lCh;ng behind he., and I
woulll hdp build he. Ch.anlctCf as "" til . Immedialtty
the i<k~s he",n pounng in .
"S hould the bird he sick , 0 . have a brol:f "
wing .. . ?"
" 1 <lon'1 see !ha! il i$ sick , bul jusl li~c ~ liuk kid
woo is lost ~nd is rrighlenW, crying . , , ."
"Sllo: l4.;,k~ . ' A~ you an orphan'!,"
" , .. get • lin le baby t.jrd idea the~ . .. It"
innocenl, paralleling her o",'n SilUftliun ."
Looking over lhe , kelches o n lhe board, Wall coold
sec !haltoo mIlCh time w..~ heing $pCnl 00 unj~
",,!ion. The: preceding sequence had ~~Iopal .. iIb.
<!rnI1g endin" and you knc:w of the: COII",ming jea1-
ou sy of the: quun as ~IIo: assigned lhe grim lask lo ller
faithful servant. This was n<) lime 10 51aft a new job.
He commenled , "The mQnlCnl silo: lells 1110: HunlSn\a
10 tiU Snow Whi!c wc fade out and fade in on the
dullC !ring curied ou!- matc it movc fas!cr." And
the dialogue a! the end had to he brokcn up with more
anion !r!,,·ecn the !ine~. ··Tha! would be bencr than a
Ioq bv.och of di~log"" . She would ask shorl ques tions
-ad he "'"(MIld answer ,,·i!b sIlOf1 ans"-C:rJ ."
The", was a big discussion about how Humben
-..oold wc:aken and when hc s hould drop the knife.
'·1 mink it would be a stronger picture if $he j uSt
_1lfOIU>d and Ke$ the knife over her. It would be
_ .n.rn.!K: .. , : .
··1 think it would be bener if he droppo:d the knife
when her back is turned . ··
Walt starn! at the board. bis finge rs drumming on
lilt Jm1 of the chair , one e~brow down . l1Iere W2S a
long lilcocc. then unexpectedly. ·· Maybe we cou ld
!pttd the woole thing up-ot". m~ybe the", is • bener
"lY we can do it. Maybe ,,·c don·t nttd this ,ilwtlion
..1Ih her at all!··
Thtn: " ·as anolher ~ ilc","..,;aS!he fellows in lhe moel-
in& tried to consi dcr this proposal. Finally one sug-
&nttd. ··A fcllow like lhe Uun!sman who ilKnt out
• I job should do II. A fellow like that wouldn· ,
ronfas tNt he couldn't do i( .'·
AnoIher silcI>Cc.
··You could have her e.s<.:ape .
Mon though! ~nd ~ ITIII.'C tings and!l1Or!' uctches
on the board . Art: "'-C: doinl it the right way? Will it
wor11 M aybe if we juSt kept it short and direct and
stic k right to the point. and do not develop the Hunt s,
man as much: play OUI the situalion. but do 001 1"1
inmlvetl with him . W ah Mlggested that they woO; on
the dramat ics of the whole thing. keeping the Hunts·
man in shadow. showing only his feet I' he comes
forward .. •. . . and hear the crunching of the lcaves
and twigs." This woukI build it in the audience's imag.
i~l ion tl1oOR . ·· When)'QU get d06C-UPS o f faces)'O\l
havc to !ell them!OO much aoo you lose imaginat ion."
No One ever had done anything like this before. and
it was imperativc that the audience accept it the way it
WI5 intended . If they lauiJted at the Huntsman. it
WQIlld lnC'an thlll the audience had not been dlll wn inlo
the s ituation and could not !akc hi s type of handl ing
serious ly in ~ canOOll. llIcy m US! belicve that this
animated figurt: uis!ed and n:ally w;aS goinllO kill the
girl. llIcn: WilS good n:tiQn fur Walt 10 w~r .
St ill he kept roming back to the salnC' ingredients 15
being the right way 10 go. In a stOl)' meeting in J une
he was able to outl ine what he thought ~n: the best
ideas. and though there .... ere ~ n:fiOClnC'n!5 as the
sequence .... ent through the plant thi s is csscnlially the
way i! wa~ done. NOIe the Icngth of lhi~ meeting .
Saturday. from 8:00 to 1:00. wlui a "'gular work. period
in those days.
 SEQUENCE A-SNOW w llIn: ANI) nit:
H Uf'ITSM AN IN T H E WOODS
Meeting held: Saturday. June 27. 1936--8:45 A.M.
to Loo P.M.
Pru~nl were:
Wah Joe Gram
Fnmk Churchill 8ill Cou..,11
Charles Philippi Larry M<ny
B<Jb Kuwa/w"a
Walt Snow While is 10 be picking tlowers-so Ihal
when you open up on lhe ~IUp here there is a
menace right offlhe bal- YoU jus. cu I to a Sh()l of
1M HUni sman m."rc wilh j usl his eyes looking .
What I !itt tiw:1l' - she is trying '0 help the: liul~
bird and tllen the Huntiman starts 10 come 10 her
wnh tho: kn ife, and you CUI In the Hun!Sman as ...,
JlUII.< 11M: knife 001 and have I slow wal k un him
out of lhe scene--that is the last you Sec of the
Il unlSman, e~ce pl hi s f""1 apprwching. While
she is talking 10 the hule: hlrd and .Ioa)"in, Ih1l1,11O
C!>ttl;t up. litre como: the fCfi 51"",' ""m I hnI-
eating Mcp-il could he the kInd of a SICP thalrs
trying to he light.
Llrry: Woold yoo su the ., haoowli on the grouoo'
Wall: Yes, but the shadows are so that the)' any
IhTOllgh , She is 1M.., with the lIule bird and npc
bc:hind COI'IM:S the shado_blllid up the sI\ado<o.
and the: knife .
Joe : We jUlit set a flash of the knife a~ il ;1 btllll
pulled .
Wall: We jU.l t flash on (he Shining anicle-<;ut 10
ller alld ~he kis~s the liule bird and il flies '''1)
- Ihen we CuI back 10 the knife o~er lin 1IId.
begins to shake. hand . n l and knife drops
Maybe he coold drop<k>wn riSht in !he scene, and
she take. il as he say. FORGIVE ME ¥OOIt 11I0Il
NESS. Soow Wh ile is up the.., like she nII'l
understand iI_ WilY . II U~lH~Rn WHAT IS IT'tnd

1" """"'~ bot/I ~/t(J,.

I11ft I....INI ~
btr 1M
r• ...... I"'"
If
/lIm
~~"~,,.dl
"'-Iii.... ,All .~ •
impMl
" ,1_
ra' ,/uJ.
" ,.1/'111'"' in
,,";""";0"
',Hn' "'''''X ,,,,,,.
,;/1001;""" 'O,,.iM-
llumber1 coold I'lIY, I COUW/<"T 00 IT YOU R IIIGII ·
~ESS _Snow Wh ile says. wItAT'- liumher1 : I
CANT I(II.L YOU fOR it ER- Snow While l'lIys.
11'1101 Ilumben ,.ys. Tllii QlJI:f.N. TIl E QUI];/< ,
GO 00 00 ANI) /<t,VEK U "TU MN TO TIlE CASI1.1i
FC* THE SA IH. Of' NOT ONLY YOURSELF, SlIT FOR
lllOSF. WHO LOVE " OU . DON,. Rt.i 'URI< Ma )'be
lie' rould end up wilh GOGOGO, She is ronfu~d
arod run, off and maybe cut h;lCk 10 a Shol of him
In. bRakdo,.'n qui"~r posiuon ~I the lasl . Gel a
!IIOI rA 1ht ,.rods and ~he dlxsn' l k......· " 'MI 10
do. bul jU!;l goes on . hesitating at lhe heginning.
buI gres 00 decper and dec""r_ maybe yOlI C'KJ ld
carry lhal "SA U.Y. SALLY " idea of I( ILI. YOU-
" 'HO"-THE QU~t.N_/:KJikling in lhe liule: Ihinp
!lit Hun\5flWl said 10 her. And alwaY' Ihal GO
0000 ",hen "he "'op',
is Ihi~: " Siling the whole Ihing up-do you think tMt.
~""r.llI y. ,.-c are: 00 lhe right Ir:ock for • Ihin, lit..
this. or do )"011 Ihink il is too heavy?'" There: was 00
~nl to guilie lhem and 00 way to lesl the: sequence
unlil .1 was completed in oolor . No one could say for
sure. but Wah SHICk b y his 'n,ui lion and d«oded to go
ahud .... ilh II .
Today. we c:lSily can _,he: ingredicnts th.1 made
il work so well. The crew conccnlralcd on just lhe:
cssc""c of lhe SIOf}' silualioo. 001 Icuing any pan
become o~enk"eloprd : Ihty used carefully pbnntd
<lramalK: >laging <alher lru.n uplanslOf}' 11«",,5: and
they underplayed 1M emolion,,1 . SpeCIS of 1M acting
ins,ead of calling for overwroughl. lom",nled histrion·
ics . A$ a """,II. lhe: audiomc:eo; ,.-.:n: s"-q>I along. ClIUghc
in a ,,-cb of their own imagi",,'ion. convinced of !he
inle ... ily Ihal "" vcr waS aclually sllown . Thc leu lhey
wc..: lo ld. lhe nlOU they filled in with lheir own
IhouJ:hts; and the less thai was :said. lhe: more: !hey
_rued 1(> understand. As liule as was Jhown on the
Huntsman . he probably ended up with more substance
as a eharacter than uer had b«n planned .
By M~h of the foll ...... ing year. the animation had
been completed. and. as usual. several of the poinls so
tboroughl)' discussed ""ere ~ coming off. Alternative
ways of doing som" of the things woold have to be
found. and in this transcript of another meeti ng, Super-
vising Director Dave Hand explains the ideas they arc
considering as he listens to the reaction of !he staff.
Incidentally, the hours of 5 to 6 :30 were no! normal
wurting houl"$. but reflect the overtime that already
was expe<:ted of the personnel in order 10 .;o"'plete the
film .
S~:QU F.NO: JA-SNOW WHITE AN D THE
Il UNT SMAN I N THE WOODS
Meetin; held : March 17. 1\131- S:00 ~ . M. to
6 :30 P. M. Swe~tbox 4
PrcsetM ",'ere:
Vern Papineau Fool .....
Ted Baker John Hubley
Juon Eml'Iit Non.Il i
Stuar! Buchanan Harold Miles
Ken Anderson CharleS Philippi
Terrell Stapp Tom Coorick
George Goepper Les Novros
Dick Cn:cdoo Mm: Davi.
tllI&h Hennesy Dave Hand
Grim Natwick Mike Holoboff
Grim: I didn't care for the !-hot of the Hllmsman's
feet very much--it didn·t _m s.trong enough for
lhe place it was in--it _med a li n le clownish.
Dave : Yes. we are retiming it and possibly reshoot-
ing it .
G rim: the feet don·t _m strong enough for the
situation . I feel you ",'ant something big and dra-
,""tic. I think lhe shot doe5n ' t even show the feel
o ff 10 advantage. You 're up«ting something
ominous and an you o;oe is a Pli. of feet . A knife
W()Uld represent ",'hal was going to happen bener
tn.n a pair of feet.
Dave: A shadow comes in first. then the fccl. We
speak of having the feet s tep o n her bouquet of
flowel"$ as he come. through the scene.
Tom: I Ihink then: oughl 10 be a CUt there to the
Huntsman after Snow White SCream5--just a fI&\h
to a clo5e-up front view of him .
Dave: We ha~e discussed lhat 1(> §oow his haDd
reining and the knife dropping . but if. a JOf.ld
poinl and I'm glad 10 have it . We arc coin, 10
do it §lo"'er and ha"e more furtivellCSS in his
movements.
Creedon: He walks li ke he is loiAS 10 meet some·
thing . He should be movins sideways or e=pina:
I»<;:k of somelhing .
o.\"c: I reeall a g~neral reaction . P«IpIe ,,= ......
Mbly surprised with the aninUltion , il didn'l kd
~ bod.
Creedon; I was agreeably ~urpri""' , lIearins tbr
voice alone. I thought it " 'wld he ham .
Dave: We still intend to ~Ct aJl(>thcr c",",racler voice
and do it over.
Suchanan: That"s a I""""y hit;h cliff she falls over
Dave: W~ have had a discus~iun of tltat, and""I: felt
it should be a shorter drop-INny of us.
Suchanan: It ·s 100 d:mSCrou5--il might kill hc:r.
"The scene of lhe f«t wa§ replaced by a ~ of die
II l1nt§man's face coming closer and closer. but 1I1lIt
no ~h ange of eXl"""ssion. The menllCe of s«ing die
steallhy (CCI had sounded !iO good in the SlOT}' meet-
ings. but even Wall agreed that the repl~ment IocW
bener. What is more inleresting is lhe thought ~
sented by lhe last three comments on the page, n.
cli ff ~ 100 high .. ;1 might kill her! The girl
a.
become real to the crew '" ,".".~,
to lhe audience . No one ever WOOTled aboul
u""
did ••
Duck filling 100 fa.!
Th is sequence has beco"", a,',."';;,,,'
"~'"".o
tion wilh lhe audience. Everyone was drawn inw
picture in a way that made the eventi 'h.",,~
have a greater imparl . It was melodramatic
..
becoming saccharine. Perhaps the ".",11" .,,'''.
worked on it contributed the most 1(> malting it
SUCttSsful pan of an outs.tandin& film .
Dialogue
"The easiest way 10 develop a Story is to do il
dialoaue bet",'CCn I
lhe audience neem to know . But. as
iMd. " When !OCe tell a >lory in cinema . !OCt should
raM 10 dialoguo: only '.'~n it '~ impossible to do
odII:r.,ise . ..• The hardc~t way to de"elor a ~tory i~ to
OOtt~lIwith panlomime . While it is truc Ihal a charJe·
11'1 iitklom comes to life as a s pe6ft<.: I"'rwnality until
tk vo;.:" is added. t~re is alSQ Dupey ...·00 made no
1I:IIn!s. Pluto ""ooonly howlnl and pamed . and Donald
o.:k ...'hose dialogue ...·as filly perttnl uninlelligible.
Slill.!IIQ(>1 of the greal characlers owed much not onl y
....
10 the 'oke but to 1M carefully se:1«lcd line. they
Wall uwally lefl 001 lhe dialogue umi l a s.equo:..:c
IIad been de''C~ 10 lhe poinl wllell: he: could I «
JII!I bi)w liute waS ...,all y needed. If lhe idea could be
put o'er ...·i lh an express ion. an action or a souOll
dfec1. or with music. M would not uSC dialogue . The
AOI)lIWI ~ 10 think in ... isuallenm firsl. and when
k dIid .Tite dialogue it had 10 tell 5OI"OCthing ~bool lhe
dIIno;ter and not be: cxpo~ition. WIlt insisted thai no
OIItwanlS to see a cha racler c hewing away on a bunch
\ll'W<lr\I$ . 'hen a provocalive silualion i. developing.
nc .wir~ ...lnU 10 I « what is going 10 h. pp'n.
.-I Iht swyman only .... ant. lhe dialosue: Ihal will
bufy and ~n hi. story and the: per50ru.lit"'s.
Hilcheock also said. " To me One of Ihe ca rdin~1
_ for a $Criptwriter. WMn M runS into SQmc: diffi ·
nIry . is 10 !;.Iy. ' We un cover lhat by a line o f dia·
. : Dialogue: >llould be: a ..... nd among ()(her
""""'thing Ihal romc:. out of I'" mouths
.,1I<.>sc: lelllM story in visual term,: "
I' 100 :IUSlere for 1M cartoon Ihal has
and per)()fllhly IiQ heavily . but it is
Ihlat Iry to call)' tile meaning of tile
Ont producer al Disney's insisled Ihal if a character
-.I he feit a cerlai n way. Ihal was a lllh.1 was needed .
wl)UkI.stabli$h the fact aOliIM loo",,,,,e would
10 belk,'C it. Bul il docs 001 ""OI'k like ' hat. II is
a cllar.l.cter is mad
or Ii . "!bere muSI be business 10
~Ialcmenl and a s iluation in which he can
Ilw:se: emotions if the Jud",,,,,e is 10 Iw:
so. Un'it ,he viewer feels IIIe eTTJO-
• Iw: is 001 imfll'Cssed wilh the "''Qrds.
it simply : "Anyone " '00
·li '. notacling.~ndifacartoon
character is not K ling. he is not · Iiving.'" They Iud
to Itl'lQw!he feelings that go deeper Ihan ..."OI'ds before
lhe y could fin<.! lhe strong attilude. that woulll male
Ihe silualion believable,
There .... en: four major rules to wriling dialogue:
Rul, I. Do rIlH " 'riu diDlogue Ilrol ducrilN~ """'1
)'0" urr suill&. If a character is panling and s~at ing
from lhe he al. 1M lasl Ihing he needs is a line Ihal
Siaies. ··Soy. am I hot!"' Or if he has sianed 10 lelve.
it iHoo late tocommenl. "Well. I guess 1"11 go now:'
His " 'ooIs should refl« 1 his feeling. ilbo!.l ...·hal is
happening .• nd be wriuen in • way that .noclle. hi.
perwnalily.
Rul, 2. Tin: ....ords utld Ihe IhoughllNhitld Iht.., shoWd
IN sp«ial 10 Illis OM citarOC:lrr. No one else: woold
say things quite this way . Look fOf unique ..."OI'ding.
colloquial phrlscs, colorful upre~sions Ihal are righl
for this one ""rtieular chlaratlcr.
Ru/t J. 0;,'/0& .... I7Iusl IN ...·rilltll So Ihrrt j s _ ·
rhill& 10 ullitn(u,. It has 10 n:flect an attilude thai can
be drawn Of an emotion Ihal can be soo,,·n. Exposilion
is deadly. and 100 many words waler down Strong
altitudes. No one can keep any sirengih in a long line
of llialoguc.
Rult 4 . Diu/oB .... ..,usl IN ...·r/lttn MJ 1M aclOf' doing
lilt ...,ju run comribme somnhillg. Wilhoul changing
1M flXaning of the line. il is usua lly possible 10 give it
more life by rephrasing or adding a louch thai lives
, lie lOCtor. belLer c""""e. Oflen a chuckle. a sigb . a
stUIIC!. swallow. or gulp will reveal man: of lhe per.
5QTlality Ihan lhe words IMnH;elves. Other limes. lhe
actor may have an inlimale know ledge of fol k phrases
from certain regions Lhlat willMlp build a man: inter-
nling characLer .
"!be voice lalent usually i. uger 10 Mlp devclor a
unique characler. cspedaUy one Ihal is unders.ood
lhoroughly . and Ihis comribolion should be encour·
aged. Ho""ever. in lhe early day. of wild chases and
violent lOCtion. lhen: was lillie opportunily (04' lhe
nuances of an individual personality. As one lCIor
adm iued wryly. ·· It 's a linle difficull to build a strons
.. UuryCkmmtHu CharaCler when all you say is 'Oof . . ugh. 'flY"
"mI<ffl1i." INfQ"
1...".,,/ by Ward
yip. and Wheee!' bUI i('5 slill imponanl 10 do
r. whal you can."
Occasionally. lhe dialogue would be wriuen befm
lhe skelches were made if an oulline had bec.n approved
a nd Ihe wriler had a slrong idea of how lhe sequenctS
s hould play. Larry Clemmons. who had bec.n in ani·
'malion during Ihe Ihinies. Ihen len 10 wrile for radio
before returning 10 Ihe sludio. had a 1~lenl for brisk
dialogue Ihal gave everyone a feeling for lhe ch.1nc·
te~ and lhe enlen.inmenl pO!emial in a silUation. Ik
always wrole scri pls. lhen a~ketl lhe suny shIeh ....
10 follow lhem a~ cI'lSely ~s possible. If lhe , kCl(l
man was 1101 alen. he would end u[> merely illu$1I1lins
whal was being said and nOI adding any ne,,' ideas 01
approaches 10 Ihe problem fmm a vi.ual slandpoinl.
Woolic Reitherman direcled these tilms. and. whik lor
enjoyed the word·gags and Ihe play belween ch.1nc-
le~. he knew Ihal Ihere had 10 be a new ingr.ditd
added 10 make lhe .<equcnce do ils job. lie "wid
complain. "There '5 ,,"Ihing happening! I wanl a hop-
pening! I' ve beard enough words--J wanl somrdIi"
going on now. I wanl a!lilUdes ... you have 10 tnow
.. VanctG.rry mrs how tMy're fee ling. whal lhey're Ihinking bef~)'OI
fN)JIumtS. 'xp"s·
OM al/;/"".. for Can tell if lhe words are righl!" Slorymcn must
/Iv linl. SUir <!f1l>t lhe palicoce aoo energy 10 try many Ihings
•• seuling on a direclion .
 VlIICeGerry. "'ho did both ,tory and slory sketch.
hit upon the best solution_ He u&ed Larry'S script as a
p!de arid a basis. but set it aside while he staned
making the drawings that seemed to fit the situation.
One drawing led to anOlher as he explored various
_l)'S of handling the chamcters as ....·el1 as the whole
mood of the se<jucnce. Evenlually. he W"'l able to pin
"l' • continu;ty that included actions that could be
animated. bosi!>e"s that developed the characters. and
pantOmime that strengthened the rclationships. At that
PJOnl he had a meeting. and all the ideas ....·ere pre·
!tilted. Following thai. LaIT)" would rewrite alld Vance
~"OUld redra ...... bul bil by bil they Came together and
tht result ..... as a unique. convincing sequence that
fl'lbably could nol havc been achieved by any other
""'"A good eumple of this l'ooperation is the introduc,
tion of the linle girl I'enny in Th~ Re.c"as. It had
i«n assumed thai the proper ..... ay 10 introduce her
~uuld be in a happy sequence ..... here the audience
could be taken by the appeal of a cheerful. spunky
child. She ..... as an orphan who wanted "ery nluch 10 he
......... ed. oot it ..... as felt that any sad sceneS would have
!!lOR impacl if she were secn firsl in happier circum-
.\IanCeS_ A whole sequence was ..... rinen. sketched. and
iW1ia1ly animated of her on a visil to the •.no_
Il'hen it waS discovered latcr on that the pathos of
the little girl was the very heart of the picture. all of us
decided her introduction shOUld be in a situation with a
strong hcan-lUg right from the stan. We wanted the
audience to become involved with Penny and her feel.
ings "'l quick ly and forcefully as possible. SO our first
sequence of her became the one in the orphanage right
after she has been f>35",d OVer for adoption.
In the story meetings. we had conside«:d ha~ing
Penny do a linle act for the prospective pal"<'nts. some
litlle song or dance: something she thOUght she did
.... ell alld on which she could pin her hope. for adop·
tion-something she hoped would make a mother and
father ....·ant her. If she did her beSt and failed. we
k!>ew there would be a strong empathy from the audio
enCe. But it also would !leee",itate showing the visi -
torS watch her act and perhaps pan of lhe act of the
lillie red-haired girl who finally would be chosen. [t
had good pathOS. but also problems ..... ith the added
characters and more fOO(age 10 put over the additional
bosiness.
Vance Gerry had been exploring Ihe appearance of
the bedroom in Ihe orphanage for the next pan of the
sequence. and Larry ClenmlOllS had wrinen some poign-
ant lines between the little girl and the orphanage cat
Rufus. as he is trying to find out what had happened .
Penny Tl:sponds . '"They looked at me. buttheychoosed
a lillie red·headed girl -she was prettier than me."
Vane,. ,uggmi,
P,"ni' bN in I~
of r~ big"""" in
pha"og~. SAt Iw
pamtiU>'" /orodaf
Ihis day and i•• il.
a/o", Iryi"g 10 /to,
,At "arl. R.j.,.
cal. b., .... ''''"'''
wrOllg and gIH' 10,
con At/p.
Thillrq~~"<r il'h~ im'l)·
J..c,j(}ft of
"t~..-,. W ,h~
Ifl'C>ll,..lIlfDU""~f po..i·
bh ......'M - " It> n,Qb-
lu. ,Itt fHMMt of 'M ti,....·
..... woJ """" ,It, .""",h
of 1M /,~,Joip bt""'""
'M li,' olld 'M <VU . V" ......
upI.,.." J;w"u IJi<u ""
Ihi•. •"""·i",/"",, ,.j",.•.
ba<"t viro.·" lid. viro.·s. Ih~
pDJi,,,,,, '" ,,., btd and """,.
",,,,,, .. 'ill '''''''' .illi"~ ""
I,. WIra, is
"{l~h {l~'
,II. """ ..,,' '0
{lnd tQurh th.
{lu,II." ...! A, Ii", ... {lli", ·
pi. IIl1i,...I. il ,,/I Ilktl il
""d,d: if tit. a"I",,,,,,,
{,i"", do 100 ,",ut'h. "" ...iII
brNlt 'M """'" ~. i. ",. Belw~n Ihalline and Vana: 's <.lr.. wings. lhere was no
.....,,;"1/ 10 ~''''''' . nce<I for any OIher inlrodOXlion . Her fim !occ'"'" in lhe
/)r-'~' /,_ ,lot uc,,,,,1 picture dlowed her sinin, on her bc<.l. all al""" . in
SUM. i~ 1M (>kIll" w.... !he orphanage .
/ooIov "'I It{litis pImvoi"K {lM Now ""C' had 10 to!K:cnlnUC on lhe ~rongesl stIIle-
apt.u-.fi~ fHlid off. ~
_ . {lrt ,..mI•. bioI tM menl we could make for a sad. lonely girl . We had 10
thillli.., is brood. (lM Ih~ ha~e warmlh. rommunkalion. and sineerily. and lhe
1"'1'''(1 1)/ ,It. ,<r".. i, girl had 10 be h;mdle<J u a real girl in a real Sillialion.
fIU""e1wl. I/Ih, "";",,,t(>r There was 00 latilu<.le for broad drawing orcaricalured
hDd ,/toll81t1 • ·,,,lnl." ilt Itil
c~ prcssions. Whal had 10 be caric~lured wa.. thc film
sr.".,
pla"";"I. 1M "","ld
_ /w,., n""",,,,,k,,,," nt approach In gelling lhe: audicllCC 10 fed For Ihi s girl
,,11. and he:r problems. 11 had 10 be immediale. succinct.
and conlpellin,. This was our he:mine and <he: had to
capli~alc lhe audicnce from the: ~cry firsl 1«.... wilh
no false ~ I nd no ronfu$ion . II was a delicate
SilU3lion and required del icalc handling . The rnovc::s
would be iiUbtle. bul I~ planning had 10 be po.."C'rful.
Vance Gerry did charming drawings o f the girl md
!he cat . He lried different uniform~ for her and re·
searche:d the: kind of bed 5he: would have. as ",·cll as
lhe ChaJaCICr of lhe room in .... hich lhe orphan~ ~lept.
The sizc of the: room and the position of Penny's bed
in il ",-ere both impo<1anl. He tried various type s of

""....... ........
1/:UI"05; _0_.
_T.......,.......... ~

1\,",", .....u • .,.,. ...F

e"T"""" e~v
..... O-~I!W....
~ i
SIIIing. showing (he girl froOl the fronl. the ~ide. and
.. t>ack. Each "jew offered something special. and
.. ftlat~ip to the cat varied with each angle. 100.
... roukl sqUCC1.c under IIcr arm in the front vicw but
", .. !be: OIhefs-without an a,,·b."ard move-and ",-c
wm.un:hing for the bold Slalcmenu, Ihal would flow
smoothly and naturally .
Tbt animator who was given the Il: ~ponsibility for
Ibis cruo;ialltequencc decided Ih.ll lle rear view of the
aund,irl was the best for the first scene," Somehow •
.... Iooted moo: vulnerable wilh the s loping MIoolders
audiencd lrQUnd lhe world and raised people's spiro
its. and Ihal mUSIlx wonhwhile .
William Faulkner said lhat the only subjects worth
wriling aboul ""'Il: "!he problems of lhe human heart
in conniel wilh ilself. ·· lit: "",n1 01110 say that;1 was
the poc:t"s and wril~r's dUly and " privilege '0 help
man endull: by lifting his heart. by Il:minding him of
the courage and honor and hope and pride and com·
passion and pily and sacri fi ~ which have been lhe
glory of his past. " 7 Even lhe cartoon can lry for SllCh
ideals.

--- _.
~ lirIIe noe<:k. and it allm,;ed him to hold off the first
ItIIIIl ,,10'" of ille Birr s face: unlil lalef. when it would
,. ,.' .., ~ ""
""'"' impact . The back view WlI$ al§O a good
'"
['181 11:r-~'" H1, J'!foA- \ Jh:.
• fOf the eafs IlCt ion as he rubbed against her
~.nionaldy and tried!O look up into her face . M any
dille e~pres~ions were then played off the c~t because
'" face "'"as SO much more pliable . lI is chin could .-,....,. .......
_" ~ ~, ,,_ ,
..... ..
_ , _ . , . _ .... ,
" ~ ,,
_
.-
.. '"' ... --
.. . ," .... .. n.

_<,
Itmbk as he WiL'S on the verge of tears witlw:>ut ""ing
" ,,
"i.'')

... -
,,,,,~,;, . It was hoped lhat the audience ""ould

I'IL_
._
,0• .....
tmpMhy for the girl throu&h him . When she
IiuMydoes tum !iO that hccr face can be secn , thell: is a
... rolling down her check , bu, no 1l:31 dramatie -LW-.
C

:;;~~:j"~':':::'::""~~.,~';:"~~k~r:~:.:Wilh
it wb .11 that wa, needed . the build·up --
. , ....
,.,
received a leH~r
I jaded crilic wi,h this comment: " That scene
:::: :~ ~::;~':~::: surprised me: ! "rom lhen on. I
aboot whal happened IU Pl:nny . Maybe
. 0<1;_,

"'.
....
:
tIIC' dialogue. or her expressiorl. or ,he PUt· .,,",
~ , , . bul !i()Ol"oI!thing l1lO\'ed nle as no O1her

,-
H. _
_ • m~k has before." '
du.w,...
We II"'IY~ "io.".!er if ....e 31l: go ing 100 far . or
high. in our aUcmJIIs 10 let 1l:~1 feelings -"
,./<U
in our medium We cannOI be 100 dramatic
'. and if we start 10 copy Il:althealer
look l ill y. Yee within our limil31ions . we have
ways 10 !lel'elop emotions that have lOUChed
___> I
IS. Character Development
"'Ih,nk )''''' Iwl't' 10 know ,"nr /,,1I0wJ d"jit,iltly INforr }'QU CUll dw ... Ih~m. Wh~" )'01< J/(I rl '0 roricalu" /I
""WIt, )'(IIl cuo' / '/0 il wit/rout kltowinglhr person . Tak~ LaurrJ "mllll).rdy for ~xamplt; t .... ryho<ly can Jee Laurel
""'''' (trl/li~ ,!tinl(l be",,,S<' ,Itt)' kn"w Ll'''rel.· · Wah Disney

\10',1", de"dop"",nt of a cartoon ', chantCt~f"S was
lXMopklCly ilWu,(j"e. He never had to analyze the " 'ays
101 mighl c~(ablish (loom or find (Ilcir pc:rsonalities . He
J1t'tr worried abou t their mot;"ation~ or ~.rchcd for
kl."Miquu to make (hem believable . There was no
pRlbIcm in I>ow 10 integrate them into tllc Story; they
.....r the MOl')". lie rot.Ild no! conceive of bus inus (hat
did fIOI reille 10 a s pecifoc I"'rsooali.y. He had such a
ifni fed fOf the e ntertainment in any situation WI all
ut these ront ider:ations " 'ere aUlomatie. From the
Iq'MillJ . lhese c haracters had been real 10 him: (he
!>It now ,"lS 10 make lhem as interes ting as possible.
In Novemlle •. 1936, we started having weekly """'t-
mp 11 night 10 talk of nothing but character de,·e!op·
~nl of the Je""" dwarfs: c/~;r rdation~l\ips with tach
OIlier. and how they would move and act in e~ery
,i1Uatlon. Many of the s\.Ilff <.:O\lld ~ s« beyood jU51
finding something for !leven characters 10 do while on
the $I;""co together. but Wah was looking for much
more . He knew thai the development of rich perso<UlJi.
lies would be crucial to this Story. and it was I ~ of
tJ>c, p1ctunNlwing thaI he pankul.ly enjoyed. Wall
wu SO immersed in these characters lllal at limes. as
he lalkr:d and ""Ir:d out the roles as he saw them. he
forgO! llial we wcre there . We loved to _lel\ him; his
feeling about 1m:. characters was comagious. Each IN" o;rrt
H, "",/4 «I
succe«ling week he refined and wengthencd hi s ron· d",,/Jr/t, aNI g
cCplion. and ours. too. We ,,"'0II1d think LO ourselves, I~ro ,~ pYl(IIIQJ
,aNI CIIIIl<m·
'1'1 bidutd
rb 0/ Snow
auasilyjl ...
6/tiO find 1M
'Uf',ushi,"-
~(",;hi"K. M
I IJ/UTI oul
~"",I'<'II\O,b
rinK .-!wl ht

··Gee. if I ~"" Id j llSI I'.~I Illy hlld. "II tiM S\.·~!IC of
Doc and Grumpy lhe way hc·s talking about it . Boy. [
can see il so clearly!··
Wa ll wa~ saying, "Do.; is upse' by Ihe le"~1 li'lie
Ihing. lhe ICaSllil1le annoy~nce. lIe do),,,n·' kn<)W whe",
he is; somebody has '0 help him O\I,- ,h", is. a~ far as
memal reaelio" '" IlCrsonality is concerned. When
Soow Whi 'e s.ays she is a princess, he becomes all
nuste",d and gets his wmds mixe<.l "1'; and. when he
finally does gel the word. he says 'he wrong one_ For
instance. when Doc says .. ",~ ARI; 1l0NOMEI). "'EA ~ E- ·
(he hesilales. he docsn· , know what to say; Grumpy
then comes in and feedS him Ihc wronll ",,,rd; 'MAUAS
~ lit. ta_ly
Iopryfarlw>. ItOIH<h'TS,' and Doc imme<.lialely picks up whal Grumpy
I aMI""'y. says hefore he realizes whal G rumpy says. [thinl.: Dvc
is thai way. in that when he hc<:omes nuslcR<!, ""
<lammen; for words .
·' Il e has I~i, hallil of gening mixed up, only "hen
lie is upscl or when he L, ang.",d ," "'hen he ">«1'1
Snow Whi'e. Whcn he n",cls Sn<)W While. he is like a
1;,)low meeting a girl_ gelS awfully tlustered-son of
an inferiority complex."·
An01her nilllli. Walt waS lalking "0001 Dup<y. It
was not jusl his pcrsonalily but his physkal appo:ar·
ance . '00. As Walt described Ihis lillie characler...~
could see how " ·c should draw him. from his propor.
tions down to how he would stand .
Dec. 9, 1936
Walt Dopey i~n·t cute looking in tllesc dl1lW(1IV
H i~ hoody should be longer and his legs shooct".
You should haw Ihe feclinll aboUI him Ihal he i$
wearing somebody·s cas'·off coal. nOI as Illough

d he \,..,,'" a big g"wn of something . He sho,,~ 100

much analomy. I don·"hink you would sec iliP

~
thi~ liltle guy.
Babbitt Do you see him quil. e=1 ~I of W
..._..
... _.-
,." ., lime?
Walt Yes. ale". That would come righl in Wllb
sprillhlliness. When anything happens. Dopty

'ttil
runs as (ast a< he can and gets ahead of the OlheJ

s'-Y dwarfs--tums around and looks back like a kid

Langdon had thai kid action lie .... ould hold""",
@ his ha' whco running along wilh sorne: feIi0"·5. la
IN
,- ...
o_~

"no "r Langdon·s pic lures. in a faclury seq..oo:.

Langdon was inviled by some oflhe fel1o,,·s lOgo
along wilh Ihem after work . The idea of his he;"
laken along made him happy just 10 be ,,·ilh!hem
They igll()red him and lie ,,·ould run ahead of Ihrm

aM loot back ri"~
a kid . I f~lthat Oopo-y would
"" the same kind o f guy- grad to be in on any-
thing.
Mcr tl'c OIeeting . Olle of lhe men jOlted down so",e
_ : "Walt is so .....·are or lhe foct Ihal it " 'oo ld be
m)" to male Oopo- y in\l)«ilie and he doesn ' t want
. . btcau!iC it"s ~ funny- he jusl ....·ants him ~hild .
is/! +Idling. h'sclusi,'(, but Watt always seems to
h1~ a way of seeing it:so Ihal il·.' righL Lik e the way
lit t~lk s about when Doc SO". imo his thin king p<l~.
and lJorIey is trying 10 do the !>11m" thing , H~ hu his
f.. gcn "I' 10 the .ide o f his face. and his finger slips
. . Cot:S in hi. e)"<: _ Ik is trying 10 imilale IJoox lho.:re .
Bot lit tw !'Ie'"<:r spem any lime thinking befo.-.: and he
.....
~
~
.... .....
...... (! .. ~6:»
_o ~
has 10 see :somebody else do it before he can do il . ··
n.. mOSt slimulaling pan of Millhi. 10 lhe anill1<llon
was Ihat everylhing Walt was suggesting could be ani·
mated . II was 001 a"'kward conl inuity or realislic illus'
trations bul iOCtion. lhal _~ familiar 10 everyone . II
would ~ be eHY for lhe animalOt'S. bul i1 would be
fun . It seenIW weh a short lime ago tlul they ..-.:n:
animating spindly legged. "" eighlleu Mickeys .nd
Minnks Wilh lheir superfICial lillie "'Ialionships. Otta·
sionally the~ had been a glimmer of things to Come in
pict ull'~ like Elm" £1~plllJ'" and C{)IImry Cousi~ .
whell' there had been a special el\aracler " '110 had
strong f~l ings aboul ",-hal was happrning . bul fOf the
I1lO!iI pan Ihis " 'as all new. and it seemed as lhough il
had blossomed ovemigh1. Now ....·c sal c nlran<.:w as
Walt tal ked aboul lhese seVen liule men who were
becoming as much nesh and blood as lhe per:son Si t·
ling nUl tQ us: and ....'hile tlK problcm~ they faced in
lheir make-believe w«1d ....'ere utraort!inary. ""<: C(lU1d
grasp lhem and could feci lhem ou~I\"<:$_
llIcsc characters W-C~ dealing wilh life and death
problem s, ~t i,""s in a humon.>Us way. somelimes
serious. but always sincere ami believable. and each
acu>rding 10 hi . own per:sonality . This was real char·
OCler atling. and it ....-as all soeasy when Wall cxplail'lOd
how il should be . It could be funnier . Of " " " " ~riou$.
or more fanci ful . bul the c"""ial ~Iationships had been
"" ......
"'-brF.M
1M "tiUisA
Wal,~_
 e5tab1ished and the c,;'ici~"'s now ~ . U minor in
tern,. of chiU'1lCler deV('lopmcnt Without Wall's ;nlui-
d"urd lion. how ,k, you build a char...cter'! How do you reter.
mine wltat is imeres!;ng? Uo w do you koow if il is
right fOl' your story?
An .nicle by dnuno critic Charles Champlin in the
Un Angtln Tlmu teUs how John Hun went abot..
chara<.:lcr development in his portr4yal of Max in (he
film Midnlghl F.:xp'<,:ss. "~ In the su~rb ",ay .ha. acton
can, lIun ittmed 10 have buill the ch;u-.octer of Mn
from \he iMid. OUI , invt$fing him with II past and a
perwNI only hinlt<1 l ! in the ..,ripl ... Champlin qUOle5
111111 in SOme detail on his creative approach \0 build-
ing Ma~ 's eharocler. " Without knowing:' Hurl says.
" \ imagined that he was ofa very good fami ly . Locs of
money . And W I he had SO"" 10 a Vff)' good scOOol .
Harrow . maybe, or Bon. And Ih.al he had started.,
O~rord. probably , but dr<l(>fl"d out as a 101 did in the
'605 and hi. ,ho. C3lilem Iraillhal was popular lhen and
~ inlo drugs ."
We started on each of our c haracters in much !hr
same m31l","' . Usually lhe Siorymon ..,archro for Iho
broad Iype o r PC""'" Ih~1 would fil the ~ory. ~
111I1;ng on lhe general aspects ralher Ih.an lhe rri"1IIt-
monts. One "oryman enrolkd in a " ·riling cWJ ..
improve hi , skills and was s urprised 10 find tIw Iht
,;time advkc wu pan of IhI: yOling wrile'· s curricu.
lum . He reponed . " You mUSI de~lopclulrac1(IIIlIIS.
you m",;! think 0II1- wh.a1 ~ of person is thi$? ....1111
kind of background does he come from? Is he 111l1li)'
chantcteT1 A happy characler? A fooli' h chanc1tf-
how would hi: rea(:I'! He mighl alw~y. cany a "lie.
III'
mighl ha~ a IwiLCh ,,·hen he nIOVCS. he miglll ha>'el
I\;Ibil of lighling his pipc. Wh~1 son of clot/w:$ ..nUI
he wear. how would he ~'! Well . Ihis is ,,·IPI we
_re doing lall"" ~udiol . We wnc dl"lwing the Goof
and having his pants hang down. and you have I \U
Ihal doesn·1 f'l ...
.'
••
.
lhen a,ke<J wrn:re we find our characters and our
~, "" point Ou t Ihal one of the biggest souf<:es is
~Ic right around us. wherever ""e may bo.. So.
,"'e &ay to train yourself to bo. consmntly observ-
to "'atch for Irw: unu<ual and trw: cntenaining.
lainly that is whal John Hurt did in hi s preparation
he role of Ma. ) If you see SOmeone with. uni<jue
of gesturing and talking. watch him and make
ental notc--maybc draw him when you have a
~e. A boy and his doG and the way they look at
oIher. or tWO lo,'en; holding hands. SOmeone wail-
mpatiently for ano1rn:r pen;on. a &alesman. a spons
~he)' all hold the promise of inspir.lOon for a
ntia! character. But you muSt be thinking that way .
baS(ball pitcher is constantly adjusting his cap
"'iping his brow on his sleeve. mking his glove off
lilbing the ball. All pitchers do these things. but
,one does it differently, Walt was oontinually tak-
,is glasses off and on when talking over a scrip!.
Kahl did not need his glasses for close work. so
n looking at sorrn.-onc·s drawing he would take the
;cs off just one ear and let them dangle precariously
'ghout the whole conversation,
lICe tile general type of character has been found.
, begins on finding Ihe refinements. the details.
pedfics that make him into an individual---uni<jue
entenaining . This is more difficult to judge. but
"imator will noundcr wilh indecision unless he
get inside the character and know precisely what
,nS are righ' for that personalit y, As long as lhere
Iy confusion or lack of understanding. the draw-
will be vague and indecisive, A good che<; k on
:ber the cha,.. cter is really understood is this <jues-
"Do you know how he feels about himseir!-'
lOUt knowing his se lf-image. it will De difficult to
,how he really feels about anyone else or what he
is trying todo or even what he wants 10 have happen in
the story.
Obviously. thi s all will De easier and more inte~st­
ing iflhe animator likes the c haracter in the first place .
We advised a group of young animators, "Look for
things in your characters that make them so interesting
that you end up loving them . They should be appealing
to you: you are creating them . Endow them with all the
great qualities you like that are consistent with their
personalities •.'iO !hat you will want to be around them.
like an ador gelling a good solid role_ you will look
forward to each day. and at night you will think about
your sequence and the characters in it and what you'~
goi ng to do with ii- and you JUSt can't get it OUt of
your mind, It' s wi th you 24 hours aday,"
Some of Ihe funniest shons the studio ever made
came from the sheer enjoyment felt by animators work_
ing ""ith a character trn:y had come to know and under-
stand extremely well. These were the " How To"
Goofy pictures: How 10 Pia), SlIuhall. How 10 Swim.
Mrm' Olli~ JoIoltltlHl,
How ro Fish. eiC. Mos! of these wcre directed by Jack
Kinney. with inspired work by animation s upervisor Mil, Kohl m"ly US~ his
Woolie Reitherman and zany touches from animator RlaS/~s far c/OJ~ ~wk rvuI
oft~n In ,h~m Mill in Q
John Sibley. John. !ike Woolie . was especially good dis('QI1<trring >W'ffrom OM
at funny. imaginati"e aClion and timing . They loved to N' "'hil~ rxamining a
talk ahout how funny the section they were working ,j,-a-"'ing,
on was going to be.
The more they would talk. the funnier il would
become to them. and soon they ",'ere just killing them-
selves laughing at all the gags. So they would decide
to go a nd lell "or Kinney" aboul their new ideas.
because he might think of something even funnier.
Everyone could hear them going all the way up the
sta irs and down the hall, talking and laughing about
Ihis with an occasional pause while one of them showed
the OI her how it was going to be: then the laughter
.~

"'
,,"
'.,,>
",
k
",

wwld gel "vCn loulkr. By lhe lime Ihey were at lack
Kinney's room Ihey were both in tears. but Jack knew
(he malerial so well he could pic k righl up wilh them
and v"ry SOOn was in convulsion~. too.
Thi ~ love for the characler is reflected in the fin-
ishc<J pictures. for Ihere is an inspired quality Ihal
"",'cr would exist if il had been P\'l logether mechan-
ically from [tle storyboards. This clearly show', lhe
impmunc" of tal king and talking and " kic king an
idea around" and continually observing and Ihink",
and w3tching each other aCt O\ll llte i)usiness . llusil
how great cha'a<:ICrs are developed .
In Ihe early SM)' conception of Th~ Rfscufrs. ("",.
O rville waS juS! a bird-perhaps a pigWJ\-wllo ,",wid
fly the mice agents 10 {hcir destination. lIil IIIQ!I
distinguishing bus;""". was thaI he woold be calapll~
oIT the ground instead of laking off under his ~ ....
power. This was a no~el idea. but i1 sumed 10 iMibll
 .. *"'Iopmcm of llIe d,arac.er . Thinp " 'ere llap-
pening /Q him rather than having him make anything
h.iMltn.
On the strengdl of 1;001<: of 111<: slooio's nllure film s.
• " .. d«ided 10 base Cap! . Orville' s ~h3racler on 3n
alNlroU. Immedialdy .his opened up a ll kinds of
poIoIibili!ies. An albatross in tile air is a thing ofbeau'y
IObehold. IIlI: ul\imate in perfect coordination. but on
tile ground. either landing or taking off. it exllibi!s the
1lciJ:h1 of incompelen<;c . 1l1<: alhotross lands like a
"""'Iilll bill. scauering companions around like len·
p.. lIillake-off. if po$sibie. is evcn worse. MOIher
N~\ure had an off day when she devised Ihi s pie<.:e of
, . .~, unroordinalcd K lion. He canOOl C\lCn run well .
lltina I longer slep ...-i,h oil<: leg Ihan lhe ocher. which
1"'" him I gimpy JooI,: and makes it doubly hard 10
~':'" enough ~ 10 gel airborne (much of lhe
lime he docs not succ«d). After running what seems
miles. he will suddenly abon lIis flight as Ihough
10 ... y. " This can juSl as _II wli. !;IIIOmOrTOW.··
PilOis $.a)' thallhe lough pan of fl)'ing is landing and
laking off. The albatross does nOi seem 10 recognize
llIat 11<: lias a problem in either procedure , and thi s
,."" us our c lue 10 his I"'l"!iOflI.lity-t1le bel thlt ..... lIen
lie landed on his fa« and IlIen cra\J1<:d jnlo sc\lt:ral of
lhe OIher birds on the beach. nobody made a big deal
OUt o f it. The)' JUSt shook Ihc ... nd off and plopped
do"'n again as ifoothing had happened. In our pklure.
lhe firsl tinl<: Clp! . Orville landed. he pl_'w inlo the
run"'3Y and lilill 10 a Slop on his fa« . 8errwd came
running OUI 10 see how badly the alhotross had b«n
hun: his reply was. "One of",y beller landings. Bub!"
And he meanl it! This would be his I"'rsonalit)' through·
OUI _ He thought everything he did was the grealest.
and lhe only " -IY 10 do il .
His takeoff ..... ith the mice a~ b«ame the funni·
est pica: of business in tile whole picture siroce it played
'"
into all three pef$Qllalities. Ikmard was afraid of Oying.
-

r liMY ,"US, (Y)ftlaiw sil·
.,,"' ,hal QI/"w ~"eh
..a<;I~r '" «'Ull"" ~".
"'''"""n' in hi, P""""
)t. TIt• ..llSkrm family
Ibt Rescue .. COltSi.ud
EIIi, Mat, 'M bossy.
,tIi~g wif•. and L~k"
. shift/us b,bonJ wirh
jq Q["n<'lJrIlp juice."
lit,", NQIan, in (omrib·
~g Ih. wi" of EIII.
It. aJdrd IIWF' dim,,,"
n I1y gi,-int a d,lkau
~"'h ", lh. buS/ling
1i1S. and a , harrui"8
'itt /0 Ih. agg'n,;'-'
it wht .. Ihe cho,aruT
UUirtd. Un/orMwltly.
!lot $IOTJ ,W>I,u, ,h".
''''' plou 1<' silo ... lA,,,
g/ili., and Elli. MM
ltd up a. a mort con ·
tI""""/ nwlMdy I)'~.
.-
I,
and Bianca was looling forward (0 it Wilh enthusiasm.
This gave each of them definite UUilutles thaI opened
up new facels of tlleir personalities.
Orville was sort of a crusty guy , but likeable. We
Ihougtll of him as t.:.ing a World War 1 ace wilh hel·
mel. goggles. scarf. and puutes--the work~. He toler-
ated Beman.!. bUI warmed up to Bianca. The slory
could have been told without him There was a lime
when ..',e considered having lhe mice da" into 3 regu-
lar airliner, hUI how much beller Ihe ""Iuencc bc<:a"·>e
Ihrough lhe development of CapL Orville
Difficult as it is to conjure up a successful character
and to know him thoroughly. it is oflcn surprisingly
aw~ward to find the ways 10 lell the audience all about
him . The oppol'1unilics to show all thes.c delighlful
Ira its in a rich personality can slip away one by one a.
the sequences develop . leaving an interesting residue
hut none of the exciting momenlS that had been visual-
i7.ed . We had thi s distressing silualion in The R~s("un5
in the very next sequence.
When the mice. flying with Capl. Orville. aITh'cd at
the bayou, Ihey were forced to abandon ship and para-
chule 10 ... fety. A ....·aiting Iheir arrival was a group of
eager local animals organized into a home guard unit
known as the Swamp Volunteers. When the parachute
of the micc gOltangled in a lree. lhe reception commit-
lee bmke ranks and ran about like the Keyslone Cops
as they tried to reseue the suspended visitorJi. Through·
oul all these proceedings. the dominant character be-
came the muskrat Ellie r..1.c, wife of Ihe shiftltss Lu~
and self·appointed rnajQ1" domo of lhe area.
She had been thought of a< a Germanic t)"!'" ()(
housewife. capable. energetic . slrong. eager. and bp-
py. with boundless energy. bUI now she had tobeo:ome
a specific individual within that category. A TV com-
mercial showing aboUI Ihal time feat ured an actress
who waS extremely large. but vcry delicate arod remi·
nine in her gestures . To that "Iinle girl" sclf·imagt
we added the Slrenglh of a horse. and had lhe Stan ()(
an interesting character. We did not know )'Ct if >lit
would be e~plo~i'l<:. forgiving. self-<:emcred. aggres-
sive. Or petulant. but ..... e were finding out. Iel~lC
Nolan was chosen to do Ihe voice. and she nwle I
sta"ling contribut ion (ha( developed lhe idea funn.r.
She played the quiet lines wi(h great s)'mpathy and
tenderness. s upponed by a slight lisp. then unexpect-
edly shrie~ed the e XCiH:d lines in a voice tha( ....wId
shatter glass.
She helped Bianca from ttoe Illud with a warm. 10ft
line. "'Here. hone y. let me hc'p you ." Then ....·ithou!
even stopping to inhale. she beIlowed. " You bo)·1 gil
over here right now!!" Then Once again. all gcntJt.
ness. "Oh dear. ain'! thaI a shame." II ..... as a frt!lt
eharac(er and one that we all liked. The dra ..... in8lof
her showed ' tmng arms. a stocky build. a defiMt set
to her head and a <weel little smile. She was lhe bos$
and could do anything. but .he Ihooght ?fhe~lfonly
as S....·ce! and delicalc and vcry feminine . She did not
 ucitable because sllc ,.'as 50 competent.
when she wanted 5Omeoroe else to
WU often . Thi ~ s.upponed tile
changes in he' delivery since it was !lOt
'
;';~;'i"'o; an enlOlional build-up. and it reaJly waS
me: w~S 1101 awall: of doing.
U.fonunately. as the continuity de>'eloped and the
...~. .,~ relined. almost .n of the OO§ines5 that
usc of her OIJlbulllS was cut 001. and we were
left wilh, rich chara<.:lcr who had only I1lO1herly line s.
We scan:hed through the rest of the picture OOt found
110 1'1- 10 make uS/: of lhe emenainment ~lIIial"~
hId_n.
tl brOII!:hl home lhe point of how imponant i1 is to
111,'( busincss thai give .• your character a chance 10
I:~:::~:~;i:S .you 10
It is so easy say lhal your character
know """ry angle o f his pcrsonal .
that he ....·ill be memorable and outstanding. but
~,o ••~iifi, "" "<, ,"" ,~,,, in the film-intell"l1ed
into the story- no o ne will ever lllOw what was in
)'OUr mind . It is not cnou~h 10 say it ;s there; it must be
mo."n. In our case. tile work we had ~ made Ellie
Mac J liefinile chaJXlcr . sillttre and COIlvincing. but
"ithoul lile' fur. ,,"<' ha<J ~nticipated .
All lhe whilt O!'>e char""ter is tlC'ing considered .
,lo§c ~1I~nlion also muSt be gi"cn to the Otller players
,,1'10 ",ork around him. for it is only the ir interaction
!lui brin~ the serReS 10 life . II seems like a dcvastat·
wignmcM, When Ron Cltmenll> was new al lhe
studio. he commented. "TIle grealeSt challenge in ani ·
malion is to create a relationship of charKlers Ihl'Qllgh
a picture tllat an audielltt bclie'lt's in . To them. these
~IC"" ui"~lhey're real. II '~ IOUgh enough to
(Wile one eharacter Ihat li,·eli. but to get 1"'0 or !l'OOI"<'
inlerrclating-lhal is lhe impossible dream ."
Actually there can tIC' some advunlage in working
t~-o characters IOgetller. If there Can be some kind of
tension be,,'ieen them. immedialcly there will be aui·
tuOcs and drivC$ and actions !lUI re'lt'al indi vidu,l lnoilS
nK)TC clearly Ihan would be brought OUI by passive
agrttmenl. This is something to consider when scv·
crdl of lhe chaMlcters work as a team wilh one unilIrd
pu~ . l1toc Swamp Volunteers all wanted lhe .... rne
Itting and diffcm!!l'OOI"<' in pltylical appeann« than in
either aims or penooality . Withoollhe conniel supplied
by Ellie Mac 's bossiness. lheir $Celles had lillie vilali·
Iy . 1fle i1Cmkol1lic villains o f 101 /)ulmmj",u. IIIe
8aduns. sham! ,. COmmon goal and a con'mOfI ptr.
sonalily ~ well. 8 y h.,·ing one !l'OOI"<' "upid lllan the
OIher. and a lillie k ss aggressive. wc " 'ere able to
introduce :;ome ~rgumerl\ Ihl'Ollghout lhe Sl:enes .
Probably our most ensptraling and elusive char"",
I<'fS were the lhree Good F.irics in Siupilf/J Iltuu,)',
,,'110 " 'ere commilted 10 doinl only lood; they had 00
appatI'nl ""<'aknenes or foibles at III to exploit . In the
early s tiles. Walt actually loyed with lhe idea of their
being all ali~e. but iflhey WeI"<' there would ha" c been
noIhing to ~nimatc--lllere was 00 play anlO<lg tbem .
They""C're like Donald Dock's nephews. This JIO(oSibI)"
would h~vc been accepIable if they "",re to be jU§l.
$pc<:lalOn commenting on what they j.3.W.
Rut Ihis was a story of how the!;e lhree fairies lried
to save a girl from tile curse: of the evil fairy Malefj ·
cent. and \osl . For Ihis role. they would need s lrenglh
Ind purposoe and a ernain aggressi"e"""!;e idoom _ n
in pass ive spectator.;; . Moon: lhan thaI. they ""C're tile
rulers of their variou s domains. and while undoubtedly
,"ery gentle monarchs lhey should be more lhan ju,l
sweet and lovinl . l1tocre llad to be more ~ub!.lalltt \0
them and 10 their relation'ohip. The animators ,,"OOJd
need "",""thing posilive lhey wuld caricalUre in order
10 make any ~ind of Slalement. but whal should ;1 be?
/Hdsanf
What could be done with Ihr« !;ecmingly VIICUOUS J~rI~& r
l;>dies who agreed on nearly cverything? in,1ot ........u.
• ,.' ~ '" " .. (
As the ,u~rv;sing ~nim~lors On these characters.
we would be responsible for tile" personaljlie~. aN.!
we spent many scui<ms wi lh the siory crew working
out ~pecifk business for the first Stqlleoce. Even ber"""
the voices " -ere re<:onlc:d . "'c had uied ideas. disc:ardW
them. 5 ...·;lched trailS from one fairy to anolher. jug-
gled and tJorro,.~. buill and appraised .
We had Maned out Wilh Flora being bossy . To her it
was more imponanl Ihal ~he be the boss Ihan he righl.
So she would dominate and the other 11"0 would fol -
low, bUI Ihal did not ma~e a good relalioMhip. The n
,,~though t . "Whal if slle's the leader but no! always
right?" Merryweather ''''QUid poil\! 0.... the error c, -en
thouCh !>he was us... lly all ,,'rapped up in herself and
having fun. BUI Ihi s mighl make her 100 a.gumenta-
1;.'( and that would nOi be desirable. And wllat do we
do with Fauna? She is ~ wishy-washy_ sllc always
goes along Wilh the last person talked lo--llOO Ihis
lea"e$ her.oo "'-cal 10 be imer=ing .
Gndually "'-~ began.o fed .ha. Flora should 001 be
bossy. btn ~hould domina.e w;.hou. ~ali7.ing ~he ;,
doing i1. She would be jU>1 a more agg~~~ivc perwn-
alily and full of ideas. I. was nO! imponanl Ihal her
idea be t~n. it wasj',IJI thai i. was the ~s, ilk_the
fac.thal it ,"as MT idea was imma.erial. The: imponan.
thing Wa~ lila. cveryone: start acting on i. immedwtly
She feli the burden of any problem, and lhought
herself u having a ~nse of ~sponsibilily. I't
11"10>1 important. she had a gf'~Sp of the big c~
,,-hal "'as going on .
Now wc had 10 find .he wt " 'ay .0 play ~
"'-ealher again>t .hat charac.er. Whoa. if "'" had
idca~ lhan Flora. especially in lin"CC~ of erhis?
the frustr~t ion of having to do il Flor., ,,-ar "
payoff. She could havc a ~ason !O argue with
and Ihis type o f ronflicl wwld liven up their relit
ship . Also. maybe oM is ~ impulsi,.., and qud
acl- ~ of a doer lhoan lhe others bu... "hoot
understanding of the big e"'nI ~ around her, Silo: •
be ;nltn:>lW in little thing_ and how thinp
and would volunlccr 10 do tile housework. we 1lI0II
she would love lodancc and 10 be happy and IOU
herself physically . Her feelings ..'wid be on ....
face . and ~he " 'ould fla~ up in anl:<'r mort
tllan the Qlhen .
Now ""here in hen: could ...·c fil another 1)"1""' F
..as characler waS the moSI difficult 10 find
we could not ha"e anolher dominant pcTSOlUhly:
we dill not " 'ani her simply to be baltered bct ..,tn
other IwO. If " -e wenl 100 far that way. the •
",laIioo~h;p ~amt unpl~3sanl . Wc had 10 ..,mc:mbcr
lhallhe>c ladies ... ~.., "~ood " fairies . bullhal alway5
ltd U~ illlo I"" saccharine: ,
lkn .... hilc on vac~!i<M1 in Colorado. one of U ~ mtl
a lad~ ""00 was 10 have ~ profound influence on I""
,haracter of Fauna. She rou ld be described as wi sp~.
~tly ~mil ing . t""inkling-f:~ed . and almost unawa..,
or ",1w might tit going on aboul ""I'. She IovN nny ·
bod)'. !hought tlta utifulthoughts. rould scarttl ~ ron·
cri'~ of " 'f(Nlgdoing . and delighted in spreading " 'hal
!.he romidered to be sunshine . He.., wa. 11 positive
<1I.racter ""ho ,aw only good in everything and slill
I;o:;ked OOlhing in personality . She was supposed 10
IUd an inspir",lon;tl JlOCm at each rottIing of iler ""0111 '
.. '~ club. but w""n s"" arri ved and eould no! fi nd ""r
pn:pall:d .se leetion--in,tcad of being flustered . upset .
cmN ..,assed . or confused- s he blilhely pulled OUI
><J/1\Cthing else. like a Ictler (n"" t..r cousin in Indinn .
l poli s. and read it to the a' .<e,,,hlcd ladies. She was
Il .... )'s sweet and .parkling. and also a link infurial.
i",. but as a model for a unique " good" c lt.anoeter
' ,',1', .
L-
~,
'--"- -- -
_. -
who rould move through any problem unscathed &$
"..,11 as unaware she W2S inspiring .
This opened up a whole new n:l ationsilip and made
uS think a lillie o f lhe gn:at comedienne Billie Burke.
AI last we fell " 'e had an understanding of the elusive
Fau na. She still could tit vague. in lhat she could lOS/:
track of what she was doing. but she did have idea, of
herowr>-most o f them lillie. feminine ideas. She witS
interestw in small details. She liked the idea of bak ing
a cake . but had trouble keeping her concentrati<M1
throughout the process . Ofille th~ fairies. she would
worry the ",ost and wo~ld be the one who would try to
slIl(X)Ih o~er any COOf1icl between lhe other two . This
new sbnt had given F~una an l imost aggressive vjew
of lifc.
Aboutihis SIImt Umt . 1he muliil:l\cntM 0.;., DaGradi
OOliced thJt little o ld ladies tend to wear their hat' flat
On top of Iheir head • . He made ",me drawings show_
ing them as e Uler. mol'<: win !iOme . more appealing .
Our drawings had been 100 Sirong and heavy . Now
Don sUgg<'s ted!hey eoukl be filmier . more like maiden
- j
f
l
 ,
:;y "
\ (I \
,~--
, ~
- - ,.. - '~N~- ,

aunlS. smelling of lav~nd~r . Suddenl y il ~ II ''', ,_

get her. The.., fai ries were cCrl Dinly 00 mJIcl!
Malefoe<:n1. bul still (MY feh they had to try.
"good" all the way through , bul enlcnaininsJpll.
They helped 10 tell IIIe SIOf)' in a fresh and
ing way. adding imaginalion and warmth.
CIlan.LICrs llavc been ·'found .·· il i
/'
~.
of the story a~ an)'lhing btn a I
,,~) Wilh them i",IOOed. i! tJ«ome5 a

~ (
_ /
" ,
I
something Ih31 h3ppen;;
~udienoe know. Th<:y are tO~:;":;'~"":'~"i" :-;
j
;n,crested and. suddenly. ;ovol v.:<l. A~
;::.~
lhe
,,-') )
\. \0/ .
~

" ,
r:0~
"
j.

:W: 1'IIom.u.
M'''J...~al;'·
, \,-,:y
-ncf
.~
·.twI ......"'h
'" ;, <"t1""",.
, /~
,
,/ " <'F
- .,\
," . -
"
N,">..."ftlIA~r anJ Flora
"""I. r"r~ ",h.r ~'ilh
#ItlJ k ,
I dW3Cter growl>. iroc:"itably it .... iII influence the dc~d·
~n1 of lhe story. and that in lurn influence~ the
tlluacttr'1i ~13tionship to others. The ~tory is 00""
b«ominl alai.! aboul specifIC characlers: .... hal they
chilli; and dttidr to do tkltrmiroc:s ""hat .... ill happen
and !he ""y it ,,-ill happen .
Chanoeltr ~Ialion,hips nlust be built slowly and
carefully through aclions. t~P"'ssion • . and emOl ionli .
Ottlsionally there will be oTIC key scene thai clearly
-
cst3bli~hes all that is needed. but more onen the.., will
ha"c 10 be: ""'ny SCCnQ. tach CQIIlribuling a liny bit 10
lhe o"crall altitudes. An elus ive soensalion of warmlh.
of unspoken aff~ion. o f ~n\liTIC ror><Xm be:1" 'een ~ Bil/PHI-
IwocharaclCfS may take more Ih:ln one sequence be:f~ The Ju"," 800It
the audienu , ha"" the redings. You cannot <;:()Union
ils corninG off or be:ing lhe~, bul you Iry and Iry und
il i. in all of yOUr thinking : somehow. when yOU are do,.,mind 10 ,«
donee . the feeling is thc~ .
This " 'I S panicularly evident in the c haracters of
8 al00 and Mowgl; in TM }IIIlII, Book. and l1WIyof
lhe intangibles of accomplishing this kind o f r,,jalion.
ship b«onlC appa",nt as Wt look bac k on the dilcm-
ma, In the early stagcs. the story was all about the
-
"",-,,-
-
A .1r<HIg'M'illro u~d ,/"" .
.,o'nro MO~'lili T~li;'tus
dospl""uT( "t lIalih~~m' s
(fito'd.", ,
fl3nther Bagheera and the trouble, he had getling Ihe
yoong boy Mo ..... gli out of Ihe jungic and back to the
manvillage, Each of the animals Ihey met along the
~" )" reflected a different philo'i-Qphy. and Baloo. the
ea»'going ocar ...... as Ihere to show Ihe slo"enly life-
.\I),le Ihal i, po"ible when one is Slrong and can eal
all)lhing .
Uagh«ra had to oc ,-ery ..... ise. orderly. and faslidi·
OIlS. which made him ralher sluffy. Those lraits are
... ilher endearing nor inte","ing. and al this siage he
~"3S admitted ly dull. I~ is primary relalionship was with
Mowgli. whom we Ihoughl of as a tenaciou, kid of
Ie'''" 10 Iwet-'e. confident but not smart-alecky- a
)'oong Tanan who could lurn 001 to be greal. if he
lired!
Mowgli had no inlenlion of leaving lhe jungle and
became obslinale . Baghc..,ra'. patience wa, at an end.
ill .fter 0"" final di"greenlenl he g3\'c up and left,
The boy. li ke any kid who has wOn an argument he did
noI. ""am in Ihe firsl place. was disconsolate. slill a
litl le annoyed. and ,"cry lonely , He had his independ-
(lICe. 001 no friendS .
11 ",'a, imponant at this poinl 10 build sympathy for
Mowgli . He had been unre~sonablc. bot he was young
ml i""xpericnced. and we r>eeded audience identifica-
lion with hi s f""hng.~ of rejection. II s«med beller if
he did no slrong acling or emoling. We fell we CO\Ild
ponray his feeling' bener by IIs;ng mo"ly long shOl~
and fealuring only kidlike aClions such as kicking a
rock. Ihro""ing a Slick. climbing a boulder, sliding
down a tree-all th;ngs he ord inarily would De do;ng
playful ly. bul now is do;ng aimlessly . We fel! Ihat this
approach portrayed a loneo;ome liuie boy on the screen
beller Ihan any complex. close-up acling scenes ""wid
have done,
I! was at this point Ihat lhe big-heaned. slow_lhinking
aaloo entered Ihe piCiure. singing' 'Dooocy·do-doo.
it's all so easy .... " He wa, a standard diamond-in·
lhe-rough character. big and sirong. and someone who
could play righl inlo Ihe boy's predicament. being
eilher comfoning. threatening. 'illy. or friendly. de·
pending on whal worked besl fur us . I! was I;me 10 slart
lesling vo;ce, .
The panel that listened and judged consisled of Ihe
direelor. Iwo siorylllen, and Iwo supervising anima-
lOTS. W;th the very first actor ""e reali~d thai our ocar
waS 100 old-fashioned, 100 much like other bears ,,"'I'
had done. too ordinary , We tried changing him 10 a
sort of Ed Wynll-ilulhorily wilh a comic Iwist. We
lested Some exchange studems from India to s« if we
could get a voice wilh a special QualilY indigenous 10
Ihal area. None of Ihese gave us any kind of characler
we could <;ee when we closed our eyes and lislened.
Finally we found. funn y voice Ihat made a son of
bungling. confused ocar out of Baloo. and we were
trying 10 develop Ihal Ihoughl when Walt suggested
Phil I-Iarr;. for the pan.
Phil had ocen associated more wilh nighl clubs than
Ihe jungle. so we ""ere surprised and he was stun""d .
I-Ie explained ... I don'l do voices: I waSn'l so good al ".'t,.._ Olli. Jolt",,,
reading to my lwo daughlers ""hen Ihey " 'Cre linle." An a'gu,"~nt ~'''iI B
BUI ""I' gOl him 10 corne in and go through a few Ii"", iluT'(J lrows M",,-'gl; "I'
H. ,Iw~'s hi. jr#jn8' I
in spile of his obvious discomfort . finally he backed !id·/o'kr grlt.'rJ ""
up and ,aid ... [ can' I aclJike a bear_and. hesides. [ Ilw. dramatic acton,
 don' t do that doobey-doo stuff ." We asked how he
,,'OU1d del i,'cr the line~ if he could do it hi ~ own way_
lie grinned at the script I l1\()ment. lhen threw IxIck hi s
head and shook the St3ge with 3n infeeti""s. rhythmic
chant . " Well it 's a doobcy-do-doo: ~s. it"s adoobcy-
do-doo; I mean a . . . . " Immediately we had Ich3BCtn,
As we warmed up to thi s new 8alO(!, Phil began to
sec nlen pos$ibilities himse lf and became relued and
exc ited by the end of the day. But bef.,.., he left the
r«ording session. he began to thin~ Ihal Ihi s new
nsociation wilh the Dis tlCY studio mighl be hard for
his f/lends and f~mily 10 undcrswnd . lie asked . "C~n
I have a ~~'PY of " 'hal I','e reoorded loday? O'llIC""'isc
Alice Ihi . wife is AliC<' f lyc l will never belie ve nll)'."
Once Baloo had become a detinite individual. he
was so enten.ining il was imp<»Sibk l<) k«p hi m out
Q( the rest of the I'io:ture . In>tead IIf the litlle came<)
pan Ihat had Ilecn planned. he was built into Ihe "ury
n1OI'e and I1lI)TI: unlil he was lhe main furce Ihal made
it ,,-ort: _Phil IliIlTis' s performantt added sincerity in a
rolorful chantcter that gave new inlereSt 10 everything
he did. bill. most impon anl. Ihi~ hear suddenly had
""at warmth . something thoc picture had needed . Nunc
of thoc otber "<liees ,"'e t~ed or lhe jICfSOIlalilics ,,-e
considered ,,'ool d ha,'c (0011)' this. Baloo might h~~ re-
mained a camco hecausc he woold not have bo:t:n ,trong
enough (If imponant enough to u§C in more Ihan one
place . and lhe story woo!d have been quite diffCfl'nl,
While il may take a few minUle~ for an audience 10
disassociate thoc visual int:lllC of a well -known performer
from his role in lhe fil m . the gain in ehancler de,..,I-
I.>pf1I/lnl is immeas urable , In Ihe scrond and third
n:leascs. years later. tu audience~ who re~lIy had !IOI
koown Phil lIarTi s lhl'Qllgh radio or movie roles. Tit"
d~. )11"1/" 8001: has proved to be increasi ngly popular. II
is obvious that having e~lablished the c hilr.lC.er and
<JI fUdy 10
,;th t~ affa. used il in the best way is fur more imponanl Ih an how
wetl- known the voic(: Ullent might be: al the lime . In
PitlO«ltio. ,,'e used Chff Ed wards. top
o f the Ihinks. Wal'eT Ca. len. popular
bo.h stage and sen,en. as well a, Chri Sl,an Rub. I'
Venable. and Charles J udel~allwcll-k l.o'.... n I
patrons of that lime . The Iype o f lalem IIw can g"~
you the eharacleri7_.1I1on y"" ntttl almost al"'Iy. ,,'.11
he well -k nown in his f)w n field. unless he ;, ver.,.
)'oong 1lI'. that exlremely rare item. a "ala".1.
When Walt heard 1't1it'~.cst .rack he Io,~ it. e-\'ta
to the point of staning to OCI "'" how the bear wwld
first ..~'")C d3roc: ing intu Mo " 'g li' s !>ct:11I)', llIesc rll:I'
dimensiuns Wal. was Stto"l bet:au~ of I'hir~ voict
naturally affected the al'l"',rancc or llalno , We bcpa
10 d':ow ~1I indi vidual.
As "'e talk",] aboul .h is roc:w c haracler in our piC'
. ure. we tricd tf) gel inside him. to koow him ~".ID
Undersland ,,-hat he miShl 00. If he ,,'ere lJI anI_lor.
what kind of a guy woold lI aloo be? If you came InIO
hh room. whal wootd i. be like'! He probabty .. ou\d
be: silling there " ·' th his f«. up on hii desk and lood
all nver the plaC<'. crumbs and roff« stains all nl"a hoi
dr~wing, . l'n.>babJy he w()U Jd have hi~ nlOOlh full 01
foooJ whocn he grttlS you: "Come on in and ,itoo.._
take fi,..,.·· The trouble is . •here is no !'lace to sil S.
sonll)'how Ihi s diw.>rdcr is t>O! as boid as il fi~ ~rned.
bet:allSC you immediately like Ihis individual and)<ll
fcd good whit( you are around him . He isa flft .....
",'arm and friendly. and ~eeping every.h'ng in ooIn- is
j usl no! ;mportanl 10 him . Life is s imple and Ihing5ft
solvC<.! in a simple "" ay . lie would be ralilc-r Cal,!, to
trick or dc<;ei~ because we 1hink o f him as bnIt
gullible-gullible mainly bttause he likes people 10
much that it would not OCC ur to him not 10 U\lM tilt,.
He would be impulsh·e . If somelhing pupped In10 Ita
head that he woold like to 00. he would do it. IIt\'II
con,Kkring Ih •• ;. might no! work out.
M os l of all. he would lo"e sensual plc~"rt$­
CI. ing. or m'el'1:'I'ng. and singing. Whocn ;"" ...., . I
Phil Harris you Ihin~ of rhythm arK! finger-snapping
and /OOVing 10 the be:al . and Ihat is the kirK! of thing
Wallwn looking for ""hen he s h"".,ed us how the be:ar
"""'kI dance . Then scralching-Ihal has gOi 10 be: a
bi& pan of his life .
Sooa ..~ foWled seeing how Ihis new Baloo ...·QUId
IIdp lIS wilh Baglittra , too. What could work be:n~r
.1Ih I f~ spirit Ihan a slUffy. disapproving straight
JIWI?The IooI;o:r the be:ar gOi the more entertaining lhe
parnher became . So we stanM building on Ba~era
again IJId won<kred what he would be like if he were
ill! animalor or perhaps a Moryman . lI is room would
~ nc:1I lIS a pin wilh every pt:ncil sharpencd and all
laid 001 in ni« row, according 10 color arK! length.
Paptr IJId pads would be: neally Slacked. and there
"""'kI 1M: no food any .... herc--just a bottle of anlacid
piII$ lOll the wlf. He ""ould be: friendly. bul m;e,."ed .
\\"lIm "'1: were ~UR: e"""'gh of our cast of charac·
m. "1: came back 10 lhe scene where Baloo arK!
."""'·eli til)! m«1 ~ .\.IlIned crealing the crucial rell'
IIIlILWp be1"un lhem . Ho w ...·ill they rellCl to each
other? Wililhe boy be: . fraid of this big guy ? He is.
«lIrlIKCOOS yoongsttr. bul he is slill upsel from his
orgwntnt and Mill is trying 10 son things 001 in his
onnd, When lhe bear tal k~ 10 him. we decide Mowgli
.ill uke a swing at him . I~e is 100 nai"e 10 ~now any
!tdlt!. and at Ihis point he wants 10 be left alone ,
How <loot 8al00 react to this lin le squin hilling
lim? Is he SOIl' about il? No. InSlinctively he takes .
compIcu:ly opposile point o f view . "This kid needs
1Idp. 1k·1I get himsd f killed s winging at big guys l i~e
_ of I don 'l help him ."' This isn ' l a mental problem:
it IS PUftly physkal and right up "'" hears alley .
IOJIrrsr FroM TIJomos.
Mo,.,,1i aM 8a/00 fi lld Q"
~mply plQ~ in 'Qd.o'h~, ' s
lif~. This h./pM produa
•,;oMhip'
m. I>{ ,h. " ...
'm'm~" ,,'ao
hG>'~ "'~r
achi~y . d .
We had animOled about 35 or 40 feet of Mowgli and
Ihloo for a tt~1 when Walt SIoIW it arK! uid. " This be:ar
i$ ma",elous-we've goI lO keep him in the pK:tUR: ."
Phil Iiams came bac~ for a KWnd n:c:ordi,.. iinSion.
and ,.'e sho ...·ed him Ihis animation . He $tared It il.
unbe:lieving: fut3l1y he lumeOlO liS Ind u id . " Gee.
this .... ill make me immortal . llle way you gu)'$ ani ·
mate n", I can do no wrong ." This piclU~ was 10 bring
him a ...·ho~ different group of fans. When he walked
do .... n the $1""'1. ~ids woold C<lme up and grab his
harK!s and ron al008 beside him calling him . •. B~Ioo ...
Everywhere they we re reaclingto his chal'llCiI'r JUSt as
Mowgli did. They loved him becaulie he came across
as a living Char.lCler on lhe SCn:en.
The relationship ~Iween these IWO be:gan 10 ha"
enormou~ possibi liti~s for .... armth. comedy . !,"thoi.
a rK! 5Uspensc . Thoey really needed each OIhe, . The bear
ne~r had a cub of his O,,'n and saw in Mowgli $Orne'
one he could teach the things he thought "'e~ inlpol"
lant . lbe dOl)' had bec:n grim wilh e~eryone again>!
the boy, and now he had a friend . BUI ,..lul l friend-
irresponsible. impuisi"e. thoughlless . The ludie~
knew lhe panlher was right in his concern for Mowgli"s
survival. bul they also could see lhe a~al of the bear
to Ihe boy. All the c haraclers had clear drives; lhey
were in conflici and they were enjoyable and provoca·
live .
In lhe firsl se:quence. " 'here lhe '''''0 have met. the
be:ar COillin""$ his ~s"""" and tncs to leach Mowgli 10
glO ...·I. Bagheera hears Baloo's roar. fears lhe wont is
haPP<'ning to MowgJi. and races back 10 help him . lie
is ~IIW 10 find that lhe boy has picked up wilh this
" jungle: bum:' Baloo tell. Bagheera thai the kid is
goj... \0 stay with him. and he will teach him all he
knows . Baglittra's sarcaslic response: is. " Thai won't
t.ke long ." ' lbe n:lationships among the Ihree m.in
characlers an: be:ginning to dictate lhe way the situa·
tions will play OUI and what the dialogue should be .
The second sequence has an entirely different flavor
becau5C it is all done 10 prc scon:d musk wllh lhe
characlers moving in sync 10 e vcry be:at. aclually danc·
ing their way through "'" song. Eve n the 5eCondary
a<:liom an: pul on "'" be:at as much as po6Sible . since
this always COIl\"e)'$ a happy. e xuherant fffl ing that
can be achie"ed in no OIher w'y ,
Through Ihis seq uence . MO"'glt .....allv I. II) In& 10
 hack that sets him off. but whatever it is Oaloo f",1s
the urge to be .scratched. " Hey, Mowgli. oowabout
$I;r.Itehi n' that old left moulder?" Mowgli <Ioe$ ..
best. scratching higher and lower and all 0YCf thc~.
btll this is just a tcllSCr for Oaloo. " This call s for IOI'I'Ie
reol scratchin· .· · He finds I very rough·looItini paino
tree and has at it , The more: he scratches the mtIft
franlic he gct.s-hi s eyes become glazed-he no IQrIp
tp/oudiff'"
>0 mi&ht WI · is in control of what he does. Finally he slides e~1IMIed
<shi. ~'I' 10 into the water, and he ~nd Mowgl; Jl:prisc the SOl(
together in a s low tempo as they drift dow~lltI.
At one point during Balon' s scratching. he upooII
the tree and scratche$ his back with it. The dirlaor
decided we needed some mus ic to make the trod WIll"
port th is ~nd add to the excitement of the pktUl't, lit
called in f"ur mu siciun J- piano . drums. N.'\S, II1II
lrumpet. While the y " 'ere ad libbing to a sect!!,,,t cl
. 'The Bare Necessities," the trumpel phlytr, C"""
~wis. was asked to gel ~ of whllt the hear ...
r«ling-~ frenzy- to gCt the feeling that tho bow
could not stop if he wanled to! Cappy finally £01-
thing we alllil,,:d . a really dassic piece of i~
trumpet playing . As a rmmer of fae! it -:~':,:::
~II that we decilkd to ~prisc it exactly at
the picIUn:. This would send Ihe alldientt OUt
big lift. Danny Alguin:. the "'."m'''~"'''. '~"""
to have a musician transcril>c it note fOf note.

mimic OaJoo. Thi, naUo:n the bear and gives the feel ·
ing thai they a~ ~sponding to the same vibrations .
which adds to the closoefle$$ beno.'een them . They could
not feel bettcT about each ~her or themselves at this
-
musical director George Bruns inserted it

'The time came to do the final rtCOldi"l

seclion, with lhe same trumpet player and the WIl!
lib solo all nicely written OUt for him . He
il.",.,
r••

moment it- looked closer- blew a couple

Oaloo drops down on all fours as he finishes the hi s horn and shook his head . The phrdsing was
lyrics and Mowgli hops up on his hack. J>crh~ps Mow. him . He looked up al Bruns and said. "',~::;,:;,
gli accidenta lly touches a sensitive spot on Oaloo' lIi play this!" or course. he did play it. and

. /oJuuIOtl .
<lI1y. Bal""
ojJ a"... '"
Ih. I~M",b ·
p'-;"g I ,piri. of e1ubn'anc:e and vi.alily lO.he ending
of.he pic.ure .
8)' thi~ . im<" .he bear and .he boy haoJ \.Ic'dopw a
00"'1. iOIJ>ething 11m grew out of all .he lhings lhey
had tftn doing togeiller . !lit by bit lhey had opened
_ir hem) 10 ~3Ch OIher and there " 'as a rt'al f«hng
oflruM belween Ihem. Thi s w"' whal w~ had hoped
we ...~rt' geuing. becauS<' il " -as !iO vital 10 lhe Mxt
wqut~ " 'hen: their friend'hip ,,-ould be ItMtd. on a
differenl way. by eac h uf them _
MO'fI'aJi is kidnapped by the monkeys , a big fight
~. and Baloo and Bagheera gel him back. Then
oomes a dimeull all-dialogue Sl:elion belw«n the pan_
thtr and lhe bear ..-here Baloo is finally con\"inced that
fQlIhc boy"~ own good he mU_'1 go baek 10 Ihe man·
.dlall". Bill even though 8 aloo is eo.wincw. he f«ls
~ u,"ure of himself. ·· Well. un't it Wlil till m(!m-
InIT' he pleads. bul Sagheera ans"·crs •. '11" morning
_ .... " Baloo $llrn IOward the: s leeping MowgH.
bnitales. and Bagheera has 10 urge him unce 1\"KII"e.
" ... SO on. 8aI00 . ··
Before .he animator slaned on Ihi, !if!Ction"he wrOle
do.m.1I his f«lings aboUI Ihe Siluslion and Itw. char-
1ICIm.1O elear il up in his own mind . Ii is e~y 10 get
bI ;" uying 10 do 100 many .hings when you are
lllill\ljling if you are not s ure of whal your main Slatc-
_ is JOing 10 be . By ,,-, iling cvel)·. hing do",n fim.
)'001" mind bcwmes organ;ud. chan ... led in.o jusl whal
}'W .... nllO do. You can always change your mind if
.. is not working. bul i. does give you • stan and.
dlltClion .
lkn: is ..-hal the animator " -rOle :'
gcOl.Urt's IS he searches for an Kka . If he is 100
nervou s. or h.u 100 m~ny e~ ~nion5. he becOl'{cS
excited. Cf evasive. Cf even overly dcspcra!e . Our
brar is despenue. bul he is not excitable orevas;ve.
He i5 a simple. direcl characler ,,'110 meets every·
thing hcad-<>n . Hc i. used 10 senling hi, problems
wilh physical force and Ihi s ~dkamc:nl is n:ally
Itcyond him . He is tOO honeot to be evasive and too
simple to ha\"e a complicaled thoughl process. He
should be desolate and lost. yel his lo\"c fCf the boy
is w genuine lhal he cannot walk away from the
problem,
So what docs lhe bear do? Whal kind of acting will
show lhese inner feelings in drawin~'1 The best way
10 501"Ilhi. OUI would be 10 make Ihumbnail dr,a",ings
of differt'nl Ihing~ he mighl do . They musl be acling
symbol s thaI are in ehanoo:;ter and arc e~ily idcnlir.w
by lhe audience: . Baloo is in way over his head. bul he
is .rying very hard 10 Ihink of somc.IChin&'"
__ Can
_ "yor
f/fl

Thm ;/Iould be an aimltss feeling.o Baloo' , walk •

• • huddled f«ling. in contrasl 10 his nornu.l
e.pansive. confident manner . He has nervous vague
AMm, FrruIk nooma..

_Ill
1M ""illlOior U(Jrc#W. lor
JJNdlk acrion. rhar ",ill
JItowBaloo·,III/V'
OS It#: ~• .., 1~1I Mow,l;
It#: mllSf I......., rlt#: jwIr/'.

, .r . 7" l_· ~ r

.'
A",JMrotI Fra"k Thomas.
~ lIu.",bMil. b«om, a
S«1W ,IIa, odds a ~ .. .Ii·
........ iooIIOBa/oo·. cll/J,.... ·
~.

"
 00 paJXr. None of il is pos.s,ble. OOwc:veT. ,fthe an
hllS failed to develop the Cllal1l<,:lCn 10 the poinl whm
!heir llloughts and lheir aclions seem naMal and belin·
able . II eannot be achieved mechanically. or by oop)"
ing. or by wishfullhinking. bul ooly by comf..1build.
up. understanding. and a love for the chlU"aC"krs.
This fIOw.rful bond belween Ba1()() and Mowgli_
lhe ingredient Ihal held lhe piclure logcdlCl and midi:
lhe audience can: . II also enabled US 10 build twO
Spc:<".at 5equenee. al the end tllat nc~r wukl ba",
h«n sustained olherwise. Mowgli· . ertlOlioos .. lItn
he bdieves the bear i. dead WOtlld OIh."wi~ ba",

\ "
dC) . lie can pull hit ear. rub his arm, look around him
been JNoolin. and lhe billen ...·ttl fan:wc:II . .."bert dw:
lure of his own kind is If''aler than his 10>-. for IllS
fricod. would never Mve becn convincing Of sati>f);",
for help, rub his nose or h;'_ j~w. ~niff. KllIlCh his ~~ In coding. II was Wah ""00 asked lh31lhc roy JO
neck. or roll his C)'Cli. Anyone ofthnc is in clunoctcr inlO !he village through hi~ own choice rather "'""
for him. bul he cannot 00 .hem all . Does he move into because the aRomals knew il ""as the nght pIICt fa'
(his Kllon or is he already in il al lhe sian of the him . Jt gaV1: lhe IICCessary light touch 10 cod !be pe.
s«nc1 l1ow much ""l"cmcm will there be within this ture on a happy nole.
pose or .Uilude? Bow long ....·ill be rub his neck or how Tire J""gl~ 8oo1e was the fir>.! picture Ifler S-
much .,"'" will it \.like 10 mil his c~s or do "h.:ucvcr Whir<, 10 have the JXrsonalilies and feehngs 01 tilt
action has ~n chosen? chan>etel"$ $(I dominanl. The audience undtrslOOd'-
As lhe lJor,ar agoniUIi OVer Ihis problem, the a<;ling characlen and idt:nlified with whal each was "Y',",,"
oflile boy bttomcs vcry clUCia!. Wilh 00 idea Illal the do. Every 5eqllCoce g3v<, ne .... opponunilies t05ee.
bear c"en has a pn:>bIem. he is running all 0"." the fattts of lhe JXlWIIalilies . And <,ven though ~ ...
place. h<lppyand unable 10 senle do"'II. If the boy very lillk Slory a~ suc h. these characler re~
",QUid JUSt stand still and lislen IQ 8al00 il would be and interesting JXI"Wnalities m;><.le Ihis lhe 11>($ sot·
difficult ell()\lgh. oollhe facllh~l Mowgli is KI ucited ~dul canoon up to that timc in our hiMOf)'.
about [he day they ~ going 10 sl"'oo wgcthcr just
makes Baloo', problem impo:Mlble .
Baloo instinclively rulil.es lhat their relationship is
different from anything he has had before. They have
UlIsled each ocher. and he is afraid thalillis will end il
all. 0111 !he righl ...·oms jllS! ", ill noI c;omc 10 lIim .
Finally he has 10 1IS1: force 10 m~ke MO"'Bli lislen. He
Brabs him and blun. out whal he has to say' "1've got
10 lake you back 10 the manvillaBe!"
MowgJi al firSi 's unbelievina:. Then. heanbroken.
he pulls away and runs off inlO the ...·ood~ . • te has
b«n belrayed by lhe one frktw.l he loved lhe most.
Thc:!iC are the momcnls lhal live ...·i tll an audience.
mai:inB lhe film ~ Ihanjust a canoon atw.llhe char-
acter! more Illan JUst dra ... ongs . T1ley ate al"" lhe
moments thai offer the grealesl opponunities for mcm-
orable perfOml~nceS to ""Ion. whether live or created
Costumes
Tho: ""Ioe of lhe: CQl>IUmc in crcaling a Jll'rsonalily
cannoI Ix Qvcrcslimaled. In addition 10 lhe obvioos
()t appeal 0( the: col()f and de. ign. lhe: specific a"icles
IIw the cilara<;ler " 'cars m~kc him a sp«ific individ •
.... The anirT1lll()f can become uciled by lhe possi·
bilities forcaricamre a nd movcmem in lhe: malcrials of
I diffen:m kind of 1ppan'1. bul. mosl of all. cycry<lIlc
~ Iilimulale<! by the personalilY Irdib and cartoon bu.i·
KSl IlOOII that It.. cl\anc1Cr is becoming $0 definite .
Wlltn o.arlic Cllaplin firsl wcnl 10 lhe Mack S<:nncu
Studios. t.. was Ioid 10 pul 00 a comedy makcup . Al
lilt momenl. he had 00 idea whal he w(MIld pul On.
"However. on lhe w~y 10 the wardrobe I IhoIlght I
would dreu in bloW I"'nls. big shots. a une and a
derby hat ," he ~aid . " 1 wanted everYlhing ~ conUlI·
diction . Remcmlxri"g Scnroe1! Md upected me to bo
a much older man, I added a small moustache ,,·hich .
I reasoned, " 'o,lId add a~ " ';Ihout hid,n~ my upru·
,~
" 1 had 00 idea of ,he: ch;,~lcr . bul lhe fflOII"ICnC I
waS drc..cd. the dOl"". and lho: makeup made me feci
lhe pcrson he wa., I bogan 10 kl\Ow hIm . and by lhe
limoo: I walked on lhe 'Iage he: was fully born . When I
confmmed S<:nnen I assumoo:d lhe cha.....,l~r and !;Inoue<!
about, .winging n,y cane ano.! I"'rading before him
Gag~ and comedy ideas wem racing through "'y ",;nd.)
 The Appealing Villain
\lIlalllS are usually the most fun of all characters 10
On'riop, ~ause the y make everything else happen.
1'Ity are !be instigators. and. as Chaplin has pointed
•. aI,,'1IYS moll' roIorful than the hom. llw:y may be
~ic. a",csomc. insidious. or sc:micomic. 001 inev_
iI.IbIy lbey will he rich in unusual personality trails.
E.~n before we know for sure how We wanl them 10
bit, .... know the: role they a.e 10 pia)' in the Mary
lid are fairly wn: of the effect We ...·anllhem 10 )",,'<:
.. !he aooieocc . Which brings up the big question:
jItl.I !>ow KaT)' shou ld our villain~ be' Do We gain
alnUin.menl by scaring anyone here? Is il a quick.
ldbIiII, scare that is soon 0",', or. deq>. abiding
fur? Ahtlm'l any Siory becomes innocuous if all the
f\'il is eliminated. hut we do nOl necessarily gain
lIml&Ih merely by being frightening. We IT)' 10 find a
mnner!hat " 'ill hold an audience and entertain an
~,"''<:II if il is a chilling type of enterui"mcm.
1k tiger Shere K han in Th" JIIT/glt Book cou ld
Ito( ~n a vicioo" snarling , ill , tempe~ Ixut . Tile
ImIH could have been planned 50 they we~ terrifying;
m aU, he " 'U out to kill the boy, and tllat was tt..
1IOO,'lttion of tile whole Story, But Wall kept asking,
"lie 's rIO! going to be the same old ,Iav~ring . growl-
iIrc III)' likc " 'e' "C al"'ays done , is t..?" We had not
6:tidrd just how [0 handle [hIS villain, bu[ now "" e
knew he WIS not going 10 be slavering and gro,,'ling,
TIM: llLOry called for Shere Khan LO Ix the "huvy" of
the jungle. He had to Ix jlO,,·erful. utremely compe-
tCnt , and feared by e "eryone , Bu[ be)-ond [hal he could
be sneaky or aggrenive, ~hel1ling or direct . belliger·
cnt, unpredictable. bragging. or reserve<!, It depended
on what worke<! best with our OIher characlCrs. and
" 'hat " 'ould give uS the bcu opportunities for l[[illde$
and IICtions in anima[ion . As one of the crew wg·
gested, "What if he ' ~ 5<) wnlident and invincible that
lie doesn't have LO prove anything to anybody? Like
a really tough gangster who I>C'ver has to shoot or
throw hi, ..,.,igtM around LO ,how " 'ho he is-everyone
knows!" Ho,,'Cver. we wanted nlOl'C d an and favored
an aristocratic. "'gal monarch, SO we made some draw·
inp of a tiger reminilCent o f Basil Rathbone . We
"'-ere dc'-eloping a villain ""00 had only disdain for his
vktims and " 'ho ,,'as confidcm to the point of being
art'OI!an1. This was getting Ixttcr! In fact, C011«il would
be a good t",it. s ince he had to be dcfuted somehow
by our hero. or combination of heroes. Ne~nheless,
by the time we were ready 10 record a vni« . ..,., fell
that the imellcctual ",finc:mem inherent in a voice like Bill Pm',
R~thbone' . would no longer be quile right , We found
the perfCCt combination of trail. in the voice of George
Sanders, He " 'as the ullquc!otioned king of the jungle.
 .. "
,•
, SQme c realures, Ihis secms impossible . Whal iflte
I.
I bining the elcmcnts and principles ""e have disawet
a competent. inteliigent . conceited Itiller " 'ho never
had 10 ~Iaver, or growl ~
In 101 DO/millions. the same type of decision was
matlc in determining how bmad the villain could be
w'choul upsetting the Story conccpl. No onoc: ever
doubced thaI Cruella deVi' actually would skin those
puppies. yet lhis did r>Ot keep he r (rom being a wild.
fa!ICinaling figu~ who could gel laughs . In oonlraolt,
It.:: queen in S,."... Wllilr had 10 be cold. ruthless.
mean. and dramatic. N~hing would be gained by dc-
""'oping her personality any further or by Icuing the
audienc<: di9;Qver her weune»e:i_ U ke a Slukespear-
can rTIOIlaJt:h . she: had 10 be regal and beyond lhe reach
of common people. "The whole illusion would have
been destroyed if she had s lipped on the stairs as she
swep! dQwn to her dungeon .
Cafllai" Hook in PrIer PM, on the Qlher hand. was
his most entenaining when he lost all dignity and con-
lrot, as he tried to gel aw~y from the crocodile. Yet
llIis ne"", ~akened his relationship 10 Peler Pan. as
dlher menace or advcnary. Admiuedly, ""Ier Pan
wlS intrinsically in~ indblt, and ~ny foe was fore-
doomed 10 f.ilure. so there was lillie point in =Iricting
O\II"$CI""" to pc:rsonalilKs who were only threatening
or ~illainou, .
II is easy 10 see oow a comic villain can br
and a dramatic onc Ii . but a mOre diffICult
lengc arises .... hen the
visually diSlulbing, In addilion to the normal
of making him or her convincing
lhere is the increased burden of designing
an« in a way not only KCeJ!lable 1101 IIj¥aling.
OUI appeal. no one ""iII respond CnouglllO ;"'.1
involved .... ilh cither the c haracler or lhe 51"'Y.
supposed to be revollin,? Fearsomc:? Lo"h~" 1
WIuoI if he i5 • snakc? 1$ il I",..ible 10 rrW~
~ppc:aling?
tWOIn villains
the following pages 0111
who star1C(\ ~~~~::::;I
wc lrolCe
physically
yet lhey grew 10 be among our roosl
lovable?) characlers . This was accomplished by"",,"
ioIOI"Y. charxler dcvelopmellI. «,~""w ~.., . •.•'1
emotions. l1Icre wcre dark days of doubt. and IIlOIIIi
disappointments than nee<J be mentioned . but e~
aJly • " 'oy WIS found to mxe them Ippulin, ne
creative mind al"'ays " 'ill find a way 10 do tilt _
im~sible assignmcnlS, given the opportunily lIId tie
Slimulation .
Kaa
There is definitely something ~ry disturbing lIId
ting about seeing a s nake . When the
U"j"ll Ducrr wilh engrossi ng
raulesnakc at work. an exhibitor in the ca.<;l
relcase tbe picture . Hc claimed thai c"ery
the audience wOlild leave lhe theater
would be OUI of business . Snxes may
crealures. bul it is hard to love lhem or build
em5Why for them. Bill Pe.eI . one ofourbetlCf"''''
IIId tried to sell Walt on • story .... ith I snake Zj
chancIer for a propaganda fitm during ,~ ••. II
evcn Walt had shied away from the idea,
Few artists had ever ~lIcmplCd 10 do • -.:
animalion. for how can you gel any
ture that has no shou ldcl"li. arms. or /uln<.b?
there had been tokcn snakes i
and there WU I small sequcn« in
made in 1933. where a s ly , capricious

s",,\I.e ~"s:
Tuq r OJ't ' "
JiJ
c~ure a small bird Ihal ha<.l been pecking al his M·
des. This gave a fluncr of eXcilememlo Ihe film an<.l a
oouple of quick gags Ihal prove<.l Ihis panicular bird
'1$ brighl and quick and a polemial hero , bUI lhe
illHe gOlIl() '.lVeS from anybody_
When lhe decision was ma<.le 10 <.10 Th~ ""'git'8ook,
i ":as obv;o,," Ihal Ihe greal .nake Kaa should De one
of !he charOClcn; in (he film, even lhough we had
ehminale<.l many seclions of Ihe original nalr~live,
lllben lhe SlOf')' work was begun, il was believed Ihal
!bemai. poIenlial for animation lay in Ihe relalionship
of !he boy Mowgli 10 Ihe animals of lhe jungle. A
snake would eSlablish lhe variely of dangers Ihal lurk
in lhe foresl and enrich lhe piclure wilh an exotic
characler, while ,oowing Ihal none of Ihe animals had
any respeci or concern for Ihe boy and (hal he had no
frien<.ls 10 help him , Only Bagl>eera. Ihe black p"nlher.
fell a responsibihly 10 Stt Mowgli safely oul of lhe
jungle, and early in Iheir joumey lhe IWO had been
forced 10 climb a Ire<: 10 avoid lhe mad charges of a
nearsighled rhino, Mowgli, laughing al lhe inepmess
of Ihe beasl below, failed 10 noeice anylhing Sirange
aboUI lhe vine upon which he was sining. Bill Peel'.
script conl;nues:
II is a giam pylhon and while Ihey've been lalking,
Ihe big snake has quielly arrange<.l a few of his large
coils around lhe boy until he is wrapped like a mum_
my, and Kaa is about 10 put on Ihe big squeeze
when lhe panther spOls him , "Hold it. Kaa! Hold
il!" And Ihe pylhon he.ilales, "A frknd of yours?"
he asks polilely. "Indeed no," replies Bagheera,
"merely trying 10 save you from a very long caseQf
indigeSiion. Thi s miserable mancub is so spoile<.l he
wouldn't be a fil meal for even Ishtar Ihe buzzard,"
The python studies the boy with his hypOOIic beady
eyes for a mmnem, Ihen draws bac k in disgust.
"Ugh' I lICe what you mean!" and he makes a SOUr
face, 'Tlllal<e toa<.l5 and lizard s any day," and he
glides away, his endless body circling down lhe tree
Hunk 10 finally disappear in Ihe deniiC growlh far
below.
The firsl SlOry meeling broughl OUI n,any new ideas ,
Wall fell there should be somelhing more between the
sna ke and Ihe panlhcr. He sensed Ihal Ihis unusual
combinalion of characlers offered more Ihan we were
gelling, and he kepi digging for more of a .ilUaiion,
"How aboul Bagheera hilling Kaa 10 SlOp him from
eating the boy- what would Ihm do?" Would K...
resent il and sian afler Ihe panlher? One animal has
allacke<.llhe OIher in defense of a small boy, and as a
resull becomes Ihe polemial viclim himself. ~s Ihal
nol give us a real silualion?
l1le best ide~ 10 come OUI of Ihe meeting waS Ihll
when Kaa was hit by Ihe pamher he would release his
hQld on Mowgli, whQ would then begin pushing the
heavy body of the snake oUi oflhe tree while lbe head,
....
·~
several feel away . was busily engaged in lIypnoli,,ing with the", characters and wonder whallhey would 00
Idgittt'" MW
~, by climb· Bagheera , II was 1101 an act of heroism 10 save Bagheera ne~!.
• <lI 'hi' poinr but an innocent act of se lfish defiance: however. il The revised storyboards. severJl meetings laler. had
1RI~""n n"" worked very well, saving (lie panlher from cenain the snake drop inlo Ihe scene. unnoticed by Bagheera.
rd, rh. liaM
In IhiJ lim death and crippling Ihe s nake temporarily. ThaI way. look the boy OVer wilh CQJls ider~ble reli.\h. ar>d pru-
, in"odlKl;"" Mowgli .... ould become confident , rhe panther fruslral - ceed IQ wrap him up for dining . When Bagbttra &a'"
rh",' i$ wry ed. and Kaa compleldy humiliated. All three charac- "'hal wa;c happening. he hil Kaa full on lhe wide·.,pen
liily OJ! Kao
ters had definite business. clear mOlival;ons. and strong mouth. causing him 10 release the boy . Kaa', indig.
ewI"".",nlof
altitudes. We hoped Ihe audience would be int.i,,,,," nant response was. · ·Ooh. how dare you . Baghecra-
r' shook! roe"cr ha ve done Ihal! " and he Slaned d os-
III in on his IIh~ ,,·jlll hypna;c. C)'es. A$ Dagheer.i
Iried (0 k«p from look ing inlo those e)'e~. Mowgli
flUlhed tile snake off the li mb. ~nd 11M: fall nearly
~ K.... ·s head off_ He lalKkd in socII . Iang~
_ 0( coils thaI he was unable \0 straighten himsel f
~ ..-j 11-.110 en ",1 . ...·.r wilh his ""hole body jUlt
one hu~ knot. A ~loryman s UIIII<!sled the line. " 0-0-
(HH)/I, my crawler's broken!" We laughed . but did
IDI acupI it
8i11 ~ 's 510<)' .\.ketche$ of Kaa stKn.'cd a big.
povom-ul p)'I00n wilh a simplified drawing of the head,
\OIIich alleviated $OI11e of (ile unpleasantneSS many peo.
pk feel about n:pti~. bul he was slill very much a
Ir*I snake . Qtr;iously. he had to be. or the $(01)' w-ould
t llWl' ~ audience lIad 10 believe Ihal Kaa n:ally
, Id cal the buy unless solll<! lhing happened to Slop
m. Still. if we did our best \0 present a Il'~J ~nakc at
dis poilM. " "C ,",oold ~el lin le ~ Ihan Shudders
• di.. u~ .""ien.cc. The slOry situation would
IIOMroogcr. and it ce"ainl y would noI he any iliOn:
''!Iining . We slartoxl wOfldj,ring just how far we
10 £0 to prove that Kaa was n:al. and that liroe: of
in, kd liS to the big <t~st ion, "W}uot is enter·
·ning aboot ~ ~nake~'· We cou ld ~ think of much.
While the stor)' work continued to search for stronger
io.:::.r n:lationship<, the n:st o f us started ~udying
~ and tried diffen:nt ,,·.ys of drawing them . From
·in, our film of pythons, it wa, appan:nt that then:
several objectionable fcatun:5 of a sna ke : ( I) the
;oj that is an utens;on of the body in one long
: (2) the beady. unblinkinll eyes: (3) the slitherirq;
~nt. d"void of any appan:nt feelings: (4) lhe
daning tongue. As soon as we bent the hnd at right
.,.tes to the body, we avoided the first problcm . As
11'1 "l: ,a~ him large eyes, e""n silly Ping· Poog
WI eyes. "l: eliminated the beady look. and also gained
attitude that made hi m mon: inlcn:sting . Eyelids
p~ him a whol e ga mut of e ~pn:ssions unkno wn to
IqIIlJr snalr;e~. but ""'" animator insisted we wen: giv_
"kl "p 100 much of the n:al !make al tllis point . Kaa
00( have eyclids, and alway. should maintain
,Iassy Slare so distinctly I"I'pt ilian. BUI Ihe in' por_
ItIR of e~pIl:liSions for his pcrwna lity wOR OUt. and
~Iids Came back .
n.: 51itllering mll'l:ment became a matter of judg-
ment on each indi vidual 5«ne: we tried 10 put OVCf the
business ncce$$U)' to the 5«ne. but in the leaY objec_
lionable way . It would be wn)ng to give up tile slitller-
ing completely. we a ll agreed . We alliO kepi thedatting
tong"", l in<;c it did not Kem 10 bolhc:r anY""" QRtC
these ()(OO characteristics had been changed. Then:
wl5 even a small gag built around it. Ku, in Iookin.
over the boy. seemed 10 npn:ss glee wilh hi s daning
tong"". Mow.li. ~ing this. stuck his tong"" oul at
the snake 10 show his o " ·n feelings abool this inU\lOer.
"The final feature we emphasized was the big, blum
nQSC. Fw IiOme n:aliOn. !'Wple and cartoon Characters
an: !"lever considered to be mean or n:ally siniSler iF
they lIave big O()liCs. Comedians ha~ big noses.
Rcal snakes do noI ha'l: I«th and gums like I bear
Of a calor a man . Some have l"'lh. bul these are quit~
different from Ihose of mammals . s ince they an: 004
designed for chewing or tearing the food. The s.truc.
tun: of lhe inskk of the mouth is uniq~ 10 n:~ iks.
and the color o f lhe nesh is a~ to be I silky white . The
law i, hinged diffcn:ntJy , too. which w/)\lld make I
di fference in the way a snake ,,·ou ld t~lk- if he could
tal k . Howe""r. ""C decided 10 treat the jaw like I nor-
mal canoon ja w. the kind ..·c knew how to handle
wh<. n we were trying 10 draw convinc ing dialogue. but
we wanted the insid" of the mouth 10 be n:ptilian . That
meant more study and more: effort . but we felt tile
mults ..-ould gi~ strength 10 our clwactef.
Somehow ..·c failed to notify the color model peo-
pie of our brilliant decisions regarding Ku ·s I11O\Ilh.
IiO we felt complctely betrayed .... hen they suggested
the pIl:tty. pink mouth they put on a ll canOOll c~·
ters. We screamed that lhere !"Ie'·er had been a I'),bon
wilh a pink mout h. They asked wh y we hId not lIid
something bdOll: if il " ·as 50 important, and then then:
were some: accusations back and forth . Someone criti_
cized the lack of communication bctwttn departments,
and this was followed by the usual commonts about
anim3tOl"5 who think the y know everylhing . ·· Whars
the big d".1 with the mouth ? Show lhem some of our
n:al problems!'· Eventually Kaa ended up with •
s lightly tinted. ivory-rotored mouth. and a ~tudio party
al the compl etio n of the pictun:. once again. smoothed
tile ",rned n:lationl bel,,"ttn ~t least twodcpartments.
Some people wonder ..·hy " ·c go to such lengths to
kCt'p IiOntClh;ng o f the n:al animal in our pIl:scntalion .
llIere is cen~inly a lemplalion to fonso the ~tudy and
dfort needed to incorpor:ilte the animal' s anaIOfn)" and
!llO\'ements imo OUr dr.awon&~" But if we we~ 10 thl"O\O'
OUI thi' s peeial effon. " "c ,,"ould soon ha"c all the
animals loobng ali ~e. ~nd ""ne of them looking li ke
much of anything. As onc animator "'id. " Wh ~ do
youtl)' to make any dl1lwing good'} Yoo do it because
il look. bettcr~"
While lhe changes we had made in lhe neck and
e)'e~ had rid us of the mo,t nhjectionablt fcatures uf a
snake. ,,'c ....·erc tampering wilh lhe I~PC of prescnl~ '
tion Ih;jl would make Ku bl'lic vahk:. W~~ he ""gin_
ning 10 look 10" silly'! We~ we loslll' uur men:>ee?
lIad we given up .., much of the IoClual . nale thai we
no longer had the ~'urwiclion the slOry nccded'! we fell
the repul,ivc qualily had been "uC1."C"fu Il y eliminaled .
bo.u he was rar from 3ppc~l i ng. and possibly too weak
in appear-mce 10 put O''Cf the siory poonls We decided
it .....as IOIne 10 search for a \"(),"'. since lhe righlcoolri ·
OOlioo from an aclor could livc lhe ncede<J d'rcclion 10
funher refinements in our drawings.
We had dialogue wrinen thai seemed ngh! for 0lIl
particular snake. hul d~~ " '!IS silil a "ide I1lIlP' 01
inlerprellnon possible "hen " "c began te5un,. AI ..e
explained the story silualion 10 lhe voice l~k1l1S, II
hccame evidenl Ihal Kaa ",as sl,1I Miler oldonal)' and
obvious . He had 00 pefSOflalily quirks Ihal nude 111m
unique or inle~sling. 00 mJnncmms or ...... ys ofduli·
illS 111<01 made: h.m d'Slinclt,"c . Each ""lor "'"OIIki 1<:....
10 find some spedal qoalily . hut for the II1O!iI p.u1111
we got were a '~"(1y of hi~ses-Slnt'lcr hl<ses. \Oed..:-
1i"e hisses. hypno1i<: his""s. tomptlling hisses. SOlI..:
"'ked if K~a we~ a man Uf ~ wo'''an ....·as he or oW
mean. cooce.tw. playful. VlOOICIt'"C. aUloc"I~1 tk
could be any . or all. of lI>csc Iltmg> without eban,IRC
a linc of di"lo~ue or lhe 3ppe~rance of a d"'I'Itng. nUl
!lone of lhese IUilS al""" was cn1enaining eoouj!.h. nor
did any or lhen. ~lIm ula1e 1he I n11l1<1t"", 10 $Ct' tlprts-
. IOOS and 3u.tudes (or the character,
After eigh1 alle"'pI~ in d,fferent dtrcc1>,,"s. II .....
Slcrling Hollo"'3), "00 finall y Came up with lhe pr0-
vocative voice aoo altitude Ih"l ~par~ed us all lie 1101
0lIl)" g",~ a re;oo,hng that " ..... the charnete •• he ""as able read them. We wrotc and re,,·mtc and he made ...~.
IOWuc>t line.' that "'"OUld fit !xue. wilh Ihi ~ evoh'inl', tiOOi. and mtelher ....., decided that this snakc' s weak-
rcr;or1 ~l ily . When K•• hears Bagh~'C11I tcllthe boy 10 T1l:>S wa, thaI he cou ld not k~ep his mouth ,h ut ",hen
rolO ,I ... p. Stc.ling ,uggcs lw. in a s ing_wng)" voice. he "'lIS ahe~d , Just when he had e,·el)·thinll he wanted .
"Y~ s·s . mancuh. go 10 .+slttp!·· w'hich led into he had to Mcrpla)' hi~ hand and 1~ it aiL When
~ h)"pnoIic Sl~"", When Ihghttn. hi. him in the BaghttTa told the boy. "Now no I1lOI'e talk till morn·
moulh. imleod rof •'0011. I\< ,w dare yoo. lJaghecr-.!'· il
\>teanle. "Ooh. my s-s · si n" .·s·e~- <·s!·· ful1uwed by.
"\'011 1Ia,'c ju""sl m:lde a s·.-scrious-s-s mi~-s,slakc.
") rnrnd. a 'l'fY ,...·'mpid I1lIS·~"'akc . . . •• Suddenly
K» ,,"). ~Ii,..,! We could sec hIm durly. and he WaS
funny, He ""aj "'''''''''ing enough. but he was alloO a liv-
in,. breathing. enlenain ing (n:~ture. We could animate
~ guy! Everyone sianw s"ggesting lines that " 'ould
rot M Kaa bite\;, Ilagheera dO"' n the br~nch he :<;IYs.
"Look me in the eye ",hen I'm s·s-spea king 10 you!"
R~ph Wrighl 3<Idl"tl. "Both eyes. if you pk;>.'ie." ,i~
W J'Wllhe. " 'as squ inting and trying 10 ~,'oid look ing
..., """'" di:aoJly eyes.
As quickl)' ~s ,uggeslion s were made. Sterling was
Mlk lu male lhe T1l:'" wortls come alive by the "'ay he
ing." Kaa could not kCf'p quiel and simply ta ke lhe
boy away . lie had 10 brig. " He WOO'I be here: inlhe
moming!" Which . of course. alened Baghecra 10 Ihe
situation in Ii"", for him 10 take actioo . Th i~ was lhe
line .. e hood been looking for LIIat "" ould cause the
~lhtr LO lum and see Mowgl ; abou Lto be eale n. II
001 only gave us a richer characler. bUL il w ived a
problem wilh the Slory slniCtUre . Now lhe " 'hole SUM
played easily and nallltllily. Whal hood begun as a bleak
(IIOOIInl(r with a minor ChllT1t<:LCr waS begi nnins to be
man: and more flln . II had seemed li keSIIC-:h:.::::.,~::1
al firsl . Lrying to bI"ld a situation and a <
we wert never Sure if we wue on lhe righL track in
fiTS! place. bul. finally. the doors
we could no .... sIan Upccrimc:nlal anima1ioo.
Su\kknly. we had I TICW and UM ~ pected probltm
The girl who brought around the paychecks .",h
Thursday .... as ~alhly afraid of SIIake:s. and Ib60Iutdy
refllsed 10 come inlo our rooms 10 deliver our m.ds
as lon¥ a. "-e had any snake d ....... ings in the .~ J
Slit ,"'ould !Iand well 0111 in lite hall. bend ,,~(f as far
• !.he could loward lhe door. and lhen wilh a half.
p!IISI1 ~ ~Jf.lOS.~ ~nd lhe nunering e~k on ilS
'"1. ThIS "rl could 001 he coccl\Ced into coming even
_ ~ f~. afId $he wamnlu •• ",~aledl)· . lhal
sbu.wld ne~er. ne~er go to ~ lhe film ,,·hccn it " 'all
fllillled ~ we lned 10 explain how g"'31 the cha,.,ler
us. and 1\0'0<' $he wool'" forgel he "·as a snake . She
_Id 1101 e'·en lislen . We ha ... lhoughl she might be a
plOd 1C)l alldienec "'hen ..~ ha ... SOIl'" footage oJonc:.
bul since , he absolutely refuse'" 10 look al il "'e had a
problem .
In the meanli"",. we worked. Irying 10 "'.. w IIl\IIS·
cui.... body Ihal slubbornly kept Iootin, like • hu~
fire hose . A Sn:Ike ob,·io;xJsly is round. and ycl really
he is 001 . ~:ore $lraight lino Ilwvughout hi,coils.
b," lhey have 10 come. and go as he """'". And IJw:n
,,"c ~ I ~ spois lhat ~med fore~ 10 animal"
back"'·ard on lhe screen. Should he have largn spois
or slower moves? The ans"'·n ~1I1ed 10 he pIor1ty in
the de~ign nf tlle dr~wing , and in the way h~ Iwisl~d as
~ :Ioch'anco:d. with lhe coil s moving ~t different sp«d~.
A nlOrC elaborale panem of marking al ... would hel p.
OOIm:.1 would add tOO much eApcnse '" lhe pK:Wrf ,
llow could "'C' k«p tile design simpit' f ",,,,gh h) be
(wnolllK:ally ~Ik.1, )'et delailed enou~h Iu be con·
"incing and handsome?
11Ic:n. one day. Danny Alguire, the assiuanl din."'·
tor on ll1e sequence, told llii exeiledly , " lIey. I ha"e a
flitnd in to" 'n from Texas ...,110 is terrified of snake •.
Wh~I do )'OU s.ny I invite her in w see pan of lhe
pK:ture and nUl lell h~r lhere's a snake in il. and ....e
can see how she reacts. O K·... • II waS a mcan .c heme .
001 a I'Iecessary one. for we had 10 find OUI if "'~ had
gone 100 f". or if the s nake .I>ould eve r have been in
tile piclure in lhe first place .
11Ic: ~t.o..in8 "'as ITTlIngeti . and the lady from Texas
sat through the IoeClion of tile film "" e had pre~ .
giuling.nd clluekling llI llle way. We "''C're mnding
by witll cU!", of ",.. Ier 10 revive her if she fainted.
5ed3ti,'H if ~he b«anlC' distr;lUghl . and strong"'""" to
catch her if ~he bolted for the outside without stoWing
for doors or $ta;.....·1)'5. BUI none: of Ihal was needed .
She cooetI. "Oh, lie was n' t a sna-ake, he was cu,u·
utc !!" We relurned 10 our drawing boards " 'ilh 1l:1'Ie"'ed
enlhusin""
Some ideas are funnier in a Slill drawing Ih~n lhey
are in ~nil!llliion , That wlll lhe case " ';Ih lite tRngled
coi ls. after Kaa had fa llen OUt of the Irtt . 1lle dr~wing
of the body IS one giga",ic knot was alwa)'s funnier
lilan it ....ould 11;1\'( been in anilTuuion. l1w:re was 5<)
liult' body left o~er " 'ilh which lie could mo'·e. Ihat he
only could look 8TOSS. inslcad of funll)' . as he tried 10
limp off; bUI worse. il did 00\ gi"e OOr snake lhe
prop« altilude to support lite exprcnion he certai nl)'
" 'QUId h•.\'~ ~ after ,uch an iooignilY. H~ ,,'ould he
embarrasS«! and in furiated , and needed an aclion Ihat
"'QUId ~ol'llbillC ruffled dignily. anger. and pain wilh.
perhaps. a certain amount of floulI<:e. He was nOt
deftRIC{l. lhough he w a~ badly heaten . As wc argued
o\'er how 10 play the ~e"" and OOW 10 make lhe <I.. " .•
ings. "'C' found th~r llIe knot was gradually geuing
smaller and il!lll lkr in our IlIin): ing. as our empllasis
shiftrd 10 lhe manner;n which he " 'ould mo,·c. Final-
ly, the kI'ul was 1'1(1 more Ihan a , imple configu"~I ;""
on tile Ill' of his la il. and al Ihar poinl ,,'e did no! Ita..-e
eoough of a picw'" 10 suppon ~ilher lhe' gOJ! Of tho:
allicude . The animator ,,'00 fin;tlly did tile .ane <lecidrd
ttl ha"e an elabor:it~ flopping a",1 d ..~"ing otlioo. a,
if lhe hod)' hiMJ be.!n broken inlO many !iCgnlCnb I....
Il<) lunjlcr ...'Oded 1Oj!elller. J Wh31 had ~et1 0111 :115 •
funn~ s ingle dra""injl had "" .... hecomc a funny lIClioo
thai ~omhincd une~p«lcd mo,..,n",,1'1( " 'ilh tile spinll'll
acling "''C' needed .
The: end ", suit uf all chi s d fon and fun was a higilly
suee",,,rul <equence. and a ,'iIlain wlto had become III
enterta ini ng personalil Y in the picture . Walt liked Kat
SO much Iha( he suggestcd Ihe c h~",cle r lie hrooghl itt
agai n laler in the 5tOl')' . " If you ' ,·., ~ot MHlIC good
entertainment working for you. US< il !" On.e SIO'Y""
felt (hal lhe snake sllould no! be developed be)'onddlr
small role planned originally. since il "'QUid up$t\
balance of the story. The audience cou ld e<lSil)'
lim! of him. He thoughl ...'e should '1uil ...·hit. ""' ...
5<)mc:lhing 800<1 . and 00\ !.ake a ch;.nce of fIIiPi..,
E"en though ,,~ had 00 idea II lhe 'iml' of 00.'
could possihl~' work in aoothe. IoCqIlen." "ith
snake-,,-il00ut compleu:ly de>.unyi n8 what liNk
" 'e had-we voted 10 use him again .
We Went 10 work pry ing and IU88in~ on I~ >lUI)'
SlruCIure. rebuilding here at>d tearing out l~re.1IIIiI
we had ~ place to bring Kaa into the SIOl')' in a 'llIJ'
nucural way. MO"'gli had run away from Baloo....
" '1$ ma",ing aboul lhe jungle disconsolately. AI .
.l-ame Ii .... . his mortal enemy Shere Khan . I~ tipr.
had heard that the mancub "'as around and unjltOl<dCll
WlIal if Ku gOIlhe boy fi~. h)'pnoIi«4 him "' • •
dreamy song . lhen pla~'ed ..·ilh him bef~ ~
lhe del is+~ ioos mors-s-""I?
l1w: Sherman broo:lIen. Bob and Dick. "'roo: a pm!
liu le: !iQfl g called ''Truu in :l.l e.·' and e"eryont' ~
con lributing ideas on ways Ihal Ku I'OUld pllY'"
Mowgli . Th.. hoy would be rigid when h)·pnoti«d"
could be lossed and tumed. c,'en ",ade: 10 flap hi! . .
u if he were flying. or he ~ould be Kslffpwalker ,"
3 s illy grin on his face . This led to graph;" idea, "'.
s nake forming $13i.. for MO" 'gli 10 deSttnd lid.
treadmill for him to " 'alk on endlusly ,
Soon " 'e had far more llIalenallhan We ('OOldr--
bI~' u~. hul ,,'C re,..,led in this luxury . T\lOof. . . . .
is not enough bU$ine» 10 SUpporIthe di.:>1upr If Ik
slo, y idea . and we are aU scratching OUI
 "
10 thInk of more material . n.e song could Iu'-c been
,_'I« a~ Ion&. We had anoth(,r ~ho<us plannro that
w:11I<k<l wme of the mO!'I imaginative business, but
W ~jrtClOr wisely fetl Ihut ,,'., "'e~ in dang~r of stalling
our pICture . Once ,,>;: Iud m:wJe our statement of whal
Kaa wa$ doin, ....~ should get on to u.., T\e~t incidclll;
in this case, the introd uction of the tiger.
SlIcre Khan. wandering by. had heard Kaa singing a
"Iullaby" to sonJeQne. and IIOW he imclTUpted to find
out ....·110 it might be . Ku was in a fix . In one half of
 AAnsr, Frank Thoma._
l1le Jungle Book.
M""'gli 'ri~s loavoid Kaa'.
ItYfHIOlic gazr, bu"hr.rtak
forces Itis hMd arallnd .0
lheir tyu will mul. The
marking. gi," form 10 'M
body. suggr.ling a po_r_
fll'. mll!icular ."a« ...;rh
dim,,..,i,,,,.

AATlrr, Frail! no.....

The lunsJe 8oQk.
his body. up in a Iree. he was holding the sleeping
A['''''''gh ~ lias If/) I
Mo .... gli. bUl down On the ground the liger had a finn brl. KI)(I WUIIu "'"
Iw.>Id on Kaa', Ihroal: he was n01 only asking embar_
!USing questions buI wanted 10 see whallhe ot her half
iJtg/y"';/h drU
like <l("/i"".
wi"".
oillle body was doing. [I was a gust siluation for Kaa
as 1II actOf. and a juicy one for the men who would gel
10 animate il.
We knew our characler wc![ by this lime. The
Slor)'mcn knew how to write for him; we knew how 10
dno,,' him: and Slerling knew how 10 play him . He was
I formidable villain with strength and slyness. and he
'II'U all snaxe. He was heavy and oonvincing and ua[.
ytl he wa, nO! straight and he was nO! uvolting. We
twdly remembered those days, only a few months
back. ,,'hen we were wondering . • 'Whal's e ntertaining
lboou a snake?

MmT, Mill KiJIoI_

The JunsJe Book,
SMre KI"m, tI" •
'ipr, "",,,,s 1O.broII
Kaa lias I>u~""'"
;n Ih, ,tt,.
C....U
J<'IUII M~Ii?
Sir Hiss
Two pictureiii laic' we lIad anochcr snake conflOOunl
US, but this one: ,,'as of ~ "cry dIfferent t"..... 1'utI)
bccau!ie of know.-ledge "'l' had gained by thall,me. and
panly be<:ause Rob," Hood was a much lighter ilOly
Ihan Thr Jungl, Book. we we.., able to handle S" Ihu
in a much bn»Ikr f~ioo . making a charxter of"""
Ihal simply could rIOI ha"r been imagined eartlt! II
had nO! been necessary W worry abotll roo ... to mat.
Kaa :OCI w~n he II.ad no arms Of t.:.n<ls 10 II!o( 1m
gestures . Ewn wnh all Qf his expre!o' oons and leU'.)·'
Ku had "cry hlile need for .houillers or body I~.
gil"" to suf'p'.'" his dialogue . He was I big snake.
and though his pel'5Ol1~Jily was "h,m,ocal he had l
fllrthrigln manner of 'peaklng. which fiUM a WPII£I
physical limitations idealJy .
In conlr~SI. Sir Hiss's dialogue and ~niludcs ~I<d
for shoulden and ~hrugs and cringlllJl and petulwt.
and c''e1Ilhough he wore I small cape ",hen; his.,..
den might have been. there was nul the slightest m-
tige of anythin¥: wilh " 'hich 10 shrug . Ik. SQIIlCIIO'O.
Ilad 10 do all hi, actin, wilh only hi' rather 5n'W1_
insignificant body. which ...·a~ really Imle mort 1hIa
an utremely long neck , We could ~ver have !CII'rd
llItSC problcms lllhe lime wc ""ere Marting 011 K.u
The fcalure .h:iI.\ follov.ed Thr ),,1Igl, Boot ""II
MiS/ocarl ""ilh lilt Iwo giddy ~ . Among ocher
things. thcy had been an uccllcnl pro"ing groord for
cMablishing altitudes ...·;.h only a long neck tIC'~
the head. HandS could be ~;mulaled by IOing tips. bill
Ihc shoulders ""cre 100 far away to be used . Then
",'C,," not many ways 10 ~how an allilUoJc. I pow.«
e~n an upression. bul wilh ext""ne care in tho: lilt
ing and consi(krabl<: imagination in the "I'PfI"dI.,
Ihc problem. lhe resuits \I'e,," suc.:csliful. Sir Hiu IJm.
efiled imn",nSl.'ly from these uperic"",c~.
Since Kaa had been slICh a popular vdlain. SIf H...
...." at fim c~;"ed as being I~r and man: IIIU)IeI
Ihan Ihc model finally used . A drawing had been_
of him wearinll the type of hood popular in m. o\rIo.
enlh a<nlury . He looted pr.r.o...,rflll and mtlrl . .h !Ilk
ridiculous . This ronccpt of a counselor srWc.•fIo
aclually wielded considerable innuence "'ilb I'nnI:t
John. was accepted for 5(>mt: time . lie,," ""2$" C'III
chuac.er ,...110 could ~t !flto placn ....tJm, he -.wid
101 be !.«ft. Ihrough l mall OjKnings ...·here no mile.
NI.I <'OO1d go. H~ could sJillier up tu his victims
'Jitbwt owing ~ soond . Those around him ... ere ;n
_ u fear (If bci(lg spied upon . He was a Fcarlc$$
riI~n who I\ad pow'C'r wi! h!he o:>f'pl'CSSOf . What .fhe
U'tmearu what somcOllC laid ? T hi s Hi .. lik~d the mle
d iroIimidalmg lnos., around him
~
Tht <lfti§! had IT\.IIde an<>tlh:r drawin, of II small
ke iJ<"ed on ~ cushion . He wa~ wcaring ~ short
rap. and ~ l illy look ing hal ...·ilh ~ purpk feathe r
pnrlKd 00 lop of his head_ Instead of an ;o<.1 ive , ph)'s,
I' .I I!T'" ci \';llain ... 110 ,,'uuld cnjo~' gCllinll 001 and
!fIlChing fill' dl fflCUil infllfnllliion, th1s shteh ~u~·
1f>ICd.., ineffective. brighl-eyed . nunphY~I<:~1 !~~ .
So. jWlly be<'IUM: We ~Iread y had Prince John and lhc
lberiff lS "illains who weTe capable of rcal harm. His!
... c;rsl as tho: fop who liked lhe $Oft life and proto>
m.1tft comfort and his impMance. He liked clothc~
!hot 1ugge. le~ casy li\'i n~'----rllther lhan the mOT. lui·
1m ho:>oded Pfb of 1he "'lIain we first !\ad considered .
Thi~ wa~ an uncxjIC<:!ed role for a $nak~. and a fresh
c hara<:!er for the pict ure . We knew the audiencc "'"u ld
"""'cpl him. in .pite ci his repeilian Ilerilage. ;oS Ioo~ ;0.'<
... c gaw him:an iruriguinll personal il)". and II",. _ ,.....
like a eertain!y . ioco: he w(lned with theerr~lic Prin.;"
John . Sir Hin wa. thc ~oun",lor. " 'ith • M'1I!oC "J
propri~y and of villainy. Sm;utcr Illall his l"illC'C. hi.
".-,>r1d " '35 tlx> world "f ideas. He wa$ no! a cl(no.·n or a
clod. a~ a <kspoC's a<s; ~t~m usuall y is por1r~Yfd. 001
did his sch.: min~ in a [tcn,k. intdliJ:C1lI " -ay . Ik did
00( like ,·inkno.'C .
Prince John cnjo)'ed hi. rci;llionship to Sir Hi,,-,.
.inee il ,ave hion 1/,., ' '!'rV"un; .y I.. u~ h~ fecl-
ings in a flamboyant . Shakc!OjX..-cln tT\lUmer llud f......·
others would have tolerale"' . flut Hi$~'. weak cha~.
tcr made him a perf«,t at.ldicn<;c. If lhe prill<'C Ixcame
 •

Pn~ Joluo "'OSCOIUl<Jftlly

/wJRilw.ri"l Iri. NHotlUWr .
Story ...."'"" o{Hi•• s!row Th~u "'~'~ .o"'~ of ,Ir~
"" i_ li1t{ltiw "PP,,,,,,,,1r 10 i ,.,jilnilitl JwJJ~red by Sir
~ ,w. 1 ob s~ "", 'iQlr, Hi" .

••
o&sw"r!ed ,,·ilh 1M «'$poose M " ·as gl:lllnS. he could lainin; as lhe picture proeresscs . As " ·c di~'·cred
"Oil)·' hit hi~ coun,ciur 011 top of the head . which he rleW f~cel.' of their charllCters. we were able to write
did lather oflen. Howevcr. lhe prince w~s alilhal W.- increasingly . harp di~log""" for them .
b.I. and h,~ posilion gave him an im",,"allCe hecould The perfecl vo;u for OUr neu.o.ic monarch Came
ret ,n noUlher way . Withoutthi •. he wo~ld h.,·c I>«n from Peter Ustinov. lIi s f« ling that Prine(: John WII
Il(llhing;e,·cn ,,·ith il he commanded no rcspecl . When omesstd with the idea of being king came across in
.. oppoMpnity did present ilscl f for him to "" 1M lhe way tri,";.1 ide"" " " re dt:liwred in such M lofly
1't{lftS<"ntall~e of the cro"·n. no one: would listen to manner. He woold relish cvery word and dl1lmalize
him . He cou ld become haughly. bUI he wa, alwa)· s cac h Ihoughl .
illtfftc1ive . T efT)' ThotrnlS. who became our onake. understood
fluringlhe tournament seqlK'nce. His~ suffered 1M
irldignities of being sat ~pon. crumpled. dangled un ·
wtmonious ly before Prince Jo hn. and. finally. dis·
-.sro from the royal box . Later. ,,·hen I1C' »w through
Robin H<IOd ·$ disguiSt. he fe lt Ihal succe ~~ ,,·as al last
- •
!'tI~, U"j",,". dO
!',ila J.... H"
'd'ioot '" , .
~/ptd'M.~·5
/lire 1M IMllo
~·ithjn hi s gl1l~p. With this piece of nc:w~. he surely !',jJtct., pH

-'d be praised and res pected . He cou ld taste: the NIl,",,~

tlwill of VictOry. But , as usu~1. the highs in hi, life

...,
.·m mea.uled only in seconds . lie was intercepted by
Friar Tuck and Alan . Dale ~d Sluffed into a winc:

If Hi~§ cou ld havc chose n hi s own rolc in the pic·

Mt. he probably ",ould have picked the one wggeSied
\If dw fir..t dr....,ing . for as he played out the pan the
'il)· we decided he ,,·as hit. beaten. crilicilCd. accused
iI t,·.ry way. and suffered greal indignilies Ihrough.
~ lhe pic1ure. Through his gcntkness and persht·
~. Iv dod lOChi.:,,, a kind o f pathos wilh h~mor . [n

'pile of his pathetic. desolatc ubtence. he was funny

. ·,tlioul u ymg to be funny . I-k ne'·Cr ga'·c up : this was
1m life. The op«talOf"li had enjoyed >cdn, Kaa Gel
physic.lly beaten up because of hi, evil intent. bUI
tI!ry almost felt pity for poor I l i.~ ,,·hen he rttcive<J
ItPU!(d ~bto>c.
Hi" and Ka. had 0"" personalily Irail in common :
..1It1l Ihing~ ""re go;ng wdl . they "",·cr knew when
., >top talking. On occasions" ho>n Hiss was nanering
py,,,,,, JOOn . the wonls wO\lld pour OOt ()f him . He
It""r .... med 10 reali1.e thaI he was going 100 far. and
~ PP Ioo;ing ('''I)·, hing.
The I1Itcm:la!ionships of lhese ChanK"lers " ·ere of
particular imron"nce in Rooillil(X><i. becau.;e the "0')'
_ ~ono.I.;!ry to . he c haracte~ . There W ill> no ful
iUSptll"" in Prioce John · s many . tltmpls 10 calch Rob-
in. They art: .howca:;es for the histrionics of the IWO
vilr.",OlIs ilClors who ix<.:ome richer and nlOf( enter·
) ) ,~

John Iwu jMJI two

P"'K~
,~d '" nYr)'tIwt, .,
/oi. "ntk"""", . .4~ IIIUft11lJ
His. . ..'Ioo ..W1WI ......
llU....... ~, ...
....... It> 100", i. d h<1~
/>111 -.,~pl,litut ftuJo-.
Sir li injust as wdl. and could capture the hun f«ling
in his voic( after cuuing reprimands by his master.
Draw;n" immediately came to mind-of Ihis ")lInse·
lor sul king wilh ... petulant eKp«:ss.ion . Perhaps the
beslthin, Tury did " 'as to fortify that ncrvl')US. incf.
fective quality!hat .. e ......ted for COIlIJ'"a>I!O the unpre-
dictable prince .
TIle subtler 5hltllings of this snake', personalit y ""(re
based 011 n:al experience. Occasionally. Over the ),(&rS.
there had been men al the studio who in their determi - ""·,,,.rUII OlUde>luu,_
nation to please Walt did a fair amount of bow in, and Robin 1l00d.
""raping . In spi l( of our annoyance. we had 10 laugh Dial"gu~: "A_II" IIi"
at them . Suo:kknly there waS a plac( to use theK ob- 0'" of",.. . .. uh • .. wh • ..
se ..... tions as our canOOll character matched the real _ Hi". ,,,,J,,,..
iVt ....,Iti~l
'0 NOI'i",Ittmr.··
ily o f hUmlJl Ktions. ··Now. " 'hat ,,'as so funny about Ulti_/rl, /lIilJ ,,,.. Prill«
the Wlly those guys did ilT- With Ihis much <kpth to ...... u lj-uIIHud lIMIfow·
his personalily _ Sir Hiss was a ''nY inten:Sling sn.ke . 1~""1 a..d sptJU ,,,.. Ii",

Kaa moved.nd "",ted li ke a n:ptile. " 'hile Hiss. lik( wi,h a P'~ "'Iild'
,i",.. TIIis ...,~smJ ... _
his m&Sl(r. appeared to ha"e enjoyed the IIOfl life 100 a";"".,o.- ,IIa,Jaltir ..... 10
much !O have developed physically. Hiss did not slither ~",rol wl ;~ ",ulli.., 1Wto·
in I reptilian " ·ay. but inched a]oog or IiOfI of crawled . Irl/ ,Iwl Iw- IIaJ diffindry
um~mM'i~, Hisl' r _.
If he WIS in In:al hurry . u he was when Prince John a"J ..........n UllfCta~1 1<1
WIS chasing him wilh the club. he would hop along on lra'~ hil imago in 'M mi,·
Ihe end of his lail. pulling his coils up like a skin . We '0"0''''. '0 hisrououir>r.

Hi,,' , TftlClioIr "' _ _

of P,i..u J<}/o,, ' , .. ild
glw_, is Wldl......-J lip
ill .hi. /IktM 10«.

'"
 " anted I",,, I" ml)"e \l\ a way IluLI II"" ,~"Li 10
h",_ n<>. lile Kaa .
W~ ,,"'ere "" kln~":' re>Ir"'I~'<Il>y a real 'nak~ -, anal-
"'''}'' ~ " lflSirtK1 iun _h" " au"", wilb tlli' mu,'h ~h ,,,,,,·t,·r
"cWI"IlLllenl ll',- '....1'" ear;""lu rin~ "r<:",,,ml il )" Illore
IlI:.n ~ replil~ . Th i, al"'ap all" ", """" f"..,d" ,., in Ihe
...:I i,~" aoo mo'·c n",nIS. "' IO"I1~' (hI:~ arc In l <:<:"llL " g.
,,·,111 "h., the charocter wou ld "" Ken An<kr",n had
mad\: a ,keith of lIin su lkin ~ in his ba$kCI. wilh hi,
coib d. ape<! o vel Ihe rim so lhey look\.'d vny m ud,
lile I"" am" II ~ a w a" ;111 '''-.1.: . aLi i",ap"'.",.,. 1OUc1l.
and a (u'",y [>i,-IUn:.
SII1'Y"',:" \ '.,,,.., Gc~ "",I 10..., ('I,'w,,,,11 .. <II! (U,-
11"'r tr\ Ihcir It' in l'n~. ':"""!I ~ up \\nh all ,,, ann,,, ,,(
,,,-I" ilie' 0,,'<.',1 " " , Iw id~" ,,( " prdl<;""t,- '"il fl.-
n ..,ld !>okl hi> ~ t ..,,,,,,, " . il,·" "Il:""'~".:, ,~>ut1I """ "")".
("\.'n PU I Ih" IL !, 1<> his to (1) ", ~ "'u,h,"~ a..-I"",- II"
~" ,I >,,,,,I.;
II!.: pia....· "f a" a .,.,~. hi: ," i"~,,,t 1(1,,-.,d t>ff
u[>eclcd bl(l\\', rmm Pri nce J(llin ,
He ,..", l'i" c n l«lh bcraui><: il iM:ll"'d ,n the 'n"'''

'"1'-
1'" ....., JoII" ...... f<I<I
r~T t I~ ural" 1M bla"' ~
,,"M~ hi" 1,lan. ~ ',m u,,'')·
~lrd ~ """.,., lQO~ ",,, Iti.
IT..,''''';'''', "" Ai. (min...•
,~ .

:f .rr.... , in
nlpllti.
drrr ~ oj
/ttr Prlnr,
./otd Ai", 10

,,",UM"" Olli~ J()h~s"'"

H<J' /tad '" ~KVlf" 1M ~n_

It" d''''JI'' of h" ""',,,~r
"," " ... .'. hr cowl.l

,
 ~' ,
, \
Inspirat ional Sketches for Robin Hood
u~ \h;M "'~ n«dtd. and the animator ~idW
... 1Ia~ fun by u~in, the ,ap in Terry ', _th as a
model . ...·hich pye an opening for Il iss's tonglJC to
dirt through. lie eyen had hair in SOIM ea~s to
$lfCnlthen ~rta in ideas. Whate'~r fitlhe situat 100 and
Ihr ptf)<lIAlit)' ...'as JiC'C'rptable. What is entcrtainin,
aIioula J.lW;e~ E"C1)'thin,!
The«: "'IS one LaSt ingrooicntthat made: this ~ini.ter
l'tJIlik into an aflPC'alin, villain . JUSI a. imponanl as
all the ~tory ,,'OI't. and c haracter developmenl and rell '
tio;w..hil" and X ting was the ferlin, the animator had
(Of Ihis C~lCr . ll i~ undel'!>landin; and affection
imbuo:d lhe link ~nake with a special quality that ,,~nl
bc)'ond hi, pcl1iOnality. As lhe arti SlrCnCCICd back on
the challenges of Ihi s assignmenl. hc revealed tMSC
thoughts:
~ is a ITII,lO'I'o¢nt at lhe $tall ofa picture that I call
the anitrnltor'$ OIoOlcnt . [sit at my bl».rd ~t:uinllatl
blank pie« of p;.per. [1I3"e a sound track and end·
Ius ideas from everyOl'lC: on how my dwxten
should look and an . This moment i$ lhe heart and
SOUl of ~ ...'hoIe thine, I 1uI''C thought I lot about
.. bat I ...·iIl do ...·ilh t~ ,wo pcrsonalilin. but
pulllnl the fi~t Jin<!s down i. still kind of awesome .
1"''1111 to stan OUI righl . This is my chIOU to mold
tllcK characters and give them lhe relationship I~ I
see it. I am ease' 10 get il on film and set' lhem
come 10 life . I have thoughl aboot the e~pression • •
.nd I know just how I wam Hiss to look when he
tltal'S Prince John Jay. "Ha", Friar Tuck ." But
fil$ll have 10 build 10 lhat poinl . Now i. the time to
Ihiltk of the Ihi"", I ha"e learned O'O.C!' the )~ars. I
ROlli 4",10,," """ 1"1'""
siOIu rNl"irrd Uti" i~ ,,,..
S*l11" _ , • . III orJ"~
,,... -t'" ....,iII ",",.... ~
"f"~i~, . .. 6"P ...... Ilf'
~r;!:l';) bI, ..'un 'hI fron, ,u,h.
, 6 ' po"U"~J afu,,~ fgtnO<ll
~~e:.~."~~
...·.nl to be: entena;ning abo~ alt .
M i lo along livins with the$e l'I)'$ ~ tllc
)'CatS. I learn more aboot them. and the more I
kam. lhe more e~citing they arc. 10 n~ . I know
Whal lhey like and what u~tS them. They are rc.al
ptopIc to _,,'hal !bey do COIlIC:$ from in$ide them.
and from inside me. To me the)' uiS!. and I ~nd
most of my ....uin' hours wilh them .
I h.~ to plan e arc.full y ~ that e ' 'Cry fralllt mta~
~mel hin,. I mU5t make the audience feel "·...1 I
fer!. I may III:I~r ha,'C .n opportunity like Ihis -.pin.
It i. nO! often that "''C' have a )ympathc1ic vill.in.
like Hiu . This makes him a different and tieher
thar.lr.'ler. I li ke 10 think abou t how he feeb .boul
Priou John . I know he doun'l like him . Many
limes I think aboul this miIJCrablc existence _ ha~
fon:ed upon Hiss and I ferl sorry for him . I wondtt
if I should ha\~ Prince John hi, him 50 1uIn!, 1 .1$0
wonder if lhere isn't _ th ing I MIould do 10 that
he could lain I linle iielr.respcct. bul lhen I ",ali«
he is ,,·hat he is. and I ...'OUld be: ...mening his
rc.latioftship " 'ith the princ:c if I mack him I SItOIIser
pmonality. The bn! I could do for him wall 10 lei
him hll'e his fleelin, moments of happilleSS, tbo$e
momenls when his " 'OIld was right.
Thil i. lhe pan lhal maku Inimalion like no other
medium . To be: abk 10 play wilh the emotions of my
clw'lctc ..... and know lhal I can make them lau'" Of
ery or become very angry. 'S 10 upcricncc animation
al ilS beil. II is difficult 10 e~plain the Ihrill I gel OUt of
~einl my dra"'inp move through lhe chan,es in
uprcssions and allittidcs. in a "lIy thai ,ives Itltm
thai m)'$lical quality of life ."
Wi". ",i,""r ""'" '" .....'d
off /Haw. _ u.o..ldn~ '"
AM1Irlttlp. Hi.. rn~......
111_ .. loop ill iii. body '"
pro'", Iti",sdf f"'''' ,It..
P,/nrr' s 0~6l}' "JS""/u.
16. Animating Expressions
and Dialogue
"Af." ~'r /t",-, nt"" ..
/II;.-tn 1/'" 1/,1... suglll'sliUJls "'I" WI! ",,,,hI,," 10 do " 'j,1I rxprasi',g ii/(I" ''''(HIgh tltt body.
'''''n ..... ..<In <,<)mt' ,'0,,"" IQ Iht' ,"a/" .. if ,I... fi,cia/ uPUSSitm_ IM USI' of thr ",.I's. l'J rb,o"·J. Iht'mourh- lirtir
rrwtw.. 10 {}I" a.I<II"",- h",,· rh" ryrs /III;/ lit.. mOll/it M'", 10 "'(lri /()gnhu (wmrtimn ) /ort):pun ioll-iw>o'
IIIty ""Ofk inUt'l>t'ntir mIY/(}T ......",usion <II OIhu rimrs. In OIhu ""OrlJs. Ih,,, " -I' would I<J 1m" 1M NHrIbintd~
<f (-'{Krnil-' j ..murrs und (xp;rss;,'" U('/iOilS of 1M bod)'." Wah Di$l'ltY

One of our an teachers lold us that (he eyes in self.
ponrailS ~~c~llIow an mist reds ~bou( hinlsclf. Every
young p;linrCI Siands in front of lhe mirror and fillds
dut h" true po:rsonalit)· sccms to be ~'"Caled as he
icM"tI'S Ilts fhin and looks OUt frum undo:r hi. brows.
Lalcr on. as he becomes more DlTOi\ant. he lifts his
chin and looks ddiamly al the world . Then. as he
ages. he IUrns his head and looks wj,h wisdom 0111 of
lhe comen of his eyes.' show;n,. as Co kridp Nid.
" Commoo sense in ilII UJKOmmoo devee ."
~"8 up hav. ""'T<
.., liu{. !uy ,";Ih "
"_m, Frum Ihe {rfl.
Ih. ,.un" in Bam-
'P.j' from Snow
I<I'{Y ntrJ(M Bash_
Snow While. la'"
!lM/iful ~'llh lon~
" , and Pluto Ih.
/

.,11Iw, ilL lias ,hoi

"tad oflhe mcost.
100iS0 Huot (193} J. singl~ drawing Or painting. but they never can show
1"8' art <llOwn In anything e~cept that one ani\ude.
it. C""""" S}'mllO/J
'., Infore Ih. <lap This brings uS to the hean of what lhe animator or

• the actor can do. imagine that whilt you an: looking 11
1l!e early Renaissance painlers always had their main
f'gures looking up . II is an acc. pt~d Iradition for the
innocent and Ihe pu re. but it does seem to be based on
truth and reality. The artists at the studio hav~ used
Ihis anilude repeatedly for cute chara~ters. Somehow
they look mo'" wistful. more hopeful. more vulnera-
ble. This was particularly imponant to F",d Moo""
even though il was an instinclive thing wilh him. There
was more appeal when the figure was drawn looking
up al you out of Ihe tops of the eyes, Somehow you
~ared mo", for the innocent , lilll~ characler.
In each of our art teacher's examples there was an
inner feeli ng lhe artist had about himself Ihal caused
,," wo,,",h in T~ him to choose Ihe partic ul ar attitude he did. While
",,<lin!: (1931 J t\"~
'h" drawi"~" ..-er. Ihese Hample~ a", all expressive ones. Ihey are ~tatic.
oplt and br()lld They may represent the best thai can be shown in one
one of these fK'rtraiIS, th~ subj«t gradually lowmd
his brows inlo a frown-paused--and lhen lifted one
brow and glanced to the side. You immedia!oly woold
sense a change from one thought to another. Some-
thing v~ry imf'Ortanl happened! Through a chan!' of
t xpnssion {ht thought proctss ...as shown . Si1lCt the
first discovery of this principle back On !h/, elrly
Mickeys. the animator has found it to he his bes1 mem-
od of showing his characler's thoughts and feelinp ,
in lhose days there had been little n«d for 1liiy
expr~ssions beyond the crude fK'rtrayal of emotionl
suggested by the situation ~ . A e hame!er wa, h.ppyor
he waS sad: he waS frighlened or he wa, mad: he was
worried or he was eock)'- and it often was difflCulllO
[el1lhe diffe r~nce, among even those six basi<: reac-
tions. unless something li ke te","". or t",mbling bIeeI,
Or drops of perspiration were added, "Then, as Walt's
acting stimulated the drawing of body altitudes. it was
discovered thatlhere was bener communication in the
whole figure than in the face alone.
By the ~arly thirties. thc ~taff was able to do I
version of Tht Ugly Duckling Ihat waS all feel ing. and
though it was drawn simpl)' !he audience bol.,vcd it
enough (0 enjoy the predicament of lhe lone,ly. deject-
ed. baby ~wan Soon after came Pimp" P/uroaOO the
wonderful sequence of Plulo entangled with l ""=! 01

flypaper. Expressions played.. very impofUnI pan in
!be entertainmenl value of those scenes. and while
~ ad miued that Ihis was only a broad canoon
symbol for a dog and lacked any auempl at rul ism. it
. . Ilill felt thll the door tLad betn ~ned for even
cruteT .cttic:vemencs in animation.
In the next five yean. e~rytbing possible WIS trinI
in Ihr way offacial expressions-some 50 compliclted
iMy looked like road maps, othe rs ro simple they
lacked interut. Refinements brought subt lety that. in
11m. oI'ten brought vagueness. Some expressions juSt
do IlOl 5«m to wort well in animation; they may be
100 obKure or 100 dirrlCUlt 10 draw . In this cue. the
ItOI)' lilultion $hould be ch«'kcd to be sure it cills rOf
1"11)' spedrlC altitude from the character. The ani$1
.110 cou ld try a simpler uprenion, something thai
offm more caricature . He s hould Iry it oul in thumb-
MOb. turn ing the head lUound. strengthening the lines
of !he fa«, lurching rOf Ihe lies! and clean:$! wly to
WiC t....! pal1icular ex~ssion . Often the animalOf
Illy think of the right upression oot becomes dis-
""'raged wilh it because his s taging does nol show il
10 good advanlage. Only careful experimentation will
", ••• 1 the besl method of commu nicating an ide • .
Tips for staging upressions;
(I) RtsiSlIM r=pf<llicm 10 I")' 10 uilloo mut:1I in
""",/.a"';n8. The import, nlthing i. that the drawing
br qukkly and simply read: no matte r how beaulifully
it may be dr.wn. il should nol be forced into I scene if
(
it does not animale prosxrly . Do Ml be afraid 10 di5-
card you.r lies! drawing if;t docs not fit your action . It
is Ihe idea thai ;s important !
(2) Do "01 In Iht nprtJJlo" conflict with Ihr dla·
wg~t. Nothins tan be I1'IOIl: diSlJaCtins !han this. An81'\3
EnI~Q. the ArTM:rican mirTM: . told her class. "llle tnOII
obvious Jlfoblcm was to avoid deflecting the meaning
of the line lof dialoguel by emlN: movemenlS . The
way I chancier walks. siands. silS. lislCns-all reveal
the munin8 of hi. words ... 1 This rule would apply 10
panlomirTM: as well. where il cou ld be equally disturbillg
to have I CharlCler mak~ an cKJlfeuion that docs not
fit lhe personality .
(3) TItr r:tprrJSion m,lS/ br NlfJrurrd Ihroug/wf</ 1M
,,"'o/r &od)' as wrll as In lilt jUfY . If the charac~r is
defianl. his eyes. brows. moulh. cheeks. and head
alt itude will be defiant. If any ~ of the figu~ is
shown. il will be defianllOO. wilh clenched fiSls, sboul.
 <ieTS back. f""l apan. ~nd a belligerent thruM to III tilt
related pans. Any uprcssion "'ill he ""uke~ gltllly
if il i. limi!ed only I() lho f:lCC'. and il tan be completdy
nulliflO:.l if lhe body or ~Idtr au ......' is in Iny ny
canl/'lldiClory .
We had learned .... hal 10 dnw and when 10 00 .... iI.
bul we "ill h;wJ mu<:h 10 learn aboul how II) dill .... it .
W e watched Ihe beSI OCling in lhe live oclion fiI~ III
the lime . but the exprcssions ..,.,mod 10 he fa, 100 IUb-
Q f~"..,/j",.w ·
lie for us 10 ~llCmpl . The overacling of l""'nty )~Jrl
• ~~"""'" j~ lid.!
Dttly D ......11 earii(r would have been iIk~1 for us . b\ll. lit.... KiIooI
iI. """'"
of realism and fine K tOO Ilad laken ...... er UoU)'I"OOd.
Ern blaa-d wilh anger , or burned with ~ioo; '"
snapped w' th jealousy. >hone wilh happiness. ,"'inl:1Id
wilh humor . sparkled " 'ilh enc.... nlment. dartcned .....
,u!<picion. 0.- ""erc Illlow with love . Some KCmtd III
tlriU rightlhrough )'flu. None of lhese eye e xpress~
*"" fA.
fhaf ........
lid. WPP" lid.
could be dr~wn no mallcr how we lried . We lookl:d.
lid Ivow, DII OUr dnwings of Micke y and Donald and PlUIO MIl
..",.. 0/ f •• lhought , "l1lcre '§ goc 10 he another ,,-ay. "

-.
~ of,1t<- 'J"
d. s/N>w I ••
tldtU)~ The Eyes
As we alwlYs did when confronled wilh • new pr0b-
lem. we wenlto the rcallhing: lhe face, the eytS,
lJ. the brows, and tried II) find Oul whal made them.....n.

tr;~
~ , The ' Iudying of phOlOllJ"aphs of real eyes . ,..," ,.

. i 6------
1~ obvious facl tru.1 was !.lanling in ill im~
- ) ""'- ~

- - "-
us-----che eye c hanges shape! We knew lhat lhe r
"- /"
hllf-ciosc lhe eye , bullhere ,,-ere OIhrr fQItCS
~ i up from below and lighl~ning at I

nt. of .>,p",.
. tnf jw j~11 fit<-
tIIr ~ye to U "'''''' quit~ diffet"erd slup:" from 0 ...
t~prl:S5ion to the ne~t.
When an actor h.a< to portray a rob<>! Of .. sl«p-
nlk~r. the fi N thing he does is 10 fi~ hi. ~yes in "-
Sian:. a lif~l e~. gaze with no moveme nt. If he wanl< to
portny an exube. allCe for l i~ ing, the actor changes
uprtWons cnmlillllly with daning l<ds, ha.ppy k.>ol, ••
II.fII:I quick looks. DallC ing eyes and sparkling eye. have
I &I't~ deal of ~JI'IC'nt , ranging from wide with
Ucilemenl to crink led in laughter. ~ an im ated o;hM.
ICtt r $Ortlthow has 10 Clplurt these .. me elements . If
the eyes .eJlWlin constant th.oughout • setne . the d w·.
IWcter .... ill be coo.listelll and 1001<; like tile model ~ t.
but he also will look like a doll with painted eyes. Thi s
OfIlIity 101;1$ used purposely in Pino«hio. first when
thepuppet was " fden. an d l.tt. when Ile wu danc ing
with the m3rionenu in Stromboli's shnw . Tile eyes
pmt~ flII interQt ing proble m . illCe Pinocchio was
still . \/o"OCI!Icn puppet even though he had been brought
to life. and p.;trt of the devicc that made: him puppctlike
wu to keep his c)"'s • • cooslam as possible . gi ving
~lt'Ill wide. innoce nt 51a", . Now he was ... orking with
tul PUPlXt.... hose eyes we", only paint. and there
wu .. fine line to be dn. ... n between the: lifcleM and the
li';ng. while keeping boI:h as PUPlXts.

c..._ ~~. ~. MI"".<h

MIl llmelr f rom .~ ........
pus fhar w"rl 011 ,,,,I
.",. T~y " /10 MM at I~
.,.,..... ~~ of npr• • ·
_ fI'OSlibk fltr<'f<lIh nr>t~.
lilt ..or" c/(m'~Jif mor~. Or

...
.....'i", fM dirUfiOll of"

7'.:;1 '<5 OV -e6 ~~ (j~

0000' '(j tl 'Va ~~
When Drawing Eyes . . V""'ifs wi,hl
in ,At K·hil<
ptar 10 bt 11
Tlrt Q~S UTe ,Ire mos' imp<>rlaM JHln ,of spar:e. ins't<
on txprtssion ond musl be drown wllh Whitt cJ!JI{J/
alrtme ror't. Any jilltr or fail' mtI,~ on
0/1 inMMun dtstrOJ' boIh ~ommuni"'lion
Dnd btlloWlbili!)'.

Pmi!ion oflbe Pupil Wilhin !he Eye .

o
J, Whtn theT' i'loo lilil.
Dflltt P"I'illircming. il "'ill
bt diffic~ IIIO mtJkt DStrong
s,o"m,nt oj ti,/r" ,Itt u·
p,.s.ltm or Iitt diT~'ion in
",/rich Ih. rhDrarltr is

o
looking. Pupils ItOI ,
. omo dirte"
.xprusiOll Ii
2. Thi. P"l'il i. dfilr ~nd
d'fini,. for a look to th.
sid.,
Tlrree ""'Y' I() anl"",u 0--= "',

o 3. As Ih. pupil men'"

oW(JY from Iitt . im oj th,
ey'. 'he dirulion of ,Ir.
100II. c!rong ...
look 10 Ih, right: 00 This is IAt .-u,

4 . As mOrt and mtI,. ",lrilt

surrmmd, Ih. ""pi!. 11r.,.
is on inC' Nltd f ooling of
ndltm'nt and I""nsil)" 00 Q()
•
go UU This is """'8m.

5, Whllt all aTouM Ih, pu·

pil gi"n a Wlg"'<USl '0 Ih.
,xp,.slion and "",us Ih,
dirtClio" of 'h' 100II. un·
urraln.

F,.d Moort Nul

o
6. A $mIllI., lhan ntJrllUli pl. for drawing d

66
pupil giwI a d.1ztd 100II.. 0 .)~Iids. ond bra>
wilirdra"",1 fro m ualiry o. d .. ,xpand;n, .
lad of .ision . same po;'''' I, t ,p
dir« lion a'ld ..I
in tho eyes.
7. ThisrarlOQl/ symbol for

G D drunk or knM k,d'Olll

charar:l.r was IlStd n l,n ·
siwl)' in lilt .orlyfilm.s, /xol
gm,rolly was abamkn.d
by ,Itt mid. ,hi..i.,. A " ""k
$)·mbtJl ",It bt w.t/IlI. /xot
always will d.S/roy alty
Look for cpPiJm
liaw pupils ir<tr/i,
feeling oj ,.alism. 1'«11011 of ,Ir.
i«;
 This placed. s pecial burden on the clean · up mllJl
II1II in~!wecner. who had been laugh! !O emphasize
~ chanaing shapes of the eye !O strengthen the fecl-
il&dlife. Now. with less movemen! in 1ho$cchangcs.
!IIm .... as an inc~.sW chance for wiggles Ind jinel'!)
on the 5C~en , and !he drawina:s had !O be done very
carefully. and !hough!fully, to keep them working
.oodIly. All inbe'\""CC1I out of place or poorly drawn
IDly cc! by on an am> or a lea:. b\lt ... ver on .11 eye . As Th~ ~~ ./i~St M i(irq "P-
pra • • d 10 Iw wrarin, h",.
Wall bad said. the l udience watches the eyes. and this
,onl~s .. i,h bla<t pllpill .
is wlv:~ the lime and money must be spent if the
cUracler is !O act convincingly.
For Disney c moon chanoo.:!ers. lhe basic shape cho-
IetI (or the eye was the early formula ofa circle. Thi s is
IIO! the on ly way !O draw an eye. but mi s shape has
Hi. h.ad Iwd 10 Iw ",iltd
&i- ~I maximum npression . Wall would keep prod. 10 m<IIr~ hi", I""" "".
' " \IS I<)comc up wilh more ~aJ i$m . bul we always
CIII1e back!o the circle . We haye refined i! but never
found . bener shape . MallY Brlil!1 !ire of lhe old .
round eye and wlnt • more decorll!ive design for some
picItres. but often they lose more th.an they gain. Sin«
• eye is the most eloquent !ool of communication.
added strengths mu s! be provided in other 1~IS !O /, ...... difficIII' '0 roll hi.
mlkc up for any loss here. or the c haracter is api to ' )In 10 1M sid. OM main·
lain a pl~a.ln, ~"Pru.i"".
sI up " 'iib a li feless. uninteresting personali!y that
dill ilUdience ne,'cr Cln quite believe . It is up 10 the
mirnIlor!o be sure he lias not been lured inl o design-
itl l liny eye or one that cannot give the nC(usary
upteuions.
Mickey's eyn were, special problem. They had
ancd II black pupil s in large eyes !1Ia! looked morc
lite ronles than an eye shape . Since the whole figu re
111$ stock Cilt1OO!1 formula for lhe lime. the eyes worked
.-dl. bII! when the I llimator Slaned muinl the head
\iuCr and rounder . and elevaling the rinu o f the eyes
10 !Iv: stalus of eyebrows. I strange condilion arose.
Thepupils we~ now considered 10 be the whole eye. a
lOIid . black eye like thai on I doll . [I was CUle and
IIIde I greal dQian. bul il c~lled an ,llllOSl impossi-
bk jobfor the animator who WU Irying IQ draw a look
it any direction ot her than slrai,h! out in froni.
Eyes wandering around the fate lended 10 pt'odu~e a _ F"dM"",•.
IlWUYeffttl on the audience . so the animator had 10
awli his IltCmpu 10 make Mickey have iblt added M~'I_"""
Tht Pointer (lPJ9I.
tIIr:h of life . In most ClseS Ihe reslrictions were han· lip opfHmuniw, /(1#"
dkd 10 adroitly Ih a! the audience never noticed. but <"P'fsslolu.
 ItIo:.~wcrc >Iill .i"",s whe" Ihe ;u.im~lor 'l<:e\koJ II>,,,II
~l ick.. )··, e)'n in a ~-..:i;lt k>ul; ""'hou. I..wi,,~ ."
m.)w h ~ "":00.1. 'fh,e"c ~ri"ti..n' ,,'cre I"" timi tln)! .
Wh:ot if O~>hf\lt h;t<1 """n d ... wn ,,;,h a wlid cyo: 11\;01
IIad II<> pupil- O)f Dumb.. ? There "" 1II1d hlvc b«n n<>
""')' 11I ,..>i )f)II. tk: . ucilCm.,n ' . antilite-..U of ,1\0:
v~rict )· nmkd .
s... ""e nlll;Oli)' ~t icle{. eye.' " 'ere ch~n~coJ ~nti
rupib "'e1'C addo:<I. "P"n;ng up new . ;tinll pos .. bil il~s.
lie COIIld III'''' look inllllCent or emb~ .... sKd out "f.he
'''I' "f hi . eyc.-or be could glance 10 Lhc ~ide without
tho: upreu ion f~ning apart.
OIl Winn~ tbe Pooh. we had b s uf; prob lem Ih~n
" 'f h:ld with Mickey. bee;...."" be w". Muffed 10)' ~nti
,,-a.o no! upcl:\coJ 10 have cycs lhal wande~d on h;~
face . It s«mcd apptopri. t.. fur him to tum his bead in
the direction o f his " looks." and Ihis aclullIy ga>'e
him a leu 5Ophi,.io;atcd feeling thaI WU rnotl! in keep-
ing ""ith a " ~ar of ''Cr)' liuk: brain ." With Ihis I)'~
of ani",. "''C always could k«p the e~'cs in I c~
re lationship with the ~ o f lbe ck~ntli Ihal p vc
cxpre~ion . A.$ .he mouth and the chc.-h .ni matl'(! .
the shape: of the lillie button eye s would be .«rele.:!.
and .hey wO\Ild squu b and strel~h the amo\Inl ncclled
[0 keep lhe p.nicular action a li ve . Tho ugh man)'
".,; PI,'
I ! ~'hirh
' on 1M
OM.
-~"
«IfMlIJ,
'M.,-I.
~uhllc. io:, h;." 10 be ~i"" 11 up . III.: a"dic~.... b:.J ..
Imuhle in I<~t""'i", .......- I"d. "'II> r..... tin~ .
Pi~k.~ ... ;aS n-.ore of a l""bkl1l ~i",·t II.: halt"" Mt;t
rud,,,,ents of ~ l.ce . Wilt! tlnl ~' olt.lI. for t).t:) lho:n' ...
OOIhi"~ 10 ,Ir.. w t~"'111 Ilk' c lUlioI e~ptC'»ioo>. We
h;W ttl ~-on.."" ntM" I..... ""lin!! in boldy aUotuoios"
h~nd :and ....ad I"'-'tlll\" '0 COI"p, _ f.,.. .hi;. ......
o..'('asiotlioll~ a '1 .... >t"'n b r~iliC'd ,.'0000 hu!Ioa
~y,..!>hould blink a[ lol l Jinec I......,. is so n,ud! tltxmitl
keeping Ille n:ali, m of .......1011 . SoI'X ,,"iMS f«llllfy
are losiniliheir ba.i~ dt: ~i ~n if the ~ alter lhe slupe ill
any .... y. bt.tt lhe)' arc thn""ing ..... ay their best s)1nbcI
of lif( .... illllll.s limilalio n. K(n Anderson cxprc$s.:d il I'
" ·ell. "Thi s creallln: h:ls "IIo,ically bccn ill\bfjtd ..ilb
life . and ~ of life is the Ibilil~ I<J blink the ( )'e$ 1JIIIi
gel cxfJl'C',ions. It has 10 r"l;k up I..... ~ .."" upln..
me nlS or else it ...ou ld only be Itll in, hlolf·life. "
ComparN 10 Mickey or lbe dwarfs . .... 8m1bi I1t'
<>ppCllI' 10 be "C1)' rcali>!ic . ~)' are carintum at a
rc.al eker's eyes ~ .han being tanoon C1~ Wf
had the: )U,Utstion of a lear dun and had I cadult
d ra" 'n upper ..ycl id " 'ith a Ih id:~S$ to it lila r......'(I'
the eyeball. The pupil with lhe dart. cnler aDd die
high ligM made the eye .he most Ilet.i lN "'f Iud ever
dra ..." . MQj,1 auditn«s·...ou ld ha"c been hard pressed
~
•
~ ttlllh;o, a real dee,s eye waS any dIfferent. In spi,e
II all ,his dtlall. or disguise. it was sul1 basically the
tlllOOll formula. justllXlre refined. We could 001 have
squashed it SQ ~dul1y ot/Ir .....·ise .
In lQl Da/"'''';(II'''. I'onllo'~ eyes had the dark cen·
Ier ""itb a rol<:>ml iris only in s pecial closeups. 'There
""IS no detail like lhe Icar ducl. bul we did carry a
cmfully drawn upper lid ,hal helJll'd fit ,he eye un the
10:1. Our problem 00 ,his character as wdl as on
BmIbi ...'lIS 001 in animating the eye it!<:lf. bUI in trying
IOftlalC it to ,he OIher featum that had 10 affect il for
'11R!!1OftS.

,n
_..
r" ~ (.in~ ,"m,~s,,,,,
Ihis ,X/'n",
r!o".up of
Maid Ma, /a" ill Robin
Hood ...... IlHtl ~ s""'*"" ~ blMt
,ffu, IMI Sr/ IM P"P,/l>act
"",I" ,~/ul. i~6. Mil
,/t«, For

.k
Th~ /jul, ~i'l ill 'The Jun·
Book Ious i<J'JI' pwpib
• Ilrround,d b,' " da,t.
,~~

tJ{f,I."w_
. ,.",..~.....
I/"St)· "'S. W, ",'IInI"/ '1) ... I" ... ,
JI"'~ ,~It /oQI: ,,,,It, E,m It'I,wc"
Indian 'Y" "nd. MpqNlly. "'-;".,;
II "dun" ... qu"li,v as ...·,11 . inl 0{ ~ •

I.IId!". IhT "il/aino,,, ""' FIJJ_·.~

,~Ci~lJa.1...d ~s Inth ,no/",,,, .. ~
a (oloud ,,'s. OM 0 '''I)' W,vll tUlIJi
,,,,,,11 pupil T~ 'MfH ..,,. tIwtr.ltlJNs. ,
''''"'N aNi cOl,I,u. U (TP' _IJ~ ..
'" la*u 'JT .u,pTis,d ,s· ""II<')' "\11 "
p .....'I)IUi .u.n..,,,,
I ~I ~ ~~',,_I,.
j .... IIINl r"".p
, ,wluQlly •• I~
P' dtff...,'" ,_Wol,.
It.< !/try",. "'"" ,1m.
fI, I"Iff of rll«kJ <IJId

..
0
", IM1 Aall
Qrt
'I I. «(Hf'tf'I.u r",,·
/''''' .... "',," ...i,~

~
". ~~ .
of ,A ••• "'" "..
"" '(11".,.
~ body. , ......QI Olt'·
,NJU

~ Mad. owl h..

Iy':q>r,ui,,,.ars
7./~ NItJ1TflJI. ,A.
tJAIy,"""upu•.
w.z...t .... ud"d
y.dlftl IK_ QIId
loud 1>1'"1;0<1'
--.s "'. ,IMI.
U ..... ofr.~ ,. Ih,
1M pi, /IQJ tI """,,,1
~ hot> il I, tlifJicw/. ,tI
Wt ..'IIt,IIt, lit "
Ii' ".,,,Iy IIltp)",

Eye Blinks
Bhnks may al fint s«m hke the more mechanlC"ll ut
of anlmllion, but lhey do many things to kttpl dIK·
IICter al i\"e. If there is an inlensity 1M a look !Iw does
not allow cllanging ~ sllapc of !be eye lIsclf. I bIDI:
...·,11 keep.1 from going dead, If !be eye Slan$1O 10 <
like. ICnms ball or lias lhe hfelest iIare of I doll. *
blink ...·ill make 11 reiligain

••
 /

81inks In: a u..eful devicc ,0 " ~,,., . he )./)ur;t of going

in.o a hdd dnwinll . ~re is ah,·ay.' a visual jar ,,'1Im
lhe dn "'inJ; suddenly §'ops mo"ing , and lhe illu,ion
of roundncs~ and dim" n.ion quickly fade, a. ;1 is held
imllJovat>lc . In mr.><l cases. 2 fcc, ~ fr.. "",. lies. Ihan 2
:;.ccllndSI i~ Ihe max imum lin", a ,traw;,,!: can remain
on lhe K rttn will>oul move menl . Ho,,·~"cr. lhe ~im­
plf ~il ion of a blink during lhe: kuId m;aplurn lhe
'" ioIud.J,/It", _/wotld ,., (I f"I'''/I offir'" " ",I ,~,ct~~" ,,,
" ' -;ng qualily . k«ping lhe: ~~lahlfS from ruliz;n~ ~
., .,rltoh _II''''''' ,h.,• .,. only",.. ",/w,,,-rr.,. " , 1",,' 01<'"
"'_~'''ff_ /lH rN'''j_ If'" i.. M""-. .... is J,,".·.. i.. IN i~ only a dn"'ing afier all .
~. rIrt ... ~',II "" ___, f"<"~'" .... ,.. K 'T''' t>{ .. /rail- Blinb ",ill makc a big visual change ju>l by lhe
.,.. .,.. 11tt... '" ",Irr, • .<f" ..... pm",..... <vlor al()IIC . es~iJlly if ,he pupil is cnclosed in a
",t>i,e eye , The dramalic eha nge ffnm lI,hl 10 dark
eyelid 10 li ~ ht a,ain can be very ~!anling and un-
doubled ly will aUrael Ihc audiencc's lIaze . The eye.
!he: lid, and lhe blink mU~I be cardully dnwn and
bw,wu n• ..Jr,... 1<1 (I . .i""". ""ot>l~I)' ",,,1 Ml flumll' ....111' ,imed 10 ron v"y lhe pre<:i.;e aUilUdc of lhe Chara<>!CT
" .. rMJJ, ,,-hen .he}" h.,·c b«omc '10 iml'0.13 nl.

The Face
We hive found over lhe years Ihal te nain ,-"Ialion-
Ililtb 0{ di, /1rlitj, pu::l,mrnl, or "" ",I.. us""II;' "" .n""'I!
..iIII (I JilIn, "1,,;11' . In ,h, clo,~d 'Y'. ,~, "'I'
"n" bollom lid
shi ps make an expression n:ad. Nu one pan of Ihe
cxpfenion. Ihe eye. or any Olhcr pan by ilSelf, is
..." ....'OJ, ,h. rtlllr' '>i ,h, 1'''l'iI ,
going 10 communi<:alc if lhe exp«~s ion doc_ not work
o DO
"S/',
0 0 GQ
C.
00
A
GG
'D
" I un;,. To ~I Ihi. un;ly. !here musl be a cloK
n:lalion~ip bcl"'ecn lhe clUC;al piOns, If lhe: (UIUIn
arc spread 100 far apart il is bardcr 10 read lhem :lIId
fTIOfC dimeul! lO mue 0IlC' part reael 10 another_ This
is. of COO1St', becau~ mo'l of oor e~pcric:ntt wi!b
nprcssinns hu bun on lbe human fau . An an;m.al
suet> liS an antealer. which has il. moulh so far from

"' ....
/. ,lit flu"" b/",t of" " ,,"n',/ (}I" halj-rnMno", laot. ,h,
.....·nou "" ./"'" ," i" dk(l" ,/ in

.. .... lid _,<1<1",,11.,- opt ... .

,h,
rhim " , <Inri
..... r.qJOJtod ,n 'M J1attlu ,i",i." . h",,·., "" Ihr rxpo.a"
....... o.l,- IN " 'Art, of tM ,"(-N}I ,,,. flJ'Pil-is ,.po>d
,h,l,f'
lbe eye. is a !uugher problem Ihan OM whose fealUn:_
rclale in a p.al~m closer 10 a human ' s. If lbe line of lhe
mou,h t>as a d"... relalion"'ip wilh lhe eye. il can
push !he chech up a~ainsl lhe boclom ,,~clid in a smik •
•hereby n:la.ing alilhe t ey pam of lhe fa« .
.....
. "'...-
,.... f'lfJ"

j~ "",apr
•
 Thr :animol' ''' mlot,t be vcry all.",,,, thai he;" "'min,
. ith (oot_not " no:s. The lllOO lh. lhe ~"""k . tt... l.us .
.. e)",,"U. the nose . the fun:hci><! . It... "","'., an: ~tI
IN<Ic up or ~"n".... n Iksh I~at is b<:ing movcd ailoul
.. ith • .Jefinile plan . The ched: muM bc rcj,!arded as I
IGlid 1'1<1"" th~t r~'ta i ll' 8 certain ,·" Iume wh.:thc, it is
_ hO...J Itl "'-"COfIlnlOd;otc I ..·ide ...>p:n JIl<IWIl or f'I/>'ItW
,"01""",

_.
llIkl a 111:". shape II)" P"'lSUn: rnNII the or a
<Wd IIMl\l lh . I.. ;, n e Xlrcme s mile . the cheek C\"e n
~y be rorc"e<J ..:ros! Ihe hOII<HII p;o rl or the cyehall
II i. ~Mn
it",I'" Now C\·"'l·thi n~ i , '<I u<''''~c:d up H,It.",thcr.
"'........ w ~milc i, ..,Ialed. the:.o: (... m$ all wilt >Cp.! _ • • r-
.... Thi. ~i'~. <lill",n, inn It> lhe ror'II! ~' they ellang~ _ IA ..
ill ..,I;r\i"",hip In e:... h ....1Ie•• "'I"a.htnl; up or "Mdlin~ <'-'tri, '"
lllII_ and it is l h~ 00.: o r this full<.l~ mcntal pri,t<:ipl<'
/'OW it "
tIw ~i"" li fe.u IIw: f ...." . As lhe ctlf..'Cb urop away
from lhe eyo . the 110M: ",·iII d rop .li~htI)' . Ihe moulh
. ·ill mak<, a la~, mn,·c. and lhe ,,·hI,k Iw:a<l will
ftonc;o1 t ' "<:f1 ically to help 1K....~nI U~lc Ihc ,·hang~ .
""""n the bn.,w. ~rc rd"e,j h'r h and II .... C)C~ J I\:
. ·ode "l"'" on a c har""lcr likc M r. Snl« in I'n<'r P",•.
Or"""ohhc <I "·arr. . lhere ,,·ilt "" 'n ,n kJe$ ab","<: the
...,...,.. In lhe norm al "", ilion . the forchead rna)" It.:
;..t the '\liI<:~ hetwe..,n lhe hro"..~ a.... the cap . 1'........
"" .-
,....,"'~

I" •• ''''''~
,\,0.,. ",, <'1\
.. (or,:ho~d Ixin¥ 1)\I~ht:<I "I' an<J "Iuash"d by lhe ~jnI.
broo,.,. ...·ill he lull of ,,·rinkles thai rna)' c'·cn ~." ~nd up
Pf>IIlt< cUre \If the ~~p . Still. thIS " not ncarl)" ~<
........, .. Norm I-er"uwn·~ "~rly dr~ .. 'n" of PIUI"
. ,Ih tho: I><n,,", 'I"·k,n, up abo\"~ Ih.: h" ad dT""e . 11
...
(J,;~. H""
"'", diJIi<
"1;".-
"~
...... /or,

_.
""""~ ,1M
Smrt ..,"" In ~" intn a frow" fill'" lhi> PI" il;" ". 1M: ,,,,j
,,,,,/ rOo
,.,IN .... ) .. ould h''''e a "1("·C fn"'·3. d ~,,\! o,Ir>w·n ...ard ...".,. . . ...
011"'" heat bul Ihi . "....,1<1 he mu,·h ...."', I.... n the
I<1Ut "f!he bro ..... I.... lhey .rfino.· the <."Xrre-"'~ion Ih~1
- ",'"
...1 I>e ..:en. ",;,or "'"
A, lhe bn, w, """ '<;cnd . Ill<: flesh th ai ha, piled up
h:hi'lll I~", flatte" , (}Ul . When lhe y '·"Ml act Ihc c;r<:t( 1"h,';~ ....,~ ·,~IiI,·.\ fr" m Til<
til tht cle. tMy bqdn In push it do ..·n ;rnd change it. ""
1I.<,.,·uer, "'~I ,ltul"J "'"
,,"",. ....,('/tnr ..".....s......
~ . ,\> lhe f...",·n ........"On~ more ,nto n,;c"he pupil~
,~ rr""l"f'f~Ji",,,.
• lI! .... p;tt"1iaJly C<lI'cml by t]",<t roll ' of n"sh . "J""he-re Ii< .. '" ,Jot. '~pI;lit,~ ,,,,.,......
~. ' h",~,.." . tn Ilk"" tm.>..". more reflnc,,] no" l h~n
Il1o: n~ 1 of ne.h "" I'luI<>. nut slill ' c p'",enting thc
QTI< prjr,,:ip"' .
~ toI.o mono 11':11\ "",.e hno:. ghdmC h;od :rn.l "onh
-'" Ih.: ......., lu regi)!e, em<lIton. · - lhe face nlU>I .... '"
Ik Ilr'" .,~l th..· n~ "",nc,n mu'l I)( lim..'d I" ha'·e
ill< 1<,: li ,,~ ,,( wei~ b t. N" '" ,,"ly in :o ta ke Ih c 01" "'.
-,TIII'""",.."
.."it""D~",_rlinl
d~,
,
.t ch ..~ '~k"
. iM, QM " ..II
QfJw.J '''''.
"in, ,,~, 0'
«p.NI,.,
"., [ge."
"" U".
AII,II w "
~II(I/fl
". <N¥Jlf<i 1ry
".

,ion change can be as fISt as the animator ""1M III

make it; certainly Bill Tytlll made li,hmillJ dlIftFI
" 'ith Stromboli in dialogue . But in each cut: !hm
is a reaction afterward- a Ruling or follo:w.· IhrQlj,h;
othe rwise the ne sh will lack weighl alld ROC tit roll-
'·incing.
"The expression chanllcs 011 Wall" 5 fa>% WCl"f 1*Ik'
"la. l}, >timulat ing as he \bcrib.:u _hi"" 1(1' lIS
» mr r,,,, Moor~ His actin!! st...r.-·(U the ba'lic humor in the ,iI-.
S'.e,... Whitt . but the acthity in his fa.:c ,nspirro c'~ry IftifllljOl.
On _~ d, ....,i.., ofStu py. His brows " 'ould risc hill h in one 3ttit. . . the. AlII·
ont f)'1 I,.",..n wid" ' ..... n denly plunge down into a deep frown. " ;th the c~
,Itt 0111" or on. (k. rk il pushing against the c)·c . gi"i ng an imen>c , pilll"ins
sq~~Jh.d m"Tt ,h~n rh. qualiry (0 hi s look , The n <me brow w')\Ild shoot ~pilll
0111", 10 ,i."
lift '" Ih.
nowing ship" acr~. hl ~ fO'l"l:h"ad. T his " '1:\ nllly
upnu;"". Tlwbo,J wNi.,
,h •• yu (,.~u " P~f!Y. squash and s~tch use<! at its bnI to rom_
ll..p}" 1001:. with an . udic",,,.
Dialogue
'Nhtft dialoeue " 'as added 10 !he stories. an imalors
!Uddtoly "'e~ faced ,,·jlll I whole DCW problem . What
don tile character do wh ile he is ' liking? There he!
betn single word s and cxclamati on~ and short phrases
before. but nOw the s~hes were longer and de-
nwodro some: kind o f I(:li ng . Wah ~ .. iou$l)' lIad
mlted I mood ",';11'1 musk /'JI' inuginillh'c use of dfe<:\:S
or O('Cuional pamomime; oow he was un~ure of 1M
I)'PC of lK1in,1 UrtOOfl eharacleT ....0\I1e! use 10 ~pport
_ fortify the tiroes he was Slyin, . As tong as the
dt.loj: .... only ~prang from embams~ menl in f ront of
Minnie. or from a boy scolding his dog for doing
- ming stupid. Wah tnc:w how the charac:~r
_Id I0o/I; and KI, but I S 5<>On ilS the ,,-ords b«amc
pan of lhe story the animllOf'S were upec te<l to find
Ibc KliUlion .
" Hi, Minnie" and " Watch out!" lwlbeen done
,"'jill only the m<)ulh opening and cloling. but when iI
~, had 10 SlIy , " , .. I'll be ~a k Ind you' ll be >OITy
"bell tiM: ",oI f c:ornes 10 your door ... napping the Io"'cr
lip Ilheu "~rc: ,~~. few lo....e. jaw. I . thaI lime) did
101 do the job. TM Inimalon Iri«I nodding the head
up W down. but s till there wa~ no feel ing thaI the
woi« "';os romi ng from the chara<:ttr. Something h;od
lObe found lhal ""oold Sh~ the imprenion the cha~·
ttl u s Si)';ns the liM . The animalon !iCllfChed (or key
_(lids that seemed to be Slid ""ith more empha5i' than
'iltocbo:n and Ihtn put in an ~nI. a ;tsl~. I botooce .
or I dip "I that poinl. llItre wu ...ery lillie I1ttmpt 10
cl\oo:Ke Iht mtKl approprillC ICUon while evef)'Ofte
was $0 dc~perlile .boul gelling anylhinllO won..
In many pictures the chuleter sans the linu. No
one remembers ""hether this was I n II~mpI 10 mate
necessary expos ition ~ palalable or ...·helhtr it was
JUSt I way 10 avoid bad , l m.leurh h teling during I
long spe«h . Wall felt thlt a s inger ""ilh a pleUllll
VeM« established an immediate rIIppon with the 1IIdi-
to« , " If )'0\1 like his voice, you like him ." (AC\cr
one unsuc~~~ful meetin, . John Henc h quipped. " I'm
gon .... stan laking ... ~ les$Otls!") aUt , ac1u.lly, ~
was one way of drllwing vjc,""ers into the film ....i\h a
posi li "e altitude right from the "~ . There "'-ere many
seeMS of questionable acting thaI were c arried by I n
Ippealing voice .
If lhe dwacter had no re~ 10 sing, he would
speak his liM S in rhyme , ""hieb 1011$ not 1$ CI'I)' fOl' the
animator as the singing . bul this was bene. than tulislic
acting . In $(,,,,,,', "'' ' ' 'hop the clerk tells SltIta that.
" Willy Bro",," for ~~n )~an I hasn 't wnhed behind
his can." Both tbc drawing and the I(:lion were cn.ade
but the combinacion 1011'1 S\l<;cessful in Iht !hula , Even
if lhe charlCler did IlOl: qIIite look as if he we~ doinJ
the tllking , the speculars ""ere IlOl [00 crilical because
they ...·e~ enj(!y ing what they were (Ioing _
The big problem was to find • way \0 ICCCnI !lie
dialoglle , or 10 match !he ICCCnlS already \hm; Ira the
" lif_" ".~,­
>Jo~ .... ...... ,
,... fi"'~',
"
L I' 1
deli~n)' . 11Iese weK marked o n !he elI.posurc Sheel.
1O !he animator knew where the)' came. He had I copy
of the track and coolo;l liSIl~n to !he lints O"er and
'>Va". but for h im 10 capture the ~ ~~ fedings In hi~
drawings and liming WJi a real pmhlem . He;od ~ 'mh-
hltd (ronl _<ilk .0$io;ie. hands ...."CTC placed on hip •.
arms ",'ere folded-but by far the mo~1 popular ,olu·
.ion .... ~ 10 hive tile index fingu point ellhe. up in the
air or ,. llltOIller cllarac.er. It "'31 001 rein)' ~Iin)! . llul
it "'"u 1111 ea~}' way to lIel Ih' nece;;ar)" acce nt s to
match .he fu ling of .he o;IillIogue .
Some animaton ~'ari ed Ihi s • Iiule b)-' ui ,ng a
cl~",htd fist in~Ieild of a finier ucnded . hUl i! wu
lIil1lhe >I0Il KCenling the v.otd~. and . u,ually. ~\·"ry
"""ro th.! waS ia;~ , Walt inld\C neml )',<;unai led that
~pp...>;\ch by phmning ~Iorics Ih~z dcm;nd.!d a ,not~
convincing type of ICling---{lot illl the way thr1lrIp.
bUI in k(y ipolS. Th~ Fiyi"g MOllu. ",lei'Sed iIII9l4.
show'cd • new <;cncepl of a tartOOf1 t~ "" j"g l
litlC of Jial[)!!u~. and while the an it1lat,~, ."wit onl;' tI
A roughe r ",ri~Iion of the SiOttlC "Id JII........ m. ~ _
actually ..".."hc:T ~1~1' fOf'o'·ml. 1'10.. ,,-I!o.,k "''''''''1$
buill on t~ f(cl ing' <If the (harlK'l ers ~rIill!IC <N~e\
thaI OCCUtTed as 1M si.u~rion~ tlewloped. The dine:
t..n .... ~,.. rhi1l~ ing. ani! ,naI;ing oc'Ci,iQ!Ii. ~nd ""tlJillC
1\('" ~moliOOJ.
and. most of all. intt'racti~ " 'M oO.er
dW1Clen in l~ mIf)'. The pointing fintc' . '11 100
limited for lloi$ kind of letin{;.
Tile: follo"'ing year \>roul1hr a 'iUI,""'" :110;1. ~Ns.an.
The T"no;.., dud rl,e I"".~ ,·""t"it,,'I.l tt~ 101,..,..... tIra-:
acl~r d~\~ I"I''''''nt. rll<' d~.,,'~" 1...·"'1J~\ l il), nJl'<-~.
anJ llw- »,.·s. sy ....: "" ilb JialufUC" )".1 ...·h ....,nI. lit ,_
1r.l!.I. T~ Colli.." TUU("h faIled all .he " 'ay arQUnd
E'"tI)"OOt "'" 11"1.llw W"". ,,'Cn! "-rong.' Why did"
... ,,-.,d ~ ~'"CI)'thmg done had "'OILw before: smglng
5flOlC III>C •.• peaklng In rhyme. poin"ng • finger for
ac~nl!i. wobbhnll Ihe head on lhe d,alogue. II had
btm a wOntkrful "",,,n, opponunny . 100. for Ih; ~ Kmg
Midis " "as no ml~rly mona~h, mean and lIlin , •
ilJnfl,n. hoardIng hIs gold and halln, !he " 'odd fie
"'IS I h;lppy man and cnjo)'cd hi s "'callh and h;~ lifc .
.Ic Io.. w h,s fIo",-en and h", fOOnla;n and his food
alll105-l n much as hili gold .
Then afler gellll\¥ his WI.<h lIlat c"Cf)thil\¥ he IOUdw:d
would 'um 10 gold. he gradually realized Ihal he was
losing cvcrylhing he I(>ved and was faced wi.h $tarva·
"on and I Ilow death . Whal a s;' uI,ion for an Ktor:
the Ihough. ~. !he: ooncem. !he despair, !he
mounting panic . Then: WIS. wealIh of possibilities,
hul somehow the cmoon did IlQt come orr. Mon: was

nttded Ih~n mcK gClOtPn!S, hiPPY .m ilcs, ....on icd
loeb, and I king ruMinll around the coonyanl for tile:
lUdic""" 10 ~llte IU 11M: clw...:ta,
ThaI "'i<> 19)5 and work al~ldy "'~, <lani", on
S"",,' Whitt, a picture thaI demanded far more in con-
\incin, ch.1raclCril.alion iUld belie~able actin, than any-
thin, done before , Both the 1000oi!.C and the hare had
~n broId comk characlers shown in strong 5illlll-
tions titat h.ad in~ured lheir ~uccess, but TIlt (;oIdn.
T()U('h ...as .t>OI'e like the fea ture ~ing ~Iarted . 110'"
could S_ W"il~ he wccessful if King Mida~ cou ld
not be made con~incing? 1bc:re wou ld he no problem
" 'i\h lhe dWlllfs. $tumbl ing around . bumping inlo cacti
OIhcr II Illey II)' 10 d;sco~er "'00 is in lheir house, and
only minor problems with tIM: q.-n consulling her
mirror , since Ihal could he Clrricd ... ilh lhe strong
<hmatics of !be $ilwotion. But !he d ...arfs arguing abolR
whether the young girl shwld )UI)' and ... here she
dloIIld sleep and, especially, cryini $inc:e rely ,,·hen
tlley think she i5 dtad- how cou ld wc c~e. , ucceed in
makini the audience bel ie\'e?
As llot ani~ors studied llot problem , lloty hegan 10
5« thlll mcanin,lets , Pnn:1aled mo,'emcnl~ of ehlUX-
tcrt durin!! dial~uc dc slruye<J " 'hal liltle ""nuMlil )'
the)' rna)' have all.ined in carlier JoCenn , The)' already
knew Illal a m<!\Ith nopping abOlll like thaI uf a ~cn ·
Iriluqui<I'. dummy Ia<:ked wn~icl ihn and a head bob-
bi", _ k and forth did fIOIhin. 10 de"elop the dw·
antr, 1bc:y all>O realited thaI too m.....,h 11)0'=1 on
lhe eharacler made il impuuible fOf the audience \U
see the upre u ion on hi s face, In looking back at
SCelle$ 11Ia1 had been successful bef~ , lhe animalors
~ lhe idn of phm;ing lhe aclion in ICrms of the
phmoes of dialogue . When the fairy ;n TItt- f'i."intr
,IItJ<IJ'r had said, " 8 nl\'l: link tl>UllSC, ruu'"c httn
kiTKItD me, I'll gnnl one "'ish, whal shall il b.:?" the
aninl'llur tl;od ...cd ~ diffc",,'" h..dy ... t'lude <In ""'..
plIO ........ ilh al'JlNPf'alc ~"'IU1'b, Th..« .... h<ottI ~
slight f"I u!oC at the end (If e""h phr:tsc, ... hk h ~ve a
ehmll:t' 10 display the UI)1\:ssinll " 'hi lr till: bo.ld)' w"
qu iet, The next phr ..."" h;,d ~ """, ~lIiIU.J.: with ~ 00:'"
8C"1UI'I:, and pcmap,. II \'ari~t it1.. uf lhe e~~.
This . impli(1i:d tho: ... hok probkm of diakJr,... I»· Cm..
in.:lling ~It lho: nlr:tneWs 1111>"" lh.:ll h;td ktpl Iht:
char.octer mo\'ing wilhout meaning ,
This hegan 10 fucus Ihe .ni "'~lo"5 anent..... 0111
relatiun5hip uf anil\l\k , geslure, and upm.sion, ucI
,,'ithout realizing the advam-e being made. he $lII1OII
aski", queslions t i he ""ldled t'"",h ne ... K't'IlC , " Wl!M
should Ih is character do 1>11 Ihis linc-leu fon.-anI!
Lean I»ck'! What is lhe poin t here: ... h)' is he doiq
. nything in Ihis scene? Do I ... am lu ,how thii siWy
grin un hil fac:e. or jU$t put O,'e. that he is haPP)' ' -
IIQ( "'OITied .bout an)'lhin,? Can I do il bellel' iI •
close-up or in a full·figure shut?" As he 1I)ktd IIInt:
qllC's tion • • he ... as thinking uf a<: ting aoo per,;ooal~y,
and Ihis "0011.1 IiOOII lead 10 a roe,,' kind ufbelie"1billty
in the animal ion ,
Of CUUI'K, phrasing a line of d;,Joguedid 001 _ _
all the problen)" In Pluto's Judgmrnt Du," lht~ _
,;c,'eral Kcne s of the calJ in Plutu's dream Icstif)'i.,
about all lhe ,,,'M Ihin" he had dune IU CatS, o.e
very /'Wild Cit hlKI hcc:n chased ' intu the piOth ell
stc.. mrol1er and httn fl:U\ened ... afe...hin, The PI
"'as lnal on lhe las! line uf his lestimony. he ,,'OIIId
tum side"")'s and walk off. ~ho"' i ng loi s pmlklmelll
and makin, a runn~' eunlra~llo his ~ppc:an~ ifttht
three opening lil\e$. To aid in this ,'i~ual rontnst,loe
canied I balloon !hal !<OO1e"""" had hfcon... jotII II
lhin wil00Ut !)O!Ipin8-' 11 was a C'Ul~ ga~ wilh. owpriIe
Iwi st. ~l\d ~V(I)' dfurl h:ld lU bot mad.: I" \UpJIOII the
illusion lllal ~ ,,':as .~~lI)' a "~f}' fal ~at ;0\ the .....
U.. m L ... kc Wall g"'en the ~ne. and lot tatted ~
()V~ " 'ilh his ),oung an iSlltlI Ward Kimball , ..... fat
line. " Thlll greal bi, bully picked 00 me:' Jft-.I
hir!y easy, . nd the )' 'arce(] that lhe ~at "XlIlkI poiIII
tuward the offstage Pl utu while he wa~ leanin, for·
'NllJ'I,I. with a pelula nl willll~ , NO>II' he could Ihw
back . nd stick 001 his otumach <ICIlht !luI Ii.... .. ".
b«au.;e I "'IS SO fat .·' and eitl~. pal hi, tunllll)', ..
make a ) "'f~pin~ gesw r.: wilh hi~ hand , IIU11he IhQ
line. "Il~ ~ h~..:d FI ... ",Klcr ~ S1~:lInro! !cr , , ," :iI<lpPfd
boIh of !""se cr~ali"e minds. Thoey IlM>ughl of his run ·
nin, in pia«. turning in fur . doing a tak~ at ~n imago
Uy$klmrollcr. but nothing .."" imagi!uli~c enough.
10" _mcd 10 fortify !he Ii"" of dialogue . Finally
Wan! !Uuc.. ed . " Wc're s upposed to do >()lnClhing
diff~rcm Iren ' l " 'c1 Well_ how aMI !Ia"ing steam
come OUI of his cm. "'ho:n he "'Y5 · ~lC.mroller' ? ··
113m !houghl il was jU. I c.,,7.y ~nough to "" wonh a
II)·. bul who.'n Wah saw i! in the swea!oox a w\-ek lalcr
he ~ lhe r,lm with a long . slow. "Whal in lhe
hell W;lO!l(hll?" ' To him. i! kidd"d I"" ch:m.cICr ~nd the
lilll3l1oo ~nd lac~~"" tho: ~i nccrily "" wanted in his
~C). Many limc .• he ,,"OUld laugh at a s uggestion
or , bit of animalion but Slill discard il because it
4t>tTO)"N lhe MI~V3bi l ily of I"" silu~l ion. and Walt
belie"ed In his pictures alld in his men and in his
a~ k",c and would do nolhing 10 break Ihal bond.
Gr:odually It... CXlra"""" • .". arbitrary $O;lions Mgan
10 disappur and a 1)'pC of acting " 'as ~n Ihal Sttmcd
so natural and so righl for lhe dUnclcr tm.1 no .....
could ques lion!he bd ic vabi1ily . There ,,'ere .. ill some
animators ,,110 felt lhey " 'ere 001 doing 1fI)1hing unles$
lhey had an arm waving or the head nip· nopping
Ihroughoullhe 1«"". bul e"cntually they teall"lCd Ihal
lhese IOClions drew lilt autiicIKe 's aucnt;a n away fmm
Ihe nprusion and con lrad icted thc all ;ludc .
The s uccessful !icc""s ...·cre lhe~, " 'here,he ani-
rn.:IIor had fclt the righl u~Sli ion. h.ad urwkn;tood (he
pcr:lOlllllily of his character. and k""w how he would
reXI 10 e,'cry s ilu;uion in his own pan k ular ...... y.
And. funher. he h.ad a~oidcd making dra .... ings 11m
wcre JUSt drawings . but worked 10 nplurt the fc~ling
oflifc . A ~ Li v Ullman. lhe 8rcal aclre~$. has said. ··It
i$ whal is behind {he s mile Ihal mancrs . "
""".. rott Ollir Jo/I",/O~­
Robim llood.
DW"8~: ·'I'",,,,,,_od. " .
"",Ie ""ndilS. ,~bbi.h . loa
Ju. 1uJJ. ." Till. d'ol"tw
...... dd' .... '~d by Prinu
Jom. ..·,,11 on oi, of bomJ
"rro!OIlC~. rol/i~l '''' "
dri/ri'" ')IN of """011 .." ,II
""ItO, llead oc.:~'IU. Til,
_ Iy cloud ,,.,, willi 1M
/iJs"''' ~." run., M/(Hd
'M/_"ing of <:O~""'fH. On
tJv .....".1. " nd>/>isll ," Iw
lIU"IIS_y. roIli~ Itis~
"I'WtJ,d in " 8'"''''
<>, im·
I""irllC" Tit• .... ",.....
p"";",, IIos hH" ""mod
,hro,,&_' ,It••UM "w'
willi ":..,in&,ugrtU of I~·
'.flJiry. TM .,.... '''''''til'
lias IN,,,. "Yow. Hi•• . drt
.,lIpid! l ..... rl~ r_ "
How Do I M ake It Sync?
E.~n Ihough Ihe U"""ators 0" those carly pict ure. with
IOoInd ~ a 'lronlllC~"'nI In the dr~"lng Ihul matched
lilt fl1lnle "he"" lhe beat "'as marked. wmethlng
!<'<med 10 be wronll w ilh the '}IlC. " 1 PUI troc squa, h
dr~",ng righl wrocre you "':.r ked the X ." the anim.tor
claImed n.., dl= tur an,,,'crcd. ·· Yeah . but he seems
10 be I~t~. I hear the ,o..",d !:Iefou I see him do it. .. On
Iht M""lol" the Mlund head b "-'paro le from the pic·
tu"" Krun. SO t"'-' fIlm "ith lhe animation " 'as ad·
'~"hlk lhe,.....,nd"'"lb left In the .artie pia«. At
font It "'as ad'"3OC<:ti JUSt one f..-.. n.... but thai did 1101
help 'wy muc h, Thenlwo f...~mes. and fin.3l1y thr« .
When lhe whole: action "'"IU cxpo:o;cd tht'tt frames ahead
o f the actual !:leal. the char3Ct~f ~ppeared 10 be moving
e~ac lly on the beat! Mysterious illu sion!
The ""ord "" cnt aroond the animator's rooms. " ll u
the llCcems tht'tt frames ahud of" the beat!" No one
h ew .... hy il should work . bul somehow;t did. Then
so mebody had a sce ne in a lempo of eights (a !:leal
coming cvery eighl frames). and ""'hen he shiOed his
:octi<Jon by thrtt frames he found he actually hit the
ha tr·beat and gO! no sync at all. For a jUnlp. a land. a

. .,.,,,.
rIJII";~;~;'i
-101 ~

IHtd r/tQJJ~. I
""ttll,.,. /.>0,
,A, se,.'

, ,
1'<""''''' /,I<:l<)0l; IIw>ooj
anm,.", by 'N 1/11,_
pirt 'k'l' ,I.,,,,.,, .
his _Ad ITIrllllWi j
a ~.... '" IIrMdh /JW
fUJI ",DtM",
hit. a ta~e. thl« frames ""arly .lways ga,'e a betlOr
illusion than having the e~treme drawing right on lilt
beat. Yet. in this ca...,. it did I\()[ work at all. n....
Sttms to be no hard and f.>t ruk on S)'oc. "lw:tlw:r it is
on dialog .... or a musical beat . One: !lane in Pinorrllio
had to be shifted a rllil eight fra"",s ahead of the iK1IW
sound before tile e llaracter ~med to be sa),ng lilt
line . It consisted of only two " 'OIds. " 'hlch mighl hal't
heen pan of the problem, but no one ever Iw bmt
able 10 ""'y prcci,;cly ,,'hy any of this is so, The animr
tor!; have bc\:QIUC l,r.l!;llIal1~ ; If II worh . Illey do il; If
it does nOl, they e~perinlCnt , The hest sugge,tlon ilto
be alen to lhe I'0"ibilitie~ of shifling nny action againsl
the sound tr~~k Ylltil it appears th:ll the CharactCf is
matching the sound . (Of COUI'$C. an honesl antmpt
must he made to animate the ft<.:ling of the 5OUrd.
the first place. or no ~ylloC e"er " 'ill be poMi~.)
'These gcncral ruks on 31lJ"'WChing moutlt~.
dialogue are based on . and refined from. lhe primpks
that ~bm Lus~e de"doped:

I , Anticipate dialogue " 'ith helOd, hody . 01 ~

Ih ree 10 four frames .Ilead of Ille Ileavy modulal ion.
bIIt mouth sync should be right on It.: modulation.
If il is a dosed moulh . il will be on It.: con~l .
and . if possible. remain dosed for IWO frames in
onIcr 10 be seen. If you are us ing " Iwos " and lhe
mouth aclion falls a frame allead. that is okay .
2. You need imeresl ing moulh shapes thai renee t
IIIe per~naHly of tile voice . Look for srn.pe~ thai
,n-c: you an eUra IOUI:h of (hatacler and arc pec ul iar
10 this 0 111' I"'rsonality . You have a difrcrent voice
for eadI dw-ac:ter. and you should have I d ifferent
moul h a<;tion for cad voice.
3. TTY 10 show enough time on Ihe importanl shapes
so that lhe vi ewer will be .ware lhal Ile has s« n a
p;clure of lhe word .
4. 0.. holds al the end of • pIuasc: or a line of
.n.!o&ue. lry 10 retain I moulh cxpre:ssion tlIat reflects
the ~hancter of It.: last word . Do 001 change lhe
mouth ~hape j uS! because you are Ihrough wilh 1M
word or phrase . Retain 1M c haracter of the ~h ape in
the hold or pause wilh a soflening aclion 10 keep it
alive.
~. l1Iere an: not too many straight inbetweens in
dialogue . You may wanllO retain one ITlO\Ith a lillie
longer and then move quickly into IIIe nUl one. Of
vi<;e ve<U . Either way you w ill favor one eureme
over tile Olher---bo(h in liming a nd the shapes )'QU
draw .
6 . If you have a word Ihal h~s becn siretched OUI
fairly Ion,. treat it like a moving hold . Make an
u treme which ~ the shill'" you want. then make
a 5CCOnd one IhM is e""Cn stronger and "slow into"
il. If lhe sound i, diminish ing ralher than growing.
lhen your second Ull"Cme will 001 be as sirong.
Either way. you will keep Ihe fedi ng of nesh and
life in the moulh.
7. When wing the ey<:s only for )ync in an e~lreme
closeup. stan lhe eyes into lhe ~ al leaSl three
frames lhead of the 1CCVl1. If it is a mushy . lOfI
li ne. lhen lhe action don not need 10 lead lhe 50Und
by man:: Ihan a frame or IWO. If lhe acce ntS are
strong . Ihen you may wanl 10 lead by four 10 five
frama . Sy " Iead:' we mean to have lhe big move
Ilia! far ahead of lhe heavy modulalion o f the won!.
 S. When U,ini ~ blink 10 Ilelp gel ~yne . Ille eye,
.hould close ahe...:l of ~ accent by Ih.cc to roo.
f.amo:•.
9. If )'O\l are going LO . LDl yOur dialOl~ on a
drifting or slow move wilho\ll ... atlt i<;ipalion. il
hel~ IU SI~11 Ihi . move anywMle fmm Ih= 10
ei~ 1 fra,",, ~ ahead of 1m" aca;,n1 .
10. TIlerr are limes when all your dialogue will
haw 10 be un "une•. " When w'lrk ing will! Rre.
Fo~'s volee in SOftg ofrh~ SoU/h , we found that the:
actor talked 5(' fasl we coold no! poss ibly hil the
at~e nll wilhou l animali ng ,II Lhe dialogue on
"001:5 ." Some of lhe w0Td5 were » 5hun as Iwo
expowrtt and no! many ~ o,-cr four.
I I. The vowclsotmds. A. E, L O. U. alwa~ will
re.quire some O!)ening. 0 and U are aclually com·
plete word 5OUnd. at lime1. ~ acton each w ill
have lhelr own way of saying Ihese ~ound~ . Snllle
wi ll draw them OU I and I500Im will c lip lhem off.
11. The consonan1 ~rnb. M, p, S, are all closed
mou1hs. Keep in mind \hat 1M mood of lhe ct.arac:-
In will determine !he shape o f Lhe matllh . If he is
pinninJ whi le talking, his elosed mouth will be
"'ide, If M is pouling, il CiOn be • very "pooched-
up" d oiCO mouth. SlY the •• ,t of the consonanls
over 10 youm:lf. always remembering Ihal in se-
quence you do n01 hear !hem !he w.y you do indi-
vidually . BUI in saying Ihem you will gel a fed for
tbem--where!he Longue is and how much lhe I«lh
sIIDw Oft cenain sound •. All IMse Ihinp giye a
color lC~ture 10 the matI!h as lhe sounds I re mlde .
(ienenUy, lhe ones lbal have the E IiOUnd show
1CeUl . T Ind G liso can puder like I U, and Y and
W eln!!-o into y ~ery .m~1l 0 or U s ha)'e . V and F
art oflen heil shown wilh 1m, under lip LUckw under
llIe upper teell!. BUI li Slen c/ll'tfu ll y 10 your In.d
Il!Id d.aw lillie lhu mbnail matllh s lill you havc a
serifs Ih.1 works logelner and is enlenaining .
13. IJe SUTe Lhe IUlh /lI't not painled whitt or they
will flash . This ean be especially ... noy in& if the
moum is ovenrticulatw.
Other Ways of Syncing
Elecau>c of lhe limilations in !lc. ign illlpos~<I on us in
mIIny pN:IUres. we had to find Olher wa y~ be side! Ille
"r
m<lUlh I" ~el ~'Kid 'ync and m.l~C lite line. u;;,IC>!'uc
con>';ndn!! . Here arc sonl<! 0( lIIe n",llkld, ... ~.-d:
I. Rely lOYif(' on hoc-.td mo."'~~.
If the lK:ad mo.)'·cs a~ prul"l'fl)" " W:'C'C"I\"ffl i" ",1.1lioa
1(1 lhe di~logue. lhe np"''''joo on llIe f",-'l: ard t1le
mouth shlllCS bo.,,:omc f~r Ie» ~rilic.1.
2. Charac ler rear view. in shadow (If s ilhouette.
Sync will come from head and txxJ)' nUl'"e, ... \\-,:11
.. g,lOd ge~lUre .• Thi s Iype of SI.g ing gives yariel)"
and ct"kn mnes I ve.y dramalic ~el\C .
3. OffSUje d ialo,...., . Khanroo;ter u.lk i,,!' is IIOl
shown . )
The camen miglll be on a scenic~, somedf«l$
anilllll ;(>II. ",in. a p;o.norama . ",,;ome ~5 ill.
room Ihll baye I spe<:iaJ nxaning .
4. Camera "on" a c har.. ~ler ,~her Ihan In. speaker.
!n shuw ing one character lislen;na 10 anolhe. ellar·
IM;tcr's lines, yoo oflen e~po!'r lhe feelinJ .• of boll!
o rtMm It tM ~ time-one IhrouSh his dialope
and IIIe other Lhrough h is reacliom. Thi. is. JODd
idea 1<1 eonsider al any lime .
Listen to Your Track
Carefu l study of lhe sound Irick wi ll reveallwo very
importanllhini'!. First, thc: overall phrasing and lim·
ing of Ihe li ne , Ihe a.:cents. the r.. 1 move~, drifl'"
!TlO\'CS. the~. And,~, the personality IOUdIes
of the chll'lCla" shown in 1M ~fit Wly a ...n
is said L1UI! will be ru ffe",'" from the WIt)' all)"{*" die
would do iI , Neither of lhese Ihings shoukI be_-
looked.. for bel,,'~n lhem they offer lhe key 10 Itow
Ihe eh.racler i5 feeling.
The expression chose n is iII",,,,,u/'11; 11i~ 111(1li~hrs of
Ihe ~ h~r"",er and nol rh" words he 1$ sayin~: Lherrlort
it ... ill rentain constant 00 malICr ho... mMy worti< ~
said . For each ~ingle !hoo,h!. then: is OM ktye.1jlm-
$ion . and " 'hile iL can change in intensily if will'"
ch ...,e in f~ling . When the: characiet &flS a ....
Ihooglll Of hal; a realimion abou l SQmt'llIint doai:c
lhe '<!C 'Ie. he ,,'ill change fron, one ~ey nprcuim 10
anollK'r . wilh the timing of lhe change reflecling .....
he i. Ihin~ing .
If the lhou~ hl l""'lCe" i. ;, sudlkn reali~alio". lhel it
wi!! be. quic~ cllllng~. If it inY"lve~ a .lCn.mintllClial,
 WI/It /oj
Ite 'ilk
,/,• . 1
,k.
"", It..
' 0"

·""""" F'dnl n .."", ..

C.m u 1I..."A ..oh ~ a .. ,· nJ'~ _S.:~• •/tm Cltallpd '" ~JlCqH for a sJo,ltJ """....11 *"looIr _,It
""""" s" ,I... , " UJ'f't""" ,<.' Jllle .. ~ ... ~ Id It",·, ~, ~ .10, '''P .'I' 'NH"/i"" "' ,Ite f" /'"8 of "'M
Ah<t tn WOfId<.,,.!d
~ ,h",t onx a/""" "'hm,, ;, "lOr, ,,,,,;,'N,b/P;n ,/oi, "''', /mlM" lif ",,/( 1"h~ b ub _th.""
/JoQIOI"~
.Nt
'W<I, wop....
,·",ho~~· . ""fW~"
su .....(· Th~ A"oo IS" S"OI'
pI~ f'lfft' of_it,Rn\', ""J
~ca~J~ ,~ cltu,....,u
"",""",w '" ,me ~. T~
js II s~1f mo.·.. In.,
rio<urps s• • .., /I
,,~ .... ,
"11,,,.. ,,,..
filS ./u< Jlojfi

i>k'" "..,1 '" ~ In,w,, ~-II/t w~m lI",s;d, "I~e ,'",,', cm" '''''' i/J m, ml/or " .a/IIY. n,

..,,,.'''''' Ho ll T.·,'" e",,"p'- " fu ",,,,/(

,10, fa<", ,h. <11><,.,
,/till "'/tu
".. O-"'f( \'f)u, "..""/, "I' m
I,i"" "bhtm, .. Tit,
I I, ,. ." . p wu" ,10m
roIlrd -r-j.><JI'I!"' ~Jrops
""ff ....,..Id /ttlp hi",
Tyt"' . ....... ~'IIh .
s.".. I', hOle
(I..,,,/< a', "II Sf> <"Ille' II> ..", ..... , .... I.... ropt,,,,(1 IItt> it.. 1><"' " .../ ~ ..... b<>t-l It) "..,,~, . .illY •.....
o..w,.... ·-S/u<·/1 ~ "-ml p/~u" S .. ,,,. Wit", 1/ .. ~.....,lnf"1 ""re."·,,, of ,Ite IH-m~ ... "'/ 1/• ..." ..... mar. ~" po",' "',.. 110,
.'"",""ml, "I' "0 I"'"
Iooou "",I ,_1I0~l
"I>
"", ~p
fir., "''')''' u"r,jjj""
•"""JI<' co..... us /u< ...a.-~.
1m, '" G o" nl' \' ,I,,; "'".' p',.
u,.,j, 10 "",t, /IItI, ,ibba#rJ
iI. ha$ """bI~ Ihi~~'~, of
l/tr ~'OI'J ··""rf_" aNI
.... botIt«rastotu"
I,~ IW ""'MnrI /I
",Ii ,Ito, "~ff mlhJ fm ... Iou an ..""d hll'fCh,d " ... of lou hr<I,J I'M" hIS ,"",.,j "" 110, "ad G"""P1 '" dc.
"","10<.", m'" ",,,,,,,/, '''''', "Sh,'11 ..... he ,,,,.,. "",,/1 .",,1/ "I his h,ad uS ,Jw..~h I,","
Dit>lo,~" " W,II, ." on
..'i,h il! Uh. . rominu"
my d"Ir."
A!r/4lrill, J C"I'l(Ii NH 001:,
IHnf MtJJ "';,h th,iu for
r".,NI' on P,It, PaN , b
Irying to ('<XU Jrom a j,,,I.
""" Ti ~k,r 8,11 th, ...·M,.,·
abotds of hi' ir<JtN /Hh." .
~ry .
Tht cnangtS in attltNd,
",., ~'lrat mak, tM. w,,,,
,irh , FI, ... I~'" i. tht
""1Iry!"" "aIN 10M.,. ~
y,II. , " Wdl. gN Of! M;/Ir
i,!" Nnt i. Ih •• ~dd,~
,,,,,li:o,lon 'M' M .......·
",tubd hi. J"liNI" H,
quietly ",oln. conlfol,
anJ ....I'A.1n I<uina " . ",iI,
tmJ o~ oily . .....",
SIllY'. ··C....w-."'1*"':'
"'*"
T""".,
".;,/0 ,h, ''1'''''"'''' allIN,
chunS,,/n ./rapt",
Itll "'/ta, CapUJiN HooI: i.t
'Irin~i"1l .
L~~~"' .;n b< "0",' Th< ",p~h" ip Cip-
dtrtlla, Prince John in Rubin 11000, and Caplain Hook
"'''S>:. Fm~l TIrOl'lll' -
Cill'krt lla.
.. 't~, p~" were all schc ll"" r~ w ho wok Ii"", to:;how
. . e\-il thoughts . A c hange to a smi le or a puzzled
look may also lake t i~ because all of these thought
{I'OCt'lSeS ore " f a more de liberate nalure; the u~s­
UrnD>n moo:: gradually across the face and i. likely
IOItfI\II; n there longer, In pantom ime. the only ke y the
Vlirnal"," will have to the timing of these c hanges wi ll
be tllt parlicullll" personality of his cllarac ters. With
• addition of dialogue. much of the IUtu.e in the
.cI"tS in hi, s«ne will ~ from tile [i[(k nUI~S
and ihad in,. in the sound track. whi(:h wi ll sugaCSI ...un Olli~ JoIt~SII_
tile ~d of hi. actions u wcl l as ho.... broad or Robin Hood .
R:SU1IiIOed they mighl be . "Iller will affect whet~ he To W wlin""bI~. ,,", II",·
IIIIOYe$ continuously or pau~s and then con1inues . Lis- m o'lr~r had '0 M much
len to dialogue carefully ; "'l im 10 tht thought. and s'rai~h'''.
c",I",,~ ,~ .
and
lito.
I", of"
P,itlf:~
idras-chey are your d",,,*,le" ,. He is thinking them.
Joltn.
IIId you mu>! Cap!UR them.
~aps then: is a manne ris m thaI wil l fit and .w:I
life. It cou ld be a thoughtfu l movc o f the cytJ. a
.rnl glance. the tong~ moying across 1hc lips. lhe
WnctC1' pull ing on his clI in. or pushing lhe hair OUt
Iof his eyes. Any of lltest and OI her similar aC lion s , an
become pan or the u)lrCssion if chosen ,arefully . If
tilt JC1Q1' doolli lhe V<.>ice h.s d<livered the lincs as
lhouJh he ....as thinking the:m for Ille firsllime. lhey
"i ll suggesl express io ns. As has been menlioned be·
tn. il is absolutcl~ essenlial lhal the actor gi~e a
SpO'II' _ ptrformarv.:c. If he sU~SIS laki", his
lines bomc 10 praclice. il is a good lip-off lhal we may
nox have Ihe righl actor . lie is alnlO51 sure 10 gi~e a
poIGbtd ptrfonnance inslew o f 1111ering the: unll~ual
lilde $OUOOs that make il possible for 1hc animalOl' 10
visu.lize express ions.
Above all lite yoice musl be belicyable and il mUSI
oommunicale. Our standard for a "0«'( voi« sptn·
me "" ilh .pontaneity and ,d loc:ting a llIOughl process
,,
. ·as !oe1 early whe n Luo:: ille La Ve,-m, was Tl",ording Ihe \,I
lmes for lhe wilCh in Snow While. Bill COIlre li . SIOf)" -"!
111M and dircclor. "·as in cllar~ of the session and
~,
said Miss laVerne .... '5 50 convincing lhal when she
Iud from Ihe sc ript. ·· A glass of ....·a ler-plea:o;c !-a
,
,
ellIS or waler!" lhe OWiistlm dir«tor ~aped 10 his ,
I ~ and dashed oot on the stage wil h a brimming cup r' J
·-~--r
-, - }-
before she cou ld gel 10 the nexll ino:.

-
 Il""" fit4lll N""'. ""'It
,,,,, ...... ....J ,"" 000~ _T~
n>eopIm/y ~..... ~.INl. altd
A,...IIi""du """ rtnllJ
poi'" [ubly a, M,.li" aM

...-NT, "" roI/,.d ,m" fl'''''

jilltJlI, llid~ It> '''~
HdM
a"J IWpnlIt" IIi ••,., ,.Ii" .
........ ""'I bid"M "';IIt Iht
owIIII""'RIoo"llhr pirl"" .
,..,.,IJ Ihlnt '" no ~,.,,. 10
,,,,a/jg.~ "'''~. 110(,,, 10 pwf!
Of! "is pifH a"J /0I.t •.,..,
i..iltJlN.
The Total Expression
Tryinl 10 Illonl; of e'"l:1')1hing at Qnce can be \'CT)'
('I)IIru~ing . Wh ile "'..:.nying about [he: sllape of lhoe
mouth or ~yroc;n g It.. ",,[ion 10 the dia logue, ;1 is easy
IOf<>rgcllhe auilude or the esse nlial uprcss ion for 1he
"ooie Stt~. To overcome lheK obsl\IC lc s is lhe dai ly
challenge animators must face . ,,",w ,h., F"d Mo,"~ I"jn"il'/~ fi" "Im;n~ Ih~ "'/wi.
M"" to Ih~ f"'-;"/ UP'''';'''' , II /""K'n ctmrpm,u. al/ """"reM: £tk
All of oor rules. list •• and suuc$lions haw COme Pinoxchio.
1M ""n. , Q "lOk, ' OfHn. 1M ... WI',
from Iry inS to unify our message inl<l ~ , 'alernenl Fi,...,I1''''-u

... -.
lIIaIlw in.pac •. Someday. ani""""," may be able to ,Iti$ ~".
""III« illlo tile areas of hidden mc:anings. sly sugges-
lion. c,'c n dooble c nlendr". A 'I""''' from Alfred
OIhcr; a c(NWCl"Salion may be quile uivial . bu. orlen
11M: c~. will 1'e\,(Cal ""hal a person !"(Cally Ihin ~$ or
llil '" 1M'"
ro.ld didltJ,

Hitchcock re minds us that 1hen: arc Slill some exciling fee ls.'" 1M vitHml.
typn of ~Ol11municalion 10 be cons idered. "Peopl e A sequence overloaded wilh dialogue can be<:omc III llot '/(Iff, llot
licipol/(M. IlIId
don ', . I"'ays npre ... their inner thoughts 100""' an - very di sturbing 10 the view~r . bu t hopefully this Can be
, 1""'1' iItIo <lot
, . Fi6<m>',
IHII~' IIwr if
..,.,., 1Il-..
discovered before too muc h of it is anim ated. On more
than one occasion we have tried running a sequence
wilhout the dialogue track and have been surprised to
find il played beautifully wilh just the right pantomime
md the music. A key line may be needed here and
then: for explanation. but the idea of the sequence
lClually is communicated better.
"l1Iere is noIhing wrong with dialogue." T. Hee
once said. "You and I are usi ng it right now. Hun-
d.ms of plays have been writte n b.""d entirely on it!"
But somehow the canoon communicates better through
elpression than words.
If the line of dialogue does nOl require a strong.
ckfinite phys ical expression. it might be a warning
~t the =ne should be handled differe ntl y. II shou ld
be reappraised bolh for the wriling and the aClor's
cklivery, and steps nlust be taken to im prove any weak-
ness before more lime is spenl.
Many of the sce nes will be entirely pa ntom i"",.
whkh gives the animator a chance to build the emo·
tions of his character in his own way. This i, more
clullenging, but when done well these moments can
be the mo.<1 rewarding 10 the audience. This point is
nicely illu,tr~ted by the story of a famous Greek actor
~'OO lo't hi, voice on Ihe day of a performance . He
went on anyway. but acled only with ges1Ures. People
liked it >0 much that they said. "Oon' l tall any-
more""
In ,umming up. here are some of the rule, we have
learned over the years:
I. Show the express ion change'
a. Avoid making a fast move while changing the
e xpresSIon.
b. Change you r expression before the move. or
at the end, when the c haracter is mov ing slow-
ly enough for it to be seen.
c . Do notlosc the expression change in an active
secondary action---,uch as a hand wav ing, a
bi g ann action, or follow through on doll>e' ,
2. Avoid looking up for a frown. unless it is a sinis-
ter, domineering one.
3. Do nOl hide a smile with the head tilted down too
far or behind a big nose or moustache .
4. Be sure you have the right staging (0 show al/ the
expressions in your scene to best advantage .
5. Have you the right expression for what your
character is thinking? Arc all pans of the head
and face related to this one idea?
a. Do nOI change shapes tOO much all over lhe
face.
b. At ti"",s. hold oown ac(ivity on the face so
that j ust the mouth is movi ng.
6. As we were told so many ti"",s before we learned:
11 is the change of shape (hat shows the character
i, thinki ng. 11 is the thinking that gives the illu-
sion of life. It is the life that gives meaning to
the expression.
Saint_Exupery put it so beautifully in his cla...ic
line. "1I' s nol the eyes. but the glance-nOlthe lips.
but the smile. ,,'
,
17. Acting and Emotions
"In uwr (mimation we mllSI shol<' nm only rlre oNiuns "r 'euClion' 11/ (J dUl' acter, hili ..... masl picrare "Iso
~'jth
tlte al."rion _ 1M luU,,/( of thou c/rartJ<"lers.··
Lropotd Stokowski rerognil.aJ Walt ', Il\I ly unK!1J<' tal_
cnl when he co mme mcd, "Wah had the imagi nation.
in~ighl. humor. and sense of o..ig n to emer in to the
f..lin, of life of any man. anim31. lree. or .tOM and
nute us red with him,'" From the '-ery heg illll'"g. it
..z oo"ious till.. lliesoe f«lings o f the characters w'OUld
be ItIC' !lean and """I of rhe Disney pk:tu"",. n..: storiti.
which at first had been to ld through bits of businc.<_'
lrld iocidenls. were !O ld 1lJ()«: and 1110re through Ihe
ruclion~ of the char-dCters to (hose incidents. The: ioci-
.OIS rMnlSe)..." rcmai.-.:d viral 10 the Slory . but how
die ellar.IClcrs felt abour whal was happening became
...-c imponam.
In every an form it i . the .moIional conlcnl fhal
miLl •• rhe difference bet ...'ecn mere tech nica l skill and
trIM: "" . The poet. scu lptor. dancer. painter. sin ger,
lrtlJ- all eventually can become proficient in their
<.. rlS. ao;hievin8 dazzlinll mech:lnical perfection , but
tllrir " .....1; wi ll be empy a..... me.ningl0:s5 unlo:s~ the
prnoot.al p""epl ions of the anisl = communicated as
well , This thooght waS stated most simply by """
~udi" alli.t when he noted tha t ma ny of the young
-.
..... ,1 "cou ld a nimate beautifully. but that isn't what
Mrs )'OU laugh and til;,l isn't ...·hal maku lhe tears
I
I
Wall o; ~r.e1
In the animated film the~ is actually a double JIOIen-
tial f<>r th is type of pe rsona l e' pression; firSI. in the
emotions of til.: charac ter. in the film that arouse addi_
tional res ponses in the audie"';", ~nd, se<:ond. in I"'"
anistry of lhe " 'ork ilsel f. It ""'ill show in I"'" writinl
a..... lhe choitt of the material. in the design ;ond pre'
sent.t""'. lhe staGing. lhe pkl u~· mak ing. 1M Y'Oice
tale nts. Ihe co lor, the musk- and especia ll y in the
animation , The re are the individual drawings with their
elu.ive senS<ltion o f life. and there are the relation·
ships of all the dnowings in mo>'cnw:nt and limo: .
In Ihis book We have outlined the basic ... ills that
must be rnas.t..,red if strong. clnr comrrHlIIicalion i, 10
be achic>'ed. We also have pointed out many eumpks
of fine animation that becal1le memorable bc<:ausc of
feelings the allbt had atlout the l'haractcr alld the ~itua·
lion . There WaS more than jusl frowning in anier,
~ Ihan a ~ingk expression . .... e>'en one lone COlI·
Yineing o«nc . Tbcre was real drama wilh I"'" full
range of emotions.
Too often there does ~ ....-.:m to be any real reason
to prolJe thb deeply into a char~cter. bu t anyomi"ion
he", is :lOOn ~iced. One cri tH; complained th~l a
certain animated film had ~lIina more than a gallery
of paMlOns. II. the character 5 " flKC t .... itched tlll\lUgil
- ,'- --
 '" I\"",C'! "'pen".", of ~'im"e'c, '" e, a'H! "'W _.. G,e,,'
,,:~nt" "'we new' 1",;11 Illal "'"Y
h Ihnc a mag;'" formula " -c h:ow !ea"",.! fo' buil,l-
,nv ,,',·n,·, ,'f ~"'al e""~in,, into m" l,i"WI,"" nf m,,~·
"'~ ,Ir~wing, wilh """,,,nal fcc!in£ II"" ,',Hl U"mlllil
Il,,' ,,1I1'" emolion 10 ~n 3u.!icll<"c? _... n "'>Ionbhing n"", ·
I"" of people in Ihe "eld ~rt: 1101 ",,-are " I' Ih" I"Jlcn-
1iul. '10', acluaily. urn!c"tand how ",,;mallon ,,"orh _
Even WBh n,,,'.r n;aliud whal made >ome s<:e~~ more
~uc<e_"f\llihan OIIIMS. hUI he was such ~n uU l§landi ng
.tol)·Ie1ler that he Imew ",h31 ,hn"ld Dc shown. whal
would hold an audience. "h~t "'ould gCI a C'Cnain
~:lCti"n. and he could afford to pay f'lI" II", fumbling
errors of his art i,,~ ;<.; the)' learned.
It w.s lhe supervisi ng animal<)I'S ,,'ho had 10 lind lhe
more effe<:li\"e uses C>f Ihe an iSIS' limited ahil ilic:I.
WOfkin~ wilh lhei, c rc"·s. Iho y .searched for easier
" '3)"$. simpler wa>'S . s tronger way'. trying 10 find tl!.:
essence of the emenainmcnl in the . .. tnt) Ihey Wt~
doing. And Ile,~ the)' ~i~t""c,,,d that intre~~ ingly their
problems were in the field of acti"il _
Seve",] people It the s1udio e"",lled in :\<o:t1ng dassc • .
;e~~ing a great~l understanding of the di sc irlin<:! of
tile 11le31er. L~o Salkin. from the St<:ll)' Dcpa"ment.
repo"ed his c~perie,,~e:
I besan to ~,,;;e why cenain »Copk. good aclors.
communicate and ma~e 3 ehar.lCIC. bdic,-abie. [" "C
>at and walChed yO\ln~ student actOTS . .. arnlthe~" re
$a}'in, tile lines lhe 'ny they "'er~ writlen. and
Ihey're uying 10 be angry. or tl)' in~ 10 he sad. or
.~."
by
"
".
,,'
".
.-
'!'
~:iI
'~r
Ii'!
(,yin)! I" h.: humih"lc,l. I,~'ing tl> 1)<. aHr,·'~i~c . ....,
tllq'", d<Jin,.; "II Ilw", thil1,o;>' and ii', I"",),!
,\,,,1;1 lic ' there I"~,, ;.Ikr h"", ,,,,,I ~''''' k"",,- it·,
n'" """kin~ allJ )"" Ihink . ""II"", ~a" ~"" ~CI it"
11<,w , -an """ ",A,· Ih"t ~~~lI",t?"
AnJ IlI.:n righl .... ,1 "f n,,,' he,,'. "'"WI»1,· " ill ""
,"-'ill~ a ,",ene. "",I r".. " h,ief. ",ayll.:. -0 >c<-~\IIIIs
{t", 1,Iamn {hil\~ ,,,m,,, 10 life I SUlI,kllly Ilmt ,,,",.,11
b a woman in Irouble. and Ihi. guy is being "",111
and ~~',e rcaclin~. and you, "hok: [xing i$ """
denly f""u.cd "n ,hal. ~nd Ih~n suddenly it di,I;'
palc •. I n~an . """ ,,-rong "",,,d. 0"" "rong elllj'ltu-
sis. and the thinjl i! go""~ ( Ihi"k. " Whal millJe IIlI1!
,,"or\;'! Why dict Ihal happen al IhM IT\I,),,,,,m?''
That ~o[d.:n momcnt is our goal. '!"hal is "'hll _e
muSI understand and r«reate in "''' own rn.:-diulll.
(s il possible? .... s .he animalor s i,s al h,s oks~ Ilil-'"
ping Ihe ,jrowin~' and Ihrowin~ th~", "way and nut-
ing new ones. he probably sh<>uld ,,"onder 31111e3ll'
daeily of ~n)'one proposing to duplicale an actor't
ani~lic and tnO"ing ~ rf"nnarn:c " 'ith <tnly a roIlecriOll
e,f dra,,-ing',
The :lC!<Jr and the animator sharc rtI.l;ny int«W:;:
'hcy both use symb<)l; m builJ a ,har:>Ctc, in th.:~~­
laro, s mind. Cenain geSlures. altiludes. e~~"ioAI.
and liming bave come to ronOO1e sp«ifi~ perwnloliliel
and enlOliont . S<Jm( regional. tJlh('j oni'"Cr>ll . II)'
usin£ Ihe riShl ~ombinalion of Iht>t in Ib~ pNptL'
S«ju(n.;e , .he aclor builds a oond ,,·;tb III<: ptOpl< it!
Ihe audience. ~nd lhey are wiln hi",. lhey u~
- .-
-.
bim; and if they like him they will be Ct>/IUmed about
...Igt ~ns "'him. 1'11ne are tIM: an imator' s tool.:as
,,·eli. ~ ""hile the aoctor can rely 00 hi~ inner feel ings
10 build his ponraYlIl. the animator musl be objecIi,'Cly
II\IIy!ital if he is to rea<;h O\I! and tUUI:"h the audi~ nc~.
Kath;orine Omlllanncy. in her book on acting for
~udc:n1~, hiS <kfined the ru lu arwJ the uen;; S/:s thaI
... lhe . ICps for lhe beginne r.> She a~ks the pel fonner
10 ron.i<kr 1M", '1ucstiuns liS he tries 10 communicale
•• ilh an audiellC(!:
Are the t hamcters inte re5ling. li fel ike . and vivid?
I)u >-ou beromc emotionally in"oIwd ""ith them'.>
1)0 the p'sturn arwJ ~lIXnt~ ~m sin«n: .
Wlwincin&, clear and properly nl(Jli""ted1
l)roes *" ur lhe actiun help to delineat" 11M: charac·
ltl> and lheir s;Wali"n for you','
I) the ao:;tion clear·cut. realistic. prolonged suf·
fICiently, and eu~cla!W ("""gh to be seen by lhe
"''-ok audie",:.,?
Undeniably . the,., are the criteria for judging any pe1"-
flllTnallCc. aninlaled .... live . They sou nd ,;0 si mple •
• 'riUen thi~ way . and an; elL'y to pin up on "",,' ,
o.>k- bu l Ii<) diffic ull to achieve .
Tho: demands ...."e q ui te simple in tile carly films .
limited Illain ly to gestures o f anooyaro« Ih~1 Iried 10
lie " anger" and a kind affright that wished il could be
" fn r : ' G radually a kind of formu la developed for
nW.ing ·· p3tOOs·· the: prillX ingredient in a fitm . MlCh
• r ... Uti), OlKtli"t' an aPJll'al ing lillie chancier
wants very much to achieve something and fails ill a
way that hUlh him; the other C~teB ridicule him;
he I.ks again. fails again ; lhe .OOien« feels the IMor1
and Slans 10 pull for the liule , uy ; .... hen he finally
sUl:"~e~$ in a unique and heanwarming """'y, c\l'Cl"}'Olle
feeb like c heering .
It ;~ an (lId formula and the K ting c~. ,..., ele·
me:nl al. A. long a~ lhe cenl",1 figulc i ~ sincere. his
actions can be broad and louched wit h humor wi!bout
upKuing the patho/;. The ugly duckling' , mournful
cry of rejection was a ludicrous hook . which only
increa5(d the 'w:lf(no:s~ in lhe ~udicn« thaI this poor
lillie: OUtcast did. indeed. ha,'C a real problem . Lau&h-
tcr and sympathy were ron>bined in I ..'ay that or·
fe:red a high potential for e ntenainrncnl and for ""r·
5OfI~ lity deveJopllX nl. bullhere wer( no greal demands
in acling .
By lhe linIC lhe >llIdio belj:an 5"Q .... Whiu. 1M ani·
malON " 'ere lM:ing asked 10 depicl much II1On: lhall
jusl happiness and sadness. Now. tMY ..~re fared
with the tM of rommuniUling ~uch subtle etn(l(ions
:as love . dejection . hate: . jealous),. con«rn. and fc ....
"The firS! real e Unlple of an entin: sequen« ba.<;Cd on
pure emotion .ho\\·~ the dwarfs c lying be. ide Snow
W hile 's bier: il was a trilical detis ion even to allen>1'<
this t)·"" of sequence: . The supervising director was
cono;cmed " that the aud ie nce would IlOl react :as we
hopfd il woukl . It was IlOl a mailer of \\'hal roeld siz,e
we used . o r panning . or what Chlll'a\.1er we: Cut [O-.-~
was lhe mood in ""h ich \\'C wanled our audience at lhe
lillX .··· It ..-as imponant that IhI: vie""eB he involved ~
completely in th~ fulings o f the dwarfs_ and no one
knew how this could be done with mO"ing drawings .
There were twO enormous problems.
First. the animators knew of only one way to com"
municale an)' emlJ\ion: shu,,' the change of expression
that wwld re"ea lthe charaCler"s thought process, He
had to move to Stay alive. and a series of drawings
mo\'ing from one animdc to another was the only way
kIlO,," to establish the emOlioo . If he w~re secn to
<hang~ from a portrayal of concern or WOfTY to one of
desp;!ir, or from d"spJir tu fight ing ba,,~ the tear<, it
might Ix: [""sible to make him bdiev~hlc. But that
...·oold ma"e too much movement for thi s ~"(juence
Ob\'iousl)' all the dwarf, should Ix: o"crcome with
grief from the beginning to Ihc end , with no change of
ani1ll<k and as little mOve mem as poss ible . There would
be good impact on the initial picture. but whal would
~ «"p th ~ Ow.,rfs from goin g nat an,l lifele" afte' that"
n,. OII>"r probl~m lay in the fact thm the audicn~~
h",l become co ndni on~d to laugh at the dwarf> when-
,'vcr Iht)' O m >! on the M"re("n . N,)w . 'he ' i"'<""ta'n"
wCTe being asked 10 respond 10 these canoo" figures'
a new " 'ay and 10 share tlleir feelings of desolation.
laugh 3t this p<Jint " 'ould ha\'~ de ~ll"Q~'ed the
concept. In the original version of this seq=.
audienc:<: had laughed at a crucial $Celie of Doc
Dopey. AI Ihat time. Dopey began the scene s .
bleakly with mi,ty eye_ at th~ uffstage $0011' ~
before turning away 10 b<lr)' his face In Doc',
der. It was a touching m"ment: ho\\·e\,er.lhev;'
""p<Jnse 10 thi, ,hot of the usuull}' jolly Dupe)' .... 111 ..,
anticipator)' laugh . un. that ,!uicl l)' tUflk>J I" cUDltl'
s iun and th~n cl11barrassl!l~"I. bU I by (hen (he spel hili
been broken Fortunately. thi, was ea,y to COIT<d ~
CUlli ng off the first part of the scene. How coold ,~.t
un~ have known ahead of tim.? Yuu canllOl alwaYl' tIi
i, righ l (he firsl lime: many thing. do rIO! wm the ,," I
they are "'talked,"
There wa, an unexl"'cted I"!nll l fmm thi! CIll.
,'au,C now Grumpy was th<- onl y dwarf with ~ . .
bod y move , He had bcm the la,t tu giw in to1hep!.
],,,, he '''3 )' ha'·. had 'he d""[l<'I' fe~ling,\ for her, WIit.
1:0.11 Gn"np) ",,,,,1<.1 be lhe one 10 >Ob openly al her
bin? Ik could 001 tI;,,-c pul h,s head on someone's
slIoukkT h~( ~)'. Tru~ 10 hIS I"'rso<lalily. he must
1UIJI1,,'ay and cry alone .
"Tho anim~w.. ,,·hose a,sillnmCm wa. to make this
al l conIC to hf. _,a id:
It j~>I felt h l~ they shoul<.l ~II """ 'c a~ lillie as
p"""blc TlK"" guys "wc consumed wilh g"cfand
,,'w ldn'l be moving around Tht)" d ha,.., strong
tnI)· a"'tude, that could be held fOf lhe moM pan.
and ma)'be a sagging "lOve on lhe head her<: and
I ~r\:. Ju'l enough !O ~cep il alivc. E,"en a "Iiff
~("",d 1(10 much act,on for the mood . !'rank
Chu,dllil hold ,,-riHcn a g..,~ t melody that really car·
nt<! the ~""ncc. and "'Y problem " 'as more of 001
brcalmg the "f'Clithan cstabll~h'n~ how OOdly any·
""" fell Sad eye •. slow blin~' .• nd a few Icars
....ere all thai w", needed ,
So "e drew "cry carefully and packcd in"! ""ny
inbct"cen. as we pos"bly cuuld- we didn'1 want
any jilteD. bul we didn't want any shoe1.jerI;y mo~es
cither- and ,,'C matched tlK unung of the teal"!' 10
thor rontOllrs of thor f~s . Unfortunale1y. my fi~
tear.. were W well li ked Ih~1 n1()'" teaf"!' wcre asked
for .• nd then c,'en SOme 011 alilhe chancte .... SOOfI
it lOOKed li ke the worst hay fc,'cr epidemi,' of lhe
century. II'hieh w~s 001 helped much by lhe uger
Erfl'Cl> IXpaIlment addin~ highlighb and r<:1kc11OrlS
and gloMC",n, effeclS. unll l each drop looted more
like a mart>1( lhan a tear . At tlus potnt. ""<0 bacl etl
up and chminate.:l a fe'" To me. there " 'as more
value in a te~r·itained roce than in all the>!' rhulet.
soa king their collars. 1>01 no one could devio;e. way
to cr<:a~e tholt effect . w~ >!'ttled (or moiSl ~y~5. ,,·tlkh
they could do "cry eIT«li,-el)". and lotS of 1o'·~I~.
shinong tears running do"n tlK c!ltt ... _· ...
llIc"" dc<-i.ions pro,·cd to be: righl for lhe ~lICCncc.
especially the dedsion to Keep the dwarfs in nearly
.. held " posilion •. 11>eir su!ldued attiludes rontribuletl
more 10 the " 'orking of the ~uence 1han ""e ",.h/.cd
It the time . Undoobtroly. Walt was a big influell« in
this 11$0. for he had " 'riuen in his famous meroo to
Don~m in 1935,' ""The animators(\on't make the
held pos;t;on~ and the reluro i'OS;tion~ exp«:ss any-
thing , 'IlleY try to <k> ~II tile expression with the parts
that an: rooYing- whereas tile body should enter into
it." But the dwarfs did not let Walt down by making
My rllse IOOVC$ . "The .ud;"ncc cried for the first time
during In animated cartoon .
'!lie film Bambi contained anutller reaction to death
-{/lis tillle v~ry real- as tile young f~wn lost his
moIlIer to. hunter s oollet , A sccne 1001$ animated of
th< dI", Klual1y being shot in the middle of a kap,
Ihrowm~ bock he. head and crashin~ to the groond
where she lay col1~psed in the snow, hut it was CUt OUt
when we found that the sequentt played bene. in the
imagination_ EYeryone sensed tile dln~., knowing
tho: huntcrs were near; and wilen the shot "'as lleard II
did not mane. wllethc. you knew the mother was do:ad
or ...'lIetller you wcre IS innocent as Ibmm, returning
to search for her , h was powerful eithe. way. TM tiny
figure in the midn of the huge t=$ helped I'" feeling
of oYCrpOWering loss. and the Quiet of the forest al this
point contribuled 10 the: se:n~tion of loneliness. The
best idel. howeyer, catlle ,bout by lICcident. When the
stag appean:d. he was too much uf a s hock . visually.
We wanted him to be impressive with a feeling of
wisdom and com~sion . InslCad.1Ie somehow looked
ominous and threalening. He had 10 be in the SCQIIC'ntC
in some form. so the decision was made to CO,'er him
partially with faliing s now. lightly at firs!. tllen Ileav ·
ier and lleavicr. so that in the final scene tile stag
wO\lld he only !lalf vis ible . The snow al$O added an
immense emotiooal dimension 10 lhe " 'hole sequcnce .
We looI<ed at each Other and ~id. " Why didn ' t we
think of that in the firsl place?"
Twenty yea~ later there was another ""queocc of
clwxte~ crying over the appare:nt do:ath of a young
girlu the thrtt Good Fairies bade a \Canul farc .....,11 to
Aurora. the sleeping beallty. Here. however. the stot')'
SlnlCture: lacked the ingredients that would h.a~ allo"-cd
this to be a scene of Strollg emotion . The chalKter
relationships were not as imponan1, and there was
lillie concern Over the fairies' attempts \0 thwart the:
tvil prophocy. lltat point was not fdt to be the impor.
tant one in thi s later film. The animation was as well
done as in the dwarfs' se:QUCntt. but, sira it
illustrated wllat. ha~ned , il could not i nvoh~
audience . This is a vivid o flhc i
story Structure: in i ,
These "ueial feelings of Ihe characters cln
trayed in many different ways . Iksio:b usin, the r.tN!:'
lUre: of the Story de~nts. there is the gJ11p1tic prnn-
!.lIion: the layouts. the se:tTinp. the cuning. the suglJll;
1<1"".
and lhere are: ali tile fllCe!.< "r the animation: the
th~ expressions. tile dialugue, the attitudes. StO!)'.
graphi~ pre .~ntation. and auimation arc import_
enough 10 be eoosidered .~paralely .
When the Story is well designed. the emotions of.
characters " 'ill be so logkal and natural that Imk dtor
should be needed 10 make them ... ark ""ilh an .,.,
eoce . The wise: storyman, ho,,·e,.., •• also " ',1I1en
how to uSC animalion rT100fe effecti"cly. ~od [11'0"-
opponuni!ic~ for dramati<.: g",phies in the ""':;tnt.....
The best example of a great sequence crated tf1tI'dJ
by story is found in Cind..,ellu. as ':::,::.~::
a~lItS. The girl has run inlo llIe ~anlcn
long ,hot and is oow ..-..bIling wilh her head In
arms: her friends. the mice. are staring dumbly.
...·ith the horse and the dog. and the I
found in the tiny s panlcs of
vening on the: spot where the Godmother
Yet. everyone in the audicnce has I I
and it gets bigger and bigger as tile sceTIC
This is all due to the: ure:fu l story
preceded this point in the: picture . The people
audience know this girl, and what she ...'JIlted.
how she feels at this time . They al$O know' ~'~=
and what they were Il')'ing to <k>. aod "'hen th
COmeS tllere: is nothing rIlIJr<: to be said.
scene of Igirl..-..blling, the helplt",neS!i in~::~
her friends. Ind the magical 'ns"'er 10 ali
Quietly forming before lIS are all that is
wanted. Anything Il1O!l: ,,'ould be an ;ntTUIIOII
Another sequence that re: lics more 00 1tory
animation is the one of Snow '::'i:,,~:'~.::'::
ihroogh the woods after she lias left the
This revcals more of Walt's se:nse of hovt. I
should play and includes . ,"ery dramatic ""_"
IhrootJ>out. but it a,ks hnk of the anllNnOl'. h 's an I .... """'I JWN ,,,wliM.
dfoxm 'c ~q~ncc. arou . ing grcal em~ion in lhe ,..-n· I",I~ ..""~..~~, i.
tlu,I~,1 W",,"om ,h~ mocd,
,'It",er by thrusting hlln into the . ituation along ",ith
Cm,I~"lIa' J/, i.ndJ ~""c~
110: ,nl 11 .. lhe (veil!' that oo;eur r:llhcr than lhe h.lpI,ul.,' ... ,A. "'01:..".
",.ng I~ ,n"olve h'''' ,n lh,s KtW'ly. bulthe CQn.l(!. h'a",d ,,,1 b~,i.. ht,
milK.'" are JUSt a, ""la,led arKI romplicaled . h.",1 m Iw, a"~S, 1'h. "'mn
flow kIn& <Joe. it take 10 build Snow While ', lerror'! tIC.i,,,, <"<Imi." "',"" '''''8ir
'pa,ll.. • 1",,1,' I'''''''rln,
fbo,. ...."y ,ncidenh do .... e nud tQ ,hock and scare? '0 /""" ,h. r~". Good·
Do""(C IO!IC or ga in by .ho""ng. '" her ",,,,d . the log • """hu
.. Ille "ate. Ihal appear 10 become c"",oo ,les with
....k-<lpCn moulhs~ The fao:s ,n lhe t=, are terrif)"ing
I(lbolh the awhcoce and 111.: gill. bulilmo.' lon& should
II", be allo",~d 10 go on. beyond making lhe point of
.1Ia1!he ,s '<'« 'ng? II" .... ion& ,hoold she be on the
JfOUnd. oobb,ng. after lit<: lem)r and p,an,e m the
.'OOds. bcf,m: , he see, Ihe eyes", lhe dark-eyes Ihul
JD'oIualJ)' become innocent hllie an 'mal s~ The 3ud,·
an IS more Illan ready f"'the hU1I\"'lllal wmn as.
n:1..'" "'hen lhe anllnal> arc cunou. aboul Snow
While. arKI even a lou ie frighlened of her, Thi. is an
cumple of lead,ng .he aooieOCl: Ihrough COIlln.,;hng
rmoIoon<. and ,i, 'ng Ju,t enough lime 10 titCh. wnh·
('lUI movins 100 fa.1 or becoming redundanl Imlll",1 Ihan lhere would have been if he were only a
"IlIe!'. are ""'n)" "a), a char""ler nlaY be Iland~ ,n vISual 'ymbQt of a killer. The executIOner ,n Robin

_.
~~

I film. arKI ' lIS largely lhe responsob.lny of the story· Hood had no such role 10 play. so he ,,"35 ~ omi· S_ Wloir. ~
"'*" 10 delcr",,"c Ihe mOSI effcClI"C u<c of the role. If nou, by be,ng complele ly im~r!iOnal. His Judgn"'nt ,A./o,," lit
l-u.,tJotH
11101)' call> for the !IIa,n ellaractc. 10 be threatened by ,",'as not in",lived IIllbe tlttosion to chop off Robin's
d..d..ome k,nd ofl,ller must be ,mroducc:d. but "hal head or 10 let h,m go. and lhe ~ he ""Is presented UJtfiJ stqW01
typo: of )X"1'ltI'n he is will <!epend upon Ihe way Ihe as only a profc.~'onal. With no emotions. and not even i" ,A • •,ory/>(
laOlC> are (:{)IICe;ved ~ Hum sman m Snow Whu~ a face sbowina belund h,s mask . the greater the erroG- _Iic Jttqlnt ,
bcnmt ~ real by hl'ong a wn:c:stion of persona II · tional ,mpact he Ilad on e'-nyboojy . ~ JlI,n. the s...,.• .-bii
(lIrihltk. /100 rII
I) Hu. a'''gnmenl "'"10. more Ihan he rould do. as ,I sequence had n01 been built for nld"dram~ up to th, s voIvt rM oJMdj
lIomOO OUI. and ther~ w"-' more drama In hi' mner poonl. S''''C th'~ lighlheancd vers,on of lhe populu I."",.
 •

.
•

•
, . •
•
•

• • •
,-
• ~.

- .... ,i
.
. , • •

. :'*\. •. .......
"' .

•
 ,
•

'ft

- •
legend reqUIred only a momentary s iluauon " ' ilh the
hero as a ("apli~ , lIo..-e'"<'r. lhe ~inisler fedings Ihal
lhe s.eque~ did ha,'e ....'ere almosl solely dependent
upon Ihi$ chuao!;lcm....lion of lhe: C1""III~r.
Klilors can ~ pRscnled in many other "·a)~. each
c()rllnbuting ib own values 10 lhe Slory. If the ~"" i5
lhown enlirely through the k,l1e( ~ c)·es. re"ealing c'"Cn
more ofhis own fechngs (or lack o f feclings). lhe", is
MIll anochcT dimenslOfl 10 the: sequence . I1lls pel'Spec-
u~e ,s often used. especially on li"e aclion. because il
can sIIow how rold·blooded. how methodical or dia-
bolical the killer actually is: " 'hich. in lum . builds
more roncnn for the ,nlended vi<;tlm . Qnc, approach is
no h,mer !han aOOlhc:r. since lhe key factor is ",-hat
worb best for Ihe specific ~ilUation and what re~tion
is ,.'anled from Ihe audieroce.
If a iCene calls for showing tellSe emotion~ such as
angu,>It. scorn. h,llemess. or cnvy " 'ilh only facial
e~p«ss,on. lhe antmalOr ",n be qu!!e hmned
the ~tory is bu,lt so that the chal"Kler rel'eals
feelin~s in .... hal he doe> and ho"" he does ''''-'~~'ooJ
the clO!;C-lIpl only for cn.phasls--tbc ~no:~ ~
Irlppong and cnleruining
::~":'~"i';'~'~1~~'~'~::~~~
inner .trogslc. becau§(
.:oroc,§( is an inherent cauj:C
Thererommunicauon
Ndly and lose credibihly MOIl: t
109 and c1pen analySIS often ,s Jleeded to keep
feeling of s ioccrity . A spedal effort on::::~
fW1 is ",qulred to find JU>! the rilhl =1Ie$1O
the Ilt'e'ded CmotIOllS. bul II is ..-orth !he dfon
queen inS"",,' Wllllt'",-u ~ndled
was Ihe stepmother in Cm<ltrtlla. and
("Ited ,,·cll. Roth depended on can:ful
ing animalto!!. and fla"los iCene
lhem coo,·.,lCona: but " " til the
 Pri,..~ Job. i" R obi~
11 00II. IHlsn 011 ~ ,,,,di·
,1(H14/ 'YfH D/ ••i,II. D/.
1~"dJl~xibilil)' ill 'M ""1J
Iris /H"""alil)' rould H
d4ill~4. Th~ ... il fiai'J
Mal~fi~"'. ill Slupi",
.9t.ldy. lrDlall oIDof.• -
-.... .,..alII)' It> hn tkJi,,,:
if sIN IrDI H~" """" oJ
"';,Ir 'M - - ' ~J ill
,""'" sJoDpn ,...,. t I r - r
I~ _14 Iur.e """
,." .

~depended on Ihis meliculous Iype of work. Ihere was
100100 way 10 do it . As the anilTUltOl'S slid. " No fun
10 do. but n«ded for the pictu~!"
Makrlm\t.\he evil fairy in SIffpi"l 8~, ~
lief redinp in a II'IOR dramalic mel flamboyant "''lIy.
~ Ihc: "yle of w whole plUeflUlion relied on
design. roIor. and ~geanlry. This WIS ren«IN in her
_menls, which gave the anilTUlLOr slighlly more
lIIilude and freedom. bul it was Sli ll an e<jually de-
mncIi", drawln, assignment. The J«1IeS were impres-
1M wilhoul losing believabilily. JUSI as muo;h inlensity
"ellJ(llion Wlii shown by Prince John 1R Robi" H ot;;d,
IuIllliuequcncc was Slr\lctured for humor, 110 \he ani-
Mar could oonccnllllie on \he upres$ions and IIIli-
-.b IIlOre than intricate dnwin, . .... s I rewli, il was
_ fun for the animalor.
Thrsc chl~ters ShoWN haired Ind 5OOn'I in their
OIIo'n way, bul in a convincing manner. They were
equally enle"aining, bUI they were in no way inler_
dWlgabie. which points up the imponance of the
!IOryman's knowing his thanrK:tefl Ind buildiOl& his
1lirNtit-$ through them .
the \ksl,n. the settings. the tolor-all of the pictorial
oomponc:nu. Their goal is to build I mike-believe
world around \he viewer. makin, him feel a o;enain
way about w... he ReS . EVft)' Kelle must say its
~ (learly with no oonfusioft and 110 00Illndic-
tions, but it mu5( iQve something to be imapncd.
In Bambi. there is I stirring fi,hl btI_n two mile
deer . Beautiful anirmtlion Willi done of the battle, per-
fect in draw;n, and movement. but IIOmehow it was
not e.citin,. 'The plan had been 10 draw the audience
inlO the fiaf\t by showing dose.. ur- of horns and hocwa
and $trlining muscles. yet iC'eing I II this tended 10
make it m.lller-of-fact . Walt had the answer: trellle •
mood. make \he scenes dark and drunati<: , kt every-
thing CO bI..:k. ~ the lillie pltU. and define the
characters only by "rim li&htin,.· · Use the music: and
wuncl eIT«" instead of all that dn.wing. Immediately
Ihe sequcnce became tense and thrilling.

Graph ic Presentation
Most of the examples we h.avc di5(USS/:d $<) fill' have
IlOl menlioned that each required In uceJlence in lhe
]ft:SCntation of the idel in addition to !he story work.
So:ldom is emotion C$t.blisht4 on til< ",reen only
*oqII Slory, graphic an. or animalion by itself. Here
~ are Iot.,...tin, them in an Ittempt to undtrstand the
u_ of the oonlribution from eadl. " Gnphic pre-
_ion" covell \he cuniOl& and uqinl, \he planning.
cal Ways
I Can Build Emot ions

tions of the Audience

R"i>l 'he '~ml"a1i"n '"

m«" f\ ''''ph;IIg /';gX'" a",1
,""'0 ~"'g""''' "'h"n ."""
",," ""'''8 ..om""ml,-,.·
,i,,"_

I . RI;;A R VIE W ~k c p L n~ Bcaul)',

The I"'Q im"",' look ()ll ;'''{) lire ,/"""", an" ,/,NIItI IMt
!"i!'(lle ,irl''''"', Sill"e Inti' fuling. are be"" 1""'8''''
Ihan Ib ... ""uid "'" Iw ,ho~-n ill d~,,,i1. Ihe ~"di",,,, d,,,,,,,,
a lo"~ with tMm

4 , OVERLAYS The Ju ngle Boo. j ]) R A ~ tAT I C LAYOUT The U~ I ) bu,-khng ,

B"/",, i, ,/e>,I"''''''-/y ,wr,h",sj,,' M""'SIi " 'I", hw jU>I ,"" O\WII<I~'I'''''X ,'h~ I"'" ",,,I a 1'~1h oj ~ction ,~owx J."'n drt
Q~'Q)' . Ha"i"~ Haloo p""jally em'",d b\' 'he ,,,,,,,,·h.,
in hill J,m" ~,I<I f{) 1M julln8 oj dep,~..io" as 'ht U8",DIri.
Ih. /xl"kS,,,,,"d ml<k" a more "w"rdin~ .<C'"' Ihan In'lng /in8 sIQ~'I,' ~'"Iks a~-a." Th, !"mmmi of h;, j",;"~, r.w.
10 rim'" his d;'''m.~hl jaa . on ,he 10,'0'" th,,' mali •• him 1",,1i >m~1I ,md d"o/aI,

8. HELD DRAW ING

WITII CA~ I E R A MOVES 101 D.lma,i.n,
~W"' np"";rm,, wm,OI he ,""n~lhe""i h" 1II000~me"t,
I"Slrad oj'"''''inS Ii" ,'hamu", ",;,""/w,·"julilli( "jau;,·.
ii,' ~..,. ,whl"',,, by , /(,,,'/.1' /1101'11111 1M """,r,a _ III ,'u's
"IS' , ",«'k;n8 ;1110 " dQu, .,"" "j 'he ,i,,~ ' ,. co'n,
1. SHADOWS Sao"· While . J . SIlAIXlWS OVI;R TilE CIIARACfER Bambi.
SlNuJow. a,~ ulul/II)" as,M;m~d ~·"h .u.~~ ,~ ,wd dmmu. F,,/j~, k''''rh~. "l/Mfi",d as 8m"h; fighl$ off lhe ;nrrwk,.
r~q caa ruM ;au,e.1 ,wd '."';~'). ", U co",;nu;,}" ~·hil, Th, ",dU""al of ,10, .';Ium",n IS Mil" ron.~)·~d by 10"
",,·m, ,h~ tom, nud~d /(J d"",· all ,h~ dm,,/ on ~..ch elul,· ,,·IoQ/~ "1"'O«i~. "';110 110 •• Io,,,/.. ,,·s ..f Ih~ ac"on pass;ag "'"'I
"'rt' . h,r. Ih"a ;1 <.. uld h",·~ bun hy JU"
';"n ,,~ her file•.
,h. e.. nu'acJnp'~J.

6 PICfORIA " Sl tOT Cindcrdl3 7. EA'-cCfS ANIMATION Bambi.

CmJ",II .. nwi been pr"·,,,"·d f'Qm lIo;nfl w ,10, ro}",,1 ",,/I. Fine an;",,,,;on of for",s fro'" nalu" caa ,,,abU, h a mood
1/" tua '/)HII'PO"""'"nt U besr mmmu"i,·"uJ h.l· 110, m· dlh" b,. s)'mbo/;sm or ./ww,ng "'10", 110. char",.",,, JttJ.
"",,,II<;=ed '.;'M" '>/ Ih~ e",,/~ ,,·hu, .h~ 'nM" '" M . A 1><".(. Fol/jng ,ain. a flo,m. app,oaching fiff "'ill quieti,. Uro',
t"",nd ,,-i,h n ." ,ong mQr,J nm "w, difficull "m","'",a, <I"'ng f •• lings, Th, "a,k <0/'''' of ,lots. aulum" Iw.'es
forn,1I ,h. ha,shats. of ,h.
(lI'prl}<1chiag k'ialrr,

9. OFF STAGE SOUNDS Lady aad (he Tramp.

No animation i. nud.d on " c()mpr~h.nsi,'~ .hOl of 'Ilt-
10t."()1~ 'J Dpp'oprial~ ,-ounds con Iouild 'mugts;n 110. i""'gi·
am;on, Th~ em'ana 10 110, dO/l pmmd in Lady o.nd (he
Tromp loots for/",n ,lad mOl<,nfu/ ,nou/lh. bul i, ~,"" 11m,.
ing 'M h",,'I,~g and ,10, />a,klng and ~'h;n;ng 0/ 110. dot.
Insid, Ihal "oily 1Oi<llh. Jlory.

So,",, """W,,,,,' ""c"me mo,,- /"-,,,w/,,/I>I' ,h""·,,,. ,,1I11r<
J,'",,1. TI", ;, I~",;,- "I"d, '''". ,d,,,~ ff"'~'C '"
,,,,J,,,i,'
!.i.,"" " j~",~,· ..1 lI"~ "H~ ,,,..II,,,,,,'~I "·"111~ 1/"
•",,1.,111. ",., ",.,.. ,m old ,
III Th.· Re''-''Ns. 11Ie", ,. I' >-cry IInr"rlanl >«:110 on
Ih~ rlWrboal of llie li ll!c ~;r! kaylO~ the min oJl~
"U all"IC".s Medusa aoo ,1.,,.-1)' .. ~Il"'j! up the >Uin 10
,lie ,.....; k . Slie h3' ju,. h.,,,,n I>;Idly hUll by Jolcduu'.
,,~UI)U ' remark ... WI." ",w~ld ",;"" a homely linlt rill
like you?" "00 is tl~h"n~ i):Id tile t~ar< as..t1C .."Ib
"", inll) the nig:hl. II w~' (k~ ,d(",1 thai lhe n",,' .ffe<;.
tive way I() pia)' the .<ccnc " -,,,,1.1 1>0: from ~ rcar .it,..
On the d i ml~' lit ,("ir •. rcaturi"~ her ,.~'), yoon~ arc:
a,><J her helrl""".", Once ,,,, ,kcl .•he i, bailltd"
'o()fl n.o.... hghl_
Whc-n , lie r"""r~ " -3' ~ompkl~-J "e ,•.-oodernl if OiC
h3ll made lhe he,1 dloO .. ..,~ Would ,( ha''C: ~n bc1""
,r Ihe .!aIN·tU had ~n ~"'nl'!(ld~' d;lft . ju~ • I/lI:kk
ofhghl commg down Imm aOO\'e. "" Ilk (1)( girt" i add
,ho"'n onl)' In .ilho\oc(lc·! Tlie "Ioatlon called for lhe:
",,'nges( ,,,....-xl ,,~C(>ul,1 cn;'<ic . When we <3'" IReo(
_'("~ne, comp leted in <<,In. 1,00 in c"'''inully. tilry did
IlOl ha" e lhe "i,,,,,1 "'IP;"," .hey cnuld haH had. n.e,
",,'(I'~ dark ~nd "d""m)' . bu. l1l)I IIrJmaloe _ Pertup.
wa. nul a 1'1:>0..... 10 be IIK'«' drJttl>"c. and ~"'" _
t.
,ilhoucm' lream",,,, .. ouk! nul have ~en lilr be>! "'IJ
",Iher. hUi ",,'e ,(ill ""<lIlIk,
In co",m,1 10 lhe bc"",fil. "r rd leuin~ I~ >p<ctI.
10<> ,c~ cvcrylhing. lhere m\' OII",r (ime" whon forrin,
Ih~m I,) loo~ aI ccna i" delllCIl,. mi¥hl <",ale Il"IOIe
,i"lal excUell",nL \\'h~" th,' 'I,oecn in 05",,,,' W~jlt
IIra"~ II", ",!lion, Iha. ,·han!"'.! h..• inlo an ok! .....
11",,,· '"'' e mo. io",,1 in,-"h'cll",m Iw:~au,.." or lhe: In!
<>1 It>t unk ....wll . Wa" ' hm¥ Ih" .Jr.",,,'oe ct..nrr lid""
)ou. ' -c,) eye, hekl you '1"'lIhn"oo;wd a li"k oppe.
Ilcn.,,·c or "hal you m,shl "..., n.'~1 Wh:1I "'ill w
tum InlO1 Will;1 he "'n"'th"'~ hllle""," Will [ .... Olla
look at ie '("hi, sectiun "a, Cui 0'" uf lhe ric'u", I.
~"'~tk:n as bcin~ t<Xl f.ightening for c hildren, ",'hich
pro\'(, Ihal. right <II' ",ong. lhere ,,'a, a Siron!
lIonal upori.""c in lhe pre;':n,allon of tho !Nterial.
<_
Another frightcmn~ sencs of sc.""s ;" lou..! ..
P"w..chio in !he "'-"<I""ncc on t'1(:l>ure I>bnd Oibm
on''''re("',n~ boy. are chant-...'1l mlo d"nle)" in pay.
men! (!'Ir a mgh! of run "fhl>" a ,' be ... he", e.cc1leit
i,ni"'J""" added e'~!'1 111"", Ihan had Ix..,n rx~.
hut II w," the cOI"bin;III"n ", II", ,,,,gin~ and pl"nn;1ll
1!l al lIIad~ Ihl> im[X,,,,bk ,~lInation "" bclicvobk and
'I"""" ," """"Y , The n...... lhad I>,,~n "~IIC,I "'llh lbe ""'....
~'IIA,-,,',I ~ ," A ," ~~ ~ I,,~o,.t ,t.;'l"'le", ~II bl..::~ . I••:.,b" "'.km ....
iV, ~"trhM />,nouMo·s/,;,<ul I...",p ... k k tw,,, i~ t"" d""*q
riPt 1HftK, 0." ""S.
"-en: dos ,ng ,~ gates and <;r.I,ing ,~ <k>nkey~ . • nd
Ihtn. greal voice IntCk. along with t~ realistic han ·
dling of t~ backgruunds. lhe eff""ts. 'he shad(>ws.
and all the oktails. kept the audience so in"olved that
Iht'r e)'('s never left,~ ~reen . T~ woole film would
!Ia'e been 1'0 much ,,·taker and flaccid without this
nnouon.1 f;U'g<: to give" ,ho: necessary importance
aid 10 make tho: fantasy so S1imng.
Animat ion- A cti ng
The .tOf)'m.n can devciQp tho: right business for tho:
dwxte. 10 perform. and t~ director and layout "Ian
tall srage 1\ and ma1<e ,he presoemation graphically
Alwyong. but;t is the animator " '00 mUSl thinkdecply
,nlO I~ personality of ,~ can oon acl0rS. Each must
be handled differenlly. because each individual will
upress h,. emotions in his o wn way .
The ~If•• ppoinled Ie""'r of the dwarfs. 00<.:. would
r.how defiance in a way d,ffercont from that of Grump)'.
He " 'QUId hase blustery. ""'""ou, movcmmu. and take
shoner ~tep" . He never w(>Uld , wing hi s am'~ ,..
GllImpy did in his defiant walk after Snow While had
kissed him . That walk. and t~ gradual stop as ~
sm,led. showing his true fedings. were pan of the an·
ful deloneatl"" of a pel1lOllahty in boIh S10f)' and ani.
matK)ll The COO<:\'ptlOfl was thorough in all respects :
tile stag,ng of lhe e xJ"l'"''''''. the use of fundamental
prlnc,ple, like squash and stretch . the amount of time
u",d to soow cach emotion before moving Ofl to the
nut one-.~se soow anima. iOfl at its. bes!.
/ .. "","'m. ,h, /aulus ...""Ur. "" PI.IM,,", Islaltd ""'..
miN. /'i#h.. "'~ 1>«,,11>, ...... «JOt/II "'" SU ...-100 ,Iwy """t.
'The audoentt became involved in .~se
scenes be-
cause of it~ unde~landing of the chanct~~ and tho:
f",,'ing~ .ha. were so familiar .0
everyone:. Bu•• here
an: other way. of involving the vie ,,'crs bcsi<k$ get.
.ing .hem.o identify with sympa.be.,c cha.ractcrs. The
(\evil in ,.·",,'m;,,·s
"Night on
Bald Mounlain" was
anything bUlsympathelic. and his feelings"~ bc)'Olld
our C(M1'P"'~nsion. yet the 5ttne5 invol"ed the audio
ences. drew them in. caused t ~m to react to wh ••• hcy
were SC<!;ng, To poin' up .he difference. one ha~ ooly
!o imqine lhe I'I'nsalioos th:J! would have been arou§Cd
if. during .his a wesome ri.ual •• young boy and girl
had bttn $Cen as t"''O liny figures Il)'ing \0 climb.he
inner walls o f that vokanic mountain w'!hou. being
di5COvcred . or Jl"map:< progressing deeper into thl'
fiery cauldron on some importune quest. Your ~an
would be in your mou.h as you tried to sca le those:
s.oocs wi.h them. and you would jump at each sign of
possible dete<:.i"" . You rex. /0 .he evil el\arx' tn.
but ,... ,h .~ sympathetic charxreo;.
'n.e ",me is true of C rucll a deVil in JOJ Val",.,·
,;am. and she is a comic villain , ~w ofuscould share
her comJRIlsion.o skin JRlppies .o make a fur rea •. yet
we wen: ron'pktcly involved in her sequeOCC$. Because
of OUr fa~ ina.ion ",·;.h her uplosive Jl"l'SOrullity and
our enjoyment of ~r .... tlandish beh<lvior. appearana:.
and x'ions. i he was funny wi.hout losing ei.her her
menacing quality or her audience . Whe.hcr people
lhought s he was horrid , <idieul(>Us. or wonderful. they
all Sa. cnr~plured .
In t~ "",x. example . " 'e arc involved through our
 3f'p.....·'allon "r • ~'tuatl"" ~nd ,h~1\'" the ""n>aI_ <i
Ihe ch~rJC.er, Ilut wnhmll .n~ ",n"" o( K1enllfl(1lt..
wnll hll" 'In"" the c:"~ "ill, Ihe ralher UIN'r)r)'
lch:lhOO CI~ne ., he rKk,' lhe 01..1 plo"",,,,,,, 1010 tho
lerror.. of Sleepy Hollov. Thai ""lUCoct ,""'<Ie .......
tur Blaine Gil>-.on OC"':IIJc 1<1 k.,·c Ihe l,ff""1< l)qr.In·
nrcn t rur the dram,"i,' dla llcngc< or characl.r ani",,·
nun The ,u I"'Ninuu, khal>uoJ ~~t' i"'rt~I~P7
'lg1l31r<J the farther he prl~n:.,..:, m,o ,he "'~\oorI. t-
h.. ,Ic.:py " ,~~d IS b,,,d~ al~n cn"u~h 10 ,t3Y awm, k
reminded BlaIne of h" o"n e~I"'ric",e a'\ a boy ill
C.Slern Coloradu, "kh.;d..Id, and Ih" I'rorse. ud ..
gU) "h".hn~ - this" ~ ,'moon. but I can (n~llIa
s,,,,,, .(U~ ~., Jut" khaM ,,"h Ihis gU) bttau!ioC I' "C bo:~n on a horse OIl' on the
Cr. n~ (/9491 b.\ Jo. HI · farm al ni~hl wIM::n I ,",'anled to """lie. b....,.ulot I'~
nuld. J<N hud Q pai, fo,
bold. drolfl6llC" .,a ~ m (("Ill
he.,d S<.IIlloC' ""''''' and I wouldn', kilO" ,,11M" ,,_
..... Id "",k. ("<I"...... ~Iotl , · and, ai§/), lhe Wll) lhe horse ",em ~ Somebod)'lOOllll!
(I~,." fir inlO Q"'Uom••n· lrouble 10 .n.l)'le , "hal ho~~ look lik(. liloottd
\' i '''m,'''''' ~u r mil
U U ",lIy. hke a horse The"" an: II", lhmg' .hdl, to ""', /NIle ..
d,ITcrcne" betw«" ~ood and 00d an,1fU11OII II's UIl·
Ing lhe lroobk 10 pul Ihal hnl" Ihl"~ '" !~~ ," Tk
~n;llIalOr ,)" Ihal parl,,'ular "ee!i"n had 11ldi.~ kIlO".
hor..:" and hoc hood sullered " ......, than h.. .~ rI
mISt""'''' ",~n~",,,. In tryin~ lu gel un~ve
nag~ to behave like Ihe ,",'orrd.:r hor"" (\f I~ cov.bot'

"'''''ie"
·rhi. po,nl In the poetun: (cn.,nly ILao.l bn.n wei
loIructU.-..'<l m the ,'ury <I<,'(;lopm.."" dn.!ln. prt\ftIl'
"orr w., ""ell "1Il~d h) the SltU"!I,,", bill It "',. tI,,:
:mtnmion iN:lf Ih:LI carned .,••hellCe, aloog, They
sa", 11M:: r"ar ,n kh.ahOO '. ~Y'" and In hI> ""holt . .
lude. 300, ;0., he Ii<:h'<l h" hp> an.! .""al/ov.'td. 'iItJ
cI!utd f"..,1 lhe >Cn,alton of the dr)' moulh r".... ILiI
e ~!",,,,,,, apl""h~nsion The ",US"""",, 011", WJI/iI:(
matk an .. roormous comnbuhoo '" hen 1M: 'tt:Oi<ltd ..
!)'A'n ,,'h"lhug for khabod' ~ f""h'" an(mp!~ I() k':qllp
hIS courage U~ he nmc closer and closer 10 pame,lId
1M MOry ~ke.ch man Joe Rtn.. ldi I\;l(l dono: " ma!4CIf.

"
A"'''Ar'''' f ·mnk T""-J_
khabod Crone (1<11" ("Om ·
hm,d ...·lIh Mr . Toad j
T~ 6 ft/ _ I", cam', ,~
id,a. " ' ''P f~"h,. ..·<lh
mo" ell" l/iI·,n 10 siu
T,I~liOltJhlp. and .,~cijic
bt..!,It"J .

'leri(, s of drawings nploring every possible position

for a tall . skinn y man trying to hilk on top of I hr.ne .
So the animator had great help in gelting started. oot
the burden of the development and the (nt(Mainn",nt
in the acting ~s\(tj o n hi~ shoulders aloroe .
()nc(, the lIeadless .I<neman appeared . tilt ...·hok
Ill()(ld changed \0 ....·ild. tumbling. comic panic. with
both Ichabod and his 00rs.e frantically defying all tho:
natural I."" of weight and gravity-in a very belie",,·
ble way . The sc r«n fairly exploded with their fedings
of d~spe,ation as they $ Iithe~d and scrambled on thei,
bellies. the IIoors.e ~ low thaI the ,ilk, was half.riding
alKl half· running hims.elf. The viewers did 001 !"tally
care whether IchabQd gOi away or not , but they we~
complcldy caught up in the ucilement of the cI\ase
oM '"~Kf''' ,,~ and were thuroilghly involved ill the whole .i1lI31;,,,..
iii ~K!or !It ••';1<1
'I' Iii. H~<J4i,..
." Such ~uel1\'cs arc I"'rli"ubrly ,,;ck y to 00 OCc. • .e
M, By 'hi' rfmc. ,., oJf Ihe need for Ihe lemf'<' 10 be maimai....-d .11;1 tbi:'
j 1'<'~k Wfl.' .'0 ih'
, nclion 1U be,'""", "">re an<! m",,, len..: . '"-, lhe r.cc""
, a~d;,",.. "~II/d will buil,j "oJnlinuously 10 ~n ever·grealer rilrh ;:/
btU,,·, M< I,.~"
cxdt~mr m , An ,Io;I;On thai i. juS! h>O ,low. or a cOOi:e
~rl Q h,,,,, Jll r;"~
of hu.inc"" Ih"l is too ordinary. c"n Kill the ovd
"fleet. Story SlruclUre canm" do much I" help in Ibis
,a,,", The la)'OUI~ "nd S<!lting.< an,j Ihe cuUin~ ploy.
ll'klre impo!1am I"In. al,mg wilh the conSlan! e'pm'
memalion. ",..,.".,(jnn. and revision ,'f III<: "ni"",I;"".
The se~ucoce musl bc keplloosc until il re.Jly~
In Ci"derdla. (hccre WaS tile cI."i, se<.Jucoce of!wo
mice Irying (0 carry a larg~ and heavy ~ey up (wo lonil l
flights or stairs in order (0 frc:e Cinderc:lla from ber
room before (he Grand Duke had left wilh tt.e gI.m
slipper. The characters had lxen well embli.,W so
that (h~ir determ inat ion anoJ emotion, w"re quilt de..:,
but the (ension of Iheir (r~m"n,jou; dfort. wlIichl:)!_
hau'l~oJ (lie audience aimoSI as much as (he mice._
all in the animation, No one coul,j ,lcn y that lltt~.
taro", shared (he sen timents of IOC cartoon rtwacJtn
comple lely ,
Back in 1935. Wah had asked <om" rr<wocatil'll
~ues(ions about jusl thi, Iyl'" of action_ "Wll<:n_
one is lifting a heavy weigh!. whal do you fecl'Do
}'O U reel (hal <,lIlll;:thing is liJbl~ til C~.lCk any ,nmUle"
and ,jrnp <lown"! Do yO" kelllM t.<....·"u"" "f(t.. pres
sure tt,, -, go\. he's going 10 hlow np. Ihal hi~ l;;ce i
going to tum purple. thaI hi s cycs "rc going [()IM
""I "I' It",;r ',lI;: kcts. that IOC ("""k'" in Ill<: ~rm is
lerriflc that IIe' s going (0 'map''''
Fifl"en years Ia(cr. (heS( qlt~Slion' we", "'e n iQ
swered by Woo li e Reithcrman ~ he animattol .
sequence, 'There ii no doubt that tM key was too
for the (wo litt le m;ce . (hal the pre»ur: 011
3
hn
mentally and physically. was (remrndous. t~"' 1I
. JCM S;blt)' -
,,.,
MltJN> 0; khabod

,d ~'ilir i'"'' b,;,h

;J rid" '0""'/>/'
iclli" I,; ~""", 1M
,,,,,r<i ofIk H_i-
""""'~ . A~i""no'
"'jw,,"i</ "",t, "",I'
lilt.'" '" " 'd 1/, f,.>.
 1DiIIII1~
GUS'S e)'es could bulge OUI of lheir SOCkc:IS or
. . J",, 'J fa« could lum purple . The timing of liIcsc
lCliools pvc the franll<; (jUlllily . and 1M sucnglh or 1M
.lIIT.... drawings ga"e 1M in. ponsion o f effort and
t.lhMlMion .
n..: m()~1 importall1 cle mcnl in ma king Ihe $equcnce
III outstandi ng . however. w~s the fOCI Ihal lhesc lillie
~ "'e", doing all of Ihis bccau~ tMy car-.:<! very
..-b iIboullhe girl's h.appine'n . Uwally . Ihis ft"eling
,
«~,m"~'_ ~ stJ'1,lCtuml in the Story Dc:pan.
_ and mUSI tlepend enci",ly on the animalor for its
porIl'lyal. bul it remains & very mercurial ~nSl t ion , A
note can not he pin..w h.> the slOryboord saying. "Gel
nRmh through here ." oor e~n il ~ " 'ritten as all
lClion on the upo!>U"' :\h«t . "Ani",""1e 3 fect o f
......... h . " It cannot he a..alyzed. or acted OUI. or
f\'PI\'Knted in the Jar"IX way ItS an u~ion or a
pz»ing thoughl. s, nce it '$ mon: of a sentiment thai
POW! wi thin the viewer fmm Ihe spec ial way the busi·
~ h~s been animated; actuall y. i. grows frolll Ihe
.Mili"ity or lhe animator ,,'110 makes lhe d",,,·;ngli. It
is .ttdoobtedly one of lhe nlOSl impor1anl fX I()I'$ in
bringing lhe audience clOM: LO lhe characlC~.
Desperation " ' ill not he di~ayed always through
frJrtl k ..:1ion or panic . Atl im.es . il is numbing despair.
and that prescnts an even grea ler challe nge to Ihe ani_
.... or . In /0/ O,,/maliotU. it bccame 1tC«&Sary to h;t ~e
..-cry tlel .... te. s iro«rc. and CQnY,ncing 5eq1J1:~ mow·
inc the upectatll female dalmatian Perdita !'CXling 10
tht III'W' Ih;tl C n.w:lla tleVil i$ planning 10 take all of
be. puppies as !K)OO as they a", born . The ) toryman
lqd (dllh3t a dog 's norma l reactio n would IX to hide
somewhere in Ihe house. in so,,~ location Chat o fr(red
• tiny J<'nse o f pnxe<:lion . lie made a dra wing oi her
Itnder (he kitchen ~1O>'e. way Nck in lhe c~r. This
.... Perdila ' ~ emo..on~1 response 10 the near-~nic ~
fel( at lhe thoughl or losing her puppic$ 10 !his hotribie
W<)fn<ln . She could do nothing but ren"",n ~ ..ive . The
mice in Citld.., ..//a allea~t could temper .heir pank by
doing somethin, . In lhe,r desperate plight thc~ wu
still a t hane.! 10 !'Cverse lhe s ituation if lhey ju~t could
gel lhe key .he", in li me , Fnr ",mita. the", was 1>0
s uch c h~nl"e . On Ihe s.oryboard. (he drawings were
in'pre~ive and ga'o"C 3 good. s ubdued f""ling 10 the
touching situation. The >'Oic:a wc"' rtCOI'ded. and they •
too. ""ell' effccti'o"C. adding s ine.!rity and~ . BUI
lhey were "straighl ," The eharaclers the~ l vcs ,"'en:
"straight. "
Al .he story lI1<'CIing. Ihere was a~hension ex ·
pressed about lhe difficulty of ~nim~.ing such a se·
quence . The", was nothing.o get hold of lo"ricalu", .
The Yoice lalcnl had gi'·en . beautiful. dramalie read-
ing oilhe line'S . ch:arged wilh emotion. but!hatlypc oi
tension is difflC\lll 10 represc'" . Even the voice of
Pongo. lhe n.ale dog. though iIOOIhing and cornfoning.
could give no emphas is or strong all it ude 10 suggest an
3Clron Ihal could be animated . And. to top il ~II off.
the scene was set IXnealh a $I0'·C. in an area 50
t'eSlricted thallhl: charactCT$ could not even ni~ tlleir
heads Of shift posilion 10 at«nt the won.b in lhe dia.
log..., . Ilow could we possibly make lhe audience
IXlieve the dog. well' ta lk ing if ,,'e cou ld not move
lhem . and how could we make the sequence convinc-
ing if lhe ani mation did not hold up? II was all (00
subtle and delieale .
There is . I,,·ays this problem wilh tM ".Irtlight "
characters who IK k the Ik~ibility in des ign and pe'.
sonali.y 10 allow much more Ihan a rigid 'lIu""'lion .
Thinking back on The Ugly Oltd/;"K. we recalled wj ~•.
fully how th~t e harICler did not have 10 IX " straight"
and thai hi ~ mournful hon!;ing brought laughs along
" 'ilh the tears. Now. (he s iery material was o f a diff<'T'
en! wn. Fnr Ihis picl"re 10 be »UCCessful. 1M", h;td 10
IX u tremely CQnvindng. heroic action. not from a
 queen or an evil devil but from four· kgged c~acu~s
wich animal facn that werc 1\01 desIgned. even by
nature. to communicace delicace e~l'R'nlOlls. Perona
was 1\01 flamboyaJlt ellOUsh co have feelenSIi Olhcr than
moIhc rly corocem . ~nxiecy. and occasional hop". " "hile
Pongo was simply Mr. Averllge Nice Guy . crying co
\
get along III a d,fficulc s nllllllon "1lIe" rolCl ,"'crt btiI-
cally designed to hold che >lory together so lIAl the
broad chanctcf$ surrouoolng them could ...«t Thr;c
tWi) character~ had to be convirn;ing for tbe It>! oI'!IIt
C~St to he emcn 3l11ing. A Mern ""gnme nc !lut Irno
one: believed lhe s.rn;crjly orlhe dogs" concern" 00_
_OIIk1t1C'loe'"e CT\lelia And ,f 110 one took her "",OO)Us· p'clonal value of the hodlng pl:t«. "lIh onl~ such
I). >lie ,,'ovld 001 be M"lIa,n" The ""'Iuence had 10 tIC' acUOfl .~ w'"" needed to gel lhe dol!" on posouon He
• !he pt<1ure Fin;tlly. one antmalor thought toe oould eho$/: an angle on lho: s.to~e so that lile leg ~1>Ua1l~
!« I ""Y 10 do II • Immed,atdy. n w"s dumped In would ""paratt the.- hod,ng ~fllol" from Pon,o. ,,100

... '"
In ttlC' fir)t I"V Sttfllb. lhe anllruttor featurN tho:
"anted 10 he.-lp betl did 001 know 100" The prl'scnl"·
1100 " 'as ~,mple and un<lerpl,,)·w. lenon& the poclUre of

."'w,,"" ",ooll~ R",h~rman_

Clr><k..,II.
the (log under lhe SIO' ''' Iclllhe Siory The: nexl $Ccnes
fUlurtd Pongo's difrlC:ul1y In gClhng under lhe SIove.
whICh forad hIm Imo imere!.lInC and dlffcrcnlllCllOIIs .
Thc: audience became more aware of hIS allempts 10
gel near his male Ihan of his mouth mO,'CUlenIS In
ph",s,ng lhe d,alO!lue, II never (>Ccurn:d 10 anyone Ih~1
!IllS .. ;as a rcSlrlo;lw or subtle Kene ~ cOftCcrn of
lhe o:Ioj;s for each Olher, and for lhe,r unborn pups, was
,II anyone: saw, Once the came", was under lhe SIO'"e,
il w,~ poMibk 10 Ilave a hnle ml'IK rtIO\-cmcnl on
~rdlla SnlCe ihe new angle •...'IS no( so rcslncllvc She
hflw her head 10 ,"Ilalc, Iookw awa)" and ~k oo..-n
In • do:fealw ligh . Pon8'l rcachcd 0\11 and hckw her
genllyon lhe ch«~ The: ~udlC:,," Mhe~cd lhern bodI
~Jld fchihe warmlh of lhe" rdallOlllhlp. 3'i "cn II
lhell cono:em for "halihe fOlUre nughl bnng
OePlCllnlllove bel ..... ""n I,,-ocanoon ClwaciCr! 1$ ....
more dimcull lhan w~rrnlh; II is possibly lilt froOlIt
elo.i ,-c (",Ollon 10 ponray l. i~c the ICnlllllOli III
waoruh.Io,'c IS buill alnlOM 50Icly Ihrwllh lhe aruJIII·
lor'S personal fedlng<:oOOo1 lhe dra"' Ings he;1 mU-
ing_ No one <:all j.3) cuclly ... hoch dr:;,,, llIg, or .. bdI
,;ccne, or ... hoch :0<:1I0Il Iw wid lhe .dea beaust 1ht\
an so ~ublly ~Ialed • •1 " only lhe sum IOU! of ..
Ingred~nl~ lhat CrealcO lhe 1110-..0<1
There I~ one p;ortlCulu component In our JII<IIlm
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qUICII)' .:nnehlng nu. ~m<)IIonal and d"'m~loe mo,·e·
menlS. Ihal hiS ~O<>< b)" !Itarl)' unlIOuced Thl~ r~ I~
""",d I(> tilt
"'nmal •. ,
dehcale cnnlaCI Il.,."..,..,n our eha ....... lers-Ihc louchmg. ;., hondl. D
O·Mall'YitoId
Thi< ah..·a)·s has been a br~ pan of Ihe Ihealer and of i$alt(lW#f<iNJII, '
live "CI,(>II fill",. usually a(f«,ung lhe spt:clal<lfll (Ifl(). /n<, h.lptd ,~(
1,00aU), T ..... o lo'·ers hold hands for lhe firsl lome. or
lbe", " an u!ltxpee'ro w nnng ,ogelher on a leO!;c
\ ~1I<h..uutd 'M
,itms. Tik r
f~"Mrft>rtiftrJ
,lIU3110n lbe ~onlacl hr~alhc s 3 ~pecial ,,~enr~nl.
'h.r~
TIler. I1tU" be a ,uhconse,nus 1"<:3><)0 for Ih" re_pon-.c. ~m."s 10 ,h"
gOIng had to carlie-c n13n. "nc~ II " obst:rved 1003)" Iq... 4jflUr
 '" ~ lro .",,· 1a..IVl In III,c I '>1lImUIl"''''''''' t'<,'I,"wn ,.""".
I"'''''.... ~ '" . h~ w,I.J · II ''''''nl' I" he 'ilal ." 'lor ......
•;'.m,,1 •• ~b'lil) or ...... ""b ... I",,1. ha,- ",~ 't1"'~ '.......
lan,( 1hem " C u,,,\,·r'!.t!J \ \ '<' ~ Il,'" ,-",\,.!h.u .tl...,~
,"il l,.. "u,·,,," ,h.u".• ,n Ih" , UHI>Ir ,« ! "'I,,",IL"'~
A,·,,,,, II). r h)', i, .,1 " "U .,,-I "''', ;,! !h" ,-.-n!,·' "I n~M
" f Ih,' C"riy , h" n, . wul , .id,ing. 1L;( i ll~. 1,ittm!', anJ
,·"~r) ')1'" of ,i.. k ll l ~,'m"," ""~~mablc In..· I•• ". t,~
, :.... '. ",." h" ",,,,I £~'" nUL It "a, ,kJI unll l w~ h;oJ 11..· "'1"""':1
"-'.- '"~i",'1 ~,,'
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d .ar.... " ·'~ in S,~, II"/UI,· Ih,,, an},un., ,~~I".-.J h. ...
pro'-"';"I" " 11K" ,",'I ", I........ h"'~ ,~",'.J tk: 1'" .......'(IUlJ

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ha~e gues!iW how much!he audience would be mo~ed
by ""'~ d",,,-iniS of!he girl kissing the d,,·ans.
A few years Ia!er. this touching be!,,·e..n !"'"O ~ar·
toon characters had a spe<:ial impact far beyond any ·
thing the .tory cre w had imagined. The film was
LOVE BI:.,WliEN MOTilE!!: ANDCIIII..D. Ti....xllyMOl<M'
D"",OO. the StOl)" of the unfonunate baby elephant _Iv,
WIth tho: enormous cars. When his rnoIher had !tied to
defend him from the tQl"Tl"Oents of a group of boys. sI>C'
'<Jltl ,IN> forlorn D"mbo '0 vi", Iti.
ft_ '" . . . ,. "
~lJDinnl ilUiIh" ....."""'. TiN>....., ~1~pft<J~1J .....
OfiN>, ,,,,4 CfIII.ow:lI 0ItI'f ..,,11 ,lot" .....IIb.
" '0\0 u itpI

n.: animator', ...,gnment. C" " ,~ttdn. poi~""n' Sf,in of

had been labeled J "~l ad Elephant " and chained inside
the bauered old wagon that ...,rved as a jail for .eeald-
su~. ,ho, ./Iow! /low! m..m D"moo ","" his _h" miss_It
",heF. ,md /to", much ...·~n ,hi, limi,ro ~"""'c, ..·;,h n€,
uant animals. me<1llJ ,,, II, ....
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"-'_',",0", ~" "rr" Thoma> . FALLING 11\ I.OVE Tlr. do~ oj ,/" "'<>r/of. T"''''I' ....
Tramp ",,,/ L:,,/y, J,,/m w'£r. .7 ."()"n,~ I"d," f rom ~ .1t~1,,·...,d Ixu-t,~'''''1Od "'.,
I .. "",...;"',,· , '['rill' ","1J",~ f""";'" Ji"" ,,~ I'["ct- lH'h ,,,,1 " rr,W",,'G'" ,,,,,rod "f IItt
Lad)' '''xl t~. Tramp. Iru"d,,~1S he ~~pea> , Ih. ,,,,,,,,mi,-P"QI""~'o.- a..J hi,
,~" .,' ,hem Ihe 'r'~<'i"llI- <Jj fhe iwu.'e ,-,mll,I,.,e . 'ilk .,. ...'"
", ',', ''''Ik'''' "'''III .
Th e- .";""",,, "', i ~nr"<n ' h '" ,I,,~, ,m- Iv jail i~!1Jw
"'hil~ C"''''~ " pi",,· of -'I"'X/"'III if" " "{<,,ed _""I
,I/(lkr Ii,,' ""d,, ' ~,,<, /'di ~ ,." ,/',1/ rn;" , r " II,' ",.1,1 kit.....
 W,d.out h,~ ~her. Du",bo '~ problem~ hJd In·
I ~:;:~;and he "'as""", ,n deep despaIr H,s fnet>d
I'i Mou,", ,mgge.led ,hal 'hey pay her I V'S" on
lilt quic! of .he nighl. " 'hen ,,"eryone else was asleep .
Dumbo •• OO<! un III'''''' 10 Ir~ to s« his T11OCher. bul he
..... 100 small 10 reach up 10 ,he one ...·indo.... in .he
...cap. and >he "'01, chaIned >0 that she «)!,lId no!
tome ~n)' cI....,r [0 hIm . Onl)' tile,. nllnh could reach
fl( enough 1o touch and nfC~S . I. remains one of the
om. Icndor $(:qucnce, c"cr animaled. yel One of the
..... , unlikely. With noIhmi: 10 drJw bUI a couple of
\I\lNI1h~c trunk< groping abou\. i. would seem Ihallhi:
1III1N10f would t..a,·c been complclcly defeated ~for"
., brian. but Bill T)'lla h~ lh.s assignnKlII and he
fell tile: "moI""'S ''''ry strongly . It" tlandhng of Dumbo
Imfully hugging his mOlller' s .fUnk and then gently
\ltinging Oil il made Ihls seq uence oulslandinl!\ for
.. n.i",,;,)'. delicacy. and good juds ment. Every move
is ~ full o f 10"0: and lhe lU'1hf. fedings are ~ g~nuine
doll nobody laugh'_ nobody qve>lions.
taJ). ,,,'" 1/'" Tra"'P ....·a. anothel pICture wllh •
1InIIg'! SCI of mgm:\;"nts lmol hiid 10 b" broughl t'lgC'lher
In ....·ay .hat sa,d ·-w>"!.·· Two dogs eating spaghem
~
""hil~ b"lng ~Iena<kd by a couplo of roman.ic dlefs
with mandolin and accordion did ,~ ~m like the
mOSt appcaling situation for a romaace. Beside •. lhe
comedy i"'pllei. in !he whole broad "ory concepl. the
"ery thought 01 dogs digging into a plate o f pasla .
"""Adm unallrICti~ and crude E"~n Wall WlI$ not
wrc: this would not ddeal lhe main >lory poinl here-
Ihallhe dogs ,,'ere falling in lo>"! .
The rear of lhe leslauranl wher~ Tramp usually goo
a bone or '''''' ""as not a romanlic seu;ng. bul;1 did fil
thor realbm of lhor dogs lookmg for a handout. ~
surprise tlegan ""horn Tony . lhe o ..... ner. saw chal lhe
sewnd dog '"'ellS a lady of dass and ~ed 'IOf'I1e-
Ihing beuer Ihan a bone: . He ordered his assiSlanl 10
serv~ them "Ihe beSt in the house." complete with
tableclolh anti di.he •. Ne xt CallI( lhe lIlu,ic. and willi il
lhe challenge 10 the animators . Could the human char-
acters convince lhe audience .ha. Ihi, was a real slilla-
lion? C.... ld lhe xillai ealing be enlenaining? Could
Lady be made af'PC'aling and aurIC""" and <faiRlY ,",'hlk
consuming long strands of spaghc:lIl~
·'
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Tr.unp's gifl of I~ last """aIN Il . animated 11M: way
i. was. i~ .channing indQ(ion of hi. lave ror her. II l~
001 a sure-fire me.sa~c 0( affection. bul the gen lie
way he pushed it (oward her and hi s expression ~~ he
looked al her left no 60ubl abo"l his feelings. Th is
de~ion of his love was set up by the UI"ICxptelW
oonlacl I S lhey chewed the ir way 10 citCh OIher on a
. ingle su".nd of spaghelli . The c ~tiremenl of thai
RIO"...nl demanded a reaction on hi . p"11 . II relied on
the build·up in the ~ing ~cnes. aoo on the flOCl
thllllhe dogs belie >-w i, .lIlhemselvt'lo . This "'lIS actu-
all y I big evening to them and not • farce or • j;ag.
Once thl t poinl was eJlabhshed, every! hing else in 11M:
rnI of the picture follo ..'w naturally. If v'c II3d bi lo!'<!
10 make Ihi. relaJionship hel ie,1lbIe for the ..... in """ .
acters. none of their later action s ,""oold 1Ia,'c !lad lhe
ring of sincerity nceded for this Iype o f ' IOf)',
Sincerity is the key word when conveying emQIitms
through e hanoctcTs IbM must be believable _ Moo: lhan
one an'mator ~s hatl ,mai i" ' live sUII~iot,. for bus,·
ne~. and actions Ihal fi t the per"", . liti .. , and Ihe situ,,·
Ii"... SIIl'<!rbl)". 001 ,he;r anim'lioll has I""h'" lilt
sin<:cri l)" 10 gi v~ lhe.., idea, Ihe impacl lhey .hould
h~ ,'c I' " lhe "'-'.-«n . They mi"hl h.,·c t.....,,, imdlc:clu·
alLy pe rf~'Ct---OOt ~mot!<mall)" N flcn .
The ~ni m"ur has Ihree "CT)' ~·.al problems.n lilt
rICId of "",i"g. and lhey c.,,"'"
lie il' ".....,d. Fil":>l. lit
mu,1 ~now whall he c han"'l ~ r ,hou ld ,k' in a part ;';u!.r
ci"':um-;I"""c . Second. M must he ., kilLful ( n"ugh M I
IT.fl,,,,.n 10 c apt u"" in draw;n~> whal ~ k",,..,.s j~ his
hnd . Third. he mu.;{ lie ahk: In "'t,in 1M n«ti ng .
del ;';"t.. lhoughl o( 1M moonenl ,w( r Ihe """clal oIays
il may 1ak( I" M inw.le ,he """no::. Whe n I"" I<:lOrun
the $IallC fco;,L, ri&ht aboot an atl it..,.x, or an action. he
does il and the mumenl passes . S"mehow . the animllllr
hLI to . IOp lilll<' while he captu~S Ihal elusive moment.
diss«ts il. ",c"" I"s it . and gelS il ~ II <lown on paper.
The live aclOf ~ not ha,'c an u s)" Ii"", . ""'I al it ....
he can waLk Ihl"Ollgh a pan. 1,,$1 ideas . Iry diffc:mll
approaches. sironger al1 iludc ~. l"Iil. of bu~inch . md
make hi, chan geS a ltai the .... ",c lime. When an . ni·
maiO!" ·· "'al~. Ihrough a scene ." il will br IWO .."ftb
befOK be COIn ~ a ~"' : and when lho: dim.1(lf says.
'"Ni\..o-o. il', not worting:- il i~ much nlOl"l: dirr,ai(
and "x l"'"sive 10 Iry Ihe se<:ne ;mmher way.
A ll of lilt aninmor' ~ ski lls ~'" bmu~hl to play iro
cf(lI1 in~ true eonotiuns; his k"""'......ge of Ibf funda-
meniaLs. of <tOry. chancier dc,·dor fnelll ....1ion lIIIIIy·
sis. aclin~; Ihis is the hi!;hc' 1 fnrm "I' lhean .
II make.' liule dille rence whelher lho: <.-haroc'(f"!> ",110
h.a'·c these reelin,s ak humans. Mnimals. m;>ke·brl~
C"'altfI(CS . ... e'-en i n~nim~'c ,,",,;.x·1S ~i,""n a per>Ollllfo
I)" . In each case. lhe p"-.."C<lu",, " f c.. ah1i'h;n~ audio
erII'C ident ifical ion Ihrough a spo.....·;ullypc of con,nlwti·
c~lion a~ the r.;Imc:. o h l>ou~h lhe", is oomitlc<lly fI"I(ft
of a problcm in ~...~ting p""ple 10 ,-..... "",,,,,t ~n oW
~ or ~ garbiogc can. To ~( I ,ndi,·idu,l. ,.... lI:e,1Itd
atJoul lilt ernuli,ms o( a fantas)" <.- haracter i, also !oOmC-
what of a c hallcn~e .
I\-L.os, P«>l'le h:l"( ("d ing' of >OIl ... "-Jr1 3hout. •
Ii " jng ercalUIC lil e a do~ 'If a I>c:ar "r nCII • "lOUIe.
~au'" the...: ""imal> d" 1"""-". defini 'e pcr!>Ollalitie$
o( 'heir o ""n. But '1Ulsi<lc or a \-~r)" PCN>l'.) (lperi.
"nee or IWO. mO.l people .In ",Whaw lho: ""n il: fed- J
in~' ~bout a ..... () ..It,,,,.'" r ... /,..-" ", ...1A/i,·,. 8 /",·/>toMfIk
or a IUltboat (Unt.. T,... .,I. , .... car (Sf";'-. f~ /JIrk
11/",. e"'If"')' In ,<.)"><: cas,,,. su~h "_ the MIOntS iftj
\I 'h<'N ,"""~'" '. 1/ ,ml'f" Cm·
_,•.,' /~f' "" SImI", ,,,.. I
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,1",,,/1' hr flJl""I" ,.hllr",'·
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8.// f'ul f"~,,,1 fi' ....'· ,m,f """",f.. ,\ ,,' Ih.. I"''''' ,11k.. 001"rI
' " II"" ,f"'"''''X M'hr" hr.I,,1 ",n·",;."" ,'ar, fi>l' Su~"" ,""
1."11,, 111 ...• t,:""J'< Th"''''~''''fru", " SO"",.." AI'I'FtM'
""," ,n F,""",a "'·...IIYI_"Mr""-r "'>r rhame"r dCl'dup-
...."'. Thr bQ,' "nd !C"/ ''I ~Iu,'d;lnd II<alfil('" ' ''f''"'''''f'OM'l
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 ANIMATOR : Bob Wickersham
- Thru the Mirror.
A happy-go-lucky tele-
phone answers his own
ring, then talks to himself.
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57 6/ 67 (,9
Fantasia 's "Sorcerer' s Apprentice ," it was important
7/
that they be living and active , but have no feelings and
no means of communication. In others, such as the
doorknob in Alice in Wonderland , the specific person-
ality and suggestions of the friendly but unhelpful door-
knob were very necessary to the situation,
In many cases, the personality will be suggested by
the job the object normally performs, A · steamboat
whistle is big and authoritative , It is almost impossible
to think of a shy one. A rocking chair is matronly, or
gossipy, and a bench would be robust and healthy ,
unless it is an old , decrepit one outdoors in a park .
Some objects have potential faces in their basic
design , as in cars , with either the headlights or a divided
windshield being the eyes, while on others there must
be a face created and superimposed (M usicland). There
is much more charm and conviction in a character if
the eyes and mouth can grow out of the natural appear-
ance, such as the telephone in Thru the Mirror, but
when this is not possible great care should be taken to
make the additions as believable as possible , Some-
times the character is more provocative without a face
at all, if his whole being can convey the pantomime to
show his attitudes. The magician's hat that Pluto
encounters in Mickey's Grand Opera needs nothing
! ,.
! ~t
-", ., ,~
.
,
~
,
~ ~
77 79 8/ .fJ. PI
more to show its reaction to this big dog intruding in
87
I
such an offensive way. A face would have been wrong,
because it would have destroyed the elements of fan-
tasy that made the hat so entertaining,
Many people insist that most of the machines in
their lives have personalities that are clearly apparent:
the elevator that works only when it wants to (and
goes particularly slow when its occupant is in a hurry);
the car that will not start (or seems to sulk when not
treated just right); the door that always sticks when it
can cause the most trouble ; the typewriter that contin-
ually reverses letters in the words- we are surrounded
by objects that do seem to have minds of their own, To
find the face in the design of these objects, and one
that expresses the feelings that we already have sensed,
is the problem for the artist. To move the parts oJ this
design so that it has a suitable personality and seems
believable is the problem of the animator.
The Illusion of Life
In the final sequence of The Rescuers, the villainess
Medusa is being pulled behind the swampmobile by a
rope. She is bouncing and splashing around as she is
~ alon~ and Ialu quue a Maung , We all s ug-
~ iOUdluonaJ gag~ that would maJ:e the ~Ituation
!'t~ funnIer, but the d,rector he~u~ted : "I don't ...... nt
g.gs; I Wam to know how ~ is fe-ellng about
_ character?"
~ u"$ put In a dOSC'_ul' of her face as .he comes
'" OUI of the water- the acnon " funn",. If "'e'~c
seen ",'hat shc'~ thlnklng~"
nus locident illu" tr:ltc~ the dm'c thai has run Ihrough
all ~ !),SrlCy rilm~, the "11)" of th,nkong about cnte.·
_ n t that led [0 Sl.lC'h a hIgh degrtt of an In lhe
.,,,,,,1011, An onteNlewer .,h:
" What' s funny about a hal Snc" ~ ing up on adogT'
., It depends on the hal's penonality-.. lt.at kind of
a guy he is , ,.
" Then ho,,,.. do you make I hat into a belic~.blc
,
.'11tc same: ..'ay you made a crude; canoon!los into
PlUtO, 8y .showIng the "moIlonS , How d~ do)"O\l get
,
lifc into anything?"
Veteran an ist Mel Sha"" added a thought . " It is.
personal thinl ' You 'll' tlkong the ..'hole personality
and dwactcr and making tlw person bchcv:ablc ;n
moIlon and E-molion, That ', (he an of animation for
me ,

.
-_.
.......'" ,
,~

DjsM'/dti
JHNt of lifo
 Will! all of.he fonn~ of oumand"ll C1IlCftaIQmtIII
dcv,;;ro by Wah D's",,) .• he mml onllm~llnd ullIIwal
conmbuu<>n 's shl1.h,s quall.y of hfc ..".h "h",h ho
endowed all of his eh"mc'ers I·rono.he firs. ~hrul
MICkey. hoping for a k.. ~ from M,nnlC. OOvo'n lIIrougb
,he: gro"''''1 fcar and p<ln,c ,hal KIIlg M ,obs fell. ho
~Ihl.ed he: w~s gotnllO SI"""C II) dc:~,h McaU5c oflm
greed. lO.he dram~Hc nchoc~. of !'even ~hel".. mon-
cr~ fa lhng in love Wilh an innoccllI young girl. ,t lw
b«n , he e haractco' cmoHons .ha, have made tho
Dosney fil ms ,rcat
lllc anima'or.; at ,he DIS"") S.udlO ha,-e =-d
many grca. chara.c,ers over SOI1M: fifty ycars of P""UI'C-
 maling , charac:tCI'll that h~,'C lTlOIivatffl ~tones. brought
""Iuencn to li f~, and ~ndeare<l themseh-es to aud;.
ences around the world . 'Then: is something o f mallie
i. Ihr ..'hole process that Comes from the vcry a.:t o f
ar.JI;v;ty. individ ....Uy and rnlle<.:tively. that tr3Il= nd.
Ihr single stcp.; of production. It is more than a dl"llw,
itlg and more tllan an id u. Possibly ;t is the Itw~ ..'C
ferl for cllarxters so heroic. "" tender and fun ny and
eI ciling-ali of them e nt~ na ining . )'(1 e ach different .
neh thinking hi~ own tOOught • . and uperieocing hi ~
own (motion s. Th~1 is what makes them :\O real. and
thaI is what mak es them so memorable . It is al, o what
gives them lhe asto unding illusiun of li fe _

Points to Re member
Whe n Ani mati ng Emotio.ns

I. Make sun: the cmolional flalC of the dwac:te

c learly IIcfined .
2. 'The thought process n:vuls the feeling . Sot
limes il n n be shown with a single. held dr
ing or a simple mOve . Other times ~ she
be gcslure~. bod y move •. or full action. De
minc wh ich is besl in cach case .
l_ Be a len to use of cuning and camera in llel
~ntuale the ~ moI ion .
4 _ Ask yoofSl' lf comta ntly:
Whal am I trying 10 Jay lIe,d
What do I really want to lbow?
How do I want the aud ience 10 react?
5. Us.: the clement of ,i_ wisely:
to eSlablish 1he emol;OO of Ihc eharacter,
to conve y il 10 the viewCI'll,
10 leI them U vor the Situation .
Don ' t be ponderous , but don't take il away
them juM as they sIan lu enjoy it.
18. Other Types of Animation
-and the Future
" II'~' re .' ..0",.1';1111 here. Ir)";"11 to xn a"~,)'
f ro", 1/... em ",.d ,fried ha"'l/ing of ,/,inKs "II Ihl' "'' ')' ,hmugh-
n"..rythillg_ IIII(I 1/'" (m/,. 'my to do it ;s IV 1,-<1"" IkinllS o"en ",,,;1 ,,"e hal" '"fJml,lrldy ('.,;p /o,..,/ "wy bit
<if it."
""01 all lhe Ili.nc)' films dCp.!mJcd on ,he illusion of
life for Ih,,;, succe... Walt was imere'le<.! in en lcr·
.ainmem. and lhal bmad field included more lh an
,!<)rics ,,,1.1 through bclicv:obk ch:orac lcrs . He loyed to
s« a'-tio"s Ih31 mpw.J in p.:rfC(:t sync wilh musk.
flowing or le""'n ling Or .urging. " 'h,',e"cr the sound
led. 11.. sought beaut)·, 1101 only as a bac ~ground for a
~OI)' leiling
cpisudc buI fOf ilSclr. in d<:r.ign and colors
anod mood . He cnjo}'ed making lhe comedics rull of
gag'. and he li ked to cr.:alc new characlcrs. hUI he
abo wamcd '0 If)' film, ",hcre Ihc ,lory was sub-
ordinale 10 Ihe graphics. piclU ..... S withoul gass .....·ith
jU>1 lhe good feeling he gO! OUi of ..,..ins. g ..... 31 ~n_
"·Ol~ . lie told hi. cre ..... at an carly mccting on the
"NUlcra': ~cr Suile" sc~ucncc in Fall/mia . " Ii should
b. somelhing ""auli ful and .Olllcthing f.ntasl ;c- a
"ill.o· · lhe · ..... isp feci ing . ··
I! ..... as IIIe audience . ..... ho >'Clected the cutc. round .
3mh"'l"'m"'l'hic anilllab ..... ilh rich ~rwnalit;cs a, Ihe
t)·pe of char:tcl<'TS Ihey li ked hesi . Thi s may h.,·c
repre",nlcd Ihe most difficult and highest form of Our
3rt but it ....'a.s by no means Ihe only product of either
tho sludi" \If Wah's fertile imaginaliou .
Walt Disncy
The notes frum the Slory mecl ings on F,ml<lsi<l Il,,'eal
lhe ..... ay he ..... ent about Irying 10 capture 3 rlCW and
illusive cO~p1." l f we don't ,"cn'plto wcavc Siory
here . it will be more enjoyable ... . Our overa ll efful
is Ihe mOS I imporl.m Ihing." In lhe "Nu lc rac ker
Sui le.·· Wa h d id nOi ..... anl to ..... aste footage ou show-
ing the Nu lcracke r and lhe girl walching Ihis >'Cries of
da nccs (as ..... as done in lhe original baileE), but, in_
sicad. he wu look ing for somel hing in cach section
imc"'siing in itse lf. .. It ·s the fairyland thing wc are
picturing . • ,
lie had thoughl of lhe Chi~ dance as somelh ing
wi lh a sroup of li1.ards ....·caring f1o"'ers in lhe shal"'of
coolie hats. and the Russian dance as mOl'C comic.
us ing tu nics with thcir heads going in and OUI. Several
of our finesl an isls ""~rc .....orking on Ihis and we",.
daily. prc5Cnting idcas and drawings. c"crylhing from
lhe charac l~rs' appearance 10 lhe ""'hole visual tOn·
cCpl . A ll hough Wa lt liked ,,'any of Il1<:ir suggcstion"
there was sHIl some lhing missing; just handsome 311 ·
work was not e nough.
He had often said. "When I" m interested in ,;ome-
Ihing. J "" am 10 5CC ..... hat"~ going 00:' and IMI ex_

presSoed as ,,'e ll as anythm, h,s <iiss:lllsfacIKlll wllh
~.!O:' urly drawing" 'I'hc~ "'u IlOl ellOUgh "gom,
on." There was IlOl enouGh of an idea, yeL for a
pic.u~ 10 be scan ed.
~n, one day he r,aw a dr:lwlng of a mu.tlro"m .h~.
Elmer Plummer had made Wah ImrMtlialcly saw a
poIenhal .Iui. far surpassed any.h,ng .h.:I. coukl hI''''
bc:cn done w"h lhe " lAmh, I Ie ~'311ed .~I ~l n, of huw a
mushroom even looked Ch lllese. how II could do a
cenain Iype o f dance. alld soon he had added allOlhcr
nluu,n)om .. ho W:L' always ou. of sle l' alld causing
•rouble for.he whole group. ThIs did IMlI haPl"'n In I
day. or all m one mechng, bu. II did b«ome a solid.
UnlncU lIka .ha. c,'cn .. ,,""". a s.ory ,... oukl hold any_
one's mlcrcst Wah r,a"I, " people ,,,II ~ nlC m­
ber II-eVCry .ime lhey loo~ a, a musllroolll af.er .ha.
'hey'U try ,0 sec lhose Chine..: ••
A. lhe same 'ime, he was developm!! h,s lhou!!h'5
011 lhe 1lIh<', d:mccs . searchIng for i<k'as .ha. m:llchrd
lhe mu51C lie li ~cU lhe !my fames moving from plan.
•0 plan, making C>'cf)1hlng sparkle and ,"'lcn as lhey
.. a,·ed 'he" wallds, finl lhe dewdrop falrlCS "ma~e
lhe 'I',dcr wcb loo~ like iI' s made of pearls-ihcir
Own IIg hl foUows ,hcsc fa iries around_ all that lIght>
il up IS lhe falnes ,"
en, sc_
Then Wah began 10 wOO<lcr If lhey could rqn>nI
and group cenaln cffrclS logC.her 011 ...
basis " ThaI's "'here we bnng III FaU- and bnn,"
,he wind and lhe ..."d pods bill don·,.ry 1(1 !til'
Slory- jU.1 lhe lhree scasoll> Those bIg brovon
leaves drop down and "h"llIfOUnd makIng p:i,,<,.01
movcnlC:nl agaInst lhe " 'Ind from lhe . ky_" RIthn-
,han a .. ory. II ".-as. a proJVU.~M)d of odc<>!' ,hal boolh II)
pK1u~ and 1I1O,..,men.s. "h"'h ....,'" IntR:I>lngly ""'"'
inlere shng ,
The muSIC w~' helping the Idea mon: Ihan an
",~l i~cU, by gIvIng a SlrUCIUn: ~nd;l. de_dupm<",
.heffi311C mau:nal ,hal. in llself, carflN 1hc auoJ
aloog. PossIbly Ie"",r mus .... would .... ,.., lacked lho:
SlICnglh la sustam SO moch poetu", roou~; «rUIn/}
whcn f ·unt(lSIa .. run w"ho\Il ~lUnd II 5ttrn~ '''rut
and lackmg 10 I"'l'fI05C 1)1" direcl l""
When alllhc righ. inllrcdlcn.s hod !>ren f(IUnd.lI'ctt
,,'as an ama7.ingly rempil:lc unll of C"ICrl;l.In_
Music. ~Ign. acuon, ;l.nd color.1I WQR:cd~.
n:flee""g a Unll Y of lhoughl lhal comboned aulllorll)
Wl,h be~\I'y. II " 'as noI ,hallow Of n",,,,ly "prtll):'
and lhe ,lk.. we", noI ~a"c",d in a hOOgcpodge prt.
senta"on . h was c. c ltmll .
Even n>OfI! advenwrou, was.he vi<uaIIlU<rpttQllOll
of Oach ', " Toccal~ and Fugue: ' "h"'h ~ ool'qlR'
~n.a.1OII of ",al forms . OIIly colors :and !JuJa..:l
movemenl 111;01 m;l.lehcd lhe f«lm,oflhe mu", 11111:
had " aled. · ·W~ don' , wam 10 fallow ... Iw ")'1*
else ha' done In ,Ilt: abSlntel We have fIC_c, deal, ..
lhe ab!.lr:IC'; "" have g"..,n Ihm" • reason for <' 111'"
and lned 10 ConVII"",C lhe a.... w:1IC:C lhal II could IwIp-
pen . or .."5 poss.bIe " 1 N"", he had 10 fel'l IllS..,...
"''lIy 1010 Ihl~ ~w are.. and find I""'u= llw .......Id"
more 'han JUst dazzle or "mlulal(. tbey ,,(llJkllll\~ I)
~ach an aud",,,,,e and ""Iii lIS Inlcre;.t
AS all lhe pan. began 10 rdale. Wall beN,,,,,,
enlh",".,11C over,he pt)'."blhlle~ In lhese c~PC""1t
lal odca~. "hlCh wcre far allC:od of anyorac'S lhml ",
n.. am~1S II:Id c realed SlanhnK ""... ',su.>I cffect<.
IrchnlC'~M ,,'cre I"'",n, Ihln" on film I'" "'..
could he bel",.'cU. lhe mu.oe lrac'k< " 'Cre nC"'IIJ .
Fanl:L'<)\lnd , .he ""''''. sound ,y~,cm dc,..,1oped "",,,,,f
for Ih,S 'bow, was a whole upericncc in IIstlr II'
us fa.sc ma!ed, ·· . ,f wc call gCI ... hal ....., ..., aflcr
n . on ,'''' ...:rccn. wilh !tw, muSIC pul ~r lhe W3Y
'"" no> pili " ""..".- 1 \:0.:1;",.., ,, '~ IOOnl! 10 lo;nock ('ny-
body 0111. ,'''')' JU>l won', \:oeloe"~ II . II 's an cnmd),
.." roehl upcncd up for OIl' medium ..
RUI P"''''''''' had no chanee 10 kllOCk everybod)'
0111 Even 'hough II r~n for a reu>rd . l:>rcaking foft y.one
.... ~s m Ne"" York . and Ihiny-nllle '" 1.05 Angcl( ~.
Iht ~P'X'al "", nd l"lu ll",,,,m n'quircd Imliled il 10 onl)'
• f. ..· 11Io:~len. OCrt"" Ihe counlry . and ",os l of lhe
.. gular lhealer !"'lrons had no OJIIlOrlum!), 10 sc.: il .
TIle <>pC"'''g, 1~le on 1940. """lCidcd ","h lhe .scala_
oon of lhe ..-~r '" Europe G ..",... ng len.'"", in Ihis
eo'Ullry. akll.g "" " h lhe studl<)'s los.ng liS fOKign mar_
I;cc • • 1113<lc II 1I11p<,,;,ibk ' 0 eA!"'.1d !he pnldUCllOO .deas
Wal! w" >" cager II, II)' . P"",,,,.i,, 1 1. ,.h,ch was
""II [la" Iloc 1'''''''''''1.( .,'a~e. w., .h:II"'"ncd. and Ihe
1" '0 scg",c nb al ready III " ·()f k. "Cia" de b .ne" and
"i'c1C'f aoo lhe Wol f." were rewor ~ed a nd USl..'d in
bIC'f plClure> Th,~ " ':os a dl","ppoomlllCm 10 Wah and
Olhel1l . Sn ...... Whil~ was done: wllh sofl walereolor
",uho:$ 10 reminiscem 0( old book iliuSUllliorn<; Aliff
i" "'O<td~rl(ll.J combined a nlORe nlOdc.'m des,&/, wllh
un"lUC: colno' combinalions. II) make il look slighll y
" 'dnJ and u n)'; Uuly UM thr l'mnv. ....:a.< "o:o(Ic of
noslall:;~ . like an o ld poe.lcanJ. wllh bn ghl. sunn)' col-
Of. aoo sofl edges . 10 / Ihl/nomimu used a $lloog
linear Ircallllcnl, wilh Oal ~wa.clICS or color in lhe
backglOl.nds 10 match ItIc handlong of lt1c characlcl1l .
For Siu/>inll 8 r<lut)'. lhe "f'I""ile .... as tried: I.....
design 01' ,he charac;.= "'U ahered I" fi' , ..... "vCfOlIl
Ik"gn o f ItIc b:ockgroonds. Slyllst Ey",nd I'.ark.' had
done ...... IlISpIr:oIion;o.l s kc.chc:J Ihal eaughl Walt's e)'C'.
and now lhe: s l"'rl:l"'l! "').IIh. lhal Canoe from lhe: Oat
col,,", uS<.'4 In 1..."<HlilllCnSK)!Ial panem, ,.~ u lling
for a new Iype of dr3wing in lhe ~ ",ma1l 0n . Even
Ihou~h four and five h01l1'l' we'e rl"luircd 10 make
SUllo.: o f lhe drJwi"gs. !he eoo resul! was a gorgeous
la~lry of colors and pleu"'g ~hal"'s-cold and 1""'-
dcrou~. bul ~1:u1ring . The: p;og.:~nlry of !he: Middk

'" I"" staff 0( 1:!(Xl emplo)'o:c.., all " f ,. huon h;od been Ages " 'IS e apturro with a nl:lgnlr"",nee lhallICver will
c)e"ed aboul lhe Inmguing fUlurc 0( ann"."on We be duplicated again in lh.s form; aoo "hen ~1C ..'ed on ......,. Uan,~ "root
Ptt« MIl It.< Wol/
>1111 ""onder "'hal " 'e ......... Id be wOf~'ng on hlday if .he "'ide l\C""'n ""lui,..,.j by lhe 10",,,, lilm used for
Fun",.,,, had b.,.. n .s popular as Sm, ..· Wh,u . Ih, s 0fIC pmduc!ion. il is c~ lre",dy InlpI'C"""e. F""",,6<'''_foi-
fmUdJ/(I I.atl ~,vcn OlIr 'Mi.-h lhe beM "pl'o"unil), To ",~ke lhe: " "", cff.,..live uso: of Ih.s v;sual malc- fi~ ' m",kaI
..n ...,
'""'l
/"'"118 11{ ,
10 usc bo.~11 Ilocor IIl1agi n:lIIon, alld dlfferenl kioos of
''''r/lIC'. hul cven ,,"-"" " 'as alle",pic..! O,'cr lhe neU
rial. '''''Ylllan Ed Penner "",,,~cd .1U1 an ",vorved S1.:e- I"'. uri

It. Y"a" The . I",,,,·ca...: for """,c "r Ih lS Ul"'rinICnla-

I>0Il .... . lhe " p""'~agt' pICIUrc.... • Th~ Thru C"II.. /·
Inm . M,,~ ~ ,\I",~ ,\1,...... and MrlO/I,' T,,..... " 'hich
coon/)on.,,1 """cr~1 dellghlful I.......... Inlo one fcalul<'
f,lm . II~~ a ,.. rlCly .ho.l", The)' l:""e lhe .,aff a d'"nee
'" If)' .....1 mil 'I;:u"'g ,dca. Ihal "" cre 1101 "rong e nough
10 ''''':lIn "~M~ 111'11 I~II '" fo flccII ",,,WIC. , Man)' or
lhe"" ,dca> on",,J""cd :1 ''''w " , yl~ IIf draw,"g "",I de ·
" K" Ihal ,,~, an ""purla'" I);>rt "f Ihc w.....k c""",cpc .
lJoool.mg lhe SI)I~ for a pIClure fulk,,.< lhe: s.3me
",dehne. :t\. ~hot'''ng the ok.'gn of lhe: char:occen
n.. >I)1c mu,1 empha."e 1110: ..lcn"'lIls Ihat ,,,,1 III<'
>!Of)' 111:'<1. cro:",~ rhe mood •. and ~.!abhoJl!"" degree
of " .... crlly fur Ih<- comple.e Idea . A .om"".. Iup'C .... ,11
be halldicd '1u'le dlfr.... rcmly from ~ 1'''''01'1U1 one, ,n all
g... r/I,c "'1 ......'1'. and lhe cho",~ of ""hal 'S \:oeM for lhe
.. bjfi'l m:lller ,,, on., Ihal must he eo."Kkrcd carefull), .
Wa ll "~~"Ied c""h " f OOT realu"". I" ha~r an ,00._
..dual "yk- Ihal " 'oold bc d,fterc", from any of lt1c
mlIi" Ih'" relied n<~ ' " much on d,,"~eler idenlifi,~(i"n
as a bu,y seyu"nee of evems Ihal rOIllf'<'d ~I"n!! wilh
,
good pacing and ,urpri,ing (wi, I' The 'I"'y. heing
highl)' romanlic. called ror warmlh and humo r "",!
dra"'alic "lUll'enIS Ill"", Ihan al"lere dc'i~n . and un·
,!ucMio"ably we surrendered ., ome ,""dience involvc·
menl ", Ihi, ,uong ,(yle. Slili. '\'l" ha"c n,,1 made a
comparable fcalu", wilh ", mOKh !>cauty in holh aPl",,,r-
anee and color and ,",,'h "o",istcm Irealment f,,'m
, Ian 10 finish--which W3S just " 'hal Wall wanted for
(he piclUre .
Careful alieni ion always should be gi,'cn 10 the valoe
of (he graphic, in any film. for Ihe whole pmduci
r~p;d!>, Can become barren and ,lull and earthbound
,.,ilh"ul some ex,cllenee in drawing. design. and coli""
This is easy lU f"rgel under the p«'ssurc 10 PUI a S(o'y
on tll¢ Screen that will live 'Illd build and cap/; ,'ale.
Good design. in i~",If. will make lhe 'Irawing. clearer
and the idea~ hehind them u,ier 10 see and un.Jcr·
stand: lhe Siyle will Sl",n glhen lhe comnlun;cation.
bee;(use i( has b.!(n eho>.o. in the firsl place. as the
best \\'a}' of pre_"'nling Ih. idea. It is. difficuh point to
pUI inlo words. si nce il ;s made up of ta,te and jodg-
menl and lalcnl and ",ns;ti\"il>' While Ihe ~ud;cnccs
'llay no1 seem 10 notice. lhey stnsc the differen'· •. and
they ..~ drawn IOlne object with the belle. design, h
is One of the differenec~ b.!lwccn Disneyland and Ihe
"wrage amusement park,
Wah ', ",arch for Ihc ,,,lid. unified idea Ihat made
Ihe g"'l'hics h"ld an alldien~e is pmbahl~, Ihe dO,"",1
we ,'In gc t 10 an nplan~lion of what consl;lules ,u,· ·
~~,ful visua1 communicalion Today. most people rerer
to Ihal kind or an ide" a, . 'Slory , .. BnlO" 1l()/~ctI".
(he Italian aninlalor. de signer. and produ ~ r. stres~d good \\'Ofk '" memorahl( , ,\11 of Ihe ~le rncnlS
Ihis on a visit 10 the .I ludio, "The fir't thing is always
Ihe story- fI(}l 3 drawing Or" ba<:k~rouml-but a ,lory
p"'~ntcd __' lory. ,har3Ctcr. ":::.:'::'.:i::;",::~,~;.::j
lk,ig n--mu.,1 conlrihllle to the ,,'''' 'l"lentent.
! w,nl 10 tel l. Then I eh.."", the medium," He wen l all ,·one,·pt.
0" 10 emph"~;?_" (he importance of making that ,tor>,
as strong and as rich as fX>'sihle, "Disney was a fan·
mSI;c ' lor),lel1.L·· he ,aid . "Th,'r(', IIel'er a mOlllenl Still Pictures and
;n hi' films in which you relax: the _,lory is al\\'ay, Limi ted Animation
"l<)"i,,~
Whate'-cr Ihc idea. ;t \\ill Ix· 1<,ld heller and in " ,\ piclure lh'" h~" no "''''(11\0:111 \\ ill!'" ",(,:",," OItJa
more in leresting way "'ilh a Siylc that i, ,,,pport;vc ,,:re'en in only" fcw "".""",,. "" m"lln 0<,,,, oompe!
an.J "()II'p~libk . Like" g,~ld ~ari,,·atu'e. il "'ill hell' 10 lin~ i1> d~II'~n1S. ,\lol'in~ the ~all"'r" ,1>0"'1 \\UI ht:1,.
achicv~ the c~,e n,'e or " particular ide~ Ih"l mah·, h'" Ilnl~ 1\\" bcl"" rc"Il)' ,-an Lecp the foolage
 Mexic<:>. m~ an app:aJing W\lOO lnet tllal ~upportcd
.he fi"" arI,,'ort.
Jo~ Kitn..,rs """m Tr..u KI IQ musk by OK..,
Ra~b;och provided the sound track for a film wilh 00
animal;on Ihal made: e xlens;" e use of Came,... move·
men!. genlly probing 300 searching. moving in and
OUI and uamining the details of p;.intings, Dick Kelsey,
slylist and p;.in ..", had 3 remarkable taJ~nt for dnwing
IrttS tllat had !;Irenglh and beauty and a unique design,
combined with a color sense that was e~1remely I"'r.
SOIIal and (~dt ing . TIle sound lntek (in M,IQdy Tim,)
offered li!tle variety in eitller mood or tempo. 50 the
camern 'noveS .....ere restricted in the textu",. that "'ight
otherwise haVl: hc:cn mon: inte!"e..ti"g. but this is still
an nullcnt example of ,,·Ilal can be done with only
still paint in&!, and imagination .
n,., litkS for Th, Ruru"s were done in much the
same way. using Mel Shaw·1i pastel ",ndcrings as illus·
tration. of the journey of a lonely boItle. from the
swamps along the Gulf of Mexico to New York har·
bor . It waS felt that fun animalion of this subjecl mat·
ter ,,'oold not be: ;1$ effective as the ,Io"·ing colors and
ri<-h delail in the pastels. n,., OKhestnllreatmeM of
the song. "n,., Joorney ... anowed a greater varic' y of
camera moves here. some even suggesting nlI)vcn1l:nt
in Mcr. superb dmwing • .
'·Baby WUnls," a short film from The Re/Ur/,ml
OrUg<M (l~ 1). was ~scnted lhe way a storyman
might .cll hi~ namuiVi: from the s ke.ehes on the !;I"'Y'
boards. Si,," it .....'" m~ up of IiCparntc sketches.
there was neither reason not justificalion for any move·
n1l:nl. Stil l. to ma~e the picture dear and nlI)re imer·
esting. limited 111(),'emen,.' .....ere ooded here and there.

rf:':;::.;';'~~101)' Kk~ that moveslhe audience. a Of
Ilia. has meam"g of Its o"'n .
tf Wah!':olw ~ s ketch or palm,ng Ihal he parhcularly
he ,,'oold tool: for • way to gel il on the KIl'en
U>l (he way il was. and then figure OUI how 10 keep ;,
""'" tung enough for 1m: au()icnce 10 enjoy il . 100.
In Th, Thr,.. C..ballfros. Mary Blair. channing
.",ungs of .he Muican ch,ldren acting oUl La<! !'osa_
In had only ,1M" mo"~menl <Jf the: names on the can·
lb . but1her hdd the: audlcll«' s inlcrc~1 becau>c: lhey
Ilu'lrlued a ~lOry . tn anolhcr pl,ltt in the same pkture.
I"IOfl' of Mary's painting. wen: usetl Wi(1I00 ~I"ry or
"","nuily: h"",·ever. a ,;.ollg. telling of the "'ondus of
just an arm, Or a leg. or a simulated walk. or I"'rhaps a
rl"IO'o·ing jaw during dialogue . It ..... as effeet;,..,. econom·
ical. and soon picked up by other studios $CllK'hing for
a cheapt" way to fill the Saturday morning TV de·
mands. It becanle known as " limited animation .·'
Animated Des igns
Mos! of the scenes of .'n,., Nutcracker SUI'~" in Fa~ .
,asia had little mon: tllan the animation of designed
shapes of n()\O.ws and frost and snowflakes. or the
changing light in this sl"'cial wonderland as a fairy

<bnN b) b..,n lhe", filII) aoomalW characl= ....cre
!uho",linalc"<llo Ihe p,elorial effech of t~ <;ceneS. ye l
lillS ".-a, "nou~h to SII"am ncarly fifleen mi"UI~S of
lilm
"TQlX31a and I:u~",,:' al"" frolll ,..",I/DJil1. prnbt...J
In ~l01ll\:r direct ,on . combi nmg ab,'r.tC1 design s and
undrf",ed , hal"'< .... i' ll pur~ ",u,ic Once again. lOP
""lily . «eel, a"",,:lIIo.. ,,~, ........... 10 INIeIl the ,,I00<I
oflheU-.K'~ , In b<"h S)nc :Uld f"",',ng, All of lhe lceh .
"ocal ad"ancem"IlI' "'ere l'a lled upun h) l',..,,, ,c ~""al
"'\:j~< lhal earned lhe -a"", deplh and P<>"w ", lhe
"'''~. TIw I'ltru Cu"',l/rml cnnlainro 'nore ""reo,
"",nl""on ""h Iii<' an; m:lllon of de",ns. but due to
bWge l reslricllon, durml1lrn: ",ar il is k" prelcmiuu s
Ihough J"'t as ''"''£'OOI''-C and ",,'oIu1lo":II)', "" h I1100tc
nnpliasts "n Iii<' chang,ng of ..!tapes a, lhey an""aIW.
ikt:au ,,, of the ~ kx ,C:m hac~ s round '" Ih" pan of Ihe
f"m. lhe de"I1'" "we ba",d on Me"call aoo loo,all
I
moI,fs. and. on ""me cases, Oonald Duc k "'•• 1m ....
dllCed wo rking Illrough lite evolving patterns, Whi le
he:t<kled liule 10 the anisri(: "",ril of the ~ucnce, he
bro",ghl lhe a"dicnu inlo the film on I " 'ay ,hal the
geomelric dei igns never could h.,'e by lhenlsel vu .
An ;mriguing ;dea Ihal 'le Vcr reached complelion
WllS Sllh'ador Dati', viS<Jalwuion of a -g. "o.,.UIIO."
,,'r'llcn by Armando Dornl"'l""'Z_ Work.ng .... ilh John
Hench, Dali had pul logelher a whole ~(oryoo.nl of
lhe s~m:alislic drJwingi Ihal had m~dc him fan"",s.
bul . unfonun:nely, lhe rroJ"t " 'as c~ncdktl " ith tlllly
one ,;cene ever pul on fitm , ,1.5 a >hon Interl~ In II..
fe" '",~ f"m ;, would ha'.., been prov"," UVe, "helh'"
people followed lhe idea. Of undel'l<lood any of II or
noI 0:11. and Wall go! along ' -"I)' " 'ell. but the picture
"'a~ not be<:<Jm'ng 'I"'''''"hal cuher of lhem had hopal
whell III\:)' St" rled, so il Wn, ab"ndon~d. by mUlual
agree",,,,,,,
l'mb:lbly the most chamllng of lhe filrm lhal ,,·en:
cssenl ,atly lhe ammalion of des.gn .,kn.. ms ".-... (ound
in the imroducl;on to ··lIaia" in Thf Thru C,,/x.l/f ·

ros, Mary BI~ir had made a dazzling skelch of lhe
IIr~1.ili;," jungle wilh " liny, colorful lrain jogsing
along 10 a s~n,b~ oca!. Lc, Clark ."i,,,.led Ih" Ir.in,
keeping Ihc drawing so Ihal il malched perfectly to
M ary's overall picture. There were nn <le'''"nds un Ihe
animalinn, Olher tharl 10 I;;xp Ihc design d~n"n1s in
the movc nlenlS, ""hile lhe liulc locomotive chugged
along the Irae l; 10 lhe slation al Ihc ernJ of [he liroc, It
mel sever~1 problem, along the way. which kepI the
idea alive arnJ added interesl 10 llIe progression lhrough
lhe jungle. bUI the out$landing design in lhe original
concepl conlribuled lhe moSI 10 making Ihe sequence
memorable.
mutt Mary liI"j"
"",,,.,.,,.., /:",ic La'm~ _
"Om'~ Upon a Win'u·
timr."· Melody Time,
Strong Design
With Animated Characlers
Usually Ihe animalor mu." !;i"e up h,s beSI 1001, of
comnlunicalion if he Iim,ls h" drawing to ltoe tt-;!ric·
lions of a .'Iron!; design. but in . 'Once Upon a W'nte,·
lime:' in lhe fcature Mdo<ly T,mr. Eric Larson. ~~.
ing wilh director Il,m Luske. animated Mary Blai,',
slyJiled ideas with sreal .>ocee". He bordered on lim·
ited animation where he coold. mO"IIlS the ,,~lechar·
a<:lI:r ,limy. but limed it "', convincingly Ihat ~",,}"thmg
....·orkcd. It ....'as ,mpo",ble C" 'er 10 bee"",,, rea lly mn·
cemc<;l or involved with either the eharaclers Of tho
>tory. bul il W"> emen:oining and deligMirl. and.sbotttli
Ihat de,is", ,;ould he animated "'cce., ,fully when lhe
"hole idea Was pwpcrly unified, There " 'as allQ\Ul-
gic song settin!; Ihe mood. and a simple 5tOl)'!t13t
called for a 'loai"l. unreal 'l'l;Ilily. '" the 'I""',al k,nd
of animation fit in perfectly. withoul los'"8 life (O"
wannlh or the needed communication,
Me/oJ)" Time offered a"",her venWIl: illl0 pon: d6ip
animation. with a popular rendit,on of "FTigln of the
Bumble Bec" done in Boogie Woogic mylhm CalJN
"Bumble Boogie.··;t featured mosical symbol! I00\I.
 ..." ..... 'OIU CIoa'Q"'~'3,
F.rd M "",~ , I'a,,,' bnulr,
Jo"M~
""""" c/a do "",.d."
Sal..oo. Am,coo ,

",..",.1'011 F.c'/ Moo. r-

""lIllrc CdlS Joj" I~ ,"
Make ~hne M~"c

ing in a wild lurnlOil 10 malch Ihe ex~ilcmem of Ihe
SCQre. 11Iere was linle SIOry, Oilier Ihan lhe plighl of
lhe b« Irying 10 escape this nllld world of sharps and
fiatS and mrf signs and OOIe5 III dashing abolll in a
~y ab$1l"11Clion ,
A pllf1icula.ly rasci~ing devi« ,...u 10 painl or
dnow lhe piclures as needed, ju>l ahead of lhe 3Clion-a
son of "Onw t i you go." 50",,,lime$ lhe main char-
Kler woold Ix in I"" scene, progreuing dQwn lhe
>llCel, or climbing Slairs, or viewing Ihe scenery, wilh
all of Ihis background malerial being addeil j ust 81 lhe
lasl I'I'I011lenl. AI other limes, I"" enlin: screen would
to: "mply, and I brush "'QUId painllhc piclure t i you
. 'alChed. l1le whole SCelX could to: flO»lw on from
0"" magic brush filled wilh ,,'alcrcolor, or lhe brush
ac1U~lIy oould paint each delail while you w."bed, II
waS always surprising and often uciting .
lITUIginativc """ of this tc<.:hnoq~ was rombined wilh
an extremely simple slyle or dR"'ing In " Alilhe Cau
Join In. '' done for Ma!;, M,~ M.me , l1le >lory line
was ,i mply thai. group or l«na~11i gOi ~Iher II
lhe local drugslOn, 10 dance to lhe j uke box, 001 with
Fred Moore's animation il 5C1 a Slylc lh~t has inn,,·
eneed olher filmmakers ever sinee, The clean, simple
dc:.ign of IIIe characler.; , the appeal of 11M: drawings,
IIIe sirong oulline, the dirttlness of approoch combined
wnh lhe syne 10 lhe music and lhe crispness of the
hming "~re worth ropying ,

Styled Animation
Ward Kimball found ,In excellent "",dium for hi, brand
of humor in the styled animation of Tool. \VMs/It ,
Pluuk . aud Boom and the latcrTV specials he directed
ahout man ami his varied activitie, in space, The term
"~tyled" means that the whole ~a has been cooceived
wi th a dominant design that will innuence both the
appearance and the action of the characters.
Not everyone can adapi his work to this kind of
thin king, Ar1 Stevens. key animator on these films.
said. "Give SOmC guys a styled c haracte r and they
don' t know how 10 move ii_you can't make il move
realistically_" If the Story concept is realistic. then the
animalion must be real istic. too, Bu t if il is a styled
concepl. then the c haracter must move in a special
way thai is compatible with that sly le The Iwo do not
seem to mix.
This Iype of animal ion is only illumating rather
than sustaining the story. 0;0 you are free to engage in a
completely different form of caricature . !:lol h An and
Ju l i u~ Svendsen became adept at animating mO"c"",nts
that fit thi, type of design,
The chief reason for selecti ng a strongly designed
~tyle is to use a wonger type of caricature. Which is
particu larly ""ell suited to sat ire and commentary on
the world we live in. These character> are created to
do a different type of job and are not interchangeable
with those from oIher styles of animation, 11Ie caven",n
in TOOl. WhiSllt . could never play the role of the
puppetcc r in Pinrx(hio. and Stromboli would be JUSt
as wrong plucking a harp string Or blowi ng on a raspy
reed . The desig.n of each was determined by the need~
of the story and developed through 1he re,!ui rcmems of
"''I.'"''
V ic-t",,·
Irani Kiml~,11
Th,..~t~h Air
PH" Of.
1he r<ll~ .
It is uni4uc to that one p"r1icular , how. An
St~"~n~ condu<.l~d with this thought : "The charoctm
in TOOl. IVhi5t1~ . "ren'( n~,h "nd blooo.l . They
mo,'( in a more ab'tract way-but you aren't &lOying
(hat one isn't as cntcr1aining as the other ."
View,,' Through Air I'",,,,'r hegan wi1h a ,lion his_
tory of avialion done in an engaging ~tyle created by
T, Hee, By removing the reali,m of a~ri"1 warfare, he
",mo"ed the hom" and was able to bring about I
humorous treatment of the subject. When the design;'
this dominam. limiled animalion will suppon itlxtttr
than other types of styled animation, As is often the
case in lhese films the basic humor i, in the drawin,
itself, and the animator mUst he careful that his addi·
tion, do not weaken the communication al",a<ly there.
Imag ination Unlimited
M(1II and lilt M,x",. directed by W.rd Kimball. fea·
tured a simulated flight to the moon long before NASA
wa< ,ure anyone really would he going there. Sets
....·ere built and C0!'1ume~ crcmed. but for the rockel$
and the big events. only drawing' could give the illu-
sion. and to be convincing they had to be "Cl')I special
Ken O 'Connor, a lOp layout ma n, was given the
assignment. His experiencc~ "'ith back~round. col«,
and the labs. dating back through S,,,,", Whil~. made
him well suited for Ihis nacting job. With tech.
assistance from rocket npert Wcmher von Braun. the
whole procedure from bun"h 10 circling the moon
SO ....·ell concei"ed Ihat ",hen the actua l flight w". '
more than twelve y(a" later. many of the details "'t
JUSt as they had been ,hown in the tilm,
,
 N,... ,,·s Ar~ . ..,leas0:4 in 19S9. "'~J rn:o<k by R,II
JU>l~ ~oo Xa~1tf Atencio and fUlurW lhe asloooomg
eano::alures of anm.als o:k>nr by T II-« 8,11 dod doe
stop mol....., ",'00. ullOdrr lhe carnrn, m..... ng the Imk
figu..,~ ,n >pl'Cial ",·a y•. aoo T . c..,~tW a whole Jungle

or ""probable ammals from the wnp!.! ilems found '"

allY ,-ariel)' , Ion:
B,II Ju,lIce (camed up ",ilh X AtenciO again. 10
design. Co. NNCI, and nKW" tl><' ~..,Ion:d p;lper c""",,,·
te .. u,;cd ,n ~,-eraJ TV .t.ov.'~ MO"cnll:ll' by ~top
1lI0hon ha' bc:cn a f3,'OOlc or film",",~er'5 for lIlany
),"ao., bn:au~ u "",..". ,he Unll: of nl:d.lnl n.ra dr.I ....
Inl!'- and full) uu lo7.eJ the appeal of one ~-Iool"'l
dc.>lgn . ",.,.., I. a faSC1ll3110fl II> lhe n""'cn,,,m .. hen
lhe "Icwcr ,an .-.xoglll7.e ~nd IIknllfy lhe dcnlCnl.
belllg ,,<ed. whether they an: made "r paper . .and.
nuts, vr "hale"cr
The three film, about 11'",,,i, ,h, 1',,ovJ, noad.: ron·
>lant ..,f"rence 10 .... book from "h",h the ep'~
wen: amrniued. pnd. IQ ~eep Ill •• 'dea alo~c, shOb or
[he bool. IIsdf and [he pnll~ lel1"" on lhe page ....".,
used repealedl)' WI><'ll the ,,',00 ..... bk""'1lg ,n HI~s·
len' f),,,,. II blc .... llle type ngllt orf.he page When .""
Il<x>d came latcr, the waler o,I""'I,....'tl .he Iype and
w",hed II 3"'3Y. Often the !oC<'nc, were deSigned as
illuSlralOoll_' on.he book. aoo Ihe figures nK»'cd aboul
" ',Ih,n IIKI>.c IImualions. or IKIppcd :teN... the p;Ige 10
a new locallOfl II ...·U onlY:ln In'-em"',, de~IC". bo.Il II
fil the lllOOd or lhe films. keep'", _ of the whimsy
of.he orlgonal >lorooe...
 J. •

~~
- -'-

NI,.,.." Clt,'d,~n of
,d,oo/, In Inl'NnUS-
The Loch Ne .. Mon"er. C>

NlNtr ",,1 SNI_

The al.ck Cauldron
F.,Vry<>M Joou looI.nJ 1m"
."..,.". af,1t; "-,,,"pooI.
boI,
..-IwI, dIN. lit, bollom 1001:
iI~, ' Tit" on, " ,It,
",'an
,nlmncr ." ~n U'''/N'
,,,,,,lid ...,,"d. "lid M,/',
dr~~'in, "",l ,. II all .",m
IV')' pI"~,,bI~ .

NI,m Ma,.,· Blal'-

AI"" in Woo<le.bnd.
Mary's draM'ln,< had (J " "_
dill "1'1'",,1 for Wall. II.".
,M ,/toM'S It., uniqu, "P '
p'o«1t '" lit; inrrodlK"w.,
""itt"f-d TIIII")' Wood.<.
"'/to ,Iu .......Id /wI', ('tJtf .

u"onJ cf ritt" MI'""", II> a

f""" as" ~'Uy' S...-lt
d'(J~·'n,. ~n,d up "'''
IIt,nk"'JI ",.J "art..J IJ IOWrt
/",,,g/n,,,,,'. "1""()(J~1t I"
"''' IJ"'n .......t .

B~. ,It; 8yi '" .".....

"ip//1Ta"o~ . "". arl""
.."""",ttl ,,-IwI, ,,'r
filld OIl Olio" pI"n"• .
"",It.
(AI I"!'.nII below.)

•

T}"~ d~/j"",~ P<'Jld of
fril~lt~rd .,..,.i/ ~idi.., ill
t~ ,'<lSI play. "" 1M •..,.._
u ', i"'''~i"mjon by no'
slw"'inS hi", ...,r",hiflg-
jr41. ~I~/'" Au.. lOst'''''
1M wtOOJ ..1Id IIw1....Ii", of
IIw fo'n' "rnlf~'u.
......,. KtlJ NWI$~_
I
·'A ... "'a",,:" F..,f.OliIo.
X"y NirlHfl ...., _ '" 1M
S,wJiohMl '-Sit '" ifIIj1~ . \
"," O1tJny pk'"rYI. INtI "..
/rnJ " profoultd ,1!rr' ""
tltt d"iS" of bollt 1M "A,,,
,.,,,,ia'·""d " Ni,/t, ""
Bald "''''''''11'''-' '''I,.iII.US
ill Fan,.,;a. TIw ,1..... c/
'M ""IIdI" CDTrird ,.,. ....
IN10tHdfi,'''N "..,.wll<> bt
"II """,,' >1M, pTObl,... /..
prod"",;",!. but lit, 810ry
uf.lrls roMrp<fqr ,It, 1Cr,.,
math " 'n)'OI" k«p'ryl",.

W~n a mm was bei ng made aboll1 the Loch Neu

monslcr. school chi ldren " 'ere asted 10 dr:aw their ideas
0( how " N<:S$~" should look . ~5C deligJuful tin ...·,
in,s .... ere inoorponlled into the Style of one !«Iioo
of the fil m. with «:nain of the drawings going into
movemenl. Considerable in'·cnl i'·c....ss ,,'as ~d 10
animate susgeslion~ from . he schoolroom. but;t made
• clumninll bi t of cn renainmcnl .
Strong Personalities with a
Different Type of Life
While Mic key ~Iouse wa~ living up hi$ for~rly pre_
po>l~rou~ ~Ill ies 10 bc<:OIn( _ of a human ~N, his
~Is [)onald ~nd Goofy ""~~ de\'eloping I wilder.
broader Iype: of comedy. w~re lhe incidclll ...·15 more
belie\'able llIan ihI: ~haa<.:ler. 80th lypeS or .nimalion
~licd primaril y on personalily. bul ,,·here Mickey
suppor1cd hi s since rity wi lh belie\'able aC lions hi$
buddie~ cng3gcd in t~ mosl improbabk aclivities.
They could fall 2000 feel . be elccuoculed . blown up.
CUI inlo ~Iions. burned . n~ucned. drowned. even
frozen in a cake of ice. yet be right back in fighling
wpe in a manrr ofscconds. ~ only thing Ihal could
not be destNyW " ·15 lhe penonalily.
In Ho ..' To Rid.. " Horu . the firsl of the long Soer1es
of l""uoJo.in$ll'\lClional films §latring Goofy . a formal
was cSlabli~hed Ihal opened anolher door for the ani -
maton . Any !levitt Ihat a teacher miglll use to del1l(>ll-
strate I point " ·15 used wilh Goofy as the ~ub.i«1. He
" 'liS dra"·n 15 I dwt in ...·lIite lir0e5. u>oed as I di1v.am .
Shown in sirfMllaled slow ITIQIKM'I . run backward and
f"",,·,rd. and through il all he could $I ill reacl lO ,,·lI:.It
was bein& done :
Even lbe role of lhe nal'Talor l was caricalUll:d to be
an inlegr~ll"'n of the comtdy . He would speak about
 ...,.,,,.,.... /I"".,,,,J h'i"
Th~ Pi .... EI~pJw~"-Dumbo .
Goofy. e<JnUnentin, on his actions ("You will noti«
th~t the subj«t raises his k, high . . .. ) orcom:ctin,
his performano;e ,··No. 00. 001 that ....ay! .. ) or t..... ght.
leuly IeaYin, him in an a .... k.....w predicament .... hile
upouooin, the philosophy orthe .... hole subj«t . Th is
idea o f PUtt inl the Stlf or the picture through weh
riJOfOOS t~atment led to the development or ne,.. tech.
niques in the use of held dra,,·inp. limited animation ,
and li mited lire. unir",d only by Goofy'~ ind<l1uitable
personal ity. The fi lms .... ere highl y e nte rtaining and.
, ince they hild practically no Story. rel ied o n SIrong
gags, etear §tagin¥ , brisk tim in,. surpri 'in~ actions.
and I fMS( tempo.
All man~r of Camer. tric ks " 'cre uscd to heighten
the efftds . When tlK first combat film foota,e came
back from the Wilt' wnes in the early fonies . it reyealed
that the camera itself ....as,ianN by the foree o f nearby
explosions. Practically the nut day, the eanoon cam-
era would he j atn'd .... hen Goofy " 'al ked into a watt
(actually. the jar .... ;\Ii s imulated by moving the pep
back and ronh a brie r moment) . Vibr.l1ion ga,s and
animated effects had ~en used for several years, but
the crew .... as looking ror now ' riet, s that would give
more impact. When the Goofhi( (hat wall . (hey wanted
(he audience '0 fed it! 11 ... IS 001 necessary that any_
ooc believe in (he character as a s incere entity. only
(ha( the belting he took was rea l.
Thc Pink Ekphantli 5oe<juencc in Dumbo called for
much invcll1ivenc:" frot" the animators. No mailer
how peculiar or ;mpossibk the picture on the screen . it
had to move conYinc in,ly and in keeping " 'ith the
whole weird dream .he liule elepllam was haying .
Instead of mnYinS the ct.ar.Jcttn in terms nf a bdieYa-
ble personality, the emphas is was put on the anima·
tor' , abi lity to surprise the audience with actions (hat
are cnmp1etely beyond anyone · s e ~ pcrience .
Ward Kimb~11 ... as a maste r of this type of inven ·
tion, u t(}Unding the industry , first . ... ilh his handling
of (he title SOIl, fTQl11 Thr Thrrr Caballeros. ond con·
tinuing that special type of mad~ .. thmogh ""«&.1
Bilt·· in MtlDtJ,· Ti",.. . Ward had a ... ay of disregarding
logic ""hen it suited him and of getting right (0 (he
heart of the m~l(er . He "'as caricaturing the whole idea
of his sequence , not jUM tM action or lhe character .
which enabled h im to m;d;e a very direct and pu~
Slale_nt of ""~t he considered funny . fils scenes
 =! ~ .. -
- !,
:; ;

'"

'. -..-
,.
~
,,
 spawr.ed a whole wave of preposterous "",(lOllS and
briulc liming throughout the industry.
The Brazilians have a bird that is considered com·
pletdy cra,-y and apt 10 do JUSt about anylhing---IDe
Araellan bird. To animale him was a sp«ial challen~
10 Eric Larson, for if the bird will do anything what is
left for the artist 10 contribute or caricature? Eric rOOM
a way that was light and uny and so uncx p«t~ 111«1
Walt laler had a whole short buill around the charac·
teT. Clown oflhe Jungle . Pan of Ihe craziness ""... the
fact that the bird did nOI eVen follow the rules of
pic(Ui'l: making. defying pen;pective , eWing. and sa:,..
planning . He would walk any",'here, a'OIInd the frame:
border.<. in and Out of scelles-----.all the things (hal nor·
mally L",,"fuse an audience-bul Eric SCI this up!J()
adroitly that the audiences merely gasped. and lauglled.
• "Illey probably would 00\ have bc<:n surpri""d if the
Arlellan bird had wal ked right OUt of the sc~n and
irno the theater beside them . It was a singularly invtn·
tive use of full personality animation.

Combination Li ve Action
and Cartoon
Walt alway< had fclt there was a special fascination ;n
comhining live action ....·ith the canOOfl. as he had dont
in his "CI)I first shons back in 1923 wilh tn. Alire
pictures . Together. Itl.! IWO mcdiums creale a differtnt
kind of fanlasy with a potential far beyond whal any·
one has done. New restrictions are placed on .1I1lIe
panicipanls. because they are ~ simply adding anothet
dimension to ltl.! familiar product: they are now wort-
ing in whal is actually a third n",diu,". It must bt
planned more carefully. conceived wilh cwn mort
imaginalion. and budgeted realistically. but tn. rtlulij
can be pure magic.
In The Thru C(I/J<lllaos, there was an .Iaborut
display of lalents and technical proficiency in lile sec·
lion titled' 'Baia ... The Bra'-ili an singer and entertainer
Aurora M iranda. wilh a chorus of musicians anddanc,
ers. worked on a stage set that combined aoima!ed
buildings with real streelS. drawn props with real suuc-
tures. painted illusions wilh reality, It worked pan"'._
lar1y well because the .. rear' pans ""'re only llIeatrical
SCtS in the first place. and had Ilttn designed I<'ith fbi
 ,

"~I."".rO/f E,j~ Ln,_ _

The Three Cabal"'..,.

... rface~ ami ,imple ,hape. >0 they would match the
drawIIlg<that had 10 b." pan of the wholccompo,ition .
.vnsr Mory'
"80;"."
WOf king in ami '1Il1 of thi .• "'ale of a<:tors ami props Th<Th= 0
and bac~ gl"O\llKls w~s Donald Dud. with hi' ne" found
f""nd J~ Cart<JCa In >OI"e case, lhe animal;un willi
dotw: fi ... l. and the I,,·\: actor< had 10 ",...,110 the IIm,ng
and achon SCI by lhe ("".moon chaJacler.<. In OIhe • .centS.
AIlIOfll and her tOI11p.1"'on~ " 'en: photographed fi ... t
and the amn,;IIOO had 10 match thel' dra"" nl!'~ 10 lhe
11"e tharatte~ . In lhe fin-t ease. the "lInunalion " "2'1
pnlJtCled OOtO lhe bacl of Ilf"lln,lucenl "'!'ttn. "hoth
became lhe bacl ground Ixhlnd the actOf'l' In lhe !ICC-
000. lhe art,,1< matched thel' dra .... lIlg.!O phoImlal s of
lhe actu.s. and Ihe tWO p,ece, of film wtn: comb,,..:.!
laler III II>/: opt'cal prinl,'"
In clilocr caM:, ,I "dlff,cult !O kfK)w how Iloc final
ple<:es ....·111 oli fit logether and 10 Judge IIow anyone
s.ho<lld act ("l1o: ll1o:r human or canoon) in any parlleu-
la. ,",cne .•lIlee half the )Cene is Mill in 1110: Cn:all'c
minds or n"lny otiler people The: andienc" an: 1tC,'er
a.. are of the problems or dlffiruliots. or the diSCUS-
sooos that ha"e bn:>ught Ih,. all to a ma~otal conclu-
sion. (or If ,t has been done ...-eU ther an: enth",lIed.
Ixlie"IIlJ; that >Ol11cOO ... , all of It is n:al and happemng
nght bdon: lhell ert.
il. KtJIrJ_ $oI!~ of'M Sou/h. produced In 19.16. l~p!tllr Car-
.. -
"'n.o-,.
..,,.1;
toon scgmtnt~ scpara1e and compicte fOf lllr lnoo.l p;an.
I>u( tn(egraux' them SO "..,11 wnh tllr few conMclIng
•• ~~nes and ca",ful stor), work that the "'~ult wa. nne
uf (he .tulItO'~ n\O<l "ucce.sful. It w," al...., oue {>f lhe
favorite fIlms of the an,malOflj "hQ wnr~cd on lhe
.o:q""'''''''' for II ",,,,b'ned broad ,h~r.loCtCn; w,th .lrOllg
Mtuation •. tn a ;:cuing lhal ....'a. pur" fJnta~y I'an of
th.s can~ from B,n Peef s e~cencnt ' tory "or~ In
:oWp!.ng the Joel Chandler Hams da~lC~ ~bout Uncle
Remus . p.:an "f It .... as tllr design of the chano<.:lcr).
"hlth oO'e..w ma~ ,mum eommunlt~11Otl 1001< to tilt
ant'". and J ''''ry large p;an .... as the ma ... ..,Iou. ,-ooce
trxh. cQ"lnbuted pnmaril y by the wunderful. nlull.-
talented JanM:. Baslett. n.... fact that all of the X lIon
actually W IS lakong pi""" 'nside a young ho(. nllnd.
as he was betng told tile .tory. adtlc:d an extra louch of
hf~ (0 the wh.,le "'}[Iccpt.
Mil", l'0l>I'I1IS. produced c;ghl~"Cn years I~l(/. 111
1%4, once again placed the I,,-e actor.< '" a CanOo"
....'orld . coonb;nmg backgrounds lhat were panly real
and p;anl y drawn. ""h story 5ltUahon, (hat put all lhe
actor. together. No ",ar proJ""uon "as u",d lh .. tome.
ho..'cvcr, SO all the humans " 'en: photographc:d bo;,forc
~ny ammlllOO was ""gun, S,11CC OOQne "a. a "",nod-
ary charxtcr. the lKX1llal problems of gettIng a >IX""
10 "play" tool: prccc<k""'f O,'Cr plannIng for the toW
<!ffect of tile see"" In It, " 'cnlUllI form The !".~ at11011
director had h.. hand, full )u.t .l~glng the ac:tlOOl'fOIl"
crly and l1-~1l,"~ the charocl~r~ 1" cunlt to hft, no.
Idea of making any all""'''lCe, for ",n... hu le dr.,,',
mg' thaI would toe addcd Imcr wa. the la~l thlng he
wanted 10 hear about
In fact. Wah ~ncoural1-cd lh" "ttnude by (eiling lhe
d,reclor: "lJoo't "otT)' atloul "hal the ammatOr>:ft
gOIng 10 do: Just ma~e )·ou. ov.n Muff as good as )·011
can. becau"",, t~ gU)'" .... ,11 top )OU' " A,. rrsuh,
there " ...' ne'er enough room In the ><:cne fIW f_
penguIns, (he camera "3' never al lhe n~ht an~k 10
,00..' 1.... 01 off to the """ alh.. mage. and the art"'"
wa, ne,'er ,t~ged "" the) ""uld fit ,nl0 the poc-tlm
Nor "., lhe", e'er the n~ht .n"->tLm of"."" lefl lO <10
ever) thmg call1"<l 1".. In lhe ..cnp! l'cn~Uln, ba"e '-C'l)
,lion leI!' and cannot fly, '" II " al",,,,,, In\[lUSslbk for
them 10 kl"C[> up ,,' nh • r.,ng_ICl!ged dancN like 1M,
Va" D) ~e. pUllong f""r of lhem In (ach >cent I'tlll)·
compoundl"<l lhe problem
or cour.... Wah ~ne .... ,,>""tly .... hat would ~n
The animator .... ouToJ fu'> ~nd n>nlplatn and call. rt..
names . but In lhe end he "oold hccome """" IU' ....
11", and nK>rl' emenalnlns lhan he ....'oul,] h:t,,~ beta tf
" 'ef)thlng ~ Ixcn ITllKk U ' ) for hIm '0 a,nmatOr
e~er ,',ould back aWllY from wch a cluillenge . He might
SoCl'l'am and ra~ a bit. but he never would give up and
admil defeal! And Wah knew thaI. too ,
While tbm: mi&ht 1Ia~ been ~ inventioll in doing
!he S<;ene Walt'$ ..... y . a better ~It o~e raJl ...·iII be
obI~ined if the animalor ~OO the live Ktion CIl'W can
coopt:r~te, Withoul adv~nce planning the animalor is
a~ to be Idt with long cQIIlinuity scenes to animate
simply because il was comfonable cuuing for the l i~
a.clion . lie is faced wilh the awkward job of trying to
.ltll'tch his action. k~p his c llaracten alive . and in~nl
appropriate bits of uselelS busine!.s. JUSt to fi ll tJUt the:
footage gi"en t<) him .
In lh~ animation itself. there are many new pmb-
lelm that arise whon lhe: dnwings al'l' secn .• ide by
side . ,,·;th a Il'al person on film . TIle cel animation
~Iways looks flat and shapdess by com parison . It is
nol economi~ally practical to make lhe perspecti~e
absolulely accu rate in boIh dn .... inl! and aclion . and it
il> rumpletely in' P'O"Sible 10 match lhe lighting"" the:
he action figul'l' . If a broad action is used un the
<'arloon characler. it .... ill $tem out of place and un·
natunl . ...·hile ~ Jt1OIl: subdued '~rsion may go by
al/ll()$;t un~i«d . Tl!e characters come from different
...-odds. and ,..:cd ~pecial con.ideral ion to make lhem
,,,,npatible .
Worsl o r all . the:~ .... ill be a lack o f we ight . no
m.ttcr ho .... carefully the aclion is timed . "The sublieHes
of the human form in mo~cme nl cannot be matched.
and the caricatured aclillru lhal .l«m SQ Il'al .... hen
,·ie ...·ed in an animated fi lm npidly 10K credibi lity
alonS, ide the I'l'allhing . Such handicaps ralher easi ly
can be ""crc,,nlC or minil11 i7_o!<l by careful o rganization
uf lhe mate ria l_ "" that lhe aLidienee', atte ntion is led
off ,nto othc:r a«as . H......'e'~r. mhc:r tllan ""aSle lhe
~~ i ll aoo talen t of good ani mat"'" in doing this . the
",oney is bener spent pl~nning jusl how each thing
5hoold be presented .
Technicall y. there al'l' a number o f .... ays of rombin-
in, tho li~e aclors .... ilh lheir cartoon cou ntetparlS. and
the choice depend .. on the re sult desil'l'd . Es.<;(.'ntially.
... haI is needed is t....o seclioos of film. each ",ith Kso",n
separ.l!e imalf. but SQ amnged tllat the: t .... o pieces fit
together ~i!iCly. If you have that . the wiurdry of
lhe process la~ c~ n combine the: IWO into OM impec·
cable print . Fonunatcly. that technical aspect is not
tho prublem f.dng the: animator . or the layout man. or
the color consultant. or lhe background painter . All of
these people muSI search for a way to produce uerieS
of dra .... ings on the ",,,"n that .... ill ..... tch in weigbt.
lutun:, shadin" color. and perspeclive thoe li~ dIU'
a<.'lers .... ho are shari ng the bit of film .... ith them .
"The color almosl al .... ays comes OUt 100 brighl, tOO
flat . 100 intense, e~n if [hoe live bllCk, round hu been
p.ltinted in gaudy colors and lit .... ith. very nat lighling
10 bum Out all shadows . In addition. lhere is texture to
.1m(l$1 everything in the real worLd , and the flal , lhiny
p.ltint on lhoe s heel o f celluloid rot.''Iff quile fits in.
There .... as a scene in Song oflM SOfllh that sho .... ed
Undc Remus fis hing beside an o ld bullfrog. and, for II
brief moment . everylhina: was perfecl in lhoe matching
o f the two mediums _ "The frog .... as s mall . bul .... ilb
enouah detail so that textun: was not a problem, !he
perspecti,'c of thoe drawing was identical to that of !he
live background . and the choice of color .... as j llS! right
for e~1)1hing else . TlII: whole ere .... had ......,n,cd just
as hud on each ~nc: in lhe s~uence. bitt forture
smiled on lheil effons a little I11OI'e .... annl~ on ihisone
II«ne . and it al ..... ys h;as been held up as the uampk
of ,,'hat is poss ible in rombinatioll footage .
Educational Films
Durina tho second World War. the ~Iudio had u~ ilS
animation skills 10 make training film s, educJliollllt
films, ....,ientific films. and health films for various
government agencies . Whon peace rdumed. WaitOOl\-
tinued to probt: in to ocher uses of the medium, e~n
having a special unil make commercial~ for lhe emerg·
ing TV maricet. and induSlrial films for a few <XlfpO-
rations . Of allillne. onty the edunliooals became III
important di~;sion of the company .
Animation is panicularly wei! suited for teaching.
becauSoe of its ability to aet iMide: thoe mind of the
v~~ , as "~II as inside any object or subject il is
roveri ng . Wholher it is a philosophic co ~pt. a nalU-
T1I! pbeTIQmenon. or a complex machine , animation
can make;1 all rome alive in thoe v~,,'Ct"s imaginalion .
The series of weather films that expl~ined the anatomy
of clouds and Stonns to Navy pilots showed the pow.
erful elemenls lhal ....,ienl isls knew well' then: . which
no one ever will sec.
 In • S(:riu of films on I;>cha"ioral a hemalives . and
again in Th~ S/Dt")· of MtlU/ruorion. use was made of
animation's compelentt in handling hillhly personal
wbj«!S in a very impersonal wly . lbe lise of real
people in eilher of ~ sensiti~ sllbj~!S would have
had tho: '"kids reacling 10 other kkh" as actors. whereas
drawing lhe figures allo.... ed lhe audien<:e 10 see only
the idea that was being prese nted .
Wall ~hied .way from Irying 10 lell 100 mu.;h in a
film . sly ini . " We are 001 IryinS 10 leclure and leI
thl:m Ihink we know a 101 and h.ve discovered 50"""
thing-ifs all in I ligh( mood. ,. This philosophy kept
him from the usual pitfalls found in educational films .
or ~Iy iIIuslflling a dull 1«1ure. or !,lSing only dia·
gJam5 to explain lhe poinl . DOtUlld jn M o/hmagic /...and
had begun as ~n attempl 10 expl.in arilhmel ie \0 the
beginner. bUI il changed to a more general inlrooU<.:tion
and orienl. tion . which wO\l!d remove ~ny coneern or
worry .bout the subject whi le arou.sina e uriosity iknd
crell in, I base for fUlure untknl.lnding . Educators
ha" e acc:laimed il IS one of IIIe mosl j.UttCSdul films
on the wbject.
lllt fICld of educaTional film~ has an alrtlO$lunlim-
iled future wilh very linle of ils potenlial e KpJored .
Audio ~ Animatronic s
One lasl use o f lhe animation principles to achie ve
OOJNnunic.tion and entertainmenl mighl be "", nlinned.
even though it went far beyond j usl the dn"'ings .
Wall alwlY~ had bun fascinaled with m«hanital
<!evleu .nd enjoyed doing fine model ....·00 himself.
>0 it was on ly nllural thaI his intere st ,""OIIld be aroused
by lbe auto mated whislling bird he saw in Europe in
1948 . He houghl it immediately Ind broughl il.bae .. 10
his machine shop at the $tudio. livlnl it to Reaer
B,onie . lhe I.lIeMCd head of lhe shop. Roger had •
w.y of makin! Ihings wor1c . no miller ....·hal they ....·ere
or ....·hlt llley ....·ert: supposed to do. and he had g.rown
1IOO.ISlOmed to Wall 'S tequeMS not only ((K lhe impo!"
sible b\llthe unt hinkable. Now . W ilt asked him 10 ICIt
apart tlte linle bi rd and find OUI how il worked .
Before long. OIher engiOtt I'S ....'cre Jdapl ing lhe prin·
dples Roge r uncovered 10 ~Iter mechanical fig.ure~:
old Granny Kincaid in he. rocking chair. a 50ft s hoe
dancer. a bafbcrshop qulT1CI . • Chinese head with
eyes 1b.11 bl inked and a moorh Ihal !llkeli ~nd lips th:a!
(0IlTlCd lentn. 1besc were imprc~ve addi.i".... lO!hc
.... o.bhop. and an intrigllin~ hobby for a cn<lli'~ lNII.
AMad o r Abnham Lincul n was built .... ilheres lila
moved. and .eetil behind lhe l i~. and suddenly Walt
was talking aboul buikling I whole figure lilal would
walk up and down and duplic llc lhe famous gcslUfn
of our si~ tcc nlh pre~i<.lcnl ~nd sir in a c hai r and be
j Ult like IIIe man himself. TeChnical and mechanical
probkm~ forced him 10 cu"ail some of these idelS.
bul to everyone's amaze"",nt he did COOSIrUCI • •tt>'
liea of Lincoln thaI has . ,,·ed mill ions of people ift
repealed perforrnancn. That ....u onl)' lhe htlilled&-
Show .fle r show was buih around the improved fog·
lire. now dubbed Audio-AnimI1l"un ics. 10 fin the Oi!·
ney Ihe rne [l<Irb and a",l7.e the eT()wds .
The: url y e~perimcn l5 had t>«n program~ by the
tcchnician! who knew how 10 make a figure perform,
bul they lacked lhe kno.... ledjc of ... hal it should do 10
be entelUlining . For Ihis. Wah lOOk tho: men (/0lIl Iiris
animation staff. " 'ho could adlpl rhei. nperitllCt ......
drawinlS to Ihi. SWlling new mc4ium . These mecfIa.
nilm~ moved in a completely di fferenl way. but. die
unIC principles of commun kalinll with an alldic_
did apply, and lhe highly ~pedali ~ed lraining liIeK
men had received on Ihe canoon s made rhem uniquely
suited (or this assignment.
M an: Davi~ had lhe rare abi lity 10 make Ihwinp of
characters in silualions that captured. living pmIA-
"",nl and st imulated endleu ideas o f ....1\at miglrt hIP'
pen I)(" t. lie could upture a ff\O mtnl. in time , j.II
" 'hen a rclalionr.bip of chuxlcn ....." reacl!ing a peat.
and present it in a clear and aPIICaling "ily. Thil talCI!I
had l iven lhe sIan 10 many great ItOl)l I«]UCIICn in
the past. so he was an obviou s chok e fur Ihis new
"",dium.
As Man: summed up his as~il"nltnt ... W~ a;:1IIIlIy
lOY 10 crUlc a . ilU31ion and rMte it htl;","3I)k. r.
worlti"J in I foeld ....ith tremcndous limiwions on YoiIlI
you ean do .... ith action. <0 11K .... hol~ Ihing h . a . a
picture. and il has 10 be the mome nl when IhinCSbap-
pon . Otherwise. )'00 don'l have an)·thing . .. Walt called
Marc '~ <.Ira .... ing a " story" clli n, rableau:' "'hicb is
reall y jUM anolIKr way "I' de~fib;ng a good story
skelch .
When lhe inili.al drawinp for rhe mimatroaic lit-
u~ ""ere approved. a sculJllor ""as needed 10 catT)"
~ plans il>lo lhrec-dimens;.;.ul form. and who would
be beller for I h i~ Ihan a sculptor wi lh a backgrou nd in
an"n"tion~ The man scleclcd was Blaine Gibson.
"hose hobby " 'as $Culplure and " 'ho already I"l3d "" on
OiC" 'ffill pril~~.
Bla"'e was puulcd about designing one sha(X" thai
would "" orIr; for :0 "" hole line of dialoJue: for e,..,n
lhough Ihc figure wou ld move, it could"'- change its
al1itude utensi"dy Wah told him . .. A good cartoon
cun te ll ils story " 'ithout lhe line of dialoll"". and I
figure " ';Ih the right expro:ssion and all ilude mruires
lillie animal;on 10 lell its Slory."· 11 seemed Ihat Walt
had been telling his siaff that same Ihing for many
years. and it WllS still the right advice.
Claude Coats ,,'as mo"cd from <!oinK inspiralional
s ketChes. roIor ke)·s. and pa.inting backgnJUnds 10 help-
ing design the areas where the animatronic figu~
would be work ing . H ~ comparc..J the II<!w problems to
the bac kgrounds he h;wJ p;jinled: " Before the time of
The Old Mill. lhe backgrounds had b«n washed OUI.
flat. Now there " 'as a kind of s~ for lhe
characlCT 10 act in. no! quite reality but believable
space. We're still doing that On tbesc. rides; we COfI ·
sider the space: tbe (X"OIl1e Il"10\''' through .·' lie "'ent on
to say lh.at today the public;s so u!iCd to s«ing Ihi"lls
on I TV M"ret'n Ihat when suddenly llIey are thru01 inlO
a designt:d area th al lOlally surroonds them n,1II become
part icipants in a s~. llIey lire o'-e",·hdmed .
If planning aclions and designing filum """"' famil-
iar jobs to !he nlen from In,m3Iion. tlley ,... ere in for •
shock when they began conSlru<:ling tllese figures. Plas-
tic skin h;wJ to be creah:d Ihal would survive ahoost
coolin"""s SI"'lching and pulling. and eyebrow. and
beards had 10 be buih up by inserting one hair at I
time. At lca~l lhe eyes "'~re some thing that could be
boughl outright. sint:e the manufacture of glass eye.
had long athlc"ed "ery high Mandards .
n.. Mudio wrote 10 Amenean Optical Company in
Boslon. requesling a calalogue and IoOme SlImples.
Roger Broggie Idls what happe ned. "We rcceind a
case of some 70 different eyes. which was the method
us.ed by op/"IlhalmologiSIS 10 malch a pallCnt'S eye for
rolor. Blaine Gibson sc.lceled c)..,s from these sam·
pies. 001 ,,·hen we ordered 37 pai, s of amficial eyes.
" 'e ",ceived scnral phone calls from Boston asking if
we were ",ally serious .•. It seems thaI roo one e"cr had
asked for a ptli, of eye. before. si""" the "'hole I""nt
Wa< to "'~ teh [he patienf. good eye .
They r. n into more trouble when lhey asked for
heavy "rining in sc.' ·cral $CIS of eyes . Ai Roger ex-
plained. "This " 'as for lhe Pirale Ride. and Mare and
Blaine ~I~d bloodshot eyes in the drunken pira1es .··
The manufactu~rs evemu~lIy undcrsrood " 'I\;,jl " 'as
behind the Str1l~ requnts and producN a nco'" line 10
the studio's lp«irtutioos. Roger roncluded. "we be-
tame "n~fk3n OpIical Comp;,")""s largest CU5tOn~r.··
TlteSC' mechanical figu~s. carefully designed and
programmed to communicate and to involve the audi-
encc. " 'n"( more succe»'u' tlwl an~"OfI(C could ....·c
amidpalcd . Jolin Hench said u( them. "1'copIc get
more OUt of ilthan if lhe~ we~ I real aclor lhere . For
WIll( reaJQn. those lhinp projecl_ lhey xw.lly do I
bellC' JOb--the~'s _Ihlng SUP" hunun about
them ."' Ukc lhe c3noons. the)' touched I.... ij>t<'W
world of magic Ihal WI' the real SC'CI"CI ~t l)i~IICy"$.
When Dick Hueme. asked hi., fanlOU.I '1UCSI;"'" in the
early Ihiniu. "What's Ille S«rcl o~er al o.slIC)"·sT·
the answcr should not ha,·c !lttn ··tim,ng.·· or ··anoI.
_how.
~·sis.·· - ,I WlS, in fact . IlI:It. the dwacIm
,,'c", trutoo to Ji,'c in tile aooicnt"C' s imllgi~tioo.
 The Future
TOOliy. ,he: fUlure of anil'llMion 100ks more neiling
w n I' ally lime in .he las. ron,. yurs . Around the
world. yount ,n;sls haVC' bttn cKperimenl;ng witb
animation. $Iud)'ing animation . dn:aming animation .
WlM:re the Dis~y ."im had 1(> pi~r and discover
-<l nd then gradually build up • credibility with the
audieno;o-Ioday there exists a sophiSlicalion and un·
derstanding thal,Uows ""nture$ ;nlO many Mw fields .
In addition 10 lhe lonJ; liSl of n noon fUI\l~ tho!:
rns1ll:Y . nldio his created. the small commefdal SIll-
dios for ~ars have been producing ~MiV(: Inirrwion
for TV. Th;ll mtdium. in ;!$elf. I\u trained viewers to
IICttpI and upt(t quict communk;llion. brisk Ctluing.
.1Ion ..:c:ne~. and clear picIUn:S. The W<>I'ld is famili ....
with animal ion In many forms and ready for great
films.
A. the audicnu has been maturing . the spatt age
lias m:aled many new materials and flnlwk lOols for
ani'll' 10 U$C . The video umen , co,wcned to run at
24 fra~ • ~ . made a major chln~ in ..-ort.
t.abiI5. sin« a ,;ccM could N vicwro and ~Ied
whil( i, was being animated . New types o f compu ters
appear on tile mark~t a lmosl daily: ~ daim only 10
..,pl ace tile more tw ious fu n<:t ion~ o f getting tile ani ·
nlator' s dnwings on the Kl'ttn , bul OIIIers ha ~e •
mI>Ch more ~t imulaling potential. E , Cardon Walker,
" 'ho I'06C ffQtn tnfrtc hoy 10 prnio.knt of Wall Dis ney
Product ion!!, in looking al the variety o f electronic
doyicn offered the ~Iudio , conllnented lhat IIvsc de·
\'icn " . , , will ne,,<:r take the pili« o f . , . the g..,al
c..,atiyily or IIIe anislic abilily . Whalever fonn it' s
~og.nphnl in , , it's Mill going to mjui.., tile
originality , the imagination. and the newness of what
you do 10 n... kc il ..,al. to makc il last,"
Just as important an: the markets opening op on
many fronL~. from the horne cntcnainment ~nters 10
ne"" 0!ICS of TV it~lf. For )un, the fiI......ucr has
been ..,Slricted to tile len'mioole s holl , tile hoor·and·
len. minnte f~atu.." or the half· hoor T V s.pccioJ , Many
wonderful stork~ :ue i<kal for a twenty· minute film.
and almost unlimited ideas uisl for very short sub·
~1S of ic» Ihan s ix minotes, A cOftl:entr;uw n~SSilge
""at
Can ha,-c in,pact . a!! ...'ell as a capabililY10 del ighL ,
tocharm , infonn . pro'~oenteruin , ~ a mar_
ket has bttn fnund that ..,ilI make diffm:nt IengU!s of
pictures profitable . whok new arcas of eKpIontion
will be open to fenile minds , And as the iOphiSlication
of the audicR« gTOWll, a ""alcr nnlle of sub~t mat ·
Icr will become lICceplable , Who can pn:dicl whal will
be ne~l?
Walt was always wly mad of Iny of ns, searching
for new pro«dures. new fonns of cnlenainment, and
wc never can think of tho:: folore w ithout ..,membering
how he !II.--ned ideas oyer in his mind . One IMme lhal
kepllllon[ing him was the -I-tOry of Hiawatha , He kept
brinllinll il lip over 1M years, Irying 10 find lhe right
way 10 do 5<)f1lCthing wilh iI, Ue Aid 10 us, "TIle..,'s
somelh inll IIIere . y" know? Somcthinll we cou ld do-
somelhing that" s right for liS, I don ' l know wluu il is or
how wc 'd do il . Don' [ think ora film . don' l even think
of a s/Iow-don' l limil your Ihi nking to a "'IlIlar~·
aler. Maybe it's ~ing OUI in 1M woods . 0.- on I
moII ..... in , maybe lhe people arc broughl ill--Ol'- I
don' l know-bot there' s _thing tM..,! " That is the
way we yiew tile fUCII'" loday ,
In lhe la[e thit1ies , Alexander WooliCOlI, author and
c ric ic . vis ited lhe st udio and was llreatly impressed
with lhe appearance of the rough peneil lests he was
s hown , All the eXIra lin« Ihat Mlped conSlrucl tM
characters and sel..,h OUI lhe movcnOCII\ wc.., liltle
man: than cobwcbs on tho:: SCl'ttn, yel , somehow . LMY
sec.--ned to coalnce into a charxter, e .... sinl WooIlevtl
10 Slale that there .... s man: c..,aliyily in Ihis fonn than
in any finished animation , Walt alway$ liked tM vi[al·
ily of the rough animalion. but he ne ver found a way 10
use ie properly in a piclure , COIIld il be combined wilh
live lIClion 10 iuggcsl the inne r ideas or d..,lms of
some character? Could il "'presenl a f. neasy of wan·
dcrin, thoughlS. of vis ions. of only haJf_formed no-
l ions~ Could il be a myst ical Charac:1CT Ihal was not
e arthbound and only panially formed ITIOM of the lime1
In one discossion, Mel Shaw conlmented, " It juSt
_ms to me thaL !IIe..,'s even more o f an art fonn inan
impn:n ioni Slic medium OUI there , somewlle.." We
haven't e~perimen!ed , "
In addilion 10 the e>;c;lement of experimenting with
-
unlried
leng~
UM:~ of animalion. tl\c", IS
of ',ying Il) ,"chicve audIence
"'~~::::"'i::,::::~l
Ii
IhI'QUgh od",,' ",,,ans . II"", much s)'mp"lhy can
bui ld for a shapeless glob? Whal ttthni4U<: I
uS(: to Crcalc "",morablc pcrwnalilic$ OU1
S"'3lches of col0<7 How can you make lhe
care aboul a Spool of liShl~ The great " ,
and d,=10' Fe<Jor Hilruk ha. had UIIIsiderablc
cess in building wanmh in a , ""Mion and " . ",.,]
fl~ling for hi s characler" u_'ing hmill'<.l 3n;"'''II1)11,
cUI ·OIm. or hinged figures. and _
' lyliwJ designs. I
much fur1h<:r anyone could go;
known. II would require a ,[>Ccial i
in>pinng Iype of dc';gn 10 conjure up a
unique "wid. but "h(I kno" S if there are an)'
10 fa nlas), and im~jnal ;on~

a"imalion
Of course. ~ sur
will Ih"re son;';':":':":'.::':~:~~~1
.... ive lhe preSCIlt
arc
cmls ha"e PUI picwr.:s like "'"
~yooo anyone' s means. bUI fonuII31el y III<-rt is no
son 10 duplicalc dlher o f lhe"" cia"b. They
been done. and now il is lime 10 look forward 10
challcnges Ih,l awail U!i. ahead . COSI ::'';·~'.~~~::l
a prime facIO.: W,ll c(>n,i,lcmly looked for
"'ay to gel Ihc samc resull. or a le!is e.\pen,i,·e
that " 'ou ld ~till do "hal " 'as nt....-dcd . The not.,;
old Siory mceling. arc full of his admonilion, 10
Ihe COSI down and 10 kecp II moving
00''''
001 .ont... ,· Ihal did not add enough 10 III<- ""'III:
be wonh Ihe expensc . No. il is not It..: co>llil;tl
hold back Ihe grcal ricwrcs of 10rOOlTOVo'; II
lack of creative ability or foresiEht or planning.
When Ihe uncenainly of the future for animation
was being discussed. one alarmed sludeOi uduimed.
"I["~ 100 good a medium 10 let ,lip a",ay! It can go
"'here nolhing else can go._ il can show Ihings Ihal
can'l be seen! h can ,how thing> Ihat ui>l only in Ihe
anima!Ors mind!"
llIe nn of animalion doe, indeed ",ield nlagk pow_
ers, but compelition i, "oming from IwO unupecled
quaners . Firsl. Ihere are lhe inroad, from Imagtn~!lve
li"c _action camera",cn. Wilh filter>. special lenses.
e~"tic printing lechnique,. muhiplc exposures. tOlri-
cale mooel, . trick lighling. and e,'cn I~ pushing of a
filmed image through a compulcr. Ihe Cameramen """
daily eroding Ihe private fantasy-world of lhe animator
and his hand -drawn craft. To the alen anisi . lhese
incur:sions do nOi rob him of anylhing as much as they
show him a way to free himself from antiquated proce-
dures--so that he may e~tcnd his own reach .
The second and more stan ling invasion comes from
ad"anced e<juipmcnt used in scienlific discoveries thaI
gradually are revealing lhe true nalUTt: of uur world
and our universe. II is becoming harder and harder 10
tell the difference belween reality and fanlasy From
unbelievable organisms revealed by electron micros-
copy. 10 shapes and colors in the undersea world. to
•
!
!
Th~J~ or~ nOllh~ ~'lid U~<1lions of Oll"'::f::~:;'::.':;:
p/wlOgrophs of rn ll rr~a/urn ,n 'he ~ p la~~1
In 1M '(XUV <1f ound ''' .
 as tounding pholos from Sp3Ce, ,,-e arc ....,ing ching ~
be)"OfId m:on'5 dreamS. Frum di;lplw>ous. fIlmy sI\rO\I<h
10 knobby. armored animal~. "'e arc dis<:o"cring chac
OOr _ 'n world hu more bo:allly, and more . ,""Ci(ImC
beings. than anyone e"e. hlJd env isioned . JUSlthe: infi_
nite vari~ l y of lhe: shapes in a sptXKlful of plank"'n
would put any designer to " h~me .
If phOlogrdphy now ean show uS a real " .... Id of
b ma,y, as wdl .~ a (anl~SY " 'orld Ihal appeal1i to be
real . what is len (or ~nimal ion 10 do~ 11Ic 3n",'CI , of
..." .. ,~ s.......· course. lies in the area of personal inlerprclation , as il
"",so,..u....a doe. with any an fu rnl . II may bt hard 10 find Ihings
".,..'4roor~ lhal do 001 really uisl any"hc:re . bul how thc:y are
/wI<;" 19M ,/try,
;M I~ d poIl/kGl us.ed in a film, whal i~ ..aId abot" [htom. and ho.>wlhe)'
pkrin~ ,Itt-_, relate 10Qlhcr pncnomcna are jobs (0< lhe "ni. t , In Ihi s
,,,,,,/I "",;"". '" area. animation will be around f,,, a long time bccau!'e
~, lo.;"t 'h~; ,
of ill! un;(jue, abilily 10 conlmunicate. Whal is necdctl
J«.,i'J u. Ihr
are anists who have !i<Jmcthing en[enaining to ny.
lhr l'Iu:/. " 'UJ
and the: training 10 say it in a ,,-ay llIal in"oh"cs the
'r
audieocc. J 11Ic aocienl <;QUnsci .. Kno .... Ih)'selr' iI
(ull of wisdom. but. for lhe fmc"ai ... r. II ~ po.'IMibIy
jU>i as ,,·i.., 10 WUC!oI. " K Il(W,' you. au,.Iotnox:·
""""n Rod ... y Kict . the I.isl! radioo peDONJoIY, _
illtcrvic" 'ing people al lhe siudio. hc: a,""ed ON: or the
Nine Old Men: " I>OCs Ihr.' animator f«1 i"""altd
from wcicly. living in a dream world?" The 3lIs .... tr
was. " No. he has 10 tic p;ln ofl he conmmnily, pan 0(
che humM upcricncc. 10 ~""w " 'hal 10 (ornmuniclle.
and ho.>w 10 do il . l ie ,,'oold be both oul of <.bIc IIIIdI*
of louch if he ,sol .. cd hi"""If.·· Mr . Ro« " 'IS iIII"
pri~ . " SUI don ' t yuu h....e 10 be wackp\> JC1. 1Midc
lhe: ,""ull or I ducky or a Goofy?" In'>lead of1llt I"'ely
answtr he had arn""!",led , he ~ Ihc: slral,ht , _
!rulh. " No. lhe Ihin~s lhe .udience lilu abou1l~
c har.. cICr.; are Ih~ human eharaccri_<Ii<;, . They can say,
'That"s just lilt Unclc J~ .. or 'That" S the way I ftll itt
school: or 'Some ~ids did Ihal to I1KQII«:'"
Thac pe.son waiting in the lhealer ~s paid biI
monc:y. and is "",,' " 'a;ling 10 be enlena;nr,j. Ik is 1l1li
an~iO\l~ 10 hell' you "ilh yoo. job. As Mara:1 M~
Iold his Sludents. " Don 't UJleCIlhe aud~1>l"'r 10 lISe iii
energy 10 (0111( lu you- lhe energy should COllIe (fOIII
lhe: penon"e • ... )'011 mU'1 reach 0111 and louo;h Ibtm."
Other ,rca" of lhe cnlenainm~nl wor ld h,·t agrttd
wid> Ihis anal)".is of Ihe audienct . llw: laIC Jcan iknoir,
outstanding fil", direclor. WTOle in his rncmo;ooil"$. '"The
speclalor is a human be in,. cap;oble of refloecllOll:and,
lherefore . uf IINgII"'IIOO. Belllg huIIWl . he:.~ ",tr1(ICd
b)' lhe Ictil efTorI: hII! II..." beill, human . lit IS de-
"oure4 wllh curlO>IIy ... , If M _ Rt rooo. i. rorftCI. me
beSI WI)' 10 in"oI'"llIh<- speclalor in I film., by pI')"irIa
on thaI ( uri osi ly wilh lhe big idea Ihal has I ~
sion. leading the SpeclalOr in deerer and d«pcr,
The graphic form u",11 III pre",n! \hi. idea can be IS
van.:d a. lhe conc;cpt. I)f lhe ani>!s. bul lho SIIIIt
a~·0111 pnnc.pks of communicalion still ,"'ill apply ••
lhe)' ha,'t (or lhe: la.1 t" ..., Ihoth.3nd yc;on" TIley .nn
no. chan/:<! .. nnl man', c~pen cnces and ~_
ha"c devalcd hltn 1<> a",,'" .lalc of u~andilrc.
The ad,-..:rt;'mg agcoclCS. who ha .. e enhcncd 11\0 TV
""''''eIlS wilh all k,nd. ofv lsu;,1 st imul i cre .. cd ",.111 !he
aid of "k.....!ronic lechnoluH. "ill "'\"en II) .y",bols lbe
" -orld undcr>land .. f.,. lhelr .ub}ecl mallet: '11", rule
bab~·. lhe ~randparen". family gc1-logelbm, SOI_,
a rull moon . a m.scr~bl~ , r~"'y n'ghl. 11\0 00,....
romance. They may have !<"dined the public to accept
cuning and camera work and technical ideas that would
have been completely confu sing twenty years earlie r.
but they can communica te their message only through
symbols that have a broad appeal.
The popularity of the Disney films around the world
is proof that en tertainment values are simi lar every_
where. in spite of geography and cultural differences .
People are people. wherever they live .• nd while they
may bo attracted to a broad variety of activities and
subjects. the one thing that al"'ays interests them the
most is themM'IYes, Regardless of techniques . !o be
successful the idea for a film must be presented in
!enns uf universal understanding directly related 10 a
person', e'periences: for the most important e'peri_
ences are the individual', own.
This iocident was observed one noon hour . on the
step" of a building across the way, A girl Wa' waiting
imp<l!iently for someone She obviously was annoyed
and restte« . She was nu! Sen ling down for a long wait
but change..! her position constantly. and the positions
were all unusual : crou"hed and leaning against the
wall. then leaning against the balustrdde. first facing
i1. then with her back to it. ,,·.i!ing- ..... aiting.
Finally the young man came up happily. unsuspect ·
ing, She was accusing: he was unprepared. baffied,
lIer frustration bruke uut in IcafS. her head was
dropped. She pointed to her watch. he pointed to
his---but he had to bend duwn. and twist to <ee into
her face, lk was coocerned. loving. but confused .
Shc turned away: he followed. pkading. She accepted
the ,i(uati,m at I.. t. but she <'ould not forget. They
wal ked off(ogether. but when he tried to lake her hand
~he pulled i! b:tck ami thrust her chin up in (he air,
This ,ituation could be presented in almost any
graphic fonn without altering its basic strength You
f~1 for both character<. you understand. you identify,
11>ey can he young. agciess. ugly, anatomical. shape.
less. styled . or only torn piecc~ of paper- it "'ould not
mailer. The wri~!watchcs arc the only props. and they
are nOt necessary: they merely are convcnicll(;es !hat
~hnplify the communication for anyone who is famil-
iar with watches.
All the ingredients are there to reach almost an}'one.
and this is still without introducing any personalities.
That addition would refine the situation to make it
funny or sad. ridiculous or poignant. RundyCartwTighl
Ih~blank p<tper.
As the audience's sophistication grows. there is an
increasing burden on the young animator or filmmaker. ""'.1
IItdny <>I,",r
I(}«. (>01Uhrs lit.;
Finding an idea worth puUing on film. presenting it opporlllltirks i.""
with enough imagination to npture fleeting imerests.
and involving the audience cmolionally is a big assigo.
ment . It is also the very soul of entenaimnent. Yet. to
Walt . there ..... a< one more componen t of his films that
cannot be quite classified under just entenainment.
That was the uplifting feeling that pervadc, audieoces
as they walch Disney pictures .
John Hench said of Walt ', philosophy. "I know he
looked at entenainment as something nKJre thart escape.
There was a kind of reassurance-he alway6 made
people feel good." There was no one SCellC . or one
action. or onc background that created this seo""tion.
bUI the special feeling stayed with people for da}'s.
It was the final bit of magic .
We hope that the great pictures of the future will
have some of this same aUra. regardless of the graphic
fonns they lake. This feeling is needed in Our world.
and the potential is there. as it is in no other an form.
Marc Davis summed it up very well: "Animation is
JUS! an incredible medium. and it's JUSt wailing
for another great leader . . . and i! will bo "'lually
great. And yet. there' s something that came out of
the Disney point of view. thi s business of bringing
things to life .
Analysis of Mickey Mouse
I. Character and
Personality
Mickey leem$ 10 be Ihf lver.,. youn. boy
of no p;lrlicula. age; liyo", in I small
lown. c10ln livilll, fun loYin •. basMul
around ,i. Is, polile and IS doY" I S he
mull be for lhe particular IIOf)'.
In lOITIt plclUfU hf hu a louch of F.ed
Alllire ; in OIMrs of Charlie Chaplin. and
. ,.
_ of DouaIu Fairbankl, but in aU of
t ..... IlInt should be sorrIf o f tht YOU"l
II. Construction
A. Mickey'. head i. drawn u a elrcle; or
beuer IS a ball-with the featyrn
pl~ on Ihi. ball. The eyeS and Ihe
blacks and ,,·hiles. al w.1I as IIIe
moulh , .... drawn 10 r~ lhe ball . Tile
• noul ptOl . udins _ from Iht ball,
and llIe ..... 10 be drawn u l WO " not
q uilt" d"k'l. ~. lappin, Illthlly
into Ihe ball. II is n~ 10 keep tM
black and whiles fairly well distrib-
uted-so .o not have 100 much white
or vi<;e"·'rSll.
!in: illustralion (27). also 4-.... ~b-<Ic .
B. The body '0 be drawn u somtwhal
pta, ·shlpe. ,.irly short Ind plump .
(5«
Ihal.)
Ii,urf ll·some po$<$ followi",
This is. new procedure on Mickey
and is not !manl 10 chanae him $0
much U 10 ;mlllove him. Notic. on
(1) and ( Ia) lhe cha"iC i. small bul
makes Ihe body pliable.
TM body Ihould be pliable al III
limes. dfpcndin. on pose desired on
"""emilY of K\ion .
(See Ii,uros 6-7· .... 11.)
If Mickcy -.e lak.", a deep tM.,uh
Wi: would &i~ him a ehesl . IfM-.•
SlId Wi: would 100im chesllnd droop ,
shoukkn. fie. "....
The body could be IhOUlhl of as
havin,. ~rlain volum •• so when ill s
Ilretched it should 110W thinner or
plumper as il Is SQll&&hcd.
If lhe body 01 stretched OUI 10 an u ·
trI..... for an)'thin • • do IJO/ leave it
Slmchcd OUI Iont tnOUP IO _ •
The body can ......... anatomy .. il
;.,; needed; woh as I d>tlt. S1om1ctl,
fanny- accordin. 10 1"-*.
In dil lOnln. Mickey's body-il il
alwa)" I ,ood Idnl 10 compare Ihil
new body with IMoid one, (Fi,. I), 10
keep il 'rom ,flli"l 100!ont.
For dil10flint Mickcy'l body, _ fi,·
urn (20-lOa· 2Ob-&lso 21 ·2Ia·2Ib)
 . ,.......... '" ,. ...........-, -'. - ~r.';;."'" .....-- .,
:;
$_. -H. ' " Qo .. y _
~
"- .-;-- .... - .r-_ ... 7'"
_ •
~ ,r;;.,(. ... "." .n ( ;..,. .....
-.~­
,..,,, c. ...'
...r. ...<. _
... .... ,~ ...... !Iof'"

.. _ ...
T
~
_"'"
,.. . .. _T. )

-. .. .. ~~ ~ ~

.
.. 0;: _ " _ _ . . ,
_..-

,...··_v
- _~_

_
~
...c..7'
. '0-('
~_

& ~ . . . . . ., .
... t.
~
r.
_,_"J
... _ 1"",,, "I .. or.
III. Handling
of Mickey in
Animation
Mic'''' IIa$ alrt:ldy I>«n fIOftIparw '0 a
you", boy. 50. of courl.e. M should tK
h,lIIIkd llI.hal. Hi< poses, 1>01. only hold
poses, but posi.ion.l of body while ",alk.
in,. runninc, .alki",. etc .• should contain
,IK youn, boy fttlin&-
M ickey I. ctI.er wMn draw n ",j, h small
shoulderl, wi. h a ~ion of Ilomach
and fanny_and, r li k, him pil«\ft ·.oed.
Tho: pi,ton·.oes .r~ mort of. s,,""'ion
~_ I ' ike .0 .hink of him .111 . ....,.,y.
TMu art mlny .imes when his fM would
tK poin.w .• oes ou •. allll in .~ cases.
piacon ••oes ...·ould tK bad.
TM small should~r drm can tK IIId by
>lan in. rhe arms furlhet do ...·n on body.
Don'. I~ •• hi. keep you from usi", the
. ho uld ... when needed for. pOft, •• k• .
or l ny kind o faerion. See Fl • . (7-13- 16.)
Ordinarily shoulders are liard .0 make
allll arc tKll ... 1tIi off. T heyt:ln tK used .0
bc$I IcIYlnt. if their U$C is rHCr~ for
etnplwis in expressions. poses and t.ka .
Tho: ......,.cion of st_h and rlllny
can tK !lad easi)y ...·ith hil back Ircll«l .
See F" . 01-6-1-9) IV. Minnie Mouse
About the lIIndIi", of Mick~Y'1 head-
..... know it il aood .0 kHp the bia.:kl and
....hita well bllallCftllO when Mickey has
a smile •• he« is very lillie black . bu. whm
he ~hl ...a . 0 I .. cxp.euion wi.h . he
mouth Imall, ther. would tK tOO muctl
black if w. followed the mouth wltll tilt
black the lIII"Ie dista""" I way .. on .Ile
smile . So it il belle. ' 0 cheat ,l1li1>01. bri ne
Ih, black down 50 f.... Tho: mouth , .. a
.uk is better kept inside circle o f held;
tll il doesn'l mUn i1 has ' 0 .IWI)'I be her Ilc,
d . ..... n till' WlIy-apcciaU, 1>01. In dia· .~..,
101'" or bi, ..h, et~. H... fm
"The ....u ar. better kept far bao:k on tile
head and onm ICI as • balalltt fOf .he
fi,u.e . Ho ..... "' r, do no, shift . hem
around 01\ the head jus • •o bllano..
Mic k.,.'s pann ... to be hlndled 1$
pants and not as mldeofmetal. By that, I
mean lh, pant·le" should drape O'<tltM
leas .1Id tile Plnu betWftn . beltaJ $hOuld
>l ret~h IS his IcJS , ~, and ~ .0 .be
mo ...nc:nt of body as aU panuda. With.
S"IWIl Itt; .hey would lIIn&_with 1be
k-. ~ fted Illey would wrinkle and d .. p'
~. Itt;, fie .
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I /71' 4"" A DIVIS/()'
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t-I,,1 Y<'O ( ;; T IJ l(O A.T
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\naiysis of Donald Duck
Character and
Personality
Donald has <kveJoped inlo 011( of the
_ nt''''
int .. SCTttn comics. Tbc altdi .
~ ah' lI)'1 likl:S him. provided he plays
true 10 hi, Own character. Hi. best fea_
lures .r. hls oocky.Iho ....... rr, boastful at.
titl.lOk lhal 1u,n, to an&<f .. JOOfI as he is
croucd; his typical ana.y ""'ure " ' jilt
which lh. audi.""C i, familiar, e$pe:cialiy
hb fillht;n. pose a oo hi s peculiar qu",,~.
ina voio:e and Ihr.all ,,'h(,I an&rY.
".,. Dtatt ,eI'a bia kick 01.11 of imp<ll'-
in, on 0I1t(1" people 0' . nnoyinl Ihem; but
immedialely " ' - his ,ernpt' when the
.. bles are 1urned. In OIM "'o.-ds. he can
" dim it 01.. " but he ca n't "'ake iI" ,
TIlt Duck I.~n himsdr ~ery seriously.
H. has. high opinion of himself, and as
soon IS "")'lhi", 10<$ ..... 0<13, hcimmedi.
llely "lintS 10 rol)l! . Whcn he i. pleased
,"'illt lIim..,U, or happy about 5OmClhi",
lit has don ........ show his nervou s charae-
,.. by "'iqJin, hi, tail. I don', think it
wiK to _ the tail " 'lui< ..,"""' he ..
ulf}'.
H. hal • very suspicious nature; is
quick'lem~cd bul ;s j usl dumb moullh
10 be lrapptd ~Itdly ;"10 1,*", his
lem~. H~. he ;s nOi as dumb as
Pluloor Ihe Goof. Donald cannol be fun.
ny if lhe s.inuliiOil does 1101 /"il his peculiu
fnlnnn1$ml.
.. General Construction
A. Body
Donald ;. dra,,-n a. F.td Moore: draw.
Mickey. He is OM piece ."Ihe. Ihan
Iwo pariS; has a ~a Nhapcd body; il
,lion. squally. and i, dr''''n 10 I how
"eighl in lhe body. Kttt> as mud!
"'.... hl in him as possible. 1"" is. feel
Ihal h. i. hu"i ... Ihe 1I.0und. To al.
lain lhe bel .esubs. on. Iq is btnl
and Ih. olhe. kePI .... i'h1. T he
' ''I i&hl Iq is as sllon as possible.
~eep;nllih. bulky mus down close 10
lhe UOUnd . KeeP/III Ih. Iq up imo
lhe body and showi", a saa under -
nealll will hdp 10 ICI a fodinl of
"'·ilhl.
B. Siu of head and n«k
The , ize or lhe head Is Wppo5«110 be
half tile size of I'" Iow~ pari o f Ihe
body, and is bpi round .
To show a...... ,,~ ••• ufOed tH«1
OIl 1M he.d ; bul OIhctwise keep 1M
head smoorh .
The neck Is Ihick~ II lhe Mad Ihan
il is al Ihe body end and iliO bt kept
-'&Illy. bul nOi 100 Ionl.
C. Eyes. Bill , Ind C1>eek.s
TIiI' mOSI ;mpOriam Ihina aboul Don-
ald i, hi s e>preWons. A 101 tin be
dont- in Ihi, conJleclion "';Ih I'" eyes
and lhe ~brows. 'M: aI.so find thai
Ih. hal and Ihe pmilion of Ih. bill
help th. upression of Ih. eyes.
T he oydI.Owt are..sed in , ... $lome
way lhal Pluto' s oydI'Owt ... wed.
Somelimn th.y p'OIrud. a~ lhe
lOp cirel. of Iht held.
T IiI' eyes aR nOi 'OUnd IS in pr~.
OIlS pictu'es . l"hey arc more 0>111 in
shape and are ~.pl 101M sid. Of Iiii'
h.ad . In Ihi l wlY more black can be
used in , ... eyes for the ""pressions .
Whtn lhe eyes ... edosed, "l' break up
theei'c'" and animate il inloa ,ound.
"=.
Tho eyes Irc k.pt wide apart 10 live
betl'" UprtUiOil aJ\d on • 3/ 4 vito ...
lhe eye on Ih. OppOSi'e side is losl.
T he lOP parI of Ihe bill filS inlo Ihe
eenl", of lhe head. Inslead or Iller.
beina; • "'ai&hl line from lhe lop of
lhe head down 101M end of lhe bill,
Ihe <O.ne. of Ih. bill <urves imo Ihe
inlide of I'" head when he 'mil<:s or il
happy; whtn Don.1d f.owns o. is
ani')'. it prOirudes on lhe OUISKk or
lhe d.d. of Ih. h.ad wilh. down. in_
IM· moulh (IOtJiIll.
We use c heeks on Donald OIlly
",hen we indic.le d>....'n. or blow,,,, .
D. L.IIS and Feel
The Iqs .... suppOsed 10 be ,hon and
sq .... nyand IIIe: feel kept 1lrJ" 10 live
Ill .
mort of. comfdy "ffecl.
Th. feel h.ve Ih'ee loes and lhey
ar. nrilller pOint«! nor 1""1, bul •
hippy mtdiwn beI-.vcen lhe IWO. He
usu.lly plOp$lhem down on .....,k or
run .
The r_ is dra ... n ... ilh. tIIickl'>Q$
so lhal in I )/4 back ritw half raised
we show In ulldn side which ClI1 b
painled 10, as ch. "sole" is painted!
dark'" shack .
Whert the Iq fits inlO I'" fOOl.
does no! corne "",I at Che btw:k mdo
lhe (oot. but leaves a knob or. bil 0
hcel ,
E. Anns, Hands and tail
The IrIf1$ IR kept chick 10 ...... p in ell
.... ighl. and II\c h.nds.,. made mOl'
likt ••11 hands- rall\cr Lon" wit!
Ih.ee fi"&tf1 Ind • elIumb. In cbe rlQ
d.awinl' lhe hallCb were- limply ell
.rub of Ih. ",;nas wilh willi roal""'"
T he wi i. JUppOScd co be ~t .....
u'" dllCt 's lail. There;' a tilC"~
pa'i before lhe fco.l""" Sllll on iii
lail, Ind Ih,,>, art k"pi curled ,.hen
ever possibl • .
F. Hal and Jacket
The jacktl is 10 be ralher loose, bu
not so loose lhal il is floppy-IOOI
moua;h 10 help in the flow or lnimt
lion .
The sleeves are • linle 100lIo .. ow.
Ihe w.iS! and Ih. wllar has I strip
around the OUI", edge.
The hal can be used "ffa:ti.-dy •
h.lp ,~p'CSlionl and lakes. W hei
Donald is meek or when he is lhin~
i",. 1M hal can , il ,craWu on top c
his head with IIIe: ribbon IIowiQa I
back; bullO show &iliff II is aond'
hay. Ihe hal down over hi. eyes an
lhe ribbon (allin, down;n f'OIII.
Another ntablilhcd charac!erisd
of 000aJd', is that w..... his hat nil
a
o ff On la~. or in an,,,,and land
on lhe iJound , he a!lsenl.mindcdl
r.ad... down for il without IookiDa 1
il . picks il up, and slams ~ on _ bel
before loins inlO lhe I>C~I action.
Line of Action
When drawi", Donald for • ~I>C of.
lion, Iry 10 make Ih. wbole Ihina curl f
one li,...to live di.CI;Ir>es:s.
A. . ......,kI aJ\d Run.
In wal kllO show CUlel1C$$, il is bo
10 ha.e him walk pijeon·loaI, and t
 draw 1M Iq back .nd fonh wilh tM
actioft of 1M body .0 il win make il
look ~k~. w..sdk. This tan 11.0 h<
in<d in Ihe run.
B. Tilkes
On wes. Donald ;. mort xti~
and I>IOIn _ i k than My of our
dl>1'ICIUl. Tb J.how h" nat .. ~. Don·
&!d', lakes ar~ Ilmo5t to 1M UlfnM.
ThIll is, 110 j\ll1lPS up in 1Il00 air. I",,,,
fasl wltirLs. actS himKIr all OUt of
$I\apt, and in amcral is fllSl and furi.
0lIl to show his UC:;llbk nat .. ~. AU
hi$ tIothiAa. Inctudinc ILU Ind jackCl,
pOinI iIIllw: dir«tion 0"'110 take.
Tho hat alii h< UKd 10 ad""lW~
by keePnI il flltC1led 10 his had and
pulJcd out of sillPI'. 0. it tan also Oy
off iII.o Ihe lir. circle SCVCI'a1 Hmes
Ind land back on his head.
IV. Dialogue
The "PP" bill i. to h< kepi more station-
ary thin tM Iow(f onto but not to lhe:
point of , i&idily. The lower biD lhoIILd h<
lbibk. bU11'IIM 10 the poinl OfM", rub-
"".To IJCI lhe dr:s.lr~ dfect on "0" and
"u" or on I bIowilll xtion. WCdislOr1lhe
bill.
When lhe bill is ~ wide Ind sIlows
1M inslck o hhe uPPl'r bill. I~ is loh< I
bLao;k lhadow effect lbo¥t lhe I~ 10
Ii~~ deplh. Tbm! is a ~M around lhe in·
_ of lhe biD and also. IhfOlll tiM 10
JiY't lhe painl(f'J a pIaee for chan&e of
«>lor. IS lhe iMide of lhe "I>PCI" bill i, I
dlrker lIIad~ I"'n lhe inside of lIIe lower
bill .
v. Fighting Pose
One of Ihech"~(fislics Ihe ~k had 10
'lin 0\11 with and one: we h.~ lried 10
kocp. is his rl&hlilll post. II ...11 ella\>-
lished by Dick L ..ndy in ORPHANS'
BENEFIT. Ind Wt I1Y 10 11K it in twJY
pict .. " ",.,"", he IttS mad and "'aim to
r1Jl!l . II is III liP Ind down movenwnt of
.he ..holt body Ind one arm ;, bold
slra;,hI 0IIt wi.h the: rlSl up. Tho 0Ib<r
Inn moves as a pmd .. lum. Thr timil\lof
.his xtion is lhal lhe body _I",iero.
fIlSlISIMarmlh.atswinp. Donald is_
auy in dialocue In lhis ~ion, and his
~ rai&/ll -ollf arm doe!.n·t inltTftT~ wilb tilt
action 0( lhe I1IO\Ilh .
Refer 10 i11uSlrllions on 111 pOinu roIIa'l!d .
 ..___Cl
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Analysis of Pluto Shirtl~ f.om taiIIO.ud~nttl0 3. In lhe case mild

I. Construction make fXprCMKm definite. Befor.
shif.in, ant eyebrow lOCS UP. ,h.
dumb look .
in Ihlff Of
A. Body Olher down. Eyes and t~brows .taCh tile
I . I n the
~"
roullh_ sha~ like a jelLy

2. In dunup-pu, in shoulders and

sid. 10
I tJai&luen OUL, th ... tyQIO from
side. Head kepI slill duriJlJ;
e~plmion.
$h.~ It oul for. feelin, of bones WII<n Plulo p,auSC$ rOl" uprcs.
unck •• IM: skin.
3. Q,nc-ral ~pI;on; Heavy dOS. Irri"l 10,", on his fm inON ICE,
slon or IlIoUIIII in a sil,,"ion like

Whtn ht leans imo lICIion. too. is
lou of anlirip;lIion.
Exampk:
PhilO !it,in, down. moves ~ 10
snirr 5OII'It1hin&. BefOfc tit' &eU up.
In.icip".ion of. AI wi,h head OUt
and body comins up bdor. be al·
C . Ean: HandJi", for ... tWlt
ltmpu to .t' OUt of ,i nine pcni.
lion. flead moves Over 10 ne ...
po~lion.
B. Eyn
In slliftiJlJ; Ille 0")'0$, definite poIU1a
should tit madt- .. neh end of III<
upt"ossion, "';111. dcfinile moV4' of D.
lhe eyeS flom n ....... 10 a ....... .
This lIelps 10 ronny ~l .... ly til<
ide, Ihll PlulO is thinki",.
E. Nose Wrinklos.: fll:>jbie,
fou. ill numba-.
I. PlulO jumpinl up in ai •. Insleld of
hlvinl lbe ears carry IhlOlllh lbe II . Handling of
ume disla~ as Ihe bead, Ihe fim
IwO 01 thl« drawinas of the ears
Pluto for Action

l. O.ne.,1 Eop.enion: Dumb and
.. d~td
2. Nobsovtr eyes tikt prominem eye'
browt or furrow" always there.
Euml\k: ON ICE. Pluto slipS.
,.lb, Duck ..",hi orrStage and
Plut o looks blc k I. 'Iii. cyt,
brOW$: clown. oon~n, IIKIII&lI1:
"Tlwr.', SOfMIhillJ ""01\1 bert."
PIUI:;'~':::;;:~::~:
are slower to Slar!. Wilen he lands,
III. ume holds l nod. The elrs ... b",
A.
Slill quite lonl and tlley ~ome In JOIm i be
down w'lh I SWcc"p. [n III< n" ..... maled IOOmudtlite.smd,
dowll Ih ... is a slntoll and lhen OUI any wei&ht to D . f"'*
lhey 10 up imo a normal 'lSIi", dy value lies ill YSiQC him •
position. nunbuso<lle, .wkward .so.
2. In • fast wrpristd take Ihe ears avoid lbe rffcct or li&hlllla. ,
shoot up faster. bul setlle III< ume be is used I\IIIfliQc. jumpiQI 0
w.y. il is wdlto bear in mind \be,
 <:o._r

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r",. _ . .Jf>-!
......... 1 s-.~ .. ,.... Q ...... -<- ~""+
- -

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~
 hu~y dog ,,·ould naturally need mOr~
anlicip.o.lion 10 hi' run 01" jump. and in
III< cal<' of a fall hi' land would la k ~
mO'~ " mehing and rceo.'cry Ihan
that of a liahleT dog. In Ih( case of a
"m Plulo would take half again lhe
lim ina of a liiht "'~ighl dog in Ihe
!;IIm( kil>(l of run.
Of COU' I<'. ,heTC miahl b¢ .ituatioru
"'here il would b¢ '00 s'rai,11t for Plu ·
1010 anlidl"'te slowly. Fo ••• ample. if
Pluto WeTe 10 react v.ry fas' 10 so"",·
thing thaI happens, the action follow·
ing his .eaction could Ix handled in an
.,,'k" 'l'd 01" slow effcel '0 ai"e Plulo
his "'eight. as in hi. jump Out OnlO , ""
~ in ON ICE. His , lip w;u ve,y fMt
bYlhls lurn ,)"o'eT in ,'''' air pvethe nee·
ess.arY "'cight for ,h. land follow;ng.
In ajwmp ..·heT. a .mall Or ligh' dOg
might la ke off quickr •. in Plu,o'. ca",
• aood anticipa'ion w;1I aive you lhe
..'eigh, feel;n, and at the lini.h o.
land. a aood sag 10 Ihe body and legs
to. 1101' posilion uP. Or follow lake to
another action, i, helpful.
B. Slip 1il/t'C1." (ON ICE) In all , lip. with
his h(ad, twO d.a"' inas we •• used
,oina up. When hi. fOOl dipped. hi.
body saUed. al the same tim •. T he
lI<ad ,hot up IUld a f,.. he collapSed.
'M bod)· landed very quickly, bul ,he
hud came around in an l'C and Ihen
,napped 'hrough. When he hit, two
dU"'inas were .quashed. Ihen he
came , lowly out of il into a hold. H.
did nOt >lOp when he hil ,he ice.
C. Rt bounds: When Plulo lups and
Ian'h. he lands (,on, fetl linl and
Ihen bac k fetl. The whole body s.ag5
and in coming uP. if he is still 10 re-
main in. Cloueh position. a drawing
half..'ay b(ol"ietn a linl land position
and 'he exlteme saa posilion clUl be
used 1.5 a linal posi'ion for a hold . Bu'
in brinaing him ou' of hi~ low"" sag
posilion, enough drawings are u.cd 10
bring him up slowly inlo it SO ;u to
lake up just I ,light rebound. Possibly
e,'en in the cale of him con'inuing Ih.
leap you could U"" the ... me ,ebound
and then continue "ith him leapins
forward inlo 1M air apin. Thi, is a
good example of ai~ing ,he fetli",
Iha. Pluto is a huvy cIoa. (!itt I_A_3)
D. Sniff Action: Usually done in 'wo
draw ings of two exposures each. One
ex"eme do",n On 'he grounU. with
nose louching gfOund. anolher ...
"erne i. the nos. up and wrin kled. It
also can be handled on one exposure
..-ilh four drawings with e' ''emes up
and down uSi", in·bclwetns-c lose 10
th. e, "eme up On stl'ting down and
.,
clOSt to Ihe extreme down on 'he Slart
F. Snort Anion: Anlicipate b",k with
Pluto·s head and ketp 1>0$( in normal
position. In $hOOling head forward
Ihe nose wrinkles and the bulb in·
creases in size . showing lhe nostril, in
the extreme position which is Ihe
accent of the snon.
For a defini'e accent on 'he snor, .
draw back ,lo ..·ly "i.h a . ..·clli'" up
of Plulo·, body. 100e'Mr wi,h a d,aw-
back of ' he head IUld 'hen ohOOIinll
inlo an utreme position with the nose
wrin kled . mou1h closed. let,h show·
ing disgusted upression, a nd bulb
show ina nostrils, u.ina One in·he·
twetn " 'i,h a pause selliina back .Iow.
Iy from the utreme position but still
in IUl allilude of having snorted.
G. SnH U': Same 1.5 the snor' except an
open moulh is u.cd.
H . Barb:]n a bar k th. 'etth show a ]il·
lie with the upper lip curvina O\'eT
and ,he IUm s/>owinl . ]n shor' bark'
which art doroe in 6·s. 3·s and 4·5. a
turned up effect is used on lhe jowls al
,be e",eme position. giving Ihe fetl.
ing of flesh in an extrcme wide open
mou,h.
III. Handling of
Pluto for
Expressions
A. In ,he layi!\i OUI of Plu to's aClion on
exposure,h""" before anima,ina. it is
hard '0 anticipa,. Ihe neecs... ry fetl·
inl in certain SpOI' whcre ex pres~ions
,,·ill be u.cd . This sometimes means il
will Ix T>eCeS$l,y to add fOOlage when
, uch ' POlS af< reached in .. imalion .
Fo' e~ample. in 'he nypaper sequen«
( PLAYFUL PLUTO) as wen as Pluto
o n ice ska'es (ON ICE). SO much de-
pended On 'he building up of the ,il" .
.tion and the pau"", for Pluto to
Ihin k aboUI diffe,ent ..·ay. of J(1'ill.ll
rid of ,he flypape. 0' J(1ting up on h;"
fet' on 'hc ice. G<x>d e'prmion< were
ne.:~ry in ,h= ,po" 10 build the
gag o. situation 10 a dimax. To a"ive
., Ihe fOOlage needed for ,uch SpO!$.
as ",en as 'he follow up in aclion, ,he
animltor has 10 fet] ,he situation him·
self. Of COIl.SC, IheTe can Ix too much
,im. Or "ailing a, «nain poinu, al·
though it has be<:n found e.,ieT tOcul
down \1alling in .he rough tnt than to
build up undertimed situa,ion, later
On. The rel.5On for this is ,ha"heani .
mllor work< sponlaneously ..'hen II<
feel. the ,iluation, and tryina 10
~,O>\'d Ihings inlO 1 ai"en foolage han·
dicaps him to Ihe Ulcnt of bruki",
'he lpontaneity of hi l wor k. Thi, I\>"
plies 10 any .ilUl lion in cartool\l, ro-
aardl ... of character. Of course, in
buildi", up a s;tuation 01" gag, lhe
val". of e",h piece of busin... sllould
be d(lermined ... 10 Ihe amoun' of
footage il clUl $land.
IV. General Working
Method:
In roughinl OUI I<:tion in a >cene a good
method to follow is 10 "'ork from e,treme
'0 e,"eme as ,he aClion is 'i, ..aliud. This
helps to hold 'he spoma .... ity of the ,ilua·
lion Or gag and p...... nts Ih. animator
from dwelling 100 much On an unimpor.
lanl spol in the action. In 101", back "'...
thost dra,,·i ngs. eXltemes can be euggn·
lied when ne<:eiSIIr)'. Or a _ $lan' may
Ix had On diffe ..m points ,hroughoul .
Jln.4.]936
E.T.
Analysis of the Goof
II is ('\iflicull 10 classify lhe charaaeristM:s o f
1110 Goof in10 columns o f ,he p/lysinl and
m_a1, beca...., they inl~"(. ,dleet and
..,hlJltt one a_her. TiI<1"cfQre, i1 .... iII prob·
ably be beSl to mention everythin, I II al onct'.
Think of the Goof IS a composite of an
cvnlaslin. OJ)Iim~. I luUibk (lc)od Samar;-
liIlI. a h.lf...·;' •• miftkss, JOOd.nltll.cd hick.
lot is Loooe-joinlcd .00 ,.nely. bul no! rub-
bery. H e can move fut if h. has 10, bUI would
rather avoid any ov•• -exertion, SQ h. takes
"'hat 5«"" thc .1$~'1 "'ay. H. is a philoso-
ph.. or 1M harbt. shop v,riely. No mailer
.""1 happens, he 1oC«p1! II r. ...lIyas bcilli rOf
the bnl or al ~I amusing. H. i ..... illillA 10
help anyone and off." his assi,tance even
"h". h.; , nO! n«<kd and ju.t cTUlesconru-
sian. fie "cry Kldom. if~.• no.,," hi$ ob-
j«I;~ or romplo:ln ..·.... t he """ lIaned. His
brain brill, Blhor vapory, il i. difforu1! for
him 10 COO""nI ••!. on lny one .ubjttt. Any
liUI. dislrBClion c.n th,ow him off his t,ain of
tllouaht and il i. e~lremdy difro<;ul1 for th.
c-r 10 k«p 10 his purpOse.
r.. t"" Goof i. no! I"" type of half· ...it that
;" to be pilied. He donn'l dribble, drool or
,hrick. H. hu mu.le In his he~rl .,·.n though
il be the .... rn.lun. fortver and I _ him hum.
minll 0 himStlfwhile"'orkinaor Ihin ki.... He
wb 10 hirrudf becaUSf il is ~ for him 10
t il"'" ...·hal h. n IhillkillJl if he ""an it fir~.
Hi, pOstlire is nil. HiS Nek arches the
""0", " .. y and his lillie Jlomac:h pr.,..rudn.
Hi, held , Jlornach and knen Iea<1 hi, body.
Hi. ned i. Quit. long and ",awny. Hi. knen
Ilg and his f••1 are la'll. and flal. H. walk. On
hi. heel. and hi. loa lu,n up. Hi•• houlders
... narrow and dope rapidLy, civi",
part or his body a thinMSS and makinl his
I""uppa
arm. _m long and h.a..,.. lhaqh ac1uaily
nO! drawn that way. Hi. hand. arc ,·.ry $tn,i·
liv. and exprQ.iv. and Ihough hi, geslures art
brNd. Ihty ,IIouLd still renee. I"" gentleman.
~ Ihin k of the Goof U 1 ...""'iC ... ith
rubber hose l"achmrn15. Thoua.h "" is Vfty
I1cxible and tloppy. hi. body .,ill hu a solidily
and w.ighl. Th.loosenelS in hi' arm. and leiS
.hould be achieved Ihrough • ',,"",ion of
break> ill lhe joints rather Ihalllh.oua.h ,.hal
$C<"fm like the ...·avin& of SO much rOpe. H. is
not mu~lar and}"CI h. hu I"" " . ength and
ilamina of. very wiry pc~n. Hi, dothes ar.
mi,fil'. hi. IfOUsers are blU)' al Ih. knen .nd
lhe !)oJnl l.p ' lIiv. vainly to touch hi • • hot
lOpS. but n"'" do. H i. palllS d.oop at lhe $tal
and Jlrctch tiply ItrOlS _ di"anee bela ....
I"" crotch . Hi, ....·.al.r fill him snugly ~pt
for Ihe n<"Ck and hi. v... i. much 100 small.
His hat i. of a $Ofl material and ani males a
Liule bil .
The Goor. head "n be 1.......,,1 of in lerm.
of a carlcatur. of a person wilh a poinled
dome-large. dKamy ()U, buck ItctlI ..
;a~~~~:; aa~-::rt!.::=::"';
lll~r on ils .... y 0111 and lurlll up. His I
should remain partly closed 10 ""Jp Ji,e iii
tlupid. sleepy appeara~. as thouah he 1
«MUIanlly Jlrainin,10 remain a .... t. bIi
IIOU..,.. lhoy can Open ..-ide for up-..ao.
'"tnIS. He blinks quile a bil.
He i. very basbful. yet .... htoi somethin&
"upid h~s bef~ILen him. he muas lhe
like an amalrur lICIor with rdati ... ill
aud~~, 'ryi", 10 r;over up his
mtnt by mati.,. faces and signaIIina; to
He is in c",,", r;OntllCl wilh spritCl,
fairie.and other such (anIM. Eac;hO~
piett or me;:h~nism which 10 lIS Is hfe
a soul and peuonaJity in tho: mind of
Ooot'. The improbabk b«oalCl real ~
Goof is concerned . ,
1·le lIu marv.lous muscullr conlrol
fanny. He can do numerous ~nle
... i,h illnd hi. fanny should beustd
lhere is an opporlunity 10 anp/lllizlo a
posilion.
This lillie anal)"i. has ".,.,....,.j the
f.om lop 10 lotS, and havi",comt 10 his
,", .