Animation &Animation Artifacts &Disney 11 Apr 2012 05:40 am
Roger’s Sc.88 – pt.1
- Returning to 101 Dalmatians, I have Milt Kahl‘s artwork for Scene 88 which continues Roger’s rendition of his song, “Cruella de Vil.” In this first half, the point where he throws the arm of the sweater around his neck is the highlight. It plays beautifully against the timing of the slow walk down the stairs. The scene is a beauty. This is the first half which will be concluded next week.
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The following QT includes all the drawings posted above.
There’s a bit of distortion in the Xerox copies
so the registration goes in and out.
Click on the right side of the lower bar to watch it one frame at a time.
on 11 Apr 2012 at 11:49 am 1.Ray Kosarin said …
This is about as good as animation gets—Milt Kahl’s greatest strengths come into play in this scene. His precise draughtsmanship perfectly seizes the essence of reality—presumably lent focus and inspiration from live-action reference footage—and uses animation to sharpen, simplify, purify, and concentrate the details that say who the character is. It’s the rare example of when and how animation is better, and more expressive, than live action, thanks to its ability (in a master’s hands) to purify it.
Roger’s self-assured swagger as he shifts his weight, quietly but precisely captured by the slight, but decisive, overlapping action of his weigh-bearing leg delaying just a fraction in its shifting the angle to accommodate Roger’s weight (and is there any doubt, from this carefully made animation, to the ounce how much he weighs?) is delicate but crystal-clear. His playful syncopated rise up as his weight shifts—the song, presumably 4/4, breaks into ragged triplets so it feels more like a jaunty 12/8—appears to hit on the second beat of the triplets, literally embodying Roger’s mischievous song as well as his character: here is a meek man whose greatest strength, writing songs, is the behavior in which he feels most at ease, facing with a strong adversary like Cruela,
Even the elegantly simplified break of the material in his trouser leg as he walks, handsome as a line drawing from a clothing catalog, is not a fussy or extraneous detail: it elegantly, and crisply, reinforces the suave affect of Roger’s performance.
A first-rate piece of art.
on 13 Apr 2012 at 8:12 am 2.Mark in NYC said …
Coupla questions from an amateur…
How much time do you suppose Milt was afforded to animate scenes like these?
Based on the timing charts, can I assume that inbetweens like 3, 7, 11, etc were done by another hand, or did he sometimes go back and do these?
Did his art even need clean-up? I’ve never seen a loose/sketchy Kahl drawing.
Thanks for all your great posts!
on 13 Apr 2012 at 12:22 pm 3.Michael said …
Check out Andreas Deja’s site here to see Milt Kahl roughs.
on 15 Apr 2012 at 12:32 pm 4.Neil said …
Hi Michael.
All the rest are fixed, and it might still be me, but #67 is the only one that won’t load now.
Thanks again for the post.
Neil
on 17 Apr 2012 at 8:47 am 5.Ercan said …
Hi,
just wondering, is this rotoscoped in any way or form? Not to take anything away from milt, as it is still a very hard task to give life to a scene, that requires a lot of subtle animation and complexities, like this. So it is not meant as a negative critique, but only as a genuine interest in the technique used to create this piece of art.
on 17 Apr 2012 at 9:54 am 6.Michael said …
I’m sure they shot live action reference, but Milt Kahl was prone to not using it for his animation.