By: Jerry Beck,
on 9/17/2012
The Ottawa International Animation Festival will take place this week. At the festival, I will be speaking about the life, art and animation of Disney legend Ward Kimball. The talk is packed with artwork and film clips, and I guarantee you’ll learn new things about Ward, and perhaps even discover some creative inspiration. You have two chances to check it out:
Friday, September 21, 9:15—10:45PM – Arts Court (Theater)
Saturday, September 22, 1—2:30PM – Arts Court (Theater)
By: Jerry Beck,
on 9/12/2012
After several months of ghosts, ghouls and creatures of the night… Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph is looking like a breath of fresh air – in more ways than one. This looks like fun:
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By: Jerry Beck,
on 9/8/2012
Howard Lowery is currently auctioning an interesting historical curio that I hadn’t seen before: an organizational diagram showing the varied synergistic relationships between the divisions of Walt Disney Productions in 1967. Needless to say, a synergy chart for today’s Walt Disney Company would require a much bigger piece of paper than 11″x14″. Click to embiggen.
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By: Jerry Beck,
on 9/8/2012
Howard Lowery is currently auctioning an interesting historical curio that I hadn’t seen before: an organizational diagram showing the varied synergistic relationships between the divisions of Walt Disney Productions in 1967. Needless to say, a synergy chart for today’s Walt Disney Company would require a much bigger piece of paper than 11″x14″. Click to embiggen.
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By: Jerry Beck,
on 9/5/2012
Frank Thomas, one of Disney’s famed “Nine Old Men” supervising character animators – as well as the piano playing member Ward Kimball’s Fire House Five Plus Two – would have been 100 years old today. Thomas passed away passed away eight years ago on September 8, 2004 at age 92.
Thomas’ remarkable animation included such scenes as the first date and spaghetti dinner in Lady and the Tramp, Thumper teaching Bambi how to ice-skate, Baloo the bear telling the man-cub Mowgli that he can’t stay in the jungle in The Jungle Book, Pinocchio trapped in the birdcage by the evil puppeteer Stromboli, the lovesick squirrel whose heart is broken in The Sword in the Stone, Captain Hook playing the piano in Peter Pan, the dancing penguins in Mary Poppins, among others. He also animated several of Mickey Mouse’s most impressive scenes in such shorts as The Pointer and Brave Little Tailor.
Thomas retired from animation in January 1978, then spent the next five years with his lifelong friend and colleague Ollie Johnston writing the definitive book on their craft, Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, one of the greatest books ever written about animation.
He’s gone now, but will never be forgotten. Let’s take a moment to remember…
Happy Birthday, Frank.
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By: Jerry Beck,
on 9/2/2012
I’m spending the weekend at the Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Blvd, watching classic movies at the annual Cinecon film festival/convention. Imagine my surprise today when I looked at the El Capitan Theatre marquee and saw it advertising Arjun: The Warrior Prince – a film we discovered Disney had picked up back in May (the film, a joint collaboration between Disney and UTV Pictures, was directed by Arnab Chaudhuri).
The El Cap is currently playing an Oscar-qualifying engagement of the new Tinkerbell direct-to-video, Secret of the Wings. Apparently Arjun will begin playing each night, at 9:20pm, to also qualify for Academy consideration. The showings begin this Monday night and will run through next Sunday September 9th.
Arjun: The Warrior Prince is an animated mythological action film that recounts the untold story of Arjun, hero of the Mahabharata. The film was not produced by Disney, but by UTV Animation. Disney is the distributor as it acquired the rights after purchasing UTV motion pictures. In case you forgot what it looks like, here is the trailer below.
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By: Jerry Beck,
on 8/25/2012
Veteran Disney animator Ken Walker passed away last Saturday, August 18th, The Orange County Register posted his obituary on Wednesday. He was 91.
Walker began working at Disney right after graduating High School in 1940. After two years he joined the Navy, and after the war rejoined Disney as an assistant and later an animator on Alice In Wonderland and numerous shorts (including Trick or Treat and Pluto’s Party, both 1952). He later animated for Film Graphics, Bill Melendez, DePatie Freleng, among others.
He was featured in this clip from the 1950s TV show, You Asked For It, which we posted on the Brew several years ago. In it, host Art Baker answers viewer mail about how animated cartoons are made, having Walker demonstrate by flipping scenes from the short Plutopia (1951). Walker’s appearance starts at the 3:20 mark.
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By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 8/17/2012
A few details of Ike Perlmutter’s moves within the Disney hierarchy leak out in thisprofile in the LA Times, by brave writer Dawn C. Chmielewski who gets, naturally, zero cooperation from Disney, Marvel, or Perlmutter. Ike is, of course, Marvel’s legendarily cheap—and successful—CEO, who has begun to make his influence felt inside the Magic Kingdom, as shown by the rumors of some epic battles that Chmielewski’s uncovered:
With great box-office strength comes great influence. Although he does not hold a board seat, Perlmutter is in regular contact with Iger and has played a role in executive changes at Disney Consumer Products, according to Disney insiders who were not authorized to speak publicly.
[snip] But according to people inside the Burbank conglomerate, Perlmutter backed a shake-up in the consumer products group that led to the film studio’s distribution head, Bob Chapek, replacing retail veteran Andy Mooney. Mooney and Perlmutter were said to have clashed over the approach to merchandising Marvel characters. The change cleared the way for the Marvel executive to inject the Disney’s merchandise licensing group with his cost-cutting sensibilities.
Perlmutter personally oversaw marketing costs for “Iron Man” and other Marvel films, scrutinizing every cent spent on vendors and promotions and bringing an uncommon vigilance to expenses, say people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly. And agents consider Marvel one of the toughest places to make a deal for talent.
Ironically, we recently lunched with someone who had dealt—quite amicably—with Ike in the past and we were both amazed that given his power and position, he could remain so far below the radar. This Times piece is the closest you can get to someone who is legally able to carry a firearm in at least one state. Ike’s ability to remain obscure is incredible. An example? Although the piece quotes a book that calls him “lanky”, we’re always heard Ike was quite on the short side. People don’t even know how tall the guy is.
As the article makes clear, Ike has been incredibly successful at everything he does. In fact the biggest casualty of his methods could be Marvel’s book publishing program, which has languished far behind where it should be, given the A+ rating for its amazing backlist of trea
By: Jerry Beck,
on 8/14/2012
Entertainment industry website Deadline.com published a report this afternoon that Disney has halted production on the new feature directed by Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline). Selick was producing the film at his new San Francisco-based studio Cinderbiter:
The crew on Henry Selick’s untitled stop motion animated film were told this afternoon that Disney is not proceeding with this project. Though the film had no title, it had a October 4, 2013 release date, and about 150 San Francisco-based artists ready to go, so it’s a blow to the animation troops out there. Started shooting last summer, but I’d heard it just wasn’t coming together in a manner that pleased the studio. Selick has been given the chance to take the project to other studios…[I]t’s unclear what this does to his plans to helm Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, a project Disney acquired in April.
Is Deadline’s report accurate? If you have details, share them anonymously in the comments or contact me directly.
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By: Jerry Beck,
on 8/9/2012
This weekend is Disney’s D23 event at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim. The focus of the conference is on 75 Years of Disney Animated Features, with appearances by studio super-stars (past and present) including Ron Clements, John Musker, Chris Sanders, Burny Mattinson—not to mention actor Dick Van Dyke and composer Alan Menken—among others. The full schedule is posted here.
On Sunday morning, Eric Goldberg and I will discuss Wild and Wacky Disney Animation. Moderated by by Billy Stanek (co-host of D23’s Disney Geek), Eric and I will explore the surreal side of Disney animation, with excerpts and images from some of the most psychedelic and humorous animation in Disney animated features (and shorts). We’ll also discuss the artistic contributions of Ward Kimball, Salvador Dali and other important creative collaborators. It’s going to be a lot of fun. If you are going to D23, please come by and say hello.
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By: Jerry Beck,
on 8/7/2012
No matter how many books one reads about classic Disney animation, it’s difficult to imagine the day-to-day life of artists during the studio’s Golden Age. Obviously, we know the artists worked on films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Fantasia and Bambi. And by most accounts, they had a pretty good time doing it. But what was the work environment like on any given day?
While I was writing my upcoming biography of Disney animator and director Ward Kimball
The journal entry reprinted below is from exactly seventy years ago today—August 7, 1942. There was a World War raging at the time and the studio’s regular output had been interrupted by the urgent demand for military training films and other war-themed shorts, like Education for Death, which Kimball was animating at the time. Here is Ward’s record of that warm August day in Burbank, California:
Friday, August 7, 1942
At the studio a kid – Kenny Walker— brought in 2 quarts of whiskey to celebrate his joining the Navy. We said, “Let’s wait til this afternoon.” “No,” says Fred [Moore], “now!” I mixed a big one with Coke at 11am. Got nice and glowy for our noon hour jam session. Tom [Oreb] really beat it out.I hit every note made for the trombone—My! My! We knocked the pants off of “Jingle Bells,” etc. At 1:00 the boys were really hitting it up—no work—at 2:00 we played records with everyone in the unit beating on something! I blew my trombone—[Jack] Whitaker his bass! People came from the far corners of the studio to hear us. What a din.
The 2 qts were gone—I counted 6 empties in the hallway. Bill Berg—separated from his wife 6 mo. was going out on his 1st date tonight—”Going to get some” he said—but, alas! He had too much—passed out cold—the nurse had to give him shots—then carried him to his car. Wow! Just like old times—wine, song, no women.
The moral of the story: if you run an animation studio, always have a nurse on staff.
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By: Jerry Beck,
on 8/7/2012
Two things we never imagined together courtesy of artist Jeaux Janovsky: Disney’s upcoming film Wreck-It Ralph and Ralph Bakshi make…
Click to enlarge, or go here for more Bakshi.
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By: Jerry Beck,
on 8/2/2012
Disney characters transposed into real-world adult situations have existed as long as Disney animation has existed. Take, for example, Disney-themed Tijuana Bibles and Wally Wood’s “Disneyland Memorial Orgy” drawing. Fast forward forty years later and these types of images are a dime a dozen, drawn by thousands of amateur artists and posted all over the Internet.
It takes a certain bravado to turn these silly drawings into oil paintings and then sell them for thousands of dollars a pop to trust fund hipsters who have more money than taste. That’s exactly the gameplan of Mexican artist José Rodolfo Loaiza Ontiveros whose new art show “Disasterland” opens tomorrow night at La Luz de Jesus (4633 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles ,CA 90027). The show description includes some standard art world mumbo-jumbo explaining his artistic intent, but the complete lack of irony and wit in his work can’t elevate this beyond a puerile attempt to shock. The entire series is viewable on the gallery’s website.
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By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/26/2012
“I have spent 17 years in the dark, wondering what the readers of my stuff really wanted,” wrote Barks to Willits. “It would be an enlightening experience to talk to one. In the event you phone, my wife will answer the call, my hearing aids which are okay for ordinary conversation are shuttery for telephonic jazz.”
– The great Disney artist Carl Bark, on how he was discovered by fandom, revealing a world long before today’s creator/fan echo chamber feedback loop existed. Barks was perhaps the greatest beneficiary of the fannish impulse, and its greatest discovery.
By: Jerry Beck,
on 7/20/2012
I was just cleaning out my bags from the Comic Con last week and found this postcard (both sides, below) for Disney’s forthcoming Craig McCracken series. I’ll bet this was posted on the internet somewhere, or Facebook, but I hadn’t seen it myself till now, so I thought you should see it too. Intriguing images… I can’t wait to see the show!
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By: Jerry Beck,
on 7/17/2012
This was just screened at Comic Con and worth a look – it’s the intro to the forthcoming Epic Mickey 2 video game, featuring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Gus Gremlin and a host of early 30s Disney bit players.
While we’re at it – and not to be a complete shill for this product – this promo (below) on the history of Disney’s Oswald is pretty good. Game designer Warren Spector and Disney archivist Becky Cline discuss and review the history of the character. Makes me feel good to see a 1920s cartoon star re-emerge in the 21st Century. The prospects for reviving Koko the Clown or Farmer Al Falfa are looking better every day.
(Thanks, Matthew Gaastra)
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By: Eric Orchard,
on 7/16/2012
By: John,
on 7/11/2012
Last night I finally had a chance to watch The Sweatbox, the documentary about the production of Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove.
When Sting was asked to create the music for the animated feature, he did so on the condition that his wife Trudie Styler document the making of the movie — one that would turn out to involve countless story problems and struggles between the creative departments and management.
The documentary screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2002, and Disney seems to have made sure it was never seen again. This work print that floats around YouTube in various places isn’t the final cut of the film (and feels a little Sting-heavy) but it gives great insight into some of the internal struggles that plagued the post-Lion King Disney.
By: Julie,
on 7/9/2012
Cover Shot! is a regular feature here at the Café. I love discovering new covers, and when I find them, I like to share. More than anything else, I am consumed with the mystery that each new discovery represents. There is an allure to a beautiful cover. Will the story contained under the pages live up to promise of the gorgeous cover art?
I am a book behind in Ally Carter’s Heist Society, but I have plenty of time to get caught up. Perfect Scoundrels doesn’t hit stores until 2013! I love how sassy these covers are, and love the reflection in the model’s shades. I can hardly wait to see the real thing!
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Katarina Bishop and W.W. Hale the fifth were born to lead completely different lives: Kat comes from a long, proud line of loveable criminal masterminds, while Hale is the scion of one of the most seemingly perfect dynasties in the world. If their families have one thing in common, it’s that they both know how to stay under the radar while getting—or stealing—whatever they want. No matter the risk, the Bishops can always be counted on, but in Hale’s family, all bets are off when money is on the line. When Hale unexpectedly inherits his grandmother’s billion dollar corporation, he quickly learns that there’s no place for Kat and their old heists in his new role. But Kat won’t let him go that easily, especially after she gets tipped off that his grandmother’s will might have been altered in an elaborate con to steal the company’s fortune. So instead of being the heir—this time, Hale might be the mark. Forced to keep a level head as she and her crew fight for one of their own, Kat comes up with an ambitious and far-reaching plan that only the Bishop family would dare attempt. To pull it off, Kat is prepared to do the impossible, but first, she has to decide if she’s willing to save her boyfriend’s company if it means losing the boy.
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By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/8/2012
.
The Associated Press reports that, during a state concert for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, various Disney characters appeared on stage.
Performers dressed as Minnie Mouse, Tigger and others danced and pranced as footage from “Snow White,” “Dumbo,” “Beauty and the Beast” and other Disney movies played on a massive backdrop, according to still photos shown on state TV.
The inclusion of characters popular in the West – particularly from the United States, North Korea’s wartime enemy – is a notable change in direction for performances in Pyongyang. Actors and actresses also showed off new wardrobes, including strapless gowns and little black dresses.
Disney merchandise has been imported from China, and North Korea has translated stories such as “Dumbo” for schoolchildren.
It is uncertain if Disney licensed the use of these characters, although the importation of American goods to North Korea is not completely prohibited.
Disney already has a strong presence in China, with Hong Kong Disneyland in operation since 2005 and the Shanghai Disney Resort scheduled to open in 2015. Tokyo Disneyland has been in operation since 1983.
North Korea does have amusement parks, as CNN reported in August 2011. There are other fun fairs, some abandoned? Just as Walt Disney criticized local amusement parks after taking his daughter on an outing, so too has the “Great Successor” criticized local amusement parks in North Korea.
Kim Jong Un, at 28 the youngest head of state in the world, is working hard to bolster his power base, as his elder brother, Kim Jong-nam, was the expected successor to Kim Jong-il. Ironically, Jong-nam’s stature was tarnished in 2001, when he used a fake passport to enter Japan to visit Tokyo Disneyland.
Disney has studied opening a small amusement center in Seoul, South Korea. They currently operate a Korean Disney Channel in partnership with South Korean telecomm
By: Jerry Beck,
on 7/7/2012
Disney animator James Lopez is such a fan of the 1974 Disneyland attraction America Sings that he’s taken the soundtrack and has been spending his spare time – over a ten year period – creating a private 2D version of it. Here’s his work-in-progress. It’s partially in pencil, but well worth a watch.
(Thanks, Vin Ostrander via Disney History Institute )
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By: Jerry Beck,
on 7/3/2012
Disney’s John Carter, a live action film, was the first VFX movie to be directed like a keyframed feature animation. Animator Patrick Giusiano put this interesting video together, showing the process involved with animating his shots.
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By: Jerry Beck,
on 7/3/2012
Disney’s John Carter, a live action film, was the first VFX movie to be directed like a keyframed feature animation. Animator Patrick Giusiano put this interesting video together, showing the process involved with animating his shots.
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By: Jerry Beck,
on 7/2/2012
Seems like everyone is talking about Paperman, the new Disney short that recently premiered at the Annecy Animation Festival and is scheduled to be released with Wreck-It Ralph on November 2nd. I’ve seen the film and will join in with chorus praising it for its innovative look, its touching story and its refreshing new take on Disney character animation. It’s a breath of fresh air – and one can only hope it portends good things for hand-drawn animators – and its enthusiasts.
Paperman pioneers a new technique that seamlessly merges computer-generated and hand-drawn animation. I recently spoke with director John Kahrs (formerly of Blue Sky, Pixar and since 2007, a supervising animator at Disney Feature, primarily on Tangled) about the production.
Jerry: How did Paperman get started? Is this part of the Disney Shorts Program?
John Kahrs: After Tangled ended, they had a gap between the ending of that film and the beginning of production on Wreck-It Ralph. Management was wondering: “Is there anything around to push the technology? Anything that we have that’s going to fill the space between films, to utilize as much of the crew as possible? I had ideas about maybe doing a bit of animation that involved 2D and 3D together. So I just pitched it and they were like: “Ok, let’s try this.” But they didn’t really know how far we were going to take it technologically.
Jerry: Did John (Lasseter) know how the film was going to look – that it would be in black and white? And what inspired the story?
John Kahrs: John didn’t really know what we were doing until I showed him the test – that finally got him on board with the technique and the technology. The idea for the story has been in my head since I lived in New York, when I was first starting out in my career. I was commuting through Grand Central Station, I was in my mid twenties and feeling like I should be enjoying living in the city much more than I actually was – and I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t. New York is a pretty intimidating place; people have their guard up. It’s odd to feel alone while being surrounded by people all the time. Sometimes you can make random connections with strangers, and I started thinking about that idea. What if someone made a connection? What if this guy made a connection with a girl and he lost her, and he spent the rest of the story trying to get her back? You know, if they were really meant for each other… it’s fate. It’s romantic.
Jerry: I always like to ask this question: how long did it take from when you basically got a go-ahead, till its being finished. How long was that, about a year?
John Kahrs: Yeah, about a year. Maybe 14 months.
Jerry: So tell me about this new technique used on the film… how did it come about?
John Kahrs: It really came out of working so much with Glenn on Tangled. Seeing all that drawing, being at Disney, being surrounded by that legacy. How exciting, and how much punch there is in the drawn line, how expressive it can be. And how hard the CG guys have to work to try to match that charm. I thought, why do we have to leave these drawings behind? Why can’t we bring them back up to the front of the image again? Is there a way that CG can kinda carry along the hand drawn line in a way that we haven’t done before?
Ultimately, the problem was solved in a much more sophisticated way than I ever expected by teaming with Eric Daniels first, then Brian Whited who is a young guy and a world class programmer. He deve
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By: Jerry Beck,
on 7/2/2012
Seems like everyone is talking about Paperman, the new Disney short that recently premiered at the Annecy Animation Festival and is scheduled to be released with Wreck-It Ralph on November 2nd. I’ve seen the film and will join in with the chorus praising it for its innovative look, its touching story and its refreshing new take on Disney character animation. It’s a breath of fresh air—and one can only hope it portends good things for hand-drawn animators—and its enthusiasts.
Paperman pioneers a new technique that seamlessly merges computer-generated and hand-drawn animation. I recently spoke with director John Kahrs (formerly of Blue Sky, Pixar and since 2007, a supervising animator at Disney Feature, primarily on Tangled) about the production.
Jerry: How did Paperman get started? Is this part of the Disney Shorts Program?
John Kahrs: After Tangled ended, they had a gap between the ending of that film and the beginning of production on Wreck-It Ralph. Management was wondering: “Is there anything around to push the technology? Anything that we have that’s going to fill the space between films, to utilize as much of the crew as possible? I had ideas about maybe doing a bit of animation that involved 2D and 3D together. So I just pitched it and they were like: “Ok, let’s try this.” But they didn’t really know how far we were going to take it technologically.
Jerry: Did John [Lasseter] know how the film was going to look – that it would be in black and white? And what inspired the story?
John Kahrs: John didn’t really know what we were doing until I showed him the test – that finally got him on board with the technique and the technology. The idea for the story has been in my head since I lived in New York, when I was first starting out in my career. I was commuting through Grand Central Station, I was in my mid twenties and feeling like I should be enjoying living in the city much more than I actually was – and I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t. New York is a pretty intimidating place; people have their guard up. It’s odd to feel alone while being surrounded by people all the time. Sometimes you can make random connections with strangers, and I started thinking about that idea. What if someone made a connection? What if this guy made a connection with a girl and he lost her, and he spent the rest of the story trying to get her back? You know, if they were really meant for each other… it’s fate. It’s romantic.
Jerry: I always like to ask this question: how long did it take from when you basically got a go-ahead, till it being finished. How long was that, about a year?
John Kahrs: Yeah, about a year. Maybe 14 months.
Jerry: So tell me about this new technique used on the film… how did it come about?
John Kahrs: It really came out of working so much with Glen on Tangled. Seeing all that drawing, being at Disney, being surrounded by that legacy. How exciting, and how much punch there is in the drawn line, how expressive it can be. And how hard the CG guys have to work to try to match that charm. I thought, Why do we have to leave these drawings behind? Why can’t we bring them back up to the front of the image again? Is there a way that CG can kinda carry along the hand drawn line in a way that we haven’t done before?
Ultimately, the problem was solved in a much more sophisticated way than I ever expected by teaming with Eric Daniels first, then Brian Whited who is a young guy and a world class programmer. He developed this p
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The little Mickeys and Plutos running along the organizational lines make the chart easier to digest, while coating the stomach with a protective pink barrier.
Really interesting!
W.E.D. is what’s now Imagineering, right? What were Mineral King and MAPO?
I recall Disney once had a division called TNT (Television and Non-Theatrical).
MAPO was a part/arm of WED (Manufacturing and Production Organization).
Disney’s Mineral King Ski Resort was a WED project in the 1960s. Walt had become interested in skiing around this time, and decided to build a ski resort in the Mineral King Valley. The project hit opposition by the Sierra Club, and ultimately was abandoned – in part because of Walt’s passing in 1966.
The Mineral King lawsuit actually has one of the most fascinating legal opportunities in it — the Sierra Club was challenged for lack of standing, and Justice Douglas presented the idea that Mineral King itself as a natural body could have standing to sue in its own right for protection from development. It was a 4-3 decision, so his opinion came as a dissent:
(“legal personality” is an interesting phrase, harking to “corporate personhood” — ships and other nonliving entities already had standing in court to sue and be sued in and of themselves, but not living nonhumans and natural bodies like animals and Mineral King.)
Douglas had read and was responding to a law review article by Christopher Stone, Should Trees Have Standing?
http://www.rightsofmotherearth.com/trees-standing/
Justice Douglas’s dissent is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Club_v._Morton#Douglas.27_dissent