Forever Magical
Page 5 of 7
Next the Shorts Building was pointed out to us. As our guide told us "the Shorts Building was constructed from the two original Animation Buildings located at the old Hyperion Avenue studio. The two sections were moved to the Burbank site in 1939-40 as part of the Studio construction project. At the Hyperion location, the building housed the creative and animation staffs for the many Disney 'short subject' cartoons. It was also the home of Walt and Roy’s offices." Our guides pointed out Walt’s office window.
Virtually all of the classic Disney animated features produced between 1940 through 1985 were created in the Animation Building. Entering the building marked "Animation" we were greeted with a lovely image of Walt Disney and then we made our way down the building main corridor and past the beautiful landscapes of Disney films. I wish they offered these images for sale. One of my favorites in the hallway is Pride Rock with beautiful blue sky, green trees and dancing brook. I have various Disney characters in my collectibles collection so I always think that Disney landscapes would be a nice offset a more subtle way to celebrate my love of Disney. Ah…someday.
Also in the hallway was an artist tableau. Sheets of sketches of the Beast which allow guests to bring the character to life themselves, step into the artists shoes for a moment. As we kept walking to our surprise and delight was a collage of images from Lilo & Stitch. Although our group kept walking we paused to look at images including a precious one featuring Stitch carrying a toad. However, my favorite was Stitch playing in the sand. I can’t wait for this film to come out. One of our group leaders, Ray, made us all envious by saying he’d seen it and it was fantastic. He said the film had heart and a great story. Well, its less than 60 days away now. Yes, I’m counting down.
We continued walking past the Ink & Paint department. You may remember it from old Disney television shows. The room with all the colors. We didn’t enter the building but were told that building was connected to the adjacent Camera building by a tunnel that allowed the animation art to transported without fear of damage from wind or rain.
We turned back onto Dopey Drive and walked past the Main Theater, which is across from the Animation building, we had just walked through. In years past it was used to present film rushes, dailies, private screenings and benefit movie premieres. The Disney Legends Awards ceremony was held on the steps of the Animation Building from 1987 - 1996 and the handprints and signatures of these legends are placed on the steps leading up to the theater’s entrance.
My feet were beginning to ache and I was glad to see we were back by the Commissary, which could only mean one thing. Lunch! We were greeted by Woody from Toy Story and could hear the western tunes of a live quartet. Tables were setup with red and white-checkered table cloths. I jumped into line for some grub - potato salad, pasta salad, chips, hamburgers, hot dogs and of course chili were the items of the day.
Earlier in the day we’d learned that Walt loved chili and had devised his own recipe for chili and beans. He would combine a can of Gebhardt’s, which had much meat and few beans, with a can of Dennison’s, which had less meat and more beans. Eventually, the studio cooks were able to create a chili from scratch that Walt approved of.
Dessert was brownies and cookies. Disney Legends Ollie Johnston and Mary Costa were onhand for photos and autographs as was Disney film historian Leonard Maltin. Some Disney characters were roaming around for photo ops but I must admit I just enjoyed resting and eating until it was once again time to go.