Ollie Johnston: A Celebration of Life - 8/19/2008 at the El Capitan Theatre
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Bambi�s first meeting with Thumper
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From Bambi the crowd was treated to delicate scenes of the young prince, making his first trip to the meadow, and making his first friend in mischievous Thumper. High comedy followed, in the shaving scene between Captain Hook and Mr. Smee in Peter Pan. From The Sword in the Stone, Archimedes the Owl went into fits of laughter over Merlin�s assurance that one day men would fly. And the Three Good Fairies from Sleeping Beauty charmed all with their dithering attempts to bake a cake and sew a dress, without the aid of magic.
The three Good Fairies from Sleeping Beauty
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As the screen darkened, Maltin entered to introduce the first of a series of panels. To discuss Ollie�s achievements in animation, studio executive Roy E. Disney, animator Andreas Deja, author Charles Solomon, and animator Andy Gaskill entered. Maltin�s first question was directed to Roy Disney. As the son and nephew of the Disney studio founders, when did he first meet Ollie Johnston?
Roy was sure he had first met Ollie at the old studio in the Hyperion Avenue days. His memories there, he said, went back to when he was four or five years old, running up and down the halls. He admitted he met all the legends, but never knew just who they were. They all knew him, though. He was �Roy�s kid.�
Disney�s Hyperion Street studios in the early 1930s
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Ollie Johnston, Roy said, was particularly hard to remember from those early years because he was so quiet. He went about his business with a soft spoken voice and very gentle manners. Roy did have vivid memories of Ollie�s influence in later days, when classic Disney animation almost came to an end at the studio. Roy stated that Ollie and the remaining Nine Old Men were an enormous influence in the return of Disney animation.
Before the new era of Disney animation, Roy pointed out, Disney films were more personal and hand crafted. They were an animator�s art, he said, as opposed to spectacle. He recalled 101 Dalmatians, and The Jungle Book. Of the latter, he said it was so personal that it was more about the animation than the story.
At the mention of The Jungle Book, Leonard Maltin turned the next question to Andreas Deja, asking if it was true that The Jungle Book had been an inspiration to him. He readily agreed, saying that seeing the film in Germany led him to write a letter to Disney. �And here I am,� Deja concluded.
Asked if he remembered his first meeting with Ollie Johnston, Deja recalled it would have been about 1979. Eric Larsen took the young animator to a room on the Disney lot where Ollie and long time collaborator Frank Thomas were working on their first book, Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life. Deja spoke of the magnificent art that covered the walls of the room, and of meeting two of Disney�s great animators in this setting. But, as they were retired, Deja missed actually working with them.
Maltin then asked Andy Gaskill about his first meeting with Ollie. Gaskill related that, as a trainee starting at Disney in 1973, Ollie Johnston was a mentor. He ruefully hoped that Ollie wasn�t disappointed that he hadn�t become exactly the animator he believed he could be.
When asked if Ollie actually instructed him, Gaskill said that Ollie�s way was not so much to teach as lead. He would often ask, �What do you think?� and �How will you do this?� Gaskill added, �I always leaned heavily on his judgement and opinion.� In this, Ollie made the young animator dig deeper, while building his confidence.
�I made some dumb choices in The Rescuers,� Gaskill sheepishly admitted, �But Ollie would coach me back into something acceptable.� He concluded by saying that Ollie was always giving and selfless in his mentoring.