Happy Halloween!

That's my friend Pierre Landy in the photo, dressed as the Mad Hatter.About three years ago, when I had some time on my hands, I brainstormed with Pierre the idea of animating the invitation for his upcoming birthday party in Paris. Pierre is a huge fan of Disney animation, and he especially loves the female villains. After a few discussions I agreed to animate him disguised as three different wicked ladies. He sent me his voice recording and after...

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Hug, Animal Drawings from the Zoo

That's the title of a limited edition portfolio by Swiss animal artist Fritz Hug. The publishing date is unknown. Hug visited the zoo in Zurich so many times that he knew a lot of the animals by name. I enjoy his loose quick sketches, but also the drawings that took a little longer, when he took the time to define textures like fur, feathers and skin. But most impressive is his observation and his knowledge of what pose brings out...

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The Genius of Frank Thomas

Frank examines storyboard sketches of a sequence from Robin Hood. He would later animate those very scenes. Not very thrilled with the way the film's story was coming together, Frank still did the best he could with the material given to him.Following are just a few examples of animated moments in Frank's long career. To my eye there are zero formulas to detect in his work. Every one of his characters moves and acts in a unique way. That way...

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Prince Phillip

I know I posted about this character before, but there are many fascinating aspect to his development for the film Sleeping Beauty. As I mentioned before animator Milt Kahl didn't like the assignment of animating him from the beginning, not the kind of animation you could get your teeth into. Being the professional Milt was, he did the best he could with the story material given to him. Just imagine how much more interesting this prince could have...

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Disney Trains

Most of you know that Walt Disney was a train enthusiast. Trains show up in some of his feature length as well as short films. Often a train would become a personality like Casey Jones Jr., or they just functioned as the real thing, like the train that almost ran over The Aristocats.Walt put a train into Disneyland, and named it after his wife, the Lilly Belle.He also installed train tracks around his home in Holmby Hills, Ca. This was a 1/8...

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