D23 Presents Destination D: 75 Years of Disney Animated Features - Day 1
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ROY E. DISNEY AND THE SECOND GOLDEN AGE OF DISNEY ANIMATION
After a short break, the next panel picked up the story with Roy E. Disney and the Second Golden Age of Disney Animation. Representing the Disney family was Roy Patrick Disney, the son of Roy E. Disney and grandson of company co-founder Roy O. Disney. Joining him were Producers John Musker, Ron Clements and Don Hahn, as well as Dave Bossert, creative director and head of special projects at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Moderator for the panel was Disney author and historian Tim O’Day.
A surprising video was shown before the panel discussion began. Ostensibly a presentation by Mickey Mouse, explaining his early years in Hollywood, the video featured a galaxy of familiar personalities from the late 1980s. And playing the role of a young Walt Disney was Roy E. Disney himself.
Roy P. Disney led off the discussion, sharing a selection of family photos. Starting with baby pictures of his father, Roy Edward Disney, they traced his involvement at Walt Disney Productions. As a young producer, Roy worked on the True-Life Adventure films. For White Wilderness, Walt was displeased during one day’s rushes to find that an amusing shot of migratory ducks slipping and sliding as they attempted to land on an ice-covered lake was somewhat truncated. He insisted that there was footage showing one the ducks bowling over the flock. After several tense days of searching through raw footage, Roy determined that the footage simply didn’t exist. But rather than run the risk of disappointing his demanding uncle, he and a film crew acquired some ducks and went out to a frozen lake. There they spent the afternoon, flinging ducks across the frozen surface, until they had the required footage.
After Roy P. reminded the crowd that the famous lemmings sequence had also been “enhanced” by Disney’s film crew, Don Hahn hastily assured them that today’s DisneyNature Films did not resort to this kind of activity. “We have a higher code of ethics now,” he said. He couldn’t resist adding, “Instead of throwing ducks, we throw chimpanzees!”
Roy P. Disney then came to photos of his own childhood. He mentioned out one shot of his siblings and himself shot in Florida. The big pile of dirt in the background, he pointed out, is where Cinderella Castle stands today.
CalArts, the school for the arts, was then touched on. Ron Clements mentioned that there was something of a culture clash between the Disney Studio family, and the faculty of CalArts. Disney recalled his father’s arrival at an early board meeting, in which their arrival interrupted a naked frolic in the school’s fountain by the faculty. Dave Bossert pointed out that most of the faculty had been brought over from an existing school (Chouinard), and were more bohemian than the businessmen who had run the studio.
Another film clip of Roy E. was shown. In it, he explained, “No one could do what Walt did.” He marveled at his uncle’s ability to put a disparate group of artists in a room and get them to work together. Clements lauded Roy E’s effort to extend his uncle’s interest in technological advancement in animation. Walt, he said, went from ink and paint to the Xerox process, and Roy carried the studio through to the digital age. And he did this despite the fact that it required a major investment of capital.
The mention of capital and investments led to a discussion of the troubles that Walt Disney Productions was experiencing in the early 1980s. With corporate raiders poised to break up the company, the first business plan proposed was to eliminate animation completely. Roy P. said his father raised his hand and said, “Let me take care of that.” Among the steps taken to raise cash and renewed awareness of the Disney animation legacy, Roy E. oversaw the initial release of the Disney Classics for home video. Originally, he declared that two films would never be released to home video: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Fantasia. But even these were finally made available, in deluxe video editions. An early promotional piece that was attached to the first release of Snow White was shown, with Roy E. himself hosting.
Roy E. also presided over another major shift in the production of Disney animated films. Previously, animated films were released when they were ready, and could take many years to produce. Now, release dates were announced in advance, and had to be met.
Tim O’Day recalled that Roy E. made himself available as a virtual pitchman for the Disney animated product. A commercial spot from the early 90s was shown, in which Roy touted American Express, as well as Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. Clements recalled a gathering at a Biltmore Hotel in which Roy E. cautioned the attendees not to raid the snack bars in the rooms, saying, “For God’s sake, don’t eat the cashews in the room! They’re eleven bucks a can.”
A photo of the 95th birthday celebration for Joe Grant was shown, with Roy E. Disney joining in. A member of the panel recalled other celebrations, saying, “ Roy would come over. He was part of the team, part of the crew. He was one of the guys.” At this point, Bossert couldn’t resist offering a “shameless plug” for a book about Roy Disney he had been working on, and which was scheduled for release in time for the August, 2013 D23 Expo.
A photo of Roy E. in his ceremonial office inside the Animation Building’s “hat” sparked a discussion of Fantasia 2000. Roy did not favor the office, despite the fact it had been specially designed and decorated for him by the studio. There was even a special ventilation system to allow him to smoke in the otherwise non-smoking facility. Not only did Roy prefer his office in the old animation building across the street, he had given up smoking before the new one was presented to him. He used it for photo shoots and interviews, and would leave a pair of glasses on the desk to maintain the illusion that he had just “stepped away.” Eventually it was converted into a conference room.
Fantasia 200 was Roy E’s pet project. He worked on it off and on for several years, before a release date was finally set. Don Hahn spoke of Roy’s “chance to shine” at the Carnegie Hall premiere. A video clip of conductor James Levine was shared as part of the presentation.
More images filled the screen: Roy receiving his Disney Legend Award in 1998, along with Glynnis Johns and Hayley Mills; Roy with animals, both domestic and wild; Roy on the new Expedition Everest attraction. The creation of Disney’s Animal Kingdom was largely fueled by Roy E’s love of and interest in animals. Bossert pointed out that Roy E. loved roller coasters, too. Roy P. mentioned his father’s love of sailing.
Don Hahn spoke soberly of the emotional reaction within Walt Disney Feature Animation when Roy E. Disney died. A memorial service was held at the El Capitan Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. “It was a joyous celebration,” said Bossert. A clip from the service was shown.
As the panel discussion came to a close, Steven Clark, head of D23, had a surprise presentation. He entered with a “Mousecar,” a special award from the Walt Disney Company, and presented it to Roy Patrick Disney, in appreciation of his father and the whole family.
After two lengthy morning sessions, it was time for a well-appreciated lunch break. Guests made their way into Downtown Disney, to restaurants in the Disneyland Resort hotels, or over to the parks. Some guests availed themselves of snack carts available in the convention center, and got right back in line for the afternoon sessions.
INSIDE WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS TODAY
The first panel for afternoon picked up the narrative thread with a presentation entitled Inside Walt Disney Animation Studios Today. Hosting was animator Darrin Butters, a 16-year veteran of the Disney Studios. He outlined the three elements that make a successful animated film: compelling story, appealing characters, and a believable world. Promising an exclusive look at what’s next, he stated, “We’ve saved all this for the biggest fans of Disney in the world.”
First up was director Chris Buck with Frozen, a holiday 2013 release loosely based on H. C. Andersen’s The Snow Queen. Buck’s first experience with Disney animation was seeing a reissue of Pinocchio in theaters. He also enjoyed Mary Poppins in its initial release. His first work at Disney was on The Fox and the Hound as an animator. After working at other studios, Buck stated, “I am thrilled to be back at Disney, because nobody does it better.”
The Snow Queen was a project that Walt Disney himself had wanted to make. Frozen will be a CGI release, with music by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon on Broadway). The team also wrote the songs for the newest Winnie the Pooh feature.
Frozen will focus on the emotional connection between two sisters, Anna and Elsa. Anna, a free spirit and something of a “screw up” will be voiced by Kristen Bell. The regal and graceful Elsa will be voiced by Idina Menzel. Elsa’s worry is that she may be the fulfillment of an evil prophecy; that she may one day be the “ruler with the frozen heart.” Two other characters were also revealed: Kristoff, a mountain man who accompanies Elsa in her quest to find the Snow Queen, and Olaf, a talking snowman. Olaf is a creation of Elsa, albeit a somewhat flawed early effort. He is depicted as naïve, charming, and not very bright.
Described as “a race against time and the elements,” Frozen promises to prove that the love of family can melt even the coldest of hearts. As a special surprise, a new song, Let It Go, written for the character of Elsa, was performed live, accompanied by images used in development of the film.
Next up, Butters welcomed Kristen Reed, producer and Patrick Osborne, supervising animator for the short film Paperman. This will be seen at the beginning of the film Wreck-It Ralph in theaters. Osborne noted that the short had been shown mostly at industry gatherings, and observed that, “This is the audience we want to see it and enjoy it.” Images used in development of the film were shown, along with a discussion of the techniques used for its unique styling. The complete Paperman was shown.
Finally, Wreck-It Ralph was presented, with nearly ten-minutes of completed animation. This was followed by a look at the film’s four distinct worlds: the 8-bit realm of Fix-It Felix, the hyper realistic Hero’s Duty, the 1990s style Sugar Rush, and Game Central Station, the gathering place where arcade characters can meet and interact after hours.
Noting that great characters require great actors, cast members were shown at work: John C. Reilly as Wreck-It Ralph, Sarah Silverman as Vanellope von Schweetz, Jack MacBrayer as Fix-It Felix, and Jane Lynch as Sargeant Calhoun. Butters revealed that this was a rare instance in which the cast often worked together in recording sessions, as this was the preferred method of Reilly. Wreck-It Ralph will open in theaters this November.