This just in from Børge Ring. It is not a Disney item, but fun, nonetheless: William Littlejohn animated Lucy and Snoopy for Melendez on the PEANUTS series and recounted: "At one time Charles Schultz (the author of the comic strip) complained: "You guys make a mistake when you animate Charlie Brown. You change the placement of his nose when his head turns from profile to front view!" "No Charlie...the change is YOURS!" "Ah...come on fellers, I know my own characters!" They invited him down to the studio, set him up in the attic at a lightbox and said: "Draw a Charlie Brown in profile and one where he looks into the camera. Then draw three stages in between the two where his head turns." At 7 o'clock that evening, when everybody was having beers and playing pool, a tired Schulz came down the stairs, jacket slung over the shoulder. He stopped briefly to say: "OK, you guys. You win..."
Hans- Your comments are right on target. I had a media teacher that was fond of saying "Technique should be the second thing a viewer notices" - the implication was that the message/intent should alway be first. The issue of technique and awareness always bothered me when watching Sleeping Beauty. There's no question that Earle's work is amazing, but I remember being so struck by this "new look" that I think I missed some of the more subtle ways that characters were handled...
ReplyDelete-bob
Bob, in my mind, your media teacher should have said "Technique should be the LAST thing a viewer notices!"
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, about Sleeping Beauty. When I saw it in the cinema the first time in the late 70s, my mother whispered to me during the first scenes: "Are you sure this is a Disney film?!"
Børge felt that the quote best stand alone, and I can see his point - that is why I moved my comments to here - the comments section. Here is what I removed:
ReplyDeleteYou will realize that it also indirectly can mean that whatever style a picture is in, if the audience thinks about this style, they are lost for the story. Which is what killed hand-drawn animation, at least temporarily, a few years back...
I somehow also recall a similar quote from The Illusion of Life, which does not make it less important here. I really need to read this our Good Book again soon! Everybody should, actually...
It reminds me of the old James Stewart documentary on tv yesterday, in which he says something like "If you act so that the acting doesn't show through, you are doing a decent job."