Animation &Disney 31 Jan 2009 09:20 am
Sw in St – Squirrels 5
- Last of the squirrel posts. Here are more frame grabs from Disney’s Sword In The Stone‘s squirrel sequence as an addition to Hans Perk‘s wonderful posting of the animators’ drafts from the film.
We pick up as Merlin (as squirrel) walks off in a huff followed by the granny squirrel. Wart falls.
Seq. 006 sc. 300: Animator: Frank Thomas
Seq. 006 sc. 300 (cont): Animator: Frank Thomas
Seq. 006 sc. 301: Animator: Hal King
Seq. 006 sc. 304: Animator: Hal King
Seq. 006 sc. 301.1: Animator: Hal King
Seq. 006 sc. 301.2: Animator: Hal King
Seq. 006 sc. 303.1: Animator: Hal King
Seq. 006 sc. 306: Animator: Hal King
Seq. 006 sc. 307: Animator: Hal King
Seq. 006 sc. 307.1: Animator: Hal King | Seq. 006 sc. 307.2: Animator: Hal King
Seq. 006 sc. 308: Animator: John Sibley
Seq. 006 sc. 309: Animator: Hal King
Seq. 006 sc. 310: Animator: Hal King
Seq. 006 sc. 311: Animator: John Sibley
Seq. 006 sc. 312: Animator: Hal King
Seq. 006 sc. 313: Animator: John Sibley | Seq. 006 sc. 314: Animator: John Sibley
Seq. 006 sc. 314.1: Animator: John Sibley
Seq. 006 sc. 314.2: Animator: Hal King & John Sibley
Seq. 006 sc. 317: Animator: John Sibley
Seq. 006 sc. 318: Animator: John Sibley
Seq. 006 sc. 318.2: Animator: Hal King | Seq. 006 sc. 318.1: Animator: Hal King
Seq. 006 sc. 319.1: Animator: John Sibley
Seq. 006 sc. 319.1 (cont): Animator: John Sibley
Seq. 006 sc. 320: Animator: John Lounsbery/John Sibley
Seq. 006 sc. 320 (cont): Animator: John Lounsbery/John Sibley
Seq. 006 sc. 321: Animator: Hal King
Seq. 006 sc. 322: Animator: Hal King
Seq. 006 sc. 322.1: Animator: Hal King
Seq. 006 sc. 323: Animator: Eric Larson
Seq. 006 sc. 323.1: Animator: Eric Larson
Seq. 006 sc. 323.3: Animator: Eric Larson
Seq. 006 sc. 323.2: Animator: Eric Larson
Seq. 006 sc. 324: Animator: Eric Larson
Seq. 006 sc. 324 (cont): Animator: Eric Larson
Seq. 006 sc. 325: Animator: Eric Larson
Seq. 006 sc. 326: Animator: Eric Larson
Seq. 006 sc. 327: Animator: Eric Larson | Seq. 006 sc. 328: Animator: Eric Larson
Seq. 006 sc. 329: Animator: Eric Larson
Seq. 006 sc. 330: Animator: Eric Larson
Seq. 006 sc. 331: Animator: Frank Thomas/Ollie Johnston
Seq. 006 sc. 331 (cont): Animator: Frank Thomas/Ollie Johnston
Seq. 006 sc. 332: Animator: Frank Thomas
Seq. 006 sc. 334: Animator: Frank Thomas/Ollie Johnston
Seq. 006 sc. 335: Animator: Frank Thomas | Seq. 006 sc. 336: Animator: Ollie Johnston
Seq. 006 sc. 337: Animator: Frank Thomas | Seq. 006 sc. 338: Animator: Ollie Johnston
Seq. 006 sc. 339: Animator: Frank Thomas
Seq. 006 sc. 340: Animator: Ollie Johnston
Seq. 006 sc. 342: Animator: Frank Thomas
Seq. 006 sc. 344: Animator: Hal Ambro
Seq. 006 sc. 345: Animator: Frank Thomas
Had this been my film, I probably would have ended on Merlin and Wart walking away and would have eliminated the last shot of the squirrel. The film’s not about her; it’s about Wart. I guess I’m not as sentimental.
on 31 Jan 2009 at 2:24 pm 1.Tim Rauch said …
thanks for putting all that up. for me, the animation is clearly outstanding, but im also really in awe of the layouts and backgrounds. fantastic stuff.
on 31 Jan 2009 at 7:06 pm 2.Bill Perkins said …
Hi Michael. Thanks for these wonderful posts on a great sequence from a largely overlooked film in the Disney Feature film Canon. I saw “Sword in the Stone” when I had just turned nine. At the time I was very into anything that was Disney related. I had the “Sword in the Stone” big golden book as well as these great jigsaw puzzles based on screen grabs from the film that were sold at the time. It was probably the first time I really studied the artwork as much as you could at that age. Of course when the film hit theaters off I went. This sequence was the first time I could recall being emotionally moved by animation, the pain and confusion of the young female squirrel as Wart became his true self really came across to this admittedly impressionable and sentimental youth. I remember reading somewhere after Frank Thomas passed away that one of his requests in the event of a memorial service was that this sequence in particular be screened. I imagine it was close to his heart and certainly it should have been, It is a stellar example of the best of any classical animators art.
on 01 Feb 2009 at 2:08 pm 3.Matt Jones said …
Thanks for all the effort putting these ‘Sword’ posts together-it’s a great way to study the way a sequence is constructed.
Squirrels are going to be big this year if UP is anything to go by . . .!
on 01 Feb 2009 at 8:06 pm 4.Jenny said …
I am that sentimental, lol. Actually, now I think of it it’s not really a sentimental shot but a pretty tough one.
Maybe the best solution would have been to have the wide, isolated top-of-tree shot be Wart’s POV rather than the objective one it is now.
But it’s a tribute to the impact of any scene that we care to discuss it like this either way! And also why I’m disappointed that “Sword” often gets such short shrift.
on 05 Feb 2009 at 1:56 am 5.Zartok-35 said …
I like scene 308 by John Sibley…It’s very definative of his abilities. Scene 342 is quite touching.
on 05 Mar 2010 at 6:09 pm 6.Steven Hartley said …
John Sibley’s wolf steals the sequence, very interesting.
on 01 Apr 2010 at 7:37 am 7.Harvey said …
Very interesting animation.
on 04 Jan 2015 at 3:25 pm 8.Brian Carter said …
Just to let you know, I’m not as sentimental as well. I mean, why should i care for this squirrel? She’s annoying, way too personal, and not truthful. And she makes him feel bad for nothing! She cries at the fact that SHE chose a human for life, and Wart was only talking to her and being truthful! Geez!
on 13 Jul 2024 at 8:59 pm 9.Big Green said …
Regardless of Frank Thomas’ greatness as an animator, I’ve always found the end of the squirrel section hilarious, and easily one of the funniest parts of any Disney films.
That stupid squirrel was essentially flirting with Arthur without his consent, mostly harassing him, therefore why am I supposed to feel bad for her?
She’s the one who started harassing him, but she’s also the one crying because “the human meanie deceived me all the time”… that’s so hypocritical.
Her expression while sniffing is simply hilarious, and her whining is music for my ears.