A. Film L.A. test

At last! The rest of Seq. 3 of Prod. 2725, La Pinata, which is part of The Three Caballeros. Animators for these scenes are Ward Kimball, Don Patterson, Milt Neil and Hal King. Yes, there are a few gaps... More info on my whereabouts these last weeks to follow soon!

The great pages of Alberto Becattini, to which I link (see on the right side) have not been accessible for quite some time. Does anyone know if they will be back? [NEWS: The page is back! Thanks for letting me know, David N.!]

My old mentor Børge Ring asked me to convey this message: >>If you are one of those who likes well animated acting you will enjoy the following statement made by arguably the greatest actor of them all: Charlie Chaplin. He said: "I build a scene of a number of poses, preferably melodramatic ones. Once these are established, the more mechanically you go from one to the other the stronger is the end result." Sounds familiar?

Based on my posting of the draft of the 1932 Mickey short Klondike Kid, Jeff Watson sent me these mosaics to post here, and we can only say Thanks, Jeff!

First part of Seq. 3 "Folio" which showcases the song Mexico. A LOT of animation by Ollie Johnston, and scenes by Ward Kimball, Eric Larson, Don Patterson, Fred Moore, Hal King and Milt Neil, with effects by Josh Meador. Directed by Gerri Geronimi, assisted by Rusty Jones, with layouts by Hugh Hennesy and Phillips (it says, but I suspect this is Charles Phillipi). Final draft (with "holes") dated 9/12/1944... Five hours until I leave Annecy! I do have some more images, though...

Some more images, these shot yesterday. First proof that I actually went in to a screening, then an image from the entrance to the party organized by the Stuttgart Film Festival "the German Party" (at the right you see the back of Amid Amidi 's white cap), a shot of the organizers thanking the partygoers (and Harald Siepermann at the left getting a bite), finishing at the Creator's Party at La Plage, looking toward the old town of Annecy. There was a rather curious atmosphere here - and lots of students. Then a nice walk back to town talking with Larry Ruppel (no photo).

Yesterday I arrived to a wet Annecy, and here are some images that stuck with me, as did the mud splatters on my pants... The first image is from a long rainy (and thundery!) walk past the lake, nearly arriving at the Imperial Palace where the MIFA is held. The second image is the view from one of my small windows... Then, here are some images from this morning in radiant sunshine: Another view from a window, up to the castle. Then a look toward the river from one of the passages. The last two images can be compared to my historical posting : first a view of the water coming from under the Église Norte Dame taken from the Quai Catédrale, and finally market stalls on the Pont Morens, the "London Bridge" that I described. This morning was "farmer's market," with cheese, sausages, fruit and vegetables from the surrounding areas. As to the window views, it really takes some effort for me to see the same views as in these pictures!

Skipping Seq. 1, which I posted before (I continue my numbering from that), here is Seq. 2 of the "La Pinata" segment, the one that in eight sequences completes the Caballeros draft. First up is George Rowley's rendition of Mary Blair's Las Posadas sequence, then Breaking the Pinata by Ward Kimball and Ollie Johnston. Directed by Gerri Geronimi, assisted by Rusty Jones, and laid out by Herb Ryman and Hugh Hennesy, this draft dated 9/14/44...

Directed by Bill Roberts, with Mike Holoboff as his assistant director, and laid out by Hugh Hennesy (yes, the cop in Duck Pimples), this sequence from The Three Caballeros, one of the most entertaining, is entirely animated by Milt Kahl, Harvey Toombs and Bill Justice, with effects by Josh Meador and Ed Aardal. This draft dated 5/20/44 by Dorris [Pugsley]... Comments, anyone? It's been a while... I will be in Annecy from noon tomorrow until Thursday night. If you will be there, too, let me know! I may not get much posting done, though!

Here are the other two interstitials for The Three Caballeros, Seq. 3 (Intro to Baia, dated 6/12/44) and 4 (Duck-Parrot Blowing Up, dated 9/21/44). Animation by Hal King, John Lounsbery, Les Clark, Fred Moore, Eric Larson, John Sibley. Effects by Josh Meador and John Reed. In Seq.3, Joe Carioca pops up again...

Today I decided to finish the Three Caballeros draft. Partly because it is really interesting, and partly because it is somewhat easy for me at this time, when I am busy preparing to go to Annecy . So here today are Seq. 1 (5/20/44) and 2 (5/27/44). Directed by Jack Kinney and animated by Hal King and Eric Larson...