D23 Presents Destination D: 75 Years of Disney Animated Features - Day 2
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DRAWING WITH PERSONALITY
As Andreas Deja took the stage for the next presentation, Drawing With Personality, he ruefully noted that he would be “Not nearly so funny” as the preceding panel. He explained that there would be three parts to his presentation: talking about Disney animators, talking about his own work, and an encouragement to draw.
When Deja arrived at the studio in 1980, he explained, he was eager to work with the great Disney animators. But, he quickly discovered, all of them but Eric Larson had retired. So, Deja said, “I made myself a nuisance,” and began to call and visit with them. As he discussed each in turn, he displayed examples of their work.
For Les Clark, he showed an early sketch of a frolicking fish from a Silly Symphony, as well as pieces from Fantasia and the Band Concert. “When we talk about Mickey, we have to talk about Freddy Moore,” he said, as he turned to his next subject. “Mickey Mouse on paper makes no sense,” he continued. “That’s why they don’t draw him like this.” Deja then proceeded to give a tutorial, complete with overhead projections of his drawing, illustrating how Mickey’s features and proportions must be cheated in order to “correct” discrepancies between the profile and full-face views.
Deja spoke warmly of Bill Tytla, a powerful draftsman who nonetheless created the endearing Dumbo, basing the work on his own infant son. Turning to his work on Stromboli and Chernabog, Deja quipped, “That guy who did cute stuff like [Dumbo] was capable of scaring the popcorn out of people.”
A Rite of Spring image from Fantasia was shown, the work of Woolie Reitherman. Deja pointed out that the animator had to create everything for the characters, as there were no dinosaurs available for live action reference. Of Ollie Johnston, Deja said he was great at creating sincere characters. Showing an image of Pinocchio, Deja recalled Ollie stating, “I believe he exists.” Deja particularly admired a delicate sketch of Penny from The Rescuers, noting the “killer angle” from which it was drawn. He also marveled at a sketch of Bernard and Bianca, noting that you could see the two characters were not thinking alike.
Deja next turned to Sleeping Beauty and the work of Marc Davis. Early sketches of Aurora revealed that the character originally was conceived much younger. For Maleficent, color sketches illustrated a basic disagreement between Davis and illustrator Eyvind Earle. Earle demanded that Maleficent’s robes be lined in purple, and Davis was equally adamant that red was the best color. For the film, purple was used, but Davis created many subsequent pieces in red. Deja chuckled over Maleficent’s claim that, with Aurora out of her way, she would get her first good night’s sleep in 16 years. “The poor lady,” he said.
Deja also spent some time looking at the work of Frank Thomas. In The Pointer, he said, Thomas brought a level of acting to Mickey Mouse that others had not. Of particular interest were several “sketchy” drawings, showing Thomas’ early exploration of Captain Hook and the three fairies from Sleeping Beauty. There were exclamations of delight from the crowd as charming sketches of dogs filled the screen. “I know—who doesn’t like dogs,” said Deja. He finished up with a look at the squirrels from The Sword in the Stone, saying the sequence was, “One of Frank’s favorites.”
For John Lounsberry, Deja showed the father from Peter Pan, Tony from Lady and the Tramp, and a gallery of goons from Sleeping Beauty. As he showed Lounsberry’s sketch of the “mock prince” from Sleeping Beauty, he explained it was a “cheat,” as the tiny birds could not possibly have held up Prince Phillip’s heavy cape. But in the hands of a master animator, it was rendered believable.
A very early Milt Kahl sketch of Pinocchio was next, followed by sketches of his Peter Pan and Prince Phillip. Deja confided that Kahl hated the prince from Sleeping Beauty. Deja made a point of showing Kahl’s work with hands, illustrated with two sheets of drawings. He also lauded his work with the anthropomorphic animals in Robin Hood. He also showed drawings of Kahl’s last work at Disney, on Madame Medusa from The Rescuers. Kahl’s declared intention was to make Medusa the greatest Disney villain of all time.
Deja concluded his discussion of Disney’s animators with a drawing by Eric Larson, done on a cruise during a social conversation. It illustrated some principles of weight and mass related to character animation. Deja lamented that at the time his English was so poor that he was not able to understand all that Larson had to offer.
Deja next turned to a couple of characters from his own career at Disney. He admitted that at first he was typecast for villains. “I didn’t mind it,” he declared. As he spoke of each character in turn, he created a quick sketch, often illustrating a specific point.
The villainous Mickey from Runaway Brain was an early effort. Deja shared a story about wearing a crew shirt with an image of the fearsome Mickey out in public before the short had been released. As he browsed in a shop at the Magic Kingdom, an upset sales clerk criticized him for displaying the image. Deja concluded that it showed how much people care about Mickey Mouse.
For Scar, Deja spoke of the great influence of voice actor Jeremy Irons. The performance, he said, made the character so clear. “Jeremy Irons can read the phone book and I want to animate it,” he admitted. As Deja completed a sketch of the Lion King villain, he talked of the discussion over where the scar should be placed. While the character was named Scar, there was no written description of the scar itself. Deja finally determined that by placing it over the eye, it would be on display at all times, and could be used to heighten the animation of the face.
For Gaston, Deja spoke of the care that had to be taken to not make the Beauty and the Beast villain too traditionally handsome. He concluded his talk with a sketch of Jafar, the fearsome Grand Vizier from Aladdin. He challenged the audience to draw a younger version of Jafar, as he described the process. Afterward, Deja showed a selection, with commentary. It was amusing, particularly in light of the fact that they had been provided by other star animators who were in attendance that day.