Today’s Friday Fun Link is a fascinating piece of animation history: an illustrated story by story artist and director Chris Sanders. Created as part of a handout for a Disney offsite retreat, The Big Bear Aircraft Company is a barely veiled metaphor for Disney Feature Animation, foretelling a dim future of bland, unoriginal films that will someday be overshadowed by another studio’s productions if management and writer continue to marginalize the artists. Sanders also offers ideas that could lead to a better outcome: small groups of artists and writers working together to develop projects with minimal management interference.
Cartoon Brew posted a link to the story and Sanders himself responded, providing some additional background on the story, why he chose this particular format to air his concerns, and what the response was.
The fact that this story appears to have been written back in 1989 (Sanders doesn’t provide a more specific date) makes it all the more prescient in hindsight. Disney did have trouble evolving beyond what had worked in the past and was eventually overtaken by other studios – particularly Sanders’ current employer Dreamworks.
The prologue left us with the question “Who could ever learn to love a beast?”. Who is the very next character we see? Belle. What is the title of the next song we hear, which is both the first song in the movie and the first song written for the movie? “Belle.” So if you don’t have some idea of who could learn to love a beast, you aren’t paying attention.
(Writing new entries in the Beauty and the Beast series takes a while, so don’t be concerned if a new one doesn’t show up every week. Trust me, I am working on it.)
I have not seen Disney’s Winnie the Pooh yet, so I can’t comment on the quality of the film itself. What I can comment on is the film’s performance on its opening weekend. And unfortunately, it doesn’t look good. According to Box Office Mojo, the silly old bear’s newest adventure grossed just under $8 million in its U.S. debut, putting the film in sixth place right behind Disney and Pixar’s own Cars 2 in its fourth week of release.
Now that you know the history that lead up to the making of Beauty and the Beast (assuming that you’ve read Part One), let’s dive right into the movie. I’ll be sharing more behind the scenes information as we go.
Part two of my Beauty and the Beast article isn’t ready yet and my backup plan just fell through. So in the meantime, please enjoy this short video of Belle and the Beast (and one stowaway) presenting the award for Best Animated Short Film at the 64th Academy Awards. Who knew that Beast wore reading glasses?
Though I usually hate picking a single favorite anything, I will tell you that Beauty and the Beast is my favorite movie.
This is not a surprise to anyone who knows me and even less of a surprise to anyone who knew me as a teenager. For many years, Beauty and the Beast was my greatest obsession. I saw the film over twenty times in theaters, labored over countless drawings of the characters, purchased all manner of books, toys, posters, t-shirts, and other memorabilia, clipped out newspaper and magazine articles about the film, and dragged my family to the Disney on Ice adaptation. I’m sure that my age had something to do with just how hard I fell for the film. I was thirteen when it came out, exactly the right age to love a movie as wholeheartedly as I ended up loving this one. The film’s message of looking past appearances to the character within was also particularly resonant to an awkward teenager with little confidence in her looks. And yet, when I go back and watch it today, I feel something more than nostalgia. What I’m enjoying is not just the comfortable familiarity of something I loved when I was younger, but the amazing achievement of a dream team of talented filmmakers at the top of their game. To me, this movie remains the Disney fairy tale’s high water mark, the most perfect example of the genre.
What could be a more appropriate Friday Fun Link than a site called Mr. Fun? And when Mr. Fun is animator and story artist Floyd Norman, you know you’re in for some juicy stories about the history of animation from someone who was there to see it happen. Floyd Norman has worked at the Disney studios on and off for decades. He was there when Walt Disney and the Nine Old Men were still part of the studio. He has worked on TV shows and specials from Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Fat Albert to Smurfs to Beverly Hills Teens. He also co-founded the AfroKids animation studio. More recently, he’s been back at Disney and Pixar, storyboarding on a variety of films.
When Floyd Norman writes about animation, it’s well worth reading. He doesn’t sugarcoat the realities of what goes into making animation. His firsthand accounts of life at Disney when the original legends of the studio walked the halls are fascinating. The site is divided into short blog posts, longer stories, and gag drawings poking fun at the animation industry. No matter what kind of take on animation you’re in the mood for, Mr. Fun has something to keep you entertained.
Though I don’t want my Friday post to become the Friday Memorial Link, I couldn’t let this week pass without noting the sad and sudden death of animation and comics writer Dwayne McDuffie. Judging by what I’ve seen on Twitter, the whole internet is mourning for him, and with good reason. McDuffie’s impact on the world of animation alone was huge. He played a major role in making the animated version of the DC Comics universe the powerhouse that it is today as a producer, writer, and story editor on the amazing Justice League TV series and writer of the direct-to-DVD movies Crisis on Two Earths and All-Star Superman, the latter of which was just released this week. McDuffie story edited Static Shock, the series based on the character he co-created with artist John Paul Leon. He also produced and story edited on the Ben 10 series.
In celebration of Dwayne Mc Duffie’s life and work, I’m sending you over to The World’s Finest, a treasure trove of all things DC animated. Check out their sections on Justice League and Static Shock for all the episode guides, images, and behind the scenes goodies you could ever need, including some interviews with McDuffie himself.
One more link that I can’t resist sharing: McDuffie was well known and respected in the world of comics for insisting that characters who were not caucasian males be treated as real characters and not stereotypes or representatives of an entire group of people. During his time as an editor at Marvel Comics, McDuffie noticed that a not insignificant percentage of Marvel’s African-American superheroes were following a particular pattern. In response, he submitted a bitingly humorous “pitch” that got his point across loud and clear.
Most people have at least heard of Toy Story 3 and How To Train Your Dragon, two of this years’ three Oscar nominees for Best Animated Feature. The Illusionist is less well known, but has been receiving more attention since it added an Oscar nomination to its list of accolades. It’s currently playing in a variety of theaters across the U.S. and is scheduled to open in still more over the next few months, giving audiences ample opportunity to see it. Is this quiet and melancholy film worth checking out?
I’m hesitant to call today’s feature “fun links,” since they’re meant to honor someone who passed away. But we’re celebrating the life and work of Bill Justice, who passed away last week at the age of 97. While he may be gone, the joy and wonder and fun that he created over his long career remain with us.
If you already know about Bill Justice and his contributions to DIsney animation and Imagineering, consider this a refresher course. If you don’y know the man, you almost certainly know his work and now is a perfect time to learn exactly who helped bring Thumper to life, made Mary Poppins more magical, and got pirates to sing.
Jutice’s IMDB page gives a general overview of the film work he did at Disney. His Disney Legends page give a more in depth look at his career as an animator and his work for the Disney parks. This L.A. Times obituary includes some quotes from some of Justice’s friends and colleagues.
I had the great pleasure of meeting Bill Justice when he gave a talk at a museum near my home. It was years ago so my memory is a little fuzzy, but I recall him being an enthusiastic and engaging speaker. He explained the reason for the redesign of Mickey’s eyes, revealed some of his tricks from the “Spoonful of Sugar” sequence in Mary Poppins, and quickly corrected a local paper’s assertion that he was one of the Nine Old Men, which he claimed could get him in big trouble. He ended his talk by tossing paper plates that he had drawn Disney characters on into the audience frisbee style, except for the last one, which he handed to a little girl. Everything I’ve read about Bill Justice indicates that he was a man who loved what he did and everything I remember about him confirms that.
