Prod. 2721 - Bahia! (II)

Here is the fourth sequence of Bahia, "Os Quindins De Yaya." Animation by John Lounsbery, Fred Moore, Ward Kimball, Eric Larson, Les Clark, Ollie Johnston and John Sibley. That makes 5/9th of the Nine Old Men.

Now as to who directed what...
The director of Prod. 2016, The Three Caballeros (and of Prod. 2015, Saludos Amigos) is listed as Norm Ferguson. On the Saludos draft he is actually called Production Supervisor, and he is mentioned as such in the director spot on all the inserts of that film. The sequence directors (or basically shorts directors) on Caballeros are missing on some of the sequences (especially on the one in these postings).
Prod. 2016 - these are the inserts to glue the shorts together to make this a feature: Jack Kinney directed seq. 1 (Opening - into Penguin Picture), 2 (Birds - Insert from Penguin to Gauchito) and the first 5 scenes of seq. 3 (Lead into Baia). Thereafter no info on seq. 3 or seq. 4 (Duck - Parrot Blowing Up).
(Prod 2711, El Gaucho Goofy, dir. Kinney, was part of Saludos)
(Prod 2712, Lake Titicaca, dir. Roberts, was part of Saludos)
Prod. 2713, The Flying Gauchito: Ferguson/Larson.
(Prod. 2714, Pedro, dir. Luske, was part of Saludos)
(Prod 2717, Aquarela Do Brasil, dir. Jaxon, was part of Saludos)
Prod. 2718, The Cold Blooded Penguin: Bill Roberts.
Prod. 2721, Bahia (the subject of these postings) no info.
Prod. 2725 La Pinata: seq. 1, 2, 3 & 8: Gerri Geronimi
- seq. 4, 5, 6 & 7: Norm Ferguson.

Maybe the "missing" director is Fergy, his name being top billed on this picture, and he has directed all the inserts in Saludos.
But this is purely my speculation...

Prod. 2721 - Bahia! (I)

The Bahia sequence in Disney's Three Caballeros (premiered in Mexico City 12/21/1944, released in the US 2/3/1945) is actually comprised of four sequences: "Have You Ever been To Bahia?," "Baia," "Baixa Do Saparteiro" and "Os Quindins De Yaya."
Here are the first three, dated 9/14/1944 (one page 9/12).

We meet the work of animators Fred Moore, John Lounsbery, Marvin Woodward and Les Clark, as well as effects animators Josh Meador, John McManus and George Rowley.

Once Upon a DVD

Remember the posting Didier Ghez made a few weeks ago about his friend looking for the DVD based on the exhibition "Il etait une fois Walt Disney" (Once upon a time Walt Disney) currently in Montreal after having been in Paris?

Well, I got a look at it yesterday. My opinion is this: if you are looking for new material, look elsewhere. There are two things on this DVD: a 47 minute documentary that covers the ideas behind the exhibition, and a 63 minute feature which is the original Marguerite Clark Snow White film that Walt saw as a boy and was his inspiration for his first animated feature. This last item is the reason I feel I have not waisted my money. It is no wonder Walt was inspired by it (if you see past the pre-MTV pacing).

The documentary, which I only saw in the English translation, on the other hand is a pretentious mess of confusingly cut clips (though in beautiful quality), and irritatingly arty interviews. With terrible new animation of talking mice (very short, I'm happy to report) and a long clip from The Gallopin' Gaucho in its 80's colorized version - why? And who has heard of "Eye-v-eye-nd" Earle or "Marcel-eye-ne", Missouri? But worst is the feeling of a terrible waste of effort.

I have not yet seen the exhibition, but I will, and I am looking forward to it. Meeting the art in person is always a special occasion.
I was a bit disappointed by the book, but oh, well, I was much more disappointed by Pierre Lambert's book L'Age d'Or de Walt Disney, as the only beautifully printed image in style with his previous gorgeous books was a bad still from Jungle Book! But this DVD... get it because of the Snow White feature (links to buy it are in the comments to Didier's posting). The documentary will leave you cold if you have any previous knowledge of Walt and his studio.

A Stan Freberg Classic...

...and another gem from the 50's Babbitt/Hubley reel.
Simple and elegant....and funny!

[And no longer available, due to Philip Morris USA, Inc...]

By the way, after 10 years, I stopped smoking March 31st, 1995, and I advice anyone who smokes, to stop as well, as it WILL kill you!
After trying to stop several times, I decided in the START of March that I would stop midnight next month. I kept smoking a package a day the next three and a half weeks, and when the time came, my mind had already been conditioned to stop. I gave away my remaining cigarettes and I have never felt like smoking again.
Someone (was it Norm Ferguson?) said "Drawing is primarily a matter of the mind," well, so is quitting smoking...

Annecy Reminder

Monday June 11th, in about two weeks, the next Annecy animation festival (and market) begins in this charming southern French town 25 miles south of Geneva, and I am booked to be there. Will you? As a refresher in the town history, have a look at this old post!

Our feature film "The Ugly Duckling and Me" will be shown there out of competition, in French. If you never saw it, though, I would think seeing it in the original English version would be preferable...

One Year...

Gee, I just realized that that I started this blog one year and two days ago! To recap, this is posting #230. Nearly 1,000 documents and pictures (including ten or so Action Analysis Classes, 45 short drafts and the complete Pinocchio draft) and even some software. By the way, is anyone using my Beatronome? New arrivals: check the archives! And whatever you do, you have to check out the intro to our company showreel!

Thank You's are due to all who left intelligent comments, including Mark Mayerson, Mike Sporn, Mike Barrier, Floyd Norman, Joe Campana, theSpectre, FantasiaMan, etc. etc. - see my links on the right! Please keep the comments coming, folks! I find I learn a lot from them, and I trust this goes for all readers of this blog!

All about Leica Reels

On 6/21/39, this interesting document was prepared to illuminate the construction of the different types of Leica Reels. It was issued as part of the 6/20/39 revision of the "Story Department Reference Material." Erh... so it was issued the day before it was prepared? Don't ask... (And isn't Harry Teitel actually Harry Tytle?)

Of special interest (well, to me, at least) is the fact that the Leica reels could be advanced not only by hand but also automatically using a separate roll of film that ran real time in sync with the Leica Loop reel which had just one exposure per separate image. It also allowed for automatic sync with audio dialog and effects tracks!

The four consecutive Leica reels that I shot of the Anna & Bella storyboards that my old mentor Børge Ring had prepared were basically identical... Except that I shot them on 16mm, and projected them with a little toy silent hand-swing projector that only had seen Mickey in Arabia pass through it since my early childhood, onto a sheet of drawing paper pinned to the beams in Børge's attic work-room wall with two push pins. Four days that changed the film - and our lives... Anna & Bella won the Academy Award in 1986.Folks, I'm back in Denmark for a few weeks...

Dave Hand on Staging (II)

Here is the second part of Dave Hand's class on staging for story artists. An interesting though somewhat roundabout new ending is suggested for Pinocchio...This is important stuff! I advice anyone dealing with drawing storyboards to read this!

Dave Hand on Staging (I)

On October 13th, 1938, as the Disney studios on Hyperion Avenue was working on Pinocchio, Fantasia and Bambi, Snow White's Supervising Director Dave Hand (the "number two creative" at the studio, whom I introduced elsewhere on this blog) held a class on "Staging as Applied to Presentation of Story and Gag Ideas."

This document, found in the 6/20/39 revision of the "Story Department Reference Material," gives us a wonderful insight into Hand's experiences after Snow White. Especially his comparison to a magician's way of guiding the eye is interesting. I remember my old mentor Børge Ring teaching me similar analogies - not surprising, as he worked closely with Hand in 1950.

The second half follows tomorrow...

Ward Kimball at Work

Here are a few very nice images of Ward Kimball at work on Pinocchio, taken at the Hyperion studios around 1939. The left image shows him at what I believe to be a projecting Moviola, for rotoscoping film. Is that the studio intercom above the dark sides of the drawing part? Notice also the caricatures, including the drum with "Kimball's Icky Eight."

The right image has Ward at his desk. Through the window we see the grill of a parked car. On Ward's desk we see the "Revised Kimball Modelsheet" as printed in Frank and Ollie's Illusion of Life. The books on his shelf include "Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine," and a Roy Williams ashtray is on his right...

< Click on it!

Next Best Thing to Owning the Art!

One reason why I haven't been posting anything is because I have been too enraptured gazing into my television set watching an amazing new release from Disney Home Entertainment Japan!

Remember a year and a half ago or so, when Chiba University unearthed a complete "Art of Animation" exhibit, one of three which toured the world (and Disneyland) ca. 1960 and had been donated to the University by Disney...and then forgotten? That discovery led to an unprecedented Japanese exhibition of these long lost originals as well as a complimentary treasure trove of original art newly loaned from Disney's Animation Research Library.

The Japanese show was a huge success, and it's our good fortune that it was lovingly documented, and now is available from Amazon.co.jp here on Blu-ray or DVD!

< Click on it (for larger image)!

Note that the DVD is NTSC, but it is Region 2, so most US users would need a region-free player. The Blu-ray disk has been seen working on a local US Sony player... Amazon Japan ships through DHL (no PO Boxes!) and really FAST!

Eyvind Earle, Mary Blair... You won't believe the images (and their clarity) on these discs!

A break...

Though I have a few things nearly prepared, the next two weeks I will not have an internet connection to speak of, so I will use this time to come up with other exciting things to post, and I expect to be back the 17th. I may be able to moderate comments, so by all means, keep them coming!

In the mean time, check out the Disney Bulletin on Joe Campana's blog!

Angel, and proud of it!

Yesterday, at a very nice, rather informal party in the Disney Archives, the inaugural Disney Archive Angels were certified. In the April 27th, 2007 Disney in-house Newsreel article is a list of all 26 Angels, and I am proud to be among them!

The event, wonderfully hosted by Archive Manager Becky Cline, marked the opening of the spacious Archives Library on the second floor of the Frank Wells building. This might have been the first and last time that food and drinks were allowed inside the Archives...

< Click on it!