Guest Column: A Brazilian Disney Fan
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Now back to my Disney research...
One of my favorites subjects for research is animation (Disney and non-Disney). Actually I spent months thinking of a way to open a website and how to share my love for animation. In the meantime, in 2001 I did help to create a trilogy of books in portuguese called "Walt Disney: Um Século de Sonhos" (One Century of Dreams). Well, the website is open and I’m truly glad to have received good feedback from everyone from animation students (around the world) to great people like Rebekah Moseley and Michelle Smith. But my dream was "I have to contact someone working at Disney" and I finally got in touch with some Disney and ex-Disney artists. I invited them to write a little contribution for my Walt’s 100th Birthday Tribute and they indeed wrote their feelings on Walt and animation. That was when I wanted to know more about the animation industry and the people who created the magic. Back in June, I remember Rebekah and I briefly talking by e-mail about our hopes for "Lilo & Stitch" - one week later I got a reply from Stitch himself... the co-writer, designer, Stitch’s voice and co-director Chris Sanders - a very nice guy who surprised me when he said that had visited my website months before. We talked briefly before the press tour and after the release.
I talked with several artists and each one has a point-of-view and special information to share (from anecdotes to details of past productions). One of my favorites is animation legend Floyd Norman - a very special artist which I want to interview in the near future (LaughingPlace.com has an article about him written by Jim Hill). I would love to know more about the creative process and read "quotes" like those Andreas Deja said in the book "Lilo & Stitch: Collected Stories from the Film’s Creators": As Ollie Johnston used to say, "Don’t animate drawings. Animate feelings".
I got a quote a few months ago when I did an interview with master animator Mark Henn - he animated Ariel, Belle and designed Jasmine, Simba cub, Mulan and the cow Grace for the upcoming "Home on the Range". Mark also animated Mickey Mouse and directed the animated short "John Henry". Frank Thomas told him once "there will always be somebody who can draw better. It's what you do with your drawings, the performance that counts most!"
I believe this year will be noted as a year when Disney released two top quality traditional animated features. "Lilo & Stitch" is a great little film - a project came from an original idea by Chris Sanders and produced with a relatively small budget (less CG "eye-candy" shots and more character development). And I’m looking forward to "Treasure Planet". Ron Clements and John Musker worked on this project since the days of "The Little Mermaid" and did try to produced it after "Aladdin", but Jeffrey Katzenberg supposedly hates pirates (or the story) and asked for a more commercial film ("Hercules"). Now, after five years of development and production we’ll finally see their pet project in theatres (with animation from big names like Glen Keane, Ken Duncan and John Pomeroy). The artwork is amazing and the word I got is that "Treasure Planet" has emotion, action, comedy - and the story and character development are much better than "Atlantis: The Lost Empire". Ok, now I’m ready for Jim Hawkins and John Silver. "Treasure Planet" opens in Brazil in January, 10.
Go see "Treasure Planet"! Forget the weak box-office and those awful press articles... the work will speak for itself and "Treasure Planet" looks like a special film. "Pinocchio" and "Fantasia" lost money on their first release. And "Sleeping Beauty", an expensive U$6 million production did poorly numbers in 1959 and critics called it pretentious. Years later, "Pinocchio", "Fantasia and "Sleeping Beauty" are among the great Disney classics. Who knows if "Treasure Planet" will be a great Disney classic in the future?
Ok, see you later...
Discuss It!
-- Celbi Pegoraro
Guest Columns are posted occasionally on LaughingPlace.com. If you'd like to submit an idea or column for consideration, contact [email protected].
The opinions expressed by our guest columnists, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future of Disneyland and the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
-- Posted January 13, 2003