Abstract
When Walt’s studio first used sound in the Mickey cartoons and in the Silly Symphonies most of the animators’ time was spent on figuring out the basic synchronization between sound and movement and improving it, less attention was paid to the details of animation and story. For Walt there was always the need to push forward and with the increased success of their sound cartoons the Disney studio turned its attention again to its animation production and drawing techniques and how these could improve how they created the storyline and the character development.
“You’re going to develop more; you’re getting hold of your medium.” Charlie Chaplin 1931
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Notes
- 1.
The Moviola gave Walt and his animators a tool to test the action of their gags and scenes. Walt had a small room built in the Hyperion Studio that became known as the “SweatBox” where he set up the Moviola. The hours spent looking at “pencil tests ” led to changes in how the animators approached their drawing and, in the long run, the nature of animation itself. Photo of SweatBox: http://vintagedisneymemorabilia.blogspot.com/2009/09/walt-disney-family-museum.htm. Photo of Moviola : http://www.city-net.com/~fodder/edit/moviola.html.
- 2.
Pencil tests provided a preview of action that could then be corrected to achieve the desired effect before the expense of inking. Photos of pencil test in The Three Fairies: http://www.penciltestdepot.com/2011/06/three-fairies-frank-thomas-ollie.html; http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/.
- 3.
All parts of a body move at different times and speeds. When the action of a character’s arms, legs, hair, clothing, etc, overlap, the animation appears more fluid and realistic. Ferguson’s “moving hands” in Frolicking Fish —Barrier, Michael. The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney. p. 81. Also called “overlapping action ”—Gabler, Neal. Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. p. 170.
- 4.
Walt offered prizes for suggestions for gags as incentive to his staff; he called these “Consultation Prizes.” Photo of consultation prize : The Mickey Mouse Treasury by Robert Tieman, p. 9.
- 5.
The Barnyard Broadcast: http://www.disneyshorts.org/shorts.aspx?shortID=149. Block quote from Thomas (1994) p. 110.
- 6.
In Midnight in a Toyshop a spider comes in out of the cold only to be blown back out into it by some fireworks it accidently sets alight. Midnight in a Toy Shop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHdbXqFWx6k.
- 7.
Walt made an exclusive two-year deal with Technicolor . Photo of title screen TECHNICOLOR: http://www.disneyshorts.org/shorts.aspx?shortID=166.
- 8.
Flowers and Trees is a love story that uses color to present mood and add to character. Photo of poster Flowers and Trees : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowers_and_Trees. Flowers and Trees : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEaW0NX7rvc.
- 9.
The dark shape in the centre of a pleasant colorful meadow foreshadows dire events. Babes in the Wood: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VFWOHABm0s.
- 10.
Color sets the mood as the children walk out of bright sunlight into the gloomy woods and later into the witch’s dark house where the children’s large shadows emphasize the change. Babes in the Wood: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VFWOHABm0s.
- 11.
Using “cartoon color” artists painted Mickey and friends bright colors to make them stand out against a muted background. The Band Concert : http://www.disneyshorts.org/shorts.aspx?shortID=218.
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Lee, N., Madej, K. (2012). Drawing and Color: The Language of Realism. In: Disney Stories. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2101-6_6
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