Since I didn’t grow up in the 1950s, I’m glad that Disneyland has been showing episodes from the “Disneyland” TV series for the weekly “Wednesdays with Walt” series for Annual Passholders. This time, we learn about the “Story of the Animated Drawing.” Every time I think of hand drawn animation or just art in general, I’m just glad that there are people out there more talented than me in those respected fields. I always say that I can’t draw more than stick figures to save my life.
In this episode, we take a look at the history of animation and animation techniques throughout history. Walt opens the show with a brief insight as to how the art of animation has changed over the centuries. He consults a staff book called “The Art of Animation,” and shows us that bringing pictures to life dates back to prehistoric times. Walt goes into ancient Egypt and depicts how a mural looked very similar to animation depicted on film. He then flashes forward to how Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting possessed animation-like qualities.
Moving towards the modern era, we see how animation has evolved from the likes of Stuart Blackton, Winsor McCay, and of course, Walt Disney. One of McCay’s most famous work is ‘Gertie the Dinosaur,’ released in 1914. The film combined animation with a vaudeville-type performance that made Gertie appear to be interactive. McCay performed on stage in front of the film’s projection screen and followed scripted lines in which he “directed” Gertie to do tricks, including raising her feet and rolling over. The grand finale of the performance involved McCay disappearing behind s screen and ‘reappearing’ in animated form in the film and riding on Gertie’s back. (This sequence was recreated for “The Story of the Animted Drawing” with McCay’s son.) Fun fact: You can see a tribute to Gertie the Dinosaur at Disney’s Hollywood Studios near Echo Lake.
Next, Walt takes us behind the scenes at how “The Nutcracker Suite” sequence from “Fantasia” came to life. We are shown how some of the sequence was created and how different techniques were used. The audience gets to see most of the sequence, however, the entire episode is in black and white, so you miss the color of “The Nutcracker Suite.”
“Wednesdays with Walt” continues through July 22, 2015 at Disneyland. Be sure to check the Disneyland Annual Passholders page on Facebook for information regarding registration and the upcoming week’s topic.