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Friday, June 18, 2010

Prod. 2061 - Melody Time (II)  - 2052 - Little Toot

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Directed by Gerry Geronimi, assistant director Lou Debney, layout by Hugh Hennesy. This CORRECTED FINAL draft is from 2/20/47.

Animation by Bob Cannon, Rudy Larriva, George Rowley, Ollie Johnston, Jack Parr (whom we saw win at bowling), Dan MacManus, Brad Case (whose son Dale worked for Ray Patin commercial studios in the late 50s), Cliff Nordberg, Ray Patin, Eric Larson and Don Lusk.

Bob Cannon and Rudy Larriva have had illustrious careers outside of Disney: this is Cannon's only film for Disney. He has credits on Doggone Tired, Little Rural Riding Hood and Moonbird, and he directed Gerald McBoing-Boing. Rudy Larriva, who passed away only this February, also animated on Song of the South. His credits include animation on McBoing-Boing and The Unicorn in the Garden, as well as animation and direction on a slew of Magoo.

The draft mentions McManus, not MacManus, and thus one thinks that it was John McManus, not Dan MacManus who worked on these scenes. Here I refer to Alberto Becattini who does not credit John McManus on this film. Alberto also does not mention Brad Case on this film.

Other things of note: I count 14 multiplane shots, and more importantly, this is the FIRST "corrected final" draft we have encountered. What was wrong with the old final one? Again there are lots of notes from a 1964 inventory in the BG Morgue.

[How did I forget to mention this?
Hardie Gramatky, the author of the children's book this segment is based on, worked as animator at Disney in the Mickey Mouse unit from 1930 to 1936. He was born 4/12/1907, and died, 72 years old, on 5/1/1979, in Fairfield, CT.]

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4 Comments:

Anonymous Steven Hartley says...

Looking at the cartoon, the effects animation is good! And this is my very own opinion, and I've only watched this cartoon for the first time, and I've never really became a fan of Walt Disney's package films,

I've seen a little of Make Mine Music, (Peter and the Wolf), (Cats Join In), and I've seen off of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Fun and Fancy Free and a bit of Saludos Amigos.

Pity that I've not seen Melody Time once, only the Wintertime sequence.

However, I noticed that in scene 35 that Ollie Johnston is credited for a scene of small engines and smoke, and I thought that it would have been effects doing that.

Beautiful animation by animators I've never even heard of before!! Rudy Larriva, Ray Patin, etc.

Friday, June 18, 2010 at 9:46:00 AM PDT  
Anonymous Steven Hartley says...

I meant all of Ichabod of Mr. Toad, Fun and Fancy Free and Saludos Amigos, and accidentally written 'off'

Friday, June 18, 2010 at 10:06:00 AM PDT  
Anonymous Zartok-35 says...

Oh boy, oh boy! This is wonderful. Always wondered about the technical side of "Little Toot". Rudy Larriva and Bobe Cannon were highliners for Chuck Jones at Warner Brothers in the early 1940s.

Lots of other strange and wonderful quirks as well! Never knew that Nordberg worked here, never mind Lou Debney!

All things considered, Ollie Johnston and Bobe Cannon weren't too hard to detect on this film. I now know that the funny looking animator in this is Don Lusk!

Friday, June 18, 2010 at 11:16:00 AM PDT  
Anonymous John V. says...

It's interesting after Casey Jr to see how these characters were cast. Effects animators are only used in (most of) the overhead shots and close-ups of equipment (bells and whistles).

Note that "Cannon" doesn't refer to the same individual as on the drafts from the 30s.

Saturday, June 19, 2010 at 2:28:00 PM PDT  

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