Robin Hood & Little John in Drag II

I have posted some material on these two characters dressed as gypsies before, but I have more to show. The doodle sheets above and below were drawn by Milt Kahl. He is trying to find entertaining solutions to the problem of fitting a dress on the body of a fox and a bear.Beautiful sketches!This model sheet includes most of Milt's key drawings from a scene in which Little John reacts to the arrival of Prince John's royal coach:  "Now how about...

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Groupshots

I have had these prints for a while, I hope you enjoy them.Woolie Reitherman, Ken Anderson, Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas meet up with some of the Robin Hood Disneyland characters outside of the animation building. I would guess 1973.Below are a couple of pics taken on April 9, 1978.The University of Southern California chapter of the Delta Kappa Alpha National Cinema Fraternity recognizes the "Nine Old Men" with the "Pioneer in Film" award.From...

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Line, Shape and Form

…all of those in a magnificent balance for this moment from the film 101 Dalmatians. "Melody first my dear, and THEN the lyrics."So many graphic lines are directed toward the main business of Roger's finger touching Anita's nose. Her long neck, the lines in her hair and the curve of her nose clearly point to the subtle contact about to happen. Roger's whole body leans forward toward Anita's face, and every line, from folds in the fabric to his...

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The Reluctant Dragon

I was thrilled to discover the other day that NetFlix has started streaming a beautiful HD version of Disney's Reluctant Dragon. This is the whole feature, which includes the Robert Benchley backstage tour as well as the Goofy short How to Ride a Horse and The Reluctant Dragon.The photo below shows John P. Miller, who storyboarded the famous Baby Weems section of the film. It looks like Miller is still at Disney's Hyperion studio, working on designs...

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French Sketchbook

I wasn't quite sure what kind of stuff I might post today. Then I noticed a pile of old sketchbooks in a corner of my studio. One of them dates back to 1994 , when I spent some time in Paris to work with Disney's French studio on the Mickey short Runaway Brain. My fabulous apartment was on the Ile Saint- Louis with walking distance to just about everything. Occasionally I would take my sketchbook and walk along the Seine to the beautiful Musee d'Orsay....

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Jungle Book Studies

Ken Anderson and background painter Al Dempster had something to do with these color studies for the Jungle Book. The beautiful cel above of Mowgli and Bagheera is a Milt Kahl drawing.There are endless ways to portray the Indian Jungle, including this early version by color stylist Walt Peregoy:http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2011/11/early-jungle-book.htmlAs you know, Walt Disney opted for a light, airy jungle, since the story included mostly comedic...

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Test Screening

Looks like Walt Disney is getting ready for a screening in one of his sweatbox theaters on the Burbank studio lot. The photo was probably taken in the early to mid 1940s. And look at the audience, men and women in equal numbers. I wonder what film they are about to wat...

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John Lounsbery Characters

There certainly isn't enough art by animator John Lounsbery shown on this blog.This unassuming man never gave any filmed interviews, he never wrote a book, as a matter of fact, he just wasn't into self-promotion. Lounsbery just focused on his work (and raising a family outside of Los Angeles). His contributions to Disney Animation were enormous. His amazing performance of Ben Ali Gator in Fantasia's Dance of the Hours sequence made him a break out...

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