Tribute to Disney/Pixar story artist JOE RANFT

Today (March 13, 2010) would have been Joe Ranft's 50th birthday. This tribute film was made by Joe's friend John Musker for the memorial service for Joe held at Pixar . John has graciously shared this touching tribute on YouTube to mark the occasion of Joe's birthday.


(expand to watch full screen)


By the way, on August 10, 2010 there is a new book coming out by John Canemaker called "Two Guys Named Joe" which will feature the art and life of Disney/Pixar story artists Joe Ranft and Joe Grant.

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And since this is a blog of NOTES and INSPIRATION for my AAU students the pedagogue in me wants to point out to students that the tribute film above by the amazing Mr. Musker is a stellar example of what a Story Reel/Animatic should look like. So much is said with no dialogue and the simplest, most direct sketches.

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Waking Sleeping Beauty trailer

(watch it full screen)



Even better , go watch the high-quality Quicktime version of the trailer here:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/wakingsleepingbeauty/

"Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairytale. It is a story of clashing egos, out of control budgets, escalating tensions… and one of the most extraordinary creative periods in animation history. Director Don Hahn and producer Peter Schneider, key players at Walt Disney Studios Feature Animation department during the mid1980s, offer a behind-the-magic glimpse of the turbulent times the Animation Studio was going through and the staggering output of hits that followed over the next ten years. Artists polarized between the hungry young innovators and the old guard who refused to relinquish control, mounting tensions due to a string of box office flops, and warring studio heads create the backdrop for this fascinating story told with a unique and candid perspective from those that were there. Through interviews, internal memos, home movies, and a cast of characters featuring Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Roy Disney, alongside an amazing array of talented artists that includes Don Bluth, John Lasseter, and Tim Burton, Waking Sleeping Beauty shines a light on Disney Animation’s darkest hours, greatest joys and its improbable renaissance."

Inspiration: Rune Bennicke Rough Animation pencil tests

Animation by Rune Bennicke.

Click through the link to Rune's Vimeo page to see more of his pencil tests -

Brother Bear Koda's Mom Reel from Rune Bennicke on Vimeo.

Disney's The Princess and the Frog - Dec. 11 - Go see it !

(lead animator Bruce Smith, animating on

The Princess & the Frog)

It's been 6 years since Disney has released a hand-drawn animated film. Going into wide-release this Friday, Dec. 11 - The Princess and the Frog.

The time to go see this film is opening weekend , Friday Dec. 11 or Sat. Dec. 12 would count the most, through Sunday Dec. 13 is fine too .

The opening weekend box-office numbers will count for a lot as to whether Disney's return to hand-drawn animation is perceived as a hit . (and hand-drawn animation could use a genuine, revival-inducing, Little Mermaid-like hit right about now).

So far the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. Let's hope the general movie-going public agrees.

Time Magazine rates the Top 10 Movies of 2009. Look what film they rate at #1. ---

The Princess and the Frog

“Musker and Clements have bucked the odds and made a cartoon feature that is true to vintage Disney traditions (like wishing upon a star) yet moves with a contemporary verve and bounce. In an amazing year for animation, The Princess and the Frog is up at the top. “

-Richard Corliss, for Time Magazine

Dr. Lasseter tells it like it is

John Lasseter Q&A Any advice for aspiring animation student?

Milt Kahl - Mr. Snoops Pencil Test

Mr. Snoops from "The Rescuers" , animated by Milt Kahl. I've seen a version of this recently that had some of the drawings missing . I don't have the Medusa level, but this one has all the Snoops drawings , except for during the long hold his nose level and his eye blinks are missing. (as Medusa says "You are TOO SOFT" she pokes his nose with her finger) . Lip sync is a little off , but this was as close as I could get it working with sound grabbed from a 30fps video, changing it to 24fps and trying to match to the 24fps pencil test. (for context I added the scene right after this one as he finishes his line "fuss about her teddy bear getting wet".)

Something else missing here is the dynamic way that Kahl moves the character within the layout . There is a subtle pan behind Snoops as he backs away from Medusa at the beginning, and again as he moves away from him after she says "You are TOO SOFT" ... You can't see it as much here with all the drawings centered, but if you watch the actual scene in the movie it has more of an illusion of space to it. Check it out on DVD or see a low-res clip on YouTube for comparison to the pencil test:

Disney's Return to Hand-Drawn Animation

Getting closer (December '09) -

New "Princess & The Frog" trailer

First "official" trailer for Disney's new hand-drawn animated feature "The Princess & The Frog" ---




High Quality Quicktime .mov version of trailer

Looks beautiful. I'm looking forward to later this year :

August - Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea

December - The Princess & The Frog

Yay !

Frank Thomas Pencil Test - Lady and Tramp kiss

I have posted this pencil test on my blog previously , but thought that I'd repost it to bring your attention to some of the drawings from this sequence posted recently on Michael Sporn's excellent blog . Click on the link to Michael's blog to see the drawings.

L & T drawings

Here's the pencil test:

Classic Milt Kahl pencil test

I could watch these pencil tests for hours .  (I wish Disney would release special pencil test editions on the "extras" sections of the DVD's .)  

Mowgli trying to climb the tree , animated by Milt Kahl.

From Disney's "The Jungle Book". 

(found via Alan Cook, via Victor Ens)

"Drawn to Life: 20 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes" by Walt Stanchfield

It seems there is a plethora of animation riches being published these days.

Another set of books to add to your MUST HAVE list is "Drawn to Life: 20 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes" Volume 1 and Volume 2 by Walt Stanchfield , edited by Don Hahn.

Go to Don Hahn's website to see a "trailer" for the book where Don speaks about the material contained in these two volumes:

http://www.donhahn.com/

These weekly handouts from Walt Stanchfield are something that those of us who worked at Disney in the 80's and 90's treasure. Now they are being shared with the whole world . (actually they've been "shared" quite a bit by being copied, scanned , and passed around from hand to hand or from website to website , but this is the first time that ALL of Walt's notes have been formally compiled into two handy volumes . 800 pages of material ! )

The press release from Don Hahn says:

"I am so pleased to announce that for the first time ever, we have assembled all of Walt Stanchfield’s amazing handout notes and lectures into a two volume collection titled, DRAWN TO LIFE - 20 GOLDEN YEARS OF DISNEY MASTER CLASSES. Walt was an animator, trainer, mentor and coach for decades at Disney and helped breathe life into the new golden age of animation with his teachings. He influenced such talented artists as Tim Burton, Brad Bird, John Musker, Glen Keane, Andreas Deja and John Lasseter.

To me, DRAWN TO LIFE is one the strongest primers on animation ever written. The material spares no detail on the craft of animation, but also digs deep into the artistic roots of animation. It is a publication that has been anticipated for many years by every artist and student that Walt ever came in contact with. It has been a labor of love for me and I am so proud that Walt’s teachings will live on in these two volumes."

Pre-orders are being taken now. Official publishing date is March 27.



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"On Timing" talk by Dick Huemer , Disney animator

Hans Perk has pulled another magical relic from animation's past out of his magic hat:

A c.1936 lecture given at the Disney Studio by animator Dick Huemer on Timing. Read it here ---

Dick Huemer lecture on Timing .

This stuff is gold. Read it . Then read it again. Apply. Repeat.

Actually I need to correct myself : I said it was a "relic" from animation's past, but that gives the impression that it's just a piece of history ... but as Hans Perk points out :

"I feel I need to point out that the things discussed here still hold true today, also in computer animation. A principle is a principle, whatever the medium. If we do not learn about the successes and failures of yesterday, how can we be sure we make the right decisions today? Don't mistake these documents for "funny old stuff." If you are employed in the animation business, know that they are part of the groundwork of what pays your salary today!"

This is the real stuff , friends. While you're there make sure you bookmark Hans' blog A-Film L.A. and check out the other Disney lectures and material he has posted on his blog.

Two relevant documents which relate to the Dick Huemer talk on Timing are the scene drafts for the short films "Mickey's Polo Game" and "Alpine Climbers" :

Mickey's Polo Game scene draft

Alpine Climbers scene draft

A scene draft was (is) a studio document prepared to show which animator was assigned to what scenes and the scene
lengths in terms of scene length footage (35mm motion picture footage) . A draft is made for each short or feature film .

Mickey Mouse - Mickey'S Polo Team
Uploaded by Lupus-novus

Milt Kahl scene -- where does it come from ?

A small mystery :

I found this Milt Kahl scene from "The Rescuer's" posted on YouTube.  My question in the title -- "where does it come from?" -- doesn't refer to the film ; I know it's from "The Rescuer's".

But as far as I can see this shot is not in the final version of the film, but it feels to me like I remember seeing it  (in color) in the original theatrical release of the film.  But this scene is NOT in the DVD release of the film.  Was it cut out for some reason or is my memory playing a trick on me and this shot was never actually in the theatrical version of the film ? 

Does anyone know when or why this scene was cut out of  "The Rescuer's"  ? 

(there's no sound in the clip posted on YouTube. What are they saying ? Anyone know ? )

Here is another very similar set up , from the work-print of the sequence included on the extras of the Frank & Ollie documentary. This scene is in the final film .



(does anyone else see the one-frame camera shooting mistake on Medusa's hand at the very end of the scene ? That was fixed before the scene went to final color.)

Eric Goldberg's 'Character Animation Crash Course'

Master animator Eric Goldberg's long-awaited book has finally been released.  



Character Animation Crash Course  is now available at your local bookstores (check Barnes & Noble or Borders , or online at Amazon.com) 

I have treasured my xeroxed copies of Eric's lecture notes from animation lectures he gave us at Disney several years back and now I am so glad to have all of this material , plus some new material that Eric has added to expand his notes, all bound together in neat little package , including a CD which has Quicktime movies of many of the animation examples he shows in the book. 

Eric is one of the best animators working today . This book will perfectly compliment the Richard Williams book . Some of the material will overlap , but Eric's approach to the material has a different flavor than Richard Williams' approach , so you'll get something new from Eric's book , even if you have the Williams book .

At Academy of Art we're not yet using this as a Required Textbook for any of our animation classes since it was just published over the summer,  but I can say without any hesitation to all of my students: This is a must-have book for any animator, student or pro.

The website Animated News and Views has a recent interview with Eric where he discusses the book:

Interview with Eric Goldberg on "Character Animation Crash Course"

Princess and the Frog teaser trailer- so it begins !

First look at Disney's return to hand-drawn animation:

Teaser Trailer for The Princess & The Frog

(You'll have to click on the link . Couldn't embed it.

On the Disney site you have the option to watch it as a high-quality Quicktime movie)